[/media-credit] Riggs shoots a photo as Newton presents a certificate to Cisse
Most recently political analysts have coined the phrase to fit the silent revolution going on in Venezuela after Hugo Chavez outlawed Radio Caracas television which had been critical of his leftist government.
When Radio Caracas was banned, little did the Venezuelan government know that the same TV station would soon re-emerge and start broadcasting on YouTube.
Remember Joe Trippi who was the internet guru for Howard Dean during his 2004 run for U.S. president? Trippi later wrote a book called ‘The Revolution will not be televised: Democracy, the internet and the overthrow of everything.” The book came out in reaction to what is now an internet revolution and the world of information we all live in.
The real substance of the revolution will not be televised applies to a lot of things that are taking place today, and which have a significant impact on our lives but which, for good or for bad, are not being reported or shown on what we used to call TV.
One such event happened on Saturday, June 9, 2007, albeit silently, at the Central Presbyterian Church in Denver.
The African Heritage Celebration, led by Mohamadou Cisse, a native of Senegal came together for a fundraising dinner to help school children in the Senegalese communities of Bargny, Diorbivol, and Keur Samba Kar.
About 100 people attended the event. Nonetheless, they told stories dating back almost 10 years, when tragedy struck the African community in Denver.
One by one, they lined up and took turns to deliver speeches. Beginning with Stephanie Riggs, former news anchor for CBS4 Denver, to Cisse and to Dr. Jim Jackson of Project CURE, everyone heard recollections of the “senseless murder” of Oumar Dia at a Denver bus stop in November 1997.
Riggs said what she recalls was not just the brutal act of murder of a young man, but what is now a legacy of gifting by the people of Denver to Senegal.
The death of Dia, a housekeeper at the Denver Hyatt Regency hotel, has since turned into opportunities where leaders in Denver, where Dia lived, have all poured out their hearts and souls to help those he loved back in his native Senegal.
The pouring out of support for Dia’s community has included trips and donations to Senegal, from medical supplies by Project CURE, and the construction of water facilities, to visits by a delegation of Denver city officials to Senegal.
[/media-credit] Cisse and some of his guests pose for a group photo
To recognize the work that Cisse has done for Senegal and the rural communities where Dia came from, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities by the Denver Institute of Urban Studies. Representing the Institute was Dr. H. Malcolm Newton who presented the certificate.
There were no TV cameras present at this event.
1 Comment
George,
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Keep up the good work.