Latest news with #humanity
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- General
- Associated Press
New Orleans holds burial of repatriated African Americans whose skulls were used in racist research
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans celebrated the return and burial of the remains of 19 African American people whose skulls had been sent to Germany for racist research practices in the 19th century. On Saturday, a multifaith memorial service including a jazz funeral, one of the city's most distinct traditions, paid tribute to the humanity of those coming home to their final resting place at the Hurricane Katrina Memorial. 'We ironically know these 19 because of the horrific thing that happened to them after their death, the desecration of their bodies,' said Monique Guillory, president of Dillard University, a historically Black private liberal arts college, which spearheaded the receipt of the remains on behalf of the city. 'This is actually an opportunity for us to recognize and commemorate the humanity of all of these individuals who would have been denied, you know, such a respectful send-off and final burial.' The 19 people are all believed to have passed away from natural causes between 1871 and 1872 at Charity Hospital, which served people of all races and classes in New Orleans during the height of white supremacist oppression in the 1800s. The hospital shuttered following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The remains sat in 19 wooden boxes in the university's chapel during a service Saturday that also included music from the Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective. A New Orleans physician provided the skulls of the 19 people to a German researcher engaged phrenological studies — the debunked belief that a person's skull could determine innate racial characteristics. 'All kinds of experiments were done on Black bodies living and dead,' said Dr. Eva Baham, a historian who led Dillard University's efforts to repatriate the individuals' remains. 'People who had no agency over themselves.' In 2023, the University of Leipzig in Germany reached out to the City of New Orleans to find a way to return the remains, Guillory said. The University of Leipzig did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 'It is a demonstration of our own morality here in New Orleans and in Leipzig with the professors there who wanted to do something to restore the dignity of these people,' Baham said. Dillard University researchers say more digging remains to be done, including to try and track down possible descendants. They believe it is likely that some of the people had been recently freed from slavery. 'These were really poor, indigent people in the end of the 19th century, but ... they had names, they had addresses, they walked the streets of the city that we love,' Guillory said. 'We all deserve a recognition of our humanity and the value of our lives.'
Arab News
21 hours ago
- General
- Arab News
Chinese student struck a chord emphasizing humanity during Harvard commencement speech
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: A day after her emotional speech at Harvard University's commencement, Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang kept running into classmates who praised her message that people should see everyone's common humanity rather than demonize others for their differences. 'We're starting to believe those who think differently, vote differently or pray differently — whether they're across the ocean or sitting right next to us — are not just wrong. We mistakenly see them as evil. But it doesn't have to be this way,' she said in her address, which drew wide applause. 'The message itself, if I have to put it into one sentence, will be humanity rises and falls as one,' Jiang told The Associated Press on Friday. 'We are living in a very difficult time. There's a lot of divisions in terms of ideas, ethnicities, identities. This is a time where we can use a little bit more moral imagination and imagine ourselves being connected with one another.' The 25-year-old Jiang's speech never directly mentioned the Trump administration nor its multi-pronged attack on the nation's oldest and richest university. But she said the turmoil beyond their campus and its impact on her classmates was on her mind as she delivered her speech. 'Students can be very emotionally charged because they care deeply about a lot of issues,' said Jiang, who comes from China and graduated with a masters degree in public administration in international development. 'When you are emotionally charged and activated, it's very easy to demonize another person.' She said the relentless attacks from the Trump administration on the school's funding and threats to detain and deport people studying in the US on student visas have left her unsettled, adding huge uncertainty to her future plans. 'In terms of the plan going forward, I would say everything is up in the air at this point,' Jiang said, who had hoped to remain in the United States for a few years but now is open to working in international development overseas. 'At this point, it's difficult to say what will happen.' This week, the Trump administration asked federal agencies to cancel about $100 million in contracts with the university. The government already canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard's enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Then it widened the pressure campaign, suspending visa applications worldwide and threatening to deny US visas to thousands of Chinese students nationwide. These actions resonate with Jiang and her classmates — about 30 percent of Harvard's students are international, and China has among the highest numbers. 'The anxiety is real,' said Jiang, who knows two international students from China who are weighing whether to travel for work in Kenya and Rwanda. 'Because of the uncertainty of their visas, they are facing a very tricky situation,' she said. 'They can either go abroad, go to Kenya and Rwanda to do their internship and work on poverty alleviation and public health but risking not being able to make it back to campus safely. Or they can stay on campus and do their internships remote.' 'It's pretty heartbreaking,' she continued'They wanted to help humanity and, to see them entangled in politics they didn't choose, is hard.' Jiang, who went to high school in the United Kingdom and earned her undergraduate degree at Duke University, said there should be more, not fewer, academic exchanges between China and the United States. 'Humanity is facing a lot of crisis,' she said. 'There are conflicts. There is climate. There are a lot things that not only one country can tackle. China and the US are the two most powerful economies or countries in the world. They have to work with each other to be able to combat the problems or the issues that affect every single human being.' Jiang also defended the importance of international students at Harvard, recalling how 60 percent of the students stood up at the Kennedy School of Government commencement when the dean, Jeremy Weinstein, asked how many came from outside the United States. Then he asked if they had learned something from their international classmates, and most everyone stood. 'A lot of us clapped and cheered. A lot of us were in tears,' she said, as Weinstein told them to 'look around, this is your school.' Without international students, it would be a challenge for Harvard to achieve its mission, Jiang said. Campus culture depends on its globally diverse student body, studying and hanging out together. 'Harvard wants its students to go and change the world and you can't change the world without understanding the world,' she said. 'You can't understand the world without truly having a personal connection with people from all sorts of countries.'
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Chinese student struck a chord emphasizing humanity during Harvard commencement speech
A day after her emotional speech at Harvard University's commencement, Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang kept running into classmates who praised her message that people should see everyone's common humanity rather than demonize others for their differences. 'We're starting to believe those who think differently, vote differently or pray differently — whether they're across the ocean or sitting right next to us — are not just wrong. We mistakenly see them as evil. But it doesn't have to be this way,' she said in her address, which drew wide applause. 'The message itself, if I have to put it into one sentence, will be humanity rises and falls as one,' Jiang told The Associated Press on Friday. 'We are living in a very difficult time. There's a lot of divisions in terms of ideas, ethnicities, identities. This is a time where we can use a little bit more moral imagination and imagine ourselves being connected with one another.' The 25-year-old Jiang's speech never directly mentioned the Trump administration nor its multi-pronged attack on the nation's oldest and richest university. But she said the turmoil beyond their campus and its impact on her classmates was on her mind as she delivered her speech. 'Students can be very emotionally charged because they care deeply about a lot of issues,' said Jiang, who comes from China and graduated with a masters degree in public administration in international development. 'When you are emotionally charged and activated, it's very easy to demonize another person." She said the relentless attacks from the Trump administration on the school's funding and threats to detain and deport people studying in the U.S. on student visas have left her unsettled, adding huge uncertainty to her future plans. 'In terms of the plan going forward, I would say everything is up in the air at this point,' Jiang said, who had hoped to remain in the United States for a few years but now is open to working in international development overseas. 'At this point, it's difficult to say what will happen." This week, the Trump administration asked federal agencies to cancel about $100 million in contracts with the university. The government already canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard's enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Then it widened the pressure campaign, suspending visa applications worldwide and threatening to deny U.S. visas to thousands of Chinese students nationwide. These actions resonate with Jiang and her classmates — about 30% of Harvard's students are international, and China has among the highest numbers. 'The anxiety is real,' said Jiang, who knows two international students from China who are weighing whether to travel for work in Kenya and Rwanda. 'Because of the uncertainty of their visas, they are facing a very tricky situation,' she said. 'They can either go abroad, go to Kenya and Rwanda to do their internship and work on poverty alleviation and public health but risking not being able to make it back to campus safely. Or they can stay on campus and do their internships remote." 'It's pretty heartbreaking," she continued'They wanted to help humanity and, to see them entangled in politics they didn't choose, is hard." Jiang, who went to high school in the United Kingdom and earned her undergraduate degree at Duke University, said there should be more, not fewer, academic exchanges between China and the United States. 'Humanity is facing a lot of crisis,' she said. 'There are conflicts. There is climate. There are a lot things that not only one country can tackle. China and the U.S. are the two most powerful economies or countries in the world. They have to work with each other to be able to combat the problems or the issues that affect every single human being.' Jiang also defended the importance of international students at Harvard, recalling how 60% of the students stood up at the Kennedy School of Government commencement when the dean, Jeremy Weinstein, asked how many came from outside the United States. Then he asked if they had learned something from their international classmates, and most everyone stood. 'A lot of us clapped and cheered. A lot of us were in tears,' she said, as Weinstein told them to 'look around, this is your school.' Without international students, it would be a challenge for Harvard to achieve its mission, Jiang said. Campus culture depends on its globally diverse student body, studying and hanging out together. 'Harvard wants its students to go and change the world and you can't change the world without understanding the world,' she said. 'You can't understand the world without truly having a personal connection with people from all sorts of countries."
Associated Press
a day ago
- General
- Associated Press
Chinese student struck a chord emphasizing humanity during Harvard commencement speech
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A day after her emotional speech at Harvard University's commencement, Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang kept running into classmates who praised her message that people should see everyone's common humanity rather than demonize others for their differences. 'We're starting to believe those who think differently, vote differently or pray differently — whether they're across the ocean or sitting right next to us — are not just wrong. We mistakenly see them as evil. But it doesn't have to be this way,' she said in her address, which drew wide applause. 'The message itself, if I have to put it into one sentence, will be humanity rises and falls as one,' Jiang told The Associated Press on Friday. 'We are living in a very difficult time. There's a lot of divisions in terms of ideas, ethnicities, identities. This is a time where we can use a little bit more moral imagination and imagine ourselves being connected with one another.' The 25-year-old Jiang's speech never directly mentioned the Trump administration nor its multi-pronged attack on the nation's oldest and richest university. But she said the turmoil beyond their campus and its impact on her classmates was on her mind as she delivered her speech. 'Students can be very emotionally charged because they care deeply about a lot of issues,' said Jiang, who comes from China and graduated with a masters degree in public administration in international development. 'When you are emotionally charged and activated, it's very easy to demonize another person.' She said the relentless attacks from the Trump administration on the school's funding and threats to detain and deport people studying in the U.S. on student visas have left her unsettled, adding huge uncertainty to her future plans. 'In terms of the plan going forward, I would say everything is up in the air at this point,' Jiang said, who had hoped to remain in the United States for a few years but now is open to working in international development overseas. 'At this point, it's difficult to say what will happen.' This week, the Trump administration asked federal agencies to cancel about $100 million in contracts with the university. The government already canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard's enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Then it widened the pressure campaign, suspending visa applications worldwide and threatening to deny U.S. visas to thousands of Chinese students nationwide. These actions resonate with Jiang and her classmates — about 30% of Harvard's students are international, and China has among the highest numbers. 'The anxiety is real,' said Jiang, who knows two international students from China who are weighing whether to travel for work in Kenya and Rwanda. 'Because of the uncertainty of their visas, they are facing a very tricky situation,' she said. 'They can either go abroad, go to Kenya and Rwanda to do their internship and work on poverty alleviation and public health but risking not being able to make it back to campus safely. Or they can stay on campus and do their internships remote.' 'It's pretty heartbreaking,' she continued'They wanted to help humanity and, to see them entangled in politics they didn't choose, is hard.' Jiang, who went to high school in the United Kingdom and earned her undergraduate degree at Duke University, said there should be more, not fewer, academic exchanges between China and the United States. 'Humanity is facing a lot of crisis,' she said. 'There are conflicts. There is climate. There are a lot things that not only one country can tackle. China and the U.S. are the two most powerful economies or countries in the world. They have to work with each other to be able to combat the problems or the issues that affect every single human being.' Jiang also defended the importance of international students at Harvard, recalling how 60% of the students stood up at the Kennedy School of Government commencement when the dean, Jeremy Weinstein, asked how many came from outside the United States. Then he asked if they had learned something from their international classmates, and most everyone stood. 'A lot of us clapped and cheered. A lot of us were in tears,' she said, as Weinstein told them to 'look around, this is your school.' Without international students, it would be a challenge for Harvard to achieve its mission, Jiang said. Campus culture depends on its globally diverse student body, studying and hanging out together. 'Harvard wants its students to go and change the world and you can't change the world without understanding the world,' she said. 'You can't understand the world without truly having a personal connection with people from all sorts of countries.'
Arab News
a day ago
- General
- Arab News
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Becoming Earth'
Author: Ferris Jabr Published in 2024 and written by Ferris Jabr, 'Becoming Earth' talks about how the planet we know and live in started and came to life. One of the significant thoughts Jabr argues through his book is the idea that billions of years ago, life transformed from a collection of orbiting rocks into what we now know as our cosmic oasis. This process released oxygen into the atmosphere, formed seas and oceans, and shaped rocks into fertile soil. Through the book, the author also discusses various environmental systems and how they operate. He talks about the roles of microbes in shaping continents, the Amazon rainforest's self-sustaining rain cycle and the impact of human activities on planetary systems, all connected to other natural events. Surprisingly, as Jabr discusses the disadvantages of human activity leading to environmental crises, he also highlights the importance of humans in improving ecosystems. Despite the negative impacts people have had on the environment, humanity has expended a great deal of energy to understand and mitigate environmental problems, he argues. However, the book has received some criticism, with reviewers arguing that Jabr may have conflated his personal perspective on Earth with scientific research and evidence in the process of using metaphors to explain science. Other reviewers said that a few sections of 'Becoming Earth' may need improvement and more in-depth scientific evidence to support the conclusions Jabr makes.
