The first black-owned and operated country club within the United States is being restored due to a $75,000 grant.

Shady Rest Country Club in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, the nation’s first and oldest Black-owned country club, is one in every of 30 facilities chosen to receive a $3 million grant to preserve its significance in Black history. In July, NPR reported that the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program throughout the National Trust for Historic Preservation, given $75,000 to the country club to support its renovation efforts.

Originally inbuilt the mid-18th century as a farmhouse, the constructing was later converted into a tavern and eventually became the Westfield Country Club. In 1921, a group of black investors under the Progressive Realty Company Inc. purchased the property. It transformed him into Shady Rest Golf Clubcreating a haven for sports and recreation for black Americans at a time when racial segregation was the norm.

The funds will support the Preserve Shady Rest Committee, which has been working to revive the country club for the reason that group’s founding in 2013.

“It’s history. Plain and simple. Period. History” – Sylvia Hicks, former chairwoman of the committee, said of the importance of preserving the clubhouse.

Throughout its history, Shady Rest has hosted many sports icons, including John Shippen Jr., the nation’s first skilled Black golfer, and Althea Gibson, a groundbreaking Grand Slam-winning tennis player who was the first Black woman to interrupt the colour barrier in international tennis competition. Shady Rest’s influence prolonged beyond sports, becoming a vibrant after-hours entertainment destination on the East Coast. After their performances in New York, the musicians performed on the underground nightclub Villa Casanova.

Bobby Mendelson continues the family tradition by usually visiting Shady Rest to play golf together with his 6-year-old son, Leo. This is a pastime he enjoyed together with his father when he was a little boy. Mendelson sees the work that has been done to revive the country club and appears forward to seeing more.

“I think it’s really important to the history of the city and the region,” he said. “Not to mention civil rights in this case, and I think it makes us proud of this area. And honestly, it’s really nice. It’s important to remember these kinds of important things and feel good about them.”

Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, notes the large need for preservation funds. The motion fund have to be highly selective. Since 2018, it has invested $27 million in support of 304 cultural heritage sites.

“Since the call for proposals, the Equity Fund’s national grant program has received 6,169 applications for funding worth $709 million,” Leggs said.

This yr’s grant recipients represent diverse regions, places and histories, from California to Georgia and from Minnesota to Texas.

“We work with external partners, such as the Association of African American Museums and the Hutchins Center at Harvard University, to help us assess competitiveness and select our fellows,” Leggs explained. “We often look for diversity in geography, archetypes and history.”

As for Shady Rest, Tom Donatelli, current chairman of the Shady Rest commission, says the funds will go toward “engineering and architectural” renovations, including on the highest floors of the constructing and Villa Casanova.

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Alopecia, an umbrella term used to describe hair loss, disproportionately affects black women. Nearly half of all black women will experience some type of hair loss of their lifetime. It can occur in various forms, including probably the greatest often called alopecia areata. Famous women affected by alopecia include Jada Pinkett Smith and “Martha’s Vineyard” star Jordan Emanuel.

Treatment may vary depending on the cause and will include topical agents, ointments, and even stem cell treatments. These treatments could be expensive and largely paid out of pocket. A black dermatologist at Johns Hopkins can have just stumbled upon the answer: antidiabetic drugs.

Dr. Crystal Aguhdermatologist and director of the Ethnic Skin Program at Johns Hopkins Medicine, made a major breakthrough in her research on the consequences of the low-dose oral diabetes drug metformin in reversing hair loss.

This medicine, a non-insulin medicine used to control blood sugar levels, also accommodates ingredients which will prevent or slow the formation of scarring which will occur within the organs of a diabetic. Previous research by Aguh found that insulin resistance was also a think about scalp scarring.

“We had to give women a better chance to regrow their hair,” she said Baltimore banner in a recent interview.

By applying a small dose of the cream drug directly to the scalp, she tested a group of 12 black women, all of whom had central cicatricial alopecia (CCCA), one of the common forms. She found that nine patients had improvement in scalp scarring and 6 patients had “clinical evidence” of hair regrowth after the primary six months.

“Oral metformin at low doses can reverse the fibrotic transcriptional signature in CCCA and promote hair regrowth, suggesting its potential as a targeted therapy for the treatment of cicatricial alopecia,” she wrote in her findings published within the journal: JAMA Dermatology.

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The next stage of Aguha’s research is formal clinical trials, during which the drug will likely be tested to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If this drug is approved by the FDA, it could change the lives of many individuals, especially black women.

According to Aguh, as many as 15% of African American women suffer from CCCA alone. Speaking to the web site concerning the impact that hair loss can have on a person, she said: “Devastating is an understatement.”

She added that beyond beauty and self-esteem, about 10% of ladies will delay or refuse critical treatment that may lead to hair loss, akin to chemotherapy.

It’s not entirely clear why black women are so prone to hair loss and baldness. Signing in article published by HopkinsAguh said: “Unfortunately, some sorts of hair loss are genetic and there may be little that could be done to prevent them. Genetic sorts of alopecia include alopecia areata and feminine pattern baldness.

She added that other types of hair loss could be attributable to stress, poor weight loss plan and styling.

“Black women in particular are susceptible to a type of hair loss called traction alopecia, which is caused by heat, chemicals and tight styles that pull on the hair root, including some braids, dreadlocks, extensions and weaves,” she wrote.

Aguha’s goal shouldn’t be just to develop a latest drug for hair loss; intends to find a cure.

“I am a scientist, but first and foremost I am a human being,” she told the Baltimore Banner. “I want people to be better off. If I left the hair clinic because no one was losing their hair, that would be great.”

Taraji P. Henson is fascinated by the long run and inspiring her fans to do the identical. Throughout her profession, the award-winning actress has been an advocate for causes starting from mental health to politics. Whether through her nonprofit work or public speaking, Henson explained why advocacy is so essential to her in a recent interview with Message:

“I understand that God put me here for a reason, and it wasn’t for vanity, for me to be pretty, to go on the carpets, to just get rich, buy nice things and shove it in everyone’s face,” she told the publication. “You have to empower people to be better.”

This summer, Henson raised alarm concerning the significance of the election while hosting the BET Awards. During the awards ceremony, the star went viral for shedding light on the hazards of Project 2025.

“Show up and show up when it’s time to vote, because this isn’t just about the presidential election,” Henson said. he told the audience“It’s time for us to play chess, not checkers. This is about making decisions that will affect us as people… our careers… our next generations… Be careful, this is not a secret. Check it out! They are attacking our most vulnerable citizens. The Project 2025 plan is not a game.”

Project 2025 is a conservative political platform that has been billed as a playbook for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. While former President Trump has tried to distance himself from controversial policies, his vice presidential running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, has shown ties to the conservative agenda.

“I was just worried. I was nervous. Honestly, I was just talking out of anxiety. Because I thought no one was paying attention. I don’t understand a lot of the things they’re saying, but I know what’s right and what’s wrong,” she added, explaining her mind-set during her viral BET moment.

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In 2023, Henson also became popular for shining a lightweight on the pay inequality faced by women, particularly black women, in Hollywood. While promoting the brand new adaptation of The Color Purple, the actress revealed how the inequality nearly caused her to quit acting.

Now, almost a 12 months later, Henson hopes to finally reach some extent in her profession where she will be able to say, “You know what, I’m going to take this year (or) the next two years off,” which she calls retiring.

“When I say ‘retirement,’ I don’t mean I’ll never, ever work again. But I do want to eventually get to a place where I don’t have to act to pay the bills,” she said. “I think that’s when it’ll start being fun for me again. … I just still rely on my acting income a lot right now to pay the bills and do things. My brand is growing. Things are growing. But I don’t think sitting on my ass is an option for me.”