A Super Bowl Event for Everyone Who Cares About Black Men’s Brain Health

Amidst the yearslong conversation regarding brain injuries and professional football, there’s a group working to spread awareness of what can be done to create better mental health outcomes for those on the gridiron, as well as everyday folks in the community.

Just days before Super Bowl LX kicks off in Santa Clara, a unique health convening is set to happen at Oakland’s Merritt College. On Feb. 3 and 4, local advocates are teaming up with national healthcare researchers, counselors and former football players to host The Black Men’s Brain Health conference.

“Our theme that we’re focusing on this year is community and engagement from a community perspective,” says event organizer Dr. Robert W. Turner II, who holds a doctorate in sociology.

Turner, a retired professional football player, Duke University professor, and author of the book Not for Long, says that although next month’s gathering will have a number of academics present, “it’s not your typical research conference.”

The free event, supported by the Alzheimer’s Association, the National Institute of Aging, the NFL Alumni Association, and the Pro Football Retired Players Association, will feature a series of panel sessions, luncheons and small group counseling discussions. The conference will prioritize the voices of local organizations and community members, with a very tight lens on Northern California.

“What are the unique issues around Black men’s brain health in the San Francisco Bay Area?” Turner asks during a video call. He explains that “brain health” is an inclusive term that encompasses everything from concussions to dementia, as well as traumatic experiences, loss of sleep and substance abuse.

Turner adds that this event isn’t just for football players, nor is it just for Black men. Instead, he says, it’s open to anyone who cares about Black men’s brain health. This can be coaches or teachers, as well as non-male members of the community. “You cannot understand Black men’s brain health,” he says, “unless you have Black women at the table.”

In the event’s fifth year, Turner admits that this time there’s even more urgency on the heels of federal cuts to medicaid and in the midst of soaring healthcare premiums.

With that in mind, one of the panel discussions will feature Joan Tarika Lewis and Billy X Jennings of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The duo will discuss the history of the Party at Merritt College, as well as the over 60 Survival Programs the organization implemented to provide much-needed healthcare services for the community six decades ago.

The convening will also feature the chair of Merritt College’s African American studies department, Professor Jason Seals. Additional guests include members of Oakland’s Roots Community Health clinic, rapper and entrepreneur Mistah F.A.B., and chief executive officer of the Brotherhood of Elders Network, Greg Hodge.

To specifically address current events in the East Bay, Turner says the conference will honor the life of beloved former Laney College athletic director and longtime Skyline High School football coach John Beam, who was murdered last November.

There will also be a tribute for former football player Doug Martin, who died while in the custody of the Oakland Police Department in October of last year. Martin, who was raised in the East Bay and played for the Oakland Raiders in 2018, was the focus of calls for mental health checks from family members prior to his death.

“Another part of this story,” says Turner of Martin, “is that he went to Boise State.” While he was in college, Martin was a record-setting running back and contributed to the development of the university’s athletic program. Considering this, Turner asks, “Where are the institutions to make sure that we are catching these guys and helping them?”

He says that’s one of the goals of the conference: to make sure people know about the resources that are currently available.

Beyond just giving out contact information for medical professionals, the conference aims to bring providers — urologists, neuroscientists, gerontologists and more — directly to the community. This is especially important when looking at Black men: a group Turner identifies as the “most risk of the at-risk” populations.

Broadly speaking, Turner says that Black men don’t regularly go to a primary care physician. Instead, he says, “We use the emergency room as the doctor.”

In turn, relying on doctors to understand men’s brain health in the community is “a little futile,” he attests. “So, we’ve got to bring the researchers, the clinicians, the case workers — we’ve got to bring them to the people.”

Fully aware of the long history of mistrust and malpractice between Western medicine and Black Americans, Turner argues that data is king. And if Black men aren’t in the research, then how can outcomes change?

“How do we work together to overcome stigma, mistrust, and all of those things, so that way we can improve the health of all of our communities?” he asks rhetorically.

“Bottom line,” he says to football players of all levels and community members of all backgrounds, “go to the doctor on a regular basis.”

The Black Men’s Brain Health conference takes place Feb. 3–4 at Merritt College (12500 Campus Dr., Oakland).