Excerpt from COLORS OF MY WORLD (see Aug 31,2010)
1970
Moving to Henderson, NC, after coming back from Trinidad was an attempt to assist a growing number of youth who had become Baha'is and there was only one adult. The intriguing part of this move was that all these new Baha'i youth and the adult were African American. My son and I were the only whites. Our arrival was too spontaneous to have secured housing so we stayed in the back of a one room building, which had been rented as a center for the Baha'i youth activities. We camped out on the floor and I began a search for a job and a place to live. Both came quickly. The job was in the office of a garment factory. It was pretty boring but easy to do. One advantage was the easy access to materials to make clothes. Since I was taller than average I pretty much made all my clothes, and employees were allowed to get large remnants from the factory floor to take home. The disadvantage of this place was my allergy to the sizing used in preparing clothes for packaging and selling. My eyes watered and crusted and my skin itched but it put food on the table and a roof over our heads.
One powerful story of that time was about a young man, fifteen years old, who lived in poverty with his mother and worked to keep food on their table while going to school. John had been involved with the Black Panther movement (radically aggressive protesters of rights violations) and was very bitter and strident. When he heard of the Baha'i Faith he fell in love with the teachings of oneness and peace. He studied alone and very intensely, as much as he could, the teachings and became a beautiful example of transformation. He and I were sitting in the small rented center talking one day and noticed out the window that a telephone lineman had put his extension basket, which lifted him high, at the window of the center to watch us. I don't know why unless he thought we were up to something. So John and I went outside and sat on the steps to talk just to kill any rumor of impropriety.
On a teaching trip to South Carolina the local Baha'is rented an American Legion Hut for our gathering to have prayers and plan activities. We didn't know at the time that the building was owned by the KKK and they didn't know who we were and what we stood for. When they found out they came into the building at the back with very angry remarks and the first person they approached was John. We didn't know what his reaction would be but it was beautiful. After hearing their rude and insulting remarks he just smiled and said,
"But I can love you". The Klan member who was shouting at him stopped, stared, then broke down and cried. Before the evening was over he had become a Baha'i and was asking us to go with him and tell his family about our beliefs.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
DR CHARLES RICHARD DREW-BLOOD BANK
excerpt from A SALUTE TO BLACK SCIENTISTS AND INVENTORS, Vol. II, an Empak "Black History" Publication Series
Dr. Charles Richard Drew was a world renowned surgeon, medical scientist, educator and authority on the preservation of blood. He was the pioneer of blood plasma preservation, leaving mankind an important legacy-the blood bank.
Born in 1904, in Washington, DC, he was the eldest of five children born to Charles and Nora Drew.... Charles Drew loved sports and was a tough competitor. He could have become a professional athlete or coach, but his desire to become a doctor was stronger. In 1928, Drew entered McGill University Medical School in Montreal, Canada, and won membership in its Medical Honorary Society. It was at McGill that he became interested in blood research. He received his Master of Surgery and Doctor of Medicine degrees in 1933.
After internship at the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Montreal General Hospital, in Canada, he taught at Howard University's Medical School. Afterwards, at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, in New York City, he researched a process for blood preservation. During his two years at Columbia, he developed a technique for the long-term preservation of blood plasma. He earned the Doctor of Science in Medicine degree in 1940, with a dissertation on "Banked Blood."
In World War II, England suffered heavy casualties and called upon Dr. Drew to initiate its military blood bank program. There he introduced preserved blood plasma on the battlefield. This system worked so well that the British asked him to organize the world's first mass blood bank project. Dr. Drew also became the first Director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank.
Dr Drew was killed in an automobile acident while on a trip to a medical meeting at Tuskegee Institutee in 1950. The irony of his death is that his life may have been saved if he had received immediate medical attention following the accident. Discrimination at nearby White hospitals did not allow him the blood transfusions needed to save his life.
Every blood bank in the world is a living memorial to the genius of Dr. Charles Richard Drew. His name will live forever in medical history. Schools and health clinics throughout the United States have been named in honor of Drew and his ingenious gift to mankind.
Dr. Charles Richard Drew was a world renowned surgeon, medical scientist, educator and authority on the preservation of blood. He was the pioneer of blood plasma preservation, leaving mankind an important legacy-the blood bank.
Born in 1904, in Washington, DC, he was the eldest of five children born to Charles and Nora Drew.... Charles Drew loved sports and was a tough competitor. He could have become a professional athlete or coach, but his desire to become a doctor was stronger. In 1928, Drew entered McGill University Medical School in Montreal, Canada, and won membership in its Medical Honorary Society. It was at McGill that he became interested in blood research. He received his Master of Surgery and Doctor of Medicine degrees in 1933.
After internship at the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Montreal General Hospital, in Canada, he taught at Howard University's Medical School. Afterwards, at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, in New York City, he researched a process for blood preservation. During his two years at Columbia, he developed a technique for the long-term preservation of blood plasma. He earned the Doctor of Science in Medicine degree in 1940, with a dissertation on "Banked Blood."
In World War II, England suffered heavy casualties and called upon Dr. Drew to initiate its military blood bank program. There he introduced preserved blood plasma on the battlefield. This system worked so well that the British asked him to organize the world's first mass blood bank project. Dr. Drew also became the first Director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank.
Dr Drew was killed in an automobile acident while on a trip to a medical meeting at Tuskegee Institutee in 1950. The irony of his death is that his life may have been saved if he had received immediate medical attention following the accident. Discrimination at nearby White hospitals did not allow him the blood transfusions needed to save his life.
Every blood bank in the world is a living memorial to the genius of Dr. Charles Richard Drew. His name will live forever in medical history. Schools and health clinics throughout the United States have been named in honor of Drew and his ingenious gift to mankind.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
REALITY OF ONENESS
excerpts from HUMANKIND IS ONE, AND IT'S TIME FOR US ALL TO EMBRACE THAT REALITY, by Jim Turpin, Jan. 25, 2003 in CitizensTimes
Some recent archaelogical findings are causing many scientists to change their minds about our ancestors. It is increasingly clear that life had its beginnings in central Africa. And, with the recent discoveries, there is strong evidence that advanced, curious, adventuresome hominids migrated north out of Africa along riverbanks, beaches and land corridors to populate what is now the Middle East and Eastern Europe. And, growing out from there for thousands of year, their descendents populated the rest of the Earth. (See National Geographic, August, 2002, "The First Pioneers.")
Add to that that geneticists have demonstrated recently that every human being - every one of us - carries a piece of a gene from the genetic material of a single African woman, given the designation "Eve". We can conclude that our concepts of the human genealogy tree is forever altered, that we are much more closely related - interrelated - than we ever imagined....
I met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April, 1965. I spoke with him briefly after he made a brilliant speech in the dining room of the Raburn Senate Office Building in Washington, D. C. He spoke eloquently of the destruction of body and soul of segregation, of the inherent danger of long-lasting scars from "separate but equal", of the yearning for the reality of unity and oneness. I shared with him in that brief but very memorable exchange that my Montagnard friends and patients in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam knew of his work, were inspired by his leadership. They were attempting to practice his methods of nonviolence, despite the racial slurs and constant reminders of their inferiority by the Vietnamese. He thanked me and said, "Young doctor, the world has grown too small for anything less than brotherhood." I will never forget that.
But, now, something strange and frightening is happening. Until the '50s and '60s we had legal segregation. We were forced to practice segregated gatherings, schooling, eating places, amusements, and even worship. We were allowed to fight and die together. Now, those laws are mostly gone. In their place, however, is a "voluntary segregation", with our own neighborhoods, our speciality restaurants (as delicious as they are), our own churches, organizations, clubs and societies. We do not have to practice segregation any longer, but we do.
Something has to change, and soon. The old conventional ways are just not working. I am not sure what "thinking outside the box" really means, but if it includes considering some pretty radical ideas, it might be worth the effort. One thing is certain, we MUST spend more time together - worshiping, playing, eating, visiting, forming friendships outside the crayon boundaries. Humankind is one. It is time to practice it.
Jim Turpin, M.D., M.P.H., is the founder of Project Concern, International, a worldwide medical relief organization. He is the author of Vietname Doctor and A Faraway Country. He lives with his wife, Wrenn, in Fairview (Asheville, NC). They are co-founders of a Symphony on the Block.
Some recent archaelogical findings are causing many scientists to change their minds about our ancestors. It is increasingly clear that life had its beginnings in central Africa. And, with the recent discoveries, there is strong evidence that advanced, curious, adventuresome hominids migrated north out of Africa along riverbanks, beaches and land corridors to populate what is now the Middle East and Eastern Europe. And, growing out from there for thousands of year, their descendents populated the rest of the Earth. (See National Geographic, August, 2002, "The First Pioneers.")
Add to that that geneticists have demonstrated recently that every human being - every one of us - carries a piece of a gene from the genetic material of a single African woman, given the designation "Eve". We can conclude that our concepts of the human genealogy tree is forever altered, that we are much more closely related - interrelated - than we ever imagined....
I met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April, 1965. I spoke with him briefly after he made a brilliant speech in the dining room of the Raburn Senate Office Building in Washington, D. C. He spoke eloquently of the destruction of body and soul of segregation, of the inherent danger of long-lasting scars from "separate but equal", of the yearning for the reality of unity and oneness. I shared with him in that brief but very memorable exchange that my Montagnard friends and patients in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam knew of his work, were inspired by his leadership. They were attempting to practice his methods of nonviolence, despite the racial slurs and constant reminders of their inferiority by the Vietnamese. He thanked me and said, "Young doctor, the world has grown too small for anything less than brotherhood." I will never forget that.
But, now, something strange and frightening is happening. Until the '50s and '60s we had legal segregation. We were forced to practice segregated gatherings, schooling, eating places, amusements, and even worship. We were allowed to fight and die together. Now, those laws are mostly gone. In their place, however, is a "voluntary segregation", with our own neighborhoods, our speciality restaurants (as delicious as they are), our own churches, organizations, clubs and societies. We do not have to practice segregation any longer, but we do.
Something has to change, and soon. The old conventional ways are just not working. I am not sure what "thinking outside the box" really means, but if it includes considering some pretty radical ideas, it might be worth the effort. One thing is certain, we MUST spend more time together - worshiping, playing, eating, visiting, forming friendships outside the crayon boundaries. Humankind is one. It is time to practice it.
Jim Turpin, M.D., M.P.H., is the founder of Project Concern, International, a worldwide medical relief organization. He is the author of Vietname Doctor and A Faraway Country. He lives with his wife, Wrenn, in Fairview (Asheville, NC). They are co-founders of a Symphony on the Block.
Monday, February 28, 2011
NARYANAN KRISHMAN -HE GETS IT!
My wonderful niece, Lynn, showed me this video and my second reaction (the first was weeping) was to say "I've got to blog this." This man has the heart and soul of a saint.
This is the address www.wimp.com/wecould/ Let me know how this touched you.
Love in the struggle,
Anne
This is the address www.wimp.com/wecould/ Let me know how this touched you.
Love in the struggle,
Anne
Thursday, February 24, 2011
CRAZY HORSE - TASUNKE WITKO
excerpts and information from THE JOURNEY OF CRAZY HORSE, by Joseph M. Marshall III
"As the brilliant leader of a desperate cause and one of the most perenially fascinating figures of the American West, Crazy Horse...brought the United States Army to its knees...."
He was more.... He was many things and fulfilled many roles. He was a son, husband, brother, father and teacher. He was a crafter of weapons and tools, a hunter and tracker, horseman, scout, and fighting man, to list a few. He was also a deep thinker, a shy loner, a fierce defender of all that he held dear, a keen observer, a rejected suitor, a moral person, a family man, and a patriot. In short he lived his life, he made decisions, he took action, he reacted, he made mistakes, and he enjoyed or suffered the consequences of who and what he was and what he did or didn't do. That is his legacy.... I think of him as Wica or ":complete man". Wica is what every Lakota man strove to be. A Wica was the kind of a man who demonstrated the highest Lakota virtues of generosity, courage, fortitude, and wisdom.
"As the brilliant leader of a desperate cause and one of the most perenially fascinating figures of the American West, Crazy Horse...brought the United States Army to its knees...."
He was more.... He was many things and fulfilled many roles. He was a son, husband, brother, father and teacher. He was a crafter of weapons and tools, a hunter and tracker, horseman, scout, and fighting man, to list a few. He was also a deep thinker, a shy loner, a fierce defender of all that he held dear, a keen observer, a rejected suitor, a moral person, a family man, and a patriot. In short he lived his life, he made decisions, he took action, he reacted, he made mistakes, and he enjoyed or suffered the consequences of who and what he was and what he did or didn't do. That is his legacy.... I think of him as Wica or ":complete man". Wica is what every Lakota man strove to be. A Wica was the kind of a man who demonstrated the highest Lakota virtues of generosity, courage, fortitude, and wisdom.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
WHAT DO I CALL YOU?
excerpt from @RACE UNITY (see Aug 31, 2010)
We are all one and we are all unique. When we know this on a visceral level, a spiritual level, and emotional level, an intellectual level, on a family level we will be where we need to be.
I asked a friend of mine what he wanted to be called (referring to ethnicity, race, etc.) His answer was "Matthew". When my children were growing up I taught them to describe gestures, hair color, eye color, clothes color, etc. to designate an individual. If they were not born in America I asked them to also name the country, this gave a hint as to possible cutural differences. These were basically observations, not value judgments. It I wanted to know what they were like, they were taught kind, sweet, nice, funny, honest, friendly, shy, etc.
It is interesting to be on email and know I can't see the person but become familiar with the ways of expressing feelings, thoughts, ideas and opinions. I miss the variety of visual stimulation but know I am seeing more of the inner person when the responses are honest and sincere even though not always in agreement. It takes longer to feel comfortable because I tend to want to see the expression in the eyes and body language to get a sense of sincerity, intensity, et.
Must get back to work but know I love you,
Anne
We are all one and we are all unique. When we know this on a visceral level, a spiritual level, and emotional level, an intellectual level, on a family level we will be where we need to be.
I asked a friend of mine what he wanted to be called (referring to ethnicity, race, etc.) His answer was "Matthew". When my children were growing up I taught them to describe gestures, hair color, eye color, clothes color, etc. to designate an individual. If they were not born in America I asked them to also name the country, this gave a hint as to possible cutural differences. These were basically observations, not value judgments. It I wanted to know what they were like, they were taught kind, sweet, nice, funny, honest, friendly, shy, etc.
It is interesting to be on email and know I can't see the person but become familiar with the ways of expressing feelings, thoughts, ideas and opinions. I miss the variety of visual stimulation but know I am seeing more of the inner person when the responses are honest and sincere even though not always in agreement. It takes longer to feel comfortable because I tend to want to see the expression in the eyes and body language to get a sense of sincerity, intensity, et.
Must get back to work but know I love you,
Anne
Thursday, February 17, 2011
THE GLOBAL VILLAGE
excerpt from WISDOM OF OTHERS, (see Aug 31, 2010). This was printed in the UTNE READER, July/August 1990. p144, from World Development Forum (April 15, 1990)
If our world were a village of 1,000 people, what would its ethnic and religious composition be? IRED Forum, a publication of the Geneva-based ...Development Innovations and Networks, cites the approximate populations as follows:
In the village would be:
564 Asians
210 Europeans
86 Africans
80 South Americans
60 North Americans
There would be:
300 Christians (183 Catholics, 84 Protestants, 33 Orthodox)
175 Moslems
128 Hindus
55 Buddhists
47 Animists
210 without any religion or atheist
Of these people:
60 would control half the total income
500 would be hungry
600 would live in shantytowns
700 would be illiterate
Has it changed significantly since then?
If our world were a village of 1,000 people, what would its ethnic and religious composition be? IRED Forum, a publication of the Geneva-based ...Development Innovations and Networks, cites the approximate populations as follows:
In the village would be:
564 Asians
210 Europeans
86 Africans
80 South Americans
60 North Americans
There would be:
300 Christians (183 Catholics, 84 Protestants, 33 Orthodox)
175 Moslems
128 Hindus
55 Buddhists
47 Animists
210 without any religion or atheist
Of these people:
60 would control half the total income
500 would be hungry
600 would live in shantytowns
700 would be illiterate
Has it changed significantly since then?
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