Harvard Law School graduate Olara A. Otunnu LL.M. ’78 is the newest recipient of the prestigious Harvard Law School Association Award. The award was presented by Dean Elena Kagan ’86 and Harvard Law School Association President Jay H. Hebert ’86 on June 15 at the Worldwide Alumni Congress, held this year in Washington DC.

"Olara Otunnu is one of our most inspiring alumni," said Kagan. "His career in public service, his extensive leadership in the fields of international security and human rights, and his groundbreaking work at the UN set an example for all of us. He is a tireless advocate for children around the world, and I am honored to be able to present him with the HLSA Award."

The former United Nations under-secretary general and special representative for children and armed conflict, Otunnu founded and currently heads the LBL Foundation for Children. The New York-based non-profit is committed to promoting education and healing for children around the world, especially those whose lives have been dislocated by war. By drawing international attention to neglected conflict situations and pressing for full compliance with international protection laws, the LBL Foundation supports communities to recover and rebuild themselves.

During his time at the UN, Otunnu spearheaded the campaign to develop and mobilize international action on behalf of children exposed to war. He was the architect of the groundbreaking compliance mechanism designed to protect war-affected children, which was unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council in Resolution 1612 (2005).

Otunnu is also the recipient of the 2005 Sydney Peace Prize, the 2002 German Africa Prize, and the Global Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Rights. In 2006, the International Jury for the World’s Children’s Prize, on behalf of 12 million children in Global Friend schools, elected him the first World’s Children’s Ombudsman.

He has also served as president of the International Peace Academy; president of the UN Security Council; chairman of the UN Commission on Human Rights; and Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Permanent Representative to the UN. Otunnu serves on the boards of the Aspen Institute; the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Carnegie Corporation of New York; and the Hilton Humanitarian Prize. 

The HLSA designates up to three award recipients each year. The award honors HLS alumni, faculty members and friends who have demonstrated extraordinary service to the legal profession, to society, or to HLS. Recipients are nominated by the HLS community and chosen by the HLSA Awards Committee. The first HLSA Award was presented to Erwin Nathaniel Griswold ’28 S.J.D. ’29 in 1992. Since then, recipients have included Mary Robinson LL.M. ’68, the former president of Ireland; former Attorney General Janet Reno ’63; and Senator Barack Obama ’91.

On Friday June 15th, the first annual Shades of Diversity Juneteenth VIP Dinner & Fashion Show was held in Downtown Minneapolis, MN. A party, you say? A professional Juneteenth celebration? I had to check this out for myself so I threw-on a nice outfit and headed to the 601 Graves Hotel. The purpose of the event, as organizer Dre Sims of Inside Out explained to me, was “to bring people together collectively…We are bringing people together to network and create opportunities.” Well I’ve always been a fan of opportunities. And I suppose opportunities present themselves via networking, so it sounds like a great business plan thus far…

Doors opened at 5:00pm, but I arrived around 6:30 as to catch the hustle and bustle of the event (and maintain my fashionably late status). The evening began with various rooms occupying community businesses, a silent auction and live jazz, giving participants the opportunity to network with one another and actively involve themselves in local businesses. I scanned the room and decided to take a gander at the silent auction where all proceeds were earmarked for Girls In Action, a Minneapolis-based mentorship and empowerment program spearheaded by Dr. Verna Price, the keynote speaker of the entire event. Dinner at Temple Restaurant, signed Basketball shoes by host and Minnesota Lynx player Tamika Raymond and even a Jaguar, courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover Minneapolis were just a few of the many items up for bids. I took a sneak-peak at the Jaguar specs but quickly realized I didn’t have $40,000 on me to start the bid…so I moved on to T & Y Carwash and put my bid in for $15. Hey, you got to start somewhere. After placing a couple more bids on local products and services, I decided to peruse the business vendor areas. Girls In Action, Homewood Studios, Vasuda Salon, and Mshale Newspaper were just a few of the various local businesses displaying their products and services, all in the name of community and pride.

I managed to make it to just about every room and vendor area: networking and opportunity mission accomplished. There was another mission, however, that hovered over me…dinner. The evening flowed pretty smoothly, especially for a first-time event. But dinner was late and I was getting a little anxious. So I headed into the dining/program room and sat down, hoping that my presence in front of an empty plate would speed things up a bit. It didn’t work. But eventually the night progressed and dinner was served as soon as everyone made it into the room.

The magic of the evening began with the powerful spoken word of Shá Cage. She spoke of “diversity…change…transition” and exclaimed with urgency, “be yourself no matter what.” Her words set the tone for the evening. Next was the jovial, yet graceful introduction by host and Minnesota Lynx player Tamika Raymond. She eased the crowd with her lighthearted words but to be honest, I was slightly more focused on her fabulous Nwaka’ego Odigwe gown. But we’ll get to that later.

The theme of the night, diversity, managed to slip into the message of each and every speaker. Tom Gitaa, Publisher of Mshale Newspaper, spoke of the importance of diversity in light of immigrants in Minnesota today and the necessity to work together to “build our community.” Rico Vallejos, President & Creative Director of International & Ethnic Communications, Inc. and its Hispanic division, LatinoCreative, followed Gitaa perfectly and detailed diversity by defining what it is not…uniformity. Perhaps it was his words and partial recitation of The Gayarti Mantra that stuck with me the most: “May our intellect be stimulated so that we may be inspired to take the right action at the right time.” This challenged all of us to take another look at diversity and consider seizing action. Certainly a tough act to follow. Tim Brewster, Head Football Coach for the Minnesota Gophers, gave more of a pre-game talk similar to one he’d give to his football players, I imagine. Nevertheless, he got his point across. He explained how “there is a disconnect in the diversity at the University of Minnesota…and that needs to change.” And Congressman Keith Ellison highlighted the purpose of the evening by discussing the idea that Juneteenth should go farther than the African-American community. One idea shared by organizer and participants alike.

All of these speakers worked-up to the keynote speaker of the evening: Dr. Verna Price of Girls In Action. Dr. Price began by challenging us to spend 3.1 minutes speaking with someone we don’t know of “a different skin tone.” There goes that networking again. I found myself briefly chatting it up with Lindsey Harding from the Minnesota Lynx, proudly telling her how I ate all the food on my plate. I couldn’t think of anything else. After loosening up the crowd a bit, Dr. Price discussed her organization, which utilizes “personal power, leadership development, service-learning, and career building” to mentor and empower young girls at North High School in Minneapolis. And this was the full circle moment: a physical example to go along with the theme of the night – disclosing why diversity is important and how to take action. Her presentation was powerful to say the least. “Wherever, whatever, however you are in life…there’s still some place for you to take action.” By the end of her speech folks were ready to not just “talk about it,” but “be about it!”

Following Dr. Price’s powerful and motivational presentation was a brief comedy show by Brandon “Snack Bar” Lewis. Unfortunately I missed this portion because I was too busy picking up the T & Y Carwash vouchers that I won in the silent auction. That’s right, I may not have won the car…but I won the carwash. By the time I was done collecting my goods, the fashion show had begun. Various designers such as Crystal’s Closet, Cricket, Dynamyk Threadz, Wear It For Men, Soho Exchange, Bridal Emporium and Nwaka’ego Odigwe all collaborated with models by Ms. Denishia, stylists and make-up artists to present a funky and fun fashion show – a creative element to add to the diversity of the program.

The evening ended with “The Afterparty,” music by DJ Ray Seville, and one last chance for program participants to exchange business cards. I took that opportunity to briefly speak with Minnesota Twins player Torii Hunter about The Torii Hunter Project and how it connects to the ideals of Juneteenth. Torii explained to me how his organization gives children the chance to travel and participate in America’s favorite pastime: baseball. Some of these children have never had the chance to be on a little league team let alone travel on a plane. He illustrated how his project helps these children “envision what they want to do in life” essentially by opening the doors that they once thought were locked. And perhaps this is the archetype of the element of opportunity in Juneteenth. One that The Torii Hunter Project, Girls In Action, and other community organizations are striving to achieve. As his website states, "our goal is to increase the opportunities for America’s youth to enjoy the game of baseball in inner cities and beyond, and to provide an equal playing field for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity and skill level." Certainly Juneteenth’s ideals at work – a message of diversity…and opportunity.

Juneteenth has been celebrated across America as a day of reflection, history, community, pride and growth. I left the first annual Juneteenth Shades of Diversity Dinner & Fashion Show with contacts, carwashes, and fashion sense – the result of some good networking. More importantly, however, I left feeling like the event took a big step in the direction of action and opportunity – fulfilling the elements of Juneteenth by bringing communities together professionally and creatively.

Visit Minnesota Inside Out here for more information about the The First Annual Shades of Diversity Juneteenth Dinner & Fashion Show

The Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus on Monday announced the hiring of Keesha Gaskins as its executive director. The formal announcemnt comes exactly a week before the Caucus holds its Founding Feminist Festival on June 25. The festival will honor among others, Nimco Ahmed, a Somali native, as a "Woman to Watch".

Gaskins has served on the Minnesota State Bar Association Board of Governors and the boards of the Minnesota/North Dakota/South Dakota State Conference for the NAACP, Minneapolis Branch of the NAACP, Minneapolis YWCA and Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis. Gaskins holds leadership positions at the state and local levels of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party and is a member of the African-American Leadership Council for the Democratic National Committee. Gaskins is also a former chair of the Human Rights Commission for the City of St. Cloud.

Announcing her hiring, the Caucus said Gaskins’ major focus during her first six months will be MWPC’s Diversity Outreach Project (DOP), funded by the Bremer Foundation and the Women’s Foundation.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus,” said Gaskins. “I believe passionately in its mission of supporting women in elected and appointed office, which is key to supporting change in Minnesota and nationwide. I embrace the challenge of continuing MWPC’s 36-year tradition and including women of every race, class, creed, religion, culture, sexual orientation, ability and political affiliation. I also look forward to partnering with other women’s organizations and community allies to institutionalize historic gains made by women and to support full participation of all women in the political process.”

MNWPC seeks to increase the number of women in elected and appointed office by identifying, recruiting, training and supporting pro-choice women candidates.

Gaskins, 36, is a native of Bloomington, Minnesota and graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, Mass., and St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota. Prior to being hired by MWPC, she practiced law in Minneapolis at Bowman and Brooke L.L.P.   

Nimco Ahmed has been recognized as a “Woman to Watch” by the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus (MWPC).

Ahmed’s work in the community has been no easy feat. She draws her strength from her family and friends. “I have had many people in my life who have held my hand as I crossed the road.” From an early age, Nimco has been interested in working and serving the community. Ahmed, who now works as a policy aide in 6th Ward for Vice President Robert Lillgren in the City of Minneapolis, is excited about this award mostly because she is interested in creating an alliance with MWPC. “A lot of the work that the MWPC does in empowering women in leadership is parallel to what I already do.”
 
Nimco Ahmed, for five years, worked with the Confederation of Somali community as Youth Program specialist and community organizer. Nimco was the co-founder of the First African Then American (FATA) and Minnesota League of Young Voters (LYV). Soon after high school, Ahmed began her career in political activism when she joined the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone’s campaign team. In the last presidential election, she was the African/African American Base Vote Organizer and also organized the Muslim voters in the state of Minnesota.

She continued her political campaign career when in 2006 Ahmed worked as the Base Director for the Amy Klobuchar for US Senate and ran the Women’s program for the Democratic National Committee.

On a national level, Ahmed was one of the organizers of for the 2004 National Hip Hop Political Convention in New Jersey, and was co-chair of last year’s convention in Chicago. In 2005, she was the African American Base Director for Victory 2005, the Democratic Party’s campaign to rally voters, in New Jersey.
 

According to Keesha Gaskins, the executive director of MWPC, Ahmed was selected because of her local and national accomplishments. “She has shown a demonstrated commitment to work for the advancement of women in politics and has shown support for women’s issues."

Gaskins continues to say that while there are challenges in succeeding as a leader in immigrant communities, cooperative communities whose values include communication, consensus building and generational respect among other things, one is able to draw strength from these values. Ahmed who moved to the US from Somalia, attributes her success on her cultural sense of coalition building.

Currently, the Caucus is working on a Diversity Outreach Project (DOP) whose purpose is to increase the political voice of women of color throughout Minnesota.  The long-term goal is to increase the number of women of color running for office at all levels, thereby increasing the number of women in elected and appointed office.
 
Gaskins stresses on the importance of developing partnerships and relationships that will allow the recognition of female leaders in “to work together on issues of concern to women in each of Minnesota’ four primary racial/ethnic communities, including the African community.”

“I am a reflection of all the strong people in my life," says Ahmed urging the youth to set their eye on the price and to work hard despite any hurdles to get to their personal and career goals.

Kenyan Ambassador “Vindicated” On Moving Celebration to Minnesota

Kenya’s Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Peter Ogego, over the weekend, met with Kenyans in Minnesota and surrounding states to celebrate Kenya’s 44th Madaraka Day.

Ambassador Ogego read excerpts of President Kibaki’s Madaraka Day speech which outlined the milestones the country had achieved and a call to Kenyans to renew their commitment towards building a free, just and prosperous nation. He emphasized the importance of individual and collective actions and the need to focus on strengthening their unity and sense of nationhood.

Ogego stated that Kenya was going through a transformation on all levels and called for the cessation of unnecessary levels of engagement. He emphasized his commitment to serving the Kenyan Diaspora and offered that embassy staff was always available to help. He spoke on personal responsibility saying that “we must all know why we came here”.

Speaking on the rising insecurity in different areas of Kenya and the Mungiki menace (an illegal cult that continues to murder civilians) in Kenya, Ambassador Ogego said, “Their days are numbered. Those who think they can get away with killing others are mistaken. Kenyans are not cowards, we were not scared of the colonialists and political oppression of the past. We will catch these misguided criminals who have failed in life”.

On the last Madaraka day of his current term, the president had highlighted some of the achievements over the last four years. The economy grew by 6.1% for the fourth year in a row and the number of Kenyans living below the poverty line was cut from 56% to 46%. The government had also implemented rural electrification schemes with 377 grid extensions completed and a further 340 scheduled for completion by September this year.

President Kibaki also urged leaders to nurture national cohesion citing tribalism as a dangerous ill that could tear the Kenyan people apart. He was encouraged by the youth of Kenya who have largely disregarded tribalism and said there was hope that the vice could be eliminated from the society.

The ambassador was proud to announce that the United Nations awarded Kenya the prestigious 2007 United Nations Public Service Award.

Madaraka Day,  June 1st, is the day that Kenya attained internal self-rule in 1963, preceding full independence which was achieved on 12th December 1963. Madaraka Day was the first time the Kenyan flag was raised and the national anthem recited leading to it being declared the first national holiday by the new government of Kenya.

Official Madaraka Day celebrations in the US are traditionally hosted by the Kenyan embassy in Washington DC, however, the ambassador committed to having it in Minnesota for the first time this year. It is observed as a day for families to get together to renew bonds and strengthen their national identity. He said at the end the huge turnout vindicated his decision to have the celebration come to Minnesota this year.
 
The event, organized by a local Madaraka day committee, included food and refreshments, music, a play area for the children, a HIV/Hepatitis C testing tent and several vendor stalls, with embassy officials on hand to renew passports. Over 150 passports were renewed at the end of the day.

Thirteen-year old Mary Page sang Shackles, a song by the group Mary-Mary which was followed by a prayer and the Kenyan national anthem.

Books for Kenyatta University

Ogego praised the efforts of a group of Kenyan-American professors who pioneered efforts to donate books from educational institutions in the US. Dr. Jane Njue from Northern Illinois University got together with, Dr. Agnes Odinga of Hamline University, Dr. Ebby Luvaga and Dr. Leah Keino, Iowa State University along with Dorothy Rombo a graduate student from the University of Minnesota to donate books to Kenyatta University in Nairobi. Partnering with Books for Africa, they went to their colleagues at various institutions and requested for used books, collecting 40,000 university books.

Morande ended by thanking the main event sponsor, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). He praised MDH for taking the initiative to engage the Kenyan community as it confronts the AIDS and Hepatitis C issue among its members.

Morande who got tested for both HIV and Hepatitis C at the African Health Action Corporation tent urged awareness and testing.

“It is important that everybody gets tested at least once a year and those at high risk, like health workers, should be tested every six months. HIV is a disease like any other…the earlier you start your treatment the better,” said Morande.  Over twenty people were tested that day.

Attendees were impressed by the large turn out, despite the rainy weather towards the end.

“We wanted to give Kenyans the opportunity to get together to enhance self awareness in the Diaspora,” said William Yimbo, one of the community leaders who helped organize the event.

“The large number is a show of patriotism to our country. We can work together as a community, showing harmony and serving as examples to our children,” Morande said.

“It has been a lot of fun,” said Immaculate Oburu, a University of Minnesota student, after the event. “I was really surprised at the diversity in age, everyone from the children to the older people came.”

“We are very pleased by the work of our leaders here in Minnesota, Madaraka meant that we were self sufficient and free but not all those have been achieved,” said Chris Obure who attended the event. 

The event was deemed a success with several hundred Kenyans showing up, as well as representatives from N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. There was an evening dance held later that night at the Blue Nile hosted by Kilimanjaro Entertainment.