February 2, 2023
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
4 Comments

Happy New Year?

Happy New Year, Only One Month+ Late!

In January I was at a group discussing our new “Principle.” This is the 8th Principle, joining our other seven Principles. The other seven have been around for several, indeed many, years, though one has been changed from “man” to “person.”

Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael

These Principles cover the items important to us as a congregation. They are the building blocks for us.

The first Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person. This Principle, like the others, gives us a guide to what we believe.

The second: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations. I think this Principle is about how we talk with others with a strong sense of belief in what each person is about.

The third Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. This reminds us to be attentive to each other as well as to ourselves.

If you want, you can examine the fourth and fifth Principles in the file WorshipWeb. I will tell you about the sixth: The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all. And the seventh: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence in which we are all a part.

We were meeting to discuss the 8th Principle. It had been drawn up in draft form by many congregations who have expressed interest in this. We would like to add our name to the list.

Of course we first had to ascertain what else we want in the Principle. Do we wish to add anything about racism or any other topic? Or do we just accept it as it is?

For the conversation about race and racism, Rev. Anya helped me out. She gave me her sermon on “Race and Racism.”

What did she say that was important to me?

She said, “Be here now in this moment. We have agency, we have the right, to effect change.” And she refers to ending racial injustice, ending racial inequality, now! We must have a dream of our time, living now, today.

Notes from a Finance Meeting

The picture is not our Finance Committee. It’s just a picture I found on the web as a reminder of our own! For our own Finance Committee, I have a comment by the chair.

The Finance Committee chair was speaking at our session on the 8th Principle about the endowment. But I missed the chance to ask about the amount, overall, in our endowment.

I was puzzled because he served on both the finance and endowment committees. These joint committee appointments are not allowed by our church in Westport Connecticut. So no one can be on both committees at the same time.

After all, the Finance Committee is in charge of the overall health of the congregation. The Endowment Committee is given the task of helping the congregation cover any shortfall or to hold onto funds until needed.

Happy New Year!

Lots of friends sent me Happy New Year or Merry Christmas cards. I would like to offer many thanks for these wonderful cards, letters, and photographs.

I don’t think I’m going to send out cards now. It seems a little late! Maybe next year?

December 7, 2022
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
4 Comments

My Lovely Boxes

My party on July 27

My Favorite Party

My farewell party was a hoot, though I can’t remember it well. I can’t believe it was just about 4 1/2 months ago! It seems like it was years and years ago!

I cannot actually recall much about the party! I was there, obviously. I was in photos from the party. My daughter Beth is beside me. Eileen in on my left, Priscilla on my right. I know that I sat across from Karen and her husband Chris, whose name I have almost forgotten.

I believe Ed was there. He is our Music Director from the Westport (CT) Unitarian Church. Rev. John and his wife were not there. They were in Maine for the summer. Harold and his wife were there, though they came a little late. Harold is the chair of our TEAM Westport group.

Judy Hamer and many others were there with me. I included the Black couple who were with me in 1978 or so, in Nigeria. They have been back in Westport for at least 30 years, probably much longer. Frank and Priscilla, in the picture, are their names.

Seniors need a home

Seniors Need a Home

Looking at the recent paper – 6 days ago – I noticed the major article, “Seniors pushing town for services.” The town is very concerned about the lack of volunteers. This lack leads directly to the council members, so the council can’t any longer ignore the calls of seniors.

Amy Lippel, the president of Montclair Gateway, says two ongoing issues deserve attention. One is the absence of a director for Senior Services, going on for a year and three quarters. Katie York left the job in March 2021, followed by the departure of Susan Portuese, the director of Health and Human Services 4 months later. The other is the decades-long struggle for a permanent senior center.

She says services for seniors “have been splintered, leading to a duplication among organizations and depriving people of a central source of information.” I certainly know the website is out of date.

The 5000 postcards Amy is sending contain a QR code “that gives residents the chance to link to a short signup and survey form.” Fortunately, the QR code is accompanied by the organizations’ phone number and email, though I’m not sure where the calls will end up.

I am sympathetic to Michelle DeWitt, the coordinator for Senior Services. She has been keeping the program going every day, essentially doing two jobs. She is in charge of Edgemont Park, a senior center of sorts, where there is a small house that holds places for seniors but also others to meet.

Amy Lippel says, “It just hurts that these people were struggling to find something not for themselves, but for the next generation.” She recalls the people who came before, even more than 20 years ago, and says, “we’re still struggling with the same issues.”

Let’s hope those postcards get a response!

My little boxes

Things I Remember from Long Ago

I need to take something I remember to our sale on Friday night. The Unitarian Universalists in Montclair call it ‘yankee swap’. (A yankee swap is similar to a grab bag, except that “all of us sweet, well behaved UU’s get an opportunity to ruthlessly steal each other’s gifts.”)

All right! I’ll look at my little boxes and other belongings gathered over many, many years.

I can’t remember when I started collecting more serious belongings like the bronze alligator and leopard. Or the four different vases, and the matchbox cover like a stuffed shoe. I will take a picture of these wonderful items.

I’ll send it to you! And I’ll take a wonderful box, about 2 inches around, with lovely pictures of birds on the cover.

November 29, 2022
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
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Our New 8th Principle

Words from Ed Thompson

Our Minister of Music | The Unitarian Church in Westport

Unitarian Universalist Church at Montclair, known as UUCM, is my new home. I like it a lot, but I miss my old church, The Unitarian Church in Westport, Connecticut. I especially miss my music director, Ed Thompson.

Apparently, he had a stroke in late September or early October. He was in the hospital for a couple of weeks and in a recovery center for another couple of weeks. Now he is directing the choir again.

I had an email from him on Wednesday; I don’t know why I didn’t receive the others but somehow I did not. It was simply a reminder of no rehearsal last Thursday night. It also included singing on Sunday and wishing us all a happy Thanksgiving. So I emailed him back – just to him – to say I hope he is doing well.

The 8th Principle

Our congregation in Westport had a hand in crafting the 8th principle. Kathy Roberts led the effort for us. I cannot now remember how she shared it with us. But I think it was after my stroke.

I was totally on board with the principle. I believe this has now been adopted by many of our congregations, but I am not sure of the exact number at this time.

The 8th Principle is a call to end white supremacy. It also ensures the word “love” is somehow there.

As one of our leaders has explained, “The Principles are not dogma or doctrine, but rather a guide for those of us who choose to join and participate in Unitarian Universalist religious communities.”

I give them to you here, including the 8th principle:

  1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
  2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
  3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
  4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
  5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
  6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
  7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
  8. Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

Our “Principles”

The 8th Principle of Unitarian UniversalismOur principles, or Principles if you like, are calls to action. They reflect our own selves and the others in the world. The second one asks for “justice, equity and compassion” in our interactions with others. In fact, in all our interactions with people far and wide, the call is there. The third highlights “our acceptance of one another” in all our diversity. This also tells us to grow spiritually. The fourth tells us to be responsible in our “search for truth and meaning.”

I especially like the fifth principle: use of conscience “and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.” I like that agreement.

The sixth is a reflection of all society and holding these truths to be universal. The seventh is a call for action for our part in the world. I believe this involves respecting the web of all our existence and working to reflect that.

So how is the 8th principle different?

The 8th principle says we must do our utmost to dismantle white supremacy, however it is found. This principle calls on all of us to have our hand in the “diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions.” This principle also calls on us to “dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”

This principle is very broad and far-reaching. I actually think it will be shortened before it is accepted by the Unitarian Universalist Association. But the impact will be clear.

Can I, will I, undertake this?

November 21, 2022
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
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Parents Add Their Thoughts

Parents Share Their Thoughts

Second-Generation Nigerians

In the opening paragraphs of her memoir, Patricia Anekwe said that she had sent out her questionnaire, seeking students who are high achievers. She was in the process of gathering people for her work. She planned an in-service study and the more limited focus group.

She was pleased to learn that some parents were “so excited . . .that they volunteered their children for the study.”

In the end, she accepted the eleven children in the in-person study and the six who answered the questions for the focus group.

The first piece of advice I’ll tell you is that Patricia noticed that the achievements of the young people mirrored or even exceeded the educational achievement of their parents. She noted that those parents already had the highest level of educational achievement in the United States when she wrote this.

When she started, she found that:

According to the study participants, Nigerian parents favor high-status and high-earning careers such as law, medicine, and engineering for their children.

This quote came from a student:

Everyone is going to be a doctor, engineer, or lawyer because these are the professions that are worth more and you are always going to have a job.

Many parents during the study urged their children to first pursue a field where they are sure to have a job, before following their passion of writing, acting, or being in the musical fields.

Yet even in her day some children followed their goals to achieve success outside of the “chosen” fields. She quotes the Ogwumike sisters in Texas where the four sisters are Division 1 basketball players. These parents have found that playing the game is the way the children can do more than earn their keep!

Nigerian parent with her older child

Parental Factors

In Patricia’s chapter on “Parental Factors” she began with the engagement Nigerian parents have with the school. Many are actively engaged with the Parent Teachers Association or another group. One student said she was now capable of caring for herself, but still told her parents about the activities. Another student said his dad was engaged with the PTA but left it as the mother became more engaged with counselors.

One parent decided to organize a Nigerian parents’ association. This, she believed, would help the student to gain a coveted place in her school.

Home Structure and Routines

The routines parents set up for their children to follow were fairly strict. There was limited TV time, including in some households, there was no TV during the week. Some parents gave their children assignments outside of school.

One student created a new assignment during the summer when his daughter had swimming lessons. She was asked by her father to research “how to build and maintain a swimming pool.”

Parental Engagement Through Motivation

All of the parents used motivation, especially rewarding good grades. When children achieved the grades, the parents took them out to dinner or shopping. When the children did well, parents told them stories about life in Nigeria and how much better they now have it.

One student said he refused to go to his dad, because his father told him frequently, he never had sneakers when he was young! He had enough of the father’s motivation!

Cultural Socialization

The cultural socialization refers to the process though which these students achieved Nigerian values. Most parents held events where they invited their children to accompany them. One student said that her being Nigerian gave her the jumping off point to achieve!

Others said the same. The students generally believed being Nigerian was a motivating factor for all of them.

November 11, 2022
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
1 Comment

Second-Generation Nigerians in the United States

Second-Generation Nigerians

Patricia Anekwe

Patricia Anekwe, an Igbo woman, arrived in the United States in 1980. She acquired a BS in sociology and followed that with an MS, also in sociology. Later she applied to join the original class of PhD candidates at Western Connecticut State University. She received her doctorate in 2008.

She said, “When I began exploring topics for my dissertation in 2006, my intent was to study the educational experiences of second-generation Nigerian youth in America. However, circumstances led me to narrow my focus to the high-achieving ones.”

As part of her study, she asked the young people to identify themselves on these self-appointed criteria. I just listed 4 of these:

  1. High school cumulative grade point of 3.5 or higher
  2. High school AP courses where available
  3. Extra-curricular activities
  4. College and career aspirations

She later followed up on all the career aspirations of her candidates. What she found confirmed her initial aspirations but with just a few changes.

Her research was focused on these three questions:

  1. What are the characteristics of high-achieving second-generation NIgerian immigrant youth in the United States?
  2. What are the effects of personal, family, school, and community factors on the academic achievement of high-achieving second-generation Nigerian youth?
  3. What challenges do high-achieving second-generation Nigerian youth face in schools and how do they deal with the challenges of being Black, of immigrant origin, and high-achieving?

For her in-depth interviews, she used 11 people. Nine of the young people were born in the U.S., while 2 immigrated from the United Kingdom before the age of 6. She also counted the ethnic groups – seven were Igbo and 4 were Yoruba. They were 3 males and 8 females.

Onoso Imoagene

She counted where they were in school. Five were in high school, five in college, and one was a graduate student.

Another Book

In the meantime, another book came out. This was called “Beyond Expectations: Second Generation Nigerians in the United States and Britain.”

It was written by Onoso Imoagene.

This book came out in 2017. The list includes over 150 people, a much wider sample. I have not read it. But I can guess some of the conclusions are the same with parents and children.

Patricia’s Conclusions

For Patricia’s study she said that researchers have not found a single factor that determines the academic outcomes of these second-generation youth. Rather she determined that personal, family, school, “and other contextual factors” all have a basis in their success.

She described the 11 in-depth participants in her study and then focused on the 6 group interviewees.

What Mrs. Anekwe discovered included the following:

Most of the interviewees and focus-group participants followed the educational path of their parents. Many of the people aspired to a physician’s degree. Of the 16 participants, including the 2 not counted, nine aimed at this degree. In the end, only 3 earned medical degrees. Another 3 earned engineering degrees, two earned law degrees, one became a pharmacist, one a clinical psychologist, one an investment banker, and five chose other fields.

But all are successful in their interests.

She also discovered these factors that contributed to the students’ success.

  1. Academic expectations are relevant to all the students. They expected to do well and did not tolerate any less. Most of the students acknowledged the “Nigerian thing” which parents held about their children’s own achievements. Even when students acknowledged a “B” grade, they still recognized the hard work they had done to achieve this.
  2. As youths developed their own self-selection of goals, parents played a vital role. They helped the students identify “agency,” the sense that the students had high achievement goals and were able to recognize these. As they did not expect less than the best, students helped parents and others to recognize achievement-oriented goals. The students veered away from advisers who did not recognize their abilities and went toward more focus-oriented ones.
  3. Motivation occurs in their own aspirations about their education. One student said, “My ultimate goal . . . is to become a physician. . .  I want to help others and I can do that through medicine, which is the most fundamental way of helping any human being.”

Next time I’ll discuss what parents found about their children and what advice the children gave to the parents!

October 31, 2022
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
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Nigeria Hit By Floods

Laying on of Hands

Charles Loflin

The Unitarian Universalist tradition has a long and meaningful tradition. It’s called Laying on of Hands. We held this ordination for our minister, Charles Loflin, in last week’s afternoon event. After this ordination, he or she is called “Reverend” or “Rev.”

But there are many steps to the ordination of a minister. The ordination in our church in Montclair New Jersey included 18 separate steps. It is an ordination of our own choosing. It rests with the congregation which is ordaining the minister.

Each congregation decides which elements to include. For our congregation, we began with a hymn, Oh I Woke Up This Morning, an African American spiritual. This song was composed sometime between 1750 and 1875. The hymn certainly had the rhythmic beats for a hymn of the era. We followed that a little later by the hymn Gather the Spirit. This was composed in 1990 by Jim Scott and is certainly more modern.

We had several other items, followed by the sermon, “Old Growth,” which drew on a series of readings on trees that exist beneath the surface. They are entwined by a multitude of other trees. This was apparently very powerful. But I somehow didn’t get it, I’m sorry to say!

After that, we had another piece of music, Go Out. This has words inspired by Rev. John Murray and included the phrase Give them not Hell, but give them courage and hope. It concludes with And the everlasting love of God, so it was fitting for this ordination.

The climax came with the Laying on of Hands, led by Rev. Ali K. C. Bell and our own Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael. They called the families of the minister. Then they called all the ministers to come forward. After that, they called the other participants in the service. All the people assembled laid their hands on the minister, or on the people in front of them, or in front of others in the large circle.

I find this expression of a congregation for its minister to be a holy event. The solidarity of the church for the minister to be the recipient of love is meaningful. And the care of the congregation for the person to become ordained shows the on-going support for ministers everywhere. At least that is what I believe!

John Tolley

I still remember the ordination of John Tolley in Westport Connecticut. I discovered recently that he was here at Montclair as the Director of Religious Education. I’m sure that was before his ordination in Westport.

It was probably a step to his becoming a minister. I would like to see what his role was here in Montclair. I believe I can consult the archivists.

Floods in Nigeria

Major flooding in Nigeria

Massive amounts of water have come rushing out of the smaller streams in Nigeria. Many of these streams were fed by floods coming from Cameroon. Apparently a dam was built in Cameroon but the outstanding counterpart was never completed in Nigeria.

The release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, which often contributes to flooding in Nigeria, was supposed to be contained by a dam, the Dasin Hausa Dam in Adamawa State, north-east Nigeria. But after more than 40 years the dam still isn’t complete.

So the water continues to rush in.

Several steps need to happen now! Building dams, as already scheduled, and planting trees, should happen right away! But I have little hope of the government taking action.

At least 600 people have died, and I’m sure the number is much higher. Since earlier in October the water has had an impact in 34 of the 36 states! At the time of my reading of the event, it looks like the rains will continue until early November. One article I read says that 1.5 million houses damaged, and another says that 2.5 million houses are impacted.

In some states the flooding is minor, but in others, including in Anambra (where my husband was from) the water penetration is extreme, in some cases flooding entire houses. Huge numbers of people are displaced.

I don’t hold much hope for Nigeria. I just wish the country and its government could contain the worst of the flooding and find solutions that impact the future. But I somehow doubt it will have much effect!

October 18, 2022
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
4 Comments

My New Home in Montclair Part 3

Exteriors – Licensed to William Blanchard Co.

Happy in Montclair

Before anyone says unhappy things about me, let me say right away that I’m very happy in Montclair! Despite the lack of parking places on the main street, Bloomfield Avenue, I find plenty to do!

But I did have an accident recently. I was coming out of the garage in the picture! I came too close to the pillar and couldn’t back up easily. So I ended up scraping the door! My insurance says it will cover the cost of the repair.

A few days ago I went to a jewelry store and bought a new chain for my necklace. It wasn’t the store I was looking for – that was at 231 Bloomfield Ave – but this was closer by about 2 blocks. I used an address I had pulled from my GPS app.

The man inside did his best. First was to try to repair the old clock, about 3 inches by 2 inches. He couldn’t get it to work. He tried everything but the inside clock mechanism was stuck. So I had loved that clock, given to me by Michelle as a board member of the YMCA in 2000 (I believe that was her name!). But I didn’t keep it.

But he did give me a chain for my necklace. This one is 20″ long so it covers my throat when I wear a turtle-neck. It cost $179 dollars, a hefty sum! I wish I could find the receipt from the store in Norwalk Connecticut, when I bought the original chain. But I can’t find it now.

I also tried two other jewelers, but neither was in. One said he had an appointment in the afternoon, the other was closed on Wednesday and Thursday. My daughter Beth reminded me about the Jewish holidays which were occurring for first days of the month.

This is the street where my church is!

Now that fall is truly here, and winter is coming, I think I’ll wear turtle-necks most of the time.

I also went to the dry cleaners, American Cleaners, but I won’t go back there. I’ve heard from Beth that they have ruined two of her sweaters. Kelvin promised to email me another address for a dry cleaners somewhere else.

I tried emailing the address for the German Tourist Office. I was hoping that they could give me an updated telephone number for the “Druckerei,” the printing and off-set work by Tilmann Riebe. He seems to have been the owner in 1993. Perhaps he still is the owner. I have no doubt that he will not remember the small photo, 2 and 1/2 inches by 3 or 4 inches, sent to my cousins and then on me in that year! But how can I describe it better?

I can say it is the photo of a woman, or a girl, maybe 16, maybe 20 or even 22 years old. She is wearing a tight-fitting, lace collar and a straight dress. I’ll take a picture of it to send. But so far, no luck with finding the old number!

Marginalized Students Less Likely to Place in Graduate Medical Education

Nguyen

Mytien Nguyen

I read this article because I found the title stimulating.

Crystal Gwizdala is the author. She quotes the principal researcher, Mytien Nguyen, and the other person, Dowin Boatright. They are responsible for submitting the research associated with the article. (Mytien is a woman, and Dowin is a man.)

JAMA is the Journal for the American Medical Association.

What I have gathered from reading the article carefully is that those who are underrepresented in medicine – the URIMs – sometimes undergo a lifetime of neglect.

Simply because they are Black or brown, they are automatically given a score of “less than.” They have to work very hard to overcome this discrepancy.

Then they are disadvantaged against the white students who are, in many schools, the majority of the class. Why? Because these students are primarily Black or brown, and they often need the financial assistance. And then the graduate management placement rates are skewed toward those who quality because of volunteerism, test scores, and awards, among others.

Nguyen and Boatright says these can be more balanced in the application process.

Nguyen and Boatright insist that improving GME [graduate management placement rates] for students who are disproportionately affected needs to happen intentionally at the structural level.

For residency programs, Nguyen recommends examining which aspect of an application is being prioritized — test scores, awards, publications, volunteerism, and so on — and giving more balanced consideration to all components.

Dowin Boatright

Further Cause for Discrepancy

They cite the statistics of under-representation in elementary and secondary education. I know these are not true for everyone, but since they are present, I must include them.

With most schools still segregated, the students are already behind. Of course it makes sense that teachers are often placed according to the wealth of the parents, so the lesser teachers get the lesser schools.

And the better teachers get the better schools. It stands to reason, doesn’t it?

I think I would want my students in the better classes!

So it continues.

September 7, 2022
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
4 Comments

My Life in Montclair

19 Undercliff Drive, showing it again!

Our New Town

Our new town is living up to its well-known reputation. I know that the wide variety of restaurants is quite something. Cuban Pete’s Restaurant and Tapas is very popular. It’s right on the main street, Bloomfield. Cuban Pete’s has a mix of Cuban dishes, including Chuletas Asado, Plantain, and Empanadas. Their dishes are always amazing; we’ve ordered from them twice already.

Nkiru, Beth’s daughter who is 23, is still with us now, although she is promising a job and a new place in a few weeks! She has ordered food for us, including from the Indian restaurant.

We have also ordered food from a Thai place in the next town over. We’ve even been somewhere for lunch nearby, though I can’t remember the name!

Another restaurant just a little ways away is Java Love, near our “new” Unitarian Church. It serves excellent coffee and scones, as well as a variety of dishes for lunch. I went to Java Love last week for coffee with Maggie Wells, a new member from the Circle of Women. We gathered nearly 4 weeks ago, and will meet on Friday. This time our meeting is at Maryann’s house, very nearby, but I’ll ask for a ride with Maggie.

I’m going to Anytime Fitness for exercise, and to two nail places. I wish I could figure out the parking! I know there is a place on Fullerton Avenue, and another on N. Willow, one just north and one south of the main street. And another somewhere else. But I still have to figure these out!

I do have an appointment at Beltone (Hearing aids!) for Sept. 20. The directions say it is also on Glen Ridge Avenue, in the same building as a chiropractor. I don’t think I need hearing aids now, but to be safe, I’ll have the appointment. I also have an appointment with an ophthalmologist for later in the month.

Meanwhile, I’m learning about other exciting places. The Parlor is a hairdressing salon. I have an appointment on September 15. That seems like a long time to wait. So I called today and got an appointment for tomorrow! (Back in Norwalk, Connecticut, I would usually call my hairdresser Tamama on a Thursday or Friday and could get an appointment on Saturday.)

Kelvin has just announced that he has the remote for the garage! I’m so excited!

As soon as he gets boxes moved out, he or Beth or Nkiru have two cars that can enter the garage. Or maybe I will try the garage for my regular charging with the household charger.

I know that Kelvin has a long list of things to do, and the garage is just one of many. Today the ADT person is here fitting the switches all over the house and making them all work well. Tomorrow the person from the town education committee is coming to see Ikem, who is 9. He is autistic and needs help in school. I do hope the person who is coming can give him the help he needs so he can attend school and benefit from it.

Racism Revisited

I haven’t written about racism recently.

This story came from my daughter who was in Switzerland for nearly the whole week. Beth wanted to leave her hotel at 4:30 am this Saturday. She ordered a cab for 4:30, and saw it going away at 4:32! She wonders if it was her cab that was leaving. She does recognize that cabs don’t like the spot very well because the drive to the airport is not far.

But she went to where people were getting rides to the airport. There were several others going. She says, “If I were a cute blond, I’m sure I would have gotten a ride easily!” But she was in her sweats and not in a business suit, and she looks about 30! And she is Black.

She says now, “I should have offered to pay!” That way the others would have agreed to share a cab. Instead, they didn’t really listen to her and just got in their cabs by themselves.

She says perhaps they are not racist – they could have been just too busy. She thinks it may have been about the money and the fairness! Still, she ended up walking to the airport, including on a major road! She couldn’t wait for another cab which would have taken many, many minutes to get there.

August 17, 2022
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
13 Comments

My New Home

19 Undercliff Dr.

My Move from Norwalk

I have moved from Norwalk, Connecticut, to Montclair, New Jersey. This was a major move for me, to move in with my daughter Beth. Her husband and her 9-year-old son are also just moving in!

I had moved out of my big house at 1 Mansfield Place in Westport just under 2 years ago, to a one-bedroom flat in Norwalk. I took the things I needed, including a few books. And my bed! Now all of these are here with me in Montclair, including the pictures.

Beth took most of the things from Westport to her garage in her house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A few items made it into her house there. Now that she has moved to Montclair, she is uncovering many of those things from Westport in our “new” house.

So our new house in Montclair is a lot like our old house in Westport!

What else is old from Westport? Nearly everything portable! The masks, at least three of them, will have a home somewhere here. One of them is huge – it is about 4 feet long, and looks extremely frightening. I don’t yet know where we’ll put it. The old door that hung on the stairway in Westport is here. It is about 6 and 1/2 feet long. I also have no idea where that will go, but it should be  prominent.

Our dining table from Westport is in the dining room here, with the chairs. We even have the same chandelier in the dining room! The couches are all familiar from Westport, too. The chairs are also so well known to me. There are beds downstairs under Beth’s packing direction. I hope I can find one, maybe 8- or 9-inch, that will replace my 13-inch mattress.

My old cookbook – “Joy of Cooking” – is awaiting my perusal. There are many other cookbooks, including some from Beth which she promises never to use!

I have so many other belongings. Tons of books made it here. I have “Christmas in Biafra and other Poems” by Chinua Achebe. Frances Ademola had a book on “Reflections, Nigerian Prose and Verse.” Both of these belonged to me in Westport, but I had forgotten them! I also have a book on “High-Achieving Second Generation Nigerians in the United States,” a newer edition.

I believe I want to use this as a guide for my blog for the future! So be looking out for it!

We have a model of an elephant about 9 or 10 inches long, presently on the shelf by the TV. Clem must have been given this in South Africa. Or maybe I was! I really can’t remember how we got it!

My files are all in order in the bottom drawer of my desk. Our glasses for wine are in the cupboard to my left, in our small “butler” pantry, together with Beth’s glasses. The good dishes are in the right-hand cupboard, too.

Friends Huddle Together

Montclair, the Most Diverse City?

Montclair has a history as being one of the most diverse cities in North America. I hope this is true. I do see a variety of people at my downtown fitness center, Anytime Fitness.

In church it is similar to Westport, Connecticut, with just a few people coming now, but I hope it will pick up in the fall. As in Westport, there very few Black women or men.

On Friday last week I went to the home of one of our members. One of the women was Indian, but all the others were white. She was new, like a couple of others. I think several of the people are just resurfacing from COVID.

So I don’t have much to judge yet but I’ll be watching for what promises to be lots of exciting and thought-provoking events and opportunities.

My Son, Sam, Called

My younger son Sam called yesterday. He delighted in telling me the story about a tennis ball boy who used to pick up balls for us at our sports club, Ikoyi Club! I believe this was before 1986 when I went to the U.S.!

My husband Clem and I played on Saturday and/or Sunday for many years. That same ball boy had since then gone to the United States. He had worked as a semi-pro until just a few years ago. His name is Emeka; I’ll get the rest of the name later.

Emeka gave Sam a detailed history of our games, which I often won. Emeka and the others learned to cheat against me for Clem! So he and the other ball boys made me really annoyed, though I usually recovered in a few seconds.

He had also worked with Martin and the other Obianwu boys as well as other children we knew back in the day!

Emeka will be coming once or twice a week to help Sam improve his game.

Also, this great pic of Sam is an exclusive preview of his new press shots by a Nigerian celebrity photographer, TY Bello.

Sam is so handsome . . . I love it!

July 27, 2022
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
2 Comments

Strike Ongoing

I believe this is Ngige at work

Long Strike, No End?

President Buhari has ordered his staff to talk to the unions about their strike, seeking to end it. They have been on strike for over five months! This is too much for the parents and others to bear.

Apparently the private universities are operating now. But the public universities are not. So what do the public universities do? Of course! They go to teach in the private universities!

As of Tuesday, the President ordered his Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to intervene and come to a conclusion within one week. He has ordered several other people to be present. Senator Ngige, a past negotiator, has received praise and should be there. He also ordered other people to be present.

But the parents are not completely satisfied with this outcome. They say the President has already asked for this to be settled. But no progress has been made.

There are four unions: a union of academic staff people, another for non-academic staff, and two more for other people associated with the universities. One of their demands is for a different system of paying their salaries and other costs. For the academic staff, the union organizers say they do not want an Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system. Instead, they are asking for adoption of  University, Transparency and Accountability Solution for the academic staff. For the non-academic staff, there should also be another system.

I wonder whether the President’s statements carry any weight today.

Nigeria Labour (sp) Congress is also eager for an end. Nevertheless the banking and aviation systems say they will also hold a strike against the government for its consistent lack of support. It seems like the strike will not end soon!

James Baldwin

James Baldwin

James Baldwin Redux

In his work Nobody Knows My Name, James Baldwin, an African-American, gives an account of the Paris 1956 Conference of Negro-African Writers and Artists. Wow! 1956! He talked about the eight Black (sp) men who are on the stage at the beginning of the conference.

Alioune Diop was the first to speak. He described the question facing the conferees:

“It was not a question, on the one hand, of simply being swallowed up, of disappearing in the maw of Western culture, nor was it, on the other hand, a question of rejecting assimilation in order to be isolated within African culture. Neither was it a question of deciding which African values were to be retained and which European values were to be adopted. Life was not that simple.”

Instead he spoke of the need for a definition and a sense of responsibility. He says the conference should now accept an on-going dialogue with Europe.

After he finished, a message from a well-wisher, W. E. B. Du Bois, an American, was read. He began by saying the U.S. government did not give him a passport. Therefore he was unable to be present. For this, he received lots of applause.

But his argument was ill-considered. The five Black men from the U.S. were in the audience. James Baldwin says these comments took away the important comments from the Black men. But they were in fact the true face of the Black people in America. They could not now be regarded as seriously. However, they were, he says, more able, if not for W. E. B. Du Bois’ way with words. He hopes they will still hold on to their convictions as the reason why American Blacks were considered a resource for the conference.

In the afternoon Mr. Lasebikan from Nigeria spoke about the Yoruba (sp) poetry. He said that the Yoruba language had only been transcribed during the last (19th) century. Yet he hoped that in this time a great awakening of past centuries of grandeur might arise.

In the meantime, he spoke in Yoruba and then in English, lending his words a style of their own. He gave the poems a meaning devoted to their subjects. One was a devotional, another one on the pounding of yams! Certainly I felt at home among these subjects.

He told of other speakers, including Leopold Senghor, who spoke of the differing ways Europe and Africa have in their interpretation of art. In his description, art for art’s sake, does not exist among Africans. He described art as a way of life rather than an interpretation of life.

Baldwin went on to describe the others in the conference. But I’ve given you the most important points of the four days. The last day was taken up by devising an inventory of the conference, which didn’t finish until nearly closing time at 6:55 pm!