Author: tourist_yp6g7u

The roar of the masses of big, beautiful, gleaming motorbikes; the chatter of a happy crowd; and the earth-shaking bass from the DJ’s selection perfectly summed up a gorgeous community-celebrating, hot, and sunny summer day on St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Nayaba Arinde photo

The post Brooklyn bikers have fun in the sun in Crown Heights appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

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Marcus Garvey Park hosts Theater in the Park with “Malvolio,” a Classical Theater of Harlem Production now through July 30.

The post Black Theater plays in Marcus Garvey Park  appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

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Educating and illuminating youth to the emerging industries of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM),  is essential to STEM NOLA’s work in one of America’s Blackest cities.

STEM NOLA, a nonprofit that encourages K-12 students in STEM-based learning, recently held its 10th annual Rocket Day in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the UNO Lakefront Arena. Rocket Day is an annual free event for the community to teach kids about aerospace and rocket technology fundamentals.

“This event provides an immersive experience for students to explore and inspire them to pursue careers in STEM fields,” said Dr. Calvin Mackie, president, founder, and CEO of STEM NOLA. “Rocket Day is our launchpad to really ignite their passion for science and engineering. We want to fuel curiosity and show the next generation the limitless power of possibility.”

Rocket Day served over 450 students, parents, volunteers, and more. The three-hour event featured speakers and volunteers from the Boeing Company. Students learned about the principles of rocketry and the physics of rocket takeoff. They then built model rockets and launched them across the field, displaying what they had learned.

The Boeing Company and the Department of Defense also sponsored the event, and brought dozens of volunteers to help the students. Mackie said these sponsorships had allowed him to expand the program throughout the state and along the Gulf Coast. STEM NOLA has also hosted events in Camden, New Jersey, and in New York at Yankee Stadium.

Morgan Hawkins, one of many volunteers at Rocket Day, said she was excited to see the event take place and help out. Hawkins works for Textron, a defense and aerospace company, and she said this was her first time volunteering at an event like this with her colleagues.

She said she taught the kindergarten to second grade group, which was a lot to handle but of fun.  Hawkins added that she is glad that someone like Mackie is leading students into STEM paths and careers. During the event, Congressman Troy Carter handed a check for a $2 million federal grant to STEM NOLA. This funding will help build the foundation for the STEM Innovation Hub for Black Excellence. This hub will include laboratories and classrooms with the technology necessary to prepare students for a career or expertise in STEM.

Mackie created STEM NOLA out of his garage with his two sons and a few children from the neighborhood. After his children and other kids became more curious about the subject, in 2013, Mackie and his wife, Tracy Mackie, took out a loan to initiate STEM NOLA and host larger events for more kids across the community.

The first Rocket Day was months later and inspired by Mackie and his son’s regular weekend activity of firing rockets in the park. He said when you fire rockets at the park, naturally, children with curiosity will flock to the excitement.

Mackie said funding was limited, so he invited many of his engineering friends, including astronaut Jeanette Epps, to help with the event. Mackie said even with it being his first attempt, the event held more than 250 students.

“[Epps] is a Black woman with a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and an astronaut. When I said an astronaut was coming, everybody was looking for a white man. And when this Black woman showed up, it blew everybody’s minds. The parents were running over the kids just to try and meet this astronaut,” said Mackie.

He added that he had tracked down some of his earliest students who attended Rocket Day, one of whom is now working at Lockheed Martin.  Mackie said this is one of the many ways they track success, and those who do not pursue STEM careers are still STEM-literate for the future.

“We live in a nation that makes sure every Black and brown boy touches a football before the age of four, and no one says anything. And universities don’t have to worry about Black boys playing football or basketball. So our goal is to put STEM in the hands of kids before kindergarten,” said Mackie.

Education is the essence of Mackie and his wife’s vision in creating STEM NOLA. Mackie has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, and was the first and only tenured professor at Tulane University.

In his hometown, the New Orleans Public School system houses about 44,000 students, and 92% of those pupils are students of color. He knew the hardships this community faced, especially after Hurricane Katrina, and always found a way to give back.

Mackie said he is tired of hearing calls for diversity yet has yet to see action taken on those calls. He said his community is unjustly undervalued, but when events like STEM NOLA are hosted in these communities,  people begin to value themselves.

The post STEM NOLA: Creating future Black doctors, engineers, scientists appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

(GIN) — The European Union and Tunisia have signed a memorandum of understanding to combat irregular migration that has led most recently to the deaths of 29 migrants from impoverished or war-torn countries seeking a better life in Europe.

The memorandum calls for a “strategic and comprehensive partnership” that will also boost economic ties between the bloc and the North African country, which lies on a major route for migrants and refugees traveling to Europe.

The document was signed by European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on one side and Tunisian President Kais Saied on the other. It comes as the number of migrants and refugees leaving Tunisia and trying to reach Europe has significantly increased in recent months.

The Tunisian leader described “inhuman migration,” which he blamed on criminal networks.

After a visit last month by the three European leaders, a financial package was approved that includes a 10 million euro ($11 million) program to boost student exchanges and 65 million euros ($73 million) in EU funding to modernize Tunisian schools.

Both sides also agreed to cooperate on border management. Von der Leyen pledged 100 million euros ($112 million) for those efforts — a figure she had already announced during the leaders’ previous visit. 

Meanwhile, as of Friday, the Italian interior ministry counted more than 75,000 migrants who had arrived by boat on the Italian coast since the beginning of the year, compared to about 31,900 in the same period last year. 

Yasmine Akrimi, a researcher at the Brussels International Center, criticized the memorandum as an attempt at “reshaping African mobility.” 

The EU has been trying to achieve this deal for decades, Akrimi said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “Italy wants to consider Tunisia as what they call a safe third country — meaning that everyone who passes through Tunisia can eventually be relocated back to Tunisia.”

The host of the podcast Inside Story asked whether migrants are being used as political pawns. “Kais Saied hoped to clinch a $1 billion EU bailout and in return, stem the rising migration to Europe.”  

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* This article was originally published here