#African Young Leaders

[realjaysumlin]

POWERFUL Speech BY 13 Year Old NIGERIAN

Our children are speaking because we as adults are too afraid to fight for them but they are taking matters into their own hands because we are too cowardice to provide the right protection they need.

It's sad 😭 when our innocent babies have to stand and fight for themselves while we as adults are too busy selling ourselves for a few bucks or trying to fuck. These kids are doing great things because we are too afraid or we don't think they know what is going on in our world.

[wasmormon]

Book of Mormon Most Racially and Ethnically Unifying Book on Earth

In 2014, the church published a series of “personal essays” from then Mission President and rising black LDS leader, Ahmad Corbitt. Admittedly, Corbitt says he was “asked to write this paper” on the “topic of the priesthood and African peoples.” This followed the church publishing the Gospel Topic Essays, and his paper specifically mentions the “Race and the Priesthood” essay. The church asked…

[theaenetworks]

African dream is the fountain of which Africa can only be whole, this is the state of things in Africa, where people talk about it with great despair. The situation in Africa only keep getting worse, it has been equated to survival of the fittest, where people do all kinds of atrocities for end means, even if, it demands another’s life, and that’s what makes it brutish in all around sense. Africa is in comatose, the continent needs to move quickly from this shamble of government and leadership witnessing across African countries, the way to start is to imbibe in achieving African dream and one Africa policy, to enable recycling of economic growth which is the bedrock of whole situation, at the international level, it is all about economic power, political power and command of technology, in all these occasions Africa is nowhere to be found.

Average youth in Africa is less likely to get employed after graduation, and the link of which this connects, is for political leaders to weaponize every sector at their own will and terms to control everything. And this summons up the ill thought intentions of majority of African leaders, the popular mantra is to loot as much as your power can carry before terms of office is over. Young people need a collective strong voice together to push the continent to the level it deserves to be, in this course there is only one enemy; bad leadership and this has continued to slow down things in Africa in terms of development and in other senses.

African dream is realistic, it is a great force to reckon and a great beckon of hope, it is through this oasis that water will flow and give life to any moribund living and nonliving things. The dreams are;

a workable environment,

creation of jobs,

trust in the justice system.

dethrone of tribalism, nepotism and religious sentiments,

enthronement of unison,

equitable playing grounds for all

good governance, leadership and bringing government closer to the people.

Many other things which are subsumed into this core outlines in determining the future of younger generation and Africa as a whole, what Africa need is to create a whole new mentality for younger generation to totally deviate from the practices which have kept Africa in the dark for ages and enthrone everything contrary to what is obtainable in today’s Africa.

It is going to be big efforts to build on something from the scratch, but Africa has got to start from somewhere, that’s total submission to revitalizing the system. Every year thousands of African youths seek for means and survival in European and American countries, and even ready and willing to travel to any other country that is not in Africa, just to escape the hopelessness faced by young people who are starting to build life. The situation is one-sided those that manufactured this man-made disaster don’t want African dream, they preferred to have their children study in a functioning society, than build one for the masses, and have young graduates as political thugs, with their children part of their government, you then see the barricade and chasm to this dream. One African policy is going to be positive change in economic activities in Africa. African Union, as the leading bloc in Africa needs to look deeper and think about the welfare of ordinary people in the society, their actions are having chronic effect on their future and it is pushing their dreams steps backward. Countries in Africa need to be transacting among themselves to revive the chance of changing the fortune for good and easy flow of goods and people within Africa. Trade pact among countries in Africa will change the status, advertising and patronizing standard products. African dream is the last hope of a common man in Africa.

https://anthonyemmanuel.com/african-dream-outlining-the-dreams-and-hope-of-africans/

#AfricanDream #africa #GoodGovernance #politics #AfricanLeaders #AfricanLeadership #africandiaspora #Governance #democracy

[amnhnyc]

🐘 Nothing quite compares like the bond between a mother and her child. Related African elephant (Loxodonta africana) females and their young live in tight-knit families led by a matriarch. This older, female leader helps the group survive by sharing her hard-earned wisdom, like remembering the locations of  watering holes in times of drought. 

Elephant family groups grow very attached. Mothers are extremely protective of their calves, and younger females act as attentive “babysitters.” These giants show their affection through touch, especially with their trunks, as well as through gesture and sound. Individual elephants remember their feelings for one another even when separated for years. Learn more about these incredible animals in the Museum’s exhibition The Secret World of Elephants.

Photo: Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 

[transmutationisms]

can u elaborate on posture being a lie

As Beth Linker explains in her book “Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America” (Princeton), a long history of anxiety about the proximity between human and bestial nature has played out in this area of social science. Linker, a historian of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that at the onset of the twentieth century the United States became gripped by what she characterizes as a poor-posture epidemic: a widespread social contagion of slumping that could, it was feared, have deleterious effects not just upon individual health but also upon the body politic. Sitting up straight would help remedy all kinds of failings, physical and moral [...] she sees the “past and present worries concerning posture as part of an enduring concern about so-called ‘diseases of civilization’ ”—grounded in a mythology of human ancestry that posits the hunter-gatherer as an ideal from which we have fallen.

[...]

In America at the turn of the twentieth century, anxieties about posture inevitably collided with anxieties not just about class but also about race. Stooping was associated with poverty and with manual, industrialized labor—the conditions of working-class immigrants from European countries who, in their physical debasement, were positioned well below the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant establishment. Linker argues that, in this environment, “posture served as a marker of social status similar to skin color.” At the same time, populations that had been colonized and enslaved were held up as posture paradigms for the élite to emulate: the American Posture League rewarded successful students with congratulatory pins that featured an image of an extremely upright Lenape man. The head-carrying customs associated with African women were also adopted as training exercises for white girls of privilege, although Linker notes that Bancroft and her peers recommended that young ladies learn to balance not baskets and basins, which signified functionality, but piles of flat, slippery books, markers of their own access to leisure and education. For Black Americans, posture was even more fraught: despite the admiration granted to the posture of African women bearing loads atop their heads, community leaders like Dr. Algernon Jackson, who helped establish the National Negro Health Movement, criticized those Black youth who “too often slump along, stoop-shouldered and walk with a careless, lazy sort of dragging gait.” If slouching among privileged white Americans could indicate an enviable carelessness, it was seen as proof of indolence when adopted by the disadvantaged.

This being America, posture panic was swiftly commercialized, with a range of products marketed to appeal to the eighty per cent of the population whose carriage had been deemed inadequate by posture surveys. The footwear industry drafted orthopedic surgeons to consult on the design of shoes that would lessen foot and back pain without the stigma of corrective footwear: one brand, Trupedic, advertised itself as “a real anatomical shoe without the freak-show look.” The indefatigable Jessie Bancroft trained her sights on children’s clothing, endorsing a company that created a “Right-Posture” jacket, whose trim cut across the upper shoulders gave its schoolboy wearer little choice but to throw his shoulders back like Jordan Baker. Bancroft’s American Posture League endorsed girdles and corsets for women; similar garments were also adopted by men, who, by the early nineteen-fifties, were purchasing abdominal “bracers” by the millions.

It was in this era that what eventually proved to be the most contentious form of posture policing reached its height, when students entering college were required to submit to mandatory posture examinations, including the taking of nude or semi-nude photographs. For decades, incoming students had been evaluated for conditions such as scoliosis by means of a medical exam, which came to incorporate photography to create a visual record. Linker writes that for many male students, particularly those who had military training, undressing for the camera was no biggie. For female students, it was often a more disquieting undertaking. Sylvia Plath, who endured it in 1950, drew upon the experience in “The Bell Jar,” whose protagonist, Esther Greenwood, discovers that undressing for her boyfriend is as uncomfortably exposing as “knowing . . . that a picture of you stark naked, both full view and side view, is going into the college gym files.” The practice of taking posture photographs was gradually abandoned by colleges, thanks in part to the rise of the women’s movement, which gave coeds a new language with which to express their discomfort. It might have been largely forgotten were it not for a 1995 article in the Times Magazine, which raised the alarming possibility that there still existed stashes of nude photographs of famous former students of the Ivy League and the Seven Sisters, such as George H. W. Bush, Bob Woodward, Meryl Streep, and Hillary Clinton. Many of the photographs in question were taken and held not by the institutions themselves but by the mid-century psychologist William Herbert Sheldon. Sheldon was best known for his later discredited theories of somatotypes, whereby he attributed personality characteristics to individuals based on whether their build was ectomorphic, endomorphic, or mesomorphic.

[...]

Today, the descendants of Jessie Bancroft are figures like Esther Gokhale, a Bay Area acupuncturist and the creator of the Gokhale Method, who teaches “primal posture” courses to tech executives and whose recommendations are consonant with other fitness trends, such as barefoot running and “paleo” eating, that romanticize an ancestral past as a remedy for the ills of the present. The compulsory mass surveillance that ended when universities ceased the practice of posture photography has been replaced by voluntary individual surveillance, with the likes of Rafi the giraffe and the Nekoze cat monitoring a user’s vulnerability to “tech neck,” a newly named complaint brought on by excessive use of the kind of devices profitably developed by those paleo-eating, barefoot-running, yoga-practicing executives. Meanwhile, Linker reports, paleoanthropologists quietly working in places other than TikTok have begun to revise the popular idea that our ancient ancestors did not get aches and pains in their backs. Analysis of fossilized spines has revealed degenerative changes suggesting that “the first upright hominids to roam the earth likely experienced back pain, or would have been predisposed to such a condition if they had lived long enough.” Slouching, far from being a disease of civilization, then, seems to be something we’ve been prone to for as long as we have stood on our own two feet.

[missmayhemvr]

Like halfway through "how Europe underdeveloped Africa" cause I decided I'd read/listen to it after I had a strong base on knowledge on African history and just holy fuck is he right about nearly everything so far.

Having learned about how extensive African trade was prior to the 18th century and how heavily most African kingdoms shifted in the 16th it's very clear that what he points out in the way the slave trade and the need to aquire firearms grew the European economies while near completely emptying out African economies and how the hard shift to European import goods after Europe had grow through the use of African slave labor and monopoly of trade routes is still a largely still at play in the era of neocolonialism.

The way that Walter Rodney not just points out that this is true, but the depth to which he covers a variety of African kingdoms, their economies, and cultural practices puts even some college level courses to shame while also showcasing the exact ways in which some of these stronger or more expansive kingdoms like the Ashanti, oyo, borno, Kongo, and Benin kingdoms had explicitly tried everything to get guns through any other trade and how the Ashanti, merina, Ethiopian, Burundi Benin kingdoms sought our education and scholars to begin industrialization and the systematic way in which Europeans and Americans prevented that is just, well it's damming.

It's a continuing reminder how from the first stage of European expansion and control they had precisely zero good intentions for the peoples of Africa. That Europe saw Africa as nothing more than a way to grow itself, it's institutions and improve its economies by depriving Africa of labor, materials and freedom which is true to this day, most starkly in the Congo but true across the whole region.

But while the book shows the crimes of Europeans without sugar coating, it also doesn't glorify the African leaders and more importantly those that became collaborative with European despitism. It also does not abide by the word games the European powers like to play and goes in depth to the way Europeans had no actual interest in ending slavery, and that while invading the various kingdoms and communities to "end slavery" the created some of the most brutal slave conditions on this side of the globe, not just in Leopolds Congo but in French forced labor camps and British controlled regions, with the Portuguese being particularly up front about it.

Truly a shame that like most other black radicals Rodney was murdered so young. The rarity to which black radicals even get to 40 shows how desperately capitalist and white supremist try to prevent even the slightest push back from black voices. It also makes clear how much we all need to know this stuff, from debois's black reconstruction to nkrumah's neoimperialism these books give a great understanding of the past and the precise way in which we arrived to the current situation.

I pray that with the new scramble for Africa that is unfolding in front of our very faces, the genocides in the Congo, and Sudan, and the way in which these interlock with the genocide of Palestinians, that we all take the time to properly read and reflect so that we may properly organize and fight back for a fully free and sovereign Africa and Palestine and a world free from white supremacy.

[ptseti]

Grand Rising🙌🏾 Please never forget…at the core, we are a nation of INVENTORS! They knew and have always known who they are dealing with… Now ask yourself, what are you inventing this year? did you know this ? In a heartfelt tribute to a forgotten innovator, the city of Los Angeles commemorated the legacy of Willie "Tech-Man" Jenkins, an African American inventor who pioneered drone technology in 1982. Despite his groundbreaking contributions, Jenkins' achievements were buried by the weight of systemic racism that plagued the era, leaving his name and inventions obscured from history. Born and raised in the vibrant streets of Los Angeles, Jenkins possessed an insatiable curiosity for technology from a young age. With ingenuity and determination, he tirelessly worked towards his vision of creating unmanned aerial vehicles that would revolutionize various industries. Jenkins' breakthrough came in 1982 when he unveiled the very first working drone, marking a significant milestone in aviation history. His invention promised unprecedented opportunities in surveillance, aerial photography, and even humanitarian aid. However, amidst the backdrop of racial prejudice pervasive in the United States, Jenkins faced countless barriers in gaining recognition for his pioneering work. Despite his groundbreaking achievement, Jenkins encountered hostility and discrimination from the predominantly white-dominated tech industry. Systemic racism barred him from obtaining patents and investment opportunities critical for the widespread adoption of his technology. As a result, his invention remained largely unrecognized, overshadowed by the achievements of his white counterparts. Today, Los Angeles stands as a testament to the resilience and perseverance of individuals like Willie "Tech-Man" Jenkins, whose contributions transcended the limitations imposed by society. The city honors Jenkins' legacy not only as a visionary inventor but also as a symbol of hope and inspiration for future generations. In a poignant ceremony held at the Los Angeles City Hall, community leaders, activists, and residents gathered to pay tribute to Jenkins' enduring legacy. 🐾 @presidentrashaad

[ipso-faculty]

The state of intersex studies

So we recently read the first part of Malatino's Queer Embodiment for Intersex Book Club. It'll be a while until the summary gets posted because we have a backlog (whoops) but this book makes me want to rant.

Having now read a bunch of intersex studies books for the book club has made me acutely aware of HOW MUCH of (American) intersex studies is the same five topics over and over again:

The life of Herculine Barbin

Fuck John Money

Fuck Middlesex

The rise and fall of ISNA + Fuck DSD terminology

Caster Semenya

For the record, Malatino only covered four of these five 🙃. It's honestly getting tiring seeing the same five topics over and over again when there is SO MUCH else that could be talked about.

I'm tired of hearing about ISNA The repetitive focus on ISNA is particularly grating to me because the total amount of text I have head on ISNA's history is greater than the total amount of text I have read on the histories of all other intersex advocacy organizations. 😬 The USA did not invent intersex advocacy and isn't even a world leader in intersex activism (sorry, American friends).

The only text I know of that chronicles the history of a non-ISNA intersex advocacy organization is Swarr's Envisioning African Intersex where she talks about the history history of Sally Gross and Intersex South Africa (and gives a brief shout-out to Julius Kaggwa and other Ugandan activists). Which is weird because...

IGM is banned in Greece! 🎉 And Spain! 🎉 And Portugal! 🎉 And Iceland! 🎉 And Brazil!! 🎉 And Chile! 🎉 And Uruguay! 🎉 There are partial bans on IGM in India and Australia. So why haven't I seen a single book chapter on the history of intersex activism in any of these countries? 🧐 What can we learn from these successful campaigns???

I'm tired of hearing why ISNA failed when I want to be learning how OII-Europe and similar organizations have succeeded. 🫤 There have been more than two people in intersex history Herculine Barbin isn't the only intersex person from history and I would honestly like to see more on other famous intersex people from history, e.g. Isidor of Seville, Helena Antonia, Elen@ de Céspedes, King Francis II of France, King/Queen Christina of Sweden, Princess Ismat al-Doulah of Persia, Sa Bangji, Im Seong-gu, Xie Jianshun, Fernanda Fernández, Gottlieb Göttlich, Karl Dürrge, Karl M. Baer, Lili Elbe, Clémentine Delait, and Annie Jones (Just to name a few that *I* know of!)

Caster Semenya isn't the only intersex athlete to have experienced discrimination! She wasn't even close to being the first! Maybe give some airtime to Maria José Martínez-Patiño, Foekje Dillema, Ewa Kłobukowska, Erik Schinegger, or Witold Smętek? Or even contemporaries, like Duttee Chand or Margaret Wambui?

I'm *really* tired of hearing about Middlesex The repeated critiques of Middlesex have also gotten tiring. The book sucks. This is not news. What I'm not seeing is literary scholars engaging with the growing body of books written by intersex authors like the works of Rivers Solomon, Bogi Takács, Alec Butler, or KOKUMO. And don't tell me they're not "literary" or "notable" enough, Butler has a Governor General's Award and Takács has a Hugo.

Intersex Studies can do so much more! Intersex studies is a young field. I know this. I just wish I'd see more variety making into book format? It's weird seeing the same things get repeated exhaustively when there's so much that doesn't seem to have gotten any attention? Like in book club we talked about intersex people in mythology for a bit and it made me realize we haven't seen anything specifically on this subject and there is so much that could be talked about there. 😯

My rant ends here. If anybody here is looking for a research topic I hope I've made the point that there's a lot of fertile ground that has not been covered when it comes to intersex! 💜 (If you wind up writing anything along these lines please do send it my way! 💜)

[blackstarlineage]

The 1945 Pan-African Congress: A Garveyite Perspective on Black Unity, Anti-Colonial Struggle, and African Self-Determination

The Fifth Pan-African Congress (1945), held in Manchester, England, was a critical turning point in the global fight against colonial rule and a major moment in the history of Black resistance, Pan-Africanism, and the call for African self-determination. Unlike previous Pan-African Congresses, which were largely dominated by elite intellectuals, the 1945 Congress brought together workers, trade unionists, and revolutionary African nationalists, who were not just debating ideas but actively organizing for African liberation.

From a Garveyite perspective, the Manchester Congress was a necessary step forward in the fight against colonialism, but it also lacked the full economic and political vision of Garveyism, which emphasized not just political independence but Black economic self-reliance, industrial power, and global Pan-African unity under an independent African state.

This analysis will explore:

The historical context leading up to the 1945 Pan-African Congress.

The key figures and their contributions to anti-colonial struggle.

The successes and limitations of the Congress from a Garveyite perspective.

How Garveyism provides a more complete roadmap for African self-determination.

1. The Context: Why Was the 1945 Pan-African Congress Necessary?

By 1945, Africa and the African diaspora had been suffering under centuries of colonial exploitation, land theft, racial oppression, and economic strangulation. However, World War II (1939–1945) created conditions that made African liberation inevitable.

A. The Global Impact of WWII on African Colonies

European powers were weakened by the war, making them more vulnerable to anti-colonial movements.

African soldiers who fought in the war returned radicalized, refusing to accept colonial rule anymore.

The war exposed the hypocrisy of Western “democracies”, which claimed to fight against fascism while oppressing African and Caribbean peoples.

Example: Thousands of African soldiers from Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, and Ghana fought for Britain and France but were still treated as second-class citizens.

B. Growing Anti-Colonial Movements Across Africa and the Caribbean

By 1945, anti-colonial resistance was already spreading across the African world:

The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya was brewing against British settlers.

Kwame Nkrumah and other young revolutionaries were organizing in West Africa.

Haitians and Caribbean intellectuals were demanding an end to French colonial rule.

Example: The 1944 West African Railway Strike in Senegal showed that workers were beginning to resist European exploitation.

Key Takeaway: African people were no longer just resisting in theory—they were actively organizing for revolution.

2. Key Figures and Their Revolutionary Contributions

The 1945 Pan-African Congress was led by some of the most important anti-colonial thinkers of the 20th century, including:

A. Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana) – The Future Leader of African Independence

Promoted immediate self-government and rejected slow colonial reforms.

Called for mass mobilization of workers, farmers, and students to fight colonial rule.

Later became the first president of Ghana (1957) and a leader of the Pan-African movement.

Garveyite Perspective: Nkrumah embodied Garvey’s vision but failed to implement full economic independence, leading to his downfall.

B. Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya) – The Face of the Mau Mau Resistance

Advocated for land reform and the return of stolen land to Africans.

Became the first president of Kenya (1963) after years of struggle against British rule.

Was later accused of betraying the Mau Mau fighters by making deals with former colonizers.

Garveyite Perspective: Kenyatta’s failure to redistribute land after independence shows why political freedom is useless without economic control.

C. W.E.B. Du Bois (USA) – The Intellectual Strategist of the Movement

Used academic and political strategies to push for African liberation.

Called for global Black solidarity and unity between African nations and the diaspora.

Later exiled to Ghana, where he worked for African unity until his death.

Garveyite Perspective: Du Bois, despite his Pan-Africanism, initially rejected Garvey’s mass movement approach, which proved to be a mistake.

Key Takeaway: These leaders helped lay the foundation for African independence, but only Nkrumah fully attempted to implement Pan-Africanism as Garvey envisioned.

3. The Successes of the 1945 Pan-African Congress

The Congress was a turning point in the anti-colonial struggle for three main reasons:

A. Declaring War on Colonialism and White Supremacy

For the first time, the Congress openly called for the complete end of colonial rule, rather than slow reforms.

It declared that Africans would use ANY MEANS NECESSARY to win their freedom.

Example: The Congress issued a resolution demanding full independence for all African nations—a radical step compared to previous conferences.

B. The Rise of Grassroots, Working-Class Activism

Unlike previous Pan-African meetings, which were led by elites, this Congress included workers, farmers, and everyday Africans.

Trade unions and student organizations were key participants, showing that the movement had real grassroots support.

Example: African workers in the Caribbean and West Africa launched major strikes and boycotts after the Congress, proving its impact.

C. Creating the Blueprint for African Independence

Many of the leaders at this Congress went on to lead their nations to independence in the 1950s and 60s.

The Congress connected African struggles with Caribbean and Black American struggles, proving that Pan-Africanism was a global fight.

Example: Kwame Nkrumah took the ideas from the Congress and used them to lead Ghana to independence in 1957.

Key Takeaway: The Congress helped turn Pan-Africanism into an active revolutionary movement rather than just an intellectual debate.

4. The Garveyite Critique: Why the 1945 Pan-African Congress Was Not Enough

While the Congress was a major step forward, it failed in key areas that Garveyism had already identified as essential for real liberation.

A. No Economic Plan for True Independence

The Congress focused on political freedom but ignored economic self-reliance.

Garvey emphasized building Black industries, businesses, and financial institutions, but this was not prioritized.

As a result, many African nations won independence but remained economically controlled by Europe.

Example: Many former colonies remained dependent on European banks, currencies, and trade policies, making them neo-colonies rather than free nations.

B. Lack of a Unified Pan-African Government

The Congress did not create a plan for a United States of Africa, as Garvey had envisioned.

This failure allowed European powers to keep African nations divided and weak.

Example: African leaders after independence often competed against each other rather than uniting, which made them vulnerable to Western control.

Key Takeaway: Garvey understood that political independence without economic and military strength is a trap.

5. The Garveyite Solution: Completing the Pan-African Revolution

To finish the work of the 1945 Pan-African Congress, Black people must:

Take full control of African economies, land, and industries.

Establish a unified African government and military.

End European economic control and create a Black-centered financial system.

Strengthen global Black trade between Africa, the Caribbean, and the diaspora.

Final Takeaway: The 1945 Pan-African Congress was a major step toward independence, but true liberation requires Garvey’s vision of a powerful, self-sufficient Black world.

[rieluvism]

𝓔𝐍𝐇𝐘𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐑 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡.

𝓚𝙋𝙊𝙋’𝙎 𝓝𝙀𝙒𝙀𝙎𝙏 𝓓𝙄𝙑𝘼

As the old saying goes, “𝓢𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 are born, not made.” And none less is true for South-African born, Jamaican popstar 𝓡𝐢𝐚 𝓢𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭. The former olympian, age 21, is a member of the ten-member Kpop group, 𝓔𝐍𝐇𝐘𝐏𝐄𝐍. Saint surely isn’t new to stardom, previously known better as 𝓖𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒚 𝓜𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒆 when they were a world renowned 𝓰𝐨𝐥𝐝 medalist in gymnastics, becoming the youngest person to compete and win 13 times at the Olympics, and they remain the most decorated gymnast in history with 𝟒𝟎 total medals. However, it’s clear they’ve found their calling, responsible for not only their own group’s hit songs such as 𝓕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝓑𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱-𝓒𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗱, and 𝓖𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻-𝓣𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻, but also credited as songwriter, producer, and composer on songs like 𝓓𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮 (𝗮𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮), 𝓢𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝓢𝗵𝘆 (𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗷𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀), 𝓢𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗿 𝓡𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝓡𝗶𝗱𝗲 (𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿), 𝓛𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗰 (𝗶𝘂), 𝓓𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗻𝘂��� (𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗲), and more. Learn more about the singer-songwriter below.

꒰ name. gabrielle star anoi saint. nickname. gabby, gabs, ri, riri, bri. stage name. ria.

꒰ birthday. feb 6th 2004. birth sign. aquarius. chinese zodiac sign. rat.

꒰ birthplace. johannesburg, south africa. hometown. double bay, sydeney. other residences. miami, florida. current location. seoul, south korea

꒰ first language. afrikaans. native languages. malay, patois, korean, zulu, japanese. fluent languages. xhosa, portuguese, french. others. mandrin, tagalog, dutch.

꒰ height. 162cms. weight. 130lbs. natural hair color. black

꒰ gender identity. nonbinary. pronouns. they/them. romantic orientation. demiromantic bisexual. realtionship status. single as of april 2025.

Now, i know what you’re thinking.. Ria may be young, but that girl is a certified 𝓭𝙞𝙫𝙖. Plus, everyone knows they’re the child of famous actor Shemar Moore. What trouble did this star get into? Who did they date before, who are they associated with, and who are they currently dating? Well, readers, let’s just say the last answer is definitely more then you can 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒘.

꒰ mother. lisa saint. father. shemar moore. adoptive mother. michelle yeoh. step mother. nia long. siblings. jelani saint, giovanni & genesis moore, gideon moore, gregory saint.

꒰ best friends. enhypen, jang wonyoung, seol yoona, kim donghyun, han dongmin, lee anton, pham hanni, daniela avanzini, sabrina carpenter, huh yunjin.

꒰ close friends. marsai martin, charlie bushnell, miles brown, sofia wylie, olivia rodrigo, doechii, ayra starr, tems, flo, hueningkai, jenna ortega.

꒰ confirmed exes. kim gyuvin: the two dated from 2016 to 2020, and both entered the survival show that debuted ria, 𝓘𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃. clearly, only one of them made the cut

꒰ dating rumors. jenna ortega: false. though the two are close friends, they had never been romantically involved, saint’s entertainment label, 𝓑𝐄:𝓛𝐈𝐅𝐓 𝓛𝐀𝐁𝐒 confirms. charlie bushnell: false. the two were spotted together in 2023, seemingly on a date. however, bushnell took to instagram to refute the rumors, confirming he and saint are simply friends. han taesan: true. third time’s a charm. though never officially confirmed by both parties’s labels or by themselves, fans heavily speculate that saint and han dated from 𝓳𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 to 𝓳𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, the reason unstated. however, the two seem to maintain a healthy friendship.

꒰ relationship. well, wouldn’t you like to know, 𝔀𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝓫𝙤𝙮. nothing has been confirmed, but fans speculated that enhypen’s leader 𝓳𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙬𝙤𝙣 holds a soft spot for the jamaican idol. others suggest that enhypen’s 𝓳𝙖𝙮 is just deeply infatuated with them. some fans even imply that both men are entangled with saint— and each other. my, wouldn’t that be a 𝓼𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥?

Now, i know that was alot to take in. But don’t worry, we’ll keep you well updated. Whether we’rr taking about their 𝓯𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝓼𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝓶𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖 updates, diving into their 𝓻𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨, keeping you posted for some, 𝓰𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝓸𝙡𝙚 𝓭𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙖, and 𝓪𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 the popstar might get into, you can rely on us to keep you in the know. Until next time.

est. 2025. inspired by @viennaswcrld @eternityshiftz @laylasverse

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Giorgio Perlasca

Giorgio Perlasca was an Italian fascist and emissary of Benito Mussolini who had a change of heart and used his diplomatic status to save 5,218 Hungarian Jews from the Nazis.

Born in Como, Italy in 1910, as a young man Georgio became a fervent believer in fascism, believing it was the best system for achieving societal safety and prosperity. Dedicated to fascist ideology, he joined the Italian army to fight prime minister Benito Mussollini’s war of aggression against Ethoipia (the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-37). Italy invaded Ethiopia and sent leader Haile Selassie into exile in 1937. Still a committed fascist, Giorgio pivoted straight from Ethiopia to Spain, where he fought on the side of Franco’s Nationalists against the defenders of the Spanish Republic. 

Giorgio went back to Italy in 1938, and that’s when his world was rocked and his personal belief system made a 180 degree turn. Just as he was returning to his native land, the Nazi-allied fascist government adopted the Italian Racial Laws, which persecuted and segregated Italian Jews and African immigrants from the Italian colonial empire. The first law banned Jews from working with the public or attending college. Books by Jewish authors were burned. The next set of laws confiscated Jewish property, prohibited them from traveling, and finally arrested and imprisoned them. Italian newspapers were filled with vicious anti-Jewish propaganda and hideous caricatures.

Giorgio Perlasca, the man who’d spent the last decade fighting for fascism, was horrified. Perhaps he’d been in north Africa and Spain for so long, he wasn’t aware of the extent of Nazi persecution of the Jews. He’d joined the fascists because, young and naive, he thought they had answers to societal problems. But he never signed up for the Nazis’ “final solution.” He believed in human rights, freedom and tolerance and therefore realized he had to reject fascism.

Ironically, just as he was rejecting Mussolini’s ideology, he was rewarded for his service by being granted diplomatic status and sent to Budapest to represent the interests of the Italian government. As an emissary, Giorgio’s most urgent mission was traveling throughout Eastern Europe to purchase large quantities of meat for Italian army soldiers fighting on the Russian front. Despite his political shift, he remained committed to what he felt was honorable work procuring food for Italians who’d been drafted into the army.

On September 8, 1943, Italy surrendered to the Allied forces. Diplomats like Giorgio had a choice to make: pledge allegiance to Mussolini, or join the Allies. Giorgio switched sides and instead of returning to Italy he was arrested and detained with other diplomats sympathetic to the Allies. After several months in captivity, he used a medical pass to leave the facility. He went straight to the Spanish embassy, which was being run by Angel Sanz Briz*, a diplomat who was secretly saving Hungarian Jews. Sanz Briz enabled Giorgio to claim asylum as a veteran of the Spanish war. Giorgio called himself “Jorge” (the Spanish version of Giorgio) and as a nominal Spaniard, was untouchable by the Nazi-allied Hungarian authorities since Spain was officially a neutral country.

Giorgio Perlasca during the war.

Giorgio immediately teamed up with Sanz Briz to save Jews from the Nazi death machine, which was systematically massacring the Jews of Hungary at shocking speed. He later said, “I couldn’t stand the sight of people being branded like animals… I couldn’t stand seeing children being killed. I did what I had to do.” Giorgio convinced diplomats from neutral countries to shelter Jews in their embassies and homes. He created “protection cards” that identified Jews as being under diplomatic guardianship and therefore impossible to arrest. In November 1944, Sanz Briz was transferred from Hungary to Switzerland, and he urged Giorgio to go with him. However, instead of traveling to a safe country, Giorgio put his own life at risk by staying in Hungary so he could continue saving Jews from the Nazis.  

The Hungarian authorities got wind of what Giorgio was doing, and they used Sanz Briz’ departure from the country as an excuse to order the Spanish embassy building and residences to be emptied and shuttered. In response, Giorgio made a bold move. He announced that Sanz Briz would be returning shortly, and he’d been appointed consul-general in the meantime. This bought him enough time to continue saving Jews, providing them with sanctuary and vital supplies. He also issued fake transit visas based on a 1924 law giving Jews of Sephardic heritage Spanish citizenship. The law had expired in 1930 but Giorgio managed to keep that part secret. 

In December 1944, Giorgio stood up to high-ranking Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann – architect of the genocidal “Final Solution” – who was about to force two Jewish children onto a freight train headed to a death camp. Swedish rescuer Raoul Wallenberg later described watching Giorgio boldly defy the vicious Eichmann and rescue the Jewish boys.

Around this time the Nazi-aligned Hungarian government known as the Arrow Cross set up a squalid ghetto in Budapest for the city’s 60,000 Jews. As “acting Spanish consul-general” was privy to top-secret information, and he learned that the Arrow Cross was going to liquidate the ghetto – which meant murdering the men, women and children who lived there. Giorgio demanded – and got – a private hearing with the Hungarian interior minister Gabor Vajna. He threatened the high-ranking government official with severe repercussions against the “3,000 Hungarians” currently living in Spain. Unless the government backed down on destroying the ghetto, those Hungarian expats would be harshly punished financially, legally and professionally. The fact was, there were nowhere near 3000 Hungarians in Spain and the real number was a fraction of that. That bold threat, combined with a promise to help Vajna and his family escape the advancing Soviet army, prevented the Budapest ghetto from being liquidated, saving thousands of lives.

After the war, Giorgio Perlasca returned to Italy where he lived a quiet life as a businessman, married and raised a family. and didn’t tell a single soul about his heroic actions during the war. Meanwhile, a group of Hungarian Jews saved by Giorgio searched for him for decades. They knew their rescuer as a Spaniard named Jorge and it took 42 years for them to finally locate him. In 1987 Giorgio’s wife, children and community were utterly shocked to learn that this unassuming man had saved the lives of a documented 5,218 Jews and probably many more. The famous rescuer Oskar Schindler saved a quarter as many people as Giorgio Perlasca did.

Once Giorgio’s heroism was known, he became famous in Italy and a source of national pride. Giorgio Perlasca was the subject of a bestselling biography, “The Banality of Goodness,” which was made into a popular movie. He received many honors, including Righteous Among the Nations by Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem, the Wallenberg Medal, the Hungarian Star of Merit, the Spanish Knight Grand Cross, the Italian Gold Medal for Civil Bravery, and many others. Noted Israeli composer Moshe Zorman wrote an orchestral piece, “His Finest Hour,” about Giorgio. There is a statue of Giorgio Perlasca in Budapest and a high school named for him, and he was featured on an Italian and an Israeli stamp. 

Giorgio died in Padua, Italy in 1992. 

For saving thousands of lives, and proving that people can change, we honor Giorgio Perlasca as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[msfandomsblog]

Alastor x fem!ballerina-reader

This is my first alastor x reader fic! I don't know how many parts imma make but it will be somewhat a slow burn.

Also this is mostly your backstory

Hope you enjoy!

warnings: use of y/n, being laughed at, implied death, blood, readers insane like Al, guns, suicide, kinda short anddddddd yeah

In life you were one of the greatest pointe dancer in the world. In death, eh, not so much. Yes you danced but this was simple practice, hell wasn't exactly known for its refined~ practice. Your demon form was simple, you were tall (charlie sized) pale and had small wings on your back. Swan wings, that you could enlarge in and out at your will, not that you usually needed to. You mostly had them compact to your back. Most of your friends wondered why you were in hell to begin with, you were always civil to most characters. There was ofc the off-hand time where you'd threaten any demon who'd dare touch you or close friends, but... who's keeping count!?

As for the reason why you were there well... yes being a dancer had its purks but, it had just as many faults.

More then once at a young age in life you were cast for the villain rolls of dances, plays, etc.

You asked you teachers why and their answer was always, "the way you play it y/n! your body language, face and being on stage! you just do it so well"

As you progressed through as an actress and dancer you were never the 'princess' or the main heroin. Only the dark, cold villain. The black swan, The mouse king, Maleficent. How you longed to be the beauty and not the beast.

Not only did this anger you but soon after a while many other dancers would avoid you because of your 'villain' demeanor on stage. This caused you to grow a hatred for your fellows. It all became too much one day.

It was dress rehearsal, your last one before your last show, and the boys got a wise idea for a prank to play on their black swan. When rehearsing your first entrance you moved over to stage right when suddenly a type of slime/glue pored on you, burning your eyes and ruining your clothes. Then the lead boy shot what looked like a party popper at you but instead of confetti, landed black feathers. The boys were on hunched over laughing, 'childish' you thought while glaring at them.

Every other dancer turned their heads or ran over to see what was oh so funny. Once they all started laughing or turned their head to hide smiles, the director yelled at them all, "oi! that's enough, this isn't a baby recital that you did when you were 5! this isn't mature! Boys, help y/n and run 40 laps around the stage ey?" But it was too late, you'd decided right then and there.

So they saw you as the villain hm? You'd be happy to oblige.

The next day you played your part amazingly well but it was your next audition that excited you. It was for the seasonal part in the nutcracker. As always you were given the part, The mouse king.

When you met the lead playing Clara, the young girl heroin, you saw she was a perfectly civil young dancer. She met her end quickly enough tho.

When you came around to auditioning for The Sleeping Beauty and once again did not get Aurora, you found it quite enjoyable to get rid of the blonde broad that played her.

Then there was Romeo and Juliet. you never did audition for this one, reasons unknown to you. But when you did you somehow found that you felt no sadness you got the email saying that you didn't get the part of Juliet. You instead found joy when you cracked a wide smile as the blood of the girl who did get the part flowed down your hands.

Pretty thing she was, good dancer too. poor thing. ah well.

After about 3 years of of getting away with this little 'hobby; of yours you were found out and surrounded by a large S.W.A.T team. The team leader spoke softly to you.

"Miss y/n, please put your hands up, and drop the gun."

You were so annoyed by this, you'd had to use the damn thing to kill a small African-american girl who was playing Coopelia. You didn't like using guns but this was supposed to be quick. You'd even bought a silencer for the job.

"No officer, I don't think I will." You said back. you smiled as you turned to face the 20 guns pointed at you.

"You won't make it out alive L/n" He said trying to convince you.

"I don't plan on it," And smiling you flipped them off as you shot the gun at your own neck.

OKKKKKKK that was part 1! I hope ya'll like it and stay tuned. I don't know if you could tell but I am ballet dancer, I'm not professional yet but I know quite a bit.

y/n might be oc just a warning but again my first fic sooooo.

Anyway!!!!!! have a good day/night little humans!

part 2!

[creatingblackcharacters]

Here's my attempt at a Lenora redesign, taking in mind your and sharonz-arty-corner03's advice. While I had to finish this in a bit of a rush, I tried to take all the time I could to properly depict her Black features. If there is something to improve in that regard I would love your input!

Lenora's original design is infamous due to resembling the mammy stereotype, perhaps more noticeable in her big apron (in fact, that got changed for overseas release, and future apparitions). Even without that, her original design can be a bit confusing, as without context, some have thought she's a chef for example, when in fact Lenora is a museum director and archaeologist! So, I wanted her design to reflect that. She tends to be inside the museum doing director work, so I wanted to go with that.

Turns out, there isn't a rigid consensus on museum uniform etiquette, especially directors. But something formal and cool felt like a must... And I remembered I read somewhere that Lenora's partly based off Pam Grier. And I remembered that scene in Jackie Brown where she's wearing a stunning black office suit with a white shirt with big lapels underneath, and thought it could fit Lenora very well! I did take some liberties and stuck with her canon clothes' pallete for now. Oh and, to me personally, when I think of museum staff attire I think of lanyards with identifications on them, hence I gave her one, too! I don't know if directors need one but it feels very visual.

I have seen people comparing her canon headband with mammies' so I took that out in case it could still be in bad taste. I went with a full afro, keeping a young Pam Grier in the back of my mind lol.

Lastly, I looked up Black archaeologists and/or museum directors for inspiration, so I wanted to share some of my finds in case someone is interested: First, the website for the Society of Black Archaeologists. It has a major focus on endorsing the respect of African and African Diaspora material culture, and to of course, highlight the efforts of archaeologists of African descent! They have some articles and even podcasts. I really liked their interview of Dr. Peggy Brunache, a Haitian-American archaeologist. Second, Kinshasha Holman Conwill (her resume is too long to list here, but she's pivotal for some very important Black culture museums in the US) and lastly Kimberly Camp (museum leader and amazing doll artist.)

Nice! It's clear you put a lot of time and research into this design! I actually kind of liked her headband, I wear headbands all the time lmao. It added color. But all right. I do think that she could use a little more color in her palette; maybe an orange and yellow flower, if not the headband.

I'm definitely gonna go look into that website though 👀 IKTR 😤 thank you for introducing me to this!

[solarstates]

At age 35, Premier Higalik is the young new leader of The Solar States. Of Apsáalooke (Crow) and Inuit descent, she leads the country after the rule of the previous Premier Candy. Higalik has an ambitious plan for her citizens, but struggles to meet the different demands of her cabinet. She is currently embroiled in stemming developing conflict between The Solar States and the African Union.

[world-of-wales]

✦ UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTS

The Prince of Wales will travel to Cape Town, South Africa on Monday, 4 November, for the fourth annual Earthshot Prize ceremony. His visit will last four days, covering the following engagements -

His visit starts with an event with young environmentalists from across Africa and South East Asia taking part in the inaugural Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme.

He will have an audience with South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa as a followup to the 2022 South African State Visit. The two men will sit down for talks and be joined by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in the country for a meeting with his South African counterpart Ronald Lamola.

He will also be part in some rugby & attending a United for Wildlife summit.

Prince William will also deliver two speeches and meet more than 100 young environmentalists, park rangers, conservationists, and fishermen. 

Additionally, he will join sea rescue volunteers on the water & enjoy the local cuisine at a traditional fish braai in Kalk Bay Harbour.

The highlight of the trip will be the Earthshot Prize ceremony, held in a custom-built eco-dome powered by renewable energy, where Prince William will announce the latest prize winners.

[keyaho]

.summary: Their university had some of the best conjurers in the world. A group of powerful beings forced to fight for equal rights they were entitled to as citizens of the country. In the midst of that, Malcolm X (Aaron Pierre) leads a secret organization hellbent on taking what is theirs. The waiting game and peace was over. The only thing that could stand in his way was Sasha Laveau -a powerful conjurer and the current Madam Protector- and his growing affection for the sweet and caring woman beneath the power.

.some character information: Malcolm in this is a little more rough around the edges. He does some questionable things through out the story.

Prologue:

Laveau University was the top school of magic for African Americans in the country. Hidden in the Louisiana bayou, the college boasted some of the best magical users. Yet, that wasn’t why the school saw such high enrollment rates over the past three years. That had to do with Professor X, a radical leader in the movement for magical rights for black people. He was tall, smooth talking, and handsome though that’s what Sasha heard. The counselor had heard the whispers of his classes, seen the way girls young and old linger around after hours to gossip about how much of a gentleman he was.

She had seen him a couple of times on campus, greeting students warmly as he walked in his long coats and hats. His glasses were black and clear, the frames exposed around the edges. He had smooth skin, full lips, and he was dangerously tall.

Sasha sat up in her chair, thankful her office door was closed because she was sure if anyone walked by they would see her fanning herself at the thought of a professor like she was one of the students. It wasn’t like her group chat with the majorette coach, english department head, and girls magical parkour team hadn’t spoken about the smooth talking conjurer.

As she was closing another student’s file, three soft knocks landed on her door.

“Come in,’ she called, her eyes scanning the new email she just got.

CAMPUS WILL BE CLOSED FOR WARDING. STUDENTS MUST TRANSPORT HOME BY THE END OF CLASS TOMORROW AND NO LATER THAN 4:30 PM.

Why hadn’t she been given a heads up? Before she could reply to the email in a separate chain, the object of so many desires stepped into her office. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, the black sigils in his arms exposed. He wore suspenders today, the crisp white shirt beneath went well with his gray slacks and brown shoes.

“Good evening, Counselor Laveau.” He said.

Yes, she was a descendant of the founding Laveau family. She had chosen to become a counselor instead of a professor. She could connect with the students in more of a trainer role. She loved using her magic. She was one of the most powerful conjurers on campus.

Malcolm's voice was as rich as she had heard it to be. He looked like everyone else, slightly tired but there might have been a herb or two floating around his tea for alertness. Sasha’s own alwaysful enchanted cup stayed warm and ready when she wanted it. She wondered what his blend was.

“Yes Professor X?” She replied, finding her voice after looking away from his eyes. “If this is about the warding email, I’m just now getting it. I would have pre warned if I was awa-‘

“No no no,’ he says, taking a step forward, further into her office, into her space. “Did you finish the email?”

He had looked around her messy desk, student files, her grimoire, a quill, and the remnants of what looked to be an attempt at a spell. He watched as she looked back at her screen in confusion, then surprise, then slight disappointment. The latter had been the opposite for him.

“I also didn’t know they had us doing the warding,’ she abruptly stood up.

Some tension is released in her shoulders. She had more time to finish up her work as warnings took priority for the pair that had to do them. That meant his classes for not only tomorrow, but the rest of the week were canceled as there was a heavy sickness that came with warding no magic could relieve.

“I really told them about not telling me beforehand.” She sighed.

“I can do the preparations.” He offered, sensing her haste to gather her things.

“I can not ask you to do that alone. We both know the ramifications of that.” She shrugged and ran a hand through her fresh silk press.

She was going to sweat this bitch out and she just got it. Ramona was going to kill her next week.

“It must be urgent,’ she turns her back to him, reaching towards her shelf for a small book on the top shelf.

Whispering a few words, she turns her hand palm up and beckons the book off the shelf. Slowly, it appeared floating to her open palm with ease.

Malcolm had heard how the Leveau women used their magic freely. It allowed them a safe way to decompress after using heavier magic. It smelled floral and spicy, a delightful mix of flowers and her bayou blood.

“I can meet you in the common room in about an hour. I have to gather some things and change.”

Grabbing her purse she poured out the contents of her steaming mug and placed it upside down so it wouldn’t refill in her absence. Second nature, she used a series of small hand movements and the room began tidying itself, the computer shut off and while she slung her arms into her jacket, the blinds and lights closed and turned off. The only light was now the golden orb that followed all the Laveau women. Their familiars and their anchor between the real and spiritual worlds.

“Are you sure there is nothing I can do to take some of the load,’ he pressed.

He wouldn’t admit it was his first major warding. And for it to be with a Laveau of all people he was concerned about meeting their standards so directly. He was a skilled conjurer, mostly defensive, but she was an embodiment of what their magic came from. Power seeped through her pores and yet, she was flustered, unprepared, and dare he say relatable. He was excited to spend this week getting to know her, as peers, of course.

“Bring lots of food and plenty of clothes. The isolation afterwards is the worst part.”

Taglist: @nayaesworld @peachbuttetfly @harmshake @heauxvibez @avoidthings @mymindisneverhere @sabrina-carpenter-stan-account @eilujion @heytaewrites @browngirldominion @insidefeelingofanadult @blackerthings @gwenda-fav @brandithecrystalgem @captainwithoutmakingitlove @dremmmm @kindofaintrovert @jimmybutlrr @beenathembo @theereina @randomhood @ash-ketchum @dundienominated @zillasvilla