Dr. David Satcher, Gala Keynote Speaker

The 100 Black Men of Savannah announced earlier today that Dr. David Satcher, former Surgeon General of the U.S. and Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and presently Director of the Center of Excellence on Health Disparity at the Morehouse School of Medicine, will be the keynote speaker at its Thirteenth Annual Benefit Gala on Saturday, April 4, 2009 at the Hyatt Hotel Savannah, GA.

As one of the world’s leading public health physicians, Dr. Satcher was intimately involved in the development of Unnatural Causes: Is inequality making us sick?, a health & wellness initiative of the 100 Black Men of Savannah, supported by the Healthcare Georgia Foundation, whose main themes are: health and longevity are related to socioeconomic status, people of color face an additional health burden, and our health and well-being are tied to policies that promote economic and social justice.

Dr. Satcher is expected to address health disparities in the U.S. in general and Georgia in particular and startling new findings that suggest there is much more to poor health than bad habits, inadequate health care or unlucky genes and circles in on a slow killer in plain view: the social circumstances in which we are born, live and work, can affect our risk for disease and “excess” death just as surely as germs and viruses.

Net proceeds from the Gala support the Savannah 100's Four for the Future programs - education, mentoring, health & wellness and economic development. Sponsorship opportunities and table ticket information will be made available shortly.