It was nothing short of pure joy as I Am Abel Foundation kicked of our 7th Annual Chicago Health Medical and Law Careers Citywide Student Conference with our “Black Men in Medicine Celebration of Excellence Gala” on Thursday, May 16, 2024, at the Idlewild Country Club in Flossmoor. The joyous and elegant occasion welcomed a room filled with physicians, healthcare professionals, medical students and supporters all seizing the moment to celebrate some of our most amazing men in medicine.
Enjoy this gallery of photos and be on the lookout for a video highlight reel coming soon!
Our top honor of the evening went to celebrating the life and legacy of a living legend in the pipeline to medicine - Dr. John Bradley. We also celebrated our fond memories of CAHMCPs Executive Director, Dr. Regnal Jones. I Am Abel Foundation’s Founder and Board President; Dr. Sweetie Conway, fondly describes these two pipeline warriors as the "twin towers" as they both seamlessly combined forces as formidable national leaders devoted to getting young black and brown people into careers of medicine and healthcare for 40+ years.
On this special evening, Dr. Conway and the I Am Abel Foundation were honored to premier a beautiful documentary they executive produced celebrating the work of Dr. Bradley, Dr. Jones and the CAHMCPs organization and their powerful work and advocacy that led to hundreds if not thousands of black and brown persons becoming physicians in Chicago and throughout the nation. The documentary was a labor of love that has been years in the making. Many thanks to Darryl Dennard for producing our amazing Documentary, "On the Shoulders of Giants."
Please check out the documentary celebrating the extraordinary work of Dr. Bradley:
The gala was an elegant evening of music and even comic relief with Chicago and Nationally known funny man, Damon Williams, who kept the audience in stitches laughing about everything from life to medicine.
The event also celebrated three other black men who have done extraordinary work to alleviate suffering and create health and healing in our communities
Dr. Steven Bowman, Agency Medical Director for the Illinois Department of Corrections, was honored with the Transformation and Justice Award for his extraordinary and compassionate work leading one of the largest correctional healthcare systems in the country. His leadership kept many individuals in custody alive during the very harrowing and uncertain days of managing COVID within prison and is one of many highlights of his important work.
We also honored Emergency Medicine Physician and Vituity Partner, Dr. Michael Mcgee with the Youth Advocacy and Violence Prevention Award celebrating his powerful work that is keeping countless youth alive in Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
Finally, Dr. Derek Robinson, MD, MBA, VP and Chief Medical Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois was not only our evening's keynote speaker, but he was also the recipient of our Health Equity and Community Engagement award honoring his extraordinary commitment to community. He is also the author of Improbable MD, a biography chronicling his story from "the Bayou to the Board Room."
for his extraordinary and compassionate work leading one of the largest correctional healthcare systems in the country. His leadership kept many individuals in custody alive during the very harrowing and uncertain days of managing COVID within prison.
We also honored Dr. Michael Mcgee with the Youth Advocacy and Violence Prevention Award celebrating his powerful work that is keeping countless youth alive in Chicago and Northwest Indiana and Chicago.
Finally, Dr. Derek Robinson, MD, MBA, VP and Chief Medical Office, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois was not only our evening's keynote speaker, but he was also the recipient of our Health Equity and Community Engagement award honoring his extraordinary commitment to community. He is also the author of Improbable MD, chronicling his story from "the Bayou to the Board Room."
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