By the lowest rung of the social ladder
I do not understand why Black people have to speak to each other in such a manner that can kill the spirit of others or the mean spirit is embraced as a way of life and the condition lives on.
It is my most sincere prayer that we as Black people treat each other with respect and dignity. To love and help each other without the air of "I am greater than you" because I have a high position, more money, greater status or more education.
Is it not clear that we are all in the same boat together regardless of our station in life?
Why is it that we do not support each other in business with the exception of hair care and church affiliations? I am still in grief that Top Value Grocery Store went out of business.
What is the driving force that other races can come to this country and prosper while we as a race continue to be consumers and support the wealth and community development of others while we continue to dwindle into deeper poverty?
What respect can we expect from society if collectively act as non-producers?
Where are the great thinkers in our Black community from all levels that see the conditions that not only affect the adults but our children as well?
Can we organize a meeting of the minds to develop solutions to our problems?
Instead, we react to a problem and then allow it to fizzle out with no more follow up to continue the move forward until the next blow up?
I am only one voice from the lower rung of the social/economical ladder who can see the demise our people are bound for destruction.
I only want to help solve problems and not blame anyone; this is counter productive and will only lead to more division.
- Editor's note: "The Lowest Rung of the Social Ladder" is pseudonym for Des Moines resident Genie Bundy.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
What the King Holiday Means
Martin Luther King Jr., Holiday, Jan. 21, 2008
- Read the entire passage by the late Coretta Scott King at the The King Center, Atlanta, G.A.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Free Help to Quit Smoking from the Iowa Department of Public Health
By Dana Boone
African-American smokers -- who tend to “suffer more” than other ethnic groups from the harmful effects of smoking -- could benefit from a new state program that provides free nicotine patches and gum.
The Iowa Department of Public Health began offering the nicotine patches and gum through the state's "Quitline" at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-800-784-8669. The free, confidential program is for Iowa smokers 18 and older who want to end their dependence on cigarettes and other tobacco products. The nicotine patches and gum help reduce the symptoms of withdrawal, health officials said.
"We know that African-Americans are disproportionately affected by smoking," said Bonnie Mapes, director of the department's Division of Tobacco Use and Prevention and Control. "As adults, African-Americans have a higher smoking rate, and they tend to suffer more from smoking effects."
Thousands of Iowans this month have flooded the state's smoking cessation hot line with calls since it began offering free nicotine patches and gum, state health officials said. The hot line has received 2,560 calls since Jan. 1.
To receive a two-week supply of the nicotine patches and gum, participants must agree to take a brief health assessment and accept two follow-up calls from trained phone coaches. Participants also can sign up for ongoing support through eight additional calls from phone coaches.
Mapes stressed the importance of the ongoing phone coaching and support.
"The reason we want them to do that is that telephone coaching doubles a person's chances of quitting," she said.
Smoking can cause many diseases, including heart and lung disease and cancer, and is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, Mapes said. The biggest killer of smokers is heart disease, she added, since smoking increases blood pressure and burdens the heart.
"As soon as you stop smoking," she said, "the burden goes away."
Two diseases that pose a greater risk for blacks -- diabetes and high blood pressure -- are worsened by smoking, Mapes said. According to Families USA, a health advocacy group, blacks are twice as likely as whites to have diabetes.
Many longtime smokers believe they won’t reap health benefits if they quit, Mapes said.
"That isn't true at all," she said. "Don't think that just because you've smoked for 30 years that it's too late. There are immediate and long-term benefits to quitting no matter how long you've smoked."
People who quit also realize a financial benefit, she said. The average smoker goes through a pack of cigarettes a day at a cost of nearly $5 a pack, she said.
"It's a huge monetary impact not just for the smoker, but for their family," she said. "That's the price of a gallon of milk. It's an impact on the nutrition of the family."
The state's most recent adult tobacco survey, conducted in 2006, found that smoking is on the decline among Iowans who participated in random computer-assisted telephone interviews:
* 18 percent of Iowans smoked cigarettes in 2006, down from 23 percent in 2002.
* 34 percent of Iowans aged 18 to 24 smoked cigarettes.
* 72 percent of smokers surveyed in 2006 wanted to quit smoking.
Data from the health department also show that in 2006 slightly more men smoked than women, 23 percent and 19 percent, respectively; and 21 percent of whites smoked, compared with 28 percent of other ethnic groups, which were not disaggregated in the report.
"It's a drug addition," Mapes said. "It's not some habit. It isn't a matter of choice. Ask any smoker and they'll tell you that. The vast majority of them recognize that. . . . It’s not that they don’t want to quit."
Iowa smokers who qualify for the Medicaid program are eligible to receive up to 12 weeks of free nicotine patches and gum, but must first get a referral from their health care provider before calling the hot line to sign up, Mapes said.
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported that of the 2,560 callers during the program's first week, 2,151 requested the nicotine patches and gum, and 1,323 agreed to the telephone coaching.
"We're encouraging people to sign up for both," she said.
The program likely will run through 2011 as long as money is available, McCormick said. Smokers can take advantage of the program once a year, he said.
_______________________________
Iowa's "QUIT-NOW' smoking cessation hot line:
Dial 1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-800-784-8669 to sign up for the state's free, confidential program, which offers nicotine patches and gum. The kits are shipped to participants within 24 hours.
The telephone line is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. English-and Spanish-speaking counselors are available.
Beginning Monday, the hot line's hours will extend from 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
African-American smokers -- who tend to “suffer more” than other ethnic groups from the harmful effects of smoking -- could benefit from a new state program that provides free nicotine patches and gum.
The Iowa Department of Public Health began offering the nicotine patches and gum through the state's "Quitline" at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-800-784-8669. The free, confidential program is for Iowa smokers 18 and older who want to end their dependence on cigarettes and other tobacco products. The nicotine patches and gum help reduce the symptoms of withdrawal, health officials said.
"We know that African-Americans are disproportionately affected by smoking," said Bonnie Mapes, director of the department's Division of Tobacco Use and Prevention and Control. "As adults, African-Americans have a higher smoking rate, and they tend to suffer more from smoking effects."
Thousands of Iowans this month have flooded the state's smoking cessation hot line with calls since it began offering free nicotine patches and gum, state health officials said. The hot line has received 2,560 calls since Jan. 1.
To receive a two-week supply of the nicotine patches and gum, participants must agree to take a brief health assessment and accept two follow-up calls from trained phone coaches. Participants also can sign up for ongoing support through eight additional calls from phone coaches.
Mapes stressed the importance of the ongoing phone coaching and support.
"The reason we want them to do that is that telephone coaching doubles a person's chances of quitting," she said.
Smoking can cause many diseases, including heart and lung disease and cancer, and is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, Mapes said. The biggest killer of smokers is heart disease, she added, since smoking increases blood pressure and burdens the heart.
"As soon as you stop smoking," she said, "the burden goes away."
Two diseases that pose a greater risk for blacks -- diabetes and high blood pressure -- are worsened by smoking, Mapes said. According to Families USA, a health advocacy group, blacks are twice as likely as whites to have diabetes.
Many longtime smokers believe they won’t reap health benefits if they quit, Mapes said.
"That isn't true at all," she said. "Don't think that just because you've smoked for 30 years that it's too late. There are immediate and long-term benefits to quitting no matter how long you've smoked."
People who quit also realize a financial benefit, she said. The average smoker goes through a pack of cigarettes a day at a cost of nearly $5 a pack, she said.
"It's a huge monetary impact not just for the smoker, but for their family," she said. "That's the price of a gallon of milk. It's an impact on the nutrition of the family."
The state's most recent adult tobacco survey, conducted in 2006, found that smoking is on the decline among Iowans who participated in random computer-assisted telephone interviews:
* 18 percent of Iowans smoked cigarettes in 2006, down from 23 percent in 2002.
* 34 percent of Iowans aged 18 to 24 smoked cigarettes.
* 72 percent of smokers surveyed in 2006 wanted to quit smoking.
Data from the health department also show that in 2006 slightly more men smoked than women, 23 percent and 19 percent, respectively; and 21 percent of whites smoked, compared with 28 percent of other ethnic groups, which were not disaggregated in the report.
"It's a drug addition," Mapes said. "It's not some habit. It isn't a matter of choice. Ask any smoker and they'll tell you that. The vast majority of them recognize that. . . . It’s not that they don’t want to quit."
Iowa smokers who qualify for the Medicaid program are eligible to receive up to 12 weeks of free nicotine patches and gum, but must first get a referral from their health care provider before calling the hot line to sign up, Mapes said.
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported that of the 2,560 callers during the program's first week, 2,151 requested the nicotine patches and gum, and 1,323 agreed to the telephone coaching.
"We're encouraging people to sign up for both," she said.
The program likely will run through 2011 as long as money is available, McCormick said. Smokers can take advantage of the program once a year, he said.
_______________________________
Iowa's "QUIT-NOW' smoking cessation hot line:
Dial 1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-800-784-8669 to sign up for the state's free, confidential program, which offers nicotine patches and gum. The kits are shipped to participants within 24 hours.
The telephone line is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. English-and Spanish-speaking counselors are available.
Beginning Monday, the hot line's hours will extend from 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
New Hampshire Democratic Primary Results
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won New Hampshire's Democratic primary with 39 percent of the vote, followed closely by Sen. Barack Obama with 37 percent. For entire results visit CNN.
Festival With A Focus - 10th Annual I'll Make Me a World In Iowa
By Dana Boone
The state's largest African-American festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary this month, with an expected crowd of nearly 20,000 people.
The two-day I`ll Make Me a World in Iowa festival will be held on Jan. 25-26 at the Polk County Convention Complex in Des Moines.
This year's headliners for Celebration Day on Jan. 26 include actor Morris Chestnut, best known for his movie roles in "The Best Man," "Boyz n the Hood" and "Perfect Holiday," and the gospel group Trin-i-tee 5:7.
"When we say Morris Chestnut, that's a first-name recognition," said Betty Andrews, the festival's executive director and president and CEO of Betty Andrews Media. "His name needs no introduction. We know who he is. We're definitely excited."
Securing high-profile celebrities is a unique part of the festival, Andrews said. It's an affirmation for blacks, who make up just 2.5 percent of the state's population with 73,086 people, that the state can draw such well-known entertainers, she said.
"African-Americans in Iowa sometimes feel like we're not part of the national community, but having these celebrities be accessible to our community just lets us know it could happen here like it happens in Atlanta or California or New York," Andrews said. "We do things and we do them well and we can be proud that we have made our world in Iowa."
The festival began following a 1999 PBS miniseries "I'll Make Me a World." Iowa's festival is designed to highlight black history, culture and the contributions blacks have made to Iowa.
Pam Williams is instructor of the Isiserettes Drill & Drum Corps, which will perform at the festival on Jan. 26. She said some of her female instructors know that Chesnut is coming and they're looking forward to seeing him.
"I know the younger women are excited he's coming," Williams said.
Last Sunday, Williams said she saw Trin-i-tee 5:7 perform on BET, a cable network that reaches an estimated 87 million households.
"They're geared toward young people with a gospel message," she said.
Part of the festival's allure is people-watching, "soul food" sampling and live performances in Iowa's big-scale celebration of black culture. Vendors will sell art and other items. Puppet shows, rides and other attractions will keep children engaged, Andrews said. A health fair called "Fat to PHAT" will include free health assessments and will promote heart-health awareness. A new Iowa Events and Info Line will debut next week, Andrews said. The telephone line will contain updates on the festival, a community calendar, community information, health tips and short stories about influential figures in black history, such as inventor George Washington Carver. The phone number has not yet been released.
"Even though it's in the winter, we try to make sure that people get that it's a festival," Andrews said.
But, it's a festival with a focus, she added.
"We wanted to make sure that people understand that we have played an invaluable role in the history of America," Andrews said. "We use ingenuity. We're overcomers. We have that 'soul food' mentality. We were able to take nothing and make it into something . . . we took scraps and made it into delicacies."
The first day of the festival is Education Day, which emphasizes black history to more than 1,200 middle and high school students from across the state, Andrews said. Students form teams and study for a month for the Black History Game Show, which is the highlight of Education Day. Educational workshops are also held during the event.
"A lot has been said about the lack of African-American history being taught in schools," said Andrews. "We wanted to make sure we sent the message that we have this great celebration, but African-Americans are not only about singing and dancing. That's a big part of our culture and we're proud of it and everything, but we're also about the great inventors we have in our community. We're about achievers and pacesetters."
Iowa performers continue to dominate the festival. This year's performers include Waterloo singer Effie Burt, the Gateway Dance Theatre and the Isiserettes, among dozens of others.
Williams said the members of the drill team get "treated like celebrities" at the festival. A video of the group's 2007 performances will also be shown, she said.
"I think it's a great event," she said. "We look forward to it."
Williams said a fight that broke out among teens during a previous festival emphasizes the need for parents to accompany their children to the event.
"Kids under a certain age need to be accompanied by an adult and not just dropped off to be there all day," Williams said. "People need to bring their kids and share what's there."
In 1999, organizers planned for 300 people, but 1,000 showed up. About 10,000 people attended the event in 2006 and attendance grew to about 15,000 in 2007, Andrews said. Past headliners have included Victoria Rowell, Blair Underwood, Hill Harper, Lynn Whitfield, GregAlan Williams, Bev Smith and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, among others.
Hundreds of volunteers helped organize the festival, which Andrews said she hopes will excite this year's festival-goers.
"It's going to be a grand experience," Andrews said.
_______
"I'll Make Me a World in Iowa" schedule
Jan. 25
- Education Day features the Black History Game Show competition from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Polk County Convention Complex, 501 Grand Ave. More than 1,200 students from across the state participated in 2006.
- The Grand Gala: Embracing Excellence will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at HyVee Hall, Iowa Events Center, 730 Third St. Tickets for the formal event are $50 per person.
- Honorees include the Iowa/Nebraska NAACP, Stacey Walker and the late Jimmie Porter.
"We didn't want to let his passing and accomplishments go by unnoticed," Andrews said of Porter.
Jan. 26:
- The Celebration Day festival, featuring headliners Morris Chesnut and Trin-i-tee 5:7, runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Polk County Convention Complex.
For more information call (515) 288-7171. Photo is of Betty Andrews.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Martin Luther King, Jr., events
Here are a few upcoming King events:
- The Black Ministerial Alliance of Des Moines will hold its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Breakfast at 9 a.m. Jan. 12 at Mt. Hebron Missionary Baptist Church, 1338 9th St in Des Moines. Rev. Bobby Young is pastor and vice-president of the alliance. Guest speaker is Rev. Curtis De Vance, pastor of Burns United Methodist Church. A $10 donation is requested.
- The NAACP’s Youth Council will host its 4th annual King Legacy Program at 6 p.m. Jan. 12 at King of Kings Baptist Church, 619 S.E. 15th St. The speaker is Quinnetta Claytor, a sophomore at the University of Iowa. The event also includes the Maple Street Baptist Church Youth Choir, a preview of the 2008 ACT-SO competition and the Roosevelt High School Step Team.
- The alliance and the Des Moines branch of the NAACP will hold a King community celebration service at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at Union Missionary Baptist Church, 1200 McCormick St. Rev. Henry Thomas is pastor. Guest speaker is Rev. Keith Ratliff, Sr., pastor of Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church, president of the Iowa Nebraska NAACP and a national board member of the NAACP.
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