2014 African American History Calendar Sustainability Takes Root in Urban Environments

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Community transformations African Americans creating sustainable neighborhoods 2014 African American History Calendar Sustainability takes root in urban environments

Urban communities across the country are looking deep within themselves In this 33rd annual Aetna African American History Calendar, you will meet About the production of this calendar: to restore hope. Community members are becoming energized thanks to 13 passionate and motivated individuals who believe communities can thrive 2,318 trees preserved for the future powerful initiatives to revitalize neighborhoods, stimulate economies, when neighbors understand the problems and become part of the solutions. empower the workforce and provide accessibility to healthful food options. 6,694 pounds of water-borne waste not created In each month, you will discover the positive impact they are making in Aetna is pleased to celebrate African American men and women whose their urban neighborhoods. We also have included a relevant sustainable 108,965 pounds of solid waste not generated life work has guided them to transform their communities from the ground fact on each month. And you can read each individual’s response to Aetna’s 984,837 gallons of wastewater flow saved up, and in many cases, quite literally. what’s your healthy?SM, a campaign that shares personal health messages.

The Mohawk environmental calculator used calculates savings derived from use of paper manufactured from recycled They have planted urban gardens to feed schoolchildren and neighbors. There is still much work that has to be done to transform urban communities, tree fiber in lieu of virgin tree fiber. They have given disadvantaged mothers the chance to succeed by providing especially those that have experienced unforeseen hardship. Voices are being Printed on paper fulfilling employment. They have taught at-risk teens how to build and run lifted; action is being taken; and children are growing and eating colorful, matched with Green-e Certified From well- small businesses. They are nurturing the soil, while caring for their neighbors. nutrient-rich produce. The groundwork is now being laid across the country, Renewable Energy managed forests They are creating natural living cities by believing it can be done from the and sustainability is beginning to take root. Certificates (RECs). community within.

A movement toward self-sufficiency in urban communities By Roland V. Anglin, Ph.D.

Building sustainable communities has become my life’s work. I am certain help of public and private sectors, to build affordable housing, encourage that all the individuals featured in this year’s calendar feel the same way small business growth and train the unemployed. Collaborative efforts have I do about encouraging community-based solutions to difficult social brought significant swaths of urban and rural communities back to life. and economic challenges. Communities are now seeing the need to be more sustainable, not just because of limited choices, but because sustainability is now being accepted We are passionate about ensuring children; families; and anyone with the as an operating principle. desire to live safe, healthful, productive lives can do so. We do this by creating fruitful connections to neighbors and building meaningful community They are growing their own food. They are building their own local economies environments. We are working diligently to ensure future generations through the exchange of goods and services. They are training residents for can enjoy these options. work. They are leveraging opportunities through housing deconstruction, which brings the reclamation and reuse of building materials from existing Sustainability is not a new concept by any means. At the midpoint of the structures. There are many examples of sustainable practices emerging in last century, examples of community development in the United States communities across the country. incorporated now-popular concepts such as recycling, urban farming and reclamation of brownfields. This was done out of necessity. Marginalized The important work of the individuals featured in this year’s calendar communities had limited resources through which to generate livelihoods, illustrates the search for sustainability, the search for collaboration and the build shelter and assure a food supply. So they used what was at hand. search for community. They are beacons who will help take the concept The concept of sustainability gained mainstream interest with the work of forward in their own creative way. They are champions who illustrate that the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development. community development and community sustainability are two sides of A 1987 report delivered by the commission suggested that in a world with the same coin. finite resources, focus must move toward using renewable resources and encouraging environmental stewardship so that future generations could enjoy access to and use of natural resources. Dr. Roland V. Anglin is associate research professor and director of the Joseph C. Sustainability is now at the forefront of contemporary community development Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers University-Newark. His 20-year practices. Over the past 40 years, the community development movement career has focused on promoting economic and community development in and in the United States has supported residents working together, with the for marginalized communities.

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Kirk Mayes Brightmoor Alliance Detroit, MI

After graduating from Michigan State University, Kirk Mayes had to decide things together with understanding and trust. We are working together employment of inner-city youth; and ensuring a safe community between a safe or risky career path. He followed his heart, took a risk and for change. We are focused on capacity building,” he said. environment. The Alliance also hosts events and neighborhood dinners dedicated his life to urban revitalization. His choice has been a big win for to bring the community together. “We have set a table where we can Detroit over the last 12 years. Mayes is building bridges between businesses, civic and charitable partners. all have a conversation,” Mayes said. They work together to find and present opportunities to renew and restore Mayes is executive director of Brightmoor Alliance, a group of more than the neighborhood. “We have begun to create a space for deeper relationship “Collaboration is an unrecognized community asset, but it is needed to 50 member organizations and hundreds of community residents working building,” he said. grow in harmony. We are doing partnerships in ways that have never been to create a more sustainable northwest Detroit. The young professional has done before. Community members are taking on leadership roles, and brought hope and harmony to the once ill-perceived urban neighborhood. The Alliance’s work includes support of a neighborhood renewal we are helping to lift their voices,” said Mayes. program; participation in Tech Town economic development; advocacy for “I have been able to play an important role to get our Alliance members to early childhood development, school improvements, and attendance To learn more, visit brightmooralliance.org. look at Brightmoor’s issues from a common perspective. We are going into issues; increasing access to healthful foods; encouraging summer

Sustainable Fact: Older adults who have more exposure to

what’s your healthy? SM green common spaces report a stronger sense of unity among JANUARY 2014 “spending time with family” residents within their local neighborhoods.1

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1 2 3 4 1863: Abraham Lincoln issues 1965: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. calls 1624: William Tucker, first African child born 1971: The Congressional Black Caucus organized. Emancipation Proclamation. for nonviolent protests if Alabama blacks in America. are not allowed to register and vote. New Year’s Day

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1943: George Washington Carver, 1831: The World Anti-Slavery Convention 1890: William B. Purvis patents fountain pen. 1811: Charles Deslondes leads slave revolt 1866: Fisk University founded in 1864: George Washington Carver, 1940: Benjamin O. Davis Sr. becomes agricultural scientist and inventor, dies. opens in London. in Louisiana. Nashville, Tennessee. agricultural scientist and inventor, born. U.S. Army’s first black general.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1948: Supreme Court rules blacks have right 1990: L. Douglas Wilder inaugurated as 1975: William T. Coleman named secretary 1929: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a major 1978: NASA names African American 1942: Three-time heavyweight boxing 1856: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, pioneer heart to study law at state institutions. first African American governor (Virginia) of Transportation. voice for civil rights in the 20th century, born. astronauts Maj. Frederick D. Gregory, champion Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay), born. surgeon, born. since Reconstruction. Maj. Guion S. Bluford Jr. and Dr. Ronald E. McNair.

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1918: John H. Johnson, editor and publisher 2009: Barack H. Obama sworn in as the 44th 1870: Hiram Revels elected first black 2009: Susan Rice confirmed as U.S. ambassador 1891: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founds Provident 1865: Congress passes 13th Amendment, 1851: Sojourner Truth addresses first Black of Jet and Ebony magazines, born. president of the United States of America, U.S. senator, replacing Jefferson Davis to the United Nations, becoming the first Hospital in Chicago, the first training hospital which, on ratification, abolishes slavery. Women’s Rights Convention, Akron, Ohio. becoming the first African American to hold for the Mississippi seat. African American woman to represent the for black doctors and nurses in the U.S. the office of U.S. commander-in-chief. nation before the world in this capacity. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Observed

26 27 28 29 30 31 1977: Andrew Jackson Young Jr. becomes the first 1961: Leontyne Price, world-renowned opera 1998: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, first 1926: Violette Neatly Anderson becomes 1844: Richard Theodore Greener, first African 2006: Coretta Scott King, widow of African American to serve as the United States singer, makes her Metropolitan Opera debut. black female millionaire, honored on first black woman lawyer to argue a case American to graduate from Harvard, born. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who enshrined ambassador to the United Nations. U.S. postage stamp. before the Supreme Court. his legacy of human rights and equality, dies.

“Community members are taking on leadership roles, and we are helping to lift their voices.”

Scan code to link to Kirk Mayes. – KIRK MAYES

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Tony Hillery Harlem Grown New York, NY

What used to be an overgrown eyesore in the heart of Harlem is now a the elementary school curriculum. “Teachers in the school across the street “I’m addicted to the work I do. I cannot NOT be here. When I see something field of green helping to feed the neighborhood’s schoolchildren. are now involved. I believe nothing is insurmountable,” he said. broken I need to fix it,” said Hillery, who fixed his own health issues when he became a vegan and lost nearly 40 pounds. Thanks to the work of Tony Hillery and his nonprofit organization Harlem Harlem Grown also has brought cooking demonstrations, nutrition Grown, neighbors in the urban area have daily access to fresh fruits and workshops and jobs into the poor community. Single mothers are now “The story here is what people can do once given the access,” he said. He vegetables. “We send children home with fresh produce and even recipes working in the organization’s greenhouse, where arugula, basil and believes his community is much healthier and happier. “The kids love it on how to cook them,” he said. thousands of baby lettuce heads are cultivated each week in nutrient-rich here. Many come by the gardens and greenhouse every day after school. water. One-third of the harvest is given out free to the community. They work hard and can bring home dinner at the end of the day.” Because Hillery believes healthful eating must start at an early age, he has The rest is sold at local restaurants. encouraged the school system to integrate nutrition and gardening into To learn more, visit harlemgrown.org.

Sustainable Fact: Hydroponic systems allow gardeners to

what’s your healthy? SM grow plants without soil, which can reduce challenges associated FEBRUARY 2014 “eating fresh produce” with traditional gardening.2 Black History Month Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 1902: Langston Hughes, poet, born.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1915: Biologist Ernest E. Just receives 2009: Eric H. Holder Jr. sworn in as the nation’s 1913: Rosa Parks, civil rights pioneer 1884: Willis Johnson patents eggbeater. 1993: Arthur Ashe Jr., tennis player, 1883: Ragtime pianist and composer 1968: Three South Carolina State Spingarn Medal for research in fertilization first African American attorney general. who sparked 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, humanitarian and activist, dies. Eubie Blake born. students killed during segregation protest and cell division. bus boycott, born. in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1995: Bernard Harris becomes first African 1927: Leontyne Price, internationally 1990: Nelson Mandela of South Africa 1909: NAACP founded in New York City. 1970: Joseph L. Searles becomes first African 1817: Frederick Douglass, 1820: Susan B. Anthony, abolitionist and American astronaut to walk in space. acclaimed opera singer, born. is released from prison after 27 years. American member of New York Stock Exchange. “The Great Emancipator,” born. women’s rights advocate, born. Lincoln’s Birthday Valentine’s Day

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1874: Frederick Douglass elected president 1938: Mary Frances Berry, first woman 1931: Toni Morrison, winner of 1988 2002: Vonetta Flowers becomes Winter 1895: Frederick Douglass, leading voice 1965: Malcolm X assassinated in New York. 2008: Johnnie Carr, major icon of the of Freedman’s Bank and Trust. to serve as chancellor of a major research Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved, born. Olympics’ first African American gold medalist. in the Abolitionist Movement, dies. Civil Rights Movement, dies. university (University of Colorado), born. Washington’s Birthday Presidents’ Day Observed

23 24 25 26 27 28 1868: W.E.B. DuBois, scholar, activist and 1864: Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes first 1853: First black YMCA organized in 1965: Civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson 1897: Marian Anderson, world-renowned 1984: Michael Jackson, musician and author of The Souls of Black Folk, born. black woman to receive a medical degree Washington, D.C. dies after being shot by state police in opera singer and civil rights activist, born. entertainer, wins eight Grammy Awards®. (New England Female Medical College). Marion, Alabama.

“We send children home with fresh produce and even recipes on how to cook them.”

Scan code to link to Tony Hillery. – TONY HILLERY

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Jenga Mwendo Backyard Gardeners Network New Orleans, LA

When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood, revitalize the garden. It was a way for everyone to be involved in restoring “We get to share home-cooked foods with each other,” she said, adding Jenga Mwendo knew she needed to return home to the place she loved. the community.” that her 9-year-old daughter has been a big part of her work. “She loves She left behind a successful computer animation career in New York City to save earthworms. The kids in the neighborhood now appreciate what to be with her mother in the distressed New Orleans neighborhood. Mwendo said the initiative reflected the neighborhood’s strong heritage it takes to grow good food.” of backyard gardening, particularly among the elders in the community “A lot of people like me came back. Katrina brought its children home,” who grow food all year. “If you have your own food source, you can bounce To overcome hardships, Mwendo believes communities have to look within she said. “Those who came back are committed to the neighborhood. back a lot quicker after hurricanes,” she said. themselves to find the positives. “What resources do we have, and how can We want to live here despite all the obstacles.” we use those to make the community a better place? This is what we have The Backyard Gardeners Network gives neighbors the opportunity to come done in the Lower 9th Ward.” An untouched community garden revealed itself to Mwendo. “Many people together in a unique garden space. They organize food demonstrations, were focused on rebuilding their houses. I decided to organize folks to educational workshops, potluck meals and live musical entertainment. To learn more, visit backyardgardenersnetwork.org.

what’s your healthy? SM Sustainable Fact: Studies report that every $1 invested “gardening with my in a community garden plot yields approximately $6 worth MARCH 2014 community” of vegetables.3

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1 1914: Ralph W. Ellison, author and educator, born.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1867: Congress enacts charter to establish 1865: Freedmen’s Bureau established 1965: Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics 1770: Crispus Attucks becomes one of the first 1857: Supreme Court issues Dred Scott decision. 2006: Photographer-filmmaker Gordon Parks, 1876: U.S. Senate refuses to seat Howard University. by federal government to aid newly honored as NBA’s most valuable player casualties of the American Revolution. who captured the struggles and triumphs of P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana. freed slaves. for fourth time in five years. black America, dies. Ash Wednesday

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1841: Amistad mutineers freed by 1869: Robert Tanner Freeman becomes 1959: Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun 1932: Andrew Young, former 1773: Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, black 1956: Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott ends 1947: John Lee, first black commissioned Supreme Court. first African American to receive a degree opens at Barrymore Theater, New York; the first U.N. ambassador and former mayor pioneer and explorer, founded Chicago. when municipal bus service is desegregated. officer in the U.S. Navy, assigned to duty. in dentistry. play by a black woman to premiere on Broadway. of Atlanta, born. Daylight Saving Time Begins

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1827: Freedom’s Journal, the first 1890: Charles B. Brooks patents street sweeper. 1822: The Phoenix Society, a literary and 1939: Langston Hughes founded 1883: Jan E. Matzeliger patents 1965: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads 1898: J.W. Smith patents lawn sprinkler. U.S. black newspaper, is founded. educational group, founded by blacks in The New Negro Theater in Los Angeles. shoe-lasting machine. march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, St. Patrick’s Day New York City. for voting rights.

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1873: Slavery abolished in Puerto Rico. 1907: Nurse and aviator Janet Harmon 2009: John Hope Franklin, a prolific scholar 1872: Thomas J. Martin patents fire extinguisher. 1924: Jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, 1870: Jonathan S. Wright becomes first black 1931: Gloria Davy, the first African American Bragg born. of African American history who influenced “The Divine One,” born. state Supreme Court justice in South Carolina. to sing Aida at the Met, born. thinking about slavery and Reconstruction, dies.

30 31 1870: Fifteenth Amendment ratified, 1988: Toni Morrison wins Pulitzer Prize guaranteeing voting rights to blacks. for Beloved.

“If you have your own food source, you can

Scan code to link to Jenga Mwendo. bounce back a lot quicker after hurricanes.”– JENGA MWENDO

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Rick Lowe Project Row Houses Houston, TX

“If you’re a creative artist, why can’t you create a solution for the issues?” Today, 20 years later, Project Row Houses has grown to six blocks. “Community development in low-income areas has to be wide ranging,” This simple question from a high school student made artist Rick Lowe stop The buildings maintain the neighborhood’s historic character from the Lowe said. “You can’t just build isolated houses. Communities need and think. Something had to be done to enhance the quality of life in his 1930s. The project includes artist living and exhibit spaces, five young additional services nearby to be sustainable and successful.” historic black neighborhood. mothers’ residences, an after-school education program for first through 12th graders, a community gallery, a historic park, and low-income As a neighborhood nonprofit, its current challenge is making sure Lowe and a group of fellow artists began looking for ways to use art residential and commercial spaces. its voice and mission are heard, especially among potential funders. as a positive community influence. In 1993, Lowe discovered a row “Every organization is struggling right now. It’s hard to take on new of abandoned “shotgun-style” homes in the northern Third Ward of “We’ve tried to be thoughtful in how we grow the organization. We look at challenges,” but Lowe continues to use his creative mind. His next project Houston, Texas. With help from many volunteers, he decided to the needs of our community and then determine opportunities,” he said. is to create a civic association of renters and owners that will be an renovate the buildings for an arts program. The goal of the project was to create community through the celebration internal support network. of art, African American history and culture. To learn more, visit projectrowhouses.org.

Sustainable Fact: Renovations combining art and function

what’s your healthy? SM stimulate economic development in urban areas that lack APRIL 2014 “keeping my spirit healthy” exposure to foot traffic and tourists.4

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1 2 3 4 5 1950: Blood research pioneer 1984: Georgetown coach John Thompson 1826: Poet-orator James Madison Bell, author 1968: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1856: Booker T. Washington, educator, Charles R. Drew dies. becomes first African American coach to of the Emancipation Day poem “The Day and assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. author, orator and advisor to presidents win the NCAA® basketball tournament. the War,” born. of the U.S., born.

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1909: Matthew A. Henson reaches North Pole, 1915: Billy Holiday, American jazz singer 1974: Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron hits 1816: African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) 1816: Richard Allen consecrated first 1997: The Charles H. Wright Museum of 1983: Harold Washington becomes first 45 minutes before Robert E. Peary. and songwriter, born. 715th career home run, surpassing Babe Ruth as Church formed. bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal African American History, the world’s largest African American elected mayor of Chicago. the game’s all-time home-run leader. (A.M.E.) Church. museum of its kind, opens in Detroit.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1997: Tiger Woods wins Masters 1775: First abolitionist society in U.S. 1964: Sidney Poitier becomes first black 1862: Slavery abolished in the 1983: Alice Walker wins Pulitzer Prize 1995: Margo Jefferson receives Pulitzer Prize 1972: Stationed in Germany, Maj. Gen. Golf Tournament. founded in Philadelphia. to win Academy Award® for Best Actor for District of Columbia. for fiction for The Color Purple. for criticism. Frederic E. Davidson becomes first African Lilies of the Field. American to lead an Army division. Palm Sunday Passover Begins (sundown) Good Friday

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 2010: Dorothy Height, leading female voice 1966: Pfc. Milton L. Olive III awarded 2013: Richie Havens, folk singer and guitarist 1856: Granville T. Woods, inventor of the 1944: United Negro College Fund incorporated. 1918: Ella Fitzgerald, “First Lady of Song,” born. 1888: Sarah Boone patents ironing board. of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, dies. posthumously the Congressional who was the first performer at Woodstock, dies. steam boiler and automobile air brakes, born. Medal of Honor for valor in Vietnam. Easter Administrative Professionals Day

27 28 29 30 1968: Dr. Vincent Porter becomes first black 2009: Sojourner Truth, former slave turned 1899: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, 1952: Dr. Louis T. Wright honored certified in plastic surgery. abolitionist, becomes first African American jazz musician and composer, born. by American Cancer Society for his woman to have a memorial in the U.S. Capitol. contributions to cancer research.

International Jazz Day

“You can’t just build isolated houses. Communities need additional services nearby to be sustainable and successful.”

Scan code to link to Rick Lowe. – RICK LOWE

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Karen Washington Just Food Bronx, NY

Healthful food should be a right for all – not a privilege for some. This Washington believes fairness within the food system begins with access to “It’s the people on the ground who will change the world,” said the is the message community activist Karen Washington chants in urban land, where quality food can be grown. Through her work with La Familia soon-to-be retired physical therapist. “Urban agriculture has to be a neighborhoods across the United States. Since the mid-‘80s, she has Verde Garden Coalition, she played a key role in building thriving community critical part of urban planning. The challenge is priorities change from been advocating for the elimination of food deserts in New York City. gardens on empty lots once overridden with debris and a community administration to administration.” farmers’ market to address hunger. “I want to open people’s eyes to what is happening around us,” said Washington is devoting her next life chapter to spreading the food justice Washington, who is a Just Food trainer and does work with the Food Justice The La Familia Verde Farmers’ Market is stocked weekly from July to message. She also plans to write a book and visit unsung heroes who are Program. “We have one planet. We can’t get into a spaceship and November with fresh fruits and vegetables, hearty breads, and eggs laid making a positive impact on the food system. live someplace else. What are we going to leave for our future generations? by chickens it shelters. We need to maintain open spaces permanently and create gardens To learn more, visit justfood.org/food-justice. that are not temporary.”

Sustainable Fact: Sixty percent of farmers’ market shoppers in

what’s Your healthy? SM low-income neighborhoods say their markets have better prices MAY 2014 “feeding more people” than the grocery store.5

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1 2 3 1867: First four students enter 1995: Shirley Jackson assumes chairmanship 2013: Cedric Brooks, saxophone player Howard University. of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. and influential roots reggae musician, dies.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1961: Freedom Riders begin protesting 1988: Eugene Antonio Marino installed as 1991: Smithsonian Institution approves creation 1845: Mary Eliza Mahoney, America’s 1983: Lena Horne awarded Spingarn Medal 2010: Lena Horne, singer, actress and 1950: Boston Celtics select Chuck Cooper, first segregation of interstate bus travel in first U.S. African American Roman Catholic of the National African American Museum. first black trained nurse, born. for distinguished career in entertainment. civil rights activist, dies. black player drafted to play in the NBA. the South. archbishop.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1895: Composer William Grant Still, first 1862: Black slaves commandeer the 1872: Matilda Arabella Evans, first black woman 1913: Clara Stanton Jones, first black 1820: Congress declares foreign slave trade 1927: Dr. William Harry Barnes becomes first 1954: In Brown v. Board of Education, Supreme African American to conduct a major Confederate ship “The Planter.” to practice medicine in South Carolina, born. president of the American Library an act of piracy, punishable by death. African American certified by a surgical board. Court declares segregation in public schools American symphony orchestra, born. Association, born. unconstitutional.

Mother’s Day Armed Forces Day

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1896: In Plessy v. Ferguson, Supreme Court 1993: University of Virginia professor 1961: U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy 2006: Katherine Dunham, pioneering 1921: Shuffle Along, a musical featuring 1900: Sgt. William H. Carney becomes 1854: Lincoln University (Pa.), first African upholds doctrine of “separate but equal” Rita Dove appointed U.S. poet laureate. dispatches U.S. marshals to Montgomery, dancer and choreographer, author and a score by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, first African American awarded the American college, founded. education and public accommodations. Alabama, to restore order in the Freedom civil rights activist, dies. opens on Broadway. Congressional Medal of Honor. Rider crisis.

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1926: Jazz trumpeter Miles Dewey Davis born. 1961: During Kennedy administration, 1942: Dorie Miller, a ship‘s steward, awarded 1948: National Party wins whites-only 1901: Granville T. Woods patents overhead 1965: Vivian Malone becomes first African 1870: Congress passes the first Enforcement Marvin Cook named ambassador to Navy Cross for heroism during the attack on elections in South Africa and begins to conducting system for the electric railway. American to graduate from the University Act, providing stiff penalties for those who Niger Republic, the first black envoy Pearl Harbor in 1941. institute policy of apartheid. of Alabama. deprive others of civil rights. named to an African nation.

Memorial Day Observed

“We need to maintain open spaces permanently and create gardens that are not temporary.” Scan code to link to Karen Washington. – KAREN WASHINGTON

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Ron Finley The Ron Finley Project South Central Los Angeles, CA

Ron Finley had no idea a complaint issued against him would turn into designer by trade, he now travels the world teaching communities how A hurdle, Finley believes, is getting people to care. “The biggest disease in a life-changing journey. After all, he was only planting fruits, vegetables to build and cultivate urban gardens. our society is this belief that opportunity doesn’t exist,” he said. “It’s hard and sunflowers on a green strip of grass in his South Central Los Angeles for many people to envision the future because they are living day to day.” neighborhood. Finley believes people are connected by the soil. “The garden is really a metaphor for life,” he said. “Gardening made me look at things in a totally Finley said nature has to be seized and worked. “I want everyone to learn “I figured, ‘Why grow grass when you can grow food?’” he said. He wanted different way.” how to become a gardener. Because this is really where you can find the to beautify a corner usually populated with dirty old mattresses and power,” he said. “Air inspires me, and I am doing my piece of inspiring beat-up couches. When he first created his garden, Finley planted an abundance of vibrant, each and every day.” fragrant flowers. He wanted people to be infused with the colors and “You have to embrace your haters because they can make you famous,” aromas of lavender, jasmine and ginger. “Gardens bring out the colors To learn more, visit ronfinley.com. said Finley, who is now a sought-after speaker after delivering a TED Talk of nature. They attract the bees and the birds. It’s just another form of on the importance of urban gardening in February 2013. A fashion creativity and artistry,” he said.

Sustainable Fact: The flower and oil of lavender can be used to

what’s your healthy? SM make medicine to treat restlessness, insomnia, nervousness and JUNE 2014 “growing what I eat” depression, as well as a variety of digestive complaints.6

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1968: Henry Lewis becomes first black 1971: Samuel L. Gravely Jr. becomes first 2008: Senator Barack Obama wins Democratic 1967: Bill Cosby receives an Emmy® Award 1987: Dr. Mae C. Jemison becomes first 1831: First annual People of Color convention 1917: Poetess Gwendolyn Brooks, first musical director of an American symphony African American admiral in the U.S. Navy. presidential nomination, becoming the first for his work in the television series I Spy. African American woman astronaut. held in Philadelphia. African American to win the Pulitzer Prize orchestra — New Jersey Symphony. African American nominee of a major U.S. (poetry, 1950), born. political party.

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 2011: Clara Luper, Oklahoma civil rights icon 1995: Lincoln J. Ragsdale, pioneer fighter 1854: James Augustine Healy, first black 1964: Nelson Mandela sentenced to life 1963: Medgar W. Evers, civil rights leader, 1967: Thurgood Marshall nominated to 1864: Congress rules equal pay for all soldiers. who led sit-ins at drugstore lunch counters in pilot of World War II, dies. Roman Catholic bishop, ordained a priest imprisonment by South African government. assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi. Supreme Court by President Lyndon Johnson. Oklahoma in 1958, dies. in Notre Dame Cathedral. Flag Day

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1913: Dr. Effie O’Neal Ellis, first black woman 1970: Kenneth A. Gibson elected mayor of 1775: Minuteman Peter Salem fights in the 1942: Harvard University medical student 1865: Blacks in Texas are notified of 1953: Albert W. Dent of Dillard University 1821: African Methodist Episcopal Zion to hold an executive position in the American Newark, New Jersey, first African American Battle of Bunker Hill. Bernard Whitfield Robinson commissioned Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1863. elected president of the National Health (A.M.E.Z.) Church established. Medical Association, born. mayor of a major Eastern city. as the Navy’s first black officer. Council. Juneteenth Father’s Day

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1897: William Barry patents postmarking and 1940: Sprinter Wilma Rudolph, winner of three 1964: Carl T. Rowan appointed director of 2009: Michael Jackson, musician and 1975: Dr. Samuel Blanton Rosser becomes first 1991: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood 1911: Samuel J. Battle becomes first black cancelling machine. gold medals at 1960 Summer Olympics, born. the United States Information Agency. entertainer, dies. African American certified in pediatric surgery. Marshall announces his retirement. policeman in New York City.

29 30 2006: Lloyd Richards, theater pioneer and 1917: Lena Horne, singer, actress and Tony ® Award winner for direction of Fences, civil rights activist, born. dies on his 87th birthday.

“Gardening made me look at things in a totally different way.”

Scan code to link to Ron Finley. – RON FINLEY

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Robin Emmons Sow Much Good Charlotte, NC

Robin Emmons dug up her entire North Carolina backyard and planted an We ask their permission to share the fresh food we have to enhance life in She urges everyone to take responsibility to create sustainable oversized garden. She wanted to grow fresh food for her brother while he their communities,” she said. communities. “Food is the one thing we share in common. It’s a space was in a medical facility. where we can all meet,” she said. She believes a holistic approach is vital when it comes to making a lasting This began the fulfillment of her calling to create a successful urban community difference. “We need healthy people and a healthy planet. We Sow Much Good prospers because it is 100 percent volunteer driven. farming business. In 2008, she founded Sow Much Good, which now need a healthy economy and a healthy social environment. We need to look “I’m astonished by the amount of people who want to support this work. manages two microfarms on nine acres in North Carolina. for ways money can be recirculated directly into the community.” They want to be connected to something positive, meaningful and impactful,” she said. “We are now part of the thriving food movement. Emmons, who spent much of her career in corporate America, attributes Emmons says access to good food is not always about geography; it’s often People are beginning to understand this basic human right.” her success to reaching out to the right people in the neighborhoods. “We about money. To combat this, she keeps prices low and accepts food stamps look for those with social capital – the decision makers and influencers. at her farm stands. To learn more, visit sowmuchgood.org.

what’s your healthy? SM Sustainable Fact: There has been a 300 percent increase “providing access to in SNAP benefits (food stamps) redeemed at U.S. farmers’ JULY 2014 fresh food” markets from 2009 to 2012.7

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1 2 3 4 5 1889: Frederick Douglass named 1872: Elijah McCoy patents first self-lubricating 1688: The Quakers in Germantown, 1900: Traditional birthdate of Louis “Satchmo” 1991: Nelson Mandela elected president of the U.S. minister to Haiti. locomotive engine. The quality of his inventions Pennsylvania, make first formal protest Armstrong, jazz pioneer. African National Congress. helped coin the phrase “the real McCoy.” against slavery. Independence Day

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1957: Althea Gibson wins women’s singles 1948: Cleveland Indians sign pitcher 2000: Venus Williams wins women’s singles 1893: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs 1943: Arthur Ashe, Jr., first African American 1905: W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe 1949: Frederick M. Jones patents cooling title at Wimbledon, first African American Leroy “Satchel” Paige. championship at Wimbledon. first successful open-heart operation. to win the U.S. Open and men’s singles title Trotter organize the Niagara Movement, system for food transportation vehicles. to win tennis’s most prestigious award. at Wimbledon, born. a forerunner of the NAACP.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1965: Thurgood Marshall becomes first African 1951: George Washington Carver Monument, 1867: Maggie Lena Walker, first woman and 1822: Violette A. Johnson, first black woman to 1959: Billy Holiday, American jazz singer 1918: Nelson Mandela, South African 1925: Paris debut of Josephine Baker, American appointed U.S. solicitor general. first national park honoring an African American, first African American to become president practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, born. and songwriter, dies. anti-apartheid revolutionary and first black entertainer, activist and humanitarian. is dedicated in Joplin, Missouri. of a bank, born. president of South Africa, born.

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1950: Black troops (24th Regiment) 1896: Mary Church Terrell elected first 1827: James Varick, first bishop of the 1962: Jackie Robinson becomes first 1807: Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge born 1916: Garrett Morgan, inventor of the gas 1948: President Harry S. Truman issues win first U.S. victory in Korea. president of National Association of African Methodist Episcopal Zion (A.M.E.Z.) black baseball player in the major leagues in New York City. mask, rescues six people from gas-filled Executive Order 9981, ending segregation Colored Women. Church, dies. inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. tunnel in Cleveland, Ohio. in armed forces.

27 28 29 30 31 1880: Alexander P. Ashbourne patents 1868: 14th Amendment, granting African 1895: First National Conference of Colored 1822: James Varick elected first bishop 1874: Rev. Patrick Francis Healy inaugurated process for refining coconut oil. Americans full citizenship rights, becomes Women Convention held in Boston. of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion president of Georgetown University, part of the Constitution. (A.M.E.Z.) Church. Washington, D.C.

“Food is the one thing we share in common. It’s a space where we can all meet.”

Scan code to link to Robin Emmons. – ROBIN EMMONS

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Haile Johnston Common Market/East Park Revitalization Alliance Philadelphia, PA

Food has become a symbol for healthful choices in Haile Johnston’s From the ground up, Johnston cofounded and built Common Market in 2008. Common Market enjoys partnering with organizations that share similar Philadelphia neighborhood. This is a big change from how it used to It is a nonprofit food distributor that brings fresh food from regional farms values such as the farm-to-school movement. In five years, more than 100 be when good food was limited. to neighborhoods, schools, community groups, grocers and hospitals schools in the Philadelphia region have been served with healthful food options. between New York and Baltimore. Through the East Park Revitalization Alliance, Johnston spent his early Teens involved in the program are learning about food production and career days turning vacant lots into gardens and parks. But he knew Because there were few examples of similar regional programs, it was entrepreneurship by selling produce they help grow at small farm stands more had to be done. hard for Common Market to attract funding in its early days. Most recently, in low-income communities. “Through the alliance, we teach kids business however, it was awarded a $300,000 grant from the USDA’s National skills and how to eat well, while giving them opportunities to make money,” “After becoming aware of the health disparities in our neighborhood, Institute of Food and Agriculture through the Community Food Project. he said. “Communities hold the power to create solutions within themselves. we knew we had to find a way to provide access to healthful food from “We are now seen as a leader. There is a national movement around When they participate in their growth, they are the most sustainable.” the farm to the table,” he said. creating regional food sources,” said Johnston. To learn more, visit commonmarketphila.org and epralliance.org.

what’s your healthy? SM Sustainable Fact: Urban agriculture benefits both “creating a new individuals and neighborhoods, and thus contributes AUGUST 2014 relationship with food” to overall community health.8

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1 2 1879: Mary Eliza Mahoney graduates from 2012: Gabby Douglas becomes the first New England Hospital for Women and Children, African American to win an all-around becoming the first black professional nurse gymnastics gold at the Summer Olympics. in America.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1800: Gabriel Prosser leads slave revolt 1810: Abolitionist Robert Purvis born. 1962: Nelson Mandela, South African 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs 1907: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, first African 2005: John H. Johnson, founder and publisher 1936: Jesse Owens wins fourth gold medal in Richmond, Virginia. freedom fighter, imprisoned. He was not Voting Rights Act, outlawing literacy test American Nobel Prize® winner, born. of Ebony and Jet magazines, dies. at Summer Olympics in Berlin. released until 1990. for voting eligibility in the South.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1989: Gen. Colin Powell is nominated chairman, 1872: Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller, acknowledged 1977: Steven Biko, leader of Black 1981: Reagan administration undertakes its 1989: First National Black Theater Festival 2007: Max Roach, first jazz musician honored 1922: Author Louis E. Lomax born. Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first African American as first black psychiatrist, born. Consciousness Movement in South Africa, review of 30 federal regulations, including rules on held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. with a MacArthur Fellowship, dies. to hold this post. arrested. civil rights to prevent job discrimination.

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 1849: Lawyer-activist Archibald Henry Grimké, 1859: Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig is first novel 1954: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche named 1993: Dr. David Satcher named director of 1904: Bandleader and composer 1880: Cartoonist George Herriman born. 1926: Carter Woodson, historian, author, who challenged the segregationist policies of published by a black writer. undersecretary of United Nations. the Centers for Disease Control. William “Count” Basie born. inaugurates Negro History Week. President Woodrow Wilson, born.

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1950: Judge Edith Sampson named first black 1925: A. Phillip Randolph founds 1946: Composer, singer and producer 1963: W.E.B. DuBois, scholar, civil rights activist 1963: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1920: Saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker born. 1983: Lt. Col. Guion S. Bluford Jr. becomes the delegate to United Nations. Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Valerie Simpson Ashford born. and founding father of the NAACP, dies. delivers “I Have A Dream” speech during first African American astronaut in space. March on Washington, D.C.

31 1836: Henry Blair patents cotton planter.

“We teach kids business skills and how to eat well, while giving them opportunities to make money.”

Scan code to link to Haile Johnston. – HAILE JOHNSTON

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com K. Rashid Nuri Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture Atlanta, GA

K. Rashid Nuri takes pride in converting rundown housing projects into Community-supported agriculture requires government, schools, Nuri is happy youth are getting involved in the sustainability movement. urban farms. He oversees six locations around Atlanta through his work universities and neighborhoods to work together. More than 100 children spend their days at the center’s summer camp, at the Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture. where they learn to design and plant garden beds, as well as take care “To create a natural living city, we need to build and maintain the of chickens. Each month, the center also provides to student groups Last year, the farms produced more than 35,000 pounds of food and infrastructure to support it,” he said. 15 farm tours focused on urban agriculture. provided employment to 35 people. “We are taking back the land and growing food in urban areas. We’re teaching people how to grow food Truly Living Well has three focus areas – to grow food for people in urban Nuri believes everyone can benefit from gardening. “The garden is a place wherever they are … in their kitchen windows, patios and backyards.” food deserts, to teach people how to become urban gardeners and to build of peace,” he said. “You have to be present. You have to take the time to sustainable communities. It offers day classes, such as Gardening 101, as listen to the soil and the plants. Growing takes humility and patience.” An urban farmer, Nuri has been working in the field for decades, including well as a six-month urban growing training course. Local chefs also provide at the U.S. Department of Agriculture under President Bill Clinton. weekly food preparation demonstrations at its two open-air farmers’ markets. To learn more, visit trulylivingwell.com.

what’s your healthy? SM Sustainable Fact: Only about one-fifth of the “eating good food land area (408 million acres in 2007) in the SEPTEMBER 2014 promotes good health” United States is used for crop production.9

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1 2 3 4 5 6 1993: Condoleeza Rice named provost at 1958: Frederick M. Jones patents control 1979: Robert Maynard becomes first African 1957: Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus calls 1960: Leopold Sedar Senghor, poet and 1848: Frederick Douglass elected president Stanford University, becoming the youngest device for internal combustion engine. American to head a major daily newspaper, out the National Guard to bar black students politician, elected president of Senegal. of National Black Political Convention in person and first African American to hold Oakland Tribune, in California. from entering a Little Rock high school. Cleveland, Ohio. this position.

Labor Day

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1954: Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, 1981: Roy Wilkins, executive director of the 1968: Arthur Ashe, Jr. wins men‘s singles 1855: John Mercer Langston elected township 1959: Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington wins 1992: Dr. Mae C. Jemison becomes first 1886: Literary critic Alain Lovke, first black Maryland, public schools integrated. NAACP, dies. tennis championship at U.S. Open. clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio, becoming first Spingarn Medal for his achievements in music. African American woman to travel in space. Rhodes Scholar, born. African American to hold elective office in the U.S.

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1921: Constance Baker Motley, first black 1963: Four black girls killed in Birmingham, 1923: First Catholic seminary for black priests 1983: Vanessa Williams becomes first 1895: Booker T. Washington delivers famous 1893: Albert R. Robinson patents electric 1984: The Cosby Show, television’s biggest woman appointed federal judge, born. Alabama, church bombing. dedicated in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. African American crowned Miss America. Atlanta Exposition speech. railway trolley. hit in the 1980s, premiered.

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1998: Florence Griffith Joyner, Olympic track 1862: Emancipation Proclamation announced. 1863: Civil and women’s rights advocate 1957: Federal troops enforce court-ordered 1974: Barbara W. Hancock becomes first African 1962: Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson 1912: W.C. Handy publishes Memphis Blues. star, dies. Mary Church Terrell born. integrations as nine children integrate American woman named a White House fellow. to win heavyweight boxing championship. Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Rosh Hashanah Begins (sundown)

28 29 30 1991: National Civil Rights Museum opens 1910: National Urban League established 1962: James Meredith enrolls as first black in Memphis, Tennessee. in New York City. student at University of Mississippi.

“We are taking back the land and growing food in urban areas.”

Scan code to link to K. Rashid Nuri. – K. RASHID NURI

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Charmaine Craig Knox, Inc. Hartford, CT

Charmaine Craig has been dubbed “Hartford’s Tree Lady” by the city’s more sustainable neighborhoods. Craig is able to do this with help from and strengthen their communities through gardening and environmental mayor – and rightly so. Through her work with Knox, Inc., she oversees the the Knox team and more than 2,000 volunteers, many who replenish and stewardship. Her goal is to introduce gardening to those who need a boost planting of 1,000 trees each year in Connecticut’s capital city. After nurture Hartford’s urban forest. in their spirits. 20 years, she expects 20,000 new trees will be planted. Trees are critical in communities, according to Craig, because they reduce “I hope to lift that cloud that many of them are under. Get them off the “I am so happy the city is taking forestry seriously,” said Craig, who also the ill effects of carbon dioxide, sustain wildlife, provide shelter and shade, stoop and invite them into the garden,” she said. manages the organization’s 14 community gardens across more than and increase land value. Hartford lost many of its trees in the recent storms, 12 acres of urban neighborhoods. Over 300 families experience the and Knox set out to replace them with help from public and private partners. Craig believes everything begins with the soil. “The soil is so important. We benefits of “Hartford Grown” produce. stand on it. We eat from it. We have to care for it, respect it and nurture it.” Cultivating the land is part of Craig’s Jamaican roots. She worked on her As community outreach director, she works with local residents, grandfather’s farm as a young girl, planting potatoes and carrots. Now she To learn more, visit knoxhartford.org. businesses, and government to build greener, stronger, healthier, and teaches urban youth, immigrants, and adults how to restore themselves;

what’s your healthy? SM Sustainable Fact: Trees filter airborne pollutants and “eating a fresh tomato reduce the conditions that cause asthma and other OCTOBER 2014 picked off the vine” respiratory problems.10

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1 2 3 4 1996: Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard becomes first African 2000: James Perkins Jr. sworn in as Selma, 1956: Nat “King” Cole becomes first black 1864: First black daily newspaper, American to head the Army Corps of Engineers. Alabama’s, first African American mayor. performer to host his own TV show. The New Orleans Tribune, founded.

Yom Kippur Begins (sundown)

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2011: Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, described 1917: Political activist Fannie Lou Hamer born. 1993: Toni Morrison becomes the first African 1941: Rev. Jesse Jackson, political activist 2001: Dr. Ruth Simmons, first African American 1899: Isaac R. Johnson patents bicycle frame. 1887: Granville T. Woods patents telephone by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as American to win the Nobel Prize® in literature. and civil rights leader, born. leader of an Ivy League institution, elected system and apparatus. “the most courageous civil rights fighter 18th president of Brown University. in the South,” dies.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 2005: C. Delores Tucker, civil rights activist and 1579: Martin de Porres, first black saint in 1964: At age 35, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1991: Clarence Thomas confirmed as an 1984: Bishop Desmond Tutu wins Nobel 1888: Capital Savings Bank of Washington, D.C., 1948: Playwright Ntozake Shange, author of founder of the National Black Congress, dies. the Roman Catholic church, born. becomes youngest man to win Nobel associate justice of U.S. Supreme Court. Peace Prize. first bank for African Americans, organized. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide Peace Prize. When The Rainbow Is Enuf, born. Columbus Day Observed

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1943: Paul Robeson opens in Othello at the 1898: The first African American-owned 1917: Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pioneer 1953: Dr. Clarence S. Green becomes 1947: NAACP petitions United Nations 2005: Rosa Parks, civil rights pioneer who 1992: Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston Shubert Theater in New York City. insurance company, North Carolina Mutual of bebop, born. first African American certified in on racial conditions in the U.S. sparked 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, dies. becomes first African American to manage Life Insurance Co., founded. neurological surgery. a team to a World Series title. United Nations Day

26 27 28 29 30 31 2013: Darrell Wallace Jr. becomes the 1954: Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes first 1998: President Bill Clinton declares HIV/AIDS 1949: Alonzo G. Moron becomes first black 1979: Richard Arrington elected first African 1899: William F. Burr patents switching second African American driver to win black general in U.S. Air Force. a health crisis in racial minority communities. president of Hampton Institute, Virginia. American mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. device for railways. a NASCAR national series race. Halloween

“The soil is so important. We stand on it. We eat from it. We have to care for it, respect it and nurture it.”

Scan code to link to Charmaine Craig. – CHARMAINE CRAIG

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Kelly D. Carlisle Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project Oakland, CA

After a successful military career, Kelly Carlisle decided to return home to “We wanted to change these kids’ paths,” she said, seeing this as a chance “Most of our beds have a theme kids can identify with,” said Carlisle. The Oakland to make a difference. “The kids in my neighborhood never had to keep them off the streets. pizza bed features tomatoes, peppers and basil. The salsa bed features exposure to things that grow in the ground, like purple broccoli, or apples onions and tomatoes. In the fruit bed, there are strawberries and watermelon. on a tree,” she said. “Rather than complain, I knew I needed to do A youth urban farm project, Acta Non Verba is funded through community something about it.” foundations and partnerships. Biointensive methods – methods that yield If kids grow it, they will eat it, Carlisle believes. “Once they go home, I have the most crops possible from a small area of land while improving the soil’s no idea what they are getting. This is a way to open their eyes,” she said. It was her calling, she believes, to teach children how to work the land and quality – are used for growing crops among its 22 raised beds, each grow healthful food in an urban area with little access to produce. She got measuring 50 square feet. To learn more, visit anvfarm.org. permission from the city’s parks and recreation department to transform public property into a working farm for children ages 5-17. Kids plant, weed, water, pick and sell the crops at a produce stand. In return for their work on the project, they receive contributions to individual savings Carlisle joined with a local teacher who encouraged neighborhood children accounts opened by Acta Non Verba to help support their future education. to participate in the farming project.

Sustainable Fact: Raised garden beds keep pathway weeds from soil, prevent soil compaction, provide

what’s your healthy? SM good drainage and serve as a barrier to pests such NOVEMBER 2014 “modeling health for my daughter” as slugs and snails.11

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1 1945: John H. Johnson publishes first issue of Ebony.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1983: President Ronald Reagan designates 1981: Thirman L. Milner elected mayor of 2008: Senator Barack H. Obama elected 44th 1968: Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn, 2012: President Barack H. Obama, the first 1989: L. Douglas Wilder elected governor 1938: Crystal Bird Fauset elected state Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. Hartford, Connecticut, becoming first African president of the U.S., becoming first African New York, becomes first black woman African American to hold the office of U.S. of Virginia, becoming nation’s first African representative in Pennsylvania, becoming first American mayor in New England. American to be elected chief executive in the elected to Congress. commander-in-chief, elected to a second term. American governor since Reconstruction. black woman to serve in a state legislature. Daylight Saving Time Ends 232-year history of the country.

Election Day 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1731: Mathematician, urban planner and 2006: Benny Andrews, painter and teacher 1989: Civil Rights Memorial dedicated in 1941: Mary Cardwell Dawson and Madame 1940: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in 1915: Booker T. Washington, educator, 1881: Payton Johnson patents swinging chair. inventor Benjamin Banneker born. whose work drew on memories of his Montgomery, Alabama. Lillian Evanti establish the National Negro Hansberry v. Lee that African Americans author, orator and advisor to presidents childhood in the segregated South, dies. Opera Company. cannot be barred from white neighborhoods. of the U.S., dies. Veterans Day

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1981: Pam Johnson named publisher of 1980: Howard University airs WHHM, 1797: Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and 1953: Roy Campanella named Most Valuable 1923: Garrett A. Morgan patents traffic 1893: Granville T. Woods patents electric 1930: Elijah Muhammed establishes the the Ithaca Journal in New York, becoming first African American-operated public Civil War nurse, born. Player in National Baseball League for the light signal. railway conduit. Nation of Islam. first African American woman to head a radio station. second time. daily newspaper.

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1897: A.J. Beard patents the Jenny Coupler, 1868: Pianist Scott Joplin, the “Father of 1955: The Interstate Commerce Commission 1883: Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and 1990: Charles Johnson awarded National Book 1961: Ernie Davis becomes first African 1908: Adam Clayton Powell Jr., politician and used to connect railroad cars. Ragtime,” born. bans segregation in interstate travel. Civil War nurse, dies. Award for fiction for Middle Passage. American to win the Heisman Trophy®. civil rights activist, born.

Thanksgiving Day

30 1912: Gordon Parks, writer, filmmaker and photographer, born. “Most of our beds have a theme kids can identify with. In the fruit bed, there are strawberries and watermelon.”

Scan code to link to Kelly D. Carlisle. – KELLY D. CARLISLE

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Sylvester Brown, Jr. Sweet Potato Project St. Louis, MO

Though he grew up poor and had to drop out of high school to work, write about the problems in African American communities, he decided The students also learn how to brand and market their sweet potato Sylvester Brown, Jr. was lucky to be surrounded by people who believed it was time to fix them. cookies, including some with chocolate chips, which are neatly packaged in him. and sold online through a website they developed and manage. “They learn So he turned a vacant urban lot into a garden plot. He encouraged a group how to dream big and become well equipped to make money,” said Brown, “When someone believes in you, it’s hard not to believe in yourself,” said of 15 high school students to dedicate their summer working in the community whose goal is to make this a 12-month project so he can stay connected Brown, who serves as a mentor for teens in his North St. Louis neighborhood. garden for a small amount of money. “I chose sweet potatoes as the crop to teens all year long. He runs the Sweet Potato Project, an educational and employment program because they are interesting, culturally relevant and easy to grow,” he said. for urban youth. “I have been able to show them unique ways to use their scars from poverty The Sweet Potato Project now teaches about 25 teens each year how to in a positive way,” he said. “When you grow up poor, you are well positioned Brown had big dreams growing up. He educated himself by reading everything become successful entrepreneurs. They spend the summer growing and for success. We come from a long history of survivors.” he could get his hands on, including the autobiography of Malcolm X. He caring for the potatoes; and then, after the harvest, make cookies and then built a career around the written word, working as an award-winning other products in the kitchen at Saint Louis University alongside chef To learn more, visit sweetpotatoprojectstl.org. journalist, columnist and publisher of his own publications. Rather than just Steve Jenkins and his crew.

Sustainable Fact: Dr. George Washington Carver discovered

what’s your healthy? SM more than 100 uses for the sweet potato, including vinegar, DECEMBER 2014 “helping kids dream” molasses, postage stamp glue, a synthetic rubber and ink.12

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1 2 3 4 5 6 1955: Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to 1884: Granville T. Woods patents 1847: Frederick Douglass publishes first 1906: Alpha Phi Alpha, first black Greek letter 2013: Nelson Mandela, revered South African 1932: Richard B. Spikes patents give her seat to a white man, sparking the telephone transmitter. issue of North Star. fraternity, founded at Cornell University. anti-apartheid icon who spent 27 years in automatic gearshift. Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott. prison and became South Africa’s first black president, dies.

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1942: Reginald F. Lewis, first African American 1925: Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. born. 1872: P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana becomes 1950: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche becomes first African 1926: Blues singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” 1995: Willie Brown defeats incumbent 1944: First black servicewomen sworn to create a billion-dollar business empire first black governor. American awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Thornton born. Frank Jordan to become the first African in to the WAVES. through the leveraged buyout of Beatrice American mayor of San Francisco. International Foods, born.

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1829: John Mercer Langston, 1883: William A. Hinton, first African American 1976: Andrew Young nominated by 1802: Teacher and minister Henry Adams born. 1865: Congress passes 13th Amendment, 1875: Educator Carter G. Woodson, 1860: South Carolina secedes from the congressman and founder of Howard on Harvard Medical School faculty, born. President Jimmy Carter to be U.S. ambassador abolishing slavery. “Father of Black History,” born. Union, initiating the Civil War. University Law Department, born. to United Nations.

Hanukkah Begins (sundown)

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1911: Baseball legend Josh Gibson born. 1883: Arthur Wergs Mitchell, first black 1867: Sarah “Madam C.J.” Walker, 1832: Charter granted to Georgia Infirmary, 1907: Cab Calloway, bandleader and first 2011: Sam Rivers, jazz legend, dies. 1862: African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Democrat to be elected to Congress, born. businesswoman and first black female the first black hospital. jazz singer to sell 1 million records, born. founded in New Bern, North Carolina. millionaire, born. Kwanzaa Begins Christmas

28 29 30 31 1905: Earl “Fatha” Hines, “Father of Modern 1924: Author, sportswriter A.S. “Doc” 1892: Dr. Miles V. Lynk publishes first black 1930: Odetta, blues and folk singer, born. Jazz Piano,” born. Young born. medical journal for physicians, the Medical and Surgical Observer.

“I chose sweet potatoes as the crop because they are interesting, culturally relevant and easy to grow.” Scan code to link to Sylvester Brown, Jr. – SYLVESTER BROWN, JR.

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Biographies

Roland V. Anglin, Ph.D. From her work in the field of sustainable agriculture, Ms. Carlisle was dirt strip next to his home. This was an exceptionally creative, cost-effective Dr. Roland V. Anglin is director of the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for selected one of 200 U.S. delegates to Slow Food International’s Terra Madre and simple solution. However, it also was an act of spirited rebellion that Metropolitan Studies and associate research professor, Rutgers University- and Salone del Gusto in October 2012, and one of only five selected from led to a run-in with the authorities. The City of Los Angeles has the right of Newark. Dr. Anglin’s career spans over 20 years working in the public, the San Francisco Bay Area. In December 2011, Ms. Carlisle was named the way to the “parkways,” the neglected dirt areas next to roads where he was educational and philanthropic sectors. In all his professional positions, Bon Appetit Management Company’s Good Food Fellow. She has spoken planting. He was cited for gardening without a permit. Dr. Anglin has focused on promoting economic and community to standing room-only audiences across the country and internationally, development in and for marginalized communities. as well as in the national media about her work using urban farming to This slap on the wrist for his work did little to dissuade Mr. Finley’s green empower preteen and teenage low-income youth of color. thumb. Instead, Mr. Finley started a petition with fellow green activists, Dr. Anglin began his academic career at Rutgers University. There he demanding the right to garden and grow food in his neighborhood. examined issues related to economic development and growth Previously, Ms. Carlisle ran a successful catering business that This caught the eyes of creative leaders and media voices who lauded management. During this time, he published some of the seminal articles focused on local and sustainable produce. She is a mother, activist, his courageous act of ebullient defiance. More than being a renegade on citizen attitudes toward sprawl development. In 1991 he was recruited and concerned citizen. gardener, Mr. Finley is a community leader determined to change South to the Ford Foundation, where he spent eight years. He served first as the Los Angeles from food desert to food forest. program officer responsible for community development; and later became Charmaine Craig deputy director for Community and Resource Development, which is part Charmaine Craig is committed to grassroots community organizing and is Mr. Finley continues to share his story and vision with the world, giving of the Asset Building and Community Development Division. At Ford, a devoted advocate of Hartford, Connecticut’s, green spaces. Through her TED Talks and planning many exciting ways to continue his involvement Dr. Anglin’s portfolio included grant making in the fields of sustainable position at Knox, Inc. and volunteer work with several other organizations in mitigating Los Angeles food deserts. community and economic development, neighborhood security, growth throughout Hartford, Ms. Craig empowers the community to recreate their management, and higher educational institutions involved in community- local food system and embrace a healthful lifestyle. Whether she is at a Tony Hillery based development. tree planting, a greenhouse workshop, a block party or a candlelight vigil, In 2011, Tony Hillery became the founder/director of Harlem Grown, Inc. she connects individuals; and produces positive results within Hartford’s Prior to starting this organization, Mr. Hillery had his own limousine After leaving Ford, Dr. Anglin joined the Structured Employment Economic neighborhoods and beyond. company that served the entertainment industry. After his business began Development Corporation (Seedco), a national community development to decline, Mr. Hillery was looking for a more fulfilling purpose. intermediary. At Seedco, Dr. Anglin was the senior vice president Her informal career as an activist began early in her life as she organized responsible for building the capacity of community-based housing protests of discrimination and inequality on various platforms. Ms. Craig As a father of three older children, Mr. Hillery volunteered in an elementary organizations in 23 cities partnering with Seedco. Dr. Anglin also managed began her formal community service career at HART (Hartford Areas Rally school in Harlem, New York. While volunteering, Mr. Hillery asked about an Seedco’s portfolio supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities Together) in 1998. She was the liaison between Hartford residents and abandoned community garden located directly across the street from the and their involvement in community development. city officials, helping them work together to restore their historic city. school. Many days, Mr. Hillery would walk the surrounding streets in search of lunch, finding only fast food restaurants and very limited healthful Dr. Anglin maintains an active research agenda; and has managed many As the director of community outreach at Knox for the past nine years, Ms. options. Stemming from the lack of healthful food choices, Harlem demonstration initiatives for philanthropy, state governments, and Craig has increased the number of volunteers, funders and community Grown was born. national associations, including the National League of Cities. Dr. Anglin gardeners; expanding the reach of the organization. In addition to inspiring is the author and coauthor of four books: Promoting Sustainable Local and the community to help, Ms. Craig works with each of the gardening families After Mr. Hillery and his team reregistered the abandoned garden, they Community Economic Development; Resilience and Opportunity: Lessons From the and empowers them to be leaders. and 400 students planted 400 seedlings. The students took ownership U.S. Gulf Coast after the Storms (with colleagues); Managing Disaster Recovery: and were introduced to organically grown produce. The following year, International Policy and Practice (with colleagues); and Katrina’s Imprint: Race Ms. Craig’s commitment to community leadership and the environment Harlem Grown built the first and only commercial hydroponic greenhouse and Vulnerability in America (with colleagues). is evident in each program or project she leads at Knox. She manages in Manhattan, New York, on a vacant city-owned lot. This greenhouse an array of community-based programs; including Trees for Hartford’s produces 9,300 heads of leafy greens a month, one-third of which are Dr. Anglin received his baccalaureate degree from Brooklyn College, Neighborhoods, the Greater Hartford Green Team, the Community Gardens given away free to students and the community. The remaining produce is the City University of New York; his master’s degree from Northwestern and Hartford Cleans-Up. There is not a place in Hartford that her work does sold to a local restaurant. The proceeds from the produce that is sold are University; and his doctorate from the University of Chicago. not reach. Ms. Craig remains devoted to Hartford; and is committed to used to hire single mothers from the local school, at a living wage, who building a stronger, greener, and more sustainable city. learn how to be urban farmers. Sylvester Brown, Jr. Sylvester Brown, Jr., founder of a nonprofit organization, freelance writer Ms. Craig graduated magna cum laude from Central Connecticut State Harlem Grown works with partnering schools leading the sustainability and former award-winning columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, University in 1998. effort; reducing, reusing and recycling, as well as composting daily. was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to his position with the

Post-Dispatch, he published Take Five Magazine, an investigative regional Robin Emmons With the help from its “Green Teams” and students who assist with daily publication. The publication received more than 30 awards for its After spending 20 years in corporate America, a force inside Robin Emmons effort, the organization is on course to transform the community with a investigative series, general reporting, and Mr. Brown’s political and tugged at her to leave her job in the financial services industry for an generation of environmentally aware children. social commentaries. unplanned journey. Haile Johnston In December 2004, Mr. Brown’s essay “Either Way, It’s Missouri” was One week after resigning, Ms. Emmons began the unplanned course to Haile Johnston is a Philadelphia-based social entrepreneur who works to featured in the photo/essay book Missouri 24/7 published by DK Books. save the life of her homeless and mentally ill brother. In doing so, she improve the health of rural and urban communities through food systems He won the 2005 Terry Hughes Writing Award from the St. Louis Newspaper secured for him transitional housing, counseling and support services. change. Along with his wife, Tatiana Garcia-Granados, he is the codirector Guild, and the 2007 and 2008 “Best Column Award” from the Greater However, despite her best efforts, his physical health became endangered and cofounder of Common Market, a nonprofit food hub that connects St. Louis Association of Black Journalists. due to high consumption of canned and sugary foods provided to him by communities in the Mid-Atlantic region to sustainable, locally grown the agency responsible for his care. As a gardener, Ms. Emmons began farm food. After leaving the Post-Dispatch in 2009, Mr. Brown worked with SmileyBooks donating produce for her brother and the 30 other residents housed at in New York and the Resolution Project, a Chicago-based nonprofit. He the facility where he lived. After her brother began eating the produce, The couple lead a diverse staff of 18 at Common Market, working toward served as a researcher and consultant with author Tom Burrell for the book, she saw a dramatic improvement in his physical health. their mission of expanding access of good food to all people. Common Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority. Market currently partners with nearly 80 farmers, adhering to a specific set In 2008, Ms. Emmons found her passion using food as a vehicle to promote of environmentally responsible production standards; and has a portfolio In January 2011, Mr. Brown founded When We Dream Together, Inc. social justice on important issues such as food access in marginalized of more than 200 market-side partners as well. (WWDT) to promote a comprehensive vision of revitalized, self-sustaining communities. The advocate, activist, humanitarian, gardener and now, urban communities; and to provide resources necessary to empower farmer, dug up her entire backyard and sowed the seeds for the nonprofit With the help of his wife, Mr. Johnston also founded the East Park ordinary people to implement the vision. Sow Much Good. Since then, she has dedicated herself to eliminating Revitalization Alliance in the African American community of Strawberry systemic barriers in the food system that disproportionately affect the Mansion, where they have resided for 11 years. As a father of three, he In the summer of 2012, WWDT and the North Area Community working poor and underserved populations. actively pursues his core purpose to “repair the earth for our children Development Corporation partnered to enact Mr. Brown’s “Sweet Potato and prepare our children for the earth.” Project,” a year-round program aimed at teaching at-risk youth “do-for- Since the launch of Sow Much Good, Ms. Emmons has worked tirelessly self” entrepreneurial skills. through workshops, farm stands and speaking opportunities to raise Mr. Johnston is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton awareness about inequities in the food system that eliminate the basic School of Business with a bachelor of science degree in economics and Mr. Brown has been a guest on the “O’Reilly Factor,” Tavis Smiley’s human right for a significant number of people to access clean, a concentration in entrepreneurial management. syndicated radio program, and on Al Franken and Michael E. Dyson’s healthful food. radio shows. Mr. Brown also was featured in a July 2005 segment of ABC’s Rick Lowe “Nightline,” highlighting a community forum he organized featuring Ms. Emmons is a 2013 Top 10 CNN Hero who has been featured in local and Rick Lowe is an artist who resides in Houston, Texas. His formal training comedian and philanthropist Bill Cosby. national media for Sow Much Good’s work to alleviate nutritional starvation is in the visual arts. Over the past 20 years he has worked both inside in low-income communities through gardening and microfarming. and outside of art world institutions by participating in exhibitions and Mr. Brown, the father of four children and grandfather of two, developing community-based art projects. In 1993, Mr. Lowe founded lives in St. Louis. A native Bostonian and North Carolina transplant of 20 years, Ms. Emmons Project Row Houses, an arts and cultural community located in a historically currently resides in Huntersville, North Carolina, with her husband, significant neighborhood in Houston, Texas. Kelly D. Carlisle Willie Emmons. Kelly Carlisle is the founder and executive director of Acta Non Verba: Throughout his years of work, Mr. Lowe has received many honors and Youth Urban Farm Project. A veteran of the United States Navy, she has Ron Finley awards. In 1997, the Rudy Bruner Awards in Urban Excellence awarded his been the recipient of many awards; including the Navy and Marine Corps Ron Finley began his career in fashion design by creating the DROPDEAD. work with Project Row Houses. In 2000, Mr. Lowe was the recipient of the Achievement Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. Ms. Carlisle CollecxionSM in his garage. His collection became popular with commonly American Institute of Architecture Keystone Award. Two years later, he was spent a portion of her youth in East Oakland, California, and is committed known and high-end stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and awarded the Heinz Award in the arts and humanities category. In 2005 and to creating positive change in her childhood neighborhood. Neiman Marcus. Celebrities also were attracted to his original ideas 2006, Mr. Lowe received the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and designs. Governors Award, and the Brandywine Lifetime Achievement Award. A Ms. Carlisle has been an avid gardener since 2007 and is an active member few years later, he received the Skandalaris Award for Art and Architecture, of the Farmer Veteran Coalition. She became an Alameda County Master A man of courage and conviction, Mr. Finley stands up for issues in which he and a United States Artists Booth Fellowship in Design. In 2010, Mr. Lowe Gardener Trainee in May 2012. She has built and maintained gardens at strongly believes. Having grown up in the South Central Los Angeles food received the Creative Time Annenberg Prize for Art and Social Change. sites in Oakland and Berkeley, including the Oakland Public Library, as well as in desert, Mr. Finley was aware of the area’s lack of fresh produce and set out public and charter schools. She is involved in influencing urban agriculture in 2010 to fix this problem. He planted vegetables in the curbside grass/ policy on city, county and state levels.

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com Biographies

Rick Lowe (cont’d.) Mr. Mayes participates in multiple initiatives and projects to improve the also is working with city government and urban advocacy organizations Mr. Lowe has served in the Houston community as a member of SHAPE systems that drive change in Detroit. He also serves as a board member to expand the global concept of urban agriculture as a conduit for social Community Center, the Municipal Arts Commission, and as a board for a number of community-based organizations, including Brightmoor change. member of the Greater Houston Visitors and Conventions Bureau. He also Community Center, The Heat and Warmth Fund, Global Detroit and served as a board member of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Wellspring Detroit. TLW represents what Mr. Nuri calls the new paradigm for community Arts, Governor of Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and on development: connecting people to the land, using the land and human boards of a host of other organizations. Currently, Mr. Lowe is a board Most important, Mr. Mayes is a loving husband to his wife, Tamika, and a ingenuity to develop local food systems, and promoting food self- member of the Menil Foundation. great father to his son, Kirk Jr. sufficiency and food security to build the community.

He has served as artist-in-residence at universities throughout the United Jenga Mwendo After graduating from Harvard, Mr. Nuri’s journey began when his desire to States and has lectured internationally. Mr. Lowe was a Loeb Fellow at the Jenga Mwendo is the founder of the Backyard Gardeners Network, whose build community found expression through farming. He immersed himself Harvard Graduate School of Design from 2001-2002. From 2005-2006, mission is to sustain and strengthen the historically self-sufficient and in everything agricultural: soil science at UMass; organic community he was an Osher Fellow at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. In 2007, he deeply rooted community of the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana. gardening in California; organizing agricultural cooperatives in eight became an Innovator Fellow with the Japan Society. In 2011, Mr. Lowe was Through revitalizing the cultural tradition of vegetable gardening, Ms. southern states; preserving thousands of acres of land for black farmers the visual arts “master artist” at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Mwendo’s organization will in turn revitalize the devastated neighborhood, in Georgia; managing agribusiness for Cargill, Inc. in the U.S., Asia, and Smyrna Beach, Florida. Most recently, President Barack Obama appointed preserve the cultural heritage and make the community more food secure. Africa; and serving as USDA deputy administrator during the Clinton Mr. Lowe to the National Council on the Arts. administration. Since 2007, Ms. Mwendo has worked to strengthen the Lower 9th Ward Kirk Mayes community – organizing neighbors to revitalize and create gardens, Karen Washington Kirk Mayes is the executive director of Brightmoor Alliance, a community- planting trees, and developing support systems to encourage and support Karen Washington has lived in New York City all her life and has been a based organization dedicated to the revival of a northwest Detroit the culture of growing in the neighborhood. resident of the Bronx for more than 26 years. Since 1985, Ms. Washington neighborhood. He is responsible for the administration of all aspects of this has been a community activist, striving to make New York City a better well-established and successful “for-impact” corporation. Mr. Mayes brings Ms. Mwendo was presented with the 2010 Cox Conserves Heroes award for place to live. passion to his work in the community and appreciates his chance to give her work developing outdoor community spaces. She was awarded a 2010 back as the son of Jamaican parents who immigrated to the United States Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowship to focus on community building around As a community gardener and board member of the New York Botanical to find a better life. the two gardens. The following year, she was accepted into the 2011-13 Gardens, Ms. Washington has worked with Bronx neighborhoods to turn IATP Food And Community Fellowship program to continue her work. empty lots into community gardens. As an advocate, she has stood up and He attended Brother Rice High School in Birmingham, Michigan, and spoken out for garden protection and preservation. As a member of the completed his college education at Michigan State University. Upon In addition to developing her organization, Ms. Mwendo also has worked La Familia Verde Garden Coalition, she helped launch City Farms Market, graduation, after a brief stint as an educator, Mr. Mayes worked in a number with the Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development leading a bringing garden-fresh vegetables to her neighbors. of “for-impact” organizations driven by a personal mission to improve the Food Action Planning Initiative, and with Tulane City Center as a community educational, social and economic outcomes of the Detroit community. organizer. Ms. Washington is a Just Food board member and Just Food trainer, leading workshops on food growing and food justice for community gardeners In 2008, Mr. Mayes joined the National Community Development Institute K. Rashid Nuri all over the city through the Food Justice Program. She is a board member and The Skillman Foundation to support the Good Neighborhood initiative K. Rashid Nuri’s work demonstrates natural urban agriculture as a catalyst and former president of the New York City Community Garden Coalition, in Brightmoor. Later he joined Brightmoor Alliance, which plays a vital for building better, healthier communities. After managing agribusinesses a group that was founded to preserve community gardens. She also co- role in developing resident engagement and organizational buy-in. This in 30 countries over the past 40 years, Mr. Nuri founded Truly Living Well founded Black Urban Growers, an organization of volunteers committed alliance seeks to unite and mobilize the community’s stakeholders behind Center for Natural Urban Agriculture (TLW) in 2006 in Atlanta. Using a hoe, to building networks and community support for growers in both urban a common vision – the revitalization of the Brightmoor neighborhood. rake, and shovel, he is transforming vacant land into vibrant farms; and and rural settings. creating livable-wage jobs for people who need work. In his “for-impact” work, he has recognized the value that engaged citizens In 2012 Ebony magazine voted Ms. Washington one of its 100 bring to a neighborhood. As a result of his service and leadership, he Mr. Nuri chose Atlanta to bring his vision to life because he believes the most-influential African Americans in the country. was selected in the fall of 2013 to participate in the prestigious Marshall area has enough green space to feed its entire population. He began by Memorial Fellowship. Mr. Mayes also played an important role in drafting growing collards and selling them from the back of his van. Today he’s Professionally, Ms. Washington has been a physical therapist for more a policy agenda (known as the Detroit Declaration) for the region’s training young farmers and leading a large staff of people in the production than 30 years and continues to balance her professional life with young professionals. of 35,000 pounds of produce for the local community each year. Mr. Nuri community service.

Photography Locations Special thanks to those whose effort and time Creative Development Introduction: Newark, New Jersey helped create this calendar: The Pita Group January: Detroit, Michigan Aetna African American Employee Resource Group Rocky Hill, Connecticut February: Harlem, New York Mark Callahan, Design Unit Head March: New Orleans, Louisiana Miguel Centeno, M.P.A., Senior Director, Community Relations Kim Pita, Project Manager and Writer April: Houston, Texas Jane M. Condron, Paralegal, Law & Regulatory Affairs Lisa Santoro, Creative Director and Designer May: Bronx, New York Deb Corbin, Community Relations and Urban Marketing Marje Medzela, Project Assistant June: Los Angeles, California Floyd W. Green, III, Vice President, Community Relations Erika Beaudoin, Writer July: Cornelius, North Carolina and Urban Marketing August: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tanya Hall, Regional Director, Community Relations, Northeast and Photography September: Atlanta, Georgia Mid-Atlantic Lou Jones Studio October: Hartford, Connecticut Cinna Harvey-Ellis, Paralegal, Law & Regulatory Affairs Boston, Massachusetts November: Oakland, California William I. Kramer, Deputy Chief Legal Officer, December: St. Louis, Missouri Law and Regulatory Affairs Lou Jones, Photographer Laurel Levy, Regional Director, Community Relations, Southeast William A. Thomas, III, Communications Manager, Photography Assistants Internal Communications Mike DeStefano Amy Trimani, Director, Corporate Communications Jackie DiBenedetto Thomas Wynn, Print Production Specialist Anne M. Jones Seth Miller Credits George Panagokos Produced by Aetna Inc. Reine Sloan Hartford, Connecticut Peggy Garrity, Project Manager Printer Allied Printing, Manchester, Connecticut Project Assistants Myrna Blum To Order Calendars Sharon Valechko Additional calendars are available for $4 each. To order please send a check, payable to Aetna, to: Aetna African American History Calendar Corporate Communications, RW3H 151 Farmington Avenue Hartford, CT 06156-3213

Resources Phone: 860.273.0509 1 Kweon, BS, WC Sullivan and R Angel. 1998. Green Common Spaces and the Social Integration of Inner-City Older Adults, Environment and Behavior 30, 6:832-858 Fax: 860.273.0526 2 http://homeguides.sfgate.com/hydroponics-45213.html 3 http://www.co.fresno.ca.us/uploadedFiles/Departments/Behavioral_Health/MHSA/Health%20Benefits%20of%20Urban%20Agriculture%20%281-8%29.pdf 4 http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/062501ARTSDEV.pdf 5 http://farmersmarketcoalition.org/celebrating-the-many-benefits-of-farmers-markets 6 http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-838-LAVENDER.aspx?activeIngredientId=838&activeIngredientName=LAVENDER 7 http://farmersmarketcoalition.org/celebrating-the-many-benefits-of-farmers-markets 8 http://www.co.fresno.ca.us/uploadedFiles/Departments/Behavioral_Health/MHSA/Health%20Benefits%20of%20Urban%20Agriculture%20%281-8%29.pdf 9 http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/major-land-uses.aspx#25962 10 American Lung Association. 1997. Childhood Asthma: A Matter of Control. Pamphlet 11 http://eartheasy.com/grow_raised_beds.htm 12 http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/famous-inventors/george-washington-carvers-inventions3.htm

2014 Aetna African American History Calendar • www.aetnaafricanamericanhistorycalendar.com