Master Class on Race

Master Class on Race

I loved what I found yesterday in The New York Times news summary. If I could, I’d put the Tweet and the 2 minute video here, but it’s beyond my technical skills! Just follow the link below.

What we’re reading: This thread on Ava DuVernay’s Twitter account.“The filmmaker posted a two-minute video from 1967 of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he answered an interviewer’s question about how black Americans, of all the ethnic groups in the U.S., still suffered,” writes the briefings editor, Andrea Kannapell. “King’s answer is a master class, and the posts that follow add more detail to his points.”

When I looked at DuVerney’s Tweets, I also found that she said she would not support or observe this year’s Superbowl – she posted it on February 4, the day of the big game – “in protest of the NFL’s treatment of Kaepernick. . .”

Breaking Kola Book Launch

I’m thrilled to announce the book launch of Breaking Kola: An Inside View of African Customs. The event will take place on the evening of March 7, a Thursday, hosted by Westport Library.

Because of the construction still underway at the library, the book launch will be at the Westport Woman’s Club on Imperial Avenue, very near the library.

Audience members will share in breaking kola, one of the most important Igbo customs.

I’ll talk about the book, read a few paragraphs, and take questions and comments. Then I’ll sign books.

If you’re nearby, please come! More details will follow.

Nigerian Elections Soon

It seems that all news from Nigeria today has something to do with the upcoming elections, less than two weeks away.

I’m not surprised, but I’m disappointed that the one viable female candidate dropped out.

A Nigerian writer for The Guardian penned this thoughtful piece. She decries the usual political scene in Nigeria. Like me, she doesn’t expect a different winner than one of the two major candidates this time. But still, the idea of someone else gives her a little optimism for the future.

I especially like the list she provides of what she would like to see. “It is possible to have a president who has not plotted a coup. It is possible to have a president who doesn’t have corruption allegations hovering around his administration, like flies around a corpse. It is possible to have a president who doesn’t make Nigerians duck with shame once he opens his mouth and reveals his lack of ideas.”

Chief Justice Suspended

I’d been reading about the removal of the Nigerian Chief Justice just three weeks before the elections. My Mount Holyoke classmate Marion sent me this piece on the topic from the BBC.

The US, the UK, and the EU have all expressed concern at the suspension. President Buhari said he had to suspend Walter Onnoghen, the Chief Justice, because he could not be overseeing the case against him by the justice department.

What is the case? “He is facing charges for allegedly failing to declare his personal assets before taking office in 2017,” the BBC article says.

But the Chief Justice is the primary arbiter on any contested election results. And the elections results are likely to be contested. So the timing is unfortunate, to say the least.

The BBC says, “The charges against the top judge and his subsequent suspension just before elections are widely seen as politically motivated.”

So sad that this makes the elections look less credible.

Stay tuned. There will be more news before the elections on February 16.

TEAM Westport’s Essay Contest

TEAM Westport, the town’s committee charged with encouraging a multi-cultural environment in the town, has announced its 2019 essay contest.

Our topic this year? Micro-aggressions. You can read about the contest on Dan Woog’s blog 06880. Or you can see the application with the explanation of the contest from the Town’s website, here.

Even if you aren’t a Westport teen who can enter, you may like to read the description of the contest and suggest it as an essay or conversation topic for your town’s schools or community organizations.