Page 2 The Skanner August 1, 2018
®
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
A New Generation of Freedom Fighters
Bernie Foster
Founder/Publisher
Black youth are taking up the mantle of leadership in America
Bobbie Dore Foster
Executive Editor
W
Jerry Foster
Advertising Manager
Christen McCurdy
News Editor
Patricia Irvin
Graphic Designer
Monica J. Foster
Seattle Office Coordinator
Susan Fried
Photographer
2017
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Newspapers Throughout the U.S.
ithout being giv-
en much direction,
Black youth have
seemingly
taken
matters into their own hands,
relative to their future here
in America, by strategizing,
organizing and mobilizing.
Whether on social media
or through community activ-
ism in the streets, Black youth
are proactively pushing the
agenda forward and forcing
society to no longer ignore
many of the issues that have
impacted the Black communi-
ty for decades. Many have de-
cided to take an even greater
step towards bringing about
change, by getting involved
with politics.
These bold efforts to ex-
press themselves in ways that
are progressive and substan-
tive have given Black youth a
clearer vision for their future
and an even greater sense of
purpose that has given them
an alternative to doing things
that are detrimental to their
future.
Because many of their
Black predecessors dropped
the ball and failed to effec-
tively protect them from the
many dangers and pitfalls
they have had to face without
adequate support, it forced
this new generation of Black
freedom fighters to become
Jeffrey L.
Boney
NNPA
Columnist
more knowledgeable about
things.
Black youth have chosen to
stand up and fight for them-
selves, in spite of the lack of
collective support they have
received from the Blacks
who came before them who
were beneficiaries of the civil
“
Black Lives
Matter was
formed by a
small rem-
nant of Black
youth who
were sick and
tired of being
sick and tired
rights struggle.
That is why the Black
Lives Matter movement was
birthed and gained so much
traction.
Black Lives Matter was
formed by a small remnant
of Black youth who were sick
and tired of being sick and
tired. This energized group
of young, African Americans
wanted to do something about
the issue of police brutality,
as well as other critical issues
that were negatively impact-
ing the Black community, par-
ticularly Black youth.
Black Lives Matter isn’t
the first example of young,
African Americans creating
movements and platforms
to allow their voices to be
heard and making a differ-
ence. The hip-hop commu-
nity was formed because
many Black youth wanted to
express themselves and need-
ed an outlet to talk about the
things they were dealing with
in their respective communi-
ties and facing in this country.
Just as it has been since in-
ception, hip hop has become
a steady tool used by Black
youth to influence society and
make a difference.
While there are a myriad of
things currently impacting
Blacks in America, the ad-
vent of social media has given
Black youth the necessary ac-
cess to news and information
to keep them up-to-speed on
everything they need to know.
Prior to social media, many
young, Black people were
disconnected from news and
politics and had limited inter-
est in things such as reading
newspapers, watching news
channels, listening to talk ra-
dio or keeping up with major
current events and social is-
sues online.
Now, through social media,
Black youth have the ability
to get this information in real
time and in a way that is in-
teractive and enlightening to
them. This has caused many
young, Black people to be-
come more engaged in and ed-
ucated about issues that truly
impact their daily lives.
As America finds itself in
the midst of a crucial mid-
term election, young, African
Americans have chosen to
get even more involved and
are looking for more ways
to make a difference, versus
looking for leadership and
assistance from older Blacks
who many believe have aban-
doned them or from tradition-
al mainstream Black insti-
tutions where they feel they
don’t belong. Black youth have
found themselves searching
for answers and looking for
quality leadership to help
them navigate through these
tumultuous waters called life
in America.
Read the rest of this commentary at
TheSkanner.com
Scarred and Battle Tested from Heart Disease, Still Fighting
W
omenHeart (the first
and leading voice
for the 48 million
American women
living with or at risk of heart
disease) story begins in Feb-
ruary of 1999, when three
women, united by heart dis-
ease, formed an organization
that was destined to become
a lifeline for women across
this nation. And at the same
time, in February of 1999, a
young mother in Charlotte,
N.C. suffered a stroke while
she was pregnant with her
second child. Fortunately, she
suffered no long-term defi-
cits, but was horrified by her
temporary left side paralysis.
Five years later, this size
six, 36-year-old woman would
suffer the first of three heart
attacks just five days after
giving birth to her third child.
It was May of 2004. She was
misdiagnosed for an entire
week despite an EKG showing
an acute myocardial infarc-
tion. She sought treatment six
of seven days before someone
finally listened.
On that sixth night, she
laid on her bed with one foot
on the ground for the entire
night, afraid to relinquish
her physical attachment to
earth, because she felt her
body shutting down. She
prayed. And she vowed that if
she lived, she would raise her
voice so that no other woman
suffered her fate.
Rhonda E.
Monroe
Board
Chair-elect,
Women-
Heart
After this week-long heart
attack, she returned to the
emergency room. She was
rushed by ambulance to an-
other hospital and taken to
emergency bypass surgery.
She had five coronary artery
dissections, and she under-
went an emergency quadru-
ple bypass. Her heart was so
remarkable that the surgeon
literally held it in his hand
and had someone capture a
photograph.
Eight months later, that
same young mother learned
that her bypass grafts had
shut down. Her rejection frac-
tion was only 21 percent. She
was advised to get her affairs
in order.
It was then that I became in-
timately acquainted with her.
I marveled at her strength
and resolve as we walked this
journey together. She became
a force of nature, moving
heaven and earth in her fight
for life. She underwent a re-
peat bypass, had part of her
heart cut off, 15 laser holes
drilled in her heart, a peri-
cardial window cut in the sac
around her heart, three de-
fibrillator implants, stents,
angioplasty, and then some.
She’s flatlined four times,
and suffered from congestive
heart failure. She’s experi-
enced more heart issues than
generations of a family. But I
am happy to share with you
that she is still with us. This
is my story, and WomenHeart
has been a lifeline for me.
I became a WomenHeart
Champion in 2007 and it
changed my life. The sense
“
The sense of
sisterhood
and friend-
ship are truly
priceless
of sisterhood and friendship
are truly priceless. Women-
Heart is the nation’s only pa-
tient-centered organization
solely dedicated to advancing
women’s heart health through
education, advocacy and pa-
tient support. At its core are
WomenHeart Champions—
women living with heart
disease—who are trained to
be community educators,
support network leaders and
advocates for women’s heart
health in the communities in
which they live.
WomenHeart is a friend to
many WomenHeart Champi-
ons like me. Today, I speak to
audiences of women living
with heart disease and medi-
cal professionals. I’m a little
scarred and battle tested, I am
no longer 36, I am no longer
a size six, but I am still here.
And I am determined more
than ever now, to keep the
vow that I made 14 years ago
in May of 2004, so that not an-
other woman suffers my fate.
I, along with WomenHeart,
am fighting for every heart
with the same tenacity and
vigor that saved my own.
As an African American
woman, I know that this dis-
ease impacts women differ-
ently than men, especially
minority women. Heart dis-
ease claims the lives of nearly
48,000 African American and
21,000 Hispanic women annu-
ally. Which is why I am asking
other women of color who are
heart disease survivors to join
the fight and become a Wom-
enHeart Champion at the 2018
WomenHeart Science & Lead-
ership Symposium. It’s the
nation’s only free volunteer
program that trains women
with heart disease to be com-
munity educators and sup-
port network coordinators in
their communities. They are
real women living with heart
disease, who share their sto-
ries and important messages
about heart health—all in the
mission to save lives. Join me.
To learn more or to sign up,
visit www.WomenHeart.org/
empower.