Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 3 October 2003 — Page 1

Preparing a conscious community May and beyond

Circle City Classic tabloid inside (The Indianapolis

INDIANA’S GREATEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Volume 108 ■ Number 40 ■ Since 1895 ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2003 ■ www.lndianapolisrecorder.com ■ Four Sections ■ 75C

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The Recorder talked with Boris Kodjoe about his visit to Indianapolis, his real life love affair with ‘‘Soul Food" co-star Nicole Ari Parker, and the tired rumor that he is dating tennis star Serena Williams. Read the complete article on page C3. Classic street closures and traffic On Oct. 4, during Circle City Classic events, Georgia Street between Capitol and Illinois will be closed to vehicular traffic to accommodate activities at Pan Am Plaza. The north curb lane will remain open for buses, emergency vehicles and access to St. John Catholic Church. Starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday, the city will begin closing various streets for the Circle City Classic Parade. The streets will reopen once the area is cleaned after the conclusion of the parade. While no other street closures are planned, in the event that traffic congestion is determined to be a safety issue, additional street closures may be ordered only by Police Chief Jerry Barker or his designee and will be communicated to designated Classic officials. Closures will remain in effect only for the amount of time necessary to alleviate the congestion. Traffic updates will be available on the following Radio One Stations: WHHH-FM, WTLCFM and WTLC-AM. IPD will provide real-time traffic updates to media outlets for broadcast. For more information on traffic and street closures contact the IPD customer service line at (317) 327-5134. Gov. Kernan continues stay for more DNA testing Gov. Joe Kernan continued the stay for convicted killer Darnell Williams by 60 more days. Williams was convicted of killing a Gary couple in 1986. Kernan asked the high court to a stay to allow time to collect DNA testing. Back in July, Gov. Frank O'Bannon postponed the execution. Authorities say that testing began on Sept. 15 and will not be complete until November. Weekend home repairs The Indianapolis Coalition for Neighborhood Development (ICND) will hold its annual volunteer home repair event on Oct. 4 at 341 W. 28 th St. Each year a home is selected in one of the 13 neighborhoods served by ICND. Volunteer's gather at the home to perform needed repairs. These repairs can include painting the house, yard work, new roofs, window repair and yard beautification. For more information on the ICND home repairs work contact Cheryl Hall-Russell at (317) 423-2009. ► See BRIEFS, Page A4 Got a hot news tip? Want to be heard? If you would like to report any news or share your comments, call the Recorder News Hotline at (317) 924-5143 ext 300

There's help for those suffering from clinical depression

By SHANNON WILLIAMS Recorder Editor When thinking of suicide, many African Americans assume that it’s something that Blacks don’t do, when in actuality, studies show that the rate of suicide deaths by African Americans has increased substantially in recent years. This significant increase is due in large part to depression. For a culture that prides itself on being strong, nearly 63 percent of African Americans believe that depression is a personal weakness. This thought process often makes the individual who suffers from depression conceal their problem and reject professional help. “It’s important to acknowledge that depression is not about personal weakness. It is not a reflection of a person’s ability to cope (or not) with life’s frustrations and demands,” said Lori Nesbit, a ► See DEPRESSION, Page A2 Symptoms of clinical depression • Constant sad, anxious or empty mood. • Change in sleeping patterns. • Change in appetite or weight. • Speaking and/or moving with unusual speed or slowness. • Fatigue or energy loss. • Feelings of worthlessness or guilt. • Diminished ability to think or concentrate. • Thoughts of suicide or death.

Majorettes undergo rigorous (raining to make (heir high stopping look spectacular

By BRANDON A. PERRY ettes, with their smiles and high Staff Writer stepping, steal the heart of the most casual observer. Like everythingelse in life that But what goes on behind the brings joy and excitement, see- scenes with young ladies who ing a group of expert majorettes promise to represent their school for the first time is a pleasure an j marching squad well as mathat can hardly be matched. jorettes? What are the requireMost people have had the op- meqts of becoming a majorette, portunity to go to a parade or and is there any negativity underfootball game and see these ath- neath the glamour audiences see letic and beautiful young women during such events as the Circle with their precision dance steps, city Classic? baton twirling, colorful outfits “it’s actually a great experiand kilowatt smiles. As the marching band lays down a tight rhythm, the major- ^ See MAJORETTES, Page A3

Who’s Who In Black Indianapolis book is set to go on sale next week. During the unveiling reception hosted by the NCAA (left to right) Father Boniface Hardin, Moses Gray, Barbara Boyd and Joe Slash were a few of the 380 individuals in the book. (Photo/C. Guynn)

Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males Chair, State Rep. Vernon Smith presents keynote speaker Julia Hare with a plaque for her participation in this year's event. (Photo/J. Hurst)

Men should eaf '9 a Day' - fruits and vegetables that is

By ERICKA P. THOMPSON Staff Writer The health of men, especially African-American men is critical in the age of prostate cancer, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Diet can play a major role in these diseases and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) wants to help men eat healthier and live longer. In its efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among men, NCI has developed a program they think will help reach their goal. It’s called “9 a Day.” According to new research by NCI, when men see what nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day looks like and how small each serving is, they grasp it’s actually easy to eat nine servings. “The goal of the program is to increase per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables to five to nine servings daily,” said Valerie Green, nutrition program manager and contractor for the national “5 a Day" for Better Health Program. "Fating more fruits and vegetables is one piece of dietary advice that experts can agree on. Less than a quarter of

What A Day looks like ■■■■■■■■MMINMBMMIEMcr.r'IillQfWRBHBBBKNRHWMMMIM

all Americans eat the amount of fruits and recommended by national health authorities for good health." Research has shown that the concept of eating more fruits and vegetables is not something the majority of men think about. A lot of men do not even reali/e that they should be eating nine servings per day. Ninety-seven percent of men think their recommended fruit and vegetable intake is less than nine servings per day and only 2~>

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percent believe they do not eat enough fruits and vegetables for good health and that they should be eating more. On average, men only eat four servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which is less than half of the amount advocated by NCI. NCI hopes their "9 a Day" program can encourage men to eat healthier. "This large-scale campaign was developed to help reduce the incidence of cancer and other r- See MEN, Page A2

Circle Cil? Classic focuses on educational development

By ERICKA C. WHEELER Staff Writer Indianapolis will be alive with pageantry and multiple events for the 20"' annual Circle City Classic this weekend. There will be a host of celebrities, part ies, a downtown parade, and of course, the main attraction -the Historically Black College and University football game and battle of the hands featuring Florida A&M vs. Jack son State. Have Circle City Classic events turned the 12th largest city in the United States into a “Hotlanta” of the Midwest? Maybe so. But Classic happenings are

not all that the Circle City Classic office has to off er. Even year t hey involv e themselv es in helping out young Hoosiers succeed educationally year round. “Education is first," said Tony McGee, director of fund development for the Circle City Classic. “We want to try to eliminate the barriers for any youngster wanting to go to college." In fact, education is so vital to Classic organizers that they choose their HBCU annual classic football teams based not only on there past match-ups, but also by the academics of the team and the school. “With the reduction of federal and state dollars being applied to the education budget, it is great

to see a local organization stepping up and prov iding this void," said local educator and Recorder columnist Leroy Robinson. “It is important to use these funds for education because the federal and state dollars have restrictions on them and thev must be applied to certain areas of the education structure." Education is so important to this organization that even quarter the office holds SAT’ workshops free to the community. In partnership with Princeton Review Foundation, w hich is ranked No. 1 in SAT preparation, the Classic office has a 1 read) serv ed over •>()() students. "We prov ide the students with lunches, and we take the attend-

ees to an auditorium to discuss what thev should expect from the SAT .” said McGee. "It is vital that SAT’ preparation be addressed early on because of the fact that inncr-citv youth seem to score the low est on this national test," Robinson said. "High SAT’ scores are worth money. Scholarship dollars arc awarded to those students who have high GPAs and SAT' scores', The market for being admitted to college is becoming much more competitive and many schools arc using SAT scores to accept or dem students entrance. Robinson said, "Wo can no longer have our students wait until the first semester of senior vear to began preparation for the

SAT." Sports are another important' area ofconcont rat ion for the Classic organization. T he Challenge of Champions is an event put on In the Circle Citv Classic. "Wo bring in the best basketball teams o! the Midwest to compete." said McGee. T bcse teams compete at 11 inkle FicKlbousc at Butler University. T his year t bey plan to incorporate financial awareness during the event to be held on Jan. 2. "T here w ill be booths set up to assist students with college financial aid, said McGee. T his year the Circle Citv Clas- ► See CIRCLE CITY, Page A2

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