Cultural Connections - May 2016

Cinco de Mayo!

While the Cinco de Mayo, the fifth of May, is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico commemorating the Mexican army's 1862 victory over Napoleon's French forces in the Battle of Puebla, it has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage in the the United States.

Cinco de Mayo traditions includes parades, musical performances, street festivals and more celebrations in towns across Mexico and the United States. Source: History.com Stop by the WSCC Cafe today for some Mexican fare!

May marks anniversary of Mandela's swearing in as first black president of South Africa On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first black president of South Africa, capping off decades of efforts by the activist to bring racial equality to his country.

Mandela (1918-2013) helped bring an end to apartheid and was a global advocate for human rights. He was a member of the African National Congress party beginning in the 1940s, and led both peaceful protests and armed resistance against the white minority's oppressive regime in a racially divided South Africa. He spent nearly three decades in prison for his actions, which made him the face of the antiapartheid movement both within his country and internationally. After his release from prison in 1990, he participated in the eradication of apartheid, earning he and former South African President F.W. de Klerk (who ordered Mandela's release from prison) the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. As president, Mandela formed a multiethnic government to oversee the country's transition.

After retiring from politics in 1999, Mandela remained a devoted champion for peace and social justice all over the world. He became an advocate for AIDS awareness and treatment, a disease which took the life of his son Makgatho and is believed to affect more people in South African than any other country.

Mandela passed away on Dec. 5, 2013, but left a legacy that lives on in his homeland and abroad.

Source: History.com

First issue of "Yawp" Wallace State Community College Journal of Arts and Letters published The first issue of "Yawp: the Wallace State Community College Journal or Arts and Letters" is available for $10 at the Wallace State Bookstore, Evelyn Burrow Museum and other locations across campus. The publication is filled with writings and artwork created by Wallace State students.

Contributors to this edition include: Jeff Dingler, Brandon Adair, Lisa Ayers, Rebecca Campbell, Johnny McMoy, Barry Curtis, Rachel Horsley, Skilla Walden, Heather Adams, C. Hope Johnson, Taylor Rugus, Connie Sanderson, Kendra St. John, Lessie Dingler, Artes Hicks, Lindy Owens, L.S. Graye, Dylann Entrekin, Krittur Morrison, Fernando Palacios, Mary Campbell, Bethany Sartain, Hannah Elliot, Ashley Uptagrafft, Bradley Netherton, Noah Baty, Makenna Smith, Chris St. John, P.M. Minda, Derrick Sperling, and Darrell Treece.

Anyone interested in having their work published in future editions can contact Michael Salerno for guidelines and information about joining the Lion's Den Writing Club.

Exhibit features images of Australia

Photographs by Australian photographer Anatole Zurrer are currently on display in the Exhibit Hall of the Burrow Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, presented by The Evelyn Burrow Museum.

The Evelyn Burrow Museum

Born This Month Do you share a birthday with a historical figure? See who else was born in the month of May. May 5: Soren Kierkegaard (1813), Danish philosopher, theologin, known as the father of existentialism - "Life can only be understood backwards; it must be lived forwards."

Read more about Kierkegarard.

May 6: Sigmund Freud (1856), Austrian psychiatrist, known as the father of psychoanalysis - "One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful."

May 7: Robert Browning (1812), English poet, playwright, best know for his 12-book long form blank poem "The Ring and the Book." Read his poems.

Florence Nightingale

May 7: Johannes Brahms (1833), German musician, composer, he was the great master of symphonic and sonata style in the second half of the 19th century. Hear Joahannes Brahms Lullaby.

May 12: Florence Nightingale (1820), Italian nurse, writer, statistician, she and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British hospital during the Crimean War, reducing the death count by two-thirds. She established the St. Thomas' Hosptial and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses in 1860.

May 21: Albrect Durer (1471), German printmaker, painter, draftsman and writer. He was the official court artist t Holy Roman Emporer Maximilian I and his successor Charles V. His works can be seen in the most important museums around the world.

See some his work here.

May 25: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803), American transcendentalist poet, philosopher and essayist. One of his best known essays is "Self-Reliance." Read his work here.

May 31: Walt Whitman (1819), American poet, essayist, journalist. his verse collection "Leaves of Grass" is a landmark in the history of American literature.

Cultural Connections is a publication of the WSCC Diversity Committee.

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