Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 2-18-20

National
6-Year-Old Florida Girl 'Traumatized' After Being Involuntarily Sent To Mental Health Facility
African Americans And Prostate Cancer
A 6-year-old girl in Florida is "traumatized" after being sent to a mental health facility fol- lowing an incident at her Jack- sonville elementary school, her mother said. Nadia King was allegedly "out of control," but her mom says she has special needs and is questioning the state law that allowed her to be committed to the facility.
According to a sheriff's re- port, a social worker who re- sponded to Nadia's tantrum at Love Grove Elementary School stated the girl was a "threat to hurt herself and oth- ers," "destroying school prop- erty" and "attacking staff."
She was removed from school and committed to a be- havioral health center for a psychiatric evaluation under the Baker Act, which allows authorities to force such an evaluation on anyone consid- ered to be a danger to them- selves or others.
Nadia's mother, Martina
NADIA KING
Falk, said her daughter has at- tention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a mood disorder. "I specifically placed my daughter at this school back in August 2019 because I was told they had specifically trained staff to handle special needs children," she said.
Surrounded by her legal team, Falk said the nearly two-day mandatory stay at the mental health center, away from her mother, did more harm than good.
"She's traumatized. She is
not herself anymore. I don't know what the long-term ef- fects are," she told CBS News correspondent Manuel Bo- jorquez.
Duval County Public Schools told CBS News the de- cision to admit a student under the Baker Act is made by a third-party licensed mental health care professional and said, "We've reviewed the school's handling of this situa- tion and find it to be compliant both with law and the best in- terest of this student and all other students at the school."
But critics ask if the Baker Act is being overused, espe- cially when it comes to school kids.
In 2018 in Cocoa, Florida, a 12-year-old boy with autism was taken to a facility in a po- lice cruiser. It was the boy's first day in middle school and during a meltdown, he scratched himself and then made a suicidal reference.
African American men are at an increased risk for devel- oping prostate cancer over white men and other men of color. One in six African Amer- ican men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime. Overall, African American men are 1.8 times more likely to be diag- nosed with—and 2.2 times more likely to die from— prostate cancer than white men. African American men are also slightly more likely than white men to be diag- nosed with advanced disease.
While there is no clear rea- son for these differences, sev- eral factors can impact cancer risk and outcomes in the African American community. Because of historical context, race in the United States is correlated with socioeconomic status, and lower socioeco- nomic status is correlated with increased cancer risk and poorer outcomes.
African American men may also be harmed by racial bias in preventive care, as they are likely than white men to be of- fered the option of having a PSA test, and are more likely than white men to be told that the benefits of the PSA test are uncertain. Additionally, a re- cent study found that African American men diagnosed with
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN
early-stage prostate cancer were less likely than white men to receive any type of treat- ment for that cancer.
Fortunately, the racial di- vide for prostate cancer out- comes is narrowing. Overall, the five-year relative survival rate for African American men diagnosed with prostate can- cer is 97%, which means that if an African American man is diagnosed with prostate can- cer today, at any stage, there is a 97% chance he will be alive in five years. When the disease is caught early, this rate in- creases to nearly 100%.
Black-Owned Bank Drops Debit
Card Featuring Harriet Tubman Doing ‘Wakanda Forever’ Salute
OneUnitedBank has re- leased a limited edition Visa debit card that features aboli- tionist Harriet Tubman doing what looks like the Wakanda Forever salute from the “Black Panther” movie.
The black-owned bank an- nounced the card on social media, calling it “a symbol of Black empowerment.”
“We have the power to place Harriet Tubman on a global payment device in cele- bration of Black History Month,” Teri Williams, President & COO of OneU- nited Bank, said of the re- lease. “This symbol of Black empowerment in 2020 will pave the way for the Harriet Tubman design on the $20 bill.”
The cards use Tubman’s image from “The Conqueror,” a painting by Miami artist
HARRIET TUBMAN CREDIT CARD
Addonis Parker.
“She’s posing with the sign language of love and we need black love within the commu- nity and the world,” said Williams.
Parker also painted t h e 2015 mural outside One- United, 3275 NW 79th St., in North Miami-Dade, per Miami Herald.
Needless to say, people on
social slammed the card with criticisms and jokes.
Author and culture critic Frederick Joseph wrote, “There aren’t enough lan- guages to say “this ain’t it”.
Another user wrote, “Yea I’m sure Harriet Tubman would LOVE the idea of her image and legacy being used to get more people caught up in perpetual credit card debt.”
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