America has benefited from the ingenuity brought by immigrants. And most American ethnic groups have been able to enrich themselves with new arrivals from their mother lands.
Kimma Wreh, owner of TeKay Designs in Houston, Texas, is a newly arrived African-American whose ingenuity is enriching Black America. The Liberian native came to the United States in1988 as a student with only $100.00. After graduating from Howard University, the business graduate started her company in 1996 before earning a MBA from LeTourneau University. Today, she is replenishing African-American culture with bridal fashions that honor the tradition of our ancestors.
Museum of African American History and Culture Preview
The Museum of African American History and Culture released a video preview of the new museum scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015 in Washington, D.C.
West Africans in Early America
On-line
The Port Of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership (POHGEP) presented a permanent exhibit to the Gambia National Library in late March. The panels are now on-line.
“The panels will indeed further cement kinship ties and understanding of the significant roles played by people of African descent in general, and from SeneGambia in particular, to the socio-economic, cultural and technological evolution of the United States,” says Abdou Mbye, Director General of the Gambia National Library Authority.
Singling out one of the panels, he continued, “SeneGambians will be very proud to recognise and identify with the name Madgigine Jai Kingsley (Madgigain in Wolof means “my lady,” and Jaye is one of the surnames of the SeneGambian people).
The West Africans in Early America exhibit also feature Senegambian-Americans Benjamin Banneker, Phillis Wheatley, Martin Robison Delaney and Francisco Menendez.
The panels are part of POHGEP's new website. POHGEP will officially launch the website in the next Snippets.
Election 2012
A Return to the 1950s?
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When asked by a constituent at a town hall, "What percentage of the American legislature do you think are card-carrying Marxists?" "That's a fair question," U.S. Rep. Allen West (R-FL) replied. "I believe there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party."
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Graphical View of the White House's Critique of the Republican Budget Proposal
Americans got an extra day to pay their taxes and DC government workers got a day off--as the nation’s capital celebrated Emancipation Day.
The holiday celebrates the freedom of 3,100 Africans held as enslaved persons in Washington, D.C. and the festivities included a parade down America’s Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue. During the parade, the master of ceremonies noted that this was the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's DC proclamation and that it is taking place during the administration of the nation’s first Black president, the opening of the King Memorial on the National Mall and the groundbreaking of the new African-American Museum, also on the National Mall.
According to councilperson Vincent Orange, whose legislation made the day a local holiday, the Federal government paid slaveholders about $300 per African in 1862 ($6,473.02 in 2010 dollars).
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Joint Center to Honor
Atlanta’s Mayor
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who has gained national attention for his innovative approaches to governing during a challenging economy, will receive the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies’ 2012 Louis E. Martin Great American Award at the organization’s Annual Gala Dinner on Tuesday, May 1, at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, DC.
Reed first came to national attention more than 20 years ago when, as an undergraduate member of Howard University’s Board of Trustees, he created a fundraising program that has since contributed more than $10 million to the school’s endowment. He was appointed as the University’s youngest General Trustee in June 2002 and remains a member of that body for the historically Black university.
How to Save Your Black Son from Vigilantes and Other Rogues
In light of the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with writer Donna Britt and her sons Justin and Darrell Britt-Gibson about how she prepared them as young Black men for a world that might view them with suspicion.
When asked by a constituent at a town hall, "What percentage of the American legislature do you think are card-carrying Marxists?" "That's a fair question," U.S. Rep. Allen West (R-FL) replied. "I believe there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party."
