My World

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Dr. Lachin Hatemi: Malcolm Gladwell says Black youth has a “summer vacation problem”

by Lachin Hatemi M.D.

I am a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell, the author of many bestselling books, including “The Tipping Point,” “Outliers” and “Blink.” His books are thought-provoking and based firmly on research with a mission to answer tough questions, with a novel approach to sociology. One of the questions raised by Gladwell was about racial disparity in test scores and low high school graduation rates among black students.

In his book “Outliers,” Gladwell asks a difficult question: Why is a great majority of black youth is failing in school? He subsequently proceeds to asks more difficult questions about the same topic, which would garner immediate attention almost simultaneously from both the Ku Klux Klan and the NAACP.

Some ignorant people might say, “Maybe black kids are just stupid with low IQs, and they lack intelligence!”

Non-Black Student Says U. Kentucky Medical School Mistreats African Americans

Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D.

Published by www.kulturekritic.com

Men of Honor is an inspiring movie starring Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding, Jr. The movie was inspired by story of the first African-American master diver in the U.S. Navy, Carl Brashear. I watched the movie when it first came out in 2000, and I’ve repeatedly watched it over the years when I needed motivation and courage during difficult times as a medical student.

The main character of the movie, Carl Brashear (played by Cuba Gooding), decides to leave this disadvantaged upbringing of his native Kentucky in 1948 to join the U.S. Navy. Young Carl was determined to overcome racism and eventually become the first black American Navy diver.

As dramatized by the movie, Carl accomplishes his dreams with great difficulty, first by enrolling in a navy diving school in New Jersey. At every stage of his training, Carl encounters outright hostility from his classmates and superiors. In the end and against all odds, he achieves his dreams, albeit at a great personal cost.

Brashear’s life story shows that with persistence and hard work even a poor kid can achieve greatness against all odds.

Today, we do not have outright racism at our schools. Nobody wakes up black kids and hose them down with ice cold water, as Carl had to endure. Professors cannot insult minority students without being reprimanded, and hopefully Kentucky is not as racist as the old days when Brashear was a sharecropper teenager. At least this is what I believed when I enrolled at University of Kentucky Medical School in 2004; however, my naïve dreams about post-racial America quickly dissipated.

Here is the rest of the Story

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Dr. Lachin Hatemi: How Hajj Created a Better, Stronger Version of Malcolm X

Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D.

Published by www.kulturekritic.com

In the Islamic faith, all Muslims are required to make pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life if their health and finances permit. This pilgrimage is called “Hajj,” during which millions of Muslims flock to Saudi Arabia to visit Mecca. Hajj is a religious requirement for every Muslim for more than 1400 years and always happens during a specific period in the lunar calendar once every year. Muslims from all races, nationalities and political convictions will pray side by side in Mecca during this time.

During Hajj, people are required to wear simple dress and asked to refrain from wearing jewelry that might display wealth. Equality among men and women is the essence of Hajj.

Doctor Challenges U. Kentucky Medical School’s Poor Track Record on Minorities

Authored by Lachin Hatemi

Published by www.blackbluedog.com

University of Kentucky (UK) has seen the future of higher education, and it is in the numbers of out-of-state students – preferably the black out-of-state students.

Kentucky had cut its financial support for its public colleges over the last decade, which was offset by rapidly rising tuition rates. But funding trends have gotten worse, and the cost of college education is rapidly becoming cost-prohibitive.

Faced with declining state funding, the University of Kentucky wants to attract more out-of-state students to fund an ambitious expansion of university facilities and its athletics department. University President Eli Capiuloto believes that better dorms and athletic programs will advance one of the school’s highest priorities: attracting a larger number of out-of-state students paying higher tuition.

Slavery during the Ottoman Empire Period

Slave Market Istanbul - Slavery during Ottoman Empire

Slave Market in Istanbul

Islam forbids Muslims to own and trade slaves. Unfortunately slavery still existed in the Muslim communities and Ottoman Empire was not an exception.

Istanbul - Capital city of the Ottoman Empire was the final destinations of many slaves. The slave market in Istanbul was located between two mosques Nuruosmaniye Mosque and Atik Ali Pasa Mosque. Today there are a lot of small stores in the same area. Ottoman slaves were predominantly white but later in the 19th century black slaves dominated the marketplace. This market in Nuruosmaniye was closed in 1846 but slave trade continued in other parts of the city including some hans in the Fatih district.

Dr. Lachin Hatemi: Senegal Can be a Model of Democracy for All of Africa

Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D.

Published by www.yourblackworld.com

Among all the chaos and civil wars crippling the African continent, Senegal stands alone as a democratic and stable country since 1960. The relative success of Senegal’s democracy can be found in its political history. Senegal has a long history of democracy that began in the late 1700-s and continued during and after the colonization period. The Senegalese even were allowed to vote for their French colonial rulers. After gaining their independence from France in 1960, Senegal already had an established political system and a stable government structure to lean upon.

In 2000, elderly Abdoulaye Wade became the Senegal’s president after four unsuccessful attempts. A lawyer and economist Wade was the main opposition leader for more than three decades prior to his election as the president.

The Curious story of Afro-Turks - the Black Citizens of Turkey

Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D.
Published by www.KultureKritic.com

In 2010, Dutch-Turkish Photographer Ahmet Polat published the photo book AfroTurks, which documented the pictures of Turks of African descent living in the region of Izmir- Turkey’s third largest city. Ahmet had been working on this project since 2006. The pictures from his collection open the doors to the inner worlds of black minority in Turkey.

Who are Afro-Turks? Where did they come from and where they are heading?

Book Review: “The Internal Enemy” - Founding Fathers’ attitude towards Slavery after the American Revolution

Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D.
Published by www.blackbluedog.com

Pulitzer Prize-winning author - Alan Taylor describes the events around the issue of slavery during and after the American Revolution in his most recent book “The Internal Enemy”. Alan examines the mass exodus of slaves to the ranks of the Royal British Army. “The Internal Enemy” shows the personal side of the Founding Fathers from Virginia and points a finger at the contradiction between their well-publicized rhetoric and attitudes towards the institution of slavery.

Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D.

Published by www.blackbluedog.com

The portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo is currently open to public viewing on a long-term loan to the National Portrait Gallery in London, from the Orientalist Museum in Qatar. However I am very hard-pressed to describe this “loan arrangement” as a voluntary exchange. This loan was only made possible as a result of the British Government’s intervention to prevent its exportation to its rightful owner from the small and wealthy sheikhdom of Qatar.

Lachin Hatemi: Spirit of 1968 is dead at University of Kentucky

Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D.

Published by www.yourblackworld.com

In the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, two black athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos made history with their black power salute. As world class athletes, they used the Olympic platform to protest the mistreatment of black people. Early in John Carlos’ life he desired to be a swimmer, not a runner, but most swimming pools were open exclusively to the white elite. Mr. Carlos found his calling in running because it did not require access to costly facilities that were off-limit to blacks like swimming.

Before Oprah: Scholar’s Philanthropic Work Has Huge Impact on Africa

Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D.

Published by www.yourblackworld.com

Centuries of colonization, slavery and diseases ravaged the sub-Saharan Africa. The entire continent was left with a desperate need for an educated and skilled workforce, which can transform the economy and improve the daily lives of Africans. Education is the key to such a transformation and ending poverty in Africa. What are we doing to educate the African youth.

Classmate of President Obama is Fighting to Reform America’s Prison Systems

Authored by Dr. Lachin Hatemi

Published by www.yourblackworld.com

David Singleton is the executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center (OJPC), a non-profit law firm working to reform and improve the Ohio’s criminal justice system. Singleton was President Obama’s classmate at Harvard Law School’s class of 1991. His wife was also classmates with Michelle Obama at the same law school. The Singletons remained close to the Obama family over the years; they even hosted a fundraiser in Cincinnati for the Obama’s 2004 US Senate Campaign.

Being a Harvard Law School alumnus, Singleton could easily have a lucrative career as partner in a prestigious law firm. He instead found his calling in public advocacy for some of the most disadvantaged and despised members of society: people caught up in the criminal justice system.

Under Singleton’s leadership, OJPC has striven to make Ohio’s criminal justice systems more fair, intelligent, and redemptive. In 2003, OJPC brought a landmark class action lawsuit which over a nine-year period reformed health care for Ohio prisoners. Over the years, OJPC has represented prisoners who have suffered violence and sexual assault at the hands of correctional staff, and has successfully fought for prisoners seeking to exercise their religious rights behind bars, including access to religious meals.

Leroi Johnson and Lachin Hatemi

Lachin Hatemi

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Reign of Terror and Racism at University of Kentucky Medical School

Authored by Lachin Hatemi M.D

Published by www.KultureKritic.com

Lexington Kentucky is an interesting city; my adopted hometown; an ever growing college town, full of potential. Surrounded by beautiful and legendary horse farms, it is also home to the 2012 NCAA Basketball
champions: the Wildcats of the University of Kentucky. A team of mostly black college athletes carried the championship cup back to Lexington, an achievement recognized by the entire country and President Obama. Given that the University’s sports teams were not integrated until the late 60’s,
it is worthy of note that of the University’s 8 NCAA basketball championship teams, the 2012 team was the first to have an all African American starting lineup. In the sports arena, UK has seemingly come a long
way when in comes to including African Americans and minorities, and remains a popular destination for black high school athletes.