When Emperor Haile Selassie went to Jamaica on this day in 1966

Fifty years ago today, Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie visited Jamaica. Hysterical crowds of thousands of people greeted him the airport in the capital of Kingston. The Ethiopian resistance to Italian colonialism and later occupation, legendary in the Atlantic world, drew some of the attention, but it was the Jamaica’s Rastafari population who were particularly enthusiastic. Rastafari revered (and still revere) Haile Selassie as divine.

Read More

Cuba's Ongoing Resistance to US Ideological War

Before leaving Montreal for Havana in March 2016 to cover Obama's trip to Havana, I wrote an article on Cuba–US relations. Referring to the cultural war to include, in the broad sense of the term, ideological and political aggression, I asked: “The question is, will Obama’s visit to Cuba provide Cubans the opportunity to make headway against the cultural war, or will it allow the US to make inroads? Or are both these scenarios on the horizon?”

Read More

Slavery By Another Name

Slavery: . . . that slow Poison, which is daily contaminating the Minds & Morals of our People. Every Gentlemen here is born a petty Tyrant. Practiced in Acts of Despotism & Cruelty, we become callous to the Dictates of Humanity, & all the finer feelings of the Soul. Taught to regard a part of our own Species in the most abject & contemptible Degree below us, we lose that Idea of the dignity of Man which the Hand of Nature had implanted in us, for great & useful purposes.

Read More

America has locked up so many Black people

For as long as the government has kept track, the economic statistics have shown a troubling racial gap. Black people are twice as likely as white people to be out of work and looking for a job. This fact was as true in 1954 as it is today. The most recent report puts the white unemployment rate at around 4.5 percent. The black unemployment rate? About 8.8 percent. But the economic picture for black Americans is far worse than those statistics indicate. The unemployment rate only measures people who are both living at home and actively looking for a job. The hitch: A lot of black men aren't living at home and can’t look for jobs — because they’re behind bars.

Read More

Despite Tradition and Convention, Salsa Keeps Egyptians on the Dance Floor

Believe it or not, but Latin America and Egypt have more in common than ancient civilization and pyramid-building. After sampling food and music from South America, the Cairo cultural scene is now swaying with salsa dance fever. And the fever, it seems, is here to stay.
While the Cairo Opera House is considering hosting a Monthly Latin American Night as a part of its yearly program after this January's warmly-welcomed Jazz and Latin American Flair, dreams of dancing tango and salsa are becoming a reality, thanks professional dance schools like Latin Love Dance School and enthusiast groups like Latino Dance Community – Egypt on Facebook.

Read More

Black Lives in Germany: A Multigenerational Struggle for Acceptance

Who am I? It seems like a simple enough question, but it is one that thousands of Germans of African descent have to ask themselves every day. In a country that defines identity with a great deal of precision, those who fall outside the norm find themselves trapped in a kind of limbo, neither here nor there.
After World War II, tens of thousands of African-American GIs participated in the occupation of Germany. Many of these young men, barred from combat units by segregation, found homes in supply units. In a country where food was in short supply, not only were these soldiers “exotic,” but they held the keys, if not to the kingdom, then certainly to survival.

Read More

Afro-Colombian Issues Must Be Central to the Peace Process

Afro-Colombians have been disproportionately affected by the country’s decades-long internal conflict and the war on drugs. Fighting between the government, guerrilla groups, and paramilitary organizations has concentrated in the coastal regions, and has taken a major toll on Afro-Colombians, who largely reside in these regions. They have been subject to forced recruitment to armed forces and have suffered casualties, displacement, and land exploitation.

Read More

Dr. Francves Cress Weising, Author of the Isis Papers, Dead at 80

Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, a lauded author, researcher, and psychiatrist, has died, according to reports. She was 80. Welsing is best known for composing The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors, and is the originator of the “melanin theory” and the “neuroses” of white supremacy. The Howard University graduate wrote essays and did extensive research on colorism, racism, and inequality, often exploring concepts of white supremacy in her works. Her research, done throughout the early 1970s into the 1990s, was controversial at the time, focusing on white racism while offering a theory of black pride and superiority based on levels of melanin.

Read More

Cuba's Revolution Enters New Phase

As Cuba’s Revolution celebrates 57 years since rebels forced out the U.S.-backed regime of Fulgencio Batista, the country is deep into a process of normalizing relations with the United States. Cubans are hopeful that the changes on the island will improve upon the country’s important gains, while also reducing the impacts of U.S. hostility and interference.

Read More

China says U.S. can't slam others on rights when it has racism problems at home

China's foreign ministry said on Thursday that the United States has no right to confront other countries on their human rights records when it faces problems with racism and mistreatment of prisoners at home. Both U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. ambassador to China Max Baucus issued statements on Wednesday to mark International Human Rights Day in which they mentioned cases such as the imprisoned Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said it was hypocritical of the United States to do this considering its own poor record, in apparent reference to recent protests over the killings of unarmed black men and a U.S. Senate report on the torture of detainees after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Read More

ALL THAT JAZZ & More, Reggae, Soca Fusion

All that Jazz that & More, Reggae, Soca Fusion comes to Pembroke Pines, Florida at the Susan B. Katz Performing Arts Theater, 17195 Sheridan Street, Saturday, December 12, 2015, 7p.m. to 10 p.m. Just in time to start the holidays right with great Jazz, Reggae, Ska and Soca Music spiced up with Latin flavor. All That Jazz and More, brings together

Read More

Barbados Wants to Ditch the Queen on the 50th Anniversary of its Independence

If all goes to the government’s plan, the former British will become a republic by 30 November 2016, five decades after it became a sovereign state, Tom Brooks-Pollock reports for London’s Independent. Barbados has set a date for the removal of Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, with the former British colony set to replace the monarch with a ceremonial president from independence day next year. If all goes to the government’s plan, the Caribbean island will become a republic by 30 November 2016 – the 50th anniversary of it becoming a sovereign state.

Read More

No more Christmas for Tanzania Hapa Kazi tu!

In many ways it is another new dawn for Tanzania, reminiscent of the days of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Tanzania’s founding president, a man famed for his spendthrift ways and his idealism. On October 29, 2015, Magufuli was announced the 5th President of the United Republic of Tanzania. The announcement was received with excitement by many Tanzanians. There was, to be sure, grumbling. Edward Lowassa, who carried the banner for the opposition coalition, UKAWA, claimed the polls had been stolen.

Read More

Sunday Open Thread Holiday Music

“Do You Hear What I Hear?” is a Christmas song written in October 1962 with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne Baker.[1] The pair were married at the time, and wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.[2] It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists.[2] Noel Regney wrote the lyrics for the song, while Gloria Shayne Baker composed the Christmas carol‘s music in October 1962.[2] This was an unusual arrangement for the two writers.

Read More

Bahamian entrepreneur makes it Big with Caribbean area codes

Until now, perhaps better known to our readers as "Mr. Carter," the recording artist and creator of The Limbo Song, Angelo A. Carter is doing well now in the fashion industry. A Freeport, Grand Bahama native, and resident of Baltimore, Washington, Angelo's Island Code Tees (R) are worn throughout the Caribbean and have even been seen on Soca Queen, Alison Hinds. (check out her music video, Parade - see 1:49 mark)''

Read More

Angola Honors Cuba for Key Support in Colonial Independence

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos recognized and thanked Cuba on Thursday for its important support in achieving national independence 40 years ago.

Commemorating four decades of independence from colonial powers, dos Santos invited a Cuban delegation to honor the historical events that led Fidel Castro to deploy 36,000 troops to defend Angola from U.S. and Apartheid South Africa military invasions.

While Angola won its independence from Portugal on January 15, 1975, inner political conflicts escalated between the leftist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Angola-Honors-Cuba-for-Key-Support-in-Colonial-Independence-20151112-0029.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

Read More

Afro-Mexicans Are Pushing For Legal Recognition in Mexico’s National Constitution walter thomas-hernandez

The myth of the Latin American racial democracy, scholars believe, began in Brazil following the abolishment of slavery in 1888, when government officials declared that high rates of racial mixing had officially absolved the nation of its racial problems. This thinking eventually transcended Brazil and spread to a host of other Latin America countries, including Mexico.

But Mexico had its own nuanced understanding of the Latin American racial democracy – one called mestizaje, that was created by government officials, intellectuals, and artists following the 1910 Mexican Revolution: the erroneous belief that Mexico’s ethnic and racial mixture was solely composed of indigenous and European ancestry.

Read More

Black History Month needs a rethink: it's time to ditch the heroes

Britain is a nation for which history is an obsession and a popular passion. Look at our top visitor attractions. Museums, stately homes and ancient cathedrals draw bigger crowds, year after year, than amusement parks or zoos. Our national fascination with the past supports a vast, cross-fertilising network of university departments, museums, historic buildings, magazines, publishers, festival organisers, TV and radio documentary makers and numerous heritage organisations.

Read More

The Fuss Over The First Afro-Latino Spiderman

TWhen Marvel Comics first announced a new Spiderman who is half-Hispanic and half-African-American–from the popular Peter Parker to a New Yorker, Miles Morales–back in 2011, radio host Glen Beck shared his thoughts on the matter. Beck argued that Michelle Obama was behind the creation of the biracial superhero. On this radio show, Beck said, “Do I care if he’s half-Hispanic, all Hispanic? No. Half-black, all black? I don’t care. However, what I do care about is that I think a lot of this stuff is being done intentionally.” Then he played a sound clip of Michelle Obama: “Barack knows we’re going to have to make sacrifices, we’re going to have to change our conversation, we’re going to have to change our traditions, our history. We’re going to have to move into a different place.”

Read More

Linking Afro Puerto Rican Bomba to New Orleans in the Bronx

I was riveted last week by a performance of Bamboula, by the Bronx's Bombazo Dance Co., which fused two traditions sharing a common root: Afro Puerto Rican bomba and bamboula from New Orleans. A corps of drummers electrified the air, kicking the production off with a syncopated overture that incorporated bomba "barril" drums, African skins and conga. The energy kept escalating until the dancers appeared, embodying the spiritual connection between the drum and the human heart and soul -- what remains of our ancestors within us.

Read More