Harper Motivates And Educates

[CSI Files]

The foundation is the key.<p>As CSI Files previously <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/news/101108_01.shtml">reported</a>, <I>CSI: New York</I>'s <font color=yellow>Hill Harper</font> (Dr Sheldon Hawkes) is the spokesperson for the <A class="link" HREF="http://give.uncf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=empower_thetour">HBCU Empower Me Tour</a>. The tour was created by the <A class="link" HREF="http://www.uncf.org/">United Negro College Fund (UNCF)</a> in partnership with the <A class="link" HREF="http://www.wachovia.com/inside/page/0,,139_414_430,00.html">Wachovia Foundation</a> and Harper's <A class="link" HREF="http://www.manifestyourdestiny.org/">Manifest Your Destiny Foundation</a> to motivate and empower minority middle school, high school and college students to achieve their goals. The tour recently made its fifth stop at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where Harper spoke to a standing-room-only crowd.<p>The actor used the metaphor of building a house to inspire the audience. He told students that they had to create a "blueprint", or overall plan, for their life. Next, he said, they had to build up a "foundation" of key values and create a "framework" of good life choices. Ultimately, each person would control who was allowed into his or her life by creating a "door". The most important step, Harper said, is the foundation. "Faith is foundational," he said, as reported by <A class="link" HREF="http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage">The Tennessean</a>. "Education is foundational. Family, friends and relationships are foundational. It's important to have a thick, solid foundation to build upon."<p>Harper is also one of the national spokespersons for <A class="link" HREF="http://www.blackaidsday.org/">National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD)</a>, which is recognized on February 7. "Of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, HIV and AIDS have hit African Americans the hardest," said lead sponsor and member of the NBHAAD Strategic Leadership Council <font color=yellow>Steven Davis</font> (from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in a press release on <A class="link" HREF="http://blackprwire.com/">Black PR Wire</a>. NBHAAD is a nationally-recognized day that urges members of the African American community to "get educated, get tested, get treated and get involved." The theme for 2009 is "Black Life is Worth Saving!"<p>The original article about Harper's fifth stop on the HBCU Empower Me Tour is from <A class="link" HREF="http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090125/NEWS01/901250390/1006/NEWS01">The Tennessean</a>. More information about National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day can be found at <A class="link" HREF="http://blackprwire.com/press-releases/1875-february_7th_is_national_black_hivaids_awareness_day">Black PR Wire</a>.<center></center>

 

[Faylinn]

The information from the press release about HBHAAD is staggering:

The statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are a deafening wake up call: When we look at HIV/AIDS by race and ethnicity, we see that African Americans have more illness (even though blacks account for about 13% of the U.S. population, we account for about half [49%] of the people who get HIV and AIDS), shorter survival times (Blacks with AIDS often don’t live as long as people of other races and ethnic groups with AIDS), and more deaths (for African Americans and other blacks, HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death).

As a random note, I'm not surprised to see Patrik-Ian Polk's name on the list of spokespersons - HIV/AIDS in the black community was a major topic on "Noah's Arc".