National Teen Dating Violence and Prevention Month!

Did you all know February is also National Teen Dating Violence and Prevention Month?!? This special month was started by President Obama in 2010.

Also, did you know that youth ages 16-24 experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence of any age group?

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to participate in the "Power of Know" Youth Conference here in Sacramento. I was trained to facilitate three workshops for youth ages 13-18. What I liked most about this conference was that not only were we able to fully define a health relationship and the cycle of power and control in an unhealthy relationship, we were also able to educate the teens on how to recognize and STOP teen dating violence, or prevent it from the very beginning.

This was such a great learning experience for me as it allowed me to learn right along with our youth. It's sad to admit but this is something that is very relevant in my life and in our communities! I am also very lucky to have mentors like Dr. Miller (read a snippet about her in todays NYTs article) and organizations like WEAVE setting great examples on education and support for this issue.

So Be Educated and take a further step by educating others! ;-)

P.S. Here is are two other great links I found. The first one has an interesting article on the Bystander Effect that apparently took place in the show The Jersey Shore!

http://www.loveisrespect.org/

http://www.teendvmonth.org/

Quote of the Week!

"Costco polish sausages was why Germany invaded Poland!"

Senator Barack Obama on Afro-Latinos!

Came across this letter Sen. Obama sent to the President in 2005. I'd like to point out that more than 5 years later, nothing profound has been done to decrease the marginalization of our Afro-Latino hermanos y hermanas. BUT we will press on....

P.S. Thanks for sharing Meli-Poo!



STATEMENT OF SEN. BARACK OBAMA
ON AFRO-LATINOS
MAY 25, 2005

Mr. President, I rise today to bring attention to the situation of
Afro-Latinos throughout Latin America, in the hopes that we can encourage
more action on this issue. From Colombia to Brazil to the Dominican
Republic to Ecuador, persons of African descent continue to experience
racial discrimination and remain among the poorest and most marginalized
groups in the entire region. While recent positive steps have been taken
in some areas-- for example, giving land titles to Afro-Colombians and
passing explicit anti-discrimination legislation in Brazil-- much work
still needs to be done to ensure that this is the beginning of an ongoing
process of reform, not the end.

In places where civil conflict has taken hold, Afro-Latinos are much more
likely to become victims of violence or refugees in their own countries.
In many areas, Afro-Latinos are also subject to aggression by local police
forces at far greater rates than those perceived to be white. Access to
health services is another serious concern, and recent studies have shown
that Afro-Latino communities are at greater risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

In the last Congress, there was not one mention in the Senate of the
millions of Afro-Latinos who continue to experience this widespread
discrimination and socioeconomic marginalization. Now is the time for more
action on this issue, not less. Emerging civil society groups are growing
stronger throughout many countries in Latin America, and this growth
should be encouraged as it presents important opportunities for
partnerships and collaboration. I look forward to working with my
colleagues in the Senate and House on this critical concern in the coming
months, and I believe that together we can and will make a difference.
Thank you. 

Golden Showers....Why are they Yellow?

Ever wonder why your pee is yellow?

Let’s start with some science! Hemoglobin is the wagon in our blood that carries oxygen to our organs. Heme can be thought of as the wheels of this wagon. Iron is part Heme, and can be thought of the screws that hold the wheels to the wagon (this is why we need iron in our diets…to transport oxygen to our organs!)

So after 120 days, our immune system will kill recycle/breakdown Heme to eventually make Bile. You may or may not know that Bile is used to help us digest our food in our intestines! Anyway, the bacteria in our intestines (yes we have “good” bacteria everywhere in our bodies) breakdown the Bile and transport it to our kidney. The kidney allows us to excrete whatever is left of the Bile into our urine, and in the process it converts it from green Bile into yellow. Hence. The yellow tinge of our urine! So to recap, the yellow color comes from the breakdown of the wagon that carries oxygen in our blood!

I thought this was sooo cool…I know im super sexy4science. Fun facts are…..F-U-N! 

P.S. I hope y'all liked the title! ;-)

Afro-Latinos Stand Up!

Happy Black History Month!

If you didn’t know that February is BHM, well you better get on it! Our UCDavis chapter of SNMA is hosting month long events to celebrate the contributions of African Americans in history.

In honor if BHM I wanted to remind everyone to not forgot about our beautiful Afro-Latinos! They often go unrecognized, or are pushed into one category. But, ask one Afro-Latino to pick a side...and they can’t. Choosing to identify as African American over Latino or vice versa is basically like giving up one of their arms. Lol….ok maybe not that serious, but you get the drift.

As a Latin@, it is important to recognize and celebrate our African heritage. Whether you identify as Afro-Latin@ or Afro-Caribbean, we honor you for enriching our culture with intelligence, strength, and beauty. Real quickly, here are two amazing Afro-Latin@s that have done just that!

Marion Jones: World champion track and field athlete. I don’t care what anyone says about her steroid use, she is still a fierce Afro-Latina. Her mother is Belizian and her father is African American.

Maria de Soledad Teresa O’Brien: You know, the lady from CNN! Her father is Irish and her mama es Afro-Cubana! She is yet another fierce Afro-Latina spreading her diversity on national TV!

Of course there are many more people who can fall under this list, and I hope to post another in depth piece later in the month. Until then, I hope you all enjoy BHM with local events happening in your city!

Cheers to mestizaje, bridge-building, and a diverse and vibrant community!