|
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Afro Colombian Heritage Week: May 19 through 23 in Cartagena,
Colombia
By Karen Juanita Carrillo With the slogan, "Our Territory is also Our Culture" the Gavilaneo wants to emphasize
their local community's Afro Caribbean culture and show that  it is an integral part of the rich diversity of Colombia. "May 21,
2008 will mark the 157th commemoration of the legal end of slavery in the Republic of Colombia,"
write the historian Alfonso Cassiani Herrera and the anthropologist Jesus Natividad Perez Palomino in response to a questionnairepresented
to the Cabildo Afrocaribeño "Gavilaneo" about the week of celebrations.
"This
date was declared by law in 2005 as national Afro Colombian heritage day. This all came about because of the struggles and
efforts made by our well-organized African descendant communities who, among other successes, got the government to sign Law 70 (Ley de Negritudes/Law of the Blacks) of 1993. One major part of Law 70 recognizes Black communities as a distinct ethnic group and establishes procedures
for recognition of the community's ancestral lands. read more
Monday, May 19, 2008
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Finding Malcolm X's Grandson Malcolm Lateef ShabazzAliya S. King of News One/Giant has written a profile/interview with
Malcolm Lateef Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X. The piece allows the
much maligned young man to speak for himself about his life and his dreams for the future. "I am Malcolm X's first grandchild," Malcolm Lateef states in Finding Malcolm X's Grandson Malcolm Lateef Shabazz. "His first grandson. And his first male heir. I've read and been told that he always wanted a boy. He had six daughters,
including twins that were born after he passed away. No boys in the Shabazz family until me. "When
I was much younger I thought Malcolm X was actually my father. And when I asked about him, my mom would show me pictures of
her dad and tell me that he was my father. I didn't find out the truth until years later. "I can't talk to my mom about him. Nothing in-depth. She acts like she doesn't know about him.
It wasn't until I was about 9 or 10 that I began to discover what it meant to have this man as my grandfather. And it
wasn't until I ended up in prison that I truly discovered the impact that my grandfather had. Ironically, I ended up discovering
Malcolm X the way so many Black men do-in jail."
10:39 pm edt
|
