University of Massachusetts President Robert Caret spoke to Boston reporters Sep. 29 about some new initiatives he would like to undertake during his tenure. I talked to him about his thoughts on closing the achievement gap between white students and students of color. Caret also talked about his thoughts on why public higher education should remain accessible to students of all economic backgrounds. “More money is spent on prisons than on higher education,” he said.
World leaders are gathering in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly. This year the international community will consider a bid for Palestinian statehood. Although it is likely to fail, the bid refocuses attention on the 63-year-old land fight between the Israelis and Palestinians. Long before 9/11, riots in Tahrir Square and rambling audio messages from Muammar Gadhafi and Osama bin Laden, the original Middle East crisis began on a strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea.
I have always been a fan of history, current events and multicultural affairs. Particularly, I am fascinated by how different cultures interact with each other. Some divisive relationships I can understand better than others – Tutsis vs. Hutus, Turks vs. Armenians, Cuba vs. United States. But there is something about the Palestine/Israel question that continues to capture the world’s attention – and I simply just don’t understand.
My first real introduction into Middle Eastern politics began in university, where I minored in post-colonial studies. Tom Friedman’s From Beirut to Jerusalem was a book I was required to read in a course on Arab-Israeli cinema. It was a good primer into the conflict, and since its first publication two decades ago, it is still considered a fair assessment of the major players. I also remember after graduation viewing a documentary on female hijacker Leila Khalid which gave me the Palestinian point of view. But the history of the conflict is just too confusing for me to understand.
As for the Palestinian bid, it seems like it is dead on arrival at the UN, although Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has extended an invitation for a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in New York.
Maybe something good could come out of the meeting… Probably not…
Roslyn McCallister Brock, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) national board, was the keynote speaker at the centennial gala for the Boston Branch on September 17. Last year she succeeded Julian Bond, becoming the fourth woman and the youngest person to serve in the position. In recent years, the organization has been accused of lacking relevance and not addressing the concerns of younger African Americans. However, during the gala, it seemed like there was an explicit effort to redress these complaints.
Watch the video interview here
Dr. Randal Pinkett was a speaker at the National Urban League conference in Boston July 27 – 30. The former “Apprentice” star has dedicated his life to improving the lives of other black males by writing books and doing motivational speaking nationwide. I found him to be a very impressive person. He is the complete package – tall, dark, handsome, smart, articulate, educated and runs his own business.
Watch the video interview here