CNP “Revolutionary Health” Co-Host Honored with Historic Atlanta Proclamation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Charles Stephens
Organization: The Counter Narrative Project
Email: Charles.Stephens@counternarrative.org
November 13, 2018 – Atlanta, GA – As the co-host of the Counter Narrative Project’s, POZ-award nominated “Revolutionary Health” health education web series, Dr. David Malebranche has tackled such far-ranging topics as addressing chronic depression to engaging in safer practices with sex toys among Black gay men. However, thousands of dedicated viewers of the cutting-edge, live-streamed show may not be aware that Dr. Malebranche is more than a knowledgeable talking head. The first-generation son of a Haitian immigrant physician is also a published author and one of the leading practitioner researchers working in the HIV/AIDS field today. The author of Standing On His Shoulders, a son-to-father memoir, Dr. Malebranche also has over 40 publications in esteemed peer reviewed medical and public health journals, including JAMA, Lancet, and The American Journal of Public Health, to name but a few. Dr. Malebranche has also served as a professor at Emory University, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Grady Memorial Hospital, and currently as the Associate Professor of Medicine and the Medical Director of Student & Employee Health at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. While many academic researchers have ivory tower reputations, the Columbia, Emory, Michigan State, and Princeton grad has maintained a highly accessible public and private persona in both the media and in the grassroots trenches of the communities he serves. His ability to connect across various socio-cultural lines has helped him gain a reputation as being both relatable and highly compassionate among his peers, patients, and students. It’s because of the multi-faceted impacts of Dr. Malebranche’s local and national work that the City of Atlanta is issuing a proclamation honoring their adopted son “for the selfless care he has provided to the citizens of Atlanta and nationwide.”
"I'm honored to receive this proclamation from the city of Atlanta. Most of my professional career has taken place in Atlanta, advocating on the behalf of Black gay same gender loving men and doing everything I can to bring attention to sexual health and fighting racial inequities in HIV rates here in the city,” said a humbled yet impassioned Malebranche. “It means the world to me to be recognized for my work and look forward to collaborating with the amazing people of Atlanta to bring sexual health issues to the forefront of our public health efforts.”
The city proclamation is notable in not only it being presented to an “out” Black same gender loving man, but in the range of reasons outlined within the award for bestowing said honor. The commendation for the board-certified Internal Medicine physician outlines his work as a clinical practitioner, his speaking engagements around the world on behalf of the marginalized, and documentary appearances on CNN, ABC News Primetime, TV One, and Black Entertainment Television, among others. It also explores his clinical and research work in sexual health, childhood sexual abuse, and racial/masculinity identity formation and on “the intersection of racial and sexual identities impacts health care.” Dr. Malebranche’s work in the fight against HIV is especially pronounced, including tenures on the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), WebMD, and #AskTheHIVDoc, as well as CNP’s Revolutionary Health, which has devoted episodes to the epidemic among Black gay men.
“It’s always great to have one of CNP’s own be celebrated and to have their work acknowledged in such a special and deserving way. What David has brought to the CNP family and ‘Revolutionary Health’ has been immeasurable; touching the lives of thousands of Black gay men and their allies every week with his empathy and brilliance. This is no less than what this giving brother deserves,” said Charles Stephens, CNP’s Executive Director.
Far from resting on his laurels, Malebranche looks at the proclamation as further motivation to do that much more with and for the underserved communities he’s devoted his life’s work to. Earlier this year, Malebranche had already made headlines as one of the key speakers at the International Conference on AIDS, publicly coming out as a person living with HIV and challenging the medical community to interrogate and correct their penchant for blaming those living with the virus for the failures of the field in making greater headway in eliminating HIV over the next generation. He’s also working at Morehouse to educate a tomorrow’s doctors who won’t make the same mistakes after learning under his care.
As is his way, Malebranche says quite simply about the future, “We have a lot more work to do."
Dr. Malebranche will receive his proclamation in a special ceremony on November 19, 2018 in Atlanta, GA.
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