Obesity: Worse Than You Thought

WASHINGTON, DC – Blacks are digging a grave with their mouths, killing themselves, slowly, and quietly, little by little, every day. They are more overweight and obese than any other racial group and at risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, stroke, hypertension, and certain types of cancers.

New research by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) reported November 5, that each year approximately 100,500 cancers occurring in the US can be attributed to excess body fat.

The figure underscores the central role that overweight and obesity are now understood to play both in the development of cancer and in cancer survivorship, said researchers.

"We now know that carrying excess body fat plays a central role in many of the most common cancers," said Laurence Kolonel, MD, PhD, Deputy Director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii at a press conference. "And it's clearer than ever that obesity's impact is felt before, during and after cancer - it increases risk, makes treatment more difficult and shortens survival”.

Khalilah Ali is a nurse practitioner that travels the streets of Dallas providing home health care to throw away patients that others won’t treat. They are below low income in her words and are 95 percent Black and 65 percent obese.

“When you’re on their territory you get a full picture of their health status. They feel comfortable telling you everything because you’re not just treating an illness you’re treating a person. Poverty and oppression has impacted their lives. Many still eat a slave diet like they are still on the plantation,” she told The Final Call.

“I visit patients weighing 350 pounds sitting on their porch eating a ham sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise and drinking red Kool Aid. I’m the first person to tell them to stop eating pork. We have less cancer than others but we die from it more than others.”

From Dallas get on 20 East and two states later is Mississippi home to the city of Jackson, home to the U.S.'s largest population of Blacks. The magnolia state annually weighs in as America's fattest state.

The prevalence of obesity among Blacks in Mississippi is even greater than the national average for Blacks, especially among Black women. And more alarming, increasing numbers of Black children in the state are being diagnosed with obesity-related illnesses that in the past had been only found in adults.

"I used to be scared to step out there on the issue of Obesity but I realized that I wasn't being fair because I have a public platform and I need to use it for good," said Star Jones, host of the BET News special HEART OF THE CITY: DYING TO EAT IN JACKSON.

"I am not the 'poster child' for a specific weight loss method but I am a true advocate for adopting a healthy lifestyle because with all humility, doing so has saved my life."

HEART OF THE CITY: DYING TO EAT IN JACKSON revealed a perfect storm of socio-economic, cultural, environmental elements and individual lifestyle choices that have caused so many of Jackson's citizens to become obese. Almost one of every three Mississippians has a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater -- the dividing line between being overweight and being obese.


Read more in The Final Call Newspaper

Thanks But No Thanks

Be careful when banks offer to do you a favor. It could cost you up to $35 each time they pay a charge you have insufficient funds for. Called “Courtesy Overdraft Services” banks provide this favor as a help to their clients who are either faced with having the charge denied or having it honored.

“If the bank bounces the check, the consumer will pay a fee to the bank; the consumer will likely pay a fee to the person to whom the check was written; the consumer may also face late payment fees and delinquencies if the check was written to pay a bill; and the consumer may also be at risk of violating state laws pertaining to bad checks,” testified Richard Hunt of the Consumers Banking Association before the House Committee on Financial Services, October 30.

“If the bank denies a debit card transaction, the consumer may be faced with a plate full of food or a cart full of groceries and no way to pay for them. With this in mind, it is not hard to understand why consumers generally prefer that their overdraft transactions be honored, even if they result in overdraft fees.”

But consumers are fighting mad about this courtesy. Horror stories abound of people who had to pay the $35 courtesy fee.

“I wish they had just denied the charge,” Sheila Pinkney told The Final Call. “I thought I had the money but was short. Just deny it don’t pay it and then charge me $35 each time I do it. My shopping spree cost me an additional $105. The least they could do is ask me if I want them to do me a favor and I would politely say, no sir.”

Congressional proposals to rein in abusive overdraft practices are long overdue, Center for Responsible Lending executive Eric Halperin also testified.

Mr. Halperin, director of CRL's Washington office, explained that bank overdraft programs, which cost consumers $23.7 billion last year and are among the most predatory lending products on the market.

"Charging people a $35 fee for a small, debit card transaction is unacceptable," he said. "It doesn't save them bounced check fees, it simply skims money from their account and puts them in a bind."

Read more in The Final Call...

90% of Black Children Eat Meals Paid for by Food Stamps

When David Peyton lost his construction job, things looked bad but when his girlfriend Josie Williams lost hers too things got worse. He knew they had hit rock bottom when Ms. Williams went to apply for food stamps.

“I didn’t want food stamps but we really needed them. We have three children and just couldn’t afford everything off unemployment. We needed help. I had lived to be 45 and never had government assistance but times are really hard now,” he told The Final Call.

Nearly half of American children – including 90 percent of Black children and 90 percent of children who spend their childhoods in single-parent households – will eat meals paid for by food stamps at some point during childhood (one year to 20 years old), reports Thomas Hirschl, Cornell professor of development sociology and co-author of a study published in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

“This is a warning sign that our children are at risk. The ideas of how children are taken care of go back to the times of Ben Franklin with individual responsibility. Children are exposed to risk and suffering because of these outdated ideas,” he told The Final Call.

The report explains that nearly one-quarter of U.S. children will live in homes that receive food stamps for five or more years. Food stamps are important indicators of poverty and risk of food insecurity, “two of the most detrimental economic conditions affecting a child’s health,” says Mr. Hirschl.

Read more in The Final Call

Education Writers Association Conference

For a new education writer like me the conference was definitely a “Reality Check.” From the new media sessions at the Washington Post to opening remarks by Secretary Arne Duncan, to the incredible workshops, the exhibits and the wealth of information from the speakers and attendees it was well worth the time.

There’s a saying that the more you know, the more you know you don’t know. Well, I second that emotion. While I learned how much I didn’t know about the field of education (reality check) here’s some highlights of what I did learn.

Blogs allow readers to get involved with the story. “Let them in the reporting process,” said Emily Alpert of the Voice of San Diego, “Have a personal relationship with readers.”

Non-profit news outlets are successfully making their mark in the industry. Elizabeth Green of gothamschools.org explained that the site was developed by a philanthropist and it’s innovating new models on how to pay for journalism.

Facebook can be used for reporting. Pat Thornton, chief editor of beatblogging.org said, “The easier you make it for people to reach you, the more they will.” Twitter is also a good place for research. Lots of news is broken on Twitter. “

“It’s a great way to start a conversation, ask questions and get quotes,” said Mr. Thorton. “Put your blog entry on Twitter and Facebook. Use a tiny URL. Twitter and Facebook can be connected.”

Facebook is a news source he explained. It’s great for education writers because it was started for students. Be social. People get news from Facebook and they give news. Journalism is now a two-way conversation. People are willing to ask questions. Organize a weekly chat. The biggest thing is the interaction between people.

The research about high school dropouts goes all the way back to the 1870’s. Today 1.2 million youth drop out each year. Near 50 percent of Black, Latino and Native American students drop out. It’s called the “Million Dollar Mistake”.

Two thousand schools account for 66 percent of dropouts. By the third grade a student’s attendance, behavior and academic performance can predict whether or not they will drop out.

Denise Levano, 23, an immigrant who came to this country in 2006, spoke about why she dropped out of school and returned. She will graduate next month. “I left to work. I came back because I don’t want

 to be a waitress all my life. I want to do something different. I don’t have my dad encouraging me. It’s just me and my sister.” She’s going to college in the fall.

John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises spoke of the power of a caring adult in the life of a child. Ms. Levano’s counselor was instrumental in getting her back to school.

One size education doesn’t fit all. Some students need early morning classes, night school, and web based. Real life events can cause dropouts. So can boredom in the classroom. Young people start dropping out a year or two before they actually drop out.

The war of words between Marty Nemko, a college consultant and Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust about alternative education versus college readiness programs was an eye opener. Is college for everyone? Ninety seven percent of Black parents think so. But too many Black students are dropping out. Give them another option before they give up, drop out or get pregnant explained Mr. Nemko.

Options are what education writing is all about, so many stories, so little time. That’s my reality check. Tell me yours. Email me at nisaislam@mac.com, tweet me @nisaislam or hit me up on Facebook. I’m being social.

Denise Levano speaks at the workshop Dropping Out: Why Kids Leave and What Brings Them Back. The workshop panel included Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises, and Danielle Mezer from the Mayor’s office in Nashville.

Understanding White Privilege

Across America in small cities and large white people are being educated about their privilege.  They are learning that just as their whiteness has led to oppression and institutional racism, the flip side is a set of benefits and privileges that only whites share.

“Understanding white privilege is another framework to combating racism.  It’s another tool in the struggle against white supremacy and racism,” explained Tim Wise, an author and lecturer on white privilege also called anti racist teachings to The Final Call.

“It started with the abolitionist struggle, then the anti segregation movement, then nationalism.  White privilege is a way for white to explore how race impacts our lives.  It’s a framework aimed at liberal and progressive white folks.  We have to get white folks to understand how racism affects us too.  Other than that the work we do to combat it is just charity or patronizing.”

He added, “We have to challenge white privilege, challenge white supremacy and what it does

to us as the dominant group.  It has negative affects and consequences for us as well.”

What is White Privilege?

Dr. W. E. B. Dubois is credited with being the first to identify and discuss White Privilege.  In 1935 he wrote of the “Psychological Wages of Whiteness” in his book Black Reconstruction in America.

“It must be remembered that the white group of laborers, while they received a low wage, were compensated in part by a sort of public and psychological wage. They were given public deference and titles of courtesy because they were white. They were admitted freely with all classes of white people to public functions, public parks, and the best schools. The police were drawn from their ranks, and the courts, dependent on their votes, treated them with such leniency as to encourage lawlessness,” he wrote.

“Their vote selected public officials, and while this had small effect upon the economic situation, it had great effect upon their personal treatment and the deference shown them. White schoolhouses were the best in the community, and conspicuously placed, and they cost anywhere from twice to ten times as much per capita as the colored schools. The newspapers specialized on news that flattered the poor whites and almost utterly ignored the Negro except in crime and ridicule.”

The White Privilege Conference

In the 1990’s a young, Black Eddie Moore Jr. was inspired.  “I was always interested in creating a space to have tough conversations like was Jesus Black, should we spank our children and what about burning the American flag.  I was working on my masters when I heard about white privilege.  I felt we needed a larger venue for the conversation,” he told The Final Call.

That larger venue started in 1999 with the first White Privilege Conference.

“It’s about building relationships with people interested in the topic.  I was living in Iowa at the time and white people started attending because of the relationships.  There were 150 at the first one and this year we had 925,” he said.

“The conference has gone beyond conversation to folks making a commitment to be action oriented and to be held accountable.  It’s strong and growing.  We’ve developed relations

hips nationally.  I believe you do the tougher work more effectively when you work with people you love.”

Nearly 1000 mostly white people from around the country gathered in Memphis, city of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, April 1-4, to talk about the challenges of ending oppression and institutional racism at the 10^th Annual White Privilege Conference.

 “This conference is about giving people the skills and tools to make change in their lives and in America,” said Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., now director of diversity for Bush College in Seattle, Washington.

For four days adult and youth participants went to workshops such as Discovering White and Male Privilege: The Surprising Journey, The Joy of Unlearning Racism , We Oppose Racism and Unearned Privilege..So, Now What?, and listened to keynote speakers.

Dr. Frances Kendall, a diversity consultant, gave the opening keynote.  “I spoke to the audience about passing the mantle

and calling forth a new generation of change agents.  There is a great deal of work that needs to be done on changing white privilege and institutional racism,” 

she told The Final Call.

Organizers explain that the WPC examines the challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and offers solutions and team-building strategies to work toward a more equitable world. 

 

Author Tim Wise shows his book White Like Me at the White Privilege Conference.

Youth attendees at the White Privilege Conference surround Dr. Tim Moore.

 

Saviour's Day in Photos

By now you I'm sure you've read lots about Saviour's Day. Here's a short slideshow of pictures to tell the story. Many thanks to Brothers Mikal, Jesse, and Askia for their photos.

Big Event Muslim

That term is an inside joke referring to Muslims you only see at big events. Well my blog may be just as guilty. The last time I posted was at the Democratic Presidential Convention in Denver last summer (a big event) and here I am posting again after Saviour's Day 2009, another big event. Please forgive the delay and I appreciate you reading my posts. I will do much better this time and you can bank on a post at least once a week if not more.

If you missed Saviour's Day you really missed something special. The Minister's address was profound. It needs to be printed and studied. It was a blue print for our success. There were so many new and exciting events this year from workshop titles to new presenters to Mother Tynnetta's Ta Ha Suite, a classical symphonic suite featuring classical ballet and musicians from around the world but in this post I want to tell you about the preshow. A preshow at Saviour's Day? Yes. Bro. Robert, student minister over the Southwest Region based in Houston, and I hosted a brief preshow before the Minister's address to highlight the different events at Saviour's Day. We interviewed Bro. Akbar who talked about international affairs and Sis. Ava who introduced the new Study Guide 21. It was a big hit. If you missed it, you really missed it.

Here's a clip of what you missed. Photos by Bro. Jesse Muhammad.