Pride Magazine 2022 - Women's Issue

March-April 2022

The Women’s Issue

Charlotte’s African-American Magazine

Influential Women in Charlotte

Blazing trails and leading the way

Pregnancy and Homicide Black women are at higher risk

Fighting Food Insecurity in Grier Heights

Teen creates food pantries for community

Hattitude

The Story Behind Alma Adams’ Signature Style

February 5–May 8, 2022

The exhibition is organized by Aperture Foundation, New York and Kwame S. Brathwaite. The exhibition Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite and the accompanying Aperture publication are made possible, in part, with generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Photographic Arts Council Los Angeles.

Major Sponsors

The Cathleen and Ray McKinney Exhibition Fund

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Reynolda House Museum of American Art 250 Reynolda Rd. Winston-Salem, N.C. Kwame Brathwaite, Sikolo Brathwaite, African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS), Harlem, circa 1968; from Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful (Aperture, 2019). Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles.

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Cre Cr eating oppor opportunitie tunitiess to to thrive thrive The vital perspectives and contributions of women, and all our diverse teammates, make us better.

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e tt o l r Cha

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March – April 2022

Departments 8 From the Publisher 10 Notable Names 11 By Faith 12 Book Review 48 FYI News & Notes

Health 18 H omicide

Rates for Pregnant Women Black women are at higher risk

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36 E ncouraging

Breastfeeding How history hinders breastfeeding among Black women

44 S eniors

and Cognitive Abilities Why lifelong learning is ideal for seniors

46 N urse

Madie Maddox Smith Mecklenburg County’s public health hero

Log on to pridemagazineonline.com for more features.

Features Hattitude The history of Alma Adams’ hats

22 H ome4Me

and Healing Vine Harbor Two organizations lift up young women

25 C harlotte’s

Influential Women Leading the way in our community

30 I nventors

Hall of Fame Ophthalmologist Dr. Patricia Bath is inducted

33 The

Art of Omolará McColl Center artistin-residence explores her heritage •

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41 The

Joy of Writing and Cooking Novelist and cook Andria Gaskins does both well

34 Free

Food Pantries Grier Heights teen provides food for her community

38 Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Library Pioneer Library named for literacy advocate Allegra Westbrooks

On the Cover

Photo courtesy of Alma Adams

14 G reat

U.S. Rep. Alma Adams represents North Carolina’s 12th congressional district

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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Michelle Breland Jude A Friend of Pride Magazine and PEEP

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Charlotte’s African-American Magazine

CEO/Publisher Dee Dixon

Editor

Alicia Benjamin

Copy Editor

Sonja Whitemon

Lead Writer Angela Lindsay

Creative Director Larry Preslar

Design & Production SPARK Publications www.SPARKpublications.com

Distribution Watch Dog Entertainment®

©

Account Executive Nikelle Fesperman

Public Relations Nepherterra Estrada

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Pride Magazine reserves the right to deny any advertisement, listing or feature that does not meet Pride Magazine standards or that is outside the scope or mission of our magazine. Pride Magazine assumes no responsibility for information, products, services, or statements made by advertisers or editorial contributors.

Pride Magazine prints with soy ink.

Vol. 30 No. 2 March-April 2022 All rights reserved for PRIDE Communications Inc. Find us on Facebook: Facebook.com/PrideMagazineNC Find us on Instagram: @pridemagazinenc

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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FromTheCEO

I Loved Visiting Savannah!

By Dee Dixon

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M

y love of history as I’ve aged is exhilarating when paired with travel.

No matter where I go, I want to learn about the history of that place. Since international travel is still a bit dicey right now, deciding to visit Savannah during the Thanksgiving holiday was a no-brainer for me – it’s the oldest city in Georgia, it’s not very far from Charlotte and from a historical perspective, it’s a behemoth.

My flight (yes, I flew) took all of one hour and 12 minutes, LOL, so I was refreshed and ready to rumble as I fetched a cab to ferry me to my hotel, the Andaz Savannah in the Plant Riverside District. My first order of business, of course, was to check out my room, which was great, and then walk about the area. I was surprised to see quite a few tourists doing the same, enjoying the quaint shops and restaurants in the nearby City Market.

My next order of business was to eat, so I chose 22 Square Restaurant located inside the hotel. The name of the restaurant intrigued me as much as the food. I pondered the significance of that name as I ate, but it made no sense until the tour guide on the Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley the next day explained. You see, the founder of Savannah, General James Oglethorpe, laid out the city in a grid pattern of squares which served as town meeting places — parks, really.

Twenty-two of the original 24 squares, mostly named after historic figures, remain to this day. I learned an awful lot about Savannah’s unique history on this trolley tour.

Needless to say, there are a trillion things to do in Savannah, including viewing the beautiful Gothic architecture, visiting historical sites and museums, such as the founder of the Girls Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low’s birthplace and the First African Baptist Church, which is the oldest Black Church in North America.

You can also shop ‘til you drop in Savannah, all while sipping on your

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favorite “beverage,” if you know what I mean. Shows, nightlife, festivals, beaches, biking — you name it — Savannah has it all.

With only three days of vacay, however, I couldn’t do it all. So, of course, I decided to get my Black History appetite satisfied via the Footprints of Savannah Walking Tour led by Ms. Vaughnette Goode-Walker.

This tour is a must, if you plan to visit Savannah. It is well researched and covers the history of slavery, which is a crucial part of the city’s history. This tour also introduced me to the Blackowned art shops: Sabree’s Gallery of the Arts and the Alix Baptiste Art Gallery. This was perfect, as I always strive to purchase a piece of art from wherever I travel and ended up buying a hand-made metallic wreath from the Baptiste Gallery. The Savannah Museum of history was great and another special activity for me was dining at Belford’s Seafood and Steaks restaurant, one of Savannah’s Black-

Top left: Dee at the Alice Baptist Gallery in Savannah; Top right: Footprints of Savannah Walking Tour guide, Vaughnette Goode-Walker; Bottom left: Dee’s meal at the BLACK-owned Belford’s Seafood and Steaks restaurant in Savannah; Bottom right: Savannah’s River Street cruise ship

owned restaurants. And let me not forget River Street, which took me a half day to explore and still, I didn’t see it all. There are more than 75 boutiques, galleries, artists’ studios, restaurants and an open-air market located on River Street which runs alongside the Savannah River, where dozens of container ships also pass by daily.

What a great time I spent with “me, myself, and I” in Savannah! We definitely plan to return soon.

NotableNames

By Ryan Kouame

JOHN HAM

John F. Ham is the new director of the Center for Professional Services with the National Institute of Minority Economic Development. In this role, he is responsible for developing public and private collaborations that benefit marginalized communities by creating supplier inclusion and diversity programs. Ham also oversees the delivery of graduate-level business education designed to help strengthen and grow minority-owned businesses.

“I am excited about the opportunity to leverage my experience working in economic mobility, economic development, fundraising, partnerships and business development,” says Ham. Ham lives by the mantra that giving back creates a virtuous cycle that makes everyone successful. This is evident through his engagement and participation on several local boards that include the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission, the McCrorey YMCA Board, and the Advisory Board for Piedmont Health Services. Ham is a native of Greensboro where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration at North Carolina A&T State University.

NICOLE BYERS

Nicole Byers is the branch manager at Chase Bank on Beatties Ford Rd. In her current role, Byers will focus on helping consumers in the region open accounts, manage their finances and make large purchases. The branch will also provide financial health workshops, community events, and cooperative programming in coordination with Johnson C. Smith University.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this branch in the neighborhood where I grew up. I know this area well, and I know that by being here, we are part of the community with a vested interest in its growth, equity, and financial stability,” said Byers.

Byers is a graduate of West Charlotte High School, class of 1996, and a former resident of the Beatties Ford Road community.

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ASHLEY CUMBERBATCH

Ashley Cumberbatch is the district manager for the Charlotte market at U.S. Bank.

Cumberbatch is an experienced financial services industry leader known for implementing strategic plans, developing talent, and optimizing the overall customer experience.

In her current role, Cumberbatch is responsible for leading the retail branch network and digital team. Since 2019, she has helped successfully lead the bank's expansion into this new market through collaborations across business lines.

Cumberbatch is passionate about making a positive impact on her local community. She is an advisory member of Charlotte’s Habitat for Humanity and serves on the board of Alexander Children's Foundation, which focuses on creating awareness of mental health issues for children within the community.

Cumberbatch received her bachelor’s degree from Howard University.

RAI GLOVER

Rai Glover is the new market president for Truist Financial in Charlotte. Glover brings more than 23 years of banking experience to Truist and will be responsible for the commercial banking team covering the Charlotte region.

Prior to joining Truist, Glover worked for Bank of America and has held nine different positions including senior vice president where she managed a team of contribution managers from New York to Florida and contributed more than $35 million in grants to nonprofit organizations.

Glover earned her master’s degree in education and bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina. She is committed to civic involvement and responsibility and is often referred to as a “Rai of Honesty, Optimism, Positivism, and Excitement (HOPE).” Glover serves on the Charlotte Regional Visitors Association (CRVA) and has served on more than 30 boards and task forces throughout her career, such as the Women’s Leadership Initiative and the United Way. She is also a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and a member of the National Speaker Association. P

ByFaith

God’s Powerful Provision for Mothers

fizkes / Shutterstock.com

By Rev. Dr. Dwayne Bond

pixelheadphoto digtalskilet / Shutterstock.com

M

otherhood is a beautiful thing.

It is a tremendous gift to the mother herself, to her children and to her family. The sacrificial provisions that a mom makes for her kids is priceless. Whether a child enters a family through birth or adoption, a mother gives of herself from the time that a child arrives and even into adulthood. From the early years, she provides, serves, nurtures, guides and trains with the hope that one day her children will mature, become responsible and make a significant impact and a positive influence on society.

While motherhood is typically rewarding, it can also be quite difficult. Challenges can stem from the fatigue of caring for a newborn, the ups and downs of training, the navigation of sibling tensions or the discouragement that comes with parenting a strong-willed or defiant child. Walking through the complexity of the teen years can also be unnerving as can the thoughtful mentoring of a young adult child.

Depending on her marital status and the strength of her support system, the weight and the responsibility of parenting can be overwhelming. Where does an overwhelmed mother turn for help, support or relief? She can turn to God in His Word.

In 2 Kings 4:1-7, there is a story of a mother who stumbled into a desperate and heart-wrenching situation as she faced the possibility of losing her kids. Her husband’s

unexpected death left her in debt and without money to pay her creditors. She was discouraged and struggled to figure out how to prevent her two sons from being sold into slavery in exchange for her debt.

Her situation seemed bleak.

What does a mother do during those times when she feels alone and perplexed?

How does she navigate within those seasons? In 2 Kings 4:1-2, God in His grace used a godly man named Elisha, who her husband knew prior to his death. God sent him to help her. Elisha was safe. He was known for his heart for God and people.

He was an example of a time-tested and trustworthy man. She explained to him that the creditors had threatened to take her children if her debts weren’t paid. Elisha asked the woman what resources she had in her home. The woman shared that she had a jar of oil. Wow! Sometimes God will bring people into our lives who not only help us, but also have a vision for our future that we fail to see.

Since this mother did not know the value of the oil, God used Elisha to show her. Elisha told her to borrow as many empty vessels as she could from all her neighbors. He then told her to go inside of home, to shut the door and to have her sons pour the oil into the empty vessels. He said that when one was full, to set it aside and keep filling up the vessels. She continued to fill the vessels up until the oil stopped

flowing. This mother listened to the counsel of a godly and time-tested influencer who helped her leverage all that she had in her possession for the greater good of her family. She humbly followed his wisdom which included relying on other people for support.

After she told Elisha that the oil had stopped flowing, he told her to sell the oil and pay the debt that she owed. He told her that after she sold the oil that their family would be able to live on the rest. This widowed mother was led by God to godly counsel. She took heed by leveraging what she possessed and watched God bless her efforts as He provided for her family for the rest of their lives.

It takes a posture of humility and a willingness to trust God to navigate through the difficulties of life. But thank God that He knows what we need and how to meet our needs. If you’re a mother or a woman in any season of life and you are wondering how to navigate this pandemic with limited resources or with complex decisions before you, I pray that God gives you wisdom, makes you alert to His active hands and kind heart and provides for you abundantly.

He is faithful. He is present. He does know.

He does care. He can provide. And He will bring you through. P The Rev. Dwayne Bond is the lead pastor of Wellspring Church.

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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BookReview

By Angela Haigler

Books By and About Black Women Leaders

“Black Roses: Odes Celebrating Powerful Black Women”

by Harold Green III, Illustrated by Melissa Koby Black women are making history every day. Harold Green, III believes the time for celebrating them is now.

Green gained fame by writing love letters in verse for the visionary women who are making a difference in this age. Now in this remarkable collection, Green brings together many of these popular odes with neverbefore-seen works featuring full-color illustrations by Melissa Koby. “Black Roses” is divided into five sections — advocates, curators, innovators, luminaries, trailblazers — reflecting the diversity of Black women’s achievements and the depth of their reach.

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“Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker”

“The Last Suspicious Holdout: Stories”

by Alice Walker and Valerie Boyd (editor)

How have the lives of everyday African American families changed from late 1980 to the eve of former President Barack Obama’s inauguration? Ladee Hubbard explores just that in this short story collection. After the success of The Rib King, Hubbard has returned with another deep dive into the lives of Black people. Taking place in an unnamed “sliver of Southern suburbia,” each of these exceptional works of short fiction explores how the criminal justice system, education, healthcare and the war on drugs impacts Black lives in myriad of ways.

What happens when a literary legend and a literary great join forces? A literary masterpiece is born! The amazing collaboration is between Valerie Boyd, the author of Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston and critically acclaimed author Alice Walker. Boyd brings forth her talents to edit Walker’s most intimate thoughts and revelations. Through the journals of Walker, readers will have unprecedented access to the development of one of the country’s most prolific writers. As an activist and writer, Walker marched during the Civil Rights Movement, experienced the Women’s Movement, traveled to Africa and had many other life experiences that will be devoured by fans of both writers in this rare compilation.

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by Ladee Hubbard

“Trailblazers, Black Women Who Helped Make America Great: American Firsts/ American Icons, Volume 3”

by Edited by Gabrielle David Multitalented artist and publisher Gabrielle David presents Volume 3 of her groundbreaking series that showcases the contributions of women from the fields of literature, business, military, film, music and television production. These women are true trailblazers, having contributed firsts that have paved the way for generations. Gabrielle successfully examines narratives that portray the unique perspective of Black women, whose voices are often silenced or ignored.

Readers interested in further study will find ample resources presented in simplicity. P

Hattitude:

By Angela Lindsay

The Story Behind Alma Adams’ Signature Style

Congresswoman Alma Adams sports one of her more elaborate hats during her 2018 Mad Hatter's luncheon.

U

.S. Rep. Alma Adams, PhD, is almost as well known for wearing her stylish hats as she is for her work representing the 12th congressional district of North Carolina.

With an impressive collection of more than 1,400 hats, she has been collecting headwear of all shapes, fabrics, colors and sizes since she was a young girl. And there’s a story behind each one.

“As a young girl, I grew up wearing hats.

I only owned a few — maybe five or so — and kept them in the top of the closet in hat boxes and wore them only on Sunday or on special occasions,” Adams said.

Being prone to colds and stuffiness as a child, she remembers her grandmother reminding all the children to “cover your noggin and keep the heat inside your body and don't let it go outside the top of your head.” Besides illness prevention, her interest in hats as fashion statements came about organically, recalling that all the women and men in her family wore hats.

“My mother and grandmother and all of my aunts wore them,” she said. “Later in her life, my mother became a preacher in the Pentecostal church, and she always wore hats. I was always fascinated with folks who wore them — even men, especially my favorite uncle Walter who was always dressed in a suit and never left home without his hat.”

Although her family didn't have much growing up (her mother, grandmother and other women in her family performed domestic work), no one went to church without a hat, gloves and stockings. When

Notable Hats Worn

by Alma Adams Photos by Howard Gaither

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Rep. Adams purchased this hat in Israel.

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Congresswoman Adams purchased this sleek hat in Zimbabwe.

Rep. Adams was wearing this hat when she was featured in the book, “Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats.”

she moved from Newark, N.J to attend North Carolina A&T State University, her grandmother's words remained with her, and she started wearing hats every day.

Over the years, Adams’ fascination with unique headgear has increased. “I made them a part of my daily wardrobe,” she said. “Even when I taught for 40 years at Bennett College, I wore berets or tams in my art studio. When I served on the Greensboro City Council for 9 years and in the N.C. House of Representatives for 20 years, I wore a hat every day as an elected official — even in the House Chamber for votes.”

Adams notes, however, that wearing hats on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives isn’t permitted. The rule is “antiquated” and dates back to the 1800s, she said. “I don’t think it was expected that women would be serving in the House, and during that time it was expected that men uncover their heads when entering buildings.”

Adams was featured, along with several other Black women in a book published in 2000, “Crowns Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats” by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry. The congresswoman, who appeared in a photo wearing a black felt Jack McConnell hat with gold studs on the crown and base, said the book holds special significance for her. “I believe it is one of the first biography books with great stories about these women and the first time my hat story appeared in a book.”

When then Governor Mike Easley signed Adams’ minimum wage bill in 2002, Adams was wearing an African style woven purple hat that was open at the top with

Congresswoman Alma Adams wore this African-style hat in 2002 when former N.C. Governer Michael Easley signed her minimum wage bill.

U.S. Rep Alma Adams (right) with one of her 2018 Mad Hatter luncheon guests

Mad Hatter's luncheon attendees don some of their favorite headpieces.

Rep. Adams wore this hat during the signing of the HBCU Future Act bill.

It can say a lot about your personality, confidence and style — and a lot about how you carry yourself.

Wearing hats and head coverings for our people dates as far back as slavery.”

—Alma Adams

Rep. Alma Adams (right) with one of her 2021 Mad Hatter's luncheon guests

The Congresswoman bought this hat in Amsterdam.

Rep. Adams found this elegant headpiece in Paris, France.

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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Two Mad Hatter's luncheon 2018 attendees show off their colorful hats.

Congresswoman Alma Adams hosts this special event each year as a fundraiser for her re-election campaigns.

black banding on the upper crown and included a hat pin with an African design.

“The governor joked with me during the bill signing at the capital and said I worked so hard on the bill I blew the top off the hat!” she shared.

Another of her favorites — a wool Oscar de la Renta with a red top and leopard base and crown — was the hat she was wearing when she was arrested in 1996.

“One Sunday after church, I was protesting at the Kmart store in Greensboro with a group of African American ministers as we were trying to get a better and fair wage for workers in the distribution center,” Adams said.

“When we arrived downtown to get mugshots, the officer told me to take off my hat. I was reluctant and asked him, ‘Do you know who I am? No one will recognize me without my hat.’ He said it didn't matter, so I took the photograph without my hat.”

Her constituents certainly know who she is. She said they love her hats and always recognize her when she wears them. “They fondly refer to me as ‘The Hat Lady’ and usually compliment me and always look to determine what hat I will be wearing, especially to special events.”

Years of traveling around the world has helped fuel Adams’ passion for hats.

She’s collected hats from Senegal, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Paris, London and Amsterdam. However, the most interesting place she said she purchased a hat was

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This guest is giving us purple hattitude at Rep. Alma Adams’ 2018 Mad Hatter's Luncheon.

Do you know who I am?

No one will recognize me without my hat.”

—Alma Adams in Israel. She said, “I was on a tour, broke away from the group, got a cab, went to the hat store and had several shipped back to the U.S. and then caught back up with the group.”

Several of Adams’ most cherished hats were received from families of her hat-wearing friends who passed away.

She keeps them in her collection and sometimes wears them in their honor.

She has also channeled her hat hobby into an annual event called The Adams Mad Hatter's Annual Luncheon and Hat Auction which she started 27 years ago while living in Greensboro to raise funds for her re-election campaigns. She encourages everyone who attends the event to wear their favorite hat.

Because of COVID, the 2021 event with the theme, “The Great Hatsby,” was a hybrid function with 100 people onsite at the Le Méridien Charlotte hotel and 300 people on Zoom. Adams said, prior to COVID, attendance had exceeded 450 people.

During the event, Adams hosts 3-4 short Mad Hatter’s hat parades which allow everyone who would like to showcase their hat to participate. Prizes are awarded for most debonair, most unique, best Sunday/

go to meeting, and most regal. Someone is also chosen as “The Baddest Mad Hatter in the House.”

Adams has an entire room in her Plaza Midwood residence dedicated solely to storage for her hats. Stored on shelves, mannequin heads, in drawers and on metal hat stands, the room is her last stop, after she gets dressed, to pick out a hat for whatever outfit she’s wearing.

When traveling to Washington, D.C. for congressional business, she matches her headgear and outfits before leaving home and generally keeps 10 or so hats in her D.C. apartment as well.

The right hat can offer the final word on your fashion statement and communicate a lot more, according to Adams.

“It can say a lot about your personality, confidence and style — and a lot about how you carry yourself,” she said. “Wearing hats and head coverings for our people dates as far back as slavery. Black women and men laboring in the fields and the hot sun all day wore hats, scarfs and headwraps to provide protection and shade. Wearing hats to church as I was taught to do, demonstrates a show of respect and homage to your faith, the Lord and His house.” P

S P OT L I G H T

Erica Moore, New Director of DEI at Charlotte Latin School Charlotte Latin School announces its next Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Erica Moore.

Previously at the Mary Institute and Saint Louis County Day School (MICDS), Moore served as the Director of Faculty Equity & Inclusion and Director of Student Activities. She begins her role at Charlotte Latin in July 2022.

At MICDS, Moore established a diversity strategy and an overall implementation plan, developed diversity training for the school community, and mentored and supported students, families, and alumni. She created comprehensive equity and inclusion programming for faculty and staff, supported recruitment and retention efforts of faculty of color, and maintained an active calendar of local, regional, and national learning opportunities for faculty. About her work, Moore said,

“The work of diversity, equity, and inclusion is a calling for me. The intentional efforts Charlotte Latin is making to develop the work in all parts of the community inspire me. I am thrilled to join the school and its efforts.”

North Carolina is not new to Moore as she spent much of her youth here. Her impressive résumé reflects a strong commitment to her community through service, outreach, and leadership that she brings to the Queen City as well.

“I look forward to getting to know Charlotte Latin School and the amazing people that make up this community,” Moore said.

Latin Head of School Chuck Baldecchi said, “Erica truly loves DEI work. Her extensive experience at MICDS and dedication to her area of expertise makes her an excellent fit as our next Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Erica’s enthusiasm and professionalism will help Latin move our DEI efforts forward.”

Call today to learn more about the benefits of a Latin education.

CharlotteLatin.org

|

704.846.7207

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Get your FREE brochure!

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March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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Homicide is a top cause of death for pregnant women in the U.S.

BLACK WOMEN ARE AT HIGHER RISK

By Angela Lindsay

O

f all the concerns a pregnant woman may face as she navigates the months leading up to her child’s birth, violence at the hands of a domestic partner is one that is alarmingly on the rise.

According to a study published last October in the medical journal “Obstetrics & Gynecology,” homicide was the leading cause of death for pregnant and postpartum women in the U.S. in 2018 and 2019. The Tulane University researchers who wrote the study found that U.S. women who are pregnant or were pregnant in the past 42 days (the post-partum period) die by homicide at more than twice the rate of the leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths such as bleeding or placental disorders.

Researchers have concluded that this increase in homicide deaths among pregnant and recently pregnant women is due, in large part, to violence by intimate partners, a Johns Hopkins School of Nursing scientist, Phyllis Sharps told the science journal “Nature” last November.

Pregnant and postpartum Black women and young women and girls between 10 to 24, are at the greatest risk of being killed, according to 2018-2019 data from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The Tulane University researchers found that pregnant and postpartum Black women in the U.S. have an almost three times higher risk of dying by homicide than women who are not pregnant — the highest increase reported among any racial or ethnic group.

Aaron Kivisto, clinical psychologist at the University of Indianapolis and lead author of a study on Black women and partner violence in the “Journal of Interpersonal Violence,” last year, said his team “found that pregnant Black women were eight times more

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likely to be killed by their intimate partner than non-pregnant Black women.”

Karen Parker, executive director of Safe Alliance, said, “Violence may begin or escalate during pregnancy, and survivors have shared anecdotal reasons they think the violence has occurred or increased.” She added, “We often hear that perpetrators express frustration over supporting a first or another baby or are stressed over an unplanned pregnancy. Also, some abusers become jealous when a pregnant partner receives increased attention from others (family, friends, medical providers) or they sense they are losing control over their partner because of Karen Parker the pregnancy.”

This story is an all-too familiar one for Ashaki Ali, a local intimate partner violence (IPV) survivor and a member of the Domestic Violence Speakers Bureau.

“Personally, I experienced physical abuse while pregnant and it was all about my partner wanting absolute power. I felt the situation becoming violent and attempted to leave,” Ali said. “So, he attacked me, choking me into submission.”

Bea Coté, founder and executive director of IMPACT LLC and Step Up To Family Safety, says Ashaki Ali other reasons for the violence may include loss of power to make decisions, jealousy (fear that the mother will focus more on the child and less on him), being thrown into a commitment he didn't want and exposing the relationship, particularly if it was an extramarital or secret affair.

Many pregnant women seek help through Safe Alliance’s programs, and approximately 70 percent of the people they serve are women of color, Parker said. Even if the abuse doesn’t result in homicide, it can produce devastating and long-lasting consequences.

“Intimate partner violence is a risk factor for miscarriage ... and all forms of intimate partner violence contribute to a myriad of medical problems, including exacerbation of underlying chronic diseases and mental illness, such as PTSD, anxiety and depression,” explained Dr. Jessica Salzman, an emergency medicine specialist at Atrium Health-Carolinas Medical Center.

What makes matters worse is the fact that Black women are less likely to trust law enforcement and other institutions, such as medical and mental health facilities, social services and the court system. This is due to the history of violence, oppression and inequity that has been committed against black and brown bodies through such institutions, according Elyse to Elyse Hamilton-Childres, prevention and Hamilton-Childres intervention services director at Mecklenburg County Community Support Services.

There are several local services available for both emergency and longer-term needs. Women in immediate danger should call the police, since they can intervene and arrest a perpetrator, and also help survivors and their children get to a hospital, shelter or another safe place, said Parker.

“Otherwise, a good first step is to call the Greater Charlotte Hope Line — 980-771-HOPE (4673),” Parker added. Advocates are

available 24/7 to listen and offer resource information and referrals to organizations that can help with shelter and housing, legal issues, trauma counseling and other types of support. Most resources are confidential and available free of charge, she said.

Mecklenburg County Community Support Services offers free domestic violence counseling for adult survivors and children impacted by domestic violence. The organization also offers a statecertified domestic violence intervention program, New Options for Violent Actions, to help abusive partners understand domestic violence and replace harmful behaviors with healthy behaviors, said Hamilton-Childres. In addition, local law enforcement and victim service providers partner to implement the Lethality Assessment Protocol LAP countywide which facilitates conversation between law enforcement and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) victims about the victim’s level of risk and matches them with victim advocates.

Shawnice Stratford, a local IPV survivor and also a member of the Domestic Violence Speakers Bureau, provides this encouragement: “It may not look or feel like you have many options, but God didn't bring you this far to abandon you now. Seek help and resources. I believe that freedom is worth fighting for. Yes, you could die trying to escape, but you can also die at the hands of your partner. Ultimately the choice is yours to make.”

To contact Safe Alliance, visit www.safealliance.org/. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911. For immediate assistance regarding domestic violence, sexual assault or parenting issues, call the 24/7 Greater Charlotte Hope Line at 980-771-4673. P

Your Dreams Are Our Business

htb.com 220209-928681042

Personal | Mortgage Commercial | Business

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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BRENDA HAYDEN

2022 Chair, Real Estate Building Industry Coalition, First female African American President, Canopy Realtor® Association/ Canopy MLS, 2019 What made you decide to get into real estate?

A friend said I’d be good at it. At the time, I was a young professional in traditional corporate environments and was having a relative successful career. I realized that my academic achievements and years of professional knowledge and dedication would be measured and rewarded according to the corporate structure. As a goal-oriented individual with a desire for autonomy, I decided to bet on me in an industry where your only limitation is you.

Any advice for women who are in real estate or considering the career? Know your strengths; build your business around your strengths. This is a business; treat it as such. Surround yourself with people that will support you, understanding that sometimes that won’t be your family or friends. Get a coach and mentor.

What tips would you give people looking to buy or invest in real estate? Hire an experienced, trusted professional to guide you through the process. The real estate market is ever evolving. Well-meaning advice from associates who purchased or sold a home years ago may not be relevant in today’s market.

Why is being involved with the Association and your community important? I became involved in the Association because I wanted to see more women, specifically black women, represented in real estate — not just as salespeople but as leaders in the industry. I didn’t see that representation when I became a Realtor® in 2001, so I got involved at the Association in the hopes that others would have a role model and feel a sense of inclusion.

Charlotte is my home and community is important. It’s at the core of what we do as Realtors®. When people buy homes, they often look to us to be knowledgeable about what is happening civically, culturally, and economically.

We all have a responsibility to serve and give back to our community in our individual way.

Now is the time to begin your real estate career.

Start and enhance your real estate career under our canopy.

Canopy Real Estate Institute, formerly Mingle School of Real Estate, has grown into more than a school. We’re a real estate institute providing all the coverage you need for your career development and professional growth.

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canopyreinstitute.com | 704-372-2984

CHARISMA SMITH

BRENDA ARMSTRONG

2022 Secretary, Canopy Realtor® Association/ Canopy MLS Executive Committee

2022 Chair, Diversity and Inclusion Alliance, Canopy Realtor® Association

What made you decide to get into real estate?

I fell in love with real estate after working on my own home purchase at age 23.

Something drew me to it — I was in-tune with the whole process. My Realtor® even suggested that I should go into real estate. It was not until years later my sorority sister Janelle, now my beloved business partner, encouraged me to get my license; that was all the prompting I needed. It brings me joy to be able to serve people by helping them with one of their largest transactions. I want to be the person that helps them create and sustain generational wealth.

What made you decide to get into real estate?

My mother had a portfolio of rental properties and understood the value of real estate. Her passion to purchase and provide housing for her community, including assisting her tenants with purchasing their own homes, taught me the importance of homeownership and inspired me to be an advocate for homeownership in my community.

Any advice for women who are in real estate or considering the career? Just do it! Be fearless, be strong and be courageous on the journey.

If this is something you want to do, do not let anyone’s opinion stop you. Expect endless possibilities and opportunities every day. Women are some of the most resourceful, caring, organized, attention-to-detail multitaskers in the industry.

What tips would you give people looking to buy or invest in real estate? Now is the time to buy a home while interest rates are low, obtaining tax advantages and the opportunity to build generational wealth. Do your research, find a good Realtor® you can trust and pursue the American dream. Becoming a homeowner will change your life. It’s better to pay for your own home through homeownership than to pay for someone else’s through rent.

Why is being involved with the Association and your community important? It’s important to see diversity at all levels. Decisions are made at board levels, and diverse perspectives should be considered; they can change the landscape of ideas and decisions. There are some things board members cannot speak to if they have never experienced it. I can be that voice, helping level the playing field and explaining things from a different perspective. It is also important for people to see someone that looks like them at the board level.

I serve because I love being a servant leader.

It means that I am committed to putting my personal interests last, and the interests of others first. I want to give hope to people in any situation.

Any advice for women who are in real estate or considering the career? Real estate is more than a transaction, it’s a relationship.

Shepherding buyers and sellers through the process requires you to remain level-headed, compassionate and knowledgeable. You should never stop learning and growing to be the best advocate you can be. Being an active member of professional organizations is one of the best investments of your time and money.

What tips would you give people looking to buy or invest in real estate? Your first purchase likely will not only be your own home but also your best investment. Don’t pass up a good purchase because it doesn’t have every feature you want. Making the investment is what’s most important. Investors should understand the importance of a knowledgeable, experienced property manager and hire one or have one on call! So many unexpected situations can arise and an experienced property manager can help reduce your risk from the start and handle difficult situations that inevitably arise.

Why is being involved with the Association and your community important? Being a member of the Association helps stretch and advance your real estate career by providing top-notch education, cutting-edge innovations and systems, community service opportunities and so much more. The Association encourages professional and personal growth and success.

Community involvement for me can be summed up in one of my favorite quotes, which is from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” The Association embodies that small group and works tirelessly to impact our community and world.

Two Charlotte Non-profits Nurture and Support Young Women

By Rosanny Crumpton

Healing Vine Harbor

Home4Me teens learn entrepreneurship by making and selling tote bags.

After sharing their testimonies, women from Healing Vine support each other.

ith personal experience in the foster care system, Donna Lee Reed, founder and executive director of Home4Me, is on a mission. Together with the Home4Me team, they equip teenagers who are aging out of the foster care system and entering adulthood for success.

Teenagers in foster care who have not been adopted are hit with the weight of the world as their 18th birthday draws near, Reed said. By the time they turn 17, the countdown to the end of their already-limited resources begins. Some teens find themselves without a family, without a home and no connections. Reed emphasizes that Home4Me is trying to prevent these teens from becoming homeless and hopeless.

“We don’t consider ourselves a program, we consider ourselves an experience for the teens and an opportunity for them to have family,” said Reed. Home4Me’s core values of connection, consistency, collaboration and commitment are the cornerstone of their impact. “People always say, ‘it takes a village.’” Reed added. “My question is, ‘where is the village when it comes to our teens in foster care? ’” Home4Me partners with historically Black colleges and universities, corporations, health organizations, churches and community organizations to build collaborations and support for teens in foster care. Home4Me is always looking for more individuals and corporate partners to help carry out its mission.

The organization provides resources, programming, mentorships, family-style events, such as annual birthday celebrations, and necessary supplies for teens. Often teenagers in foster care transport their donated and used belongings in trash bags. Home4Me provides teens in need with gift cards and new personal belongings, such as bed-in-a-bag sets, suitcases, or Home4Me college kits. Supplies provided are new and practical items.

Home4Me also offers year-round, structured, life skills development programming called LEG Up On LIFE which helps guide teens in foster care to successful futures, focusing on their specific goals in life.

For more information, visit www.home4me.org.

ealing Vine Harbor (HVH) is transforming lives one woman at a time by serving at-risk women (ages 18 and older) who have aged out of the foster care system. These young women often find themselves homeless, unstable or in potentially dangerous circumstances.

When teens age out of the foster care system, they are “out there with no parents, trying to fend for themselves,” explained Alicia Verdun, an HVH board of directors member. Women sometimes have more challenges than men, often falling to different things like sex trafficking, she said.

Healing Vine Harbor’s mission is to reduce the number of single women living in shelters or unsafe situations, providing a pathway out of poverty to ensure they are self-sufficient.

Tracey Questell, HVH’s executive director and founder, has supported youth, men, and women throughout her 30-year career in human services.

The HVH Board of Directors is working on obtaining a residential facility to house women in emergency situations. This facility would also serve as a space to hold their monthly TEACH (Transforming, Empowering, And Creating Hope) workshops, one of the four programs offered through HVH. Workshops are led by volunteers who have backgrounds in subject matters that vary from housing stability, employment readiness, healthy nutrition and more. Currently, HVH serves more than 300 women annually through its four programs.

Healing Vine Harbor provides one-time emergency financial resources through its Heal & Eradicate Lingering Poverty (HELP) program. Donors have helped with back-rent payments, provided furniture, gift cards, boxes of food and more. HVH’s program, the “Healing Closet” allows participants in need to shop for clothing, housewares, accessories and other necessities from a closet of donated items at no cost to them. Also “Healing Bags” are donated to homeless girls and women. They include various necessary toiletries to help lighten the financial load.

The organization is sustained through volunteers, donors and corporate sponsors. HVH is seeking additional funding and volunteers. “We’re doing some great things,” Questell said. “We just need a little more help so we can do more.”

For more information, visit healingvineharbor.org. P

Photo by Michael Maxwell

Home4Me

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I Am Queen

charlotte A citywide, multiplatform experience that centers on and celebrates the lives, stories, and contributions of Black women in Charlotte.

Written by Hannah Hassan

Directed by Benjamin Endsley Klein

MARCH 6 BELK THEATER AT BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

BlumenthalArts.org • 704.372.1000

SPECIAL SECTION

Influential Women

Leading the Way in Charlotte During Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating and highlighting 11 phenomenal African American women in Charlotte who have achieved great accomplishments and are leading the way in the community.

By John Burton

Judge Aretha Blake is a Certified

Mecklenburg County Juvenile Court Judge. She was first elected in November 2016 in a highly visible, countywide judicial campaign. Judge Blake serves the citizens of Mecklenburg County in Family and Juvenile Court.

To receive this distinction, the St. Johns, South Carolina native completed over 70 hours of specialized training in juvenile delinquency, juvenile abuse, neglect and dependency, substance abuse and other areas in less than a year. Judge Blake has presided over hundreds of juvenile hearings and is committed to using her experience on the Juvenile Court bench to facilitate the efficient implementation of North Carolina’s 2019 “Raise the Age” law. Under this law, 16- and 17-year-olds accused of most crimes are no longer automatically sent to adult court.

A graduate of Florida State University and University of Georgia School of Law, Judge Blake presides over areas in the Mecklenburg County justice system including: juvenile delinquency, juvenile abuse, neglect and dependency, and involuntary commitment hearings. Before her election to the District Court Bench, Judge Blake represented individuals and organizations in state and federal courts in North and South Carolina.

Judge Blake serves in various judicial leadership and volunteer roles, including serving as a volunteer Truancy Court Judge at Whitewater Middle School, Judicial Liaison to the Juvenile Law Section of the Mecklenburg County Bar, and a Judicial Liaison to the Mecklenburg County Youth Coalition which led to securing a $10,000 grant to help provide prosocial activities to youth in foster care.

Judge Blake has been named “Leader in the Law,” and “Emerging Legal Leader,” by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, and 40 Under 40 by the Charlotte Business Journal.

Photo courtesy of JudgeBlake.Com

North Carolina 26th Judicial District Court Judge

President of the CharlotteMecklenburg NAACP

By John Burton

Corine Mack serves as the

president of the Charlotte chapter of the NAACP. Mack, a native New Yorker, said she got her first taste of racism at the prestigious Dalton School in New York City. Following the incident, she heeded her mother’s advice to “always be an example of how blacks are, showing them you are a person of dignity and respect.”

Mack’s parents set an example of community service that planted the seeds for her activism. Her father would bring home crates of food from his longshoreman job to feed several families on their block. Her mother, a nurse, would give money to heroin addicts she suspected was waiting outside a local store to rob people. It was her parents’ influence that motivated her to continue their work in public service. “My main objective is to make lives better for those who feel they have no voice,” Mack said. “Dignity, respect, fairness, love, peace and economic stability for us all, not just the one percent.

Mack worked for the New York Transit System, where she was the first female shop steward and one of the first women to operate a train. In the Transport Workers Union 100, she was the first vice president of Rapid Transit Operations.

When she visited her daughter one Thanksgiving, Mack said she was charmed by the Queen City charm. She moved to Charlotte three months later. Soon after her arrival, Mack continued to advocate for others. She served as a volunteer for a series of nonprofits, including the Crisis Assistance Ministry, but it was the NAACP where she decided to plant herself. There, she worked on such issues as racism, LGTBQ+ and immigration rights. “I believe all people should be treated justly,” Mack said.

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

Photo by T. Ortega Gaines

CORINE MACK

ARETHA BLAKE

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By John Burton

From modest beginnings in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Angelique “Angie”

Vincent-Hamacher has ascended to professional and community heights. A highly regarded attorney with Robinson Bradshaw since 2000, VincentHamacher focuses on employment counseling and alternative dispute resolution.

Vincent-Hamacher is a shareholder and member of the firm’s board of directors. She co-chairs both the firm’s Employment & Labor Practice Group and its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. VincentHamacher is dedicated to improving her community because everyone should have equal access to opportunity and resources, as much as possible, she said.. As a member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority (CMHA) board, Vincent-Hamacher is committed to carrying out CMHA’s original mission of caring for the indigent. Ensuring that the underinsured and uninsured have equal access to quality health care.

Recently, Vincent-Hamacher was selected as New Chair of the CMHA Board of Commissioners.

Vincent-Hamacher has a long list of career accomplishments and milestones including “Best Lawyers in America,” designation as a North Carolina “Super Lawyer” and a Benchmark Litigation “Labor & Employment Star.” She has also been included on Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” and “Dynamic Diversity” lists.

She has served on the boards of the Crisis Assistance Ministry and the South Carolina Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She has also mentored at-risk youth and worked as an Adjunct Professor of Sociology at Clinton College.

Vincent-Hamacher received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Duke University and a Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard Law School.

DEBRA WEEKS CEO of C.W. Williams Community Health Center

By Vanessa Clarke

As the CEO of C.W. Williams Community Health Center for seven

years, Debra Weeks has focused on transforming the way many patients, especially the underserved, receive medical services. The mission of the health center is to provide access to excellent and comprehensive preventative, medical, dental and mental health care to all in Mecklenburg County and surrounding counties, regardless of their inability to pay.

Weeks has used her vast experience as a business consultant to guide C.W. Williams’ expansion, including a $3 million revitalization to the center’s headquarters on Wilkinson Boulevard in West Charlotte.

The support of elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, donor and federal funding, and Weeks’ vision and drive to educate and serve the community has been paramount C.W. Williams’ recent success.

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By John Burton

For more than 25 years at Novant Health, Tanya

Stewart Blackmon has served as president of two medical centers and managed hundreds of professionals, developing an excellent understanding of patient and team member needs. Blackmon is a premier developer of people.

Currently, the Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Novant Health, Blackmon’s passion to cultivate and lead an inclusive and welcoming environment for all stakeholders, including patients, team members, and the larger community has successfully reinforced Novant Health’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Obtaining degrees from North Carolina A&T State University, University of South Carolina and Queens University, Blackmon sees herself as a systems thinker. She leverages her early career in social work to steer culture change while bringing unique expertise that recognizes both the business and people sides of healthcare.

Prior to her current role, Tanya served as President & Chief Operating Officer of both Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center and Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital, where she enhanced market share and financial performance.

In the community, Blackmon is equally as committed.

She has also been a board member of the Mecklenburg Emergency Medical Services Agency Board of Commissioners and the Crisis Assistance Ministry Board of Directors.

Throughout Blackmon’s career, she has been awarded several honors including Hall of Fame Inductee by the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., and Charlotte BusinessWoman of the Year for 2021.

The health center has added medical staff and extended their marketing reach so the community knows they can depend on the healthcare providers at C.W. Williams, Weeks said. “We will always be here,” she said. “And it’s important that our patients know they will receive the best possible care in the best possible location and environment just like any other paying patient would.”

Through the COVID pandemic, Weeks and her team worked diligently to ensure that C.W. Williams remained open. Since the pandemic began, the center’s healthcare team has provided COVID care, including vaccines and now early-stage COVID care. The center’s team has also maintained focus on HIV-prevention education as public attention to HIV concerns is waning. Weeks wants patients to know that the C.W. Williams Health Center is available to meet their health needs.

Photo courtesy of Debra Weeks

Chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority (CMHA) Board of Commissioners

Photo courtesy of Atrium Health

ANGELIQUE “ANGIE” VINCENT-HAMACHER

Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Novant Health

Photo courtesy of Novant Health

TANYA STEWART BLACKMON

SPECIAL SECTION Influential Women

Influential Women SPECIAL SECTION

Photo by Isaiah Anderson/Eye Sun Photography

Deputy Chief of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

By Ryan Kouame

Hometown hero Sherie Pearsall is the deputy chief

of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

In her role as deputy chief of Administrative Services, Pearsall’s responsibility is to oversee the CMPD Academy where new officers begin their careers and tenured officers continue their education. Pearsall is the daughter of a preacher in Charlotte’s Greenville community where she has served for the past 27 years.

Pearsall graduated from East Mecklenburg High School. She then went on to be the first in her immediate family to graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree in history from Livingstone College. Service was an expectation in Pearsall’s family as she saw her parents give themselves unselfishly, so she adopted the same morals in her own life. Pearsall knew that the values ingrained in her at an early age would be the foundation of her work, but her plans didn’t include becoming a police officer after graduating from college. She earned her master’s degree in business administration and planned to become an attorney, but money was tight, so she changed her plans.

“I’d never interacted with the police before,” said Pearsall.

“We feared our mother more than the police, so we didn’t get in trouble, but there were a lot of challenged areas in the communities I grew up in.”

Pearsall joined CMPD and decided she wanted to make a positive impact in the community. No matter the demands of the job or the day, Pearsall is determined to remember why she chose her profession. She also encourages others to do the same.

“I always go back to my why,” she says. “What we do is beyond law enforcement – the kids on the basketball court, the seniors you have tea with on the porch, and the calls for service where you have the opportunity to change the outcome. It brings it all back into perspective that you are here to serve the greater good.”

Photo courtesy of Thelma Byers-Bailey

Photo courtesy of Sherie Pearsall

SHERIE PEARSALL

JANET PARKER Public Information Manager, Mecklenburg County Sherriff’s Office

By Vanessa Clarke

Journalist, producer, reporter,

influencer and body-positive model are a few of Janet Parker’s titles, but she is also the public information manager for the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Department. Parker has created a life of effectively communicating and relating to the public. After working in broadcasting for 12 years, the impact of the pandemic inspired her to seek new challenges, and so she decided to explore a career in law enforcement. The job change allowed her to enjoy more of her personal time.

THELMA BYERS-BAILEY Vice-chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education

By Ryan Kouame

Vice-chair of the CharlotteMecklenburg Board of Education,

Thelma Byers-Bailey is a native Charlottean who was elected to the board of education to represent District 2. Byers-Bailey's experience includes running her own general practice law firm, working with the legal services of Southern California and serving as a law clerk in the legal department of Anheuser-Busch Company, Inc. “Our students are graduating and entering the most global workforce that ever existed,” she said. “Diversity within our school population is key to preparing our students to function in this workforce. No matter how excellent our neighborhood schools are, they cannot replace the value of providing our students daily contact with others who don’t look like themselves, which promotes a safe environment, free of bullying and intimidation.

Amid the pandemic, Byers-Bailey and the board of education had to make some tough decisions regarding school and student safety while acknowledging the academic costs, the benefits and ramifications of virtual learning. Although in-person sports and curriculum were canceled, the CARES Act fund provided paid leave to Charlotte-Mecklenburg School employees who were out of work during the pandemic.

Byers-Bailey graduated from West Charlotte High School and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from Fisk University. She also holds a law degree from St. Louis University Law School and a master’s degree in urban affairs from the St. Louis Joint Degree Program. Byers-Bailey is president of the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Association and serves as a member of the Friendship CDC Board of Directors and the African American Community Fund’s Board of Directors. She has two adult children and seven grandchildren.

One of Parker’s goals is to smash biased ideals of beauty, she said. Through her work as a Body Positivity Model and public speaker, she has helped other women feel empowered and to move beyond how other people view them. “Being a plus-sized, African American woman speaking to that demographic and letting women know that they are beautiful the way they are and to embrace their imperfections and their curves,” is rare and needed, Parker said.

Parker earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of South Carolina. As the Public Information Manager for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, she maintains and promotes the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office to the public and the news media. Parker is working on a book about her choices in life and said in the past year she has learned that “you can never lose when you choose yourself. You are the only person you absolutely have to live with for the rest of your life.”

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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SPECIAL SECTION Influential Women

By Vanessa Clarke

SHERRI BELFIELD

By Vanessa Clarke

Public relations professional Sherri

Belfield uses her platform as the Director of University Communications and Marketing at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), to serve as “a connector.” She has served on the board of directors of the Junior League of Charlotte (JLC), and she was recently selected to serve as the first JLC Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Belfield also serves as the President of the College News Association of the Carolinas; is the Co-chair of Communications for the Mid-Atlantic for Alpha Kappa Alpha; she’s on the board of the Carolina Raptor Center; and is a member of Outdoor Afro.

Belfield is committed to helping to maintain a healthy environment and making sure that we care for our natural resources.

“Environmentalists, doctors and mental health professionals have been telling us for years that nature plays an important role in our physical and mental health,” Belfield said in a video for EarthShare North Carolina last year. Sherri believes the pandemic has emphasized the importance of protecting the natural environment for our physical and mental health. Enjoying nature in a park and other places such as Greenways helped many people cope during the darkest days of the pandemic. “We must make sure that all people have access to nature, no matter their street address, as one way of addressing health disparities,” she said.

Belfied, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said she has “learned to be strong and grounded in her own self-worth.” She said she’s proud of JCSU students and wants them to assert themselves confidently in the world and confidently take their seat at the table because they are “just as good as anyone else.”

KRISTA TERRELL President of the Arts & Science Council

By Ryan Kouame

Advancing cultural equity is the focus of Krista Terrell’s work

as President of the Arts & Science Council (ASC), CharlotteMecklenburg’s lead advocate for and connector to the arts and culture community. Terrell, a public relations practitioner, has been with ASC for nearly 20 years and became its leader in 2021.

“I am excited to lead an amazing and thoughtful team as we transform ASC by investing in the people, organizations, programs, and ideas that move us toward a more equitable, sustainable and innovative creative ecosystem,” she said.

Terrell served as the chief editor of ASC’s inaugural Cultural Equity Report that shared the organization’s inequitable funding history and its journey on the path to cultural equity. The report details how investment decisions by ASC resulted in inequitable funding of Black-led cultural organizations and cultural organizations of color in

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Photo courtesy of Sherri Belfield

Director of University Communications and Marketing, Johnson C. Smith University

Students who participate in music programs in school

are more connected to each other, have fewer fights and are less likely to bully or be bullied, according to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Great teachers like Demeka S. Kimpson, Sedgefield Middle School band director, know this, and that’s why she puts everything she has into making her students’ musical experience at the school memorable and exciting.

Kimpson, who has been teaching for 19 years – 16 of them at Sedgefield – is the 2021 CMS Teacher of the Year. Kimpson is so passionate about her job as band director at the school because she knows that music can be a pathway for success for students in other areas also, such as math, science, reading and critical thinking. In addition to her work at Sedgefield, Kimpson, who has been playing the piano since she was 3, also teaches students from ages 3 to 83 to play woodwind instruments and piano at her own studio. She wants to “give them an experience and place where they can just be themselves and feel accepted for who they are,” no matter the level of their musical abilities, she said.

A native of Orangeburg, S.C., Kimpson earned a bachelor's degree in music education from Claflin University and a master's degree in music from Winthrop University.

During the few years that her students are with her at Sedgefield, Kimpson gets to know them and their families very well, she said. “We become our own weird little family,” she added. “The students are in a safe place where they can be exactly who they want to be so – there’s growth.”

Kimpson, who until last year, was one of only two Black female band directors in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, says that regardless of race, “I see the kids for who they want to be and not what the world tells them to be, or who their parents tell them they should be.”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg. It outlines measures ASC has implemented over the past eight years to better support those organizations and their communities. It also outlines ASC’s intentional efforts to better support creative individuals and communities.

Terrell and her team are committed to cultural equity and the equitable distribution of resources, which means they practice equity in all aspects of grant-making from eliminating barriers to funding opportunities and ensuring there is a broad diversity of community perspectives in decision-making. They hold themselves accountable by tracking who they fund and mitigating existing inequities in funding.

Terrell earned her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Johnson C. Smith University. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards and the Charlotte Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. P

Photo courtesy of Krista Terrell

CMS Teacher of the Year, 2021

Photo courtesy of Demeka Kimpson

DEMEKA KIMPSON

From House Hunting to Moving Day

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Dr. Patricia Bath

First Black Woman to Be Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame

Top: Dr. Patricia Bath is a co-founder and former President of the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in Los Angeles. Here she is at UCLA in 1984.

Right: Renowned Ophthalmologist Dr. Patricia Bath was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2019.

S

ome people seem to have been born to be exceptional— their footsteps ordered from birth.

Dr. Patricia Bath was among those seemingly destined for greatness. A legend in science and medicine, she broke barriers and saved sight for people around the world. Born in 1942, she showed an early aptitude for science. She pursued her calling and pushed through the familiar patterns of slights and obstacles to her race and gender and became one of the leading scientists in the field of ophthalmology.

Dr. Bath passed away in 2019 at the age of 76. She will be inducted posthumously into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame as one of the first Black women inductees. Also inducted will be Marian Croak who invented Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), the technology that allows voice phone calls using an Internet connection instead of a landline. This innovation makes Zoom, Skype and working from home possible for so many today. These Black women are taking their rightful—though long-awaited—place among such inventors as Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and The Wright Brothers.

Dr. Bath invented the Laserphaco Probe and a technique that would revolutionize cataract-removal surgery, making it less invasive and reducing the length of time required for surgery. The Laserphaco probe is approved by the FDA in the United States

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Photo courtesy of the University of California, Los Angeles

By Sonja Whitemon

and has been used internationally in Canada, Japan and several European countries.

Dr. Bath received her first of seven patents in the U.S. in 1988.

Four of her patents were received in the U.S and she received one each in Canada, Japan and Europe.

Her impact on cataract surgery and the world cannot be overstated. According to healio.com, a news and education outlet for healthcare professionals, there are approximately four million cataract procedures performed every year in the U.S. and nearly 28 million worldwide. About 60,000 cataract procedures are performed every day globally.

Dr. Bath was a pioneer in science long before STEM became a “thing.” She holds an impressive list of firsts in science and medicine: becoming the first Black female doctor in the country to patent a medical device, first black female to receive a patent, first female faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the first woman chair of an ophthalmology residency program, and one of the first researchers to discover that glaucoma disproportionately affected Black patients.

The legacy of Dr. Bath was not just built on her intellect but also on her compassion. Early in her medical career, as an intern, she witnessed the difference in care between populations in low-income areas and those in more affluent areas. She analyzed data from state-maintained blindness registries and found that between the ages of 45 and 64 years, blindness in Black Americans was 3.6 times higher than that of White Americans. She found that glaucoma, which is relatively easy to prevent, was eight times more common as a cause of blindness in Black Americans due to the relative lack of services available to diagnose and treat diseases.

Dr. Bath met Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963 and worked for the Poor People’s Campaign. In 1968 she organized medical students to volunteer health services during the Poor People’s Campaign in Resurrection City. She was quoted as saying, “Service to the underserved was a natural evolution of my life from my Harlem roots.”

Bath went on to co-found the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, which established that "eyesight is a basic human right."

Her daughter, Dr. Eraka Bath, a psychiatrist at the Department of Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said, “My mother was someone who dedicated her life to service and embodied the spirit of innovation and inquiry and scientific excellence. She was really a humanitarian first. Her approach to problems was to help others.”

In 1993, Bath retired from her position at the UCLA Medical Center and became an honorary member of its medical staff. That same year, she was named a Howard University Pioneer in Academic Medicine. P

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Om Creates Art . olará . to Speak to People molará Williams .

McCallister — who uses the pronouns o, love and beloved — is a dynamic creator who shows up through many forms of art and has actively organized around social justice issues on the local, regional and national levels since the age of 13. Om is bringing beloved’s talents . olará . to Charlotte as an artist-in-residence at the McColl Center during the winter/ spring season, along with artists Rachel Eng, Irisol Gonzalez and André Leon Gray.

The residency started Jan. 17 and ends April 19.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Williams McCallister had various cultural foundations, including at Atlanta’s first Congregational United Church of Christ, where O sang on the choir and where O’s artistic journey began. Using those musical roots, Om has been able to . olará . cultivate a mixed-media approach to art in which O uses to visualize experiences love had growing up as a Black, queer person in the church.

“I’ve really been thinking a lot lately about the cultural technologies that are preserved and passed down in the Black church,” McCallister explained. “There’s an interesting history with queer folk in the Black church and queer folk and the choir in Black church specifically, and the spaces where we were or weren’t allowed to be. With those [hymns], I’m taking them into a neutral doctrinal space where people can have those experiences and have that emotional journey, that shepherding, without violence.”

In addition to Om church . olará’s . foundation, Williams McCallister said O also grew up in the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo. A renowned institution, BPIR was founded to honor Black cowboys and cowgirls. It features an aesthetic culture contrasting to white rodeo spaces, including bedazzlement, fringe and other stylistic choices. It’s part of the reason why Williams McCallister chooses to channel O’s experiences through art in a way that resonates with O’s audience.

Photo by Rob Ferrell

By Anders J. Hare

Top: McColl Center artist-in-residence, Om olará . .

Middle: Om olará piece, “Will To Adorn.” It’s . . “a ritual performance exploring the ways that Black queer, trans and gender non-conforming people use adornment as a way to begin to fully embody ourselves.” —Om olará . .

Bottom: Titled “Noose Nap Flag,” this artwork by Om olará is made of over 7,200 miniature nooses. . .

“I’m making work about the things that I think are interesting to explore because art is a research-based practice,” O said. “As an artist, I’m really striving to make work that can speak to people first-hand. I had this personal embodied response to this thing, and maybe reading about it also increases

the experience, but it doesn’t have to be gotten to through the book. You can use your eyes and your references to understand what’s happening there.”

One of the standouts of Williams McCallister’s work is Om ability to . olará’s . project O’s own feelings and experiences about injustice into O’s work. During the residency, the McColl Center hosts a group show which features the work of residents.

One of the two works Williams McCallister will present during the show is called Noose Nap Flag, which represents the nonchalant nature of the knot matched with the ruinous symbolism it has on African American culture, O said.

“This particular knot, according to the sources that I’ve read, was perfected here in the United States,” O explained. “It’s not used for sailing. It’s not used for agricultural purposes. It’s not used on farms. It’s a difficult knot to tie. So it’s not something you accidentally end up happening upon. You have to mean it.

“And that means that in the same way that people were passing down quilting patterns, people were out here passing down this knowledge of how to tie this specific knot,” O said. “And that history really set heavy on me, to know both the knot itself is intentional. But also the preservation of this knowledge is intentional, and the preservation of this knowledge that is used for this one very specific thing is intentional.”

Much of Williams McCallister’s work revolves around southern culture, as well as fostering healthy relationships with the aspects of O’s life that make up that heritage.

As a southern, queer, Black person, Om . olará . hopes O’s experience at McColl Center and in the Queen City adds to that heritage.

“The McColl Center is pretty special for me, because I haven’t spent substantial time in the south since I left in 2008,” O said.

“One of the things that I’m hoping to be able to do is to build community here as an adult, and professional community as an artist that will eventually allow me to move back to the southern region.”

Visit the artist’s website at omolarawilliamsmccallister.art/.

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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Grier Heights Teen Creates Food Pantries

By Sherita Pryer

Photo courtesy of Alexandria Brown

I

n the beginning of the pandemic, 17-year-old Alexandria Brown was challenged by a local Girl Scout to spend 80 hours making a difference in her community. Brown noticed a consistency with people walking 20 minutes or driving 10 minutes to her nearby convenience store. Through Brown’s own shopping experience, she knew there were very few healthy food options available.

“I’m originally from Washington, D.C., and I lived in one of the most underserved African American communities,” Brown said. “There were convenient stores on every corner, and I noticed that those stores did not sell the healthiest foods.”

Alexandria Brown

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This lack of healthy food choices in her current neighborhood inspired Brown to create Little Free Pantries in Grier Heights. Brown, a Myers Park High School senior who is dual enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College, said building the pantries was quite challenging. “I had to make precise cuts and made sure that every board was in the right place,” she said. “My Dad and Brother helped me build the pantries in secluded areas, therefore they are Covid friendly.”

More than 3,000 people live in Grier Heights and 46 percent receive food assistance. The median household income for community residents is under $20,000. Their nearest grocery store is about 1 mile from some Grier Heights locations, making it difficult for residents without transportation to access healthy food.

With the help of her family, Brown replenishes the Little Free Pantries bi-weekly at three locations in Grier Heights (Fannie Circle and Gene Avenue, Billingsley and Marvin Roads, and Leroy and Sam Drenan Roads) with non- perishables, canned food, paper goods and other personal items for people in need. People can access items

Photo courtesy of the City of Charlotte.

One of Alexandria Brown’s Little Food Pantries in Grier Heights

from the pantries, which are open 24-hours, at any time. In the beginning, the Marvin Road pantry required more assistance than the other locations. “The pantry on Marvin Road would stay empty causing me to restock more frequently.” Brown delayed restocking for a few weeks with hopes of community involvement. “My predictions worked; the community began filling the pantries with donations," she said.

So far, local churches, senior facilities and the Grier Heights community has overwhelmingly supported Little Free Pantries with donations. “I never thought the project would take off this far,” Brown said. “People are traveling from parts of North Carolina and South Carolina to bring donations.” Brown advises teens with hopes of giving back to their communities is simply DO IT. “I wasn’t afraid, I listened to my heart and just did it.”

Brown hopes to add two more pantry locations before heading off to college. With the help of her family and community, Brown said she believes the food pantries will remain sustainable while she’s at school. In fact, for the past six months, a family friend has been donating to the pantries every two weeks, she added. “I see these food pantries being 100 percent self-sufficient. I know my community partners will continue to give donations while I’m in college.” Brown plans to return home periodically to check on the pantries.

Learn more about Little Free Pantries and how to donate items, including canned food, paper goods and school supplies, at https:/ little-free-pantry-grier-heights.business.site/ Interested in donating to the Little Free Pantries? Drop off donations, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or send checks to the Grier Heights Community Center, 3100 Leroy St., Charlotte, N.C. 28205. P March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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A new look at the complicated history of Black women and breastfeeding

Why Black women are less likely to breastfeed their babies

by Page Leggett

D

espite the well-known benefits of breastfeeding – such as decreased incidence of asthma, diabetes, ear and upper respiratory infections, pneumonia and

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eczema – Black women are more likely to bottle-feed their babies than are white women.

In a study of women who gave birth in 2015, 85% of white moms said they breastfed their babies at birth compared with 69% of Black moms. The reasons

are myriad, but perhaps the saddest dates back centuries.

“Enslaved Black women were forced to serve as wet nurses for their masters’ wives,” said Ty McClain, a lactation consultant at a Charlotte neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The

term “wet nurse” describes someone who breastfed another woman’s baby, she explained.

A self-proclaimed “street warrior for breastfeeding," McClain's mission is also on display through her work at Johnson C. Smith University’s (JCSU) Metropolitan College of Professional Studies – a private, historically black university in Charlotte. McClain is program director of its Lactation Consultant Training Program (LCTP).

Since 2010, its mission has been to improve maternal and child health outcomes for families of color.

Novant Health provides a clinical site for LCTP students. Practical, hands-on experience in their field of study is required to earn professional accreditation as a lactation consultant, childbirth educator or a birth doula, said Laura Corsig, a Novant Health boardcertified lactation consultant.

Students who are interested in becoming a lactation consultant often work with Corsig to earn their “IBCLC (International Board of Certified Lactation Examiners) credential, which is the gold standard” from the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners.

Once a consultant is board-certified, they can work in a number of places, Corsig said – a hospital, an ob-gyn office, the health department through WIC (the federal government’s nutrition program for low-income women, infants and children) or in private practice.

Four graduates of JCSU’s program work at Novant Health. And eight JCSU students graduated from the 10-month program in 2021. A similar partnership will launch in Winston-Salem when North Carolina A&T University and Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center join forces.

A painful history

The “traumatic history of Black women during and after slavery as wet nurses for white women means that for some, breastfeeding is associated with a lack of choice,” reads a 2019 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) blog. “This history contributes to whether Black people have the social and societal support to initiate and sustain breastfeeding.”

“In a study of women who gave birth in 2015, 85% of white moms said they breastfed their babies at birth compared with 69% of Black moms.

The reasons are myriad, but perhaps the saddest dates back centuries.”

McClain added: “Women adapted this mindset that breast milk was only good for ‘master’s’ children and not their own. There’s a stigma that we shouldn't breastfeed.”

And there are more maddening reasons behind the reluctance.

Cultural stigma. “Society has sexualized breasts to the point that people are routinely shamed for breastfeeding,” wrote Amani Echols in the ACLU blog.

Healthcare inequity. Black women are three times more likely to die in a pregnancy-related death compared to white women. And the mortality rate for Black infants is twice that of white infants.

The introduction of formula.

Formula companies began to rise before World War II, McClain said. “Some women went to work in factories to aid the war effort,” McClain continued.

“Once that happened, breastfeeding was considered a sign of wealth and privilege.

You only breastfed if you had the luxury of time.”

Lack of support. McClain pointed to the number of single Black moms in the country and said: “There’s not always that father figure. When you don't have your spouse supporting you, it creates barriers to breastfeeding. You’re a single parent; you have to go back to work.

“Many Black women were still wet nurses in the 1940s,” McClain said.

“I wasn’t breastfed; I grew up not seeing or hearing about it. Our moms, grandmothers and aunties didn't speak of it. And if a Black woman did come across another Black woman who breastfed,

there was a feeling of ‘Oh, you think you’re better than us?’”

The need for support

McClain was lucky. She had support from her husband and family when she chose to breastfeed her firstborn in 2009.

And she was a stay-at-home mom then, which made nursing easier.

McClain’s children, both breastfed “babies,” are now 12 and 9. She also has a 17-year-old stepdaughter. She breastfed her son until he was 2, which she said is another taboo she’s battling in the Black community. “There are still health benefits to breastfeeding past infancy,” she said.

Plus, she had a lactation consultant with both her son and daughter who helped her get the hang of it. She loved breastfeeding enough to earn a master's in health and wellness and become a lactation consultant herself.

But how to spread the word to a community that’s largely reluctant? She started at church – Friendship Missionary Baptist Church.

“Being a member, I felt I could make a connection,” she said. “A lot of Black mothers get their formula through WIC, and there's some shame around it. But I was a WIC recipient at one point in my life. I understand what it's like to be on food stamps and government assistance.”

WIC actually encourages women to breastfeed, but McClain said too many Black women think of the program as “where to get free formula.”

McClain aims to change that perception. “When it comes to being a lactation consultant, it’s not just a profession,” she said. “It’s a passion.

I couldn't be more humbled that God chose me for this work.”

McClain is a cofounding member of Queen City Cocoa B.E.A.N.S., a breastfeeding support service for women of color. (B.E.A.N.S. is an acronym for Breastfeeding Education, Advocacy, Normalcy and Support.) McClain’s cofounders are Lugenia Grider and Rachel Davis, who helped launch the LCTP program at JCSU. Novant Health’s prestigious designation as a Baby-Friendly USA hospital demonstrates its commitment to supporting all families in their breastfeeding journey. Search “Nursing Mother’s Place” and Novant Health for more information.

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

37

Black Women in History

Allegra Westbrooks Advocate for the Right to Read

By Giovanni Samuels

A

Allegra Westbrooks was the first Black librarian in North Carolina to hold a supervisor title.

Photo courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library

llegra Westbrooks was a pioneer in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system. She advocated for the Black community’s right to access reading material and developed a strong connection between the community and branches within the system through outreach programs. Through her impressive career, she ensured that her love of books would be shared with as many people as possible, against all odds.

Westbrooks was born in Cumberland, Maryland on March 16, 1921, but grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Her mother, a schoolteacher, showed her the world of books. This introduction kindled a love for literature within Westbrooks, which she would act on as a child by peering through the segregated windows of whites-only libraries to gaze at the abounding shelves.

She attended Clark Atlanta University, the first Historically Black College established in the South. Here she received her Bachelor of Science degree in library services.

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In 1947, Westbrooks moved to Charlotte where she was hired by the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (now Charlotte Mecklenburg Library). She worked as the head of Negro Library Services at the Brevard Street Library, one of the two Mecklenburg branches that served African Americans at the time. Early in her career, she was an advocate for the Black community’s right to access books, and in turn, their right to read. She worked to attract people to Brevard Street and its “subbranch” Fairview Homes Public Housing on Oaklawn Avenue through numerous public outreach efforts.

At a time when segregation was an obstacle to literacy for African Americans, Allegra started a campaign at Black churches where prominent speakers preached “the gospel of books and reading.”

She also worked with organizations such as the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and Girl Scouts to encourage residents to visit the two library branches that served Black people. In addition to encouraging the community to come to the libraries, she brought the books to the community. She eventually started a bookmobile program to further reading accessibility, bringing books to Black residents across Mecklenburg County.

Even though these bookmobiles featuring African American literature were not permitted in public libraries in other parts

The Allegra Westbrooks Library on Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte Photo courtesy of the City of Charlotte

of the county, Westbrooks stood outside of schools, encouraging Black children across Charlotte to read by ensuring they had reading material. She picked up titles from the Main Library to bring back to Black residents weekly.

Before the integration of the public library system, Westbrooks was promoted to Head of Acquisitions at the Main Library in 1950, where she impressed colleagues with her skills in coordination and her vast knowledge as a book specialist. After the official integration of the system on November 19, 1956, she was promoted again to Supervisor of Branches in 1957, making her the first African American to hold a supervisor title in a North Carolina library. With this position, she aided in the expansion of the county’s system with new branches. She continued to strengthen the bond between the

libraries and the community by developing outreach programs within them, as well as encouraging locations to host book-related events to draw in locals.

Westbrooks worked in the system for 36 years before retiring from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in 1984. She remained active in the Charlotte community until she died in 2017. In recognition of her plentiful contributions to the community and the county’s library system, the historical Beatties Ford Library was renamed in Westbrooks’ honor as the Allegra Westbrooks Regional Library (Beatties Ford Road) in April 2020. In this renaming, her legacy as a pillar of Charlotte’s African American community and library system will live on for generations. P Sources: cmlibrary.org and pages.charlotte. edu/mark-west/blog/2020/09/07/

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A Second Helping

Andria Gaskins is a romance novelist and great cook

By Lelita Cannon

A

ndria Gaskins holds many titles — doctor, wife, mother, novelist and culinary artist extraordinaire — to name a few.

A graduate of Wake Forest University, Gaskins was proprietor and head physician at Gaskins Chiropractic until 2003 when her first son was born. During that time, she felt a professional transition would best serve her family. She still wanted to work but remain close to home. After visiting Charlotte Regional Farmer’s Market, her husband suggested she sell baked goods there. Initially, she resisted. The idea didn’t appeal to her as a particularly successful or glamourous shift from her career as a chiropractor. “Leaving my practice to make cakes and pies sounded a bit cuckoo,” she said.

Gaskins experienced a less than delightful run-in with a more seasoned vendor she approached for advice while researching the venture. It was then that she decided to open her own stand. And her fellow baker’s customers followed her. Patrons flocked to her shop, and in 2004, Queen City Kitchen was born. Here, she also offered private in-house catering for market clientele.

In 2005, Gaskins birthed her second son, but continued to serve customers via her home baking business through 2010.

She began cooking competitively in 2008 and participated in contests around the country for five years. She has won multiple awards for her cornbread—a tried and true traditional Southern favorite. She launched the website QueenCityKitchen.com in 2009 and has appeared as a regular guest chef featured on “Charlotte Today” and “Good Day Charlotte.”

Gaskins cultivates her own recipes and develops additional concepts to improve upon those that are not her original creations. She plucks motivation from myriad resources. “I get inspired by different things and experiences. I can’t put my finger on just one thing. If I write a recipe for my website, I’m inspired by childhood memories, experiences with my husband or past cooking competitions. If I write a recipe for TV or a contest, I pay close attention to current food trends and try to incorporate them into recipes that spark nostalgic

Novelist and cookbook author, Andria Gaskins and her book, A Second Helping.

Photo courtesy of Andria Gaskins

memories for the viewers or judges. My inspiration comes when the situation comes.”

In 2015, Gaskins’ book, “A Second Helping” was published. Marrying her enthusiasm for love and cuisine led her to construct the consummate romantic comedy. She never set out to write a novel, but instead, dreamed of publishing a cookbook; however, agents and publishers were more interested in celebrity cookbooks.

Nonetheless, Gaskins found the silver lining.

Deeply in love and living her own fairytale with her husband of 22 years — her college sweetheart — and father of their two teenage sons, she wanted to share what that looked and felt like. “I don’t really like romance novels, but I’m a corny sap who’s really good at writing love stories,” she said.

“I love love.”

“My husband was a published short story writer, and I am too competitive for my own good. I figured if he could write short stories and get them published, then I’m going to write a long story and get it published.”

Gaskins has authored a cookbook inspired by what her characters in “A Second Helping” ate. She’s currently testing recipes with plans to debut for the 2022 holiday season. She is also currently

working on her second novel. Though it has been challenging, completing both a novel and cookbook while growing Queen City Kitchen, her goal is to release the untitled book in 2023.

Gaskins is a Matthews Community Farmers Market vendor and board member.

Her Queen City Kitchen select baked goods are also available at Coffee Central on the campus of Central Church.

Follow Andria on Instagram @queen.city.kitchen. P March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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Here’s How to Get Started on Your Home Buying Journey.

By AJ Barkley, Neighborhood and Community Lending Executive, Bank of America

A

ccording to the U.S. Census*, the homeownership rate among women increased from 51% to 61% over the past 30 years, while the homeownership rate among men dropped slightly from 71% percent to 67% percent. As women reach higher education and income levels, they’re making homeownership a priority. like embarking on a new adventure.

Single women are an especially powerful force, making up the secondlargest demographic of U.S. homebuyers – second only to married couples (National Association of Realtors®).

Across the country, single women are forgoing the traditional path of getting married, then buying a home and having children. It’s clear they’re fiscally educated, want to gain control of their financial futures and see homeownership as a way to build equity.

Whether you’re a single woman or not, you may be assessing whether homeownership is right for you and where to start, so we’re breaking it down:

To Buy or Not to Buy

It’s no secret that buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make, so how do you know when you’re ready to graduate from renter to homeowner? It’s important to understand each options advantages and drawbacks, and asses your personal and financial circumstances.

• Consider Upfront Costs: In addition to a down payment, you should budget an additional 3%-6% for the upfront fees/costs to buy a home.

Keep in mind, there are solutions that can significantly reduce the amount of money you need to buy a home.

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In fact, Bank of America offers one of the most generous programs in the industry with up to $17,500 in combined down payment and closing costs grants (no repayment required).

Visit bankofamerica.com/homeowner to learn more.

• Balance Self-Expression and Responsibility: Renting typically limits the freedom you have to make the space your own, but the landlord is financially responsible for repairs and maintenance. On the other hand, as a homeowner, you have the freedom to customize your home to fit your lifestyle and needs.

• Potential to Build Long-Term Generational Wealth: As a renter, you face unpredictable rent increases each time your lease is up for renewal.

As a homeowner, a fixed-rate mortgage means steady principal and interest payments. Moreover, homeownership remains one of the most common methods for families to build generational wealth, as homes may appreciate over time.

Your Financial Journey from Savings to Sold

If by now you’ve decided homeownership is right for you, you may be wondering where to begin. No matter where you are on the financial journey, Bank of America is committed to helping hopeful homebuyers get on the right path with a range of solutions – starting with tools that help manage spending and saving patterns while practicing responsible credit behavior.

• Plan, Budget, Save: Define, prioritize and make progress toward your financial goals with Life Plan®, a

Courtesy of www.thoughtcatalog.com

Female Homeownership Is on the Rise: digital experience that helps you set and track near- and long-term goals based on your life priorities, and better understand and act on steps toward achieving them. Get started at bankofamerica.com/lifeplan.

• Prioritize Paying Down Debt: Reducing your debt-to-income ratio makes you a more attractive borrower.

Bank of America’s Better Money Habits videos and checklists can help you build financial acumen so you can manage more complex financial needs over time. Visit bettermoneyhabits. bankofamerica.com to get the financial know-how you need to move forward.

• Run the Down Payment Numbers: Calculate your down payment with our Mortgage calculator. The down payment you make on your home not only affects how much you’ll need to borrow, but it can also influence your interest rate and whether your lender will require you to pay for private mortgage insurance. If you put less money down on a home at closing, you’ll pay more in fees and interest over the loan’s lifetime (and vice versa). Run the numbers at bankofamerica.com/mortgage/ mortgage-calculator.

Whether homeownership feels a few months or a few years away, it’s never too early to start thinking about your next savings goal. As you look ahead, connect with a local Bank of America lending specialist to discuss your situation and available options. P * The 30 year range is from the 1990 Decennial Census to the 2019 American Community, and was cited in a report from the Urban Institute – A Three-Decade Decline in the Homeownership Gender Gap. Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender ©2022 Bank of America Corporation

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Keeping Sharp

Lifelong Learning for Seniors

By William Carter, Jr.

L

osing cognitive ability is a serious concern that many people stress about as they get older; however, seniors can significantly decrease the risk of declining mental capabilities by continuing to exercise their brains. The ability to discover, learn and examine plays a critical role in achieving purpose and meaning in our lives as we grow older.

For senior adults, there’s no exact age when the brain stops growing. As long as you continue to use your brain, your learning potential will continually expand.

Lifelong learning for seniors helps maintain the mind through positive challenges and daily engagement, keeping the brain sharp and curious for years to come.

Some of the valuable effects of lifelong learning as a senior include: Increased neuron function: The neurons in our brains send information throughout our bodies, and lifelong learning helps stimulate neuron productivity and connection, affecting memory, thinking, reasoning and attentiveness in positive ways.

It also enhances brain health, reducing the risk of certain forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

Better mental capabilities: Better brain connectivity from healthy and newly generated neurons leads to cognitive improvement. As we all become older, continual learning causes physical changes to the brain, improving our recollection, concentration, speaking abilities and rational thinking.

Greater social connections: Lifelong learning doesn’t have to be done alone.

Learning in a social environment such as an

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open course, book club or discussion group is more intellectually engaging and may help reduce feelings of isolation or depression.

Social settings support the fostering of social connections, which could develop into close interpersonal relationships — also important for living happy, healthy lives.

Refined physical skills: Completing simple tasks like reading the newspaper, practicing an instrument, or solving puzzles may help reduce high blood pressure and muscle tension, leading to less stress which offers better chances of dealing with more complicated situations and strenuous changes in life.

Enhanced self-esteem: Learning or adapting to something new can often lead to an incredible emotional uplift, boosting your self-esteem, respect, and even morale.

Heightened enjoyment: Lifelong learning can occur while doing the things that bring you joy or add fulfillment to your life. Possible activities to start may include painting, writing, cooking, dancing and gardening.

But what is lifelong learning exactly?

Learning something new doesn’t have to be as formal as being in a classroom or ceremonial like earning a certificate. Doing something like casually learning a second language, a cooking recipe, visiting a museum, or picking up another skill are all examples of lifelong learning.

Research highlights evidence that intelligence doesn’t necessarily recede as people become older. A published 2019 study from “The Journals of Gerontology” explored how continuing education improves cognitive resiliency.

The research compiled two studies

using two participating groups of older adults learning three new skills — music composition, drawing and studying Spanish together for three months. They also had to complete functional and mental assessments before, during and after their studies.

Findings indicated that simultaneously learning multiple skills is possible and potentially helpful for older, healthy adults.

Throughout the studies, participants displayed increased cognitive abilities similar to younger adults who are at least 30 years younger.

Another study, published in “Scientific Reports” two years ago, investigated the residual cognitive ability of older adults.

The examination tested senior adults, average age 66, by identifying the proper use of pronouns in sentences. It compared the outcome to a group of younger adults, average age 22, completing the same task.

The study concluded that not only did the older adults often outperform the younger group, but they also answered just as quickly as their juniors. Additionally, the results suggest that seniors have a resilient mental capacity, using additional brain regions when doing cognitive activities.

So, if you’re over 55 and looking to keep your mind sharp, there are several ways to remain or become intellectually engaged, including specialized course programs throughout colleges and universities in the United States. The classes are tailored exclusively for senior adults who simply enjoy learning new facts and skills. Many of these courses are even taught online by teachers at educational institutions worldwide, allowing participants to interact through chat and video discussions.

Lifelong learning provides many advantages for the well-being of seniors while enhancing their intellectual and mental wellness. P

“Courage to lead when the odds and sabotage are against you — because of the color of your skin” – Madie Maddox Smith

Mecklenburg County’s Inaugural Women’s Health Equity Institute to be Named After

Mrs. Madie Maddox Smith, BS, MBA

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Trailblazer Madie Maddox Smith was Mecklenburg County’s first certified child health specialist.

A Public Health Unsung Hero and First Black Public Health Nurse Supervisor

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omen’s History Month is a time to celebrate and recognize the many achievements and contributions women have made in our community. The Mecklenburg County community honors Mrs. Madie Maddox Smith as a trailblazer, who has made significant contributions to the field of public health nursing. More than 50 years ago, Maddox Smith broke down a barrier in Mecklenburg County Public Health that marked the beginning of Black women advancing to leadership roles in the department.

Madie grew up in Charlotte, N.C. While in high school, she was hired at age 14 working in the Polio Unit at Charlotte’s segregated Memorial Hospital, but her first dream was to attend North Carolina A & T State University on a scholarship and become an artist. She was later encouraged by her mother to pursue an education in nursing, along with an offer to help pay for it.

In 1956, Madie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, N.C. When she returned home, she worked for Mercy Hospital in a wing designated for Black patients and taught nursing at Good Samaritan Hospital, an allBlack hospital. She was encouraged by other Black nurses to apply for the County’s Health Department, but at that time, because the department was segregated, Black nurses were hired only when another Black nurse left their position.

Following the passing of another Black public health nurse, Madie was able to transfer from a position in Union County. To her knowledge, she was the only Black nurse with a Bachelor of Science degree. The department sent her to Duke University for training where she successfully completed a very competitive public health program that was designed for nurses with limited public health experience.

In the early 1970s, Madie became Mecklenburg County’s first certified child

health specialist. She later went on to become the health supervisor for the North Team covering child health clinics. Before retiring, Madie became the de facto program chief for the department’s clinic in Huntersville. Although she performed the duties, she never received the title and compensation of that position.

“We should always be prayerful for the courage to lead when the odds are against you only because you are a woman and the color of your skin. When we get the opportunity to lead, we should mentor and uplift others with compassion and respect.”

– Madie Maddox Smith We owe a debt of gratitude to Madie for her courage, sacrifices and the pathway she set to keep the most vulnerable healthy and to uplift other qualified women of color to serve in public health leadership roles.

In late March, Mecklenburg County Public Health, as a partner with several civic, community and academic organizations, will launch the Madie Maddox Smith Women’s Health Equity Institute to provide inclusive opportunities for women’s health (mind, body, spirit and emotional well-being), and to promote women’s empowerment over their health and well-being.

We honor Mrs. Madie Maddox Smith’s many contributions as a courageous Black woman, leading to advance upward mobility for Black women in public health, highlighting the strength and vibrancy of the African American community in the face of generations of systemic inequality and racism. P

Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore, M.D.

Dr. Lawson A. Scruggs, M.D.

Leonard Medical School, Graduaang Class of 1888 Shaw University – Raleigh, North Carolina | Founding Site of ONSMS Dr. Manassa Thomas Pope, M.D.

The Test of Time.

La prueba del tiempo.

For more than a century, the Old North State

Durante más de un siglo, Old North State Medical

Medical Society has stood the test of me.

Society se ha sustentado ante la prueba del empo.

Now, ONSMS is providing free COVID-19 tessng,

Ahora, ONSMS está proporcionando pruebas y

boosters, and vaccinaaons across the state of North

vacunas GRATUITAS en todo el estado de Carolina del

Carolina. For reliable informaaon about your health and safety, rely on the physicians from Old North State Medical Society – trusted since 1887.

To find free tessng and vaccinaaon sites near you, visit: onsms.org/get-vaxxed

Norte. Para obtener información confiable sobre su salud y seguridad, conne en los médicos de Old North State Medical Society, en quien se conna desde 1887.

Para localizar siios de vacunación y pruebas gratuitas cerca de usted, visite: onsms.org/get-vaxxed.

Scan this code to find the free tessng & vaccinaaon sites near you.

PrideBusiness FYI News & Notes Compiled by John Burton

The Park Church collaborated with various partners to bring 80 apartments to Charlotte seniors in 2023.

In December 2021, The Park Ministries broke ground on a joint venture between Laurel Street Partners, the City of Charlotte, Bank of America and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Charlotte.

The 80-unit affordable senior housing community which is slated for completion in 2023, has a total cost of approximately $16.8 million. Bank of America provided the construction loan and a tax-credit equity investment for the development. The Charlotte Housing Opportunity Investment Fund will contribute $4.3 million in financing to the project.

The community represents the first phase of a larger masterplanned development on The Park Church’s 51-acre campus.

Targeting seniors aged 55 years and up, with incomes below 80 percent of the area median income, the property will comprise 48 one-bedroom and 32 two-bedroom units ranging from 660 to 900 square feet. Rents will range between $400 and $1,400. Each unit will feature walk-in closets, ceiling fans, and fully equipped kitchens. Community amenities are planned to include outdoor green space, garden plots, a fitness center, individual storage units, and a multi-purpose community room.

Photo courtesy of the Park Church

West Charlotte Church to Bring Affordable Housing to Seniors

Bishop Claude Alexander of The Park Church and others at the Gilfield Park groundbreaking ceremony.

The community will be called Gilfield Park, after a prayer group that would become Gilfield Baptist Church, known today as The Park Church. It will be located 7 miles northwest of Uptown Charlotte, close to dining and retail options, as well as a bus stop.

Reverberations: UNCC Celebrates the Genius of Charlie Parker

Legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker, 1947

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During the 2021-22 academic year, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) Department of Music is hosting a year-long celebration of the legendary Charlie Parker.

A multifaceted jazz event, Charlie “Bird” Parker: Reverberations, will be presented on Wednesday, March 23 at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, 551 South Tryon St., Charlotte, in partnership with the UNCC Department of Music, as part of their Charlie Parker 101 project. This program will explore Parker's influence on his musical collaborators and others.

The evening will include live music, spoken word performance and a panel conversation, featuring internationally acclaimed saxophonist Charles McPherson, along with UNCC faculty Jeffrey Leak, Kelsey Klotz and Will Campbell.

“We’re taking the opportunity to explore Charlie Parker — to share the breadth and depth of a musician who made an indelible impact not only on jazz, but on the communities and spaces he came into contact with,” wrote Dr. Kelsey Klotz, jazz historian and lecturer on the UNCC Department of Music website. “Parker’s genius reverberated well beyond the circles of musicians with whom he played and those who came after him, inspiring artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, and writers like Ralph Ellison and Ted Joans.”

Johnson C. Smith University Gets New Cycling Program

The first women’s cycling programs at a historically Black college, Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), and at tribal colleges and universities will launch with funding from a three-year grant from Cannondale, EF Pro Cycling, and USA Cycling (USAC). Two tribal schools, the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Navajo Technical University in Crown Point, New Mexico, are the other grant recipients. The program is open to any woman who is a student at the university who wants to join the cycling club. “Having a cycling program is going to be a great asset and will give our students an opportunity to compete as well as keep them on a healthy track physically,”said JCSU compliance director Shawn Meacham.

“Cycling will give students an opportunity to consider or explore a career in cycling, while simultaneously becoming more involved in the community and the world of cycling,” she said.

“We have the ability to change cycling, to grow the sport for everyone, and I’m excited to see where this road takes all of us,” said CEO of EF Education First-Nippo, Jonathan Vaughters. “We are excited to support the Institute of American Indian Arts, Navajo Technical University, and Johnson C. Smith University as they pave the way to a more inclusive future in cycling. I’m hopeful that in the coming years we will see more diversity at the highest levels of the sport — and that our team can help discover and develop riders who haven’t enjoyed the same access or opportunities many cyclists take for granted.”

Heather Shimmin / shutterstock

Two-Time Grammy Award Winning

THE ONE THE ONLY

“King of the Balladeers”

Peabo Bryson IN CONCERT

Sound Vizion 1/2 Page horizontal ad with special guest national recording artist Rhonda Thomas

Saturday, March 19th | 7:30p The Knight Theater at The Levine Museum of the Arts in Uptown Charlotte, NC “Reaching for the Sky”, “Tonight I Celebrate My Love”, “Can You Stop The Rain“, “If Ever I’m in Your Arms Again” and Disney songs “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World” from Aladdin!

Tickets on sale now at

For the best in class concert promotion visit sndvzninc.com/

MUSIC

For the best in live music in Charlotte visit jazznsoulmusic.com/

March-April 2022 | Pride Magazine

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PrideBusiness FYI News & Notes The “Victory Lodge” Local 1725, one of nearly 1,100 Local Lodges affiliated with more than 742,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), swore in Helena Thornton as its first female President in January.

Thornton is the first woman to hold the top leadership position for the local lodge. The trade union’s senior leadership was on hand to honor Thornton. Richard Johnsen, Chief of Staff to the International President; Edison Fraser, Transportation Coordinator; Tom Regan, Airline Coordinator, Grand Lodge Special Representative Will Cashion, and Headquarters Communications Representative Tanya Hutchins, joined General Secretary-Treasurer Dora Cervantes as she swore in Thornton and the 1725 Executive Board and grievance committees.

Starting her airline career in Charlotte as a part-time fleet service agent and a single mom, Thornton was simply trying to provide for her children. Thornton’s passion for her profession progressed and she ascended in positions in her almost two decades career. “As president, I want to ensure fair wages,” Thornton said.

“It doesn’t matter your color, gender or race. Just that everyone works together.” Victory Lodge 1725 continues to lead the way in promoting women into leadership positions. Renae Miller was sworn in as Recording Secretary and Tami Travis as Trustee. Three of the current executive board members are now women.

This lodge is one of 1,100 Local Lodges affiliated with more

Photo courtesy of IAMAW 141

Local Transportation Union Names First Woman President

Helena Thornton, President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, Local 1725

than 742,000 members of the IAMAW, with 100,000 employed in the Transportation Sector. Victory Lodge 1725 represents approximately 3,000 active members from both District Lodges 141 and 142 and covers members employed at American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, PSA Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. Most of its members work at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in several locations. P

WEBINAR

Hearing Matters THURSDAY, MARCH 10 | 2PM

Your fresh start starts here.

Join us for a tour or event at Aldersgate, an age 62+ Life Plan Community.

Hearing and health are closely linked. In fact, auditory deprivation from untreated hearing loss can lead to social isolation, poorer quality of life and cognitive decline, including dementia. Audiologist Dr. Tomas Cabrera, from the Help You Hear clinic, will discuss what’s at risk and how to take charge of your hearing.

To learn about more events or schedule a tour, call (704) 318-2035 or visit AldersgateLiving.org.

Aldersgate is a non-profit Life Plan Community.

3800 Shamrock Drive • Charlotte, NC 28215

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