The event is free and open to the public. Learn more about the book at www.deepaiyer.com.
The event is free and open to the public. Learn more about the book at www.deepaiyer.com.
]]>The CBCF Emerging Leaders: US-China Study Delegation is a study abroad program designed to provide African-American students living or attending school in Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member districts with the opportunity to experience Chinese culture and learn Mandarin during a two-week visit to China. Through this initiative, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Incorporated (CBCF) aims to promote African Americans’ interest in career and study options involving US-China relations, thereby expanding opportunities for African Americans in an era of increasing globalization.
The CBCF Emerging Leaders: US-China Study Delegation program dates are June 2, 2016 – June 20, 2016.
In 2016, one (1) group of 20 students will participate in the program. Students will take part in orientation activities in Washington, DC before leaving for China and in a debrief session in Washington, DC upon their return. Students will participate in a challenging and rewarding program during their two weeks in China that includes academic, cultural and reflection activities.
The 2016 program is open to students who meet the following criteria:
· Live OR attend school in a CBC member district. Visit house.gov and our “CBC Member list”: https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.academicworks.com/clients/cbcfinc/client/1447083136/2016%20CBC%20Districts%20-%20General%20Mills.pdf to see if they are in the CBC. Students who live or go to school in New Jersey are all represented by a CBC member
· Enrolled in an HBCU, predominantly-black schools, or majority institutions; for community college students, must be graduating in May 2016
· Majoring in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics-related (STEM) fields, business or trade
· Completing their second, third, or fourth year of college in May 2016 based on credits earned
· Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
· Have a valid passport at the time they submit their application
· U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident of the U.S.
All of the scholars’ housing, travel and meals in China are covered by the China-US Exchange Foundation. CBCF covers participants’ housing and most of their meals during their stay in Washington, DC; CBCF also covers the scholars’ ground transportation in Washington, DC once the program has started.
Prospective applicants can apply by completing the two part application: A General Application for everyone applying to a CBCF program and Supplemental Questions specific to the China Study program.
To access the application, please visit https://cbcfinc.academicworks.com/opportunities/342. Students applying for the China Study program must complete both parts. You will see the Supplemental Questions after completing the General Application.
The application requires:
· 2 completed recommendation letters (Ideal recommenders would be a dean, department chair, academic advisor, or employer.)
· Resume (1-3 pages)
· Recent professional-looking photograph
· Color copy of passport (and permanent resident card for legal residents)
· Responses of no more than 500 words each to “3 of 4 essay questions”:https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.academicworks.com/clients/cbcfinc/client/1425327661/US-China%20Delegation%20Essay%20Question%20Selection.pdf.
· Official transcript MAILED to: CBCF Inc., Attn: US-China Program, 1720 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
See attached CBCF Emerging Leaders: US-China Study Delegation flyer. Learn more and apply at the following website: https://cbcfinc.academicworks.com/opportunities/342. The application deadline is March 1, 2016.
If you have any questions about the program, please contact Ms. Christina D. Sullivan-Mutia, Manager- Leadership Institute for Public Service, with the CBCF at(202) 263-2821 or csmutia@cbcfinc.org.
Over the years several oral history projects have been initiated at UMBC. The first, by Dr. Ed Orser, was completed in the mid-1990s to celebrate UMBC's 30th anniversary. In 2006, Joseph Tatarewicz and Barry Lanman began the UMBC Founders Oral History Project in preparation for UMBC's 40th anniversary. Tatarewicz and Lanman interviewed some of the earliest figures on campus including UMBC's first chancellor Albin O. Kuhn, the first dean, founding faculty members, and some of the first students at UMBC.
In one of the early interviews with Albin O. Kuhn, Kuhn discusses the white silo that stands near the entrance to I-95. The silo is one of the oldest structures on the UMBC campus and one of the few reminders of Spring Grove Hospital which was located on the site of the UMBC university from 1867 to the 1960s. When Spring Grove sold the land to make way for UMBC, the campus decided to keep the silo. In his interview, Kuhn speaks of this decision.
"...they were kidding around campus that, calling that the Kuhn Silo because they knew that I had a farm background or an interest in, in fact, farming at the same time I was at UMBC...when they got the road network laid out the silo would not be in the way...and those are fairly heavy concrete things to remove, and I said, "Well, let thing stand. It won't bother anybody and it will be sort of a memory of the fact that this once was used as a farm for the Spring Grove."
-Albin O. Kuhn, interview by Dr. Larry Wilt, 2006, transcript, UMBC Founders Oral History Project, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD
A reflection written by Women’s Center staff member, MJ Jalloh Jamboria
Beyoncé’s newest hit, “Formation” has been the topic of conversation everywhere. If you missed the video, here it is!
Since her Super Bowl performance on February 7th, Beyoncé has received mountains of praise and criticism for her performance and newest video. (Also, take a second to watch the Super Bowl performance here if you haven’t already. Ready? OK!)
While surfing Twitter during the Super Bowl performance (obviously not as Bey was singing), I came across a tweet that angered me to my very core. In efforts to find the original tweet, I came up empty handed, so instead I’ll summarize. The author of the tweet expressed anger at the hairstyle Beyoncé chose to rock for her Super Bowl performance, specifically the color and texture of her weave.
Credit: Getty Images
Their ire was grounded in the fact that Beyoncé’s weave wasn’t aligned with the pro-blackness and importance of self-identity portrayed within her video.
Trying to isolate my frustration with the tweet, I found myself asking (and later dissecting) the following questions:
First of all, weaves are not always indicative of hatred of one’s own natural hair! Beyoncé, and black women everywhere, are entitled to having and wearing the hairstyles that express themselves or the person they choose to personify. Seemingly, the choice to wear her hair long, blonde and wavy (as opposed to in an afro, like her performers) was a PERSONAL CHOICE (or between herself and her stylist). It seemed as if the author of the tweet thought Beyonce’s lack of afro or other natural hairstyle was a rejection of blackness. The idea that Black women should stick to a limited number of styles to be considered beautiful or “black enough” is ridiculous! Second, long blonde hair does not belong to one racial or ethnic group.
At first, I was upset that people weren’t paying attention to the positive messages in her song, video and performance. For example, her section of the Super Bowl performance paid homage to Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party and Michael Jackson. Similarly, the “Formation” video recreates and depicts the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and begins to challenge and shed light on larger systems of police brutality and anti-blackness.
Perhaps I was even upset that people were attacking my beloved queen.
Me @ the mere mention of Beyonce
But again, I realized I needed to think more critically about black hair politics. Too often have I heard the ways in which artificial relaxers and perms kits ruined the naturally bodacious curl patterns and beautifully kinky hair of young girls and women alike. In fact, I lived it. I lived through hot combs and suffered the consequences of rocking baby hairs before they were a trend. I vividly remember crying every time my hair was subjected to being plaited into neat cornrows, through tears asking my mom why my hair couldn’t be straight like the other pretty (white) girls at school.
Without fully knowing it, at an early age I understood the ways in which hair was racially coded and tied to constricting beauty standards for women. Looking back, I was beginning to see the possible reasons as to why the author of the tweet may have felt betrayed by Beyoncé’s selection of hairstyle.
I wanted to continue to reflect on the policing of Black women’s hair and beauty standards and I remembered the recent controversy over military bans on specific hairstyles. Initial restrictions banned many types of hairstyles (including locs and two-strand twists) but restrictions were later dialed back to allow two-strand twists as a permissible style. The thought of an institution banning something as arbitrary as hair seemed bizarre but I understood this was just another way of constricting black and female autonomy and categorizing good versus bad, acceptable versus rejected, manageable versus kinky.
However, the “Formation” video, the Super Bowl performance, and Beyoncé’s lyrics highlight some amazing things as well. One of the lines from “Formation” is “I like my baby hair with baby hair and afro’s.”
Remember that time there was a petition to have Blue’s parents change her hair? No? Revisit that awful moment in history HERE.
Not only did Beyoncé feature her daughter in the video, she acknowledged the texture of Blue Ivy’s hair, and featured her beside two other beautiful children with similarly curly hair. Her video also features women of different hairstyles and Beyoncé herself switches between a plethora of hairstyles. Her video highlights just a few of the ways in which black hair is versatile and beautiful.
In a society where women, specifically black women, aren’t always taught to value their features and beauty, but instead alter and damage their natural beauty, I feel Beyoncé, her video, and her performance continued to allow for necessary and important discourse on black hair.
