BALTIMORE — Did you know the Baltimore area has some of the highest rates of dementia in the country? Particularly among African Americans.
A Baltimore native has produced a documentary about families like his who are dealing with dementia.
“My aunt’s name is Sheila Brown. She is an amazing woman. She taught early education, but she didn’t stop there. She taught everybody she could. The kids in the neighborhood, she would set us on the steps on the porch and she would teach us how to read, how to write.”
C. Nathaniel Brown remembers when he realized his favorite aunt had dementia. The Atlanta resident had last seen her in Baltimore, about a year prior. The next time he came home, the aunt who shared her love of writing with him, didn't know who he was.
“It's ironic,” Brown said. “I don't know if that's the proper word. But all these years, all she wanted to do was to build minds. And now her mind is slipping away and there's nothing that we can do.”
He found out his aunt wasn't the only family member who had dementia. While Sheila Brown was just beginning her dementia journey, her brother, Warren Brown, was in the latter stages. Both wound up in the same care facility, and neither knew. Their late mother and other family members also had dementia.
So the filmmaker and author set out to learn more. For nearly two years, he interviewed caregivers, patients, and experts.
What he learned is in his documentary, "Remember Me: Dementia in the African American Community." The documentary debuted in Baltimore in March at the Enoch Pratt Library.
“I’m a pretty educated guy,” Brown said. “And I didn't know how much I didn't know about dementia. And so that created this opportunity for me to do a deep dive into it. And so, the more I learned, the more I wanted to commit to teaching other people about what I was learning.”
The documentary features the stories of the Brown family and others coping with memory loss. Including one of the last interviews with late actor Louis Gossett Jr.
“And when I got here in Georgia, I got here with full aspect,” Gossett said in the documentary. “I could sing, I could play, go to church. I can't sing any more. I can't play my guitar anymore.”
The Academy Award winning actor announced last year he had dementia. He died March 29.
There are more than 100 types of dementia or memory loss, with Alzheimer’s disease being just one form of dementia.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, African Americans are being diagnosed with dementia at twice the national average. And Baltimore has the second highest population in the country with Alzheimer’s disease. Nearby Prince George’s County is fourth.
One in 10 older Americans have some form of dementia, and in Maryland, 12.9 percent of people age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s, according to the most recent data available.
That’s the highest population percentage of any state in the country.
“Dementia is becoming a hotbed topic because we're seeing it more, we're hearing more about it,” Brown said. “We're seeing Bruce Willis. We're hearing what's happening with Wendy Williams. And now we're starting to hear more about it in the African American community. So people who have traditionally kept secrets about it or didn't want to talk about it, they're now seeing it.”
"Remember Me" will run in several film festivals this year. Brown is also taking the film on a 15-city tour, holding free screenings where attendees can get information from local resources about dementia, and what’s available to caregivers and families.
He’s also written a book, “Exposing Dementia: 8 Critical Takeaways for African Americans,” as a companion to the documentary.
Brown says he's on a crusade to inform others, and to help families like his deal with the heartbreak. His uncle, Warren Brown, passed away three weeks before the documentary premiere.
“It's good to see people who are in those different stages of caregiving and living with dementia and doing research,” he says. “To be able to see yourself somewhere in that, that spectrum to be able to move forward.”
Here are some local resources for families and caregivers of those who have dementia:
- Baltimore City Health Department, Division of Aging has a directory of community resources, in-home care options and caregiver support.
- Through Maryland Access Point, older adults, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers can learn about and apply for resources available to them, 410-396-CARE (2273). There are also more than 20 MAP sites around the state where people can meet with a counselor in person to find the help they need.
- The Alzheimer’s Association provides Alzheimer’s and dementia support. The Greater Maryland Chapter covers 17 counties.
- The Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Resource is doing the investigative work in research that supports cognitive health and well-being in minority older adults.
