After losing her father to suicide in 2019, Camillia Harris decided she never wanted another man to lose hope again. Instead, she wanted to offer Black men a “safe space” to know they were not alone.
Since 2023, Harris’s organization, justUs, MH Foundation, has done just that, organizing conferences on Black men’s mental health across the country. On Saturday, one of those conferences is coming to Columbus.
“The goal is to bring individuals from the community, around the community, to come to the table and talk all things Black men’s mental health,” Harris told The Dispatch Thursday. “One of our goals is to address the unique mental health challenges that are faced by Black men and to provide a supportive environment for discussion, learning and empowerment.”
Harris said the conference will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Nissan Auditorium at Mississippi University for Women. The first hour will be a chance to talk and enjoy hors d’oeuvres, she said, with discussions on mental health kicking off at about 11 a.m.
The conference, Harris said, is designed to bring awareness to the state of mental health in the Black community and to break taboos around discussing the issue, particularly for Black men.
“As you know, in our country and the world right now … there’s a mental health situation that is taking place that’s creating a black cloud over our children, over our men and our women,” Harris said. “Coming to these conferences, we can create a unity where we embody helping each other, letting each other it’s OK to (not) be OK.”
The conference emphasizes the importance of mental health resources, like the 988 suicide hotline and therapy, along with other practical tools for improving mental health. Each conference also includes a panel of local Black men from different professional backgrounds sharing their experiences, Harris said.
Saturday’s panel will include “Sinsear” Derrick Clark, poet and speaker; Reggitond Taylor, owner of “Issues Television Talk Show”; Daniel Huggins, chief operating officer at Urology Austin; Robert Greathree, executive director for the Columbus Housing Authority; Frederick Rogers, co-founder of the Reaching and Educating for Community Hope Foundation; and J’Marcus Brooks, pastor for Kingdom Vision Church. The panel will be moderated by Vassier Serrano, a voice actor and broadcast professional.
Sixteenth Circuit Court District Attorney Scott Colom will also be on the panel. He decided to participate in the conference, as he often sees the consequences of untreated mental health issues within the justice system. Colom said by speaking at the conference, he hopes to encourage others to find ways to improve their mental health.
“Nobody thinks they’re going to be the person that has the bipolar episode or the mental breakdown, or all the dangers of ignoring it. Nobody says ‘that’s going to be me,’” Colom said. “But it happens to people, so you have to be proactive and make sure you’re monitoring and thinking about how you’re feeling and how your mental health is doing.”
Following the panel discussion, Harris said, there will be a brief time for questions and answers from the audience before the discussion concludes.
While the conference is focused on Black men, Harris said the event is open to men, women and mature teens of all races, as a way to help others support Black men.
For more information on the Black Men’s Mental Health Conference, go to www.bmmhc.com
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
