W-S firm is researching chronic disease in black men
Active and Healthy Brotherhood
study is largest of its kind in nation
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Chronic disease has
been studied before, but Dr.
Melicia C. Whitt-Glover
and her company,
Gramercy Research Group,
are doing it on a large scale.
African-American men are
the focus this time, in the
largest study of its kind for
that group in the nation.
Whitt-Glover, President
and CEO of Gramercy
Research Group, based in
Winston-Salem, said she is
excited to bring the pro
gram to the area. In the
past, the company has con
ducted similar projects for
women, but this will be the
first time men have had a
chance to participate.
"For several years, we
have been conducting proj
ects to improve health in
women," Whitt-Glover
said. "The men have been
asking when they would
have a chance to partici
pate, and now we finally
have a program for them."
Gramercy Research
Group, 7990 North Point
Blvd., Suite 108, has been
approved for a $2.1 million
funding for Active and
Healthy Brotherhood
(AHB).
The Active and Healthy
Brotherhood is the largest
study in the country for
chronic disease self-man
agement and prevention for
African-American men. Dr.
Whitt-Glover believes if
the program is successful,
it could pave the way for
similar programs across the
country.
"There isn't a program
like this anywhere in the
country, and for us to have
the first one right here in
Forsyth County is a big
H p a i "
said
Whitt
Glover.
The
program
will pro
v i d e
infor
mation
on over
a 1 1
1_ UL
neaun,
healthy eating, physical
activity, stress management
and how to get medical
care when needed. The pur
pose of the program will be
to investigate ways to
improve health/behaviors
using an intervention that
has been designed specifi
cally for African-American
mep
fW-The study eventually
will involye 440 African- ,
American men between the
ages of 30 and 64. More
participants are needed.
During the * study,
researchers will periodical
Glover
2 N.C. brothers
seek to find
normal life after
being pardoned
BY. EMILY MASTERS
ASSOCIATED PRESS .
RALEIGH ? Two brothers will receive more than $1
million from the state of North Carolina after they were
wrongfully imprisoned for three decades in the killing of
an 11-year-old girl, but for one of them, the windfall isn't
the issue.
"It ain't about money,"' said Henry McCollum, 51,
who, along with his 47-year-old brother Leon Brown, was
pardoned by Gov. Pat McCrory. "It was about just being
able to see that I was innocent of a crime I was charged
with. It was just a blessing to be out here, to live a normal
life."
The pardon qualifies each of the brothers for $50,000
from the state for every year they were imprisoned, with a
limit of $750,000 each. The compensation still needs to be
approved by a state agency, but it is considered a formali
ty. It's not clear exactly when they could get the money.
McCrory's office announced Friday that he had signed
the pardons.
Defense attorneys have said the brothers were scared
teenagers who had low IQs when they were questioned by
police and
coerced into
confessing. '
McCollum was
then 19, and
Brown was 15.
The DNA
from cigarette butts found at the scene doesn't match
Brown or McCollum, and fingerprints taken from a beer
can also found there didn't belong to them, either. No
physical evidence connects them to the crime, a judge and
prosecutor acknowledged last fall.
Based largely on their confessions, both were initially
given death sentences, which were overturned. Upon retri
al, McCollum was again sent to death row, while Brown
was convicted of rape and sentenced to life.
' The path to freedom began in early September after a
judge vacated their convictions and ordered their release,
citing new DNA evidence that points to another man
falling and raping 11-year-old Sabrina Buie in 1983. The
Rimate whose DNA was on the cigarette is already serving
a life sentence for a similar rape and slaying that happened
less than a month after Sabrina's killing.
Current Robeson County District Attorney Johnson
ftritt, who didn't prosecute the men, has said he's consid
Iring whether to reopen the case and charge the other man.
ftie cigarette butt was tested as part of the recent investi
gation by the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry
OGommission, a one-of-its-kind investigative panel.
The brothers are still trying to come to terms with the
changes that occurred in the outside world while they
were behind bars. When McCollum walked off of death
row, he needed help putting on the seatbelt in his father's
car. At the time, he had never owned a cellphone and was
unaccustomed to the Internet. Each man was given $45
by prison officials when they left.
Brown learned the governor had pardoned him and
his brother on Thursday night as he watched the news at
his sister's home in Fayetteville.
, "I was upstairs in my room, because I wanted to be
by myself when I hear," he said. "Well, when he said it,
right, tears start coming from my eyes. Tears of joy. And
my sister, she ran upstairs. When she had hugged me,
right, I had laid my head on her shoulder, crying. 1 couldn't
stop crying, you know? It felt _ it felt good."
And now that he's free, Brown suggests that he's ready
to get about.
"I do want to learn how to drive," he said. "Because I
wasn't able to do that years ago. But now I have the oppor
tunity to do it."
Associated Press writers Jonathan Drew in Raleigh,
North Carolina, and Skip Foreman in Charlotte, North
Carolina, contributed to this report.
"It ain't about money."
-Henry McCollum
ly collect information from
participants related to their
physical activity and
health.
That information will
then be used to determine
whether the program works
to increase physical activi
ty, increase the amount of
fruits and vegetables eaten,
decrease the amount of salt
taken in, participate in
medical care, and improve
overall health.
Tiffany Williams, proj
ect coordinator for the
study, said that currently 31
males from Forsyth County
are enrolled in the program,
but word is traveling fast
and she is seeing new faces
everyday.
"As more people come
in and hear about the pro
gram, the more others will
come," Williams said. "A
lot of people come in then
they go out and tell their
friends and family mem
bers about the program.
We've even had sets of
brothers come in and do the
study together."
If all scheduled study
visits are completed, partic
ipants will receive a num
ber of incentives, including
$75 for completing all the
scheduled study visits.
Victor Stevenson of
Winston-Salem attended a
recent information session
and is confident the study
will help him stay healthy
as long as possible.
"I want to stick around
as long as possible,"
Stevenson laughed. "I
believe this program will
help me to do that by eating
better and leading a health
ier life style."
For more information
or to become involved with
the Active & Healthy
Brotherhood Project, con
tact Melicia Whitt-Glover
via telephone at 336-293
8540, extension 110, or
email: mwhittglover@gra
mercyreseurch.com. For
more information about
Gramercy Research Group
visit www.gramercyre
search.com.
Phoio by Erin Mi/elle for Che Winston Salem Chronicle
Tiffany Williams (MPH, MLS), Gramercy Research Group project coordinator,
back left, leads a new study participant through the initial information meeting
on Wednesday, June 3, at Gramercy Research Group, 7990 North Point
Boulevard - Suite 108.
FOODfaLION
June 10-June 16.2015
TTV.W-r
I
? ? 1 WR*W JHH ?
?<
V*
mm EA ""
Whole
Seedless Watermelon
WifTaiMrt>CardJ599EA
214
ftnt
Blueberries ~
Without WPCadS2 991A
2$ 5
ft*
Chorctas
Card $499 Lfl ___
V""
129
I LB MVP
Y.Uow or
Zucchini Squash
-W*rMMWCxd^?te
211 -
Cucumbers
Without MVP brdflKEA
2ii~
BJk
Green Peppers
WitSUMVPCarifSlfA
MVP Value Pack
Fresh
^QQ Ground Round
''
MVP
St. Louis
Pork Ribs
??JrSBm Without MVP Cafd $3 49 LB
Mm LB
Value Pack
MVP Chicken
Drumsticks
AAtf or Thighs
MkMmmW Without MVP Card Regular Retail
k# r LB
Everyone who plays, wins!
?s? IN STOW
fO* OCT A US
2J?5^
15-15.5 Oz. - Kellogg's Cereal
Frosted Flakes or
Cocoa Krispies
Without MVP Card Regular Retail
^ ?11 k*Zl
? ?111
9-14 Oz. - Select Varieties
Tostitos
Tortilla Chips
Without MVP Card $4.29 EA
Limit 2 Free
jM ?] I W"^C]
V7?TT]Bl
6-13.7 Oz. - Select Varieties
Nabisco Ritz Crackers
Without MVPCard J4.59EA
Limit 2 Free
2,ot4-VT
8-9.6 Oz. - Select Varieties
Kraft Chunk or
Shredded Cheese
Without MVP Card $3.19 EA
A99 _JB
*t ea
20.5-32 0z. Bag - Select Varieties
Tyson
Family Pack Chicken
Without MVP Card $5.99 EA
8W
91 Oz. Powder or 100 Oz. Liquid H
Select Varieties ^1
Gain Laundry Detergent
Without MVP Card Regular'Retail
Mt ri
EA
165 Oz. - Select Varieties
Duncan Hines *
Traditional Cake Mix
Without MVP Card $127 EA
I 2i3 ~i
16-26 Oz. - Select Varieties
Ragu Pasta Sauce""*
Without MVP Card $1.99 EA
| MVP |
A99
?ft A ?w -Jjj
12 Double Roth M5?*l
Cottonelle V3KH
Bath Tissue
8 Mega Rolls
Scott Paper Towels
Without MVPCjrdRtgutji ttetw
Best ?t Week: S599 EA ??
2J4 M
KH05 0*. - S?tect Varieties
Lay's Family Sin ^
Potato Chips
WI*MMV?C?<IMMA *
Pest of Wrrt_2/V??'
16 OiPkg 41-50 Ct I
Food Lion
Shell-On Raw Shrimp
WttatMVPCjrdJIWl*
Best of Wp.? $5 99 EA "?
- ? TW ^
Tl.S-13 01 - Select Varieties General Mills Cereal
Lucky Charms, Toast Crunch
or Rmsc's Puffs
WttartMVFCjrd Regular IM*
RrstofWtHi 2/SS
16 Or Pfc 41-50 Ct
Food Lion Cooked Shrimp
Without MVP MSUttU
m ~ *
32 Oz.-Sded V?riet*s
Without MVP C*d $149 f A
Limit 10
Rest of 891EA ?
avsto#W9?*
88.99 M ?r