The Center for Black Health & Equity has been at the forefront of impact and change in health equity for 25 years. Through resilience and passion, we’ve stayed true to our mission: to facilitate programs and services to benefit communities and people of African descent.
THE BEGINNING
In 2000, our organization started as the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network (NAATPN). At the time, our work was focused on tobacco cessation and supporting policies to protect Black people who smoke or are exposed to it. Nine years later, the Tobacco Control Act passed, giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) power to regulate the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products. Though groundbreaking, this bill did not mention menthol – the minty flavoring in tobacco historically marketed toward Black communities, making it easier to start using but harder to quit. Our organization was one of the first to flag the issue, catalyzing a national movement to get the FDA to ban menthol entirely.
GROWTH AND EXPANSION
In 2011, Delmonte Jefferson took over as Executive Director with renewed energy for the organization. While The Center always focused on building capacity in Black communities, it wasn’t until 2013 that The Center was able to provide funding to our partners and community advocates to support grassroots efforts toward policy change. Currently, one-third of The Center’s funding continues to support these groups every year. New funding at the time allowed us to expand our portfolio and address new areas of concern, such as cancer.
Another pivotal moment came in 2014 with the launch of our annual observance campaign, No Menthol Sunday. This initiative took the innovative approach of engaging faith leaders to incorporate tobacco education messaging into sermons and encourage their congregations to begin their quit journeys. Over the past decade, No Menthol Sunday has garnered support from hundreds of churches, community members, and public health advocates nationwide, expanding to include people of all faiths and ever imaginative ways to engage communities, including poetry slams, a menthol funeral and other events.
In 2016, The Center expanded to HIV/AIDS awareness work through in-person activations in HBCUs, ballroom events, and community events. Through funding from the CDC PACT grant, we were able to address the needs of some the Black communities most vulnerable members.
At this point, we had evolved beyond focusing exclusively on tobacco and felt a change on the horizon.
Securing health justice for all requires different perspectives and collaboration from a range of thought leaders and advocates. It was important to The Center to foster this unique networking space, leading us to host our inaugural State of Black Health (SBH) Biennial National Conference in Atlanta, GA, in 2018. State of Black Health convenes hundreds of community leaders and equity advocates from every background to address themes and find solutions for the social and economic injustices that have marginalized Black communities and led to deep health disparities. In 2023, we expanded our reach into the diaspora and took SBH to Puerto Rico, partnering with local advocates to raise awareness of the island’s unique health equity challenges. This year’s conference returns to our home base in North Carolina (registration is still open).
WHERE WE ARE TODAY
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 exacerbated the health disparities faced by Black communities everywhere and pushed public health leaders to address racism as a public health crisis. The Center also recognized the need to capture the breadth of our work and areas of focus and officially became The Center for Black Health & Equity. Expanded funding has allowed us to develop programming in several issue areas. We have working programs to teach communities how to advocate for equity-centered policies. Our food and nutrition program has supported passing a sodium label warning policy in Cleveland, OH, and a policy in North Carolina that would allow every child in the state’s public schools access to free school meals. Our HIV/AIDS work acquired new funding to help destigmatize diagnoses. Our tobacco work, the program that started it all, now has a coordinating center working as a fulcrum for eight national partners as they navigate tobacco policy change in their communities. Though outside political systems are slow-moving, The Center remains rooted in our community model for policy development to stay mobilized.
WHAT’S NEXT
With federal support diminishing, local communities and leaders are stepping up to lead the way, driving innovative solutions and grassroots advocacy. By reinforcing our partnerships, building new collaborations and coalitions, and forming alliances to fill the crucial gaps left by the dismantling of federal support, The Center believes we can reclaim the path forward for public health. Our Executive Director, Delmonte Jefferson, envisions The Center as a vessel for smaller organizations doing transformative work in their own communities. He understands that this requires a collective willingness to support and amplify grassroots leaders. “When spider webs unite, they can tie down a lion,” said Jefferson. As long as health disparities persist, so will The Center.
