Political party promotes 'White history month' in the UK

A far right party has had its plans to promote a ‘white history month’, in schools and colleges accross the UK, condemned.

Community organisations and a leading teachers union have voiced their opposition to the programme of racist views and negated facts.

A spokesperson for the youth branch of the far right party claimed that white history month was organised with a view to counter black history month, and further added “This is our month where we can be proud to be white and express it openly”

Read: Anger over BNP's 'white history month'
'White history month' rubbished by NUT

Sarkozy drops France’s only black minister Rama Yade

In May 2007, at the tender of age of thirty, Rama Yada was appointed Secretary of State for Human Rights. But now Yada has fallen from grace with French president Sarkozy. The now thirty-one year old human rights minister faces a humiliating exit in a reshuffle, with the president expressing "deep disappointment" with his former protégée.

But the appointed of Rama Yada was a strange move in the first place. Putting a inexperienced young black woman in a team of political veteran’s has nothing to do with change. It had to do with the French riots.

Last year Sarkozy dubbed Rama Yade "France's Condoleezza Rice". But he was obvious just looking at the color of her skin and not at the content of character, nor her competence.

But to call her “token” black person would be wrong. After the Obama victory she expressed her grief about the white political structure in France.

I hope to see more experienced black people like Condi Rice in the European governments. Or else it will be just a matter of time before the first twenty-six year old, self acclaimed “Afro”-Kazakhstanis will the be first black Secretary of Immigration of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Read: Nicolas Sarkozy's 'rainbow' government drained of colour

New Miss France wants to speak openly about race?

It's old news but Chloe Mortaud is the new Miss France 2009. Mortaud is not the first non-white winner of the miss event, but she want to join the French public figures who want to speak openly about race. Is this the 'Obama effect'?

Patrick Lozes, founder of the Conseil Représentatif des Associations Noires (CRAN), sees Mourtad as a sign that French is changing. So who am I to believe that Mortaud's remarks are just another way to say 'world peace'. But it's clear that if you are black in France, staying race neutral in this periode is old fashion. So maybe this is the Obama effect.

Mortaud is the daughter of a Black American mother (who emigrated from Mississippi to France 25 years ago) and a White French father. Ms. Mortaud is a business student and the first Miss France to hold dual citizenship, American and French

Read:
New Miss France wants to advertise nation’s diversity
Blog of Patrick Lozes

African-American student stabbed in Russia. A boycott?

An African-American exchange student has been stabbed by unknown assailants in a southern Russian city in an attack officials say may have been racially motivated. Time for a boycott?

The strange part is that the mother of the victim didn't knew anything about Russia's racial crimes. I wonder if the student exchange organisation, the American Field Service, alerted the student for Russia.

The American Field Service had to know that ex-Sovjet Union countries have huge problems with racial crimes . For East Germany a German official warned black Soccer World Cup visitors to avoid rural towns and villages outside Berlin, in the formerly communist eastern part of the country. And in Poland a Dutch rapper stabbed three Polish visitors in a disco because they made racist remarks.

Maybe it's about time black artists boycott those Neo-Nazi regions in Europe. It reminds of a Israeli politician who, during a visit in Germany, bluntly asked the German Jewish community: "What are you doing here?"

Read African-American student stabbed in Russia

British David Lammy MP talks about Obama

David Lammy MP interviewed by Viv Ahmun, one of the Directors of Equanomics UK. This interview took place at the recent Barack Obama Ripple Effect Conference in London. Lammy talks about Obama, black men in Britain and the new black agenda.
Read: Media organisation Globalfaction

Jesse Jackson talks about Obama in Black Britain

Black UK opened the Obama Age with a civil right leader Rev. Jesse Jackson. Jackson toured the UK as key speaker for Equanomics UK. Equanomics UK is an organisation who want to achieve economic and racial equality by addressing and eradicating the structural inequalities and disproportionate socio-economic impacts of poverty experienced by BME communities across the country.
Read: Operation black vote

What does Obama’s triumph mean for black Germans?

In Germany black people are also celebrating “their” president-elect. But what does Obama’s triumph mean for Black Germans? A report from an Afro-Obama party.
Read We are President!

What does Obama mean for Afro-Brazilians?

In Europe you don't here very much about Afro-Brazilians. So if you want to know how a Brazilian-American feels about Obama,
read: xica bahia

An interesting Brazilian Blog on Obama is Obama Brasileiro

Afro-Brazilian Mayra Avellar wins Children's Peace Prize

Archbishop Desmond Tutu awared the 2008 Children's Peace Prize 2008 to 17-year-old Mayra Avellar Neves who grew up in a Rio de Janeiro slum where drug wars raged. Gunfire often prevented children from attending school, sometimes for months at a time. Mayra organised a protest march for school childrenRead: Student protest in the slums

British fashion designer Ozwald Boateng: Black men need role models

Leading fashion designer Ozwald Boateng is a national role model for the UK REACH program. REACH is a programme for Black boys and young Black men

A British Government report has said that black boys in the country are desperately short of good and positive role models, and therefore, end up being on the fringes of society.

According to a report in The Times, black boys tend to emulate role models who glamorise violence such as P. Diddy, Megaman and other rap stars, rather than role models worth emulating like of Sir Trevor McDonald or Nelson Mandela.

The independent Reach report, written for ministers by 20 leading experts in education and youth justice, called for a new generation of role models of black lawyers, doctors, teachers, ...
Read: REACH

Michelle Obama breaks black stereotypes

In the CCN interview Newsweek correspondent Allison Samuels explains what Michelle Obama means to black woman. She also wrote a story on the subject. 'What Michelle Means to Us'. A story on how Michelle Obama will change the world's image of African-American women—and the way they see themselves.
Read: What Michelle Means to Us

French film 'Entre les murs' and the stereotype blacks

I've watched the trailer of the award winning (Cannes) flick 'Entre les murs' (The Class). It's a story about a French language teacher in a multicultural inner city high school classroom in Paris. One of the action parts of the film is a young black kid who explodes in a class room, because he's being touched. But that boy looks so much like the stereotype black kid at risk in a ghetto school in the US. I've seen these scenes before.

The critics claim this is not your standard classic white-hero-on-a-black-school-film, but it’s more. It has to do with inspirational teaching.

I wonder why the main characters in the film are black and white and not ‘Magrebs’, wich would be more in line with the French reality. Maybe it’s because the multicultural line-up is more in line with US. That's why France submited the film for a nomination for an Oscar in the Best foreign language film category.

Most interesting detail. The film is based on the book of writer and teacher François Bégaudeau. He plays himself the film.

Read: Entre les murs - French winner at Cannes finally hits the big screen

Former Dutch black businesswoman of the year has been found homeless

The former black businesswoman of 2001 who later functioned as alderwoman of the city of Rotterdam has been found homeless
Rabella de Faria's homelessness was discovered after she checked herself in at a local night shelter.
She has lived on the streets most of this year but was now staying with friends.
De downfall of the De Faria, who is born in Surinam, started after a career as alderwomen. She was alderwomen for security and public health on behalf of the Leefbaar Rotterdam party between 2002 and 2004. Leefbaar Rotterdam is a party with a strong anti-Islam agenda. The party was founded by Pim Fortuyn, a politician who was later murdered by a left wing activist. Rabella de Faria's career came to an end when she was forced to resign.

Read: Mogul-turned-politician now homeless