News Release
October 2002
(Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) - Moravian College’s Office
of Multi-cultural Affairs, and the Lehigh Valley Black Health Initiative
Task Force will co-sponsor, A Symposium on Black Women’s Health,
Saturday, October 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the First Presbyterian
Church in Bethlehem. Award-winning journalist, Bev Smith will be the
keynote speaker at the symposium designed to raise awareness and promote
healthful lifestyles.
The event, coordinated by black community leaders, will be presented
by public health professionals sensitive to and experienced with providing
health care to minority communities.
Its specific purpose is to raise awareness of major issues
affecting the immediate well-being of participants, and the practical
means to significantly improve black women’s health. Approximately
200 women are expected to attend the symposium.
The program will address a variety of issues impacting black women’s
health, including cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, HIV/AIDS,
and depression. It will also focus on healthy living and reducing risk
factors for chronic disease.
In the spring of 2002, community partners in the public
health field and concerned black citizens met in response to the recognized
need for an organized, culturally sensitive effort to address the glaring
health disparities in the local black community. The result was the
creation of the Lehigh Valley Black Health Initiative Task Force.
The Task Force will launch this educational opportunity
at a minimal cost of $15, including continental breakfast and luncheon.
Symposium participants will better understand their current physical
condition; be motivated to engage in leading healthier lifestyles; and
empower themselves to become more aggressive in maintaining a healthy
mind, body, and soul.
Bev Smith, who currently hosts the popular one-hour talk
show "Our Voices," can be seen on Black Entertainment Television,
and is a regular commentator on the American Urban Community Center.
She has been a broadcast journalist since 1971, when she was named Pittsburgh’s
first consumer affairs investigative reporter for WPXI Television, an
NBC affiliate. While a reporter she received numerous awards for consumer
investigations. She has also written a weekly consumer advice column
for The Pittsburgh Courier, the nation’s oldest African American
newspaper. In 1975 she was named news and public affairs director for
the Sheridan Broadcasting Company. Since then, she has taken her "fire
brand" style of talk
shows to Pittsburgh, Miami, Orlando and Washington. Smith has also guest-hosted
the Larry King Radio Show and The Kathy Hughes Show on WOL radio in
Washington.
For more information or to register, contact the Moravian
College Office of Multicultural Affairs at 610-625-7847.
