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VALENTINE’S DAY • FEB. 14 Wednesday • February 12, 2025 • INSIDE THIS ISSUE • GAMES & PUZZLES - Page 10 • LIBRARY EVENTS - Page 4 • CLASSIFIEDS - Page 5
Saving Lives during Black History Month: Lung Assoc. Offers Free Lung Cancer Screenings to IL Residents February is Black History Month, a time to honor the achievements, resilience, and contributions of Black Americans throughout history. It is also a time to increase awareness of health disparities that disproportionately impact the Black community, such as lung cancer screening and diagnosis rates. Black Illinoisans face the highest rates of lung cancer compared to any other racial/ethnic group. The American Lung Association (Lung Association) is offering free lung cancer screenings to Illinois residents. If lung cancer is found and treated in its early stages, it can be treated and even cured, which is why early detection is key. “Lung cancer is the #1 cause of cancer deaths for both men and women in this country, accounting for more than 20% of cancer deaths, with the death rate being significantly higher among Black men. Getting screened and knowing your risk can save thousands of lives by improving treatment outcomes,” said Mikayla Pittman, Manager, Nationwide Health Promotions for the Lung Association. “We urgently need to increase screening rates and continue to address lung cancer disparities, which the Illinois Lung Cancer Screening Initiative seeks to do.” Illinois is in the top ten of states with the highest rate of new lung cancer cases for Black men and Black women with a rate of 78.7 cases per 100,000 people for Black men and 56.1 rate for Black women. Black men
and women are significantly less likely than white men and women to be diagnosed at an early stage, before the cancer has spread to other parts of the body and is harder to treat. They also have lower lung cancer survival rates than white men and women. Individuals statewide who may have risk factors for lung cancer are urged to participate in the lung cancer screening program, which runs through the end of June. Under the program, participants can call a Lung Health Navigator at 844-ALA-LUNG to find out if they are eligible for a lung cancer screening. If they are eligible, the Lung Association will support callers by providing information on nearby screening centers along with guidance on how to obtain a referral from their doctor. Assistance in understanding insurance coverage is also available. A Navigator will be able to assist with financial barriers to care by covering the outstanding balance of the lung cancer screening in addition to arranging a free ride to the screening location, if necessary. The scans are covered by most insurance plans. However, if participants don’t have insurance, then the Lung Association will cover the screening costs. Participants can find more information at Lung.org/lcs-assistance. If you’d like to speak to a Lung Association rep about the Lung Screening Program, please contact Janye Killelea at Janye.Killelea@Lung.org or call (312) 940-7624.
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Chicago-To-Detroit Underground Railroad Route Could Become A National Park Trail A new effort from Underground Railroad preservationists would recognize a Chicago-to-Detroit Underground Railroad route that began in Near South Side Chicago neighborhoods and winds through northern Indiana- ultimately reaching Detroit, Michigan. The hope is to create what would become a National Historic Trail as a unit of the National Park Service. From the 1830s until the Civil War, individuals and families escaping enslavement in southern states came through this area; traveling south from Chicago and east to Detroit and freedom in Canada. They were a significant part of the 3,000 to 4,500 people escaping from slavery who came to the Chicago region in the decades before the Civil War. Many of these fugitive slaves/freedom seekers traveled overland, going directly south from the small city of Chicago and using the ferry/bridge crossing over the Little Calumet River. On occasion, they received assistance from local residents. As early as 1836-7, the Dolton family and other early settlers, and after 1853, the Ton family and other Dutch immigrants, were part of the networks of assistance called the Underground Railroad. These networks emerged across Illinois and other states in response to the bold decisions by thousands of people to escape slavery and seek their freedom, most heading for safety in Canada. The Chicago-to-Detroit Freedom Trail includes two routes that enslaved people traveled on their journeys to freedom, heading from Chicago to Detroit and then across the border to Canada. The main route of the Chicago-to-Detroit Freedom Trail would feature two historic Black churches, Quinn Chapel AME in Bronzeville and Olivet Baptist Church on the Near South Side, both of which were important stops on the Underground Railroad in Chicago. It was a route that folks took on the journey from the Chicago area to Detroit and then ultimately across the river into Canada. The hope is to establish a Nationally recognized Heritage Trail. There are other historic trails around the country that are established and recognized by
the National Park Service. The Chicago-to-Detroit Freedom Trail would be the way to establish a major heritage tourism project. The project team hopes the trail, when established, would include brochures about explaining and exploring the trail, driving, walking, and bike tours, and historical markers at officially recognized sites marking those who escaped to freedom via the trail as well as abolitionists that bravely lent their assistance. In Chicago, the trail begins at the churches and continues south on Michigan Avenue through Bronzeville, where it would designate walking trails and tours. Stops in South Side neighborhoods such as Bronzeville, Washington Heights, Morgan Park, Roseland and Pullman, along with historically relevant portions of the trail in the Loop could be featured in tours. People interested in volunteering with the Little Calumet River Underground Railroad Trail Project and assisting with the effort, led by historian and retired professor Larry McClellan, can reach out to the group online. This is a component of American history, U.S. history and Black history, in our country that has had minimal coverage. Now that Juneteenth has been recognized, more people are becoming aware that there was an Underground Railroad and of its connection to the Chicago-NW Indiana area. For more information, please see undergroundrailroadproject.org To honor Black History Month, the Little Calumet River Underground Railroad Project (soon to be re-named the Midwest Underground Railroad Network) will be hosting a BHM Celebration on Friday, February 21, at 6 pm at their new office headquarters at First Reformed Church in South Holland. (flyer attached) The event will feature music, dance, drumming, and dramatic storytelling. The event is free and refreshments will be served. Open to all ages. Learn about the Underground Railroad and enjoy an evening of history and entertainment.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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