Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Days 8, 9, and 10

rmadison@izania.com — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:00:00 +0100

The last three days of our journey were spent at The Mpumalanga Lectureship of the Churches of Christ in Southern Africa. This the 27th annual gathering to build a stronger community of believers and expand the kingdom of God in Southern Africa. The lectureship began on Friday Morning, and continued through Sunday. More than 3,000 participants in the conference hailed from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Malawi. We were very proud to represent the USA [...]

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 7

rmadison@izania.com — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Today was a very busy day for me and for our group of travelers. I spent the day in business meetings exploring opportunities that are the result of connections made through iZania. These meetings confirmed that business opportunities are available in Africa for those who can add value, and are willing to work at building quality relationships needed to forge profitable outcomes.

Our primary content today comes from a thirteen year-old traveler who visited Soweto. Below are her own w [...]

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 6

rmadison@izania.com — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Today, our travelers saw the dual faces of Apartheid in South Africa. The morning started with a tour of the capital city of Pretoria, which is now the greater metropolitan city of Tshwane - incorporating the White inner City with 13 outlying Black and Colored townships in to one metropolitan government council. This political reconciliation bears the slogan "We are the same."

&nb [...]

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 5

rmadison@izania.com — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

"They invited us into the tent! Regular tourists wouldn't get to see this part of South Africa." That was the most apt description by one of our travelers of the reception that was organized by our South African brothers and sisters from the churches of Christ in Tshwane.

Inveted Into the Tent

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 4

rmadison@izania.com — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Monday, March 17, 2008

We started our day at the top of Table Mountain. The view defies description. It is as if the mountain is sheltering the city of Cape Town as it is tucked into a bay looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean. The cable car ride to the top is a breath-taking experience, as it appears that we were scaling the shear fa [...]

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 3

rmadison@izania.com — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Today was a full day of enriching experiences. We started the day worshipping with the Athlone Church of Christ. Athlone is a former Colored Township outside Cape Town. The minister there is Peter Manuel. We were honored guests for the worship services there, and Ernest Cato, the minister traveling with us, was the guest speaker. We enjoyed the singing and fellowship tremendously. I met Peter Manuel in 1995. He has worked diligently with this congregation and it h [...]

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 1 and 2

rmadison@izania.com — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 01:00:00 +0100

South Africa is the Land of Ubuntu. When challenged to build a new nation following the end of Apartheid, Nelson Mandela challenged the nation to embrace the spirit of Ubuntu. This challenged all people Black and White to work together to craft a better future for everyone. The result is that the people of South Africa ask all visitors with a warm smile, "How do you like our new South Africa?"

Our community at iZania is inspired by the spirit of Ubuntu - an African concept of unity [...]

A New Black Nationalist Agenda

rmadison@izania.com — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 01:00:00 +0100

I am thinking of a New Black Nationalist Agenda in a very different way. I am not thinking of this new movement as a separatist movement, or a confrontational win-lose type of outcome. You see, the agenda is present before our very eyes. It is multi-faceted, and most powerful in its effectiveness to mobilize Black people to act in our self-interests. I have observed that our interests are not very different than others. It is our outcomes that suffer from a great disparity. These outcomes can [...]

CALL TO ACTION: STOP AFRICOM

rmadison@izania.com — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 05:17:20 +0100

Here is an article and commentary from the TransAfrica Forum that is worthy of close reading and consideration.� More than anything, if you agree, please contact the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Leaders of the African nations affected have protested this invasion of their soverignty in the name of the War on Terrorism.� If our African brothers and sisters protest, we must join them to stop this ill-conceived military presence in Africa.

Our protest [...]

Lessons from the Jena 6 Protest

rmadison@izania.com — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:43:17 +0100

Below is a commentary published�by Kinetics -- Faith in Motion� that suggests the �blogosphere has supplanted traditional civil rights organizations. . .��

At the risk of attack, I will advise caution in rushing to this conclusion.� It is true that grassroots �viral communications� via the Internet sparked a tremendous response to the issue that was largely ignored by the mainstream media.� I agree that this informal reaction -- as in the Greensboro sit-ins that helped to spark [...]

The Education Imperative for the Black Community

rmadison@izania.com — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:00:00 +0100

Rosa Smith, former superintendent of the Columbus, Ohio, schools, had an epiphany one morning when she read some statistics about U.S. prison population. Some 75% of the prison population, she found, is Latino or African-American, and 80% are functionally illiterate. She felt a new sense of purpose: Her work was no longer about teaching math or science, but about saving lives!

This is the attitude we must adopt if we are to save our children in urban schools, and schools in predomin [...]

Freedom Riders and Free Riders of the New Millennium

rmadison@izania.com — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 11:54:52 +0100

I grew up in the fifties and sixties. During my formative years, when "separate but equal" was legal, and "Whites Only" signs peppered my world - always reminding me that there was something different about those of us who weren't White -- our grandparents who couldn't read, and our parents who didn't finish high school, were committed to seeing the next generation achieve more than they had achieved. They encouraged us to march, sit-in, demonstrate, and fight for [...]

Independence Day -- The Cost of Freedom

rmadison@izania.com — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 01:00:00 +0100

I recently read an article facilitated by The Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. titled, Whites Underestimate the Cost of Being Black. The basic observation of the research by Phil Mazzocco is “While there has been progress in making racial conditions in American more equal, there's clearly a lot more work to be done,” he said. “Blacks and whites are not experiencing the same America.”

As we approach thi [...]

Success -- Only too much is enough!

rmadison@izania.com — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 01:00:00 +0100

Once, I asked a friend to define success. When have we achieved that pinnacle of success?” The answer was “Only too much is enough.”

Successful achievers never tire and rest on their laurels – not Tiger Woods, or Jesse Jackson, Magic Johnson, Cornell West, Tavis Smiley, Oprah Winfrey, or Barack Obama. [...]

Happy Father's Day -- One Father to Another

rmadison@izania.com — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 23:17:41 +0100

Father�s Day doesn�t receive the support that Mother�s Day receives.� As I have observed this phenomenon, I have concluded that there are many reasons.� There may be an assumption that mothers are loved more, or fathers loved less.� I think the real answer lies in performance.� I learned long ago in the military service that respect is �earned not commanded.�� In the military, all enlisted men must salute commissioned officers.� They must stand [...]

Apologizing for Being Black

rmadison@izania.com — Mon, 28 May 2007 01:00:00 +0100

We have to quit apologizing for being Black.

As I listen and read about the challenges we face as Black people, I am amazed that each step we take forward is accompanied by at least one apology for Black unity. We have to quit doing that. Perhaps we are affected by post traumatic stresses of slavery, or suffering identity crises, or feeling guilty about our “affirmative action posi [...]

Conversations with myself

rmadison@izania.com — Sat, 19 May 2007 03:07:56 +0100

Recently, I received my Golden Buckeye Card. That is indeed a confirmation of my aging. I can now receive discounts from 10% to 50% at over 16,000 businesses across the State of Ohio, and discounts on prescription drugs. When I looked at this card and just held it in my hands, I wondered what the 60 years I've spent have meant. So, I decided to take ad [...]

Believing or Expecting

rmadison@izania.com — Sat, 05 May 2007 13:56:54 +0100

Believing or Expecting

�

I "believe" that if I take certain actions, a predictable result will follow. Most belief is built upon facts that have been proven by previous results. Until I act on that belief, I have no reason to expect the result. I may be hoping for a positive outcome, or even praying about it. When I take those prescribed steps, my belief matures into expectati [...]

Because We're Black

rmadison@izania.com — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:09:54 +0100

Because We are Black

By Roger Madison

I remember growing up in Farmville, Virginia � a quiet little town in South Central Virginia. Quiet, that is, until one day a group of Black high school students became sick and tired of the poor treatment they were receiving � poor books, poor facilities, inadequate resources to learn. They led a protest march in 1951 [...]

iZania Blog Entries by Thuso

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Days 8, 9, and 10

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 7

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 6

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 5

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 4

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 3

Journey to the Land of Ubuntu -- Day 1 and 2

A New Black Nationalist Agenda

CALL TO ACTION: STOP AFRICOM

Lessons from the Jena 6 Protest

The Education Imperative for the Black Community

Freedom Riders and Free Riders of the New Millennium

Independence Day -- The Cost of Freedom

Success -- Only too much is enough!

Happy Father's Day -- One Father to Another

Apologizing for Being Black

Conversations with myself

Believing or Expecting

Because We're Black