Cover of Notes to the Future by Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu . “Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.” ––Nelson Mandela, Presidential Inauguration Address When Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela stood before the people of South Africa on May 10, 1994, as its first black and democratic president, the moment represented much more than a personal victory. It embodied the kind of glimpse into humanity’s potential for harmonious coexistence that history rarely provides. Neither the concept nor the practice of persecution were invented the day Mr. Mandela began as a middle-aged man serving his 27-year prison sentence on Robben Island in 1963.  There are nevertheless, in his case, the notable distinctions of excruciating sacrifice, phenomenal grace, and uncommon personal evolution which moved almost 100 world leaders to attend his memorial in Johannesburg on Human Rights Day, December 10,

Classic portrait of Langston Hughes by the German artist Winold Reiss (Credit: Smithsonian Magazine) “We know we are beautiful. And ugly too. The tom-tom cries and the tom-tom laughs.”––Langston Hughes Among the superstars who recently joined late-night television talk show host Arsenio Hall on the set of his newly-revived program was hip-hop pioneer and mogul Russell Simmons. In addition to expressing enthusiasm over sharing meditation with his children and exploring new film opportunities in Hollywood, Simmons spoke briefly and somewhat reservedly about a recent controversy involving artistic freedom versus social responsibility. Without going into details about the scandal-plagued “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape” video that he posted on, and then quickly removed from, his All Def Digital YouTube channel, Simmons admitted the backlash it created prompted the only instance where he felt compelled––after being pressured by different civil rights organizations––to withdraw artis

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

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