To honor our sacred heritage, to bear the burden and glory of our history, we must self-consciously resume our vanguard role in the midst of the liberation struggles of the world.
[Alcorn] began collecting books for the school in October with a goal of accumulating 1,000 books. Faculty, staff, alumni, students and surrounding communities have contributed all kind of resources, exceeding Alcorn's goal of 1,000 books. ''I'm impressed and thankful that the Alcorn family has been so generous," [M. Christopher Brown II] said. "We are not a rich university, but Alcorn demonstrates our commitment to continuously invest in the knowledge and economic prosperity in our nation and beyond our borders, one of Alcorn's founding missions." To donate hooks or money to Alcorn's Zumbi dos Palmares University book drive, Call the Alcorn State University Foundation at 601.877.6296.
"What strikes you, your racism or me?" one of the female demonstrators wrote on her chest during the protest timed to coincide with Rio Fashion Week. "If we are buying clothes, why can't we parade in the (fashion) shows," asked a 15-year-old model taking part in the protest. "Does that mean that only white women can sell and the rest of us can only buy?" "Claiming to showcase Brazilian fashion without the real Brazilians amounts to showing Brazilian fashion (only) with white models," said Jose Flores, a 25-yearold former model who now works in advertising.
Barbara Carpenter, Southern's dean of international affairs, said the university is also acting as a "host school for the international Science Without Borders initiative, which intends to groom the next generation of young minds in the global scientific community. "People think we are a racial democracy in Brazil," da [Silva] said. "It's because the elites want to portray that. How can a country that received at least five million enslaved Africans and had slavery for three and a half centuries be a racial democracy?"
There are 38.9 million blacks in the United States. According to the 2000 census there are 75.9 million citizens of Brazil who would be classified as African American in the U.S. Since there are only 91.3 million Brazilian whites, who dominate the country, one wonders why so many blacks are living in poverty in favelas (slums).
The Web site will also feature facts on Afro-Brazilians; Brazilian events taking place in the United States and Brazil; updates on Brazilian politics; and the upcoming World Cup and the Olympic Games. Afro-Brazilian.com will also feature articles from noted Brazilian and African American reporters across the United States. According to MercoPress, an independent online news agency, Afro-Brazilians represent the largest ethnic group in Brazil, making up more than 49 percent of the population. Afro-Brazilians have a cultural influence on Brazil that spans from cuisine, literature, sports and art, among others. Some of the little known facts on Afro-Brazilians include: * African culture has been instrumental in the development of Brazilian cuisine. Feijoada, Brazil's staple dish, was developed by African slaves * Blacks and pardos have a low representation on Brazilian television. In 1996 Taís Araujo was the first and only Black actress to be featured as a protagonist in a telenovela
"These talented writers are about to embark on 14 wholly different and fascinating itineraries, from exploring ancient scrolls in Timbuktu, to the Anglican Church in Uganda, to Somaliland's elections, to name a few," says Tom Burke, the Achebe Center program manager. "It is a landmark project, and our partners - large and small - across the continent have lent enthusiasm and support. It's an exciting time to watch these pilgrimages unfold, and it will be quite something to read these books once their pages are written."
African American comic book artist David G. Brown and Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio Pestana will exhibit their works and participate in panel discussions along with the original 19 African artists from all over Africa to offer Brazilian residents an original and creative view of Africa's diversity and richness of comic culture.
Current reality shows another picture, with a considerable degree of discrimination for the blacks: the basic food basket for a black person demands 76 hours of work compared to the average 54 hours for a white person. Similarly illiteracy among blacks runs as high as 20%, but only 6% for whites.
