African Diaspora

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Mar 3 2011

A modest proposal from the African Diaspora

Last week, in Pretoria, South Africa, the administrative capital of the country, there was a meeting sponsored by the South African government based on its 2006 mandate from the African Union to hold several conferences in and about the African Diaspora in order to identify what makes the Diaspora tick. This was all related to the AU’s 2003 invitation to the African Diaspora to come and join that organization to assist in unifying the African continent.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Feb 10 2011

Practical Politics

This is either year two or year one of the Decade of the African Diaspora (DOAD), depending on how you are counting. For yours truly, and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) organization, which jointly declared the decade, it is year one. Last year, was the period of announcement and dissemination of information regarding the DOAD. Work not already begun, begins now.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Dec 2 2010

New developments connecting the Diaspora are blossoming

In October, the Africa-USA Chamber of Commerce conducted a two-day Pan African Global Trade Conference at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), which, organizers said, was an important first step in connecting the United States, the African continent, and the African Diaspora in business and trade.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 25 2010

Our connection to the afterlife

Ancestry is a highly regarded realm of life among many of us in our domestic sectors and even abroad. Many families have a deep reverence for those who have passed on to another life beyond the clouds in heaven or a life among the spirits in a realm unseen by the human eye.

Memorials in honor of the ancestors may remain on mantels in homes, or a small token from their former life may be kept away in a relatives, and loved ones’ secret space.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Sep 16 2010

The idea of African dual citizenship: Its context and character

By different, amorphous names, African repatriation has been the bedrock of the origin and evolution of Pan Africanism in the Western Hemisphere, and this includes the idea of reparations. African repatriation in the 18th and most prominently in the 19th centuries meant ‘going home’ or ‘getting back to Africa,’ however one could pull that off.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”