Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

In late 2017, while working at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), I posted from my personal Facebook account criticizing the Israeli army for arresting Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi in her village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank. I believed it was wrong, I wrote, for a minor to be held in a military prison. Shortly after, someone called my supervisor and requested I be fired.

In the end, my supervisor simply told me to be more thoughtful about what I shared online. But it was clear that my politics on Palestine were under the microscope because of the organization I worked for. Within a few weeks, I had decided to quit the organization anyway.

I joined the ADL in May 2016 as the Director of Development for Missouri, Eastern Kansas, and Southern Illinois, after receiving a Masters from Brandeis in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. I saw this job as an opportunity to use my knowledge of the region to promote greater understanding of the reality in Israel-Palestine and to help reduce Islamophobia in the Jewish community. Perhaps naively, I hadnt considered that my political beliefs I am an anti-Zionist would preclude any possibility of advancement for me in an organization that brands itself as working to secure justice and fair treatment to all.

Our regional office was a small staff of three, including me. Initially, it was enthralling work, which fed my hope that someday I would rise through the ranks and have a chance to facilitate big conversations about Jewish/Muslim relations, diversity in the Jewish community, and BDS, as well as steer policy change.

My primary duty was to fundraise for the organization by building relationships with major prospects and community stakeholders (such as Israeli and U.S. embassies, Jewish Federations, the American Jewish Committee, the National Council of Jewish Women, and local synagogues), and planning events. But I often had the chance to observe first responses to hate crimes, and work on addressing some of the heinous antisemitic events of 2016-17: from a spate of bomb threats called in to Jewish organizations, to a series of Jewish cemetery desecrations, to the white nationalist riots in Charlottesville which resulted in Heather Heyers murder.

I also got to sit in on anti-bias training workshops that our team conducted for various groups, among them police officers from around the St. Louis Metropolitan area. At first, I was deeply impressed with the level of knowledge and facilitation shown by the volunteers and staff who made the training possible. But gradually, I began to notice that the police officers for whom we led anti-bias training were completely disengaged, and were never held accountable for it. They toured the local Holocaust museum in St. Louiss Jewish Federation building, guided by a wonderful docent, and all the while they fiddled on their phones.

A sharpshooter from St. Louis Police trains his weapon in the direction of the camera at protests in Ferguson, Missouri, August 13, 2014. (Jamelle Bouie/CC BY 2.0)

In defense of the training, it was a solid presentation on how German police collaborated with the Nazis during the Holocaust and how easy it is for police to be coopted into supremacist causes. The problem wasnt the presentation, it was the police which is why I was confused that we kept valorizing police officers with our programming and fundraising.

When I spoke to police about the ADL they would often gush about the trip they took to Israel on the organizations dime a trip where they learned about counterterrorism and crowd control. I felt exceedingly uncomfortable with the program that helped send police to Israel for training, because I knew that among its beneficiaries were one of the most undisciplined and dangerous forces in the United States: the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, which was involved in brutally suppressing the Ferguson uprising following the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014.

Within months of my starting to work there, the ADLs stance on the matter became clear: namely, that they viewed the St. Louis police as an embattled force being punished for the crimes of one bad apple. But that wasnt true: I had seen first-hand the total aversion of these police officers to receiving anti-bias training. The things they would say during training sessions were appalling. A common refrain was that they didnt see the point of being there since the problem was really Black-on-Black crime.

Conversations would often devolve into police officers venting about having to interact with Black citizens, or just their general disdain for people who didnt respect their authority. It wasnt just a few bad apples: it was the whole system, and we were enabling it, collaborating with it, and giving it a shield to stand behind. The organization continuously partnered with police in the aftermath of extrajudicial shootings; this, to me, was testament to the ADLs total disregard for the experiences of Black people living in America.

While I believe the ADL does, at times, do valuable work to educate about antisemitism, that work is completely undermined by the organizations commitment to upholding systems of oppression in Israel and the United States, and by its collaboration with the U.S. police and the Israeli government including maintaining a policy preventing the organization and its staff from acknowledging anything to do with Palestine, or the fact that Palestinians are living under Israeli military occupation.

During a training session in 2017 on facilitating anti-bias workshops, we spent much more time talking about anti-Zionism than antisemitism or racism. As part of the training we were given the chance to talk to Ken Jacobson, the National Deputy Director of the ADL. I asked what our stance was on the occupied territories, since it never came up during training; I was told by Jacobson that we dont call the territories occupied, we just call it the West Bank.

Arizona House Representative Alma Hernandez speaks at a Jewish solidarity rally co-organized by the Anti-Defamation League in Washington, D.C., July 11, 2021. (Ted Eytan/CC BY-SA 2.0)

I decided it was time to go in late December 2017, when we threw a brunch and award party for the police of St. Louis honoring two officers who had, in fact, solved a hate crime. My objection was that we invited Jeffrey Roorda, a former politician, ex-police officer, and current executive director and business manager of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, part of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Roorda is well-known in St. Louis for being an unequivocal white supremacist, for antagonizing the family of Michael Brown and the entire Ferguson community, and for sharing conspiracy theories about President Obama. I didnt want to be in the same room as him, let alone invite him to an event I was planning. When I voiced this concern to my direct supervisor I was told that we simply had to invite him, and that it would look bad if we didnt.

That was it for me. I found another job and left in early 2018, feeling ashamed at not having put my foot down. I never shared publicly why I quit until I tweeted about it last month, and I was never offered an exit interview where I might have told my employer about my reasons for leaving. And what it comes down to is the fact that the ADL is more than willing to throw Black Americans and Palestinians under the bus in order to secure funding from right-wing donors. Until this changes, the organization cannot in good conscience profess to be committed to justice and fair treatment to all.

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I joined the ADL to fight racism. It's actually doing the opposite - +972 Magazine

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Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

Now that we are over a year out from the events that took place Jan. 6, 2021, perhaps it is time to take a closer look at the multiple actors related to the incident at the Capitol and investigate the causes and environment surrounding the dialogue about the event.

Pharos, a Vassar College-run website focusing on debunking the myths surrounding the false appropriations of classical antiquity by white supremacists and other organizations, published articles and other content in response to events like Jan. 6. Their self-defined mission is so classical scholars, students and the public more broadly, can learn about appropriations of Greco-Roman antiquity by hate groups. In addition, we aim to help teachers incorporate this material into curricula in ways that allow students to recognize and challenge the persistence of white supremacist narratives around Greco-Roman antiquity.

One organization brought up in the post-Jan. 6 dialogue is the Proud Boys.

Among the Proud Boys core beliefs and agenda is to promote Western Values. And indeed, the groups website describes them as Western Chauvinists who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes their ideology in greater detail: The Proud Boys are a right-wing extremist group with a violent agenda. They are primarily misogynistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and anti-immigration. Some members espouse white supremacist and antisemitic ideologies and/or engage with white supremacist groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center also has more details on the organization.

Following Jan. 6, Trump addressed the Proud Boys directly in a statement, saying: Stand up and stand bysomebodys got to do something about Antifa and the left.

Former President Trumps statement, while not directly inciting violence by this known hate group, triggered a strong response in the media, generating a lot of public outrage. It granted legitimacy and recognition to what is supposed to be a fringe extremist group; and, it overall contributed to the justification by some of the events that took place Jan. 6. But, turning to the inner workings of the Proud Boys themselves as a group, how do they legitimize their cause and beliefs?

Depending on your experience with the classics, it may or may not come as a surprise to you that the traditional Western values the Proud Boys and similar organizations tout as their own have their roots in classical Greco-Roman antiquity. Or do they?

At first glance, it is possible and even easy to believe that these values align Pharos discusses the themes of masculinity and fitness that are stressed by both groups. For example, throwing a punch: Throwing a punch is an essential skill along your journey to manhood, according to the Proud Boys, and in Sparta it was an ultimate example of a warrior society. Themes of violence, toxic masculinity, militarization, call to arms and duty fall among these shared but really just co-opted traits.

Pharos writers speculate on the possible causes for the Proud Boys to draw from classical antiquity: Invocations of violence from ancient history are intended to make more recent or present day violence legitimate, because ancient empires tend to be admired rather than recognized as imperialist war machines. The Proud Boys are hardly the only boys to participate in this trend. Examples of the misappropriation of the classics to suit white supremacist causes abound.

As an academic community, what is our role both within the discipline and within the liberal arts as a whole to discuss and combat the misappropriation of such central teachings as the values of early Western civilization? What responsibility do we bear to set the record straight and to de-legitimize these misappropriations?

Alexa Schlaerth is a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame pursuing degrees in Chinese and philosophy. As an Angeleno, Alexa enjoys shopping at Erewhon Market, drinking kombucha and complaining about traffic because its like, totally lame. Alexa can be reached at [emailprotected] over email.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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Misappropriating the Classics - Observer Online

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Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

From the Greek word meaning 'to scatter,' a diaspora is defined as a community of people who do not live in their country of origin, but maintain their heritage in a new land. Many of you can probably relate to this issue, since you've got ancestral roots from one country but reside in a different place. For instance, in the United States, a plethora of ethnic communities exist. Americans can be classified according to sub-cultures, such as African-American, Mexican-American, Irish-American, and Indian-American. Inclusion of emigrants, or people who have left their homelands to settle permanently in a different one, is a major characteristic of a diaspora.

You may also hear the term 'dispersion,' which is a requirement for diaspora to exist. Dispersion refers to a movement away from a particular space, like the petals of a dandelion blowing in the wind. Thus, you can imagine that, due to dispersion, people form transnational communities in which members are committed to restoring homeland values. For instance, Jewish people living outside the land of Israel constitute a well-known example of a diaspora.

Consequently, diasporas have been associated with loss and exile--two words that denote suffering and tragedy. Another group of people--the Africans--were forced to move away from their homelands because of slavery in colonial America. Hence, a multitude of diasporas have occurred globally due to religious, social, political, economic, and even natural forces. These forces can range anywhere from violent revolutions to massive earthquakes--essentially anything that disrupts the normal flow of life.

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What is Diaspora? - Definition & Meaning - Video & Lesson ...

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Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

Dear Editor,

In a budget speech to the National Assembly on February 4, 2022, that lasted more than one hour, Minister Hugh Todd mentioned the Guyanese diaspora twice in two sentences-less than 12 seconds- during his delivery. The Guyanese diaspora is disappointed by the lack of seriousness by the administration to involve the diaspora in nation-building. According to the Migration Policy Institute, aware of the diaspora potential, developing countries have established institutions to facilitate relationships with their diasporas systematically. Countries serious about engaging their diaspora in nation-building allocate funds in their annual budgets for diaspora programs and initiatives, including India, Israel, China, Mexico, Chile, Philippines, Nigeria, Jamaica, Senegal, and Somalia. Many developing countries have established ministries whose explicit purpose is to address the needs of diaspora populations. Some have diaspora institutions at the National level, including Chile, China, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, Poland, and Sierra Leone. Countries like Mexico, China, and the Philippines have multiple institutions and represent diasporas at various levels of government.

Guyana has continued a novel approach that has been ineffective over five decades from one administration to the next. In the late seventies, during the exodus of Guyanese from Guyana, former President Forbes Burnham urged Guyanese to return home and contribute- Guyanese did not heed the call. Similarly, David Granger promised to craft diaspora policies for the huge diaspora during his first speech to Parliament in 2015. Guyanese in the diaspora are still waiting to see the policy. The current PPP/C administration has not developed any policies for the diaspora or released the Diaspora Engagement Strategy. However, President Ali committed to creating an effective diaspora engagement structure for national development during his Inauguration speech in 2020. Foreign Affairs Minister Todd stated that Guyana is committed to harnessing in a structured mannerskills of Guyanese in the Diaspora during the 2022 Budget Debate, but there are only two persons assigned to diaspora affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Two years ago in 2020, Minister Todd had told reporters and the public that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would expand the diaspora unit to an entire department- not yet realized.

But diaspora disappointment is compounded by the lack of trust in the administration. Trust was lost when the Ministry was unable to find personal and confidential data for 7,700 members of the diaspora who participated in a survey on the website of the Ministry.

The head of the diaspora unit, Rosalina Rasul, told diaspora members that the Diaspora Unit would develop a new website in 2021. While the new website never materialized, the old website still exists with misspelled words like invester. The Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, further eroded trust when he told a large diaspora delegation that the Diaspora Engagement Strategy created by the International Organization for Migration was at the Cabinet-level for review, which turned out not true and confuted by Gail Teixeira-Parliamentarian.

According to some estimates, there are 1.5million, including second, and third-generation Guyanese living worldwide. Guyanese in the diaspora send more than US$400 million annually in remittances to friends and relatives in Guyana-more than oil revenues for two years and approximately 13% percent of GDP. Members of the diaspora have substantial human, financial, and social capital to increase the development momentum in Guyana if the Ali administration establishes a structured mechanism for engagement and develops effective diaspora policies along with increased seriousness by the administration. The diaspora can play a crucial role in investing and providing the human capital to alleviate the skills gap and skills mismatch that pose significant challenges for Guyana now and in the future.

Sincerely,

Dr. Wayne Forde

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Guyanese overseas are still waiting to see the diaspora policy - Stabroek News

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Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

Two days of national mourning.

Flags at half mast.

A state funeral.

As India went about the business of honouring Lata Mangeshkar this past week the woman they simply called the Nightingale I struggled to find a way of explaining what her death, at 92, means to Indians, and the South Asian diaspora, and what a Western equivalent even looks like. The closest parallel I could land on? Possibly Edith Piaf, and what she means to France, but even there, the comparisons are wobbly, when you just look at the sheer, staggering breadth. A career stretching over 70 years (the soundtrack of many, many generations, including my own). An oeuvre amounting to more songs than the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined (more than 10,000 recordings, actually). An acclaim, on a gut level, that is synonymous with modern India itself when you consider how ubiquitous she has been in Bollywood movies since the early 1950s (a few short years after the country claimed independence).

She was not a queen or a president; she did not rule oceans or command armies; her only possessions were a cotton saree and a silken voice; and yet, the flag representing a billion people flies half mast in her honour. Dont ever ask again what is real power. Author Anand Ranganathan summed up the sentiment when he tweeted this.

Born into a family of performers in 1929, when India was still part of the British Empire her father ran a theatre company Latas career took off as a playback singer, part of a circle of go-tos who lend their vocals to a movie stars lip-synced lyrics, making them sound good. Her voice, increasingly, the most coveted and baked into the most evocative songs of all time from the sub-continent. The ones that boomed through car windows, enveloped parties and weddings, lingered during holidays and in the local curry shop.

Growing up in Toronto in a household where Indian movies were omnipresent Bollywood being a cultural lifeline, in particular, to those South Asians living outside India, sometimes more so than to Indians in India her gently tilting, octaves-sweeping vocals were part of my emotional wallpaper. Though, to be honest: I cannot precisely remember when, or how, I came to discern that many of the songs emerging from the most glamorous women you can imagine, in any number of films, were more often than not the voice of just one woman. And a very simple, not particularly showy, woman at that.

This is the thing: while actresses came and went, generational tastes shifted, and new ingenues rose to the fore, the voice at least until well into the aughts remained. That kind of constancy, itself a shared language in an ever-spinning world, is what many South Asians feel when they mourn Lata.

London, England-raised Lavanya Ramanathan adroitly explained the immigrant connection to the songbird in Vox this week: Her voice was filled with an intensity that conveyed both passion and pain. If you listen, youll know what I mean. You dont even have to understand the lyrics (I often dont) to understand what I mean. And to so many South Asians around the world, her songs represented much more than a mere melody she was the voice of a faraway land many of us barely knew, but wished we did.

Growing up in the 1980s, keeping up with Lata, she continued, meant pressing play and rewind on my yellow sports Walkman with its chunky plastic buttons, I closed my eyes and imagined I was in India.

Pressing play myself, this week via YouTube! I fell into a rabbit-hole of her output, music ranging from early black-and-white-era movie classics like Lag Jaa Gale to contemporary classics like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham to one of my faves, Tujhse Naraz Nahi Zindagi (a bittersweet melody from the early-eighties gem, Masoom, about a woman coming to grips with the infidelity of her husband, and the illegitimate child that comes to live with them a super-provocative movie, at the time, in Indian cinema). So many songs I had even forgotten I knew, but were right there like leaves floating on the surface of a pond, in my imagination.

Mangeshkar herself once said she does not listen to her own songs because, if she did, she would find a hundred faults in them a quest for perfection that set her apart. Noted music journalist Narendra Kusnur explains: Her passion and discipline were accompanied by a god-gifted voice, which not only sounded great on its own, but also suited the heroines she sang for, as she would tweak her voice and yet sound like herself.

Indeed, her hustle was so all-consuming that she sang in upwards of 20 languages, not only in Hindi, but in tongues as diverse as Bangla, Assamese, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Bhojpuri. A discography as miscellaneous as India itself.

Part of the Lata allure, too? A personal style that was never particularly embellished, but all her own: that ubiquitous white saree, often with a small band, and a red bindi (dot) on her forehead that together was as visually commanding as, say, a Frida Kahlo with her technicolour attire and unibrow, or a Frank Sinatra, with his fedora, and skinny suits. By never wavering in her style and standing out by blending in Lata made herself iconic.

Remarkably, too, is that while Lata gave voice to great love songs and the bonds of family, she remained unmarried and childless herself. At first, it is said, because she was so entrenched in her work and because, at a very young age, she had worked to take care of her brother and sisters, supporting their educations and their careers. But, also legend has it because her one true love eluded her: Raj Singh Dungarpur, a famous cricketer who was also a prince, from the state of Rajasthan. Though they were smitten with each other, the relationship was frowned upon by the other Dungarpur royals, and while both remained single and apparently devoted to each other right until his death in 2009 a marriage was a no-go.

Coming from a generation that did not discuss such things in public, Lata never much opened up about any of this, but, in a 2013 interview with the Hindustan Times, she came closest. Having already poured all of it into her songs, she told the newspaper, There are some things only for the heart to know. Let me keep it that way.

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That voice! The music!: Lata Mangeshkar was the soundtrack to the lives of generations of the Indian diaspora - Toronto Star

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Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

Whether you've got a family member that keeps a mac and cheese recipe on lockdown like Rihannas next album, or making a bowl of fish tea is the only way you get through a cold night, food plays such a key role in bringing people together and providing a connection that transcends language and celebrates cultures.

That's evidently clear when thinking about the African Diasporaa group of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa. Although the recipes have changed throughout the years, some of the ingredients and flavors share great similarities (for example, every spot on this list has plantains on the menu). Just like most major cities, Philly has several African, Afro-Latinx, Afro-Caribbean, and Southern restaurants that showcase the intertwined links within these cultures while honoring their sole and distinct traditions.

Head to one of these spots whether you're celebrating Black History Month, you just watched Soul Food or High on the Hog and need to eat, or youre grabbing a meal with your uncle who never takes off his Bluetooth. This guide, full of places not just connected in taste but in heritage, includes Jamaican restaurants, African places, and soul food spots, serving everything from macaroni pie to fried okra.

Abyssinia in Spruce Hill serves Ethiopian platters that get us more excited than hearing the food is ready on Thanksgiving night. Their stewed lentils, oniony sauteed greens, spicy beef tibs, and warm injera on their own are great, but when you want a nice big spread, their combination platters are the way to goespecially the Abyssinia Special 1. Its under $14, large enough for two people, and the peppery kick from the berbere sauce has us thinking about it even in the late hours (thankfully, theyre open until 2am).

We once got a bunch of cornbread from this West African spot for game night, and after our first bite, we stole the orders back while everyone clowned our friend who didnt know the rules to Spades. Outside of having buttery, fluffy, and sweet cornbread thats worth some light tableside robbery, we love the custom bowls at this Northern Liberties spot that come topped with mounds of jollof rice with dry-rubbed blackened chicken, yaji-seasoned steak, or lightly charred brussels sprouts.

Were honoring Black History Month by spotlighting Black-owned restaurants, cafes, bars, and pop-ups around the country. When the month ends, its just as important that we continue to amplify and support these businesses, so keep an eye out for more content in support of the Black community throughout the year.

With seafood mac and cheese, blackened catfish, and stewed collard greens swimming alongside shreds of smoked turkey, this Baltimore Ave. spot cooks up a dinner spread significantly better than those coveted after-church platters. But for us, a trip to the Southern-inspired restaurant usually comes during their brunch hours (Wednesday-Sunday from 10am-2:30pm). The creamy shrimp and grits, which come with spicy and nutty etouffee sauce, a sunny-side-up egg, and a bunch of shrimp, make for one of the best brunch meals in the city.

Like Jim Gardner and Iverson, the curry goat at Irie deserves the next shoutout on Abbott Elementary. The tender cubes of lamb come floating in curry sauce thats oniony, peppery, and has a subtle ginger flavor. The portions are also so big that you can expect every main and side dish to spill over the edges inside of the takeout tray (they dont have a dine-in option). But were not complaininga curry goat, jerk chicken, mac and cheese, or rice mashup might be the greatest Philly combination since Julius Erving and Moses Malone.

Parada Maimon can be a little inconsistent. Sometimes we stop by and are met by closed doors during their open hours or cant get a call through on their phones. But when youre lucky enough to get an order of their deep-fried red snapper, plantains, yellow rice and beans, and a fresh-squeezed mango juice, its always worth the effort. The breading on the fish has a great crunch, not to mention the batter has a ton of fiery peppers mixed inso you might need to have one of those juices, by the gallon, on standby.

If you want to eat Hatian food thats tasty but also bound to have you reaching for a blanket and pillow after your last bite, head to Lawndales Fritay Lakay. Opening as early as 8:30am daily, start your day here with a plantain porridge, a yam mash mixed with nuts and dried fruit, or breakfast spaghetti that tosses in bell peppers, onions, and sausage in a tomato sauce. On days where its cold enough that youd need Grittys fur to keep you warm, go for the bouillon. Its a stew that blends thick cuts of beef with carrots, noodles, plantains, and a broth thatll fill you with more warmth than that blanket and pillow combo ever could.

Sometimes you start planning your day around your next sip of sopa de camarones, or catch yourself thinking about biting into a slab of seasoned yuca at a red light. Mixto, a Washington Square Pan-Latin and Caribbean spot, not only has us daydreaming about those dishes, but there are a few other menu items that we have in a steady rotation there. For example, you can bite into a maduro relleno thats stuffed with spiced ground sausage and coated with a layer of gooey mozzarella cheese. Its also a great place to grab a drink when youre rooting for Bryce Harper since they have a large bar with a big TV.

One bite into the island wings at 48th Street Grille has us feeling better than the first time we look in the mirror after a fresh cutthe wings come in an order of 10 and have a smoky and charred taste highlighted by the orangey glaze.And they arent the only shareable thing on the Caribbean spots menu. The West Philly restaurant has braised oxtails and jumbo shrimp curry that can be passed around the table with a big group, and they even have a catering menu thats longer than Kelly Drive for special occasions. Use it the next time you dont feel like making another batch of deviled eggs for your cousins baby shower.

Spring Gardens SOUTH is the place to go for an incredible brunch, or when you want to try some catfish thats as good as the live jazz coming from the stage. Out of all the Cajun and Creole dishes, though, the buttermilk fried chicken is our favorite thing on the menu. The three pieces of chicken have a honey drizzle and come with creamy turkey collards, doughy drop biscuits, and a sweet and silky potato au gratin.

With colorful island art on the wall, hanging chandeliers, and mannequins decked out in Trini carnival costumes, you would think Flambo is putting on a production you might find across the street at The Met. But unlike the opera house, you wont have to keep reloading the Ticketmaster page to get your hands on an order of blackened shrimp sauteed in a buttery peppery sauce and stewed chicken drenched in a tomato saucetheyre pretty open when it comes to reservations. When you stop by, go for the curry chicken dhalpuri. The takari dish wraps strips of chicken, chickpeas, and onions in a warm flatbread, and the first bite into the warm pouch is so good that you might start playing mas.

This neighborhood African spot on Lancaster Ave. has a menu with everything from egusi soup to jollof rice. But when we pull up to one of their red booths or take something home (and definitely sneak bites between stop signs), we go with their beef in spicy red sauce. Its a chunky mix of red peppers, habanero, curry, and tomato that you should order with a side of their softball-sized banku. Make sure you put a nice portion of the cassava dough dumpling in each spoonful, as it adds a little sweetness to the roasted beef and mildly spicy stew.

Sometimes we need to hit our rotation of comforting things: Minnie Riperton's Lovin You, old episodes of Martin that we know word-for-word, and the goat and fufu soup from this Liberian spot in Elmwood Park thats like a Christmas gift in gumbo form. A stew of goat chunks, braised okra, and a whole mess of habanero peppers, its both savory and earthy and comes with round fufu for dipping or sopping-up purposes.

The crowd outside of Southwest Phillys Kingston 11 may be bigger than any dance floor when Candy by Cameo drops at a wedding. When you do get to the counter, though, make sure you grab an order of oxtails and a side of mac and cheese. The oxtails have a bit of sweetness from the tamarind and a flicker of tanginess from the pimento berries, thyme sticks, and ginger theyre cooked in. As for the mac and cheese, its flowing with six mystery cheeses that were making it our life mission to uncover. Until then, we can tell you that this dish is creamy, smooth, and has us crossing a few parkways whenever we want some.

For the picky eaters, or the who made the potato salad? crew, we want you to know that you wont find a bad dish on Jamaican Ds menu. And even though the wait at this Chelten Ave. spot can get longer than a braiding shop on a busy day, a platter of jerk chicken, rice and peas, and cabbage is worth sticking around for. Plus, once youve ordered, theyre quick, so you dont have to wait too long before biting into their chicken thats dripping with jerk sauce. And to cool your mouth down, get their cinnamony sweet potatoes. Theyre mashed, and after your first pillowy spoonful, you wont want to eat anything else.

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Where To Taste The African Diaspora In Philly - Philadelphia - The Infatuation

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Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Feb. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The Festival of the Diaspora, in partnership with The Aspen Institute Project on Belonging, Tulsa Innovation Labs, EV Passport, Genius100 Foundation, LINK Strategic Partners and other corporate partners will host more than 100 industry executives and changemakers from across the Americas at its inaugural convening in San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 23 26, 2022.

Speakers and attendees will be comprised of a diverse, cross-sector group including government, nonprofit, philanthropic, and corporate leaders; social entrepreneurs; academics; and dignitaries. They will connect and collaborate on identifying solutions for the most pressing issues impacting our global society, such as skill building in a post COVID world, creating economic market conditions that incorporate equity, and the power of green alternative energy in the Americas.

Confirmed speakers include Rodrick T. Miller, CEO, Invest Puerto Rico; Hilarie Viener, CEO, Genius100 Foundation; Johanna Soderstrom, Chief People Officer, Tyson Foods; Wilson White, Executive Director, Google; Mickey Espada, Puerto Rico Advisor, International City/County Management Association; Stephen Keepler, President, PVBLIC Foundation; Darius Jones, CEO, National Black Economic Council; Mayra and Lorena Roa, Co-Founders, PANAL Ed-Tech; Amy Tu, Chief Legal Officer, Tyson Foods; Mayor Steven Reed, Montgomery, Alabama; Michael Blake, President, Next Level Sports; Speaker Rafael "Tatito" Hernandez Montanez, Puerto Rican House of Representatives, and many more.

For more information, to view the full schedule, and to purchase tickets, go to festivalofthediaspora.org.

"In the highly partisan political environments that we find ourselves, we need more opportunities find our common humanity, share best practices, celebrate the past while embracing the change the future brings. There is so much potential in leaders across the Americas, we just need to connect them to each other and great things will happen," said Cordell Carter, Founder & Chairman of The Festival of the Diaspora. "I am excited to convene at the inaugural Festival of the Diaspora in Puerto Rico with some of the brightest minds to collaborate on a pathway forward. The time for action is now."

For the full schedule and more information on the sessions and speakers, including updates and changes, visit http://festivalofthediaspora.org.

Festival of the Diaspora is a non-partisan, 501c3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to convening leaders across the Americas interested in collaborating with other leaders for collective impact. It believes that connecting visionary leaders to impact investors, learning from and serving each other and celebrating our shared history and culture makes our communities and the world a better place.

SOURCE Festival of the Diaspora

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'FESTIVAL OF THE DIASPORA' TO CONVENE BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT LEADERS FROM ACROSS THE AMERICAS IN A CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS BELONGING AND THRIVING -...

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Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) registered 1,031,645 new voters during the recently-concluded voter listing exercise.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati says a further 396,163 registered voters applied to transfer to registration centers of their choice, while 2,269 others changed their particulars.

The registration exercise for Kenyans in the diaspora saw a total of 2,959 new voters listed, with 2,964 others requesting transfers to new centrers and 2,036 applying for change of particulars.

The listing of Kenyans living abroad was done in the United States, United Kingdom, Qatar, Germany, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.

Registration of diaspora voters is still ongoing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in Canada until February 14th and 15th respectively.

In line with Section 8 of the Elections Act 2011, IEBC is now expected to hire a reputable firm to conduct an audit of the voters register to verify its accuracy.

The firm will then recommend mechanisms for enhancing the accuracy of the register and updating the register.

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2,959 Kenyans in the Diaspora Register as New Voters - Mwakilishi.com

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Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

ATLANTAThe Center for Studies on Africa and Its Diaspora (CSAD) at Georgia State University has received a grant of more than $500,000 to establish an intersectional studies collective with a focus on the American South.

The $524,300 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support a three and a half-year project that will include symposia, workshops, guest lectures, roundtable discussions and the creation of a podcast focused on intersectionality in the American South.

Intersectional studies examine how social categories such as race, class, gender, sexual orientation and religion can interconnect to amplify discrimination or privilege.

The South is a dynamic place and idea, said Elizabeth J. West, professor of English, principal investigator on the grant and co-director of academic programs for CSAD.

The Intersectional Studies Collective at Georgia State will engage studies of intersectionality in the American South as a means to explore the multiplicity of identities that are redefining and shaping a new American South.

As an award recipient, Georgia State is among six members of the larger Mellon multi-university collective focusing on intersectionality in and beyond the academy. In addition to the multi-university collective that includes the University of Virginia, The University of Utah, New York University, the University of Southern California and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the Intersectionality Collective at Georgia State will also co-create programming with College of Charleston and Johannes Gtenberg University in Germany.

At Georgia State, the collaborative will include researchers from disciplines including Africana studies, English, law, sociology, public health, religious studies, history and womens, gender and sexuality studies. Along with West, co-principal investigator Lakeyta Bonnette-Bailey, associate professor of Africana studies; co-coordinator Tanya Washington-Hicks, professor in the College of Law; podcast creator Katie Acosta, associate professor of sociology; and student workshop coordinator Desmond Goss, lecturer in sociology, will represent the Georgia State Collective in June 2022 for a multiuniversity institute hosted by The University of Utah.

West said Georgia State is a natural home for the interdisciplinary work at the heart of the grant.

With its historical location in the city of Atlanta, a hub of the civil rights movement and a key space for reimagining the American South, and with its diverse and transforming student body, Georgia State University is a fitting institution to explore and advance studies in intersectionality and the South, she said.

And Georgia States CSAD, with its emphasis on challenging academics to connect their scholarship and teaching to the concerns and challenges faced by our neighboring and more distant communities especially African descended populations is an especially fitting home for the Mellon intersectionality grant.

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Mellon Grant Funds Intersectional Studies at Georgia State's Center for Studies on Africa and Its Diaspora - Georgia State University News

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Posted By admin on February 11, 2022

What makes Israel a unique country to travel to?

Don't buy counterfeit and pirated goods, even if they are widely available. Not only are the bootlegs illegal in the United States, if you purchase them you may also be breaking local law.

U.S. citizens have occasionally been the victims of high-pressure sales tactics in Jerusalem's Old City tourist shops. In some cases, vendors have not disclosed the true cost of an item and convinced the buyer -- who is unfamiliar with the exchange rate -- to unwittingly sign a credit card sales receipt worth thousands of dollars. Tourists visiting shops in high-traffic tourist areas should not sign credit card receipts unless they are certain of the amount being authorized.

Jerusalem: In Jerusalem, travelers should dress appropriately when visiting the Old City and ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods. Most roads into ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods are blocked off on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Jewish holidays. Assaults on secular visitors, either for being in cars or for being "immodestly dressed," have occurred in these neighborhoods.

Israeli roads and highways tend to be crowded, especially in urban areas. Aggressive driving is commonplace, and many drivers fail to maintain safe following distances or signal before changing lanes or making turns. Overtaking on high-speed undivided two-lane roads is common and results in frequent accidents. Drivers are also prone to stop suddenly on roads without warning, especially in the right lane. Drivers should use caution, as Israel has a high rate of fatalities from automobile accidents.

U.S. citizen employees of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Consulate General Jerusalem and their families have been prohibited from using public buses and their associated terminals. (Please review the Travel Warning for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza for more details.)

The Government of Israel requires that all passenger car occupants use their seat belts at all times and that headlights be used during all intercity travel, both day and night, during winter. As of January 1, 2006, all drivers are required to carry fluorescent vests in the car with them at all times, and they are required to wear these vests whenever they get out of their cars to make repairs, change tires, etc. If a vehicle is stopped for a traffic violation and it does not contain a fluorescent vest, the driver will be fined. These vests can be purchased for a nominal price in all local gas stations. While cellular handset phone use is prohibited while driving, hands-free units are authorized.

West Bank and Gaza: Crowded roads are common in the West Bank and Gaza. During periods of heightened tension, cars with Israeli license plates have been stoned and fired upon. Emergency services may be delayed by the need for Palestinian authorities to coordinate with Israeli officials. Seat belt use is required and drivers may not drink alcohol. Individuals involved in accidents resulting in death or injury may be detained by police pending an investigation.

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Israel | Culture, Facts & Travel | - CountryReports

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