Articles by Steven Gilchrist

L ast week a very powerful and emotional topic was discussed on a new episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show . The subject of this episode was child abuse and the affects that abuse has on male victims in particular. The show offered an inside look into how victims of abuse can cope with what happened to them and how they can help other abuse victims. This episode of The Oprah Show was informative because it highlighted a difficult topic that can have devastating societal effects. For well over twenty years, Oprah Winfrey has been an advocate for the rights of children. She was instrumental in the passage of the National Child Protection Act of 1991 – which created a national database of convicted child abusers. In an episode of her show that aired on Monday, September 15, 2008, Winfrey encouraged her audience to support the Protect Our Children Act, U.S. Senate Bill 1738. During this episode, Winfrey explained to her viewers the pervasiveness of child pornography in America, particular...

A pproximately 443,000 Americans die every year because of smoking related diseases. Some of these diseases include cataract, coronary heart disease, pancreatic cancer, pneumonia, and stroke. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. In 2004, smoking cost the U.S. over $193 billion dollars, according to the American Lung Association. These costs include $97 billion dollars in lost worker productivity and $96 billion dollars in direct health care expenditures. About 8.6 million Americans have at least one serious illness caused by smoking. The deadly effects of smoking and tobacco products have been known since the 1950s. On September 7, 2010, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a research study indicating that smoking rates in America had remained about the same since 2005. Approximately 1 in 5 American adults is a smoker. Thomas Frieden – who is the CDC Director, commented in regards to the study. Frieden said that more gove...

T his past summer on July 26, during a ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama and advocates for people with disabilities, joined together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into federal law. The ADA was the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities. In the United States, one in six Americans or approximately 43 million people live with a disability. Examples of what the act created can be seen in any American community. Automatic doors in buildings, handicap access ramps & parking spaces, sidewalk ramps, accommodating seats in arenas and theaters; these facets of society were a result of the Americans with Disability Act. A disability is defined by the ADA as, “a physical or mental impairment that substantially affects a major life activity.” In his remarks at the White House on the exact day of the 20th anniversary of ...

O n the third Monday in January, a national holiday recognizing the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. takes place. King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia into a family where education, service, and religion were emphasized. His mother, Alberta Williams King, was a schoolteacher, and his father, Martin Luther King, Sr. was a minister. In September 1944, at the age of 15, he enrolled as an undergraduate student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he majored in sociology. After becoming an ordained Baptist minister on February 25, 1948, King graduated from Morehouse in the same year. King continued his education at Crozer Theological Seminary, in Chester, Pennsylvania. While at Crozer, he studied the teachings of Christian and Hindu philosophers. King discovered the power that non-violence could have on creating social change. King would later implement these teachings into his career as a civil rights activist. In June, 1951, at the age of 22, King earn...

2010 marks the 100th anniversary of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation’s Charles River Esplanade. I write this article to highlight this great milestone. As a fourth year seasonal Ranger at the Teddy Ebersol’s Red Sox Fields which are located on the Esplanade, I have learned about the park’s unique features. The Esplanade is a well known and popular location that is used for a variety of recreational activities. The Esplanade is a unique place because it has numerous historical attributes portraying the rich history of the city of Boston and the DCR. The term Esplanade - first used in 1910 to describe the parkland, is a French word that means “promenade along a shore.” The Esplanade stretches approximately 3 miles along the Boston side of the Charles River, from the Boston University Bridge to the Museum of Science. The Esplanade contains: 6 miles of walkways & bikeways, 3 boathouses, an athletic field complex, 6 wooden docks, and over 1,900 trees. A sp...

S everal months ago I visited the Bunker Hill Community College Art Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts. The gallery displayed an exhibition called Body & Soul, which featured artwork of primarily African American artists working in the figurative and spiritual forms of artistic expression. During the month of February the gallery had selections from several artists including: Walter Clark, Jeff Chandler, Fern Cunningham, Fritz Ducheine, Karen Eutemey, Keitha L. Hassell, Jennifer Hughes, Lou Jones, Paul Goodnight, Ekua Holmes, L’Merchie Frazier, Lolita Parker Jr., Sabrina Pilet Jones, Hakim Raquib, and photos by Alex Rivest from Blue Kitabu Projects. T he various artists featured at the exhibit incorporated a variety of visual techniques to convey their messages of artistic expression. Jeff Chandler, who is a self-taught sculptor, illustrates themes of relationships between mother & child, man & woman, and man & nature. Keitha L. Hassell, a Boston based photographer, focus...

Five years ago, the city of Boston celebrated the 200th anniversary of William Lloyd Garrison’s birthday. Garrison, who was born in December 1805 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, was a well known northern abolitionist and journalist. Garrison was a man of intense courage and passion. He was considered to be one of the most radical and influential abolitionists of his time. One example of Garrison’s radical nature occurred on Independence Day 1854. On this day, Garrison burned the U.S. Constitution & the Fugitive Slave Act in Framingham, Massachusetts, thus showing his disregard for how the U.S. government was still allowing slavery in the southern part of the country. In 1831, Garrison began publishing The Liberator – a four page weekly Boston newspaper. At the time, Boston was one of the most ardent abolitionist centers in America. The focus of Garrison’s newspaper was to raise awareness about eradicating the institution of slavery. In 1832, Garrison founded the New England Anti-S...