(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Kos: Remembering Gabrielle Simon Edgcomb, who wrote 'From Swastika to Jim Crow' [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-21 Commentary by Black Kos Editor, Denise Oliver-Velez I was thinking about the commentary I wrote here back in August; “White kids need to learn about white anti-racist activists," which I promised to continue exploring. Frankly, all kids need to learn more history that has been untaught and erased. As I watch in horror the epic disaster that is unfolding daily in Israel/Palestine, my thoughts also turn back here, to the rising tide of dangerous antisemitism and islamophobia on the home front, and I thought about one of my former mentors, who was also a dear friend —Gabrielle Simon Edgcomb. I wrote about her here, back in 2017, in “Fleeing from swastikas in Germany, they found refuge at HBCUs in the Jim Crow south.” I sat here and heard her slightly German accented, gentle, but fierce voice in my head. She would be fighting. Fighting all injustice and oppression, where-ever it raises its nasty tentacles of hate. I decided to share my memories of her, and her important historical research, again today. Her book: From Swastika to Jim Crow: Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges Dismissed from their posts as victims of Nazi racist policies, or for their opposition to the regime, many scholars from Germany and Austria came to the United States where they learned to reassemble the pieces of their lives and careers. This book concerns the stories of these exiled scholars who came to hold faculty positions in historically black colleges. Illustrative stories, anecdotes and observations of the developments between two diverse groups of people, both victims of racist oppression and persecution, are presented to contribute to cross-cultural understanding in American society. About Gabrielle, from her 1996 WaPo obit: Gabrielle Simon Edgcomb, 76, a Washington area activist for the last 30 years who had been a historian, poet and teacher and had been active in community and cultural groups, died of lung cancer May 22 at her home in Washington. In the mid-1960s, she was Washington area executive director for the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy. In the early 1970s, she was public relations officer for the National Welfare Rights Organization, and in the 1980s, she served on the D.C. Civilian Complaint Review Board of the D.C. police. In the 1970s, Mrs. Edgcomb taught history and English at several D.C. high schools, including Eastern and Dunbar. Also in the 1970s, she was a research consultant with the Smithsonian Institution and a research specialist and bibliographer with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Unlike many white, and often “liberal” residents of D.C., when it was still “chocolate city with the vanilla suburbs,” Gabrielle was actively involved daily with Black people. Not as people to be “done to,” but as friends and community members to do things with. We hung out in her home, as she did in ours, and she was always engaged in building bridges and breaking down barriers in the DC Arts community, which was often racially segregated. Gabrielle was a socialist, and applied her socialist principles to gathering together the powerful voices of “cultural workers” in the DC area who came from all walks of life, with the founding of a small press enterprise, “Working Cultures” More on Gabrielle Born in Berlin to a Jewish family, she was able to escape to the US in 1936 as the Nazis were coming to power. As she wrote in her personal essay, “And If I Haven’t Died, I’m Still Alive”: “I arrived in New York in 1936, like most settlers, on a boat. Unlike most, I crossed the ocean not in chains, not in steerage, but second class on H.M.S. Beregaria…Mother and I were not ‘wretched refuse from the teeming shore,’ but, nevertheless, ‘yearning to breathe free,’ or, as it turned out, to breathe at all. We were refugees, not immigrants, as we learned, a subtle but potent class distinction then.” Hope you will watch the film (on the PBS website) which was made from her book. From Swastika to Jim Crow In the 1930’s Jewish scholars, driven from Germany by the Nazis, who immigrated to the US were confronted with anti-Semitism and a public distrust of foreigners. A surprising number secured teaching positions at traditionally Black colleges in the Jim Crow South. They formed lasting relationships with their students and had an important impact on the communities in which they lived and worked It’s also available on YouTube in two parts. x YouTube Video x YouTube Video The transcript You can read some of Gabrielle’s poetry here, and here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In recognition of National Diabetes Month, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are collaborating to mitigate the disproportionate impact diabetes has on the Black community. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health found that Black Americans are 60% more likely than white Americans to contract diabetes and are twice as likely than white Americans to die from the disease. U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, D-OH, told theGrio, that “structural racism” is the reason why Black Americans suffer from diabetes more than any other race. “Redlining [and] access to health care … are things historically that had a disparate impact on people in the Black community,” she said. “Systemic and institutional racism and accessibility to affordable health care increases the risk and odds of us suffering from this disease,” she added. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little brown-skinned girl gazes out from the cover of Natasha S. Alford’s upcoming memoir, “American Negra.” The photo, nestled between illustrations of Puerto Rico’s national flower, the Flor de Maga, and the red, ripe apples of her home state, shows the toddler perched upon a stoop in Syracuse, New York. With a pacifier in her mouth, a bottle in hand, and her father’s arm protectively encircling her, she has no idea her journey will take her from those steps to Harvard, Princeton, and even to theGrio — where today, Alford champions Black communities and media alike as the site’s vice president of digital content and an anchor for theGrio TV. This is the very American story at the center of Alford’s first book, “an original, unique perspective about one Black experience in America” which will be published by HarperCollins on Feb. 27, 2024. Speaking with theGrio as the book’s cover was revealed, Alford drew parallels between its message and her longtime work at her home outlet. “Often there is a monolithic approach to talking about Black people,” she said, “and I think that that is the work of theGrio; we are showing the range, the complexity, and the nuance of what it means to be Black in America. And so, ‘American Negra’ is one story of growing up Black with roots across the diaspora.” Born to a Black American father and Puerto Rican mother, Alford has “grown up at the intersection” of those identities, with roots that extend from upstate New York to Puerto Rico to South Carolina to Florida. Her unique heritage forms the backbone of what she hopes is a universally accessible narrative. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shyla Brown, a 15-year-old Black teen from McKinney, Texas, is making history as the youngest African American junior golf champion. Black Enterprise: 15-YEAR-OLD MAKES HISTORY AS YOUNGEST AFRICAN AMERICAN JUNIOR GOLF CHAMPION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shyla Brown, a 15-year-old Black teen from McKinney, Texas, is making history as the youngest African-American Junior Golf Champion. She recently became among the only four nationally ranked high school golfers selected to compete in the prestigious Southwest Airlines Showcase at Cedar Crest. Discovering her love for golf at the age of 8, Brown followed in the footsteps of her parents who were also avid players. Brown told WFAA, “You know when you’re that young, you kind of take up what your parents are doing. I found it enjoyable.” Fast forward to today, and Shyla has climbed the ranks to become the top-ranked African American Junior Golfer. Recently, she participated in the Southwest Airlines Showcase at Cedar Crest, joining the ranks of the nation’s top amateur golfers. “It means a lot to me. The history behind Cedar Crest that’s been held there… Pioneers like Charles Sifford, walking in his footsteps, it means a lot to me,” Brown said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` The rise of local chains reflects deeper trends on the continent. The Economist: Africa’s supermarket revolution ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To walk along the main road in Ruaka, a town on the outskirts of Nairobi, is to glimpse the extremes of African shopping. Market stalls selling vegetables and charcoal spill onto the street. In the distance is a plush mall with a Carrefour, one of 20 franchises of the French supermarket in Kenya’s capital. Further up, though, is a Quickmart. The Kenyan supermarket chain has 59 branches, an increase from 25 in 2020. It is not as fancy as the Carrefour, but nor is it as chaotic as the roadside kiosks. “We are a shop that is among the people,” says Peter Kang’iri, the ceo. “That’s the difference.” On average Africans buy more than 70% of their food, drink and cosmetics from informal vendors (see chart). Supermarkets have historically served an affluent elite, opting not to compete for poorer customers. But local chains such as Quickmart suggest that it is possible to fill the missing middle in African retail. Their success reflects deeper changes in African economies and demography. Analysts have long tried to measure Africa’s “middle class” by counting people within somewhat arbitrary income ranges. Newer analysis has incorporated data on ownership of bourgeois assets such as fridges. Last year Fraym, an analytics firm, estimated that there were 330m people in what it called Africa’s “consumer class”, roughly a quarter of the continent’s population of 1.3bn. Two-thirds were in just five countries (Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Algeria); most of the other third were spread across a further 15 states, including Kenya. Yet any analysis, however sophisticated, risks implying there are tens of millions of Africans able to pile their trolleys high. Even when adjusted for the different prices of goods in different places (so-called “purchasing-power parity”), average gdp per person in sub-Saharan Africa in 2022 was $4,400, according to the World Bank, almost half of India’s and about one-twelfth of Britain’s. Annualised food-price inflation in the region has been at least 10% since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, squeezing household budgets. The average basket of goods bought at Quickmart is worth $6. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ nestled between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar lies Mayotte, a French territory With a population of around 310,000 people, faces an unprecedented water crisis. AL Jazeera: France’s poorest island is parched because of drought and underinvestment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Drop by disappearing drop, water is an ever more precious resource on Mayotte, the poorest place in the European Union. Taps flow just one day out of three in this French territory off Africa’s eastern coast, thanks to a drawn-out drought compounded by years of underinvestment and mismanagement. Diseases like cholera and typhoid are on the rebound, and the French army recently intervened to distribute water and quell tensions over supplies. The crisis is a wake-up call to the French government about the challenges and cost of managing human-caused climate change across France’s far-flung territories. Racha Mousdikoudine, a 38-year-old mother of two living in Labattoir, washes dishes with bottled water, when she can get it. When the water taps run, she says, “I have to choose between taking a shower or preserving my water supply. “This shortage will be global in a few years. This is an opportunity for all French people to stand in solidarity with us. To be with us, to find solutions and make visible the situation happening in Mayotte,” Mousdikoudine said. “Because this can happen in all French departments.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The decision from the 8th Circuit is likely headed to the Supreme Court. Politico: Federal appeals court ruling threatens enforcement of the Voting Rights Act ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The decision out of the 8th Circuit will almost certainly be appealed and is likely headed to the Supreme Court. Should it stand, it would mark a dramatic rollback of the enforcement of the law that led to increased minority power and representation in American politics. The appellate court ruled that there is no “private right of action” for Section 2 of the law — which prohibits voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race. That, in practice, would severely limit the scope of the protections of Section 2. On paper, those protections are themselves unchanged by the ruling. But for decades, private parties — including civil rights groups, individual voters and political parties — have brought Section 2 challenges on everything from redistricting to voter ID requirements. “After reviewing the text, history, and structure of the Voting Rights Act, the district court concluded that private parties cannot enforce Section 2,” the judges wrote. “The enforcement power belonged solely to the Attorney General of the United States.” The majority opinion from the three-judge panel of the St. Louis-based 8th Circuit was authored by Judge David Stras — an appointee of Donald Trump — and joined by Judge Raymond Gruender, a George W. Bush appointee. Chief Judge Lavenski Smith, another Bush appointee, dissented. “The ruling has put the Voting Rights Act in jeopardy, and is very cavalierly tossing aside critical protections that voters have very much fought and died for,” said Sophia Lin Lakin, the director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, who argued the case in front of the appellate court. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/21/2206804/-Black-Kos-Remembering-Gabrielle-Simon-Edgcomb-who-wrote-From-Swastika-to-Jim-Crow?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/