Black History Is Our History: Part 3

This black history month we’re honoring dr patricia bath an ophthalmologist who began her career in new york city dr bath developed a method of laser cataract surgery that’s helped patients worldwide she was the first african american woman doctor to receive a medical patent she died in 2019. we’re taking a look

Back now at the history of scientific misconduct which has led to african-american mistrust of the medical community these feelings are having a crucial impact in the fight against the coronavirus cbs 2’s andrea klein thomas explains we’re going home we met 60-year-old felicia king in harlem despite her underlying health conditions

When it’s her turn she has no plans of getting the covet vaccine the white house has been so chaotic in the last term who’s to believe anything that they say she’s not alone data shows african-americans in the city and beyond are the least likely to get the vaccine i don’t trust it

In going back to history way back look what they did to the business and the tuscany the 1932 tuskegee study where for 40 years the federal government withheld treatment to hundreds of black men who had syphilis to study its long-term effects it caused suffering and in some cases

Death how do you feel about being used as a guinea pig i thought once it was pretty rough and in the 1950s a baltimore doctor biopsied the cancer cells of henrietta lacks without consent researchers continue to use the cells for decades without compensating her family i think all of that needs to be

Acknowledged and actually can’t be trivialized because i think our communities have had to deal with the medical profession with some amount of skepticism that was protected medical misconduct that fueled mistrust but then i would also say that this isn’t the moment that we’re in now the development of covet vaccines

Are different in many ways trials were conducted on thousands of willing volunteers from different backgrounds dr kuzmikia corbett a black woman is the lead scientist that developed the moderna vaccine the vaccine teaches the body how to fend off a virus because it teaches the body how to look for the virus and

Medical professionals were first in line for the shots we have someone from our own community who’s developing these vaccines for our community which needs it the most and i am encouraging you first of all if you have access to the vaccine receive it black churches like abyssinian baptists in harlem are now

Vaccination sites and are part of a strategy to build trust then you go up to the armory and they say that people from out of town predominantly white coming to get the vaccine why because it works and his biggest fear that more will die in our community senselessly needlessly but the hardest

Hit communities are where vaccine hesitancy is the highest we currently do take every encounter that we have as a precious moment to gain a patient’s trust but also to gain the trust of that person’s network a traumatic history haunting the present when so much is at stake andrea clyne thomas cbs 2 news

Some firefighters of color in passaic county new jersey are breaking barriers and bridging gaps cbs 2’s lisa rosner says their commitment is not only to the front lines but to their community’s confidence and pride without hesitation firefighters roshawn davis and janice miller gear up for whatever the emergency

They’ve both been a part of the patterson fire department for around 15 years today they are part of the roughly 20 percent of firefighters of color that make up the patterson fire department a number that has slowly climbed from 1980 when larry franklin joined and was just one of four black

Firefighters it was daunting in the fact that it was in the city of patterson where the population was approximately 180 000 people and of those 180 000 people 85 percent were people of color shortly after a consent decree meant the city needed to hire more minorities to reflect the population

But franklin said most minorities were afraid of the risks of firefighting he eventually became the city’s first black fire captain something he prepared for with the help of nearby chapters of the international association of black professional firefighters his mentor the department’s first black firefighter henry harris spearheaded forming the local chapter

Known today as the bronze heat i tell people all the time this is the second best job in the world when you find the furthest best let me know it’s important for us to allow our community to see that there are you know other members in the community

That are like them the goal for the bronze heat is to show members in the community that they aren’t just here to fight fires but also they’re here as helpers from escorting santa to deliver free holiday toys to kids to hosting a free seafood cookout to beautifying a park

Honoring martin luther king jr’s historic visit to patterson whether they need encouragement on education whether it’s personal issues you know we’re here for you plaques honoring franklin and harris are right at the front of their home fire trucks it’s their strength that prompted the bronze heat to come together

And make the community around them even stronger in paterson new jersey lisa rosner cbs 2 news tonight we have a look at african-american greek life what’s known as the divine nine on college campuses there’s a new spotlight on them since the election of vice president harris but

So i mean what is the divine nine and how are these black fraternities and sororities different from all the others cbs 2’s elise finch a proud sorority member herself explains From the outside looking in black greek life might look like one big party and most people will tell you it is a lot of fun there are four african-american sororities and five fraternities that make up the national panhellenic council together known as the divine nine each has their own

Colors meaningful symbols unique hand gestures and even calls that you’ll hear during social events But black greek life is also a serious matter because these organizations share a commitment to academic achievement and uplifting the black community african american fraternities and sororities are just as integral of the black community as the black church lawrence c ross is a member of alpha phi alpha fraternity and also

The author who coined the phrase the divine nine for one of his books they’re working together to kind of to basically go into society and to in some ways prove that one is a first-class citizen in contrast to what america is saying to the black community

So who are the members of the divine nine alpha phi alpha fraternity incorporated alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated capital alpha fraternity incorporated omega sci-fi fraternity incorporated delta sigma theta sorority incorporated phi beta sigma fraternity incorporated zeta phi beta sorority incorporated sigma gamma rho sorority incorporated iota five theta fraternity incorporated

Each of the organizations exists in part to bolster african-american college students while they’re on campus academically and socially basically even if you only had one friend that one true friend can get you through anything and that’s what we ought to each other but they’re also devoted to serving their communities

And it’s not just a collegiate endeavor mary bentley lamarr is the north atlantic regional director of alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated many greek organizations are started in college and once your college years are over you are pretty much finished with your activity with that organization whereas in the divine nine we commit to

Service sisterhood brotherhood in the case of fraternities for a lifetime both undergraduate and alumni members of all the groups routinely collect and distribute food clothing and other necessities voter registration drives and fundraisers to provide scholarships are cornerstones so are leadership and mentoring programs for young people valerie hollingsworth baker is the

International president of zeta phi beta sorority incorporated we have so many members who are lawyers and doctors and and aerospace engineers and they’re able to steer you in the direction of where you may want to go and when you’re thinking about a career in life most of my teachers were dealt with and

They always seemed to be you know women who were extremely brilliant well spoken and just about uplifting the community i was influenced by somebody when i got to college she was my mentor we had the same major the same interests she was just everything i wanted to be

And for her to be an sg row i said okay like i want to be a nice hero too for some people black greek life is literally a family affair that’s the case for my mother sister niece and me we are all members of alpha kappa alpha sorority

Incorporated my mother joined 57 years ago i know that it was a lifelong commitment i knew that i would be active had no idea how active and wasn’t sure what my children would do or my grandchild would do so i am amazed african-americans still face unique challenges on college campuses

And in our communities so the divine nine is as necessary today as it was more than a century ago when most of the organizations were founded elise finch cbs 2 news all right finch family setting the pace for generations to come we have this story remembering the long distance

Runner who blazed the trail for countless others and will tune in for an immersive history lesson to whirl and to dance The musically-based interactive project exploring the history of african americans in new york city

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