< PreviousHEALTH NEWS18 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2019by Susan Perry The study found that the risk drops even when the activity is a low-inten-sity one, such as light walking.Swapping as little as half an hour of sitting time each day with physical ac-tivity appears to help reduce the risk of early death among middle-aged and older adults, according to a study published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The study also found that the risk drops even when the activity is a low-intensity one, such as light walking. These findings should be encouraging to sedentary people who find exer-cise either difficult or distasteful. You don’t need to be a runner to reap the benefits of exercise, this study suggests. Nor do you need to be exercising for huge swaths of time each day. “If you have a job or lifestyle that involves a lot of sitting, you can lower your risk of early death by moving more often, for as long as you want and as your ability allows — whether that means taking an hourlong high-intensity spin class or choosing lower-intensity activities, like walking,” says Keith Diaz, the study’s lead author and a professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University, in a released statement.The important thing is just to get up and move about.HOW LONG AND HOW INTENSE? According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention (CDC), one in four adults in the United States spends more than eight hours each day engaged in sedentary behavior — essentially sitting. That prolonged inactivity can have serious health consequences. Previous research has linked long stretches of sitting with an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and early death. What the research hasn’t been able to pinpoint for us yet, however, is the type of activity — and how much of it — we need to substitute for seden-tary behavior in order to lower our odds of disease. The current study tries to answer those questions. For the study, Diaz and his co-authors analyzed data from 7,999 Ameri-cans, aged 45 and older, who had participated in a broader research project examining racial and regional disparities in stroke between 2009 and 2013. The participants wore an activity monitor for at least four days to measure their physical activity and sedentary behavior. The results provided estimates for how much time they engaged daily in each behavior. Health records and death certificates showed that 647 of the participants had died by April 1, 2017. The researchers used that data — and the data from the activity monitors — to estimate how the risk of early death would have changed if time spent sitting had been swapped for time being physi-cally active. Those calculations suggested that swapping 30 minutes of sitting each day with an equal amount of low-intensity physical activity lowered the risk of early death by 17 percent. The risk fell by 35 percent if the activities were moderate- to high-intensity activities ones, such as brisk walking, running or biking.AN IMPORTANT MESSAGEThe study comes with several caveats. Most notably, the study was obser-vational, so it can’t prove a direct connection between the substitution of activity for sitting and a lower risk of early death. In addition, the activity monitors were used just once and for only up to seven days. The readings from those monitors may not have accurately represented the true activity (or non-activity) of the participants throughout the years of the study.Still, the findings are interesting and offer yet another reminder of why it’s a good idea to incorporate movement into our daily lives. “Our finding that any physical activity provided mortality risk reduction underscores an important public health message that movement in itself (doing ‘something’), irrespective of intensity, is beneficial,” the researchers write. “This might be particularly pertinent for largely sedentary individuals (who comprise much of the US population) and older adults for whom [light-intensity physical activity] might be a more practical and achievable preventive strategy.” “Nevertheless,” they add, “it should be acknowledge that [moderate-to-vig-orous physical activity] provided the most mortality benefit and, thus, should ultimately be the primary target for individuals seeking to mitigate health risk.” A distinguished leader, Dr. Grant has more than 30 years of nursing experience and is an internationally recognized burn-care and fire-safety expert. Dr. Ernest Grant was elected the first black man of the ANA. He previously served as the burn outreach coordinator for the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals in Chapel Hill. In this role, Grant oversaw burn education for physicians, nurses, and other allied health care personnel and ran the center’s nationally acclaimed burn prevention program, which promotes safety and works to reduce burn-related injuries through public education and the legislative process. Grant also serves as adjunct faculty for the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing, where he works with undergraduate and graduate nursing students in the classroom and clinical settings. Grant is frequently sought out for his expertise as a clinician and educator. In addition to being a prolific speaker, he has conducted numerous burn-education courses with various branches of the U.S. military in preparation for troops’ deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2002, President George W. Bush presented Grant with a Nurse of the Year Award for his work treating burn victims from the World Trade Center site. In 2013, Grant received the B.T. Fowler Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Carolina Fire and Life Safety Education Council for making a difference in preventing the devastating effects of fire and burn injuries and deaths within the state.photo by kumoma lab on UnsplashErnest Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN, President of the American Nurses AssociationNew Leadership at the American Nurses Association30 MINUTES OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITYReplacing sitting time withlinked to a longer lifeHEALTH NEWSWWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 19Rhonda M. Johnson, M.D., M.P.H.PLEASE NOTE: This article does not provide medical advice. It is intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Consult your physician before participating in activities described by this article.Focus on Your Health We all have heard the saying, “New Year, New Me,” right? We set ourselves up for emotional, mental, spiritual and physical success with resolutions, only to sometimes fall short due to unrealistic goals. I would like to propose another goal for your consideration. How about this - - “New Year, Healthier Me.” In deciding to live a healthier lifestyle, we need to know the why and the what – or what’s in it for me? Here are five reasons to focus on your health in 2019 and beyond: 5 Reasons toin 20193Need more than five reasons to focus on your health in 2019? Make your own list! Do it now. Don’t overlook the social, spiritual and emo-tional reasons – sometimes these are the most important reasons in terms of motivation! I sincerely wish you a happy and healthier 2019!Sometimes you have to think about your own health before you can help others 1Do you find yourself doing everything for everyone else, but never anything for yourself? Put your health first on your list in 2019. Take the time to take care of you! 2You live in your body No matter what path you take in life, your body goes with you everywhere you go. So why not take care of it? Love yourself enough to live a healthy life. Treat your body with care and utmost respect. Give it the right nourishment, water it, give it fresh air, sunshine and exercise it to keep the parts moving comfortably.Your sleep will improve and so will your moodWhen you eat healthy and exercise regularly, studies have shown that you sleep better. People who are sleep deprived have a tendency to be fussy, cranky and overall more irritable. They are more likely to gain weight, too.4Even a little exercise daily will improve your healthPhysical activity, even as little as 10 minutes a day, is the “quick fix” to improve your health. You may not lose weight by increasing your physical activity, but you will reap health benefits. Physical activity can reduce belly fat, help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and the decrease the risk of dia-betes and some cancers. It reduces depression and anxiety, and it improves bone and joint health, sex drive, sleep and memory. 5When you practice healthy habits, you boost your chances of a living longerLooking forward to more time with loved ones is reason enough to keep walking, eating healthy, reducing alcohol intake, cutting back on salt, sugar, fried foods and stopping smoking.20 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2019Greater Pittsburgh Area MAD DADS Greater Pittsburgh Area MAD DADS (GPA MAD DADS) is a best practice Chapter of MAD DADS National. The Chapter was certified to function by the na-tional headquarters on May 6, 2006. In 2007, the Chapter was presented with a Good Works award by the Concerned Citizens Community Creation Center (5C’s Corporation) of Pittsburgh. In 2008, the Community Empowerment Association of Pittsburgh gave GPA MAD DADS their Nation Building Award and the Wilkinsburg Boys and Girls Club presented their Community Organization of the Year Award to the Chapter. In 2009, the Chapter President and his wife were designated Grand Mar-shals of the Wilkinsburg, PA Holiday Parade and the Chapter was recognized for its dedication and commitment to the community. The Chapter has provided thousands of community volunteer hours and well as provided a tangible example of drug free, men and women who are community outreach specialists showing their collective concern for the youth and young adults of the Greater Pittsburgh area. In addition to implementing MAD DADS signature program, neighborhood Street Patrols, GPA MAD DADS volunteers have served as chaperones and have been a visible presence at many community events.Dr. Janis C. BrooksDr. Brooks holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master’s Degree in Urban Studies from the University of Maryland, and a B.S. in Secondary Education Clarion University. Dr. Brooks has extensive experience working in the church, the commu-nity, in government, and academia. She is a former pastor and the Founder/CEO of a non-profit organization. Her current affiliations are: League of Women Voters, Non-Governmental Organization Committee on the Sta-tus of Women, United Nations, Mon Valley Providers Council, Sierra Club, Tuskegee Airman, and the NAACP. Dr. Brooks raised two gifted children. Her daughter is a medical researcher with a Master’s Degree. Her son is a physicist and an Aerospace Engineer holding a Doctorate Degree in Engineering. Dr. Brooks has always been interested in justice for others. As a child she attended the March on Washington and listened to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his “I Have a Dream Speech.” This was a history making moment for her and the speech has inspired her to pursue higher educational goals and work toward equality for all.Honorable Tina DooseTina’s lifelong commitment to service began as a student at Braddock’s St. Thomas High School and a candy striper at Braddock Hospital. After attending Howard Univer-sity and the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied chemistry and psychology, she worked for an environ-mental engineering firm. Realizing early that she enjoyed working with people, Tina transitioned her career to the housing field. She served as Program Director for Fair Housing Partnership addressing a variety of issues around homelessness and housing discrimination, and honed her philosophy, “What you put into your community in terms of service is what you get out of it.” She has represented Braddock residents on council since 2006 and council president since 2013. As part of Braddock’s council, Tina helped secure development funds to build recreational spaces, new housing development, and several community programs. Tina serves on the board of the Braddock Economic Development Corporation, which has brought over $22 million in new development into the community. Tina’s commitment to Braddock has led her to work with local, regional, and state leaders to help build diverse and inclusive communities and a sustainable prosperous region for all.Elaine Harris-Fulton She is a native of Pittsburgh, a graduate of Westinghouse High School, Bishop College and Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. A graduate of the Institute for Community Leadership in Education. A nationally recognized Parent Leader, she sits on the Family Support Policy Board, Chair of Community Voices and the Parent Advocacy Committee, and has served on two statewide Governor’s boards. Elaine is an Activist and Advocate who said that “it is a privilege to be able to volunteer in the community”. She wrote the initial grant for the Early Learning Center at Hosanna House. With support of parent leaders, and generous funders, she initiated and helped organize several programs that include the Kaboom Playground, “That’s Us” a voter engagement program, Welfare Advocate Asserting your Rights and her latest project is Wake Up the Vote Wilkinsburg. A few of many awards include The Governor’s Western Regional Volunteer, Honored by the National Association of Women Business Owner’s, and The New Pittsburgh Courier 50 Women of Excel-lence..2019BLACK20 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2018Byrd R. BrownByrd Rowlett Brown (1929 – 2001) was an activist, lawyer, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for improving life for Pittsburgh’s African Americans and the poor through his long terms as presi-dent of the Pittsburgh Branch of the NAACP and his legal and civil work. He led a march on Duquesne Light to pro-test unfair hiring practices. This work resulted in the creation of training programs for African-Americans so that they could gain admission into trade unions. Brown was the only child of the prominent Wilhelmina Byrd Brown, a civil rights activist, and Homer S. Brown, Allegheny County’s first black judge, and the founder and first president of the Pittsburgh NAACP, who served as president for 24 years, 1958-71. Byrd’s mother, Wilhelmina Byrd Brown, dedicated 50 years of her life to public service. His grandfather, the Reverend William Roderick Brown, was a well-known Pittsburgh North Side preacher. Byrd’s father, Homer Brown, was a member of the Pennsylvania legislature and wrote the Pennsylvania state Fair Employment Practices Act. Homer Brown created one of the first pieces of legislation in Pennsylvania that prohibited discrimination in public places.K. Leroy IrvisIrvis (1919 – 2006) is known as the first African American Speaker of any State House of Representatives in the nation and as a civil rights activist. Irvis and his parents were from New York area. Irvis was known to picket department stores in Albany as early as 1934, when he was 14 years old—and later in Pittsburgh. Reportedly, a 1947 demonstration cost Irvis his job at the Urban League; it apparently offended white backers. Irvis graduated summa cum laude from New York State Teacher’s College (now University of New York at Albany) in 1938. Having come from a poor family, he was known for having never bought a book—instead using library resources and borrowing texts. He received a Master’s in English Literature from that same school in 1939, and a law degree in 1954 from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1958, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and re-elected for 15 terms. Known as “The Lion of Pennsylvania” for his effectiveness in office, Irvis was selected as Majority Leader in 1969 for seven years and four years as Minority Leader. Irvis was once described as “the soul of this House” by a Republican opponent.In Memoriam20 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2019WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 21Danny J. JonesDanny is the Executive Director of the Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC). GECAC is a multi-million-dollar human service agency in Erie, Pennsylvania whose mission is to eliminate poverty. Prior to that Danny served as the Director of Student Services and the Homeless Liaison for Erie’s Public Schools. Danny is a graduate of Leadership Erie, a service-oriented organization that prepares individuals to serve their communities. He has also volunteered at United Way’s Project Blue Print, Black Man’s Think Tank, and Erie Conference on African-American Affairs. Mr. Jones currently serves on the boards of several local organizations, to include: Erie Earn It, Junior Achievement, Erie Blues and Jazz Festival and Erie Cablevision. A native of Erie, he received his Undergraduate Degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh where he is a founding member of the University of Pittsburgh’s Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and a Master’s Degree in counseling from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He resides in Erie with his wife Angela of 27 years.Clarence CurryClarence has been actively involved in economic devel-opment, marketing, planning and advocacy for small and minority businesses for over 40 years. He served on the faculty of the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh for twenty-five years, and he taught manage-ment classes at California University of Pennsylvania and the Center for Urban and Biblical Ministries at Geneva College. He developed his own consulting firm, CFC-3 Management Services. He is currently under contract with the Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to Coordinate MBE/WBE participation. He has lectured and consulted on business development strategies in several South American and European Countries as well. He has a BS Degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Lafayette College, an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and an MSIA from the Tepper School of Business. He has been married to Agnes over 50 years and they are the proud parents of two children and five grandchildren. He is a member of Baptist Temple Church, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the FROGS and Emanon Social Clubs.HISTORY MAKERSJoyce DavisMy family moved to Penn Hills when I was three. My father worked in a bakery and enjoyed gardening. My mother was active in the church, community and charity organizations. I attended the Lincoln Park Elementary School, graduated from Penn Hills High School, won a full scholarship to Point Park College, graduated with a BA., later received a master’s degree from Kent State University. I worked with different types of agencies including Director, of Head Start to therapist in mental health clinics. I have always enjoyed working with people. I came to the Lincoln Park Community Center as a volunteer and now I am the Executive Director. The organization provides a food pantry, snack bag program for 4th grade Penn Hills School students, clothing, books, information about community resources and holiday programs for the community. Nutrition Pro-grams are provided to help people better use the food provided at the food pantry. The food pantry operates with wonderful volunteers. Our goal is to make sure people fill no shame in reaching out for help. We also have a Small Business Support Center to help business get started. I am a recent past President of the Penn Hills NAACP Unit that I joined under the leadership of the late Oliver Montgomery. I currently lead an online Health and Wellness Support Group and Christian Support Group. Together we can make our community better and lessen suffering. Together we can leave no one behind. Katherine S. HugginsImproving the community has always been the motivation of Kathy Huggins. Kathryn got her political start as a Majority Inspector for the 34th Ward for ten years. Next, block captain and committee person in 1987 to today. Her political accomplishments include: Treasurer of 34th Ward, Member of Federation of Democratic Women, Member of PA Democratic Party State Committee, currently holding the office of Recording Secretary, Delegate; and Alternate for former President Barrack Obama, both Hilary and Bill Clinton, and President of Concerned Women on the Move. Since 2007, Kathy sits on the 19th Police District Advisory Board and is currently the Vice Chair Person. Kathy Huggins worked in the Philadelphia School District as a secretary from 1978 to 1993. In 1993, she became a Clerk at the Board Revision of Taxes until she retired in 2010. Throughout her political and work careers she found time to work with special needs children. Mrs. Huggins is an active member at Peoples Baptist Church. Married for 49 years, she has three children, three grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Life is a forward journey for Kathy Huggins, and she embraces every moment.Robert N.C. Nix, Jr.Robert (1928 – 2003) born in Philadelphia, was the first African American to serve as Justice on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (1972) and he was the first African Ameri-can Chief Justice to serve on any state’s high court (1984). Nix served on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court for 24 years - half as Chief Justice. As a young student, Nix attended Central High School, part of Philadelphia’s public-school system. He graduated from Villanova University located, just outside of Philadelphia, and earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania (1953). Nix began his professional law career as a deputy attorney general for Pennsylvania followed by joining his father’s law firm where he earned a reputation as a “prominent attorney in the Civil rights movement.” In 1968, Nix was appointed to Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas prior to his appointment to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.C. Delores TuckerC. Delores Tucker (1927 – 2005) born in Philadelphia, was appointed Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1971. With this appointment, Tucker be-came the first African American and the first female to hold that office. It was the highest state office ever held by an African American woman in United States history. While Secretary of State, Tucker implemented an affirmative-action program to equalize the state’s hiring practices and she worked to streamline voter registration. Tucker was a renowned civil rights activist. She served as vice president of Philadelphia’s NAACP chapter, marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., and was the convening founder and national chair of the National Congress of Black Women. In 1983, she established the Philadelphia Martin Luther King Jr., Association for Non-Violence to advance the principles of the late civil rights leader. In the 1990’s, Tucker led a national campaign against “gangsta” rap because she believed the derogatory lyrics about women and minorities negatively impacted America’s youth.Robert Lee VannVann (1879 – 1940) was born in Ahoskie, North Carolina. He graduated as valedictorian of Waters Training School in 1901 and attended Wayland Academy and Virginia Union University in Richmond until 1903. He then attended Western University of Pennsylvania, (now University of Pittsburgh) and graduated from its law school in 1909. He passed the bar examination in 1909 and married Jessie Matthews from Gettysburg. Vann was one of only five black attorneys in Pittsburgh in 1910, a city with more than 25,000 African Americans. He began writing contributions and the paper was able to attract wealthy investors, including Cumberland Willis Posey, Sr. On May 10, 1910, the Pittsburgh Courier was formally incorporated. During the summer, the paper grew, but struggled with circulation and financial solvency due to a small market and lack of interested advertisers. In the fall of 1910, original founder Edwin Nathaniel Harleston left the paper and Vann became editor until his death. As editor, Vann wrote editorials encourag-ing readers to only patronize businesses that paid for advertisements in the Courier. In his Christmas editorial at the end of 1914, Vann wrote of the paper’s intent to “abolish every vestige of Jim Crowism in Pittsburgh.”WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 2122 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2019by Tené Croom The work of Thaddeus Mosley, a self-taught sculptor, is on display in the International Exhibition of Contemporary Art at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The 57th edition of the exhibition in Pittsburgh opened October 12, 2018 and will continue through March 25, 2019. “It’s an interesting show. This is sort of special. I’ve seen many of them, but I’ve never been in one (like this). When I was in college in the ’40s and since then, I’ve seen just about every Carnegie International,” Mosley said. Mosley says he has exhibited his work, known as abstract, for 65 years, “I do very few figures and forms that you can identify. Most of the things I do are basically abstract.” The 92-year-old award winning sculptor wants people who see his work to get a feeling of elevation.“You should get a feeling that things are floating or that they have movement although they’re still. Because of the gouge marks in the wood, you should get a rhythmic sense. All of my work comes from logs that I buy from saw mills in Western Pennsylvania. When I look at the logs, I see certain forms in the logs. I decide that this log will go with maybe three logs to make an idea. I cut them and I mark them and then I begin to come up with shapes,” Mosley said. He did not pursue the art of shaping wood – honing it in his distinc-tive style until he was in his 30s. Before that he served in the Navy and worked with the postal service until his retirement in 1992. Also, during the 1950s, Mosely was a journalist for the Pittsburgh Courier and various national maga-zines. The New Castle, Penn-sylvania native explains that when he first started sculpting, he bought some brochures about sculpture. “When I was at Pitt in 1948, I had a class in world culture, and they had pictures of African tribal art. I had never seen or heard of African tribal art because no one talked about it here. Then when I read and explored, I found out that in the 20s there were people exhibiting African tribal art in New York. I discovered people like Picasso who became highly influenced by African tribal art.” It is no wonder that Mosley would eventually settle into a career that fed his arts passion. The arts, particularly music, were special to him and his four sisters when they were growing up. “My mother played piano and father played trumpet. All four of my sisters took piano lessons, but only two stuck with it and played. I sang in an a cappella choir when I was in high school. There was very little (arts) even in schools back then. Academically New Castle was a very good school, because it was the only high school in town in a wealthy neighborhood. So, we all had the same opportunity of getting a good basic education. There was very little focus on arts programs, but heavily on music,” Mosley recalled. Being a nonagenarian doesn’t keep him from regularly being in the studio where he creates his sought-after artistic pieces. “I’ve been fortunate to have good health and good genes. I was strong when I was young and I’m fairly strong for an older person,” he says. He offers this sage advice to young people, “No matter what you do, try to learn something. When I was growing up in the 30s and early 40s, the old people used to say they may not give you a job, but they can’t take what you learn away from you.” He has six children and two of them are also in the arts. His son is an artist and daughter an award-winning clothing designer. Mosley has received a number of awards that include the Governor’s Award for Artist of the Year, Pennsylvania Visual Arts for 1999, Cultural Award 2000 from the Pittsburgh Cen-ter for the Arts, and Service to the Arts Award and Exhibition in 2002 from the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.GET OUT AND LIVE A LOTTMGAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER.777 CASINO DRIVE, PITTSBURGH PA RIVERSCASINO.COMMust be 21 years of age or older to be on Rivers Casino property.Exciting slots and table games, amazing restaurants, incredible bars and live music every week. The night out you’ve been craving is right here, so come live it up! ARTIST EXTRAORDINAIRETHADDEUS MOSLEY 22 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2019WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 23 Andrew Frazier, MBA, CFA is a giant in finance and business who is teach-ing thousands of people each year how to operate small businesses like a pro. The Adjunct Berkeley Professor of Finance and former Assistant V.P. of New York Life and Navy Lt. Commander has a lot of experience he wants to share. “One of the reasons I was able to be very successful is because I had a military experience, which gives you discipline and helps you to do the things you don’t want to do, and to do it without seem-ing like you don’t want to do it, and getting it done. And, also being able to let stuff roll off you.” Frazier’s first degree was a bachelor’s in mechan-ical engineering because he said that engineering isn’t just about problem solving, but long-term problem solv-ing. Now he solves problems for others. “I focus on businesses whose revenue is 5 million dollars and below. The goal is to get them to a middle market company which is 20 million dollars and above because once you get there you are pretty sustainable, you have a management team. It’s a lot easier to get financing.” He says, with an Obama-esque style cadence and tone. Small Business Like A Pro is the umbrella company three smaller companies: A&J Management, which is Frazier’s consulting, coach-ing and training business. A knowledge centered business, which he is building to have seminars for business owners and his book publishing business. “One of the big things I focus on is how to grow their revenues through strategic planning, increasing profitability through better finan-cial management and obtaining financing. Bring those pieces together through a growth strategy that makes sense and being able to communicate it in a compelling way that someone or some institution is going to invest in you because they believe that you can accomplish it.” Frazier says what makes his A&J Management unique is that it’s really difficult to get good help and advice because a lot of people don’t realize that most often what you do to be successful at a large business is the opposite of what you do to be successful at a small business. “Es-pecially from a marketing standpoint, you don’t have a lot of marketing dollars, so you can’t waste money trying to get your name out there. On the other hand, big companies spend a lot of money just letting people know about them.” Instead, he urges the alternative strategy is to aim small. “Small businesses have to target a real niche market. You can’t go after a really large market because you don’t have enough money, resources and you don’t have the best solution for everybody in that market. You have to be more laser focused.” According to Frazier, his biggest obstacle isn’t planning and creating a new business model, but changing a client’s perspective, the way they look at themselves, and what it takes to be successful. He says his people skills and communication skills are constantly put to the test. “That’s always difficult because some people think they know every-thing even though they are not getting the results that they want.” Frazier says clients have to understand that they don’t know everything, which is fine, but that as an entrepreneur you must be willing to learn every-thing. “Working at a company, you may be in finance, but you were in accounts receivable for the whole time and yeah, you worked in finance for 20 years, but you really don’t know that much about finance, and as a small business owner, you have to know many different areas of finance. You have to know marketing, sales, operations, technology, etc.” At one end of the spectrum are clients who feel they have all the knowledge they need, but the entrepreneurial bug bites the educated and unedu-cated alike. “Many business owners also don’t have a formal level of training and experience. Many of them might not have finished high school, might not have gone to college or just did some college; so many people like to go by their gut, but that doesn’t always work, and the key to being successful is making the best decisions, and you need the best information to do that.” He says. Frazier says this can lead to clients and would be entre-preneurs being intimidated from doing their own market analysis research. “You can’t be a manager if you don’t do numbers and a lot of business owners don’t really use num-bers or do analyses. My job is helping them to understand what it is and not to be afraid of it.” This even leads to occasions where Frazier admits he has to show patience and to wait Small Business Like A Procontinued on page 28by Austin PremierWWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 2324 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2019 Hallie was born in Pittsburgh in 1850 to two former-slaves. Her parents dedicated much of their lives to abolition, which deeply influenced Hallie’s life commitments. And listen to this: The Brown Family house, which was in the Hill District, functioned as a stop on the Underground railroad--a safe haven for runaway slaves fleeing to Canada. That’s amazing! The Browns were also very active in the Wylie Avenue African Methodist Episcopal Church, also located in the Hill District, and her father’s church reputation and property holdings made them one of the leading black families in Pittsburgh. Hallie was afforded the privilege of an education, and she went to Wilber-force University in Ohio—the nation’s first four-year college owned and operated by African Americans and the nation’s oldest private HBCU. After she graduated from Wilberforce in 1873, Hallie began her career advocating for equal access to education; she spent a decade traveling across the south teaching literacy skills to black children and adults who had been deprived of education as slaves. During the late 1800s, Hallie traveled across North America and Europe, lecturing about Afri-can-American civil rights and women’s suffrage. Her speeches captivated her audiences. Hallie became known for her tremendous public speak-ing skills and, you’ll never believe this, spoke before Queen Victoria, twice. Hallie made sure to use her status and prestige to demand suffrage for women and equality for African Ameri-cans across the United States.Never resting, Hallie continued her activism in the 20th century by helping to found the National Association of Colored Women, an organization dedicated to uplifting women, children, and fam-ilies through education and service. She was the 7th National President of the organization from 1920 to 1924 and acted as its honorary President until her death in 1949. In her final year as president of the NACW, Hallie spoke at the 1924 Republican National Convention where she used the opportunity to speak up for the rights of blacks and emphasize the importance of the woman’s vote. She used her reputation and resources to uplift other important African American women. In 1926 she embarked on a one-of-a-kind endeavored. She published Homespun Heroines and Other Women of Distinction, a compilation of biographies of 60 exceptional black woman from the United states and Canada. And she didn’t even have the internet! With this collection of stories, Hallie wanted to pass down the stories of the lives of black woman slaves, homemakers, artists, and activists to the next generation.by Grace DuBois, 2018 Intern in the Office of the Mayor Peduto and Gloria Forouzan, Office of the Mayor PedutoMeetWilberforce University 1856Greater Hill District Masterplan Hallie Quinn Brown, Graduation Day, Dayton Daily NewsRepublican Convention 1924, Smithsonian MuseumHallie Quinn Brown was a remarkable person. She was a powerful public speaker, dedicated to sharing her message of civil rights for African Americans and women’s suffrage.Hallie was born in Pittsburgh in 1850 to two former-slaves.Hallie Quinn Brown24 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2019WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 25“The time is always right to do what is right.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.BlackHistoryMonthFebruary201926 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2019 In honor of this important anniversary, Car-negie Mellon University is showcasing a special Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, the Orches-tral Debut of Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice presented by the Colour of Music Festival (COMF). The classical symphonic work will premiere at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Febru-ary 13 at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. Tickets are now available at www.requiem-forrice.com and www.colourofmusic.org. Please email producer@requiemforrice.com for group ticket promo codes. I had the great pleasure to speak with Carnegie Mellon University Associate Professor Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, the project’s executive producer and librettist about “Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice.”Danielle Smith: What do you want the people of Pittsburgh to know about the Colour of Music Festival (COMF) Orchestral Debut of “Unbur-ied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice”?Dr. Edda Fields-Black: Unburied, Unmourn-ed, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice is a true marriage between West African and European classical traditions. Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice is composed for full symphony orchestra and choir, an African and African-American inspired take on a classic requiem. It draws on funerary traditions among the Diola-Fogny to recount the stories of enslaved laborers building Lowcountry rice fields. The Diola are quintessential rice farmers along the Casamance River of present-day Senegal. In the event of untimely, accidental, and suspicious deaths, Diola-Fogny ritual specialists performed casop, a “ritual interrogation of the corpse” via spirit possession. During the funeral, the deceased was asked to tell his or her story about the circumstances of death. Once the truth was revealed, the dead would be buried and harmony and peace restored to the community. Casop is simultaneously a modern take on a classic European requiem—in the spirit of Verdi, Mozart, Faure, and Britten—that mourns the souls of the enslaved who died on Lowcountry rice plantations, their bodies unburied, their suf-fering unmourned, and their sacrifices unmarked for future generations. The lamentation turns to celebration of the critical role enslaved Africans’ ingenuity, tech-nology, and industry played in the economy of the U.S. South, laying to rest once and for all, the shackles of shame, blame, guilt, and denial that pervade this painful period in European, American, African, and African-American history. The stories of Africans enslaved on Lowcountry rice plantations become a new genre, the vehicle through which oppressed and voiceless peoples can tell their stories, mourn their dead, and celebrate their contributions to the world. This project has been 5 years in the making! Smith: Why were the rice fields in South Caroli-na so dangerous for enslaved people who worked tirelessly on the rice plantations? Fields-Black: West African rice production technology—developed by farmers in the Upper Guinea Coast more than 500 years before the trans-Atlantic slave trade—laid the foundation for South Carolina’s commercial rice industry. The agricultural skill, ingenuity, and technology of en-slaved Africans made coastal South Carolina rice planters the richest planters with the largest slave holdings in the US South. The floods that fer-tilized the inland and tidal rice fields also created deadly living environments. Tens of thousands of enslaved men, women, and especially children perished in the stagnant, cold, mosquito- and disease-infested swamps. Smith: Why do you think few Americans associ-ate slavery with the cultivation of Rice?Fields-Black: Because, most Americans who think about enslavement in the US associate it with cotton or sugar in the Caribbean.Smith: Why are you so passionate about debuting the untold history of “Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice” in Pittsburgh? Fields-Black: I had been researching and writing about the trans-national history of peasant West African rice farmers in the precolonial period and Blacks enslaved on Lowcountry rice plantations for more than 20 years when I learned that my father’s ancestors are buried on 8 or 9 rice plantations in Colleton County, SC. Most of the plantations were owned by the Heyward family, the largest and wealthiest planters in the U.S., South. On one particular research trip, I visited a Heyward cemetery and was taken to my ancestors’ graves. Both sides of Daddy’s family are buried there. One of the graves was broken, open and full of water. My ancestor’s remains floated visibly at the top. This experience changed the way I looked at history. It was no longer just to be written for my colleagues and/or students. I needed to find a way to make this painful history beautiful and reach a broader audience, to take the history off the shelf and put it on stage and tell the story in a way that touches people emo-tionally the way seeing my ancestor’s open grave touched me. Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black has written two books, “Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and The African Diaspora” and “Rice: Global Networks and New Histories,” which was awarded the Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2015. Fields-Black has served as a history consultant and adviser for the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture, the International African American Museum (scheduled to open in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2020) and the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.Fields-Black is currently working on a second mono-graph tentatively titled, ‘Combee’: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and the Civil War Transformations among the Gullah Geechee uses a unique blend of primary sources for the Combahee River Raid to reveal Harriet Tubman’s Civil War activities, reconstruct the communities which were freed from enslavement on Lowcountry rice plantations in the June 1863 Combahee River Raid, and show the Civil War transformations among freed Blacks in the Lowcountry whose descendants are known today as the Gullah Geechee. Robert M. Baum, Shrines of the Slave Trade: Diola Religion and Society in Precolonial Senegambia (New York: Oxford University, 1999), 57, 28-31, 55-56, 58.A tribute to slaves brutalized in Lowcountry South Carolina and Georgia rice plantations.by Danielle M. Smith 2019 marks the 400th anniversary since African captives were first brought to the United States when a Dutch ship carried the 20 shackled captives to the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia.26 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2019REQUIEM FOR RICEUnburied,Unmourned,Unmarked: WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 27by Austin Premier In April 1967, Gary Watson took his first picture with celebrity Tammi Terrell. Fifty-two years, 5,000 celebrities and dozens of hilarious stories later he is known as America’s top celebrity photographic historian. The sto-ry of how he came to gain a reputation as Muhammad Ali put it “You aint famous unless you get a picture with this guy,” started with humble beginnings and experiences that taught him early how to manage difficult personalities and situations and to be unflappable. According to Watson, Philadelphia in the 50s and 60s as he was growing up was plagued with gangs. “I think my mother was concerned with me not being affected by the gangs, because gang activity at that time was very prevalent and she was only concerned with me going to school and that’s why she didn’t mind me getting sent to my aunt in Atlantic City or my father in New York.” Moving around “afforded me the opportunity to be relaxed when it came to my opportunity and ingratiating myself with a variety of different types of people, different cultures, different neighborhoods, different values and back-grounds. By me being introduced to that at a younger age, I think it gave me the opportunity to not be intimidated by people.” When I came back to the neighborhood, they treated me like celebrity. Because I would say I went to school in New York and that is fascinating to guys that never went to New York or Atlantic City. Even though I came back, I was able to return with flash and flare. When you are growing up and young, those are the things that sometimes make you to stand out.” “How many people don’t go any further than their own city, don’t leave their state? I think sometimes that handicaps you being able to engage with a whole arsenal of different types of interactions with different types of people.” “I met Martin Luther King Jr., Harry Belafonte, and Stokely Carmichael walking down the street. I told him I supported his stance on the war. MLK said ‘Man I’m glad you got home safe.’ He was really concerned when he came out against the Vietnam War because he didn’t sound like he was pro Viet Cong. Later that day I was on the train home and met Ed Sullivan and I asked him if I had a camera if he would take a picture with me. He told me to come by the show and he would let me backstage for the picture.” “A week later I went to the Ed Sullivan show and he remembered me and picked me out of the crowd and pointed to me to let me come past the barricade and that’s how I got my picture, so he was a man of his word.” Watson laughed. Although Watson would go on from that day to be regarded as a king of the paparazzi, what separated him from other photographers throughout the years is that he never tried to profit off a single picture, preferring to al-ways have at least a 40-hour work week job and go take his pictures as well. “I worked for Scepter, I worked for Amtrak, US Air, and of course, KYW,” Watson said proudly. A hotspot for many of Watson’s pictures was outside of the station KYW for the Mike Douglas Show. “After a year of me going to the Mike Douglas show, Douglas came outside to meet me because he was like, ‘who is this guy who wears a bowtie, all the celebrities keep taking pictures with and that treats the celebrities with so much respect? I’m hearing a lot about you, would you like to work for us?’ I worked for Mike Douglas for about a year and that’s how I met Judy Garland, Duke Ellington, John Lennon and Lucille Ball, she asked me how to do the twist,” he said. When asked what he thought made him so special that celebrities gravi-tated to him he said, “I would always dress up for the occasion. It’s my way of respecting them and I remembered my grandmother said, ‘if you want to impress people treat it like its a special occasion and they will treat it as a special occasion.’ I always dressed well with a tie and I knew how to greet people with the confidence that I should be there. In 1974, actress Shelly Winters said she liked the fact that I was so polite. She said of ‘all of the people I gave autographs and pictures to, you are the only one who thanked me.’ Sammy Davis said the same thing he said, ‘You know, you make it easy for people to accommodate you.’” Watson showed Winters his book of pictures of himself with celebrities after the show and she thought it was so fabulous she gave him a kiss. This started a new class of photos that Watson displays on his website world-famousgarywatson.com called celebrity kisses which includes actresses, models and singers like Christie Brinkley, Lena Horne and Gladys Knight. One of his proudest moments was in meeting Michael Jackson during the time Watson worked for Amtrak in the early 90’s. “He was booked on a train to D.C. to see his dermatologist because he had three lesions on his face he needed removed. When I first got in the room with him, they were putting the mask on. He had his hair dresser with him and his bodyguard. We talked from Philadelphia to Washington D.C.” Hearing Watson describe his experiences decades later with gusto and excitement as if they just happened makes it easy to see why he would work two or even three blue collar jobs instead of making his money selling his pictures and memories to news publications. “These are the rich little nuggets of my gold and diamond moments and that’s how I look at it. God has blessed me with these experiences that are equally as exciting and fabulous as the photographs I have been able to attain.” However, profit from his experiences may not elude him forever. His Gary Watson, 52 Years of Celebrity Photographic HistoryFlash and Flare:WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 27continued on page 28Next >