AAVoice_2007_09

Transcription

AAVoice_2007_09

The Voice of African Americans in Colorado
september 2007
“Keeping the community informed SINCE 1991”
Free
100 MEN TAKE STAND ON PROSTATE CANCER
By J’von E. Hamlin
Colorado Springs, Co. – The Hillside
Neighborhood Association called for
100 men to attend its free brunch and
health care seminar held on Saturday,
August 25th at Howard’s Pitt Bar B
Que. Attendees included local clergymen, business leaders, educators, physicians, and several retirees. The event
included door prizes, give-a-ways and
of course a full course brunch.
Fred Bland, President of the Hillside
Neighborhood Association and organizer of the seminar, characterized the
event as “quite successful.“ “It was
also a real blessing to have so many
come out to participate,” said Bland.
Bland made remarks to the group concerning the necessity of proper seat belt
wear and child safety seat usage.
The
Hillside
Neighborhood
Association, founded in 1985, was
established to make the Hillside com-
munity a safer place for seniors and
young alike. Throughout the years, the
organization has expanded its objectives to include community outreach
and social service initiatives. In 1997,
Hillside Neighborhood Association was
selected by the National Civic League
as an All American City. The organization was also awarded the Governor’s
Smart Growth and Development Award.
Prostate cancer, a pressing
health concern for all men, was the
chief topic of the morning’s discussion. According to the National Cancer
Institute, prostate cancer is the most
common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer related death in
men over fifty years of age. The
American Cancer Society estimates
about 189,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year, and about 30,200 men
will die of the disease.
continued on page 14
KLANSMAN SENTENCED IN 1964 MURDERS OF BLACK TEENS:
Colorado Springs Man Delivers Victim's Statement
Thomas Moore and Davis Ridgen, documentary filmmaker with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation next to the Memorial sign for Thomas's brother,
Charles Moore and Henry Dee.
September Newsline
Community
National
Auto
Pointers for Parents
Education
Business
Health
Technology
Calendar
Blackonomic$
To Be Equal
September 2007
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4
5
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8
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10
11
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Hillside Association
14
Justice
15
Worrill's Corner
16
National Black Chamber of Commerce 17
Pan Hellenic Council Directory
18
10th Annual Greek Cook-Out 19
Community Network
20
Special Supplement
National Prostate Cancer Month,
National Sickle Cell Month
S1-S4
By Roxanne Hale
Contributing Editor, African American
Voice
On August 24, James Ford Seale, a
reputed Ku Klux Klan member, received
three life terms in prison for his part in the
1964 kidnapping, torture and murder of two
southwest Mississippi teenagers, Charles
Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee.
Convicted in June 2007 on federal
kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the
deaths of 19-year old Moore and Dee,
Seale, 72, was finally prosecuted 41 years
after the crimes based on testimony from
Charles Marcus Edwards, “a confessed
Klansman, who received immunity from
prosecution for his testimony and his admitted role in the abductions.” (As reported on
CNN.com on August 29, 2007.)
Seale was convicted in June on federal kidnapping and conspiracy charges
in the deaths of Moore and Dee. The case
was reopened in 2005, thanks largely to
the unrelenting efforts of Thomas Moore,
Talk To Your Aging Parents
(NAPSA)-Talking to your aging parents now about financial, legal, housing
and long-term care issues can avoid many
potential problems later on.
Here are a few topics suggested by The
Eldercare Locator, a free service of the U.S.
Administration on Aging:
1. Finances: What Social Security,
pension and other financial assets will be
available.
2. Documents: Be certain each family member has a will and an advance directive and knows where insurance policies
and financial papers are located.
3. Long-term care insurance: What
www.africanamericanvoice.net
a Colorado Springs resident and Charles
Moore’s brother, and David Ridgen, a
documentary filmmaker with the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation.
According to Thomas Moore’s “Victim
Statement,” presented at last month’s sentencing hearing, Ridgen searched for him
for more than a year, “found me, then came
and helped me get the truth after 43 years
that led to justice.” (Read Thomas Moore’s
statement, on page 10.) The work done
by Ridgen, whose film “Mississippi Cold
Case” aired locally on MSNBC in June,
along with that of other journalists highlighted Thomas Moore’s quest for justice
for his brother and led to the reinvestigation of the murders by the U.S. Attorney’s
Office in Jackson, MS.
New chapters in America’s Civil Rights
history will continue to be written as
unsolved crimes from the 1950s and 1960s
are revisited. As recently as February 2007,
the FBI estimated the number of such cases
as 50 to 70.
type of coverage is best for your parents or
for yourself.
4. Housing: What is available to help
your parents maintain independence in the
home for as long as possible-such as home
modification, home health assistance or
chore service.
To find out more about these issues,
contact the Eldercare Locator at (800)
677-1116 or www.eldercare.gov. The
Eldercare Locator is a free service of the
U.S. Administration on Aging.
As people age and live longer, financial,
legal, housing and long-term care issues
affect families, not just individuals.
Page 1
COmmunity
Linkster's Golf Association Promotes More Than Just the Game
The Linkster's Golf Association of
Colorado Springs, Colorado was established in 1994 by its 4 founding fathers
(James Bell, Ken Callum, Harry Peace,
and Manfred Bradley). This group of
local business leaders, educators, military personnel (active and retired), and
self-employed individuals, has grown
to over 50 members. Just about all
year round, we enjoy some of the most
beautiful golf courses and scenery in
the world with Pikes Peak as a backdrop. Having been a part of the golfing community for over 13 years, this
group has strong roots in the community and is well respected in the local
golfing circles. The Linksters are very
competitive and members can be seen
at the top of the leaderboard at various
local tournaments. As a member of the
WesternStates Golf Association, the
Linksters are working to promote the
game of golf even more in the community and with youths.
The purpose of the Linkster's Golf
Association is to make every effort to
promote the game of golf and provide
an environment which is conducive to
learning and enjoying the game and
to promote the general welfare of the
membership activities.
Our mission as an organization is
to build friendships, encourage competitiveness, and display honesty and
integrity when playing the game. In
addition, we will promote the game
of golf throughout the community by
teaching others and by fostering the
growth and development of youth programs as they pertain to golf.
Full Membership - $80, Associate
Membership #1 - $50, Associate
Membership #2 - $30, Junior
Membership (18-24) - $35, Youth
Membership (7-17) $20,
Address:
P.O. Box 62442, Colorado Springs,
CO. 80962.
Contact: Don Cross President - 719-964-5447 James Bell
- Vice President - 719-650-8472.
Meetings are held on the 3rd
Wednesday of the month at the
Colorado Springs Police Department
Stetson Hills substation but are for
members only unless a special guest
would like to address the club.
Don Cross is a native of Louisiana.
He moved to Colorado Springs with his
family in 1994. Don joined the Linksters
in 1999. He served as Secretary for 2
years before becoming president. As a
3 term president, Don has helped take
the Linkster's to the next level. He cre-
Internet Partners
Colorado Department of Transportation
www.dot.state.co.us
Colorado Technical University
www.coloradotech.edu
Fox 21
www.kxrm.com
Xtreme Network Consulting
www.xtremenetworkconsulting.com
Memorial Health System
www.memorialhealthsystem.com
American Family Insurance
www.amfam.com
ated a website for the members, helped
create a free clinic program in the
summer for the public, and organized
annual memorial tournaments for nonprofit organizations that the Linksters
are interested in supporting.
Don joined the Linkster's because
he wanted to get better and heard that
these guys could play. During his first
outing with the Linksters, he found out
just how good they were. Everyone in
his group shot in the 70's! He shot triple
digits that day. But he's been learning
from them ever since. Not only did the
Linksters help him improve his game
but they exposed him to community
service opportunities as well.
I enjoy teaching the little that I have
learned and seeing our members work
with people and how amazed they are
when what we teach them works! I'm
also proud to see our members compete with some of the best in town and
when we travel. I still get excited when
we show up at golf courses in numbers
with our logo shirts. Everyone wants
to know who we are and whenever we
tell them, we get the same response!
Wow! I never heard of you guys! How
can I join?
Don Cross, President
Linkster's Golf Association
Major Annual Events:
Free Summer Golf Clinics Western
States Golf Association Annual
Championship (plus we attend other
WSGA events)
President's Cup - Linkster's VS
the Mile Hi Sandbaggers of Denver
Annual Memorial Tournament - for
local Charities (held tournament 3 years
in row for American Cancer Society)
Mile HI Sandbagger's Annual 2-Day
Tournament in Denver
Linkster's 2-Day Club Championship
End of Season Awards Banquet
Emergencies and Disasters
Happen. Are You Ready?
Free Emergency Training
Offered for Citizens
The Colorado Springs Office of
Emergency Management is offering
a free two-day Citizen Emergency
Response Training (CERT) training class September 15 and 16.
The class will be held at the Fire
Department Complex, 375 Printers
Parkway, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each
day.
During major disasters first
responders often are overwhelmed
with the number of individual emergencies. They respond to emergencies associated with the disaster
and also regular emergency calls.
Citizens must know how to be selfsufficient during the first critical
72 hours immediately following
any type of disaster, whether natural or man-made. CERT has been
designed to fulfill those needs.
Citizen Emergency Response
Training (CERT) is a 16-hour
course that provides comprehensive
training in disaster preparedness
and response. Through classroom
learning, hands-on training and a
simulated disaster exercise, participants will learn how to help
themselves, their families and their
neighbors during and immediately
following a disaster. Topics covered include disaster preparedness;
disaster medical assistance; light
search and rescue; fire safety; terrorism and disaster psychology.
This course does not offer certification in CPR or first aid. Online
registration forms are available
through the Office of Emergency
Management’s website at www.
springsgov.com. Citizen Emergency
Response Training is located under
Quick Links.
Advertise in the African American Voice
For More Information Call (719) 528-1954
Pepsi
www.pepsi.com
University of Colorado - Colorado Springs
www.uccs.edu
Phone: (719) 528-1954
Fax: (719) 218-9500
Penrose-St. Francis Health Services
www.penrosestfrancis.org
Sankofa Art Alliance
Page 2
Black Hands Drum Ensemble
Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Iota Eta Chapter
www.chietaphi.com
[email protected]
P.O. Box 25340
Colorado Springs, CO 80936
September
July 2007
COmmunity
Sierra Art Students Paint
Colorado CPOA Receives
Mural for College Hall of Fame Community Service Award
CASA Kids Receive Pajamas and
Bedtime Books
As seen on "Oprah," Pajama
Program donates sleepwear, books to
kids inneed There's already a hint of
fall in the air. As the days grow shorter
andthe temperature drops, there's nothing better than a cozy pair of PJs to
comfort us through the cool Colorado
nights. Most of us take something as
simple as our favorite pajamas for
granted.But many needy kids in the
Pikes Peak Region, some of whom
have been abused and neglected, don't
have a good pair of PJs and they don't
havea mother or father to tuck them in
at night.
Thanks to the Southern Colorado
Chapter of the Pajama Program, kids
served by Court Appointed Special
Advocates (CASA) of the Pikes Peak
Region will get a brand new pair of
warm pajamas and a book to read at
bedtime. The Pajama Program, newly
established in the area, will make its
first donation of more than 60 new
pajamas to CASA.
CASA will celebrate the donation
by throwing a Pajama Party for foster
kids in September. CASA volunteers
and foster parents have been invited
to bring children up to age 18 to the
party. Kids will be able to pick out
a pair of pajamas and a book or toy
of their choice, snack on cookies and
hot chocolate, and spend a few hours
enjoying some of the simple pleasures
of childhood with other kids just like
them.
"Pajamas connote warmth and security and this is a way for us to provide our kids with a sense of safety,"
said CASA Executive Director Trudy
Strewler. "We are very grateful to have
been chosen to receive the program's
first donation in our area and can't
wait to see the kids' faces at the party."
The Southern Colorado Chapter of
the Pajama Program was established
by Collette Guida after she saw the
national program featured on "The
Oprah Winfrey Show."
"I was so inspired by the idea I
decided I had to be apart of it," said
Collette. The Pajama Program identifies organizations that care for homeless or vulnerable children in various
ways. The program provides pajamas
and books to help create a warm, nurturing environment to kids living under
difficult circumstances.
Since 1989, CASA of the Pikes Peak
Region has been recruiting, training,
and supervising volunteers to advocate
for abused and neglected children in the
4th Judicial District (El Paso and Teller
Counties). CASA's goal is to ensure
safety and permanency for children
whose lives are in turmoil. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to be
a voice for these children in court and
in the community. The desired result is
that children are placed into safe, loving homes where they can thrive.
For more information call 447-9898
or visit www.casappr.org. The Pajama
Program, a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization, provides new, warm pajamas
and books to needy children in the
United States, and around the world,
many who are waiting and hoping to
be adopted. These are youngsters who
may not know the comforts of a mother
or father to tuck them into a cozy bed
and read them a bedtime story.
The program identifies key institutions in major cities in the U.S. and
othercountries where children are living temporarily as they wait and hope
for adoption. The Pajama Program was
founded in 2001 by Genevieve Piturro
and Alice Pagano Quirk. For more
information visit www.pajamaprogram.
org. To contact the Southern Colorado
Chapter, call Collette Guida at 719201-1497.
September 2007
Volunteers may be calling you
soon. Your contribution will help
give a child the opportunity to thrive.
In case you miss the call, contact
CASA at 447-9898 or donate online
at www.casappr.org.
and free eyewear for those in need.
In addition to the Community Service
Award, Ms. Bowers is recipient of the
2007 NAACP Living Legend Award,
2004 People’s First Award (Regional
Winner) Vision Service Plan, 2003
Lifetime Achievement Hometown
Hero (Lifetime TV), and 2002 AOA
Paraoptometric of the Year.The award,
sponsored by CIBA Vision, was presented to Ms. Bowers at the Paraoptometric
Section Awards Luncheon held in conjunction with the 110th Annual AOA
Congress and 37th Annual AOSA
Conference: Optometry’s Meeting™
held in Boston, MA in June.
Everyday Hero.
CASA trains volunteers to work within the court system to help
abused and neglected children become a permanent part of caring
families. Four thousand kids have benefited from the CASA program,
but over 700 children in El Paso and Teller Counties need help – yours.
No legal experience is necessary. If you are a caring, committed
person who wants to make a difference in a child’s life, we need you now!
(A child’s voice in court )
Call today: 719-447-9898 x1008
or visit www.casappr.org
Calvary Worship Center - Simply teaching the
"Worshipping
God in Spirit & Truth"
Word of God . . . Simply.
Join us Sunday mornings at 8:00 am, 10:00 am and
Sunday Worship
12:00 pm and Wednesdays at 6:30 pm with
8:45 am & 10:45 am
Al Pittman,
Senior Pastor
Wednesday
Worship
6:30 pm
with Al Pitmman, Senior Pastor
Listen to Pastor Al Pitman
Listen to
Pastor
AlProgram
on the Dwelling
Place
Radio
on
the
Dwelling
Place
Radio
Monday - Friday
Monday
Friday
at 5:45 am and on Sunday's at
at 5:45
am 10:00
and on
8:00
am and
pmSunday's at
8:00am
and
10:00 pm
on 100.8 FM!
Expect CASA's Call for Kids
Will you answer the call for abused
and neglected children in the Pikes Peak
Region? It’s time for CASA’s Annual
Drive to Thrive for Children. The goal
for this year’s telephone campaign is to
raise enough money to provide safe and
permanent homes for 40 children.
Elaine Bowers
on 100.7 FM!
Fontanero/Fillmore
I-25
Sweet Dreams:
ST.
LOUIS—The American
Optometric Association Paraoptometric
Section annually honors one member
of the Section with the Community
Service Award. The 2007 recipient is
Elaine Bowers, CPOA, of Colorado
Springs, CO. Ms. Bowers was chosen
based on her performance as related in
the following categories: community
service within the optometric practice
in which she works, self or practicesponsored community service, as well
as the individual’s personal and professional goals of community service. Ms.
Bowers attended Northwest College
of Medical & Dental Assistants in
West Covina, CA and graduated with
a Medical Administration/Medical
Secretary degree. She became a certified paraoptometric assistant (CPOA)
in 1990, and is currently employed
as head technician at Executive Park
Eye Care in Colorado Springs, CO.She
has dedicated her time and energy
to making a difference in her community through paraoptometry and
other civic responsibilities. She has
served paraoptometry at the state and
national levels through various leadership positions and currently serves
on the Commission on Children &
Family by appointment by the Mayor
of Colorado Springs. Ms. Bowers also
mentors paraoptometric/ophthalmic
technicians and develops continuing
education tracks for paraoptometrics.
Ms. Bowers is the founder and director
of two organizations: L.I.F.E. (Love is
Finding Everyone), a teen community
association which empowers young
people through community outreach,
and S.I.G.H.T. (Serving in God’s Hands
Today), which helps obtain eye exams
Castle
Presidential Library in Texas. “Our
students are doing tremendous work
and getting involved not just in the
school and surrounding community
but on a national scale,” says Greg
Biga, Fine Arts Department Chair of
Sierra High School. “We expect to finish the mural of football history in the
first two weeks of September and to
attend the Hall of Fame Reception in
November.”
Sierra High School was established
in 1984, and is part of Harrison School
District Two located at 2250 Jet Wing
Drive. For more information about
the football history mural and Sierra
Art Students please call Greg Biga, at
579-4860.
30th Street
[Colorado Springs, CO] – Sierra
High School art students are painting a
mural of football history as an exhibit
for the College Football Hall of Fame.
The 4’ x 8’ mural will be unveiled
during a reception in the Football Hall
of Fame in South Bend, Indiana the
weekend of the Air Force vs. Notre
Dame Football game this November.
Sierra art students Corina
Garcia, Clarence Bumpas, Kendelle
Grundhauser and Becky Suitt have
created work by request of national
political and sports luminaries who
see the value of “student” artwork.
In August, Corina Garcia finished
painting a portrait of former President
Bush which is being displayed in the
King Street
Calvary
Worship Center
N
Uintah
Calvary Worship Center is located at 501 Castle Road, just east
Center
is located
at 505
Castle
Road, just east of the
of the corner Calvary
of 30thWorship
and King
Street.
Phone
(719)
632-3311
corner
of 30th
King Street.
Phone (719) 632-3311 www.cwccs.org
You can
visit
our and
website
at www.cwccs.org
Page 3
national
Marc O. Sydnor Joins Atlantic Justice For Jena: Take Action Now!!!
Life Investment Advisors
Atlanta, GA . Atlanta Life Investment
Advisors announces the hiring of Marc
O. Sydnor as director of client services.
Sydnor brings more than 15 years experience in the financial and asset management
industry to his role as director of client
services. Sydnor will report to Ronald D.
Brown, president and CEO, Atlanta Life
Financial Group; president, Atlanta Life
Investment Advisors. The firm is a subsidiary of Atlanta Life Financial Group.
“Marc is the ideal candidate to fill this
crucial client services role,” said President
and CEO Ronald D. Brown, Atlanta Life
Financial Group; and president of Atlanta
Life Investment Advisors. “He possesses
the knowledge needed to help us effectively
meet the current and future client requirements.”
Prior to joining Atlanta Life Investment
Advisors, Sydnor was a senior economist
and equity portfolio manager at MDL
Capital Management, where he created the
MDL Economic Matrix, an economic forecasting product. His tenure also includes
serving as investment manager search consultant for Gray & Company. Sydnor began
his career as a broker for Oppenheimer &
Company.
“The most successful client services
people are usually the ones who are the
most product savvy, just as the most successful portfolio management people are
usually the ones who are the most client
services and marketing savvy. Marc, having worked on the product / portfolio side
for many years brings a tremendous amount
of product knowledge to his client services
role at our firm,” said Kenneth Holley,
chief investment officer and principal of
Atlanta Life Investment Advisors. “His
years of experience of actually getting into
the trenches with the portfolio managers
will serve him and our clients very well in
the years to come.”
"To have the ability to work for a company that has the Atlanta Life name behind
it…supporting it and a company that focuses on ‘best practices’ is an opportunity of a
lifetime,” said Sydnor.
Marc O. Sydnor
Sydnor holds a Bachelor of Arts in
Economics from the University of
Delaware.
About Atlanta Life Investment
Advisors
Atlanta Life Investment Advisors is a
registered investment advisory firm that
specializes in large capitalization equity
strategies both in the United States and
non-US equity markets for institutional
clients. Atlanta Life Investment Advisors
is a majority-owned unit of Atlanta Life
Financial Group.
About Atlanta Life Financial Group
Atlanta Life Financial Group is a privately held African-American owned financial services company.
In addition to Atlanta Life Investment
Advisors, Atlanta Life Financial Group’s
business units are Atlanta Life Insurance
Company and Jackson Securities.
These companies provide a range of
financial solutions to help individuals and
institutional customers manage their investment and insurance needs.
For more information visit the company’s web site at www.atlantalife.com.
Getting The U. S. Back on Track
Congress needs to reverse the upsidedown priorities – from Washington to Iraq
– that are shortchanging Colorado families
and communities
The upside-down priorities of the Bush
administration and previous, Republican-led
Congresses have taken America seriously
off-track. Throughout four and a half years
of endless war in Iraq, real needs here at
home have been severely neglected while
the tax burden to fund the war has shifted
sharply onto middle-class and working-poor
families.
The new Congress is working to get
America back on track by funding critical human needs priorities like children’s
health care, job training and education, but
President Bush is threatening to veto any
legislation that increases funding beyond
his budget proposal. Some Bush administration officials and Republican leaders are
even suggesting they would shut down the
government before passing modest funding
increases for vital programs that amount to
just a fraction of what America spends every
day in Iraq.
Indeed, while America spends $10 bilPage 4
JENA, La. (AP) A judge has thrown
out one of the two charges against the
first Black student tried for beating up
a White student at Jena High School,
saying juveniles cannot be charged
with conspiracy in adult court.
But Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. rejected
arguments that, for the same reason,
he should throw out the aggravated
second-degree battery charge on which
Mychal Bell, 17, also was convicted.
The judge's decision means Bell
will face at most 15 years in prison
rather than 221/2 when he is sentenced
Sept. 20.
Bell, the first of the students known
as the "Jena Six" to go on trial, was 16
when he was charged with attempted
murder of the White student, Justin
Barker.
The attack on Barker, 18, came amid
tense race relations in Jena, a mostly
White town of 3,000 in north-central
Louisiana where racial tensions have
escalated since incidents that started
last school year at Jena High. After a
Black student sat under a tree on the
school campus where White students
traditionally congregated, three nooses
were hung in the tree. Students accused
of placing the nooses were suspended
from school for a short period.
The six Black students were accused
of beating and kicking Barker on Dec.
4. A motive for the attack was never
established. Barker was treated at a
hospital emergency room and released
after about three hours.
Murder and attempted murder are
charges on which a juvenile can be tried
as an adult, but aggravated battery is not,
defense attorney Bob Noel argued.
He said LaSalle Parish District
Attorney Reed Walters used "baitand-switch" tactics to try Bell as an
adult. Bell was indicted on a charge of
attempted murder, but Walters changed
to the battery charge before trial, as he
did Sept. 4 with the charges against
two more students, Carwin Jones and
Theo Shaw.
But Mauffray agreed with Walters
that, once a case against a juvenile is
in adult court, reducing the charge did
not automatically return the case to
juvenile court.
Walters quoted state law: "The
lion every month on the endless war in Iraq,
recent headlines have been full of glaring
examples of the neglected priorities here at
home:
• Despite being labeled “structurally deficient,”
the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis was not
scheduled for repair until 2020 – 13 years
after its collapse, which killed at least eight
people and devastated an entire community.
• The explosion of an aging underground steam
pipe shut down Manhattan last month, killing one person and injuring dozens, further
exposed America’s decaying infrastructure.
• As the second anniversary of Hurricane
Katrina approaches, much of New Orleans
still lies in ruin.
THE COST OF ENDLESS WAR
TO COLORADO
• With the total cost of the Iraq war now
approaching half a trillion dollars ($456 billion and counting), Colorado taxpayers’ share
of that cost is now more than $7 billion and
rising.
• The new Congress is finally working to get
America back on track by reversing years
of upside-down priorities in Washington.
Congress is working to pass modest increases
•
•
•
•
•
in funding for children’s health care, job
training, education and other priorities, but
President Bush threatens to veto legislation
with any increases beyond his budget proposal, which shortchanged these programs to pay
for tax breaks for millionaires and the endless
war in Iraq.
Amazingly, Bush administration officials and
Republican leaders have even suggested they
would shut down the government before passing modest increases in funding for these vital
priorities. Take a look at the small boosts in
funding – representing just a fraction of the
$10 billion U.S. taxpayers are spending in Iraq
every month – that are leading to Republican
threats to shut down our government:
Cost
of restoring Colorado job training funds
($14.3 million) = about 3.3 days of Iraq war
spending
Cost of restoring Colorado child care funds
($5.8 million) = about 32 hours of Iraq war
spending
Cost of restoring Colorado child support funding ($12.59 million) = about 2.9 days of Iraq
war spending
Cost of restoring Colorado K-12 education
funding ($42.2 million) = about 10 days of
Iraq war spending
court exercising criminal jurisdiction
shall retain jurisdiction over the child's
case, even though he pleads guilty to
or is convicted of a lesser included
offense."
Bell's attorneys said they would
appeal that and another rejected request
to return the case to juvenile court.
Walters said he would appeal the conspiracy ruling.
Bell's attorneys also argued that
the convictions should be thrown out
because there was no evidence of conspiracy or of the dangerous weapon
required for an aggravated battery
charge. Walters has said that weapon
was shoes. Louis Scott, another of
Bell's attorneys, said there was no
evidence that Barker's injuries were
caused by tennis shoes rather than a
punch or hitting a wall.
People in the packed courtroom
sometimes cheered or made loud noises of disgust or disbelief during the
arguments.
That was but a mere taste of what is
expected to be a massive public outcry
against the perceived racial discrimination and unfair targeting of the boys in
this case on Sept. 20.
Though the case received little
mainstream media attention, a groundswell of sentiment in support of the
Black students began on the Internet
in blogs; Black media portals like The
Final Call and BlackAmericaWeb.
com; websites dedicated to the cause
http://jenasix.org) and online petitions
to drop the charges in the case (www.
colorofchange.org).
The movement is sweeping through
college campuses as well.
On Sept. 5, a group of Howard university students comprising the Save
the Jena Six Planning Committee,
which is working to raise money for
and awareness about the Jena Six cases,
held a rally at the school's Cramton
Auditorium.
"It would behoove students at a
Historically Black University to show
solidarity with any case that calls into
question the blindfold that the court
is supposed to wear," said Chigozie
Onyema, a member of the planning
team in a The Hilltop article.
Continued on page 17
• Full Title I funding for U.S. schools ($14.4
billion) = 45.6 days of Iraq war spending
• 639,658 Colorado children could have been
provided health care for the length of the Iraq
War
• 36,910 affordable housing units could have
been built across the state
• 850 elementary schools could have been built
in Colorado
Colorado Progressive Coalition and
other USAction affiliates across the country are working to highlight the misplaced
priorities that have had such a devastating
impact in Colorado and communities across
the country. We urge Colorado’s members
in Congress to start getting America back on
track by supporting these modest increases
as a down-payment toward fully funding
children’s health care, job training, education and other priorities over five years, and
by voting to override a presidential veto that
could needlessly shut down the government
and lead to further devastation to our citizens and communities.
Colorado taxpayers alone have spent
over $7 billion on the endless Iraq war; we
need to address our neglected priorities
here at home.
September 2007
auto
Seamlessly Drive Into Winter
(NewsUSA) - The winter months are
quickly approaching, which means it's
time to gear up for the weather ahead.
Don't forget your car on your winter to-do
list. Having you vehicle serviced for coldweather driving is important not only for
peace of mind, but also for personal safety.
The non-profit National Institute for
Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), the
group that tests and certifies automotive
technicians, offers tips on preparing your
car for the winter months.
• Read the owner's manual. These manuals
•
•
•
•
offer recommended service schedules that
are specific to your car.
Correct any engine problems you've
noticed. Hard starts, rough idling, stalling
and diminished power can go from being a
problem to a disaster in cold weather.
Check your engine coolant. The level,
condition and concentration of the coolant should be checked and replaced if old.
Replace coolant with a 50/50 mix of coolant and water.
Check your belts. Take your car to a professional technician to check the tightness and
condition of drive belts, clamps and hoses.
Change your oil and oil filter as specified in
your manual.
• Be sure your heater and defroster are in
•
•
•
•
•
good working order both for your comfort
and visibility.
Check your battery. The only accurate way
to detect a weak battery is with professional
equipment, however, any weekender can
scrape corrosion from posts and cable connections, clean surfaces and re-tighten connections. Be sure to wear eye protection and
rubber gloves for safety.
Check for exhaust leaks. Inspect the trunk
and floorboards of your vehicle for small
holes, which could emit deadly exhaust
fumes.
Check your tread. Worn tires are of little
use amid the winter elements. Replace
them with all-season radials or snow tires,
depending on your climate.
Replace worn windshield wipers and keep
plenty of washer fluid on hand.
Put a bottle of fuel de-icer in your tank once
a month to help keep moisture from freezing in the fuel line.
For more car care tips from ASE,
founded in 1972 to improve the quality of
automotive service and repair through the
voluntary testing and certification of automotive professionals, visit www.ase.com.
Autumn Leaves Present
Driving Hazards
(NewsUSA) - Autumn's leaves are
beautiful to see, but when wet or in
piles, they present driving hazards
unique to the season. The Car Care
Council reminds drivers to prepare
for fall driving conditions by having
their vehicles' tires, brakes and wipers
checked before heading out.
Most motorists know that puddles
or standing water can cause loss of
control, and they adjust their driving
accordingly. But fewer drivers, especially inexperienced ones or drivers
new to an area with heavy foliage, are
aware of the dangers of wet leaves.
A single layer of wet leaves can
make braking, steering and stopping
difficult. This effect is particularly dangerous at intersections and is intensified
at downhill stop signs. Acceleration
can be affected, too. Fishtailing can
result on leaf-strewn interstate entrance
ramps and other areas where hard accelerations may be necessary.
Even when dry, leaves can present a
challenge. Piles of leaves can obscure
potholes, curbs and street markings and
even present a fire hazard should leaves
contact a hot muffler or tailpipe.
The Council reminds motorists that
tires can affect the car's ride, handling,
traction and safety, and that they are a
New Car Smell Wears Off,
But Payments Linger
(NewsUSA) - Everybody wants a
new car. You see a nice car pass you
on the highway and think, "Why can't
I have that?" However, financial planners say keeping your current car may
help secure financial freedom in the
long run.
"We advise our clients that if they
want a 10 percent increase on their
investments every year they need to
cut down on their expenses," said Terry
Mulcahy, vice president of investments
for R.W. Baird in Mequon, Wis. "A
new automobile is for most people
their second biggest investment next to
a home, so a great way to save money
and increase financial assets is to hang
onto their current vehicle rather than
buy a new one every few years."
Repowering the engine in your existing car is one cost-effective option.
"When a car or truck suffers major
engine damage, often the first reaction
of most consumers is to buy a new or
used vehicle, but the cost to repower
an engine is a drop in the bucket
compared to monthly payments on a
new car," said Tom Schrader, chairman of the Engine Repower Council.
"The bottom line is that a repowered
engine makes a vehicle more depend-
able, more fuel efficient, less polluting
and more valuable."
With repowering, your engine or an
identical one from another like-vehicle
is completely remanufactured/rebuilt.
Also, unlike installing a used or junk
yard engine, critically important internal parts get replaced with new ones
that meet or exceed original equipment
performance standards.
Frequently, remanufactured/rebuilt
engines are better than the new engines
installed at the factory because the
original factory engine problems have
been redesigned or repaired with better quality parts. They are dependable,
reliable and backed by excellent warranty programs that also usually cover
installation expenses.
The Engine Repower Council is a
nonprofit organization that educates
consumers about the economic and
environmental benefits of remanufactured/rebuilt engines. The Engine
Repower Council supports the "Be
Car Care Aware" consumer education
campaign.
For more information, including
where to find qualified rebuilt engines
and installation providers, visit www.
enginerepower.org.
critical connection between the car and
the road in all types of driving conditions. To maximize tire life and safety,
check the inflation pressure and the
tread depth, and inspect the sidewalls
for cracks or punctures. As a general
rule, tires should be rotated and balanced every 6,000 miles.
The brake system is the car's most
important safety system. Brakes are
a normal wear item for any car, and
brake linings, drums and rotors, as well
as brake fluid, should be checked at
each oil change.
To help ensure the performance
and safety of wipers, blades should
be replaced every six months or when
cracked, cut, torn, streaking or chattering. Only windshield washer fluid
should be used, and it should be
checked monthly.
The Car Care Council is the source
of information for the "Be Car Care
Aware" consumer-education campaign,
promoting the benefits of regular vehicle care, maintenance and repair, to
consumers.
For more information or to receive
a copy of the council's new Car Care
Guide for motorists, visit www.carcare.
org.
3235 E. Platte Avenue Suite B
(719) 622-3080
Monday–Friday 9–5, Saturday 9:30–Noon
September 2007
Page 5
pointers for parents
A New Teaching Tool Makes
Learning Fun
(NAPSA)-The place for tweens to
connect these days is online, and one
social networking site has found a way
to help kids to connect with schoolwork.
The free social networking site,
imbee.com, was developed especially
for kids 8 to 14. It has fun features
such as photo sharing and trading card
creation, and even allows kids to have
their own blogs. Parents like it because
the site is designed to provide them
with visibility into their child's activities, while helping the child foster
real-world skills such as reading, writing, and problem solving in a secure
environment.
Teachers now like it because it is
helping them get kids excited about
learning.
"It has really transformed my classroom," said Richard Coleman, a fourthgrade teacher at Meridian Elementary
School. "As far as everyday teaching
goes, the blogging comes to mind. It
allows for unprecedented collaboration
between students on projects."
It also helps students with writing
projects.
"I am able to assign writing prompts
that they can post and they are able to
see others' work as well as my immediate comments," said Coleman. "This
helps with editing because I can pull up
their writing and give them immediate
feedback, plus the whole class can see
examples of good writing and my comments on what needs to be fixed."
Students seem to be more comfortable writing in the blogging format,
said Coleman, and many of his students are writing more this year. "It's
especially useful for students who have
difficulty writing with pen and paper."
imbee.com features classroom and
subject blogs. Teachers can pick a topic
and students can use search engines to
research them.
Photo album essays let students create visual essays. Podcasting lets students record their thoughts on specific
subjects or current affairs. Teachers can
communicate directly with students
using monitored messaging.
Besides homework assignments
that can be accessed 24/7, teachers can
post a question of the day or poll on a
particular subject or news item. Online
study groups can be created based on
specific subjects.
"imbee has consistently engaged
my third-grade students," said Susanna
Messier, a teacher in California. "Even
on a Friday afternoon, they will be in
pairs responding to a social studies or
science question blog post. Furiously
looking up answers and discussing
the posts before they submit them,
each and every student is engaged and
excited."
For more information, visit www.
imbee.com.
A free social networking site is
motivating kids to learn more and have
fun doing so.
Study These Healthful
School Lunchbox Ideas
(NAPSA)-Healthful school lunches
combined with some delightful surprises can get good grades from hungry
students. Here are a few tips on how
to not only add the energy your kids
need to learn but flavor and fun to the
lunches you pack.
• Lollipop bouquet. Use pretty ribbon
to tie eight to 10 Tootsie Pops in
all colors and flavors together and
create a beautiful bouquet for your
child to share with friends. With no
fat and low calories and five tasty
flavors-cherry, orange, chocolate,
grape and raspberry-there are plenty
of sweet treats to share.
• Involve your kids in the planning
and it's less likely the food will be
traded or come home uneaten. Have
your children help you create a list
of foods they like for lunch.
• Keep it small. Children generally
prefer minisized food.
• Prepare mini bagels with peanut
butter and raisins. Two mini bagels
or half a regular sized bagel, spread
with peanut butter and raisins. Add
cheese sticks and cut strawberries.
• Try small pita bread stuffed with
hummus, cheese or other sandwich
fillings. Add a bag of blueberries,
a hard-boiled egg and orange juice.
• Use different kinds of breads when
you make a sandwich or cut the
bread into different shapes with a
cookie cutter.
• Wrap it up. Put salad or lean meat
and cheese in a tortilla. Add a banana
and a chocolate-pudding cup, plus
some fruit juice. Alternatively, you
can add some vanilla wafers and an
applesauce cup and a water bottle.
• Have ham and cheese sticks. Roll
up cheese and ham and use a pretzel
stick to hold it together. Add carrot
sticks with yogurt dip, raisins and
fruit juice.
• Send a note. Include a note that
wishes your child a great day or
hints to a surprise after-school activity.
• Decorate the bag. Turn a boring
brown paper bag into a piece of art.
Decorate the bag with stickers or
ribbons and give your child something fun to open at lunch.
• Brain teasers. Include a word game
or fun riddle with your child's lunch.
These can be found at www.tootsieroll.com.
You can pack both flavor and fun
into your youngster's lunchbox.
Shades of Safety For The
Kids' Rooms
(NAPSA)-Remembering safety in
all rooms of the house is important for
parents, especially in children's bedrooms. Often, parents have to sacrifice
stylish home decor in order to provide
the safest options for their children.
Luckily, this is no longer a problem for parents wanting to update
the decor in their children's rooms,
thanks to an all-new and exclusive
cordless Roman Shades line. Available
in today's hottest colors and patterns,
Levolor has added the idea of style to
safety, with the industry's first line of
cordless Roman Shades.
Cordless shades can be lifted and
lowered by simply pushing up or pulling down on the bottom of the shade.
Other new exclusive features for
Roman Shades include:
• Room-darkening and light-filtering
options to maximize privacy and
light control. Homeowners can
determine the exact amount of
sunlight, making this an ideal feature for bedrooms and nurseries or
home theaters.
• Trend-right fabrics and textures
that range from stripes, patterns
and solids and come in seamless
fabric widths up to 144".
• Widest seamless widths available
on a single shade, making it easy to
decorate wider windows and create
a complete room.
The shades, which are available at
major retailers and home improvement
chains nationwide, come in a wide
variety of colors (90, as a matter of
fact) and patterns, and are well suited
to complement the child's room decor.
To learn more about safe and stylish window fashion choices, visit
Levolor.com.
Open a window on safety and style
with cordless shades in an extensive
selection of colors.
It helps to have someone to talk to.
Licensed professional counseling for individuals, couples, families, children, and youth; psychological and child-family investigations (formerly custody evaluations); racial identity issues;
sexual abuse and sexual identity issues; expert testimony; consultation; spiritual alignment, and
food-mood issues.
www.AtwellandGroves.com
Robert Atwell – Psy.D., PC and Assoc.
1723 S. Logan Street, Denver O: 303-698-0446 ; F: 720-858-8183
or 2305 Canyon Blvd. #205 - Boulder 303-440-7225
Carnita Groves, LPC, CAC-III, NCC, CSPT AYA Counseling & Consulting, LLC
1723 S. Logan Street, Denver O: 303-698-0446 ; F: 720-858-8183
Page 6
September 2007
education
Find Your 'A' Game During Tips to Help Kick Off a StressReport Card Time
Free School Year
(NewsUSA) - It's that time of year
again - report card time.You want your
child to do well in school, so what do
you do when your child's report card
doesn't reflect his or her full potential?
Responding quickly to the first
sign of academic struggle keeps small
setbacks from growing into learning
obstacles. By addressing the issue early,
parents can make a noticeable difference in a child's confidence and performance throughout the school year.
Now is the time to get your child
working at peak performance. Sylvan
Learning Center, the leading provider
of in-center and live, online tutoring,
offers the following tips for parents to
find their child's "A" game:
1. Set expectations. Talk with your
child before the school year starts, and
explain that you won't be upset if he
doesn't bring home all A's, but that you
will be upset if he doesn't try his best.
2. Communicate with your child.
Don't wait until report cards are issued
to talk with your child. Ask how he is
doing in school and what subjects he
finds challenging.
3. Discuss your child's performance. A teacher can recommend
ways to help your child or point out
difficulties he is having, while his
guidance counselor can provide prog-
ress reports.
4. Set goals for improvement. If
your child is currently a C student, a
goal of all A's may not be reasonable.
However, creating a goal for each subject will help him stay motivated.
5. Create a personalized study
plan. Your child should keep a schedule of all classes, assignments and
key dates. As part of that schedule,
he should include specific times for
studying, projects and extracurricular
activities.
6. Praise your child's successes.
Praise can raise your child's confidence
level and encourage him to tackle new
challenges.
7. Seek outside help. Some children may need personalized instruction
that is customized to fit their academic
needs. Speak with your child's teacher
about professional tutoring that will
provide a scientifically proven program
comprised of step-by-step instruction
to help your child master missing skills
and become an inspired learner.
For additional resources, such as
a free report card guide for children
in grades pre-kindergarten through
12, visit http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/report-card-guide.cfm or call
1-800-31-SUCCESS for more information.
D-11 Board of Education
Hires New Superintendent
At a specially called meeting
on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007, the
Colorado Springs School District
11 Board of Education unanimously
voted to hire Dr. Terry N. Bishop as
superintendent for the school district
with a base salary of $140,000 and
“at-risk” compensation of $30,000.
Dr. Bishop’s status will no longer be
“interim.” The school board’s unanimous support for Dr. Bishop indicates
their belief that he has the proper set of
skills to increase student performance,
maintain accountability, reinvigorate
the District 11 community, and make
School District 11 the school district of
choice in the Pikes Peak region.
Director Tom Strand reported
that the board conducted a salary comparison of like school districts across
the country, districts in the Pikes Peak
region and districts in Colorado and
realize that Dr. Bishop’s agreed upon
salary is lower than most. Board of
Education President John Gudvangen
emphasized that the mutual agreement between the school board and
Dr. Bishop regarding his compensation
is an indication of the board’s ability to hire the best superintendent and
still be good stewards of the district’s
resources. Dr. Bishop’s salary is in
no way an indication of less support
from the board. In fact, the board
unanimously and wholeheartedly supports Dr. Bishop and his leadership of
School District 11 to become the best
school district in Colorado. The salary
is a direct result of the board and Dr.
Bishop wanting to be frugal with the
taxpayer’s money, understanding that
we live in a fiscally conservative
September 2007
(NewsUSA) - For many students,
the first day of school doesn't only
mean new teachers and new friends - it
can also be a source of anxiety with
homework assignments and tests just
around the corner.
To help students prepare for the
new school year and minimize academic stress, Sylvan Learning Center
offers tips to make the transition from
summer to school easier.
General Back-to-School Tips:
* Get back in the routine.
Re-establish bedtimes, mealtimes,
reading and homework routines.
Discuss the importance of routines and
how they help ensure your student is
not overtired or overly anxious about
schoolwork.
* Set education goals. Help your
child set goals at the very beginning of
the year, whether it is striving for an A
in reading or handing in all homework
on time.
* Develop a relationship with your
child's teacher. Teachers are a great
source of information about your child's
scholastic performance, and they can
recommend ways to help your student
or resolve any difficulties.
* Designate a specific time and
place for homework. Ensure that study
tools are at your child's fingertips.
* Emphasize organization. Some
students benefit from using color-coded binders. Keeping notes organized
helps test preparation later in the year.
* Encourage learning at home. To
nurture reading skills, spend at least
one hour per week - 10 to 15 minutes
a day - reading with your child. To
enhance math proficiency, try allowing
your child to help plan the next family
trip by computing miles, cost of gas
and expenses.
Transition Year Tips (starting kindergarten, first grade, middle or high
school):
* Visit the school. If your child is
changing schools, make a special trip
together to visit before the first day of
classes. This will help ease feelings of
anxiety and help get your child into an
academic routine.
* Discuss changes in routine. Talk
with your student about how the routine and schedule for the new school
may differ from the previous year. Will
there be more homework assignments?
Will there be more than one teacher?
* Provide extra support. Talk with
your child about fears regarding school
and maintain an open dialogue throughout the year. Remember that every
child is different, with unique needs
and learning styles. So, help your child
learn in a way that is personalized to
best fit his or her needs.
For additional resources, visit http://
tutoring.sylvanlearning.com or call
800-31-SUCCESS.
Roosevelt-Edison Elementary Charter School
205 South Byron Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80910
For a tour or additional information,
contact Dr. P. Broadnax, Principal at
(719) 637-0311 or [email protected]
Now accepting applications
for the 2007-2008 School Year
• Spacious, well maintained facility
• Rich and Challenging K-5 Programming
• No tuition or entrance exam required
• Certified and Highly Qualified Caring Staff
• Certified Special Needs, English Learners Staff & Counselor
• Free All Day Kindergarten with reading curriculum
Dr. Terry N. Bishop
community. Dr. Bishop’s contract will
include incentives for increased performance. The board’s message to
the public is that they are looking very
carefully at expenditures, directing as
many dollars as possible to classrooms
and to increasing student achievement.
The details of Dr. Bishop’s
new contract will be worked out during
the coming week and presented to the
board for approval at its regular meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007.
Dr. Bishop expressed thanks for
the support of the Board of Education
and indicated he felt that the unanimous vote of support extended to the
entire staff of School District 11.
• Progressive science & space explorations, and social studies
• 2 Computer Labs, TVs, computers & technology in all clasrooms
• Daily Schoolwide Student Broadcasts
• Daily Spanish, Art, Music, Technology and Physical Education
• Band, Honor Choir, and Performing Arts Opportunities
• Before and After School fee based care
• Quarterly Parent Partnership conferences
• Longer school year & school day
Edison
Schools
Page 7
business
SCORE Presents
8 Steps to Small
Business Success
1. Start Smart.
Look for the niche that makes your
product or service unique and provides special value to the client.
2. Plan Ahead.
Create a business plan and look for
funding, such as a business loan or
business line of credit.
3. Don’t go it alone.
Work with a CPA and attorney as
needed. Add an industry mentor and
SCORE mentor to help plan for success.
4. Set up Systems
The start-up expense plan, operating budget and accounting software
are vital to your success.
5. Seek out Sales
Target a niche and get connected
in your market community. Become a
visible part of your market, and then
ask for the sale.
6. Aim for Growth.
Decide how large you want the
company to be: sales, net profit and
employees. This influences how you
grow your company.
7. Leverage
Opportunities.
Be clear about your core business focus and how it serves clients.
Measure any potential opportunity
against this core business focus.
8. Plan Your Exit.
Someday you will sell your business or retire from it. Have something
to sell—a plan, vision, business on the
books, equipment and systems.
Contact the Colorado Springs
SCORE Chapter at 636-3074 to set
up a free and confidential counseling
session.
5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Business's Web Site
(NewsUSA) - Today, a company's
online presence is often as important
as any brick-and-mortar storefront. But
many small businesses still stumble
when it comes to designing their company Web sites, and their image can
suffer in the process.
Here are some tips to help small
businesses improve their Web presence
while avoiding some of the most common pitfalls:
1. Keep it lively. In addition to keeping the language of your Web site concise, consider writing with a sense of
personality. A conversational tone can
make visitors feel more comfortable
and willing to take interest in whatever
it is you're selling or promoting.
2. Avoid atypical fonts. Although
it's vital to catch the viewer's attention right away, don't rely on strange
or trendy fonts to do so. Stick with a
standard set of fonts and let the professionalism and content of your Web site
do all the attention-getting.
3. Stay current. To prevent your
Web site from seeming out of touch
with modern online technology, consider featuring streaming video.
Companies like WhiteBlox (www.
whiteblox.com) build and design
streaming video players that can be
smoothly incorporated into any Web
page. The players also feature backend analytics, so you can track your
visitors' viewing habits with the player
itself or monitor their participation in
polls and surveys that come coupled
Six Tips to Improve Your Customer Loyalty
(NewsUSA) - Statistics show that,
on average, U.S. companies lose half
of their customers every five years.
It's true that acquiring new customers will help your business grow.
However, your current customers are
the lifeblood of your business and
keeping them happy should be your
highest priority. Here are a few ways
to make sure your customers keep
coming back.
* Understand lost customers. Many
business owners mistakenly believe
that customers choose to patronize
other companies solely because of
better prices. While pricing can be
a concern, customers often head to
the competition when they don't feel
valued.
A change of lifestyle may have
also created a situation where customers no longer need your product.
By staying in touch with their needs,
you might be able to adjust your
offering to continue servicing them.
* Know your customer's top priority. Maybe it's reliability or speed
or cost. Your company should know
your clientele's No. 1 priority and
consistently deliver it. Remember,
customers' desires change frequently,
so ask yourself this question every
six months.
* Acknowledge the lifetime value
of customers. The lifetime value of
your customers is the income you
would gain if a customer stayed with
you as long as they could possibly
buy your product or service.
For example, the lifetime value
of a customer employing a financial
adviser could be several decades and
could span several generations. Treat
the parents well and you could win
the children's business.
* Create a positive first impression. Good first impressions tend to
generate loyal customers, and you
get only one chance to make a positive first impression. Appearance is
important. The exterior and interior
of your business should be neat and
clean.
* Listen to the customer.
Employees should listen actively to
customers. Reassure your customers
that you genuinely want to help them.
Customers will judge your business
based on the politeness, empathy,
effort and honesty of your staff.
* Address and resolve complaints
quickly and effectively. Inevitably,
your employees will encounter unsatisfied customers. Whether they're
returning an item or changing a service, customers expect a fair policy. If
you cannot offer a resolution immediately, let the customer know when
he or she can expect an answer.
Demos Parneros is president of
U.S. stores at Staples Inc. Staples
invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and today is the world's
largest office supply retailer serving
small businesses.
Tips on Building Revenue for
Your Business
(NewsUSA) - It's a dog-eat-dog
world. You must be prepared for anything when deciding to open your own
practice or small business. And once
you become a business owner, you
need to know how to make your business grow.
"What keeps business owners,
practice owners and partners up at
night is likely the challenge of managing and growing the business," says
Steven Stralser, clinical professor at
Thunderbird: The Garvin School of
International Management and author
of "MBA In A Day."
In his book, Stralser addresses business professionals who have extensive
training in certain industries but want
to learn the skills necessary to manage
businesses of their own.
Packed with examples, helpful
anecdotes and real-world case studies,
this straightforward guide gives readers a comprehensive business education without having to spend the time
and money on graduate school.
The book covers essential principles
and concepts taught at today's top business schools. Topics include negotiation, accounting, marketing, effective
communication, information technol-
Page 8
with the technology.
4. Use ads sparingly. Ads can be a
great source of extra revenue, but having too many can be distracting and
make the site appear cluttered.
Consider setting a personal limit
as to how many advertisements you'll
feature at one time. If you're using
WhiteBlox or another streaming video
player, feature paid ads at the beginning of the videos or broadcasts.
5. Use your own photos. In an
"About Us" section, include real pictures of the people who work for your
business. Stock photography can give
your Web site a canned appearance,
whereas photographs of your personnel can add a genuine touch that will
resonate with visitors.
ogy and leadership.
Stralser offers the following tips to
help your business grow.
* Focus on existing customers. With
advertising and other marketing costs,
finding new customers can be expensive. Acquiring new business is important, of course, but so is keeping and
growing your current clientele.
* Stay in touch. Offer more products or services to existing customers,
clients or patients. They will respond
with loyalty and future business. Think
"greater share" of customers instead of
"market share." It's simpler and more
profitable in the long-run.
* Develop a Web presence.
Developing a Web page puts information on your business right at the
fingertips of clients or potential clients.
And not only does accessing your Web
site save them time, it saves you time
as well.
For example, a client can have
access to old reports from past projects.
By having this information accessible
online, you won't have to take time out
of your busy schedule to print and ship
the reports to that client.
For more information on Stralser's
book, visit www.mbainaday.com.
September 2007
health
Cases of Diarrhea Caused by Parasite
Are Higher Than Usual: Individuals Advised
to Practice Proper Hygiene to Prevent Spread
DENVER--State health officials
Friday reported approximately 50 cases
of cryptosporidiosis (crypto) have been
reported in Colorado during August, an
amount four times higher than what is
usually reported for this time of year.
Crypto is a disease caused by a parasite that can cause loose, watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and a
slight fever. The disease can be spread
in swimming pools as well as lakes and
streams. It can be spread by swallowing
contaminated water or by eating food
contaminated by human or animal feces,
usually from tiny amounts that cannot be
seen. It also can be spread from person
to person, especially in settings such as
homes and day-care centers where diapers are changed regularly.
Alicia Cronquist, an epidemiologist
at the Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment, said, "At this
point, there does not appear to be a common source for these infections among ill
individuals.The state health department
is working with local health departments
to investigate possible sources." Cases
have been reported across the state and
affect all ages, she said.
Cronquist urged individuals who are
experiencing diarrhea not to swim and to
wait an additional two weeks after they
have recovered to swim ."If people have
diarrhea that lasts for more than one day,
is bloody or is accompanied by a fever, or
if they have other concerns, they should
contact their health care provider," she
advised.
Cronquist advised individuals to
take the following actions to prevent the
spread of crypto in swimming pools and
in their communities:
· Don't swim while having diarrhea and
wait for an additional two weeks after the
diarrhea stops to swim again, even if the
pool is chlorinated. Crypto is highly resistant to chlorine.
· Don't swallow swimming pool water.
· Take a shower before swimming and
wash hands after using the toilet or changing diapers. Germs on the body end up in
the water.
· Take children on bathroom breaks and
check diapers often.
· Change diapers in a bathroom and
not the poolside; wash children thoroughly
with soap and water before swimming.
For more information about crypto,
go to www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming or
call the Department of Public Health and
Environment's Communicable Disease
Program at 303-692-2700.
Dr. Ann de Wees Allen Guest Speaker at Agel
Rocks the Rockies Event
Renowned scientist Dr. Ann de Wees
Allen, Chief of Biomedical Research at
the Glycemic Research Institute, was the
guest speaker at the Colorado Springs Agel
Rocks the Rockies event.
For one day only Dr. Allen was a
featured speaker at the Agel Enterprises
Conference on Saturday, September 8,
2007 at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado
Springs, CO.
Dr. Allen is in the forefront of scientific
breakthroughs including Nanotechnology,
Quantum chocolate, L-arginine Isoform
Pathways, Edible Computer Chips and
Cephalic Response. Dr. Allen also received
the first glycemic patent ever awarded
worldwide. Professional athletes worldwide wait as long as two years for advice
from Dr. Allen on how to maximize their
performance.
Katie Couric broke the story on the
CBS Evening News that diet sodas are
fattening and can increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and heart disease. This was
startling news to the public, and baffling
to scientists. Susan Feely, President of
the American Beverage Association, asked
“How could something with zero calories
that’s 99% water with a little flavoring in
it……cause weight gain?”
Dr. Allen explained why.
For more information go to www.dietsodoasarefattening.com
A list of Dr. Allen’s Bio and patents can
be seen at:
www.AnndeWeesAllen.com
www.glycemicreseachLaboraties.com
Agel began operations in 2005 and has
announced business operations in 43 countries. “Our Suspension Gel Technology
combined with Dr. Allen’s products is opening a whole new vista of opportunity for
Agel Team Members globally, says Glen
Jensen, Agel CEO and founder.
Memorial Hospital System Trauma Center Awarded
"Gold Star" Designation
Memorial Health System Trauma
Center has been officially verified a
Level II trauma center by the American
College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee
onTrauma. The Verification Committee
commended Memorial for “demonstrated commitment to providing superior
trauma care.” The Memorial Trauma
Center is now the only ACS Verified
Trauma Center in Colorado Springs
and one of only 11 in the State with
the verification. The Memorial Trauma
Center is celebrating its 20th year with
the mission “to ensure that our entire
region receives cost effective care that
is exceedingly above standard, coordinates all available resources, is sensitive, professional and encompasses
all aspects of trauma from community
September 2007
prevention to rehabilitation.” Having
verification by the American College
of Surgeons shows Memorial Health
System Trauma Center demonstrated
commitment to go above and beyond
the requirements for state designation
as a trauma center and indicates alignment with cutting edge trauma care
across multi-disciplinary specialties.
Hospital Practices Affect Long-Term
Breast-feeding Success:
Only One in Five Mothers Experience All Breastfeeding-friendly Practices Post-delivery
DENVER - A recent study on breastfeeding practices in hospitals, conducted by the Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment, shows
only one in five mothers benefit from
the breast-feeding practices found to
be effective. Jennifer Dellaport, breastfeeding promotion coordinator for the
department's Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants
and Children and chairperson of the
Colorado Breastfeeding Task Force,
said, "I hope the findings of this
study will lead hospitals tore-examine their post-delivery practices and
will empower mothers who choose
to breast-feed to request these supportive practices during their hospital
stay." The study, authored by Erin
Murray, Sue Ricketts and Dellaport,
has been published in the September
issue of Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care.
According to Murray, breast milk and
breast-feeding are recognized to be the
ideal choices of nutrition and feeding
for infants. The new study suggests
that implementing five breast-feedingfriendly practices in hospitals following birth can significantly improve
long-term breast-feeding success. The
study found that nearly two-thirds of
mothers who engaged in all five supportive practices were still breast-feeding four months after going home. The
five specific hospital practices are
1. initiating breast-feeding within
one hour of delivery;
2. keeping infants in the mother's
hospital room;
3. feeding infants only breast milk
in the hospital, with no supplementation of water or formula;
4. prohibiting pacifier use in the
hospital; and
5. after hospital discharge.
"These practices are important
because a high percentage of mothersinitiate breast-feeding, but a large
percentage discontinue it within the
first month or two after giving birth,"
says Murray, who led thes tudy. "The
main reasons for stopping are related to preventable or resolvable difficulties with breast-feeding." Study
results indicate that most Colorado
hospitals were notconsistently implementing these practices at the time
of the study. Of the more than 4,500
Colorado mothers surveyed, only one
in five mothers in the study who began
breast-feeding experienced all of these
breast-feeding-friendly practices. To
significantly improve a mother's likelihood of continuing to breast-feed,
many hospitals must change their current practices of caring for mothers
and babies after delivery according to
Murray. Today, only 56 hospitals and
birth centers in the United States follow the baby-friendly global guidelines
for breast-feeding, which include the
five identified practices. "When these
practices were experienced together,
they significantly improved how long
mothers breast-fed, regardless of their
socioeconomic status," says Murray.
"Thus, all mothers who want to be successful with breast-feeding will benefit
from delivering their baby at a hospital
that consistently provides these breastfeeding practices." This study was done
by analyzing data collected from the
Colorado Pregnancy Risk Assessment
and Monitoring System survey. The
data represent the experiences of
Colorado mothers who gave birth in
2002 and 2003, and who responded to
the survey.
Leaving Infants and Young Children in
Hot Vehicles, Even If Windows
Are Open, Can Be Deadly
DENVER—Child injury prevention
experts from the Colorado Departmentof
Public Health and Environment recently warned parents and caregivers never
to leave a child unattended in a hot
vehicle, even if it’s just for a few minutes or if the windows are open. Health
officials explained young children can
die from heatstroke or can experience
permanent injury when left in a hot
vehicle because the heat rapidly overwhelms their small bodies’ ability to
regulate temperature. “A child’s core
body temperature can increase three to
five times faster than that of an adult.
When overheated, the body can go
into shock, causing circulation to vital
organs to fail,” warned Barbara Bailey,
an injury prevention specialist with the
department. She stressed that when the
outside temperature is 93 F, even with a
window cracked, the temperature inside
a car can reach a deadly125 F in just 20
minutes and approximately 140 F in 40
minutes. Bailey said approximately 30
children in the U.S. die each year from
being left in hot vehicles. She provided
the following safety precautions for
parents to prevent heat-related injuries
and deaths in vehicles: ·
• Never leave a child unattended in a
motor vehicle, in any weather, even
with the windows down.
• Teach children not to play in, on or
around vehicles.
• Always lock car doors and trunks,
even at home, and keep keys out of
the reach of children.
• Watch children closely around
vehicles, particularly when loading
or unloading items.
• Don’t overlook sleeping infants.
Always check the back seat before
exiting a vehicle.
• If a child gets locked inside a vehicle, dial 9-1-1 or the local emergency number immediately.
• Children can get overly hot when
being restrained in a vehicle that
has been parked in the heat.
• Use a light-colored window covering to shade the seat of a parked
vehicle.
Page 9
Thomas Moore
Victim Statement of Thomas Moore
August 24, 2007
Sixty-three years and fourteen days
ago today, in southwest Mississippi in
the town of Meadville, Charles Eddie
Moore was born. Nineteen years and nine
months from that day his life was taken
away. James Ford Seale, you and four
other Klansmen from Franklin County
and two Klansmen from Adams County
decided that Charles Moore did not have
the right to live anymore. It did not matter that you were in the process of ending
the life’s dream and future of a bright
humble, young teenager. It was no concern to you how what you were about
to do would affect the family members
of Charles Moore. After all, you were
a member of the mighty, fearful White
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. What
could a 51-year-old African American
woman possibly do to you? Her only son
left was away serving his country in the
United States Army. James Ford Seale,
allow me to tell you what I did.
My efforts over the past 25 months
with my friend, David Ridgen, to spark
new found interest into this case and get
it where we are today have been rewarded. James Ford Seale, you ran for a long
time. You were reported dead until that
hot day in July 2005 when David Ridgen
and I observed you helping to get the
groceries from the car. For 43 years, you
traveled the country as you wished, but
on that day your time ran out, and from
that moment where you went would not
be your choice. You have stood trial for
a crime you committed, along with your
fellow Klansmen over 43 years ago, on
May 2, 1964. The facts were presented
to a Mississippi jury and you were found
guilty of conspiracy and the brutal kidnapping of my beloved brother Charles
Moore and my dear friend, Henry Lee.
I don’t believe you have the slightest
idea of what your personal choices and
actions have had on me. My mother lived
in pain and wonder until she died with no
closure of what had happened to her son,
Charles Moore. The facts were not known
until I came to Mississippi July 2005 and
for the next twenty months helped find
the truth forty-one years later.
The kidnapping and murder of Charles
Moore made each and every holiday I
tried to celebrate after May 2, 1964 a
living hell. My mother Mazie, who was
threatened by Ku Klux Klan members
in Franklin County, was told not to pursue justice in this case. As a result of
tragedy and the brutal murder of her son
and my brother Charles Moore, she died
an early death. When you took away
Charles Moore you also took away my
best friend.
The death of Charles Moore made
me an untrusting person. It also made it
difficult for me to make any friends. He
left us so suddenly, for no reason – making it difficult to build a relationship with
anyone with a fear of the sudden loss of
a friend could happen, and would happen
again. Because of the action of you and
your Ku Klux Klan members, pushing
people away was easier for me. Thank
God, that is beginning to change.
After the brutal murder of my brother
Charles Moore and my friend, Henry
Dee, I cried whenever I thought of how
they must have suffered in the hands of
you and your Ku Klux Klan members on
the 2nd of May, 1964. At first I thought
I wanted to die to be with them, but
soon came to realize that joining them
in death would not bring the people that
committed the crimes to justice. I needed
Page 10
to stay here to help my mother make it
through these difficult times I saw ahead.
My prayers were to keep on trusting and
hoping in God that one day I would see
justice for the brutal and senseless murders of Charles Moore and Henry Dee.
Little did I know I would be allowed to
help bring justice 43 years later.
Our mother, Mazie Moore, died thirteen years later, a heartbroken woman.
Her death left me alone, but by the grace
of God, I am so glad that I am standing
here today.
The old house where she raised us
and taught us to love everyone suddenly
became a lonely, empty house. The red
hills, where we used to play cowboys
and Indians and hide and seek, became
overgrown with scrubs where we once
played. The Red Flyer bike she bought
in 1957 for us would be ridden by my
brother and me to our neighbor’s on
Friday nights to watch the fights and that
old show “Have Gun Will Travel” hangs
in my garage. Forty three years later as
I look at it, my eyes fill up with tears.
Meadville, Mississippi, where we used to
go to get a cold drink and Honey Buns on
the 16th of the month, became a hateful
town for me.
The thought of how Charles and
Henry suffered causes my heart to beat
in my chest as if it is going to break out,
and my mind continues to try and not
believe all this has happened to Charles
Moore and Henry Dee.
A memorial, built by myself and David
Ridgen of the Canadian Broadcasting
Company, was placed in cement on the
15th of June by myself and others near
the Meadville ice cream parlor where
my brother and Henry were last seen
standing. That same ice cream parlor is
where Charles and I sometimes stopped
to get ice cream if we had the money.
Sometimes we had to share one cone
of ice cream because we did not have
enough money for two cones; he would
take a lick, then I would take a lick. It
was a happy place turned into something
ugly and indescribable, but now hopefully the memorial will shine a little light.
The Homochitto National Forest
where we went camping as young Boy
Scouts was filled with joy and happiness
of the great times we had together. Stories
of playing football and telling tales of our
girlfriends around the fire pit are some of
the stories that will last in my mind and
soul forever. But you took my brother
and Henry there to interrogate, beat them,
and begin the process of brutally killing
them. A place I will never visit again.
I wonder did Charles Moore call for
our loving mother for help; did he ask
God what had he done for this to be happening to him? Did he cry out for me to
help him? Did Henry Dee call for his
brother Leroy or for his sisters -- Thelma,
Ollie Mae, Mary Byrd?
I wonder did he cry out for his grandmother, Mrs. Honey Hunt, who raised
him – Please come and help me? These
are some of the questions that will never
be answered.
When Henry Dee was taken out in the
boat, weighted down and thrown overboard, Charles perhaps heard the splash
of Henry Dee’s body hitting the water
and began to realize the end was near.
By the time you came back for Charles,
Henry was already lying on the river bed
floor. When you dumped Charles into the
Mississippi River, his voice box closed to
keep the water out of the lungs. After six
minutes with no oxygen, he may still have
been alive, but like Henry before him, his
brain too would have died. All that he did
in his short nineteen years of life began to
rapidly fade away. The fun we had playing football; the rides at the county fair;
the garden we grew; the creek we used to
wade in behind our house; the plans we
had to build our mother a brick house to
replace the old house we grew up in with
no gas, electricity, or running water; the
rides on our bike together; the plans he
had to return to Alcorn College to finish
his education – all gone because of you
and your Klan friends, and the Klan oath.
Your oath to the Klan, and action taken
in the worst possible way with hate and
violence against two innocent African
Americans on their way home.
On June the 14th, 2007, the day you
were convicted, I started the healing
process and moving on with my life. In
a few hours I will walk away from here,
leaving the chains of pain, guilt, hate and
shame that have hung over me the past
43 years. Often the memories and pain of
Charles’ and Henry’s brutal deaths would
knock me to my knees with tears running
down my face. Each time I was knocked
down a voice would tell me to get up,
dust off my pants, dry my eyes, lift my
bowed down head, and move on a little
further. Some nights I could not get any
sleep and when I did manage to doze off,
it would be interrupted with bad dreams,
cold sweat, and nightmares of what happened to Charles and Henry.
I have completed my mission of helping bring you to justice for what you and
your Ku Klux Klansmen friends did on
May the 2nd, 1964 to my brother and my
dear friend.
Nothing I have done in my past 64
years of life will give me more satisfaction than the past 25 months have
brought me. It has been the most meaningful time I have spent on this earth.
And I can only hope my actions will
help to show the world how the reign
of terror inflicted on African Americans
in southwest Mississippi can be directly
confronted by individuals, and justice
created out of apparent hopelessness.
And that James Ford Seale will be in
every classroom, library, and video rental
shop in these United States for future
generations to study and learn from past
history’s mistakes.
James Ford Seale, you perhaps
thought you would spend the rest of your
life taking it easy sitting under your covered patio at the intersection of highways
33 and 84, in the tiny town of Roxie,
Mississippi, receiving friends, or going
for a drive with family members on a
Sunday afternoon.
Look at you now. I hope you perhaps
spend the rest of your natural life in prison, thinking of what you did to Charles
Moore and Henry Dee, and how you ran
for a long time but you finally got caught.
I hope the spirits of Charles Moore and
Henry Dee come to your cell every night
and visit with you and teach you what is
meant by love of your fellow man. I hope
you will forever see and hear Charles
Marcus Edwards, your onetime friend
and Klan member, testifying against you
in court, exposing the oath of the constitution of the Ku Klux Klan that you all
took against your fellow human beings.
On my way out of Mississippi on
June 15th, after you were convicted, I
made one final and private stop at the
grave site of my brother and Henry Dee. I
kneeled down and told them that I made a
promise to pursue justice, and that I have
fulfilled that obligation. My mission is
complete.
I thank God for my mother for having the strength and wisdom to tell me
to keep the faith and keep on trusting in
God and to not hate anyone, even you.
I thank God for grace that heals, pardons, intervenes, and provides hope that
saves in the most difficult of situations.
I thank God for the grace that comes
through the listening ear, intelligence,
friendship, and the energy of a very special friend, David Ridgen, who looked
for me over twelve months, found me,
then came and helped me get the truth
after 43 years that led to justice.
I thank God for the last 43 years
which have led me all over the world
from the red hills of Mississippi through
the swamps of Louisiana and Georgia to
the panhandle of Texas to the rice paddies of Vietnam. To the Alps of Europe
to the frozen rice paddies of Korea to
the Puget Sound of Washington State
to the jungles of Panama to the state of
Minnesota, where I was allowed to walk
on five stones across the headwaters of
the mighty Mississippi River, to the snow
capped mountains of Colorado.
For the past 25 months, beginning
on July 6th, 2005, on a mission with
David Ridgen filming a documentary
that brought me back to Mississippi,
where we found out that you were not
dead as had been reported by your family
members for the past two years. We were
able to get a copy of the well-documented
FBI files and other documents from the
Mississippi Highway Patrol. We located
retired FBI agents. We got the community involved; we set up a reward fund;
the press became involved and I met with
United States Attorney Dunn Lampton in
Jackson, Mississippi, who agreed to take
a look at the files. I made eight trips to
Mississippi and one to Washington, DC;
I made phone calls all over this country
and other places around the world; I did
everything I could – gathering information to help bring justice to this case.
James Ford Seale, the 2nd of May,
1964 must have been a good day for
you and your family of White Knights.
Choices were made. At any time that
day from the moment you stopped to
give Charles and Henry a ride, until
you pushed them overboard in the back
waters of the Old Mississippi, any one
of you could have called off what you
were doing and let Charles and Henry
go free, but your sick ego would not let
you do that. Over the last 25 months, I
wonder how many times it has crossed
your mind – Why doesn’t he let old dogs
continue to sleep? Why won’t he stay in
Colorado and enjoy his retirement, go
fishing, ride his motorcycle and climb
Pikes Peak. Very simple. Charles Moore
is my brother and Henry Dee is my
friend. They were not the wrong bodies
as reported by the news media on that
sad day in July 1964. They never were
noted and forgotten. They will forever be
missed and loved by all who knew them.
Now I hope Charles and Henry will be
able to finally rest in peace, “Anywhere
in Glory” as it says on Charles’ gravestone. I hope the three of us, one day
will gather around the throne of God and
continue our friendship and love that was
taken away by the evil actions of you
and your fellow Ku Klux Klansmen in
Franklin and Adams Counties.
I will struggle, but my struggle tomorrow will not be the struggle that I have
today.
September 2007
calendar
Top Female Blues Singers Join AHA Go Red for Women Coming
in October
Together For Concert
Colorado
Springs,
CO—A
Music Company Inc. and Positively
Eventful Productions, LLC. are joining together to bring an intimate evening with “Ladies Sing the Blues” to
the Castaways, 107 Manitou Avenue,
Manitou Springs, on Saturday, October
6, 2007. Hosted by one of the mainstays of the Colorado music scene, Jill
Watkins from Boulder, “Ladies Sing
the Blues” features four female singers backed by piano and bass. Each
singer will have a portion of the show
individually and will join together for
the finale.
“I’m really looking forward to this
show.” says Ms. Watkins. “I’ve worked
with Delores Scott (Chicago) and
Jessica Rowand (Denver) before, but
this will give me a chance to work with
Juanita Martin (Colorado Springs) for
the first time. These ladies are so professional and simply tops in their field.
Plus, we’ll be performing in the perfect
setting for this type of performance, the
beautiful “Las Vegas style” showroom
at the Castaways.”
Jill Watkins’ singing career began at
the age of five, singing for her church
choir. Her first solo performance was
at the age of eight. Jill’s journey has
taken her from singing gospel to singing the blues in her own band to joining
Colorado Springs’ George Whitesell
and His All Stars. The influence of her
musical heroes - from Aretha Franklin
and Koko Taylor to Bonnie Raitt and
Janis Joplin - is obvious in her style,
stage presence, and musical selection.
Her powerful voice, playfulness, and
personality fill every room she plays.
No stranger to the Colorado Springs
music scene, Juanita Stroud Martin
began singing with her three siblings-billed as "The Stroud Four"-- in local
Baptist churches. Juanita entertained
locally with several well known artists,
such as George Nelson, Eddie Jones,
and Bug Barbee. With George Nelson,
Juanita sang as the opening act for the
Castaways presentation of the Stan
Kenton orchestra. She has also sung
with the musicians for Ray Charles and
sang onstage with Lou Rawls. Juanita
was the soloist with "Contempra" and
other local bands. She has sung at Pikes
Peak Jazz and Swing Society jam sessions with a variety of musicians and
has appeared on television and radio
programs both singing and discussing
jazz and contemporary music.
Originally from the Garden State
of New Jersey, Jessica Rowand has
had a passion for singing all her life,
being influenced at an early age by
Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell and
Bonnie Raitt. Early in her career she
fronted the all female band London
Underground. They immediately took
on the club scene of New York City
and New Jersey playing from Asbury
Park to the Wetlands. In the early
1990’s Jessica decided to move west
where she relocated in Colorado and
started singing with high-energy dancefunk-cover band, Funkiphino. Tired of
singing other people’s music, Jessica
starting writing original songs with
bassist Paul Rogalski and Mojo Mama
was born. Combining Funk, Rock and
Soul influences, the band recorded two
original CDs and continues to be a
popular attraction in the Denver area.
Delores Scott began singing at the
age of nine in her church choir. Her
recording career began at the age of
thirteen at Chess Recording Studio with
Rev. Clay Evans and The Fellowship
Missionary Baptist Church Choir. As
a result of these recordings she had an
opportunity to record and travel with
the Rev. Milton Brunson, Rev. Jesse
Dixon, Rev. Marvin Yancy and Rev.
Jesse Jackson (Breadbasket/Rainbow
PUSH Coalition Choir). Live performances have included singing prior
to keynote addresses by Rev. Martin
Luther King, Jr., Jesse Jackson, and
Rev. Al Sharpton. She appeared on
stage with Roberta Flack and Natalie
Cole and most recently opened for
Koko Taylor and Bobby Rush at the
Koko Taylor Celebrity Aid Foundation
Fundraiser. Currently Delores can be
seen in the Chicago area singing with
one of the following bands: Vance
Kelly and the Backstreet Blues Band,
Howard Scott and the World Band,
Billy Branch and the Sons of the Blues.
Delores is versatile in many genres of
music including Blues, Jazz, R&B, and
Gospel.
Backing up the vocalists for Ladies
Sing the Blues are two musicians well
known in the Colorado music scene,
Jodie Woodward (bass) and John
Stilwagen (piano).
A VIP ticket, available for $50,
includes a meet and greet with the artists from 6 to 7 pm, light appetizers,
drink, and priority seating. General
admission is $20 in advance and $30
the day of the show. Doors open for
General Admission at 7pm.
Tickets may be purchased on-line at
www.AMusicCompanyInc.com or at
The Castaways,107 Manitou Avenue,
Manitou Springs. For more information, please call 719-576-5945 (A
Music Company Inc.), 719-290-3531
(Positively Eventful Productions LLC.),
or 719-685-3300 (The Castaways).
“This is an exceptional opportunity to see four great singers individually & together on stage and closing
with an electrifying finale” says Amy
Whitesell of A Music Company Inc.
“We are excited to bring this unique
show to The Castaways which is the
most beautiful showroom and the best
kept secret in the Pikes Peak area.”
The American Heart Association’s
2007 Go Red for Women Education
Day will take place on Friday, October
12, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Antlers
Hilton Hotel. This special event for
women, designed to increase awareness of heart disease, features health
screenings, interactive exhibits, a medical panel, a cooking demonstration,
a silent auction and a luncheon program. The intention is to motivate and
empower women to live longer and
healthier lives.
This year’s breakout sessions will
include everything from former NFL
stars speaking about the importance of
knowing your numbers to a variety of
other heart healthy topics such as cooking, exercise, and learning about other
forms of vascular disease.
Specific health screenings will
include a wide variety of health checks
such as: Cholesterol, Thyroid, Fitness
Assessments, Pulmonary Function
Assessments, Carotid artery ultrasound
and more.
The luncheon culminates with
this year’s keynote speaker, Lauve
Metcalfe, M.S., author of 'Reshaping
Your Body, Rethinking Your Mind' and
Former editor of SHAPE magazine
Founded in 1924, the American
Heart Association today is the nation’s
oldest and largest voluntary health
organization dedicated to reducing
disability and death from diseases of
the heart and stroke. These diseases,
America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers, and
all other cardiovascular diseases claim
over 870,000 lives a year. In fiscal year
2005–06 the association invested over
$543 million in research, professional
and public education, advocacy and
community service programs to help
all Americans live longer, healthier
lives. To learn more, call 1-800-AHAUSA1 or visit americanheart.org.
Reservations are required for the
Go Red Luncheon and tickets are $100
each. Contact The American Heart
Association at 635-7688 or send an
email to [email protected]. to
reserve your space today.
Sankofa Arts Alliance presents
"New World by S.A. Bennett"
(Denver)--The Sankofa Arts Alliance presents "New Work by S.A.
Bennett," at the Blair Caldwell African American Research Library gallery.
The show runs Aug. 27 – Sept. 29 and is free and open to the public. Library
Hours: Monday-Wednesday 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.-5
p.m. Closed on Thursday and Sunday. Location of the Blair Caldwell AfricanAmerican Research Library is 2401 Welton Street in Denver. Phone: 720-8652401 For more information call Rochelle Johnson 303 861-7710.
Advertise in the
African American Voice
For More Information Call
(719) 528-1954
September 2007
Page 11
blackonomic$
Oops - Upside Your Head
By: Jim Clingman
We have been taking blows upside
our heads since 1619, and some Black
people still believe it’s unintentional. As long as the perpetrators say,
“Oops,” we are somehow consoled.
In the 1980’s we danced to the beat of
the Gap Band’s song, but today we are
dancing to the constant rhythm of a
“beat-down” and taking the apologetic
“Oops” part seriously. We act inappropriately to being marginalized and
mistreated by the larger society, especially when it comes to economics, by
looking for any way to excuse their
behavior against us. We say, “Oops!”
to our own assailants and keep on
dancing to their tune.
In a recent conversation with a
friend, in answer to his questions as to
why Black people are so reluctant to
act in our own best interests and what
it will take to get us to do so, I asserted
that we have not been slapped hard
enough yet. I also shared with him my
belief that our people really believe we
can change the hearts of those white
folks who continue to mistreat us. Not
only do we believe we can change
them, in some cases we really don’t
believe they are serious when it comes
to keeping us down and even eliminating us altogether. It’s just another
“Oops” moment.
In some distorted illogical way,
some Black folks believe that whites
who work daily to keep us in our
place will eventually change their ways
and start to help us move forward.
Despite knowing what has happened
since 1619, we still believe that some
day they will bring us into the fold and
elevate us to the level we deserve; after
all, we have been in this country as
long as they have. Keep dreaming.
White people, certainly not all of
them (I should not have had to say
that, but I know how paranoid some
of our people are when it comes to
those kinds of statements), but many
are dead set on maintaining status
quo in this country. Now, more than
ever, due to the increasing reality that
whites will become the “minority”
in a few years, they are circling their
wagons to make sure that if and when
it does happen, they will still be in
charge. Remember South Africa when
Mandela was released?
Black people have been slapped
upside the head by the white establishment for centuries and still many of
us believe it’s an aberration. The way
we are still being treated is normal,
business as usual. Why can’t we see
that? Why won’t we acknowledge
that? Why won’t we do what’s necessary to reverse our situation?
I contend that we haven’t been
slapped hard enough to wake us up - or
to knock us completely out. It’s just
been enough to keep us ducking and
dodging, bobbing and weaving, trying
to stay out of harm’s way, all the while
rationalizing and mitigating the behavior of the perpetrators. “Oh, he really
didn’t mean to do that to us; let’s just
hang in there, and things will change
soon.” Or, we will explain it away
with other silly, Rodney King-type
comments like, “Yes, I got hit, but it
really wasn’t that hard.”
Picture this: Someone beats you and
your relatives on the head for 400 years
and the best you can offer is a “Why
can’t we all get along” speech or an
olive branch asking, no, begging them
to stop. Why should they stop? What’s
their incentive to stop? Something that
has gone on for 400 years in any country becomes part of the fabric of that
country. Why would any Black person
say or even think they can change
the heart of the establishment toward
Black people after four centuries?
The only instance I know of that
occurring took place with Moses, who
was under God’s authority, of course,
and even after the worst things happened to old Pharaoh, his heart was
still hardened. Maybe the important
lesson for us is found in Exodus 9:16,
when God spoke, through Moses, to
Pharaoh: “I have raised you up for this
very purpose, that I might show you
my power and that my name might be
proclaimed in all the earth.”
After 400 years of crying out and
praying for relief from slavery, and
after seeing all the plagues that came
upon the land and its rulers, the people
were finally convinced that only God
could change men’s hearts. But men
must have the backbone to stand up
and “possess the land.” Maybe it’s our
turn now to see God’s purpose through
what has happened to us. Maybe He
“raised up” this evil system and put
evil people in authority to show mankind His power; and maybe we are the
instruments he wants to use to demonstrate His power, which begs the question: How long will we refuse to let His
power be shown through our resistance
to the blows upside our heads?
No matter what you believe about
this country or about those who have
been in charge for centuries, you have
to admit that if, since 1619, Black people in America have been mistreated
under this system, we have very sound
reasons to believe it will not change on
its own. Yes, I believe in God’s divine
purpose, but I also believe that we have
a role to play in that purpose. He could
have struck down Pharaoh and his boys
in one fell swoop, but he chose to let
Moses and the people play a role in
their own freedom.
Those people had been hit upside
their heads for years, just as we have
been, until they adopted a different
strategy. When are we going to do the
same? When someone hits you upside
your head, over and over, why would
you keep accepting a simple “Oops?”
Jim Clingman, the nation’s most
prolific writer on Economic Empowerment, has a new book available; it’s
titled Black Empowerment with an Attitude, You got a problem with that?
Call 513 489 4132 for information on
how to order.
National Education Association Launches Grassroots
Campaign to Caribbeans and Africans
(New York) - Actor Idris Elba,
Golden Krust Bakery founder/
CEO Lowell Hawthorne, New York
Assemblyman Nick Perry, soca queen
Alison Hinds, VP Records, Atlanta
Falcons' Ovie Mughelli, Joseph Addai
of the Indianapolis Colts, Marlon Hill of
the Jamaican Diaspora Southern U.S.,
Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin,
Commissioner Dale V.C. Holness of
Lauderhill, FL, and Senegalese rap
group Gokh-Bi System have joined the
National Education Association (NEA)
in a groundbreaking URL campaign
designed to strengthen relationships
with the nation's Caribbean and African
communities.
This campaign is entitled WWW.
ILOVEMYCARIBBEANCHILD.COM
andWWW.ILOVEMYAFRICANCHILD.
COM. The NEA effort, entitled "I Love
My Child," is part of an overall grassroots outreach program targeting the
nation's ethnic minority groups, including Asian Pacific Islander, American
Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic,
and Caribbean and African communities.
"In our desire to achieve great public schools for every child, we must
make building strong relationships and
strategic partnerships with the ethnicminority community a top priority,"
Page 12
says NEA President Reg Weaver. "We
recognize the Caribbean and African
communities as a significant voice in
the national dialogue on education."
As part of the outreach, the NEA
has partnered with respected individuals from the Caribbean and African
communities who will act as campaign "ambassadors." "I think it is very
important for us as parents to understand the public school system and
know the people that are responsible
for teaching our children," says Elba
"A better relationship with the
administration will give the student
a better future." "VP Records is truly
proud to support the efforts of the NEA,
and we are very excited to participate in
the I Love My Child Campaign," states
RandyChin, CEO of VP Records. "As a
company with firm Jamaican roots, we
recognize the importance of working
with our community and its leaders,
teachers and parents to ensure that all
of our children receive the best education possible."
The NEA will run a series of print,
television and radio spots as well
as host several Town Hall Meetings
in New York, Atlanta and Miami .
A website with the urls WWW.
ILOVEMYJAMAICANCHILD.COM,
WWW.ILOVEMYHAITIANCHILD.
COM,WWW.ILOVEMYTRINICHILD.
COM,
and
W W W.
ILOVEMYAFRICANCHILD.COM has
been created to inform Caribbean and
African parents about various public
school issues, including English as
a Second Language (ESL), parental
involvement, and teacher quality.
"Public school education needs to
be preserved because it still provides an
essential foundation on which to build
future leaders, provided that their sources
are in place," explains Hawthorne, a
native of who started his Golden Krust
empire in 1989. "All my children are the
product of the public education system
and they are well rounded individuals of
whom I am very proud."
ABOUT THE AMBASSADORS
Idris Elba
As the child of a
father from Sierra Leone and a mother from Ghana, the British-born film
and television actor Idris Elba built
his reputation as a performer in sitcoms and cable dramas during the
1990s and early 2000s before segueing
into Hollywood movies in 2005. Best
known for his award-winning role as
"Stringer Bell" on the HBO hit series
The Wire, Elbahas appeared in films
such as The Gospel (2005), Sometimes
in April (2005), Daddy's Little Girls
(2007), The Reaping (2007) and 28
Weeks Later (2007).
Lowell Hawthorne A native of
Jamaica, Lowell Hawthorne and his
family started Golden Krust Caribbean
Bakery in the Bronx, NY in 1989. A
quick-service chain that specializes in
jerk chicken dishes and Jamaican-style
patties, Golden Krust is the nation's
largest Caribbean franchise with more
than 100 outlets in New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Atlanta,
Philadelphia and California.
Nick Perry Born in the parish of
St. Andrew in the Caribbean island of
Jamaica, Noah Nickolas Perry represents the 58th District in the New York
State Assembly, which is comprised of
East Flatbush, as well as portions of
Canarsie and Brownsville in Brooklyn.
First elected to the Assembly in 1992,
Assemblyman Perry won re-election
to his eighth consecutive term in 2006
with the highest percentage of vote for
any candidate in New York State. He
currently serves as the Majority Whip
of the New York State Assembly, and
is First Vice Chair of the Black, Puerto
Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative
Caucus.
Continued on page 16
September 2007
to be equal
United States at Crossroads:
Changing the Conversation for Stronger Urban America
By: Marc H. Morial
President and CEO
National Urban League
According to a Pew Center poll
from March, nearly three-quarters of
Americans believe the gap dividing
the haves and have-nots in the United
States is growing, up eight percentage
points from 2002 and at its highest
level since the early 1990s when 80
percent agreed with the statement.
Most surprisingly is that a rapidly increasing portion of the nation’s
higher earners in this survey believed
the rich are getting richer and the
poor are getting poorer. Nearly twothirds of those surveyed whose annual
income exceeded $75,000 expressed
support for this assertion, compared to
51 percent in 2003 – a 14 percentage
point gain in just four years. It was
the largest single increase among all
income groups. In addition, a higher
percentage of Americans in 2007 felt
that their ultimate success is dictated
by outside factors – not their own drive
and determination compared to 2003
-- 34 percent versus 30 percent.
What does this tell us? That in just
four years Americans of all colors have
lost even more faith in the system. That
we are a nation at a crossroads. We
have two choices – either go down the
path we’re on and be resigned to the
consequences of producing a society of
haves and have-nots – or redirect our
energies toward effecting change and
delivering upon the promise made over
230 years ago that all Americans should
have equal opportunity to achieve the
American dream.
That is why the National Urban
League is now extending its reach past
providing programs for and becoming the voice for urban America in
Washington, D.C.. We want to put our
expertise to broader use at the national,
state and local governmental levels.
We want to play the pivotal role in
putting urban America back on the path
of greatness. And we expect our future
president to feel the same as we do
about the importance of this mission to
revitalize our urban communities and
close the equality gaps.
So, we have been working on our
own set of public policy prescriptions
to nurse urban America back to fiscal
health and beyond. It is called The
Opportunity Compact: Blueprint for
Economic Equality. The policy recommendations offered are not a laundry
list of things for the federal government to perform on behalf of a select
group of citizens. Rather, they present
opportunities for all interested parties
to play a role in improving our nation’s
global competitiveness by maximizing
the potential of all its citizens – not just
African Americans, not just Hispanics
and not just Asians but all Americans.
It revolves around four main core
issues – children’s wellbeing, jobs,
homeownership and entrepreneurship
– that the National Urban League considers to be key components of the
American dream. These core areas are
represented through four underlying
guiding principles: the opportunity to
thrive, the opportunity to earn, the
opportunity to own and the opportunity
to prosper.
All children deserve to live povertyfree in safe homes with adequate nutri-
tion and affordable quality health care
and deserve a quality education that
will prepare them to compete in an
increasingly global marketplace. To
achieve this, we’re calling for mandatory early childhood education coupled
with access to college education. We’re
also calling for the extension of health
benefits to children whose parents earn
too much for them to qualify for government health care coverage as well
as calling for increased support benefits for struggling working families.
All willing adults should have jobs
that allow them to earn a decent wage
and provide a reasonable standard of
living for themselves and their families. To bring this about, among other
recommendations, we’ve called upon
leaders to index the minimum wage to
inflation and proposed the creation of
an Urban Infrastructure Bank, modeled
after the World Bank, to help jumpstart
ailing urban economies by infusing
into them money to rebuild old infrastructure while at the same time putting
local residents to work.
All adults should have access to the
financial security that comes from owning a home. To achieve this goal, we’ve
urged leaders to allow for the establishment of homeownership development
accounts similar to 401-K accounts to
help homebuyers save for their first
home, among other suggestions. And
finally, every individual who possesses entrepreneurial vision should have
access to the resources needed to launch
and grow a viable business enterprise.
Greater micro-financing opportunities,
among other recommendations, is one
means to that end.
Urban League of Pikes Peak Region's
First Back to School Drive
Marc H. Morial
President and Chief Executive
National Urban League
www.nul.org
We are the nation that developed
the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe
after World War II. We are the nation
that created the International Monetary
Fund to build the world.
We should be the nation that can
bridge its own economic disparities.
If we can rally around the war in Iraq,
why wouldn’t we be able to rally
around rebuilding our urban communities and toppling the inequalities that
stand in the way of our nation making
good on its own true potential.
Why not use put our American
ingenuity to use in our own backyard?
Now, it’s time to build a phoenix out
of our crumbling inner cities much the
way a devastated Japan resurrected
itself after World War II.
FREE
Kindergarten
Grade One
Grade Two
Affordable
Child
Care
The Urban League of the Pikes
Peak Region is proud to announce the
first back to school book bag drive
occurred on August 25th, 2007. The
event was held at 21st Century Charter
School at 525 E. Costilla St. (80903).
In partnership with Wal-Mart Stores,
State Farm and Colorado College the
Urban League provided 100 students
with book bags, books, school supplies
and more.
The goal of this project was to
prepare 100, k-12 students with adequately filled book bags to begin the
2007-2008 school year.
Community donated school supplies
were delivered to the Urban League
main office at 125 N. Parkside Drive,
(80909).
The Urban League works to improve
educational opportunity for AfricanAmerican, other minorities and the
September 2007
underserved students through scholarships, academic achievement initiatives, early child care/developmental
programs, mentoring opportunities and
youth leadership development. Our
goal is to equip our children for competition with the best and the brightest
throughout the nation and the world.
The Urban League of the Pikes
Peak Region is a 501(c)3 nonprofit
founded in 1964 and is an affiliate
of the National Urban League. The
mission of the Urban League of the
Pikes Peak Region is to promote equal
opportunities for African-Americans,
other minorities and the disadvantaged
through education, economic empowerment and advocacy. The Urban League
intends to be the leading advocate
of empowering individuals, families,
and businesses across the Pikes Peak
Region.
Sliding
Scale
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Part Day/Full Day
PRE-SCHOOL
PRE-KINDERGARTEN
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GRADE TW0
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After School Program
Certified by the State of Colorado
Thirty-eight Years Educating Our Children
Accredited by the National Association
for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Credentialed Teachers
USDA Food Program
Multicultural
Headstart Classroom
Developmental Playground
Computer Lab
Your Urban League Child Development Center
471-1930
ENROLLING FOR THE FALL NOW
Page 13
Hillside Neighborhood Association
continued from page 1
African American men, however, constitute the largest racial group
affected by the disease. African
American men over forty are 2.5 times
mores likely to get the disease over
their Caucasian, Asian, or Hispanic
counterparts.
Dr. Maurice Markus, an oncologist with the Rocky Mount Cancer
Center, was one of three physicians
who attended the Saturday morning
brunch. Dr. Markus gave an informative and eye-catching presentation to
the diverse group of men, via Microsoft
PowerPoint, covering the fundamentals of cancer and the anatomy of the
prostate. A look of unease seemed to
capture the group when Dr. Markus
discussed symptoms of the disease.
“Symptoms may include, blood in urination, slow urination, and lower pain
in the back and pelvis. Although Some
patients lack any symptoms whatsoever,” said Markus. Research indicates
many patients will lack signs of the disease. For this reason, medical experts
Page 14
suggest visiting your physician and
sharing family medical history. Men
who have had a grandfather, father, or
brother with the disease should seek
screening as early as age forty five.
Dr. Anju Pedada, a Radiologist
with the Penrose Cancer Center,
led the discussion on treatment. Dr.
Larry Dillion, Chief of Surgery at the
Memorial Hospital Cancer Center, and
recently diagnosed with the disease
gave remarks on treatment as well as
prevention. Groundbreaking developments in radiation therapy have made
it the leading choice of patients and
physicians. Dr. Pedada’s segment covered the marvels of Internal Radiation
Therapy (IRT). IRT involves the
implantation of a radiation source, in
the form of tiny solid seeds, inside the
prostate gland. This form of treatment
allows for a large dose of radiation, to
treat a smaller area of the body, contrary to conventional radiation therapy,
in which larger areas of the body are
exposed to radiation. According to
Pedada, patients are able to receive
radiation treatment and return home the
same day.
Franklin Clay, 72, retired US Air
Force, prostate cancer survivor, gave
a light-hearted testimony regarding his
experiences with the disease.
“I cannot guarantee you will look
as good as I do at seventy-two, but you
will live as long if you pay attention to
information given by these doctors.”
Over a decade ago Clay noticed he had
difficulty urinating on a routine trip to
the restroom and became concerned. “I
didn’t know what was wrong with me,”
he said. After a series of screenings
and examinations he was diagnosed
with prostate cancer. Clay attributes
his survival to early detection, and his
strong spiritual convictions. Clay was
diagnosed over ten years ago.
“Get the check,” he urged group
members, “this is a disease who knows
no race.”
Among all cancer prevention techniques, knowing your family health
history and early detection lead the
way.
September 2007
justice
The Ten Most Important Lessons Learned - Two Years of Katrina
By Bill Quigley.
Bill is a human rights lawyer and law
professor at Loyola University New Orleans. He can be reached at Quigley@
loyno.edu
One. Build and rebuild community.
When disaster hits and life is wrecked,
you immediately seem to be on your own.
Isolation after a disaster is a recipe for powerlessness and depression. Family, community, church, work associations are all
important – get them up and working as fast
as possible. People will stand up and fight,
but we need communities to do it. Prize
women – they are the first line of community builders. Guys will talk and fight and
often grab the spotlight, but women will
help everyone and do whatever it takes to
protect families and communities. Powerful
forces mobilize immediately after a disaster. People and politicians and organizations have their own agendas and it helps
them if our communities are fragmented.
Setting one group against another, saying
one group is more important than another
is not helpful. Stress and distress is high
for everyone, but community support will
multiply the resources of individuals. Build
bridges. People together are much stronger
than people alone.
Two. Self-reliance. Your community
must be ready to re-settle your property as
soon as possible and care for those most
in need. Prioritize help for the elderly, the
sick, children and women, especially the
poor. The prime cure for helplessness is
taking control over your own life and joining others to fight for justice.Groups and
people will want to treat you like a victim
– say you are traumatized and incapable
of making basic decisions about yourself.
They will tell you they know best and act
like they know best. Tell them to get lost.
Three. Tell your own story. Sharing our
stories, successes and failures, is a way to
connect and educate ourselves. Connecting
with others nationally and internationally
who have been through disasters is the very
best thing that you can do. Disasters and
the corporations that cause them and profit
from them do not respect national boundaries. Look for global justice connections.
Learn from those who have been through
this before. They will tell you - do not let
anyone say who you are or what is best for
your community – say it yourself. Those
in power will blame circumstances outside
their control for what happened and inevitably they will blame the victims of the disaster. Those in power will tell the people’s
story in ways that makes the powerful look
good. If others do not tell the truth – you do
it and get your stories out. Real allies help
lift up the voices of the people.
Four. Value every single human life
equally. Every religion and human rights
recognizes that every single person is entitled to human dignity. There are no forms
to fill out, no criteria to meet. Every single
person no matter their race or gender or
economic situation has equal value. Every
person has the right to participate in the
response to the disaster equally. Every
single person and family has the right to
repair and rebuild and participate in the
decisions being made. The exact opposite
occurs after a disaster. The people with
economic and political power get together
and decide what has to happen. They also
decide which people are “worthy” of getting help first. They consider poor working
people disposable and movable. Since this
is an emergency, they say there is not time
to allow regular people to participate in
the decisions. If every single person is not
September 2007
treated equally before the disaster hits, they
certainly should not expect to be treated
fairly after.
Five. Don’t wait for a leader – become
one. Resist the tendency to think someone
else is going to come save you. There is
no leader out there. We must each become
leaders and followers in order to bring
about the change that is needed. Each of us
is challenged to get beyond our pre-disaster
comfort zone. New leadership is essential
to avoid just repeating the mistakes that
contributed to the disaster. Those who
work for human development instead of
real estate development will be repeatedly
criticized as “obstructionist” by those who
do not value every life equally. Be prepared
for these criticisms. That is what they said
about Mandela, Gandhi, ML King. Good
company.
Six. Prepare for a Love-Hate Relationship
with the Government. After disaster, only
the government has the resources to help
fix major problems for the social good. We
must hold them accountable and demand
that the public sector mobilize and assist
in an equitable way.At the same time, we
cannot wait for the government. Nor can we
necessarily listen to the government. After
a disaster, the government will immediately
be manipulated by those in power. We must
both critique the government and build our
own alternative community supports.
Seven. Government will help businesses first and second and third, and if there
is anything left, maybe fourth. Who is in
charge of government before the disaster?
Governments will look to privatize the
public sector – housing, health, education, transportation, every system after a
disaster. That was what they wanted before
the disaster, so the disaster offers them an
opportunity to move their plans into action.
Corporations see disasters as opportunities. They look for valuable land that poor
people were living on before the disaster.
They decide that there is a better economic
use for that land. Then they will push the
government to come up with some excuse
to take the land for other uses.You will
quickly see that those with power and
money before the disaster end up with more
power and more money after the disaster.
You will see that 98% of the money distributed in a disaster ends up enriching
corporations. Our most colorful example is
the blue tarps that the government put on
the roofs of houses after Katrina. The main
contractor, Shaw Group, got $175 a square
to put on the tarps. The subcontracted the
work out to another corporation for $75 a
square. The second corporation subcontracted the work out to a third corporation
for $30 a square. Who in turn subcontracted
it out again to guys who did the work for
$2 a square. Two dollars a square for the
actual worker is less than 2 percent of what
the government paid out – guess who got
the money. Wonder why the Gulf Coast is
not fixed up yet? This is not an accident.
It is not that the system isn’t working. It is
working for the benefit of those who create
and fund and manipulate it. Read Naomi
Klein’s THE SHOCK DOCTRINE: The
Rise of Disaster Capitalism. It spells it out
in detail. If government works primarily for
corporations before the disaster, after the
disaster it will be a hyper corporate-friendly
environment.
Eight. Disasters reveal the structural
injustices in our communities in race, gender and class and are thus learning and
action opportunities.Wonder about the role
of race, class and gender in society? Watch
what happens when disaster strikes. Who
is left behind during the disaster? Who is
left behind in the repair and rebuilding and
planning and decision-making? Disasters
illuminate injustices.There is tremendous
educational opportunity to look at what
really matters in our society after a disaster.
The curtains are pulled back. The bandages
are ripped off. Our histories of injustice are
laid bare for all to see. International human
rights create great opportunities to reframe
the justice discussion. But just looking
is insufficient. Join in solidarity with the
same folks who are left out. If a disaster
can be an opportunity for those interested in
unjust economic advantage, why cannot we
change the pattern and make it an opportunity to redistribute justice in our communities and right the wrongs that created what
all can now see?
Nine. A justice-based reconstruction will not be funded.Money will flow.
Charities, churches and governments will
send money for charitable help. If your
community is trying to create a more just
community than the one destroyed by the
disaster, there will not be funding for that.
If you are trying to make the community
fairer for and with the poor, the elderly, and
those who lived in unjust circumstances
before the disaster – get ready to raise your
own funds for your organization. Funding
for charity will come, but funding for
justice will not. We must insist on some
transparency and accountability from the
non-profits and foundations and others who
have raised and spent billions in the names
of those in distress. They cannot be allowed
to operate like multi-national corporations
– they must open their books and involve
people in their decision-making.Solidarity
not charity is one of the great demands to
come out of Katrina from the Common
Ground collective. Another is “Nothing
about us without us is for us” from Peoples
Hurricane Relief.After Katrina, it again
became clear that decades of oil development has literally destroyed the natural
protections around the gulf coast. Yet the
disaster actually enriched the oil companies
who helped cause it, creating their biggest
year of profit in some time. Yet, do you
hear the voices of those calling out for the
oil corporations to be held accountable for
what they have caused? Those voices are
small and unfunded. But they, like so many
others calling for justice, are out there and
will one day be heard.
Ten. Love is the answer – justice work
is a commitment for the long haul. When
disaster hits, there is a natural urge to
work around the clock to try to set things
right. After a few weeks or months, it
will become clear that is not sustainable.
Working 24 hours a day is going to make
you as crazy as the government. No one
likes a crank – even if they are working
for justice. Building communities of resistance and working for human development
is long-term work. Love is a tremendous
source of energy. But we have to love ourselves as well so we can keep living this
resistance with others. We have and will
continue to make mistakes. We have to get
back up, dust ourselves off, forgive ourselves and others, and get back to working
in community to create a more just world.
It is important to laugh too. Remember that
last job held by the guy in charge of disasters for the entire US government was as
head of an association of dancing horses!
We can’t make this stuff up. We have to
love and laugh along with our tears and
rage and keep learning new lessons.
Page 15
worrill's corner
THE IMPACT OF WHITE SUPREMACY
By Dr. Conrad W. Worrill
How many times have you heard
someone of African ancestry say that
“Black people are our own worst
enemy?” If you have lived among
African people in this country for any
length of time, I am sure you have
heard this remark made many times.
Unfortunately, the system of white
supremacy developed in the western world, has caused far too many
African people in America to believe
that the problem we face as a people is
“us.” We must remind ourselves, time
and time again, that African people in
America were captured from Africa
and brought to America against our
will. As the “1974 Black Capital” article asserted, “Our introduction to the
West was in the form of a commodity
raped from Africa to be used as labor,
capital, chattel, and currency to build a
nation for someone else.” In the article,
it explained that “. . . our history tells
us that we were below slaves and less
than human. We were things who were
traded for horses, our women used as
breeders and our children raised like
chickens.”
Finally, the “Black Capital” article
pointed out that during the slavery
process— “The level of our existence
was based upon the skill and the will
of those who owned us. They had the
right to deem that which was best for
their property. Therefore, the profit
motive and the skill of the slave master determined how this Black wealth
would bring the highest return on his
investment.”
This formula is still at work today.
Just examine the role of African people
in the entertainment and athletic industry. White people own and control
these industries and use African people
to “bring the highest return off their
investment.”
If African people are going to ever
have a serious mental breakthrough
in terms of how we analyze our condition in America, we will have to
resolve the question “are we our own
worst enemy,” or has the system of
white supremacy created a set of conditions that continue to keep us in an
oppressed state?
We must accept responsibility for
answering this question as well as
accepting responsibility for solving all
the problems we face as a people. But
in accepting responsibility for addressing the problems we face as an African
people in America, we must have a
framework out of which to properly
conceptualize our problems.
In 1852, the great African thinker in
America, Dr. Martin R. Delany, wrote
one of the most important books that
accurately described our condition at
that moment in history that is still
applicable to our condition today. The
title of the book is Condition, Elevation,
Emigration and Destiny of the Colored
People of the United States.
Delany wrote, “Unfortunately for
us a body, we have been taught that we
must have some person to think for us,
instead of thinking for ourselves. So
accustomed are we to submission and
this kind of training, that it is with difficulty, even among the most intelligent
of the colored people, an audience may
be elicited for any purpose whatever, if
the expounder is to be colored. . .”
Further Delany wrote, “and the
introduction of a subject is treated with
indifference, if not contempt, when the
originator is a colored person. Indeed,
the most ordinary white person, is
almost revered while the most qualified colored person is totally neglected,
nothing from them is appreciated.”
In resolving the question of whether
“we are our own worst enemy,” we
should reflect that for over three hundred years white people openly discussed African people as a problem
(1600 - 1900). Today they still discuss
us as a problem but the language is
coded differently.
As Dr. Anderson Thompson has
written on the discussions that white
people have had on what they have historically called “the Negro Problem,”
“There is a duality in the story of western white man and his culture, which,
paradoxically, is thrown into sharp relief
wherever the Black man appears (or is
dropped) on the scene.” Dr. Thompson
says, “Whenever or wherever the white
man exists in proximity to the Blacks
the Negro Question appears.” The idea
of the “Negro Question” is discussed
further when Dr. Thompson writes,
“The Negro Question in Western society has been a perennial subject of
endless international debates, actions,
decisions, wars, riots, lynching’s— all
of which flow out a recurring western
dialogue: a conversation (for Europeans
only) which for a long time took place
between white men over what should
be done with, about or to the Blacks
they found in their captured territories.”
Concluding on this point,
Dr. Thompson informs us “The
International Negro Question, or Nigger
Dr. Conrad W. Worrill
Question has, for the most part, been an
integral past of European Civilization.
Wherever in the world there existed.
Europeans in proximity to the African,
inevitably the question arose as to how
(not why, I nor whether) the Black
man should be exploited or should be
eliminated.” We are not our own worst
enemy— even though some African
people in this country behave in manners that are not in our best interest. What we must continue to do is
to understand this negative African
behavior and assume responsibility for
changing it. The enemy and problem
is white supremacy and its continued
impact on us.
Dr. Conrad Worrill is the National
Chairman of the National Black United
Front (NBUF) located at 1809 East 71st
Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60649, 773493-0900, Fax# 773-493-9819, E-mail:
[email protected], Web site: nbufront.org
National Education Association Launches Grassroots
Campaign to Caribbeans and Africans
continued from page 12
Dale V.C. Holness Born in Hanover,
Jamaica, Dale V.C. Holness was elected to the position of Commissioner
of Lauderhill, Florida in 2004. In his
three years as Commissioner, Holness
has implemented several key programs including the Operation A+ Plan
for Higher Education, the Lauderhill
Beautification Project 2004, Broward
Community College Courses and
Programs for Lauderhill Residents, the
High-School Hiring Showcase and the
Stop the Violence Project.
Alison
Hinds
http://
www.1720entertainment.com/client_
images/seventeen20/2659_72c84ddcc
39ebc1217d49c15ac8bcce5.jpg Born
in England but raised in Barbados,
Alison Hinds is one of the most popular soca artists in the world. Known
as the "Queen of Soca," Hinds has
recorded numerous popular songs that
top charts even in countries which do
not widely listen to soca. VP Records
VP Records, based in Jamaica, Queens
NY, has been a pioneering force in
the reggae music industry for over
25 years. From roots & culture to
soca and dancehall, VP Records is
the only record label that represents
the full spectrum of Caribbean music.
VP's roster includes chart-topping artists such as Shaggy, Morgan Heritage,
Page 16
Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder, Elephant
Man, and Tanto Metro & Devonte and
many more.
Clarence "C.T." Martin Clarence
Terrell "C.T." Martin is a native Atlantan
elected to the Atlanta City Council in a
1990 special election. Since his election, Councilman Martin has labored
tirelessly for youth and education. In
1996, he organized the "Stand-up For
Children" March in Atlanta. He established the first" Mobile Youth Resource
Center System -Youthmobile" in the
city's history which served as a mobile
source of information on job placement,
drug awareness, educational opportunities and pregnancy prevention for local
needy youth. He also established the
city's first "Youth Commission" and
took a class of elementary school students on an exchange trip to Trinidad
in 1997.
Jamaican Diaspora Southern U.S.
The Jamaican Diaspora includes all
Jamaican nationals and persons of
Jamaican heritage (their family and
friends) who reside overseas around
the world. The Jamaican Diaspora
Movement is a historic opportunity
to unite and galvanize all Jamaicans,
their talents, resources, and potential
throughout the United States, Canada,
United Kingdom and around the world
for the benefit of their local communi-
ties and the future development and
support of Jamaica.
Ovie Mughelli Born in Boston,
Massachusetts to Nigerian parents,
Ovie Mughelli is a four-year veteran fullback of the National Football
League. In March 2007, Mughelli
signed a free agent deal with the Atlanta
Falcons, making him the highest paid
fullback in NFL history. Selected by
the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth
round of the 2003 NFL Draft out of
Wake Forest, Mughelli supports education on many levels. In February 2006,
Ovie took part in the Harvard Graduate
Business School's Business education
program for NFL players. The program
is part of an ongoing NFL-NFLPA
initiative to assist players in preparing for their post-playing careers. He
also runs a charity organization "The
Ovie Mughelli Project" which serves
to educate and inspire underprivileged
youth.
Joseph Addai Joseph Addai was
born in Houston, Texas to Ghanaian
parents. He attended Louisiana State
University where he earned a degree
in general studies before being drafted
in the first round of the NFL by the
Indianapolis Colts in 2006. As the Colts'
star rookie running back, Addai led the
league inrookie rushing yards and was
named the NFL Offensive Rookie-of-
the-Month for November 2006. His
record-setting performance in the playoff season helped the Colts win the
2006 Super Bowl XLI Championship.
Addai is establishing a foundation, Not
Your Average Joe, that was inspired
by a high-school friend who suffered
a spinal cord injury during a football
game that left him paralyzed. Not Your
Average Joe will assist people living
with spinal cord injuries.
Gokh-Bi System Considered leaders of the emerging African hip-hop
movement, Gokh-Bi System (GBS)
was born and raised in the slums
of Dakar, the capital of Senegal in
West Africa. The group was formed
in 1995 by three childhood friends
Mamadou Ndiaye, Diasse Pouye, and
Pape "Bathie" Pouye. Since its inception 12 years ago, GBS has appeared
in a CNN documentary on music
around the world and has shared the
stage with such artists as Kanye West,
Damian Marley, Tribe Called Quest,
Angelique Kidjo, Femi Kuti, Culture,
Toots and The Maytals, Michael Franti
(Spearhead), Erykah Badu, and with
Grammy Award winning artist, Patti
LaBelle. Through their music, tours
and fundraising, GBS has dedicated
their career to educating youth in their
native land and abroad.
September 2007
National Black Chamber of commerce
Beyond The Rhetoric: "Hey Man, This is
Louisiana. It is How We Do Business Down Here."
By: Harry C. Alford
Those were the words given to me
as an explanation. I was involved with
some individuals from Lafayette, LA in
a business venture about 7 years ago. I
flew down to solidify the incorporation
papers for the State of Louisiana. To
my surprise they had previously incorporated the venture as we discussed
but without my knowledge and fraudulently signed my signature as President
of the company. There they were, the
incorporation papers replete with the
signature stating Harry C. Alford. I
screamed in protest. They calmly said
the above like it was no big thing.
From that point on the relationship
went “South”. I couldn’t trust these
guys and it was my first baptism to a
culture that is prevalent to this state.
Corruption is everywhere but
Louisiana has a certain flavor to it.
Those who participate in it move without a concern for coming to justice.
Former Governor Edwin Edwards
(Democrat) once boasted that the
only way to catch him would be a
“dead woman or a live boy”. He was
wrong. Strutting through an airport
with $400,000 in pay off money from a
casino owner did the trick. Of course,
there is corruption everywhere. Lake
County, Indiana, East St. Louis, mob
capital New York City and New Jersey
and of course, that breeder of much
corruption known as Chicago. The
difference is the casualness of it and
how widespread it appears to be in
Louisiana. When a program starts the
corruption seems to follow immediately.
Such was noted when the Louisiana
Film Commission was started to attract
more Hollywood film making in the
state. Hollywood producers would
receive Tax Credits if they filmed their
productions in the Bayou State. The
producers could then sell the tax credits
to Louisiana corporations for eighty
cents on the dollar. It was almost immediate (according to a recent indictment)
that the Film Commissioner Mark
Smith began taking bribes to the tune
of $65,000 in return for excessive and
unearned tax credits. Mr. Smith’s previous job was General Counsel for the
Louisiana Lt. Governor. Other indictments are promised in this matter.
Indictments have become a big
business in this state. Most places
have an FBI regional or district office
located in the applicable federal building along with Social Security, IRS and
other federal entities. In New Orleans,
the FBI regional office is a huge stand
alone building accompanied by a run
way and airplane hanger. It’s got
to be one of the biggest operations
outside of DC. Recently, FBI senior
official James Bernazzani remarked
about Louisiana corruption, “Up north
we have people skimming the cream
but here people skim the cream, steal
the milk, highjack the milk bottles
and then go looking for the cow.” His
office is indicting elected and appointed officials in mind boggling numbers.
It is becoming a matter of who is next.
Where will the next surprise come
from? Will it be someone we admire
or someone we despise? We just don’t
know.
It was a big hurt to us that New
Orleans City Councilman Oliver
Thomas was recently indicted and has
admitted taking a bribe a few years
ago. He was our “Go To” guy on matters concerning the Gulf Rebuilding. A
very dependable local elected official
helping everyone who approached him.
His transgression was slight but it was
illegal and now he, too, will be missing
from the work to be done.
Everyone is shaking their head waiting on the next “shoe” to drop. I had
access to one recent correspondence
that said, “They searched _________
office last week. They will probably
hit mine this week. We are going
down. You all should expect changes.”
That is strong medicine.
It has been an atmosphere of slinging money for favors. Favors that
If you don't have this freedom of the press, then all these little
fellows are weaseling around and doing their monkey business
and they never get caught. -Harold R. Medina
would have been made anyway but
the ill thought of “pay for play” has
been handed down since the days of
former governor Huey P. Long back in
the 1930’s. Somehow the atmosphere
must be cleansed and perhaps that
is what’s happening now. Hurricane
Katrina seems to have lifted a “rock”
that has exposed some bad ways and
the US Attorney’s office along with
the FBI are acting like they are fishing in a barrel. Judges, council persons, school leaders, congresspersons,
appointed officials and a myriad of
others are going down for taking a little
cash. Sooner or later it will sink in and
change – Louisiana does business a different way now.
This era is coming to a close and a
new, fresh group of leaders will come
forward and carry this state to greatness. May that part of the culture
change but the rest of this vibrant place
that I have come to love stay as it is.
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thousands in a national vigil before the
Jena Louisiana Court House on the day
of Bell's sentencing.
Harris said while she cannot make
the trip she is working on organizing a
simultaneous "Black awareness" rally
at the school.
"Even if I can't go down there and
scream on the courtroom steps I can do
something here to raise awareness of
not only the Jena Six case but also the
other important issues facing the Black
community."
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Coninued form page 4
Jessica Harris, a student at Morgan
State University in Baltimore and a
member of Delta Sigma Theta, said as
soon as she learned the details of the
case, she knew she had to do something.
"I was immediately disgusted,"
Harris said of the case. "It shocked me
back into the reality that racism is alive
and well."
On July 31, the Rev. Al Sharpton
of the National Action Network went
down to Jena to lead in the battle cry
of "No justice, no peace!" and he,
along with Martin Luther King III,
radio host Michael Baisden and other
national leaders will lead an expected
%
Harry C. Alford
Mr. Alford is the co-founder,
President/CEO of the National Black
Chamber of Commerce. Website:
www.nationalbcc.org.
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Page 17
pan hellenic council directory
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc
Deborah B Parsons
President of Epsilon Nu Omega
Chapter
7755 East Quincy Ave, A5-205
Denver, CO 80237
(303) 221-2548
[email protected]
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc
Alires J Almon
President of Mu Omega Omega
Chapter
9004 S Bear Mountain Dr
Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
(720) 427-4412
[email protected]
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc
Purvis ‘Link’ Young
President of Delta Psi Lambda
Chapter
12945 E 46th Ave
Denver, CO 80239
(303) 388-2417
[email protected]
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc
Janell Lindsey
President of Denver Alumnae Chapter
11634 E Bayaud Dr
Aurora, CO 80012
[email protected]
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc
Daniel Brown
President of Denver Alumni Chapter
2160 Downing St
Denver, CO 80205-5261
(303) 437-0369
[email protected]
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc
Greg LaBrie
President of Chi Phi Chapter
24446 East Glasgow Cir
Aurora, CO 80016
(303) 475-0673
[email protected]
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc
Curtis Whitman
President of Delta Delta Sigma
Chapter
2087 S Pitkin St
Aurora, CO 80013
(303) 317-3237
[email protected]
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc
Wanda J Beauman
President of Beta Rho Sigma Chapter
5650 Martin L King Blvd
Denver, CO 80207
(303) 377-7506
[email protected]
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc
Jo Coker
President of Zeta Zeta Zeta Chapter
439 S Poplar Wy
Denver, CO 80224
(303) 333-7884
[email protected]
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Lillian Mallory
President of Iota Beta Omega Chapter
P.O. Box 17452
For more information:719.473.0097
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
Kevin L. Hagans
President of Iota Omicron Lambda
Chapter
P.O. Box 15083
[email protected]
Chi Eta Phi Sorority
Wanda Hall Basilus
of Iota Eta Chapter
2236 Sumter Dr.
[email protected]
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
Xi Pi Chapter
Brett Britton President
P.O. Box 2288
For more information:719.232-6796
or [email protected]
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority
Cynthia Bell President
P.O. Box 76244
For more information:
720.985.3088 (c)
or [email protected]
Community Builders
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Monica Kirkwood President
P.O. Box 15235
Colorado Springs, CO 80935 For
more information, visit the websitewww.csac-dst.org or call 719.590.1657
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
Marcus Stevenson President
P.O. Box 25971
www.kappaalphapsi1911.com
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc
Ollie B Smith
President of Theta Zeta Sigma Chapter
5666 S Quintero Cir
Centennial, CO 80015-0310
(303) 946-9070
[email protected]
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc
Cynthia A Bell
President of Xi Kappa Zeta Chapter
1303 S Sable Blvd
Aurora, CO 80012-4632
(720) 985-3088
[email protected]
Page 18
September 2007
10th annual greek cookout
Colorado Springs/Pueblo Pan Hellenic Council
African American Greek organizations were organized on college campuses during the time when African
Americans faced a common set of
problems, institutional racism and discrimination. Fraternities and Sororities
were organized with the purpose of providing assistance and support through
various programs in local communities. Members stressed academic excellence and professional conduct at all
times as well as social, economic and
civic engagement. Today, Colorado’s
African American Greek organizations
are part of the oldest black institutions in the United States. Members of
Greek organizations play a major role
in keeping cultural traditions alive.
Brothers and Sister create concrete programs that address social issues, promote economic and political awareness
and contribute to preserving our rich
culture. For more information on various African American Greek organizations, see Colorado African American
Greek directory page 18.
September 2007
Page 19
community network
BARBER • BEAUTY • ART GALLERIA
(719) 200-8258
3324 E FOUNTAIN BLVD
COLORADO SPRINGZ, CO 80910
robinson employment lAW, llc
A L AW F IRM S PECIALIZING I N E MPLOYMENT L ITIGATION
J ENNIFER C . R OBINSON
S ENIOR A TTORNEY
303 E. SEVENTEENTH AVE.,
SUITE 200
DENVER, CO. 80203
Page 20
PHONE: (303) 866-9793
September 2007
september 2007
special supplement
Past & Present Media Productions
3121 S. Academy Blvd
[o] 719.393.0178
[c] 719.291.9046
[f] 719.390.3495
national prostate cancer month
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
DENVER According to the
American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among American men, with
more than 218,000 men expected to be
diagnosed with the disease in2007. In
Colorado, approximately 3,160 cases
of the disease will be diagnosed this
year.
However, as the American Cancer
Society designates September Prostate
Cancer Awareness Month, there is good
news for Colorado men. Mortality rates
for prostate cancer are declining thanks
to early detection and advancements in
treatment therapies. According to The
Urology Center of Colorado (TUCC),
men over the age of 50 and AfricanAmerican men over the age of 40 have
a higher risk of developing prostate
cancer.
Other common risk factors for the
disease includerace/ethnicity, genetics
and diet.³ There are often no early
symptoms of early stage prostate cancer, so early detection and screening are
paramount,² said Richard Augspurger,
M.D., TUCC medical director.³ All
men should undergo annual prostate
cancer screenings beginning at age
50. High risk men such as AfricanAmericans or men with apositive fam-
ily history should begin these screenings at age 40.²
Prostate cancer is most commonly
diagnosed by a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test and digital rectal exam
(DRE). PSA is a protein produced by
the prostate cells which can be detected
in the blood. A simple blood test can
recognize an elevated PSA and indicate
if further evaluation for prostate cancer is necessary. A DRE involves the
assessment of the size, shape and con-
There is good news for
Colorado men. Mortality
rates for prostate cancer
are declining thanks to
early detection and advancements in treatment
therapies.
sistency of a patient¹s prostate gland.
If either of these exams appear abnormal, additional exams such as biopsies,
ultrasounds, CT scans and bone scans
may be performed to determine the
extent of the cancer.
After a physician consultation,
prostate cancer can be treated through
avariety of ways. Brachytherapy is a
non-surgical form of treatment that
Carolyn Kalaskie Joins ANGEL
Network as Co-Project Director
ANGEL Network Director T. Allyson
O’Neal announced the appointment of
Carolyn Kalaskie as the non-profit organization’s co-project director, effective
August 6, 2007. “Carolyn comes to us with
broad experience in many areas of education and social work,” noted O’Neal.
The ANGEL (African American
Women Nurturing and Giving Each other
Life) Network was founded by T. Allyson
O'Neal, R.N. of the Penrose Cancer Center
in 2001 with a grant from The Colorado
Springs Affiliate of The Susan G. Komen
for the Cure.
According to its website, "The ANGEL
Network fills a critical need for breast
cancer education and outreach to the
African American community” in Southern
Colorado. “Due to fear, fatalism and silence
many African American women die needlessly from breast cancer.” The Penrose
Cancer Center provides the network with
September 2007
office space and administrative support.
In her biography, Carolyn Kalaskie
describes herself as the product of a strict,
Southern, Pentecostal background in which
a “Christian world view,” discipline, and
hard work were ways of life. Although
there were financial challenges, her parents
worked hard to provide the family with
“life’s basic necessities.” Kalaskie credits
her parents with helping her to develop the
unwavering work ethic, which has served
her during her previous and current career
moves.
In 1979 Kalaskie earned a bachelor’s
degree in social work and was commissioned as the first black female officer
from the West Virginia University Reserve
Officer Training Corps. After what she
describes as a “miserable three year tour
of duty as a missile maintenance officer,”
Kalaskie was honorably discharged. She
continued her education, earning a master
of science in student personnel administration from Central Missouri State University
in 1984. She discovered a gift and passion
for children and for teaching, and has lived
and taught school in several states and in
Germany. Now, with her husband’s retirement from military service, Kalaskie voices
her enthusiasm for her new position with
the ANGEL Network, saying that she looks
“forward to new challenges and rewarding
exchanges with patients, colleagues and
members of our community.”
involves the placement of small radioactive seeds directly into the prostate.
These seeds cause little discomfort to
the patient and remain in the prostate
permanently.
Other forms of minimally invasive radiation therapy, such as external beam radiation therapy, intensity
modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or
image guided radiation therapy (IGRT)
may be used to treat prostate cancer.
³ IMRT and IGRT are newer, more
advanced forms of radiation therapy
delivery that allow higher doses of
radiation to be delivered to the prostate
while decreasing the risk of exposure to
the surrounding tissues,² said Reginald
Westmacott, M.D., director of radiation
oncology at TUCC. ³
With IMRT, the radiation beam
is conformed directly to the planned
treatment area. IGRT allows physicians to place metallic markers directly
into the prostate to visualize changes
in position before treatment and therefore more accurately deliver radiation
treatment.²
Men diagnosed with prostate cancer may also be advised to undergo
a radical prostatectomy, which is a
surgical procedure where the entire
prostate glandis removed. This proce-
dure is usually performed in the early
stages of the disease in order to prevent
the spread of the cancer throughout
the body. Select patients may also
be advised to undergo the procedure
through arobotic surgery known as the
There are often no
early symptoms of
early stage prostate
cancer, so early detection and screening are
paramount.
daVinci.³
The best prevention against prostate
cancer is early detection through annual
screenings,² said Stephen Ruyle, M.D.,
TUCC president.³ However, advancements in treatments for the disease
have resulted in current long-term cure
rates greater than 80 percent, with cure
rates upwards of 94 percent for patients
detected at the earliest stage. Many
men diagnosed with prostate cancer
can successfully beat their disease.²
For more information on the
detection and treatment of prostate
cancer,please visit www.tucc.com or
call 1.877.825.8898.
SET Family Medical Clinics
Host Their 17th Anniversary
Dinner and Silent Auction
SET Family Medical Clinics invites
you to join them on September 15th
at 5:30 p.m. for the 17th Anniversary
Dinner Celebration and Silent Auction.
The celebration will be held at the
Cheyenne Mountain Resort, 3225
Broadmoor Valley Road. SET Family
Medical Clinics has been serving the
Pikes Peak Region for the past seventeen years, but this is the first celebration event for the organization.
This fundraising event will include
cocktails, silent auction, dinner, and
dancing. The Honorable Bill Ritter,
Jr. Governor, is the invited keynote
speaker. Entertainment, music, and
dancing will be provided by Dr. Sam
and the Managed Care Blues Band, a
renowned jazz and blues band from
Florida.
Tickets to attend the entire event
are $100 per individual or $175 per
couple. If you would like to attend the
entertainment portion of the evening
admittance is after 10:00pm, tickets are
$15 per individual and $20 per couple.
All tickets can be purchased by calling
the SET Family Medical Clinics office
at 776-8850 or by going to our website
www.setofcs.org .
“Our organization plays a key role
in offering medical services to the
uninsured and homeless in the community. There are 100,000 men, women
and children within El Paso County
alone that can not afford health insurance. We want this fundraising event
to be successful so that we can provide
services to this population,” said Zelna
Joseph, President and CEO of SET
Family Medical Clinics.
SET Family Medical Clinics is a
faith based 501 (c) (3) organization that
provides basic medical services and
health programs to uninsured, underinsured, homeless, and low income people without discrimination. We provide a family clinic at the St. Francis
Health Center for acute and chronic
needs. The SET Homeless Clinic is
available five days a week for homeless to access basic healthcare. We also
offer senior wellness clinics to several
housing authority apartments in the
Colorado Springs.
Page S1
national sickle cell month
September is National Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month
September is National Sickle Cell
Awareness Month. Because it is "back
to school" month for most children,
the Sickle Cell Disease Association of
America wants the public to reflect on
the children and the adults whose lives,
education and careers have been affected by this disease. The observance originated in 1975 when the Association
and its Member Organizations began
conducting month long events to call
attention to sickle cell disease and the
need to address the problem at national
and local levels.
The Association and its Member
Organizations sponsored public educational programs and fund raising activities during the month. State and local
government officials issue Sickle Cell
Month proclamations and are introduced to local poster children.
The tradition of selecting a National
Poster Child from local candidates
began in 1976 with President Gerald
Ford greeting the first winner at the
White House. Presidents' Carter,
Reagan, Bush and Clinton have also
greeted the National Poster Child.
The effort to have Sickle Cell
Month officially recognized at all
levels succeeded in 1983 when the
House of Representatives unanimously passed the resolution, introduced
by the Congressional Black Caucus,
asking President Reagan to designate September as "National Sickle
Cell Anemia Awareness Month." The
President signed the resolution in
August of 1983.
For educational materials to display
during Sickle Cell Awareness Month
call (800) 421-8453 or e-mail your
request to scdaa@sicklecelldisease.
org. For information on activities sponsored by your local SCDAA Member
Organization.
FAQ About Sickle Cell Disease
What is Sickle Cell Types of Sickle
Disease?
Cell Disease
How will I know if
I have the Trait?
Sickle cell disease is an inherited
blood disorder that affects red blood
cells. People with sickle cell disease
have red blood cells that contain
mostly hemoglobin* S, an abnormal
type of hemoglobin. Sometimes these
red blood cells become sickle-shaped
(crescent shaped) and have difficulty
passing through small blood vessels.
When sickle-shaped cells block
small blood vessels, less blood can
reach that part of the body. Tissue that
does not receive a normal blood flow
eventually becomes damaged. This is
what causes the complications of sickle
cell disease. There is currently no universal cure for sickle cell disease.
Hemoglobin – is the main substance
of the red blood cell. It helps red blood
cells carry oxygen from the air in our
lungs to all parts of the body. Normal
red blood cells contain hemoglobin A.
Hemoglobin S and hemoglobin C are
abnormal types of hemoglobin. Normal
red blood cells are soft and round and
can squeeze through tiny blood tubes
(vessels). Normally, red blood cells
live for about 120 days before new
ones replace them.
People with sickle cell conditions
make a different form of hemoglobin A
called hemoglobin S (S stands for sickle). Red blood cells containing mostly
hemoglobin S do not live as long
as normal red blood cells (normally
about 16 days). They also become stiff,
distorted in shape and have difficulty
passing through the body’s small blood
vessels. When sickle-shaped cells block
small blood vessels, less blood can
reach that part of the body. Tissue that
does not receive a normal blood flow
eventually becomes damaged. This is
what causes the complications of sickle
cell disease.
A SIMPLE PAINLESS BLOOD
TEST
followed by a laboratory technique called Hemoglobin
Electrophoresis will determine the type
of hemoglobin you have. When you
pass an electric charge through a solution of hemoglobin, distinct hemoglobins move different distances, depending on their composition. This technique differentiates between normal
hemoglobin (A), Sickle hemoglobin
(S), and other different kinds of hemoglobin (such as C, D, E, etc.).
There are several types of sickle cell
disease. The most common are: Sickle
Cell Anemia (SS), Sickle-Hemoglobin
C Disease (SC)
Sickle Beta-Plus Thalassemia and
Sickle Beta-Zero Thalassemia.
What is Sickle Cell
Trait?
Sickle Cell trait (AS) is an inherited
condition in which both hemoglobin
A and S are produced in the red blood
cells, always more A than S. Sickle cell
trait is not a type of sickle cell disease.
People with sickle cell trait are generally healthy.
Inheritance
Sickle cell conditions are inherited
from parents in much the same way
as blood type, hair color and texture,
eye color and other physical traits. The
types of hemoglobin a person makes in
the red blood cells depend upon what
hemoglobin genes the person inherits
from his or her parents. Like most
genes, hemoglobin genes are inherited
in two sets…one from each parent.
Examples: If one parent has Sickle
Cell Anemia and the other is Normal, all
of the children will have sickle cell trait.
If one parent has Sickle Cell Anemia
and the other has Sickle Cell Trait,
there is a 50% chance (or 1 out of 2)
of having a baby with either sickle cell
disease or sickle cell trait with each
pregnancy.
When both parents have Sickle Cell
Trait, they have a 25% chance (1 of 4)
of having a baby with sickle cell disease with each pregnancy.
Medical Problems
Sickle cells are destroyed rapidly
in the body of people with the disease
causing anemia, jaundice and the formation of gallstones.
The sickle cells also block the flow
of blood through vessels resulting in
lung tissue damage (acute chest syndrome), pain episodes (arms, legs,
chest and abdomen), stroke and priapism (painful prolonged erection). It
also causes damage to most organs
including the spleen, kidneys and liver.
Damage to the spleen makes sickle cell
disease patients, especially young children, easily overwhelmed by certain
bacterial infections.
Treatment
Health maintenance for patients
with sickle cell disease starts with early
diagnosis, preferably in the newborn
period and includes penicillin prophylaxis, vaccination against pneumococcus bacteria and folic acid supplementation.
Treatment of complications often
includes antibiotics, pain management,
intravenous fluids, blood transfusion
and surgery all backed by psychosocial
support. Like all patients with chronic
disease patients are best managed in a
comprehensive multi-disciplinary program of care.
Blood transfusions help benefit
sickle cell disease patients by reducing recurrent pain crises, risk of stroke
and other complications. Because red
blood cells contain iron, and there is no
natural way for the body to eliminate
it, patients who receive repeated blood
transfusions can accumulate iron in the
body until it reaches toxic levels. It is
important to remove excess iron from
the body, because it can gather in the
heart, liver, and other organs and may
lead to organ damage. Treatments are
available to eliminate iron overload.
Promising
Treatment
Developments
In search for a substance that can
prevent red blood cells from sickling
without causing harm to other parts of
the body, Hydroxyurea was found to
reduce the frequency of severe pain,
acute chest syndrome and the need for
blood transfusions in adult patients
with sickle cell disease. Droxia, the
prescription form of hydroxyurea, was
approved by the FDA in 1998 and is
now available for adult patients with
sickle cell anemia. Studies will now be
conducted to determine the proper dosage for children.
Other treatment options in clinical
development include new, more convenient options than current therapies
to eliminate iron overload caused by
repeated blood transfusions.
HOME PURCHASES
HOME REFINANCES
CHFA, FHA/VA, CONV. LOANS
FIRST TIME BUYER PROGRAMS
Downtown
719-632-0271
Page S2
N. Academy
719-531-5577
Monument
719-488-4907
September 2007
National sickle cell month
Nancy Burke-Fielder Leads Ella Mae Bransom Sickle Cell
Association, Inc. for Over 21 Years
Ella Mae Bransom Sickle
Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 16456
•
•
•
•
Cell
Our Mission:
Educate the community
Provide support to Sickle Cell
patients
Contribute to ongoing research
projects
Find a cure for Sickle Cell Disease
The EMB Sickle Cell Association
is an nonprofit organization that conducts numerous fundraising activities
throughout the year, such as education
and screening programs in conjunction with the Colorado Sickle Cell
Center, Memorial Hospital, and the El
Paso County Health Department. The
organization also assists families with
transportation to Sickle Cell Clinics in
Denver and Colorado Springs.
For more information on the annual
Sickle Cell Awareness month dinner
and other events, please call Nancy at
719.596.7308.
Visit our website at www.sicklecelldisease.org or email [email protected].
In a room on the lower level of
Nancy Burkes-Fielder's house are two
walls filled with awards from numerous associations and agencies - the U.
S. Armed Services, the American Red
Cross, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority,
the Xi Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi
Fraternity, and the Jolly Jills. Each
speaks of Nancy's untiring devotion to
others. From the time Nancy BurkesFielder was a little girl, two special
qualities have been abundantly clear
- an intuitivem ever questioning mind
and a desire to leave the world a little
better than she found it. One of her first
curiosities was the chicken that often
ended up on the family dinner table. "Of
course, I wanted to know why chickens
laid eggs, but when one of them died,
I was leaning over it trying to bring it
back to life. For a while I even refused
to eat anything that was killed, until
my daddy explained that God had
made animals for us to eat." Although
born in McRae, Georgia, Nancy spent
her adolescence and young adulthood
in Jacksonville, Florida, where she
earned a degree in practical nursing.
Her medical experience eventually
brought her to Fitzimmons Army Base
in Denver. When layoffs threatened
her livelihood as a practical nurse, she
turned her nursing talents to the area of
nutrition, a career move that eventually
brought her to Colorado Springs and
Fort Carson where she was employed
as a nutritionist until her retirement in
2000. Throughout Nancy's life, she has
never abandoned her desire to "make
things better," and nowhere is that
commitment more evident then in her
current position as President of the Ella
M. Branson Sickle Cell Association in
Colorado Springs, a position Nancy
has held for the last 21 years. Nancy
has worked tirelessly to raise funds to
support the local Sickle Cell chapter
and to educate families and individuals about a disease that affects mostly
African Americans and for which there
is no known cure. Nancy says that 21
years is a long time to hold the top spot
in any organization, but she's just as
committed as the day she first walked
in the door. "I've had a good life," she
says gratefully, "I'm still healthy and
able to help others not as fortunate as
I." Then she adds, just as the little girl
in Florida might have added several
decades earlier, "if I could do anything
before I die, I would like to find a cure
for Sickle Cell Anemia." And maybe
through her efforts and those of the
Ella M. Branson Sickle Cell Association,
Nancy Burkes-Fielder will.
Yolanda C. Daniels Foundation
I
N 1997, Edna Daniels, Care Manager for the Mother/Baby Unit at Memorial
Hospital in Colorado Springs, lost her daughter Yolanda to sickle cell anemia.
In 2001, Edna decided to honor the memory of her daughter by establishing The
Yolanda Daniels Foundation. The Yolanda C. Daniels Scholarship is awarded
annually to African-American nursing students in recognition of the many such
professionals who served Yolanda during the long and difficult years of her illness. In
addition to the scholarship, each recipient receives a biographic sketch of Yolanda and a
copy of “Don’t Quit,” a poem Yolanda used to guide her during the most difficult times
of her life.
DON’T QUIT
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit!
Yolanda Carol Daniels (1958 - 1997)
For more information contact:
e-mail: [email protected]
Yolanda Daniels Foundation
P.O. Box 5404
September 2007
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometime learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow.
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worse,
That you must not quit.
Page S3
Connecting you with our
customers...
Connecting you with our
community...
Promoting and preserving our
heritage...
~BLACK HANDS DRUM ENSEMBLE~
EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE HISTORY AND
CULTURES OF AFRICA
THROUGH
Advertise
in The
African American Voice
DRUMMING * DANCING * STORY-TELLING
POETRY & SONGS
PERFORMING FOR SCHOOLS,
PRE-SCHOOL thru COLLEGE;
CHURCHES, CORPORATIONS, NURSING HOMES, YOUTH
CENTERS, CULTURAL & COMMUNITY FAIRS & FESTIVALS,
AND OTHER VARIOUS COMMUNITY/OUTREACH EVENTS
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL
719.528.1954
Celebrating 180th Annversary of the
Black Press
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL:
1827-2007
“GILL; THE DRUMMER MAN”
(303) 450-1245
Coming Soon!
2007 - 2008
Colorado
Guide to
Diversity
The “Destiny”
Scholarship
Receive $3,000 toward
your CTU education
(for students who qualify)
A hand book that highlights Colorado
attractions and events which reflect the
state's rich cultural and ethnic diversity.
New Features will include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Colorado Technical University oěers:
Sankofa Art Alliance/African American Artists
Words to Know
Juneteenth Festival
Denver Black Art Festival
Diversity Internet Partners
Ancestors
Companies that Promote Diversity
• Degree programs in the ﬁelds of: Accounting, Business, Computer Science,
Criminal Justice, Engineering, Information Technology, Visual Communication
and more...
• Small class sizes
• Supportive network of professors and staff
• Career services assistance
• Financial Aid is available for those who qualify
Love what you do for a living!
C O L O R A D O S P R I N G S, C O C A M P U S
719.598.0200
P U E B L O, C O C A M P U S
E N R O L L O N L I N E AT
C O L O R A D OT E C H . E D U
719.595.0200
Contact the school for full scholarship details • Program availability differs by location.
Colorado Technical University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association, 30 N. LaSalle St., Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602. 312-263-0456 - www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org
Page S4
September 2007

AAVoice_2007_09

Transcription

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