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PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

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“Your Pettiest Hill” Journal Assignment, Christopher R. Ortega

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

The purpose of this assignment is to have students feel comfortable discussing difficult topics in a low stake’s manner. Getting students engaged in the material allows everyone to feel comfortable in the class space. This assignment allows students to focus on the “trees” in their journal entries. They are then primed and more comfortable discussing the “forest” (i.e., tougher topics) in class.

Some Things Remain, Deborah Aminifard

The Tuxedo Archives

It was raining the morning the trucks pulled up in front of their home, and the policemen, armed with rifles and batons, came to the front door. It was still dark when five year old Joanne, asleep in her bed, was awakened by loud pounding on the front door and a policeman shouting “ Maak julle oop!” in Afrikaans, “open up!” She listened as the policemen came in and began shouting at her mother, ordering her to gather her possessions, quickly, and put them on the truck. The door slammed shut and then there was silence. Joanne came out of …

Amjambo Africa! (November 2021), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In this Issue

Afghanistan................................2

Anti-racism. ...............................3

Wabanaki Alliance. ...................5

Allan Monga. .............................6

Translations .......9-13, 30/31, 33

French • Kinyarwanda

Portuguese • Somali

Spanish • Swahili

Africa/COVID.........................13

Banyamulenge....................13/14

Burundi/UN. ...........................14

Tigray........................................14

Rebels........................................14

Market Basket..........................15

Azerbaijani women.................18

Health & Wellness. ............20-29

Diabetes | COVID In English & translation

Columns .......................19, 32/33

Maine Equal Justice

ILAP – IntWork

Let’s Talk • Beautiful Blackbird

New Voices ..................34/35/37

Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed

Rupal Ramesh Shah

Nsiona Nguizani

Coco McCracken

Gashi

Kifah Abdulla

Financial Literacy. ...................36

Tips & Info ...39

Amjambo Africa! (October 2021), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In this Issue

Afghanistan................................2

Refugees......................................3

Freedom & Captivity...........3/39

Election special. .....................4-7

Editorial/Xenophobia ...............8

Translations...............9-13/30-31

News from Burundi ................14

Fishermen feeding Mainers...15

Beautiful Blackbird Festival ...17

Hope Acts.................................17

Education............................18/19

Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed

Valerie Laure Bilogue

Bez Mendelsohn

Health&Wellness ...............20-28

Substance abuse & addiction Covid and Delta In English & translation

New Voices columns ...16/34/35

Rupal Ramesh Shah (16),

Roseline Souebele

Nsiona Nguizani

Coco McCracken

Shay Stewart-Bouley

Zabrina Richards

Columns ............................29/32

Maine Equal Justice ILAP• MIRC

Business Insurance

Financial literacy... ............33

ProsperityME ....................36/37

Equality, Non-Interference, And Sovereignty: President Ahmadou Ahidjo And The Making Of Cameroon-U.S. Relations, Julius A. Amin

History Faculty Publications

Scholars often dismiss the importance of local archives in the reconstruction of postcolonial African history, stating that they are superficial, unorganized, and unreliable. Amin challenges that notion and argues that those archives are central to the study of African diplomatic history. Based on extensive and previously unused documents, he argues that Cameroon’s Ahmadou Ahidjo leveraged his U.S. policy to develop his country and protect its sovereignty while maintaining a firm grip on power. This reappraisal of Ahidjo’s actions engages debates about the contours of U.S.-African foreign policy and the challenges new nations face as they navigate external relations.

Black Sound Matter(S): The Sonic Soundscape Of Black Auditory Liberation, Todd Craig

Publications and Research

In an attempt to embody the practices of DJ rhetoric as it relates to sound studies as well as sonic composing, Todd Craig will not speak with his own voice. Instead, this entire SonicText will serve as documentation of a live composition that engages with the theme of "Black Sound Matter(s)." Deploying the concept of sonic lineage (Craig, forthcoming; Polson, 2019), this piece aims to radically transform this intellectual space through sonic and DJ rhetorical practices. Thus, Todd Craig's voice is inconsequential; instead, what is most critical is his collaborators: historical scholars and organic intellectual-musicologists starring as Black Musician-Griots. The …

When We See Us: Coming 2 America And The Intricacies Of Black Representation And Diasporic Conversation, Terri Bowles

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This is a review essay of the film Coming 2 America (2021) by Craig Brewer, a follow-up to the 1988 comedy classic Coming to America , which stars Eddie Murphy as a newly crowned African king confronted with shifting family dynamics and evolving challenges to his royal authority. The review examines the cultural space occupying the 30 years that separate the first film and its sequel, and interrogates the structures of popular film and comedy that situate representational discourses of gender and diasporic Black representation.

Amjambo Africa! (September 2021), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In this Issue

Afghanistan..........................2/39

Burundi/Cameroon.....3/34 - 35

Education . ...........................4 - 9

Publshers Editorial Afghanistan.........................10

Translations........................11-13

World Market Basket........14/15

African Weddings...................16

Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Festival.................................17

Columns...18/19/31

New!

Health&Wellness...............22-30 Covid-19 and Delta variant In English & translation

New!

New Voices.........................32/33

Columnists

Kifah Abdullah,

Rupal Ramesh Shah,

Roseline Souebele

Nsiona Nguizani

Gashi

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month!......................39

Maine organizations serving Spanish speakers...

Spanish coming in October!

La Voie De La Plume, Sylvie Kande, Aly Ndiaye

The Goose

Cette conversation entre Aly Ndiaye alias Webster, artiste hip-hop et conférencier sénégalo-québécois, et Sylvie Kandé, écrivaine franco-sénégalaise établie à New York, s’est déroulée par correspondance de septembre à octobre 2020. Ils ont aussi décidé de se lancer un défi d’écriture.

Performing Empowerment: Children's Rights And Musical Participation In Dakar, Senegal, Lynne Stillings

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation provides a critical examination of how music is used to introduce concepts of children’s rights to children and youth in Dakar, Senegal. I explore why music has been chosen as a tool of engagement and promotion, building on Senegal’s history of youth activism and music as a grassroots tool for inspiring social change and sparking political movements. Both international NGOs and local programs use musical activities, centering children as performers and songwriters, to address rights in Senegal including girls’ equality, the right to education, early marriage, violence towards women and children, access to healthcare, and street children. Outside …

Desde El Fuego Que En Mí Arde: Performance, Literatura Y Cine Afro-Latinoamericano Producidos Por Mujeres Afrodescendientes En Perú, Cuba Y Brasil (1960–2000), Elena Ekatherina Chavez Goycochea

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines different films, literary, and performance art pieces created by contemporary afro-descendant women from Peru, Cuba, and Brazil after the sixties with emphasis on the most relevant works of Conceição Evaristo, Sara Gómez, Victoria Santa Cruz, and Lucía Charún-Illescas. I focus my research on the crucial role these artists played in the cultural identity formation of Latin America when inserting ‘race’ as a category of socio-political analysis and cultural production. How did their films, performances, and texts challenge national narratives and imaginaries after 1960? Although in the sixties, women improved their civil rights in different countries, the ‘mujer …

The Material Wealth Of Slaves In The South, India Daniel

Symposium of Student Scholars

Since its beginning, enslavement of African peoples in the New World has been a topic of great interest. There are many different routes to go, in terms of researching that era and what went along with it. However, because of its extent and variation in different places, there is a great amount of information and stories that have gone untold. This research will help to unpack some of those stories, particularly as it relates to the slaves of the Conner-Field house in Cartersville, Georgia, whose possessions were not typical “slave possessions”. Their possessions help to shed a light on their …

A Tribe Called Trump: The Motivation Behind The Education Line & Why People Of Color Voted For The Bully-In-Chief, Leah P. Hollis

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

Throughout the 2020 election, a constant question arose, “How can they vote for Trump?” Within the context of tribalism and the disenfranchised status created by the deteriorated blue-collar job market, I reflect on labor history to explain how those who are denied affordable education are left out of the American dream. This trend disproportionately affects the Black community. In turn, these populations potentially remain reminiscent of how America was great for them in the past. Supported by descriptive statistics, I reflect on the educational line in red and contested states during the 2020 presidential election. The paper concludes with the …

Racial And Socioeconomic Disparities Influencing Obesity Amongst Middle-Aged Women, Morgan Woods

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Many studies have examined the effects of racial and socioeconomic differences on health-related disparities involving obesity but, few have examined the mental and physical well-being intersection. Obesity is a disease that affects many Americans and has become an epidemic affecting the American population. Obesity, especially morbid obesity, is a risk factor for many other obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and more. Using the 2018 Healthcare Avoidance Study, differences were found between two racial groups, Caucasian and African-American women. Race was found as a significant factor for both level of physical activity and ideal body image perception

Amjambo Africa! (August 2021), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In this Issue

Murder in Chad.....................2

Healthcare ..............................2

Attacks in Burundi................3

“I Wish My Teacher Knew...” 4

Weddings & Community ....6

Remote Theater Project......12

World Market Basket..........14

Housing in Lewiston .....16/17

Call me Coach Steph! .........18

Tips & Info. ..........................20

Zamzam Elmoge .................22

Dental care. ..........................31

Columns

Rupal Ramesh Shah. ...........13

Kirsten Cappy. .....................19

Financial literacy. ................21

Roseline Souebele................24

Nsiona Nguizani..................24

Theo (our newest columnist!).

24 MIRC ....................................25

ILAP......................................25

Northern Light. ...................26

Insurance..............................26

Maine Equal Justice ............29

Translations

French .....................................8

Swahili ....................................9

Somali. ..................................10

Kinyarwanda........................22

Portuguese............................23

Spanish coming soon!

Amjambo Africa! (July 2021), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In this Issue

Juneteenth..................................2

Beautiful Blackbird Festival.....3

Publisher’s Editorial..................6

Immigration & the workforce.11

Finding freedom from Trauma Part II..................................12/19

World Market Basket .............14

Food for All Mobile Market

African beef & sauce with Eugénie Kipoy

Nouveaux Romans: reviews of recent novels by Francophone authors A partnership with Bates College .......................15/16/17

Sending money home ............20

Finance.....................................21

Columns. ......................24/25/26

Nigeria bans Twitter ...............27

Bombay Mahal ........................28

Tips&Info for Maine ..............29

ICE in Maine..................30/31

Translations

French .................................8

Swahili ................................9

Somali ...............................10

Kinyarwanda.....................22

Portuguese.........................23

Ghana's Public Diplomacy Under Kwame Nkrumah, Isaac Antwi-Boasiako

Conference Papers

The concept of public diplomacy is one of the trending approaches in modern international relations and diplomacy. Communicating and engaging effectively with the foreign public in a particular nation by a government to achieve its foreign policy objective is every government’s goal. The field of public diplomacy as an academic discipline in Ghana in particular and Africa has not received much attention compared to the Western World. This article attempts to bridge this gap by opening Ghana’s public diplomacy to academic scrutiny that has, as yet, been underdeveloped. This paper’s principal objective is to bring to light the public diplomacy …

Grandmaster Flash, The Sound Of Afrofuturism, Stacey Robinson

Third Stone

Annotated Bibliography for Sonic Afrofuturism issue

Remaking Cinema: Black Hollywood Films, Filmmakers, And Finances, Kiana A. Carrington

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The goal of my project was to create a dataset of black film that can be used for analysis of fiscal trends in black film. It includes the estimated budget, domestic and worldwide box office numbers for over 700 American black films. I defined black films as those that centered on African American stories and African American characters, or were made by Black filmmakers. I also included movies embraced by African American audiences that were made by non-Black filmmakers like Bad Boys, Django Unchained, and The Color Purple. I used a combination of Box Office Mojo, The Black Cinema Database, …

No Hair! Don't Care! Resistance And Empowerment Of Bald And Low Shaved Black Women, Monica Rivers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

No Hair! Don’t Care! Resistance and Empowerment of Bald and Low Shaved Black Women is an invitation to discuss the experiences of Black women who choose to wear bald and low shaved haircuts. The project examines standards of beauty, femininity, sexuality, sexual harassment, self- acceptance, and self-expression through the voices of Black women: Because sometimes the biggest statement you can make with your hair is by having none.

Counterstories Of Black High School Students And Graduates Of Nyc Independent Schools: A Narrative Case Study, Kahdeidra M. Martin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Public youth resistance movements in 2019 and 2020 exposed the entrenchment of racism, sexism, heteronormativity, and classism across New York City independent schools (NYCIS). In order to support the imminent need for schools to provide effective diversity, inclusion, and equity supports that address broad issues of school climate, relationships, and pedagogy, there is a need to better understand the specific, hyperlocal experiences of Black/African Descendant (BAD) students, who occupy several unique, unexplored spaces in educational research. The following four research questions helped to conceptualize the experiences that support and hinder the academic success and long term well-being of BAD students …

Toward The Black Indian Ocean: Race And The Human Project In The Afro-Asian Imagination, Micheal A. Rumore

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“Toward the Black Indian Ocean: Race and the Human Project in the Afro-Asian Imagination” asks the question: why hasn’t the Indian Ocean been typically theorized as an African diasporic site? While the burgeoning discipline of Indian Ocean studies frequently positions notions of oceanic “cosmopolitanism” as a way of engaging with universalist anticolonial aspirations, the field has been limited by static conceptions of the African continent. In response, this dissertation argues that the marginalization of Black Africans in conceptions of Indian Ocean cosmopolitanism reflects a colonial provenance and attempts to delineate this representational history. Theoretically, I engage with Black feminist critiques …

The Ill-Treatment Of Their Countrywoman: Liberated African Women, Violence, And Power In Tortola, 1807–1834, Arianna Browne

Master's Theses

In 1807, Parliament passed an Act to abolish the slave trade, leading to the Royal Navy’s campaign of policing international waters and seizing ships suspected of illegal trading. As the Royal Navy captured slave ships as prizes of war and condemned enslaved Africans to Vice-Admiralty courts, formerly enslaved Africans became “captured negroes” or “liberated Africans,” making the subjects in the British colonies. This work, which takes a microhistorical approach to investigate the everyday experiences of liberated Africans in Tortola during the early nineteenth century, focuses on the violent conditions of liberated African women, demonstrating that abolition consisted of violent contradictions …

Archaeology And Settlement Histories Along The Pra River, Southern Ghana, Circa 500 B.C. – Ad 1970, Samuel Amartey

Dissertations - ALL

Archaeological and historical data are used to examine transformations in settlement organizationand settlement patterns along the Pra River, southern Ghana, from the first millennium BC to the mid-twentieth century. The study's focus is on Supomu Island and Wawase, two abandoned settlement sites located in the lower reaches of the Pra River, 15 kilometers north of the coastal trading and port town of Shama. Mapping of surface features, surface collections, shovel test pits, and test excavations are used to document intra- and inter-site artifact distributions. These lines of evidence are used in conjunction with historical sources to explore the processes of …

Racial Equity For Registered Drama Therapists: A Community Engagement Project, Jamila Batts Capitman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Mental health professionals are currently faced with an increased need to meet the demands of clients of color who are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Disparities in mental health care for people of color are an ongoing problem stemming from the fact that Western Psychology, the dominant approach to mental health care, is limited by the Eurocentric Worldview. Practitioners who intend to create inclusive therapeutic approaches must consider the unique cultural orientations and historical, social and political realities of clients of color. As of 2021, The North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) requires that 50% of all continuing …

A Vanguard At The Intersections: Black Girls And The Black Panther Party's Oakland Community School, Logan Phillips

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores the history and legacy of the Oakland Community School (OCS), a community survival program created by the Black Panther Party (BPP) that ran from 1973-1982. More specifically, the work analyzes the significance of the pedagogy at OCS as it relates to the development of African American students' racial consciousness and identity formation. Despite popular misconceptions of the Black Panther Party, this research seeks to demystify the Party, provide an understanding of the critical need for education as a site of liberation, and explore the Party’s effort to establish an educational space that impacted the development of identity, …

Producer Interview: Teak Underdue, Kris Jones

Backstage Pass

This interview is with three-time Grammy-nominated music producer Teak Underdue of Hallway Productions. He discusses his background and the path he has taken to become a well respected music creator and producer. The interviewee offers advice for aspiring producers on how to build their reputation and credits in the music industry.

Black Lives Matter, Randal Mckoy

Capstone Collection

The notion of systematic racism continues to exist even today among African-Americans. The systematic racism that they face prevails in every area of their life, whether it is social or economical. This paper examines the experiences of systematic racism that African Americans go through in their daily lives and to what extent they believe that reparations can be used to address those inequalities and be a means to overcome racism in the United States. The literature reviewed focused on various aspects on the history of racism and inequality in the United States, systematic barriers in education, as well as the …

De La Esclavitud A La Libertad: La Historia De Una Esclava Afromexicana, Margaree G. Jackson

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

Resumen: “De la esclavitud a la libertad: La historia de una esclava afromexicana,” es una colección de poemas descolonizados contados desde la perspectiva de una mujer afromexicana ficticia del siglo XVII. La protagonista, Maricela Rivas, es una esclava que nació en la plantación azucarera Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, una plantación verdadera ubicada en Veracruz, México. Su historia se basa en las pocas historias que existen sobre la vida de la mujer afromexicana que formaba parte esencial de la sociedad y cultura mexicana pero que le falta representación y una voz. Estos poemas le dan una voz y perspectiva al …