Pastors Speak Life to Effort to Beat Colon Cancer

C-olorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer and disproportionately affects the Black community. Rates are the highest of any racial/ethnic group in the U.S. with Blacks about 20% more likely to get colorectal cancer and about 40% more likely to die from cancer of the colon or rectum than most racial and ethnic groups. As the pandemic spotlighted health inequity and Providence Southern California–the region’s largest health system–is working with community partners to expand access to care.

Renowned for leading-edge cancer care and research, Providence Saint John’s Health Center donated $2 million to the Stand Up To Cancer® Colorectal Cancer Health Equity Dream Team and its commitment to address colorectal cancer screening disparities in medically underserved communities and has teamed up with some of the most trusted and influential voices in Black communities — church pastors.

Thirty of these L.A. faith leaders have joined the campaign illustrated by a compelling art exhibit that encourages preventive screenings. The pastors are featured on 6-foot-high banners in striking portraits accompanied by their heartfelt quotes. Their message to men is to prevent cancer by getting colonoscopies and then encouraging loved ones to do the same.

The photographic art exhibit features powerful images of area faith leaders uniting their voices to “speak life” into the community – promoting the knowledge that colon cancer is beatable and treatable. Pastors featured in the display include Dr. Lovely Haynes (St.

True Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

7901 South Van Ness Ave. Inglewood, CA 90305

(323) 750-7304

Rev. James A. Perkins

Sunday School: 9:30am

Early Worship: 8am

Morning Worship: 10:45am

Bible Adventure Hour (Tues): 6pm

Bible Study (Tues): 7pm

Bible Study (Thurs): Noon

Antioch Church of Long Beach

350 Pine Ave. ,Long Beach, CA 90802

(562) 591-8778 •www.antiochlb.com

Senior Pastor Wayne Chaney, Jr.

Online Services

In

Long Beach

Stream live: Sun 10:00am at antiochlb.com

Give: text antiochib to 77977

Social Media: facebook.com/antiochlb instagram.com/antiochlb youtube.com/antiochlongbeach

Mark Missionary Baptist Church), Pastor Robert Taylor (Beulah Baptist Church), Pastor J. Edgar Boyd (First AME Church), Pastor Darnell Jones, Sr. (First Missionary Baptist Church), Pastor James McKnight (Congregational Church of Christian Fellowship), Pastor Carolyn Baskin-Bell (First AME Santa Monica) , Lawrence Dove (Park Hills Community Church) and Rhonda Holbert of the Celebrate Life Cancer Ministry.

The banners are set to travel among the churches and Providence hospitals.

The effort was already a priority locally as Dr. Anton Bilchik as famed actor Chadwick Boseman was cared for at Providence St. John before his death.

Bilchik began research in the molecular and immunology laboratories at Saint John’s Cancer Institute to better understand why colon cancer cases are occurring at a younger age and whether they’re preventable.

“Providence and SU2C have collaborated to change the inequities in colorectal cancer and increase screening rates to 80 percent, led by a Dream Team of researchers,” said Bilchik, who also serves as and chairman of the division of general surgery at Providence Saint John’s Health Center. “The Dream Team’s members, all from major academic institutions, bring a deep understanding of racial/ethnic minority communities and health inequities regionally and nationally through their extensive career experience and published research.”

A study led by Providence, published in the International Journal for Health Equity, found that 11 sociodemographic and environmental factors contribute

Christ Second Baptist Church 1471 Martin Luther King, Jr., Ave. Long Beach, CA 90813 (562) 599-3421 • Fax: (562) 599-6175 • www.csbclb.org

Rev. Welton Pleasant II, Senior Pastor

Sunday School: 8:30am

Sunday Worship Service: 9:40am

Wed. Bible Study: 7:00pm

Wed Youth & Young Adult Ministry: 7pm

House of Refuge Church of God in Christ 1446 W. 36th Place, Los Angeles, CA 90018 (323)515-9022•Email:info@horcogic.org•www.horcogic.live

Pastor: Dr. Pierre Codio

First Lady Shavon Codio

Sunday Services:11:00am

Sunday School: 9:00am

Thursday Online Bible Study:7:00pm (via Facebook & YouTube)

Friday Morning Online Prayer:10am Prayer call-in # : (516) 259-9968 to higher COVID-19 infection and transmission rates among vulnerable populations. These results highlight the urgency and complexity of addressing health disparities in the immediate term to help mitigate the inequitable impacts of the pandemic.

“Lowering the colorectal cancer screening age to 45 is an important step as we look to save more lives from this preventable cancer,” Bilchik added. “But given the disproportionate impact on medically underserved communities, raising awareness for colorectal cancer and screening options remains critical.”

To increase convenience and accessibility, at-home screening tests for colorectal cancer will be provided to unscreened community members.

As part of its ongoing efforts to identify and prioritize inequities within the communities it serves, Providence’s investment will develop data-driven strategies to improve health equity and reduce disparities aside from COVID-19. Partnering closely with Providence regions throughout its seven-state system to identify specific health disparities in their local communities, Providence is leveraging existing system and regional tools, resources and programs to ensure its investment has the greatest impact on the greater number of people.

“A crucial component of this effort is listening to and partnering with our communities to understand the structural and cultural barriers at the local level,” said President and CEO Rod Hochman, M.D. “Providence believes that health is a human right, and therefore we are committed to ensuring everyone in our communities has an equal chance to achieve health.”

Walking In The Spirit Ministries

Double Tree (Sonoma Grill)

12623 Norwalk Blvd, Norwalk CA 90650

(213) 248-6343 P.O Box 1597 Norwalk CA,90651

Tim & Leshia Brooks

Morning Worship: 11:00am

In Norwalk

Services Held Every 2nd & 4th Sunday and Free Breakfast Is Served

Bible Study: 8:30am (Every 5th Friday)

Barnes continued from page 6

International High School opened in 2009, when Barnes graduated from middle school. He attended Riverdale, a public high school outside the city, while many of his classmates attended International. The school’s strong language department, which provides French, Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin, was a big lure for him, as he wanted to practice his Spanish.

“There are plenty of options at the school that I could have chosen from to continue with my languages, be able to strengthen them, and continue to learn,” Barnes said.

Barnes immediately impacted the charter school despite combining his sophomore and junior years into one with a dual enrollment at Southern University in New Orleans. He also noted International High School’s academic reputation.

“They are known for putting out million-dollar scholars, so whenever the idea was presented to me by my counselor, I hopped on board,” he said.

Barnes advised prospective college students to value education, especially African American students.

“There’s always something in the news for athletics. And I think there’s a stigma put on African Americans – probably others, too,” he said about academic suc- cess. “I think that doing well in school and understanding the importance of education is something that could break that stigma.”

Barnes credits his parents and James for his success. James helped him apply to institutions, prepare for college, and dual enrollment.

“She has guided me and instructed me in my best interest; that will move me forward,” he stated. “James has helped me get where I am.”

Barnes said he’s grateful and excited about all scholarships and acceptances. Still, he insists that he’s incredibly proud of those from well-known institutions like Xavier and LSU and other schools that traditionally don’t provide many scholarships.

Barnes now aims to exceed $10 million in scholarships and acceptances in the coming days.

With 170 acceptances, he said he’s being more selective and won’t hedge on which school he’ll choose. A decision was expected this month.

Washington continued from page 8 may surprise you to learn that the Supreme Court Justices are the only federal judges not bound by the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges. In fact, there are very few ethics guidelines governing the most powerful court in the country. Only one Supreme Court Justice in history has ever faced impeachment, Justice Samuel Chase, back in 1805, and he was acquitted.

There have been attempts to pass ethics reforms for the Supreme Court. Just this session, Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the “Supreme Court Ethics Act,” which would create a code of conduct for the Supreme Court. It likely won’t surprise you that both bills are sitting in committee.

Even if Congress did pass ethics guidelines, they would still have to be enforced. And if the current situation with Thomas, who may have violated the already loose ethics guidelines, is any indication of Congress’ willingness to step in, enforcement could be challenging.

The “Just Majority” tour has only just kicked off, so it’s a little too soon to dismiss the possibility that we could see some real movement toward holding Supreme Court Justices accountable. But our track-record on Supreme Court reform isn’t exactly promising. Jessica Washington is a senior reporter for The Root covering race, gender and politics. This column first appeared on www.theroot.com

Williams continued from page 8 standing to condemn Justice Thomas? As Jesus instructed in the Bible, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her."

Former House Speaker and Democratic icon Nancy Pelosi in 2021 balked at the idea of banning congressional lawmakers and their spouses from owning shares of individual companies, despite the potential for conflicts of interest between their legislative duties and personal finances.

"No," she replied to reporters at a news conference when asked whether she would support such a prohibition. "We're a free market economy. They should be able to participate in that."

A Business Insider investigative report on share ownership by lawmakers and other controversies over stock purchases by multiple senators since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the question to Pelosi. The report found that 78 members of Congress and 182 senior-level congressional staffers had violated the so-called STOCK Act, which requires public disclosure by themselves and family members within 45 days of sales or purchases of individual stocks, bonds and commodity futures.

That "a judge ... should be above suspicion" is a wonderful idea. But it is not real. In his his "Essay on Criticism," Alexander Pope preached that "All people commit sins and make mistakes. God forgives them, and people are acting in a godlike (divine) way when they forgive."

In the interests of full disclosure, Clarence Thomas has been a mentor and friend to me for many long years. I previously served as his confidential assistant. I have never known a more selfless, unpretentious, honest person. The nation should be thankful he has many more years to serve on the Supreme Court sparkling with a bold and pioneering opinions.

To find out more about Armstrong Williams, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Brown continued from page 8 government engaged in redlining to relegate Black households to segregated neighborhoods.’

Homeownership for the Black community has declined nearly 20% since 2008, Pope determined. Despite the enactment of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which was designed to offer legal protections from housing discrimination, the homeownership gap continues to expand, disenfranchising the most marginalized, she summarized.

For instance, in 1960, 38% of Black Americans owned homes while white homeownership was at 65%, a 27-point gap.

In recent years, the United States has experienced the largest homeownership spread since 1890, with 44.6% of Black Americans owning a home compared to 74.2% of whites, a 29.6-point gap.

“The cycle can only be broken by improving the major driver of Black wealth — intergenerational homeownership that yields prosperity and family economic security,” Pope said.

“America’s public and private sectors claim to be committing to a more equitable society, one with opportunities for wealth and success regardless of race or ethnicity. But to make racial equity a reality, government, corporate and civic leaders must address the wealth and home ownership gaps that diminish the aspirations, hopes, and dreams of Black families and individuals.”