NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Black BRAND is ‘shaping a healthier future’ for the Black community in Hampton Roads.
The Sankofa Health Experience is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 16 at 520 E. Main St. Ste. 4 in Norfolk.
Seventeen medical professionals will come together to address racial disparities in healthcare.
The panel will address women’s health concerns, cardiology, psychology and mental health. The discussion will combat the trust issues that exist in the Black community within healthcare.
“We know that members of the Black community are far more likely to experience horrible outcomes as it relates to even just showing up for assistance,” said Blair Durham, CEO of Black BRAND, also known as, the Black Chamber of Commerce Hampton Roads. “There are malpractice issues, and these are longstanding issues that we’re really looking to address. Our mission is around narrowing the racial wealth gap. In order to build wealth, we have to actually be around.”
The issue of distrust dates back decades. Some of the reasons behind the distrust are statistics like this, that Black women are more likely to die during childbirth.
Said Durham: “[Black women] could die in childbirth because she’s not being heard, she’s not being understood, or she’s not being taken seriously. Part of the conversation is what advocacy can we create before we get to that moment?”
Cardiologist Dr. Keith Newby will join the calls to address the higher rates of heart failure, obesity and hypertension in Black and brown communities.
“If you look at life expectancy between African Americans and White populations, there’s almost a 10-year difference,” Newby said. “Why? [It’s] because of lifestyle. A lot of the chronic illnesses are asymptomatic, and that’s the issue we need to focus on.
“A lot of people think, ‘I feel fine, I am fine.’ We know the realities are different. We eat wrong. We don’t exercise, we don’t take good care of ourselves. We live in high stress environments and we’re all trying to see how we make financial gain.”
Health disparities are often caused by financial disparities, housing insecurity and food insecurity.
“These leads to illnesses,” Newby said. “Hopefully if we can touch some people’s hearts this weekend. [To] get them down a path where they say, ‘okay, let me recognize that may have an issue. If I do, there may be simple lifestyle changes that would obviate and alleviate any of their symptoms or concerns or the illnesses themselves.’”
Dr. Karen Brace, a trichologist and owner of The Remedy Hair Solutions, will also join the panel.
“I am the first trichologist practitioner certified through the American Medical Certification Associations in the history of Virginia,” Brace said. “Hair is like a barometer, telling you that something’s going on with your body.”
Brace explains a healthy diet, hydration and proper nutrients can help address scalp complications and hair loss.
“If you are going to eat like your mother ate and your mom has hair loss, you’re going to have hair loss,” Brace said. “Hair loss is in my family, but I don’t have it. When I started losing my hair, which I lost [near the temple area] it was very thin. I have pictures of me with this hair loss thinner. I knew that I needed to give myself more nutrients.”
The medical professional hopes to empower Black communities to better advocate for health.
“If you come up in an environment where your opportunities were, not what others are … that’s called a disparity,” Brace said. “That disparity is what we’re trying to eliminate. If we can do that, I think then people have a fighting chance to have equal opportunity.”
Register for the Sankofa Health Experience by using the Discount Code WAVYLEGACY on legacyseries.splashthat.com.
