For Mike Stratten, coordinator for University of Minnesota Extension’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, Black men’s health is personal. His father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023. A year later, he was dead.

Stratten was shocked at how fast his “tough, mountain man” dad’s health had declined. Later, he understood that Stratten Sr. had likely been ill for years without seeing a doctor.

“The dominant narrative is that men don’t really go to the hospital,” says Stratten.

Today, Stratten is bringing a message of hope to the community. He just wrapped up a program where, in a series of small-group sessions, Stratten brought men together to talk candidly about their physical, emotional and mental health and how it impacts their relationships with themselves and others.