The Nahmias Cipher Report

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 23:54 PM EDT,  23 April 2012 KAMPALA, Uganda – The Joseph Kony video that revealed gross human rights abuses in Uganda, particularly with regard to the kidnapping of children who were subsequently pressed into war as child soldiers, is not without its critics. Many Ugandans feel that their involvement in [...]

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 22:40 PM EDT, 21 January 2012 I first heard this song as I was driving home the day I lost my job. My position was abolished due to a ‘reduction in work force.’ I was comfortably numb as I packed the detritus of an eight year tenure into the boxes [...]

“There is only one way in which one can endure man’s inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one’s own life, to exemplify man’s humanity to man.” Alan Paton. In an effort to bring balance to our reporting for every post that we write about bad behavior, we will post another story about the good that man possesses and the manifestation of this kindness. These inspirational posts will hopefully help us to own ourselves and our actions.

In an interview with the author which is currently broadcasting on Radio Netherlands Worldwide, a song plays in the background that her mother listened to during their travails. Many listeners inquired about the name of the singer and the song; and in response we have posted a video of Mrs. Mahalia Jackson from the famous movie “Imitation of Life.”

My mother constantly amazes me and perhaps many people believe this of their mothers as well. Lately, what amazes me most about my diminutive, powerhouse, sixty-seven year old, Southern Baptist minister mom is the diversity, scope and breadth of her knowledge of popular culture.

The other day I was speaking with her about Russell Simmons with regard to his business acumen and how instrumental his philosophy of giving back has contributed to his ability to have amassed a personal fortune of roughly $400 million. She then goes on to mention that his brother is Run D.M.C. and that he is the co-founder of Def Jam Records.

I had to laugh, my mother knew more about the rap music industry than her daughter. It was a poignant and sweet moment that reminded me that we are only as old as we allow ourselves to be. I mention this because later in the week she called me to tell me that I should record a concert of Matisyahu’s “Live at Stubbs” in Austin, Texas.

2face Idibia sings a wonderful anthem to the beauty of African women in his anthem song “You Are My African Queen.” It is a video that resonates with me and I am sure it will with you as well.

Not only are each of us unique but the women of Africa are vastly under represented in terms of beauty and strength because the Western media typically highlights the struggle and wretchedness of the lives of these women and their children.

Though this is a reality in many parts of Africa, the women of Africa a nonetheless striking, strong, incredibly diverse, intriguing and enchanting. The African beauties most familiar to Western cultures are the Nilotic women from Ethiopia, Eritrea or Somalia. Woman like Iman and Liya Kebede who grace the runways and covers of Eurocentric magazines.

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 00:52 AM EDT, 27 September 2010 UNITED STATES – My son is 10 years old, and from the time that he was able to comprehend the nuances of life as a person of color, albeit biracial; we have discussed the issue of race.  Specifically, we have had several discussions about [...]

Ever wondered how Arabic women seem to possess the most beautiful eyes? Well, turns out that it is an art used to enhance their most visible feature. For traditional Muslim women who choose to wear the Hijab, Burqa, or Bui Bui, eye makeup provides the means for dramatic expressiveness.
It is a way for these beautiful women to communicate their unique individuality. Sometimes in the West we view these women as oppressed victims devoid of creativity or freedom. The beautiful eye makeup featured in the video above contradicts this gross generalization, because these are not objects of derision, they are women; and if we diminish and define them by an outer garment, then we are no better than the men we criticize.

“Ethno-mathematician” Ron Eglash is the author of African Fractals, a book that examines the fractal patterns underpinning architecture, art and design in many parts of Africa. By looking at aerial-view photos — and then following up with detailed research on the ground — Eglash discovered that many African villages are purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with self-similar shapes repeated in the rooms of the house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village, in mathematically predictable patterns.

As he puts it: “When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture very disorganized and thus primitive. It never occurred to them that the Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn’t even discovered yet.”