Drama about Chibok Girls in a Nigerian school
The Missing Chibok Girls
The missing girls are not forgotten, though the Nigerian government does not seem able to find or rescue them. School children in Nigeria are creating and watching dramas about the abduction of girls. I read about their efforts in BBC’s World News about Africa.
The picture shows “a performance about the girls being held hostage in Nigeria [that] has touched the hearts of many people.”
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, the journalist, reported that she was surprised to learn of the activities at several schools that are helping the students and their parents stay up to date on any progress. From her article I gather she was also pleased.
Sick and Tired
Fannie Lou Hamer, photo by Bettmann/Corbis
In this Daily Beast article the journalist Lottie Joiner recalls the 1964 Democratic Convention when Fannie Lou Hamer made her famous remark, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired!”
Hamer, a poor share-cropper from Mississippi, was addressing the credentials committee of the convention, arguing that the ‘official’ delegation to the convention was not representative of the people of Mississippi. Her remarks were televised nationwide.
Joiner reports that President Lyndon Johnson was more afraid of her testimony than Martin Luther King’s testimony, according to Bob Moses of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. So Johnson scheduled an impromptu press conference to interpret her comments. But enough people had heard, and Joiner says, “The event became a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement and a historic time in Mississippi politics.”
My friend Jane
In the Garden
My friend Jane Sherman, an accomplished writer, posted this lovely essay. She’s also an accomplished gardener. Her dedicated care shows – I’ve seen her garden many times. I envy it. But unfortunately not enough to imitate!
Perhaps if I’d lived in the U.S. during the years when our children were growing up I might have followed the example of my mother and grandmother and become a gardener. But in Nigeria I had little incentive or interest. We had a frangipani tree with white blossoms in our yard, ixora bushes with their bright red flowers lining the driveway, and a hibiscus plant that grew by the gate. The gardener who doubled as the gate man, or watch-day, took care of them.
Labor Day Answers
Here are the first two answers to my Labor Day questions from the Department of Labor website.
“The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public ‘the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations’ of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families.” In New York City on Sept 5 1882 a parade was held.
The first recognition by any government came with municipal ordinances in 1985 and 1986. In the next few years many states passed laws creating a day honoring workers. On June 28 1894 Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
Your Interests?
Not one comment or answer to my Labor Day questions and quotes!
Let me know what you’d like to read about. You can comment below, and see if others agree, or you can send me an email at conyemelukwe@gmail.com. I love to hear from you.
