Part 2: Christopher Explains Why He Created Heart, Body, and Soul

When Christopher Williams founded Heart, Body & Soul, he wasn’t just starting an organization – he was laying the foundation for a movement. A movement built on brotherhood, access, and something often missing in Black men’s healthcare journeys: belonging.

That vision comes alive through the Black Man’s Health Festival, a flagship event that redefines what a health experience can look and feel like for Black men. It’s not about cold clinics or sterile waiting rooms. It’s about curated joy, collective rest, and healing that feels like home.

“Too often, health screenings are the only thing we’re offered,” Chris says. “But we need more than numbers on a sheet, we need spaces that see us as whole people.”

And the need couldn’t be more urgent. Black men have the highest rates of high blood pressure (hypertension) in the world¹, often developing it earlier in life and with more severe complications. According to the CDC, nearly 60% of Black men over the age of 20 have hypertension¹, and many don’t even know it. Regular health screenings can be the difference between prevention and crisis, yet far too often, these screenings happen too late or not at all.

At the festival, screenings are just a bonus. What takes center stage is culture-infused care: yoga led by Black instructors, emotional release through tapping work, a healing circle where vulnerability is met with affirmation, and a self-care lounge designed for Black men to simply breathe. There’s also a wellness sanctuary offering massage therapy, acupuncture, and holistic services many in the community may never have had access to before.

This isn’t just about interventions, it’s about interruption. Interrupting generational cycles of silence. Interrupting harmful beliefs about masculinity. Interrupting the idea that seeking care makes you weak.

Chris knows from experience that healing rarely happens in isolation. During his own recovery from heart surgery and cancer treatment, it was the care of the community and friends who brought him plant-based meals, checked on his mental health, and sent him to acupuncture that truly restored him. Now, through Heart, Body & Soul, he’s modeling that same care on a much larger scale.

“The goal is to create a space where Black men feel seen, where showing up for yourself is celebrated, not shamed.”

For many attendees, the festival is the first time they’ve been in a health-focused space created specifically with them in mind. And that intention matters. Because when you’re used to being excluded or misrepresented, a space that affirms you can be the beginning of a new relationship with your body, your mind, and your health.

In many ways, the Black Man’s Health Festival isn’t just an event; it’s a blueprint. One that centers cultural relevance, collective healing, and the idea that health is not just about survival, it’s about liberation.