Waynewood School of Hope Open House – Friday, July 25, 2008
The Waynewood School of Hope, located at 1000 University Avenue in St. Paul will be having their open house on Friday, July 25, 2008 from 3- 7pm. You are encouraged to attend this history making event. The schools Founder and Director, Ms. Beverly Waynewood says, “The staff and I sincerely want to stimulate the hearts and minds on our students to achieve excellence. We want children and their families to become excited about their education and hopeful about the future.”
About the Wanyewood School of Hope:
Their slogan, “Building Young Minds for a Global World” is based on the schools rigorous curriculums, character development, culture, self appreciation and responsibility. The
Waynewood School of Hope program benefits include:
· Small Classes
· Transportation
· Uniform Dress Code
· Nutritious Meals
· Teachers and Staff who value HIGH expectations
· Respect is NUMBER ONE
The Waynewood School of Hope is a Public Charter School for grades 6, 7, 8. Our goal is to support the positive development of your child’s Cultural self-awareness and self-esteem with a commitment to high expectations to give you and your child an inspired vision of the future and the skills to take control of his or her destiny.
The culture of the Waynewood School of Hope will use the two most basic and fundamental principles that are found in many cultures: Respect and Community. Human-to-Human Respect and Community will be used as the vehicles that drive the school staff and fashion student success.
The Waynewood School of Hope is currently accepting students for their 2008-2009 school year. You can register your child by calling (651) 917-3085 or visit Waynewood‘s website at www.waynewoodschoolofhope.org for more information.
Do you live in a Home where there is a smoker and a non-smoker? The University of Minnesota wants to know!
Ms. Marcquilla Allen and Dr. Janet Thomas from the University of Minnesota are doing a study about “smoking in the home.” They both have been kind enough to share information about their study and want people from all walks of life to participate. After you read the information below, please contact Marquilla Allen at (612) 626-3899 to set up an appointment. All qualified participants are compensated for their time.
1. What is the purpose of area of research?
We all know that cigarette smoking is an addiction and that exposure to tobacco smoke is harmful to the smoker and to non-smokers in the home and public environment.
We also know that certain groups are targeted by the tobacco companies to start smoking and to continue smoking once they start.
What we know less about, and what I want to learn in my research, is the messages that really speak to smokers that make them want to eliminate exposing tobacco smoke to others in their environment and motivate them to want to quit.
Specifically, I want to learn how a non-smoker who lives with a smoker might support their smoker to make their home smoke free. Our study is designed to develop and test whether biomarker feedback documenting home exposure to environmental toxins might increase home smoking restrictions and motivate the smoker to make a quit attempt.
This program of research addresses the unfair share of the burden of tobacco-related health problems among underserved communities including high rates of childhood asthma and adult cardiovascular diseases.
Further, our program of study builds upon the important role of the family in health behavior change.
Dr. Thomas has recently received funding from the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association for research to increase the adoption of smoking bans in family homes. The study is designed to develop and test whether biomarker feedback documenting home exposure to environmental toxins might increase home smoking restrictions and motivate the smoker to make a quit attempt.
2. Main outcomes of research?
We hope to move all families towards having a home that promotes the best start and best health possible for children in the home. By learning what messages promote private policies/bans against smoking in the home and car and motivate smokers to quit, we will be better able to help all families.
3. Who is the Principal Investigator of this research?
Janet Thomas, PhD, joined the Program in Health Disparities Research in August 2006. Thomas, a University of Minnesota Department of Medicine Assistant Professor, gained an interest in health disparities from her graduate work in Clinical Psychology at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. There she developed an appreciation for the persistent sense of optimism and faith among those dealing with a plethora of major life stressors including poverty, violence, child mortality, and chronic illness, and a curiosity to understand the psychological mechanisms behind this “audacity of hope” She brings to the Program a strong research background in smoking cessation and weight management among African American communities. She is particularly interested in investigating the role of social support as a tool to motivate health behavior change.
*Dr. Thomas has recently received funding from the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association for research to increase the adoption of smoking bans in homes. The study is designed to develop and test whether biomarker feedback documenting home exposure to environmental toxins might increase home smoking restrictions and motivate the smoker to make a quit attempt.
Says Dr. Thomas, “It is vital that we identify innovative ways to eliminate exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). ETS is a recognized cause of heart, lung, vascular disease, and cancer in adults and respiratory diseases including asthma in children.” African Americans have twice the rate of premature death due to heart and vascular disease, the highest overall cancer death rates of all racial groups, and African American children have the highest rates of asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, and low birth weights. She hopes her research may help to address these health disparities.
4. What is the UMN, Program in Health Disparities Research?
The Program in Health Disparities Research is housed within the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Center for Clinical Research. Established in 2006, the Program is dedicated to eliminating health disparities among minority and other underserved populations through interdisciplinary research, education, and community partnership. Dr. Kolawole S. Okuyemi is Director of the Program, and has a strong research background in smoking cessation in African American and other underserved populations. The Program fosters multidisciplinary research in collaboration with community members and academic partners. Program researchers have and continue to receive funding from the American Medical Association, National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Science Foundation, Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation, among many others.
For more information, call Marquilla at (612) 626-3899
Songs for Sterling - A fundraiser to stop and investigate the Death of our Hip-Hop Generation
Our Black Children are killing each other at an alarming rate…it has to stop!
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A night of music to raise reward funds for information about the homicide of Sterling Horton.
On Thursday June 19th 2008 7:00pm
Augsburg College Chapel, 2211 Riverside Avenue. S
A fund raiser to assist in building capacity for information leading to the arrest, prosecution and sentencing of the people or persons involved in the murder of Mr. Sterling Horton.
This fundraiser features music by James Grear and Company, God’s Anointed, Rodney “October” Dixon, Ray Covington and Ten65. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, for more information and advanced tickets call 612-978-8603.
The article below was originally posted on TC Daily Planet by Lydia Howell, Pulse of the Twin Cities August 24, 2006 (http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/2124#)
“I never thought I’d be going to funerals every other week. I feel like I’m in a combat zone.” Shelly Martin speaks softly with edgy bewilderment about her cousin Sterling Horton, murdered July 25, one of 26 people killed in North Minneapolis this year. “Sterling loved football and baseball. A real people-person. Sterling was going to be a senior at Wayzata High. He just turned 17 in May.” Martin, a petite, African-American 20-something, writes for Liberator Magazine, which is based in North Minneapolis.
Brian Kosoro started Liberator Magazine three years ago, as a freshman studying political science and journalism at the nation’s premier African-American college, Howard University. Writers range from high school students to their early 20s.
“We conceived this as an urban journal. Like the ‘Journal of Science,’ it’s a place for serious ideas and hypotheses to be argued,” Kosoro explains. “Young people have things to say. Let’s create a place to talk without pressure to be perfect. Not just angry opposition, but creative, pro-active thought, as well as new CD reviews. We don’t proclaim ourselves a black publication. We’re open. A lot of white folks read the Liberator. People say ‘It’s real. It’s not compromising.’ Nothing will be sugar-coated on either side.”
Martin and other Liberator writers knew some of the recent murder victims. “Sterling was killed just around the corner from his house, trying to make curfew. The police precinct [was] just a few blocks away! They left his body lying in the street for three hours! They wouldn’t let my aunt near him. She had to identify his body at the morgue.”
At a strip mall on West Broadway last week, Minneapolis Interim Police Chief Tim Dolan and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak announced police presence would be intensified. Rybak quickly evaded the heckling Northside residents, who charged that an increased police presence targeting only Northside Black gangs amounts to racial profiling.
Emerging leadership from the hip- hop generation, like Chaka, the TC artist called I Self Devine, say law enforcement alone won’t end violence. “At base, violence is very profitable. Putting police on the streets, there’s money in that. Putting people in prison—there’s money in that,” Chaka says. “We don’t manufacture these guns! It goes back to violence being profitable,” Chaka observes. “Another thing: when you’re treated like an animal. Police officers get de-sensitized, looking at people like statistics. Not looking at people for what they can be. If you live inside that environment, you don’t even have a free vibe! If this is what you already feel about me, then nine [times] out of 10, I’ll perpetuate that, since I can’t be judged other than that stereotype.”
The Liberator asserts that younger leadership in communities of color is critical and challenges the corporate values that destroy communities.
“Everyone should know by now, it’s probable the CIA flooded urban neighborhoods with crack cocaine in the 1980s, destroying black communities,” says Kosoro. “People’s disengagement from problems in our city don’t see it’s in their self-interest having kids in after-school programs or getting quality education. They only see it when it when they get robbed. Then, their solution is ‘Lock this kid up!’ They’re fighting symptoms with Tylenol, instead of getting to the roots of the problem—which would be to see themselves in these kids.”
Law enforcement calls 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. “prime time for juvenile crime.” The Minnesota Foundation 2004 “Supporting Youth” report says budget cuts deny thousands of youth access to successful prevention programs.
The national organization Fight Crime, Invest in Kids advocates for and studies youth programs across the country. Consistently, they find that boys without such programs are six times more likely to engage in crime, pointing out most will continue crime as adults. A Chicago program Quantum Opportunities found that every high-risk youth reached saved $1.2 million to $2.3 million in court, victims’ and prison costs, saving $3 to $5 for every $1 invested in youth.
“In this country, we’re about being independent, being individuals. We’ve strayed from thinking about one another. It’s every man for himself almost,” Dinah Bullock reflects. “I’m increasingly concerned with housing [and how] people of color are moved out of the city … Buildings torn down to build condos. People offered a nice, Richfield town home and don’t think about the big picture. Their child will be in class with only one or two other children like them.”
Chaka, working with HOPE Community, emphasizes that gentrification dismantles communities. He says, “Banks’ redlining [refusing mortgages for targeted neighborhoods], that’s how you start a ghetto … We have to be aware of where the knife’s coming from in our back—and who’s holding it.”
“It appears to me that communities in North Minneapolis are by design. To increase the social service industry, they RECRUITED people from Chicago and Gary, isolating them in a certain area code,” adds “Bob the Janitor,” a TC educator. “It got Hennepin County and Minneapolis large amounts of federal money for ‘violence prevention.’ Keeping violence levels high, they get funds to disperse throughout the state.”
A University of Wisconsin study concluded youth join gangs for protection, status, power and a sense of belonging.
“It goes to what dreams are being sold. As an African-American man coming up, all you see is gang members, athletes and rappers. Personally, I know people who went all through high school getting a GPA that only allowed them to play basketball. Then, they realize, ‘I’m not going to be recruited for college basketball.’ But their GPA isn’t high enough for academic scholarships,” observes the 20-something man from U of M, who calls himself “Winston Smith,” hero of George Orwell’s novel “1984,” echoing concerns about persistent inequalities in public education. “Why isn’t the GPA to play sports high enough to get them to college without playing sports?”
The Liberator writers say college-educated people of color are encouraged to focus on individual careers, recognizing that the collective spirit of the Civil Rights Movement was lost.
“It starts with those of us who’ve been blessed to NOT be in the war zone every day. With that sanctuary comes the ability to strategize,” says Kosoro. “If you’re a pawn out there on the street, you don’t have that opportunity.”
“If we’re not going to invest in each other, if we’re not going to invest in our community, no one else is going to do it!” declares Shelly Martin.
MUL ACADEMY STUDENT TO RECIEVE $500 SCHOLARSHIP
Robert G. Powell, a senior at the Minneapolis Urban League Academy High School in south Minneapolis, has been named the local winner of TV One’s “Live the Dream” essay contest, receiving a $500 scholarship from TV One and Comcast. Representatives from Comcast will present Powell with the scholarship award Friday, May 30, during graduation ceremonies, which begin at 6:30 pm at the Minneapolis Urban League, Glover-Sudduth Center, 2100 Plymouth Ave. N., Minneapolis.
TV One’s “Live the Dream” essay contest was implemented as part of the network’s “Our History Month” initiative in February 2008. The announcement was made jointly by TV One and Comcast.TV One joined with Comcast, Cable in the Classroom, and other local cable affiliates around the country to sponsor the national “Live the Dream” essay contest. Building on the theme of TV One’s documentary special MLK: A Dream Deferred, high school students were invited to write an essay commenting on the progress that has been made on Martin Luther King’s Dream – Are we living the Dream today? Essays from participating students were evaluated by an independent panel of judges based on the following criteria: relevance to the MLK: A Dream Deferred special, originality/creativity, clarity of expression and grammar. The top scoring entries were then reviewed by a TV One committee for final selection.
“I can’t believe I won,” said Powell, 18, who titled his essay Does the Dream Still Live On? and questioned if enough progress has been made in 40 years towards improving race relations nationally and globally. “On one hand, we’ve made great strides towards racial equality,” says Powell, “but on the other hand, we’ve been standing still for 40 years. Black communities still experience high rates of crime and violence, and our children still suffer from an inadequate education. Moreover, we’re at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine are at war, and nations are at war in Africa. If we looked beyond what makes us different, we’d see that the content our character is the same in every one of us.”
Forty years after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., MLK: A Dream Deferred evaluates the current state of race relations in America through the words and dreams that the legendary civil rights leader. Noted celebrities, including Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry, Sanaa Lathan, Regina King and Hill Harper, speak excerpts from Dr. King’s most famous speeches throughout the special. “Live the Dream” is the latest in a series of partnerships between Comcast and the Minneapolis Urban League. Last September, The Comcast Foundation provided a $12,000 grant to the organization’s Community Empowerment Program, which offers services to help prepare low-income families, African Americans and other minority groups for the workplace through job readiness training. Most recently, dozens of Comcast employees volunteered at Minneapolis Urban League Academy High School and the After Today Group Home as a part of Comcast Cares Day 2008 on Saturday, May 3.
“We are delighted to join with TV One in presenting Robert Powell with this scholarship award,” said Bill Wright, Comcast Twin Cities Region vice president. “His thoughtful essay makes it clear there are many young people who, like Robert, are concerned about extending Dr. King’s dream to the least fortunate American citizens and to those who suffer injustice throughout the world.” “We thank Comcast’s Twin Cities Region operation for participating in this essay contest,”said TV One Vice President of Affiliate Marketing George Lima. “We were very impressed with the passion of Robert Powell and the other young people who clearly feel that the principles Dr. King stood for are as relevant today as they were 40 years ago.”
About TV One
Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvoneonline.com) serves 43.4 million households (Nielsen May 2008 estimate), offering a broad range of lifestyle and entertainment-oriented original programming, classic series, movies, fashion and music designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult African American viewers. TV One’s investors include Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK; www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets African American and urban listeners; Comcast Corporation [NASDAQ: CMCSA and CMCSK; www.comcast.com], the leading cable television company in the country; The DirecTV Group; Constellation Ventures; Syndicated Communications; and Opportunity Capital Partners.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services. With 24.7 million cable customers, 14.1 million high-speed Internet customers, and 5.2 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content. Comcast’s content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten Comcast SportsNet networks and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast’s
Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia. Comcast serves more than 557,000 customers in 111 communities throughout the Twin Cities, Greater Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. Comcast, whose local headquarters offices are located in St. Paul, employs more than 2,000 local residents. For more information about Comcast’s products and services in the Twin Cities, please call 651-222-3333, or visit the company’s Web site at www.comcast.com.
About the Minneapolis Urban League
The Minneapolis Urban League is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that provides human services and advocacy that will enable African Americans and other diverse group members residing in the Greater Minneapolis Metropolitan area to cultivate and develop their individual and group potential on a par with all other Minnesotans.
The organization provides a continuum of more than 20 programs and services, which operate from seven facilities throughout Minneapolis, and serves approximately 20,000 people each year so that individuals and families in need can have access to quality employment, housing, health care, education and social services. For more information about the Minneapolis Urban League, visit www.mul.org or call (612) 302-3100. The Minneapolis Urban League is headquartered at the Glover-Sudduth
Center, 2100 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411.
Call Your Local Retailers, ask them - Where Are the Black Dolls for Children of Color?
It’s happening again, major toy manufactures are avoiding a niche market that will provide young girls of color a doll that will reinforce that young girls of color are beautiful, smart and successful.
Watch this Blog in the next couple of days. Twin City Business will bring to you the latest news and information on a new collaboration that should end America’s problem by presenting the local and national retailers with a positive doll of color.
Rather they move with the idea is on us, America!
Stay tuned!
