News — black growth

In this episode of The Perspective, the influence community leaders discuss the question of which came first, racism or slavery? The guests share their opinions based on their experiences and understanding. They all represent different communities and interests. Their views really challenge the foundations and views laid around the concepts of racism and slavery. What comes out from the conversation is the importance of understanding the impact of both racism and slavery on the black community. What are your thoughts? Which one came first?

In this episode of The Perspective, the influence community leaders discuss the question of which came first, racism or slavery? The guests share their opinions based on their experiences and understanding. They all represent different communities and interests. Their views really challenge the foundations and views laid around the concepts of racism and slavery. What comes out from the conversation is the importance of understanding the impact of both racism and slavery on the black community. What are your thoughts? Which one came first?

The Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley, South Africa, named for pioneer black journalist, author, and founding member of the African National Congress, Sol Plaatje, is a 21st century public university. Created under Section 20 of the Higher Education Act of 1997, it opened its doors to 124 students in 2014. As of 2019, the student body, initially drawn largely from the Northern Cape province but now from every province in South Africa, has grown to over 2,000 and the university has graduated 400 students to date.

As one of only two universities established in post-Apartheid South Africa, the other being University of Mpumalanga, it contributes to the expansion of access to Higher Education to formerly dispossessed and disenfranchised communities. Students come primarily from communities based in rural or urban townships; approximately 70% are African and 25% Colored. Sixty (60%) percent of students have an African home language and 25% speak Afrikaans. Figures fluctuate but those for 2017 indicate that 57% of the students are female and 58% of the staff are black.

Sol Plaatje University is centrally located in Kimberley. It has three campuses in close proximity: north campus houses primarily the administrative functions, south campus has student residences and sports facilities while central campus houses the academic functions in 21st Century state of the art buildings, including the award-wining university library.

Sol Plaatje University has four Schools: National and Applied Sciences; Economic and Management Sciences; Education; and Humanities. In addition to the Bachelors’ degrees, a sizable number of diplomas and certificates are offered. Additionally, by 2027, the university plans to grow postgraduate enrollment to 10% of the envisaged total of 7,500 students.

Approximately half of the student body majors in Education which in turn provides the Northern Cape province with badly needed teachers. The Economics and Management Sciences School contributes to local and provincial government capacity-building in Public Administration. Among its Information and Communication Technologies programs within the School of Natural and Applied Sciences, is an undergraduate degree in Data Science, the only one of its kind in South Africa. This degree responds to unique resources in the Northern Cape province, home to the South African Large Telescope (SALT), and joint host to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope.

Kimberley, known as Teemane in the local language, Setswana, means diamond and Kimberley, was once a major mining center, world-famous for its diamonds, discovered in 1870 and aggressively mined on an industrial scale until around World War I when the town began to decline economically, as Egoli, land of gold, known in English as Johannesburg, became the locus of South Africa’s economic growth. Today Kimberley boasts a mine museum with the largest man-made hole in the world. It also has a number of museums, important heritage and archaeological sites, as well as the rich cultural and human resource in indigenous local languages (Setswana, isiXhosa, Khoi and San languages). The Humanities School at Sol Plaatje University takes advantage of these local cultural resources through its flagship programs in Heritage Studies and Creative Writing in African Languages.

Sankore Mosque and University is the oldest continuously-operating institution of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is believed that the mosque and university were erected in the 1100s C.E. (Twelfth Century) by Berbers who settled in the Timbuktu region of modern-day Mali. Mansa Musa I, ruler of the Mali Empire from 1312 to 1337, made several improvements to the mosque after his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324; he staffed it with scholars in various fields and helped it gain more visibility within the Islamic world. The mosque and university underwent more changes under Askia Daoud (Dawud), ruler of the Songhai empire from 1549 to 1583. Askia Daoud (Dawud) grew the mosque and university to 180 facilities and 25,000 students, a remarkable feat considering that the Timbuktu population was only 100,000 at the time.

Sankore mosque and university consisted of numerous buildings made of clay, stone beams, and a wooden scaffold for repairs after rainy seasons, modeled after the Malian indigenous mud structures. Each building was run by its own imam (worship leader) or ulema (Islamic scholar). There was no central authority within the school besides the ruler of Timbuktu. Classes were conducted in private rooms or open courtyards. Students used locally-made wooden boards and ink to complete assignments.

Prior to entering the university, students pursued two degrees. The first degree required learning how to read and write in Arabic (this was the level of education that most people in Timbuktu obtained). Students admitted to the university then studied language, poetry, grammar, and literature for the second degree. University students engaged in both mandatory and optional studies. Mandatory studies consisted of philosophy, Islamic law, interpretation of the Quran, language studies, and advanced grammar. Optional studies included history, algebra, physics, medicine, chemistry, arithmetic, and astronomy. It took 10 years on average for students to graduate. Students who did complete the course of study received clothes, blocks of salt, livestock, and money as gifts upon their graduation. Wealthier graduates performed a graduation ceremony that consisted of wearing a white garment while riding a white horse towards the mosque and university. This ceremony ended with a large festival in celebration of the graduate’s accomplishments.

Many prominent scholars taught courses in the mosque and university, including Abu Abdallah, Ag Mohammed ibn Utman, Ag Mohammed Ibn Al-Mukhtar An-Nawahi, Mohammed Bagayogo as-Sudan al Wangari al-Timbukti, Abu al-Abbas Ahmad Buryu ibn, and Modibo Mohammed al-Kaburi. The most notable scholar professor at the mosque and university was Ahmad Bamba, who wrote over 60 texts on subjects ranging from philosophy to language studies. Most of the university’s professors were educated in Islamic universities in Makkah and Fez in present-day Morocco, Tunis in present-day Tunisia, and Cairo, Egypt. They followed the Maliki school of Islamic philosophy and were members of the Qadiri Sufi order.

After the Moroccan invasion of Songhai in 1591, Sankore mosque and university was stripped of most of its scholars and many of its texts were destroyed. The university still exists today, however, serving primarily as a place of Quranic studies for young children.

A young 21-year-old Albany native is on a mission to creating the perfect “Man-Making Machine.” King Randall is elevating The “X” for Boys program into a school to give troubled teenage boys a chance at finding their purpose and excelling in life.

In 2019, Randall started The “X” for Boys program at the age of 19 in Albany, Georgia with 20 boys in his home during a summer camp. Through the self-funded program, he taught these boys essential life skills like repairing and maintaining cars, cooking, and how to handle firearms. “Doing different workshops teaching young men how to do different skill trades, we’re also doing a book club and teaching them how to read because 93 percent of the children I come into contact with can’t read,” explained Randall.

The success rate of his book club showed an 86% improvement rate in comprehension skills of the boys aged 1 to 17. Hence, Randall felt it was time to expand his facilities by opening a school that can handle large group intake and change lives.

He is set to transform the former Isabella School into the New Life Preparatory School for Boys, according to WALB News 10. In the school, Randal and his team will provide trade skills such as auto-repair and welding.

Troubled teens have reached out to Randall wanting to take the high road in life. The 21-year-old has helped delinquents stay out of trouble, especially those who need to “escape from undesirable living conditions” and adult life of criminality.

“Giving them space where they’re around a lot of other young men and around other men trying to mold you and train you. I’ve had kids come find me at my house and come knock and ask to join The “X” for Boys. I’ve had kids message me on Instagram, gang members, you name it,” said Randall.

The motto of the school is “Let Us make a man” because Randall believes that it takes a village to groom these young men into responsible men. So for The Life Preparatory School for Boys, he is raising funds from his community and beyond to give these young boys a chance at a better future. “This is what the City of Albany needs! Let’s do this for our boys!
We will Make Men Great Again!” he said on his Facebook page.

A young 21-year-old Albany native is on a mission to creating the perfect “Man-Making Machine.” King Randall is elevating The “X” for Boys program into a school to give troubled teenage boys a chance at finding their purpose and excelling in life.

In 2019, Randall started The “X” for Boys program at the age of 19 in Albany, Georgia with 20 boys in his home during a summer camp. Through the self-funded program, he taught these boys essential life skills like repairing and maintaining cars, cooking, and how to handle firearms. “Doing different workshops teaching young men how to do different skill trades, we’re also doing a book club and teaching them how to read because 93 percent of the children I come into contact with can’t read,” explained Randall.

The success rate of his book club showed an 86% improvement rate in comprehension skills of the boys aged 1 to 17. Hence, Randall felt it was time to expand his facilities by opening a school that can handle large group intake and change lives.

He is set to transform the former Isabella School into the New Life Preparatory School for Boys, according to WALB News 10. In the school, Randal and his team will provide trade skills such as auto-repair and welding.

Troubled teens have reached out to Randall wanting to take the high road in life. The 21-year-old has helped delinquents stay out of trouble, especially those who need to “escape from undesirable living conditions” and adult life of criminality.

“Giving them space where they’re around a lot of other young men and around other men trying to mold you and train you. I’ve had kids come find me at my house and come knock and ask to join The “X” for Boys. I’ve had kids message me on Instagram, gang members, you name it,” said Randall.

The motto of the school is “Let Us make a man” because Randall believes that it takes a village to groom these young men into responsible men. So for The Life Preparatory School for Boys, he is raising funds from his community and beyond to give these young boys a chance at a better future. “This is what the City of Albany needs! Let’s do this for our boys!
We will Make Men Great Again!” he said on his Facebook page.

Multiple reports have acknowledged the positive effect of inclusiveness on the human and economic growth of a nation. For instance, a report by Citigroup reveals that reversing discriminatory practices against Blacks could boost the US economy by $5 trillion in the next five years.

In Africa, women tend to be on the fringes of leadership and economic participation. Although in recent times, African women are playing leading roles in their various nations and multinational organizations, they are still marginalized.

Achieving gender parity on the continent is slowly but gradually gaining policy attention. Many analysts have attributed the slow pace to toxic traditional cultures that are simply refusing to go away.

Countries such as Rwanda, Namibia, South Africa, Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Uganda, and Tanzania have been praised by the World Economic Forum for their role in promoting gender parity.

In recent times, high-profile appointments on the continent and the world has gone to African women. The African Union recently appointed the deputy central bank governor of Rwanda, Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, as deputy chairperson of the AU Commission.

And the former Nigerian Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, 66, was also appointed as the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General, making her the first Black woman and African to occupy the global organization.

According to the World Economic Forum, “gender parity has a fundamental bearing on whether or not economies and societies thrive.” This buttresses a report by McKinsey Global Institute that achieving gender parity can significantly improve Africa’s economy or the economies of African countries.

The report notes that improving women’s participation in governance and economic activity could boost African economies by $316 billion or the equivalent of 10 percent of their collective GDP by 2025.

The report examined the “power of parity” for Africa, exploring ways accelerating gender parity could have an effect on economic growth. The women population in Africa is more than 50% but accounts for only 33% of the continent’s collective GDP. “This reinforces and fuels inequality and compromises Africa’s long-term economic health,” the report said.

At its current pace, it will take Africa more than 140 years to achieve gender parity as most African countries rank low on many gender indicators except for progress made in legal protection and political representation, according to the report.

On country-by-country progress, the McKinsey report noted that Rwanda and South Africa have increased women’s representation in middle-management roles by 27 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

The report also acknowledged Algeria’s effort in cutting maternal mortality rates by around 9 percent while Egypt has tripled its score. Guinea and Liberia doubled their scores on the legal protection of women, according to the report.

“These examples of rapid progress should inspire others to forge ahead with actions to advance gender equality,” it said.

Notable Black individuals throughout history are all stacked together on a card deck created by Keara Johnson when she was a senior at the University of Missouri. The Revolution Card Deck, otherwise known as The Black History Month-themed card deck, is meant to educate people and start conversations surrounding these Black figures and Black Culture in general.

Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr and Thurgood Marshall are just a few of the figures on the cards designed by the 22-year-old illustrator from Kansas City, Missouri.

Each figure has been nicknamed by Johnson who came up with this concept during a class project. That was what it was supposed to be — a class project. She was not interested in seeing the project out there initially despite the accolades thrown her way by her classmates when they first saw the cards and the idea behind them.

“That, literally, was where it was going to stay and I wasn’t going to push the product anymore,” Johnson said.

The graphic designer and founder of Lo Studios realized this concept was new but through the class project, she was able to bring her idea to fruition dedicating it to all dreamers and those who have paved the way for African Americans in the country today.

“It’s dedicated to the dreamers — to all of the African American individuals before us who paved the way,” Johnson told CNN.

Johnson moved from wanting to leave the project on her portfolio to going out and printing out 100 decks when she received her first order last October from one of the professors at her University who wanted to give them out as thoughtful gifts for her graduate students.

That was all the confidence boost Johnson needed to pursue a dream of educating the masses on Black culture and empowering people with the stories of these figures. She shifted her focus now and has been looking for innovative ways to market the Revolution Card Deck. The response from people has been overwhelming.

“I’ve just been showing them to people who I think would be interested and just seeing how many eyes I can get on them,” Johnson explained. “And literally every person that I’ve shown has been excited about it — more excited than me sometimes.”

A local company that prides itself in selling designs from its locals, Made in KC, recently pushed Johnson to print more cards so they carry some in their shop for her. The young illustrator went ahead to print 500 more decks and now she supplies her wares to all three Made in KC stores.

“Creativity is a direct tool to get conversation started and that’s why I wanted to play a part in this. I knew it was just so powerful and so dope overall. I knew I wanted it to get as far as it can, so this is super rewarding to me because I’m in a place like this,” Johnson said.

All these conversations, according to Johnson, are really ‘one for the culture’ and nothing else. It is about pushing Black culture forward and what better way than over a card game. It is one of the best conversation starters and she hopes important conversations about Black History and Black Culture would be had over these games.

The Albany Police Department has announced plans to fire an officer on its force after he was recorded calling Black people “the worst f__ing race” during a conversation with a county sheriff’s deputy.

According to the Times Union, Officer David W. Haupt, who has been on the city’s police force since 2016, was handed a 30-day suspension on November 11 pending investigation after the recording was uncovered by the sheriff’s department during a routine department review of body camera footage. The footage in question was recorded by the body camera of the sheriff’s deputy he was having the conversation with. The footage was handed over to the Albany County district attorney’s office, and they subsequently gave it to the city’s police department to investigate on November 12.

Responding to the recording, the city’s Black police chief, Eric Hawkins, said Haupt’s comments was one of the most “shocking and appalling” things he had heard in his 30-year career as a law enforcement officer.

“It’s inappropriate; it does not reflect the values of the men and women in this department,” Hawkins said.

The city’s mayor, Kathy Sheehan, also referred to Haupt’s comments as “blatantly racist”, adding that she expects him to be fired after investigations are concluded.

“As mayor, I wanted to ensure that this individual was not on the job until we have an understanding of what occurred here,” she said. “And that statement in and of itself can be construed no other way that being a racist statement that does not reflect the values of the Albany Police Department.”

Hawkins further revealed Haupt had completed training courses on racial diversity and workplace violence organized by the department just last month, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Though Hawkins declined releasing the November 1 footage of the incident, citing the ongoing investigations, the Times Union was able to obtain a transcript. The conversation between Haupt and the deputy took place when they were filling gas into the officer’s patrol car. The news outlet reports the body camera of the deputy may have been accidentally turned on while the two were talking.

“Literally it does get old,” the deputy said in the recording. “Because literally every day, it’s not like it’s an overwhelming 50-percent-to-50-percent shot where you get a call and they’re like, ‘Yeah, a white male — ,’ or, you know what I mean.”

Haupt responded and said: “My buddies listen to the scanner and they send me texts all the time, and they go, ‘Is the suspect ever a white male?’ and I go ‘No.’ I know it sounds terrible to say, but I don’t give a f__ what anybody says, I sincerely don’t. Because bro, they are the worst f__ing race and I don’t — you can’t deny, like, over the last X amount of months, they are — you know because we work together — they are getting worse and worse, and people are defending that. Are you f__ing kidding me?”

The unnamed deputy responded to Haupt by saying “Uh-huh” but did not say anything else afterwards. Albany County Sheriff, Craig Apple, said he’ll talk to the deputy in question though he feels the deputy’s comments in the recording does not implicate him and wouldn’t warrant any disciplinary action. He, however, said the department will undergo another sensitivity training.

Following the discovery of the video, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, Cecilia Walsh, said they’ll be reviewing all previous cases Haupt has been involved in and would reach out to defense attorneys.

Though the department has signaled its intention to terminate Haupt, he could still be on payroll if he decides to contest his dismissal due to terms of the police union contract, the Houston Chronicle reported. The arbitration process for that could also take months.

Kanye West has been sued in a class-action lawsuit for unpaid wages connected to his Nebuchadnezzar Live opera. The failed presidential aspirant was sued by a group of workers who helped with his live musical production called the Hollywood Bowl.

The rapper, who is believed to be a billionaire, is accused of owing “unpaid wages” and failing to pay minimum wage and overtime when he hosted the Hollywood Bowl in 2019. He premiered the opera in December last year, after releasing his debut gospel album, ‘Jesus Is King’.

Legal documents obtained by Complex said the plaintiffs, including background actors and hairstylists, alleged they were not properly compensated for their production work. A hairstylist revealed that she was supposed to be paid $550 for two days of work but received $530 after four months and was charged $20 for a wire fee in violation of California‘s labor code.

The lawsuit also states that organizers “failed to properly compensate the hair assistant and many dozens of other persons who performed services on the production, including the background actors performing as audience members”.

“The defendants oversaw, controlled and ran the production, and the aggrieved employees worked many hours on the production and were not timely paid for their work, or paid at all,” the suit read.

“In addition, Defendants misclassified Plaintiffs and Aggrieved Employees as independent contractors as no deductions were made for payroll taxes.”

The suit was reportedly filed in July and the plaintiffs have been seeking “unpaid wages, continuing wages, damages, civil penalties, statutory penalties, and attorneys’ fees and costs.” Live Nation, the company behind the production, has also been listed as a defendant.

West, known for controversies, has been mooting several propositions apart from his recent presidential run. Recently, he revealed his plan to build a ‘city of the future’ on an island in Haiti.

Touching on the subject during an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in October, the 43-year-old explained how the project would benefit locals on the island.

“We go to Haiti and the president gives us this island to develop; to make it a city of the future,” Kanye said. “We’re gonna have the farmers and the people that live there take ownership of the land they have right now so when it raises in value, they all eat.”

West’s announcement of the partnership with Haitian president Jovenel Moïse and his government, however, did not sit down well with some people on social media, prompting him to clarify the details of the agreement on his Twitter page on October 27, GQ reports.

“Just to be CLEAR: WE ARE IN ENGAGED WITH HAITI’s GOVERNMENT to make a transformational INVESTMENT to bring JOBS, DEVELOPMENT, HELP SUPPORT LOCAL FARMERS and FISHERMEN and Build a new « CITY OF THE FUTURE » in a very beautiful country,” he tweeted