Project EleMENts
Blacks have had a significant influence in Silicon Valley from the region's founding, although their presence and contributions are not widely documented or recognized. The region's black immigrants are severely undercounted: the community's socio-demographics are not well documented, thus policymakers, funders and the corporate sector do not have sufficient information to respond to the interests of the region's black population. This project seeks to address that issue as it encourages a greater appreciation for participatory democracy.
Freedom, liberty, and the right to participate in governance epitomize American ideals of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Unfortunately, most American youth take these ideals for granted. This project provides an opportunity for youth and adults to reflect on their privilege as they see the photographs, hear the narratives, and enter into the lives of East Africans who arrived in California as a result of national and global power transitions and vacuums that fostered nations engaged in power struggles over boundaries created during the European colonial era, and stimulated wars, displacements and brain-drains that separated families, and decimated many ethnic groups and clans. Many recent immigrants from East Africa know first-hand what it means to be excluded from governance and they have a greater appreciation tor aspects of our democracy that we hold dear but often take for granted: Thus we seek to capture their experiences and meanings of democracy and it is a core component of our project and our proposed exhibits.
Freedom, liberty, and the right to participate in governance epitomize American ideals of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Unfortunately, most American youth take these ideals for granted. This project provides an opportunity for youth and adults to reflect on their privilege as they see the photographs, hear the narratives, and enter into the lives of East Africans who arrived in California as a result of national and global power transitions and vacuums that fostered nations engaged in power struggles over boundaries created during the European colonial era, and stimulated wars, displacements and brain-drains that separated families, and decimated many ethnic groups and clans. Many recent immigrants from East Africa know first-hand what it means to be excluded from governance and they have a greater appreciation tor aspects of our democracy that we hold dear but often take for granted: Thus we seek to capture their experiences and meanings of democracy and it is a core component of our project and our proposed exhibits.
PROJECT PERSONNEL
Project Director
Dr. Ruth P. Wilson will direct all aspects of the project and project personnel, assure adherence to the methodological approach, prepare communications to fiscal agencies, act as a liaison to community organizations, and provide supervisory responsibility for scheduling and the publicity of the photo-exhibits. Dr. Wilson, a social anthropologist and scholar, earned a Ph.D. , and M.A. in Social Anthropology from Stanford University. In addition to her teaching career, she conducted operational research during a six-year appointment in the U.S. Public Health Service for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), providing technical assistance to Ministries of Health in 13 East, South, and West African countries. In addition to a series of published papers of her research, Dr. Wilson produced a photoethnography, Re-Framing South Afhca documenting her Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar in South Africa and a photographic and memorabilia exhibit, Realizing the Dream: the Inauguration of President Burack Obama, at SJSU' s Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.
Humanities Advisor and Photographer: Professor D. Michael Cheers (Ph.D., Howard University, African Studies and Research) is an Associate Professor of Photojournalism at SJSU, where he coordinates the photojournalism/visual journalism sequence. ln this project Dr. Cheers will be responsible for all photography activities, including the supervision of a student intern, and will lend his expertise for planning, development. and production of the exhibits. Author of Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, and co-editor of Songs of My People, Dr. Cheers has received numerous awards for his documentary photography projects. In 2007, he was named Photojournalism Fellow by National Geographic. His recent works include: A Presidential Inauguration Exhibition at the MLK Library, March 2009, in the Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland; Engulfed By Katrina: Photographs Before and After the Storm, New York, June- November 2006, and Soul Sanctumy, a feature length documentary film and photo exhibit at San Jose State from May to July 2010, Soul Sanctuary explored the culture, traditions and uncertain future of Antioch Baptist Church, the oldest African American Baptist Church in San Jose, CA.
Humanities Advisor: An experienced cultural anthropologist, practitioner, scholar, and entrepreneur, Dr. Copeland-Carson is the Executive Director of the African Women's Development Fund and founder and chair of the Pan-African Women's Philanthropy Network. An expert in community development, cross-cultural issues, immigration and emerging markets, Dr. Copeland-Carson's most recent books examine issues in diversity, evaluation, community revitalization, alternative finance, and transnational ism. She will: I) develop and implement evaluation activities and prepare and submit reports to the project director, 2) assist in gaining and sustaining support of the Kenyan Silicon Valley community, 3) provide guidance on community relations with the members and organizations participating in the study 4) and make recommendations for use of the project's outcome reports and materials.
Humanities Advisor: Community organizer, scholar, and researcher Dr. Ahmed Dirie is the Executive Director of the Bay Area Somali Community, a Silicon Valley non-profit organization. He holds an M.Sc, and Ph.D. in Agricultural Science from the University of the Philippines. He has a commitment to assisting the Somali and other immigrant groups organize and thrive in California. Fluent in Somali, English, Spanish, and Arabic, and respected by the leadership in East African immigrant organizations in the region, he will act as a liaison to the Somali and Kenyan community organizations, spearhead the census review activity, assist with interviews among the English, Somali and Arabic-speaking African immigrants, and provide insights along with other community advisors on culturally sensitive methods to display project photographs and memorabilia on the web and in public settings.
Humanities Advisor: Iris M. Jerke (M.A. in U.S. history with a concentration in African American History from San Jose State University) was born and raised in Germany. She is a respected lecturer in SJSU's History Department and productive researcher of African-American life in Santa Clara County. Ms. Jerke is the co-editor of the first and second editions of California's Changing Majority: Historic and Contemporary Dynamics (2003), a text that addresses California's diverse ethnic minority populations. Her two major exhibits, Hidden Heritages: Six African American Families, San Jose 1860-1920 and Pride and Passion: The Story of the National Negro Baseball League, were exhibited at the San Jose City Hall and in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in San Jose. Both exhibits were well attended and received positive reviews in regional newspapers. She has strong, ongoing connections with local Sudanese community organizations will assist in conducting interviews, and networking with non-governmental agencies that serve this group.
Management Consultant: Stephen Ozoigbo is a serial entrepreneur, investor and advisor to multiple technology startups. He is currently the CEO of the African Technology Foundation, a Silicon Valley corporation that seeks to globalize African technologies by providing access to resources that effectively address and manage the most pressing technological challenges on the continent. In this role he oversees a myriad of stage agnostic technology projects on the continent and actively supports the efforts of Africa’s emerging entrepreneurs. In partnership with a number of Pan-African focused initiatives like the Lions@frica program of the US State Department, the Foundation supports signature platforms and activities that launch innovative technology companies in Africa.Stephen also serves as an International Advisor for Relativity. Within the Relativity Education unit, he is responsible for bridging knowledge gaps between the African media and entertainment ecosystems and Hollywood, as well as guiding Relativity’s engagement strategies in the region. He also advises on industry relations on the continent as Relativity seeks to build innovative platforms for capacity building activities on the continent.
Dr. Ruth P. Wilson will direct all aspects of the project and project personnel, assure adherence to the methodological approach, prepare communications to fiscal agencies, act as a liaison to community organizations, and provide supervisory responsibility for scheduling and the publicity of the photo-exhibits. Dr. Wilson, a social anthropologist and scholar, earned a Ph.D. , and M.A. in Social Anthropology from Stanford University. In addition to her teaching career, she conducted operational research during a six-year appointment in the U.S. Public Health Service for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), providing technical assistance to Ministries of Health in 13 East, South, and West African countries. In addition to a series of published papers of her research, Dr. Wilson produced a photoethnography, Re-Framing South Afhca documenting her Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar in South Africa and a photographic and memorabilia exhibit, Realizing the Dream: the Inauguration of President Burack Obama, at SJSU' s Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.
Humanities Advisor and Photographer: Professor D. Michael Cheers (Ph.D., Howard University, African Studies and Research) is an Associate Professor of Photojournalism at SJSU, where he coordinates the photojournalism/visual journalism sequence. ln this project Dr. Cheers will be responsible for all photography activities, including the supervision of a student intern, and will lend his expertise for planning, development. and production of the exhibits. Author of Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, and co-editor of Songs of My People, Dr. Cheers has received numerous awards for his documentary photography projects. In 2007, he was named Photojournalism Fellow by National Geographic. His recent works include: A Presidential Inauguration Exhibition at the MLK Library, March 2009, in the Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland; Engulfed By Katrina: Photographs Before and After the Storm, New York, June- November 2006, and Soul Sanctumy, a feature length documentary film and photo exhibit at San Jose State from May to July 2010, Soul Sanctuary explored the culture, traditions and uncertain future of Antioch Baptist Church, the oldest African American Baptist Church in San Jose, CA.
Humanities Advisor: An experienced cultural anthropologist, practitioner, scholar, and entrepreneur, Dr. Copeland-Carson is the Executive Director of the African Women's Development Fund and founder and chair of the Pan-African Women's Philanthropy Network. An expert in community development, cross-cultural issues, immigration and emerging markets, Dr. Copeland-Carson's most recent books examine issues in diversity, evaluation, community revitalization, alternative finance, and transnational ism. She will: I) develop and implement evaluation activities and prepare and submit reports to the project director, 2) assist in gaining and sustaining support of the Kenyan Silicon Valley community, 3) provide guidance on community relations with the members and organizations participating in the study 4) and make recommendations for use of the project's outcome reports and materials.
Humanities Advisor: Community organizer, scholar, and researcher Dr. Ahmed Dirie is the Executive Director of the Bay Area Somali Community, a Silicon Valley non-profit organization. He holds an M.Sc, and Ph.D. in Agricultural Science from the University of the Philippines. He has a commitment to assisting the Somali and other immigrant groups organize and thrive in California. Fluent in Somali, English, Spanish, and Arabic, and respected by the leadership in East African immigrant organizations in the region, he will act as a liaison to the Somali and Kenyan community organizations, spearhead the census review activity, assist with interviews among the English, Somali and Arabic-speaking African immigrants, and provide insights along with other community advisors on culturally sensitive methods to display project photographs and memorabilia on the web and in public settings.
Humanities Advisor: Iris M. Jerke (M.A. in U.S. history with a concentration in African American History from San Jose State University) was born and raised in Germany. She is a respected lecturer in SJSU's History Department and productive researcher of African-American life in Santa Clara County. Ms. Jerke is the co-editor of the first and second editions of California's Changing Majority: Historic and Contemporary Dynamics (2003), a text that addresses California's diverse ethnic minority populations. Her two major exhibits, Hidden Heritages: Six African American Families, San Jose 1860-1920 and Pride and Passion: The Story of the National Negro Baseball League, were exhibited at the San Jose City Hall and in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in San Jose. Both exhibits were well attended and received positive reviews in regional newspapers. She has strong, ongoing connections with local Sudanese community organizations will assist in conducting interviews, and networking with non-governmental agencies that serve this group.
Management Consultant: Stephen Ozoigbo is a serial entrepreneur, investor and advisor to multiple technology startups. He is currently the CEO of the African Technology Foundation, a Silicon Valley corporation that seeks to globalize African technologies by providing access to resources that effectively address and manage the most pressing technological challenges on the continent. In this role he oversees a myriad of stage agnostic technology projects on the continent and actively supports the efforts of Africa’s emerging entrepreneurs. In partnership with a number of Pan-African focused initiatives like the Lions@frica program of the US State Department, the Foundation supports signature platforms and activities that launch innovative technology companies in Africa.Stephen also serves as an International Advisor for Relativity. Within the Relativity Education unit, he is responsible for bridging knowledge gaps between the African media and entertainment ecosystems and Hollywood, as well as guiding Relativity’s engagement strategies in the region. He also advises on industry relations on the continent as Relativity seeks to build innovative platforms for capacity building activities on the continent.