Two weekends ago on Saturday, April 28th, I had the opportunity to attend the Black Women's Health Forum at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Admission was free and open to the public and the event promised to offer breakout health sessions, health screenings, guest speakers and fitness classes. Health, especially women's health and health in the black community are of special interest to me given the disparities in these demographics regarding obesity and chronic disease. I thought it was an excellent idea to bring these issues to the public forefront and wanted to see what the event had to offer. The following was my impression:
Breakout sessions were excellent, covering issues as varied as diabetes and prostate cancer to adoption services. I was surprised to see the session on adoption, but was glad I sat in on it. The information was engaging and inspiring. The panel discussion in the main room, i.e. the "Wellness Village", however was a little bizarre as panelists often seemed off topic and there wasn't a clear message. Among the guest speakers was Dick Gregory with an amusing and engaging, if not puzzling, discussion of race and health.
Not sure how health oriented the Wellness Village was. Most vendors were hawking magic elixirs and supplements as get-fit-quick products, I guess you can't make money off the truth - that wellness and health require consistent work over time. Maintaining good health and being in shape requires adopting effective strategies and behaviors that become part of your regular routine. A lot of barriers to this are information, income, and time management. Many women are still in the dark with how to accomplish this. I wish there had been more information on that. There were, however, a sprinkling of social services in the room, like a table promoting prenatal care services, so that was nice.
I didn't come in time for
the fitness classes, but the fact they were offered was fabulous. Those and the Health Screening room made the forum worth while. There were tables giving eye exams, taking BMI measurements, and scoliosis screenings to name a few. Less worthwhile, was what I believe must have been the beauty room, as
the emphasis seemed to be on hair weaves,
eye brow shaping, candles and bath salts.Despite the positive nature of the event and the shared commonalities between attendees, the atmosphere was not the most friendly. I didn't feel a warm welcome when I entered the event and the attendees seemed reluctant to speak to each other.
Overall, I wish the event had been better organized with a clear take home message. The emphasis on health didn't feel consistent throughout. But I'm definitely glad I went to hear the current dialogues and learn where many women are in their "health journey." Maybe it's just me, having come from design school, but I believe the event could have been better curated to create a more focused experience. Some of the booths were distractions and seemed exploitative and gimmicky. The event shows a lot of promise and I believe attendees came hoping to find answers to their health struggles, unfortunately this year many women may have come away empty handed. A for effort, C for execution.
