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THE LIFEBLOOD OF A COMMUNITY RIGHT THERE. FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND WE’RE SHINING A LIGHT ON ALARMING NEW DATA THAT SHOWS THE INCREASED CANCER RISK FOR BLACK MEN. ����vlog IS OLIVIA TYLER TAKES US ON A DEEPER DIVE IN OUR LATEST INSTALLMENT OF PROJECT COMMUNITY. IOWA HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST CANCER RATES IN THE COUNTRY. PROSTATE CANCER IS THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF CANCER DEATH IN AMERICAN MEN. AND ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, BLACK MEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO DEVELOP THE CANCER AT YOUNGER AGES AND THEIR DEATH RATE IS MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT OF ANY OTHER RACE. BUT NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT IT WAS JAW DROPPING. AND, YOU KNOW, WE’RE YOU KNOW, WE’RE AT THAT AGE NOW WHERE LIKE, I NEED TO BE TAKEN. I FEEL LIKE I TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BODY AND MY HEALTH, AND I DO MY CHECKUPS, BUT I NEED TO BE TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY. EXPERTS SAY ABOUT 1 IN 44 MEN WILL DIE FROM PROSTATE CANCER. PART OF THE PROBLEM IS DETECTING IT EARLY ENOUGH. THOSE MYTHS THAT BLACK MEN THINK I’M NOT GOING TO THE DOCTOR BECAUSE THEY’RE GOING TO DO X, Y, Z WHEN THAT’S NOT THE CASE. AFRICAN AMERICANS MISTRUST OF THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY HAS DEEP ROOTS. IN 1932, THE TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS STUDY BEGAN. GOVERNMENT RESEARCHERS DECEIVED HUNDREDS OF BLACK MEN, LEAVING THEM UNTREATED FOR DECADES, RESULTING IN DEATH, MENTAL ILLNESS, AND THE SPREAD OF DISEASE. IT WAS JUST SAD AND I FELT LIKE WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. BEING THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF CANCERS THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN, BEING THAT COREY AND I ARE AFRICAN-AMERICAN, AFRICAN MEN OURSELVES, AND BEING THAT WE EVEN HAVE PEERS THAT WE KNOW OF THAT ARE DEALING WITH PROSTATE CANCER AND OTHER FORMS OF CANCER, WE THOUGHT, WHAT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LEVERAGE OUR PLATFORM AND LEVERAGE OUR CONNECTION TO SAVE OUR HOMIES, FRIENDS, COREY LEWIS AND LARRY TWEEDY. JUNIOR CO-FOUNDED THE IOWA NONPROFIT MY CITY, MY HEALTH TO ADDRESS HEALTH DISPARITIES IN 2021. THEY HOLD CONFERENCES WITH HEALTH EXPERTS FOR THE COMMUNITY TO CONNECT AND LEARN. SAVE THE HOMIES IS THEIR NEW INITIATIVE TO HELP BREAK THE STIGMA FOR BLACK MEN BEHIND GOING TO THE DOCTOR. WE ARE LITERALLY WANTING TO SAVE THE LIVES OF OUR FRIENDS, OF OUR HOMIES, OF OUR LOVED ONES THROUGH PREVENTATIVE CARE AND EDUCATION. RIGHT NOW, THEY’RE WORKING ON A PODCAST AND A DOCUMENTARY TO SPREAD THEIR MISSION. OUR GOAL IS TO GET 1000 BLACK MEN, THEIR PSA SO THEY CAN KNOW WHERE THEY’RE AT AND KNOW THEIR STATUS SO THEY CAN HAVE SOME SENSE OF RELIEF. LEWIS AND TWEEDY JUNIOR ARE PLANNING EVENTS AROUND IOWA TO ACCOMPANY THE DOCUMENTARY. THEY SAY, TELLING THE STORY BEHIND THE DATA IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN JUST GIVING THE NUMBERS. WE BELIEVE THAT WE CAN GET MORE PEOPLE THINKING MORE ABOUT THIS, TALKING MORE ABOUT THIS AND BRINGING MORE AWARENESS. SO THEN WHEN YOU’RE IN YOUR HOME WITH YOUR FATHER OR YOUR UNCLE OR YOUR BROTHER, YOU SAY, HEY, YOU SHOULD GO, YOU KNOW, GET YOUR GET TESTED FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT MAKES IT REAL. LEWIS SAYS THE BLACK MEN HE’S SPOKEN TO IN IOWA ARE EXCITED TO TELL THEIR STORIES. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT WHEN YOU’RE IN A SAFE SPACE WITH OTHER MEN THAT LOOK LIKE YOU, YOU CAN BREAK DOWN AND YOU CAN SAY HOW YOU REALLY FEEL. AND THERE’S THERE’S A MOMENT WHERE YOU ALMOST FORGET YOU’RE MIC’D UP AND THERE’S THE CAMERAS THERE BECAUSE YOU’RE AROUND A TRUSTED, SAFE COMMUNITY. THE CO-FOUNDERS TELL ME THEY’VE RECEIVED MESSAGES FROM THEIR COMMUNITY TELLING THEM THEY RELY ON THE FRIENDS FOR INFORMATION. THEY SAY THE WEIGHT OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS A LOT TO BEAR, BUT THEIR MOTTO IS IF NOT THEM, THEN WHO? IN DES MOINES, OLIVIA TYLER, ����vlog EIGHT NEWS, IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. THEY’RE GOING TO START A LOT OF