Our Mission
The acronym “AmASSI” stands for the African, American, Advocacy, Support-Services and, Survival Institute. Based on our core objectives, we are known as the AmASSI Center for Black Wellness and Culture. Founded in 1989 by behavioral and cultural analyst and social architect Dr. Cleo Manago, AmASSI has grown into one of the more popular organizations and archetypes in the country. Our primary point of concentration is on ending health disparities, life-span interruption, self-image, and inter-group conflict among diverse people of African descent. Uniquely, AmASSI combines skills- building and educational programs regarding the primary and secondary prevention of communicable disease, substance misuse and various health threats. AmASSIs approach confronts many of the psycho-social, mental health, contemporary and historical factors that impact Black well-being and collaboration. The AmASSI Center for Black Wellness and Culture provides opportunities for diverse people of African descent to enhance their lives, community, and environment, and to gain skills toward a healthy, affirmed, safe and prosperous life.
Statement
"At the AmASSI Center for Black Wellness & Culture, we provide a portfolio of Black-life affirming options that unapologetically guide our members past daunting health and societal disparities towards a “Woke” state of awareness, constructive behaviors and [Black] problem-solving practices. Let’s face it; Black people - directly or indirectly - endure racist myths about Black inferiority and White superiority that has detrimental effects on Black wellbeing, families, relationships, parenting, mental health, our capacity to get along with each other, and functionally bond toward community-level chaos control, health and group strength. AmASSI aims to intervene in Black dysfunctional norms and behaviors. Representing Black diversity in age, philosophy, worldview, background, class, sexuality and gender, AmASSI provides real strategies to guide a deserving people into health, longevity, knowledge, and power."
— Founder Dr. Cleo Manago
OUR HISTORY
AmASSI was the first organization in the nation to approach HIV/AIDS prevention and care with a Black culturally affirming paradigm. Dr. Manago has been working with HIV/AIDS issues and served as an influential force on the matter since the late 1980s. From the very beginning, his approach to HIV prevention and care was innovative and inclusive of diverse populations within the African American community, including heterosexual, same-gender-loving (SGL), and bisexual youth/adult males, females at sexual risk, and sexually abused and incarcerated populations. Not only did Dr. Manago serve as an avant-garde resource for cultural competency models utilizing community-accessible approaches to disease prevention, he also began developing and testing prevention models to collect data very early into the epidemic. AmASSI, Inc. is a non-profit, community-based health, wellness and cultural affirmation center. AmASSI provides preventive health for HIV/AIDS, STDs, cancer, diabetes, etc., psychological and therapeutic assistance, math and literacy tutoring, skills-building opportunities, fitness and personal empowerment training. At AmASSI Center for Black Wellness and Culture members are culturally respected and affirmed, and all services are free and low cost. AmASSI is an award-winning organization that, since inception, has provided healing primarily to African American, Caribbean, Afri-Latino and Continental men, women, parents and children. Although AmASSI’s programs have a cultural emphasis on African descended people, all who seek AmASSI’s services and are warmly embraced.
AmASSI IN THE 90’S
