Friday, February 23, 2007

 

MWCC TO HOST DISCUSSION OF ‘MONIQUE AND THE MANGO RAINS'

The compelling story of Monique Dembele will come to life at MWCC Tuesday, March 6 as Kris Holloway, author of “Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali,” speaks about what it was like to live and work in a remote corner of the world and befriend a courageous midwife who was breaking traditional roles.

“Monique and the Mango Rains” is the story of the author’s decade-long friendship with Monique Dembele, an accidental midwife who became a legend. Monique saved lives and dispensed hope every day in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter.

This book tells of Monique’s unquenchable passion for a better life in the face of poverty, an arranged marriage and endless backbreaking work, as well as her tragic and ironic death. In the course of this deeply personal narrative, as readers immerse themselves in the rhythms of village life, they come to know her as a friend, as a mother and as an inspired woman striving to find her place in a changing world.

From witnessing her first village birth to the night of Monique’s own tragic death, Holloway draws on her first-person experiences in Mali, her graduate studies in maternal and child health, medical and clinic records, letters and journals, as well as conversations with Monique, her family, friends and colleagues, to give readers a unique view of—and a friend in—West Africa.

Holloway served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa, from 1989 to 1991, where she met her husband, John Bidwell. She holds a master’s in public health from the University of Michigan and works in writing and development for nonprofit organizations. She lives in Northampton with John and their two children.

MWCC’s Leo & Theresa LaChance Library and Office of Academic Affairs are sponsoring this book discussion and signing by Holloway on March 6 at 11:20 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the commons area of the Gardner campus. The event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547.

Copies of “Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali” will be available purchase, with a portion of the proceeds supporting “Cabinet de soins Monique,” begun in Kauri, Mali, to honor Monique and continue her work.

KEY FIGURE IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT TO SPEAK AT MWCC

Slightly more than a month after observing the 47th anniversary of the sit-ins at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., at an annual ceremony, one of the “Greensboro Four,” Jibreel Khazan, will share his experiences as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement with MWCC and local high-school students in the college theatre Friday, March 9 at 10:30 a.m.

The "Greensboro Four" (Jibreel Khazan is second from the right.)

There are three seminal events in the history of the Civil Rights Movement: the determination of Rosa Parks not to sit at the back of the bus, the decision of four African American students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College to stage a sit-in at the Greensboro F.W. Woolworth’s whites-only lunch counter, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

On Feb. 1, 1960, Khazan (then known as Ezell A. Blair Jr.) and three fellow college students sat down at the whites-only lunch counter at Woolworth’s. Although they were refused service, they remained at the counter until closing. The next day they returned with 25 other students and were also refused service.

Sit-ins became an effective method throughout the South in integrating public facilities. The rest of 1960 saw the civil rights sit-in movement spread to 250 other cities and towns in which over 400 demonstrations took place. By the end of July 1960, Woolworth’s decided to integrate its lunch counter.

The sit-ins were a catalyst for the passage of the 1960 Civil Rights Bill, the Interstate Commerce Commission ruling in 1961 against racial segregation on interstate carriers and terminals, and the first national, public accommodations act since 1875.

According to Khazan, the "Greensboro Four" were inspired by “the non-violent principles of love and peace” practiced by Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Ralph David Abernathy.

For more information about Khazan’s appearance March 9, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547.

More MWCC News:

• Theatre at the Mount will present “Smokey Joe’s Café” for five performances beginning Friday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. “Smokey Joe's Café” is an explosion of immortal hits including “Stand By Me,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “There Goes My Baby” and many more. Other performances will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24, Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 4 at 2 p.m. Tickets for “Smokey Joe’s Café” are on sale at the Theatre at the Mount box office Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., or call (978) 632-2403. Tickets can also be purchased online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu. Tickets are $20 for evening performances and $15 for matinees, with discounts available for children, Mount students and groups. Subscriptions for Theatre at the Mount’s 2007 season, at total of five shows, are also available for just $65.
• IRS-trained volunteers, including 30 MWCC students, will be helping low- and moderate-income taxpayers prepare and file their federal tax returns for free as part of the federal Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. At the Leominster campus, the service will be offered on Fridays through April 13 from 1 to 8 p.m. (The Leominster campus will be closed on Friday, March 16 for the Evacuation Day state holiday.) At the Gardner campus, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site will be in Room 250 on Thursdays through April 12 from 1 to 8 p.m. MWCC’s financial aid officers will be on hand at some sessions to assist taxpayers interested in attending college with filling out financial aid forms. To schedule an appointment, taxpayers may contact Denise Whitney at (978) 630-9124 or dwhitney@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Dr. Mohamed Azam

  MWCC is hosting a Fulbright scholar and Islamic culture expert to students, faculty and our communities through Friday, March 9. Dr. Mohamed Azam's visit is part of the Fulbright Visiting Specialists Program: Direct Access to the Muslim World. During his stay, Dr. Azam will speak about the fundamentals of Islam, Islam and gender issues, Muslims’ and non-Muslims’ rights, law and religion, Islam in Malaysia and the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Islam Hadhari Project. He is bringing his message to MWCC students, faculty and staff as well as local schools and community organizations. For more information, visit http://www.mwcc.edu/info/fulbright.html or contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547.
• Dr. Mohamed Azam, who is visiting MWCC as part of the Fulbright Visiting Specialists Program: Direct Access to the Muslim World, will speak at the First Church Unitarian Universalist in Leominster on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. In his lecture, entitled “Fundamentals of Islam and Religious Freedom,” he will share his expertise in Islamic law and religion with members of the church’s congregation and the general public. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu or the Rev. Susan Suchocki Brown at (978) 537-0310. Details of Dr. Adil’s three-week visit are also available at http://www.mwcc.edu/info/fulbright.html.
• MWCC will host the "Black Cinema 101 Tour” in observance of Black History Month on Wednesday, Feb. 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the commons area of the Gardner campus. The Black Cinema Gallery is an inspirational tribute to Black actors, actresses and authors who inspired the world through their outstanding performances and works, taking Hollywood to a different plateau. The display is sponsored by the Student Life Office.
• Free college. Earn a paycheck. Apply to be a Community Scholar at MWCC. Community Scholars receive free tuition, fees and books, $10,000 in annual wages by working at a local nonprofit organization, leadership development opportunities and a $1,000 education award toward a four-year degree. Learn more about Community Scholars at two upcoming information sessions: Monday, February 26 and Wednesday, February 28 from 6 to 7 p.m. Both sessions will be at the Gardner campus, 444 Green St. For an advanced brochure, send your name and mailing address to communityscholars@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC will host a Renaissance performance by actor Marilyn Murphy Meardon on Wednesday, Feb. 28th from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the main campus. The 45-minute, solo performance, “Queen Elizabeth I: In her Own Words,” was researched and composed by Meardon, who used the Queen's own letters, poetry, prayers and speeches to create a performance that brings the monarch's words to life. Meardon’s performance will complement the “Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend” traveling exhibition on display in the Leo & Theresa LaChance Library through March 30, 2007. For more information, contact the library at (978) 630-9125.

• Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England

  MWCC’s Art Club will host the Walk for a New Spring, an annual interfaith walk for peace taken by Buddhist monks and nuns and walkers, for lunch at the college’s north dining area on Wednesday, Feb. 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Gardner Mayor Gerald St. Hilaire MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino will also be present to greet the walkers as they arrive at MWCC from Noonday Farm in Winchendon, a Catholic worker-owned farm that grows vegetables for soup kitchens in Boston. From the college, they will meet Fitchburg Mayor Dan Mylott, visit Fitchburg State College and meet Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella. For more information, contact Assistant Professor Tom Matsuda at (978) 630-9340 or tmatsuda@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Dr. Mohamed Azam, who is visiting MWCC as part of the Fulbright Visiting Specialists Program: Direct Access to the Muslim World, will give an “Overview of Islam” and participate in the discussion of the book “Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi on Wednesday, Feb. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Leo & Theresa LaChance Library. The event, sponsored by the library and Office of Academic Affairs, is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact the library at (978) 630-9125. Details of Dr. Azam’s three-week visit are also available at http://www.mwcc.edu/info/fulbright.html.
• MWCC’s Office of Academic Affairs and Leo & Theresa LaChance Library are sponsoring a panel discussion entitled “Different Faces of Islam” on Friday, March 2 at 11:30 a.m. in the theatre. The panel will feature Fulbright Visiting Specialist Dr. Mohamed Azam and Muslim scholars from other countries. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu. Details of Dr. Azam ’s three-week visit are also available at http://www.mwcc.edu/info/fulbright.html.
• MWCC’s Leo & Theresa LaChance Library and Office of Academic Affairs are sponsoring a book discussion and signing by Kris Holloway, author of “Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali,” on Tuesday, March 6 at 11:20 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the commons area of the Gardner campus. Books will be available purchase, with proceeds supporting Clinique Monique in Kauri, Mali. The event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Linda Oldach at (978) 630-9126 or loldach@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC’s new Biotechnology program will host information sessions Wednesdays March 7, April 11 and May 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. at the main campus, 444 Green St., Gardner. Sessions will be held at the Leominster campus, 100 Erdman Way, on Monday, March 19; Monday, April 23; and Wednesday, May 23 from 6 to 7 p.m. With the decision by the drug manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb to locate a large biotechnology company at Devens, the college anticipates starting the biotech program in fall 2007 at the Devens and Gardner campuses. Registration is required. To register and for more information, contact MWCC’s Dean of Science Charles Weitze at cweitze@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 630-9207.
• MWCC will hold a four-session Explorer course Wednesdays March 7, March 21, April 4, and April 18 from 6 to 9 p.m. at its Gardner campus. The Explorer program is intended for those who are considering farming as a business. This course offering is sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Agricultural Business Training Program, in cooperation with the Explorer creator, the New England Small Farm Institute in Belchertown, with additional support from MWCC. For a registration form, please contact Rick Chandler, MDAR, 25 West Experiment Station, UMass, Amherst MA 01003 or rchandler@umext.umass.edu.

• As part of its Works in Clay exhibition series, the Art Department presents the work of Terry Rumble, which will be on display through Friday, March 16 in the East Wing Gallery. The gallery is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Professor Joyce Miller at (978) 630-9221.

  MWCC’s Office of Academic Affairs will host an informal discussion with Jibreel Khazan, formerly Ezell Blair Jr., one of the “Greensboro Four” who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement, on Friday, March 9 at 10:30 a.m. in the theatre. The decision of four African American students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College to stage a sit-in at the Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter on Feb. 1, 1960, led to civil rights sit-ins in 54 other cities in nine states. By the end of July 1960, Woolworths decided to integrate its lunch counter. For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC’s English Department is sponsoring a lecture by Dr. Arthur F. Kinney, Thomas W. Copeland Professor of Literary History and director of the Center for Renaissance Studies at UMass-Amherst, on Friday, March 9 from 11:40 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the north cafeteria of the Gardner campus. Kinney is the author or editor of more than 30 books and his work has served scholars and professors for more than three decades. Last year, he was presented with the Paul Oskar Kristeller Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest international award for a Renaissance Scholar. Kinney’s most recent book is “Shakespeare and Cognition – Aristotle’s Legacy and Shakespearean Drama.” For more information, contact MWCC Public Relations Specialist Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The Art Department is hosting the exhibit “Connected Partners: Sharing a Life and an Aesthetic Vision” featuring works by Dug Morton (’86) and Dawn Haley Morton in the East Wing Gallery through Saturday, March 10. The paintings on display were done by Dug; the photographs taken by Dawn. A reception for the artists will be held Friday, Feb. 16 from 6 to 9 p.m. The East Wing Gallery, located in the Raymond M. LaFontaine Fine Arts Center at the Gardner campus, is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Professor John Pacheco (978) 630-9184 or jpacheco@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC’s Leo & Theresa LaChance Library will host the "Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend" traveling exhibit through March 30. The library is one of only 40 public and academic libraries in the nation to host this exhibit. This new exhibit commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England and encourages audiences not only to reacquaint themselves with the Queen, but also to become more familiar with the historical and cultural forces that shaped her personality and her time, and to examine the mixture of history and legend that continues to surround her today. The American Library Association Public Programs Office, in partnership with The Newberry Library of Chicago and the National Endowment for the Humanities, is sponsoring the traveling exhibit. All showings of the exhibition and related programs will be free and open to the public. For more information, contact Reference and Instruction Librarian Ellen Pratt at (978) 630-9125.
• The What’s Next Speaker Series’ focus on poverty continues with a lecture by Paul Dudley Hart, director at-large of Mercy Corps, entitled “Addressing Poverty from a Global Perspective” on Tuesday, March 13 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Doyle Conservation Center, 464 Abbott Ave., Leominster. Mercy Corps works to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. Complimentary lunch will be provided. Registration is required. To register, contact Eveliz Rivera (978) 630-9324 or whatsnext@mwcc.mass.edu by Friday, March 2. The series is sponsored by the college’s Center for Democracy and Humanity, the Twin Cities Latino Coalition and the Montachusett Opportunity Council.