Page 2 The Skanner June 6, 2018
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Challenging People to Shape
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Black Women are Changing the Tide of American Politics
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Newspapers Throughout the U.S.
ast week, the world wit-
nessed something that
had never been done be-
fore in the history of pol-
itics in the United States.
Not only did Democrat-
ic voters in Georgia elect a
44-year-old African Ameri-
can candidate as the first-ever
Black gubernatorial nominee
in the state, they also made
history by electing the first
Black woman to be a major
party nominee for governor
in the United States.
That’s right — former Geor-
gia House Minority Leader
and attorney Stacey Abrams
soundly defeated her oppo-
nent, former State Rep. Stacey
Evans, with an overwhelming
53 percent landslide victory;
Abrams won 76.5 percent of
the vote compared to Evans’
23.5 percent. Abrams will
face off against the winner of
the Republican primary run-
off election that will be held in
July between Georgia’s Lieu-
tenant Governor Casey Cagle
and Secretary of State Brian
Kemp.
While much of the politi-
cal conversation around the
country has been focused on
the success of women candi-
dates as a whole, one of the
primary reasons for Abrams’
dominant showing in the
Democratic primary was the
high turnout of Black voters,
particularly Black women
Jeffrey L.
Boney
NNPA
Columnist
voters.
The convincing victory by
Abrams, a rising star in the
Democratic Party, has created
a significant amount of chat-
ter in political circles about
the growing success Black
women candidates are having
across the country, partic-
ularly in a deeply southern
“
We have to
reach out to
those who do
not believe
their voices
matter
state like Georgia that hasn’t
had a Democratic governor
since 2003.
“I am a proud daughter of
the Deep South,” Abrams stat-
ed during her victory speech
after winning the Georgia
Democratic
gubernatorial
nomination. “To claim our
victory, to write that next
chapter and live those best
lives, we have a lot of work
to do. We have to reach out to
those who do not believe their
voices matter. Who have been
disappointed again and again
by promises made and never
kept…With your help, we will
register every last person we
know.”
Abrams continued: “And
we’re going to search out
those we don’t know yet and
prove they matter to us, too…
In the Book of Esther, there’s a
verse that reminds us that we
were born for such a time as
this. And now is a time to de-
fend our values and protect
the vulnerable — to stand in
the gap and to lead the way…
that is what we will continue
to do — all the way to victory
in November.”
A victory by Abrams in No-
vember would truly be a game
changer relative to politics, as
we know it, in the Deep South
and across the country.
Prior to 2003, no Republi-
can had ever served as gover-
nor in Georgia since Recon-
struction. Republican George
“Sonny” Perdue III changed
that after he was elected and
then sworn in on January 13,
2003. Perdue served until
2011, and the governorship in
Georgia has remained in Re-
publican control ever since.
Then, if you take a look at
the rest of the Deep South,
which consists of states like
Texas, Alabama, South Caroli-
na, Mississippi, Arkansas and
Louisiana, each of those states
currently has a Republican
governor at the helm, with the
exception of Louisiana, where
former Democratic state leg-
islator John Bel Edwards was
sworn in as governor in 2016.
Abrams has a chance to
change the overall landscape
of politics as we know it, but
it will take more than having
her name on the ballot as the
Democratic nominee in Geor-
gia to make that a reality — it
will require engaging exist-
ing Black voters and focusing
on getting newly registered
Black voters to the polls in No-
vember.
Abrams has adopted a strat-
egy focused on registering
new Black voters and engag-
ing more Blacks to come out
to the polls and vote in No-
vember 2018 than came out
in 2014, when only 40 percent
of African Americans went
to the polls in Georgia, com-
pared to roughly 48 percent
of Whites.
If recent history is any indi-
cation, the only way the tides
will turn in the favorable di-
rection Democrats hope for
relative to the key gubernato-
rial seats that are up for grabs
in battleground states this No-
vember, is if there is a heavy
Black voter turnout.
Read the rest of this commentary at
TheSkanner.com
Blacks Can’t Afford to Ignore Dental Health
W
hile Medicaid and
the
Children’s
Health
Insurance
Program (CHIP) pro-
vide a safety net, access to
dental care is a big issue, es-
pecially for children of color.
According to the Pew Charita-
ble Trusts, “tooth decay is the
most common chronic disease
among children in the United
States, five times as prevalent
as asthma, and dental care
is one of the nation’s great-
est unmet children’s health
needs.” Why? Sometimes
children’s parents simply did
not arrange for them to see
a dentist. Sometimes, dental
services were not available in
particular areas, for example,
dental needs are sometimes
more likely to be addressed
in emergency rooms than
dental clinics. And, a 2016 re-
port from the Department of
Health and Human Services
said that dental provider
shortages were at least part
of the reason some children,
especially low-income Black
and Hispanic children, lack
dental care.
Children pay a big price
when their dental needs are
unmet. In the worst and most
extreme cases, as in that of
Maryland’s Deamonte Driver,
children can die, because they
do not have access to basic
dental services.
“Childhood dental decay can
Julianne
Malveaux
NNPA
Columnist
lead to pain, difficulty eating,
speaking and sleeping, and
more serious infections, some
of which can be life-threaten-
ing,” said Dr. Diane Earle, the
managing dental director for
Kool Smiles.
“
Children pay
a big price
when their
dental needs
are unmet
To address some of the
need, Kool Smiles is offering
free dental care to children
in need on Sunday, May 20.
Forty-nine offices in 13 states
plus Washington, D.C. will be
open to provide dental exams,
extractions, fillings, sealants,
and other emergency ser-
vices. The free day is open to
children who either lack in-
surance or are underinsured.
To be sure, Kool Smiles can’t
possibly provide a smile for
every child, but they are tak-
ing a step in the right direc-
tion. This year represents
the fourth year that the orga-
nization has offered the free
service. It’s first-come, first-
serve; so if you are interest-
ed, check out mykoolsmiles.
com/sharing smiles, where
you can register for a free ap-
pointment. In the past three
years more than 1,400 chil-
dren have received free den-
tal care, with more than 500
being treated last year. Kool
Smiles hopes to serve even
more children this year.
Access to safe and afford-
able health care has been
part of my portfolio for some
years.
In 2015, I had the privilege
of spending a week at Mehar-
ry Medical College, lecturing
on health policy. The chal-
lenges that people of color
face around health care can
be distilled to the 3 A’s: Ac-
cess, Assets, and Attitudes.
All too often access is limit-
ed, because people live in the
wrong areas, because pro-
viders are unavailable, or be-
cause there are other reasons
people can’t physically get to
the care they need. Assets de-
termine almost everything—
if you don’t have the dollars,
no matter what the proximity,
you won’t likely have the care
you need.
Finally, the attitudes of both
providers and patients make
a difference in who seeks care
and in what kind of care is
provided.
Recent work on maternal
mortality among African
American women, regardless
of race, suggests that racial
attitudes in treatment make a
difference. Consider the case
of our superstar, Serena Wil-
liams, who almost died giving
birth to her precious Alexis
Olympia, partly, because of
some preconceived notions
about Black folks on the part
of misguided medical profes-
sionals.
Mental health and den-
tal health are the two parts
of healthcare that are most
frequently ignored. It is not
enough to simply get an annu-
al checkup.
Increasing research shows
that mental health and phys-
ical health are inextricably
intertwined. Dental health,
all too frequently, is ignored.
Even those with “good” health
insurance may have limited
dental insurance. And low-
er-income folks rely on Med-
icaid and CHIP, but may not
have anywhere to go to get the
help they need.
Dental practitioners like Dr.
Diane Earle, a second-genera-
tion Meharry-trained dentist,
stand in the gap for those who
may not have access to health-
care.
Read the rest of this commentary at
TheSkanner.com