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Wf)e Cliatlntte ^osit RELIGION/SB Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan urges people of faith fo get together for the sake of world peace THURSDAY, A/IARCH 1,2007 SECTION B It’s always time to get a jump on genealogy By Erica Singleton FOR TCHARLOTTE POST Pictures from family reunions, photos that have been passed down generations, even mar riage records and birth certifi cates; we’ve all got them. The details that tell the story of our family history, but how do we preserve them? Nooma Moneka Rhue is a professional archivist and CEO of Preserve Pro Inc. She’s been getting questions from people for years about how to preserve their family records, and so, she finally put all of her knowledge to public use. “People think about preserva tion in their older years...they start really wanting to preserve their history,” Rhue said. "Preserve Pro wants people to think about preservation earlier. At 60, it may be hard to get all of the info and materials together.” Preserve Pro focuses on churches and families, and teaching the necessary details ' involved in preservation. Rhue’s company doesn’t tell people how to find their lineage, but more how to preserve the arti facts and information they do have, especially information from churches. “People don’t realize how important church information is in preserving history,” explained Rhue. “Obituaries, church records, membership informa tion, funeral programs...they hold important family informa tion. Sometimes it is the only family information available.” Rhue also explained how pro grams and flyers show what kind of involvement black churches had in the community as far as in an educational and social aspect. “That kind of information can be available and significant in African American history,” she said. "Old bibles, church directories, and pre served minister histories... these are all the records that researchers and documentarians need to share stories. By prepar ing your records, you prepare for the next generation to tell the story. If the information is not preserved, what will happen when the next generation tries to share the stories of those that came before them?” So whether a church, commu nity group, or family, the first step in the preservation process is organization. “You must orga nize and know what you have,” said Rhue. When organizing, separate materials into what are vital records and what are historical records. Rhue explained that,” some things don’t have histori cal value,” like a social security, birth, marriage, and death records, which are vital statistics and can be found through state records. “However, diaries, written let ters, notebooks, family albums, newspaper articles, obituaries, these things tell a personal side...a personal account of what happened in society at aparticu- lar time. They give a personal side, not found in vital records.” Once you have an idea of what to keep and why, Rhue offers advice on preserving paper and photographic material. “People like to hang photos on the wall in direct sunlight,” said Rhue, “but that causes pictures to discolor over time.” Rhue instead instructed not to put the original photo on the wall, but a copy."The original should be stored in a cool area with good humidity, not in an attic or a basement.” She explained that attics tend to be hot and dry which speed up deterioration, and basements can either flood, or have insects or critters in them. "Also, don’t use paper clips on documents, they tend to rust," she said. “And don’t write Please see IT’S/2B I Win or lose, the joint’s jumping PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON Fans and visitors at the CIAA basketball tournament dance with Johnson C. Smith University’s band. By Chens F. Hodges cberis.hod9es@fhechQrtoffeposf.com i—i—tie first day of the CIAA basketball touma- I ment is filled with excitehient as Charlotte X puts on its pep rally and you see old school CIAA alums trickle into town. You can learn a lot from the old school. Tuesday afternoon, following a loss by the Fayetteville State University women’s team, a man and woman stepped on the elevator decked out in Bronco blue. Were they upset? I couldn’t tell as he was all smiles asking me what school I attend. That was funny to me because it’s almost time for my 10-year coDege reunion. "Ten years?" he said. “I’ve been out of school since 1967.” That's old school. But nothing beats seeing a group of old fraternity brothers getting together, some of them dressed in Greek tee shirts that are a wee bit too small. They talk loud and laugh even louder. Then when some younger "brothers” join the mix, you can barely hear yourself think. Butthere’salotofknowledge' ■ being exchanged there,-network ing that wouldn’t normally happen at a typical college basketball tournament. That’s what sets the CIAA apart. Even alumni from schools that have long ago left the league, like North Carolina A&T or never belonged, like South Carolina State, come to see the show. And of course, you can hear them talking about the "good old days” when their university domi-’’ nated things. Please see CIAA/2B MORE BLACK DONORS NEEDED Organ donation keeps Superman going It was about 11 years ago when organ donations and transplants among African Americans became real to me. My father was diagnosed with con gestive heart failure and the only thing that would save his life was a trans plant. Freddie Hodges, my dad, has always been my hero. I’d never seen him sick with a cold, so knowing that he needed this serious surgery was like hav ing gallons of ice cold water dumped on me. He was whisked away to the Medical University of South Carolina where he was placed on a transplant list. We waited. My older sister, brother, mother and my father's siblings waited for about a week before word came. There was a donor. While we don’t know the per son’s name, we know a motorcycle Freddie F. Hodges is a dou ble organ recipient. Enjoying black history, culture, nightlife in Indy By Erica Singleton FOR TCHARLOTTE POST While most people have recently heard about Indianapolis, because of their Super Bowl cham pion Colts, the 12th largest city in the nation has more to offer than football- a lot more. At first glance Indy might even remind you of the Queen City, a fairly conservative city, with a rich history in motorsports that underwent an “urban renewal” in the 1960s and '70s. However, don’t let the similarities discourage you, the home of NBA great Oscar Robertson, and the birthplace of the Walker Manufacturing Company embraced its urban roots and began revitalizing its’ cultural districts. The six cultural districts include the Wholesale District, the city’s premiere arts and entertainment district, and the Canal and White Please see ENJOYING/2B PHOTO/ERICA SINGLETON Train car suites at Crowne Plaza lend a sense of his tory to Indianapolis’ travel and tourism industry. accident claimed 19-year old woman's life. The surgery was successful. My father returned to our hometown of Bennettsville, S.C., and was elected to city council about a year after the surgery. Fast forward 11 years and organ transplantation is all that’s on our family’s collective minds because my father was in need of a kidney. One of the side effects of his anti-rejection • medicine was kidney failure. So, for the last three years, my dad has been on dialysis three times a week. Last Wednesday, I get a call from my older sister, her voice filled with excitement as she told me "Daddy just walked in here and said he has a kidney. He has to be in Charleston by 8 p.m." I was dazed. 1 went back in time when my father had his heart trans plant and was hooked up on all sorts Please see TRANSPLANTS/2B Pneumonia vaccine is ounce of prevention Pneumonia is a serious respi ratory disease that can cause severe illness and even result in death. When it is caused by the bacterium. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), it is referred to as pneumococ cal pneumonia. According to the CDC, pneumococcal dis ease kills more people in the US each year than all other vac- cine-preventable diseases com bined. Did you know that this common form of pneumonia is also preventable by vaccina tion? Vaccines target the specif ic type of organism that causes illness (including viruses, para sites and bacteriumj'in order to prevent infection. While most vaccines are directed to target viruses, the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV),' can prevent infection caused by a bacterium-specifically, pneumococcus. At one time, we could depend on antibiotics to fight infec tions caused by pneumococcal pneumonia, but this bacterium has become more resistant to these antibiotics. For this rea son, it is extremely important to be vaccinated and prevent the infection from developing. Who should be vaccinated against pneumonia? The pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for persons con sidered at increased risk of infection and the complica tions of pneumonia. This includes: • The elderly (all persons over the age of 65 years). • Persons with chronic ill nesses, such as diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, HIV infection, liver disease (such as cirrhosis) and chronic lung dis ease (including emphysema). • Persons with sickle cell dis ease. How often should I become vaccinated? Usually one dose of the vac cine is all that is needed to pro vide protection against 23 types of pneumococcal bacte ria. However, the amount of protection offered by the vac cine usually declines after 5-10 years, and it decreases more rapidly in ^ome groups than in others. Whether or not you should receive a second dose of vaccine depends on the cir cumstances under which you received the first dose. Typically, it is recommended that a person be re-vaccinated every five years. Are there any risks in receiving the pneumococcal vaccine? The CDC stresses that the pneumococcal vaccine is very safe.. Those who are allergic to eggs should not be vaccinated. Otherwise, about half of those who get the vaccine may have very mild side effects, includ ing redness or pain where the shot is given. Less than 1 out of 100 persons will develop fever, muscle,aches, or more severe local reactions. In most cases, these side effects are short lived and resolve on their own. They do not lead to disability. The next time you see your doctor ask him or her if you are a candidate for the pneumo coccal vaccine. Your local health department can also provide you with valuable information about getting immunized. Do not go unpro tected, especially if you have an underlying, chronic medical problem. Contributed by Ramon Velez, M.D. professor of medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine Primary Care. For more information about the Maya Angelou Research Center on Minority Health, visit our website at http://www.wfubmc.edu/mino rityhealth. Or, for information call (336) 713.7578. omo
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