Focusing on Black Men’s Health: Dr. Torian Easterling and nonprofit CEO Chris Williams

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Chris Williams is the founder and CEO of Heart, Body, and Soul a Brooklyn-based nonprofit focused on Black men’s health. Dr. Torian Easterling is the Senior Vice President for Population and Community Health at One Brooklyn Health, a safety net health system that services Central Brooklyn. He formerly served as the First Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Health Department. Both Williams and Easterling spoke with the Amsterdam News about Black health for men and ways to work together as a community.

Editor’s Note: This article has been edited and condensed for clarity.

AmNews: Talk about why there’s such a need to talk about these disparities at this moment in Black health for men?

Dr. Torian Easterling: I think there are a couple of reasons. The thing that we always have to keep top of mind is, the reason why we see these disparities and inequities in our data is because we have an erosion of trust, built over time, from our healthcare institutions. We have seen a lack of resources that have been invested in communities that have experienced these inequities. And there has never been a time where we can say unequivocally that the data shows that everyone is really doing well [with their health].

We have always seen these disparities when you’re talking about Black populations versus other populations. So I think if we just want to put it in context, what we’re really talking about is the ways in which structural racism and inequities have really impacted the health and well-being of Black people within this country. What are our actions? What are our strategies? Particularly, when we’re talking about Black men, we need to think about what are those resources that are available and that aren’t available? Then we also have to talk about how we restore that trust? How do we repair the harm that has been caused?

Christopher Williams: Right now it’s extremely critical that we pay even closer attention because we’ve seen a lot of changes when it comes to the funding that’s available to organizations that are focused on communities of color.

We really have to double down on our efforts to make sure that our communities are served. And when I say “we,” I mean we, the people that look like us, have to double down on the efforts to make sure that we get the resources that we need into our communities, that we empower the men in our communities to take action when it comes to their health so that there’s a trickle-down effect. Because the reality is if our men are healthier, then they’re going to make sure everybody else is healthier.

AmNews: Could you talk about the Black Men’s Health Festival that took place in June?

Williams: Back in 2022, I launched this event called the Black Men’s Health Festival, that was geared towards really celebrating, supporting, and uplifting Black men. I came up with the idea of putting all this information, everything into festival format, because I wanted something that was a lot less clinical in its approach, and more celebratory.

Support and uplift men so that they had the feeling that they mattered, that they would feel more connected, feel more rooted, feel more invested in attending and being a part of this event. So we created a space where they would have access to yoga, breathwork, massage, acupuncture, free haircuts, lock retwists, panel discussions, tapping, and like a healing circle. All this was designed to really give men the feeling of warmth, the feeling of love, the feeling that they mattered, the feeling that they were in a safe space. And while doing so, we then included the other information; the health information, the screenings, the panel discussions and other things that they would need to digest to take action.

So our focus as we started our organization has always been about access, action, awareness, and advocacy. Those are sort of the things that drive us to make sure that men can take action and do the things they need to do to improve their lives and their health outcomes.

AmNews: Any final thoughts?

Williams: I would say this. It’s really important that we now, more than ever, prioritize our health because the reality of it is, we’ve seen the results of not prioritizing our health. We’ve got issues with diabetes, heart disease, hypertension. We’re losing too many of our young men. Who’s taking care of the young children? So we really want to do everything in our power to seize the opportunity to take care of our health in our own communities.

There are great resources. If you’re in Harlem, there’s Harlem Hospital. In Brooklyn, you have the One Brooklyn Health Center. In Queens and in the Bronx, there are tons of other community-based hospitals that are there for us to utilize. So the thing of it is, I really want people to take into consideration the fact that they have the power to demand the kind of health care that they want. They do this by going to the doctor and getting a checkup and getting screened, that’s one thing, but they also do this by making sure that they take action in their communities with their local elected officials, making sure that they’re doing everything in their power to provide quality health care for them. So we’re out here doing it. We just need people to fight with us so that we can get what we deserve, which is quality care, which is great health.

AmNews: Dr. Easterling, same thing

Dr. Easterling: We’ve got to marshall all of our resources. We need folks to be activated. The other thing that we’ve been talking about is just making sure that we’re all, sort of, wrapping our arms around each other and giving them the tools to act. Be active and take care of yourself. Know your numbers. We want you to make sure that you have a primary care physician.

There is this myth and narrative that Black men do not want to take care of themselves. And I’m always trying to push back on that. We do have to stay connected as much as possible. We need to share this information. We certainly have to be our own advocates and push for truth in our community.