Healthy Black Communities, Inc.:
About Us
Healthy Black Communities, Inc. (HBC) is a 501(c)3 tax exempt community based organization established in August, 2001. Our mission is to protect and promote healthy Black communities, both domestically and internationally – through program, organization and community development. Three Black men (LaMont “Montee” Evans, Emmanuel L. Dennis and Luga J. Joseph) founded the organization in Atlanta, Georgia with the focus to improve the quality of life for Black people in Decatur, Georgia (outside Atlanta) and spread the organization’s wings as time, resources and opportunity were realized. The three purposes were educational, social and charitable.
HBC is governed by a sound and strong Board of Directors who meet quarterly to discuss the direction of the organization. The organization is structured into four divisions (Centers): Center for Black Family Wellness; Center for Black Same Gender Loving Development; Center for International Excellence and the Center for Organization & Technology Development. While Blacks make up approximately 13.4% of the United States population, HBC is headquartered in DeKalb County, Georgia where Blacks make up almost 55% of the county’s entire population.
The future for the organization has yet to be written, but one thing is certain – if the past and current events are any indication, Greatness will be the fuel that ignites the fire for programs and services to be offered by HBC, Inc., an organization changing the landscape of health for Black people, domestically and internationally.
The organization provides health education and disease prevention programs to local communities, HBC also works with national and international coordinating bodies for larger programs. In 2021, the organization will launch a series of “Black Awareness Days” to mobilize African Americans/Blacks around key areas:
- National Black COVID Awareness
- National Black Cancer Awareness
- National Black Diabetes Awareness
- National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness
- National Black Lupus Awareness
- National Black Queer Awareness
Each day has specific goals to achieve that seek to improve its focus area. The primary focus of HBC is to contribute to the reduction of health disparities disproportionately impacting Black communities by working in partnership with government, public and private sector entities, both domestically and internationally. The organization has been doing work in Ghana, West Africa since 2004 with the initial assessment of health in Warababa (Winneba, Central Region), then Ghana HIV/AIDS Awareness Week and leading up to its current initiative, iPromisedGhana.
HBC has been instrumental in developing health education and disease prevention programs throughout the United States, having directly assisted more than hundreds of organizations in the past 20 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Departments have funded initiatives led by HBC for community based organizations to access HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs and services.
We invite you to learn more about us through one of our initiatives, volunteering for one of our programs, donating to us or sharing the work we do with your circle of friends asking them to support HBC.
Black Family Wellness
The Center for Black Family Wellness focuses on developing programs and services responsive to health disparities within the Black community. Wellness is a term CEO Evans adopted to expand the approach to addressing health disparities to be inclusive of ten essential parts of the human being experience: intellectual, physical, mental, spiritual, sexual, educational, emotional, political, financial and social. The primary focus is to develop programs separately and collectively that approach building and improving the Black Family infrastructure, not from an American “family” model, but African centered model that includes neighbors, community organizations and members, faith based institutions, etc.
Black Same Gender Loving Development
The Center for Black Same Gender Loving Development focuses on developing programs and services responsive to mobilizing and improving the quality of life for Black same gender loving people. SGL is a cultural term that affirms the same sex attraction between men and women, created in the early to mid 90’s. The primary focus is to work within the Black SGL community, giving infrastructure and capacity building assistance to individuals, organizations and businesses that focus on providing a product or service that enhances the SGL Black experience.
International Excellence
The Center for International Excellence focuses on partnering with organizations outside the United States to share program initiatives or proven concepts/strategies that will improve the quality of life for developing countries or marginalized communities. International Excellence is HBC’s approach at making sure international non-governmental organizations are mentored and supported in developing their infrastructure in a way that is responsive to the needs of their targeted communities. The primary focus is to share what we know utilizing Pablo Friere’s community development model to improve the life of global community members.
Organization & Technology Development
The Center for Organization & Technology Development focuses on developing organizational and technological infrastructures to assist in building programmatic and structural capacities for programs and services to operate effectively in response to the needs of communities. In addition, the role of technology permeates the lives of individuals as well as organizations, we feel it is our responsibility to provide programs and services that assist in bridging the digital divide already in existence within Black communities, domestically and internationally.
How You Can Help HBC
There are a number of ways you can support the work we do domestically and internationally.
Donate Now
We need your help to bring all of our programs to the forefront.
Make a Gift
Include us as a payroll deduction or legacy gift in your Will.
Mobilize Your Circle
Tell your friends to support us and become involved somehow.
Sponsor a Project
Check out the many opportunities that exist for you to be a Sponsor.