Published: June 15, 2005
SACRAMENTO JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION FIRST TO ESTABLISH
PROJECT NIA POLICY
 Rhonda West-Peters and Gary R. Simon |
SACRAMENTO (June 13, 2005) - With assistance from the African American Tobacco Education Partnership (AATEP), the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) has established a policy to not accept money from tobacco companies for African American cultural events. The first event that the policy will affect is "Juneteenth - A Celebration of Freedom" on June 17-18 at Granite Regional Park, which is produced by the SCVB Multicultural Affairs Department under the direction of Gary R. Simon.
"Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery, is a fitting time to break financial ties to the tobacco industry" said Rhonda West-Peters, Project Director of AATEP. "African Americans have been negatively impacted by tobacco for over 400 years, from being slaves pick it to being slaves to using it."
Among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, African Americans bear the greatest burden from tobacco-related disease. The tobacco industry has been highly influential in the African American community for decades, providing funding and other resources to community leaders and emphasizing publicly its support for civil rights causes and groups, while ignoring the negative health effects of its products on those it claims to support.
SCVB is the first organization to establish a policy through AATEP's Project Nia. Nia is the sixth principle of Kwanzaa, meaning "purpose". It involves recognizing that each individual possesses a divine purpose and should take the responsibility to develop that potential, thereby promoting the health, wealth and growth of the entire community. The Project Nia campaign encourages African American organizations and events to adopt policies that prohibit tobacco industry sponsorship. AATEP will assist organizations across the state to develop and implement policies through educational presentations and materials about tobacco industry targeting of African Americans and workshops to improve grant writing skills to help the organizations secure funding from other sources. AATEP also has sponsorship funds available to promote Project Nia policies.
Gary Simon is the Director of Multicultural Affairs for the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Project Nia is a worthy endeavor. We challenge other event organizers and organizations to stand up for the health of the community and establish tobacco free sponsorship policies."
AATEP is a project of the California Black Health Network. Funded by the California Department of Health Services, the mission of the African American Tobacco Education Partnership is to decrease tobacco use by people of African descent. For more information on Project Nia, contact AATEP at 916-448-7900.
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