Brown Girl Caressa Cameron Wins Miss America 2010!

[Pictured above] Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron winning the 2010 Miss America crown!

A broadcast journalism student at Virginia Commonwealth University, this fabulous 22-year-old African-American Brown Girl from Fredericksburg, Viriginia won a $50,000 scholarship and the crown in Las Vegas on January 30, 2010.  When asked during the interview portion of the competition her thoughts on fighting childhood obesity, Cameron said parents should curb television and video games.  "We need to get our kids back outside, playing with sticks in the street like I did when I was little," she said. "Expand your mind, go outside and get to see what this world is like."  Amen, Brown Girl.  Amen.  [Source: MSNBC.com]

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The One Brown Girl Challenge

A message from OBG creator, Tracey Friley

Of course you don't need me to tell you that Haiti needs our help.  I have personally committed to collecting gently worn shoes in the community I live in to help Soles4Souls on their quest to send 1,000,000 pairs of shoes to Haiti and I would like to challenge you to do the same.  Please.  Go into your closet and select at least one pair of gently worn shoes (in any size, including children's, men's, etc.) and take them to your local Finish Line before February 20, 2010 (dates may be different at different store locations).  As a bonus, if you email a picture of yourself donating at least 10 pair shoes (at a Finish Line store only), I will personally send you a small gift of appreciation! 

Here is an excerpt of an email I received from a lovely woman who took me up on the challenge.  She is a true testament to the power of giving.  (Warning: Get out your box of tissue.)  "When I learned of [OneBrownGirl.com®'s] shoe drive [challenge], I thought what better way to give back and help others in need. What’s more it inspired me to have the strength to begin cleaning out my Mother’s belongings [who recently passed away]. While it was very painful to pack up her brand new and gently worn shoes, I realized that at least 50 women would be walking in her shoes. So even though she is in Heaven, I know she would have been proud to donate shoes to help those in need. Indeed my Mother’s legacy of community service will live on through those few blessed in Haiti to receive shoes from [OBG's] shoe drive [challenge].  God Bless your organization for your endeavors and bringing attention to this wonderful cause."

With dedication, commitment & love,

Tracey

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India's Brown Girls are a Bankable Asset

Photo credit: Pankaj Nangia/Bloomberg

Chanda Kochhar, [pictured] above, is the chief executive of Icici Bank,

where women make up 40 percent of the senior management.

From the New York Times:  "In New York and London, women remain scarce among top bankers despite decades of struggle to climb the corporate ladder. But in India’s relatively young financial industry, women not only are some of the top deal makers, they are often running the show."  Read the article in its entirety here.

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It's Free-For-All Friday!

What are you grateful for?

You have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy. ~ The Buddha

A Prayer of Gratitude

I am eternally grateful today

for the love in my heart,

the peace in my soul,

and a life lived in service.

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The One Brown Girl Challenge

Do Not Forget Haiti.

“Be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandi

By now, you've heard it 1,000 times: Haiti needs our help.  And it's true.  And it will be true for many years to come.  Give what you can now and then give what you can later, whether you're empowering artisans or giving your valuable time as a volunteer.  However you ultimately decide to be of service, please do not forget Haiti.

See also Heart of Haiti (Part I), Heart of Haiti (Part II), Heart of Haiti (Part III), Heart of Haiti (Part IV), and Heart of Haiti (Part V).

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The Brown Girl World: Amabelle's Story

 "Amabelle do you think my daughter will always be the color she is now?" Senora Valencia asked. "My poor love, what if she's mistaken for one of your people?"  - An excerpt from The Farming of Bones, a novel by Edwidge Danticat.  The Dominican Republic and Haiti. Two countries sharing the same island—one poor, the other poorer. For decades, Haitians attempting to escape their country's abject poverty have streamed into the Dominican Republic to work as laborers in the sugarcane fields or as domestic help. In 1937, longstanding hostility between the two countries erupted, and Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo Molina decreed the slaughter of all Haitians on Dominican land. This is the historical backdrop for The Farming of Bones.  Amabelle, the fictional heroine of Danticat's haunting novel and her lover Sebastien are two Haitian laborers who find themselves caught in the massacre of 1937. Amabelle—orphaned at a young age when her parents drowned in the river that separates the two countries—is a housekeeper for Señora Valencia and her husband General Pico, who is supremely devoted to Generalissimo Trujillo. Sebastien cuts cane, the act from which Danticat draws the title of her book. It is called "the farming of the bones" because after a day in the searing heat of the fields, anticipating snakes and rats, brushing up against the razor sharp edges of the cane, the workers find their skin is shredded, their bones closer to the surface than the day before.  Read more here.

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Spotlight on One Brown Girl...

Spotlight on Edwidge Danticat

Edwidge Danticat is an award winning Haitian-American Brown Girl author born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and raised in Brooklyn, New York beginning at the age of 12 in a heavily Haitian American neighborhood.  She received a BA in French literature from Barnard College and in 1993, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Brown University.  An author of numerous books and writings, her novel - Breath, Eyes, Memory - was published when Danticat was only twenty-five years old and began as an essay of her childhood in Haiti and her move as a young girl to New York City.  Her works have been translated into 10 languages and Breath, Eyes, Memory was an Oprah's Book Club selection.  A 2009 MacArthur Fellow, Danticat received a $500,000 no-strings-attached grant for individuals who have shown exceptional creativity in their work and the promise to do more.  For more information about Edwidge Danticat, please click here and here.

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Do You Have a Dream?

 Happy MLK Day!The dream is alive...

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WOW: Charity

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” - Mahatma Gandhi

OBG's WOW (Word of the Week) is Charity.  Charity is not only the name of a famous race horse, a software language, and a small town in Guyana, but more importantly, charity is the act of giving to those in need who are unable to help themselves. The noun charity entered the English language through the Old French word charité which was derived from the Latin caritas, which meant preciousness, dearness and high price. From this, in Christian theology, caritas became the standard Latin translation for the Greek word agapē, meaning an unlimited loving-kindness to all others, such as the love of God. In Judaism, tzedakah refers to the religious obligation to perform charity, and philanthropic acts, which Judaism emphasizes are important parts of living a spiritual life. Likewise, Dāna is a Sanskrit and Pali term meaning generosity or giving. In Buddhism, it also refers to the practice of cultivating generosity. Buddhists believe that giving, without seeking something in return, leads to greater spiritual wealth and reduces acquisitive impulses that ultimately lead to further suffering. So whether you are Christian, Jewish, Buddhist or any religion under the sun, remember to be charitable, give from your heart and give to those in need. We're all in this together. [Source: Wikipedia]

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Mon coeur est cassé pour le Haïti...

(Above) Little Girl of Haiti by artist Sue May Gailey Wescott Gill (1887-1989)

 

Please make your donation to the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake today and tomorrow and the next day.  Please.

American Red Cross - Yéle Haiti

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And The Survey Says...

229 people responded to an OBG survey that asked "Who are your friends?" and the results might (or might not) surprise you:  55.9% answered that their friends come from a wide variety of cultural and/or ethnic backgrounds; 39.74% say their friends are mostly from the same cultural and/or ethnic background; and 4.37% say their friends are all from the same cultural and/or ethnic background.  How about this one?  Should a person that is biracial (whether Chinese/Indian, African/Japanese, etc.) pick just one cultural group to identify with? 212 people responded to this OBG survey question with 3.3% responding Yes, the decision is dictated by society and choosing one cultural group makes life easier; 91.51% answered No, the decision should be personal and not dictated by society; and 5.19% thought the question was too tough to answer.    Are you surprised at all by the survey results?  What are your thoughts?

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