AmASSI Health&Cultural Centers

Introduction to Critical Thinking & Cultural Affirmation (CTCA) Mission, Vision and Strategy

MISSION The Critical Thinking & Cultural Affirmation (CTCA) methodology facilitates the capacity of Black males and females to reduce or prevent high-risk, self and community destructive behaviors, practices and impulses. CTCA builds the competence of participants to think critically, reason and discern race-based self-concept dilemmas, self-defeating mythologies, un-constructive peer pressures and negative societal influences, to value their community, themselves and family, and to commit themselves to constructive and risk-reducing behavior as a way of life and being.

VISION We envision a world in which the humanity, self and community respect, culture, health and well-being of Black people are successfully restored, where disempowerment, fragmentation, health disparity, conflict and poverty no longer disproportionately disfigures the lives of children, males, females and families of African descent locally, nationally and world-wide.

STRATEGY CTCA empowers diverse people of African decent (females, males, youth, adults, parents; heterosexual, same-gender-loving (SGL) and bisexual; religious, spiritual and agnostic) and the institutions that serve them to develop their capacity to be health educators, leaders or social change advocates in Black communities. Through increasing health, history and cultural literacy, critical thinking and reasoning capacity CTCA can guide, transform or enhance the ability of participants to increase constructive behavior and decrease destructive behaviors. CTCA promotes positive behavioral change, personal and community responsibility towards improving the overall state of African American health, unity, productivity and well-being. CTCA is an outgrowth of the service provider concepts derived by Cleo Manago at the African American, Advocacy, Support-Services and Survival Institutes (or the AmASSI Health and Cultural Centers) based in Los Angeles, California.