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IBW21

IBW21 (The Institute of the Black World 21st Century) is committed to enhancing the capacity of Black communities in the U.S. and globally to achieve cultural, social, economic and political equality and an enhanced quality of life for all marginalized people.

Reggae legend Bob Marley talks with James G. Spady at the United Nations in New York City on June 15, 1978.

Remembering a cultural historian and hip-hop scholar whose ‘Spady School’ reshaped the lives of Penn students

By Editors' Choice, News & Current Affairs

By Valerie Russ, The Philadelphia Inquirer — It had no classrooms, no courses, no credits, and a faculty consisting of just one man of uncertain academic credentials who carried his books and papers in plastic grocery bags. But around the University of Pennsylvania campus, Spady School was said to change lives. For 40 years, James G. Spady, best described as an independent scholar, set out a movable feast for hungry…

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A woman wears a mask as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba,

How Cuba is Leading the World in the Fight Against Coronavirus

By COVID-19 (Coronavirus), News & Current Affairs

As Cuba sends doctors around the world to fight coronavirus, a Cuban antiviral drug is helping stem the tide of the outbreak. By Alan Macleod, MPN News — While the United States government is complicating efforts to treat coronavirus across the world and is using the pandemic to increase pressure on countries already struggling under U.S. sanctions, including Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, the small island of Cuba, itself a target of Washington’s ire, is leading the…

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“Departure of the Pilgrim Fathers From Delfshaven” (1620) by Adam Willaerts from the Rose-Marie and Eijk de Mol van Otterloo collection.

A Fresh Take on the Mayflower’s History

By Reparations

On the 400th anniversary of the ship’s landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the commemoration will be more inclusive than in the past. By Tanya Mohn, NYT — This article is part of our latest Museums special section, which focuses on the intersection of art and politics. Paula Peters remembers the last major anniversary of the historic voyage in 1620 of the Mayflower from Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Mass. It was in 1970….

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The MSC Meraviglia docked off Cozumel, Mexico, last month after Jamaica and the Cayman Islands barred it from entering over concerns of a crew member with flu-like symptoms.

Far from the coronavirus epicenter, Caribbean tourism starts to get sick

By News & Current Affairs

Cruise passenger numbers are down and hotel guest numbers have begun to dip. The islands are bracing for worse. By Kate Chappell, Anthony Faiola and Jasper Ward, Washington Post Ocho Rios, Jamaica — A Bob Marley tune played as the scent of jerk chicken wafted through a half-empty market in this normally bustling port town. A few dozen tourists milled about — far fewer than normal but more than last week,…

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