In association with the North Charleston Art’s Festival held May 1st – 5th, Live in Color is a hip-hop curated event celebrating music, culture, creativity and conversation. Make sure you check out this cool event on May 4; here are more details:
ABOUT
Hip-hop meets pop art in this unique celebration of color and hip-hop culture produced for the second year in a row by Charleston Sticks Together. ILLADELL will be dropping beats all night while participants apply their creativity to one of two hip-hop inspired coloring pages designed by Atlanta-based illustrator Larry Luk. All materials will be provided, but participants are welcome to bring their own. Completed coloring pages must be submitted to the judges by 10 pm for a chance to win a variety of prizes!
TRAPADEMCIS
While the judges deliberate, a panel consisting of Hip-Hop aficionados will debate a variety of topics concerning the culture. Each round, our TRAPADEMIC participants will have 3 minutes to persuade the crowd on a variety of topics such as: “Who’s the Hottest Female Rapper in the Game?” or “Name the Best Juvenile Verse of All-Time and Why?”. After a few rounds, we’ll start eliminating contestants until we get down to a final two. Our remaining contestants will battle wits for the right to be crowned our first ever TRAPADEMIC SCHOLAR
PARTICIPANTS (scheduled to appear)
Tawana Tee – Hip-Hop publicists
Matt Monday – Hip-Hop artist and founder of Cultura Festival
DJ Scrib – Public educator and DJ
Black Dave – Producer, graphic artist, and cultural critic
Mayor Terrence Culbreath – Mayor of Johnston, SC and music producer
In 2013, 36 people were unearthed under the old Gillard Auditorium in downtown Charleston, S.C. These men, women and children were all buried between the years 1750 and 1800. Some of these ancestors were born in Africa and some were born here in South Carolina. It is now time to rebury them with dignity, honor, love and respect.
Who Were these ancestors
According to the TheGullahSociety..com website:
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Suzanne Abel studied the human remains and determined that the individuals are of African descent. Dr. Chelsey Juarez conducted isotope analysis. Levels of isotopes in teeth and bone samples vary depending on the food we eat and the water that we drink. They are used to examine where a person lived as a child and where they lived during their last 5-10 years of life. The results of the isotope analysis indicated that nineteen of the thirty-six people buried near Anson Street were born in West or Central Africa, while one person was born in the Caribbean. Nine people were born in South Carolina and samples from eight individuals did not provide isotopic data.
1st of Its Kind Study
The study of the 36 ancestors found in Charleston is the 1st analysis of its kind for genetic diversity of descendants of the mid to late 18th Century African and Africans living in Charleston, S.C.
National Geographic Society Helped Funding
National Geographic Society also got involved in this project and funding was awarded to determine if these 36 ancestors were related to each other. In addition, 80 people living in Charleston, S.C. were chosen to receive free DNA testing in order to learn about their genetic history.
Charleston Residents Were Able To Participate
The University of Pennsylvania, The College of Charleston, alongside the National Geographic Society will be taking the DNA of the 36 ancestors and some of the lucky participants from Charleston whose DNA was a part of this study, in an effort to see if there are any similarities or links in the ancestral DNA and the current Charleston residents.
There are a series of events planned between April 27 and May 5 to celebrate and recognize our 36 ancestors.
The Naming Ceremony is the 1st event marking the reinterment of the 36 ancestors. No maps, records or names have been found marking this burial place or these 36 individuals. This ceremony will celebrate all we do know about these ancestors; they will be named based on the results of the DNA study. This event will be held April 27th.
The DNA Ancestry Report event is a talk with Raquel Fleskes and Dr. Theodore Schurr from the University of Pennsylvania. They will be getting into the details of the results of the DNA analysis of the 36 ancestors. This event will be held May 2nd.
The Ancestors’ Reburial event will be held on May 4th. This will truly be a home-going celebration, complete with drums and song as a procession is held through the streets of downtown Charleston, S.C.. The community will have this time to pay respects to the ancestors.
The Sunday Ecumenical Service will be held at St. John’s Reformed Episcopal Church. At this event, attendees will remember the past and reflect on a positive future of reconciliation, justice, and racial equity.
In the African American community, we all know someone who has been affected by the terrible and painful sickle cell disease. This blood issue, which can be passed down through families, is a condition that many have been born with, and spend most of their lifetime fighting. This disease is the most common inherited blood disease according to WEBMD. In a normal body, red blood cells glide easily though your bloodstream. However, with sickle cell, your red blood cells are shaped like a sickle (C-shaped farm tool), which causes cells to clump together. This can can be painful, it can cause anemia, and other symptoms. This week we received some great news in regards to today’s modern medicine. The world has been blessed with researchers who have been working on a cure for the disease, and an 8-year-old boy in Orlando has been labeled a new hero for helping to cure his sister and brother from this disease.
source: Mayo Clinic
His name Stefan Aihe’s and this 8-year old is responsible for saving this lives of his 22 year old brother Kingsley, and 13 year old sister, Vanessa. The two older siblings have spent their lives struggling with this disease and the only cure is found in patients agreeing to have a bone-marrow transplant. The problem surfaces because finding a perfect match for bone marrow in patients is often a struggle. After deciding to have the transplant, the family was excited to find out their 8-year-old little brother was a match! Vanessa was cured when Stefan gave her a transplant some years ago, and Kingsley is now cured after Stefan gave him a transplant this past November. Dr. David Shook explained that this case is rare, “It’s incredibly rare to have the same donor give to two different siblings. You know, to match is uncommon, but it’s not impossible,” he expressed to a news outlet.
The family, sickle cell advocates, and various medical companies are now pushing for more people to become donors. African Americans are disproportionately affected by this disease, and 1 in 13 black babies are born with the sickle cell trait. The family is hoping that little Stefan Aihe’s bravery will inspire others to help in the fight against sickle cell disease.
Georgetown University Students Vote To Increase Tuition to Pay Reparations
In a groundbreaking decision, the current student body at Georgetown University has told the school it needs to ‘cut the check’ to the families of slave descendants. On Thursday in a vote of 2-1, students voted in favor of a measure to pay the descendants of enslaved families who were sold in the 1800s. If approved, Georgetown University will become the first college in the nation to add a fee that will be calculated into college tuition to pay reparations that will benefit the families of slave descendants.
Almost 200 years ago, 272 slaves were sold in an effort to pay off the debt of the Georgetown Jesuits. This human payment saved the university from financial ruin, and it continues to operate as a fine institution until this day.
How will the reparations be paid? The idea is that a $27 fee will be added as a tuition increase, per student, per semester to create a fund. Of course, the vote must be approved by the university in order to go into effect. 2,541 students (66.08%) voted yes, and 1,304 students (33.92%) voted no, in a push to get the university to pay reparations. Vice President of Student Affair, Todd Olson had this to say:
“University values the engagement of our students and appreciates that 3,845 students made their voices heard in yesterday’s election. Our students are contributing and we share their commitment to addressing Georgetown’s history with slavery.”
Source: (Erica King/ABC News) Melisande Short-Colomb, a sophomore and descendant of the 272 slaves sold at Georgetown University speaks at a town hall debate in support of the reparations referendum in Washington, April 3, 2019.
Georgetown University officials are vowing to,“carefully review the results of the referendum, and regardless of the outcome, will remain committed to engaging with students, Descendants, and the community.”
Georgetown University also has students like Melisande Short-Colomb, a student under the admissions policy who is considered a “legacy” student. She is one of four students currently attending Georgetown who is also a direct descendant of the slaves who were sold. In a town hall meeting she explained, “The Jesuits sold my family and 40 other families so you could be here. No one in this room was here in 1838 when this happened, but we have a chance today to make a difference. So I’m going to pay my $54,” referring to the 2 semesters before she would graduate.
Some Students Don’t Want To Pay For the Sins of Their Forefathers
It comes as no surprise that there are plenty of students who are not digging this idea of paying any additional fees – even if it is just $27 per semester. The school has already apologized for its past transgressions, and rededicated two buildings on campus that were formerly named after two Jesuits. Some students feel like this is enough.
Other reasons students believe the tuition increase isn’t fair are: (1) they don’t know and have concerns about how the money would be spent. (2) Students also want to know how long this $27 fee would be in affect. (3) Some students said they were already working to support themselves and couldn’t afford any additional costs. (4) Other students felt like the proposed referendum was not comprehensive. (5) Students also shared that it’s not their responsibility, as the current generation, to pay for the sins of the past. Haley Grand, a sophomore at the University stated:
“It’s unjust to compel 7,000-plus people to pay for the University’s historical sins. There is an obligation for Georgetown to reconcile its sins, and that obligation falls squarely on the institution.”
Even if you hate the concept of reparations, it is clear that without the sacrifice of slaves in the United States, the United States would not be the country it is today. The slaves and the free labor they were forced to contribute is the backbone of this country, and any descendant of this slave labor has every right to demand compensation.
Before we talk about Sienna Williams being accepted to all of these impressive Ivy League schools, let’s talk about what this future Astronaut has done to get here. She’s the captain of her soccer, baseball, and basketball teams. She interned at NASA. She’s in the National Honor Society, the Math Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and Science Honor Society. She scored a 1500 on the SAT, and scored a perfect 800 on the math section of the SAT. She maintains a 4.8 weighted GPA. She also works at Papa Johns! Sienna Williams is raised by a single mother, alongside her three other sisters. Sienna has been described as soft-spoken, modest, and quiet. So before we speak about the remaining part of her excellence, it is necessary to point out that the Ivy League aspect is being merely a small part of how truly stellar 18 year old Williams has been as a student, an athlete, and a teenager.
Her name is Sienna Williams, and some of America’s best colleges in the United States, including 12 top schools are vying for her to attend their institutions. Williams attends Clarksburg High School in Clarksburg, Maryland, she’s 18 years old and has a 4.8 GPA. This future Astronaut’s latest dilemma is deciding which school to choose, seeing as though she’s been accepted to every Ivy League college except one.
Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania are all interested in Williams joining their freshman class. MIT, Duke, Maryland and Virginia Tech are also courting Williams. Dartmouth college placed Williams on a waiting list. Because they have the best astrophysics department in the country, Sienna Williams is leaning towards taking her talents to MIT, who has also offered her $250,000 in scholarships.
Her mom, Daphne Smith Williams, is a former math teacher, which explains that perfect 800 SAT score. She is also the head of special education at a middle school in Clarksburg, Maryland. Daphne Smith Williams is also a single mother of Sienna and her three sisters, and says Sienna has always loved learning, and had once told her she would be accepted to every Ivy League school. Her mom believed her.
Williams’ principal, Edward Owusu, is a huge cheerleader for his senior student. On Instagram, he calls what she has #BlackGirlPride, #GirlPride and #ClarksburgCoyotePride, and says he thinks it’s time for the world to see and focus on what young African American women are doing.
What makes Sienna Williams’ story so special is that it’s happening right when rich parents are being exposed for the dishonesty that has taken place within elite universities across the country, and student acceptance. Williams got accepted because of her accomplishments, not because of what’s in anyone’s purse. Sienna hopes to be an inspiration to more young girls, especially her younger sisters; and there is no doubt that she will be. Sienna is the epitome of hard work paying off and we can’t wait to see what she has in store for the world.
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