No longer an island: Results from the lindsay height's men's wellness council

African American men bear the burden of stunning disparities in health, including the highest mortality rates in the country, yet they are under-represented in health research and health promotion programs. Understanding that involving African American men in research and programmatic efforts is critical to improving this population's health, we established a Men's Wellness Council (MWC) in an urban, predominately African American neighborhood characterized by unemployment and poverty. The purpose of the MWC project was to engage the Council in: 1) facilitated discussions on the determinants and meaning of health for African American men; 2) a qualitative analysis of those discussions; 3) the development of a neighborhood action plan for African American men's health; and 4) the production of a documentary of the Council's experience. Key themes about African American men's health emerged across three levels of the social ecological model. Intrapersonal level themes included the ability to be authentic and the influence of hopelessness/healing. Interpersonal level themes included valuing intergenerational and social connections. Societal level themes included pervasive issues of racism and power in their daily lives. Recommendations for community action that emerged from the discussions will also be presented. Clips from the documentary film will illustrate the findings in the men's own words. To conclude, lessons learned from an iterative, participatory process with a historically marginalized group of men will be presented. Authentic engagement of African American men in health promotion requires innovative approaches; is critical to reducing disparity rates; and exemplifies a community-engaged, justice-based approach to public health.