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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 |
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 |
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 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 |
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 |
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 |
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 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 |
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 |
HeLa cells dividing |
HeLa cells showing other diseases |
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 |
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Lincoln: the man, the movie, the rest of us
President Abraham Lincoln |
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley |
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 |
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 |
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)