Cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease, disproportionately affects Older African Americans; so does gentrification. SHARP strives to honor Black health and history. The SHARP study is a six month program in Portland, Oregon's historically Black neighborhoods that are undergoing rapid change. SHARP participants walk one-mile themed routes, equipped with a tablet and a digital recorder.  

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Our aims are to maintain or improve cognitive health among older African Americans  through physical activity and social engagement in a culturally celebratory way that captures the oral history of Portland’s historically Black neighborhoods.