Lamman Rucker leading charge to get Black men more concerned about their mental health

ACTOR AND PITTSBURGH NATIVE LAMMAN RUCKER (FILE PHOTO) It’s time for Black men to have the conversation. Even if they don’t think it’s the “manly” thing to do. Even if, historically in the Black community, it’s been “frowned upon.” That’s what the “Just Heal, Bro” tour was all about. The tour stopped in more than 30 cities over the past two years, and for celebrity actor and performer Lamman Rucker, he couldn’t finish the tour without coming back to his native town, Pittsburgh. Rucker teamed up with a number of African American men, including author, speaker and licensed therapist Jay Barnett and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, to provide an open forum for Black men in Pittsburgh to know that it’s OK to visit a licensed therapist and speak on current and past traumas. The forum was held, June 20, at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, Downtown. PITTSBURGH NATIVE AND ACTOR LAMMAN RUCKER, FAR RIGHT, DURING A FORUM ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BLACK MEN AND THEIR MENTAL HEALTH, JUNE 20, AT PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO) The statistics are alarming; While 40 percent of Whites seek mental health care, just 25 percent of African Americans do. Data brought to the...