June 13, 2001 - June 28, 2001
Farrakhan Talks Rap, Responsibility And Revolution
Posted: Thursday, June 28, 2001
NEW YORK (NNPA)--Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was in top form on Wednesday as he spoke at Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit.
"Will you accept your responsibility as a leader and a teacher?" he asked of the several hundred artists and record industry insiders as they listened intently to his two-hour speech, giving loud applause, enthusiastic hollers and ovations more suited to a sold-out concert.
As close to 100 members of the media recorded his every word, the minister implored the rappers before him to analyze their roles. He asked them to lead and teach and to understand the power in their hands and the global impact that their lyrics have. More
Russell Simmons And Farrakhan Discuss Powerful
Genre's Next Agenda at Hip-Hop Conference
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Skin Bleaching
Posted: Thursday, June 28, 2001
Response: Anthony
(Self-Development Forum) Bleaching is an important example of the problems that confront modern human societies. It is good to recognize a problem because this is the first step to solving it. From my experience finding solutions to problems can be very difficult. Most approaches will minimize a problem but not solve it. I will define a behavior as being a problem to me if it inhibits me from participating in other available activities that will be more beneficial in helping me to understand myself. If I think that a certain activity is a problem, I will then consider the problem to be solved when I no longer feel a need to participate in that activity.
The action of the food and drug administration to control the dosage and availability of bleaching agents may minimize the problem but this action does not address people's need to use bleaching agents. Similarly the ban placed on bleaching substances by the some governments will only minimize the problem.
In my view a lasting solution to this problem lies in addressing the factors that cause people to accept the idea that it is better to be white than black. There are many institutions in modern societies that promote discrimination based on skin color, for example, the general media and the education offered by most schools. Many people are unable to recognize the ways in which the general media and schools promote racism. However in my view people get an unbalanced view of the world when the general media and schools promote the views and culture of one group of people while ignoring, minimizing or distorting the contributions of other groups to world history.
Therefore in my view an important step to solving this bleaching problem involve efforts to obtain more balance in school education and greater balance in the information reported by the general media. It is also my view that balanced media reporting and education will help to solve many other problems that plague modern societies.
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Shades Of Identity Crisis
Posted: Wednesday, June 27, 2001
From: Renee
(Self-Development Forum) More and more Africans are turning to the illegall use of skin whitening creams. Many think that it is the ticket to upward mobility, socially and professionally - despite the countless health risk involved. Some Africans even believe that, "When you are lighter, people pay more attention to you." (Please read "YELLOW FEVER" AND "THEM A BLEACH" )
Are Africans trying to hang on to something that they can never become, WHITE?
______________________________________________________________
From: Gilbert Browne
Renee, they are not necessarily "...trying to hang on ....." just desperate to get close. This goes hand in hand with an interesting resurgence of that group in T&T called 'RED" people. The nearer one is to white is the more self important one can feel. Certainly access to the better jobs etc are in the offing and in addition one can assume a superiority over the black skinned ones. Parents are known to speak of 'wanting some milk in the coffee' when speaking of a mate for their darker skinned children.
40+ years after so called independence these conditions still largely apply in T&T and elsewhere in the region and is compounded by the latest wave - 'indian time now' - in T&T. The bleaching creams merely constitute the outward manifestations of a capitulation by some. The shade & class segmentation has been ingrained in this society. A RED woman/man would hardly give a darkskinned suitor of lower standing the time of day. Some dark skinned graduates of the UWI talk glibly of marrying 'up'. It used to amuse me living in Canada in the 70's & 80's to see how the same RED people would hook up with dark skinned persons out of sheer need. They no longer had the numbers at their disposal and by and large the whites were not interested.
Let us try to explain and understand what is at the root of our self - contempt. What is responsible for African Americans or West Indian Americans who are hardly the movers and shakers in the Northern situation immediately donning a mantle of superiority when they hit the black 3rd world countries? In such cases residence in a more powerful country often becomes a badge.
Given this urge to feel better about oneself and the sense that better days are never coming - so join them. Since the light skinned ones are making it go that route. Know of a PNM politician, big in the east-west corridor, who keeps his office temp 70 F and lower and rarely goes out into the sun without an umbrella. Thing he knows something about the shade game?
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African Names
Posted: Sunday, June 24, 2001
(www.namesite.com) Africa is a vast continent three times the size of the United Sates with over fifty countries and 1000 different ethnic groups or peoples and languages. All these peoples have different personal names in use in their cultures. As you can imagine there are a huge number of African names, ranging from those with Arabic roots and derivation in the northern parts of Africa to those of European origin to indigenous, African names through out the continent. As such we can not have every possible African name on the list.
Moreover we include in the list only names with meanings. There are many African names without meanings, simply because the original meaning is long forgotten or possibly did not exist in the first place. namesite.com | zoope.com | Naming Ga Children | Swagga.com | South African
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Identity and Caribbean Literature
Posted: Sunday, June 24, 2001
By Selwyn Cudjoe
A lecture delivered to the Japanese Black Studies
Association at Nara Women's College, Nara, Japan
In a wondrous introduction to Party Politics in the West Indies, C. L. R. James, one of the most distinguished thinkers of the modern Caribbean, made the following statement about the people of the Anglophone Caribbean: "People of the West Indies, you do not know your own power. No one dares to tell you. You are a strange, a unique combination of the greatest driving force in the world today, the underdeveloped formerly colonial coloured peoples; and more than any of them, by education, way of life and language, you are completely part of Western civilization. Alone of all people in the world you began your historical existence in a highly developed modern society-the sugar plantation. More
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Many attitudes 'in our genes'
Posted: Monday, June 18, 2001
(BBC) Everything from liking rollercoasters to attitudes to the death penalty is influenced by our genes, say researchers.
A study carried out on twins has found differences in certain attitudes are partly due to genetic influences. Although attitudes are learnt, scientists in Canada believe individual differences may arise, at least in part, because of our genetic makeup.
Scientists in Canada surveyed 360 pairs of twins and looked at their attitudes to a wide range of issues - from reading to the death penalty for murder. Out of the 30 attitudes studied, 26 of them appeared to be under some genetic influence.
The death penalty, abortion, playing organised sport and rollercoaster rides were the ones that appeared to be most influenced by genes. The four found not to be subject to a genetic effect were attitudes towards separate roles for men and women, playing bingo, easy access to birth control, and being assertive.
There appeared to be trends in the study's findings. For instance, genetically inherited attitudes were most likely to be associated with the preservation of life, equality and exercise, while those with the least influence were intellectual activities like playing chess and reading. There is doubt, though, that genes are directly involved in how we perceive things.
The authors, based at the University of Western Ontario and the University of British Columbia, believe it is much more likely that a complex relationship between genes, personality and physical appearance is involved in shaping our attitudes. "Presumably, these characteristics predisposed individuals to form particular kinds of attitudes, thereby contributing to the genetic determination of individual differences in those attitudes," said Dr James Olson and colleagues. He said: "For example, a person with inherited physical abilities such as good coordination and strength might be more successful at sports than less athletically inclined individuals, resulting in the more athletic person developing favourable attitudes to sport." MORE
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Everyday Racism, White Liberals & the Limits of Tolerance
Posted: Monday, June 18, 2001
By Time Wise
Let me get this straight: if three white guys chain a black man to a truck and decapitate him by dragging him down a dirt road, that's a hate crime; but if five white cops pump nineteen bullets into a black street vendor, having shot at him 41 times, that's just "bad judgment?" And what's more, we should pass hate crime laws that require enforcement by the police? Call me crazy, but something about this brings to mind the one about the foxes and the henhouse.
Now don't misunderstand: I realize there are horrible acts of violence perpetrated every day in America against people of color, not to mention gays and lesbians, women, and religious minorities. And I have no problem in principle with passing special laws to send a message that such hatred won't be tolerated. But is this really the point? Does it do anything to address the larger issues of racism, sexism, or homophobia that plague our society? And will it save Amadou Diallo, or prevent Abner Louima from getting a toilet plunger shoved up his ass by bigots in blue uniforms? Of course not. Hate crime laws make us feel better. But in the end, the biggest injuries suffered by people of color continue: job and housing discrimination; unequal access to health care; and the development of a prison-industrial- complex that is locking up black and brown people faster than you can say "three-strikes-and-you're-out;" all of which could and would persist, even if there was never another cross-burning on a black family's lawn, or another violent assault on an immigrant.
And this is what's wrong with the "national dialogue on race," as our therapist-in-chief calls it. It only takes place in a comfort zone where pretty much everyone can agree. More
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Question of Apology for Slavery: Global View
Posted: Friday, June 15, 2001
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
When in June 1997, Rep. Tony Hall, a Dayton, Ohio Democrat, proposed a national apology by the U.S. government for slavery, mixed public response and/or reaction followed together with some skepticism as to the apology's real intent. For his part, President Clinton has not only put the slavery apology question under consideration but has also adamantly opposed any compensation/reparations for the descendants of those slaves, viz, African-Americans.
Let's now put the institution of slavery in its proper historical context in order to get a more appropriate handle as to exactly who should apologize for this global inhumanity to man.
The first slaves were brought to Portugal in 1441 and this traffic and trade in gold, pepper and ivory, were so lucrative that Castilian (Spanish) sailors began to follow the Portuguese lead in 1453 along the west coast of Africa in search of slaves and financial wealth. It was to overt the danger of fierce competition and possibly war between these two European global powers (Spain and Portugal) that Papal sanction was sought for a Portuguese monopoly. And so it was that on 8 January 1455, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Nicholas V, issued a Papal Bull titled Romanus Pontifex in which he authorized the Portuguese “to subject to servitude, all infidel peoples”. In another Papal Bull, Inter Caetera issued on 13 March 1456, Pope Nicholas V “granted to Prince Henry, as Grand Master, of the Order of Christ in Portugal, all lands (and peoples) discovered or conquered form Cape Bojafor, in Africa, to and including the Indies.” More
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Ancient Egypt's Role in European History
Posted: Friday, June 15, 2001
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
When Wellesley College, Boston, Mass, U.S.A., Professor, Mary Lefkowitz published in her book, Not Out of Africa: How Afrocentrism Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as History, (1996), she received tremendous accolades and widespread newsprint from mainstream America. The notion that was bandied about was that finally a renowned experienced Eurocentric scholar has quieted the proponents of Afrocentrism; Dr. Mary Lefkowitz has destroyed the Afrocentrists’ claim to the multifaceted originality of ancient Kemet (Egypt) and its impact on Greece and Rome. However, a much deeper, closer and sober look and analysis of this hysteria reveals a different historical reality.
The salient reality is that no one can deny the historical truism that the Greeks (the world’s first Europeans) went to ancient Kemet to study at the Temple of Waset (later called Thebes by the Greeks and Luxor by the Arabs).
In his magnum opus, A Lost Tradition: African Philosophy in World History, (1995) Dr. Theophile Obenga quotes Aristotle ranking Egypt as “the most ancient archeological reserve in the world” and “that is how the Egyptians, whom we (Greeks) considered as the most ancient of the human race” More
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Historical Facts about ancient & modern Afrikans
Posted: Friday, June 15, 2001
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
1. The stark historical reality is that during the B.C. era when the Emperor of Rome, Julius Caesar, had a sexual liaison with the ruler of Kemet (Egypt), Queen Cleopatra VII, a son named Caesarion was born on 23 June 47 B.C. in Kemet as a result of that sexual encounter. However, what is historically vital and relevant is that the birth of this boy child, Caesarion, was not a natural birth. In other words, the High Priests of ancient Kemet had to perform a special surgical procedure to deliver Caesarion; this surgical procedure that the ancient Egyptian High Priests/physicians performed in 47 B.C. to deliver Caesarion is what is called the “Caesarean Section” in modern A.D. medicine today. The ancient Egyptian High Priests named their medical procedure in honor of Caesarion’s father, Caesar. More
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Dialogue on Spirit...
Posted: Friday, June 15, 2001
By: Brenda Sutton
I begin writing this dialogue in doubt, what are my credentials? Am I an expert in spiritual growth? I can only speak about my journey, unique to my experience. I am reminded that when in obedience with one's spiritual destiny that knowledge will become awaken in one's Spirit. I feel like my soul is being fine-tuned for my tremendous journey through life experiences. Experiences of this present life, but more importantly those of my ancestors who will use my physical form as a conduit. Grandmother Rosie, Big Moma, Buerena and all the other souls who have merged with this soul, sharing pearls of wisdom to all those who listen. The Bible tells us that some are self-appointed but few are chosen. I have been chosen to contribute my energy to uplift humankind; it is my duty. Running from my destiny, does not diminish the task, it places my life in more spiritual turmoil and physical headaches. More
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Congo - Guns, Money and Cell Phones
Posted: Friday, June 15, 2001
(The Ind. Standard)
The demand for cell phones and computer chips is helping fuel a bloody civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The offer turned up a few weeks ago on an Internet bulletin board called the Embassy Network. Among the postings about Dutch work visas and Italian pen pals lurked a surprisingly blunt proposal: "How much do you want to offer per kilogram? Please find me at least 100,000 U.S. dollars and I will deliver immediately."
The substance for sale wasn't cocaine or top-grade opium. It was an ore called Columbite-tantalite - coltan for short - one of the world's most sought-after materials. Refine coltan and you get a highly heat-resistant metal powder called tantalum. It sells for $100 a pound, and it's becoming increasingly vital to modern life. For the high-tech industry, tantalum is magic dust, a key component in everything from mobile phones made by Nokia (NOK) and Ericsson and computer chips from Intel (INTC) to Sony (SNE) stereos and VCRs.
Selling coltan is not illegal. Most of the worldwide tantalum supply - valued at as much as $6 billion a year - comes from legitimate mining operations in Australia, Canada and Brazil. But as demand for tantalum took off with the boom of high-tech products in recent years, a new, more sinister market began flourishing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There, warring rebel groups - many funded and supplied by neighboring Rwanda and Uganda - are exploiting coltan mining to help finance a bloody civil war now in its third year. "There is a direct link between human rights abuses and the exploitation of resources in areas in the DRC occupied by Rwanda and Uganda," says Suliman Baldo, a senior researcher in the Africa division at Human Rights Watch, a New York-based nongovernmental organization that tracks human-rights abuses worldwide. More
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The United States of Africa!
Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2001
By: Kirk Moss
It has been mentioned several times before, and became a heated topic that fueled the Pan-African movement during the 1960's. A time when various African countries were shaking their colonial oppressors off their backs, and becoming independent nations. They were consequently starting from ground zero. But today, the United States of Africa is still a burning issue that is been raised within the context of reparations and repatriation.
This cohesiveness is the key to the survival of African Peoples as a Race and an entity of the Human Family. Presently, we are the illegitimate children of the Human planet, who were kidnapped from our homelands, and our continental families have been subdued into impoverishment. This paradigm of the United States of Africa must begin with a rigorous overhaul of our motherland in order to form a solid distinctive cultural foundation. First, Economic Power. With this unity of African States comes the economic Power to fight white supremacy and capitalist conglomerates on a global and local level. It would prevent Africa as a continent, and individual African countries from falling prey to various forms of economic stagnation. In particular, embargoes or trade sanctions initiated by the neo-colonial and imperialist powers of Europe and the Western capitalist societies. This opens the door to a new sense of self-reliance, a fundamental principle that Marcus Garvey, the great Jamaican Pan-Africanist, profoundly expressed. More
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Mega-Churches Grow Bigger and Bigger
Posted: Wednesday, June 13, 2001
From super-sized drinks to SUVs to big-screen TVs, cineplexes and houses in the suburbs - even Americans themselves - just about everything in the United States has been getting steadily larger. Even churches. MORE
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Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing
Posted: Wednesday, June 13, 2001
June 13th, 2001
By Joey Clarke
If there's one clear feature of T&T's social structure, it's that we are racially conscious, and in all the wrong ways. We are so far from HIM Sellassie's ideal where someone's race "is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes."; We have been so mentally tangled and mangled by ourselves as well as by those who imported us, that a lot of people don't even realize how racist they are. It's easy to spot people who openly attribute their bad attitude to the sins and follies of "the other", but there are other forms of racial prejudice that are harder to spot.
Hypocrisy is the problem here. Sometimes it's unintentional, and comes from having not thought things through, or from not having looked critically enough at one's self. Here are a few types i would class as hypocritical racists, as a guide to those who may not spot it at first. More
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