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©2005 Aetna Inc. 2006 African American History Calendar 25th Anniversary Edition Celebrating Life. Empowering a lifetime of healthful outcomes. Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D. January Birth/Infant Betty S. Pace, M.D. February First Years Michael A. LeNoir, M.D. March Preteen Rovenia Brock, Ph.D. April Teen “The Three DoctorsMay Teen Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. June Young Adult Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., M.P.H. July Young Adult B. Waine Kong, Ph.D., J.D. August Adult LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S. September Adult James Whitfield Reed, M.D., M.A.C.P., F.A.C.E. October Senior Sharon Allison-Ottey, M.D. November Senior Dexter L. Campinha-Bacote, M.D. December All Stages of Life 2006 African American History Calendar

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Page 1: Celebrating Life. - Aetna · 2006: Celebrating Life Continuing in its recent tradition to center on health matters, Aetna’s 2006 calendar features a lifeline that examines health

©2005 Aetna Inc.

2006 African American History Calendar25th Anniversary EditionCelebrating Life.

Empowering a lifetime of healthful outcomes.

Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D.

January •Birth/InfantBetty S. Pace, M.D.

February •First YearsMichael A. LeNoir, M.D.

March •PreteenRovenia Brock, Ph.D.

April •Teen

“The Three Doctors”

May •TeenLoretta Sweet Jemmott, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.

June •Young AdultPebbles Fagan, Ph.D., M.P.H.

July •Young AdultB. Waine Kong, Ph.D., J.D.

August •Adult

LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.

September •AdultJames Whitfield Reed, M.D., M.A.C.P., F.A.C.E.

October •SeniorSharon Allison-Ottey, M.D.

November •SeniorDexter L. Campinha-Bacote, M.D.

December •All Stages of Life

2006 African American History Calendar

16544 12/13/05 4:18 PM Page 1

Page 2: Celebrating Life. - Aetna · 2006: Celebrating Life Continuing in its recent tradition to center on health matters, Aetna’s 2006 calendar features a lifeline that examines health

Maya Angelou once said,“Nothing will work unless you do.”

Good health care is central to

maintaining a richly balanced and

productive life that works efficiently.

It is particularly essential in the

early years to ensure a healthful

start for newborns, and it should

continue through the elder years

with wholesome habits to enrich

and prolong life.

Since 1982, Aetna’s African American History Calendar has featured African

American role models whose vision, intellect and heart have, in countless ways,

shaped what our country is today. More than 300 individuals — pioneers in fields

such as business, government, athletics, science, education, medicine and the arts

— have been featured in the calendar.

From Jackie Robinson, who changed the face of baseball forever, to Elijah McCoy,

praised inventor who was the inspiration for the phrase “the real McCoy,” from

Earl G. Graves, founder and publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, to television

news anchor Robin Roberts — all of the individuals featured in the calendars

have demonstrated great strength, perseverance and grace in succeeding in their

chosen fields.

By showcasing outstanding individuals who have achieved greatness in their

respective careers and lives, young and old alike get a glimpse of future possibilities.

1982 – 1989: Equality and Civil Rights

The 1982 through 1989 calendars featured individuals whose work for equality

and civil rights — from the Civil War to present day — has shaped our conscience

and paved the way to a more just society. Regardless of background, heroes such

as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth risked their lives so

future generations would be free. Others such as Mary McLeod Bethune, Ida Bell

Wells-Barnett, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

worked to both unite African Americans and document their history.

1990 – 2001: The Love of Profession

In the 1990s and into the new millennium, the calendars focused on specific

themes — music, arts, education, health, food and nutrition, business enterprise —

and highlighted prominent African Americans’ contributions in these areas. Today,

we listen to the jazz licks of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, read the medical research

of Dr. Alvin Poussaint and legal opinions of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice

Alan Page, marvel at the robotics expertise of Dr. Bartholomew Nnaji, and enjoy

the theatrical artistry of Denzel Washington and James Earl Jones. These individuals

and many others have realized soaring accomplishments through their love of

profession, a strong belief system and a devotion to work for the common good.

2002 – 2005: Health Care Disparities

Beginning in 2002, the calendar became an important vehicle for honoring African

Americans determined to address and reform the most pressing health concerns of

the African American community, including infant mortality, sickle cell disease,

heart disease, cancer, asthma, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Each calendar has focused

on the 21st-century objective — to encourage greater awareness and close the racial

and ethnic divide in health care quality.

From nurse leaders to dentists, physicians to surgeons, pharmacists to medical

specialists, the 2002 through 2005 calendars profiled African Americans who

are inspired and energized to create healthy communities. These health care

professionals have mastered the ability to turn complex details into useful,

understandable and culturally competent information that individuals can

integrate into their lives.

2006: Celebrating Life

Continuing in its recent tradition to center on health matters, Aetna’s 2006

calendar features a lifeline that examines health issues that may affect African

Americans at each stage of life — from early childhood to middle age to older

age. Throughout this calendar, readers will be introduced to 14 passionate

health care professionals — including the motivational “Three Doctors,”

recognized by Oprah Winfrey as the “premier role models of the world” —

who are devoted to ensuring that fellow African Americans have the

opportunity to cherish and celebrate life each and every day.

25 Years of Calendar History

The Aetna 2006 African American History Calendar celebrates all stages

of life — from early childhood to middle age to older age — with advice,

healthful messages and important perspectives from respected African

American health care professionals throughout the country.

Ensuring that health care remains a top priority is paramount to improving the

overall health of African Americans. Through the wisdom, determination and

tenacity of the 14 health care professionals featured in this calendar, healthier

and more educated communities are being created each and every day.

Aetna acknowledges the health care challenges that are more prevalent in the

African American community, from infant mortality to sickle cell disease, from

poor nutrition to asthma, from diabetes to cancer; and the Aetna 2006 African

American History Calendar profiles those individuals who emphasize education

and prevention.

By leveraging their own circles of influence, those profiled here are working

in many ways to make a difference. They are role models who teach

individuals how to address and overcome health care challenges that are

more predominant in their communities. When individuals are empowered to

take control of their own health care, ultimately there are more healthful

outcomes.

With this edition, Aetna celebrates its 25th anniversary of bringing to life

visionaries and the contributions they have made. We are honored to profile

this elite group of health care professionals, who have dedicated their lives

and professions to teaching African Americans how to best care for themselves

and their families. Please join us on this journey as we celebrate life.

Reaching back in time, African Americans have played critically important roles in shapingAmerican history. Today, African Americans continue to inspire traditions, influence cultureand create legacies that make our world abetter place.

For the past 25 years, Aetna has produced theAfrican American History Calendar as an annualtribute to the extraordinary contributions and educational endeavors of African Americans inour country.

www.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com

Celebrating Life.

1984Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

1990Louis Armstrong

2003Frances E. Ashe-Goins, R.N., M.P.H.

Featured Inside:

January Birth/Infant SIDS

February First Years Sickle Cell Disease

March Preteen Asthma

April Teen Nutrition

May Teen Teens at Risk

June Young Adult HIV and AIDS

July Young Adult Tobacco Control

August Adult Cardiovascular Disease

September Adult Cancer

October Senior Diabetes

November Senior Senior Health

December All Stages of Life Healthful Living

Calendars Through the Decades

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

New Year’s Day

1863: Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation

Proclamation.

2005: Former U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm,

first black woman elected to Congress, dies.

1965: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. calls for

nonviolent protests if Alabama blacks are not

allowed to register and vote.

1624: William Tucker, first African child born

in America.

1920: Andrew “Rube” Foster organizes

first black baseball league, the Negro

National League.

1971: The Congressional Black Caucus organized.

1943: George Washington Carver, agricultural

scientist, dies.

1831: The World Anti-Slavery Convention

opens in London.

1890: William B. Purvis patents fountain pen.

1955: Marian Anderson debuts as first black

to perform at Metropolitan Opera.

1811: Charles Deslandes leads slave revolt

in Louisiana.

1866: Fisk University founded in Nashville,

Tennessee.

1906: Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet

and writer, dies.

1864: George Washington Carver, agricultural

scientist and inventor, born.

1940: Benjamin O. Davis Sr. becomes U.S.

Army’s first black general.

1948: Supreme Court rules blacks have right

to study law at state institutions.

1990: L. Douglas Wilder inaugurated as

first African American governor (Virginia)

since Reconstruction.

1975: William T. Coleman named secretary

of transportation.

1929: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a major

voice for civil rights in the 20th century, born.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s

Birthday Observed

1978: NASA names African American

astronauts Maj. Frederick D. Gregory,

Maj. Guion S. Bluford Jr. and

Dr. Ronald E. McNair.

1942: Three-time heavyweight boxing cham-

pion Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) born.

1856: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, pioneer heart

surgeon, born.

1918: John H. Johnson, editor and publisher

of Ebony and Jet magazines, born.

1993: Maya Angelou, a great voice of con-

temporary literature, delivers On the Pulse of

Morning at the presidential inauguration.

2001: Colin Powell sworn in as first black

secretary of state.

1870: Hiram Revels elected first black U.S.

senator, replacing Jefferson Davis for the

Mississippi seat.

1949: James Robert Gladden becomes first

black certified in orthopedic surgery.

1891: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founds

Provident Hospital in Chicago, the first

training hospital for black doctors and

nurses in the U.S.

1865: Congress passes 13th Amendment,

which, on ratification, abolishes slavery.

1851: Sojourner Truth addresses first Black

Women’s Rights Convention, Akron, Ohio.

1954: Dr. Theodore K. Lawless, dermatologist,

awarded the Spingarn Medal for research in

skin-related diseases.

1961: Leontyne Price, world-renowned opera

singer, makes her Metropolitan Opera debut.

1998: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, first

black female millionaire, honored on U.S.

postage stamp.

1926: Violette Neatly Anderson becomes first

black woman lawyer to argue a case before

the Supreme Court.

1844: Richard Theodore Greener becomes

first black to graduate from Harvard.

1919: Jackie Robinson, first black to

play in major league baseball, born.

January 2006

African American History Calendarwww.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com

When an infant dies suddenly after birth, parents needto understand why. When answers to these sometimesdifficult questions are hard to come by, the loss can beeven more inexplicable and devastating.

“Infant mortality is defined as the death of a child before hisor her first birthday, and in recent years, the infant mortalityrate in the U.S. has been declining. But we must do better,”said Dr. Yvonne T. Maddox. “In the U.S., the infant mor-tality rate is seven deaths per every 1,000 births. That’s 27,000infant deaths per year. And in the African American community,the figures are twice as high – 14 deaths per every 1,000 births.”

Several factors can cause infant mortality, including congenitalabnormalities and birth defects; prematurity and low birthweight; acute respiratory distress syndrome; infections; andSudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

SIDS is the sudden, unexplained death of a baby. Despite its prevalence, the exact cause is still unknown. “I stronglybelieve SIDS is developmental,” Maddox said. “It’s theleading cause of death in babies after 1 month, but most SIDS deaths occur under 6 months of age.”

According to Maddox, recent research connects some instancesof SIDS to the area of the brain that helps control breathingand awakening during sleep. If this area is underdeveloped in a baby who becomes tangled in loose bedding, the baby maynot be signaled to turn his or her head for oxygen and may,therefore, suffocate. “It is imperative that babies are positionedon their backs while sleeping – even while napping – toreduce the risk of suffocation,” Maddox said.

However, the culture and traditions many African Americanswere handed down encourage parents to place babies ontheir stomachs to sleep, said Maddox. Some are afraid babieswill choke or regurgitate and then suffocate if they’re placedon their backs, and some believe babies will develop flatspots on the backs of their heads from sleeping on theirbacks. Maddox said both are highly unlikely.

“Through our ‘Back to Sleep’ campaign, we’ve created culturally competent materials that take these traditions intoaccount, while raising SIDS awareness in African Americancommunities,” said Maddox.

Maddox noted other methods for reducing the risk of SIDSinclude prenatal care for the mother-to-be, using a safety-approved crib with a firm mattress, not smoking before orafter birth and not allowing others to smoke around a child,getting a child well-baby checkups, not wrapping a baby tootightly or dressing a child too warmly, and not sharing a bedwith a baby or putting a baby to bed with a sibling.

“Parents want to keep their babies safe, and I am proud thatour educational efforts help them do that,” said Maddox,who also chairs the Women’s Fellowship at her church. “Weare on a journey to save our babies through research andeducation, and we will continue until no baby dies of SIDS.”

Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D.Deputy Director of the National Institute ofChild Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health

Residence: Upper Marlboro, Maryland

“Parents want to keep their babies safe,and I am proud that our educationalefforts help them do that.”

Infant Mortality

FACTSIDS is ranked as a leadingcause of death for AfricanAmerican infants under 1 year of age.

Since the national “Back To Sleep” campaign was launched in 1994,SIDS rates in the U.S. have decreased by more than 50 percent, theequivalent of sparing the lives of more than 3,500 babies each year.

Dream

STAGE OF LIFE – Birth/Infant

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28

1902: Langston Hughes, poet, born. 1915: Biologist Ernest E. Just receives

Spingarn Medal for research in fertilization

and cell division.

1956: Autherine Lucy enrolls as the first

black student at the University of Alabama.

1913: Rosa Parks, civil rights pioneer who

sparked 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus

boycott, born.

1884: Willis Johnson patents eggbeater.

1934: Hank Aaron, major league home-run

champion, born.

1993: Arthur Ashe Jr., tennis player,

humanitarian and activist, dies.

1883: Ragtime pianist and composer

Eubie Blake born.

1968: Three South Carolina State

students killed during segregation protest

in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

1964: Arthur Ashe Jr. becomes first black

on U.S. Davis Cup team.

1927: Leontyne Price, internationally

acclaimed opera singer, born.

1992: Alex Haley, Pulitzer Prize-winning

author, dies.

1990: Nelson Mandela of South Africa

is released from prison after 27 years.

Lincoln’s Birthday

1909: NAACP founded in New York City.

1927: Xavier University of Louisiana College

of Pharmacy founded.

1970: Joseph L. Searles becomes first African

American member of New York Stock Exchange.

Valentine’s Day

1817: Frederick Douglass, “the Great

Emancipator,” born.

1961: U.N. sessions disrupted by U.S.

and African nationalists over assassination

of Congo Premier Patrice Lumumba.

1874: Frederick Douglass elected president

of Freedman’s Bank and Trust.

1938: Mary Frances Berry, first woman

to serve as chancellor of a major research

university (University of Colorado), born.

1931: Toni Morrison, winner of 1988 Pulitzer

Prize for her novel Beloved, born.

1919: First Pan-African Congress, organized

by W.E.B. DuBois, held in Paris.

Presidents’ Day

1895: Frederick Douglass, leading voice

in the abolitionist movement, dies.

1965: Malcolm X assassinated in New York. Washington’s Birthday

1989: Col. Frederick D. Gregory becomes

first African American to command a space

shuttle mission.

1868: W.E.B. DuBois, scholar, activist and

author of The Souls of Black Folk, born.

1864: Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes first

black woman to receive a medical degree

(New England Female Medical College).

1853: First black YMCA organized

in Washington, D.C.

1965: Civil rights activist Jimmie Lee

Jackson dies after being shot by state police

in Marion, Alabama.

1897: Marian Anderson, world-renowned

opera singer and civil rights activist, born.

1984: Michael Jackson, musician and

entertainer, wins eight Grammy Awards.

February 2006FACTIn the United States,about 1,000 babieswith sickle cell diseaseare born each year.

Having a newborn baby can be a difficult adjustmentfor parents – lack of sleep, midnight feedings, incessantcrying. But what’s even more difficult for any parent iscaring for a sick child. And in the African Americancommunity, one in 500 children is born with sickle cell disease.

Dr. Betty S. Pace has made it her life’s work to find a cure

for the disease. Growing up in the small town of Racine,

Wisconsin, she knew a large family who lost four young

children to sickle cell disease.

“One was a good friend of mine, and she died in junior high

school. I remember visiting her when she was bedridden from

having a stroke,” Pace said. “It really had an impact on me.”

Sickle cell disease is an inherited red blood cell disease caused

by a genetic error in a person’s hemoglobin, which makes

the red blood cells inflexible and sickle shaped. This leads to

blockages in blood vessels and prevents oxygen from reaching

the body’s tissues. Side effects of the disease include swelling

of the spleen, which occurs when the sickle blood cells get

caught in the spleen and cause it to expand like a balloon; pain

and inflammation, which happen when blood flow is cut off

from the body tissue and organs; anemia; jaundice; and stroke.

“The best way to prevent death in children with sickle cell

disease is diagnosis in infancy,” said Pace, who Popular

Science magazine named in 2004 one of the United States’

“Brilliant 10” scientists. “If children with the disease are

given penicillin twice a day from 3 months to 5 years, the

rates of death and infection are significantly decreased.”

Although there is still no universal gene therapy-based cure

for sickle cell disease, Pace said that recent educational ini-

tiatives targeting parents have doubled the life expectancy of

those with sickle cell disease. “We teach parents how to react

to the disease symptoms. If their baby has a fever, they’re

told to bring the baby to the emergency room immediately

because the child may have an infection. We also teach parents

how to feel the spleen to see if it is enlarged,” said Pace.

The average life span for individuals with sickle cell disease

is 42 years for men and 46 years for women; and while the

present state of the disease is challenging, Pace has confi-

dence in the future. New, promising drugs are under

development; and effective treatments continue to lengthen

life expectancy. “It’s my job to help people understand the

process of the disease,” said Pace. “I try to help parents so

they don’t feel like they’re on this mission alone.”

Betty S. Pace, M.D.Researcher and Director, University of Texas at Dallas Sickle Cell Disease Research Center

Residence: Dallas, Texas

“The best way to prevent death inchildren with sickle cell disease isdiagnosis in infancy.”

Sickle Cell Disease

Research

The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the Sickle Cell DiseaseAwareness Commemorative stamp in September 2004to educate the public about the disease and promotefinding a universal cure.

African American History Calendarwww.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com

STAGE OF LIFE – First Years

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

Ash Wednesday

1914: Ralph Ellison, author, born.

1867: Congress enacts charter to establish

Howard University.

1865: Freedmen’s Bureau established by

federal government to aid newly freed slaves.

1965: Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics

honored as NBA most valuable player

for fourth time in five years.

1770: Crispus Attucks becomes one of the

first casualties of the American Revolution.

1857: Supreme Court issues Dred Scott decision. 1965: Supreme Court upholds key provisions

of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

1951: The National Pharmaceutical

Association incorporated under the laws

of the state of Delaware.

1977: Henry L. Marsh III becomes first African

American elected mayor of Richmond, Virginia.

1841: Amistad mutineers freed by

Supreme Court.

1869: Robert Tanner Freeman becomes

first black to receive a degree in dentistry.

1913: Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and

Civil War nurse, dies.

1959: Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun

opens at Barrymore Theater, New York, the first

play by a black woman to premiere on Broadway.

1932: Andrew Young, former U.N. ambas-

sador and former mayor of Atlanta, born.

1773: Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, black

pioneer and explorer, founded Chicago.

1956: Montgomery, Alabama, bus

boycott ends when municipal bus service

is desegregated.

1947: John Lee, first black commissioned

officer in the U.S. Navy, assigned to duty.

1827: Freedom’s Journal, the first U.S. black

newspaper, is founded.

1846: Rebecca Cole, second black female

physician in the U.S., born.

St. Patrick’s Day

1885: William F. Cosgrove patents automatic

stop plug for gas and oil pipes.

1890: Charles B. Brooks patents street sweeper.

1822: The Phoenix Society, a literary and

educational group, founded by blacks

in New York City.

1971: The Rev. Leon Sullivan elected to board

of directors of General Motors.

1883: Jan E. Matzeliger patents

shoemaking machine.

1965: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads

march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama,

for voting rights.

1898: J.W. Smith patents lawn sprinkler. 1873: Slavery abolished in Puerto Rico. 1907: Nurse and aviator Janet Harmon Bragg

born.

1931: Ida B. Wells-Barnett, journalist,

anti-lynching activist and founding

member of the NAACP, dies.

1872: Thomas J. Martin patents fire extinguisher.

1911: William H. Lewis becomes U.S. assistant

attorney general.

1924: Jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, “The Divine

One,” born.

1930: Of the 116,000 blacks in professional

positions, more than two-thirds were teachers

or ministers.

1870: Jonathan S. Wright becomes first black

state supreme court justice in South Carolina.

1918: Pearl Bailey, singer and actor, born. 1870: Fifteenth Amendment ratified,

guaranteeing voting rights to blacks.

1988: Toni Morrison wins Pulitzer Prize

for Beloved.

March 2006FACTMost children with persistent asthma overthe age of 4 shouldhave allergy evaluations.

Take a deep breath, as this may surprise you: Nearlyone in 13 school-age children has asthma. It is theleading cause of school absenteeism in the U.S. due tochronic illness, accounting for more than 10 millionmissed school days per year.

“Many people still think of asthma as a disease of inconven-ience, not as a disease that can kill,” said Dr. Michael A.LeNoir, a practicing consulting allergist and pediatrician inOakland, California. LeNoir also is president of the EthnicHealth Institute at Alta Bates/Summit Medical Center andCEO of the Ethnic Health America Network, a series ofradio and television programs that focus on how health care impacts minority populations.

“Asthma can kill. And it’s not the sick who die from asthma– it’s the poorly controlled.”

These statistics frustrate LeNoir – a nationally recognizedexpert on asthma in inner cities – because unlike otherserious diseases, most cases of asthma can be controlled withlittle effect on a person’s daily life. Problems occur when thedisease is not treated properly – especially in children. Childrenwho suffer from persistent asthma often have problems inschool, social situations and sports because of their inabilityto effectively move air through their lungs.

Asthma is often inadequately treated because it frequentlygoes undetected. “The most common symptom in childrenis not the wheezing most parents think of, but chroniccough,” said LeNoir, a father of four and grandfather of two.“If a child coughs when he exercises or laughs, or coughs atnight when he’s not sick, it’s a warning sign.”

According to LeNoir, the most common triggers of asthmaare allergies and house dust. Once a child develops asthma,many environmental factors can exacerbate its effects such asviral infections, exposure to pollution in major cities, andhydrocarbons from automobiles and diesel fuels.

LeNoir believes two separate problems contribute to poorasthma outcomes in African American communities – healthdisparity and health care disparity. “Health disparity isbecause of who you are. African Americans are geneticallymore at risk for certain diseases,” LeNoir said. “Health caredisparity is because of who you represent, racially or ethni-cally. There should be no statistical difference, and yet thereis a difference in the quality of care.”

To combat both issues, LeNoir devotes time to educationand outreach. He lectures at medical meetings and conferencesto teach health providers the proper methods of controllingasthma, since unaware physicians frequently prescribe rescuemedicines such as Albuterol for long-term asthma maintenance,which is not an effective treatment.

“My goal is to make a difference beyond being a physician,”said LeNoir, who enjoys cooking and playing golf. “I wantto be a good member of the community who is interested inthe health of the entire community.”

Michael A. LeNoir, M.D.Immunologist, practicing consulting allergist and pediatrician; CEO of the Ethnic HealthAmerica Network

Residence: Oakland, California

“The most common symptom in children isnot the wheezing most parents think of, butchronic cough.”

Asthma

One ragweed plant can release as many asa million grains of pollen in one day.

Awareness

African American History Calendarwww.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com

STAGE OF LIFE – Preteen

16544 12/13/05 4:18 PM Page 5

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30

1950: Blood research pioneer Charles R.

Drew dies.

1989: Bill White elected president

of the National Baseball League.

Daylight Saving Time Begins

1984: Georgetown coach John Thompson

becomes first African American coach to

win the NCAA basketball tournament.

1826: Poet-orator James Madison Bell, author

of the Emancipation Day poem “The Day

and the War,” born.

1990: Sarah Vaughan, jazz singer known

as “The Divine One,” dies.

1968: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

1951: Washington, D.C., Municipal Court of

Appeals outlaws segregation in restaurants.

1909: Matthew A. Henson reaches North

Pole, 45 minutes before Robert E. Peary.

1915: Jazz and blues legend Billie Holiday born.

1959: Lorraine Hansberry becomes first black

playwright to win New York Drama Critics

Award (for A Raisin in the Sun).

1974: Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron hits

715th career home run, surpassing Babe Ruth

as the game’s all-time home-run leader.

Palm Sunday

1898: Paul Robeson, actor, singer, activist, born.

1943: Arthur Ashe, first black to win the U.S.

Open and men’s singles title at Wimbledon, born.

1947: Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson

becomes first black to play major league baseball.

1899: Percy Julian, developer of physostigmine

and synthetic cortisone, born.

1966: Emmett Ashford becomes first black

umpire in the major leagues.

Passover Begins (sundown)

1983: Harold Washington becomes first

African American elected mayor of Chicago.

1950: Historian Carter G. Woodson, author

of The Miseducation of the Negro, dies.

1997: Tiger Woods wins Masters Golf

Tournament.

Good Friday

1775: First abolitionist society in U.S. founded

in Philadelphia.

1964: Sidney Poitier becomes first black

to win Academy Award for Best Actor

for Lilies of the Field.

Easter

1862: Slavery abolished in the District

of Columbia.

1983: Alice Walker wins Pulitzer Prize for

fiction for The Color Purple.

1990: Ralph David Abernathy, civil rights

leader, dies.

1995: Margo Jefferson receives Pulitzer Prize

for criticism.

1972: Stationed in Germany, Major Gen.

Frederic E. Davidson becomes first African

American to lead an Army division.

1894: Dr. Lloyd A. Hall, pioneering food

chemist, born.

1966: Pfc. Milton L. Olive III awarded

posthumously the Medal of Honor for valor

in Vietnam.

1922: Jazz bassist and composer

Charles Mingus born.

1856: Granville T. Woods, inventor of the

steam boiler and automobile air brakes, born.

1872: Charlotte E. Ray is first black woman

admitted to the District of Columbia Bar.

1944: United Negro College Fund incorporated. 1918: Ella Fitzgerald, “First Lady of Song,” born. Administrative Professionals Day

1888: Sarah Boone patents ironing board.

1945: August Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning

playwright, born.

1968: Dr. Vincent Porter becomes first black

certified in plastic surgery.

1839: Cinque leads Amistad mutiny off

the coast of Long Island, New York.

1899: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington,

jazz musician and composer, born.

April 2006

1952: Dr. Louis T. Wright honored by

American Cancer Society for his contributions

to cancer research.

FACTApproximately 30.4 percentof all U.S. adolescents(ages 12 to 19) are over-weight and 15.5 percentare obese.

Diet books are on the best-seller lists. Fitness videosare flying off the shelves. Fast-food restaurants areoffering healthful alternatives. Yet with all the currentemphasis on nutrition and well-being, why are thewaistlines of our youth continually expanding?

“Young people first have to see to be,” said Dr. Rovenia“Ro” Brock, widely known as the host of BET’s “Heart &Soul,” the first-ever national health and fitness televisionshow for African American women. “When parents don’tpractice the healthful behaviors they are trying to instill intheir children, it doesn’t work.”

According to the American Obesity Association, overweightand obesity in the U.S. occur at higher rates in minoritypopulations such as African and Hispanic Americans, com-pared with white Americans. Among female youth, AfricanAmerican adolescent females ages 12 to 19 have the highestoverweight and obesity prevalence – 45.5 percent and 26.6 percent, respectively.

“The biggest problem in the African American communityis that we eat too much and move too little. Physical inactivityand the overconsumption of calories, fat, sugar and sodiumhead the list of nutrition concerns,” said Brock, who also isthe author of the national bestseller Dr. Ro’s 10 Secrets toLivin’ Healthy.

Brock reccommends proper nutrition in childhood andreinforcing healthful living practices through adolescence. “Ininfancy, introduce your children to vegetables before fruits,so that they develop a taste for the healthful before the sugar.And when kids get older, continue to pack vegetables and fruitin their lunch, as opposed to bags of chips.”

Encourage water rather than soft drinks, Brock said. “Thewidening girth of America has more to do with the high-fructose content in those mammoth soft drinks than withfat,” she added.

If your adolescent child is already overweight or obese, Brockencourages parents to positively reinforce them throughencouraging words. “Too often I see parents speaking totheir children in tones that are humiliating and dehuman-izing,” she said. “Be nicer. Be kinder. We have to be rolemodels to our children – role models of both health andpositive behavior.”

The elimination of physical education from many publicschools across the country is a growing concern, accordingto Brock. “Parents need to band together to have physicaleducation added back into the curriculum,” she said.

Inspired to help create healthy communities since hermother’s premature death from stomach cancer, Brock said,“I believe people want the information and want to livemore healthful lifestyles – they just don’t know how to do it. It’s my job to translate complex information into information people can use to better their lives.”

Rovenia Brock, Ph.D.Nutrition and Fitness Expert

Residence: Washington, D.C.

“Parents need to band together to havephysical education added back into the curriculum.”

Nutrition

Fitness

Eating eight strawberries willprovide you with more Vitamin Cthan an orange.

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1867: First four students enter Howard University.

1998: Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther,

author, dies.

1844: Inventor Elijah McCoy, “the real McCoy,”

born.

1995: Shirley Jackson assumes chairmanship

of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

1964: Frederick O’Neal becomes first black

president of Actors’ Equity Association.

1961: Freedom Riders begin protesting segre-

gation of interstate bus travel in the South.

1950: Gwendolyn Brooks becomes first black to

win a Pulitzer Prize in poetry for “Annie Allen.”

1988: Eugene Antonio Marino installed as first

U.S. African American Roman Catholic archbishop.

1812: Physician, author, explorer Martin R.

Delaney, first black officer in Civil War, born.

1991: Smithsonian Institution approves creation

of the National African American Museum.

1845: Mary Eliza Mahoney, America’s

first black trained nurse, born.

1878: Joseph R. Winters patents first fire

escape ladder.

1983: Lena Horne awarded Spingarn Medal

for distinguished career in entertainment.

1899: John Albert Burr patents lawn mower. 1950: Boston Celtics select Chuck Cooper,

first black player drafted to play in NBA.

1895: Composer William Grant Still, first black

to conduct a major American symphony

orchestra, born.

1820: The New York African Free School

population reaches 500.

1872: Matilda Arabella Evans, first black woman

to practice medicine in South Carolina, born.

Mother’s Day

1913: Clara Stanton Jones, first black president

of the American Library Association, born.

1820: Congress declares foreign slave trade

an act of piracy, punishable by death.

1927: Dr. William Harry Barnes becomes

first black certified by a surgical board.

1954: Supreme Court declares segregation

in public schools unconstitutional in Brown v.

Board of Education.

1896: In Plessy v. Ferguson, Supreme Court

upholds doctrine of “separate but equal”

education and public accommodations.

1925: Malcolm X born Malcolm Little

in Omaha, Nebraska.

1993: University of Virginia professor

Rita Dove appointed U.S. Poet Laureate.

Armed Forces Day

1961: U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy

dispatches U.S. marshals to Montgomery,

Alabama, to restore order in the Freedom

Rider crisis.

1833: Blacks enroll for the first time

at Oberlin College, Ohio.

1921: Shuffle Along, a musical featuring

a score by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle,

opens on Broadway.

1900: Sgt. William H. Carney becomes first black

awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

1854: Lincoln University (Pa.), first black

college, founded.

1926: Jazz trumpeter Miles Dewey Davis born. 1961: During Kennedy administration, Marvin

Cook named ambassador to Niger Republic, the

first black envoy named to an African nation.

1919: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, cosmetics

manufacturer and first black female millionaire,

dies.

1942: Dorie Miller, a ship‘s steward, awarded

Navy Cross for heroism during the attack on

Pearl Harbor in 1941.

1948: National Party wins whites-only

elections in South Africa and begins

to institute policy of apartheid.

Memorial Day Observed

1901: Granville T. Woods patents overhead

conducting system for the electric railway.

1973: Tom Bradley becomes first black

mayor of Los Angeles.

1947: The National Pharmaceutical Association

founded to address the interests and needs

of minority pharmacists.

1965: Vivian Malone becomes first black

to graduate from the University of Alabama.

1870: Congress passes the first Enforcement

Act, providing stiff penalties for those who

deprive others of civil rights.

May 2006FACTAmong 10- to 24-year-olds, homicide is theleading cause of deathfor African Americans.

It may seem unlikely that the best way to inspire trou-bled youth is to encourage peer pressure. But this isthe strategy for success used by “The Three Doctors” –Sampson Davis, Rameck Hunt and George Jenkins –inspirational speakers who aim to motivate inner-cityyouth and families through education, mentoring andhealth awareness.

“There is negative and positive peer pressure. We show howpositive peer pressure can help encourage youths to achievetheir goals and escape negative influences,” said Hunt, aninternist and medical director at St. Peter’s University Hospital’sHow Lane Adult Family Health Center.

If anyone can attest to the power of positive peer pressure,it’s “The Three Doctors.” As teenagers from the streets ofNewark, New Jersey, they made a pact to stay together,attend college and become doctors. More than 13 years later,they have achieved their goal and have formed The ThreeDoctors Foundation to help empower inner-city youths toimprove their lives and the lives of others.

“Inner-city kids face a tremendous amount of negative peerpressure – it’s on their clothes, on their corners, in theirwalks and in their talks,” said Davis, an emergency medicinephysician at East Orange General Hospital. “They are facedwith gangs, narcotics, weapons – huge issues. It’s occurringat epidemic levels, and it threatens all of us.”

“The Three Doctors” strive to show these teenagers that the path to success begins with education. “I want to makeeducation fashionable,” said Jenkins, a dentist and facultymember of Community Health at the University of Medicineand Dentistry of New Jersey. “Today, kids dream of beingprofessional athletes and entertainers, and they have dreamsof money and fame. I would like them to see education asan alternative, more realistic way to attain their goals.”

Davis said their messages are geared toward families. “Wehelp parents by teaching them how to listen to their sonsand daughters. Parents will say to us, ‘They don’t listen tome anymore!’ And we say to them, ‘You’re the parent. Youcan’t give up.’ We help them reach their kids,” he said.

“We tell parents that they can’t speak down to their children,and that they have to understand their children’s culture. Theyneed to know about the latest crazes in the community, andthey have to be involved academically and socially,” said Hunt.

“The Three Doctors” have jointly authored two books, The Pact and We Beat the Street, both New York Times bestsellers. Oprah Winfrey has called the trio “the premier rolemodels of the world.” And while the accolades are rewarding,the doctors say the real reward is the difference they aremaking – one community at a time.

“This isn’t an inner-city story. This is America’s story – andit’s a hopeful one,” said Davis. “We want to motivate andsave as many people as we can.”

“The Three Doctors” –Sampson Davis, M.D.,Rameck Hunt, M.D. andGeorge Jenkins, D.M.D.Inspirational Speakers

Residence: Newark, New Jersey

“Today, kids dream of being professionalathletes and entertainers, and they havedreams of money and fame. I would likethem to see education as an alternative,more realistic way to attain their goals.”

Teens at Risk

Inspire

In 1816, the stethoscope was invented by theFrench physician René Théophile HyacintheLaënnec, who is generally considered to bethe father of chest medicine.

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1968: Henry Lewis becomes first black musical

director of an American symphony orchestra

— New Jersey Symphony.

1971: Samuel L. Gravely Jr. becomes first

African American admiral in U.S. Navy.

1890: L.H. Jones patents corn harvester.

1904: Charles R. Drew, who developed

process for preserving blood plasma, born.

1967: Bill Cosby receives an Emmy Award

for his work in the television series I Spy.

1972: Activist Angela Davis acquitted

of all murder and conspiracy charges.

1987: Dr. Mae C. Jemison becomes first

African American woman astronaut.

1831: First annual People of Color convention

held in Philadelphia.

1917: Poetess Gwendolyn Brooks, first black

to win the Pulitzer Prize (poetry, 1950), born.

1953: Supreme Court ruling bans discrimination

in Washington, D.C., restaurants.

1962: W.W. Braithwaite, poet, anthologist

and literary critic, dies in New York City.

1995: Lincoln J. Ragsdale, pioneer fighter

pilot of World War II, dies.

1854: James Augustine Healy, first black

Roman Catholic bishop, is ordained a priest

in Notre Dame Cathedral.

1964: Nelson Mandela sentenced to life

imprisonment by South African government.

1963: Medgar W. Evers, civil rights leader,

assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi.

1967: Thurgood Marshall nominated to

Supreme Court by President Lyndon Johnson.

Flag Day

1864: Congress rules equal pay for all soldiers.

1927: George Washington Carver patents

process of producing paints and stains.

1913: Dr. Effie O’Neal Ellis, first black woman

to hold an executive position in the American

Medical Association, born.

1970: Kenneth A. Gibson elected mayor of

Newark, New Jersey, first African American

mayor of a major Eastern city.

1775: Minuteman Peter Salem fights

in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Father’s Day

1942: Harvard University medical student

Bernard Whitfield Robinson commissioned

as the Navy’s first black officer.

1865: Blacks in Texas are notified of

Emancipation Proclamation, issued

in 1863. “Juneteenth” marks the event.

1953: Albert W. Dent of Dillard University elected

president of the National Health Council.

1945: Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes first

black to command an Army Air Corps base.

1897: William Barry patents postmarking

and cancelling machine.

1940: Sprinter Wilma Rudolph, winner of three

gold medals at 1960 Summer Olympics, born.

1964: Carl T. Rowan appointed director

of the United States Information Agency.

1941: Franklin D. Roosevelt issues executive

order establishing Fair Employment Practices

Commission.

1975: Dr. Samuel Blanton Rosser becomes first

African American certified in pediatric surgery.

1991: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood

Marshall announces his retirement.

1864: Fugitive slave laws repealed by Congress.

1911: Samuel J. Battle becomes first black

policeman in New York City.

1886: Photographer James Van Der Zee born. 1921: Charles S. Gilpin awarded Spingarn

Medal for his performance in Eugene O’Neill’s

Emperor Jones.

June 2006FACTBy the end of December2003, 195,891 AfricanAmericans with AIDS haddied.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquiredimmune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have plagued the United States since 1981, and its incidence andprevalence have grown rapidly among minority populations ever since. However, many adolescentsand young adults still do not understand the diseaseor the at-risk behaviors that can lead to its transmission,said Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott, a professor of nursingat the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on HIV prevention.

“Often, young adults simply do not want to hear that theirbehaviors can harm them,” Sweet Jemmott said. “They feelinvulnerable. I try to show them that they are not, and thatthey need to protect themselves.”

Although African Americans make up 12.3 percent of theU.S. population, they have accounted for 40 percent of thealmost 1 million AIDS cases diagnosed since the start of the epidemic and approximately half of the 43,171 casesdiagnosed in 2003 alone, according to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention.

AIDS is caused by HIV, the virus that destroys the body’sability to fight infections and certain cancers by killing orimpairing immune-system cells. According to the healthWeb site BlackHealthCare.com, HIV infection can be transmitted in a variety of ways – most commonly by unprotected sexual contact with an infected partner. It isalso spread through contact with infected blood, drugneedles and syringes, as well as from infected mother tofetus through pregnancy, birth or breast-feeding.

“Young adults should be told everything about HIV andAIDS. We can’t sugarcoat it. We need to stop this epidemicas a community,” said Sweet Jemmott, who is nationally recognized for her award-winning programs and materialsthat address major issues such as sex, teen pregnancy, HIV,AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, puberty and drugs.These programs aim to reduce HIV-risk-related behavioramong African American adolescents and are implementedinternationally.

Sweet Jemmott said young people often do not understandthe links between behavior and consequences. “They need tobe shown how one behavior can affect another. They needhelp figuring out how to be safe.

“We live in a difficult time today. Young adults are gettingbombarded with messages from media, clothing, their peersand their partners – messages that encourage and glorifyunsafe sexual practices,” Sweet Jemmott said. “There are toomany negative messages out there. I try to get them to lookat the right message.”

Her message is clear: Go out and get tested. “Get testedevery six months. When it comes to HIV and AIDS, theearlier the diagnosis the better. The faster you receive treat-ment, the better your health outcomes will be,” she said.

Loretta Sweet Jemmott,Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.Professor of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and expert on HIV prevention

Residence: Wynnewood, Pennsylvania

“Young adults should be told everythingabout HIV and AIDS. We can’t sugarcoatit. We need to stop this epidemic as acommunity.”

HIV and AIDS

Knowledge

The red ribbon became an international symbol of AIDSawareness during 1991. The organization Visual AIDS in NewYork, together with Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS,established the wearing of a red ribbon as something thatsignified support for people living with HIV/AIDS. African American History Calendar

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1889: Frederick Douglass named U.S.

Minister to Haiti.

1872: Elijah McCoy patents first self-lubricating

locomotive engine. The quality of his inventions

helped coin the phrase “the real McCoy.”

1688: The Quakers in Germantown,

Pennsylvania, make first formal protest

against slavery.

Independence Day

1900: Traditional birthdate of Louis

“Satchmo” Armstrong, jazz pioneer.

1892: Andrew J. Beard patents rotary engine.

1991: Nelson Mandela elected president of

the African National Congress.

1957: Althea Gibson wins women’s singles

title at Wimbledon, first black to win tennis’s

most prestigious award.

1948: Cleveland Indians sign pitcher

Leroy “Satchel” Paige.

1943: Faye Wattleton, first black director

of Planned Parenthood, born.

2000: Venus Williams wins women’s singles

championship at Wimbledon.

1893: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs

first successful open-heart operation.

1875: Educator Mary McLeod Bethune,

founder of Bethune-Cookman College, born.

1905: W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe

Trotter organize the Niagara Movement,

a forerunner of the NAACP.

1937: Actor, comedian Bill Cosby born.

1949: Frederick M. Jones patents cooling

system for food transportation vehicles.

1965: Thurgood Marshall becomes first black

appointed U.S. solicitor general.

1951: George Washington Carver Monument,

first national park honoring a black, is dedicated

in Joplin, Missouri.

1867: Maggie Lena Walker, first woman and

first black to become president of a bank, born.

1822: Violette A. Johnson, first black woman

to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, born.

1862: Anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells-

Barnett born.

1959: Singer Billie Holiday dies. 1899: L.C. Bailey issued patent for the folding bed.

1998: African American Civil War Soldiers

Memorial dedicated, Washington, D.C.

1925: Paris debut of Josephine Baker,

entertainer, activist and humanitarian.

1950: Black troops (24th Regiment) win first

U.S. victory in Korea.

1896: Mary Church Terrell elected first presi-

dent of National Association of Colored Women.

1939: Jane M. Bolin of New York City

appointed first black female judge.

1962: Jackie Robinson becomes first black

baseball player in the major leagues inducted

into baseball’s Hall of Fame.

1807: Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge born

in New York City.

1916: Garrett Morgan, inventor of the gas

mask, rescues six people from gas-filled

tunnel in Cleveland, Ohio.

1948: President Harry S. Truman issues

Executive Order 9981, ending segregation

in armed forces.

1880: Alexander P. Ashbourne patents

process for refining coconut oil.

1868: 14th Amendment, granting blacks

full citizenship rights, becomes part of

the Constitution.

1895: First National Conference of Colored

Women Convention held in Boston.

July 2006

1822: James Varick becomes first bishop of

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

1874: Rev. Patrick Francis Healy inaugurated

president of Georgetown University,

Washington, D.C.

FACTAbout 8.6 millionpeople in the UnitedStates have at leastone serious illnesscaused by smoking.

It seems simple, and you’ve no doubt heard it before:If you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, don’t start.

“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death amongmen and women; and African American men have thehighest lung cancer incidence and death rates, compared to other racial and ethnic groups,” said Dr. Pebbles Fagan, a health scientist in the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). “If you preventtobacco use, you prevent many of the cancers associatedwith it.”

According to the NCI, smoking causes 87 percent of lungcancers. “People’s lifestyles have a big impact on their qualityof life and longevity. A lot of people don’t know the lifestylerisk factors they have – or how to modify those risk factors,”said Fagan. “Smoking is addictive. Smokers need help, butthey may not know how to quit or have access to resourcesto help them quit.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s SurgeonGeneral’s Report states that smoking and tobacco use cancause cardiovascular disease and stroke; respiratory disease;and infertility; as well as leukemia, and cancers of the kidney,pancreas, uterine cervix, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, bladder and stomach.

Through her research, Fagan hopes to stimulate new ways to intervene in tobacco use among racial, ethnic and low-socioeconomic groups. “Smoking is a big problem amongthe poor, the unemployed, those with less than 12 years ofeducation, the lower class and those who work in service andblue-collar jobs. African Americans have the lowest medianincome and the highest percentage of persons below povertylevel. We have to consider how to address the macro-socialcontext of tobacco use,” she said.

Tobacco use is not just harmful to the user, said Fagan.“People still don’t think secondhand smoke is dangerous,”she said. “Exposure to secondhand smoke in the home or inthe workplace can lead to tobacco-related illnesses. Of the440,000 deaths that occur each year due to tobacco use,approximately 40,000 are due to secondhand smoke.”

Fagan said that no matter how long a person has beensmoking, it’s never too late to quit. She suggested calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visiting www.smokefree.gov to findresources to help. “Quitting smoking early in life decreasesthe chances of smoking-related illnesses. You can’t go back to zero risk, but you can reduce your chances of becomingill and dying,” she said.

Fagan, who takes time to meditate in the morning, hopes tocontinue to help build research capacity in tobacco control.“I truly enjoy mentoring young women scientists. It’s important to pass on the torch,” she said. “If we can buildour research capacity, ultimately we can shift the paradigmon how we address tobacco-related health disparities.”

Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D.,M.P.H.Health Scientist in the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute

Residence: Hyattsville, Maryland

“Smoking is addictive. Smokers need help,but they may not know how to quit or haveaccess to resources to help them quit.”

Tobacco Control

1973: First U.S. federal restriction on smoking. Officials rule all airlines must createnonsmoking sections.

African American History Calendarwww.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com

STAGE OF LIFE – Young Adult

Educate

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1879: Mary Eliza Mahoney graduates

from New England Hospital for Women

and Children, becoming the first black

professional nurse in America.

1924: James Baldwin, author of Go Tell It

on the Mountain, The Fire Next Time and

Another Country, born.

1800: Gabriel Prosser leads slave revolt

in Richmond, Virginia.

1810: Abolitionist Robert Purvis born. 1962: Nelson Mandela, South African

freedom fighter, imprisoned. He was

not released until 1990.

1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs

Voting Rights Act, outlawing literacy test

for voting eligibility in the South.

1907: Ralph Bunche, first African American

Nobel prize winner, born.

1989: Congressman Mickey Leland dies

in plane crash during a humanitarian

mission to Ethiopia.

2005: John H. Johnson, founder and publisher

of Ebony and Jet magazines, dies.

1936: Jesse Owens wins fourth gold medal

at Summer Olympics in Berlin.

1989: Gen. Colin Powell is nominated

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first

African American to hold this post.

1872: Solomon Carter Fuller, acknowledged

as first black psychiatrist, born.

1921: Alex Haley, author of Roots, born.

1977: Steven Biko, leader of Black Consciousness

Movement in South Africa, arrested.

1981: Reagan administration undertakes its

review of 30 federal regulations, including

rules on civil rights to prevent job discrimination.

1989: First National Black Theater Festival

held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

1888: Granville T. Woods patents

electromechanical brake.

1922: Author Louis E. Lomax born. 1849: Lawyer-activist Archibald Henry Grimké,

who challenged segregationist policies of

President Woodrow Wilson, born.

1859: Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig is first

novel published by a black writer.

1954: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche named

undersecretary of United Nations.

1993: Dr. David Satcher named director

of the Centers for Disease Control.

1904: Bandleader and composer

William “Count” Basie born.

1843: Henry Highland Garnett calls

for a general strike by slaves.

1926: Carter Woodson, historian, author,

inaugurates Negro History Week.

1950: Judge Edith Sampson named first black

delegate to United Nations.

1925: A. Phillip Randolph founds Brotherhood

of Sleeping Car Porters.

1946: Composer, singer and producer

Valerie Simpson Ashford born.

1935: Mary McLeod Bethune founds

National Council of Negro Women.

1963: W.E.B. DuBois, scholar, civil rights

activist and founding father of the NAACP, dies.

1963: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers

“I Have A Dream” speech during March

on Washington, D.C.

1920: Saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker born. 1983: Lt. Col. Guion S. Bluford Jr. becomes

the first African American astronaut in space.

1836: Henry Blair patents cotton planter.

August 2006FACTIn 2002, cardiovasculardisease made up 39.6 percentof total deaths for AfricanAmerican females.

What does cardiovascular care have to do with dentistry? Plenty, according to Dr. B. Waine Kong, CEO of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC).

“Our goal is to make cardiovascular disease obsolete, andour inspiration is what is happening in dentistry,” Kongsaid. “Fifty years ago, needing false teeth by age 40 wascommon and expected. Today, if we follow simple dentalpractices, we can almost wipe out tooth decay. That’s anamazing achievement.

“We want to duplicate these results with cardiovasculardisease and stroke. If people follow ABC’s Seven Steps toGood Health, and if they do so early in life, death due toheart disease will dramatically decrease,” said Kong.

What are ABC’s Seven Steps? Be spiritually active, take chargeof your blood pressure, control your cholesterol, track yourblood sugar, eat smart and enjoy regular exercise, don’tsmoke, and access better health care and take medication asprescribed. The association stresses prevention, since threeout of four deaths from coronary heart disease occur duringthe first heart attack.

Although most African American middle-aged men andwomen are more afraid of cancer, AIDS and violence, thereality is that cardiovascular disease is responsible for moredeaths in the African American community than all otherdiseases combined, according to ABC.

“One of the myths about heart disease is that it’s unavoidable.People hear about someone having a heart attack whilejogging and think it’s inevitable,” said Kong, who playstennis and golf regularly. “This is simply not true.”

Preemptive measures must be taken, Kong said, starting with receiving culturally competent care. “Only 2 percent of cardiologists are African American. Seventy-five percent of African American patients get care from non-AfricanAmerican cardiologists. It’s our goal to increase the numberof African American cardiologists to 13 percent,” he pledged.

Kong also is an advocate for community involvement in cardiovascular care. In 1979, he and Dr. Elijah Saunderspioneered the organization of church and barbershop healthpromotion centers throughout Maryland, with a grant fromthe National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The initiativestill exists today, and continues to train lay volunteers totake accurate blood pressures and follow up with patients to assure their compliance to medical regimens.

“I try to teach people that health and wealth go hand inhand. If you’re sickly and lying around in bed, you’re notmaking money, you’re spending it,” said Kong, who grew up in Woodlands, St. Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica. “If you’rehealthy and want to stay healthy, you have to keep up thehabits of a healthy person.”

B. Waine Kong, Ph.D., J.D.CEO of the Association of Black Cardiologists

Residence: Atlanta, Georgia

“Only 2 percent of cardiologists are AfricanAmerican. Seventy-five percent of AfricanAmerican patients get care from non-AfricanAmerican cardiologists. It’s our goal toincrease the number of African Americancardiologists to 13 percent.”

CardiovascularDisease

Advocate

Your heart pumps a total of 8,000 gallons of blood12,000 miles through yourbody every day.

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1993: Condoleeza Rice named provost at

Stanford University, becoming the youngest

person and first black to hold this position.

1958: Frederick M. Jones patents control

device for internal combustion engine.

1979: Robert Maynard becomes first African

American to head a major daily newspaper,

Oakland Tribune in California.

Labor Day

1957: Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus calls

out the National Guard to bar black students

from entering a Little Rock high school.

1960: Leopold Sedar Senghor, poet and

politician, elected president of Senegal.

1848: Frederick Douglass elected president

of National Black Political Convention in

Cleveland, Ohio.

1954: Washington, D.C., and Baltimore,

Maryland, public schools integrated.

1981: Roy Wilkins, executive director

of the NAACP, dies.

1968: Arthur Ashe Jr. wins men‘s singles tennis

championship at U.S. Open.

2000: Venus Williams wins women‘s singles

tennis championship at U.S. Open.

1855: John Mercer Langston elected township

clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio, becoming first

black to hold elective office in the U.S.

1959: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington wins

Spingarn Medal for his achievements in music.

1999: Serena Williams wins women‘s singles

tennis championship at U.S. Open.

1913: Track and field star Jesse Owens born.

1992: Dr. Mae C. Jemison becomes first

African American woman to travel in space.

1886: Literary critic Alain Lovke, first black

Rhodes scholar, born.

1921: Constance Baker Motley, first black

woman appointed federal judge, born.

1963: Four black girls killed in Birmingham,

Alabama, church bombing.

1923: First Catholic seminary for black priests

dedicated in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

1983: Vanessa Williams crowned Miss America. 1895: Booker T. Washington delivers famous

Atlanta Exposition speech.

1893: Albert R. Robinson patents electric

railway trolley.

1830: First National Convention of Free Men

agrees to boycott slave-produced goods.

1815: Gen. Andrew Jackson honors courage

of black troops who fought in Battle of

New Orleans.

1998: Florence Griffith Joyner, Olympic track

star, dies.

Rosh Hashanah Begins (sundown)

1862: Emancipation Proclamation announced.

1989: Gen. Colin Powell is confirmed as

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, first African

American to hold the post.

1863: Civil and women’s rights advocate

Mary Church Terrell born.

1957: Federal troops enforce court-ordered

integrations as nine children integrate Central

High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1974: Barbara W. Hancock becomes first

African American woman named a White

House fellow.

1962: Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson

to win heavyweight boxing championship.

2000: Venus Williams wins an Olympic gold

medal in women‘s singles tennis.

1991: National Civil Rights Museum opens

in Memphis, Tennessee.

2000: Venus and Serena Williams win Olympic

gold medals in women’s pairs tennis.

2003: Althea Gibson, first African American

tennis player to win Wimbledon, dies.

1910: National Urban League founded

in New York City.

1962: James Meredith enrolls as first

black student at University of Mississippi.

September 2006FACTAbout 137,910 newcancer cases wereexpected to be diag-nosed among AfricanAmericans in 2005.

In the coming year, more than 1 million cases of invasivecancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. – with AfricanAmericans accounting for a disproportionate number ofthese cancers. For people between the ages of 35 and50, the most common types of cancer are breast andcolorectal for women, prostate and lung for men.

The word cancer has the ability to trigger an emotional reaction in a person, conjuring up words such as treatment,surgery and chemotherapy. But there is one word that cancersurgeon Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. said should be no longerautomatically associated with cancer: death.

“One of the challenges with diagnosing and treating cancerin inner cities is that many people believe once they havecancer, they’ve been given a death sentence. There is no truthto this,” said Leffall, who has taught more than 4,500 medicalstudents in the 44 years he has been on faculty at HowardUniversity College of Medicine. “They believe they’re notgoing to be cured, so they don’t see a reason to try.”

Leffall has devoted his professional life to the study of cancer.As the first African American president of the AmericanCancer Society (ACS), he launched a program in 1979 thatstudied increasing incidence and mortality of cancer in AfricanAmericans. A critical factor to being cured, he determined, isunderstanding symptoms and getting access to quality care.

He uses CAUTION to spell out common cancer warningsigns: Change in bowel or bladder habits; A sore that doesnot heal; Unusual bleeding or discharge; Thickening or alump in the breast or elsewhere; Indigestion that is persistent;Obvious change in a wart or mole; and Nagging cough orhoarseness.

Preventive actions can be taken to reduce the risk of mostcancers, said Leffall. For example, moderating alcohol intakecan help prevent esophageal cancer. Quitting smoking significantly decreases the chances of developing lung cancer.Colonoscopies can detect polyps that could result in coloncancer. Mammograms can show lesions that could lead tobreast cancer.

As chairman of both the President’s Cancer Panel and theSusan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Leffall is workingtoward making care more accessible by challenging conventionand initiating change.

“Without health, nothing in life means anything,” said Leffall, who enjoys reading and listening to modern jazz. “I try to use all the resources available to me to addresshealth disparities. I keep an open mind and always strive for excellence.”

LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr.,M.D., F.A.C.S.Cancer surgeon, oncologist, medical educator and civic leader

Residence: Washington, D.C.

“I try to use all the resources available to meto address health disparities. I keep an openmind and always strive for excellence.”

Cancer

Prevention

Since 1928, the American Cancer Society has usedthe sword as its symbol as it continues to championthe causes of cancer prevention, eliminating sufferingfrom cancer and saving lives. African American History Calendar

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Yom Kippur Begins (sundown)

1996: Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard becomes first

black to head the Army Corps of Engineers.

2000: James Perkins Jr. sworn in as Selma,

Alabama’s, first African American mayor.

2005: August Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning

playwright, dies.

1956: Nat “King” Cole becomes first black

performer to host his own TV show.

1864: First black daily newspaper,

The New Orleans Tribune, founded.

1872: Booker T. Washington enters

Hampton Institute, Virginia.

1917: Political activist Fannie Lou Hamer born. 1934: Playwright-poet Amiri Baraka

(LeRoi Jones) born.

1993: Toni Morrison becomes the first African

American to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

1941: Rev. Jesse Jackson, political activist

and civil rights leader, born.

Columbus Day Observed

1888: O.B. Clare patents trestle.

2001: Dr. Ruth Simmons, first African

American leader of an Ivy League institution,

elected 18th president of Brown University.

1899: Isaac R. Johnson patents bicycle frame. 1887: Granville T. Woods patents telephone

system and apparatus.

1887: Alexander Miles patents elevator.

1904: Physician and scholar

W. Montague Cobb born.

1579: Martin de Porres, first black saint

in the Roman Catholic church, born.

1876: Meharry Medical College founded,

established as the Meharry Medical

Department of Central Tennessee College.

1964: At age 35, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr. becomes youngest man to win

Nobel Peace Prize.

1991: Clarence Thomas confirmed as an

associate justice of U.S. Supreme Court.

1984: Bishop Desmond Tutu wins Nobel

Peace Prize.

1995: The Million Man March for “A Day of

Atonement” takes place in Washington, D.C.

1888: Capital Savings Bank of Washington,

D.C., first bank for blacks, organized.

1948: Playwright Ntozake Shange, author

of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered

Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, born.

1943: Paul Robeson opens in Othello at

the Shubert Theater in New York City.

1898: The first black-owned insurance

company, North Carolina Mutual Life

Insurance Co., founded.

1917: Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie,

pioneer of bebop, born.

1953: Clarence S. Green becomes first

black certified in neurological surgery.

1947: NAACP petitions United Nations

on racial conditions in the U.S.

United Nations Day

1980: Judge Patrick Higginbotham finds

Republic National guilty in discrimination case.

2005: Rosa Parks, civil rights pioneer who

sparked 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, dies.

1992: Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston

becomes first African American to manage

a team to a World Series title.

1911: Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, born. 1891: D.B. Downing, inventor, is awarded

a patent for the street letter box.

1954: Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes first

black general in U.S. Air Force.

1981: Edward M. McIntyre elected first

African American mayor of Augusta, Georgia.

1998: President Bill Clinton declares HIV/AIDS

a health crisis in racial minority communities.

Daylight Saving Time Ends

1949: Alonzo G. Moron becomes first black

president of Hampton Institute, Virginia.

1979: Richard Arrington elected first African

American mayor of Birmingham, Alabama.

Halloween

1896: Actress, singer Ethel Waters born.

1899: William F. Burr patents switching

device for railways.

October 2006FACTOne in four AfricanAmerican women over55 years of age hasdiabetes.

Need another reason to attend your regularly scheduleddoctor appointments – even when you’re not sick orsymptomatic? Diabetes, one of the most serious diseasesto impact the African American community, initiallycauses no pain.

“The average person with diabetes has the disease for eightyears prior to being diagnosed,” said Dr. James WhitfieldReed, a professor of medicine and chief of endocrinologyand metabolism at Morehouse School of Medicine. “Twentyto 25 percent of diabetics already have complications at thetime of diagnosis.”

Diabetes, a disease in which the body does not produce orproperly use insulin and, therefore, cannot convert sugar,starch and other foods into energy, is at epidemic levels inthe United States, according to Reed. Obesity, anotherAmerican epidemic, shares a clear-cut connection to the disease.

“Eighty-five to 95 percent of all type 2 diabetes diagnosesstem from obesity, and type 2 diabetes makes up 95 percentof all cases of diabetes,” Reed said. “If you have a geneticpredisposition to diabetes and your lifestyle is conducive tothe disease, you will develop it. If you improve your lifestyle,you’ll improve your chances of not developing the disease.”

Reed said diabetes has three classic indicators – frequent uri-nation, increased appetite and increased thirst. “These are allsubtle signs,” said Reed. “The biggest indicator is if a personhas immediate family members with the disease. If so, he orshe should be screened at least once a year.”

The earlier the diagnosis, the better chance a person has atavoiding complications such as blindness, kidney failure,heart disease and stroke. Diabetes also is the leading cause ofnontraumatic amputations in the United States, said Reed.

“Diabetes is a very complex disease requiring a lot of patientknowledge,” Reed said. “People need to know they play apart in managing their disease. The better-educated patientis the easier patient to treat.”

The American Diabetes Association reports that 25 percentof African Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 havediabetes. However, said Reed, there are steps a person cantake to prevent the disease, such as maintaining a properdiet and exercising adequately – at least 35 minutes ofleisure-time activity four days per week.

“Once you have diabetes, treatment is absolutely necessary –but so is proper diet and exercise. These are preventativeactions, as well as effective treatments,” Reed said.“Medication is a second-line treatment.”

James Whitfield Reed, M.D.,M.A.C.P., F.A.C.E.Professor of Medicine, Chief of Endocrinology andMetabolism, Associate Chair of Medicine forResearch and Chief of Medical Services at GradyMemorial Hospital for Morehouse School ofMedicine Service

Residence: Atlanta, Georgia

“People need to know they play a part inmanaging their disease. The better-educatedpatient is the easier patient to treat.”

Diabetes

Treatment

Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness inpeople 20-74 years of age.

African American History Calendarwww.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com

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1945: John H. Johnson publishes

first issue of Ebony.

1954: Charles C. Diggs elected Michigan’s

first black congressman.

1983: President Ronald Reagan designates

Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday.

1981: Thirman L. Milner elected mayor of

Hartford, Connecticut, becoming first African

American mayor in New England.

1879: Thomas Elkins patents refrigeration

apparatus.

1992: Carol Moseley Braun becomes first African

American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

1968: Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn, New

York, becomes first black woman elected

to Congress.

1900: James Weldon Johnson and

J. Rosamond Johnson compose

“Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Election Day

1989: L. Douglas Wilder elected governor

of Virginia, becoming nation’s first African

American governor since Reconstruction.

1938: Crystal Bird Fauset elected state repre-

sentative in Pennsylvania, becoming first black

woman to serve in a state legislature.

1731: Mathematician, urban planner

and inventor Benjamin Banneker born.

1983: Wilson Goode elected Philadelphia’s

first African American mayor.

Veterans’ Day

1989: Civil Rights Memorial dedicated

in Montgomery, Alabama.

1941: Mary Cardwell Dawson and Madame

Lillian Evanti establish the National Negro

Opera Company.

1940: The U.S. Supreme Court rules

in Hansberry vs. Lee that blacks cannot

be barred from white neighborhoods.

1915: Booker T. Washington, educator

and writer, dies.

1881: Payton Johnson patents swinging chair. 1981: Pam Johnson named publisher of

the Ithaca Journal in New York, becoming

first African American woman to head

a daily newspaper.

1980: Howard University airs WHHM, first

African American-operated public radio station.

1797: Sojourner Truth, abolitionist

and Civil War nurse, born.

1953: Roy Campanella named Most

Valuable Player in National Baseball

League for the second time.

1865: Howard Seminary (later Howard

University) founded in Washington, D.C.

1923: Garrett A. Morgan patents traffic

light signal.

1893: Granville T. Woods patents electric

railway conduit.

1930: Elijah Muhammed establishes

the Nation of Islam.

Thanksgiving Day

1897: A.J. Beard patents the Jenny Coupler,

still used to connect railroad cars.

1897: John L. Love patents pencil sharpener.

1868: Pianist Scott Joplin, the “Father

of Ragtime,” born.

1955: The Interstate Commerce Commission

bans segregation in interstate travel.

1883: Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and Civil

War nurse, dies.

1970: Charles Gordone becomes first African

American playwright to receive the Pulitzer

Prize (for No Place to Be Somebody).

1990: Charles Johnson awarded National

Book Award for fiction for Middle Passage.

1960: Richard Wright, novelist and author

of Native Son, dies.

1961: Ernie Davis becomes first black

to win the Heisman Trophy.

1908: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood

Marshall born.

1908: Adam Clayton Powell Jr., politician

and civil rights activist, born.

1897: J.A. Sweeting patents cigarette-rolling

device.

1912: Gordon Parks, writer, filmmaker

and photographer, born.

November 2006FACTPeople age 65 and olderconsume more prescriptionand over-the-countermedicines than any otherage group.

For African American seniors who want to maintaintheir health and improve their quality of life, Dr. SharonAllison-Ottey has one motto to share: If you don’tmove it, you will lose it.

“During my geriatric fellowship, I had a patient who was101 years old and still walked two to three miles a day,” saidAllison-Ottey. “We need to continue to change our views onelderly care to reflect the active lifestyles of today’s seniors.”

Seniors need a holistic approach to care, according toAllison-Ottey. “It’s important that African American seniorshave access to the information and tools they need to livehealthful lifestyles; along with medical care, medicine andprograms for their wellness,” she said.

Through the COSHAR Foundation, a nonprofit organizationthat helps individuals understand and access health informationand improve their health literacy, Allison-Ottey focuses herefforts on teaching about preventive care and early diseasedetection in geriatric populations. “It’s all about armingyourself with the best possible information and opening dialogues with health care providers,” she explained.

To prevent disease and prolong health, Allison-Otteybelieves it is important that seniors get proper nutrition –fiber, fruits, vegetables and a low-fat diet – and exercise regularly. Other preventative measures include drinking inmoderation, and getting flu, pneumonia and other vaccines.Seniors also need to have a strong support system.

“Seniors need to designate a family member or primary caregiver. They should identify a health care power ofattorney and have a living will – something that can speakfor them when they can’t speak for themselves,” she said.

Although the Alzheimer’s Association estimates thatAlzheimer’s disease is anywhere from 14 percent to 100percent more prevalent among African Americans thanamong whites, Allison-Ottey dismisses the belief that seniorsautomatically will develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.“It’s important that seniors recognize their own cognitivechanges and are open to them. They should seek early diagnosis, because it will make a difference in their qualityof life and their ability to navigate the health care system.”

Allison-Ottey’s goal is to empower African American seniorsand help them understand their health care options. “Withgeriatric populations, family members – and the patientsthemselves – often don’t know all the benefits they’re entitledto. Through the COSHAR Foundation’s health outreachand education initiatives, I am able to impact the lives offamilies and generations by helping them decipher the language of health.”

Allison-Ottey, who recently completed her first novel, All IEver Did Was Love a Man, believes life doesn’t end until thelast breath is taken, and up to that point we all want life tobe fulfilling. “Seniors are an integral part of our society, andif we listen to them, we can avoid many of life’s pitfalls.”

Sharon Allison-Ottey, M.D.Director of Health and Community Initiatives,COSHAR Foundation

Residence: Lanham, Maryland

“It’s important that seniors recognize theirown cognitive changes and are open tothem. They should seek early diagnosis,because it will make a difference in theirquality of life and their ability to navigatethe health care system.”

Senior Health

Impact

Don’t wait until you feel thirsty tostart drinking. With age you maylose some of your sense of thirst.

African American History Calendarwww.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com

STAGE OF LIFE – Senior

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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31

1955: Rosa Parks arrested for refusing

to give her seat to a white man, sparking

the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.

1884: Granville T. Woods patents

telephone transmitter.

1847: Frederick Douglass publishes

first issue of North Star.

1906: Alpha Phi Alpha, first black Greek letter

fraternity, founded at Cornell University.

1955: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. organizes

Birmingham, Alabama, bus boycott, marking

beginning of the Civil Rights movement.

1932: Richard B. Spikes patents

automatic gearshift.

1941: Navy steward Dorie Miller shoots

down four Japanese planes during attack

on Pearl Harbor.

1925: Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. born. 1872: P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana

becomes first black governor.

1950: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche becomes first

black awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1926: Blues singer Willie Mae “Big Mama”

Thornton born.

1995: Willie Brown defeats incumbent Frank

Jordan to become the first African American

mayor of San Francisco.

1944: First black servicewomen sworn

in to the WAVES.

1829: John Mercer Langston, congressman

and founder of Howard University Law

Department, born.

Hanukkah Begins (sundown)

1883: William A. Hinton, first black

on Harvard Medical School faculty, born.

1994: Ruth J. Simmons named president

of Smith College.

1976: Andrew Young nominated by

President Jimmy Carter to be U.S.

ambassador to United Nations.

1802: Teacher and minister

Henry Adams born.

1865: Congress passes 13th Amendment,

abolishing slavery.

1875: Educator Carter G. Woodson,

“Father of Black History,” born.

1860: South Carolina secedes from the Union,

initiating the Civil War.

1911: Baseball legend Josh Gibson born. 1883: Arthur Wergs Mitchell, first black

Democrat to be elected to Congress, born.

1867: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, business-

woman and first black female millionaire, born.

1832: Charter granted to Georgia Infirmary,

the first black hospital.

Christmas

1760: Jupiter Hammon becomes first published

black poet with “An Evening Thought.”

1907: Cab Calloway, bandleader and first jazz

singer to sell 1 million records, born.

Kwanzaa Begins

1894: Jean Toomer, author of Cane, born.

1862: African Methodist Episcopal Zion

Church founded in New Bern, North Carolina.

1905: Earl “Fatha” Hines, “Father

of Modern Jazz Piano,” born.

1924: Author, sportswriter A.S. “Doc”

Young born.

1842: Congressman Josiah Walls born.

1892: Dr. Miles V. Lynk publishes first black

medical journal for physicians, the Medical

and Surgical Observer.

December 2006

1930: Odetta, blues and folk singer, born.

TipEat together as afamily as often as possible.

At all stages of life – from childhood to adolescence,adulthood to elderly – individuals need to be personallyempowered to take control of their health and createbetter health outcomes for themselves, according toDr. Dexter L. Campinha-Bacote.

“If you empower patients with the right information andknowledge, they can have a more productive experience withthe health care system; and make better-informed decisionsabout their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being,” he said.

“Growing up in Harlem and South Bronx, New York, I was dissatisfied with the level of health care that was deliveredin my neighborhood compared to other, more affluentneighborhoods,” Campinha-Bacote said. “I wanted to makean impact on what I perceived to be health care disparities.”

To help individuals reach their full health potential,Campinha-Bacote passionately supports and champions initiatives that decrease health disparities. “In order to lessenthe disparities in health care and disease among all populations,employers need to publicly acknowledge the existence ofthese disparities and make the commitment to resolve them among their employees,” he said.

Campinha-Bacote also is dedicated to addressing health literacy, which is the capacity that individuals have toobtain, process and understand basic health information,and make appropriate health decisions. Low health literacyaffects 90 million adults in the U.S., he said.

“If people are not aware of the conditions that ensureoptimum health, they can be grossly disadvantaged,”Campinha-Bacote said. “They need to ask their health care practitioners, ‘Is there any reason why I have not been checked for these conditions?’”

Optimization of an individual’s health is a family matter,said Campinha-Bacote, because a person’s family plays animportant role in the health habits and behaviors that itsmembers practice and develop over time. There are manythings family members across all generations can do togetherto help keep each other healthy, he said.

“Making healthful food choices a part of one’s lifestyle andnot just a diet, as well as exercising daily, are two disciplineseveryone should practice,” Campinha-Bacote said. “Makelifestyle changes that are for the long term. Collaborativelydefine your family’s health goals and see to it that they’remet. And parents should remember that they set an examplefor the physical, emotional, spiritual and mental well-beingof their children.”

Campinha-Bacote, who enjoys reading, traveling with hisfamily and attending his daughter’s soccer games and pianorecitals, said it is his continuing goal to help influence, inspireand embolden people to make informed health decisions –whether his message reaches one person or 1,000 people.

Dexter L. Campinha-Bacote,M.D.Aetna Medical Director and Family Physician

Residence: Cincinnati, Ohio

“Making healthful food choices a part ofone’s lifestyle and not just a diet, as well as exercising daily, are two disciplineseveryone should practice.”

Health Care For Life

Keep healthful snacks in the house (fresh fruit,vegetables, whole grain crackers, peanut butter,tuna fish, etc.) and limit high-calorie snacks.

African American History Calendarwww.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com

STAGE OF LIFE – All Stages of Life

Generations

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Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D.Dr. Yvonne T. Maddox is the deputy director of the National Institute of ChildHealth and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health(NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). In this role,she guides NICHD’s organizations and programs, advises the director on theinstitute’s $1.2 billion budget, and oversees the extramural program that supportsresearch on child development, developmental biology, mental retardation,nutrition, AIDS, population issues, reproductive biology, contraception, pregnancy and medical rehabilitation. Dr. Maddox also has served as actingdeputy director of NIH.

Dr. Maddox received her B.S. in biology from Virginia Union University,Richmond, and her Ph.D. in physiology from Georgetown University. She was a National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellow and an assistantprofessor of physiology in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics atGeorgetown. She studied as a visiting scientist at the French Atomic EnergyCommission, Saclay, France; and graduated from the Senior Managers inGovernment Program of the Kennedy School of Government, HarvardUniversity. Dr. Maddox is a recipient of many honors and awards, including the Presidential Distinguished and Meritorious Executive Rank Awards, theHistorical Black Colleges and Universities Hall of Fame inductee for the field of medicine, and the DHHS Public Service Award.

Dr. Maddox leads two teams of international scientists as part of a joint India-U.S. partnership to improve reproductive health and maternal and childhealth in both countries. More recently, she helped develop a similar healthpartnership between the U.S. and several sub-Saharan African nations.

As co-chair of NIH’s working group to develop a strategic plan to eliminatehealth disparities, Dr. Maddox developed awareness of and participated inmedical research to help affected communities improve their health. Dr. Maddoxalso served as co-chair of the DHHS initiative to reduce infant mortality inminority communities. One visible component of this initiative has beenNICHD’s widely successful “Back-to-Sleep” campaign, a communicationstrategy designed to help families reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Betty S. Pace, M.D.Dr. Betty S. Pace, researcher and director, University of Texas at Dallas SickleCell Disease Research Center, also is professor in the Department of Molecularand Cellular Biology at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Dr. Pace obtained her B.S. in mathematics at Marquette University and herM.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She was inducted into theNational Medical Honors Society for academic excellence as an Alpha OmegaAlpha scholar, and she received citations for academic achievements from theAmerican Medical Women’s Association, Mosby Mirror Award and the Kaiser

Foundation Merit Award. Dr. Pace was a pediatrics intern/resident at Children’sHospital of Wisconsin, completed her hematology/oncology fellowship at theUniversity of Colorado Health Sciences Center and postdoctorate training inmedical genetics at the University of Washington.

Prior to joining the University of Texas, Dr. Pace served as associate professor inthe Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience of the University of SouthAlabama, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Division; as assistant professor ofPediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin; and as medical director of theComprehensive Sickle Cell Center in Milwaukee.

Dr. Pace as a molecular hematologist has been principal or co-principal investigator of more than 30 research projects that link genetic characteristics toblood disease in infants, children and adults with sickle cell disease. The resultsof these studies have been published in national medical journals such as theJournal of Biological Chemistry; Blood, Experimental Hematology, Gene Therapy;and Cellular & Molecular Biology. She has presented her work at national conferences for the National Heart Lung and Blood Comprehensive Sickle CellCenters, American Society of Hematology, National Science TeachersAssociation and Experimental Biology. She has been invited to speak in Africa;Poland; and Oxford, England. Dr. Pace is a member of several professionalorganizations, including the American Gene Therapy Society and the National Institutes of Health Study Section.

In addition to her research and teaching assignments, Dr. Pace is editor of acomprehensive textbook, Renaissance of Sickle Cell Disease in the Genomic Era,and she has been named one of Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10,” an honorbestowed upon the top 10 scientists performing “mind-bending” research in the United States.

Michael A. LeNoir, M.D.Dr. Michael A. LeNoir is a board-certified, full-time practicing pediatrician and allergist in Oakland, California. A nationally recognized expert on asthmain inner cities, he also serves as president of the Ethnic Health Institute at AltaBates/Summit Medical Center and associate clinical professor in pediatrics atthe University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. LeNoir currently serves as Speaker of the House of Delegates of theNational Medical Association. He has served as trustee for the National MedicalAssociation; chaired its pediatric, community medicine and allergy sections; andis currently principal investigator on the association’s immunization grant andclinical trials project.

Dr. LeNoir has served as CEO of the Ethnic Health America Network since1985. The network includes the Telly Award-winning “Ethnic Health America”program, a 30-minute TV health magazine currently airing in 150 cities nationwide and over 1,400 cities nationwide on the MBC network. A two-timerecipient of the Ken Alvord Distinguished Community Service Award from the National Association of Physician Broadcasters, he is host and executiveproducer of “About Health,” a one-hour talk show on listener-sponsoredPacifica Radio Network KPFA. In 1997, Dr. LeNoir worked with video production firm VNR-1 Communications to produce and launch “The LeNoir Health Report,” a nationally syndicated TV news feature.

A recipient of the American Medical Association’s Pfizer Positive PhysicianAward, Dr. LeNoir was named one of America’s leading African Americanphysicians by Black Enterprise magazine in 2001 and one of the best physicians in the San Francisco Bay Area by San Francisco magazine in 2001 and 2002.

Rovenia Brock, Ph.D.Healthful lifestyles broadcaster and author Dr. Rovenia Brock mesmerizesnational audiences, sharing personal stories that motivate people to makechanges for better health.

Author of Dr. Ro’s Ten Secrets To Livin’ Healthy, she is host of a new health andlifestyles television show, “Health Matters,” which airs on WHUT, HowardUniversity’s PBS affiliate. Her column, “Livin’ Healthy with Dr. Ro,” appearson BET.com and in newspapers nationwide.

Dr. Brock received her Ph.D. in nutritional sciences, an M.S. in communitynutrition and broadcast journalism from Howard University, and a B.S. infoods and nutrition from Virginia State University.

Known for reporting nutrition issues that sizzle, Dr. Brock is a familiar face onMSNBC, CNN and NPR. She has served as medical correspondent for “BETNews,” nutrition contributor for ABC News’ “Lifetime Live” and was theweekly nutritionist for NBC’s “Morning Show” in Washington, D.C. She hasserved as contributing nutrition editor to Heart and Soul magazine and hosted“Heart & Soul,” the first national health and fitness television show for AfricanAmerican women on BET.

Dr. Brock’s health expertise has been featured on NBC’s “Today Show,”WebMD and in publications that include O magazine, USA Today, Ebony,Essence, Self, Upscale, Today’s Black Woman, Soul, Black Elegance, Vibe, BlackIssues in Higher Education, The Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Dallas Morning News, Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Charlottesville Daily Progress. A native of Washington, D.C., Dr. Brock enjoys horsebackriding, writing, reading, theater and poetry.

“The Three Doctors” Sampson Davis, M.D., Rameck Hunt, M.D. and George Jenkins, D.M.D.While attending University High School in Newark, New Jersey, Dr. SampsonDavis, Dr. Rameck Hunt and Dr. George Jenkins bonded and shared theirvision to stay together, attend college and become doctors. The three attendedand received their B.S. degrees from Seton Hall University’s Pre-Medicine/Pre-Dental Plus program, a curriculum designed to encourage minority students tofollow careers in medicine. They became their own support system, studyingand socializing almost exclusively with one another.

More than 13 years later, Drs. Davis, Hunt and Jenkins are proudly working to help their communities, while inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.They have published two New York Times best-selling books (We Beat the Street and The Pact); established a company (The Three Doctors, Inc.,www.threedoctors.com) and a foundation (The Three Doctors Foundation,www.threedoctorsfoundation.org); and organized programs that focus on

health, education, leadership and mentoring. Oprah Winfrey has namedthem “the premier role models of the world.”

Dr. Sampson Davis is a board-certified emergency medicine physician at EastOrange General Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. He is a consultant for theViolence Prevention Institute, which focuses on gang awareness and preventativemedicine in Essex County, New Jersey. He received his M.D. from RobertWood Johnson Medical School. He completed his residency in emergency medicine at the same hospital at which he was born, Newark Beth IsraelMedical Center. Dr. Rameck Hunt is a board-certified internist and medicaldirector at St. Peter’s University Hospital’s How Lane Adult Family HealthCenter. He also serves as clinical assistant professor at Robert Wood JohnsonMedical School. He received his M.D. from Robert Wood Johnson MedicalSchool. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Robert WoodJohnson University Hospital. Dr. George Jenkins is faculty member of community health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.Inspired to pursue dentistry through childhood visits to his family dentist, he received his D.M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott balances many roles at the University ofPennsylvania. She is professor and co-director for its School of Nursing’s Centerfor Health Disparities Research, assistant provost for minority and gender equity,and serves secondary appointments in the university’s School of Medicine andGraduate School of Education. She was recently appointed the van AmeringenChair in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania’sSchool of Nursing, which is one of the school’s most prestigious honors.

Dr. Sweet Jemmott received her B.S. in nursing from Hampton University. Shereceived both her M.S. in psychiatric mental health nursing and her Ph.D. in education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Sweet Jemmott has served as principal or co-principal investigator on anumber of research projects that test culturally sensitive strategies to reduceHIV risk-associated sexual behaviors among African American and Latino pop-ulations. With her research partner and husband, Dr. John B. Jemmott III, shehas received approximately $74 million in funding for these projects from theAmerican Foundation for AIDS Research, the National Institute of ChildHealth and Human Development, The National Institute of Mental Health,and the National Institute for Nursing Research.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has selected seven programsnationally as part of its “Research to Classrooms, Programs That Work!” curriculum, three of which are Dr. Jemmott’s HIV risk-reduction curriculums –“Be Proud! Be Responsible! Strategies to Empower Youth to Reduce Their Risk for AIDS,” “Making Proud Choices: A Safer Sex Approach to PreventingHIV/STDs and Teen Pregnancy,” and “Making a Difference: An Abstinence-Based Approach to Preventing HIV/STDs and Teen Pregnancy.”

Dr. Sweet Jemmott’s research and community awards include the CongressionalMerit Recognition Award, the Outstanding Research Award from the BlackNurses Association, The Red Ribbon Award for outstanding service in the fieldof HIV/AIDS and the Governor of New Jersey’s Nurse Merit Award inAdvanced Nurse Practice.

Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., M.P.H.Dr. Pebbles Fagan is a health scientist in the Tobacco Control Research Branchat the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

She received her B.A. in rhetoric/communications and Afro-American studiesfrom the University of Virginia, her M.P.H. in health education/communica-tions from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine,and her doctorate in health education at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Fagan’s postdoctoral research fellowship at Harvard School of Public Healthand Dana Farber Cancer Institute focused on smoking cessation among adoles-cents, pregnant women, service and blue-collar workers. She helped organizecommunity-based efforts to reduce cancer-related disparities and served as vicepresident for the Greater Boston chapter of the National Black LeadershipInitiative on Cancer.

Her current research and publications focus on youth smoking cessation, youngadult tobacco use and health disparities. Dr. Fagan facilitated efforts to publishNCI reports, including Eliminating Tobacco-Related Health Disparities SummaryReport (2005) and Bibliography of Tobacco-Related Literature on Hispanics, 1990-2001; and journal publications, Tobacco and Health Disparities, (AmericanJournal of Public Health – 2004); Advances and Challenges in Youth TobaccoResearch, (Tobacco Control – 2003).

Dr. Fagan led efforts to organize the National Conference on Tobacco andHealth Disparities in 2002, and worked with other NCI colleagues to organizethe Minority Investigator Career Development Program Planning Meeting andWorkshop in 2003 and 2004. She is collaborating with partners within NCI,the American Legacy Foundation, the University of Kentucky and extramuralresearchers to support the activities of the Tobacco Research Network onDisparities. Through this transdisciplinary network, she is helping to stimulatenovel research that advances our understanding of tobacco health disparitiesscience, to translate that science into practice and to inform public policies.

B. Waine Kong, Ph.D., J.D.As Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), Dr. B. Waine Kong has been at the forefront of efforts to reduce the ravages ofheart disease, diabetes and stroke. In the 20 years since Dr. Kong became itsCEO, ABC has become an international organization representing over 600members; staff of 25; and a host of volunteers who actively advocate for cultur-ally competent health care, increased representation of minorities in the healthprofessions, and availability of appropriate health care and medication for allcitizens.

Dr. Kong received his B.A. from Simpson College (1967), an M.A. fromAmerican University (1970), his AGS in educational psychology (1974) from

the University of Maryland, and his Ph.D. from Walden University (1977).Twenty years later, he returned to Dickinson School of Law, received his J.D.and became a member of the Georgia bar.

Beginning his career as a probation officer in Montgomery County, Maryland,Dr. Kong became an assistant professor of human development, counseling andcriminology, then associate dean of students at the University of the District ofColumbia. Before joining ABC in 1986, he served as director of research andgrants at Providence Hospital, and executive director of the Urban CardiologyResearch Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Kong partnered with Dr. Elijah Saunders, who was then chief of cardiology at Providence Hospital as well as president of the Association ofBlack Cardiologists, to conduct the first clinical trials for African Americansrelating to the efficacy, sexual side effects and quality of life of various treatments for high blood pressure. With a grant from the American HeartAssociation in 1978, Drs. Kong and Saunders developed language describingthe early warning signs of heart attack that was later adopted by the AHA.When they learned that less than 5 percent of Baltimore residents knew aboutCPR, they directed the training of 10,000 Baltimore residents in cardiopulmonaryresuscitation between 1978-79. Drs. Kong and Saunders also authored the Vital Signs Quality of Life questionnaire that was used in several clinical trials.

Dr. Kong said he is most proud of pioneering the organization of churches and barbershops as health promotion centers with a grant from the NationalHeart, Lung and Blood Institute, programs that were adopted internationally as effective grassroots strategies to reduce heart disease, diabetes and stroke; andcoining the phrase “Children should know their grandparents, so they willbecome GREAT grandparents,” which was adopted as the mantra for theAssociation of Black Cardiologists in 1996.

Dr. Kong is married to Dr. Stephanie Kong, a pediatrician and managed careexecutive. They have four children and three grandchildren. Dr. Kong’s hobbiesinclude golf, tennis, duplicate bridge, bid-whist and international travel. He is alife member of Alpha Phi Alpha and a deacon at Providence Missionary BaptistChurch.

LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.Surgeon, oncologist, medical educator, professional and civic leader Dr. LaSalleD. Leffall, Jr. is the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at Howard UniversityCollege of Medicine. Now in his 44th year on the school’s faculty, he has taughtapproximately 4,500 medical students (of 7,500 graduates since the medicalschool’s founding in 1868) and helped train 260 of 296 general surgery residents.

Dr. Leffall received his B.S. with high honors from Florida A&M College andhis M.D. from Howard University College of Medicine, ranking first in hisclass. He was an intern at Homer G. Phillips Hospital; assistant resident insurgery and later chief resident in surgery at Freedmen’s Hospital; assistant

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BiographiesCelebrating Life.

resident in surgery at D.C. General Hospital; and senior fellow in cancersurgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Leffall began his military career at the rank of captain, M.C., serving aschief of general surgery, U.S. Army Hospital in Munich. His membership onHoward University College of Medicine’s faculty began in 1962 as assistant professor; and continued through appointments as professor, acting dean and,in 1970, chairman of the Department of Surgery, a position he held for 25years. In 1992, he was named the Charles R. Drew Professor, the first endowed chair in the school’s Department of Surgery.

As national president of the American Cancer Society in 1979, Dr. Leffalllaunched a groundbreaking program to draw attention to the increasing inci-dence and mortality of cancer among African Americans, and its implicationsfor similar studies for other racial and ethnic minorities. His major areas ofinterest are soft-part sarcomas; and cancer of the breast, colorectum, and head and neck.

In 1998, Dr. Leffall became chairman of the steering committee of the NationalDialogue on Cancer (now named C Change), a committee co-chaired byformer President and Mrs. George H.W. Bush. The Dialogue represents a group of 140 partners from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors whoare dedicated to eradicating cancer as a major health problem at the earliest possible time. In 2002, President George W. Bush named Dr. Leffall chairmanof the President’s Cancer Panel, a three-member group that oversees thenational cancer program and reports directly to the president.

Dr. Leffall is a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery, and a fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American College ofGastroenterology (he was named Honorary Lifetime member in 1998 to thelatter). Dr. Leffall has served as visiting professor and guest lecturer at morethan 200 medical institutions worldwide. In 2005, Howard University Presspublished his memoirs, No Boundaries – A Cancer Surgeon’s Odyssey.

James Whitfield Reed, M.D., M.A.C.P., F.A.C.E.Dr. James Whitfield Reed is professor of medicine, chief of endocrinology andmetabolism, and associate chair of medicine for research at Morehouse Schoolof Medicine. During his 20 years at the school, he has served with the school’sclinical research center, directed its Internal Medicine Residency Program, andwas acting chairman of the Department of Family Medicine and chairman ofthe Department of Medicine. Before joining Morehouse, he was associate professor of family and community medicine, University of TexasSouthwestern’s Medical School of Dallas; and associate clinical professor of medicine, Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. Reed received his B.S. from West Virginia State College and his M.D. fromHoward University College of Medicine. He completed internships at GoodSamaritan Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, and Madigan Army Medical Center in

Tacoma, Washington. He completed his residency in internal medicine atMadigan Army Medical Center, and his postdoctoral research fellowship inendocrinology and metabolism at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco.

Recipient of the U.S. Army’s Meritorious Service Medal, Legion of Merit and“A” Professional Designation in Internal Medicine, Dr. Reed began his medicalcareer as an Army physician, serving as general medical officer and chief of the540th General Dispensary clinic in Vogelweh, Germany. At Madigan ArmyMedical Center, he served as chief of the endocrinology and metabolism service,chief of the clinical investigation department and director of the clinical clerkship program. At Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center in FortGordon, Georgia, he was chief of the department of medicine, director of theinternal medicine residency program, and director of the endocrinology andmetabolism fellowship program.

Dr. Reed’s clinical, teaching and consulting experience includes director andadvisor positions at Hughes Spaulding Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia;Tuskegee VA Hospital, Tuskegee, Alabama; and Morehouse Medical AssociatesInc. He served as a consultant to the state of Washington’s disability insuranceand medical assistance program; and as an endocrinology and medical education consultant in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Author of more than 40 articles, book chapters, monographs and books –including The Black Man’s Guide to Good Health (2000), High Blood Pressure:What Every African-American Man and Woman Should Know about Living withHypertension (2002) and Living with Diabetes: A Guide for Patients and Parents(2005) – Dr. Reed lectures extensively at colleges, medical associations andhealth organizations on hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes management.

Sharon Allison-Ottey, M.D.Trained in both internal medicine and geriatrics, Dr. Sharon Allison-Ottey is achampion for improved access to care for the elderly and for persons of color,with a focus on health policy and action. She is chief executive officer atCOSHAR Inc., which has an established a network of community-basedresearch sites that provide health insights beyond data collected through traditional academic research. She also is a founder and the director of healthand community initiatives at the COSHAR Foundation and founder ofCOSHAR Health, which focuses on helping patients be their own health advocates within their communities.

An alumna of North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina,Dr. Allison-Ottey received her M.D. from East Carolina University School of Medicine in Greenville, North Carolina. Named the American GeriatricSociety’s 1999 Investigator of the Year for her pioneering work in AIDS in the elderly, Dr. Allison-Ottey is one of the first in the world to publish on thistopic. She served as scientific consultant in Neurobehavioral Toxicology to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Her collaborations include research with Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute and the GallupOrganization. Her current focus includes health literacy, patient/provider communication, the role of spirituality in medical outcomes, and direct-to-consumer marketing’s effect on physicians and patients.

Dr. Allison-Ottey served as the youngest elected trustee of the National Medical Association (NMA), the oldest and largest association of AfricanAmerican physicians. She also was the youngest person to receive the NMA’shighest award – its Scroll of Merit – in 2002. A member of the American

Medical Association and numerous other organizations, she was the first femaleto be awarded the title Chairman Emeritus of the Student National MedicalAssociation.

An avid writer, Dr. Allison-Ottey recently completed her first novel, All I EverDid Was Love a Man, which is scheduled for release in late 2005/early 2006.She is married to Dr. Colin C. Ottey and resides in Maryland.

Dexter L. Campinha-Bacote, M.D.As medical director at Aetna’s Cincinnati, Ohio, office, Dr. Dexter L.Campinha-Bacote oversees patient management, network support and quality-of-care activities for Aetna’s managed care networks in Ohio, Kentucky andIndiana. He is chairman of Aetna’s North Central Region Quality Advisor and Physician Appeals Committees, and is medical liaison to the Ohio StateMedical Association.

Dr. Campinha-Bacote received his B.A. from Cornell University’s College ofArts and Sciences, and his M.D. from Brown University’s School of Medicine.He completed his internship in family medicine at Duke University MedicalCenter, his externship in high-risk obstetrics from Baylor College of Medicineand his residency in family medicine at the University of Virginia MedicalCenter. He has participated in post-residency leadership education programs atthe University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, and at XavierUniversity’s Center for Management and Professional Development.

A board-certified family physician, a member of the American Academy ofFamily Physicians and the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. Campinha-Bacote has led managed care initiatives that help to empower patients byequipping them with tools and information to better make informed healthcare decisions; developed physician tools for migraine diagnosis and treatment;and coordinated training programs to help health care professionals recognize,treat and refer patients with depression. His presentations on migraineheadaches; workplace depression/mental health; and culturally competenthealth care delivery have been used in public service video, radio and audiocassette programs.

Prior to joining Aetna in 2000, Dr. Campinha-Bacote served as medicaldirector for United Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Cincinnati; for Wright HealthAssociates Inc., Dayton; and for MetLife Health Network of Ohio, Inc.,Cincinnati.

Dr. Campinha-Bacote’s clinical experience includes positions as family physicianat the University of Wyoming (Ohio) Family Practice Center; medical directorfor Cincinnati’s Hillcrest School (a residential treatment facility for delinquentadolescents); and family physician for the Bertie County, North Carolina, RuralHealth Association.

Dr. Campinha-Bacote’s teaching experience includes positions as assistantprofessor, department of family medicine, East Carolina State University; community preceptor at Duke University School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine; and assistant professor and director of the colposcopyclinic, University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Locations for PhotographyCobb-Walker Residence, Glastonbury, ConnecticutSt. Boniface Church, Cincinnati, OhioNational Institute of Child Health and Human Dev., NIH, Bethesda, MarylandUniversity of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas Everything RO, Bethesda, Maryland East Orange Campus High School, East Orange, New JerseyUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaNational Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MarylandThe Association of Black Cardiologists, Atlanta, GeorgiaHoward University Hospital, Washington, D.C.Reed Residence, Atlanta, Georgia Allison-Ottey Residence, Upper Marlboro, Maryland Bay Area Pediatric and Comprehensive Allergy Services, Oakland, California

Special Thanks■ Jay Allbright, Cincinnati, Ohio■ Anthony Alvardo, Paterson, New Jersey■ Aimeh Alvarez, Paterson, New Jersey■ Alishah Ammons, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania■ Abena Appiah-Kubi, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C.■ Michele K. Berry, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C.■ Jane Blount, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia■ Benjamin Bynum, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C.■ Natalie Byrdsong, Hartford, Connecticut■ Zeromeh Campbell, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C.■ Meredith D. Carter, Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia■ Roslyn Daniels, Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia■ Saterian Davis, Paterson, New Jersey■ Za’Mani Davis, Paterson, New Jersey■ Judy Du, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas■ Martin Egenti, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C.■ Shanda Estwick, COSHAR Foundation, Lanham, Maryland■ Madison Irvin, Emeryville, California■ Stephanie Jean-Noel, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C.■ Nancy Maracich, Chicago, Illinois■ Daryl McCartney, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C.■ Alisa Mosley, National Medical Association, Washington, D.C.■ Jean Nichols, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia■ McKenzie Oldham, Oakland, California■ Oge Onwudiwe, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C.■ Sandra Ott, National Institute of Child Health & Human Development,

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland■ Nicole Pierce, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia■ Rev. Joseph A. Robinson, St. Boniface Church, Cincinnati, Ohio■ Windy Smith, The Three Doctors Foundation, Newark, New Jersey■ Imani Spence, Bloomfield, Connecticut

■ Javon Spence, Bloomfield, Connecticut■ Kemar Spence, Bloomfield, Connecticut■ Sylvia Wadley, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia■ Alexandria Walker, Glastonbury, Connecticut■ Anthony Walker, Glastonbury, Connecticut■ Carson Walker, Glastonbury, Connecticut■ Mary Kate Wilson, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia■ Andria Younger, CMP, Washington, D.C.

Resources■ About.com

http://www.allergies.about.com/cs/ragweed/a/aa090699.htm/http://www.inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstethoscope.htm/

■ American Academy of Family Physicians • http://www.aafp.org/■ American Cancer Society • http://www.cancer.org/■ American Diabetes Association • http://www.diabetes.org/■ Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights • http://www.no-smoke.org/■ AVERT • http://www.avert.org/his87_92.htm/■ Dole 5 a Day • http://www.dole5aday.com/■ The Association of Black Cardiologists • http://abcardio.org/■ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • http://www.cdc.gov/■ First Candle/SIDS Alliance • http://www.sidsalliance.org/■ National Institute on Aging • http://www.nia.nih.gov/

http://www.niapublications.org/■ The National Medical Association Consensus Panel Report

on the Effective Management of Asthma in the African AmericanCommunity • http://www.nmanet.org/

■ Sickle Cell Disease Association of America • http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/

CreditsProduced by Aetna Inc., Hartford, ConnecticutProject Manager Peggy J. GarrityEditors Ann Marie Gothard

Tracy McKeeCreative Development Pita Communications LLC

Hartford, ConnecticutCreative Director Paul PitaWriters Kim Pita, Emily MeloneDesigner Lisa SantoroWeb Site Darci D’Aleo

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Ewing, New Jersey

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