Project Brotherhood Champions, Establishes Day Dedicated To Black Male Health

By Ashleigh Fields On the South Side of Chicago, Black men have collectively prioritized and mobilized on issues paramount to their demographic. Prostate cancer, lung cancer and the lack of participation in clinical trials have remained hot topics for the local group known as Project Brotherhood. “We create a safe space for men to come together,” said Murray. “Everything we do is culturally and specifically designed for Black men; we speak to them in a way that they can relate to.” According to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Black men live 7.1 years less than other racial groups. Black men have higher death rates than women for all leading causes of death.& Project Brotherhood gained non-profit status upon its inception in 1997. The following year, it created and successfully maintained its own clinic within the Cook County Hospital staffed by voluntary Black doctors. The resource has opened a pathway for raw and honest discussions about Black male health. “We are designed to make men completely healthy; mentally, physically, socially, economically and physically,” said Marcus Murray, who serves as Executive Director and Co-Founder. “Health is not just the absence of disease.”& He is working to spread this new concept in...