By Clint Confehr
NASHVILLE, TN — How men are affected by stress, trauma and grief, and how to cope with those issues are subjects for a conference co-sponsored by a nearby health clinic and a fraternity on Saturday at Meharry Medical College.
“We’ve noticed some things going on with African American males,” says Clyde Poag, co-chair of the conference, and a licensed clinical social worker who’s been an adjunct professor at Tennessee State University and a conference speaker. Poag points to one cause of stress, trauma and grief as described by an NAACP leader.
It’s the death of Sr. Airman Roger Fortson, 23, who was shot in Florida by a sheriff’s deputy when Fortson opened his own front door May 3. Deputies went to the wrong address. Cedric Haynes, NAACP vice president for policy and legislative affairs, says the NAACP is calling for meaningful police reform, and elected officials “continue to fail us” by not ending qualified immunity for police.
“So,” Poag says, “it doesn’t make any difference whether you’re in your home, or walking down the street with a bag of Skittles like Travon Martin” 12 years ago in Florida. Martin’s shooter was found not guilty.
“Only a third of the police officers are charged” for such deaths, Poag says. “Those events show the need for this conference.”
Poag, a member5 of the Brentwood Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., says KAΨ and its Achievement Initiative of Middle Tennessee Foundation are conducting the conference targeting issues affecting men, particularly Black men. KAΨ is partnering with the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center on 14th Avenue North at Jefferson Street.
The May 25 conference is from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Meharry Medical College’s S.S. Kresge Learning Resource Center, 2001 Albion St. Registration is free and lunch will be provided, said Jeff Flowers, the KAΨ chapter secretary and keeper of records.
Conference Co-Chair Darrell Barnes says while many who plan to attend have registered before a Tuesday deadline, “space should be available” for anyone who arrives Saturday morning.
Speakers for the conference include Rev. Rep. Harold Love Jr. (D-Nashville), psychologist Dr. Cynthia Jackson of the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center, Pastor Omaran Lee, chaplain at Nashville General Hospital, and Poag.
Beyond shooting deaths by police, other issues to be addressed include drug abuse and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, especially among veterans, Poag said.
Haynes says police reform is about people living in constant fear of falling victim to police violence, and lives unjustly taken at the hands of law enforcement.
Poag says, “It shows the necessity for parents of young Black men to have a conversation about how to behave when stopped by police.”
Barnes says tips on what to do will be offered, as well as ways to decompress, or deescalate, and how to talk with professionals about resolving personal problems.
“There’s a perception by some teachers,” Poag says, “that young black men are dangerous, disrespectful, disruptive, and dumb. Those teachers start treating young Black men in a stereotypical way. Teacher expectations have a lot to do with student performance. Our mentoring programs are designed to give young black men some survival skills that would improve the perception. At the conference, we’ll have young men from our mentoring program, and young men from the 100 Black Men organization.”
Flowers says, “This is something that’s needed in the community” and there’s no weakness or stigma attached to mental health treatment.
Meanwhile, KAΨ is planning conferences on financial and physical health.
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