Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Hawks, Kaiser Permanente Host Second Annual Men of Color Health Summit
For Onaje Henderson, co-owner of Zucot Gallery and Saturday’s keynote speaker, being a Black man comes down to one thing: showing up.
“It is doing things like this, showing up for one another, in community,” Henderson said, “but it’s also providing and looking out and taking care of people.”
June is Black Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and the Atlanta Hawks and Kaiser Permanente brought that observance to life Saturday, gathering more than 90 men of color at State Farm Arena for the second annual “Real Talk, Real Strength: Men of Color Health Summit presented by Kaiser Permanente,” a partnership event featuring three panel discussions, a keynote address and additional programming throughout the day. The event is part of a broader three-part wellness series launched this year by the organizations, targeting different demographics across the Atlanta community.
Brandon Gardner, community relations manager for Kaiser Permanente, said the event reflects the organization’s commitment to whole-person health.
“If your mental health, your emotional health, your spiritual health is not intact, that kind of puts all that together with the physical health,” Gardner said. “Creating this space, providing a space where black men can be their authentic selves, means the world to me.”
The day’s programming centered on themes the organizers described as long-overlooked among men of color, including what Henderson called “the invisible weight that men carry.”
“My business became my identity, but that’s not who I am as a person,” Henderson said. “With the rate of suicides that are happening right now, the rate of brothers who are just unhappy in life, I also matter. I think that’s what we’re talking about today.”
Psychologist Dr. Curtis D. Jasper, a panelist, delivered one of the summit’s most candid moments, recounting a period between 2009 and 2013 during which he lost his mother to lung cancer, went through a divorce, and watched his financial life collapse.
“I literally had to surrender,” Jasper said. “I couldn’t achieve my way out. I couldn’t borrow any more money my way out. I couldn’t thug my way out. I couldn’t speak my way out, teach my way out, accumulate my way out.”
Jasper said two things kept him grounded during that period: going to the gym and changing his diet. Conrad Hall, a data analyst and University of West Georgia alumnus who attended to support a friend, said Jasper’s account put language to something he hadn’t fully considered before.
“A season can actually be years,” Hall said. “People don’t realize that. The most important thing to take away is how to maneuver through a season when it can be that long.”
Jasper told attendees that recovery, not the avoidance of failure, is the skill worth developing.
“Don’t avoid falling and taking L’s,” he said. “Just get good at recovery.”
According to the American Heart Association in a 2026 study, high blood pressure affects more than 62 percent of non-Hispanic Black men, one of the highest prevalence rates in the world, and the reality of that statistic was present in the room. Former NBA champion Josh Powell discussed how two decades of professional basketball have left a physical toll he continues to manage, while Dr. Aaron Cooper disclosed that he is currently navigating a high blood pressure diagnosis of his own.
“There are things that I’ve put my body through that are now starting to catch up to me,” Powell said, “so it’s just really being mindful and making sure that I’m doing the proper things.”
The summit is the third event in a series that began in May with “The Whole Women: Women of Color Wellness Experience,” which drew nearly 100 women to the Andrew Young and Family YMCA, followed by “The Wellness Huddle: A Youth Mental Wellness Summit,” which served nearly 70 middle school students. The Hawks and Kaiser Permanente launched their partnership in 2024 and surveyed more than 50 men of color ahead of Saturday’s event to shape the panel topics around what attendees actually wanted to discuss.
Sean Barham, a recruiter originally from Jamaica who was laid off last year, said a panelist’s framing of ego as a barrier to healing directly reflected his own experience.
“Dr. Jones said that ego is the killer, and it can hold you down and not bring you up,” Barham said. “You have to be acceptable to being vulnerable, and you can’t do it alone.”
Related
The Atlanta Braves and their offense kept rolling last night as they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates. They will attempt to do it again as Spencer Strider takes on Braxton Ashcraft. The one area that was concerning is that Michael Harris was removed near the end of the game last night with it being in question if he will play today.
It looked like he was slated to play today, but we did not know until the lineup was officially announced.
The last two days Walt Weiss had a lineup that was almost the same but just flipped a few spots, so today it was interesting to see if he would take the same approach, or possibly have Harris DH to give him a little extra rest to be safe. In the case of Harris DHing or not starting at all, we could assume that Eli White would possibly get the nod for CF. In a bit of sad news, Harris was not getting the start today after all.
One thing is for certain, Mauricio Dubón needed to stay in the lineup with his clutch hitting. So far this season he is hitting .358/.414/.623 with runners in scoring position. Prior to seeing the lineup card we could assume that if Harris was the DH or not in the lineup at all, where Dubón plays would be in the air. CF was on the table with White struggling, and that is the route that Weiss went to allow Yastrzemski to get the start.
Austin Wynns will be making his first start as a Brave today which makes sense since Kim is getting the start at SS and Harris is out. The Braves will need the offensive boost.
The Pirates and their offense have been surprising to say the least. They have scored the fourth most runs in MLB. To put that in perspective, they have scored ten more runs than the fifth best Yankees. The offense has been heavily aided by offseason pickups Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn. Lowe has fifteen HRs and an OPS of .864 while O’Hearn has nine HRs and an OPS of .852.
Oneil Cruz is also having his best year offensively as well with fourteen HRs and an OPS of .818.
It was great to see the standing ovation for Marcell Ozuna yesterday, but he will not get the start this afternoon.
First pitch is at 4:10 EDT
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A suspect is wanted in connection to a Friday night shooting on a MARTA train, according to the MARTA Police Department.
The shooting happened at the Midtown MARTA station on 10th Street. MARTA police said shots were fired on a stopped train on the southbound platform.
“Hid between the cars in case the guy wanted to come back,” shared a witness, Devonte Render. “Just heard three shots, and we all got down on the train car I was on. And then we didn’t hear anything after that.”
“We’re about to move up and then all of the sudden we heard pop, pop, pop, and then we hit the ground,” mentioned another witness, Chelsea Mensah.
A man was found with gunshot wounds to his arm and leg. He was taken to a nearby hospital and is in stable condition.
Police have not provided a description of the suspect but said they believe it was a targeted incident.
The seconds after the shooting dragged on like hours for passengers in the railcar next to it, leaving many traumatized.
“I’m like god, I can’t die here, I literally started shaking,” said Mensah.
“For this to happen on the train, I’ve never seen that in my life,” said Render.
The shooting comes just a day after the federal government launched an investigation into the public transit agency after two stabbings, one of which was deadly.
The recent violent acts have heightened fears among MARTA riders like Mensah, prompting calls for action beyond the new entry-point upgrades at Midtown Station.
“Definitely needs to be more invested into security, not even cops, just to make it better and more secure,” said Mensah.
MARTA under federal investigation over system’s security and safety
It also comes as Atlanta prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of people to the city for the World Cup, which the city is set to host a number of matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Most fans are expected to take public transportation to get there.
This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First for updates.
Copyright 2026 WANF. All rights reserved.
The FIFA World Cup is set to kick off in Atlanta in 10 days.
Nine teams will play group-stage matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the U.S. men’s national team is not one of them. The USMNT’s group stage takes place in Los Angeles and Seattle, but that doesn’t mean Atlanta has no chance of seeing the national team in person.
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Round of 16
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