About Us

AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer’s is the nation’s first organization dedicated to building a coordinated national response to eliminate and address Alzheimer’s disease (AD) among African Americans. The fourth leading cause of death for older African Americans, AD has a disparate impact on African Americans.   

Our Mission is to 

• Prevent, educate, test, treat, and support individuals in communities of color that have been or will be highly impacted by AD.
• Promote brain health and healthy aging among all peoples and especially members of the black community.
• Find a cure or a way to slow, halt ,or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s and its disparate generational impact on African American families.

Goals

• Inform and educate members of the African American community about our dramatically higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease;
• Identify and engage political, policy and community leaders about the need for increased resources for Alzheimer’s research, drug discovery, care, and services;
• Mobilize African Americans to become aware of and to participate in studies focused on finding better treatments, diagnostic tools, and hopefully a cure for the disease;
• Inform business, scientific, and industry leaders about the need for greater investment in research designed to understand and respond to race-based differences in the incidence and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease; and
• Work with employers to promote paid leave and other family-friendly practices for families affected by the disease.

Beliefs

The AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer's network is unified by a simple but bold belief: it is possible to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's disease within the decade, but only if our nation is united and mobilized for action and has a clear goal and plan. Given the disparate impact of Alzheimer's disease on African Americans, it is essential that we Stand Up and Speak Out so that we can Overcome this disease and its multigenerational impacts.

To do this we

• Inform and educate members of the African American community about our dramatically higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease;
• Encourage early detection and development of a plan of care;
• Mobilize African Americans to become aware of and to participate in studies focused on finding a cure for the disease;
• Engage political, policy, and community leaders about the need for increased resources for Alzheimer’s research, drug discovery, care, and services;
• Inform business, scientific, and industry leaders, especially leaders of the academic and pharmaceutical communities, about the need for increased research on the race-based differences in the incidence and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease; and
• Participate in state and national efforts designed to promote job-friendly practices (including paid leave) for families affected by the disease.