Leaders Stategize On Health Of Boys Of Color

LOS ANGELES - Community leaders and experts from around California and the nation will convene in Los Angeles at a two-day national town hall to address the health and social issues facing African-American, Latino, Asian and Native American boys and young men of color. The gathering is exceptional in its size and focus on the issues specific to boys and young men of color. The town hall will bring together community leaders, policymakers, researchers, advocates, journalists and philanthropic stakeholders to address and put forth solutions to the most pressing issues facing boys and young men of color in California and the nation.

“A national conversation is needed to elevate how the health and well-being of boys and young men of color impact the health of our communities, our state and our nation,” said Robert Phillips, director of health and human services for The California Endowment, a sponsor of the town hall. “There is a growing body of research that shows that the health of African-American and Latino boys stems from their neighborhoods, their schools, their environments being unhealthy. This gathering in Los Angeles is the first step in an effort to forge a path toward better health for all communities in the United States.”

The Building Healthy Communities town hall will include community leaders, advocates, policymakers, researchers, journalists and philanthropic stakeholders to address and put forth solutions to the issues facing boys and young men of color and their communities in California and the nation.

Speakers at the town hall will preview research and findings from a forthcoming new book, Changing Places: How Communities Will Improve the Health of Boys of Color. The book is an edited volume from the top public health, policy and social science researchers in the country. Book contributors will participate in the town hall. Advance book galley copies available upon request; to ensure widest possible distribution, upon publication, the book will be available free of cost to the public.

The town hall is sponsored by:
The Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity (Warren Institute) is a multidisciplinary, collaborative venture to produce research, research-based policy prescriptions and curricular innovation on issues of racial and ethnic justice in California and the nation.

The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. The Endowment is leading a multi-city initiative to improve the health of boys and young men of color beginning in Oakland, Fresno and Los Angeles. The Endowment makes grants to organizations and institutions that directly benefit the health and well-being of the people of California.

The event will take place at The California Endowment in Los Angeles on September 28 & 29, 2010