Tagged With "Black maternal mortality rate"
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NJ medical school program requires all first-year students to learn about ACEs science
In 2015, Dr. Beth Pletcher, a pediatrician and associate professor specializing in genetics, was at the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Washington D.C. when she heard two speakers that forever changed her work with medical students. Dr. Beth Pletcher “I went to two talks on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that were so mind-boggling to me that I decided on my drive back to New Jersey that I had to do something about it,”says Pletcher, director of the Division...
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*NEW PUBLICATION* Chronic Disease Among African American Families: A Systematic Scoping Review
Chronic diseases are common among African Americans, but the extent to which research has focused on addressing chronic diseases across multiple members of African American families is unclear. This systematic scoping review summarizes the characteristics of research addressing coexisting chronic conditions among African American families, including guiding theories, conditions studied, types of relationships, study outcomes, and intervention research.
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U.S. Coast Guard honors Black veteran, NFL great
Above is U.S. Coast Guard photo of Emlen Tunnell, who served in the Coast Guard during and after World War II, was the first Black player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Before he became the first Black player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Emlen Tunnell served in the U.S. Coast Guard during and after World War II, where he was credited with saving the lives of two shipmates. Now, a Coast Guard cutter and an athletic building on the Coast Guard Academy campus are...
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Black history explains why COVID-19 has ravaged that community | Opinion
By Star-Ledger Guest Columnist By Hamid Shaaban Black History Month is often observed by commemorating Black excellence and honoring the remarkable achievements and contributions of Black people in the United States and around the world. This month, I propose to all my colleagues in healthcare and medicine to promote and advance education about the history of medical racism. That history is Black history and it is often neglected and remains largely unacknowledged. It’s important to...
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Doug Williams - First Black Quarterback to Win Super Bowl XXII
On January 31st, 1988 Doug Williams made history. But before that historic day, Williams was already a history-maker. One of the greatest HBCU athletes of all time, Doug Williams career started as a Freshman at Grambling State University under legendary head coach Eddie Robinson. Williams was a four-year starter for GSU, leading the Tigers to a 36-7 record, three Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titles and was awarded the Black College Player of the Year twice. 1977 Williams finished...
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New Jersey's Underground Railroad
Lawnside, New Jersey The Peter Mott House is the oldest known house to serve as a station on the Underground Railroad in New Jersey. Elizabeth and Newark New Jersey Jersey City - The last stop Before the Civil War, Jersey City was the last stop on the New Jersey Underground Railroad route for many runaway slaves seeking freedom. The quest for freedom prompted an estimated 100,000 19th century black slaves to make the dangerous journey along the Underground Railroad. That term refers to the...
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Black Enterprise - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Virtual Summit 2021
PLEASE CHECK THE CALENDAR FOR DETAILS.
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Bass Reeves: The Real Lone Ranger Was Black
If you’re like me, you remember watching the popular television show, The Lone Ranger, where it depicted a white man who wore a disguise on a white horse and had a Native American counterpart with him named Tonto. The story we are most familiar with started out as a radio show, then a popular television show that ran from 1949 to 1957, then comic books, and several cartoons and big-budget movies. But like many things during slavery, history may have been obscured and the actual “Lone Ranger”...
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Racial Equity and Philanthropy
“... Philanthropy is overlooking leaders of color who have the most lived experience with and understanding of the problems we are trying to solve.”
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Black History NJ: The Complete Series
Jersey Joe Walcott Arnold Raymond Cream, aka Jersey Joe Walcott, was born in Merchantville, NJ, on Jan. 31, 1914. He held the record for the oldest heavyweight champion for more than four decades. His father, an immigrant from Barbados, died when Walcott was 15, which forced him to go to work to provide for his mother and younger siblings. At 16-years-old, he began boxing professionally and adopted Jersey Joe Walcott as his moniker… Carla Harris Montclair resident Carla Harris is an author,...
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‘Whole Generations Of Fathers’ Lost As COVID-19 Kills Young Latino Men In NJ BY KAREN YI | Gothamist
After having a light cough for three days last spring, Miguel Mestiza Valderrabano called his partner Ana Maria Lorenzo to say that, when she got home from work, he planned to go to the hospital. He would never make it, and the mental image of his 32-year-old lifeless body on their living room floor still haunts her. “I couldn’t believe that had happened in minutes,” Lorenzo said. She had just arrived home from her cleaning job—her first assignment in weeks after she’d lost work during the...
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Kathleen Neal Cleaver | Winona LaDuke | Naomi Klein
Kathleen Neal Cleaver In the '60s, Kathleen Neal Cleaver was a prominent member of the Black Panther Party, in which she created the position of communications secretary. In 1998, she said , "I think it is important to place the women who fought oppression as Black Panthers within the longer tradition of freedom fighters like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Ida Wells-Barnett, who took on an entirely oppressive world and insisted that their race, their gender, and their humanity be respected...
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The Path Forward
A discussion on racial equity in housing and an inclusive economy One in three households — nearly 100 million people across the U.S. — struggle with housing costs that jeopardize their financial security, according to the Aspen Institute. As one of the biggest determinants of financial and physical health, housing can influence a person’s access to education, health care and job opportunities, and has the ability to transform entire communities and strengthen the economy. And yet, while the...
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Find Solutions for Racial Health Gaps
A painful but pioneering infant mortality study is a challenge we “can’t walk away from,” as Minnesota DFL Rep. Kelly Morrison, who’s also a physician, aptly put it during a recent legislative briefing. Black babies in the U.S. have long been at much higher risk of dying than white newborns. But a study from a team that included two University of Minnesota researchers yielded a stunning finding: The hospital death rate for Black infants drops by a third when a Black doctor cared for them...
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Maternal Health in New Jersey: Pursuing Equity Through Systemic Change
You are invited to attend: NJ Spotlight News Virtual Roundtable: Maternal Health in New Jersey: Pursuing Equity Through Systemic Change Thursday, April 1, 2021 from 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM Online via teleconferencing This will be an online event only. Please register to have a teleconferencing link emailed to you Thursday, 4/1, at 3pm with a repeat send at 4pm. Alarmingly, in the United States mothers are dying at the highest rate in the developed world with the crisis being most severe for Black...
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What I’ve learned this year: A North Jersey epidemiologist reflects | Opinion
For much of the past few weeks, I’ve been asked to comment on what we have learned as we mark the pandemic’s one-year anniversary from the perspective of an epidemiologist. But I’ve yet to be asked to comment on what I, personally, have learned. When I contemplated that question, I’m deeply, deeply saddened that collectively, we have learned new terms like epidemiology, rate of transmission, and case-fatality rate; but we haven’t come to terms with the fact that we are a country built on...
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Maternal Health in New Jersey: Pursuing Equity Through Systemic Change
About this Event Alarmingly, in the United States mothers are dying at the highest rate in the developed world with the crisis being most severe for Black moms, who are dying at 3 to 4 times the rate of their white counterparts. In New Jersey, Black mothers may be nearly twice as likely as white mothers to die from pregnancy-related complications and Black babies nearly three times as likely as white babies to die before their first birthdays. To address these tragic realities, initiatives...
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Sen. Booker, Reps. Adams & Underwood Introduce Black Maternal Health Week Resolution
22 Co-sponsors in the Senate and over 47 in the House join resolution to raise national awareness of the state of Black maternal health in the United States. WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representatives Alma Adams (NC-12) and Lauren Underwood (IL-14) introduced a resolution recognizing Black Maternal Health Week, “to bring national attention to the maternal health crisis in the United States and the importance of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity among Black...
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Black Maternal Health Week, Apr. 11-17
Black Maternal Health Week takes place each year from April 11-17. Learn more about this year’s goals, which are to: Deepen the national conversation about Black maternal health in the US; Amplify community-driven policy, research, and care solutions; Center the voices of Black Mamas, women, families, and stakeholders; Provide a national platform for Black-led entities and efforts on maternal health, birth and reproductive justice; and Enhance community organizing on Black maternal health.
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Many say now is the time to fight racial bias in foster care | By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer
Black children have long suffered from racial disparities in the U.S. foster care system Cheri Williams looks back with regret at the start of her career as a child welfare caseworker in 1998. Systemic racism is a major reason why. “I removed probably about 100 kids from their homes in the 15 months I was an investigator … a lot of them were children of color,” said Williams, who's now a vice president of one of the largest adoption and foster care agencies in the United States. “Decades...
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'Absolutely defeated': Black nurses struggle with mental health support while battling Covid-19
(CNN) Throughout Olivia Thompson's 12-hour shift as a cardiac and Covid-19 nurse in Chandler, Arizona, she closely monitors the oxygen levels of several patients at a time and works with other medical specialists to heal them. For some, no amount of care Thompson gives prevents them from being transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. "There were times where I was dreading going to work because of the unknown," Thompson said. "Am I going to be a good nurse for my patients? Am I going to make a...
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A century later, she still bears witness to a race massacre - Tulsa Massacre May 31 – June 1, 1921
Viola Ford Fletcher is also still waiting for justice. By TONY NORMAN • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette America has been telling Viola Ford Fletcher to wait for justice ever since she was 7 years old. Now a spry 107, Fletcher is running out of patience with America. Delivered by midwife on a farm in Lawton, Okla., on May 10, 1914, Fletcher was born 138 years after the American experiment commenced in 1776. As a Black daughter of Oklahoma, she had no more reason to believe in America’s promises than...
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THE POLYNESIAN PANTHER PARTY
The Polynesian Panthers were a liberation activist group that fought for Polynesian and Māori empowerment in New Zealand. Inspired by the Black Power movement in the United States, along with Māori protests within the country, inner city youth in Auckland were emboldened to stand against capitalism and to fight for visibility. Auckland’s urban areas were filled with Pacific Islander immigrants, and their Kiwi-born children, who were subjected to police brutality, faced harsh discrimination,...
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100 Years later| Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre| Premieres May 30 at 8/7c | The HISTORY Channel
In the 1920s, the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as Black Wall Street, was one of the most prosperous African American communities in the United States. Filled with booming businesses and thriving entrepreneurs, the district served as a mecca of Black ingenuity and promise, until the evening of May 31, 1921, which marked the start of the devastating Tulsa Race Massacre. More than thirty-five city blocks were burned to the ground and hundreds of Black city dwellers were...
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NJ spends $445K a year to lock a kid up. We’ve got a better idea. | Opinion By Charles Loflin | Star Ledger Guest Columnist
New Jersey plans to spend a staggering $445,504 per incarcerated youth in 2022 to house them in facilities that are almost 80% empty. The time is now for New Jersey to close its youth prisons and invest in community-based alternatives. The current system, with its focus wholly on punishment rather than rehabilitation, the current system leaves whole communities — as well as the families of both victims and offenders — with unresolved trauma that continues to reverberate long after the...
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Give NJ youth mental health treatment, not prison time, advocates say | Patrick Lavery | NJ1015
NEWARK — When gymnastics legend Simone Biles suddenly pulled out of Olympic competition last week, citing a need to focus on her mental health, it prompted two concurrent yet divergent conversations. One, was she neglecting her duty to team and country by refusing to push through and compete, and two, is mental health stigma in sports finally going to be broken down. Ashanti Jones, community engagement manager for the Newark-based New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, said someone does...
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Systemic Racism & Health Care: Building Black Confidence in the COVID-19 Vaccine
The Tuskegee syphilis experiment. The secret sale of Henrietta Lacks cancer research cells. Jim Crow laws affecting African Americans' ability to receive medical treatment. For weeks, it’s been hard to hear over the clamor of millions of Americans lining up for COVID-19 vaccines. But not everyone has been enthused — namely, large swaths of minority communities, which comprise the populations disproportionately impacted by the virus, but whose hesitance is largely fueled by the country’s...
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ED-GRANTS-071321-001
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Office of Indian Education (OIE): American Rescue Plan (ARP)-American Indian Resilience in Education (ARP-AIRE) Assistance Listing Number 84.299C Department of Education Click her for funding opportunity. Purpose: Provides grants to support local educational agencies (LEAs) in their efforts to reform elementary and secondary school programs that serve Indian students. Programs are to be based on challenging state content and student...
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West Point statue honors famed Buffalo Soldiers
Black cavalry unit taught horsemanship to white cadets, suffered racism. By SARAHMASLIN NIR and PRECIOUS FONDREN New York Times WEST POINT, N.Y. – A large crowd watched expectantly as a soldier tugged at a black cloth spread over a monumental statue on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Friday. As it fell away, it revealed a bronze statue of a Black soldier sitting astride a stallion, a tribute to the U.S. Army’s famed Black cavalry — the Buffalo Soldiers — who for...
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Cesarean deliveries decline in N.J., but childbirth complications rise for Black, Hispanic mothers
By Elizabeth Llorente | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Cesarean deliveries declined slightly in New Jersey, but Black and Hispanic mothers again experienced more childbirth complications than white women, continuing a long pattern in the state, according to a newly released report. Black women for years have had a maternal mortality rate seven times higher than white women in the state. The New Jersey Report Card of Hospital Maternity Care, released Monday by the state Health Department and...
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Educators share strategies to help students, staff heal from pandemic trauma
The stress, fear, grief and loneliness of the pandemic has weighed hard on school-aged children. Some 31 % of parents reported worsening emotional health among their children, according to a report by the JED Foundation . In addition, there was a 31% jump in mental health emergency room visits for teens between 12 and 17 from 2019 to 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . And it’s little wonder. At least 43,000 children have lost a parent to COVID,...
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Highlights from the 2021 Building a Culture of Health in New Jersey Conference
Afternoon Keynote Speaker — Dave Ellis: “What’s Strong With You? A Conversation About Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) versus (ACEs)" Dave Ellis, executive director of the NJ Office of Resilience, gave an enthralling talk about community and what it takes to build it meaningfully, inviting audience members to get to know each other better. "I know a whole bunch of folks who don't agree with the world according to data, and the biggest conversation that I like having with them is, 'Help...
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Black Heroes and Inventors
Meet African War Hero Who Sank A German Ship With Bomb Made From Milk-Can But Was Refused Highest Decoration During World War II, Job Maseko , a South African war hero, sunk an enemy ship with an improvised bomb hidden in a milk container. Maseko, a member of the South African Native Military Corps (NMC), was awarded the Military Medal for his “meritorious and courageous” action, which he described as demonstrating “ingenuity, resolve, and full disregard for personal safety.” The Military...
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‘Diaries of A Black Girl in Foster Care’ Podcast Launches
A new podcast series beginning Wednesday, Feb. 23 will explore the unique issues of Black girls who experience foster care in America. Diaries of A Black Girl in Foster Care (which uses @BlkGrlDiariesFC on social media platforms) will begin with three episodes that address cultural issues, racial disparities and stereotypes that organizers argue have contributed to poor outcomes for Black girls in America’s various foster care systems. “Everybody can get something out of this, not just Black...
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Shopping while Black: Bridgewater mall incident amplifies talk of racism in retail spaces.
By Vashti Harris | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com and Matthew Stanmyre | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com For Tionni Kennedy, Bridgewater Commons mall is a place she frequently visits to hang out with friends, browse through stores, and gab over meals in the food court. It’s also where Kennedy, who is Black, said she often encounters racism. The 17-year-old from Piscataway feels the glare of store workers when she walks into shops and notices how they always seem to follow her as she looks at...
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White-supremacist propaganda remained high in the United States in 2021, new ADL report says - Find out where NJ is on the list.
By MICHELLE BOORSTEIN Washington Post White-supremacist groups continued in 2021 to distribute propaganda at a historically high rate, a report published Thursday says, part of what some experts call an increasingly panicked reaction to growing diversity in America. The Anti-Defamation League’s research found 4,851 reported cases of white supremacist propaganda in 2021, including racist, anti- Semitic and anti-LGBTQ items. That’s down 5% from 2020 but way up from 294 cases in 2017, when the...
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Systemically Neglected How Racism Structures Public Systems to Produce Child Neglect
In recent years, more than a quarter of a million children each year have been removed from their families and placed in foster care because of alleged neglect and these children are disproportionately Black or Indigenous. Too often, circumstances stemming from poverty are construed as neglect, but underlying both poverty and neglect is historic and present-day racism. This report outlines the history of how child protective services developed to over-surveil families of color, examines how...
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New Jersey Autism Prevalence Rises to 1 in 32 in New CDC Report
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report today showing the rate of children identified with an autism spectrum disorder rose to 1 in 54 nationally. This statistic is based on the CDC’s evaluation of health and educational records of 8-year-old children in 2016 in 11 states, including New Jersey. New Jersey again has the highest rate of those states evaluated, with 1 in 32 (3.1% of children). This percentage is higher than the average percentage identified with ASD (1.85%) in...
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Newark area has some of the country’s most segregated schools, study finds
Patrick Wall Senior Reporter, Chalkbeat Newark Black-white segregation rate is three times the national average. The schools in Newark and nearby communities are among the most severely segregated in the nation, according to a new nationwide analysis. The Newark area ranks first in economic segregation and second in Black-white segregation, according to the analysis of public and private schools in all 403 metropolitan areas in the United States. The rate of segregation between Black and...
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Agency tasked with saving lives of mothers, babies is launched LILO H. STAINTON | NJ Spotlight
Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority targets preventable loss of life in childbirth, especially among Black women and newborns. As the board of New Jersey’s new Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority sat down for its inaugural meeting Wednesday morning in Trenton, social media was buzzing with the story. Another educated, well-off Black woman had lost her life to childbirth: former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader Krystal Anderson had died of sepsis days after delivering a...