Flyer for “Black Americans in Peace Corps” webinar.” Photo courtesy FAMU Career and Professional Development Center
When you think of the Peace Corps, most students at FAMU think of traveling to a third-world country, volunteering their services and changing the lives of individuals. That vision is true, but there’s so much more to this organization.
On Wednesday, the Peace Corps hosted a webinar called “Black American Experiences in Peace Corps” where Black students and alumni shared their experience with the Peace Corps.
The panelists included Chris Lins, recruiter for FAMU, Dani Arnwine, recruiter for FSU, Kyria Louis, Umelo Ugwoaba and Rosey Brown.
Each panelist shared their experiences of being abroad and what made them want to join the Peace Corps.
Ugwoaba, a third-year clinical psychology student, said he wanted to gain more worldly lessons in his field.
“I want to be able to help people of different cultures and creeds so I felt like joining the Peace Corps would help me achieve just that,” Ugwoaba said. “I gained a different perspective on how health is perceived on a global scale.”
Ugwoaba says serving in Indonesia made him want to travel more.
The discussion topics included recruitment, preparation, location placement and roles they took on, most of them being teaching positions.
Arnwine, a recruiter for FSU, was placed in Malawi, or the “warm heart of Africa,” for three years. While there she lived with a host family and taught math and English.
“This program really helped me discover if I wanted to be a teacher or not,” Arnwine said. “It also opened my eyes to a lot of wonderful people outside the U.S.”
One of the audience members asked a prime question: “Were any of you discriminated against or made uncomfortable by the people?” Most of the panelists agreed there were instances they felt unwanted, but there were people, including their host families, that made them feel welcomed.
“Because I was in South Africa, they thought I was considered a ‘colored’ person, which is a person of mixed African ancestry until I opened my mouth,” Brown said. “Then they knew I was American, but my host family always made me feel at home and a part of the environment.”
Prospects are usually given their assignments months in advance to prepare for the job and country they’ll be assigned to. Also, volunteers are given multiple options to choose from when picking a country to serve.
Lins, the recruiter for FAMU, said many of the recruits did not want to return to the states after their time was finished.
“You know I always tell them; the U.S. will be here when you return,” Lins said. “So, if you want to continue where you are, I say go for it.”
The month of February brings a focus on Black history by the M.V. Film Festival. The Chilmark-based organization is running programs for children in a range of ages to celebrate the month. The programs got underway last week.
“We’re really excited about it, at a time when Black Lives Matter,” said programming director Brian Ditchfield. He added that the MVFF is happy to have virtual programming to offer. “There were so many films submitted in the past year that we couldn’t present,” Ditchfield said in a telephone interview last week. Some were previously played at the Film Festival’s Cinema Circus. A variety will be available to different age groups, including younger children, and others will be provided for family viewing.
The MVFF is partnering with the Vineyard Haven Public Library, which will employ books by Black authors and those with Black characters for children to read.
“We decided to start with activities for age 4 and move up through ages 14 and 15,” according to MVFF education coordinator Jenna Robichau. Each day will provide films and programs for different age groups in collaboration with the Vineyard Haven library. On Mondays the MVFF will offer children 4 and up short films to support the library’s themes, including the Oscar-winning animated film “Hair Love.” These films will include instructions for crafts and worksheet activities, as well as for gross motor skills like dancing or running around the children’s homes.
Tuesdays will include children ages 8 and up. Children this age can view short, animated films from StoryCorps, a nonprofit organization sharing African American animated stories. StoryCorps provides Black voices talking about how they have lived through racism and segregation. Included is “A More Perfect Union,” about Theresa Burroughs and her effort to register to vote.
On Wednesdays, children 5 years and older can read books such as “Firebird,” by Misty Copeland. The book is by the first African American woman to become principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. Islanders are on deck at the library on Wednesdays to read stories by Black authors and discuss their roles in the community. Among those participating are Sharon Brown of the Island Food Pantry and Sterling Bishop of the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office, as well as artist and activist Dana Nunes, leader of Chilmark’s Beetlebung Corner kneel-ins.
The film version is available on Thursdays for children 10 and up. Thursday’s films can be watched by younger children with an adult. Also offered is “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” which is sponsored by the East Brunswick library in New Jersey. Directed and acted by Chiwetel Ejiofor, it is based on a true story about a Malawian 13-year-old who builds a windmill. Parents can watch these films with their children to discuss racial injustice.
Fridays bring feature films for the whole family that spotlight the African American experience through Black characters. In some cases, free tickets will be required.
For more information on the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival’s Black History Month programming, go to tmvff.org.
One of the biggest sporting traditions of the United States took place yesterday: the Super Bowl LV 2021 where a US football game was played to determine the champion of the country’s National Football League for the 2020 NFL season.
The event was held in Tampa, Florida in the south of the country. In light of the continued COVID-19 pandemic, the games — typically a dynamic scene with tons of cheering spectators, was rather watered down to necessity to uphold the coronavirus-prevention sanitary measures.
But not completely without flavour as Jazmine Sullivan and H.E.R took the customary ceremonial proceedings to a whole other level.
The US National Anthem
As is tradition, the games are opened up with a rendition of the country’s national anthem by local artists who have made a name for themselves in the entertainment industry.
This year saw a duet performance of the patriotic tune by country singer Eric Church and Soul and R&B singer-songwriter, Jazmine Sullivan — who looked angelically stunning in white.
Songstress Sullivan showed that the US music genre of Country — just as rock and roll, the blues, jazz and of course hip hop all came from the same African-American cultural root as she effortlessly re-christened the national anthem with her gospel vocals while succeeding in not completely overpowering Church (no pun intended) as the true professional that she is.
A rendition of the song that inspired chills like some of the legendary songbirds before her who did justice to the honour in time’s past.
Such as iconic African-American R&B girl group En Vogue. The first to ever perform the tune at a national function with soul and funk. Their rendition set a trend for all the other artists who came after them as this style of singing was not indigenous to nor done by mainstream white America at that time.
Another landmark performance was by the late, great and ever-missed pop Diva Whitney Houston. A rendition that is still emulated and celebrated till this day! Effortless power and soulful elegance personified in the slender-framed beauty.
Many fans worldwide of Jazmine Sullivan — who just released her latest project ‘Heaux Tales,’ are convinced that Whitney Houston gave her nod of approval after last night’s brilliant performance.
America the Beautiful
Budding newcomer H.E.R who has seen her career kick off over the last two years based on pure talent alone — as she kept her identity hidden for the first half of her career as she wanted her art to speak for itself, could be compared to a female Prince.
And not just because of her daring and atypical fashion choices, but the unprecedented guitar solo in the middle of the song was a glorious moment in time.
Reminiscent for other reasons otherwise known as the “whistle note” as the self-identified most misunderstood black woman in America” Mimi herself, Mariah Carey — who performed the song at an NBA finals game in the 1990s right before her international stardom really took off.
A similar career destiny for H.E.R? Many of her fans are certain after last night’s stunning performance.
Black Girls Like Them
The two African-American artists collaborated on the song that is featured on Sullivan’s latest project. A melodious tune that expresses a carnal part of (traditional) empowered womanhood.
Their reunion at the Super Bowl was a great way to come back together in artistry.
If there is anything better than pure black girl magic, it is when the magic is shared in genuine sisterly solidarity. Jazmine Sullivan and H.E.R managed to not only shine brilliantly in a male-dominated event but also reflect their respective stars on each other.
A beautiful display of boss black women supporting each other that resulted in two GREAT performances and left many fans worldwide — who did not even tune in for the actual sporting match, utterly entrained and uplifted.
Pioneer African American actress, Cicely Tyson dies at 96
NEW YORK-(MaraviPost)-Prominent Golden Globe award-winning Hollywood actress Cicely Tyson has died at age 96,
Tyson’s longtime manager Larry Thompson confirmed in a statement on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
The icon started her career in the entertainment Industry in early 1950’s and she was most famously known for her roles playing resilient, uplifting Black women.
Born in New York City on December 19, 1924, Tyson started her career as a secretary at a Red Cross office after she graduated from high school before she decided to call it quit to pursue her modeling career.
In 1959, Tyson broke into movies with the Harry Belafonte film “Odds Against Tomorrow,” followed by “The Comedians,” “The Last Angry Man,” “A Man Called Adam” and “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.”
Refusing to play drug addicts, prostitutes or maids roles that demeaned Black women in blaxploitation movies, Tyson took time off screens before she returned in 1972 to the screen in the drama “Sounder,” which captured several Oscar nominations including one for Tyson as best actress.
Over the years, Tyson played remarkable roles in some of the most celebrated movies and television shows featuring Black women including, “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” (1974), “Roots” (1977), “The Marva Collins Story” (1981), “The Women of Brewster Place” (1989), and “The Help” (2011).
In 2013, at the age of 88, Tyson won the Tony for best leading actress in a play for the revival of Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful.” It was the actor’s first time back on Broadway in three decades.
During an interview with The Associated Press in 2013, Tyson disclosed that she had been very selective throughout her career about what she was doing. She added that she wasn’t only working for money but also wanted real substance.
Tyson remained active even in her 90s and in May 2015, she received a lifetime achievement award from the Alliance for Women in Media at the Grace Awards.
In 2016, Tyson was awarded the Medal of Freedom by the then president of United States, Barack Obama which she described as her most important accomplishment.
Later in 2018, Tyson became the first Black woman to receive an honorary Oscar before she was selected for the Peabody Career Achievement Award for her work on the stage, in film and on television two years later.
The actress was also one of 25 Black women honored for their contributions to art, entertainment and civil rights as part of Oprah Winfrey’s 2005 Legends Ball.
The icon was very active in charity and arts organizations including Urban Gateways, the Human Family Institute and the American Film Institute and she received awards from the National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP as well as the Capitol Press Award.
In recent years, she was part of a panel discussion for “Cherish the Day,” an eight-episode OWN anthology series created and produced by Ava DuVernay.
Various actors including Tyler Perry, Oprah, Viola Davis have expressed shock in the passing Tyson.
Other prominent figures who paid their respect to the icon include Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, the children of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr just to mention a few.
They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire. ” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.Nehemiah 1:3-4
Since before I was born, Americans have been telling the world what democracy is, what democracy looks like, and how democracy is established.
On January 6, 2021 insurgents who are supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the Capital Building, totting guns, smashing windows, scaling walls, forcing elected officials scurrying into secured areas on the Capital Campus; actions that stunned the world as protestors freely and arrogantly roamed the halls and rooms of the Congress, carrying Confederate flags, US flags with Trump’s picture in the middle.
This is short of nothing but an attempted coup that left four people dead: one through gunshot wound, and three from other medical causes.
Apart from about 14 arrests, no protestor was stopped, the mayhem continued for hours as police looked, overwhelmed until the National Guard, ordered by Vice President Mike Pence, came to smoke out the protestors out of the building and secure it for the Congress to continue their meeting.
The US has been embroiled in one protest after another, especially those staged by African Americans and sympathizers that have been protesting the shooting by white law enforcement officers of unarmed black men. At each protest police shot at black protestors first, asked questions later.
Today’s insurgence on the Congress, questions are looming as people vandalized the Capital Buildings. The first is where and why did the police not fire a single shot at the protestors? Why did the police secure the building as the protestors stormed the building? The warning whistle was made through the President, who after losing the November 2020 Presidential elections, claimed repeatedly that he won the elections. (Biden got 306 electoral votes against Trump’s 232). Instead of conceding defeat, he wiled his base of supporters and earlier called on supporters to walk to the Capital.
At the time Trump was inciting and encouraging the coup on his behalf, both houses of the Congress (House and the Senate) were receiving and confirming electoral votes of the Biden-Harris win.
There is no doubt that the protesters converged on the Capital to stop the confirmation, ironically presided by Vice President Pence.
President Trump’s complicity and acquiescence in the US Capital siege coupled with the docile, kid-glove handling of the insurgents, thugs, and vandals by the Capital police, was deplorable and has been condemned by both Republicans and Democrats.
There are scenes of police taking selfies with the rioters as they staged the insurrection in the Capitol Building to prevent the installing of Joe Biden.
This was an act of domestic terrorism, an attempted coup, it was a national security issue. It was a scene that is prevalent in fragile democracies and countries ruled by dictators.
But American democratic morality and decency were laid bare, encased in hypocrisy in the kid-glove treatment of the armed rioters. In the past 11 months, protestors in the black lives matter were treated brutally treated, beaten, teargassed, and many were fatally shot again and again.
It is more than 12 hours since the insurgence of the nation’s capital of the lead country of the democratic world; but the silence is deafening. Because the President is the agitator of the insurgency, there has been no press conference with a crowded stage that in past has included the police chief, the FBI, the CIA, a Communication Director, and the truckload of officials that address the nation, briefing them of what had happened, how they learned about the event, what they did to quell the violence, and what further developments are expected to take place.
Who is running this circus? What happened with intelligence gathering and security of national events of this nature? Since the coup attempt, the President-elect Biden spoke to the nation calling on the rioters to stop their siege of Congress, then turned on President Trump to talk to his supporters.
But on Wednesday, the lead country of Western democracy, witnessed the hoodlums, many of them totting guns, temporary take-over of its lawmakers’ building that put at risk the country’s vice president, the speaker, and Senate leader, Senate, and congresspeople.
The insurrection is domestic terrorism, an insurrection, and frankly an attack on democracy. It was total anarchy, chaos, and a scene that Americans see elsewhere, not America.
Amidst the chaos and mayhem, however, some good, some light shone on America: the Democratic Party took control of the Senate.
This was achieved when the Democratic Party candidates Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won the run-off senate elections that took place on January 5, 2021. Thus with the control of the Congress, it can pass laws, confirm Biden’s cabinet picks.
At 3:33 AM on January 7, 2021, the joint session of Congress, chaired by Vice President Pence, confirmed Joe Biden as duly elected president of the United States. The tally was Biden 271 and trump at 224. Votes were accepted state by state until Biden got 306 and Trump got 232.
The Internationally celebrated singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo kicked off the year 2020 with a monumental performance at the 62nd Grammy Awards in January.
The iconic Benenise icon not only snagged her fourth grammy for Best World Music Album but brought the true spirit of Africa to the show as she proclaimed with pride that African music is the bedrock of all music.
Saying Goodbye to Cultural Legends
In the African tradition of honouring our elders, let’s take a brief moment to recognise the passing of a few other musical legends in 2020.
Nigerian drummer Tony Allen passed away this year at 79 after a decades-long career — 14 over which he thrived alongside fellow legend and bandmate Fela Kuti, and with whom he innovated the old school style of the Afrobeats genre.
Revered as a pioneer of traditional Ivorian music, Allah Thérèse — known for her signature hairstyle, ‘Akôrou Koffié,’ was loved and mourned across the county, following her passing at the age of 70.
Iconic cultural ambassador and the founder of the South African multi-Grammy-Award-winning music group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Joseph Shabalala, was laid to rest at 78 years old.
The loss of the patriarch of Rumba and Congolese music at 87, Edo Nganga was hard to swallow as he was the last surviving member of one of Africa’s oldest musical groups Bantous de la capitale.
Many people paid tribute to Nganga as hundreds also gathered to do so for Guinean singer Mory Kante, who is known for helping introduce African music to a world audience in the 1980s and took his last breath at a hospital in Conakry at the age of 70.
Another precious soul lost to health issues at just 43 years old was Black-American Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman — whose image symbolised a revival of the cultural reconnection between Africa and Afro-descendants in the Diaspora.
Cultural Renovations Undertakings
A feat Senegalese hip hop artist Akon is undertaking as he announced in September that his futuristic pan-African project near Senegal’s capital, Akon City was officially underway. A Wakanda-likened utopia to serve as home to Afro people in the Diaspora marginalised by racism abroad.
Somalia also made a move to culturally reinforce its lands as the East African nation signed in February an education and heritage support deal with UNESCO aimed at strengthening efforts to preserve the country’s culture and history — as well as improve its educational sector. In alignment, the reopening of the refurbished Mogadishu national theatre this year also coincided with the country’s 60 years of independence celebration.
Benin also undertook a renovation project in August as the land of the former Kingdom of Dahomey decided to restore its Ouidah Fort — which also houses a history museum, as part of a bid to promote tourism and also to honour the suffering and celebrate the overcoming our African Ancestors who were captured and inhumanely shipped abroad from the main port of this coastal town.
Milestones in Music and Fashion
Black American star Beyoncé Knowles likewise sought to embrace her African African roots with the release of her visual album Black Is King in July. The project — which heavily featured talent from all over the African continent, speaks to the collective history of all people of African descent as it showcased diverse Afrobeats and fashion.
An industry revolutionised in May by Anifa Mvuemba the Congolese high fashion designer who held the world’s first EVER virtual 3D fashion show via Instagram LIVE. A history-making event which showcased the Pink Label Congo series from her Hanifa collection catering to the natural curves of a woman’s physique.
Similarly in Sudan, another bold fashion statement was made by local designers who organised a series of mixed-gender fashion shows in upmarket Khartoum hotels in November to present their new lines. A move that would have been almost unthinkable under ousted president Omar al-Bashir’s regime.
African Words on Paper and on Screen
No stylish outfits necessary for many on lockdown in light of the Covid-19 pandemic which saw a climb in book reading. Good news for writers like Cameroon’s Djaïli Amadou Amal who won this year’s prestigious French Literary Award Goncourt des Lycéens for her novel ‘Les Impatientes‘ — inspired by her personal experiences in a South Sahel patriarchal society.
And also for internationally renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie whose novel ‘Half of a Yellow Sun‘ — set during her the Biafra civil war, was voted the best book to have won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in its 25-year history.
For couch potatoes, Queen Sono, the first original Netflix series “made in Africa” which launched in February, was definitely on play. The hit South African six-episode series was rescheduled to return for a second season which unfortunately was announced this month as cancelled due to the continued coronavirus crisis.
The Soundtrack of 2020
Fans are still hopeful that the show could make a comeback just as the song Jerusalema — released in 2019 in South Africa by DJ Master KG featuring Nomcebo Kizode, was revived at the height of the pandemic by way of the social media viral #JerusalemaDanceChallenge that rocked the world.
South Africans unwound to the notes of the gospel track on the country’s national heritage day in September and Jerusalema has undoubtedly marked Africa’s continental soundtrack this year with its rhythm serving as a certain ode to lighter times, in the hopes of even better times as we move forward into the year 2021.
