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2013

Yearly Archives: 2013

Mandela, pacifist or rebel?

Perhaps it’s a false contradiction. But today there are many who stress the pacifist message with which South Africa’s Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) emerged from prison in 1990, while few put an emphasis on his rebellion against apartheid, including armed rebellion, which landed him in prison. Mandela was a political activist and a revolutionary at least since 1942.

‘Declaration’ would contract DRC to concede to M23 (with French translation)

At the end of November, headlines around the world announced the Congolese Army’s defeat of the M23 militia, with the help of U.N. intervention forces. Since that time, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been under pressure from Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and his so-called mediators, and from US Envoy Russ Feingold and U.N. Envoy Mary Robinson, to sign an agreement with M23.

Mandela’s legacy extends from South Africa, the continent to the world

Nelson Mandela’s passing has drawn responses from throughout the U.S. and the world. To oppressed and working people, Mandela was a symbol and example of self-sacrifice and lifelong commitment to revolutionary change. Although the struggle inside South Africa and throughout the region is by no means complete, the legacy of Mandela through the ANC, SACP, COSATU and other affiliated organizations will live on.

Legacies: Michael Hourigan and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Australian lawyer and U.N. war crimes investigator Michael Hourigan was given the task of investigating the assassination of the Rwandan and Burundian presidents by shooting their plane out of the sky over Kigali on April 6, 1994. His evidence that Gen. Paul Kagame had ordered the assassinations was suppressed. Hourigan’s death this week went unnoted by the press.

The Honorable Rolihlahla Mandela, July 18, 1908-Dec. 4, 2013

Baba Mandela passed today after a lengthy illness. Though he was not without faults, he was a great man and a decent human being who loved his people so much he literally gave his liberty for their freedom. He sacrificed his life and his life with his family for the liberation of South Africans through the African National Congress, an organization he, as a young attorney, helped found.

Alima Olga Kasongo, the Boondocks and the Congo

Twenty-six year-old Congolese American science student Alima Kasongo should inspire anyone facing enormous odds, most of all her own Congolese people, who have faced the most enormous odds thrown at any people in the world for so many years. For good reason, many have said that if there were peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), there would be peace on earth.

Tavis Smiley spotlights Black suffering, Black hope

The house was packed for the San Francisco NAACP Freedom Fund Gala, “We Shall Not Be Moved Until Justice Rolls Down Like a Mighty Stream,” at the Union Square Hilton on Saturday, Nov. 9, when Tavis Smiley, named one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People” by TIME magazine, broadcaster, author of 16 books, publisher, advocate and philanthropist, took the mic. Beginning with excerpts from his introduction by San Francisco NAACP President Dr. Amos C. Brown, here is Tavis’ provocative and profoundly moving address:

Yours is the quest that’s just begun

For true self-determination, we must each play our part. If you are not a member of the NAACP, consider becoming one. If you are already a member, resolve to serve as a volunteer, if not an officer or committee member. Attend a meeting and bring a friend or family member. Not a joiner? Donate to fund initiatives. Do your part to support an organization that has sustained us and defended us for so long.

Kalioya Politrix LLC launches new practice this fall

‘Tis the season for social ventures and elections. Accordingly, Kalioya Politrix LLC (KP), a local management consultancy based in the City’s southeast corridor, announces a new market focus to commence this fall: early-stage public benefit corporations and social entrepreneurs; nonprofits that support or incubate them; political action committees; or campaigns for candidates for election or voter initiatives.

Harriet Tubman Christmas play ‘Go Tell It’ is back: an interview wit’ playwright Taiwo...

In the Harriet Tubman Christmas story of 1854, “Go Tell It,” Harriet came and rescued her blood brothers from enslavement and drove them on the Underground Railroad to Canada. This true to life story is one of inspiration, loyalty, family and most of all resistance, eloquently captured by the brilliance of playwright and director Taiwo Kujichagulia-Seitu. Performances are Saturday, Dec. 21, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 22, at 3 p.m. at the Malonga Center, 1428 Alice St., Oakland.

1st Saturdays in Oakland: an interview wit’ founder David Roach

David Roach is one of the pillars of the Black community in the Bay, especially Oakland, first with his Mo Betta Food Market, which connected West Oakland’s Lower Bottoms neighborhood with California Black farmers and the historic annual Oakland International Film Festival, which profiles some of the biggest films and names in the Black cinema world. His newest project to date is 1st Saturdays.

Joe Debro on racism in construction

In November 2010, Joe Debro sent the Bay View a 200-page “book” he wrote in 1968 on racism in construction. His family has generously agreed that it be published in the Bay View. To begin, here is the prolog he wrote in 2010 to update it. In 1968, three of us undertook a study of the manpower implications of small business financing. In 2010, 42 years later, not much has changed.

‘12 Years a Slave’

“12 Years a Slave” affected me differently than Quentin Tarantino’s “Django,” which in its caricature style held me spellbound or suspended in a place of imaginative wonder – the Black man was going to win and get the girl too in the end. “Twelve Years” moved slowly and by the time Northup’s ordeal ends we are thankful yet exhausted. I saw the film alone. I think it’s the kind of journey one should invite a companion on.

SFSU Metro Academies alum Cory Mickels sets sights on law school

After graduating from high school, Cory Mickels was working in construction when he had a revelation about his future. “It was there I realized I wanted to work with my head, rather than my hands,” the native of San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood said. “I went back to the staff at my high school, and they pointed me in the direction of Metro Academies.”

From KPFA to Block Report Radio Station

Over the decades, KPFA has been known to cast out non-white broadcasters who don’t tow the white left line. Since his banning from KPFA, Minister of Information JR has been working on transforming the Block Report Radio show into the Block Report Internet Radio Station. We can’t wait to hear JR back on the radio – generating the energy that keeps good movements moving! Please contribute as generously as you can to radio that is Black-owned, operated and controlled – just what Malcolm X preached.

Wanda’s Picks for December 2013

This season we have lost two pillars of our San Francisco Bay Area community, Samuel Fredericks and Upesi Mtambuzi. Cedar Walton, pianist, also made his transition this year, along with Donald Duck Bailey, drummer, both men beautiful human beings. Upesi, Samuel, Cedar and Donald all brightened our world. Their unique hues and shapes and sounds will be missed ... that last live jam.

We came together to reclaim our humanity

To the extent that it is possible, we have been following the legislative hearings and we are hopeful – cautiously optimistic – that something meaningful and permanent will result from them. We are mindful that this time the legislative hearings are being held as a result of struggle and sacrifice. There is still so much work to do and freedom to win and we look forward to the struggle ahead with you all. Until we win or don’t lose.

Encouragement is essential

Our focus this month is to look at ways that we as men, in particular fathers, can actively encourage and support children who are not necessarily a part of our immediate families. Children in our society are far too often undervalued, minimized and rendered nearly invisible. What can you do? Refuse to be passive and actively seek to uplift the spirits of young people around you.

Immigration policy is good policy? If so, for whom?

On Monday, Nov. 25, President Barack Obama visited the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center in San Francisco to talk about his Common Sense Immigration Bill slowly making its way through the United States Congress. Immigration is always topical in a country where most of us are immigrants even in the visible absence of its First Peoples.

Joanna Haigood’s Zaccho Dance Theatre’s ‘Between me and the other world’

I was armed when I entered the darkened studio room on Yosemite in San Francisco’s Bayview District where Zaccho Dance Theatre resides. When I opened the black curtain and stepped into the darkened room, I stood still for a moment to let my eyes adjust and noticed chairs where a few patrons sat. I decided to wander through the huge open space.