Book Signing Event hosted by Mayors Frank Scott and Lottie Shackelford

900 West Daisy L Gatson Bates Drive,Little Rock AR 72202

14 November, 2021

Description

Join Mayor Frank Scott and Mayor Lottie Shackelford for a book signing & discussion with Kevin Dedner, author of The Joy of the Disinherited Could being Black in America make you sick? Over the last decade, Kevin Dedner has been on a mission to explore this powerful and troubling question, shining an unconventional spotlight on the impact of racism on mental health. In his debut book, The Joy of the Disinherited, Dedner articulates his call for urgent change: We must knock down the invisible barriers that make it harder for Black people to get the mental health care they need and deserve. Building on American author and civil rights leader Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited, widely considered a manual of resistance for the oppressed, Dedner uses Thurman’s teachings to come to terms with the impact oppression has had on his own mental health and the mental health of Black Americans, digging into family stories as examples of the legacy of unresolved generational trauma of the disinherited. As a public health professional who has spent his career working on high-profile issues, Dedner uses his autobiographical essays to highlight the latest mental health research, while simultaneously interrogating the invisible barriers he has encountered along his own mental health journey. Dedner weaves together research, personal storytelling and a powerful sense of our shared history to drive the conversation about the future of mental health care for the Black community and other underserved groups ever forward. For more information, please visit kevindedner.com. About the Author Kevin Dedner serves as founder and CEO of Washington-D.C.-based Hurdle, which provides culturally intentional teletherapy to eliminate barriers that make it harder for people of color to get mental health care. Kevin is deeply connected to Hurdle’s mission, having suffered a period of depression where he found the biggest challenge to effective care was finding the right therapist who could truly understand and connect with his struggles as an African American man. His company equips mental health professionals with the skills needed to effectively address issues of race, ethnicity, class, and culture and exists to ensure people can show up whole, operate with joy, and live with power. Kevin recently penned his first book, The Joy of the Disinherited: Essays on Oppression, Trauma and Black Mental Health. Through honest, captivating, and humane stories of his past and eye-opening research into the effects of racism on mental health, Kevin argues in his book that we must knock down the invisible barriers to mental healthcare. An award-winning public speaker, Kevin has over 20 years of public health experience. Kevin is a graduate of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and has a Master of Public Health from Benedictine University in Illinois. ***** Pyramid Art Books & Custom Framing will provide books for purchase. ***