Mixed Race Day

June 27, is a reference in Brazil to the twenty-seven mixed race ("mestiço", in Portuguese) representatives elected during the 1st Conference for the Promotion of Racial Equality which occurred in the city of Manaus, State of Amazonas, Brazil, from April 7 to 9, 2005, and also to the month of June, in which a mixed race woman, after systematic opposition from anti-multiracial groups, was registered as the only mixed race representative in the 1st National Conference for the Promotion of Racial Equality, which occurred in Brasília, from June 30 to July 2, 2005, promoted by the Government of Brazil.
Mixed Race Day ("Dia do Mestiço", in Portuguese) was made an official day of the city of Manaus on January 6, 2006. On March 21, 2006, during the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Mixed Race Day became an official day of the State of Amazon; and on October 6, 2006, of the City of Boa Vista, in the State of Roraima and, on October 9, 2007, it became an official day for this entire State.
Mixed Race Day honors all those who possess multiracial or multi-ethnic origins. It occurs three days after the Day of the Caboclo, the first mixed race Brazilian group (European and Indian).

Types of mixed-race people

'Hybrid populations with multiple lines of descent are to be characterized in just those terms: as of multiple descent. Thus, American Negroids are individuals most of whose ancestors from 15 to 5000 generations ago were sub-Saharan African. Specifying 'most' more precisely in a way that captures ordinary usage may not be possible.'> 50%' seems too low a threshold; my sense is that ordinary attributions of race begin to stabilize at 75%. An individual, half of whose ancestors are East Asian and half Caucasian, is to be categorized as just that, of half northeast Asian and half Caucasian ancestry. Nothing in continental cladistics precludes mixed ancestry, any more than the concept of a breed of dog excludes mixtures.'

A definition of multiracial by Michael Levin

TYPES OF MIXED PEOPLE

African-origin
Afro-Asian
Afro-European
Basters
Griqua

American-origin
Atlantic Creole
Black Indians
Caboclo
Cholo
Chestnut Ridge people
Hapa
Louisiana Creole people
Lumbee
Marabou
Melungeon
Mestee
Pardo
Redbone
We-Sorts
Zambo

Asian-origin
Eurasian
Hapa
Burgher people
Sri Lankan Moors
Afro-Asian
Hafu

European-origin
Black Dutch (non-African diasporic)
British Mixed
Castizo
Coloured Southern Africa
Eurasian
Isleños
Réunion Creoles
Rhineland Bastards

Other types
Creole peoples
Creoles of color
Half-breed
Mixed-Bloods
Race of the Future

ANNE FRANK: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL

The Diary of a Young Girl is a book based on the excerpts from a diary written by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. After the war, the diary was retrieved by Anne's father, Otto Frank.
First published under the title Het Achterhuis: Dagboekbrieven van 12 Juni 1942 – 1 Augustus 1944 (The Annex: diary notes from 12 June 1942 – 1 August 1944) by Contact Publishing in Amsterdam in 1947, it received widespread critical and popular attention on the appearance of its English language translation Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Doubleday & Company (United States) and Vallentine Mitchell (United Kingdom) in 1952. Its popularity inspired the 1955 play The Diary of Anne Frank by the screenwriters Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, which they subsequently adapted for the screen for the 1959 movie version. In 2005, a full-length choral work based on the diary called Annelies was produced. The book is now considered one of the key texts of the twentieth century.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVkc-0cI91o

BARACK OBAMA THE WINNER OF 2008

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old Stat Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois. The choice of the announcement site was symbolic because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858. Throughout the campaign, Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence and providing universal health care.
Obama stands on stage with his wife and two daughters just before announcing his presidential candidacy in Springfield, Illinois Feb. 10, 2007.
A large number of candidates initially entered the Democratic Party presidential primaries. The field narrowed to a contest between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton after initial contests, with the race remaining close throughout the primary process. On May 31, the Democratic National Committee agreed to seat all of the disputed Michigan and Florida delegates at the national convention, each with a half-vote, narrowing Obama's delegate lead On June 3, with all states counted, Obama was named the presumptive nominee] and delivered a victory speech in St. Paul, Minnesota. Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed him on June 7 Obama now campaigned in the general election against Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee. On August 23, 2008, Obama announced that he had selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate]
Obama delivers his presidential election victory speech in Grant Park
At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, Hillary Clinton gave a speech in support of Obama's candidacy and called for him to be nominated by acclamation as the Democratic candidate. Obama delivered his acceptance speech to over 75,000 supporters and presented his policy goals; the speech was viewed by over 38 million people worldwide.
During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations. On June 19, 2008, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976
Obama meets with then-President George W. Bush in the Oval Office on November 10, 2008.
After McCain was nominated as the Republican candidate, three presidential debates were held between the contenders spanning September and October 2008.In November, Obama won the presidency with 52.9% of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7% and 365 electoral votes to 173.to become the first African American president In his victory speech, delivered before thousands of his supporters in Chicago's Grant Park, Obama proclaimed that "change has come to America". Thus began the transition period from the Bush to Obama administration.

BARACK OBAMA IS AN EXEMPLE TO FOLLOW!!!!!!!!

Sex Slave

Sexual slavery refers to the organized coercion of unwilling people into different sexual practices. Sexual slavery may include single-owner sexual slavery, ritual slavery sometimes associated with traditional religious practices, slavery for primarily non-sexual purposes where sex is common, or forced prostitution.

In general, the nature of slavery means that the slave is de facto available for sex, and ordinary social conventions and legal protections that would otherwise constrain an owner's actions are not effective. For example, extramarital sex between a married man and a slave was not considered adultery in most societies that accepted slavery.

STRANGE CULTURE

Directed by
Lynn Hershman Leeson
Starring
Tilda Swinton, Thomas Jay Ryan, Peter Coyote and Josh Kornbluth
Music by
The Residents
Running time
75 min.
Language
English

Strange Culture is a 2007 documentary film directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson. It stars Tilda Swinton and Thomas Jay Ryan.
It premiered January 19, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

The film examines the case of artist and professor Steve Kurtz, a member of the Critical Art Ensemble (CAE). The work of Kurtz and other CAE members dealt with genetically modified food and other issues of science and public policy. After his wife, Hope, died of heart failure, paramedics arrived and became suspicious when they noticed petri dishes and other scientific equipment related to Kurtz's art in his home. They summoned the FBI, who detained Kurtz within hours on suspicion of bioterrorism.
As Kurtz could not legally talk about the case, the film uses actors to interpret the story, as well as interviews with Kurtz and other figures involved in the case. Through a combination of dramatic reenactment, news footage, animation, and testimonials, the film scrutinizes post-9/11 paranoia and suggests that Kurtz was targeted because his work questions government policies. At the film's close, Kurtz and his long-time collaborator Dr. Robert Ferrell, former chair of the Genetics Department at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, await a trial date.
As of late May 2008, the Buffalo Prosecutor has declined to reopen the case within the 30 day window in which he was allowed to do so. So, Steve Kurtz is free.

Mother Teresa

Born: August 26, 1910(1910-08-26), Ottoman Empire (today's Skopje, Republic of Macedonia)

Died: 5 September 1997 (aged 87)
Calcutta, India

Nationality: Albanian

Occupation: Roman Catholic

Mother Teresa (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997), born Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun with Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (Calcutta), India in 1950. For over 45 years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries.

By the 1970s she was internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a documentary, and book, Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980 for her humanitarian work. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity continued to expand, and at the time of her death it was operating 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, orphanages, and schools.

She has been praised by many individuals, governments and organizations; however, she has also faced a diverse range of criticism. These include objections by various individuals, including Christopher Hitchens, Michael Parenti, Aroup Chatterjee, Vishva Hindu Parishad, against the proselytizing focus of her work; this included baptisms of the dying, a strong anti-abortion stance, and a belief in the spiritual goodness of poverty. Several medical journals also criticised the standard of medical care in her hospices and concerns were raised about the opaque nature in which donated money was spent.

Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Martin Luther King

Date of birth: January 15, 1929(1929-01-15)

Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Date of death: April 4, 1968 (aged 39)

Place of death: Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Movement: African-American Civil Rights Movement and Peace movement

Religion: Baptist

Influences: Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Benjamin Mays, Hosea Williams, Rosa Parks, Bayard Rustin, Henry David Thoreau, Howard Thurman, Leo Tolstoy

Influenced: Albert Lutuli, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today.

A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president.

King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.

Women`s Role in Society

Available data on health, nutrition, education, and economic performance indicated that in the 1980s the status of women in Bangladesh remained considerably inferior to that of men. Women, in custom and practice, remained subordinate to men in almost all aspects of their lives; greater autonomy was the privilege of the rich or the necessity of the very poor. Most women's lives remained centered on their traditional roles, and they had limited access to markets, productive services, education, health care, and local government. This lack of opportunities contributed to high fertility patterns, which diminished family well-being, contributed to the malnourishment and generally poor health of children, and frustrated educational and other national development goals. In fact, acute poverty at the margin appeared to be hitting hardest at women. As long as women's access to health care, education, and training remained limited, prospects for improved productivity among the female population remained poor.

About 82 percent of women lived in rural areas in the late 1980s. The majority of rural women, perhaps 70 percent, were in small cultivator, tenant, and landless households; many worked as laborers part time or seasonally, usually in post-harvest activities, and received payment in kind or in meager cash wages. Another 20 percent, mostly in poor landless households, depended on casual labor, gleaning, begging, and other irregular sources of income; typically, their income was essential to household survival. The remaining 10 percent of women were in households mainly in the professional, trading, or large-scale landowning categories, and they usually did not work outside the home.

The economic contribution of women was substantial but largely unacknowledged. Women in rural areas were responsible for most of the post-harvest work, which was done in the chula, and for keeping livestock, poultry, and small gardens. Women in cities relied on domestic and traditional jobs, but in the 1980s they increasingly worked in manufacturing jobs, especially in the readymade garment industry. Those with more education worked in government, health care, and teaching, but their numbers remained very small. Continuing high rates of population growth and the declining availability of work based in the chula meant that more women sought employment outside the home. Accordingly, the female labor force participation rate doubled between 1974 and 1984, when it reached nearly 8 percent. Female wage rates in the 1980s were low, typically ranging between 20 and 30 percent of male wage rates.

Black racism... White racism

In the past, the label of racist was reserved for anybody, black or white, who used superficial distinctions of race in relating to groups or individuals. The key was not whether the distinction, usually negative, was indicative of anything valuable, but rather that race, or ethnic, distinction was made at all. Except for personal preferences, like socializing and going to church, race-based discrimination was, by definition, off-limits, out-of-bounds - morally, ethically, and legally, indecent.

Now let’s jump over to today’s ‘real’ world. Any American who is not afraid of black men on some level is simply not thinking straight. Also, remember that fear is an emotional response, so do not think about it too much, it is what it is. I’m afraid, and I AM a tall-ass black man, and one who studied the martial arts for fun. I am afraid for me, my family, my friends, my acquaintances, and lastly for anyone, male or female, white, black or green, who might statistically find themselves in the presence of a black male at the ‘wrong place and wrong time’. Call me whatever you like, I don’t give a Freak, I’m talking about life and death!

So when people make distinctions about blacks and crime, especially violent crime and murder, I no longer immediately jump onto the offensive. Yes, these comments sound racist to me, and piss me off if I think about them too much. But the real question is if the behavior behind them resembles me in it's prudence, and too often it does. I avoid unfamiliar gatherings of black males. I check out how black men present themselves and avoid those that feel dangerous. I also judge black men by their dress and manner, especially those wearing inmate clothing, all in an attempt to keep my life. This method is far from perfect, but it’s all I have, so I use it. If this profiling makes me racist in some way, and I believe it does, so be it. Better to err on the side of staying alive.

For me today’s racism is not about inferiority, but also about mortality. If black males do not want to be racially profiled as life threatening, they need to stop being a danger. And I need to see this in the stats, not out of somebody's mouth. It is as simple as that. In the meantime, I watch myself - it’s not right, but you need to understand.

James C. Collier