UGA professor studies link between stress, drug use vulnerability in African Americans

Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia counseling psychology professor Ezemenari M. Obasi believes that the interaction of the environment and one’s genetic makeup can increase drug use vulnerability in rural African Americans.

Obasi has received a two-year $471,683 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to conduct research that examines the link between stress and the risk of drug addiction among rural African Americans.

“African American drug use and abuse behaviors are often characterized by oversimplified models that are rooted in research studies that rarely include them,” said Obasi, a Fellow in UGA’s Institute of Behavioral Research and an assistant professor in the College of Education’s department of counseling and human development services.

Ezemenari M. Obasi, Ph.D.

There are a wide range of risk factors related to drug addiction, from personality traits, personal history and genetic disposition to environmental stressors, said Obasi. He questions whether those risk factors are universal, predictors of all people or group-specific.In this study, he will investigate the possibility that chronic stress is a risk factor experienced by African Americans. Such stressors experienced by African Americans residing in a rural community include low socioeconomic status, educational attainment and experiences of discrimination.Counter to popular beliefs, African Americans have a very low drug use rate in comparison to other ethnic groups.

Unfortunately, they tend to disproportionately suffer from the negative consequences associated with drug use—including cancers, organ failure, contraction of HIV/AIDS, diminished mental health and treatment in the criminal justice system.

The study will look at two main questions including whether one’s genetic makeup interacts with environmental variables to affect physiological responses to acute stress and whether stress dysregulation—the inability of the body to return to a normal state after it experiences stress—predicts drug-related attitudes, craving and history of drug use.

Participants will be recruited from rural counties throughout the state of Georgia.Some of the measured variables will include genotype, hormones, autonomic nervous system responses (heart rate variability and skin conductance), chronic environmental stressors, implicit drug-related cognitions, drug craving and drug use history.

The study will ultimately initiate a multidisciplinary program of research aimed at investigating the impact of the relationship between genetic makeup and environment on drug use vulnerability.According to Obasi, such research is needed in order to inform theory, research, prevention and intervention efforts aimed at the elimination of health disparities that disproportionately impact the African-American community.

The Hwemudua Alcohol and Health Disparities Laboratory, an experimental laboratory developed by Obasi and used to explore the biological, psychological and social pathways concerning the intersection of alcohol use/abuse and health disparities impacting Africans/African Americans residing in the United States, will serve as the setting for this research.

Obasi is working on a research team that was recently awarded a five-year, $5.9 million Core Center of Excellence grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to examine the ways genetic tendencies combine with family and community environments to predict drug use and abuse and risky sexual behavior among children, adolescents and young adults. The team is headed by Gene H. Brody, Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Child and Family Development in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Obasi joined the UGA faculty in 2008.He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Ohio State University. ##

Writer: Genevieve di Leonardo, 706/542-5889, gedileon@uga.edu Contact: Ezemenari M. Obasi, 706/542-4792, obasi@uga.edu Jan 13, 2010, 14:57

Study finds NFL's Rooney Rule does little to help minority head coach hiring

Black head coaches are few and far between in the NFL, with only six African-American head coaches currently leading one of the 32 teams despite vigorous league-wide efforts to increase diversity.

But a new study by University of Iowa researchers finds little evidence of discrimination in the promotion of assistant coaches to head coach. Moreover, the study suggests the NFL would do better to focus on recruiting African-Americans into positions as entry-level position coaches if it wants to increase the number of black head coaches.

"The results suggest that race is not an important factor in promotion decisions for head coaches," said John Solow, an economics professor in the UI's Tippie College of Business. "However, experience, age and performance as an offensive or defensive coordinator are significant factors for NFL teams."

John Solow

Solow's paper, "Moving On Up: The Rooney Rule and Minority Hiring in the NFL," was co-written with Benjamin Solow, his son and an Iowa graduate now attending graduate school at the University of Bologna in Italy, and Todd Walker, an economics professor at Indiana University. Their study looked at the impact of the NFL's Rooney Rule, a league requirement since 2002 that NFL teams with a head coaching vacancy interview at least one minority candidate.

While some view the lack of minority representation among head coaches as evidence of discrimination because 75 percent of the league's players are African-American, Solow said his research doesn't bear out that NFL teams are engaging in racially biased promotion practices. Only a small percentage of NFL head coaches had significant careers as players; most went into coaching shortly after playing in college.

He and his co-investigators looked at every promotion of a top-level assistant coach -- meaning an offensive or defensive coordinator -- to fill a head coaching vacancy in the league from the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 through 2008. Although teams sometimes hire head coaches from the college ranks, Solow said that most head coaching vacancies were filled from the ranks of offensive or defensive coordinator positions. During those years, 80 seasons were played by teams with African-American head coaches, compared with 2,058 team seasons headed by white coaches.

From the coordinator group, Solow said teams most value the combination of youth and experience when assessing head coaching candidates. During the study period, the mean age of a first-year head coach was about 49, with 13 years of professional coaching experience.

"And, as expected, their success as a coordinator was also an important factor," he said. "Coaches with good records get promoted, those with bad records don't. NFL teams want to win, so they hire the candidate who gives them the best chance to win."

Given this, he said the Rooney Rule's focus is misplaced if the league wants to increase the number of minority head coaches. Coordinator positions are usually filled from lower-level position coaches, so Solow said a better option for the NFL would be to work to recruit African-Americans into positions as positional coaches. That way, he said they develop the experience and leadership ability as they work their way up the coaching ladder that NFL teams look for in a head coach.

Unfortunately, the Rooney Rule applies only to head coaching vacancies so it has little effect on filling positions where it's most important. At the start of the 2009 season, only 12 minorities held one of the league's 67 coordinator positions, a mere 18 percent representation in the pool from which most head coaches are selected.

"If the league introduced African-American coaches into the front of the pipeline instead of at the end, more of those coaches would have the experience teams are looking for and be more likely to be hired as head coaches," Solow said. "By encouraging minorities to think earlier in their careers to consider coaching when their collegiate playing careers end, the NFL could increase the number of minority assistant coaches generally and ultimately, their representation among head coaches."

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa News Service, 300 Plaza Centre One, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2500

MEDIA CONTACT: Tom Snee, 319-384-0010 (office), 319-541-8434 (cell), tom-snee@uiowa.edu

UCSF study finds African-Americans bear disproportionate burden of smoking costs in California

African Americans comprise six percent of the California adult population, yet they account for over eight percent of the state’s smoking-attributable health care expenditures and 13 percent of smoking-attributable mortality costs, according to a new analysis by UCSF researchers.

In order to provide an objective picture of the disproportionate economic burden of tobacco use for African American Californians, the UCSF team assessed data from 2002, including health care costs related to smoking and productivity losses from smoking-caused mortality. Study findings are published in the January 2010 issue of the “American Journal of Public Health.”

cover of the AJPH January 2010 issue

“California has one of the most comprehensive tobacco control programs in the world, and smoking prevalence in the state has been declining steadily as a result. However, not all Californians have benefited equally from these efforts,” said lead author Wendy Max, PhD, professor-in-residence of health economics and co-director of the UCSF Institute for Health & Aging, School of Nursing. “Hopefully these data can be used to strengthen tobacco control programs and smoking cessation efforts throughout African American communities.” Researchers analyzed smoking-attributable costs for diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease,

for which incidence is identified in the 2004 US Surgeon General Report as causally related to cigarette smoking. They focused on expenditures for ambulatory care, prescription drugs, inpatient care, and home health care. The team also assessed smoking-attributable mortality for Californians aged 35 years and older using three measures: deaths, years of potential life lost, and productivity losses.

Findings include:

• African Americans lose more years (16.3) of life per death than other Californians (12.5 years) due to smoking-attributable causes. A total of 3013 African American Californians died of smoking-attributable illness in 2002, representing a loss of over 49,000 years of life and $784 million in productivity.

• Adult smoking prevalence in 2002 for African Americans was 19.3 percent compared with 15.4 percent for all Californians.

• The total cost of smoking for the African American community amounted to $1.4 billion in 2002, or $1.8 billion in 2008 dollars.

“It is clear that we need to tailor more tobacco control programs to African Americans in California,” said Max. “In addition, there exists a long history of tobacco industry promotions and economic support targeted to certain ethnic groups, particularly African Americans and Hispanics. I would encourage these communities to carefully consider the benefits of such programs in light of the tremendous economic and human costs.”

The study included a national advisory panel of members of African American and Hispanic community organizations. Panelists advised the study team on the application of research models and are helping disseminate findings throughout California communities.

Co-authors are Hai-Yen Sung, PhD; Lue-Yen Tucker, BA; and Brad Stark, BA; all with the UCSF Institute for Health & Aging, School of Nursing at the time of the study. The research was supported by funds from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program of the University of California.

UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. ###

Source: Karin Rush-Monroe Karin.Rush-Monroe@ucsf.edu 415-476-2557, January 12, 2010

Learn about Tennessee's civil rights movement on MLK Day

African Americans have always had a civil rights movement in Tennessee, even during slavery, according an historian who will lecture at Tennessee Tech University on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, Jan. 18.

While many books have focused on the national civil rights movement and prominent leaders such as King and Malcolm X, Bobby L. Lovett, a history professor at Tennessee State University, has written the first book to examine Tennessee’s civil rights movement. In “The Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee: a Narrative History” (University of Tennessee Press, 2005), Lovett reveals African American and white leaders in the fight for equality in the state, and he relates the movement with African Americans’ pursuit of inclusion in society nationally.

Bobby L. Lovett

Lovett will present "The MLK Connection to the Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee, and How the Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee influenced MLK, 1957-1968” at noon in Derryberry Auditorium. “This book fills a gap in the historical record of the civil rights movement and is an important addition to studies of the movement both in Tennessee and in the nation,” said Lovett.

Lovett drew from special collections in libraries across the state, personal papers, manuscript collections, conversations, observations, books, scholarly articles, and newspapers. He covered the entire state, but concentrated on the four major cities: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville.

The book gives short descriptions of local interest to bring the movement alive, as well as sketches of main players, federal judges, and more than three dozen court cases that have affected race and civil rights in Tennessee. Lovett explores early Jim Crow Tennessee, public school desegregation since Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, sit-in and public desegregation activities, politics and civil rights, and the desegregation of higher education.

Lovett, a native Tennessean, received his doctorate from the University of Arkansas. He earned a master’s degree in American history and teacher certification at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Lovett joined TSU in 1973 as an instructor and has served as department head, assistant dean, associate dean, and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for 17 years. He currently is a senior history professor. Lovett’s latest two books—“America’s Black Colleges and Universities: A Narrative History 1837-2010” and “A Touch of Excellence: History of Tennessee State University,1911”—are scheduled to be published by TSU’s university press, respectively, in 2010 and 2011.

TTU’s Commission on the Status of Blacks, with support of the Muslim Students Organization and the Upper Cumberland Islamic Society, is sponsoring the event.

The noon lecture will be followed by a book signing. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Wali Kharif at wrkharif@tntech.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Shadow and Substance: African American Images

Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery Presents Shadow and Substance: African American Images from The Burns Archive, January 25 - March 19, 2010.

The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery presents Shadow and Substance: African American Images from The Burns Archive, on display from January 25th through March 19th. The exhibition is curated by Modupe Labode and organized by the Indiana State Museum.

Since the early years of photography, African Americans appeared in front of and behind the camera. In some images, they were the loving focus of the picture. In others, the photographer scarcely recognizes their humanity.

The images in this exhibition allow us to perceive how African Americans were seen by others, and how they wished to be seen. They do not tell a complete story of the past, but their eloquent shadows provide unique glimpses into the lives of African Americans over the past 160 years. Dozens of rarely seen photographs of men, women and children reveal the span of emotions of the African American experience. Shadow and Substance celebrates the strengths and accomplishments of African Americans in the face of oppression, subjugation and political disenfranchisement.

From early images of slaves and Civil War soldiers to new voters and political activists, the exhibit is filled with shocking evidence of intolerance and remarkable illustrations of achievement.

The 113 images in Shadow and Substance include portraits, snapshots and photographs documenting industries, property and events related to the African American experience from the beginning of photography to today. The exhibition focuses on a wide range of themes: Bondage and Freedom; Civil War and Reconstruction; The Nadir; Jim Crow and Lynching; Community Life; Family Albums; Black Reflections on Black Life; and Celebrations.

About The Burns Archive
The Stanley B. Burns Collection is generally recognized as the preeminent private specialty collection of 19th century historic photography. The Burns Archive of Historic Vintage Photographs is comprehensive with specializations in medicine and healthcare, death and dying, African Americans, and sports and recreation photography. The collection has been featured in more than 100 exhibitions, and on television and videos. Dr. Stanley B. Burns, an ophthalmologist, collector and curator in New York City, was a founding donor to several photography collections, including those at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. He is the author of several books.

Gallery Information
The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery serves as one of the principal art galleries in the Baltimore region. Objects from the Special Collections Department, as well as art and artifacts from all over the world, are displayed in challenging and informative exhibitions for the University community and the public. Moreover, traveling exhibitions are occasionally presented, and the Gallery sends some exhibits on tour to other institutions nationwide. Admission to the Gallery and its programs is free.

Hours
Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri: 12 pm - 4:30 pm
Thursday: 12 pm - 8 pm
Sat/Sun: 1 pm - 5 pm

Telephone
General Gallery information: 410-455-2270

Directions
UMBC is located approximately 10 minutes from downtown Baltimore and 20 minutes from I-495.
-- From Baltimore and points north, proceed south on I-95 to exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Walker Avenue Garage or Albin O. Kuhn Library.
-- From I-695, take Exit 12C (Wilkens Avenue) and continue one-half mile to the entrance of UMBC at the intersection of Wilkens Avenue and Hilltop Road. Turn left and follow signs to the Walker Avenue Garage or Albin O. Kuhn Library.
-- From Washington and points south, proceed north on I-95 to Exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Walker Avenue Garage or Albin O. Kuhn Library.
-- Daytime metered visitor parking is available in the Walker Avenue Garage. Visitor parking regulations are enforced on all University calendar days

Contact: Thomas Moore tmoore@umbc.edu Director of Arts & Culture 410-455-3370

Experts Advisory: Black History Month Experts at the University at Albany

ALBANY, N.Y. (January 7, 2010) -- The life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., black heritage, issues affecting people of African descent and African American literature and poetry are topics covered by UAlbany's faculty experts.

BLACK HERITAGE is celebrated throughout Black History Month. Africana Studies and History Professor Allen Ballard offers insight into the history and culture of African Americans, as well as the history of the Civil War. Ballard has published several books, including The Education of Black People (1973) and Carried by Six (2009). He was also one of the first two African Americans to integrate Kenyon College.

AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE includes stories about the unsung heroes in African American history and the Civil Rights Movement.

Africana Studies and English Professor Leonard Slade Jr. discusses the contributions of black authors to America's literary landscape. Slade can also offer insight into the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. He is the editor of Black Essays (1995), a collection of short pieces by African American critics and scholars. AFRICAN PSYCHOLOGY, including issues affecting people of African heritage, enslavement and colonial experiences of people of African descent, HIV/AIDS,

and transracial adoption are among the areas of expertise of Marcia Sutherland, chairwoman of UAlbany's Department of Africana Studies Department. Sutherland is author of Black Authenticity: A Psychology for Liberating People of African Descent (1997).

Contact(s): Catherine Herman (518) 956-8150

NCSU African American Cultural Center to host Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration

The NCSU African American Cultural Center invites you to attend the 2010 Dr. MLK Jr. Campus Commemoration on Wednesday, January 13, at noon in Stewart Theatre on the second floor of the Talley Student Center. Our guest speaker, Lani Guinier, is the first African American woman to be appointed to a tenured professorship at Harvard Law. She is also the author of Lift Every Voice; The Tyranny of the Majority; Who's Qualified?; and The Miner's Canary. Attorney Guinier's speech is entitled "Lift Every Voice."

The following titles are available at the NCSU Catalyst Bookstore: Lift Every Voice; Who's Qualified?; and The Miner's Canary. Books will be on sale prior to and following the event.

Lani Guinier

A book signing will be held in the Stewart Theatre lobby immediately following the program. The 2010 MLK Jr. Commemorative programs are co-sponsored by the Union Activities Board Black Students Union and the Eta Omicron Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. We hope you can join us to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Release Date: 2010-01-05 Contact: Toni Thorpe For more information, see the online flier in PDF format.

'From Civil Rights to Hip Hop' is topic for PHCC’s MLK speaker

Pasco-Hernando Community College’s 25th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Lecture Series will feature professor and author Mark Anthony Neal, who will discuss “From Civil Rights to Hip Hop: How Popular Music Impacts Social Change.”

Mark Anthony Neal is professor of black popular culture in the department of African and African-American Studies at Duke University. He holds a doctorate in American studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Neal is a frequent commentator for National Public Radio, and contributes to several online media outlets, including SeeingBlack.com, TheRoot.com and TheGrio.com.

Neal is the author of four books including, New Black Man: Rethinking Black Masculinity. His essay “Music: Bodies in Pain” was included in the 2009 edition of The Best African-American Essays, edited by Gerald Early and Debra Dickerson.

Mark Anthony Neal

“I’m certain the community will enjoy the dynamic presentation by Professor Neal. He bridges the past to the future in a way that is exciting, informative, and creative,” said Imani Asukile, PHCC’s district coordinator of multicultural student affairs and equity services. Two presentations of “From Civil Rights to Hip Hop” will be given on Thursday, January 14.

The first will be held at 9:30 a.m. at the Performing Arts Center on the New Port Richey campus, 10230 Ridge Road. The second will be given at 7 p.m. in room E-130 on the Dade City campus, 36727 Blanton Road. Both lectures are free and the public is invited to attend.

School and organization groups are welcome. For more information, contact PHCC’s information center at 1-877-TRY-PHCC.

Pasco-Hernando Community College (PHCC) is a dynamic, learning-centered educational institution, with a faculty and staff who are dedicated to student success, teaching excellence and community service. --END--

Contact: Courtney Boettcher, marketing coordinator • 727-816-3738 boettcc@phcc.edu

Imani Asukile, district coordinator of multi-cultural student affairs and equity services • 352-518-1235 asukili@phcc.edu

Pasco-Hernando Community College 10230 Ridge Road New Port Richey, FL 34654-5199

9th Circuit appeals bench would allow felons to vote

Washington’s longtime constitutional ban on voting by felons has been tossed out by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The state is expected to appeal.

The surprise ruling contradicts holdings in three other circuits, with cases out of New York, Massachusetts and Florida, and it may well be up to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the conflict. If Tuesday’s ruling were the last word on the case, it would allow inmates currently behind bars to vote in Washington. The ruling could also be the basis of litigation in the eight other states in the 9th Circuit – Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, plus Guam.

Secretary of State Sam Reed, Washington’s chief elections officer, said, “We were quite surprised at today’s 2-1 ruling by the 9th Circuit, and we would expect to appeal the decision. We certainly support racial equality and efforts to make our criminal justice system free of bias. But we also support our state constitutional ban on voting by felons who are under Department of Corrections supervision.

“We believe that the loss of voting rights is an appropriate and reasonable sanction for society to demand of felons while they are incarcerated or on community supervision. Most states have this sensible policy. Once inmates satisfy their prison sentence and community supervision, our Legislature has recently provided that they may apply to have their voting rights restored as part of reintegrating back into the community.

“We are hopeful that this longstanding policy will be upheld as this case is appealed further. We look forward to the courts giving some finality to this question, which has been in litigation since 1996.”

The case was originally brought nearly 14 years ago in U.S. District Court in Eastern Washington by Muhammad Shabazz Farrakhan and three other black inmates, and by a Native American and a Latino inmate. The inmates said minorities are disproportionately prosecuted and sentenced to prison, and that their automatic disenfranchisement violates the federal Voting Rights Act.

The Appeals bench concurred with the inmates that the state’s criminal justice system is “infected” with racial discrimination and that the challengers don’t have to prove that that it is intentional or racially motivated discrimination. The court said that “based on uncontroverted facts,” it would rely on academic research that showed Washington’s African Americans were over nine times more likely to be in prison than Caucasians, even though the ratio of black-to-white arrest for violent crimes was less than 4:1. Another study showed that Native Americans were twice as likely to be searched by state troopers than whites, blacks more than 70 percent more likely to be searched and Latinos more than 50 percent more likely. Other studies were cited.

The challengers didn’t assert that the felon disenfranchisement law was enacted with intent to discriminate, but said that when the law is applied in the context of the criminal justice system, it is more likely for minorities to lose their voting rights. That’s illegal, they contended.

The court held that the Voting Rights Act, adopted by Congress in 1965 for the purpose of eliminating racial discrimination in voting, does not permit disenfranchising voters who are behind bars when the criminal justice system is skewed toward greater incarceration of minorities. The judges also said it is irrelevant that the state Legislature last year approved a new law that takes away a felon’s voting rights only while in the direct custody of the Department of Corrections. Previously, voting rights were restored only after restitution and other costs were repaid, a matter of years for some ex-cons.

Three other circuits, the First, Second and Eleventh, have reached the opposite conclusion about felon voting. The decision in the First, out of Massachusetts, was in 2009; the 2nd Circuit decision, in a New York case, was in 2006; and the 11th Circuit, out of Florida, was in 2005.

In a strongly worded dissent, Judge M. Margaret McKeown said her colleagues have “charted territory that none of our sister circuits have dared to explore.” At the least, the court should have remanded the case for further fact-finding on some of the key points, she wrote.
State Elections Director Nick Handy said the conflicting opinions makes it likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will be asked to take the Farrakhan case on appeal.

The 9th Circuit opinion was written by Judge A. Wallace Tashima and signed by himself and Stephen Reinhardt.
Deputy Solicitor General Jeff Even of the Attorney General’s office said attorneys will review the lengthy opinion and consider the next steps. The state could ask the full 9th Circuit, rather than a three-judge panel, to consider the case. That would involve a hearing before 11 judges. Another option would be to ask the Supreme Court to hear the case, he confirmed.

The case has had a very long shelf life. It was originally filed in Spokane in 1996. The District Court upheld the state’s disenfranchisement law. That was appealed to the 9th Circuit, which reversed and sent it back to the district court for further consideration. The court’s subsequent ruling, along in favor of the state, was appealed a second time to the 9th Circuit. Last year, the state Legislature, at Reed’s request, amended the law to allow restoration of voting rights after an ex-convict completes his or her prison sentence and community supervision. Previously, an ex-convict also would have to satisfy all outstanding financial obligations, including court costs and restitution, before applying for restoration of voting rights.

News Release Issued: January 05, 2010 Washington Secretary of State Legislative Building PO Box 40220, Olympia WA 98504-0220 (360) 902-4151

Poor Face Greater Health Burden than Smokers or the Obese

The average low-income person loses 8.2 years of perfect health, the average high school dropout loses 5.1 years, and the obese lose 4.2 years, according to researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Tobacco control has long been one of the most important public health policies, and rightly so; the average smoker loses 6.6 years of perfect health to their habit. But the nation’s huge high school dropout rate and poverty rates are typically not seen as health problems.

This new study published in the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, shows that poverty and dropout rates are at least as important a health problem as smoking in the United States. These researchers define “low-income” as household earnings below 200% of the Federal Poverty Line, or roughly the bottom third of the U.S. population.

“While public health policy needs to continue its focus on risky health behaviors and obesity, it should redouble its efforts on non-medical factors, such as high school graduation and poverty reduction programs,” — Peter Muennig, MD, assistant professor of health policy and management

On average, poverty showed the greatest impact on health. Smoking was second, followed by being a high school dropout, non-Hispanic Black, obese, a binge drinker, and uninsured. The findings are based on data from various national datasets that are designed to measure both health and life expectancy. Healthy life lost combines both health and life expectancy into a single number, sometimes known as quality-adjusted life years. “While public health policy needs to continue its focus on risky health behaviors and obesity, it should redouble its efforts on non-medical factors, such as high school graduation and poverty reduction programs,” according to Peter Muennig, MD, assistant professor of health policy and management at the Mailman School of Public Health and principal investigator of the study. Specific policies that have proven successful in the past include reduced class size in grades K-3 and earned income tax credit programs, according to Dr. Muennig.

To analyze the medical and non-medical policies that might affect population health, the researchers examined such policy goals as smoking prevention, increased access to medical care, poverty reduction, and early childhood education to provide policymakers with a sense of how different policy priorities might influence population health.

Building on prior research, the researchers examined health disparities resulting from an individual’s membership in a socially identifiable and disadvantaged group compared with membership in a non-disadvantaged counterpart. Although public health policy has always been directed at individual social and behavioral risks, until now there had been little systematic investigation of their relative contribution to U.S. population health. The researchers were not able to capture all population health risks. For instance, they did not include an analysis of transportation policy, which can affect health through reduced accidents, reduced pollution, and increased exercise.

“The smaller impact of schooling in our analyses probably had a lot to do with the fact that we are only measuring the health of people in the general population. We miss those in prisons and chronic care facilities, most of whom lack a high school diploma. If we captured these individuals, the numbers would be higher.

“As with other burden of disease studies, the policies we identify will not eliminate the risk factor in the population; our estimates can only serve as guideposts for policymakers,” says Dr. Muennig.
About the Mailman School of Public Health

The only accredited school of public health in New York City and among the first in the nation, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting millions of people locally and globally. The Mailman School is the recipient of some of the largest government and private grants in Columbia University’s history. Its more than 1000 graduate students pursue master’s and doctoral degrees, and the School’s 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as infectious and chronic diseases, health promotion and disease prevention, environmental health, maternal and child health, health over the life course, health policy, and public health preparedness. www.mailman.columbia.edu

Contact Us: Stephanie Berger 212-305-4372. Email: sb2247@columbia.edu

NKU to host MLK Commemoration Week Jan. 11-18

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University Office of African American Student Affairs will present NKU's inaugural Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Week from Jan. 11-18. The theme of this week of action, celebration, reflection and remembrance will be "Justice Beyond the Dream."

The week's activities will include:

Monday, January 11
4 p.m. MLK Commemoration Week Kickoff/Unity Reception
Guest Speaker: Al DeJarnett, retired Procter & Gamble executive and Cincinnatus vice chairman Student Union 102 (Multipurpose Room) Sponsored by the Office of African American Student Affairs and the Black Faculty and Staff Association

6:30 p.m. Behind Every Good Man Is a Great Woman: An in-depth look at the women of the modern day Civil Rights Movement Student Union 107 B and C Sponsored by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Black Women's Organization

Tuesday, January 12 6 p.m. Viewing of Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Man & The Dream
Otto Budig Theater Sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Candle Light Vigil for Justice (immediately after program) Sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Wednesday, January 13 Noon to 2 p.m. Public Reading of Dr. King's writings and speeches Student Union 2nd Floor Lobby Sponsored by the NKU Honors Program

5 p.m. WWMLKD? (What Would MLK Do?) Student Union 108 Sponsored by Black United Students and E.N.V.I.

7 p.m. Memories of MLK Student Union 109 Sponsored by Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Thursday, January 14 5 p.m. "I HAVE A DREAM" Student Union 102 (Multipurpose Room) Sponsored by W.A.T.E.R.

7 p.m. Scholarly Series Student Union 102 (Multipurpose Room) Sponsored by Black Men's Organization

Friday, January 15 12:15-1:30 p.m. MLK Commemoration Program featuring Minnijean Brown-Trickey of the Little Rock Nine Student Union 107A/ Sponsored by Office of African American Student Affairs, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Department of History and Geography, Black Studies, Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice, Campus Recreation, Latino Student Affairs, College of Education and Human Services, Department of Communications, Honors

1:45 p.m. MLK Unity March Sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Saturday, January 16 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Social Justice Student Leadership Conference
Student Union 104 Sponsored by the Office of African American Student Affairs and the Northern Kentucky University NAACP

Monday, January 18 Noon to 5 p.m. NKU MLK Day of Service (various projects throughout the region)

5-6 p.m. NKU MLK Day of Service celebration Keynote Speaker: Dr. Robert Wallace, Professor, NKU Department of English Student Union 107A Sponsored by the Office of African American Student Affairs and the Office of Student Life

For more information, contact the NKU Office of African American Student Affairs at (859) 572-5214 or griffinm3@nku.edu. These events are free and open to the public.

### NKU ### News from NKU ... Monday - Jan. 4, 2010 For immediate release...

Indiana Man to Spend 42 Months in Prison for Cross Burning

WASHINGTON—Bruce Mikulyuk, 50, of Mishawaka, Ind., was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for interfering with the housing rights of a white woman and an African-American man by burning a cross in their yard and later returning with a knife and threatening the man if he did not leave. Mikulyuk pleaded guilty to the offense in October.

According to the plea agreement filed with the court, Mikulyuk used racial slurs and threatened the male victim on Sept. 27, 2007. Later that evening, Mikulyuk built a cross, took it to the victims’ home, and set it on fire several feet from the home while the victims and two young children were in the home. Mikulyuk later returned to the home with a hunting-style knife and again threatened the male victim. Mikulyuk admitted that he burned the cross and threatened the victims in order to intimidate them and interfere with their housing rights because of race.

This is the fourth Indiana man in two months to be sentenced to prison time for burning a cross. Richard LaShure, Richard Logue and Aaron Latham, of Muncie, Ind., were sentenced on Nov. 5, 2009, after pleading guilty to charges of interference with housing rights and conspiracy against rights for burning a cross in the yard of an African-American family in July 2008.

“The burning cross is an unmistakable symbol of hatred with a painful history, and it has no place in this country. Unfortunately, such incidents are all too common,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Prosecuting hate crimes is a top priority for the Civil Rights Division.”

This case was investigated by Special Agent Art Grist from the Merrillville Field Office of the FBI and prosecuted by Betsy Biffl from the Civil Rights Division.

Department of Justice Press Release, For Immediate Release, December 22, 2009. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs (202) 514-2007/TDD (202) 514-1888. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Federal Government, U.S. Department of Justice.

CAMPELLSVILLE UNIVERSITY TO HOST McMICKLE, U OF L BLACK DIAMOND CHOIR AT MLK SERVICE JAN. 20; DAVID COZART SPEAKS AT MORNING SERVICE

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with two programs Wednesday, Jan. 20.

David Cozart, a CU graduate who is administrator of development at Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County, will speak at CU’s chapel program at 10 a.m. Jan. 20 in the Ransdell Chapel at 401 N. Hoskins Ave., Campellsville.

Dr. Marvin McMickle, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and professor of homiletics at Ashland Theological Seminary, will be the featured speaker at CU’s Martin Luther King Memorial Service Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Ransdell Chapel.

Dr. Marvin McMickle

The University of Louisville’s Black Diamond Choir will provide special music for the evening event. Greater Campbellsville United and Campbellsville University are sponsoring the evening service. ohn Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president at CU, who serves as chair of Greater Campbellsville University,

said, “Campbellsville University students, faculty and staff and the larger community are encouraged to attend this service as we recall the legacy, affirm the dream and commit to fulfill the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Dr. Marvin McMickle is an ideal speaker to remind us of the need to continue the work of Dr. King in all facets of our society. The music of the Black Diamond Choir is a great addition to the evening program.”

He also said Cozart’s address will be beneficial to both the community and to CU students, faculty and staff. Students will receive chapel credit for both events.

McMickle was a visiting professor at Yale University Divinity School in winter 2009. He is the author of 11 books including “Where Have All the Prophets Gone? Reclaiming Prophetic Preaching in America.”

He is contributing editor for “The Living Pulpit” and is a featured writer for the “National Baptist Voice,” the quarterly journal of the National Baptist Convention, USA Inc.

His sermons and essays regularly appear in “Preaching” magazine and in “The African American Pulpit.”

McMickle has been serving the church of Jesus Christ as a pastor, professor and widely published author for more than 30 years. He is a 1970 graduate of Aurora University in Illinois with a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy. He earned a master of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1973 and did two additional years of graduate study at Columbia University in New York.

McMickle earned a doctor of ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey in 1983. He was awarded the Ph.D. degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in 1998. He was also awarded the honorary degree of doctor of divinity by Aurora University in 1990.

He was ordained to the Christian ministry in 1973 at Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York City where he served as an assistant minister and later as the associate pastor from 1972 to 1976. He served as the pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church of Montclair, New Jersey, was president of the president of the New Jersey Council of Churches and as a member of the Montclair Board of Education.

He also served two terms as president of the Montclair Branch of the NAACP. McMickle also has served on the adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, New Brunswick Theological Seminary and New York Theological Seminary.

He has served as senior pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland since 1987.

During that time he led the church in establishing a ministry for people infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. This ministry was the first of its kind in the entire country.

He has served as a faculty member at Ashland Theological Seminary since 1996.

McMickle has been married to Peggy Lorraine Noble since 1975, and they have one son, Aaron, who is a middle school teacher in New York City.

The University of Louisville’s Black Diamond Choir is the premier gospel choir at U of L.

Organized in 1969, the student gospel group has been singing and sharing the “Good News” locally and in various locations within Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio and Georgia.

In 2008, the choir placed second in the Louisville Urban League College Choir Explosion and was also received People’s Choice Award.

Among their other performances have been the National Black Gospel College Choir Festival, National Baptist Student Union Retreat, African Heritage Weekend on the Belvedere, “Dickens on Main Street” Christmas event, Theatre Workshop of Louisville’s productions of the “Amen Corner,” Kentucky Higher Education Council of College Presidents, the Governor’s Conference on Post-Secondary Education, the Louisville Defender’s 60th Annual Minority Consumer Expo, opening ceremonies of U of L’s Papa John’s Cardinal Football Stadium and the Black History Celebration Banquet, 422nd Air Base Squadron RAF Croughton Air Force Base in London, England.

The 100-member choir continues to represent the University of Louisville at least twice a month in the community at various churches and civic organizations. Not only does the choir minister with its music, but the choir also sponsors and annual “Feed the Families for Thanksgiving” community service project. This initiate is an outreach project serving the needy in the community.

Cozart is a 1993 graduate of CU. He studied family studies at the University of Kentucky.

He served as community involvement manager at LexLinc and at LexLinc/Lexington Local Commission for four years and six years, respectively.

He specializes in community organizations and forming collaborations between human service agencies and increasing the capacity for grassroots organizations to deliver services at the neighborhood level.

He belongs to the Lexington Urban League Young Professionals and is a licensed minister with First Baptist Church in Bracktown.

Cozart received the 2007 Leadership Lexington Distinguished Leader Award, the 2007 Person of Promise Award, the 2006 Rising Star Award from the Lexington Young Professionals Associations and the 2005 Community Service Award from the Lexington Urban League Young Professionals.

For more information about the evening event, contact Chowning at jechowning@campbellsville.edu or at 270-789-5520, and contact Ed Pavy, director of campus ministries, at ecpavy@campbellsville.edu or at 270-789-5227 for the chapel service.

Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 3,006 students who represent 97 Kentucky counties, 30 states and 37 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2010 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 23rd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South, tied for fifth in “most international students” and fourth in “up-and-coming” schools in baccalaureate colleges in the South. CU has been ranked 17 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America’s Best Christian Colleges® and to G.I. Jobs magazine as a Military Friendly School. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his 11th year as president.

Dec. 31, 2009 For Immediate Release By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator.

US Labor Department settles discrimination findings against Los Angeles Coca-Cola bottling company

Agency review determined employer failed to hire African-American applicants

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Department of Labor has agreed to settle findings of hiring discrimination at the BCI Coca-Cola Bottling Co. plant located in Los Angeles, Calif.

The agreement settles allegations by the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) that BCI Coca-Cola engaged in hiring discrimination against African-American applicants for entry-level merchandiser positions between Jan.1 and Dec. 31, 2006.

OFCCP investigators found that the facility's selection process disproportionately rejected African-American applicants. Under the terms of the agreement, BCI Coca-Cola agrees to pay a total of $49,376 in back pay and interest, to be shared among 26 former applicants. BCI Coca-Cola Bottling also will hire seven of the previously rejected African-American applicants as merchandisers. Merchandisers work with retail outlets to maintain displays and stock inventory in order to maximize product sales.

"This settlement demonstrates the Labor Department's determination to prevent workplace discrimination by federal contractors," said William D. Smitherman, director of OFCCP's Pacific regional office in San Francisco. "With Coca-Cola's cooperation during the review, we were able to achieve a common goal of compliance."

BCI Coca-Cola also agrees to immediately cease any discriminatory practices and undertake extensive self-monitoring measures to ensure that all hiring practices fully comply with the law.

BCI Coca-Cola has federal contracts to sell beverages and food products to the Defense Commissary Agency.

OFCCP, an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor, enforces Executive Order 11246 and other laws that prohibit employment discrimination by federal contractors. The agency monitors federal contractors to ensure that they provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability or veteran status. More information is available on the agency's Web at www.dol.gov/ofccp/.

OFCCP News Release: [12/21/2009] Contact Name: Deanne Amaden Phone Number: (415) 625-2630 Release Number: 09-1422-SAN

Leading author will keynote UMSL’s MLK celebration

Jabari Asim, an influential African-American literary and social critic and prolific author, will be the keynote speaker at the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday celebration at the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 10 a.m. Jan. 18 in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center.

The program includes a dramatic performance, “Zooman and the Sign,” depicting a community’s response to violence directed by Adeniyi “Niyi” Coker, E. Des Lee Endowed Professor of African & African American Studies. In addition, the Dickson Quartet, talented sibling musicians from Oregon, will perform.

Asim, scholar-in-residence at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is the author of the 2009 book, “What Obama Means, For Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future.”

Asim’s 2007 critically acclaimed and controversial book, “The N Word: Who Can Say it, Who Shouldn’t And Why,” generated speaking engagements on college campuses all over the country. He appeared on numerous television and radio shows including “The Today Show,” “The Colbert Report,” “Hannity and Colmes,” “The Tavis Smiley Show” “The Diane Rehm Show,” and more.

He is an accomplished poet, playwright and fiction writer with his first novel, “Nappy Days,” and three children’s books due out in 2010.

Asim’s distinguished journalism career includes 11 years at the Washington Post as deputy editor of the book review section and as a syndicated columnist writing on political and social issues. He also spent four years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in the 1990s as a copy editor, book editor and then arts editor. He currently serves as editor-in-chief of the NAACP’s The Crisis magazine.

He is a former vice president of the National Book Critics Circle and his reviews and cultural criticism have been published in The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Phoenix Gazette, Los Angeles Times Book Review, Salon.com, the Detroit News, The Village Voice, Hungry Mind Review, XXL, Code, Emerge, Essence, Africana.com and BlackElectorate.com.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center is located on UMSL’s north campus. For more information visit www.umsl.edu/services/oeo/news_events/ or call 314-516-5695.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: Maureen Zegel 314-516-5493 University of Missouri-St. Louis Media Services 414 Woods Hall One University Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63121-4499

IU community shocked, saddened by professor's death

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University is saddened by the loss of a professor.

Don Belton was an assistant professor in the IU Bloomington Department of English, and he was a member of the Creative Writing Program faculty.

"Assistant Professor Don Belton was an important African-American writer specializing in fiction and nonfiction who began teaching at IU Bloomington in fall 2008," said Provost Karen Hanson. "He was a generous and talented professor who had much potential. We were shocked and saddened by his death."

Jonathan Elmer, chair of the IU Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, said Belton was a well-liked and talented faculty member who was respected by faculty, staff and students.

Don Belton

"Don Belton's friends, colleagues and students in the English Department are shocked and terribly saddened by the news of his death," Elmer said. "His great talents as a writer, his extraordinary generosity to his students, and his warmth of personality were gifts to us all. We will miss him terribly." Prior to his work at IU Bloomington, he taught at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pa. Belton was the author of the novel Almost Midnight, and was editor of Speak My Name, an anthology exploring the gulf between real and represented black masculinity.

His writings appeared in literary reviews, literature anthologies, cultural journals and popular magazines and newspapers. He had been a fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference at Middlebury College, Macdowell and Yadoo artists colonies, the Rockefeller Center in Italy, and the Center for Media Studies at Brown University.

He has taught literature, fiction and world cinema at the University of Michigan, Macalester College and the University of Pennsylvania. He lectured on James Baldwin at the first African American Writers in Europe Conference at the Sorbonne; on black literature and black popular culture in the Ivory Coast of West Africa; and on Robert Mapplethorpe at the University of Sao Paulo, School of Communications and Arts, Brazil.

His writing and teaching interests include writers in community and exile, and writing about home.

Media Contacts: Susan Williams Office of University Communications sulwilli@indiana.edu 812-272-0667. Nicole Roales Office of University Communications. nroales@indiana.edu 812-325-6102

Online Rice Library Image Collection features photos from the 1800s to present day

The University of Southern Indiana's University Archives and Special Collections has made its extensive image collection available online at www.usi.edu/library/Rice_Library_Image_Collections. The Rice Library Image Collection includes photographs from Evansville, New Harmony and the Tri-state area from the late 1800s to the present day.

The database features photographs from the African-American community in Evansville, more than 1,000 images of the 1937 flood, photographs of parades and fairs from the early 20th century, and a series of architectural photographs of the historic district in downtown Evansville from 1978 to 1979.

An image of the William H. Glover Shaving Parlor (1920) from USI's Evansville African-American Community image collection.

Also included are images from the Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company of residential homes, businesses, employees, and other locations from the 1920s to the 1950s. The project will be expanded to include University photographs, celebrities who visited the area, historic structures that no longer survive, and intentional communities from around the United States.

Visit University Archives and Special Collections for more information about the collections.

Contact for more information: Wendy Knipe Bredhold, Media Relations Specialist, News & Information Services, 812/461-5259 email

Project will examine Former Slaves’ Writings during Emancipation Era

Christopher Hager Awarded National Endowment for the Humanities Grant.

HARTFORD, Conn. – Only about 10 percent of the slaves during the Civil War era in the United States were literate, primarily because most Southern states had stringent anti-literacy laws. That has led to the mistaken notion that slaves and former slaves rarely wrote anything of value, and that there is little to be learned from what they did write.

Christopher Hager, an assistant professor of English, believes differently. Through his preliminary research, Hager, whose graduate work at Northwestern University concentrated on 19th century American literature in relation to slavery and the Civil War, says there is much to be learned from the diaries, journals, letters and other forms of writing that “marginally literate former slaves” penned during the years of emancipation.

Christopher Hager

As such, Hager, who has taught at Trinity since 2007, is working on the manuscript of a book to be called, “A Colored Man’s Constitution: Emancipation and the Act of Writing.” Hager’s efforts will be facilitated by a $50,400 stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for the 2010-2011 academic year, when he will be on sabbatical. The funding for Hager’s research was announced Thursday, Dec. 17 by the NEH. It is one of 319 humanities projects that will share $20 million in grant awards, and one of 11 in Connecticut to be selected.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the NEH supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. “The grants announced today highlight the broad spectrum of humanities projects funded by the Endowment,” said NEH Chairman Jim Leach. “From small awards which enable institutions to better preserve and conserve their collections, to larger matching offers that assist organizations with capital improvements, NEH funding supports humanities scholarship and a variety of projects.”

Hager’s award is significant because the amount of the award is among the highest, reinforcing the notion that there is great interest in what Hager calls “this largely neglected moment in the history of African-American writing.”

“If we want to understand the transition from slavery to freedom, we have to understand what people thought, not only what they wrote but how they used their new skill,” he said.

In his proposal to the NEH, Hager points out that since the 1970s, scholars have dismissed the earlier presumption that it was impossible to understand slavery and emancipation from the perspective of slaves and former slaves because most of them could not write and left no reliable records.

“The emancipation of American slaves was not only a social and political revolution but also a singular moment in the history of written expression,” Hager said. “Untold thousands of African Americans who had been deprived of literacy gained unprecedented access to education at the same time they achieved their freedom.”

In fact, many of the documents that Hager will examine were written by black men who had enlisted in the Union Army. That’s where many received their first formal education.

Hager, who teaches upper-level courses in American literature, 1865-1945, at Trinity, said he has already uncovered materials that are surprising for the revelations they contain. For example, a man named John Washington wrote a memoir in 1873, but also wrote while still a slave, clearly demonstrating his literary ambition. Washington learned to read secretly, in part by reading Harpers Magazine.

Then there was a potter who wrote lines of poetry in the clay pots that he crafted before they were fired in kilns.

Hager said some of the materials he will be examining have been archived in universities and libraries, but others have been uncovered through “strokes of good fortune.” In some cases, descendents of the former slaves discovered the documents in attics and other locations.

In terms of completing his book, Hager has already gathered and transcribed most of his primary texts. They were written during or soon after the Civil War, and they range from a one-paragraph letter to a 100-page memoir.

“Upon publication,” Hager said in his proposal, “the book promises to interest scholars in the fields of African American Studies, 19th-century American literature, and the history of slavery and emancipation.”

Office of Communications 300 Summit Street Hartford, CT 06106, Phone: (860) 297-2140 Fax: (860) 297-2312 communications-office@trincoll.edu

Defining 'Whose Black Politics' Focus of New Book VIDEO PODCAST

The era of post-Civil Rights era Black politics didn't start with Barack Obama, and they won't end with the 44th president. That's the message of "Whose Black Politics? Cases in Post-Racial Black Leadership," a new compilation of groundbreaking scholarship from Emory University political scientist Andra Gillespie.

In the book, just published by Routledge Press, contributors explore the contemporary cohort of black political leaders who came of age after the Civil Rights era who have been defined through the election of President Obama. While race may tie them together, the case studies from scholars around the country reveal philosophical and practical differences in how they view the world - and the importance of their own racial identity.

Listen to Gillespie talk about black political leaders (mp3)

"If there was a motto for the book it would be: Black politics is bigger than Barack Obama. It's important to acknowledge the trailblazing of the early cohort of African American politicians and give voice to the diversity that persists in African American politics, even amongst this new wave of black politicians," Gillespie says. To explore these issues, "Whose Black Politics" presents for the first time a series of in-depth analyses of 10 leading young black politicians, including, among others, Newark, N.J.'s Cory Booker,

Civil Rights legacy Jesse Jackson, Jr., Massachusetts Gov. Duval Patrick, Tennessee's Harold Ford, and a look at the rise and fall of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Gillespie establishes a road map for defining new leaders in African American politics based on black leaders' crossover appeal, their political ambition and connections to the black establishment. The collection also explores what's missing with an examination of the underrepresentation of young black women in this new generation of politicians.

Gillespie defines the post-racial cohort as those born after 1960, give or take five years, who didn't experience the Civil Rights movement first-hand nor the codified racism of Jim Crow laws. They also benefitted from the gains of the Civil Rights movement with opportunities for education and integration not experienced by previous generations of African Americans.

"Their attitudes toward race are going to be very, very different. It's not going to be shaped through the crucible of struggle and through the crucible of protest," Gillespie says. "They are however, sympathetic to the struggle and history of their people and that could actually have an impact on how they approach politics, and what policies they espouse and how they reach out to other people and create the partnerships to address the problems in African American communities."

At the same time, "they are more likely to embrace deracialized campaign and governance strategies," she says. "Members of this new cohort have often publicly clashed with their elders, either in campaigns or over points of policy. And because this generation did not experience codified racism, critics question whether these leaders will even serve the interests of African Americans once in office." ###

Contact: Beverly Clark: 404.712.8780

Auguste among top African-Americans in technology

Bioengineer named to the Tenth Annual 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology list

San Fransisco, California and Cambridge, Mass. - December 9, 2009 - Debra Auguste, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), has been named to the Tenth Annual 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology list.

"The honorees are each an example of the critically important role of African-American innovators, educators, policymakers and executives to shape the future of the global economy,” said John William Templeton, president/executive editor of San Francisco-based eAccess Corp., which has produced the list since 1999. “During a transformational national administration, they represent the role models to propel new generations into the careers of the future.”

Debra Auguste, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)

Debra Auguste received her S.B. in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999 and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 2005. Before joining Harvard, she was a postdoctoral Associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 2004-2006. The focus of the Auguste lab is to develop novel biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering. She is interested in directing the behavior and differentiation of cells, in most cases human embryonic stem cells, by controlling their three-dimensional cellular microenvironment.

The design criteria requires the synthesis of new, biomimetic materials in coordination with regulating the rate of molecule release, immune response, targeting, and degradation. These systems are investigated for potential use in cell-based therapies.

Auguste and her other Honorees will gather for a 10th anniversary symposium in San Francisco on Jan. 15, 2010 to design an innovation and equity agenda for the nation.

Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

Grandparents as Primary Caregivers and Their Effects on the Reading Achievement of Their Elementary-Age African-American Grandchildren

UMSL doctoral candidate compares grandparents to parents. Vanessa Garry has been an educator for more than 30 years. And in that time she has learned that reading is the foundation of academic achievement and can determine a student’s success. So when Garry, vice president of education for Confluence Academy in St. Louis, began her thesis project for her doctorate in education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, she decided to look at reading.

But not just reading per se, but the differences in the reading performance of African-American children raised by their biological parents versus those raised by their grandparents.

Her paper, "Grandparents as Primary Caregivers and Their Effects on the Reading Achievement of Their Elementary-Age African-American Grandchildren," was only a small sampling, but concluded that students raised by their grandparents outperformed those raised by their parents.

Vanessa Garry

"This was just a small study," said Garry, of Chesterfield, Mo. "But it shows that parental involvement does impact a student’s achievement. Grandparents who served as their grandchild’s primary caregiver participated and became involved more in the student’s academically life, therefore improving the child’s overall performance."

For her study, she collected data from three area charter schools, evaluating six types of parental involvement, including workshops, communications between school and home, parent conferences, assistance with homework, other meetings and tutoring classes for students.

Overall, grandchildren of grandparents who are primary caregivers out-performed their peers on the communication arts portion of the Missouri Assessment Program test. The conclusions drawn from the research indicate that weekly communication between school and home, teacher and parent meetings, and assistance with homework are three types of parental involvement that positively affected reading achievement.

Garry said she’d like the opportunity to expand the study, using more participants from various other areas and districts.

She is scheduled to receive her doctoral degree in education during the 10 a.m. commencement ceremony Saturday (Dec. 19) in the Mark Twain Athletic & Fitness Center on the North Campus at UMSL. -END-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jennifer Hatton 314-516-6794

University of Missouri-St. Louis Media Services 414 Woods Hall One University Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63121-4499

DePaul King Day Events To Include Dramatic Re-enactment Of Key Speech

DePaul University will honor the living legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., with a series of events on Jan. 18, including a theatrical re-enactment of King giving one of his key speeches.

Austin Talley, an alumnus of The Theatre School of DePaul, will portray King delivering his 1967 speech “A Time to Break Silence” which includes an interpretation of the biblical parable “The Jericho Road.” The speech also infuses elements of the teachings of St. Vincent de Paul and of the black protest tradition of activist and writer James Weldon Johnson. The re-enactment is staged during an African-American church service, complete with musical selections performed by DePaul’s Gospel Choir.

DePaul University Annually Hosts Public Events Examining the Legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The performance will cap a 7:30 a.m. prayer breakfast, which also will include an address by distinguished educator Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel and professor of religion at Morehouse College. The breakfast will be held in the DePaul Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., Room 120, Chicago. The event is sponsored by DePaul’s Cultural Center and The Theatre School.

From noon until 2 p.m., the commemoration will continue in the atrium of the Student Center with the screening of the documentary “Citizen King,” an in-depth look at King’s life and legacy featuring interviews with many of those who worked with him.

At DePaul’s Loop Campus, the College of Law will host a luncheon lecture and discussion titled “Defining the Dream: Health Care as a Civil Right, Human Right or Market Commodity?” The program begins at 10:30 a.m. with a welcoming reception and cultural performance. At 10:50 a.m., Dorothy Roberts, the Kirkland & Ellis Professor at Northwestern University Law School and a professor in Northwestern’s African-American studies and sociology departments, will deliver a keynote address. Roberts is the author of numerous books and articles examining the interplay of gender, race and class in legal bioethics issues. The luncheon will begin at 11:45 a.m. followed by a panel discussion at 12:45 p.m. featuring professors Freeman Farrow of DePaul, Kimani Paul-Emile of Fordham University and Ruqaiijah Yearby of the University of Buffalo. The event will take place in the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005, Chicago.

On Jan. 21, a panel discussion, “Increasing Innovation and Productivity by Building a Diverse Workforce,” will tackle how to build and retain a diverse workforce in the 21st century among other topics. A panel from higher education, industry and the community will address these issues from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the DePaul Center’s 8th floor conference center. This event is a collaborative initiative between the Diversity and Social Justice Committee of the School for New Learning. For more information, contact Shannon Stone-Winding at caea@depaul.edu or Ext. 312-362-6508.

All DePaul events celebrating King Day are free and open to the public. Breakfast reservations are required by Jan. 12. Call (773) 325-7759 or e-mail culturalcenter@depaul.edu to reserve a space. Luncheon reservations are required by Jan. 14 should be directed to lawevents@depaul.edu or (312) 362-6229.

Media Contact: John Holden holden2@depaul.edu (312) 362-7165 December 18, 2009

Christopher Hager Awarded National Endowment of Humanities Grant

Project will examine Former Slaves’ Writings during Emancipation Era

HARTFORD, Conn. – Only about 10 percent of the slaves during the Civil War era in the United States were literate, primarily because most Southern states had stringent anti-literacy laws. That has led to the mistaken notion that slaves and former slaves rarely wrote anything of value, and that there is little to be learned from what they did write.

Christopher Hager, an assistant professor of English, believes differently. Through his preliminary research, Hager, whose graduate work at Northwestern University concentrated on 19th century American literature in relation to slavery and the Civil War, says there is much to be learned from the diaries, journals, letters and other forms of writing that “marginally literate former slaves” penned during the years of emancipation.

Seated black soldier with pistol and jacket. Photo from Public Domain Clip Art

As such, Hager, who has taught at Trinity since 2007, is working on the manuscript of a book to be called, “A Colored Man’s Constitution: Emancipation and the Act of Writing.” Hager’s efforts will be facilitated by a $50,400 stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for the 2010-2011 academic year, when he will be on sabbatical. The funding for Hager’s research was announced Thursday, Dec. 17 by the NEH. It is one of 319 humanities projects that will share $20 million in grant awards, and one of 11 in Connecticut to be selected.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the NEH supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. “The grants announced today highlight the broad spectrum of humanities projects funded by the Endowment,” said NEH Chairman Jim Leach. “From small awards which enable institutions to better preserve and conserve their collections, to larger matching offers that assist organizations with capital improvements, NEH funding supports humanities scholarship and a variety of projects.”

Hager’s award is significant because the amount of the award is among the highest, reinforcing the notion that there is great interest in what Hager calls “this largely neglected moment in the history of African-American writing.”

“If we want to understand the transition from slavery to freedom, we have to understand what people thought, not only what they wrote but how they used their new skill,” he said.

In his proposal to the NEH, Hager points out that since the 1970s, scholars have dismissed the earlier presumption that it was impossible to understand slavery and emancipation from the perspective of slaves and former slaves because most of them could not write and left no reliable records.

“The emancipation of American slaves was not only a social and political revolution but also a singular moment in the history of written expression,” Hager said. “Untold thousands of African Americans who had been deprived of literacy gained unprecedented access to education at the same time they achieved their freedom.”

In fact, many of the documents that Hager will examine were written by black men who had enlisted in the Union Army. That’s where many received their first formal education.

Hager, who teaches upper-level courses in American literature, 1865-1945, at Trinity, said he has already uncovered materials that are surprising for the revelations they contain. For example, a man named John Washington wrote a memoir in 1873, but also wrote while still a slave, clearly demonstrating his literary ambition. Washington learned to read secretly, in part by reading Harpers Magazine.

Then there was a potter who wrote lines of poetry in the clay pots that he crafted before they were fired in kilns.

Hager said some of the materials he will be examining have been archived in universities and libraries, but others have been uncovered through “strokes of good fortune.” In some cases, descendents of the former slaves discovered the documents in attics and other locations.

In terms of completing his book, Hager has already gathered and transcribed most of his primary texts. They were written during or soon after the Civil War, and they range from a one-paragraph letter to a 100-page memoir.

“Upon publication,” Hager said in his proposal, “the book promises to interest scholars in the fields of African American Studies, 19th-century American literature, and the history of slavery and emancipation.”

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2010 Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series Will Mark 30th Anniversary of NJ’s Largest Black History Month Conference

Save The Date: Pulitzer Prize-Winner Annette Gordon Reed Will Speak at Rutgers on Feb. 20

NEWARK, NJ – On Friday, February 19 and Saturday, February 20, 2010, the Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series celebrates 30 years of bringing African American history and scholarship to public light during Black History Month.

Laboring in the Vineyard: Scholarship and Citizenship, a special two-day event in memory of John Hope Franklin and Giles R. Wright, II, will present previous Wright Lecturers from the past 30 years assembled to speak to the 2010 theme. Speakers include: David Blight, John Bracey, Spencer Crew, Eric Foner, Bob Herbert, James Oliver Horton, Wilson Jeremiah Moses, Nell Irvin Painter, Sterling Stuckey, Bettye Collier Thomas, Joe William Trotter, Jr., Cheryl Wall, and Deborah Gray White. They will look at how their work as a scholar has mattered in their lives as citizen, teacher, activist, and mentor. Rutgers Professor Annette Gordon Reed, a noted Jeffersonian scholar and the 2009 Pulitzer Prize recipient for her book The Hemingses of Monticello, will give the Wright Lecture on Saturday, February 20th.

The 2010 lecture program will take place both days in The Paul Robeson Campus Center at Rutgers University-Newark. It is free and open to the public.

Aspiration (1936) by Aaron Douglas

The lecture series was co-founded in 1981 by Dr. Price and Giles R. Wright, from the New Jersey Historical Commission. Over the past 28 years, the conference has drawn thousands of people to the Rutgers-Newark campus in observance of Black History Month, and has attracted some of the nation’s foremost scholars and humanists who are experts in the field of African and African American history and culture.

One of the oldest and most prestigious events of its kind, the MTW lecture series offers a forum for scholars and non-academicians to share their thoughts and exchange ideas and sustains wide public interest in history, the humanities and life-long learning.

The annual conference was named for East Orange native Dr. Marion Thompson Wright, a pioneer in African American historiography and race relations in New Jersey, who served for many years on the faculty of Howard University. An honors graduate of Newark’s Barringer High School and Columbia University’s Teachers College Class of 1938, she was the first professionally trained woman historian in the United States.

The program, an important Rutgers University resource for public scholarship and civic discourse in greater Newark, is sponsored by the Institute; the Federated Department of History, Rutgers-Newark and the New Jersey Institute of Technology; and the New Jersey Historical Commission/Department of State, and it receives funding support from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, and the Rutgers Committee to Advance Our Common Purposes.

The 2010 conference is being mounted with major funding support from the Prudential Foundation.

For additional information about the program, visit the Institute’s website at: http://ethnicity.rutgers.edu, or contact Marisa Pierson, Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience, 973.353.3896, mpierson@newark.rutgers.edu

Robeson Campus Center is wheelchair-accessible, as is the Rutgers-Newark campus. Rutgers‑Newark can be reached by New Jersey Transit buses and trains, the PATH train and Amtrak from New York City, and by Newark City Subway. Metered parking is available on University Avenue and at Rutgers‑Newark's public parking garage, at 200 University Ave. Printable campus maps and driving directions are available online at: www.newark.rutgers.edu/maps/

CARDIN ANNOUNCES $150,000 IN FUNDING FOR HAGERSTOWN'S DOLEMAN BLACK HERITAGE MUSEUM

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) announced today that the omnibus appropriations measure that has passed Congress includes $150,000 for the Doleman Black Heritage Museum in Hagerstown.

“This funding will help preserve history and make it possible for Marylanders and Americans to visit this outstanding collection of memorabilia detailing the rich African-American culture and history of Maryland,” said Senator Cardin.

The collection was started by Marguerite and Charles Doleman, Sr. who began collecting items of interest to the Washington County community as a hobby.

The collection is well known for featuring such items as clothing, household goods, photographs, documents and paintings used by Washington County African-American residents in the 19th and 20th Century. The Senator toured the collection in April. Contact: Sue Walitsky: 202-224-4524 Monday, December 14, 2009

Congresswoman Kilpatrick Issues Statement on the Death of Ms. Erma Henderson

Detroit, MI – “I am deeply saddened by the death of Ms. Erma Henderson. She was my leader, confidante, and role model. She was a dedicated community leader and a trailblazer. She showed women around the world we could fly as high as we dared to dream.

“Early in my career, Council President Erma Henderson and I, along with Teola Hunter, led a group of women to the U.N. Conference on Women to Nairobi, Kenya. It was a trip I will never forget.

“During her life, Ms. Henderson celebrated many firsts. She was the first African American female elected to the Detroit City Council.

Erma Henderson: Michigan Women's Hall of Fame

She was the first African American female to serve as President of the Council, a position she held for 12 years. Ms. Henderson was also the first female to serve as a trustee of Wayne County Community College. “Ms. Henderson was the epitome of what it means to be a public servant. She was a voice for the voiceless and the defender of the defenseless.

Her passion for helping people was always evident. A staunch advocate for Detroiters and women, she possessed the wisdom, vision, and leadership needed to create positive change. Today and always, we embrace her spirit, her service, and her strength. She will live forever in our hearts and minds.

“I extend my deepest condolences to her family and friends. Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.”

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick - Congresswoman Representing Michigan's 13th District: