“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Addressing the Disparate Impact of Alzheimer’s on Communities of Color and Women

UsAgainstAlzheimer's Center for Brain Health Equity

About Us

AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer’s is the nation’s first organization dedicated to building a coordinated national response to eliminate and address Alzheimer’s disease (AD) among African Americans. The fourth leading cause of death for older African Americans, AD has a disparate impact on African Americans.   

Our Mission is to 

  • Prevent, educate, test, treat, and support individuals in communities of color that have been or will be highly impacted by AD.
  • Promote brain health and healthy aging among all peoples and especially members of the black community.
  • Find a cure or a way to slow, halt ,or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s and its disparate generational impact on African American families.

Goals

  • Inform and educate members of the African American community about our dramatically higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease;
  • Identify and engage political, policy and community leaders about the need for increased resources for Alzheimer’s research, drug discovery, care, and services;
  • Mobilize African Americans to become aware of and to participate in studies focused on finding better treatments, diagnostic tools, and hopefully a cure for the disease;
  • Inform business, scientific, and industry leaders about the need for greater investment in research designed to understand and respond to race-based differences in the incidence and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease; and
  • Work with employers to promote paid leave and other family-friendly practices for families affected by the disease.

Beliefs

The AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer's network is unified by a simple but bold belief: it is possible to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's disease within the decade, but only if our nation is united and mobilized for action and has a clear goal and plan. Given the disparate impact of Alzheimer's disease on African Americans, it is essential that we Stand Up and Speak Out so that we can Overcome this disease and its multigenerational impacts.

To do this we

  • Inform and educate members of the African American community about our dramatically higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease;
  • Encourage early detection and development of a plan of care;
  • Mobilize African Americans to become aware of and to participate in studies focused on finding a cure for the disease;
  • Engage political, policy, and community leaders about the need for increased resources for Alzheimer’s research, drug discovery, care, and services;
  • Inform business, scientific, and industry leaders, especially leaders of the academic and pharmaceutical communities, about the need for increased research on the race-based differences in the incidence and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease; and
  • Participate in state and national efforts designed to promote job-friendly practices (including paid leave) for families affected by the disease.
Your voice matters

Blacks are two times as likely to get Alzheimer's as whites. Join us to end this disparity!

Honorary Founding Chairs

The founders of AfricanAmericanAgainstAlzheimer’s are leaders from across the United States who share our commitment and passion to seek an end to Alzheimer’s disease. They represent a wide diversity of interests and expertise and are led by four distinguished Honorary Co-Chairs: the Reverend Al Sharpton, Director of the National Action Network; Dr. David Satcher, Former Surgeon General of the United States; The Honorable Kay Coles James, Former Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and Ms. Melody Barnes, Former head of President Obama’s Domestic Policy Council.

Our founders are individuals recognized as civic, social, business, and professional leaders. Many have experienced the ravages of this disease first hand. All passionately believe that the disparate impact of Alzheimer’s—which affects African Americans at twice the rate that it does non-Hispanic white Americans—must be addressed.

  • 5.7 million

    Americans currently have Alzheimer’s disease.

  • 20%

    of Americans with the disease are African Americans, and they bear 33% of its national cost.

  • 6th

    Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States for those 65 and older.

The Costs of Alzheimer’s and Other Dementia for African Americans

The economic burden of Alzheimer’s and other dementias for African Americans was $71.6 billion in 2012. Caregiving for African Americans with AD represents the bulk of these costs—more than 60%. More than 60% of the costs are borne by the families of African American women with AD, and close to half of the costs are concentrated in the southern states.

In the News

“We need to ban together to increase minority participation—and African American participation in particular—in clinical trials. It’s the only way to ensure that new drugs, treatments, and therapies are both safe and effective for our community.”

Stephanie Monroe

Director of AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer’s

Resources

  • Resources
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    Blacks & Alzheimer's Awareness Research Top Priorities

    The impact of Alzheimer’s disease on the Black community is cause for concern. Of the 5.2 million Americans with the disease, 1.1 million of them are African-American.

  • Resources
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    Post and Courier - Black Americans are Twice as Likely

    Even though Vernon Williams first began to notice the signs of Alzheimer's disease two years ago, he Buy Now continues as business manager for the Samuel L. Hart Senior Center...

  • Resources
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    Ebony - Forget Me Not

    When Frank Self of Waxhaw, N.C., noticed that his wife, Shirley, was becoming more and more forgetful a decade ago, he didn't think much of it.

  • Resources
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    African Americans are more likely than whites to develop Alzheimer’s. Why?

    Gary Williams thought he had found a glimmer of hope. Six months earlier, his wife, Gwendolyn — 64 and a retired education professor at Bowie State University in Maryland — had been diagnosed...

  • Resources
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    NIA: Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease

    Many older adults and their families are faced with Alzheimer’s disease. It’s important to know the signs of the disease and where to get help.

  • Resources
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    NIA: Understanding Alzheimer’s Genes

    A person’s genes can affect how likely they are to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Place & Brain Health Equity: Understanding the County-Level Impacts of Alzheimer’s

The effects of where people live, and the social determinants of health are under-recognized and under-appreciated in our national response to effectively treat and prevent Alzheimer’s. This report found that deep social inequities exist in countries highly impacted by Alzheimer’s among Latinos and Blacks.

Caregiving Among African American Adults

Check out the infographic on caregiving Among African American Adults