CategoryNorth Carolina

The pandemic has resulted in many people curbing their activities and staying indoors but science proves that physical activity such as exercise is essential to maintaining one’s health, especially during these trying times. Everyone knows how important it is to exercise and move your body on a consistent basis. Healthcare providers have encouraged this type of activity for years. Even the government has realized the importance of physical activity. If you are a senior age 65 and above, Medicare programs include gym memberships of some type. I am sure these programs have not been created to simply be charitable. There is long standing evidence that physical activity is especially important to one’s general health. When people exercise and stay active, they cost less to insure. They use fewer services from the insurance company. The insurance companies have thus made a strategic investment in keeping their cost down by providing gym …

On June 18, 1964 motel manager James Brock pours acid in the pool as both Black and White kids swim together.Temple Emmanuel of Greensboro recently hosted two virtual events featuring two retired rabbis who currently reside in the state of Montana. Both have actively fought and are still fighting for civil rights and social justice. The first was rabbi and civil rights leader Allen Secher, began his talk with a story about being arrested in front of the Albany, New York courthouse in the 1960s for protesting with other rabbis and Black civilians. After being arrested and taken to jail, he said they succeeded at one thing that night. “We integrated the jail. The guards didn’t even realize they were doing it but they put Blacks and Whites in the same cell.” Secher returned home to his synagogue and got a call while leading a youth group one night. …

As vaccination appointments begin to open up for more individuals across the state, the Guilford County Department of Public Health is preparing to deliver mobile vaccinations. Dr. Iulia Vann shared that the health department is slated to receive a van on May 15, which will be retrofitted to carry and administer vaccines to the community. “We have a variety of options on how we can utilize the van. We can work with organizations and park the van at a community center or church. We can also take it to a park or neighborhood to offer vaccinations. The bottom line is that we will be able to be mobile and meet people where they are and remove some of those barriers our community members are experiencing,” said Dr. Vann, adding that it’s important that the health department continue to be innovative in its ideas to address the healthcare needs of …

In no other year in recent history has spring been so inviting. New buds are beginning to bloom just as the country is beginning to ease its way out of a year long pandemic. Spring has always been a sign of fresh beginnings and renewed hope and this year more than ever. May we all begin to once again bloom and may our future be as bright as some of these spring flowers. [See image gallery at www.peacemakeronline.com] The post Spring renews hope appeared first on Carolina Peacemaker. …

In this new visual feast, the two superstar behemoth monsters, Godzilla and Kong, are being cast together like WWE stars for WrestleMania. It’s a brawl. In this corner weighing several hundred tons with leathery reptile skin, Godzilla. In that corner weighing in at several hundred tons and wearing a fur coat, Kong. Wait for the bell to ring. Wait for it… These two superstar behemoth monsters are being cast together like WWE stars for WrestleMania. Godzilla represents the East: Tokyo, Hong Kong. And Kong the West: Skull Island and formerly New York. Something is provoking the fight. Is it nature? Is it man and his greed for power? Most likely, the latter in this fairly ambitious script by Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok) and Max Borenstein (Kong: Skull Island). Godzilla lives in the sea. Kong is in repose in a gigantic man-made jungle playpen dome. He is cared for by …

It is tornado season. Have a family plan as well as supply of food and water. We have all been preoccupied, and rightly so, by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has required quite a bit of energy, masking up, distancing up and washing up. We have been in a chase to create and distribute vaccines. Hopefully most people will decide to take the steps of waiting on the phone or online to schedule vaccine appointment. We have been so busy that many of us are quite frankly unaware of the time of year we are now approaching. Well, some people may notice that their allergy symptoms have suddenly reappeared, while others may say they are grateful and hopeful for warm weather. I want you to be aware that we are currently in that part of the year when we often see severe weather. Yes, it is tornado season. The pandemic adds …

Last week, one day after Georgia Republican lawmakers passed what many critics call sweeping voter suppression legislation designed to restrain the Black vote, Dr. William Barber, president of Repairers of the Breach, tweeted, “Voter Suppression is always a racist tactic with an economic goal. Those who attack voting rights fear poor and low-wealth Americans – Black, Brown, Native, Asian and White.” Indeed, Barber wasn’t just remarking on the political machinations of the Peach state, but 42 other states with Republican-led legislatures, like Florida, that, under the guise of combating “voter fraud” – are reportedly considering 253 bills designed to retool their election laws to make it easier for Republicans to win close elections. North Carolina has not joined this latest brazen GOP effort yet, but state civil rights leaders say it is just a matter of time before Republican legislative leaders decide to join the wave. “The Grand Old Party …