President Barack Obama greeting military personnel at Pensacola base in 2010 . (White House photo) Prior to leaving Washington D.C. on December 23 to join his family on Christmas vacation in Hawaii, President Barack Obama spent the week advocating for passage of the Payroll Tax Cut Extension, finally achieving a last-minute victory in the kind of intense political tug of war that characterized much his presidency in 2011. His endurance in his third year as the “leader of the free world” and the often-debated advances he has achieved on behalf of the U.S. in the face of economic and political upheavals that shook the world place him at number 2 in the current countdown . To read more of the article by Aberjhani please click this link : Countdown of 10 amazing moments from the year 2011: No. 2 President Obama - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Image from WoMen in Africa photography exhibition by Ludovico Maria Gilberti . Although it was mostly disregarded by mainstream media throughout 2011, the United Nations’ observance of the International Year for People of African Descent launched on Human Rights Day, December 10, 2010, just over a week before the event that would spark the Arab Spring occurred and months before the Occupy Movement got underway. It proceeded in different countries with a variety of programs, initiatives, and publications to commemorate the occasion over the months that followed, and has now been winding down to an official close since December 6, 2011. Read the entire story by Aberjhani by clicking this link : Countdown of 10 amazing moments from 2011: No. 3 Afro-descendants worldwide - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Artist Lei Yixin with model of Martin Luther King Jr. memorial monument . (photo courtesy of the MLK Foundation) The opening of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to the public on October 16, 2011, both confirmed Dr. King’s place in world history and marked the triumphant implementation of a plan established by the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity in 1984. King is only the fourth American citizen who was not a president to receive such an honor and the first African American to do so. To continue reading please click this link : Countdown of 10 amazing moments from the year 2011: No. 4 the MLK Jr. Memorial - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Cover of "Without A Song: 9/11 Concert" album by Sonny Rollins. Welcome to number 6 in Aberjhani’s Countdown of 10 Amazing Moments from the Year 2011: Preeminent saxophonist and all-around jazzmaster Sonny Rollins joined actress Meryl Streep, singer Neil Diamond, celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and Broadway actress and cabaret performer Barbara Cook as a Kennedy Center honoree at the White House and at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on December 4, 2011. The honor served as tribute to the career of a musician whose work has won over critics and fans alike for all of six decades. Please click the link to read the full story: Countdown of 10 amazing moments from the year 2011: No. 6 Sonny Rollins - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Poet Nikky Finney and novelist Jesmyn Ward.(photo courtesy of National Book Foundation) It is not uncommon in modern times for African-American women to win major literary awards but it is rare, if not unprecedented, for two such women to win the same major award in separate categories in the same year. That is precisely what happened on November 16, 2011, when Jesmyn Ward won the National Book Award for fiction and Nikky Finney accepted the award for poetry. “We begin with history” Finney, a professor of English and creative writing at the University of Kentucky, won the award for Head Off & Split, her fourth volume of poetry. Her previous titles include: The World Is Round (2003); Rice (1995); and On Wings Made of Gauze (1985). She is also author of the short story collection, Heartwood (1998). Upon accepting her National Book Award, Finney may have summed up just how triumphant the events of the evening turned out to be when she noted the following at the beginning her speech: P

Actor Samuel L. Jackson as superhero Nick Fury. If you missed the introduction to the Countdown of 10 Amazing Moments from the Year 2011 posted December 11, please click here. The actual countdown begins now with the triumphant actor at number 10: A lot of good-humored jokes portraying Samuel L. Jackson as one of the hardest working seriously-hustling actors in Hollywood have circulated for years throughout the entertainment industry. Laughter turned into respectful awe when editors of the Guinness World Records announced in October that Jackson had become “the highest-grossing actor of all time” with credits in films that collectively have grossed some $7.42 billion. To read the full story by Aberjhani please click this link: Countdown of 10 Amazing Moments from the Year 2011: No. 10 the $7 billion actor - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Cover of National Urban League's "State of Black America." Just as the previous two annual countdowns from the National African American Art Examiner contained people and events some found debatable, this one for the year 2011 is likely to do the same. The point, however, remains unchanged: to highlight known as well as largely ignored moments that have added significantly to contemporary ongoing African-American culture and history, and thereby adding the same to current American and world history in general. At one end of the continuum known as history are first-time events that have generated notable measures of public recognition due to either a positive or negative impact. At the other end of the spectrum are individuals, organizations, and occurrences which have earned acknowledgment due to their enduring longevity and lasting influence upon humanity. This countdown list includes both and will be presented in ten separate posts starting Wednesday, December 14. Abou

Earlier this year, August 2, numerous individuals and institutions acknowledged the eighty-seventh anniversary of the birth of American author James Baldwin, and on December 1 observers noted the twenty-fourth anniversary of his death at the age of sixty-three. Interest in Baldwin’s novels, plays, essays, and life has been on the upswing since the 2010 publication of previously uncollected writings by him in The Cross of Redemption (edited by Randall Kenan). That interest grew stronger throughout 2011 as commentaries surfaced on the Internet regarding Baldwin’s 1963 prediction that the United States would one day have an African-American president. To read the full article by Aberjhani please click the link: Events in 2011 and forthcoming book strengthen James Baldwin's legacy - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

The “Songs of My People” art exhibition, featuring fifteen new works by Savannah and New York artist Luther E. Vann, celebrated co-creator of the landmark art and poetry book ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love opened November 11 at Penn Center’s York W. Bailey Museum on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. “Songs of My People,” which will remain on exhibition until January 7, 2012, is Vann’s first major art exhibit since his triumphant ELEMENTAL show at the Telfair Museum’s Jepson Center for the Arts in Savannah, Georgia, in 2008. The event is part of Penn Center’s Heritage Days celebration. Vann has been honored as the 2011 Heritage Days Featured Artist, a distinction which places him in the company of such previous honorees as: James Denmark, Diane Britton-Dunham, Allen Fireall , Amiri Geuka Farris, Jonathan Green, and the artist called “Saint.” Please click the link to read more : Songs of My People art exhibition opens at Penn Center - National African-American Art

  Official U.N. logo for the 2011 International Year for People of African Descent . With revolutions in the Middle East and the United States’ current Occupy Wall Street movement dominating media reports throughout 2011, the International Year for People of African Descent as declared by the United Nations has received little attention but that didn’t stop the traveling photo exhibition “WoMen in Africa - No Color One Color," from launching November 2 at the Italian Institute of Culture in Nairobi, Kenya. The show marked the second major exhibition within two weeks to launch in honor of the International Year for People of African Descent . A multimedia display of works by different artists and photographers, “The African Continuum: Celebrating Diversity, Recognizing Contributions of People of African Descent”, opened at the U.N. Headquarters in New York City on October 19. For that occasion, Time Magazine photographer Chester Higgins Jr. addressed attendees on behalf

The novel Christmas When Music Almost Killed the World in the iBookstore. The iTunes Store recently added three titles, each in a different literary category, by the American author Aberjhani to its iBookstore, making it possible for the first time to download the books and read them on the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The titles include: the paranormal suspense novel Christmas When Music Almost Killed the World ; the travel memoir The American Poet Who Went Home Again ; and the poetry collection The Bridge of Silver Wings (newly updated in hard copy as The River of Winged Dreams ). “I’m usually too immersed in current projects to realize the significance of such a great development right away,” said the author. “So you’ll never hear me claim to be the most techno-savvy writer on the planet, which is why I’m always glad when the work that I stay so busy producing manages to make a place for itself in the world and others welcome it there as well.” In addition to hi

A poet named Adonis. ( photo courtesy of Mideast Post ) Considering that Sweden has hosted the Nobel Prize Awards for more than a century and until Thursday had not presented one of its own authors with the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1974 (to Eyvind Johnson), the world can hardly blame the awards committee for presenting this year’s prize to poet Tomas Transtromer. Along with the Syrian poet Adonis, Transtromer was among the top ten authors favored by Britain’s Ladbrokes betting agency as a likely win. Transtromer, according to the agency, was an 8-1 favorite while Adonis was favored 4-1. The poets are also close in age, with the Swede born 1931 and the Syrian in 1930. However, Transtromer became the 104th recipient of the award by virtue of what the prize committee recognized as the following: “ through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality." Transtromer has published volumes of acclaimed works in both his native tongue and in translat

( AP photo of Davis protesters by David Tullis ) After many people had made their peace with the idea of Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis’ life ending at 7 p.m. on September 21, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Courts just after 7 p.m. issued a call for a “temporary delay” of his death, but then again at 10:20 said it would not block the execution. Officials then announced that Davis was executed at 11:08 p.m. Please click the link to read the full article by Aberjhani : Savannah Talks Troy Anthony Davis No. 16: Davis Executed - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Troy Davis in court room . Neither petitions bearing the names of almost one million people nor requests from such high-profile figures as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI convinced the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to cancel the execution of Troy Anthony Davis scheduled to take place September 21. With the Board presenting its announcement just one day before the planned execution, it appears that the two-decade-long struggle to free Troy Anthony Davis, following his conviction for the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail , may soon come to an end. For the full article by Aberjhani please click the link : Savannah Talks Troy Anthony Davis No. 15: Board Denies Clemency - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

(Protesters express solidarity with Troy Anthony Davis) The chorus of protests against the imprisonment of Troy Anthony Davis that have risen repeatedly over the past two decades received a crushing rebuttal September 6 when a Chatham County (Georgia) County Superior Court judge signed a warrant for the inmate’s execution. As it stands, Davis’s execution is now reportedly set to take place at 7 p.m., September 21, 2011. The order to execute was issued despite a virtually non-stop hue and cry presented by such organizations as the NAACP, Amnesty International, and the European Parliament. It represents the fourth time Davis has been scheduled for execution. His battle to save his life began when he was convicted for the 1989 slaying of police officer Mark Allen MacPhail . Since that time, the case has evolved into one of the most controversial, politically charged, and highly debated in recent history. A press advisory issued by the office of Sam Olens, Georgia state attorney gen

Award-winning author and poet Aberjhani blogs about his newest poem presented in honor of the 100 Thousand Poets for Change initiative. To read please click the link: How Poets and Words Burn Truth into Love | Aberjhani | Blog Post | Red Room

"Man in the Music" by Joseph Vogel S ome philosophies claim that the eyes symbolize such qualities as the gift of prophecy, intelligence, and conscious awareness. In her book Chakra Bible , Patricia Mercier describes the eye “chakras,” or centers of spiritual energy, as those which “feed the brain but can develop to detect extra-sensory information or send healing to others.” That’s a pretty heavy thought. But as heavy as it is, it’s not all that difficult to entertain such luminous possibilities when considering the life and legacy of Michael Joseph Jackson . Why? Because the life he challenged himself to live turned so many dreamed theories––both his own and that of others–– into material reality. It happened while he lived until his death on June 25, 2009 and it is happening now in the year of what would have been his fifty-third birthday. To continue reading please click the following link: Looking at the world through Michael Jackson's left eye (part 1

Detail from artwork for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's film On the Shoulders of Giants . (courtesy of Union Productions and Iconomy) The celebration of major historic milestones is a favorite pastime in pretty much every culture. This year, 2011, in the United States many are commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War. That means four years from now numerous festivities will take place to observe the same anniversary for Jubilee Day, or the liberation of America’s slaves. In addition, countries around the world are currently honoring the first United Nations-declared International Year for People of African Descent. Flip the calendar forward by almost a decade and we find ourselves approaching another major milestone: the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance. To read this article by Aberjhani in full please click the following link : The Approaching 100th Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance

History-making photograph of President Barack Obama with Vice President Joe Biden and other members of the national security team in the White House Situation Room. ( Photo by Pete Souza ) Just before I logged on to check my email and found a request from the Red Room website asking authors to blog about leadership, something interesting happened. I came across a scrap of paper I did not recognize and on which the following quote was typed: Please Continue reading on Examiner.com : President Barack Obama and the message beyond the photograph - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

( Photo of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama by George Burns and Harpo Studios ) Until late Sunday evening on May 1, 2011, the big news in discussions focused on President Barack Obama throughout the weekend was that he and First Lady Michelle Obama were scheduled to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show on May 2. Then TV journalists interrupted regular television broadcasts at approximately 10:45 p.m. with the news that al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden had been killed and President Obama himself came on the air about an hour later to confirm the news and provide details on the end of a quest for justice that has taken nearly a full decade to achieve since September 11, 2001. Delivering an address that evoked the unhealed “gaping hole” left in the heart of Americans following 9/11 along with the heightened sense of patriotic unity that followed, Obama made his purpose for being on television at such an odd hour clear from the beginning: “Tonight I can report to the American people and to t

(photo by Stephen Morton of Virginia Davis on left with Martina Davis-Correia on their way to evidentiary hearing for Troy Anthony Davis) If the whole point behind continuing to seek the execution of Troy Anthony Davis after his two decades on death row in Georgia has been to take another life in exchange for that of slain officer Mark Allen MacPhail, some may say that Davis’s mother, Virginia Davis, paid that price on her son’s behalf when she passed April 12, 2011, in Savannah, Georgia, at the age of 65. To continue please click the following link : Savannah Talks Troy Anthony Davis No. 13: Death of Virginia Davis - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Troy Anthony Davis image as part of "Making the Invisible Visible" campaign sponsored by Amnesty International and the Germany art collective known as Mentalgassi . Having attempted to obtain his freedom for more than twenty years, Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis may have lost his final chance when on March 28, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it would neither review Davis’s requested appeal itself nor order the Federal Appeals Court in Atlanta to do so. Davis and supporters have been battling for his freedom since he was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of off-duty police officer Mark Alan MacPhail in Savannah. He has been scheduled to be put to death three times but each time obtained a stay of execution pending further investigation into his case. Davis had long contended that a review of new evidence would establish his innocence, and when seven out of nine witnesses recanted their testimonies against him, it appeared the legal tide

Disastrous results of earthquake and tsunami in Japan. (photo by Getty Images) For the article with commentary and poem by Aberjhani please click the following link: Nuclear snow in Japanese springtime: An editorial poem-commentary - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

(photo of Sharpeville Massacre commemoration courtesy of the United Nations) Monday, March 21, 2011, will mark the 45th anniversary of the United Nations’ (UN) observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In observance of the day, the UN has previously hosted such events as webcasts that address ways people can help end racism and encouraged the composition of essays, photo projects, and the publication of articles that promote the issue. To continue reading please click this link: Report on 2011 International Year part 6: Day to Eliminate Racism - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Please click the following link to read the new article series on Flannery O'Connor by Aberjhani : Events, books highlight Flannery O’Connor legacy (part 1): St. Patrick’s Day - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

( Getty Image by Juan Barreto ) Throughout Black History Month 2011, websites and newspapers based in countries across the globe have featured stories on the United Nations’ and the Organization of American States’ passage of Resolution 64/169, which declared January 1 as the start of the 2011 International Year for People of African Descent. Continue reading please by clicking the following link: Report on 2011 International Year part 5: Haiti’s Poetics of Pain and Resilience - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

( photo by Getty Images ) Out of the 250,000 deaths caused by natural disasters in 2010, the overwhelming bulk of them occurred when the massive 7-point earthquake struck Haiti on January 12 and took some 230,000 lives, prompting concerted relief efforts that are going on to this day. A major part of those efforts has been maintaining awareness about Haiti’s continuing recovery needs and U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon has teamed up with the Grammy Award-winning group Linkin Park to do exactly that via an online town hall meeting called “Haiti Today, Haiti Tomorrow” on February 22 at 6 p.m. (EST). Please Continue reading on Examiner.com: Report on 2011 International Year part 4: Haiti's Hope Now and Tomorrow - National African-American Art | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/african-american-art-in-national/report-on-2011-international-international-year-part-4-haiti-now-and-tomorrow#ixzz1EdZPS2Q0 By Aberjhani

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton There’s no question that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s hands are more than full these days with the war in Afghanistan, military tension between the two Koreas, relationship-building with China, and of course the revolution in Egypt. Nevertheless: Secretary Clinton took time out of her demanding schedule earlier this week to post a video message in support of the 2011 International Year for People of African Descent and Black History Month celebrations. In her message, Clinton described this milestone event as “an opportunity for all of us around the globe to celebrate the diversity of our societies and to honor the contributions that our fellow citizens of African descent make every day to the economic, social and political fabrics of our communities.” As it apparently did many others, the United Nations and the Organization of American States’ Resolution 64/169 proclaiming the year 2011 as the International Year for People of Af

Nkechi Madubuko photo by Bodo Ganswidt With the International Year for People of African Descent getting underway in January and Black History Month 2011 launching this week, Afro-descendants throughout the Global Village are assessing, celebrating, and documenting their experiences in diverse communities. Please click the link below to continue reading: Report on 2011 International Year part 3: In the land of Afro-Germans - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Photo of President Barack Obama addressing situation in Egypt by Pete Souza . The quote “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is a well-known one attributed to the British historian Lord Acton (nineteenth century). What is rarely discussed after someone quotes these words are the different ways that power can and does corrupt. The assumption is that too much power diminishes an individual’s capacity or inclination to render “good works” on behalf of others. At the same time, it increases his or her capacity or inclination to generate malice in the world. Please click for the full article : As Egypt howls and history tweets - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Author and activist Patrick Lozes Recently writing in his blog about the dedication of a city square in honor of Raphael Eliza ––who became in 1929 the first Afro-descendant from mainland France elected to the office of mayor–– author and human rights activist Patrick Lozes stated he is often asked why he campaigns to have such public spaces as streets, squares, and buildings in France named after members of diverse populations. He answered included the observation that, “Skin color should no longer make you a stranger in your own country.” Continue reading on Examiner.com: Report on 2011 International Year part 2: Report on 2011 International Year part 2: the French quest of Patrick Lozes - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon In observance of Black History Month and the International Year for People of African Descent, the National African-American Art Examiner in 2011 will report on and explore a variety of issues pertaining to these subjects. Reports will include profiles of contemporary figures, trending developments, and teachable historic moments. The series begins now: Please Continue reading on Examiner.com: Black History Month enhanced by International Year for People of African Descent

The new Literary Savannah Magazine “ I run my fingers over her keyboard and suddenly it all starts up With a tinkling sound the music begins, then speeds up more and more …” ––Reinaldo Arenas, The Parade Ends Please click link to continue reading : Regarding Rituals, Elegies, and This New Year 2011 - Welcome to Aberjhani's

The new Literary Savannah magazine . The title “Literary Savannah” over the past decade has deservedly been associated with the Hill Street Press travel anthology edited by Patrick Allen, so readers may at first experience some difficulty distinguishing it from the recent online publication of Literary Savannah magazine. But the magazine has indeed made its debut and features work by some of the Southeast’s most gifted writers, poets, and artists. To continue reading please click this link : Literary Savannah magazine launches with winter edition - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Celebrated poet and theater directory Clinton D. Powell . For a tribute in poetry and prose to one of the celebrated poets in the history of Savannah, Georgia, please click this link : A poem for a poet

Photo of Clinton D. Powell by Tony Jordan Please click and read the full stor y: City of Savannah bids farewell to Beloved Poet Clinton D. Powell - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Cover the NUL's annual State of the Black Union publication . Please click here for the complete story: Countdown of 10 great moments in 2010 (part 7): Barack Obama and The NUL - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

The late great jazz composer and actress Abbey Lincoln . For the full story please click the link: Countdown of 10 great moments in 2010 (part 6): The new ancestors - National African-American Art | Examiner.com