April 17, 2024
MILWAUKEE — Marquette University and Milwaukee Public Schools will host the 3rd Annual BLMA Mental Health, a half-day event aimed at Black and Latino youth, on Monday, April 22 from 9:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Co-host an awareness symposium. At the Alumni Association Memorial Association.
The event is a collaboration between Market's Black and Latinx/Ecosystem and Support Transition (BLEST) Hub, based at the Center for Urban Research, Education, and Outreach (CURTO) and MPS' Black and Latinx Male Achievement Division (BLMA). The event will bring approximately 200 Black and Latinx youth from 12 MPS high schools to campus and will include a keynote address, workshops led by community partners, and lunch and dialogue sessions. This event aims to break down stigma and support the resilience, coping, and well-being of Black and Latinx youth.
Media interested in covering the event or speaking with organizers should contact Marquette University Associate Director of Communications Kevin Conway at kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.
Harry Evans, founder of the Milwaukee-based mental health organization Heal Blackman, will be the keynote speaker for the first session of the day. Heal Black Man is a space created for Black men to seek healing, self-discovery, brotherhood, resources, and healthy coping mechanisms. Its mission is to build a community of strong Black men who use the power in numbers to lift up the next person together.
Through school and student support, MPS' BLMA creates systems, structures, and spaces that ensure the success of all Black and Latino boys and youth. It creates a vision in which every boy has the tools to navigate college, career, and life with identity, dignity, and confidence.
The BLEST Hub's mission is to better understand and provide logistical support to the ecosystem of support from middle school through post-secondary education to fulfilling and stable employment for Black and Latino/a students in Milwaukee. It's about laying the foundation for that. Informative and catalytic support for these students and the organizations and institutions that serve them. CURTO positions itself as an intellectual axis and a leading convener of programs that address issues central to the affirmation of human rights and human dignity. Built on a network of community experts and stakeholders, CURTO's projects and initiatives share several core characteristics rooted in its mission and guiding values. While each project takes on a life and identity of its own in these university-community collaborations, CURTO's projects and initiatives are aligned in that they are all highly interdisciplinary, with all aspects of project development stage is stakeholder-centered, with undergraduate and graduate students taking active leadership roles. They sit at the intersection of her three pillars of research, education and support in the field of project management.
About Marquette University
Marquette University is a Catholic, Jesuit university located near the heart of downtown Milwaukee that offers comprehensive majors in 11 nationally and internationally recognized colleges and schools. By shaping hearts and minds, Marquette prepares 11,100 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional students to lead positive change and excel. And produce results. Ranked in the top 20% of national universities, Marquette University is known as the 6th best university in the country for undergraduate education, innovation, and career preparation. Our focus on student success and immersive, personalized learning experiences encourages students to think critically and engage with the world around them. When students graduate with a Marquette degree, they are truly prepared and called upon to “make a difference.”
About Kevin Conway
Kevin is the Associate Director of University Communications in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin (414) 288-4745 or kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.
