Growth in Numbers
and Representation
LIFE’s Student American Black Chiropractic Association (SABCA) Aims for
More Awareness of the Profession in the African-American Community
In 1981, Dr. Bobby Westbrooks founded the American Black Chiropractic
Association (ABCA) with a purpose of empowering both black
chiropractic students and doctors, as well as increasing the awareness
of chiropractic treatment and educational opportunities in the black
community. He held the first ABCA National Convention in his
hometown of St. Louis that same year with only 17 people in attendance.
At their latest national convention, also held in St. Louis to honor their
late founder, there were approximately 200 in attendance, according to
Dr. Michaela Edwards, vice president of ABCA. And while their scope
has expanded since the organization’s conception, their purpose remains
the same—continue growing and spreading awareness to the black
community about the benefits of Chiropractic. It is grassroots efforts
like the one going on at Life University that helps keep the spirit of Dr.
Westbrooks’ vision for the organization alive and well some 37 years later.
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