50 PLUS YEARS AFTER INDEPENDENCE: Ghana elects a new president as Coup declared in Guinea- Will a Forward United Africa ever come? Nkrumah/Toure

I read this blog When will Africa Think? What struck me the most was the title & the word "think". If we only took a moment to actually think things thru before speaking & reacting? If we only took a moment to "think" of the benefits & consequences- long term-? A trait that people actually had the audacity to be upset with President Elect Obama for having. He takes too much time to think every action, question & answer thru - Hmmm-there's something wrong with a thinker?! I think history has shown the world many times over that being to quick on the draw can have dire consequences!

We need a new era of "Thinkers" , who lead great nations all over the world, especially in Africa. We fail to know about, learn about, remember & pass on our history as nations & as a continent! We must pass on our past glories as much as international history books & media focus on our failures. If we only see ourselves thru our failures how can we find hope in a promise of a change & a glory that we have never known? As Ghana decides on a new president & a coup ushers in new rulers to Guinea, let the people not forget the triumphs & dreams along with the failures of Kwame Nkrumah & Sekou Toure! The friendships, national & continental bonds in a dream of One Africa, in membership, unity & in one common focus of developing a self sufficient, self reliant & prosperous continent!

The world as we know it is changing around us. The global blueprints have already been written, it's a matter of the people deciding to have change , standing up for change & being change! If any government is to serve its people & to be globally recognized , then it must only be up to the people to vote them in & topple them in their lack of service or in their disservice! Checks & Balances are of human necessity! They eventually will come, the easy constitutional way or ugly hard murderous way! Power should never be seen as a permanent takeover!

Africans must "THINK" of the many years of lack of service, disservice, and dreams deferred & decide that change is now! It starts with Africans knowing, understanding & believing that Africans must also prepare for the long journey & Keep Their Eyes on The Prize! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/

Mama Africa has soared thru the flames like a phoenix thru the ashes or a fairy God mother ; she has given Africa another opportunity to make good on its many dreams deferred with hopes that we will learn from our past in understanding that "I am my brothers keeper /I am my sister's Keeper & It takes a village .. " are at the core values of Africa & Africans. Without our core or with imbalance & hypocrisy in our core, we can never be complete in our growth! We need to recognize that each of our sufferings are interdependent rather than independent of one another. If one suffers we all suffer because our independence, progress & success as nations & as a continent can easily be taken off course, when we choose not to be our brother & sister's keeper! When the people are in despair & more fearful of government than the government fears the dissatisfaction of the people who they are to serve, this can only bring revolution ,anarchy or crisis!

A fire at your neighbor's house can easily spread to your house -so you're better off to be proactive in helping to extinguish the fire instead of cowardly staying locked in your house hoping the fire burns out before it reaches your door! The Global Fusion Way (The Global Fusion Handbook of Global Etiquette)!

With abundant growth in natural resources, oil discoveries, resources ripe for the global demand in telecommunications services ( only in Africa can I walk thru the deepest of bushes & get cell phones service, while I can barely get service from one room to the other in my New York city apartment -go figure!) & lets not forget the resurrection of a Global Green movement of which Mama Africa's stars continue to Shine in bringing new industry to Africa utilizing, refining & creating a new future for Africa thru it's natural resources! !Africa as a continent is on a global rise despite the many sufferings! 2009 will be very telling of the direction of the continent thru its people , its leadership & without a doubt, thru mother Africa's gift of her resources!

There are certain traditions in history that uniquely define us as people & should always maintain & sustain our development! If your brother in Zimbabwe, Kenya,Ghana, Guinea, Congo etc. is doing wrong & bringing shame, crisis, suffering & impeding the progress of the family, then you must call the elders together to handle the business at hand in dignity for the honor & progress of the family that is Africa!

I was told by a Ghanaian cab driver in New York that "Illiteracy is a disease killing Africa & it's forward movement" There is a lot of truth to that, but lack of formal education does not diminish ones capacity to think!

When We choose to "Think" we can finally answer & challenge the global question of -How is Africa so poor when it has an abundance of natural resources that sustain much of the world?!

Africa is rich in values & resources, but poor in fiances & knowing how to maintain our books -not so different from the bailed out banking, automobile & other industries thru out this global financial crisis & the trusting or swindling who were sold a lie & chose to believe it without "thinking it thru " & lost everything for an ill thought out dream or personal greed. This a time for those who know how to get by with very little , those who desire & create their own opportunity , those who know the value of hard work & those who are natural born survivors- Africans are way ahead in all those criteria. It's time for Africans to let Mama Africa help them help themselves!

www.youtube.com/globalfusionproduct

When will Africa think?
Published December 26, 2008 Hot , politics
http://kentgh.wordpress.com/2008/12/26/when-will-africa-think/#more-144

There we go again. Another useless and stupid coup d’etat in Guinea just hours after the former president Lansana Conte died. A gang of thieves and riff-raffs in military uniforms have rubbished the supreme document – Constitution - of the West African State and installed themselves as new leaders.This is thievery at its highest peak. Instead of the wild jubilation welcoming the decision of these inexperience young military officers turned leaders, Guineans should have defended their own constitution for the right thing to be done.

This is silly and at worst primitive. Gone are the days when coup d’etats were hailed in Africa. We have come of age and such remote tactics in taking political power by force is unacceptable in 21st Century Africa. We should be talking Information Technology and Communication, infrastructure development, new media and many other positive things and not coup d’etat and power struggles.

It is welcoming news that the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) among other international leaders condemn the illegitimate act in Guinea. That is not enough. They must put pressure and tough sanctions on Guinea until Camara and his cronies relinquish power immediately. The international community should bar their representatives from attending a so called meeting called by Camara to allay their fears.

The coup junta led by its appointed president, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, now the country’s de facto leader, has promised to stamp out nepotism and graft, hold elections in 2010 and improve living standards. Most Guineans live in poverty, even though the country is the world’s top exporter of aluminium ore bauxite, Reuters’ news stated.

That is useless talk. Why can’t Camara learn to do the right thing if he claims he stands for the well being of the same people he wants to help. He could have resigned honourably from the military, join or form a political party and stand democratic elections. The same person would hold elections in 2010, stand and rig in his favour. This is how civil conflicts begin. His actions alone are anathema to the constitution of Guinea and has made himself unfit to occupy the number one position of that country. He is a coupist and a power thief that should not be allowed to walk in the corridors of legitimate leaders.
Until we stand up against the likes of Camara, Africa would continue to remain a laughing stock to the rest of the world.


Responses to “When will Africa think?”
2 Sylvia December 26, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Great piece. I think Africans need to stand up against such crooks who just come to power to aggravate the plight of the poor. Coup d’etat is of no use in this modern world. please Guinea sit up.
5 MASALA MASAKELA December 27, 2008 at 4:48 am
SOMETIMES, WE NEED THE SOLDIERS TO SHAKE THINGS UP IN AFRICAN POLITICS, CONTE HAS RULED AS A CIVILIAN FOR 20 YEARS AND GUINEA IS STILL THE SAME WHEN SEKOU LEFT.
WITH ALL THE MONEY GOTTEN FROM RESOURCES WHAT DID LANSANA DID.
THERE WILL BE PEACE IN MAMA AFRICA BUT NOT YET. ALL CONTINENTS AND COUNTRIES GO THROUGH THESE CHANGES.
MAMA AFRICA WILL BE STABLE ONE DAY. FOR NOW LET PEOPLE EXPERIMENT.
MASALA

.And in prep school news....torment at Miss Porter's

Wow! Things seem to be getting worse rather than better amongst the behavior of the elite! As someone who interviews minority students in order to asses their readiness for boarding schools like Miss Porter's & my own alma mater, Pomfret School, I had to address this with my own personal story, as well as encourage all of you with kids & those of you who are educators to really take heed to this by getting more involved in how the quality of life of your kids effect their education, no matter where they are. The disrespectful bratty behavior & privileged drug use by my fellow students at my boarding school was something I knew would never be acceptable in my household- to think my mom sent me there to keep me from going to public school, getting involved with the wrong crowd & being faced with any drug use! Ivy colored walls often bury more skeletons than fenced in concrete!

This news story takes me back to having to kick this girl's ass at Pomfret because she was obsessed with my boyfriend at the time & decided she was going to take it out on me by trying to spit down on me from the stairs in our dorm. Let me pre-face this by saying before she got up the stairs she had intentionally bumped into me & I let it go because I knew she really wasn't ready to go there with me, nor did I care to engage her in that behavior just because I had what she wanted along with the fact that they would expect the Black girl to get in a fight & get kicked out for it. I was so enraged that I ran up those stairs like speedy Gonzales & beat the devil out of her. Spitting on another human being & thinking it is acceptable is defintely devilish behavior to me!

It was such a big deal at the school because they had never seen such a fight amongst female students at the school. Their way of trying to understand it was by trying to make me out to be some ghetto girl from New York who was use to fighting, had some sort of anger or mental issues, or only knew how to resolve issues by fighting. I went off on the entire faculty & student body about the blatant & undercover racism, classism, & stereotypes & made it very clear to them that I was not about to apologize for my actions even if it meant getting expelled from "the prestigious school that was to be my ticket to a brighter better future", along with letting them know that if anyone dared to ever try to do something as degrading & insulting as spitting on me that I would not hesitate to do it again. Needless to say I was not expelled or even punished for my actions- I am not sure if it was because they were afraid of a lawsuit, afraid of the angry crazy black girl, or really understood that I was in the right.

It had nothing to do with being from the hood or fighting over a boy -it had everything to do with self-respect, being an African -American who was making sure I would never let brazen degrading history repeat itself at an institution that was built on exclusion of people who looked liked me & were of the same socio-economic class as me , even though I was now supposed to feel a tremendous sense of privilege as one of a handful to be accepted into such a prestigious institution- even if it was at the cost of my own self-respect!

I in no way condone physically fighting someone as a resolution to any issue, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! This young lady had obviously never had her butt whooped or taught the lesson that you should never spit on anyone, so I felt at the time that is was my duty to teach her that lesson. As a mature adult, I understand that I have a lot more to lose now & a lot less time to get it all back if I chose the same route in future incidents.I actually had a generally good experience at Pomfret & would highly recommend it & hopefully have the opportunity to send my own future kids there one day.

I was privileged to see, meet, & speak with the late great Shirley Chisholm when she came to Pomfret as an invited guest speaker. I was also privileged to be shuttled in a van with my fellow minority students, or as they call us at these institutions, "non-traditional students", to listen , see & meet Maya Angelou at a nearby University for Black History month- all of which changed my life by giving me strength , direction & empowerment. Pomfret did try their best to be inclusive & accommodating to "the non traditional students".

When an institution is entrusted with young high school students 24/7 without parental supervision- it is up to that institution to make sure they are protecting the quality of life & growth of the students as a parent would & should. It's sad that Miss Porter's would rather protect their reputation than deal with the ills that directly effect students from getting the education & life experience that they are supposed to be providing.

I will never forget reciting Maya Angelou's poem to the entire student body & faculty at Pomfret as my direct statement to them after my personal incident. I had never felt more empowered & I knew that it was the start of a new beginning of understanding & respect between us all.
Aretha Amma Sarfo-Pomfret School 91'

Still I Rise


You may write me down in historyWith your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?'
Cause I walk like I've got oil wellsPumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold minesDiggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clearI rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Maya Angelou



Suit details girl's torment at exclusive school
Cruel clique at all-girls campus allegedly harassed student for months


HARTFORD, Connecticut - The bullying came at school dances and in class, on Facebook and back at the dorm by girls who called themselves "Oprichniki," a Russian attack squad notorious for torturing suspected enemies of a 16th-century czar.
The cruel clique at the exclusive Miss Porter's School allegedly harassed Tatum Bass for months, until two doctors advised her to take a break. That's when her tormentors put a "For Rent" sign on her bed and one of America's most selective, all-girls boarding schools threatened to expel her.
Bass and her parents responded with a federal lawsuit that offers a disturbing glimpse into life on the leafy campus in the affluent Hartford suburbs. To match tuition that can cost nearly $43,000, the school has an A-list of socialites, diplomats, artists and public servants among its graduates, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Gloria Vanderbilt.

According to the lawsuit, Bass was on the honor roll, played sports and was elected by her peers to a top position in student government before her trouble began earlier this year. As activities director, she proposed holding the senior prom with other schools nearby.
Opposition to the idea ballooned, leading to bullying and taunts that Bass was "retarded" because she has attention-deficit disorder. Bass said in the suit that the girls turned on her, calling her "stupid" and peppering her with profanity and insults. She said she was bullied in front of hundreds of people at a school dance, in classes, around campus, in text messages and online on the Facebook social networking site.
"This was the first time that negative attention was drawn to her disability at (the school)," the lawsuit said. "Oprichniki members were at the forefront of taunting Tatum in class and advising others about her disability."
Suit names school, headmasterThe lawsuit names the 165-year-old school and its headmaster, Katherine Windsor, as defendants. Windsor said in a written statement Wednesday that the lawsuit's claims "as portrayed in the media will be defended vigorously, and we believe that a comprehensive hearing of the facts will result in the exoneration of our school."
Messages left for Tatum's attorneys and family were not returned. None of Bass's tormentors are named in court papers.
In the depths of the ordeal, Bass said she uncharacteristically cheated on an art history test — then was so racked with guilt that she confessed to Windsor. Bullying intensified after she returned from a three-day suspension.
"(Her) emotional stress and anxiety became overwhelming," the suit said.
The lawsuit said the school and Windsor inflicted long-term damage on Bass' academic career by notifying at least one college about the suspension without giving her a chance to offer her side. The expulsion threat soon followed for her "unexcused absences" when she tried to complete her studies off-campus, a violation of school rules not detailed in the lawsuit.
A degree from Miss Porter's is considered a ticket into the Ivy League and a future potentially filled with wealth and privilege.
Like Bass — from Beaufort, S.C. — two-thirds of about 330 students at Miss Porter's this year are boarders from 22 states and 20 countries. The school's annual tuition is nearly $43,000 for boarding students and about $33,000 for "day students" who live within driving distance of the Farmington campus, about 10 miles west of Hartford.
Now, Bass' status at the school is unclear. The lawsuit asks a judge for an injunction barring Miss Porter's from sharing her academic status with colleges to which she has applied. It also asks for unspecified damages and reinstatement in good standing so she can graduate.

PR companies are requested to Bring More Blacks to events after Obama election per Gawker.com

The Abomination of the Obama nation!
I was sent the articles below suggesting there is a new PR initiative to get more Black people on certain holiday party guest lists since Obama's election has inducted in a new era of Black chic!

This is so pathetic, but not surprising! It has been happening for years- As a PR/Marketing/Advertising specialist,I am well aware of it with my White clients who think putting people of color in Ad. campaigns would suggest that they are "an urban brand" but would be the first to beg for some Jay Z or Beyonce concert tickets or party invite for themselves or their kids. The last I knew urban means city, non-rural or cosmopolitan, but we as an industry (black, white & in-between) have allowed it to mean Black with all the connotations that came along with it -pre-Obama! Surprise, White people, some of us "Urban folks" are actually classy & intelligent! Surprise! Black people it is ok to be classy & intelligent!

The worst of it is when Black folks perpetuate the same behavior by specifically hiring white firms & beg to be included in their events. Lets not forget the era of Lizzie Grubman " It takes a Jewish Girl to get these Black guys in check", speaking of doing events for her Black hip-hop music clients. Instead of suggesting a list of good Blacks to invite to events, we should be having our own upscale events where this type of "ignorantes" are begging to get in to see what we are about & how we do things! Let's not make their jobs easier for them by giving them our list! I have been told a few times by clients & other white associates that "I am a different Black" or "not that kind of Black" or the best one "you are African not Black", because I can actually tell them exactly what part of Africa I am from, don't speak Ebonics & posess some class & intelligence. I guess President elect Obama is also acceptable by the same definition.

Surprise people!-Charlize Theron maybe as African as I am, but the majority of Africans are Black!!

We have bigger fish to fry as a people & as an industry than to consume ourselves with invites to holiday parties for people who have no interest in us outside of being decorative items for their shindigs!

If this is a genuine call for diversity then do it thru your hiring practices, so you have those that can represent, bring in & understand a broader range of diverse people instead of just having another gimmick,ploy or quick fix initiative that insults the intelligence of those that you are trying to include! Human beings are not accessories or decorative items for your pleasure or amusement!


Gawker
This Year's Most Fashionable Holiday Party Accessories Are Black People
By Hamilton Nolan, 11:03 AM on Tue Dec 9 2008,

Now that Obama has been elected, a tipster inside a PR firm tells us, clients are demanding "an increased number of African Americans added to the guest list" at their holiday parties. In the spirit of hope! The email can't really be "verified," but appears genuine and is just too important not to share. This firm has even assembled an official internal "Diversified Holiday Guest List," in which they rank the top 10 acceptable black socialite attendees, in order of desirability. Uh... yes we can? After the jump, meet the fashion world's ten favorite African-Americans for Obama-era parties. Jesus christ:
Job descriptions and order of "desirability," from the PR firm's original list (NOT BY US):1) Bonnie Morrison (PR Guru)
2) Genevieve Jones (Socialite)
3) Maggie Betts (Socialite)
4) Malcolm Harris (Designer/Activist)
5) Moises De La Renta (son of Oscar)
6) Kehinde Wiley (Artist)
7) Nicola Vassell (Deitch Gallery Director)
8) Rachel Roy (Designer/ Socialite)
9) Jason Campbell (Journalist)
10) Marc Baptiste (photographer

Black is The New Black (Again!)
Check out this nifty little piece we saw today - apparently, a tipster at a top PR firm has told the Gawker crew that since the Obama victory, their clients are requesting that more African Americans be added to the guest lists at their holiday parties. Thanks Barack…we are BACK!!!.Honestly, this is straight bullshit to us since we work in Marketing&PR and have dealt with the majority of clients trying to AVOID blacks showing up at their events—not to mention the non-hiring of Black promoters, DJ's, staff, etc. Now, suddenly we're in style? Well, just like any trend, this too may pass and then what? Back to Harlem and Brooklyn?Over the past few years, PR agencies, event promoters and venue owners behind some of the trendiest parties in New York and LA have been known to do everything in their power to avoid multiple numbers of brown faces in their venues, in an effort to maintain a "sexy" crowd. DJs spinning Lil' Wayne, 50 Cent and Timbaland to a non-black crowd with five or six sprinkles is sexy, but let a group of five black men (or women) show up at the door and it's a wrap. Aspiring party-goers of color would wait in despair as they are told that sneakers are not allowed or the place is suddenly at capacity while others who fit a different profile are let in right beside them. So now that we're back in style, should we jump for joy? Here's our chance to show just how proper and normal we are, just like the men and women who were deemed "acceptable" on the alleged "Diversified Holiday Guest List" developed by the same PR agency.
That's right, and to make matters worse, apparently there is even a "Diversified Holiday Guest List" floating around consisting of "acceptable" folks: Bonnie Hunt, Genevieve "2 steps away from the hood" Jones, Rachel Roy (wait, we thought she was Indian & White?), Marc Baptiste, Kehinde Wiley and others…
Well, because clearly these people are quite limited in their access to people of color, we took it upon ourselves to create our own list. We here at Parlour think that the selected group could use a little remixing with some better, more stimulating (for the record, we LOVE Marc & Kehinde!) Black NYC notables…so, we would like to nominate (in no particular order):
1. Michaela angela Davis (Fashionista, Editor, Activist)
2. Danyel Smith (Writer, VIBE Editor, Fly Girl)

3. Oluwaseye Olusa (Photographer, Smooth Operator)
4. Bev Smith (Writer, Cultural Maven) - When is the next dinner??
5. Mobolaji Dawodu (Stylist, Designer, Cool Cat)
6. Len Burnett (Publisher)
7. Ali Muhammed (Publisher, Hustle Coordinator)
8. Lola Ogunnaike (CNN TV Journalist)
9. DJ Kiss (Party Starter, Style Selecta)
10. Hassan Kinley (Photographer, Beauty Maker)
11. Alexis Peskine (Artist, Multilingual Hottie)

12. Beverly Bond (DJ/ Founder of Black Girls Rock! Inc.)
13. Smokey Fontaine (Creative Director, Publisher, All Around Really Nice Guy)
14. The Parlour Girls(Culture Mavens, An Editor, A Creative Director, A Marketing Manager, Party Starters, Fab Divas, etc)
Yes, we KNOW we are missing folks (we had to write this in 10 minutes) - nominate your own in the comments and we will add them!
Ciao!