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Upcoming expo focuses on Black men's health

An upcoming expo in the Triad will focus on Black men’s health, timed to kick off National Men’s Health Week. 

Wake Forest University’s Black Faith and HIV initiative, or BFH, is hosting an expo entitled “Protect Your Energy” on June 10. It’s being touted as the first Black men’s wellness expo in the Triad.

Marcus Hawley is the educational program manager for BFH, which is led by the Faith Coordinating Center at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. He hopes the expo can be a catalyst for Black men to explore spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. Hawley says it’s also an avenue to raise awareness about HIV stigma among Black people and people of faith.

"A lot of times, we don't have a ton of, quote, unquote, 'safe spaces' that we can really go and gather and have a really authentic conversation with one another," says Hawley. 

The day’s events will feature a panel discussion, along with opportunities for spiritual modalities including acupuncture, yoga, and meditation.

The Black Men’s Wellness Expo will take place on Saturday, June 10, on the campus of Winston-Salem State University.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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