Panel of black men offer keys to good health
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Winston-Salem State
University's Black Men for
Change (BMC) tackled some
of the toughest challenges
facing 21st Century African
American men and ways of
overcoming them last week,
during the student organiza
tion's Seventh Annual Black
Male Symposium.
Staged in the Anderson
Conference Center's Dillard
Auditorium Feb. 17. the sym
posium included a daytime
panel discussion and an
evening keynote speech by
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, a pro
fessor at Columbia
University and Fox News
commentator.
Five panelists - Thomas
Clarke Jr., Christopher
Fleming, Kerry Harbor,
Christopher Martin and
Damon Scott - discussed
issues ranging from food and
nutrition to the importance of
marriage and sexual respon
sibility.
Ed Hanes, director of the
Office of Equal Opportunity
at WSSU, served as the mod
erator for the event, which
drew a modest crowd of stu
dents and staff members. He
peppered the panel with
questions about adopting
healthy eating and exercise
Jeffrey Mizell
habits, fending off diseases
that plague the black commu
nity and combating social ills
such as the high rate of single
parenthood in African
American households.
Adopting diet and exer
cise routines can help lower
the prevalence of deadly ail
ments such as hypertension
and stroke in the black com
munity, said Harbor, director
of Strength and Conditioning
for the school. He says he
takes his own health deci
sions seriously.
"A lot of choices about
my diet, about my lifestyle
come from my family histo
ry," explained Harbor, who
also teaches weight training
classes at WSSU. "Diet and
Kerry Harbor speaks as fellow panelists look on.
exercise are a lot of the
things that help control the
genetic factors that I have."
Fleming, a WSSU student
and Community Service
chair of BMC, admitted that
young people sometimes
don't give their health the
attention it deserves.
"A lot of times, we get
distracted with everything
that's going on in our day-to
day routine," remarked
Fleming, a graduating senior
and corporal in the Marine
Corps Reserve. "We just put
health on the back burner,
and it's not a back burner
issue."
Clarke, a student services
assistant in the Office of the
Registrar, recommended that
audience members seek out
fitness routines that suit their
personalities and lifestyles.
Clarke, who suffers from
type 2 diabetes and hyperten
sion, has recently begun
playing the Wii for exercise.
"For me, finding some
thing to do that I enjoy is
really critical." he stated. "I
would just encourage you to
find something you can do
that gets you moving. It
doesn't have to be formal
WSSU Photo by Garten G#rm
exercise."
Scott, who grew ifp in
York, Pennsylvania, said
Southern cuisine is to blame
for the many negative health
trends that affect African
Americans locally. As senior
food service director for
Aramark, a global contract
management company that
oversees the school's cafete
ria, Scott says he's seen first
hand Southerners' penchant
for anything fried.
Winston-Salem State in
particular has a love affair
with unhealthy entrees such
as fried chicken and fish, he
added. While Aramark must
deliver the foods its cus
tomers demand, the company
hopes to be able to help
WSSU students and staff
adopt healthier eating habits
over time, Scott said.
"We're actually in the
process of slowly trying to
change that," he commented.
"Our goal is to educate folks
to get them to know that
there's so many more things
out there."
"It was very informa
tive," said WSSU student
Jeffrey Mizell of the panel
discussion. "It was good to
hear because some of the
things they were talking
about I can relate to."
Mizell, 47, a mass com
munications major and a
father of two, said attending
at least one on-campus lec
ture is a requirement for his
African American studies
class. He was glad he picked
the Black Male Symposium.
"You should have events
like this because it provides
information," he commented.
"Hopefully, somebody will
get a grasp of what's going
on or what they need to do to
succeed."
For more information
about Black Men for Change,
visit www.wssu.edu.
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