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Diverse Online News Alert for April 11, 2013                                  View Diverse Digital Version

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Advertise with Diverse   FEATURED STORIES Obama Administration’s 2014 Education Budget Proposal Boosts Pell Grant, Seeks Interest Rate Changes by Charles Dervarics Elsewhere, funding for historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions would remain unchanged at $313 million and $221 million, respectively. Read full story ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Online and Traditional Education Through the Eyes of an Undergrad by David Coronado Perspective of a student who started at a community college, is about to graduate from an online program, and is also an intern at a brick-and-mortar, small, traditional university. Read full story ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Senator Rand Paul Brings Republican Party Message to Howard University by Ronald Roach U.S. Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., told a packed audience at Howard University that the party today offers African-Americans a path toward unencumbered opportunity. Read full story   FEATURED jobs   Director of the Groups Scholars Program Indiana University Bloomington The ideal candidate is self-motivated, creative, and possesses good communication and customer service skills that ensurecollaborative relationships with university-wide administrators and external representatives. Asst. Professor—English (Rhetoric and Composition) Morehouse College Applicants are expected to teach English Composition, to demonstrate interest in writing program administration, and to participate in college and department committee work and service. Non-Tenure Instructor DePaul University School of Hospitality Leadership The position of instructor is that of a full time employee (35 hours/week or 7.5/hours/day) and includes both teaching and administrative responsibilities. Instructor Elizabethtown Community & Technical College Faculty/Project Team Leader Learn on Demand Business Administration Program Department of Art & Design Chair-Assoc/Full Prof. Montclair State University Tenure track position for Associate or Full Professor to serve as the Chairperson of the Department of Art and Design, with 22 full-time and 100 part-time artists, designers, fashion studies professors, art historians and art educators. more headlines Washington State University President Reacts to Assault on Professor by Associated Press Washington State University President Elson Floyd has donated $10,000 to the reward fund to help catch whoever assaulted a faculty member near campus. Read full story ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ark. Senate Panel Rejects Immigrant Tuition Bill by Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press A state Senate committee deadlocked Wednesday on a proposal aimed at allowing Arkansas colleges and universities to extend in-state tuition rates to some immigrants who came to the country as children illegally. Read full story   Advertise with Diverse   latest BLOG Rejection Can Be a Good Thing in the Long Run by Dr. Elwood Watson Anyone want to go to a school that now has a history of homophobia as well as physical abuse of students? Oh, and besides that, the team doesn’t win basketball games. Read full story   more jobs Faculty Positions in International Relations American University School of International Servic Marketing Communications Director Jobs for the Future Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management American University School of International Servic Faculty Positions in International Relations Virginia State University Tenure-Track Faculty Positions Santa Monica College Vice President for Enrollment Management Heidelberg University Instructor Elizabethtown Community & Technical College Assistant Professor of Speech Morehouse College Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Tennessee Board of Regents Tenure Track Positions in Nursing Texas Christian University

Berkeley in the News - Wednesday, 10 April 2013 The text below can be read online at http://www.berkeley.edu/news/in_news/archives/20130410.shtml 1. Join the Berkeley-wide emergency drill April 27 Berkeleyside http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/04/10/join-the-city-wide-emergency-drill-on-april-27/ Emilie Raguso The City of Berkeley will be conducting a disaster drill on April 27, and all residents and people with regular business in town are encouraged to participate at whatever level is convenient. "Even five minutes can make a big difference," the organizers say. The context of the drill will be response to a 6.9-magnitude earthquake, and it will take place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Activities volunteers can do include simply calling or texting your out-of-area contact; tuning in to the city�s emergency radio station at 1610 AM; and checking fire extinguishers and smoke alarms. A participant checklist with other suggested activities is available <a href="http://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Fire/Level_3_-_General/CE_EventChecklist-v1.2.pdf">here</a>. 2. The University of Private Enterprise East Bay Express http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-university-of-private-enterprise/Content?oid=3518686 Joaquin Palomino A lengthy commentary addresses the changing nature of research at Berkeley, focuses on the opposing influences of declining federal support and increasing private funding. Noting that the key effect has been a shift from basic to applied research, the author quotes Berkeley history professor James Vernon, who said: "The humanities and most of the social sciences aren't as effective at generating income, and that means we have a harder job in trying to establish the value of what it is we do on the campus." Referring to that thought, the author concludes: "Such thinking also could justify funding cuts for programs that aren't 'profitable,' thereby reinforcing the belief that higher education in the United States should primarily serve as an engine for economic growth." 3. Future Tech Blog: Passwords? What about passthoughts? New login relies on brain signals NBC News Online http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/passwords-what-about-passthoughts-new-login-relies-brain-signals-1C9275556 Nidhi Subbaraman Information professor John Chuang and colleagues are conducting experiments to test headset devices that decode brain signals, called EEGs, so that "passthoughts" could be used in place of passwords to unlock computer programs. 4. Blog: Bi-Partisanship We Don't Need: The President Offers to Cut Social Security and Republicans Agree Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/obama-grand-bargain_b_3051650.html Robert Reich Public policy professor Robert Reich is not pleased with President Obama's latest effort to reach a budget agreement with Republicans by offering to cut Social Security in exchange for the closing of certain tax loopholes for the rich. "Oh, please. Social Security hasn't contributed to the budget deficit," Professor Reich says. "The president's predilection for negotiating with himself is not new. But his willingness to do it with Social Security, the government's most popular program -- which Democrats have protected from Republican assaults for almost eighty years -- doesn't bode well. � The president desperately wants a 'grand bargain' on the deficit. Republicans know he does. Watch your wallets." 5. Blog: The use and abuse of monetary history LiveMint http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/3Ulk3tpxNVnGX1UnzSUu4J/Barry-Eichengreen--The-use-and-abuse-of-monetary-history.html Barry Eichengreen Economics professor Barry Eichengreen writes about the different approaches of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB), saying the divergence has to do with different historical perspectives. After noting that he considers the ECB�s failure to provide more monetary support for economic growth to be directly analogous to Europe�s disastrous monetary policies in the 1930s, he concludes: "Then again, perhaps it is to be expected that I find the analogy with the 1930s compelling. That was the defining episode for American monetary policy. And I am, after all, an American." 6. Blog: Staffing a universal preschool program will be no small task EdSource http://www.edsource.org/today/2013/staffing-a-universal-preschool-program-will-be-no-small-task/30091#.UWW7S0rouHc Marcy Whitebook Marcy Whitebook, director of Berkeley's Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, writes that while there is no usable policy proposal available yet for President Obama�s call for universal preschool, it is safe to assume that higher demand for trained preschool teachers will result. "Planning and investment in the teacher preparation infrastructure must be a feature of new preschool policy," she says. "This should involve both expanding and revamping courses of study to include a focus on younger children, and establishing better programs to ensure the competence of those professionals who will needed to train and mentor prospective preschool teachers." 7. Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin: On Work as Relief From Personal Problems The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/04/anthony-weiner-and-huma-abedin-on-work-as-relief-from-personal-problems/274842/ Eleanor Barkhorn A commentary about a forthcoming article in the <i>New York Times Magazine</i> about how former Congressman Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin have coped with the scandalous collapse of his Congressional career mentions Berkeley sociology professor Arlie Russell Hochschild's 1997 book <i>The Time Bind</i>. The citation is made in the context of Abedin's remark that her sanctuary, after her husband's scandal erupted, was her work as an aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. As Professor Hochschild had found in her research, workers in the '70s and '90s were lengthening their work hours not because of a desire to make more money or the fear of getting fired; it was because work offered a more pleasant environment than home did. 8. Women More Likely To Shun Business Careers As 'Evil' AOL Jobs http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/04/10/women-business-careers-ethics-evil/ Claire Gordon A story about why there aren't more women in the higher echelons of corporations cites a study by Berkeley business professor Laura Kray and Ph.D. candidate Jessica Kennedy, which found that women had more qualms about ethics in business. This affected their interest in profit-focused work and could explain why there are many more women working in other sectors. 9. Alzheimer's Gene Study Finds Mutation That May Double Disease Risk In Blacks Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/alzheimers-gene-study-finds-double-disease-risk-in-blacks_n_3047124.html Reuters Sociology professor Troy Duster comments on a study finding that a certain type of gene mutation may account for the fact that African Americans are twice as likely as whites to develop Alzheimer's disease. Professor Duster says the findings are too preliminary and the effect sizes too small to draw any definitive conclusions. He adds that the study needs to be replicated with other groups who identify as African-American and white. Otherwise, he says, "it is impossible to interpret whether this small difference has significant meaning, or points to different etiologies (or the need for different treatments) in different groups." 10. Dinosaur Embryo Graveyard The Scientist http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/35052/title/Dinosaur-Embryo-Graveyard/ Ed Yong Berkeley paleontologist Kevin Padian comments on a study of dinosaur embryos conducted by a University of Toronto researcher. �It's an excellent study,� he says. �Embryonic bones of any fossil taxon are rare, and these show that [embryonic dinosaurs] grew at rates comparable to birds and mammals and much faster than other reptiles do.� 11. Volunteers needed for East Bay oak tree 'blitz' survey Contra Costa Times (*requires registration) http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_22988643/chris-treadway-volunteers-needed-east-bay-oak-tree?IADID= Chris Treadway Researchers are seeking volunteers for a new East Bay "blitz" survey of area oak trees. With volunteers collecting leaves, the results are analyzed by Berkeley's Forest Pathology and Mycology Laboratory, which tracks the spread of sudden oak disease. Careful tracking can slow the spread of the devastating condition, for which there is no cure. The two-day survey will be conducted April 27 and 28, and volunteers are invited to attend one-hour training sessions in Orinda and Berkeley. ### Note: Web links in this mailing are time sensitive, so stories may not be available after the day the mailing is distributed. Many newspapers allow current day access without charge, and later change the location of stories to protect content. If you wish to unsubscribe or re-subscribe at any time, you can do so at http://www.berkeley.edu/news/in_news/subscribe.html. 

Saturday, Berkeley in the News - Wednesday, 10 April 2013

The text below can be read online at
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/in_news/archives/20130410.shtml

1. Join the Berkeley-wide emergency drill April 27
Berkeleyside
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/04/10/join-the-city-wide-emergency-drill-on-april-27/
Emilie Raguso

The City of Berkeley will be conducting a disaster drill on April 27, and all
residents and people with regular business in town are encouraged to participate
at whatever level is convenient. "Even five minutes can make a big difference,"
the organizers say. The context of the drill will be response to a 6.9-magnitude
earthquake, and it will take place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Activities
volunteers can do include simply calling or texting your out-of-area contact;
tuning in to the city�s emergency radio station at 1610 AM; and checking fire
extinguishers and smoke alarms. A participant checklist with other suggested
activities is available here.

2. The University of Private Enterprise
East Bay Express
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-university-of-private-enterprise/Content?oid=3518686
Joaquin Palomino

A lengthy commentary addresses the changing nature of research at Berkeley,
focuses on the opposing influences of declining federal support and increasing
private funding. Noting that the key effect has been a shift from basic to
applied research, the author quotes Berkeley history professor James Vernon, who
said: "The humanities and most of the social sciences aren't as effective at
generating income, and that means we have a harder job in trying to establish
the value of what it is we do on the campus." Referring to that thought, the
author concludes: "Such thinking also could justify funding cuts for programs
that aren't 'profitable,' thereby reinforcing the belief that higher education
in the United States should primarily serve as an engine for economic growth."

3. Future Tech Blog: Passwords? What about passthoughts? New login relies on
brain signals
NBC News Online
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/passwords-what-about-passthoughts-new-login-relies-brain-signals-1C9275556
Nidhi Subbaraman

Information professor John Chuang and colleagues are conducting experiments to
test headset devices that decode brain signals, called EEGs, so that
"passthoughts" could be used in place of passwords to unlock computer programs.

4. Blog: Bi-Partisanship We Don't Need: The President Offers to Cut Social
Security and Republicans Agree
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/obama-grand-bargain_b_3051650.html
Robert Reich

Public policy professor Robert Reich is not pleased with President Obama's
latest effort to reach a budget agreement with Republicans by offering to cut
Social Security in exchange for the closing of certain tax loopholes for the
rich. "Oh, please. Social Security hasn't contributed to the budget deficit,"
Professor Reich says. "The president's predilection for negotiating with himself
is not new. But his willingness to do it with Social Security, the government's
most popular program -- which Democrats have protected from Republican assaults
for almost eighty years -- doesn't bode well. � The president desperately wants
a 'grand bargain' on the deficit. Republicans know he does. Watch your wallets."

5. Blog: The use and abuse of monetary history
LiveMint
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/3Ulk3tpxNVnGX1UnzSUu4J/Barry-Eichengreen--The-use-and-abuse-of-monetary-history.html

Barry Eichengreen

Economics professor Barry Eichengreen writes about the different approaches of
the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB), saying the
divergence has to do with different historical perspectives. After noting that
he considers the ECB�s failure to provide more monetary support for economic
growth to be directly analogous to Europe�s disastrous monetary policies in the
1930s, he concludes: "Then again, perhaps it is to be expected that I find the
analogy with the 1930s compelling. That was the defining episode for American
monetary policy. And I am, after all, an American."

6. Blog: Staffing a universal preschool program will be no small task
EdSource
http://www.edsource.org/today/2013/staffing-a-universal-preschool-program-will-be-no-small-task/30091#.UWW7S0rouHc

Marcy Whitebook

Marcy Whitebook, director of Berkeley's Center for the Study of Child Care
Employment, writes that while there is no usable policy proposal available yet
for President Obama�s call for universal preschool, it is safe to assume that
higher demand for trained preschool teachers will result. "Planning and
investment in the teacher preparation infrastructure must be a feature of new
preschool policy," she says. "This should involve both expanding and revamping
courses of study to include a focus on younger children, and establishing better
programs to ensure the competence of those professionals who will needed to
train and mentor prospective preschool teachers."

7. Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin: On Work as Relief From Personal Problems
The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/04/anthony-weiner-and-huma-abedin-on-work-as-relief-from-personal-problems/274842/

Eleanor Barkhorn

A commentary about a forthcoming article in the New York Times Magazine
about how former Congressman Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin have coped
with the scandalous collapse of his Congressional career mentions Berkeley
sociology professor Arlie Russell Hochschild's 1997 book The Time Bind.
The citation is made in the context of Abedin's remark that her sanctuary, after
her husband's scandal erupted, was her work as an aide to former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton. As Professor Hochschild had found in her research,
workers in the '70s and '90s were lengthening their work hours not because of a
desire to make more money or the fear of getting fired; it was because work
offered a more pleasant environment than home did.

8. Women More Likely To Shun Business Careers As 'Evil'
AOL Jobs
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/04/10/women-business-careers-ethics-evil/
Claire Gordon

A story about why there aren't more women in the higher echelons of corporations
cites a study by Berkeley business professor Laura Kray and Ph.D. candidate
Jessica Kennedy, which found that women had more qualms about ethics in
business. This affected their interest in profit-focused work and could explain
why there are many more women working in other sectors.

9. Alzheimer's Gene Study Finds Mutation That May Double Disease Risk In Blacks
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/alzheimers-gene-study-finds-double-disease-risk-in-blacks_n_3047124.html

Reuters

Sociology professor Troy Duster comments on a study finding that a certain type
of gene mutation may account for the fact that African Americans are twice as
likely as whites to develop Alzheimer's disease. Professor Duster says the
findings are too preliminary and the effect sizes too small to draw any
definitive conclusions. He adds that the study needs to be replicated with other
groups who identify as African-American and white. Otherwise, he says, "it is
impossible to interpret whether this small difference has significant meaning,
or points to different etiologies (or the need for different treatments) in
different groups."

10. Dinosaur Embryo Graveyard
The Scientist
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/35052/title/Dinosaur-Embryo-Graveyard/
Ed Yong

Berkeley paleontologist Kevin Padian comments on a study of dinosaur embryos
conducted by a University of Toronto researcher. �It's an excellent study,� he
says. �Embryonic bones of any fossil taxon are rare, and these show that
[embryonic dinosaurs] grew at rates comparable to birds and mammals and much
faster than other reptiles do.�

11. Volunteers needed for East Bay oak tree 'blitz' survey
Contra Costa Times (*requires registration)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_22988643/chris-treadway-volunteers-needed-east-bay-oak-tree?IADID=
Chris Treadway

Researchers are seeking volunteers for a new East Bay "blitz" survey of area oak
trees. With volunteers collecting leaves, the results are analyzed by Berkeley's
Forest Pathology and Mycology Laboratory, which tracks the spread of sudden oak
disease. Careful tracking can slow the spread of the devastating condition, for
which there is no cure. The two-day survey will be conducted April 27 and 28,
and volunteers are invited to attend one-hour training sessions in Orinda and
Berkeley.

###
Note: Web links in this mailing are time sensitive, so stories may
not be available after the day the mailing is distributed. Many
newspapers allow current day access without charge, and later change
the location of stories to protect content.

If you wish to unsubscribe or re-subscribe at any time,
you can do so at http://www.berkeley.edu/news/in_news/subscribe.html.

ebruary 16, 2013

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute: 40 Years of Black Performing Arts History in Seattle, Washington

Editor's note: today's blog post is written by guest blogger Lisa Myers Bulmash: to read about Lisa, click on her link in the Guest Blogger section in the right hand column.

It is nice to point out heroes of color during Black History Month, like legendary poet/playwright/author Langston Hughes, but as readers of the Black Past blog well know, black history is something everyday people create, every day. For the past four decades, the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (LHPAI) has created performing arts history vital to the Seattle African American and Diaspora community. 

Synagogue Bikur Cholim

The Institute seems to have always been part of the Central Area, and, in a way it has: its landmark building was originally erected as the Chevra Bikur Cholim congregation's synagogue and dedicated in 1915. At that time, the Central Area was a mostly Jewish neighborhood with some residents of black, Japanese, and Scandinavian heritage. More black people began to move to Seattle during World War II, but were restricted to the Central Area by job and housing discrimination. It took long-term challenges from dozens of Seattle civil rights activists and thousands of demonstrators and protestors of all racial backgrounds in the 1960s for the city and state to improve housing, educational and recreational opportunities for blacks and other people of color.
By the late 1960s many of these activists, including most prominently Walter Hubbard, Jr., sought a chance to establish a cultural center in the Central Area.  That chance arrived in 1968. The congregation of Bikur Cholim sold its synagogue to the City of Seattle as many of its members migrated out of the area south to Seward Park and east to Mercer Island and other suburbs. In 1969 Walter Hundley and Seattle's leading anti-poverty organization, the Central Area Motivation Project (CAMP) created an unusual partnership with the City of Seattle. CAMP utilized the City's federal urban renewal funding to help create the Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center.

LHPAI exterior

The Center was managed by Seattle Parks and Recreation Department as an African American-focused community center.  Its founders however, had another purpose in mind; the Center would also be an arts organization that would serve as a venue for plays, poetry readings, and other performance art.  Then as now, the Center also offered art classes, hosted organizations like the Madrona Youth Theatre, and rented out its performance and meeting space. But there was always tension between the twin foci of the Center. One early Center advisor captured that tension when she described it as "a recreation center that does not do basketball."

Montlake School, 1975

Despite these conundrums, by the early 1970s the Cultural Arts Center became the major force shaping Seattle's African American arts scene, cultivating and promoting numerous local performing artists. These performers included local actors Umeme, Kibie Monie,and Douglas Barnett. The center also became a focal point for out-of-town talent who began arriving in the 1980's. Among these were Jacqueline Moscou who acted and directed in several productions and director Michelle Blackmon, who staged "Purlie Victorious" at the Center in 1999. Even the legendary actor Ossie Davis (the playwright of "Purlie Victorious", seen here with then-Center Recreation Director Steven Sneed) visited Seattle and the Center and encouraged its work with local artists.

Steve Sneed with Ossie Davis

In 2001, the Seattle Parks Department, recognizing the growing importance of the Cultural Arts Center's role in the local performing arts scene, approved a reorganization plan to focus more strongly on this part its mission.  That reorganization included a name change to the "Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center." This change brought in Jacqueline Moscou as its first artistic director. She staged several theatrical productions, including "Death of a Salesman" with an all-black cast in 2005. (This innovation was not repeated on a major scale until the 2009 Yale Repertory Theatre production, starring Charles Dutton). The new Center adopted a dance company-in-residence and started an artist-in-residence program. The Center also launched its annual film festival in 2003, expanding the event's duration from three to nine days in 2007.
The weight of all that history took a structural toll, forcing a building closure from 2010 to 2012 for seismic and electrical renovation. Since its reopening in 2012 as the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (LHPAI), the organization has continued to offer authentic African American and Diaspora performing arts to all of Seattle. LHPAI transferred from the parks department to the Office of Arts and Culture in 2013 and has established a dance company-in-residence as well as an artist-in-residence program. Royal Alley-Barnes, LHPAI's executive director siince 2009, increased infrastructure resources, community connections, and emphasis on the mission to ensjre the focus on local and grassroots artists continues. The institute also offers winter and summer performing arts academies, ongoing educational oopportunities, and a new website. This February marks the institute's first Black History Month back in its home of more than forty years, an occasion worth celebrating.  We invite all who are interested to come to the new Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute.
Photo credits: Synagogue Bikur Cholim : WA State Jewish Historical Society; LHPAI exterior: Joe Mabel; Montlake School 1975: Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute; Steve Sneed with Ossie Davis: LHPAI                       
                  Posted by Hazel at 11:10 AM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook Links to this post

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Inspiration from Young Classical Musicians

Chevalier de Saint-George, 1745-1799

The idea of classical music and musicians often conjures up images or thoughts of dead white males, stodgy citizens at gala events, or a sense of irrelevance to modern cultural life. Nothing could further from the truth in any of the above categories!  February has been designated in the US as Black History Month and even though, as far as BlackPast.org is concerned, every month is Black History Month, in celebration of this particular month, BlackPast.org is offering a special focus on Classical Music in the context of African Americans and people of African descent. (For previous Black History Month specials on BlackPast.org, link to this page.)

The BlackPast.org website has compiled biographies of 67 classical musicians and a list of Black Classical Artists on YouTube. There is so much interesting information in all of these categories, be sure to check them out and share with family and friends!

Marian Anderson String Quarter

Any art form with a rich tradition can only remain vibrant as long as new, young talent is nurtured and blossoms. This is especially true of classical music in the face of the emergence of wildly popular, easily accessible new musical genres. New young classical musicians require the support of organizations and individuals willing to perform these mentoring roles. An impressive list of these groups, institutions, festivals, as well as a list of artists can be found at this website. For instance, The Marian Anderson String Quartet performs widely across the US and at each venue they give classes and perform in schools, showcasing their talent and being great role models.

From South Africa there are a number of fabulous young opera singers, including Nkosazana Dimande, who can be seen and heard on this video                                 

To understand the attraction and importance of opera in the life of a new young star, listen to this compelling TEDxTeen interview with Mteto Maphoyi: 
                         
All of these musicians, and all of those linked at BlackPast.org, have stories to share, joy to express, and an abiding care and respect for their craft, as well as a desire to make sure this rich heritage continues. Spend time perusing, and a remarkable 400 year, four continent legacy will unfold. Perhaps more young people will be inspired to seek out this knowledge and feel that they have a long line of fellow travelers who will support and guide them.
Posted by Hazel at 5:12 PM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook Links to this post

Monday, January 21, 2013

Seeking Home

Israeli soldier of Ethiopian descent

 Immigrants. Refugees. Job Hunters. Asylum Seekers. These terms are a few that describe those who seek a new place to call home. A number of very divergent groups of people of African descent have chosen to emigrate to Israel from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and have received support from a variety of groups in the United States of America.  As with all stories of dislocation and relocation, there is poignancy, sadness, hope, unrealized expectations. The video below tells some of those stories.
It is important to understand the difference between those people of African descent who consider themselves Jews either by birth or conversion (Ethiopians and Black Jews from the US) and are accepted (more or less) as such in Israel, and those who have left Africa seeking asylum or jobs (Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea). While many in the latter group may wish covert, that was not their initial reason coming to Israel, and the obstacles to doing so are many. The number of non-Jewish people of African descent moving to Israel in the last few years has escalated with the increase of trouble in North and East Africa. This has resulted in a backlash movement in Israel to send them back.

Sudanese refugees being sent out of Israel

Addisu Messele

Israel's Black Hebrews

There are several interesting articles and blogs to explore written around the topic of Blacks in Israel, written from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Exploring any of the links in this blog post will take you into the worlds of many interesting people. One such interesting person is Addisu Messele, the first person of sub-Saharan African ancestry elected to the Israeli Parliament.

And finally, from the serious at the top of this page, to the joyous at the bottom, people seek meaning in their lives down many different roads: all leading to home. Posted by Hazel at 7:15 PM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook Links to this post

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

The Black Sash

February 1968

The history of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), African National Congress (ANC), South African Students' Organization (SASO), and the fight for liberation in South Africa is well known. Less well known is the organization called The Black Sash. This organization of volunteers began in May 1955, when six white women met to try to figure out what they could do to protest against the Nationalist Party, the architects of Apartheid, which was making a mockery of the Constitution which had been created in 1909.

On the 25th May 1955, 2,500 women marched in Pretoria to protest. So infuriated were these women, they drew up two petitions to be sent to Parliament, to be signed by women only. Against all odds, delays, and other obstacles, they gathered 100,000 signatures. In vain. Thus was born a movement that would work assiduously, bearing Gandhi's principles of non-violence in mind, to defeat Apartheid, to bear witness to atrocities, to mourn the removal of rights and dignities, to provide moral support and courage to those treated unjustly, to stand vigil against the moral turpitude of the supporters of Apartheid. More often than not, these women were pelted with eggs, tomatoes, and verbal abuse as they stood silent, the least they could do in the face of the violence being done to Non-White people and the trampling of democratic principles.

Standing vigil against the Group Areas Act 1956 (Shirley Singer, far right)

The Black Sash protested against every move made by the Nationalist Party to control the lives of all people in South Africa, but especially Coloureds, Indians, Africans. The Nationalists used propaganda, disinformation, brain washing, and violence in the attempt to create a society in the image of Nazi Germany: the superiority of the Aryan "race". They tried divide and conquer amongst different white constituencies. They legislated relationships, they created fear of the "other", they distorted and contorted geography.

 After the first free elections in South Africa in 1994, the Black Sash met to ascertain what transformation they needed to go through to serve the challenges and encourage the success of the new South Africa.  Two videos recently produced explain where they came from (first) and where they are going (second).

 
The Black Sash Trustees produced a Position Statement September 2012 that sets forth their vision. Their website is well worth perusing to see examples of their work, to marvel at how an organization adapts to changing times and needs, to get inspiration for what is possible.


In memory of Shirley Gersohn Singer, 24 July 1929-2 January 2009 Posted by Hazel at 11:21 AM 1 comment: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Quite Frankly, We Would Love Your Support!

This blog is a companion to BlackPast.org, and is another tool to explore and appreciate all the information on the website. The blog offers an opportunity to see how the reference material, insights, and opinions of the website can relate to other contexts. BlackPast.org has been a fulfilling experience and a labor of love of all the many volunteers and staff who have contributed. Even though the website relies heavily on the goodwill of its volunteers, cold, hard cash is still necessary to maintain and improve the site. Below is the Official BlackPast.org Fact Sheet, compiled by Quintard Taylor, the Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History at the University of Washington, Seattle.  I am hoping that once you have read through it, you will consider making a donation to this very valuable 501(c)3. Thanks.

The future:school children who will benefit from BlackPast.org

BlackPast.org (www.blackpast.org), founded on February 1, 2007, is broadly conceived to provide reference information on people of African ancestry in the United States and around the world. BlackPast.org is supported by a volunteer staff of twelve and nearly 500 volunteer contributors from six continents.  The website has more than 10,000 pages and is free and ungated.  New features are added regularly. 
BlackPast.org includes: 1)      An online encyclopedia featuring nearly 3,000 entries which describe people, places and events in African American History, African American History in the West, and global African history.  2)      The complete text of more than 300 speeches by African Americans and other people of African ancestry from 1789 to 2009.  3)      More than 120 full text Primary Documents-court decisions, laws, organizational statements, treaties, government reports and executive orders. 4)      Nine major timelines that show the history of people of African ancestry from five million B.C.E. to today.  5)      Nine bibliographies listing more than 5,000 major books categorized by author, title, subject, and date of publication.    6)      Six "Gateway" Pages with links to digital archive collections, African and African American museums and research centers, genealogical research websites and more than 200 other website resources on African American History, African American History in the West, and global African history. 7)      Perspectives Online Magazine which features commentary of important but little known events in black history often written by the individuals who participated in or witnessed them.  To date more than 100 articles have appeared.             8)      Special Features include The Blog Roll, TheBarack Obama Page, Major Black Officeholders since 1641, The Black National Anthem, 101 African American Firsts, the LGBTQ page, By the Numbers and links to all of the major newspapers, magazines, and journals of African America, Africa, and the West Indies.

BlackPast.org Website Statistics:
Total Visits for 2007 (First year)	455,963
Total Visits for 2009	1,982,442
Total Visits for 2011	2,870,568

Posted by Hazel at 7:36 PM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook

Sunday, December 16, 2012

A Woman Who Unwittingly Made & Affected History

Henrietta Lacks. She was living just an ordinary life when the seemingly ordinary event of illness had extraordinary results that would forever change science and cancer research.

Henrietta Lacks

Dr. Clarence Spigner has written a powerful essay for BlackPast.org entitled Henrietta Lacks and the Debate Over Ethics in Bio-medical Research. Dr. Spigner's essay provides an overview of Mrs. Lacks' life, the treatment of her cancer, and the subsequent cancer research based on the cancerous cells taken from her body at the time of diagnosis. The importance of her cancerous cells became apparent when, unlike other failed attempts at propagating cells for research, her cells (called HeLa cells) not only lived, but self-propagated at an extraordinary rate. The journalist Rebecca Skloot's work "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew." (excerpted from the website of Rebecca Skloot, referenced above). To purchase a copy of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, click on the book title and you will support BlackPast.org (thank you!). Ms. Skloot has made efforts to assist the family of Henrietta Lacks. Information on the family may be found at The Henrietta Lacks Foundation and also The Lacks Family website.

HeLa cells dividing

HeLa cells showing other diseases

Interest in Henrietta Lacks as a person and as an object lesson in the importance of ethical research,  has not diminished  over time. Her cells continue to be used in research. One of the researchers, Dr. Paul Andrews, University of Dundee in Scotland, has taken amazing photos of HeLa cells, including the one at the left. Many other researchers have taken photos such as the one above right.
Further attestation to the enduring legacy of Henrietta Lacks is the establishment of a new high school in Vancouver, Washington: the Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School!

Henrietta Lacks Health & Bioscience High School

Posted by Hazel at 10:13 PM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Lincoln: the man, the movie, the rest of us

President Abraham Lincoln

The recent release of Steven Spielberg's movie  Lincoln, has engendered renewed interest in the 16th President of the United States and the issues of slavery and race and the ongoing impact of the Civil War on our civic life today. The film is based on the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and its focus is the drama surrounding adoption of The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and its subsequent grouping with related amendments that became known as The Reconstruction Amendments.

Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley

The film brings to light major players (e.g. Thad Stevens) and minor characters (e.g. Charles Sumner), highlighting the geographic, socioeconomic, and racial tensions in the country. Two people central to this drama are Mary Todd Lincoln and her companion Elizabeth Keckley (a link to Keckley's book can be found here) and their importance/influence in Lincoln's life.

A reading of three speeches over a four year period highlights the nature of these divisions and elucidates Lincoln's clear and profound thinking vs the contorted thought process of those opposed to acknowledging the common and equal humanity of all people: Alexander Stephens's Cornerstone Speech; Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation; and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.

Here are some more links to websites which offer information and ideas for exploration in various contexts: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and information from the White House archives.

Lincoln the movie

Historical dramas can be excellent teaching tools and a jumping off point for further reading and conversation. To continue exploring this topic with others who have seen the movie, visit LincolnMovie on Facebook.

A great number of novels have been written about the Civil War, not all of equal quality and value. Four choices to set people thinking are: Black Flower by Howard Bahr; March by Geraldine Brooks; The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara ; and Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks. A work of non-fiction sure to raise questions is America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation by David Goldfield. Any of these books may be purchased through this link here and BlackPast.org will benefit.

And finally, for a stunning collection of photographs of African Americans who fought in the Civil War (below), see a story about Ronald Coddington's book African American Faces of the Civil War, An Album at  this link here.

John & Isaiah Owens of the 60th U.S.Colored Infantry

Posted by Hazel at 3:28 PM 3 comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook

Monday, November 26, 2012

#GivingTuesday: what it is, what it means

Thoughtful  community activists hatched the idea that after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the people need an antidote! That was the impetus for #GivingTuesday, November 27th, a day for people, businesses, groups to give their time, treasure, and attention to people in need, ideas to be explored, conversations to be had on dealing with thorny problems in our communities. There are opportunities and suggestions at the link above for ways to share and learn.

There are people in dire straights in our neighborhoods, cities, counties, states and around the world. It is perfectly logical to focus mainly on our own communities, but there is much to learn and ways to be involved with those outside our borders.

Helping hands

Humanitarian crises are a disaster for those in them and overwhelming to contemplate for those outside them. It is so tempting to turn away and say "it is not our problem" or "I don't know who or how to help". A first step is information gathering on different issues, finding a connection or interest in a particular place, problem, or group. A first stop in information gathering may be the UNHCR, The UN's Refugee Agency.  A list of current crisis areas (Sudan, Congo, Syria to name three) are catalogued and described with how to be involved links. Doctors Without Borders provides information on their work sites.

While some organizations are geared to providing food, shelter, and medical assistance, others are issues oriented. One issue that is currently on the minds of many people, is the life-and-death situation for gays and lesbians in Africa in general and Uganda in particular. To read an overview of what this legislation would do, please click here and here. The non-profit organization vey active is this area is Avaaz: for what to know and how to help, click on the link. Also check the post on this blog dated October 15th.

Censorship, detention, and death are often the consequences facing journalists who dare to confront power with truth. To learn more about these brave people, click here. In many communities, women who speak out are punished; to learn more about this subject and others, click here.

The first most important step in working on these problems is to learn about them and share the information with friends and neighbors.

And lastly, BlackPast.org is a 501 (c) 3 and would also appreciate consideration of your support! Thank you. Posted by Hazel at 6:53 PM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook Older Posts Home Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)