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Posts tagged as “National Press Club”

Hypertension Study Based in African-American Barbershops Honored By Clinical Research Forum For Saving Lives

Barber Eric Muhammad takes patron Marc Sims’ blood pressure at his Inglewood, CA shop A New You. (Photo by Cedars-Sinai)

The Clinical Research Forum recognized the Cedars-Sinai’s Smidt Heart Institute with a 2019 Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Award for its study aimed at developing a blood-pressure control program for African-American men in the comfortable and convenient environments of their barbershops.

In just six short months, the study – first published in the New England Journal of Medicine and led by the late hypertension expert Ronald G. Victor, MD – improved the outcomes and control of high blood pressure in more than 60 percent of participants.

The 12-month data published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Circulation backs up the results, proving that a pharmacist-led, barbershop-based medical intervention can successfully lower blood pressure in African-American men who face a higher risk of disability and premature death due to uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Not only are black men disproportionately affected by hypertension, they’re also the least likely population to seek treatment.

Nearly 64% of the study participants who worked with their barber and a pharmacist at the barbershop were able to lower their blood pressure.

Barber Eric Muhammad says that’s one reason he was so enthusiastic about the study. He’d hosted other single-day awareness events about hypertension, but Dr. Victor’s study aimed to find a long-term solution for treating high blood pressure.

“High blood pressure has cost the lives and health of a lot of good men,” Muhammad said. “What’s different about this study is it looks at bringing down blood pressure by using the men’s community—their friends, family, and support group.”

The collaboration between physicians, pharmacists and barbers showed that medical intervention in neighborhood settings can profoundly improve the health of hard-to-reach, underserved communities. Cedars-Sinai was nominated for the award by researchers at UCLA, the University of California, Los Angeles.

PBS NewsHour and Washington Press Club Foundation Create Journalism Fellowship in Memory of Gwen Ifill

(photo via PBS.org)

article via ebony.com

The PBS NewsHour and Washington Press Club Foundation  announced yesterday the creation of The Gwen Ifill/PBS NewsHour Journalism Fellowship.T he 10-week PBS NewsHour summer fellowship was created in honor of award-winning anchor, reporter and author Gwen Ifill.

The former PBS NewsHour co-anchor and managing editor and Washington Week moderator died in Nov. 2016 following complications from endometrial cancer.

“Gwen Ifill was the best of the best, a remarkable journalist with boundless curiosity, who insisted on the highest standards for herself and her colleagues,” Sara Just, PBS NewsHour executive producer said. “We are grateful for the generosity of the Washington Press Club Foundation for the opportunity to honor Gwen’s legacy in this way and guiding young people into practicing journalism with her high standards.”

Ifill had a decades-long career in news and was the best-selling author of The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. She covered eight Presidential campaigns and moderated the Vice Presidential debates during the Presidential elections in 2004 and 2008.

Before joining PBS in 1999, Ifill was chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News. The New York City native graduated from Simmons College in Boston and received more than 25 honorary doctorates.

In 2015, she was awarded the National Press Club’s highest honor, the Fourth Estate Award.

Read more: Journalism Fellowship Created in Honor of Gwen Ifill – EBONY

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SiriusXM’s Urban View to Air 'Lost' Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech on Monday (AUDIO)

Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to National Press Club in July 1962 (photo via press.org)
Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to National Press Club in July 1962 (photo via press.org)

In celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, SiriusXM’s Urban View (channel 126) will air audio of Dr. King’s ‘Lost’ speech, first delivered at the National Press Club in 1962 more than 50 years ago. 

Considered of significant historical value, Dr. King became the first African American to speak at the Club and delivered the captivating speech in front of a segregated establishment just days after being released from jail in Albany, Georgia.  In it, he reiterates his vision for non-violent protest as the best way to achieve racial equality.

An audio recording was made of the speech and filed away in the Club’s Archives and later transferred to the Library of Congress. No television footage of the speech in its entirety exists.  Excerpts of King’s speech were unveiled this past Tuesday at a National Press Club event moderated by SiriusXM host Joe Madison.  

Press Club President John Hughes also unveiled a permanent Club memorial to Dr. King’s speech.  “Martin Luther King’s 1962 speech was one of the most important events to ever happen at the National Press Club,” Hughes said. “I am honored this event at long last is getting proper recognition with such distinguished guests.” 

SiriusXM Urban View will air full audio on Monday, January 18 at 6:00 am, 8:00 am, 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm.  All times are ET.