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.