March of Dimes Marks Black History Month

Leading the Way for African-American Mothers and Babies

              ATLANTA, FEB. 2, 2009 - A 70-year March of Dimes tradition of raising awareness of the greatest threats to children’s health in the African-American community -- a tradition as old as the March of Dimes itself – continued this weekend as Diane Ashton, M.D., March of Dimes Deputy Medical Director, briefed the National Association of Black Journalists Health Writers Seminar about racial disparities in preterm birth.

The Pioneers

              Charles H. Bynum, an African-American educator and civil rights campaigner, served as Director of Interracial Activities for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes) from 1944 to 1971.   In the course of his work for the March of Dimes – most of which took place in a segregated United States – Mr. Bynum traveled widely and tirelessly throughout the country to ensure that African-American children and adults received proper medical care and rehabilitation during the polio epidemics.  He also was responsible for March of Dimes publicity and fundraising efforts that featured African-American “poster children” each year from 1947 to 1960.

             Dr. Violet Lewis Temple of Detroit was also at the forefront of March of Dimes efforts in the Black community.  On March 22, 2009, volunteer organizers and models, led by Dr. Temple’s daughter and granddaughter, Phyllis and Violet Ponders, will stage the 56th annual “March of Dimes Fashion Extravaganza” to raise money and awareness to fight the problems that threaten the health of babies, adding to the nearly $1.75 million this event has raised since 1953.

The Present

             Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Zeta Phi Beta sorority have partnered with the March of Dimes to leading community activities for 30 years.  March of Dimes chapters work with Alpha Phi Alpha on Project Alpha® giving information about teen pregnancy prevention to young men. Zeta Phi Beta organizes annual Prematurity Awareness Weekends in hundreds of churches each year.  And the jointly operated Stork’s Nest® program, started in 1972, gives expectant mothers prenatal care education, maternity and infant clothes and furniture at low or no cost -- last year alone helping more than 20,000 women. 

           Today the March of Dimes also partners with the National Office of Minority Health on a community awareness campaign about infant mortality called “A Healthy Baby Begins with You.”  We also provide professional education, such as at the Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities being held in Washington, D. C. February 25-27, 2009.

Science in Service to the People

          Once polio was eliminated in the U.S., the March of Dimes began to focus on other threats to child health, such as sickle cell disease, which affects about 1 in every 500 African-Americans, and about 1 in every 1,000 to 1,400 Hispanic-Americans.  Some of today’s standard treatments, such as prophylactic use of antibiotics before dangerous infections occur, is based on  research supported by the March of Dimes.   More recent grantees have been seeking to develop new treatments to prevent pain episodes and organ damage, including new approaches to gene therapy.  As part of its emphasis on prevention, the March of Dimes has urged all states to screen every newborn for sickle cell disease as part of expanded newborn screening.

         Black women today have the highest premature birth and infant mortality rates of all racial groups in the U.S. and the March of Dimes continues to fund cutting-edge research to find out why. Current research projects include:

       • Grantee James W. Collins, Jr. M.D. at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, who is studying how the effects of stress and racism experienced by one generation relate to frequency of low birth-weight pregnancy outcome in the next generation in the black community.

        • Prematurity Research Initiative grants at Washington University in St. Louis and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, that are exploring of the role of genetics in accounting for preterm birth disparities 

Stars and Stars of Stage and Screen

        Some of the most famous names and voices in America have a role as March of Dimes spokesperson in their credits.  General Colin Powell saluted March of Dimes high school and college volunteers at their annual Youth Conference in 1997. Other stars have made public service announcements for the March of Dimes including Ella Fitzgerald, Earth Kitt, Roy Campanella, Sammy Davis, Jr., Hazel Scott and Louis Armstrong. Boxing champion Rudell Stitch posed for a knock-out poster.

 List of Personalities (in order of appearance):

Ella Fitzgerald
Eartha Kitt
Roy Campanella
Sammy Davis Jr
Hazel Scott
Louis Armstrong

The celebrity volunteer roll call also includes:
       • Film/TV: Sammy Davis, Jr., Godfrey Cambridge, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

       • Music: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Charles Mingus, Lionel Hampton, Marian Anderson, Hazel Scott, Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Leslie Uggams, Lou Rawls, Miriam Makeba, The Platters, The Ink Spots, The Fifth Dimension, Dionne Warwick

       • Sports: Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Sheryl Swoopes-Jackson, Floyd Patterson,

      Today, volunteers like Sherri Shephard, co-host of ABC-TV’s The View, Heather Headley, Grammy-winning vocalist who most recently performed at the Presidential Inauguration, and Chef Rahm “Rock” Harper, winner of FOX-TV’s Hell’s Kitchen speak out, step up to lead the way toward a healthy birth for every baby.

       Chef Rock became a volunteer for the March of Dimes after he and his wife, Tamara, lost their first child, who was stillborn. Their youngest daughter, Leah, was born with DiGeorge Syndrome, a serious heart defect. She spent many weeks in the hospital’s newborn intensive care unit.  He shares his story, as do Vanessa Williams, Garcelle Beauuvais-Nilon and Sean Patrick Thomas.

List of Personalities (In order of Appearance):

Vanessa Williams
Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon
Seam Patrick Thomas
Chef Rock (30 second psa)

       The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health.  With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org.