ARE YOU DOWN?

Did you guys know that in the United States, about 76.4 million people age 20 and older have high blood pressure? Out of that number, guess what race  has the most people with this condition? Did you guess African Americans? Ding! Ding! Ding! You're exactly right! For African Americans, 43% percent of men and 45.7% of women have high blood pressure.  Projections show that by 2030, an additional 27 million people could suffer from this condition, a 9.9% increase in prevalence from 2010. High blood pressure was listed as a primary or contributing cause of death in about 347,689 of more than 2.4 million U.S. death in 2008. From 1998 to 2008, the death rate from high blood pressure increased 20.2%, and the actual number of deaths rose 49.7%.

 

These are some of the most popular foods we love to enjoy. However, a lot of us go overboard. Foods like these consist of skyrocketing amounts of sodium which is one of the leading causes of high blood pressure: HIGH LEVELS OF SALT INTAKE. Other causes are smoking, obesity, or being overweight, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, lack of physical activity, insufficient calcium, potassium, and magnesium consumption, vitamin D deficiency, high levels of alcohol consumption, stress, aging, and genetics.

I don't know about you guys, but these statistics scared the heck out of me! High blood pressure is eating out racing alive...Literally! Let's challenge each other to at least TWO healthy items a day and not so much greasy and salty foods. Let's be the generation to bring these statistics & percentage down, and send this high blood pressure back packing! Are you down?

COVER UP!

I remember back in the days when people would actually go to tattoo parlors to get tattoos that actually mean something. Tattoos have become just a FAD. Most people get tattoos simply because celebrities or the next person has some. With little or no thinking, people do not even take the quality of a tattoo into consideration. So called tattoo artists with no license whatsoever call themselves giving tattoos for low prices, and people go running to their kitchens, garages, dorm rooms, or wherever the "artist's" equipment is located just to receive some chicken scratch. I've seem some tattoos that look like the drawings and stick people that I used to draw in kindergarten. Another thing people fail to realize is tattoos are something the corporate world does not tolerate. Think smart and make sure they can be covered. But who am I to tell you what and where to put a tattoo on your body? It's not mine!

THEY'RE BAAAACCKKK!

Today's fashion has definitely taken a time capsule and travel back in time. I must I absolutely love it! The gold ropes, big framed glasses, "gumby" haircuts, high waist jeans, etc. have made a huge appearance in campus attire. Just like history, fashion repeats itself by making bold statements. It's so ironic that when my best friend and I were younger, we'd see our parents in photo albums wearing most of these items. We'd point our fingers and laugh at how ridiculous they looked. Like "OMG! What do they have on?!" They'd buy us outfits with abstract patterns and out of sight colors, and we'd cry because we felt like it was torture to be seen in public with such outfits on.  Now that time has passed, and we've experienced wearing these ensembles on our own, we have to hear our parents fuss about us not liking anything they used to purchase for us. However, Will Smith said it best, "Parents... they just don't understand!" :-)



LET US SEE!!!

       

When did it become "not cool" for men not to smile in pictures? I'm sick of seeing the mug or the biting of the bottom lips on Instagram. Fellas, it is okay to smile! It does not take away from your "coolness." Teeth are one of the important factors that ladies take into consideration when looking at a man. It's definitely an attraction factor. We are drawn to men that smile. There's nothing like a beautiful smile on top of charisma, charm, and personality. A smiling man brings happiness with him and makes others want to be around him more. Now, I'm not saying walk around here skinning and grinning for no apparant reason and look like a durn fool. However, the next time you approach a young lady or take a nice picture, do not be a afraid to show us those pearly whites.
Ladies, don't you agree?

DON'T SLEEP ON US!!!

Out of most majors, I've noticed that Mass Communications is one that is slept on. People claim "Y'all don't do nothing, but talk to people and record stuff!" I laugh each time, because it's so much more to this major than talking to people and recording stuff. People fail to realize that the world we live in is based on COMMUNICATIONS. As Communications majors, we make it our business to make sure the world remains informed about just about everything. Being that February is Black History month, and we constantly hear about the same historians each year, I'm dedicating this post to a few moguls in communications that have most certainly paved the way for us Mass Communications majors. Take a look!

Max Robinson - first African American broadcast network news anchor

 

Belva Davis - first Black female television news reporter

 

Jack L. Cooper - first Black radio personality

 

Nat King Cole - first Black television talk show host ("The Nat King Cole Show")

 

 

 

 

TELL THEM TO KISS YOUR BLACK BEHIND!!

I recently attended the 67th annual National UNCF conference in Atlanta, GA. Judge Glenda Hatchett was one of the most remarkable speakers there. One of the shocking things that was said and is still stuck in my head today is that someone had presented her with the statistics that ONE OUT OF THREE BLACK MALES WILL HAVE BEEN TO PRISON BY THE YEAR 2000. 68% OF BLACK MALES HAD BEEN IN PRISON BY THE YEAR 2009. Let that marinate for a second... Meaning, as soon as a Black male has come out of the womb, society has labeled him a jailbird. On this day, FEBRUARY 26, 2013, we can tell society to KISS OUR BLACK BEHINDS; because I wake up everyday at an institution with hundreds of Black men that are destined to be somebody, so I KNOW that statistics is bound to change! They're in some one's classrooms determined to do something astounding with their lives. Not only are these Black men in college, there's plenty in the military. So if there's any young Black man that's enrolled in some one's institution of higher learning, enlisted in any branch of the military, or working on someone job and listed legally on a payroll, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU & I COMMEND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!

STOP BITCHIN'!!

According to www.freedictionary.com, the term 'bitch' means a female canine animal, especially a dog; a woman considered to be spiteful or overbearing; a lewd woman.

I'm so sick of SOME females acting as if they're going to have a huge meltdown when a male refers to them as a "bitch." How can you get angry with someone for calling you such a word, when you refer to yourself by using a derogatory term? The word "bitch" means bitch, whether you place the word BAD or any other adjective in front of it. Respect is earned, not given. We must give these males something to respect. Don't expect someone to respect you without gaining respect for yourself first! Most people blame the hip hop music of today's industry for a lot of the issues in today's Black community. Do we not have minds of our own? Do we have to do and say everything we hear in these songs? As women, it is up to us to have some class and respect for ourselves by setting standards and not allowing to be called any and everything.

And fellows, next time you refer to women as "bitches" or "hoes," think of the next man referring to your mother, aunt, niece, or sister as such. Those words don't sound so pleasant now, do they?