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Healthful Blessings Faith-based health initiatives making a difference for African Americans

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar 30th anniversary edition

CHRISTIANITY Having Faith in Health

For 30 years, Aetna has celebrated African American history through the publication of its African American History Calendar. Over the last decade, we have explored in our calendars diverse health care topics aligning with our own corporate mission and purpose.

We continue on that journey, and praise the lives and work of African American leaders across the country. We are pleased to honor individuals and organizations as they move health and wellness messages to the JUDAISM forefront. They are doing this important work by addressing one of the most powerful audiences in the world – the faith community.

This calendar celebrates remarkable individuals who have dedicated their lives to inspiring and empowering others to spend time taking care of their minds, bodies and spirit.

Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism…while the religious beliefs among the individuals profiled vary, there is one common desire — to eliminate health disparities in the African American community. They each recognize the influence faith leaders have in making that change happen.

ISLAM We have traveled to large and small churches, a mosque, a fire department, and a college campus to learn how having belief and faith can make a world of difference in the health of so many. Aetna is pleased to present its 30th annual African American History Calendar, celebrating the healthful blessings that have the power to inspire us all.

BUDDHISM

HINDUISM INSPIRE Faith Diverse Efforts Yield Real Results in Health Equality By Rev. Dr. Fred Lucas

African American faith leaders across the country power; volunteers; facilities and physical space; media are “walking on water” and performing modern-day ministries; and “bully pulpits” to develop the body, miracles of healing. They are doing this by creating mind, and soul. ministries and programs that encourage people of faith to move beyond stained glass windows, elaborate Many of today’s African American faith leaders are still domes, and prayer halls to serve the larger community. preaching to communities in crisis. Death rates among the 41 million African Americans in our country are Today, it is more important than ever for African at least twice as high as those of non-Hispanic whites. American congregations and faith-based organizations This community suffers greatly from cancers (especially to address health care gaps in their local communities. prostate, breast, and stomach); and experiences high incidence of heart disease, stroke, asthma, influenza We are encouraged by the individuals and groups and pneumonia, diabetes, and infant mortality. featured in this calendar. They are using their faith practices to improve the health and wellness of their HIV/AIDS stats are even more alarming. African members. They are seeing positive results through their Americans, who are 13.5 percent of the population, diverse efforts. This is a small sampling of the many account for 49 percent of all cases. Approximately faith-filled visionaries working in some of America’s 24 percent of African Americans rely on public health most challenged, yet promising neighborhoods. insurance.1 Almost 20 percent of African Americans are uninsured.2 In so many ways, health equality is The work of these faith-based groups is part of African a key part of economic progress. American tradition. From the period of slavery to the present, African American places of worship have been There is so much more that can and should be done. Public-/private-sector partnerships are important. Truly, this year’s Aetna African American History the hub of the African American community. They The individuals and groups featured in this calendar More and more nonprofit organizations are obtaining Calendar is a source of education, inspiration have responded to social, political, economic, are beginning to address these health gaps. They do so large-scale, outside funding not available to religious and hope! educational and cultural needs. with diet, exercise, and nutrition education; healthful groups. We are seeing new doors opening for faith- meal options for church gatherings; and aerobics, based groups led by well-trained and semiprofessional Over decades, the African American faith community liturgical dance, basketball leagues, and marching bands. clergy and laity. Together with professional staff and Rev. Dr. Fred Lucas is senior pastor at Brooklyn Community Church; president/CEO of Faith Center For Community Development, Inc. has made major contributions. It has helped create They also offer substance-abuse programs, culturally dedicated volunteers, we all can make a real difference in in Brooklyn, New York; and an adjunct faculty member at New York hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages specifically and biblically sensitive health literacy materials, health the communities where we live and work, and preach Theological Seminary. for the African American community. Historically ministries and fairs, preventive services, and early and pray. black colleges and universities have been formed, detection. These ministries of healing provide on-site 1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Office of and continue to do important work. And this faith reviews, screening and training, along with medical Minority Health, African American Minority Health Profile, 2010, community has provided financial support; political institutions serving at-risk neighborhoods. www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov. 2Ibid.

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Rev. Anthony Evans President, National Black Church Initiative Washington, D.C.

“Faith plays a central role in the lives of African Americans,” said Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative (NBCI). “It is the one constant. Delivering messages in places of worship is how we can get into every single target population.”

NBCI is a group made up of 34,000 African American and Latino places of worship from across the country. All faith denominations are represented. The group is working to eliminate racial gaps in health care. It has the resources and the power to deliver health and wellness information nationwide.

“Doctors have scientifi c authority. We have moral authority,” said Rev. Evans. “We have developed an effi cient way to deal with the health emergencies that are happening in our communities.”

NBCI was founded in 1996 in Washington, D.C., in response to the capital city’s drug problems. Today, it has fi ve regional health commands, including Atlanta, Georgia; New York City; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; and Oakland, California. There are 35 health panels set up across the regions. These panels determine the top health issues and ensure information gets out to the people.

“We teach the leaders of places of worship how to deliver health messages, preach about healthful lifestyles, and provide health-focused workshops and programs,” said Rev. Evans. “We are in the position to do great things in our communities. This is an opportunity to combine faith with health knowledge.”

“We teach the leaders of places of worship how to deliver health messages, preach about healthful lifestyles, and provide health-focused workshops and programs.” – Rev. Anthony Evans FAITH Health Tip Make exercise fun. In the winter months, keep your family active with ice skating, January 2011 skiing or sledding.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

1863: Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation.

New Year’s Day

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1965: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. calls 1624: William Tucker, fi rst African child born 1971: The Congressional Black Caucus 1943: George Washington Carver, 1831: The World Anti-Slavery Convention 1890: William B. Purvis patents fountain pen. 1811: Charles Deslondes leads slave revolt for nonviolent protests if Alabama blacks are in America. organized. agricultural scientist and inventor, dies. opens in London. in Louisiana. not allowed to register and vote.

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

1866: Fisk University founded in 1750: James Varick, fi rst Bishop of the 1940: Benjamin O. Davis Sr. becomes 1948: Supreme Court rules blacks have right 1990: L. Douglas Wilder inaugurated as 1975: William T. Coleman named secretary 1929: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a major Nashville, Tennessee. African Methodist Episcopal Zion (A.M.E.Z.) U.S. Army’s fi rst black general. to study law at state institutions. fi rst African American governor (Virginia) of Transportation. voice for civil rights in the 20th century, born. Church, born. since Reconstruction. Makar Sankranti

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

1978: NASA names African American 1942: Three-time heavyweight boxing 1856: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, pioneer heart 1918: John H. Johnson, editor and publisher 2009: Barack H. Obama sworn in as the 44th 1870: Hiram Revels elected fi rst black U.S. 2009: Susan Rice confi rmed as U.S. astronauts Maj. Frederick D. Gregory, champion Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) born. surgeon, born. of Jet and Ebony magazines, born. president of the United States of America, senator, replacing Jefferson Davis for the ambassador to the United Nations, Maj. Guion S. Bluford Jr. and becoming the fi rst African American to hold Mississippi seat. becoming the fi rst African American Dr. Ronald E. McNair. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s the offi ce of U.S. commander-in-chief. woman to represent the nation before Birthday Observed the world in this capacity.

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

1891: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founds 1865: Congress passes 13th Amendment, 1851: Sojourner Truth addresses fi rst Black 1954: Dr. Theodore K. Lawless, dermatologist, 1961: Leontyne Price, world-renowned opera 1998: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, fi rst 1926: Violette Neatly Anderson becomes Provident Hospital in Chicago, the fi rst which, on ratifi cation, abolishes slavery. Women’s Rights Convention, Akron, Ohio. awarded the Spingarn Medal for research in singer, makes her Metropolitan Opera debut. black female millionaire, honored on U.S. fi rst black woman lawyer to argue a case training hospital for black doctors and skin-related diseases. postage stamp. before the Supreme Court. nurses in the U.S.

30 31

1844: Richard Theodore Greener, fi rst African 2006: Coretta Scott King, widow of American to graduate from Harvard, born. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who enshrined his legacy of human rights and equality, dies.

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Rev. Byron L. Benton, Associate Pastor and Band Director First Lady Angela F. Griffi n, P.T., M.A. Angela Brown, Executive Director Yasmeen Hadaway, Program Manager Berean Community and Family Life Center Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn’s Berean Community and Family Life Center marches to a different beat. Its beat is one that is inspired by Drumline, a program that teaches youth of different faiths about health and wellness through music and step.

The students are supported by the Wellness Coalition, which is made up of parents, grandparents and community members. “This is an excellent across-the-generation health promotion,” said First Lady Angela F. Griffi n.

“We started with six drummers. At fi rst we didn’t have money to buy drums, so students would practice with drumsticks on tabletops,” said Associate Pastor Rev. Byron L. Benton. The group today is nearly 50 strong with drummers and dancers. Rev. Benton has brought his own knowledge from marching band to the youth, teaching them how to step to the music.

As part of each student’s involvement in Drumline, they are physically assessed at the center two times a year using the FitnessGram® test. It reviews height; weight; and ability to do push-ups, sit-ups, and walk short and long distances. “We are seeing great results. They are more physically active and losing weight in a healthful way,” said Executive Director Angela Brown.

From left to right: Angela Brown, Rev. Byron L. Benton and Yasmeen Hadaway “We are trying to give a sign of hope in our often-negative community that success is an option. We are working hard to build healthful lifestyles,” said Rev. Benton. “No matter where you come from, you fi t in here.” “We are trying to give a sign of hope in our often-negative community that success is an option. We are working hard to build healthful lifestyles.” HOPE – Rev. Byron L. Benton Health Tip Think of your plate as a pie chart. You should fi ll up 50 percent of your plate with vegetables, 25 percent with protein and 25 percent with a starch or carbohydrate. February 2011 Black History Month

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5 1902: Langston Hughes, poet, born. 1915: Biologist Ernest E. Just receives 2009: Eric H. Holder Jr. sworn in as the 1913: Rosa Parks, civil rights pioneer who 1884: Willis Johnson patents eggbeater. Spingarn Medal for research in fertilization nation’s fi rst African American attorney sparked 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus and cell division. general. boycott, born.

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1993: Arthur Ashe Jr., tennis player, 1883: Ragtime pianist and composer 1968: Three South Carolina State 1995: Bernard Harris becomes fi rst African 1927: Leontyne Price, internationally 1990: Nelson Mandela of South Africa is 1909: NAACP founded in New York City. humanitarian and activist, dies. Eubie Blake born. students killed during segregation protest American astronaut to walk in space. acclaimed opera singer, born. released from prison after 27 years. in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Lincoln’s Birthday Parinirvana - Nirvana Day

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

1970: Joseph L. Searles becomes fi rst 1760: Richard Allen, founder of the African 1820: Susan B. Anthony, abolitionist and 1874: Frederick Douglass elected president 1938: Mary Frances Berry, fi rst woman 1931: Toni Morrison, winner of 1988 2002: Vonetta Flowers becomes Winter African American member of New York Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, born. women’s rights advocate, born. of Freedman’s Bank and Trust. to serve as chancellor of a major research Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved, born. Olympics’ fi rst African American gold medalist. Stock Exchange. university (University of Colorado), born. Valentine’s Day Birthdate of Prophet Magha Puja Muhammad

Nirvana Day (alternative date)

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

1895: Frederick Douglass, leading voice 1965: Malcolm X assassinated in New York. 2008: Johnnie Carr, major icon of the 1868: W.E.B. DuBois, scholar, activist and 1864: Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes fi rst 1853: First black YMCA organized in 1965: Civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson in the Abolitionist Movement, dies. Civil Rights Movement, dies. author of The Souls of Black Folk, born. black woman to receive a medical degree Washington, D.C. dies after being shot by state police in Presidents’ Day Observed (New England Female Medical College). Marion, Alabama. Washington’s Birthday

27 28

1897: Marian Anderson, world-renowned 1984: Michael Jackson, musician and opera singer and civil rights activist, born. entertainer, wins eight Grammy Awards.

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Stephanie Joy Jackson-Rowe, B.A., M.S. IMC Founder, President and CEO The Christian Aerobics & Fitness AssociationTM Executive Director Joy To Be Fit Gospel Aerobics Ministry© Chicago, Illinois

Stephanie Joy Jackson-Rowe is on a mission. She hopes to save lives by addressing obesity and other health risks such as diabetes and heart disease among African Americans. A fi tness expert and trainer for 20 years, she developed Joy To Be Fit Gospel Aerobics Ministry, a faith-based fi tness and wellness program for all ages.

Jackson-Rowe is executive director of Joy To Be FitTM, which is associated with 25 places of worship, schools and health centers throughout the Chicago area. It is the premier exercise program of The Christian Aerobics & Fitness Association.

She is the pioneer and creator of Gospel Aerobics. “This is a powerful and spiritually moving high-energy workout; designed to unite the spirit and mind, and tone the entire body,” said Jackson-Rowe.

“Churches are powerful change agents, where people seek guidance, direction and spiritual motivation. They are pillars of strength,” said Jackson-Rowe. “Joy To Be Fit gives places of worship a partner to lift the lives of people and get them moving! We teach them how to become advocates of their own health and well-being.”

The Joy To Be Fit program is taught by a certifi ed instructor. It provides participants with health screenings, nutrition workshops, cooking demonstrations, one-on-one life coaching, scripture reference and prayer. It uses inspirational music, “Joy To Be Fit gives places of worship a partner including traditional gospel music integrated with funk, to lift the lives of people and get them moving!” soul and jazz. Jackson-Rowe is excited to be actively engaged with Gospel – Stephanie Joy Jackson-Rowe Aerobics in the fi ght against obesity. She will be touring the country in 2011, sharing her book about the ministry and a JOY workout Gospel Aerobics DVD. Health Tip Jump for joy! Think about the high points of your day. Write them down and March 2011 try to repeat them more often.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5

1914: Ralph W. Ellison, author and 1867: Congress enacts charter to establish 1865: Freedmen’s Bureau established 1965: Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics 1770: Crispus Attucks becomes one of the educator, born. Howard University. by federal government to aid newly honored as NBA’s most valuable player fi rst casualties of the American Revolution. freed slaves. for fourth time in fi ve years. Tibetan (Mahayana) Losar, Maha Shivaratri New Year

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1857: Supreme Court issues Dred Scott decision. 2006: Photographer-fi lmmaker Gordon Parks, 1945: Phyllis M. Daley becomes fi rst black 1841: Amistad mutineers freed by 1869: Robert Tanner Freeman becomes 1959: Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the 1932: Andrew Young, former who captured the struggles and triumphs of nurse sworn in as a Navy ensign. Supreme Court. fi rst African American to receive a degree Sun opens at Barrymore Theater, New York; U.N. ambassador and former mayor black America, dies. in dentistry. the fi rst play by a black woman to premiere of Atlanta, born. Ash Wednesday on Broadway.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

1773: Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, black 1956: Montgomery, Alabama, bus 1947: John Lee, fi rst black commissioned 1827: Freedom’s Journal, the fi rst U.S. black 1890: Charles B. Brooks patents street sweeper. 1822: The Phoenix Society, a literary and 1971: The Rev. Leon Sullivan elected to pioneer and explorer, founded Chicago. boycott ends when municipal bus service offi cer in the U.S. Navy, assigned to duty. newspaper, is founded. educational group, founded by blacks in board of directors of General Motors. is desegregated. St. Patrick’s Day New York City. Daylight Saving Time Begins Holi

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

1883: Jan E. Matzeliger patents 1965: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads 1898: J.W. Smith patents lawn sprinkler. 1873: Slavery abolished in Puerto Rico. 1907: Nurse and aviator Janet Harmon 2009: John Hope Franklin, a prolifi c scholar 1831: Bishop Richard Allen, founder and fi rst shoemaking machine. march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, Bragg born. of African American history who infl uenced Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal for voting rights. thinking about slavery and Reconstruction, dies. (A.M.E.) Church, dies. Holi

27 28 29 30 31

1924: Jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, 1870: Jonathan S. Wright becomes fi rst black 1918: Pearl Bailey, singer and actor, born. 1870: Fifteenth Amendment ratifi ed, 1988: Toni Morrison wins Pulitzer Prize “The Divine One,” born. state Supreme Court justice in South Carolina. guaranteeing voting rights to blacks. for Beloved.

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Prof. Jan Willis Religion Department Wesleyan University Middletown, Connecticut

As a tenth grader in the ’60s, Prof. Jan Willis marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama. That moment, which she often still refl ects on, changed her life forever.

“The nonviolence that I witnessed there is echoed in Buddhism,” she said. Though she grew up a Baptist, she now practices and teaches Tibetan Buddhism at Connecticut’s Wesleyan University. Tibetan Buddhism focuses on three areas of self-refl ection – outer, which is physical; inner, which is emotional; and secret, which is spiritual.

“Buddhists wish for happiness for all people,” said Prof. Willis. “They live selfl essly and practice generosity, reasoning – as King did – that if one of us is unhealthy, we are all unhealthy. We are all responsible for one another.”

Prof. Willis said her students are most intrigued by meditation – a common practice in Buddhism. “Meditation is health care for the mind. We lavish attention on our bodies, but rarely give attention to our minds. Meditation offers the opportunity to do this, and to fi nd rest and peace,” she said.

In addition to her teaching, Prof. Willis encourages her students to visit a variety of places of worship. “I want them to see that the world’s population is not just made up of the people they see every day,” she said.

A teacher, an author, a public speaker and a humanitarian, Prof. Willis said Buddhism gives people space to determine who they are. “We are tough minded but tenderhearted,” she said. “Good health comes from giving yourself time.”

“Meditation is health care for the mind.” PEACE – Prof. Jan Willis Health Tip Reduce stress, laugh more, think positive. Start with 30 minutes a day, then gradually build your positive-thinking time. April 2011

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 1950: Blood research pioneer 1984: Georgetown coach John Thompson Charles R. Drew dies. becomes fi rst African American coach to win the NCAA® basketball tournament.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1826: Poet-orator James Madison Bell, author 1968: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1951: Washington, D.C., Municipal Court of 1909: Matthew A. Henson reaches North Pole, 1959: Lorraine Hansberry becomes fi rst black 1974: Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron hits 1816: African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) of the Emancipation Day poem “The Day and assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Appeals outlaws segregation in restaurants. 45 minutes before Robert E. Peary. playwright to win New York Drama Critics 715th career home run, surpassing Babe Ruth Church formed. the War,” born. Circle Award (for A Raisin in the Sun). as the game’s all-time home-run leader.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1816: Richard Allen consecrated fi rst 1899: Percy Julian, developer of physostigmine 1983: Harold Washington becomes fi rst 1997: Tiger Woods wins Masters 1775: First abolitionist society in U.S. 1964: Sidney Poitier becomes fi rst black 1862: Slavery abolished in the Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal and synthetic cortisone, born. African American elected mayor of Chicago. Golf Tournament. founded in Philadelphia. to win Academy Award® for Best Actor for District of Columbia. (A.M.E.) Church. Lilies of the Field. Rama Navami

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

1983: Alice Walker wins Pulitzer Prize 1995: Margo Jefferson receives Pulitzer Prize 1972: Stationed in Germany, Maj. Gen. 2010: Dorothy Height, leading female voice 1966: Pfc. Milton L. Olive III awarded 1922: Jazz bassist and composer 1856: Granville T. Woods, inventor of the for fi ction for The Color Purple. for criticism. Frederic E. Davidson becomes fi rst African of the 1960s civil rights movement, dies. posthumously the Congressional Medal of Charles Mingus born. steam boiler and automobile air brakes, born. American to lead an Army division. Honor for valor in Vietnam. Palm Sunday Passover Begins (sundown) Good Friday

Theravada New Year

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

1944: United Negro College Fund 1918: Ella Fitzgerald, “First Lady of Song,” born. 1888: Sarah Boone patents ironing board. 1968: Dr. Vincent Porter becomes fi rst black 2009: Sojourner Truth, former slave turned 1899: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, 1952: Dr. Louis T. Wright honored by incorporated. certifi ed in plastic surgery. abolitionist, becomes fi rst African American jazz musician and composer, born. American Cancer Society for his contributions woman to have a memorial in the U.S. Capitol. to cancer research. Easter Administrative Professionals Day

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com LeRoy M. Graham, Jr., M.D. Founder, Not One More Life, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia

When Dr. LeRoy M. Graham, Jr. unexpectedly lost a 10-year- old patient to asthma, he knew he had to do something to prevent unnecessary deaths in the future. He set out to teach his community about the disease and how to recognize signs of an asthma attack.

Dr. Graham is a well-respected pediatric pulmonologist in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the years, he has built many strong relationships with health care professionals. Many of his peers agreed to help him teach the African American community about the serious effects of uncontrolled asthma and lung disease.

In 2003, Dr. Graham formed the volunteer advocacy organization Not One More Life, Inc. Through outreach in Atlanta’s local faith communities, it provides free educational programs on lung disease, symptom screening and lung-function testing; as well as physician counseling, referral, and outcome monitoring. Not One More Life, Inc. also has expanded to 10 additional cities around the country.

The group initially began in a school setting. However, Dr. Graham quickly realized that the best way to connect to people was at places where they worship. “We have the opportunity to reach people in a sacred place where there is trust,” he said. “We take health knowledge to their own turf. This makes people much more comfortable.

“Pastors have deep-rooted beliefs in the link between physical health and spiritual health,” he said. “We are working with them to promote the spiritual gift of health. Protecting that gift is a matter of stewardship.”

“Pastors have deep-rooted beliefs in the link between physical health and spiritual health.” – LeRoy M. Graham, Jr., M.D. TRUST Health Tip Asthmatics, beware. People with asthma can be especially hard-hit in the heat. Slow down, May 2011 use air conditioning and avoid smoke, even from a campfi re.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1867: First four students enter 1995: Shirley Jackson assumes chairmanship 1964: Frederick O’Neal becomes fi rst black 1961: Freedom Riders begin protesting 1988: Eugene Antonio Marino installed as 1991: Smithsonian Institution approves creation 1845: Mary Eliza Mahoney, America’s Howard University. of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. president of Actors’ Equity Association. segregation of interstate bus travel in fi rst U.S. African American Roman Catholic of the National African American Museum. fi rst black trained nurse, born. the South. archbishop.

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1983: Lena Horne awarded Spingarn Medal 2010: Lena Horne, singer, actress and civil 1950: Boston Celtics select Chuck Cooper, 1895: Composer William Grant Still, fi rst 1862: Black slaves commandeer the 1872: Matilda Arabella Evans, fi rst black 1913: Clara Stanton Jones, fi rst black for distinguished career in entertainment. rights activist, dies. fi rst black player drafted to play in the NBA. African American to conduct a major Confederate ship “The Planter.” woman to practice medicine in South president of the American Library American symphony orchestra, born. Carolina, born. Association, born. Mother’s Day

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

1820: Congress declares foreign slave trade 1927: Dr. William Harry Barnes becomes 1954: In Brown v. Board of Education, 1896: In Plessy v. Ferguson, Supreme Court 1993: University of Virginia professor 1961: U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy 2006: Katherine Dunham, pioneering an act of piracy, punishable by death. fi rst African American certifi ed by a Supreme Court declares segregation in public upholds doctrine of “separate but equal” Rita Dove appointed U.S. poet laureate. dispatches U.S. marshals to Montgomery, dancer and choreographer, author and surgical board. schools unconstitutional. education and public accommodations. Alabama, to restore order in the Freedom civil rights activist, dies. Rider crisis. Wesak or Buddha Day Armed Forces Day

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1921: Shuffl e Along, a musical featuring a 1900: Sgt. William H. Carney becomes 1854: Lincoln University (Pa.), fi rst 1926: Jazz trumpeter Miles Dewey Davis born. 1961: During Kennedy administration, 1942: Dorie Miller, a ship‘s steward, awarded 1948: National Party wins whites-only score by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, fi rst African American awarded the African American college, founded. Marvin Cook named ambassador to Navy Cross for heroism during the attack on elections in South Africa and begins to opens on Broadway. Congressional Medal of Honor. Niger Republic, the fi rst black envoy Pearl Harbor in 1941. institute policy of apartheid. named to an African nation.

29 30 31

1901: Granville T. Woods patents overhead 1965: Vivian Malone becomes fi rst African 1870: Congress passes the fi rst Enforcement conducting system for the electric railway. American to graduate from the University Act, providing stiff penalties for those who of Alabama. deprive others of civil rights.

Memorial Day Observed

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Rev. Mary Diggs-Hobson Cofounder and Executive Director African-Americans Reach & Teach Health (AARTH) Ministry Seattle, Washington

Rev. Mary Diggs-Hobson is on a personal mission to eliminate the health care gaps in African American communities. That’s because her oldest son’s life was cut short in 2007 from chronic kidney and heart disease complicated by HIV/AIDS.

“The best way to overcome fear and apathy is to educate people. We all need to know how to better care for ourselves and each other,” said Rev. Diggs-Hobson. “We want to improve the health of our people today for the generations to come.”

Rev. Diggs-Hobson and her son, the late Rev. Reginald Diggs, cofounded AARTH Ministry. It is a faith-based nonprofi t organization that focuses on health education for African Americans in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The organization was founded based on Christian principles of unconditional love, compassion, communication, integrity, peace, power, wholeness and wisdom.

AARTH partners with faith houses to deliver the Health Ministry Program, a faith-centered strategic-planning course. They work to create health strategies that are unique to each place of worship. “If a church takes ownership of its plan, then it will be able to sustain it,” said Rev. Diggs-Hobson.

As part of its health education program, AARTH partners with the Northwest AIDS Education and Training Center to offer HIV/AIDS training. AARTH will collaborate with Puget Sound Christian Clinic to launch their mobile medical clinic in 2011 to provide free medical services for people without health insurance. “One of our goals is to help improve the health of the whole community,” Rev. Diggs-Hobson said.

“The best way to overcome fear and apathy is to educate people.” WISDOM – Rev. Mary Diggs-Hobson Health Tip Share your beliefs and traditions. Spend time with others who share similar spiritual beliefs. Lift up each other when needed. June 2011

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4

1968: Henry Lewis becomes fi rst black 1971: Samuel L. Gravely Jr. becomes fi rst 2008: Senator Barack Obama wins 1967: Bill Cosby receives an Emmy® Award musical director of an American symphony African American admiral in the U.S. Navy. Democratic presidential nomination, for his work in the television series I Spy. orchestra — New Jersey Symphony. becoming the fi rst African American nominee of a major U.S. political party.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1987: Dr. Mae C. Jemison becomes fi rst 1831: First annual People of Color convention 1917: Poetess Gwendolyn Brooks, fi rst 1953: Supreme Court ruling bans 1995: Lincoln J. Ragsdale, pioneer fi ghter 1854: James Augustine Healy, fi rst black 1964: Nelson Mandela sentenced to life African American woman astronaut. held in Philadelphia. African American to win the Pulitzer Prize discrimination in Washington, D.C., pilot of World War II, dies. Roman Catholic bishop, ordained a priest in imprisonment by South African government. (poetry, 1950), born. restaurants. Notre Dame Cathedral.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

1963: Medgar W. Evers, civil rights leader, 1967: Thurgood Marshall nominated to 1864: Congress rules equal pay for all soldiers. 1913: Dr. Effi e O’Neal Ellis, fi rst black woman 1970: Kenneth A. Gibson elected mayor of 1775: Minuteman Peter Salem fi ghts in the 1942: Harvard University medical student assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi. Supreme Court by President Lyndon Johnson. to hold an executive position in the American Newark, New Jersey, fi rst African American Battle of Bunker Hill. Bernard Whitfi eld Robinson commissioned Flag Day Medical Association, born. mayor of a major Eastern city. as the Navy’s fi rst black offi cer.

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

1865: Blacks in Texas are notifi ed of 1953: Albert W. Dent of Dillard University 1821: African Methodist Episcopal Zion 1897: William Barry patents postmarking and 1940: Sprinter Wilma Rudolph, winner of three 1964: Carl T. Rowan appointed director of 2009: Michael Jackson, musician and Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1863. elected president of the National Health (A.M.E.Z.) Church established. cancelling machine. gold medals at 1960 Summer Olympics, born. the United States Information Agency. entertainer, dies. Council. Juneteenth

Father’s Day

26 27 28 29 30

1975: Dr. Samuel Blanton Rosser becomes fi rst 1991: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood 1911: Samuel J. Battle becomes fi rst black 2006: Lloyd Richards, theater pioneer and 1917: Lena Horne, singer, actress and civil African American certifi ed in pediatric surgery. Marshall announces his retirement. policeman in New York City. Tony® Award winner for direction of Fences, rights activist, born. dies on his 87th birthday.

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com John Butler III (Janardhana Dasa) Special Education Teacher DeKalb County School System Decatur, Georgia

Patience and understanding are what John Butler III brings to his special-education classroom and high school track team.

As a teacher and coach in the urban area, Butler connects daily with at-risk youth. Rather than judge them, he accepts them and provides the best support he can such as buying running shoes for his student athletes. And his students also often hear his messages about healthful eating habits and world exploration. “It is amazing what can happen when someone gives their time,” said Butler.

He leads a life of devotion as a practicing Hindu Vaishnavaite. He is one of a few African Americans to have completed a historic pilgrimage through India. “I came back on fi re, ready to take on my life,” he said. He went back to college, earned his bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees and an education specialist degree.

Butler believes his life transformation fi rst began when he became a vegetarian in the early ’80s. At age 18, he saw the positive effects that healthful eating had on one of his athlete role models. So he decided to give it a try. “Changing what I ate brought me so much more clarity,” said Butler.

Each day, sometimes twice a day, Butler leads rituals in the puja (worship) room of his home. His practices of today are very different from his traditional Catholic upbringing. But he believes this is the path he was meant to follow. It’s all part of “my dharma,” he said, which is what he was destined to do with his life.

“It is amazing what can happen when someone gives their time.” – John Butler III BELIEF Health Tip Avoid the midday sun. July 2011 Plan outdoor activities for early in the morning or late in the day. Sunscreen can’t do it alone. Do your part to practice safe sun exposure.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

1889: Frederick Douglass named U.S. 1872: Elijah McCoy patents fi rst Minister to Haiti. self-lubricating locomotive engine. The quality of his inventions helped coin the phrase “the real McCoy.”

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1688: The Quakers in Germantown, 1900: Traditional birthdate of Louis 1991: Nelson Mandela elected president of 1957: Althea Gibson wins women’s singles 1948: Cleveland Indians sign pitcher Leroy 2000: Venus Williams wins women’s singles 1893: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs Pennsylvania, make fi rst formal protest “Satchmo” Armstrong, jazz pioneer. the African National Congress. title at Wimbledon, fi rst African American to “Satchel” Paige. championship at Wimbledon. fi rst successful open-heart operation. against slavery. win tennis’s most prestigious award. Independence Day

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1943: Arthur Ashe Jr., fi rst African American 1905: W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe 1949: Frederick M. Jones patents cooling 1965: Thurgood Marshall becomes fi rst 1951: George Washington Carver Monument, 1867: Maggie Lena Walker, fi rst woman 1822: Violette A. Johnson, fi rst black to win the U.S. Open and men’s singles title Trotter organize the Niagara Movement, system for food transportation vehicles. African American appointed U.S. solicitor fi rst national park honoring an African and fi rst African American to become woman to practice before the U.S. at Wimbledon, born. a forerunner of the NAACP. general. American, is dedicated in Joplin, Missouri. president of a bank, born. Supreme Court, born.

Asala - Dharma Day

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

2009: Ret. Marine Corps 1998: African American Civil War Soldiers 1925: Paris debut of Josephine Baker, 1950: Black troops (24th Regiment) win fi rst 1896: Mary Church Terrell elected fi rst 1827: James Varick, fi rst Bishop of the 1962: Jackie Robinson becomes fi rst Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr. Memorial dedicated, Washington, D.C. entertainer, activist and humanitarian. U.S. victory in Korea. president of National Association of African Methodist Episcopal Zion (A.M.E.Z.) black baseball player in the major leagues becomes fi rst African American Colored Women. Church, dies. inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. administrator of NASA.

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

1807: Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge 1916: Garrett Morgan, inventor of the gas 1948: President Harry S. Truman issues 1880: Alexander P. Ashbourne patents 1868: 14th Amendment, granting African 1895: First National Conference of Colored 1822: James Varick elected fi rst bishop born in New York City. mask, rescues six people from gas-fi lled Executive Order 9981, ending segregation process for refi ning coconut oil. Americans full citizenship rights, becomes Women Convention held in Boston. of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion tunnel in Cleveland, Ohio. in armed forces. part of the Constitution. (A.M.E.Z.) Church.

31

1874: Rev. Patrick Francis Healy inaugurated president of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Ramadan Begins (sundown)

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Rev. James L. Patterson Founder, The Partnership for African American Churches Charleston, West Virginia

Rev. James L. Patterson is convinced that communities need places of worship to provide spiritual, emotional and physical guidance. “We need to provide ministry to the whole person. We want people to have a better quality of life,” he said. “It is my passion to see disparities eliminated.”

In 2000, Rev. Patterson and a group of ministers founded The Partnership for African American Churches. The group raises funds and secures grants to support special projects that affect the health of the African American community.

Projects supported by The Partnership are varied, yet effective. The Partnership provides training on computers in local volunteer fi rehouses. This venue gives people in the community access to online programs that help them self-manage chronic diseases. The Partnership has worked with West Virginia State University to grow a community garden, a place where children in its after-school program can work and learn.

The Partnership also created and distributes a “Praisercize” video on chronic disease self-management. To go along with the video, The Partnership trains health and wellness coordinators to deliver health care messages in places of worship across the state.

“Our goal is to empower communities,” Rev. Patterson said. “We train people to teach in their own places of worship. When you give people the skills they need to make a difference, it has a lasting effect.”

“When you give people the skills they need to make a difference, it has a lasting effect.” TEACH – Rev. James L. Patterson

Health Tip Keep a journal. Write down things that make you smile such as a family vacation, a meaningful friendship or special occasions. August 2011

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5 6

1879: Mary Eliza Mahoney graduates from 1924: James Baldwin, author of Go Tell It 1800: Gabriel Prosser leads slave revolt in 1810: Abolitionist Robert Purvis born. 1962: Nelson Mandela, South African 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs New England Hospital for Women and on the Mountain, The Fire Next Time and Richmond, Virginia. freedom fi ghter, imprisoned. He was not Voting Rights Act, outlawing literacy test Children, becoming the fi rst black professional Another Country, born. released until 1990. for voting eligibility in the South. nurse in America.

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1907: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, fi rst African 2005: John H. Johnson, founder and publisher 1936: Jesse Owens wins fourth gold medal 1989: Gen. Colin Powell is nominated 1872: Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller, 1977: Steven Biko, leader of Black 1981: Reagan administration undertakes its American Nobel Prize® winner, born. of Ebony and Jet magazines, dies. at Summer Olympics in Berlin. chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, the fi rst acknowledged as fi rst black psychiatrist, born. Consciousness Movement in South Africa, review of 30 federal regulations, including rules African American to hold this post. arrested. on civil rights to prevent job discrimination.

Raksha Bandhan

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

1989: First National Black Theater Festival 2007: Max Roach, fi rst jazz musician honored 1922: Author Louis E. Lomax born. 1849: Lawyer-activist Archibald Henry Grimké, 1859: Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig is fi rst novel 1954: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche named 1993: Dr. David Satcher named director of held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. with a MacArthur Fellowship, dies. who challenged the segregationist policies of published by a black writer. undersecretary of United Nations. the Centers for Disease Control. President Woodrow Wilson, born.

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

1904: Bandleader and composer 1880: Cartoonist George Herriman born. 1926: Carter Woodson, historian, author, 1950: Judge Edith Sampson named fi rst black 1925: A. Phillip Randolph founds 1946: Composer, singer and producer 1963: W.E.B. DuBois, scholar, William “Count” Basie born. inaugurates Negro History Week. delegate to United Nations. Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Valerie Simpson Ashford born. civil rights activist and founding father Krishna Jayanti of the NAACP, dies.

28 29 30 31

1963: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers 1920: Saxophonist Charlie “Bird” 1983: Lt. Col. Guion S. Bluford Jr. becomes 1836: Henry Blair patents cotton planter. “I Have A Dream” speech during March on Parker born. the fi rst African American astronaut in space. Washington, D.C. Eid al Fitr Begins (sundown)

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Rabbi Capers C. Funnye, Jr. Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation Chicago, Illinois

Inside the oldest African American synagogue in the country, senior citizens are aging well together. That’s because many are taking part in the Sacred Aging program offered at Chicago’s Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation.

“Our physical health is just as important as our spiritual health. The two feed off each other,” said Rabbi Capers C. Funnye, Jr.

Sacred Aging is open to senior citizens of all faiths. The group meets four days a week in the synagogue social hall. Here, the seniors are offered breakfast, lunch, exercise, health screenings, arts and crafts, Bible studies, and spiritual teachings. In the summer, the young children of the congregation have the opportunity to interact with the seniors.

“A religious organization is more than a community of members. It is at its best when it serves the entire community in which it exists,” said Rabbi Funnye. “Our goal is to help people live longer, and live healthful and more vibrant lives as they grow older.”

Wonderful connections are being built through this holistic program. “My reward is seeing the smiles of all the seniors when I come into the room,” Rabbi Funnye said. “Healthful living happens when minds are active and people are engaged in conversation.”

“Our physical health is just as important as our spiritual health. The two feed off each other.” – Rabbi Capers C. Funnye, Jr. COMMUNITY

Health Tip Stay current on health information. September 2011 Pay attention to the latest health care news. Read health care advice and tips to stay healthy. Healthy Aging Month

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 1993: Condoleeza Rice named provost at 1958: Frederick M. Jones patents control 1979: Robert Maynard becomes fi rst Stanford University, becoming the youngest device for internal combustion engine. African American to head a major daily person and fi rst African American to hold newspaper, Oakland Tribune in California. this position.

Ganesh Chaturthi

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1957: Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus calls 1960: Leopold Sedar Senghor, poet and 1848: Frederick Douglass elected president 1954: Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, 1981: Roy Wilkins, executive director of the 1968: Arthur Ashe Jr. wins men‘s singles 1855: John Mercer Langston elected out the National Guard to bar black students politician, elected president of Senegal. of National Black Political Convention in Maryland, public schools integrated. NAACP, dies. tennis championship at U.S. Open. township clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio, from entering a Little Rock high school. Cleveland, Ohio. becoming fi rst African American to hold Labor Day elective offi ce in the U.S.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1959: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington 1992: Dr. Mae C. Jemison becomes fi rst 1886: Literary critic Alain Lovke, fi rst black 1921: Constance Baker Motley, fi rst black 1963: Four black girls killed in Birmingham, 1923: First Catholic seminary for black priests 1983: Vanessa Williams becomes fi rst wins Spingarn Medal for his achievements African American woman to travel in space. Rhodes Scholar, born. woman appointed federal judge, born. Alabama, church bombing. dedicated in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. African American crowned Miss America. in music.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

1895: Booker T. Washington delivers famous 1893: Albert R. Robinson patents electric 1830: First National Convention of Free Men 1998: Florence Griffi th Joyner, Olympic track 1862: Emancipation Proclamation announced. 1863: Civil and women’s rights advocate 1895: Three Baptist Conventions merged Atlanta Exposition speech. railway trolley. agrees to boycott slave-produced goods. star, dies. Mary Church Terrell born. to form the National Baptist Convention.

25 26 27 28 29 30

1974: Barbara W. Hancock becomes fi rst 1962: Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson 1912: W.C. Handy publishes Memphis Blues. 1991: National Civil Rights Museum opens in 1910: National Urban League established in 1962: James Meredith enrolls as fi rst black African American woman named a White to win heavyweight boxing championship. Memphis, Tennessee. New York City. student at University of Mississippi. House fellow. Navaratri

Rosh Hashanah Begins (sundown)

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Safi yah Abdul Khaaliq Founder and CEO, Essential Living for Muslim Women Inc.: Breast Cancer Health Initiative Lithonia, Georgia

During her travels in Egypt and North Africa, Safi yah Abdul Khaaliq witnessed fi rsthand the cultural and traditional divides that deny basic health care for women in Muslim countries.

When she returned to the United States, she decided to teach Muslim women how to best take care of themselves. In 2006, she founded the Essential Living for Muslim Women Inc.: Breast Cancer Health Initiative. The group provides breast and cervical health education; free exams; and mammograms for uninsured and underinsured Muslim women in the Atlanta, Georgia, region.

At fi rst, Khaaliq tried to get the women to come to her, with little success. So she decided to go to them in their places of worship, libraries and public schools.

“Muslim women tend to have a fear of being a burden on their families. They often neglect their own care and will only visit female health care providers,” said Khaaliq. “We bring ethnically diverse female community health advisors and nurse practitioners into their environments. We embrace women in all walks of life. In our fi rst year, we provided free breast health services for more than 600 women. In over four years, we provided services for more than 6,000 women.”

Khaaliq’s organization, which she hopes to expand globally, has been fortunate to get support from funders such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation and It’s the Journey, The Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer. “This is about women supporting other women,” she said. “We empower them to be proactive about their breast health.”

“We bring ethnically diverse female community health advisors and nurse practitioners into their environments. We embrace women in all walks of life.” CARE – Safiyah Abdul Khaaliq Health Tip Lead a healthful lifestyle and get checked. The American Cancer Society recommends healthy women October 2011 age 40 and older have a mammogram each year. Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

1996: Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard becomes fi rst African American to head the Army Corps of Engineers.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 2000: James Perkins Jr. sworn in as Selma, 1956: Nat “King” Cole becomes fi rst black 1864: First black daily newspaper, The New 1872: Booker T. Washington enters Hampton 1917: Political activist Fannie Lou Hamer born. 1993: Toni Morrison becomes the fi rst African 1941: Rev. Jesse Jackson, political activist Alabama’s, fi rst African American mayor. performer to host his own TV show. Orleans Tribune, founded. Institute, Virginia. American to win the Nobel Prize® in literature. and civil rights leader, born. Dussera Yom Kippur Begins (sundown)

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

2001: Dr. Ruth Simmons, fi rst African 2010: Solomon Burke, Grammy® 1887: Granville T. Woods patents telephone 2005: C. Delores Tucker, civil rights activist 1579: Martin de Porres, fi rst black saint in the 1964: At age 35, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King 1991: Clarence Thomas confi rmed as an American leader of an Ivy League institution, Award-winning singer/songwriter, system and apparatus. and founder of the National Black Congress, Roman Catholic church, born. Jr. becomes youngest man to win Nobel associate justice of U.S. Supreme Court. elected 18th president of Brown University. “King of Rock and Soul,” dies. dies. Peace Prize.

Columbus Day Observed

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

1984: Bishop Desmond Tutu wins Nobel 1888: Capital Savings Bank of Washington, 1948: Playwright Ntozake Shange, author 1943: Paul Robeson opens in Othello at the 1898: The fi rst African American-owned 1917: Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pioneer of 1953: Dr. Clarence S. Green becomes fi rst Peace Prize. D.C., fi rst bank for African Americans, of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Shubert Theater in New York City. insurance company, North Carolina Mutual bebop, born. African American certifi ed in neurological organized. Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, born. Life Insurance Co., founded. surgery.

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1947: NAACP petitions United Nations on 2005: Rosa Parks, civil rights pioneer who 1992: Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston 1911: Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, born. 1954: Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes fi rst 1998: President Bill Clinton declares HIV/AIDS 1949: Alonzo G. Moron becomes fi rst black racial conditions in the U.S. sparked 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, dies. becomes fi rst African American to manage black general in U.S. Air Force. a health crisis in racial minority communities. president of Hampton Institute, Virginia. a team to a World Series title. Diwali United Nations Day

30 31 1979: Richard Arrington elected fi rst African 1899: William F. Burr patents switching American mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. device for railways.

Halloween

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Bishop T.D. Jakes Founder and Senior Pastor The Potter’s House Dallas, Texas

From the pulpit to boardrooms, from television broadcasts to social media, from books to movies, Bishop T.D. Jakes is spreading global messages to improve the body, mind and soul.

Founder of The Potter’s House, a 30,000-member faith community in Dallas, Texas, Bishop Jakes never believed in his “wildest dreams” he would be where he is today. His roots were in a small church in West Virginia.

Today, he is collaborating on faith-based health initiatives with First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina M. Benjamin and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health Dr. Garth Graham. MegaCARE, a global division of his organization, heads up humanitarian efforts to clean water in Haiti, South Africa and New Orleans. It also provides local health screenings.

“No institution speaks more to African Americans on a weekly basis than a church. It is the catalyst to delivering comprehensive, accurate and reliable information,” he said. He works to provide holistic programs on education, health, economics and housing to his members.

Bishop Jakes strives to address health disparities in his community. “Our lifestyles are different. What we eat is different. When someone you admire struggles and can make changes for the better, it gives you permission to talk about it. I help open up conversation.”

People of faith tend to heal quicker, said Bishop Jakes. His childhood friend and executive coordinator, Holloway Gray, was diagnosed with diabetes, lost his kidney and underwent multiple eye surgeries. “Today he is fi ne. When people believe, they recover more rapidly. It takes a positive attitude, uplifted spirit and a strong resolve to overcome a “It takes a positive attitude, uplifted spirit and a fi ght in your body,” he said. strong resolve to overcome a fi ght in your body.” – Bishop T.D. Jakes SPIRIT

Health Tip Include some exercise in your day. November 2011 Being physically fi t can lower blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. National Diabetes Awareness Month

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5

1945: John H. Johnson publishes fi rst 1983: President Ronald Reagan designates 1981: Thirman L. Milner elected mayor of 2008: Senator Barack Obama elected 44th 1968: Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn, issue of Ebony. Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. Hartford, Connecticut, becoming fi rst African president of the U.S., becoming fi rst African New York, becomes fi rst black woman American mayor in New England. American to be elected chief executive in the elected to Congress. 232-year history of the country. Hajj Begins (sundown)

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1900: James Weldon Johnson and 1989: L. Douglas Wilder elected governor 1938: Crystal Bird Fauset elected state 1731: Mathematician, urban planner and 2006: Benny Andrews, painter and teacher 1989: Civil Rights Memorial dedicated in 1941: Mary Cardwell Dawson and J. Rosamond Johnson compose “Lift Every of Virginia, becoming nation’s fi rst African representative in Pennsylvania, becoming fi rst inventor Benjamin Banneker born. whose work drew on memories of his Montgomery, Alabama. Madame Lillian Evanti establish the National Voice and Sing.” American governor since Reconstruction. black woman to serve in a state legislature. childhood in the segregated South, dies. Negro Opera Company. Veterans Day Eid al Adha Begins (sundown) Election Day

Daylight Saving Time Ends

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

1940: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in 1915: Booker T. Washington, educator 1881: Payton Johnson patents swinging chair. 1981: Pam Johnson named publisher of the 1980: Howard University airs WHHM, fi rst 1797: Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and 1953: Roy Campanella named Most Hansberry v. Lee that African Americans and writer, dies. Ithaca Journal in New York, becoming fi rst African American-operated public radio Civil War nurse, born. Valuable Player in National Baseball League cannot be barred from white neighborhoods. African American woman to head a daily station. for the second time. newspaper.

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

1923: Garrett A. Morgan patents traffi c 1893: Granville T. Woods patents electric 1930: Elijah Muhammed establishes the 1897: A.J. Beard patents the Jenny Coupler, 1868: Pianist Scott Joplin, the “Father of 1955: The Interstate Commerce Commission 1883: Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and light signal. railway conduit. Nation of Islam. used to connect railroad cars. Ragtime,” born. bans segregation in interstate travel. Civil War nurse, dies.

Thanksgiving Day Islamic New Year, 1433 A.H. Begins (sundown)

27 28 29 30

1990: Charles Johnson awarded National 1961: Ernie Davis becomes fi rst African 1908: Adam Clayton Powell Jr., politician and 1912: Gordon Parks, writer, fi lmmaker and Book Award for fi ction for Middle Passage. American to win the Heisman Trophy®. civil rights activist, born. photographer, born.

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Dr. Pernessa C. Seele Founder and CEO, The Balm In Gilead, Inc. Richmond, Virginia

As an immunologist at Harlem Hospital in New York, Dr. Pernessa C. Seele noticed few people from the faith community visiting HIV/AIDS patients. Comforting the sick and dying is common practice in African American places of worship. So she decided to bring the two together.

She reached out to leaders at places of worship in Harlem, New York, explaining the urgency to talk about the public health crisis. In 1989, the Harlem Week of Prayer was born, which today has become a national event.

Dr. Seele formed The Balm In Gilead after seeing the success of the event. It is a nonprofi t organization dedicated to bringing the faith community together to address HIV/AIDS and other health disparities in African American communities.

“Faith is centered in health and healing,” Dr. Seele said. Her organization now has relationships with more than 20,000 churches across the country. Dr. Seele is using the power of the pulpit to deliver education, prevention and awareness messages about HIV/AIDS.

“This is really the intersection of public health and faith,” said Dr. Seele. “To address ills in our communities, we have to build capacity in places of worship.” The majority of the places of worship involved in the program now provide AIDS testing, conferences and theological training.

However, it is not only the African American faith communities that need to be addressed. “Every American has to be involved in dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic,” Dr. Seele said.

“To address ills in our communities, we have to build capacity in places of worship.” INSPIRE – Dr. Pernessa C. Seele Health Tip Volunteer with a community health organization. You can make a great contribution, while developing your skills and December 2011 learning more about health. AIDS Awareness Month

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3

1955: Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to 1884: Granville T. Woods patents 1847: Frederick Douglass publishes fi rst give her seat to a white man, sparking the telephone transmitter. issue of North Star. Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1906: Alpha Phi Alpha, fi rst black Greek letter 1955: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1932: Richard B. Spikes patents 1942: Reginald F. Lewis, fi rst African American 1925: Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. born. 1872: P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana becomes 1950: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche becomes fraternity, founded at Cornell University. organizes Birmingham, Alabama, bus automatic gearshift. to create a billion-dollar business empire fi rst black governor. fi rst African American awarded the boycott, marking beginning of the through the leveraged buyout of Beatrice Bodhi Day Nobel Peace Prize. Day of Atonement (Ashura) Civil Rights Movement. International Foods, born. Begins (sundown)

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

1926: Blues singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” 1995: Willie Brown defeats incumbent 1944: First black servicewomen sworn in to 1829: John Mercer Langston, congressman 1883: William A. Hinton, fi rst African 1976: Andrew Young nominated by 1802: Teacher and minister Henry Adams born. Thornton born. Frank Jordan to become the fi rst African the WAVES. and founder of Howard University Law American on Harvard Medical School President Jimmy Carter to be U.S. ambassador American mayor of San Francisco. Department, born. faculty, born. to United Nations.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

1865: Congress passes 13th Amendment, 1875: Educator Carter G. Woodson, 1860: South Carolina secedes from the 1911: Baseball legend Josh Gibson born. 1883: Arthur Wergs Mitchell, fi rst black 1867: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, 1832: Charter granted to Georgia Infi rmary, abolishing slavery. “Father of Black History,” born. Union, initiating the Civil War. Democrat to be elected to Congress, born. businesswoman and fi rst black female the fi rst black hospital. millionaire, born. Hanukkah Begins (sundown)

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

1907: Cab Calloway, bandleader and fi rst 1894: Jean Toomer, author of Cane, born. 1862: African Methodist Episcopal Zion 1905: Earl “Fatha” Hines, “Father of Modern 1924: Author, sportswriter A.S. “Doc” 1892: Dr. Miles V. Lynk publishes fi rst black 1930: Odetta, blues and folk singer, born. jazz singer to sell 1 million records, born. Church founded in New Bern, North Carolina. Jazz Piano,” born. Young born. medical journal for physicians, the Medical Kwanzaa Begins and Surgical Observer. Christmas

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Rev. Diggs-Hobson serves on the ministerial leadership staff at Damascus Angela F. Griffin, B.S., P.T., M.A. Missionary Baptist Church in Seattle, Washington; along with her Mrs. Angela F. Griffin is presently an assistant professor in the physical husband, Rev. Lee C. Hobson, under senior pastor Rev. James P. therapy program at Downstate University in Brooklyn, New York, where Broughton III. She and her husband are blessed with four sons and she also serves as the academic clinical coordinator. She is professionally Biographies daughters-in-law, and seven grandchildren. licensed to practice physical therapy in North Carolina and New York state. Additionally, she is the executive consultant for the Berean Rev. Anthony Evans Community and Family Life Center in Brooklyn, New York, where Rev. Byron L. Benton Rev. Anthony Evans is the president of the National Black Church she works with several community and wellness initiatives for health. Rev. Byron LeaVance Benton serves as the associate pastor of the Berean Initiative (NBCI). He is now launching three significant programs that Mrs. Griffin also is a member of the Berean Baptist Church Sisterhood, Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York. His pastoral focus is on worship, will affect millions of African Americans over the next seven years: NBCI’s Ministry of Sacred Dance and the past director of the Son-Shine Choir. pastoral care, youth and information technology. He also sits on the board Health Emergency Declaration, NBCI’s Financial Literacy Initiative and of directors of the Berean Community and Family Life Center. NBCI’s Educational Initiative. He has a clear understanding of how public Mrs. Griffin has held supervisor positions in a variety of health care policy affects and determines the impact of health, financial literacy and settings. At Pitt County Memorial Hospital in North Carolina, she Rev. Benton has traveled extensively throughout the United States education, which the black church fights for and against. He is determined supervised a team of professionals who worked primarily with stroke, preaching the gospel. He also has gone to Liberia, Africa, to preach and to preserve the moral authority of the black church’s voice in the public square. amputee and orthopedic patients. Mrs. Griffin went on to be the partner with the National Baptist Convention in Liberia; as well as local supervisor for physical therapy in the Pitt County School District. churches and pastors in that area. Alongside his ministerial endeavors, Rev. Evans became NBCI’s president in 1992. He leads a coalition of In 1992, she was in private practice in the Oceanside School District in Rev. Benton instructed an urban charter middle school Drumline at the 34,000 churches across the country fighting against health disparities, New York, where she worked with physically challenged children. Imani Institute in North Carolina; and has started a community Drumline promoting financial literacy, protecting babies from abuse and neglect, in Brooklyn, New York, through the Berean Community and Family and helping to preserve the environment. Mrs. Griffin received her B.S. in physical therapy from the University Life Center. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978, and her M.A. in physical In 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Rev. Evans and NBCI therapy, with a concentration in developmental disabilities and administration Rev. Benton is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical mobilized more than 15,000 volunteers from NBCI member and sister from New York University. Currently, Mrs. Griffin is enrolled at State University, where he majored in business education with a churches to serve in the disaster relief effort. In July 2006, Rev. Evans Rocky Mountain University in Provo, Utah; and is pursuing a Ph.D. concentration in administrative systems. He completed his masters participated in a massive protest outside the Sudanese embassy to degree in health promotion and wellness. of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he denounce the country’s role in the genocide of its African citizens. focused his studies on homiletics and pastoral care. Mrs. Griffin maintains an active presence in the community. She is In 2010, Rev. Evans organized a group of young hip-hop artists and married to Dr. Arlee Griffin, Jr., pastor of the Historic Berean Baptist He has served as a chaplain at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital in Trenton, traditional black church leaders to launch an intensive initiative to aid Church; and is the proud mother of two daughters, Angel, 29, New Jersey, and chaplain of the Association of Black Seminarians at Haiti and Haitians. He committed NBCI for seven years to work through and Ariel, 20. Princeton Theological Seminary. There, he also served on the African Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention to aid in the reconstruction American Concerns Committee. While at Princeton, he was awarded of Haiti. the Ray Lindquist Award in Pastoral Care, the Aaron E. Gast Award Stephanie Joy Jackson-Rowe, B.A., M.S. IMC in Urban Ministry, and the Jagow Award in Homiletics and Speech. A native of Savannah, Georgia, Rev. Evans earned a bachelor’s degree in Stephanie Joy Jackson-Rowe is the founder, president and CEO of the religion in 1981 from Middlebury College, Vermont. Rev. Evans was Christian Aerobics & Fitness Association. The nonprofit organization Rev. Benton reflects on the training and Godly example set by his ordained in 1982 and went on to earn a master’s degree in divinity in founded in 2001 is dedicated to improving the quality of life of poor- to grandparents, Rev. and Mrs. Isaac C. Spinks; and owes much of his 1988 from Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. moderate-income African Americans and others living with obesity and strong spiritual background to their presence in his life during his disparate health risks. formative years. Rabbi Capers C. Funnye, Jr. Ms. Jackson-Rowe is a fitness expert and certified lay minister of health Rabbi Capers C. Funnye, Jr. is rabbi and spiritual leader of Beth Shalom for the United Church of Christ (UCC). She currently serves on the John Butler III, M.A., M.Ed., Ed.S (Janardhana Dasa) B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago, Illinois. Rabbi Technical Sergeant, U.S. Air Force Reserve (Retired) UCC Let’s Move Task Force as chair of the physical fitness committee in Funnye also serves as the national associate director of Be’Chol Lashon support of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative to combat John Butler III of Conyers, Georgia, is an African American Hindu and director of Be’Chol Lashon, Midwest region. Be’Chol Lashon (In childhood obesity. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Vaishnavaite of the monotheistic tradition of the Brahma Madhwa Every Tongue) is an initiative of the Institute for Jewish and Community a partner with the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children; Sampradaya (lineage). He was born and raised in the Catholic Christian Research located in San Francisco, California. and a board member of BEDS Plus Care, Inc., LaGrange, Illinois. tradition; but was later given the spiritual name of Janardhana Dasa (“Servant of God”) and mantra diksha (initiation into mantra yoga) at Rabbi Funnye serves as the rabbi of Nigeria Orthodox Sabbath Solidarity Ms. Jackson-Rowe is the pioneer and creator of Gospel Aerobics, Badrinath Shrine, Badrinarayan, Gharwal Himalayas, India, in August headquartered in Akwete, Nigeria. He also serves as the rabbi of the Pan an exercise format introduced in 1981 designed to teach, motivate, 1990 by his Guru, late Sant Bhadragiri Keshavadas. African Jewish Alliance/Nigeria, a program offered to emerging Jewish encourage unity of spirit and mind, and tone the entire body. In 1997, communities that seek to be integrated into the world Jewish community. Ms. Jackson-Rowe produced and starred in her first television

Rabbi Funnye earned a B.A. in Hebrew literature and rabbinic network show, “A Joy To Be Fit Gospel Aerobics© TV Show.” For the past Mr. Butler served in the U.S. military for 20 years and retired from ordination from the Israelite Board of Rabbis, Inc., Queens, New York. decade, Ms. Jackson-Rowe has been fighting obesity by partnering with the Air Force Reserve in 2008. Thirteen years ago, he followed an inner He also earned a B.A. degree in Jewish studies and an M.S. degree in churches, schools, health centers and community organizations to prompting to leave corporate America to teach in the DeKalb County human service administration from Spertus Institute of Judaica, Chicago, implement Joy To Be FitTM programs. school system in Decatur, Georgia. He earned a B.A. in liberal arts from Illinois. Rabbi Funnye has lectured at several institutions throughout the Western Illinois University; an M.A. in humanities from California State United States, Europe and Africa. In 2005, Ms. Jackson-Rowe, in partnership with CEDA Head Start, University, Dominguez Hills; an M.Ed in special education from Clark Chicago, Illinois, developed and piloted a new program, Joy To Be Fit Atlanta University; and an Ed.S from Argosy University Atlanta. Rabbi Funnye is a member of The Chicago Board of Rabbis, Jewish Move & Groove, Move & Grow© for the prevention of obesity in Council on Urban Affairs, Hebrew Immigration Aid Society, Chicago children ages 3 to 5. Mr. Butler has lived a vegetarian lifestyle since 1981, which at first was Institute of Psychoanalysis and Chicago Theological Seminary. He is inspired by his earlier life as an endurance athlete and then later by vice president of the Israelite Board of Rabbis in Queens, New York. Ms. Jackson-Rowe graduated with a B.A. degree in political science from the nonviolent dietary prescriptions espoused in the Bhagavad Gita Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Illinois; and an M.S. degree in by Lord Sri Krishna. Rabbi Funnye and his wife, Mary, have four children and nine grandchildren. integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism. She is a member of Judson Baptist Church, In August 1990, Mr. Butler made the arduous trek to Badrinath temple LeRoy M. Graham, Jr., M.D. Oak Park, Illinois; and an associate member and minister in training at deep in the Himalayan foothills near Tibet and to Rameswar temple Dr. LeRoy M. Graham, Jr. is associate clinical professor of pediatrics Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois. on the very southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula (Badri-Rameswar at Morehouse School of Medicine and staff physician at Scottish Rite Yatra). He thus became one of the first African American adherents of the Children’s Medical Center, Hughes Spalding Children’s Hospital and Ms. Jackson-Rowe is married to Wesley E. Rowe, and they have four children. Hindu faith to ever complete this scripturally prescribed pilgrimage. Egleston Children’s Hospital, all located in Atlanta, Georgia. He also is one of the partners of Georgia Pediatric Pulmonology Associates, PC. Bishop T.D. Jakes Mr. Butler belongs to the Hindu American Foundation, SRIM Bishop T.D. Jakes is founder and senior pastor of the legendary Meditation Center Executive Board of Directors, Plymouth Rock Masonic Dr. Graham is the author of several articles and abstracts, and he was 30,000-member Dallas-based church The Potter’s House. Through Lodge #86 (Prince Hall) and American Federation of Teachers. recently elected to the board of regents of the American College of Chest The Potter’s Touch, Bishop Jakes’ weekly television outreach, countless Physicians. He also serves on the board of directors of the Sickle Cell people are served by his teachings throughout America, Africa, Rev. Mary Diggs-Hobson Foundation of Georgia, and is a national spokesperson and occasional Australia, Europe and the Caribbean. Rev. Mary Diggs-Hobson is cofounder and executive director of African- lobbyist for the American Lung Association. Americans Reach & Teach Health (AARTH) Ministry, a faith-based Bishop Jakes is the visionary behind several entities: the Metroplex nonprofit organization established in 2002 to respond to HIV/AIDS Dr. Graham received his medical degree from Georgetown University Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization and other major health issues affecting people of African descent. School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He completed his internship created to bridge the socioeconomic gaps that exist in urban America; The supporting cofounders include Rev. Diggs-Hobson’s oldest son, the and residency in pediatrics at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Clay Academy, a state-of-the-art charter school; MegaCARE, the global late Rev. Reginald Diggs; and Dr. DeMaurice Moses, a retired physician. Colorado, and a fellowship in pediatric pulmonology at the University outreach missions and local outreach organization affiliated with the of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. He also completed a church; the Texas Offenders Reentry Initiative, a program that provides Rev. Diggs-Hobson has presented at regional and national conferences on fellowship in pulmonary research at the Cardiovascular Pulmonary intensive case management to former inmates; The Potter’s House Center HIV/AIDS. She serves on the National Network of Libraries of Medicine’s Research Laboratory of the Webb Waring Lung Institute in Denver. for Counseling and Behavioral Health; and TDJ Enterprises, which Consumer Health Advisory Committee, and is a former council member produces and distributes Bishop Jakes’ books, plays, movies, music of Washington State Governor’s Advisory Council for HIV/AIDS and Dr. Graham is most proud to be the founder and medical director of projects, syndicated radio, TV and economic conferences. the Black Leadership Council on HIV. Rev. Diggs-Hobson and AARTH Not One More Life, Inc. (NOML). Today, nine cities around the U.S. Ministry have received numerous HIV/AIDS recognitions, awards, and are actively replicating the NOML model. NOML recently opened the Bishop Jakes has written more than 30 books, 15 of them best sellers, county and state proclamations. first free asthma and COPD clinic in Atlanta. including Before You Do: Making Great Decisions That You Won’t Regret (Atria) and Reposition Yourself (Atria). Both reached No. 3 on The New

He is married to Dr. Patrice Gaspard; and they have two children, York Times Best Sellers list. In January 2009, Sony Pictures released A 1992 graduate of RHEMA Bible College, Rev. Diggs-Hobson is Arianne Marie and LeRoy Maxwell III. The Grahams are members “Not Easily Broken,” Bishop Jakes’ second novel to be made into a charged with the ministry of spiritual and physical wholeness by sharing of Victory World Church in Norcross, Georgia. motion picture; and in May 2011, will release the romantic comedy encouragement, hope, and peace. She has dedicated much of her ministry “Jumping the Broom.” to addressing social injustices and health issues. Rev. Diggs-Hobson has ministered to the needs of orphans in South Africa, and advocated before White House congressional subcommittees and conferences for better community-based health services.

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Biographies

Bishop T.D. Jakes continued Rev. Patterson holds an M.A. degree in sociology from Marshall University Prof. Jan Willis Bishop Jakes was named by Time magazine “America’s Best Preacher.” in Huntington, West Virginia; and a master’s of community change and Prof. Jan Willis is a well-known writer and author who has published a He received a Quill Award and Grammy® Award; several NAACP Image conservation degree from Future Generations School of Graduate Studies number of articles and essays on various topics relating to Buddhism: Awards, including the President’s Award; and the Best Independent or in Franklin, West Virginia. He currently is enrolled in a doctor of Buddhist meditation, women and Buddhism, and Buddhism and race. Foreign Film Award. In 2010, Ebony magazine named him to its annual executive leadership program at Mountain State University. She has studied with Tibetan Buddhists in India, Nepal, Switzerland, Power 150 list. He was a speaker at many prestigious events and and the U.S. for four decades; and has taught courses about Buddhism ceremonies, including the historic 2009 presidential inauguration. Rev. Patterson and his wife, Barbara, are the parents of three children for 37 years. and have five grandchildren. Bishop Jakes and his wife, Serita Jakes, live in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Prof. Willis is the author of The Diamond Light: An Introduction Texas, area. They have five children and two grandchildren. to Tibetan Buddhist Meditation (1972), On Knowing Reality: The Tattvartha Dr. Pernessa C. Seele Chapter of Asanga’s Bodhisattvabhumi (1979), Enlightened Beings: Life Dr. Pernessa C. Seele is founder and CEO of The Balm In Gilead, Inc., Safiyah Abdul Khaaliq Stories from the Ganden Oral Tradition (1995); and is the editor of a not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization that aims to prevent Feminine Ground: Essays on Women and Tibet (1989). Safiyah Abdul Khaaliq is the founder and CEO of Essential Living for diseases and improve the health status of people of the African diaspora. Muslim Women Inc., and director of administrative services of Essential Living for Muslim Women Breast Health/Mammography Initiative. In 2001, she authored the memoir Dreaming Me: An African American Under Dr. Seele’s leadership, The Balm In Gilead has supported the Woman’s Spiritual Journey (reissued October 1, 2008, by Wisdom establishment of more than 12 national health offices within the national Ms. Khaaliq promotes the importance of self-health; and strives to Publications as Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist, and Buddhist–One Woman’s headquarters of Catholic, Protestant and Muslim communities in Africa Spiritual Journey). enhance all opportunities that empower Muslim and non-Muslim and the United States. The Balm In Gilead has engaged nearly 10 million women without regard to language, ethnicity, natural origin, race, churchgoers throughout the United States in health-awareness campaigns. culture, tradition and/or opinion; to evaluate their self-consciousness; Prof. Willis received her B.A. and M.A. in philosophy at Cornell University in New York, and her Ph.D. in Indic and Buddhist studies their spiritual strengths; their character; their responsibilities; and, As a pioneer in mobilizing and educating faith communities to become above all, to take proactive steps toward a healthful lifestyle. from Columbia University in New York in 1976. She currently is a engaged in the fight against AIDS and other health disparities, Dr. Seele distinguished professor of religion at Wesleyan University in is known throughout the African diaspora. She is recognized for her Middletown, Connecticut. Upon embracing Islam as a way of life, Ms. Khaaliq began her pursuit extraordinary vision and ability to create partnerships among faith leaders of religion and social truths. She completed a four-year program of of various cultures and religious doctrines. She helps them to become In December 2000, Time magazine named Prof. Willis one of six classical and modern standard Arabic and Islamic studies at the University leaders in health promotion and disease prevention by providing of Al Azhar and the Fajr Institute in Cairo, Egypt. She currently teaches “spiritual innovators for the new millennium.” In 2003, she was a comprehensive educational programs, and offering compassionate recipient of Wesleyan University’s Binswanger Prize for Excellence in the classical and modern standard Arabic and Women in Islam studies support to all persons affected by life-threatening diseases. program at Islamic schools, home schools, private tutoring and various Teaching. In September 2005, Newsweek magazine’s “Spirituality in America” issue included a profile of her; and in its May 2007 edition, Masajid (places of worship). TM Dr. Seele also is the founder of the Every Child USA Campaign, a Ebony magazine named Prof. Willis one of its Power 150 most campaign designed to ensure that every child in the United States learns influential African Americans. Rev. Dr. Fred Lucas to read, has access to comprehensive health care and is exposed to Rev. Dr. Fred Lucas is a pastor, educator and specialist in the area of opportunities that impact his/her future positively. faith-based community, housing and economic development. He is the founding pastor of the Brooklyn Community Church in Brooklyn, Dr. Seele has been recognized by TIME 100 as one of the most influential New York; and founding president/CEO of the Faith Center For persons in the world. She received a doctorate of humane letters from the Community Development, Inc. Rev. Dr. Lucas has served as instructor College of New Rochelle, New York; and bachelor and master of science of religion at Monrovia College in Liberia, West Africa; and as an degrees from Clark Atlanta University in Georgia in 1976 and 1979, adjunct professor at Harvard Divinity School, Colgate Rochester respectively. Dr. Seele was inducted into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Divinity School, and New York Theological Seminary. as an honorary member in 2010.

Rev. Dr. Lucas has been in the preaching ministry for 38 years. He has 25 years of pastoral experience at four churches in Liberia, West Africa; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Buffalo and Brooklyn, New York.

Rev. Dr. Lucas provided pastoral leadership in launching many community programs, and he has served on numerous advisory boards. Observances He also served on President Clinton’s Religious Advisory Board; and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National African ISLAMIC BUDDHIST HINDU American Leadership Roundtable, and to the Clergy Advisory Board • February 15 – Birth of the Prophet Muhammad • February 8 – Parinirvana - Nirvana Day • January 14 – Makar Sankranti of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Relief Fund. His work has been nationally Also called Mawlid al-Nabi and is the recognition of the Mahayana Buddhist festival marking the anniversary of Seasonal celebration recognizing the increasing length of days. recognized in the writings of C. Eric Lincoln, Lawrence Mamiya, birthdate of the Prophet Muhammad. Shi’a celebrate this Buddha’s death. Pure Land Buddhists call the festival • March 3 – Maha Shivaratri day five days later than Sunni Muslims. “Nirvana Day.” Also called Shiva Ratri, pays homage to Lord Shiva, the divine Andrew Billingsley, and Clarence Taylor; as well as featured in • July 31 – Ramadan (begins at sundown) • February 15 – Nirvana Day (alternative date) manifestation of transformation and regeneration. Positive Community magazine, The New York Times, Amsterdam News, The month of fasting in which participating Muslims refrain Nirvana Day is also known as Parinirvana and is celebrated • March 19-20 – Holi Black Enterprise magazine, CNN, NBC World News Tonight, and from eating, drinking and intimacy from dawn until sunset. by some Buddhists on February 8. Nirvana Day is the Also called Holaka or Phagwa, this festival celebrates the NBC Nightly News. Fasting is intended to teach Muslims about patience, humility celebration of Buddha’s death when he reached total arrival of spring and triumph over negativity. and spirituality; and it (fasting) is believed to be a secret Nirvana, at the age of 80. • April 12 – Rama Navami Rev. Dr. Lucas holds a B.A. degree from Harvard University in between the servant and his/her Lord. • February 18 – Magha Puja Celebrates the birthday of Rama, hero of the epic Ramayana, • August 30 – Eid al Fitr (begins at sundown) Fourfold Assembly or Sangha Day. Marks the day Buddha and an incarnation of Vishnu and dharma (righteousness). Cambridge, Massachusetts; a master of divinity degree from Harvard The “Feast of the Breaking of the Fast” marks the end addressed a meeting of 1,250 arahants. • August 13 – Raksha Bandhan Divinity School; and a doctor of ministry degree from Colgate of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. • March 5 – Tibetan (Mahayana) Losar, New Year This festival celebrates the protective relationship between Rochester Divinity School in New York. • November 3 – Hajj (begins at sundown) • April 18 – Theravada New Year brothers and their sisters. The fifth pillar of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca during the New Year festival for Theravada Buddhists, celebrated for • August 22 – Krishna Jayanti month of Dhu al-Hijja. At least once in a lifetime a Muslim is three days from the first full moon day in April. This is also popularly called Krishna Janmashtami. Celebrates Rev. James L. Patterson expected to make a religious journey to Mecca and the Kaaba. • May 17 – Wesak or Buddha Day the birthday of Krishna, hero of the epic Mahabharata, and Rev. James L. Patterson is an ordained elder and senior pastor of Institute For a Muslim, the Hajj is the ultimate act of worship. The most important of the Buddhist festivals. It celebrates Vishnu’s eighth incarnation on earth. Church of the Nazarene Institute, West Virginia; and has served in that • November 6 – Eid al Adha (begins at sundown) the Buddha’s birthday; and, for some Buddhists, also marks • September 1 – Ganesh Chaturthi capacity for the past 21 years. He also is a founder and current president marks the end of the Hajj his enlightenment and death. Celebrates the birthday of Ganesha, the elephant-headed of the Partnership for African American Churches Institute (PAAC), a The “Feast of Sacrifice” concludes the Hajj pilgrimage to • July 15 – Asala - Dharma Day deity worshipped as the God of Wisdom and Remover Mecca and is a three-day festival recalling Ibrahim’s The anniversary of the start of Buddha’s teaching – his first of Obstacles. West Virginia nonprofit, whose mission is to work with its 21 congrega- willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God. sermon, “The Wheel of Truth,” after his enlightenment. • September 28 – Navaratri tional communities to empower communities of color. As one objective, • November 25 – Islamic New Year • December 8 – Bodhi Day Nine-day festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil. PAAC focuses on minority health concerns, and directs program and (begins at sundown) On Bodhi day, some Buddhists celebrate Gautama’s It worships God in the form of the universal mother policy change initiatives to encourage more healthful lifestyles in the This day and month (the first of Muharram) marks the attainment of enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at commonly referred to as Durga, Devi or Shakti, and African American community. beginning of the Islamic era and its calendar year, which is Bodhgaya, India. marks the start of fall. based on the lunar cycles and the Hijra (the migration) of the • October 6 – Dussera Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina Anniversary of the day when Rama killed the evil demon As the director of the Saving our Children program, Rev. Patterson has in 622 CE. It also marks the beginning of the 10-day Shi’ite Ravana. Also known as Durga Puja, which celebrates the addressed social issues primarily impacting adolescents and teens. Some Remembrance of Muharram, a period of intense grief and goddess Durga. of his present community involvement includes member of the Ethics mourning of the martyrdom of Hussein, the son of Ali and • October 26 – Diwali Committee of Thomas Memorial Hospital, board member of West grandson of Muhammad. Also called Deepavali, “Festival of Lights,” it celebrates the Virginian for Affordable Healthcare, member of West Virginia Council • December 4 – Day of Atonement victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge of Churches, board member of West Virginia Center on Budget and (begins at sundown) over ignorance. Also known as the Day of Ashura, a day of fasting observed Policy, West Virginia University Prevention Research Center Community on the 10th day of the month of Muharram to celebrate Partnership board member, West Virginia Bureau of Public Health Moses’ exodus from Egypt, marking it as a day of gratitude. Community advisory board member of the Central Appalachian Regional For Shi’a Muslims, it also marks the climax of the 10-day Network, and member of the Church of the Nazarene National Black Remembrance of Muharram, in which the Shi’a community Strategy Committee. mourns the martyrdom of Hussein at the Battle of Kerbala in 680 CE.

Note: Islamic holidays begin at sunset the previous day. Islamic and Buddhist holidays are subject to change because the beginning of their calendar month is dictated by the sightings of the new moon. Buddhist and Hindu holidays may be observed at different times than those indicated in this calendar. The observance date is dependent on both religious group affiliation and region. For example, Buddha’s birthday is one of the most widely celebrated Buddhist holidays. However, there is not one date accepted by all Buddhists. Therefore, the observance of Buddha’s birthday will vary by both tradition and region.

2011 Aetna African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com