Some Asian American women spend thousands pursuing the traditional ideal of whiter skin. Others see a dark shadow of prejudice.
By Jia-Rui Chong, Times Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times
For many Southern Californians, summer is the season for beaches, chaise
longues and the quest for the perfect tan.
Not for Margaret Qiu. She and thousands of other Asian American women are
going to great lengths to avoid the sun - fighting to preserve or enhance
their pale complexions with expensive creams, masks, gloves, professional
face scrubs and medical procedures.
For these women, a porcelain-like white face is the feminine ideal,
reflecting a long-held belief that pale skin represents a comfortable
life. They also believe it can hide physical imperfections.
"There's a saying, 'If you have white skin, you can cover 1,000
uglinesses,' " said Qiu, a 36-year-old Chinese immigrant who lives in
Alhambra.
Qiu goes through a regimen of skin-whitening products twice a day. She is
one of many customers who have turned Asian whitening creams and lotions
into a multimillion-dollar industry in the United States.
But that's just the beginning.
Take a daylight drive through Asian immigrant enclaves like Monterey Park
and Irvine, and you'll see women trying to shield themselves with
umbrellas - even for the short dash from a parking lot into a supermarket.
While driving, many wear special "UV gloves" - which look like the long
gloves worn with ball gowns - to protect their forearms, and don
wraparound visors that resemble welder's masks.
At beauty salons, women huddle around cosmetics counters asking about the
latest cleansers and lotions that claim to control melanin production in
skin cells, often dropping more than $100 for a set. Beauticians do a
brisk business with $65 whitening therapies. Women dab faces with fruit
acid, which is supposed to remove the old skin cells that dull the skin,
and glop on masks with pearl powder or other ingredients that they believe
lighten the skin.
There are doctors who, for about $1,000, will use an electrical field to
deliver vitamins, moisturizers and bleaching agents to a woman's face in a
procedure known as a "mesofacial."
Whitening products have been a mainstay in Asia for decades, but cosmetics
industry officials said they have emerged as a hot seller in the United
States only in the last four years. Whitening products now rack up $10
million in sales a year, according to the market research firm
Euromonitor.
But their popularity has sparked a debate in the Asian American community
about the politics of whitening. Qui and others say the quest for white
skin is an Asian tradition. But others - younger, American-born Asians -
question whether the obsession with an ivory complexion has more to do
with blending into white American culture, or even a subtle prejudice
against those with darker skin.
The market research firm says cosmetics companies have taken note of the
sensitivity, saying their Asian skin products in America are intended not
for "whitening" but for "brightening."
"It's not a politically correct term because it seems to imply that
looking Caucasian via a white complexion is the desired beauty goal," said
Virginia Lee, a Euromonitor analyst.
Qiu, a 36-year-old native of Xi'an, China, thinks there is nothing
politically incorrect about using products that whiten the skin, which are
known in Mandarin as mei bai, or "beauty white."
Qiu, who sells herbal supplements, has used whitening creams for five
years and went to Vitativ, a cosmetics store in Monterey Park, one recent
morning for a refill.
As she paid for a set of Shiseido "UV White" lotions, Qiu said she was
surprised when she first arrived in the U.S. and saw so many young women
flaunting their tans.
She came to realize that Eastern and Western ideas of beauty were
different. Here, she said, "When you see darker, you think they are very
rich. They have a boat. They have enough time to go to the beach."
It's OK for American women to be darker, said her husband Lei Sun, a
36-year-old sushi chef. "It's part of the sports thing."
But Lei Sun prefers lighter-skinned Asian women, saying that they embody
the traditional ideal known as si si wen wen. He looked to his wife to
explain the concept.
"That means when a lady stands there with white skin and is very polite,
and when she laughs, she doesn't make a big noise," Qiu said.
Women with pale skin are more delicate, more feminine and show that they
don't have to toil outdoors, Qiu explained.
"Whiter skin also means high class," she said.
Every morning and every night, Qiu spends a few minutes applying whitening
lotions.
"I never buy the very cheap one," she said one morning as she dabbed her
face with whitening moisturizer in the white bathroom of her Alhambra
house. "Sometimes with those, your neck and your face are different
colors, and people can see that it's not your real color."
Some of the cheaper products can be dangerous, she said.
In 2002, newspapers reported that women in Hong Kong were hospitalized for
mercury poisoning caused by three brands of whitening cream.
In California, officials at the state's Department of Health Services and
the Department of Consumer Affairs said they have received no complaints
and have not issued any warnings about whitening cosmetics or treatments.
The products sold in the United States and Asia include ingredients such
as licorice extract and green tea, which purportedly control the skin's
production of melanin.
For Qiu and others, it's important to find just the right shade of white.
Most of the products don't claim to turn a woman's skin the color of white
bond paper, but something just a shade paler and more delicate - say, the
inside of a woman's upper arm.
Any whiter, Qiu said, and you look sickly.
"Then they look like Michael Jackson," she said. "He looks terrible."
Irvine resident Sarah Mar doesn't use whitening cosmetics, but she has
devised a host of other strategies to keep her face pale, such as wearing
a large visor when driving. Last Christmas season, she asked her family to
forget the scarves and get her a present she would use every day:
prescription-strength sunscreen.
"The kids are doing that - burning themselves - but I don't do that," Mar
said, saying that her aversion to direct sunlight keeps her face pale and
protects her against skin cancer.
Mar, who grew up in Taiwan and oversaw the Chinese-American Debutante
Guild in Irvine for a few years, said she tries her best to stay indoors
between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. So do her friends, with whom she often goes on
morning walks.
At outdoor activities like picnics, Mar said, it's never hard to find her
girlfriends: They are huddled under a tree or have pitched a big umbrella.
Mar's daughter Catherine never shared her mother's quest for white skin
and spent most of her teenage years with a golden tan. But she made her
mother and other relatives smile a few years ago when she returned for
Christmas break from Boston University. Separated for a full semester from
the Southern California sun, she had a perfect white complexion.
"Her cousin was going to Stanford and was very dark," Mar said. "At
Christmastime, the grandparents said, 'Look, look! The one from the East
looks better because her face is whiter.' "
For Theresa Lin-Cheng, 50, avoiding the sun and applying creams at night
weren't enough. Lin-Cheng, who hosts a cooking show on Chinese-language
radio and cable television, moved to Chino Hills nine years ago from
Taiwan and soon noticed that the Southern California sun was making her
skin darker and drier.
Her friends told her about Dr. George Sun of Arcadia, who offers a
procedure called a "fotofacial RF," which uses intense pulses of light and
radio frequency to interfere with melanin production in the skin.
When Dr. Sun - who chuckles about the irony of his last name but says it
means "descendant" in Chinese - introduced the mesofacial about eight
months ago, she started getting that treatment too. Lin-Cheng says she
spends a few hundred dollars a month on skin procedures at Sun's office.
Lin-Cheng, whose skin now resembles a pink-white peony, said she gets
compliments from her friends on her appearance.
"I know I cannot get there, but always, Nicole Kidman is my idol," she
said.
Lin-Cheng religiously reapplies baby sunblock every hour and takes the
tinted visor that she calls her "welder's helmet" everywhere. She
purchased the helmet on a recent trip to Taiwan and brought extras for
"friends who want to be beautiful." She outfitted her daughter Jessica
with one of the helmets, and the 22-year-old wore it daily on her walk
from her apartment in Westwood to UCLA.
Sun, a plastic surgeon, started treating women for "pigmentation issues"
in 1996 after clients asked him how they could lighten their skin and get
rid of sun spots and dark patches. Sun said he now treats about 30 women a
week.
"It's like botox," he said. "Do you think people in the past were
interested in wrinkle improvement? Yes. Could they do something about it,
though? [Women's] concerns and their wish for improvement can finally be
met in the hands of specialists."
But the idea of Asian women obsessing over white skin troubles Glen
Mimura, a 37-year-old assistant professor of Asian American studies at UC
Irvine.
"It seems tied primarily to colonial history, a fascination with
whiteness," he said. "Dark skin gets associated with manual labor,
agrarian communities, being less cosmopolitan."
The pursuit of white skin is all the more troubling because it appears to
reinforce long-held prejudices in East Asia against fellow Asians with
darker skin, Mimura said. Given the cost of whitening regimens, he added,
maintaining that perfect milky glow seems reserved for women who can
afford it.
"I think these women see skin-whitening very much along the lines of
buying a Louis Vuitton bag," he said.
Anna Park, an associate editor at Audrey, an Asian American women's
lifestyle and beauty magazine based in Gardena, isn't so sure the
whitening boom is about embracing European ideals of beauty.
"If you look at old pictures, old paintings of what is considered to be
beautiful in Korea or Japan, all their faces are really pale," said Park,
35.
To understand how much of a phenomenon whitening has become in Asian
American communities, step inside Rick Armstrong's tanning salon, Casa del
Sol, in Irvine.
Armstrong has installed a sleek apparatus featuring a horseshoe-shaped
mask that fits over a person's face. Instead of using light to brown skin,
as other machines in his salon do, it uses light to smooth out wrinkles
and lighten age spots.
"Over in Japan, they have salons with facial units in them and you put
whitening gel on," Armstrong said. "You sit there and have a session."
He's betting the device will become popular with Asians as well as other
customers who want to keep their faces smooth. "Nobody's face is perfect."
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
Please, Save Us From the Pimps
By Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic
SeeingBlack.com
Will somebody please save me from all these pimps?
As much as the new, much-hyped film, "Hustle and Flow" is a quality, textured drama about the struggle of one down-and-out man in Memphis, it is also the latest film, video or music, dripping with hip-hop appeal, which asks our sympathies for a lifestyle that degrades women. It also asks that we, at least temporarily, share the pimp's view of women, and his vision of what it takes to "make it." As the regretful refrain goes in the film's signature song—it's hard out here for a pimp.
Many rappers, such as 50 Cent, along with some pop stars such as Kid Rock, have promoted the pimp lifestyle with titles such as "Po Pimp," "The Great White Pimp," "Pimp of the Century," "Pimp Talk," "Chart Pimp," "Definition of a Pimp," "Pimp Your Paper," "Pimp My Girl," "Guerilla Pimpin," "Early Morning Stoned Pimp," "Big Ol Pimps," "Pimp Arrest" and, finally, "Pimp Story Street Talk, Vol. 1." Some artists even take on the moniker for themselves: Skinny Pimp, Pimp Daddy Nash, Pimp C, Evil Pimp, Pimp Black, Pimp Daddy, Geez Pimp, Star Pimp and Pimp Playa Hustlas.
With all this focus by the hip hop music industry on men who manage prostitutes, it is no wonder that Hollywood sees potential dollar signs with "Hustle and Flow," and, perhaps more importantly, equates the pimp and prostitution lifestyle with urban African American culture.
Films of this genre, starting in the 1970's with "The Mack" and "Dolemite," always focus on and glorify the pimp. The female prostitute—along with her hard-core realities that often include AIDS, drug abuse, child prostitution, mental illness, sterility and death—are swept under the rug in the service of keeping the narrative flowing and pimp-centered.
Popular documentaries on the subject, such as "Pimps Up, Hos Down" and "American Pimp," keep us centered in an almost worshipful tone that focuses on the pimp's colorful street names, such as Bishop Don Magic Juan, C-Note, Gorgeous Dre and Mr. Whitefolks. Cameras offer a sweeping view of their full-length fur coats, lime green gator shoes, gold rings the size of paperweights, gold chains heavy enough to tow your car, and, of course, limousines and fancy cars—even if that silver Rolls Royce is actually only rented for the evening (or filming).
In "Hustle and Flow," we are guided into the world of prostitution by the talented and mesmerizing Terrence Dashon Howard, who turns an ordinary film into an exceptional one. In contrast to the pimp image of yesteryear, Howard's DJay lives in a jainky house in the hood in Memphis. His three hookers, Lexus, Shug and Nola, live there with him, as a sort of family with DJay as the provider, protector and manager. DJay drives a beat down car, his clothes look barely washed but he does enjoy one of the benefits of pimpdom—getting his hair curled and styled with a hot iron.
But don't be fooled, the essential pimp-hooker relationship, master and servant, is still in full effect. DJay's eventual migration to music—and his attempt at rapping—puts his years of pimping on par with the legal hustle of the music industry. It's all a hustle, the film suggests to us, and the connection to hip hop, which has renamed women as female dogs and prostitutes anyway, feels like a natural and dangerous fit. This pimp, with his sexy determination, is made more socially acceptable. And besides, he takes his ladies along for the ride to seeming success—Nola as an impromptu business manager, and Shug as a love interest and background singer. It is hardly remarkable when DJay strikes the pregnant Shug, urging her to sing her silly song hook with more soul. When, in a fit of anger, he puts Lexus and her infant son out of the house, the scene is rendered with some comedy, as director Craig Brewer shows us that the mouthy, domineering Black women is once again put in her place.
It may be hard out here for a pimp but it should be. It's even harder out here for those of us who are regularly assaulted and branded by this so-called "pimpology," and who are asked to embrace this bastard creation as who we are.
Esther Iverem's forthcoming book is Living in Babylon (Africa World Press).
— July 22, 2005
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic
SeeingBlack.com
Will somebody please save me from all these pimps?
As much as the new, much-hyped film, "Hustle and Flow" is a quality, textured drama about the struggle of one down-and-out man in Memphis, it is also the latest film, video or music, dripping with hip-hop appeal, which asks our sympathies for a lifestyle that degrades women. It also asks that we, at least temporarily, share the pimp's view of women, and his vision of what it takes to "make it." As the regretful refrain goes in the film's signature song—it's hard out here for a pimp.
Many rappers, such as 50 Cent, along with some pop stars such as Kid Rock, have promoted the pimp lifestyle with titles such as "Po Pimp," "The Great White Pimp," "Pimp of the Century," "Pimp Talk," "Chart Pimp," "Definition of a Pimp," "Pimp Your Paper," "Pimp My Girl," "Guerilla Pimpin," "Early Morning Stoned Pimp," "Big Ol Pimps," "Pimp Arrest" and, finally, "Pimp Story Street Talk, Vol. 1." Some artists even take on the moniker for themselves: Skinny Pimp, Pimp Daddy Nash, Pimp C, Evil Pimp, Pimp Black, Pimp Daddy, Geez Pimp, Star Pimp and Pimp Playa Hustlas.
With all this focus by the hip hop music industry on men who manage prostitutes, it is no wonder that Hollywood sees potential dollar signs with "Hustle and Flow," and, perhaps more importantly, equates the pimp and prostitution lifestyle with urban African American culture.
Films of this genre, starting in the 1970's with "The Mack" and "Dolemite," always focus on and glorify the pimp. The female prostitute—along with her hard-core realities that often include AIDS, drug abuse, child prostitution, mental illness, sterility and death—are swept under the rug in the service of keeping the narrative flowing and pimp-centered.
Popular documentaries on the subject, such as "Pimps Up, Hos Down" and "American Pimp," keep us centered in an almost worshipful tone that focuses on the pimp's colorful street names, such as Bishop Don Magic Juan, C-Note, Gorgeous Dre and Mr. Whitefolks. Cameras offer a sweeping view of their full-length fur coats, lime green gator shoes, gold rings the size of paperweights, gold chains heavy enough to tow your car, and, of course, limousines and fancy cars—even if that silver Rolls Royce is actually only rented for the evening (or filming).
In "Hustle and Flow," we are guided into the world of prostitution by the talented and mesmerizing Terrence Dashon Howard, who turns an ordinary film into an exceptional one. In contrast to the pimp image of yesteryear, Howard's DJay lives in a jainky house in the hood in Memphis. His three hookers, Lexus, Shug and Nola, live there with him, as a sort of family with DJay as the provider, protector and manager. DJay drives a beat down car, his clothes look barely washed but he does enjoy one of the benefits of pimpdom—getting his hair curled and styled with a hot iron.
But don't be fooled, the essential pimp-hooker relationship, master and servant, is still in full effect. DJay's eventual migration to music—and his attempt at rapping—puts his years of pimping on par with the legal hustle of the music industry. It's all a hustle, the film suggests to us, and the connection to hip hop, which has renamed women as female dogs and prostitutes anyway, feels like a natural and dangerous fit. This pimp, with his sexy determination, is made more socially acceptable. And besides, he takes his ladies along for the ride to seeming success—Nola as an impromptu business manager, and Shug as a love interest and background singer. It is hardly remarkable when DJay strikes the pregnant Shug, urging her to sing her silly song hook with more soul. When, in a fit of anger, he puts Lexus and her infant son out of the house, the scene is rendered with some comedy, as director Craig Brewer shows us that the mouthy, domineering Black women is once again put in her place.
It may be hard out here for a pimp but it should be. It's even harder out here for those of us who are regularly assaulted and branded by this so-called "pimpology," and who are asked to embrace this bastard creation as who we are.
Esther Iverem's forthcoming book is Living in Babylon (Africa World Press).
— July 22, 2005
Blacks Pin Hope on DNA to Fill Slavery's Gaps in Family Trees
By AMY HARMON
New York Times
All her life, Rachel Fair has been teased by other black Americans about her light skin. "High yellow," they call her, a needling reference to the legacy of a slave owner who, she says, "went down to that cabin and had what he wanted."
So it was especially satisfying for Ms. Fair, 64, when a recent DNA test suggested that her mother's African ancestry traced nearly to the root of the human family tree, which originated there 150,000 years ago.
"More white is showing in the color, but underneath, I'm deepest Africa," said Ms. Fair, a retired parks supervisor in Cincinnati. "I tell my friends they're kind of Johnny-come-latelies on the DNA scale, so back up, back up."
Ms. Fair is one of thousands of African-Americans who have scraped cells from their inner cheeks and paid a growing group of laboratories to learn more about a family history once thought permanently obscured by slavery. They are seeking answers to questions about their family lineages in the antebellum South - whether black, white or Native American - and about distant forebears in Africa.
The DNA tests are fueling the biggest surge in African-American genealogy since Alex Haley's 1976 novel, "Roots," inspired a generation to try to trace their ancestors back to Africa. For those who have spent decades poring over plantation records that did not list slaves by surname and ship manifests that did not list where they came from, the idea that the key lies in their own bodies is a powerful one.
But the joy that often accompanies the answers from the tests is frequently tempered by the unexpected questions they raise. African-Americans say the tests can make the ugliness of slavery more palpable and leave the hunger for heritage unsatisfied. Some are unsure what to make of the new information about far-away kin, or how to account for genes that undermine a racial identity they have long internalized.
The interest in using genetics to construct a family tree comes despite warnings from scientists that the necessary tools to tell African-Americans what many want to know the most - precisely where in Africa their ancestors lived and what tribal group they belonged to - are still unreliable.
The most that blacks who use DNA tests can hope to learn now is that their genetic signature matches that of contemporary Africans from a given tribe or region from a DNA database that is far from complete. To assign an ancestral identity based on that match is highly suspect, scientists say; a group whose DNA has not been sampled may be a more precise match, or the person might match with several groups because of migration or tribal mixing.
Each test can also trace only one line of a person's many thousands of ancestors, making the results far more murky than the promise held out by some testing companies.
Still, the popularity of the DNA tests seems a testament to the unremitting craving for a story of origin. However flawed or scientifically questionable, the results provide the only clue many African-Americans have to the history and traditions that members of other American ethnic groups whose immigration was voluntary tend to take for granted.
"There's just something about knowing something after years of thinking it was impossible to know anything," said Melvin Collier, 32, a black student at Clark Atlanta University who recently learned that his DNA matches that of the Fulani people of Cameroon. "It's still pretty overwhelming."
Some African-Americans, more interested in searching out recent relatives who in many cases can be dependably identified with a DNA match, are asking whites whom they have long suspected are cousins to take a DNA test. And in a genetic bingo game that is delivering increasing returns as people of all ethnicities engage in DNA genealogy, some are typing their results into public databases on the Internet and finding a match that no paper trail would have revealed.
"I've been sitting here for years with nothing left to try and then, boom, this brand new thing," said B. J. Smothers, a retired urban planner in Stone Mountain, Ga., who says the results of a DNA test have brought her closer than she had ever been to discovering the identity of her father's grandfather. "DNA is our last hope."
Ms. Smothers's father, 88, knew that his father was born a slave in Wilcox County, Ala., but the DNA test showed that he has a European paternal ancestry, a result shared by nearly a third of African-Americans who take the test. The news was not exactly a surprise. But as eager as she is to discover the identity of her great-grandfather, Ms. Smothers is also bracing for a wave of new anger.
"I am kind of preparing myself for what I am going to feel when I find the family, when it's real," she said. She regularly looks for matches to her father's DNA in the online databases where amateur genealogists publish their genetic identities along with more prosaic contact information. Some day, she is certain, she will find a match that will lead to her white relatives.
Family reunions via DNA are not always warm affairs. When Trevis Hawkins, 37, a black oncology nurse from Montgomery, Ala., e-mailed a white man with the same surname whose DNA matched his this year, the man seemed excited. But after Mr. Hawkins gave him the address to his family Web site, which includes pictures, he never heard from him again.
One African-American, upon confirming a match with a white man whose ancestors had owned his, told him he owed reparations and could start by paying for the test, said Bennett Greenspan, chief executive of Family Tree DNA, which offers tests for $129 and up.
But Charles Larkins, whose great-grandmother was a slave, says proving or disproving his suspicion that her owner was his great-grandfather would be cathartic.
Mr. Larkins recently e-mailed Hayes Larkins, the slave owner's white great-grandson, to ask whether he would take the DNA test. Because the Y chromosome, which determines maleness, is passed virtually unchanged from father to son, scientists can use it to determine whether two men share a common ancestor.
"I'm not going to be like the Jefferson descendants, denying anything happened," Hayes Larkins said, referring to a 1998 DNA test that indicated that Thomas Jefferson had fathered at least one child with his slave Sally Hemings, which his white family had denied.
The two Mr. Larkins are waiting for the results to arrive.
For Nickesha Sanders, who already knew her great-great-grandfather was a white slave owner in Tennessee, the appeal of the DNA test was the promise of a link to Africa. "I wanted to be able to connect to my history before slavery," said Ms. Sanders, 26, a student at Texas Southern University. "I wanted it to be more than, the boat stopped at the shores, then slavery, emancipation, civil rights, all that struggle."
To find out about her maternal ancestors, Ms. Sanders paid $349 for a test that analyzes mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on largely intact from mothers to their children and serves a similar purpose as the Y chromosome for scientists tracing ancestry.
The results, from a Washington company, African Ancestry, indicated that Ms. Sanders shared a genetic profile with members of the Kru people of Liberia, who, she was pleased to learn, were known for inciting slave rebellions. But the news did not mean as much to her grandmother, who had hoped to find proof of the American Indian blood she had always been told ran in the family, a frequent quest for African-Americans taking the tests.
The results have propelled some test-takers to plan visits to their newly adopted homelands and to find others here who have been told they share the same ancestry. In online discussion forums, African-Americans with the same DNA test results call each other "cousin." After a lifetime of knowing only that their family came from Africa, some liken the new association to adopted children finding their birth mother.
"Africa is not a country; it's a continent," said LaVerne Nichols Hunter, a retired mathematics teacher in Pittsburgh, whose DNA test results placed her ancestors in Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
But if DNA test-takers are making too much family history out of too little genetic information, social scientists say, it is not a phenomenon unique to the new technology.
"Identity is a process," said Alondra Nelson, a sociologist at Yale who studies the intersection of race and genetics. "Narratives and stories about family and kinship are always to some extent people making meaning out of their experiences with whatever tools they have."
When a radio host in Chicago revealed at a Kwanzaa festival last year that he was of Mende descent, several attendees who had received the same DNA result gathered to trade notes, a moment some said they found especially meaningful because slave owners made a point of separating Africans from the same tribes to prevent them from communicating.
But Kwame Bandele has learned enough about the civil war in Liberia, which the tribe his paternal DNA test identified is involved in, to feel deeply troubled by the kinship. A manager at General Electric, Mr. Bandele has tried to persuade the company to provide ultrasound machines for pregnant women in refugee camps.
He sends out e-mail with news about the war to friends, but feels he should be doing more.
"There was a massacre with machetes the other night," he said. "My people are in bad shape."
Ray Winbush, a psychology professor at Morgan State University, said being told that his ancestors hailed from the Takar people of Cameroon served to underscore his disconnectedness, both from an ancestral tribe he knows little about and from an American society that can still be a hostile place for African-Americans.
"It's like being lost and found at the same time," Mr. Winbush said.
New York Times
All her life, Rachel Fair has been teased by other black Americans about her light skin. "High yellow," they call her, a needling reference to the legacy of a slave owner who, she says, "went down to that cabin and had what he wanted."
So it was especially satisfying for Ms. Fair, 64, when a recent DNA test suggested that her mother's African ancestry traced nearly to the root of the human family tree, which originated there 150,000 years ago.
"More white is showing in the color, but underneath, I'm deepest Africa," said Ms. Fair, a retired parks supervisor in Cincinnati. "I tell my friends they're kind of Johnny-come-latelies on the DNA scale, so back up, back up."
Ms. Fair is one of thousands of African-Americans who have scraped cells from their inner cheeks and paid a growing group of laboratories to learn more about a family history once thought permanently obscured by slavery. They are seeking answers to questions about their family lineages in the antebellum South - whether black, white or Native American - and about distant forebears in Africa.
The DNA tests are fueling the biggest surge in African-American genealogy since Alex Haley's 1976 novel, "Roots," inspired a generation to try to trace their ancestors back to Africa. For those who have spent decades poring over plantation records that did not list slaves by surname and ship manifests that did not list where they came from, the idea that the key lies in their own bodies is a powerful one.
But the joy that often accompanies the answers from the tests is frequently tempered by the unexpected questions they raise. African-Americans say the tests can make the ugliness of slavery more palpable and leave the hunger for heritage unsatisfied. Some are unsure what to make of the new information about far-away kin, or how to account for genes that undermine a racial identity they have long internalized.
The interest in using genetics to construct a family tree comes despite warnings from scientists that the necessary tools to tell African-Americans what many want to know the most - precisely where in Africa their ancestors lived and what tribal group they belonged to - are still unreliable.
The most that blacks who use DNA tests can hope to learn now is that their genetic signature matches that of contemporary Africans from a given tribe or region from a DNA database that is far from complete. To assign an ancestral identity based on that match is highly suspect, scientists say; a group whose DNA has not been sampled may be a more precise match, or the person might match with several groups because of migration or tribal mixing.
Each test can also trace only one line of a person's many thousands of ancestors, making the results far more murky than the promise held out by some testing companies.
Still, the popularity of the DNA tests seems a testament to the unremitting craving for a story of origin. However flawed or scientifically questionable, the results provide the only clue many African-Americans have to the history and traditions that members of other American ethnic groups whose immigration was voluntary tend to take for granted.
"There's just something about knowing something after years of thinking it was impossible to know anything," said Melvin Collier, 32, a black student at Clark Atlanta University who recently learned that his DNA matches that of the Fulani people of Cameroon. "It's still pretty overwhelming."
Some African-Americans, more interested in searching out recent relatives who in many cases can be dependably identified with a DNA match, are asking whites whom they have long suspected are cousins to take a DNA test. And in a genetic bingo game that is delivering increasing returns as people of all ethnicities engage in DNA genealogy, some are typing their results into public databases on the Internet and finding a match that no paper trail would have revealed.
"I've been sitting here for years with nothing left to try and then, boom, this brand new thing," said B. J. Smothers, a retired urban planner in Stone Mountain, Ga., who says the results of a DNA test have brought her closer than she had ever been to discovering the identity of her father's grandfather. "DNA is our last hope."
Ms. Smothers's father, 88, knew that his father was born a slave in Wilcox County, Ala., but the DNA test showed that he has a European paternal ancestry, a result shared by nearly a third of African-Americans who take the test. The news was not exactly a surprise. But as eager as she is to discover the identity of her great-grandfather, Ms. Smothers is also bracing for a wave of new anger.
"I am kind of preparing myself for what I am going to feel when I find the family, when it's real," she said. She regularly looks for matches to her father's DNA in the online databases where amateur genealogists publish their genetic identities along with more prosaic contact information. Some day, she is certain, she will find a match that will lead to her white relatives.
Family reunions via DNA are not always warm affairs. When Trevis Hawkins, 37, a black oncology nurse from Montgomery, Ala., e-mailed a white man with the same surname whose DNA matched his this year, the man seemed excited. But after Mr. Hawkins gave him the address to his family Web site, which includes pictures, he never heard from him again.
One African-American, upon confirming a match with a white man whose ancestors had owned his, told him he owed reparations and could start by paying for the test, said Bennett Greenspan, chief executive of Family Tree DNA, which offers tests for $129 and up.
But Charles Larkins, whose great-grandmother was a slave, says proving or disproving his suspicion that her owner was his great-grandfather would be cathartic.
Mr. Larkins recently e-mailed Hayes Larkins, the slave owner's white great-grandson, to ask whether he would take the DNA test. Because the Y chromosome, which determines maleness, is passed virtually unchanged from father to son, scientists can use it to determine whether two men share a common ancestor.
"I'm not going to be like the Jefferson descendants, denying anything happened," Hayes Larkins said, referring to a 1998 DNA test that indicated that Thomas Jefferson had fathered at least one child with his slave Sally Hemings, which his white family had denied.
The two Mr. Larkins are waiting for the results to arrive.
For Nickesha Sanders, who already knew her great-great-grandfather was a white slave owner in Tennessee, the appeal of the DNA test was the promise of a link to Africa. "I wanted to be able to connect to my history before slavery," said Ms. Sanders, 26, a student at Texas Southern University. "I wanted it to be more than, the boat stopped at the shores, then slavery, emancipation, civil rights, all that struggle."
To find out about her maternal ancestors, Ms. Sanders paid $349 for a test that analyzes mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on largely intact from mothers to their children and serves a similar purpose as the Y chromosome for scientists tracing ancestry.
The results, from a Washington company, African Ancestry, indicated that Ms. Sanders shared a genetic profile with members of the Kru people of Liberia, who, she was pleased to learn, were known for inciting slave rebellions. But the news did not mean as much to her grandmother, who had hoped to find proof of the American Indian blood she had always been told ran in the family, a frequent quest for African-Americans taking the tests.
The results have propelled some test-takers to plan visits to their newly adopted homelands and to find others here who have been told they share the same ancestry. In online discussion forums, African-Americans with the same DNA test results call each other "cousin." After a lifetime of knowing only that their family came from Africa, some liken the new association to adopted children finding their birth mother.
"Africa is not a country; it's a continent," said LaVerne Nichols Hunter, a retired mathematics teacher in Pittsburgh, whose DNA test results placed her ancestors in Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
But if DNA test-takers are making too much family history out of too little genetic information, social scientists say, it is not a phenomenon unique to the new technology.
"Identity is a process," said Alondra Nelson, a sociologist at Yale who studies the intersection of race and genetics. "Narratives and stories about family and kinship are always to some extent people making meaning out of their experiences with whatever tools they have."
When a radio host in Chicago revealed at a Kwanzaa festival last year that he was of Mende descent, several attendees who had received the same DNA result gathered to trade notes, a moment some said they found especially meaningful because slave owners made a point of separating Africans from the same tribes to prevent them from communicating.
But Kwame Bandele has learned enough about the civil war in Liberia, which the tribe his paternal DNA test identified is involved in, to feel deeply troubled by the kinship. A manager at General Electric, Mr. Bandele has tried to persuade the company to provide ultrasound machines for pregnant women in refugee camps.
He sends out e-mail with news about the war to friends, but feels he should be doing more.
"There was a massacre with machetes the other night," he said. "My people are in bad shape."
Ray Winbush, a psychology professor at Morgan State University, said being told that his ancestors hailed from the Takar people of Cameroon served to underscore his disconnectedness, both from an ancestral tribe he knows little about and from an American society that can still be a hostile place for African-Americans.
"It's like being lost and found at the same time," Mr. Winbush said.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Atlanta's John Smith Elected Chair of Black Newspaper Publishers
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Bunnie Jackson-Ransom
First Class, Inc. 404-505-8188
For Immediate Release:
Atlanta, GA. (7/13/05). John B. Smith, Sr., the publisher and chief executive officer of The Atlanta Inquirer, was recently elected chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), also known as the "Black Press of America," during the organization's recent convention in Chicago, Illinois. Smith's election represents the first time in sixty-five years that the leadership of the NNAP has been in the South.
Prior to this election, Smith served tirelessly as the organization's 1st vice chair and its membership services chair since 2003. He has also served as its 2nd vice chair (formerly 2nd Vice President) and other various leadership positions within the organization. Smith is joined by a strong group of other African-American publishers on NNPA's executive committee. These officers that were also elected at the June, 2005 convention include 1st vice chair Cloves C. Campbell, Jr. (publisher of Arizona Informant in Phoenix, Arizona); 2nd vice chair Chris B. Bennett (co-publisher and editor of Seattle Medium in Seattle, Washington); secretary Mollie Finch Belt (publisher of Dallas Examiner in Dallas, Texas); treasurer Lenora "Doll" Carter (publisher of Houston Forward Times in Houston, Texas); members at-large Carol Zippert (publisher of Greene County Democrat in Eutaw, Alabama) and Akwasi Evans (publisher of Nokoa Observer in Austin, Texas).
NNPA's regional boards are led by Miatta Haj Smith (New York Beacon in New York, New York) and Thomas H. Watkins, Jr. (Afro Times in Brooklyn, New York) for Region One (1); Floyd Adams, Jr. (Savannah Herald in Savannah, Georgia) and Jimmy Delnoah Williams (Memphis Silver Star News in Memphis, Tennessee) for Region Two (2); Al McFarlane (Insight News in Minneapolis, Minnesota) and Mary S. Denson (Windy City Word in Chicago, Illinois) for Region Three (3); Francis Page, Jr. (Houston Style Magazine in Houston, Texas) and Terry Jones (New Orleans Data News Weekly in New Orleans, Louisiana) for Region Four (4); John Holoman (Herald Dispatch Group in Los Angeles, California) and Amelia Ashley Ward (California Voice and San Francisco Sun Reporter in San Francisco, California) for Region Five (5).
The NNPA is a sixty-five year-old association of more than 200 African-American newspapers from across the United States, Canada and the Virgin Islands with more than 15,000,000 readers weekly. Since the dissolution of the Associated Negro Press in 1970, the NNPA has been the industry's only news service, having provided that service since World War II. NNPA Media Services, a print and web advertising placement and press release distribution service, was added in 2000. In 2001, NNPA, in association with the NNPA Foundation, began building BlackPressUSA Network, the nation's premiere network of local African-American community news and information portals. (The national web portal for BlackPressUSA is BlackPressUSA.com).
Smith has been active in NNPA as the advertising manager for The Atlanta Inquirer in the 1960s. After graduating from Morehouse College in 1958 with a B.S. degree in Mathematics and a brief period in the United States Army, he began his work with The Inquirer in February, 1961, as a part-time advertising salesman while teaching mathematics on the high school level in Atlanta. During this time, he also obtained two Masters Degrees from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). He rapidly moved from part-time advertising salesman to advertising manager to vice president to publisher. Publisher Smith has been the single driving force behind the continuous publication of the newspaper for more than thirty of his forty-plus years with The Inquirer.
The Atlanta Inquirer was first published in 1960 as a weekly crusading civil rights newspaper to give voice to the student movement. No local print media at the time would give fair coverage to the efforts by Atlanta University Center students to desegregate places of public accommodation in downtown Atlanta. The paper's motto, "To seek out the Truth and Report it Without Fear or Favor," has been its mantra for all of its 45 years. Smith has often said The Inquirer was founded out of need because the established Black press of the day would print only "safe" Black news that "often edited out the truth." Jesse Hill Jr. preceded Smith as Inquirer publisher. Herman J. Russell was the former chair of the board.
NNPA Chair Smith stated that he is proud of the confidence that his fellow publishers have shown in him by his election to the top post of the organization, and that he looks forward to continuing his service to the Black Press for many years to come.
Smith has been appointed to many boards of directors in business, and he has provided good sound leadership in every instance. He has been named "Young Man of the Year" in Business and selected as one of twenty-five "City Shapers" in Atlanta Magazine. He has been the recipient of the Morehouse College Alumni Award in the area of Business; Georgia Department of Labor Black History Achievers Awards in Journalism, and was appointed in 1997 by the Mayor of Atlanta to a task force of the city’s Renaissance Program dedicated to "Building an Even Better Atlanta." Recently, he is noted as one of Atlanta’s Most Influential in the 2004 Collector’s Edition of Who’s Who in Black Atlanta.
Smith's desire for perfection and his knowledge of salesmanship has made him effective in the field of marketing. He has represented The Atlanta Inquirer at the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the first Business Group of the Community Relations Commission to name a few of his business enterprising activities. Smith is a charter member of Christian Fellowship Baptist Church, and is also an active member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, as well as a 32° member of Prince Hall Masons.
Bunnie Jackson-Ransom
First Class, Inc.
404-505-8188
404-505-8358 fax
Contact: Bunnie Jackson-Ransom
First Class, Inc. 404-505-8188
For Immediate Release:
Atlanta, GA. (7/13/05). John B. Smith, Sr., the publisher and chief executive officer of The Atlanta Inquirer, was recently elected chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), also known as the "Black Press of America," during the organization's recent convention in Chicago, Illinois. Smith's election represents the first time in sixty-five years that the leadership of the NNAP has been in the South.
Prior to this election, Smith served tirelessly as the organization's 1st vice chair and its membership services chair since 2003. He has also served as its 2nd vice chair (formerly 2nd Vice President) and other various leadership positions within the organization. Smith is joined by a strong group of other African-American publishers on NNPA's executive committee. These officers that were also elected at the June, 2005 convention include 1st vice chair Cloves C. Campbell, Jr. (publisher of Arizona Informant in Phoenix, Arizona); 2nd vice chair Chris B. Bennett (co-publisher and editor of Seattle Medium in Seattle, Washington); secretary Mollie Finch Belt (publisher of Dallas Examiner in Dallas, Texas); treasurer Lenora "Doll" Carter (publisher of Houston Forward Times in Houston, Texas); members at-large Carol Zippert (publisher of Greene County Democrat in Eutaw, Alabama) and Akwasi Evans (publisher of Nokoa Observer in Austin, Texas).
NNPA's regional boards are led by Miatta Haj Smith (New York Beacon in New York, New York) and Thomas H. Watkins, Jr. (Afro Times in Brooklyn, New York) for Region One (1); Floyd Adams, Jr. (Savannah Herald in Savannah, Georgia) and Jimmy Delnoah Williams (Memphis Silver Star News in Memphis, Tennessee) for Region Two (2); Al McFarlane (Insight News in Minneapolis, Minnesota) and Mary S. Denson (Windy City Word in Chicago, Illinois) for Region Three (3); Francis Page, Jr. (Houston Style Magazine in Houston, Texas) and Terry Jones (New Orleans Data News Weekly in New Orleans, Louisiana) for Region Four (4); John Holoman (Herald Dispatch Group in Los Angeles, California) and Amelia Ashley Ward (California Voice and San Francisco Sun Reporter in San Francisco, California) for Region Five (5).
The NNPA is a sixty-five year-old association of more than 200 African-American newspapers from across the United States, Canada and the Virgin Islands with more than 15,000,000 readers weekly. Since the dissolution of the Associated Negro Press in 1970, the NNPA has been the industry's only news service, having provided that service since World War II. NNPA Media Services, a print and web advertising placement and press release distribution service, was added in 2000. In 2001, NNPA, in association with the NNPA Foundation, began building BlackPressUSA Network, the nation's premiere network of local African-American community news and information portals. (The national web portal for BlackPressUSA is BlackPressUSA.com).
Smith has been active in NNPA as the advertising manager for The Atlanta Inquirer in the 1960s. After graduating from Morehouse College in 1958 with a B.S. degree in Mathematics and a brief period in the United States Army, he began his work with The Inquirer in February, 1961, as a part-time advertising salesman while teaching mathematics on the high school level in Atlanta. During this time, he also obtained two Masters Degrees from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). He rapidly moved from part-time advertising salesman to advertising manager to vice president to publisher. Publisher Smith has been the single driving force behind the continuous publication of the newspaper for more than thirty of his forty-plus years with The Inquirer.
The Atlanta Inquirer was first published in 1960 as a weekly crusading civil rights newspaper to give voice to the student movement. No local print media at the time would give fair coverage to the efforts by Atlanta University Center students to desegregate places of public accommodation in downtown Atlanta. The paper's motto, "To seek out the Truth and Report it Without Fear or Favor," has been its mantra for all of its 45 years. Smith has often said The Inquirer was founded out of need because the established Black press of the day would print only "safe" Black news that "often edited out the truth." Jesse Hill Jr. preceded Smith as Inquirer publisher. Herman J. Russell was the former chair of the board.
NNPA Chair Smith stated that he is proud of the confidence that his fellow publishers have shown in him by his election to the top post of the organization, and that he looks forward to continuing his service to the Black Press for many years to come.
Smith has been appointed to many boards of directors in business, and he has provided good sound leadership in every instance. He has been named "Young Man of the Year" in Business and selected as one of twenty-five "City Shapers" in Atlanta Magazine. He has been the recipient of the Morehouse College Alumni Award in the area of Business; Georgia Department of Labor Black History Achievers Awards in Journalism, and was appointed in 1997 by the Mayor of Atlanta to a task force of the city’s Renaissance Program dedicated to "Building an Even Better Atlanta." Recently, he is noted as one of Atlanta’s Most Influential in the 2004 Collector’s Edition of Who’s Who in Black Atlanta.
Smith's desire for perfection and his knowledge of salesmanship has made him effective in the field of marketing. He has represented The Atlanta Inquirer at the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the first Business Group of the Community Relations Commission to name a few of his business enterprising activities. Smith is a charter member of Christian Fellowship Baptist Church, and is also an active member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, as well as a 32° member of Prince Hall Masons.
Bunnie Jackson-Ransom
First Class, Inc.
404-505-8188
404-505-8358 fax
Saturday, July 23, 2005
The Africa Channel Signs Deal With Cox Communications for U.S. Cable Carriage
Target Market News
(July 21, 2005) The Africa Channel, a new independent cable television network showcasing the rich and diverse perspectives of the people of the African continent, has set its launch for the third quarter of this year. The network has already secured a corporate agreement with Atlanta-based Cox Communications Inc. and anticipates it will conclude additional carriage agreements shortly.
The goal of The Africa Channel is to amplify the African experience through a daily window into modern African life and build bridges of understanding between U.S. television viewers and the people of Africa.
"Our network will serve an important cultural need, while providing diverse, entertaining programming that demystifies Africa to the American television audience," said James Makawa, CEO of The Africa Channel and one of its trio of founders.
"We couldn't have picked a better launch partner than Cox Communications," said Jacob Arback, President and a co-founder of The Africa Channel. "Cox is a first-class company with particularly strong ties to the local communities they serve. This is key to our mission both here and in Africa.”
Richard Hammer is the third co-founder and Executive Vice President, Communications for The Africa Channel. "These shows have the production and entertainment value of top American shows, which is not surprising considering that many people in the African television business got their training here.”
The Africa Channel will launch with more than 1,200 hours of original and first run English language programming, including news and information, travel, and lifestyle, music, feature films, soaps, talk, reality and special events. Flagship series include "Carte Blanche Africa," a weekly one-hour investigative journalism program now in its 17th season on M-Net; "Africa Within," a vibrant weekly hour that takes viewers from Cairo to the Cape; the reality series "Big Brother Africa" and "All You Need is Love," and the soaps "Generations" and "Isidingo."
"We anticipate The Africa Channel will provide our Cox Digital Cable customers with a new diverse destination on the line-up that entertains and informs," said Bob Wilson, Senior Vice President, Programming, Cox Communications.
The channel's initial partners are former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young and his company, Goodworks International; Weller/Grossman Productions and National Basketball Association star players Dikembe Mutombo and Theo Ratliff.
For more information about the channel, please visit The Africa Channel.
(July 21, 2005) The Africa Channel, a new independent cable television network showcasing the rich and diverse perspectives of the people of the African continent, has set its launch for the third quarter of this year. The network has already secured a corporate agreement with Atlanta-based Cox Communications Inc. and anticipates it will conclude additional carriage agreements shortly.
The goal of The Africa Channel is to amplify the African experience through a daily window into modern African life and build bridges of understanding between U.S. television viewers and the people of Africa.
"Our network will serve an important cultural need, while providing diverse, entertaining programming that demystifies Africa to the American television audience," said James Makawa, CEO of The Africa Channel and one of its trio of founders.
"We couldn't have picked a better launch partner than Cox Communications," said Jacob Arback, President and a co-founder of The Africa Channel. "Cox is a first-class company with particularly strong ties to the local communities they serve. This is key to our mission both here and in Africa.”
Richard Hammer is the third co-founder and Executive Vice President, Communications for The Africa Channel. "These shows have the production and entertainment value of top American shows, which is not surprising considering that many people in the African television business got their training here.”
The Africa Channel will launch with more than 1,200 hours of original and first run English language programming, including news and information, travel, and lifestyle, music, feature films, soaps, talk, reality and special events. Flagship series include "Carte Blanche Africa," a weekly one-hour investigative journalism program now in its 17th season on M-Net; "Africa Within," a vibrant weekly hour that takes viewers from Cairo to the Cape; the reality series "Big Brother Africa" and "All You Need is Love," and the soaps "Generations" and "Isidingo."
"We anticipate The Africa Channel will provide our Cox Digital Cable customers with a new diverse destination on the line-up that entertains and informs," said Bob Wilson, Senior Vice President, Programming, Cox Communications.
The channel's initial partners are former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young and his company, Goodworks International; Weller/Grossman Productions and National Basketball Association star players Dikembe Mutombo and Theo Ratliff.
For more information about the channel, please visit The Africa Channel.
Monday, July 18, 2005
What is Right in America - All of Our Young People Are Not Lost
By Joseph C. Phillips
Joseph C. Phillips
Far too often, when one reads about young people it is because they have engaged in some foolish, anti-social behavior. There is a continual cultural loop of vulgar, rump-shaking, misogynist and nihilistic videos playing counterpoint to endless statistics of drug use and teen pregnancy. It is easy to believe this is the sum total of what young people are about.
Last week in Sacramento, I had the pleasure of speaking before a group of 11th and 12th grade students at the African American Youth Leadership Conference. Every time I begin to think about all that is wrong with the youth of today, I will think of the young people I met last week and be reminded of what is right.
The conference was the brainchild of the 100 Black Men of California and the black caucus of the California State Assembly. Working in cooperation with the Research and Policy institute, an African-American public policy think tank, they set out to develop a program for high school students that would expand the vision young people have of the future and encourage them to reach out and seize their portion of it.
The participants spend a week meeting with business, community and legislative leaders. They are immersed in governmental, non-profit and corporate business practices in addition to receiving academic and career guidance, all with the goal of preparing them to become leaders in their communities.
It is my firm belief that some of our greatest leaders have not been folk whose names we read in the paper or who showed up on the television news. Many a trailblazer has lived anonymously leading by example. Though civic minded, my father never led any marches, but he busted his hump in order to put four children through college. There are countless other “leaders” like my father. The kids going through the program may never become household names. However, the skills they learn and the attitudes they build will enable them to be successful in the kind of silent leadership we can never have enough of.
I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if some of the kids make big names for themselves.
After my presentation, I was approached by a young man who asked if I was interested in real estate. “Why? Do you have any to sell?” I asked jokingly. To which he responded, “Yes.” It seems he and his father have gone into business purchasing foreclosure property and reselling it. He has a small real estate portfolio and is headed to business school.
A young woman told us of her dream to attend Spelman College and study journalism. She wants to write stories that will uplift and change peoples lives. If only I had had this kind of sophistication and gumption when I was in high school!
Don’t misunderstand. What I found impressive was not that these young people had a mind towards building wealth. There are many things more important than the size of your bank account. What I enjoyed was their enthusiasm, their optimism in addition to their conviction that life holds promise for them and that nothing and no one was going to hold them back from their dreams. That is the road to a life of joy and fulfillment. These are the attitudes that for young people will mean the difference between seeing some of their dreams come true and standing on the sidelines complaining.
Too often, I find myself caught up in the cultural loop of “thug life” and MTV, wondering: “Where is the hope for the future?” After spending a few hours with these kids, I can assure you that the future is in very good hands indeed.
Joseph C. Phillips is an actor and syndicated columnist living in Los Angeles.
Joseph C. Phillips
Far too often, when one reads about young people it is because they have engaged in some foolish, anti-social behavior. There is a continual cultural loop of vulgar, rump-shaking, misogynist and nihilistic videos playing counterpoint to endless statistics of drug use and teen pregnancy. It is easy to believe this is the sum total of what young people are about.
Last week in Sacramento, I had the pleasure of speaking before a group of 11th and 12th grade students at the African American Youth Leadership Conference. Every time I begin to think about all that is wrong with the youth of today, I will think of the young people I met last week and be reminded of what is right.
The conference was the brainchild of the 100 Black Men of California and the black caucus of the California State Assembly. Working in cooperation with the Research and Policy institute, an African-American public policy think tank, they set out to develop a program for high school students that would expand the vision young people have of the future and encourage them to reach out and seize their portion of it.
The participants spend a week meeting with business, community and legislative leaders. They are immersed in governmental, non-profit and corporate business practices in addition to receiving academic and career guidance, all with the goal of preparing them to become leaders in their communities.
It is my firm belief that some of our greatest leaders have not been folk whose names we read in the paper or who showed up on the television news. Many a trailblazer has lived anonymously leading by example. Though civic minded, my father never led any marches, but he busted his hump in order to put four children through college. There are countless other “leaders” like my father. The kids going through the program may never become household names. However, the skills they learn and the attitudes they build will enable them to be successful in the kind of silent leadership we can never have enough of.
I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if some of the kids make big names for themselves.
After my presentation, I was approached by a young man who asked if I was interested in real estate. “Why? Do you have any to sell?” I asked jokingly. To which he responded, “Yes.” It seems he and his father have gone into business purchasing foreclosure property and reselling it. He has a small real estate portfolio and is headed to business school.
A young woman told us of her dream to attend Spelman College and study journalism. She wants to write stories that will uplift and change peoples lives. If only I had had this kind of sophistication and gumption when I was in high school!
Don’t misunderstand. What I found impressive was not that these young people had a mind towards building wealth. There are many things more important than the size of your bank account. What I enjoyed was their enthusiasm, their optimism in addition to their conviction that life holds promise for them and that nothing and no one was going to hold them back from their dreams. That is the road to a life of joy and fulfillment. These are the attitudes that for young people will mean the difference between seeing some of their dreams come true and standing on the sidelines complaining.
Too often, I find myself caught up in the cultural loop of “thug life” and MTV, wondering: “Where is the hope for the future?” After spending a few hours with these kids, I can assure you that the future is in very good hands indeed.
Joseph C. Phillips is an actor and syndicated columnist living in Los Angeles.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Real Women Seek Dates, Must Love Technology
ABC's five-part documentary series about women using the Web to find dates is comical, sad, entertaining and enlightening.
By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
New York Times
The women here - these daters - look familiar. You know the type. Trim, breezy, frank, supremely at ease making confessions to cameras. They're recognizable anywhere now: reality-show Jens and Amys, spirited representatives of that plucky work force that dutifully fills the girls' slots on offerings from "Blind Date" to "The Apprentice" to "Beauty and the Geek."
Oh, but not quite. With cutie graphics, a catchy name and a setup that maximizes the chances that characters will have sex, "Hooking Up" sure looks like reality Frappuccino. But it's billed as hard news. Described as a "documentary series from ABC News" that "goes inside the unpredictable world of online dating," "Hooking Up," which starts tonight with the first of five parts, is brought to you by the same serious-minded journalists who created multipart documentary programs like "Hopkins 24/7," "Boston 24/7" and "N.Y.P.D. 24/7." This time, their dispassionate quest for the truth about the human condition has led them to shine a bright light on the lives of single women who, desperate for love, date many men and sleep around.
Which means the women are real - realer, say, than reality stars. ABC's news producers did not stage a casting call, cull their stars from a group of telegenic SoCal runaways, and pay them to run wild on Internet dating sites like Match.com and Lavalife. That's what entertainment divisions do. Instead, they contacted the sites directly and asked for lists of women who were already sold on online dating, thus keeping things real. In somber interviews, they determined who among these women were willing, in addition to going out with men they knew only from Internet profiles, to have their dates and deliberations filmed and broadcast. Presto: sufficient exhibitionism and fizz to attract reality viewers with just enough credibility to count as news.
Look, I'm just pointing this out. I'm not the Columbia Journalism Review. If ABC News wants to go supersoft for the lady viewers who prefer lifestyle stuff to guns and ammo, that's fine by me; I like reality television. And thus I find "Hooking Up" comical, sad, entertaining and enlightening. Its verité patina - in a format uncluttered by the redundant tribal-council-like rituals of many reality competitions - allows the characters a decent range of action and expression. And it's illuminating about the marvels and shortcomings of online dating.
In brief narration in the voice of a dater we learn, "With 40 million Americans hooking up online, there's got to be someone out there for me." But that statistic is the end of the program's pedantry. After that, we're up close and personal with a dozen successful, attractive New York women, ages 25 to 38, as they condemn men, idolize men, tire of men and try again.
It's a lively group. First there's Amy, a baby-faced 28-year-old ingénue from South Dakota who wants both to marry and breed and to flex her considerable sexual power. Something in her giggle and forthright eccentricity makes her the program's star. Cynthia, who is 34, is a grating, self-absorbed hair-salon manager; her stagy declarations of who she is - tough, sexy, choosy, take-no-guff - ring false, and her truest moment of emotion comes when she savors the prospect of an evening with the man the program calls her "occasional lover," a guy she calls when she wants to have duty-free sex.
Lisa, a 36-year-old gynecologist, seems sane with a charming kittenish side, until she insists on giving a false name to a surgeon she meets, and refuses to disclose that they share a profession. This is coyness passing as self-protection or professional responsibility (she doesn't want her patients or colleagues to recognize her online), and she seems a little too excited about it. ("If they know you're a doctor, forget it. They'll bring an engagement ring to the first date.") Twenty-six-year-old Claire, whose job has something to do with selling Viagra, comes across as cute and kind; her rejection by one sad sack in mutton-chop sideburns seems unfounded.
A nasty 29-year-old photographer named Maryam prods irritatingly at her dates until they leave in bewilderment. (Dating tip: Don't tell a guy he seems gay.) By contrast, Kelly, a 35-year-old grade-school teacher, seems unaware of the appeal of her sunny athleticism and guy's-girl good nature. She has spasms of self-consciousness about her class background that lead her to sabotage herself.
Watching these women, and several others, as they date men they find online offers as much insight into the Internet as it does into romance. A big deal for online daters is how honest people are in the profiles they post, and in their pictures, which often seem so enhanced as to qualify more as painting than photography. The clumsiest online daters often greet would-be soul mates with angry accusations of false advertising. Others pride themselves on their ability to detect standard sleights of hand, including waist-up photos of women ("She may be hiding what's called junk in the trunk," a man shrewdly notes). And they earnestly explain to the cameras how much they despise online liars.
But the best of these daters, like the best of all daters, are also forgiving. Finding moments of tenderness and amusement in "Hooking Up" requires some equally forgiving attention to this infotainment series, but it's well worth it. The players here are on quests to determine, of all things, what love means and where, if anywhere, it dovetails with technology and consumerism. That's a worthy quest. When they're honest with themselves, they discover in the vanity of others' online portraits only the vanity - and longing - of their own.
By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
New York Times
The women here - these daters - look familiar. You know the type. Trim, breezy, frank, supremely at ease making confessions to cameras. They're recognizable anywhere now: reality-show Jens and Amys, spirited representatives of that plucky work force that dutifully fills the girls' slots on offerings from "Blind Date" to "The Apprentice" to "Beauty and the Geek."
Oh, but not quite. With cutie graphics, a catchy name and a setup that maximizes the chances that characters will have sex, "Hooking Up" sure looks like reality Frappuccino. But it's billed as hard news. Described as a "documentary series from ABC News" that "goes inside the unpredictable world of online dating," "Hooking Up," which starts tonight with the first of five parts, is brought to you by the same serious-minded journalists who created multipart documentary programs like "Hopkins 24/7," "Boston 24/7" and "N.Y.P.D. 24/7." This time, their dispassionate quest for the truth about the human condition has led them to shine a bright light on the lives of single women who, desperate for love, date many men and sleep around.
Which means the women are real - realer, say, than reality stars. ABC's news producers did not stage a casting call, cull their stars from a group of telegenic SoCal runaways, and pay them to run wild on Internet dating sites like Match.com and Lavalife. That's what entertainment divisions do. Instead, they contacted the sites directly and asked for lists of women who were already sold on online dating, thus keeping things real. In somber interviews, they determined who among these women were willing, in addition to going out with men they knew only from Internet profiles, to have their dates and deliberations filmed and broadcast. Presto: sufficient exhibitionism and fizz to attract reality viewers with just enough credibility to count as news.
Look, I'm just pointing this out. I'm not the Columbia Journalism Review. If ABC News wants to go supersoft for the lady viewers who prefer lifestyle stuff to guns and ammo, that's fine by me; I like reality television. And thus I find "Hooking Up" comical, sad, entertaining and enlightening. Its verité patina - in a format uncluttered by the redundant tribal-council-like rituals of many reality competitions - allows the characters a decent range of action and expression. And it's illuminating about the marvels and shortcomings of online dating.
In brief narration in the voice of a dater we learn, "With 40 million Americans hooking up online, there's got to be someone out there for me." But that statistic is the end of the program's pedantry. After that, we're up close and personal with a dozen successful, attractive New York women, ages 25 to 38, as they condemn men, idolize men, tire of men and try again.
It's a lively group. First there's Amy, a baby-faced 28-year-old ingénue from South Dakota who wants both to marry and breed and to flex her considerable sexual power. Something in her giggle and forthright eccentricity makes her the program's star. Cynthia, who is 34, is a grating, self-absorbed hair-salon manager; her stagy declarations of who she is - tough, sexy, choosy, take-no-guff - ring false, and her truest moment of emotion comes when she savors the prospect of an evening with the man the program calls her "occasional lover," a guy she calls when she wants to have duty-free sex.
Lisa, a 36-year-old gynecologist, seems sane with a charming kittenish side, until she insists on giving a false name to a surgeon she meets, and refuses to disclose that they share a profession. This is coyness passing as self-protection or professional responsibility (she doesn't want her patients or colleagues to recognize her online), and she seems a little too excited about it. ("If they know you're a doctor, forget it. They'll bring an engagement ring to the first date.") Twenty-six-year-old Claire, whose job has something to do with selling Viagra, comes across as cute and kind; her rejection by one sad sack in mutton-chop sideburns seems unfounded.
A nasty 29-year-old photographer named Maryam prods irritatingly at her dates until they leave in bewilderment. (Dating tip: Don't tell a guy he seems gay.) By contrast, Kelly, a 35-year-old grade-school teacher, seems unaware of the appeal of her sunny athleticism and guy's-girl good nature. She has spasms of self-consciousness about her class background that lead her to sabotage herself.
Watching these women, and several others, as they date men they find online offers as much insight into the Internet as it does into romance. A big deal for online daters is how honest people are in the profiles they post, and in their pictures, which often seem so enhanced as to qualify more as painting than photography. The clumsiest online daters often greet would-be soul mates with angry accusations of false advertising. Others pride themselves on their ability to detect standard sleights of hand, including waist-up photos of women ("She may be hiding what's called junk in the trunk," a man shrewdly notes). And they earnestly explain to the cameras how much they despise online liars.
But the best of these daters, like the best of all daters, are also forgiving. Finding moments of tenderness and amusement in "Hooking Up" requires some equally forgiving attention to this infotainment series, but it's well worth it. The players here are on quests to determine, of all things, what love means and where, if anywhere, it dovetails with technology and consumerism. That's a worthy quest. When they're honest with themselves, they discover in the vanity of others' online portraits only the vanity - and longing - of their own.
New York Jails Banning Forced Gynecological Exams for Female Inmates
By: Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press
Black America Web
NEW YORK (AP) -- Tens of thousands of female jail inmates were told to submit to gynecological exams or be sent to medical isolation, under a policy that the city is now dropping, according to lawyers and court documents.
In a legal settlement June 21, the city agreed to begin informing women inmates that they have the right to refuse the exams without retaliation. The city also agreed to pay millions of dollars to people who were strip-searched in city jails after arrests on suspicion of misdemeanor charges or violations such as traffic infractions.
The city for years had told every woman admitted to the Rikers Island jail that she had to undergo a pelvic exam, a Pap smear and a breast exam or move into isolation, said Richard Cardinale, the lead attorney in the class-action lawsuit.
After the lawsuit was filed in 2002 the Corrections Department began limiting strip searches to a smaller group of inmates, including those suspected of felonies, drug or weapons-related crimes, a Corrections spokesman said.
But Cardinale said Wednesday that the Corrections Department had not yet begun informing women of their right to refuse the gynecological exams.
Clarissa Goldsmith, 41, said she was arrested in March for smoking marijuana in front of a fast-food restaurant and pleaded guilty to a drug-possession charge.
She was sentenced to serve more than a month at Rikers Island, where she underwent at least her fifth gynecological exam at the hands of jail medical authorities. She said the doctor who examined her was courteous and respectful, but the procedure was painful and humiliating.
"How does it make me feel to have to come into a prison to get my vaginal area searched?" she said. "That's private."
Goldsmith said she was unaware that she had a choice about being examined.
"If you do not do that you automatically get confined to isolation," she said. "You don't get a bed."
Cardinale said the gynecological exams were not meant to protect other female inmates and were medically unnecessary in many cases. Women inmates did not know they had the right to refuse, he said.
"Those things have nothing to do with security or spreading diseases," Cardinale said. "I have yet to meet a person who has refused ... Nobody ever complained about it because everybody thought that it was allowed."
The city's lead attorney in the lawsuit, Genevieve Nelson, said through a spokeswoman Wednesday that offering the exams was required under state law.
The spokeswoman referred all further questions about the exams to the Health Department, which adminsters the city's jail medical system. A Health Department spokesman said he could not immediately comment on the issue.
Black America Web
NEW YORK (AP) -- Tens of thousands of female jail inmates were told to submit to gynecological exams or be sent to medical isolation, under a policy that the city is now dropping, according to lawyers and court documents.
In a legal settlement June 21, the city agreed to begin informing women inmates that they have the right to refuse the exams without retaliation. The city also agreed to pay millions of dollars to people who were strip-searched in city jails after arrests on suspicion of misdemeanor charges or violations such as traffic infractions.
The city for years had told every woman admitted to the Rikers Island jail that she had to undergo a pelvic exam, a Pap smear and a breast exam or move into isolation, said Richard Cardinale, the lead attorney in the class-action lawsuit.
After the lawsuit was filed in 2002 the Corrections Department began limiting strip searches to a smaller group of inmates, including those suspected of felonies, drug or weapons-related crimes, a Corrections spokesman said.
But Cardinale said Wednesday that the Corrections Department had not yet begun informing women of their right to refuse the gynecological exams.
Clarissa Goldsmith, 41, said she was arrested in March for smoking marijuana in front of a fast-food restaurant and pleaded guilty to a drug-possession charge.
She was sentenced to serve more than a month at Rikers Island, where she underwent at least her fifth gynecological exam at the hands of jail medical authorities. She said the doctor who examined her was courteous and respectful, but the procedure was painful and humiliating.
"How does it make me feel to have to come into a prison to get my vaginal area searched?" she said. "That's private."
Goldsmith said she was unaware that she had a choice about being examined.
"If you do not do that you automatically get confined to isolation," she said. "You don't get a bed."
Cardinale said the gynecological exams were not meant to protect other female inmates and were medically unnecessary in many cases. Women inmates did not know they had the right to refuse, he said.
"Those things have nothing to do with security or spreading diseases," Cardinale said. "I have yet to meet a person who has refused ... Nobody ever complained about it because everybody thought that it was allowed."
The city's lead attorney in the lawsuit, Genevieve Nelson, said through a spokeswoman Wednesday that offering the exams was required under state law.
The spokeswoman referred all further questions about the exams to the Health Department, which adminsters the city's jail medical system. A Health Department spokesman said he could not immediately comment on the issue.
Christian Retailers Hammered By Price-Cutting Giants (Wal-Mart, Costco, Target)
By Mya Frazier
Ad Age
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Much the same as they have done to mom-and-pop stores and middle-size chains from coast to coast, America's retail Goliaths led by Wal-Mart, Costco and Target have seized market share from the country's organized Christian retailers.
Retailer conference
At this week's International Christian Retail Show in Denver,store operators bemoaned their continuing drop in market share in a $4.3 billion-a-year category covering everything from Bibles and crucifixes to choir robes and religious-themed DVDs. The show was organized by the Colorado Springs-based Christian Booksellers Association (CBA).
One major point of discussion among the merchandising faithful gathered in Denver was that their share of a market they once solidly owned has slipped another four percentage points to 53% since 2002.
Price cutting
Show attendee Chris Childers, who runs a Christian Bookstore in Macon, Ga., is typical. His shop now competes with a nearby Sam’s Club, Target and Wal-Mart. Sales are down 3% this year and, although he expects to break even with last year’s sales of $1.8 million, his profits are down. For instance, when The Passion of the Christ DVD was released at a $26.99 retail price last year, he sold it for $19.99. But Wal-Mart cut the price for the same DVD to $17.97
The buying power of the mega-retailers makes the economics tough for merchants as well as their suppliers. Consider that the majority of CBA members have sales of $125,000 or less. And although Christian retail has its own chains, including LifeWay Christian Stores, with 123 locations, the largest, Family Christian Stores, has only 320 locations.
Fighting back
Another major discussion point at the show focused on how best to fight back against the encroachment of secular retailers.
Bill Anderson, the CBA's president-CEO, said the situation has prompted a change in both the name of the event and an expansion of its programs to draw a wider group of participants. The annual conference, which was previously called the Christian Book Sellers Trade Show, became the International Christian Retail Show this year.
More educational business seminars were added. Worship services were beefed up in keeping with the organization's new strategy of stressing the importance of "buying Christian," and the overall programming has been enhanced with the higher-profile inclusion of well-known Christian writers, such as Stormie Omartian, author of The Power of a Praying Woman, who gave one of the keynote addresses.
'Buy Christian'
It’s not the first time the CBA has tried to coalesce its members around a "Buy Christian" concept. Six years ago, CBA created the “What Goes Into the Mind, Comes Out in a Life” program to consolidate funds from CBA retailers and create a national campaign promoting its members stores.
In April, the CBA launched a series of TV spots encouraging Christians to shop at Christian stores on the Christian Broadcasting Network as well as the ABC Family Channel. CBN created the spots and CBA and suppliers kicked in money to support the multi-million dollar campaign, scheduled to run again the third and fourth quarter of 2005 to capitalize on the holiday season.
CBA members are increasingly concerned with the ease with which the giant secular retailers have expanded their religious merchandise offerings, Mr. Anderson said. Although he conceded that “to think that Christians will shop us only because we are a Christian store is an unrealistic expectation,” he admitted he expected a little more from the category’s suppliers, mostly private, independent businesses also owned by Christians.
“Our message to them is we helped to grow your business,” Mr. Anderson said. “It’s in your best interest to create a channel management strategy to take advantage of this market and yet to respect the history and the growth gained through Christian stores.”
Ad Age
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Much the same as they have done to mom-and-pop stores and middle-size chains from coast to coast, America's retail Goliaths led by Wal-Mart, Costco and Target have seized market share from the country's organized Christian retailers.
Retailer conference
At this week's International Christian Retail Show in Denver,store operators bemoaned their continuing drop in market share in a $4.3 billion-a-year category covering everything from Bibles and crucifixes to choir robes and religious-themed DVDs. The show was organized by the Colorado Springs-based Christian Booksellers Association (CBA).
One major point of discussion among the merchandising faithful gathered in Denver was that their share of a market they once solidly owned has slipped another four percentage points to 53% since 2002.
Price cutting
Show attendee Chris Childers, who runs a Christian Bookstore in Macon, Ga., is typical. His shop now competes with a nearby Sam’s Club, Target and Wal-Mart. Sales are down 3% this year and, although he expects to break even with last year’s sales of $1.8 million, his profits are down. For instance, when The Passion of the Christ DVD was released at a $26.99 retail price last year, he sold it for $19.99. But Wal-Mart cut the price for the same DVD to $17.97
The buying power of the mega-retailers makes the economics tough for merchants as well as their suppliers. Consider that the majority of CBA members have sales of $125,000 or less. And although Christian retail has its own chains, including LifeWay Christian Stores, with 123 locations, the largest, Family Christian Stores, has only 320 locations.
Fighting back
Another major discussion point at the show focused on how best to fight back against the encroachment of secular retailers.
Bill Anderson, the CBA's president-CEO, said the situation has prompted a change in both the name of the event and an expansion of its programs to draw a wider group of participants. The annual conference, which was previously called the Christian Book Sellers Trade Show, became the International Christian Retail Show this year.
More educational business seminars were added. Worship services were beefed up in keeping with the organization's new strategy of stressing the importance of "buying Christian," and the overall programming has been enhanced with the higher-profile inclusion of well-known Christian writers, such as Stormie Omartian, author of The Power of a Praying Woman, who gave one of the keynote addresses.
'Buy Christian'
It’s not the first time the CBA has tried to coalesce its members around a "Buy Christian" concept. Six years ago, CBA created the “What Goes Into the Mind, Comes Out in a Life” program to consolidate funds from CBA retailers and create a national campaign promoting its members stores.
In April, the CBA launched a series of TV spots encouraging Christians to shop at Christian stores on the Christian Broadcasting Network as well as the ABC Family Channel. CBN created the spots and CBA and suppliers kicked in money to support the multi-million dollar campaign, scheduled to run again the third and fourth quarter of 2005 to capitalize on the holiday season.
CBA members are increasingly concerned with the ease with which the giant secular retailers have expanded their religious merchandise offerings, Mr. Anderson said. Although he conceded that “to think that Christians will shop us only because we are a Christian store is an unrealistic expectation,” he admitted he expected a little more from the category’s suppliers, mostly private, independent businesses also owned by Christians.
“Our message to them is we helped to grow your business,” Mr. Anderson said. “It’s in your best interest to create a channel management strategy to take advantage of this market and yet to respect the history and the growth gained through Christian stores.”
All Rock, No Action - An African Criticizes Those Trying to Help Africans
Live 8 was an insult to Africans and to common sense.
By JEAN-CLAUDE SHANDA TONME
New York Times
Yaounde, Cameroon
LIVE 8, that extraordinary media event that some people of good intentions in the West just orchestrated, would have left us Africans indifferent if we hadn't realized that it was an insult both to us and to common sense.
We have nothing against those who this month, in a stadium, a street, a park, in Berlin, London, Moscow, Philadelphia, gathered crowds and played guitar and talked about global poverty and aid for Africa. But we are troubled to think that they are so misguided about what Africa's real problem is, and dismayed by their willingness to propose solutions on our behalf.
We Africans know what the problem is, and no one else should speak in our name. Africa has men of letters and science, great thinkers and stifled geniuses who at the risk of torture rise up to declare the truth and demand liberty.
Don't insult Africa, this continent so rich yet so badly led. Instead, insult its leaders, who have ruined everything. Our anger is all the greater because despite all the presidents for life, despite all the evidence of genocide, we didn't hear anyone at Live 8 raise a cry for democracy in Africa.
Don't the organizers of the concerts realize that Africa lives under the oppression of rulers like Yoweri Museveni (who just eliminated term limits in Uganda so he can be president indefinitely) and Omar Bongo (who has become immensely rich in his three decades of running Gabon)? Don't they know what is happening in Cameroon, Chad, Togo and the Central African Republic? Don't they understand that fighting poverty is fruitless if dictatorships remain in place?
Even more puzzling is why Youssou N'Dour and other Africans participated in this charade. Like us, they can't help but know that Africa's real problem is the lack of freedom of expression, the usurpation of power, the brutal oppression.
Neither debt relief nor huge amounts of food aid nor an invasion of experts will change anything. Those will merely prop up the continent's dictators. It's up to each nation to liberate itself and to help itself. When there is a problem in the United States, in Britain, in France, the citizens vote to change their leaders. And those times when it wasn't possible to freely vote to change those leaders, the people revolted.
In Africa, our leaders have led us into misery, and we need to rid ourselves of these cancers. We would have preferred for the musicians in Philadelphia and London to have marched and sung for political revolution. Instead, they mourned a corpse while forgetting to denounce the murderer.
What is at issue is an Africa where dictators kill, steal and usurp power yet are treated like heroes at meetings of the African Union. What is at issue is rulers like François Bozizé, the coup leader running the Central Africa Republic, and Faure Gnassingbé, who just succeeded his father as president of Togo, free to trample universal suffrage and muzzle their people with no danger that they'll lose their seats at the United Nations. Who here wants a concert against poverty when an African is born, lives and dies without ever being able to vote freely?
But the truth is that it was not for us, for Africa, that the musicians at Live 8 were singing; it was to amuse the crowds and to clear their own consciences, and whether they realized it or not, to reinforce dictatorships. They still believe us to be like children that they must save, as if we don't realize ourselves what the source of our problems is.
Jean-Claude Shanda Tonme is a consultant on international law and a columnist for Le Messager, a Cameroonian daily, where a version of this article first appeared. This article was translated by The Times from the French.
By JEAN-CLAUDE SHANDA TONME
New York Times
Yaounde, Cameroon
LIVE 8, that extraordinary media event that some people of good intentions in the West just orchestrated, would have left us Africans indifferent if we hadn't realized that it was an insult both to us and to common sense.
We have nothing against those who this month, in a stadium, a street, a park, in Berlin, London, Moscow, Philadelphia, gathered crowds and played guitar and talked about global poverty and aid for Africa. But we are troubled to think that they are so misguided about what Africa's real problem is, and dismayed by their willingness to propose solutions on our behalf.
We Africans know what the problem is, and no one else should speak in our name. Africa has men of letters and science, great thinkers and stifled geniuses who at the risk of torture rise up to declare the truth and demand liberty.
Don't insult Africa, this continent so rich yet so badly led. Instead, insult its leaders, who have ruined everything. Our anger is all the greater because despite all the presidents for life, despite all the evidence of genocide, we didn't hear anyone at Live 8 raise a cry for democracy in Africa.
Don't the organizers of the concerts realize that Africa lives under the oppression of rulers like Yoweri Museveni (who just eliminated term limits in Uganda so he can be president indefinitely) and Omar Bongo (who has become immensely rich in his three decades of running Gabon)? Don't they know what is happening in Cameroon, Chad, Togo and the Central African Republic? Don't they understand that fighting poverty is fruitless if dictatorships remain in place?
Even more puzzling is why Youssou N'Dour and other Africans participated in this charade. Like us, they can't help but know that Africa's real problem is the lack of freedom of expression, the usurpation of power, the brutal oppression.
Neither debt relief nor huge amounts of food aid nor an invasion of experts will change anything. Those will merely prop up the continent's dictators. It's up to each nation to liberate itself and to help itself. When there is a problem in the United States, in Britain, in France, the citizens vote to change their leaders. And those times when it wasn't possible to freely vote to change those leaders, the people revolted.
In Africa, our leaders have led us into misery, and we need to rid ourselves of these cancers. We would have preferred for the musicians in Philadelphia and London to have marched and sung for political revolution. Instead, they mourned a corpse while forgetting to denounce the murderer.
What is at issue is an Africa where dictators kill, steal and usurp power yet are treated like heroes at meetings of the African Union. What is at issue is rulers like François Bozizé, the coup leader running the Central Africa Republic, and Faure Gnassingbé, who just succeeded his father as president of Togo, free to trample universal suffrage and muzzle their people with no danger that they'll lose their seats at the United Nations. Who here wants a concert against poverty when an African is born, lives and dies without ever being able to vote freely?
But the truth is that it was not for us, for Africa, that the musicians at Live 8 were singing; it was to amuse the crowds and to clear their own consciences, and whether they realized it or not, to reinforce dictatorships. They still believe us to be like children that they must save, as if we don't realize ourselves what the source of our problems is.
Jean-Claude Shanda Tonme is a consultant on international law and a columnist for Le Messager, a Cameroonian daily, where a version of this article first appeared. This article was translated by The Times from the French.
Racial Disparity Found in Ex-Convict Job Opportunities
Democracy Now!
White men coming out of prison get more than double the number of job offers that African American ex-convicts receive, and about the same number as African American men with no previous prison record. This according to a new study by two Princeton professors that sent White, Black and Latino men posing as ex-convicts to apply for thousands of job interviews in New York City. The study found that for every ten Black men without criminal convictions who receive a job offer or callback, only three with convictions got positive responses. This compares to seven out of ten White men. Nationwide, one in three Black men with only a high school diploma will go to prison before turning forty.
White men coming out of prison get more than double the number of job offers that African American ex-convicts receive, and about the same number as African American men with no previous prison record. This according to a new study by two Princeton professors that sent White, Black and Latino men posing as ex-convicts to apply for thousands of job interviews in New York City. The study found that for every ten Black men without criminal convictions who receive a job offer or callback, only three with convictions got positive responses. This compares to seven out of ten White men. Nationwide, one in three Black men with only a high school diploma will go to prison before turning forty.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Job Opportunities
Thanks a great deal to Monet Cooper!
editors of Media and OMMA Magazines (www.mediapostpublications.com ), which target the media planning and buying community, are looking for a freelance copy editor to assist with editing and production in September. We need an experienced & speedy Quark expert who knows AP Style and is easy-going and comfortable in a fast-paced environment. Please send a cover letter including your rate, and your resume to Jennifer at jcoleman@mediapost.com
Laptop magazine (NYC), the leading mobile technology magazine, is looking for a full-time researcher. Job responsibilities include heavy fact checking, generating story ideas and some writing. The ideal candidate must be detail oriented, persistent and thrive under deadline. Fact checking experience and some familiarity with mobile tech required.Salary is under $30K and the job includes heath and dental coverage. Please send a cover email and resume to mspoonauer@bedfordmags.com
Esquire (NYC) might be looking for an editorial assistant . Tipster doesn't know who the correct contact person would be though.
Bedford Communications' LAPTOP Magazine is looking for a fact checker. It is for the assistant editor position. You should be interested in technology and detail-oriented. Great position for recent grads. You can send resumes to Matt Bertz at mbertz@bedfordmags.com
Black Beat & Right On! two of the oldest and most respected teen urban music magazines are seeking an imaginative, visionary, and energetic full-time associate editor to pitch and write articles for the publication and the website. Candidates should be extremely organized, detail-oriented and able to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment. Strong copy editing skills are a must. Significant knowledge of hip-hop music and culture required as well as a thirst for gossip and entertainment. Knowledge of basic HTML, Photoshop, ImageReady, QuarkXPress and scanning are a plus. Our offices are located in NYC. Please send a resume, cover letter and 3-5 clips ASAP to Danica Daniel at ddaniel@dorchestermedia.com Starting salary is $25,000 but the perks are priceless. Please do NOT call-we will only contact candidates of interest.
Funnydebutante.com, a lifestyle trends e-newsletter launching in Sept is looking for a freelance writer to spot new trends. Pay is very low, but would give you good clips. Interested writers should email info@funnydebutante.com
Hachette Filipacchi Media will be looking for a production assistant for Woman's Day SIP's and For Me magazine. The current production assistant just gave notice and the Production Department is waiting for approval from H.R. to begin interviewing. Send resumes to Human Resources department at Hachette Filipacchi.
Saturday Night Magazine is seeking accomplished (and aspiring) writers. This is a great opportunity to get published and to learn more about the magazine industry. Opportunities are endless; writers will be able to give ideas for stories, headlines, lead-ins, art and design. Writers may also have the opportunity to interview celebrities, attend exclusive events, and receive free concert or theater tickets. Candidates must be well organized, be able to meet deadlines and be conscious of details and overall style. You must be creative, flexible and able to produce quality material. The magazine is a monthly publication. Saturday Night Magazine is a hip, up-and-coming magazine that is distributed at 10 colleges in the Los Angeles area. Primarily a news and entertainment college magazine, the content consists of fashion, city nightlife, celebrity interviews, and also includes political pieces, humor and career tips. You can find out more about the magazine at www.snmag.com. Also looking for illustrators and photographers. Please send resume, writing samples (if any) and a cover letter about why you wish to work for SNMag. Editorial contact: Bryce Longton, bryce@snmag.com; Art/Photo contact: Melissa Tran, melissa@snmag.com
Bridal Guide magazine is looking for an outgoing and friendly intern to assist our Art/Photo department and Production manager in all phases of magazine design and production. Our ideal candidate will have strong phone skills, be an organized, self-starter and questions asker. Candidate will be someone who is interested in the magazine business and understands that there is something to be learned from even the most menial-seeming tasks. Intern responsibilities include but are not limited to; assisting with scanning and trafficking art, photo research and administrative duties, among other tasks and projects. Design is possible. Candidate MUST possess a thorough knowledge of QuarkXPress, PhotoShop and scanning software. Qualified candidates only, need apply. Position is 3 days a week. Internship is unpaid. College credit or non-credit. Please email resumes and cover letters to Ms. Morgan Jennings, Assistant Art Director at mjennings@bridalguide.com No Phone Calls Please!
MTV NETWORKS// BET ACADEMIC CREDIT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
The Affiliate Sales and Marketing and Local Ad Sales departments of MTV Networks are looking for hard working individuals to fill internships in the Atlanta office. This program will give interns valuable insight into the Sales, Marketing, and Ad Sales sectors of the cable industry. Interns will learn first hand how MTV Networks increases distribution of its channels, accomplishes essential business objectives, and maximizes its brand image.
An MTV Networks Internship in the affiliate sales and marketing department will allow college students to work in an innovative, progressive, fast paced and professional environment. Students are exposed to many levels of MTV Networks, which has proven to be an invaluable experience to individuals interested in pursuing a career in the areas of Sales, Marketing, and Advertising.
CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY:
* MTV Networks Intern Program is geared toward upperclassmen (juniors/seniors) and eligible sophomores.
* The program runs during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.
* Students must be registered for an internship for academic credit with their college or university, and must provide official documentation on school letterhead confirming this information upon acceptance of the internship.
* The program runs for a minimum of 10 weeks (excluding weekends).
* Students must be available to work a minimum of 12 hours per week.
* Application dates for resume submissions are rolling.
All interested candidates please fax resume and cover letter Attention to: Tami Summerville, MTV Networks// BET at 404.814.7812 or tami.summerville@mtvn.com. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. Please be sure to indicate which term you are interested in.
Tami Summerville | MTV Networks // BET
f 404.814.7812
tami.summerville@mtvn.com
House and Garden magazine is seeking an assistant to report to two editors in the style department. The position involves assisting with photo shoots, so the ideal candidate would have a background in art or design. Magazine experience is preferred but not required. Please forward resumes to kim_gieske@condenast.com
Food Business Unit of Publications International , Ltd. (www.pubint.com) is looking for a few good editors, especially those with a cooking/food background. The ideal candidate will have experience editing and writing for general circulation/newsstand publications AND with custom published projects. Food experience a tremendous plus, but we're willing to consider the right candidates who have at least a general mastery of everyday home cooking. Our offices are located in north suburban Chicago, easily accessible to the city. Positions also available for Chicago-based graphic artists/art directors. Please contact Greg Hollander directly at ghollander@pubint.com (but no phone calls!).
www.flavorpill.net is looking for culture-minded interns to work in their New York City office 10-15 hours a week. E-mail resume to nyc_interns@flavorpill.net
Audubon Magazine is looking for an intern in the photo department. Audubon is a beautiful magazine that has just celebrated its 100th anniversary. It is a national society magazine that specializes in conserving our environment and animals. If you like nature photography this is the job for you. It is a small magazine staff so you will have hands on creativity input and a great overview on how a magazine runs. It is a 3 month min internship that pays $6 per hour. We would like someone 3 days a week and to start asap!!!!! Contact the photo editor Kim Hubbard at khubbard@audubon.org or 212 979 3000.
Quick & Simple , Hearst's new weekly women's lifestyle magazine, is looking for a diligent, organized, and enthusiastic editorial intern to help out in the BEAUTY department during the fall semester. Duties include researching beauty products, fact checking stories, filing press releases and products, acting as a liaison with PR representatives, organizing the beauty closet and contact lists and helping the beauty editors with daily tasks. (May also be asked to help out in the fashion department, as needed). This position is unpaid, and college credit is required. Prior office experience is a plus, as well as the ability to keep up in an extremely fast-paced environment...(we're a weekly)! Ideally, our intern should be able to work 2 days a week. To apply, send resume, cover letter, and availability dates to ajacksoncannady@hearst.com with "Internship" in the subject line.
fashion designer is looking for an unpaid intern to help with upcoming spring 2006 runway show in New York. Intern will assist public relations director and sales director. Need ASAP. Please fax resumes to 212-242-2168.
Hey y’all-
Now, I know this job description may sound a little boring.
But as the web producer for Sex, Etc., you would get to help teens from all the over the world understand their sexual health questions and concerns. Sex Etc is THE most comprehensive site on sex ed for teens online - it gets more than 60,000 unique visits per day from teens all over the world, sharing their stories, questions and concerns. And the Network has put in motion a dynamic plan to change its image and dramatically increase those numbers – with a newly launched magazine and two-week cross country tour and a newly designed website and logo by next year.
If you have web producing skills, I really encourage you to apply. I would love to see someone of color and/or with an alternative sexuality bring their sass and energy to the Network in the position. This is chance to truly bring creativity and innovation to your job.
The staff is dynamic, open-minded, young and really committed to making a difference. When the site re-launches next year, it plans to be working with the most functional and cutting-edge technology.
Plus, since the Network is housed at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the benefits are amazing! Free tuition, very generous health care packages and 401K plans, lots of extra benefits.
Check out the website at www.sexetc.org, and send in your resume today!
A valon Travel Publishing is seeking writers to author four new guidebooks: Moon Handbooks Greece and Moon Handbooks Spain. We are seeking one author for each book. THESE ARE CONTRACT POSITIONS, NOT FULL-TIME OFFICE JOBS.
For more information please visit their website.
Freelance writers wanted for WORD|san diego Magazine, the Monthly Magazine Celebrating and Connecting San Diego's Writers and Readers. Articles on writers, writing, living the writing life. Essays, especially essays on the writing life and check out our Arrivals and Departures department... Interviews of well-known and not-so-well-know, hard working writers... (Our September issue featrues an interview of David Sedaris. We have featured writers like Ray Bradbury, Victor Villaseñor, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Arianna Huffington, and Janell Cannon.) For our Writer's Guidelines, send us your email address with "Writer's Guidelines" in the subject to: BackTalk@WORDsandiego.com
SCREENPLAYS WANTED
** Remember - DO NOT SEND MATERIAL TO ANYONE LISTED UNLESS YOU ARE CERTAIN THE COMPANY AND/OR PRODUCER IS LEGIT AND YOUR WORK HAS BEEN COPYRIGHTED.
Limhaj Films L.L.C
Credits: Avail. Upon Req.
Is there money upfront? Notg.
Contact Person: Michael Paolini
Email: MikePaolini@LimhajFilms.com
Writer Wanted: Limhaj Films, an up and coming production company is searching for a writer to write a full script based on an outline provided by the producers. The writer must be experienced in writing comedies and must be able to write an extremely funny screenplay. Please Send a copy of your resume and a sample of your writings to... MikePaolini@LimhajFilms.com NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE!
SAN FRAN MUSEUM LOOKING FOR
STORIES TO TELL: Project seeks to archive
‘first voice’ narratives about people of African
descent.
*In Africa it is said that when a griot, or
oral historian, dies, "a library has burned to
the ground." In recognition of the fabled
tradition of the griot and in an effort to
document stories of the African Diaspora,
San Francisco's Museum of the African
Diaspora (MoAD) has embarked on a
landmark project.
I've Known Rivers: The MoAD Story
Project is an unprecedented effort by an
international museum to collect, publish,
and archive "first voice" narratives about
people of African descent. MoAD has
issued a global Call for Stories in an effort
to collect, publish and archive authentic
stories from throughout the African Diaspora.
Stories should be submitted in the form
of first-person essay, short fiction, and poem
by published and unpublished writers as
well as authentic voices from across the
African Diaspora. Additionally, the stories
must be related to MoAD's four founding
themes: origin, movement, adaptation, and
transformation. Stories should be submitted
no later than November 1, 2005.
In light of the recent devastation caused
by Hurricane Katrina and its effect on the
lives of thousands of African Americans,
this project's story-collecting mission takes
on an even greater significance.
For submission guidelines and to learn
how you can write yourself into history,
please visit http://www.iveknownrivers.org/.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
ART SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR KATRINA SURVIVORS. - The School of Art at Louisiana State University at Woodbury, through the offices of NASAD The National Association of Schools of Art and Design, an organization that accredits art and design programs, has issued a call for art supplies to help the children and artists affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The supplies will go to children and adults now living in shelters throughout the Baton Rouge area. The supplies will hopefully serve as a morale booster for children attending the now over crowded and under funded schools in the area in addition to allowing local artists the means to rebuild their careers in the wake of losing their life’s work.
All donations can be sent directly to the School of Art office at the address below.
Stuart Baron
Director, School of Art
Louisiana State University
123 Art Building
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803
225.578.5414 (office)
225.578.5424 (fax)
baron@lsu.edu
editors of Media and OMMA Magazines (www.mediapostpublications.com ), which target the media planning and buying community, are looking for a freelance copy editor to assist with editing and production in September. We need an experienced & speedy Quark expert who knows AP Style and is easy-going and comfortable in a fast-paced environment. Please send a cover letter including your rate, and your resume to Jennifer at jcoleman@mediapost.com
Laptop magazine (NYC), the leading mobile technology magazine, is looking for a full-time researcher. Job responsibilities include heavy fact checking, generating story ideas and some writing. The ideal candidate must be detail oriented, persistent and thrive under deadline. Fact checking experience and some familiarity with mobile tech required.Salary is under $30K and the job includes heath and dental coverage. Please send a cover email and resume to mspoonauer@bedfordmags.com
Esquire (NYC) might be looking for an editorial assistant . Tipster doesn't know who the correct contact person would be though.
Bedford Communications' LAPTOP Magazine is looking for a fact checker. It is for the assistant editor position. You should be interested in technology and detail-oriented. Great position for recent grads. You can send resumes to Matt Bertz at mbertz@bedfordmags.com
Black Beat & Right On! two of the oldest and most respected teen urban music magazines are seeking an imaginative, visionary, and energetic full-time associate editor to pitch and write articles for the publication and the website. Candidates should be extremely organized, detail-oriented and able to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment. Strong copy editing skills are a must. Significant knowledge of hip-hop music and culture required as well as a thirst for gossip and entertainment. Knowledge of basic HTML, Photoshop, ImageReady, QuarkXPress and scanning are a plus. Our offices are located in NYC. Please send a resume, cover letter and 3-5 clips ASAP to Danica Daniel at ddaniel@dorchestermedia.com Starting salary is $25,000 but the perks are priceless. Please do NOT call-we will only contact candidates of interest.
Funnydebutante.com, a lifestyle trends e-newsletter launching in Sept is looking for a freelance writer to spot new trends. Pay is very low, but would give you good clips. Interested writers should email info@funnydebutante.com
Hachette Filipacchi Media will be looking for a production assistant for Woman's Day SIP's and For Me magazine. The current production assistant just gave notice and the Production Department is waiting for approval from H.R. to begin interviewing. Send resumes to Human Resources department at Hachette Filipacchi.
Saturday Night Magazine is seeking accomplished (and aspiring) writers. This is a great opportunity to get published and to learn more about the magazine industry. Opportunities are endless; writers will be able to give ideas for stories, headlines, lead-ins, art and design. Writers may also have the opportunity to interview celebrities, attend exclusive events, and receive free concert or theater tickets. Candidates must be well organized, be able to meet deadlines and be conscious of details and overall style. You must be creative, flexible and able to produce quality material. The magazine is a monthly publication. Saturday Night Magazine is a hip, up-and-coming magazine that is distributed at 10 colleges in the Los Angeles area. Primarily a news and entertainment college magazine, the content consists of fashion, city nightlife, celebrity interviews, and also includes political pieces, humor and career tips. You can find out more about the magazine at www.snmag.com. Also looking for illustrators and photographers. Please send resume, writing samples (if any) and a cover letter about why you wish to work for SNMag. Editorial contact: Bryce Longton, bryce@snmag.com; Art/Photo contact: Melissa Tran, melissa@snmag.com
Bridal Guide magazine is looking for an outgoing and friendly intern to assist our Art/Photo department and Production manager in all phases of magazine design and production. Our ideal candidate will have strong phone skills, be an organized, self-starter and questions asker. Candidate will be someone who is interested in the magazine business and understands that there is something to be learned from even the most menial-seeming tasks. Intern responsibilities include but are not limited to; assisting with scanning and trafficking art, photo research and administrative duties, among other tasks and projects. Design is possible. Candidate MUST possess a thorough knowledge of QuarkXPress, PhotoShop and scanning software. Qualified candidates only, need apply. Position is 3 days a week. Internship is unpaid. College credit or non-credit. Please email resumes and cover letters to Ms. Morgan Jennings, Assistant Art Director at mjennings@bridalguide.com No Phone Calls Please!
MTV NETWORKS// BET ACADEMIC CREDIT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
The Affiliate Sales and Marketing and Local Ad Sales departments of MTV Networks are looking for hard working individuals to fill internships in the Atlanta office. This program will give interns valuable insight into the Sales, Marketing, and Ad Sales sectors of the cable industry. Interns will learn first hand how MTV Networks increases distribution of its channels, accomplishes essential business objectives, and maximizes its brand image.
An MTV Networks Internship in the affiliate sales and marketing department will allow college students to work in an innovative, progressive, fast paced and professional environment. Students are exposed to many levels of MTV Networks, which has proven to be an invaluable experience to individuals interested in pursuing a career in the areas of Sales, Marketing, and Advertising.
CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY:
* MTV Networks Intern Program is geared toward upperclassmen (juniors/seniors) and eligible sophomores.
* The program runs during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.
* Students must be registered for an internship for academic credit with their college or university, and must provide official documentation on school letterhead confirming this information upon acceptance of the internship.
* The program runs for a minimum of 10 weeks (excluding weekends).
* Students must be available to work a minimum of 12 hours per week.
* Application dates for resume submissions are rolling.
All interested candidates please fax resume and cover letter Attention to: Tami Summerville, MTV Networks// BET at 404.814.7812 or tami.summerville@mtvn.com. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. Please be sure to indicate which term you are interested in.
Tami Summerville | MTV Networks // BET
f 404.814.7812
tami.summerville@mtvn.com
House and Garden magazine is seeking an assistant to report to two editors in the style department. The position involves assisting with photo shoots, so the ideal candidate would have a background in art or design. Magazine experience is preferred but not required. Please forward resumes to kim_gieske@condenast.com
Food Business Unit of Publications International , Ltd. (www.pubint.com) is looking for a few good editors, especially those with a cooking/food background. The ideal candidate will have experience editing and writing for general circulation/newsstand publications AND with custom published projects. Food experience a tremendous plus, but we're willing to consider the right candidates who have at least a general mastery of everyday home cooking. Our offices are located in north suburban Chicago, easily accessible to the city. Positions also available for Chicago-based graphic artists/art directors. Please contact Greg Hollander directly at ghollander@pubint.com (but no phone calls!).
www.flavorpill.net is looking for culture-minded interns to work in their New York City office 10-15 hours a week. E-mail resume to nyc_interns@flavorpill.net
Audubon Magazine is looking for an intern in the photo department. Audubon is a beautiful magazine that has just celebrated its 100th anniversary. It is a national society magazine that specializes in conserving our environment and animals. If you like nature photography this is the job for you. It is a small magazine staff so you will have hands on creativity input and a great overview on how a magazine runs. It is a 3 month min internship that pays $6 per hour. We would like someone 3 days a week and to start asap!!!!! Contact the photo editor Kim Hubbard at khubbard@audubon.org or 212 979 3000.
Quick & Simple , Hearst's new weekly women's lifestyle magazine, is looking for a diligent, organized, and enthusiastic editorial intern to help out in the BEAUTY department during the fall semester. Duties include researching beauty products, fact checking stories, filing press releases and products, acting as a liaison with PR representatives, organizing the beauty closet and contact lists and helping the beauty editors with daily tasks. (May also be asked to help out in the fashion department, as needed). This position is unpaid, and college credit is required. Prior office experience is a plus, as well as the ability to keep up in an extremely fast-paced environment...(we're a weekly)! Ideally, our intern should be able to work 2 days a week. To apply, send resume, cover letter, and availability dates to ajacksoncannady@hearst.com with "Internship" in the subject line.
fashion designer is looking for an unpaid intern to help with upcoming spring 2006 runway show in New York. Intern will assist public relations director and sales director. Need ASAP. Please fax resumes to 212-242-2168.
Hey y’all-
Now, I know this job description may sound a little boring.
But as the web producer for Sex, Etc., you would get to help teens from all the over the world understand their sexual health questions and concerns. Sex Etc is THE most comprehensive site on sex ed for teens online - it gets more than 60,000 unique visits per day from teens all over the world, sharing their stories, questions and concerns. And the Network has put in motion a dynamic plan to change its image and dramatically increase those numbers – with a newly launched magazine and two-week cross country tour and a newly designed website and logo by next year.
If you have web producing skills, I really encourage you to apply. I would love to see someone of color and/or with an alternative sexuality bring their sass and energy to the Network in the position. This is chance to truly bring creativity and innovation to your job.
The staff is dynamic, open-minded, young and really committed to making a difference. When the site re-launches next year, it plans to be working with the most functional and cutting-edge technology.
Plus, since the Network is housed at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the benefits are amazing! Free tuition, very generous health care packages and 401K plans, lots of extra benefits.
Check out the website at www.sexetc.org, and send in your resume today!
A valon Travel Publishing is seeking writers to author four new guidebooks: Moon Handbooks Greece and Moon Handbooks Spain. We are seeking one author for each book. THESE ARE CONTRACT POSITIONS, NOT FULL-TIME OFFICE JOBS.
For more information please visit their website.
Freelance writers wanted for WORD|san diego Magazine, the Monthly Magazine Celebrating and Connecting San Diego's Writers and Readers. Articles on writers, writing, living the writing life. Essays, especially essays on the writing life and check out our Arrivals and Departures department... Interviews of well-known and not-so-well-know, hard working writers... (Our September issue featrues an interview of David Sedaris. We have featured writers like Ray Bradbury, Victor Villaseñor, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Arianna Huffington, and Janell Cannon.) For our Writer's Guidelines, send us your email address with "Writer's Guidelines" in the subject to: BackTalk@WORDsandiego.com
SCREENPLAYS WANTED
** Remember - DO NOT SEND MATERIAL TO ANYONE LISTED UNLESS YOU ARE CERTAIN THE COMPANY AND/OR PRODUCER IS LEGIT AND YOUR WORK HAS BEEN COPYRIGHTED.
Limhaj Films L.L.C
Credits: Avail. Upon Req.
Is there money upfront? Notg.
Contact Person: Michael Paolini
Email: MikePaolini@LimhajFilms.com
Writer Wanted: Limhaj Films, an up and coming production company is searching for a writer to write a full script based on an outline provided by the producers. The writer must be experienced in writing comedies and must be able to write an extremely funny screenplay. Please Send a copy of your resume and a sample of your writings to... MikePaolini@LimhajFilms.com NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE!
SAN FRAN MUSEUM LOOKING FOR
STORIES TO TELL: Project seeks to archive
‘first voice’ narratives about people of African
descent.
*In Africa it is said that when a griot, or
oral historian, dies, "a library has burned to
the ground." In recognition of the fabled
tradition of the griot and in an effort to
document stories of the African Diaspora,
San Francisco's Museum of the African
Diaspora (MoAD) has embarked on a
landmark project.
I've Known Rivers: The MoAD Story
Project is an unprecedented effort by an
international museum to collect, publish,
and archive "first voice" narratives about
people of African descent. MoAD has
issued a global Call for Stories in an effort
to collect, publish and archive authentic
stories from throughout the African Diaspora.
Stories should be submitted in the form
of first-person essay, short fiction, and poem
by published and unpublished writers as
well as authentic voices from across the
African Diaspora. Additionally, the stories
must be related to MoAD's four founding
themes: origin, movement, adaptation, and
transformation. Stories should be submitted
no later than November 1, 2005.
In light of the recent devastation caused
by Hurricane Katrina and its effect on the
lives of thousands of African Americans,
this project's story-collecting mission takes
on an even greater significance.
For submission guidelines and to learn
how you can write yourself into history,
please visit http://www.iveknownrivers.org/.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
ART SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR KATRINA SURVIVORS. - The School of Art at Louisiana State University at Woodbury, through the offices of NASAD The National Association of Schools of Art and Design, an organization that accredits art and design programs, has issued a call for art supplies to help the children and artists affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The supplies will go to children and adults now living in shelters throughout the Baton Rouge area. The supplies will hopefully serve as a morale booster for children attending the now over crowded and under funded schools in the area in addition to allowing local artists the means to rebuild their careers in the wake of losing their life’s work.
All donations can be sent directly to the School of Art office at the address below.
Stuart Baron
Director, School of Art
Louisiana State University
123 Art Building
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803
225.578.5414 (office)
225.578.5424 (fax)
baron@lsu.edu
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
