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6th Day February 22, 2013 |
“Communication – Cooperation – Collaboration” Volume 7, Number 23 |
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The Coalition, Inc. Board of Directors Gary R. Adams (President/CEO), John E. Churchville (Treasurer), Members: Abu Mashkuwr Naadim Abdulkhabir, Josephine Blow, Stanley Daniels, Nijah Famous, Lansana Koroma, Abdul Malik Raheem, Lewis Williams Table of content For Our Children … 02 This Week … 02 Employment and Training Opportunities … 02 Health Matters …06 Green Piece … 13 Grants, Scholarships & Instruction… 13 SpotLight … 15 Arts for Awareness … 18 Coming Up …19 Computers and Technology … 19 A Hand Up … 20 Word-of-the-Week … 21
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If you would like to report on a recent community event, feel free to send us a brief account of what happened in document format, and we will share it with our readers. Send your information to: News From The Coalition, Inc.
All entries for submission should be received by noon, the Monday prior to publish date and in Press Release form.
Page 03
A
Friend is one to whom one may pour out the contents of
We are proud to announce that News From The Coalition, Inc. is featured on the internationally acclaimed site Eight Cities Map which is read in more than One hundred eighty countries! Click here: EightCitiesMAP Choose “Philadelphia’s Online Community “Newsletter” from the menu.
Page 04 "Being a Negro in America means trying to smile when you want to cry. It means trying to hold on to physical life amid psychological death. It means the pain of watching your children grow up with clouds of inferiority in their mental skies. It means having their legs cut off, and then being condemned for being a cripple." - Martin Luther King Jr. Where Do We Go From Here 1967.
If you have a favorite relevant quote, why not share it with our readers. send to TheCoalitionNews@gmail.com We will credit you with the submission.
JOIN THE COALITION, INC! To join The Coalition go to: TheCoalitionInc.net and download a copy of the Pledge of Commitment and return it to us the.pa.coalition@gmail.com
Page 05
"If it’s necessary to form a Black Nationalist army, we’ll form a Black Nationalist army. It’ll be ballot or the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death." April 1964… El Hajj Malik El Shabazz
If you would like to report on a recent community event, feel free to send us a brief account of what happened in document format, and we will share it with our readers. Send your information to: News From The Coalition, Inc.
All entries for submission should be received by noon, the Monday prior to publish date and in Press Release form.
Page 06
Power and responsibility are fraternal twins; one does not fare well without the other... Ga’Kufu Ngozi Madu
JOIN THE COALITION, INC! To join The Coalition go to: TheCoalitionInc.net and download a copy of the Pledge of Commitment and return it to us the.pa.coalition@gmail.com
Page 07
There can be no black-white unity until there is first some black unity.... We cannot think of uniting with others, until after we have first united among ourselves. We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves. Malcolm X
If you have a favorite joke or quote, why not share it with our readers. send to TheCoalitionNews@gmail.com We will credit you with the submission.
We will be spotlighting members and organizations weekly, if you wish to have your organization spotlighted, forward to us information on your primary mission, your current projects and/or how you would want other members of The Coalition to be involved. Many of us are already being a support to one another, but there is plenty of room for improvement.
Page 08
We black men have a hard enough time in our own struggle for justice, and already have enough enemies as it is, to make the drastic mistake of attacking each other and adding more weight to an already unbearable load. Malcolm X
If you would like to report on a recent community event, feel free to send us a brief account of what happened in document format, and we will share it with our readers. Send your information to: News From The Coalition, Inc.
All entries for submission should be received by noon, the Monday prior to publish date and in Press Release form.
Page 09 We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary. Malcolm X
If you have a favorite relevant quote, why not share it with our readers. send to TheCoalitionNews@gmail.com We will credit you with the submission.
We are proud to announce that News From The Coalition, Inc. is featured on the internationally acclaimed site Eight Cities Map which is read in more than One hundred eighty-five countries! Click here: EightCitiesMAP Choose “Philadelphia’s Online Community “Newsletter” from the menu.
Page 10 Hereeeeeeeeeeeeees... Kathy’s Korner!
With
four growing kids in the house always dashing to school activities
(Kathy Parsons is a regular contributor.)
Page 11
I've never seen a sincere white man, not when it comes to helping black people. Usually things like this are done by white people to benefit themselves. The white man's primary interest is not to elevate the thinking of black people, or to waken black people, or white people either. The white man is interested in the black man only to the extent that the black man is of use to him. The white man's interest is to make money, to exploit. Malcolm X
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Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it. Malcolm X
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When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won't do to get it, or what he doesn't believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn't believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire... or preserve his freedom. Malcolm X
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I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it... I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it's an illusion to me. - Michael Jordan
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There is nothing better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time. - Malcolm X
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In my mind, I've always been an A-list Hollywood superstar. Y'all just didn't know yet. - Will Smith
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Put yourself in a state of mind where you say to yourself, Here is an opportunity for me to celebrate like never before, my own power, my own ability to get myself to do whatever is necessary. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. - Arthur Ashe
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How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. - George Washington Carver
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Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionary's life. When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime. Angela Davis
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Any sane man, race or nation that desires freedom must first of all think in terms of blood. Why even the Heavenly Father tells us that "without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins." Then how in the name of God, with history before us, do we expect to redeem Africa without preparing ourselves, some of us to die?- Marcus Garvey
WORD-OF-THE-WEEK bouleversement \bool-vair-suh-MAWN\: Complete overthrow; a reversal; a turning upside down.
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Greetings Coalition Family!
Please for join us and bring your family for a special night as we celebrate Dr. Percy Julian legacy at the Brooklyn Public Library Macon Branch on Tuesday evening, February 26, 2013, featuring distinguished speaker Nathaniel Haynesworth who will deliver a lecture titled: " Dr. Percy Julian: Forgotten Genius-- A Look at the Life and the Accomplishments of One of the Great American Chemists of the 20th century. " The event will take place on Tuesday evening, February 26, 2013 5:30-8:00 PM. The lecture will be held in Brooklyn Public Library Macon Branch 361 Lewis Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11233.
About Percy Lavon Julian (1899-1975) Percy Lavon
Julian (April 11, 1899 April 19, 1975) was an American research
chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs
from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product
physostigmine; and was a pioneer in the industrial large-scale
chemical synthesis of the human hormones, steroids, progesterone,
and testosterone, from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and
sitosterol. Born to former slaves in Alabama in 1899, pioneering
chemist Percy Julian was not allowed to attend high school but
went on to earn his Ph.D. His research at academic and corporate
institutions led to the chemical synthesis of drugs to treat
glaucoma and arthritis, and although his race presented challenges
at every turn, he is regarded as one of the most influential
chemists in American history. His work would lay the foundation
for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other
corticosteroids, and birth control pills. He later started his own
company to synthesize steroid intermediates from the Mexican wild
yam. His work helped reduce the cost of steroid intermediates to
large multinational pharmaceutical companies. During his lifetime
he received more than 130 chemical patents. Julian was one of the
first African Americans to receive a doctorate in chemistry. He
was the first African-American chemist inducted into the National
Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist
inducted from any field. "The only thing that has enabled me
to keep doing the creative work was the constant determination:
Take heart! Go farther on. Percy Lavon Julian “Now I don't believe in black separatism, I'm against it...But I do say this. It seems that our white brothers and sisters don't want to live next door to us... So...they're pinning us in central cities...We're hemmed in. We can't get out. They won't pass the fair housing bill here. And that's true in every city in this country. Now, since they're just going to keep us in here...what we're going to have to do is just control the central city. We got to be the mayor's of these big cities. And the minute we get elected mayor, we've got to begin taxing everybody who works in the city who lives in the suburbs. I know this sounds mean, but I just want to be realistic.”– Dr. Martin Luther King, jr.
We each hold a piece to the puzzle.” – Dr. John Elliott Churchville “Communicate… Cooperate… Collaborate”
FOR OUR CHILDREN“It is easier to build children than it is to repair men.”…Frederick Douglass
Attention Pre K Parents!!! ----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
Office of Specialized Services of the School District of Phila.The
Office of Specialized Services (OSS) is committed to the
educational, social, physical, and emotional well being of
students within the School District of Philadelphia. The OSS
provides comprehensive special education, behavioral health,
school health, and prevention/intervention programs.
215-400-4170 On the www.cap4kids.org/philadelphia website
Please also remember that this and all content on CAP4Kids can be translated into almost any language using the flags at the bottom of each page. Thanks. ----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
THIS WEEK
Black History Science Class Field Trip
To accommodate the recent surge
in schools registering for the 6th Annual Black History Month
Science Field Trip “: Celebrating African American
Scientists and Inventors Through Live Demonstrations.”
Grand Hank has extended the event series from ----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
The Job Fair of Philadelphia Monday, February 25, 2013, 10AM - 1PM Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel 640 West Germantown Pike Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 http://www.catalystcareergroup.com
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OPPORUNITIES
PLBC Virtual Job Fair
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
Philadelphia Job Fair Monday, March 4, 2013, 11AM - 2PM Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West 4010 City Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19131 http://www.coasttocoastcareerfairs.com
Valley Forge Job Fair Tuesday, March 5, 2013, Job Fair 9:30AM - 2:30PM Classes 8AM - 3:30PM Valley Forge Casino Resort 1160 First Avenue King of Prussia PA 19406
King of Prussia Career Fair Monday, March 18, 2013 11AM - 2PM Crowne Plaza Hotel Valley Forge 260 Mall Boulevard King of Prussia, PA 19406 https://www.nationalcareerfairs.com
Philadelphia Career Fair Monday, April 8, 2013, 11AM - 2PM Crowne Plaza 4010 City Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19131 https://www.nationalcareerfairs.com
The Diversity Job Fair of Philadelphia Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 10AM - 1PM Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel 640 West Germantown Pike Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 http://www.catalystcareergroup.com
HEALTH MATTERS
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
The Physical Toll Of Racism
(BlackDoctor.org) -- This is not new news to you, but statistically, black males in America are at increased risk for just about every health problem known. African Americans have a shorter life expectancy than any other racial group in America except Native Americans. In the past, some researchers have blamed it on poverty -- one of the most powerful determinants of health – but now researchers are beginning to examine discrimination itself. Racism, more than race, may be cutting black men down before their time. It is possible, they believe, that the ill health and premature deaths can be laid -- at least in part -- at the feet of continuous assaults of discrimination, real or perceived. "We have always thought of race-based discrimination as producing a kind of attitude," says Vickie Mays, psychologist and director of the UCLA Center on Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities. "Now we think we have sufficient information to say that it's more than just affecting your attitude. A person experiences it, has a response, and the response brings about a physiological reaction." The reaction contributes to a chain of biological events known as the stress response, which can put people at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and infectious disease, says Namdi Barnes, a researcher with the UCLA center. That protective response includes the release of cortisol, often called the stress hormone. It increases blood pressure and blood sugar levels and suppresses the immune system. Those are all good things when it comes to fleeing a wild beast or a suspicious sound in a dark parking lot. But for many African Americans, these responses may occur so frequently that they eventually result in a breakdown of the physiological system. "This whole phenomenon of cumulative biologic stress is real," says Nicole Lurie, director of the Rand Center for Population Health and Health Disparities. Racism, Davis says, is something a black man lives with, although these days, teaching tennis to, mostly, wealthy white people,he doesn't often feel its sting. "Sometimes there's stress, but you've got to keep on living," he says. Still, the Compton native has troubling memories of being pulled over by police as a young man for no apparent reason, and worries that such things could still happen to his boys. "When I was a kid, we never went through Culver City," he says. "They'd watch you go in, sometimes stop you. I don't want my kids getting stopped because of the color of their skin. They're good boys." Having survived a childhood of poverty, with eight siblings, an alcoholic father and a churchgoing mother who kept the family centered and straight, the thought of sudden illness at this comfortable point in his life didn't enter his mind. Although neither Davis nor his wife thought the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder who plays tennis for a living could be seriously sick, a day after the first symptoms, an MRI showed that he had suffered a mini-stroke. He was lucky. A transient ischemic attack is a kind of low-level warning that conditions are ripe for a more serious stroke unless the patient follows medical advice, most typically blood-thinning drugs, improved diet and exercise. Death comes soonerTHE shorter life expectancy of black men has been an inflexible truth since slavery. The gap has slowly narrowed throughout the last century, and the most recent improvement is attributed to lower accident and homicide rates, along with life-sustaining treatments for AIDS, all of which afflict a greater proportion of black men. Still, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and most cancers strike black men sooner, and cut them down more often, than white men. And the higher incidence of disease among black men is set against a backdrop of an increased incidence of poverty, which carries with it a multitude of health problems. Violence, including accidents and homicide, lays its claim on black men early. Homicide is the leading cause of death for black men ages 15 to 34, followed by unintentional injuries. (For white men those ages, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death, followed by suicide.) In every decade that follows, for every leading cause of death, the rates of disease for black men are disproportionately high. Once they become sick, they are more likely to suffer worse consequences and die sooner of the disease. It adds up to an average life span for black men that is 6.2 years less than for white men, and 8.3 less than the national average, 77.8 years, for all races and both genders. The major culprit in the black-white mortality gap is cardiovascular disease. The death rate from heart disease is about 30% higher among blacks than whites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The prevalence of diabetes is about 70% higher, and diabetes significantly increases the risk of heart disease. High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for heart disease in African Americans, and some researchers have speculated that the cause is genetic. About half the people in the world are salt sensitive, but about 80% of African Americans are salt sensitive. That means that a diet high in salt is more likely to result in high blood pressure. But blacks living in African countries have few blood pressure problems, casting doubt on a genetic link. "Salt sensitivity is completely related to potassium intake," says Dr. Karol Watson, cardiologist and co-director of preventive cardiology at UCLA. "And that's related to fruit and vegetable intake." More veggies equals less salt sensitivity. But fresh produce is hard to come by in poor neighborhoods. Poverty and lack of access to health care, more significant among blacks, open the doors to a host of hazards. Poor people smoke more, exercise less and are more likely to be victims of accidents and violence. "There's a whole boatload of things that are in the environments where they're more likely to grow up," Lurie says. "HIV, crime, that kind of stuff. There's a lot of extra dying going on from trauma." Anyone living in a poverty-stricken neighborhood has health disadvantages, says Dr. Roshan Bastani, director of the Healthy and At Risk Population Program at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center. "It's where you live, what kind of work you do, what kind of food you eat, access to physical activity, where you go for health care," she says. "It's kind of a vicious cycle that gets worse and worse." About 25% of African Americans live in poverty, compared with about 8% of whites, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent report, and about 20% of blacks are uninsured, compared with about 8% of whites. And those African Americans who are poor are more likely to live in disadvantaged neighborhoods than are poor whites, according to a March 1998 report in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. Only 6% of poor whites live in high poverty areas, while 34% of poor blacks live in such areas, where risks of violence are higher and access to fresh, healthy foods and safe places to exercise are lower. Vance Pierre, 45, of Inglewood says he encountered more than a few risks in his youth, including getting run over by a car. As a teen, he and his friends thought it was fun to jump in front of oncoming cars to make them swerve. "I'd be drinking like a 40-ounce, and I'd say, 'Hey, watch this,' " he says. "A couple of times I couldn't get out of the street in time." His father died of alcoholism, and today Pierre says he doesn't drink anymore. He also knows the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables, and sometimes will make a meal of all vegetables. But more often, he says, it's convenient to eat out at places like McDonald's or Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits. Mysterious disparitySTILL, all the socioeconomic factors together don't fully explain racial disparities. Researchers S.L. Isaacs and S.A Schroeder, in a study reported in the Sept. 9, 2004, New England Journal of Medicine, found that people earning $15,000 a year or less from 1972 to 1989 were three times more likely to die prematurely than those earning $70,000 or more. But at the lowest levels of income, less than $10,000 a year, black men still had a 21% greater risk of death within the study period than whites. And in a Feb. 9, 1990, study in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., researchers compared black and white death rates per 100,000 people 35 to 54 years old and found the black rate 2.3 times higher. When they adjusted the data for known risk factors such as smoking, alcohol intake and diabetes, the gap narrowed to 1.9 times, and when they adjusted further for income, it narrowed to 1.4 times. How people live, die and get sick depends on economic class as well as race, but all of the adjustments combined didn't completely explain the black-white mortality gap, leaving about a third of the problem unexplained, the researchers found. The reasons behind that final third remain a mystery. "Life expectancy for everyone is increasing, but the disparities are not getting better," says Lurie of Rand. Seeking to explain that gap, researchers have grown increasingly interested in the theory, based on a growing body of evidence linking stress to poor physical health, that racial discrimination can result in unremitting stress. That additional, ongoing stress might explain some of the still mysterious gap. For a black man, a stress response to discrimination can be triggered by something as subjective as feeling suspicious eyes on him in a department store. "That can be annoying," says Michael Johnson, 38, of Inglewood. "You know you've got money in your pocket to pay, and somebody is following you around. We've all felt that. But you get so used to it, you're numb to it." In one of the first studies to examine the effect of discrimination on lifestyle behaviors, researchers looked at 3,300 adults, black and white, from a range of income groups, ages 18 to 30, and followed them for 15 years. The study, published in the Aug. 13 American Journal of Epidemiology Advanced Access, found that 38% of whites reported feeling discriminated against in housing, education or work, while 89% of blacks reported such feelings of discrimination. Regardless of income or race, all who felt discrimination were more likely to have unhealthy behaviors, including smoking, drinking and use of marijuana. "When people feel they're treated unfairly," says Dr. Luisa Borrell, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and author of the study, "they're going to find a way to cope with that unfair treatment." Stress of racismPEOPLE feel and respond to discrimination in similar ways, though the experience of discrimination is more common to blacks. Among blacks, it's more commonly felt among men, the researchers found. Mays was lead author on a paper published in the 2007 Annual Review of Psychology that examined studies looking at the responses of the brain and body to race-based discrimination. Experiences of racial discrimination can set the brain up for what's known as the fight or flight response. While that biological response can be life-saving, too much of it sets people up for heart disease, diabetes, obesity and infection. If it happens over and over again, in large doses of vulgar taunts or small doses of perceived slights, parts of the brain become overwhelmed. Two things can happen. The brain can shut down the release of chemicals and people respond with a kind of numbness. Under production of cortisol can result in depression and is linked to asthma, allergies, and rheumatoid arthritis. Or it can fail to shut down, leaving the body at a continuous state of heightened alert. "Let's say something occurs where you follow me around in a store," Mays says. "I think that's racist. My blood pressure goes up. I get upset. Then I go to a different store. Someone appears to start following me. I am primed from a previous experience and I feel it again. We call it a micro-assault." According to research into stress, such emotionally packed memories are held in a part of the brain called the amygdala, which regulates fear responses through the release of hormones such as cortisol. "Amygdala-driven stress responses are fight-or-flight based, tailored to survive now, ask questions later," says Billi Gordon, a postdoctoral researcher at the UCLA center. The chemical release happens quickly, aiming for a quick, life-saving response. There isn't even enough time to consult the cortex, the logical part of the brain. Cortisol readies the body for the immediate danger, taking resources away from the some of the body's longer-term resources, such as control of the immune system, while increasing blood pressure and blood sugar levels. That's fine for the short term, but if it happens again and again, over a lifetime, the continual assaults of racism can result in a greater vulnerability to infection from a weakened immune system. In the long run, it places the body at increased risk for inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease and possibly obesity and diabetes as a result of repeated changes to the regulation of glucose, says Barnes. Over time, the disruption of cortisol control can get even worse. At first, the release of the hormone acts as an anti-inflammatory agent in the body. But if the body continually overloads with cortisol, the protective system shuts down and then actually reverses, increasing inflammation, which is linked to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and possibly diabetes. "One of the most dangerous things that can happen to the body is when the cortisol signal is compromised or no longer working. It remains in a heightened state," Gordon says. Mays believes, and argued in the recent paper, that scientists know enough about people's reactions to racial discrimination and also the body's response to stress to link the two. "The literature is building," she says. "It's downward synergy," Gordon says. "Each time you have a micro-assault, it accumulates and each one changes the person's sense of self-worth. You are constantly feeling a little bit different. Over a long period of time, it's like the water that undermines the sea wall." One of the foremost researchers on the health effects of stress, Dr. Bruce McEwen, head of the Harold & Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at Rockefeller University, has written in his book, "The End of Stress as We Know It": "Stress hormones acting on the hippocampus can engrave important experiences into our long-term memory, but excessive or chronically elevated levels of these same hormones can damage the very part of the brain that shuts them off." No single 'X factor'WHETHER that process can be directly linked to experiences of discrimination is unproven. But Robert Sapolsky, professor of neuroscience at Stanford University School of Medicine, whose early work with McEwen helped chart the effect of stress on the brain, sees it as a plausible theory. "To my knowledge, no one has looked at the relationship between being an outgroup [racial or otherwise] and things like cortisol levels, but it makes perfect sense. It's a corrosive, permeating experience of lack of control -- the very definition of chronic psychosocial stressor," he says. "That's a sure pathway to poor health." Mays and her colleagues, and others studying the causes of racial disparities, believe this may be happening in great numbers to minorities in the United States, and in the greatest numbers to African American men. "This may be the explanatory variable," Mays says. "For African Americans, it may not be just diet, or that you don't walk enough." Studies keep pouring out showing racial disparities in health. A recent one in the September 2007 Annals of Epidemiology found that even in the so-called stroke belt of Southern states, where all races and both genders suffer the highest rates of stroke in the country, African American men are stricken at the highest of the high rates. The study's lead author, Dr. George Howard, chairman of the department of biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is not ready to finger discrimination as the primary cause. "It's a whole toxic cocktail of bad things, but if I had to pick one, it would be socioeconomic status," he says. "It's clear that racism plays a role, but I don't think it's the 800-pound gorilla." No one factor, including the possible biological toll taken by the accumulated insults of racism, will rise to the level of 800-pound gorilla. Attacking the problem, Lurie says, means looking beyond medicine to every aspect of society. "Ultimately, to make a real difference in life expectancy and health disparities, you have to simultaneously attack social and nonmedical determinants," she says. Recent prioritySTATISTICIANS have been taking note of the corrosive effect of race on health status for more than a century. But it's only since 2000, when President Clinton proposed and Congress allocated $150 million to establish the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, that understanding the complex reasons and working to correct the gap have become a national priority. The center supports basic, clinical and population research on health disparities and has funded more than 100 universities and academic institutions, including UCLA, as well as hospitals and community health centers to help establish programs examining health disparities. It provides loans to doctoral students doing health disparities research, so far contributing to the efforts of more than 1,000 professionals. In March 2002, the Institute of Medicine released a report, "Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care," that for the first time mapped out the scope and depth of racial disparities in health. Poverty creates a vicious cycle, one that tennis coach and stroke survivor Davis, born into a large family in Compton, has escaped. His sons, in their Ladera Heights home with weekly backyard barbecues and plenty of sidewalk space for running and skateboarding, are protected from poverty's worst health consequences. These days, Davis takes his medication. He says he's trying to eat better, but Carrie rolls her eyes, setting off a good-natured marital debate about actual quantities of sausages consumed versus vegetables. And he's still trying to figure out what kinds of exercise to add to his professional routine that can be sometimes rigorous, other times little more than throwing balls back to students. As long as there is racial discrimination, scientists say, there is the potential for added stress that just may prove to be the mysterious variable in the shortened lives of black men. But when it comes to the health of their sons, the Davises, like so many parents, worry most about the boys' love for junk food, bacon and red meat. By John Williams, BDO Staff Writer
source: http://www.blackdoctor.org/articles.aspx?counter=27604 ----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site ----- |
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You May Qualify for Grants to Earn a Degree Online. Search Schools. EducationConnection.com/GrantsInfo |
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Stop Paying For College! Apply For Scholarships Online Today. CollegeAdviser.com |
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No GPA, No Essay, No Stress! Takes Only 3 Short Min. Don't Wait |
SpotLight On Our Efforts
The d'Zert Club and African Genesis Institute are sponsoring a
FREE trip to Egypt
for 200 students between the
ages of 7 and 14. Also being sponsored are 100 adult group
leaders.
These travelers will participate in the annual Teen
Summit 1000 program.
Those interested in earning this ALL
EXPENSE PAID trip to the Motherland are invited to attend a free
information and enrollment meeting at one of the following
locations:
February 24: 2pm, Philadelphia:
African
American History Museum,
701 Arch Street
For
further information, please call 215-247-5121 or visit us online
athttp://africangenesis2.org/visit-africa-free/
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
SEAMAAC seeks board
members
The Southeast
Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition is
seeking additional Board members to continue supporting immigrant
communities.
SEAMAAC is one of Greater
Philadelphia’s leading advocates and supporters of
immigrants, refugees, and their families as they seek access to
opportunities to survive and thrive in the United States.
SEAMAAC’s Board of Directors seeks dedicated new members who
are passionate about enriching the lives of these populations.
SEAMAAC is seeking seasoned professionals who are dynamic and
interested in promoting SEAMAAC’s mission; particularly
those who have experience in human resources, corporate relations
and/or experience with African/ Caribbean immigrant
communities.
Interested persons should
contact leigh.elaine@gmail.com
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
Founded in 1977, Bread & Roses Community Fund is a unique partnership of donors and activists who share a vision of a just society, one in which power and resources are distributed equitably.
Bread & Roses raises money from individuals to provide grants, technical assistance and leadership development to support community-based organizations in the Delaware Valley that are taking collective action to bring about social change.
Community leaders,
activists, and organizers all over the region are working hard to
make real change. From fighting gun violence to improving schools
or winning rights for immigrants, there's a lot going on.
To support them, Bread
& Roses Community Fund is
seeking proposals for community organizing. Racial & Economic
Justice Fund and Future Fund grant applications are due on Friday,
March 1st at 5pm.
And through our membership in the Funding Exchange, Bread & Roses is part of a national funding movement to support social change philanthropy.
Bread & Roses relies on both large and small contributions from individuals to create real change in our region. Join our community of supporters to fund community organizing in the Delaware Valley! Make a donation or learn about planned giving options today.
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
Destined for a Dream Foundation
UAC is
not only a network of 75 partner organizations and programs
driving change from the ground up, we are a family! You may have
seen recent reports that a member of our family, Destined for a
Dream was involved in a bus accident late Saturday evening in
Boston returning from a tour of Harvard University. Though most of
the students and chaperones were treated and are home, several
students and adults are still in the hospital in serious
condition. Destined for a Dream Foundation's focus is to work
closely with disadvantaged youth to build their leadership skills,
develop self-discipline, positive self-esteem, and the ability to
work in teams. Destined for a Dream also works to ensure that
youth grow academically, socially and culturally.
At UAC
the Power of Coalition means that, together, we can accomplish
what no one organization can do alone. UAC, Harvard University,
the Red Cross and the Yankee Bus Company have already shown their
support by providing aide and services. Won't you join us? Support
Destined for a Dream by making a donation to help the families of
those injured. You can make a donation online
at destinedforadream.com[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001VpBYI6eUSJyw1Azm01Jnibw9KFYTP6EU7hssy2MZYgRlLnXbdPrsTq3sO4CFH-EwLIgmzgVurhC86D7ZvRxcdycpSRNyiw6Ugz1dmG-Qfm-WqQxCyuiCK8qO74fP7_AsC_evnOvOQ7xfTSuLJ03lp-dSvjZfFNaLGBeCDyjy3yI4KC6z0OfaZiMwJ54dz2S1h4xOBm6nWjU8j5-6WbpbZ1c7NqrSZ9VJkivYKY_OC-AAtFThP9OGqxDUm5VYE-IOuWo9CR0fvKs=]
or
by mail to Destined for a Dream Foundation/UAC 1207 Chestnut
Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Thank you for your prayers and
support.
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
OpportUNITY, Inc @ The Willie
G. Williams Community Center
A Construction Training Program
Providing Human Services
1016-18 South Street
Philadelphia,
PA 19147
Office: 267-297-8006
Cell:
267-579-6301
Email:
opportunity1016@gmail.com
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
Family Survival Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization provides cultural, educational, spiritual and economic tools needed to create a positive and lasting legacy within the African American community.
Family Survival Inc., a 501(c)3 organization, was founded by Brothers Rashie Abdul Samad and Rashie Abdur Rahim after realizing that the key to reclaiming the African American community lies in re-establishing connection with Africa, it's art, history, culture, economy and people. The program started with exposing young people to the culture of African music and art, as well as learning the basics of business. While the founding principles remain intact, the program has expanded by partnering with other community organizations and businesses in the spirit of umoja (unity) to ensure our collective Family Survival. Together, these organizations will make an even greater impact on the youth and elders in the community for the benefit of whole.
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
ARTS FOR AWARENESS
I see little of more importance to the future of our country and of civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. Pauline Kael
1310 No. Broad St. Phila
Every Thurs. 9pm to 1am
Poets
Rappers
Singers
Spoken Word Artists
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
COMING UP
* * Outside PA * * *
COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY
Free online journal focuses on technology for
nonprofits
Technology can help nonprofits
create the change they want to see in
the world. But even with daily evidence of world-changing innovations
and applications of technology, it's difficult for nonprofit leaders to
know how to apply it to their missions.
NTEN:Change,
a free online journal from the
Nonprofit Technology Network, provides the guidance and practical considerations nonprofits need to
make the sound investments and decisions that will help them meet
their goals.
Free subscriptions are
available here.
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
Group offers low-cost web access to nonprofits
Mobile Citizen, a provider of mobile broadband for education and nonprofits, will offer a Technology Assistance Grant program beginning in January to provide non-profit organizations with affordable access to the Internet.
Available only in Portland, Oregon, Las Vegas, and Philadelphia, the grant includes reduced-price service from Mobile Citizen, with unlimited usage for only $10/month or $120/year per account. It bundles Mobile Citizen’s wireless broadband, powered by WiMAX, a fourth generation (4G) technology from Clearwire Corporation with a variety of benefits available only to grantees, including:
-- 12 months of service from Mobile Citizen extended to 15 months at no additional charge. With this, nonprofits receive three free months of service per account.
-- Dedicated Mobile Citizen Customer Care customized for non-profit organizations.
-- A free one-year membership to NTEN, a nonprofit technology network, ongoing information and news as well as access to a support community.
-- A choice of additional benefits including an educational webinar series.
For more information, email Free Trial.
www.mobilecitizen.org/grantphiladelphia
----- Coalition members! Activate ‘Your’ web link on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
A HAND UP!
"None of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up from our own bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down and helped us." - Thurgood Marshall
America’s Original Savings Network
As amazing as it may sound many people do not realize how easy it is
to LEGALLY stop paying for their groceries! This is how the one hour
television show began for the company whose website is at:
A: All of our coupons are actual manufacturer coupons. Fewer and fewer retailers accept coupons that are printed from your computer because of a huge increase in counterfeit coupons. Actual manufacturer coupons which we issue are accepted everywhere that coupons are accepted.
Q: Can these coupons be doubled?
A: Yes. These are
manufacturer issued coupons and may be doubled in any store that
offers double coupons.
Q: What are the face values and the expiration dates
of these coupons?
A: Being manufacturer coupons, the
manufacturer determines the face values of the coupons. We
currently stock coupons ranging in value from 40 cents to 5.00
dollars. The coupon expiration dates are generally valid for 90
days.
Q: How can I use $1,000.00 worth of coupons in 90
days?
A: With our program, you get to choose the coupons you
want, when you want them. This way you never have to worry about
the coupons expiring.
Q: How do I choose the coupons I want?
A: Each
coupon book contains coupon request slips which you fill out and
send in. Those coupons are then mailed to you.
-----
Coalition members!
Activate ‘Your’
web
link
on The Coalition, Inc. web site -----
Sister Phile Chionesu, organizer of the Million Woman March,
“Nu Day Resurrection and Liberation" Show LIVE each Saturday evening 10:30 PM--12:00 midnight EST.
"NU Day" is heard in Philly and, worldwide, through the internet at: www.blogtalkradio.com/empresschi Or you can tune in via podcast at 646-652-2232
Call in and give your thoughts, comments, opinions at 1-646-652-2232
Civil Alert Radio with Sabir Bey- Every Tuesday 9:30 p.m. EST (6:30 P.M. PST)
Format Style: Open forum along with special invited guests.
Listen via your cell: 858.357.8450 On the web: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/civilalert
Check out our Web site!
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