BREASTFEEDING

WHILE BLACK

__________________________

 

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Stick To It:

Lessons On How

To Keep Breastfeeding,

Despite The Odds

 

By ELITA KALMA

When my son was born, I was told he needed formula because he had low blood sugar and jaundice, and for five hours, he was stuffed with the artificial milk, despite my pleas that he be brought to me so that I could nurse him. I was the one with the good stuff—colostrum, that early sugar milk brimming with antibodies. But I was scared for the welfare of my son, and too exhausted to fight the power. And by the time my baby finally was brought to me, my nurse, a sistah, was, let’s say, less than encouraging. She took one look at my breasts and declared, “You have terrible nipples—you’ll never be able to nurse!” Then she roughly shoved my boob into my baby’s mouth.

That was the beginning of my breastfeeding journey.

On my way out the hospital door, a nurse practically forced a diaper bag full of formula on me, insisting that my son would need it if he got hungry—as if my always available, always sterile, always-full-of-just-enough milk breasts just wouldn’t do. My discharge papers revealed that my son had been supplemented with formula every time he left my sight!

Lucky for us, this early introduction of artificial nipples and formula didn’t ruin our breastfeeding relationship; my son has been breastfeeding for 16 months now, with no signs of letting up. But there are plenty of moms and babies who aren’t as fortunate. Although our breastfeeding initiation rate is currently at an all-time high (about 60% of black moms are nursing when they leave the hospital), only a paltry 30% are still nursing at six months and only about 12% at one year. Our society has set moms up for failure, often starting from day one. If the nurses aren’t shoving a bottle full of formula down your baby’s throat, we’re often forced to run a gauntlet of well-meaning friends and family who don't know much about nursing and offer bad—and often discouraging—advice.

And don’t get me started on nursing in public! It's as if people expect a breastfeeding mother to never leave the house! Women are so scared of other people's reactions that they hide in bathrooms or their cars or give the baby a bottle to avoid breastfeeding in a public place. You have the legal right to breastfeed your baby in public but sometimes you wouldn't know it! I have nursed my son everywhere: Target, restaurants, my in-laws’ home, the mall. I will whip out a boob to feed my child whenever and wherever necessary. Some people won’t like it and you may get looks or worse. I was asked to cover up in a hotel lobby by a teacher chaperoning a high school field trip. I pretty much had to tell her where to go and how to get there!

I say all of this not to discourage you from nursing, but to encourage you to work through the obstacles because it is so worth it. Breast milk is a living, changing organism designed expressly for your baby. The bond you create with your child when you nurse him is unmatched. There are a million reasons to breastfeed, and for black babies especially, breast milk saves lives. Did you know that 8,000 black babies die before their first birthday in this country—triple the rate of white babies. Did you know that diseases and ailments that plague the black community, like breast cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes, and obesity, are prevented or lessened if you breastfeed and were breastfed?

I know that it is more difficult for black women to breastfeed. Often we don’t have the jobs with the flexibility needed to continue breastfeeding. Our partners aren’t supportive. Our families think of breastfeeding as something weird that only white women do. Our bodies have been so hypersexualized in music and the media that we think our breasts can only serve one purpose. It's a disgrace that if you want to breastfeed it takes a mix of good luck and tenacity. If we, as a nation, a world, a community, want women to breastfeed, want our babies to be healthier, then we have to truly start supporting them. That means fewer unnecessary medical interventions during childbirth, longer and paid parental leave, on-site daycare, laws requiring employers to give women breaks for pumping/nursing, and normalization and acceptance of breastfeeding in public.
Then, and only then, will we see women doing what the American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization recommend: exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and nursing until age 1 and beyond.

So if you are pregnant, take the time to learn as much as you can about breastfeeding. Read Kathi Barber’s The Black Woman’s Guide to Breastfeeding. Create a birth plan before you go to the hospital, spelling out your wishes for both labor AND breastfeeding. Talk to your friends who have nursed and ask for advice. Call the African-American Breastfeeding Alliance or your hospital’s lactation “warm line” at the first sign of difficulty. Bookmark http://www.KellyMom.com.

And of course, you can always contact me. I think I’ve become a bit of a pro! Breastfeeding is seriously one of the most amazing things I've ever done in my entire life. Snuggling my son close while he stares at me with those big brown eyes?

There is nothing better.

About our MyBrownBaby contributor: Elita Kalma is a librarian and the mother to 16-month-old Miles, who is still nursing. She blogs about breastfeeding at The Blacktating Blog and can be found on Twitter @blacktating.

If you would like to be a MyBrownBaby contributor, email your essays/ideas to Denene at denenemillner at gmail dot com.

__________________________

February 2012

Breastfeeding Mother of Color

of the Month:

Elita Kalma

We are so excited to have one of our closest lactavist friends as our February Breastfeeding Mother of Color of the Month, Elita Kalma.  Elita is very influential in the breastfeeding/lactavist world, especially among us Black Mommies.  Her nationally known and followed blog, Blacktating inspires so many women across racial and cultural lines.  For many of us, she has given us a voice and a social media outlet to express our concerns, questions, thoughts and loves.  The Abiyamo Omo Society is so happy to announce Elita as our BMOCOTM for February because this is the month Black skin is highlighted and our culture is celebrated.  She is the perfect person to applaud this month.  So, without further ado we honor you, Elita, for your strength, voice and passion in the world of maternal-child health. We thank you.

Name: Elita Kalma

Profession: Librarian

Children & Ages: Miles, 4 & Aminah, 4 months

How long did/are you breastfeed(ing)? Miles was breastfed for 3 years and Aminah is still happily nursing.

How did you know to breastfeed? My mom breastfed me until I was about 18 months old so I always knew if I had children that I would breastfeed them.

Please explain to us your overall breastfeeding experience. Both of my kids were tongue-tied so breastfeeding was very tough in the beginning. With Miles, my pediatrician said his frenulum looked “a little tight” but that it was “no big deal.” I suffered through sore nipples, poor milk transfer and slow weight gain and no one ever told me the “slightly tight frenulum” might be to blame. Somehow we managed but Miles had to nurse every hour on the hour in order to get enough milk and keep my supply up. I tried to wean him as gently and slowly as possible but when I knew I wanted to try for another baby I just weaned him cold turkey on his 3^rd birthday (we were down to about once a week at that point anyway) and I got pregnant with Aminah a few weeks later. Her tongue tie was noticed and clipped right away and we’ve enjoyed a very easy breastfeeding relationship since, with plenty of milk and steady weight gain!

How are you inspired by your breastfeeding experience? I would not be a blogger or activist today if I had not breastfed. It is no exaggeration to say breastfeeding has been life changing for me. It has made me a more patient, better mother and a crusader to get every woman to be open to the idea of breastfeeding and to support her throughout her journey.

Are there any obstacles you have to overcome during your breastfeeding experience? Besides the two tongue ties, the toughest thing for me has been working. I’m one of those women who just doesn’t let down easily for a pump and I have found it incredibly difficult to maintain a supply while working out of the home full-time.

How do you think being a Mother of Color effects your breastfeeding experience? Definitely some health care workers I’ve encountered have been surprised that I was breastfeeding because I am a black woman. I’ve also gotten the benefit of being able to be a role model of sorts for other women of color who breastfeed. I get a lot of emails from women who have no support for breastfeeding in their real, day-to-day lives and are so grateful to know there is another mother out there who does things the way they do.

What are some of the ways you inspire other mothers to breastfeed and get the word of encouragement out in the community? Between my blog and Twitter feed (@Blacktating) I try to encourage and support women in our community to breastfeed. In addition I make myself available to friends and family members and their friends and family members. People have come to think of me as someone with breastfeeding knowledge and will contact me if they have questions, which is very cool!

Feel free to share anything else about your breastfeeding experience and maternal story of growth.

I wish every woman could experience breastfeeding as total bliss, bonding and love. Yes, it can be tough at the beginning, but everything you’ve been through in your pregnancy, labor and delivery to get that baby wasn't easy either. The idea that you can build and grow a perfect little person with your body and then feed and nurture her with your breasts is absolutely awesome and amazing.

Elita Kalma is the mom to Miles, a preschooler, and newborn baby girl Aminah. She is a librarian by day and a lactivist all of the time. She started her blog, Blacktating, in 2008 as a side project while on maternity leave and it is now her third baby. When she's not reading, writing and tweeting about breastfeeding, Elita enjoys celebrity gossip, cooking, wine and traveling.

Posted by The Abiyamo Omo Society 

>via: http://abiyamoomosociety.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-2012-breastfeeding-mot... 

__________________________

When it comes to motherhood, Black cisgender women are boxed into a variation of the Madonna/whore dichotomy: the sexless Mammy who loves and feeds, literally and figuratively, almost everyone else, and the Welfare Mother, whose “pathologically loose values” leaves her with children by different fathers and on the government dole. Even our nursing bosoms get caught in this public debate: we see images of Black women breastfeeding white infants, National Geographic-style exoticizing of African women breastfeeding their children, the public side-eyeing via questions of why Black women don’t use the milk Nature provides to give their children the best physical and mental advantages from the start.

Elita Kalma.

Thankfully, Black breastfeeding activists–or “lactivists”–like Elita Kalma step in on the regular and disrupt this dichotomy. I’ve been loving her tweets for a while, and I dig her excellent blog, Blacktating. And other folks dig what she says and does:according to the site, “Elita has been featured in the book, Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?”, works with Dr. Kathleen Arcaro on her groundbreaking breastmilk and breast cancer research, and has been a featured guest blogger on theSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel parenting blog, “Moms & Dads,” the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog, and My Brown Baby.”

So, being the curiously crushing-out soul that I am, I just had to interview Kalma about her activism, those aforementioned images, racism and solidarity within lactivist communities, and Beyonce.

A bit about you: where you’re from and your profession. Also, when and how did you become a breastfeeding activist?

I’m a librarian who lives in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I lived in NYC for a few years so I really feel like a Queens girl at heart. I became a breastfeeding activist (or lactivist, as we call ourselves) after the birth of my son in 2007. I found myself so fascinated with breastfeeding since I was always doing it. I was thinking about it and talking about so much I decided to start my blog because I was sure my husband, family and friends were sick of listening to me go on about breastfeeding all of the time.

What are the prevailing popular images when it comes to Black women and breastfeeding? Do you seeing the image(s) changing?

Well, even just a few years ago it was really hard to find photos of modern-looking black women breastfeeding. It was all African/tribal women or really dated photos from old WIC campaigns. That’s definitely changing. More and more companies are using black women as models to sell breastfeeding accessories. The United States Breastfeeding Committee received funding to produce images of breastfeeding to be put in the public domain, and one of the recipients of that funding was the Indiana Black Breastfeeding Coalition. They created this amazing gallery of over 200 photos of black women breastfeeding that is so diverse. There are photos of moms breastfeeding babies and toddlers, many out in public. I love that the photos include partners and grandmas and siblings, because breastfeeding really is a family affair. It’s just a beautiful collection and those images have ended up in several breastfeeding campaigns and blogs.

 

One image that’s been appearing nowadays that causes a bit of discomfort is seeing a Black woman feeding a white

Courtesy: theinspirationroom.com

child or, more disconcerting, a Black breast feeding a white child. It brings up for some the Mammy stereotype and the traumatic history of Black enslaved women who served as wet nurses for children, both the ones fathered by their white slaveholder and those who were fathered by their Black partners. Thoughts on that?

I find those images really to be really gross, and I find the defending of those images as beautiful by some white lactivists to be really problematic. With our legacy of slavery in this country, I just don’t see how anyone can look at those photos and like them. There are just too many issues of race, class, and power wrapped up in the nursing of a white child by a black woman for me to find any beauty there.

I know that you, for the most part, have mostly praised Beyonce for breastfeeding in public and called it a Black breastfeeding moment. Yet, your praise received borderline racist responses. In your post, you said that “I can’t help but think that race is playing a part in the attitudes and responses from moms I’ve seen online.” Would you mind discussing how race and racism plays out among breastfeeding advocates? Do you get support from other lactivists of color?

 I get boatloads of support from other lactivists of color. I think we support each other’s endeavors all of the time. They link to my writing, and I post about their events. What happens is that when the topic of breastfeeding rates comes up, everyone wants to shake their heads and tsk-tsk at the low initiation rates amongst black women. But when the world’s biggest superstar, who happens to be black, breastfeeds the response from many white women was, “What does race matter? Shouldn’t she just be celebrated as a nursing mom?” Well, no. It’s a huge deal that the most A-list celebrity mom to breastfeed to date and sing its praises in a major magazine was black. Some people wanted to downplay the significance which I found interesting. If she’d decided to formula feed, I am for sure that the story would have been that was expected, since black women don’t breastfeed as much.

 

Do you think the images (or lack thereof) of Black women and breastfeeding in pop culture further feeds into the media-driven “Mommy Wars?” Why or why not?

I think that, like with other aspects of mothering, black women have been saying for a long time, “Hey, why aren’t we being included in this conversation?” I think that’s a separate issue from the so-called “Mommy Wars” though. 

Just caught your Twitterfeed about wanting to hear happy breastfeeding stories. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t help but wonder if these negative stories about breastfeeding are a pushback to women essentially making a protesting stand on using their breasts for feeding when this society shows again (and again and again!) that breasts are there just to attract sexual/romantic attention?

I really think the pushback is that many women believe breastfeeding is going to be easy because it’s a natural process and then when they face challenges they say, “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” I think a lot of women have the expectation that breastfeeding will be amazing and transformative, and it is for so many. But when they don’t get that experience they feel angry, and in some cases guilty, especially if they weren’t able to do it for very long. And I think in general there is the feeling that if you had a great breastfeeding experience or a great birth that you can’t talk about it because people will think you’re being a “sanctimommy.” It’s become perfectly acceptable to bash breastfeeding, but if you sing its praises you’re automatically a breastfeeding bully. The reality is that it will be difficult for some and easy for others, and both of those experiences are valid. Particularly in a culture that doesn’t support breastfeeding in general, I think moms who make it work deserve all the kudos.

Gotta ask: your thoughts about NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg restricting hospital baby formulas to encourage breastfeeding and how that may play out along racial lines?

Well, first, I think there was a lot of drama surrounding that initiative that was really silly. I wonder how many people who had something to say about it actually read what the Latch On NYC campaign was all about. All of the evidence we have shows that when breastfeeding is supported in the hospital and formula freebies aren’t handed out, the breastfeeding rates go up. Harlem Hospital was the first hospital in New York City to be certified as Baby Friendly by UNICEF in 2008. The overall breastfeeding initiation rate for black women is about 54%, but 81% of women are breastfeeding when they leave Harlem Hospital. In California, the difference in breastfeeding rates for black women at regular hospitals versus Baby Friendly was 40% versus 60%. We know that training nurses to not reach for formula first and not allowing the formula companies carte blanche to market to new moms increases breastfeeding rates. This, in my opinion, is a good thing and a step forward and will only benefit black moms and babies.

How do you need from those of us who don’t breastfeed to support you and other lactivists of color?

The best thing you can do is support nursing moms, because unless there are some major societal changes, we aren’t going to see the breastfeeding rates in our community that we need for optimal health. Support the moms in your circle. If your friend is having a baby and tells you she wants to breastfeed, don’t make her feel strange for nursing in front of you or breastfeeding in public. If you co-worker has a baby and is pumping at work, don’t complain about her taking breaks or storing her milk in the break-room fridge. The best thing to do is realize that breastfeeding is, and should be, a part of all of our lives. Moms need to work and be social and leave the house with their kids. If they don’t feel like they can do that then they won’t breastfeed for very long. The best way to support the cause is to support the nursing moms in your life and in your community. 

 

>via: http://www.racialicious.com/2012/08/10/racialicious-crush-of-the-week-elita-k...

Baseball and Science

in the Time of Cholera

 

Posted by: lisaparavisini | August 11, 2012

As a physician working on water security in Haiti, I was moved by the documentary, Baseball in the Time of Cholera, writes Rishi Rattan in this article for The Huffington Post.

Visit http://www.undeny.org to share this film on Facebook and sign the petition! Together we can end this crisis!

Baseball in The Time of Cholera is a powerful insight into the tragedy and scandal of Haiti's Cholera epidemic through the eyes of a young baseball player. Share it with your network!

Tweet this: Change the world. Watch, retweet, sign -- tell @UN to own up to @cholera in #Haiti #undeny 

http://undeny.com

Directed By: David Darg & Bryn Mooser
Executive Producers: Olivia Wilde & Elon Musk

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Recipient of a Tribeca Film Festival Special Jury Mention, the film contextualizes and humanizes how the tragedy has destroyed Haitian families. Five percent of Haitians have been infected by cholera. On a global scale, that would be equivalent to the entire United States being infected. The film focuses on one boy, placing his story within the larger question, “How did cholera arrive in Haiti?” Throughout the poignant film, I was struck by how the narrative of the United Nation’s role in introducing cholera into Haiti was founded in the science and research I use daily.

The UN military mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, inadvertently introduced cholera into Haiti through failures in medical screening, sanitation, and waste protocols. With over 7,000 dead in Haiti and cholera spreading to North and South America, the UN continues to deny responsibility.

Cholera is transmitted in water or food contaminated by feces containing the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae. It is an ancient disease of poverty and lack of clean water. Most who experience the up to one liter of “rice-water” diarrhea hourly will require just a simple solution of sugar and salt to survive. In the beginning, hundreds of patients overwhelmed my Haitian colleagues. Those that had fluid to administer ran out of equipment to administer it. Others that had the equipment ran out of fluid. The result was the same for the patient: death.

The world is in the midst of a pandemic, and cholera has been continuously present in the Gulf Coast for nearly 40 years. But Gulf Coast cholera has never caused an outbreak or a single death in the U.S. Most of my U.S. colleagues will never see a case of cholera.

U.S. prevention of water-borne illnesses is based on over 150 years of science. In August 1854, Dr. John Snow described new London cholera cases as “the most terrible outbreak of cholera which ever occurred in this kingdom.” Twenty-four hours into the epidemic, Dr. Snow mapped out the nearly 100 deaths and discovered they clustered around a water pump on Broad Street. Seventy-two hours after the first case, he convinced the parish to remove the pump handle. The epidemic subsided shortly afterward. With this data-driven, elegant solution, Dr. Snow became the founder of modern epidemiology. Since then, we know that understanding the origin and transmission of an epidemic is essential to ending it and preventing future outbreaks.

Following the earthquake that devastated Haiti’s already struggling infrastructure, the Centers for Disease Control stated that a cholera epidemic was “extremely unlikely” to occur. A cholera epidemic had never been reported in Haiti. In October 2010, after training during a Nepal cholera epidemic, MINUSTAH soldiers were deployed to Haiti. Their base was far from the earthquake’s epicenter or any internally displaced person camps. Within days of the soldiers’ arrival, Haitians around the base began dying of cholera. The UN denied responsibility. They insisted the open septic tanks leaking waste into a river met international standards. They claimed that focusing on the origin of cholera hindered attempts to understand and control it. They refused to allow Haitian authorities to test the UN soldiers on base for cholera. Two months after the outbreak, the UN declared that “all soldiers had tested negative.”

This contradicted earlier reports that no UN soldier was tested before or after the outbreak. It was revealed in the UN report the following year that the UN never tested the soldiers. But science has advanced since the days of Snow. Using methods spanning microbiology, genetics, epidemiology, and hydrology, several research groups independently found a connection between strains of cholera in Haiti and South Asia. The Nepal epidemic strain was an “exact match” to Haiti’s cholera strain. First reported by South Korean scientists in the UN report, this was corroborated by Danish researchers. Dr. Daniele Lantagne, a UN report co-author, stated, “Based on the summation of the circumstantial and scientific evidence, the most likely scenario is that someone associated with the UN MINUSTAH facility was the person responsible.” Dr. G. Balakrish Nair, also a co-author, said that there was “irrefutable molecular evidence” that the Haitian strain came from the Nepali strain.

To date, the UN has not accepted the findings of their report, nor the statements of the co-authors they appointed. The UN has not changed any of the protocols that allowed cholera to be introduced. A policy allowing untreated waste to leave the base remains in place. Though it has been known for over 40 years that the majority of cholera carriers are asymptomatic, the UN still does not test asymptomatic soldiers from regions that are endemic or have experienced a recent epidemic. They have not created solutions to remain compliant with their own waste and sanitation protocols. In short, the UN has failed to implement a single recommendation of their own report since its publication over a year ago.

Cholera continues to sicken hundreds in Haiti monthly. Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae is found in fresh water systems throughout the country and in its surrounding bays and harbors. Haiti’s water security was the worst in the world at the beginning of this century. Diarrheal diseases were the biggest killer of Haitian children under five long before Kreyol had a word for cholera. Cholera worsened the situation.

Haiti needs clean water. The UN’s non-military entities that have helped Haiti improve itself could, and should, play a central role in the internationally-supported, nationally-directed efforts to secure clean water for all of Haiti. I admire my UN colleagues who tirelessly strive to create evidence-based solutions, reconciliation, and justice for Haiti, yet the UN’s failure to acknowledge data impedes their own staff’s progress.

The scientific findings are public record and have been widely reported. Worldwide, people remained unconvinced by the UN’s denials. Over 100 U.S. Democrats recently signed a letter urging Washington to push the UN to accept responsibility and respond in more evidence-based ways. During the London premiere of Baseball in the Time of Cholera, someone dressed as a UN soldier put the handle — painted UN blue — back on the Broad Street water pump. For those who know the history and science of cholera, it is an arresting, heart-breaking image. For Haiti, the image of the UN introducing cholera and rejecting the science to prevent its spread is reality.

To watch the film and learn more, visit undeny.com.

For the original report go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rishi-rattan/haiti-cholera_b_1762725.html

__________________________

Harry Belafonte on

Capitalism, Media Moguls

and His Disappointment

With Jay-Z and Beyonce

(Q&A)

8/7/2012 by Alexandra Zawia

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Harry Belafonte

At the Locarno Film Festival to pick up the Golden Leopard Honor Award, the singer and actor also talks about his fears of a Fourth Reich and why Mitt Romney shouldn’t be president.

<div style="background-color:#000000;width:520px;"><div style="padding:4px;"><p style="text-align:left;background-color:#FFFFFF;padding:4px;margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:0px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><b>The Colbert Report</b><br/>Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive</p></div></div>

Harry Belafonte, at 85, is as active and activist as ever. At the Locarno Film Festival, despite walking with a stick, he couldn’t be kept from introducing the films the festival screened in his honor, especially Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones, which he said "put me most on the map of the world." Belafonte at one point called himself "the greatest actor in the world who always pretended to be a singer.“

The festival’s career honor is only his second-ever acting award, so Belafonte said he regarded it as a sign of "global recognition" of his political activism, which was evident as he used the occasion to take a stand against unbridled capitalism and talk about his new film projects, one of them about the Arab Spring.

The Hollywood Reporter talked with Belafonte about his activism, his views on U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney and what he sees as this age’s biggest enemy.

The Hollywood Reporter: Your acting career is less known than your singing career. What does an Honor Award from a film festival mean to you?

Harry Belafonte: Such awards, coming from culture and societies where I do not linger, are a validation that there was a global receptivity to the fact that I have taken a stand against war, taken a stand against racism, sexism and so on, throughout the years. While at home some people would want to crucify me because of my political position, I am also being honored for what I do, and that validation is extremely important.

THR: Has the world changed for activists like you?

Belafonte: Definitely. Back then, the enemies were very clear, very precise. It is easy to fight oppression if it comes in [the form of] a swastika and a boot, and as a dictator, and you can see it and feel it and touch it. It is easy when there is a sign that says "No N-----s“ or "No Jews.“ Where it becomes the most insidious is when it buries itself and you can no longer touch it but can taste that yet it is there, fully blown, doing insane mischief. That is why I think the period now is the most challenging I’ve ever lived in. The power in many societies has become almost absolute. Those who have the power in the free-enterprise system start to crush societies and create wars that are unholy. What we did during the Bush period, what we still continue to do, even with Barack Obama, is the continuency of not changing the paradigm, of not changing the view. We still have laws that encourage torture; we did not change Guantanamo; we have laws that allow the police to arrest you at any time, not having to tell you why, and take you wherever they want. This kind of capitalism is taking us to the doorstep of [a] Fourth Reich, I think.

THR: Would you want Mitt Romney to become the next U.S. president?

Belafonte: Only if I would like to see the end of civilization. No, absolutely not. Mitt Romney is not my cup of tea at all.

THR: Can you pin down what the enemy is nowadays?

Belafonte: Unbridled capitalism. The concentration of money in the hands of a very small group is the most dangerous thing that has ever happened to civilization. We are facing an oligarchy of force. Just look at who controls the press. We all witnessed how money and power squeezed out all essense ofRupert Murdoch and [Silvio] Berlusconi. Thank God for social media, which aids transparency. But even that becomes more and more restricted now, with companies like Facebook buying up all the roots of this technology. But I am currently involved with two documentaries, one Leadbelly: Legend, Life, Legacy and the other Another Night in the Free World, which I am shooting now for about five months. It is globally looking at the youth movement during the the Arab Spring, looking at what happened in Cairo and Tunisia and now in Syria.

THR: Back to the occasion of the award for your acting career. Are you happy with the image of members of minorities in Hollywood today?

Belafonte: Not at all. They have not told the history of our people, nothing of who we are. We are still looking. We are not determinated. We are not driven by some technology that says you can kill Afghans, the Iraqis or the Spanish. It is all -- excuse my French -- shit. It is sad. And I think one of the great abuses of this modern time is that we should have had such high-profile artists, powerful celebrities. But they have turned their back on social responsibility. That goes for Jay-Z and Beyonce, for example. Give me Bruce Springsteen, and now you’re talking. I really think he is black.

 

 

 THE BLUE BOOK

(Chicago 1905)

A page from the Colored People’s Blue-Book and Business Directory of Chicago, Ill, published in 1905. Part of the entry for Miss Lutie Jackson reads: “All things known to Science are as nothing compared to this treatment…Call and be convinced.” On the facing page: “Mrs. Georgia Foxx-Moody: Elocutionist and Cornist.”

GO HERE TO VIEW A PDF OF THE BLUE BOOK

Hugh Masekela

‘We Used To Be Africans’

August 10, 2012 Posted by: Bongani Kona

“When I look at my grandchildren I figure that when they ask them 20 years from now who they are, they probably gonna say ‘they say we used to be Africans long ago’” says legendary South African horn player and composer, Hugh Masekela. In this TED talk (video above) given in England this year, the 73-year-old trumpeter shares a few words on a topic close to his heart strings; cultural heritage. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not only about where you’re at it’s about where you’re from because “If you don’t know where you’re coming from” Masekela says in his trademark baritone voice, “you’re not going anywhere”.

2012 Dii Desert Energy

Conference Fellowship

for Journalists from

North Africa/ Middle East

(covers travel/ accommodation)

Deadline: 8 October 2012

Dii offers five fellowships to enable young journalists from North Africa and the Middle East to attend the 3rd Dii Desert Energy Conference which takes place from 7th - 9th of November 2012 in Berlin. Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

At the 3rd Dii Desert Energy Conference, we will present our strategic framework "Desert Power 2050" which shows how key aspects of the Desertec vision could work in practice. Dii demonstrates how, based on proven technologies, solar and wind resources can be combined with grids to securely supply North Africa, the Middle East and Europe with sustainable and affordable power.

Attending the conference offers you the chance to meet scientific, political and economic representatives from the entire EUMENA region and to discuss how a secure, affordable and clean electricity supply could be created.

Speakers will raise topics such as support schemes needed to develop markets for renewable energy, industrial expectations of a joint EUMENA market, perspectives for the young generation and will address the question of how can desert power deliver green growth. For further details please see program

Do you wish to participate? Please read the selection criteria carefully.

WHO CAN APPLY: The fellowship is open to all journalists (Online, Print, Radio and TV), not older than 35 years, from North Africa or the Middle East.

ALL CANDIDATES MUST SUBMIT:

• Cover letter outlining what you expect to gain in terms of personal and professional development from this fellowship and overviewing which subjects you mainly cover in your publications

• Current curriculum vitae

• Two recently published articles

• Letter of recommendation from your editor in chief. Freelancers please provide a letter of recommendation from any media client you work for.

TERMS: Following the conference, the fellow must submit a report (1 page) detailing insights he/she gained from attending the conference. Dii has the right to publish all articles which the fellow produces in the context of the 3rd Dii Desert Energy Conference on the Dii website.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Please submit your application in English and in PDF form, no later than 8th October 2012.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries/ submissions: Daniela Becker at becker@dii-eumena.com

Website: http://www.dii-eumena.com/conference/

Hunger Mountain

Creative Nonfiction Prize

What is the Hunger Mountain Creative Nonfiction Prize?

An annual contest for the best writing in the boundless field of creative nonfiction. A chance for your creative nonfiction to be read by Hunger Mountain editors and guest judges!

What will the winner receive?

One first place winner receives $1000 and publication
Two honorable mentions receive $100 each.

Who can enter the contest?

Anyone! Everyone!

Who is this year’s judge?

The 2012 judge will be announced soon.

When is the deadline?

The deadline is September 10.  If you’re entering electronically, you can wait until the last minute of the last hour.  If you’re using snail mail, your entry should be postmarked by Sept. 10.

Where are last year’s winning entries?

Here. Click to read “South Omaha From the F Street Exit, JFK Freeway” by Dani Bojanski, selected by Sue William Silverman.

Or here. Click to read last year’s runner-up “Blackout” by Daisy Hernandez.

Or here. Last year’s runner up “I Got So Much Love I Don’t Know Where to Put It” by David LeGault.

Or here. Click to read “Breathing Room On Judgment Day” selected by Melissa Febos.

Or right here! Click to read “Birds Have Eyes” by Valerie Arvidson, the 2010 winner chosen by Robin Hemley.

Or here! Click to read 2010 runner-up “Afterlife” by Susan Southard, chosen by Robin Hemley.

Does Hunger Mountain accept electronic entries?

Yes! Please enter an original unpublished piece of creative nonfiction, no more than 10,000 words. Your name and address should not appear on the essay itself; we read contest entries blind.  Click the link below to access our submission manager. Once in the submission manager, you’ll need to choose “Hunger Mountain Creative Nonfiction Prize.”  Pay the $20.00 entry fee and upload your entry: Enter the Hunger Mountain Creative Nonfiction Prize

Does Hunger Mountain still accept entries via snail mail?

Yes! Entries must be postmarked by September 10th and accompanied by your $20.00 entry fee (please send a check or money order made out to Vermont College of Fine Arts).  Please enter an original unpublished piece of creative nonfiction, no more than 10,000 words. Your name and address should not appear on the essay itself; we read contest entries blind.  Instead of writing your name on the manuscript, enclose an index card with the essay title, your name, address, phone number, and email address. If you like, you may also enclose a postage-paid postcard for acknowledgement of entry and a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) for a list of winners.  Entries must be typed, double-spaced, and on one side of the paper only. Use a paper clip or send unbound (no staples or binding, please!)

Send entry and $20.00 entry fee to:

CNF Prize
Hunger Mountain
Vermont College of Fine Arts
36 College Street
Montpelier, VT 05602

Will entries be considered for general publication as well as for the CNF prize?

Yes, they will.

Are simultaneous submissions okay?

Yes,  but please let us know right away if your work is accepted elsewhere. And unfortunately we can’t refund entry fees if the work is accepted elsewhere

May I submit more than one essay for the contest?

Yes, multiple entries are allowed. But each entry should be submitted separately, and include its own entry fee. (You may send more than one entry and entry fee in the same envelope if you’re using snail mail.)

What if I have a question that’s not answered here?

Email us at hungermtn@vcfa.edu.

---

Thanks for entering our contest, and good luck!

To the Lighthouse Poetry Publication Prize

Award: $1000 and publication of collection by Red Hen Press

Deadline: August 31, 2012 postmark

Page Limit: 48 to 96 pages

Fee: $20 per entry

Announcement Date: December 15, 2012

AROHO's To the Lighthouse Poetry Publication Prize will be awarded for the best, unpublished poetry collection by a woman. Submit 48 to 96 pages of poetry postmarked by August 31, 2012. The $20 reading/entry fee is payable by check or money order to A Room of Her Own; please indicate “To the Lighthouse PPP” in the memo line. Include an SASP [self-addressed stamped postcard] with your package for notification of receipt. Your name and address should appear on the cover sheet only, along with the manuscript title, and your address and telephone number. The award amount is $1000 and publication of your poetry collection by Red Hen Press. The winner will be contacted by phone or email prior to the web announcement date.

DOWNLOAD COVER SHEET

Send manuscript along with SASP, cover sheet, and check (postmarked 8/31/2012) to:

 

A Room Of Her Own

Attn: To the Lighthouse PPP

PO Box 778

Placitas, NM 87043

Women’s Day in South Africa

and the Crisis of Girls

By Femficatio / Thursday, 9, August, 2012

 

March in Pretoria on 9th of August 1956. Photo courtesy of absolutemedia.co.za

 

On 9th August 1956, the Federation of South African Women marched and sang out in Pretoria, South Africa:

wathint’ abafazi,
wathint’ imbokodo,
uza kufa!

[When] you strike the women,
you strike a rock,
you will be crushed [you will die]!

The 9th of August marks Women’s Day in South Africa, the anniversary of the day the Federation of South African Women (a non-racial organisation which mobilised women in protest against Apartheid) organised a mass demonstration against the imposition of pass laws on women in South Africa – including the right of women to live with their husbands in the towns where they worked.

Progress for South African women is slow going. Today, 9th August 2012, marks 56 years since 20,000 women marched in the streets of South Africa – yet women’s representation in South African government remains marginal, and rape, relationship terrorism and general cultural disparities remain critical issues for South Africa’s women.

Women activist at 9th August march in 1956. Photo courtesy of sahistory.org.za

With new statistics suggesting that 25% of boys saying gang rape is “fun”; 24.4% of girls becoming pregnant in their teen years; and 37% of Gauteng men admitting to raping women; in the hearts of many, the crisis of strong representation and leadership in tackling sexual violence is a critical objective of this years Women’s Day.

In 1999, Patricia de Lille, then MP for the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), caused significant controversy when she alleged top ANC officials were involved in multibillion-rand corruption in the acquisition of weaponry and arms.  This became de Lille’s personal cause, and in seeking justice and keeping anti-corruption at the forefront, she left the PAC and formed the Independent Democrats (ID) in 2003, the first political party to be led by a woman in South Africa.  The ID is in the process of merging with the Democratic Alliance which is led by Helen Zille.  The Independent Democrats are a populist right-liberal, left-wing party with social democracy and liberalism as it core foundations.

Placards at Women’s March in 1956. Public Domain Images

 

The ID were vocal about the situation of sexual violence in 2009. Haniff Hoosen, Safety and Security spokesman of the ID was quoted as saying, “When we are confronted with a statistic of one in four men admitting to having raped a women, then Government must be honest and admit that we have failed to change the attitudes of men towards women and children,’ which followed with an 8 point action plan.  But that was in 2009 – since then, in May 2012 four teens gang raped a mentally challenged young woman, filming the brutal act and distributing it until it went viral.  The boys were were recently bailed for just $67 each.

The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) is another woman led organisation working in the interest of protecting, positioning and prioritising the issues of women and girls. Yet it has been met with distinct criticism in the South African community. Ranjeni Munusamy writes for allAfrica:

“The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) is the most prominent political organisation for women in the country but has over the years developed a reputation as a cheerleading and choral society, without any dynamism in its leadership. It is wholly absent from national debates, and apart from applauding the actions of the incumbents in government and the ANC it recoils from asking difficult questions of the leadership.”

Women’s Day, a national holiday in South Africa, continually becomes more of a “feel-good” commercial holiday, than the day of action in keeping with the aims of the 1956 march. A recent article missed an opportunity to discuss critical issues – instead they spoke about whether mistresses were left out of the festivities. allAfrica reported from The Sowetan:

“While Women’s Day is generally a lonely day for mistresses and makhwaphenis,” says the paper, “this does not mean that they do not get their fair share of celebrations.” Makhwapheni is a term used to refer to a lover you are seeing on the side while in a relationship, loosely translated as ‘The one I keep hidden under my armpit’ ”

This quote in a prominent South African newspaper read by millions daily, demonstrates that women’s organisations have had little impact on the general populists perceptions of women and real women’s issues.

The current Chief Executive of South Africa, President Zuma, says he is committed to increasing women’s participation in government, stating that:

“The representation of women in Parliament increased from 27.8% in 1994 to 44% in 2009. Similarly, the representation of women in provincial legislatures has increased from 25.4% to 42.4% respectively.”  But as Munusamy reporting for allAfrica countered:

“It is difficult to quantify though how more of women in positions of political power benefits the female population of South Africa. Women elected to national, provincial and local government are there to represent the broad mandate of their political parties, not to champion women’s issues”.

1 in 9 Campaign carrying mock corpses in protest of the commercialisation of the National Women’s Day. Photo courtesy of the 1 in 9 Campaign

 

This year, 30 feminist members of the One in Nine Campaign disrupted the festivities of the national holiday, carrying “corpses”, with the campaign slogan:

OUR LIVES ARE NOT A MARKETING TOOL. WOMEN’S DAY NO CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!

When it comes to electoral politics in South Africa, though there may be more technical “representation” actual progress for women has been slow.  But as the original march was a grassroots initiative, perhaps over-dependency on the mainstream legislative process is not their only option for now. But rather, a strong contingent of women vigorously and vocally fighting to ensure politicians are accountable to the needs and demands of women.

No Cause for Celebration protest by the 1 in 9 Campaign in South Africa. Photo courtesy of the 1 in 9 Campaign

•