By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer
This special supplement of The Sacramento OBSERVER is published in honor of World Sickle Cell Awareness Day, June 19, 2023. This year’s international theme is “Building and strengthening Global Sickle Cell Communities, Formalizing NewBorn Screening and Knowing your Sickle Cell Disease Status.” OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer Genoa Barrow spent several months reporting on the impact the disease has had on African Americans in Northern California.
Cayenne Wellness Center and Children’s Foundation: Supporting Sickle Cell Patients in California
The Cayenne Wellness Center and Children’s Foundation provides a range of programs and services to support people living with sickle cell disease, including transportation to medical care, mental health counseling, nutritional support, educational resources, and more.
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Black Panthers Championed Testing, Education
By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer A new book about the Black Panther Party, “Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party,” by Stephen Shames and Ericka Huggins is reintroducing the organization’s legacy as a public health champion. Among the commanding photos in the coffee table book are images of efforts to get…
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Oakland Doctor Fights For Equity In Research, Treatment
By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer African Americans deal with a myriad of ills simply trying to survive in the skin they’re in. Add sickle cell to the mix and things can get inherently more complicated. Passed from parents to child, sickle cell is a condition that impacts many, but is still largely…
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Family Battles Disease Naturally
By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer While she died before he was born, Christen Brown remembers hearing about his maternal grandmother’s daily battle with sickle cell anemia. This was long before blood transfusions and stem cell research were commonplace. Brown’s mother and her seven siblings took turns administering their own brand of pain…
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Jokes Miss The Mark And Marginalize
By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer With the new animated series “Velma,” HBO Max has given an old character a new twist. But it’s not the darker complexion or sexuality references that have eyebrows raised. It’s a joke in a recent episode that has folks up in arms, a joke about sickle cell…
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Patient Is A Fearless Self-Advocate
By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer When Celeste-June Taylor learned she’d no longer be treated by her childhood doctor, she burst into tears. She wasn’t throwing a tantrum, but coming to the realization that her care was about to undergo a drastic change. “I literally cried when my pediatrician told me, ‘You’re 18…
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Black Lawmakers Continue To Push For Sickle Cell Action
Genoa Barrow | Senior Staff Writer For decades, African American lawmakers have taken action and led the charge to support people living with sickle cell. The following is a brief list of key efforts. On March 21, 2023 California Congresswoman Barbara Lee joined Florida Congressman Charles Christ in introducing H.R. 7177, a bill that would…
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Campaign Highlights ‘Warriors’
Special to the OBSERVER A new campaign looks to connect Californians living with sickle cell disease with comprehensive care. The “Neglected No More” public service advertising campaign was launched by the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation in December and highlights “sickle cell warriors” and the openings of specialized adult sickle cell disease clinics across the state.…
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When Sickle Cell Went Postal…
By Genoa Barrow | Senior Staff Writer The cost of mailing a letter has doubled in the last two decades. It was 37 cents in 2004 and that same year United States Postal Service issued a stamp aimed at garnering attention for sickle cell. The stamp was released in Atlanta on September 29, 2004 as…
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A Childhood Loss Sparks A Lifetime Commitment
By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer The loss of a childhood neighbor put Oyebimpe Adesina on a path to preventing others from suffering a similar fate. Her native Nigeria has one of the world’s highest rates of sickle cell trait and she has made it her life’s work to find solutions for people…
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