HUMAN RIGHTS MANIFESTO
What must be included as part of a shared vision toward preventing and ending homelessness in Colorado?

• Add what you feel is missing (think big picture) “ SAFE AND SOUND”
Aging and living in place,

• Let us know what you think would be the top 3 SAFETY listening living as a citizen with responsibility and all the rights and practices of dignity and worth of the community and the commonweal. LEARNING life long skills and having work to do whether paid or not that counts and is valued.

NUMBER 1: LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN and LISTEN
• (1) Cold Weather Plans --safety in cold, heat, snow, sleet, rain and wind or for that matter in all weather conditions and for all communities as a MAXIMUM level of care and SAFETY at all times and under all circumstances. NONE LEFT IN the COLD, nor the DARKNESS, nor the UNKNOWN.
• Offender Re-Entry program sufficient to prevent homelessness after release
NEED A PLACE TO DISCHARGE A PERSON. No one without a mentor or citizen to be an advocate to ensure that the person succeeds and has someone to listen
• Benefits—access to benefits such as SSDI and food stamps would be fast and efficient B.A.R.T. (Benefit acquisition and retention TEAM) Navigators and mentors who help to push through the barriers to access services and benefits. AND IN EACH CASE BEING TREATED AS AN INDIVIDUAL. There will be no failure. We solve problems whatever is necessary to achieve self-sufficient lives.
• Access to Mental Health Treatment/Substance Abuse Treatment on demand: all of these services have to be tied to Housing which is the single greatest barrier to self-sufficiency. Lack of housing is a lethal health issue. Cutting morbidity rates with training in nutrition and exercise and promoting healthy starts for all children and their families. REDUCE health costs consistently of indigent health care.
• Transportation- development of multi modal corridors for mixed income housing for people with no income to live without a vehicle.
• Array of Housing Options—(low income, housing with supportive services, affordable housing, housing that accepts convicted felons, (aging in place – birth to death) RENTAL rates and housing stock for low income families that is preserved.
• Increasing avenues to self-sufficiency—e.g. work force center services that are geared toward low-skilled/entry level jobs and also jobs available to convicted felons, UNIVERSAL LIVING WAGES FOR EACH GEOGRAPHIC JURISDICTION. Something essential to do. (Citizenship and community development)
• Keeping money out of hands of launderers of money at pawn shops, bars, money lending and cash checking agencies, and lottery marketing to poor people.
• FINANCIAL PLANNING AND BASIC DAILY LIVING SKILLS EDUCATING AND TRAINING.
• Progressive tax structure that determines tax assessment for people who earn less than 50,000.00 annually. Those people pay little or nothing.
• Domestic Violence—an examination of how domestic violence situations cause homelessness for women and children: sex offenders, abuse, molestation treatment for ten to 18 year old people.
Restoring the iris scanning means of monitoring offenders on reentry. Reentry planning and implementation avoiding discharge to the street.

• (2) “Common interests and advisory boards, Nothing about us without us.” An expert testimony and listening to the values and aspirations of the people as valued members of the community. EVALUATION BEGINS WITH THE PEOPLE. Reverse forums, focus groups, creative means of response and activating the information and referral of people who have been without a place of their own.

• (3) Education and training that is essential for learning the skills of survival, micro entrepreneurships and stewardship. This education should be free through all of a person’s life.
Comments and constructive feedback

Safe housing - there are a lot of cockroach, rat and drug-infested uninhabitable housing which needs regulations and monitoring to ensure that these dwellings are safe and affordable..

Providing child and elder care for adults caught in the middle of caring for vulnerable members of the family so the members of the family can work..

Easy access to medical, dental and vision care as well as mental health care on demand –so that there is less or no waiting in line at 6 a.m. to be seen by a provider of services. No discharging patients with IVs to shelters.

Alternative methods of health care medicine as needed - e.g. acupuncture/NADA protocol to relieves stress and substance abuse, e.g. massage to relieve chronic Returning medicine to the people - that was the goal (NADA) Care for people where they are.

I like emphasis on citizenship, meaningful participation in community, mentoring, life skill training, nutrition and exercise, transportation, multi-tiered housing, removal of any form of immigrant status - and- HOUSING FIRST.

We need a societal shift which considers safe housing, food, water, education, the healing arts and honorable relationships.

Places to gather, places to play, to dance, to create art, to be together - that don't cost money. Returning the plaza, the public right of ways to the people will go far in providing places of this nature.

Another commentary was that we need to ensure the protection of all ethnic groups and GLBTQ relationships as vulnerable populations.

It is a small distinction between who uses illicit drugs and the fact of use and abuse of substances. The epidemic is a national and world wide tragedy and disgrace. What we hope for when we are more conscious is that we can care for everyone and that they don’t have to be subjected to stereotyping and violence. Many objections exist to the portrayal in “Sapphire” of African Americans and that is warranted. What is disturbing is the quality of life of anyone who exists in a state of terror and violence. The real benefit of the book and film is exposing the nerve of neglect and ruin of people’s lives and by so doing, the quality of life of all sentient beings.

Having said this, Charles Blow’s editorial is succinct and clear that we have a long way to march on in the struggle of equal rights for all of our citizens.

“Tyler Perry’s Crack Mothers”

By CHARLES M. BLOW
Published: February 26, 2010
Mo’Nique is a favorite to win an Oscar next Sunday for her powerful and disturbing portrayal of an abusive mother in the movie “Precious.”

Earl Wilson/The New York Times
Charles M. Blow
Go to Columnist Page »Blog: By the Numbers
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Treating Crack Addiction, in Black and White
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If she wins, I may grit my teeth at the depraved depiction, but at least her character is merely juxtaposed with the crack scourge and isn't in fact an addict. That's heartening since the crack-addicted black mother has recently made a curious comeback.
There was a time when this character was more relevant: in the 1980s and 1990s when the crack epidemic plunged whole communities into violence, fear and chaos. (To be fair, “Precious” is set in the 1980s.) But this character now feels like a refugee of time — and discordant with the facts on the ground.
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan pushed the crack-baby myth. In 1991, “Boyz in the Hood” and “New Jack City” were released. In 1995, the late Tupac Shakur released “Dear Mama” in which he rapped: “Even as a crack fiend, mama/You always was a black queen, mama.” Part of its poetry was that it was impossible to tell if this was an address or a lament.
And then there was Whitney Houston’s breathtaking decline, and her infamous 2002 “crack is whack,” “I want to see the receipts” interview with Diane Sawyer. Receipts for crack, Whitney? Poor thing.
That seemed a sort of cultural end cap, and data suggest that it was with good reason.
A National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a report released last week, found that young black adults ages 18 to 25 years old were less likely to use illicit drugs than the national average. (For those doing the math, you’re right. Those are the children born during the crack epidemic.)
Also, a 2007 study of college undergraduates published in the Journal of Ethnicity and Substance Abuse found that young blacks’ rates of illicit drug use was substantially lower than their counterparts, with black women having the lowest rates of all.
Furthermore, data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revealed that of the total admissions to treatment services for crack use, blacks outpaced whites in 1996, but whites outpaced blacks in 2005 for those under 30 years old.
Then came Tyler Perry with his inexplicable fascination with this cliché, and his almost single-handed revival of it.
In the last five years, he has featured a crack-addicted black mother who leaves her children in two of his films and on his very popular sitcom, “House of Payne.” (In one of the films, the character is referred to but never seen.) In another film, a main character is a drug-addicted prostitute. And in yet another, a mother leaves her family for the drug dealer.
It should be noted that “Precious” is “co-presented” by Perry.
Let it go, Mr. Perry. These never-ending portrayals perpetuate the modern mythology that little has changed when much has. Even for Whitney.
Correction: An earlier version of this column incorrectly described Mo'Nique's character in the movie "Precious." She was not a crack addict.

“Aunt Clara” - First Black Resident of the Colorado Territory

Clara Brown was a slave at birth, in Virginia, in 1800. She married at 18, and had four children. They were split up when the slave owner's estate was sold.

At 57, upon the death of her owner, Brown was freed and moved to Kansas where she opened a laundry. From there she went to Central City, Colo., where she opened another laundry. She bought mining claims and brought ex-slaves west.

"Aunt Clara's" home was used as a hospital, hotel or refuge.

In 1882, three years before she died, she found a daughter from whom she'd been separated for 30 years.

Brown is memorialized with a leaded-glass window in the Colorado Capitol, and in 1932, the Central City Opera House Association dedicated a chair to her.

Black History Blogger Bob Jackson

Bob Jackson starts blogging on SpectrumTalk about great African Americans during Black History Month. Jackson, a Chicago native, is a retired staff writer and columnist for the Rocky Mountain News, where he worked for 22 years, starting in 1982. He wrote the column CITYSCAPE, and specializes in writing about ethnic minority affairs.

Jackson also worked as a general assignment reporter for the Chicago American and Chicago Today for 11 years. He covered the 1963 March on Washington; the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Poor People's Campaign; The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's, Chicago campaign; and riots in Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The Social Security Administration’s Request for Comments

The complete text of this request and detailed submission instructions can
be found at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/retrieve.html.
Select “2010 Federal Register, Vol. 75” and enter Page Number “4900”

The Social Security Administration is requesting your comments about their
operating procedures for determining disability for persons whose drug
addiction or alcoholism (DAA) may be a contributing factor material to
their determination of disability. In particular, they would like your
opinion about what, if any, changes you think they should make to their
instructions.

Some questions that have in particular are:
• What evidence we should consider to be medical evidence of
DAA?
• How we should evaluate claims of people who have a
combination of DAA and at least one other physical impairment?
• How we should evaluate the claims of people who have a
combination of DAA and at least one other mental impairment?
• Whether we should include using cigarettes and other tobacco
products in our instructions?
• How long a period of abstinence or nonuse we should
consider to determine whether DAA is material to our determination of
disability?
• Whether there is any special guidance we can provide for
people with DAA who are homeless?

All comments should refer to Docket No. SSA–2009–0081 and must be received
no later than March 30, 2010 via one of the below methods:
· Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. (Use the Search
function to find docket number SSA–2009–0081).
· Fax: (410) 966–2830.
· Mail: Office of Regulations, Social Security
Administration, 137 Altmeyer Building, 6401 Security Boulevard,
Baltimore, Maryland 21235–6401.

SAMHSA and Ad Council to Launch Mental Health Campaign for the
African American Community

PSAs debut at Howard University and Colleges and Universities Nationwide as part of
First Annual HBCU National Mental Health Awareness Day

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), working in collaboration with the Ad Council and the Stay Strong Foundation, announced today the launch of a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to raise awareness of mental health problems among young adults in the African American community. The new PSAs were unveiled at a Black History Month event at Howard University this morning to coincide with the first annual HBCU National Mental Health Awareness Day. The launch was telecast to colleges and universities nationwide.

Mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are widespread in the U.S. and often misunderstood. According to SAMHSA, in 2008 there were an estimated 9.8 million adults aged 18 or older living with serious mental illness. Among adults, the prevalence of serious mental illness is highest in the 18 to 25 age group, yet this age group is also the least likely to receive services or counseling. In 2008, 6.0 percent of African Americans ages 18-25 had serious mental illness in the past year. Overall, only 58.7 percent of Americans with serious mental illness received care within the past 12 months and the percentage of African Americans receiving services is only 44.8 percent.

“Raising understanding and attention to these issues within the African American community will provide greater opportunities for those needing help to receive effective mental health services,” said Kathryn A. Power, Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services.

Created pro bono by Grey Worldwide through the Ad Council, the campaign aims to promote acceptance of mental health problems within the African American community by encouraging, educating and inspiring young adults to step up and talk openly about mental health problems. The television, radio, print and Web ads feature real personal stories of African Americans dealing with mental health problems, and they aim to engage those in the community to support young adults who need help. The PSAs direct audiences to visit a new website, www.storiesthatheal.samhsa.gov, where they can learn more about mental health problems and how to get involved.

“According to our research and the leading mental health experts, young adults with mental health problems are more likely to seek help if social acceptance is broadened and they receive support and services early on,” said Peggy Conlon, president & CEO of the Ad Council. “We are proud to continue our partnership with SAMHSA to address these issues in the African American community and help create the necessary societal change that will decrease the negative attitudes that surround mental illness, and ultimately inspire those who want help to get it.”

Terrie M. Williams, MSW, co-founder of The Stay Strong Foundation, collaborated on the development of the Web videos and PSA materials and serves as a campaign spokesperson. The Stay Strong Foundation works to support, educate and inspire African American youth through a series of programs and events that are designed to raise awareness of teen issues, promote the personal well-being of young people and enhance their educational and professional development.

“It is the work of the Stay Strong Foundation and my personal mission to educate everyone, and in particular the African American community, about depression and its impact on our communities,” said Williams. “Every day so many of us wear the “mask” of wellness that hides our pain from the world. Now is the time to identify and name our pain—minus the myths and the stigmas—and seek the help so many of us need.”

SAMHSA’s Campaign for Mental Health Recovery partners include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Mental Health, state mental health agencies, leading researchers on stigma and a broad coalition of stakeholders, including organizations that represent provider organizations and consumer and family member groups. The Campaign held a series of regional meetings to develop a grassroots network to support the Campaign and provide assistance with anti-stigma efforts to states and local communities.

A resource guide entitled, “Developing a Stigma Reduction Initiative,” is also a part of the campaign and is based on the evaluation and lessons learned from the Elimination of Barriers Initiative. The guide provides information on how to mount a statewide anti-stigma campaign, examples of outreach materials, reports on the best practices for stigma reduction, and lists important resources for technical assistance. Copies of the guide can be downloaded at www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publication/allpubs/sma06-4176/ or by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA7. SAMHSA also maintains a national technical assistance center called the ADS Center (Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity, and Social Inclusion) to help States, communities, and individuals get the necessary information and resources to counter misperceptions, prejudice and discrimination associated with mental illnesses. For more information, visit www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov.

“In general, mental health problems are difficult to talk about,” said Rob Baiocco, EVP and managing partner of Grey New York. “But the second someone opens up and tells their specific personal story you instantly realize what they are dealing with. It’s such an immediate, intuitive and emotional understanding. And from that understanding comes the healing.”

Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ Center for Excellence in Substance Abuse and Mental Health at Morehouse School of Medicine, a grant funded through (SAMHSA), created National HBCU Mental Health Awareness Day. The HBCU Mental Health Awareness Day is the first national effort to promote behavioral health on HBCUs. The all-day event is being co-hosted by three additional HBCU institutions, Howard, Elizabeth City State University and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. The purpose is to increase public knowledge and student awareness about mental health issues and to foster a more supportive and informed environment on HBCU campuses and in the community. For more information, visit www.hbcucfe.net.

The Ad Council and SAMHSA first launched the Campaign for Mental Health Recovery nationwide in December 2006. Additional public service efforts designed to reach Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans will also be launched this spring. To view the ads, please visit www.adcouncil.org. The PSAs will air in advertising time that will be entirely donated by the media.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions, treatment and mental health services delivery system. SAMHSA can be reached at www.samhsa.gov.

The Ad Council (www.adcouncil.org) is a private, non-profit organization that marshals talent from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities of the media, and the resources of the business and non-profit communities to produce, distribute and promote public service campaigns on behalf of non-profit organizations and government agencies. The Ad Council addresses issue areas such as improving the quality of life for children, preventive health, education, community well-being, environmental preservation and strengthening families.

The Stay Strong Foundation (SSF) is a 501(c)(3) organization founded by Terrie M. Williams and Xavier Artis in 2001 to empower America’s youth. The Foundation encourages corporate and individual responsibility; develops educational resources for youth and youth organizations; provides and coordinates internships; sets up mentoring opportunities; and facilitates visits by prominent individuals and business professionals to schools, libraries, youth organizations and group homes.

SAMHSA and Ad Council to Launch Mental Health Campaign for the
African American Community

PSAs debut at Howard University and Colleges and Universities Nationwide as part of
First Annual HBCU National Mental Health Awareness Day

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), working in collaboration with the Ad Council and the Stay Strong Foundation, announced today the launch of a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to raise awareness of mental health problems among young adults in the African American community. The new PSAs were unveiled at a Black History Month event at Howard University this morning to coincide with the first annual HBCU National Mental Health Awareness Day. The launch was telecast to colleges and universities nationwide.

Mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are widespread in the U.S. and often misunderstood. According to SAMHSA, in 2008 there were an estimated 9.8 million adults aged 18 or older living with serious mental illness. Among adults, the prevalence of serious mental illness is highest in the 18 to 25 age group, yet this age group is also the least likely to receive services or counseling. In 2008, 6.0 percent of African Americans ages 18-25 had serious mental illness in the past year. Overall, only 58.7 percent of Americans with serious mental illness received care within the past 12 months and the percentage of African Americans receiving services is only 44.8 percent.

“Raising understanding and attention to these issues within the African American community will provide greater opportunities for those needing help to receive effective mental health services,” said Kathryn A. Power, Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services.

Created pro bono by Grey Worldwide through the Ad Council, the campaign aims to promote acceptance of mental health problems within the African American community by encouraging, educating and inspiring young adults to step up and talk openly about mental health problems. The television, radio, print and Web ads feature real personal stories of African Americans dealing with mental health problems, and they aim to engage those in the community to support young adults who need help. The PSAs direct audiences to visit a new website, www.storiesthatheal.samhsa.gov, where they can learn more about mental health problems and how to get involved.

“According to our research and the leading mental health experts, young adults with mental health problems are more likely to seek help if social acceptance is broadened and they receive support and services early on,” said Peggy Conlon, president & CEO of the Ad Council. “We are proud to continue our partnership with SAMHSA to address these issues in the African American community and help create the necessary societal change that will decrease the negative attitudes that surround mental illness, and ultimately inspire those who want help to get it.”

Terrie M. Williams, MSW, co-founder of The Stay Strong Foundation, collaborated on the development of the Web videos and PSA materials and serves as a campaign spokesperson. The Stay Strong Foundation works to support, educate and inspire African American youth through a series of programs and events that are designed to raise awareness of teen issues, promote the personal well-being of young people and enhance their educational and professional development.

“It is the work of the Stay Strong Foundation and my personal mission to educate everyone, and in particular the African American community, about depression and its impact on our communities,” said Williams. “Every day so many of us wear the “mask” of wellness that hides our pain from the world. Now is the time to identify and name our pain—minus the myths and the stigmas—and seek the help so many of us need.”

SAMHSA’s Campaign for Mental Health Recovery partners include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Mental Health, state mental health agencies, leading researchers on stigma and a broad coalition of stakeholders, including organizations that represent provider organizations and consumer and family member groups. The Campaign held a series of regional meetings to develop a grassroots network to support the Campaign and provide assistance with anti-stigma efforts to states and local communities.

A resource guide entitled, “Developing a Stigma Reduction Initiative,” is also a part of the campaign and is based on the evaluation and lessons learned from the Elimination of Barriers Initiative. The guide provides information on how to mount a statewide anti-stigma campaign, examples of outreach materials, reports on the best practices for stigma reduction, and lists important resources for technical assistance. Copies of the guide can be downloaded at www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publication/allpubs/sma06-4176/ or by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA7. SAMHSA also maintains a national technical assistance center called the ADS Center (Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity, and Social Inclusion) to help States, communities, and individuals get the necessary information and resources to counter misperceptions, prejudice and discrimination associated with mental illnesses. For more information, visit www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov.

“In general, mental health problems are difficult to talk about,” said Rob Baiocco, EVP and managing partner of Grey New York. “But the second someone opens up and tells their specific personal story you instantly realize what they are dealing with. It’s such an immediate, intuitive and emotional understanding. And from that understanding comes the healing.”

Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ Center for Excellence in Substance Abuse and Mental Health at Morehouse School of Medicine, a grant funded through (SAMHSA), created National HBCU Mental Health Awareness Day. The HBCU Mental Health Awareness Day is the first national effort to promote behavioral health on HBCUs. The all-day event is being co-hosted by three additional HBCU institutions, Howard, Elizabeth City State University and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. The purpose is to increase public knowledge and student awareness about mental health issues and to foster a more supportive and informed environment on HBCU campuses and in the community. For more information, visit www.hbcucfe.net.

The Ad Council and SAMHSA first launched the Campaign for Mental Health Recovery nationwide in December 2006. Additional public service efforts designed to reach Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans will also be launched this spring. To view the ads, please visit www.adcouncil.org. The PSAs will air in advertising time that will be entirely donated by the media.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions, treatment and mental health services delivery system. SAMHSA can be reached at www.samhsa.gov.

The Ad Council (www.adcouncil.org) is a private, non-profit organization that marshals talent from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities of the media, and the resources of the business and non-profit communities to produce, distribute and promote public service campaigns on behalf of non-profit organizations and government agencies. The Ad Council addresses issue areas such as improving the quality of life for children, preventive health, education, community well-being, environmental preservation and strengthening families.

The Stay Strong Foundation (SSF) is a 501(c)(3) organization founded by Terrie M. Williams and Xavier Artis in 2001 to empower America’s youth. The Foundation encourages corporate and individual responsibility; develops educational resources for youth and youth organizations; provides and coordinates internships; sets up mentoring opportunities; and facilitates visits by prominent individuals and business professionals to schools, libraries, youth organizations and group homes.

Mexican Hot Chocolate
The precursor to today's hot chocolate dates back thousands of years to MesoAmerica to the Mayas, Aztecs and other Central American Indians. The original drink was bitter and flavored with cinnamon, vanilla and chiles . . . View more images, info about its origin and an easy recipe.

Easy Mexican Chicken Mole Poblano
This chile sauce is made special with chocolate. Yes, chocolate. It's a little peculiar to some, but when you try it, you'll find that the chocolate gives this dish a special depth and richness. It's so good, it's considered the National Dish of Mexico. View more images, info about its origin and an easy recipe.

Red Velvet Cacao Nib Cupcakes
Chocolate in the form of cocoa powder is a main ingredient in red velvet cake. The lovely contrast of brilliant red cake with cream cheese frosting has been a long-time favorite. So, I made you cupcakes and added cacao nibs to give them even more chocolate. Do you know the origins of red velvet cake? Or, think you do? View more images, info about its origin and the recipe.

About Andrea
Andrea Juarez is an award-winning writer and a hobbyist food anthropologist. She writes on a variety of topics, however, her food blog ForkFingersChopsticks.com is the nexus of her love for food, research and culture. There you’ll find recipes for cooking an ingredient several ways. She makes cooking fun and interesting.

Henson went to Top of the World

When explorer Robert Edwin Peary reached the North Pole in 1909, Matthew Alexander Henson was the only American who accompanied him. Henson, an African American born on a farm in Maryland in 1867, went on expeditions with Peary for more than 20 years, as his personal assistant and dog driver.

Peary eventually became obsessed with arctic exploration. After numerous trips to Greenland between 1893 and 1905, Peary became convinced that he could become the first man to stand at the North Pole. Henson accompanied Peary on these trips to Greenland and became an integral part of his plans.

In 1906, along with others, Peary and Henson set out from Greenland on their first attempt to reach the North Pole. They came within 160 miles, but were forced to turn back because of unseasonably warm weather.

They tried again in 1909. By the end of March they were within 150 miles of their goal. Because of sickness, Henson left Peary behind on April 6, and went ahead. Peary followed later and teamed up with Henson. They thought they were there. However, there has been conflicting questions ever since as to who was the first man to reach the top of the world.

Henson received several honors for his part in the 1908-1909 expedition. He wrote the book A Negro Explorer at the North Pole. His biography, Dark Companion, written by Bradley Robinson, was published in 1947.

Henson died in 1955.

Black History Blogger Bob Jackson

Bob Jackson starts blogging on SpectrumTalk about great African Americans during Black History Month. Jackson, a Chicago native, is a retired staff writer and columnist for the Rocky Mountain News, where he worked for 22 years, starting in 1982. He wrote the column CITYSCAPE, and specializes in writing about ethnic minority affairs.

Jackson also worked as a general assignment reporter for the Chicago American and Chicago Today for 11 years. He covered the 1963 March on Washington; the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Poor People's Campaign; The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's, Chicago campaign; and riots in Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles.