Open Letter to Black Men

Published July 14, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

Despite all the polite nudging, which you may consider to be nagging, that the women in your life may do to get you to be more healthy, your health really is not going to change until you decide within your own mind that you want to truly live healthier.

Once you decide that you indeed are going to live a healthier life, you then must take steps to make sure you are around past the distressing statistics and live without you being held prisoner to bad health.

Good health is one of the most valuable things that one can have. The absence of good health keeps you from enjoying life and living up to your potential.

The simple act of reading this {article} is a good start to you taking control of your health, but it is only one step. Don’t just let this information go wasted on deaf ears.

Apply the tips to your daily lives and seek to improve your health each and every day.

You seeking health information and going to the doctor does not make you less of a man, it does not mean that you are weak or have personally failed. In fact, it makes you more of a man when you take charge of your life and seek medical care when you start experiencing health problems.

No one can know your body like you, so it is up to you to pay attention to your body and seek care when anything out of the norm occurs.

More importantly, it is imperative that you take preventative steps to ensure that you do not fall victim to health problems. It is much easier to protect yourself from becoming ill than trying to get rid of an illness once you have it.

Make learning the symptoms of different health conditions a priority so that you can easily know when something may be going on. You do not have to continue suffering in silence. Self-diagnosis and self-medicating is not the answer, getting qualified medical help as soon as possible will help you have a fighting chance.

Black man, you alone have the power to start eating healthy, stop smoking, exercising   on a regular basis, stop abusing drugs and alcohol, stop participating in high-risk sex behaviors, stop the violence, etc.

You can no longer afford to live in a state of ignorance when it comes to health. You can no longer afford to keep saying that you are going to die of something, so what you do or don’t do really doesn’t matter. You can no longer feel that you are the invincible tough guy and nothing is going to happen to you.

It is time for you to ‘man up’ and be the man that we truly know you to be. 

The Black man is often referred to as the ‘endangered species’ based upon him dying at an earlier age than any other group. This is a sad reality that has to change. Our homes, communities, churches, schools, and businesses need you. We don’t need you merely existing, we need you thriving as well. 

Take charge of your destiny - so that you can start living longer and healthier lives.

 

With Love,

 

Your Wife, Mother, Sister, Aunt, Granny, Daughter

 

@ Reprinted by permission from the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin