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Following The International Society on Hypertension in
Blacks, announcement of new blood pressure guidelines for African-Americans,
Federal health officials announced new guidelines for all Americans. They
now define "prehypertensive" as anyone with a systolic blood pressure (top
number) of 120 to 139 and diastolic pressure (bottom number) of
80 to 89. (The new ISHIB standard for Blacks is 130/80 mm
hg. See "What is High Blood Pressure?" in current issue of Port
of Harlem) The government urges people with these blood pressure levels to get down to a healthy weight if they are overweight or obese; exercise more; reduce sodium and alcohol intake; and follow a diet regimen that emphasizes fruit and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, low saturated fat and whole grains. Known as Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, researchers have shown that the plan often reduces blood pressure within two to four weeks as effectively as antihypertensive medication. |
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Win dinner for two at Wazuri or a copy of the new exquisite coffee table book Jubilee: The Emergence of African-American Culture - - just for being a print subscriber or no-cost on-line subscriber. 
Wazuri, 1836 18th Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C., serves wonderfully displayed food that tastes magnificent and represents the places Africans came from, sailed to or eventually called home. Jubilee: The Emergence of African-American Culture. With vibrant pictures, sketches, and photographs - - and in-depth text, author Howard Dodson chronicles North American slavery and its enormous impact on United States history. Dodson is Director of Harlem's Schumburg Center for Research in Black Culture. To win, simply do one of the following before midnight Thursday, June 19, 2003 (Juneteenth):
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The Graham Collection is featuring the works of artists Shaunte Gates, Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu, Damon Stevenson, and Stan Squirewell Saturday, May 24 to Monday, June 30. The opening reception is Saturday, May 24 from 4p to 7p. The Graham Collection is at 3518 12th Street, NE in the Brookland section of Washington, D.C. |
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Gary, Indiana will experience the inaugural home opener of the Gary SouthShore RailCats in the new U. S. Steel Yard on Memorial Day, May 26 at 3 p.m. The RailCats are the new, professional minor league baseball team serving Northwest Indiana and Chicago's south suburbs. The RailCats will host the Schaumburg, Illinois Flyers. Just southeast of Chicago, Gary has the largest percentage of African people among all American cities with 100,000 or more people. Pittsburgh Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon, who is an African-American and Gary native, is one of the local investors. When buying the naming rights to the new, state-of-the-art professional baseball stadium, U.S. Steel established a $1.3 million charitable foundation to fund and promote youth baseball and softball programs in Gary. |
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Serenity Players, founded by now 78-year-old Doris Thomas, performs The Curious Savage Friday, May 30, 2003 at 7:30p and Saturday, May 31, 2003 at 1:00p and 7:30p at the St. Francis Xavier Bailey Room, 2815 O Street, SE. Admission is $8.00 for senior citizens and students under 18 years old and $12.00 for general admission. Group sales are available for 10 persons or more. Free parking is available on the church's parking lot. The play is about Mrs. Ethel Savage, an adventuresome elderly woman whose children by marriage want her money. To get her funds, they place her in an institution. She learns to like the place and her new friends eventually devise a sometimes humorous plot for Ethel to retake her money. Thomas may not play Mrs. Savage, but she would love to. Says Thomas, "Well, she reminds me of myself by her love for life." Read more about Doris Thomas, in Aging with Vitality, in the current issue of Port of Harlem. |
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The Council of Ghanian Associations of Washington Metropolitan Area will hold a town hall meeting in Washington on crime prevention in Ghana. The meeting will take place Saturday, May 31 at the Ghana Embassy, 3512 International Drive, NW - - off Connecticut Avenue, NW from 10m to 2p. For more information call 301-390-5145. |
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"Prince George's is the secret dumping ground for the state," says Darryl Harris in an interview with Port of Harlem. Harris is an organizer of an environmental justice workshop scheduled for Saturday, May 31 in Prince George's County, Maryland - the wealthiest majority Black county in the United States. Representatives from the Center for Health and Environmental Justice and graduates from John Hopkins University School of Environmental Science and Policy will hold workshops to educate citizens on environmental justice issues. "We will reveal some of the environmental issues that are plaguing Prince George's County," continued Harris. Harris says that he is most concerned about the number of rubble, land, and clean fields in the county and the truck traffic that comes with them. "We want people to know how these conditions effect them socially and economically, their health and welfare," he says. Westphalia United Methodist Church, 8511 Westphalia Road, Upper Marlboro, MD will host the event from 10a to noon. There is no admission fee. |
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"She's a more deliberate speaker," is how Gail Gate described to Port
of Harlem the differences between Dr. Judith B. Kaufman, the African-American
Jew she convincingly plays in An
American Daughter and her own speaking voice. (The late
Lynn Thigpen performed the role on Broadway and received a Tony Award for
Best Supporting Actor in 1997) Gate is one of two Black actors with
prominent roles in the very humorous commentary on contemporary life that
is now playing at Arena Stage in Washington.Though she is not the leading character, Kaufman's unique heritage provides the fodder for some of the play's most intriguing dialogue. Her story of having a successful career, but not being able to have a baby greatly adds to the performance's drama. "I can't make life and I can't stop death!" Kaufman wails. "Her coming to terms with her reality," is what I like about the character, added Gait. Tony award nominee Johanna Day plays the leading role of Surgeon general appointee Lyssa Dent Hughes. She's a well-connected health-care expert. When the press finds out about an innocent indiscretion from her past, a major scandal erupts that divides her family and friends including Kaufman and Morrow McCarthy. Damon Gupton plays Morrow McCarthy. McCarthy is Black, Gay, and politically conservative. Arena Stage is presenting performances through June 15, 2003. Tickets range from $39 to $57. Arena Stage offers discounts to students, groups, person with disabilities and senior citizens. A limited number of $10 tickets for patrons aged 5 through 25 are available for purchase until 5:25p on the day of performance. |
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More than 200 people came to together to hear a distinguished panel of women discuss issues brought forth in Arena Stage's current play An American Daughter. During the 90-minute discussion, former Congressperson Constance Morella (R-MD) said that she was cautious with the media. ABC News correspondent Jackie Judd added, you have a "right to be cautious." Congressperson Eleanor Norton (D-DC) summed up the different views on the media by declaring, "The press and I are in different businesses." Generally, the women agreed that there are more sources available for information than there ever has been. Senior Correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Gwen Ifil, who mediated the lively discussion, encouraged information seekers to take advantage of the diversity. "You're not going to get all the information you need from one source," she said. |
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Social Security's New Website
By Chris Jenkins South Carolina Social Security Administration Public Affairs Specialist There is a new place to go for information about Social Security's programs and services - - www.socialsecurity.gov. The new site replaces the former address. The new site is easier to navigate, more attractive and accessible to all visitors, including people with visual or other physical disabilities. On the site, you can file a retirement or disability claim, calculate your benefit amount, and view sites targeting women or state and local employees Read Jenkins article, Social Security, Financial Planning, and You in the current issue of Port of Harlem. |
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"I've never been a cover girl before," quipped Dr. Julianne Malveaux about her picture being on the cover of Port of Harlem. She spoke during an 
expected engaging Meet and Mingle at the Alexandria Black History
Resource Center in Alexandria. Despite being under the weather, Dr. Malveaux
talked to the gathering of more than 30 people about various contemporary
issues including her new books, Unfinished Business: A Democrat and
a Republican Take On the Top Ten Issues Women Face and The Paradox
of Loyalty: An African American Response to the War on Terrorism. "We
fight for the right to fight," she commented about the issues the array of
writers cover in Paradox of Loyalty. Paradox of Loyalty include contributions from Askia Muhammad, Marcia Ann Gillespie, Danny Glover and Ron Walters. The book also includes Representative Barbara Lee's (D-CA) historic September 16, 2001 speech before the U.S. House of Representatives. |
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Dr. William Cosby picked up another honorary doctorate May 11 while speaking at Hampton University's 133rd commencement. After stepping out of his graduation robe to reveal his Hampton University T-shirt, he encouraged listeners to "make Christ smile," by taking full responsibility for their decisions and behavior. In particular, he admonished the crowd on using the "N" word. "Teach [others] about the historical use of the word nigger," he said. When describing how youngsters often roll down their windows blasting recordings that use the word, he continued, "people say nigger like [they say] ‘pass the salt.'" |
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