Fraternity seeks to drive the message home in black communities
The Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. recently teamed up to stress the importance of buckling up on the road.
Last month at the Parker-Riddick community, a workshop was held to emphasize seat belt safety. Clarence Nelson, the fraternity's national chairman of the Seat Belt Safety Initiative, provided information to parents about keeping themselves and their children safe while traveling.
A Department of Transportation grant funds the program, which is known as
"Buckle Up with Kappa Alpha Psi." The historically black fraternity has also made the project a priority because of the impact on black communities.
Among the information presented at the workshop, hand-outs note that failure to wear seat belts is recognized nationally as a "health crisis" because of its severity and increasing impact on the black population. Vehicular deaths among black youths ages 16 to 24 is considered the number one killer of this group in the country.
Before the workshop, SRHA Executive Director Clarissa E. McAdoo said the fraternity approached the agency about presenting the program, which she believes will be valuable to the residents in "getting the word out about the reasons they need to buckle up."
Kappa Alpha Psi is one of 20 predominately black organizations under contract with DOT and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studying the usage of seat belts among the black community.
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