Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 6 August 1999 — Page 25

FRIDAY, AUGUST 6,1999 ■ PAGE C7

Dreadlocks: An escalating y .' 'trend for both young and old

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t By ALESHA COOPER Recorder Intern New trendy and fashionable hair styles, affix themselves to the heads 'of America’s daring everyday. Those who are willing to experiment with something unordinary are normally the trendsetters for the fashion of today. Dreadlocks are an escalating trend for both the young and old generations of today, creating the fashion symbols for such distinguished icons in the new itfusic era as Maxwell, Lenny Kravitz and Lauryn Hill. Although these nappy locks have a tremendous amount of beauty within them, their beauty has just recently began to be appreciated by the straight-hair-heads of the world. Not only do dreadlocks signature themselves to the faces of celebrities, many infamous heads have been ornamented by dreadlocks. Local poet and founder of the Asante Children Theater Deborah Asante is a member of thi s group of people w'ho have been branded by the beauty of dreadlocks. “I have been wearing my hair in dreads for nine years, but my hair has been natural for a very long time. I must say the reason I chose to wear my hair this way is because

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Deborah Asante I wanted to achieve natural beauty without someone else dictating to me how my hair should look,” Asante recited about her dreadlocks. “It was a form of self discovery. I think that even if I did not wear the dreads I would always prefer to wear my hair natural. I know I will never have straight hair. Maybe short hair, or just wild and nappy, butthat’sme. I do believe that they ate fashionable to me, and to people young and old alike. Tomethey’re beautiful and a celebration of nappy.”

Nappy, in some cases, can be associated with unclean or unsanitary. This is not the case with dreadlocks. Dreadlocks can be both washed and properly groomed with the right hair care products. “I wash my dreadlocks almost everyday. If I am in a room where there are a lot of people smoking, that smell can remain in my hair. This is why it is sometimes necessary to properly maintain dreads," said Jeana Lewis, a young woman who recently started growing dreads. “I know the hardest part of taking care of dreads is when you first decide to get them and they begin the locking up process. For the first three weeks, I could not wash my hair. I had to do this in order for my hair to do what I wanted it to do. Since I had been wearing my hair in an afro, I had to go through that awkward stage where my dreadlocks were not long enough to style. After several months, dreadlocks can be fashioned into almost any hairstyle.” Dreadlocks can not be created, but rather grown. This is not a hair trend like most that can be achieved by a stylists in a small period of time. Creating dreadlocks is an ongoing process that can continue for the test of one’s life, or as for as long as dreads remain convenient.

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“A Mid Summer’s Night Vision” was the theme as Visions Summer Beauty Camp held a special ball for its students at the Artsgarten. Students and their escorts were wearing only the finest tuxedos and gowns for the formal engagement.

Twelve-year-old Tiffany Townsend was one of

several Visions Summer

campers on

hand to

enjoy the festivities.

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(Recorder photos by Curtis Guynn)

Visions celebrates beauty, fashion with gala

Recorder staff report The Visions Summer Beauty Camp is in full swing, and young ladies from all comers of the city have taken advantage of its unique

services. The Summer Camp is a grueling transformation process for some of its campers, as several of See GALA, Page C8

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National campaign launched to save thousands of Blacks

: A unique partnership of Meharry I Medical College, the U.S. Depart- • ment of Transportation, General j Motors Corporation and the Con;gressional Black Caucus has ; launched anationwide educational 'campaign to save thousands of ; African Americans from fatal auto , accidents by increasing seat belt

.‘use.

At a Washington press conference, U.S. Transportation SecreUary Rodney E. Slater commended Meharry Medical College, of Nashville, Tennessee, and General Motors Corporation for a comprehen-. sive study on seat belt use among African Americans. The study confirms that seat belt use is significantly lower among African Americans as a whole and that

African Americans are more likely Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater (2nd from left) convened tobekilledinmotorvehiclecrashes a press conference to announce results of the Meharry Medical than whites. College study on seat belts. Key participants In the press According to the study, African conference were Dr. John Maupin, Jr. (left), president, Meharry American youth are 60 percent less Medical College, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher (2nd from likely to be, buckled than whites or right), and Roderick Gillum, vice president of General Motors Hispanics. It also observed that Corporation, which sponsored the study. Secretary Slater said the 100 percent seat belt use by Afri- failure of African Americans to buckle up has created a “silent can Americans could save as many epidemic” of preventable deaths and injuries,

as 1,200 lives per year and prevent

26,000 injuries at a cost savings of The study was sponsored by a sentedtoSecretarySlaterforusein nearly $2.6 billion. grant from General Motors to National Highway Traffic Safety

Meharry Medical College and pre- Administration (NHTSA) efforts

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Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson is greeted by Dr. Ricardo Martinez, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Pictured are Meharry Medical College President Dr. John Maupin, Jr. (left) and Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater(right). Rep. Johnson represented theCongressional

Black Caucus as its vice chairperson.

to help America meet President Clinton’s goal of 90 percent seat '|

belt use by 2005.

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Act-So participants attend NAACP convention

Indianapolis NAACP Act-So Competition participants at the 90th Annual NAACP National Convention, July 12,1999, Sheraton Towers, New York City. From left to right. Row 1: Tiffany Hightower, Lawrence Barclay, Rod Bohannon, Janice Fletcher; Row 2: Joseph Perkins, Keith Williams, Christina Matthews, Ryan Neal, George Lyle; Row 3: Mrs. McGuire, Herschelle McGuire, Herman Whlttfleld, Larissa O’Neal, Wayne Kidd.

Ryan Neal, pictured with NAACP President Kwelsi Mfume, received the Gloster B. Current Award during the NAACP National Convention in New York City. Ryan is the president of the Greater Indianapolis NAACP Youth Council.

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Jason B. Haight has been commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army through the Reserve Officer Training Cops (ROTC) program after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. He is a 1994 graduate of Highland Park High School. 111. Anthony J. Majors recently enlisted in the U.S. Army Delayed Entry Program and reported for active duty on July 15. The North Central High School graduate will take basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., and the advanced individual training at Fort Lee, Va., He has chosen the position of Food Service Specialist as his military occupational specialty and has volunteered to serve a three-year tour of duty.

The building blocks of creativity for kids (NAPSA) - Knowing how to build your child’s creativity can be as easy as giving them the right toys. Many child care experts recommend that parents help make sure that their children’s creative experience is enhanced by the technology used. Moms and dads can help accomplish this in these ways: • The technology in today’s toys can help broaden and challenge children’s minds and interests. For example, there are dolls with computer chips that can talk and one toy that can even learn language. ‘ • Give children blocks and let them build anything they wishfrom skyscrapers to space creatures to houses. Tell them there is no right or wrong way to build anything with blocks. Blocks can help stimulate the senses, develop babies’ motor skills and hand-eye coordination and encourage play. One line of building blocks offers a range of products for ■ practically every age and

interest.

The company. Lego, recently released a new line for ages nine and up. Children can build and program “intelligent” inventions that move, act and virtually think on their own. The line is an example of technology that can empower a child to learn and think while playing with the toys. This system, called Mindstorms, works with a microcomputer and traditional Lego blocks and pieces to create new ways for children to interact with the world and apply technology with imagination and understanding. Some of the products require a personal

computer.

“While it isn’t possible to see the future, we can prepare our children for tomorrow by helping them develop their ability to analyze and solve problems,” said Linda Dalton of Lego Mindstorms. The Mindstorms line features such fun kits as the Robotics Discovery Set, the Droid Developers Kit, Robo Sports and Exploration Mars to spark the interest of young minds. Lego products are available at most major toy stores. You can also visit the World Wide Web site at www.legomindstorms.com.