Women's History Month - Diahann Carroll

In honor of Women's History Month, I will be blogging and Facebooking about Black women in several fields whom I believe to be trailblazers and positive examples for us.

The first...Ms. Diahann Carroll.

Many people may not know, but I began my acting "career" in theatre, as did Diahann. Her achievements in theatre led to groundbreaking achievements for Black women in television, as well as film. Broadway roles for black singers were rare but at age 19, Diahann was cast in the Harold Arlen/Truman Capote musical "House of Flowers". Starring the indomitable Pearl Bailey.



In 1954 she and Ms. Bailey supported a riveting Dorothy Dandridge as femme fatale Carmen Jones (1954) in an all-black, updated movie version of the Georges Bizet opera "Carmen."

Little did Diahann know that in the late 1960s she would break a major ethnic barrier on the small screen. Though it was nearly impossible to suppress the natural glamour and sophistication of Diahann, she touchingly portrayed an ordinary nurse and widow struggling to raise a small son in the series "Julia" (1968). Despite other Black American actresses starring in a TV series Diahann became the first full-fledged African-American female "star" -- top billed, in which the show centered around her lead character. The show gradually rose in ratings and Diahann won a Golden Globe award for "Best Newcomer" and an Emmy

nomination.

The breast cancer survivor and Tony award winner is also an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. "I like to think I opened doors for other women, although that wasn't my original intention."

Thank you for opening these doors and helping shape roles for Black women in television and film! Diahann Carroll is flawless. Period. Point blank. When I think of modern-vintage I think of her. She has a timeless look and has always embodied the epitome of class and grace.

Join the Miss Black Louisiana Heart Team!

Risk factors are conditions or habits that make a person more likely to develop a disease. A large risk factor of heart disease?? Being PHYSICALLY INACTIVE! As a Heart Truth campaign advocate, Miss Black Louisiana USA wants to encourage people to get moving! So we have ...a team participating in the Capital Area Heart Walk on 3/24/2012 and would love for you to walk with us wearing our official team t-shirt! Let's move!! The Miss Black Louisiana USA Heart Walk Team is proud to partner with the LSU Public Administration Institute Student Association for this great cause! We're devoted to taking a stand against heart disease, the #1 killer of women in the US. Join the team today!! SIGN UP TO JOIN OUR TEAM BY CLICKING THIS LINK: Join the Heart Team Here THEN BUY YOUR TEAM SHIRT! (designed by moi lol)   It's FREE to join our team and FREE to participate in the walk! Proceeds from the t-shirt will benefit the BR American Heart Association AND expenses to get me to nationals!

Miss Black USA Comes to Howard University Hospital to Promote Healthy Hearts on MLK Day

The following article was posted on the Howard University Health Sciences website about our visit this weekend in DC.

WASHINGTON (Jan. 12) – Eighteen of the nation’s most beautiful women, all dressed in fabulous red gowns, will visit Howard University Hospital on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to charm patients, talk with hospital staff and D.C. area residents encourage women to take care of their hearts.

The women, Miss Black USA contestants, are in town for the annual Red Dress Photo Shoot, when the ladies adorn beautiful red dresses for a special promotional pageant photograph promoting February as Heart Month. 

But the women, who hail from Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, the Virgin Islands and other states, said they to do something to help others while in D.C.

“These young ladies, as well as the organization, strongly believe that service is a part of who we are,” said Karen Arrington, who founded the organization in 1965.  “We felt it was fitting to do something in tribute to a man who through his service changed America.  We couldn’t think of a better place to do that than at Howard University Hospital.”

After visiting with hospital patients, the women will gather in Freedmen’s Hall for a chat with local residents and hospital staff.

One message that they particularly want to drive home is that of the importance of developing healthy habits to protect hearts.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, Arrington said.  One in four women die from heart disease annually.  That is particularly true of African-American women, Arrington said.

So, for the past three years, her organization has partnered with the Heart Truth Campaign, an initiative of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“We want to encourage young women, particularly young black women, to live a healthy lifestyle to avoid heart disease in the future,” Arrington said.

“These women are not only beautiful, they’re highly intelligent,” she said.

Miss Louisiana has a master's degree in Public Administration.  Miss Maryland and Miss Michigan and have master’s degrees in public health.  Many of the women are undergraduates and Miss Nevada has a doctorate in physical therapy.

The event is free and open to the public.  Seats, however, are limited.  To register, call 202.865.1375 or email tdeyo@huhosp.org.

Miss Black USA....not a pageant, but a MOVEMENT!

The Miss Black USA Pageant and Scholarship Foundation, Inc., was founded in 1986 by Karen Arrington. With civil rights activist parents, Karen was driven to form this organization due to the lack of a positive portrayal of Black women in the media. When she opened a magazine, she did not see anyone whom looked like her. She saw the pageant as a vehicle to provide scholarship to women of color, to not only showcase these intelligent, beautiful Black women, but to CHANGE THE FACE of young African American women.

Today, the movement continues with the pageant becoming the "Who's Who of Women of Color". 80% of the 2012 delegates hold advance degrees including attorneys, doctors, and public administrators.

With service and a commitment to community at the heart and soul of this organization, I am proud to represent the state of Louisiana as your Miss Black Louisiana USA 2012. Aside from my platform of improving the state of higher education in Louisiana, I am also a voice of The Heart Truth Campaign, to raise awareness of heart disease as the #1 killer of women.

Please join me on my journey to the crown by making a small donation to get me to the national competition on August 13, 2012. The countdown is on and I cannot do it without your support. I am passionate about my approach to my platform, and believe education is the KEY! 

Click HERE to donate! Thank you!

My Mission as YOUR Miss Black Louisiana USA 2012

As YOUR Miss Black Louisiana USA 2012, I am on a mission to improve the state of higher education in Louisiana. It is my goal to adequately prepare Louisiana students for college, get them enrolled, and keep them there! And then keep them in the state of Louisiana as a contributing member to the Louisiana economy. I want to improve enrollment and retention rates of students, as they are a driving force behind the Louisiana economy.

Improving Higher Education in Louisiana

Improving the state of higher education in Louisiana does not have a simple, textbook answer. But one thing is certain, a child’s progression towards a college degree starts long before they ever set foot on a college campus.

Importance Statewide

Many fail to realize the economic power holding a college degree may have. Someone with a Bachelor’s Degree earns up to $25,000 more per year on average than someone with just a high school diploma (State Legislatures. June 2011. Bautsch. Page 24). A degree translates into more revenue flowing statewide in numerous ways:

• Average career is 40 years, so that extra $25,000 per year translates into $1 million more in career earnings
• Higher income translates into higher tax revenue for the state.
• College graduates generally pay more in income and sales taxes, while depending less on social service programs like Medicaid or federal assistance.
• College graduates are more likely to be employed.

The big issue facing the state of Louisiana is that at least two out of every five college students do not graduate – making risky investments for state programs such as TOPS. Weak academic preparation in K-12 is the fourth leading cause to college dropout (Bautsch).

The number of nationwide, jobs requiring some form of training or education beyond high school will continue to increase. By 2018, it is estimated that close to 33 percent of jobs will require at least a Bachelor’s Degree and 29 percent will require at least a certificate or associate degree (State Legislatures. June 2011. Colvin & Hinton. Page 12). With that being said, strengthening higher education will have a direct and positive correlation to a state’s economic, social, and cultural health.

People of Color being left behind

Tight budgets have handcuffed lawmakers into considering options that could change the face of public universities forever. How does higher education adjust so it can still flourish while facing massive budget constraints? – Tuition. Fundamental changes in the way the state operates and finance public universities must change if it will continue to offer high quality education to all students regardless of the socioeconomic backgrounds or ethnicity. The move to fund universities based on academic performance is starting to take hold with the passing of legislation such as the LA Grad Act and LA Grad Act 2.0. These pieces of legislation help the state set goals for colleges. They are performance contracts between the state and schools to detail what the state will provide, and what performance level they expect out of the university to continue to fund at that level. This trend is slowly draining the ‘public’ out of public education. State universities are beginning to run like private enterprises, and charging high tuition makes attaining a quality education available to only a certain sector of the population. This leads to market driven policies which increase economic and social stratification among students, a blow to the policy objective of equal educational opportunity for all (State Legislatures. June 2011. Bell. Page 21).

My platform for Miss Black Louisiana USA 2012 has a three prong approach:

1. Pre-K: High quality pre-school programs have long lasting effects by improving student outcomes well into adulthood. Research shows much improved educational skills and higher test scores. Evaluation of LA 4 shows student advancement within ONE year in language, literacy, and math skills when compared to peers not enrolled in a Pre-K program (Center for Child Development. “LA4 Longitudinal Report” La Department of Education. 2007). With weak academic preparation being the No. 3 reason college students fail to return for their sophomore year, the need of a strong foundation of early childhood development is one way to improve higher education success. As part of my platform, I will strive to inform citizens of the importance of early childhood development and how it affects their child and Louisiana’s future.

2. Improving Academic Success in K-12: The need for sustained support throughout a child’s K-12 years is imperative to their future higher educational institutional success. Failure to attain a Bachelor’s Degree could lead in the increase of jobless claims throughout the state as the percentage of jobs requiring at least a BA will continue to increase. With education levels and poverty rates running hand-in-hand.  I will continue to convey the importance of improving literacy levels in Louisiana poor communities to ensure our students are prepared for higher education. My platform will focus on finding ways to ensure our African-American students are prepared for college through mentoring programs or college-prep courses; I will strive to improve educational outcomes for students.

3. Political Participation: Finally, too many constituents are unaware of the laws made at the state Capitol and how they can affect educational programs. As part of my platform, I would like to convey the need of voter participation in the African American community and initiate a voter registration drive.

Please join me on my journey to the crown by making a small donation to get me to the national competition on August 13, 2012. The countdown is on and I cannot do it without your support. I am passionate about my approach to my platform, and believe education is the KEY! 

Click HERE to donate! Thank you!

The Voice of The Heart Truth®

In addition to my platform of improving the state of higher education in the state of Louisiana, I am also a voice of The Heart Truth® campaign of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to make women nationwide aware of the danger of heart disease.

The Miss Black Louisiana USA Team is currently planning TWO events in conjunction with The Heart Truth®:

National Wear Red Day

On Friday, February 3, 2012, National Wear Red Day^®, Americans will wear red to show their support for women's heart health. This observance promotes the Red Dress symbol and provides an opportunity for everyone to unite in The Heart Truth's^® life-saving awareness-to-action movement by putting on a favorite red dress, red shirt, red tie, or Red Dress Pin. Together, we will continue to urge women to protect their hearts, as heart disease is the #1 killer of women.

Miss Black Louisiana USA will be starting National Wear Red Day off with a bang by hosting a Celebrity Date Auction here in Baton Rouge at 600 Main! Celebs include New England Patriot Eric Alexander, critically-acclaimed author Cece Chapman, and Miss Southern University 2011-12 Chisolu Isiadind to name a few!

Capital City Heart Walk

Miss Black Louisiana USA is proud to join the American Heart Association's Heart Walk to promote physical activity to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. We have formed a team to participate in the Capital City Heart Walk on March 24, 2012 at 8:00am beginning at the LSU Old Front Nine here in Baton Rouge.

Help us reach this lifesaving goal! Join our team and purchase the official team shirt! Click this link to join us: Join the Miss Black Louisiana USA Heart Team!

Take a look at the MBLUSA 2012 Heart Team Shirt!

The Heart Truth®

The Heart Truth^® is a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Through the campaign, NHLBI leads the nation in a landmark heart health awareness movement that is being embraced by millions who share the common goal of better heart health for all women.

The Heart Truth campaign warns women about heart disease and provides tools to help them take action against its risk factors. It is primarily targeted to women ages 40 to 60, the age when a woman's risk of heart disease begins to increase. However, it's never too early—or too late—to take action to prevent and control risk factors since heart disease develops over time and can start at a young age—even in the teen years.

The campaign message is paired with an arresting visual—the Red Dress—designed to warn women that heart disease is their #1 killer. The Heart Truth created and introduced the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002 to deliver an urgent wake-up call to American women. The Red Dress^® reminds women of the need to protect their heart health, and inspires them to take action.

The Heart Truth campaign began in response to recommendations of more than 70 experts in women's health who met in March 2001 to develop a national action plan to reduce the toll of heart disease on American women. The campaign was developed with input from partner organizations and focus groups with women conducted across the country. This research revealed that most women underestimate their personal risk and do not fully understand the devastating impact that heart disease has on one's life and family. The research strongly supported the urgent need to tell women about their risk of heart disease and how to lower it.

For more information on ways you can prevent heart disease and/or stroke & info on The Heart Truth campaign click here: National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute

2nd National Ad Deadline

Greetings!

My second national ad deadline is February 1st and as you can see from the ticker, I have a long way to go! Please consider making a small donation to help me meet this deadline in time!

 Click here to DONATE!

Miss Black Louisiana USA 2012 in the news...

The following is a Monroe News Star article written about me prior to my official crowning. Big thanks to Rob Landry for this awesome article! The link at the bottom will bring you to the Monroe News Star website. The comment section had me down in the dumps, but a good friend told me to keep pushing and do what I know is right, and I will!

"Changing a social cycle is always difficult to initiate, especially when that cycle deals with education.

But LSU graduate student and Miss Black Louisiana USA 2012 contestant Ashley Hebert hopes her pageant platform evokes the kind of change that she believes Louisiana's higher education system needs.

"My platform focuses on improving the state of higher education in Louisiana. Our students are failing, and our government and leaders are failing the students."

Hebert, a Lafayette native, has taken a three-pronged approach to changing the state of higher education for African-Americans in the state.

» Inform people about the advantages children that have a pre-kindergarten education get. The LA 4 Pre-kindergarten Evaluation shows children enrolled in pre-K classes test one year ahead in literacy, language and math skills from children not enrolled.

» Making sure mentoring and tutoring sessions are readily available to African-American children in grades K-12.

» Getting the African-American community informed and involved in the political process and the effects it has on education through voter registration sessions.

"I know I'm only one person, and I cannot 'change the world,'" she says. "... but I can most definitely try."

Hebert hosted her first community service project on Oct. 16 in Baton Rouge. Named, "Get Jazzed About Reading," it was a literacy rally and included celebrity readers, word bingo, a jazz band and information and sessions for parents.

"Education is the key, and I hope to affect the life of at least one child."

The Monroe News Star: Miss Black Louisiana Sets Sights on Education Reform

Purchase Your Tickets NOW!

Tickets are now on sale for the 2011 Miss Black Louisiana USA Pageant. Check out the Miss Black Louisiana USA homepage to see all the Miss and Teen Contestants and get more info about this wonderful organization: Miss Black Louisiana USA


Purchase your tickets to see the show live on November 12, 2011 at 7pm, at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy on Independence Blvd here in Baton Rouge:

PURCHASE PAGEANT TICKETS HERE

Hope to see you there!! 

Congrats!

Congratulations to Nakina Marie Eugene, Miss Black Louisiana USA 2011, for placing in the Top 15 and winning the People's Choice award in last night's Miss Black USA Scholarship Pageant!

Also, congratulations to Jo'Quisha Hilliard, 2011 Miss Black Louisiana Talented Teen, for placing as 2nd Runner-Up!

You made us proud ladies! Thanks for being positive images for young Black women everywhere!