Long Beach Black Health Equity Town Hall II
Join the conversation about Black Health Equity in Long Beach. During this event, you will learn about culturally tailored COVID care packages for Black residents, strategies to reduce health disparities, and how the community can get involved to achieve Black Health Equity in Long Beach.
Registration is required in order to receive Zoom links prior to the event.
For disability-related accommodations, please contact the Bob Murphy Access Center at bmac@csulb.edu or (562) 985-5401 as soon as possible. It is requested that individuals requiring sign language interpreters or alternative format materials notify BMAC at least 72 hours in advance.
Black residents in Long Beach have experienced significant health disparities. For example, the rate of hypertension-related hospitalizations for Black adults (11.9 per 10,000) was double the rate of other race/ethnicity subgroups. The rate of infant death (7.3 deaths per 1,000 live births) is highest among the Black residents. In addition, the average life expectancy for Black residents is 71.5 years, more than seven years lower than other racial/ethnic groups.
This has contributed to COVID-19 disparities within the Black community in Long Beach. Black residents in Long Beach comprise 13% of the population but account for 15% of all COVID-related deaths. The disparity in COVID-19 related death is related to underlying health (e.g., hypertension, asthma) and socioeconomic (e.g., essential workers, limited access to health care, discrimination) conditions.
To address these disparities, the Long Beach Black Community, CSULB, and the City of Long Beach have partnered to develop strategies to achieve Black Health Equity in Long Beach. During the town hall, learn about the newly formed Long Beach Black Health Equity Collaborative and participate in a discussion with our panel of experts in health equity.
Delivering Culturally Tailored COVID-19 Packages
Join us for a discussion about how organizations packaged and delivered COVID-19 care packages to Long Beach Black residents at risk of COVID-19 infection.
- The Salt Lounge
- Colorband Shoes
- The Swazi Shop
- Craft and Light Creative Arts Studio
- Earthlodge Center for Transformation
Chelsea Okundolor is a fourth-year health science major with an emphasis in community health education. She is currently an intern for the Black Health Equity Collaborative and has other varied experiences within the healthcare field. Chelsea looks forward to hearing from everyone and helping to facilitate an informative town hall.
Black Health Equity Panel Discussion
Panel discussion on defining Black Health Equity, strategies to achieve health equity, and developing community partnerships to promote Black Health Equity.
- Ms. Phaedra Allen, CHHS, Program Coordinator and lecturer within the School of Social Work.
- Dr. Kineka Hull, Epidemiologist, and Clinical Assistant Instructor
- Ms. April Parker, Colorband Shoes and April Parker Foundation
- Ms. Alicia Coulter, Executive Director, Owner, Advantage Health Now, LLC
- Empress Angelique Jackson, Life Alchemist, BeLevated, LLC
- Veronica Clanton-Higgins, Owner of VCH Prosperity Consulting, mental health therapist, and TEDxComptonBlvd founder.
Noemi Mendez is currently a Master’s in Public Health candidate at California State University, Long Beach. She has a BA in Sociology from UCLA where she further developed her passion for leading community centered approaches to achieve optimal health in Black and Latinx communities. Ms. Mendez has extensive experience with coalition building, community outreach, partnership development, facilitating health education classes, community organizing and evaluation of health education programs. Ms. Mendez also enjoys cooking new recipes and is looking forward to having family gatherings again soon
Event Host
Amber Johnson, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Science, CSULB
Dr. Amber Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Science at California State University at Long Beach. She earned both her PhD and MPH in Community Health Education received her BA in Psychology. Her love for epidemiology also motivated her to pursue a Post-Bac Certificate in Epidemiology. Dr. Johnson’s research focuses on the social epidemiology. Her research is guided by the weathering hypothesis, which posits that stress associated with racial inequities may cause health deterioration among African Americans as early as young adulthood, leading to racial disparities in health outcomes over the life span. Dr. Johnson has also had experience working with community-based participatory research projects, HIV prevention, CVD prevention education on the campus of Historically Black College and Universities, and community health assessment and outreach. Dr. Johnson enjoys creating an engaging and interactive learning environment that encourages students to become active learners in and out of the classroom.
