Nine years before Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of an American bus, Viola Desmond refused to sit on the balcony of a Canadian movie theater.

Many people, even in Canada, don't realize that the country has its own history of slavery and racial segregation. And, until recently, even fewer knew the story of Viola Desmond's resistance. But her legacy will be cemented this year: Desmond is set to become the first Canadian woman, who was not a government official, to be featured on the $10 bill. (See Publisher's Note below for clarification.)

Viola Irene Desmond was born in 1914 into an interracial family, which was highly uncommon in early 20th-century Halifax. Nonetheless, both her parents became active and prominent members of various community organizations that championed racial justice, according to the Canadian encyclopedia.

As an adult, Desmond built a career as a beautician and salon owner. Around 1940, she started the Desmond School of Beauty Culture, where she mentored dozens of young, mostly Black women who wanted to become beauticians. She also created her own line of hair beauty products for Black women that were sold at the salons started by her school's alumni. Perhaps having inherited her parents' activism, her vision was to give Black women professional opportunities not otherwise available to them.

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In an interview with Amélie Ferron-Craig, Media Relations Consultant to the Bank of Canada, Port Of Harlem clarified that other women have been on the $10 note, but . . .

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Publisher's Note:  In an interview with Amélie Ferron-Craig, Media Relations Consultant to the Bank of Canada, Port Of Harlem clarified - - contrary to most Internet headlines - - that other women have been on the $10 note, but many were non-Canadian women including United Kingdom Princess Mary or other officials. The princess appeared on the 1935 $10 note. 

"The new $10 bank note featuring the portrait of Desmond will be the first bank note issued by the Bank of Canada featuring a woman who is not a parliamentarian or a member of the British Royal Family," clarified Ferron-Craig. Canada is a part of the British Commonwealth. Click The Bank of Canada's Flickr gallery for a pictorial history of Canadian bank notes.

Italy has elected its first Black senator, a Nigerian immigrant who is a member of the country's far-right, anti-immigrant League party. Tony Iwobi, the head of the party's immigration department, was elected on Sunday (March 4) in Brescia, an industrial city in northern Italy.

His election comes on the heels of a heated campaign period, in which immigration was a top concern for voters. More than 600,000 migrants have arrived on Italian shores in the past four years, stoking up racial tensions and pushing rightwing parties to call for their arrest and deportation. And even though the recent polls left the country with a hung parliament, populist and anti-European parties including the League and the Five Star Movement emerged as the biggest winners.

Iwobi, 62, came to Italy in the 1970s on a student visa, got married to his Italian wife, and became a councilor for the party in 1995. Iwobi said that he wasn't against immigration but that he wanted people to travel to Italy "legally." He was elected senator in the same region where his colleague Attilio Fontana, who had called for the "White race" to be defended, became governor.

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Also, See Tony Awobi Facebook

Eid al-Adha, also called the "Sacrifice Feast," is the second of two Muslim holidays celebrated worldwide each year, and considered the holier of the two. In Mandinka, one of the languages widely spoken in The Gambia, the holiday is called Tobaski. 

Port Of Harlem and the Port Of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership hope to be in Gambia to join the celebration, scheduled for late August. The Islamic calendar is based on observations of the Moon and the length of a particular month can vary between years. For this reason, predicted dates of Eid al-Adha may be corrected at the start of the month of Dhul Hijja. This is around 10 days before the start of the festival. Currently, it is estimated that the 2018 holiday will be August 20.

Tobaski honors the willingness of Ibrahim (known as Abraham in the Christian and Jewish traditions) to sacrifice his son, as an act of obedience to God's command. Before Abraham sacrificed his son, God provided a male goat to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this, an animal is sacrificed and divided into three parts: one third of the share is given to the poor and needy; another third is given to relatives, friends, and neighbors; and the remaining third is retained by the family.

Unlike in some countries, there is very little friction between Muslims and Christians, with Christians sometimes participating in Tobaski events. (The smallest country on the African country also has a low crime rate with gun violence almost non-existent.) 

In contrast, according to TIME magazine, White evangelical Christian leader Franklin Graham says Muslims have "hijacked Abraham." The son of the late Billy Graham and head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) called on the banning of Muslim immigration to the United States six months before Donald Trump. The BGEA has an annual revenue of $100 million.

In Gambia, Tobaski is also a day to dress your best, visit friends, and exchange gifts. "It's like the biggest barbecue you have ever seen," quipped one Gambian, who has visited the United States.


Note: Interested in experiencing Gambia during Tobaski? send us a message.

Germany's Volkswagen said it would start assembling three vehicle models at a new plant in Rwanda in May for local sale and use in its own new ride-sharing service. The company said it planned to spend $20 million to start developing the assembly plant and ride-hailing service - - part of a push into sub-Saharan Africa. Thomas Schaefer, chief executive of Volkswagen Group South Africa, said they were trying to wean East African drivers off second-hand imports.

Volkswagen will produce three models; the Hatchback Polo, the Passat, and possibly the Teramont, a large sports utility vehicle, it said in a statement. The carmaker said it had registered a local company to run its ride-sharing service and signed up a local software firm to develop a smartphone application to hail rides.

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Note: According to VenturesAfrica - A Volkswagen assembly plant in Rwanda will be the company's fourth assembly plant in Africa, after those already set up in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria - - all in sub-Saharan Africa. Rwanda will also be the second Eastern African country with a Volkswagen assembly plant, alongside Kenya, and is testament to the growing market among the young population in the region.

Of the $194 million in nonrefundable bail bond deposits paid between 2012 and 2016 to the City of Los Angeles, Latinos paid $92 million, African Americans paid $41 million, and Whites paid $38 million, according to a new study by researchers at UCLA's Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

Studies also show that residents of communities with the highest unemployment rates were levied the largest sums of bail. Efforts are taking place across the United States to create a more level playing field.

In Georgia, The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Glynn County, Georgia, for violating the constitutional rights of people arrested for misdemeanors. Those who cannot afford to pay money bail amounts determined by the county's bail schedule are detained indefinitely, while those who face the same charges but can afford to pay the money bail amounts are freed until trial.

On the national level, Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) is the chief sponsor of the No Money Bail Act. If it becomes law, it makes a state ineligible for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program funding if it has a bail system that uses payment of money as a condition of pretrial release in criminal cases. Additionally, the bill prohibits payment of money as a condition of pretrial release in any federal criminal case.

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Washington
The Wolves
Studio Theater
14 and P St, NW
Now through Sun, Mar 18, $

Circalyans: Warriors of the Untime
By The Exposure Group member Donnamaria R. Jones
Center for the Arts
9419 Battle Street
Manassas, VA
Mar 6-Apr 25, free

Spring Cleaning Mind, Body and Spirit
workshop with Jonetta Rose Barras
New York Presbyterian Church
1313 New York Ave, NW
Sat, March 17, 10a-12:30p, $10

Moving Forward Walking in Faith Not Fear Official Launch Party
Marriott
6400 Ivy Lane
Greenbelt, MD
Sat, Mar 24, 2018, 1p-4p, free

The Gambia
Port Of Harlem Meet and Greet
Timbooktoo Bookstore
Bakau, The Gambia
Fri, Mar 16, 3:30p-5:30p, free

Movie Night Under the Stars
BYDA Office
Nema Kunku, The Gambia
Sat, Mar 17, dusk, free

Vote 2018
NAACP Pledge to Vote

Coming
Paper Dolls
Mosaic Theater
Thu, Mar 29–Sun, Apr 22. $

National Black Memorabilia, Fine Art & Crafts Show
Montgomery County Fairgrounds
501 Perry Parkway
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Sat, April 14, 10a-7p and Sun, Apr 15, 10a-5p, $7, students free

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