Black History Month at the Indian Consulate
It was an evening of rejoicing as Indian-Americans got together with the stalwarts of the African-American community to celebrate Black History Month remembering the many contributions and sacrifices made. The event was organized by the Indian Consulate in collaboration with the Shanti Fund.
Consul General Randhir Jaiswal pointed out the many commonalties between the two communities and their freedom struggles. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Gandhian at heart and has said, “If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought and acted, inspired by the vision of humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony. We may ignore him at our own risk.”
There was heartfelt gospel singing by Soh Young Lee-Segredo and Performers and powerful insights from two distinguished personalities: Dr. Timothy Sams, President of SUNY-Old Westbury, and Dr. Bernadine Waller, noted researcher, who spoke about the linkages between the two communities and what unites them.
A recitation of Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise’ moved the audience and showed them – black and brown – their common joys and fears.
“Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise
I’m a Black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide,
Leaving behind nights of error and fear, I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear, I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave,
I rise, I rise, I rise “
