Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Nov. 9, 2006, edition 1 / Page 9
Part of The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
httpy/www.thechariottepost.com tKje Cfinrlottc ^ost LIFE Section Fade to black for holidays By Cheris F. Hodges chem.hoclge5®lhecharlotieposl.com W ith the holiday season fast approaching, maybe it’s timA to give yourself the gift of stjie. Instead of buying several outfits to wear to multiple holiday events, this year you only need one-a simple black dress. Tlie httle black dress is classic, stjiish and always the perfect choice for any holiday event,” said Marshalls stjie expert Amy Cafazzo, “There are countless stjies out there, so look for a cut and detailing that flatter your shape - the most versatile length falls just above the knee. No matter what, pick one that makes you feel beau tiful, because in the end that’s the most important ingredient to look ing good.” A little black dress can be transformed to look special on any occa sion. Follow these tips as you plan your holiday wardrobe: • Night on the town - The holidays always call for a few fun nights out on the town with your best girl fiiends. Highlight a small waist with a sparkly belt, or play up strong shoulders with striking chan delier earrings. Boots are a must-have for the faU/winter season, so pick out a tall, black pair with faux-fur trim. Choose a purse or a clutch with details that highhght your trendy boots or your sparkly belt. • Family holiday - Even if you are dreading the family get-together, at least you can look forward to your outfit. Impress everyone from your grandmother to your adoring cousins by pairing your LBD with a fitted, velvet blazer in a rich shade of plum or evergreen. Appear long and lean with sheer black tights and suede or velvet heels. • Office party • Ti-ansform your LBD for the office by pulling it over a crisp, white collared shirt. Add black tights with subtle detailing and strap on scane sensible heels. Finish off the look with a wide belt and oversized tote. This style is smart enough for the office, yet chic enou^ for the after-hours work party • New Year’s Eve - Stressing about the perfect New Year’s Eve out fit? Rather than spending the last few days of the year trying to find a whole new ensemble, simply dress up your LBD with fiesh acces sories. Rck out a cropped top with elegant detailing or shimmering sequins, and then choose a pair of metallic or patent leather heels to match. Remember, ghtz is great, but too much sparkle can be over whelming. Stow your lip ^oss and camera in a bristly-colored clutch - red is hot this season. Whether you are headed to a club, a swanky soiree or your best friend’s house party, you’ll feel like a new woman! Hispanics and blacks seek common ground THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTA—Rimiors of racial hatred swirled around the small farm town of Ttfton, Georgia, last fall after four blacks were arrested in the deadly robberies of six Mexican immigrants. In a single night at dif ferent trailer parks, the men were shot and beaten to death with a baseball bat as they slept. Community leaders—the white police chief, the Hispanic priest of the Roman Catholic chiuxh, the local president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People—quickly stepped in to maintain peace. They called these crimes of opportunity saying theft not racism was behind them. StUl, they conceded the communi ty was far finm integrated. “We’ve just never been fiiends and buddies,” said Isabella Brooks, the president of the NAACP in Colquitt County near TLflon. She said she has no white neighbors and doesn’t socialize with the Hispanics up the street because of the language barrier. The nation’s two largest minority groups are sortii^ out whether their relations will be driven by competition and mistrust or a common bond, a joint effort to close persistent gaps between whites aijd minori ties. In no region is the tension more clear than in the South. “The Hispanic presence changes the dynamic of the South, which has always been viewed as white and black,” said William Ferris of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina. Advocacy groups fiom the NAACP to the National Council of La Raza argue that Hispanics, especially immigrants strugglii^ for leg islative reform, find the perfect ally and model in blacks and their his tory of fighttr^ for equal rights. Hispanics have passed blacks as the largest U.S. minority group at 14.5 percent of the population compared with blacks at 12.1 percent. Please see HISPANICS/2B DIGITAL DELUGE Holiday photo cards are more popular than ever THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK—Coming to a mail box near you: scores of smiling, beaming faces on holiday photo cards. With each holiday season—and each new digital camera given as a gift—more families forgo Norman Rockwell-hke illustrations or fimny Far Side cards in favor of a Marrow donor awareness can save lives photo to send their best wishes. The trade group Photo Marketing Association International esti mates a whopping 270 million photo greeting cards were sent last year. ‘When he’s picking out photos of his own family he goes for the ones that you can see the expression on Please see HOLIDAY/4B By Cheris F. Hodges chens.OodgesSIhecOorioWeposfcom November is National Marrow Donor Awareness month. For one Simdra Ikard-Meeks, this could be the most important month of her Hie. Ikard-Meeks is in need of a life saving marrow match as a part of her leukemia treatment. Her father, grandfather and rmcle all died finm leukemia. She and her family are now battHi^ the disease. According to the Afiican American Community Health Advisory Committee, a bone marrow transplant is the only real cure for leukemia. However, blacks are underrepresented on the national registry “Only about 200,000 potential donors are Afiican American,” the group states on their web site. That translates to 6 percent. On Nov 18 at Eastland Mall finm 12-4 p.m., a THURSDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2006 IN RELIGION Some Jonesville AMEZion Church members balk at the idea of selling the building. id! Unis hsiHu 9|1 Itiwwf dpuK program called ‘Dancing For Life” will be held to raise awareness about bone marrow testing. Dancing for Life is co-sponsored by the National Marrow Donor Program, The Sycamore Ti-ee Ministry of the Arts, Sickle Cell Regional Network and hosted by Radio One. The objec tives are to get more people, especially minori ties, to join the NMDP registry in hopes that someone may be a match for Ikard-Meeks or Please see MARROW/2B Genes and disparities There are many levels at which genetics can interface with the occui*- rence of health disparities. Human Genetics refers to the research and clinical practice of genetics as it relates to humans. Medical genetics is the appHcation of human genetics research and infoi’- mation to healthcare. Scientists beheve that race and ethnicity are politically and socially defined con structs that occur within given con texts rather than features that ai-e controlled by our genes. As we gath er more information about the genet ic history of mankind, it has become clearer that the concepts of “race and ethnicity’ are often insufficient to account for differences among humans. What we know Perhaps the most ambitious scien tific study ever undertaken, the Human Genome Project was an mtemational effort started in 1990 and formally completed in 2003. The overall goals of the project were to identify all of the genes in human DNA, to determine the sequences of base pah-s (molecules) in the human genome, and to stoi-e the collected information in electronic databases. The study provided an overwhelmir^ amount of powerful data about the molecular make-up of mankinf^ We now know, for example, that skin color is determined by three gores that are inherited separately Each, gene cx)nfers a type of pigment, • and there are 64 different conibina- dons of pigmentation, genes that a person can receive. A very dark per son, for example, inherits a series of genes that give him or her dark pig ments, whereas a fair-skinned person has genes that confer lighter pigmen tation. There is no gene that makes a person a particular ‘Vace” or “ethnici ty” Rather, as we will see, race and ethnicity are simply social constmcts devised by human beings. It is now estimated that 20,000.to 25,000 genes, out of milHons, are all that are needed for proper human development and functioning. We also know that, on a molecular basis, populations originally defined by racial parameters have been proven to be less different (more alike) than previously thought. In fact, it is true that more diversity exists within a single “radal” group than between racial groups! It is perhaps more informative fi-om a biological perspec tive to identify populations, rather than individuals,based on their genes (genotype analysis), but for humans, it is important to look at genes in the context of the social and physical environment in which they five. This phenomenon has been shown to be true by years of experience with newborn screening. Newborn screen ing involves testii^ newborns to see whether they have the gene for a given illness so that early interven tions can be made if necessary to pre serve the child’s health. For example, we know that sickle cell disease occurs most fi:equently in blacks and that cystic fibrosis occurs in whites of Northern European descent. Screening for sickle cell disease only in those of Afiican descent and cystic fibrosis only in those of northern Eiiropean descent would seem ‘cost- effective’ given how often the disease occurs in those particular racial or ethnic groups. However, problems arose with the self-reporting of race and with stigmatization that made selective screening imacceptable. Since abandoning selective screening based on race, a significant number of cases of sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis have been identified in ‘non- high rislf populations, proving that we cannot go by skin color or descent alone when examining a person’s biology “Tailored” pharmacotherapy Recent reports have shown differ ences in response to certain prescrip- PleasG see RACE/3B ornOBmmm-
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 9, 2006, edition 1
9
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75