July 2017 Editioin

FREE July 2017

CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY

Dr. Cynthia Jackson Hammond, President

“Service...Protocol...Civility”

5 18 23

College Readiness for Low-Income Students: The Rules Are Different

By Arianna Howard, PhD

Downsize Your Life for Better Health

By Lisa Benton, MD, MPH

Double Trouble To Be Black and Disabled Is A Dual Dilemma

By Iris Cooper, DBA

T:11”

T:14”

CELEBRATE SUMMER IN THE CITY WITH AARP IN OHIO.

AARP Ohio is bringing you more opportunities to connect with your community and meet new people, without having to spend more than you need. Hosting fun and free events is just one of the ways we’re helping to make central Ohio a better place to live, work and play for people of all ages. Be among the rst to know about our upcoming events by opting in with your email at aarp.org/yes2emailOH 2017 OHIO STATE FAIR July 26 – August 6, 2017 Visit us at our booth or volunteer with us in the Marketplace Building!

EMPOWERING FAMILY CAREGIVERS August 9, 16, and 24, 2017 Connect and learn with other family caregivers on the same journey AARP MOVIES FOR GROWN-UPS: THE ZOOKEEPERS WIFE July 18, 2017 at 6 pm AMC Lennox Town Center 24 COLUMBUS CLIPPERS VS. TOLEDO MUD HENS August 28, 2017 To register for these and other upcoming events, call us at 877-926-8300 or visit aarp.org/oh

/aarpOH @aarpOhio

Publisher’s Page Founder & Publisher Ray Miller

Layout & Design Ray Miller, III

Assistant Editor Ray Miller, III

Associate Editor Edward Bell Media Consultant Rod Harris Distribution Manager Ronald Burke OSU Graduate Intern

Rebecca Kemper-Larrimer

Lead Photographer Steve Harrison

Contributing Editors Tim Ahrens, D.Min Edward Bell, MBA Lisa Benton, MD, MPH Rodney Q. Blount, Jr. MA Iris Cooper, DBA Melissa Crum, PhD William Dodson, MPA Alethea Gaddis, MBA Arianna Howard, PhD Eric L. Johnson, PhD Jacqueline Lewis-Lyons, Psy.D Cecil Jones, MBA Rebecca Kemper-Larrimer William McCoy, MPA Ray Miller, III Evan T. Robinson Brandi Slaughter, JD Senator Charleta B. Tavares Angela L. Talton Alice Thompson Kalitha Williams

The Columbus African American news journal was founded by Ray Miller on January 10, 2011

The Columbus African American

Welcome to the 76th monthly edition of The Columbus African American news journal. Yes, with your support we have been in business now for six years and four months. During this time we have learned a great deal about effective marketing, communications, advertising, pricing, and what I would call--”cultural journalism.” We are far more concerned with empowering our community than adhering properly to AP writing styles. You will be pleased to know that on the 21st of this month--July 2017, we will inaugurate the Dayton edition of the news journal-- The Dayton African American. Toledo is soon to follow.

I wish that we had the space to adequately share with you the many accolades we receive about the quality and content of The Columbus African American.

One woman explained it this way, “ I can feel the love that you put into each edition of your news journal. It is in the texture of the paper, the words that are chosen, and the positive presentation of those who are fortunate enough to be seen and read about in your publication.” I certainly considered that a high compliment because it embraced everyone who is engaged in the production of the journal.

If you are a consistent reader of The Columbus African American, you know that each monthly edition has a different editorial focus. For the month of July 2017 that focus is twofold: Higher Education and Employment. More than any one factor, the key to upward mobility and liberation lies in the attainment of a quality education. What we are speaking of here is more than classroom training and the mastery of fundamental knowledge in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, science, and history. Julius Nyerere, the brilliant Tanzanian President, captured the essence of education as recorded in Ujamaa, written in 1968.

“The purpose of education is to transmit from one generation to the next, the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the society and to prepare the young people for their future membership in society and active participation in its maintenance and development.”

How is this done, one might ask? Well, I can assure you that masterful pedagogy is not the singular solution. The widely overused phrase, “It takes a village.........” is more on point.

Parents, family members, institutional and organizational heads, community elders, and informed teachers all have a role to play in the education of our children. Unfortunately, too little of this kind of teaching is taking place today.

Now, watch this bold transition. Those of us who were fortunate enough to graduate from Columbus East High School--and particularly the Class of 1967--received just the kind of education that I am suggesting is appropriate to function as productive and useful citizens in this society. Where did that pronouncement emanate from--Ray? Well, the Class of 1967--my graduating Class--will be celebrating our 50th Class Reunion on August 4th and 5th 2017 at the Embassy Suites Hotel located at 2886 Airport Drive, here in Columbus. The result of our education will be on full display. We expect to see every graduate of our class, who has the ability to be present, to join us for this grand reunion.

The Planning Committee has been working hard to make this a memorable affair and I, for one, plan to have a great time in fellowship and in heartfelt and hilarious remembrances. I have already been perfecting my dance moves--the Wobble, Electric Slide, Cupid Shuffle, Cha Cha Slide, Nae Nae, and the Detroit Hustle. Remember, before there were all of these celebrities who are known by one name, like Usher, Ne-Yo, Jay-Z, Snoop, Drake, Puffy, and of course Prince; we had the dancing wonder at East--”MIDGE.” Yes, Edward “Midge” Burgess. If You Don’t Know, Now You Know! Do not show up at the event and embarrass yourself. See Midge, he’ll help you out!

The cost of the event is $120.00 for you and $50.00 for your guest. For more information contact Lois (Moore) Lykes at (614) 632-6969 or Norma (Baker) Daniels at (614) 239-1353.

Please send your Cashier’s Check or Money Order to: East High School Class of 1967, P.O. Box 32113, Columbus, Ohio 43232. The Meet and Greet begins Friday evening at 6:00 p.m.

The main event is a Black and White Affair which will be held on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

Fellow alums, we have so much for which to be thankful. Many of our classmates are no longer with us. Some died honorably, serving our nation in the Armed Forces. Others have passed prematurely from illness and diseases of various kinds. We have survived and been blessed to live through some of the most momentous times in the history of our nation--from the fall of Jim Crow, murder of Emmett Till, school desegregation, gains in civil rights and voting rights, murder of Medgar Evers and many other Civil Rights Leaders, Watergate, the Vietnam War, Black Power Movement, Campus protests for African American advancements, crack epidemic, assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and the election of America’s first African American President, Barack Hussein Obama, just to mention a few.

Let us reunite on August 4th and 5th and remember these words: “We are the Tigers, the mighty, mighty Tigers. Everywhere we go, people want to know, who we are, so we tell them.

We are the Tigers, the mighty, mighty Tigers....!”

With Appreciation and Respect,

503 S. High Street - Suite 102 Columbus, Ohio 43215 Office: 614.826.2254 editor@columbusafricanamerican.com

Ray Miller Founder & Publisher 3

The Columbus African American • July 2017

In This Issue

23

Double Trouble: To Be

Black and Disabled

Is A Dual Dilemma

24

Navigating Discriminatory

Interviews In An

Unequal World

25

Your Dream Job Is Waiting

26

Consider a Career with

the City of Columbus

Division of Fire

28

Who’s Who In The African American Business Community: Creole Kitchen

Central State University Marching Band warming up on the field.

30 Book Bags & E-Readers

Cover Story – Page 20

31 35 36 5

6

Nielsen and Global Diversity & Inclusion: A Borderless Approach

By: Angela L. Talton

Voting Is Not Enough: Using Your Time and Energy to Generate Change

Urban Strings: Columbus Youth Orchestra Celebrating Ten Years By: Rodney Blount, Jr., MA

College Readiness for Low Income Students: The Rules Are Different Making Higher Education Affordable

11 OSU Community Care Day - Recap

15 Guilty Pleasure 15

Good Things Come From Medicaid Improvements

16

The Battle for Healthcare: Obamacare Vs Trumpcare

8

Is Your Sixth Grader Ready For 18 College?

What Are The Stories We Hold 19 True About Our Students?

Narcolepsy and African Americans 20 Leadership and Change: A Personal Journey

10

Diversity & Inclusion:

A Borderless Approach

32

Legislative Update

33

The Absurdity That Is The

The Columbus African American • July 2017

Trump Presidency

Technology Trends In Higher Education

9

Nielsen and Global

By: Kalitha Williams

7

8

31

Downsize Your Life For Better Health

Tax Abatements: What’s Up With That!

COVER STORY

4

34

Jazz and Justice Needed at

Midnight in America

35

Voting Is Not Enough

36

Urban Strings:Columbus

Youth Orchestra Celebrating

Ten Years

37

Community Events

All contents of this news journal are copyrighted © 2015; all rights reserved. Title registration with the U.S. Patent Office pending. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited.

Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and illustrations will not be returned unless accompanied by a properly addresses envelope bearing sufficient postage. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials.

EDUCATION COLLEGE READINESS FOR LOW INCOME STUDENTS: THE RULES ARE DIFFERENT Cost to attend college. Despite the 44% increase in average college tuition within the last 38 years, free federal financial aid has only increased 15%.

The maximum amount of financial aid available to low-income students only covers 27% of college tuition costs (College Board, 2015).

Scholarships are plentiful, but are sometimes hard to find and a lot of work to apply for. Seek multiple funding resources, early and often.

By Arianna Howard, PhD According to the 2015 U.S. Census, nearly 70% of adult Americans have not earned a bachelor’s degree (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2016). Then why are we pushing our students into college, making them believe hard work, determination, and a college degree will lead to a successful future?

Being competitive for admission. College admissions teams want to see a well-rounded student, one who has been involved in extracurriculars, leadership roles, and community service, all while maintaining high marks. Start setting the bar for your child in elementary school. Develop study skills and begin visiting colleges during middle school. Take advantage of opportunities to earn free college credit during junior high and high school. Help to make your child stand out among the crowd.

Well, if only 30% of Americans hold a bachelor’s degree, the odds are in our children’s favor, correct? This response rests on a major assumption: all children are receiving quality K-12 education that adequately prepares them for college and career.

We all know education has been and continues to be a significant factor that greatly determines the trajectory of success for particular groups of people. And nowhere is this more evident than when we survey the documented history of education for low-income children. Their experiences are drastically different than those of high-income children. Extracurricular activities, highly qualified teachers, and technologicallyequipped classrooms are but a few of the standard amenities in schools serving high-income children. Studies highlight the impact of these amenities upon academic success (Greene, 2013).

So what happens when they are non-existent?

Children graduate high school ill-prepared.

Low-income children are most likely to attend schools without these resources. Yet every fall, nearly 50% of low-income high school graduates eagerly enter college (Jaschik, 2015). They are expected to know just as much and be just as equipped as their high-income counterparts. The results? Only 26% of lower-income students earn a bachelor’s degree by the age of 24 (Pell Institute, 2015).

What can be done to better prepare children attending low-income schools? The work begins well before freshmen year of high school. As founder and principal consultant of Plant-A-Seed Educational Consulting, LLC, I work closely with families to equip them with the tools and skills needed to demand the best educational experience for their children. What follows is a list of some of the things I encourage families to consider.

Academic rigor. Do your children attend a school that challenges them academically?

I know, it’s like pulling teeth when asking a child to talk about what they learned, but if you find yourself questioning the difficulty level of assignments or frequently hear your child say, “We don’t learn anything in there”, investigate further. Educators are responsible for just that – educating all students just as rigorously as they expect their own children to be educated.

Culturally responsive teaching and learning.

Today’s teaching force is primarily comprised

of white, middle-class women. Today’s public schools are primarily comprised of black, brown, and low-income students. Unless your child’s teacher has taken courses, read books, or engaged in regular discussions around culture and how this affects teaching and learning, she may be ill-equipped to connect with her students in culturally responsive ways.

College admissions process. Getting admitted is just the first of many steps. I am currently working with high school graduates and their families helping them to submit required paperwork, register for placement testing and new student orientation, and schedule classes. There are lots of moving parts no one warns you about.

And unless you get connected to a competent educational consultant or admissions advisor, this High teacher expectations. Does your child’s part of the journey can be overwhelming. teacher hold high expectations for all students?

According to a Kirwan Institute Special Report, Choosing a major. There was a point during Black and Hispanic students were over three my sophomore year of undergrad where I times as likely to be suspended and three-andswitched majors every week. I was well into a-half times as likely to be expelled as White students (Staats & Contractor, 2014). Some my junior year before I discovered my passion, groups of students are viewed as academically the thing I was gifted to do well and in my own, incapable, troublemakers, or those who will “end unique way. It is essential for us to help youth up pregnant or in jail” (words I’ve overheard discover and develop their gifts, so when going during my years in education). These students off to college or entering the job market, they will not be given access to the same opportunities choose a career aligned with their passions. This as others. They won’t be told about scholarship doesn’t mean they will never change majors or contests, student internships, summer learning career paths. It does mean that they will select camps, or free college visits...just to name few. courses, internships, student organizations, and networking opportunities that are beneficial to Cultural bias in standardized tests. Decades their development and future success. It starts of research highlight the cultural bias in with more than completing a career interest standardized tests, yet these assessments remain survey. the standard by which our students are deemed “college ready” or eligible for scholarships. Until This list is not exhaustive, but it’s a start. this changes, low-income children have no choice Advocacy is essential. If you don’t demand but to perform. Register your children to takes better, your child will never receive better. these tests (ACT, SAT, etc.) as often as your My passion today is the same as it was in the family can afford. There are free test waivers for beginning: empowering families, communities, low-income students. Seek out test preparation and schools to move forward together. It begins with quality K-12 education for all, regardless of materials and resources. income.

Deadlines. New federal student aid legislation changed the deadlines and income requirements Arianna Howard, PhD is founder and principal for college-bound students seeking free federal consultant for Plant-A-Seed Educational money. This has caused a chain reaction – Consulting, LLC, a consulting firm that partners colleges are moving up their application with families, community organizations, and deadlines. Being unaware of important dates can schools to provide training and programming mean missed funding opportunities and other in career readiness and family engagement. vital resources that contribute to one’s college Dr. Howard has over ten years experience in success. Research the colleges your children are urban education and is passionately dedicated interested in attending and stay aware of their to improving the lives of low-income youth. For more info: plantaseedllc@gmail.com deadlines.

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The Columbus African Journal • February 2015 The American ColumbusNews African American • July 2017

EDUCATION

MAKING HIGHER EDUCATION AFFORDABLE

By William McCoy, MPA If, when, and where you go to college is one of the most important decisions you must make.

This decision is complicated by several factors, including how to pay for it. Higher education is not cheap in the United States.

Most students borrow money to finance their higher education. Zack Friedman calls student loan debt a “crisis,” in an article entitled “Student Loan Debt in 2017: A $1.3 Trillion Crisis” (February 21, 2017). According to Friedman, “Student loan debt is now the second highest consumer debt category- behind only mortgage debt- and higher than both credit cards and auto loans. . . There are more than 44 million borrowers with $1.3 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. alone. The average student in the Class of 2016 has $37,172 in student loan debt” (Forbes.com, February 21, 2017). Friedman goes on to say student loan debt rose by $31 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. Furthermore, the student loan delinquency or default rate exceeds 11%.

The United States, the world’s richest country, does not offer tuition-free college or university education. The absence of tuition-free education on a national level has not stopped some states from moving in that direction. New York recently became the first state to offer tuition-free higher education for qualifying residents enrolled in a four-year bachelor’s degree program. It is now the nation’s leader in tuition-free higher education, according to “States that Offer Adam Taylor examined the cost of attending Tuition-Free Education for Residents” (Anna a college or university in the USA, Canada, Helhoski, May 2, 2017).

Europe, and Mexico (“Here’s What College Costs Students Around the World,” June 8, 2012). Oregon and Tennessee offer tuition-free Taylor referenced Higher Education Strategy education at community colleges. Arkansas, Associates’ “Global Higher Education Rankings Kentucky, and Minnesota offer tuition-free, 2010,” which compared higher education community college education on a more affordability in 15 countries. The United limited basis (Helhoski, 2017). Other states are States ranked near the bottom- 13 out of 15- in considering similar initiatives. affordability. The cost of an American college or university education is, on average, 51% of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders recently students’ median household income. In contrast, sponsored federal legislation (Senate Bill 1373), Norway has the most affordable higher education Democrats are calling “College for All,” that in the world. Norwegians’ pay just over 2% of would provide free tuition and fees at public their median household income to attend college universities for all students with an annual or university! Students in Denmark, France, household income under $125,000. It would and Sweden pay less than 3% of their median also cut student loan interest in half, according household income for higher education. Finland to Andrew Kreighbaum (“Sanders Keeps Focus and Germany are also listed among the countries on Free Education,” April 4, 2017). Senate Bill that offer tuition-free education.

1373 (College for All) would: (1) make tuition free at public colleges and universities; (2) stop the federal government from making a profit on student loans; (3) substantially cut student loan interest rates; (4) allow Americans to refinance student loans at today’s low interest rates; and (5) allow students to use need-based financial aid and work-study programs to make college debt-free.

According to Bernie Sanders’ website, “This $75 billion program would be paid for in full by imposing a tax of a fraction of a percent on Wall Street speculators who nearly destroyed the economy seven years ago.” Sanders’ plan would have the federal government provide two-thirds (67%) of the funding, while state governments would pay the remaining one-third (33%).

There is substantial opposition to Sanders’ The Columbus African American • July 2017

6

proposed legislation. David Feldman and Robert Archibald wrote an article on “Why Bernie Sanders’s free college plan doesn’t make sense” (April 22, 2017). Feldman and Archibald argue, “There is no compelling case for massively rewriting the way the federal government subsidizes higher education, and the political chances of a Sanders-style proposal moving through. . . Congress are very low.” States would not benefit equally, since their higher education costs and expenditures vary. This uneven distribution of funds would presumably cause some Congressional representatives to oppose the legislation- even though all students would go to college tuition-free. States, they continue, might have to give higher education a higher priority- and spend more money on itthan they do now. These authors also do not like the fact that Sanders’ plan leaves out private colleges and universities.

In conclusion, elected officials, college and university administrators, and others should work to make higher education more affordable.

They should also try to relieve the $1.3 trillion student loan burden impacting millions of current and former students. As Bernie Sanders said, “Our job, if we are smart, is to do everything possible to make it easier for people to pay for their education- not harder.” Moving forward, the United States should strive to have the best educated work force in the world; and making higher education more affordable would help.

William McCoy is founder and principal consultant of The McCoy Company- a personal services consulting firm specializing in planning, training, and development. Mr. McCoy has served all levels of government, foundations, nonprofits, and the private sector. Prior to establishing The McCoy Company, he served 12 years in public service highlighted by two White House appointments. Mr. McCoy holds BA and MPA degrees, along with numerous certifications.

He is an award-winner, author, profiled in Who’s Who in the World and elsewhere. William McCoy can be contacted at (614) 785-8497 or via e-mail at wmccoy2@themccoycompany.com.

EDUCATION

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

By Cecil Jones, MBA Just as retail technology (hand held devices) has changed for you and me, it changes with each new enrolling freshman class for colleges around the country. Most colleges (including the colleges in central Ohio) pay attention to the technology with which the new freshman are using. College administrators realize that students use new and varying technology each year to stay in touch with their friends and the rest of the world.

Some of the technology trends in higher education are below.

Web-based electronic books When enrolling in courses, students have always additionally needed to purchase paper based textbooks. The costs of textbooks alone, without the costs of the courses, is substantial. Just one individual course may require 5 books. When the cost of a book exceeds $100 and considering that a full-time student course load may be 4 or 5 courses, this is expensive.

times may be in the evening, freeing up the student’s daytime hours to take other face-to-face classes or take on a part-time (or full-time) job.

Many students take both face-to-face and online courses.

Colleges around the country are deciding how they can better deliver education. Web-based course delivery is part of those discussions.

Students may or may not enjoy web-based courses. There are some advantages for students and colleges. They include:

Many schools have contracts with books publishers to allow their college students to access the books via the web for their courses.

The prices are lower than purchasing the paper based textbooks. One positive is that the books are less expensive. Another positive is that the - Expanded accesses to students anywhere electronic books are searchable, electronically; that is, if a student is looking for a phrase or a - Share courses content (and expenses) across topic in the book, they can just enter that phrase multiple colleges to quickly get to that section of the book.

- Participate in other technologies; for example videoconferences Web-based course delivery Courses (and entire degree programs) are available online. An advantage for students taking web-based courses is the time flexibility.

Many of these courses do not require a face-toface physical class gathering at a specific time during the day. These courses can include having no one specific time to log on to do the course work, as long as it is submitted by a specific time/date. Some have specific times to log on to interact with the class and the instructor; those

college technology Help Desk access to your device (PC and phone). This helps when you have trouble accessing the college’s electronic resources.

Finally Good advice to all students is to surf their college website to see the electronic tools and support that is available to you. Know the hours of the Help Desk, so that when you are doing your collegiate work and need support, you will know when you can reach out to th4e Help Desk.

Pay attention. College education and how higher education has been delivered may have been the same for many years. Those times are past. Now, it is changing each semester.

Help Us to Help You

- Utilize the expertise of faculty that is located The purpose of this column is to provide useful anywhere in the world information and knowledge that you can use, today. If you have a technology question (how - Offer computer-based courses that are not time- to get something done, what business, process bound or place-bound. or software solution might be available for your situation, etc.), please email the question - Supplement traditional courses with online or comment to the email address Admin@ resources Accelerationservices.net for a quick response.

- Offer “hybrid” courses that blend face-to-face admin@accelerationservices.net instruction with distance learning technology– resulting in reduced face-to-face hours and lesser www.accelerationservices.net classroom space expenses Having managed technology, communications and business functionality for multiple Fortune 100 companies, Cecil is a technology and management leader. He teaches technology, business and communications courses. He is a past president of many organizations including Access to Educational Support BDPA (Technology group), and Columbus With chat, text, email and various real-time, Association of Black Journalists. He serves on 24 by 7 electronic tools, access to others in the the Executive Committee of boards including university is easier. One can ‘chat’ online with a Chairman of IMPACT Community Action librarian or instructor. Libraries are accessed for Agency. www.AccelerationServices.net their electronic articles and e-books. Electronic survey software is available. Access is available Cecil Jones MBA, ABD, PMP, CCP, SCPM, to technical support, with the ability to give the FLMI, Lean Professional Again, students should consider their learning style and feel free to ask the college any questions about their online course before they enroll in the course.

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The American ColumbusNews African American • July 2017 The Columbus African Journal • February 2015

EDUCATION

IS YOUR SIXTH GRADER READY FOR COLLEGE? their enrollment requirements. Some colleges may only require scores from one standardize test and not both. Also, by narrowing their search, they can start to identify scholarship opportunities early and beat the “Junior/Senior” rush.

By Ray Miller, III Getting your kids ready for college is never an easy task. But a well thought out college planning process doesn’t have to cause anxiety especially if you start early. Believe it or not, according to experts, the best time to introduce them to the prospect of college is when they are in middle school.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, taking a holistic approach to understanding college should begin around the sixth grade.

That doesn’t mean you have to talk about grades, majors and/or test preparation, but it presents an opportunity to get them thinking about it early.

In fact, when I was in middle school, my father took me on a tour of his alma mater, The Ohio State University (OSU). As we walked around campus, he pointed out key buildings such as the library and the student union. He told me stories about his days at OSU and even showed me the area where he first met my mother. Even though our trip only lasted one lazy Saturday afternoon, it was that introduction that spurred my interest in college.

Like my father, if you are a college grad, taking your child on a trip to your school is a great way to introduce them to higher education. By sharing your college experiences, your child can better relate to idea of going to college and see that it is a tangible option for them.

It is important to remember that most colleges look for students who also excel outside of the classroom. Students need to build up their college profile by participating in community service projects, extracurricular activities that showcase their leadership skills. Because of the large number of students that apply for college each year, it is important to stand out.

Finally, if you have a student that is already in high school, there is no need to panic. Instead, get focused, have a conversation with them and set realistic goals. Help them to pick a major, identify schools that support that major and start looking for financial aide. While they may not As they get older, increase the interactions that have the advantage of the sixth grader, it is never you have with them and their college experience. too late to earn a quality education.

Take them to sporting events, homecomings, cultural events and more. By the time they reach For more information on steps to prepare your the eighth grade, you should talk to them about child for college, visit the U.S. Department of the real possibilities of going to college, including Education at www.ED.gov. the financial obligations. This will help the both of you to think about scholarship opportunities as Ray Miller, III is the Founder/Executive Director of the Ohio HBCU Initiative. Miller started they enter high school. the Central Ohio HBCU College Fair in 2009 Once your child reaches high school it is to educate young people about the lifestyle, important to maintain good grades and start education and cultural opportunities available Historically Black Colleges around the preparing for the SAT and ACT test, however, at country. Join him this year for the 8th Annual those are not the only components of getting into Central Ohio HBCU College Fair on Saturday, college. Students need to identify schools that September 30, 2017 at Barnett Recreation Center. will best support their major and start researching This event is free and open to the public.

WHAT ARE THE STORIES WE HOLD ABOUT OUR STUDENTS?

By Melissa Crum, PhD Research maintains that while diversity in America is steadily increasing, educators are still overwhelmingly White, middle class, and monolingual English speakers according to the U.S. Department of Education. This disconnect can create cultural disparities that may yield unhealthy student-teacher relationships.

Unfortunately, teacher education programs struggle to fully prepare teachers for this everchanging American demographic. There is now an imperative need to provide effective teacher education that fosters critical investigations of the systemic influences of power, injustice, oppression, dominance, and inequity that extends from within the classroom to federal policies.

Such goals require not only examinations of systems such as mass media, educational, judicial and governmental, but also examinations of self, particularly the stories we hold about people who are different than us. In particular, it’s imperative that educators investigate the assumptions they may hold about their students and how those assumptions may prevent healthy teacherstudents relationships. Those stories are called

implicit biases.

Implicit biases are assumptions we hold about groups of people based on limited information such as race, age, gender, class, and language.

These, often unconscious, biases guide our beliefs about and interactions with others. Black youth are most commonly affected by bias. Tom Rudd of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University states that Black males are often viewed as irresponsible, dishonest, and dangerous.

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Priscilla Ocen and Jyoti Nanda in Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Underprotected, assert that Black girls are often perceived as “unruly, loud, and unmanageable.” Implicit bias also results in oppressive systemic behavior and policies such as educators disproportionately disciplining Black children harsher for the same infractions as White children, and states adopting race-based academic standards setting a lower achievement bar for Black students. With this in mind, there remains a need for cultural competency development that gives future teachers the knowledge, tools and language to facilitate equitable learning environments for students across cultural backgrounds.

It can be difficult to identify and deconstruct the role of institutional racism in the U.S. education system, especially the ways in which implicit

The Columbus African American •News July Journal 2017 • February 2015

8

biases of teachers, administrators, and policy makers are embedded within traditional education curriculum, instructional methods, and testing materials. So, how do educators address personal biases and how they affect curriculum choices, pedagogy, and interactions with students?

Primarily, we need to work on our relationships with our students by critically thinking about the stories we hold about them. Mosaic Education Network is a Columbus-based education consulting company that helps schools build strong relationships with the diverse communities they serve through arts-based communityoriented curriculum development and diversity training. In this professional development experience, you are assisted in thinking about what you are thinking about. You evaluate the relationships you have with your students and colleagues and how it affects everyone’s success.

Mosaic Education Network utilizes an approach called Multicultural Critical Reflective Practice (MCRP) - an on-going process in which participants identify, analyze, and challenge the cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions that color their interactions with students. MCRP is a praxis grounded in social justice prioritizing the investigation of unequal power relationships at the intersections of race, class, and gender Continued on Page 9

EDUCATION Continued from Page 8

for societal transformation. Created by Dr. Melissa Crum and museum educator Keonna Hendrick, MCRP integrates contemporary art, critical self-reflection, and storytelling to guide teachers serving high minority populations on creative pathways of leadership to build stronger classrooms, effective schools, and productive communities. Participants expand understandings of themselves and others while learning how to have more engagement with and confidence in students for better academic performance.

Through investigations of works from contemporary Black artists like Kara Walker, Iona Rozeal Brown, Kerry James Marshall, and Rashid Johnson, teachers engage in discussions to face their discomfort head-on as they consider stories they have held on to about the figures in

the art. By answering questions such as “who do you think these people are in this painting,” teachers confront preconceived notions that guide their interactions with students and share their trials and triumphs with their peers. Teachers are offered research-based solutions that can increase students’ performance and make them better leaders within and outside of the classroom. If we don’t think about how we are thinking about our students we run the risk of limiting their complexities, depth and humanness. Teachers can become agents of social change by emphasizing strategies for interrogating oppressive systems.

As more teachers become change agents, we change society. Let’s build relationships that change the world.

Dr. Melissa Crum is an artist, author, researcher, and founder of Mosaic Education Network, LLC. She leads a consulting company that infuses the

arts, research, storytelling and critical thinking into professional development, community building and curriculum development. Dr. Crum works with her team of experts to act as engaging and collaborative resources for schools, nonprofits, and companies.

With her team, she facilitates and encourages thought-provoking conversations addressing difficult topics on supporting, interacting, and partnering with diverse communities. She works hard to help you become informed of and feel secure about using everyday practical applications of diversity and inclusion strategies to positively impact your environment. To make this happen she creates a “brave space” where you can ask the tough questions, admit faults and celebrate successes. Her experiences working with educators, museums, and nonprofits has allowed her to help you make social change from your desk, to your living room and beyond.

HEALTH NARCOLEPSY AND AFRICAN AMERICANS

By Edward Bell, MBA For every 100,000 people on the planet, approximately 600 will suffer from a disorder that affects their sleep, or lack of sleep with unique consequences.

The condition often begins in childhood. Men and women are affected equally. Untreated narcolepsy increases the risk of motor vehicle collisions and falls. In short, Narcolepsy is a long-term neurological disorder that involves a decreased ability to regulate sleep-wake cycles, or the inability of a person’s body to understand when it is time to sleep and time to awaken.

Symptoms include periods of excessive daytime sleepiness that usually last from seconds to minutes and may occur at any time. About 70% of people also experience episodes of sudden loss of muscle strength, known as cataplexy. These spells can be brought on by strong emotions (such as fits of laughter). Less commonly, there may be an inability to move or vivid hallucinations while falling asleep or waking up. People with narcolepsy tend to sleep about the same number of hours per day as people without the disorder, but the quality of sleep tends to be worse.

The exact cause of narcolepsy is unknown with potentially several causes. In up to 10% of cases there is a family history of the disorder. Trauma, infections, toxins, or psychological stress may also play a role. Diagnosis is typically based on the symptoms and sleep studies, after ruling out other potential causes. Excessive daytime sleepiness can also be caused by other sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, major depressive disorder, anemia, heart failure, drinking alcohol, and not getting enough sleep. Cataplexy may be mistaken for seizures. While there is no cure, many lifestyle changes and medications may help. Lifestyle changes include taking regular short naps and sleep hygiene.

Despite the broad prevalence of narcolepsy worldwide, the observable expression of narcolepsy symptoms and signs across race and ethnicity have been relatively unexplored.

In one large study conducted in China, patients

with narcolepsy were younger at the time of the symptom’s onset and reported excessive daytime sleepiness, disrupted night-time sleep, excessive weight gain, and mood disorders as their most common symptoms.

In an article by Dr. Makoto Kawai, a neurologist in Stanford, California, he and some colleagues in an issue of SLEEP magazine, explained how a study conducted across racial groups using a large contingent of subjects in the Stanford Center for Narcolepsy Research database, which consisted of 839 Caucasians, 182 African Americans, 35 Asians, and 41 Latinos. After adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index, the authors found that African Americans with narcolepsy type 1 (narcolepsy with cataplexy) and narcolepsy type 2 (narcolepsy without cataplexy) have a slightly lower age of onset of sleepiness and higher subjective sleepiness scores compared to other groups. While objective sleep measures including apnea, presence of nocturnal sleep onset REM period (a kind of sleep that occurs at intervals during the night and is characterized by rapid eye movements, more dreaming and bodily movement, and faster pulse and breathing), mean sleep unconsciousness, and number of daytime SOREMPs (or REM sleep within 15 minutes of going to sleep) did not vary across groups.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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African American patients with narcolepsy tend to have lower hypocretin levels (regulates arousal, wakefulness, and appetite. The most common form of narcolepsy, in which the sufferer briefly loses muscle tone), earlier symptom onset and more severe daytime sleepiness but lower rates of cataplexy. These findings suggest that narcolepsy may present differently in African Americans.

Another finding of Kawai’s group, that is noteworthy is that cataplexy was less often reported by African American patients with narcolepsy. Cataplexy has been reported to be triggered more often by negative emotions in African Americans, and it is possible that doctors and technicians may overlook cataplexy in these patients if they query only on positive emotional triggers. Thus, it is possible that African American subjects currently diagnosed with narcolepsy type 2 simply have delayed presentation of cataplexy compared to Caucasians. Lastly, the sample size of other racial groups (Latinos and Asians) were too small for further subgroup analysis and thus data on these variations is most reliable in comparisons of Continued on Page 10 The Columbus African American • July 2017

HEALTH

Continued from Page 9 Caucasian and African American subjects.

Narcolepsy is not an uncommon condition.

Population-based studies indicate a consistent prevalence rate of 1 per 2,000 persons in North American and Western European countries.

Only one study, a 1945 study in Army recruits, has measured prevalence in African Americans.

The observed figure was 0.02% (2 per 10,000 recruits) for narcolepsy-cataplexy and 0.19% for narcolepsy without cataplexy. This figure was contrasted with an unusually low prevalence of 0.004% (4 per 100,000) in Caucasians.

Interpretations for this last study included a “constitutional predisposition toward the development of narcolepsy” and statements such as “the educational, cultural and social position of African Americans, particularly in the south in this country, may make sleep seem more attractive than nature had intended.” Despite these few exceptional cases, the current interpretation of the data is that there is little in the literature genuinely supporting differences in prevalence and symptoms across ethnic groups.

Similarly, some studies have suggested increased prevalence of sleep paralysis in African American and Asian groups, a study and observation that needs to be repeated before any conclusion can be derived.

Some researchers believe cataplexy may be

over diagnosed in some cases. One possible explanation for this problem may be the imprecise definition of cataplexy currently listed in international classifications. In a recent study, a questionnaire focusing on cataplexy was administered to 983 successive sleep disorders patients, 63 of which had narcolepsy-cataplexy.

The goal of the study was to standardize the evaluation of cataplexy. A critical finding was in the report was that 30% of the non-narcoleptic population reported “muscle weakness episodes triggered by emotions.”

They also identified that cataplexy was best defined when triggered by a pattern of emotions.

Specifically, joking and anger were the most precise combination of triggers for cataplexy.

Approximately half of the narcolepsy population reported such a pattern of triggers vs. 0.3% of non-narcoleptics. Other specific triggers were joking without anger and laughing independent of joking. In this study, a large sample of 484 randomly recruited narcoleptic patients was used to contrast the clinical picture across ethnic groups and to further describe the natural history and symptoms of narcolepsy.

To avoid any possible issue with disease, they focused their attention on cases reporting cataplexy during clinical interview and confirmed by the Stanford Sleep Inventory. Patients were identified by doctors in the United States, Canada, Europe (Czech Republic, England,

France, Norway, Turkey) and Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia) over a 15-year period.

Four hundred and eighty-four unrelated subjects with a diagnosis of narcolepsy-cataplexy based on international classification of sleep disorders criteria were studied. These subjects were recruited independent of family history, sex, or status and represent a random sample. All patients gave informed consent for the study.

The only other criterion for inclusion was the completion of the previously validated Stanford Sleep Inventory. Ethnicity was narrowly defined as African (Black) Americans, Caucasians, Asians, and Latinos when both parents and the subject identified with a given ethnic group.

Other subjects were considered of “mixed” ethnic group.

The observations of Dr. Kawai and his colleagues have practical clinical implications by highlighting racial differences in the presentation of narcolepsy. Recognizing such variability of narcolepsy symptoms is important in making accurate and timely diagnosis in diverse populations. Whether differences are due to cultural factors, environment, and/or genetics is yet unclear and are important areas for future research.

Edward Bell, MBA, AAMS, CMFC, CSS is the Associate Editor of The Columbus African American news journal.

LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE: A PERSONAL JOURNEY

By Evan T. Robinson I never thought I’d be a Clinic Manager for a community health center at the age of 30. My career path shows how an organization can work to respond to an employee’s needs and create opportunities and support for people of color.

I was first introduced to Equitas Health (then known as the Columbus AIDS Task Force) in 2007 as a social work intern. As a gay man of color, I knew the statistics for gay, bisexual, and same-gender-loving men who have sex with men (MSM) and how they are disproportionally affected by HIV compared to any other group in the United States. Seeing one client after another, who all looked just like me, was difficult to handle and led me to step away from HIV to explore other opportunities. I went on to work for United Way of Central Ohio where I was able to expand my skill set in the areas of community engagement/impact, homelessness/ housing stability, student mobility reduction, diversity & inclusion, job readiness, leadership development, cultural competency training, and public policy regarding neighborhood safety and health initiatives. I loved being in a position to raise the voices of underrepresented people in dire need of having their voices elevated in public forums.

Over those few years, I lost a number of friends to HIV related complications, and the flame initially lit under me while at Equitas Health, was reignited. My skills and passion for advocacy and community organizing allowed me the opportunity to return to the Equitas Health team as a Community Engagement Coordinator for the Ohio AIDS Coalition, the then HIV focused advocacy and public policy arm of Equitas

Health. It was in this role where I was able to continue developing my skills in counseling, group facilitation, leadership development, program implementation, outreach methods; all while elevating my community presence.

Mentorship and providing opportunities for continued education and skill-building have been critical elements to my success. Our Chief Operating Officer, Peggy Anderson, supported by my supervisor, offered me opportunities to guide the implementation of major programs, including the development of our syringe access program (Safe Point), presenting on behalf of Equitas Health at national conferences, leading internal performance improvement teams specifically dedicated to promoting and retaining people of color in leadership roles. Most recently, I was matched with mentors personally selected by Peggy. These opportunities and support, gave me the confidence to seek out my current role.

While mentorship, skills-building, and opportunities were provided to me, the same

The Columbus African American •News July Journal 2017 • February 2015

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wasn’t the case for other people of color in the organization. That’s why we started a process improvement team to learn what could be done to promote and retain people of color in leadership roles. We learned through 90 responses to a community needs assessment of MSM of color that 65% reported that they did not feel that their organization was invested in their well-being, personally or professionally. I presented on these findings at a national conference and found that these issues are widespread across non-profit organizations. The assessment didn’t just ask what barriers MSM of color were facing, it asked what they wanted to see improved to address those barriers. Mentorship, skills-building, input in important decisions, a more culturally-humble approach to supervision, internal support groups, and opportunities for special projects were all things people suggested would help support people of color.

Equitas Health has started to implement these recommendations. We’re establishing an external mentorship program for people of color, so we can voice our concerns safely. We’ve started an internal support group for men of color and are now expanding it to all people of color. We’ve established a supervisor training curriculum that incudes training on how to be a culturally-humble supervisor and how to support people who are living and working in the same community.

These changes not only create a better working environment, they help us break down barriers with the people we serve. When someone comes in for the first time they feel more at ease seeing people who look like them. This is just another way Equitas Health works to create a welcoming health care experience for all.

Evan T. Robinson is the Clinic Manager for Equitas Health located on 750 E. Long Street 3000, Columbus, Ohio 43203.

HEALTH

OSU COMMUNITY CARE DAY - RECAP On Saturday, June 24, 2017, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center - University East and CarePoint East held their annual Community Care Day. This event was free and open to the public. Participants were able to visit different healthcare stations and recieve free medical screenings on everything from hearing to vision, blood pressure, diabetes, sleep disorders and more. The event also included live music, line dancing and free food in the form of turkey hot dogs, vegetables and roasted corn on the cob. Below are pictures from the event.

Community Health Day truck parked at the corner of Leonard and Taylor Ave.

OSU Community Care Day volunteers lend a helping hand.

Participants were able to walk through a giant replica of the colon.

Health Expo signs fly above the outdoor tent.

Chef Jim Warner holds a healthy cooking demonstration.

The OSU College of Dentistry community bus provided free screenings.

Participants learned about proper rescue and CPR procedures.

Families were able to participate in various activities.

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Dr. Darell Gray, II of OSUMC welcomes more people to come to the Community Care Day.

The American ColumbusNews African American • July 2017 The Columbus African Journal • February 2015

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The American ColumbusNews African American • July 2017 The Columbus African Journal • February 2015

There are no routine heart or vascular diseases.

And this is no routine heart hospital. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is home to central Ohio’s only heart hospital ranked “Best” by U.S.News & World Report. At the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, our dedicated team of cardiologists, heart specialists and surgeons works side-by-side with researchers who are leading more than 200 studies to treat and prevent heart and vascular disease. Each year, our physician and research teams lead national studies on new lifesaving devices, medications and procedures that are improving lives, extending time with loved ones and offering hope against heart disease.

Stopping the number one killer of Americans is no easy task. That’s why care at the Ross Heart Hospital is anything but routine.

Learn more at wexnermedical.osu.edu/osuheart.

The Columbus African American • July 2017

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

HEALTH

GUILTY PLEASURES

By Jacqueline Lewis-Lyons, Psy.D. Have you become tired of all the negativity in the news and on television? While I was glued to CNN and MSNBC throughout last year’s election and most of the past few months, I am now officially tired of it all. It is time to treat myself with a little down time. I think we all could benefit from a break, and while that may not mean a leisurely vacation somewhere interesting or exotic, we do have options. In fact, this week I had a clear day so I stayed home and caught up on laundry.

While doing that, I flipped through the television for some background noise. I landed on a Grey’s Anatomy mini marathon. I must admit that I used to love this program, because it was an escape from my everyday routine. It was a definite guilty pleasure for me. And, that day I must have watched three hours in a row. (No, I did not finish the laundry).

A ‘guilty pleasure’ is defined as something that one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard, or is seen as unusual or weird. Do you have one, or two, or maybe three?

It doesn’t even have to be something that is ‘naughty’ or embarrassing that makes it a guilty pleasure. These are activities that just make us feel good, and we all need a few things like that right now. So, here are my top ten guilty pleasures.

1. Not sleeping in. I know, I’m weird. Despite feeling sleep-deprived constantly, I can’t lay around in bed. I love to get up early enough once in a while to see the sun rise. I make a cup of tea, wrap up and sit outside to watch the colors shift in the morning sky.

2. Binge-watching shows on Netflix. Some of my favorites are from BBC, but I totally can get hooked into a few hours of Scandal when I’m home alone.

3. Taking a few hours to go sit at Barnes & Noble to read magazines that I do not subscribe to and have a treat. Sometimes it’s just a cup of tea, but once or twice a year I let myself have cheesecake.

4. Bubble baths or just soaking in the tub. I love bath bombs and my family has supported this addiction. My favorite turns the water into a kaleidoscope of colors – so much fun!

5. Magazines. As you now know, I love reading them. There are several that I do subscribe to and I hold onto them for years, like HGTV and Women’s Running. My daughter is trying to help me purge the stacks from my shelves. But really, what’s wrong with having magazines that are six years old? They still have lots of good information, right?

6. Baking. I love to cook and bake but it seems that I rarely have time. But when I do, it’s major, like dozens and dozens of cookies and muffins that I share with friends and family. I do believe I’m the most relaxed when the kitchen is filled

with warm, spicy scents and there are racks of cookies cooling, waiting to be tasted.

7. Checking out bakeries. Since I don’t often have the time to bake, I will search out the local shops.

I know where to find a wonderful chocolate chip cookie or a macaron when I can’t make my own.

8. Pedicures. Enough said.

9. Quilting. I started while in graduate school and fell in love the entire process. Unfortunately, I have at least thirty unfinished projects, there’s that time issue again. But, when I can block out the time, I am as happy as can be cutting, arranging, and sewing shapes of fabric together into something to cuddle my loved ones.

10. Listening to my favorite music. This mainly happens when I’m running, the music gets me going. I also love having music playing in my office or when I’m writing. Right now, Johnny Swim is at the top of my playlist.

So, there are my guilty pleasures. Do we have any in common? If you catch me at a Barnes & Noble, say hi and let me know.

Dr. Jacqueline Lewis-Lyons’s office is located in north Columbus. Her practice centers on helping clients with depression and anxiety related disorders. In recent years, after discovering a love of running, she expanded her practice to include servces related to Sports Psychology for athletes of all ages and levels. To reach her, call 614-443-7040 or email her at Jacqui@ DrLewisLyons.com

GOOD THINGS COME FROM MEDICAID IMPROVEMENTS

By Brandi Slaughter, JD There are things you do because they are morally right, and there are things you do because they’re sensible. Upgrades to Ohio’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) have turned out to be both—truly good for children and smart for our state.

The legislation before the U.S. Senate right now could undo the progress we’ve made and leave children without the health care they need to succeed in school and grow up to become successful adults.

The bill would not only reverse the Obamaera Medicaid expansion that provided health coverage to hundreds of thousands of Ohio adults. It would also renege on the federal government’s long-term commitment to protect the most vulnerable among us: children, the disabled and the elderly.

In the past decade, changes supported by Governor John Kasich provided health care to 26,000 more Ohio children. Today, 95% of our kids are insured We all want kids to get the medical care they need. No child should be forced to endure illness without treatment. And no family should feel the pain of losing a child or watching one become disabled because of a preventable disease. Medicaid and CHIP are making such unconscionable suffering a thing of the past.

Investing in children’s health pays dividends

for the future. Effective medical care during childhood has been shown to help kids do better in school. Kids who benefit from Medicaid and CHIP not only miss fewer days in class, they also perform better academically.

With a strong educational and wellness foundation on which to build, Medicaid-covered children also finish high school in greater numbers. They have lower teen mortality rates.

And they are more likely to go to college. As adults, they get better jobs at higher salaries, positioning them well to support their own families when the time comes.

Today we know that giving kids a healthy start is one of the most effective ways to unravel the web of challenges that keep people in poverty from generation to generation. As a side benefit, the positive impacts of Medicaid and CHIP coverage pay for themselves.

For example, children with Medicaid and CHIP coverage are less likely to go to the emergency room and become hospitalized. This is a sign they’re receiving quality preventative care, such as annual physicals, as well as timely treatment, which can be as simple as filling a painful cavity in a tooth.

Supplying appropriate care for children in lowincome families—rather than have them rely primarily on the ER—saves money because prevention and early stage treatment are almost always less expensive. It also helps our health care system by reducing uncompensated medical services that can otherwise drive up health insurance premiums and send local hospitals and other community providers into bankruptcy.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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Moreover, Medicaid in childhood is associated with lower incidence of chronic and disabling conditions later in life. By promoting kids’ wellness now, we are actually reducing the burden on the healthcare system for decades to come.

Children who receive Medicaid and CHIP grow up to be adults who pay more in taxes than their uninsured peers –another positive for the government budget of the future.

The question is not how we can afford to provide this coverage for children—it’s how we could ever afford not to. Medicaid and CHIP are effective programs with modest costs that are increasing at a much slower rate than the private insurance market. They deliver greater returns than the value of our investment, and they help give every child the chance to reach their full potential, which is, simply put, the right thing to do.

The health care bill before the Senate would gut Medicaid and do nothing to reauthorize CHIP, which is set to expire this fall. Governor Kasich understands what’s at stake, and he has spoken out against the federal legislation. He knows that we must work together and find a way to make health care work for all our children.

Brandi Slaughter is the Chief Executive Officer of Voices for Ohio Children.

Voices for Ohio’s Children advocates for public policy that improves the well-being of Ohio’s children and their families by building nonpartisan collaboration amongst the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

The Columbus African American • July 2017

HEALTH

THE BATTLE FOR OUR HEALTH: OBAMACARE VS TRUMPCARE Cuts to Medicaid spending totaled $834 billion House version in the House legislation and $761 billion in the

By Charleta B. Tavares Senate legislation. Expanded Medicaid coverage • People would still receive subsidies, which We are dying and suffering would cease and the funding structure would would phase out at incomes of $75,000 per year d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y f r o m change in both bills. illnesses and diseases. We • The amount would be tied to a person’s age, stand on the battle line for Under the Affordable Care Act not income, so younger low-income people our health care and payment would get less help. c o v e r a g e . A s A f r i c a n • The federal government and states share the cost Americans we stand the most to lose due to the of insuring the poor. The amount of money that Tax credit proposal illnesses and diseases we suffer from, where we Washington gives each state varies depending Age Credit live, our economic status and our education levels on how much medical care that state’s Medicaid 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+ and other social determinants that can predict our patients receive $2000 $2500 $3000 $3500 $4000 health outcomes and life expectancy.

• The federal government is picking up almost • The subsidies would not vary with the cost of Since January of 2017, the U.S. Senate and the entire cost of expanding Medicaid coverage insurance, so people in high-cost areas would House along with the new president have vowed to low-income adults without children in the 30 also not get as much help, proportionally to “repeal and replace Obamacare”. This was states (and the District of Columbia) that have a campaign promise made in 2015 by then chosen to expand their programs Insurance mandate candidate Trump and the GOP throughout the Under the GOP proposal country. The members of the majority party in Senate version Obamacare, for the first time, required Americans Congress (Republicans) did not like the Patient to have health insurance. That would no longer Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) a.k.a. • Will replace current Medicaid with a fixed per be the case.

Obamacare since before the bill was passed in capita cap or a block grant. Each state would 2010. have a fixed amount of money every year. That Under the Affordable Care Act amount would increase annually by a percentage The ACA was hailed as hallmark legislation linked to the inflation rate, though the rate would • A person is required to purchase health that expanded healthcare access, services and be lower than in the House bill, meaning deeper insurance or pay a tax penalty coverage for upwards of 50 million people cuts. through the expansion of Medicaid, health care Under the GOP proposal subsidies for individuals, health care providers • The expansion of Medicaid benefits currently Senate version (physician practices, health centers, clinics offered under Obamacare would be phased out and educational institutions) that provide care beginning in 2020 and shut down completely by • The Senate bill would eliminate the tax penalty and new insurance plans on the private Market 2024 Exchange. The investment in these and other • Unlike the House bill, the Senate version does measures opened “health care coverage” to House version not include any penalties for people who do not millions of Americans who otherwise would not maintain coverage be covered, find a medical home and receive a • A fixed per capita cap or a block grant would diagnosis and treatment for their illnesses and/ replace the decades-old current system. Each House version or diseases. state would have a fixed amount of money every year. That amount would increase annually by a • The House bill would also eliminate the tax Many of the provisions of the ACA are being percentage linked to the inflation rate penalty stripped away from Americans who need these valuable services including preventative cancer • The additional federal funding that covered • Anyone who goes without insurance for more screenings like prostrate, breast, cervical and expanding Medicaid would be eliminated by than two months would face a six-month waiting colorectal, HIV, Hepatitis and others. In addition, 2020 period to get coverage when they buy a new plan the ACA provided coverage for children/young Guaranteed coverage adults on their parents’ policies up to age 26 Changes in Insurance and for pre-existing conditions such as heart Under the Affordable Care Act People with preexisting conditions could see disease, diabetes, asthma, sickle cell etc. This substantial changes in what kind of coverage they was a major victory for African Americans who • People using healthcare marketplaces and could receive. disproportionately suffer from chronic diseases making less than $48,000 a year receive subsidies and were not covered if pre-existing or detected to help them buy insurance Under the Affordable Care Act before an insurance policy was initiated. Prior to • The amount of the subsidy is tied to a person’s the ACA if certain illnesses were in fact covered income and to the cost of insurance in the • Americans are able to get health insurance like mental illnesses, substance use disorders, person’s area even if they’re sick. This put an end to insurers cancer or heart disease, there would be a lifetime denying coverage to people who have preexisting cap on payments to cover your treatment or • The subsidies are automatically applied to the medical conditions medication. consumers’ monthly insurance bills rather than • Insurers are barred from charging sick having to wait for a rebate According to the Congressional Budget Under the GOP proposal consumers more for coverage Office more than 23 million Americans would lose coverage under the U.S. House of Senate version • Insurers cannot impose annual or lifetime limits Representatives’ health care plan (American on coverage Health Care Act) and 22 million Americans • Would still link aid to consumers’ income, would lose coverage under the recently though it would stop at 350% of poverty level, • Insurers must offer a basic set of benefits, announced Senate version. Provided below are compared with 400% under the current law including mental health, prescription drugs and comparisons of some of the major provisions in maternity care the ACA, House passed American Health Care • A new formula for setting the amount of Act and the Senate proposal courtesy of the Los subsidies would tie them to the cost of less Angeles Times.1 comprehensive health plans. That means many consumers would get substantially less assistance Continued on page 17 Medicaid than under Obamacare

The Columbus African American •News July Journal 2017 • February 2015

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HEALTH

Continued from page 16

coverage unaffordable for some

Parenthood patients have incomes at or below 150% of the federal poverty level

• Insurers would be able to charge older • Insurers cannot charge older consumers more consumers five times more than younger • Medicaid would be barred from providing than three times more than younger consumers consumers funding for any health clinics that provide abortion services, including Planned Parenthood 2 Under the GOP proposal Women’s health Senate version Sources: Both the House and Senate Republican plans • Would not explicitly eliminate guaranteed would impose new restrictions on health plans 1, 2 Census, Medicaid.gov, Kaiser Family coverage, but would allow states to seek waivers with abortion coverage, and would defund Foundation, Congressional Budget Office, from several consumer protections Planned Parenthood. Low-income women would P l a n n e d P a re n t h o o d , Ti m e s re p o r t i n g be among the most seriously affected.

Credits: Additional reporting and production • States would be allowed to scale back conditions contributions by Joe Fox that they require insurers to cover. Because of Under the Affordable Care Act the way the law is structured, that could allow The board and staff of PrimaryOne Health® insurers to re-impose annual and lifetime limits • Insurance companies cannot charge women are focused on improving health outcomes for on some coverage more than men for the same health plan African American and racial, ethnic and cultural communities bearing the burden of premature • Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill would not • Insurers are required to provide a basic set of death and disease in our community and state. allow insurers to charge sick people more benefits including maternity care, pediatric care The organization will continue to serve homeless, and contraception un/derinsured (Medicaid, private insurance • Insurers would be able to charge older and self-pay) residents of Central Ohio; and consumers five times more than younger • Planned Parenthood receives federal funding promote and implement promising practices consumers for family planning and other medical services and strategies to improve health outcomes and used by Medicaid recipients. Abortion cannot be address the upstream social and environmental House version funded with federal dollars determinants that negatively affect the health of African Americans and communities of color.

• Would not explicitly eliminate guaranteed Under the GOP proposal coverage, but would allow states to seek waivers Charleta B. Tavares is the Chief Executive from several consumer protections • Insurance companies would still be banned Officer at PrimaryOne Health, a Federally from charging women more Qualified Health Center (FQHC) system • States would be allowed to scale back providing comprehensive primary care, OB-GYN, conditions that insurers must cover. Because of • States could seek waivers to allow insurers to pediatric, vision, dental, behavioral health and the way the law is structured, that could allow drop some basic benefits, such as maternity care specialty care at 11 locations in Central Ohio. insurers to re-impose annual and lifetime limits and contraceptives The mission is to provide access to services that on some coverage. improve the health status of families including • Medicaid would no longer have to offer people experiencing financial, social, or cultural • States would also be able to allow insurers to these benefits, which would more deeply affect barriers to health care. www.primaryonehealth. charge sick people more, potentially making low-income women. Nearly 80% of Planned org.

The Richard Allen Group

BUFFIE PATTERSON HER Associate Broker

BUY SELL INVEST 893 E. Long St. Columbus, OH 43203 (M) 614.325.1544 (O) 614.891.7400 (F) 888.847.9266

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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The Columbus African American • July 2017

HEALTH

DOWNSIZE YOUR LIFE FOR BETTER HEALTH

By Lisa Benton, MD, MPH Recently travelling overseas I was reminded of how much we here in America supersize, jumbo, bonus, plus size, extra-large almost everything. It’s not just food portion sizes. It’s in how we live. I’m reminded that we are a consuming, accumulating, collecting, cluttering and even hoarding nation.

No matter what we do or have, we love our stuff.

Data shows that when we are surrounded with too much stuff, we don’t often perform or function at our best. Clutter or too much stuff is a distraction in life on many levels. Aside from not being able to keep track of your things when you live in excess, there is a downside for our health.

To start there are the obvious safety issues.

You can’t get out and away from your stuff if emergency evacuation is needed in a fire, flood, tornado or earthquake. There is the physical danger of tripping and falling over things or having things fall on you or blocking your exit.

You may also be creating a fire hazard.

And don’t forget to increase the risk of having a breathing problem if you or others smoke in crowded spaces. Cigarette and cigar smoke with its thousands of known toxins and cancer causing agents has more places to get trapped in an area that is full of stuff and not well-ventilated.

Next are the ugly problems that come with too much stuff such as dust, mold, critters and other pests. In addition to the germs and contamination come with eggs, feces and bug larvae, you’re putting yourself at risk for respiratory problems.

These particles called allergens have surface proteins known as antigens that turn on or set off your immune system in a bad way. If you have asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), they can trigger airway spasms and allergic and even deadly anaphylactic reactions.

Thus, you may need to additional inhalers, bronchodilators, steroids, extra oxygen or other anti-allergy medications in higher doses or more frequently.

For African American children, when you talk about their risk of asthma related similar breathing problems, they have asthma at almost the twice the rate of white kids. They are almost twice as likely to be hospitalized for asthma attacks, and four (4) times as likely to die from complications due to asthma.

A big part of their risk for asthma comes from environmental triggers where they live, eat, sleep, go to school and play. Roaches, dust mites and other critters are more likely to creep into cluttered, damp, dark and moldy places that are difficult to keep clean. Growing children are even more sensitive to smoke under these conditions.

You may think it is no big deal in this instance to grab the nearest can of ant and roach spray or disinfectant, or set off a bug bomb but the chemicals in the squirt bottles, mists and aerosols can also be irritants and triggers causing breathing problems.

As someone with just a messy desk, closet, study, basement or garage, you may only consider yourself an avid collector or aficionado. You may only consider it being disorganized rather than clutter. The piles of books, papers, magazine, tools, sports equipment, clothes, dishes or whatever you accumulate may not seem to bother or distract you.

Being surrounded by excess is related to having a negative effect on your productivity, motivation creativity and your interactions with other people.

More stuff can equal more stress, anxiety and depression. Studies show that being overwhelmed by what you have can get in the way of your happiness.

Yes, there are even studies that suggest that clutter is associated with weight gain and obesity.

That consideration alone is enough to get me started on a purging binge.

During my trip appreciating the value and benefit of less is more came home for me on many levels.

A group of the people in my travel group were from Clendenin, West Virginia where a little over a year ago the whole town was flooded with 8

The Columbus African American •News July Journal 2017 • February 2015

18

feet of water.

Many of the people had their most prized material possessions swept away or irreplaceably damaged. They were displaced on a level seen in Katrina where they lost their homes and were left living in FEMA trailers with scant government resources and services to rebuild their homes and lives.

Their resilience to rebuild was and continues to be an inspiration. In addition to God and their faith, a lot of their strength to keep going comes from knowing how to let go of stuff and keep what really matters.

When we approach each day with the mindset of excess rather than abundance, we’re starting behind the eight ball. Open up and clear out the cluttered, full, over-stuffed and overcommitted areas of your life so that you can finally see what’s ahead of you step out into better health and peace of mind.

Learn a little more…

Children’s Environmental Health Disparities: Black and African American Children and Asthma h t t p s : / / w w w. e p a . g o v / s i t e s / p ro d u c t i o n / files/2014-05/documents/hd_aa_asthma.pdf 8 Serious Reasons You Need to Declutter, Once and for All, by Lauren Smith, Good Housekeeping; January 5, 2016 http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/ organizing/a36247/how-clutter-impacts-yourhealth/ To find out how to help the people of Clendenin, West Virginia rebuild, check out: WV Flood Relief - Clay, Clendenin, Elkview Facebook Public Group Contact Kevin Miller at kevinlmiller1@gmail. com Lisa D. Benton, MD, MPH (The Doctor is In) breastsurgeonlb@gmail.com, Twitter:@DctrLisa (415) 746-0627

BUSINESS

TAX ABATEMENTS: WHAT’S UP WITH THAT!

By William Dodson, MPA A dirty word in some discussions!

These are the tools local governments rely on to compete for jobs and businesses to support their communities. Simply put, It’s a state law that they have to conform to in designating their use.

Public property like streets are the beneficiary as businesses repay the costs of improvements through the TIFF. The Community Reinvestment Abatement is also used along with it to reduce land taxes during a period of no greater than 15 years. Areas have to be distressed to qualify.

Former Governor James A. Rhodes was the first Ohio governor to travel to Japan in his quest to attract a Honda auto plant to Ohio. As a result Honda and over 50 of its affiliated partners have located within a hundred mike radius of the Marysville plant. The primary weapon used by local governments to bring these jobs to their towns were tax incentives. Working with utility companies and the Ohio Department of Development, they were successful.

These tax incentives are state law. I worked for the Ohio Dept. Of Development (1975-86) when these were passed. Our job was to explain them to cities and counties as tools for economic development in their communities. They were to target distressed areas for development.

Some wanted to spread the benefits too far by blanketing the entire city. This would dilute the benefits by not targeting specific areas for impact.

THE NUTS AND BOLTS The incentives most often used are: 1. Community Reinvestment Area Tax Exemption (HB 251) (ORC 3735.65-70) up to 15 year tax abatement on improved value added. Mayor Coleman used for neighborhood target areas . The increased value of improvements was untaxed for term of the abatement.

2. Urban Redevelopment Tax Increment Financing Fund or - (ORC. 5709.41-43) or (TIFFs as they are called). They exempt certain improvements to real property owned by the municipality to be exempted from taxation. The land may be leased to a private entity. The developer or owner makes annual service payments in lieu of taxes during the 15 year exemption period. This money is to be distributed to the municipality. are an incremental tax assessed to businesses to recover costs of new infrastructure by city ie. Street improvements.

Nationwide One was one of the first projects to benefit from a TIFF. SOURCE: ‘Main Street: Chapter 6 Ohio’s Tax Incentive and Financial Programs for Downtown Redevelopment. (Out of Print but information is still available from the Ohio Development Services Agency (with a searchable database of tax incentives issued by the agency).

A timely example

Most recently, in the case of Northeast Columbus, both of the above tools have been used for two major commercial developments : the Limited’s headquarters (1981-96) and the Easton retail development (2001-2016). In both cases the TIFF monies were to be returned to the developer and could be spent in the ‘distressed area’. In the first case Mayor Coleman took the monies downtown.

In the latter, a law was pushed through the legislature in December 2016 to allow the developer to avoid spending the monies in the distressed area enabling them to give the $5.7 million to Mayor Ginther to use in the Linden area. In both cases, this is troublesome, as the qualifying distressed area receives no benefit.

This violates the spirit and the intent of the original laws. This has been an injustice as the city has ignored the major issues like pedestrian safety on the hazardous roads and other needs in the area despite prioritizing them in the Northeast Area Plan (1992 as amended). The Area Commission has been seeking resolution of these issues for over 25 years!

THE CASE FOR NORTHEAST COLUMBUS Although largely ignored, it is the only inner Columbus neighborhood that has seen over 10,000 new homes in the last 30 years. This is the ‘growing inward’ organic growth which Mayor Coleman once touted! Much Commercial development has also taken place as well, notably the CityGate development. Four affordable housing developments have been built and 157 former HUD homes been rehabilitated. However, there has been no support for neighborhood friendly retail and other improvements i.e. hazardous roads without pedestrian safety.

We’re essentially a new suburb without these basic upgrades.

We also have the marvelous new KIPP School on Agler Road but many unimproved streets make it difficult for its students to walk on. Many arteries like Sunbury, Cassady, Sunbury and Agler have high volume traffic and little or no pedestrian safety. These streets now have large trucks and through traffic from surrounding areas. The area still has more developable land as well.

Retail developers say no areas are overbuilt in Columbus, but they don’t say any are under built! They are all on the light rail bandwagon in support of downtown, the Short North etc. but silent on sagging areas now like East Columbus our our ‘no name Northeast Area!

The city chronicled these needs over 20 years ago but won’t address the issues in spite of all the heat Easton brought to our backyard! The area begs for a few things to enjoy some measure of completeness like these other interests that ‘crowd the plate for the city’s attention.

The real story here is one of betrayal. I re-read the Dispatch article (2/14/17) regarding the tax breaks to Easton in support of a planned expansion. This again is part of our area as the Limited headquarters was as well. The school board was irked because a loophole in state law that allows residential property to be exempted from taxation denied the schools their share.

The developer pushed it through state law in 19

December to allow the windfall of $5.7 million to be given to the City of Columbus. As a result tax abatements were granted In both cases.

The case for tax incentives is s mixed bag. They can be employed to uplift an area once neglected.

They can also fuel such forces as gentrification as an area is transformed. The balance is not always in play as the areas are part of a bigger strategy or plan. Distressed neighborhoods are not the primary benefit of these tools as other needs are ignored as in the case (twice) for the Northeast area. The groundswell of development that has occurred is not necessitating related to the abatement area. However, one significant exception: the Somerset community.

The Limited’s attorneys, the late Harrison Smith and Ben Hale along with Jeff Brown, made the most significant contribution to the Northeast area with the development of 600 vacant platted residential lots in the Somerset subdivision.

The surplus land was part of an old HUD 235 development that was stalled by President Richard Nixon’s attempt to dismantle HUD. They were one of many similar projects for the Northeast area that never materialized leaving a surplus of land with high density zonings. Twenty years later, developers were saying there was no developable land in Columbus! That is not what Wexner and his associates saw in assembling land for Easton and their earlier investment!

The organizing of residential builders Dominion, M/I and Joshua Homes resulted on over 500 homes being built without a tax abatement at McCutcheon Crossing. This was undeniable that there was a strong market for these homes built just before the recession on 2009. Leap forward to the present and the many foreclosures have been Withholding the disbursement if the TIFf funds flies in the face of the remains opportunists in the Northeast and the much needed public infrastructure improvements on the major arteries: Agler, Cassady, McCutcheon and Innis lacking pedestrian safety including sidewalks and most recently, enhanced protection at new and existing bus stops for COTA’s new bus route to Easton on Sunbury Road linking the southwest Easton area job opportunities. After over a year of lobbying City Council, councilman Shannon Hardin attended a Northeast Area Commission meeting to hear the complaints. A commitment was made by the Public Service department to do a survey and study signaling on Sunbury to address daily stacking problems there. It’s been six months now. Clearly the TIFF Funds could address these concerns. Discussions with local leaders and Mayor Ginther have taken place.

We await some relief…

William Dodson is the Executive Vice President at Rhema Christian Center and Executive Director of Dayspring Christian CDC. He has been a Community Builder with over 35 years of experience in community organization, human services and community development. He is an affordable housing developer and community development specialst.

The American ColumbusNews African American • July 2017 The Columbus African Journal • February 2015

COVER STORY CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY “Service...Protocol...Civility”

By Ray Miller Central State University, located in Wilberforce, Ohio, builds aspiring leaders ready to tackle challenges in today’s global economy. The University’s focus is on preparing students for careers and advanced degrees.

Today, the University is transforming itself into a powerhouse 1890 Land-Grant Institution with expanded research activities, more research faculty, greater opportunities for undergraduate students, the addition of academic degrees and a greater focus on partnership and engagement locally and through global relationships.

“The best way to introduce the University is to show you our product,” Central State President Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Hammond said to Louis Beck, Chairman of Union Savings Bank, during a ceremony to commence the newly formed partnership’s Banking Institute. The innovative initiative is designed to train students for careers in the banking industry. “When the business community solicits partnerships with the University, our students benefit through internships and career opportunities,’’ Dr. Jackson-Hammond said. “This kind of interest says that the University is moving in the right direction.”

National organizations are recognizing Central State’s accomplishments. Central State is a finalist in six award categories honoring excellence at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The awards are sponsored by HBCU Digest. Finalists were selected from more than 175 nominations from across the country.

Winners will be named on July 15th.

Central State was selected as a finalist for two of the most prestigious HBCU Digest awards - HBCU of the Year and Female HBCU President of the Year. This is a consecutive year recognition of stellar leadership for President Jackson-Hammond, who garnered top honors as the recipient of the 2016 Female HBCU President of the Year award. Selection as finalists in both of these categories is a direct indicator of outstanding leadership, effective collaboration between the administration, faculty and staff and the progression of the institution.

The new 85,000 square foot Central State University Student Center

at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM), went into public education for seven years and was asked by ULM to return as a tenure track faculty member. I continued my graduate studies securing two additional graduate degrees and began to diversify my portfolio by accepting various leadership roles in academe.

That expansion allowed me to gain depth of understanding about higher education and the role and responsibilities associated with great leadership.

I had great role models in college and in my community, which encouraged the development of self reliance and personal accountability. My parents, teachers and role models all seemed to have the same basic philosophy, “No Excuses!”

In your opinion, what are the qualities, skills and competencies of an excellent college President? Who were your mentors and role models?

I think good leaders regardless of their professional position must have a strong team of committed persons who serve as the “think team.” Of course, the leader has to be able to acutely identify what those characteristics of the “think team” should be.

of the greater good of the organization and not necessarily the interest of individuals. Good leaders must know the difference and act accordingly.

Finally, good leaders recognize that it is through team effort that an organization moves forward.

Central State University Does CSU play some unique role or have an important niche in Ohio’s Higher Education System?

Central State University is the most affordable 4-year institution in the state of Ohio. We offer quality academic experiences and opportunities in a small setting so that the education that students receive is personalized and intentional.

WE intentionally know our students and are committed to their success. As a Land-Grant University, we offer competitive degrees in STEM-AG with additional accredited programs in Liberal Arts, Business and Education.

There is something for everyone! Students are admitted based on their high school academic performance and commitment to continue to grow and challenge themselves toward greater achievements. Students must enter prepared and Good leaders have to be able to bring the entire commit to do the work! organization to common grounds around common goals and collectively provide a blueprint for CSU is an 1890 Land-Grant Institution....what Q&A with Central State University President success. does that mean and what is the value of such a Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Hammond designation?

Good leaders must balance compassion with Personal Background common sense and commitment. Realizing the As an 1890 Land-Grant Institution, Central humanistic values of each person is important State University receives federal resources to What was your path to becoming a college and critical to organizational success; however, President? when there are goals that must be achieved, a After college, I worked as a graduate assistant Continued on Page 21 good leader must weigh what is in the interest The July Journal 2017 • February 2015 The Columbus Columbus African African American American •News

20

COVER STORY

develop graduates to meet the many employment opportunities associated with STEM-Agricultural disciplines. Ohio’ s growing economy is largely based on agricultural development and innovative technologies. Central State University is in a unique position (because of our size and location) to prepare students for those jobs because of the 1890 Land-Grant designation. Regardless of a student’s city, suburban or rural location, Central State University can prepare them for employment opportunities in Ohio and the region.

What is the current student enrollment at CSU and enrollment projections for the near future?

Enrollment averages around 1,800 students. We purposely grow methodically because we want to keep the personalized environment. Each student knows that they will be nurtured by the President Cynthia Jackson-Hammond speaks with several female students.

CSU administration, faculty and staff. Even our students adopt a “family-like” support system for each other. Our projected growth by 2020 will be around 2,500. of Excellence designations, one in Emerging and broader. As technology innovations continue Technologies, which recognizes our prominence to expand so will CSU! We will be intentional What is CSU’s value proposition and in producing graduates in the fields of science, and competitive in our program offerings and what makes the university superior to our technology, engineering and math; and, the ensure that the students/clients that we serve are “competitors?” other in Cultural and Societal Transformation prepared socially, academically and are adept at Central State University is a regional accredited in recognition of CSU’s outstanding national handling their place in a global space and in a institution with several program accreditations and international reputation in the fine and global market. which serve as national “quality academic performing arts. assurances.” We incorporate three tenets of Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Hammond is a tenured Service…Protocol…Civility(R) as foundational How fiscally sound is CSU? professor with over 35 years of experience characteristics of the institution. Every Central State University is fiscally sound as in higher education serving in various institution has its own distinct characteristics and certified by the Higher Learning Commission, administrative capacities. As the eighth identity, so, we do not compare our institution the state of Ohio and state auditors. president and first female president in the 130to any other. Our students bring so much to year history of Central State University, she has the college experience and those experiences Talk about the strength and support of the garnered several local and national awards for are positively impacted by brilliant, dedicated CSU Board of Trustees. outstanding leadership during her 5-year tenure, faculty, staff and administrators.

Central State University’s Board of Trustees are which has contributed to national recognition appointed by the Governor and they are residents of the University and its advances under her What are the University’s signature programs of Ohio. We have been extremely fortunate to administration. or Centers of Excellence? have Trustees who are actively engaged in Transformation in Action Central State University holds two Center committee work and support the administration’s efforts and the University’s strategic plan. Each Central State University’s Six Compelling Trustee has a wide range of expertise and Priorities are driving transformation, creating experiences and those attributes are brought more academic opportunities and enhancing the forth to ensure the growth, sustainability and collegiate experiences for students: longevity of Central State University. Two of the Academics positions are reserved for students, who are also • In 2016, CSU inaugurated the College of appointed by the Governor through a competitive Science and Engineering’s new Department of selection process.

Agricultural Sciences and a bachelor of science degree in Sustainable Agriculture, the only B.S. Cite examples of outstanding students, faculty, degree of its kind in Ohio. and administrators.

L e t me be c le ar, our s tude nts , fac ulty, • Beginning Fall 2017, the College of Education’s administrators and alums are “outstanding.” new School of Agricultural Education and Our faculty are scholars, grant recipients and Food Science will offer a degree in Agriculture published authors. Students are exploring their Education, one of only three degree programs career paths through internships at Fortune available in the state.

500 companies, national and international • A bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science is corporations and, as they graduate, are going expected to be approved this summer. into graduate programs or professional careers. • New program accreditations include the Social Work Program.

What is your vision for CSU within the next Affordability, Value and Enrollment Growth 5-10 years?

Central State University has enjoyed the small • U.S. News and World Report ranked Central location of Wilberforce, Ohio, which supports State the fifth most affordable University a warm, inviting and nurturing community.

CSU Freshman Candlelight Service.

We will continue to offer that type of learning environment, but the landscape will be different Continued on Page 22 21

The Columbus African American • July 2017

COVER STORY

Central State University’s Board of Trustees Central State University’s Board of Trustees represents leaders in business and in Ohio’s communities. Half of the board hails from nationwide for out-of-state students. The national Columbus, Ohio. recognition cited a 70 percent reduction in outof-state tuition.

University Trustees are: • The University achieved a 22% increase in new first-time students for Fall 2016 and at 634, that Mark Hatcher, Esq., Chair was the largest class of new first-time freshmen Mark Hatcher, who is a partner in the Columbus in the past five years. Leading into Fall 2017, law office of BakerHostetler, has been a member Central State has experienced an 82 percent of the CSU board since September, 2014. At increase in incoming student applications and is BakerHostetler, he advises clients in connection projected to exceed the 800 new student target for with business formation, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and financing. incoming freshmen and transfer students.

Continued from Page 21

Fiscal Accountability • Central State exceeded financial liquidity benchmarks set by the state of Ohio for public university reserves (by an increase of 78 percent).

• Central State is one of the first Universities in Ohio to participate in the Ohio Checkbook program, the state auditor’s fiscal transparency initiative, which gives public access to an institution’s expenditures.

• The University completed an energy conservation project, which has resulted in annual savings of $1 million.

Linda D. Dukes-Campbell, Vice Chair Linda Dukes-Campbell, of Cleveland, has nearly 20 years of broadcasting experience having worked as a reporter, News and Public Affairs Director, and Assistant to the General Manager of WEWS TV-5 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ms. Dukes-Campbell was also employed with the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, where she served as Chief of the Office of Community and Media Relations.

Rev. Larry L. Macon, Jr., Secretary Rev. Larry L. Macon, Jr., of Cleveland, is an Campus Enhancements inspirational speaker, pastor, teacher, and author.

• Central State’s new 85,000 square feet state-of- Rev. Macon is currently the co-pastor of Mt. Zion the-art University Student Center has amenities Church of Oakwood Village, one of the largest that include a 568-seat cafeteria, a convenience/ churches in the Greater Cleveland area with a membership of over 5,000. bookstore, administrative offices, computer lab and banquet facilities.

Reginald L. Fields, Columbus • The University is currently investing more than R e g i n a l d L . F i e l d s i s t h e D i r e c t o r o f $20M in upgrades to increase campus security, Communications and External Affairs for the update IT equipment and campus-wide Wi- Ohio State Medical Association, the state’s largest Fi access and services and renovate academic physician-led association, where he specializes in strategic communication, brand reputation, and facilities.

Mark Hatcher, Esq., chair of Central State’s community outreach.

Board of Trustees, said, “Under the leadership of CSU President Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Hammond, we experienced record freshman enrollment in academic year 2016-17 and we expect to exceed that in the coming academic year. The integration of our 1890 Land-Grant status into our DNA is occurring rapidly and our partnership with The Ohio State University continues to be successful as we propose new research projects and services in the 10 Ohio counties where we provide joint extension services.”

Former Ohio Senator Chris Widener, who serves as a senior policy consultant for CSU, said, “We consistently find that community leaders and stakeholders who do not engage the University on any level (i.e. through campus tours to observe capital improvements to the physical campus, and administrators and students to hear their vision and life’s goals after graduation), these influencers do not have a real sense of what is happening here to change lives and provide the most affordable college education in Ohio.”

Christopher L. Wyche, Columbus Christopher Wyche is director of external affairs for AT&T Ohio where he serves as the “face” of AT&T in the central Ohio area. Mr. Wyche is responsible for ensuring that local communities are aware of AT&T’s key initiatives and for building relationships with local stakeholders.

Additionally, Mr. Wyche helps to manage AT&T’s corporate philanthropy efforts for the central Ohio area.

Day’Shawn Jones, Toledo Day’Shawn Jones is a student trustee. He is an early childhood education major.

Nygeria L. Hicks, Columbus Nygeria L. Hicks is a student trustee. She is a business administration major with a concentration in management information systems.

Special Note I. Ray Miller, Jr., Columbus Ray Miller completed a six-year term as a Member of the Central State University Board of Trustees on June 30, 2017. Mr. Miller is the Founder & Publisher of The Columbus African American news journal--the most broadly circulated, ethnically focused publication in the State of Ohio. Prior to his appointment to the CSU Board of Trustees, Miller served as a Member of the Ohio General Assembly for 24 years--16 years as a Member of the Ohio House of Representatives and 8 years as a member of the Ohio Senate. He was elected successively by his colleagues to serve as Minority Whip, Assistant Minority Leader, and Minority Leader of the Ohio Senate. Miller is the Director of the Progressive Leadership Academy and is a highly sought after professional speaker.

Kenneth C. Lumpkin, Esq., Cleveland Kenneth C. Lumpkin, Esq. is a practicing attorney, and a community and economic development specialist with over 25 years of experience in municipal finance, development law and public policy. Presently, he is the managing partner of Lumpkin McCrary, LLP, a multi-jurisdictional law firm with more than 50 years of combined national experience in public and municipal finance, community and economic development finance and lobbying.

Marlon R. Moore, Galena Marlon R. Moore is the Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Huntington Bank. Mr. Moore’s organizational focus is on improving the mix of diverse talent and suppliers through strategic execution of Huntington’s diversity and inclusion strategy.

Sherri Richardson, Cincinnati Sherri Richardson, CPA, is the founder and partner for Richardson & Associates, LLC, “CSU is being transformed everyday through the a Cincinnati, Ohio CPA firm that provides support of state legislators and President Jackson- consulting, auditing, accounting, tax and grant Hammond and her leadership team. People have writing services for both non-profit and for-profit companies. to see it, and experience it to believe it. “ The Columbus African American •News July Journal 2017 • February 2015

22

Central State University Established in 1887 when the Ohio General Assembly created a Combined Normal and Industrial Department at Wilberforce University.

The University is celebrating 130 years of Academic Excellence.

Location: Wilberforce, OH Enrollment: 1,741 Sports Mascot: Marauder Two Ohio Centers of Excellence: Ohio Centers of Excellence in Emerging Technologies and Ohio Centers of Excellence in Cultural and Societal Transformation

THE BOTTOM LINE

DOUBLE TROUBLE: TO BE BLACK AND DISABLED IS A DUEL DILEMMA

By Iris Cooper, DBA Kevin is a middle-aged Black man with a moderate mental disability and a physical limitation from a stroke. He is a single father, but lost custody of his young son because he spanked him and was unaware of the consequences of his action.

He is constantly in court for one reason or another. His family offers minimal support; in fact, one member exploited his social security number, damaging his credit rating. He lives on government assistance but must pay child support for an estranged teenage daughter. His happiest moments were successfully running a lawn care business several years ago, funded by a state agency, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD). Unfortunately, the business closed with the stroke, which necessitated a twomonth hospital stay. In 2016, Kevin applied as a new OOD applicant to operate a carryout.

Initially, the agency representative provided encouragement and technical support, giving him hope that a new business was possible, if not probable. After months of research, discussion, and edits, the store business plan landed on a supervisor’s desk. Several meetings occurred to discuss the business plan, given that there were no clear, defined, public guidelines for self-employment grant approval. The plan reached a committee level and failed because of the amount of funding required, poor credit, limited cash reserves, and the risk of the business model, which should have been identified at the beginning of the process. A second attempt to place Kevin in business with a coffee distributorship transpired requiring minimal capital, no employees, limited decision-making, and pre-selected, exclusive locations. A second business plan was prepared that addressed most of the criticism from the first one. The agency rejected this proposal for industry risk, poor credit, and limited cash reserves. Kevin spent over 12 months waiting for answers to these proposals.

The denial reasons were beyond his control and expected constraints for individuals with nominal financial or human capital. The process and requirements for the self-employment program were obscure, unreasonable, time-consuming, misleading, and mismanaged by social workers, rather than individuals with business experience.

Kevin is despondent and unsure what to do about this future.

Cathy is a Black single mother who is visually impaired. She needed special assistance to work at the State of Ohio Jobs and Family Services on a computer screen. Her work required hours of meticulous review of numbers on spreadsheets.

Cathy requested a physician-recommended computer screen protector to assist her vision.

Agency management ignored her request. She persevered to fulfill the stringent demands of her grant administrator position, disregarding the insensitive jokes on blindness from co-workers.

Human resources provided no support for her plight. After several years of working in hostility, she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), seeking restitution for her discriminatory experience.

Retaliation materialized, and additional work emerged, still without the screen protector. The EEOC took no action on her complaint for three years. She left the state after six years for a position with less stress and disrespect. During the fifth year, with no resolution, she filed a lawsuit against the agency’s administrators for not following the Americans with Disability Act regulations, and is waiting on a trial.

Americans today are still fighting for affordable healthcare, livable wages, and safe communities.

Black people live in fear of the police, and immigrants hide to avoid deportation and separation from their families. Some say this is a fight between the haves and the have-nots.

Others say that this is the tipping point for all people to pull together as one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

However, for Black Americans with disabilities, the path to liberty and justice leads to a dead end.

A disabled person is an individual who has a defined physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. An employer is required to make reasonable accommodations to facilitate disabled employees to achieve employment success. The following statistics reflect the characteristics of the disabled population in the US: • In the US, about 74.6 million people have some type of physical disability, making this group the largest minority subset of the population.

• Both African-Americans and American Indian/ Alaska Natives have the highest rate of disability among racial minorities, with 24.3% for each group.

• The unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities was 80% in 2014.

• The majority of individuals with disabilities support themselves through self-employment.

• Of persons with disabilities, 47% were over 65 years of age, with women comprising the largest group.

• Approximately 60% of Black men in prison have a learning disability.

• Disabled people are less likely to finish college.

• The most common functional disability type was a mobility limitation.

The American Disabilities Act (ADA) is the most impactful resource available to those with disabilities. Crafted in 1990, the ADA provides legal protection against discrimination for those with disabilities in all phases of lifestyle activities including employment, housing, education, and healthcare. Organizations with over 15 employees must adhere to the regulations, including state and local government agencies.

Unfortunately, enforcement of this law is lacking 23

at every level, even in the institutions empowered to assist these individuals.

Black individuals with normal abilities face ongoing discrimination and live in fear and poverty in many communities. Adding insult to injury, disabled Black people are often unable to navigate the legal, medical, or social service system, eventually giving up on achieving their personal goals. With so many competing tragedies in the news, the misery of a Black disabled person seldom commands attention, leaving him or her to suffer in silence and out of public view. Without strict enforcement of ADA policies, and reasonable criteria for selfemployment, Black people with disabilities have few choices for self-sustainability. Their lives truly reflect a doubly, troubled existence that deserves empathy, respect, and tangible support from the government, private industry, and the community at large.

Sources of data: www.dosomething.org www.bls.gov www.eeoc.gov www.cdc.gov Dr. Iris Ann Cooper’s career includes leadership positions in financial services, economic development, community service, communication, government, entrepreneurship, and education.

She is the owner of “JustAskIris!” an entrepreneurial coaching firm. Iris founded Glory Foods, Inc., a multi-million dollar food marketing company. Iris is recognized nationally as a business strategy and branding expert, having coached many startups to sustainability. Her newest venture is Finish Your Gloryfied Business Plan Now!, a workshop to foster entrepreneurial success. Iris is the former Director of the Ohio Division of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, where Iris led the state from 29th worst place for small businesses in 2007 to the ninth best in the nation, and 1st in the Midwest in four years.

Iris is a featured writer and speaker on business topics, and an adjunct professor at Franklin University and Columbus State Community College. In 2015, Iris introduced the 2nd version of “When the Devil is Beating His Wife, a Christian Perspective on Domestic Violence and Recovery” co-authored with Melanie Houston and available on Amazon and alabasterboxmedia.com. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the National Coalition of 100 Black Women-Central Ohio Chapter, Indiana University Alumni Association, Women for Economic Leadership and Development and CDC Headstart of Franklin County. Iris holds a BA in Journalism and an MBA in Marketing from Indiana University. In 2016, she obtained her Doctorate in Business Administration from Walden University, majoring in Entrepreneurship.

The American ColumbusNews African American • July 2017 The Columbus African Journal • February 2015

BUSINESS

NAVIGATING DISCRIMINATORY INTERVIEWS IN AN UNEQUAL WORLD

By Rebecca Kemper-Larrimer In a crowded hotel lobby full of flapping name badges and relentless Huston humidity, I was able to snag the last seat next by two of my colleagues. Scooching in on a couch already overflowing with laptop cords and loose notes, indicative of a national research conference, I noticed hushed tones. They were both on the job market that year and one had secured an interview with an Ivy League institution. But that recently completed interview was the cause of nervous side glances and whispered voices. My friend was distraught; she stated that she had been asked by two male interviewers in a dismissive, irritated tone, “so you getting married, huh?” after seeing her engagement ring. She was upset and kept asking us what we would have done in this situation. We explained that, unfortunately, such questions still occur in interviews but that there were a few strategies to handle such questions in the future. One strategy would be to call out the question as discriminatory right then and there. But, of course, this instantly turns the conversation combative; you, the interviewee, could appear overreactive to what could be an honest mistake. The other strategy is to reframe the question back to the interviewer, signaling that you are not answering the discriminatory question per se but would like to answer the potential concern behind it. In this case, one could say “By this question, I am assuming you are concerned about me relocating for the job; I can assure you that I took this interview with full intention of committing to your institution if a job offer is presented”. This maneuver keeps you, the interviewee, on the high ground by addressing the employer’s concern without appearing antagonistic or divulging any unnecessary personal information. I refer to this tactic in my professionalism and ethics course as “interview jujitsu”. Jujitsu is a martial art form which passively utilizes your opponent’s force against them. Maintaining poise during such an interview retains your professional reputation --and your options-- for later. You may end up with a job offer taking this route, although I would personally caution against working for an institution that either does not know or fails to care that their interviews contain discriminatory questions. Composure provides room to professionally document and report such behavior as well.

Okay, so what are discriminatory interviews topics and what jujitsu moves can you use to maintain your composure during them? They might just surprise you.

• Age / Date of Birth • Gender • Race / National Origin / Citizenship • Disability • Relationship Status, Family Planning & Children • Veteran / Military Status But wait, you might ask, I’ve been asked these questions on job applications and sometimes even during interviews – have I answered an illegal question? Well, it depends on how the question was asked. Some topics are always off limits while others are permissible, narrowly, given certain job requirements. Let’s take age.

Yes, it is illegal to discriminate against someone The Columbus African American • July 2017

based on their age, however an employer should determine whether an applicant is old enough to enter into an employment contract without a guardian. Additionally, some jobs require agesensitive tasks, such as hazardous work or just serving alcohol. For this reason, employers are able to ask if someone is 18 years or older on a job application. But other questions related to one’s birthdate or age are illegal. Citizenship is another such question. It is illegal for employers to hire illegal aliens. Thus, interviewers can specifically ask you, “Are you legally eligible to work in the US?”, but otherwise you should not have to answer any questions pertaining to your country of origin or ethnicity. It is irrelevant to your job performance capabilities.

So, what jujitsu moves should you execute when some of these illegal questions sip into your interview? And how do you go about reporting such behavior? Let’s dissect some of the most commonly asked questions and review the underlying concerns and how to professionally deflect the question.

Age Illegal Question: “How old are you?”

This question could be an honest mistake. Or it could reflect an underlying bias. Another common variant of this question is, “What was your graduating class year?” These questions reflect a potential bias that your cohort cannot “keep up” on the job. Age discrimination starts earlier than you think, with an eye-tracking research with Human Resource professionals discovering that class graduation years receive the most attention on résumé reading. Those whose graduation years are indicative of being 35 years old or older were negatively impacted with women in this cohort receiving the lowest résumé evaluations (Johnson & Lahey, 2011).

Race / National Origin / Citizenship: “You look/sound different, where are you from?”

This is an illegal question which is especially awkward. It feels like an honest mistake, and sometimes it is a mistake from an overly jittery interviewer. The question is challenging because the interviewer has identified you as an outsider, when frankly as an interviewee you are desperately trying to fit. You are not obligated to reveal if English is your native language or discuss your birthplace, nationality and your race/ethnicity. Such questions are illegal. The underlying concern, if intentional, is an inherent bias against your group. The interview jujitsu answer is, “Well, thank you for your interest in my background. As you might have noticed from my application materials, I have been all over, driven to gain a diverse skillset necessary for your position”.

Veteran / Military Status: “Are you going to be deployed anytime soon?”

Veteran status questions are tricky. If you have served in the military, you are eager to present all of your hard-earned service skills.

But sometimes this can cause unease when an interviewer does not understand the law. They can become cold during the interview when you discuss your military experiences, afraid that you are divulging something that may become a future HR discrimination complaint. African Americans make up about 17% of U.S. armed forces, disproportionately serving in the military (Parker et al, 2017). Preparation for military interview questions is a necessity for our people of color. Employers cannot ask about your deployment schedule. Additionally, they cannot 24

ask what war you served in, whether you were honorably discharged (unless you are pursuing specific federal government positions), or if you are a veteran in the interview (Farley, 2017 ; .

However, they can hear and ask about skills you gained in the military. If you are asked about deployment or active military status, you can state, “By this question, you may be concerned about me balancing my responsibilities. As you can see from my application, I am used to balancing multiple demands; my experience has taught me how to both take initiative and to know when to follow. I fully understand the importance of my presence on the job”.

When and How to Report Discriminatory Questions The ball is in your court, so to speak, and this is a judgement call that you and only you can make.

Was the interaction intentionally discriminatory, or do you think the interviewer simply made an honest mistake? Does intentionality matter to you? Such questions, intentional or not, can systematically throw underrepresented candidates’ interview performance. It’s in everyone’s interest that such behaviors cease.

But the political reality is that no much may come of your report and you might not be in a position to risk it. Employers, especially in insular professions, talk to each other, and reporting such behavior requires making a formal complaint to the potential employer’s HR department. Pursuing legal remedy for interview discrimination is also especially hard; if you are passed up for the job you have to prove that you were 1) economically harmed 2) the most qualified candidate and that the 3) interviewer had discriminatory intent (Lucas, 2012).

How do we combat such inequity without many viable options? Preparation for your interviews is key. Career coaches can lead you through mock interviews, preparing you for curveball questions, legal or not. They can also help you make decisions around reporting if you encounter a biased interview. If you cannot afford the hourly rates that many coaches command, check out your college or university’s alumni association for more reasonable career coach rates. Many colleges have them and depending on the institution they can even be free. Identifying friends and family at the place you are seeking employment can provide you with insights about the workplace culture. If you encounter a biased interview, write yourself a memo detailing the interview. Then, go find trusted legal counsel to review the incident before filing any sort of HR complaint. Your lawyer can make sure that the complaint is worded professionally and appropriately cites the illegal content of the interview, eliminating retaliatory behaviors from the company.

While discrimination happens in interviews, you can prepare for these situations by knowing your rights. What is considered discriminatory is also changing. Currently, New York City’s Public Advocate proposed making prior job salary questions illegal from job applications and interviews as these questions negatively impact groups historically paid less in the marketplace, such as women of color (Cain, 2017; James 2016). Knowing your rights, and the changing legal landscape, is the best way to act against employment discrimination.

Continued on Page 25

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

BUSINESS

Continued from Page 24 References Cain, Aine. “An employment attorney breaks down the NYC law that just eliminated everyone’s least-favorite interview question.” Business Insider. April 11, 2017. Accessed June 19, 2017.

URL: http://www.businessinsider.com/hownew-york-city-ban-salary-interview-questionworks-2017-4 El Kharzazi, Romella, Siwatu, Mxolisi & Brooks, Dexter. “Retaliation – Making it Personal” Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Accessed June 20, 2017. URL: https://www.eeoc. gov/laws/types/retaliation_considerations.cfm Farley, Janet. “What You Can’t Ask a Veteran in an Interview (And What You Can).”

ClearanceJobs.com Aug 30 2013. Accessed June 20, 2017. URL: https://news.clearancejobs. com/2013/08/30/cant-ask-veteran-interview-can/ James, Letitia. “Policy Report: Advancing pay Equity in New York City: An analysis of the

gender wage gap in New York City’s workforce.”

April 2016. Public Advocate for the City of New York. Accessed June 19, 2017. URL: http:// pubadvocate.nyc.gov/sites/advocate.nyc.gov/files/ opa_pay_equity_report_final.pdf Johnson, Emily & Lahey, Joanna. 2011. “The Resume Characteristics Determining Job Interviews for Middle-Aged Women Seeking Entry-Level Employment.” Journal of Career Development. 38(4) 310-330 Accessed June 15, 2017. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/ profile/Joanna_Lahey/publication/241652695_ The_Resume_Characteristics_Determining_ Job_Interviews_for_Middle-Aged_Women_ Seeking_Entry-Level_Employment/ links/55d1fd9208ae0b8f3ef77414.pdf Lucas, Suzanne. “When Illegal Interview Questions are Legal.” CBS News: MoneyWatch.

February 29, 2012. URL: http://www.cbsnews. com/news/when-illegal-interview-questions-arelegal/ Parker, Kim, Cilluffo, Anthony & Stepler, Reness.

“6 Facts About the Military and its Changing Demographics.” Pew Research Center. April 13, 2017. URL: http://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2017/04/13/6-facts-about-the-u-s-militaryand-its-changing-demographics/ Public Advocate for the City of New York.

“Groundbreaking Equal Pay Legislation Passes in New York City.” April 5 2017. Accessed June 19, 2017. URL: http://pubadvocate.nyc.gov/news/ articles/groundbreaking-equal-pay-legislationpasses-new-york-city Military.com “Illegal Interview Questions” Accessed June 20, 2017. URL: http://www. military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/ interview-tips/illegal-interview-questions.html Rebecca Frances Kemper-Larrimer is a PhD candidate in the Knowlton School of City & Regional Planning at Ohio State University.

She is the president of the Latino & Latina Engineering Graduate Student Association (LLEGA) at Ohio State and has served OSU students as an instructor and in ResLife.

YOUR DREAM JOB IS WAITING

By William McCoy, MPA and Alice Thompson Are you ready to find a new job?

Finding a new job is work. To be successful, you should be strategic in what you think and do. This means envisioning yourself in a new or better job, targeting your job search, and setting short-term action steps and strategies- geared toward accomplishing your goal of securing employment. Like a pro athlete, doctor, or mechanic, you need skills, tools, and a game plan. You must also invest some time and effort in getting yourself prepared to seek and secure employment.

Of course, you need skills to do the job you are seeking. You will also need other skills to aid you in your job search. These include the ability to research and identify potential jobs, conduct interviews, and complete employment applications and related documentation.

You must have a tool kit to compete for existing employment opportunities or convince a potential employer to create a job for you. Your tool kit should include a resume, basic cover letter (which can be adapted and used for specific job openings), and a list of personal and professional references. You may also find it useful to have an unofficial copy of your college or technical school transcripts, if you have completed postsecondary education. To enhance your prospects for success, you should be armed with selfknowledge (e.g. an assessment of your strengths, weaknesses, aptitudes, and abilities) and a career plan that outlines your near-term and long-term goals.

Do not be discouraged if you do not have all the skills and tools described above. Employment services agencies and programs can help. Some employment services providers- especially “one-stop” career centers, like the Central Ohio

Workforce Investment Corporation (COWIC), offer an array of self-assessment, career planning, job search, and job placement services designed to help people acquire skills, tools, and employment. Some of these agencies and programs help their clients overcome various barriers to employment- such as child care, clothing, family and medical problems, food, housing, transportation, and prior involvement with the criminal justice system.

Federal, state, and local governments spend over $1 billion with more than 25 local employment services’ providers and/or programs. These funds support state, local, and communitybased agencies and programs that serve the general public and, in some cases, specific target populations- such as single-parents, women, veterans, youth, senior citizens, and others. The City of Columbus has published a guide to workforce development resources, which can be obtained online at https://ohsjp. franklincountyohio.gov/reentry/assets/pdf/ central-ohio-workforce-development-resources. pdf. You can call COWIC at (614) 559-5052 or visit them online at cowic.org to learn more about their services, schedule an appointment, and/or ask about other resources and organizations that might be of help.

Many employers ask if you have ever been convicted of a crime. Job seekers with criminal records should ask employment services providers if they can help them address this barrier to employment. Some employment services providers maintain lists of employers that hire people with criminal histories. Other employment services providers help their clients seal and/or expunge their criminal records.

Lastly, a few agencies and programs assist clients with criminal backgrounds access the U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal Bonding Program, which issues individual Fidelity Bonds, as a way of helping them get or keep a job. These and other services, such as job search workshops for people with criminal backgrounds, may also be available.

Looking for a job is a lot like sales prospecting.

In this case, you are selling yourself. Warren Greshes describes 16 rules for sales success in The Best Damn Sales Book Ever. He says: (1) successful salespeople have great attitudes; (2) always do more than they are supposed to do; (3) see themselves as successful; (4) are goal-

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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oriented and self-motivated; (5) practice and prepare; (6) talk to more people and get more people to say ‘no’ to them than others; (7) take action; and (8) persevere. You should do the same.

In conclusion, employment services organizations offer a myriad of services to job seekers seeking to sharpen their skills, acquire job search tools, or identify and pursue current job opportunities.

They also can help you access pre-vocational training programs, internships, and accelerated training and paid work experience within selected industries or companies. It’s up to you to take advantage of the resources, strategies, and advice outlined in this article in order to seek and secure the job you want.

William McCoy is the founder and principal consultant with The McCoy Company- a personal services consulting firm specializing in economic development, planning, and training.

He has worked with every level of government, the private sector, foundations, and in African countries. Prior to establishing The McCoy Company, Mr. McCoy had a 12-year career in public service that included two White House appointments, service as a city personnel director, and work as the first executive director of the Employment and Education Commission of Franklin County. Mr. McCoy is a certified industrial developer and certified economic developer, published author, award-winner, and holder of BA and MPA degrees, who has been profiled in Who’s Who in the World and elsewhere. William McCoy can be reached at (614) 785-8497 or via e-mail at wmccoy2@ themccoycompany.com.

Alice Thompson is director of employment services for the Tampa (FL)-based Women’s Centre, which helps its clients achieve independence and self-sufficiency through employment and other means. Ms. Thompson has over five years of experience helping women acquire the training, tools, and confidence they need to compete in the labor force. She has helped more than 1,700 women find employment, while providing educational and counseling to more than 1,500 clients. Prior to joining the Women’s Centre, Ms. Thompson worked with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC. Alice Thompson can be reached via email at athompson@thecentre.org.

The Columbus African American • July 2017

BUSINESS

CONSIDER A CAREER WITH THE CITY OF COLUMBUS DIVISION OF FIRE

By Alethea E. Gaddis, MBA Recently the city hired nine “community evaluators” to sit on three-person boards to review the oral exam given to about 1,800 applicants for the Columbus Division of Fire’s academy. During the oral exam, applicants responded to scenarios that a firefighter might encounter. The community evaluators, along with a firefighter and a fire captain or lieutenant scored applicants evaluating problem solving and interpersonal communication skills.

Those of us who served in this capacity spent time at the Fire Academy observing a typical day in the life of firefighters and medics. This positioned us to gain a closer view of the tremendous work performed by the Division of Fire. Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, Director Ned Pettus Jr., Department of Public Safety and other members of their team shared their expectation that our role was two-fold: to give the community a voice in hiring firefighters and after the experience, help recruit more diverse classes for the division.

As community evaluators we observed an obvious absence 0f minority and female leadership in the Columbus Division of Fire. Among the 1,800 applicants the number of minority and female candidates was surprisingly low as well. We also expected to see more young adults aspiring for this rewarding career. We shared our concern of minority representation and both Mayor Ginther and Safety Director Pettus acknowledged the importance of a safety force more representative of the great diversity of our community.

As evaluators we discussed potential barriers to considering a career as a firefighter. We concur that exposure to meaningful experiences in career choices is critical. Often young people pursue careers either because they have been encouraged to pursue an interest or they admire someone they seek to emulate.

The African-American community in our city has a rich history of children who are beneficiaries

The Columbus African American • July 2017

(L to R) Dr. Melissa Crum, Retired CPD Officer David Williams, Janara Alfano, Ouida Jackson, Anneca McCoy-Wright, Cynthia Francis, Alethea Gaddis Retired Firefigher Billy Reedus. (Not pictured Chet Christie)

of exposure and family role models as it relates to careers. In my family, my brother and now one of his sons work in the construction industry because of my parents. We are just one of many examples of family owned construction companies. You can call the roll. We all know of children who have chosen careers in funeral services, the ministry, military, politics, media, education, the non-profit sector, to name a few, all because of family influence in their lives.

We also know a few of who followed in the footsteps of family members to serve as police officers and firefighters, but we need more. It’s not enough to contemplate and debate the fact that the safety force of our city should be more suggestive of the people who live here, work here and call Columbus home. The city should explore revamping their recruitment strategy, beginning in middle school by educating both youth and parents on the benefits of a career as a firefighter.

By beginning early, youth can be guided and positioned to make responsible life choices that would minimize disqualification since a background check is required. An early start can also expose youth to life experiences to equip them with critical thinking and problem solving skills.

When considering a career in the Fire Service, many people immediately focus on the risks involved. However, a career in the Fire Service is both challenging and rewarding. I was surprised to learn that only 20% of work performed by the fire service is dealing with extinguishing fires. The balance if their work is dealing with emergency situations. Division of Fire has an extensive three-year Journeymen Firefighter program that prepares men and women for the challenges an emergency situation involves. The Division of Fire has a strong focus on the initial training as well as continuing education of fire personnel, which gives the City of Columbus one of the best fire divisions in the country.

This training, the teamwork, and trust in other firefighters are tools necessary for this level of responsibility. Focus should be placed on protecting the health and safety of others, which 26

provides personal rewards that are immeasurable.

In addition, the typical work schedule allows for quality time with friends and family, and other interests.

An application must submit to the Columbus Civil Service Commission during the approved application filing periods. The application requirements are: • at least 17½ years of age at the time of application and 18 years old at time of hire; • valid driver’s license at time of application and valid Ohio driver’s license at time of hire; • high school diploma or GED at time of appointment; • U. S. citizen at time of application.

If the application is approved, the Civil Service Commission will notify the applicant of the time and place to report for the examination.

Prior to the test, preparation materials will be provided and information sessions will be offered. Candidates are strongly advised to utilize these materials and attend these sessions. The examination will include a multiple-choice test, an oral exam and a physical capabilities test.

Candidates who pass all three phases of the exam will be placed on an eligible list based on their final score.

Many individuals express interest in employment with the City of Columbus, Division of Fire.

Since the selection process is competitive, with a limited number of individuals that will be successful, those numbers can be overwhelming.

However, the number of individuals who are truly committed to becoming a Firefighter drops dramatically. There are a great number of individuals who do not commit themselves to what is required for this process. It is an extremely important position with great responsibility that must include a rigorous selection process.

To learn more about this rewarding opportunity for you or someone you know call Civil Service Commission staff at (614) 645-0879, email PoliceFireTesting@columbus.gov or visit www. columbus.gov/civilservice/.

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

Board of Commissioners

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Franklin County employees help Central Ohio thrive Local government employees contribute to the community while being a part of a dynamic, fair and flexible environment.

Visit our website today to see how you can make a difference!

JOHN O’GRADY

MARILYN BROWN

KEVIN L. BOYCE

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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The Columbus African American • July 2017

BUSINESS

WHO’S WHO IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESS COMMUNITY: CREOLE KITCHEN I wanted to take. It wasn’t long after that, after high school, that I went to the American Chef Institution. The name of the head chef was Chef Caruso, and he saw my interest and determination and was instrumental in teaching me some of the finer skills in spices and sauces.” Asked if he had personal favorites among his vast repertoire of culinary delights, Chef Butcher stated that on any given day he can eat Red Beans and Rice with Sausage Andouille or Seafood Jambalaya.”

While working for others, Chef Henry Butcher became the go-to chef when a party wanted Creole food. In 2006, the the Louisiana Bayou native, decided it was time to be his own boss and serve up his own specialties. One of the taste bud leaders among these are either the shrimp or crawfish etoufee. The menu is definitely Bayou: Seafood jambalaya, fried gator, Po Boys, several gumbos, fried catfish Creole and of course, red beans and rice.

By Eward Bell, MBA On June 5th, 2017, the Columbus African American News Journal was extremely happy to sit down with Chef Henry Butcher, owner and chef at a restaurant called Creole Kitchen (1052 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43203 / (614) 372-3333), an eatery with carry-out in one part of the establishment and room for a sitdown meal in the other. With such an eclectic selection, it easy to say that Creole Kitchen is more than a dining experience, but more of a culinary adventure. From the Seafood Jambalaya, Crawfish Etoufee and fried Gator to the Chicken Fettuccini, Pork Chop Dinner and Salmon, you begin to feel as if you are deep within the Bayou country of Louisiana.

Chef Henry Butcher has been cooking for Columbus restaurant goers for over 40 years and yet, few people know the name or his culinary discipline. He was behind the ovens and grill at the long-departed Ollie’s Grandview Inn, and during the early days of Tony’s Ristorante, Chef Butcher was deep into the Italian fare and still loves it (cooking and dining on it). For over a decade, he was executive chef for the Delaware Hotel which touched on many culinary passions and this permitted Chef Butcher to expand his skills and experiment on the very creations he now serves at Creole Kitchen.

Photo by Steve Harrison

Chef Henry Butcher

Grandmother, who taught him about fare which has become beloved by so many people. “My grandmother kept me tied to her apron when she was in the kitchen working,” Chef Butcher stated. “Back in those days, you know, there was the wooden stove and I had to keep the wood in supply. But from watching her and the other women in the area as they cooked, gave me the inspiration to want to be a Chef. In fact, it was my grandmother who told me and could see that In 2006, he was ready to stop working for others I would one day be a Chef. and asked his children if they were interested in joining him in a restaurant venture. His oldest At the age of 16, while living here in Columbus child Tonya, was already seasoned in kitchen on the Hilltop, I began washing pots and pans detail from her current employment with the at various restaurants and hotels. I originally county for 17 years. Another daughter Antoinette, went to West High School until I realized they serves as the CEO for Creole Kitchen and did not have the vocational classes I wanted, keeps Chef Butcher grounded as well as being so I ended up going to the now defunct Central the businesses foundation. Apprentice, Henry High School because they had the vocational Junior (the Chef’s son) also known as “June,” has culinary program and it was the only school at always shown interest in the skills of his father that time who offered that trade, and that is what from watching, and experimenting with his own culinary tastes and style. With this grouping, you can see why many have called Creole Kitchen “a true family owned and operated business.” There are five family members within the 14 employees of who have all bought into the belief that true success is about more than growing their culinary portfolio and business aspirations. They truly believe in giving back to the community and devote countless hours each year to charitable causes that benefit diverse populations. This includes serving meals to the homeless, sponsoring church events and nonprofit organizations. Creole Kitchen is committed not just to improving the community, but also making Columbus and central Ohio a better place to work and live.

Born and raised in the Bayou’s of Louisiana, Chef Butcher gives the credit for his abilities and base knowledge of the creole style to his

The Columbus African American • July 2017

When asked what tip, if any, would he offer aspiring Chefs, Chef Butcher was quick to say, “Know your business. Learn everything you can before taking the leap. Growing up, I was taught that you learn with other people’s money. Because once you open your doors and you make a mistake, you might not be able to come back from it, so I think learning with other people’s money, is a good way in which to learn the business. What I mean by that is to take a position within another establishment, even if it is as a dish washer, because you learn so much by observing while in that role. Myself, I grew up and cut my culinary teeth in the hotels around Columbus. I washed dishes, bussed tables and did the grill-cook thing, always watching and learning what was being cooked, spiced and how the presentation was being made. This allowed me to put away in the old mental rolodex, the various recipes that are in my mental portfolio of dishes and seasons, but remember, this all Continued on Page 29

Photo by Steve Harrison

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

BUSINESS Continued from Page 28

stems from watching and learning from my grandmother. I also worked with Alan Pitt, who was out of Chicago. Because of his style, I could learn how spices were used in that area of the country. I have worked all over the country and worked with some of the best. When I was in Seattle I was able to work with all the fresh seafood. There is nothing like going down to the fish market and buying the fresh fish you will prepare for the fare later that day. There is such a unique joy in that feeling.”

Asked if he has plans to expand through franchising, or opening another restaurant, Chef Butcher indicated that he has floated the idea of another restaurant around but that the immediate plan is for Creole Kitchen to get more involved in the catering side of business. A few of the ventures he was asked to cater turned out to be huge successes that he is now considering offering catering services on a regular basis, doing weddings, banquets, birthdays, etc. He stated that if they were to open another restaurant, he could be putting another Creole Kitchen in either Polaris or Easton shopping centers.

While working for others, Chef Henry Butcher became the go-to chef when a party wanted Creole food. In 2006, the 54-year-old native of the Louisiana Bayou country, decided it was time be his own boss. Now they can be served his specialties. One of the taste bud leaders is shrimp or crawfish etoufee. The menu is all Bayou:

Photo by Walker Evans

Seafood jambalaya, fried gator, Po Boys, several or Shrimp. It is easy to understand why so many gumbos, fried catfish Creole and of course, red have chosen this establishment as its “Go To beans and rice.

Place,” and the staff to be customer conscious.

Creole Kitchen is truly a unique and eclectic One of the first things patrons recognize when place to take the entire family. they step through the portico is that your auditory receptors immediately pick up the sounds of Edward Bell, MBA, AAMS, CMFC, CSS was born music, whether it be pre-selected recordings or and raised in Columbus, Ohio and graduated the live entertainment, Creole Kitchen (aside with honors in a course, “Writing for Children,” from food), is all about entertainment. From from the Institute of Children’s Literature. performances by such Bayou favorites like He has served as Contributing Editor of the Buckwheat Zydeco and Morris & Dexter Ardoin Autograph Times. Ed won the 1999 award for to area Jazz performers such as Michael Branch best screenplay from the PEN American Center in or the LaFamilia Band, it isn’t long before you New York and garnered the runner-up award for find your feet tapping to the music. non-fiction writing in 2000. He earned a Master’s degree, as well as designations as: Accredited All in all, the Creole Kitchen experience will Asset Management Specialist (AAMS); Chartered have you thinking about the Louisiana Bayou Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC), and Certified as you bite into a hot plate of Jambalaya, Catfish Customer Service Specialist (CSS).

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The American ColumbusNews African American • July 2017 The Columbus African Journal • February 2015

By Ray Miller, MPA After Civil Rights: Racial Realism in the New American Workplace

Black Greek Letter Organizations in the 21st Century - Our Fight Has Just Begun

By John D. Skrentny

By Gregory S. Parks During the twentieth century, black Greekletter organizations (BGLOs) united college students dedicated to excellence, fostered kinship, and uplifted African Americans.

Members of these organizations include remarkable and influential individuals such as Martin Luther King Jr., Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, novelist Toni Morrison, and Wall Street pioneer Reginald F. Lewis.

Despite the profound influence of these groups, many now question the continuing relevance of BGLOs, arguing that their golden age has passed. The general public knows very little about BGLOs, and surprisingly the members themselves often do not have a thorough understanding of their history and culture or of issues currently facing their organizations. This book brings together an impressive group of authors to explore the contributions of continuing possibilities of BGLOs and their members.

What role should racial difference play in American workplace? As a nation, we rely on civil rights law to address this question, and the monumental Civil Rights Act of 1964 seemingly answered it: race must not be a factor in workplace decisions. In After Civil Rights, John Skrentny contends that after decades of mass immigration, many employers, Democratic and Republican political leaders, and advocates have adopted a new strategy to manage race and work. Race is now relevant not only in negative cases of discrimination, but in more positive ways as well. In this important book, Skrentny urges us to acknowledge the real racism already occuring, and lays out a series of reforms that, if enacted, would bring the law and lived experience more in line, yeat still remain respectful of the need to protece the civil rights of all workers.

A Colony In A Nation

American Work: Four Centuries of Black and White labor.

By Jacqueline Jones

By Chris Hayes America likes to tell itself that it inhabits a postracial world, yet nearly every emperical measure - wealth, unemployment, incarceration, school segregation - reveals that racial inequality has barely improved since 1968, when Richard Nixon became our first “law and order” president. With clarity and originality that distinguished his prescient bestseller, Twilight of the Elites, Chris Hayes upends our national conversation on policing and democracy in a book of wide-ranging historical, social and political analysis.

A Colony in a Nation examines the surge in crime that began in the 1960s and peaked in the 1990s, and the uprecedented decline that followed. Drawing on close-hand reporting at flashpoints of racial conflict, as well as deeply personal experiences with policing, Hayes exlpores cultural touchstones to show how fear causes us to make dangerous and unfortunate choices.

This is history at its best -- the epic, often tragic story of success and failure on the uneven playing fields of American labor, rooted in painstaking research and passionately alive to its present-day implications for a just society. Jacqueline Jones shows unmistakably how nearly every significant social transformation in American history rolled back the hard-won advances of those African Americans who had managed to gain footholds in various jobs and industries. This is a story not of simple ideological “racism” but of politics and economics interacting to determine what kind of work was “suitable” for which groups. America Work goes far beyond the easy sloganeering of the current debates on affirmative action and welfare versus workfare to inform those debates with rich historical context and compelling insight.

Worth Fighting For - Revitalization of Social Work Education at Black Colleges

By Dr. Carey Yazeed

Homo Deus - A Brief History of Tomorrow

By Yuval Noah Harari Yuval Noah Harari, author of the criticallyacclaimed New York Times bestseller and international phenomenon Sapiens, returns with an equally original, compelling, and provocative book, turning his focus toward humanity’s future, and our quest to upgrade humans into gods.

What will replace famine, plague, and war at the top of the human agenda? As the selfmade gods of planet earth, what destinies will we set ourselves, and which quests will we undertake? Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century - from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It ask the fundamental questions: Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers? This is the next stage of evolution

The Columbus African American •News July Journal 2017 • February 2015

What happens when a social work education program at a historically Black college is faced with the possibility of being eliminated because of a decrease in student enrollment? Before this question can be answered, the culture of higher education in American must be understood and how that culture has affected both historically Black colleges and social work education.

Dr. Yazeed’s research is comprised of a collection of interviews from students majoring in social work at a HBCU. Through their eyes a story unfolds, one of family, hope, survival and the revitalization of their once dying department.

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BUSINESS

NIELSEN AND GLOBAL DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: A BORDERLESS APPROACH

By Angela L. Talton So often, diversity and inclusion (D&I) is viewed through the lens of what we see, with an emphasis on the dictionary meaning of diversity. The word inclusion is somehow missed or draws less attention. As we work to infuse D&I into Nielsen’s DNA, it is the inclusion of diverse ideas, experiences, backgrounds and cultural nuances that manifests the cultural change we are seeking. When we are inclusive of new, different, creative and innovative thoughts, the results are often incremental—staggering even.

This is why diversity and inclusion is a global business imperative.

As the world changes, as demographics shift, as cultures intertwine, the products and services that appeal to consumers are also changing.

Which means that understanding those shifts and changes has never been as important as it is today. But how should a U.S.-based company go about understanding the changing consumer outside the U.S.? By listening and learning— which is precisely how Nielsen goes about crafting a global strategy tailored to the needs of each local country. We have decidedly taken a borderless approach.

PUTTING “INCLUSION” BACK IN D&I To implement this strategy in all the countries where we operate, we start with a framework to learn where each region or country plots on its individual diversity journey. Then we work locally to activate inclusion practices and support initiatives that further a culture of inclusivity.

by engaging with clients to share insights on diverse consumers’ shopping behaviors, making marketing materials more culturally relevant or creating a new, profitable product tailored to a demographic. We know that innovation is core to meeting the needs of the increasingly diverse global population. At the point where consumers, community and superior results for our clients intersect, our global teams realize the importance of their D&I journey. A diverse team of employees who intimately understand and appreciate these populations and who feel their ideas will be heard is ‘the secret sauce’ needed to develop the products, services and marketing campaigns that will appeal to diverse consumers. responsibility to ensure our clients understood— and were empowered to act on—the business Around the globe, it is not enough for diverse imperative of D&I. So in 2016, we created and employees to have a seat at the table; they must launched a Global Inclusion Council to bring be encouraged to have a voice at the table. The together 25 leaders from around the globe to onus is on managers to encourage associates to set targeted performance goals and business speak up and then to listen to those voices and strategies regarding: pay equity, recruitment, ideas—not only for the creation of new concepts, promotional/lateral movement, engagement, but to help Nielsen and the clients we serve avoid onboarding, international assignments, etc. The cumulative goal is to cultivate an inclusive work costly missteps, as well. environment that leverages our world-class data and stellar employees as a competitive THE BUSINESS CASE FOR D&I advantage in support of our clients’ needs. The So why are diverse teams more innovative? Council meets at least twice a year to brainstorm, Why are they smarter? Why do they produce strategize, review progress and set stretch goals. superior results? In 2015, a McKinsey study As a result of our first meeting, global market of 366 publicly traded companies in the U.K., ambassadors are being selected to work with Canada, Latin America and the U.S. found the D&I team to activate and accelerate the that companies in the top quartile for gender unique diversity journeys in each global market. diversity had financial returns 15% above the Nielsen Global Inclusion Council members will industry median. It also found that companies in serve two-year terms and will set targets for the top quartile for racial/ethnic diversity were representation and movement.

35% more likely to have returns above their industry median. According to the study, the inverse was also found to be true—companies in the bottom quartile for both gender and racial/ ethnic diversity were less likely to achieve above The framework assesses where the region is on average results. a journey beginning with awareness, discovery, understanding, integration and ultimately the The findings of the study were the focus of a realization of goals set along the way. Awareness Harvard Business Review (HBR) report, “Why may include understanding the legal implications Diverse Teams are Smarter,” by David Rock for people with disabilities or the human rights and Heidi Grant. The report revealed that people concerns in a specific region; while discovery is a with diverse backgrounds alter the behavior of method we use to ensure “Managing an Inclusive a group by uncovering more facts and making Work Environment” training is delivered to fewer errors. The belief is that “diverse teams all people managers by a local trainer who are more likely to constantly reexamine facts understands cultural distinctions. We are also and remain objective.” Additionally, there is a in the process of investing in Unconscious Bias belief that diverse teams process information training around the globe. more carefully and consider the perspective of an ‘outsider’ when making decisions.

There are different levels of understanding, as demonstrated by the number of active employee Regarding innovation, in two other studies resource group (ERG) chapters in our global mentioned in the HBR report, from Spain organization. Seventy percent of the more than and the U.K., companies with more women 100 countries where Nielsen operates have at and businesses run by culturally diverse least one ERG. These voluntary organizations leadership teams are more likely to introduce assist with recruitment, retention, professional new innovations than those with homogenous development, community outreach, engagement leadership teams. The report also notes that and education. “creating a more diverse workplace will help to keep your team members’ biases in check and A truly rewarding example of the value of D&I make them question their assumptions. At the is when the integration of these practices has a same time, we need to make sure the organization direct impact on the performance of the overall has inclusive practices so that everyone feels they business. Across Nielsen, we work to integrate can be heard.” our data and the insights of our diverse employees to help clients strategize and innovate—whether A s a m e a s u r e m e n t c o m p a n y , w e f e l t a

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

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Viewing D&I as borderless allows us to learn from each other, unlike the all too popular practice of simply exporting U.S. ideas and concepts abroad. We live the borderless D&I philosophy at Nielsen, and we’re excited that our eighth ERG was launched outside the U.S. Greater China created the N-GEN (Nielsen Generation) ERG, which seeks to bring together all generations— from Millennials to the Greater Generation— in order to exchange ideas, experiences and expertise while brainstorming ways to engage local employees to provide innovative solutions for both Nielsen and our clients. Since its launch, N-GEN chapters are growing in the U.S. and Europe, and already we’re learning so much about how to optimize the productivity of our increasingly multigenerational workforce.

Today’s global marketplace is quite different than yesterday’s. Each of us is challenged to overcome obstacles, to innovate faster and to do it with as little waste as possible. Leaning into our differences, as well as our similarities, allows us to value all ideas and perspectives. To compete, we must think differently and embrace alternative approaches. Diversity of thought and inclusion of global perspectives, that is truly the science behind what’s next.

Angela L. Talton is the Chief Diversity Officer for Nielsen. Appointed to this role in November 2015, Angela is responsible for Nielsen’s global strategy for diversity and inclusion initiatives internally and strategic community alliances and brand awareness externally.

The Columbus African American • July 2017

POLITICS LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

AMENDED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 49 - 2 YEAR OPERATING BUDGET PASSES; AWAITS GOVERNOR’S SIGNATURE

By Senator Charleta B. Tavares The Ohio Senate passed the state of Ohio’s 2-year Operating Budget, Amended Substitute House Bill 49 with substantial changes to the versions adopted by the Ohio House of Representatives and the proposal submitted by the Governor. Many of the changes included in the Senate passed version improved upon the bill that was received from the House however; there were many other onerous provisions added in the Senate that made the bill mean-spirited and/or reduced the funding for vital programs and services that benefit African Americans, marginalized residents (children and older adults) as well as, cut education funding for Columbus City Schools and local government. These cuts were necessitated because the majority GOP did not eliminate the Pass-thru Entity/LLC tax loophole for businesses/individuals (No State tax on their first $250,000 and only 3% on revenue above same). Some of the other provisions included in the Conference Committee Report include: • Conference Committee maintains over $1 billion in agency cuts to balance the budget • LLC Loophole/give away (Business Investor Deduction) remains in budget and reduces available GRF by over $2 billion – recent Legislative Research Commission research shows this provision benefits less than 12% of tax filers • Various use of one-time money such as unclaimed funds and funds raids; this budget may be structurally imbalanced • School funding: generally unchanged and still funded at reduced Senate level versus Housepassed version, which allowed for a higher gain cap • Charter schools: several changes were made that will limit the ability of the Department of Education to close bad charter schools and consistently evaluate sponsors • Higher education: SSI flat-funded • Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) was reduced $4 million per year but is still higher than House funding level • Medicaid: the Medicaid expansion remains hamstrung and in jeopardy – the Conference Committee maintained work requirements, premiums, the Healthy Ohioans Plan waiver, the new enrollment freeze starting July 2018 (note: those who have a mental illness or drug addiction are exempted from freeze but we are unsure how this will work) • Behavioral Health Redesign – delayed implementation until after beta-testing–this is The Columbus African American • July 2017

similar to Senate with clarifying changes and • Increases the appropriation to the Child, family, removal of date certain. Managed Care ‘carve- and Community services line *NOTE* (Partial-in’ delayed until July 2018 $15 million each year was added for protection services but through TANF) The members of the Ohio Legislative Black • Increases funding for the Ohio Association of Caucus (OLBC) did not support the bill (except Foodbanks by $500,000 Sen. Sandra Williams and two African American • R e m o v e s t h e p r o v i s i o n m o v i n g t h e Representatives, John Barnes and Bill Patmon responsibility of appointing the Joint Medicaid who do not participate as members of OLBC). Oversight Committee (JMOC) director from In addition, the Senate Democrat Caucus and the the committee to the Speaker and the Senate majority of the House Democratic Caucus did President not support the budget due to its harmful impacts • Removes the provision requiring JMOC to on low and middle-income residents (below study and issue a report regarding a high-risk $75,000 for a family of three); local government; pool for uninsured residents and for such a pool education; Medicaid/healthcare and opioid/drug in combination with a Healthy Indiana style addiction services and environmental issues to Medicaid plan (premiums) name a few.

• Removes House language giving JMOC a veto on Medicaid rates Our African American state Senator representing • Removes the prohibition on the Medicaid Central Ohio provided strong leadership for the payment rates for personal care aide services Senate as a member of Senate Finance Committee provided under the PASSPORT program or and as the vice-chair of the Finance – Medicaid Ohio Home Care program or as part of state plan and Health Subcommittee. Although she did not home and community-based services from being vote for Am. Sub. H.B. 49 in the Senate nor the restructured or from exceeding the Medicaid Conference Committee Report she was able to payment rates for those services in effect on June get several amendments included in the budget 30, 2017 to assist our residents.

• Increases the appropriate Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services MHA line by $4 million Tavares Amendments in the Budget for the MHA Central Pharmacy to provide psychotropic drugs prescribed for county jail • Prohibit any school, camp, or daycare from inmates prohibiting a child from having sunscreen in their • Restores funding (which comes with significant federal match) for Centers for Independent Living possession without a note from a physician.

• Remove House added language prohibiting new rates for Assisted Living Program during FY18- If you would like to receive updated information on the Ohio General Assembly and policy 19 and capping rates at June 30, 2017 levels.

• Restores the state operating subsidy for the initiatives introduced, call or email my office at 614.466.5131 or tavares@ohiosenate.com Ohioana Library Association to receive the Tavares Times News monthly • Restores ICF Bed Tax monies for FY18 • Return appropriations to executive levels for legislative newsletter. The committee schedules, full membership rosters and contact information direct support professionals ($4.9m, FY19 state for the Ohio House and Senate can be found at: share with appropriate federal counterpart) and www.ohiohouse.gov and www.ohiosenate.gov increase of Medicaid rates for Complex Care respectively.

Needs ($10.8m ($4.1m state share) FY18 and $12.9m ($4.9 state share) FY19). *NOTE* If you are interested in getting the House *(partial-5 million TANF earmark for children Calendar each week of the General Assembly, with complex needs--) contact the House Clerk, http://www.ohiohouse.

• Remove all House inserted provisions related to gov/housecalendar/house_calendar.pdf or your state Representative. Senate calendars are qualified community hubs • Strikes Rep. Derrick Merrin’s amendment that available at www.ohiosenate.gov; contact the would have prohibited local government from Senate Clerk’s office at (614) 466-4900 or your addressing lead paint. (Toledo-Lucas County state Senator.

Health Department advocates that lead issues Sen. Charleta B. Tavares, D-Columbus, is proud should be handled at the local level, as local to serve and represent the 15th District, including health departments are more likely to tailor their the historic neighborhoods of Columbus and lead-reduction approaches to the homes in their the cities of Bexley and Grandview Heights areas. in the Ohio Senate. She serves as the Ohio • Allows legal international students to play Senate Assistant Minority Leader and the vicesports in Ohio schools chair of the Finance – Health and Medicaid • Allows three year olds to qualify for state- Subcommittee; Ranking Member of the Senate funded early childhood education, if funds remain Transportation, Labor & Workforce and Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committees. after eligible four year olds receive awards

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

POLITICS

THE ABSURDITY THAT IS THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY

By Eric L. Johnson, PhD The Trump Presidency is so marred with missteps, ad hoc policy decisions and political mistakes that even some of his congressional Republican supporters have had to pause. President Trump ran on a platform to “Make American Great Again.” However, the first 180 days of the Trump Presidency has been replete with chaos and instability. The absurdity of the Trump Presidency seems to defy imagination and anyone who forecasted many of the things that have transpired would have been either accused of demagoguery or exaggeration. However, it was not altogether unpredictable given that the Trump campaign was just as volatile and chaotic and served as a perfect precursor to most of the things that have happened to this point. While President Trump was elected with only a plurality of the U.S. popular vote and nearly 60 million people voted for someone else, that seems to have little to no effect on this administration’s approach to governing.

The President and the overall administration seem to be taking a victory lap on the supposed victory based on the recent Supreme Court decision giving at least a partial confirmation on the travel ban. However, this seems to give little regard to the fact that the initial Executive Order on January 27th called for a temporary stay of travelers from the six identified Muslim majority countries for a period of 90 days. The President indicated that the travel ban was an essential element of the administration’s National Security plan. However, it has been more than 180 days since the initial E.O. was issued. The question outstanding is: what is it in the 90 days of specific operation called for in the original E.O. that can’t be achieved in the approximate 270 days that will pass by the time the Supreme Court hears the full case. In addition, while the travel ban has been heralded as a critical aspect of the President’s National Security policy it took the administration more than 30 days to issue a modification to the temporary ban. The revised E.O. was issued March 6, 38 days later. The idea that the vetting process and procedures could not be examined, modified, and updated in the roughly 270 days or more before the Supreme Court hears the case is nothing short of absurd. If the administration has determined that the vetting process is crucial to the country’s National Security then it would seem that 180 days would have been enough time to achieve what the E.O. determined could be done in 90 days. The absurdities of the Trump Administration seems to know no bounds.

In light of the fact that July is Minority Mental Health month the recent health care bill drafted in the Senate seems to offer little reason to be encouraged. Candidate Trump campaigned on a proposed health care law that would cover everyone. The President and members of the House Republican party held a joint celebration/ press conference for the passing of H.R. 1628, The American Care Act. It is a bill that the C.B.O. indicated would reduce the deficit by

approximately $120 billion but would leave more than 24 million uninsured and reduce spending on Medicaid by more than $800 billion. Despite the joint press conference with House Republicans the President later called the bill he supported “mean.” The Bill proposed in the Senate is not much better in that it proposes to leave more than 23 million more uninsured 1 million less than the House bill but it proposes to reduce the deficit by $321 billion. The President has publically admitted that many of the counties that overwhelmingly voted for him will be hit the hardest. While the political games are afoot in Washington, mental health is a key issue in Black and other minority communities. Suicide rates in among Black youth are nearly double that of White youth over the last 15 years. According to the office of Minority health 1 in 4 uninsured adults have a mental or substance disorder or both. One in six uninsured low income adults have a serious mental illness. These are two categories in which minorities and African Americans in particular are over-represented.

The Affordable Care Act/Obamacare expanded Medicaid and Medicare and gave 60 million more Americans Health Care and many millions were minorities, and African Americans benefited specifically. If the bills passed/proposed in the House and Senate respectively hurt Trump voters and minorities, then exactly who do the bills help? It would appear making America great again does not include making America healthy again. The absurdity continues.

While Secretary Clinton’s legal and ethical issues dominated the campaign, President Trump’s legal and ethical issues have dominated his Presidency. To be clear if it is proven that anyone in the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians that does not necessarily constitute a crime, even though the political consequences of such a reality maybe politically irreconcilable.

The President’s administration operates under a cloud of suspicion largely of his own making.

The President hired National Security Advisor General Flynn against the recommendations of the Obama administration and continued to retain him even after he had been briefed by the Justice Department about General Flynn’s potential compromises. President Trump’s ethical issues around his finances and business are largely a result of him not releasing his tax returns. The combining of business, family and governance seems to present many with challenges, however many of the Trump supports seem not to have 33

much concern about it. Interestingly enough, the concern about Secretary’s Clinton’s relationship with President Clinton’s foundation seems to have concerned a great many. Even if the President did not cross the line into Obstruction of Justice with the firings of Acting Attorney General Yates and Director Comey, his actions would have brought him so close to the line as to warrant the appointment of a Special Counsel. While many were concerned about Secretary Clinton’s ethical qualifications for President, Trump’s Presidency seems founded in many of the ethical questions about his fitness, including the handling of classified material.

Not to mention, if the President’s Tweets are any indication into what he thinks about National Security is a low priority. This considering he tweets more what journalist and News outlets say about him. A breakdown of the President tweets revealed that 13% of his tweets have been what journalist and new media outlets say about him, more than national security, health care, Jobs, infrastructure, or any other topic relevant to making America great again.

In every political persuasion, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, there is an expectation for the President to be a role model. If the President were a school district Superintendent and talked about members of his staff and/or community in the way the President has since he took office he would have probably been asked to resign or given a nice buy-out package to go way. It would seem that the relatively scandal free Obama administration has created a political appetite for what can only be described as the absurdity that is the Trump Presidency.

Dr. Eric L. Johnson currently serves as the Chief Consultant with Strategies to Succeed and he is on the faculty at Virginia International University.

He is the former Chief of Research Publications for the United States Air Force Academy. He also worked in Columbus Public Schools for the eight years. Moreover, he has conducted seminars in many organizations nationally and internationally in places such as Russia, China, Canada, Africa and Central America. In addition he has published three books Livin’ in the Shade, co-authored with his son, 10 Deadly Aspects of Pride, and Beyond Self Help: A Journey to be better.

The American ColumbusNews African American • July 2017 The Columbus African Journal • February 2015

POLITICS

JAZZ AND JUSTICE NEEDED AT MIDNIGHT IN AMERICA

By Tim Ahrens, DMin I was up praying this morning very early. I can’t sleep well any more.

Before dawn I was mourning the present state of the Presidency of the United States of America. I was grieving the presence of the “Anti-President” in the White House. It is early morning, but the one who seeks to untie us is hard at work in his destruction.

I was born under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and have lived with various degrees of delight and resistance to the leader of our nation’s highest office. But, I am embarrassed and ashamed of our current President. I am horrified by his actions to undercut and undo ALL the work of President Barack H. Obama. Most of his actions against the policies and procedures of our last head-ofstate are as thoughtless and hurtful as President Obama’s actions were thoughtful, purposeful, We are in deep trouble at 1600 Pennsylvania and helpful.

Avenue today. Our nation is split in so many fractious pieces. And we are led by a man who The words of Harlem Renaissance poet Claude would love to split us more with profit as his McKay’s in The White House burn in my driving force. I ache for the United States of consciousness today. In The White House, America – especially my sisters and brothers of McKay lays out the difficulties faced by Africancolor across this land.

Americans and speaks of the resentments that boil into overflowing in a community. Who We need a prophet! We need a pathway out of would have ever thought that only months after eight years of President Obama these words this malaise. I would recommend everyone get would cry out to us anew from the poetic and on board with The Rev. Dr. William Barber II. prophetic imagination of Claude McKay. With In a recent rally at the Statehouse in which I was the MC and Dr. Barber spoke, I was blown away dignity and power, he writes: by the prophetic power of God at work in this man of God. Some are pretenders. Dr. Barber is The White House Your door is shut against my tightened face, the contender for prophet of Justice in America.

Let’s listen to him and get on board with his And I am sharp as steel with discontent; Moral Monday Movement.

But I possess the courage and the grace To bear my anger proudly and unbent.

The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet, Once we are on board for justice, we are going to need music in the movement of change. I turn A chafing savage, down the decent street; once again to one of my professors and mentors, And passion rends my vitals as I pass, Dr. Cornel West. In his book Race Matters, Dr. Where boldly shines your shuttered door of West writes that overcoming the experience of glass. racism in America will take a spirit like jazz. We Oh, I must search for wisdom every hour, need to become “jazz” people of faith. As you Deep in my wrathful bosom sore and raw, know, Jazz is the amazing ability to improvise, to And find in it the superhuman power be fluid, to be flexible, to be suspicious of “eitherTo hold me to the letter of your law! or” viewpoints. Jazz doesn’t trust the ruts of Oh, I must keep my heart inviolate dogmatic pronouncements. It won’t stay still for Against the potent poison of your hate.

liberal-conservative mind sets. To move through the music, you have to integrate and galvanize dissonant tones and voices in a creative tension, which actually yields a much higher level of performance.

I believe my Savior Jesus Christ was “jazz” when he faced racism, hatred and hostilities in his context. When he faced the crazed and powerful Pilate in his time, he did so with a spirit of jazz!

We have to do the same. I pray that God will pull us together as the Anti-President seeks to tear us apart. May we become “jazz’’ people of faith and jazz citizens of Columbus as we embrace creative tension. Then we can sing in a new voice, in a different key, with a different beat: “We shall overcome someday.” And to paraphrase Claude McKay, may God Almighty keep our hearts inviolate against the potent poison of hate.

Rev. Dr. Tim Ahrens is the Senior Minister of First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in downtown Columbus. A church known for its witness to social justice since its birth as an abolitionist congregation in 1852. Rev. Ahrens is the fifth consecutive senior minister from Yale Divinity School and is a lifelong member of the United Church of Christ.

To Advertise in The Columbus African American contact us at: editor@columbusafricanamerican.com RayS. Miller, Publisher 503 High Street - Suite 102

750 East Long Street, Suite 3000 Columbus, Ohio 43203

Columbus, OH 43215 614-826-2254

614.340.4891

The Columbus African American • July 2017

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

POLITICS

VOTING IS NOT ENOUGH: USING YOUR TIME AND ENERGY TO GENERATE COMMUNITY CHANGE

By Kalitha Williams In 2006, I co-founded The CHANGE Agency, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization focused on increasing the civic and political participation of Young Black Professionals in Ohio. For 6 years, we engaged hundreds of our peers by organizing candidate forums, debate watch parties, and facilitating discussions on important policy issues.

After the excitement of electing our nation’s first Black President, we launched a project entitled Voting Is Not Enough. The purpose of the project was to harness the energy from the election of President Barack Obama into a political movement that would increase civic engagement and shape public policy.

Victories of Yesterday & Challenges of Today Blacks Suffrage is a battle we have fought and continue to fight to ensure our collective voices are heard. In the Dredd Scott decision of 1857, the United States Supreme Court ruled that slaves “… had no rights which the white man was bound to respect “. A decade later, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments granted African slaves full citizenship and the right to vote, respectively.

During Reconstruction, we saw the rise of “Jim Crow” laws that were created to impede Blacks.

These laws, which included poll taxes, reading tests and grandfather clauses designed to restrict Black voting, were eventually outlawed with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Today, we are still contending for our voting right in state legislatures and courts with the rise of voter identification laws designed to disenfranchise us and silence our electoral voices.

Voting Is Important, But It Is Not Enough.

Voting is powerful tool, but the act alone is not sufficient to usher the changes we want to see in our communities. While all of the excitement may be geared toward an election, daily governing and public policy making are more important to systematic change, as much as the marriage is more important than the wedding.

Voting is a short-term tactic in a long-term strategic plan.

In the shadow of President Donald Trump’s election, we have seen the political pendulum swing in the other direction. There is much at stake on how the new administration’s policies will impact our communities. The future of healthcare, infrastructure and consumer protection all hang in the balance. Waiting for the next presidential election to act is not an option.

We have to identify ways to engage beyond the voting booth. The Voting Is Not Enough project focused on three areas that any of us can become engaged, educated and empowered to generate community change.

First, direct your TIME & ENERGY with impact. Time is precious and one of the few quantities that cannot be replenished. Once it’s gone, it’ gone. Below is a list of ideas, while not exhaustive, where you devote this valuable resource to spark community change: • Volunteer - Have you met a candidate or cause this year that has inspired you? You can be supportive by calling voters, distributing flyers in your neighborhood, or walking in a parade. Volunteers reaching out to voters help increase the number of people that participate

The CHANGE Angency Partners: Travis Simmons, Regina Iddrisu and Kalitha Williams

in the electoral process. This year’s election includes candidates for local races, including city council, school board and judges. There may also be two statewide ballot initiatives. One is focused on reducing the price of prescription drugs. The other proposes changes to the way we draw Congressional Districts. Candidates, local political parties and, issue campaigns all need your help to spread their message.

• Register People to Vote – Make sure your family, friends and neighbors are ready to vote in November. Many people don’t know that if you move or change your name, your registration must be updated. At your next cook out, community festival or family gathering, print out some voter registration cards from the Oho Secretary of State’s website and help people register. Here’s the website address https://www. sos.state.oh.us. Just make sure to get the cards to the Franklin County Board of Elections within 10 days of being completed so they count!

• Become a Poll Worker - Are you free on November 7, 2017? You can become a trained poll worker and get paid to help ensure that the election runs, smoothly. The Franklin County

HIGH STREET - SUITE 102, COLUMBUS, OH 43215

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Board of Election trains every day citizens, including some high school students to work the polls. Contact the Franklin County Board of Election for more information at https://vote. franklincountyohio.gov or 614.525.3100.

• Organize A House Party - Are you interested in helping others get to know candidates or learn more about an issue? Gather your family, friends and neighbors together and schedule a meet and greet with candidates to learn more about their views. Most ballot issue campaigns have a speaker’s bureau or other representatives that can talk with your group. If there is a televised candidate debate, host a watch party and encourage discussion among the attendees.

Using your time and energy help others become more involved engaged, educated and empowered.

Next month I will focus on USING YOUR INFLUENCE… Kalitha Williams is the elected Democratic Central Committee Member for Columbus Ward 44. Follow her on Twitter at @KalithaWrites or visit www.columbusward44.com.

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ARTS

URBAN STRINGS: COLUMBUS YOUTH ORCHESTRA CELEBRATING TEN YEARS

By Rodney Q. Blount, M.A. Music is a part of virtually every culture and is a part of the fabric of our daily lives. Music unites people, countries, and even the world as it has the ability to energize, console and unite.

I enjoy listening to several different genres of music. One thing that is undeniable is the heavy influence on music by men and women of African descent. Blues, jazz, rhythm and blues (R&B), gospel, funk, reggae and hip hop/rap are among the most identifiable music genres that were created/heavily influenced by people of African descent. However, Americans and many others around the world do not know that there are African/African American influences in other genres of music including rock and roll, music of Latin America (bolero, candombe, merengue, etc.), and country music. In addition, men and women of African descent have also had leading roles in orchestras and the promotion of classical music. In fact, Dr. Theodore W. Burgh and some others concluded that “the roots of Western classical music ultimately lie in ancient Egyptian art music via cheironomy and the ancient Egyptian orchestra, which dates to 2695 BC.” Unfortunately, many, if not most, of the last two generations no little to nothing about Duke Ellington, Chick Webb, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, and Marian Anderson. However, it is invigorating to know that there is a group like the Urban Strings that is teaching are young and gifted children about celebrating their past while also incorporating their own flair in the present that will last for future generations.

Urban Strings Columbus Youth Orchestra is a Central Ohio-based community youth orchestra of serious, talented, young musicians from various public, private, charter, and suburban schools throughout the metropolitan Columbus area. Their mission is to perform classical music, as well as, preserve and perform the music of traditional and contemporary AfricanAmerican composers and arrangers and focus on the enrichment of the musician through the incorporation of expressive music such as, Jazz, Gospel, Hip-Hop, Pop, and R&B. Urban Strings Columbus performs a multicultural repertoire of great music ranging from classical, jazz, and gospel to R&B and movie themes.

This wide-ranging repertoire not only engages the participants but also provides them with an opportunity to learn various types of music to which they might not otherwise be exposed. They also incorporate bodily movements to the music to create freedom of expression through AfricanAmerican influenced music.

In 2007, Urban Strings began with just two young girls at Champion Middle School and the vision of Catherine Willis. Now, 10 years later, it has 45 musicians at three different skill levels. The instruments in this orchestra are the same as in others, but this group is truly unique and impressive. “Well, you don’t see a lot of orchestras with predominately black members in them, especially those that are youth too,” said 6th grader Alexis Cunningham, “That was really attractive to me because it was people who look like me and share the same culture and experience and stuff and that’s not something I

fully get at my school.”

The founder and director, Catherine Willis, grew up learning the piano in Cleveland and used classical tunes during her three decades as a teacher in Columbus schools to calm pupils after recess.

A dedicated community activist for many years, Catherine has supported education, the arts and family advocacy. She has been involved in the United Negro College Fund, a founding member of Friends of Art for Community Enrichment Inc. (an active supporting arm of the Urban Strings), and The Ohio Wesleyan University Upward Bound program. She was a member of the SOUL committee, which helped promote art from the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center and is an alumna of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and Twin Rivers Chapter of Links.

Her goal with Urban Strings is to nurture black youngsters in classical music -- and, perhaps, see them one day on larger stages. “The spotlight for minority performers isn’t bright enough, she said, as only about 4 percent of orchestra musicians nationwide are of black or Latino descent (according to the League of American Orchestras).”

Stephen Spottswood, the spirited 24-year-old Director of the Urban Strings Columbus Youth Orchestra, was born in Charleston, West Virginia.

Mr. Spottswood grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and studied viola under Tsuna Sakamoto of the National Symphony Orchestra. Before his arrival in Columbus to study Music Education at Capital University, Stephen was a member of the viola section in the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra Youth Day. Mr. Spottswood has performed at the Ohio State House, the Ohio State Senate, and the West Virginia State Capitol. He has also performed at the Verizon Center and various other fundraisers, weddings, private parties, and public events throughout his young career. Mr. Spottswood is also a Democratic Page for Representative Hearcel F. Craig at the Ohio House of Representatives. He believes in loving God and sharing God’s love with the rest of the world.

Among the venues where Urban Strings Columbus has performed are Cardinal Health, The New James Cancer Hospital, Mees Hall at Capital University, Lincoln Theater, Ohio History Center, Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio State University Student Union, Jubilee Hall at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, Ohio State Supreme Court Black History Celebration, Tuskegee Airmen Celebration, Installation Ceremony of Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Isabelle Ridgeway Nursing Home, Rock

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and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, Corban Commons senior housing, City of Columbus Black History Program, and the 2015 National Convention of the Northeasterners.

The Urban Strings is an invaluable orchestra consisting of phenomenally talented, and predominantly African American, youth who perform an extensive range of music including classical, jazz and gospel, to R&B, and movie themes. The Urban Strings tour all over the country, particularly during the summer. At least one student has had the opportunity to perform abroad. When referring to Urban Strings, Halle Craig, an alumna of the Urban Strings and the orchestra at Olentangy Orange High School, said, “It allows me to learn more about my culture.”

The practice, discipline and exposure gained from the orchestra sets the youth apart and the lessons and skills learned will be an invaluable asset to them as they traverse through college and life. I have had the distinct pleasure of listening to the Urban Strings on more than one occasion and each time I observed them, they not only mesmerized the crowd, but they left a lasting impression of both pride and hope. I strongly encourage everyone reading this article to support the Urban Strings by your attendance to their performances as well as donating to this exceptional orchestra. Donations by going to the following link: http://urbanstrings.squarespace. com/donate/ Works Cited http://urbanstrings.squarespace.com/ http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_ and_entertainment/2015/04/28/music-maker.html http://nbc4i.com/2017/02/15/urban-strings-adifferent-type-of-orchestra/ Burgh, Theodore W. (2006). Listening to Artifacts: Music Culture in Ancient Israel/ Palestine. T. & T. Clark Ltd. Rodney Blount is an Educator and Historian. He received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Ball State University and a Masters of Arts degree from The Ohio State University. His work has been featured in several publications. Roderick is a native of Columbus, Ohio and is a member of several organizations.

COMMUNITYEVENTS July 8, 2017 Summer Jam West Celebrate local arts at this community friendly event sponsored by the Columbus Parks and Recreation Commission. This family festival features live music, art sale, community mural, food trucks and fun for the kids. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the website below.

July 15, 2017 The East Side Non-Violence Community Event Celebrate peace in the community at this special event sponsored by “A Thug Is A Dud”, the City of Columbus, The Community for New Direction and Rhema Christian Center. Enjoy free food, activities for the kids, health awareness, employment opporunities and a special vigil for the teens and young adults that died in the Near East Side Community.

Location: Westgate Park Address: 455 S Westgate, 43204 Time: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.SummerJamWest.org

Location: The Eldon Ward YMCA Address: 130 Woodland Ave., 43203 Time: 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.AThugIsADud.org

July 9, 2017 Old Towne East Tour of Historic Homes Since 1982, the residents and supporters of Olde Towne East have hosted the annaul tour of homes. The tour features some of the most beautiful and historically significant properties in the city.

From stately mansions to century-old churches, the tour takes visitors on a journey through history. For more information visit the website below.

July 18, 2017 P.A.C.T. Annual Meeting Join the Partners Achieving Community Transformation (P.A.C.T.) for their annual meeting to learn what they have accomplished in the community and where they are headed. This is event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP your attendance by visiting the website below or call 614-247-8037.

Location: Olde Towne East (neighborhood) Address: Varies Time: 1:30 PM - 6:00 PM Admission: $20 Web: www.OldeTowneEast.org

Location: Lincoln Theatre - Cardinal Health Ballroom Address: 769 E. Long Street, 43205 Time: 6:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.EastPact.org/annualmeeting

July 13,20,27, 2017 19th Annual Heritage Music Festival Join the King Arts Complex for their annual music festival every Thursday evening in July through August. Enjoy music from local, regional and national artists playing Jazz, R&B, Blues and more. Bring a lawn chair and all of your friends to this wonderful summer event! For more information visit the website listed below.

July 18, 2017 Fireside Chat: A Safe Conversation About Race Join Suzanne Roberts and James White as they engage in a thoughful and candid converstation about race relations in our communities and America. This talk is inspired by the political climate in the US and will address current dialogues being held all around the country. To RSVP, please call LC Johnson at 614-627-1226. This event is Free and open to the public.

Location: Mayme Moore Park Address: 867 Mt. Vernon Ave., 43203 Time: 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.KingArsComplex.com

Location: YWCA Downtown Address: 65 S. 4th St., 43215 Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.YWCAColumbus.org

July 15, 2017 A Symphonic Night of Hip Hop Feat. Common Join the Columbus Symphony Orchestra for a special evening of Hip Hop featuring Oscar and Grammy award winning Hip Hop Legend: Common. He will perform music from his latest albulm Black America Again along with some of his biggest hits. For tickets call 614-469-0939 or visit the website below.

July 21-23, 2017 Columbus Rib & Jazz Fesitval Presented by Columbus Parks and Recreation, this highly anticipated summertime tradition offers both jazz and rib connoisseurs the finest in music and barbeque. With the addition of 33 acres of parkland along the Scioto Mile, the newlye revitalized downtown riverfront provides the perfect location for hot ribs and cool jazz. For a list of vendors and musical artists, visit the website listed below.

Location: Columbus Commons Address: 160 S. High St., 43215 Time: 8:00 PM Admission: $10 - $25 Web: www.ColumbusSymphony.com

The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015

Location: Downtown Address: 233 S. Civic Center Dr., 43215 Time: Fri & Sat 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM, Sun 11:00 AM - 8:30 PM Admission: Free Web: www.HotRibsCoolJazz.org

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The Columbus African American • July 2017

COMMUNITYEVENTS July 22, 2017 Cedric The Entertainer One of the Original Kings of Comedy himself, Cedric the Entertainer will be in Columbus for one night only! You have seen him on BET Comic View, The Steve Harvey Show, movies, sitcoms and more. This is one show, you do not want to miss!

For tickets call 614-471-5653 or visit the website below.

July 29, 2017 Whitehall Food Truck Festival Join the city of Whitehall for their annual Food Truck Festival. With over 30 food trucks, vendors, activities for the kids, live music and more. For a complete list of musical artists and food truck vendors, visit the website below.

Location: City of Whitehall Address: Yearling Ave., 43213 Time: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.Whitehall-oh.us.

Location: The Funny Bone Address: 145 Easton Towne Center, 43219 Time: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM & 11:00 PM Admission: Call for prices.

Web: www.Columbus.Funnybone.com

July 29, 2017 Lincoln Theatre 2017 Walk of Fame Induction Ceremony The Lincoln Theatre Walk of Fame is a monument that honors Columbus natives who have made outstanding contributions to society through their professional careers. This year’s honorees are two local trailblazers - visual artist Barbara Chavous and musician Foley. This event is free an open to the public. For more information call 614-7196624.

July 22, 2017 2X2 Hip Hop Festival This annual festival showcases the hip hop culture and all of the positivity that it brings to people of all walks of life and of all ages. For one day only, experience over 30 local and national artists on two stages. In addition to the music will be b-boy/b-girl dance battles and graffit challenges. For more information visit the website below.

Location: The Lincoln Theatre Address: 769 E. Long St., 43203 Time: 6:30 PM Admission: Free Web: www.LincolnTheatreColumbus.com

Location: Rice Paddy Motorcycles Address: 1454 N. Grant Ave., 43201 Time: Noon - 10:00 PM Admission: $10 (Advance) $15 at Door (Kids under 15 Free) Web: www.2x2fest.com

August 4-6, 2017 Columbus Black International Film Festival Columbus is the heart of America and home to some of the most creative Black filmmakers in the country. This festival that will showcase new and emerging talent as well as talent that has represented our city for years. For a list of featured movies, showtimes and locations, visit the website listed below.

July 26 - August 6, 2017 Ohio State Fair Celebrate the end of the summer at the 164th Ohio State Fair.

Enjoy a variety of activities and exhibits including interactive educational displays, sporting competetions, free petting zoo, rides, games and food. For tickets, concert times and more, visit the website below.

Location: Wexner Center for Arts, CCAD and Drexel Theatre Address: Various Locations - Visit Website for details Time: Visit Website for Showtimes Admission: $20 - Opening Night, $25 - Day Pass, $60 - VIP Web: www.ColumbusBIFF.com

Location: Ohio Expo Center & State Fair Address: 717 E. 17th Ave., 43211 Time: Varies Admission: $10 (General Admission), $8 (Seniors 60+) Web: www.OhioStateFair.com

August 5, 2017 2017 Annual Community Day - Linden Community Join the Urban Oasis Community Center for their inaugural Community Day. Participants can expect live music, activities for the kids, free food and school supplies. Also, learn more about activities that are taking place in the Linden community. This event is free and open to the public. For more information or to donate supplies, call 614-934-5671.

July 28, 2017 Diversified Urban Development Farm Tour Based in Columbus’ Linden neighborhood, this project reclaims vacant lots for natural areas and food production and engages youth in agriculture through an urban 4-H program. Join this tour to see garden sites, the New Harvest Cafe and learn more about the construction of a new fresh market and commercial kitchen.

Location: Urban Oasis Community Center Address: 2016 Minnesota Ave., 43211 Time: 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.ColumbusBIFF.com

Location: New Harvest Cafe & Urban Arts Center Address: 1675 Arlington Ave, 43211 Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Admission: Free Web: www.Oeffa.org/q/farmtours2017

Please note: Information for this section is gathered from multiple commnuity sources. The Columbus African American is not responsible for the accuracy and content of information. Times, dates and locations are subject to change. If you have an event that you would like to feature in this section, please call 614-8262254 or email us at editor@columbusafricanamerican.com. Submissions are due the last Friday of each month.

• July Journal 2017 • February 2015 The Columbus African American News

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®

Female Coach of the Year Sheba Harris Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Women’s Team of the Year Central State University Basketball Team

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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015