4th Africa Day - May 25, 2011

May 25, 2011: Africa Day – In order to celebrate this date, we had the 4th Africa Day event at Escola Parque. I was one of the speakers invited as I have a Specialization on African-Brazilian Social and Cultural History. My lecture was based on the essay “Black Religion: Core Emphasis and Orientations", by Gayraud Wilmore. I had the access to this essay through the excellent book you have donated, among many others, to the Escola Parque: “Essays on African-American History, Culture and Society", by William SCOTT & William SHADE. There were about 200 teachers at Escola Parque auditorium and I could talk about the African American history from the Africans’ arrival in the British colonies in 1619 to the 21st century, but, of course, I had to guide and delimitate my lecture and time, focusing on the principles of the black religion, accordingly to Mr. Wilmore: survival, elevation and liberation. It was fantastic and the audience reaction was grateful!!! This event was very meaningful as we had the presence of the well-known linguistics professor Ms. Yêda Pessoa de Castro, Doctor in African Languages – Zaire National University, who gave us a wonderful lecture on African languages influence in our Portuguese.