African Career, Education & Resource (ACER) Fair

Today I participated in the  African Career, Education & Resource, Inc (ACER) fair at Park Center High School,  Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Service providers in such fields as health, employment, education, were there to showcase their services and share information on their programs.








I met people I know and new ones as well. The lady in the picture at the top here and on the left was my student at St. Olaf College about 13 years ago.


Some years ago, she read my book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences, and is an avid fan of it.






Other acquaintances who were there include Dr. Alvine Siaka, the coordinator of African Health Action and Rita Apaloo, coordinator of African Women Connect. Rita is also a long-term fan of Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences. As usual, we had much to talk about, concerning what we are trying to do with the African community in Minnesota.

Among the new people I met today is Iqbal Duale, Community Education Specialist for an organization called Planned Parenthood. We discovered that we have common interests and are involved in in cultural diversity issues. We plan to keep in touch.

It is heartening and gratifying to be with such people, whose commitment to social causes is unshakeable, and who are not deterred by problems and challenges encountered on the way.

A few days ago, I mentioned ACER, the organizer of today's fair. I did so in a blog post about a meeting of the board of the Afrifest Foundation. ACER and the Afrifest Foundation have decided to collaborate, and I decided to participate in today's fair partly to facilitate that collaboration. I am the chair of the Afrifest Foundation. I was delighted to meet the ACER volunteers and to note their welcoming and cheerful spirit.

I participated in today's fair under my business name, Africonexion. I had my table, seen on the left, where I displayed my books and other publications. I talked with people about the books and about my work as a cultural consultant dealing with Africans and Americans. As always happens, I met different kinds of people, including those who are working in institutions or organizations which require the kind of resources I offer, notably publications and presentations. I look forward to being in touch with these people, to learn from their experience and share my own experience.

Afrifest Foundation Board Meeting: April 2013

Today, the Afrifest Foundation Board met at the Center for Families, in Minneapolis. I was glad to be back in the fold, after travels in Africa.

As usual, we had a rich agenda. One of the decisions we made was to appoint key directors of the Foundation, whom I have featured on this page.

Here, on the left,  is Wycliff Chakua, who will continue as Treasurer and will serve as interim Secretary of the Foundation.









Here is Nathan White, the originator of Afrifest, who will continue to serve as Executive Director and President of Afrifest Foundation.

















Here is Joseph L. Mbele, owner of this blog, who will continue in his role as Chairman of the Foundation.

We reviewed progress made towards our attainment of IRS 501c3, and it seems satisfactory.

We also took note of our partnership with ACER, the Duluth Festival, and Carifest. Everything is going well on that front. We reviewed emerging partnership opportunities, such as the possibility of working with event planner Rick Aguilar.

We welcomed Denise G. Butler, Outreach Coordinator of ACER, who wants to join the Afrifest Foundation Board.

We have come a long way, and we look forward to the future, with an increasing diversification of our portfolio of programs and activities, as well as solid partnerships with other organizations.

Farewell, Chinua Achebe

Around 8:20 this morning, my youngest daughter told me that her older sister had texted to say that Chinua Achebe had passed away. I was dumbfounded and could hardly say anything.

I have struggled the whole day, in vain, to find the appropriate way to pay tribute to this giant and icon of modern African literature.

 Achebe helped shape the direction of African literature, not only through his own writing, but also through his role as editor of the African Writers Series which launched the careers of many African writers.

Achebe was a sage, in the best tradition of the wise village elders. Watching interviews, I note that he exuded humility and charm. Committed to the idea that the artist is a teacher, Achebe helped us Africans to understand our place in the world, our weaknesses and our potential.  A profound humanist, he touched hearts and minds around the world.

Although I never met Achebe, I have been lucky to have taught his works regularly, discovering, each time, more dimensions of his creative genius and timeless lessons.

Though no longer with us in person, Achebe will continue to touch people. For the rest of our lives, we will be paying tribute to this gifted storyteller, who gave Africa a voice in the world.

Reflections on my Book Talk in Faribault

Some days ago, I posted a message about a book talk I was to give at South Central College. The talk dwelt on my book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences. Rebecca Fjelland Davis subsequently wrote a report on her blog, including comments she published in Goodreads:
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Joseph Mbele's book AFRICANS AND AMERICANS

Our class, "Culture and History of South Africa,"  read Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences last week. The author, Joseph Mbele came to visit us on Tuesday. It was unanimously considered a DELIGHT.

The book is a fast read, and Joseph Mbele writes in a conversational, welcoming style that sucks you right in, keeps you laughing, and keeps you reading. 

In person, Joseph proved to be one of the most brilliant, funny, warm, and gentle human beings I've ever met. My students loved him; the two hours with him flew past.


Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences by Joseph L. Mbele
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the most delightful read about the differences between Africans and Americans and how we relate to each other. My students loved it, found it fascinating, and flew through it.


If you have students, friends, neighbors, classmates, ANYBODY you know from Africa, this book is for you. If you are traveling to Africa, like my students and I are, it's a MUST.

Best part? Now whenever I am late (no, that never happens), I can say I'm on AFRICA TIME.

View all my reviews

Posted by Rebecca (Becky) Fjelland Davis at 6:53 AM No comments:

A Book Talk in Faribault, Minnesota, February 26

A few weeks ago, I got an invitation to speak in Mankato, to a group of students preparing to go on a study abroad program in South Africa. The focus of my talk was to be what I say in my Africans and Americans book. The invitation came from Scott Fee and Becky Davis who teach at the Minnesota State University Mankato and South Central College respectively.

I will be speaking at the South Central College in Faribault, Minnesota, from 10:00am. Students in Mankato will follow my talk via a television connection.

Some years ago, Scott took a group of students on a similar trip to South Africa and he invited me to speak to them before they traveled. My talk then was also on cultural differences as expressed in the Africans and Americans book. I am, as always, happy to be able to share my perspective on this important topic.

Black History Expo, St. Paul, Minnesota

February 23, 2013 was a special day in Minnesota. The first annual Black History Expo was held at the River Center in St. Paul, thanks to the hard work of Karla Spencer-George and Liberation Clothing & Gifts. The event brought together many vendors, performers, and educators. It was a great opportunity to learn about the Black experience, in both Africa and the Diaspora, through lectures, performances, displays of artifacts, books and other expressions of Black intellectual contributions and creativity.  Publicity for the event was very good, as you can see here and here.
 

This photo was taken at the booth of Liberation Clothing & Gifts. Karla is on the far left.

















 The guest of honour and keynote speaker was Dr. Julianne Malveaux, a distinguished scholar and educator, who once served as president of Bennett College.











Drummers and dancers in action.


















The event was well attended, throughout the day, by children, youths, adults, and the elderly. There were programs for all age groups

















This is the space where lectures, performances, and fashion shows were held












As happens often in these events, I meet people who know me, people who have read my books. The lady on the left came to my booth with her sister, and she was delighted to see copies of my Africans and Americans book. She talked excitedly about how she bought it some years ago, and how much she likes it. Such testimonies, needless to say, touch me very much.





Here on the left I am with Sybil, another fan of my work.

It is not possible to capture in this little report the richness of this event. It is not possible to report on all the interactions I had with many people, but I should perhaps simply say that from talking to people, it was clear that they were impressed by this inaugural Expo, expressing the strong desire that it should, indeed, be an annual event.

My First YouTube Book Talk

Today I did something I have never done before: I uploaded a message on YouTube about my book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences. Actually, I should confess that it was my daughter, Zawadi, who did all the technical work, from recording to uploading. I learned much from her. That, I guess, was my way of ringing in the New Year.