Teach in New Haven for a Summer!
YDN: “Black Men’s Union honors women”
Below is an article written by Aaron Gertler, and originally published by the Yale Daily News. For the original article, please visit the following link:
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/jan/30/black-mens-union-honors-women/#
The Yale Black Men’s Union held its fifth annual Tribute to Black Women Friday night, honoring five notable black women from the Yale and New Haven communities.
At the ceremony, which drew roughly 120 people to the Omni Hotel on Temple Street, the Black Men’s Union presented awards to LaTisha Campbell ’12, Diandra Fermin ’12, Liane Membis ’12, Janifer Lighten ’83 of New Rochelle, N.Y. and Shirley Love Joyner of New Haven. William Desmond ’12, the union’s vice president, said the tribute is mainly designed to celebrate female leaders, but also in part to dispel the stereotype that black men are disrespectful to women in their communities.
To help offset event and dinner costs, male students paid $15 and non-students $60 to attend the tribute. Women were admitted free of charge, and each received a rose from members of the Black Men’s Union.
The “Emerging Trailblazer” recipients were nominated by Yale students and others who visited the Black Men’s Union website, Desmond said, adding that the Union selected three winners from among 12 nominees. The three undergraduates named emerging trailblazers were all given plaques to honor their accomplishments.
Campbell, the first honoree, won the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Research Fellowship in 2010 and now volunteers in prisons, New Haven public schools and education centers for juvenile detainees. Her senior research project focuses on improving the education of incarcerated youths.
The Black Men’s Union next recognized Fermin for her leadership on Yale’s campus, including as former president of the Dominican Student Association and as former head recruitment coordinator of the Yale Admissions Office.
The third to receive an award, Membis, was praised for founding Liberette, an online magazine for women of color. Membis’ work with Liberette won her the 2010 Matrix award from New York Women in Communications, Inc., alongside Tina Fey and Oprah Winfrey. Membis is also the reigning Miss Black America Connecticut and president of Yale’s chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, whose members shouted a sorority cheer when she went onstage.
Membis said she was honored to be among the winners of the “Emerging Trailblazer” award, who she had admired when she attended past tributes.
Joyner received the “Woman of the Year” award for 43 years of public service, particularly as a teacher and administrator in New Haven public schools. A mother of two, Joyner said her work in public schools has made her appreciate the importance of responsible parenting, which she said is often overlooked in discussions of school reform.
Lighten did not attend the ceremony. Her daughter, Alexis Lighten ’12, accepted the “Distinguished Alumna” award on her behalf.
The tribute also honored several members of the Yale Dining staff this year for decades of service to the University.
Tribute attendee Tiyhannah Shuntich ’15 said she was initially intimidated by the honorees’ accomplishments, but by the end of the ceremony was inspired to follow their leads.
“At first I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness,’ but now I know that they felt that way, too,” Shuntich said. “They made me think I can go from a point of ‘Oh, my goodness’ to being good at everything.”
The Black Men’s Union was founded in fall 2007 and held its first tribute the following spring in the Pierson College dining hall.
Quote of the Week!
For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
Throwback Song of the Week!
“I’ve Been Loving You,” by Otis Redding
Lunchtime Talk with Professor Francis TODAY!
Join the Af-Am Studies Dept. for an ENDEAVORS lunchtime talk today with
Professor Terri Francis (Film / African American Studies)
Gordon Parks Room (201, 81 Wall Street) across from Blue State coffee
Today, Jan 26
11:45 pm - 1:15 pm
Lunch Provided
Hip-Hop Revolution, with Professor Ogbar.
On Tuesday, Professor Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar delivered a talk on the changing landscape of hip-hop to a group of Yale students and community members. Professor Ogbar has served as a faculty member of the University of Connecticut for 15 years, and was recently named the Associate Dean for the Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. His recently published book, Hip-Hop Revolution, has gained mass acclaim and praise. In 2008, the book received the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize, awarded by the North East Black Studies alliance. Ogbar’s other works, including Harlem Renaissance: Politics, Arts, Letters, Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity have too be recognized for their fascinating content and pioneering theories. Professor Ogbar’s high level of knowledge regarding several facets of African-American history and popular culture allowed him to portray the evolution of hip-hop through a comprehensive lens.
Professor Ogbar posed several questions crucial to understanding how hip-hop has changed and grown since the 1980s. Such questions included, how have early forms of Black pop culture (i.e. minstrelsy) affected the formation of hip-hop today? In what ways have perception of “authenticity” changed from the politicized music of those like Public Enemy to contemporary YouTube sensations like Soulja Boy? How can America define “conscious” rappers, and why do such rappers face difficulties in attempts to attain platinum record sales? How has hip-hop portrayed drug culture over the last three decades? What are the intersections of the prison industrial complex and these portrayals? Lastly, the question which sparked the most discussion amongst discussion attendees, how have depictions of women and perpetuations of misogyny evolved as hip-hop has developed?
If you’re interested in learning the answers to the aforementioned questions, the Afro-American Cultural Center encourages you to purchase Professor Ogbar’s book, Hip-Hop Revolution. Check out the following Amazon.com below!
Dean’s Tea with Dr. Wayne J. Riley President & CEO Meharry Medical College
Please join us for a Dean’s Tea WEDNESDAY AT 6:30 PM with Dr. Wayne J. Riley!
*REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED*
See more information below:
Dr. Wayne J. Riley, in 2007, became the 10th President and CEO of historic Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, the nation’s largest, private, independent, historically black academic health center dedicated to educating health professionals.
Dr. Riley’s education includes: (B.A.) from Yale; (M.P.H.) from Tulane; (M.D.) from the Morehouse School of Medicine and an (M.B.A.) from Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management’s (JGSM) MBA for Executives program.
Dr. Riley’s other affiliations include: Professor of Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; Chair, National Advisory Council on Minority Health & Health Disparities National Institutes of Health (NIH) U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; Chair, Board of Directors Association of Minority Health Professions Schools; Member, Board of Regents American College of Physicians; Member, Society of Medical Administrators
This event is sponsored by the Traphagen Alumni Speakers Series, Yale College Office of Student Affairs
Poem of the Week: “Snow Fairy” by Claude McKay
I
Throughout the afternoon I watched them there,
Snow-fairies falling, falling from the sky,
Whirling fantastic in the misty air,
Contending fierce for space supremacy.
And they flew down a mightier force at night,
As though in heaven there was revolt and riot,
And they, frail things had taken panic flight
Down to the calm earth seeking peace and quiet.
I went to bed and rose at early dawn
To see them huddled together in a heap,
Each merged into the other upon the lawn,
Worn out by the sharp struggle, fast asleep.
The sun shone brightly on them half the day,
By night they stealthily had stol’n away.
II
And suddenly my thoughts then turned to you
Who came to me upon a winter’s night,
When snow-sprites round my attic window flew,
Your hair disheveled, eyes aglow with light.
My heart was like the weather when you came,
The wanton winds were blowing loud and long;
But you, with joy and passion all aflame,
You danced and sang a lilting summer song.
I made room for you in my little bed,
Took covers from the closet fresh and warm,
A downful pillow for your scented head,
And lay down with you resting in my arm.
You went with Dawn. You left me ere the day,
The lonely actor of a dreamy play.
The Official Afro-American Cultural Center Blog
