The walk will take place on Saturday, August 13, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the University of Dayton – Curran Place. The race is free, and you can sign up through www.runsignup.com. The race also will again have a virtual option.
The African American Wellness Walk, organized each year by Premier Health, was established in 2000 to raise awareness and combat heart health disparities for African Americans. The walk has grown over the past two decades – about 1,700 people took part in last year’s virtual event – to address underlying health conditions that affect our families and friends in minority communities. These disparities are as persistent as they are well-documented across the nation and here in Ohio. Consider:
- In Ohio, a Black baby is nearly three times more likely to die before his or her first birthday as a white baby.
- Black women are less likely to receive adequate prenatal care and are twice as likely to have a low-birth weight baby compared to White women.
- Across Montgomery County, Black men have higher rates of heart disease, stroke, prostate cancer, and diabetes when compared to the countywide average. The average lifespan for a Black man in Montgomery County is 65.5 years – six years less than White men and 13 years lower than White women.
- The pandemic has also disproportionately affected African Americans. Black Ohioans make up about 13 percent of the state’s population, yet in the first six months of the pandemic accounted for larger percentages of COVID-19 cases (22.8%); hospitalizations (30.6%); and deaths (18.7%), according to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.
Earlier this month, the Dayton Daily News featured a local initiative that seeks to build awareness of the importance of preventive care among African-American men in Montgomery County. Through the Barbershop Health program, that awareness often begins while clients are sitting in a barber chair. The program has served nearly 400 people so far.
“These spaces — barbershops, beauty salons — they’ve been pillars in our community for a long time,” said Jonathan Cain, owner of City Stars Unlimited in Dayton, where a barber’s death at age 32 from a heart attack helped inspire the collaboration between City Stars, four other barber shops, and Premier Health.
“People trust where they go,” Cain told the Dayton Daily News. “They come into this space week in and week out, where we have a lot of fun and there’s a lot of conversation that takes place. But sometimes there has to be a hard conversation that takes place. And health and talking about health in our community isn’t always a priority.”
Whether we’re sitting or walking, let’s all commit to making that conversation a priority. And then let’s figure out the steps we need to take locally to eliminate disparities and foster greater health in all communities, regardless of color.
Adrian Taylor is Premier Health’s director of diversity.
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