NEWS
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www.blackbarbershop.org to see all participating barbershop locations.
Alpha Partners with Barbershops to Provide Health Screenings Effort Aims to Detect Hypertension and Diabetes ALPHA PHI ALPHA recently announced a partnership with the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program in over 100 barbershops in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles-area chapters of the fraternity will offer manpower, logistics as well as medical assistance to the outreach program. The nationally recognized program is sponsored by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and offers free health screenings for detection of diabetes and hypertension to AfricanAmerican men throughout the country. The program also provides education about healthy lifestyle alternatives. “The need to address health care disparities in AfricanAmerican men is paramount in light of the fact that they have the lowest life expectancy of any group in the U.S.,” said Brother Dr. Bill J. Releford, founder of the Diabetic Amputation Prevention (DAP) Foundation. “For decades, the black barbershop has served as a centralized gathering place where African-American men feel comfortable discussing the most important issues that impact their lives— politics, social trends, family and finances. Now, we are introducing an important discussion of health and the critical need for healthawareness,” Releford said. This barbershop effort comes on the heels of the fraternity’s launching a comprehensive health-and-wellness initiative, in July, at its national convention in New Orleans. According to Dr. Michael A. Smith, chairman of the fraternity’s Health and Wellness Committee, the partnership allows the fraternity to identify opportunities to serve and provide outreach to minority communities. The Los Angeles initiative will include more than 100 barbershops hoping to screen more than 2,500 men a day, with an ultimate goal of screening more than 500,000 African-American men by 2012. H
APA Partners with the FBI Pact Seen as Bureau’s New Path to Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity By Perrye Turner
TWO OF THE WORLD’S most renowned organizations took the opportunity to forge a unique partnership at the 2009 Alpha Phi Alpha national convention. Alpha and the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined forces in pursuit of three common goals: to inform communities, increase diversity within the fields of national security and law enforcement, and to provide fraternity members direct access to career opportunities within the FBI. An agreement was developed by the FBI Human Resources Division, FBI Office of Public Affairs, and the fraternity. Through this partnership, the FBI will be working with Alpha to develop programs that are tailored to the community on both local and national levels. Both sides are excited about the opportunity to work with organizations with such a long history and public notoriety. The FBI is making great strides to broaden its reach into the African-American community, and it looked to the largest and most esteemed black Greek-lettered organization as a way to help. This effort was spearheaded by more than 60 Alpha brothers who currently serve as special agents and professional support employees with the FBI. The FBI prides itself as being an organization comprised of dedicated individuals who share a common mission: to fight crime, to protect America’s security, to contribute to the nation’s intelligence community, and to make the world a safer place. The FBI is an equal opportunity employer. For additional information, visit: www.fbijobs.gov/alpha. H
The Alpha men in the FBI meet with the general president. From left: Brothers Cornell Lynch; Perrye Turner, assistant special agent in charge of the Memphis, Tenn. Field Office; Gerald Jackson, supervisory special agent, Training Division, New Agent Training Unit; Mr. John Miller, FBI assistant director of the Office of Public Affairs; General President Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr.; Brothers Paul Geiger, supervisory special agent of the Community Relations Unit; A. Brett Hovington, unit chief of the Community Relations Unit and Douglas Shipley, supervisory special agent of the Training Division, Africa Unit. Summer/Fall 2009 H THE SPHINX
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