MH SPECIAL REPORT: RACE RACISM, AND BLACK MEN’S HEALTH
WE CANNOT TALK about men’s health without talking specifically about Black men’s health—about the devastatingly low average life expectancy of Black men and the shockingly high risk of dying of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and COVID-19; about the shortage of Black doctors and the dearth of mental-health resources in Black communities; about the pervasive, systemic racism that devalues their health and wellness; and about the daily, enduring assaults on their bodies, minds, and souls. Over the following 22 pages, 18 Black authors, activists, athletes, doctors, trainers, storytellers, artists, and entrepreneurs describe how race and racism have shaped their physical and mental health throughout their lives. These are their stories, in their words.
YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II HAS SOMETHING TO SAY
From AQUAMAN and WATCHMEN to this fall’s CANDYMAN and THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, the actor has spent the past few years helping redefine who gets to be a hero in movies and on TV. Here he takes a break from filming THE MATRIX 4 to talk about race, racism, and the roles we all have to play in the social-justice revolution.
May, and I’m sitting in an Airbnb in Culver City, California. I’m in the mirror, attempting to make a -themed video for the #WipeItDown challenge, but I can’t seem to get the timing right. It’s strange and frustrating, because I’m usually pretty good with technology. After what has to be about 20 tries, I sit down on the couch to compose myself. There’s no television in the house, so I’m just looking. Staring at the empty fireplace. It’s more than three months into my COVID-induced isolation. I’m lonely and I’m stressed, but I