Symposium Session: Abolishing Whiteness for the Public Good: A Critical Analysis of Whiteness Studies
Friday, April 8, 2:15-3:45pm
American Educational Research Association 2011 Annual Meeting: “Inciting the Social Imagination: Education Research for the Public Good”
April 8-12, 2011
New Orleans Marriott / Preservation Hall Studio 1

Chair: Zeus Leonardo (University of California)

Discussant: Mark R. Warren (Harvard University)

Ricky Lee Allen (University of New Mexico): From Sadomasochism to Humanization: Toward an Abolitionist Theory of White Guilt

Robin DiAngelo (Westfield State College): Maintaining Equilibrium: A Challenge to White Silence in Racial Discussions

Matt Horton (University of California – Berkeley): No Truth and Reconciliation Without Justice: A Call for Abolitionist Praxis

Vajra M. Watson (University of California – Davis): White “Supremacy” and Me: The Making and Breaking of Race(ism)

Abstract:

From our distinct vantage points, each panelist will give particular attention to answering this overarching question: Does engaging in whiteness studies lead whites to self-hatred, guilt, and/or self-loathing rather than to actively deconstructing systems of oppression?

Session Summary:

In this session, the authors will present papers which deepen the discussion of whiteness so that we re-member ourselves with hue-manity. Each panelist will give particular attention to answering the essential question that brings us together: Does engaging in whiteness studies lead whites to self-hatred, guilt, and/or self-loathing rather than to actively deconstructing systems of oppression? We will each answer this question from our distinct vantage points with the understanding that through this prism of perspective we will further the critical whiteness studies dialogue in the academy and beyond. Altogether, we critique dominant notions of whiteness (in research and otherwise) and make the argument to abolish whiteness for the public good. This is quite significant to the scholarly community because many white people perceive racism as an issue for people of color instead of as a paradigm white people implicitly and explicitly recreate on a daily basis. Accordingly, we will examine this dynamic in four distinct areas: through silence, conceptualizations of race in reconstruction and abolition, white critical consciousness, and a perpetual debilitating guilt. Each panelist will answer the above question with ample time for the discussant to respond as well as allow space for dialogue with the audience.

Student Research Panel
Saturday, April 2, 3:45-5:30pm

April 1-2, 2011
University of California at Berkeley / Dwinelle 370

Paper:

Good afternoon. My name is Matt Horton and I am a student here at the Graduate School of Education. My research interest is in irish raciality.

At the recent Critical Ethnic Studies conference at UC Riverside I presented a paper entitled: “The Irish-American Contract: Whiteness and Genocide.” Using philosopher Charles Mills’ understanding of whiteness as a transnational polity, a social contract between white people, and his observations about the role of “’borderline’ Europeans” in this contract (The Racial Contract [1997]), this paper seeks to elucidate the process whereby the irish, as a nation, became party to this contract. Viewing the irish-white contract as a particularly negotiated side contract, I endeavor to understand How The Irish Became White (Ignatiev, 1995), not only in the United States, as is the focus of Ignatiev’s important work, but the way in which the irish-white contract in the United States, and for that matter Canada, Latin America and Australia, negotiated whiteness on behalf of irish people globally. The irish-white contract, therefore, is best situated and understood for me as the Irish-American Contract.

Understanding the terms of the Irish-American contract, I believe, helps to set the stage for action designed to break this contract. The project of abolishing whiteness, for me, has been intimately interwoven with my irishness for over a decade. My first exposure to abolitionist theory occurred immediately following my first trip home and, for all intensive purposes, forms the basis for my theoretical reflection on that experience, i.e. its politicization. My search for exemplars who have challenged the Racial Contract in an irish historical context leads me to hypothesize that the experience of irish nationalist protestants in northern ireland (1922-present) can provide a wealth of information about irish raciality, race treason, and the relationship of irish nationality to whiteness.

As a fourth-generation irish-american and a product of mixed (protestant/catholic) marriages, I believe that a study of protestant irish nationalists in northern ireland is a necessary contribution to the field of general knowledge. There have been many studies on protestant-loyalists/unionists, and many more on irish-catholic-nationalists/republicans, but almost none on those who have committed treason to their communities and crossed the borders in divided ireland. I have been informally researching this question, in various forms, over the past decade and this inquiry suggests that protestant irish nationalists might serve as exemplary race traitors to the irish Diaspora at-large. And considering that, in the irish struggle, we see the first iterations of anti-colonial nationalism, such a study might help to illuminate strategies for solidarity and resistance in efforts for decolonization across the anglophone, if not the entire, world.

Thank you for the opportunity to present a summary of my work. I hope that you found it interesting. Please find me after if you would like to discuss these or related issues further. Slán.

7.19 Histories of Whiteness, Individual papers
Concurrent Panels #7: Friday, March 11, 2:30-4:15pm
Critical Ethnic Studies and the Future of Genocide: Settler Colonialism/Heteropatriarchy/White Supremacy
March 10-12, 2011
University of California, Riverside
Highlander Union Building (HUB) on the Third Floor

Matt Horton, UC Berkeley: The Irish-American Contract: Genocide and Whiteness

Lara Trubow, University of Iowa: “Made from the Finest Jewish Fat”: Race and Religion in America’s New Far Right, or Confessions of a Jewish Nazi

Chris Hayashida-Knight, George Washington University: “Fatal to the Publick Safety”: American Patriarchs Interpret Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation

Eric Larson, Brown University: Labor and the Limits of Populism: Race, Identity, and Union Reform in the 1980s and 1990s

Proposal Description:

Using philosopher Charles Mills’ understanding of whiteness as a transnational polity, a social contract between white people, and his observations about the role of “‘borderline’ Europeans” in this contract (The Racial Contract [1997]), this paper seeks to elucidate the process whereby the irish as a nation became party to this contract. Viewing the irish-white contract as a particularly negotiated side contract—and understanding that this contract was negotiated in the United States where the mass of irish people live today—I endeavor to understand How The Irish Became White (Ignatiev, 1995), not only in the United States, as is the focus of Ignatiev’s important work, but the way in which the irish-white contract in the United States, and for that matter Canada, Latin America and Australia, negotiated whiteness on behalf of irish people globally. The irish-white contract, therefore, is best situated and understood as the Irish-American Contract.

Understanding the Irish-American Contract will fit well with the Critical Ethnic Studies conference. Genocide, in many ways, preceded and enabled the Irish-American Contract—one in which refugees from colonialism exchanged labor for refuge, loyalty for stability, specificity for conformity, and resistance for repression. In the fifteen years since its publication, Ignatiev’s work has inspired dozens, if not hundreds, of studies concerning Irish raciality. It is the goal of this paper to draw on these studies to develop a cohesive framework for understanding not only how the irish became white, but how the irish, as a nation, might become white.

Session IIIE. 12:40 p.m. Short Papers: Tolman 2327
Research Day
Graduate School of Education (GSE)
University of California, Berkeley
2010 April 9, 12:40-1:30pm

Matt Horton, “Whiteness as Nation”

Cecelia Lucas, “P/reparations: Towards the Deconstruction of White Supremacy and the De-imperialization of White Subjectivities”

“Responding to Privilege: The theory, practice, and praxis of Critical Whiteness”
Response-Ability: Using Dissonance and Delight for Justice
Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC)
Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE)
2010 February 27, 1:30-2:55pm

“Too often, scholarship around race and racism focuses solely on communities of color without examining their White counterparts or interrogating society’s construction of whiteness. Panelists in this session will put “whiteness under the lens” (Delgado & Stefancic, 1997) and create opportunities for educators to critically think about how whiteness has been constructed. Conference attendees will gain a theoretical introduction to and understanding of two constructs of Critical White Studies, abolitionist and reductionist [sic] perspectives on whiteness. Then attendees will learn how to build a collaborative racial justice movement in predominately White suburban communities through the community organizing model of Sub/Urban Justice, a Boston based group which brings students from urban and suburban schools together for political education. Using a case study of the Speak Up! Anthology written by Sub/Urban teens, young people connected to the program will describe the impact their social justice education and community organizing is having on their schools and communities.”

Panelists: Matt Horton; Christopher Messinger and 3-4 teens from Sub/Urban

Moderator: Mark Warren

…
it tells us your
Identity card stamped on my face
my class and my race
my gender my tastes
my homeland
displaced.

—Compiled by Matt Horton
Vol. XXVIII, #5 (July 2009)
Page 67

Upcoming Events

The 46th Annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Convention will be held July 3 to 6 at the Washington, DC Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Pl. NW, Washington, DC 20001. For more information, or to register, call (317) 839-8157 or visit <www.isna.net>.

The Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies Palestinian Summer Celebration 2009 will be held July 14 to Aug. 16 in Bethlehem, Palestine. The program provides an opportunity to “learn Arabic and study Palestinian history at Bethlehem University, spend time with local families and volunteer with a community organization.” For more information, or to register, call +972-2-274-8590 or visit <www.sirajcenter.org>.

Pax Christi USA’s National Catholic Conference on Peacemaking, entitled “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” will be held July 16 to 19 at the Wyndham O’Hare Hotel in Chicago, IL. For more information, or to register, contact Staci Striegel at (814) 453-4955 ext. 228 or visit <http://www.paxchristiusa.org/NationalConference2009.asp>.

The Sabeel International Young Adult Conference will be held July 22 to Aug. 2 in Palestine. For more information, or to register, call +972-2-532-7136 or visit <www.sabeel.org>.

Awards

Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, has been awarded the fifth annual Miss Hall’s School Woman of Distinction Award. The award, established by a grant to Miss Hall’s School of Pittsfield, MA in memory of Dr. Ruth Ratner Miller, was presented to Esfandiari at New York University’s Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for University Life.

Obituaries

Naji Jaber, 64, died March 30 after a long battle with cancer. Born in the historic Syrian city of Shahba, he became an actor in the 1960s and rose to prominence as part of a comedic duo alongside Duraid Lahham. Lahham played Ghawwar and Jaber played Abu Antar in dozens of films, plays and television programs. Jaber’s older brother, Mahmoud, also a prominent Syrian actor, died of cancer in July 2008.

Cherif Ali Guellal, 76, died of leukemia April 7 at an Algiers hospital. He was born in Constantine, Algeria to Ali, a medical doctor, and Fatima, a leader in the resistance to French colonialism who, like many of his other family members, had been imprisoned and tortured by the colonial regime. After graduating from the University of Aix-en-Provence, France in 1956, Guellal joined the Algerian provisional government in exile and built international support for the revolution from India and Egypt. When Algeria won its independence in 1962, he briefly served as a top lieutenant to Algeria’s first president, Ahmed Ben Bella, before his appointment in 1963 as post-colonial Algeria’s first ambassador to the United States. Guellal remained ambassador after a 1965 coup led by military leader Houari Boumedienne deposed President Ben Bella. When Algeria cut ties with Washington after the 1967 Six-Day War, Guellal continued to serve as an unofficial diplomat. He also represented Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-owned energy company, during the 1970s oil crisis, and consulted for businesses seeking to deepen their ties to the Arab world. During his years in Washington, when he was a popular guest at social and diplomatic events, Guellal was involved with Yolande Betbeze Fox, the rebellious and dynamic Alabama-born Miss America of 1951 and widow of a film executive. Though they never married, Guellal and Fox lived as common-law spouses and Guellal helped to raise Fox’s daughter, Dolly. Both survive him, as do three brothers and a granddaughter.

Kevin J. Barry, 66, died of colon cancer April 24 at his home in Chantilly, VA. Born in New York, he graduated from the Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception in Brooklyn and briefly studied to become a priest before joining the Coast Guard in 1966, serving as an operation officer and navigator on several cutters. After receiving his J.D. from the College of William and Mary’s school of law in 1975, Barry eventually was promoted to chief trial judge and appellate judge for the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals, then chief of legislation at the Coast Guard’s Washington, DC headquarters. The recipient of many awards, including the Judge Advocates Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2004) and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s Lawyer of the Year Award (2007), Barry gained attention in 2002 when he spoke out against the government’s use of military commissions, which he viewed as a potentially unjust means to try terror suspects. He instead favored the use of court-procedures, the provision of independent appellate review and other safeguards for fairness.

William “Bill” B. Moffitt, 60, died at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC April 24 after suffering a stroke. Born in the Bronx, New York, he graduated from the prestigious Brooklyn Technical High School in 1967 and received his B.A. from the University of Oklahoma in 1971. In 1975 he earned his J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law, passing the bar exam three months prior to his graduation. Over his 34-year career, Moffitt practiced criminal, civil and constitutional law. He defended former United Way president William Aramony against embezzlement charges and successfully negotiated a life sentence plea for Terry Williams, who had been on Virginia’s death row longer than any inmate in the state’s history. Following 9/11, Moffitt was the lead defense attorney in two of the government’s PATRIOT Act test cases, one of which was U.S. v. Dr. Sami Al-Arian. Along with Linda Moreno, Moffitt achieved an acquittal on most of the charges against Dr. Al-Arian and the defense team was able to negotiate a plea agreement protecting Dr. Al-Arian from further prosecution. Unfortunately, due to zealous prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg of the Eastern District of Virginia, Moffitt did not live to see his client and friend once again become a free man. In U.S. v. Dr. Abdelhaleem Ashqar, Moffitt earned an acquittal of Dr. Ashqar of a RICO conspiracy charge. At the time of his death he was a partner of Moffitt & Brodnax in Alexandria, VA, and active in numerous professional organizations. Committed to training other lawyers, he gave dozens of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) lectures and conference presentations across the U.S. and Canada. Moffitt was regularly featured in the media as a criminal justice expert, and wrote a monthly editorial column in The Champion magazine. He testified before the U.N. Human Rights Commission on Race and the American Criminal Justice System, and before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. Prolific in the courtroom, Moffitt was named one of Washington’s Top Lawyers by Washingtonian magazine, and one of America’s “Top Black Lawyers” by Black Enterprise magazine. He is survived by his wife, Edna Lee; daughter, Pilar; mother, Victorine L. Moffitt; sister, Michelle Simon; brother, Wilford Adkins; niece, Kelly Adams; and nephews, Kristopher and Keir Simon.

	A Child in Palestine
	Naji Al-Ali
	Verso, 2009, paperback, 120 pp.
	This new collection of cartoons by the assassinated Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali is the first of its kind for English-language audiences. A long overdue introduction to Handala, perhaps the Middle East’s most iconic symbol of the struggle for justice, and his brilliant, sardonic creator. Foreword by Joe Sacco.
	List Price: $19.95
	AET Price: $15

	Jerusalem: The East Side Story
	Mohammed Alatar
	Palestinian Agriculture Relief Committees, 2008, DVD, 57 min
	An excellent visual and oral history of Jerusalem and Jerusalemites, from Lord Balfour to Israel’s current efforts to “Judaize” the city through cordoning Palestinians into walled cantons and pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing.
	List Price: $25.00
	AET Price: $15

	Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets
	Nabil Ayouch
	Film Movement, 2006, DVD, 98 min. with special features
	A disturbing story of survival and redemption centered around three endearing, glue-sniffing street kids in Casablanca who struggle to rise above their despairing lot. Excellent acting and cinematography. Arabic with English subtitles.
	List Price: $19.95
	AET Price: $15

	Life at the Crossroads: A History of Gaza (New Addition)
	Gerald Butt
	Rimal Publications, 2009, paperback, 264 pp.
	Recently updated, this unique survey covers Gazan history from ancient times through Operation Cast Lead. A timely and important reference that sheds light on the region’s geopolitical importance and the tumultuous experience of its people.
	List Price: $20
	AET Price: $15

	Unprotected: Palestinians in Egypt Since 1948
	Oroub El-Abed
	Institute for Palestine Studies, 2009, paperback, 253 pp.
	Focusing on Palestinians in Egypt, Unprotected is perhaps the first comprehensive English-language study to focus on this often forgotten but important segment of the Diaspora. Dr. El-Abed’s research provides an indispensible reference on the lives of Palestinians in Egypt and a unique perspective in understanding the Arab world’s most populous state.
	List Price: $14.95
	AET Price: $12

	The Taqwacores
	Michael Muhammad Knight
	Soft Skull Press, 2004, paperback, 254 pp.
	A gripping story of a Pakistani college student who lives in a house of Muslim punkrockers ("Taqwacores"). The housemates gather young disillusioned Muslims into an alternative and irreverent Muslim community that engages and debates the future of Islam among young Muslim-Americans.
	List Price: $12.95
	AET Price: $10

	The Collaborator of Bethlehem
	Matt Beynon Rees
	Mariner Books, 2007, paperback, 264 pp.
	UNRWA schoolteacher Omar Yussef comes to the aid of a former student charged with the assassination of a local militia leader.
	List Price: $52.85
	AET Price: $35

	A Grave in Gaza
	Matt Beynon Rees
	Mariner Books, 2008, paperback, 340 pp.
	Omar Yussef works to exonerate an UNRWA teacher in Gaza accused of espionage, leading him deep into the underbelly of Gaza’s politics and militias.
	List Price: $52.85
	AET Price: $35

	The Samaritan’s Secret
	Matt Beynon Reese
	Soho Crime, 2009, hardcover, 310 pp.
	In Nablus, Omar Yussef investigates the disappearance of an ancient Samaritan scroll and the murder of a local Samaritan who had valuable information.
	List Price: $52.85
	AET Price: $35

	Under the Bombs
	Philippe Aractingi
	Film Movement, 2007, DVD, 98 min. with special features
	Filmed on location during Israel’s 2006 attack on Lebanon, “Under the Bombs” is the fictional story of Zeina, a Shi’a Lebanese ex-pat who returns from Dubai during the war to find her son, and Tony, a Christian taxi driver who helps her. Lebanon’s Official Selection for the 2009 Academy Awards and winner of the Venice International Film Festival “Altre Visioni” & Human Rights awards. Arabic with English subtitles.
	List Price: $19.95
	AET Price: $15

	We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work (unabridged)
	Jimmy Carter
	Simon & Schuster Audio, 2009, CD(4) plus bonus CD, “Bible Study with Jimmy Carter” from his book Sunday Mornings in Plains, 240 min. as read by the author.
	The former president’s perspective on a framework to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict peacefully.
	List Price: $29.99
	AET Price: $20

	The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration (2nd edition)
	David Ray Griffin
	Olive Branch Press, 2004, paperback, 288 pp.
	By the author of The New Pearl Harbor Revisited. Together, these two books provide the most comprehensive resource on questions, controversy and conspiracy surrounding the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Foreword by Richard Falk. New afterword by the author.
	List Price: $15
	AET Price: $12

	The New Pearl Harbor Revisited: 9/11. the Cover-up, and the Exposé
	David Ray Griffin
	Olive Branch Press, 2008, paperback, 358 pp.
	By the author of The New Pearl Harbor. Together, these two books provide the most comprehensive resource on questions, controversy and conspiracy surrounding the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Foreword by Richard Falk. New afterword by the author.
	List Price: $20
	AET Price: $16

	Tale of the Three Jewels
	Michel Khleifi
	Arab Film Distribution, 1995, DVD, 107 min. with special features.
	The first feature film made in the Gaza Strip, “Tale of the Three Jewels” is a beautiful story of young love amid Israel’s brutal occupation. Arabic with English subtitles.
	List Price: $24.99
	AET Price: $20

	Beirut Diaries & 33 Days
	Mai Masri
	Arab Film Distribution, 2006 & 2007, DVD, 150 min.
	“Beirut Diaries” follows a passionate young Lebanese activist and her involvement with the Martyr’s Square encampment following the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The documentary “33 Days” was filmed during Israel’s 2006 attack on Lebanon. Together these films provide an excellent window into recent events in Lebanon. Arabic with English subtitles.
	List Price: $24.99
	AET Price: $20

	Lebanese Political Parties
	Sabbah Media
	Arab Film Distribution, 2003, DVD(6), 900 min.
	One of the best available resources on the modern political history of Lebanon. Includes in-depth episodes on the Amal Movement, Hezbollah, the Kataeb Party, the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Syrian Social National Party. Arabic with English and French subtitles.
	List Price: $150
	AET Price: $120

	The Wedding of Zein and Other Stories
	Tayeb Salih
	Lynne Reinner Publishers, 1999, paperback, 120 pp.
	Three stories by the recently deceased lion of Sudanese literature, including “The Doum Tree of Wad Hamid” and “A Handful of Dates.” Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies and illustrated by Ibrahim Salahi.
	List Price: $13.95
	AET Price: $10

	Palestinian Costume
	Shelagh Weir
	Interlink Books, 2009, paperback, 288 pp.
	Perhaps the most in-depth book published in English about the history and style of Palestinian traditional apparel, this beautiful large-format photo essay spans more than 100 years of Palestinian life and culture as expressed through fashion.
	List Price: $40
	AET Price: $30

—Compiled by Matt Horton
Vol. XXVIII, #4 (May/June 2009)
Page 80

Upcoming Events

The 38th Annual ACCESS Anniversary Dinner will held May 2 at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call (313) 842-7010 or visit <www.accesscommunity.org>.

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s 40th Annual Collins Lecture will feature Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The lecture, entitled “Transformative Power of Reconciliation in Society,” will be held May 4 at the Chiles Center, University of Portland, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd., Portland, OR. For more information call (503) 221-1054 ext. 208 or visit <www.emooregon.org>.

Friends of Sabeel–Colorado will lead “Seeking Understanding in Israel/Palestine: A Two-Week Fact-Finding Trip” from May 16 to 30. For more information, call (303) 494-2338 or visit <www.fosna.org>.

“Celebrating Success,” the 4th Annual Arab American Professionals Network Banquet, will be held May 20 at the Greenfield Manor, 4770 Greenfield, Dearborn, MI 48126. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call the American Arab Chamber of Commerce at (313) 945-1700 or visit <www.americanarab.com>.

The Seventh Annual International Al-Awda Convention will be held May 22 to 24 in Anaheim, CA. For more information, or to register, call (760) 918-9441 or visit <http://al-awda.org>.

The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and Muslim American Society (MAS) 2009 Convention will be held May 23 to 25 at the Hartford Convention Center, 100 Columbus Blvd., Hartford, CT 06106. For more information, or to register, call (718) 658-1199 or visit <www.icna.org>.

“Colors of the Arab World” will be on view at the the Friends Gallery of the Pacific Southwest Regional Office of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) at 634 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013, from June 11 to Nov. 13. A public opening and artists’ reception will take place June 11 as part of a monthly Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk. For more information, call (213) 489-1900 or visit <http://www.afsc.org/pacificsw/>.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) Annual National Convention will be held June 12 to 14 at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001. For more information, or to register, call (202) 244-2990 or visit <www.adc.org>.

The 14th Annual Dearborn Arab International Festival will be held June 19 to 21 on Warren Ave. in East Dearborn, MI. For more information call the American Arab Chamber of Commerce at (313) 945-1700 or visit <www.americanarab.com>.

Announcements

The Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation has announced The Russell Tribunal on Palestine. In the spirit of the important Russell Tribunal that addressed war crimes in Vietnam, the Tribunal on Palestine seeks to “mobilize the international public opinion so that the United Nations and Member States adopt the necessary measures to end the impunity of the Israeli State, and to reach a just and durable solution to this conflict.” Tribunal sessions are scheduled to begin in 2010. For more information, call +32-2-231-0174 or visit <www.russelltribunalonpalestine.net>.

Obituaries

Oliver Farrand Wallace, 83, died Feb. 27 at his home in Washington, DC of a heart attack. Born in Bethlehem, PA, he served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. After graduating from North Carolina A&T State University, he accepted a job as chief engineer for the Navy Department in Philadelphia, then moved to Washington to work for the Veterans Administration. A member of the National Society of Black Engineers, Wallace worked for several engineering firms before starting his own company. He worked in Turkey, Japan, Thailand and Saudi Arabia, where he lived for 15 years and designed and built the heating and cooling systems for the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Riyadh and the Hajj Terminal in Mecca.

Jawed “JoJo Yazemi” Ahmad, 23, was killed by gunfire March 10 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, while driving near the governor’s palace. A native of southern Afghanistan, he was recruited as a translator by U.S. special forces in 2001, and later worked as a journalist for Canadian Television (CTV) and for the apocalyptically named U.S. military contractor, The Four Horsemen International Corporation. U.S. forces took Ahmad into custody in October 2007 and named him an “enemy combatant” in February 2008. He spent 11 months in custody, first at Kandahar Airfield and then at Baghram Air Base, before being granted access to a lawyer. While in custody, Ahmad and human rights groups say he was tortured. With the help of the International Justice Network (IJN), the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC), the Stanford Law School’s Mills Legal Clinic, colleagues and friends, Ahmad was released on Sept. 21, 2008 without any charges filed or explanations given. He resumed working with CTV, and freelanced for Press TV. In the week before his death, Ahmad reportedly appealed for help from colleagues to obtain a Canadian visa.

Dr. Kamal Antoine “Anthony” Hanash died March 17 in McLean, VA. Born in Lebanon, he received his B.S. from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and his M.D. from AUB’s Faculty of Medicine in 1966. He received specialized training in urology from the Mayo Clinic’s Graduate School of Medicine, and in general surgery from the Metrohealth Medical Center. Hanash served at a variety of medical institutions, including recently as chairman of the Department of Urology at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He helped the KFSHRC develop a urology partnership with the Glickman Urological Institute at the Cleveland Clinic as a member of the clinic’s international advisory board. An active member of the American College of Surgeons and the American Urological Association, Hanash published a number of scholarly articles, contributed 13 chapters to medical books, and authored five books. He was buried in Lebanon.