Tadias Magazine

Tadias Magazine

Updated: November 11, 2024

New York (TADIAS) – Chester Higgins, Jr., an American photographer whose timeless images of Ethiopia have deeply resonated with the Ethiopian community, is currently featured in a landmark exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. Known for his evocative portrayals of Ethiopian landscapes and people—from the ancient churches of Lalibela to the caves of Sof Omar, and from historical figures like Emperor Haile Selassie to cultural icons such as Poet Laureate Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin—Higgins has, for decades, captured the beauty, depth, and spirit of Ethiopia and its people.

Higgins is featured in the exhibition Toward Joy: New Frameworks for American Art, an installation marking the Brooklyn Museum’s 200th anniversary, designed to broaden perspectives on American art and introduce new voices. The exhibition, which runs through January 26, 2025, reimagines American art through a fresh lens, spotlighting historically underrepresented cultural creators and exploring diverse cultural roots, connections, and expressions.

The Brooklyn Museum’s 200th anniversary lineup is expansive, with installations that invite audiences to experience art in novel ways. In the press release, the Museum shares, “How might American art be experienced at this moment? A transformative reinstallation of the American Art galleries reorients the ways that the Brooklyn Museum exhibits—and audiences rediscover—this acclaimed collection. A kaleidoscopic display offers paradigm-shifting interactions with millennia of art.”

For the Ethiopian American community and all art lovers, this exhibit is an invitation to revisit Higgins’ profound contributions, especially in the company of artists whose voices echo the themes of resilience, joy, and re-imagination that he has long explored. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience Higgins’ compelling work alongside the Brooklyn Museum’s visionary milestone exhibition.”

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If You Go:
The exhibition is on view until January 26, 2025, at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: September 12th, 2024

New York (TADIAS) — The 53rd Annual Legislative Conference (ALC), a premier public policy event focused on issues affecting African Americans and the global Black community, will feature a notable discussion presented by Universal Music Group’s Task Force for Meaningful Change. Scheduled for Friday, September 13, at 3:00 PM ET, this engaging panel will spotlight the transformative power of Hip Hop as an agent of social change.

Dr. Menna Demessie, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Universal Music Group’s global Task Force for Meaningful Change, will lead the discussion. Joining her will be Hip Hop legend Chuck D and UMG Africa artist Rophnan. Together, they will explore the genre’s profound impact on culture both in the United States and globally.

The ALC serves as a unique platform where thought leaders, legislators, influencers, and concerned citizens converge to address critical issues and promote the advancement of Black communities. This year’s discussion will highlight how Hip Hop, now over 50 years old, continues to drive social change and foster cultural understanding.

Join this pivotal discussion at the ALC and be part of the conversation about the enduring impact of Hip Hop in effecting meaningful change.

If You Go:

For those in Washington, DC, interested in attending, general admission is available for free. Visit the registration booth on-site to obtain an open access badge. For those interested in attending other ticketed events, tickets are available for purchase at www.cbcfinc.org for $300.

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Tadias Magazine

Updated: April 23rd, 2024

New York (TADIAS) — This month, QWANQWA, the traditional musical ensemble from Ethiopia, launched their highly anticipated 2024 Spring Tour across North America. With an extensive lineup of 39 concerts spanning numerous states from New York to California, this tour promises to be a vibrant celebration of cultural diversity, musical prowess, and the unifying power of music.

The ensemble includes Endris Hassen (masinko), Kaethe Hostetter (violin), Bubu Teklemariam (bass krar), Selamnesh Zemene (vocalist), and Misale Legesse (kebero).

Founded by California native Kaethe Hostetter, QWANQWA, originating from the vibrant nightlife scene of Addis Ababa, represents a fusion of diverse musical influences and talents. The essence of QWANQWA lies in its diverse ensemble, featuring traditional Ethiopian instruments such as the masinko and krar, alongside sounds of violin and electronic beats.

Hostetter, who lived in Ethiopia for more than a decade, says each member brings their unique background and expertise, enriching the ensemble’s sound and creating a dynamic musical experience.

“My journey with Ethiopian music began in the early 2000s, around 2002, when I met Danny Mekonnen [Ethiopian-American saxophonist and leader of Debo band],” Hostetter recalled in an interview with Tadias Magazine. “We shared a similar musical taste and had friends in common. My exploration of Ethiopian music with him evolved from an interest into a practice group, then a performing group, which led to a band invitation to Ethiopia, where I discovered traditional instruments. This journey ultimately led to the formation of QWANQWA. I was so captivated by everything in Ethiopia that I found myself there for 11 years.”

Selamnesh Zemene and Kaethe Hostetter. (Courtesy photo)

Reflecting on the significance of this tour, Hostetter emphasizes the universal language of music in fostering connections across cultures. “We want this to be a place where differences are set aside, and we come together in the name of music as a universal language,” she said. “That’s why we chose the name QWANQWA, symbolizing unity and peace.”

New Album

In addition to their live performances, QWANQWA is releasing a new live album during the tour, capturing the energy and spirit of their electrifying concerts. This vinyl release offers fans a chance to experience the magic of QWANQWA’s music in the comfort of their homes, further extending the reach of their message of unity and harmony.

Courtesy photo

QWANQWA invites music lovers everywhere to follow them on social media for behind-the-scenes glimpses and updates on their journey. Through Instagram and Facebook, fans can join in the excitement and be part of this extraordinary musical experience.

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If You Go:

For more information and tour dates, visit QWANQWA’s official website and follow them on social media.

Related:

Girma Yifrashewa Makes Carnegie Hall Debut with ‘Peace unto Ethiopia: An Anthology of Original Works and Tributes’

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Tadias Magazine

Updated: September 29th, 2023

New York (TADIAS) – Prepare to be transported to the heart of Ethiopia’s rich cultural heritage as UCLA proudly presents Ethiocolor, a captivating 9-member ensemble led by the charismatic Melaku Belay.

Ethiocolor’s performance, which is set to take place this evening in Los Angeles at the UCLA Nimoy Theater in Westwood, is a deep dive into Ethiopia’s 2000-year-old Azmari culture, a treasure trove of artistry that has captivated hearts for centuries. Their practice is an awe-inspiring fusion of dance and music, effortlessly bridging the gap between ancient traditions and contemporary innovation.

With roots nurtured by a diverse array of Ethiopian traditions and enriched by their own lived experiences, Ethiocolor’s ecstatic performances have the remarkable ability to unite audiences in a profound way that transcends cultural boundaries.

Melaku Belay, a talent described by The New York Times as a “walking earthquake,” stands as Ethiopia’s foremost contemporary interpreter of eskista, a rhythmic and shoulder-shimmying dance that embodies the nation’s spirit. His star shines brightly both within his home country and as a global cultural force.

Belay’s Fendika Cultural Center in Addis Ababa has become a vibrant hub where artists, musicians, and enthusiasts from around the world gather to celebrate Ethiopia’s rich artistic heritage. It’s a testament to his unwavering dedication to preserving and sharing the essence of Azmari culture.

Presented as part of Center Stage, a public diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Ethiocolor’s performance receives funding from the U.S. Government and is administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations. General management is provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc.

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If You Go:
Ethiocolor at the UCLA Nimoy Theater
Click here for Tickets

Related:

DC: The Kennedy Center Presents Historic Musical Tribute to Ethiopian Icon Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru

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Tadias Magazine

Published: March 18th, 2023

New York (TADIAS) — The New African Film Festival (NAFF) at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, celebrates its 19th anniversary with a screening of the documentary “My Grandpa was an Emperor.”

The documentary follows the story of Yeshi Kassa, great-granddaughter of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, as she investigates what happened to her family after the 1974 coup that led to the imprisonment of most of her family. The film looks at a rarely examined slice of history, delving into the complex legacy of Ethiopia’s last emperor.

The festival features 30 films from 22 countries, including six U.S. premieres. The opening night film was “Bobi Wine: The People’s President. The festival also features documentaries that explore the complex lives and legacies of well-known cultural figures from across the continent.

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If You Go:
GRANDPA WAS AN EMPEROR
Showtimes: Wednesday, March 22, 2023 07:00 PM
Click here for tickets

AFI Silver Theatre
8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 301.495.6720, Fax: 301.495.6777
E-mail: silverinfo@afi.com
Website: AFI.com/Silver

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: March 4th, 2022

New York (TADIAS) — This weekend in New York the Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association (ECMAA) will host an online panel discussion reflecting on two major defining historical events that to this day influence Ethiopia’s national approach to foreign policy, geopolitics and global affairs: Adwa & Yekatit 12.

Adwa

As historian Ayele Bekerie, who has written extensively about Ethiopia’s consequential victory at the battle of Adwa 126 years ago this month and one of the panelists at the event, explains: “Simply put, Adwa became a turning point in modern African history.”

Professor Ayele notes that not only did the victory against Italian colonial ambitions on March 1, 1896 preserve Ethiopia’s sovereignty and independence as the only Black nation that has never been colonized, but it also inspired freedom movements around the world.

But, for the current generation that’s grappling with Ethiopia’s modern vulnerability to foreign exploitation due to decades of social decay and debilitating ethnic-identity politics “the full meaning and relevance of the victory at Adwa has yet to be realized within Ethiopia,” Dr. Ayele argues in an article published in Tadias last year. “That formula of unity should be repeated now to counter the large-scale displacements and violence encountered by our fellow Ethiopians throughout the country to this date.”

Yekatit 12

Despite Ethiopia’s resounding triumph at Adwa, however, Italy was not finished as it launched a brutal second invasion of the country some four decades later, unleashing a wave of crimes against humanity in another failed attempt to terrorize Ethiopians into subjugation.

Ethiopia, who was a member of the League of Nations at the time, was all but abandoned by its European allies and left to fend for itself against a powerful foreign aggressor.

As warned by then exiled Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, during his famous speech at the League’s headquarters in Geneva the October 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, which was led by the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, would eventually set the stage for World War II engulfing Europe and the rest of the globe. Among the numerous crimes against humanity the Italian occupation forces committed in Ethiopia, the massacre of Yekatit 12 remains forever seared in the country’s collective memory.

For the past several years ECMAA, in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Justice, has been hosting an annual event in remembrance of Yekatit 12 and the lives lost at the Addis Ababa massacre on February 19, 1937.

According to the announcement in addition to Professor Ayele the virtual panel discussion on Sunday, March 6th will feature Professor Getachew Metaferia and will be moderated by Hanna Yesuf.

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If You Attend:
More info and registration at ecmaany.org.

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NJ.com

Last month, the Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) began its new talk series, “Black Space,” an ongoing series of intimate and candid conversations exploring the experiences of black artists in the world today led by Ashley Nicole Baptiste, JCTC’s associate artistic director.

On Sunday April 25, Baptiste will initiate an in-depth conversation with actor, producer, and playwright Antu Yacob. Yacob is an Ethiopian-born, New York-based actor and has also worked extensively in the Bay Area and the Twin Cities. The talk takes place at 2 p.m. EST on Facebook Live and as a Zoom webinar.

“As our city gentrifies while retaining its diversity, and indeed as the world is changing in fundamental ways, being right in the middle of these conversations is essential,” says JCTC’s artistic director, Olga Levina. “For us as a theatre company dedicated to sparking conversations that lead to deeper respect and understanding, we know we need to create a safe place to listen and learn and collaborate.”

Yacob’s work focuses on women of the African diaspora. On the acting faculty of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, her short film “Love in Submission” tells the story of two Muslim women from different backgrounds who meet for the first time when their worlds collide through a mutual third party. You can follow Yacob on Instagram @antuyacob and Twitter @AntuAbdi for updates.

Past talks for Black Space included Jersey City visual artist K. Brown, who talked about her love for art and Jersey City; and a discussion with nine black artists in different fields and different cities including Portland, Jersey City, New York, and London.

“I want to create an intentional safe space where black artists from around the world can come together and have a human-to-human exchange about art, race and life,” says Baptiste, an actor and a veteran youth theatre educator with the JCTC Youth Theatre and the Stories of Greenville initiative. “This series is about expansion, and pushing past pre-conceived notions of blackness.”

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Related:

In Pictures: Antu Yacob Performs “In the Gray” at United Solo Theatre Festival

In the Gray: A One Person Ethio-American Show by Playwright Antu Yacob

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: February 19th, 2021

New York (TADIAS) — If there is one thing that the vast majority of Ethiopians around the world agree on — across the diverse political spectrum — it’s that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a national pride and a homegrown solution to transform Ethiopia into an economic regional superpower, leaving behind its long-lingering image of poverty once and for all.

This weekend a diverse group of Ethiopians here in the New York area are launching a public relations initiative to help educate the international community including U.S. elected officials and American scholars about Ethiopia’s Nile river dam project, which when completed will become the largest hydropower plant in Africa.

According to the announcement “the NY Tristate Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Support is launching its first community virtual meeting Saturday, February 20th at 2:00 PM.”

Guest speakers include Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy Dr. Seleshi Bekele and Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Taye Atske, as well as Lemlem Fiseha, member of GERD Negotiating Team (New York).

“We Ethiopians and American-Ethiopians in the New York-TriState area formed the GERD Support group in September 2020 to advocate the completion of the GERD’s construction to realize its peaceful and equitable agenda by mobilizing the public and financial support needed,” Wondmagegne Masresha, Chair of the New York Tristate GERD support group, said in a statement. “As part of our advocacy, we have sent GERD fact sheets and advocacy letters to US Senators, House Representatives, research institutes and think thank groups.”

Dr. Bisrat Aklilu, a member of the GERD Support Group, added that the local initiative is “keen to join forces and work together with similar Ethiopian and American GERD supporters and advocates in other US states.”

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If You Attend:

NY Tristate GERD Support Virtual Launch Event
Feb 20, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Zoom Link:
Click register and receive your meeting ID and passcode
More info at www.NYtristate4GERD.org

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: February 3rd, 2021

New York (TADIAS) – This weekend People to People & Ethiopian Diaspora Advisory Council on COVID-19 are hosting a timely webinar titled “Addressing Fear and Hope – COVID-19 Vaccines.”

According to the announcement the online conference, which takes place via Zoom on Saturday, February 6, will focus on “plans, preparation and strategies for COVID-19 vaccine introduction in Ethiopia.”

Featured guests include Ethiopia’s Minister of Health Dr. Lia Tadesse and Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the U.S. Fitsum Arega who are scheduled to deliver opening remarks as well as Dr. Ebba Abate, Director General of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI).

The keynote speaker is Prof. Tilahun Yilma, Distinguished Professor of Virology at the University of California, Davis, whose presentation covers “the safety and efficacy of available vaccines for COVID-19.”

Other speakers are Dr. Gebeyehu Teferi, Chief of Infectious Disease at Unity Health Care in Washington DC; Dr. Muluken Yohannes, Special Advisor to Anglophone Africa at GAVI board; Prof. Yonas Geda, Psychiatrist and Behavioral Neurologist; and Dr. Zelalem Mekuria of Ohio State’s Global One Health initiative (GOHI).

The program notes that Webinar topics include “COVID19 vaccine diplomacy” (Ambassador Fitsum Arega), “COVID19 epidemiology and public health measures in Ethiopia” (Dr. Ebba Abate), “COVID-19 vaccine introduction, planning and strategies” (Dr. Muluken Yohannes), SARS COV2 variants of concern (Dr. Zelalem Mekuria), “Discipline: the missing link between public health measures and ‘being caught by Corona’” (Prof. Yonas Geda).

The event will be moderated by Prof. Demissie Alemayehu of Columbia University’s Department of Statistics. Welcoming remarks will be delivered by Dr. Enawgaw Mehari, President of P2P & Chair of EDAC-C, while closing remarks will be made by Dr. Kebede Begna, Hematologist/Oncologist at Mayo Clinic.

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If You Attend:

Click here to resgister.

Related:

The Latest: Ethiopia Coronavirus Update

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: November 23rd, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — This week the works of Ethiopian artists Tesfaye Urgessa and Ermias Kifleyesus are being featured on the newly launched online platform, Art Cologne, which is the world’s oldest art fair for modern and contemporary art.

Addis Fine Art announced that it is presenting the Ethiopian artists as part of online-only 2020 edition scheduled to take place through November 29th.

According to Art Daily: “Art Cologne is not only the oldest art fair in the world — the storied show is among the top three most important to take place in Continental Europe, and it is the premier art fair in Germany. Art Cologne’s April 2020 edition was postponed until November this year due to COVID-19 to coincide with Cologne Fine Art & Design. Both editions are now exclusively online in place of in-person events following new lockdown measures coming into force in Germany.”

Left: Ermias Kifleyesus, The Glasshouse and the Antis Hill, 2020, Oil on canvas, 172 x 190 cm; Right: Tesfaye Urgessa, VUPS IX, 2019, Oil on canvas, 180 x 180 cm. (Images via Addis Fine Art)

Per Addis Fine Art: “Tesfaye Urgessa’s work has deep roots in his childhood and his memories as a young man in Ethiopia. He finds social activism and story-telling a catalyst for his artistic production. Ermias Kifleyesus’ production is one layered narrative of cultural restitution and trans-cultural dialogue that deals with the de-colonization of historical narratives and cultural restitution.”

TESFAYE URGESSA
Urgessa’s work has deep roots in his childhood and his memories as a young man in Ethiopia. Having studied under modern master Tadesse Mesfin, at the Alle School of Fine Art and Design, Urgessa connected with Ethiopian iconography. This will be, in years to come, one of the binding elements of his artistic production. In his own words, this is like ‘always having an Ethiopian accent, no matter what language I’m speaking.’

ERMIAS KIFLEYESUS STATEMENT:
“I explore the flip side of paintings, this is true with my own work and the works I discover. I’m performing with the front and back of paintings, engaging the places in between canvas, primer, oil paint and varnish by working with light in that uncharted territory. This process gives new life to forgotten spaces; my technique gives vision and voice to my ideas, heroes and idols”.

Learn more at addisfineart.com.

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Related:

Tadesse Mesfin’s ‘Pillars of Life’ at Addis Fine Art London

Tadesse Mesfin is a giant of the Ethiopian art scene. (Courtesy Photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: November 20th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — Addis Fine Art gallery announced that they’re featuring an online exhibition of new works by artist Tadesse Mesfin called ‘Pillars of Life’ from their new London location as they prepare for the reopening of the gallery this December.

“To mark the exhibition, we have released a new film documenting the show, which is also accompanied by narration from Tadesse who delves into his practice and motivations,” the press release states.

“Tadesse Mesfin’s (b. 1953) Pillars of Life series is an ode to the women who work as small-holder vendors in markets across Ethiopia. These traders can typically be found standing or crouched down with their agricultural produce scattered in front of them, hoping to entice the eye of potential customers. As a visual paean to them, Tadesse places their occupations and personae front and centre, and the viewer is encouraged to appreciate their importance to the communities they serve.”

The gallery adds:

“Mesfin’s latest work is a continuation of his ongoing ‘The Pillars of Life’ series, an ode to the women who work as small-holder vendors in markets across Ethiopia. As a visual paean to them, Mesfin pays homage to their occupations and personae by placing them front and centre, celebrating their importance within the social and cultural framework of Ethiopian life.

Tadesse Mesfin holds a unique position as both a figurehead of the Ethiopian modernist movement, and as a long- time educator through his role as a professor at the influential Alle School of Fine Art and Design in Addis Ababa. Among the generations of painters he has taught are Addis Gezehagn, Ermias Kifleyesus, Merikokeb Berhanu and Tesfaye Urgessa.

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Learn more at addisfineart.com.

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: November 20th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — Addis Fine Art gallery announced that they’re featuring an online exhibition of new works by artist Tadesse Mesfin called ‘Pillars of Life’ from their new London location as they prepare for the reopening of the gallery this December.

“To mark the exhibition, we have released a new film documenting the show, which is also accompanied by narration from Tadesse who delves into his practice and motivations,” the press release states.

“Tadesse Mesfin’s (b. 1953) Pillars of Life series is an ode to the women who work as small-holder vendors in markets across Ethiopia. These traders can typically be found standing or crouched down with their agricultural produce scattered in front of them, hoping to entice the eye of potential customers. As a visual paean to them, Tadesse places their occupations and personae front and centre, and the viewer is encouraged to appreciate their importance to the communities they serve.”

Tadesse Mesfin is a giant of the Ethiopian art scene. (Courtesy Photo)

The gallery adds:

“Mesfin’s latest work is a continuation of his ongoing ‘The Pillars of Life’ series, an ode to the women who work as small-holder vendors in markets across Ethiopia. As a visual paean to them, Mesfin pays homage to their occupations and personae by placing them front and centre, celebrating their importance within the social and cultural framework of Ethiopian life.

Tadesse Mesfin holds a unique position as both a figurehead of the Ethiopian modernist movement, and as a long- time educator through his role as a professor at the influential Alle School of Fine Art and Design in Addis Ababa. Among the generations of painters he has taught are Addis Gezehagn, Ermias Kifleyesus, Merikokeb Berhanu and Tesfaye Urgessa.

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Learn more at addisfineart.com.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Published: October 19th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — We are now almost two weeks away from the November 3rd U.S. presidential election. This week the ‘Habeshas Vote’ initiative and the non-profit organization Habesha Networks in partnership with Tadias Magazine and Abbay Media will host their first virtual phone banking event to reach out to the Ethiopian American community.

The online event, which is set to take place on Thursday, October 22nd from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT, will feature various panel discussions, public service announcements and cultural engagements.

Organizers note that there will be a brief training on phone banking as well as “some amazing prizes” for those that call and text the most voters.

If You Attend:

Click here to lean more and RSVP.

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Related:

Ethiopian-Americans for Biden-Harris Hosts Virtual Conversation

Ethiopian-Americans for Biden-Harris is a volunteer-led group that supports the candidacy of Former Vice-President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: October 19th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — As the highly anticipated 2020 U.S. presidential election fast approaches on November 3rd, various Ethiopian American associations are organizing voter turnout and education events across the country.

The latest to announce such an event is the newly formed, volunteer-led group, Ethiopian-Americans for Biden-Harris, which supports the candidacy of Former Vice-President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris and will be hosting an online conversation next week Friday, October 23 at 6:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM PDT.

“As one of the largest African Diaspora groups in the United States, the community has historically supported causes championed by the Democratic Party, including but not limited to, immigration reform, healthcare reform, promotion of democracy, human rights and improved trade and investment between the United States and Ethiopia,” the group states in its press release. “Ethiopian-Americans believe that a Biden-Harris Administration will champion equitable access and opportunity for all Americans, restore mutually beneficial relationships with Ethiopia and improve America’s standing among the community of nations.”

(Courtesy photo)

The virtual event, which will be moderated by Dr. Menna Demessie, Senior Vice President of Policy Analysis & Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, features Congresswoman Karen Bass, who has represented California’s 37th congressional district since 2013; Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas; Gayle Smith, president and CEO of the One Campaign and the former administrator of the United States Agency for International Development; and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a Senior Vice President at Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG) leading the firm’s Africa practice. Thomas-Greenfield was also the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the United States Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs from 2013 to 2017.

Ethiopian American speakers include Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, the first Ethiopian-American elected to public office in the United States and the first African immigrant to serve in elected office in the State of Nevada; Addisu Demissie, who served as Senior Advisor to U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden, and was responsible for organizing the nominating convention for the Democratic Party this past summer; Marcus Samuelsson, an award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, philanthropist and food activist; Mimi Alemayehou, a development finance executive who has served as Executive Vice President of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation and as United States Executive Director of the African Development Bank.

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If You Attend

Click here to RSVP now staring $25.

Learn more at www.ethiopiansforbidenharris.com.

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Related:

Ethiopian Americans: Election is Approaching, Let’s Make Sure our Voices are Heard

In this OP-ED Helen Amelga, President of the Ethiopian Democratic Club of Los Angeles, urges Ethiopian Americans to participate in the upcoming U.S. election that will directly impact our lives for many years to come, and shares resources to help our community to get involved in the democratic process. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Helen Amelga

Updated: October 16th, 2020

Los Angeles (TADIAS) — How many people of Ethiopian descent live in the United States? 300,000? 400,000? 500,000? We don’t really know for sure. But with the 2020 census, we will for the first time have the opportunity to get a truly accurate count. If you haven’t done so already, go to 2020cencus.gov and complete your census today.

While the exact numbers are yet to be determined, it is clear that there is a significant Ethiopian-American population in the United States. Why is it then that we do not have a strong political presence?

We know our community can organize. We have Iqub (እቁብ), mahbers (ማህበር), business associations, and our faith based groups are extremely organized. We need to use those same skills to mobilize politically.

We must equip ourselves with the knowledge of political systems, major policies and voter rights, not only to serve as advocates for our community, but so that we ourselves can occupy positions of power and authority to be the decision makers who shape the society and world we want to live in.

We know it’s possible because we already have trailblazers such as Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, the first Ethiopian American to be elected into office in the Nevada Legislature and the first Ethiopian American ever elected in the U.S. to a state-wide governing body as well as Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson of Florida, who is the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States who was re-elected to a third term his year.

We cannot afford to give our vote away to candidates who are not serving our needs. We are ready to spring into action when there is a problem in our community, but it is not enough to go to our elected officials once we have a problem and try to convince them to help us. We need to be proactive.

We must purposefully engage to get the right people elected in the first place. We must identify candidates who align with and will fight for our values. Then, we must do everything we can to make sure those candidates are elected.

Here are a few steps you can take to get involved:

1. Register to vote

2. Request a vote by mail ballot today

3. Reach out to 5 friends and make sure they’re registered to vote

4. Research your candidates & ballot measures

5. Volunteers to phone bank for a campaign

6. Sign up to be a poll worker on election day

The November 3rd general election is fast approaching. Let’s make sure our voices are heard.

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Related:

Interview: Helen Amelga, Founder of Ethiopian Democratic Club of LA

Interview With Addisu Demissie: Senior Adviser to Joe Biden

Biden Selects Yohannes Abraham as Member of Transition Team

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Related:

Election 2020 – The Youth Vote Event In Seattle

Bitaniya Giday, age 17, is the 2020-2021 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate. She is a first-generation Ethiopian American residing in Seattle. Bitaniya is one of the young interviewers in a timely upcoming Zoom event on October 14th titled “The Youth Vote: A conversation about leadership, ethics and values and how they factor into choosing a candidate.” (KNKX PUBLIC RADIO)

KNKX PUBLIC RADIO

Young people make up a projected 37% of the 2020 electorate, yet historically they vote less than other age groups. Will it be different this time? The pandemic crisis and the call for racial justice and institutional changes are top concerns as we move closer to this high stakes election. Ethics and values also underpin our decisions. This virtual event aims to bring together first-time and new voters with older adults with a track record of civic leadership to discuss a number of issues through the lens of beliefs and values, touching on things like:

What does it mean to be a leader?
In thorny situations, how do you speak for a community?
If there are three important issues facing your community and you only have enough resources to address one, how would you choose?

Because this is leading up to the general election, we want to frame this conversation around the power to change systems for the greater good and how that ties in with being an informed voter.

The six young interviewers will ask the four speakers questions relating to the themes of conflict/failure, challenges, accountability, transparency, priorities and representation, with the speakers drawing on their personal and professional experiences; and offering examples of how they have faced challenging situations and how that speaks to leadership and community building.

Young Interviewers

Bitaniya Giday, age 17, is the 2020-2021 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate. She is a first-generation Ethiopian American residing in Seattle. Her writing explores the nuances of womanhood and blackness, as she reflects upon her family’s path of immigration across the world. She hopes to restore and safeguard the past, present, and future histories of her people through traditional storytelling and poetry.

Read more »

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Related:

Ethiopian Americans Hold Virtual Town Hall Ahead of November Election

The nationwide town hall event, which will be held on Thursday, September 24th, 2020 plans to emphasize the importance of exercising our citizenship right to vote and to participate in the U.S. democratic process. The gathering will feature panel discussions, PSAs, and cultural engagements. (Courtesy photos)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: September 23rd, 2020

Los Angeles (TADIAS) — Ethiopian Americans are holding a virtual town hall this week ahead of the November 3rd U.S. election.

The nationwide event, which will be held on Thursday, September 24th, will emphasize the importance of exercising our citizenship right to vote and to participate in the U.S. democratic process.

According to organizers the town hall — put together by the ‘Habeshas Vote’ initiative and the non-profit organization Habesha Networks — will feature various panel discussions, public service announcements and cultural engagements.

“We intend on discussing various subject matters related to civic engagement issues affecting our community at the moment,” the announcement notes, highlighting that by the end of the conference “participants will be able to understand the importance of taking ownership of our local communities, learn more about the voting process and gain a better [appreciation] of why we should all care about voting.”

Speakers include Helen Amelga, President of the Ethiopian Democratic Club of Los Angeles; Dr. Menna Demissie, Senior Vice President of Policy Analysis & Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, the first Ethiopian American to be elected into office in the Nevada Legislature and the first Ethiopian American ever elected in the U.S. to a state-wide governing body; Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson of Florida, who is the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States who was re-elected to a third term this year; and Girmay Zahilay, Councilman in King County, Washington.

(Courtesy photos)

Additional presenters include: Andom Ghebreghiorgis. former Congressional candidate from New York; Samuel Gebru, former candidate for City Council in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and current managing director of Black Lion Strategies; as well as Hannah Joy Gebresilassie, journalist and community advocate; and Debbie Almraw, writer and poet.

Entertainment will be provided by Elias Aragaw, the artist behind @TheFunkIsReal, and DJ Sammy Sam.

The announcement notes that “voting is a core principle of being American, but to exercise this basic right we must be registered to vote! That’s why Habesha Networks and Habeshas Vote are proud partners of When We All Vote and supporters of National Voter Registration Day.”

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Watch: Students Interview Kamala Harris (U.S. ELECTION UPDATE)

Fana R. Haileselassie, a student at Spelman College in Atlanta, asks Sen. Kamala Harris a question during a virtual Q&A hosted by BET featuring the Democratic nominee for Vice President and students discussing the interests of millennial voters. (Photo: BETNetworks)

BET News Special

HBCU Students Interview Kamala Harris

A virtual Q&A hosted by Terrence J featuring Democratic nominee for Vice President Sen. Kamala Harris and HBCU students discussing the interests of millennial voters.

Watch: Sen. Kamala Harris Answers HBCU Students’ Questions About Voting, Student Loan Debt & More

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Related:

Virginia’s Era as a Swing State Appears to be Over

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama wave after a campaign event in May 2012 in Richmond. (Getty Images)

The Washington Post

Updated: September 18th, 2020

No TV ads, no presidential visits: Virginia’s era as a swing state appears to be over

Barack Obama held the very last rally of his 2008 campaign in Virginia, the longtime Republican stronghold he flipped on his way to the White House.

Four years later, Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney made more visits and aired more television ads here than nearly anywhere else. And in 2016, Donald Trump staged rally after rally in the Old Dominion while Hillary Clinton picked a Virginian as her running mate.

But Virginia isn’t getting the swing-state treatment this time around. As in-person early voting got underway Friday, President Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden were dark on broadcast television. Super PACs were clogging somebody else’s airwaves. Even as Trump and Biden have resumed limited travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, neither has stumped in the Old Dominion.

There’s really no discussion about the state being in play,” said Amy Walter, national editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “If you’re Ohio or New Hampshire, or Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, you’ve always been in that spotlight. Virginia got it for such a short period of time.”

The last time presidential candidates stayed out of Virginia and off its airwaves was 2004. The state was reliably red then, having backed Republicans for the White House every year since 1968. Now Virginia seems to be getting the cold shoulder because it’s considered solidly blue.

“Virginia was the belle of the ball in 2008, and again in 2012, and still once more in 2016, but in 2020, the commonwealth is a wall flower,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political scientist.

Read more »

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Related:

Virginians come out in force to cast ballots on the first day of early voting

Mike Bloomberg to spend at least $100 million in Florida to benefit Joe Biden

Former NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg plans to spend at least $100 million to help elect Joe Biden, a massive late-stage infusion of cash that could reshape the presidential contest. (Getty Images)

The Washington Post

Updated: September 13th, 2020

Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg plans to spend at least $100 million in Florida to help elect Democrat Joe Biden, a massive late-stage infusion of cash that could reshape the presidential contest in a costly toss-up state central to President Trump’s reelection hopes.

Bloomberg made the decision to focus his final election spending on Florida last week, after news reports that Trump had considered spending as much as $100 million of his own money in the final weeks of the campaign, Bloomberg’s advisers said. Presented with several options on how to make good on an earlier promise to help elect Biden, Bloomberg decided that a narrow focus on Florida was the best use of his money.

The president’s campaign has long treated the state, which Trump now calls home, as a top priority, and his advisers remain confident in his chances given strong turnout in 2016 and 2018 that gave Republicans narrow winning margins in statewide contests.

Watch: Former 2020 presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg slammed Trump during his Democratic National Convention speech on Aug. 20.

Bloomberg’s aim is to prompt enough early voting that a pro-Biden result would be evident soon after the polls close.

Read more »

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Related:

Biden Leads by 9 Percentage Points in Pennsylvania (ELECTION UPDATE)

In the survey, Biden, who was born in the state, draws the support of 53 percent of likely voters, compared to 44 percent who back Trump. (Reuters photo)

The Washington Post

Updated: September 9, 2020

Biden Leads by 9 Percentage Points in Pennsylvania, Poll Finds

Joe Biden leads President Trump by nine percentage points among likely voters in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that Trump narrowly won four years ago, according to a new NBC News-Marist poll.

In the survey, Biden, who was born in the state, draws the support of 53 percent of likely voters, compared to 44 percent who back Trump.

In 2016, Trump carried Pennsylvania by less than one percentage point over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The NBC-Marist poll shows Biden getting a boost from suburban voters, who side with him by nearly 20 percentage points, 58 percent to 39 percent. In 2016, Trump won suburban voters in Pennsylvania by about eight points, according to exit polls.

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden stand outside the AFL-CIO headquarters in Harrisburg, Pa., on Monday. (Getty Images)

The poll also finds the candidates are tied at 49 percent among white voters in Pennsylvania, a group that Trump won by double digits in 2016. Biden leads Trump among nonwhite voters, 75 percent to 19 percent.

Pennsylvania has been a frequent destination for both campaigns in recent weeks. Vice President Pence has events scheduled there on Wednesday.

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Kamala D. Harris Goes Viral — for Her Shoe Choice

Sporting Chuck Taylor sneakers, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.) greets supporters Monday in Milwaukee. (AP photo)

The Washington Post

Updated: September 8, 2020

It took roughly eight seconds of on-the-ground campaigning for the first Black woman to be nominated on a major party’s ticket to go viral.

At first glance, little seemed noteworthy as Sen. Kamala D. Harris deplaned in Milwaukee on Monday. She was wearing a mask. She didn’t trip. Instead, what sent video pinging around the Internet was what was on her feet: her black, low-rise Chuck Taylor All-Stars, the classic Converse shoe that has long been associated more closely with cultural cool than carefully managed high-profile candidacies.

By Tuesday morning, videos by two reporters witnessing her arrival had been viewed nearly 8 million times on Twitter — for comparison’s sake, more than four times the attention the campaign’s biggest planned video event, a conversation between Joe Biden and Barack Obama, had received on both Twitter and YouTube combined.

Harris’s sister, Maya, tweeted Monday that Chuck Taylors are, indeed, her sister’s “go-to.” A few hours later, Harris’s official campaign account tweeted the video with the caption “laced up and ready to win.”

Read more »

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81 American Nobel Laureates Endorse Biden for Next U.S. President

The Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine “wholeheartedly” endorsed the Democratic nominee in an open letter released Wednesday. “At no time in our nation’s history has there been a greater need for our leaders to appreciate the value of science in formulating public policy,” they said. (Courtesy photo)

Press Release

Nobel Laureates endorse Joe Biden

81 American Nobel Laureates in Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine have signed this letter to express their support for former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 election for President of the United States.

At no time in our nation’s history has there been a greater need for our leaders to appreciate the value of science in formulating public policy. During his long record of public service, Joe Biden has consistently demonstrated his willingness to listen to experts, his understanding of the value of international collaboration in research, and his respect for the contribution that immigrants make to the intellectual life of our country.

As American citizens and as scientists, we wholeheartedly endorse Joe Biden for President.

Name, Category, Prize Year:

Peter Agre Chemistry 2003
Sidney Altman Chemistry 1989
Frances H. Arnold Chemistry 2018
Paul Berg Chemistry 1980
Thomas R. Cech Chemistry 1989
Martin Chalfie Chemistry 2008
Elias James Corey Chemistry 1990
Joachim Frank Chemistry 2017
Walter Gilbert Chemistry 1980
John B. Goodenough Chemistry 2019
Alan Heeger Chemistry 2000
Dudley R. Herschbach Chemistry 1986
Roald Hoffmann Chemistry 1981
Brian K. Kobilka Chemistry 2012
Roger D. Kornberg Chemistry 2006
Robert J. Lefkowitz Chemistry 2012
Roderick MacKinnon Chemistry 2003
Paul L. Modrich Chemistry 2015
William E. Moerner Chemistry 2014
Mario J. Molina Chemistry 1995
Richard R. Schrock Chemistry 2005
K. Barry Sharpless Chemistry 2001
Sir James Fraser Stoddart Chemistry 2016
M. Stanley Whittingham Chemistry 2019
James P. Allison Medicine 2018
Richard Axel Medicine 2004
David Baltimore Medicine 1975
J. Michael Bishop Medicine 1989
Elizabeth H. Blackburn Medicine 2009
Michael S. Brown Medicine 1985
Linda B. Buck Medicine 2004
Mario R. Capecchi Medicine 2007
Edmond H. Fischer Medicine 1992
Joseph L. Goldstein Medicine 1985
Carol W. Greider Medicine 2009
Jeffrey Connor Hall Medicine 2017
Leland H. Hartwell Medicine 2001
H. Robert Horvitz Medicine 2002
Louis J. Ignarro Medicine 1998
William G. Kaelin Jr. Medicine 2019
Eric R. Kandel Medicine 2000
Craig C. Mello Medicine 2006
John O’Keefe Medicine 2014
Michael Rosbash Medicine 2017
James E. Rothman Medicine 2013
Randy W. Schekman Medicine 2013
Gregg L. Semenza Medicine 2019
Hamilton O. Smith Medicine 1978
Thomas C. Sudhof Medicine 2013
Jack W. Szostak Medicine 2009
Susumu Tonegawa Medicine 1987
Harold E. Varmus Medicine 1989
Eric F. Wieschaus Medicine 1995
Torsten N. Wiesel Medicine 1981
Michael W. Young Medicine 2017
Barry Clark Barish Physics 2017
Steven Chu Physics 1997
Jerome I. Friedman Physics 1990
Sheldon Glashow Physics 1979
David J. Gross Physics 2004
John L. Hall Physics 2005
Wolfgang Ketterle Physics 2001
J. Michael Kosterlitz Physics 2016
Herbert Kroemer Physics 2000
Robert B. Laughlin Physics 1998
Anthony J. Leggett Physics 2003
John C. Mather Physics 2006
Shuji Nakamura Physics 2014
Douglas D. Osheroff Physics 1996
James Peebles Physics 2019
Arno Penzias Physics 1978
Saul Perlmutter Physics 2011
H. David Politzer Physics 2004
Brian P. Schmidt Physics 2011
Joseph H. Taylor Jr. Physics 1993
Kip Stephen Thorne Physics 2017
Daniel C. Tsui Physics 1998
Rainer Weiss Physics 2017
Frank Wilczek Physics 2004
Robert Woodrow Wilson Physics 1978
David J. Wineland Physics 2012

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Related

Biden Calls Trump ‘a Toxic Presence’ Who is Encouraging Violence in America

“Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years,” Biden said. “Will we rid ourselves of this toxin? (Photo: Joe Biden speaks Monday in Pittsburgh/Reuters)

The Washington Post

Joe Biden excoriated President Trump on Monday as a threat to the safety of all Americans, saying he has encouraged violence in the nation’s streets even as he has faltered in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

For his most extensive remarks since violent protests have escalated across the country in recent days, Biden traveled to Pittsburgh and struck a centrist note, condemning both the destruction in the streets and Trump for creating a culture that he said has exacerbated it.

“I want to be very clear about all of this: Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting,” Biden said. “It’s lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted.”

The former vice president also rejected the caricature that Trump and his allies have painted of him as someone who holds extremist views and has helped fuel the anger in urban centers across the country.

“You know me. You know my heart. You know my story, my family’s story,” Biden said. “Ask yourself: Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?”

While the speech was delivered amid heightened tensions over race and police conduct, Biden did not outline new policies, instead focusing on making a broader condemnation of Trump.

He called the president a danger to those suffering from the coronavirus, to anyone in search of a job or struggling to pay rent, to voters worried about Russian interference in the upcoming election and to those worried about their own safety amid unrest.

“Donald Trump wants to ask the question: Who will keep you safer as president? Let’s answer that question,” Biden said. “When I was vice president, violent crime fell 15 percent in this country. We did it without chaos and disorder.”

Pointing to a nationwide homicide rate rising 26 percent this year, Biden asked, “Do you really feel safer under Donald Trump?”

“If I were president today, the country would be safer,” Biden said. “And we’d be seeing a lot less violence.”

It was a marked shift for Biden from his convention speech less than two weeks ago, in which he never named Trump in his remarks. During his speech Monday, he mentioned Trump’s name 32 times.

“Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years,” Biden said. “Will we rid ourselves of this toxin? Or will we make it a permanent part of our nation’s character?”

Read more »

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Spotlight: The Unravelling of the Social Fabric in Ethiopia and the U.S.

As Ethiopian Americans we are increasingly concerned about the decline of civil discourse and the unravelling of the social fabric not only in Ethiopia, but also here in the United States where in the era of Trump and the COVID-19 pandemic politics has also become more and more violent. Below are excerpts and links to two recent articles from The Intercept and The Guardian focusing on the timely topic. (AP photo)

The Intercept

August, 29th, 2020

The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, if Not Unravelling: Why, in the world’s richest country, is every metric of mental health pathology rapidly worsening?

THE YEAR 2020 has been one of the most tumultuous in modern American history. To find events remotely as destabilizing and transformative, one has to go back to the 2008 financial crisis and the 9/11 and anthrax attacks of 2001, though those systemic shocks, profound as they were, were isolated (one a national security crisis, the other a financial crisis) and thus more limited in scope than the multicrisis instability now shaping U.S. politics and culture.

Since the end of World War II, the only close competitor to the current moment is the multipronged unrest of the 1960s and early 1970s: serial assassinations of political leaders, mass civil rights and anti-war protests, sustained riots, fury over a heinous war in Indochina, and the resignation of a corruption-plagued president.

But those events unfolded and built upon one another over the course of a decade. By crucial contrast, the current confluence of crises, each of historic significance in their own right — a global pandemic, an economic and social shutdown, mass unemployment, an enduring protest movement provoking increasing levels of violence and volatility, and a presidential election centrally focused on one of the most divisive political figures the U.S. has known who happens to be the incumbent president — are happening simultaneously, having exploded one on top of the other in a matter of a few months.

Lurking beneath the headlines justifiably devoted to these major stories of 2020 are very troubling data that reflect intensifying pathologies in the U.S. population — not moral or allegorical sicknesses but mental, emotional, psychological and scientifically proven sickness. Many people fortunate enough to have survived this pandemic with their physical health intact know anecdotally — from observing others and themselves — that these political and social crises have spawned emotional difficulties and psychological challenges…

Much attention is devoted to lamenting the toxicity of our discourse, the hate-driven polarization of our politics, and the fragmentation of our culture. But it is difficult to imagine any other outcome in a society that is breeding so much psychological and emotional pathology by denying to its members the things they most need to live fulfilling lives.

Read the full article at theintercept.com »

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Ethiopia falls into violence a year after leader’s Nobel peace prize win

Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, centre, arrives at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa in July. Photograph: AP

By Jason Burke and Zecharias Zelalem in Addis Ababa

Sat 29 Aug 2020

Abiy Ahmed came to power promising radical reform, but 180 people have died amid ethnic unrest in Oromia state

Ethiopia faces a dangerous cycle of intensifying internal political dissent, ethnic unrest and security crackdowns, observers have warned, after a series of protests in recent weeks highlighted growing discontent with the government of Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel peace prize winner.

Many western powers welcomed the new approach of Abiy, who took power in 2018 and promised a programme of radical reform after decades of repressive one-party rule, hoping for swift changes in an emerging economic power that plays a key strategic role in a region increasingly contested by Middle Eastern powers and China. He won the peace prize in 2019 for ending a conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

The most vocal unrest was in the state of Oromia, where there have been waves of protests since the killing last month of a popular Oromo artist and activist, Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, in Addis Ababa, the capital. An estimated 180 people have died in the violence, some murdered by mobs, others shot by security forces. Houses, factories, businesses, hotels, cars and government offices were set alight or damaged and several thousand people, including opposition leaders, were arrested.

Further protests last week prompted a new wave of repression and left at least 11 dead. “Oromia is still reeling from the grim weight of tragic killings this year. These grave patterns of abuse should never be allowed to continue,” said Aaron Maasho, a spokesperson for the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Read more »

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Related:

‘How Dare We Not Vote?’ Black Voters Organize After DC March

People rally at Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Friday Aug. 28, 2020, on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Speakers implored attendees to “vote as if our lives depend on it.” (AP Photos)

The Associated Press

Updated: August 29th, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tears streamed down Brooke Moreland’s face as she watched tens of thousands gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to decry systemic racism and demand racial justice in the wake of several police killings of Black Americans.

But for the Indianapolis mother of three, the fiery speeches delivered Friday at the commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom also gave way to one central message: Vote and demand change at the ballot box in November.

“As Black people, a lot of the people who look like us died for us to be able to sit in public, to vote, to go to school and to be able to walk around freely and live our lives,” the 31-year-old Moreland said. “Every election is an opportunity, so how dare we not vote after our ancestors fought for us to be here?”

That determination could prove critical in a presidential election where race is emerging as a flashpoint. President Donald Trump, at this past week’s Republican National Convention, emphasized a “law and order” message aimed at his largely white base of supporters. His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has expressed empathy with Black victims of police brutality and is counting on strong turnout from African Americans to win critical states such as North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

“If we do not vote in numbers that we’ve never ever seen before and allow this administration to continue what it is doing, we are headed on a course for serious destruction,” Martin Luther King III, told The Associated Press before his rousing remarks, delivered 57 years after his father’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech. “I’m going to do all that I can to encourage, promote, to mobilize and what’s at stake is the future of our nation, our planet. What’s at stake is the future of our children.”

As the campaign enters its latter stages, there’s an intensifying effort among African Americans to transform frustration over police brutality, systemic racism and the disproportionate toll of the coronavirus into political power. Organizers and participants said Friday’s march delivered a much needed rallying cry to mobilize.

As speakers implored attendees to “vote as if our lives depend on it,” the march came on the heels of yet another shooting by a white police officer of a Black man – 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last Sunday — sparking demonstrations and violence that left two dead.

“We need a new conversation … you act like it’s no trouble to shoot us in the back,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said. “Our vote is dipped in blood. We’re going to vote for a nation that stops the George Floyds, that stops the Breonna Taylors.”

Navy veteran Alonzo Jones- Goss, who traveled to Washington from Boston, said he plans to vote for Biden because the nation has seen far too many tragic events that have claimed the lives of Black Americans and other people of color.

“I supported and defended the Constitution and I support the members that continue to do it today, but the injustice and the people that are losing their lives, that needs to end,” Jones-Goss, 28, said. “It’s been 57 years since Dr. King stood over there and delivered his speech. But what is unfortunate is what was happening 57 years ago is still happening today.”

Drawing comparisons to the original 1963 march, where participants then were protesting many of the same issues that have endured, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial said it’s clear why this year’s election will be pivotal for Black Americans.

“We are about reminding people and educating people on how important it is to translate the power of protest into the power of politics and public policy change,” said Morial, who spoke Friday. “So we want to be deliberate about making the connection between protesting and voting.”

Nadia Brown, a Purdue University political science professor, agreed there are similarities between the situation in 1963 and the issues that resonate among Black Americans today. She said the political pressure that was applied then led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other powerful pieces of legislation that transformed the lives of African Americans. She’s hopeful this could happen again in November and beyond.

“There’s already a host of organizations that are mobilizing in the face of daunting things,” Brown said. “Bur these same groups that are most marginalized are saying it’s not enough to just vote, it’s not enough for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party to ask me for my vote. I’m going to hold these elected officials that are in office now accountable and I’m going to vote in November and hold those same people accountable. And for me, that is the most uplifting and rewarding part — to see those kind of similarities.”

But Brown noted that while Friday’s march resonated with many, it’s unclear whether it will translate into action among younger voters, whose lack of enthusiasm could become a vulnerability for Biden.

“I think there is already a momentum among younger folks who are saying not in my America, that this is not the place where they want to live, but will this turn into electoral gains? That I’m less clear on because a lot of the polling numbers show that pretty overwhelmingly, younger people, millennials and Gen Z’s are more progressive and that they are reluctantly turning to this pragmatic side of politics,” Brown said.

That was clear as the Movement for Black Lives also marked its own historic event Friday — a virtual Black National Convention that featured several speakers discussing pressing issues such as climate change, economic empowerment and the need for electoral justice.

“I don’t necessarily see elections as achieving justice per se because I view the existing system itself as being fundamentally unjust in many ways and it is the existing system that we are trying to fundamentally transform,” said Bree Newsome Bass, an activist and civil rights organizer, during the convention’s panel about electoral justice. “I do think voting and recognizing what an election should be is a way to kind of exercise that muscle.”

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Biden, Harris Prepare to Travel More as Campaign Heats Up (Election Update)

Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden and vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris. (AP Photos)

The Associated Press

August 28th, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — After spending a pandemic spring and summer tethered almost entirely to his Delaware home, Joe Biden plans to take his presidential campaign to battleground states after Labor Day in his bid to unseat President Donald Trump.

No itinerary is set, according to the Democratic nominee’s campaign, but the former vice president and his allies say his plan is to highlight contrasts with Trump, from policy arguments tailored to specific audiences to the strict public health guidelines the Biden campaign says its events will follow amid COVID-19.

That’s a notable difference from a president who on Thursday delivered his nomination acceptance on the White House lawn to more than 1,000 people seated side-by-side, most of them without masks, even as the U.S. death toll surpassed 180,000.

“He will go wherever he needs to go,” said Biden’s campaign co-chairman Cedric Richmond, a Louisiana congressman. “And we will do it in a way the health experts would be happy” with and “not the absolutely irresponsible manner you saw at the White House.”

Richmond said it was “always the plan” for Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris to travel more extensively after Labor Day, the traditional mark of the campaign’s home stretch when more casual voters begin to pay close attention.

Biden supporters hold banners near the White House on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention, Thursday evening, Aug. 27, 2020, in Washington, while Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech from the nearby White House South Lawn.(AP Photo)

Biden has conducted online fundraisers, campaign events and television interviews from his home, but traveled only sparingly for speeches and roundtables with a smattering of media or supporters. His only confirmed plane travel was to Houston, where he met with the family of George Floyd, the Black man who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25, sparking nationwide protests. Even some Democrats worried quietly that Biden was ceding too much of the spotlight to Trump. But Biden aides have defended their approach. “We will never make any choices that put our staff or voters in harm’s way,” campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in May.

Throughout his unusual home-based campaign, Biden blasted Trump as incompetent and irresponsible for downplaying the pandemic and publicly disputing the government’s infectious disease experts. Richmond said that won’t change as Biden ramps up travel.

“We won’t beat this pandemic, which means we can’t restore the economy and get people’s lives back home, unless we exercise some discipline and lead by example,” Richmond said, adding that Trump is “incapable of doing it.”

As exhibited by his acceptance speech Thursday, Trump is insistent on as much normalcy as possible, even as he’s pulled back from his signature indoor rallies after drawing a disappointing crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20. Trump casts Biden as wanting to “shut down” the economy to combat the virus. “Joe Biden’s plan is not a solution to the virus, but rather a surrender,” Trump declared on the White House lawn. Biden, in fact, has not proposed shutting down the economy. He’s said only that he would be willing to make such a move as president if public health experts advise it. The Democrat also has called for a national mask mandate, calling it a necessary move for Americans to protect each other. Harris on Friday talked about the idea in slightly different terms than Biden, acknowledging that a mandate would be difficult to enforce.

“It’s really a standard. I mean, nobody’s gonna be punished. Come on,” the California senator said, laughing off a question about how to enforce such a rule during an interview that aired Friday on “Today.” “Nobody likes to wear a mask. This is a universal feeling. Right? So that’s not the point, ’Hey, let’s enjoy wearing masks.′ No.”

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. (AP Photo)

Harris suggested that, instead, the rule would be about “what we — as responsible people who love our neighbor — we have to just do that right now.”

“God willing, it won’t be forever,” she added.

Biden and Harris have worn protective face masks in public and stayed socially distanced from each other when appearing together at campaign events. Both have said for weeks that a rule requiring all Americans to wear them could save 40,000 lives in just a three-month period. While such an order may be difficult to impose at the federal level, Biden has called on every governor in the country to order mask-wearing in their states, which would likely achieve the same goal.

Trump has urged Americans to wear masks but opposes a national requirement and personally declined to do so for months. He has worn a mask occasionally more recently, but not at any point Thursday at the Republican National Convention’s closing event, which violated the District of Columbia’s guidelines prohibiting large gatherings.

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Related:

Joe Biden Claims the Democratic Presidential Nomination

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden accepted the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday evening during the last day of the historic Democratic National Convention, August 20, 2020. (AP photo)

The Washington Post

Updated: August 21st, 2020

Biden speaks about ‘battle for the soul of this nation,’ decries Trump’s leadership

Joe Biden accepted his party’s presidential nomination, delivering a speech that directly criticized the leadership of Trump on matters of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and racial justice.

“Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness,” Biden said, calling on Americans to come together to “overcome this season of darkness.”

The night featured tributes to civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis, who died in July, as well as to Beau Biden, Joe Biden’s son who died in 2015.

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Kamala Harris Accepts Historic Nomination for Vice President of the United States

Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) accepted her party’s historic nomination to be its vice-presidential candidate in the 2020 U.S. election on Wednesday evening during the third day of the Democratic National Convention. (Reuters photo)

Reuters

Updated: August 20th, 2020

Kamala Harris makes U.S. history, accepts Democrats’ vice presidential nod

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president on Wednesday, imploring the country to elect Joe Biden president and accusing Donald Trump of failed leadership that had cost lives and livelihoods.

The first Black woman and Asian-American on a major U.S. presidential ticket, Harris summarized her life story as emblematic of the American dream on the third day of the Democratic National Convention.

“Donald Trump’s failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods,” Harris said.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama told the convention Trump’s failures as his successor had led to 170,000 people dead from the coronavirus, millions of lost jobs and America’s reputation badly diminished in the world.

The evening featured a crush of women headliners, moderators and speakers, with Harris pressing the case against Trump, speaking directly to millions of women, young Americans and voters of color, constituencies Democrats need if Biden is to defeat the Republican Trump.

“The constant chaos leaves us adrift, the incompetence makes us feel afraid, the callousness makes us feel alone. It’s a lot. And here’s the thing: we can do better and deserve so much more,” she said.

“Right now, we have a president who turns our tragedies into political weapons. Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose,” she said, speaking from an austere hotel ballroom in Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

Biden leads Trump in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, bolstered by a big lead among women voters. Throughout the convention, Democrats have appealed directly to those women voters, highlighting Biden’s co-sponsorship of the landmark Violence Against Woman Act of 1994 and his proposals to bolster childcare and protect family healthcare provisions.

Obama, whose vice president was Biden from 2009-2017, said he had hoped that Trump would take the job seriously, come to feel the weight of the office, and discover a reverence for American democracy.

Obama on Trump: ‘Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t’

“Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe,” Obama said in unusually blunt criticism from an ex-president.

“Millions of jobs gone. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before,” Obama said.

The choice of a running mate has added significance for Biden, 77, who would be the oldest person to become president if he is elected. His age has led to speculation he will serve only one term, making Harris a potential top contender for the nomination in 2024.

Biden named Harris, 55, as his running mate last week to face incumbents Trump, 74, and Vice President Mike Pence, 61.

Former first lady and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee who lost to Trump, told the convention she constantly hears from voters who regret backing Trump or not voting at all.

“This can’t be another woulda coulda shoulda election.” Clinton said. “No matter what, vote. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.”

Clinton, who won the popular vote against Trump but lost in the Electoral College, said Biden needs to win overwhelmingly, warning he could win the popular vote but still lose the White House.

“Joe and Kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose,” Clinton said. “Take it from me. So we need numbers overwhelming so Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory.”

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) accepts the Democratic vice presidential nomination during an acceptance speech delivered for 2020 Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., August 19, 2020. (Getty Images)

Democrats have been alarmed by Trump’s frequent criticism of mail-in voting, and by cost-cutting changes at the U.S. Postal Service instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump supporter, that could delay mail during the election crunch. DeJoy said recently he would delay those changes until after the election.

Democrats also broadcast videos highlighting Trump’s crackdown on immigration, opposition to gun restrictions and his decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord.

‘DISRESPECT’ FOR FACTS, FOR WOMEN

Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told the convention she had seen firsthand Trump’s “disrespect for facts, for working families, and for women in particular – disrespect written into his policies toward our health and our rights, not just his conduct. But we know what he doesn’t: that when women succeed, America succeeds.”

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive who ran against Biden in the 2020 primary, spoke to the convention from a childcare center in Massachusetts and cited Biden’s proposal to make childcare more affordable as a vital part of his agenda to help working Americans.

“It’s time to recognize that childcare is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation — it’s infrastructure for families,” she said. “Joe and Kamala will make high-quality childcare affordable for every family, make preschool universal, and raise the wages for every childcare worker.”

In her speech later, Harris will have an opportunity to outline her background as a child of immigrants from India and Jamaica who as a district attorney, state attorney general, U.S. senator from California and now vice-presidential candidate shattered gender and racial barriers.

She gained prominence in the Senate for her exacting interrogations of Trump nominees, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Attorney General Bill Barr.

The Republican National Convention, also largely virtual, takes place next week.

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Democrats Officially Nominate Joe Biden to Become the Next U.S. President

It’s official: Joe Biden is now formally a candidate to become the next President of the United States. Democrats officially nominated Biden as their 2020 candidate on Tuesday with a roll-call vote of delegates representing all states in the country during the second day of party’s historic virtual convention. (Photo: Courtesy of the Biden campaign)

The Associated Press

Updated: August 19th, 2020

Democrats make it official, nominate Biden to take on Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee Tuesday night, as party officials and activists from across the nation gave the former vice president their overwhelming support during his party’s all-virtual national convention.

The moment marked a political high point for Biden, who had sought the presidency twice before and is now cemented as the embodiment of Democrats’ desperate desire to defeat President Donald Trump this fall.

The roll call of convention delegates formalized what has been clear for months since Biden took the lead in the primary elections’ chase for the nomination. It came as he worked to demonstrate the breadth of his coalition for a second consecutive night, this time blending support from his party’s elders and fresher faces to make the case that he has the experience and energy to repair chaos that Trump has created at home and abroad.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry — and former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell — were among the heavy hitters on a schedule that emphasized a simple theme: Leadership matters. Former President Jimmy Carter, now 95 years old, also made an appearance.

“Donald Trump says we’re leading the world. Well, we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple,” Clinton said. “At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center. Instead, it’s a storm center. There’s only chaos.”

In this image from video, former Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams, center, and others, speak during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)

Biden formally captured his party’s presidential nomination Tuesday night after being nominated by three people, including two Delaware lawmakers and 31-year-old African American security guard who became a viral sensation after blurting out “I love you” to Biden in a New York City elevator.

Delegates from across the country then pledged their support for Biden in a video montage that featured Democrats in places like Alabama’s Edmund Pettis Bridge, a beach in Hawaii and the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

In the opening of the convention’s second night, a collection of younger Democrats, including former Georgia lawmaker Stacey Abrams and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, were given a few minutes to shine.

“In a democracy, we do not elect saviors. We cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve,” said Abrams, 46, who emerged as a national player during her unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018 and was among those considered to be Biden’s running mate.

She added: “Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage.”

On a night that Biden was formally receiving his party’s presidential nomination, the convention was also introducing his wife, Jill Biden, to the nation as the prospective first lady.

In this image from video, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, and members of the Biden family, celebrate after the roll call during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)

Biden is fighting unprecedented logistical challenges to deliver his message during an all-virtual convention this week as the coronavirus epidemic continues to claim hundreds of American lives each day and wreaks havoc on the economy.

The former vice president was becoming his party’s nominee as a prerecorded roll call vote from delegates in all 50 states airs, and the four-day convention will culminate on Thursday when he accepts that nomination. His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, will become the first woman of color to accept a major party’s vice presidential nomination on Wednesday.

Until then, Biden is presenting what he sees as the best of his sprawling coalition to the American electorate in a format unlike any other in history.

For a second night, the Democrats featured Republicans.

Powell, who served as secretary of state under George W. Bush and appeared at multiple Republican conventions in years past, was endorsing the Democratic candidate. In a video released ahead of his speech, he said, “Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of our troops in the same way he would his own family. For Joe Biden, that doesn’t need teaching.”

Powell joins the widow of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, Cindy McCain, who was expected to stop short of a formal endorsement but talk about the mutual respect and friendship her husband and Biden shared.

While there have been individual members of the opposing party featured at presidential conventions before, a half dozen Republicans, including the former two-term governor of Ohio, have now spoken for Democrat Biden.

No one on the program Tuesday night has a stronger connection to the Democratic nominee than his wife, Jill Biden, a longtime teacher, was speaking from her former classroom at Brandywine High School near the family home in Wilmington, Delaware.

“You can hear the anxiety that echoes down empty hallways. There’s no scent of new notebooks or freshly waxed floors,” she said of the school in excerpts of her speech before turning to the nation’s challenges at home. “How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole. With love and understanding—and with small acts of compassion. With bravery. With unwavering faith.”

The Democrats’ party elders played a prominent role throughout the night.

Clinton, who turns 74 on Tuesday, hasn’t held office in two decades. Kerry, 76, was the Democratic presidential nominee back in 2004 when the youngest voters this fall were still in diapers. And Carter is 95 years old.

Clinton, a fixture of Democratic conventions for nearly three decades, addressed voters for roughly five minutes in a speech recorded at his home in Chappaqua, New York.

In addition to railing against Trump’s leadership, Clinton calls Biden “a go-to-work president.” Biden, Clinton continued, is “a man with a mission: to take responsibility, not shift the blame; concentrate, not distract; unite, not divide.”…

Kerry said in an excerpt of his remarks, “Joe understands that none of the issues of this world — not nuclear weapons, not the challenge of building back better after COVID, not terrorism and certainly not the climate crisis — none can be resolved without bringing nations together.”

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Democrats Kick Off Convention as Poll Show Biden, Harris With Double-Digit Lead

Democrats kicked off their historic virtual convention on Monday with the keynote speaker former first lady Michelle Obama assailing the current president as unfit and warning Americans not to reelect him for a second term. Meanwhile new poll show Biden, Harris with double-digit lead over Trump. (Getty Images)

The Associated Press

Updated: August 18th, 2020

Michelle Obama assails Trump as Democrats open convention

NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle Obama delivered a passionate broadside against President Donald Trump during Monday’s opening night of the Democratic National Convention, assailing the Republican president as unfit for the job and warning that the nation’s mounting crises would only get worse if he’s reelected.

The former first lady issued an emotional call to the coalition that sent her husband to the White House, declaring that strong feelings must be translated into votes.

“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” she declared. “He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us.”

Obama added: “If you think things possibly can’t get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don’t make a change in this election.”

The comments came as Joe Biden introduced the breadth of his political coalition to a nation in crisis Monday night at the convention, giving voice to victims of the coronavirus pandemic, the related economic downturn and police violence and featuring both progressive Democrats and Republicans united against Trump’s reelection.

Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. The DNC released excerpts of her speech ahead of the convention start. (Democratic National Convention)

The ideological range of Biden’s many messengers was demonstrated by former presidential contenders from opposing parties: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who championed a multi-trillion-dollar universal health care plan, and Ohio’s former Republican Gov. John Kasich, an anti-abortion conservative who spent decades fighting to cut government spending.

The former vice president won’t deliver his formal remarks until Thursday night, but he made his first appearance just half an hour into Monday’s event as he moderated a panel on racial justice, a theme throughout the night, as was concern about the Postal Service. The Democrats accuse Trump of interfering with the nation’s mail in order to throw blocks in front of mail-in voting.

“My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election: The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake,” Sanders declared.

Kasich said his status as a lifelong Republican “holds second place to my responsibility to my country.”

“In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times,” he said of his participation at the Democrats’ convention. He added: “Many of us can’t imagine four more years going down this path.”

Read more »

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Post-ABC poll shows Biden, Harris hold double-digit lead over Trump, Pence

The race for the White House tilts toward the Democrats, with former vice president Joe Biden holding a double-digit lead nationally over President Trump amid continuing disapproval of the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Democrats [kicked] off their convention on Monday in a mood of cautious optimism, with Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), leading Trump and Vice President Pence by 53 percent to 41 percent among registered voters. The findings are identical among a larger sample of all voting-age adults.

Biden’s current national margin over Trump among voters is slightly smaller than the 15-point margin in a poll taken last month and slightly larger than a survey in May when he led by 10 points. In late March, as the pandemic was taking hold in the United States, Biden and Trump were separated by just two points, with the former vice president holding a statistically insignificant advantage.

Today, Biden and Harris lead by 54 percent to 43 percent among those who say they are absolutely certain to vote and who also report voting in 2016. A month ago, Biden’s lead of 15 points overall had narrowed to seven points among similarly committed 2016 voters. Biden now also leads by low double-digits among those who say they are following the election most closely.

Read more »

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Team Joe Announces Convention Speakers

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris. (Courtesy Photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: August 17th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — Joe Biden’s campaign has announced its speaker lineup for the Democratic National Convention that’s set to open on Monday, August 17th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Below are the list of speakers that will be featured “across all four nights of the Convention which will air live August 17-20 from 9:00-11:00 PM Eastern each night.”

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Related:

‘ሴቷ ኦባማ?’: Kamala Harris Faces Culture of Sexism & Misogyny in Ethiopian Media

Interview With Addisu Demissie: Senior Adviser to Joe Biden

Biden Selects Yohannes Abraham as Member of Transition Team

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

October 16th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — This year, the annual Ethiopian Diaspora Conference on Health Care & Medical Education is aptly focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic as “a health, social, and economic crisis.”

Organized by People to People Inc. (P2P) and the Network of African Diaspora Healthcare Professionals, the virtual gathering is scheduled to be held on Saturday, October 17th from 8:30am to 2:30pm.

Guest speakers include Ethiopia’s Minister of Health Dr. Lia Tadesse, who will deliver the keynote address as well as Ambassador Fitsum Arega who will give the opening remark.

The program starts with a panel titled “COVID-19: Where did we start and where are we heading?” that will be moderated by Dr. Demissie Alemayehu and featuring physicians Dr. Assefa Jejaw and Dr. Gebeyehu Teferi.

Additional sessions in the conference include a panel discussion on “triangular partnership” with presentations by Dr. Kebede Begna (moderator), Dr. Elias Siraj, Keneni Dibaba and Obse Tesfu.

The final event on the agenda titled “Equity and Fairness in the Era of COVID-19″ will be moderated by Dr. Egbe Osifo-Dawodu featuring panelists Dr. Kechi Achebe, Dr. Confidence Moloko and Ms. Bukayo Hanidu.

The conference is free and pre-registration required.

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If You Attend:

12th GLOBAL ETHIOPIAN DIASPORA CONFERENCE ON HEALTH CARE AND MEDICAL EDUCATION
Date & Time: Saturday, October 17th, 2020 8:30AM to 2:00 PM EST
Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4FRAZ2SBTmebtP_Bmxe36A
Click here for more info

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

KNKX PUBLIC RADIO

Young people make up a projected 37% of the 2020 electorate, yet historically they vote less than other age groups. Will it be different this time? The pandemic crisis and the call for racial justice and institutional changes are top concerns as we move closer to this high stakes election. Ethics and values also underpin our decisions. This virtual event aims to bring together first-time and new voters with older adults with a track record of civic leadership to discuss a number of issues through the lens of beliefs and values, touching on things like:

What does it mean to be a leader?
In thorny situations, how do you speak for a community?
If there are three important issues facing your community and you only have enough resources to address one, how would you choose?

Because this is leading up to the general election, we want to frame this conversation around the power to change systems for the greater good and how that ties in with being an informed voter.

The six young interviewers will ask the four speakers questions relating to the themes of conflict/failure, challenges, accountability, transparency, priorities and representation, with the speakers drawing on their personal and professional experiences; and offering examples of how they have faced challenging situations and how that speaks to leadership and community building.

Young Interviewers

Bitaniya Giday, age 17, is the 2020-2021 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate. She is a first-generation Ethiopian American residing in Seattle. Her writing explores the nuances of womanhood and blackness, as she reflects upon her family’s path of immigration across the world. She hopes to restore and safeguard the past, present, and future histories of her people through traditional storytelling and poetry.

Read more »

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Related:

Ethiopian Americans Hold Virtual Town Hall Ahead of November Election

The nationwide town hall event, which will be held on Thursday, September 24th, 2020 plans to emphasize the importance of exercising our citizenship right to vote and to participate in the U.S. democratic process. The gathering will feature panel discussions, PSAs, and cultural engagements. (Courtesy photos)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: September 23rd, 2020

Los Angeles (TADIAS) — Ethiopian Americans are holding a virtual town hall this week ahead of the November 3rd U.S. election.

The nationwide event, which will be held on Thursday, September 24th, will emphasize the importance of exercising our citizenship right to vote and to participate in the U.S. democratic process.

According to organizers the town hall — put together by the ‘Habeshas Vote’ initiative and the non-profit organization Habesha Networks — will feature various panel discussions, public service announcements and cultural engagements.

“We intend on discussing various subject matters related to civic engagement issues affecting our community at the moment,” the announcement notes, highlighting that by the end of the conference “participants will be able to understand the importance of taking ownership of our local communities, learn more about the voting process and gain a better [appreciation] of why we should all care about voting.”

Speakers include Helen Amelga, President of the Ethiopian Democratic Club of Los Angeles; Dr. Menna Demissie, Senior Vice President of Policy Analysis & Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, the first Ethiopian American to be elected into office in the Nevada Legislature and the first Ethiopian American ever elected in the U.S. to a state-wide governing body; Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson of Florida, who is the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States who was re-elected to a third term this year; and Girmay Zahilay, Councilman in King County, Washington.

(Courtesy photos)

Additional presenters include: Andom Ghebreghiorgis. former Congressional candidate from New York; Samuel Gebru, former candidate for City Council in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and current managing director of Black Lion Strategies; as well as Hannah Joy Gebresilassie, journalist and community advocate; and Debbie Almraw, writer and poet.

Entertainment will be provided by Elias Aragaw, the artist behind @TheFunkIsReal, and DJ Sammy Sam.

The announcement notes that “voting is a core principle of being American, but to exercise this basic right we must be registered to vote! That’s why Habesha Networks and Habeshas Vote are proud partners of When We All Vote and supporters of National Voter Registration Day.”

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Watch: Students Interview Kamala Harris (U.S. ELECTION UPDATE)

Fana R. Haileselassie, a student at Spelman College in Atlanta, asks Sen. Kamala Harris a question during a virtual Q&A hosted by BET featuring the Democratic nominee for Vice President and students discussing the interests of millennial voters. (Photo: BETNetworks)

BET News Special

HBCU Students Interview Kamala Harris

A virtual Q&A hosted by Terrence J featuring Democratic nominee for Vice President Sen. Kamala Harris and HBCU students discussing the interests of millennial voters.

Watch: Sen. Kamala Harris Answers HBCU Students’ Questions About Voting, Student Loan Debt & More

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Related:

Virginia’s Era as a Swing State Appears to be Over

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama wave after a campaign event in May 2012 in Richmond. (Getty Images)

The Washington Post

Updated: September 18th, 2020

No TV ads, no presidential visits: Virginia’s era as a swing state appears to be over

Barack Obama held the very last rally of his 2008 campaign in Virginia, the longtime Republican stronghold he flipped on his way to the White House.

Four years later, Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney made more visits and aired more television ads here than nearly anywhere else. And in 2016, Donald Trump staged rally after rally in the Old Dominion while Hillary Clinton picked a Virginian as her running mate.

But Virginia isn’t getting the swing-state treatment this time around. As in-person early voting got underway Friday, President Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden were dark on broadcast television. Super PACs were clogging somebody else’s airwaves. Even as Trump and Biden have resumed limited travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, neither has stumped in the Old Dominion.

There’s really no discussion about the state being in play,” said Amy Walter, national editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “If you’re Ohio or New Hampshire, or Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, you’ve always been in that spotlight. Virginia got it for such a short period of time.”

The last time presidential candidates stayed out of Virginia and off its airwaves was 2004. The state was reliably red then, having backed Republicans for the White House every year since 1968. Now Virginia seems to be getting the cold shoulder because it’s considered solidly blue.

“Virginia was the belle of the ball in 2008, and again in 2012, and still once more in 2016, but in 2020, the commonwealth is a wall flower,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political scientist.

Read more »

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Related:

Virginians come out in force to cast ballots on the first day of early voting

Mike Bloomberg to spend at least $100 million in Florida to benefit Joe Biden

Former NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg plans to spend at least $100 million to help elect Joe Biden, a massive late-stage infusion of cash that could reshape the presidential contest. (Getty Images)

The Washington Post

Updated: September 13th, 2020

Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg plans to spend at least $100 million in Florida to help elect Democrat Joe Biden, a massive late-stage infusion of cash that could reshape the presidential contest in a costly toss-up state central to President Trump’s reelection hopes.

Bloomberg made the decision to focus his final election spending on Florida last week, after news reports that Trump had considered spending as much as $100 million of his own money in the final weeks of the campaign, Bloomberg’s advisers said. Presented with several options on how to make good on an earlier promise to help elect Biden, Bloomberg decided that a narrow focus on Florida was the best use of his money.

The president’s campaign has long treated the state, which Trump now calls home, as a top priority, and his advisers remain confident in his chances given strong turnout in 2016 and 2018 that gave Republicans narrow winning margins in statewide contests.

Watch: Former 2020 presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg slammed Trump during his Democratic National Convention speech on Aug. 20.

Bloomberg’s aim is to prompt enough early voting that a pro-Biden result would be evident soon after the polls close.

Read more »

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Related:

Biden Leads by 9 Percentage Points in Pennsylvania (ELECTION UPDATE)

In the survey, Biden, who was born in the state, draws the support of 53 percent of likely voters, compared to 44 percent who back Trump. (Reuters photo)

The Washington Post

Updated: September 9, 2020

Biden Leads by 9 Percentage Points in Pennsylvania, Poll Finds

Joe Biden leads President Trump by nine percentage points among likely voters in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that Trump narrowly won four years ago, according to a new NBC News-Marist poll.

In the survey, Biden, who was born in the state, draws the support of 53 percent of likely voters, compared to 44 percent who back Trump.

In 2016, Trump carried Pennsylvania by less than one percentage point over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The NBC-Marist poll shows Biden getting a boost from suburban voters, who side with him by nearly 20 percentage points, 58 percent to 39 percent. In 2016, Trump won suburban voters in Pennsylvania by about eight points, according to exit polls.

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden stand outside the AFL-CIO headquarters in Harrisburg, Pa., on Monday. (Getty Images)

The poll also finds the candidates are tied at 49 percent among white voters in Pennsylvania, a group that Trump won by double digits in 2016. Biden leads Trump among nonwhite voters, 75 percent to 19 percent.

Pennsylvania has been a frequent destination for both campaigns in recent weeks. Vice President Pence has events scheduled there on Wednesday.

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Kamala D. Harris Goes Viral — for Her Shoe Choice

Sporting Chuck Taylor sneakers, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.) greets supporters Monday in Milwaukee. (AP photo)

The Washington Post

Updated: September 8, 2020

It took roughly eight seconds of on-the-ground campaigning for the first Black woman to be nominated on a major party’s ticket to go viral.

At first glance, little seemed noteworthy as Sen. Kamala D. Harris deplaned in Milwaukee on Monday. She was wearing a mask. She didn’t trip. Instead, what sent video pinging around the Internet was what was on her feet: her black, low-rise Chuck Taylor All-Stars, the classic Converse shoe that has long been associated more closely with cultural cool than carefully managed high-profile candidacies.

By Tuesday morning, videos by two reporters witnessing her arrival had been viewed nearly 8 million times on Twitter — for comparison’s sake, more than four times the attention the campaign’s biggest planned video event, a conversation between Joe Biden and Barack Obama, had received on both Twitter and YouTube combined.

Harris’s sister, Maya, tweeted Monday that Chuck Taylors are, indeed, her sister’s “go-to.” A few hours later, Harris’s official campaign account tweeted the video with the caption “laced up and ready to win.”

Read more »

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81 American Nobel Laureates Endorse Biden for Next U.S. President

The Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine “wholeheartedly” endorsed the Democratic nominee in an open letter released Wednesday. “At no time in our nation’s history has there been a greater need for our leaders to appreciate the value of science in formulating public policy,” they said. (Courtesy photo)

Press Release

Nobel Laureates endorse Joe Biden

81 American Nobel Laureates in Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine have signed this letter to express their support for former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 election for President of the United States.

At no time in our nation’s history has there been a greater need for our leaders to appreciate the value of science in formulating public policy. During his long record of public service, Joe Biden has consistently demonstrated his willingness to listen to experts, his understanding of the value of international collaboration in research, and his respect for the contribution that immigrants make to the intellectual life of our country.

As American citizens and as scientists, we wholeheartedly endorse Joe Biden for President.

Name, Category, Prize Year:

Peter Agre Chemistry 2003
Sidney Altman Chemistry 1989
Frances H. Arnold Chemistry 2018
Paul Berg Chemistry 1980
Thomas R. Cech Chemistry 1989
Martin Chalfie Chemistry 2008
Elias James Corey Chemistry 1990
Joachim Frank Chemistry 2017
Walter Gilbert Chemistry 1980
John B. Goodenough Chemistry 2019
Alan Heeger Chemistry 2000
Dudley R. Herschbach Chemistry 1986
Roald Hoffmann Chemistry 1981
Brian K. Kobilka Chemistry 2012
Roger D. Kornberg Chemistry 2006
Robert J. Lefkowitz Chemistry 2012
Roderick MacKinnon Chemistry 2003
Paul L. Modrich Chemistry 2015
William E. Moerner Chemistry 2014
Mario J. Molina Chemistry 1995
Richard R. Schrock Chemistry 2005
K. Barry Sharpless Chemistry 2001
Sir James Fraser Stoddart Chemistry 2016
M. Stanley Whittingham Chemistry 2019
James P. Allison Medicine 2018
Richard Axel Medicine 2004
David Baltimore Medicine 1975
J. Michael Bishop Medicine 1989
Elizabeth H. Blackburn Medicine 2009
Michael S. Brown Medicine 1985
Linda B. Buck Medicine 2004
Mario R. Capecchi Medicine 2007
Edmond H. Fischer Medicine 1992
Joseph L. Goldstein Medicine 1985
Carol W. Greider Medicine 2009
Jeffrey Connor Hall Medicine 2017
Leland H. Hartwell Medicine 2001
H. Robert Horvitz Medicine 2002
Louis J. Ignarro Medicine 1998
William G. Kaelin Jr. Medicine 2019
Eric R. Kandel Medicine 2000
Craig C. Mello Medicine 2006
John O’Keefe Medicine 2014
Michael Rosbash Medicine 2017
James E. Rothman Medicine 2013
Randy W. Schekman Medicine 2013
Gregg L. Semenza Medicine 2019
Hamilton O. Smith Medicine 1978
Thomas C. Sudhof Medicine 2013
Jack W. Szostak Medicine 2009
Susumu Tonegawa Medicine 1987
Harold E. Varmus Medicine 1989
Eric F. Wieschaus Medicine 1995
Torsten N. Wiesel Medicine 1981
Michael W. Young Medicine 2017
Barry Clark Barish Physics 2017
Steven Chu Physics 1997
Jerome I. Friedman Physics 1990
Sheldon Glashow Physics 1979
David J. Gross Physics 2004
John L. Hall Physics 2005
Wolfgang Ketterle Physics 2001
J. Michael Kosterlitz Physics 2016
Herbert Kroemer Physics 2000
Robert B. Laughlin Physics 1998
Anthony J. Leggett Physics 2003
John C. Mather Physics 2006
Shuji Nakamura Physics 2014
Douglas D. Osheroff Physics 1996
James Peebles Physics 2019
Arno Penzias Physics 1978
Saul Perlmutter Physics 2011
H. David Politzer Physics 2004
Brian P. Schmidt Physics 2011
Joseph H. Taylor Jr. Physics 1993
Kip Stephen Thorne Physics 2017
Daniel C. Tsui Physics 1998
Rainer Weiss Physics 2017
Frank Wilczek Physics 2004
Robert Woodrow Wilson Physics 1978
David J. Wineland Physics 2012

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Related

Biden Calls Trump ‘a Toxic Presence’ Who is Encouraging Violence in America

“Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years,” Biden said. “Will we rid ourselves of this toxin? (Photo: Joe Biden speaks Monday in Pittsburgh/Reuters)

The Washington Post

Joe Biden excoriated President Trump on Monday as a threat to the safety of all Americans, saying he has encouraged violence in the nation’s streets even as he has faltered in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

For his most extensive remarks since violent protests have escalated across the country in recent days, Biden traveled to Pittsburgh and struck a centrist note, condemning both the destruction in the streets and Trump for creating a culture that he said has exacerbated it.

“I want to be very clear about all of this: Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting,” Biden said. “It’s lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted.”

The former vice president also rejected the caricature that Trump and his allies have painted of him as someone who holds extremist views and has helped fuel the anger in urban centers across the country.

“You know me. You know my heart. You know my story, my family’s story,” Biden said. “Ask yourself: Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?”

While the speech was delivered amid heightened tensions over race and police conduct, Biden did not outline new policies, instead focusing on making a broader condemnation of Trump.

He called the president a danger to those suffering from the coronavirus, to anyone in search of a job or struggling to pay rent, to voters worried about Russian interference in the upcoming election and to those worried about their own safety amid unrest.

“Donald Trump wants to ask the question: Who will keep you safer as president? Let’s answer that question,” Biden said. “When I was vice president, violent crime fell 15 percent in this country. We did it without chaos and disorder.”

Pointing to a nationwide homicide rate rising 26 percent this year, Biden asked, “Do you really feel safer under Donald Trump?”

“If I were president today, the country would be safer,” Biden said. “And we’d be seeing a lot less violence.”

It was a marked shift for Biden from his convention speech less than two weeks ago, in which he never named Trump in his remarks. During his speech Monday, he mentioned Trump’s name 32 times.

“Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years,” Biden said. “Will we rid ourselves of this toxin? Or will we make it a permanent part of our nation’s character?”

Read more »

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Spotlight: The Unravelling of the Social Fabric in Ethiopia and the U.S.

As Ethiopian Americans we are increasingly concerned about the decline of civil discourse and the unravelling of the social fabric not only in Ethiopia, but also here in the United States where in the era of Trump and the COVID-19 pandemic politics has also become more and more violent. Below are excerpts and links to two recent articles from The Intercept and The Guardian focusing on the timely topic. (AP photo)

The Intercept

August, 29th, 2020

The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, if Not Unravelling: Why, in the world’s richest country, is every metric of mental health pathology rapidly worsening?

THE YEAR 2020 has been one of the most tumultuous in modern American history. To find events remotely as destabilizing and transformative, one has to go back to the 2008 financial crisis and the 9/11 and anthrax attacks of 2001, though those systemic shocks, profound as they were, were isolated (one a national security crisis, the other a financial crisis) and thus more limited in scope than the multicrisis instability now shaping U.S. politics and culture.

Since the end of World War II, the only close competitor to the current moment is the multipronged unrest of the 1960s and early 1970s: serial assassinations of political leaders, mass civil rights and anti-war protests, sustained riots, fury over a heinous war in Indochina, and the resignation of a corruption-plagued president.

But those events unfolded and built upon one another over the course of a decade. By crucial contrast, the current confluence of crises, each of historic significance in their own right — a global pandemic, an economic and social shutdown, mass unemployment, an enduring protest movement provoking increasing levels of violence and volatility, and a presidential election centrally focused on one of the most divisive political figures the U.S. has known who happens to be the incumbent president — are happening simultaneously, having exploded one on top of the other in a matter of a few months.

Lurking beneath the headlines justifiably devoted to these major stories of 2020 are very troubling data that reflect intensifying pathologies in the U.S. population — not moral or allegorical sicknesses but mental, emotional, psychological and scientifically proven sickness. Many people fortunate enough to have survived this pandemic with their physical health intact know anecdotally — from observing others and themselves — that these political and social crises have spawned emotional difficulties and psychological challenges…

Much attention is devoted to lamenting the toxicity of our discourse, the hate-driven polarization of our politics, and the fragmentation of our culture. But it is difficult to imagine any other outcome in a society that is breeding so much psychological and emotional pathology by denying to its members the things they most need to live fulfilling lives.

Read the full article at theintercept.com »

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Ethiopia falls into violence a year after leader’s Nobel peace prize win

Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, centre, arrives at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa in July. Photograph: AP

By Jason Burke and Zecharias Zelalem in Addis Ababa

Sat 29 Aug 2020

Abiy Ahmed came to power promising radical reform, but 180 people have died amid ethnic unrest in Oromia state

Ethiopia faces a dangerous cycle of intensifying internal political dissent, ethnic unrest and security crackdowns, observers have warned, after a series of protests in recent weeks highlighted growing discontent with the government of Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel peace prize winner.

Many western powers welcomed the new approach of Abiy, who took power in 2018 and promised a programme of radical reform after decades of repressive one-party rule, hoping for swift changes in an emerging economic power that plays a key strategic role in a region increasingly contested by Middle Eastern powers and China. He won the peace prize in 2019 for ending a conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

The most vocal unrest was in the state of Oromia, where there have been waves of protests since the killing last month of a popular Oromo artist and activist, Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, in Addis Ababa, the capital. An estimated 180 people have died in the violence, some murdered by mobs, others shot by security forces. Houses, factories, businesses, hotels, cars and government offices were set alight or damaged and several thousand people, including opposition leaders, were arrested.

Further protests last week prompted a new wave of repression and left at least 11 dead. “Oromia is still reeling from the grim weight of tragic killings this year. These grave patterns of abuse should never be allowed to continue,” said Aaron Maasho, a spokesperson for the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Read more »

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Related:

‘How Dare We Not Vote?’ Black Voters Organize After DC March

People rally at Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Friday Aug. 28, 2020, on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Speakers implored attendees to “vote as if our lives depend on it.” (AP Photos)

The Associated Press

Updated: August 29th, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tears streamed down Brooke Moreland’s face as she watched tens of thousands gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to decry systemic racism and demand racial justice in the wake of several police killings of Black Americans.

But for the Indianapolis mother of three, the fiery speeches delivered Friday at the commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom also gave way to one central message: Vote and demand change at the ballot box in November.

“As Black people, a lot of the people who look like us died for us to be able to sit in public, to vote, to go to school and to be able to walk around freely and live our lives,” the 31-year-old Moreland said. “Every election is an opportunity, so how dare we not vote after our ancestors fought for us to be here?”

That determination could prove critical in a presidential election where race is emerging as a flashpoint. President Donald Trump, at this past week’s Republican National Convention, emphasized a “law and order” message aimed at his largely white base of supporters. His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has expressed empathy with Black victims of police brutality and is counting on strong turnout from African Americans to win critical states such as North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

“If we do not vote in numbers that we’ve never ever seen before and allow this administration to continue what it is doing, we are headed on a course for serious destruction,” Martin Luther King III, told The Associated Press before his rousing remarks, delivered 57 years after his father’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech. “I’m going to do all that I can to encourage, promote, to mobilize and what’s at stake is the future of our nation, our planet. What’s at stake is the future of our children.”

As the campaign enters its latter stages, there’s an intensifying effort among African Americans to transform frustration over police brutality, systemic racism and the disproportionate toll of the coronavirus into political power. Organizers and participants said Friday’s march delivered a much needed rallying cry to mobilize.

As speakers implored attendees to “vote as if our lives depend on it,” the march came on the heels of yet another shooting by a white police officer of a Black man – 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last Sunday — sparking demonstrations and violence that left two dead.

“We need a new conversation … you act like it’s no trouble to shoot us in the back,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said. “Our vote is dipped in blood. We’re going to vote for a nation that stops the George Floyds, that stops the Breonna Taylors.”

Navy veteran Alonzo Jones- Goss, who traveled to Washington from Boston, said he plans to vote for Biden because the nation has seen far too many tragic events that have claimed the lives of Black Americans and other people of color.

“I supported and defended the Constitution and I support the members that continue to do it today, but the injustice and the people that are losing their lives, that needs to end,” Jones-Goss, 28, said. “It’s been 57 years since Dr. King stood over there and delivered his speech. But what is unfortunate is what was happening 57 years ago is still happening today.”

Drawing comparisons to the original 1963 march, where participants then were protesting many of the same issues that have endured, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial said it’s clear why this year’s election will be pivotal for Black Americans.

“We are about reminding people and educating people on how important it is to translate the power of protest into the power of politics and public policy change,” said Morial, who spoke Friday. “So we want to be deliberate about making the connection between protesting and voting.”

Nadia Brown, a Purdue University political science professor, agreed there are similarities between the situation in 1963 and the issues that resonate among Black Americans today. She said the political pressure that was applied then led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other powerful pieces of legislation that transformed the lives of African Americans. She’s hopeful this could happen again in November and beyond.

“There’s already a host of organizations that are mobilizing in the face of daunting things,” Brown said. “Bur these same groups that are most marginalized are saying it’s not enough to just vote, it’s not enough for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party to ask me for my vote. I’m going to hold these elected officials that are in office now accountable and I’m going to vote in November and hold those same people accountable. And for me, that is the most uplifting and rewarding part — to see those kind of similarities.”

But Brown noted that while Friday’s march resonated with many, it’s unclear whether it will translate into action among younger voters, whose lack of enthusiasm could become a vulnerability for Biden.

“I think there is already a momentum among younger folks who are saying not in my America, that this is not the place where they want to live, but will this turn into electoral gains? That I’m less clear on because a lot of the polling numbers show that pretty overwhelmingly, younger people, millennials and Gen Z’s are more progressive and that they are reluctantly turning to this pragmatic side of politics,” Brown said.

That was clear as the Movement for Black Lives also marked its own historic event Friday — a virtual Black National Convention that featured several speakers discussing pressing issues such as climate change, economic empowerment and the need for electoral justice.

“I don’t necessarily see elections as achieving justice per se because I view the existing system itself as being fundamentally unjust in many ways and it is the existing system that we are trying to fundamentally transform,” said Bree Newsome Bass, an activist and civil rights organizer, during the convention’s panel about electoral justice. “I do think voting and recognizing what an election should be is a way to kind of exercise that muscle.”

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Biden, Harris Prepare to Travel More as Campaign Heats Up (Election Update)

Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden and vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris. (AP Photos)

The Associated Press

August 28th, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — After spending a pandemic spring and summer tethered almost entirely to his Delaware home, Joe Biden plans to take his presidential campaign to battleground states after Labor Day in his bid to unseat President Donald Trump.

No itinerary is set, according to the Democratic nominee’s campaign, but the former vice president and his allies say his plan is to highlight contrasts with Trump, from policy arguments tailored to specific audiences to the strict public health guidelines the Biden campaign says its events will follow amid COVID-19.

That’s a notable difference from a president who on Thursday delivered his nomination acceptance on the White House lawn to more than 1,000 people seated side-by-side, most of them without masks, even as the U.S. death toll surpassed 180,000.

“He will go wherever he needs to go,” said Biden’s campaign co-chairman Cedric Richmond, a Louisiana congressman. “And we will do it in a way the health experts would be happy” with and “not the absolutely irresponsible manner you saw at the White House.”

Richmond said it was “always the plan” for Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris to travel more extensively after Labor Day, the traditional mark of the campaign’s home stretch when more casual voters begin to pay close attention.

Biden supporters hold banners near the White House on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention, Thursday evening, Aug. 27, 2020, in Washington, while Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech from the nearby White House South Lawn.(AP Photo)

Biden has conducted online fundraisers, campaign events and television interviews from his home, but traveled only sparingly for speeches and roundtables with a smattering of media or supporters. His only confirmed plane travel was to Houston, where he met with the family of George Floyd, the Black man who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25, sparking nationwide protests. Even some Democrats worried quietly that Biden was ceding too much of the spotlight to Trump. But Biden aides have defended their approach. “We will never make any choices that put our staff or voters in harm’s way,” campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in May.

Throughout his unusual home-based campaign, Biden blasted Trump as incompetent and irresponsible for downplaying the pandemic and publicly disputing the government’s infectious disease experts. Richmond said that won’t change as Biden ramps up travel.

“We won’t beat this pandemic, which means we can’t restore the economy and get people’s lives back home, unless we exercise some discipline and lead by example,” Richmond said, adding that Trump is “incapable of doing it.”

As exhibited by his acceptance speech Thursday, Trump is insistent on as much normalcy as possible, even as he’s pulled back from his signature indoor rallies after drawing a disappointing crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20. Trump casts Biden as wanting to “shut down” the economy to combat the virus. “Joe Biden’s plan is not a solution to the virus, but rather a surrender,” Trump declared on the White House lawn. Biden, in fact, has not proposed shutting down the economy. He’s said only that he would be willing to make such a move as president if public health experts advise it. The Democrat also has called for a national mask mandate, calling it a necessary move for Americans to protect each other. Harris on Friday talked about the idea in slightly different terms than Biden, acknowledging that a mandate would be difficult to enforce.

“It’s really a standard. I mean, nobody’s gonna be punished. Come on,” the California senator said, laughing off a question about how to enforce such a rule during an interview that aired Friday on “Today.” “Nobody likes to wear a mask. This is a universal feeling. Right? So that’s not the point, ’Hey, let’s enjoy wearing masks.′ No.”

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. (AP Photo)

Harris suggested that, instead, the rule would be about “what we — as responsible people who love our neighbor — we have to just do that right now.”

“God willing, it won’t be forever,” she added.

Biden and Harris have worn protective face masks in public and stayed socially distanced from each other when appearing together at campaign events. Both have said for weeks that a rule requiring all Americans to wear them could save 40,000 lives in just a three-month period. While such an order may be difficult to impose at the federal level, Biden has called on every governor in the country to order mask-wearing in their states, which would likely achieve the same goal.

Trump has urged Americans to wear masks but opposes a national requirement and personally declined to do so for months. He has worn a mask occasionally more recently, but not at any point Thursday at the Republican National Convention’s closing event, which violated the District of Columbia’s guidelines prohibiting large gatherings.

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Related:

Joe Biden Claims the Democratic Presidential Nomination

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden accepted the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday evening during the last day of the historic Democratic National Convention, August 20, 2020. (AP photo)

The Washington Post

Updated: August 21st, 2020

Biden speaks about ‘battle for the soul of this nation,’ decries Trump’s leadership

Joe Biden accepted his party’s presidential nomination, delivering a speech that directly criticized the leadership of Trump on matters of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and racial justice.

“Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness,” Biden said, calling on Americans to come together to “overcome this season of darkness.”

The night featured tributes to civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis, who died in July, as well as to Beau Biden, Joe Biden’s son who died in 2015.

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Kamala Harris Accepts Historic Nomination for Vice President of the United States

Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) accepted her party’s historic nomination to be its vice-presidential candidate in the 2020 U.S. election on Wednesday evening during the third day of the Democratic National Convention. (Reuters photo)

Reuters

Updated: August 20th, 2020

Kamala Harris makes U.S. history, accepts Democrats’ vice presidential nod

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president on Wednesday, imploring the country to elect Joe Biden president and accusing Donald Trump of failed leadership that had cost lives and livelihoods.

The first Black woman and Asian-American on a major U.S. presidential ticket, Harris summarized her life story as emblematic of the American dream on the third day of the Democratic National Convention.

“Donald Trump’s failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods,” Harris said.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama told the convention Trump’s failures as his successor had led to 170,000 people dead from the coronavirus, millions of lost jobs and America’s reputation badly diminished in the world.

The evening featured a crush of women headliners, moderators and speakers, with Harris pressing the case against Trump, speaking directly to millions of women, young Americans and voters of color, constituencies Democrats need if Biden is to defeat the Republican Trump.

“The constant chaos leaves us adrift, the incompetence makes us feel afraid, the callousness makes us feel alone. It’s a lot. And here’s the thing: we can do better and deserve so much more,” she said.

“Right now, we have a president who turns our tragedies into political weapons. Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose,” she said, speaking from an austere hotel ballroom in Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

Biden leads Trump in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, bolstered by a big lead among women voters. Throughout the convention, Democrats have appealed directly to those women voters, highlighting Biden’s co-sponsorship of the landmark Violence Against Woman Act of 1994 and his proposals to bolster childcare and protect family healthcare provisions.

Obama, whose vice president was Biden from 2009-2017, said he had hoped that Trump would take the job seriously, come to feel the weight of the office, and discover a reverence for American democracy.

Obama on Trump: ‘Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t’

“Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe,” Obama said in unusually blunt criticism from an ex-president.

“Millions of jobs gone. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before,” Obama said.

The choice of a running mate has added significance for Biden, 77, who would be the oldest person to become president if he is elected. His age has led to speculation he will serve only one term, making Harris a potential top contender for the nomination in 2024.

Biden named Harris, 55, as his running mate last week to face incumbents Trump, 74, and Vice President Mike Pence, 61.

Former first lady and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee who lost to Trump, told the convention she constantly hears from voters who regret backing Trump or not voting at all.

“This can’t be another woulda coulda shoulda election.” Clinton said. “No matter what, vote. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.”

Clinton, who won the popular vote against Trump but lost in the Electoral College, said Biden needs to win overwhelmingly, warning he could win the popular vote but still lose the White House.

“Joe and Kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose,” Clinton said. “Take it from me. So we need numbers overwhelming so Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory.”

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) accepts the Democratic vice presidential nomination during an acceptance speech delivered for 2020 Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., August 19, 2020. (Getty Images)

Democrats have been alarmed by Trump’s frequent criticism of mail-in voting, and by cost-cutting changes at the U.S. Postal Service instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump supporter, that could delay mail during the election crunch. DeJoy said recently he would delay those changes until after the election.

Democrats also broadcast videos highlighting Trump’s crackdown on immigration, opposition to gun restrictions and his decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord.

‘DISRESPECT’ FOR FACTS, FOR WOMEN

Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told the convention she had seen firsthand Trump’s “disrespect for facts, for working families, and for women in particular – disrespect written into his policies toward our health and our rights, not just his conduct. But we know what he doesn’t: that when women succeed, America succeeds.”

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive who ran against Biden in the 2020 primary, spoke to the convention from a childcare center in Massachusetts and cited Biden’s proposal to make childcare more affordable as a vital part of his agenda to help working Americans.

“It’s time to recognize that childcare is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation — it’s infrastructure for families,” she said. “Joe and Kamala will make high-quality childcare affordable for every family, make preschool universal, and raise the wages for every childcare worker.”

In her speech later, Harris will have an opportunity to outline her background as a child of immigrants from India and Jamaica who as a district attorney, state attorney general, U.S. senator from California and now vice-presidential candidate shattered gender and racial barriers.

She gained prominence in the Senate for her exacting interrogations of Trump nominees, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Attorney General Bill Barr.

The Republican National Convention, also largely virtual, takes place next week.

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Democrats Officially Nominate Joe Biden to Become the Next U.S. President

It’s official: Joe Biden is now formally a candidate to become the next President of the United States. Democrats officially nominated Biden as their 2020 candidate on Tuesday with a roll-call vote of delegates representing all states in the country during the second day of party’s historic virtual convention. (Photo: Courtesy of the Biden campaign)

The Associated Press

Updated: August 19th, 2020

Democrats make it official, nominate Biden to take on Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee Tuesday night, as party officials and activists from across the nation gave the former vice president their overwhelming support during his party’s all-virtual national convention.

The moment marked a political high point for Biden, who had sought the presidency twice before and is now cemented as the embodiment of Democrats’ desperate desire to defeat President Donald Trump this fall.

The roll call of convention delegates formalized what has been clear for months since Biden took the lead in the primary elections’ chase for the nomination. It came as he worked to demonstrate the breadth of his coalition for a second consecutive night, this time blending support from his party’s elders and fresher faces to make the case that he has the experience and energy to repair chaos that Trump has created at home and abroad.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry — and former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell — were among the heavy hitters on a schedule that emphasized a simple theme: Leadership matters. Former President Jimmy Carter, now 95 years old, also made an appearance.

“Donald Trump says we’re leading the world. Well, we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple,” Clinton said. “At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center. Instead, it’s a storm center. There’s only chaos.”

In this image from video, former Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams, center, and others, speak during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)

Biden formally captured his party’s presidential nomination Tuesday night after being nominated by three people, including two Delaware lawmakers and 31-year-old African American security guard who became a viral sensation after blurting out “I love you” to Biden in a New York City elevator.

Delegates from across the country then pledged their support for Biden in a video montage that featured Democrats in places like Alabama’s Edmund Pettis Bridge, a beach in Hawaii and the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

In the opening of the convention’s second night, a collection of younger Democrats, including former Georgia lawmaker Stacey Abrams and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, were given a few minutes to shine.

“In a democracy, we do not elect saviors. We cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve,” said Abrams, 46, who emerged as a national player during her unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018 and was among those considered to be Biden’s running mate.

She added: “Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage.”

On a night that Biden was formally receiving his party’s presidential nomination, the convention was also introducing his wife, Jill Biden, to the nation as the prospective first lady.

In this image from video, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, and members of the Biden family, celebrate after the roll call during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)

Biden is fighting unprecedented logistical challenges to deliver his message during an all-virtual convention this week as the coronavirus epidemic continues to claim hundreds of American lives each day and wreaks havoc on the economy.

The former vice president was becoming his party’s nominee as a prerecorded roll call vote from delegates in all 50 states airs, and the four-day convention will culminate on Thursday when he accepts that nomination. His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, will become the first woman of color to accept a major party’s vice presidential nomination on Wednesday.

Until then, Biden is presenting what he sees as the best of his sprawling coalition to the American electorate in a format unlike any other in history.

For a second night, the Democrats featured Republicans.

Powell, who served as secretary of state under George W. Bush and appeared at multiple Republican conventions in years past, was endorsing the Democratic candidate. In a video released ahead of his speech, he said, “Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of our troops in the same way he would his own family. For Joe Biden, that doesn’t need teaching.”

Powell joins the widow of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, Cindy McCain, who was expected to stop short of a formal endorsement but talk about the mutual respect and friendship her husband and Biden shared.

While there have been individual members of the opposing party featured at presidential conventions before, a half dozen Republicans, including the former two-term governor of Ohio, have now spoken for Democrat Biden.

No one on the program Tuesday night has a stronger connection to the Democratic nominee than his wife, Jill Biden, a longtime teacher, was speaking from her former classroom at Brandywine High School near the family home in Wilmington, Delaware.

“You can hear the anxiety that echoes down empty hallways. There’s no scent of new notebooks or freshly waxed floors,” she said of the school in excerpts of her speech before turning to the nation’s challenges at home. “How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole. With love and understanding—and with small acts of compassion. With bravery. With unwavering faith.”

The Democrats’ party elders played a prominent role throughout the night.

Clinton, who turns 74 on Tuesday, hasn’t held office in two decades. Kerry, 76, was the Democratic presidential nominee back in 2004 when the youngest voters this fall were still in diapers. And Carter is 95 years old.

Clinton, a fixture of Democratic conventions for nearly three decades, addressed voters for roughly five minutes in a speech recorded at his home in Chappaqua, New York.

In addition to railing against Trump’s leadership, Clinton calls Biden “a go-to-work president.” Biden, Clinton continued, is “a man with a mission: to take responsibility, not shift the blame; concentrate, not distract; unite, not divide.”…

Kerry said in an excerpt of his remarks, “Joe understands that none of the issues of this world — not nuclear weapons, not the challenge of building back better after COVID, not terrorism and certainly not the climate crisis — none can be resolved without bringing nations together.”

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Democrats Kick Off Convention as Poll Show Biden, Harris With Double-Digit Lead

Democrats kicked off their historic virtual convention on Monday with the keynote speaker former first lady Michelle Obama assailing the current president as unfit and warning Americans not to reelect him for a second term. Meanwhile new poll show Biden, Harris with double-digit lead over Trump. (Getty Images)

The Associated Press

Updated: August 18th, 2020

Michelle Obama assails Trump as Democrats open convention

NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle Obama delivered a passionate broadside against President Donald Trump during Monday’s opening night of the Democratic National Convention, assailing the Republican president as unfit for the job and warning that the nation’s mounting crises would only get worse if he’s reelected.

The former first lady issued an emotional call to the coalition that sent her husband to the White House, declaring that strong feelings must be translated into votes.

“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” she declared. “He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us.”

Obama added: “If you think things possibly can’t get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don’t make a change in this election.”

The comments came as Joe Biden introduced the breadth of his political coalition to a nation in crisis Monday night at the convention, giving voice to victims of the coronavirus pandemic, the related economic downturn and police violence and featuring both progressive Democrats and Republicans united against Trump’s reelection.

Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. The DNC released excerpts of her speech ahead of the convention start. (Democratic National Convention)

The ideological range of Biden’s many messengers was demonstrated by former presidential contenders from opposing parties: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who championed a multi-trillion-dollar universal health care plan, and Ohio’s former Republican Gov. John Kasich, an anti-abortion conservative who spent decades fighting to cut government spending.

The former vice president won’t deliver his formal remarks until Thursday night, but he made his first appearance just half an hour into Monday’s event as he moderated a panel on racial justice, a theme throughout the night, as was concern about the Postal Service. The Democrats accuse Trump of interfering with the nation’s mail in order to throw blocks in front of mail-in voting.

“My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election: The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake,” Sanders declared.

Kasich said his status as a lifelong Republican “holds second place to my responsibility to my country.”

“In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times,” he said of his participation at the Democrats’ convention. He added: “Many of us can’t imagine four more years going down this path.”

Read more »

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Post-ABC poll shows Biden, Harris hold double-digit lead over Trump, Pence

The race for the White House tilts toward the Democrats, with former vice president Joe Biden holding a double-digit lead nationally over President Trump amid continuing disapproval of the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Democrats [kicked] off their convention on Monday in a mood of cautious optimism, with Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), leading Trump and Vice President Pence by 53 percent to 41 percent among registered voters. The findings are identical among a larger sample of all voting-age adults.

Biden’s current national margin over Trump among voters is slightly smaller than the 15-point margin in a poll taken last month and slightly larger than a survey in May when he led by 10 points. In late March, as the pandemic was taking hold in the United States, Biden and Trump were separated by just two points, with the former vice president holding a statistically insignificant advantage.

Today, Biden and Harris lead by 54 percent to 43 percent among those who say they are absolutely certain to vote and who also report voting in 2016. A month ago, Biden’s lead of 15 points overall had narrowed to seven points among similarly committed 2016 voters. Biden now also leads by low double-digits among those who say they are following the election most closely.

Read more »

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Team Joe Announces Convention Speakers

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris. (Courtesy Photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: August 17th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — Joe Biden’s campaign has announced its speaker lineup for the Democratic National Convention that’s set to open on Monday, August 17th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Below are the list of speakers that will be featured “across all four nights of the Convention which will air live August 17-20 from 9:00-11:00 PM Eastern each night.”

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Related:

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Interview With Addisu Demissie: Senior Adviser to Joe Biden

Biden Selects Yohannes Abraham as Member of Transition Team

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: September 10th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) – This week as Ethiopians usher in a new year a timely new movie is set to stream on the online platform habeshaview to mark the holiday.

The movie called SIMET (ሲመት) is “an epic Ethiopian drama about betrayal, courage and sacrifice,” the press release states. “The movie is set in the Era of the Princess, mid-18th to 19th century. The country was divided and ruled by local warlords, and Gondar was the capital city of Ethiopia.”

(Courtesy photo)

The press release adds: “The movie Simet is about an elderly king who is fragile and on the verge of dying. He lost his heir in an unfortunate and deceptive situation. Seeking revenge of the killer, he orders his two younger sons to find the man who killed the heir. Whichever son succeeds, will take the throne. ”

Watch the trailer here:

Habeshaview presents this movie to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year.

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You can learn more and watch the film at www.habeshaview.com. The movie can be streamed through the habeshaview-app and be enjoyed on mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and smart tv’s.

Related:

Spotlight on ‘Enkopa’: New Ethiopian Movie Based on True Story of a Young Migrant

WATCH: Q&A with Cast and Crew of “Enchained (ቁራኛዬ) Live From Ethiopia

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: August 24th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — This week the non-profit organization Early Childhood Education Ethiopia ((ECEE) is hosting a timely online conference titled “Early Childhood Education as the Primary Catalyst for Securing Sustainable Changes in Ethiopia.”

The Zoom meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25th, will feature presentations by Ethiopian early childhood experts covering several topics including “current status of early childhood care and education in Ethiopia” as well as a review of the country’s “preschool curriculum.”

“Investing in children’s early care and education in Ethiopia will not only help the birth-eight years population become lifelong learners but will also close the socio-economic gap, raise literacy rates and produce citizens that will be empowered to invest collectively for the advancement of all people,” the California-based Ethiopian American organization states on its website. “Early Childhood Education Ethiopia is founded on the principle that love, interaction, play and cultural influences shape the foundational domains of human development.” Yet, “only 45% of preschool children in Ethiopia have access to an early childhood education program.”

Conference presenters include Founder of ECEE, Dr. Hawani Negussie, who is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at Brandman University, Part of Chapman University, in Orange, California. Dr. Hawani’s presentation is titled “The First Five, the Decisive Years.”

Additional speakers include Yohanese Wogasso Wodajo, Director of School Improvement Program Directorate at the Ministry of Education in Ethiopia; Dr. Meseret Alaro, Director of Public and International Relations Directorate and Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics and Communication at Kotebe Metropolitan University; and Teshome Kondale, a Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Developmental Psychology at Addis Ababa University and Faculty-Department of Preschool Education at Kotebe Metropolitan University.

Images courtesy of Early Childhood Education Ethiopia ((ECEE)

On its website ECEE notes that it embraces: “a constructivist curriculum model that promotes learning through exploration, a medium of instruction that celebrates the linguistic diversity of its pupils, application of developmentally appropriate practices including integration of traditional values and using differentiated instructions,” and cites its goal as meeting “the educational and developmental need of every child in Ethiopia through informed practice, policy and advocacy.”

—

If You Attend
TUESDAY, August 25, 2020
7am PST / 5pm – Ethiopian Time
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98621884269?pwd=Tzd1bGVuUitlN0Joam1xdEt0NnFVQT09
Meeting ID: 986 2188 4269
Passcode: 83786
Learn more about the organization at https://www.earlyeducationethiopia.org/

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: July 27th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — The Ethiopian community in the New York Tri-State area — New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — is launching a fundraising campaign today (Monday, July 27th) aptly named “Wegen Le Wegen, NY Tri-State for Ethiopia.”

The announcement states that the fundraising campaign is “part of the Ethiopian Government’s effort to prevent and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” and in response to the call by the Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the United Nations requesting that the Ethiopian Diaspora mobilize support.

The recently formed New York area task force for the Ethiopia COVID-19 Relief Fund (ECRF) is made up various associations including several churches, the muslim community and several non-profit organizations.

The program, which kicks off today at 5pm, will be primarily in Amharic and broadcast on Facebook live at https://www.facebook.com/events/285157982572025

According to a fact sheet shared with Tadias, “all Ethiopian Embassies around the world are mobilizing the Diaspora to raise funds for Ethiopia. All funds raised under this initiative will be transferred [to the] “Corona Virus Mitigation Trust Fund” at Commercial Bank in Ethiopia. The money will be used according to the priorities identified by the Ethiopian National COVID-19 Pandemic Taskforce for the Response and Mitigation of COVID Virus.”

As of this week the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Ethiopia has topped 14,000 and is fast rising. “Studies show that low income countries need massive injections of cash into their economies,” the press release emphasized. “They’re not able to provide the kinds of measures that enable safe behavior by the public (unemployment benefits, food banks etc…) as has been provided in wealthier countries. The scale of the pandemic has demonstrated worldwide need that on average is $1.90/day to 3.3 billion people for a period of six months, starting as soon as possible.”

The announcement added:

The worldwide Ethiopia COVID-19 Response Team and other localized fund raising efforts such as Boston’s response to the challenge are models for this initiative. In a matter of days, teams were formed as a support group to help Ethiopia with technology to collect information, identify clusters, analyze data and respond. Boston’s task Force Raised $150K in less than one month. Everyone provided their skills and financial resources in whatever capacity fit them. We are asking members of the Diaspora in the Tri-State area to do the same.

Donations are accepted by:

- Wire-transfer to: Citibank

- Check to: The Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the UN

- Paypal to: The Permanent Mission of Ethiopian to the UN

- Through a participant Ethiopian Community Representative Organization

Every dollar raised by the Tri-State area offsets the need for dependence on others and demonstrates our unity and personal commitment to those struggling – Wegen Le Wegen. We’ve been able to get through, helping each other here and giving back as well. Ethiopia needs you, join the fight!

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You can learn more about the Ethiopia COVID-19 Relief Fund (ECRF) Taskforce and contribute at http://www.ecmaany.org/wegenlewegen.

Related:

Ethiopia Coronavirus Cases Reach 15,200

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: July 27th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — This weekend, a new play series, All Hands on Deck, created and curated by Antu Yacob is set to broadcast live via the New York-based Project Y Theatre Company’s YouTube page on Sunday, July 26th at 7pm.

“Conceived by Antu Yacob, the series will share different perspectives of the Black experience in America,” the announcement said. “Weaving in live music, the series aims to explore theater as ritual and activism in our times.”

The new commissioned works, directed by Ethiopian-Kenyan Shariffa Ali and Lisa Strum, feature four playwrights from the African Diaspora including the writer of Bygone Fruit, Banna Desta – an Eritrean and Ethiopian playwright and screenwriter who crafts stories about and for the African diaspora. In addition the show’s lead line-ups include France-Luce Benson, Nikkole Salter and Sienna L. Jones. Antu notes that the program will open and close with original music by Ethiopian-American artist Munit Mesfin.

Watch: All Hands On Deck Reading July 26, 2020

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If You Attend:

On Sunday July 26th, the show will be broadcast live via Project Y Theatre Company’s YouTube page: www.youtube.com/user/ProjectYNYC

The All Hands on Deck line-up:

Nanã, by France-Luce Benson
They Live in You, by Sienna L. Jones
Bygone Fruit, by Banna Desta
Ways and Means, by Nikkole Salter

The All Hands On Deck Company:

Actors: Juliette Jeffers, Chantal Jean-Pierre, Terry Burrell, Jazmine Stewart, Candyce Adkins, Brenna Power, and Landon Woodson.
Musicians: Kena Anae and Munit Mesfin
Technician: Neel Murgai
Women in Theatre Festival Producers:
Michole Biancosino & Andrew W. Smith
Assistants to the Producers: Hadley Evans Nash and Gabrielle Martin

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: May 18th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) – This coming Sunday on May 24th the cast and crew of the award-winning Ethiopian film Enchained (ቁራኛዬ) will participate in a live Zoom Q&A session from Addis Ababa answering questions from audiences around the world including the Ethiopian Diaspora community in the U.S.

The film’s Director Moges Tafesse and Lead Actor Zerihun Mulatu, as well as other main characters, will also join the discussion from Ethiopia. The virtual event, which is hosted by Habeshaview in collaboration with Tadias, will be moderated by BBC journalist Hewete Haileselassie.

“Enchained (ቁራኛዬ) discusses the commonly practiced justice process of early and mid-19th Century in Ethiopia, where institutional punitive prison did not exist, and the justice process was restorative,” the announcement states. “This practice has now been largely forgotten. Enchained sold out shows in Addis Ababa, London, New York and Washington DC. It was also selected as the opening film at the New African Film Festival, Silver Spring Maryland in March 2020.”

“Following the digital release of Enchained, we are delighted to announce that in collaboration with the New York online magazine, Tadias, we will be co-hosting an exclusive virtual discussion about the film with invited guests, cast and crew,” added Tigist Kebede, Co-Founder & Operations Director of Habeshaview.

“Let’s come together and spend this time to have an open discussion about love, justice, culture and poetry – all in one place!”

The movie Enchained (ቁራኛዬ) is currently available to watch on Habeshaview.

—

If You attend:

Click here to RSVP and receive a code to join the online conversation.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

ABC News

Former President Barack Obama will be holding a televised graduation event for the high school class of 2020, most of whom are missing their in-person graduations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Separately, Barack and Michelle Obama will be hosting a virtual commencement celebration in June for the class of 2020. President Obama will also share a message for HBCU students at a virtual event in May.

“Over the past month, President and Mrs. Obama have received dozens of requests from around the globe to address graduating classes whose in-person commencement events have been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” the former president’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. “Today, the Obamas are pleased to announce that they will participate in multiple virtual commencement celebrations for students, families and educators.”

“Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020″ will be a 1-hour multimedia event featuring several guests, and it will air on Saturday, May 16, on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC as well as other broadcast and digital streaming partners, according to a press release.

Special guests will include LeBron James, Malala Yousafzai, the Jonas Brothers, Yara Shahidi, Bad Bunny, Lena Waithe, Pharrell Williams, Megan Rapinoe, H.E.R. and Ben Platt, and the event is being hosted by XQ Institute, The LeBron James Family Foundation and The Entertainment Industry Foundation.

“This high school graduation season will be anything but ordinary — but that’s all the more reason why the Class of 2020 deserves extraordinary advice, heartfelt encouragement, and hard-won wisdom about facing new challenges in an uncertain world,” said Russlynn Ali, CEO and co-founder of XQ Institute. “We are grateful to President Obama for giving this gift to our nation’s three million high school seniors as they #GraduateTogether.”

“Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition” will be a 2-hour virtual HBCU commencement program presented by Chase in partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the United Negro College Fund, the National Association for Equal Opportunity, the National Basketball Association, Paul Quinn College, Howard University and JPMorgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways Initiative, according to the former president’s office. It will be livestreamed on May 16 at 2 p.m. ET.

View this post on Instagram

To the #Classof2020, I know how hard you all have worked to make it to graduation. You’ve put in long hours studying. You’ve thrown yourself into extracurricular activities and after-school jobs. And you’ve done everything you can to be there for your friends through it all. Some of you will be the first in your families to graduate from high school or college, making this occasion all the more special. And I know that none of you imagined you would be closing this chapter of your life through a computer or phone screen. But I still want to make sure you still get the celebration you deserve. That’s why, through my @reachhigher Initiative, I’m working with @youtube Originals to host a special virtual graduation for you on June 6th. Whether you’re graduating from high school, college, or any other kind of school––we want you, your family, and all of your loved ones to be a part of this celebration. And we want to do this right for all of you, so I’ll be inviting some very special guests—including @BarackObama—to help ring in this momentous day. RSVP here bit.ly/RHGraduation and then tune in on June 6th at yt.be/classof2020. #ReachHigher

A post shared by Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on May 5, 2020 at 8:22am PDT

On June 6, the Obamas will take part in YouTube’s “Dear Class of 2020,” which will stream live starting at 3 p.m. ET. Both Obamas “will deliver separate commencement addresses” and “a joint message to students,” according to the office.

That event will feature global leaders, celebrities, creators and more, including Malala Yousafzai, Sundar Pichai, former Defense Secretary Bob Gates, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys and Kerry Washington.

The announcement of these events comes after students across the nation took to social media to ask Obama to deliver a commencement speech for them, making #ObamaCommencement2020 trend on Twitter, given that they are graduating under such unusual circumstances.

The Obamas have plenty of experience delivering commencement addresses and speaking to the importance of education, something the former first lady has particularly taken on as an initiative.

High school senior Lincoln Debenham, from Los Angeles, California, who was credited with starting that social media campaign, was told by his mother about the former president and first lady’s plans on Tuesday.

“This means a whole lot to me. The class of 2020 as well as anybody who wants to tune in are going to hear inspiration and uplifting words from these two amazing people who my generation grew up following,” Lincoln said in a statement to ABC News. “It’s what need right now and I’m glad Mr. and Mrs. Obama were so kind to agree to do it.”

Last Friday, Lincoln committed to California State in Los Angeles where he will study political science. He said he hopes by the fall he will be in the classroom, but he understands his learning might still be online.

—
Related:

In DC, Michelle Obama’s Public Health Message Triggers Wave of Appreciation, Nostalgia

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: April 27th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — As families around the world cope with the new realities of life in the era of COVID-19, the Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association (ECMAA) — that serves New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — has launched a weekly online Children’s Story Hour featuring readings both in Amharic and English.

ECMAA states that the weekly Zoom meeting, which began last week, takes place every Tuesday between 4-6 pm. The announcement notes that the virtual event is ideal for parents and kids ranging in age from 3-12 years old.

“Keeping kids entertained during the lock-down can be challenging,” ECMAA noted. “The story hour will be led by experienced teachers and storytellers,” ECMAA said: “We will read both Amharic and English children’s books and other activities to ward off cabin fever.”

In addition to the children’s program ECMAA has been sharing timely resources with the community including COVID-19 safety information as well as national resources for financial support for families and small business owners.

“The coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread claiming lives and causing economic havoc across the world,” the organization states in its latest newsletter. “In order to beat this pandemic, each and every one of us has to put extra effort to curtail our movements, practice social distancing, and follow the guidelines of the CDC and DOHMH.”

ECMAA added: “We as a community must stay strong and support one another here in the US, as well as our brothers and sisters back home in Ethiopia. ECMAA is working with the Ethiopian Community Associations of Connecticut (ECAC), the Massachusetts Ethiopian Support Association (MESA) and Tadias Magazine to leverage resources, provide information, and address the needs of our community here and in Ethiopia collectively and in coordination with each other.”

—

If You Attend:
ECMAA WEEKLY CHILDREN’S VIRTUAL STORY HOUR
Tuesdays 4-6 pm.
Zoom meeting ID 814-7743-4706
Or click here

Related:

Getting Through COVID 19: ECMAA Shares Resources With Ethiopian Community

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: April 20th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — This week Professor Lemma Senbet, an Ethiopian-American financial economist and the William E. Mayer Chair Professor at University of Maryland, will be moderating an online seminar focusing on the global economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its ramifications on African countries.

The webinar, which is titled ‘COVID-19 and African Economies: Global Implications and Actions’ is being hosted by the Center for Financial Policy at University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Professor Lemma told Tadias that the virtual conference features representatives from two of the world’s flagship international financial institutions: IMF and World Bank. Speakers include Rabah Arezki, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for the Middle East & North Africa as well as Domenico Fanizza, who is an Executive Board Member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The announcement notes that the “webinar is intended to be interactive between panelists and participants through questions and commentaries,” emphasizing that the panel “will discuss the global implications of the COVID-19 economic impact on developing and low-income countries, with Africa as an anchor.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of this month “the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has risen to more than 10,000 and caused more than 500 deaths. While the virus was slow to reach the continent compared to other parts of the world, infection has grown exponentially in recent weeks and continues to spread. Africa’s first COVID-19 case was recorded in Egypt on February 14th. Since then a total of 52 countries have reported cases. Initially, mainly confined to capital cities, a significant number of countries in Africa are now reporting cases in multiple provinces.”

Prof. Lemma says whether the number of cases surges upward or not the economic consequences are unavoidable given the decline in import and export worldwide and other factors.

The webinar will address several questions including the following:

COVID-19 has touched the entire 8 billion (almost) population on this planet and reminded us that we are totally interconnected. In this context, why should Africa and other low-income countries matter to the rest of the globe?

What have been the key global responses to date and what are the gaps? In particular, what are the respective responses of major international institutions – the World Bank, IMF, UNDP, regional institutions, such as the African Development Bank?

How should bilateral institutional and government lending partners respond to the need for efficient resolution of what appears to be a looming debt crisis? What do you expect the role of China would be in this regard?

In the new landscape, unlike the HIPC era, many African countries began accessing international private debt markets at arm’s length. However, this has pushed up the debt servicing costs so that debt sustainability can no longer be based on the debt/GDP levels but its totality, including debt service costs. How do private actors respond to the crisis and what would be the role of international financial institutions to facilitate that?

What are the reforms to be put into place in a global partnership to help mitigate the consequences of pandemics in the future?

What does globalization look like post-COVID-19? Who will be winners and losers? Is win-win globalization more feasible moving forward, or just the opposite?

—

If You Attend:

Date and time: Friday, April 24, 2020 9:45 am
Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Click here to Register

—

Related:

Interview: Dr. Lemma Senbet on the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: April 10th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — Thanks to the Internet we don’t necessarily have to break the “stay-at-home rule” during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to entertain ourselves with the latest film releases. You can add to your list the upcoming online screening of the award-winning Ethiopian movie ቁራኛዬ (Enchained) that’s set to be streamed on the Habeshaview online platform beginning on April 18th.

“This will be the first time Enchained will be screened outside of a cinema, in collaboration with The International Emerging Film Talents Association (IEFTA),” Habeshaview announced, noting that the film will be made available for paid viewing through its app for a limited time next week.

The announcement added:

Enchained is a lush historical drama set in 1910, and was selected as the opening movie of the prestigious 2020 New African Film Festival in the United States. The Ethiopian production has won the top prize at the Alem Cinema Awards as well as the Lizzo Awards. The film has previously screened internationally in New York, Washington DC, London and Addis Ababa.”

“At a time when many people are spending more time indoors, Habeshaview is proud to share exclusive and excellent Ethiopian entertainment to its audiences around the world,” says Tigist Kebede, Habeshaview’s Operations Director. “Habeshaview is committed to raising the profile of Ethiopian films. With Enchained we provide audiences around the world with quality movies that inspire.”

About Enchained (Quragnaye)

Until the early and mid-19th century in Ethiopia, institutional punitive prisons did not exist and the justice process was restorative. The film Enchained illustrates the rift between the prior oral system that incorporated socio-cultural practices into the legal process and the current legal judicial system largely operated through the national court system.

About Habeshaview tv

Habeshaview is a privately held film distribution and media company that was established in 2014. Habeshaview promotes the rich cultural heritage of several Diaspora communities, history, traditions, socio-economic development, business environment, tourism and current affairs. Our vision is to work with different nations and to bring their national TV content and selected films and programs to the international market. We believe that this is the best way for Diaspora communities to stay in touch with one another and to keep up to date with developments taking place within their native countries.

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For more information visit habeshaview.com.

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: March 25th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — The Society of Ethiopians Established in the Diaspora (SEED) has announced that due to the coronavirus pandemic its 28th annual Recognition & Awards dinner — originally scheduled to take pace on May 24th at College Park Marriott Hotel in Hyattsville, Maryland — has been postponed to May 2021.

“Within a short period of time, our world is threatened and changed by this novel coronavirus a/k/a Covid-19,” said Ephraim Kaba, Chairman of the association, in a statement emailed to Tadias. “In response to the current announcements from the Federal Government, state and local authorities, on how to deal with the spread of this virus, we decided to postpone our May 24, 2020 Award dinner to the following year.” He added: “There is no higher priority for us than the safety of you and your family. We wish everyone safety and encourage you to practice good judgment in the weeks ahead.”

Established in 1993, SEED is one of the oldest Ethiopian Diaspora organizations in the United States.

The nonprofit had planned to recognize seven individuals this year for “professional excellence” in various fields including business, law, technology, art, and humanitarian work. The honorees included Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, Mr. Tekalign Gedamu, Mrs. Freweini Mebrahtu, Ms. Bethlehem Dessie, Artist Tadesse Worku, Sister Zebedir Zewdie, and Mrs. Meaza Birru. The announcement had also noted that “SEED will also honor exceptional high school seniors who excelled in their academic pursuits, stood out in humanitarian efforts, and exhibited exemplary community services.”

Photo courtesy of The Society of Ethiopians Established in the Diaspora (SEED)

Last year SEED honored women leaders and pioneers including Meaza Ashenafi, President of the Supreme Court of Ethiopia; physician Senait Fisseha, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility academic at the University of Michigan and Director of International Programs at the Susan Buffet Foundation; Captain Amsale Gualu, the first female captain at Ethiopian Airlines; Artist Julie Mehretu; Dr. Yalemtsehay Mekonnen, the first female Professor in Ethiopia, Talk Show Host Helen Mesfin; Ledet Muleta, Senior Psychiatric Research Nurse at the National Institute of Health and a dedicated advocate for mental health research; Yetnebersh Nigussie, Lawyer and Disability Rights Activist from Ethiopia; and legendary athlete Derartu Tulu, the first African woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Previous SEED honorees include Musicians Mahamoud Ahmed and Teddy Afro as well as Poet and Author Lemn Sissay, Playwright and Actor Alemtsehay Wodajo, and Economist Dr. Lemma W. Senbet who is the William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance at the University of Maryland, College Park and a member of the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund’s Advisory Council.

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More info at www.ethioseed.org.

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Published: February 27th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — This weekend in Washington D.C., the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, who is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie, will host the annual Victory of Adwa Commemoration dinner & award ceremony at the Army and Navy Club.

Among those who will be recognized with the Victory of Adwa Centenary Medal at this year’s celebration include four individuals from Loyola Marymount University in California, which is home to Tsehai Publishers. The honorees include Founder of TSEHAI, Elias Wondimu; President Timothy Law Snyder; Senior Vice-President for Student Affairs, Elena (Lane) Bove; and Director of the Marymount Institute, Professor Theresia de Vroom.

In a statement earlier this month the Crown Council said: “This year’s awardees are selected for their lifetime achievements and community service.”

“The LMU delegation was chosen for their contributions in sustaining the publishing program of TSEHAI,” the university said in a press release. “Since 2007, TSEHAI has been affiliated with Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.”

The announcement added:

“Under the direction of Dr. Theresia de Vroom, a professor of English, the Marymount Institute of Faith, Culture and the Arts developed a deep partnership with the publisher. Since then, TSEHAI, the Marymount Institute Press, and their two additional imprints have published more than 120 books.”

Since the closure of Howard University Press, TSEHAI remains the only African-owned and operated publisher of books at any university outside of Africa. With this great responsibility, TSEHAI strives to publish works that fight against misinformation about Africa and Ethiopia in particular. In both English and Amharic, these publications range from prose and poetry to political texts, such as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s recent works Medemer and Fruit of the Lips. TSEHAI also publishes two academic journals focusing on Ethiopia — the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies and the Ethiopian Journal of Religious Studies.

The first honoree, Elias Wondimu was previously recognized by the Crown Council in 2017, when he received the distinguished award of Grand Officer of the Imperial Order of Emperor Menelik II. Since then, Elias has continued his work in service of Ethiopia, returning to his home country for the first time in nearly twenty-five years in 2018.

Timothy Law Snyder, serves as the sixteenth President of Loyola Marymount University and has been a professor and administrator for nearly thirty years in Catholic Jesuit education. One of his principal missions is “global imagination,” which acknowledges the role of the university as key in forming young people who are conscious of global cultures and issues.

Lane Bove, began her career as Senior Vice President for Student Affairs at Loyola Marymount University in 1987. As the Board Chair of the Marymount Institute, Bove has played an instrumental role in bringing TSEHAI Publishers to Loyola Marymount University and sustaining it as a vital program at the university.

Theresia de Vroom is Professor of English Literature, Director of the Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture and the Arts, and Editor of the Marymount Institute Press. As Director of the Marymount Institute, Professor de Vroom is responsible for bringing TSEHAI Publishers to Loyola Marymount University and plays an important role in its current global operations.

The 9th Annual Victory of the Battle of Adwa Commemoration dinner will be hosted at the Army and Navy Club in Washington D.C by the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia on February 29th, 2020. The Battle of Adwa was a monumental event in African history as it resulted in a victory of Ethiopia over the Italians.

—

Related:

MoA Anbessa Hosts ADWA Dinner in D.C.

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

November 22nd, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — This weekend in Alexandria, Virginia Your Ethiopian Professionals Network (YEP) celebrates its 9th year anniversary on Saturday, November 23rd.

“The black-tie event will be held at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and will feature notable community figures, influencers, traditional Ethiopian food and music, and an award ceremony,” YEP announced noting that the theme this year is Leading with Purpose. More than 300 professionals from a wide range of industries and sectors will be in attendance.”

Founded in 2010 YEP’s mission is “to inspire, educate and empower the Ethiopian professional community to make a positive impact in the world and envisions a strong community that shares ideas, skills and resources to enrich lives.” Through the years YEP has hosted educational and networking sessions as well as various inspirational speakers.

The announcement adds that YEP’s award ceremony will honor individuals and organizations “who are doing a great job in their sector and our community.”

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If You Go:
YEP Nine Year Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, November 23, 2019 from 6:00 PM to midnight
US Patent and Trademark Office
600 Dulany Street
Madison Auditorium
Alexandria, VA 22304
Click here to buy tickets
More info at www.yepnetwork.org

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook. ‘

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Published: October 21st, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — “A night filled with philanthropy; music by the legendary Selamino of SELAMINO TRIO and a Chase The Dream’s Star Awardee; and the electrifying DJ Mess,” the Wegene Ethiopian Foundation announced highlighting its 19th Year Anniversary Gala and happy hour scheduled on October 26th at the Waterford in Springfield, Virginia. “There will be delicious food, art, an auction, dance, unique craft items, and much more.”

The Ethiopian American nonprofit organization, which was founded in 2000 by a group of like-minded individuals in the Washington, D.C. area, provides financial assistance to youth and focuses on education-related projects in various parts of Ethiopia. Nini Legesse, President of Wegene Foundation, is one of fourteen civil society leaders from the East African Diaspora who was selected as a “Champions of Change” by the Obama administration in 2012. A statement from the White House at the time noted that the work of Wegene and other honorees helped “to mobilize networks across borders to address global challenges.” Nini’s organization provided, among other services, financial support to build an elementary school in Jimma, Ethiopia.

“Our mission is to improve the daily lives of the less fortunate and disadvantaged children and their families in Ethiopia by overcoming three critical barriers in the seemingly unbreakable poverty cycle,” the organization states on its website. “Rebuilding families, one child at a time.”

“The word ‘Wegene’ in Amharic means “empowering my community or my people.” Wegene is a grassroots, community-based organization designed to sponsor and support Ethiopian families in their home setting,” notes the organization’s website. “Wegene is unique in that it supports impoverished families via collaborations with local residents – possibly neighbors, friends, and others who are a part of the community.”

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If You Go:
Wegene Ethiopian Foundation’s 19th Year Anniversary
Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 6pm – 1am.
Networking/happy hour is from 6-7 pm and dinner will be served at 7pm.
The Waterford Reception Center
6715 Commerce Street
Springfield, VA 22150
www.wegene.org

WEF 19th Anniversary Gala Promotion Video (Amharic)

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Published: October 4th, 2019

Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week Set to Kick-off on October 9th

New York (TADIAS) – The 2019 Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week is set to kick-off on October 9th at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Addis Ababa.

The runway show, which marks its 9th anniversary this year, features both local and international designers from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa.

“The British Council will serve as the facilitator of a “Made in Ethiopia” event, which will feature producers of textile, leather, manufacturing and other sectors of the industry,” Mahlet Teklemariam, Founder of the Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week, announced in a press statement.

The press release notes that “fashion is a multi-billion dollar industry of which Africa only has a minute share,” adding that the annual Fashion Week in Ethiopia’s capital “seeks to remedy this and has worked diligently towards this growth.”

According to the organizers past participants of Hub of Africa Fashion Week have go on to present at New York African Fashion Week as well as Berlin Fashion Week and received international media coverage including on CNN, Vogue Italia, Fashion TV, and BBC.

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If You Go:

The 2019 Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Addis Ababa from October 9-12th. For full list of programs please visit the event’s website at www.hubfashionweekafrica.com.

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

September 28th, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — This weekend the annual Ethiopian Day picnic is set to take place at Sakura Park in New York City.

Organized by the Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association (ECMAA) the family friendly event includes fun outdoor activities and entrainment both for children and adults.

“Bring your favorite games, picnic tables, chairs, mat and music,” the announcement notes. “Refreshments will be served.”

ECMAA was founded in 1981 to serve the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Ethiopian Diaspora community. In addition to regularly hosting social, educational and networking events they also help “individuals to find ways to give back to their community by sharing their skills and experiences or by assisting financially.” Recently launched ECMAA programs also include weekend Amharic classes for children.

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You can learn more and contact the organizers at http://www.ecmaany.org.

Related:
In Pictures: Ethiopian Festival at the Children’s Museum of the Arts in NYC
In NYC ECMAA Expands Program to Include Community Soccer Games

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Published: September 6th, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — The Ethiopian New Year is fast approaching next week and among the various celebrations taking place here in New York and in the larger Diaspora community across the U.S. includes a timely fundraiser at Settepani in Harlem on September 11th to support the Medhen Orphan Relief Effort. The organization, which is known by its acronym M.O.R.E., is a U.S.-based non-profit at the forefront of battling the orphan crisis in Ethiopia.

According to UNICEF there are over 4 million children in Ethiopia under the age of 18 that are growing into adulthood without a parent, making the country home to one of the largest orphan populations in the world. As the International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research pointed out in a 2014 study “reliable statistics are difficult to find” and “even the sources often list only estimates, and street children are rarely included.”

On its website M.O.R.E. states that the organization is “the primary sponsor of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and Orphans and Vulnerable Youth (OVY) Programs administered by the Medhen Social Center, just outside the Addis Ababa city center. Under the vision and stewardship of Sister Senkenesh, and with M.O.R.E. underwriting the costs, these programs deliver a vast array of essential health, nutritional, and educational related services to those most in need.”

The New Year fundraiser on Wednesday, September 11th is hosted by the owner of Settepani, Leah Abraham, who is an Executive Board member of M.O.R.E. along with Board members Yodit Amaha and Jennifer Baxter.

Organizers share that the event includes live Ethiopian music, an art show and Ethiopia-inspired hors d’oeuvres.

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If You Go:
Wednesday, September 11th, 2019
6:00 to 9:00 PM
Settepani
196 LENOX AVENUE,NY, 10026,
$50 per person, $25 for students
www.morechildren.org

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Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: August 22nd, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — Dashen Ethiopian Cuisine, which is located in New Brunswick, has been highlighted as one of the “10 hotest restaurants” in New Jersey by NJ.com. It is also the only Ethiopian restaurant in Central New Jersey since the closing of Makeda (the state’s first Ethiopian restaurant) a few years back.

“The void of Ethiopian cuisine in New Brunswick was deliciously filled by Dashen,” NJ.com had noted in a feature published soon after the eatery opened four years ago. Located on Albany Street the restaurant had originally opened under the name Desta. Now re-named as Dashen it is set to hold a grand re-opening this weekend (Saturday, August 24th) to inaugurate its newly expanded space.

The family owned restaurant is operated by husband and wife team Tsigereda Lemlemayehu and Alemayehu Hailu who are long-time residents of Central Jersey and are best known for their homemade injera favored by local Ethiopians.

Below are a few photos of the restaurant:

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If You Go:
Dashen’s Grand re-opening in New Brunswick, New Jersey
Saturday, August 24th, 2019
88 Albany Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone number (732) 249-0494
www.dashenethiopiannj.com

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Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: May 2nd, 2019

New York (TADIAS) – Photographer Chester Higgins was honored by the Ethiopian School Readiness Initiative in New York city on Monday night.

The former New York Times photographer who is a close friend of the Ethiopian community is behind some of the most spectacular photos of Ethiopia captured by an international photographer in the last five decades, which include his timeless images of Lalibela, beautiful portraits of people in the Omo region, as well as enduring profiles of Emperor Haile Selassie and the late Poet Laureate of Ethiopia Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin.

In an article a few years ago, The New York Times lens blog noted that Chester “first went to Ethiopia in 1973, prompted by news that African heads of state were gathering for an Organization of African Unity meeting in Addis Ababa. On that trip, he met and photographed the emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, and other heads of state. Taken by the calm sense of self he found among the Ethiopian people, he returned the following year to see other parts of the country.”

Chester never stopped going back.

Below are photos from the event celebrating his work on Monday night:

(Courtesy photo/Facebook)

The Ethiopian School Readiness Initiative honores Chester Higgins on Monday, April 29th, 2019 in New York.(Courtesy photo/Facebook)

Chester Higgins honored by Ethiopian School Readiness Initiative on Monday, April 29th, 2019 in New York.(Courtesy photo/Facebook)

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Related:
Pictures: Chester Higgins’ Stunning Photos of Ethiopia:

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Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: March 31st, 2019

Photo Exhibition Captures a Year of Reforms in Ethiopia

New York (TADIAS) – A photo exhibition kicked-off in Addis Ababa this weekend celebrating a year of historic reforms under the new Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed who was inaugurated into office one year ago on April 2nd.

The photography show features hundreds of images by various artists encapsulating the changes that took place in the past twelve months.

The Office of the Prime Minister announced on Twitter that the exhibition was officially opened on Sunday, March 31st by the Minister of Culture & Tourism, Hirut Kassaw, at the Millenium hall in Addis Ababa.

The PM’s office said that the photo exhibition titled ‘April to April’ also includes “a visual art tree installation designed by art curator Edom Belete. The tree art is inspired by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s inaugural speech and depicts Ethiopianess.”

A panel discussion also took place during the opening with photographer Aida Muluneh, Bekele Mekonnen, Associate Professor of Fine Arts at AAU and Agenehu Adane, Director of Alle School of Fine Arts. The exhibit announcement noted that “the panelists reflected on the role of photography in documenting history and in bringing leaders closer to the public.”

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Related:
Tadias Reflection on PM Abiy’s One Year in Office

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Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: March 17th, 2019

New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian American entrepreneur Beejhy Barhany is featured as one of the presenters at the 2019 Women of the World (WOW) Festival, which is taking place at the legendary Apollo Theater this weekend on Sunday, March 17th as part of Women’s History Month celebrations.

In a statement the curator of the 2019 WOW Festival, Isisara Bey noted: “We join WOW Festivals taking place in more than 54 cities on five continents to speak with one voice about our many challenges and obstacles, triumphs and achievements. We are rooted locally with hands outstretched around the planet to tell our own stories with truth and grace, passion and power.”

“The Wow Festival features workshops, activities, programming, and performances with artists, community leaders, writers, thinkers, activists, and leaders exploring a variety of issues across cultural, civic, and social boundaries with a focus on empowerment and activism,” Apollo Theater announced. “Participants include educator and activist Angela Davis; musician Alice Smith; finance expert Suze Orman; White House correspondent April Ryan; Poet Nikki Giovanni and more.”

Beejhy, who is the owner of Tsion Cafe, joins other respected harlem-local female restaurateurs (@safariharlem @chaiwaliharlem) at the WOW festival “as they bring together three cultures, all under the theme of “Bake Bread. Build Bridges,” stated the press release. “These women will be sharing their immigration stories, why they decided to bring these recipes to the Harlem community and the power of entrepreneurship.”

Beejhy who was born in Ethiopia and grew up in Israel has been a New York City resident for past 19 years. She is also the founder of BINA (Beta Israel of North America) organization as well as the annual Sheba Film festival.

“It is important for me to highlight Ethiopian culture and its rich heritage, and paying homage to my Jewish background,” Beejhy told Tadias in an interview when she opened Tsion four years ago. “I moved to New York in 2000, and after living and working here for a few years, I founded BINA as a way to create a platform to raise greater awareness about Ethiopian Jews.” She added: I started organizing events, film screenings, showcasing cuisine, stories, and music…but I always wanted a venue. And I always wanted something in Harlem; it’s historical, it has some connection to Ethiopia. I wanted to honor writers, artists, have readings and performances, and this place simply worked.”

“The legendary Apollo Theater — the soul of American culture — plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends,” note the organizers of the WOW Festival. “Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world.”

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If You Go:
Apollo Theatre – WOW Festival

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Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: March 7th, 2019

Award-winning Author Maaza Mengiste Discusses Writing & Activism at NYU Panel

New York (TADIAS) – Award-winning writer Maaza Mengiste will discuss her work, writing, activism and the power of storytelling at an upcoming panel at New York University titled “Gazes, Migrations & Memories: Women on Performance and Writing.”

Maaza is the author of Beneath the Lion’s Gaze which was selected as one of ten best contemporary African books by the Guardian. She received the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 2018 and was named a runner-up for the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace Prize as well as selected as a Fulbright Scholar and a 2013 Puterbaugh Fellow. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, Granta, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Guernica, the Guardian as the New York Review of Books, and she served as a writer on the documentary films, Girl Rising and The Invisible City: Kakuma. Maaza is a Board Member for Words Without Borders and Warscapes.

Maaza will be joined by vocalist and songwriter Somi and human rights advocate Clemantine Wamariya (author of The Girl Who Smiled Beads) “as they discuss their work, activism, the archives, ways of telling, sharing stories and why,” announced The Institute of African American Affairs (IAAA) and Center for Black Visual Culture (CBVC) at NYU, which is hosting the event. The panel will be moderated by Deborah Willis, photographer of In Pursuit of Beauty: Imaging Closets in Newark and Beyond.

The NYU event announcement notes that Maaza’s fiction and non-fiction work “examine the individual lives at stake during migration, war, and exile, and consider the intersections of photography and violence.” Her upcoming second novel, The Shadow King, is scheduled to be released in September 2019.

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If You Go:
Gazes, Migrations & Memories: Women on Performance and Writing
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Location: NYU Law School, D’Agostino Hall, Room: Lipton Hall
108 West 3rd Street (between MacDougal and Sullivan Streets)
Please RSVP: nyuiaaa-cbvc-events@nyu.edu or (212) 998-IAAA(4222)
Please make sure to state the event name and date in your email.
Books will be available for sale.
Click here for more information

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Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: February 21st, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — February is Black History Month in the United States, and here in Harlem the renowned Ethiopian-American Chef, Author, and Entrepreneur Marcus Samuelsson is launching a new dinner series at his restaurant Red Rooster next week dedicated to honoring “black excellence and the untold or overlooked histories that permeate our modern histories.”

Red Rooster Harlem’s new event, Green & Fanny Dinner Series — named after African American master distiller Nathan Green and Thomas Jefferson’s chefs Edith Fossett and Fanny Hern — kicks off on February 27th and will last throughout the year. The series promises a nights of “delicious meals, amazing music, and captivating storytelling steeped in the energy and vibe of Harlem.”

Red Rooster Harlem Green & Fanny Dinner Series with André Mack Hosted by Chef Marcus Samuelsson & Kendra Dandy. (Courtesy photo)

“Our first featured guest in this dinner series is André Mack, a renowned sommelier, wine educator, winemaker, and the first African American Best Young Sommelier,” the announcement stated. “We are excited to celebrate his exemplary craftsmanship as he serves his own wines and to hear firsthand his knowledge and passion for wine.”

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If You Go:
Green & Fanny Dinner Series with André Mack
Hosted by Chef Marcus Samuelsson & Kendra Dandy
Wed, February 27, 2019
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM EST
Ginny’s Supper Club
310 Lenox Avenue
New York, NY 10027
Click here to RSVP

Related:
Harlem: African American and Ethiopian Relations (TADIAS)

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Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: September 20th, 2018

New York (TADIAS) — This month a festive Meskel holiday party is coming to Brooklyn, New York featuring Ethiopia’s internationally acclaimed Fendika cultural dance group all the way from Addis Ababa and the U.S.-based renowned guitarist Selamino – Seyoum Selam Woldemariam, who is a former member of the legendary Ibex and Roha bands.

“The Meskel holiday in Ethiopia is punctuated by the lighting of an enormous bonfire at the climax of the night,” note organizers in their event announcement. “In that vein we will be lighting our own musical bonfire with two legends of Ethiopian dance and performance.”

The event, which is scheduled for Saturday, September 29th and Sunday, September 30th, is set to take place at Lightspace Studios that’s located steps away from the popular Ethiopian restaurant Bunna Cafe.

Selamino – Seyoum Selam Woldemariam, is “a renowned guitarist who has been in the industry for over 40 years,” notes Bunna Cafe’s event announcement. “Selamino was part of a number of famous bands in the 70s and 80s, including Black Soul Band, ROHA, and Ibex. He continues to perform at venues in the DC area with his keyboardist Ashebir Gebremeskel.” (Courtesy photo)

Fendika. (Courtesy photo)

“The Azmari tradition is an Ethiopian form of musical storytelling that uses improvisation, dance, humor, and Ethiopian instruments to create a one-of-a-kind collective experience. Nobody does it better than Fendika,” the announcement adds. “Fendika (tr. “exult!”) takes its name from Melaku Belay‘s famous decades-old club in Addis Ababa — a club that has kept its grasp on the traditional art and dance style, in the face of Addis’ own version of gentrification, and a changing, modernizing look and feel in Fendika’s neighborhood.”

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If You Go:
Sat, Sep 29, 2018, 8:00 PM – 3:00 AM
Lightspace Studios
1115 Flushing Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11237
Ethiopian food and drink will be served.
Limited parking is available in the neighborhood.
$25 online or at the restaurant. $30 the day of.
Everything is eshi!
Click here to buy tickets

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