NEAR WEST SIDE —The Bernie Mac Foundation will sponsor its third annual town hall meeting on sarcoidosis — which killed the late entertainer — and his widow will be among the speakers.
The town hall meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the Student Center West Building at the UIC College of Medicine, 828 S. Wolcott St. The Bernie Mac STAR (Sarcoidosis Translational Advanced Research) Center is also at the University of Illinois-Chicago. It opened in 2012 at the College of Medicine Research Building, 909 S. Wolcott Ave.
Bernard "Bernie Mac" McCullough, an Englewood native, succumbed to sarcoidosis in 2008.
Widow Rhonda McCullough said while there is still no cure for the disease, the Bernie Mac STAR Center continues to make strides in treating it.
"The purpose of this town hall meeting is to bring awareness to people about sarcoidosis, especially those in the black community," said McCullough, CEO and president of the foundation. "A lot of people don't know sarcoidosis is very prevalent in the black community. This is a disease that weakens the immune system."
Educating the public about sarcoidosis is what Bernie Mac would have wanted, she said.
"He wanted people to know about this disease that you do not hear a lot about. By knowing about it people will know what symptoms to look for and can seek treatment early," she added. "I can hear him up there [in Heaven] now saying, 'You go ahead girl.' That was my Bernie."
McCullough said she still misses hearing her comedian husband, who would have turned 57 on Oct. 5, laugh.
"When Bernie laughed you knew it," she said. "I really miss his laughter."
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