A p ril 7, 2010
c 1,1 fln rtla u h (Observer
H F A IT H m attfrs
Page 9
“PULSE ” a Dance Concert
Dance
Company
Presented
bv
Under the direction o f Dana Ingram & Jenelle Yarbrough
Friday April 16th, 2010
Show starts at 8pm / Preshow Mixer with DJ ‘OG’ One
starts at 7pm Tickets available for $15 or $20 at the PCPA
box office and at all Ticketmaster outlets
Newmark Theater, 1111 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205
School Wins Fitness Challenge
Students from Clarendon-Portsmouth School hold a ceremonial $5,000 check from the Humana
Foundation, the winnings from a national “American Horsepower Challenge” fitness competition.
The north Portland school scored in the top 5 out o f 37 schools nationwide. About 100 Clarendon-
Portsmouth students were give smart pedometers to wear on their shoes to monitor daily activity
for eight weeks, logging a total of 16.2 million steps or approximately 6,149 miles.
When Work Takes a Toll on Health
Expert says key
is relief for stress
by J ake
T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
John H enry, the steel-driving man
w ho beat a steam -pow ered ham m er
in a com petition during the late 1800s,
only to w ork him self to death in the
p r o c e s s , is th o u g h t to b e a
longstanding A frican-A m erican folk
legend with dubious roots in actual
history.
But Sherm an Jam es, a D uke U ni
versity professor w ho is visiting Port
land as part o f O regon Public H ealth
W eek, argues that H enry is m ore than
a m yth. In fact, the folk legend can be
found in scores o f w orking people
trying to get ahead.
Jam es was one o f the first research
ers to exam ine w hat has been called
“John H enryism .”
A ccording to Jam es, it’s a person
ality predisposition characterized by
a tenacious com m itm ent to hard work
and m eeting goals, despite circum
stances that stand in the w ay like
poverty, racism or interpersonal con
flict. People w ith these traits drive
them selves too hard at the expense o f
their health, and because o f their
socio-econom ic status they often
d o n ’t have the support m echanism s,
like paid tim e o ff or adequate health
care, to cope.
“ It’s sort o fa never-gi ve-up-never-
say-die attitude, and after tim e it can
cause w ear and tear on various organ
system s, particularly cardiovascular
system s, and lead to hypertension,”
explained Jam es in a telephone inter-
particularly com m on w ith pastors.
Sherman
James
view.
Jam es took a look at the phenom
enon in the early 1980s in North Caro
lina. M any studies on the topic have
focused on A frican A m ericans, and
have sought to explain w hy the social
segm ent is disproportionately prone
to hypertension and cardiovascular
d iseases.
H ow ever, Jam es points out that
subsequent research dem onstrates
that the trait is present am ong all
ethnicities.
J am es argues that if the U . S . didn ’ t
suffer from so m uch inequality, and if
people w ith John H enryism had a
b e tte r su p p o rt stru c tu re , so ciety
w ould benefit from their determ ina
tion and hard work.
“T h ere’s nothing w rong tenacity,
determ ination, com m itm ent to hard
work, and optim ism ,” said James. “ So
if you level the playing field you
could see som e big pluses.”
But until w e have that m ore level
playing field, Jam es said that it’s im
portant for people w ith this personal
ity disposition to be aw are o f it and to
exercise, eat right, try to reduce stress,
and generally take care o f themselves.
He also added that the trait is very
prevalent am ong A frican A m ericans,
and can easily be found in black
churches across the nation, and is
“ [A frican A m ericans] are really
w orking very hard trying to achieve,”
said Jam es. “This runs squarely in
the face o f the typical im age that
plays out in the m ainstream m edia o f
w ho black people are.”
Sherm an Jam es w ill be speaking
during a public forum at noon, Friday
A pril 9 in the M oriarty A uditorium at
Portland C om m unity C ollege’s C as
cade C am pus in north Portland.
AJister o f Sisters (S.O.S.)
A frican A m erican Breast C an c e r S urvivor S u p p o rt G roup
Transition to Wellness ~ M ind & Body
Sponsored by, Portland Alumnae Chapter o f Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, hie.
I he Portland Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta is organizing a breast cancer survivor
support group for African American Women. We would like to invite all African American
Breast Cancer Survivors to join “ A Sister o f Sisters” (S.O.S.) - a breast cancer support grou|
focusing on issues relating to African American women surviving breast cancer.
If you’re an African American Breast Cancer Survivor - please join us:
Time: April 29th, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Place: Providence Irvington Village (community room)
A ddress: 420 NE M ason St. i P o rtlan d , OR.
- Light refreshments will be served -
Powered toy
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A V a X l
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Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC
Zchon R. Jones, DC
333 NE Russell St., #200, Portland, OR. 97212
(503) 284-7838
Truly making a difference in the lives of
Auto Accident victims and Injured Workers for 16 years.
If you or someone you know has been in an accident,
call us so we can help you with your needs. (503) 284-7838
We are located on the
corner o f MLK and Russell
Street, on the second floor
above the coffee shop.
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