Saturday, May 26, 2012

Analysis of African Americans’ genetics and smoking behaviors reveals gene variant correlated with how many cigarettes a day someone smokes

The largest-ever analysis of African Americans’ genetics and smoking behaviors has revealed a gene variant correlated with how many cigarettes a day someone smokes. The gene has previously been found to be significant in predicting smoking behavior in individuals of European descent, but the particular marker of importance within the gene varies in those of different ethnicities.

Sean David, MD, DPhil, clinical associate professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, is the lead author of the study, which drew on data from more than 32,000 African Americans and 50 institutions around the country, including participants in Stanford’s portion of the Women’s Health Initiative.

“Because of the genetic architecture of certain regions of the genome, we have to look at different ethnic groups separately,” said David, who is also a research physician and director of the translational medicine program at SRI International’s Center for Health Sciences in Menlo Park, Calif. “Unfortunately, most clinical trials and large cross-sectional studies to date had included only participants of European descent.”


Sean David
Genetic markers correlated with smoking behaviors can also predict how well different smoking-cessation programs or drugs work, making it important to understand these markers in different populations, he said. And discovering new genes important in mediating nicotine addiction can also help researchers develop new drugs and targeted treatments.

“What we wanted to do was build on the work that had been done in European populations,” said David.

The study was published May 22 in Translational Psychiatry. David was a co-leader of the study and collaborated with more than 75 researchers at dozens of organizations throughout the country to collect and analyze the data. Other co-leaders are from SRI International, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, the University of Southern California and the University of California-San Francisco.

African Americans, on average, begin smoking at a later age than those of European descent, and smoke fewer cigarettes per day. However, they have a higher risk of developing lung cancer and are less likely to quit smoking. Such discrepancies, David said, make it especially important to understand how the biology of nicotine receptors and addiction varies between ethnicities.

David teamed up with scientists in charge of 13 previous studies around the country to create the Study of Tobacco in Minority Populations, or STOMP, Genetics Consortium and gather a population large enough to find statistically relevant genes. The researchers collected data on whether each participant had ever been a smoker, the age they began smoking, how many cigarettes per day they smoked and whether they had successfully quit smoking. Each study sequenced the genomes of their own participants, but all used similar methods and performed the same analysis.

In total, 53.7 percent of the study participants had ever smoked, and 44.8 percent of those no longer smoked. Sixty-six percent of the participants were women, and the average age at the time the data was collected ranged from 35 to 73 in the different studies.

What the team discovered when they parsed all the data was one gene marker that was correlated with the number of cigarettes someone smoked per day. The marker is in the gene CHRNA5, which has also been found to be important in smoking behaviors of people of European ancestry. However, the marker is in a different spot of the gene.

“Knowing that this gene is important in different ancestral groups really points to its importance and suggests it as a target for drug discovery and development,” said David.

CHRNA5 encodes a nicotine receptor subunit. Nicotine receptors, which bind the chemicals in cigarettes and transmit signals through the brain in response, are made up of different combinations of five subunits. Previous research by other investigators has shown that inactivating CHRNA5 in mice reduces the inhibitory, aversive effects of nicotine, such as increased heart rate and nervousness. Without these negative effects limiting their nicotine intake, the animals seek more of the chemical than usual. This reaction could explain why certain variants of the gene influence people’s smoking habits.

The team also found other genetic markers that had weaker correlations with smoking behaviors. None were statistically significant in the current study, but David said some approached genome-wide statistical significance, and they could be pursued further in the future.

“More research is still needed in populations of African ancestry,” said David, “so that the same innovations in personalized medicine promised for all those of European ancestry will be available to those of all ethnic backgrounds.”

The Women’s Health Initiative, which played a major role in the new study, was launched in 1991 as the largest study of women in the country and tracked the health of more than 161,000 postmenopausal women over 15 years. Stanford, with 8,208 participants, was one of the largest sites for the WHI study. Others studies included in the STOMP meta-study were the African American GWAS Consortia of Breast and Prostate Cancer, the Candidate Gene Association Resource Consortium, the Cleveland Family Study, the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study, the Jackson Heart Study, the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, the Cardiovascular Health Study, the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods across the Life Span Study, Health ABC, the Genetic Study of Atherosclerosis Risk, and the Hypertension Genetic Epidemiology Network.

David received funding for the study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The Women’s Health Initiative is funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

BY SARAH C.P. WILLIAMS Information about Stanford’s Department of Medicine, which also supported the work, is available at medicine.stanford.edu.


PRINT MEDIA CONTACT Rosanne Spector | Tel (650) 725-5374 manishma@stanford.edu || BROADCAST MEDIA CONTACT M.A. Malone | Tel (650) 723-6912 mamalone@stanford.edu

Monday, May 21, 2012

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will host "Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience,"

EAU CLAIRE —McIntyre Library at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will host "Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience," a national traveling exhibition that chronicles the remarkable history of baseball's Negro leagues and the challenges and success of African-American baseball players.

The exhibit is scheduled to be in McIntyre Library from May 29-July 2.

The traveling exhibit is based on an exhibition on permanent display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

In addition to the exhibit, McIntyre Library will hold a number of events dedicated to celebrating the African-American baseball experience.

An opening reception is set to host Jerry Poling, a local expert and author of "A Summer Up North: Henry Aaron and the Legend of Eau Claire Baseball" at 3 p.m. June 2 in the second floor breezeway of McIntyre Library. Other exhibit events include the following:

Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience"Let's Talk Baseball: Brownbag Lunch Discussion," noon, June 11 and June 25, second floor breezeway, McIntyre Library.
"In Their Own Words: Stories from Negro League Players," 7 p.m., June 13, second floor breezeway, McIntyre Library.
"Larry Lester: Respect, Redemption and Recognition," 7 p.m., June 21, Room 100, Schneider Hall.

The exhibit is part of the National Endowment for the Humanities' "We the People" initiative, which explores significant events and themes in the nation's history and advances knowledge of the principles that define the United States. The events also are in collaboration with the American Library Association and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information about these programs, see the schedule of events or call 715-836-3856. -30- CC/JB/DW

News at UW-Eau Claire • Schofield Hall 201 • University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire • Eau Claire WI 54702-4004 Phone: 715-836-4741 Questions/Comments: newsbur@uwec.edu

Thursday, May 17, 2012

The University of Rhode Island has announced the recipients of its 2012 Black Scholar Awards.

KINGSTON, R.I. – The University of Rhode Island has announced the recipients of its 2012 Black Scholar Awards.

Donald Cunnigen and Yvette Harps-Logan, members of the URI Black Faculty Association, created the awards program to acknowledge and celebrate African-American students’ accomplishments. The 15th annual ceremony was held last month in the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences.

This year’s awards and their recipients are:

• William Gould Award for All-Around Outstanding Achievement: Mecca Smith, a junior anthropology and film media studies major from Providence, R.I. Smith has minors in international development, leadership, and nonviolence and peace studies. In her three years at URI, she has served as a student admission representative, URI 101 mentor, freshman orientation leader and peer advocate. Smith studied abroad in Belize, where she participated in an ancient Mayan excavation project.

recipients of its 2012 Black Scholar Awards

PROUD MOMENT: Recipients of the 2012 University of Rhode Island Black Scholar Awards pose for a photo after the recent ceremony. URI Photo By Joe Giblin.

• Arthur L. Hardge Award for All-Around Outstanding Community Service: Gafar O. Odufuye, a senior mechanical engineering major with minors in nuclear engineering and Chinese from North Providence, R.I. Odufuye has served as the vice president of URI’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, a tutor, and a mentor to children interested in math and science.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Outstanding Leadership and Contribution to the University Community: Maria L. Beltre, a senior civil and environmental engineering major with a minor in nuclear engineering from Providence, R.I. Beltre has worked as a research assistant in URI’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and is a member of several student organizations, including the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers and Society of Women Engineers.

• Harvey Robert Turner Award for Outstanding Service to the University of Rhode Island Black Community: Stephane Andrade, a senior sociology and political science major from Pawtucket, R.I. He has worked as a resident advisor for the past three years, including summers, and is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers.

• Jackie Robinson and Althea Gibson Scholar-Athlete Awards: Anthony Malhoit, a URI basketball player from Waterford, Conn., and Marissa Norman, a captain of the URI women’s track and field team from Peace Dale, R.I. Malhoit will graduate with a major in psychology and minors in diversity and pluralism, women’s studies, and African and African-American studies. He is a peer advocate at URI and participates in various charity events at elementary schools. Norman is majoring in psychology and has minors in sociology and kinesiology. She is researching and working on a manuscript on drinking and driving performance.

• Noreen Coachman Award for Outstanding Achievement by an Older Student: Mitzie Johnson, a senior human development and family studies major with minors in thanatology and African and African-American studies. The Warwick, R.I. resident plans to pursue a master’s degree in family life education.

• Saint Clair Drake Award for Outstanding Scholarly Research: Justin Brown, a senior Spanish major from Providence, R.I.

• Saint Elmo Brady Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science: Nana Ama Ofei-Tenkorang, a senior biological sciences major with a minor in leadership studies from North Providence, R.I.

• David Edmonds Award for Outstanding Artistic and Creative Expression: Antaeus K. Jefferson, a senior art major from Providence, R.I.

• Estes Benson Award for Academic Achievement: Jillian Marie Winfield, a senior textiles, fashion merchandising and design and theater technology from Andover, Mass. and Rusbel Perez, a general business major from Cranston, R.I.

The ceremony also honored this year’s Rhode Island Onyx Senior Honor Society Inductees. The new members are: Stephane Andrade, Maria L. Beltre, Reumilda R. Correia, Trystan Del Tufo, Anuoluwapo Linda Famodimu, Yvens L. Faustin, James E. Fontes, Maya S. Gibbes, Robert Gilliard, Diamonde C. Goncalves, Brittany S. Hedger, Susanna O. Iwu, Antaeus K. Jefferson, Mitzie Johnson, Tetee R. Joseph, Anthony P. Malhoit, Vaughn X. Martin, Brianna N. Mays, Jasmine Middleton, Admir Monteiro, Paul F. Monteiro, Fatou A. Ndiaye, Marissa Norman, Gafar O. Odufuye, Nana Ama Ofei-Tenkorang, Kelly Oliveira, Kimberly A. Oliveira, Omolara Oriretan, Rusbel Perez, Judy L. Perry, Tonisha Pierre, Kimberly A. Pires, Timothy Quainoo, Jonathan St. John, Mecca Smith, Christie A. Theodore, Celeste G. Thompson-Roach, Nindi D. Tiemo, and Jillian Marie Winfield. +sookie tex

This release was written by Danielle Sanda, an intern in URI’s Department of Communications and Marketing and a public relations major.

Media Contact: Dave Lavallee, 401-874-5862 University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA 1-401-874-1000

Department of Communications and Marketing Division of University Advancement Alumni Center 73 Upper College Road Kingston, Rhode Island 02881 Phone: 401.874.2116 Fax: 401.874.7872

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Yoruba Richen “The New Black” examines attitudes in African American churches towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community

Yoruba Richen Wins Creative Promise Award from Tribeca All Access: Documentary filmmaker Yoruba Richen keeps piling up the awards for her latest project, “The New Black,” which examines attitudes in African American churches towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

She recently won a $10,000 Creative Promise Award from Tribeca All Access, which supports filmmakers from underrepresented groups.

This honor comes on the heels of Richen’s selection as a 2012 Guggenheim Fellow, for which she was awarded $50,000 .

Richen, who teaches Video Documentary and International Reporting at the CUNY J-School, has also received grants from Sundance Documentary Fund, Frameline, Jerome Foundation, Chicken & Egg Pictures, the Robert Giard Foundation, and the CUNY Diversity Fund.

“The New Black” is scheduled for release early in 2013.

By Amy Dunkin | Last updated on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 at 10:32 am. Graduate School of Journalism | City University of New York, 219 W. 40th Street | New York, NY 10018 | Hours of Operation  (646) 758-7700 | admissions@journalism.cuny.edu

Friday, May 11, 2012

University of California, Irvine study finds racial, economic disparities in ovarian cancer care, survival

UCI study finds racial, economic disparities in ovarian cancer care, survival
White and affluent women did better than African American and poor women

Poor women and African Americans with ovarian cancer are less likely to receive the highest standards of care, leading to worse outcomes than among white and affluent patients, according to a study of 50,000 women presented by UC Irvine’s Dr. Robert Bristow at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s annual meeting March 27.

“Not all women are benefiting equally from improvements in ovarian cancer care,” said Bristow, UC Irvine’s director of gynecologic oncology services. “The reasons behind these disparities are not entirely clear, which is why we need additional research.”

Dr. Robert Bristow

Dr. Robert Bristow. UC Irvine Healthcare
The study’s goal was to examine differences related to race and socioeconomic status among women being treated for epithelial ovarian carcinomas – cancer that forms on the surface of an ovary. It also aimed to determine whether their care adhered to National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines.

Bristow and colleagues found that five-year survival rates varied significantly. (Improvement in ovarian cancer care is measured in length of survival after diagnosis rather than a “cure” rate.)

Among those whose care met NCCN standards, the rate for white women was 41.4 percent, compared with 33.3 percent for African American women. Among those whose care did not meet NCCN standards, the rate for white women was 37.8 percent, compared with 22.5 percent for African American women.

Bristow said that women on Medicaid or those with no insurance had a 30 percent increased risk of death. Poor women – defined as having an annual household income of less than $35,000 – had worse survival rates regardless of race.

He said it’s likely that the effects of race and socioeconomic status are cumulative and that some combination of other medical conditions, poverty, culture and social injustice accounts for the majority of observed disparities.

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer, accounting for more than 15,000 deaths a year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“Under the best circumstances, treating ovarian cancer is challenging, because there’s no screening tool available to detect the disease in its early stages,” Bristow said.

Only 20 to 30 percent of ovarian cancers are diagnosed while still confined to the primary site; the remainder are identified in advanced stages after spreading to areas such as the liver, the lungs and nearby lymph nodes.

Bristow’s study was part of an effort by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and colleagues at the Mayo Clinic and Washington University in St. Louis to assess the quality and outcomes of ovarian cancer care in the U.S.

About UC Irvine Medical Center: Orange County’s only university hospital, UC Irvine Medical Center offers acute- and general-care services at its new, 482,000-square-foot UC Irvine Douglas Hospital and is home to the county’s only Level I trauma center, American College of Surgeons-verified regional burn center and National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. U.S. News & World Report has included UC Irvine for 11 consecutive years on its list of America’s Best Hospitals, giving special recognition to its urology, gynecology, kidney disorders and cancer programs.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County’s second-largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

News Radio: UCI maintains on campus an ISDN line for conducting interviews with its faculty and experts. Use of this line is available for a fee to radio news programs/stations that wish to interview UCI faculty and experts. Use of the ISDN line is subject to availability and approval by the university.

— Orange, Calif., May 08, 2012 — +sookie tex

Media Contact: John Murray. Medical Center Communications 714-456-7759 jdmurray@uci.edu

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Tom Corbett Appoints Kiron Skinner to Commission on African American Affairs

Tom Corbett Appoints Kiron Skinner to Commission on African American Affairs

In recognition of Pennsylvania's more than 1.4 million African American citizens, Governor Tom Corbett has named distinguished community leaders to serve on the Governor's Advisory Commission on African American Affairs. Included on the 18-person advisory commission is Carnegie Mellon University's Kiron Skinner, associate professor of social and decision sciences and director of CMU's Center for International Relations and Politics.

"The history of African Americans in Pennsylvania reflects a diverse and unique blend of cultural, social and economic influences which have had and continue to have a beneficial impact on life in the commonwealth," Corbett said.

The commission advises and makes recommendations to the governor on policies, procedures, legislation, and regulations that affect the African American community. It works to articulate and address the unique needs and issues of concerns of the African American community.


Kiron Skinner

Carnegie Mellon's Kiron Skinner, is a renowned expert in international relations, U.S. foreign policy and political strategy.
Skinner is a renowned expert in international relations, U.S. foreign policy and political strategy. She serves on the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Executive Panel and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2001-2007, she was a member of the U.S. Defense Department's Defense Policy Board as an adviser on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Additionally, Skinner is the coauthor, along with political scientists Serhiy Kudelia, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Condoleezza Rice, of "The Strategy of Campaigning: Lessons from Ronald Reagan and Boris Yeltsin," which is now used in political science courses at leading research universities.

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TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: Carnegie Mellon News 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (412) 268-2900. Contact: Shilo Rea / 412.268.6094 / shilo@cmu.edu

Monday, May 7, 2012

A History of the Black Aesthetic, A Brief Sketch

In partnership with the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Duquesne University’s McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts will present the second annual Black Aesthetics and Politics Conference on Friday, May 4, at 8 p.m. at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty.

This year, the conference takes the form of performance art in a series of vignettes titled A History of the Black Aesthetic, A Brief Sketch. Throughout the evening, different artists will interpret four periods of African-American arts: the 1600s-1920, 1930-1950, 1960-1970 and 1980-today. By mixing music, dance and poetry, the performers will bring to life the aesthetic period each era represents.

The featured artists are:

BusCrates 16-Bit Ensemble, a DJ and musician
Gene Stovall, a Duquesne graduate, singer and guitarist
Kendra “Vie Boheme” Dennard, a member of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble
Luqmon A. Salaam, a hip-hop performance poet and playwright.

The event is $10 per person; tickets will be available for purchase at the door.


Duquesne University

Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic research universities for its award-winning faculty and tradition of academic excellence. The University is nationally ranked by U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review for its rich academic programs in 10 schools of study for 10,000-plus graduate and undergraduate students, and by the Washington Monthly for service and contributing to students’ social mobility. Duquesne is a member of the U.S. President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for its contributions to Pittsburgh and communities around the globe. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges acknowledge Duquesne’s commitment to sustainability.

This release was posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 at 11:19 am and is filed under Centers & Institutes, Community Involvement, Events.

TEXT CREDIT: Duquesne University Media Contacts: Karen Ferrick-Roman Media Relations Manager 412.396.1154 412.736.1877 (cell) ferrickromank@duq.edu Rose Ravasio Media Relations Manager 412.396.6051 412.818.0234 (cell) ravasio@duq.edu

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Isabel Wilkerson, Chronicler of African American Migration, Receives Stephen E. Ambrose Oral History Award

Isabel Wilkerson, Chronicler of African American Migration, Receives Stephen E. Ambrose Oral History Award

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Rutgers Living History Society will present its Stephen E. Ambrose Oral History Award to Isabel Wilkerson, whose epic history, The Warmth of Other Suns: the Epic Story of America’s Great Migration (Random House, 2010), tells the story of the 20th-century migration of African Americans from the south to the north.

The Rutgers Living History Society, comprised of participants in the Rutgers Oral History Archives program, will present the Ambrose Award to Wilkerson at its annual meeting on May 11.

"I am thrilled to receive the Stephen E. Ambrose Award,” Wilkerson said. “I raced against the clock to gather the experiences of people who were part of the Great Migration. I narrowed 1,200 interviews down to three protagonists to bring the story of this mass movement to life before it was too late. This award is validation for the 15 years it took to complete the project, and I am honored and so very grateful to have been chosen as winner of an award that bears the name of one of our country's great historians."

Isabel Wilkerson

Isabel Wilkerson
Wilkerson, the former Chicago bureau chief for The New York Times, spent 15 years working on the book and interviewed more than 1,200 people. Eventually, she intertwined a general history of the migration with the personal stories of three people: Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, a sharecropper’s wife from Mississippi; George Swanson Starling, a farm worker from Florida; and Joseph Pershing Foster, a doctor from Louisiana.

Gladney went to Chicago in the 1930s, Starling to New York City in the 1940s and Foster drove from Louisiana to Los Angeles in the 1950s. In researching her book, Wilkerson made the same drive, without stopping to eat or rest in places where, in his time, Foster would not have been allowed to eat or rest.

The Warmth of Other Suns has won several awards and honors, including the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the 2011 Anisfield-Wolf Award for Nonfiction, the 2011 Hillman Book Prize, the 2011 Lynton History Prize from Harvard and Columbia universities, the 2011 Heartland Prize for Nonfiction, the Stephen Ambrose Oral History Prize, the Independent Literary Award for Nonfiction, the Horace Mann Bond Book Award from Harvard University, the NAACP Image Award for best literary debut and was shortlisted for the 2011 Pen-Galbraith Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

Wilkerson won the Pulitzer Prize for her work as Chicago bureau chief of The New York Times in 1994, making her the first black woman in the history of American journalism to win a Pulitzer Prize and the first African American to win for individual reporting. Wilkerson also won the George Polk Award, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, and she was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists.

Wilkerson has taught at Princeton University and Emory University. She is currently a professor of journalism and director of narrative nonfiction at Boston University. During the Great Migration, her parents journeyed from Georgia and southern Virginia to Washington, D.C., where she was born and raised.

In receiving the Ambrose Award, Wilkerson joins historians Michael and Elizabeth Norman, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay; documentarian Ken Burns; journalist Rick Atkinson; the late journalist Studs Terkel; film maker Steven Spielberg; and broadcaster Tom Brokaw. +sookie tex

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: Rutgers Today Media Contact: Ken Branson (732) 932-7084, ext. 633 E-mail: kbranson@ur.rutgers.edu

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Deep River: The African American Choral Spiritual

From the days of slavery 150 years ago, the African American spiritual grew out of the earliest days of Black America.

Over time, spirituals spread across denominations, cultures, and concert venues around the country and the world. Many of us have heard this music without being aware of how deep the meaning and history run beneath the surface. “Deep River” is a one-hour radio special produced in partnership with IU’s African American Arts Institute, and hosted by Ross Gay, a poet and professor of creative writing. The guest is IU Emeritus Professor James E. Mumford—performer, composer, educator, and director of IU’s African American Choral Ensemble for more than two decades.

Spirituals, according to Dr. Mumford, are "books in the library of primary sources of the real experiences of enslaved Africans." Spirituals can tell us "how they felt about slavery, were able to endure it; define it; adapt it; hate it; to fight it, and to eventually come out of it."

African American Choral Ensemble

African American Choral Ensemble

The language in spirituals, their poetry, comes out of the necessity to use double entendre in order to veil the messages hidden in each song. As Dr. Mumford says, "one finds in the Spirituals the polarities of hope and despair, joy and sorrow, death and life."

“Deep River” premieres on WFIU Wednesday, April 18, at 7 p.m., and can be heard on demand at indianapublicmedia.org/arts/deep-river. The program is funded in part by a grant from Arts Week Everywhere, an annual celebration of the arts on the Indiana University campus and in the Bloomington community. Arts Week Everywhere is sponsored by the Indiana University Office of the Provost and coordinated by students in IU’s Master of Arts Administration program.

WFIU — Public Radio from Indiana University — is your local source for classical music, jazz, and news. WFIU is an NPR affiliate serving central and southern Indiana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: John Bailey, Marketing Director WFIU – Public Radio from Indiana University 1229 E 7th St Bloomington, IN 47405 (812) 855-0198 johnbail@indiana.edu +sookie tex