What's On: How True African Dance Was Corrupted Into Porn (Lecture)

By Nzingha - Lecture 26 
Saturday, March 28, 2015 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM (GMT)

Portland hall Lecture room, Lower ground
University of Westminster
4-12 Little Titchfield Street
W1W 7UW London
United Kingdom

 “African dance and culture has often been appropriated by Europeans and divorced from its roots. This presentation aims to give a general background to African dance and show how movements/styles were borrowed or imitated by various European cultures.Those cultures would then re-name and take credit for the movements or totally pervert them. We will also deal with sexism and racism in the music/fashion and dance business.

The presentation will cover:

A selection of African civilisations pre or co-existing European invasion

Original purpose of African dance

Weddings, fertility, birthdays, rites of passage

Appropriate time and season of dance

Appropriate African dress for dance

Dance as politics. European censorship and disgust

Popular dances in the West that have African origins/elements

African beats in the Top Ten but not called African

Zouk, Salsa, Hip Hop, Ventilator,Capoeira,Azonto,Twerking, Kompa

Corruption of image and values

Queen Nzinga was an African Queen who fought against the European invasion of southern Africa (Congo/Angola). The Queen Nzinga lecture series will feature African female academics / holders of expert knowledge, speaking on topics of their choice on a monthly basis. The Nzinga lecture series will provide a regular platform for women of African descent to highlight important issues in an academic setting. As a result of these lectures a Black Women in Academia Support Group has been set up.

To see previous Queen Nzingha lectures, visit the Black History Walk Youtube Channel 

Black History Walks.co.uk also offers guided Walking Tours of London to include its African history which goes back 3500 years. Walks take place in St Pauls/Bank, Docklands, Soho, Trafalgar Square, Elephant & Castle and Notting Hill.

We also offer films, talks and workshops on a variety of related topics every month all year long to complement the walks.

For tickets and more info please click here

Shay x

What's On: Could You Be My Match?

When Beverley De-Gale and Orin Lewis received the news their 6 year old son Daniel De-Gale, had been diagnosed with leukemia in 1996, they decided to start The African Caribbean Leukemia Trust (ACLT). Daniel’s only hope of survival was to receive a bone marrow transplant; bone marrow has racially specific characteristics therefore Daniel’s donor could only be found from the black or mixed race population of which 550 were registered. In 1999 after three years of campaigning alongside his parents for donors to come forward and join the bone marrow registry he became the first black person in the UK (aged 12), to receive a lifesaving bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. Daniel survived leukemia and lived for several more years but on the 8th of October 2008 he died due to an unrelated illness.

The ACLT continue with their life saving work of spreading awareness surrounding bone marrow, blood and organ donation with ethnic minorities with the sole purpose to increase the number of ethnic minorities registered on the bone marrow, blood and organ registers. Since being established 18 years ago, the ACLT have increased the number of African, Caribbean and mixed race potential donors on the UK bone marrow lists (Anthony Nolan and British Bone Marrow Registry) from approx. 550 to approx. 50,000 and have also saved over 50 individuals lives through finding bone marrow donors.

In celebration of Daniel De-Gale's 28th birthday, The ACLT are hosting a registration drive at Global Radio in conjunction with Capital Xtra.

Where

30 Leicester Square London WC2H 7LA

When

Saturday 14th March 2015

12pm till 6pm.

For More info on up and coming registration drives visit here the ACLT Donor Drives page. 

#CouldYouBeMyMatch

From Micky with Love

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