SCIENCE: Aboriginal genome rewrites history of human migration > Telegraph

Aboriginal genome rewrites

history of human migration

A lock of hair collected during a train journey in the middle of the Australian outback almost 100 years ago has helped rewrite the history of early human migration.


The latest study establishes Aboriginals as 'one of the oldest continuous populations outside of Africa' as well as the 'population with the longest association with the land on which they live today' Photo: ALAMY

 

Genetic information extracted from the lock of hair, which was donated by a young Aboriginal man to a British anthropologist in the 1920s, suggests that instead of leaving Africa in one single migratory movement, humans departed in two separate waves.

An international team of scientists used DNA within the hair to sequence the Aboriginal genome for the first time.

Their results revealed that the man was directly descended from a migration out of Africa into Asia that took place about 70,000 years ago.

The researchers believe this proves that Aborigines were the first group to separate from other modern humans.

Their remarkable findings, published in the journal Science, suggest that modern Aborigines moved out of Africa 24,000 years earlier than the humans who went on to form the populations of Asia and Europe, challenging current theories of a single phase of dispersal from Africa.

"Aboriginal Australians descend from the first human explorers," said lead author Eske Willerslev from the University of Copenhagen.

"While the ancestors of Europeans and Asians were sitting somewhere in Africa or the Middle East, yet to explore their world further, the ancestors of Aboriginal Australians spread rapidly; the first modern humans traversing unknown territory in Asia and finally crossing the sea into Australia.

"It was a truly amazing journey that must have demanded exceptional survival skills and bravery."

The latest study establishes Aboriginals as "one of the oldest continuous populations outside of Africa" as well as the "population with the longest association with the land on which they live today," the study said.

Aboriginal groups in Australia have welcomed the findings. The Goldfields Land and Sea Council, which covers the area where the man lived, said Aborigines felt "exonerated in showing the broader community that they are by far the oldest continuous civilisation in the world".

The hair sample was collected at a train station at Golden Ridge, near Kalgoorlie, in 1923, by Cambridge anthropologist and ethnologist Alfred Haddon.

In the 40 minutes that the train stopped at Golden Ridge, Haddon collected a lock of hair from one of the local Aborigines.

The sample remained at Cambridge until about a year ago when Professor Willerslev learned of its existence.

 

INTERVIEW: Akhila Kolisetty - Behind the words: Justice For All

Behind the words:

Justice For All

 

Akhila Kolisetty

Akhila is one of the first bloggers I followed closely, when I started blogging. I was fascinated by the way she wrote about issues in International Development, Social Change and life as a college student transitioning in the "real world".

We're meeting up this coming week and I'm as nervous as if it were a blind date. What should I wear? What will we talk about? What if we don't find anything to talk about? What if? What if? Enough of my rambling. Here is Akhila in her own words.

1. What made you decide to start blogging?

I’ve been on the Internet from a very young age. Being an only child with working parents, I was alone at home starting in middle school. I started dabbling with web design at that age, and also fell in love with writing – especially poetry, fiction, and journaling. Blogging proved to be the perfect combination of both writing and webdesign, and allowed me to harness my creativity starting at a young age. I began blogging early on under platforms like Geocities, Livejournal and Xanga (remember those days?!). 

I decided to foray into more “professional” writing during my junior year in college, when I began studying abroad at the London School of Economics. Then, I started a personal blog to document my travels throughout England and Europe. I had an amazing time and enjoyed writing about my travels, but also started wanting to branch out and write about things I was learning related to politics and social change. Around that time, I also stumbled upon Penelope Trunk’s blog, and was intrigued by her talk about personal branding for young 20-somethings. After delving a bit further into writing more opinionated blog posts, I decided I loved it and took the leap into purchasing my own domain name so I could write about serious issues that I cared about. Now, years later, I look back and realize that the “personal branding” fad has its own downsides. But I am glad I took the leap to start this blog!


2. Where did the name of your blog come from?

The name of my blog, “Justice for All” just comes from my passion for social justice and human rights issues. However, I’ll be honest and say that I don’t completely like the name as it sounds a bit cliche. But I think it does very much encapsulate the message I am trying to impart through my blog.

 

3. What do you write about?

I write about human rights, women’s rights, social justice, international issues, non-profits, and generally the fight against injustice, inequality, and poverty in this world. I try to write about issues that are sometimes not highlighted in traditional media, and I focus on what I’m most passionate about - especially feminism, women’s issues, and access to justice/legal services. A lot of what I write comes from the perspective of political science and law, since that is my educational background and my future graduate school interest. I also occasionally talk about things like social media, work and career goals, passion, love, travel, and other aspects of my life.

Basically, I want young people like myself to think about, debate, and become passionate about social justice issues. I wanted to create a space where I can voice my opinions and where others can join in on the discussion as well.

 

4. Tell us a little bit about your cultural background

I was born in India and came to the U.S. at age 6. It was definitely not easy to fit in as a new immigrant at first, especially as a young child with a strange accent and a different style of dressing. But I quickly adapted to my new home and made friends, while still retaining much of my cultural background. Even after I came to the U.S., I continued to learn classical carnatic singing, which has helped me stay connected to my background. I consider myself Indian-American, and I’m greatly influenced by both my roots in India and my experiences in the U.S. I still hold dear all the memories I have of India - spending time with relatives, learning from my grandparents, practicing carnatic music, going to temples in the neighborhood, absorbing the country’s incredible history and culture, enjoying spicy food and fresh mangoes, and watching kids play cricket in the streets. India to me means family -- there is nothing that is more treasured and valued.


5. How do your experiences and your cultural background impact the way you view the world?

Regular trips back to India throughout my life have certainly shaped my worldview and made me more passionate about working on social justice issues. Inequality is clear when you walk Hyderabad’s streets. Every encounter in India, from the homeless men or disabled beggars to the children of servants who are cleaning homes instead of going to school shaped my views. I also was challenged a lot when thinking about feminism in India -- while my family is full of well educated, strong, confident working women, it does seem whenever I go back that I see so many ways in which women still remain second-class citizens. Women are encouraged to follow their husbands after marriage, take care of the home, and have children rather than focus on career growth. Women’s rights issues are also correlated with economic class: sometimes, the poorest women have the least voice and are frequently subject to domestic abuse. There is a silence about issues like domestic abuse in the community as well, as no one wants to speak about it. Divorced women have a certain stigma against them, as well, so families sadly force women to stay in abusive/harmful marriages despite abuse to avoid social shame and stigma. My experiences motivate me to return there and work in the development, women’s rights and human rights field someday -- hopefully, soon.

6. In your opinion, what does it mean to be a girl/woman today?

Being a woman for me means having to grapple with multiple pressures -- the pressures to achieve academically and have a successful career while also balancing trying to have children and a family. The pressures on modern women particularly in the U.S. are different from ever before. Although we have won some battles in the feminist movement, we have lost others. While women today have won the battle of professional opportunity, we have also gained an additional pressure from society -- to be successful and academically accomplished. At the same time, the pressures of being a good wife and caring mother have not diminished. So now, women have expanded and unlimited professional opportunities -- coupled with the pressure to care for a family. So women have double the pressure on them from society.

Don’t get me wrong: I am thrilled that I have the opportunities to pursue my passion and education, and to work to achieve my dreams in life. A century ago, I may not have had these opportunities as an American woman. At the same time, I think we have not won the feminist battle. Our goal should be to work towards ending these patriarchal assumptions that are ever more dangerous -- that women now can be, and should be, doing everything. We should not have such unrealistic burdens on our shoulders. We need to work towards a more equitable world, where we truly have the choice to make decisions for our own happiness. We need a world where we can choose to pursue only career success, or only a stable family life, for example, without suffering condemnation. And this is a world where men also equally contribute in the family, and where both partners have the choice to pursue the lifestyle they feel fits them best.

For me, the struggle is balancing all these pressures. I too want to be successful, have an international career contributing to social change, be a leader and an academic, be a writer, and also have a family and a loving, fulfilling home. As a woman, I feel this is a constant challenge, but one I am excited to tackle.

7. Finally, If someone asked you to recommend some music, what would you say? What are 2 songs you just can’t help replaying these days?

 

The Lazy Song - Bruno Mars

Take A Minute - K’naan

Love it! Thank you, Akhila for letting us know a little bit of the person "behind the words".

All pictures courtesy of Justice of All

 

INCARCERATION: Beyond Troy Davis - How Race Colors Death Row ‘Justice’ > COLORLINES

Beyond Troy Davis:

How Race Colors

Death Row ‘Justice’


Photo: Creative Commons/World Coalition Against the Death Penalty

Friday, September 23 2011

 

 

The state of Georgia ignored a mountain of evidence and killed Troy Davis on Wednesday night. But the movement that grew out of the effort to save his life has cast irreparable doubt on the country’s death penalty system. That a man whose innocence seemed so clear to many—or, at the very least, worth of a second look—can be so hastily killed casts doubt over nearly every stage of his prosecution. And that fact has become a rallying cry for people around the world.

Davis’s case is sadly typical. The Chicago-based Innocence Project, a group that has successfully fought for the exonerations of dozens of people from Illinois’ now-defunct death row, lists eyewitness misidentification and government misconduct as two of the leading causes of wrongful convictions. And even then, questions of guilt or innocence seem almost beside the point when you consider the fact that people of color often receive more harsh sentences for the same crimes as whites, especially when the victim is white. As historian and author William Jelani Cobb told our own Akiba Solomon this week, “The implication is that a white life is worth more.”

Anti-death penalty groups like Amnesty International and the NAACP are working hard to use the momentum surrounding Davis’s case to ask more probing questions about how to fix America’s broken punishment system. Here’s a closer look at who ends up paying the most for which crimes.

death_penalty_092211.gif

 

__________________________

 

Race and the Death Penalty

February 26, 2003

The color of a defendant and victim's skin plays a crucial and unacceptable role in deciding who receives the death penalty in America. People of color have accounted for a disproportionate 43 % of total executions since 1976 and 55 % of those currently awaiting execution. A moratorium of the death penalty is necessary to address the blatant prejudice in our application of the death penalty.

The jurisdictions with the highest percentages of minorities on its death row:  

      U.S. Military (86%) 
      Colorado (80%) 
      U.S. Government (77%) 
      Louisiana (72%) 
      Pennsylvania (70%) 

While white victims account for approximately one-half of all murder victims, 80% of all Capital cases involve white victims. Furthermore, as of October 2002, 12 people have been executed where the defendant was white and the murder victim black, compared with 178 black defendants executed for murders with white victims.

For many years reports from around the country have found that a pervasive racial prejudice in the application of the death penalty exists.


In April 2001, researchers from the University of North Carolina released a study of all homicide cases in North Carolina between 1993 and 1997. The study found that the odds of getting a death sentence increased three and a half times if the victim was white rather than black.In August 2001, the New Jersey Supreme Court released a report which also found that the state's death penalty law is more likely to proceed against defendants who kill white victims. 


Nationwide, a 1990 General Accounting Office (GAO) report reviewed numerous studies of patterns of racial discrimination in death penalty sentencing. Their review found that for homicides committed under otherwise similar circumstances, and where defendants had similar criminal histories, a defendant was several times more likely to receive the death penalty if the victim was white than if his victim was African American.In 1997, David Baldus and statistician George Woodworth examined the death penalty rates among all death eligible defendants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between the years of 1983 and 1993. The results of their study proved that the odds of receiving the death penalty in Philadelphia increased by 38% when the accused was black.

University of Iowa law professor David Baldus found that during the 1980s prosecutors in Georgia sought the death penalty for 70 % of black defendants with white victims, but for only 15% of white defendants with black victims.

Prosecutors have unfettered discretion in deciding which cases become capital cases, seeking the death penalty in approximately 1 percent of all capital eligible cases. Notably among the 38 states that allow the death penalty, approximately 98% of the prosecutors are white.

In the Okmulgee Judicial District of Georgia, District Attorney Joseph Briley tried 33 capital cases between 1974 and 1994. Twenty-four of the cases were against black defendants. In cases in which the defendant was black and the victim was white, Briley used 96 out of his 103 jury challenges against African-Americans.

In addition, between 1983 and 1993 prosecutors in Philadelphia voted to remove 52% of potential black jurors while trying to remove only 23% of other potential jurors.

In the fall of 2000, The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released the results of an initial survey of federal death penalty prosecutions. The report shows that the federal death penalty, like its application in the states, is used disproportionately against people of color. Of the 18 prisoners currently on federal death row, 16 are either African-American, Hispanic or Asian. From 1995-2000, 80% of all the federal capital cases recommended by U.S. Attorneys to the Attorney General seeking the death penalty involved people of color. Even after review by the Attorney General, 72% of the cases approved for death penalty prosecution involved minority defendants.

The DOJ study also revealed the influence that the race of the victim has in determining potential capital cases. U.S. Attorneys recommended the death penalty in 36 % of the cases with black defendants and non-black victims, but only recommended the death penalty in 20 % of the cases with black defendants and black victims.

The DOJ study left many questions unanswered, prompting calls for a more thorough review. In June 2000, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the follow-up review of 950 cases had shown no evidence of racial bias. These results are unreliable because they were not based on the total number of cases that prosecutors could have submitted to former Attorney General Janet Reno for review, but only on those that were actually submitted. Following hearings chaired by Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) on oversight of the federal death penalty in June 2001, Attorney General Ashcroft ordered the National Institute of Justice to undergo a study on the possibility of racial and geographic biases in the federal death penalty.

Since taking office two years ago, Ashcroft has overturned local U.S. district attorneys' decisions not to seek the death penalty 28 times, which is more than the number of "overrides" during Attorney General Janet Reno's tenure. Of these 28 ""overrides,"" two involved suspects who are white; 23 involved suspects who are black, Latino or Native American; and three involved suspects whose race could not be determined.

A systemic racial bias in the application of the death penalty exists at both the state and federal level. A moratorium on the death penalty is needed to address this miscarriage of justice.

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

 

Supreme Court Decisions on

Race and the Death Penalty

 

Miller-El v. Cockrell

In the 2003 Supreme Court case Miller-El v. Cockrell, the Supreme Court  ruled in his favor that Miller-El should have been given the opportunity to prove that his death sentence was the result of discriminatory jury practices.  Such practices included the so called ""Texas shuffle"" to limit or eliminate African American jurors.  Other practices included disparate questioning of potential jurors based on race, and a training memo instructing prosecutors on ways to skew juries based on race.

McClesky v. Kemp
In the 1987 Supreme Court case McClesky v. Kemp, counsel on behalf of death row prisoner Warren McClesky argued that death penalty sentences in Georgia were racially biased related to the race of the victim. The court ruled against McClesky who was executed by electrocution in 1991, ruling that racial disparities in the death penalty were not a violation of one's Constitutional right of "equal protection of the law."

Batson v. Kentucky
In this 1977 case the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors may not use race as a factor in eliminating potential jurors from the jury pool. Likewise, a former Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, wrote explicit directions to his prosecutors on how to strike African-Americans from juries, without violating the Supreme Court's ruling.

Legislation

In 1998, Kentucky became the first death penalty state to pass the Racial Justice Act, a law that prohibits the death penalty from being sought on the basis of race. Following this victory, Racial Justice Act legislation was introduced, but was not passed, in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, and South Carolina. 


 

 

 

TROY DAVIS + VIDEO: Howard Students Protest - A Generation Renewed? > NewBlackMan

Howard Students Protest

Execution At White House

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- Howard University students and alumni protested the pending execution of Troy Davis on Wednesday at the White House. Some of them were arrested during the protest.

The students and alumni joined other protesters who were hoping that President Barack Obama would step in at the last minute and stop the scheduled execution in Georgia.

SEE: Photos of the protest

Some protesters had signs showing support for Davis. They took a moment of silence, sang, and cheered as other protesters were arrested.

Davis' execution is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday.

 

 

__________________________

 

Friday, September 23, 2011

A Generation Renewed?

 

Howard Students Protest

Troy Davis Execution

by Jeremy Borden and Clarence Williams | The Washington Post

 

A total of 13 people from Howard University — one a professor and the rest, students — were arrested outside the White House Wednesday while protesting the pending execution of Georgia inmate Troy Davis.

 

Soon after protesters arrived, police cordoned off the sidewalk area in front of the White House and moved them into Lafayette Square, students and witnesses said. More than a dozen students, along with a Howard English professor, sat along the fence and refused to move, said Marcus Ware, a third-year law student and one of the protest’s organizers.

 

The protesters felt strongly about their right to position themselves against the White House fence, other witnesses said.

 

Police gave the students and the professor three warnings to move, before arresting them, Ware said.

 

Twelve people were arrested for failure to obey a lawful police order, and the professor was arrested for crossing a police line, said Sgt. David Schlosser, a U.S. Park Police spokesman.

 

Protesters were later allowed back in front of the White House.

 

Several Howard student groups had organized protests over the pending execution of Davis, convicted of killing an off-duty police officer. Davis is scheduled to be executed at 7 p.m., and many around the country and world are weighing in, including religious leaders.

 

“We weren’t being aggressive,” Ware said.

 

Some students and other activists are hoping the White House will intervene. ­ “We fundamentally believe the death penalty is wrong,” he said.

 

TROY DAVIS: William Jelani Cobb on Troy Davis

William Jelani Cobb Reports

from the Prison Gates

by Akiba Solomon

Law enforcement secure the prison entrance as protestors gather across from Jackson State Prison for the planned execution of inmate Troy Davis on September 21, 2011. (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Thursday, September 22 2011

Last night, historian and author William Jelani Cobb spent seven hours outside of the Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia, demonstrating, documenting—then mourning—the execution of Troy Davis. Excerpts from our talk the morning after:

William Jelani Cobb

 

 

For some reason I didn’t think the execution was going to happen.

I know. Despite all we know about this country, you want to believe that things have changed.

 

You posted lots of photos and tweeted throughout the night, but you weren’t there in a professional capacity. What compelled you to go down there?

Well, it was political and personal. Politically, I felt that as a person of conscience I could not just sit back and not let my voice be heard when the state was going to execute a man [amid] damning questions about the nature of the trial. Personally, I think about this in terms of my father who left Georgia in 1941 for New York and never came back. When you’d ask him about his home state, he would spit before describing how a black man’s life had no value there. Now, I believed in this narrative of me coming back to Georgia. [Living and teaching here] was almost a way for me to prove that things had changed, that the efforts of all of our people had born some fruit. But now, ironically, I can see where my father was right. It turns out these people have no concern for justice and the judicial system is a sham. When you look at the evidence in this particular [case], this literally could be any of us.

 

I can understand why Officer Mark MacPhail’s family wanted the execution to take place, because they truly believe Troy Davis killed him. But given the glaring questions, I’m puzzled about others who weren’t intimately connected. Did you see any people demonstrating in favor of the execution?

I didn’t see any, and I was there from about 5:20 until almost midnight. The people out were saying, “Spare this man’s life.” At the height of it, there were probably about 500 of us out there.

 

When the word came out that the Supreme Court wouldn’t [stay the execution], how did the crowd react?

I’ll just take you through the whole night. In the beginning, we were crushed. People were just wailing out there. As we got closer to the initial execution hour, the tension ratcheted up. The police—whether they were anticipating things getting out of control or whether they were attempting to provoke things—were getting closer and closer to us. When word came that the Supreme Court was stepping in, there was elation. But we just sank when we learned that there wasn’t going to be any change in his fate. People quietly gave in. As Davis was in the process of dying, some prayed. Some people fell out on the grass. Others were talking about what we should do next. It was a roller coaster. And, you know, one of the things I was really disturbed about was that the crowd was about 95 percent black. At no point could you say that this was a cross section. It was up to black folk to say that this was a miscarriage of justice.

 

Why would a predominantly black crowd disturb you?

Because it felt black people had to shoulder the burden on our own, but this wasn’t a black issue; this was a death penalty issue. We can’t ever get around the implications of this case for everyone. I think about this young white couple that was standing next to me last night. Because there were so few white people there, I [assumed] they were part of an organization. But when I asked them why they’d come out, the woman said, “I know Troy. I’ve spoken to him.” I asked her how. She said,”My brother’s on death row.”

 

Was she agitated?

No. She was very matter of fact. To me, it was outstanding that despite the turmoil and difficulty of having a brother on death row, she was out there to the last trying to fight for Troy’s life. … Overall, it felt like the crowd was out there doing our best to keep our spirits up and to encourage everyone else, but it was a horrible place to be.

 

Take me back to the police. How did protestors react as they were inching in?

When I got there at roughly 5:20, police were across the street directing people and traffic and they were noticeably polite. But at about 6:00 or 6:15 the sheriffs came in and put up barricades and put on riot gear.

 

You actually saw them putting on riot gear?

Yes. Soon another group of police came, and [stood] 40 to 50 feet from prison. Then yet another group came. They were getting farther and farther from the prison and closer and closer to us [holding] these, like, three-foot wooden batons. Maybe they thought a show of force would diminish the possibility of something jumping off. They also could have had the impression that we were there because we love someone who had killed one of their own. The mood was really tense. There was a vibe there—it was as if police were just waiting for an excuse to crack some heads.

 

Did you see anyone get arrested?

At one point they rushed into the crowd and arrested three people. They just yanked them out. One young man, a white guy, walked across the street with his sign. The police told him to [move] and he just turned around and put his hands behind him to permit himself to be arrested. Overall, this wasn’t a hardcore, radical crowd. It was a diverse group of people—including elderly people, pregnant women and children—who were there because of their conscience. This was a matter of morality for them.

 

On Facebook and Twitter, I saw several people asking why Obama didn’t step in. Since you wrote a book about him [The Substance of Hope], what are your thoughts?

I think that if Obama had stepped in, he would have aborted his presidency. I suspect that he and/or his administration was working behind the scenes. But if he had come out publicly, he would have no political capital to do anything else. Now we can have a debate about whether that would have been a fair exchange—saying something about Troy Davis in exchange for everything else. But I don’t doubt the stakes. The other thing is that legally, I don’t know if a president can grant clemency in a state case. I do wonder about how [George W. Bush] granted Scooter Libby a pardon for leaking the identity of [CIA agent Valerie Plame] to the [press], or how the pardons at the end of the Clinton administration happened. But I don’t know what Obama’s capacity was to intervene in this case. *[Edtior’s note: The president does not have the authority to intervene in state convictions, but the Justice Department could investigate claims that Davis’s civil rights were violated in his trial.]*

 

But what makes you think the president or the administration acted behind the scenes though?

Well when the Supreme Court looked at it again, I wondered if there had been a phone call. But this is purely my assessment, my guess. Maybe that makes me feel more comfortable.

 

So after the execution, what kinds of conversations were you having about what to do next?

We were talking about how to organize and fight against the death penalty in the broader sense. I think in some ways, [by expecting Obama to step in] we want to do an end run around the work we have to do. The truth is, a majority of people in this country support the death penalty. Only just over a third are opposed to it. They don’t understand that it is virtually impossible to have a death penalty that is fair. So we have to fight the unshakeable faith people have in the idea that [only] people who are guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt are executed. I mean, look at the people who said that it was OK to execute Troy Davis. There is no rational argument for it because witnesses said police forced them to lie. Others said that the person who reported [Davis] to the police was the one who actually shot [Officer MacPhail]. The people who presented this case with a veneer of infallibility willfully turned off their power of deduction.

 

I’ve heard people talk about racism in this case, but they weren’t citing specifics. There’s just a general sense that, as you said, a black man’s life isn’t worth much. But is that all there is to it? Do you think race played a direct role?

I think it was racial in the sense of who the victim was. In the landmark Baldus study, what the death row team found was that, statistically, courts are more likely to impose the death penalty when the victim is white, regardless of the makeup the jury. [The implication] is that a white life is worth more.

 

Does last night’s execution of Russell Brewer—a [white supremacist] responsible for James Byrd’s dragging death—say anything about equality in the death penalty?

I saw comments to that effect on the Internet. But I would argue that the system is so flawed that advocating the killing of a white supremacist only allows us to pretend that we have equality. It’s like, “We’ll use this one instance to rationalize this entire system.” To me, that’s the criminal justice version of tokenism.

 

 

__________________________

 

 

 

The Night They Killed

Troy Davis

 

SEP 22 2011, 12:00 PM ET213

 

Rutgers historian William Jelani Cobb was outside of the prison, last night, where Troy Davis was held and executed. He filed this report while bearing "witness to a great evil." Jelani has guest-posted here before. We're always happy to have him back offering his unique mix of politics, history and on-site reporting. 

110921-protesters-hmed-1p.grid-7x2.jpg
(Erik S. Lesser / AFP-Getty Images / September 21, 2011) 

JACKSON, Georgia -- The Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison sits a quarter mile off Interstate 75 in Jackson, just outside the commuter suburbs of Atlanta. The technical name for the place obscures its most notorious function: it houses the death chamber for the state's executions. Last night, for more than seven hours, hundreds of people prayed, chanted, sang, hoped and shouted in front of that building in a vain effort to prevent the state of Georgia from extinguishing the life of Troy Davis. 

A trickle of people began showing up outside the prison in the late afternoon. By 5 p.m. they had grown to about 200 and been cordoned off by police tape in front of a truck stop across from the prison. A knot of organizers from Amnesty International unfurled a huge banner saying "Free Troy Davis" and another set of activists held a sign saying we had returned to the days of the Scottsboro Nine. A principal came out with several of his elementary school students and a busload of students poured in from Spelman and Morehouse Colleges. But the largest group was from Al Sharpton's National Action Network -- at least thirty of whom had driven up from Savannah, where the murder of Mark McPhail took place. They set about coordinating the chants, moving people with signs to the forefront so that passersby could see exactly what we were protesting and generally keeping the protests going. 

Initially the police outside the prison were unfazed by our presence, relaxed enough to be polite. But that changed as we drew closer to the scheduled hour of the execution. At about 6 p.m., local law enforcement, sheriffs, SWAT teams and state troopers began putting on riot gear. Over the course of the next hour they moved closer and closer to the protesters with their batons in hand. For their part they may have hoped that their show of force would prevent things from getting out of control but the reality is that it appeared that they wanted to instigate violence. It was impossible not to realize that from their perspective, we were praying for a man who had gunned down their fellow officer. 

By 6:30 the crowd numbered at least 500 people. We spilled past the tape and onto the grassy barrier between the truck stop and Prison Boulevard where the facility is located. Trucks pulled in and out of the station began honking their horn in support of Troy Davis's cause. 

But what was most surprising and disturbing is that the group was more than 90% black. For all the discussion about the implications of the death penalty for the country at large this broke down, as always, to an issue of race and black people would have to do the heavy lifting if any change were going to occur. The racial balance skewed so heavily that when a young white couple sat down on the grass next to me I asked them what organization they were with. The woman reply hit me hard: "We're not with an organization. I know Troy Davis -- my brother is on death row with him." 

By 7 p.m. people nearly everyone there was crying or praying or both, imploring God to save Troy Davis's soul if he would not save his life. In the midst of this I realized that there were no counter-protests. Later I learned there were a few. But still I saw no crowds gathered to voice their support for what was happening inside that prison. This was a small grace but it was also possibly because few believed that Davis' fate was ever in doubt. And they had no reason to. 

Georgia's criminal justice system is a microcosm for the kind of racial disparities that plague the entire country. Blacks are 30.5% of the state's population but make up 61% of Georgia's prisoners. A few years back the state legislature, in the name of getting tough on crime, passed a bill that created draconian penalties and allowed juveniles to be charged as adults for a wide array of crimes, including simple robbery, which would normally be handled by a juvenile court. The legislation was so poorly written that in the state if a 14 year old and a 35 year old rob a liquor store together, the teenager can - and in some instances has -- received a sentence longer than that of the adult. It can go without saying that these laws have disproportionately impacted black youth. 

Both the state legislature and the governorship are firmly in the hands of the GOP and, though the newly elected Nathan Deal remains the subject of a federal corruption probe, no Democrat has stood a chance of becoming governor since Roy Barnes was turned out of office for opposing the Confederate flag nearly a decade ago. This is Georgia in the 21st century, the state that claimed, despite recantations, police coercion, contrary evidence and the lack of physical evidence, that it was certain beyond a reasonable doubt that Troy Davis was responsible for the death of Mark McPhail and that he should die for it. 

The sobs of the mourning crowd were punctured by shouts when we heard that the Supreme Court had stepped in to review the case. The reality is that this crowd, predominantly African American, many battle-wearied activists, still believed that this execution simply could not happen. For hours, their energy and commitment unflagging, people beat drums, held candles and sang civil rights songs. And here lies the paradox: even as people most intimately aware of the failings of this country, so many of us subscribed to a faith that justice would prevail that when we received word of the court's refusal to grant a stay the reaction was stunned disbelief. 

The feeling, as I stood in front of the truck stop in the middle of the night, was that we were witness to a great evil -- not solely the taking of what may well have been an innocent life, but also in the false certainty that sought to sell this killing as justice. When word came at 11:08 p.m. that Troy Davis was no more, women began wailing; several of them fell to the ground heaving inconsolably. A few men offered stumbling, meandering prayers that some good might come of this, that it would inspire some greater reckoning with the arbitrary, corrupted realities of capital punishment in this country. 

And I, at that point, thought about my father, a native of Hazlehurst, Georgia who had abandoned his home state for New York in 1941. He lived the remainder of his life there, firm in his belief that a black man's life was seen as worthless in Georgia. I grew up hearing the stories of the sadistic violence that was commonplace there, about a black women he'd known growing up who was raped and tortured by white men who went unpunished. I moved to Georgia in 2001, secure in my belief that the place had changed, that our efforts had yielded success and the stories my father told me were now consigned to the horror closets of history. 

But last night, progress, hopes and a black presidency be damned, the state of Georgia had the last word. And they were determined to prove the old man right.

 

 

 

 

VIDEO: 10 Songs We Love About African Women - AfriPOP!

10 Songs We Love

About African Women

 

9 August is National Women’s Day in South Africa to commemorate that date in 1956 when led by Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, 20,000 women marched in protest of the Pass Laws. Wathint’Abafazi Wathint’imbokodo!(Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock) was the song they sung in protest.

It’s a public holiday for South Africans who mark the occasion these days in a number of ways. For some it’s like a girls’ night out but on a countrywide scale (Trey Songz will be there soon), and if you turn on the radio the airwaves are jammed with schmaltzy R&B songs for the laydays.

We thought we’d put together a playlist of ten songs that say something about women and/or their condition – superwomen, around-the-way women, not so virtuous women – and the way they are beheld in popular culture. What songs would you include?

Ebo Taylor – African Woman

One of the under-rated greats of West African music, Ebo Taylor’s ode to women from Accra to Lagos to Kampala to Cape Town, who ‘dance with bottom, shake them from left to right, shake them from right to left’. Why not?

Tumi – POWA

We’ve blogged this song before, but not the video. Teboho Mahlatsi of Bomb Shelter (the folks behind the ground-breaking South African drama Yizo Yizo and Kenya’s Shuga) directed POWA to make a visual statement as loud and as bold as the song’s content.

Baaba Maal – A Song for Women

In this song Baaba Maal quotes an old proverb that says women should stay in the house. He agrees and adds that you also need women in politics, culture, religion and economics and everywhere else to fight poverty.

Baaba Maal: A Song for Women

Trompies – Madibuseng

It’s a shame the digital age only took hold in South Africa after Kwaito was past its golden era. So many of the genre’s classics are missing from the communal archive of the internet. You’ll have to strain a bit to watch/hear this banger which likens the diva temperament of one Madibuseng to traffic lights – or robots as they are called there. Sometimes she’s red, sometimes she’s green, sometimes she’s orange…Brilliant.

Bongos Ikwue – Woman Made the Devil

It was Africa in the 70s after all…

Bongos Ikwue: Woman Made The Devil

Talib Kweli featuring Jean Grae – Black Girl Pain

I don’t know a South African girl with a pulse that doesn’t hear this song and push her chest out a little as Tsidi Ibrahim aka Jean Grae recounts their shared heritage. There’s no gracious way for me to say I get a mention in there. It’s one of my favourite big ups of all time so there :)

Fela Kuti – Shakara

Fela’s seminal statement on the westernization of African women at the heart of the battle of the sexes amongst Africans.

Fela Kuti: Shakara

Hugh Masekela – Lady

Such kindred spirits they were, can you imagine what a Fela Kuti and Hugh Masekela jam session must have been like? I love Bra Hugh’s version of one of Fela’s most celebrated songs.

Oliver Mtukudzi – Neria

Neria is a Zimbabwean film made in the 90s in which the legendary singer/songwriter Oliver Mtukudzi appears, and for which he writes the theme song. The lead character Neria loses her husband and, she discovers, the goodwill of her community as she finds herself having to contend for the property they owned. A couple years ago Tuku did a recent recording with BBC World Service of this classic song. I helped produce a series over at This is Africa called The White Room where an upcoming Zimbabwean singer Cynthia Mare paid this tribute.

Professor – Jezebel
A jezebel is a lady who prefers celebrity love, in this case DJs who, by the way, tend to be the highest paid of the entertainers in the South African music industry. DJ/producer Professor is a forerunner for the dominant Durban house music scene. And Masters at Work’s Louie Vega has actually licensed this song for global release on his label, Vega Records.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Phiona Okumu has written for Y Magazine, Oprah Magazine, Marie Claire, Elle, Straight No Chaser, Shook, Arise, www.rage.co.za etc. Her favourite Africans are Kenyans, and then Ghanaians. But she's neither. Often she can be found navigating the social media maze to engage with world-wise, afro-centred, Hip-hop predisposed peers. Follow her on www.twitter.com/ophiona Read more from this author

 

AUDIO: We 'Can't Help' Loving This Michael Jackson Remake By YahZarah » SOULBOUNCE.COM

We 'Can't Help' Loving

This Michael Jackson Remake

By YahZarah

 

Had he lived to see today, Michael Jackson would have turned 53 years old. Although he was taken from us far too early and there will doubtfully never be a time when we don't mourn him, on a day like today it's only fitting to celebrate the greatness of the undisputed King of Pop. We'll play his music, watch his videos, look at old photos, and reminisce on the times we had. And if you're an artist, you may just pay tribute to the man by remaking one of his songs, which isn't always a good idea, but in YahZarah's case it's a great one. The new mommy delivered her rendition of "I Can't Help It" on J.Period and DJ Spinna's Michael Jackson Man or the Music 2 mixtape released in association with Spike Lee. I know what you're thinking, another "I Can't Help It" cover? Yes, but none do it quite like YahZarah. The songbird soars on this jazzy soul remake. It's a blissful joyride that fits into J.Period and Spinna's second MJ mixtape ever so lovely. Hit the bounce to peep the cover art and tracklisting, which includes rare Jackson cuts, remixes, and other assorted aural treats, and make haste to add this freelease to your MJ collection.

 

J.Period, DJ Spinna & Spike Lee present Michael Jackson Man or the Music 2 [Download]

 

PUB: The Poetry Society (National Poetry Competition)

Open for Entries!

The National Poetry Competition 2011 is now accepting entries. Before entering please be sure to read the rules, and if you have any questions please see our Frequently Asked Questions.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER NOW

The closing date is 31 October 2011. If you would rather enter by post, print a postal entry form.

Prizes

First Prize: £5000
Second Prize: £2000
Third Prize: £1000
Seven Commendations: £100

The top three winning poems will be published in Poetry Review and, along with the commended poems, on the Poetry Society website. The winner will also be invited to read at the Ledbury Poetry Festival. Up to 150 entrants will also be offered a discount on selected activities from the Poetry School.

 


Judges

Poems are judged anonymously, the judges for the National Poetry Competition 2011 are: Colette Bryce, John Glenday and Jackie Kay.

Colette Bryce, Photo Credit: Phyllis Christopher John Glenday Jackie Kay


About the National Poetry Competition

Established in 1978, the Poetry Society’s National Poetry Competition is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious poetry competitions. Winners include both established and emerging poets, and for many the prize has proved an important milestone in their careers. Win, and add your name to a roll-call of winners that includes the current UK Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Tony Harrison, Ruth Padel, Philip Gross and Jo Shapcott.

 

PUB: Switchback Call for Submissions

Call for Submissions


General submissions are closed. We are currently only accepting submissions for our Monthly Flash Contest. General submissions will reopen on May 1, 2012.

 

FLASH CONTEST GUIDELINES: 

Each month SWITCHBACK will provide a prompt and we want you to send us your best work inspired by that prompt. The winning entry as decided by our editors will be featured on SWITCHBACK. 

 


The September prompt is: "He knew he should never have come here..."


• Contest submissions can be poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or even art.
• Submissions must be 500 words or under.
• Please send us only one submission per prompt.
• Please submit only previously unpublished works.
• We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us immediately of acceptance elsewhere.
• Be sure to include your name and contact information.
• The deadline for submissions is the last day of the month.

 


SWITCHBACK does not accept email or hard copy submissions. Please submit using our online submission manager: SUBMISHMASH Online Submission System


If you experience any technical difficulties with uploading your submission, please contact us at: submissions@swback.com

 

 

 

 

SWITCHBACK  is a publication of the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program of the University of San Francisco, Aaron Shurin, Director. SWITCHBACK publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and displays visual art. SWITCHBACK does not publish unsolicited reviews or interviews.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PUB: Flash Fiction - 300 Word Challenge > The Creative Competitor

Flash Fiction – 300 Word Challenge

 

1st Prize: £100

2nd Prize: £50

Closing date: 25th November 2011

Entry fee: £2.00

Write a story around the woman in the photo.  You can be as creative as you like with your interpretation of the image but you only have 300 words (excluding the title) to impress us. So do make every word count.

Your entry must be original and previously unpublished.

We prefer submissions to be emailed to us at info@creative-competitor.co.uk Please remember to write Flash Fiction 300 Word Challenge in the subject line. Tip: Check your entry thoroughly before submitting. 

Please pay your entry fee online by using PayPal. If you wish to send your entry to us by post, please note the change of address.

 

It can take time to review and judge submissions received as we read each and every entry. We appreciate your patience whilst entries are judged.

 Image: © Andrey Andreev | Dreamstime.com