MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – July 2014

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension.We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This month we mark the birthday of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a time when citizens across thecountry are checking the progress or lack thereof when it comes to race relations in America. The death of Eric Garnerand Michael Brown at the hands of police officers in 2014 brought underlying tensions regarding race to the surface. As2014 came to an end, emotions could not help but to flow. Riots, die-ins, student walkouts, marches and discussionsspread like wildfire. “I Can’t Breathe” and “Black Lives Matter” became the catch phrase to capsulize what appears tobe the start of a new civil rights movement.This movement does not negate the fact that we all have individual challenges that we must meet to make it to the next

level of our lives. In that vein, our cover story by Charles Emmons reveals how one of Denver’s most popular and suc-cessful event planners lost 193 pounds over a 15-month period in the fight for his life. Through his experiences, DuaneTaylor has committed to helping others be healthy. Chandra Thomas Whitfield shines the light on Environmental Learningfor Kids (ELK), a nonprofit organization that focuses on teaching kids of color and at-risk youth about science, nature andsocial justice through hands-on fun activities such as fishing, hiking and camping. We also highlight one of the many dis-cussions held in the city to address tensions between the police and the African American community, but this time fromthe voice of attorneys. This issue also provides perspective on the crisis surrounding actor and comedian Bill Cosby.On a final note, we like to believe we know all there is to know about Dr. King, but historian Charles Guy provides us

some known and little-known facts in this issue. Please take a moment to review the milestones that formed the man wecelebrate today.

Angelia D. McGowanManaging Editor

In memory!Emmett Till... Amadou-Diallo...Trayvon Martin...Michael Brown...Tamir Rice...Eric Garner...

I Can’t BreatheEditor:

Recent grand jurydecisions in Missouriand New York haveraised troubling ques-tions. It is time tohave a serious conversation to addressthe mistrust felt by communities ofcolor towards police departments, notjust in other states, but right here inColorado.

The decision by a grand jury inFerguson, Mo. not to indict OfficerDarren Wilson in the death ofunarmed black teenager MichaelBrown was controversial. While Iunderstand there was conflicting testi-mony, I was disappointed with thedecision and sympathize with thosewho feel justice was not served. Iwonder what policies local authoritiescan put in place or change so that ter-rible tragedies like this can be avoidedin the future.

More recently the decision by aNew York grand jury to not indictOfficer Daniel Pantaleo for his choke-hold of Eric Garner that resulted inMr. Garner’s death has caused univer-sal outrage. Rightly so in my opinion--the incident was caught on video andyou can clearly hear Mr. Garner, whowas being arrested for selling single,individual cigarettes, saying he cannotbreathe.

How can an infraction as minor asselling loose cigarettes result in theunnecessary use of a chokehold thatkilled a citizen the police are meant toprotect? Even in a case where theevent was captured on camera and theexcessive use of force seems clear, jus-tice was still not served.

While these events are tragic, theyoffer us a chance to re-evaluate ourlaws and policies and to begin torestore trust between police officersand citizens. I am planning to hosttown halls in the greater metro area to

continue this dialogue after the begin-ning of the year. It’s critical that wehave a conversation to ensure our jus-tice system protects all people includ-ing communities of color.

State Rep. Rhonda FieldsHouse District 42 in North Aurora

Editor’s note: On Dec. 29, 2014 Rep. Fieldsheld a round table discussion at the StateCapitol with other community leaders. Forinformation about that community conver-sation, visit www.rhondafields.com.Now Is The Time!Editor:

We have all, bynow have either reador heard that a GrandJury declined to indictFerguson PoliceOfficer Darren Wilson in the death ofMichael Brown. A Grand Jury of 9white and 3 African Americans cameto the conclusion that not enough evi-dence was presented to indict the offi-

Continued on page 30

PUBLISHERRosalind J. Harris

GENERAL MANAGERLawrence A. James

MANAGING EDITORAngelia D. McGowan

CONTRIBUTING COPY EDITORTanya Ishikawa

COLUMNISTSEarl Ofari Hutchinson

Wanda JamesCleo Manago

K. Gerald Torrence

FILM CRITICBlackFlix.Com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSCharles EmmonsAnn Marie Figueroa

Charles GuyAngelia D. McGowan

Chandra Thomas Whitfield

ART DIRECTORBee Harris

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTCecile Perrin

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSLorenzo DawkinsLens of Ansar

ADVERTISING SALES CONSULTANTRobin James

Byron T. Robinson

DISTRIBUTIONGlen Barnes

Lawrence A. JamesEd Lynch

Volume 28 Number 10 January 2015

The Denver Urban Spectrum is amonthly publication dedicated tospreading the news about people ofcolor. Contents of the Denver UrbanSpectrum are copyright 2015 by BizzyBee Enterprise. No portion may bereproduced without written permissionof the publisher.The Denver Urban Spectrum circu-

lates 25,000 copies throughoutColorado. The Denver Urban Spectrumwelcomes all letters, but reserves theright to edit for space, libelous material,grammar, and length. All letters mustinclude name, address, and phonenumber. We will withhold author’s nameon request. Unsolicited articles areaccepted without guarantee of publica-tion or payment.Write to the Denver Urban Spectrum

at P.O. Box 31001, Aurora, CO 80041.For advertising, subscriptions, or

other information, call 303-292-6446 orfax 303-292-6543 or visit theWeb site atwww.denverurbanspectrum.com.

It’s resolution time. Get off thecouch! Usually the New Year is a timeof reflection. More often than not wefocus on what we could have donebetter, and what we are going to doabout it in the coming year. Weresolve to make our lives better.

Resolutions are goals for our imme-diate future. We use them as guide-posts to move us along as we progressthroughout the year. As we go along,we are happy when we reach a goal,and perhaps indifferent when we donot.

But 2014 woke us up. The tragicshootings in Ferguson, New York andCleveland were a stark reminder thatlife is precious and can be snatchedaway at any moment. For most, thereare no second chances. When theycome along, we must maximize themto the fullest.

Duane Taylor believes in secondchances. Just over a year ago on NewYear’s Eve, Taylor went to a doctor’soffice and was told he would be ableto lighten his burden, and no longerneeded the wound vac medical appa-ratus that had been keeping him alive.It was the best New Year’s present hecould have imagined, and from thatpoint forward he resolved to live andto help others live.

Taylor is well known in the com-munity, mostly for Duane Taylor

Entertainment. He told me hehas close to 8,000 connectionsonline. Since moving to Denverfrom Atlanta to manage the callcenter for the security companyADT, he has been living thedream, sometimes by choice,other times having to adapt.Two years after his relocation,the company downsized and helost his job, and it was then thathe started Duane TaylorEntertainment, a successful pro-motions company. He subse-quently started a business as acorporate recruiter.

“Who is Duane Taylor?From a professional standpoint,I am a corporate employmentrecruiter by day, a professionalevent planner by night and adynamic motivational speakerby nature,” he says.

He became aware of his God-givengifts and talents 20 years ago, but ittook a life-changing event to urge himinto full commitment to use them.Despite his success, his lifestyle wasnot perfect as he struggled with obesi-ty even as a child. After deciding tohave elective bariatric surgery andchanging his nutrition and mindset,Taylor has shed 193 pounds in thepast 15 months. Growing up in

Philadelphia as an only child, he wasthe fat kid who was teased and pickedon, as well as the focal point of hisparents’ love.

“I think that contributed to my obe-sity as well,” says Taylor. His fatherwould pick him up at the bus stopand they would go to the corner drug-store for what Taylor referred to asone junk, a candy bar or potato chips.“And of course, me being an onlychild and being the focal point of myparents’ love, sometimes that one junkbecame two junks, because I wouldask for two. And he would say, alrightson, you’ve made good grades today –go ahead and get two things.”

Taylor’s football playing weight inhigh school was 255 pounds. In hisfreshman year at the University ofFlorida, he put on another 100pounds. He was unfortunately placedin Hume Hall, the dorm that housedthe only all-you-can-eat cafeteria. Withhis meal plan, he took full advantage.His weight began to take its toll. Oneroommate moved out after one semes-ter because of Taylor’s excessive snor-ing, a consequence of his obesity.

After graduating from college witha bachelor’s in communications,Taylor lived in Florida for severalyears before moving to Atlanta wherehe met his wife Zena. “I thought Iwould be in Atlanta all my life. Butapparently that wasn’t God’s plan,” hesays.

“I have struggled with obesity allmy life,” says Taylor. “I have donewhat I call the Oprah and LutherVandross syndrome, where you haveseen them gain weight…loseweight…gain weight…loseweight…gain weight… lose weight. “Taylor has been a living statistic. Datafrom the Health, United States, 2013report from the U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services Centersfor Disease Control and PreventionNational Center for Health Statisticsreport shows that 38 percent ofAfrican American men are obese, witha Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 orhigher. The rate for African Americanwomen is even higher at 57 percent.Obesity has been classified as a pre-ventable disease, but according to thepersonalhealthinsurance.com websiteit is exempt as a pre-existing conditionunder the Affordable Care Act.Economic status and education havesome but little impact. Obesity ratesamong African Americans who havecollege degrees and higher incomesstill hover around 25 percent. It’s for-tunate to be able to address it withbariatric surgery, but Taylor is quickto comment that this is by no means asilver bullet.

We seem to be enamored with quickfixes. Taylor had developed many of theailments associated with obesity – short-ness of breath, knee pain, and hyperten-sion, and he struggled to get out of hiscar because of his weight. It took break-ing the driver seat in his crossover vehi-cle to get him to consider doing some-thing different. It was common to con-sume 30 chicken wings in a sitting whilewatching a football game and he dranka 2-liter bottle of diet soda a day. By thetime he started considering bariatric sur-gery, he tipped the scale at nearly 400pounds. That was about three years ago.

Taylor had the bariatric sleeve sur-gery in 2013. “But what I didn’t antici-pate was that nine days after my sur

Continued on page 6

Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – January 2015

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Duane Taylor, Saved For The Next LevelBy Charles Emmons

Photos by Lorenzo Dawkins

Duane TaylorContinued from page 4gery, I was sitting on that couch and Ibecame sick,” he says. “Now it is yet tobe determined whether or not my sub-sequent illness was the result of myweight loss surgery or not. I ended upin the hospital for two months.” Thosetwo months were the most challengingdays of his life. Two additional surgerieswere performed. In the eight weeksspent in the hospital between Septemberand November, he was in intensive carefor three of them. Taylor recalls littleabout the whole experience, but pictureshis wife took show he was hooked up toevery type of medical machine imagina-ble. He is emotional and often tearfulwhen he talks about it. “But she would-n’t share those with me until she knewthat I was ready to see them, and Iappreciate her for that,” he says. Afterbeing discharged from SkyRidgeHospital, he checked into a specialtyhospital where after an initial assess-ment, doctors determined that he wastoo sick to be there and he was sent toanother acute care hospital. There theprognosis was for additional surgeries.

But Taylor’s wife and mother knewhe would not be up for further timeunder the knife. “I had already hadthree surgeries within a week. I hadmy weight loss surgery on Sept. 10,another surgery around the 20, two sur-geries, so if I had been taken under that

knife again, I may not have lived. So Ihad what is called internal wound ther-apy. I had a hole in my stomach the sizeof a football and as deep as…probablythree inches deep,” he says. The therapyworked, and Taylor was discharged onNov. 14, but relegated to carrying theeight-pound wound vac until he got theword on New Year’s Eve that he nolonger needed it. “The only time I coulddisconnect it was when I took a shower.I would disconnect it take a shower andthen reconnect it and it was a mess. ButI thank God for the wound vac, becauseit helped me to not have to have anothersurgery,” he tearfully says.

Few of us have such a transforma-tional experience that slaps us in theface. Taylor is determined to turn thisdark period into a lighting path forothers faced with obesity. He electedto have the bariatric procedure, but heknows even with this physical fix,there is the danger of reverting to oldhabits. “I try to let people know thatbariatric surgery is a choice. And thatit is not just the solution. Your changehas to come really from your mentaladjustment. Biblically, we call it therenewing of the mind. You have tohave a renewed mind and make thedecision that you are going to thinkdifferently, be differently, and eat dif-ferently. One of the things I plan to dois write a book, and one of the chap-

ters is going to be ‘All I do is thinkabout food.’

The biggest challenge has been toshed the old Duane. “It is kind of iron-ic because when I was morbidly obese,all I would do was think about food.And that meant where was I going togo? What was I going to eat?” He methis goal of shedding at least 140pounds with the surgery. But when helooked in the mirror, he still saw theold Duane. He had lived so long as anobese man, that he had difficulty see-ing himself as slim. Could he embracethis new person?

Following his surgeries, Taylor wasfed intravenously and took nothingthrough his mouth for weeks. Whenhe was encouraged to start eating, hefound it difficult to wrap his mindaround eating food again. The oldDuane loomed in the back of hismind. But his mental fortitude got himthrough the pain and anguish. “Babe,I’m tired,” he told his wife oneevening over the phone. “We needyou,” she tearfully replied. He decidedthat night in his hospital bed he wasgoing to fight to live his life to thefullest.

Today, Taylor exercises in the gymworking out six days a week. He fer-vently works with a dietician and isfocused on constantly improving hisnutrition. He is coming into his own,comfortable in his own skin as an“agent of encouragement.”

“I would say that my escalatedlevel of success with this bariatric sur-gery is because of my mindset changeand my rigorous exercise, which isone thing that I will tell people all overthe world as I go out and help peoplechange their mindset. If you have thesurgery, that is a choice. But even ifyou don’t have the surgery, you’vegot to implement exercise into your

daily lifestyle. You‘ve got to changethe way you look at food. You can’t letfood control you.”

A year ago, Taylor wore size 56pants. Today, he wears a size 34. Butthere is more to life than looking goodin your clothes. People who knew theold 390-pound Duane look at the newand improved 197-pound Duanesometimes say, “You’re getting tooskinny.” He looks them dead in theeye and tells them “Is there any suchthing as too healthy? When we arehealthy, we feel good and have ener-gy. If we truly want to live ourdreams, we are in a better position toaccomplish our goals when we arehealthy.

“You have to make a decision andreally be serious about it. You can’t goat it half-heartedly. And that has per-meated every other aspects of my life.In my business, if I can’t put on agrand, epic and signature event, I amnot going to bother. No moremediocre. I wasn’t saved and given asecond chance at life to do stuff on amediocre level.”

As is the case with many, Taylor’snew outlook is borne of adversity;nevertheless it is prudent to borrow apage from his playbook. He reached aplateau after his surgery and wassomewhat dismayed. We reachplateaus in all areas of our lives, sofocused on results, we think we havefaltered, ignoring the lessons in theprocess. Taylor has developed anaversion to the past tense in relation tohis fitness and health. For him beinghealthy is an ongoing process. Andthe process must always be progress-ing. He emphasizes the ‘ing’ as inbeing and doing.

“It’s not time to replay the first partof my life over again and play it thesame way as the first part. It’s time forthe next level. A much higher level, amuch more fulfilling level on all levelsphysically, emotionally, financially,spiritually. It’s time to go to the nextlevel. And that is one thing I ask whenI try to encourage people – friends andstrangers – what are you doing to takeyourself to the next level?”

Taylor’s next level is telling hisstory from Morbid to Model, his newpersonal brand. Knowing that peopleare more receptive to those who havebeen there and done that, he plans ona documentary, a book, more press,social media and perhaps talk showappearances in modeling for othersstruggling with obesity. He recentlyreceived more than 800 “Likes” onFacebook when posting about hisexperience and he currently givesweekly lectures to bariatric patients.! Editor’s note: For more information onDuane Taylor, visitwww.facebook.com/duane.taylor.712.

Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – January 2015

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