The most powerful black women in Europe–Black Women in Europe™: Power List 2010 – A List of Our Own

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Black Women, europe, power

Black Women in Europe™ blog announced its first-ever Black Women in Europe™: Power List that includes 58 women in Europe in six categories. The categories are business, lifestyle, media, politics, social entrepreneurs and NGOs.

This year’s Black Women in Europe™: Power List 2010 were chosen from nominations from the general public and editor Adrianne George and co-editor Mark Derek McCullough based on their achievements and sphere of influence. “When Michelle Obama was named the most powerful woman in the world this year I noticed that of the 6 other black women on the list none of them lived in Europe”, George explains. “I was inspired to create a list of our own”.

Women on the Black Women in Europe™: Power List include seasoned politicians, accomplished performers, and champion athletes as well as social entrepreneurs and rising stars in the business world. “This list will serve as a source of inspiration to black women everywhere”, George says. “In all arenas we are known to excel”.

View the complete list: http://bit.ly/bwiepowerlist .

View the list on video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUdZByVWvvA

View the list on Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/ageorgegal/black-women-in-europe-power-list-2010

View the list on Sribd: http://www.scribd.com/full/44580253?access_key=key-1v18prhcav8230uxwyqh

View the list on Goggle presentations: https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=df96vcrm_91hhhwxhcr

Black Women in Europe™ Blog

Black Women in Europe™ Blog is an award-winning blog founded in 2006 by Adrianne George. It aims to celebrate the lives of the ordinary and extraordinary black women living in Europe. To learn more about the Black Women in Europe™ Blog visit us at: http://blog.blackwomenineurope.com/

Helen Grant, OBV Alumnui has made political and Conservative Party history in the UK

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Helen Grant, UK Elections

Hat tip: Operation Black Vote

Helen Grant, OBV Alumnui has made political and Conservative Party history by winning the Southeast seat Maidstone and the Weald becoming the first Black female Conservative in the House of Commons. The seat she takes over was represented by Westminster firebrand Anne Widdecombe for 18 years.

After two and a half years of good old fashioned hard work and positive campaigning we have seen-off a particularly unpleasant challenge in the fight to retain Ann Widdecombe’s seat, taking 48% of the vote.

I want to send out my sincere thanks to everyone who voted for me, and to everyone who has helped and supported me in this general election campaign.

I am delighted too that we have retained control of Maidstone Borough Council.

Thank you all once again. With very best wishes,

Beatrice Acheleke Honored with The 2009 World Diversity Leadership Summit “Freedom and Justice” Award

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2009 World Diversity Leadership Summit Freedom and Justice Award, AFRA, Beatrice Ahceleke, Black European Women's Council

Beatrice Acheleke, founder and leader of the Black European Women’s Council was honored at the 2009 World Diversity Leadership Summit this month in Washington, DC. Ms. Acheleke is a mother, executive director of AFRA, a non-profit, non governmental self-organisation and NGO of Black Women with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, and an inspiration to Black women everywhere.

Previous honorees include Vaclav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic and leader of the Czech Velvet Revolution against Communist Rule.

The World Diversity Leadership Summit conference is the world’s leading gathering of senior corporate executives, leading experts and policymakers focused on global and local diversity best practices. Conference partners included some of the largest and most respected companies and media outlets n the world.

The AfroSpear community is proud to know Beatrice and have her as a member of our global community! We salute you and congratulate you!

Pregnant Nigerian Woman in Laos given Life Sentence

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Samantha Orobator

Spear members, please can you spread this story on your blogs so that it can receive more press.

The Times have reported that Samantha Orobator, the Nigerian girl from London, has been given a life sentence for alledgely smuggling drugs 680grams of heroin into the country.

Samantha in custody at her trial this week

 Excerpt from The Times:

Survivors of Phanthong prison, where Orobator has been held since August, recently described the horrors of incarceration in the notorious jail where malnutrition, disease, abuse and torture are part of everyday life.

More description of the horrors that lie ahead

Kay Danes, an Australian who survived ten months in the same cell block where Ms Orobator is being held, said: “If she goes into early labour or starts miscarrying, nobody will come however much she screams,” she said.

“I’ve heard all the prisoners yelling at the top of their lungs, shouting for the guards when one of the inmates was dying, and nobody comes. Nobody ever comes.”

Samantha Orobator is due to give birth in October. There is a possibility that she may be extradited to the UK to serve out her sentence.

Edit @ 13.20PM: The Guardian is reporting that if moved to the UK for the case, she may be eligible to be out in a few years as it is her first offence and the defence of duress may apply.

Stay tuned at Afrospear for more news of the story as it develops.

Attack of the Street Harassment

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Street Harassment, UK, Walthamstow

This past week has been bizarre in some ways, because I have received street harassment more times than I care to remember. I am going to highlight the examples below of a sign that women are *still* classed as secondary citizens.

Example #1: I went running in Hackney. As I made my way home, a man came up to me ‘asking if I was alright’. I said ‘yes’ and then asked him (firmly) to leave me alone. I continued to walk down the street and he followed me all the way to the end, and decided to try his luck again.

Him: I just want to talk to you

Me: No, thank you. Can you please leave me alone? I have a boyfriend.

Example #2: I went to Borders in Oxford Circus. The bus was packed so I sat on the top deck where I could find a seat. A man, from Algeria as he would later tell me. He was talking to me, so I answered with my normal one word answers. As I found myself in the magazine emporium that is Borders, I felt a tap on my back. I turned around and my bus buddy was standing right there. He asked me if I was doing anything today and I said that I was busy, and of course adding what I told Mr. Example #1: I have a boyfriend. I could not believe that he ACTUALLY followed me straight into the shop, the second person to do so. But it does not stop there…

Example #3: On my way home from another day attempting to jog, I have Beyonce’s Sasha Fierce songs ringing in my ear. I then spotted a bright yellow advertisement, and gave a quick glance. The man standing near the yellow ads must have thought I was looking at him, because almost immediately, I get that same tap on my person, saying hello. I was irritated at this point and must have scowled at him.

Him: I didn’t mean to scare you

Me: You didn’t.

I think all of the examples above constitute as street harassment and it is NOT fair. How can any person do this to another human being and think it is okay to continually harass someone when they have made it blatantly clear that they want nothing to do with you on the street?

I hope no one thinks I am trying to bash men but I do think some men need to think long and hard about how they treat women in public spaces. Approaching a woman with a perceived sexual interest must be handled carefully, and following the person around in broad daylight is very irritating.

I was getting so angry by the end of the week with these three separate incidents, that I ignored an Asian Pentecostal Christian who was just handing out a flyer for an event. I apologised to him, telling him that Walthamstow was just full of harassers. He looked at me with genuine understanding and concurred.

10 Things I Noticed in the Black Hair Salon

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Black Hair, Natural Hair

Last weekend, I went with a close friend of mine at a hair salon in east London. My friend was getting a weave done, however, just sitting with her was such a ripe opportunity for me to observe how some black women act within the space of the hair salon.

10. The sharp smell of smoke that was piping out of one patron’s head as she sat underneath the dryer! I never noticed how thick the plumes of smoke can get.

9. How the rattail combs poke in and out of people’s heads as they undo their braids underneath their long weaves.

8. The stitching together of weaves could be a metaphor of how we need to stick together as black people.

Missing Black Girl Found Safe & Healthy

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Missing Children

The Voice in London have reported that Nomvula Miles (pictured), a girl who went missing from Haringey has been found safely.

[Image: The Voice]

–I am so thankful to hear that this girl was found safe. The area of Haringey is not far at all from where I live.

Thank Goodness Nomvula was found safe.

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Don’t forget to send in a nomination for the 100 Black European Women in Leadership book and award

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Black Women in Europe

Call for Nomination for the book “100 Black European Women in Leadership” and the “Black European Leadership Award – BELA 2009”

The need to highlight, raise awareness on and to celebrate achievements and successes of Black European Women from a self-empowerment perspective has been repeated on several occasions.

It is a fact that there are many Black European Women in decision-making and leadership positions in different Member States of the European Union. However, their contributions and achievements still remain largely invisible. Therefore, AFRA and its partners think that it is high time to pick up this challenge from a self-empowerment perspective and focus on this aspect within the framework of the European Year on Innovation and Creativity 2009.

For this reason we are currently working on our next book with the title: “100 Black European Women in Leadership”. This project aims at gathering data on 100 Black European Women in leadership and decision-making positions in Europe under the following categories: Social and Humanitarian engagements, Politics, Entrepreneurship, Academics and Research, Arts and Culture, Sports and Media. The selected 100 women shall be published as an attempt to honor these Black European role models (in all their rich diversity) for their leadership activities on the one hand, and on the other hand to encourage and promote the younger generations to go even further.

We therefore would very much appreciate it if you could recommend and/or help passing on this call to Black European Women around you, whom you think definitely deserve this honor. The deadline for nominations is 20th of March 2009. An international jury is going to decide upon the 100 Black European Women to be considered in the book and the BELA Award 2009.

AFRA and its partners are organising the “European Diversity, Innovation and Creativity Week 2009” from 13th-16th October 2009 in Brussels, within the framework of the European Year 2009 on Innovation and Creativity. A high level gala evening is planned during this week to officially present the book “100 Black European Women in Leadership” and to honor selected personalities (for the first time) with the “Black European Leadership Award (BELA 2009)”- for their contributions to the promotion of the cause of Black European Women.

The “Global Diversity Award Europe 2009 2009 (GDA-EU)” takes place on the same evening after the BELA.
For further information we gladly will be at your service and are looking forward to getting in personal contact with you.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve
been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” (Barack Obama 2008)

Let us make a change together!

Beatrice Achaleke (Executive Director AFRA)
– AFRA – International Center for Black Women’s Perspectives
– Initiator Black European Women’s Council-BEWC
– Trägerin des österreichischen Bundesehrenzeichen 2008
Graumanngasse 7/D/1, 1150 Wien
Tel/Fax: +43 1 9660 425
ZVR-Zahl: 488597767
office@blackwomencenter.org