Blackbright News

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(by a Mission Returnee)

The Angolan Experience

Humble Beginnings

G re a t P e o p l e

C h a n g i n g P e rc e p t i o n s A N N I V E R S A RY E D I T I O N

T h e 7 B l a c k A m e r i c a n P re s i d e n t s

Issue 14

05/06/2009

BLACK - BRIGHT

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So when I looked around the Job Fair, I sighed in exasperation. What was once easy, i.e. as long as you have the skills you would be put to work, is not so 1

The position of a care worker shocked me the most.

The recruitment process for care workers (the job that most people turn their nose up at!) is so vigilant. I recall the times when this was a job that anyone could get, whether they could speak a word of English or not.

Not now - so you better think twice before you say: “you wouldn’t catch me dead doing that job”- you probably wouldn’t qualify for it anyway. There are lots of forms you need to complete that will assess your numeracy and literacy levels; there are background checks and there is a rigid and comprehensive training programme you have to follow, and after all that, if your checks fail, you still won’t get the job, especially if you are not healthy, don’t drive and don’t want to deal in personal care.

I decided to apply for public sector jobs to reacquaint myself with the interview process. I consider myself multi-talented and what they like to call ‘over-qualified’ but could I sell myself sufficiently to be offered a job? No!

The thing is, these jobs are made to sound as if anyone can do them, but talking from experience, they aren’t!

With my Black-Bright Reporter hat on, I attended a job fair at the Corn Exchange in Bedford in May. I was not sure what I expected to find, but the title ‘job fair’ and the continuous announcements on the local radio, implied that it was catering for the jobless and therefore a fantastic opportunity to find a job. I went with my colleague, looking very professional and arrived to find a number of exhibitor stands, most of which seemed to be associated with either social care or education. For the ‘regular’ person coming out of work, these were the jobs that were being plugged.

Was the Job Fair, Fair??

by Myrna Loy

EDITORIAL

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ISSN No. 1751-1909

(electronic version only)

www.blackbrightmagazine.com or www.myspace.com/blackbrightnews

Photo on front cover : taken by Yvonne Hector Back Cover Design: Lakshmi Narayan Gupta Back cover & ‘Girls’ Photo on Page 12 taken by Garfield Features: Push A Yute BLACKBRIGHT LTD Studio 57 Saywell Road LU2 0QG (UK) Tel: 01582 721 605

Founder & Managing Editor: Myrna Loy

So did the Job Fair show best practice? I felt the Job Fair was exploitative. Exhibitors probably got funding for putting on the job fair and the jobless got nothing!

So what has all this got to do with the job fair? Well, I felt I had been jibbed. Well not so much me but people who had come from far and wide to the Job Fair.

They should be offering advice to the jobless; they should have compatible jobs available instead, a Fashion Show had been put on where the prices were ridiculous considering it was catering for the jobless.

Suits for £200, handbags upto £55, ties up to £20 (the lowest being £10) and when I approached the organiser and asked her if she felt the prices were appropriate for the unemployed, she flippantly responded: “These are what we were given!” Charming!

If you look out for it, there is FREE training available to equip you for the education sector. There is the PTLLS courses and the EEDA were offering courses for those made redundant upto £500 earlier this year not sure if they are still doing it, but you will need to get some kind of re-training if you are going to enter the job market so that you are kept current. Employers do not want to know what you have done anymore, they want to know HOW you did it. Have you ever thought about how you achieved a good result? You need to be on a continuous learning curve these days, reflecting on what you have done and how you did it, especially when it works out well, and if it didn’t work out well, you need to retrace your steps so you don’t make the same mistake again.

today! Jobseekers are being forced to revisit their skill set - whatever they have, may not be enough. No point saying: “I have been working like this for years! Or I have 20 years experience” - it won’t cut it! Times have changed. The interview process has changed. So if you have been working for years, you make think you do not need to acquaint yourself with new interview skills, but woe betide if you are suddenly given the heave-o and are relying on your years of experience to get you through, you are in for a shock - it won’t!

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Vivian Thomas Push A Yute

We start with pointing at kids (anyone) where can they go to help to cultivate talent or ambition? If we can get people to get into this routine or habit of thinking working and contributing then what we have is a team. And when the team moves forward so does its people and the nation, but it all starts with a change of thought, and that is where you can help. If we can reflect on what his happening and see ways to change it, and change the way we think, we can help improve the situation. Remember we live what we see and see what we live.

So far I am using the label and the music to build bridges and educate everyone who we can. Join the team and the cause. Everyone can help to bring a change.

There are a lot of people with various talents, skills, abilities.

The fact is they might even be illiterate or even an eco physicist. Who cares the point is you can change someone’s life by just paying attention. We can help to steer a soul out of trouble, listen to their dreams and see where we can assist. Maybe all he or she needs to know was that it was possible. And everyone can add to that. Let’s create that domino effect.

I am no environmentalist or no Earth freak or some save the planet dude. (No I won’t be riding a horse to conserve on gas and pollution etc.) I am a young Jamaican by the name of Vivian Thomas, I own a company called Push A Yute Ltd (P.A.Y). All I do is look around me and its clear my generation which is generation X is suffering, so I can just imagine what this generation is going through and will go through.

So I guess we in trouble if we don’t start addressing this issue. P.A.Y. was started because there is endless potential around if given the opportunity. Every human has something to offer and they can excel in one way or another.

Everyone and everything can change. We have proven through the years man and all (most) species have evolved on Earth. But why do we not accept that we are not changing for the better as a society. We as Earthlings owe our planet and our society. That goes for adults, kids and all.

THE CHANGE

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, DC . Her Mother, the current First Lady of the United States of America, had Secret Service escort because Sasha’s daddy is now the 44th President of the United States , Barack Obama.

On January 5, 2009, nearly 49 years after Ruby attended her school, 7 year old Sasha Obama, faced cheering schoolmates as she is escorted by her Mother and U. S. Secret Service Agents to Sidwell Friends Elementary School in Washington

NOW: A Black girl escorted to school - 2009

That morning, she had only been told by her mother that she was going to be attending a new school that day and ‘had better behave.’Little did little Ruby know that she would be bombarded with jeers and even death threats; and that she would end up being the sole child in her first grade class because all the other children were kept home by their parents. All because Ruby was Black.

On November 14, 1960, nearly 49 years ago, 6 year old Ruby Bridges faced hostile crowds, and had to be escorted by U.S. Marshalls , because she was the first black child to attend previously all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans , Louisiana . Ruby was 6 years old. (The Great Norman Rockwell created the painting above depicting that event.)

A LITTLE BLACK GIRL BEING ESCORTED TO SCHOOL: 1960

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It’s imperative - Order your copy now! (£10) 3

Sandra Kerr, director of Race for Opportunity which campaigns for equality in the workplace, described Mr Thiam’s appointment as a “watershed” moment.

“I hope that Tidjane Thiam’s achievements will inspire ethnic minority teenagers, entry-level workers and current employees to stand-up and be counted in the race for leadership,” she wrote in this viewpoint piece for the BBC News website.

“It is very significant because it sets a wider precedent,” said Michael Eboda, the founder of Powerful Media, which publishes a list of Britain’s 100 most influential black people. “No one will see this as tokenism - he has an incredibly impressive curriculum vitae.” An avid Arsenal supporter, he studied engineering in Paris and obtained an MBA from INSEAD. Mr Thiam joins the few ethnic minorities such as Damon Buffini, boss of private equity firm Permira, represented in the UK’s boardrooms.

Mr Thiam, 46, took up the reins as chief executive in October ‘08, after Mr Tucker, 51, announced that he would step down earlier than expected. Mr Thiam said: “It is a privilege to be a successor”.

Tidjane Thiam is the first black head of a FTSE 100 company. Mr Thiam joined Prudential from Aviva in 2007 and was finance director at the firm. He replaced Mark Tucker. Originally from the Ivory Coast, Mr Thiam had previously been the country’s Minister of Planning and Development. Mr Thiam will be one of a limited number of ethnic minorities who are represented in the UK’s boardrooms.

First black FTSE 100 boss at Prudential

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Snippets 7 Black American Presidents?

Big People, Small Beginnings - Dr Benjamin Carlson Big People, Small Beginnings -Michaelle Jean Poems FEATURE ARTICLE - My Angolan Experience

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ISSN No. 1751 - 1909 E-magazine

Thank you all for staying with me!

31 May 2006 - 31 May 2009

BLACKBRIGHT’S ANNIVERSARY

Editorial

1.

(My Angolan Experience)

CONTENTS

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DJ Lady Loy plays the best (not the po p ul a r) in re g ga e music every week

20:00hr - 22:00hr EVERY SUNDAY Not sure? check http://loyonlife.podomatic.com or www.myspace.com/jamrocksundays

www.jamrockradio.com click on ‘radio’

‘Jamrock Sundays’ w/Lady Loy for the best in Reggae

President Thomas Jefferson – the third elected president, who served two terms between 1801 and 1809 was described as the “son of a half-breed Indian squaw and a Virginian Mulatto father,” as stated in Vaughn’s

Mulatto -noun 1. The offspring of one white parent and one black parent; 2. A person whose ancestry is a mixture of Negro and Caucasian. – adjective: of a light-brown colour.

In February of 2004, an article was written by C Stone-Brown entitled: “Who were the 5 Black Presidents?” for DiversityInc magazine.

The article was based on a book by Dr Leroy Vaughan an opthalmogist titled “Black People and Their Place in History”. The following text is a collaboration of his theories and other known historians and authors.

What determines if a person is black or African Descent? In the 19th and 20th centuries, the standard for determining one’s race was ‘one drop of black blood, made you black (listen to http://loyonlife.podomatic.com on colourism) socially and in the eyes of the law.

So by that standard it would appear some US presidents would have been considered black or mulatto.

The article starts:

An article entitled the ‘6 Black Presidents was sent to me, and intrigued me so much that I decided to share it with you through my magazine. While the source was not available a couple of links were embedded in the article namely http://stewartsynopsis.com/8percent/warren%20Harding%20and%20Jim%20Cr ow.htm

7 Black U.S. Presidents

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Abraham Lincoln – the nation’s 16th president, served between 1861 and 1865. Author Vaughn, states Lincoln and very dark skin and coarse hair and his mother allegedly came from an Ethiopian tribe. His heritage fueled so much controversy that Lincoln was nicknamed “African Africanus the First” by his presidential opponents and cartoons were drawn depicting him as a Negro.

President Warren Harding, the 29th president, in office between 1921 and 1923, apparently never denied his ancestry. According to Vaughn,William Chancellor, a professor of economics and politics at Wooster College in Ohio, wrote a book on the Harding family genealogy. Evidently, Harding had black ancestors between both sets of parents. Chancellor also said that Harding attended Iberia College, a school founded to educate fugitive slaves.

Professor Chancellor says the Justice 4 Department agents allegedly bought and

President Andrew Jackson - the nation’s 7th president was in office between 1829 – 1837. A renowned African-American historian J A Rogers, author of the ‘Five Black Presidents’ wrote that Andrew Jackson Snr died before his son, President Andrew Jackson Jr was born. The president’s mother then went to live on the Crawford farm, where there were Negro slaves and one of these men was Andrew Jnr’s father, Rogers wrote. Vaughan cites an article written in the Virginia Magazine of History that Jackson was the son of an Irish woman who married a black man. The magazine also stated that Jackson’s oldest brother had been sold as a slave.

findings. Jefferson also was said to have destroyed all documentation attached to his mother, even going to extremes to seize letters written by his mother to other people. Only in recent years did the family of Thomas Jefferson acknowledged he was the father of the (5 or 6) children born to a slave on his plantation, Sally Hemmings.

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Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States and if the states above are true, the 7th Black US President!

Dwight David Eisenhower - served from 1953 to 1961, the 34th president.

Eisenhower’s mother, Ida Elizabeth Stover was a mulatto woman making Eisenhower part black. Eisenhower as president moved military integration from a law to reality. He battered Akansas Governor Orval Faubus with federal force to desegregate Little Rock’s Central High School.

He was the first President to elevate an African-American to an executive position in the White House. He established the first regulations to prohibit racial discrimination in the federal workforce.

He was the first President since Reconstruction to meet with Civil Rights leaders in the White House. He helped turn Washington, DC into an integrated city.

Calvin Coolidge – the nation’s 30th president, served between 1923 and 1929 and supposedly was proud of his heritage. He claimed his mother was dark because of mixed Indian ancestry. This notion was disputed by Auset Bakhufu author of ‘the Six Black Presidents’ who said in her book that by the 1800s , the New England Indians hardly were pure Indian, because they had mixed so often with blacks. Coolidge’s mother’s maiden name was ‘Moor’ and in Europe the name ‘Moor’ was given to all blacks just as Negro was used in America. It later was concluded that Coolidge was part black.

destroyed all copies of this book. Harding suffered nervous breakdowns at the age of 24 and had to spend some time in a sanitarium.

Between 1889 and 1901, Harding paid five ‘protracted’ visits to the J P Kellogg sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan ‘to recover from fatigue, overstrain and nervous illnesses.” Some speculate his illness was due to the pressure of not fully disclosing his black heritage and living as white.

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http://stewartsynopsis.com/8percent/warren%20Harding%20and% 20Jim%20Crow.htm

The article continues.. the only difference between Barack Obama and most of the former ‘black’ presidents is that none of their family histories were fully acknowledged by others or themselves. Even though Obama is halfwhite, he strongly resembles his Kenyan father and not only is Obama open about his ancestry, most people acknowledge and recognise him as a black man, which is why people identify Obama as the first black president of the United States.

He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. His late father was from Kenya and his Caucasian mother from Kansas.

President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raised with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton’s army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.

President Obama’s years of public service are based around his belief in the ability to unite people around “a politics of purpose.

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Carson suggests finding out what your gifts are by doing some self-examination. “Compile a list, actually do some self-study. You’re talking about your life, so take the time to do this,” he says. “Choose from among those things.” For example, one of Carson’s self-assessments was that he was always a very care-

“She would never accept your excuses. When people won’t accept excuses, you stop making them,” said the humble medical wonder and University of Michigan Medical School graduate, who insists that he is not an anomaly. His brother is a successful engineer for Allied Signal in South Bend, Indiana.

Both men were raised by their single mother, who insisted that her boys do well academically. She required that they read books and write book reports about the information they had gained despite her illiteracy. It was during his teenage years that he “began to understand {the key to success} through reading about the lives of successful people. They were organized and took advantage of situations.

The hallmark of an inefficient person is doing the same thing over and over and over again,” he said.

Over the last few years, Dr. Carson has developed, with Hopkins’ plastic surgery division, a significant craniofacial program in which children with congenital deformities undergo combined neurosurgical and plastic surgical reconstructions. He is also part of a group studying the problems of achondroplastic children and has particular interest in cervicomedullary compression and its treatment. On this particular day, he had taken the time to spend a few moments with a writer for The Black Collegian Magazine despite his scheduled six surgeries. So another operative word in the Yale University graduate’s vocabulary is “focus,” an ability he says was nurtured by his mother.

The boys returned to Germany after seven months at Hopkins. In 1997, Dr. Carson led a team of doctors in South Africa in the first completely successful separation of vertical craniopagus twins from Zambia.

The procedure lasted 28 hours, but the 11-month-old boys showed no signs of impairment.

In 1987, Dr. Carson was the primary neurosurgeon among the 70-member medical team that successfully separated seven-month-old German craniopagus twin boys (“Siamese Twins”). They were joined at the back of the head and shared the major cerebral blood drainage system. The 22-hour procedure was believed to be the first time hypothermia, the deliberate lowering of body temperature, was coupled with circulatory bypass and deliberate cardiac arrest to spare brain tissue for such a procedure.

your own luck. The 47-year-old Black neurosurgeon, who rose to international notoriety when he successfully separated Siamese twins joined at the back of the head, carries the philosophy that if you think big, your dreams will be realised. “Anything is possible,” says Carson, who has been the director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution in Baltimore since 1984.

In Dr. Ben Carson’s opinion, you create

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“That’s what we’ve got to do in a society where knowledge is power. A strong back is no longer enough. If you rely on the media, all you’ll see is the glorification of that multi-million contract for athletes and all that hullabaloo about entertainers. Our youth follow that stuff like the Pied Piper, which is as effective as putting a shackle on their ankles and driving a stake in the ground. It’s still slavery and it’s frustrating to me,” said Carson. “The opportunities here are absolutely enormous for people who want them”. Carson recalls a lunchtime conversation he had with the late A.G. Gaston, who financed much of the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama. Gaston was a self-made multi-millionaire in the 1930s and 1940s. “I asked him, how did you become a millionaire in the 30s and 40s?" And he said, "It was simple, I opened my eyes and I looked around and I said what do people need? He adds that the word "young" does not refer to age, just your starting point. "It's never too late. When I retire, my goal is to become a world-class organist, and I don't even know how to play the organ. I don't think it's going to be too late." He shares that belief with children, including his own three boys, ages 12, 14, and 16. Just like his mother, "I do not accept excuses. I demand a lot from them, but I worry about them because they don't have the hardships I had. Hardship was a tremendous force in driving me to succeed. I want my boys to understand responsibility and accept accountability for their lives."

One of the ways he acknowledges his blessings is through the Carson Scholars Fund, which he created after getting tired of seeing athletes get better recognition than academically gifted students. “I would see a tremendous discrepancy in academic and athletic achievements, so the recipients of our scholarships earn a trophy as large or larger than the athletic ones that the school must place amongst the others.” The fund is targeted to 4th-12th grade students with superior academic records, who also show humanistic qualities. A monetary award of $1,000 goes into escrow and the money is transferred to the college of the student’s choice when he or she is ready to matriculate there. They also receive a medal, attend a banquet in their honor, and have their names printed in the newspaper and announced on television. Some students’ grade point averages have increased a whole point, said Carson.

ful person. And although he earned through formal study the privilege of practicing medicine as a physician, he also insists that “you don’t have to have an advanced degree. All you need is a love and a desire to move forward and a willingness to achieve. “His desire to practice medicine began when he was eight years old, beginning with an interest in psychology due to his fascination with the brain and how it works. His interest intensified when he listened to mission stories in church about doctors who would travel the world addressing medical needs. “I thought it was the most noble profession in the world.” His entry into neurosurgery was assisted by his gift of eye-hand coordination. “The Lord has blessed me, no question about it, in that area,” said Carson.

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Black-Bright has provided employment opportunities for its volunteers and the Founder is obtaining the requisite qualifications to enable her to teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector so that she can assist adults with their literacy and numeracy needs. The Founder is currently assisting KS4 students with their GCSE English and is also assisting EEC & Asian students with English Literacy, pronunciation and Grammar. She hopes that by helping one person at a time, she can eventually enable the Luton community.

Blackbright News was nominated for the Nationwide Award for Voluntary Endeavour in 2007. Blackbright News was nominated for and received: the Black Business Initiative Award 2006 for using social entreprenurialship to enlighten the black community; the Mayor’s Citizenship Award 2007 for its outstanding service to the local community and the African-Caribbean Achiever’s Award 2007 in recognition for outstanding accomplishments in Luton and nominated for Learn Direct Award in 2008.

Implementing ethical, moral and spiritual character building strategies within articles and stories for the upliftment of its readers.

BLACK-BRIGHT Elevates by:

Focussing on the emotional needs and aspirations of its readers; identifying ways to rejuvenate, rebuild and reshape our culture; encouraging positive attitudes and realistic expectations to enable a sense of wellbeing.

BLACK-BRIGHT Motivates by:

subliminally developing readers who are limited from their full potential because of life experiences; removing the ceiling that limits that potential through awareness raising strategies; providing a new paradigm of thinking (hence its award-winning appeal and global readership); and acting as a cross-generational and cross-cultural advocate for life-long learning.

BLACK-BRIGHT Educates by:

encouraging our readers to further develop their talents, views and positive ideas; actively inviting participation from people who have constructive ideas, enthusiasm and a passion for expressing issues; providing a medium where readers and contributors can express themselves to a global audience.

BLACK-BRIGHT Stimulates by:

Readers say they have found Black-Bright “relevant, useful and informative”

Black-Bright - It’s about Challenging Perceptions

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Michaëlle Jean (born September 6, 1957, in Portau-Prince , Haiti ) is the current Governor General of Canada. Jean was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Paul Martin, to succeed Adrienne Clarkson, and become the 27th Governor General of Canada since Confederation in 1867. Prior to this, Jean was a journalist and broadcaster on Radio-Canada and the CBC.

President Barack Obama and Canadian Governor General, Michaelle Jean, walk across the tarmac following his arrival in Ottawa, Canada on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009. Michaelle Jean has been Governor General of Canada since September 27, 2005.

Canada is one of sixteen British Commonwealth realms, all of which share the British monarch as their royal leader. The monarch appoints the Governor General on the advice of the Canadian Prime Minister, who is the Canadian Head of Government, after which the Governor General maintains direct contact with the British monarch.

There is no specific term.

The Governor General of Canada is the vice-regal or viceroy representative in Canada of the Queen of Canada, who is the Head of State. A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country in the name of, and as representative of the monarch.

Canada has someone the US isn’t telling us about.

Michaelle Jean, Canada’s Black Governor-General

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http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/APDtax/.

FLYCRC.com along with The Association of British Travel Agents and the industry trade paper Travel Trade Gazette have launched an online petition.

The deadline has passed but the link is:

In November 2009 the airport departure tax on flights to the Caribbean is due to increase by between 25 per cent and 87 per cent, depending upon the class of travel. In November 2010 those increases will reach as high as 94 per cent. This means that anyone travelling to the Caribbean from the UK will pay at least £50 Air Passenger Duty for their flight. This will add a significant amount on to the price of Airline tickets for all the West Indians who frequently fly back home for various reasons and occasions. The new structure will come in to effect in November 2009.

Governments of the Caribbean have united in protest at the British governments plans to charge a higher airport departure tax on visitors to the Caribbean than the tax paid by British visitors to some other major destinations.

UK Air Passenger Duty set to rise by up to £100 per person on Caribbean flights

DID YOU KNOW..

www.canada-heros.com

As a student at the University of Montreal , Jean received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian and Hispanic languages and literature and, from 1984 until 1986, taught Italian studies while completing a Master of Arts degree in comparative literature.

Jean attended the University of Florence, the University of Perugia , and the Catholic University of Milan to continue her studies in language and literature. Besides French and English, Jean is fluent in Spanish, Italian, and Haitian Creole and can read Portuguese.

Jean fled Haiti with her family from dictator François Duvalier’s regime in 1968. Her father, from whom she was estranged for many years, was a philosopher who was tortured under Duvalier’s regime and separated from the family for 30 years. The Jean family settled at Thetford Mines , Quebec.

As the current Governor General of Canada , she is entitled to be styled Her Excellency while in office, and The Right Honourable for life; given current practice, she will be sworn in to the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada after her term as the Queen’s representative has ended.

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www. myspace.com/culturalgarden

culturalgarden@aol.com

Contact the Cultural Garden on 01582 721 605 and make an appointment for an informal initial assessment.

Estelle Morris, the Secretary of State for Education, claims “that one in five of the adult population does not have the skills of the average 11 year old and are good at hiding this from family and friends”

As mentioned in my last issue, there is a lot of hype about our young adults leaving school without basic skills. Teachers are now offering personalised training, restorative justice, peer mediating techniques and embedding functional basic skills into the curriculum to enable our young people to leave school/college with basic life skills, and this is a fantastic initiative! If I am able to manage the parents’ basic skills, they can be equipped to a similar standard.

I am so glad that there is now a rigorous attempt to change the way our young people learn in school, a technique which should bring good results.

I know adults in their 40s - 70s who can’t read and are too embarrassed to admit it, and unless they decide to come for help, I cannot enable them.

Adults of all nationalities and backgrounds suffer from the inability to read and write and it is not until they enter the realm of the unemployed and are required to complete Applications for Employment or Job Centre forms that it really becomes noticeable. In this time of recession, being able to read, write and speak English to a certain standard is imperative when identifying what benefits you might be entitled to, or need to complete forms. Being literate can give you, or those you love, peace of mind.

Do you know Someone who can’t read?

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Back Issues, Art Cards and Myrna Loy’s Travelogue “The Other Side of Tourism” (Buy Now for only £5) (It’s the funny side of being British in Jamaica!)

Tel: 01582 721 605

please email blackbrightltd@aol.com for more info: www.blackbrightnews.com

www.myspace.com/blackbrightnews and click on the Paypal button and you will receive it within 3 - 5 days. Just £3.00!!

FOR ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

email: blackbrightnews@aol.com FOR LIMITED EDITIONS OF PAST HARD COPIES?

FREE online future editions of BBN?

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... The famous neurologist, Dr Ben Carson’s mother dropped out of school; got married at the age of 13 years old; got divorced and single-handedly raised Ben and his brother?

Did you know, Ben was bottom of his class, was called a dummy, had uncontrollable anger, really bad grades and it wasn’t until his mother stepped in, prevented them from watching TV and playing games; instructed them to read 2 books a week and prepare written reports for her to read(even though she was illiterate) that Ben, in particular realised he wasn’t stupid when he recognissed rock samples his teacher had brought in to class from a book he read. At that point he realised he wasn’t stupid and that motivated him. He was top of the class within a year!

It just goes to show that great things can come from humble beginnings. (Read Page 6)

DID YOU KNOW...

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(sent to me by email - The Editor)

Trust this brought a nostalgic smile to your face

Your gran made you watch “Songs of Praise”. A chicken leg was the best food in the world. When your brother / sister did something bad, you said, “I’m telling, you smelling, you went to a black man’s wedding”…….then after they got beats, you’d say, “Lickins Guy!” You were never allowed into the locked “front room” with the bar; starched crochet doilies; Alsation statuette; Shire horse pulling the cart; white cat; blue marble effect, glass fish figurine; and coffee table with the gold swan legs! Your mum had a special occasion glass cabinet which NEVER got used! Your mum washed out old ice cream and margarine tubs and use them as “tuppa wear”. If you say, “Shame Guy”. If all your mum’s friends are aunties and all their children are your cousins If your mum makes you keep your old clothes to wear as “house clothes” and you must change into them as soon as you get home from school / work!! Even now!! If you understand that the word “egg” contains an H but the word “teeth” doesn’t. If you understand that Sacherday is the day before Sunday. If you have been cuffed up in public. If you know what a FILIM is. If you know what a CERFITICATE is. If you had the tips of your ears burned with an iron comb in the kitchen when you were younger! The thought of “bringing shame on your family” is more fearful than death. You have never left the house without creaming your face first. Vaseline was often the cream.

You wore talcum powder in your knickers and on your chest.

When you fear your parents more than you feared the police or any schoolteacher When at parties all the children were sent to another room while “big people” were doing “big people tings” like…..drinking, smoking, playing dominoes.

... you had to have ‘wash out’ at the beginning of school holidays. You wear a head stocking (or stocking foot) to bed…..even now!! You know who Jim Reeves is. You drink tea with Carnation milk! You were sent to the ‘Indian Man Shop’ to buy an onion. If you sat near a window, you might ‘catch a draft in your neck! When your mum never let you eat “pon street” or from people houses – cos then they’ll think that she don’t feed you! Your hearing quality is 20% impaired below average because of music at family parties.

You had to wear “panty” under your swimsuit. You know who Helvis is. You hate to throw away empty containers One of your Aunts claims to have ‘had a dream’ about everything.

And when ever someone announces that they are expecting a baby, she says she’s been dreaming about fish. You’ve eaten ackee & saltfish for breakfast. At Christmas you have to have “black cake” and sorrel. You can kiss your teeth (chups) for more than 3 seconds. You bring home food from a party (enough for your breakfast the next morning, your lunch and your dinner!) You got asked, (when you were crying after having been told off) whether you wanted something to cry for? You knew you were acting bad and your mum gave you THAT look!!! When “kiss mi neck” implies surprise as opposed to a request for affection; When it’s bad manners not to acknowledge your elders in the street; You got beats…sometimes with a belt. You have a scar on your body from running into the paraffin heater. There was a clear plastic covering strip along the passage to protect the carpet. You DON’T attend the wedding but you DO attend the wedding party…late!

You are British-West Indies when

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http://authortree.com/ccameron.

Clifton Cameron

Relax if needs be, but don’t give in Remain strong and don’t be beating Your strength is not in giving in But by not quitting and hoping to win

It’s easy to be strong when things are going well But it takes extra courage when things go wrong for you to tell If what comes your way don’t break you Then all it can do is strengthen you In a little while it will shape you Into a tougher, wiser and more confident you

Don’t give up on your hopes and dreams Because God will help you find the will and means Hold onto them diligently But you must please wait patiently No one said that life would never be tough No one said things wouldn’t be rough

Don’t give up whatever life may bring Living in today’s world can be a very difficult thing Continue to move forward and strive For God will help you to survive Try hard to succeed in life While always making a sacrifice

DON’T GIVE IN

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by Myrna Loy

I remember the thud against the front of my head I remember feeling, warm blood reeling..

I remember him saying. .

“Let’s leave her.. she’s dead!”

I remember them laughing and coaxing and jolting.

“Hey Miss – d’ you know what happens when you don’t mind your own business?”

All I said was “What are you doing?”

A rhetorical question which got them moving, in my direction.

I had happened by And heard a man cry I watched him die At their hands.

Yes they were hammered And she could hear them saying..

“Silly bitch for interfering” She heard them explain..

“She got in the way She’s only got herself to blame!”

Left for dead...

A lonely woman walking home to her family Witnessing the tragedy Screaming helplessly.

While they are laughing Waving a hammer, smashing her head.

They left him for dead A lonely anomaly walking home to his family, and a family laughing..

While the breadwinner is dying..

His blood has stopped clotting – he’s dead

They left him for dead After splitting his head open with a hammer And I heard them laughing And pointing At the blood pouring from his head.

No Conscience

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As I made my way to the entrance of the airport, my passport was snatched away from me and confiscated by one of the airport officials.

Preoccupied about getting it back, I could not understand the nonchalance of the UNAVEM representative: “I’ll get it later,” he said in cryptic English [How could he get it later if he didn’t even know who had taken it?] I thought. I didn’t have a 12

Superficially, the children were not attractive, scuttling around in torn shorts or cut jeans. Tightmouthed, bare-chested and bare-footed, they meandered, surveying the targets — the newcomers. Their eyes sparkled with anger and agitation amidst cassava covered faces. A photographic memory of destitution did not trigger sympathy New York had taught me to be immune to poverty. Reminders of the homeless, the disabled, the hungry on the streets of Manhattan, stood before me in the form of children and I wondered if children made hungry and destitute by the ravages of war, could leave me unmoved. They had to, for my own safety. I passed them in an instrumental fashion and was relieved to see the UNAVEM representative waving a placard notifying new staff members of his presence.

My first impression of the country was not a good one. I was instinctively afraid even though I had self-talked myself into not being so. The plane landed at Luanda Airport and at least 70 children were lined up behind the feeble barrier designed to prevent an invasion of the airport.

by a Mission Returnee (1996)

My Angolan Experience

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At night, the only was the lights from dles that hovered the wares tradeswomen were

light canover the sell-

After the war, reckless drivers were the murderers. Suffering Angolans had nothing to live for. A 200 thousand kwanzas could buy them a drink of whisky or beer on the roadside to break the long journey. They would pull over, have one drink or two, a puff of a cigarette becoming more intoxicated as the journey continued. The drink would dull the ache of unhappiness and the cigarette would allow them to concentrate on something other than finding food for their wives and their chldren.

They didn’t care if their recklessness resulted in the death of a woman or a child. Avoiding collisions had become an an art, a challenge, a dance with death. How fast could they get to the next shack to buy another drink and have another cigarette? Ironically, the driver usually survived, it was the female martyrs, the young, who paid the penalty for frivolous driving.

We were all bundled in a bus and driven away. I looked out of the window during the 20 minute drive. Buildings were sunken in a valley, no roofs and no foundations. It was one straight road from the airport, the entrances into connecting roads were subtle and devious. The Samba Road was crowded with people, mostly women and children.

It was the Samba Road that was notorious for deaths of different sorts, mostly car accidents. As cars swerved in front of us, or forced us to the side of the road, I understood why. Distracted women and children slanted into the road into the wheels of oncoming traffic, it was worse at night.

I discovered that apart from myself, two other ‘newcomers’ were welcomed by Angolan soil. A Belgian, introduced himself as Jin Tanglec (I smiled at him because he was very cute) and a really tall lady from Norway, introduced herself, but I didn’t remember her name.

I retrieved my luggage, which happened quite quickly considering how disorganised everything looked. I allowed a young boy to help me, and gave him US$2.

The representative told me that I shouldn’t have given him so much money and that one US$ was worth around 5 million Kwanzas. Five million kwanzas did not mean anything to me, I just wanted to get my stuff in the van and leave! Looking at needy children made me feel guilty.

voice. I felt helpless and vulnerable being unable to communicate in Portuguese - the language of the local people.

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“Beautiful” she said, trying to draw my attention to the elaborate large homes, while I was distracted by a young boy with no clothes on lying on a wooden bench, clutching a piece of clothing. “I am not a building person”, I said, I am a people-person.. buildings don’t do anything for me... I can’t feel for buildings. I wanted to catch the essence of that moment, of the boy lying there trying to sleep ... I took out my camera... Annette was fussing.. “take the picture, and Liz... you can take the picture!” but the boy was awake by the time I had taken my camera out of its purse.. the moment was gone, I had lost the opportunity.

“Still take it “ one of them said.. but I couldn’t. I did not want to snap him as though he was a sou- 13

I came out with US$24.00 to spend. As they drove through the “oldest part of the town” we were shown the destruction of buildings by the war in 1992.. we were shown the President Neto’s Mausoleum, Santos’ home and the different embassies along one road.

I was picked up the following day to go to a market. Annette and I were accompanied by Liz, an Asian looking Mexican/American and her husband, Miguel, a white Portuguese/Angolan.

As I lay down, I cannot begin to desribe how I felt when I saw those deprived bodies, and being told not to give them money because they will do something else with it beside buy food..

I was relieved when I saw a sign in the road with an arrow pointing to the direction of UNAVEM III our destination. The bus turned the corner, the pavement part of the road was layered with red bauxite designed with stones. I contemplated on how women and children walked on the hard stones without shoes or sandles, and did so, without limping. The bus stopped at Mabinda, a Camp which was to become my home.

After we swerved to avoid one pothole after another, it was obvious that the roads had not been maintained. The vehicles that passed us were so severely damaged that it made me wonder whether the vehicles had been certified roadworthy.

ing. I watched women with large woven sacks, bowls, chopped wood, even a table on their heads, and a small child on their backs. I marvelled at their dexterity - how did they manage to carry such weight on their heads, with a child tied around their waists? Didn’t the weight put a strain on their backs? I wondered if they didn’t tire.

Their faces were expressionless, nothing to indicate whether they were unhappy, tired or frustrated.

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When we got into the market, we saw one blind person after another being led by a child begging... an old lady sitting on the stairs, eyes turned over in her head... feeling her way into her bag and trying to hold out her hand at the same time.. and we, walking past, ‘ignoring’ them with our millions of Kwanzas and relatively large amounts of US dollars bulging from our pockets/ pouches. My stomach turned... I could not enjoy the expedition. I

They told us they would now take us to San Paolo market. Miguel parked quite a distance from the market to deter too many boys from ‘guarding’ his car. We had three guards in the end. As we exited the car, we were approached by a lot of little boys with powdered faces, no shoes, noses running, thin and black... beseeching red eyes.. I don’t know why their eyes were also so red and watery when there was no sea water nearby. “Amiga, Amiga!” they said in almost a whisper. Even in their desperate condition they had pride: “Amiga..” as they lent out a hand. It was horrible ignoring there pleas, knowing that we had money in our pockets. a US$1 was nothing... and they would appreciate it so much, yet I was forced to ignore them because I was told that if they see you have money, they will jump on you and steal it... When we got back to the car, Miguel gave the children only 800 Kwanzas which is not even 1c in American currency.

I gazed out of the window, trying to remember what I was seeing... the 3-D perspective of a building on the corner of a cliff, and the city down below, and the sea on the horizon... boats.. houses.. shacks.. mansions... all in one glance...all in one location.

In one snapshot. I felt angry... I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t feel like responding when they showed me the “beautiful white house on the corner”..

venir, a mascot. I lost that opportunity and it worried me for a bit. It worried me that they were harping on about the different buildings when there were real people to see... who cared who lived in what building? I certainly didn’t... but maybe as a diplomat, I needed to know but I didn’t care.

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Angola is so beautiful... it is so rich in resources, and I met beautiful refined Angolans, but the majority are poor, and I understand that there is an apartment building in Marimar that rents rooms at a half a million US dollars a month, and the apartment is full. Where is

As we ate, we spoke about orienting people into Angola... the culture shock needed to be addressed by counsellors. I wasn’t sure whether counsellors were the answer. I thought people needed to forewarned what to expect, and then it wouldn’t be such a shock. We were told about contaminated water, lack of food and amenities, and we were warned to stay in groups and not to go off the compound, things that they presumed necessary for our welfare, but we were not told that we would see blind people and starving children all over the place, while we drove around in UN vans and buses. We were not told that if we go to the market to buy clothes, carvings and food, that we would be besieged by destitute children, and surrounded by houses with no structure. That people, especially small children would be living on a ledge, about 25-30 feet off the ground and about 23 feet wide. If a child lost its balance, it would lose its life.

We went to a restaurant after getting away from there. I was sceptical. I was told to be careful were I ate because of the contaminated water.. and the unhealthy way food was cooked, but I was assured this place was clean and the food was cooked well.

We ate, and the food was good.

“What makes you think I would be interested to see this!” I shouted.. and as they boys clung onto the car, and Miguel reversed the car and drove forward forcing the boys off: I continued, “I don’t appreciate this at all!”... I was angry and I meant it.

I did not need the poverty syndrome reinforced any more than it had been. I did not need to gloat at their misfortune... I did not need to hoard my money while the locals were without... I felt very angry and upset.

We left that market and went to another. Liz suggested Rock Market, but her husband said it was very dangerous, renowned for banditry. I told her that if it was dangerous, we should forget it.. she insisted that we “just drive through” and we wouldn’t stop, and they did so. No sooner we drove into the market, we were pounced on by teenage boys, climbing all over the car... There were the disabled, the blind, the tiny children, naked in a worse state than those at San Paolo, the earlier market!

could no longer buy freely when there were so many without. I kept my hands in my pocket and decided to follow, and allow Liz and her husband to buy fruits and vegetables.. they felt quite comfortable with their surroundings, for me, I was very uncomfortable... it was culture shock.

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(True Acount by Myrna Loy)

At the end of it, I was a mission returnee, sent to Angola to assist with their Human Resource needs and the transitional aspects of international staff. I was not sent there to ‘get involved’, to become empathetic or build relationships with the locals.

My job as a HR Officer was specific. I was to orient, induct newcomers; I was to administer personnel formalities and ensure the safety and protection of international staff by following policies, procedures! However, I did build special friendships, ones I will never forget, and even though there were times when I wanted to scream because there was no way out and no way back I persevered, got back safely and lived to share my experience.

Living in Angola for one year was a disturbing, but rewarding experience. The wholesomeness of the local people and the unity of UN staff made it worthwhile. The Angolan smiles, their ability to please, their seeming nonchalance at the decadence and disarray around them.

There were occasions while working for the Board of Inquiry in Angola, that I had to take a helicopter to investigate murders of international staff. I had to interview suspects, I had to investigate allegations of sexual harrassment, situations I had never envisaged being in, but I grew because of it.

The exploiter is renowned for his ability to distract, so while they are initiating wars others are ‘looting ‘the country,and when the fighting stops, and the locals and nations realise what has happened, it is too late.

Why doesn’t the head of state see this? Why doesn’t he stop this kind of exploitation instead of fighting each other for power... the exploiters are there, taking everything away right under their eyes, while MPLA and UNITAR are fighting each other for something neither of them will ever have, if they are not careful.

that money going? I heard that it leaves the country. Oil Barons come into the country, exploit the people, use up its resources, draining the country of all vitality, and then when it is all dried up and their money is safely out of the country, they leave.

Photo of Back Cov

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Photo of little girl by Garfield Hall Back Cover by Lakshmi Narayan Gupta

Founder & Managing Editor: Myrna Loy

www.myspace.com/blackbrightnews or www.blackbrightmagazine.com email: blackbrightnews@aol.com

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