(upbeat music) - Black Physicians of Utah and GK Folks Foundation are presenting the Juneteenth 5K Run/Walk in celebration of Juneteenth, health equity, and fighting heart disease.

Dr. Richard Ferguson and Gloria Mensah are here to tell us more.

Hi.

Welcome, both.

Okay, Dr. Ferguson, I'll start with you.

Let's talk about just the importance of Juneteenth for all of this.

- Yeah, I think a lot of Americans need to understand because many of us are not taught the importance or significance of Juneteenth and how it was often seen as the end of official slavery in the US, but particularly the liberation of slaves in Texas at the time.

So it was often a regional holiday, but ever since President Biden made it a federal holiday, I felt as BPOU, beyond our health equity mission, what can we do to make sure that people understand that Juneteenth is about celebrating freedoms that we all share as Americans?

- Okay, great.

And I know heart disease figures into this because it's the number-one killer.

- Why don't you tell us a bit more?

- So freedom and health goes hand in hand.

The heart disease is definitely number-one cause of death in America, and the Black community is hit the hardest.

So just taking a five-minute walk every day or, you know, preparing for a 5K run is something that could, you know, make your heart rate better and just give you good health.

So we are definitely wanting to celebrate Juneteenth and be healthy.

- Okay, and that's great.

And I know you partner with a lot of organizations on this.

- Yes, we do.

So, GK Folks Foundation, we're a nonprofit that promotes mental health education and entrepreneurship resources.

And we partner with medical experts like BPOU and DonorConnect and DJ Afrolicious.

That just brings the event to life.

And we believe that this partnership would help expand our reach to the community and help more people be healthy.

- And talk about the run/walk.

- Yeah, so it's for all comers, so you don't need to be advanced or elite.

It's a fast, flat course that's on the Legacy Parkway Trail in Mountain View Park in Davis County.

So come there.

There'll be age group prizes.

There'll be prizes for first through third, men and women, and also just a great good time to celebrate being healthy.

- All right, well thank you both so much for being here.

Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- And if you'd like to know more about the Juneteenth 5K Run/Walk, it's June 21st from 9:00 to 11:00 at Mountain View Park in Woods Cross.

Go to bpou.org.

I'm Mary Dickson.

Thanks for watching "Contact."

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Hi, I'm Mary Dickson.

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