UofL School of Medicine receiving funding to improve heart health in Black community

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – The University of Louisville School of Medicine is receiving two grants to help improve heart health in the Black community.

The grants that were announced by the University of Louisville and The Humana Foundation are going to be supporting dietary interventions. According to a release, “the grants are contributing to UofL’s strategic imperative to address health equity and serve as part of The Humana Foundation’s strategy to eliminate unjust and unnecessary barriers in health care.”

The three-year grants will support regional nutrition programs.

The largest of the two at $1,037,000, will be supporting cardiac disease screening and nutrition-based interventions. This is being done to address cardiac health disparities among older Black adults.

The second grant of $154,000 will be supporting the identification Black community members at-risk for coronary disease and also enrollment into long-term nutrition and lifestyle interventions.

“Food insecurity is a major problem that correlates with health care disparities,” UofL Department of Medicine Chair Dr. Kim Allan Williams Sr. said in the release. “Nutrition education and food quality issues plague our African-American community, keeping heart disease as the leading killer of Americans. Our trials will help detect disease in those who are at risk and manage those already diagnosed using lifestyle changes, medication, enhanced access to cardiac care and advanced diagnostic imaging.”

The programs include efforts to create healthy emotional connections as well.

For more on these grants, click or tap here.

Murphy expands AP African American program in response to DeSantis

New Jersey will expand its Advanced Placement African American Studies classes from one to 26 high schools in honor of Black History Month in a move Gov. Phil Murphy said is to “set an example for the nation” after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent ban on teaching the course in his state.

“The expansion of AP African American Studies in New Jersey will grant our students the opportunity to learn about the innumerable ways in which Black Americans have shaped and strengthened our country,” said Murphy in a Newark classroom on Tuesday.

“As governors like Florida’s Ron DeSantis prioritize political culture wars ahead of academic success, New Jersey will proudly teach our kids that Black History is American History,” Murphy said in a statement.

Sixty schools around the country began to teach the AP African American studies in January as part of a two-year pilot by the College Board, which conducts all testing for the SAT, PSAT and AP exams in high schools. Science High School in Newark, where Murphy announced the expanded course offerings, is one of those 60 schools and the only one in New Jersey.

Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey speaks at the construction site of the Hudson Tunnel Project on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, in New York.

Now, 25 more high schools in the state will offer the course beginning in September. Murphy’s office did not name the districts.

The African American studies program is the newest addition to The College Board’s AP program, designed for academically talented high school students who earn credits for the college-level courses in the arts, humanities and sciences.

Murphy’s announcement follows DeSantis’ rejection of the AP courses and comments that he would pursue ending Florida’s ties with the College Board.

The College Board accused the Florida Department of Education of slander, following a months-long back and forth between them about the AP course.

“We deeply regret not immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander,” the College Board said on Saturday.

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks after being sworn in to begin his second term during an inauguration ceremony outside the Old Capitol on Jan. 3, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla. DeSantis' administration has blocked a new Advanced Placement course on African-American studies from being taught in high schools, saying the class violates state law and that it is historically inaccurate. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

College Board denied it removed certain sections of its original AP African American studies course framework in February in response to complaints by the Florida Department of Education that it included terms like “intersectionality,” and, in DeSantis’ words, “critical race theory.”

In an interview with NPR, College Board CEO David Coleman said that changes were made and released in time for the start of Black History Month. The Florida Department of Education sent a letter in January to The College Board saying its AP African American studies course lacked “educational value.” DeSantis criticized the course for including “queer theory” and said it was pushing an “agenda” instead of teaching history.

The final curriculum for the AP African American Studies Program is available on the Colleg Board’s website.

Florida and New Jersey schools are required to teach African American history by law while AP courses for high school students are optional.

Speculation is rife that Murphy could be interested in a 2024 run for president, and the governor has not confirmed or denied this. DeSantis, also expected to seek a presidential nomination from the GOP, is seen to be rising in stature in the party. By expanding New Jersey’s schools’ offerings of the AP African American classes, Murphy’s announcement challenges DeSantis’ championing of anti-woke policies in K-12 education.

Gov. Murphy reacts to Gov. DeSantis by expanding NJ’s African American AP classes

New Jersey will expand its Advanced Placement African American Studies classes from one to 26 high schools in honor of Black History Month in a move Gov. Phil Murphy said is to “set an example for the nation” after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent ban on teaching the course in his state.

“The expansion of AP African American Studies in New Jersey will grant our students the opportunity to learn about the innumerable ways in which Black Americans have shaped and strengthened our country,” said Murphy in a Newark classroom on Tuesday.

“As governors like Florida’s Ron DeSantis prioritize political culture wars ahead of academic success, New Jersey will proudly teach our kids that Black History is American History,” Murphy said in a statement.

Sixty schools around the country began to teach the AP African American studies in January as part of a two-year pilot by the College Board, which conducts all testing for the SAT, PSAT and AP exams in high schools. Science High School in Newark, where Murphy announced the expanded course offerings, is one of those 60 schools and the only one in New Jersey.

Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey speaks at the construction site of the Hudson Tunnel Project on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, in New York.

Now, 25 more high schools in the state will offer the course beginning in September. Murphy’s office did not name the districts.

The African American studies program is the newest addition to The College Board’s AP program, designed for academically talented high school students who earn credits for the college-level courses in the arts, humanities and sciences.

Murphy’s announcement follows DeSantis’ rejection of the AP courses and comments that he would pursue ending Florida’s ties with the College Board.

The College Board accused the Florida Department of Education of slander, following a months-long back and forth between them about the AP course.

“We deeply regret not immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander,” the College Board said on Saturday.

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks after being sworn in to begin his second term during an inauguration ceremony outside the Old Capitol on Jan. 3, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla. DeSantis' administration has blocked a new Advanced Placement course on African-American studies from being taught in high schools, saying the class violates state law and that it is historically inaccurate. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

College Board denied it removed certain sections of its original AP African American studies course framework in February in response to complaints by the Florida Department of Education that it included terms like “intersectionality,” and, in DeSantis’ words, “critical race theory.”

In an interview with NPR, College Board CEO David Coleman said that changes were made and released in time for the start of Black History Month. The Florida Department of Education sent a letter in January to The College Board saying its AP African American studies course lacked “educational value.” DeSantis criticized the course for including “queer theory” and said it was pushing an “agenda” instead of teaching history.

The final curriculum for the AP African American Studies Program is available on the Colleg Board’s website.

Florida and New Jersey schools are required to teach African American history by law while AP courses for high school students are optional.

Speculation is rife that Murphy could be interested in a 2024 run for president, and the governor has not confirmed or denied this. DeSantis, also expected to seek a presidential nomination from the GOP, is seen to be rising in stature in the party. By expanding New Jersey’s schools’ offerings of the AP African American classes, Murphy’s announcement challenges DeSantis’ championing of anti-woke policies in K-12 education.

Backlash to Ron DeSantis expands AP African American studies 2,600% in New Jersey

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) credited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) with his decision to expand AP African American studies in the state.

During an announcement on Tuesday, Murphy said that the courses would be taught in additional schools. The increase will expand AP African American studies from one school to 26 schools.

“This begins with Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida. And it’s unacceptable – and, quite frankly, shameful,” Murphy said at a press conference on Tuesday.

DeSantis has claimed that the courses cannot be taught in Florida because they violate a law he signed last year called the Stop WOKE Act.

Murphy also cited DeSantis in a statement about the expansion of AP African American studies.

“New Jersey will proudly teach our kids that Black History is American History,” the statement explained. “While the DeSantis Administration stated that AP African American Studies’ significantly lacks educational value’, New Jersey will stand on the side of teaching our full history.”

According to the Associated Press, the “courses have begun in 60 schools nationwide as part of a two-year pilot phase and are set to expand to hundreds next year.”

Spike Lee on Beyoncé’s Grammy Album of the Year Loss: “We Know What the Deal Is”

Spike Lee says that Beyoncé’s album of the year loss at this year’s Grammys was “some straight-up bullshit” while discussing the “tricky territory of validation” Black artists find themselves in during awards season.

In an interview with The Guardian, the Oscar winner shared his feelings about how the most awarded artist in Grammys history has been snubbed four times in the album of the year category. While Lee admitted he’s “not the male president of the Bey Hive,” he does, like her fan base, “love and support” her. That includes supporting her getting her due for the “amazing” Renaissance album.

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“I know she’s won multiple Grammys, but four times nominated for album of the year and she’s lost every time?” he said. “No disrespect to those artists like Adele or Harry Styles who won. It’s not their fault, but that’s some straight-up bullshit.”

In addition to Renaissance’s album of the year nom — an honor Harry Styles’ Harry’s House ultimately took — Beyoncé has been individually nominated three other times in the category. That includes a nomination for Lemonade in 2017, which she lost to Adele’s 25; in 2015 for her self-titled album, with the award going to Beck for Morning Phase; and in 2010 for I Am … Sasha Fierce, with album of the year going to Taylor Swift’s Fearless. (Beyoncé was additionally nominated in 2011 for Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster as a featured artist, a win that went to Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs.)

For critics of the Recording Academy‘s voting choices, adding to the four-time loss in the category — even as Beyoncé broke the record for the most Grammys awarded to a single performer in the award show’s nearly 70-year history — is the fact she’s lost every time to white artists.

It’s a particular pain point that Lee acknowledged, pointing to a larger discussion about how Black artists engage with entertainment bodies that have historically excluded them.

“There’s a history of great Black artists who come up for these awards and don’t win. We all know their work is great because art speaks for itself,” he explained. “But then it always comes down to this tricky territory of validation. Do Black artists say: ‘Fuck it’ — or seek white validation and chase awards?”

The director didn’t explicitly answer, but in giving “a shoutout” to Beyoncé, stated, “We know what the deal is.”

“It’s straight-up shenanigans, skulduggery, subterfuge,” he added. “Or as the British say: It’s some poppycock!”

During the interview, Lee was also asked about the issue as it relates to the Oscars, which faced its own backlash over the surprise best actress nomination of Andrea Riseborough for To Leslie, which she secured thanks to a nontraditional, celebrity-fueled campaign.

Riseborough’s nomination sparked a review by the Academy following the snubs of Black actresses and 2023 award season contenders Viola Davis for The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler, who led Till.

This time, Lee — who prefaced his comments by saying, “I’ve really got nothing to say about it” — chose to focus on praise for the Black women who were nominated while acknowledging the Film Academy’s issues with historical exclusion.

“I’m happy Angela Bassett got nominated. I’m happy Ruth Carter — who for a long time was my costume designer — got nominated,” he said. “It gets tricky when you get these award things. And the Academy has a history with … The Academy has a history, let’s leave it at that. But the whole #OscarsSoWhite hashtag definitely made an impact. The Academy, to their credit, made changes to bring diversity to the voting body.”

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