quote:

Originally posted by Dove:

Rosalind McLymont

Born in Guyana, she came to the United States in 1965, later living in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1973 to 1980. She lives in Valley Cottage, N.Y., with her husband and three of their children.

Rosalind Kilkenny McLymont is editor in chief of The Network Journal, a magazine for black professionals and business owners, and a partner in McLymont, Kunda & Co., with her husband, Fritz-Earle St. Elmo Mclymont -- former director of the Port Authority of New York's export consultancy. Together they manage as strategists, international trade and business development research projects, handling everything from regulations to hands-on import/export of product such as coffee, sneakers and cigars. The company is now based in Jamaica, NY .

Former managing editor of The Journal of Commerce, Rosalind McLymont is an award-winning journalist, she handles writes and edits content for A - Z International Associates and has a master's degree in journalism from New York University, a bachelor's in French from the City College of New York, a certificate in Spanish language and literature from the University of Madrid, and a black belt in Tai Chi from Ming's Tai Chi Academy.

Rosalind Kilkenny McLymont's First Novel Catapults Readers from America to Africa and Back was released in April 2006.

CONGRATS ROSALIND...
GUYANESE-BORN NOVELIST WINS "BEST FICTION" AWARD

March 26, 2007 (NEW YORK) – Guyanese-born novelist Rosalind McLymont (nee Kilkenny) won this year's "Best Fiction" Self/Independent Publishing (S'Indie) Award for her groundbreaking debut novel, Middle Ground (Beckham, 2006. ISBN: 0-931761-17-4).

"I am thrilled to receive this prestigious award. It is truly gratifying to know that there are those who are ready, willing and able to recognize and honor the high-quality and serious work being done in the independent publishing community," McLymont said.

Also an award-winning journalist, McLymont is the editor-in-chief of The Network Journal, the New York tri-state area's premier magazine for Black professionals and business owners, and a partner in the international business strategies firm, McLymont Kunda & Co. She is the former president of the now defunct Caribbean Media Association and has been honored as a Woman History Maker by the Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She has also been honored by the New York Association of Black Journalists, the International Black Women's Congress, the National Association of Health Services Executives -- New York Chapter; and by the National Minority Business Council Inc.

Set in the United States and Democratic Republic of Congo, Middle Ground not only expands the thematic and geographic boundaries of the Black novel, it also heralds a new genre in Black fiction--the Diasporan novel-- by blending Caribbean, African and African-American characters with themes that reflect the increasingly multicultural and multi-ethnic nature of the Black community in the United States. Middle Ground has been highly acclaimed in business, professional, academic and media circles.

McLymont's second novel, The Contract, is set in France, the United States and Guyana and is expected to be published this year. She is working on a third that is set in Togo.

The S'Indie Awards is part of the Annual Self-Publishing Symposium presented by Aspicomm Media, Inc., of Baldwin, N.Y. Now in its second year, this year's Symposium was held on March 25 at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. It featured such major industry players as Tony Rose, publisher and CEO of Amber Communications Group, Inc.; Diane Gedymin, editorial director, iUniverse; Adrienne Ingrum, president, Adrienne Ingrum L.L.C.; Troy Johnson, founder, AALBC.com; Felecia Pride, founder, TheBackList.net; Teri Woods, owner, Teri Woods Publishing; Esther Armah, CEO, Centric Productions Co.; and Dr. Maxine Thompson, founder, Black Butterfly Press.

For more information about McLymont, contact Melvin E. Taylor at 347-730-1821, or by e-mail at infomelvynetaylor@gmail.com. For more information about the S'Indie Awards, contact Renee Flagler, Aspicomm Media, at 516-642-5976, or visit www.aspicomm.com. [/b]

Stacy Bayne - Sculptor

Stacy Bayne's unique sculptures carve a lasting visual impression of the Maasai tribal culture and heritage. The collection represents the Maasai rhythm of life, rooted in the changing seasons, the land and the livestock. Appearing to glimpse into the very soul of the tribe, it captures the heart of its people. Their quiet dignity is reflected in the posture of the figurines, their courage captured in the tilt of a chin and the expression in their eyes tell tales of long ago.

The limited edition sculptures were first introduced in 1999 and are sold through specialist retailers and department stores worldwide. The collection today is an international success and has captured the hearts and the imagination of the public. Each sculpture is reproduced as a Limited Edition and already many of the initial pieces have 'sold-out'. People have the assurance that their sculpture will no longer be available to buy except if sold on the 'secondary' market. A phenomenal success, 'Maasai' strikes a universal chord aligning itself with the empathic human bond which exists between all people.

Surviving since the dawn of time, the Maasai people are intricately linked with the evolution of Africa. The 21st Century, however, brings fresh challenges and a widening gulf between the Maasai way of life and modern Africa.

A nomadic tribe the Maasai follow the herds and rains across the open savannah. Worshiping Engai, the God of the sky, they believe any pursuit other than a pastoral one is demeaning. The foundation of their community reflects the different stages of life, celebrating each milestone as it is reached.

Recognised throughout the world the Maasai elders are renowned for their large looped ears and the women for the many beaded coils worn around their necks. The Maasai elders have fought hard to preserve their culture. Fiercely proud, they pass their traditions, like heirlooms, to their sons and daughters. It is for this reason the Maasai have reached the new millennium.

Stacy Bayne

Eslanda Goode Robeson - 12/15/1896 - 1965

Washington, District of Columbia, United States
New York, New York, United States
Nationality: American
Occupation: anthropologist
Occupation: writer
Occupation:
Awards: German Peace Medal, 1934; Clara Zetkin Medal, 1934.

A distinguished cultural anthropologist in her own right, Eslanda Goode Robeson (1896--1965) is remembered also as the wife and long-time business manager of singer/actor Paul Robeson Sr. Highly educated and cultured, she traveled widely in pursuit of her own career and that of her husband until the couple was effectively grounded by a passport revocation in the mid-1950s. They resumed their travels only after a Supreme Court decision in 1958 upheld the unconstitutionality of the unfounded restrictions.

Robeson was born Eslanda Cardozo Goode in Washington, D.C., on December 15, 1896. Known as "Essie" to her family and friends, Robeson was the youngest of three children and was the only daughter of Eslanda (Cardozo), a one-time schoolteacher, and John J. Goode, a U.S. War Department clerk who died when his daughter was four. Robeson's father was a mixture of Native American, English, and Scotch. Her mother was descended from a wealthy Spanish-Jewish immigrant who, against all social taboos, had boldly married an octoroon (someone of one eighth black ancestry) slave. Thus, although she was a Negro, Robeson was very light-skinned in appearance. After the death of her father, she and her brothers were raised by their mother who brought them to New York where she operated a beauty shop in order to support them. The next move was to Chicago in 1912.

Highly confident and intelligent, Robeson was raised in a cultured environment. She possessed a particularly pleasing singing voice and at the urging of her high school music teacher, Theresa Armitage, took private singing lessons for approximately one year. After graduating from high school at age 16, Robeson enrolled in a domestic science program at the University of Illinois on a full scholarship. She soon lost interest however in both her curriculum and in the school environment and transferred instead to Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City. There she undertook a more challenging program in the physical sciences and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1920. According to some accounts, Robeson earned a chemistry degree from the University of Illinois in 1917, although United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) files, which were opened on Robeson during the 1940s, suggest that the prior is true.

Married Paul Robeson
She met her future husband, Paul Robeson, in 1920 at Presbyterian Hospital where she had secured a student job in the surgical pathological laboratory. Also a student at Columbia, Paul Robeson was enrolled in the law school and was hospitalized with a football injury when they met. The two were married on August 17, 1921, and she continued to work at the hospital until 1925. In 1920, largely at his wife's insistence, Paul Robeson accepted the title role in a Harlem YMCA production of Simon the Cyrenian. He later appeared in Taboo and performed in London when the play went on the road in 1922. In the years immediately following her marriage, Robeson's life revolved largely around her husband's career when, after completing his law degree and working briefly at the law firm of a friend, he turned permanently to a career in performance as both an actor and a singer. Robeson then assumed the role of his manager and handled the family finances. When her husband gained international renown, she followed him in his travels across Europe.

Due to complications from appendix surgery, Robeson had been unable to travel with her husband on his first trip to England in 1922, but she accompanied him in 1925 when he returned to star in Eugene O'Neill's Emperor Jones. The couple set up housekeeping in Chelsea, and after the play closed in early October they moved to Villefranche-sur-Mer at the foot of the Alps and remained there until December of that year. Robeson was deeply in love with her husband at that time and was happy with her life in general. She later wrote in Paul Robeson, Negro of the small French Riviera town where they lived on Cap Ferrat, calling it, "One of the most beautiful harbors in the world." Likewise of her singer-husband she wrote, "I've married the most beautiful Voice I've ever heard."

Upon her return to the United States, she felt an urgent desire to conceive and bear a child, although her husband remained ambivalent to the notion of parenting, citing her past frail health as the reason for his reluctance. Robeson's determination prevailed, and she became pregnant. Their son and only child, Paul Robeson Jr., was born in New York City on November 2, 1927. Paul Sr. at the time of the birth was performing in Paris, France. Robeson rejoined him five moths later, in May of 1928, in London. After they settled early on in Hampstead, Robeson sent for her mother and son in the United States to join her and her husband. She remained in England until October of 1929 and returned on December 28, 1931.

In the late 1920s Robeson had begun work on her first published manuscript, which was a biography of her husband. After numerous rewrites, the book entitled Paul Robeson, Negro was published by Harper in 1930. Also in 1930, she starred with her husband in a relatively obscure silent film drama called Borderline. Written and directed by Kenneth MacPherson, the movie presents the story of an adulterous relationship between a black woman Adah, played by Robeson, and a white man named Thorne.

Personal Career Success
Two years later, Robeson informally separated from her husband. She enrolled in graduate school at London University from 1933 to 1935, specializing in anthropology with a focus on the colonized black people of the world, who were commonly called Negroes in the context of the times. She graduated in 1937 from the London School of Economics.

During these years as a student in England, she made her first trip to Africa, in 1936, in realization of a life-long dream, but only after considerable difficulty in obtaining a visa. Such a visa clearance to Africa, as she learned in the process, was rarely given to a Negro. Despite bureaucratic obstacles, she obtained the necessary papers after citing her academic curriculum as the purpose behind her visit. Accompanied by her young son, then eight years old, she embarked on a three-month junket, with an itinerary extending from Cape Town, South Africa, to Cairo. In her second full-length writing, African Journey, published by Day in 1945, she provided a diary-formatted chronicle of the 1936 excursion. Among her observations in the book, Robeson reported on the superior political awareness that she perceived among black Africans in comparison to black Americans. The book went into a second printing soon after publication, and Greenwood Press reprinted the volume in 1972.

After anthropological visits to Costa Rica and Honduras in 1940, the Robesons moved from New York City to Enfield, Connecticut, where they purchased an estate, called The Beeches, in 1941. In Enfield, they were the only family of color in the entire town, with the exception of migrant tobacco farmers. Paul Jr. was sent to high school in Springfield, Massachusetts.

World War II
Always socially aware, Robeson's community involvement accelerated during the years of World War II. She was heard widely in her lectures on race relations and worked professionally with Pearl Buck. In 1949 the two co-authored a book, An American Argument, published by Day. Also during the 1940s Robeson enrolled at the Hartford Seminary in Connecticut where she earned a Ph.D. in 1945.

With her marriage seriously fractured by 1945 she remained active on other fronts. Working from her home base in Enfield, she maintained a high visibility through community involvement, participating in the Red Cross Motor Corps and keeping active as a writer. She held a seat on the staff of the Council of African Affairs (CAA) and traveled to San Francisco in the capacity of CAA observer to the formation of the Untied Nations. She made a visit to India during which she struck up a friendship with the Indian National Congress leader, Jawaharlal Nehru. After her return she maintained a friendship with him by mail and later entertained his nieces, the Pandit sisters, in her Enfield home when they attended college at Harvard's Wellesley College.

Robeson returned to Africa in 1946, where she visited the Congo, French Equatorial Africa, and Ruanda-Burundi (now Rwanda). During this visit she noted a growing sympathy for socialism among black Africans. Robeson had traveled to the Soviet Union in 1934 while on tour with her husband, and both of her brothers had emigrated from the United States and lived there for many years. Yet she had come to regard that nation with skepticism, in part based on feedback from her brothers.

Persecution under McCarthyism
Political sympathies notwithstanding, during the 1950s, Robeson and her husband were caught up in the phenomenon known as McCarthyism, by which a large number of Americans---many of them prominent entertainers---were investigated by the U.S. government and placed under suspicion of conducting un-American activities. Many of these individuals were blacklisted in their professions and had their careers ruined, including Paul Robeson.

The FBI opened a file on the Robesons in the early 1940s. On July 7, 1953, Robeson was subpoened by the United States Senate and asked if she was a member of the Communist Party. Although she was known to subscribe to the Daily Worker, she had never held party membership. Regardless she refused to give testimony, citing her Constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment. She offered instead unsolicited statements and accused the Senate committee of pursuing a racially biased agenda. "I am Negro, and this is a very white committee ..." she said, as quoted in Contemporary Black Biography. Her passport was revoked as was her husband's, but the pair made use of the confinement, which lasted until 1958, and joined the vanguard of the growing U.S. civil rights movement.

Without a passport, Robeson was nonetheless able to participate with a group from the United Nations that traveled to Trinidad in the spring of 1958. The trip, in conjunction with a celebration of the independence of the British West Indies, was for anthropological purposes. Robeson joined the tour in the capacity of correspondent for the New World Review. In the course of the two-week trip, which lasted from April 17 through April 30, she lectured on race relations in Africa and the United States and also visited Port-au-Prince and Jamaica.

Her passport was restored only as a result of a Supreme Court decision of June 16, 1958, prohibiting the FBI from revoking passports by reason of a person's Communist Party affiliations. Less than one month later, having secured the return of their passports, Robeson and her husband departed for Europe on July 10, 1958, with plans to live in London. They continued on to the Soviet Union, and from there she made a third trip to Africa, to attend a conference in Ghana, which had recently attained independence.

Robeson remained in the Soviet Union until 1963. At that time, suffering from breast cancer, she returned with her husband to the United States, stopping en route to East Germany where she was honored with the German Peace Medal and the Clara Zetkin Medal. She died at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City on December 13, 1965.

Robeson's avocations included many sports, among them basketball, swimming, and bowling. She was also a talented photographer, and her pictures---in particular from her African travels---were very well received by the public.

Klara Zetlin

Klara Zetkin (1857-1933) was a German Communist and political activist who worked for women's rights within the international Communist movement. She was educated in Leipzig and then worked as a tutor and governess, while she began to associate with socialists. She worked for the Social Democratic Party and Ossip Zetkin, a Marxist Russian emigre, became her mentor. Klara and Zetkin lived together and had two sons. They lived in Paris 1882-92, where Klara befriended Marx's daughter, Laura Lafargue. Influenced by Bebel's book, Women and Socialism Klara began to speak publicly on Bebel's theory.

Back in Germany, from 1892-1917, she edited Equality, a socialist women's newspaper. She wrote and spoke extensively on the rights of women. She organized the First International Socialist Women's Congress in 1907, and became Secretary of the International Women's Secretariat. In 1910, at the International Conference of Socialist Women, she proposed that March 8 be named International Women's Day.

Klara sought equality for women, but believed that men and women were different, and that motherhood created its own demands on women and was an important part of a woman's development and maturation. Her work as a feminist hurt her in the socialist movement, as Marx believed that a socialist revolution would erase working women's problems.

In 1920, Klara was elected to the Reichstag, and was re-elected until her death. She befriended Lenin and supported the Bolsheviks. She continued her involvement in internation Communist organizations and moved to the U.S.S.R. She is buried in the Kremlin wall.


**On March 19, 1911 Klara Zetkin organized the very first International Women's Day.

As posted by Dove.

Let's kick this month of recognition off with a notable and recently fallen SHERO!!!

Benazir Bhutto
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan
Date of birth: June 21, 1953
Date of death: December 27, 2007

Bhutto, is pictured here shortly after leaving Oxford University. Much like her father she studied at elite institutions in the west. Bhutto studied philosphy, political science and economics at Oxford University and graduated with a B.A. in 1977.

She did not, however, truly enter the Pakistani political scene until 1979, when here father was hung to death by the military government of General Zia-ul-Haq. (Evening Standard/Getty Images)

Benazir Bhutto was born in Karachi, Pakistan to a prominent political family. At age 16 she left her homeland to study at Harvard's Radcliffe College. After completing her undergraduate degree at Radcliffe she studied at England's Oxford University, where she was awarded a second degree in 1977.

Later that year she returned to Pakistan where her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had been elected prime minister, but days after her arrival, the military seized power and her father was imprisoned. In 1979 he was hanged by the military government of General Zia Ul Haq.

Bhutto herself was also arrested many times over the following years, and was detained for three years before being permitted to leave the country in 1984. She settled in London, but along with her two brothers, she founded an underground organization to resist the military dictatorship. When her brother died in 1985, she returned to Pakistan for his burial, and was again arrested for participating in anti-government rallies.

She returned to London after her release, and martial law was lifted in Pakistan at the end of the year. Anti-Zia demonstrations resumed and Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in April 1986. The public response to her return was tumultuous, and she publicly called for the resignation of Zia Ul Haq, whose government had executed her father.

She was elected co-chairwoman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) along with her mother, and when free elections were finally held in 1988, she herself became Prime Minister. At 35, she was one of the youngest chief executives in the world, and the first woman to serve as prime minister in an Islamic country.


Bhutto is pictured here with husband Asif Zardari in Pakistan's National Assembly. in November 1990. Both were elected to parliament and became a formidable political force in Pakistan.

Rumors of Zardari's corruption spread throughout the country soon after he assumed power. He was dubbed "Mr. 10 Percent" among the Pakistani public, a reference to his alleged habit of demanding and accepting bribes. (B.K.Bangash)

Only two years into her first term, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed Bhutto from office. She initiated an anti-corruption campaign, and in 1993 was re-elected as Prime Minister. While in office, she brought electricity to the countryside and built schools all over the country. She made hunger, housing and health care her top priorities, and looked forward to continuing to modernize Pakistan.

At the same time, Bhutto faced constant opposition from the Islamic fundamentalist movement. Her brother Mir Murtaza, who had been estranged from Benazir since their father's death, returned from abroad and leveled charges of corruption at Benazir's husband, Asif Ali Zardari. Mir Murtaza died when his bodyguard became involved in a gunfight with police in Karachi. The Pakistani public was shocked by this turn of events and PPP supporters were divided over the charges against Zardari.

In 1996 President Leghari of Pakistan dismissed Benazir Bhutto from office, alleging mismanagement, and dissolved the National Assembly. A Bhutto re-election bid failed in 1997, and the next elected government, headed by the more conservative Nawaz Sharif, was overthrown by the military. Bhutto's husband was imprisoned, and once again, she was forced to leave her homeland. For nine years, she and her children lived in exile in London, where she continued to advocate the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. In the autumn of 2007, in the face of death threats from radical Islamists, and the hostility of the government, she returned to her native country.

Although she was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, within hours of her arrival, her motorcade was attacked by a suicide bomber. She survived this first assassination attempt, although more than 100 bystanders died in the attack. With national elections scheduled for January 2008, her Pakistan People's Party was poised for a victory that would make Bhutto prime minister once again. Only a few weeks before the election, the extremists struck again. After a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, a gunman fired at her car before detonating a bomb, killing himself and more than 20 bystanders. Bhutto was rushed to the hospital, but soon succumbed to injuries suffered in the attack. In the wake of her death, rioting erupted throughout the country. The loss of the country's most popular democratic leader has plunged Pakistan into turmoil, intensifying the dangerous instability of a nuclear-armed nation in a highly volatile region.


Bhutto returned to power as prime minister after an election in October 1993.

She smiles as she stands next to a portrait of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Oct. 7, 1993. Her father continues to be an important figure in her political campaigns. (Saeed Kahn, AFP/Getty Images)

As per Dove

Jennifer Jordan -Emmy Award Winning News Reporter

Emmy award winning journalist Jennifer Jordan joined My9/WWOR-TV in June of 2006 as a general assignment reporter. She is also a fill-in anchor at the station.

In less than a year at the station, Jordan traveled to New Orleans for the unveiling of the USS New York, naval ship built with steel from the World Trade Center. In an exclusive report, Jordan also exposed security flaws at some of New York City's most prominent tourist attractions, including the Empire State building.

Jordan joins My 9 from WCBS-TV in New York, where she was a Westchester correspondent and general assignment reporter. As part of the award winning team, Jordan was nominated for two Emmy awards for the mass transit strike. Previously, Jordan anchored the 10 pm newscasts at News 12 Westchester. While there, she earned two Emmy Awards, one for On-Camera achievement. The second for a multi-part, hard-hitting investigation titled, "Predator Next Door." Earlier, Jordan anchored the weekend newscasts at WFIE-TV in Evansville, Indiana. Prior to that, she was a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor for WBKO-TV in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Jordan's career began as a field producer at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Jordan is a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina where she received B.S. in Broadcast Journalism. She is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She was inducted into Peekskill High School's alumni Hall of Fame in 2003. Jordan has also received numerous community awards for her dedication to covering stories in her neighborhood and volunteering for a number of local charities.

A native of Westchester County, New York, born of Guyanese parentage, Jordan currently resides in northern New Jersey with her daughter and teacup Yorkshire terrier, Saji.

Thanks Amral

Shirley Chisholm [ 1924 - 2005]
Caribbean Parents - Father - Guyana -- Mother - Barbados.

Born on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York

======================

Congressional Record > Jul 30, 2007
SHIRLEY A. CHISHOLM UNITED STATES-CARIBBEAN EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE ACT OF 2007
The United States House of Representative

Jul 30, 2007

Section 49


Del. Eni Faleomavaega [D-AS]: Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.

I would first like to thank my colleague, the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), for introducing this important legislation and garnering the bipartisanship sponsors that it deserves. And certainly I want to thank the chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), for his tireless efforts in pushing forward this initiative.

Mr. Speaker, nearly four decades ago, history was made in the voting booths of New York City. A young lady by the name of Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the history of our great land. With her election, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm broke the ground for African Americans, to be sure. Congresswoman Chisholm was also the child of immigrants from the Caribbean area, and today she remains a great heroine for Caribbean Americans throughout our Nation.

During her tenure in Congress, Congresswoman Chisholm was a staunch advocate for educational opportunity and access. She increased support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other institutions in the United States that serve minorities.

It is, therefore, entirely appropriate and fitting that the legislation before the House today is named after the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm from the great City of New York. This bill establishes a new and important educational exchange program between the United States and our friends in the Caribbean region.

This effort builds on a priority I have long promoted: fostering better educational and cultural ties between the United States and different regions of the world. Today's bill follows our recent historic passage of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007, a bill to vastly expand study abroad programs that overwhelmingly passed this House in a great example of bipartisan cooperation.

The United States and nations of the Caribbean have long enjoyed friendly relations. As an important regional partner for trade and a bastion of democratic values, our friends in the Caribbean region have been called the "third border" of the United States.

In talks with Members of Congress, Caribbean leaders have highlighted the need for educational opportunities for Caribbean students in fields that will allow them to contribute to an increasingly competitive regional economy. We aim to deliver on that request today.

Enhancing our cultural and educational exchange programs in the Caribbean will promote economic growth, improve regional security, and expand opportunities for the hardworking citizens of this region. This educational exchange program will enable secondary school, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate scholars from the Caribbean to attend schools, colleges, and universities in the United States. It will allow them to participate in activities designed to promote a greater understanding of the values and culture of the United States. And it will grant them the option either to live in the United States with a host family, enriching them with community and town life here, or to live in an on-campus housing environment.

Mr. Speaker, the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm was a great American leader who has inspired generations of African Americans and Caribbean Americans. With passage of this legislation, we honor her memory and ensure that a new generation of Caribbeans can play an even more constructive role in the political and economic developments not only of this region but to continue our friendly relations with this region.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Reference - UNITED STATES-CARIBBEAN EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE ACT OF 2007

============================



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 3, 2005 CONTACT: Nick Martinelli
(202) 225-0123

CONGRESSWOMAN BROWN MOURNS THE DEATH
OF SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

(Washington, DC) Congresswoman Brown made the following statement:

"I was extremely saddened upon hearing the news of the death of former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. She was a true trailblazer, and was a role model and mentor to me. Living in Florida, Ms. Chisholm joined me at several events I held in my District, and remained popular long after retiring from Congress.

As a Member of Congress from 1968 until 1983, Shirley Chisholm was an outstanding leader who exemplified public service. In 1972, Congresswoman Chisholm became the first African American woman to be a candidate for the nomination of the Democratic Party for the office of President of the United States.

As a founding Member of the Congressional Black Caucus, she was a driving force behind the Caucus' mission to serve as the ˜Conscience of the Congress,' and to fight to include women, children, and people of color in the public policy debate that so deeply affects their lives.

Even after holding office, she continued her fight for equal rights by establishing the National Political Congress of Black Women.

As we honor Congresswoman Chisholm's legacy, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to remain true to her vision of creating an America that affords equality and justice to all of its citizens.

I will miss her dearly, and her family will remain in my thoughts and prayers."


###

Reference - CONGRESSWOMAN BROWN MOURNS THE DEATH OF SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

Dr. Indira Samaraseker
President, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

President's Biography

Dr. Indira Samarasekera (SAM-er-ah-SAKE-ah-rah) is the 12th President of the University of Alberta, one of Canada's most respected research-intensive universities.

Since taking office on 1 July 2005 she has spearheaded the development of Dare to Discover: A Vision for a Great University, a seminal document that will serve as the guiding force in the University's quest to become one of the top 20 public universities in the world by 2020. She credits the excellence of her senior executive team and the collegial culture among U of A's superb students, staff and faculty as the main reasons for her ability to make major progress toward this goal over the past year.

Prior to coming to Alberta, Dr. Samarasekera served five years as Vice-President Research at the University of British Columbia. A tireless advocate for research across all fields, she facilitated major research projects in the humanities as well as social, natural, applied and health sciences. During her term, funding for research and infrastructure increased significantly, and she spearheaded several new initiatives to enhance the quality of support for researchers at the Point Grey and four hospital campuses. Dr. Samarasekera is a strong supporter of graduate students and also worked to enhance the participation of undergraduate students in research. At UBC she played a key role in enhancing research funding, both provincially and nationally, and helped drive expanded support for technology transfer.

A distinguished researcher herself, Dr. Samarasekera earned a B.Sc. Honours in mechanical engineering from the University of Ceylon in 1974, an M.Sc., as a Hayes Fulbright Scholar, in mechanical engineering from the University of California in 1976, and a Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering from the University of British Columbia in 1980. A Professor in the Department of Materials Engineering, Dr. Samarasekera served as the Director for the Centre for Metallurgical Process Engineering and was the first incumbent of the Dofasco Chair in Advanced Steel Processing at UBC. Dr. Samarasekera's expertise in heat transfer and stress analysis led her to research a number of processes with a major emphasis on the continuous casting and hot rolling of steel and the growth of single crystals for electronic devices. She participated in collaborative research programmes between Canadian and US companies developing mathematical models to validate and apply the analyses to operating processes. With a strong interest in facilitating knowledge-transfer to industry, Dr. Samarasekera has consulted extensively for companies around the world.

Dr. Samarasekera is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIMM). Other honours include the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, the British Columbia Science Council New Frontiers in Research Award, the Dofasco Award, the Golden Jubilee Medal, the UBC Killam Research Prize and an Honorary Degree from UBC.

A member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee on the Public Service, Dr. Samarasekera also sits on the boards of the Conference Board of Canada, the Public Policy Forum of Canada, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the Canadian Health Industries Partnership and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and on a Visiting Committee for MIT.

The President is a member of several technical societies, including the Metallurgical Society of CIMM, the Metals, Minerals and Materials and Iron and Steel Societies of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), and has been active in fostering continuing education and membership development, and organizing international symposia. In 1995 she served as President for the Metallurgical Society of CIMM.

Dr. Samarasekera was a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Council on Science and Technology, a member of Council of the National Research Council of Canada, a member of the National Advisory Board on Minerals and Metals, Director of Student Affairs of the Metals, Minerals and Materials of AIME and a member of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Reallocation Committee. She was Vice-President of Academy III of the Royal Society of Canada in 2003 and is a member of the Fellows Selection Committee for Applied Science and Engineering. She has also served on the Killam Selection Committee for the Canada Council for the Arts, the Board of TRIUMF, the International Review Committee for the Ontario Challenge Fund, and the Science and Engineering Advisory Committee of the Alberta Ingenuity Fund.

Dr. Samarasekera served on the boards of Discovery Parks Inc., Genome BC, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, the Provincial Health Services Authority, the Canadian Microelectronics Corporation, the Stem Cell Network, and the Canadian Genetics Diseases Network. She was a member of Industry Canada's University Advisory Group, and the Sustainable Development Technology Fund. Dr. Samarasekera has also served on Presidential Advisory Committees at MIT and Carnegie Mellon University.

A highly sought public speaker, her international experience has greatly informed her view of the world, and her deep connection with Sri Lanka shaped her humanitarian consciousness. She is passionate about eradicating intolerance, and about the value of education as a means of achieving prosperity and wellbeing, both in Canada and around the world.

Dr. Samarasekera has two children, both university students. She enjoys theatre, opera and the symphony.


Reference - President's Biography

Pune-born Aussie cricketer awarded

Indian-born Australian woman cricketer Lisa Sthalekar has been named Women's International Cricketer of the Year at the coveted Allan Border medal ceremony, the most important cricketing award in Australia.

The Pune-born Sthalekar pipped Australian captain Karen Rolton by one vote at Monday's Allan Border Medal count to become just the third member of the Australia women's team to win the award.

Sthalekar, 27, enjoyed a superb individual year with the Southern Stars, and averaged 44.71 as a top-order batter and 22.55 as an off spinner from one Test and eight limited-overs matches against India and New Zealand.

In a one-off Test against India last year at Adelaide, she was the player of the match scoring 72 runs and bagging five wickets for 30 runs in the tourists' second innings.

She steered her state team New South Wales to victory in the 2005-06 Women's National Cricket League in her first season as captain.

Speaking to Indian Link, an ethnic Indian newspaper, Sthalekar said that she was looking forward to playing in a one-day international tournament to be held in Chennai, India, from this month.

"I am looking forward to the challenge of playing in India again," Sthalekar was quoted as saying in the paper. "You can't look past India on home soil - their record at home is impressive and because they are different conditions for the rest of us, it will be extremely hard."

Sthalekar, a versatile all-rounder, has been appointed vice-captain of the Australian team for the quadrangular tournament, featuring Australia, India, England and New Zealand, to be held from Feb 21 to Mar 5.

"Lisa's strength is her all-round game," the Indian Link report quoted Rolton as saying. "She makes runs at the top of the order, even under pressure and has been in really good form lately. She can also bowl 10 tight overs (and) pick up some wickets on the way, so she's a very valuable member of the team."

Lisa had spent just three weeks in India before her family moved to Australia, where her father introduced her to the game, when she showed promise as a backyard cricketer.

"I first picked up the bat at the age of six or seven in the backyard with my father," she said. "Throughout my career, my family supported and encouraged me to follow my dreams."

"The smell of the sun, the grass and sunscreen again has got me excited," she told the newspaper. "In Sydney, everyone goes, 'the smell of sunscreen is like you're going to the beach', but for me it's the cricket ground."

Sthalekar, who works full time for Cricket New South Wales as high performance coach, also has an arts degree majoring in psychology.

"I would like to pursue further study in psychology but that will come when I finish cricket as I just don't have the time," she said.

Safra A. Catz



President, chief financial officer, Oracle
U.S.

Press-shy Catz is an increasingly powerful force in the land of tech. As president of Oracle, Catz calls the day-to-day shots at the software giant, and plays a big role in the company's acquisitions. She oversaw the company's purchase of Peoplesoft and Siebel Systems. Since 2006, Oracle has acquired 19 firms, for a total of $12 billion. Investors approve: Oracle stock is up 35% this past year. Catz, who is also chief financial officer, met chief executive Larry Ellison while crunching the numbers on Oracle's secondary offering for investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, now part of Credit Suisse First Boston."”Victoria Murphy Barret.


Fiercely private Catz may be the most powerful woman in Silicon Valley. She calls the day-to-day shots at software giant Oracle while founder Larry Ellison enjoys his fame and fortune. There's a lot of work to be done. Oracle is still not finished with its multi-billion-dollar acquisition binge. And despite gobbling up rivals Peoplesoft and Siebel Systems, Oracle is still outranked in application software sales by German competitor SAP. Catz, who is also chief financial officer, met Ellison while working the numbers on Oracle's secondary offering for investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, now part of Credit Suisse First Boston. "”Victoria Murphy Barret

JANET JAGAN

FREEDOM HERO:



Photos courtesy of Reuters News Service

A woman president?

Many American women have bravely, but unsuccessfully, run for President of the United States: Victoria Woodhull, Shirley Chisholm and Geraldine Ferraro to name a few. But when an American woman named Janet Jagan ran for President of Guyana, she actually won.

Janet Jagan was a trained nurse from Chicago. In 1943, when she was 23, she went to Guyana to work in the dental office of her husband, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.

Janet Jagan immediately became involved in the Guyanan labor movement, and in 1946, helped to found the Women's Political and Economic Organization (W.P.O.) and the Political Affairs Committee (P.A.C.), and began editing the P.A.C. bulletin. In 1950, she co-founded the People's Progressive Party(P.P.P.) along with husband, Cheddi Jagan. This party was instrumental in attaining Guyana's independence from British rule.

While her husband gained prominence in the P.P.P., Janet Jagan continued as a leader in the struggle for workers' rights. In 1970, she was elected president of the Union of Guyanese Journalists (UGJ), and from 1973 to 1997, edited the Mirror, a national newspaper.

The People's Progressive Party had boycotted the government for many years to protest the rigging of elections. In 1992, after the first free presidential election, Dr. Cheddi Jagan became president of Guyana.

In 1997, President Jagan died, and Janet Jagan ran successfully for the post. On Dec. 19, 1997, Janet Jagan was sworn in as the first woman president of the Republic of Guyana. Unfortunately, she was only able to serve for 20 months. On Aug. 8, 1999, Janet Jagan resigned from her ground-breaking post for health reasons.

Writer Krishna Persaud has compared Jagan to Nelson Mandela stating:

"With characteristic selflessness, Mrs. Janet Jagan has passed the torch. The diminished vigour she cited as the reason for her resignation has prompted few statesmen to relinquish power at the height of their popularity. The only other notable example of this magnanimous gesture, is of course Nelson Mandela, who like the Jagans, fought for decades to win democracy for his country..."
In office, her presidency was defined by a sense of vision and wider purpose. While consolidating on the gains made by Dr. Jagan in the fields of health, education, rural electrification, housing and the provision of potable water, Mrs. Jagan boldly pursued a policy of continentalism, fostering ties with Brazil and Venezuela, making overtures towards members of the Mercusor and Andean Pacts, while maintaining Guyana's traditional links with the Caribbean community.

During her time in office, Jagan was an outspoken advocate for the full emancipation of women in Latin America, including equal education, equal housing opportunities, equal pay for equal work and free maternity leave. Truly it is a hero of freedom who can dedicate her life to building the political and economic independence of a nation.

Reference Source

KALPANA CHAWLA (PH.D.)
NASA ASTRONAUT

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Houston, Texas 77058


PERSONAL DATA: Born in Karnal, India. Died on February 1, 2003 over the southern United States when Space Shuttle Columbia and the crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. She is survived by her husband. Kalpana Chawla enjoyed flying, hiking, back-packing, and reading. She held a Certificated Flight Instructor's license with airplane and glider ratings, Commercial Pilot's licenses for single- and multi-engine land and seaplanes, and Gliders, and instrument rating for airplanes. She enjoyed flying aerobatics and tail-wheel airplanes.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Tagore School, Karnal, India, in 1976. Bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, 1982. Master of science degree in aerospace engineering from University of Texas, 1984. Doctorate of philosophy in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado, 1988.

AWARDS: Posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

EXPERIENCE: In 1988, Kalpana Chawla started work at NASA Ames Research Center in the area of powered-lift computational fluid dynamics. Her research concentrated on simulation of complex air flows encountered around aircraft such as the Harrier in "ground-effect." Following completion of this project she supported research in mapping of flow solvers to parallel computers, and testing of these solvers by carrying out powered lift computations. In 1993 Kalpana Chawla joined Overset Methods Inc., Los Altos, California, as Vice President and Research Scientist to form a team with other researchers specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. She was responsible for development and implementation of efficient techniques to perform aerodynamic optimization. Results of various projects that Kalpana Chawla participated in are documented in technical conference papers and journals.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in December 1994, Kalpana Chawla reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995 as an astronaut candidate in the 15th Group of Astronauts. After completing a year of training and evaluation, she was assigned as crew representative to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches. Her assignments included work on development of Robotic Situational Awareness Displays and testing space shuttle control software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory. In November, 1996, Kalpana Chawla was assigned as mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator on STS-87. In January 1998, she was assigned as crew representative for shuttle and station flight crew equipment, and subsequently served as lead for Astronaut Office's Crew Systems and Habitability section. She flew on STS-87 (1997) and STS-107 (2003), logging 30 days, 14 hours and 54 minutes in space.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-87 Columbia (November 19 to December 5, 1997). STS-87 was the fourth U.S Microgravity Payload flight and focused on experiments designed to study how the weightless environment of space affects various physical processes, and on observations of the Sun's outer atmospheric layers. Two members of the crew performed an EVA (spacewalk) which featured the manual capture of a Spartan satellite, in addition to testing EVA tools and procedures for future Space Station assembly. STS-87 made 252 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.5 million miles in in 376 hours and 34 minutes.

STS-107 Columbia (January 16 to February 1, 2003). The 16-day flight was a dedicated science and research mission. Working 24 hours a day, in two alternating shifts, the crew successfully conducted approximately 80 experiments. The STS-107 mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia and the crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing.

MAY 2004

Reference Source

===================

Tuesday, 13 July 2004




Kalpana Chawla



Almost one and a half years after the tragic disaster of the Nasa space shuttle Columbia, one of its crew, the late Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla has been honoured by the New York City administration. Kalpana Chawla was one of the seven astronauts killed when the Colombia shuttle disintegrated in mid-air on 1 February, 2003 (STS-107 mission).

74th Street in the Jackson Heights area of the city has now been renamed, 74 Street Kalpana Chawla Way. The Jackson Heights area, also known as Little India, has a strong concentration of people of South Asian origin who strongly favoured the move to honour Chawla. People from all walks of life remember the astronaut's warm smile and pioneering spirit. A life that ended so abruptly will now be remembered for generations to come every time they visit Jackson Heights.

Reference Source

quote:

Originally posted by Rosita:
Source

Indira Gandhi, Political Figure

Born: 19 November 1917
Birthplace: Allahabad, India
Died: 1984 (assassination)
Best Known As: Prime Minister of India, 1966-77 and 1980-84

Name at birth: Indira Priyadarshini

Indira Gandhi was the prime minister of India from 1966-77 and 1980-84 and one of the most famous women in 20th century politics. Her father was Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India's first prime minister (1947-64), and Indira spent her life amid Indian politics. In 1959 she was elected to the presidency of the Indian National Congress, and in 1964 she was elected to the parliament. When Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri died in 1966, Gandhi was chosen as a compromise candidate to replace him. She was elected to the office in 1967 and advanced an ambitious program of modernization. In 1975 she was convicted of violations stemming from the 1971 election and the High Court ordered her to resign. Instead she declared a state of emergency and clamped down on her opposition (the conviction was later overturned). She lost the election of 1977 and was out of office until a comeback in 1980, when she was again elected to be prime minister. In 1984 she used the military to suppress Sikh rebels and ordered an attack on a Sikh shrine in Amritsar; a few months later, Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh conspirators.


She was married to Feroze Gandhi (1942-60) and had two sons. Her son Sanjay Gandhi (1946-80) was a controversial figure in her government before he was killed in an airplane crash, and her son Rajiv Gandhi (1944-91) succeeded her as India's prime minister in 1984. Rajiv was killed in a 1991 bombing.

Wednesday, 1 December, 1999, 08:09 GMT
Indira Gandhi 'greatest woman'
Indira Gandhi was India's first female prime minister


Indira Gandhi has been voted the greatest woman of the past 1,000 years in a poll by BBC News Online.

India's first woman prime minister had been running equally with Queen Elizabeth I in the first half of November but pushed ahead to top the poll by a large majority.


The top 10 included Marie Curie and Mother Teresa, as well as Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The vote was the eleventh in BBC News Online's monthly Your Millennium series. In December you can vote for the greatest man of the past 1,000 years.

To inspire you, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Virgin boss Richard Branson have contributed their personal top-10 lists.

Tough politician

Indira Gandhi was a famous politician, but she is likely to be a controversial choice for the greatest woman of the past 1,000 years.

Your top 10
1. Indira Gandhi
2. Elizabeth I
3. Mother Teresa
4. Marie Curie
5. Margaret Thatcher
6. Joan of Arc
7. Emmeline Pankhurst
8. Everywoman
9. Aung San Suu Kyi
10. Eleanor Roosevelt
The only child of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi was herself elected prime minister in 1966. She served four terms, three of which were consecutive.

She studied at Visva-Bharati University in India, and Oxford University. In 1938, she joined the National Congress party and became active in India's independence movement.

As prime minster in 1971, Indira Gandhi led India in a war against neighbouring Pakistan which resulted in the creations of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan.

Her role in the war was only one of her controversial actions.

She is remembered most for her campaign against Sikh separatists.

When Sikh extremists used violence to demand an independent state in Punjab, she ordered an army attack on their refuge, the holiest Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

The June 1984 attack killed an estimated 450 people, and left a legacy of bitterness.

Five months later, Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards in revenge.

That incident was followed by attacks on Sikh communities in Delhi and elsewhere in India, in which several thousand people are believed to have died.

BBC News Online readers from across the world took part in the millennium poll and those who voted for Indira Gandhi praised her leadership skills and strength.

Khalid Ahmed said: "She was a true feminist to the core, a woman of substance who helped the country through a testing phase, possessed all the virtues of a woman and fought valiantly for women's rights in a man's world."

And according to Geetha Sankaran, she was "a dynamic leader and worked for the uplifting of India and its women."

A salute to Monica Lewinsky for a job well done!
Marching into the history of women's month.

quote:

Originally posted by Jungle Girl:

Beryl Agatha Gilroy

Beryl Agatha Gilroy (nee Alnwich) was born on 30 August, 1924 in Skeldon village, in Berbice County in British Guiana. She grew up in a large, extended family, largely under the influence of her maternal grandmother, Sally Louisa James (1868-1967), a herbalist, manager of the family small-holding, keen reader, imparter to the young Beryl of the stories of ˜Long Bubbies', Cabresses and Long Lady and a treasury of colloquial proverbs.

If any y'all know dis here story, tell it to me nuh.

quote:

Originally posted by André:
http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56516028

Doreen de Caires to receive US woman of courage reward
Wednesday, March 14th 2007 .

I wonder if she's related to Fr DeCaires.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Miss+Piggy&sourceid=ie7&...n-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8



Miss Piggy is one of the central characters on The Muppet Show. She is a force of nature who developed from a one-joke running gag into a complex, three-dimensional character.

Miss Piggy is absolutely convinced that she's destined for stardom, and nothing is going to stand in her way. Her public face tries to be the soul of feminine charm, but she can instantly fly into a violent rage whenever she thinks she's insulted or thwarted. Kermit the Frog has learned this all too well, since he's the usual target for her karate chops. When she isn't sending him flying through the air (which always happens to a Muppet she karate chops), she is often smothering him in (mostly unwanted) kisses.

Piggy's Biography
From modest beginnings (which she is quick to gloss over), Miss Piggy first broke into show business by winning the Miss Bogen County beauty contest, a victory which also marked her first meeting with frog of her life, Kermit. The rest, as they say, is history (and a lot of juicy gossip, too).

In 1976, Miss Piggy started out in the chorus of The Muppet Show. Thanks to her charisma and a correspondence course in karate, Piggy made her presence known, and soon became the lead chanteuse and femme fatale on the show. Quickly, her career expanded to include television specials, home videos, records and books. Her "how to" volume of advice on absolutely everything, Miss Piggy's Guide to Life, became a national bestseller, and her fabulous face has been featured on the cover of countless magazines too numerous to mention.

Miss Piggy appeared regularly in two sketches, "Veterinarian's Hospital" and "Pigs in Space". She also has a dog named Foo-Foo.

Miss Piggy has starred in all six theatrically-released Muppet feature films, and both made-for-TV movies. She appeared in the 2005 TV-movie The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, playing all four witches.

First Woman Is Selected as Executive Chef at White House

Cristeta Comerford, the new executive White House chef, with Walter Scheib III, her predecessor and mentor, who provided the photograph.

Cristeta Comerford became the first woman to be named White House executive chef.

Laura Bush, the first lady, said she was delighted that Ms. Comerford, who has been an assistant chef in the White House since the mid-90's, had accepted the job. "Her passion for cooking can be tasted in every bite of her delicious creations," Mrs. Bush said.

Ms. Comerford, a naturalized citizen from the Philippines, had an opportunity to be promoted within the current staff, which is another first for the choice.

Ms. Comerford, 41, had said that she was very pleased to be considered.

Ms. Comerford's White House kitchen colleagues and Walter Scheib III, whom Mrs. Bush asked to resign as executive chef in February, toasted her success. Since Mr. Scheib's departure, Ms. Comerford has been preparing meals for official dinners, private parties and family dinners - from huevos rancheros, the president's favorite Sunday breakfast, to oysters and spinach au gratin for one of Mrs. Bush's literary-themed dinners, this one honoring Shakespeare.

Mr. Scheib said Ms. Comerford was "the best candidate, no question about it." "Picking Cris as the first woman chef is a good publicity move, I expect," he said. Mr. Scheib added, "Mentally she is tough as nails, is very strongly focused and a very talented culinarian."

Ms. Comerford worked closely with Mr. Scheib on many projects, including the 2003 state dinner in honor of the president of the Philippines.

"She and I were like two fingers crossed, mentor and protégée," said Mr. Scheib, who was a holdover from the Clinton White House. "I don't see her choice as a radical departure from anything."

Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, representing more than 2,000 culinary professionals in the United States, may want to take credit for Ms. Comerford's elevation. The organization sent a letter to Mrs. Bush last May, asking her to consider a woman for the job because the chef would be a role model for women.

"Throughout our history, women have been at the helm of feeding American families," the organization wrote. "Now is the time to have a woman at the helm of feeding America's first family."

But according to the White House, none of the people suggested by the organization, most of them well-known in culinary circles, were interested in the job. The pay, $80,000 to $100,000 a year with no overtime, for what is essentially a private family chef who occasionally has an opportunity to show off at a state dinner, is well below what top level chefs can earn on the outside.

And opportunities to dazzle at state dinners are few and far between in the current White House; there have been only five since Mr. Bush took office.

"I'm glad it's a woman," said Alice Waters, the noted Berkeley, Calif., restaurateur. "It can't be anything but encouraging to people to have someone at the top, particularly from another country. That particularly makes a beautiful statement that someone has succeeded to the extent that they represent the president."

Ms. Whitson, the first lady's press secretary, said there were hundreds of applications. "It's a long process and we wanted to give as many applicants as possible a chance because there are so many good American chefs out there," she said.

She would not say how many of the applicants were women.

Ms. Comerford, who came to the United States when she was 23, received a bachelor's degree in food technology from the University of the Philippines, studied classic French cooking and worked in Austria. She also was chef at two Washington hotels. And she collaborated with the California chef John Ash to promote American game cooking. She lives in Columbia, Md., with her husband, John, and young daughter.

quote:

Originally posted by cain:

quote:

Originally posted by André:
http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56516028

Doreen de Caires to receive US woman of courage reward
Wednesday, March 14th 2007 .

I wonder if she's related to Fr DeCaires.

The Media Association of Jamaica has sent a tribute to Doreen de Caires who has announced her retirement as the Managing Director of Guyana Publications Inc., publishers of the Stabroek News. In its tribute, the Association said she had taken the newspaper from its formative stage with about twelve employees in 1986 "to the icon it has become as a champion of press freedom in the Caribbean."

The tribute, signed by Dr. David Mc Bean, the President of the association said that her recent US Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award recognised the significance of her work with the Stabroek News.

Mr Mc Bean said her title had changed over the years, from General Manager at the inception of the Stabroek News to the title of Managing Director but she had continued to provide the kind of visionary leadership that had kept the newspaper vibrant and true to its mission "in a political atmosphere in which an independent media company with less effective leadership, would have failed. "

As fellow Caribbean publishers, the tribute said, the members of the organisation assured her that she had earned a place among the stalwarts in Caribbean media development and wished her success in any projects she may undertake in her retirement.

Rama Yade

"¢ In 2007, Rama Yade became France's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights.
"¢ Rama Yade was born in 1976 in Senegal.
"¢ Rama Yade went to the Immaculate Conception Convent School and also studied political sciences at Paris Institut d'études politiques (IEP).
"¢ Rama Yade is married to the son of a Yiddish socialist singer. She locked her husband in at home to stop him voting in the French Presidential Elections!
"¢ Rama Yade was an administrator at the Senate from 2002 to 2007. Her roles at the French Senate included being Director of Communication of the parliamentary television channel Public Sénat and administrator at the Senate's local authorities department.
"¢ In 2006 Rama Yade was the UMP national secretary responsible for Francophone affairs.
"¢ In June 2007, Rama Yade was one of three women of African descent in Mr Sarkozy's cabinet. The others were Fadela Amara and Rachida Dati.
"¢ The BBC article, Africa in pictures, has a good photo of Rama Yade.
"¢ Rama Yade has written a book, Noirs de France, published by Editions Calmann-Lévy in 2007.

Senegalese-born Rama Yade, France's new junior minister for European Affairs and Human Rights, smiles with children at an event in Paris.



Rama Yade (full name Ramatoulaye Yade-Zimet) is a French politician, currently the State Secretary in charge of foreign affairs and human rights (under the authority of the minister of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Kouchner).

Yade was born on December 13, 1976 in Dakar, Senegal. Her mother was a professor and her father, also a professor, was the personal secretary of the president Léopold Sédar Senghor. A Muslim by faith, Yade was educated at Catholic schools and then at the Institut d'études politiques, which she graduated from in 2000.

Yade then worked at the Paris Town Hall and the French National Assembly before becoming an administrator at the French Senate in 2002. She joined the UMP political party in 2005 and became their national secretary in charge of Francophonie in 2006. She credits Nicolas Sarkozy's charisma with making her want to join the UMP, rather than the party's rightist values.

Yade is married to Joseph Zimet, an adviser to Secretary of State Jean-Marie Bockel and son of the famous Yiddish singer Ben Zimet.

Taffi L. Dollar

Taffi L. Dollar, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, is a world-renowned author, teacher and conference speaker who demonstrates Gods love to others. As the wife of Dr. Creflo A. Dollar, she co-pastors World Changers Church International (WCCI) and World Changers Church-New York.

A minister of the Gospel, Taffi has a global influence in both ministry and music. She serves as the CEO of Arrow Records, a cutting-edge Christian recording company. Taffi also served as a guest panelist for the 2005 Vibe Music Festival in Atlanta, during which she challenged recording artists and record labels to be fully accountable for the lyrics and images in their music and videos.

Taffis commitment to helping others is evident through her lifestyle of service. She founded the Womens Ministry at WCCI to promote unity and sisterhood. She frequently hosts prayer and Bible Study meetings, retreats, workshops and other events to empower women to develop in the love of God. In addition, Taffi founded the World Changers Christian Academy Independent Study Program (ISP), an alternative to traditional home schooling. ISP is a Georgia accredited college preparatory home schooling program for families seeking an advanced and innovative approach to learning. Taffi also serves as an active mentor and sponsor of the Service to Education program at Toney Elementary School in Decatur, Georgia, where she plays an instrumental role in helping students to excel in reading. As a result, the school reported its highest reaching achievement on standardized scores for two consecutive years. Taffi and Dr. Dollar received the 2005 Eagle Award for their continued efforts in supporting the program.

With a bachelor's degree in Mental Health and Human Services, Taffi has a heart for restoring family relationships. Above all her accomplishments, she considers supporting her husband in ministry and raising godly children her primary purpose. As a mother of five, she firmly believes that the best way to raise successful children is to be an active role model in demonstrating the love of God.

Florence Nightingale

As one of the most famous women in British history it is not surprising that Florence Nightingale should have a museum dedicated to her memory. The Florence Nightingale Museum celebrates the woman who almost single-handedly created the modern nursing profession in Britain following her experiences during the Crimean War.

She is famous for answering a call from God and helping hundreds of soldiers during the Crimean War – even now she is referred to as the Lady of the Lamp because of her night time walks tending to sick and wounded soldiers. On her return from this bloody conflict she established the Nightingale Training School for nurses at St Thomas' Hospital.

As a result of her groundbreaking work, her name is synonymous with caring and nursing to this day. This London attraction dedicated to her features an incredible collection of artefacts from her lifetime, including 53 books of the 200 she wrote in their original form.

This London tourist attraction houses an impressive archive of 63 letters from Florence Nightingale to various correspondents, and other related papers belonging to her. There are also research facilities available onsite, though it is advisable to ring in advance if you wish to have access to these.

Whether you're a history lover, an academic, a London tourist, or just curious about this formidable woman, this intriguing London museum is one of the best ways learn about Florence Nightingale in London

Reference - Florence Nightingale

Joan Baez


Bowery Songs, the newest album from Joan Baez and her first live album in ten years, is a soaring chronicle of her 2003-2004 tour. The album was recorded in its entirety on the Saturday night after Election Day, November 2004, at New York's Bowery Ballroom. From Joan's opening acapella benediction, "Finlandia," to her prophetic and telling versions of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and Steve Earle's "Jerusalem" that close the album, there can be no mistaking the medium and the message she sought to capture.

One of the album's centerpieces is Earle's "Christmas in Washington" ("So come back Woody Guthrie/Come back to us now..."), one of three ˜Bowery songs' that originated on Joan's most recent studio album Dark Chords On a Big Guitar (released in September 2003). The others are Greg Brown's "Rexroth's Daughter" (whose lyric gave the album its title) and Natalie Merchant's "Motherland," all of which have become staples in Joan's repertoire.

The spirit of Woody Guthrie hovers throughout Bowery Songs. Joan has been singing "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)" since the 1960s, but this is her first live release of the song. Bob Dylan also figures in the program. "Farewell, Angelina" was the title tune of her 1965 LP that contained two Guthrie songs and four Dylan songs, one of which was "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." Joan also assays Dylan's "Seven Curses" of 1963, which was his free adaptation of the old Child ballad "The Maid Freed From the Gallows" aka "Anathea." Another tune associated with Dylan and his mentor Dave Van Ronk is "Dink's Song," collected by Alan Lomax, which Joan sang with Bob on 1976's Rolling Thunder Revue.

As on all of her previous live albums, Bowery Songs fulfills Joan's objective of spanning as much of her career as possible - from "Silver Dagger" (the opening song of her first solo LP of 1960), "Jackaroe" (first heard on 1963's In Concert, Part 2, later to become a staple of the Grateful Dead's songbook), and "Joe Hill" (sung by Joan at Woodstock), to the venerable Irish "Carrickfergus" (first heard on her 1989 album, Speaking of Dreams) and the songs from 2003's Dark Chords On a Big Guitar. Bowery Songs includes four songs that Joan has never recorded before: "Finlandia," "Seven Curses," "Dink's Song," and "Jerusalem."

Bowery Songs reminds us that at crucial moments during her long and storied career - which is to say, at crucial moments in America's history over the past four decades and then some - Joan has recorded and released live performance albums that have served as critical barometers of our times. 1963's In Concert, Part 1 and In Concert, Part 2 LPs (Vanguard) were recorded during Joan's first full-scale major cross-country tours, just three years into the start of her career in the heat of the Civil Rights movement and the nascent Free Speech and anti-war struggles, and in the blush of he early involvement with the music and soul of Bob Dylan.

A dozen years later, From Every Stage (A&M) was a verite recording that documented Joan's summer tour of 1975 with a 4-piece band. The double-LP set a standard by including songs ˜from every stage' of Joan's career, from her earliest hymns, Civil Rights solidarity anthems, and Bob Dylan songs, to such contemporary crowd-pleasers as "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Diamonds and Rust."
During the 1980s, when Joan was free of any major label associations in the U.S., she released several live chronicles of her European tours. The first of these, European Tour (CBS), was an album that, once again, presented songs from the entire span of her career, with several foreign language titles. (Unreleased in America, the LP remains out-of-print.) Live Europe '83: Children of the Eighties (Ariola) continued the trend. Joan refined the concept for her next live album, 1989's Diamonds and Rust in the Bullring (Gold Castle), recorded in Bilbao, Spain; the album's first six numbers were sung in English, followed by six in Spanish. Back in the U.S., her most recent live album was 1995's Ring Them Bells (Guardian), an all-star affair recorded at the Bottom Line in New York, featuring collaborations with Mary Black, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Mimi Farina, Tish Hinojosa, Janis Ian, Indigo Girls, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Dar Williams. Thus, the release of Bowery Songs is framed in rich tradition, capturing the work of an artist whose finest moments often happen onstage.

It's been told that some artists live in history - and the lives of other artists are history. From the very beginning of her musical career, Joan Baez has never sought to draw lines between real world, real time events and her own artistic vision. Dark Chords on a Big Guitar (September 2003), Joan's first album of studio recordings in six years is a fresh collection from contemporary songwriters whose work resonates with Joan Baez. The songs are drawn from the pens of Ryan Adams ("In My Time Of Need"), Greg Brown ("Sleeper" and "Rexroth's Daughter," whose lyric gives the album its title), Caitlin Cary ("Rosemary Moore"), Steve Earle ("Christmas In Washington"), Joe Henry ("King's Highway"), Natalie Merchant ("Motherland"), Josh Ritter ("Wings"), and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings ("Elvis Presley Blues" and "Caleb Meyer").

Joan's appreciation of distinctive songwriting - a hallmark of her recordings and performances ever since she first stepped on a stage - has been heightened over the past decade as a result of collaborative mentoring with an impressive roster of younger artists and songwriters. After attending an early Indigo Girls concert in 1990 (the year after their major label album debut) and then playing concerts together, Joan reinforced her belief in the current generation of songwriters' ability to speak to her. When Joan's album Play Me Backwards came out in 1992, it featured songs by Mary Chapin Carpenter, John Hiatt, John Stewart, and others. Each new album since then has incorporated its share of exciting material, often juxtaposed with songs that reflect Joan's rich folk music heritage.

Every song chosen by Joan for Dark Chords on a Big Guitar speaks to the times in which we live - could Joan Baez have recorded an album that did anything less? From her earliest LPs, when she introduced a wider audience to songs written by Bob Dylan (whose career has intertwined with Joan's since 1961), Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, Richard Farina, Johnny Cash, Donovan, Malvina Reynolds, Tim Hardin, and others, Joan was charting new waters. She was among the singers who rejected the hit parade and established a precedent whereby the music of a new generation became the conscience for an emerging era of social activism.


At a time in our country's history when it was neither safe nor fashionable, Joan put herself on the line countless times, and her life's work was mirrored in her music. She sang about freedom and Civil Rights everywhere, from the backs of flatbed trucks to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's March on Washington in 1963. In 1964, she withheld 60% of her income tax from the IRS to protest miltary spending, and participated in the birth of the Free Speech movement at UC Berkeley. A year later she co-founded the Institute For The Study of Nonviolence near her home in Carmel Valley. In 1966, Joan Baez stood in the fields alongside Cesar Chavez and migrant farm workers striking for fair wages, and opposed capital punishment at San Quentin during a Christmas vigil. The following year she turned her attention to the draft resistance movement. As the war in Vietnam escalated in the late '60s and early '70s, she traveled to Hanoi with the U.S.-based Liaison Committee and helped establish Amnesty International on the West Coast.

The soundtrack to those times was provided by a stunning soprano whose natural vibrato lent a taut, nervous tension to everything she sang. Yet even as an 18-year-old, introduced onstage at the first annual Newport Folk Festival in 1959, and during her apprenticeship on the Boston-Cambridge coffeehouse folk music circuit leading up to the recording of her first solo album for Vanguard Records in the summer of 1960, Joan's repertoire reflected a different sensibility from her peers. In the traditional songs she mastered, there was an acknowledgment of the human condition - underdogs in the first, inequity among the races, the desperation of poverty, the futility of war, romantic betrayal, unrequited love, spiritual redemption, and grace.

Hidden within the traditional ballads and blues, lullabies, Carter Family songs, cowboy tunes, and ethnic folk staples were messages that won Joan strong followings here and abroad. Among the songs she introduced on her earliest albums that would find their ways into the rock vernacular were "House Of The Rising Sun" (The Animals), "John Riley" (The Byrds), "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" (Led Zeppelin), "What Have They Done To The Rain" (the Searchers), "Jackaroe" (Grateful Dead), and "Long Black Veil" (The Band), to name but a few. "Geordie," "House Carpenter," and "Matty Groves" became staples for a multitude of British artists whose origins are traced to three seminal groups: Fairport Convention, Pentangle, and Steeleye Span.

In the wake of the Beatles, the definition of what constituted folk music - a solo performer with an acoustic guitar - broadened significantly and liberated many artists. Rather than following the pack into amplified folk-rock, Joan recorded three remarkable LPs with classical instrumentation. Later, when the time was right, as the '60s turned into the '70s, she began recording in Nashville. It provided the backdrop for her last four albums on Vanguard Records (including her biggest career single, a cover of The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down") and her first two releases on A&M.

Within the context of those albums and the approaching end of hostilities in Southeast Asia, Joan decided to cast light on the suffering of those living in Chile under the rule of Augusto Pinochet. To those people she dedicated her first album sung entirely in Spanish, a record that inspired Linda Ronstadt, later in the '80s, to begin recording the Spanish songs of her heritage. One of the songs Joan sang on that album, "No Nos Moveran" (We Shall Not Be Moved), had been banned from public singing in Spain for more than forty years under Generalissimo Franco's rule, and was excised from copies of the album sold there. Joan became the first major artist to sing the song publicly when she performed it on a controversial television appearance in Madrid in 1977, three years after the dictator's death.

Joan's productive years at A&M Records in the 1970s included the landmark release of her self-penned "Diamonds & Rust" single, the title track of an album that included songs by Jackson Browne, Janis Ian, John Prine, Stevie Wonder & Syreeta, Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band - and Bob Dylan. His Rolling Thunder Revues of late 1975 and 1976 (and resulting movie Renaldo and Clara, released in 1978) would co-star Joan Baez. Later that year she traveled to Northern Ireland and marched with the Irish Peace People, calling for an end to the violence plaguing the country.

Even as she began brief associations with new record labels in the late '70s (CBS Portrait) and after a long hiatus, the late '80s (Gold Castle), Joan Baez did not diminish her political activities. She appeared at rallies on behalf of the nuclear freeze movement, and performed at benefit concerts to defeat California's Proposition 6 (Briggs Initiative), legislation that would have banned openly gay people from teaching in public schools. She received the American Civil Liberties Union's Earl Warren Award for her commitment to human and civil rights issues, and founded Humanitas International Human Rights Committee, which she headed for the next 13 years.

After winning the San Francisco Bay Area Music Award (BAMMY) as top female vocalist in 1978 and 1979, a number of film and video and live recordings documented Joan's travels and concerts. In 1983, she performed on the Grammy Awards telecast for the first time (singing Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind"). In the summer of 1985, after opening the U.S. segment of the worldwide Live Aid telecast, she later appeared at the revived Newport Folk Festival, the first gathering since 1969. In 1986, Joan joined Peter Gabriel, Sting and others on Amnesty International's Conspiracy of Hope tour. Later that year, she was chosen to perform The People's Summit concert in Iceland at the time of the historic meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.

After performing at a 1989 concert in Czechoslovakia attended by many of that country's dissidents, President Vaclav Havel (who was in attendance) cited Joan as a great influence in the so-called Velvet Revolution. Two years later, Joan teamed with the Indigo Girls and Mary Chapin Carpenter (as Four Voices) for the first of several benefit performances. In 1993, Joan became the first major artist to perform in Sarajevo since the outbreak of the civil war as she traveled to war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina at the invitation of Refugees International. The next year she sang in honor of Pete Seeger at the Kennedy Center Honors Gala in Washington, D.C. Also in 1994, Joan and Janis Ian sang for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Fight the Right fundraising event in San Francisco.

After receiving her third BAMMY (as Outstanding Female Vocalist for 1995), Joan's nurturing support of other singer-songwriters came full circle with her next album, Ring Them Bells. Recorded live at the Bottom Line in New York City, the CD featured guest artists Mary Black, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mimi Farina, Tish Hinojosa, Janis Ian, Indigo Girls, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Dar Williams. The album that followed, 1997's Gone From Danger, again revealed Joan as a lightning rod for young songwriting talent, with compositions from Williams, Sinead Lohan, Kerrville Music Festival newcomer Betty Elders, Austin's The Borrowers, and Richard Shindell (who went on tour extensively with Joan over the years).

In August 2001, Vanguard Records began the most extensive chronological reissue program ever focused on one artist in the company's history, as expanded edition CDs were released of her debut solo album of 1960, Joan Baez, and Joan Baez Vol. 2 (1961). The series (nearly complete as of this writing) encompasses every one of the 13 original LPs she recorded while under contract to the label between 1960 and 1972. Spurred by Vanguard's lead, Universal Music Enterprises gathered Joan's six complete A&M albums released from 1972 to 1976 into a mini-boxed set of four CDs, also with bonus material and liner notes by Arthur Levy.

In August 2003, just prior to the release of Dark Chords On a Big Guitar, Joan was invited by Emmylou Harris (who credits Joan as a primary influence) and Steve Earle to join them in London at the Concert For a Landmine Free World. While she was there, Joan performed concerts in-the-round with Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, and Billy Bragg. The album's release in September 2003 was celebrated with a 22-city U.S. tour through the south, the northeast and midwest. On October 3rd Grammy Award-winning classical guitarist Sharon Isbin presented her debut performance of The Joan Baez Suite, Opus 144. Written for Isbin by John Duarte and commissioned by the Augustine Foundation, the piece featured songs from Joan's earliest days in folk music.

Highlights of the 2003 tour included a live broadcast of Joan's October 17th concert at Town Hall in New York City (over WFUV-FM), syndicated to over 100 triple-A radio stations; likewise, Joan's two-night stand at the Old Town School of Folk in Chicago was followed by a videotaping for the acclaimed PBS Soundstage series (which has a DVD distribution deal with KOCH). Joan was joined by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, along with Nickel Creek, for the Soundstage show, which aired in the spring 2004. Meanwhile, she spent January-February on a 16-city sold-out U.K. tour with Josh Ritter opening. the conclusion of the tour coincided with the fifth annual BBC2 Folk Awards, where Joan presented Steve Earle with the Lifetime Achievement Award - the same honor she received when the awards were inaugurated in 2000.

Joan and Steve Earle played a series of dates together in the U.S. that spring. After a 16-city tour of European festival and theater dates in July-August, Joan joined Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello for the West Coast leg of Michael Moore's "Slacker Uprising Tour" in advance of the national election. When their ad hoc appearance at Cal State San Marcos outside San Diego was banned by the school's administration, the students rented the Del Mar Fairgrounds and attracted ten times as many to the event, upwards of some 10,000 people. After a well-deserved rest in early 2005, Joan returned to the theater in June and July as she has for several years now, in San Francisco's Teatro ZinZanni cabaret-antics-music-comedy-dinner show.

"All of us are survivors," Joan Baez wrote, "but how many of us transcend survival?" More than four decades after the release of her first recordings, she has never meant more to fans across the globe, has never shown more vitality and passion in her concerts and records, and has never been more comfortable inside her own skin.

--Arthur Levy, July 2005

Reference Source

Childhood and education
Coretta Scott King was the second of three children born to Obediah "Obie" Scott and Bernice McMurray Scott in Perry County, Alabama. She had an older sister named Edythe, born in 1925, and a younger brother named Obediah Leonard, born in 1930. The Scotts owned a farm, which had been in the family since the American Civil War, but were not particularly wealthy. During the Great Depression the Scott children picked cotton with their parents to help support the family.[1] obie was the first black in their neighborhood to own a truck. He had a barber shop in their home. He also owned a lumber mill, which was burned down by jealous white neighbors.

Though uneducated themselves, King's parents intended for all of their children to be educated. King quoted her mother as having said, My children are going to college, even if it means I only have but one dress to put on."[2] The Scott children attended a one room elementary school five miles from their home and were later bussed to a high school in Marion, Alabama, nine miles from their home. The bus was driven by Bernice Scott, who bussed all the local black teenagers to the Marion high school, as it was the closest black high school.[1]

King graduated valedictorian of Lincoln High School in 1945 and enrolled at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Edythe Scott already attended Antioch as part of the Antioch Program for Interracial Education, which recruited non-white students and gave them full scholarships in an attempt to diversify the historically white campus. King said of her first college:

Antioch had envisioned itself as a laboratory in democracy, but had no black students. (Edythe) became the first African American to attend Antioch on a completely integrated basis, and was joined by two other black female students in the fall of 1943. Pioneering is never easy, and all of us who followed my sister at Antioch owe her a great debt of gratitude.[2]

She studied music with Walter Anderson, the first non-white chair of an academic department in a historically white college. King also became politically active, due largely to her experience of racial discrimination by the local school board. The board denied her request to perform two years of required practice teaching at Yellow Springs public schools, for her teaching certificate.[2] In her early life King was as well known as a singer as she was as a civil rights activist, and often incorporated music into her civil rights work. In 1964, the Time profile of Martin Luther King, Jr., when he was chosen as Time's "Man of the Year", referred to her as "a talented young soprano."[3]


[edit] Family life
Coretta Scott and Martin Luther King, Jr., were married on June 18, 1953, on the lawn of her parents' house; the ceremony was performed by King's father. After completing her degree in voice and violin at the New England Conservatory, she moved with her husband to Montgomery, Alabama in September 1954, after he was named pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.[citation needed]

The Kings had four children:

Yolanda Denise (November 17, 1955- May 15, 2007), Montgomery, Alabama)
Martin Luther III (October 23, 1957, Montgomery, Alabama)
Dexter Scott (January 30, 1961, Atlanta, Georgia)
Bernice Albertine (March 28, 1963, Atlanta, Georgia)
All four children later followed in their parents' footsteps as civil rights activists.


[edit] Civil Rights Movement

Congressman J. J. Pickle of Texas hands King a promotional "squeaky pickle" at a campaign rally in Austin, Texas, 1976.Coretta Scott King played an extremely important role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Martin wrote of her that, "I am indebted to my wife Coretta, without whose love, sacrifices, and loyalty neither life nor work would bring fulfilment. She has given me words of consolation when I needed them and a well-ordered home where Christian love is a reality." However, Martin and Coretta did conflict over her public role in the movement. Martin wanted Coretta to focus on raising their four children, while Coretta wanted to take a more public leadership role.

Not long after her husband's death, Coretta approached the African-American entertainer and activist Josephine Baker to take her husband's place as leader of The Civil Rights Movement. After many days of thinking it over Baker declined, stating that her twelve adopted children (known as the "rainbow tribe") were " ... too young to lose their mother."[4]

Coretta Scott King decided to take the helm of the movement herself after her husband's assassination in 1968, although she broadened her focus to include women's rights, GLBT rights, economic issues, world peace, and various other leftist causes. As early as December of 1968, she called for women to "unite and form a solid block of women power to fight the three great evils of racism, poverty and war," during a Solidarity Day speech.[5]

Coretta Scott King was also surveilled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1968 until 1972. Her husband's activities had been surveilled during his lifetime. Documents obtained by a Houston, Texas television station show that the FBI worried that King would "tie the anti-Vietnam movement to the civil rights movement."[6] A spokesman for the King family said that they were aware of the surveillance, but had not realized how extensive it was.

Neena Kanwar and Vijay Kanwar

===========================

Canada's Top Woman Entrepreneurs 2007

KMH Cardiology & Diagnostic Centres
2007 Rank: 16 Owner: Neena Kanwar
Ticker: - Title: President
Web Site: www.kmhlabs.com Head Office: Mississauga, ON

Type of Business: Operates cardiology and diagnostic centres

Reference Source

=============================

Neena Kanwar, President & CEO KMH Cardiology & Diagnostic Centres

A practicing Nuclear Medicine Research Technologist, Neena founded KMH Cardiology & Diagnostic Centres in 1988. A trailblazer in wait time management, her goal was to ensure patients had quick access and accurate diagnostic care and test results. Through combining a basic philosophy of providing timely, comprehensive care in a patient-focused environment, coupled with a business savvy grounded in leveraging efficiency from core operations, Neena has built KMH into North America's largest provider of nuclear cardiology services. Neena has continually taken a lead role in independent health facilities, approaching successive Governments to implement innovations and to enhance the rules and regulations governing her sector. To date, Neena has advanced the understanding of professional care through 4 research projects, the coordination of 29 educational seminars/conferences, the preparation of 9 abstracts/papers and participation on 15 committees focused on enhancing health care and community development. Currently serving as President of the Independent Diagnostic Clinics Association, Neena has also served as a Director on the Boards of both St. Michael's Hospital and Sherbourne Health Care Corporation in Toronto. She has been named to Profit Magazine's Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs in 2007 and 2006 and Chatelaine's Top 100 Women Business Owners List in five of the last six years. In 1992, Neena was named Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (Start-up Category) by the Rotman Business School at the University of Toronto. She was recognized in 2001 as the Businesswoman of the Year by the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

On February 10, 2006, Neena and Vijay, made a $5 million donation to the Credit Valley Hospital Foundation. Proceeds are being used to help fund construction of the new Vijay Jeet and Neena Kanwar Ambulatory Care Centre

Reference Source - Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network

=========================

Interview with Neena Kanwar, March 15, 2004
TIMT Nuclear Medicine Grad (1981), President & Founder, KMH Diagnostic Clinics, President & Founder, Independent Diagnostic Clinics Association

Where do you work and what does your job entail?

The head office for KMH is in Mississauga and currently my job is that of an administrator. I'm the President of KMH.

KMH started off doing nuclear cardiology but now we do nuclear medicine cardiology as well as cardiology, and more recently MRI.

Why did you start your own business?

I wanted to work for myself. I wanted something more challenging. The waiting periods for testing were (and still are) quite long so I wanted to make a difference there.

My dad had a heart attack, so I got involved in getting the testing done and I actually did his thallium scan. I swore I would never do a family member again - it's too hard.

Why did you start IDCA?

In 1988 the government was having hearings on the Independent Health Facilities Act and it started off by just applying to ambulatory care facilities, and I believe in the third reading all of the diagnostic clinics got thrown into it. At that time the Act said that if you opened your business after 1988 or 1989 then you would be out of business, but anything before that was grandfathered. Two of my locations opened after 1988-89.

I wanted to know what I could do; I was sure there were other people in the same position. I talked to my lawyer and he suggested I start an association, so I started an association that was open to all Xray, Ultrasound and Nuclear Medicine - all diagnostic clinics - as well as the ambulatory care clinics.

Did it make a difference?

Yes, it made a difference. I made a presentation to the Standing Committee and asked to be involved in the regulations after the Act was proclaimed into law. So the IDCA basically took on the role of helping the government, along with the OMA (Ontario Medical Association) and the OHA (Ontario Hospital Association), in helping the government create the regulations that we're going to live with and make it more livable for everyone. And also help the clinics know what was required of them and how to work under the new rules.

What skills & experience would you, as an employer, look for in a Nuclear Medicine Technologist?

Quality of work and beside manner - how they treat patients.

This is health care so I want to be sure that the Technologists treat patients with respect and compassion for the situation that they find themselves in.

Quality is an absolute must. You must be good at giving needles. You're not allowed to miss!

How did Michener's Nuclear Medicine program prepare you for your career?

It was a good program. It taught me all about Nuclear Medicine and so I had the knowledge of what was needed to open up a Nuclear Medicine facility.

What do you see as the future direction in Nuclear Medicine careers?

If I had my say, PET - Positron Emission Tomography, would replace the gamma cameras. It's able to pick up greater detail compared to the gamma cameras we use now.

There are also new radiopharmaceuticals, which can be used for breast scans to detect lesions that would have required a biopsy.

I think there's a statistic out there that says by 2010 a lot of the Technologists are going to be retiring so there's going to be a huge demand for Technologists and administrators.

You need to know how things work and how to take care of patients before you move up into an administrative position. I think you always need to keep your hand in the patient care side of the work.

We were short staffed last year so I went back into scanning for a whole year and it's good to be able to do that. If you can do that once in a while then you can figure out better ways of doing things more efficiently as opposed to if you're completely removed from it.

Do you have any advice for students thinking about a career in Nuclear Medicine?

I think it's a good career if you enjoy patient interaction. I think the person that's suited for a nuclear medicine technology career would be someone who's compassionate and interested in patient care, because there is a lot of patient interaction. Also, you have to be interested in technology because this is state-of-the-art technology (indicates equipment in the clinic). You need to enjoy working with computers and with patients; if you do you'll enjoy the career.

Any last thoughts?

Life is what you make it. Make sure you do something you love doing. There are opportunities and possibilities out there you just have to find them.

Reference Source

BESSIE COLEMAN

NAME: Elizabeth (Bessie) Coleman

DATE OF BIRTH: January 26, 1892. -- There is confusion about her birthdate because when Bessie became well-known, she claimed to be about four years younger, saying she was born in 1896.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Atlanta, Texas

FAMILY BACKGROUND: Bessie was the tenth of thirteen children born to Susan and George Coleman. Her father was one-quarter African-American and three-quarters Choctaw and Cherokee Indian. Her mother was African-American. When she was two years old, her family settled in Waxahachie, Texas, and ran a cotton-picking business. In 1901, frustrated by the racial intolerance and barriers, her father went back to Indian Territory (Oklahoma); his wife and children opted not to go with him. Bessie's older brothers struck out on their own, leaving Susan with four daughters under the age of nine. She found work as a cook and housekeeper while Bessie took care of her sisters and the house.

EDUCATION: While the rest of her siblings worked in the cotton fields, her mother recognized that Bessie was gifted in math. At the age of eight, Bessie worked as the family bookkeeper. As Baptists, Bessie and her siblings learned to read and write by reciting from the Bible each evening. She went to the one-room school in Waxahachie (a four-mile walk every day), completing all eight grades. She borrowed books from the library and read them to the family at night -- often they were of African-American heroes: Paul Laurence Dunbar, Harriet Tubman and Booker T. Washington. After high school and yearning for more, Bessie took her hard-earned savings and enrolled at the Colored Agricultural and Normal University (a teachers college) in Langston, Oklahoma. It was here she read about the Wright Brothers and Harriet Quimby, a woman pilot. But unfortunately, Bessie only had enough money to complete one term at the university.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Bessie returned to Waxahachie after her year of college, working as a laundress. In 1915, at the age of 23, she moved to Chicago, where her brother Walter lived. He was a Pullman porter. In 1917, she married Claude Glenn, but apparently never informed her family, lived with him, or even used his name. She became a manicurist and worked in the White Sox barbershop, even winning a contest through the black weekly newspaper, the Chicago Defender, as the best and fastest manicurist in the area.

In 1920, her other brother John came to the barbershop, a World War I veteran, and began talking about how French women were better. They could even fly airplanes, he said. According to her family, that was exactly what she needed to hear. She's dreamed of "amounting to something" and her brother's taunting inspired her to become a pilot. But pursuing this dream was not easy -- it was hard enough for a white woman to get flying lessons; for black women it was impossible. She sought help and was encouraged by her friend Robert Abbott, founder of the Chicago Defender, to attend an aviation school in France, where racism was nonexistent. But she had to learn French first. She did, at a local language school.

After securing funds from Jesse Binga, founder of the Binga State Bank, and other sources, Bessie left for France in November, 1920. In seven months, she completed the ten-month course at the Ecole d'Aviation des Freres Caudon at Le Crotoy in the Somme. She learned to fly in a French Nieuport Type 82, including "tail spins, banking and looping the loop." On June 15, 1921, Bessie received her pilot's license from the renowned Federation Aeronautique Internationale. Her birthdate was listed as 1896 (the year she had given passport authorities in Chicago) rather than 1892 -- making her appear 25 years old instead of the 29 years she actually was. Bessie was not the first black woman (or even the only woman in her class) to receive a license from the FAI -- but she was the first American to obtain her pilot's license from the French school. And she was the first licensed black pilot in the U.S.

After studying for an additional three months in France, Bessie returned to the U.S. in September and was greeted by a surprising amount of press. She planned to become an entertainment aviator but found she needed more training. She returned to France for about six months and visited airplane manufacturers in Germany and Holland. Upon returning to the U.S. in August, 1922, Bessie knew she needed publicity for her performances, so she created an exciting image with a military-style uniform that augmented her beauty.

On September 3, 1922, Bessie gave her first performance at an air show at Curtiss Field, near New York City. The show was sponsored by Robert Abbott and the Chicago Defender. Bessie was proclaimed "the world's greatest woman flyer." She was a success -- praised in both white and black newspapers. In interviews, she had poise, self-assurance and an eloquence that belied her childhood. And she performed in successful shows in Memphis and Chicago.

Bessie briefly began a movie career, and moved to southern California, but broke her contract with the black movie company when she learned she was to play an ignorant black country girl who goes to the big city. She felt the role was demeaning to women. A year later, she gave flying lessons to an advertising executive who offered to buy her an airplane in exchange for airdropping ad leaflets. She got a war surplus JN-4 ("Jenny") army trainer plane, but it stalled on the first flight and crashed. Bessie spent four months recuperating from a broken leg and other injuries. She gave a series of lectures at the Los Angeles YMCA, inspiring others to pursue their dreams and revealing her determination to open a black aviation school.

Her career was stalled at this point, and Bessie returned to Chicago with no job or plane. She did perform in Columbus, Ohio, but it was a year before she found backing for a series of performances in Texas, in the summer of 1925. Successful again, she followed this up with shows in Houston, Dallas, Wharton, Richmond, San Antonio, Fort Worth, and Waxahachie -- insisting at the last one that there be a non-segregated main gate. She also began lecturing in black theaters, churches and schools, not only in Texas, but also Georgia.

She became famous; her fans called her Queen Bess or Brave Bessie. But she still endured countless obstacles -- from both whites and blacks. Many black men resented her doing what they could not. And many black women, despite activism for civil liberties and better schools, were often too socially conservative to accept Bessie's vibrant persona. Black newspapers gave her publicity, but they were smaller in circulation. White newspapers often either ignored her altogether, or belittled her.

Early in 1926, Bessie gave exhibitions in Florida. A Baptist minister and his wife invited her to spend two months with them in Orlando. Here, she opened a beauty shop to raise more money for her aviation school. She wrote to a sister that she was nearing enough capital to open the school. She also had began making payments on another plane.With the help of a wealthy Orlando businessman, Bessie made the final payment on the plane, another "Jenny." She arranged to have it flown to her next performance, in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 1, 1926. The mechanic-pilot had to make three forced landings enroute.

On the evening of April 30, Bessie and her mechanic-pilot took the airplane for a test run. It malfunctioned and the mechanic lost control. Too short to see over the cockpit's edge, Bessie was not wearing a seatbelt so she could lean over to check out the field. The plane suddenly accelerated and flipped over. She plummeted 1,500 feet. Upon impact, every bone in her body was crushed and she died. The plane crashed nearby, killing the pilot.

Thousands of people mourned Bessie's death -- from Jacksonville and Orlando to Chicago, where her body was transported by train. Three funerals were held; one in each of those cities. An estimated 10,000 people paid their last respects at the memorial service at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago. She was buried at Lincoln Cemetery. It wasn't until after her death that Bessie received the recognition she deserved:

In 1929, Lt. William J. Powell founded the Bessie Coleman Aero Club, the aviation school she'd longed to establish, in Los Angeles. In 1931, the Challenger Pilots' Association of Chicago did their first annual flyover above Lincoln Cemetery, in honor of her. In 1934, Powell dedicated his book Black Wings to her memory. And in 1977, women pilots in the Chicago region founded the Bessie Coleman Aviators Club.

In 1990, a road near Chicago's O'Hare Airport was re-named Bessie Coleman Drive, and two years later, Chicago declared May 2, 1992, Bessie Coleman Day. In 1995, the U.S. Postal Department issued the Bessie Coleman stamp. And finally, in 2000, Bessie Coleman was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame.

DATE OF DEATH: April 30, 1926

PLACE OF DEATH: Jacksonville, Florida


BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Borden, Louise and Mary Kay Kroeger. Fly High: the Story of Bessie Coleman. New York: Margaret K. McElderry, 2000.

Commire, Anne, editor. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Waterford, Conn.: Yorkin Publications, 1999-2000.

Grimes, Nikki. Talkin' About Bessie: the Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman. New York: Orchard Books, 2002.

Plantz, Connie. Bessie Coleman: First Black Woman Pilot. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2001.

Rich, Doris L. Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.

Walker, Sally M. Bessie Coleman: Daring to Fly. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2003.

Lata Mangeshkar
Any account of Indian playback music must start and end with Lata Mangeshkar.

Born September 28, 1929 in Indore, Lata Mangeshkar has been active in all walks of Indian popular and light classical music having sung film songs, ghazals, bhajans and pop. She is the supreme voice of popular Indian music, an Indian Institution. Until the 1991 edition, when her entry disappeared, the Guinness Book of Records listed her as the most recorded artist in the world with not less than 30,000 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs recorded in 20 Indian languages between 1948 and 1987. Today the number might have reached 40,000!!!

Dinanath Mangeshkar, her father, owned a theatrical company and was a reputed classical singer, a disciple of the Gwalior school. He gave her singing lessons from around the age of five. She also studied with Aman Ali Khan Sahib and later Amanat Khan. Her God-given musical gifts meant that she could master the vocal exercises effortlessly on first pass and from early on she was recognized as being highly gifted musically.

However when her father died in 1942, the onus of being the breadwinner of the family fell on Lata. Between 1942 and 1948 she acted in as many as 8 films in Hindi and Marathi to take care of the family's economic problems. She also made her debut as a playback singer in the Marathi film Kiti Hasaal (1942) but the song was edited out!

The first Hindi film in which she gave playback was Aap ke Sewa Main (1947) but her singing went unnoticed. When Lata entered the Film Industry, heavier Punjabi voices like Noor Jehan, Shamshad Begum and Zohrabai Ambalewali ruled the Industry. Ironically Lata was even rejected for Shaheed (1948) by producer S. Mukherjee who complained that her voice was too thin! However Ghulam Haider unable to use her in Shaheed gave Lata her breakthrough song with Dil Mera Toda from Majboor (1948).

1949 saw the release of four films. Barsaat, Andaaz (1949) , Dulari and Mahal. The songs of all four films were runaway hits particularly Aaega Aanewaalaa from the last mentioned. By 1950 the Lata wave had changed the Industry. Her high-pitched singing rendered obsolete the heavy basy nasal voices of the day. Only Geeta Dutt and to a certain extent Shamshad Begum survived the Lata onslaught. Asha Bhosle too came up in the late 1950s and the two sisters were the queens of Indian playback singing right through to the 90s.

Lata's initial style of singing was reminiscent of Noor Jehan but she soon got over that to evolve her own distinguished style. With her search for perfection she corrected her Urdu by hiring a tutor!

Her phenomenal success made Lata the most powerful woman in the Film Industry. She waged battle with Mohd. Rafi in the 1960s and stopped singing with him over the issue of royalty to playback artistes. She refused to sing for S.D. Burman from 1957 - 62 and such was her clout that she had her way and they came back to her.

Though Lata sang under the baton of all the top composers barring O.P. Nayyar and with all the top playback artistes of the day, special mention must be made of her work for C. Ramchandra who made her sound her sweetest and Madan Mohan who challenged her voice like no other music director. The 1960s and 70s saw Lata go from strength to strength even as there were accusations of her monopolizing the field.

From the 80s Lata cut down on her workload to concentrate on her shows abroad. Lata Mangeshkar sings infrequently now but even today the songs of some of the biggest hits of today Dil To Paagal Hai (1997), Maachis (1997), Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994) and Dil Se (1998) are sung by her. From Nargis to Kajol she's sung for them all. Lata Mangeshkar is in fact that rare artist who has realized her search for excellence.

A Phalke Award winner for her contribution to Indian Cinema, the latest jewel in Lata's crown is having India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna conferred on her.

Some Famous Canadian Women

Scientists, Engineers and Astronauts
Harriet Brooks. Born Exeter, Ontario January 1, 1876. Died January 1, 1933. She graduated from McGill University in 1888 and began research with the renowned Dr. Ernest Rutherford as Canada's first woman nuclear physicist. In 1901 she was the first woman to study at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University in England. After she earned her Masters degree she worked for a short period of time in the Laboratory of Dr. Marie Curie. She returned to Canada to resume her work with Dr. Rutherford until 1907 when she married Frank Pitcher. Since protocol of the day was for women not to work once they were married, Harriet was forced to give up her work as a physicist. She turned her energies to raising her three children and remained active in the Federation of University women.


Helen Battles Hogg-Priestley. (née Sawyer) Born Lowell, Massachusetts U.S.A. August 1, 1905. Died January 28, 1993. An astronomer who joined the teaching staff of the University of Toronto in 1936, she was nominated professor emeritus in 1976. A world expert who receive numerous honours including being a Companion in the Order of Canada, she took her profession to radio and TV in a clear and understandable manner for all listeners. She wrote a book, "The Stars Belong to Everyone". For her efforts to bring information to the public she was the first person to win the Klumpke-Roberts Award and she is also the only Canadian woman to have a minor planet (#2917) named after her!


Alice Evelyn Wilson. Born Coburg, Ontario August 26, 1881. Died April 15, 1964. A paleontologist who worked at the Geological Survey of Canada, where she described fossils in papers and books. She lectured and traveled to bring geology to the public, especially children. In 1937 she was the first woman to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.


Elizabeth Muriel Gregory (Elsie) MacGill. Born Vancouver, British Columbia 1905. Died November 4, 1980. She became Canada's first woman graduate to hold a degree in electrical engineering. She also held a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. During WW II her primary responsibility was the production of the Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft. Her staff of 4,500 people produced more than 2000 aircraft. In 1937 she was the first woman to be admitted corporate membership in the Engineering Institute of Canada. She is a member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. She is considered the first woman to be a designer of airplanes.


Margaret Newton. Born Montreal, Quebec April 20, 1887. Died April 6, 1971. During her early days of university study Margaret took an interest in diseases that related to Canada stable agricultural product, wheat. She was one of the first women in Canada to earn a degree in agriculture and she was the first Canadian woman to earn a PhD in agricultural sciences. Her lifetime work in wheat rust was well respected. In 1922 she was invited to Russia to discuss her work. She was the second woman to become a "Fellow" in the Royal Society of Canada. In 1942 she became the first woman recipient of the Flavelle Medal for meritorious achievement in biological science. The list of winners of this award that is recorded online contains no other winners who are women! The University of Victoria named one of its residences "Margaret Newton" Hall. After more than 25 years exposure from her research she was forced to retire because of ill health.


Helen Irene Battle. Born London, Ontario August 31, 1903. Died June 17, 1994.One of the first women to enter the male dominated field of zoology. She was chosen on of the outstanding women of Science by the National Museum of Natural Science.


Roberta Lynn Bondar. Born Sault Ste Marie, Ontario December 4, 1945. Canada's first woman astronaut had flair. She took her favourite food, Girl Guide cookies, into space with her in 1992. She brought from space a real sense of just how delicate our small blue planet really is and is now using her photography to help show and save our earth's environment. She has several university degrees. As Chancellor of Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario she continues to be an inspiration to Canadian youth. Check out how many schools she went to in the "Canadian Who's Who" at your library. Check out Dr. Bondar's web page: http://www.robertabondar.ca/


Julie Payette. Born Montreal, Quebec October 21, 1963. Did you know that this Canadian astronaut plays piano and has sung with the Montreal symphonic Orchestra Chamber Choir? She is active in various community activities and has an ongoing commitment to volunteer work. She attended school at the United World International College of the Atlantic, located in South Wales, United Kingdom. She studied for her bachelor of engineering at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec and took her Masters at the University of Toronto, 1990. This exceptional engineer was chosen as an astronaut in June 1992. From May 27 to June 6, 1999 she was a member of the STS 96 space mission and flew on the space shuttle Discovery. She is the first Canadian to visit and work on board the international space station.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

1908
Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

1909
In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

1910
At a Socialist International meeting in Copenhagen, an International Women's Day of no fixed date was proposed to honour the women's rights movement and to assist in achieving universal suffrage for women. Over 100 women from 17 countries unanimously agreed the proposal. 3 of these women were later elected the first women to the Finnish parliament.

1911
Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 'Bread and Roses' campaign.

1913-1914
On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1914 further women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women's solidarity.

1917
On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. Opposed by political leaders the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.

1918 - 1999
Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. 1975 was designated as 'International Women's Year' by the United Nations. Women's organisations and governments around the world have also observed IWD annually on 8 March by holding large-scale events that honour women's advancement and while diligently reminding of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life.

2000 - 2007
IWD is now an official holiday in Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. While there are many large-scale initiatives, a rich and diverse fabric of local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.

Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google even changes its logo on its global search pages. Corporations like HSBC host the UK's largest and longest running IWD event delivered by women's company Aurora. Last year Nortel sponsored IWD activities in over 20 countries and thousands of women participated. Nortel continues to connect its global workforce though a coordinated program of high-level IWD activity, as does Accenture both virtually and offline. Accenture supports more than 2,000 of its employees to participate in its International Women's Day activities that include leadership development sessions, career workshops and corporate citizenship events held across six continents - in eight cities in the United States and in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Africa and the UK. Accenture also coordinated am IWD webcast featuring stories about Accenture women worldwide that ran uninterrupted for 30 hours across 11 time zones via Accenture's intranet. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.
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The International Women's Day website is proudly provided by Aurora, a company that connects business and professional women and actively promotes companies' employer brands, their job vacancies and their business products / services. Aurora owns and maintains the IWD website and for many years has promoted IWD activity globally through providing this FREE global register of IWD event listings used by women, the media, governments, charities and industry. This is a central global register of IWD events, for downloading IWD logos and for helping women's groups from all around the world communicate their IWD messages. Aurora wishes all groups a successful and effective IWD 2008. Although much progress has been made for women's equality, it is important that we are never complacent. For more information about Aurora's or Aurora's products/services, click here or visit some of Aurora's further websites such as the women-focused jobsite wheretowork.com/women.

Reference Source