Wonderful Women Of The World
Posted by Michelle Moquin on February 23rd, 2013
Good morning!
The first time I had heard of Paul Robeson was on a talk on Democracy Now awhile ago. Then while listening to the radio a few days ago I tuned into Democracy Now again, and Amy Goodman was speaking on his wife Eslanda, “Essie” Robeson.
Like many other strong women, Essie, was in cast in the shadows of her famous husband, and not much attention was paid to her, although she was his wife, tour manager, acting coach…the main bread winner, supporting her husband while he focused on his budding career.
I alway say that beside a successful man is a woman that is largely responsible for helping him to get there. It looks like Essie was this kind of woman. She not only helped her husband to becomes successful but then paved the way for herself by utilizing all of her talents and assets, including her title as Mrs. Paul Robeson.
Thankfully Barbara Ransby, a writer, recognized Essie for her many strengths and talents and decided to put the spotlight on Essie, and wrote a book focusing on one of the most important and fascinating Black women of the Twentieth Century.
Ransby’s new book was just recently released. It explores Essie’s tremendous influence on her husband’s career and all the amazing roles she played during that time, one being achieving her own unique political voice.
Here’s the write:
“Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson”
In the new issue of Ms. magazine, available on newsstands Feb. 26 andimmediately on our new digital platform, we review the new biographyEslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson by Barbara Ransby. Most of us have heard of singer/actor/activist Paul Robeson, but Ransby reminds us that his wife was remarkable in her own right.
In a just world, Eslanda Cardozo Goode Robeson would be known as a feminist foremother, studied and admired by every schoolgirl. She might have been secretary-general of the United Nations, or U.S. secretary of state. But even in a cruelly unjust world, this remarkable woman managed to participate in the founding of the U.N., write the influential anthropological text African Journey and champion women on the world stage.
Born in 1895 to a family of black professionals, “Essie” earned a chemistry degree from Columbia University and as a very young woman headed a lab at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, the first African American to do so. At 25, she eloped with a Columbia law student, the budding actor/singer Paul Robeson, and took on roles as tour manager, acting coach and breadwinner while he honed his skills. They made a formidable team. “She used her title as Mrs. Paul Robeson to open doors,” Ransby writes, “but once those doors opened, a smart, pragmatic and fiercely independent woman walked through.”
Despite the demands of managing her husband’s extraordinary career—his title role in Othello and star turn in Show Boat remain iconic—Eslanda developed an international sphere of influence. Often living abroad with her son and mother, she studied at the London School of Economics and traveled constantly, speaking at conferences and reporting for journals. She maintained lasting friendships with Harlem Renaissance writers Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, independence activists Jawarharlal Nehru and Jomo Kenyatta, anarchist Emma Goldman, the geneticist J.B.S. Haldane, Shirley and W.E.B. Dubois and other leading progressives.
Light-skinned enough to pass for Spanish or Italian in her cosmopolitan circles, Eslanda wholeheartedly claimed herself as one of the world’s people of color. “I feel brown, and I think brown and I am brown” she proclaimed in a speech to the All African Women’s Freedom Movement, a group that, in typical fashion, she had helped to found.
Her marriage frequently in turmoil—Paul had affairs, some lasting for years—and her family often living apart, she took a key role in the international anti-colonial cause, which she strongly linked to “Negro civil rights.” U.S. and British intelligence agencies frowned on this dangerous linkage; they harassed the Robesons for years, confiscating their passports during the Cold War ’50s. Paul was blacklisted, and lack of income from his international tours meant they lost their home. Summoned by Sen. Joseph McCarthy to testify at a Senate hearing on un-American activities, an outraged Eslanda parried every insulting question with wit and vigor. “McCarthy glared,” writes Ransby, and said “that she might have been cited for contempt if she were a man.”
This long overdue biography of a bold scholar-activist emerging from the shadow of her famous husband is a gift, and such are Ransby’s narrative skills that I wept when, in her final pages, the vibrant Essie died, two days shy of 70. Ransby has a history of rescuing historically overlooked black female leaders; a prior biography was of the venerable civil rights activist Ella Baker. This new work is a major contribution to her glorious reclamation project.
Joan Steinau Lester is the author of the Eleanor Holmes Norton biography Fire in My Soul and the novel Black, White, Other.
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Readers: Sounds like a very interesting book eh? If you’re interested in knowing more about this Wonderful Woman Of The World before diving into the book, I posted the entire video recording above for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
Robert, RT: Thanks for posting the update on VAWA. Your point is right on. I also like what Ann said, and is worth repeating: “Someone should tell Grassley that the victims in these cases aren’t the white men who are tried! The victims are the native women who are raped and never see justice done.”
Look, the bottom line is, if men just didn’t rape they wouldn’t have to worry about whether they had an all-white jury or whatever kind of jury. It wouldn’t matter. You don’t rape, you don’t stand trial in front on any jury, all-white or not. I know…this is wishful thinking to think that rape won’t happen.
But since rape does happen, why is it suddenly important that the perp gets a “fair trial?” – Because the perp is a non-Indian man…a white man. When an OTW doesn’t get a “fair trial”, it is no big deal. But a white man? Oh no…this can’t happen. We have to make sure that this won’t happen. It’s really supporting the white man by saying that he can rape native women, and get away with it. Sick.
As John pointed out, “Someone needs to tell Grassley they try native people are tired by all white juries all the time.” Many OTW’s are tried with all-white juries. No concern of an unfair trial there, right? It is always okay when it is happening to someone else (an OTW), but it is absolutely not acceptable when they feel it might happen to them and theirs.
This is like in so many other circumstances where the white man wants to get the advantage over the OTW. But this is also about men trying to protect men and their sick interests instead of getting to the root of the problem, which is rape.
Grassley is more concerned about making sure that these white men get a “fair trial” when they rape a native woman, instead of making sure that men keep their dicks in their pants when a woman says no. Rape is prevalent in the native communities. I have to say it again: It’s really supporting the white man by saying that he can rape native women, and get away with it. Sick.
Rape is prevalent in this world, and we need to stop it. Why not deal with resolving that issue.
Ooh I am running late this morning – Have a great Saturday! Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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February 23rd, 2013 at 6:47 pm
Zen Lill I love what I do. Taking pussy is my thing.
February 23rd, 2013 at 7:01 pm
Thanks Michelle for speaking up for us. White men are always coming on Indian land to rape us.
February 23rd, 2013 at 7:06 pm
Thank you Michelle, I really enjoyed the video.
February 24th, 2013 at 5:47 am
Safer Senior Living at Home
Amazing new high-tech gadgets and services
Helping an aging parent or other loved one to remain independent and living in his/her own home has become much easier in recent years, thanks to a host of new or improved products and services.
Some of the best…
IN-HOME ALERT DEVICES
One of the most common concerns is that an elderly loved one may fall and need help when no one is around. For this danger, a medical-alert device—also known as a personal emergency response system (PERS)—has long been the tool of choice. New versions of these devices overcome past shortcomings.
The devices, which rent for around $1 per day, provide a wearable “SOS” button—typically in the form of a necklace pendant or bracelet—and a base station that connects to the home phone line.
At the press of a button, your loved one could call and talk to a trained operator through the system’s base station receiver, which works like a powerful speakerphone. (Two base stations often are used in large or two-story homes.) The operator will find out what’s wrong and notify family members, a neighbor, friend or emergency services, as needed.
Concerns about the old versions of these devices include seniors falling and becoming disoriented and forgetting to activate the device. Older devices also have range limitations and will work only if the senior is in or around the house.
To overcome some of these challenges, Philips, maker of the Lifeline, the most widely used home medical-alert service in the US, offers an Auto Alert option that has sensors built into the SOS button to detect falls. When triggered by these sensors, the device automatically can summon help without your loved one having to press a button. The Lifeline with Auto Alert generally costs $48 a month, and the standard medical alert service without Auto Alert runs $35 per month. (800-380-3111, http://www.LifeLineSys.com)
HOME MONITORS
A more sophisticated technology for keeping tabs on an elderly loved one at home is a monitoring system. These systems will let you know whether your loved one is waking up and going to bed on time, eating properly, showering and taking his/her medicine.
They work through small wireless sensors (not cameras) placed in key locations throughout the home. The sensors track movements and learn the person’s daily activity patterns and routines. The system will notify you or other family members via text message, e-mail or phone if something out of the ordinary is happening.
For instance, if your loved one doesn’t open the medicine cabinet at the usual time, it could mean that he/she forgot to take his medication…or if he went to the bathroom and didn’t leave it, that could indicate a fall or other emergency.
You also can check up on your loved one’s patterns anytime you want through the system’s password-protected Web site. And for additional protection, most services offer SOS call buttons that can be worn or placed around the house.
One reliable company that offers these services is BeClose (866-574-1784, http://www.BeClose.com), whose system costs from $400 for three sensors to $500 for six, plus a service fee that ranges from $70 to $100 per month.
GrandCare Systems (262-338-6147, http://www.GrandCare.com) adds a social connectivity component to go along with the activity monitoring. It does this through a touch-screen computer that provides your loved one with easy access to Skype for video calls and to e-mail, photos, caller ID, games and brain exercises, as well as a calendar to keep up with appointments and events.
If your loved one doesn’t want to use a computer, GrandCare can set up a dedicated channel on his television set so that he can see pictures, e-mails, calendar events, news, weather and more. The contents of the channel can be changed remotely by a caregiver through a Web site.
GrandCare Systems typically run between $950 and $1,500 for a one-bedroom apartment, with a monthly subscription fee of $30 to $50. Leasing options also are available.
OUTSIDE THE HOME
To deal with falls or health emergencies outside the home, there are a number of new mobile-alert products available that work anywhere. These pendant-style devices, which fit in the palm of your hand, work like cell phones with GPS tracking capabilities and can be carried in a purse, worn on a belt or attached to a key chain.
To call for help, your loved one pushes one button and an operator from the device’s emergency-monitoring service is on the line to assist him. The devices allow your loved one to speak and listen to the operator through the pendant, and because of the GPS technology, the operator knows the exact location, which is critical in emergency situations. These alerts, however, do not have fall-detection sensors.
Top products in this category include the 5Star Urgent Response from GreatCall (800-733-6632, http://www.GreatCall.com) for $50 plus a $35 activation fee and a $15 monthly service fee…and MobileHelp (800-800-1710, http://www.MobileHelpNow.com), which offers a duo system that includes a mobile device, an indoor base station and pendant buttons for home use—$37 per month if paid a year in advance with no activation fee to $42 per month with a $100 activation fee.
MEDICATION MANAGEMENT
To help loved ones keep up with medication regimens, there’s a wide variety of pillboxes, medication organizers, vibrating watches and beeping dispensers that can help them stay organized and be reminded. To find these types of products, visit http://www.EPill.com (800-549-0095), where there are dozens to choose from.
One popular option is the Cadex 12 Alarm Medication Reminder Watch for $100. It provides up to 12 daily alarms and displays a message of what medication to take at scheduled times throughout the day.
And there is the monthly MedCenter System ($80), which comes with 31 color-coded pillboxes, each with four compartments for different times of the day and a four-alarm clock for reminders.
There also are a number of Web-based services that can notify your loved one when it’s time to take a medication.
Examples:
MyMedSchedule (908-234-1701, http://www.MyMedSchedule.com) and RememberItNow (925-388-6030, http://www.RememberItNow.com) offer free text-message and e-mail reminders. OnTimeRX (866-944-8966, http://www.OnTimeRX.com) provides phone call reminders in addition to text messages and e-mails for all types of scheduled activities, including daily medications, monthly refills, doctor appointments, wake-up calls and other events. These charge between $10 and $30 per month depending on how many reminders you need.
Another option is CARE Call Reassurance (602-265-5968, extension 7, http://www.Call-Reassurance.com), which provides automated call reminders to your loved one’s phone. If he fails to answer or acknowledge a call, the service will contact a family member or a designated caregiver via phone, e-mail or text message. The cost is $15 per month if paid in advance for a year.
If your loved one needs a more comprehensive medication-management system, consider the MedMinder Automated Pill Dispenser (888-633-6463, http://www.MedMinder.com). This is a computerized pillbox that flashes when it’s time for your loved one to take his medication and beeps or calls his phone with an automated reminder if he forgets. It will even alert him if he takes the wrong pill.
This device also can be set up to call, e-mail or text a family member and caregiver if the loved one misses a dose, takes the wrong medication or doesn’t refill the dispenser. The MedMinder rents for $40 per month.
Another good medication dispensing system is the Philips Medication Dispensing Service (888-632-3261, http://www.ManageMyPills.com), a countertop appliance that dispenses medicine on schedule, provides verbal reminders and notifies caregivers if the pills aren’t taken. Monthly rental and monitoring fees for the Philips service run $75 with an $85 installation fee.
Source: Jim Miller, an advocate for older Americans, writes “Savvy Senior,” a weekly information column syndicated in more than 400 newspapers nationwide. Based in Norman, Oklahoma, he also offers a free senior news service at http://www.SavvySenior.org.
February 24th, 2013 at 5:52 am
I cannot understand why the white man suddenly thinks that it is not okay off a jury of all one race to try another race. They have been doing that to my people for centuries. I suppose when they look at their history of doing it, the results must be terrifying.
They definitely wouldn’t want another race to do them what they have been and in most cases continue to do to OTWs. I often read hear of the day when the numbers will change. I live for it.
Elina
February 24th, 2013 at 5:59 am
I am a proud member of the Apache Nation. White men have come onto our land to rape our women and girls for sport. They know that they can just leave and nothing will be done. If the victim has a child and it appears to have predominately white features, the “childcare” services often comes and forcefully takes it off the tribal land.
We are for the most part still being treated like “savages.” This is truly a savage race. Beings like no other that walk upright as if they are one of the people but whose savagery towards the other races separates them from being considered true humans.
I too, believe their day will come, and their love of and possession of automatic weapons will not help them.
Inayat
February 24th, 2013 at 6:10 am
Hafa adai.
Michelle, I am employed at one of the gun ranges here in Guam. It is a big tourist attraction. Tourist come to shoot on our ranges, the difference is unlike white america they know the difference between hollywood and reality. Most whites think that John Wayne shit is real. I found this article about our gun tourist attraction.
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TAMUNING, Guam – Their well-equipped arsenals offer everything from tiny revolvers (for ladies) to Berettas, Glocks, semi-automatic pistols and M16 military assault rifles. If kids can see over the counter, they are welcome too.
Forget the white sandy beaches, coral reefs and laid-back island culture. For many tourists from Japan, the biggest thrill is the chance to shoot a gun at one of Guam’s ubiquitous ranges, dozens of which are tucked between upscale shopping centres.
The U.S. territory of Guam — a tropical island often described as a cheaper version of Hawaii — has long been the perfect place to put guns in the hands of tourists, especially from Japan, where gun ownership is tightly restricted and handguns are banned.
Despite a shared sense of shock over the recent rampage by a gunman at America’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, the gun tourism business here is as brisk as ever.
“It was such a feeling of power,” Keigo Takizawa, a 30-year-old Japanese actor, said after blasting holes in a paper target with a shotgun, a .44 magnum and a Smith & Wesson revolver at the Western Frontier Village gun club, a cowboy-themed indoor shooting range and gift shop on Guam’s main shopping street.
“But,” he said, “I still don’t think anyone should be allowed to have one of their own.”
Many Japanese see America’s gun culture as both frightening and fascinating. Back home, the only people with handguns are in the military, the police or the mob.
Because guns are so hard to find, gun-related crime is extremely rare. They were used in only seven murders in Japan — a nation of about 130 million people — in 2011, the most recent year for official statistics. In the U.S., with 315 million people, there are more than 11,000 gun-related killings annually.
The Japanese are proud of their low crime rate and generally support tough gun-control policies.
But this Pacific island halfway between Tokyo and Honolulu is America. Guam’s gun ranges are to the Japanese what Amsterdam’s cannabis cafes are to backpackers from the world over.
“I think it’s human nature to be curious about something that is forbidden,” said Tetsuo Yamamoto, a Japanese native who emigrated to the United States 30 years ago and runs the Western Frontier Village range. “Most of our customers are from Japan and have never had the opportunity to shoot a gun. It’s very exotic for them, and it’s very exhilarating.”
So exhilarating that he sometimes asks his guests to stay around for a while to calm down after they’ve finished shooting.
Many other tourists — from South Korea, Taiwan and increasingly Russia — are less impressed. All South Korean men, for example, learn how to shoot during mandatory military service.
“To them, learning how to use a gun was a chore,” said Patrick Chon, general-manager of the Hafa Adai indoor shooting range. “It brings back bad memories. They hardly ever come here.”
Visitors to his range are greeted by movie posters for “The Terminator” and “Die Hard,” with their iconic, gun-toting action heroes. The Hollywood shoot-’em-up image is a common motif at many ranges, playing into an image of America that many Asians share.
“When most Japanese people think of American culture, one of the first things they think of is guns,” said Natsue Matsumoto, a 38-year-old Osaka woman who said she enjoyed shooting so much she was back at a range for the second time in three days. “American movies and video games are full of guns and that’s appealing, in a frightening sort of way.
“But I think Japan has it right,” she added. “If you don’t have a gun, you can’t kill someone with it.”
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Lea
February 24th, 2013 at 6:33 am
Howie, I hope you are doing well. Your post are missed here in Jerusalem. My sister, Aliya said that she dedicated her rendition of Yerushalayim shel Zahav to you.
If you have forgotten the words, I list them here. She said when you sing them, she hopes you will hear her singing along side of you.
—————————-
The mountain air is clear of wine
and the sent of pine
Is carried on the breeze of twilight
With the sounds of bells
The trees and stones there softly slumber
Captured in her dream
The city that sits solitary
and at its heart, a wall
Oh Jerusalem of Gold, of bronze, of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs
February 24th, 2013 at 6:36 am
I am anxious to learn more about the characters who formed the early days of this blog. I would appreciate any info on when the TAO first came to it.
February 24th, 2013 at 6:42 am
Aloha:
Hey Guam, you certain are preoccupied about the dead mice about to be dropped on Guam. I hope you know the government doesn’t give a damn about you. The eradication of your snake infestation is all about my Island’s prosperity.
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In a desperate attempt to kill off two million brown tree snakes that are plaguing the territory of Guam, the US is bombing the island with poisoned dead mice, hoping that the snakes will eat them.
“We are taking this to a new phase. There really is no other place in the world with a snake problem like Guam,” Daniel Vice, assistant state director of the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services in Guam, told the Associated Press.
The pile of dead mice, laced with painkillers that are deadly for snakes, will rain down onto Guam’s jungle canopy as scientists drop them from helicopters in a last-ditch attempt to eradicate the invasive species.
Even though the venom of brown tree snakes is nonlethal for humans, the snake infestation has damaged infrastructure and wiped out other species in Guam. Slithering into homes, the snakes often bite people and damage power lines and wires, resulting in large-scale blackouts. The tree snakes can grow to more than 10 feet in length, although most of them are usually just a few feet long.
Nearly all of Guam’s native birds have become wiped out in the years since the tree snake first came to the island aboard a US military ship more than 60 years ago. With much of Guam’s wildlife having become endangered or extinct, tourism has dwindled, thereby inflicting an economic toll on the US territory.
Located 3,000 miles away, officials in the state of Hawaii have long feared that the snakes could make their way over to the tropical island and destroy its local habitat, as well.
Vice predicts that if the US and Guam make no attempts to contain the snakes, “the possibility of the snakes getting to Hawaii is inevitable.”
The National Wildlife Research Center estimates that a Hawaiian brown tree snake infestation would inflict $593 million to $2.14 billion in economic damages each year, including widespread power outages and a significant decrease in tourism. In an attempt to control the Guam-based infestation and prevent it from spreading, the US government will bombard the island with the dead mice starting this spring. The painkillers that the mice will be laced with include acetaminophen, which is the active ingredient in medicines such as Tylenol.
Brown tree snakes are one of very few snake species that eat the corpses of dead animals that they didn’t kill themselves. Being highly vulnerable to acetaminophen, snakes that consume the dead mice will most likely expire.
Scientists will drop the dead mice individually from a helicopter. The bait will be attached to a flotation device with streamers that would ensure that the poisoned mice get caught in the branches of a tree, where the snakes live and feed.
Birds are also vulnerable to acetaminophen, but scientists claim that most of the birds have already been wiped out by the snakes anyway.
AP reports that the US government plans to begin dropping the poisoned mice in April or May.
==================================
Notice that little dropped in paragraph from the National Wildlife Research Center on what your snakes could do to Hawaii, if they came her from Guam. Yeah, it’s about Hawaii, they will kill every animal on Guam if they think it might be good for Hawaii.
Aloha
Perry
February 24th, 2013 at 6:46 am
Sorry I forgot to post a link so you out there can see why my state don’t want a snake that can grow to 10 feet on our islands. http://www.dvice.com/2013-2-23/us-government-readying-carpet-bomb-guam-toxic-mice
Aloha