The Black German Cultural Society is holding its first annual convention Friday, August 19 to Sunday, August 21, 2011 at the German Historical Institute (GHI) in Washington, D.C. With the theme of “Strengthening Transatlantic Connections,” the convention will host guests and presenters from Germany and the United States.

Between 1945 and 1955, an estimated 67,770 children were born to soldiers of the occupying forces and German women in the Federal Republic of Germany. Of these children, 4,776 children were the children of African American and Moroccan soldiers. There were also “brown babies” born to African and African-Caribbeans living in Germany for various reasons including Hans Massaquoi, who was born in Hamburg, Germany to a German mother and Liberian Vai father. Massaquoi’s grandfather was Momulu Massaquoi, the consul general of Liberia.

Hans Massaquoi (pictured upper right) went on to have a spectacular career with African-American iconic publications JET and Ebony. In his autobiography, Destined to Witness (suggested reading), Massaquoi describes his childhood and youth in Hamburg during the Nazi rise to power. Massaquoi tell considers Germany his homeland.

When asked by ABC News what she had to say to Nelson Mandela during her recent trip to South Africa, the American First Lady responded: "I said you cannot imagine how important your legacy is to who I am, to who my husband is," she said. "And I just said, thank you, thank you, thank you."

The South Side Chicago native also told young South Africans that her success was built on the success of South Africans who fought against apartheid and White supremacy. She said, “It is because of them that I stand before you as the First Lady of the United States of America.”

When we covered Tony’s Browder’s historic work uncovering the tomb of two 25th dynasty Egyptians in the June 9 - June 22, 2011 Snippets, we urged our readers to help in this historic cause with a donation. To date one reader has made a donation of $120.00, half our goal.

All contributions are tax-deductible. Those who contribute $120 or more will get a quarterly newsletter and discounts on all DVDs. However, if $120 is to much for your pocket, you can help Browder make history with a smaller contribution.

Let Port of Harlem know if you make a contribution and how much. We hope that our readers will donate at least $120 by July 26.

• Make a Contribution (any amount)
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The History Channel is now featuring How the States Got Their Shapes. As reported in a special Snippets, a recent episode covered the return of the District's ten miles square to Virginia. The June 14, 2011 show goes on to shine a light on the District's battle for voting rights. You can watch Port of Harlem contributor C.R. Gibbs (Gibbs also sponsors free history talks in Metro Washington) and D.C. Shadow Representative Mike Panetta talk about the District's borders and voting rights.

In addition to Gibb’s accomplishments, Port of Harlem is proud to reveal that The Association of Black Women Historians has elected Port of Harlem contributor Ida Jones as its national director and awarded her the inaugural Fannie Jackson Coppin Distinguished Scholars Recognition Award 2011.

 

Miller Beach Farmer's and Flea Market
Marquette Park UME Church
215 N Grand
Gary, IN
1st and 3rd Sundays 11:30a - 3:30p till Oct.

The Night Tulsa Died

Opening Reception

Parish Gallery

Friday, July 15 6p-8p

1054 31st St, NW

Washington, D.C.

The Wiz
Theatre at the Center
1040 Ridge Road
Munster, IN
through - Aug 7
$36

The Akwa Ibom State Association (USA) Convention
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Miami, FL
Th-Mo Aug 11-15

 

By Nadra Kareem Nittle
America’s Wire 

A recent study by Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC) discovered a growing trend in women of color leaving law firms to work as corporate counsels. Titled “The Perspectives of Women of Color Attorneys in Corporate Legal Departments,” the study surveyed more than 1,300 African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American female corporate attorneys.

A staggering 76.5 percent of women who participated in the study started their careers in law firms before leaving for corporations. Among reasons they cited for switching were feeling that their work was not valued, lack of good mentors, desire for more challenging work and few opportunities for growth.

The survey found that these women had serious doubts as to whether their plight at law firms would improve, largely because so few women of color were partners who could serve as mentors. The majority of partners at law firms are White men, making it easier for White lawyers to bond with superiors.

“If you look at the breakdown of law firms, most of the partners are Caucasian,” says Laurie N. Robinson, CCWC’s founder and CEO (pictured left). “The challenge is how do we build a pipeline of people of color? Everybody at the law firms can’t work at the corporations,” she continued.

Dionne Greene-Punnette, U.S. markets counsel for MasterCard Worldwide, worked for law firms from 1996 to 2001 before going in-house. One firm, she says, had few African-Americans among its 700 employees. She considered herself a high-performing attorney who routinely traveled on business, worked 15-hour days and spent nights in her office to deal with a heavy workload. Yet, she says, she questioned how far she could advance because the firm had few minority attorneys in high-ranking positions.

“It’s harder to believe it’s attainable if you don’t see it,” she says.

“What I think is really interesting is that the women (in the study) didn’t spend a lot of time speaking of their race and gender as barriers,” Robinson says. “They really focused on all of the things they do to overcome these barriers in the workplace—building up their level of expertise and working hard to be successful.”

 

 By Wayne A. Young

The Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Gary, IN celebrated its 25th anniversary Saturday, June 25 with an array of activities to connect people to their environment. The "Leave No Child Inside" activities included children counting the number times they can flap their wings for 1 minute to compare their results with the hummingbird, which flaps its wings 100 times in 1 minute. Many of the children enjoyed building bird houses, taking short hikes in the woods, acoustical ecology and sound walks, interacting with small animals, and a camping demonstration.

For adults, author and photographer Dudley Edmondson (pictured left) gave a presentation of his work geared largely to encouraging African-Americans to enjoy the national parks. (Similar to what Port of Harlem covered in the Natural Love (May - July 2008) print issue.

Edmondson's interest stems from his own experiences of being the only African-American enjoying the national parks. He has also written a book, Black and Brown Faces in America's Wild Places (pictured right), that stimulates our interest in nature.

Upper Right Photo: Jennifer Wright and her son of Michigan City, IN creating a birdhouse Photo by Steve Kindred.