University of Nebraska to unveil 'George Flippin Project' to honor school's first black student-athlete

At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, George Flippin was a large man for his day. That, along with his hard-running style, helped him to become one of the University of Nebraska’s very first football stars.

But in the course of his lifetime Flippin became a man of great stature in many other ways. As the university’s first African-American athlete, he saw success on the field despite enduring racial bigotry from opposing teams and fans. He excelled in the classroom, completed medical school in three years, practiced medicine in Illinois and Arkansas, then returned to Nebraska to establish a hospital in Stromsburg in 1907.

A world traveler, Flippin often studied advances in Europe and brought them back to his well-respected practice in Nebraska. When he died in 1929, his funeral was said to be the largest Stromsburg had ever seen.

On Friday, Sept. 16, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will honor Flippin’s legacy with the unveiling of a new art project bearing his likeness at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center. The event begins at 7:15 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The four-by-six-foot mural-style portrait of Flippin standing proudly in his Nebraska football uniform – a white sweater emblazoned with a red ‘N’ – was the culmination of the work of a dozen student volunteers.

This is one of the 24 painted square pieces that combine to form The Flippin Project, a student-designed mural honoring the University of Nebraska's first African-American athlete. The mural will be unveiled at a Sept. 16 ceremony at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Crystal Sanders, an August 2011 graduate of UNL from Placentia, Calif., painted this segment of the mural.

The Flippin Project, as it has become known, provided an opportunity to transcend cultural boundaries through art by enlisting the talents of the volunteers from Prof. Aaron Holz’s advanced painting class in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Holz and Jon Humiston, creative director at UNL’s Office of University Communications, divided a black-and-white photo of Flippin into 24 equal-sized squares, then asked each student to paint two of them. No other creative instruction was given, so students could interpret and paint their slices of the overall portrait in whatever manner they chose. The result is a fascinating patchwork of styles, colors, effects and interpretations that reflect the students’ diversity while unifying to form the iconic image of the university’s pioneering student-athlete. Students worked independently, researching Flippin’s life and his contributions to the university, before putting brushes to canvas. “One of the most amazing things about George Flippin’s story was that despite being the first free-born generation in his family, he was able to use his incredible talent to rise beyond the racial obstacles of the time,” said Kyren Conley, a senior from Alliance who participated in the project. “I was also proud to learn that despite the times of widespread segregation and racism, his team supported and respected him.”

Crystal Sanders, another of the student artists, graduated in August. She said she was pleased with how the mural came together and that like in football it required a team effort by the student artists. In the end, she said it will help to preserve Flippin’s legacy at UNL. The mural will remain on permanent display at the multicultural center.

“I am very proud to be a part of the history of the school I graduated from and I am proud of the school for acknowledging art as having importance,” she said. Other students participating in the art project were Spenser Albertsen, Matt Belk, Anthony Blue, Michaela E. Bradley, Derek Joy, James Laville, Caitlin Mackie, Dana Oltman, Kan Seidel and Stephanie Tompsett.

In addition to the mural’s unveiling, several speakers during the event will discuss Flippin’s life, his impact on the university and his contribution to the state.

The Gaughan Center, linked to the east side of the Nebraska Union, opened in 2010. It features 30,000 square feet of space, including student offices, tutoring rooms and areas for faculty, staff and students dedicated to diversity and multicultural programming.

Writer: Steve Smith, University Communications, (402) 472-4226, ssmith13@unl.edu

Released on 09/09/2011, at 12:00 AM Office of University Communications University of Nebraska–Lincoln. WHEN: Friday, Sep. 16. WHERE: Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center. Lincoln, Neb., September 9th, 2011 —

News Release Contacts: Jon D Humiston, Creative Director, Office of University Communications phone: 402 472 7026

UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES ANNOUNCE W.E.B. DU BOIS FELLOWS TO GIVE TALKS

UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES ANNOUNCE W.E.B. DU BOIS FELLOWS TO GIVE TALKS

Amherst, MA – The winners of the Libraries’ Du Bois Fellowships, Markeysha Davis and Rickey Fayne, will give talks based on their research on Friday, September 16, from 4 to 6 p.m., in the Conference Room on Floor 26, Du Bois Library.

Markeysha Davis, of the Afro-American Studies Department at UMass Amherst, will give a talk “Daring Propaganda for the Beauty of the Human Mind: Redefinition and Reaffirmation of the Black Self in Poetry and Drama of the 1960s and 1970s.”

Davis’s research examines the ways that black poets and playwrights of the 1960s and 1970s imagined and defined black nationhood by attempting to symbolically destroy the Du Boisian dilemma of black “double-consciousness.” The work of these artists during this period is indelibly rooted in W.E.B. Du Bois’s theory of the purpose of black art—theatre especially—for, by and about African Americans, their lives, their history and their culture. Some of the artists include Amiri Baraka, Charles Wesley, Ed Bullins, and Nikki Giovanni.

Rickey Fayne, of the English Department at Northwestern University, will give a talk “The Will to Achieve: Philosophy and Psychology in Service of Social Action in W.E.B. Du Bois’s Pan-African American Consciousness.”

Faynes’s presentation intends to explicate the way in which Du Bois makes use of an imagined Africa within his writings and artistic productions in order to foment social change. He will argue that Du Bois rearticulates William James’s philosophical and psychological understanding of the personal consciousness and applies these ideals to black Americans as a whole in order to create a collective Pan-African American Consciousness.

For more information, contact Danielle Kovacs (dkovacs@library.umass.edu, 413-545-2784).

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NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDATE: 9/08/11 CONTACT : LESLIE SCHALER, COMMUNICATION PROGRAM COORDINATOR, (413) 545-0162

Michelle Alexander civil rights lawyer, advocate & legal scholar, will discuss impact of Black men’s high rates of imprisonment on American society

Civil Rights Lawyer and Author Michelle Alexander to Discuss the Impact of African-American Incarceration on American Society

Norfolk, Va.— Michelle Alexander, a civil rights lawyer, advocate, and legal scholar, will discuss the alarming impact of Black men’s high rates of imprisonment on American society at 7 p.m., Thursday, September 8 at NSU’s L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center. Alexander is the author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, which was considered one of the top African-American books of 2010. It won the NAACP Image Award for outstanding nonfictional literary work.

In her book, Alexander argues that the sudden and dramatic mass incarceration of African-American men, primarily through the War on Drugs, has created a new racial undercaste—a group of people defined largely by race that is subject to legalized discrimination, scorn and social exclusion—not unlike the days of Jim Crow. She challenges the civil rights community to put the issue of mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America.

Alexander currently holds a joint appointment at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. She was also an associate professor of law at Stanford Law School, where she directed the Civil Rights Clinics.

A graduate of Stanford Law and Vanderbilt University, Alexander clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun and for Chief Judge Abner Mikva on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Alexander’s appearance is free and open to the public. For more information, call (757) 823-8373 visit www.nsu.edu. TEXT CREDIT: Norfolk State University, 700 Park Avenue, Norfolk VA 23504 USA | NSU Operator: 757-823-8600 IMAGE CREDIT: Moritz College of Law - Faculty: Michelle Alexander

Emory University researchers explain cause for Racial Disparities in Kidney Failure

Emory University researchers explain cause for Racial Disparities in Kidney Failure.

ATLANTA – Emory University researchers have found that African Americans are more likely to excrete protein in their urine than whites, a condition that may contribute to a much higher incidence of kidney failure in African Americans.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, kidney failure has a disproportionate impact on minority populations, especially African Americans. The incidence of kidney failure in African Americans is nearly four times greater than in whites.

Led by Emory University Professor of Medicine William M. McClellan, Jr., MD, MPH, researchers examined data from 27,911 individuals, finding that African Americans are more likely to excrete larger amounts of protein in their urine than whites. The study,"Albuminuria and Racial Disparities in the Risk for ESRD," was published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

"Our large nationwide study brings attention to higher levels of urinary protein excretion as important contributors to the increased incidence of kidney failure experienced by African Americans,” said McClellan, who also has an appointment in Emory's Rollins School of Public Health. “Treating urinary protein excretion may help reduce racial disparities related to kidney failure as well as reduce the rate of progression to kidney failure for all individuals.”

Investigators speculate that several factors may explain why African Americans tend to excrete more protein in their urine. These could include blood pressure and other heart-related factors, obesity, smoking, vitamin D levels, genetic differences, income and birth weight. These factors may act at different times during an individual’s life to affect kidney health.

Study co-authors include David Warnock, MD, Suzanne Judd, PhD, Paul Muntner, PhD, Leslie McClure, PhD, George Howard, DrPh (University of Alabama at Birmingham); Reshma Kewalramani, MD (Amgen Corporation); Mary Cushman, MD (University of Vermont); and Britt Newsome, MD (Denver Nephrologists, PC).

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News Release: Aug. 30, 2011. Contact: Kerry Ludlam: (404) 727-5692

Julie Dash will discuss her film "Daughters of the Dust" following the film's screening at Duke University on Thursday, Sept. 8.

Durham, NC - On the 20th anniversary of its release, Julie Dash will discuss her film "Daughters of the Dust" following the film's screening at Duke University on Thursday, Sept. 8.

The film, which kicks off the Duke African and African American Studies department film series, will be shown at 6 p.m. at the Nasher Museum of Art. A discussion with Dash and art history professor Richard Powell will follow the screening. The event is free and open to the public.

"With the spirited public conversations about films like 'Precious,' 'For Colored Girls' and, most recently, 'The Help,' it's clear that the moving image continues to be one of the critical sites of interests about the preservation and dissemination of images of black humanity," said Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of black popular culture at Duke and the event organizer. "With our film series, we are hoping to intervene in these conversations by highlighting the expansive range of films that reflect black experiences."

"Daughters of the Dust," released in 1991, was the first feature by an African-American woman to gain national theatrical release and was named to the National Film Registry, a collection of films deemed by the Library of Congress to be national treasures.

Julie Dash

The film draws on Dash's South Carolina heritage and focuses on three generations of women with roots in the Sea Islands and Gullah culture. Set in 1902, "Daughters of the Dust" grapples with slavery's legacy, migration, sexual abuse and sexual freedom, and maintaining tradition amid modern pressures. Dash's visit also will include screenings of her short film "Praise House," a collaboration with the founder and choreographer of Urban Bush Women. The 2011-12 African and African American Studies film series, curated by Neal and history graduate student Cynthia Greenlee-Donnell, will continue in October with "Handsworth Songs" (1986), an experimental film documenting the 1985 racial unrest in Britain.

For more information, visit Duke's African and African American Studies website.

Office of News & Communications 615 Chapel Drive, Box 90563, Durham, NC 27708-0563 (919) 684-2823; After-hours phone (for reporters on deadline): (919) 812-6603

Exhibition at the BYU Museum of Art will feature 31 hand-made quilts created by African-American women of the Alabama region from 1945 to the present

African-American quilts at MOA show traditions, improvisations On display through Nov. 17

Quilting has been part of American culture for centuries. And although quilts were originally produced to provide warmth and protection, they have become regular features in art museums in the past several decades.

A new exhibition at the BYU Museum of Art will feature 31 hand-made quilts created by African-American women of the Alabama region from 1945 to the present. “From Heart To Hand: African-American Quilts from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts’ Permanent Collection” will explore the traditional patterns of African-American quilts and examine the improvisations distinct to regional quilt-makers. The exhibition will also feature many examples from the oeuvre of contemporary Alabama quilter: Yvonne Wells.

“From Heart To Hand” will be on view in the Warren & Alice Jones and Paul & Betty Boshard galleries on the lower level of the museum through Thursday, Nov. 17. Admission to this exhibition is free of charge. Free docent-led tours of this exhibition can be scheduled with at least one week’s notice by calling the Museum Education Department at (801) 422-1140.

“This is an exciting collection of hand-made quilts that range from vigorous versions of traditional patterns to unique story quilts with powerful messages,” said Museum of Art Curator Paul Anderson. “Many of these quilts are visually interesting because the women who made them improvised with cast-off fabrics from old work clothes or scraps from other quilts, creating unique variations of traditional patterns.”

Quilt photos courtesy of the BYU Museum of Art. Quilts by contemporary African-American quilt artist Yvonne Wells are highlighted in a new exhibit at the MOA.

In 2004, as part of its commitment to support and collect the work of regional self-taught artists, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts began a collection of African-American quilts with an acquisition of 48 quilts created by women between 1945 and 2001. In late 2008, the museum added ten more quilts of this same variety to its collection. This exhibition brings together examples from Montgomery MFA collection, along with several quilts on loan from featured artist, Yvonne Wells from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Quilt patterns were originally regional creations.Eventually, these patterns achieved national acceptance and became part of the larger quilt vocabulary. Proper execution of these patterns was something that many quilters strived for, and when achieved, it was a source of pride. Patterns often evolve in style and material as they travel from region to region. As the pattern travels, the design may continue to change, taking on new names and meanings.

Colors may become more significant to one culture or region than another, and therefore become more predominant. Elements of the quilt square may be rearranged, while maintaining the same generalized pattern, and might take on new meaning with the variation.

Wells’ work is emblematic of the type of advances that quilters can make outside of the discipline of following traditional patterns. Although Wells’ mother had quilted, she had never taught her daughter the craft; as a result, Yvonne Wells’ early career quilts display a patient respect. Each one was pieced and hand-sewn according to the traditional pattern. Later in her career, Wells created quilts that took on a more narrative approach, dispensing with most of the pieced quilt restrictions.

Many of Wells’ techniques mimic those used by painters. Her compositions often exist in her head until they are cut out and laid on top of the fabric square that is destined to become the quilt top. From there, she adds fabric accents, findings, beads and other brick-a-brack to the quilts. When they are finished, the quilts become as much relief paintings as are they are quilts, because they are not intended to be placed on a bed, but hung on a wall and read like a narrative painting.

Media Contact: Cecelia Fielding 801-422-4377 Writers Christopher Wilson More information about this exhibition will be available on the Museum of Art web site: moa.byu.edu.

Dr. Kenneth “Ken” Coopwood Sr., has been named Missouri State University’s first permanent vice president for diversity and inclusion

Dr. Kenneth “Ken” Coopwood Sr., has been named Missouri State University’s first permanent vice president for diversity and inclusion. He begins his duties Oct. 1.

Coopwood comes to Missouri State after eight years at Indiana University Northwest in Gary, Ind., where he was director of diversity programming, assistant to the chancellor and an adjunct faculty member in the School of Education.

“We are very pleased Ken has accepted our offer to be our first permanent person in this role,” said Missouri State Interim President Clif Smart. “He has the right combination of talent, experience and interpersonal skill to help us achieve our diversity goals. We look forward to having him join our team.”

Coopwood will have responsibility for a reorganized unit that includes the office for institutional equity and compliance, multicultural student services (which includes TRIO Student Services), the Multicultural Resource Center and the Disability Resource Center.

Coopwood, who will be paid $112,000, replaces Dr. Leslie Anderson, who had served as the interim vice president since August 2010. Anderson will remain available until Dec. 31 as part of the transition and orientation before returning to the faculty full time Jan. 1, 2012.

Dr. Kenneth “Ken” Coopwood Sr. H. Wesley “Wes” Pratt

In a related move, effective Sept. 1, H. Wesley “Wes” Pratt will become the permanent equal opportunity officer and director of the office for institutional equity and compliance. He had served as interim since Feb. 1. Pratt’s salary will be $75,000. “Wes has proven himself to be a valuable asset as the equal opportunity officer,” said Smart. “He has strong commitments both to Missouri State and to the community of Springfield, which is important. I am very pleased he has accepted the position on a permanent basis.” Coopwood received three degrees from Indiana State University: B.S. in business administration in 1988; Master of Public Administration in 1992; and Ph.D. in Educational Administration, Leadership and Foundations in 2000. He is a product of the AASCU Millenium Leadership Institute and the Harvard University Institute for Higher Education. Prior to joining Indiana University Northwest, Coopwood worked nine years from 1994-2003 for his alma mater in various roles in diversity, affirmative action, judicial programs, athletics marketing and the African American Cultural Center. Prior to that, he worked at Indiana Purdue University Fort Wayne. During his career, Coopwood has received a number of awards, including the Shining Star of Leadership Award in 2009, the Diversity Advocate Award in 2000 and the Multicultural Program Award in 1998. His work has received national recognition by U.S. News and World Report and the Student African American Brotherhood for student retention and development of minority males. In 2010, IU Northwest was nationally recognized for its breadth of diversity programs. “I was honored to return home and serve the community that provided my personal and professional foundation,” said Coopwood. “I trust that my presence was valuable to those I was privileged to serve.”

Pratt was named the diversity outreach coordinator for the office of the provost at Missouri State in 2007. He obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from San Diego Law School, San Diego, Calif., and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Drury University.

Pratt formerly served as deputy director of the Maryland Job Corp Centers, where he administered and managed a statewide career and youth development program. Prior to that, he served as director of the California Conservation Corps in Sacramento, Calif.; as a law partner in the firm of Kemp & Pratt in San Diego, Calif.; and on the San Diego City Council.

Both appointments are subject to formal approved by the Board of Governors, which is expected to occur at the Oct. 28 meeting.

Media Contact: Clif Smart (417) 836-8500

Economic Factors Drive Smoking Decline Among Black Youth

PISCATAWAY, NJ - A new report in the American Journal of Public Health suggests that increasing cigarette prices combined with other social and economic factors appear to be behind the steep decline in smoking rates among African American youth that occurred between 1970s and the mid-1990s. The report argues that racial differences in parental attitudes, religious ties, negative health perceptions (and experiences), worsening poverty, increased food stamp use and price sensitivity were major factors contributing to the more rapid decrease and continuing lower rate of smoking among black youth than among other groups.

“Some have suggested that African American youth substituted other forms of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs for cigarettes,” said Tyree Oredein, the corresponding author of the report and a doctoral student at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health. “However, there was an overall decline in the use of both licit and illicit drugs among black high school seniors from the mid 1970s through the early 1990s alongside the fall of cigarette use.” Oredein is also an adjunct professor of health and nutrition sciences at Montclair State University.

In the early 1970s, smoking prevalence among black youth was similar to that of whites. Around 1976, smoking among both groups began to decline, but studies have shown that black youth experienced a much steeper decline. By the early 1990s, white students were more than four times more likely to have reported smoking cigarettes within the previous 30 days than their African American counterparts. Understanding the reasons behind this differential decline could help public health experts shape more effective tobacco prevention policies and programming.

“Some have questioned the validity of the statistics on the decline in African American youth smoking, but between 1992 and 2006, there was a marked drop in lung cancer incidence and death rates among 20 to 39 year olds,” Oredein added. “At the same time, a significantly steeper reduction in these same rates among African American adults mirrored the observed drop in African American youth smoking.” Jonathan Foulds, PhD, a co-author of the report and professor of public health sciences and psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine, added, “This provides strong evidence for an actual decline in smoking among African American youth during the 1970s through the 1990s. The reduction in young adult lung cancer cases in this group is highly likely to be due to the differential decline in smoking among African American youth 10-20 years earlier.”

The authors highlight a policy implication of the data, suggesting that, “Increases in cigarette price due to increased federal and state excise taxes have become and continue to be an effective tool in reducing cigarette use, especially African American youth.”

Journalists interested in interviewing the authors should contact Jerry Carey, UMDNJ News Service, at 856-566-6171 or at careyge@umdnj.edu.

The UMDNJ-School of Public Health is the nation’s first collaborative school of public health and is sponsored by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in cooperation with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 6,000 students on five campuses attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and New Jersey’s only school of public health. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, which provides a continuum of healthcare services with multiple locations throughout the state.

Press Release: Date: 08-22-11 Name: Jerry Carey Phone: 856-566-6171 Email: careyge@umdnj.edu

Michael L. Lomax president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund will serve as keynote speaker at Howard University’s 144th Convocation

WASHINGTON (August 19, 2011) – Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), will serve as keynote speaker at the University’s 144th Convocation, September 23 at 11 a.m. in Cramton Auditorium, President Sidney A. Ribeau, Ph.D., announced today.

“We are very pleased that Dr. Lomax has accepted our invitation to serve as our Opening Convocation keynote speaker,” Dr. Ribeau said. “We look forward to what we know will be an inspirational address from a distinguished educator.”

As head of the UNCF, Lomax leads the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships and other educational support to minority and low-income students. He oversees 400 scholarships, including the UNCF Gates Millennium Scholars Program, a 20-year, $1.6 billion project whose 14,000 low-income minority recipients have a 90 percent college graduation rate. Lomax also launched the UNCF Institute for Capacity Building, aimed at strengthening and sustaining the 39-member, private historically black colleges and universities around the country.

Additionally, Lomax co-chairs the Education Equality Project and serves on the boards of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of African American History and Culture and the Studio Museum of Harlem. He holds membership in numerous organizations, such as the Aspen Institute’s Commission on No Child Left Behind, the governing boards of Teach For America, the KIPP Foundation and the National Alliance of Public Charter schools. He is also a leading advocate for the importance of cradle-through-college education for all Americans.

Prior to joining the UNCF, Lomax was president of Dillard University in New Orleans and a professor of literature at Morehouse and Spelman colleges. He also served as chairman of the Fulton County Commission in Atlanta, the first African American elected to that post. Opening Convocation is a time-honored tradition, officially signaling the start of the academic year at Howard University and welcoming the freshman class. Dr. Ribeau is urging the Class of 2015 and the entire community to attend. For more information, please contact the Office of University Communications at 202-238-2330.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Dr. Kerry-Ann Hamilton Dir. of Strategic Communications & Marketing k_hamilton@howard.edu 202.238.2332 www.howard.edu/newsroom/

Amber Hunter has been promoted to director for admissions at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Amber Hunter has been promoted to director for admissions at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. At 31, Hunter is UNL's youngest and first African-American director for admissions.

"It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the director for undergraduate admissions. I look forward to working with UNL faculty, staff, and alumni in my new role to share with prospective students why UNL is a high-quality and affordable choice," Hunter said.

With more than 10 years experience in higher education admissions leadership, Hunter understands how to enhance and diversify a student body. She came to UNL in 2002 from the University of Kansas Office of Admissions and Scholarships as the assistant director for diversity recruitment. The last five years, she has served as an associate director/dean working with freshman recruitment; her work has been integral part of UNL's nine-year increase in enrollment. UNL's fall 2010 enrollment of 23,573 was the highest since 1992.

"Amber Hunter is regarded nationally as one of the rising stars in the college admissions profession. It is a real coup for the university to have her leading our undergraduate student recruiting efforts at this time," said Alan Cerveny, associate vice chancellor and dean of admissions.

Hunter also will continue her work as executive director of the Nebraska College Preparatory Academy, overseeing UNL's college access programs for low-income and first-generation Nebraska students. Hunter earned her bachelor's in communication studies at University of Kansas, a master's in leadership education at UNL, and is pursuing a doctorate in educational administration at UNL. WRITER: Andy Schadwinkel University Communications, (402) 472-1683 News Release Contacts: Alan Cerveny, Dean, Admissions phone: (402) 472-9531

Governor Pat Quinn today signed House Bill 1547, creating the Commission to End the Disparities Facing the African-American Community

Governor Quinn Signs Bill Creating Commission to Research Disparity in the African-American Community. Commission Will Explore Inequalities Across a Wide Variety of Areas

CHICAGO – August 13, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today signed House Bill 1547, creating the Commission to End the Disparities Facing the African-American Community. The commission will research the disparities facing African-Americans in the areas of healthcare, health services, employment, education, criminal justice, housing, and other social and economic issues. Its findings will be reported to the General Assembly.

“We know that disparities exist within the African-American community, preventing some from achieving their full potential,” Governor Quinn said. “In Illinois, we want everybody in, and nobody left out. We won’t shy away from examining the root causes of inequality, and working to correct them.”

The commission will be comprised of a bipartisan group of legislators from both houses of the General Assembly, the directors of the Departments of Human Services, Healthcare and Family Services, Children and Family Services, Public Health, Aging, Labor, Employment Security, Commerce and Economic Opportunity, State Board of Education, Board of Higher Education, Corrections, Juvenile Justice, or their designees.

It will also include the Executive Director of the Illinois African-American Family Commission, and up to 10 other individuals representing African-American communities around the state with backgrounds in the research areas. The president of the Illinois Senate and speaker of the Illinois House will name co-chairs for this Commission, and all members will serve without compensation.

The Commission must hold one or more public hearings, and report findings with recommendations to the General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2013. The Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago will provide staff and administrative support services.

House Bill 1547, which was sponsored by Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) and Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago), goes into effect immediately.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 13, 2011

TEXT CREDIT: State of Illinois

John and Eula Cleveland Chair in Black History Studies

WASHINGTON (August 9, 2011) –President Sidney A. Ribeau will host a naming ceremony for the John and Eula Cleveland Chair in Afro-American Studies on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 10:30 a.m. in Howard Hall on the University’s main campus.

The John and Eula Cleveland Chair in Black History Studies was established in March 2010 with a $1.2 million gift from the couple’s estate. The gift will support Afro-American Studies programs and continue Howard’s tradition of educating students in the dynamics of the African-American experience.

As Washingtonians, John and Eula Cleveland possessed a deep respect and admiration for the city, and were pioneers in the fight for better standards of living for black workers in the nation’s capital and across the country.

Together, the Clevelands helped create the Teamsters National Black Caucus and were active in civil rights and social justice issues. John Cleveland was also the first African-American international vice president of the Teamsters Union and was inducted into the Labor’s International Hall of Fame on May 20, 2010.

For more information, please contact the Office of University communications at 202-238-2330.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Jo-Ann English 202.238.2330 e-mail: jo-ann.english@howard.edu WEB: www.howard.edu/newsroom/

Eighty percent of African-American women develop uterine fibroids by late 40s according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Women who experience heavy periods, cramping, pain during sex, an urge to urinate frequently and even infertility may have a common disorder that affects African-American women three times more often than other women. This condition, called uterine fibroids, occurs when benign tumors grow in the uterus. Eighty percent of African-American women develop uterine fibroids by their late 40s, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

“Fibroids are most common in women in their 30s through their 50s, but they tend to strike African-American women at a younger age,” said Kenneth Pierce, MD, a radiologist at Loyola University Health System (LUHS) and an associate professor for the Department of Radiology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM). “Fibroids also grow more quickly and cause more symptoms in these women, so it is crucial that we manage them and prevent these women from developing debilitating conditions including anemia and pain-related lost-work days.”

No one knows exactly what causes fibroids or what makes them suddenly grow or shrink. However, risk factors like obesity, age, poor diet, having children or using contraceptives may play a role. For most women, fibroids tend to stop growing or shrink after menopause.

“The good news is women who suffer from the painful side effects of fibroid tumors may no longer need to undergo a hysterectomy to rid themselves of symptoms,” Dr. Pierce said. “Many treatment options exist to help women who are bothered by fibroids.” Uterine fibroid treatments include hysterectomy, embolization and hormone therapy. Interventional radiologists at Loyola University Health System now have access to minimally invasive technology that uses a catheter to cut off the blood supply to the tumors. Uterine artery embolization (UAE) has been used in the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) since the 1970s, but it is a relatively new option for the treatment of fibroids.

“Uterine artery embolization results in less bleeding, cramping and pain compared with alternative options,” Dr. Pierce said. “Patients also recover quickly and are home in less than 24 hours with no need for readmissions.”


Working through a small incision, the catheter is threaded through an artery in the leg until it reaches the arteries that supply blood to the uterus. Tiny acrylic particles are injected through the catheter into the uterine arteries and the particles subsequently block blood supply to the fibroids, which reduces the size of the tumors.

Dr. Pierce estimates that UAE, on average, shrinks tumors by more than one-half. Some women experience light cramping after the procedure and most resume regular menstrual periods shortly after UAE. This procedure also has the benefit of preserving fertility in women of childbearing age.

“Uterine artery embolization may spare women from having a hysterectomy and entering menopause prematurely,” Dr. Pierce said. “We are fortunate to have highly trained radiologists on staff to manage patients without surgery. Curing diseases through catheters is a benefit for our patients who are often young, active and eager to get back to their lives.”

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Based in the western suburbs of Chicago, Loyola University Health System is a quaternary care system with a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and 28 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 569-licensed-bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and the Ronald McDonald� Childrens Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus in Melrose Park includes the 264-bed community hospital, the Gottlieb Center for Fitness and the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Care Center.

Contact: Nora Plunkett Media Relations Anne Dillon

Director, Media Relations (708) 216-8232

UCLA life scientists and colleagues have produced one of the first high-resolution genetic maps for African American populations

UCLA life scientists and colleagues have produced one of the first high-resolution genetic maps for African American populations. A genetic map reveals the precise locations across the genome where DNA from a person's father and mother have been stitched together through a biological process called "recombination." This process results in new genetic combinations that are then passed on to the person's children.

The new map will help disease geneticists working to map genetic diseases in African Americans because it provides a more accurate understanding of recombination rates among that population, said the senior author of the research, John Novembre, a UCLA assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and of bioinformatics. The map could help scientists learn the roots of these diseases and discover genes that play a key role in them.

The study was published July 20 in the online version of the journal Nature Genetics and will be published in the print edition at a later date.

"Research aimed at finding disease variants will be improved by this tool, which could lead to better medications to help ameliorate the effects of those disease variants," Novembre said. "Health researchers can use a recombination map to refine where a disease gene might be."

John Novembre (Credit: Reed Hutchinson/UCLA)

Prior to this research, which was conducted by scientists from seven institutions, recombination had mainly been studied in European populations. "Now we have a map for African Americans that researchers can use as a tool, instead of using a European map or an African map," said Novembre, a member of UCLA's Interdepartmental Program in Bioinformatics. A second, independent study, led by David Reich at Harvard University and Simon Myers at Oxford University, used a similar approach to infer an African American recombination map. That research was published this week in Nature.

"While recombination rates between populations are very similar when you look at the broadest scales of the genome, we start to see variation in recombination between populations when we zoom in," said Daniel Wegmann, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar in Novembre's laboratory and the lead author of the study. "There are clear differences in recombination between Africans and Europeans, and African Americans tend to have a map that is a mixture between the African and European map, reflecting the mixture that took place between these two groups.

"If the position of a mutation is unknown and you want to pinpoint a gene linked to a disease, then recombination is important to help reveal in what region the gene lies," Wegmann said.

The mixture of African and European ancestry typical in the DNA of African Americans is reflected in recombination rates, Novembre said.

"No high-resolution recombination map has been inferred before for populations where the individuals have ancestry from different parts of the globe," Novembre said. "African Americans represent a unique combination of African and European ancestry. We found that if you know an African recombination rate for one region of the genome and you know the European rate, the African American rate sits about 80 percent of the way between the two. That is interesting, because the ancestry of African American DNA, on average, is 80 percent from African ancestral sources and 20 percent from European ancestral sources. The recombination rate reflects the ancestry."

The life scientists used an innovative method involving population genetic models in which they scanned the individual genomes of 2,565 African Americans, as well as 299 African Caribbeans, to study where in the genome each had African ancestry, where they had European ancestry, and where the "switch points" were that mark the location where the ancestry of a DNA segment changes.

Novembre and colleagues studied the ancestry of DNA segments to reconstruct where recombinations have occurred.

"The key is to uncover the ancestry of each segment of the genome," Novembre said. "Switch points enable us to identify recombination 'hot spots,' where recombination rates are high."

Explaining recombination, Novembre said, "When we pass on DNA to our children, we stitch together the DNA we received from our mother and father. The resulting DNA alternates between DNA from your mother and from your father, and the recombination points are the boundaries. Those points could be chosen uniformly across the whole chromosome, but studies have found that recombinations occur in some locations in the chromosome more than in others. Locations in the chromosome have particular recombination rates — the rate at which break points occur in that location.

"It is difficult to identify, by studying chromosomes directly, where the stitch points are between maternal and paternal DNA," he said. "In individuals of mixed ancestry, however, such as African Americans and African Caribbeans, we can identify switch points between African ancestry and European ancestry. These switch points mark locations where recombinations have occurred at some point in the past."

"There are regions of our map that differ from what we would expect," Wegmann said. "We see locations where there are deficiencies in recombination, and they line up with the locations of mutations that rearrange the genome and flip a piece of DNA to invert it. When you have a normal copy of the DNA and an inverted copy of the DNA, one from your mother and one from your father, this inversion suppresses recombination."

Of some 3 billion base pairs in a person's genome, the scientists were able to resolve recombination rates down to 50,000 base pairs of the DNA — an impressive figure.

Comparing this African American recombination map with that of other populations enables researchers to locate recombination hot spots, which have highly elevated rates of recombination.

In addition to the applications for disease mapping, the research provides broad insights into the fundamental biological process of recombination.

"We want to learn how recombination rates vary across the genome," Novembre said.

Nelson Freimer, director of the UCLA Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics and a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, is a principal investigator on the research, along with Novembre and Wegmann, and helped to organize the collaborative effort to bring together the large sample used in the study.

The effort was made possible by the cooperation of investigators from five large consortia: the Genetic Study of Atheroscleoris Risk (GeneSTAR) consortium; the Genetic Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) consortium; the Chicago Asthma Genetics (CAG) and the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Asthma (CSGA) consortia; the Genetic Research on Asthma in the Africa Diaspora (GRAAD) consortium; and the Severe Asthma Research Program (SAARP).

The consortia were funded by the STAMPEED (SNP Typing for Association with Multiple Phenotypes from Existing Epidemiological Data) program run by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Novembre's research was also funded by the Searle Foundation.

UCLA is California's largest university, with an enrollment of more than 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the university's 11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer 328 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Six alumni and five faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

Media Contacts Stuart Wolpert, 310-206-0511 swolpert@support.ucla.edu

Professor N W Harllee A. M., A. B

The subject of this sketch was born a siave in Robeson county, near Lumberton. North Carolina, July 15th, 1852. His father was a Methodist preacher who exhorted the plantation slaves, and was noted as "a natural mathematician." His mother was deeply religious.

Mr. Harllee is a self-made man, for he taught himself to read and write after being taught to spell about a third through Webster's blue-back spelling book, and with this small beginning he laid the foundation for a collegiate education and for the active work of life.

In 1881 he was elected register of deeds in Richmond county, N. C, where he had taught school for a number of years, and in 1882 was appointed United States postal clerk on the Carolina Central Railway and transferred to Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railway, which position he held till 1885. In 1879 he was graduated at the Biddle University, Charlotte, N. C, with honors. In 1885 he went to Texas and engaged in the profession of teaching, and served for a number of years as principal of the Grammar School No. 2 of Dallas, Texas. Afterward he was promoted to the principalship of the Colored High School of the Dallas City Public Schools, which position he now holds.

Professor Harllee has taken an active part in the educational work of his state, and has served as president and secretary of the Teachers' State Association of the state of Texas; he has also held the position of Superintendent of the Colored Department of the Texas State Fair for eight years, and still holds that position. He is a practical staff reporter on the Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Tex.

Mr. Harllee was married to Miss Florence Belle Coleman of Dallas, Tex., 1891, and has three children, Lucretia, Chauncey Depew and Norman W., Jr.

He is author of "Harllee's Tree of History," a new and graphic method of teaching history; also Harllee's "Simplified Long Division," a new graphic method of teaching long division; also Harllee's "Diagram System of Geography." He has for a number of years advocated the establishment of a State University for the youth of Texas, and is also working with the Rev. W. Lomas and D. Rowens to establish an industrial school for his people at Dallas. He is also chairman of the Y. M. C. A. board of education of Dallas, and along with Messrs. Rice, Darrell, Polk. Weems and Anderson is conducting a successful Y. M. C. A. night school for all ages and sexes. Twentieth century Negro literature: or, A cyclopedia of thought on the vital topics relating to the American Negro

Title: Twentieth century Negro literature: or, A cyclopedia of thought on the vital topics relating to the American Negro. Editor: Daniel Wallace Culp. Publisher: J. L. Nichols & co., 1902. Original from: the University of Michigan. Digitized: Sep 17, 2008. Length: 472 pages. Subjects: African American authors African Americans Afro-Americans.

Gov. Rick Snyder today announced appointments made Freedom Trail Commission

LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Rick Snyder today announced that Ronald Brown is appointed and Juanita Moore and Veta Tucker are reappointed to the Michigan Freedom Trial Commission.

The board was created to preserve, protect and promote the legacy of the Freedom Trail in Michigan.

"These individuals will use their unique backgrounds and expertise to support and preserve a rich part of Michigan's history," Snyder said.

Brown, of Ypsilanti, is an associate professor at Wayne State University where he teaches classes in African American politics, politics and elections and public opinion. In 1994 he was awarded the Probus Club Academic Achievement Award for Social Sciences and Humanities. He has authored several publications on African American politics. Brown earned a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University and a doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan. He represents members at large and replaces Rochelle Danquah.

Moore, of Detroit, is president and CEO of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the largest museum of its kind in the nation. She previously served as executive director of both the American Jazz Museum and the National Civil Rights Museum. She earned both a bachelor's and master's degree from North Carolina Central University. Moore represents the Museum of African American History.

Tucker, of Kentwood, is associate professor of English and African American studies at Grand Valley State University. She also serves as the director of the Kutsche Office of Local History at GVSU. Tucker earned a doctorate in English language and literature from the University of Michigan. She represents the academic community knowledgeable in African American history. Appointees will serve four-year terms expiring Feb. 1, 2015, and are not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. ##### FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, July 15, 2011 Contact: Sara Wurfel P: 517-335-6397 or E: wurfels@michigan.gov

The first African-American to walk in space returns to the NJIT campus on July 19, 2011

The first African-American to walk in space returns to the NJIT campus on July 19, 2011 to inspire 55 middle-school students from throughout New Jersey (47) and New York City (8) to seek a career in science. The event will launch the free, two-week ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp (EMBHSSC) for middle-school students. Bernard Harris, MD, of Houston, veteran of two space shuttle missions and founder of the camp, will assist students in a hands-on activity led by the EMBHSSC staff and representatives from ExxonMobil Corporation, Clinton.

Teachers are calling this year’s activity the space suit challenge. Students will investigate how an object’s kinetic energy affects the impact it has upon a surface. Students will work in teams to make and test a durable space suit sample capable of withstanding the impact of micrometeoroids.

ATTENTION EDITORS: Don’t miss Harris. He’s a great champion of science education and an inspiration. He’ll teach the class at approximately 10:30 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., he will address students. NJIT is the only college campus in the New York metropolitan region to offer the program.

See students happily participating in a fun and exciting science adventure, and who are excited to learn more about science careers from ExxonMobil engineers and scientists. The piece de resistance is always Harris, who, following lunch, speaks from the heart for 30 minutes about how he became interested in science and why students should too.

The program is based on studies showing that the US faces a critical shortage of engineers, scientists and other technically trained workers. To help address this crisis, Harris and ExxonMobil provide 30 free two-week summer camps across the country. The camps offer innovative math and science programs to encourage middle-school students to develop their knowledge and foster their interest in engineering and other areas in science.

New Jersey students are from: Bayonne, Belvidere, Bergenfield, Butler, Camden, Carteret, Cranford, East Orange, Englewood, Fair Lawn, Forked River, Fort Lee, Great Meadows, Harrison, Haskell, Hoboken, Jersey City, Kearny, Lodi, Mercerville, Metuchen, Montclair, Newark, North Bergen, Old Bridge, Orange, Pemberton, Piscataway, Plainfield, Point Pleasant, Princeton, Somerset, Teaneck, West Orange and Willingboro.

New York students are from: Brooklyn, Forest Hills, Hollis and Manhattan.

NJIT, New Jersey's science and technology university, enrolls more than 8,900 students pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 121 programs. The university consists of six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, College of Computing Sciences and Albert Dorman Honors College. U.S. News & World Report's 2010 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT in the top tier of national research universities. NJIT is internationally recognized for being at the edge in knowledge in architecture, applied mathematics, wireless communications and networking, solar physics, advanced engineered particulate materials, nanotechnology, neural engineering and e-learning. Many courses and certificate programs, as well as graduate degrees, are available online through the Office of Continuing Professional Education.

Contact Information: Sheryl Weinstein Public Relations 973-596-3436

“Binding Wounds Pushing Boundaries” Highlights Medical Contributions of African Americans as Nurses, Surgeons and Hospital Workers

Brooklyn, NY - Coney Island Hospital today opened a historical exhibition in observance of the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War which highlights the untold history of medical contributions made by African Americans during the war. The traveling exhibition, developed and produced by the Exhibition Program at the National Library of Medicine, tells the unique story via archival images and historical documents from the period.

According to the National Library of Medicine, many histories have been written about medical care during the American Civil War, but the participation and contributions of African Americans as nurses, surgeons and hospital workers has often been overlooked. Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine looks at the men and women who served as surgeons and nurses and how their service as medical providers challenged the prescribed notions of race and gender pushing the boundaries of the role of African Americans in America.

The exhibit explores the life and experiences of surgeons Alexander T. Augusta and Anderson R. Abbott, and nurses Susie King Taylor and Ann Stokes as they provided medical care to soldiers and civilians while participating in the fight for freedom. “Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries opens the door to this rarely studied part of history and brings a voice to those that have remained silent for nearly 150 years,” says Curator Jill L. Newmark.

The four year civil war claimed the lives of approximately 620,000 out of the three million who fought, and countless others received severe debilitating injuries. The 150th Anniversary observation serves to remind us all of what was at stake: the preservation of the fledgling union and the resultant freedom of millions of men and women enslaved by the Confederate states. “Hosting this national exhibition is the hospital’s way of observing the anniversary of the beginning of our country’s civil war and more importantly, paying tribute to the little known but significant contributions made by African Americans towards preservation of the union, and in the areas of medicine and human rights,” said Arthur Wagner, Senior Vice President / Executive Director of Coney Island Hospital.

“Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries” will be on display now through August 3, 2011. The exhibit is located in the gallery space on the 2nd floor of Main Hospital Building and is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM – 5:00PM.

About Coney Island Hospital

From its early beginnings in 1875 as a first-aid station for summer beach goers, Coney Island Hospital has grown into a multi-site community medical center with more than 350 beds. Part of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), Coney is a designated Stroke Center and provides over 267,000 clinic visits and 70,000 Emergency Room visits to the communities of southern Brooklyn. For more information about Coney, visit coneyislandhospital.com.

About HHC

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated health care delivery system with its own 385,000 member health plan, MetroPlus, and is the largest municipal health care organization in the country. HHC serves 1.3 million New Yorkers every year and more than 450,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 80 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commissions John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit, www.nyc.gov/hhc. # # # FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 6, 2011

CT Angiography Improves Detection of Heart Disease in African Americans

OAK BROOK, Ill. — Researchers may have discovered one reason that African Americans are at increased risk for heart attacks and other cardiovascular events.

According to a new study published online in the journal Radiology, African Americans have increased levels of non-calcified plaque, which consists of buildups of soft deposits deep in the walls of the arteries that are not detected by some cardiac tests. Non-calcified plaque is more vulnerable to rupturing and causing a blood clot, which could lead to a heart attack or other cardiovascular event.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, African American adults are more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease and are at greater risk of death from heart disease than white adults. In 2007, African American men were 30 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white men to die from heart disease.

"For a long time, physicians have searched for explanations as to why African Americans have higher rates of heart disease and higher cardiac death rates, but less coronary artery calcium than Caucasians," said U. Joseph Schoepf, M.D., professor of radiology and medicine and director of cardiovascular imaging at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. "We show that one possible explanation for the discrepancy may be found in the higher rate of less stable, non-calcified plaque in the heart vessels of African Americans."

U. Joseph Schoepf, M.D.

Calcium scoring with CT is a common screening tool for patients at risk for cardiovascular disease, because increased levels of calcified plaque in the coronary arteries generally correlates with a greater risk of heart attack or other cardiovascular event. However, calcium scoring does not detect non-calcified plaque. For the study, researchers compared 301 patients who underwent both calcium scoring with CT and contrast-enhanced coronary CT angiography (cCTA). cCTA provides a more comprehensive picture of the arteries, including the presence of non-calcified and mixed plaques.

The study group comprised 50 percent each of African American and white patients, 33 percent of whom were male (mean age 55).

Calcium scoring revealed that calcified plaque was much more prevalent in the coronary arteries of white patients than in the African Americans (45 percent, versus 26 percent). The cCTA revealed that, compared with the white patients, many more African American patients had non-calcified plaque (64 percent, versus 41 percent), and in greater amounts. The median volume of non-calcified plaque among the African American patients was 2.2 milliliters (mL), compared with 1.4 mL among white patients.

Based on these results, the researchers suggest that the value of calcium scoring as a screening tool for African Americans should be reexamined.

"The results of coronary artery calcium scoring studies are to be treated with caution in African Americans, because they may not reflect the true extent of cardiovascular disease," Dr. Schoepf said.

While cCTA does expose patients to ionizing radiation, according to Dr. Schoepf, the effective dose of this procedure has been considerably reduced over the past few years, making it a viable screening option, if other prerequisites of a successful screening test are also met.

"For African American patients, coronary CT angiography may be a more appropriate screening tool for cardiovascular risk," he said.

# # #

"Coronary Atherosclerosis in African American and White Patients with Acute Chest Pain: Characterization with Coronary CT Angiography." Collaborating with Dr. Schoepf were John W. Nance Jr., M.D., Fabian Bamberg, M.D., M.P.H., Doo Kyoung Kang, M.D., J. Michael Barraza, Jr., B.S., Joseph A. Abro, M.A., Gorka Bastarrika, M.D., Ph.D., Gary F. Headden, M.D., Philip Costello, M.D., and Christian Thilo, M.D.

Radiology is edited by Herbert Y. Kressel, M.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass., and owned and published by the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. (http://radiology.rsna.org/)

RSNA is an association of more than 46,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists committed to excellence in patient care through education and research. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org)

For patient-friendly information on CT angiography, visit RadiologyInfo.org.

Media Contacts: RSNA Media Relations: 1-630-590-7762 Linda Brooks 1-630-590-7738 lbrooks@rsna.org Maureen Morley 1-630-590-7754 mmorley@rsna.org

African-American women are more likely to have a basal-like subtype of breast cancer

DETROIT - Wayne State University researchers believe medical practitioners can help reduce the number of breast cancer deaths among low-income African-American women by more effectively educating their patients about the importance of mammography screening.

In a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Cancer Education, Rosalie Young, Ph.D., associate professor; Kendra Schwartz, M.D., M.S.P.H., interim chair; and Jason Booza, Ph. D., assistant professor, all from the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences in WSU's School of Medicine, examined clinical, structural and personal barriers known to prevent such women from having mammograms. Overcoming those barriers is important, the researchers said, because of higher mortality rates for African-American women than other groups. In 2007, Detroit statistics showed a rate of approximately 35 deaths per 100,000 among African-American women versus about 26 deaths per 100,000 for white women.

Between 2004 and 2007, WSU researchers randomly surveyed 178 African-American women age 40 or older from a high cancer-risk area of Detroit. They found that all three barrier types were strongly associated with a lack of breast cancer screening.

Kendra Schwartz, M.D. Rosalie Young, Ph.D. Jason Booza, Ph.D.

Young said, however, that interventions to increase mammography utilization often focus on structural barriers, which include lack of health insurance or lack of medical care facilities in low-income areas. Removing those barriers is difficult, she said, because it requires systemic change. The study brings good news, however, by showing that medical care providers are capable of removing some clinical and personal barriers. Young said the WSU study also could serve as a springboard for future analyses of particular barrier combinations to determine which ones predict whether women will undergo mammograms. One clinical barrier is that fewer board-certified physicians work in lower-income areas. Providers in those areas often are less informed about preventive care or less likely to adhere to cancer screening recommendations. Additionally, time constraints may limit patient education efforts, leading to inadequate recommendations for screening, and physician-patient interaction may be culturally or educationally inappropriate for lower-income or minority populations. To help break down those barriers, along with personal barriers such as patients' fear, or their lack of trust or knowledge, Young said clinicians could be more proactive in communicating with patients to build trust. They also can offer more culturally appropriate health education that includes general information about disease risk and the importance of breast cancer screening, as well as more education about patients' personal breast cancer risk, such as genetic information and specific family history risk. Clinicians also can make referrals specifically for mammograms, Young said, as African-Americans often expect them to initiate such conversations. "The physician-patient interaction is extremely important," she said. "Physicians are not only gatekeepers to services; they also can motivate their patients." Part of what may be hindering such interaction now, Young said, is that practitioners in facilities serving low-income people may be under too much pressure simply to see patients. "There may be a desire on the part of the physician to be more involved with their patients in terms of educating and communicating with them," she said, "but the constraints of their situation may be limiting their ability to do that." Still, more proactive practitioners can make a real difference. "African-American women are more likely to have a basal-like subtype of breast cancer that is harder to treat and should be detected early," said Young. "Health providers have an excellent opportunity to reduce mortality by emphasizing the importance of screening." ### Release Date: July 01, 2011 Contact: Tom Tigani Voice: 313-577-1494 E-mail: tom.tigani@wayne.edu