25th Anniversary Edition Anniversary 25th Life. Celebrating

History Calendar History

2006 African American American African 2006

of healthful outcomes. healthful of Empowering a lifetime lifetime a Empowering

2006 African American History Calendar

Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D. Betty S. Pace, M.D. Michael A. LeNoir, M.D. Rovenia Brock, Ph.D. January • Birth/Infant February • First Years March • Preteen April • Teen

“The Three Doctors” Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., M.P.H. B. Waine Kong, Ph.D., J.D. May • Teen June • Young Adult July • Young Adult August • Adult

LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S. James Whitfield Reed, M.D., M.A.C.P., F.A.C.E. Sharon Allison-Ottey, M.D. Dexter L. Campinha-Bacote, M.D. September • Adult October • Senior November • Senior December • All Stages of Life

©2005 Aetna Inc. 16544 12/13/05 4:18 PM Page 1 Page PM 4:18 12/13/05 16544 16544 12/13/05 4:18 PM Page 2

The Aetna 2006 African American History Calendar celebrates all stages By leveraging their own circles of influence, those profiled here are working of life — from early childhood to middle age to older age — with advice, in many ways to make a difference. They are role models who teach healthful messages and important perspectives from respected African individuals how to address and overcome health care challenges that are American health care professionals throughout the country. more predominant in their communities. When individuals are empowered to take control of their own health care, ultimately there are more healthful Ensuring that health care remains a top priority is paramount to improving the outcomes. overall health of African . Through the wisdom, determination and tenacity of the 14 health care professionals featured in this calendar, healthier With this edition, Aetna celebrates its 25th anniversary of bringing to life and more educated communities are being created each and every day. visionaries and the contributions they have made. We are honored to profile this elite group of health care professionals, who have dedicated their lives once said, Aetna acknowledges the health care challenges that are more prevalent in the and professions to teaching how to best care for themselves African American community, from infant mortality to sickle cell disease, from and their families. Please join us on this journey as we celebrate life. “Nothing will work unless poor nutrition to asthma, from diabetes to cancer; and the Aetna 2006 African you do.” American History Calendar profiles those individuals who emphasize education and prevention.

Good health care is central to maintaining a richly balanced and productive life that works efficiently. It is particularly essential in the Celebrating Life. early years to ensure a healthful start for newborns, and it should Featured Inside: continue through the elder years January Birth/Infant SIDS with wholesome habits to enrich February First Years Sickle Cell Disease March Preteen Asthma and prolong life. April Teen Nutrition May Teen Teens at Risk June Young Adult HIV and AIDS July Young Adult Tobacco Control August Adult Cardiovascular Disease September Adult Cancer October Senior Diabetes November Senior Senior Health December All Stages of Life Healthful Living

Calendars Through 25 Years of Calendar History the Decades

Since 1982, Aetna’s African American History Calendar has featured African From nurse leaders to dentists, physicians to surgeons, pharmacists to medical American role models whose vision, intellect and heart have, in countless ways, specialists, the 2002 through 2005 calendars profiled African Americans who shaped what our country is today. More than 300 individuals — pioneers in fields are inspired and energized to create healthy communities. These health care such as business, government, athletics, science, education, medicine and the arts professionals have mastered the ability to turn complex details into useful, — have been featured in the calendar. understandable and culturally competent information that individuals can integrate into their lives. From , who changed the face of forever, to Elijah McCoy, praised inventor who was the inspiration for the phrase “the real McCoy,” from 2006: Celebrating Life 1984 Earl G. Graves, founder and publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, to television Continuing in its recent tradition to center on health matters, Aetna’s 2006 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. news anchor Robin Roberts — all of the individuals featured in the calendars calendar features a lifeline that examines health issues that may affect African have demonstrated great strength, perseverance and grace in succeeding in their Americans at each stage of life — from early childhood to middle age to older chosen fields. age. Throughout this calendar, readers will be introduced to 14 passionate health care professionals — including the motivational “Three Doctors,” By showcasing outstanding individuals who have achieved greatness in their recognized by as the “premier role models of the world” — respective careers and lives, young and old alike get a glimpse of future possibilities. who are devoted to ensuring that fellow African Americans have the opportunity to cherish and celebrate life each and every day. 1982 – 1989: Equality and Civil Rights The 1982 through 1989 calendars featured individuals whose work for equality and civil rights — from the Civil War to present day — has shaped our conscience 1990 and paved the way to a more just society. Regardless of background, heroes such Louis Armstrong as , and risked their lives so future generations would be free. Others such as Mary McLeod Bethune, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked to both unite African Americans and document their history. Reaching back in time, African Americans have played critically important roles in shaping 1990 – 2001: The Love of Profession American history. Today, African Americans In the 1990s and into the new millennium, the calendars focused on specific themes — music, arts, education, health, food and nutrition, business enterprise — continue to inspire traditions, influence culture and highlighted prominent African Americans’ contributions in these areas. Today, and create legacies that make our world a we listen to the jazz licks of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, read the medical research 2003 Frances E. Ashe-Goins, R.N., M.P.H. of Dr. Alvin Poussaint and legal opinions of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice better place. Alan Page, marvel at the robotics expertise of Dr. Bartholomew Nnaji, and enjoy the theatrical artistry of Denzel Washington and James Earl Jones. These individuals For the past 25 years, Aetna has produced the and many others have realized soaring accomplishments through their love of profession, a strong belief system and a devotion to work for the common good. African American History Calendar as an annual tribute to the extraordinary contributions and 2002 – 2005: Health Care Disparities Beginning in 2002, the calendar became an important vehicle for honoring African educational endeavors of African Americans in Americans determined to address and reform the most pressing health concerns of our country. the African American community, including infant mortality, sickle cell disease, heart disease, cancer, asthma, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Each calendar has focused on the 21st-century objective — to encourage greater awareness and close the racial www.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com and ethnic divide in health care quality. 16544 12/13/05 4:18 PM Page 3

When an infant dies suddenly after birth, parents need to understand why. When answers to these sometimes difficult questions are hard to come by, the loss can be even more inexplicable and devastating.

Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D. “Infant mortality is defined as the death of a child before his Deputy Director of the National Institute of or her first birthday, and in recent years, the infant mortality rate in the U.S. has been declining. But we must do better,” Child Health and Human Development, said Dr. Yvonne T. Maddox. “In the U.S., the infant mor- tality rate is seven deaths per every 1,000 births. That’s 27,000 National Institutes of Health infant deaths per year. And in the African American community, the figures are twice as high – 14 deaths per every 1,000 births.” Residence: Upper Marlboro, Maryland Several factors can cause infant mortality, including congenital abnormalities and birth defects; prematurity and low birth weight; acute respiratory distress syndrome; infections; and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

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

According to Maddox, recent research connects some instances of SIDS to the area of the brain that helps control breathing and awakening during sleep. If this area is underdeveloped in a baby who becomes tangled in loose bedding, the baby may not be signaled to turn his or her head for oxygen and may, therefore, suffocate. “It is imperative that babies are positioned Dream on their backs while sleeping – even while napping – to reduce the risk of suffocation,” Maddox said.

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

“Through our ‘Back to Sleep’ campaign, we’ve created Infant Mortality culturally competent materials that take these traditions into account, while raising SIDS awareness in African American “Parents want to keep their babies safe, communities,” said Maddox.

and I am proud that our educational Maddox noted other methods for reducing the risk of SIDS include prenatal care for the mother-to-be, using a safety- efforts help them do that.” approved crib with a firm mattress, not smoking before or after birth and not allowing others to smoke around a child, getting a child well-baby checkups, not wrapping a baby too tightly or dressing a child too warmly, and not sharing a bed with a baby or putting a baby to bed with a sibling.

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

FACT SIDS is ranked as a leading cause of death for African American infants under STAGE OF LIFE – Birth/Infant 1 year of age. January 2006

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1234567 New Year’s Day 1965: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. calls for 1624: William Tucker, first African child born 1920: Andrew “Rube” Foster organizes 1943: , agricultural 1831: The World Anti-Slavery Convention 1890: William B. Purvis patents fountain pen. 1863: Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation nonviolent protests if Alabama blacks are not in America. first black baseball league, the Negro scientist, dies. opens in London. 1955: debuts as first black Proclamation. allowed to register and vote. National League. to perform at Metropolitan Opera. 2005: Former U.S. Rep. , 1971: The Congressional Black Caucus organized. first black woman elected to Congress, dies.

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1811: Charles Deslandes leads slave revolt 1866: founded in Nashville, 1864: George Washington Carver, agricultural 1940: Benjamin O. Davis Sr. becomes U.S. 1948: Supreme Court rules blacks have right 1990: L. inaugurated as 1975: William T. Coleman named secretary in Louisiana. Tennessee. scientist and inventor, born. Army’s first black general. to study law at state institutions. first African American governor (Virginia) of transportation. 1906: Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet since Reconstruction. and writer, dies.

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1929: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a major Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1942: Three-time heavyweight boxing cham- 1856: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, pioneer heart 1918: John H. Johnson, editor and publisher 1993: Maya Angelou, a great voice of con- 1870: Hiram Revels elected first black U.S. voice for civil rights in the 20th century, born. Birthday Observed pion Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) born. surgeon, born. of Ebony and Jet magazines, born. temporary literature, delivers On the Pulse of senator, replacing Jefferson Davis for the 1978: NASA names African American Morning at the presidential inauguration. Mississippi seat. astronauts Maj. Frederick D. Gregory, 2001: sworn in as first black Maj. Guion S. Bluford Jr. and secretary of state. Dr. Ronald E. McNair. 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1949: James Robert Gladden becomes first 1891: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founds 1865: Congress passes 13th Amendment, 1851: Sojourner Truth addresses first Black 1954: Dr. Theodore K. Lawless, dermatologist, 1961: , world-renowned opera 1998: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, first black certified in orthopedic surgery. Provident Hospital in , the first which, on ratification, 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. training hospital for black doctors and skin-related diseases. postage stamp. nurses in the U.S.

29 30 31 1926: Violette Neatly Anderson becomes first 1844: Richard Theodore Greener becomes 1919: Jackie Robinson, first black to black woman lawyer to argue a case before first black to graduate from Harvard. play in major league baseball, born. the Supreme Court.

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

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Having a newborn baby can be a difficult adjustment for parents – lack of sleep, midnight feedings, incessant crying. But what’s even more difficult for any parent is caring for a sick child. And in the African American community, one in 500 children is born with sickle Betty S. Pace, M.D. cell disease. Researcher and Director, University of Texas Dr. Betty S. Pace has made it her life’s work to find a cure at Dallas Sickle Cell Disease Research Center for the disease. Growing up in the small town of Racine, Wisconsin, she knew a large family who lost four young Residence: Dallas, Texas children to sickle cell disease.

“One was a good friend of mine, and she died in junior high school. I remember visiting her when she was bedridden from having a stroke,” Pace said. “It really had an impact on me.”

Sickle cell disease is an inherited red blood cell disease caused by a genetic error in a person’s hemoglobin, which makes the red blood cells inflexible and sickle shaped. This leads to blockages in blood vessels and prevents oxygen from reaching the body’s tissues. Side effects of the disease include swelling of the spleen, which occurs when the sickle blood cells get caught in the spleen and cause it to expand like a balloon; pain and inflammation, which happen when blood flow is cut off from the body tissue and organs; anemia; jaundice; and stroke. Research “The best way to prevent death in children with sickle cell disease is diagnosis in infancy,” said Pace, who Popular Science magazine named in 2004 one of the United States’ “Brilliant 10” scientists. “If children with the disease are given penicillin twice a day from 3 months to 5 years, the rates of death and infection are significantly decreased.”

Although there is still no universal gene therapy-based cure for sickle cell disease, Pace said that recent educational ini- tiatives targeting parents have doubled the life expectancy of Sickle Cell Disease those with sickle cell disease. “We teach parents how to react to the disease symptoms. If their baby has a fever, they’re “The best way to prevent death in told to bring the baby to the emergency room immediately because the child may have an infection. We also teach parents children with sickle cell disease is how to feel the spleen to see if it is enlarged,” said Pace. diagnosis in infancy.”

The average life span for individuals with sickle cell disease is 42 years for men and 46 years for women; and while the present state of the disease is challenging, Pace has confi- dence in the future. New, promising drugs are under development; and effective treatments continue to lengthen life expectancy. “It’s my job to help people understand the process of the disease,” said Pace. “I try to help parents so they don’t feel like they’re on this mission alone.”

FACT In the United States, about 1,000 babies with sickle cell disease STAGE OF LIFE – First Years are born each year. February 2006

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1234 1902: , poet, born. 1915: Biologist Ernest E. Just receives 1956: Autherine Lucy enrolls as the first 1913: , civil rights pioneer who Spingarn Medal for research in fertilization black student at the University of Alabama. sparked 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus and cell division. boycott, born.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1884: Willis Johnson patents eggbeater. 1993: Arthur Ashe Jr., tennis player, 1883: Ragtime pianist and composer 1968: Three South Carolina State 1964: Arthur Ashe Jr. becomes first black 1927: Leontyne Price, internationally 1990: Nelson Mandela of South Africa 1934: , major league home-run humanitarian and activist, dies. Eubie Blake born. students killed during segregation protest on U.S. Davis Cup team. acclaimed opera singer, born. is released from prison after 27 years. champion, born. in Orangeburg, South Carolina. 1992: , Pulitzer Prize-winning author, dies.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Lincoln’s Birthday 1970: Joseph L. Searles becomes first African Valentine’s Day 1961: U.N. sessions disrupted by U.S. 1874: Frederick Douglass elected president 1938: Mary Frances Berry, first woman 1931: Toni Morrison, winner of 1988 Pulitzer 1909: NAACP founded in New York City. American member of New York Stock Exchange. 1817: Frederick Douglass, “the Great and African nationalists over assassination of Freedman’s Bank and Trust. to serve as chancellor of a major research Prize for her novel Beloved, born. 1927: Xavier University of Louisiana College Emancipator,” born. of Congo Premier Patrice Lumumba. university (University of Colorado), born. of Pharmacy founded.

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1919: First Pan-African Congress, organized Presidents’ Day 1965: assassinated in New York. Washington’s Birthday 1868: W.E.B. DuBois, scholar, activist and 1864: Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes first 1853: First black YMCA organized by W.E.B. DuBois, held in Paris. 1895: Frederick Douglass, leading voice 1989: Col. Frederick D. Gregory becomes author of The Souls of Black Folk, born. black woman to receive a medical degree in Washington, D.C. in the abolitionist movement, dies. first African American to command a space (New England Female Medical College). shuttle mission.

26 27 28 1965: Civil rights activist Jimmie Lee 1897: Marian Anderson, world-renowned 1984: , musician and Jackson dies after being shot by state police opera singer and civil rights activist, born. entertainer, wins eight Grammy Awards. in Marion, Alabama.

The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Commemorative stamp in September 2004 to educate the public about the disease and promote finding a universal cure. African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com 16544 12/13/05 4:18 PM Page 5

Take a deep breath, as this may surprise you: Nearly one in 13 school-age children has asthma. It is the leading cause of school absenteeism in the U.S. due to chronic illness, accounting for more than 10 million Michael A. LeNoir, M.D. missed school days per year.

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

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

These statistics frustrate LeNoir – a nationally recognized expert on asthma in inner cities – because unlike other serious diseases, most cases of asthma can be controlled with little effect on a person’s daily life. Problems occur when the disease is not treated properly – especially in children. Children who suffer from persistent asthma often have problems in school, social situations and sports because of their inability to effectively move air through their lungs.

Asthma is often inadequately treated because it frequently goes undetected. “The most common symptom in children Awareness is not the wheezing most parents think of, but chronic cough,” said LeNoir, a father of four and grandfather of two. “If a child coughs when he exercises or laughs, or coughs at night when he’s not sick, it’s a warning sign.”

According to LeNoir, the most common triggers of asthma are allergies and house dust. Once a child develops asthma, many environmental factors can exacerbate its effects such as viral infections, exposure to pollution in major cities, and hydrocarbons from automobiles and diesel fuels. Asthma LeNoir believes two separate problems contribute to poor asthma outcomes in African American communities – health disparity and health care disparity. “Health disparity is “The most common symptom in children is because of who you are. African Americans are genetically not the wheezing most parents think of, but more at risk for certain diseases,” LeNoir said. “Health care disparity is because of who you represent, racially or ethni- chronic cough.” cally. There should be no statistical difference, and yet there is a difference in the quality of care.”

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

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

FACT Most children with persistent asthma over the age of 4 should STAGE OF LIFE – Preteen have allergy evaluations. March 2006

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1234 Ash Wednesday 1867: Congress enacts charter to establish 1865: Freedmen’s Bureau established by 1965: Bill Russell of the Celtics 1914: Ralph Ellison, author, born. . federal government to aid newly freed slaves. honored as NBA most valuable player for fourth time in five years.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1770: becomes one of the 1857: Supreme Court issues Dred Scott decision. 1965: Supreme Court upholds key provisions 1951: The National Pharmaceutical 1841: Amistad mutineers freed by 1869: Robert Tanner Freeman becomes 1959: Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun first casualties of the American Revolution. of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Association incorporated under the laws Supreme Court. first black to receive a degree in dentistry. opens at Barrymore Theater, New York, the first of the state of Delaware. 1913: Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and play by a black woman to premiere on Broadway. 1977: Henry L. Marsh III becomes first African Civil War nurse, dies. American elected mayor of Richmond, Virginia.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1932: , former U.N. ambas- 1773: Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, black 1956: Montgomery, Alabama, bus 1947: John Lee, first black commissioned 1827: Freedom’s Journal, the first U.S. black St. Patrick’s Day 1822: The Phoenix Society, a literary and sador and former mayor of Atlanta, born. pioneer and explorer, founded Chicago. boycott ends when municipal bus service officer in the U.S. Navy, assigned to duty. newspaper, is founded. 1885: William F. Cosgrove patents automatic educational group, founded by blacks is desegregated. 1846: Rebecca Cole, second black female stop plug for gas and oil pipes. in New York City. physician in the U.S., born. 1890: Charles B. Brooks patents street sweeper.

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1971: The Rev. elected to board 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 Bragg 1931: Ida B. Wells-Barnett, journalist, of directors of General Motors. shoemaking machine. march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, born. anti-lynching activist and founding for voting rights. member of the NAACP, dies.

26 27 28 29 30 31 1872: Thomas J. Martin patents fire extinguisher. 1924: Jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, “The Divine 1870: Jonathan S. Wright becomes first black 1918: Pearl Bailey, singer and actor, born. 1870: Fifteenth Amendment ratified, 1988: Toni Morrison wins Pulitzer Prize 1911: William H. Lewis becomes U.S. assistant One,” born. state supreme court justice in South Carolina. guaranteeing voting rights to blacks. for Beloved. attorney general. 1930: Of the 116,000 blacks in professional positions, more than two-thirds were teachers or ministers.

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

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Diet books are on the best-seller lists. Fitness videos are flying off the shelves. Fast-food restaurants are offering healthful alternatives. Yet with all the current emphasis on nutrition and well-being, why are the waistlines of our youth continually expanding? Rovenia Brock, Ph.D.

“Young people first have to see to be,” said Dr. Rovenia Nutrition and Fitness Expert “Ro” Brock, widely known as the host of BET’s “Heart & Soul,” the first-ever national health and fitness television Residence: Washington, D.C. show for African American women. “When parents don’t practice the healthful behaviors they are trying to instill in their children, it doesn’t work.”

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

“The biggest problem in the African American community is that we eat too much and move too little. Physical inactivity and the overconsumption of calories, fat, sugar and sodium head the list of nutrition concerns,” said Brock, who also is the author of the national bestseller Dr. Ro’s 10 Secrets to Livin’ Healthy.

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

Encourage water rather than soft drinks, Brock said. “The widening girth of America has more to do with the high- fructose content in those mammoth soft drinks than with fat,” she added. If your adolescent child is already overweight or obese, Brock Nutrition encourages parents to positively reinforce them through encouraging words. “Too often I see parents speaking to their children in tones that are humiliating and dehuman- “Parents need to band together to have izing,” she said. “Be nicer. Be kinder. We have to be role models to our children – role models of both health and physical education added back into the positive behavior.” curriculum.” The elimination of physical education from many public schools across the country is a growing concern, according to Brock. “Parents need to band together to have physical education added back into the curriculum,” she said.

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

FACT Approximately 30.4 percent of all U.S. adolescents (ages 12 to 19) are over- STAGE OF LIFE – Teen weight and 15.5 percent April 2006 are obese.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 1950: Blood research pioneer Charles R. Drew dies. 1989: Bill White elected president of the National Baseball League.

2345678 Daylight Saving Time Begins 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 1915: Jazz and blues legend Billie Holiday born. 1974: Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron hits 1984: Georgetown coach John Thompson of the Emancipation Day poem “The Day assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Appeals outlaws segregation in restaurants. Pole, 45 minutes before Robert E. Peary. 1959: Lorraine Hansberry becomes first black 715th career home run, surpassing Babe Ruth becomes first African American coach to and the War,” born. playwright to win New York Drama Critics as the game’s all-time home-run leader. win the NCAA basketball tournament. 1990: Sarah Vaughan, jazz singer known Award (for A Raisin in the Sun). as “The Divine One,” dies.

9 101112131415 Palm Sunday 1943: Arthur Ashe, first black to win the U.S. 1899: Percy Julian, developer of physostigmine Passover Begins (sundown) 1950: Historian Carter G. Woodson, author Good Friday 1964: becomes first black 1898: , actor, singer, activist, born. Open and men’s singles title at Wimbledon, born. and synthetic cortisone, born. 1983: Harold Washington becomes first of The Miseducation of the Negro, dies. 1775: First abolitionist society in U.S. founded to win Academy Award for Best Actor 1947: Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson 1966: Emmett Ashford becomes first black African American elected mayor of Chicago. 1997: Tiger Woods wins Masters Golf in . for Lilies of the Field. becomes first black to play major league baseball. umpire in the major leagues. Tournament.

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Easter 1983: Alice Walker wins Pulitzer Prize for 1995: Margo Jefferson receives Pulitzer Prize 1972: Stationed in Germany, Major Gen. 1894: Dr. Lloyd A. Hall, pioneering food 1966: Pfc. Milton L. Olive III awarded 1922: Jazz bassist and composer 1862: Slavery abolished in the District fiction for The Color Purple. for criticism. Frederic E. Davidson becomes first African chemist, born. posthumously the Medal of Honor for valor Charles Mingus born. of Columbia. 1990: Ralph David Abernathy, civil rights American to lead an Army division. in Vietnam. leader, dies.

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1856: Granville T. Woods, inventor of the 1944: United Negro College Fund incorporated. 1918: Ella Fitzgerald, “First Lady of Song,” born. Administrative Professionals Day 1945: August Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning 1839: Cinque leads Amistad mutiny off 1899: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, steam boiler and automobile air brakes, born. 1888: Sarah Boone patents ironing board. playwright, born. the coast of Long Island, New York. jazz musician and composer, born. 1872: Charlotte E. Ray is first black woman 1968: Dr. Vincent Porter becomes first black admitted to the District of Columbia Bar. certified in plastic surgery.

30 1952: Dr. Louis T. Wright honored by American Cancer Society for his contributions to cancer research.

Eating eight strawberries will provide you with more Vitamin C African American History Calendar than an orange. www.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com 16544 12/13/05 4:18 PM Page 7

It may seem unlikely that the best way to inspire trou- bled youth is to encourage peer pressure. But this is the strategy for success used by “The Three Doctors” – Sampson Davis, Rameck Hunt and George Jenkins – inspirational speakers who aim to motivate inner-city “The Three Doctors” – youth and families through education, mentoring and Sampson Davis, M.D., health awareness. “There is negative and positive peer pressure. We show how Rameck Hunt, M.D. and positive peer pressure can help encourage youths to achieve their goals and escape negative influences,” said Hunt, an George Jenkins, D.M.D. internist and medical director at St. Peter’s University Hospital’s How Lane Adult Family Health Center. Inspirational Speakers If anyone can attest to the power of positive peer pressure, it’s “The Three Doctors.” As teenagers from the streets of Residence: Newark, New Jersey Newark, New Jersey, they made a pact to stay together, attend college and become doctors. More than 13 years later, they have achieved their goal and have formed The Three Doctors Foundation to help empower inner-city youths to improve their lives and the lives of others.

“Inner-city kids face a tremendous amount of negative peer pressure – it’s on their clothes, on their corners, in their walks and in their talks,” said Davis, an emergency medicine physician at East Orange General Hospital. “They are faced with gangs, narcotics, weapons – huge issues. It’s occurring at epidemic levels, and it threatens all of us.”

“The Three Doctors” strive to show these teenagers that Inspire the path to success begins with education. “I want to make education fashionable,” said Jenkins, a dentist and faculty member of Community Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. “Today, kids dream of being professional athletes and entertainers, and they have dreams of money and fame. I would like them to see education as an alternative, more realistic way to attain their goals.”

Davis said their messages are geared toward families. “We help parents by teaching them how to listen to their sons Teens at Risk and daughters. Parents will say to us, ‘They don’t listen to me anymore!’ And we say to them, ‘You’re the parent. You “Today, kids dream of being professional can’t give up.’ We help them reach their kids,” he said.

athletes and entertainers, and they have “We tell parents that they can’t speak down to their children, and that they have to understand their children’s culture. They dreams of money and fame. I would like need to know about the latest crazes in the community, and them to see education as an alternative, they have to be involved academically and socially,” said Hunt. more realistic way to attain their goals.” “The Three Doctors” have jointly authored two books, The Pact and We Beat the Street, both New York Times best sellers. Oprah Winfrey has called the trio “the premier role models of the world.” And while the accolades are rewarding, the doctors say the real reward is the difference they are making – one community at a time.

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

FACT Among 10- to 24-year- olds, homicide is the leading cause of death STAGE OF LIFE – Teen for African Americans. May 2006

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123456 1867: First four students enter Howard University. 1844: Inventor Elijah McCoy, “the real McCoy,” 1964: Frederick O’Neal becomes first black 1961: Freedom Riders begin protesting segre- 1950: Gwendolyn Brooks becomes first black to 1812: Physician, author, explorer Martin R. 1998: Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther, born. president of Actors’ Equity Association. gation of interstate bus travel in the South. win a Pulitzer Prize in poetry for “Annie Allen.” Delaney, first black officer in Civil War, born. author, dies. 1995: Shirley Jackson assumes chairmanship 1988: Eugene Antonio Marino installed as first 1991: Smithsonian Institution approves creation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. U.S. African American Roman Catholic archbishop. of the National African American Museum.

78910111213 1845: Mary Eliza Mahoney, America’s 1983: awarded Spingarn Medal 1899: John Albert Burr patents lawn mower. 1950: Boston Celtics select Chuck Cooper, 1895: Composer William Grant Still, first black 1820: The New York African Free School 1872: Matilda Arabella Evans, first black woman first black trained nurse, born. for distinguished career in entertainment. first black player drafted to play in NBA. to conduct a major American symphony population reaches 500. to practice medicine in South Carolina, born. 1878: Joseph R. Winters patents first fire orchestra, born. escape ladder.

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Mother’s Day 1820: Congress declares foreign slave trade 1927: Dr. William Harry Barnes becomes 1954: Supreme Court declares segregation 1896: In Plessy v. Ferguson, Supreme Court 1925: Malcolm X born Malcolm Little Armed Forces Day 1913: Clara Stanton Jones, first black president an act of piracy, punishable by death. first black certified by a surgical board. in public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. upholds doctrine of “” in Omaha, Nebraska. 1961: U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy of the American Library Association, born. Board of Education. education and public accommodations. 1993: University of Virginia professor dispatches U.S. marshals to Montgomery, Rita Dove appointed U.S. Poet Laureate. Alabama, to restore order in the Freedom Rider crisis.

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1833: Blacks enroll for the first time 1921: Shuffle Along, a musical featuring 1900: Sgt. William H. Carney becomes first black 1854: Lincoln University (Pa.), first black 1926: Jazz trumpeter Miles Dewey Davis born. 1961: During Kennedy administration, Marvin 1919: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, cosmetics at Oberlin College, Ohio. a score by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. college, founded. Cook named ambassador to Niger Republic, the manufacturer and first black female millionaire, opens on Broadway. first black envoy named to an African nation. dies. 1942: Dorie Miller, a ship‘s steward, awarded Navy Cross for heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. 28 29 30 31 1948: National Party wins whites-only Memorial Day Observed 1947: The National Pharmaceutical Association 1870: Congress passes the first Enforcement elections in South Africa and begins 1901: Granville T. Woods patents overhead founded to address the interests and needs Act, providing stiff penalties for those who to institute policy of apartheid. conducting system for the electric railway. of minority pharmacists. deprive others of civil rights. 1973: Tom Bradley becomes first black 1965: Vivian Malone becomes first black mayor of Los Angeles. to graduate from the University of Alabama.

In 1816, the stethoscope was invented by the French physician René Théophile Hyacinthe Laënnec, who is generally considered to be the father of chest medicine.

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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have plagued the United States since 1981, and its incidence and prevalence have grown rapidly among minority populations ever since. However, many adolescents and young adults still do not understand the disease Loretta Sweet Jemmott, or the at-risk behaviors that can lead to its transmission, said Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott, a professor of nursing Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. at the University of and an expert on Professor of Nursing at the University of HIV prevention. Pennsylvania and expert on HIV prevention “Often, young adults simply do not want to hear that their behaviors can harm them,” Sweet Jemmott said. “They feel Residence: Wynnewood, Pennsylvania invulnerable. I try to show them that they are not, and that they need to protect themselves.”

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

AIDS is caused by HIV, the virus that destroys the body’s ability to fight infections and certain cancers by killing or impairing immune-system cells. According to the health Web site BlackHealthCare.com, HIV infection can be transmitted in a variety of ways – most commonly by unprotected sexual contact with an infected partner. It is also spread through contact with infected blood, drug needles and syringes, as well as from infected mother to Knowledge fetus through pregnancy, birth or breast-feeding.

“Young adults should be told everything about HIV and AIDS. We can’t sugarcoat it. We need to stop this epidemic as a community,” said Sweet Jemmott, who is nationally recognized for her award-winning programs and materials that address major issues such as sex, teen pregnancy, HIV, AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, puberty and drugs. These programs aim to reduce HIV-risk-related behavior among African American adolescents and are implemented internationally. HIV and AIDS Sweet Jemmott said young people often do not understand “Young adults should be told everything the links between behavior and consequences. “They need to be shown how one behavior can affect another. They need about HIV and AIDS. We can’t sugarcoat help figuring out how to be safe. it. We need to stop this epidemic as a “We live in a difficult time today. Young adults are getting bombarded with messages from media, clothing, their peers community.” and their partners – messages that encourage and glorify unsafe sexual practices,” Sweet Jemmott said. “There are too many negative messages out there. I try to get them to look at the right message.”

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

FACT By the end of December 2003, 195,891 African Americans with AIDS had STAGE OF LIFE – Young Adult died. June 2006

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12 3 1968: Henry Lewis becomes first black musical 1971: Samuel L. Gravely Jr. becomes first 1890: L.H. Jones patents corn harvester. director of an American symphony orchestra African American admiral in U.S. Navy. 1904: Charles R. Drew, who developed — New Jersey Symphony. process for preserving blood plasma, born.

45678910 1967: receives an Emmy Award 1987: Dr. Mae C. Jemison becomes first 1831: First annual People of Color convention 1917: Poetess Gwendolyn Brooks, first black 1953: Supreme Court ruling bans discrimination 1962: W.W. Braithwaite, poet, anthologist 1854: James Augustine Healy, first black for his work in the television series I Spy. African American woman astronaut. held in Philadelphia. to win the Pulitzer Prize (poetry, 1950), born. in Washington, D.C., restaurants. and literary critic, dies in New York City. Roman Catholic bishop, is ordained a priest 1972: Activist Angela Davis acquitted 1995: Lincoln J. Ragsdale, pioneer fighter in Notre Dame Cathedral. of all murder and conspiracy charges. pilot of World War II, dies.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1964: Nelson Mandela sentenced to life 1963: Medgar W. Evers, civil rights leader, 1967: nominated to Flag Day 1913: Dr. Effie O’Neal Ellis, first black woman 1970: Kenneth A. Gibson elected mayor of 1775: Minuteman Peter Salem fights imprisonment by South African government. assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi. Supreme Court by President Lyndon Johnson. 1864: Congress rules equal pay for all soldiers. to hold an executive position in the American Newark, New Jersey, first African American in the Battle of Bunker Hill. 1927: George Washington Carver patents Medical Association, born. mayor of a major Eastern city. process of producing paints and stains.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Father’s Day 1865: Blacks in Texas are notified of 1953: Albert W. Dent of Dillard University elected 1945: Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes first 1897: William Barry patents postmarking 1940: Sprinter Wilma Rudolph, winner of three 1964: Carl T. Rowan appointed director 1942: medical student Emancipation Proclamation, issued president of the National Health Council. black to command an Army Air Corps base. and cancelling machine. gold medals at 1960 Summer Olympics, born. of the United States Information Agency. Bernard Whitfield Robinson commissioned in 1863. “” marks the event. as the Navy’s first black officer.

25 26 27 28 29 30 1941: Franklin D. Roosevelt issues executive 1975: Dr. Samuel Blanton Rosser becomes first 1991: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood 1864: Fugitive slave laws repealed by Congress. 1886: Photographer James Van Der Zee born. 1921: Charles S. Gilpin awarded Spingarn order establishing Fair Employment Practices African American certified in pediatric surgery. Marshall announces his retirement. 1911: Samuel J. Battle becomes first black Medal for his performance in Eugene O’Neill’s Commission. policeman in New York City. Emperor Jones.

The red ribbon became an international symbol of AIDS awareness during 1991.The organization Visual AIDS in New York, together with Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS, established the wearing of a red ribbon as something that signified support for people living with HIV/AIDS. African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com 16544 12/13/05 4:19 PM Page 9

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

“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women; and African American men have the Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., highest lung cancer incidence and death rates, compared to other racial and ethnic groups,” said Dr. Pebbles Fagan, M.P.H. a health scientist in the Tobacco Control Research Branch Health Scientist in the Tobacco Control Research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). “If you prevent tobacco use, you prevent many of the cancers associated Branch at the National Cancer Institute with it.” Residence: Hyattsville, Maryland According to the NCI, smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancers. “People’s lifestyles have a big impact on their quality of life and longevity. A lot of people don’t know the lifestyle risk factors they have – or how to modify those risk factors,” said Fagan. “Smoking is addictive. Smokers need help, but they may not know how to quit or have access to resources to help them quit.”

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

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

Tobacco use is not just harmful to the user, said Fagan. “People still don’t think secondhand smoke is dangerous,” she said. “Exposure to secondhand smoke in the home or in the workplace can lead to tobacco-related illnesses. Of the Tobacco Control 440,000 deaths that occur each year due to tobacco use, approximately 40,000 are due to secondhand smoke.”

“Smoking is addictive. Smokers need help, Fagan said that no matter how long a person has been smoking, it’s never too late to quit. She suggested calling but they may not know how to quit or have 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visiting www.smokefree.gov to find access to resources to help them quit.” resources to help. “Quitting smoking early in life decreases the chances of smoking-related illnesses. You can’t go back to zero risk, but you can reduce your chances of becoming ill and dying,” she said.

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

FACT About 8.6 million people in the United States have at least STAGE OF LIFE – Young Adult one serious illness July 2006 caused by smoking.

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1 1889: Frederick Douglass named U.S. Minister to Haiti.

2345678 1872: Elijah McCoy patents first self-lubricating 1688: The Quakers in Germantown, Independence Day 1892: Andrew J. Beard patents rotary engine. 1957: Althea Gibson wins women’s singles 1948: Cleveland Indians sign pitcher 1943: Faye Wattleton, first black director locomotive engine. The quality of his inventions Pennsylvania, make first formal protest 1900: Traditional birthdate of Louis 1991: Nelson Mandela elected president of title at Wimbledon, first black to win tennis’s Leroy “Satchel” Paige. of Planned Parenthood, born. helped coin the phrase “the real McCoy.” against slavery. “Satchmo” Armstrong, jazz pioneer. the African National Congress. most prestigious award. 2000: Venus Williams wins women’s singles championship at Wimbledon.

9 101112131415 1893: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs 1875: Educator Mary McLeod Bethune, 1905: W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe 1937: Actor, comedian Bill Cosby born. 1965: Thurgood Marshall becomes first black 1951: George Washington Carver Monument, 1867: Maggie Lena Walker, first woman and first successful open-heart operation. founder of Bethune-Cookman College, born. Trotter organize the , 1949: Frederick M. Jones patents cooling appointed U.S. solicitor general. first national park honoring a black, is dedicated first black to become president of a bank, born. a forerunner of the NAACP. system for food transportation vehicles. in Joplin, Missouri.

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1822: Violette A. Johnson, first black woman 1959: Singer Billie Holiday dies. 1899: L.C. Bailey issued patent for the folding bed. 1925: Paris debut of Josephine Baker, 1950: Black troops (24th Regiment) win first 1896: Mary Church Terrell elected first presi- 1939: Jane M. Bolin of New York City to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, born. 1998: African Soldiers entertainer, activist and humanitarian. U.S. victory in Korea. dent of National Association of Colored Women. appointed first black female judge. 1862: Anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells- Memorial dedicated, Washington, D.C. Barnett born.

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1962: Jackie Robinson becomes first black 1807: Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge born 1916: Garrett Morgan, inventor of the gas 1948: President Harry S. Truman issues 1880: Alexander P. Ashbourne patents 1868: 14th Amendment, granting blacks 1895: First National Conference of Colored baseball player in the major leagues inducted in New York City. mask, rescues six people from gas-filled Executive Order 9981, ending segregation process for refining coconut oil. full citizenship rights, becomes part of Women Convention held in Boston. into baseball’s Hall of Fame. tunnel in Cleveland, Ohio. in armed forces. the Constitution.

30 31 1822: James Varick becomes first bishop of 1874: Rev. Patrick Francis Healy inaugurated African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. president of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

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

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What does cardiovascular care have to do with dentistry? Plenty, according to Dr. B. Waine Kong, CEO of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC). “Our goal is to make cardiovascular disease obsolete, and B. Waine Kong, Ph.D., J.D. our inspiration is what is happening in dentistry,” Kong said. “Fifty years ago, needing false teeth by age 40 was CEO of the Association of Black Cardiologists common and expected. Today, if we follow simple dental practices, we can almost wipe out tooth decay. That’s an amazing achievement. Residence: Atlanta, Georgia

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

What are ABC’s Seven Steps? Be spiritually active, take charge of your blood pressure, control your cholesterol, track your blood sugar, eat smart and enjoy regular exercise, don’t smoke, and access better health care and take medication as prescribed. The association stresses prevention, since three out of four deaths from coronary heart disease occur during the first heart attack.

Although most African American middle-aged men and women are more afraid of cancer, AIDS and violence, the reality is that cardiovascular disease is responsible for more deaths in the African American community than all other diseases combined, according to ABC. “One of the myths about heart disease is that it’s unavoidable. Advocate People hear about someone having a heart attack while jogging and think it’s inevitable,” said Kong, who plays tennis and golf regularly. “This is simply not true.”

Preemptive measures must be taken, Kong said, starting with receiving culturally competent care. “Only 2 percent of cardiologists are African American. Seventy-five percent Cardiovascular of African American patients get care from non-African American cardiologists. It’s our goal to increase the number of African American cardiologists to 13 percent,” he pledged. Disease Kong also is an advocate for community involvement in cardiovascular care. In 1979, he and Dr. Elijah Saunders pioneered the organization of church and barbershop health “Only 2 percent of cardiologists are African promotion centers throughout Maryland, with a grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The initiative American. Seventy-five percent of African still exists today, and continues to train lay volunteers to take accurate blood pressures and follow up with patients American patients get care from non-African to assure their compliance to medical regimens. American cardiologists. It’s our goal to “I try to teach people that health and wealth go hand in increase the number of African American hand. If you’re sickly and lying around in bed, you’re not making money, you’re spending it,” said Kong, who grew cardiologists to 13 percent.” up in Woodlands, St. Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica. “If you’re healthy and want to stay healthy, you have to keep up the habits of a healthy person.”

FACT In 2002, cardiovascular disease made up 39.6 percent of total deaths for African STAGE OF LIFE – Adult American females. August 2006

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12345 1879: Mary Eliza Mahoney graduates 1924: James Baldwin, author of Go Tell It 1800: leads slave revolt 1810: Abolitionist Robert Purvis born. 1962: Nelson Mandela, South African from New England Hospital for Women on the Mountain, The Fire Next Time and in Richmond, Virginia. freedom fighter, imprisoned. He was and Children, becoming the first black Another Country, born. not released until 1990. professional nurse in America.

6789101112 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs 1907: , first African American 2005: John H. Johnson, founder and publisher 1936: Jesse Owens wins fourth gold medal 1989: Gen. Colin Powell is nominated 1872: Solomon Carter Fuller, acknowledged 1977: Steven Biko, leader of Black Consciousness Voting Rights Act, outlawing literacy test Nobel prize winner, born. of Ebony and Jet magazines, dies. at Summer Olympics in Berlin. Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first as first black psychiatrist, born. Movement in South Africa, arrested. for voting eligibility in the South. 1989: Congressman Mickey Leland dies African American to hold this post. 1921: Alex Haley, author of Roots, born. in plane crash during a humanitarian mission to Ethiopia.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1981: Reagan administration undertakes its 1989: First National Black Theater Festival 1888: Granville T. Woods patents 1922: Author Louis E. Lomax born. 1849: Lawyer-activist Archibald Henry Grimké, 1859: Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig is first 1954: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche named review of 30 federal regulations, including held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. electromechanical brake. who challenged segregationist policies of novel published by a black writer. undersecretary of United Nations. rules on civil rights to prevent job discrimination. President Woodrow Wilson, born.

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1993: Dr. David Satcher named director 1904: Bandleader and composer 1843: Henry Highland Garnett calls 1926: Carter Woodson, historian, author, 1950: Judge Edith Sampson named first black 1925: A. Phillip Randolph founds Brotherhood 1946: Composer, singer and producer of the Centers for Disease Control. William “Count” Basie born. for a general strike by slaves. inaugurates Negro History Week. delegate to United Nations. of Sleeping Car Porters. Valerie Simpson Ashford born.

27 28 29 30 31 1935: Mary McLeod Bethune founds 1963: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers 1920: Saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker born. 1983: Lt. Col. Guion S. Bluford Jr. becomes 1836: Henry Blair patents cotton planter. National Council of Negro Women. “I Have A Dream” speech during March the first African American astronaut in space. 1963: W.E.B. DuBois, scholar, civil rights on Washington, D.C. activist and founding father of the NAACP, dies.

Your heart pumps a total of 8,000 gallons of blood 12,000 miles through your African American History Calendar body every day. www.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com 16544 12/13/05 4:19 PM Page 11

In the coming year, more than 1 million cases of invasive cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. – with African Americans accounting for a disproportionate number of these cancers. For people between the ages of 35 and 50, the most common types of cancer are breast and LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., colorectal for women, prostate and lung for men.

M.D., F.A.C.S. The word cancer has the ability to trigger an emotional Cancer surgeon, oncologist, medical reaction in a person, conjuring up words such as treatment, surgery and chemotherapy. But there is one word that cancer educator and civic leader surgeon Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. said should be no longer automatically associated with cancer: death.

Residence: Washington, D.C. “One of the challenges with diagnosing and treating cancer in inner cities is that many people believe once they have cancer, they’ve been given a death sentence. There is no truth to this,” said Leffall, who has taught more than 4,500 medical students in the 44 years he has been on faculty at Howard University College of Medicine. “They believe they’re not going to be cured, so they don’t see a reason to try.”

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

He uses CAUTION to spell out common cancer warning signs: Change in bowel or bladder habits; A sore that does Prevention not heal; Unusual bleeding or discharge; Thickening or a lump in the breast or elsewhere; Indigestion that is persistent; Obvious change in a wart or mole; and Nagging cough or hoarseness.

Preventive actions can be taken to reduce the risk of most cancers, said Leffall. For example, moderating alcohol intake can help prevent esophageal cancer. Quitting smoking significantly decreases the chances of developing lung cancer. Colonoscopies can detect polyps that could result in colon cancer. Mammograms can show lesions that could lead to Cancer breast cancer. As chairman of both the President’s Cancer Panel and the “I try to use all the resources available to me Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Leffall is working toward making care more accessible by challenging convention to address health disparities. I keep an open and initiating change.

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

FACT About 137,910 new cancer cases were expected to be diag- STAGE OF LIFE – Adult nosed among African September 2006 Americans in 2005.

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12 1993: Condoleeza Rice named provost at 1958: Frederick M. Jones patents control Stanford University, becoming the youngest device for internal combustion engine. person and first black to hold this position.

3456789 1979: Robert Maynard becomes first African Labor Day 1960: Leopold Sedar Senghor, poet and 1848: Frederick Douglass elected president 1954: Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, 1981: , executive director 1968: Arthur Ashe Jr. wins men‘s singles tennis American to head a major daily newspaper, 1957: Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus calls politician, elected president of Senegal. of National Black Political Convention in Maryland, public schools integrated. of the NAACP, dies. championship at U.S. Open. Oakland Tribune in California. out the National Guard to bar black students Cleveland, Ohio. 2000: Venus Williams wins women‘s singles from entering a Little Rock high school. tennis championship at U.S. Open.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1855: John Mercer Langston elected township 1959: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington wins 1913: Track and field star Jesse Owens born. 1886: Literary critic Alain Lovke, first black 1921: , first black 1963: Four black girls killed in Birmingham, 1923: First Catholic seminary for black priests clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio, becoming first Spingarn Medal for his achievements in music. 1992: Dr. Mae C. Jemison becomes first Rhodes scholar, born. woman appointed federal judge, born. Alabama, church bombing. dedicated in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. black to hold elective office in the U.S. 1999: Serena Williams wins women‘s singles African American woman to travel in space. tennis championship at U.S. Open.

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 1983: Vanessa Williams crowned Miss America. 1895: Booker T. Washington delivers famous 1893: Albert R. Robinson patents electric 1830: First National Convention of Free Men 1815: Gen. Andrew Jackson honors courage Rosh Hashanah Begins (sundown) 1863: Civil and women’s rights advocate Atlanta Exposition speech. railway trolley. agrees to boycott slave-produced goods. of black troops who fought in Battle of 1862: Emancipation Proclamation announced. Mary Church Terrell born. New Orleans. 1989: Gen. Colin Powell is confirmed as 1998: Florence Griffith Joyner, Olympic track Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, first African star, dies. American to hold the post.

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1957: Federal troops enforce court-ordered 1974: Barbara W. Hancock becomes first 1962: Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson 2000: Venus Williams wins an Olympic gold 1991: National Civil Rights Museum opens 1910: founded 1962: James Meredith enrolls as first integrations as nine children integrate Central African American woman named a White to win heavyweight boxing championship. medal in women‘s singles tennis. in Memphis, Tennessee. in New York City. black student at University of Mississippi. High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. House fellow. 2000: Venus and Serena Williams win Olympic gold medals in women’s pairs tennis. 2003: Althea Gibson, first African American tennis player to win Wimbledon, dies.

Since 1928, the American Cancer Society has used the sword as its symbol as it continues to champion the causes of cancer prevention, eliminating suffering from cancer and saving lives. African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com 16544 12/13/05 4:19 PM Page 12

Need another reason to attend your regularly scheduled doctor appointments – even when you’re not sick or symptomatic? Diabetes, one of the most serious diseases to impact the African American community, initially causes no pain. James Whitfield Reed, M.D., “The average person with diabetes has the disease for eight years prior to being diagnosed,” said Dr. James Whitfield M.A.C.P., F.A.C.E. Reed, a professor of medicine and chief of endocrinology Professor of Medicine, Chief of Endocrinology and and metabolism at Morehouse School of Medicine. “Twenty to 25 percent of diabetics already have complications at the Metabolism, Associate Chair of Medicine for time of diagnosis.” Research and Chief of Medical Services at Grady

Diabetes, a disease in which the body does not produce or Memorial Hospital for Morehouse School of properly use insulin and, therefore, cannot convert sugar, Medicine Service starch and other foods into energy, is at epidemic levels in the United States, according to Reed. Obesity, another American epidemic, shares a clear-cut connection to Residence: Atlanta, Georgia the disease.

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

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

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

“Diabetes is a very complex disease requiring a lot of patient knowledge,” Reed said. “People need to know they play a part in managing their disease. The better-educated patient is the easier patient to treat.” Diabetes The American Diabetes Association reports that 25 percent “People need to know they play a part in of African Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 have diabetes. However, said Reed, there are steps a person can managing their disease. The better-educated take to prevent the disease, such as maintaining a proper diet and exercising adequately – at least 35 minutes of patient is the easier patient to treat.” leisure-time activity four days per week.

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

FACT One in four African American women over 55 years of age has STAGE OF LIFE – Senior diabetes. October 2006

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1234567 Yom Kippur Begins (sundown) 2000: James Perkins Jr. sworn in as Selma, 1956: Nat “King” Cole becomes first black 1864: First black daily newspaper, 1872: Booker T. Washington enters 1917: Political activist Fannie Lou Hamer born. 1934: Playwright-poet Amiri Baraka 1996: Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard becomes first Alabama’s, first African American mayor. performer to host his own TV show. The New Orleans Tribune, founded. Hampton Institute, Virginia. (LeRoi Jones) born. black to head the Army Corps of Engineers. 2005: August Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning 1993: Toni Morrison becomes the first African playwright, dies. American to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1941: Rev. , political activist Columbus Day Observed 1899: Isaac R. Johnson patents bicycle frame. 1887: Granville T. Woods patents telephone 1904: Physician and scholar 1579: Martin de Porres, first black saint 1964: At age 35, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther and civil rights leader, born. 1888: O.B. Clare patents trestle. system and apparatus. W. Montague Cobb born. in the Roman Catholic church, born. King Jr. becomes youngest man to win 2001: Dr. Ruth Simmons, first African 1887: Alexander Miles patents elevator. 1876: Meharry Medical College founded, Nobel Peace Prize. American leader of an Ivy League institution, established as the Meharry Medical elected 18th president of Brown University. Department of Central Tennessee College.

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1991: confirmed as an 1984: Bishop Desmond Tutu wins Nobel 1888: Capital Savings Bank of Washington, 1948: Playwright Ntozake Shange, author 1943: Paul Robeson opens in Othello at 1898: The first black-owned insurance 1917: Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, associate justice of U.S. Supreme Court. Peace Prize. D.C., first bank for blacks, organized. of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered the Shubert Theater in New York City. company, North Carolina Mutual Life pioneer of bebop, born. 1995: The Million Man March for “A Day of Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, born. Insurance Co., founded. Atonement” takes place in Washington, D.C.

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1953: Clarence S. Green becomes first 1947: NAACP petitions United Nations United Nations Day 1992: Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston 1911: Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, born. 1891: D.B. Downing, inventor, is awarded 1981: Edward M. McIntyre elected first black certified in neurological surgery. on racial conditions in the U.S. 1980: Judge Patrick Higginbotham finds becomes first African American to manage a patent for the street letter box. African American mayor of Augusta, Georgia. Republic National guilty in discrimination case. a team to a World Series title. 1954: Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes first 1998: President Bill Clinton declares HIV/AIDS 2005: Rosa Parks, civil rights pioneer who black general in U.S. Air Force. a health crisis in racial minority communities. sparked 1955 , dies.

29 30 31 Daylight Saving Time Ends 1979: Richard Arrington elected first African Halloween 1949: Alonzo G. Moron becomes first black American mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. 1896: Actress, singer Ethel Waters born. president of Hampton Institute, Virginia. 1899: William F. Burr patents switching device for railways.

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

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For African American seniors who want to maintain their health and improve their quality of life, Dr. Sharon Allison-Ottey has one motto to share: If you don’t Sharon Allison-Ottey, M.D. move it, you will lose it. “During my geriatric fellowship, I had a patient who was 101 years old and still walked two to three miles a day,” said Director of Health and Community Initiatives, Allison-Ottey. “We need to continue to change our views on COSHAR Foundation elderly care to reflect the active lifestyles of today’s seniors.” Seniors need a holistic approach to care, according to Residence: Lanham, Maryland Allison-Ottey. “It’s important that African American seniors have access to the information and tools they need to live healthful lifestyles; along with medical care, medicine and programs for their wellness,” she said.

Through the COSHAR Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps individuals understand and access health information and improve their health literacy, Allison-Ottey focuses her efforts on teaching about preventive care and early disease detection in geriatric populations. “It’s all about arming yourself with the best possible information and opening dialogues with health care providers,” she explained.

To prevent disease and prolong health, Allison-Ottey believes it is important that seniors get proper nutrition – fiber, fruits, vegetables and a low-fat diet – and exercise regularly. Other preventative measures include drinking in moderation, and getting flu, pneumonia and other vaccines. Impact Seniors also need to have a strong support system. “Seniors need to designate a family member or primary caregiver. They should identify a health care power of attorney and have a living will – something that can speak for them when they can’t speak for themselves,” she said.

Although the Alzheimer’s Association estimates that Alzheimer’s disease is anywhere from 14 percent to 100 percent more prevalent among African Americans than among whites, Allison-Ottey dismisses the belief that seniors Senior Health automatically will develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. “It’s important that seniors recognize their own cognitive changes and are open to them. They should seek early “It’s important that seniors recognize their diagnosis, because it will make a difference in their quality own cognitive changes and are open to of life and their ability to navigate the health care system.” them. They should seek early diagnosis, Allison-Ottey’s goal is to empower African American seniors and help them understand their health care options. “With because it will make a difference in their geriatric populations, family members – and the patients themselves – often don’t know all the benefits they’re entitled quality of life and their ability to navigate to. Through the COSHAR Foundation’s health outreach and education initiatives, I am able to impact the lives of the health care system.” families and generations by helping them decipher the language of health.”

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

FACT People age 65 and older consume more prescription and over-the-counter STAGE OF LIFE – Senior medicines than any other November 2006 age group.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1234 1945: John H. Johnson publishes 1954: Charles C. Diggs elected Michigan’s 1981: Thirman L. Milner elected mayor of 1879: Thomas Elkins patents refrigeration first issue of Ebony. first black congressman. Hartford, Connecticut, becoming first African apparatus. 1983: President Ronald Reagan designates American mayor in New England. 1992: becomes first African Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1968: Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn, New 1900: and Election Day 1938: Crystal Bird Fauset elected state repre- 1731: Mathematician, urban planner 1983: Wilson Goode elected Philadelphia’s Veterans’ Day York, becomes first black woman elected J. Rosamond Johnson compose 1989: L. Douglas Wilder elected governor sentative in Pennsylvania, becoming first black and inventor Benjamin Banneker born. first African American mayor. 1989: Civil Rights Memorial dedicated to Congress. “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” of Virginia, becoming nation’s first African woman to serve in a state legislature. in Montgomery, Alabama. American governor since Reconstruction.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1941: Mary Cardwell Dawson and Madame 1940: The U.S. Supreme Court rules 1915: Booker T. Washington, educator 1881: Payton Johnson patents swinging chair. 1981: Pam Johnson named publisher of 1980: Howard University airs WHHM, first 1797: Sojourner Truth, abolitionist Lillian Evanti establish the National Negro in Hansberry vs. Lee that blacks cannot and writer, dies. the Ithaca Journal in New York, becoming African American-operated public radio station. and Civil War nurse, born. Opera Company. be barred from white neighborhoods. first African American woman to head a daily newspaper.

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1953: Roy Campanella named Most 1865: Howard Seminary (later Howard 1893: Granville T. Woods patents electric 1930: Elijah Muhammed establishes Thanksgiving Day 1868: Pianist Scott Joplin, the “Father 1955: The Interstate Commerce Commission Valuable Player in National Baseball University) founded in Washington, D.C. railway conduit. the . 1897: A.J. Beard patents the Jenny Coupler, of Ragtime,” born. bans segregation in interstate travel. League for the second time. 1923: Garrett A. Morgan patents traffic still used to connect railroad cars. light signal. 1897: John L. Love patents pencil sharpener.

26 27 28 29 30 1883: Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and Civil 1990: Charles Johnson awarded National 1960: , novelist and author 1908: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood 1897: J.A. Sweeting patents cigarette-rolling War nurse, dies. Book Award for fiction for Middle Passage. of Native Son, dies. Marshall born. device. 1970: Charles Gordone becomes first African 1961: Ernie Davis becomes first black 1908: Adam Clayton Powell Jr., politician 1912: , writer, filmmaker American playwright to receive the Pulitzer to win the Heisman Trophy. and civil rights activist, born. and photographer, born. Prize (for No Place to Be Somebody).

Don’t wait until you feel thirsty to start drinking. With age you may lose some of your sense of thirst.

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At all stages of life – from childhood to adolescence, adulthood to elderly – individuals need to be personally empowered to take control of their health and create better health outcomes for themselves, according to Dr. Dexter L. Campinha-Bacote. Dexter L. Campinha-Bacote, “If you empower patients with the right information and knowledge, they can have a more productive experience with M.D. the health care system; and make better-informed decisions Aetna Medical Director and Family Physician about their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being,” he said. Residence: Cincinnati, Ohio “Growing up in Harlem and South Bronx, New York, I was dissatisfied with the level of health care that was delivered in my neighborhood compared to other, more affluent neighborhoods,” Campinha-Bacote said. “I wanted to make an impact on what I perceived to be health care disparities.”

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

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

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

Optimization of an individual’s health is a family matter, Health Care said Campinha-Bacote, because a person’s family plays an important role in the health habits and behaviors that its members practice and develop over time. There are many For Life things family members across all generations can do together to help keep each other healthy, he said. “Making healthful food choices a part of “Making healthful food choices a part of one’s lifestyle and not just a diet, as well as exercising daily, are two disciplines one’s lifestyle and not just a diet, as well everyone should practice,” Campinha-Bacote said. “Make lifestyle changes that are for the long term. Collaboratively as exercising daily, are two disciplines define your family’s health goals and see to it that they’re met. And parents should remember that they set an example everyone should practice.” for the physical, emotional, spiritual and mental well-being of their children.”

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

Tip Eat together as a family as often as possible. December 2006 STAGE OF LIFE – All Stages of Life

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12 1955: Rosa Parks arrested for refusing 1884: Granville T. Woods patents to give her seat to a white man, sparking telephone transmitter. the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.

3456789 1847: Frederick Douglass publishes 1906: , first black Greek letter 1955: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. organizes 1932: Richard B. Spikes patents 1941: Navy steward Dorie Miller shoots 1925: Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. born. 1872: P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana first issue of North Star. fraternity, founded at Cornell University. Birmingham, Alabama, bus boycott, marking automatic gearshift. down four Japanese planes during attack becomes first black governor. beginning of the . on Pearl Harbor.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1950: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche becomes first 1926: Blues singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” 1995: Willie Brown defeats incumbent Frank 1944: First black servicewomen sworn 1829: John Mercer Langston, congressman Hanukkah Begins (sundown) 1976: Andrew Young nominated by black awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Thornton born. Jordan to become the first African American in to the WAVES. and founder of Howard University Law 1883: William A. Hinton, first black President Jimmy Carter to be U.S. mayor of San Francisco. Department, born. on Harvard Medical School faculty, born. ambassador to United Nations. 1994: Ruth J. Simmons named president of Smith College.

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 1802: Teacher and minister 1865: Congress passes 13th Amendment, 1875: Educator Carter G. Woodson, 1860: South Carolina secedes from the Union, 1911: Baseball legend Josh Gibson born. 1883: Arthur Wergs Mitchell, first black 1867: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, business- Henry Adams born. abolishing slavery. “Father of Black History,” born. initiating the Civil War. Democrat to be elected to Congress, born. woman and first black female millionaire, born.

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1832: Charter granted to Georgia Infirmary, Christmas Begins 1862: African Methodist Episcopal Zion 1905: Earl “Fatha” Hines, “Father 1924: Author, sportswriter A.S. “Doc” 1842: Congressman Josiah Walls born. the first black hospital. 1760: Jupiter Hammon becomes first published 1894: Jean Toomer, author of Cane, born. Church founded in New Bern, North Carolina. of Modern Jazz Piano,” born. Young born. 1892: Dr. Miles V. Lynk publishes first black black poet with “An Evening Thought.” medical journal for physicians, the Medical 1907: Cab Calloway, bandleader and first jazz and Surgical Observer. singer to sell 1 million records, born.

31 1930: Odetta, blues and folk singer, born.

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

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Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D. Rovenia Brock, Ph.D. Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., M.P.H. Dr. Yvonne T. Maddox is the deputy director of the National Institute of Child Healthful lifestyles broadcaster and author Dr. Rovenia Brock mesmerizes Dr. Pebbles Fagan is a health scientist in the Tobacco Control Research Branch Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health national audiences, sharing personal stories that motivate people to make at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). In this role, changes for better health. she guides NICHD’s organizations and programs, advises the director on the She received her B.A. in rhetoric/communications and Afro-American studies institute’s $1.2 billion budget, and oversees the extramural program that supports Author of Dr. Ro’s Ten Secrets To Livin’ Healthy, she is host of a new health and from the University of Virginia, her M.P.H. in health education/communica- research on child development, developmental biology, mental retardation, lifestyles television show, “Health Matters,” which airs on WHUT, Howard tions from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, nutrition, AIDS, population issues, reproductive biology, contraception, University’s PBS affiliate. Her column, “Livin’ Healthy with Dr. Ro,” appears and her doctorate in health education at Texas A&M University. pregnancy and medical rehabilitation. Dr. Maddox also has served as acting on BET.com and in newspapers nationwide. deputy director of NIH. Dr. Fagan’s postdoctoral research fellowship at Harvard School of Public Health Dr. Brock received her Ph.D. in nutritional sciences, an M.S. in community and Dana Farber Cancer Institute focused on smoking cessation among adoles- Dr. Maddox received her B.S. in biology from Virginia Union University, nutrition and broadcast journalism from Howard University, and a B.S. in cents, pregnant women, service and blue-collar workers. She helped organize Richmond, and her Ph.D. in physiology from Georgetown University. She foods and nutrition from Virginia State University. community-based efforts to reduce cancer-related disparities and served as vice was a National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellow and an assistant president for the Greater Boston chapter of the National Black Leadership professor of physiology in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Known for reporting nutrition issues that sizzle, Dr. Brock is a familiar face on Initiative on Cancer. Georgetown. She studied as a visiting scientist at the French Atomic Energy MSNBC, CNN and NPR. She has served as medical correspondent for “BET Commission, Saclay, France; and graduated from the Senior Managers in News,” nutrition contributor for ABC News’ “Lifetime Live” and was the Her current research and publications focus on youth smoking cessation, young Government Program of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard weekly nutritionist for NBC’s “Morning Show” in Washington, D.C. She has adult tobacco use and health disparities. Dr. Fagan facilitated efforts to publish University. Dr. Maddox is a recipient of many honors and awards, including served as contributing nutrition editor to Heart and Soul magazine and hosted NCI reports, including Eliminating Tobacco-Related Health Disparities Summary the Presidential Distinguished and Meritorious Executive Rank Awards, the “Heart & Soul,” the first national health and fitness television show for African Report (2005) and Bibliography of Tobacco-Related Literature on Hispanics, Historical Black Colleges and Universities Hall of Fame inductee for the field American women on BET. 1990-2001; and journal publications, Tobacco and Health Disparities, (American of medicine, and the DHHS Public Service Award. Journal of Public Health – 2004); Advances and Challenges in Youth Tobacco Dr. Brock’s health expertise has been featured on NBC’s “Today Show,” Research, (Tobacco Control – 2003). Dr. Maddox leads two teams of international scientists as part of a joint WebMD and in publications that include O magazine, USA Today, Ebony, -U.S. partnership to improve reproductive health and maternal and child Essence, Self, Upscale, Today’s Black Woman, Soul, Black Elegance, Vibe, Black Dr. Fagan led efforts to organize the National Conference on Tobacco and health in both countries. More recently, she helped develop a similar health Issues in Higher Education, The Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Health Disparities in 2002, and worked with other NCI colleagues to organize partnership between the U.S. and several sub-Saharan African nations. Dallas Morning News, Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Charlottesville the Minority Investigator Career Development Program Planning Meeting and Daily Progress. A native of Washington, D.C., Dr. Brock enjoys horseback Workshop in 2003 and 2004. She is collaborating with partners within NCI, As co-chair of NIH’s working group to develop a strategic plan to eliminate riding, writing, reading, theater and poetry. the American Legacy Foundation, the University of Kentucky and extramural health disparities, Dr. Maddox developed awareness of and participated in researchers to support the activities of the Tobacco Research Network on medical research to help affected communities improve their health. Dr. Maddox “The Three Doctors” Disparities. Through this transdisciplinary network, she is helping to stimulate also served as co-chair of the DHHS initiative to reduce infant mortality in Sampson Davis, M.D., Rameck Hunt, M.D. and novel research that advances our understanding of tobacco health disparities minority communities. One visible component of this initiative has been George Jenkins, D.M.D. science, to translate that science into practice and to inform public policies. NICHD’s widely successful “Back-to-Sleep” campaign, a communication While attending University High School in Newark, New Jersey, Dr. Sampson strategy designed to help families reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Davis, Dr. Rameck Hunt and Dr. George Jenkins bonded and shared their B. Waine Kong, Ph.D., J.D. Death Syndrome. vision to stay together, attend college and become doctors. The three attended As Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), and received their B.S. degrees from Seton Hall University’s Pre-Medicine/Pre- Dr. B. Waine Kong has been at the forefront of efforts to reduce the ravages of Betty S. Pace, M.D. Dental Plus program, a curriculum designed to encourage minority students to heart disease, diabetes and stroke. In the 20 years since Dr. Kong became its Dr. Betty S. Pace, researcher and director, University of Texas at Dallas Sickle follow careers in medicine. They became their own support system, studying CEO, ABC has become an international organization representing over 600 Cell Disease Research Center, also is professor in the Department of Molecular and socializing almost exclusively with one another. members; staff of 25; and a host of volunteers who actively advocate for cultur- and Cellular Biology at the University of Texas at Dallas. ally competent health care, increased representation of minorities in the health More than 13 years later, Drs. Davis, Hunt and Jenkins are proudly working professions, and availability of appropriate health care and medication for all Dr. Pace obtained her B.S. in mathematics at Marquette University and her to help their communities, while inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. citizens. M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She was inducted into the They have published two New York Times best-selling books (We Beat the National Medical Honors Society for academic excellence as an Alpha Omega Street and The Pact); established a company (The Three Doctors, Inc., Dr. Kong received his B.A. from Simpson College (1967), an M.A. from Alpha scholar, and she received citations for academic achievements from the www.threedoctors.com) and a foundation (The Three Doctors Foundation, American University (1970), his AGS in educational psychology (1974) from American Medical Women’s Association, Mosby Mirror Award and the Kaiser www.threedoctorsfoundation.org); and organized programs that focus on

Foundation Merit Award. Dr. Pace was a pediatrics intern/resident at Children’s health, education, leadership and mentoring. Oprah Winfrey has named the University of Maryland, and his Ph.D. from Walden University (1977). Hospital of Wisconsin, completed her hematology/oncology fellowship at the them “the premier role models of the world.” Twenty years later, he returned to Dickinson School of Law, received his J.D. University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and postdoctorate training in and became a member of the Georgia bar. medical genetics at the University of Washington. Dr. Sampson Davis is a board-certified emergency medicine physician at East Orange General Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. He is a consultant for the Beginning his career as a probation officer in Montgomery County, Maryland, Prior to joining the University of Texas, Dr. Pace served as associate professor in Violence Prevention Institute, which focuses on gang awareness and preventative Dr. Kong became an assistant professor of human development, counseling and the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience of the University of South medicine in Essex County, New Jersey. He received his M.D. from Robert criminology, then associate dean of students at the University of the District of Alabama, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Division; as assistant professor of Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed his residency in emergency Columbia. Before joining ABC in 1986, he served as director of research and Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin; and as medical director of the medicine at the same hospital at which he was born, Newark Beth Israel grants at Providence Hospital, and executive director of the Urban Cardiology Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center in Milwaukee. Medical Center. Dr. Rameck Hunt is a board-certified internist and medical Research Center in Baltimore, Maryland. director at St. Peter’s University Hospital’s How Lane Adult Family Health Dr. Pace as a molecular hematologist has been principal or co-principal Center. He also serves as clinical assistant professor at Robert Wood Johnson Dr. Kong partnered with Dr. Elijah Saunders, who was then chief of investigator of more than 30 research projects that link genetic characteristics to Medical School. He received his M.D. from Robert Wood Johnson Medical cardiology at Providence Hospital as well as president of the Association of blood disease in infants, children and adults with sickle cell disease. The results School. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Robert Wood Black Cardiologists, to conduct the first clinical trials for African Americans of these studies have been published in national medical journals such as the Johnson University Hospital. Dr. George Jenkins is faculty member of relating to the efficacy, sexual side effects and quality of life of various Journal of Biological Chemistry; Blood, Experimental Hematology, Gene Therapy; community health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. treatments for high blood pressure. With a grant from the American Heart and Cellular & Molecular Biology. She has presented her work at national Inspired to pursue dentistry through childhood visits to his family dentist, Association in 1978, Drs. Kong and Saunders developed language describing conferences for the National Heart Lung and Blood Comprehensive Sickle Cell he received his D.M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of the early warning signs of heart attack that was later adopted by the AHA. Centers, American Society of Hematology, National Science Teachers New Jersey. When they learned that less than 5 percent of Baltimore residents knew about Association and Experimental Biology. She has been invited to speak in Africa; CPR, they directed the training of 10,000 Baltimore residents in cardiopulmonary Poland; and Oxford, England. Dr. Pace is a member of several professional Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. resuscitation between 1978-79. Drs. Kong and Saunders also authored the organizations, including the American Gene Therapy Society and the Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott balances many roles at the University of Vital Signs Quality of Life questionnaire that was used in several clinical trials. National Institutes of Health Study Section. Pennsylvania. She is professor and co-director for its School of Nursing’s Center for Health Disparities Research, assistant provost for minority and gender equity, Dr. Kong said he is most proud of pioneering the organization of churches In addition to her research and teaching assignments, Dr. Pace is editor of a and serves secondary appointments in the university’s School of Medicine and and barbershops as health promotion centers with a grant from the National comprehensive textbook, Renaissance of Sickle Cell Disease in the Genomic Era, Graduate School of Education. She was recently appointed the van Ameringen Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, programs that were adopted internationally as and she has been named one of Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10,” an honor Chair in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania’s effective grassroots strategies to reduce heart disease, diabetes and stroke; and bestowed upon the top 10 scientists performing “mind-bending” research School of Nursing, which is one of the school’s most prestigious honors. coining the phrase “Children should know their grandparents, so they will in the United States. become GREAT grandparents,” which was adopted as the mantra for the Dr. Sweet Jemmott received her B.S. in nursing from . She Association of Black Cardiologists in 1996. Michael A. LeNoir, M.D. received both her M.S. in psychiatric mental health nursing and her Ph.D. Dr. Michael A. LeNoir is a board-certified, full-time practicing pediatrician in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kong is married to Dr. Stephanie Kong, a pediatrician and managed care and allergist in Oakland, California. A nationally recognized expert on asthma executive. They have four children and three grandchildren. Dr. Kong’s hobbies in inner cities, he also serves as president of the Ethnic Health Institute at Alta Dr. Sweet Jemmott has served as principal or co-principal investigator on a include golf, tennis, duplicate bridge, bid-whist and international travel. He is a Bates/Summit Medical Center and associate clinical professor in pediatrics at number of research projects that test culturally sensitive strategies to reduce life member of Alpha Phi Alpha and a deacon at Providence Missionary Baptist the University of California, San Francisco. HIV risk-associated sexual behaviors among African American and Latino pop- Church. ulations. With her research partner and husband, Dr. John B. Jemmott III, she Dr. LeNoir currently serves as Speaker of the House of Delegates of the has received approximately $74 million in funding for these projects from the LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S. National Medical Association. He has served as trustee for the National Medical American Foundation for AIDS Research, the National Institute of Child Surgeon, oncologist, medical educator, professional and civic leader Dr. LaSalle Association; chaired its pediatric, community medicine and allergy sections; and Health and Human Development, The National Institute of Mental Health, D. Leffall, Jr. is the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at Howard University is currently principal investigator on the association’s immunization grant and and the National Institute for Nursing Research. College of Medicine. Now in his 44th year on the school’s faculty, he has taught clinical trials project. approximately 4,500 medical students (of 7,500 graduates since the medical The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has selected seven programs school’s founding in 1868) and helped train 260 of 296 general surgery residents. Dr. LeNoir has served as CEO of the Ethnic Health America Network since nationally as part of its “Research to Classrooms, Programs That Work!” 1985. The network includes the Telly Award-winning “Ethnic Health America” curriculum, three of which are Dr. Jemmott’s HIV risk-reduction curriculums – Dr. Leffall received his B.S. with high honors from Florida A&M College and program, a 30-minute TV health magazine currently airing in 150 cities “Be Proud! Be Responsible! Strategies to Empower Youth to Reduce Their his M.D. from Howard University College of Medicine, ranking first in his nationwide and over 1,400 cities nationwide on the MBC network. A two-time Risk for AIDS,” “Making Proud Choices: A Safer Sex Approach to Preventing class. He was an intern at Homer G. Phillips Hospital; assistant resident in recipient of the Ken Alvord Distinguished Community Service Award from HIV/STDs and Teen Pregnancy,” and “Making a Difference: An Abstinence- surgery and later chief resident in surgery at Freedmen’s Hospital; assistant the National Association of Physician Broadcasters, he is host and executive Based Approach to Preventing HIV/STDs and Teen Pregnancy.” producer of “About Health,” a one-hour talk show on listener-sponsored Pacifica Radio Network KPFA. In 1997, Dr. LeNoir worked with video Dr. Sweet Jemmott’s research and community awards include the Congressional production firm VNR-1 Communications to produce and launch “The Merit Recognition Award, the Outstanding Research Award from the Black LeNoir Health Report,” a nationally syndicated TV news feature. Nurses Association, The Red Ribbon Award for outstanding service in the field of HIV/AIDS and the Governor of New Jersey’s Nurse Merit Award in A recipient of the American Medical Association’s Pfizer Positive Physician Advanced Nurse Practice. Award, Dr. LeNoir was named one of America’s leading African American physicians by Black Enterprise magazine in 2001 and one of the best physicians in the San Francisco Bay Area by San Francisco magazine in 2001 and 2002. African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com 16544 12/13/05 4:19 PM Page 16 BiographiesCelebrating Life.

resident in surgery at D.C. General Hospital; and senior fellow in cancer Medical Association and numerous other organizations, she was the first female ■ Javon Spence, Bloomfield, Connecticut surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. to be awarded the title Chairman Emeritus of the Student National Medical ■ Kemar Spence, Bloomfield, Connecticut Association. ■ Sylvia Wadley, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia Dr. Leffall began his military career at the rank of captain, M.C., serving as ■ Alexandria Walker, Glastonbury, Connecticut chief of general surgery, U.S. Army Hospital in Munich. His membership on An avid writer, Dr. Allison-Ottey recently completed her first novel, All I Ever ■ Anthony Walker, Glastonbury, Connecticut Howard University College of Medicine’s faculty began in 1962 as assistant Did Was Love a Man, which is scheduled for release in late 2005/early 2006. ■ Carson Walker, Glastonbury, Connecticut professor; and continued through appointments as professor, acting dean and, She is married to Dr. Colin C. Ottey and resides in Maryland. ■ Mary Kate Wilson, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia in 1970, chairman of the Department of Surgery, a position he held for 25 ■ Andria Younger, CMP, Washington, D.C. years. In 1992, he was named the Charles R. Drew Professor, the first Dexter L. Campinha-Bacote, M.D. endowed chair in the school’s Department of Surgery. As medical director at Aetna’s Cincinnati, Ohio, office, Dr. Dexter L. Resources Campinha-Bacote oversees patient management, network support and quality- ■ About.com As national president of the American Cancer Society in 1979, Dr. Leffall of-care activities for Aetna’s managed care networks in Ohio, Kentucky and http://www.allergies.about.com/cs/ragweed/a/aa090699.htm/ launched a groundbreaking program to draw attention to the increasing inci- Indiana. He is chairman of Aetna’s North Central Region Quality Advisor http://www.inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstethoscope.htm/ dence and mortality of cancer among African Americans, and its implications and Physician Appeals Committees, and is medical liaison to the Ohio State ■ American Academy of Family Physicians • http://www.aafp.org/ for similar studies for other racial and ethnic minorities. His major areas of Medical Association. ■ American Cancer Society • http://www.cancer.org/ interest are soft-part sarcomas; and cancer of the breast, colorectum, and ■ American Diabetes Association • http://www.diabetes.org/ head and neck. Dr. Campinha-Bacote received his B.A. from Cornell University’s College of ■ Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights • http://www.no-smoke.org/ Arts and Sciences, and his M.D. from Brown University’s School of Medicine. ■ AVERT • http://www.avert.org/his87_92.htm/ In 1998, Dr. Leffall became chairman of the steering committee of the National He completed his internship in family medicine at Duke University Medical ■ Dole 5 a Day • http://www.dole5aday.com/ Dialogue on Cancer (now named C Change), a committee co-chaired by Center, his externship in high-risk obstetrics from Baylor College of Medicine ■ The Association of Black Cardiologists • http://abcardio.org/ former President and Mrs. George H.W. Bush. The Dialogue represents a and his residency in family medicine at the University of Virginia Medical ■ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • http://www.cdc.gov/ group of 140 partners from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors who Center. He has participated in post-residency leadership education programs at ■ First Candle/SIDS Alliance • http://www.sidsalliance.org/ are dedicated to eradicating cancer as a major health problem at the earliest the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, and at Xavier ■ National Institute on Aging • http://www.nia.nih.gov/ possible time. In 2002, President George W. Bush named Dr. Leffall chairman University’s Center for Management and Professional Development. http://www.niapublications.org/ of the President’s Cancer Panel, a three-member group that oversees the ■ The National Medical Association Consensus Panel Report national cancer program and reports directly to the president. A board-certified family physician, a member of the American Academy of on the Effective Management of Asthma in the African American Family Physicians and the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. Campinha- Community • http://www.nmanet.org/ Dr. Leffall is a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery, and a fellow Bacote has led managed care initiatives that help to empower patients by ■ Sickle Cell Disease Association of America • http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/ of both the American College of Surgeons and the American College of equipping them with tools and information to better make informed health Gastroenterology (he was named Honorary Lifetime member in 1998 to the care decisions; developed physician tools for migraine diagnosis and treatment; latter). Dr. Leffall has served as visiting professor and guest lecturer at more and coordinated training programs to help health care professionals recognize, than 200 medical institutions worldwide. In 2005, Howard University Press treat and refer patients with depression. His presentations on migraine published his memoirs, No Boundaries – A Cancer Surgeon’s Odyssey. headaches; workplace depression/mental health; and culturally competent health care delivery have been used in public service video, radio and James Whitfield Reed, M.D., M.A.C.P., F.A.C.E. audiocassette programs. Dr. James Whitfield Reed is professor of medicine, chief of endocrinology and metabolism, and associate chair of medicine for research at Morehouse School Prior to joining Aetna in 2000, Dr. Campinha-Bacote served as medical of Medicine. During his 20 years at the school, he has served with the school’s director for United Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Cincinnati; for Wright Health clinical research center, directed its Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Associates Inc., Dayton; and for MetLife Health Network of Ohio, Inc., was acting chairman of the Department of Family Medicine and chairman of Cincinnati. the Department of Medicine. Before joining Morehouse, he was associate professor of family and community medicine, University of Texas Dr. Campinha-Bacote’s clinical experience includes positions as family physician Southwestern’s Medical School of Dallas; and associate clinical professor at the University of Wyoming (Ohio) Family Practice Center; medical director of medicine, Medical College of Georgia. for Cincinnati’s Hillcrest School (a residential treatment facility for delinquent adolescents); and family physician for the Bertie County, North Carolina, Rural Dr. Reed received his B.S. from West Virginia State College and his M.D. from Health Association. Howard University College of Medicine. He completed internships at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, and Madigan Army Medical Center in

Tacoma, Washington. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Dr. Campinha-Bacote’s teaching experience includes positions as assistant Credits Madigan Army Medical Center, and his postdoctoral research fellowship in professor, department of family medicine, East Carolina State University; Produced by Aetna Inc., Hartford, Connecticut endocrinology and metabolism at the University of California Medical community preceptor at Duke University School of Medicine’s Department Project Manager Peggy J. Garrity Center in San Francisco. of Family Medicine; and assistant professor and director of the colposcopy Editors Ann Marie Gothard clinic, University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Tracy McKee Recipient of the U.S. Army’s Meritorious Service Medal, Legion of Merit and “A” Professional Designation in Internal Medicine, Dr. Reed began his medical Creative Development Pita Communications LLC career as an Army physician, serving as general medical officer and chief of the Hartford, Connecticut 540th General Dispensary clinic in Vogelweh, Germany. At Madigan Army Creative Director Paul Pita Medical Center, he served as chief of the endocrinology and metabolism service, Locations for Photography Writers Kim Pita, Emily Melone chief of the clinical investigation department and director of the clinical Cobb-Walker Residence, Glastonbury, Connecticut Designer Lisa Santoro clerkship program. At Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort St. Boniface Church, Cincinnati, Ohio Web Site Darci D’Aleo Gordon, Georgia, he was chief of the department of medicine, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Dev., NIH, Bethesda, Maryland Keith Knowles internal medicine residency program, and director of the endocrinology and University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas Photography Lou Jones Studio metabolism fellowship program. Everything RO, Bethesda, Maryland East Orange Campus High School, East Orange, New Jersey Boston, Massachusetts Dr. Reed’s clinical, teaching and consulting experience includes director and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photographer Lou Jones advisor positions at Hughes Spaulding Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland Assistant Matt Kalinowski Tuskegee VA Hospital, Tuskegee, Alabama; and Morehouse Medical Associates The Association of Black Cardiologists, Atlanta, Georgia Project Assistant Myrna Blum Inc. He served as a consultant to the state of Washington’s disability insurance Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. Printing Riegel Printing Company, Inc. and medical assistance program; and as an endocrinology and medical Reed Residence, Atlanta, Georgia Ewing, New Jersey education consultant in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Allison-Ottey Residence, Upper Marlboro, Maryland Bay Area Pediatric and Comprehensive Allergy Services, Oakland, California To Order Calendars: Author of more than 40 articles, book chapters, monographs and books – including The Black Man’s Guide to Good Health (2000), High Blood Pressure: Special Thanks Calendars are available for $4 each. What Every African-American Man and Woman Should Know about Living with ■ Jay Allbright, Cincinnati, Ohio To order, please send a check payable to Aetna to: Hypertension (2002) and Living with Diabetes: A Guide for Patients and Parents ■ Anthony Alvardo, Paterson, New Jersey Aetna Calendar (2005) – Dr. Reed lectures extensively at colleges, medical associations and ■ Aimeh Alvarez, Paterson, New Jersey Corporate Communications health organizations on hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes management. ■ Alishah Ammons, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 151 Farmington Avenue, RWAB Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Hartford, CT 06156-3213 Sharon Allison-Ottey, M.D. ■ Abena Appiah-Kubi, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. Phone: 860.273.0509 Trained in both internal medicine and geriatrics, Dr. Sharon Allison-Ottey is a ■ Michele K. Berry, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. champion for improved access to care for the elderly and for persons of color, ■ Jane Blount, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia with a focus on health policy and action. She is chief executive officer at ■ Benjamin Bynum, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. COSHAR Inc., which has an established a network of community-based ■ Natalie Byrdsong, Hartford, Connecticut research sites that provide health insights beyond data collected through ■ Zeromeh Campbell, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. traditional academic research. She also is a founder and the director of health ■ Meredith D. Carter, Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia and community initiatives at the COSHAR Foundation and founder of ■ Roslyn Daniels, Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia COSHAR Health, which focuses on helping patients be their own health ■ Saterian Davis, Paterson, New Jersey advocates within their communities. ■ Za’Mani Davis, Paterson, New Jersey ■ Judy Du, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas An alumna of North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, ■ Martin Egenti, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. Dr. Allison-Ottey received her M.D. from East Carolina University School ■ Shanda Estwick, COSHAR Foundation, Lanham, Maryland of Medicine in Greenville, North Carolina. Named the American Geriatric ■ Madison Irvin, Emeryville, California Society’s 1999 Investigator of the Year for her pioneering work in AIDS in ■ Stephanie Jean-Noel, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. the elderly, Dr. Allison-Ottey is one of the first in the world to publish on this ■ Nancy Maracich, Chicago, Illinois topic. She served as scientific consultant in Neurobehavioral Toxicology to ■ Daryl McCartney, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Her collaborations ■ Alisa Mosley, National Medical Association, Washington, D.C. include research with Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute and the Gallup ■ Jean Nichols, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia Organization. Her current focus includes health literacy, patient/provider ■ McKenzie Oldham, Oakland, California communication, the role of spirituality in medical outcomes, and direct-to- ■ Oge Onwudiwe, Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C. consumer marketing’s effect on physicians and patients. ■ Sandra Ott, National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland Dr. Allison-Ottey served as the youngest elected trustee of the National ■ Nicole Pierce, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia Medical Association (NMA), the oldest and largest association of African ■ Rev. Joseph A. Robinson, St. Boniface Church, Cincinnati, Ohio American physicians. She also was the youngest person to receive the NMA’s ■ Windy Smith, The Three Doctors Foundation, Newark, New Jersey highest award – its Scroll of Merit – in 2002. A member of the American ■ Imani Spence, Bloomfield, Connecticut African American History Calendar www.aetnaafricanamericancalendar.com