CONGOBONGO Newsletter | Martin Luther King, Jr.

American Embassy Kinshasa Newsletter January 14, 2010 U.S. Embassy Kinshasa warmly Welcomes: Joseph Love and his family Jose Tchofa and his family Lauren Shelton and her husband Daniel Tanya Urquieta

US Marines Staff Sergeant Robert J. Black Sergeant Ricardo Sanchez O. Corporal Hector D. Terrero

“I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968)

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In this Edition 2 Martin Luther King, Jr—Biographic 3 Martin Luther King, Jr—Influences 4 Martin Luther King, Jr—The massage 5 Martin Luther King, Jr—Assassination 6 Photo shoot 7 National Heroes Day DRC 9 CLO’s Line 10 FLO Weekly Update 11 From the Medical Unit 13 What did you do over New Year’s Weekend? By Pat McCarthy

14 What’s Going On 16 Classifieds 18 Calendar

Correction from the Last Edition of the CongoBongo

“ Martyrs of Independence DRC”

In this article we made a big mistake when we chose the photo for the DRC first Prime Minister, Patrick Lumumba. In error we published the picture of Eriq Ebouaney—a French actor of the film Lumumba.

We apologize to the CongoBongo readers.

Nelson Arias-Martinez, Editor J.P. Berner, CLO The Congo Bongo

as born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin.

His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor.

Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955.

In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family. In 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank. In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure. At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr. was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement. On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to Congo Bongo January 14, 2010

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Influences

Populist tradition and Black populism Harry C. Boyte, a self-proclaimed populist, field secretary of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and white civil rights activist describes an episode in his life that gives insight on some of King's influences: My first encounter with deeper meanings of populism came when I was nineteen, working as a field secretary for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in St. Augustine, Florida in 1964. One day I was caught by five men and a woman who were members of the Ku Klux Klan. They accused me of being a "communist and a Yankee." I replied, "I'm no Yankee – my family has been in the South since before the Revolution. And I'm not a communist. I'm a populist. I believe that blacks and poor whites should join to do something about the big shots who keep us divided." For a few minutes we talked about what such a movement might look like. Then they let me go. When he learned of the incident, Martin Luther King, head of SCLC, told me that he identified with the populist tradition and assigned to organize poor whites.

Howard Thurman Civil rights leader, theologian, and educator Howard Thurman was an early influence on King. A classmate of King's father at Morehouse College, Thurman mentored the young King and his friends. Thurman's missionary work had taken him abroad where he had met and conferred with Mahatma Gandhi. When he was a student at Boston University, King often visited Thurman, who was the dean of Marsh Chapel. Walter Fluker, who has studied Thurman's writings, has stated, "I don't believe you'd get a Martin Luther King, Jr. without a Howard Thurman".

Gandhi and Rustin Inspired by Gandhi's success with non-violent activism, King visited the Gandhi family in India in 1959, with assistance from the Quaker group the American Friends Service Committee. The trip to India affected King in a profound way, deepening his understanding of non-violent resistance and his commitment to America's struggle for civil rights. In a radio address made during his final evening in India, King reflected, "Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation." African American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who had studied Gandhi's teachings, counseled King to dedicate himself to the principles of non-violence, served as King's main advisor and mentor throughout his early activism, and was the main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin's open homosexuality, support of democratic socialism, and his former ties to the Communist Party USA caused many white and African-American leaders to demand King distance himself from Rustin.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. The message

On October 14, 1964, King became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to end racial prejudice in the United States.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

In March 1955, a fifteen-year-old school girl, Claudette Colvin, refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in compliance with the Jim Crow laws.

King was on the committee from the Birmingham African-American community that looked into the case; Edgar Nixon and Clifford Durr decided to wait for a better case to pursue. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, urged and planned by Nixon and led by King, soon followed. The boycott lasted for 385 days, and the situation became so tense that King's house was bombed. King was arrested during this campaign, which ended with a United States District Court ruling in Browder v. Gayle that ended racial segregation on all Montgomery public buses.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

In 1957, King, Ralph Abernathy, and other civil rights activists founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The group was created to harness the moral authority and organizing power of black churches to conduct nonviolent protests in the service of civil rights reform.

King led the SCLC until his death.

Albany movement

The Albany Movement was a desegregation coalition formed in Albany, Georgia in November, 1961. In December, King and the SCLC became involved. The movement mobilized thousands of citizens for a broad-front nonviolent attack on every aspect of segregation within the city and attracted nationwide attention. Divisions within the black community and the canny, low-key response by local government defeated efforts.

Birmingham campaign

The Birmingham campaign was a strategic effort by the SCLC to promote civil rights for African Americans. Many of its tactics of "Project C" were developed by Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, Executive Director of SCLC from 1960–1964. Based on actions in Birmingham, Alabama, its goal was to end the city's segregated civil and discriminatory economic policies.

March on Washington

for Jobs and Freedom King, representing SCLC, was among the leaders of the so-called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. The other leaders and organizations comprising the Big Six were Roy Wilkins from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Whitney Young, National Urban League, A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, John Lewis, SNCC, and James L. Farmer, Jr. of the Congress of Racial Equality. Kennedy initially opposed the march outright, because he was concerned it would negatively impact the drive for passage of civil rights legislation, but the organizers were firm that the march would proceed.

The march originally was conceived as an event to dramatize the desperate condition of blacks in the southern United States and a very public opportunity to place organizers' concerns and grievances squarely before the seat of power in the nation's capital. Organizers intended to excoriate and then challenge the federal government for its failure to safeguard the civil rights and physical safety of civil rights workers and blacks, generally, in the South. As a result, some civil rights activists felt it presented an inaccurate, sanitized pageant of racial harmony; Malcolm X called it the "Farce on Washington," and members of the Nation of Islam were not permitted to attend the march.

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"Bloody Sunday" King and SCLC, in partial collaboration with SNCC, attempted to organize a march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery, for March 7, 1965. The first attempt to march on March 7 was aborted because of mob and police violence against the demonstrators. This day has since become known as Bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday was a major turning point in the effort to gain public support for the Civil Rights Movement, the clearest demonstration up to that time of the dramatic potential of King's nonviolence strategy.

Chicago, 1966

In 1966, after several successes in the South, King and others in the civil rights organizations tried to spread the movement to the North, with Chicago as its first destination. King and Ralph Abernathy, both from the middle classes, moved into the slums of North Lawndale on the west side of Chicago as an educational experience and to demonstrate their support and empathy for the poor.

Poor People's Campaign

In 1968, King and the SCLC organized the "Poor People's Campaign" to address issues of economic justice. The campaign culminated in a march on Washington, D.C. demanding economic aid to the poorest communities of the United States. King traveled the country to assemble "a multiracial army of the poor" that would march on Washington to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience at the Capitol until Congress created a bill of rights for poor Americans.

However, the campaign was not unanimously supported by other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Rustin resigned from the march stating that the goals of the campaign were too broad, the demands unrealizable, and thought these campaigns would accelerate the backlash and repression on the poor and the black. Throughout his participation in the civil rights movement, King was criticized by many groups. This included opposition by more militant blacks and such prominent critics as Nation of Islam member Malcolm X. Stokely Carmichael was a separatist and disagreed with King's plea for racial integration because he considered it an insult to a uniquely

Assassination The Lorraine Motel, where King was assassinated, is now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum. On March 29, 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee in support of the black sanitary public works employees, represented by AFSCME Local 1733, who had been on strike since March 12 for higher wages and better treatment. In one incident, black street repairmen received pay for two hours when they were sent home because of bad weather, but white employees were paid for the full day.

King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, owned by Walter Bailey, in Memphis. The Reverend Ralph Abernathy, King's close friend and colleague who was present at the assassination, swore under oath to the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations that King and his entourage stayed at room 306 at the Lorraine Motel so often it was known as the King-Abernathy suite. King was shot at 6:01 p.m. April 4, 1968 while he was standing on the motel's second floor balcony. The bullet entered through his right cheek smashing his jaw and then traveled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder. According to Jesse Jackson, who was present, King's last words on the balcony were to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty. "Abernathy heard the shot from inside the motel room and ran to the balcony to find King on the floor. The events following the shooting have been disputed, as some people have accused Jackson of exaggerating his response. After emergency chest surgery, King was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:05 p.m.

According to biographer Taylor Branch, King's autopsy revealed that though only thirty-nine years old, he had the heart of a sixty-year-old man, perhaps a result of the stress of thirteen years in the civil rights movement. Two months after King's death, escaped convict James Earl Ray was captured at London Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport in the name of Ramon George Sneyd on his way to whiteruled Rhodesia. Ray was quickly extradited to Tennessee and charged with King's murder. He confessed to the assassination on March 10, 1969, though he recanted this confession three days later.

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Patrice Émery Lumumba

(2 July 1925–17 January 1961) was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis.

Lumumba was born in Onalua in the Katakokombe region of the Kasai province of the Belgian Congo, a member of the Tetela ethnic group. Raised in a Catholic family as one of four sons, he was educated at a Protestant primary school, a Catholic missionary school. He subsequently worked in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) and Stanleyville (now Kisangani) as a postal clerk and as a travelling beer salesman. In 1951, he married Pauline Opangu. In 1955, Lumumba became regional head of the Cercles of Stanleyville and joined the Liberal Party of Belgium, where he worked on editing and distributing party literature. After traveling on a three-week study tour in Belgium, he was arrested in 1955 on charges of embezzlement of post office funds. His two-year sentence was commuted to twelve months after it was confirmed by Belgian lawyer Jules Chrome that Lumumba had returned the funds, and he was released in July 1956. After his release, he helped found the broad-based Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) in 1958, later becoming the organization's president. Lumumba and his team represented the MNC at the All-African People's Conference in Accra, Ghana, in December 1958.

In late October 1959, Lumumba, as leader of the MNC, was again arrested for allegedly inciting an anti-colonial riot in Stanleyville where thirty people were killed, for which he was sentenced to six months in prison. The trial's start date of 18 January 1960, was also the first day of a round-table conference in Brussels to finalize the future of the Congo. Despite Lumumba's imprisonment at the time, the MNC won a convincing majority in the December local elections in the Congo. As a result of pressure from delegates who were enraged at Lumumba's imprisonment, he was released and allowed to attend the Brussels conference. The conference culminated on 27 January with a declaration of Congolese independence setting 30 June 1960, as the independence date with national elections from 11–25 May 1960. Lumumba and the MNC won this election and the right to form a government, with the announcement on 23 June 1960 of 34-year-old Lumumba as Congo's first prime minister and Joseph Kasa-Vubu as its president. In accordance with the constitution, on 24 June the new government passed a vote of confidence and was ratified by the Congolese Chamber and Senate.

A few days after Congo gained its independence, Lumumba made the fateful decision to raise the pay of all government employees except for the army.

Many units of the army also had strong objections toward the uniformly Belgian officers, and rebelled in protest. The rebellions quickly spread throughout the country, leading to a general breakdown in law and order. Soon the country was overrun by gangs of soldiers and looters, causing a media sensation, particularly over Europeans fleeing the country.

Since the United Nations refused to help suppress the rebellion in Katanga, Lumumba sought Soviet aid in the form of planes to help move troops to Katanga. The country was torn by two political groups claiming legal power over the country. One organized by Colonel Joseph Mobutu and the other incapacitated both Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu.

Lumumba was placed under house arrest at the prime minister's residence, although UN troops were positioned around the house to protect him.

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HEALTH ACTION

January is Cervical Awareness Month See your doctor regularly for a Pap test that can find cervical pre-cancer.

Follow up with your doctor if your test results are not normal.

Don’t smoke.

Use condoms during sex. HPV infection can occur in both male and female genital areas that are covered or protected by a latex condom, as well as in areas that are not covered.

While the effect of condoms in preventing HPV infection is unknown, condom use has been associated with a lower rate of cervical cancer.

Limit your number of sexual partners.

What are the symptoms?

Early on, cervical cancer usually does not cause signs and symptoms. Advanced cervical cancer may cause bleeding or discharge from the vagina that is not normal for you, such as bleeding after sex. If you have any of these signs, talk to your doctor. They may be caused by something else, but the only way to know is to see your doctor.

Where can I find more information about cervical cancer?

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 1-800-CDCINFO National Cancer Institute: 1-800-4-CANCER or CDC Publication #99-9123, Revised March 2009Cervical Cancer

What is the Pap test?

Since its introduction over 50 years ago, the Pap test has been the single, greatest contributor to the decline in cervical cancer. In fact, from the mid1950’s, until the early 1990’s, cervical cancer deaths were reduced by more than 70%. And that rate continues to decline today.

Liquid Based Pap Testing In the United States today, approximately 90% of Pap tests are done using “Liquid based technology” in place of the traditional “Pap smear”. Liquid-based Pap tests have been shown to improve the detection of cervical cell abnormalities. Instead of “smearing”

the cells onto a slide, the collected cells are placed in a vial of preservative solution and the vial is sent to the laboratory. The collected cells are placed onto a slide in the laboratory using technology that clears obscuring debris and prepares a thin layer of cells for the cytotechnologist to review under a microscope.

How often should I have a Pap? Cervical cancer is preventable if abnormal cell changes are detected through regular pap tests.

Guidelines regarding the frequency of Pap testing have recently been updated and include the following recommendations: A woman should have her first Pap test within three years after first sexual intercourse or at age 21, whichever comes first. For women ages 21 to 30, Pap tests are recommended annually. After age 30, women who test negative three years in a row on their Pap test can begin being tested every two to three years. If a woman over age 30 tests negative on both the Pap test and the HPV test (“HPV DNA with Pap test”), she may be screened using the combined test every three years. Women ages 21 to 30 who are HIV-positive or otherwise immunosuppressed, who were exposed to the synthetic hormone diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero, or who have previously been diagnosed with cervical cancer may be required to have Pap tests more frequently. In addition, women who have undergone hysterectomy with removal of the cervix who have no history of cancerous cell growth may discontinue routine Pap screening.

What Can I Do to Prepare for My Pap test?

There are several steps you can take to ensure you get the best possible results from your Pap test.

Schedule your appointment for a time when you are NOT menstruating. The best time to schedule your exam is 10 to 14 days following the first day of your last period. Avoid vaginal medication, lubricants, vaginal contraceptives, or douches for 48 hours before your exam. Do not have sexual intercourse for Congo Bongo January 14, 2010

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2010 brings new options of services and entertainment in Kinshasa, where you can relax and have good time with family and friends. This is the first delivery of our search of the new places in city.

We hope the information provides is useful for the American Community of Kinshasa.

The Optical Center Kinshasa is pleased to welcome you to their location at Avenue de L”Equateur – Galerie du Fleuve. The Optical Center Kinshasa is commitment is not just in meeting your expectations, but also in exceeding them! Because they know how much your eye health and appearance can mean to the quality of your life; committed to excellence in servicing your complete eye care needs.

Computer assisted eye exams Automated refraction and spectacle lens evaluation, Contact lens fittings of soft, gas permeable, Single vision and bifocal lenses, visual field testing, Frame styling to compliment your lifestyle Personal evaluation (English and French) of visual needs to determine the best lens style and materials for your particular needs.

Optical Center Kinshasa offers In-Office Laboratory with same day service depending on the prescription.

Large selection of frames for all members of the family at all prices, including Gucci, Prada, Armani, ProDesign, Lafont, Coach and others. Progressive, antireflective lenses and sunglasses prescription lenses (brown).

Please call Caroline de Sousa at 081 002 0088 for an appointment or just come in with your spectacle prescription. No appointment necessary to select eyewear or to pickup glasses or contact lenses.

Optical Center Kinshasa is open Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm; Saturday 9:00 am – 12:00 m Congo Bongo January 14, 2010

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