African Americans

May 14 2013

On average adults eat 3,400 mg of salt a day

Reducing salt consumption below the currently recommended 2,300 milligrams — about 1 1/2 teaspoons— per day maybe unnecessary, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

The news follows a decades-long push to get Americans to reduce the amount of salt in their diet because of strong links between high sodium consumption and hypertension, a known risk factor for heart disease.

Manny Otiko   |   OW Contributor
May 9 2013

Many still distrustful of such studies, but are we hurting ourselves?

Common knowledge holds that African Americans are reluctant to take part in clinical trials for the pharmaceutical industry, and some say for good reason. Such horrific experiences as the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male have made many African Americans wary of such testing.

Apr 11 2013

Same-sex marriage is still a hard-sell for most Christians

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, and Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative in Washington, D.C., are brothers of the cloth. Though they share a love for Christ and the Bible, they do not share the same views on same-sex marriage, an issue now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Apr 11 2013

Allows phone users to locate them anywhere in the country

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Supporters of African American businesses across the country can now access real-time information to locate providers of goods and services, no matter where they are in America.

Through a groundbreaking partnership between the U.S. Black Chambers Inc. (USBC) and Around The Way—developers of the smartphone application—consumers will be able to locate Black-owned businesses utilizing the GPS feature built into their phones.

Apr 4 2013

Proceeds support Camp Crescent Moon

Despite public perception, sickle cell disease still exists and continues to devastate the lives of many individuals and their families. Education and public information are the most effective tools for increasing awareness of sickle cell disease. With television news and radio waves flooded with information on more popular health issues, sickle cell disease has been seemingly placed on the back burner. The fact is, this disease was identified in 1910 and yet many people still do not know enough about its origins and incidence rate.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”