Two Views of Racism

Happy Father’s Day

Our daughter Beth with her husband Kelvin and their children on Father's Day.

Our daughter Beth with her husband Kelvin and their children on Father’s Day.

Did you know that Father’s Day was made an official holiday by President Nixon? I didn’t. That’s what Rev. John Morehouse told us in his sermon this morning.

He spoke about his own father and the five lessons he had learned from him. Honesty, loyalty, and hard-work were three. I believe a fourth was something like respect for others, but he didn’t call it that. If I remember the last one before I’m done, I’ll fill in!

I called our son Sam, father of two of our five grandchildren. He said his children had made him lovely Father’s Day cards. He gave one to his own dad, my husband Clem, who is on a plane on his way back to Connecticut now.

Then I called Kelvin, father of our other three grandchildren. The family had gone out for brunch earlier in the day with the oldest grandson Kenechi and his girlfriend Mary who had come from New York to celebrate with them. I’ll share a couple of pictures from Facebook.

AIDS in Nigeria

The PBS Newshour has been running a series on the challenge of ending the AIDS epidemic. On Wednesday night Nigeria was featured.

Kelvin and Nkiru on Father's Day

Kelvin and Nkiru on Father’s Day

The headline, “Why Nigeria has more HIV-positive infants than anywhere else,” is frightening. “One out of every four babies born worldwide with HIV is born in Nigeria,” the reporter William Brangham said. The doctor who heads Nigeria’s National Agency

for the Control of AIDS, is eager to address the problem.

After the grim statistics, the reporter took us to a church-centered program that is making significant progress. This Roman Catholic church is in Benue State, in the middle belt of Nigeria, between the Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

“At the end of mass, the priest asks any pregnant women and their partners and children to come forward. About 50 people gather near the altar,” he said. They are invited to a special program after the service. It’s called Baby Shower. Though the purpose of the program is to test for HIV, that is not mentioned in the invitation.

The women are weighed and measured. They are administered tests for hypertension and hepatitis B. Finally they are tested for HIV.

Chidinma and her father Nwosisi in Nanka on Father's Day. Nwosisi is Clem's cousin and the oldest man in our family.

Chidinma and her father Nwosisi in Nanka on Father’s Day. Nwosisi is Clem’s cousin and the oldest man in our family.

While the assembled families wait for the results, they sing and dance. When they get their results, many parents are shocked to find they are HIV-positive.

The attendees at the Baby Shower are given a “Mama pack” to take home. It includes, among other items, sanitary pads and a clamp for the umbilical cord. Amaka Ogidi who runs the program says these gifts are to encourage women to give birth in hospitals, which would charge for these supplies.

Brangman says, “Within a few days of the church service, the Baby Shower team sets out to track down the women who tested positive, and begin their mission of gentle nagging.”

The program has seen success with a drop in the rate of transmission to newborns. And the program is expanding.

“The Baby Shower program is now in 115 churches in Nigeria. Ninety percent of Nigerians attend a place of worship at least once a week. Nigeria is also half-Muslim, and they hope to include mosques in the program soon,” we learn.

The World Cup and Nigeria’s Defeat

I watched the World Cup match between Nigeria and Croatia on Saturday afternoon. I had earlier watched the press conference.

The coach spoke with enthusiasm about his team, but he also offered a dose of reality. The team has the youngest average age in the World Cup. He said he expects them to play well, but they will be really ready in 2022!

You can watch the press conference, but I’m too unhappy about the result to try to post pictures of the game!

I called both sons and my husband in Nigeria during the half-time when Croatia was leading 1-0. Of course they were all watching.

Chinaku had no hope! He had watched them with us near Boston in 1994, when they lost to Argentina. He said he has watched all their other World Cup efforts, and had zero expectation for a win.

Sam was mildly optimistic, and Clem wasn’t sure what to think! Chinaku was proved correct.

Nigeria will meet Iceland, who had a 1-1 draw against Argentina, on Friday. Will I watch? I think so.

If you want a different take on the world’s favorite sport, read this article by a fashion expert and a football expert at the NYTimes as they rate the jerseys! At least look at the title, in one form for the rest of the world, and one for the U.S!

Kendi's book Stamped from the Beginning

Kendi’s book Stamped from the Beginning

Two Views of Racism

I’m finally reading seriously Ibram X. Kendi’s book, Stamped from the Beginning, a definitive history of racism in the U.S.

I put it aside yesterday evening to try to re-read The Underground Railroad which we’re discussing in my book group on Monday evening.

I read it at least a year ago and needed refreshing. The juxtaposition of the two books, one non-fiction and one a novel, with their discussions of racism is amazing and unsettling.

I’ll tell you more after our discussion on Monday.

Author: Catherine Onyemelukwe

Author, blogger, speaker. Born in New York, grew up in mid west United States, lived in Nigeria for 24 years, back in U.S. since 1986. Advocate for racial justice.

2 Comments