On October 5th, the late comedian Bernie Mac would have turned 66 years old. Bernie Mac passed away in 2008 from complications related to Sarcoidosis, an auto-immune disease that causes inflammation in the lungs, skin or lymph nodes. It disproportionally affects African Americans. On this episode of Urban Wellness NOW! Cynthia Brooks speaks to Kathryn Washington, who serves on the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Awareness' Women of Color and ACTe Now! Patient Committees.

Cynthia speaks to Elisha Greenwell, the founder of Black Joy Parade, a non-profit based in Oakland, CA that celebrates the Black experience and community's contribution to history and culture. It's signature event is a parade during Black History month, but the organization has other positive and joyful events throughout the year.

When we think of wellness in urban communities, safety from neighborhood violence, as well as law enforcement violence must be included. Black Lives Matter was formed to save Black lives from racist violence, including unwarranted police violence, and hold law enforcement accountable for Black people whose lives were taken prematurely as a result of racist acts from both police and from other citizens. Black Lives Matter is now 10 years old. In this episode, Cynthia speaks to Dr. Melina Abdullah, the Director of BLM Los Angeles, and BLM-Grassroots.