Monday, September 20, 2021

Patti LaBelle's 'Silver Throat' Sarah Dash, Dead at 76

Singer Sarah Dash, co-founder of the Grammy Hall of Fame group Labelle, which topped the charts in 1974 with the disco smash hit “Lady Marmalade," died Monday a the age of 76 according to reports from multiple media outlets.

No cause of death has been released but Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, a close friend of the New Jersey native, confirmed the death posting on Facebook: “Trenton lost a star today with Sarah Dash’s passing. She is now with the angels.”

Photo Credit Instagram @sarahasindash

Called “the woman with the silver throat” by fellow R&B legend and Labelle frontwoman, Patti LaBelle, Dash co-founded Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles which evolved through several iterations before becoming the rock and funk-infused Labelle.

In 1974 the group, then comprised of Dash, LaBelle and Nona Hendryx, scored its signature hit "Lady Marmalade" helping to spark the rise of disco as well as propelling the trio to worldwide notoriety.  Following the release that year they became the first "rock and roll" act to play the Metropolitan Opera House. Labelle was also the first group of African-American vocalists to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone.

The group recorded five studio albums together before going their separate ways. They remained close, however, reuniting serval times. 

"We were just on stage together on Saturday and it was such a powerful and special moment," Patti LaBelle said in a statement to the New York Daily News following Dash's death. "Sarah Dash was an awesomely talented, beautiful, and loving soul who blessed my life and the lives of so many others in more ways than I can say. And I could always count on her to have my back! That’s who Sarah was...a loyal friend and a voice for those who didn’t have one.”

Dash (far right), in a publicity still for the Labelle's with lead singer Patti LaBelle (center) and Nona Hendryx.

Dash never stopped singing and performing. She earned a hit with the song "Sinner Man" as a solo artist in the 70s and had a top-10 hit in the 80s with "Lucky Tonight." She also was a session singer and toured and recorded with many groups, most notably the Rolling Stones. Dash also worked on several of Keith Richards' solo efforts. 


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Pfizer Says Covid-19 Vaccine Safe for Kids Ages 5 to 11

Photo Courtesy Pfizer 
Hope may finally be on the horizon for America’s kids. 

Monday, the same day data compiled by Johns Hopkins University confirmed Covid-19 as the deadliest pandemic in the country’s modern history with 675,000 U. S. fatalities reported, Pfizer announced a trial studying the effectiveness and safety of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 generated a "robust" antibody response.

“Over the past nine months, hundreds of millions of people ages 12 and older from around the world have received our COVID-19 vaccine. We are eager to extend the protection afforded by the vaccine to this younger population, subject to regulatory authorization, especially as we track the spread of the Delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children,” Albert Bourla, the chairman and CEO for Pfizer, said in a statement touting the early victory. “Since July, pediatric cases of COVID-19 have risen by about 240 percent in the U.S. – underscoring the public health need for vaccination. These trial results provide a strong foundation for seeking authorization of our vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old, and we plan to submit them to the FDA and other regulators with urgency.”

The study was conducted on a group of 2,628 children 5 to 11 years of age using 10-microgram dosages —as opposed to the 30-microgram ones used for those 12 and older — of the vaccine administered three weeks apart. According to Pfizer and BioNTech the vaccine “was safe, well tolerated and showed robust neutralizing antibody responses.” The companies said side effects were generally comparable to those observed in participants 16 to 25 years of age.

The strong results are a reason for optimism at a time when a surge of pediatric infections has swept the nation, but it could be some time before a rollout of the vaccine. 

The companies expect to include the data in a “near-term submission” for Emergency Use Authorization while they continue to accumulate the data needed to file for FDA approval for those in the age group. Trial results for children 2-5 years of age and children 6 months to 2 years of age are expected as soon as the fourth quarter of this year.


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Thursday, September 16, 2021

Dr. Sian Proctor is the First Black Woman to Pilot a Space Mission

Dr. Sian Proctor Photo Credit SpaceX
For Elon Musk and the SpaceX team, Wednesday's successful launch of its first rocket into orbit — manned by four people who aren't professional astronauts — was just the next step in delivering on their promise of opening up space travel to the common man.  

For geoscientist Sian Proctor, however, it was a chance to make a different kind of history.

"There have been three Black female astronauts that have made it to space, and knowing that I'm going to be the fourth means that I have this opportunity to not only accomplish my dream, but also inspire the next generation of women of color and girls of color and really get them to think about reaching for the stars and what that means," Proctor said at a press conference Tuesday.

Wednesday, the 51-year-old South Mountain Community College professor became the first-ever Black female spacecraft pilot, as the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission launched successfully from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:02 p.m. CDT.

The crew will enjoy zero gravity and panoramic views in their capsule as it orbits Earth at around 17,500 miles per hour — circling the planet once every 90 minutes —before splashing down off the coast of Florida Saturday. 

Proctor, who is also the oldest Black woman to reach space, has already decided how she plans to use her time.

"I'm gonna sit in our cupola and write poetry as I look back at our amazing planet," Proctor — who brought some of her students’ art, as well as materials to create her own poetry and art on the mission —  said. 

The journey is the final step in a dream that began for Proctor as a child. Her father, Edward Langley Proctor Jr., worked for NASA and tracked Apollo program flights.

Having caught the space bug early, Proctor endeavored to reach it on her own, eventually becoming a finalist in NASA's 2009 astronaut candidate program. While she didn't make the final cut, she is a licensed pilot and has completed four astronaut training simulations sponsored by NASA, including a four-month mission to Mars.

She was chosen through an online business contest conducted by Shift4 Payments as part of the Inspiration4 crew selection.  Proctor competed against entrepreneurs across the country to bring in donations for St. Jude, before being chosen to fly on the mission. St. Jude is the charitable beneficiary of Inspiration4. Its goal is to raise $200 million for kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Read more about the all-civilian mission to space and how it came to be here.

 

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