by Melissa Muhammad, The Final Call Newspaper

With the advent of technology a host of opportunities and dangers have opened up with the use of social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo groups, Linkd In and other virtual communities that bring people together.

On Feb. 26 at the Rosemont Hotel, during the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day convention, a group of experienced, talented and successful men  and women of faith came together to discuss the pitfalls and benefits associated with the use of social networks.

Among them were Alexander Muhammad, an IT administrator from London, England; Yvonka Muhammad who is also known as Chicago lyricist “19” and her blog is in the process of becoming a graphic novel, Houston-based writer and blogger Jesse Muhammad, Carlos Muhammad of the Luv 4 Self Network and Tariq Muhammad of the Friends of Farrakhan social network.

The purpose of the workshop as explained by coordinator Tariq Muhammad of Phoenix was to enlighten the believing community and the general public about the proper use of social networking sites.

Despite some risks associated with the improper use of the social networking, success is still to be had via the Internet. Jesse Muhammad talked to attendees about the leverage, branding, growth and revenue opportunities that social networking presents. He emphasized the need to have purposeful internet usage. “Corporations have a Facebook page, why? Because that is where the public is,” said Jesse Muhammad.

[READ MORE HERE]

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(Khallid Greene in action during Hurricane Ike)

This is a challenge to all men.

I first had to start with myself.

At Saviours’ Day 2010 I was assigned by The Final Call Newspaper to cover most of the workshops surrounding the increasingly important subject of disaster management, preparedness, survival, search and rescue training. One of the presenters invited by Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Saviours’ Day committee was Houston’s own Captain Khallid Greene.

He launched Houston IN-CERT (Inner-City Emergency Response Team) in 2005 during Hurricane Rita, which struck within days of Hurricane Katrina. Since that time, this brother and his team has been training hundreds for free and also saving lives with what they have been teaching. Yes, saving lives while the city of Houston was stagnant. Here is a blog I wrote about them in 2008 during Hurricane Ike to prove it. (smile)

But seriously, Bro. Khallid made a statement during his Saviours’ Day workshop that hit home with me.

And the courses don’t cost us a penny.

I said, “Dang, he’s talking about me bad!”. So I said to myself I must take this training when I get back home and we as men need to man up for real. We have to stop acting like this unusual global weather pattern is something “out of the blue”. The worst is yet to come. It’s written in the scriptures but even if you choose to disregard scripture ask yourself: Is my family truly prepared for when a serious calamity hits my city? Only you can answer that.

Today I got a personal call from Officer Shandenia Gay asking me if I am going to sign up for the class. I smiled because I honestly didn’t know when the next start date was but she said it starts tomorrow (March 9). I smiled and said “well I have to accept Bro. Khallid’s challenge, so count me in.“

Here is a challenge to all men in every city. Let’s man up and take these free courses in our areas. I had a near fatal experience during Hurricane Ike by running out of gas so I know personally that this training is necessary.

I will be reporting to the SHAPE Community Center on Live Oak Street tomorrow for the beginning of a four week certification, which is a total of eight classes. There’s still a few slots left in Houston but you have to sign up today. Contact Shandenia Gay at the number on the flyer below.

Blog Bonus: Here is a YouTube video I created of IN-CERT’s working during Hurricane Ike. They are community saviours.

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“Music by Prudence” director Roger Ross Williams and the star, Prudence Mabhena, learned to trust and understand each other as they made the film. – Photo: Osato Dixon

“Music by Prudence,” a film by Roger Ross Williams, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Documentary: Short Subject. Produced by iThemba Productions and Elinor Burkett, the 33-minute documentary stars Prudence Mabhena, a talented young woman from Zimbabwe suffering from arthrogryphosis, a rare disorder that severely deforms the joints of the body. Despite overwhelming odds, Prudence, who sings in five languages, is sharing her astounding talent with the world.

Africans with disabilities

In Zimbabwe, disabled babies are commonly believed to be the result of witchcraft. In extreme cases, families kill them – to remove the “curse” from their family.

Born in the idyllic town of Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, Prudence Mabhena had a different fate. Her parents, a handsome tour guide and the village beauty, had been picture-perfect newlyweds. When Prudence was born, it was clear something wasn’t right. Her arms and legs were severely twisted, stunted and useless.

Prudence’s paternal grandmother directed her daughter-in-law to refrain from breastfeeding, i.e., kill the baby. Prudence’s mother disobeyed and was ostracized and cast out. She brought Prudence to her mother’s rural home and, when Prudence turned 4, left her to her grandmother’s care.

In Zimbabwe, treatment of the disabled sinks beneath discrimination. Not only is there a void of protective legislation – no Africans with Disabilities Act – and disabled-friendly infrastructure, such as elevators and ramps, disabled people are given a wide berth and treated as if contagious. If permitted to live, the disabled are often left to die.

In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city, there is a place that transcends this: King George VI School and Centre for Children with Physical Disabilities (KG6). Privately funded, KG6 struggles on the brink of destitution. Yet, hundreds of children blossom under the care of director Inez Hussey. Prudence lives there now, and she teaches. But first, she had to pass through hell.

A working farmer, Prudence’s grandmother couldn’t school the little girl. So she went to KG6. But soon, Prudence’s father lost his ability to pay the tuition. Prudence is forced to move in with her father. By now, her legs – useless and twisted – have been amputated.

Prudence’s father is remarried with kids. He and his new wife – Prudence’s stepmother* – refuse to care for her, even to touch her. For two years, Prudence lives like an animal. Without someone to take her to the bathroom, she sits in her own urine and feces. Without a wheelchair, she can only crawl, and she eats from the floor – when fed. Every day, Prudence drags herself to the mango tree in the backyard, sings and tells herself that her nightmare will end soon.

Finally, Prudence is awarded a scholarship to KG6.

A new life … and Liyana

At age 9, Prudence arrives at KG6 dehumanized and untrusting. She receives a wheelchair donated by a charitable Swede. She cleans up, goes to school and becomes “human” again. Happy, she begins singing in earnest.

Prudence’s voice is so resonant and beautiful that the school administrators suggest she try out for the school choir. Within a week, she’s not only a member of the choir, she’s leading it. She has bloomed at the school and she’s thriving. She also joins Inkonjane, an a capella group. Through the group she has the opportunity to sing in Switzerland.

Back in Zimbabwe, Prudence and some fellow students and musicians start an Afro-fusion band called Liyana (“it’s raining” in Ndebele). All eight of its members are disabled. Marvelous Mbulo has muscular dystrophy. Farai Mabhande shares Prudence’s disorder and plays the keyboard with twisted fingers. Prudence, the band’s only woman, cannot hold a microphone, so it’s mounted to a metal stand that reaches under her chin. With just a head, torso, and tiny arms, Prudence weighs no more than 50 lbs. But the sound that pours out of her is rich enough to fill a stadium, and it is haunting.

All eight members of Prudence’s band Liyana are disabled. – Photo: Errol Webber

In 2006, the struggling school scrapes together the money to send Liyana to compete in Music Crossroads, an all-Africa competition being held in Mozambique. The journey to Mozambique is long and arduous. They get there just in time to compete and come in second. The prize? A tour of Sweden. The band performs and gains a name.

Arrest, prison, blackouts and hunger

From the outset, this was a special film. The film would never have come to fruition without unusual courage on the part of the crew. Director Roger Ross Williams and his crew shot “Music by Prudence” over the course of several months and several trips to Zimbabwe. In doing so, they risked arrest, imprisonment, torture, deportation and potentially worse.

Journalism is officially illegal in Zimbabwe. But as evidenced by the 2008 imprisonment of New York Times journalist Barry Bearak, factual journalism can land its proponents in prison.

The principal portion of the shoot for “Music by Prudence” took place against this violent, anti-journalistic backdrop. President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s longtime dictator, had not received a majority vote in the country’s 2008 presidential election. In the lead-up to the runoff, the leading party unleashed horrifying violence against opposition supporters, and they pulled out. The “Music by Prudence” crew was subject to intense scrutiny.

“Every night, we didn’t know whether we’d be raided and jailed or deported. [The authorities] knew who we were. Zimbabwe’s central intelligence agency was keeping tabs on us. They’d go to my stringer’s house and say, ‘Make sure they don’t shoot anything having to do with the election,’” said Williams.

On top of the stealth, Bulawayo, like the rest of the country, suffered from drastic shortages. Water stoppages and electrical blackouts are common, day-to-day worries. Even food is in short supply: With none in the supermarkets, one has to buy it on the black market. Inflation is so high that during the course of the shoot, Zimbabwe currency became worthless.

During most of the shoot, the crew lived in a wealthy low-density suburban community. But even that community was not immune to lack of water and power and rampant theft. There’d been a wave of armed robberies, which put everyone on edge.

Narrated by Prudence

“Music by Prudence” is about a resilient young woman. Cleverly, the story is also told by her – in a gentle and matter-of-fact tone. A compelling character, the 21-year-old (then 19-20) has a lovely face and a surprisingly playful manner and speaks in a soft voice with a British lilt. She is charismatic, engaging, strong and confident and the camera loves her. Gone is the shell of a girl that arrived at KG6.

Prudence now teaches music at the school. She collects a salary, room and board – which makes her one of Zimbabwe’s rare employed citizens. Surprisingly, she also choreographs dances from her wheelchair and teaches dance to the deaf.

Typically, people with her disability do not live long. But so far, Prudence has been healthy and hopes for a thriving career. Prudence finds strength in her adopted family: the members of her band. Having been similarly rejected by their families and their culture, they all share a similar trauma.

Eventually, Williams plans to release a director’s cut containing extra footage. He’s optimistic that the Oscar nomination for “Music by Prudence” will raise awareness for KG6 and increase donations. Tax-deductible donations can be made through MusicbyPrudence.com.

*In a great irony, Prudence’s stepmother suffered a stroke and is now paralyzed. She uses Prudence’s former wheelchair.

Synopsis of ‘Music by Prudence’

Sunrise over the bush. A fresh morning star spilling vitality over scrambling, dry rocks.

The African plain: supple and green. Clouds – celestial rapids – racing over an otherwise halcyon sky.

The members of Prudence’s band Liyana are like family. Rejected by their birth families because of their disabilities, “Together they find strength,” notes film director-producer Roger Ross Williams. – Photo: Errol Webber

Against these, the voice of a woman: clear and strong. “Liyana,” she sings. “Yes,” they respond. “Where are you?” she calls. “We are here,” they answer. “Come,” she beckons. “We are coming.”

Her voice is stirring, but also still, in contrast to the rushing sky. It’s the voice of a leader, someone in a place of power and wisdom and uncommon peace. Then into the picture rolls its owner: a young African woman in a wheelchair. Her arms are twisted and useless. Without legs, she has never walked. The source of this commanding, compelling music is a head and a torso, and not much more.

Meet Prudence Mabhena, 21, the hero of our tale.

Prudence lives in Zimbabwe, and for a long time almost no one knew about that hauntingly beautiful voice. No one knew the strong, resilient woman who owned it. They were unable to overlook her body: crippled and deformed with a debilitating condition called arthrogryphosis.

When Prudence was born, her paternal grandmother wanted her dead. In Zimbabwe, disabled children are believed to be the result of witchcraft. In extreme cases, families kill them – to remove the “curse” from their family.

Prudence’s mother kept her and fed her. Cast out of her husband’s (Prudence’s father’s) home, she brought the baby to her own mother’s rural home. Four years later, she left.

“Music by Prudence” traces the path of this little girl, and her remarkable transcendence from a world of hatred and superstition into one of music, love and possibility.

The child was raised by Rachel Ncube, her maternal grandmother. Grandmother Ncube taught her to sing. A working farmer, she would strap the little girl to her back as she worked the fields. But when Prudence turned 7, she knew she couldn’t school her. So she sent her to live with her father and his new family.

There, Prudence fell prey to neglect and isolation. Her stepmother refused to touch her and called her a worthless, helpless “ant.” She was despondent enough to attempt suicide – twice.

There is a haven away from this pain: King George VI School and Centre for Children with Physical Disabilities (KG6). Privately funded, KG6 struggles on the brink of destitution. Yet every year, hundreds of disabled children blossom and thrive.

Prudence gets a scholarship to KG6, and her new life begins.

Bulawayo provides the film’s colorful backdrop. Like the rest of the country, Zimbabwe’s second largest city is largely dysfunctional. Water stoppages and electrical blackouts are daily events. The supermarkets have no food, so residents are forced to use the black market for necessities. Inflation and crime run rampant.

Prudence Mabhena – Photo: Errol Webber

The movie’s final scene is a concert by Liyana. The crowd applauds and whistles, then the screen darkens, leaving only Prudence’s lustrous, smiling face. Recalling the opening sequence, her face is in perfect symmetry to the African sky, rushing and streaming towards hope.

Roger Ross Williams, director-producer

Roger Ross Williams is a member of a Gullah family from South Carolina. He is a working television news, documentary and entertainment producer, director and writer who has lived and worked in New York City for the past 25 years. As a television news and documentary director and producer he has worked for ABC News, NBC News, MSNBC, BBC, CNN and PBS.

Williams has produced entertainment shows for ABC, CBS, Comedy Central, Food Network, Sundance Channel, TLC, VH1 and Michael Moore’s Emmy Award winning series TV Nation. He has directed prime-time reality shows for ABC and CBS and produced a documentary series for Discovery Networks and a lifestyle series for Scripts Networks. He has won numerous awards including a NAMIC Vision Award for his television special “Moroccan Style” and the National Headliner for Best Human Interest Feature for his documentary “New York Underground.”

Of “Music by Prudence,” he says: “You quickly forget [Prudence is] disabled because she’s such an amazing, dynamic person. … charismatic and brilliant and engaging. …

“Because I’m African-American, … it gave me an intimacy with the subjects … and there’s a certain connection that gets made. … There’s [still] a divide because I’m African-American and they’re African. …

“My everyday cinematographer [Errol Webber] was a young Jamaican kid who had just graduated from film school. It was important that I have an African-American cameraman who was young. [The band members] saw him as their peer. Most of the time, it was just me and Erroll.

“Africa’s a beautiful place. Africans are such beautiful people and so close to the earth. Where Prudence comes from — near Victoria Falls — is breathtaking.

“I spent a lot of time [at Prudence’s grandmother’s rural home], sleeping in a hut. There’s no water. There’s no electricity. I had literally gone back to my roots. I loved every minute of being there — sitting by the fire, singing songs. It was a spiritually enlightening experience. It was easy to capture that.

Roger Ross Williams – Photo: Marc Yankus

“My ancestors were slaves imported from the western lowland coast of Africa to the lowlands of the Carolinas. They were rice cultivators, which is why they were imported to America: to cultivate rice before cotton took over. Malaria hit, but they were immune, and survived to settle.

“I had to gain [Prudence’s] trust. Because of what Prudence has been through, it takes time for her to trust people.

“I talked to her, treated her with respect as a person and an artist. I was honest with her about the filmmaking process. I explained that she would need to open up.

“[She talked about her suicide attempts] during our first interview. She’d never told anyone before. She cried and I cried.

“The process of being interviewed: you become self-reflective; it’s like being in therapy. She couldn’t wait to tell her story. Nobody had ever heard her story before — or asked.

“Afterwards, I went to the place where I was staying. I cried and cried and cried. I was just devastated. I was so moved by her strength — her ability to get beyond the moment when she was at her lowest. I was determined to get her story out there and tell it to the world.

“She finds strength in the members of her band, such as her friend Marvelous. They’re all in it together. They’re a family. They understand each other; they’ve all been through the same trauma. They’ve all been rejected by their families and their cultures. They’ve persevered. Together they find strength.

“Prudence has this unique ability to laugh and still find joy around her. She’s this positive and joyful person. She has this inner strength and an innate, inner light. She’s funny and edgy, and she makes fun of herself. …

“She wants to have a career in music. She wants to leave Zimbabwe and come to America and have a career as a working musician. That’s her dream. I think things like an Academy Award nomination — a win — would help her realize her dream. She’s such a talent and the world needs to see. She can have a career. There’s a circuit of world musicians that perform. She could be part of that community. It could change her life.

“I shot hundreds and hundreds of hours of footage. So much it was ridiculous. A lot of it is concert footage shot on multiple cameras.

“There’s a wealth of material that I plan to release in the director’s cut. There were a lot of scenes that we had to edit out because of the constraints of making a short. Buy the DVD, people!” Look for it in fall 2010 or later, at www.musicbyprudence.com.

After the film was finished, Prudence told Roger, “I want you to win an Oscar!” When they were nominated, he called Prudence, who was shocked and overwhelmed. “It’s unimaginable,” he said, “that a girl left in a hut to die is now celebrated in the world for her talent. I hope everyone gets to see this movie and to see her and know her the way that I do.”

To learn more about the film and the filmmakers, visit www.musicbyprudence.com. And give the filmmakers your feedback by emailing rrw@ithembaproductions.com.

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by Ester Goldberg

This photo from the top of the American Red Cross homepage is apparently supposed to convey that the Red Cross cares about Haitians. If they really care, why did a huge proportion of the 300,000 dead die from preventable causes? Preventable deaths are still happening daily, especially among small children and old folks, and if no shelter is provided, the death toll will skyrocket during the rainy season, which is just beginning. Doesn’t the Red Cross provide tents to other disaster survivors? That $175 million the Red Cross thinks Haiti doesn’t need would provide a lot of tents – plus food, water and medical care, all of it desperately needed. Thousands of Haitians have still received no aid at all since the Jan. 12 earthquake. – Photo: www.redcross.org

After the earthquake in Haiti, the American Red Cross became the go-to nonprofit for donating to the Haitian relief effort, since they could be trusted to properly handle your money. Or so we thought.

Now it turns out that of the $255 MILLION the Red Cross collected for the relief effort, only $80 MILLION of it actually made its way to Haiti. That leaves $175 MILLION of YOUR donations unaccounted for.

The obvious question is: Where did it go?

Well, according to the website for the Red Cross, quote, “On those rare occasions when donations exceed Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of OTHER disasters.

“Your gift enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to victims of all disasters.”

In other words, the Red Cross decided Haiti only needed $80 MILLION. So any money they receive over that amount is being used to pad their general fund. Which isn’t such a bad thing. But it’s not the first time they’ve done this:

1) In 1989, the Red Cross raised $50 MILLION for the victims of the San Francisco earthquake. But it’s estimated that only $10 MILLION of it was turned over to the actual victims.

2) After September 11th, the Red Cross raised $543 MILLION for the family members of people who died in the attacks. But they held back more than HALF of that money, which eventually led to the dismissal of their president.

3) In 2004, the Red Cross raised $3.21 BILLION to aid the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. But they’re still holding onto $500 MILLION of it.

4) And in 2005, the Red Cross raised $1.1 BILLION to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. But they kept $200 MILLION of it to, quote, “prepare for future disasters.”

(The Red Cross is a great organization, and the money they raise will eventually be used to help someone in crisis . . . at least we hope. But they’re not nearly as forthcoming as you would hope or expect, considering it’s YOUR donations that keep them in business.)

(And it’s worth mentioning that the Red Cross got $100 MILLION in bailout funds, and that PRESIDENT OBAMA capped the salaries of Red Cross execs at $500,000 a year. Because they’d been earning almost $1 MILLION a year.)

Visit EsterGoldberg.typepad.com, where this story first appeared. Instead of donating to help Haiti through the Red Cross, donate to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, an organization you can trust to help the people most in need. Go online to HaitiAction.net or make your check payable to HERF/EBSC and mail it to EBSC, 2362 Bancroft Way, Berkeley CA 94704. It’s tax deductible.

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Emeryville-based construction engineering and inspection firm seeks UDBE subconsultants for Caltrans RFQ No. 59A0737. We seek inspectors and Assistant Structural Materials Representatives from women-owned or minority-owned firms. Must be registered DBE with CUCP. Please send qualifications to jmehta@altavistasolutions.com no later than March 12th.

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by Chris Zamani M.D.

Dr. Chris Zamani led the medical contingent of the crew that the Minister of Information JR brought to Haiti to administer free healthcare to the people. The two worked together years ago as political organizers. Here, Dr. Chris was treating one of the youngstas in Cite Soleil whose leg had been badly fractured. Cite Soleil and the other Haitian neighborhoods in greatest need are avoided by most aid agencies to punish the people there for believing in Haitian sovereignty and self-determination, personified by deposed President Jean Bertrand Aristide. When you donate to Haiti, you can ensure your contribution reaches them by giving to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. Go online to HaitiAction.net or mail your tax-deductible check, with HERF/EBSC on the memo line, to East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, 2362 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704. – Photo: Siraj Fowler

Haiti is a nation that has served as an important example for both the forces of liberation and the forces of oppression since its inception as the first Black republic in the modern world in 1804. What was true then and is even more true today is that the power of example has never been underestimated by the forces of colonialism and imperialism.

Why is this? It is simple; when it comes down to the bottom line, individuals, communities and even nations must give their consent to be controlled. Those that refuse to be exploited at the hands of others and are willing to stop at nothing to make this determination a reality will never be oppressed.

This is the example that Haiti gave to the world in 1804 as 500,000 African slaves organized themselves to defeat Napolean’s army in a massive successful slave revolt that established the Haitian republic. As a result of this act of collective determination, the Haitian people were made to pay reparations to the French slave owners for “depriving” them of their property and profits.

Since that time, the forces of imperialism, represented largely by the U.S., French and Canadian governments and the United Nations, have never failed to make an example of Haiti by showing the world what happens when a group of Black people organize to liberate themselves from oppression. Haiti has been subjected to numerous invasions, occupations, military coups and brutal dictatorships which have had one overwhelming result: the impoverishment of the majority of the population.

Nonetheless Haitians remain a proud, stoic and determined people in spite of 200 years of attempts to destroy their spirit of liberation. It is important to understand this background before one can really understand the dynamics that are playing out in the post-earthquake environment in Haiti.

The Haiti Emergency Relief Fund (HERF), the Prisoners of Conscience Committee and the SF Bay View were able to send a medical team consisting of one doctor (myself) and three nurses. Three media trained personnel were also a part of the team. The HERF medical team provided a modest amount of medical aid in two locations within the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

This is a view right outside of the Palace in Port au Prince during the first of the three-day National Days of Prayer. In the tropical heat, many don’t have anywhere to go – their homes destroyed – and no access to food on a consistent basis or clean water. – Photo: Minister of Information JR

We served in a tent city in the Delmas area of the capital and at a curb-side clinic in the slum area of Cite Soleil. It was in these two locations that we found a very different level of resources and engagement by international relief workers and foreign missionaries.

In Delmas we stayed in a house run by American missionaries that was adjacent to a large open space where a tent city had been established in the aftermath of the earthquake. There were about 1,300 people living in this tent city at the time we were there. Most of the tents were high quality large canvas tents that had been donated by an international organization, although there were still many makeshift tents made from tree branches and bedsheets.

Inside the missionary house there was a well stocked pharmacy with a wide variety of medications, medical supplies and surgical equipment. There were at least a half dozen nurses as well as other international volunteers working in agriculture that were based at the house.

We saw patients in an outside tent and were dealing mostly with wound problems such as wound infections and wounds that were not healing but had areas of dead skin and muscle. These wound complications had developed after people had received amputations in unsterile conditions for crush injuries sustained during the earthquake. Occasionally we also treated some sexual infections, tuberculosis and intestinal worms. We thought that these conditions represented some of the worst – and then we went to Cite Soleil.

Cite Soleil is a poor slum area within the capital that was surrounded on three sides by military bases. There were many differences that we witnessed from the situation in Delmas, where we had been in previous days.

In Cite Soleil we saw many tent cities composed of makeshift tents constructed out of sheets, tarps and plastic garbage bags. There were no large canvas tents. We did not see any water tanker trucks nor did we witness the presence of any international aid workers. Absent were the missionaries and the foreign agricultural workers.

There was no home we could stop by to get medical supplies, no well stocked pharmacy, no designated area to provide medical care. In fact we pulled over to the side of the road, pulled out our two crates of medicine, and after sitting on a brick on a street corner we were open for business.

Within 5 minutes we were surrounded by people, mostly parents and grandparents bringing their young children in to be seen by a doctor. Ninety percent of the patients here were between 15 months and 7 years of age, and all except for one came with concerns about sickness that had nothing to do with the earthquake.

Here in Cite Soleil we were seeing conditions such as intestinal worms, malnutrition, dehydration, fungal skin infections, viral diarrhea and bacterial eye infections. These were conditions related to poor sanitation, lack of access to clean water, not enough nutritious food and overcrowding. These were diseases of poverty.

I highlight the differences between these two areas of the city where we provided medical care because there was no legitimate reason for the disparity that we witnessed in the distribution of aid. Already upon arrival at the airport one can see tons and tons of supplies sitting idle along the runway. These supplies included water, food, medicine, tarps, tents, fuel and other critical supplies that were in need all around the city and the nation.

While millions of well meaning individuals around the world had donated money totaling hundreds of millions toward humanitarian relief, the only item that was well distributed on the ground in Port-au-Prince were soldiers and their weapons. The other thing that was well distributed was misinformation.

This is one of the congested shanty-town tent cities where people live in Haiti. This was near the Palace on the one month anniversary of the Haitian earthquake of 2010. As you can see in the background, there are buildings that fell off of their foundation as well as rubble everywhere. – Photo: Minister of Information JR

Mainstream media leads us to believe that the soldiers were there for security in a violent and chaotic environment. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We never witnessed any act of aggression; to the contrary, the people demonstrated many times their willingness to share what little they had with others around them. There were rumors going around that there were too many doctors there, which may have been true in the few places that the U.S. military decided to set up places for people to get medical help, but in most places not only was there no excess of doctors but there were no doctors at all.

Haiti for me is thus a tale of two disasters on multiple different levels. First it is a tale of an earthquake that happened and what we were being told that was in stark contrast to the truth. It is a false tale of a nation devastated that had turned into an orgy of desperation-fueled violence, all despite the valiant efforts of the U.S. military-missionary apparatus who had swooped in to distribute millions of dollars in aid to all without fear or favor.

Then there was the real tale of a nation devastated, where millions of people are struggling to survive through cooperation and prayer while the U.S. military has established an occupation of their country and where missionaries hand out food, water and medicine to a few people in need while taking pictures of themselves smiling with a naked child within their embrace amidst a sea of poverty. Where hundreds of millions of dollars are unaccounted for and tons of relief supplies sit stockpiled at an airport under the watchful eye of soldiers.

This is also a tale of two disasters in that some areas of the city received much attention and a modest level of assistance from the international community, while other areas of the city remained invisible under a calculated blanket of neglect – these largely being areas that supported Jean Bertrand Aristide. Aristide was the poor people’s president who was kidnapped in a 2004 military coup supported by the Haitian elite and the CIA who opposed his policies aimed at empowering Haiti’s poor majority.

Yes, Haiti … a tale of two disasters, and two opposing examples – one set by a people determined to free themselves from the yolk of slavery, exploitation and oppression and the other example set by the imperialists as a warning of what will happen to those that dare to grasp their own destiny and establish freedom for their descendants by any means necessary.

Dr. Chris Zamani can be reached at czamani@hotmail.com.

Haiti: Rising from the Ashes (Extended Preview) from MerKaBa Films on Vimeo.

Haiti: Rising from the Ashes documents the coalition efforts of a Haitian and Black group from America team sponsored by the Prisoners Of Conscience Committee and HERF. The team is comprised of medical personnel, journalists, and filmmakers providing aid despite the blocking efforts of the United States, French, Canadian, and Brazilian military. Duration: 13min extended preview. Feature Film due to be released June 2010.

Related Posts

• Three in a million: Voices from the Haitian camps
• Pierre Labossiere on Haiti: ‘This is criminal’
• ‘We should be there, in Haiti’: Statement by Dr. Jean-Bertand Aristide
• Haiti and America’s historic debt
• The Red Cross collected $255 million for Haiti relief effort but only sent $80 million!

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Too often we go about our business without stopping to tell someone thank you.

So this is my personal THANK YOU for your support of my blog. I do not take my readers for granted and I appreciate you.

Let’s BE the change and accept responsibility to build our own communities.

–Brother Jesse

PS: Excuse the goofy pic but I was having fun that day speaking in Portland! Lol!

Breaking News: One week after delivering the keynote address at the Nation of Islam’s Saviours’ Day convention, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is scheduled to speak live via webcast from Mosque Maryam in Chicago on Sunday March 7, 2010. The live webcast feed will be freely available to the public @ http://www.noi.org/webcast/ 10am Central Time. The Minister’s subject will be “The Time and What Must Be Done; The Great War.”

Add these to your DVD library….

Saviours’ Day 2010 Keynote Address

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s February 28th Saviours’ Day keynote address is now available on CD, DVD and streaming webcast.

World Friendship Tour DVD The Final Call presents newly released coverage of the delegations led by The Honorable Minister Louis Farrahan. The World Friendship Tours included stops in Africa, Asia, The Middle East, The Caribbean, Russia and other locations. Click here to order.

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You know every so often I have to drop in a blog like this to see what you think and to see if it’s really a big deal.

Or if its just another case of “majoring in minor things” moment.

Well this one comes courtesy of the OffBeat Magazine. Their latest cover has received some backlash from the public because of the use of the headline Strange Fruit alongside a white band hanging from bars.

Ok, before I go any further, what comes to mind when you hear the words ‘Strange Fruit’ and ‘hanging’ in the same sentence? Uhmm, maybe Billie Holiday? Lynching? Slavery? Or maybe you don’t think of anything.

Well the reason I am laughing out loud as I write this blog is because I just finished reading the apology posted by the OffBeat staff on their website. One particular part of it stood out:

“We believed that in 2010, the phrase “strange fruit” could be used without automatically evoking the Billie Holiday song and its subject matter.”

Wow, are you serious?

Check out extra commentary by Jordan Flaherty at Local Outrage at New Orleans Music Magazine Over Racially Insensitive Cover.

What do you think? Did OffBeat really need to apologize or is this a “majoring in minor things” moment?

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[Breaking Ground!]

The rememberence of our ancestors is important and ownership of land is also.

On this past Sunday, February 28, Divine Leaders Inc. and The Shrine of the Black Madonna #10 of the Pan-African Orthodox Christian Church partnered to break ground on The Marcus Garvey Liberation Garden in Houston adjacent to the Shrine Cultural Bookstore.

According to Divine Leaders COO, Cavanaugh Nweze, this gardening and food co-op program will benefit our community by decreasing the amount of money a family spends on food which simultaneously decreases the transfer of wealth (for the purchase of that food) to entities outside our community.

“Participating volunteers will learn the many advantages of organic urban gardening as well as how to maintain an organic garden,” he says.

He further notes that “The Marcus Garvey Liberation Garden and Food Co-op Program will provide supplemental groceries for struggling senior citizens and single- parent households who currently live below the poverty line.”

Interested individual or organization can help advance the goals of the garden and food coop program in three different ways. A volunteer can either become a Land Cultivator, Financial Contributor, or an Earth Saver. Land Cultivators are those who donate their manual labor for the advancement of the purpose of the garden and coop program. Financial Contributors will be those who donate funds for the advancement of the garden and food coop program. An Earth Saver is anyone who brings their recyclable paper goods to the recycle bin at the Shrine of the Black Madonna sanctuary located at 5317 Martin L. King Blvd., Houston, TX 77021.

“It is truly a blessing to be able to see this idea blossoming into a great institution within our community! We want to give a tremendous amount of thanks to our sponsors; Jaramogi Kimathi, Sankofa Naturals, Melodrama Boutique, Clyde and Kamaria McNeil, Cheryl Thomas, and Jaha Kadirifu,” said Cavanaugh Nweze.

For more information about The Marcus Garvey Liberation Garden and Food Coop Program please visit Divine Leaders Blog or follow on Twitter @DivineLeaders

Congrats and thank you to Divine Leaders and the Shrine of the Black Madonna.

–Brother Jesse

[Photos courtesy of Turk Photography]

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A symposium, march and unveiling of a Texas Historic Marker will take place March 4 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Houston’s first sit-in. The events will start at Texas Southern University and move to 4110 Almeda, the site of Houston’s first sit-in.

The activities start at 9a.m. with a panel session in the MLK auditorium featuring several of the original TSU students who led that first non-violent protest five decades ago.

“The movement was a stepping stone that led to monumental change in Houston,” said Holly Hogrobrooks, journalist and civil rights organizer. “Because I had been close to people who had worked with landmark legal cases like Smith v Allwright and Sweat v Painter, cases that helped to chip away at Houston’s segregation laws, I knew what we were doing was the right thing to do.”

After the panel discussion, current TSU students will march with the pioneering student leaders to the actual location of that first sit-in. Fifty years ago 4110 Almeda was a Weingarten’s supermarket; today it is a U.S. Post Office.

A ceremony will be held at the Almeda location to unveil a 27’ by 42’ Texas Historic Marker at noon. The Texas Historic Commission, Harris County Historic Commission and TSU are the marker’s sponsors.

The marker highlights the students’ crusade to end segregation in Houston.
They began their movement at a flag pole on TSU’s campus Friday, March 4, 1960. At 4p.m. they lined up in pairs and marched to their destination — 4110 Almeda Road, Weingarten’s supermarket.

They arrived at 4:30 p.m. with a simple objective –to be served at the lunch counter. However, for hours the students sat quietly—never to be served.

“We felt our time had come,” said John Bland, TSU student and sit-in organizer. “We just wanted to be treated like American citizens.”

Many attribute the initial success of the movement to Eldrewey Stearns, who was a TSU law student. He became deeply passionate about desegregating Houston after he was stopped by a Houston Police Department officer in August of 1959, placed in jailed and severely beaten.

“Eldrewey Stearns had a brilliant mind,” said Bland, one of Houston’s first black transit employees. “He put all of this [sit-in strategies] together.”

However, unlike many of his contemporaries who went on to become successful professionals, Stearns became lost in “the cause” and succumbed to a mental illness.

“The movement actually stole the brother that I once knew,” said Shirley Stearns, Eldrewey’s sister. “But we are so proud of him because he gave his life to the movement. I don’t want anyone to forget that.”

Damaged but not broken by bipolar disorder, Stearns, who now resides in an assisted living home in South Houston, vividly recounted the movement.

“We wanted change, and it was something you had to be willing to die for,” said Stearns. “And, I was willing to die for a noble cause.”

Like bricks tumbling after being pummeled by heavy machinery, the stronghold laws of segregation began to fall. From March 1960 through August 1960, the students’ bold sit-ins, demonstrations and subsequent arrests ultimately led to the desegregation of nearly 70 public lunch counters (including the police cafeteria).

The genius of these brave young warriors’ strategies was lauded all across the city, especially in the black community.

“I think that the movement showed that you could get some things done by direct action that might also be accomplished through legal action, but usually it would take longer. We had won in Brown v Board of Education. The movement showed us that there is an alternative to lawsuits, direct action,” said Otis King, Houston’s first black city attorney and civil rights organizer.

Now, 50 years after that first sit-in, their story will be told to a new generation.

“We stood on the principles of equality and justice,” said Rev. Earl Allen, pioneering sit-in organizer. “History has proven we did the right thing.”

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This year not only was I behind the camera lens along with taking notes for my Final Call Newspaper assignments, I was blessed to be a presenter at three workshops this year.

My first one was on Thursday, February 25 at the I-Nation Media training organized by Nisa Islam Muhammad. I presented on ways to leverage social media tools such as blogging, Twitter and Facebook. Other presenters included Sis. Nisa and Jaye Delai of Charlotte.

On Friday, Feb. 26, I was part of the Social Networking Online workshop organized by Dwayne Muhammad of Phoenix. I was one of the panelists which also included Carlos Muhammad (Baltimore), Yavonka Muhammad (Chicago) and Alexander Muhammad (London). I had an opportunity to share my 7 Banging Blogging Tips….funny title, huh? Well people enjoyed it. I will share those tips in a separate post.

The last one I was apart of was the Gangsters to Gods males only workshop on Feb. 27. I was honored to be on the panel with Student Minister Nuri Muhammad, Shahid “The Math Doctor” Muhammad, Chea Muhammad, Marc Muhammad,Student Minister Abdul Hafeez Muhammad and Dennis Muhammad. The dialogue was dynamic and very serious.

You can read more about these workshops and many others in an upcoming edition of The Final Call Newspaper.

More Saviours’ Day 2010 blogs coming up!

–Brother Jesse Muhammad
Follow Me on Twitter!! @BrotherJesse

(Photos by Hannibal Muhammad, Jabari Muhammad and Jesse Muhammad)

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2/26/10

Played to Black

I’m sure you remember the Vogue Italia Black Issue. You know the one where the publishers of Vogue out did themselves in my (dark brown) opinion with a wealth of rich dark chocolate visual treats.Well, now they’ve gone deeper into the dark by launching Vogue Black. It’s an interesting site/blog that features the more colorful side of beauty and bathes the boundaries of fashion’s apartheid in a sea of fresh new flavors.
I hope they can keep it up. Kudos Vogue.

Indulge yourself.

via kissmyblackads.blogspot.com

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