May 2012

GOOD NEWS FROM THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

May 2012

www.thepositivecommunity.com

$2.95

The Health Issue Kenny J: Special Sections African American Heritage Parade & Festival Newark Beth Israel Medical Center

Dancing for Good Health

Regular check-ups are part of the Plan.

Better prevention for better health.

Call 1-800-701-0710 (TTY:1-800-701-0720) and ask to join UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.

Join &

Highlights:

Journeys Unlimited

on this once in a lifetime trip

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Countdown to Freedom Past, Present, November 9—19, 2012

and Future Included: s 2OUNDTRIP !IRFARE FROM .EW 9ORK !REA 'ATEWAY s 4RANSFERS s 3TAR (OTELS s "REAKFAST AND $INNER $AILY s !LL 3IGHTSEEING AND %NTRANCE &EES s (OTEL 4AXES AND 3URCHARGES s $ELUXE -OTOR #OACH s 0ROFESSIONAL 'UIDE

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May 2012

CONTENTS SECTIONS

59

HEALTH............................................15 CULTURE..........................................55 MONEY ............................................76 EDUCATION......................................82 SPECIAL AAHPC SECTION ...............47 NEWARK BETH ISRAEL SECTION .....18

Features COVER STORY: KENNY J’S PASSION FOR LINE DANCING

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also inside

Publisher’s Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Caribbean Women’s Health Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Disabled Does Not Mean Unable . . . . 36 100 Black Women Award Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Guest Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 My View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Health Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Beware Mortgage Scams . . . . . . . . . . 76 Creating Secure Passwords . . . . . . . . 81

The Fitness Doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 On Call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Spirit & Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Gospel Train. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The Way Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 The Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

LeAnne Roberts: More than Just Doctoring . . . . . . . . . . 82 Countdown to Freedom: The African American Community Was Born. . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

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Roll Call for PC_Mar_12.qxd:Roll Call for PC Document.qxd 5/5/12 5:59 PM Page 1

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he clergy organizations, churches, community businesses and institutions listed below have committed to the purchase of at least 50 magazines per month at $1.00 each (one-third of the cover price) or support this publication through the purchase of advertising. Find out more by calling 973-233-9200 or email rollcall@thepositivecommunity.com

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Abyssinian B.C., Harlem, NY Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, Pastor

First AME Zion Church, Brooklyn, NY Dr. Darran H. Mitchell, Pastor

Abundant Life Fellowship COGIC, Newark, NJ Supt. Edward Bohannon, Jr, Pastor

First B.C. of Lincoln Gardens, Somerset NJ Rev. Dr. DeForest (Buster) Soaries, Pastor

Antioch Baptist Church., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Robert M. Waterman, Pastor Archdiocese of New York Brother Tyrone Davis, Office of Black Ministry Berean B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Arlee Griffin Jr., Pastor Bethany B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Dr. David Hampton, Pastor Bethany B.C., Newark, NJ. Rev. Dr. M. William Howard, Pastor Beulah Bible Cathedral Church, Newark, NJ Gerald Lydell Dickson, Senior Pastor Black Ministers Council of NJ Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, Exec. Director

First Baptist B.C. of Teaneck, NJ Rev. Marilyn Monroe Harris, Pastor First Bethel Baptist Church, Newark, NJ H. Grady James III, Pastor First Park Baptist Church, Plainfield, NJ Rev. Rufus McClendon, Jr., Pastor Friendship Baptist Church, Harlem, NY Rev. James A. Kilgore, Pastor General Baptist Convention, NJ Rev. Dr. Guy Campbell, President Grace B. C., Mt. Vernon, NY Rev. Dr. Franklyn W. Richardson, Pastor Greater Abyssinian BC, Newark, NJ Rev. Allen Potts, Senior Pastor

Calvary Baptist Church, Garfield, NJ Rev. Calvin McKinney, Pastor

Greater Faith Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA Rev. Larry L. Marcus

Canaan B. C. of Christ, Harlem, NY Rev. Thomas D. Johnson, Pastor

Greater Friendship Baptist Church, Newark, NJ Rev. John Teabout, Pastor

Canaan B.C., Paterson, NJ Rev. Dr. Gadson L. Graham Cathedral International., Perth Amboy, NJ Bishop Donald Hilliard, Pastor Childs Memorial COGIC, Harlem, NY Bishop Norman N. Quick, Pastor Christian Cultural Center, Brooklyn, NY Rev. A.R. Barnard, Pastor Christian Love B.C., Irvington, NJ Rev. Ron Christian, Pastor Community B.C., Englewood, NJ Rev. Dr. Lester Taylor, Pastor Community Church of God, Plainfield, NJ Rev. Dr. Shirley B. Cathie., Pastor Emeritus Concord B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson, Pastor Convent Avenue Baptist Church, New York, NY Rev. Dr. Jesse T. Willams, Pastor

Mount Olive Baptist Church, Hackensack, NJ Rev. Gregory J. Jackson, Pastor Mount Zion B.C., S. Hackensack, NJ Rev. Dr. Robert L. Curry, Pastor Mt. Olivet B.C, Newark, NJ Rev. André W. Milteer, Pastor Mt. Zion AME Church, Trenton, NJ Rev. J. Stanley Justice, Pastor New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New Brunswick, NJ New Hope Baptist Church, Metuchen, NJ Rev. Dr. Donald L. Owens, Pastor

Walker Memorial B.C. Bronx, NY Rev. Dr. J. Albert Bush Sr., Pastor White Rock B.C, Edison, NJ Jason D. Greer, Pastor World Gospel Music Assoc., Newark, NJ Dr. Albert Lewis, Founder Zion Hill B.C, Newark, NJ Rev. Douglass L. Williams, III, Pastor

Businesses & Organizations 125th St. BID

New Hope Baptist Church of Hackensack, Hackensack, NJ Rev. Dr. Frances Mannin-Fontaine, Pastor

African American Heritage Parade

New Life Cathedral, Mt. Holly, NJ Rev. Eric Wallace, Pastor

American Heart Association, Northern, NJ

New Zion B.C., Elizabeth, NJ Rev. Kevin James White, Pastor

City National Bank

Paradise B. C., Newark, NJ Rev. Jethro James, Pastor

American Diabetes Association

Essex County College, NJ Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce

Ruth Fellowship Ministries, Plainfield, NJ Rev. Tracy Brown, Pastor

Inner City Broadcasting

Greater New Hope Missionary B.C., NYC Rev. Joan J. Brightharp, Pastor

Shiloh B.C., Plainfield, NJ Rev. Dr. Gerald Lamont Thomas, Pastor

Mildred Crump, Newark City Council

Greater Zion Hill B.C., Harlem, NY Rev. Dr. Frank J. Blackshear, Pastor

St. Anthony Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY Rev. Dr. Duane E. Cooper

NAACP, NY State Conference*

Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI) Drek E. Broomes, President & CEO

St. John Baptist Church Camden, NJ Rev. Dr. Silas M. Townsend, Pastor

It Is Well Living Ministries, Clark, NJ Rev. Kahlil Carmichael, Pastor

St. Luke Baptist Church of Harlem, New York, NY Rev. Dr. Johnnie McCann, Pastor

Newark School of Theology

St Luke B.C., Paterson, NJ Rev. Kenneth D.R. Clayton, Pastor

Schomburg Center

Jesus Christ Family Church, Brooklyn, NY Rev. Jason Sumner, Senior Pastor Messiah Baptist Church, East Orange, NJ Rev. Dana Owens, Pastor Metropolitan B.C., Newark, NJ Rev. Dr. David Jefferson, Pastor Mother A.M.E. Zion Church, Harlem Rev. Dr. Gregory Robeson Smith, Pastor

Empire Missionary B.C., Convention NY Rev. Dr. Ronald Grant, President

Mt. Calvary United Methodist Church, Harlem, NY Rev. Ebenezer Aduku Mt. Neboh Baptist Church, Harlem, NY Rev. Dr. Johnnie Green Jr., Pastor

Evening Star B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Washington Lundy, Pastor

Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, Peekskill, NY Rev. Adolphus Lacey, Pastor

Fellowship Missionary B.C., Newark, NJ Rev. Kippie C. Brown, Pastor

Mt. Pisgah B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, Pastor

St. Albans, NY COGIC Rev. Ben Monroe St. James AME Church, Newark, NJ Rev. Ronald L. Slaughter, Pastor St. Matthew AME Church, Orange, NJ Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, Pastor St. Paul Community B.C., Brooklyn, NY Rev. David K. Brawley, Pastor The New Hope B.C., Newark, NJ Rev. Joe Carter, Senior Pastor Thessalonia Worship Center, Bronx, NY Rev. Dr. Shellie Sampson, Pastor Union Baptist Temple,, Bridgeton, NJ Rev. Albert L. Morgan, Pastor

Medgar Evers College NAACP New Jersey* New Jersey Performing Arts Center New York Theological Seminary New York Urban League Razac Products Co., Newark, NJ The College of New Rochelle The United Way of Essex and West Hudson WBGO-88.3FM WKMB-1070AM

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!

“The Positive Community magazine does outstanding work in promoting the good works of the Black Church. All churches and businesses should subscribe to and advertise in The Positive Community. Please support this magazine, the only one that features good news about the black community.”—Rev. Buster Soaries, General Baptist Revival, May 20, 2010

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You have a friend in the community.

Meet Charlotte Kinsey, Faith Based Community Representative for UnitedHealthcare Community Plan. or many people, the health care system can seem very big and impersonal. But, when you meet Charlotte Kinsey, you get a different impression.

As UnitedHealthcare’s community outreach person in New Jersey, Charlotte’s warm personality and her genuine desire to help people instantly becomes clear. “My passion is helping children and families. Knowing I’m making a real difference in people’s lives— that’s what drives me,” she says.

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And Charlotte definitely does make a difference.

Because she helps people find out about valuable health care services they might not know about. “There are a lot of assistance programs available—through the state, through UnitedHealthcare, and through our community partners,” says Charlotte.

“But not everyone knows about them.

My job is to tell people about everything that’s out there. So they can get the help they need.”

“These are very tough times. More people are struggling. People you wouldn’t expect.”

Charlotte knows that many people find it confusing, or even a little scary, to navigate through the system. That’s why they truly appreciate having someone they can trust to help them figure it all out. “I call it

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The Positive Community May 2012

connecting the dots. I help people see if they qualify, and I help them apply. That makes things a lot easier.”

Charlotte’s work takes her all over the state.

She talks with children at summer camps and after-school programs. She meets with church groups and community organizations.

And she’s willing to go almost anywhere to help.

“These are very tough times. More people are struggling. People you wouldn’t expect. I talk to people in all walks of life, and in all cultures,” says Charlotte. “Helping people who have nowhere else to go or no one else to turn to.

That truly is the most rewarding part of my job.”

But it’s her unique personal background that makes Charlotte so well suited for this job.

First, she has a master’s degree in divinity.

After college, she did clinical training at a children’s hospital where she specialized as a health care chaplain. Then she spent the next 15 years working in hospice care. “I have a lot of experience helping people during the most difficult times in their lives,” Charlotte says.

“This job combines everything I’ve learned so far.

For me, it truly is the best of all worlds.”

Charlotte also has a strong belief that everyone should have access to quality health care. She sees it as the fundamental building block from which everything else follows. “Making people healthier builds stronger, healthier communities,” she says.

“And taking care of your own health with good habits and good preventive care is where it starts.

Without good health, you can’t have a good quality of life.”

www.thepositivecommunity.com

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Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve Earned A Say BY *OAN 0ARROTT &ONSECA !!20 .EW 9ORK 3TATE $IRECTOR

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voice has been missing SION IN YOUR AREA 4O lND AN UP FROM THE POLITICAL DEBATE COMING SESSION VISIT OUR WEB SITE OVER THE FUTURE OF 3OCIAL AT WWW AARP ORG NY 3ECURITY AND -EDICARE n If you are wondering WHY YOU YOURS !!20 WANTS TO lX THAT SHOULD JOIN THIS CONVERSATION IT IS For more than a year, THE 0RESI BECAUSE YOUR HEALTH AND RETIRE DENT AND #ONGRESS HAVE BEEN TALK MENT SECURITY ARE AT STAKE -EDI ING ABOUT CHANGES TO -EDICARE AND CARE IS FACING lNANCIAL CHALLENGES

3OCIAL 3ECURITY AS PART OF A BUDGET ESPECIALLY DUE TO EVER RISING COSTS DEAL WITHOUT ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT IN THE BROADER HEALTH CARE SYS HOW ANY CHANGES WOULD AFFECT TEM -ORE SPECIlCALLY THE -EDI YOU AND YOUR FAMILY )N -ARCH WE CARE FUND THAT PAYS HOSPITAL BILLS LAUNCHED 9OU VE %ARNED A 3AY AN WILL FACE A SHORTFALL IN 3OCIAL EFFORT TO TAKE THE DEBATE OUT FROM 3ECURITY CAN PAY ALL PROMISED BEN BEHIND THE CLOSED DOORS IN 7ASH ElTS UNTIL ABOUT AND AFTER INGTON AND STARTED A NATIONAL CON THAT IT CAN STILL PAY 4HAT S NOT VERSATION TO ENSURE YOU HAVE A SAY GOOD ENOUGH HOWEVER SO POLICY IN THE FUTURE OF -EDICARE AND 3OCIAL DECISIONS WILL HAVE TO BE MADE 3ECURITY Your voice matters, BECAUSE 3O We call the effort h9OU VE %ARNED CIAL 3ECURITY AND -EDICARE ARE THE A 3AY v BECAUSE YOU VE EARNED YOUR FOUNDATION OF INCOME AND HEALTH SE BENElTS BY PAYING INTO 3OCIAL 3ECU CURITY IN RETIREMENT FOR MOST !MERI RITY AND -EDICARE FOR YEARS AND YOU CANS n A ROLE THAT HAS BECOME EVEN DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT CHANGES POLI MORE IMPORTANT IN TODAY S TOUGH TICIANS ARE PUTTING ON THE TABLE SO ECONOMY 4HERE ARE CURRENTLY MORE YOU CAN SPEAK OUT ABOUT HOW THEY THAN -EDICARE BENElCIARIES AND 3OCIAL 3ECURITY RECIPIENTS WOULD AFFECT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY IN .EW THE 9ORK #ITY AREA 3TATEWIDE

Here in New York, WE HAVE HELD THERE ARE MORE THAN THREE MILLION OVER COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS -EDICARE BENElCIARIES AND MORE THAN ACROSS .EW 9ORK 3TATE ALL WITH THE MILLION 3OCIAL 3ECURITY RECIPIENTS GOAL OF GIVING YOU A CHANCE TO STATE A recent AARP survey OF ADULTS YOUR VIEWS AND OFFER IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO KEEP 3OCIAL 3ECURITY AND AGE lNDS THAT BELIEVE THAT -EDICARE STRONG FOR THE LONG HAUL -EDICARE IS IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE S 7E WILL BE CONTINUING OUR LISTENING HEALTH IN RETIREMENT YET ROUGHLY TOUR THROUGH THE &ALL AND ENCOUR HALF ARE CONlDENT THAT IT WILL AGE YOU TO ATTEND A LISTENING SES BE THERE FOR THEM THROUGHOUT THEIR www.thepositivecommunity.com

RETIREMENT 3IMILARLY BELIEVE 3OCIAL 3ECURITY IS IMPORTANT TO THEIR RETIREMENT SECURITY BUT ONLY HALF BELIEVE IT WILL BE THERE FOR THEM -OREOVER THE PUBLIC BELIEVES TOO MANY DECISIONS ABOUT 3OCIAL 3ECURITY AND -EDICARE ARE MADE BE HIND CLOSED DOORS AND 7ASHINGTON NEEDS TO SPEND MORE TIME LISTENING TO ORDINARY CITIZENS This dialogue takes on EXTRA MEANING IN AN ELECTION YEAR 4HE NEXT 0RESIDENT AND #ONGRESS COULD MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF 3OCIAL 3ECURITY AND -EDICARE THAT COULD AFFECT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY FOR YEARS TO COME Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why we need A NATIONAL CONVERSATION n NOW 7HATEVER THE POLITICIANS PROPOSE THEY NEED TO HEAR HOW IT WOULD IMPACT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY !LL !MERICANS HAVE AN INTEREST IN KEEPING 3OCIAL 3ECURITY AND -EDICARE STRONG FOR OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN !LL !MERICANS SHOULD HAVE THE CHANCE TO HEAR THE FACTS AND SPEAK THEIR MINDS AARP is working TO MAKE SURE YOUR VOICE IS HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR 7HEN IT COMES TO THE FUTURE OF 3O CIAL 3ECURITY AND -EDICARE YOU VE EARNED A SAY May 2012 The Positive Community

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ADRIAN COUNCIL FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

“. . . on that day, the African American community of the United States of America was born…” The Cultural Narrative

Who are We? And Where do We Go from Here? n our March and April issues, writer RL Witter took us through the first installments of The Positive Community’s Great Countdown to Freedom editorial series.

We explored Slavery and Reconstruction, and their combined impact on America and on the evolving African American group personality. We hope that you find this series a useful study guide as we move toward the sesquicentennial observance, the 150th anniversary of the Great Emancipation (Emancipation Proclamation) of 1863.

A historian once stated that “history is to a society what memory is to a man.” Without knowledge of self or community, what useful purpose can an individual or societies have toward the progress of civilization? Society advances as would an individual, through knowledge and experience—wisdom.

In this 21st century, now more than ever, there is a real need to re-affirm our African American ethnic identity through establishment of a cohesive cultural philosophy that will inspire a vision for the next 150 years of freedom, inaugurating the “dawn of a new age.” It is therefore, imperative that we seek the answer to the questions of our time: Who are we? Where do we go from here?

I

Who Are We? First, let us answer the question “who are we?” with a disclaimer of who we are not. We are not a diverse, urban, multicultural minority or some obscure, generic “people of color.” A “people of color” have no history and no future. It was not “people of color” that were enslaved or had to endure the humiliation Jim Crow segregation. It was not a “people of color” who sacrificed, marched, were beaten, jailed and sometimes killed in the struggle for equal rights during the Civil Rights movement.

Take a drive through Harlem on any Sunday morning and see for yourself international visitors—by the hundreds—lined-up outside dozens of Harlem churches to witness and participate first-hand in the African American worship and praise experience. According to the office of Manhattan Borough President Scott

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The Positive Community May 2012

Stringer, Harlem is second only to Times Square for tourism in New York City!

In today’s global economy, in an age of instant communications and rapidly advancing technology within this “nation of immigrants,” African American ethnic identity and the maintenance of our cultural values, ideals and traditions is paramount to national progress, democracy and freedom.

Fashion and Debt At present (through ignorance, fear or sale), African American communities have all but surrendered their ethnic identity and cultural sovereignty (its collective soul) to Madison Avenue, Hollywood and Big Business.

In today’s media-dominated society, commercial media institutions design, manipulate, and exploit popular social trends, especially at the expense of our young, our poor and unlearned. The slave masters of our times are fashion and debt!

Indeed, the African American identity crisis accounts for the looming crisis in culture and spirituality in our communities. Has anyone listened to the lyrics of the music targeted to our young people? Is there anyone, paying any attention at all, to the vulgar images of our people in the popular music videos? Seriously, can we advance collectively when so much around us promotes retreat? How can the celebration and glorification of the negative ever result in a positive? “Who are we?”

Where Do We Go From Here?

And now to the second question: “Where do we go from here?” The answer: Forward! Please see The Great Countdown to Freedom poster on the inside back cover of this issue. Read the “cultural narrative” and read it often.

Read it out loud to yourself; read it to a child, neighbor, family member or friend. Read it to the congregation or social group. Have someone read it to you!

We must never forget that ultimately, it is our Godgiven right and responsibility, our patriotic duty to this country and service to mankind, to preserve, protect and promote our very best! Remember this: on matters regarding the progress of our children and the integrity of our culture, African Americans are sovereign. www.thepositivecommunity.com

Go Forth!

Finally, in answer to the question, “Where do we go from here?” much, very much, will depend upon the quality of our thinking, teamwork and having the courage and the will to go forth! The “cultural narrative”—our American story in less than 200 words— does not require a financial commitment from anyone nor is it dependent upon the next election cycle.

Simply put, this “cultural narrative” is a faith investment in our future, and to the cause of freedom! As descendants of the Great Emancipation and as forwardthinking children of a living, loving God, each of us has been called into the noble, sacred service of ensuring the survival and safe passage of values—our collective talents and gifts—from this generation to the next!

Solemn Admonition In the 1968 epic analysis and critique on black leadership and culture, Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, author Harold Cruse ended his book with the following admonition: The farther the Negro gets from his historical antecedents in time, the more tenuous become his conceptual ties, the emptier his social conceptions, the more superficial his visions. His one great and present hope is to know and understand his Afro-American history in the United States more profoundly. Failing that, and failing to cre-

ate a new synthesis and a social theory of action, he will suffer the historical fate described by the philosopher who warned that “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.”

Hal Jackson This editorial is dedicated to Hal Jackson, a trailblazing pioneer in broadcasting, living Black Radio legend, entrepreneur, cultural giant, community servant and national treasure. Mr. Jackson co-founded with the late Percy E. Sutton, the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, which (until recently) owned WLIB-AM and WBLS-FM in New York.

Hal Jackson’s book, The House that Jack Built, is a must-read for young people interested in pursuing a career in entertainment and media. In June, Mr. Jackson, age 97, will be honored by the Guinness Book of World Records for his 74 years as an active broadcaster. Hal Jackson’s Sunday Classics can be heard every Sunday from 3pm–6pm on 107.5 WBLS. Go to www.thepositivecommunity.com to read about the Hal Jackson Tribute at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church in Brooklyn in the March issue.

Harlem Foot Clinic www.thepositivecommunity.com

May M 20 2012 The Positive Community 201

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Congressman

CHARLES B. RANGEL

Salutes Positive Community for Its Commitment to the Betterment of Northern Manhattan and the Bronx

NEW Democratic Primary Dateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Tuesday, June 26th 2012 NEW 13th Congressional District

Experience, Results, and Proven Leadership

www.CharlieRangel.org PAID FOR BY RANGEL FOR CONGRESS

WILLIAM D. PAYNE GUEST EDITORIAL

My Brother Donald e walked with kings but never lost the common touch. I don’t say that to be poetic. I say it because it is true!

I say my brother, Donald M. Payne, walked with kings because Hon. I was fortunate to travel with him Donald last fall to the Kingdom of Payne Bahrain, under the auspices of an NGO. The purpose of the visit was to meet with the king and ruling family to discuss the uprisings fomented during the “Arab Spring” throughout the region.

The utmost deference and highest respect were afforded my brother as the king and his ministers made their presentations to him for his consideration and assessment. I observed in proud silence as my brother conducted those discussions. I was barely able to contain my pride. This was just one of the many occasions where Donald met with and advised heads of state and other high government officials—yet he never lost the common touch!

My brother was dedicated and committed to improving the lives of the less fortunate in our community and throughout the world. He started his mission in the city of Newark as a teacher and as the organizer of afterschool programs he conducted at the Newark Y. He began his program at the segregated, store-front Y on Jones Street in Newark. When the YMYWCA completed construction of a state-of-the-art facility in downtown Newark to serve the Greater Newark area, Donald insisted that his youth program, which had grown expo-

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nentially, be moved to the downtown Y. Following much resistance and considerable prolonged discussions, his program was relocated to the new facility and, for the first time, African American youths had access to the full complement of Y programs. Thanks to my brother, Donald!

Subsequently, he became the first African-American president of the National Council of the YMCA and Board member of the International Y. We have heard about Donald’s life’s mission to end suffering and to bring peace to strife-torn parts of the world. He worked with Gerry Adams to help resolve the crisis in Northern Ireland and Donald’s was the most prominent voice to bring attention to the atrocities being committed against the people of Darfur. It was Donald who caused the United States to declare the atrocities to be genocide.

I was with my brother last year in Rwanda to meet with government officials and to witness the remarkable progress that country is making under the direction of enlightened leadership.

Sadly, our visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at that time was in stark contrast to Rwanda. It became clear to me why my brother worked so hard to relieve the suffering of those less fortunate among us. The Congo lacked infrastructure; all roads, including major thoroughfares, are in complete disrepair, schooling and health care are virtually non-existent. We visited refugee camps and witnessed the deplorable conditions existing in them. My brother took these conditions to heart and worked continuously to try to improve them and to inform his colleagues continued on page 93

My brother was dedicated and committed to improving the lives of the less fortunate in our community and throughout the world. He started his mission in the city of Newark as a teacher and as the organizer of after-school programs he conducted at the Newark Y. www.thepositivecommunity.com

May 2012 The Positive Community

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REV. THERESA NANCE MY VIEW

Rev. Nance is pastor of The Church by the Side of the Road in Passaic, NJ. She is also a radio talk show host and documentary filmmaker.

LISTEN TO THE POSITIVE COMMUNITY HOUR ON WKMB 1070 AM HARVEST RADIO, MONDAYS, 1:30–2:30 P.M. WITH HOST THERESA NANCE.

Celebrating Years of Service ifty-three years. Feast your eyes on that number, because it represents the length of the stewardship of the Rev. Dr. Gadson L. Graham, senior pastor of The Canaan Baptist Church in the city of Paterson. The month of May has been set aside to honor mothers.

However, I don’t think Mrs. Marie Lewis, my late, devoted mother, would mind a modification of that observance, especially since I’ve penned a column about her friend, the Rev. Dr. Graham.

He was a wonderful friend to both my parents. My family’s spiritual roots are steeped in the warm relationship that the Lewis family and Graham families have enjoyed as former members of The Community Baptist Church, under the tutelage of the late Rev. Floville LaGarde.

Pastor Graham joined Rev. LaGarde and a few faithful followers, my parents included, and started a church at 249 Hamilton Avenue in Paterson. Later, we all moved to a magnificent edifice on the corner of Auburn and Governor Streets. In 1958, Rev. Graham was called to Canaan and both he and his lovely wife, Lady Harrie Graham, embarked on a new adventure as leaders of the church on 11th Avenue in Paterson. When my father, Wilton Lewis, died, it was Graham who offered to eulogize him at the beautiful Canaan Baptist Church.

The rest, as they say, is history. On the night I attended his week-long celebration, the celebrant was the Rev. Carey McCall III, senior pastor of The St. Paul Baptist Church in Passaic, NJ. According to pastor in waiting, Rev. Barry Graham, McCall’s father and Rev. Gadson Graham were friends. Hence, both sons have formed a friendly relationship as well.

Rev. McCall preached emotionally about the ups and downs of serving for 53 years—the patience that is needed, the frustration that sometimes causes one to consider throwing in the towel and the sheer stress of running a tight ship with various and sundry personalities in the mix. The preaching was elegant — profound.

In 1987, Haiti experienced a devastating hurricane.

Dr. Graham made the small island part of his mission field and during the church’s outreach, he was able to

F

14

The Positive Community May 2012

Rev. & Mrs. Gadson Graham

orchestrate the construction of a hospital on the island and arrange instruction for some of the indigenous people on how to grow food. He continues to send both food and clothing to those in need. Graham plans to head back to Haiti in November to start anew since the clinic had been washed away by the 2010 earthquake. “There’s nothing left,” he lamented.

Someone told me a story about Pastor Graham reaching out to then President Ronald Reagan, requesting that a dialysis machine be sent to the country because the need was so great. The president, I’m told, complied with the request but Graham never went on CNN or ABC television to tout what he had done. You may have gathered, by now, that Pastor Graham is a very unassuming cleric, a rare coin, so to speak, during a time when bravado seems to rule the day amongst many carriers of the gospel.

He is the dean among local clerics and is respected and held in high esteem. Today, his gait is a little slower, and from time to time he has been under the weather physically, but his mind is still as sharp as can be and he still offers belly shaking humor. He recalled losing his mother at the age of 2 and experiencing sadness for many years because of what such a loss can create in one’s life. It didn’t stop him.

Graham has traveled to seven countries—no small task, and is still going strong as a pulpiteer of the gospel. It doesn’t get much better than that. Rev. Graham, you have been faithful over a few things... www.thepositivecommunity.com

Dr. Stefanie Vaimakis MD, FACS, FASMBS

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Health P R E V E N T I O N , T R E AT M E N T & C U R E

The Caribbean Women’s Health Association Healthcare & More…

BY GLENDA CADOGAN

F

or the past 30 years the name Caribbean Women’s Health Association (CWHA) has been synonymous with women’s health in Brooklyn’s vast immigrant community. But despite the implications, CWHA is much more than its name suggests. As a community service provider, CWHA is more than just Caribbean; more than women and more than health.

In fact, according to its records, immigration is now one of the top tier services provided by the agency.

And according to Executive Director Cheryl Hall, the agency has been serving an increasing male population with some of its specialized programs. “In our women’s breast feeding initiative, we have had a lot of success in educating men about what breast feeding means to women,” says Hall.

The association, located in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, conducts programs aimed at improving the well being of individuals, strengthening families and empowering communities. It was founded in 1982 by the late Dr. Marco Mason and former Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Dr. Yvonne Graham with a mission of providing high quality, comprehensive, culturally appropriate health, immigration and social support services to its diverse constituency.

Three years ago, Hall took over the leadership of the organization at a critical point in its history.

16

The Positive Community May 2012

CHWA was in a rebuilding phase and there was much work needed to ensure its continuity. Hall, a career healthcare worker, came with her sleeves rolled up and infused the agency with a shot of adrenalin. The magic bullet she used to her advantage was partnerships. “My primary focus was in taking the agency to a position of strength and sustainability where we could adequately meet the needs of the growing Caribbean community,” she explained. “I felt that the best way to do so was in building partnerships with faith-based organizations and other CBOs.” Explaining how the partnerships work to the advantage of clients, Hall said “Someone would come through our doors seeking help with immigration services. But after doing an intake, we realize that they have about six or seven other areas of social or healthcare needs. Since we cannot meet all of those needs, it is imperative that we partner with other organizations that can, and so we simply make the appropriate referrals. In my opinion, as communitybased organizations, if we are to adequately address the health disparities in our community, we must collaborate with each other.”

The remedy worked like a charm and this year as the agency turns 30, it is full of life. In addition to local partnerships, Hall has also been instrumental in forging Continued on page 93 www.thepositivecommunity.com

PowerToEndStroke.org/Take2

Think about2 two minutes people you care about to who may smoke, be Take send overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history 2 lifesaving messages

of heart disease and stroke. People with these risk factors are at increased risk of being disabled or dying from a stroke.

Take two minutes to save two lives. Visit www.powertoendstroke.

[V YLJLP]L PTWVY[HU[ TLZZHNLZ org/ MYVT 7V^LY ;V ,UK :[YVRL take2 and send special health messages that just might save their texting fees apply. lives. The American Stroke AssociationStandard has created special health messages that easily allow you to send them to people you care Think about two people you care about who may smoke, be about. You can pick a message and send it out in several ways— overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history e-mail, phone call, text, tweet. Or donate your Facebook status of heart disease and stroke. People with these risk factors arefor at i n c r e a s e d r i s k o f b e i n g d i s a b l e d o r d y i n g f r o m a s t r o k e. the day to get these great messages out to those you love.

Text “Take2” to 64244 Take two minutes to save two lives. Visit www.powertoendstroke.org/ to receive important messages from Power To End Stroke. take2 and send special health messages that just might save their Standard texting fees apply. lives. The American Stroke Association has created special health Take 2 minutes to send messages that easily allow you to send them to people you care 2 lifesaving messages about. You ©2009 can pick a message and send it out in several ways— American Heart Association.

12/09DS3328

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e-mail, phone call, text, tweet. Or donate your Facebook status for the day to get these great messages out to those you love.

©2012 American Heart Association. 04/12DS3328

SPECIALNBIMCSECTION

Welcome to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center & Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital of New Jersey Newark Beth Israel Medical Center

N

EWARK "ETH )SRAEL -EDI CAL #ENTER .")-# IS AN AWARD WINNING BED REGIONAL CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL THAT PROVIDES COMPREHEN SIVE HEALTH CARE TO ITS LOCAL COM MUNITIES AND WELL BEYOND .")-# HAS MORE THAN PHYSICIANS

EMPLOYEES AND VOLUN TEERS WITH OVER OUTPATIENT VISITS AND ADMISSIONS ANNU ALLY .")-# IS IN THE TOP THREE HOS PITALS IN THE NATION IN THE NUMBER OF HEART TRANSPLANTS WITH BETTER THAN EXPECTED OUTCOMES HAS THE ONLY

LUNG TRANSPLANT PROGRAM IN .EW *ER SEY AND COMBINED WITH 3AINT "ARN ABAS -EDICAL #ENTER BOTH "ARNABAS (EALTH AFlLIATES IS THIRD IN THE NATION FOR KIDNEY TRANSPLANTS

BY VOLUME .EWARK "ETH )SRAEL -EDICAL #ENTER HAS WON NUMEROUS AWARDS FOR CLINI CAL EXCELLENCE AND QUALITY SERVICE IN CLUDING 5 3 .EWS 7ORLD 2EPORTgS 4OP (EART (OSPITALS IN THE COUN TRY THE .EW *ERSEY (OSPITAL !SSOCIA TION S TOP THREE AWARDS FOR AND NUMEROUS AWARDS FOR AWARD WINNING CARDIAC CARE PROGRAMS

John A. Brennan, MD, MPH, president and chief executive ofďŹ cer, NBIMC & CHoNJ

Darrell K. Terry, Sr. MHA, FACHE, chief operating ofďŹ cer, NBIMC & CHoNJ

4HE TOP PRIORITIES FOR .EWARK "ETH )SRAEL -EDICAL #ENTER AND #HILDREN S (OSPITAL OF .EW *ERSEY ARE CLINICAL EX CELLENCE 'RADUATE -EDICAL %DUCATION AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Centers of Excellence* *partial list

Behavioral Health Bloodless Surgery Program Cardiac Care and Transplant Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital of New Jersey Center for Geriatric Health Care Electrophysiology

Frederick B. Cohen, MD Comprehensive Cancer & Blood Disorders Center Geriatric Emergency Department Patient Robert Drummond and Orthopedic Surgeon James Lee, Sr. MD

Orthopedics Pacemaker and DeďŹ brillator Center Radiology Robotics Surgery

(Far Right) Abe Warshaw, MD, VP, Clinical Services, checks on a patient

Regional Perinatal Center for both normal & high-risk pregnancies Sleep Disorders Center

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube! http://www.facebook.com/newarkbethisraelmedicalcenter http://twitter.com/barnabas_health www.youtube.com/barnabashealth

18

The Positive Community May 2012

www.thepositivecommunity.com

Graduate Medical Education Presenting the award for GME at the 2012 Partners in Progress Dinner are (LтАУR) Barnabas Health President and Chief Executive OfямБcer Barry H. Ostrowsky; Chairman of the Board of NBIMC Marc E. Berson; Joshua Rosenblatt, MD, Chair Department of Pediatrics, CHoNJ, Director Academic Affairs, NBIMC; John A. Brennan, MD, MPH, President and Chief Executive OfямБcer and Darrell K. Terry, Chief Operating OfямБcer, NBIMC & CHoNJ.

W

E ARE A TEACHING HOSPI TAL HAVING GRADUATED CLASSES OF 2ESIDENTS AND &ELLOWS 'RADUATE -EDICAL %DUCATION '-% IS A BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE PARTICU LARLY AT .EWARK "ETH )SRAEL -EDICAL #ENTER AND #HILDREN S (OSPITAL OF .EW *ERSEY 3INCE THE BEGINNING

.EWARK "ETH )SRAEL -EDICAL #ENTER HAS SERVED AS THE GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE AS A TEACHING INSTITUTION AS AN AWARD WINNING MEDICAL CENTER AND A PLACE WHERE THE SCIENCE OF MEDICINE ADVANCES THROUGH CLINICAL RESEARCH

4HE lRST INTERNS STARTED AT "ETH )SRAEL (OSPITAL AROUND 4HE lRST RESIDENTS STARTED AROUND WITH INTERNAL MEDICINE AND SUR GERY 3INCE THAT TIME THOUSANDS OF PHYSICIANS HAVE COME THROUGH THE '-% 0ROGRAM 4ODAY WE HAVE 2ES IDENT AND &ELLOWSHIP 0ROGRAMS IN CLINICAL SPECIALTIES /F THE MORE THAN PHYSICIANS WE HAVE MORE THAN ON THE MEDICAL STAFF HAVE TRAINED AT 4HE "ETH AND #(O.*

AND CONTINUE TO PRACTICE HERE 'RADUATES OF OUR RESIDENCY AND FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS HAVE GONE ON TO PRACTICE MEDICINE IN VIRTU

ALLY EVERY STATE IN THE UNION AND MANY COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD )N FACT MORE THAN PHY SICIANS HAVE PRACTICED AT 4HE "ETH FOR MORE THAN YEARS WHILE HAVE PRACTICED HERE FOR TO YEARS AND HAVE PRACTICED HERE FOR TO YEARS 7E HAVE NEARLY PHYSICIANS WHO HAVE COME ON STAFF OVER THE LAST lVE YEARS WITH MANY OF THEM BEING FORMER RESIDENTS AND FELLOWS 4HIS LEVEL OF COMMITMENT SAYS A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE TRAINING AND THE COM MITMENT TO THIS MEDICAL CENTER OF THE PHYSICIANS TRAINED HERE

Community Partnerships s CHILDREN AND PARENTS IN THE AWARD WINNING +IDS&IT .EW ARK AT -APLE !VE 'EORGE 7ASHINGTON #ARVER 3CHOOLS

s STUDENTS 0ARTICIPATED IN THE (EALTHY !THLETES 0ROGRAM AT "AR RINGER 7EEQUAHIC .EWARK HIGH SCHOOLS

s .EARLY STUDENT ATHLETES PARTICIPATED IN OUR -ATTHEW * -ORAHAN ))) FREE #ARDIAC AND #ONCUSSION 3CREENING s PEOPLE AT CHURCHES HAVE LOST MORE THAN 0/5.$3 IN LESS THAN WEEKS AS PART OF 4(% !7!2$ 7)..).' "%4( #(!, ,%.'% (%!,4( !.$ 7%,,.%33 02/'2!s .")-# #(O.* %MPLOYEES (AVE LOST POUNDS IN YEARS 7)4( 4(% "%4( #(!,,%.'% s HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE 3TRUCTURED ,EARNING 0ROGRAM n -ORE THAN OF THE STUDENTS WERE HIRED

s (UNDREDS OF PEOPLE HAVE VISITED AND PURCHASED VEGETABLES FROM OUR GARDEN .* S ONLY HOSPITAL BASED COMMUNITY ORGANIC GARDEN s -ORE THAN STUDENTS AT "ARRINGER (IGH 3CHOOL HAVE PARTICIPATED IN OUR SCHOOL BASED 9OUTH 3ERVICES 0ROGRAM

s .EARLY STUDENTS ARE EMPLOYED BY 4HE .")-# AND #(O.* DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS n THE SECOND LARGEST SUMMER EMPLOYER FOR .EWARK AREA YOUTH s 7E ARE A #ENTER OF (OPE FOR #OUNCILMAN 2AS "ARAKA S READING PROGRAM

Photographed at the City vs County Beth Challenge are: (LтАУR) Newark Councilman Carlos Gonzalez, Senator Teresa Ruiz, Barnabas Health President and Chief Executive OfямБcer Barry H. Ostrowsky, AVP Wellness-NBIMC & CHoNJ Barbara Mintz, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, President and Chief Executive OfямБcer, NBIMC & CHoNJ John A. Brennan, MD, MPH, Newark Deputy Mayor Margarita Muniz, Darrell K. Terry, Sr. Chief Operating OfямБcer, NBIMC & CHoNJ.

&REE 3CREENINGS s -ORE THAN FREE BREAST SCREENINGS OVER THE LAST YEARS s VASCULAR SCREENINGS IN s &REE LUNG SCREENINGS IN To learn more, visit us on line at www.newarkbeth.com or call 973-926-7000.

www.thepositivecommunity.com

SPECIALNBIMCSECTION

May 2012 The Positive Community

19

Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital of New Jersey Healing Children, Including Those With the Tiniest of Hearts

C

HILDRENgS (OSPITAL IS THE STATEgS PRE MIER HOSPITAL CARING FOR CHILDREN

WITH SPECIALIZED SERVICES TO TREAT ILL AND INJURED CHILDREN FROM NEWBORN TO ADO LESCENT YEARS AS WELL AS PREVENTIVE PROGRAMS THAT PROMOTE WELLNESS IN THE COMMUNITY #HILDRENgS (OSPITAL OF .EW *ERSEY IS A FACIL ITY OF "ARNABAS (EALTH THE LARGEST INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN THE STATE !S A HOSPITAL DEVOTED ONLY TO CHILDREN

#HILDRENgS (OSPITAL OF .EW *ERSEY RECOGNIZES THAT THE SPECIAL NEEDS OF CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES EXTEND FAR BEYOND CLINICAL INTERVEN TIONS 4HE FACILITY PROVIDES AN ATMOSPHERE OF CARING AND WARMTH THAT COMPLEMENTS THE EXTRAORDINARY MEDICAL CARE THAT IS DELIVERED

BY MEDICAL AND SURGICAL SPECIALISTS WHO ARE ALL DEDICATED EXCLUSIVELY TO CHILDRENgS HEALTH

4HE HOSPITALgS COMPREHENSIVE INPATIENT AND OUTPATIENT PEDIATRIC SERVICES INCLUDE A #HILDRENgS (EART #ENTER STATE DESIGNATED REGIONAL PERINATAL CENTER PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

.EONATAL 3UDDEN )NFANT $EATH 3YNDROME 3)$3 !PNEA #ENTER 6ALERIE &UND #HIL DRENgS #ENTER FOR #ANCER AND "LOOD $ISOR DERS .EONATAL )#5 WITH .EW *ERSEYgS ONLY %#-/ UNIT ()6 !)$3 TREATMENT FOR CHILDREN AS WELL AS A SEXUAL AND CHILD ABUSE PROGRAM

The Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital of New Jersey physicians, nurses, staff and volunteers participating in the Matthew J. Morahan III Cardiac and Concussion Screening

Sunil P. Malholtra, MD, Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and Rajiv Verma, MD, Director, Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Heart Center, Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital of NJ at NBIMC are photographed with a patient of the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital of New Jersey NBIMC and CHoNJ held their ďŹ rst Sports and Fitness Program for youth. Photographed are (Standing) Darrell K. Terry, Sr. Chief Operating OfďŹ cer: James M. Lee, Jr. MD Director of Sports Medicine; John A. Brennan, MD, MPH, President and Chief Executive OfďŹ cer and Wendy Neal, MD, M.P.H.T.M., Pediatric Residency Program Director and Director of Adolescent Medicine, and AVP Wellness Barbara Mintz

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Center at The Beth New Digital Mammography Lower Radiation, Greater Patient Comfort in a Customer-friendly Environment

T

HE NEW STATE OF THE ART $IGITAL -AMMOGRAPHY 5NIT THE SECOND AT 4HE "ETH IS PART OF THE RENOVATED -AMMOGRA PHY 3UITE 4HE NEW 5NIT WILL HELP MEET THE NEEDS OF THE GREATER .EWARK COMMUNITY WHERE BREAST CANCER IS THE MOST FREQUENTLY DIAGNOSED CANCER AND LATE STAGE DIAGNOSIS IS COM MON h4HE NEW MAMMOGRAPHY UNIT AND SUITE ARE PART OF 4HE #ENTER FOR "REAST (EALTH AT .")-# 4HE NEW UNIT ALLOWS US TO IMPROVE THE LEVEL OF DIAGNOSTIC CARE TO WOMEN AND PROVIDE INCREASED ACCESS AND ACCURACY v

The new unit offers:

s ,OWER RADIATION s )MPROVES PATIENT COMFORT

LESS COMPRESSION OF THE BREAST IS REQUIRED

s 0ROVIDES HIGHER CONTRAST IMAGES WHICH MINIMIZES FALSE POSITIVES AND DECREASES THE NEED FOR INVASIVE SURGICAL BIOPSIES s )NCREASES EFlCIENCY AND DOUBLES CAPACITY

2ENOVATION OF THE -AMMOGRAPHY 3UITE FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT INCLUDES DEDICATED CHANGING AND SEATING AREAS AND REGISTRATION AREA AS WELL AS ACCESS TO AN IN SUITE BATHROOM 4HE NEW UNIT ALSO ALLOWS .")-# TO OFFER WEEKEND HOURS n RESULTING IN AN INCREASE IN MONTHLY MAMMOGRAMS BY PERCENT WHILE DECREASING BOOKING DELAYS TO AN AVERAGE OF ONE WEEK

To schedule an appointment call 973-926-7466

20

The Positive Community May 2012

SPECIALNBIMCSECTION

www.thepositivecommunity.com

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May 2012 The Positive Community

21

American Stroke Association Celebrates 31 Days of Power $URING !MERICAN 3TROKE -ONTH )N -AY

!SSOCIATION 5RGES $AYS /F 3TROKE !WARENESS

D

URING !MERICAN 3TROKE -ONTH IN -AY THE !MERICAN 3TROKE !SSOCIATION IS ENCOURAGING FAMILIES CHURCHES BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO PAR TICIPATE IN $AYS OF 0OWER A CAM PAIGN THAT RALLIES STROKE SURVIVORS VOL UNTEERS AND THOSE PASSIONATE ABOUT SPREADING STROKE MESSAGES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES $AYS OF 0OWER IS AN OPPORTU NITY TO START IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS AROUND FAMILY HEALTHY HISTORY AND PERSONAL RISK FACTORS WHILE EMPOW ERING YOURSELF AND THOSE AROUND YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE WARNING SIGNS OF STROKE 3TROKE IS THE FOURTH LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AND DISABILITY AMONG ALL !MERICANS WITH NEARLY

!MERICANS SUFFERING A NEW OR RE CURRENT STROKE EACH YEAR AND AN ESTIMATED FALLING VICTIM AN NUALLY TO THE DEADLY DISEASE $UE TO THE OVERWHELMING NEED TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT STROKE RISK FACTORS AND WARNING SIGNS THE !MERICAN 3TROKE !SSOCIATION LAUNCHED THE 0/7%2 4/ %.$ 342/+% MOVE MENTÂ&#x2C6;WHICH IS A NATIONAL CRY FOR ALL !MERICANS TO LEARN ABOUTÂ&#x2C6;AND TAKE ACTION TO REDUCEÂ&#x2C6;THEIR RISK FOR SUF FERING A STROKE !LTHOUGH STROKE CAN AFFECT ANY ONE AT ANYTIME !FRICAN !MERICANS ARE AT PARTICULARLY HIGH RISK )N FACT

!FRICAN !MERICANS HAVE ALMOST TWICE THE RISK OF lRST EVER STROKES AND HAVE HIGHER DEATH RATES FROM STROKE COMPARED TO #AUCASIANS

22

The Positive Community May 2012

&AMILIES ORGANIZATIONS CHURCHES COMMUNITY GROUPS AND BUSINESSES ARE ENCOURAGED TO CELEBRATE $AYS OF 0OWER BY PLANNING ACTIVITIES THAT INCORPORATE FUN EDUCATION AND THE 0OWER 4O %ND 3TROKE Ideas include:

s

s

s

s

s

s s

*OIN THE 0OWER 4O %ND 3TROKE MOVEMENT BY VISITING POWERTOENDSTROKE ORG OR CONTACTING YOUR LOCAL !MERICAN 3TROKE !SSOCIATION OFlCE ,EARN YOUR PERSONAL HEART HEALTH STATUS AND SEVEN FACTORS AND BEHAVIORS THAT CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH BY VISITING MYLIFECHECK HEART ORG %XERCISE MORE AND TAKE A @POWER WALK WITH SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT TO INCORPORATE AT LEAST MINUTES OF EXERCISE A DAY (OST A RECEPTION AT YOUR LOCAL CHURCH OR COMMUNITY CENTER AND INVITE A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL TO DISCUSS THE WARNING SIGNS AND RISK FACTORS FOR STROKE %NCOURAGE YOUR NETWORK TO DONATE TO THE 0OWER 4O %ND 3TROKE MOVEMENT IN HONOR OR MEMORY OF A LOVED ONE BY VISITING POWERTOENDSTROKE ORG 4RY A NEW HEALTHY RECIPE THAT INCLUDES FRUITS AND VEGETABLES Learning the warning signs of stroke and know to call 9-1-1 if you or someone around you experiences the following:

s Sudden NUMBNESS OR WEAKNESS ON THE FACE ARM OR LEG

ESPECIALLY ON ONE SIDE OF THE BODY

s Sudden CONFUSION TROUBLE SPEAKING OR UNDERSTANDING s Sudden TROUBLE SEEING IN ONE OR BOTH EYES s Sudden TROUBLE WALKING DIZZINESS LOSS OF BALANCE OR COORDINATION s Sudden SEVERE HEADACHE WITH NO KNOWN CAUSE

To learn more about the Power to End Stroke, visit powertoendstroke.org.

0OWER TO %ND 3TROKE IS NATIONALLY SPONSORED BY THE "RISTOL -YERS 3QUIBB 3ANOl 0HARMACEUTICALS 0ARTNERSHIP 4O LEARN MORE ABOUT THE !MERICAN 3TROKE !SSOCIATION VISIT STROKEASSOCIA TION ORG OR CALL 342/+% &OR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT $AYS OF 0OWER ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS IN THE .EW 9ORK .EW *ERSEY AREA CALL OR www.thepositivecommunity.com

I’m Real. I’m Strong. I’m Proud.

But I’m at risk for stroke.

I am honored to help the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association to shine a light on stroke.

This is very important to me because my father had a stroke.The very next year, my grandmother suffered from a stroke and I’m sad to say that she is no longer with us.

I want people to know that stroke is the No. 4 killer and a leading cause of disability in the United States, and African-Americans are especially vulnerable because they have higher rates of risk factors such as family history, diabetes and high blood pressure. It can happen to anyone, at any XMQI 1] JEXLIV [EW MR LMW W [LIR LI ½VWX suffered a stroke.

Let’s reduce these statistics. Stroke is largely preventable. We have to take care of SYVWIPZIW© XLI ½VWX WXIT MW ORS[PIHKI

Michelle Williams musical artist

The Power is in your hands to prevent and overcome stroke.

Like us on our facebook page at: www.powertoendstroke.org/facebook

You are the Power To End Stroke.

www.powertoendstroke.org

NORMA GOODWIN HEALTH POWER

Norma J. Goodwin, M.D. is founder, president and CEO of Health Power for Minorities LLC® (Health Power®) and editor-in-chief of www.healthpowerforminorities.com.

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste Whether the Focus is on Education or Health There are two main mood disorders: ay is National Mental Health Month, so, I’ve used The United Negro College Fund’s theme, “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste,” for the title of this month’s column, as a way to focus on mental health, which often does not get the attention that it needs.

Mental health is as important as spiritual and physical health to live a full and happy life. There are also steps that can be taken to prevent mental illness, and symptoms that can lead to early detection and treatment.

M

STRESS Stress is our internal physical, mental and emotional responses to outside pressures and demands. It can be associated with positive events like marriage, and negative events (distress) like the death of a loved one.

Repeated exposure to distress, like domestic violence and on-the-job stress, can damage physical and emotional health, and thus, mental health. Symptoms of stress include repeated headaches, backaches, loss of appetite, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, irritability, foot or finger tapping, and nail biting.

Reactions to stress can often lead to unhealthy lifestyles and practices that will only worsen the problem, i.e., smoking, excessive intake of alcoholic beverage, weight gain from poor eating and/or being a couch potato, or participating in or accepting violent behavior.

Minorities have a greater likelihood of experiencing stress due to negative situations they have little or no control over such as class and racial discrimination, unemployment, less access to high quality health care, etc. and fewer opportunities for stress prevention and reduction such as vacations.

Good News! There are effective, enjoyable approaches to reducing stress that cost little or no money: walking and other exercises, deep breathing, Yoga, meditation, aromatherapy and laughter. Information on these and other approaches is provided in the Mental Health Channel of the Health Power website, so check it out by visiting www.healthpowerforminorities.com and looking through the “Special Health Channels.”

MOOD DISORDERS Mood disorders are illnesses in which a person's mood (or long lasting emotional state) is the key feature.

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The Positive Community May 2012

Depression: occurs at some time in the lives of one out of every four women. It also occurs in men, children and teens. Depression is not just “being a little sad.” It is a feeling helplessness, hopelessness and often worthlessness and can lead to suicide.

Bipolar Disorder: formerly called manic depression, gets its name because many affected people have alternating periods of depression and great excitement (or mania). Bipolar disorder is very common, and more than 2 million Americans have the disorder. Despite the fact that 25 to 50 percent of people with bipolar disorder attempt suicide, there is effective treatment for these mood disorders.

Dementia: Alheimer’s Disease: The number of minorities in the U.S being diagnosed with this disease is increasing either because of the steadily rising number of minorities or the disease is better understood and diagnosed.

Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging. The most common symptom of Alzheimer’s is dementia, which involves increasing memory loss over time, and increasing difficulty in thinking and reasoning. Unfortunately, diagnosis and treatment often occur later in minorities due to denial that there is a mental problem and the associated stigma.

Minorities need to take action now to prevent or control the following preventable causes of dementia: Vascular Dimentia: can be caused by hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and heart disease.

Alcohol-Related Dimentia: is caused by brain damage sustained due to heavy drinking over a long period of time .

Fight the Stigma of Mental Health in your community and social circle.

• Always use respectful language • Emphasize people’s abilities, not their limitations • Tell a person if he or she expresses a stigmatizing attitude Finally, because spiritual health is so closely related to mental health, visit the Health Power Spiritual Health Channel, which contains much information that’s good for the mind, and soul. www.thepositivecommunity.com

SIGN UP TO REMEMBER TO HONOR TO GIVE HOPE Newark Mother Honors Daughter’s Memory and her Life-Saving Legacy

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he birth of a child is life’s greatest miracle.

Newark resident Patti Jackson got to experience this miracle not once, but twice, when she gave birth to Zoe Jackson in 2010.

Baby Zoe’s smile was infectious, and Patti believes her daughter lived to teach people how to be more forgiving and patient. Patti’s daughter gave the gift of life to others after hers was cut short after being Patti believes struck by a vehicle in a car chase her daughter involved in Newark. Patti’s forever changed lived to teach life at that moment; her youngest child was people how gone. Still grieving, to be more Patti made the decision forgiving and courageous to donate Zoe’s organs. Three boys patient. from NJ received life-saving organs. Patti held a tribute at the intersection where her daughter was killed to honor her memory on the one-year anniversary of her death this past April.

NJJ Sharing N Sharing Network Networkk FFoundation oundation Proudly Proud dly Presents Presentts 2ND ANNUAL USATF CERTIFIED RUN & WALK

Register at www.ShareNJ5K.org NJ Sharing Network 691 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ www.thepositivecommunity.com

P

atti continues to honor her daughter’s memory by encouraging people to join Team Zoe and celebrate with her at the NJ Sharing Network Foundation’s second annual Share NJ 5K Walk/Run, Sunday, June 10 in New Providence. Funds raised beneÀt NJ Sharing Network, the non-proÀt organi]ation responsible for the recovery of organs and tissue for the nearly 5,000 New Jersey residents in need of a life-saving transplant.

For more information or to register as an organ and tissue donor, visit www.njsharingnetwork.org.

May 2012 The Positive Community

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Early Detection Means More Graduations, More Birthdays, and More Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Days.

H

ACKENSACK 5NIVERSITY -EDI CAL #ENTER PRIDES ITSELF ON ITS COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

UNDERSTANDING THE NEED TO SHARE OUR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE WITH LOCAL RESIDENTS %ACH YEAR THE MEDICAL CENTER TACKLES ONE OF THE BIGGEST KILLERS OF MEN PROSTATE CANCER n

BY OFFERING FREE PROSTATE TESTING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 4HE .EW 9ORK $AILY .EWS h(ACKENSACK5-# S COMMIT MENT TO MEN S HEALTH IS EVIDENT v SAID 2OBERT # 'ARRETT PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF (ACKENSACK5-# h)T IS REFLECTED

BY OUR NUMEROUS COMMUNITY EVENTS AND SPEAKING ENGAGE MENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AS WELL AS OUR CLINICAL LEVEL OF EXPER TISE )N FACT WE ARE RANKED BEST IN .EW *ERSEY FOR PROSTATECTOMY SURGERY BY (EALTH'RADES THE NA TION S LEADING SOURCE OF PHYSICIAN INFORMATION AND HOSPITAL QUALITY OUTCOMES 7E ARE EXCITED FOR THIS YEAR S SERIES OF 03! TESTING EVENTS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE AREA AS WELL AS OUR SIGNATURE EVENT WHICH WILL BE HELD AT A NEW AND EXCITING LOCALE 7E HOPE THESE EVENTS ENCOURAGE OUR LOCAL MEN TO COME OUT LEARN MORE AND GET TESTED v 3INCE THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN (ACKENSACK5-# AND 4HE .EW

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The Positive Community May 2012

9ORK $AILY .EWS BEGAN YEARS AGO TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MEN IN .EW 9ORK #ITY AND .EW *ER SEY HAVE BEEN TESTED FOR PROSTATE CANCER AND THE NEED HAS NEVER BEEN GREATER FOR EARLY DETECTION !CCORDING TO THE !MERICAN #AN CER 3OCIETY NOT ONLY IS PROSTATE CANCER THE SECOND MOST COMMON CANCER IN !MERICAN MEN BUT !FRI CAN !MERICAN MEN ARE AT PARTICU LAR RISK n WITH AN ESTIMATED ONE OUT OF FIVE !FRICAN !MERICAN MEN RECEIVING A DIAGNOSIS IN THEIR LIFE TIME )T REPRESENTS AN ASTOUNDING PERCENT OF ALL CANCER CASES IN !FRICAN !MERICAN MEN AND OCCURS MORE OFTEN IN !FRICAN !MERICAN MEN THAN IN MEN OF OTHER RACES "UT NO MATTER WHAT RACE OR ETH NICITY EARLY DETECTION CAN MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH 4HE 03! TEST SCREENS FOR PROSTATE SPECIlC ANTIGEN A PROTEIN IN THE BLOOD THAT COMES FROM THE PROSTATE (IGHER LEVELS OF 03! CAN INDICATE A THREAT OF PROSTATE CAN CER 4HE SIMPLE BLOOD TEST IS PRO VIDED FREE OF CHARGE WHICH CAN BE LIFE SAVING FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO MEDICAL INSURANCE h&OR A DISEASE LIKE PROSTATE CAN CER EARLY DETECTION IS IMPORTANT v SAID )HOR 3AWCZUK - $ EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF MEDICAL OFlCER AT (ACKENSACK 5NIVERSITY

-EDICAL #ENTER h0ROSTATE CANCER IS THE SECOND MOST COMMON FORM OF CANCER FOR MEN DIRECTLY BEHIND SKIN CANCER 4HAT IS WHY WE ARE PROUD TO BE ABLE TO OFFER FREE 03!

TESTS THROUGHOUT THE AREA TO GIVE MEN A CHANCE TO DETECT A PROBLEM BEFORE IT ARISES 7ITH NEARLY ONE IN SIX MEN RECEIVING A PROSTATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS IN HIS LIFETIME THIS TEST ING CAN MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BE TWEEN LIFE AND DEATH v 4HE 03! TESTING EVENTS ARE HELD ANNUALLY IN *UNE TO COINCIDE WITH &ATHER S $AY AND TAKE PLACE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK AT VARIOUS LO CATIONS SUCH AS MEDICAL FACILITIES

CHURCHES AND RECREATION CENTERS

IN .EW 9ORK AND "ERGEN #OUNTY 4HE LAUNCH EVENT WAS HELD ABOARD THE )NTREPID 3EA !IR AND 3PACE -USEUM IN .EW 9ORK #ITY

AND LAST YEAR WAS ALSO THE lRST YEAR THAT 03! TESTING WAS PERFORMED AT 4HE 3HOPS AT 2IVERSIDE IN (ACK ENSACK 4HERE WERE TESTS ADMINISTERED OVERALL IN THE METRO POLITAN AREA 4HIS YEAR S EVENT SCHEDULE WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY 0LEASE VISIT WWW HACKENSACKUMC ORG 03! 4EST FOR MORE INFORMATION ON UPCOMING SCREENING EVENTS 4O lND A DOCTOR AT ONE OF !MERICA S "EST (OSPITALS CALL 7%,, www.thepositivecommunity.com

GRADUATIONS. WEDDINGS. MORE FATHER’S DAYS.

GET A FREE PSA BLOOD TEST

Get a free prostate cancer test and protect your future.

Register today at HackensackUMC.org/PSA-Test.

One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals, Hackensack University Medical Center is committed to keeping our community healthy. For men 40 and older, taking a PSA test is the first step in maintaining prostate health. In honor of Father’s Day, HackensackUMC provides a week of free PSA testing at locations in NJ and NYC. Come meet our worldclass physicians, get a free PSA test and enjoy many Father’s Days to come.

Our June schedule will be announced shortly. For more information about HackensackUMC’s prostate testing events, visit www.HackensackUMC.org/PSA-Test, or call 855-996-WELL(9355).

Urology

A Unique Approach to Wellness Wellness Interactive, Inc. is a consulting firm that provides strategic planning and educational programs to help organizations develop corporate wellness programs. It serves as a principal resource for corporations, organizations and professionals interested in developing and implementing educational prgrams that promote a wellness lifestyle.

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HE FOCUS OF 7ELLNESS )NTERAC TIVE IS TO EDUCATE ALL INDIVIDU ALS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BE ING ADVOCATES FOR THEIR OWN HEALTH

THEREBY EMPOWERING THEM TO TAKE CHARGE OF THEIR OVERALL WELL BEING $ESIREE 7ATSON PRESIDENT AND #%/ HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN COMPLE MENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE #!- AND THE WELLNESS LIFESTYLE IN DUSTRY FOR MORE THAN YEARS 3HE HAS TRAVELED GLOBALLY STUDYING VARI OUS APPROACHES TO HEALTH AND COM PLEMENTARY MEDICINE h-Y WORK HAS ALLOWED ME TO GO OUT AND BRING THE BENElTS OF WELLNESS TO CHURCHES SCHOOLS AND PHYSICIANS v SAID 7ATSON WHO HAS WORKED WITH ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS !!20 +AISER 0ERMANENTE 0'!

'LOW -EDIA AND THE ."! 7IVES !SSOCIATION 7ELLNESS )NTERACTIVE BELIEVES THE BENElTS OF WELLNESS ARE DI RECTLY TRANSFERABLE TO WORKPLACES

SCHOOLS AND AT HOME AND THAT EV ERY ORGANIZATION SHOULD SUPPORT AND PROMOTE A WELLNESS LIFESTYLE AMONG ITS MEMBERS )N PARTICULAR 7ELLNESS )NTERACTIVE TEAMS WITH FAITH BASED COMMUNITIES TO IMPLEMENT WELLNESS INITIATIVES FOR ITS MEMBERS INCLUDING DEVELOPING PROGRAMMING HEALTH FAIRS SPEAKERS BUREAUS AND WELLNESS GIFTS h!S CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS BECOME LARGER SO DOES THE NEED TO EDUCATE MEMBERS ON BECOMING PROACTIVE WITH HEALTH AND WELLNESS FOR THEIR FAMILIES v SAID 7ATSON )N FACT MANY FAITH BASED ORGA NIZATIONS ARE BECOMING MORE IN

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VOLVED IN THEIR MEMBERS HEALTH AND WELLBEING 3OME HAVE SET UP WEIGHT LOSS CLINICS WITH WEIGHT LOSS COMPANIES AND MANY RELIGIOUS LEADERS ARE WORKING WITH CHURCH COMMITTEES TO APPOINT WELLNESS COORDINATORS TO HELP MEMBERS HAVE FAITH AND UNDERSTANDING OF MIND

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MEMBERS AND !-% TH 1UADRENNIAL IN 3T ,OUIS WITH MORE THAN MEMBERS n TO BRING WELLNESS PROGRAMS DIRECTLY TO MEM BERS AND ADDRESS ISSUES PREVALENT IN !FRICAN !MERICAN COMMUNITIES

SUCH AS DIABETES AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE )N PARTICULAR 7ATSON LEADS A HOST OF PHYSICIANS AND THERAPISTS THAT FOCUS ON THE REASON TO HAVE FAITH IN HEALTH lRST WHILE HELPING MEMBERS TO EMBRACE PREVENTIVE CARE THROUGH COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES h4HE ENVIRONMENT OF ANY COM MUNITY DIRECTLY IMPACTS THE LIFE STYLES OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL 7HEN OUR SCHOOLS CIVIC OR RELIGIOUS LEADERS COMMIT TO PROMOTING AND SUPPORT ING A WELLNESS LIFESTYLE THE COMMU NITY REAPS THE BENElTS OF A HEALTHI ER POPULATION AND SOCIAL CHANGES v SAID 7ATSON &AITH BASED WELLNESS COORDINA TORS SEEK SUPPORT FROM ORGANIZA TIONS LIKE 7ELLNESS )NTERACTIVE TO IMPLEMENT HEALTH AND WELLNESS

PROGRAMS IN THE CHURCH COMMU NITY &OR THE PAST lVE YEARS 7ELL NESS )NTERACTIVE CONSTRUCTED hPOP UPv WELLNESS LOUNGES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS A WAY TO DIRECTLY SERVE THESE COMMUNITIES AS WELL AS CIVIC GROUPS CORPORATIONS AND OTHERS 2ECOGNIZING THE NEED TO BRING WELLNESS PROGRAMMING AND A hGREEN FOCUSv TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 7ELL NESS )NTERACTIVE OPENED A mAGSHIP 7ELLNESS ,OUNGE¸ IN .OVEMBER

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HealthPlus Amerigroup in the Community In collaboration with Health Plus, Amerigroup recently sponsored the Somos 25th Annual Spring Conference in Albany, N.Y. Each year, the event is aimed to increase the participation of the Hispanic community in the public policy making process. The conference was well attended by New York state legislative leadership, along with the leaders of top Hispanic community- and faith-based organizations and more than 3,000 New Yorkers.

Sponsorship was made possible by the Amerigroup Foundation, the Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s philanthropic arm, and is one of several community initiatives Amerigroup supports in New York and across its 11 additional health plans. Support of the Somos Spring Conference is consistent with the Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission to do well by doing good. The Amerigroup Foundation works to create healthy communities by fostering access to health care, encouraging safe and healthy children and families, and promoting community improvement and healthy neighborhoods. It has awarded approximately $1.3 million to New York organizations and programs since 2005, including Bronx Community Services, Casa Puebla, Casita Maria, Chinese Immigrant Services, the Franciscan Immigration Center, Hispanic Young Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alternatives, New York Cares and the Urban Health Plan. The focus is on helping grassroots organizations maintain viability in serving vulnerable populations.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know that our families are a vibrantly diverse group that need resources in order to better health outcomes. HealthPlus Amerigroup will serve as a real solution for many in our community.â&#x20AC;?

Ada Rodriguez &KLHI 0DUNHWLQJ 2IĂ&#x20AC;FHU +HDOWK3OXV an Amerigroup Company

New York has a great new team.

Health Plus and Amerigroup have become one health plan.

All oĨ our members sƟll have the same great products — they’re not changing.

But now they’re backed by a team that has more doctors, more hospitals and more choices than ever. HealthPlus Amerigroup: ǁĞ͛ƌĞ ĞǀĞŶ ďĞƩĞƌ ƚŽŐĞƚŚĞƌ͘ HealthPlus Amerigroup is an HMO with a Medicare contract.

Managed Long-Term Care

Medicare

Y0005_12 HP Print File & Use 03/26/2012

Questions? Visit healthplus.amerigroup.com. www.thepositivecommunity.com

May 2012 The Positive Community

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KAHLIL CARMICHAEL THE FITNESS DOCTOR

Kahlil Carmichael is the Pastor and Founder of It Is Well Living Church located in Monroe, NJ. He is the CEO of the Fitness Doctor Inc., a Fitness Rehabilitation and Wellness Consultation company. To contact Kahlil to become spiritually and physically fit visit www.itiswellchurch.com or call 732-921-3746

Please Ask Mom Rainey, at seventy-five years of age and a retired educator, is an example of an active, vibrant and seasoned saint!

Her desire to maintain an active lifestyle via exercise and proper nutrition coupled with a positive attitude and a love for God is commendable and a model for all.

Unfortunately, many no longer have the chance to ask their mothers about their diet, exercise regimen and regular doctor visits. But you can still make a difference! I encourage you to honor the memory of your mother by taking care of yourself and being healthy and fit. Check in with your friends and family and help one another to keep on track. Improve your health and fitness as a group.

I want to wish all moms a Happy Mother’s Day and I want you to know you are appreciated and It Is Well!

Exercises for the Matriarchs in our Lives

• Find small, enjoyable ways to add exercise to your hen I was growing up in Newark, New Jersey, I had to always ask my mother for permission to do anything and everything! Before I was able to ride my bike, walk down to Weequahic Park and play basketball or sit outside on the front stoop with my neighborhood sweetheart after the setting of the sun on a beautiful summer day, I had to ask for my mother’s permission. Although my dad was the head of the house, if I wanted permission to live a fun-filled life and have a blessing upon my daily activities, I had to ask my mom!

As an adult with a family of my own, I still find myself asking mom questions that impact my life! Today I make it a habit to query my mom concerning her physical fitness and health with questions such as, “Mom, did you take your insulin today?” Or, “Mom are you eating healthy?”And dare I not forget, “Mom did you get your exercise routine in today?” These are questions that we should all ask our mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and sisters!

Sadly, many of the matriarchs in our culture are not as active as they should and could be! My dear Aunt

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daily routine—take the stairs, play with your children and/or grandchildren, park farther away from entrances, etc.

• Start a walking program after you have received clearance from your doctor

• Incorporate the use of weights in your regimen under the supervision of a qualified and experienced fitness professional

• Make sure that you work on balance and flexibility as a seasoned saint Be certain to email me with any questions and I will respond with an answer to help you move forward and get fit.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this column is of a general nature. You should consult your physician or health care professional before beginning any exercise program or changing your dietary regimen. www.thepositivecommunity.com

Look for these color-coded labels throughout the store.

Your Wellness Resource Helping you to enhance the health and lifestyle of you and your family As a part of our LiveRight with ShopRite速 program you will find color coded shelf labels throughout the store to identify product choices in several categories: Gluten Free, Low Sodium, Reduced Sodium, Organic, Natural, Low Fat, Fat Free, No Sugar Added, and Sugar Free.

Look for the LiveRight with the ShopRite速 name throughout the store to help you find product choices that are Right for you and your family.

Visit shoprite.com

Scan to learn more about our Health & Wellness program

for a ShopRite nearest you and to learn more about LiveRight with ShopRite速 Pharmacy, and Wellness Education.

Copyright 息 2011 Wakefern Food Corp. All Rights Reserved.

“We know our community.

We live here.”

Dr Philip Bonaparte, Chief Medical Officer, Horizon NJ Health

“I feel the need to make a difference, not only in my life, but in the lives of others. I am involved in health issues facing predominantly the African-American and Latino community. I understand what it’s like to come from humble backgrounds.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield lives in New Jersey and we believe in access to quality healthcare for every resident.

To me......it’s as important as breathing air.”

Horizon NJ Health can help you and your family, too.

If you are uninsured, enroll in our NJ FamilyCare or NJ FamilyCare Advantage plans.

To see if you’re eligible, call 1-877-4-KIDS-NJ.

Horizon NJ Health Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ® Registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ®’ and SM Registered and service marks of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. © 2011 Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Three Penn Plaza East, Newark, New Jersey 07105.

PHILIP M. BONAPARTE M.D. ON CALL

Chief Medical Officer, Horizon NJ Health/Officer of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Vice President of Clinical Affairs

The Truth About Pain Killers Question: After pain from my knee surgery and discomfort from arthritis, I take prescription pain killers. At times, I have taken some of my husband’s prescription pain killers. My husband is upset and he wants me to see my doctor. Since these drugs were all prescribed and are in our medicine cabinet, there should be no problem. Is there?

—Signed, Mary Answer: Dear Mary: Yes. There is a problem and your husband has given you great advice.

You do need to see your doctor for pain management. Your doctor will also emphasize how important it is to take prescription pain killers only as directed by the doctor—not by you. People react differently to drugs. When you take your prescription pain killers and combine them with other drugs, you could be setting yourself up for harmful and sometimes dangerous side effects.

Many medications can interact with each other and create problems.

Any drug can cause problems.

Make sure you always read the label and follow the directions. The dosage prescribed by your doctor is the appropriate amount that will benefit you the most. Talk with your doctor if you continue to experience pain. Your doctor can assess the pain and work with you to manage your pain and health issues.

Pain in the knee is a common complaint and arthritis can be one of the most common causes of knee pain. Your doctor or surgeon may have recommended ice or heat www.thepositivecommunity.com

applications, stretching exercises and, depending on your surgery, a planned program of movement and/or physical therapy. Treatments vary and, in addition to prescription pain killers that are not meant to serve as a lifelong option, your doctor may prescribe other medication for short term relief from your symptoms.

Unfortunately, abuse of prescription pain killers has become a problem shared by far too many Americans. The problem is difficult to ignore. All we have to do is look at the news, which is filled with stories of high profile celebrities who have died as a result of an overdose or abuse of prescription pain killers.

Nationally, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC), the overdose death rate from the abuse of prescription pain killers, such as oxycodone, oxymorphone and hydrocodone, has skyrocketed so much so that this abuse is quickly becoming a national health epidemic – a deadly one. In 2008, abuse of prescription pain killers caused more deaths in the United States than the street drugs of heroin and cocaine combined.

In 2010, the CDC found so many prescription pain killers were prescribed that the amount was enough to “medicate every American adult around-the-clock for a month.”

Although most of these drugs were prescribed for a medical purpose, many ended up in the hands of people who misused or abused them.

Prescription pain killer drugs are not street drugs. These drugs are inside our homes – accessible to adults and children. The drugs are in our medicine cabinets, next to the bed, inside dresser drawers and in the homes of friends who are willing to share their prescription pain killers.

Look through your home; check medicine cabinets and throw out all old, expired prescriptions. Drugs have expiration dates because they lose their effectiveness, particularly when stored in a moist, warm bathroom medicine cabinet.

Before any problems occur, speak with your doctor and stay healthy.

Be prepared. Make a plan and share it. For more information visit: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699450/.

May 2012 The Positive Community

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Joseph Williams and his son, Tyrese

Disabled Does Not Mean Unable

BY GLENDA CADOGAN

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oseph Williams was a professional musician living what he called a “wild and crazy life” when his 18-month-old son was diagnosed with autism (non verbal). The news shook his world. “The realization that you have a child with a disability who you will have to support for the rest of their life is something that will shake your world,” he says. “And if you have a heart at all, it will ground you.”

Williams’ son, Tyrese, is now 13-years-old and together, father and son have traversed numerous obstacles.

“The key is patience, patience, patience,”stated Williams, a single father of five children. “The first time I took my son from Brooklyn to Manhattan by train, I had to get off five times. At the time I did not know that he was sensitive to almost everything including noise and light. But I learned, and thankfully we have been able to work through a lot of these issues.”

At the Brooklyn Parent Center Conference taking place on Friday, June 1, Williams and two other fathers will discuss issues like these and other challenges faced by parents of disabled children in general and fathers in particular. The event, aimed at parents, grandparents and caregivers of children with disabilities is in its third year. It is a presentation of the Brooklyn Parent Center, a program of Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, Inc. (BCID), a non-profit, grassroots organization operated by a majority of people with disabilities for people with disabilities. Founded in 1956, the mission of BCID is to empower people with disabilities by improving the quality of their lives and fostering their integration into mainstream society.

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The day-long conference, which will take place at the Long Island University Brooklyn Campus, will tackle several key issues like conflict resolution, sexual assault, dating, traveling and independent living.

Williams says he is praying he will be “able to keep it together” during the panel discussion. “It will be emotional for me,” he said, adding, “we are going to be discussing very difficult and emotionally charged issues.”

Difficult though the process of single fatherhood has been, Williams says he would not change a thing about his life. “I’m sure I would not be the person I am today if God did not bless me with a son with autism,” he asserted.

In his varied capacities on several boards and as president of the Citywide District Council, Williams is passionate about helping other parents navigate the system, which—though vastly improved from what existed 50 years ago when organizations like BCID were created— is still sadly lacking. In addition, public perception and attitudes still leave much to be desired.

Renee Ortega, a clinician who works with developmentally disabled school-aged children believes that when it comes to the public, the biggest misconception is that people who are disabled are incapable of doing anything. Her message is: “Disabled does not mean unable. People just need to be open-minded to the different ways children with disabilities communicate and learn. Once they are taught certain skills, there are many disabled people who are able to navigate their Continued on page 93 www.thepositivecommunity.com

Your Health Our Commitment Become a Healthfirst NJ member today

1-877-577- 9956 TTY: 1-800-852-7897 www.healthfirstnj.org

Healthfirst NJ members receive free or affordable healthcare coverage and access to primary care providers and specialists in New Jersey. We are committed to providing you and your family with quality care and health services you need.

Healthfirst NJ continues to expand into more counties in New Jersey.

Visit our website at www.healthfirstnj.org to learn more about Healthfirst NJ and our service areas. Š2012 Healthfirst Health Plan of New Jersey, Inc.

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Renaissance Community Development Corporation Credit Union Supports Robert Wood Johnson University Hospitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Free Prostate Cancer Screening Program

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WHICH PROVIDES THE FREE SCREENINGS EACH YEAR IN PARTNERSHIP WITH #).* AND 5-$.* 2OBERT 7OOD *OHN SON -EDICAL 3CHOOL h.OT ONLY DO GROUPS LIKE THE #$#5 PROVIDE ES SENTIAL FUNDING TO HELP US PROVIDE THE SCREENINGS BUT THEY SERVE AS KEY PARTNERS WHO SPREAD THE WORD AND HELP DELIVER OUR MESSAGE TO MANY MORE MEN IN OUR COMMUNITY THAN WE COULD REACH ON OUR OWN v 4HE ANNUAL FREE PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING PROGRAM IS OFFERED TO MEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF AND FROM .EW "RUNSWICK AND ITS SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES DURING .ATIONAL 0ROSTATE #ANCER !WARENESS -ONTH IN 3EPTEM BER 4HE PROGRAM SCREENS HUNDREDS OF MEN ANNUALLY AND WAS RECOGNIZED

BY THE (EALTH #ARE 2ESEARCH %DUCA TION 4RUST EARNING AN (ONORABLE -EN TION #OMMUNITY /UTREACH !WARD IN ,AST YEAR THE PROGRAM PROVIDED FREE SCREENINGS TO A RECORD MEN 3INCE THE PROGRAM S INCEPTION IN

APPROXIMATELY MEN HAVE BEEN SCREENED

h7E ARE HONORED TO HAVE THE 2ENAISSANCE #OMMUNITY $EVELOP MENT #ORPORATION #REDIT 5NION CHOOSE US AS A BENElCIARY OF THEIR "IKE ! 4HON v SAYS -ARIAM -ERCED

DIRECTOR OF THE #OMMUNITY (EALTH ,AST YEAR S RECORD NUMBER OF 0ROMOTIONS 0ROGRAM AT 2OBERT 7OOD *OHNSON 5NIVERSITY (OSPITAL SCREENINGS FOLLOWED AN AGGRESSIVE OUTREACH CAMPAIGN THAT INCLUDED PRO MOTING THE SCREEN INGS AT COMMUNITY EVENTS WORKING WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS SUCH AS CHURCHES AND LOCAL BARBERSHOPS

AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE 2ENAIS SANCE #$#5 TO SPREAD THE WORD

MEDIA OUTREACH RADIO ADVERTISING

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND DIRECT MAIL 2ENAISSANCE #$#5 IS A NOT FOR PROlT lNANCIAL COOPERATIVE OWNED

BY ITS MEMBERS 2ENAISSANCE #$#5 WAS THE SECOND 3TATE CHARTERED #REDIT 5NION IN .EW *ERSEY 4HE #REDIT 5NION WAS CHARTERED IN AS AN EXTENSION OF THE &IRST "APTIST #OMMUNITY $EVELOPMENT #ORPORA TION 2ENAISSANCE #OMMUNITY $E VELOPMENT #REDIT 5NION IS BASED ON A #OMMON "OND WE SERVE SEVERAL SEGMENTS OF THE COMMU NITY THOSE WHO LIVE WORK WORSHIP OR ATTEND SCHOOL WITHIN THE 2ENAIS SANCE 4ARGET !REA 4HIS AREA COVERS PARTS OF &RANKLIN 4OWNSHIP AND .EW "RUNSWICK )N *UNE THE 5 3 4REASURY $EPARTMENT CERTIlED 2E NAISSANCE #$#5 AS A #OMMUNITY $EVELOPMENT &INANCIAL )NSTITUTION 4HE #$#5 S MISSION IS h4O BE THE PRIMARY lNANCIAL INSTITUTION FOR OUR MEMBERS PROVIDING A WIDE RANGE OF HIGH QUALITY lNANCIAL SERVICES IN THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE MANNER v 4O LEARN MORE ABOUT 27*5(

PLEASE VISIT WWW RWJUH EDU &OR A REFERRAL TO A PHYSICIAN AFlLIATED WITH 27*5( PLEASE CALL -$ 27*5( &OLLOW US ON 4WITTER AT WWW RWJUH EDU TWITTER AND &ACE BOOK AT WWW RWJUH EDU FACEBOOK

4HE (EART OF !CADEMIC -EDICINE 38

The Positive Community May 2012

www.thepositivecommunity.com

Robotic Solutions FOR 2ON S )RREGULAR (EARTBEAT 2ON $UNHAM FELT HIS HEART RACING FROM TIME TO TIME BUT WITH NO PAIN HE PAID LITTLE ATTENTION %VENTUALLY THIS SAME RAPID HEARTBEAT LANDED 2ON IN THE )NTENSIVE #ARE 5NIT AT 2OBERT 7OOD *OHNSON 5NIVERSITY (OSPITAL 27*5( !FTER A SERIES OF TESTS 3UBHASHINI ! 'OWDA -$ AN ATTENDING CARDIOLOGIST DIAGNOSED 2ON WITH VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA OR V TACH n A TYPE OF ABNORMAL HEART RHYTHM OR AN ARRHYTHMIA 4HE ARRHYTHMIA WAS ACCOMPANIED BY DROPS IN 2ON S BLOOD PRESSURE WHICH WAS CAUSE FOR CONCERN 5SING THE 3TEREOTAXIS -AGNETIC .AVIGATION 3YSTEM $R 'OWDA AND HER TEAM PERFORMED A $ MAPPING OF 2ON S HEART TO IDENTIFY AND TREAT THE SPECIlC CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM $R 'OWDA THEN PERFORMED AN ABLATION WHICH USES ENERGY DELIVERED THROUGH A CATHETER TO DESTROY A TINY AREA OF HEART MUSCLE STOPPING THE ELECTRICAL IMPULSES THAT WERE CAUSING 2ON S ARRHYTHMIA 3TEREOTAXIS USES MAGNETS TO STEER THE CATHETER PRECISELY FROM A VEIN IN THE GROIN TO THE RIGHT SPOT IN THE HEART 5NLIKE RIGID CATHETERS USED IN REGULAR ABLATION PROCEDURES

THE MAGNETIC NAVIGATION CATHETER IS mEXIBLE AND MOVES EASILY WITH THE CURVES OF THE HEART 27*5( IS ONE OF ONLY A HANDFUL OF HOSPITALS IN THE .ORTHEAST TO OFFER THIS STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY 7ITHIN DAYS 2ON RETURNED TO WORK AND IS DOING GREAT TODAY WITH NO SIGNS OF TROUBLE 2OBERT 7OOD *OHNSON 5NIVERSITY (OSPITAL A LEADER IN CARDIOVASCULAR CARE AND THE PRINCIPAL TEACHING HOSPITAL FOR 5-$.* 2OBERT 7OOD *OHNSON -EDICAL 3CHOOL IS HOME TO THE SECOND BUSIEST 3TEREOTAXIS LAB IN THE COUNTRY TREATING A NUMBER OF HEART CONDITIONS INCLUDING ARRHYTHMIAS HEART FAILURE AND CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

4HE (EART OF !CADEMIC -EDICINE

RWJUH.edu/stereotaxis s 1-888-MD-RWJUH 0RINCIPAL 4EACHING (OSPITAL FOR 5-$.* 2OBERT 7OOD *OHNSON -EDICAL 3CHOOL s &LAGSHIP (OSPITAL FOR 4HE #ANCER )NSTITUTE OF .EW *ERSEY #ORE !CADEMIC -EDICAL #ENTER FOR THE 2OBERT 7OOD *OHNSON (EALTH 3YSTEM AND .ETWORK

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By Mary Ann >iƩell

there. “We do health assessments, home visits, head-to-toe examinations,” she says. “A lot of the work is routine, but sometimes we have a patient who needs treatment, so we call in one of the nurse practitioners or Dr. Shahidi. Many of these residents don’t have physicians and they don’t look for help. You have to go to them.”

Augusto Amador, councilman for the East Ward of the City of Newark, greets Dr. Sickora and students from the BSN program at UMDNJ’s School of Nursing.

The Ironbound section is home to the latest expansion of UMDNJ’s health care initiatives in the city of Newark. UMDNJ’s School of Nursing recently opened a community health center to serve three public housing developments located in the Ironbound — Hyatt Court, Pennington Court and Terrell Homes. They are home to approximately 3,000 residents, many of whom face serious health issues, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma.

staffed by UMDNJ health professionals, including a full-time nurse. The center offers comprehensive health services to the residents of these housing developments, including physical exams, home visits for the elderly and housebound, HIV testing, screenings for hypertension, asthma and diabetes, and vaccinations. Sickora is director of the center and Hosseinali Shahidi, MD, MPH, assistant professor of emergency medicine at New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), is medical director.

Cindy Sickora, DNP, RN, assistant professor at UMDNJ’s School of Nursing, is working hard to improve the lives and health of these residents. “There’s a disconnect between health care professionals and the community, and that’s why some people don’t get the care they need,” she explains. “We’re here to bridge that gap.”

As a complement to the center’s activities, UMDNJ has also started a community health worker program, training residents of the housing developments to educate their peers about the most common health problems affecting urban populations. “So much of disease management is lifestyle,” says Shahidi. “By providing health information, we’re empowering people to improve their health.”

Sickora received a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, to launch the Jordan & Harris Community Health Center in the Ironbound.

Centrally located at Hyatt Court, it is

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The Positive Community May 2012

Sickora has brought nursing students to help out at the center as well. Recent graduate Damaris Grossman found the experience invaluable and continues to volunteer

That’s where the community health workers come in. In April, the first group of community health workers completed 12 weeks of training in basic health information, overseen by Shahidi and Sickora.

They learned about diabetes, hypertension, asthma, healthy eating and the importance of exercise. The project’s goal is to have the health workers visit the homes of all 3,000 residents. “They will knock on doors, call on friends and neighbors, take blood pressure, talk about diabetes, asthma and other health issues,” Shahidi explains. Sickora envisons the community health workers collaborating with the nurses and nursing students, as well as physicians, medical students, and physical therapy and respiratory therapy students.

Already, success stories abound.

Sickora tells about one man with diabetes who lost his job and his health insurance. “He came to us with his blood sugar out of control,” she says. “We connected him to services provided by the American Diabetes Foundation and within a week he had medication and was stabilized.”

Another young man came for hypertension treatment and later returned with his three children for additional services. “You get to know people and develop relationships, and trust is built,” says Sickora.

Reprinted from UMDNJ Magazine by permission.

www.thepositivecommunity.com

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey 1HZ -HUVH\·V +HDOWK 6FLHQFHV 8QLYHUVLW\ DQG D UHJLRQDO OHDGHU LQ SURYLGLQJ KHDOWK FDUH DQG HGXFDWLRQDO RSSRUWXQLWLHV UMDNJ remains focused on improving personal health and quality of life and driving 1HZDUN·V HFRQRPLF KHDOWK ² D VWUDWHJ\ LW KDV IROORZHG WR EHFRPH RQH RI WKH QDWLRQ·V leading academic health centers: $GGUHVVLQJ XUEDQ KHDOWK FDUH FKDOOHQJHV XWLOL]LQJ WKH UHVRXUFHV DFURVV 8QLYHUVLW\ +RVSLWDO DQG RXU 1HZDUN EDVHG VFKRROV Engaging the community in innovative health care initiatives Training the next generation of health care professionals to serve Newark and New Jersey Conducting innovative world-class research and discovery Driving economic development

7KH 8QLYHUVLW\ +RVSLWDO 1HZ -HUVH\ 0HGLFDO 6FKRRO 1HZ -HUVH\ 'HQWDO 6FKRRO 6FKRRO RI 1XUVLQJ 6FKRRO RI +HDOWK 5HODWHG 3URIHVVLRQV *UDGXDWH 6FKRRO RI %LRPHGLFDO 6FLHQFHV 8QLYHUVLW\ %HKDYLRUDO +HDOWK&DUH

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East Orange General Launches Digital Medical Records System, Increasing Accuracy, EfямБciency

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h7E HAVE AN UNWAVERING COM MITMENT TO SERVE THE DIVERSE HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY v SAID %AST /RANGE 'ENERAL (OSPITAL 0RESI DENT AND #%/ +EVIN 3LAVIN h&OR A COMMUNITY HOSPITAL LIKE OURS HAV ING A ROBUST AND INTEGRATED ELEC TRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS SYSTEM LIKE '% (EALTHCARE S WILL HELP US REDUCE COSTS AND BETTER MANAGE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT BY BEST COORDINATING PATIENT CARE RECORDS v

QUALITY COMPASSIONATE CARE BUT DOING SO IN A SMART AND EFlCIENT WAY v

"Y BECOMING ONE OF THE lRST HOSPITALS IN .EW *ERSEY TO UTILIZE WIDESPREAD USE OF SUCH A SYSTEM

%AST /RANGE 'ENERAL HAS NOW PO SITIONED ITSELF TO RECEIVE NEARLY MILLION IN ADDED -EDICARE AND -EDICAID INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR %AST /RANGE 'ENERAL IS NOW ADOPTION AND hMEANINGFUL USEv OF ABLE TO FURTHER IMPROVE PATIENT ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS SAFETY BY REDUCING MANUAL ENTRY OF ,ESS THAN PERCENT OF HOSPITALS ALL MEDICATIONS AND OTHER IMPOR TANT PATIENT DATA 0ROVIDING INFOR NATIONWIDE HAVE ACHIEVED THIS STATUS MATION AT THE lNGERTIPS OF DOCTORS h"EING A LEADER WITH THIS INITIATIVE AL AND NURSES WILL REDUCE TIME SPENT LOWS US TO STAY INNOVATIVE AND ADAPT SEARCHING FOR DATA AND HELP IN TO A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT v SAID 3LAVIN h7E RE NOT ONLY PROVIDING HIGH CREASE EFlCIENCY

%AST /RANGE 'ENERAL (OSPITAL IS %AST /RANGE S LARGEST EMPLOYER AND %SSEX #OUNTY S ONLY INDEPENDENT

FULLY ACCREDITED ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL 3ERVING THE REGION FOR MORE THAN YEARS THE HOSPITAL IS CONTINUALLY EX PANDING PROGRAMS AND EQUIPMENT TO PROVIDE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF QUAL ITY AND COMPASSIONATE CARE 2ECENT ENHANCEMENTS INCLUDE STATE OF THE ART ON SITE -2) AND DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES CARDIAC AND PHYSICAL REHA BILITATION HYPERBARIC WOUND CARE

OUTPATIENT HEMODIALYSIS ACCESS TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROGRAMS AND AN EXPANDED %MERGENCY $EPARTMENT

AST /RANGE )N KEEPING WITH 0RESIDENT /BAMA S VI SION OF IMPROVED HEALTHCARE DELIVERY NATIONWIDE THE BED %AST /RANGE 'ENERAL (OSPITAL HAS JOINED '% (EALTHCARE )4 A DIVISION OF 'ENERAL %LECTRIC TO LAUNCH AN INNOVATIVE ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RE CORDS SYSTEM THAT WILL ENHANCE EFl CIENCY WHILE ENSURING ACCURACY AND PATIENT SAFETY 4HE HOSPITAL RECENTLY WENT hLIVEv WITH '% S #ENTRICITY SOFTWARE SYSTEM

WHICH WILL REDUCE THE NEED FOR TRA DITIONAL PAPER RECORDS 4HE HOSPITAL AND '% ARE NOW WORKING TOGETHER TO ADVANCE THE USE OF THE SYSTEM THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOSPITAL

*IM #ORRIGAN VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF '% (EALTHCARE )4

!MERICA CONCURS h7E ARE PROUD TO BE WORKING WITH THE DEDICATED STAFF OF %AST /RANGE 'ENERAL (OSPITAL AS THEY STRIVE TO PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE PA TIENT CARE AND CONTINUALLY RAISE THE BAR ON PATIENT SAFETY QUALITY OF CARE AND lNANCIAL PERFORMANCE v

About East Orange General Hospital %AST /RANGE 'ENERAL (OSPITAL IS %AST /RANGE S LARGEST PRIVATE EMPLOYER AND %SSEX #OUNTY S ONLY INDEPENDENT

FULLY ACCREDITED ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL 3ERVING THE COMMUNITY FOR OVER A CENTURY %AST /RANGE 'ENERAL (OSPITAL RECENTLY EXPANDED ITS SERVICES AND IS CONTINUALLY ADDING NEW EQUIPMENT AND PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF QUALITY AND COMPASSIONATE PATIENT CARE 3PECIALTY AREAS INCLUDE 3AME $AY 3URGERY 0HYSICAL 2EHABILITA TION 3ERVICES "EHAVIORAL (EALTH &AMILY (EALTH %MERGENCY -EDICINE /UTPATIENT (EMODIALYSIS (YPERBARIC 7OUND -ANAGEMENT 6ASCULAR AND -EDICAL 3URGICAL 3ERVICES

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The Positive Community May 2012

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Diabetes: The Often Undiagnosed Disease in African-Americans

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CCORDING TO DATA COMPILED BY THE !MERICAN $IABETES !S SOCIATION IN NEARLY MILLION !MERICANS AGE AND OLDER HAVE DIABETES /F THIS POPULATION

NEARLY lVE MILLION ARE !FRICAN !MER ICANS )N FACT !FRICAN !MERICANS ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO HAVE DIABETES AS NON WHITE (ISPANICS h$IABETES ESPECIALLY 4YPE DIA BETES THAT WE SEE IN THE !FRICAN !MERICAN COMMUNITY IS A SILENT AND PAINLESS KILLER BECAUSE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED v SAID %NDOCRINOLOGY 3ECTION #HIEF AT %NGLEWOOD (OSPITAL AND -EDICAL #ENTER $R *OSEPH 3CHWARTZ -$

#.30 &!#0 &!#% h4HIRST NUMBNESS

FATIGUE INFECTIONS AND EXCESSIVE URI NATION ARE ALL SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES

BUT THEY ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED OR DON T OCCUR AT ALL MAKING THE DISEASE ESPECIALLY DIFlCULT TO DIAGNOSE v $R 3CHWARTZ CONTINUED 4HE REASONS FOR THE HIGHER INCI DENCE OF DIABETES IN !FRICAN !MER ICANS RANGE FROM GENETIC PREDIS POSITION TO LIFESTYLE 4HE !MERICAN $IABETES !SSOCIATION WEBSITE OFFERS A RISK SCREENING TOOL WHERE INDICA TIONS SUCH AS AGE FAMILY HISTORY

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND WEIGHT ARE AS SESSED TO DETERMINE RISK FACTORS FOR DEVELOPING THE DISEASE !CCORDING TO -ARY / #ONNOR

2. #ERTIlED $IABETES %DUCATOR AND $IABETES 0ROGRAM -ANAGER AT %NGLEWOOD (OSPITAL h4HE MOST DIF lCULT OBSTACLE TO THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT IN THE !FRICAN !MERICAN POPULATION IS ACCESS TO CARE v -ANY

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The Positive Community May 2012

PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE A PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN AND DO NOT GET REGULAR CHECK UPS AND BLOOD WORK h! MA JORITY OF PEOPLE WITH DIABETES HAVE HAD ELEVATED BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS FOR SEVEN TO YEARS BEFORE THEY ARE DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES v -S / #ONNOR ADDED )F LEFT UNTREATED COMPLICATIONS FROM THE DISEASE CAN BE DEADLY "LINDNESS STROKE HEART AND KIDNEY DISEASE AMPUTATION HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND NERVOUS SYSTEM DAM AGE ARE ALL POTENTIAL COMPLICATIONS FROM UNTREATED DIABETES h$IABETES IS THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF KIDNEY DISEASE IN !FRICAN !MERICANS v EX PLAINED -S / #ONNOR &ORTUNATELY DIABETES IS GETTING EASIER TO DIAGNOSE AND THERE ARE A VARIETY OF TREATMENTS AVAILABLE h7E CAN PERFORM FOUR DIFFERENT BLOOD TESTS TO DIAGNOSE DIABETES FASTING GLUCOSE RANDOM GLUCOSE GLUCOSE TOLERANCE AND (GB! C BLOOD TEST

WHICH IS A THREE MONTH AVERAGE BLOOD SUGAR TEST v $R 3CHWARTZ SAID 4REATMENT INCLUDES LIFESTYLE SELF MANAGEMENT AND SEVERAL TYPES OF MEDICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO CONTROL THE DISEASE 4HE $IABETES 3ELF -ANAGEMENT 0ROGRAM AT %NGLEWOOD (OSPITAL IS DESIGNED TO HELP PATIENTS GAIN THE EVERYDAY SKILLS NEEDED TO MANAGE THE DISEASE SUCCESSFULLY !N EXPERI ENCED TEAM OF CERTIlED DIABETES ED UCATORS INCLUDING REGISTERED NURSES AND REGISTERED DIETICIANS HAVE CRE ATED A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM TO HELP PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES GAIN

THE KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ATTITUDES NEEDED TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN CONTROL OVER DIABETES h) CALL IT THE FOUR PILLARS OF DIABETES SELF MAN AGEMENT MEAL PLANNING WEIGHT MANAGEMENT STRESS REDUCTION AND EXERCISE n BOTH CARDIOVASCULAR AND STRENGTH TRAINING v $R 3CHWARTZ SAID 2ECOGNIZED BY THE !MERICAN $IA BETES !SSOCIATION FOR 1UALITY 3ELF -ANAGEMENT %DUCATION THE $IA BETES 3ELF -ANAGEMENT /UTPATIENT %DUCATION 0ROGRAM AT %NGLEWOOD (OSPITAL OFFERS BOTH INDIVIDUAL DIA BETES COUNSELING AND GROUP DIABE TES EDUCATION h7HEN NEW PATIENTS ARE ADMITTED THE NURSING TEAM WILL CALL MOST OF THE PHYSICIANS ON THEIR CELL PHONES TO KEEP THEM IN FORMED OF THE LATEST GLUCOSE LEVELS v $R 3CHWARTZ SAID h/UR TEAM WORKS HARD TO ENSURE THE BEST OUTCOME FOR OUR PATIENTS v %NGLEWOOD (OSPITAL ALSO OFFERS A FREE $IABETES 3UPPORT 'ROUP FOR INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR FAMI LIES 4HIS GROUP ALLOWS PARTICIPANTS TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES LEARN FROM OTHERS AND DISCUSS HOW THEY LIVE WITH DIABETES h$IABETES EDUCATION GIVES THE PERSON WITH DIABETES THE TOOLS NEC ESSARY TO LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE v -S / #ONNOR SAID !ND BECAUSE FAMILY SUPPORT IS SO IMPORTANT IN THE MAN AGEMENT OF DIABETES EACH PARTICI PANT IS ENCOURAGED TO BRING A FAMILY MEMBER OR FRIEND TO THE PROGRAM &OR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT %NGLE WOOD (OSPITAL S $IABETES %DUCA TION 0ROGRAM AND 3UPPORT 'ROUPS

PLEASE CALL www.thepositivecommunity.com

A new knee and I’m lifting weights again.

Englewood Hospital has received the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™ for dedication to the highest standards in Joint Replacement, excellent outcomes and patient safety. Patients benefit from our pioneering bloodless techniques, with fewer complications, faster recovery and the lowest blood clot rates in the area. Personalized care in the private, beautiful Kaplen Pavilion provides a premier experience for our patients.

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The Positive Community May 2012

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SPECIALAAHPCSECTION

46th Anniversary

Message from the Chairman

W

e again thank God for His two angels called Mercy and Grace. It is only through these two blessings that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re embarking upon the 46th Anniversary of our Heritage Celebration. We pay homage to a great man, special leader and public servant the Honorable Donald M. Payne for representing his community, state and nation with such integrity and dignity.

During our present period of austerity, securing major sponsorships has been the most challenging to date. Nevertheless, the joy continues in the journey. There is no coincidence that our 2012 theme is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Focusing on Values, Responsibility and Healingâ&#x20AC;ŚOur Families and Community,â&#x20AC;? with the work we our continuing to wade in trying to heal our community. We continue to contend that in order for our Committees Calendar of Events to thrive, in perpetuity, our most viable Anchor Sponsor must become the African American Community itself.

We are extremely enthusiastic with continuing our eďŹ&#x20AC;orts with the support of Premier Sponsor NJEA and Anchor Sponsor Investors Bank. We

also thank The City of Newark, and the County of Essex for their partnership. Given the challenging economic climate we are experiencing, we salute all our sponsors for providing the resources required for our Committee to continue implementation of a ďŹ rst class celebration of our heritage and culture. We also thank our media partners for publicizing and covering our events.

These sensitive partners are WBLS 107.5 FM, Cablevision, The Positive Community Magazine and ReďŹ&#x201A;ections News Magazine.

In closing, I pray Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blessing upon all who gather for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s celebration in person, watch the Cablecast or watch the live stream of the Parade. This year as we endeavor to educate and encourage our community to strive for healing; we dedicate our celebration to the late Congressman Donald M. Payne Sr. and salute dearly departed Whitney Houston, Trayvon and Gil Noble and other leaders and ancestors now with God. We honor our Grand Marshall, the Honorable William Payne and pay tribute to Cissy Houston for their tireless, committed and selďŹ&#x201A;ess service to our community.

Peace and Godspeed, $ONALD "ERNARD 3R Chairman, African American Heritage Parade Committee, Inc.

BOARD Donald Bernard, Sr. Shawii Johnson Yolanda Van Fleet*

www.thepositivecommunity.com

OF

TRUSTEES

Diane Lewis Howard J. Scott Khary Orr*

Will J. Heard Bridgette Turner *posthumous

TECHNICAL ADVISORS Linda W. Brashear Karen Waters

Dianthe Dawn Martinez Carl Sharif

May 2012 The Positive Community

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46th Anniversary

Strong Families plus Strong Schools build Strong Communities Working together, families, teachers, and school staff can have a powerful positive impact on our students, our communities, and our future. Here are some ideas to help reinforce what makes each child â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and each family â&#x20AC;&#x201C; special: s 7RITE DOWN THE QUALITIES THAT make each of your children UNIQUE AND HANG THEM IN THEIR rooms. s 'ET UP EARLY ONE DAY AND HAVE a special breakfast together. s ,EAVE A NOTE UNDER THEIR PILLOWS mentioning something about him or her that makes you proud. s #REATE A FAMILY TREE s -AKE A COLLAGE DEPICTING favorite things. s ,OOK OVER FAMILY PHOTO ALBUMS s %STABLISH FAMILY TRADITIONS When children receive encouragement at home, they are more likely to succeed in school. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work together to build strong students.

New Jersey Education Association Barbara Keshishian, President Wendell Steinhauer, Vice President Marie Blistan, Secretary-Treasurer Vincent Giordano, Executive Director Richard Gray, Assistant Executive Director/ Research Director

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The Positive Community May 2012

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446th 6th A Anniversary nniiverssaryy

African American

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e g a t i al r e v H

i t s e F State wide & e Parad

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H C R MA st history a p ir e th f o e the knowledg t u o h it w le p ut roots” o h it w “A peo e e tr a lture is like y origin and cu Marcus Garve

We March to Celebrate, We March to Commemorate

We March to Pay Homage In 2012

o t e t We Pay Tribu Congressman Payne

Gil Nobel Whitney Houston

Trayvon Martin

“WE STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS” "LACK #HILDREN 9OUTH 9OUNG !DULTS 5RBAN 9OUNG 0ROFESSIONALS 0ARENTS %LDERS COMING TOGETHER TO SHOW RESPECT FOR OUR ANCESTORS AND FOR EACH OTHER

May 27, 2012 - Broad Street - Newark, NJ www.thepositivecommunity.com

May 2012 The Positive Community

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46th Anniversary

Investors Bank is proud to support the 46th Statewide African American Heritage Parade & Festival

Sanford Branch r $ZOUIJB $SFOTIBX #SBODI .BOBHFS 4BOGPSE "WFOVF r /FXBSL /+

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The Positive Community May 2012

Member FDIC

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May 2012 The Positive Community

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The AAHPC Salutes 2012 Grand Marshall William D. Payne

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ith a long history of involvement in community service and politics, William D. Payne's career as New Jersey State Assemblyman began in 1998 when he was elected to represent the 29th legislative district.

Prominent among the legislation he has championed are mentoring schemes for at-risk students, the incorporation of African American studies into New Jersey's public school curriculum, and the criminalization of racial profiling practices. The many committees on which Payne served included the Regulatory Oversight Committee (as Chair), the Budget Committee (as Vice Chair) and the Federal Relations Committee. He has also served on the New Jersey Criminal Disposition Commission and since 2003 has been the Essex County Deputy Chief of Staff.

William D. Payne was born on July 8, 1932, in Newark, New Jersey. Educated at Rutgers University, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1959. He then began a career in business consulting and in 1969 founded the firm of Urban Data Systems, Inc., where he held the position of president and CEO of the company until 1988. As he developed his public service career, Payne later maintained his own consulting company, William Payne and Associates, which specializes in public affairs and market development.

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The Positive Community May 2012

Bill Payne has been a major supporter of the Parade since its inception as the Crispus Attucks Parade and narrated a Documentary on the founding of the Parade.

Poverty and education were among the chief issues Payne championed as an assemblyman. His interest in poverty and its links with poor housing and education went back to his earliest days in politics. In 1992 he served New Jersey Council on Adult Literacy and has been a leading voice in a campaign to establish mentoring schemes in New Jersey schools to encourage and protect at risk students. A bill sponsored by Payne provided $750,000 to support mentoring schemes in New Jersey.

In 2006, Payne headed a campaign to improve the teaching of Black history in New Jersey's schools.

Remembering his own experiences as a child Payne told the New York Times that he wanted to make Black history a more important part of the K-12 curriculum in order to change the "subliminal messages that everything good is white." Payne established the Amistad Commission in New Jersey to help promote education in Black history and was also successful in pushing through groundbreaking legislation to criminalize racial profiling in the recruitment of public employees.

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A Tribute Phenomenal Woman Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies.

I say, It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman, That's me.

I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees.

I say,

www.thepositivecommunity.com

by Maya Angelou

Cissy & Whitney

It's the ďŹ re in my eyes, And the ďŹ&#x201A;ash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman, That's me.

Men themselves have wondered What they see in me.

They try so much But they can't touch My inner mystery.

When I try to show them They say they still can't see.

I say, It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile, The ride of my breasts, The grace of my style.

I'm a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman, That's me.

Now you understand Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing It ought to make you proud.

I say, It's in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care, 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman, That's me.

May 2012 The Positive Community

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46th Anniversary

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The Positive Community May 2012

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Culture L I F E , M U S I C , A R T & L I T E R AT U R E

CACCI Honors Outstanding Women Photos: Seitu Oronde and Wali Amin Muhammad

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he Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) sponsored its annual salute to women history makers in recognition of National Women’s History Month. The event took place during the monthly membership Networking Power Breakfast Meeting on March 29, in the courtroom chamber of the historic Borough Hall in Brooklyn.

According to Dr. Roy A. Hastick Sr., president and CEO of CACCI, “We saluted a diverse group of women who are making their mark and contributing to the betterment of our communities in their respective areas, including corporate affairs, government, trade unions, the media, theater and the arts.”

The 2012 honorees are: Edna Wells Handy, commissioner, NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services; Carmen Charles, president, Public Healthcare Employees Union Local 420; Jeanine Ramirez, reporter, NY1 News; Jean Nash Wells, co-founder and editor-inchief, The Positive Community and Mary Millben, actress and entertainer.

L-R: George Hulse, VP HealthFirst and master of ceremonies; Kay Lucas, president MediaSense and Courtney Adams, Courtney Adams Consultants L–R: CACCI Board Chairman Edmund Sadio and Dr. Roy Hastick, CACCI founder

Angela Ridenour, The Positive Community

L–R: Honorees Mary Millben, Jeanine Ramirez, Jean Nash Wells, Carmen Charles www.thepositivecommunity.com

L–R: Hon. Sylvia Hinds Radix, Supreme Court, Brooklyn Malaak Shabazz, the sixth daughter of the late Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz May 2012 The Positive Community

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FLO WILEY IN THE SPIRIT & IMAGE

Flo Wiley is a disciple at Memorial Baptist Church, Harlem, NY.

his month we celebrate those who gave us life and those who gave their lives: our mothers and our military service people. On this Mother’s Day I celebrate my late mother, Eliza Chester Wiley (1907–1979), who was a trustee and an usher. On Memorial Day I also celebrate the brave men and women who gave their lives fighting to guarantee our American freedom, and salute those still on the battlefield. Here are a few events you may want to share with your loved ones to mark these or any other special occasions in your life.

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JAZZ AND THE SPIRIT: THE ARTS OF HARLEM IN THE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS IMAGINATION Monday, May 7, 6:00–8:00pm The Abyssinian Baptist Church 132 Odell Clark Place (W. 138th St), NY, NY Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, Senior Pastor The Apollo Theater, Harlem Stage, and Jazzmobile, Inc. have joined forces to present the second annual Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival, May 7 to 13, 2012. Their collaboration with Columbia University is designed to bring humanities programming that will further highlight the cultural significance of Harlem and The Festival. Columbia University presents this panel discussion led by Professor Josef Sorett in collaboration with The Abyssinian Baptist Church and the Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life. The evening’s program will focus on the connection of jazz to great religious institutions in Harlem and include a performance on the Abyssinian Baptist Church organ, illustrating these deep connections between jazz and the American church musical tradition. FREE. SISSIERETTA JONES: THE GREATEST SINGER OF HER RACE Friday, May 11 The First Baptist Church in America 75 North Main Street, Providence RI Rev. Dan Ivins, Pastor The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society celebrates the publication of Sissieretta Jones: The Greatest Singer of her Race, 1868-1933 written by Maureen D. Lee, published by the

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The Positive Community May 2012

University of South Carolina Press with a 5 o’clock reception at Loominous Rug Studio, 122 North Main Street in Providence, featuring selections from opera singers Julianna Taschinger-Dempsey of Providence and Quentin Powell of Boston, followed by the book party at 7:00pm with remarks from author Maureen D. Lee. Sissieretta Joyner Jones (1869–1933) had a remarkable soprano voice and a commanding presence; she performed at the White House for President Benjamin Harrison and in London before the Prince of Wales. She was also called “The Black Patti,” a reference to the celebrated Italian soprano Adelina Patti. Books will be available for purchase. For more information contact Will McIntire at (401) 421 0606 or will@rickmangroup.com

MR. JOY, written and performed by Daniel Beaty May 12 through June 2 Riverside Theatre The Riverside Church 91 Claremont Avenue, NY 10027 Rev. Stephen Phelps, Interim Senior Pastor The Riverside Church Presented by Voza River’s New Heritage Theatre Group and The Riverside Theatre, the first play of the 2012 season at Riverside Theatre is a new play by Daniel Beaty, the multiple award-winning writer and performer of Emergency and Through the Night, directed by Sheryl Kaller. Mr. Joy is a Chinese American immigrant who has run a shoe shop in the heart of Harlem for the past 25 years when an unexpected occurrence causes several of his customers to reflect on the impact he has had on their lives through their shoes.

Daniel’s signature blend of comedy, poetry, music and multicharacter transformation returns to delight and inspire us once again. Single tickets are $25. Groups of 10+ save 40%.

(212) 870 6784 www.theriversidetheatre.org.

ART OF THE 5: A SHOUT OUT FROM THE BRONX April 19 through June 19 The Interchurch Center 475 Riverside Drive at 120th Street, NYC This series of five annual exhibitions highlights a select number of artists from each of the five boroughs of New York City. Guest curator Debra Vanderburg Spencer kicks off the series in the Treasure Room Gallery with participating artists from the Bronx: John Ahearn, Jeanine Alfieri, William continued on page 73 www.thepositivecommunity.com

Romare Bearden Southern Recollections 05.23-08.19.2012 from

to

An American Story Featuring 80 works of art that span the career of this internationally renowned artist, the exhibition underscores not only Bearden’s artistic mastery, but also his narrative and thematic explorations of his native South. The exhibition examines how the South served as a source of inspiration throughout his career.

always different.

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On-site parking available.

Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Organized by The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Major support provided by

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Media Partners

Romare Bearden, Jazz: Kansas City, 1977 Collage and paint on board, 18 ¼ × 27 in. New Orleans Museum of Art Museum Purchase, the Robert P. Gordy and Carrie Heiderich Funds. 96.28 Art © Romare Bearden Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY; Photography by Paul Mutino

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Getting to Know Kenny R&B Soul Line dancing: One man’s quest to share his passion for dance

BY KAYLYN KENDALL DINES

E

ven as a youngster, Kenny Johnson loved to dance. His grandmother, however, would have none of it and scolded him for dancing and listening to the Temptations, the Jackson 5 and other secular music.

The late Mildred Hughes, a devout Christian, lovingly raised her grandson and expected him to become a preacher.

Although he isn’t a minister, he does have a way of moving people. The 53-year old known in line dancing circles as “Kenny J,” can’t imagine life without dance.

Although he is a treasury analyst at a telecommunications company by day, in the evenings and on weekends

he can be found instructing and rehearsing choreographed steps to the types of R&B music he wasn’t allowed to play while growing up in Baltimore.

This self-described entertainer uses dance to encourage healthy lifestyles and help families. “I always thought I could dance, but never thought I was the best dancer,” said Johnson, who learned 10 years ago from Philadelphia’s Dave Bush, a man he calls the godfather of line dancing. One year later, Johnson started teaching classes in South Jersey and attracted hundreds of people. Some participated in workshops and others wanted to join his dance performance team.

Recently during Newark Symphony Hall’s monthly line dancing/game night event, Johnson was on the dance floor using a wireless microphone to give instructions while demonstrating choreographed moves. “Kick. One, two, three step. Kick. Step and turn.” Occasionally, when quite a few dancers caught on, he’d shout, “Somebody say ‘too easy!’

That’s easy right?” Some members in the crowd responded and 300 adults followed, swaying to the rhythm.

Giving commands comes easily to Johnson, a former drill sergeant. While in Iraq, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Johnson was tasked with training soldiers in military warfare. Later, with 23 years of service, he retired with the rank of U.S. Army First Sergeant.

He had founded the I Am Kenny J Productions (IAKJP) social club before his stint in Iraq, so he put it back into operation. Club members use dance classes, workshops, and cabarets as vehicles to help others— young and old— become physically fit. Community outreach is another part of their mission to help families in the Delaware Valley region. Each year, they distribute scholarship funds, books, toys and coats that have been continued on next page

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May 2012 The Positive Community

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COVERSTORY

donated to the club. The IAKJP performance team, “Sophisticated Funk,” has competed nationally.

After returning home to Burlington, NJ in 2005, Johnson realized his views on life were more relaxed.

“Prior to going to Iraq, in order to be on my performance team, you had to be able to hit every move with precision. You had to be dynamic. When I came back it was different. I said, you know what, this thing is about fun.”

He wanted to share this passion with dancers and nondancers alike. “I wanted diversity. I wanted older folks, younger folks, black folks, white folks, men and women.

They didn’t all need to be the best dancers.”

Alfred Bundy, the line dance/game night party emcee, has seen Johnson in action. According to Bundy, when it comes to the monthly event at the Terrace Ballroom, “Instruction is key. The very electrifying, high energy, charming personality Kenny J brings helps to be a magnet for people who want to come back. Besides being a fantastic dancer himself, he’s always making jokes. He’s very jovial. I think that, in and of itself, is a real enhancer to why people come. He makes it special.”

Bundy, who also hosts Meet the Leaders on Cablevision, said the interactive, multigenerational event that started in the fall of 2010 and initially drew 50 people now boasts regular attendance of nearly 400. According to Bundy, it is about wellness, networking, fellowship and fun.

The novice dancer who may only be familiar with the Electric Slide or the Cha Cha Slide might be in for a treat. Johnson aims to grab everyone’s attention. He’ll dance his way through the lines of dancers from front to back. He might sing or blow a whistle to create a festive atmosphere. If that doesn’t get them moving, he lets out a soulful shout reminiscent of the legendary Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Frequent attendees have told him how their confidence on the dance floor has increased and some have even seen weight loss.

His reach is expanding. Two years ago, Kenny demonstrated Soul Line Dancing on the nationally syndicated Dr. Oz Show. Johnson said IAKJP members are essential in sharing his passion for dance in North Jersey and New York. The father of two sons and grandfather of three, he is grateful to Lynn, his wife and primary source of support.

Soul Line dancing has been endorsed and is sponsored by such health organizations as the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, The March of Dimes, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and African Americans for Health Awareness committee (AHAA).

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Although he isn’t a minister, he does have a way of moving people. The 53year old known in line dancing circles as “Kenny J,” can’t imagine life without dance.

Congregation members from throughout the region are coming out in increasing numbers for fitness, cultural enrichment and wholesome family entertainment. The Gospel Soul Line Dance segment includes “shout outs” from participants for their churches. Yes, there’s a “sweet spirit in this place” and a whole lot of soul!

Brian Branch Price, a photographer from Plainfield, is one of the IAKJP club members. He started attending classes almost eight years ago. “Kenny shows you how to dance nice and easy. He shows the dance and breaks it down step by step. Then, part by part and puts it all together.” Before experiencing problems with his knee, Price attended classes two to three times a week. He said he still dances adding, “I found line dancing quite a lot of fun and it can be very addicting.”

Kenny J, a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., majored in Finance at Rider University and agrees with Brian Price. With a firm belief that line dancing is “Footwork with a purpose,” Johnson said, “If I’m going to be an addict, line dancing is my drug of choice.” www.thepositivecommunity.com

Line Dancing and Game Night at Terrace Ballroom Bob Provost, Newark Symphony Hall (NSH) board chair, with Al Bundy,(NSH) board member and Line Dance Emcee.

D

ancing to the harmony, melody and rhythms of freedom -a righteous sound- in the key of life!

Dancemaster Kenny J.

Laurie Navin, The March of Dimes with Angela Ridenour, TPC

Photos: Freedom and Laurence Rice

Acting Executive Director NHS, Leon Denmark with founding members and volunteers of African Americans for Health Awareness Committee (AHAA),Kaylyn Kendall Dines, UMDNJ and Adrian A. Council, Sr., TPC.

One Nation Under A GROOVE!! www.thepositivecommunity.com

May 2012 The Positive Community

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York College Benefit Concert

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azz vocalist, Patti Austin, captivated the crowd with her Ella Fitzgerald tribute at the 5h Annual York College/CUNY Concert benefiting the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Merit Scholarship Program at the campusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Performing Arts Center in Jamaica, Queens on April 30, 2012.

York College President, Marcia V. Keizs. was joined by the gala honorees and foundation members at the campus' Performing Arts Center in Jamaica, Queens.

Patti Austin

Lâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;R: George P. Aridas, Chair, York College Foundation Board; honoree Leroy Comrie, NYC Councilman, Queens; Marcia V. Keizs, president, York College/CUNY; honoree Charles Murphy, senior vice president, Turner Construction and Jeff Spiritos, York College Foundation BeneďŹ t Committee Chair Lâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;R: York College Merit Scholars Toluwalase Jegede, Marveline Bazelais, Tess Mercer and Brunilda Almodover, director of the York College Scholarship Center Lâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;R: Prince Farquharson, a representative from the Hollis branch of TD Bank;York Foundation Board membe Susan Deutsch; President Marcia V. Keizs and Patrice Thompson, manager of the Hollis branch of TD Bank

Photos: Gideon Mannasah

-XQH Â&#x2021; -XO\ 3CRUMPTIOUSä$INNERSä!VAILABLEäBYä%CLECTICä#ATERINGäsä-USICäBYä$*ä*OEä3MITH

ADMISSION ALL EVENING: $ 5.00 7LFNHWV FDQ EH SXUFKDVHG DW WKH 1HZDUN 6\PSKRQ\ +DOO %R[ 2IĂ&#x20AC;FH ORFDWHG DW %URDG 6W 1HZDUN 1- For information call: (973) 643-8014 or www.newarksymphonyhall.org

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www.thepositivecommunity.com

NYC One Hundred Black Women Awards $15,000 In Scholarships And Grants TEXT AND PHOTOS: GIDEON MANASSEH

Coalition 100 Black Women with 2012 Role Model students at L’Oreal headquarters in midtown Manhattan.

Coalition 100 Black Women President Avalyn P. Simon congratulates 2012 Role Model students L–R: Amber Taylor, Isseu Ndao, Mia Savage, and Fione Browne.

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pring Break 2012 was a very busy time for 40 New York college and high school students who participated in the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women’s Role Model Program. Based on career interests, students are paired with mentors whom they shadow and others with whom they network.

The young women also attend a series of workshops that focus on work ethics, social media, dressing and grooming, dining etiquette and money management.

This year marked the program’s 33rd year. It was initiated at the prestigious Spelman College in 1979 and was adopted by the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women in 1982. This year’s participants attend City College, Queens College, York College, LaGuardia Community College and Bronx Community College— all part of the City University of New York, as well as high schools in Brooklyn and Queens.

Thanks to the generous support of L’Oreal USA, which has been the corporate sponsor of the program for the last 14 years, the Coalition awarded grants and scholarships in the amount of $15,000 to the participating students. The first, second and third place scholarwww.thepositivecommunity.com

ship recipients were Mia Savage, Isseu Ndao and Amber Taylor, respectively. The Evelyn Payne Davis Award was presented to Fione Browne.

In her closing remarks to the young women, Coalition President Avalyn P. Simon encouraged them to take the lessons of the week and use them to transform their lives “Step outside your comfort zone,” she stressed.

“Prepare yourselves for opportunities that will come; the road is not always straight, there will be bends and turns.

Make failure your lessons; ignite the fire of success within yourself and keep it burning.” Regarding the program, President Simon said, “This is a great opportunity for these young women, most of whom come to us about to graduate college or high school, still unsure of themselves and with no clear roadmap to achieve the goals they have set for their future. Meeting, shadowing and learning from their mentors and participating in the intense workshops allow them to become more focused and better able to define the path to achieve their goals.”

Since the inception of the program, over 1,500 young women have participated.

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BY PATRICIA BALDWIN

The Church’s Best Kept Secret: The Power of a Lead Singer Sheila “Songbird” White

Grace & Peace, his month I have something different for you. I always find that artist that you can’t wait to read about what they’re doing next, or introduce you to new music to open your ears and sooth your soul. We often are witnesses to the next Yolanda Adams or Fred Hammond. It seems as if every church has a lead singer who can, as we say, “tear the house down” every time they get up to sing, and they don’t just sing, they SANG! On this Mother’s Day I want to celebrate a mother who is a singer of the church. Let me break it down; she’s not old enough to be on the mother’s board, but she’s been singing in the church for over 45 years. Her name is Sheila White and she is known as the “songbird” of Fountain Christian Center, Inc. (FCC) in Brooklyn, where Bishop Sylvester Watts is the senior pastor.

At the age of seven, Sheila realized that singing was more than a fleeting hobby, and indeed she was right.

Singing became a lifelong love. She received the singing gene from her father and his brother. She looked up to vocal greats like Mahailia Jackson, Shirley Caesar and Patti LaBelle and although she doesn’t sound like any of them, what they all have in common is what she has in her voice—conviction.

It is that conviction coupled with her passion and knowing what God has delivered her from that allows her to reveal the life, deliverance and salvation of her Savior in song. Knowing who God is and who you are in Christ can turn your gift into a blessing, but if you don’t use it you can lose it and she chooses to be used by God. Content with being famous in her home church and local area rather than by the world’s standards, White found the love and approval of God when she opened her mouth. People were not only affected, but changed!

Her vocal technique falls somewhere between Dorinda Clark’s churchy and Vicki Winans’ wide ranging styles, mixed in with some of that Holy Ghost. Yeah, just thinking about her voice, her power and her style readies my hands to clap, my feet to stomp and my spirit to praise Him! Goosebumps prepare to make a cameo appearance at the thought of her hitting that one note…

White is one of the hardest working “sangers” in the world of church sanging (no, that’s not a typo, you

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The Positive Community May 2012

Sheila “Songbird” White

know what I’m saying!). She represents at every choir anniversary, on every program and does a featured solo at every engagement. Sure, she may feel weary sometimes, but she doesn’t say no because after years of singing for the love of it, her choice is to give God a “yes” for the honor of it.

Singing solo standards like “Because He Lives,” contemporary worship songs like “You Are Great” by Juanita Bynum, and sanctified songs like Beverly Crawford ‘s “Miracle,” this is her benevolent offering and when you hear her 1st alto to 2nd soprano range, all you can do is celebrate and praise God with her!

While White remains grounded in her faith and humble about her talent, her gift has not gone unnoticed by the recording industry. She has recorded with Mark Reddick & Universal Praise, but that’s not quite so high on her list of accomplishments.

More impressive to White is being a wife, a mother of five, grandmother of nine and great-grandmother of four! She is a woman who loves the Lord, her family and cooking. And she doesn’t mind sharing all of her talents and herself. Sheila White has the experience of a legend with the humility of a student who realizes that having the favor of God ranks higher in her life than being famous.

Unfortunately songbirds are becoming extinct due to lack of preservation; they are not protected from the world and its enemies. Sheila White, FCC’s songbird, you are honored for your passion in song, protected by the prayers of the righteous and loved for showing love in all that you do. www.thepositivecommunity.com

United Missionary Baptist Association

Moderator and host pastor Rev. Lee Arrington

Quarterly Session at Paradise B.C. in Harlem

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he Second Quarterly Session of the United Missionary Baptist Association (UMBA) convened at Paradise Baptist Church in Harlem on Tuesday, April 24. The Theme for the session was “The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ: His Life and Ministry,” Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:18-21. Friday night was dedicated to Christian education.

Rev. Dr. Johnnie G. McCann, pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church in Harlem, preached the keynote sermon.

Adrian A. Council Sr. was on hand to present The Positive Community’s Great Countdown to Freedom poster to leaders in Christian education. UMBA is an organization of over 146 churches in Manhattan, Bronx and Westchester County. A very special thanks to community partners, Applebee’s Restaurants and Journey’s International for their support.

Rev. Dr. Johnnie G. McCann

Music Director Ouida Harding

Sis. Adel Bell, Christian Education, UMBA; Rev. Arrington; Sis. Lindsey Parnnell, president Christian Education, UMBA; Adrian Concil, The Positive Community Sis. Ola Carr, leads choir Photos: Wali Amin Muhammad

Saint Luke Music Ministry and Choir

Community Partners

www.thepositivecommunity.com

May 2012 The Positive Community

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Youth Sunday at Kelly Temple COGIC

Photos: Wali Amin Muhammad

L–R: Olympia Jarbo, Corey Bumpass (Young Man of Valor winner) and Jaquan Kelly with Janice Morris Youth President at Kelly Temple.

Min. Tawan delivers the word

Minister Tawan Davis and Bishop James H. Gaylord, pastor Kelly Temple COGIC pastor

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The Positive Community May 2012

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t was Youth Sunday at Kelly Temple COGIC on April 29, 2012 and Min. Tawan Davis spoke words of encouragement to the young people. Kelly Temple, the "mother church" of northeastern Pentecostalism was for several decades pastured by the late revered Bishop O.M. Kelly. His successor, whom he mentored, Bishop James H. Gaylord is now prelate of over 120 churches and missions throughout Eastern New York. Kelly Temple's ministry is broad and far-reaching, including community outreach, redevelopment, and global missions.

www.thepositivecommunity.com

43rd Pastoral Anniversary Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Guy Campbell honored

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Rev. Dr. Lester Taylor, Moderator, North Jersey Baptist Association and pastor of Englewood Community Baptist Church

www.thepositivecommunity.com

Photos: Vincent Bryant

ev. Dr. and Mrs. Guy Campbell celebrated their 43rd anniversary as pastor and first lady of Evergreen Baptist Church in Palmyra, NJ recently.

The occasion was celebrated at a banquet in their honor at Adelphia’s Restaurant in Deptford, NJ. Dr. Campbell is currently the president of the General Baptist Convention of New Jersey (GBCNJ) and director of the Ministers Division for the National Baptist Convention USA Inc (NBC). He also holds membership in many Christian organizations and is a member of the Board of trustees of Morris College.

The event brought well-wishers from around the state and the country including Rev. Dr. Lester Taylor, pastor of the Community Baptist Church in Englewood, NJ and 2nd VP of the GBCNJ, who served as toastmaster; Rev. Dr. Julius Scruggs, president of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., who was keynote speaker; Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw, immediate past president of the NBC; Rev. Dr. Washington Lundy, Vice President NBC, USA, Inc. and US Senator Robert Menendez.

Greetings galore were showered on the couple by state and national representatives of various church, cultural and civic organizations.

—JNW

Dr. Guy Campbell, Mrs. Dorothy Campbell, Rev. Julius Scruggs,and U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

Rev. Washington Lundy, First Lady Dorothy Lundy, the Campbells, First Lady Camellia Shaw and past National Baptist Convention president, William Shaw

Rev Andre Milteer, president Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Newark and pastor Mount Olivet BC, Newark

May 2012 The Positive Community

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Invite You to Join with us in

217-245 Passaic Street, GarďŹ eld, NJ 07026

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Guest Preacher:

Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III &RIENDSHIP 7EST "APTIST #HURCH $ALLAS 4EXAS

Tuesday, May 29, 2012 7:00 p.m. ~ 11:00 p.m.

The Venetian 2IVER $RIVE 'ARlELD .* #OST !DULTS UNDER s &OR TICKET INFORMATION CALL

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The Positive Community May 2012

www.thepositivecommunity.com

www.thepositivecommunity.com

May 2012 The Positive Community

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“Let Us Break Bread Together” HCCI’s 10th Annual Awards Gala

H

arlem Congregations for Conununity Improvement, Inc. (HCCI)celebrated its 10th Annual “Let Us Break Bread Together” Awards Gala on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at elegant Prince George Ballroom in New York City.

This year’s honorees were: Councilmember Inez E. Dickens, recipient of the Conununity Builder Award; William C. Thompson, Jr, former New York City Comptroller with the Visionary Award; George T. McDonald, founder and president of The Doe Fund with the Humanitarian Award; George Hulse with the Neighborhood Partner Award, and Adolfo Carrion was given HCCl's most prestigious award, The Rev. Canon Frederick B. Williams Conununity Service Award for his decades-long commitment to affordable senior services.

India Oglesby received HCCl’s fifth annual Canon Frederick B. Williams Scholarship award established through an endowment by the Rockefeller Foundation. The ambitious High School student was awarded a scholarship for $1,000 for her excellent achievements in her studies.

President of HCCl, Derek Broomes noted, “For 26 years, HCCl has been the vanguard for community revitalization, leading the effort to rebuild the Harlem community and to transform the lives of its residents.

Our honorees are a reflection of our goals and dedication to Harlem.”

“HCCl remains undaunted in its efforts to uplift the Harlem community,” said HCCl Chair, Rev. Dr. Charles Curtis. “While we have done much, we see greater things on the horizon as we go forward in these turbulent times.”

Photos: Hubert Williams and Wali Amin Muhammad

L–R: Canon Frederick B. Williams Scholarship Recipient – India Oglesby and mom; Pastor Eatman, George Weldon, HCCI Board

L–R: Dr. Joan O. Dawson; Mr. Landon Dais; Mr. Adolfo Carrion; Mr. Derek Broomes, Mr. George Weldon, Mistress of Ceremonies – Ms. Cheryl Wills, Author & Anchor NY1 News.

Chamblee's Square Restaurant "REAKFAST s ,UNCH s $INNER

Full Line of Southern Style Food Marion Scott, director of Community Health at St. Luke Roosevelt Hospital,NYC L–R: Corby Ellis-Mare, Public Relations officer, City National Bank; Mark S. Jaffe President & CEO Greater NY Chamber of Commerce; ????????; Samuel L. Dunston, president/CEO National Allotment Insurance Agency, LTD.

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The Positive Community May 2012

Willie Walker, building manager Harlem State Office Building

596 Hunterdon Street Newark, NJ (Corner Madison Ave.)

973-824-8725 Open Daily: 7am—7pm Monday by Appointment www.thepositivecommunity.com

Transforming Lives through Ministry Benjamin Loadholt of Journies International Travel

“T

L–R: LaVerne M. Ball, Rev. Tracey L. Brown and Rev. Dr. Vernon C. Walton

ransforming Lives through Ministry” was the theme of the Leadership Conference hosted by two of Plainfield New Jersey’s most prominent churches. Rev. Tracey L. Brown, senior pastor at Ruth Fellowship Ministries, and Rev. M. LaVerne Ball, senior pastor of Rose of Sharon Community Church joined forces to host the two–day conference on Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31. Speakers were Rev. J. G. McCann, Rev. John Teabout, Dr. Vernon C. Walton, Rev. Shawn Wallace, Rev. Kyshon Mitchell and Rev. Keith Marshall.

Pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in Plainfield, Rev. Tracey L. Brown is a candidate for Councilwoman At-Large in that city. She and her family moved to Plainfield in 1976. She attended Plainfield High school and is a graduate of Montclair State University. A star athlete, Rev. Brown is a member Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Rev. Brown was commissioned and installed as pastor of Ruth Fellowship Ministries by Rev. M. Laverne Ball, pastor of the Rose of Sharon Community Church on April 17, 1999. Beginning with 17 members and holding

service in the Plainfield Armory, the church today serves over 700 members, has four choirs and 25 ministries, and owns the building in which the congregation worships.

Pastor LaVerne M. Ball is known as an anointed, spirit-filled woman of God who was called to the ministry at the age of sixteen. She has been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ for over fifty years. Coming from a family tradition of service to God and leadership in the community, Pastor Ball proudly follows in the footsteps of her late father, The Reverend Ovie E. Lattimore and brother, The Reverend Everett C. Lattimore. She was educated at Jersey City State Teachers College and Northeastern Bible Institute and served as the assistant pastor under her father and brother for twenty-four years.

Led by the Lord to continue her father’s vision and to fulfill her brother’s dream, Pastor Ball shepherded the construction and completion of the multi-million dollar, Rose of Sharon Community Church. On December 18, 2003 the church successfully purchased the Jewish temple next door, now known as the Rose of Sharon Family Life Center and operates the Queen City Charter School.

L–R: The Positive Community's Steve Jordan & his uncle, Donald Moman

L–R: Charlotte Kingsley, United HealthCare with Minister Dolly Hamlin Photos: Laurence Rice

Youth Church participants www.thepositivecommunity.com

Hospitality staff May 2012 The Positive Community

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Canaan Baptist Church of Christ Honors The Rev. Dr. Thomas D. Johnson, Sr., Senior Pastor

(L-R) Alia M. Jones, producer, A Streetcar Named Desire; Mrs. Donna B. Johnson; Cherine Anderson, Walker Communications; Rev. Dr. Thomas D. Johnson,Sr.

T

he historic Canaan Baptist Church of Christ congregation, family and friends celebrated the Sixth Pastoral Anniversary of Dr. Thomas D. Johnson, Sr., senior pastor and his thirty-eight years of pastoral leadership, preaching and teaching the Gospel of Christ April 21 and 22, 2012. More than 200 guests attended the elegant black-tie banquet Saturday evening in the church's legendary Founders Hall to honor Dr. Johnson and First Lady Donna B. Johnson. Tributes included gifts from the church's ministries to the honorees, proclamations from United States Congressman Charles Rangel, Senator Chuck Schumer and New York State Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez. Highlighting the evening was a special presentation from Aliah M. Jones, producer of Broadway's new must-see play, A Streetcar Named Desire.

The anniversary celebration culminated during the Sunday 11:00am worship service with The Rev. Dr. Haywood T. Gray, executive secretary-treasurer of the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina Inc., preaching the celebratory sermon. An anniversary tribute was presented centered on the theme, “The Cedar of Canaan.” “We congratulate Dr. and Mrs. Johnson on this milestone. The Canaan family is grateful and thankful to Dr. Johnson, a servant of God, for blessing us with his spiritual leadership and vision. He is a pastor of great faith and integrity. The Official Board and Canaan family will continue to support our pastor as he leads Canaan into the twenty-first century as a progressive church,” said Deacon Michael Russell,Chairman of the Official Board.

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(L–R) Trustee Sterling W. Charles, anniversary chair; Rev. Haywood T. Gray, guest celebrant; Mrs. Donna B. Johnson; Trustee Janielle Latimore, anniversary chair

www.thepositivecommunity.com

IN THE SPIRIT & IMAGE continued from page 56

Behnken, Amir Bey, Betty Blayton, Elena Bouza, Melissa A. Calderon, Xavier Figueroa, Kuniyasu Hashimoto, Danny Hauben, Hatuey Ramos-Fermin and Hrvoje Slovenc.

Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, closed weekends. The Interchurch Center, affectionately known as “The God Box,” houses offices and agencies of various religions, and of ecumenical and interreligious organizations, and several outstanding places to eat. The Treasure Room Gallery is located on the first floor. (212) 870 2200.

James Baldwin

www.thepositivecommunity.com

JAMES BALDWIN’S THE AMEN CORNER Monday, June 18 The Amen Corner, a three act play by James Baldwin, addresses the themes of the role of the church in the African-American family and the effect of a poverty born of racial prejudice on the African American community.

Project1Voice, founded by actor/producer

Erich McMillan-McCall presents a national day of celebration of African-American theatre by producing benefit staged readings in honor of the 25th year anniversary of James Baldwin’s passing. The twenty-five African American theatres across the country include these local institutions: American Performing Arts Collaborative (Harlem, NY), The Billie Holiday Theatre (Brooklyn, NY), Black Spectrum Theatre (Queens, NY), Crossroads Theatre Company (New Brunswick, NJ), National Black Theatre (Harlem, NY), Negro Ensemble Theatre (NY, NY), New Federal Theatre (NY, NY) and The Richard Allen Center for Culture and Art (NY, NY). The late playwright August Wilson said, “Black Theatre in America is alive…it is vital…it just isn’t funded.”

This initiative is an opportunity for you, the audience, to do something about that. For more information about show times, tickets, and casting visit www.project1voice.org or www.blacktheateronline.com

If you are interested in having your arts activities mentioned in this column, or if you would like to know how to start an arts ministry at your church, please contact me at spiritandimage@thepositivecommunity.com.

May 2012 The Positive Community

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The Positive Community May 2012

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A joyous musical celebration of African-American women from Bessie Smith to Mary J. Blige

“Sweet & Sassy!”

-NY Times

WINNER 2011 Midtown International Theatre Festival

“A Winner!”

-NY Beacon

Join us for our Thursday Post Show Talk Backs featuring surprise celebrity guests.

More info at SistasTheMusical.com St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 W 46th St Thur 7 pm, Sat 1:30 & 4:30 pm, Sun 4:30 pm Telecharge.com 212.239.6200 SistasTheMusical.com Special rates for groups call 212.977.5925 www.thepositivecommunity.com

May 2012 The Positive Community

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0RQH\ BUSINESS, MONEY & WORK

Beware of Mortgage Rescue Scams

BY REV. CHARLES BUTLER,DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT, HCCI

T

he foreclosure crisis is not over. Many homeowners are being threatened by this crisis and are at risk of losing their homes. You’ve heard the saying: “Desperate times, call for desperate measures.” In desperate attempts to protect their investments, homeowners often fall victim to foreclosure recovery scams. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to know how to avoid scams.

One wise homeowner who came to Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI) for help said he was approached by such an agency. He told me they promised to stop the foreclosure process and could secure a loan modification for him. They claimed to have a 95% success rate in preventing foreclosures.

Beware of such organizations. If you sign a document appointing them to act on your behalf, you may well be signing over the title to your property and becoming a tenant in your own home! Scam artists are capitalizing on your fears and the imminent prospect of losing your home.

Fortunately this homeowner did the right thing and contacted HCCI before agreeing to pay the upfront fee

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that can range from $2,500 to $5,000. This fee alone should serve as a warning not to proceed any further with this type of organization. HUD-approved housing counseling organizations will provide assistance for homeowners for free. I worked closely with this homeowner and his lender for several months. Eventually, we were able to secure a permanent modification for him at no cost. He was able to save his home. His mortgage payment was reduced by almost $600, making it affordable for his family.

Some con artists use names, phone numbers, and websites that give the appearance of being a legitimate government agency. You should only use phone numbers listed on government agency websites or other reliable sources, like the Blue Pages in your phone directory. If you feel that you have been scammed you can file a complaint online at the following website: www. preventloanscams.org or call 888-995-HOPE (4673).

For information on programs, attending a workshop or questions related to the home buying process or foreclosure prevention, contact Rev. Charles Butler at (212)281-4887 ext.131 or email at cbutler@hcci.org. www.thepositivecommunity.com

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May 2012 The Positive Community

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Harlem Cherry Blossom Festival Weekend

A

century ago, the Committee of Japanese Residents of New York City presented a gift of flowers to the people of the city as a symbol of natural beauty and international friendship. The dedication and planting ceremony of the trees took place in Claremont Park in Harlem, now known as Sakura Park (meaning cherry tree in Japanese). The park, which is located at 122nd Street and Riverside Drive, was donated to the city by the Rockefeller family.

The Sakura Cherry Blossom Festival in Harlem was held on Saturday and Sunday April 14 and 15. The weekend of activities began with the formal ceremony of the 100th anniversary of the gift of Sakura, followed by a Harlem for Japan TOMO Friendship Concert.

On Sunday, a Japan Little League team was welcomed at Marcus Garvey Park for an East meets West All-Star Baseball Tournament.

Lâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;R: Producer Abe Katsuya; Geoffrey Eaton, chief of staff to Congressman Charles B. Rangel; Mrs. Mamiko Hiroki; Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki, Consul General of Japan and Voza Rivers, Harlem Arts Alliance.

Lloyd Williams, president, Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce

The Zuiho Taiko Drummers

Japan's former First Lady Kayoko Hosokawa, honorary chairperson of Special Olympics Nippon with her interpreter

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www.thepositivecommunity.com

$4 Million Branch Brook Park Restoration Unveiled

O

n April 16, 2012—a perfect spring day—the Branch Brook Park Alliance and the County of Essex, who are partnering to restore Essex County Branch Brook Park, held a dedication ceremony for the park's Southern Division, where a $4 million restoration project was recently completed.

Honored at the event were the following: Prudential Financial, the largest corporate funder of the park's restoration; the late Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, an esteemed Prudential executive who helped raise the visibility of the park's unique cherry blossom tree collection to the PanAsian community globally; and Art Ryan, former Prudential CEO, and his wife, Pat, a founder and co-chair of the Branch Brook Park Alliance, who have personally donated in excess of $1 million for the restoration of the park.

L–R: County Executive Joseph N. Di Vincenzo, Jr.;BBPA Co-Chair Pat Ryan; Retired Prudential CEO Art Ryan,BBPA Co-Chair Barbara Bell Coleman

L–R: BBPA Co-Chair Pat Ryan; Retired Prudential CEO Art Ryan

L–R: Freeholders Patricia Sebold, Leonard M. Luciano and Freeholder President Blonnie R. Watson; Prudential CEO & Chairman John Strangfeld, County Executive Joseph N. Divincenzo; Jr., BBPA CoChair Barbara Belt Coleman, and Freeholder Carol Y. Clark Newark Municipal Council President Donald M. Payne, Jr.

L–R: Prudential CEO & Chairman John Strangfeld, Tetsuya Sakaguchi of Japan (whose late father, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, was honored)

L–R: Newark Alliance CEO AI Koeppe, Verizon CEO Dennis Bone and Fidelco Chairman Marc Berson

L–R: Newark Alliance CEO Al Koeppe, Prudential Executive and BBPA Trustee Patty Capawana, Prudential Senior Vice President Sharon Taylor, BBPA Executive Vice-Chair Patti Chambers, Anne Koeppe, Pat and Art Ryan and family surrounding one of the historic Prudential Lions named in their honor www.thepositivecommunity.com

Pat and Art Ryan and family surrounding one of the historic Prudential Lions named in their honor May 2012 The Positive Community

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MAJOR EVENT SPONSORS, PARTNERSHIPS & CORPORATE EXHIBITORS Don’t miss a great opportunity to sponsor or partner in the North East’s largest public summer festival:

Some of the Key Events for Exhibits Include: SUNDAY, July 29th

“ A Great Day in Harlem” Over 40, 000 Attendees

SATURDAY, AUG. 18th & SUNDAY, AUG. 19th

Over

10, 000 “The 2 Day NYC Children’s Festival” Attendees

SUNDAY, AUGUST 19th Our Biggest day

“New York

• HARLEM DAY Over 90, 000 Attendees

Upper Manhattan

Health Village” Auto Show Over 10, 000 Attendees Over 8, 000 Attendees

HARLEM WEEK 2012

y a r o o H the for

! s d a Gr

Send photos, name, hometown, school, and aspirations to grads@thepositivecommunity.com Call 973.233.9200 for complete details, deadlines etc.

Have a Wonderful Mother's Day!

from July 29th - August 28th For companies or businesses interested in sponsorship, marketing, sales or corporate exhibit information on: The Children’s Festival please contact Mr. Majette at (212) 862 8477 or email wmajette@harlemdiscover.com The Health Village please contact Ms. Ricketts at (212) 862 7200 or email pricketts@harlemdiscover.com The Upper Manhattan Auto Show please contact Mr. R. Idlett, Sr. at (917) 696-8715

or email ecausey@harlemdiscover.com

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www.thepositivecommunity.com

How to Create Secure Passwords

W

ith just about every merchant and service on the Web requiring a password, it’s very tempting to use one, easy-to-remember word or phrase across all of them. Hackers know this, and it’s one of the reasons they’re able to hijack accounts so easily. If a hacker determines the password you use for, say, your Facebook login, he’ll likely try it on your bank account too. For this reason, among others, it’s vital to use different passwords for each service you use. Yes, it requires some extra work to keep track of them all, but it’s a far more pleasant experience than having your bank account drained.

However, using the above strategy won’t help you much if your individual passwords are easy to guess or crack. One common, simple-to-execute method for cracking passwords is what’s known as a “dictionary attack.” A dictionary attack is a type of brute force attack, whereby the hacker, using a computer program, tries all the words in the dictionary from A-Z in rapid succession until he finds the one that works. However, this isn’t your typical desktop reference dictionary. It also includes lists of proper nouns like common first names, names of celebrities, fictional characters, movie titles, sports teams, cities, common pet names, well-known quotes, and the like.

In order to thwart this known method, create passwords that don’t appear in such a dictionary by adding numbers and symbols to strings of characters.

For example:

Weak password: Travolta Stronger password: 3Trav#olta1547 Very strong password: 3pnle#r5th!po34

SAFE, SECURE, AFFORDABLE! The State of New York Mortgage Agency offers: \HDU IL[HG PRUWJDJHV GRZQ SD\PHQW DVVLVWDQFH QR SRLQWV

1-800-382-HOME(4663) Generally speaking, the longer the password, the stronger it is, since each character is one more variable that the hacker must determine. But IT’S ONLY STRONG IF IT’S NOT EASY TO GUESS, so don’t choose something like “fourscoreandsevenyearsago” either. www.thepositivecommunity.com

www.sonyma.org

May 2012 The Positive Community

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Education TEACHING, LEARNING, MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Future Physician LEANNE ROBERTS IS ABOUT MORE THAN DOCTORING By g.r. mattox

he study of medicine requires commitment and boundless energy. LeAnne Roberts has those qualities in abundance in addition to the power to connect with people on many levels and lead them in support of a common goal. A fourth-year OB-GYN medical student at the New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), two days after she was named chair of the 50,000-member American Medical Association’s Medical Student Section (AMAMSS) the Bloomfield resident demonstrated her ability to efficiently address large-scale issues. When members of Congress were on the brink of slashing Medicare funding last year as part of finalizing the Budget Deficit Reduction Act, legislation that would negatively affect medical residency programs nationwide, Roberts and the current chair, T.R. Eckler, sent out a call to their membership to urge legislators to increase Graduate Medical Educational Funding.

In a mere 36 hours, lawmakers throughout the U.S. received approximately 30,000 emails and 20,000 phone calls urging an increase in funding. Legislators found their phones ringing off the hook and their email overflowing with messages. That the number of calls and emails added up to the number of members in AMAMSS was “just a coincidence,” Roberts, said. “A lot of stu-

T

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dents live in one state, but attend medical school in another, so we double-dip. In reality I believe it was closer to half the membership, but medical students who weren’t necessarily members of the AMA-MSS also participated.” Although the Congressional committee overseeing the legislation has failed to produce anything thus far, Roberts believes the effort shows future physicians are able to think beyond the next exam or the next patient. “We do have the ability to come together on issues we feel strongly about.”

Her recent elevation to the chair of the nation’s largest and most influential organization of medical students came as a result of her ability to get people excited and motivated about issues they otherwise might not strongly consider. She also credits the fact that she has held several leadership positions with the AMA over the past four years, as well as memberships in related organizations, maintaining affiliations and earning achievements such as becoming a Pozen Community Scholar in 2010 and an Arnold P. Goal Humanism Honor Society inductee in 2011. Regarding her new position Roberts reflected, “It’s an elected position so you definitely have to put in the time and come with the experience to apply to run for the position. We’re a tight-knit group and you have to show how to make a difference.”

She made a difference in New Jersey when she saw medical students had no formal representation in the state’s medical society, so she worked with colleagues to form the Student Section of the Medical Society of New Jersey (MSNJ). Her commitment to advocacy led her to act as the student voice when she served as a member of the board of trustees at MSNJ for two years.

Roberts plans to continue her efforts to bring the AMA-MSS membership to one mind on issues when she www.thepositivecommunity.com

assumes the post from Eckler next month. This month, she takes an opportunity to meet other future and present OB-GYN’s as well as residency directors when she returns to California, her home state, to attend the conference of American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Both of her parents are educators, and Roberts’ states that her reason for becoming a doctor is to have an opportunity to “do more than doctoring. It encompasses more than just seeing a patient and diagnosing an illness.

It’s about educating patients about their diseases and disorders. It also gives you the opportunity to interact with students interested in medicine, educate them about the field and become involved in community programs. You can get to do a bit of everything.” One of the programs she works with is the NJMS Mini-Medical School, which allows high school students and adults from the local community to take courses in medicine taught by medical students.

Roberts sees the services and safeguards of future physicians as dependent on the Supreme Court decision on the President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, passed by Congress last year. “I definitely think young physicians

are in need of security when it comes to their loan repayment structure; the cost of becoming a physician is very high. Physicians and physicians-in-training are looking at the cost of medical education and loan repayment and liability reform.”

Within the AMA she wants to make sure that medical student issues are on that organization’s advocacy agenda in Washington because she feels those issues are just as important as those of practicing physicians. On an external basis, Roberts wants to forge stronger ties with other medical organizations with similar missions and the goal of combating health disparities.

She believes that in the science of healing, faith and spirituality play a great part. “I think most people are fairly spiritual, and their spiritual feelings play into their health,” Roberts, who describes herself as a Christian, explained. “It is really important for people to be able to identify their faith and how their spirituality can positively affect their health; and it’s important that health professionals embrace a person’s individual faith.”

LeAnne Roberts will add “Dr.” to her name when she graduates with the class of 2013 with both a Masters and an MD. Congratulations!

UFT Hosts Clergy Breakfast

T

he United Federation of Teachers recently hosted their 2nd Annual Ecumenical Clergy Breakfast at their offices in Lower Manhattan. The event was designed to further their efforts to update the faith community on new initiatives in New York City schools. The event also celebrated their new partnerships.

Rev. William Barber, pastor of the Greenleaf Christian Church in North Carolina was the keynote speaker.

Event organizer Anthony Harmon, with Transit Workers Union (TWU) representative Marvin Holland and Suzie Lozada from La Fuente, Tri-State Worker and Community Fund, Inc. UFT President Michael Mulgrew addresses the over 100 faithbased leaders from throughout the city in attendance at the clergy breakfast www.thepositivecommunity.com

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Lincoln University Area Alumni Greet New Lincoln University President L–R: Lincoln University Trustees—Rev. Coverdale, Warren Colbert, VP, investment banker, UBS; Hon. Ruth Smith, Supreme Court Justice, Bronx County; President Jennings and Donald C. Notice, executive director, West Harlem Group Assistance, CDC.

T

he newly appointed 13th president of the historic Lincoln University, Dr. Robert R. Jennings, came to the NY/NJ region to meet with alumni and to share his vision of higher education in the 21st century. Lincoln University is a premier historically black university, and the nation’s old-

est, founded in 1863. Located in Pennsylvania, the school boasts a long list of distinguished alumni, including writer and poet, Langston Hughes; the first African American U.S. Justice to Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall and Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana.

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Photos: Wali Amin Muhammad

· · · ·

Rev. Charles Coverdale, pastor First Baptist Church, Riverhead, NY.

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Dr. Robert R. Jennings, president, Lincoln University www.thepositivecommunity.com

Healthy body… healthy mind!

“We can all agree that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, all children should have the basic nutrition they need to learn and grow and to pursue their dreams, because in the end, nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children.”

First Lady Michelle Obama

NJEA supports First Lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to promote childhood nutrition and exercise. Active children who enjoy nutritious diets perform better in school and have a more positive attitude. They also are less likely to suffer the effects of obesity or develop Type 2 diabetes.

Parents and caregivers can set a great example for the whole family by creating a healthy environment at home by taking a few simple steps: t .BLF GSVJUT BOE WFHFUBCMFT QBSU PG FWFSZ NFBM t -JNJU TVHBSZ TOBDLT BOE USFBUT t 8BML BOE QMBZ XJUI ZPVS DIJMESFO t (FU B HPPE OJHIU T TMFFQ NJEA knows that when families and schools work together, our children are the winners!

New Jersey Education Association… working for great public schools for every child.

Barbara Keshishian, President Wendell Steinhauer, Vice President Marie Blistan, Secretary-Treasurer Vince Giordano, Executive Director Richard Gray, Assistant Executive Director/Research Director

www.thepositivecommunity.com

May 2012 The Positive Community

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Countdown to Freedom . . . The African American Community was Born . . . here were one hundred years between the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the historic March on Washington that is credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves and ended American slavery in theory and on paper, it did nothing to end the bigotry and discrimination in the hearts of many people. It was at this time that segregation and Jim Crow laws became commonplace. Jim Crow was a blackface character made popular by a white actor in 1832.

Soon, the name became a pejorative for black people; hence, the laws aimed at keeping Negroes “in their place” were called Jim Crow laws.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels, railroads, and theaters. The law was challenged several times in lower courts and in 1883, the Supreme Court ruled in the Civil Rights Cases that the Act was invalid because it addressed social as opposed to civil rights.

The Court also noted that the Fourteenth Amendment protected people against violations of their civil rights by states, not by the actions of individuals. In the wake of the decision, state legislatures throughout the South enacted laws that legalized racial segregation in essentially all public places, from schools to hospitals to restaurants.

Between 1890 and 1910, ten of the eleven former Confederate states passed new constitutions or amendments that effectively disfranchised most blacks and thousands of poor whites. Through a combination of poll taxes, literacy and comprehension tests, and residency and record-keeping requirements, blacks were edged out of the right to vote. Louisiana adopted the socalled grandfather clause, which allowed men to vote if their fathers or grandfathers had been eligible to vote as of January 1, 1867. Other Southern states followed suit

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and since no blacks had the right to vote anywhere in the South at that time, they were automatically deemed ineligible to vote.

As a result, voter turnout dropped drastically throughout the South. In Alabama tens of thousands of poor whites were disfranchised. In Louisiana, by 1900, black voters were reduced to 5,320 on the rolls, despite being the majority of the state’s population. By 1910, only 730 blacks were registered—less than 0.5 percent of eligible black men. In 27 of the state’s 60 parishes, not a single black voter was registered any longer; in 9 more parishes, only one black voter was. In North Carolina the cumulative effect was that black voters were completely eliminated from voter rolls during the period from 1896–1904.

Those who were not eligible to vote could not serve on juries and could not run for local offices. Without political representation they could not influence the state legislatures and the interests of blacks were repeatedly overlooked. While Reconstruction legislatures had established public schools for the first time in most Southern states, schools for black children were consistently underfunded compared to schools for white children The Supreme Court upheld Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation in its landmark decision, Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. In 1892, Homer Plessy, a lightskinned man who despite being only one-eighth black was classified as such, purchased a first-class ticket from New Orleans on the East Louisiana Railway. Once he boarded the train, he informed the train conductor of his racial lineage and took a seat in the whites-only car.

He was ordered to sit instead in the “coloreds only” car but refused, and was immediately arrested. The Citizens Committee of New Orleans fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States and lost in Plessy www.thepositivecommunity.com

PROFILES

President Kennedy Meeting with Leaders of the March on Washington

v. Ferguson when the Court ruled that “separate but equal” facilities were constitutional. The finding laid the path to 58 more years of legalized discrimination against black and colored people in the United States.

Segregated facilities, whether schools or public transportation, were rarely equal. While several Southern states spent nearly the same amount on the education of whites and blacks in 1890, there was a tremendous disparity in spending in favor of whites 20 years later.

Legalized segregation also reinforced the notions of white racial superiority and black inferiority, creating an atmosphere that encouraged violence and led to a significant rise in the number of lynchings during the 1890s.

Segregation was the law of the land throughout the South. Woodrow Wilson, the first Southern-born president of the post-Civil War period, brought segregation to federal offices. He appointed segregationist Southern politicians to support his own belief that racial segregation was in the best interest of black and white Americans alike.

Even in service to his country, a black man faced Jim Crow laws, segregation and blatant disrespect. Blacks were not treated equally and racial tensions persisted. At parades, church services, transportation and canteens the races were kept separate, despite the 369th Infantry www.thepositivecommunity.com

Regiment— the “Harlem Hellfighters,” a unit of black soldiers— being awarded the Legion of Merit in World War I. World War II brought the heroic service of the Golden Thirteen, the first black commissioned Naval officers; Doris Miller, the first African American recipient of the Navy Cross, and of course, the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

After World War II, African Americans believed they had more than earned the right to be treated as full citizens because of their military service and sacrifices and increasingly challenged segregation. The Civil Rights Movement was energized by a number of flashpoints, including the 1946 attack on World War II veteran Isaac Woodard while he was in U.S. Army uniform. In 1948 President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981, desegregating the armed services.

As the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum and used federal courts to attack Jim Crow statutes, the whitedominated governments of many of the southern states countered by passing alternative forms of restrictions.

The NAACP Legal Defense Committee and its lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, brought the landmark case Brown v.

Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 before the Supreme Court. In its pivotal 1954 decision, the Court unanimously overturned the 1896 Plessy decision. The decision had far-reaching social ramifications, but legal segregation did not end until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

May 2012 The Positive Community

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Moderator Richard Roper

Newark Leadership Roundtable Series Presents:

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EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE 3ATURDAY *UNE RD s AM PM “... an holistic dynamic approach to our quest for the real components of a quality education—an educational ideal” “What must we do in our homes, schools and our churches to prepare our children for college, vocation and careers?”

Positive Community Editorial February 2011

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REmECTING THE WIDE DIVERSITY OF THE MET ROPOLITAN CORRIDOR OF THE .ORTHEAST 4HROUGH GODLY INSTRUCTORS RICH CURRI CULA IN CAREER SHAPING MAJORS SPIRITUALLY ENTHUSIASTIC STUDENTS VALUABLE ENRICH ING INTERNSHIPS AND GLOBAL LEARNING EX PERIENCES 3## OFFERS YOU ALL YOU NEED TO BE EQUIPPED FOR YOUR BEST FUTURE 0ERHAPS 'OD IS CALLING YOU TO ADD TO THE BLESSING OF THIS RAPIDLY GROWING

MULTI CULTURAL COMMUNITY OF LEARNING AND FAITH )F SO WE WELCOME YOU WITH JOY Dr. David Schroeder, President, SCC

Sister Whitaker Honored

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is. Shirley Whitaker, a four year breast cancer survivor, was recently honored at the celebration of Black History and Women's History Month at Richmond Towers.

The event was sponsored by the Housing Authority of Plainfield, NJ and the American Cancer Society. Ms Whitaker is the recipient of the 2007 Union County Women of Excellence Humanitarian Award and the proud mother of six children, grandmother of ten, and great-grandmother of many. She operates the Food Bank at Community Church of God, where Rev Shirley B. Cathie, PhD is Pastor Emeritus and Rev. Jane Peterson is pastor. She has been an active member for more than 50 years.

May 2012 The Positive Community

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Seniors receiving foot care from podiatry student

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By: Gideon Manasseh/ Photojournalist

Harelem Foot Center of New York City Seminar

coalition of partners consisting of The Abyssinian Development Corporation, AARP, Health Advocates for Older Persons, The Greater New York Links Health and Wellness Facet, Center Light for Comprehensive Health Care, Institute for Puerto Rican & Hispanic Elderly, Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez 68th Assembly District of New York and the New York City Alzheimer’s Association treated seniors to a foot treatments and much need information about foot care and health at the Harlem Foot Center.

Seniors received individual examinations and evaluations of their feet by doctors and students, toured the college clinic facilities and attended a lecture on the

Photos:Gideon Manasseh

Dr. Thomas DeLauro

Grace Ingleton (NY LINKS)

L-R: Gerri Warren-Merrick, president NY LINKS, Dr. Marcella Maxwell, Dr. Eunice Ramsey-Parker, Clinic Administrator; William Hamer (NORC), (standing rear); Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez, and Desander Mas, V.P. Foot Center NY

importance of good foot care: How the Feet Affect the Whole Body, by Dr. Thomas De Lauro, chairman, Division of Medical Sciences, New York College of Podiatric Medicine. The event was coordinated by Dr. Eunice Ramsey Parker, clinic administrator.

The College of Podiatric Medicine, located at 55 E. 124th Street, has been a treasured resource in the Harlem community for 100 years.

Dr. Marcella Maxwell and Grace Ingleton are the cochairs of the Greater New York Links Health and Wellness Facet and the major sponsor and volunteer community service leaders for the Geriatric Educational Forum for outreach to seniors in the New York City community.

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area is designed exclusively for cremated remains. It creates a comfortable environment to memorialize and remember deceased loved-ones.

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May 2012 The Positive Community

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NOT UNABLE GUEST EDITORIAL continued from page 13

Donald was tireless in his efforts to broaden support for improved health care throughout the continent of Africa. He was successful in directing attention to the scourge of malaria on the continent. and the rest of the world about them. To their credit, CARE and other NGO’s are working hard to ameliorate those conditions; but much, much more needs to be done.

Donald was tireless in his efforts to broaden support for improved health care throughout the continent of Africa. He was successful in directing attention to the scourge of malaria on the continent. He encouraged an American philanthropist to lead the effort to provide millions of nets which have significantly reduced the spread of the disease. Also, funding for HIV-AIDS treatment in Africa was dramatically increased as a result of Donald’s strong advocacy with the previous White House Administration.

Donald did much during his time on earth; but I heard him tell his friend, Congressman John Lewis, who sat at his bedside in the hospital, “I have so much more to do.” Mr. Lewis said, “My friend, you’ve done your share. Just rest now.”

At my brother’s home-going service, an African, speaking for Africa, asked,”Who do we turn to now that he is gone?”

He was loved and respected by people in his community, his country and the far reaches of the world. That love was demonstrated during Donald’s home-going services in epic ways. Notably, his was the first ever lyingin state in the historic Essex County Courthouse and tributes were delivered by representatives of Donald’s community, the state of New Jersey US Congress, the US Diplomatic Corps, US Cabinet members and former President Bill Clinton. I wish to express our heartfelt gratitude and thanks to all who participated or offered words of comfort.

Finally, I was blessed to have a true relationship of brotherly love with my brother, Donald. I imagine that is why I miss him so. It still hurts a great deal now that he is gone. It is said that time will heal the pain. That time has not yet come!

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Continued from page 36 environment and be productive, contributing members of society.” Ortega believes that it is critical that we give people with disabilities space to spread their wings and fly instead of putting them in a box marked disabled,” At the conference, she will moderate a panel examining related services in a pre-school setting. “Too often, parents are faced with challenges when trying to navigate the system, particularly when their child transitions from pre-school to kindergarten,” she said.

According to Joan Peters, executive director of BCID, “Many parents have a desperate need for information about resources and supports for themselves and their children. Also, the conference gives parents an opportunity to see how our presenters with disabilities have learned to successfully navigate the world.”

The conference will culminate with a wellness session designed to give parents a relaxing break. In addition, this wellness component serves as a reminder to parents that in order to be the best advocate for their child, they also need to care for themselves. It will be conducted by Jamel Cherry, a certified holistic health counselor who will take participants through an interactive Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) session aimed at restoring calm and rebalancing their energies.

Admission to the conference is free but pre-registration is required. To register go to www.brooklynparentcenter.eventbrite.com.

WOMEN'S HEALTH Continued from page 16 partnerships with other agencies in the Caribbean region. In particular, CWHA has established projects with HIV centers in Trinidad & Tobago, thereby serving as the first link on the circulatory migration chain to many who arrive here as new residents.

In one of its most recent initiatives, CWHA has produced an empowerment and mentorship symposium for girls ages 10-19 years old. It’s called: Who Runs the World? Girls! The symposium is aimed at introducing participants and their families to local resources designed to empower girls and facilitate improvements in academic achievement. The goal of the ongoing group seminars is to foster healthy behaviors and lifestyle choices and engage girls in interactive activities that build and encourage wholesome relationships with women and other girls.

With programs and services that help its constituents with difficulties involving Medicaid/health insurance, maternal and child health, domestic violence, HIV/ AIDS, immigration and teens, CWHA serves as an urban problem solver, creating innovative solutions to community issues with a focus on breaking the cycle of poverty.

The agency, which is also accredited by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, is widely acclaimed and recognized for its excellence in service delivery and the quality, breadth and impact of its work.

May 2012 The Positive Community

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MWANDIKAJI K. MWANAFUNZI THE WAY AHEAD

40 Days—Christ’s Earthly Resurrection Walk n my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. —Acts 1:1-3 (New International Version) You are probably reading this column during or shortly after the 40 days following the April 2012 celebration of Resurrection Sunday (Easter). This is a great time to study Jesus Christ’s appearances and utterances that occurred after God raised Him from the dead. This column hopefully can help guide that study.

Listed below, more or less chronologically, are Biblically recorded salient events that occurred in Judea and Galilee during the 40 days following Christ’s resurrection.

I

Resurrection Morning Women followers of Jesus discover that His tomb is empty.

(Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:1-6; Luke 24:1-7; John 20:1) An angel, then Jesus instructs the women to inform the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. (Matthew 28:7, 9-10; Mark 16:7; John) The women go and inform the apostles. (Matthew 28;8; Luke 24:8-10; John 20:2) Peter and John go to the tomb and confirm that it is empty. (Luke 24:11-12; John 20:3-10).

Mary Magdalene converses with two angels at the tomb.

(John 20:11-13) Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene. (John 20:14-18) Jesus tells Mary Magdalene: “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”—John 20:17 (New American Standard Bible) Mary Magdalene informs the disciples that she has seen Jesus and what He said. (John 20:18)

Later During Resurrection Sunday Jesus appears to Simon. (Luke 24:33-34) Jesus converses with two of his followers walking to Emmaus village. (Luke 24:13-32).

The two followers return to Jerusalem to inform the disciples that they have seen the Lord. (Luke 24:33-35)

Evening of Resurrection Sunday Jesus appears before the apostles in Jerusalem behind locked doors. (Luke 24: 36-53; John 20:19-23) Jesus shows the apostles His hands, feet, and side. (Luke 24:39-40; John 20:20) So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the

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Father sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit….” —John 20:21-22 (NASB) Jesus leads the apostles to Bethany and ascends into heaven. (Luke 24:50-53)

Some Time Later Thomas, who was absent when the resurrected Christ appeared before the other apostles, says he would not believe unless he touched the nail and spear imprints.

(John 20:24-25)

Eight Days Later Jesus again appears before his disciples, this time while Thomas is present, and allows Thomas to touch the holes in His hands and side. “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaims. Jesus replies, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are those who did not see, and yet believed.”

(John 20:26-29; NASB).

Jesus’ Disciples Go From Jerusalem to Galilee “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.” (Matthew 28:16)

In Galilee The resurrected Christ appears to seven disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. (John 21:1-23) At the Sea of Galilee, Jesus instructs Peter to “Feed my sheep,” i.e. Christ’s followers. (John 21:15-17) Jesus meets with his disciples at a mountain in Galilee, where He issues the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”—Matthew 28:18-20 (New Revised Standard Version)

Back in Jerusalem, 40 Days After the Resurrection: Jesus commands the apostles to wait in Jerusalem to soon be “baptized by the Holy Spirit.” Then Christ re-issues the Great Commission, with emphasis on the most immediate witnessing locations. (Acts 1:4-8) Jesus is taken up into heaven. (Acts 1:9-11) Pentecost occurs about 10 days later.

So after the crucifixion, Christ did more than just get up.

His post-Resurrection commands and actions set the direction and tone for the 2,000+ years of spreading the Gospel that have followed.

Save this study guide. Hopefully, it will assist your Bible reading during this and future Resurrection seasons.

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GOOD NEWS FROM THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

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The Last Word

May 2012

BY R.L. WITTER

Vol. 12, No. 5

Publisher Adrian A. Council, Sr. Editor-in-Chief Jean Nash Wells Associate Editor R. L. Witter Sales Angela Ridenour Adrian Council, Jr. NGS Communications, Inc. Satori MPR Church/Community Affairs Coordinator Faith Jackson Contributing Writers Sonja Gracy Dr. Phillip Bonaparte Linda Armstrong Mwandikaji K. Mwanafunzi g.r. mattox Rosemary Sinclair Patricia Baldwin Rev. Theresa Nance Rev. Reginald T. Jackson Herb Boyd Glenda Cadogan Toni Parker Helene Fox Rev. Dr. Joanne Noel Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood William Parrish Jeanne Parnell Photographers Bob Gore Wali A. Muhammad Seitu Oronde Rev. Dr. William L. Watkins, Jr. Darryl Hall Vincent Bryant Donovan Gopie Linda Pace Hubert Williams Art Direction & Layout Penguin Design Group Martin Maishman The Positive Community Corp.

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All Rights Reserved. This publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced, stored in a computerized or other retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means whatsoever without the prior written permission of The Positive Community Corporation. Any opinions expressed herein are solely the opinions of the writer(s) and not necessarily those of The Positive CommunityTM, its management or staff. The Positive CommunityTM reserves the right to retain all materials and does not assume reponsibility for unsolicited materials.

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HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL t’s May! Spring has sprung, schools are winding down the academic year and graduates are donning caps and gowns at high schools, colleges and universities across America.

While many of us are thinking about what we are serving at that graduation cookout, pondering the finances of sending our children to school next fall, or hoping our recent graduates will find work and not become part of the “boomerang generation,” I’m asking you to think a bit further ahead.

Let’s talk about November. It’ll be here before we know it. We’ll be wondering where the summer went and reminiscing on the days of Indian summer in November. We’ll also be choosing an American president, one who will govern our nation for the next four years and hopefully, support our interests and needs as African Americans.

One month before the election, the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear arguments both for and against an incredibly important subject, Affirmative Action. Signed into law as Executive Order 11246 by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, Affirmative Action sought to help right some of the many wrongs that slavery, Jim Crow, racism and discrimination did to black people in America.

Women and other minorities were added by legislation in 1968 and benefitted from it as well, if not more so.

Affirmative Action aimed to level the playing field by admitting women and people of color into schools and employment that had until then been off limits and out of reach for them.

According to American lore, no longer were women relegated to positions as secretaries and receptionists, or black people to positions of subservience. Through higher education and better employment, people beyond white males could finally say “the sky is the limit” and lay claim to the American dream.

But as we all know, a law cannot and does not change people’s minds, hearts or values. Nearly 50 years later, racism still abounds. While the law

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requires employers to “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex or national origin,” it doesn’t enforce itself and for some, it just means they have to be more careful not to leave a paper trail of their discrimination. While it isn’t perfect, Affirmative Action has benefitted many African Americans and laid the foundation for the security and prosperity many of us enjoy.

Fast forwarding to October, there is concern that with the current configuration of justices on the Supreme Court, Affirmative Action might be ruled as unconstitutional and become a thing of the past. In a racial climate more akin to 1950 than 2012, nine people will determine the fate of millions in a decision that could effectively strike down legal protection from racism and discrimination in education and employment. Historically, this is the Court that made “separate but equal” the law of the land in 1896 via Plessy v. Ferguson. Currently, this is the Court that in 2009 upheld Indiana’s voter identification laws and essentially disenfranchised people without driver’s licenses, mainly the poor, the elderly and minorities.

And how did these nine people find themselves in the position to wield so much power over American law and society? There is only one way to get there, they were appointed to the Supreme Court by a U.S. president.

Five of the nine were appointed by conservative Republican presidents and four of those five have served more than 20 years on the Court. If, by chance, any of them were to retire in the next four years, who would you want to appoint a successor?

Before you can vote, you have to register. Do not wait until the last minute. Register now and vote in the upcoming local elections. Choose people who will support your values and causes, and who will support your candidate for president. Take action. See you in November. www.thepositivecommunity.com

The Positive Community’s

Great Countdown to Freedom The Grand Jubilee

n one year, America will observe the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation—the sesquicentennial commemo-

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ration. From the date of January 1, 1863 through January 1, 2013 we, as a group are blessed with an enormous opportunity to measure, assess and define our American journey, our claim on the American Dream.

Below is a cultural narrative—our story—an oral history, a brief presentation of our deep collective experience that dates back

to before this nation’s founding: The Cultural Narrative African Americans are a unique people with a peculiar history in this land. Brought to these shores in chains from Africa as slaves in the early 1600s, our people toiled and suffered as captives in brutal bondage for a quarter of a millennium (250 years).

On January 1st 1863, two years into the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, became law, signaling an end to slavery. On that day, the African American community of the United States of America was born.

One hundred years later, in August, 1963, at the height of the civil rights movement, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial as he led hundreds of thousands to a “March on Washington” seeking an end to discrimination and Jim Crow segregation in the South. It was a demand for full citizenship rights for the people in what has been called “The Second Emancipation.”

Forty years after Martin Luther King’s tragic assassination in 1968, America elected its first black president, Barack Obama (2008).

In one hundred years between the first and “second emancipation,” in the midst of bitter persecution, humiliation, lynching and the denial of basic human rights, the resiliency of the African American spirit continued to shine brightly in religion, invention, sports and in the creative arts—music, fashion, dance, language, literature and theater. Indeed, original American art forms and a popular culture which has become the envy of the world were founded upon the souls of a forlorn people! And that is our story-the Truth, Beauty and Goodness of a loving and gifted race revealed!

An Extraordinary History Ours is an extraordinary history of trial, tribulation and triumph that we must never forget! This is the story that we must tell our children and be ever remembered by the young and the old. We the people, descendants of the Emancipation Proclamation, must tell our story to each other reminding ourselves, over and over again of the great, noble struggle and sacrifices of those who came before us.

This is our story, our cultural narrative, our Grand Jubilee and springboard into a great and prosperous future—a vision of hope and progress; health and wholeness; peace and goodwill!!

Stay tuned to The Positive Community magazine and online www.thepositivecommunity.com for features and updates on news, church events, concerts, and other activities leading up to January 1, 2013—the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation—our Great Countdown to Freedom: The Grand Jubilee!!

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