On October 2nd, in honor of National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, AFC hosted its first-ever Men’s Wellness Summit in partnership with Pride in the Pews, Project Vida, UBtheCURE, and Faith in Action. Held at Shine Bright Community Center on Chicago’s Southside, this day-long summit focused on the intersection of identity, wellness, and faith.  

Roundtables and workshops led by top professionals and experts covered a range of topics, including destigmatizing mental health care, understanding and identifying physical health priorities, and discovering how spirituality or faith can be a powerful tool for dismantling health disparities. 

According to Dr. Ulysses Burley, founder of UBtheCURE, a consulting company working at the intersection of faith, health, and human rights, research tells us that only about 10-20% of modifiable health outcomes are achieved in clinical settings. The other 80-90% are impacted by the structural conditions in which people are born, live, and work. “What's often left out of the research and clinical conversation is the impact of faith on health outcomes,” said Burley. “For people of color in particular, faith and spirituality play an outsized role in our relationship to our health and wellness.” 

The summit was born from deep community engagement — particularly listening sessions and ongoing work with same-gender-loving men of color through various programs, explained Dr. Cynthia Tucker, AFC’s SVP of Community Partnerships and Special Projects.  There was a clear desire and need to create space and dialogue where men could feel affirmed in both their LGBTQ+ identity and their faith, since traditional religious institutions may not always feel the most welcoming.  

Pride in the Pews, one of the summit’s partners, was founded to create an affirming space for Black LGTBQ+ individuals within the context of the Black Church. “We view religion as a social determinant of health—one that profoundly shapes access to care, community, and life-affirming resources,” said Reverend Don Abram. “The summit created an invaluable space to explore how faith can serve as a bridge to healing. I was proud that our contribution helped equip leaders to transform their institutions into places where all of us can flourish in mind, body, and spirit.” 

The room was filled with more than 40 engaged participants, and you could sense excitement among everyone. “When we create collaborative spaces where identity, wellness, and faith can coexist, we offer more than healing—we offer belonging,” said Tucker.  

During lunch, participants were treated to a special screening and discussion of Second Glance Productions’ new health docuseries, “It’s Not You, It’s Me: Chicago.” 

Another key feature of the summit was the resource center, which offered mini massages, B12 shots, access to a therapist and counselor, and information on PrEP and other wellness resources. Participants were engaged in rich, holistic conversations about health, wellness, and relationships. 

“The Men’s Wellness Summit was evidence to the power of community, where same-gender-loving men of color could be seen, heard, and spiritually affirmed," said Tucker. Plans are already underway to host more summits like this one in the future.  

Thank you to Wellness Home and ViiV Healthcare for their contributions to this summit. 

Thank you to our presenters:  

Cynthia Tucker, Dr. P.H., AFC; Ulysses Burley, MD, UBtheCure; Sanford E. Gaylord, MPA, Gaylord Consulting; Travis Gayles, MD, PhD, President and CEO, Howard Brown Health Center; Rev. Don Abrams, Pride In the Pews; Douglas Maclin, EdD, MBA, MS, Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus; Myron Krys (Dr. M.K.), PhD, M.Div.; Rev. Charles Straight, Faith In Action; Maurice Brownlee, DBA, “Dr. MO”, CEO & President, Wellness Homes of Chicago, and Maleness; Phill Wilson, Activist, Community Organizer and Policy Maker; Anthony Williams, Second Glance Productions; Rev. Don Abrams Damien Craddock, Jr.; Joel Jackson, Director of Inclusion and Equity Strategies at the University of Chicago Medicine 

View photos from the summit here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCwPNB