If you're in the Lincoln, Nebraska area-- please come and join us!  

African American and African Studies 40^th Anniversary Events 

 Wednesday, October 19, 2011

11:30am

Where:  Dudley Bailey Library (UNL)

What:  Showing of film and discussion on, "Wounded Knee"

Who:  Dr. Tom Gannon, English and Ethnic Studies Professor

3:30-6p.m.

Day of Service

Two community-based service projects at

Where: 

1. Clyde Malone Center

2. F Street Community Center

Who:  Dr. Jeannette Jones has organized these events

 

3:30p.m.

Where:  International Quilt Studies Center (33^rd St. & Holdredge St.)

Who:  Dr. Pearlie Johnson, Visiting Professor of Black Studies

University of Missouri-Kansas City

Title of talk:  "African American Quilts:  Teaching the Past

Through Quilting"

 

6p.m.

Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center (UNL)

Who:  Dr. Kwakiutl Dreher presents--"Reel Clips:  Contemporary

Glimpses From the Classroom"

Series of short films on black cinema created by Dr. Dreher's students

 

Thursday, October 20, 2011

 

11:30a.m.

Where:  Southeast Community College

Who:  Dr. Michael Honey, Fred T. and Dorothy G. Haley Professor of the Humanities

at the University of Washington-Tacoma

will be speaking on African-American civil rights and labor history

 

3:30p.m.

Panel Title:  "Critical Black Studies in a Globalized World" 

Who:  Dr. Lisa B. Thompson (SUNY Albany, English); Dr. Michael Combs (UNL, Political Science); Gerise Herndon (Nebraska Wesleyan); Chantal Kalisa (UNL, Modern Languages)

Moderators:  Dr. Alice Kang (UNL Political Science and Ethnic Studies) and

Dr. Jeannette Jones (UNL History and Ethnic Studies)

Where:  Dudley Bailey Library, Andrews Hall (UNL)

 

7:00p.m. (FIRST KEYNOTE)

Where:  UNL City Union, Auditorium

Who:  Acclaimed activist/author, Mark Mathabane delivers keynote

Mark Mathabane is famed author of _Kaffir Boy _

Title:  "Our Common Humanity and the Importance of Education"

--book signing after lecture

 

Friday, October 21, 2011

 

3:30p.m. (SECOND KEYNOTE)

Where:  Dudley Bailey Library, Andrews Hall (UNL)

Who:  Dr. Lisa B. Thompson, Associate Professor of English

University of Albany, SUNY, (literary critic and playwright), author of _Beyond the Black Lady _

Title:  "Black Studies in the Age of Post-Blackness" (Dr. Thompson examines the challenges facing Black Studies in an age that some critics has pronounced as post-racial and considers the ways contemporary black theater challenges the notion of post-blackness)

--book Signing after lecture

 

7:00p.m.

What:  One-woman show, "In a Smoke-Filled Room"

Who:  Dr. Kwakiutl Dreher, Associate Professor of English and Ethnic Studies

Where:  Ted Sorensen Theater, Lincoln High School (2229 J Street)

 

Saturday, October 22, 2011

 

Theme of Day:  "Civil Rights Legacies"

Where: UNL City Campus Union--Heritage Room

8:30-9:00a.m., registration and refreshments

 

What:  "African Heritage in Latino Culture"

When:  9:15-10:30a.m.

Where:  Heritage Room--UNL City Campus Union

Who:  Dr. Sergio Wals, UNL Political Science and Ethnic Studies; Dr. James Garza, UNL History and Ethnic Studies; Dr. Amelia M.L. Montes, UNL English and Ethnic Studies

 

10:30-10:45a.m. Refreshment BREAK

 

What:  "Rainbow Justice:  LGBTQ Individuals of Color and Civil Rights"

When:  10:45-noon

Where: Heritage Room--UNL City Campus Union

Who:  Reverend Karla Cooper, Quinn Chapel AME Church; Dr. Amelia Montes, Associate Professor of English and Director, The Institute for Ethnic Studies at UNL; Sindu Sathiyaseelan, UNL Graduate Student in the Department of English at UNL; Andrew Lim, International Student

LUNCH BREAK:  noon - 1:15p.m.

 

THIRD KEYNOTE

Who:  Dr. Michael Honey, Fred T. and Dorothy G. Haley Professor of the Humanities

at the University of Washington-Tacoma

Title of Keynote:  "Martin Luther King:  Labor and the Long Civil Rights Movement." 

When:  1:30-3:00p.m.

Where: Heritage Room--UNL City Campus Union

 

3:00-3:30p.m. Refreshment BREAK

 

FINAL KEYNOTE

Who:  Martha Prescod Norman Noonan, civil rights veteran, community organizer, history teacher specializing in the civil rights movement

When:  3:30-5p.m.

Where: Heritage Room--UNL City Campus Union

 

Book signing all day Saturday, October 22^nd at the City Campus Union  Heritage Room

 

 

Genetics is not the answer to "why" people develop Diabetes and yet literature on Diabetes (even pamphlets in doctor's offices) will point to biology.  Mexicans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, have a greater biological propensity for this disease.  I've often heard, "It's in our blood" from my Mexican family members, from doctors.  But is it?  

Michael Montoya's journey into the maze of the genome Diabetes project is an excellent response to this myth.  His book, Making the Mexican Diabetic:  Race, Science, and the Genetics of Inequality uncovers the contradictions inherent in placing race on biology without taking into consideration social, political, and historical constructions that are key to the "making" of a society afflicted with this disease.  

"Indian ancestry," writes Montoya, "is a central ideological feature of the diabetes enterprise. Evidence of beliefs about blood-based heredity was easily elicited from field office staff when commenting upon the causes of diabetes.  But so too were notions of social etiologies of diabetes.  When explaining the causes of diabetes, staff members explain that genes and life conditions together explain diabetes . . . 'Genes are passed from one generation to another, but basically it's our way of eating'" (98).  And how can populations of Mexican descent along the border or in working class neighborhoods take the time to exercise or have the means to maintain a healthy diet when a half dozen tacos or a hamburger with fries and a coke is half the price of a pound of organic spinach?  

T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell's book The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health supports Montoya's findings.  In this book, Campbell and Campbell look at how our fast food industry is slowly making us seriously ill.  But the genome project and the contradictory findings don't help clarify the problem of Diabetes.  It is not enough to simply say, "It's in the blood."  

"Genes do not cause chronic disease," Montoya writes.  "Genes in certain bodies under certain conditions contribute to disease susceptibility" (187).  This may explain why in a family of 3 children, two have diabetes and one will not develop the disease.  It is not simply about blood but about a number of other factors (diet, exercise, living conditions, etc.) having to do with societal and political constructions.  

Montoya's book which was just published (University of California Press) is an excellent study in how our society is creating a population highly susceptible to chronic disease-- whether or not you are of Mexican or Indian descent!

This is Stevia or "stevia rebaudiana" or maybe you've heard of it as "sweetleaf," or "sugarleaf."  Take a bit of a leaf from the plant and taste it.  Your mouth will be filled with an intense sweetness but without the aftertaste of other types of artificial sweeteners.  And it is much safer than the processed artificial chemical sweeteners.  

Stevia is an herb that is native to South America and can grow in any subtropical and tropical region from western North American as well as South America.  

You can grow it in a pot (as seen above -- and look at how tall the plant gets) or you can also plant it in your vegetable garden.  Stevia plants prefer, since they are subtropical, full sun and heat.  This is why in Nebraska, they do so well during the summer months but must be taken indoors during the winter.  By fall, it is good to harvest the leaves and dry them on a screen in full sun for about an hour.  Then you can place the dried leaves in a coffee grinder or food processor to be used throughout the year as a sweetener.  You can also eat the leaves fresh if you so wish--placing them in drinks or in yogurt or salads.  Just remember that a small amount is all you need.  These leaves have about 40 times the sweetness of processed sugar.  Just take a taste of a leaf, and you'll see!  

Stevia is a perfect natural low-sugar food alternative.  It has no effect on blood glucose levels and therefore is an excellent food for those with Diabetes or anyone who is counting their carbohydrate intake.  

You can also purchase already processed stevia liquid or powder at your local co-op/health food store.  

The "SweetLeaf" company has created a number of stevia products with natural flavoring.  Above is the Vanilla Creme.  I personally like the cinnamon.  

But how much more fun to grow your own organic stevia during the summer months and have it for the rest of the year!  I encourage you to grow your own stevia and have fun doing it!  In the picture below I'm holding the Stevia and below the plant you can see what looks like daisies but they are not daisies--they are echinacea -- another excellent herb to use for tea and, like stevia, it is also a healing herb.  

Some history:  The Guarani tribe of Paraguay included Stevia in their diet.  They called it ka'a he'e ("sweet herb").  They used stevia in their "yerba mate" and other medicinal teas.  Of late, stevia is being recommended to individuals with hypertension as well as diabetes.  

One of my chapters in my book, _The Diabetes Chronicles_ is devoted to organic farming (urban farming!), focusing on foods to grow that are excellent nutrition for individuals with diabetes.  

The act of growing your own herbs (medicinal, etc.) is so enjoyable, healing, and good for the earth. I wish you much enjoyment with your time in the garden and in your kitchen creating new and exciting, health-filled dishes!  Wising you good health and much cooking pleasure!

Fight it.  I say read David Mendosa's website whether you have Diabetes or not.  Diabetes is genetic (that's why I have it) but Diabetes is now becoming an epidemic.  People are developing Diabetes without the genetic inclination for it. Why?  Because we are exhausting our pancreas with the overwhelming amount of carbohydrates embedded in every processed food you buy at the store.  

Unless you have stopped buying prepared food and are cooking your own food, you are eating too many carbohydrates.  

It's tough to stop eating processed foods.  It's a huge commitment to learn to cook in a much more healthy way.  But it's worth it.  It gets easier and your sense of taste is more alive.  

I send you good wishes for much more healthy eating!