12/16/2025
✨ Last night was HISTORY in the making. ✨
We welcomed 45+ Black men, ages 12 to 60, into a room filled with honesty, courage, and real conversation at Chairs & Conversations: Peace Over Pressure – Holiday Talks for Black Men.
This was a huge milestone for us — Black men of all generations showing up, being open, and holding space for one another in a safe and affirming environment.
A heartfelt thank you to Vision Point Grooming & Styles owner Isaac Harris Jr., who co-hosted alongside our Men’s Health & Wellness Director, Brad Edwards, for once again collaborating with The Doula Lab to uplift our community.
We are deeply grateful to Aetna Better Health Illinois and the American Heart Association for providing health literacy resources and blood pressure cuffs, and to the Illinois Department of Public Health, through the Birth Equity Grant, for supporting this much-needed and crucial conversation.
Special thanks to our powerful guest speakers:
🗣 Ronda Smith Branch, Certified Well-Being Life Coach
🗣 Tony Gillion, Licensed Professional Counselor, MEd, LPC, RPT
We also thank Senator Christopher Belt for not only supporting this event, but for actively participating in the conversation; your presence mattered.
To every Black man in that space last night: we see you, we hear you, we honor you, and we thank you for your time, truth, and vulnerability.
🖤 Let’s continue to humanize Black men’s mental health and wellness, together.
Photos by the one and only Tim McNeese 📸📸
