The Nahmias Cipher Report

26 January 2012 – Today is Australia Day which commemorates the establishment of the first settlement at Port Jackson, now part of Sydney, in 1788. Originally, instituted for the exclusive enjoyment of the white settlers, the country has more recently tried to promote the holiday as an opportunity for Australians to come together to celebrate [...]

The Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speaks about the traditions of a single story framed by prejudice, stereotypes, and misinformation. The author of “Half of a Yellow Sun” (2006), she has several other notable books, short stories, plays and poem anthologies under her belt, but this presentation transcends continents, cultures, and class. View the video here.

When I lived in Africa as a child we resided in countries previously colonized by the British and Germans. In these post-colonialist nations the vacuum left by the departing imperialist was painfully evident in the areas of energy, water, sanitation, manufacturing and the transportation trade vectors implemented to facilitate the transport and shipment of wealth from Africa to their countries.

The departing colonialist were particularly vindictive when they deliberately sabotaged manufacturing plants which supported these supply chain vectors.

In both Nigeria and Tanzania we experienced the deleterious effects of post-colonialism. Daily we were confronted with the challenges of securing clean drinking water, because if it was running it had boiled; the electricity was intermittent and grocery store shelves were often empty.

Racism, the scourge of humanity. This piece addresses the subtle impact of racism, how it infects the next generation, and a small remedy that can be used to combat some of the grossest stereotypes.