Author: tourist_yp6g7u

HONOLULU (AP) — Wallace “Wally” Amos, the creator of the cookie empire that took his name and made it famous and who went on to become a children’s literacy advocate, has died. He was 88.

Amos created the Famous Amos cookie empire and eventually lost ownership of the company — as well as the rights to use the catchy Amos name. In his later years, he became a proprietor of a cookie shop called Chip & Cookie in Hawaii, where he moved in 1977.

He died Tuesday at his home in Honolulu, with his wife, Carol, at his side, his children said. He died from complications with dementia, they said.

“With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story, and a source of Black pride,” said a statement from his children, Sarah, Michael, Gregory and Shawn Amos.

He was married six times to five women, son Shawn said, explaining that he and Carol had split up, reacquainted and then remarried.

“He loved love,” Sarah Amos said.

They said their dad “inspired a generation of entrepreneurs when he founded the world’s first cookie store” on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1975.

He had been stationed in Hawaii with the Air Force, and Famous Amos gave him the means to later make it his home.

Sarah Amos, who was born in Hawaii, remembers her dad flying back and forth to the U.S. mainland and taking business calls at 4 a.m.

“It’s hard to run a business and to work with people on the mainland when you’re in Hawaii,” she said. “But he made the sacrifice.”

While Wally Amos was a great promotor, he struggled as a businessperson and eventually lost control of the company. He walked away from it because he didn’t want to just be its face, Sarah Amos said.

Later losing the business and the right to use his name was deeply painful and personal, Shawn Amos said: “The remainder of his life and the remainder of his professional pursuits were attempts to get him to, you know, reclaim that space.”

Wally Amos was also co-founder of Uncle Wally’s Muffin Co., whose products are found in stores nationwide. But Amos said the fame never really mattered much to him.

“Being famous is highly overrated anyway,” Amos told The Associated Press in 2007.

His muffin company, based in Shirley, N.Y., was originally founded as Uncle Noname Cookie Co. in 1992, a few years after Amos lost Famous Amos, which still widely uses his name on its products.

Amos had said the Famous Amos cookies sold today are unlike his cookies, which had lots of chocolate, real butter and pure vanilla extract.

“You can’t compare a machine-made cookie with handmade cookie,” he told the AP. “It’s like comparing a Rolls Royce with a Volkswagen.”

Uncle Noname, however, foundered because of debt and problems with its contracted manufacturers.

The company filed for bankruptcy in 1996, abandoned cookies and went into muffins at the suggestion of Amos’ business partner, Lou Avignone.

Inside his now-shuttered Hawaii cookie shop, he sold bite-sized cookies similar to the ones he first sold at the Famous Amos Hollywood store.

Amos also was active in promoting reading. His shop, for example, had a reading room with dozens of donated books, and Amos usually spent Saturdays sitting on a rocking chair, wearing a watermelon hat, reading to children.

Sarah Amos recalled him reading to children at Hanahauʻoli School and continuing to do so even after she graduated from the small elementary school.

The former high school dropout penned eight books, served as spokesperson for Literacy Volunteers of America for 24 years and gave motivational talks to corporations, universities and other groups.

Amos earned numerous honors for his volunteerism, including the Literacy Award presented by President George H.W. Bush in 1991.

“Your greatest contribution to your country is not your signature straw hat in the Smithsonian, but the people you have inspired to learn to read,” Bush said.

In one of his books, “Man With No Name: Turn Lemons Into Lemonade,” Amos explained how he lost Famous Amos even before it was sold for $63 million to a Taiwanese company in 1991. Despite robust sales, by 1985, the business was losing money, so Amos brought in outside investors.

“The new owners gobbled up more of my share until all of a sudden, I found I had lost all ownership in the company I founded,” Amos wrote. Before long, the company had changed ownership four times.

Sarah Amos said that after parting ways with Famous Amos, he stopped baking for about two years. After rediscovering a love of baking, he launched the Hawaii business, Chip & Cookie, in 1991.

Born in Tallahassee, Florida, Amos moved to New York City at age 12 because of his parents’ divorce. He lived with an aunt, Della Bryant, who taught him how to make chocolate chip cookies.

He later dropped out of high school to join the Air Force before working as a mailroom clerk at the William Morris Agency, where he became a talent agent, working with The Supremes, Simon & Garfunkel and Marvin Gaye before borrowing $25,000 to launch his cookie business.

He was the first Black agent in the business, Shawn Amos, said.

Shawn and Sarah said that after becoming parents themselves, they realized how meaningful the chocolate chip cookie is to their family.

“The first time we made cookies with our kids, it sort of sunk in, this is actually a family thing,” Shawn said. “It’s a gift he gave us. It’s part of our heritage.”

The post Wally Amos, 88, of cookie fame, died at home in Hawaii. He lost Famous Amos but found other success appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

MEXICO CITY — Claudia Santos’ spiritual journey has left a mark on her skin.

Soon after the 50-year-old embraced her pre-Hispanic heritage and pledged to speak for her ancestors’ worldview in Mexico City, she tattooed the symbol “Ollin” — which translates from the Nahuatl language as “movement” — on her wrist.

“It’s an imprint from my Nahuatl name,” said Santos, wearing white with feathers hanging from her neck. She was dressed to perform an ancestral Mexica ceremony on Tuesday in the neighborhood of Tepito.

“It’s an insignia that represents me, my identity.”

Since 2021, when she co-founded an organization that raises awareness of her community’s Mexica heritage, Santos and members of close Indigenous communities gather by mid-August to honor Cuauhtémoc, who was the last emperor or “tlatoani” of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, as the capital was known before it fell to the Spaniards in 1521.

“It’s important to be here, 503 years after what happened, not only to dignify Tepito as an Indigenous neighborhood where there has been resistance, strength and perseverance,” Santos said. “But also because this is an energetic portal, a sacred ‘teocalli’ (‘God’s house’, in Nahuatl).”

The site that she chose for performing the ceremony has a profound sacred meaning in Mexico’s history. Though it’s currently a Catholic church, it’s also the site where Cuauhtémoc — a political and spiritual leader — initiated the final defense of the territory that was lost to the European conquerors.

“Our grandfather, Cuauhtémoc, is still among us,” said Santos, who explained that the site where the church now stands is aligned with the sun. “The cosmic memories of our ancestors are joining us today.”

Though he was not present during the pre-Hispanic rituals, the priest in charge of the Tepito church allowed Santos and fellow Indigenous leaders to move freely through the esplanade of the temple. Their preparations started early each morning, carefully placing roses, fruit, seeds and sculptures of pre-Hispanic figures among other elements.

“I’m very thankful to be given the chance of occupying our sacred compounds once again,” Santos said. “Making this connection between a religious and a spiritual belief is a joy.”

Before Tuesday’s ceremony, as this year’s activities began August 9, a Mayan spiritual guide was also invited to perform a ritual at the church’s main entrance.

“This is an act of kneeling with humbleness, not in humiliation, to make an offering to our Creator,” said Gerardo Luna, the Mayan leader who offered honey, incense, sugar, liquor and other elements as a nourishment for the fire.

“The fire is the element that links us to the spirit of the Creator, who permeates everything that exists,” said Luna, also praising the opportunity to practice his beliefs in a Catholic space.

“There are different ways of understanding spirituality, but there is only one language, the one of the heart,” Luna said. “Our Catholic brothers breathe the same air as us. We all have red blood in our veins, and your bones and mine are the same.”

Some locals approached the church and joined both Mayan and Mexica ceremonies. They were drawn in by the sound of a conch shell that was blown to announce the rituals and the smoke released by the lighting of a resin known as “copal.”

Lucía Moreno, 75, said that participating made her feel at peace. Tomás García, 42, added that he is Catholic, but these ceremonies “purify” him and allow him to let go of any wrongdoing.

Others, like Cleotilde Rodríguez, call upon the ancestors — and God — with a deeper need of comfort.

After Tuesday’s Mexica ritual, the 78-year-old said that she prayed for her health and well-being. No doctor or medicine has cured her aching knees, and none of her 10 children visit her or call to ask how she is. Another son of hers, she said, died by suicide some years ago, and she has not felt at ease since.

“This is what has happened to me, so I hope that God allows me to keep working, that my path is not shortened,” Rodríguez said. “Otherwise, what is going to become of me?”

The “tlalmanalli,” as the Mexica ceremony is known, is as an offering to Mother Earth. All members of the community are encouraged to participate and benefit from its spiritual force.

“What people take with them is medicinal,” Santos said. “It is all blessed, so people leave with medicine for life, which they can use in moments of sadness.”

She was not always aware of the depth of the Mexica and other pre-Hispanic worldviews, but a couple of decades ago, feeling that Catholicism no longer fulfilled her spiritually, she started looking for more.

She researched Buddhism and Hinduism. She practiced yoga and studied the awakening of the mind. But still, she wondered: “What’s in my country? Why, if other nations have gurus, aren’t there any widely known spiritual references in Mexico?”

And then she found them. The Mexica provided her with answers. They were wise, spiritual people, who resisted what others brought upon them, always connected to their ancestors and the profoundness of their land.

As part of her transformation, she received a new name, this time in Nahuatl and tied to the pre-Hispanic calendar. And so, just as her parents baptized her in the very same Tepito church where she now performs Mexica rituals, she embraced her current spirituality in a “sowing” ceremony, where she became “Ollin Chalchiuhtlicue,” which means “precious movement of the water.”

The name, she said, also comes with a purpose. As directed, she defined her life mission after the ceremony. Santos chose to comply with Cuauhtémoc’s final wishes for his people: Maybe the sun has gone down upon us, but it will come out again. In the meantime, we must tell our children — and their children’s children — how big our Motherland’s glory is.

“Through the spirituality of our Mexica tradition we are taking back our dignity and the essence of our Indigenous community,” Santos said. “Being here today is a joy, but also a work of resistance.”

“Tepito exists because it has resisted, and we will continue resisting.”

____

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The post An offering, a fire, a prayer. How a Mexico City community celebrates its pre-Hispanic origins appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

The Helen Keller International’s New York Vision Program (NYVP) will conduct free eye examinations for families with children at events on Friday, Aug. 16, at the Abe Stark Older Adult Center @ Millennium Development (10315 Farragut Road), and on Friday, August 30th with City Councilmember Crystal Hudson’s Back to School Event at Jackie Robinson School, 46 Mckeever Place, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.—both in Brooklyn.

The events are part of the NYVP’s efforts to make eye health care available for more New York City residents, particularly those who normally forego vision tests because they can’t afford them.

In an emailed Q&A with the AmNews, Melinda Birks, the program operations officer for Helen Keller International’s U.S. Vision Program, and her team explained how their free vision screenings, eye exams, eyeglasses, and referral program works.

AmNews: What will the vision screening entail?

Melinda Birks: Helen Keller International partners with communities that are striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. By delivering the essential building blocks of good health, sound nutrition, and clear vision, we help millions of people create lasting change in their own lives. Helen Keller’s U.S. Vision team helps eliminate the primary barriers to vision care for vulnerable children and adults: access and expense. Since the program’s start in Washington Heights in 1994, it has expanded to several states across the country where the need is highest. Last year alone, Helen Keller screened nearly 114,000 individuals, of [whom] 67% needed and were provided with no-cost prescription glasses.

AmNews: Why would—or should—anyone who hasn’t been screened in the last year or more do a vision screening?

Birks: As many as 4 million children and 12 million adults in the United States suffer from impaired vision due to uncorrected refractive error. Combining refractive error––nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism––with more serious eye disorders such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (eye turn), vision loss is the single most prevalent disabling condition in the United States. Left untreated, vision impairments can affect a person’s social life and relationships, a child’s academic future, an adult’s ability to provide for their family.

AmNews: Are there individuals who are scared of vision tests? Are there good reasons to be

scared of vision tests?

Birks: Helen Keller’s vision model is simple, flexible, and cost-effective. Services are on site at no cost to the children or adults. Participants are first screened by Helen Keller’s vision team

using the Snellen eye chart. Those who fail the screening—typically about a quarter of 

participants—receive a refractive error assessment from a licensed optometrist. If the person

needs glasses, they are able to choose from a variety of frame styles. Their stylish,

tailor-made prescription glasses are provided to the participant, at the same site, within three

to four weeks, all free of charge. 

A small percentage of individuals may have symptoms of a more complicated eye condition and are then referred to a local eye care provider partner for a full eye examination.

AmNews: Do you know what percentage of New Yorkers don’t regularly get their eyes checked? Why is it important to do so?

Birks: Nearly two out of three adults in the U.S. report having vision problems. Although refractive error is easily addressed with a pair of prescription eyeglasses, many families in New York City –where as many as one in five people live in poverty –cannot afford or easily access an eye exam or a pair of prescription eyeglasses. Barriers to access for this essential care include cost, insurance, transportation, and long wait times at local clinics. In an informal survey

conducted by Helen Keller Int’l with low-income clients nationwide, nearly two in three reported that they could not access an annual visit to the optometrist.

AmNews: Who are you looking to screen? What age groups? Why?

Birks: Helen Keller’s vision team meets children and vulnerable adults where they are––in schools, community-based service programs, homeless shelters, and public housing. By providing services on site, at no cost to the individual, we can help alleviate stresses like transportation, cost, insurance, and time to find and visit a doctor.

Helen Keller’s licensed optometrists provide onsite vision screenings. Participants needing glasses can pick out their own frames from a selection of fashionable and trendy options, and within weeks, those needing vision correction are provided with no-cost prescription glasses.For more information, visit Helen Keller’s website, https://helenkellerintl.org/, Helen Keller’s U.S. vision work, https://helenkellerintl.org/us-vision/, or impact of timely vision care: https://helenkellerintl.org/our-stories/helping-people-see-true-potential/.

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* This article was originally published here

When the first slave market in Europe, known as Mercado de Escravos, was established in Portugal in the town of Lagos between 1441 and 1444, and with it the commencement of the importing of slaves from West Africa, the world was forever changed. The colonization of Africa by European countries later followed.

Centuries before the Berlin Conference of 1884 and 1885 formalized European colonization of Africa, the seizing of land and vast human and natural resources had begun. Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria and the most populated city in sub-Subharan Africa, is the namesake of  Portugal’s Lagos.

The indelible imprint of colonialism and its unmistakably lasting remnants, and polarizing modern day immigration were optically apparent on the soccer pitches, basketball courts, track stadium and everywhere else sporting events were held at Paris Olympics, which concluded on Sunday. Several European teams, among them France’s men’s soccer and basketball contingents, were predominated by athletes of African descent. Both won silver medals in their respective sports.

The soccer team, coached by Thierry Henry, one of the greatest strikers of all-time, a Black man, whose mother is from Martinique and father from Guadeloupe, lost in the finals 5-3 to Spain in extra-time. The basketball team fell to the U.S. in the gold medal game 98-87.

Emmanouil Karalis, who took bronze in the pole vault representing Greece, is Ugandan on his mother’s side. NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led the Greek squad to the medal round, was born in Athens but his parents immigrated to Greece from Nigeria.

The United Kingdom’s top male and female sprinters, Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith, are both Black. Smith is a three-time Olympic medalist, including winning a silver in Paris in the women’s 4×100 meter relay as the UK finished second to the U.S. Meanwhile, Hughes helped the U.K. men’s team earn a bronze in the 4×100.

The presence of African descendants in the Olympics traces to Constantin Henriquez,  considered to be the first known Black athlete to compete in the Olympics and first Black gold medal winner, both achieved at the Paris Olympics in 1900 representing France in rugby.

Born in Haiti in the late 1800s, the exact date is unknown but estimated to be around 1877. Henriquez’s father, a Haitian politician, sent him to France in 1893 to study medicine. Soon after his arrival, Henriquez began playing rugby and excelled at the sport.

It has been well documented that athletes of African descent are subjected to racial slurs and even physical assault playing in professional sports leagues in Europe. Yet their ancestral lineage, resulting from millions brought forcibly and millions voluntarily seeking improved economic opportunities, has reset the course of the past, present and future.   

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* This article was originally published here