Articles by Steven Gilchrist

BOSTON – 2010 marked the 100 th anniversary of the establishment of the National Urban League (NUL).   The organization was founded in New York City with the goal of empowering people through economic development and raising the standard of living and quality of life for urban communities.   These noble goals were on display this past summer when the NUL held its annual convention in Boston.   The NUL has more than 100 local affiliates in 36 states and Washington, D.C. The theme for this year’s NUL conference was “JOBS REBUILD AMERICA.”   It was first time in 35 years that the conference was held in Boston, a city of firsts.   Boston had the 1 st public library, 1 st public school, and the 1 st public transportation system in the United States. I was not able to attend the conference, however; I was able to attend an affiliated program called The State of Black Boston .   The program was held on July 25, 2011 at the Hynes Convention Center.   T...

WASHINGTON – The nation’s capital is home to numerous memorials and museums recognizing people who have served the country.   The District has a diverse set of special places honoring a wide variety of people who have sacrificed their time and sometimes their lives for the betterment of America and the world. One of those special places is The United States Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center.   Located on Pennsylvania Avenue across the street from the National Archives, the Navy Memorial was dedicated on October 13, 1987, the 212 th anniversary of the United States Navy. The U.S. Navy Memorial represents part of the vision that architect Pierre L’Enfant had for the nation’s capital.   L’Enfant, one of the primary designers of the District of Columbia, imagined a memorial in the capital that would “celebrate the first rise of the Navy and consecrate its progress and achievements.” The Navy Memorial pays homage to past, present, and future members of the Na...

U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts) publicly acknowledged in his recent autobiography sexual abuse that he suffered when he was an adolescent. Brown’s abuse portrays a childhood of violence from family members, camp counselors, and acquaintances. Brown’s public acknowledgement about his personal life bring continued attention to a societal problem that often goes underreported and silenced. Experts consider sexual assault to be the most underreported violent crime in America. The month of April is recognized as National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAM). The purpose of the awareness month is to inform the general public about sexual violence and educate people about sexual violence prevention techniques. The 2011 SAAM campaign theme is “It’s time … to get involved.” According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website, “The 2011 national Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaign explores common, everyday behaviors and offers individu...

In January, I saw an excellent play called Ruined by Lynn Nottage at the Boston University Theater. The Pulitzer Prize winning play premiered in New York City in 1999. The play depicts the lives of a group of women who work at a bar/club in a small mining town in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The women struggle with the ongoing social unrest in the country. Rape, violence, and government corruption are part of their daily lives. The acting in the play is brilliant and it makes the viewer think about themes such as gender roles, militarism, poverty, and natural resource exploitation. The DRC has plentiful water systems and forest reserves. Many different animals are protected within this diverse ecosystem. In addition to its wildlife, Congo has abundant natural resources. The country contains about 80% of the world’s coltan reserves, which is used in cell phones, digital cameras, laptop computers, and PlayStations. It is estimated that $1 million worth of coltan per day is e...

On Thursday, March 10, I attended a gallery talk & reception at the Bunker Hill Community College Art Gallery. The art on display was for Ekua Holmes: Pieces of a Dream – A Solo Retrospective Exhibition . Holmes spoke for about fifteen minutes before fielding questions from BHCC students, art enthusiasts, and members of the public. Holmes explained that through this exhibit she seeks to honor her family, friends, and community. Holmes has not spent her entire professional career as an artist. Holmes explained that she used to work for the Massachusetts state welfare department art division. She quit her job there to become a full-time professional artist. As her career has developed, collage has become Holmes’ primary medium. “Most of these [collages] are not quick endeavors,” she said. At the gallery, several of Holmes’ most recent pieces of art were on display. The idea for “Sufficient Grace,” a collage on paper piece, came from a woman Holmes saw at a Legal Sea Foods restaurant....

Boston, MA. - From September 2006 - April 2007, more than 3,800 books from John Adams’s personal library were on display at the Boston Public Library. A native of Braintree, Massachusetts, Adams graduated from Harvard College, eventually becoming a lawyer and politician. I had the opportunity to visit the John Adams Unbound exhibition and discovered that the second president of the United States had a passion for collecting books. Upon entering the hall, there was an imposing portrait of Adams suspended from the ceiling. Captions on kiosks described selected books in the collection. Volumes were stacked in columns more than 10 feet high in a semi-circle glass case. In several of the books Adams’s written comments remain in the margins. His collection includes books by authors such as Homer, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft. Another section of the exhibit was divided into seven themes found in a quote from Adams’s diary. On January 30, 1768, Adams wrote, “I am mostly intent at pres...

A recent disputed presidential election has caused political and social unrest in the Ivory Coast. On November 28, 2010, Alassane Dramane Ouattara was declared the winner of a runoff presidential vote against incumbent Laurent Gbagbo. Despite being recognized as the winner of the election, Ouattara has been stymied by Gbagbo – who has refused to leave office. According to the United Nations at least 173 civilians in the West African country have died as a result of violence stemming from the disputed election. The UN, which sent its first contingent of peacekeepers to the Ivory Coast in March 2004, currently has 10,000 peacekeepers in the country. UN representatives have said that the disputed election might result in a civil war if order is not restored. On December 2, 2010, the Ivorian election commission declared that Ouattara received 54.1% of the vote and Gbagbo earned 45.9%. The incumbent has been in power since 2000 and has refused to leave office despite pressure from the...