by Eliza Barclay
DC NORTH
Business Briefs. April 2004. p44.

An unusual combination of hip-hop artists and kung fu students took the stage of the Lincoln Theatre on the evening of March 9 as part of a rousing introduction to the biannual health and wellness series launched this month. Local MCs Head Roc and Noyeek the Grizzly Bear, backed up by DJ Eurok, opened the show. Kid Caramel, a pint-size adolescent MC, and accompanying First FAMM followed, offering rhymes on the importance of health and self-integrity.

The second act included students from the Hung Tao Choy Mei Kung Fu Academy, who performed a traditional Chinese Lion Dance for prosperity and goodwill under strikingly beautiful lion costumes, flanked by kung fu demonstrations featuring levels from beginner to expert.

After the brilliant, undulating lions slunk offstage, the forum's more formal objective--to deliver specific information to the community on health and well-being--got underway. "Healing Ourselves: A Health and Wellness Call to Action" was spearheaded by Abdur-Rahim Muhammad, President of the Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute. Muhammad, the first speaker, said, "This event is a call to action; we need to stand up, get moving, and take more responsibility for our health and well-being."

Also in the first batch of speakers preceding the panel of health professionals was Kristie Cameron, Chairperson of the DC Hip Hop Alliance, who arranged the performance of the hip-hop artists. "Hip hop in DC has not been a healing agent, but we are working to make it one," said Cameron. "We are bringing hip hop into the churches and have worked on educating people about the closing of DC General Hospital through music."

The panel of health professionals included representatives from the fields of AIDS prevention, holistic healing, acupuncture, dentistry, substance abuse and addiction, cardiology, and healthcare policy.

The moderator, Dr. Marilyn Gatson, a Former Assistant Surgeon General, initiated the panel presentations stating, "50 percent of the deaths in the DC area are preventable. We have to start a revolution and address our serious health issues."

The panelists were each given seven minutes to discuss some way in which average citizens can take better control of their own health and healthcare. Other practitioners managing public health outreach initiatives outlined their work for the audience. Several of the practitioners emphasized the importance of integrating holistic and traditional forms of medicine with conventional forms.

Kokai Patterson of RAP, Inc. spoke about his organization's work, which includes a four-month residential abstinence program focusing on African Americans, in several locations for non-heroin-using substance abusers who are HIV-positive. and some of whom are addicted mothers with children in DC. Patterson also specializes in acupuncture for addictive disorders. "These kinds of treatments have been used in all parts of the world," Patterson said, "Africans used thorns as needles in their own form of acupuncture."

Patterson spoke of some of the reasons why African-American communities east of the river carry a much larger health burden than other communities in the city. "The money is plainly going to other communities, to schools in other communities." he provided the sobering statistic that as of December 2003, there were about 15,000 cases of AIDS in DC. Patterson concluded with a forceful statement "We must say yes to life and no to the things that destroy us."

Dr. Alison F. Henderson of the New Life Wellness Center in her presentation the importance of reading nutrition labels as a means of regulating a healthy diet. She also condemned the District government for the lead in the water. "We must demand that our politicians take care of the water. It is a shame to be in the nation's capital and to have water we cannot drink," Henderson declared. Henderson mentioned that she and her colleagues had long been aware of the danger in drinking DC's water; she urged residents to filter their water whenever possible.

Abdur-Rahim Muhammad, President of the Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute, said the "Healing Ourselves" series will held every March and September at the Lincoln Theatre. The next forum will take place in September 2004. For more information, visit the Web site of the Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute at www.jowga.org/home.php. For more information on local health issues, listen to Jonie Eisenberg's show "Heal DC" on WPFW 89.3 every Monday from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm