Val Demings, the first African-American woman to serve as Orlando, Florida’s police chief, announced this week plans to run for the city’s 8th District congressional seat, now filled by freshman Republican Daniel Webster. She may first have to face off in a primary with the district’s former Rep. Alan Grayson (D), a victim of the voters’ Democratic fatigue during the 2010 midterm elections that gave House Republicans the majority. He also announced plans this week to attempt a return to Washington.

Demings, who served as Orlando police chief from December 2007 to May 2011, when she retired, said in an interview Thursday with WFTV.com, "We're dealing with some tough issues right now, and I want to be a part of developing solutions.” She also guaranteed that she would have the resources to run a competitive race. Demings has already won the support of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who, the television station reports, “has access to people she will need to raise money.”

Orlando is in a state of transition and, like many cities around the nation, has experienced major population shifts. But instead of Blacks moving out, as has been the case in Chicago and Detroit, the city’s 2010 census shows that the state’s African-American population has surged by 250,000 people in the past 10 years, says David Bositis, senior research analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. The same is true of the area’s Latino population. These shifts could bolster Demings’s chances, because when Florida creates its new redistricting map, the 8th will likely become a majority-minority district. But it’s not yet clear whether it will be majority Black or majority Latino, since the state is still in the early stages of the redistricting process.

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As computers and the Internet become more critical to daily life and work, America will benefit greatly from expanding the reach and capacity of broadband networks. The lack of access and technical literacy for some impacts quality of life, economic development, health care, education, environmental sustainability, public safety, and civic engagement for all U.S. communities. The federal, state, and local governments, in collaboration with the private sector, must play an active role in stimulating adoption and use of advanced broadband connections.

Section I of this paper discusses disparities currently existing among different race and ethnic groups and the barriers African Americans are facing on broadband adoption. A set of policy recommendations to increase broadband adoption among minorities are illustrated in Section II with three case studies. Section II also recommends ways broadband could be used to improve healthcare, education and employment. The last section details the call for action from African American elected officials committed to helping government and industry overcome these barriers and increase sustainable broadband adoption for African Americans.

Date Published: September 2009

The 2008 presidential campaign represts a historic occasion for both African Americans and black politics.

This fact sheet offers data on the use of contraceptives by African American adolescents, particularly when compared to their white counterparts. More on these findings can be found in The Reproductive Health of African American Adolescents: What We Know and What We Don't Know.

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To better understand the issues and to inform its deliberation in formulating recommendations for policy, research, and practice, the Infant Mortality Commission asked experts in various fields related to maternal and child health and infant mortality to prepare background papers on specific issues. This background paper examines the impact of stress and stress mediators on pregnancy outcomes for African American women. The report also examines social support and other relational experiences and makes recommendations for related changes in public policy and maternal and child health practices. This analysis complements and reinforces the recommendations of other Courage to Love: Infant Mortality Commission background and framing papers on infant mortality and resilience; the role of breastfeeding in maternal and infant health; the historical framework of policies and practices to reduce infant mortality; the authentic voices of those affected by infant mortality; and infant mortality in a global context.

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This issue brief identifies, analyzes and compares provisions which explicitly address the health and health care needs of racial and ethnic minorities within the two leading Congressional health care reform proposals: The Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3962) passed in the House of Representatives on November 7, 2009; and The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3590) introduced in the Senate on November 18, 2009, as a merged version of the Senate Finance Committee’s America’s Health Future Act (S.1796) and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions’ (HELP) Affordable Health Choices Act (S. 1697). Additionally, this issue brief explores the potential implications of broad health care reforms for racial and ethnic minorities. Also discussed is how each bill could decrease disparities and improve minority health, where each falls short in advancing these goals, as well as the transitional challenges and questions for the future should health care reform legislation be enacted.

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To better understand the issues and to inform its deliberation in formulating recommendations for policy, research, and practice, the Infant Mortality Commission asked experts in various fields related to maternal and child health and infant mortality to prepare background papers on specific issues. This background paper explores the relationship between maternal nutrition and infant mortality, with an emphasis on the context of relationality. It provides an analysis of the relationship between maternal nutrition and leading causes of infant mortality, as well as maternal, infant, and child health; an overview of the nutritional status and behaviors of pregnant women in the U.S.; and a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of nutritional supplementation programs in pregnancy. The final chapters reframe the relationship between maternal nutrition and infant mortality within the context of relationality over the life course and offer related recommendations for research, policy, and practice. This analysis complements and reinforces the recommendations of other Courage to Love: Infant Mortality Commission background and framing papers on infant mortality and resilience; the role of breastfeeding in maternal and infant health; the historical framework of policies and practices to reduce infant mortality; the authentic voices of those affected by infant mortality; and infant mortality in a global context.

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To better understand the issues and to inform its deliberation in formulating recommendations for policy, research, and practice, the Infant Mortality Commission asked experts in various fields related to maternal and child health and infant mortality to prepare background papers on specific issues. This background paper seeks to expand our understanding of the causes and effects of infant mortality within a broader global context. It offers comparisons between infant mortality in the U.S. and in other nations across the globe, providing a compassionate examination of the impact of social and economic inequalities on population health and infant mortality. The author concludes with policy recommendations to help mitigate or eliminate the inequalities that contribute to infant mortality. This analysis complements and reinforces the recommendations of other Courage to Love: Infant Mortality Commission background and framing papers on infant mortality and maternal nutrition; infant mortality and resilience; the role of breastfeeding in maternal and infant health; the historical framework of policies and practices to reduce infant mortality; and the authentic voices of those affected by infant mortality.

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Men of color face many challenges in achieving and maintaining good health. Their social circumstances and cultural norms, as well as the larger society’s discriminatory treatment of them, often engender in these men unhealthful responses. When social circumstances include poverty, limited education, and scarce employment opportunities, the impact on health can be especially harmful. This brief provides an overview of factors that influence the health and longevity of men of color in the United States, and makes policy recommendations for improving their health status.

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