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Monday, May 26, 2008
Black and Brown Week Bridges Racial Gap
"There is a widely held notion that Blacks and Latinos do not get
along," notes Washington Informer Staff Writer Odell B. Ruffin. "Impact studies show racial divides in some high schools in Los Angeles and small
disruptions of gang violence in Virginia. Even some media analysts insist this will have an effect on the Democratic presidential
campaign. "In an to attempt dispel those notions, the grassroots organization
Grupo Afro Descendiente (GAD) held its first ever Black and Brown Solidarity week. " 'We wanted a way to calm the tension between both groups,' said GAD president Aisha Brown.
"One of the most unlikely events to bridge the gap is chess, a game which requires the most intellectual individual
to perform at a supreme level. One of the biggest events to end the week was the Third Annual Bum Rush the Boards Chess Tournament
sponsored by Words, Beats and Life held at Lincoln Middle School on Sat. May 17th.
" 'We highlight different icons from history, and show their
personal strategic struggle. It’s also a good way to learn from them. We can align our self in life to be able to wear
the crown,' said Urban Arts Academy Director Goldie Deane. "Each
figure on the chess board represented an important Black, Spanish, or Native American. From the struggles of Malcolm X, and
Harriett Tubman, a clear message was sent to the students - they can achieve anything regardless of where they start in life."
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Visit www.afropresencia.com to find listings and links to areas where you can find out
about upcoming events, as well as links to articles, photos and videos on Life in the Black Americas.
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The Sound of My Footsteps: Narratives of Migratory Jamaican immigrants
Interviews with over 30 Jamaican immigrants on their
pre-migratory perceptions of New York and England Click
here to view and purchase the book.
The Afro-Latin@ Reader:
History and Culture in the United States
 The Afro-Latin@ Reader focuses attention on a large, vibrant, yet oddly invisible community
in the United States: people of African descent from Latin America and the Caribbean. The presence of Afro-Latin@s
in the United States (and throughout the Americas) belies the notion that Blacks and Latin@s are two distinct categories
or cultures. Afro-Latin@s are uniquely situated to bridge the widening social divide between Latin@s and African
Americans. At the same time, their experiences reveal pervasive racism among Latin@s and ethnocentrism among African
Americans. Offering insight into Afro-Latin@ life and new ways to understand culture, ethnicity, nation, identity,
and antiracist politics, The Afro-Latin@ Reader presents a kaleidoscopic view of Black Latin@s in the United
States. It addresses history, music, gender, class, and media representations in more than sixty selections, including
scholarly essays, memoirs, newspaper and magazine articles, poetry, short stories, and interviews. Click here to view and purchase the book.
African American History Day by Day: A Reference Guide to Events by Karen Juanita Carrillo The proof
of any group's importance to history is in the detail, a fact made plain by this informative book's day-by-day documentation
of the impact of African Americans on life in the United States. One of the easiest ways to grasp any aspect of history
is to look at it as a continuum. African American History Day by Day: A Reference Guide to Events provides just
such an opportunity. Click here to view and purchase the book.
The
View from Chocó: The Afro-Colombian past, their lives in the present, and their hopes for the future by Karen Juanita Carrillo The View from Chocó: The Afro-Colombian past, their lives in the
present, and their hopes for the future is an introduction to the lives of Blacks in Colombia. Afro-Colombians
live in a resource-rich yet remote region of Colombia. They only recently won recognition as one of that nation's
distinct ethnic groups. But Colombia's on-going civil war has led many Afro-Colombians to reach even farther than
their nation's borders for recognition: many have made their way to the United States as refugees and as political
activists working for peace in their homeland. The View from Chocó introduces the lives and struggles of a too-long neglected community of Colombian Blacks. Click here to view and purchase the book.
Raise Your Brown Black Fist is a collection of essays
written by Kevin Alberto Sabio during his time as a Contributing Writer  for an online magazine.
The book combines his two article series, "Black
vs Brown" and "Black Thoughts: A Political Ideological Perspective
for Afrolatinos" into one volume, plus three other miscellaneous entries. The book
is currently available through his publisher, AuthorHouse. Click
the logo above to view and purchase the book.
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