Emira Woods @ Women Ambassadors Conference @ Howard University

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Emira Woods, female parliamtentarians in Africa, gender parity in Africa, Howard University, IPS, pan-Africanism, Women Ambassadors Conference

Yesterday I ventured to Howard University to hear Emira Woods of the Institute for Policy Studies speak on Militarism in Africa, primarily through the recent examples of the Central African Republic and Mali.  The occasion for this talk was the 19th annual Women Ambassadors Conference.  The Conference continues today and tomorrow.  I understand that seven of the 23 female ambassadors resident in DC will be present tomorrow as well as the female Ambassador of the African Union to the US.

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‘A Classical People Deserve a Classical Art’: Hugh Masekela and Howard University Honor Nelson Mandela

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Akua Allrich, Apartheid, Ebrahim Rasool, Howard Dodson, Howard University, Hugh Masekala, jazz, Keorapetse Kgositsile, Larry Willis, Nelson Mandela, South Africa, South Africa poet laureate

Masekala performing with Mandela slide in background. Several of the slides had Mandela in rugby garb.

Like coffee, jazz is not particularly my thing, but I’m quite pleased that the same friend who took me to Harrar Roastery convinced  me to go just a bit further down the street yesterday to Howard University and hear Hugh Masekela, South African jazz musician and activist perform ‘A Musical Tribute to Mandela.’  Masekala and a variety of performers capped off Howard University’s Mandela Day, which celebrated the 24th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990.

Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere: Howard University Examines the Free South Africa Movement in DC

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anti-Apartheid legislation, black Hindus, Free South Africa Movement, Howard Dobson, Howard University, Moorland-Springarn Research Center, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Dellums, Ronald Reagan, South Africa, Sylvia Hill, TransAfrica Forum, Washington Office on Africa

Yesterday I attended an event at Howard University on ‘Washington, DC and the Free South Africa Movement: A Retrospective.’  The event was moderated by Dr. Howard Dobson, Director of Howard’s Moorland-Springarn Research Center, which is celebrating its centennial this year.  Panelists included former Congressman and Mayor of Oakland, Ron Dellums, as well as TransAfrica Forum board member and Professor of the University of the District of Columbia, Sylvia Hill.  A black ordained Hindu minister, Gregory McCay also spoke on discrimination in India.

Ethiopian Retail Establishments Protest Israeli Treatment of Africans

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DC Israel Embassy Protest, Diaspora Eritreans, Georgia Avenue, Harrar Coffee and Roastery, Howard University

The other day, the guy photographed above got me to drop by Harrar Coffee and Roastery, not something I would usually do as my coffee preferences do not normally extend beyond Starbucks Frappuccinos.

I did not consumer any products from the Georgia Ave establishment (it’s just north of Howard), but I was very interested to see this poster promoting a January 22 protest march in front of the Embassy of Israel by diaspora Eritreans calling on Israel to respect the rights of African refugees.

Honoring Mandela at Howard Tomorrow (and Through a T-shirt Today)

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Bob Marley, Che Guevara, Embassy of South Africa, Georgia Avenue, Howard University, Nelson Mandela

As Howard University and the Embassy of South Africa prepare to honor the memory of Nelson Mandela tomorrow evening, I’ve noted an upswing in the amount of Mandela paraphernalia on the DC marketplace.

This weekend, I saw a wholesaler in the vicinity of Union Market  with a stock of Nelson Mandela t-shirts hanging in their window.  Yesterday, I was walking along Georgia Ave just north of Howard, and passed a similar storefront scene.  I wonder if this apparel will continue to gain prominence in the way that t-shirts of men with much shorter lives, such as Che Guevara and Bob Marley have become staples.  Perhaps this indicates that Mandela is seen by some as more of an anti-establishment icon than is generally accepted?

Newer readers can find some of my brief thoughts on Georgia Ave here.

Wole Soyinka at Howard University: In Praise of Rwanda’s Kagame and in Defiance of Gambia’s Jammeh, Or Tearing a New one for African Leaders

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Abdoulaye Wade, Boko Haram, Congo, Gambia, Howard University, Laurent Gbagbo, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, Wole Soyinka, Yahya jammeh

At Howard University last evening (only my second time there for an event), Wole Soyinka ostensibly spoke on the theme of ‘Rwanda: Paradigm for a Continent.’  The scene was set by a call and response between the Howard administrator presiding over the event and the predominantly student audience, something that was a far cry from the staid environment at events at the New England liberal arts school I attended.

The Nigerian Wole Soyinka, one of the continent’s undisputed intellectual giants gave an extremely hard hitting talk, which was as much about Gambia being a blight on Africa’s image than Rwanda being its savior.  Keep reading for Soyinka’s thoughts and why his handling of a Q&A made me lose all respect for him, after a pretty good set of prepared remarks.