Features
- Created on 15 June 2013
Black Girls Get F.I.T in Atlanta
Former swimmer and swim instructor Karmen Brown wanted to get back in shape. She searched the internet for a running group to join. She found a Facebook page for a national running organization with a group in Atlanta--they were all black.
"I was looking for something where I could run and not feel weird," Brown said. "You get tired of 'you're the token Black person doing all the stuff only White people do.' You want to be with people who understand your plight."
Brown joined Black Girls RUN! in spring 2012. The organization encouraged Black women to exercise, specifically run, in order to lead healthier lives and break the stigma that Black women aren't runners. Brown looked through photos and was surprised that the women were all smiling and looked like they were actually having fun. The 27-year-old has loved her experience and feels inspired with every run.
"I love being with them [the group members]. I love running down the street and you hear people cheering you on," Brown said.
The Black Girls RUN! F.I.T. (Fitness Intervention Team) Series hits Atlanta Saturday morning with sessions and workouts to encourage those who aren't big on running to try other ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The event will host 400 people in Bessie Branham Park in the Kirkwood area.
"Some people get intimidated by the word 'running,'" said BGR! PR coordinator Jay Ell Vaughn, who said that the series also shows women how to stay active without hitting the pavement.
The one-day series travels to different cities and features speakers about nutrition and lifestyle as well as sessions with local trainers in the areas of yoga, zumba, African dance and other forms of exercise.
"It introduces black women, especially, to healthy living and healthy eating, making it a part of their normal lifestyle," Vaughn said. "Exercise doesn't have to be hard. It doesn't have to be something you dread."
United Health Care and REI sponsor the series, helping to bring in health and wellness specialists.
Since 2009 Black Girls RUN! has used its goal of helping Black women lead healthier lifestyles to propel the group into an organization that heads more than 52,000 members nationwide, 10,000 just in Georgia, according to their website.
Georgia is home to six BGR! running groups including Atlanta, South Atlanta, Warner Robbins, Augusta, Savannah and Columbus.
"You finally see your people and they're doing something [this] big to break the cycle," said Brown. Adding that the encouragement from her group members helps her complete her runs and hit her goals.
"They [BGR!] tell you to keep going, they tell you to keep pushing," Brown said. "You're doing something for yourself. You're doing something for your children."
Those interested in joining or just watching from a distance can catch BGR! on their Preserve the Sexy Tour part two which continues in July. Additionally, the group will hold its national conference and race weekend, a three-day conference in Charlotte, Sep. 6-8 that features an expo, sessions, a dinner, and a 5k/10k.
- Created on 14 June 2013
Women of Excellence: Monica Pearson
Monica Kaufman Pearson is the first woman and the first minority to anchor the daily evening news in Atlanta, where she worked for 37 years at WSB-TV.
She's won over 33 Southern Regional and local Emmy Awards for reporting, anchoring and her "Closeups" celebrity interview show.
The bipartisan Georgia delegation honored her in speeches on the U.S. House floor, when she retired in 2012.
Since retiring, she writes a column, "Monica Matters" for Southern Seasons magazine and is a graduate student at the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
She is a volunteer, a motivational speaker, a singer, the daughter of a 90-year-old, the wife of an assistant police chief, and the mother of a budding entrepreneur. She's a graduate of the University of Louisville and is a native of Louisville, Ky.
Accomplished and fascinating women like Pearson are among 50 who will be honored by The Atlanta Daily World as "Women of Excellence" at an awards ceremony on Thursday, June 20 at 200 Peachtree from 3pm- 6pm. The public is invited to come to the event and meet them.
To purchase tickets to the event, call Michelle Gipson at 404-761-1114 ext. 11 or visit http://www.atlantadailyworld.com/upcoming-events and click on the "Women of Excellence" icon.
- Created on 13 June 2013
Women of Excellence: Jasmine Guy
Jasmine Guy - dancer, actor, singer, director and writer - performs in many mediums. She has a recurring role as Grams on the popular CW series "Vampire Diaries," received critical acclaim for her role in the 2012 film "October Baby," and starred in the 2012 Alliance Theater production of "God of Carnage."
Her body of stage work includes Broadway productions of "The Wiz," "Leader of the Pack,"
"Grease" and "Chicago," starring as Velma Kelly, and most recently starring locally opposite Kenny Leon in "Fool For Love."
For television, she created the iconic southern belle Whitley Gilbert on the Cosby Show spinoff "A Different World," for which she won six consecutive NAACP Image Awards and numerous other honors.
Other TV credits include "Queen," the mini-series with Halle Berry; Anne Rice's "Feast of All Saints"; "America's Dream," with Wesley Snipes; "Touched By an Angel"; "Fame"; "NYPD Blue"; "Melrose Place"; "Drop Dead Diva," and Showtime's "Dead Like Me." Her film credits include Spike Lee's "School Daze," Eddie Murphy's "Harlem Nights" and the indie films "Klash," "Diamond Men," "Guinevere" and "The Heart Specialist."
As a director and choreographer for the stage, Jasmine's credits include productions of "For Colored Girls...", with Nicole Ari Parker and Robin Givens; "The Bluest Eye," at Spelman College; "I Dream," the world-premiere musical/opera about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.; "Brownie Points", at Theatrical Outfit, and The Colored Museum, for Kelly Leon's True Colors Theatre Company.
Jasmine has written the book "Evolution of a Revolutionary" (Atria Books) about the life and journey of Afeni Shakur, and she released her debut album (Warner Bros. Records) in 1990. She is currently Producing Director of Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta, where she resides with her daughter.
Accomplished and fascinating women like Guy are among 50 who will be honored by The Atlanta Daily World as "Women of Excellence" at an awards ceremony on Thursday, June 20 at 200 Peachtree from 3pm- 6pm. The public is invited to come to the event and meet them.
To purchase tickets to the event, call Michelle Gipson at 404-761-1114 ext. 11 or visit http://www.atlantadailyworld.com/upcoming-events and click on the "Women of Excellence" icon.
- Created on 13 June 2013
NAACP Responds to Resignation of Surgeon General Regina Benjamin
U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced late Wednesday that she will step down next month after four years in the post.
Benjamin, a longtime advocate for a health care model centered on wellness and preventive treatment, announced her decision in an e-mail to staff, thanking them for supporting her vision.
"My goal was to create a grassroots movement, to change our health care system from one focused on sickness and disease to a system focused on wellness and prevention. With your help, that movement has begun," Benjamin wrote.
In an e-mail to staff, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said Benjamin should be "proud of her many achievements."
"Regina has served as America's doctor since 2009 and has impacted the health and lives of Americans across the country. I am deeply grateful for her leadership and service," Sebelius wrote. "The Surgeon General's road to prevention has touched the lives of millions of Americans and has had a positive impact on the health of this Nation."
As surgeon general, Benjamin chaired the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council, which was created under the Affordable Care Act to develop a strategy to improve access to care.
"Regina has been passionate about changing our health care system from one focused on sickness and disease to a system focused on wellness and prevention," Sebelius said.
Prior to her nomination, Benjamin served as CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Alabama, which she founded in 1990.
The Alabama native was also the first African-American woman board member of the American Medical Association, and served a term as chairwoman of the group's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.
Deputy Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak will serve as interim surgeon general until a permanent pick is nominated.
The NAACP released the following statement in response to Regina Benjamin's decisions to step down from her post as the United States Surgeon General
From Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman, NAACP National Board of Directors:
"Surgeon General Regina Benjamin has been an unwavering advocate for proactive policies that would create a healthy America for all," said Brock. "Her leadership and legacy as 'America's Doctor' will serve as a cornerstone of the NAACP's continued efforts to ensure everyone has equal access to affordable, high-quality health care and to end racially disparate health outcomes."
From Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO, NAACP:
"Surgeon General Benjamin has been an unparalleled ally in our work to eliminate racial health disparities," said Jealous. "She has played a critical role in advancing preventative care measures in communities of color and championing meaningful access to quality, affordable health care."
From Shavon Arline-Bradley, Sr. Director of Health, NAACP:
"Dr. Benjamin's work has helped to shift our nations' mindset about health care from reactive treatment to preventative action," said Arline-Bradley. "From her National Prevention Strategy to the Every Body Walk! Initiative to her efforts to curb childhood obesity, Surgeon General Benjamin brought attention to our nation's need to refocus on strategies that encourage wellness for individuals and communities."
Dr. Benjamin is the recipient of the 2011 Chairman's Award presented during the 42nd NAACP Image Awards. Additionally, she was a keynote speaker at the NAACP's 102nd Convention in Los Angeles and participated in the launch of the NAACP's Childhood Obesity Advocacy Manual.
- Created on 13 June 2013
Blacks Value Security Over Privacy in New Poll
African Americans are more likely than others to believe that the government should have access to telephone records, monitor email and investigate possible terrorist threats, even if it intrudes on privacy concerns, according to a poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center and The Washington Post.
"Fully 45 percent of all Americans say the government should be able to go further than it is, saying that it should be able to monitor everyone's online activity if doing so would prevent terrorist attacks. A slender majority, 52 percent, say no such broad-based monitoring should occur," according to the story by Jon Cohen, general manager and director of polling for Capital Insight, the independent polling group of Washington Post Media.
Among African Americans, however, 55 percent said those extra measures were acceptable, while 44 percent said they were not. The overall survey of 1,004 respondents nationwide included interviews with 128 non-Hispanic African Americans.
Respondents were also asked, "What do you think is more important right now — (for the federal government to investigate possible terrorist threats, even if that intrudes on personal privacy); or (for the federal government not to intrude on personal privacy, even if that limits its ability to investigate possible terrorist threats)?"
Among all adults, 62 percent said investigating possible threats was more important. The figure was 60 percent among Whites, 67 percent among non-Whites and 75 percent among African Americans.
