JOHN FRANCIS: AFRICAN AMERICAN PLANET WALKER

On Thursday, April 10, 2014, I had the honor of listening to Dr. John Francis, Planet Walker. He was invited to speak at the Inspire Speak Series at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh. Dr. Francis was sponsored by The Green Building Alliance. He was an African American environmentalist long before environmentalism coalesced into a national movement in the late 20th Century and a cultural way of being in the 21st Century. Watch his Ted Talk:

He proudly continues to advocate for the earth.

John Francis walks the Earth, carrying a message of careful, truly sustainable development and respect for our planet.

(https://www.ted.com/speakers/john_francis)

 

2014 Carnegie Mellon International Film Festival Including African Film

The eighth edition of the Carnegie Mellon International Film Festival is dedicated to the legacy of world-renowned filmmaker, psychologist, and Carnegie Mellon professor, Paul Goodman, and to his professional focus on the human challenges and achievements of diverse groups of workers worldwide. Festival audiences will have the opportunity to explore the many “Faces of Work” through Paul’s compelling short films along with the Pittsburgh premiere screenings of new, distinctive, and award-winning films and documentaries from around the world, including the African countries of Chad and Rwanda.

The Faces Festival is an annual celebration of international film and its potential to shine a light on the human faces involved in shaping our contemporary social landscape. More than a screening experience, the festival offers audiences the opportunity to explore the numerous complex themes of these films beyond the screenings themselves by participating in audience Q&A sessions with directors, artists, academics, and professionals; by engaging with interactive performances by student artists; and by sampling exotic foods and international cuisine from local eateries.

On Saturday, April 5, the festival’s Closing Night Event will celebrate a night of African culture with the Pittsburgh premiere screening of the inspiring Rwandan film Sweet Dreams!   Sweet Dreams is a film about the remarkable women of Ingoma Nshya, Rwanda’s first and only female drumming troupe.  In post-genocide Rwanda, the drumming ensemble provides an outlet for the women to bond, rejuvenate, and pound out tempos of strength and elation. Poverty may still be an obstacle in this recovering community, but a new business endeavor to open Rwanda’s first-ever ice cream shop is about to make considerable changes.
After the film, there will be a Q&A session with Director Lisa Fruchtman, as well as a Closing Night Reception provided by Dave & Andy’s Homemade Ice Cream!  The event will take place this Saturday, April 5, at 6:30pm at McConomy Auditorium in CMU’s University Center.  The Sweet Dreams film event is presented in conjunction with the Sembène Film Festival, and CMU’s Center for International Policy & Innovation, Center for African American Urban Studies and Economy (CAUSE), African Business Collective, Black Graduate Student Organization, and Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Chatham University’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship.  Join us for a fun and inspiring night to celebrate and discuss African culture and connect with African groups and organizations in our very own Pittsburgh!

Tickets: $5 for seniors and students | $8 ‘workers’
Available at the door or at www.cmu.edu/faces/tickets.html

For more information about Sweet Dreams, visit www.cmu.edu/faces/films/sweetdreams.html

We hope to see your faces in the audience!

Shaking the Winter Blues (First Day of Spring!) in Pittsburgh

I have been living in Pittsburgh about 2 1/2 years now. One of toughest parts has been the dark days. Someone told me we have more darker days than Seattle. That’s not true: we are number 17 on a list of Top 101 Cities with the Lowest Average Sunshine Amount. Seattle is number 4. Another Pittsburgh urban legend.

During my first year in Pittsburgh, I couldn’t figure out why it was so hard to get off the sofa. Turns out I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I lived in sunny places before I arrived in Pittsburgh so who knew.

Today, I looked outside: SNOW. It’s the first day of Spring. What!?

It might be too late to help you this year because winter is over but next year get a “light box.”  And go outdoors: even weak sunlight and activity will help. What a difference two and a half years makes knowing what ailed me and proactively doing things to make it better.

Photos but African American in Pittsburgh

Homestead, PA: Haves and Have Nots

Homestead PA is a place of haves and have nots, of socio-economic disparities. I look at Homestead as a place as an outsider to Western Pennsylvania but also as an insider as an African American. Haves on the River or The Waterfront . . . an ethnic socio-economic mix with money to spend:

Haves

Haves

Haves

Have nots on the hill . . . predominantly lower income African Americans who make up 58% of the population in Homestead:

Have nots

Haves not

Haves not

Haves not

Haves not

Haves not

In Pennsylvania, the percentage of African Americans is 11%. Most of the people of Homestead are African American and disproportionately  poor.

Looking at the river and the hill, you would think two different worlds. Both are just blocks from one another.

Photos taken by African American in Pittsburgh

Being Mary Jane: The Complexity of African American Womanhood

We started with a Being Mary Jane movie on BET. And now Season 1 has come to an end. The film and drama revolve around Mary Jane Paul, an African American woman and a CNN-type newscaster.

I’ve seen poignant moments where two sisters–one Mary Jane–discuss the realities of being a dark skinned woman. Mary Jane’s sister concluded that meant being alone because no one wants a dark skinned woman. Sad we still struggle with self-hatred concerning skin color, facial features, hair, and body-type in the African American community.

I’ve seen Mary Jane struggle with her loudly ticking biological clock. One answer was clumsily stealing and then trying to freeze the sperm. Having babies too young. Waiting too long. A universal dilemma in the 21st century.

I’ve seen Mary Jane settle for a married man and yearn for another that didn’t want her. Too few African American men? African American men increasingly dating and marrying cross-racially? Complicated!

All-and-all, I think that the television drama will reverberate for women, especially African American women. Give Being Mary Jane a chance. She struggles mightily in true deep dark ways.