Nick Ashford &
Valerie Simpson Pen Commemorative Song
Nick
Ashford & Valerie Simpson (c) recently joined Rev. Dr. Calvin O.
Butts, III (r) at The Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem to give the
debut performance of their original theme song, Be Blessed
- written
to commemorate Abyssinian's 200th anniversary. The singing duo
unveiled the song at Abyssinian's 199th anniversary worship service,
where Rev. Dr. James Perkins (l) of the Greater Christ Baptist Church
in Detroit served as the guest pastor.
The
bicentennial
celebration, Abyssinian 200: True to
Our God, True to Our Native Land,
continues throughout 2008 with a series of community events and
initiatives including a collaboration with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at
Lincoln Center, a book with contributions by Drs. Maya Angelou and
Cornel West, an exhibition at the Schomburg Center for Research in
Black Culture, a white-tie dignitary gala, and a partnership with
StoryCorps (the national oral-history project in partnership with the
Library of Congress).
As
reported in Snippets,
Abyssinian embarked on a two-week pilgrimage to Ethiopia - Abyssinian's
native land - in September. During the pilgrimage, Rev. Butts and
the
group met with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, President Girma
Wolde-Giorgis, His Holiness Abune Paulos, and several ministers of the
Ethiopian government to obtain information and explore opportunities
for Abyssinian to translate its development models and consider a
viable course of action to support the people and progress of
Ethiopia.
Note:
Blacks from the United States and Ethiopia founded the
church. “True to Our God, True to Our Native Land,” is a line
taken
from the National
Black Anthem written by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond
Johnson of Jacksonville, FL.
U.S. Dollar Slide Affects POH Gambian
Education Partnership
Generous Port of Harlem readers provided
$149 each to educate 42 students for three years at the Nyato Nursery
School and one year of primary school through Port of Harlem’s Gambian
Education Partnership (POHGEP). Last year readers educated
40 students.
“While school fees remained the same, the dollar lost value against the
Gambian Dalasi,” says POHGEP Board member Attorney Kevin Turner.
Last year, one dollar bought 28 dalasis (the local currency).
This year, one dollar purchased only 17 dalasis. The result is
that POHGEP needed more dollars to buy the amount of dalasises needed
to educate the children in the program. Last year we sent
$770. This year we sent $1210.
Nathalia
Zongo shares her story ofgrowing
up in Burkina Faso where her father was President Etienne Zongo’s
chief military officer
when assassins killed the president. She chronicles the affect of
having a father wanted by the opposition in the recently released When Everything Has Fallen.
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Rackie Diankha Diallo at Parish Gallery – Georgetown
The Parish Gallery
presents painter, Rackie Diankha Diallo through Friday, December 14 at
1054 31st Street, NW in Washington, D.C. 20007. This Senegalese
worked for several years in mastering the techniques of integrating
African traditional lioncloths (pagnes) and small loincloths
(béthio) into her paintings. These loincloths represent
various phases of life: birth, childhood, and marriage. She
frequently collaborates on design for cinema and animated films.
Underground Railroad Free Press Newsletter
The November issue of the Underground
Railroad Free Press is now available through Port of Harlem. The Underground Railroad Free Press
targets those interested in preserving the Underground Railroad that
enslaved Africans used to escape their enslavement in the United States.
Note:
Don’t miss the Black Memorabilia, Art and Doll Show; Friday (7p-10p)
and Saturday (10a-7p); December 7 and 8; Washington Convention Center;
$6, Kids under 12 free.
