e-culture: Black and Brown, Stolen Birthright, Blues Award, High Voltage
January 31, 2005


IN THIS ISSUE

Black and Brown: African Americans and the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920
Stolen Birthright: The U.S. Conquest and Exploitation of the Mexican People
Roger Wood Receives Prestigous Blues Award for Down in Houston
High Voltage: Five Years of Voices Breaking Boundaries
More Events in Houston
Conferences in Austin



Gerald Horne will comment on the role of African Americans on the U.S.-Mexico border leading up to and during the Mexican Revolution. He will sign copies of his book, Black and Brown: African Americans and the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920, at the African American Studies Conference Room, 628 Agnes Arnold Hall, at the University of Houston. The event will take place on Tuesday, February 1 at 5:00pm.

Drawing on archives and oral histories, Horne's book explores racial dynamics of African Americans as "Indian Fighters" on the frontier, their relationship to immigrants, and as players in the saga of border issues of Whites and Hispanics, and national security interests.

More insight on the U.S.-Mexico border can be found in "Stolen Birthright: The U.S. Conquest and Exploitation of the Mexican People" described below.

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Stolen Birthright

When people write history, they draw from what they know (their own cultural foundation) and what their interests are. When they write history for national interests, they usually protect those interests as their own. But many Americans are writing their own histories, as Howard Zinn reminds us in "A People's History of the United States." They are coming to light for those Americans who seek them. And many are telling tragic stories of laborers (as Woody Guthrie did in the song "Ludlow Massacre"), and of the poor and homeless (as Jacob Riis exposed in "How the Other Half Lives"), and of sharecroppers and migrant workers. There is a great resurging movement to understand diverse histories the world over, over just one sanitized version in the old text book, which often neglects the plight of the poor and dares not examine the causes of poverty (unless to state the poor are their own enemy).

Americans rarely like to think of their history as a critique of their economic structure. They usually prefer the big screen versions of glorious historic episodes, like The Alamo or the adventures of Howard Hughes, where buying tickets to big-budget productions is the benefit of their great prosperity.

And like mass entertainment, many accept that mass labor is a good method to build a comfortable world for themselves, but deny that it creates a problematic social order or even class struggle. In "Stolen Birthright: The U.S. Conquest and Exploitation of the Mexican People," Richard D. Vogel confronts the notion that American empire and enterprise has recorded such an innocent and harmless past. He explores the role racism and racist policies played in the Texas independence movement and the defining moments of Manifest Destiny -- the U.S. invasions of Mexico in the mid-Nineteenth Century, after which the U.S. looked to Mexico (what remained of it) for profits and cheap labor.

Vogel explores these historical and modern processes, and one of the most contentious issues in the United States today -- immigration, which he asserts amounts to reclamation of former Mexican and indigenous lands.

Read "Stolen Birthright: The U.S. Conquest and Exploitation of the Mexican People":
http://www.houstonculture.org/hispanic/conquest.html

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In Blues News

Roger Wood Receives Prestigious "Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Literature"

The Blues Foundation, based in Memphis, Tennessee, has announced that Roger Wood will receive the 2005 Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Literature for his book "Down In Houston: Bayou City Blues", which he produced in collaboration with photographer James Fraher.

Previous recipients of this award include playwright August Wilson, poet Sterling Plumpp, musician/writer Bill Wyman (formerly of the Rolling Stones), and B. B. King (for an autobiography co-authored by David Ritz). The award will be presented February 5, 2005 at a banquet in Memphis.

Wood and Fraher also received the "Good Brick Award" for "Down In Houston: Bayou City Blues" from the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. The award was presented at the GHPA Cornerstone Dinner on January 28, 2005.

"Down In Houston: Bayou City Blues" is a great history of Blues music and personal accounts of people who keep homemade music alive in Houston.

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Five Years of VBB

High Voltage: Five Years of Fire
Presented by Voices Breaking Boundaries

Voices Breaking Boundaries (VBB) celebrates its five-year anniversary on Thursday, February 3, 2005 with performances by three of its founding members, Marcela Descalzi, Donna Perkins and Sehba Sarwar, along with three more women who have shaped this dynamic multi-arts organization. High Voltage features a reading and book signing by Sehba Sarwar who will present her first novel, Black Wings. As always, the evening offers a rich palette of stories: seasoned educator and traveler Marcela Descalzi will read travel writings from her latest visit to Tibet, recent college graduate Shannon Garth-Rhodes will share work about her transition from student to professional, and retired art teacher Donna Perkins will offer sensual poetry. Michelle Chen's presentation will combine piano and cello to introduce a new way of experiencing music.

"We are excited to celebrate our five year anniversary by presenting women artists who are never afraid to speak out," says Board Member Nusrat Malik, who is emceeing the evening. "VBB began five years ago so that artists‹of all ages and backgrounds, from around the world and from Houston‹could converge and share their experiences with each other and with an audience that was eager to embrace a rich texture of voices. High Voltage captures the fiery energy that has made VBB one of Houston¹s most dynamic organizations."

Thursday, February 3, 8:00pm
General admission $6 (50% goes to tsunami aid through Via Campasina)
DiverseWorks Artspace
1117 East Freeway
Houston, TX 77002
http://www.voicesbreakingboundaries.org

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More Houston Events

Careers Representing America: The US Foreign Service Want You!
Co-Sponsors: Asia Society Young Professionals, Houston World Affairs Council Young Professionals Group, Center for International Studies at University of St. Thomas

Ambassador Larry Napper, a Senior Foreign Service Officer in the US State Department, is serving as Diplomat in Residence (DIR) at the University of Houston. The DIR Program was put in place to recruit the best and the brightest to represent America's rich diversity to the world. Ambassador Napper will give a presentation on careers in the State Department, what options are available for serving on diplomatic missions overseas, and the role of Foreign Service officers in shaping and implementing US foreign policy.

Thursday, February 3, 6:00 - 8:00pm
Free, reservation required
Ahern Room, Crooker Center
3909 Graustark
University of St. Thomas
713-439-0265
http://www.asyptexas.org/events/registration

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Is peace between Palestine and Israel possible?

Arun Ghandi, grandson of late Mahatma Ghandi, will try to answer this question. The program includes: Clips from the documentary: "Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land"; and traditional Middle Eastern food and music.

Tickets are $10 (Funds will be used to build a bakery operated by women in the City of Tulkarm.) For tickets, please call Sahar at (832) 860-6161.

Friday, February 4, 7:00pm
Arab American Cultural and Community Center
10555 Stancliff Rd
Houston, TX 77099
832-351-3366

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First Friday Forum

Fr. Ed Schoellmann, who worked in Africa for many years will present "Africa's Only Hope: Collective Self-Reliance." His focus will be the Dar es Salaam Peace Declaration.

Friday, February 4, 7:30pm
Maryknoll House
2360 Rice Blvd. (just west of Greenbriar)

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"U.S.-Asia Relations: The Next Four Years"
Ambassadors' Forum and Corporate Conference

Keynote Addresses: Ambassador Marie T. Huhtala - Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, US Department of State.

Ambassadors' Forum: Afghanistan - H. E. Said Jawad; Nepal - H. E. Kedar B. Shrestha; Kyrgyzstan - H. E. Baktybek Abdrisaev; Mongolia - H. E. Ravdan Bold; China - H. E. Yang Jiechi (Tentative); Pakistan - H.E. Jehangir Karamat (Tentative); Vietnam - Counselor Vu Dang Dzung, Deputy Chief of the Mission.

Business Conference: Gowher Rizvi - Kennedy School, Harvard; Tom Hubbard - Former US Ambassador to Korea and Philippines; Roger Nanney - Deloitte & Touche, Managing Partner for the Mid America Region; Larry C. Napper, Former US Ambassador to Kazahkstan; Diplomat in Residence, Houston, Texas; David W. Spence - Managing Director, Regulatory and Industry Affairs, FedEx; more.

Friday, February 11, 8:00am - 2:00pm
$75: Forum and Luncheon for Asia Society Members
$100: Forum and Luncheon for Non Members
InterContinental Hotel
Contact:
Asia Society Texas
Phone: 713.439.0051
Email:txcenter@asiasoc.org

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Viva el Amor

Mariachi MECA's Annual Valentines Day Serenade. $5.00 per person presale (via phone at 866-468-7621); $7.50 at the door.

February 11, 8:00pm
MECA
1900 Kane St
Houston, TX 77009
713-802-9370
http://www.meca-houston.org

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If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area:

Immersed Remains: Towns Submerged in America
Presented by The Center for Land Use Interpretation

Elbowoods, North Dakota; Kennett, California; Enfield, Massachusetts; Neversink, New York; Butler, Tennessee; St. Thomas, Nevada. Each of these towns represents a different element of America's development. Yet they all share the same fate: they, and hundreds of other communities like them, were vacated, demolished and flooded to make way for dams and reservoirs. Yet their remnants persist, preserved underwater, and sometimes emerge, as reminders of what was not allowed to be.

Reception on Friday, February 4, 7:30pm
More info: http://www.clui.org/clui_4_1/ondisplay/submerged

Also new at the Center:
An interactive version (CD-R) of the Nevada Test Site Guide:
http://www.clui.org/clui_4_1/shop/index.html

The Center for Land Use Interpretation
9331 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310-839-5722
http://www.clui.org

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Conferences in Austin

United Students Against Sweatshops
Friday, February 11 - Sunday, February 13

United Students Against Sweatshops is holding its national conference at the University of Texas in Austin. There will be workshops and strategy sessions around Campus/Community Solidarity Campaigns, Multi-Fiber Arrangement Phase-Out Solidarity, the Coca Cola & Taco Bell Campaigns, Ethical Contracting Code of Conduct, Immigrant Worker Rights, and skills-building in the areas of media, organizing, fundraising, labor history, anti-oppression training, and networking.

Registration is based on a sliding scale from $95 down to $20 depending on what people feel they can pay. Registration also includes housing in Austin. Register on-line at http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/register.php. For more information, contact Jessica Rutter, National Organizer, United Students Against Sweatshops: (w) 202-NO-SWEAT; (c) 516-652-9772; organize@usasnet.org or 202-667-9328.

[HPJC's Globalization Working Group has set aside money to help people with gas expenses. Also, it can take their names to connect them with others who want to carpool. Call Herb at 713-861-2494. Leave a message on the machine with contact information.]


Sabeel Conference
Friday, February 11 - Saturday, February 12

Friends of Babeel North America will present a conference on justice for the Palestinians, with an emphasis on the responsibility and work of American churches. Keynote speakers will be the Rev. Naim Ateek, Director of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, and the Rev. Donald Wagner, author and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at North Park University in Chicago. Also present will be the parents of Rachel Corrie, a peace activist murdered as she tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home. Representatives of the national offices of the Presbyterian, United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal churches will describe the history, strategy, and future directions of American mainline church involvement in this issue. The conference is planned and conducted by the Interfaith Community for Palestinian Rights. Registration is $50. Proceedings begin at 1:00pm Friday and 9:30am Saturday at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 100 East 27th St., Austin, Texas. For details visit http://www.fosna.org. For questions, email ICPRConf@aol.com, or call 512-708-8293 between 9:00am and 1:00pm.



Thank you for supporting great educational and cultural activities.

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M  a  r  k @houstonculture.org


Traditions of Mexico:
http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico

Latino Music Initiative:
http://www.houstonculture.org/musica

Texas-Mexico Border Issues:
http://www.houstonculture.org/border