|
November
2002
Conference Edition
2002
National Conference on Tobacco or Health
November 19-21, 2002
In
this issue:
2002
National Conference on Tobacco or Health
- African
Americans as planners and presenters
- Conference
Sessions
- Ancillary
meetings
- Press
conferences
Your
Experience at the 2002 Conference
On
behalf of the participants of the 2002 NCTOH, NAAAPI sends
greetings of health and wellness to Dr. Robert (Bob) Robinson.
His presence was sorely missed in San Francisco. We look forward
to seeing him in Boston next year.
_________________________
2002 National Conference on Tobacco or Health
San
Francisco, California, part of "The World's Largest Non-Smoking
Section", was the site where tobacco control advocates
from the United States, Canada, U.S. territories and countries
such as Uganda came together on November 19-21 for the 2002
National Conference on Tobacco or Health (NCTOH). The conference
theme, "Everyone Counts: Achieving Parity Through Tobacco
Control" was a call to recognize the diversity that makes
up tobacco control.
Opening Plenary: A Call to Parity
The
opening plenary session on November 19 included an introduction
to the conference theme by Rod Lew, Director of the Asian
Pacific Partners for Empowerment and Leadership (APPEAL).
His remarks were followed by a continued call to parity by
keynote speaker Makani Themba-Nixon, Executive Director of
The Praxis Project. Makani, an African American woman who
has been in the fight for tobacco control and prevention for
several years, charged advocates to think of parity all the
time, not just when diversity is needed for a media event
or when there is a funding crisis.
Conference Sessions
All
of the conference sessions were organized under the seven
National Conference Program Areas:
1.
PREVENTION (PREV): Tobacco Use Prevention Among Youth
2. CESSATION (CESS): Cessation, Nicotine and the Science of
Addiction
3. POLICY (POLI): Public Policy and Advocacy Strategies
4. DIVERSITY/DISPARITIES (D&D): Increasing Diversity/Eliminating
Disparities
5. COMPREHENSIVE (COMP): Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program
or Combined Strategies
6. MEDIA (MEDI): Media and Communications Strategies
7. EVALUATION (EVAL): Evaluation and Surveillance
African Americans as Planners and Presenters
There
were fifteen (15) African Americans presenters in at least
22 sessions, representing each conference program category.
At least twelve (12) African Americans were members of each
category's subcommittee that was part of the planning committee
except cessation. Several also reviewed abstracts that were
submitted for the conference. This represents a significant
increase in African American participation both as planners
and presenters compared to previous conferences.
Ancillary
Meetings
Several
ancillary meetings were held during the conference that were
hosted by African American tobacco control organization such
as:
NAAAPI
NAAAPI
hosted two ancillary meetings. The first was "Clergy
for Tobacco Settlement Justice" on Monday, November 18.
In this meeting, Reverend Jesse Brown, Executive Director
of NAAAPI laid the groundwork for future dialogue among clergy
and lay persons to develop strategies for the use of tobacco
settlement dollars to maximize the impact on tobacco use prevention.
He stated that clergy have an ethical responsibility and the
influence to improve the health of communities.
The
second NAAAPI meeting on Tuesday, November 19, entitled "Leaders
in Tobacco Control and the African American Community"
offered a networking opportunity for African Americans at
the conference. Carmella Chandler, Use Prevention Specialist
with NAAAPI, showcased the NAAAPI "Breathe Free"
Project made possible by a 3-year grant from the American
Legacy Foundation. She explained that "Breathe Free"
will be the first program to address secondhand smoke and
the African American community that will be tested. Alice
Dixon, Director of Operations for NAAAPI shared the benefits
of being a member of NAAAPI, noting that membership can be
as little as $25 and as much as someone wants to contribute.
During the second meeting, NAAAPI also provided opportunities
for other national African American tobacco control organizations
to present themselves to the veterans or introduce themselves
to the new advocates. These groups included the National African
American Tobacco Prevention Network (NAATPN) headed by Sherrie
Watson-Hyde, the National African American Tobacco Education
Network (NAATEN) headed by Pamela Jones and the National Tobacco
Independence Campaign (NTIC) headed by Mildred Morse. Rev.
Brown also introduced the Black Clergy for Substance Abuse
Prevention (BCSAP) headed by Bishop S.C. Carthen. (Bishop
Carthen had a prior commitment with a youth group from his
church.). William (Bill) Robinson, Board Chairperson of NAATPN
and Pam Jones shared that a Declaration of Cooperation was
signed by the above five organizations in July 2002. This
declaration demonstrates a commitment on the part of each
organization to work together and share resources to advance
the cause of the African American community in becoming tobacco
free.
NTIC
Mildred
Morse, Executive Director of NTIC hosted "The Idea Factory"
- A Community Resource during a lunch meeting on Tuesday,
November 19. NTIC hosted the meeting with the collaboration
of the University of Florida College of Medicine, Patient
Support International and the National Association of Addiction
and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) with support from the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation. Together they presented ways to disseminate
science-based tobacco control information to the public and
improve tobacco control service delivery among priority populations
at the community level.
NAATPN,
NAATEN, BCSAP and The Praxis Project
On Thursday, November 21 at 6:30am, a Prayer Breakfast
entitled, "In Peace, Reflection and Thanksgiving"
was hosted by NAATPN, BCSAP, NAATEN and the Praxis Project.
Youth from metro Master's Commission provide several musical
selections throughout the breakfast. Brenda Bell Caffee, CEO
of Caffee, Caffee and Associates, talked about the importance
of maintaining relationships in the movement. Noting the November
2001 passing of African American tobacco control advocate
Reverend Sylvia Farmer Drew, Brenda commented on Reverend
Drew's desire build and maintain relationships. Even as she
faced surgery, Reverend Drew talked with African American
leaders in tobacco control about the need to stay united.
Bishop
Carthen addressed the breakfast with a passage from the Old
Testament in which the Prophet Isaiah asked God, through prayer,
to maintain the cause of Israel against it's enemies. Participants
offered names of people, organizations and causes for which
they wanted prayer. Bishop Carthen closed the breakfast with
a prayer for the request that were offered.
The
Praxis Project
Two
post conference ancillary meetings were hosted by Makani Themba-Nixon
of The Praxis Project on Friday, November 22. The morning
meeting was a training entitled " Tobacco Control Policy
Advocacy from the Ground Up: Strategic Use of Community Organizing
and Media". The training was designed to help participants
learn ways of framing tobacco control as a social justice
issue, fundamentals of diverse base building and principles
of effective communication to support community-based policy
and advocacy.
The
afternoon meeting was a workshop for groups interested in
applying for grants through the Policy Advocacy on Tobacco
and Health (PATH) Initiative. The program is a partnership
between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Praxis
Project to provide technical assistance, training and 24 month
grants to local, geographic community groups serving and working
in communities of color.
Press
Conferences
A
press conference on African Americans and the impact of the
tobacco industry was held on Wednesday, November 20. Valerie
Yerger and Ruth Malone, PhD, researchers from the University
of California at San Francisco presented information from
a research paper they compiled revealing that the tobacco
industry courted African American leadership to defuse anti-tobacco
efforts and to snare Black and Latino smokers. Ms. Yerger
and Dr. Malone will have their research paper published in
the December issue of the journal Tobacco Control. Articles
that covered the press conference can be found in:
The
San Francisco Chronicle, November 21, 2002 at this
link.
The
Oakland Tribune, November 20, 2002 at this
link.
_________________________
Your Experience at the Conference
NAAAPI
would like to hear about your experience at the conference.
You may share them on the NAAAPI listserv. To join, contact
NAAAPI at: naaapi@msn.com
Join NAAAPI
You
are invited to become a member of NAAAPI. For $25/year, you
can be part of an organization that has been active for the
last decade in mobilizing communities across the country to
address issues of target marketing and promotion of alcohol
and tobacco products to African Americans. Membership entitles
you to:
- Current
issues of "Words to the Wise"
- Action
alerts on issues of interest to the African American community
- A
directory of resources and advocates in tobacco and alcohol
control and prevention, particularly those in communities
of color
- Technical
assistance
-
A NAAAPI membership card
For
membership information, contact NAAAPI at naaapi@msn.com or
215-235-6488. Carmella Chandler is the membership drive coordinator.
"Words
to the Wise" is a bi-monthly newsletter of the National
Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery (NAAAPI).
Alice Dixon is supervising editor of the newsletter. Carmella
A. Chandler is the editor.
The National Association of African Americans for Positive
Imagery
1231 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
215-235-6488-phone
215-235-6491-fax
naaapi@msn.com
www.naaapi.org
Reverend Jesse W. Brown, Jr., Executive Director
Alice Dixon, Director of Operations
Carmella Chandler, Use Prevention Specialist
Kevin Cafferkey, Accountant
Raquel Abrantes, Administrative Assistant
"Mobilizing
Communities to a Healthier Lifestyle"
|
