Because being smart in science, technology, engineering and math is cool.
Because those glasses rock.
Because girls can grow up to be anything they want to be.
A lot of wonderful events happen in February including Valentine’s Day, Black History Month, Mardi Gras (for us New Orleanians), the Super Bowl and importantly for women, National Wear Red Day. Every February, women are encouraged to think about their heart health and how their physical and emotional lifestyle might be helping or hurting their heart.
Earlier this month on Friday, February 5th the nation recognized National Wear Red Day, which is sponsored by the American Heart Association (AHA). AHA’s annual National Wear Red Day is a chance for women nationwide to show that they care about their heart health, and will take action towards preventing heart disease through healthy eating, exercise and regular checkups with their doctor.
However you can be mindful about your heart everyday.
Many women don’t realize that heart disease is the number 1 killer of women. As our lives become more hectic and stressful it’s critical to be mindful of how that strain could be impacting your heart health. At any age it’s important to have a healthy diet, perform regular exercise, and decrease stress as prevention strategies. However in order for women to reach their diet and exercise goals, there must be better access to healthy foods especially in poorer neighborhoods, improved public recreation facilities and listings of nutritional information in more restaurants.
Therefore in order to really tackle the high rates of heart disease among women, there must be better awareness among multicultural and younger women, increased education about what to look for in terms of warning signs of a heart attack, and more explanation about why it’s important to call 9-1-1 if you experience heart attack symptoms.
It’s important to sustain awareness and educational campaigns around the prevalence of heart disease and how to prevent it. You can help spread awareness about heart disease by asking your workplace to organize a wear red day, talking about heart disease at one of your community meetings, or encouraging friends and family to get regular checkups so that they are mindful of any physical symptoms that might pose problems down the road.
Everyday this month, a little-known fact about history made on this date will be featured.
February 19
2002 – Vonetta Flowers became the first black gold medalist in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. She and partner Jull Brakken won the inagural women’s two-person bobsled event.
1992 – John Singleton receives an Oscar nomination for best director and best screenplay for his first film Boyz N the Hood. He is the first African American director to be nominated.
1940 - Singer William “Smokey” Robinson was born in Detroit, Michigan. Robinson’s first singing group was the Miracles which he formed in 1955 while still in high school. The group’s first success came in 1960 with the hit, “Shop Around.”
1919 – The Pan-African Congress, organized by W.E.B. Du Bois, held its first meeting, in Paris. There were fifty-seven delegates: sixteen from the United States and fourteen from Africa. Blaise Diagne of Senegal was elected president and Du Bois was named secretary.
Everyday this month, a little-known fact about history made on this date will be featured.
February 17
1973 – The Navy frigate USS Jesse L. Brown was commissioned. The ship was named for Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the first African American naval aviator killed in combat over Korea.
1963 – Basketball player Michael Jeffrey Jordon who forever changed professional basketball around the globe, was born in New York, NY.
1938 - Dr. Mary Frances Berry, the first woman to serve as a chancellor of a major research university, is born in Nashville, Tenn.
1902 - Opera singer Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1939, Anderson was scheduled to perform at the concert hall controlled by the Daughters of the American Revolution. After the DAR refused to allow her to perform, she performed an outdoor concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
1891 – A black inventor, A. C. Richardson, invented the butter churn – patent #466,470.
Women comprise nearly half of the US workforce, therefore we must remove the gender lens and realize that women have the ability to not only be our country’s teachers and social workers, but can succeed in the sustainable jobs of the future.
As an organization dedicated to creating successful workplaces for both working women and employers, Business and Professional Women’s Foundation is particularly interested in ensuring that women are a part of the workforce to meet America’s clean energy needs. Many jobs that were historically defined as non-traditional for women were no longer non-traditional in 2008. Despite these strides, highly-skilled women lack access in non-traditional industries. The green sector offers a unique opportunity to provide equity and access regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation and physical ability…
Everyday this month, a little-known fact about history made on this date will be featured.
February 16
1970 – “Smokin’ ” Joe Frazier becomes world heavyweight boxing champion.
1957 – Actor Levar Burton was born in Landsthul, Germany. Burton won fame for his acting in the television movie “Roots,” which was based on the novel by Alex Haley. He became known once more in the 1980s and 1990s for his recurring role in the “Star Trek: Next Generation” series and the children’s show Reading Rainbow.
1951 – New York City Council passed bill prohibiting racial discrimination in city-assisted housing developments.
1923 - Bessie Smith makes her first recording, Down Hearted Blues which sells 800,000 copies for Columbia Records.
1857 – Frederick Douglass elected President of Freedman Bank and Trust.
1923 – The first Black professional basketball team “The Renaissance” organized.
1892 – The first African American performers (the World’s Fair Colored Opera Company) appear at Carnegie Hall, featuring soprano Matilda Sissieretta Jones.
February 14
1946 – Entertainer and tap dancer Gregory Hines is born.
1867 – Morehouse College, the only all male HBCU, was organized in Augusta, Georgia. The institution was later moved to Atlanta.
1760 – Richard Allen, who will found the AME Church in 1816, is born into enslavement in Philadelphia.
February 15
1964 - ”Hello Dolly” became a number one record. It was Louis Armstrong’s first and only number one record.
1968 - Henry Lewis becomes the first African American to lead a symphony orchestra in the United States.
1961 – U.S. and African nationalist protesting the slaying of Congo Premire Patrice Lumumba distrupts U.N. sessions.
1848 – Sarah Roberts barred from white school in Boston. Her father, Benjamin Roberts, filed the first school integration suit on her behalf (Roberts vs. City of Boston).
1804 – The New Jersey Legislature approved a law calling for “gradual” emancipation of African Americans. In so doing, New Jersey became the last Northern state to outlaw slavery.
