PROJECT

PACEM
Roger Williams University

NUCLEAR
Finally, we are confronted in this modern age with a
form of society which is evolving on entirely new social
and political lines. Since all peoples have either attained political independence or are on the way to attaining it, soon no nation will rule over another and
none will be subject to an alien power.
Pope John XXIII

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons | Flickr

FATAL PEACEMAKERS
By Kaelyn Phelps
Its midday in Manhattan. The skies are clear and a light breeze is
sweeping across the city. The morning traffic rush creeps along,
each car vying for more space on the pavement. Every one of the
125,000 people packed into each square mile of the city is unsuspectingly going about their daily routine.
A man sits in his car, anxiously checking his watch as it ticks its way
closer and closer to 11:00, a race between man and time. A boy
skips along, hand in hand with his mother, licking the excess cream
cheese from his bagel off his fingers. A woman clicks along in her
heels, determinedly heading into the office to present her business
proposal.

In a fraction of a second, the world is eternally altered for the worse.

A 150-ton highly enriched uranium (HEU) bomb, ten times the size
of the atomic bomb used in Hiroshima during World War II, detonates in the center of Times Square.
In less than one second, 100,000 people are dead, killed instantly
by the blast. They will never know what happened to them, having
had no time to realize that a nuclear bomb just exploded in their
neighborhood. The Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden,
Penn Station, the New York Public Libraryall flattened into unrecognizable rubble.
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In another 15 seconds, a shock wave swells outward for an additional 30 miles from ground zero, the point of detonation. Every person in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Jersey City is, by now, either dead or severely injured. All the cities caught in this ring are
devastated.
The government may just be learning that a catastrophe has occurred in the city, but there is nothing they can do. All forms of communication are compromised, leaving no avenue for survivors to
reach out or for rescue groups to call in. All roads connecting Manhattan and the outer boroughs to the rest of the country are demolished or severely compromised. The radioactivity caused by the
bomb is so severe that it will kill any person who attempts a rescue
mission.
By the end of the day, a total of 1.5 million people will have died
from the blast, flying debris, or radioactivity. Another 1.5 million will
be seriously injured. Only an estimated 25 percent of those injured
will survive their injuries.
In a modern-day nuclear world, it is this hypothetical, though potential, scenario that all senior government officials must face every day
as they go about their duty protecting the American people.
Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen is no exception. Having
served under President Bill Clinton during both of his terms, these
were the images that kept Cohen awake at night.
My biggest fear as Secretary of Defense was a nuclear bomb exploding in the United States, he said. Once that happens, the
questions the President of the United States will have to ask is: Who
did it? Why they did it? And what should we do?

The international fallout from a nuclear attack of this scale would be

paramount, with every leader mobilizing their military, preparing
their nuclear weapons, and determining in which direction to launch
those nuclear warheads. How each country responds could be the
difference between their survival and their destruction as the world
is launched into its first-ever nuclear war.
With 16,000 known nuclear warheads in existence among nine countries, world leaders, including Secretary Cohen, are forced to look
for a solution that ensures global peace and provides total protection from a nuclear attack.
Their paradoxical solution lies in the concept of deterrence.

DETERRENCE
A strategic defense strategy, nuclear deterrence wasand still is
the game played by the United States and every other nation in possession of nuclear weapons. It began as a two-player game, with
the United States facing the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World
War II. Today, there are nine players, all racing one another to ensure their own survival.
To win, one country has to have enough nuclear weapons that another country would not launch a nuclear attack. So long as the
United States has enough weapons to not only absorb a Russian attack but to also launch a retaliatory campaign that would effectively
bomb the country into a parking lot, Russian President Vladimir
Putin will not threaten nor launch a single nuclear weapon in the
United States direction. This is the theory that has been keeping
every citizen safe since the 1950s.
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Deterrence employs the strategy of building up a formidable nuclear

arsenal, which has the singular purpose of standing dormant but at
the ready; the strategy here is to press other countries to consider
the consequences of a nuclear attack. Right now, the United States
has an estimated 7,100 nuclear weapons in its arsenal, second only
to Russia, which has 7,700 nuclear weapons.
The United States is spending billions of dollars on weapons and
technology that it will, hopefully, never have to use, said Secretary
Cohen.
So why, then, do we maintain this fatal arsenal? Well, for starters, it
works.

NO TURNING BACK
On August 6 and again on August 9, 1945, the United States
dropped two atomic bombs over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan with the purpose of ending World War II. In that
same moment, the United States changed the course of history, giving birth to the nuclear
age and launching a
global struggle that continues to plague humanity, even today.
At the time, the United
States hoped to monopolize its nuclear technology, but its efforts to remain the only nuclear na-

tion were futile. Immediately, other countries began to thirst for the
power associated with
possessing nuclear
weapons, and the technology spread throughout the globe.
Just four years later, in
1949, the Soviet Union
tested its own nuclear
weapon, effectively starting the nuclear arms race between the
United States and the Soviet Union. Both countries vying for the title
of super power, their nuclear arsenals suddenly grew so that each
nation owned upwards of 30,000 nuclear weapons.
Threatened by the vertical rise of nuclear technology by two superpowers, other powerful countries joined in the race, creating their
own nuclear technology to ward off the increasing danger posed by
the United States and Soviet Union. By 1964, the United Kingdom,
France, and China had all developed nuclear technologies of their
own. Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea would join in by 2003,
much to the reluctance of the United States and other nuclear powers.
Realizing that the uncontrolled proliferation of nuclear weapons
could lead to dire scenarios in which rogue states or terror groups
obtained this lethal technology, the Worlds nuclear powers joined
forces to create the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968. On its
face, the treaty aimed to prevent any new nations from gaining nuclear capabilities. However, many nations, like India, Israel, and Paki4

Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963)

Agreement between the US, USSR, and the UK prohibiting nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968)
Initiated by the US, USSR, the UK, France, and China with the purpose of limiting the spread of military nuclear technology to nonnuclear nations wishing to build or acquire their own nuclear
weapons.

stan, didnt sign the treaty. Still others, like Iraq, Iran, and Libya,
signed the treaty only to go back and defy it by pursuing their own
secret nuclear programs. North Korea completely rescinded their
signature in a quest to possess their own nuclear arsenal.
Since then, any attempts to stop the international proliferation of nuclear weapons have been limited at best. The United States and the
Soviet Union, now Russia, have worked to decrease the number of
nuclear weapons in their respective arsenals with a litany of agreements including the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) I and
SALT II as well with START I, START II and New START.
As each attempt to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons either failed or proved inept, the world turned to deterrence in an effort to discourage non-nuclear nations from initiating nuclear pro-

SALT I (1972)
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the US and USSR began
in 1969 and ended in 1972. Resulted in the creation of the AntiBallistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and the Interim Agreement on the
Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The Interim Agreement
would last for five years, during which both countries froze the
number of strategic ballistic missiles, stopped the construction of
ICBM silos, and allowed for the increase of SLBM launcher levels
so long as reductions were made in older ICBM or SLBM launchers.
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972)
Treaty between the US and USSR that limited each countrys antiballistic missile systems. It prohibits the development, testing, and
deployment of space-, sea-, and air-based, as well as mobile landbased, systems.
SALT II (1979)
Bilateral agreement between the US and the USSR that set equal
limitations on both countrys strategic offensive weapon systems.
Determined that each country was allowed 2,400 nuclear deliv5

grams. Each country began to rely heavily on the defense strategy,

effectively securing the presence of nuclear weapons in the global
system so that the world can no longer function without them.
In a cyclical relationship, deterrence shaped the global nuclear strategy in the same way that nuclear weapons had birthed the strategy
of deterrence.
John Park, an adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government with extensive experience in international nuclear affairs, says that conversations took a final turn away
from the goal of total elimination of
nuclear weapons following the Cold
War. It was this shift that represented a final change in perspective where the world fully acknowledged that it could no longer function without the presence of nuclear
weapons.
At the end of the Cold War there
was an opportunity [for disarmament], said Park. Since then
weve seen strategic arms reduction, but there still is a view for the
large countries in the large international system that nuclear weapons are an important in their overall defense posture.
Since that shift, the international nuclear community has not looked
back, and maybe with good reason. Contrary to their fatal nature, nu-

clear weapons have cemented their place in the globe as forceful

peacemakers.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROMOTE PEACE

Since the day of their inception, nuclear weapons have held the
world to a certain standard of peace. With the threat of a more advanced retaliatory attack ever present, countries have resigned
themselves to the prospect that their
deadly arsenals may, and should,
never be used.
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Global Security Affairs, Joseph
Benkert, believes that nuclear weapons
are here to stay, so entrenched in national and global security that the world
cannot afford to give up their arsenals.
I think its probably an uncomfortable
truth and maybe an inconvenient truth
but the security of the United States is
underpinned by nuclear weapons and
global security and the relations among
the great powers is underpinned by nuclear weapons. I dont think thats likely to change soon, said
Benkert.
With this recognition, the world was faced with the challenge of what
to do with the technology it had created. Impossible to unlearn how
to create nuclear weapons, the international nuclear community
6

chose to focus instead on how the technology was to be used,

rather than attempt to ignore that the technology exists altogether.

ment, I think the United States needs to keep a certain number of nuclear weapons.

The of knowledge how to build a nuclear weapon is now widespread. In a world where no one has nuclear weapons, theres always the problem of cheating and how long it takes to develop and
build a weapon, said Benkert. Every crisis would become a nuclear crisis in the sense that how fast can I produce a nuclear
weapon so that I can dominate the
opponent.

Ambassador Grossman believes that nuclear weapons are too embedded in the national defense security system to be removed.
When even just one country has nuclear weapons, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the United States to run an effective foreign policy campaign without having a nuclear arsenal of its own.

While this doesnt discount any

movement towards a world without
nuclear weapons, many experts
and government officials believe
that nuclear weapons are too important for the United States security to
disarm at this time.
Former Ambassador Marc Grossman, who has extensive experience
in the Middle East as United States
Ambassador to Turkey, United
States Special Representative for
Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in international affairs, likes to think of a world without nuclear weapons.
However, he too has concluded that this illusion is nearly impossible.
I think in a perfect world it would be great to not have any nuclear
weapons. Sometimes we go back and think, gosh, what if they had
never been invented, he says. But Im sorry to say that for the mo-

I find it hard to conceive of how youd

run your foreign military, international
diplomatic policies today if we didnt
have them and others continued to
have nuclear weapons, he said.
The optimist that he is, Secretary Cohen
dreams of the day when there are no
nuclear weapons anywhere in the
world, but even he recognizes that nuclear weapons hold a certain stabilizing
power over the globe. To ensure domestic and international safety, countries
must maintain their nuclear arsenals to
some degree to implement an effective
deterrence defense policy.
Deterrence not only dissuades a nuclear attack, but it also helps to
calm the fears of non-nuclear countries whose neighbors may have
nuclear capabilities. The United States, and other nuclear states, is
able to expand its nuclear umbrella of protection over its allies in areas of constant insecurity, thus alleviating some of the tension and
lessening the likelihood of a nuclear attack.
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At a strategic level the fact that the United States has nuclear weapons, as does Russia and China, produces a measure of strategic stability that would not be there if there were
no nuclear weapons, says Benkert. The
chance of a major war among these powers would be greater if there were not the
restraint induced by the nuclear weapons
and the stability at a strategic level that
those weapons produce.
President Barack Obama, in a 2009 address in Prague, played out the vision of a
world without nuclear weapons. However,
even he expressed the fact that as long as
nuclear weapons exist, the United States
would maintain its arsenal so that it provides the country with a safe deterrence.
Putting it simply, Benkert explains the need for nuclear weapons. I
think that deterrence is essential to our posture and that nuclear
weapons are essential for deterrence.
As is the nature of deterrence, the use of nuclear weapons is solely
for defense, which aids in their peace-making ability. So long as
every country follows this philosophy of defensive nuclear weapons,
no first-strike will ever be initiated and thus no nuclear weapon will
ever be launched. This stance places the world on a sensitive nuclear equilibrium, in which rational players tread lightly and the presence of nuclear weapons provides peace.
It also greatly escalates the fallout should one nuclear weapon fall
into the wrong hands or one irrational player enters the game, disre-

garding all the rules. In a game where one wrong move equates certain worldwide destruction, nuclear nations must now focus all their
attention on controlling the game and the
players within it.

CHANGING THE GAME

The rise of non-nation states and terrorist
organizations, including Al Qaeda and the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),
have lead to an increased threat of nuclear
weapons being transferred into the wrong
hands, and, in turn, an increased threat of
a nuclear attack somewhere in the globe.
President Barack Obama and leaders across the globe have begun
to pay strict attention to these terrorist groups, as well as rogue
states that have presented evidence of illegitimately pursuing a nuclear program.
Most recently, the United States was able to secure a nuclear arms
agreement with Iran, effectively eliminating a potential threat in one
of the most unstable regions on the globe. In concluding this deal,
the United States was able to decrease the possibility of terrorist organizations centered in this region from obtaining unaccounted for
nuclear weapons. Ambassador Grossman supports the Iran deal,
saying: There are a number of reasons to be in favor of the Iran
agreement, among the most important is that it forestalls, at least for
the time being, a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

The Iran deal was paramount, as it induced stability in the region. It

assured other nations that nuclear weapons would not creep up in
Iran, thus ensuring their safety so the need to pursue their own nuclear weapons was vanquished.
Think of if we were facing a world in which there was no agreement
with Iran. If you were in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, you would
have to be thinking, Well how am I going to protect myself? The Iranians are going to have a nuclear bomb and we have to do something about that. Maybe they would make the decision not to pursue
a nuclear weapon but you cant count on that, said Ambassador
Grossman.
North Korea poses a different threat to the nuclear peace balance.
A developed country in its own right, the nation has distanced itself
from rational players and struck out on its own to play the nuclear
game by its own rules.
Ignoring all international treaties and agreements, Supreme Leader
of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un has effectively conceptualized, implemented, and finalized North Koreas
nuclear program. Located in the southeast corner of the Asian continent, the threat of a nuclear attack coming from North Korea could
induce other countries in this region to either pursue or use their own
nuclear weapons.
Ambassador Grossman recognizes this threat. The impact both internationally and domestically of states like North Korea and Iran
having nuclear weapons are enormous, and of course they are
much more central to those countries that are in the neighborhoods
of both North Korea and Iran, he said.

An unprecedented situation in itself, North Korea has presented the

world with a challenging scenario it has been unable to deal with to
date. Park offers that the United States must thoughtfully consider
how it goes about managing the North Korean dilemma. Traditionally, the United States has relied on financial and economic sanctions to prevent North Korea from further advancing its nuclear program. However, each time the United States enhances its sanctions,
North Korea has amplified its nuclear program.
With respect to North Korea, sanctions are something that has presented a puzzle. If you look at it during the periods where the United
States and the International community were applying sanctions with
a great deal of intensity, we saw North Korea increase its nuclear
weapons capabilities, and thats a very inconvenient fact and something that policy makers are grappling with right now, said Park.The
presence of nuclear weapons in the region has induced anxiety, an
issue the United States must deal with simultaneously. The presence
of United States allies who reside under the nations nuclear umbrella has helped to induce stability in the region, similar to the Middle East.By flexing its nuclear arsenal, the United States may be
able to help maintain peace in the region according to Benkert. The
United States has to convince North Korea that they have nothing to
gain in obtaining nuclear weapons. To realize this, the state must not
feel threatened in any form from any nation, or they must feel that
any effort to initiate a nuclear attack is futile. The United States has
to create a situation in which North Korea does not benefit from having nuclear weapons, whether than means convincing them that the
United States can intercept their weapons or that it has the ability to
aggressively respond to an attack.

I think that the United States needs nuclear weapons for deterrence
of its potential adversaries who have nuclear weapons or who might
seek to have nuclear weapons. And, just as, importantly to assure its
allies who otherwise would intimidated or coerced by their neighbors
who have nuclear weapons and who could use their nuclear weapons to intimidate them or coerce them into, said Benkert.
When putting it all in perspective, had the United States never unleashed the atomic bomb, and had the Soviet Union and the United
States never built up their arsenals to
awesome proportions, and had the
threat of nuclear weapons never entered the global stage, the world may
not be faced with this dilemma. But
such is the case with any lethal technology, and now it is simply another
item on a long list of international issues. The difference is this issue can
wipe out entire populations if not handled with care or given the proper attention.

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE

In his Prague Address, President Barack Obama announced that
the United States would begin working towards reducing its nuclear
arsenal, reviving the spirit of America and the world by proposing
that nuclear weapons may one day make their final exit from the
global stage, even as nuclear tensions intensify.

By 2010, he had signed the New START Treaty with Russia to further
decrease United States reliance on its nuclear weapons and to bring
down the number of nuclear weapons in its arsenal. Americans and
global citizens alike celebrated at the idea of security without the
threat of nuclear weapons.
However, countries have proven that they are not willing to give up
their ultimate and safest weapons, ensuring that nuclear weapons
will have a home in the global system for as long as anyone can
see.
Experts and global leaders agree that,
while it is a formidable goal, nuclear
global zero is not going to happen. In fact,
most agree that the world is safer with nuclear weapons than without them.
Benkert says, The world is likely to be
safer with some nuclear weapons under a
proper regime of arms control than a
world with no nuclear weapons.
Ambassador Grossman seconds this
idea: I think the idea, today, that you
could come all the way down to zero in any reasonable time frame
doesnt seem very realistic to me.
Even Secretary Cohen, whose goal is to eliminate all nuclear weapons, recognizes that this goal is going to take time and must be
done in a very delicate and transparent manner.
The United States must first reduce its number of nuclear weapons
in a transparent manner, which would ease the anxiety of other coun10

tries. If a country feels threatened, it has

the ability to initiate a first strike. With the
United States in a vulnerable position, a
first strike could have devastating consequences, Secretary Cohen said.
The threat of a nuclear attack is not eliminated simply because the globe has instituted a system of deterrence. Terrorist
threats and nuclear threats from North Korea continue to plague the globe, and the
United States must respond to these
threats in an effective manner. One wrong
move by any nuclear country is the difference between peace and a radioactive
world blown apart city by city.

His most recent novel, Blink of an Eye,

tackles the dilemma of what the United
States President would do should a nuclear bomb destroy a major American city.
As is obvious by the subject of his book,
this devastating scenario is never far from
his mind. After all, one wrong move in a
system that relies solely on the contradictory equilibrium of deterrence could mean
the obliteration of Manhattan in the blink of
an eye.

As long as nuclear technology exists, a

dilemma every United States President will
have to face is how they will use the nuclear technology of the time and how they
will respond to a nuclear attack, said Secretary Cohen.
Now retired from public service after 31
years, Secretary Cohen chooses to spend
his free time writing fictional books. Feeling
that he can say and accomplish more in
fiction than he ever could in nonfiction, writing novels has become a form of relief for
him, a way to get his biggest worries and
fears off his chest.
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MAKING NUCLEAR PROGRESS

By Rachel Lombardi
In its November 1979 issue, The Progressive published an article revealing the recipe for the H-bomb.
Nearly two years prior, in January 1978, Howard Morland was invited
to give a seminar for a class on nuclear weapons at the University of
Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. During his talk, he said that he
hoped to figure out what made the H-bomb work. Morland asked the
class, without expecting a response, Does anyone know the secret
of the H-bomb?
One student had an answer. The kid told Morland that he had grown
up in Oak Ridge, Alabama and that the major component of nuclear

weapons was made there. When Morland was driving up to New

England after he left Alabama, he decided to check it out for himself. He found different buildings, plants, and laboratories.
I went over to Y-12 plant and it was bigger than anything, it was like
a city full of industrial buildings; it filled up this valley, said Morland,
73, a journalist, author and anti-nuclear activist of Arlington, Virginia.
And I said holy shit, this is where they make the H-bomb.
Morland found that the secret of the H-bomb wasnt a secret at all.
The information was already out there through public records. He
came across The Progressive, a monthly magazine on politics,
12

culture and opinion based in Madison, Wisconsin, and was hired

that same year as a freelance writer to research and write on government secrecy and nuclear weapons. Although Morland claimed that
he obtained all of his research through unrestricted records and did
not receive any classified tips, the United States government and
others were quick to discredit and stop The Progressive before the
article went to print.

MORLAND GAINS AN INTEREST IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Howard Morland was a C-141 jet transport pilot in the Air Force, at
Lubbock, Texas, when he first came into contact with nuclear weapons. He had never handled nuclear weapons, but he was trained to
carry them as cargo.
I kept looking and thinking, this is the size of a kitchen garbage can
and if this was a real bomb and it blew up, the San Bernardino moun-

tains to the North would be a firestorm and nothing left of San Bernardino, said Morland.
In 1976, Morland became a co-founder of the Clamshell Alliance, an
anti-nuclear organization that protested in New England. In May
1977, after over 1,000 of 2,000 Clamshell protesters got arrested at
the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in Seabrook, New Hampshire,
Morland and other activists spent two weeks in jails and National
Guard armories. There were five different armories being occupied
by peace activists, and when they got out they tried to call attention
to the nuclear problem.
We had the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s, anti-war movement
in the 1960s and early 1970s, and then all of a sudden all these hippie types with their blue jeans, and combat boots, long hair and
beads all popped out of the woodwork to join the environmental
movement, Morland said.
When Morland was at a Seabrook demonstration, he came across
The Progressive, a magazine serving as the newsletter for the new
environmental movement.
He noticed that every month there was an article by Harvey Wasserman, a co-founder and media spokesperson for the Clamshell Alliance, in The Progressive. Morland thought that if knew more about
the design of nuclear weapons, then maybe they could get The Progressive magazine involved.
Morland explained that he did not go to journalism school and was
never a real journalist in the sense that he had a job with journalism.
He was always a freelancer and activist first. The idea of writing articles for The Progressive magazine fell into his lap and he took advantage of it.
13

I thought if I could figure out the secret and tell everybody the secret, then maybe this would kind of deputise people to go ahead
and speak out on nuclear weapons, said Morland. Theres no point
in having these security clearances because the information is out
there.

A JOURNALIST ON AN
ASSIGNMENT
When he was given the
assignment, Morland,
along with editor Erwin
Knoll and managing editor Samuel Day Jr. of The
Progressive, thought that
if they laid out the design
of nuclear weapons in a
simple way to understand, then it would benefit the United States
and it would create a base to promote a public debate on nuclear
weapons without secrecy.
Public discussion is essential to any kind of democracy, especially
in times of war, said Morland.
Sam Day made it possible for Morland to have access to all of seven
component factories. At the factories, Morland was told that he
could ask any questions he had. Also, he was given information and
brochures on the materials and role of each factory in producing the
final product of an H-bomb. He was given a $500 advance, which
only was enough to cover one factory.
14

I realized I could ask questions that would reveal information no

matter how they answered them, said Morland. If it was not classified they would tell me and if it was classified they would say it was
classified and I got a good idea of what
things they could and couldnt talk about.
After looking through encyclopedias, Morland noticed that there were two models that
contradicted one another.
In his quest to find what basic model worked
best, he noticed that the answers he was getting from factory workers would hint at which
one wouldnt work. Morland used additional
experts on nuclear weapons to check what
he believed was the basic model that would
work.

PUBLISHING THE SECRET

Before the article was published, Sam Day
sent the article over to George Rathjens, a
political science professor at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, who challenged his
students to figure out the secret to make a
workable H-bomb, and Rathjens sent it to
the Department of Energy (DOE) and the
DOE declared that the article contained classified information.

And I said you did this without asking me? You knew that if I got it
right they would declare it classified, said Morland. Why did you
give it to someone who worked for the government?
Morland had been careful not to give Rathjens
anything he could turn in, but Rathjens called up
the magazine and said, I understand you got a
reporter here whos about to blow the H-bomb
secret. Can I look at your manuscript? And the
magazine sent it to him. Morland said that Sam
Day always said that well, we just didnt trust
you. The scientists that looked at the article
said that it was plausible it was the real deal, but
they werent positive. By sending it to Rathjens,
they could get a confirmation from someone
who knew the answer if Morland was right or
wrong.
I think, at least in Erwins part, that he sent it to
Rathjens hoping that Rathjens would send it to
the government and wed end up in court, Morland said.
The DOE saw the article as a giant threat if it
were distributed to the public. After seeing the
article, the DOE called the magazine over the
phone and went to the publications headquarters to tell them not to publish it because it contained what was defined as restricted information under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The Progressive editors
still planned on moving forward to publish the article because they
felt that it was information that everyone should be aware of.
15

On March 8, 1979, the DOE moved to suppress the article by asking the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee to issue an
injunction and restrain publication of Morlands article.
The government claimed that it would reveal secret information defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and
could cause irreparable harm if given to the public. The
next day the Federal District Judge Robert W. Warren
issued a temporary restraining order on publishing the
article. At first the press and government questioned
why The Progressive would do such a thing and want to
arm people with this kind of information. Over the next
following months, the magazine started to win over the
support of the press and convinced the government
that the information was already in the public domain.
Morland claimed in court had no specialized access to
classified documents or information during his research. Over six months, under the permission of the
DOE, Morland interviewed government and DOE officials, visited nuclear weapon production plants, read
anything he could on the subject, and fired out questions left and right to anyone. Also, since he had little
scientific background, besides what he learned in a few
undergraduate physics courses at Emory University in
Atlanta, Georgia, Morland had experts in the scientific
field help guide his research and confirm that his writing
was accurate.
He eventually pieced together the mechanics behind
the H-Bomb using this combined research, all of which
16

he found with any special access that the average citizen would not
get. Using all his research, Morland crafted The H-Bomb Secret:
How We Got It, Why We're Telling It, which was originally scheduled
to go to print in the magazines April 1979 issue. The article itself explained the three stages to the detonation of a hydrogen weapon,
which included diagrams and descriptions of each stage.
The magazine said to the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that
Judge Warren made a mistake in imposing a prior restraint, which is
censorship before something is expressed, on grounds of a threat to
national security. The government gave The Progressive the opportunity back in March to rewrite the article to exclude details (about 20
percent of content) that the DOE deemed would cause harm if released to the public. The magazine refused to comply with prior restraint on Morlands article. The Progressive believed that censorship would have deprived citizens from forming their own opinions
and making judgment on what is just and unjust when it comes to
use and production of nuclear weapons.
It wasnt until Sept. 28, 1979, more than six months after the cases
first court appearance, when the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
dismissed the case and ruled in favor of Progressive Inc. The final
article was distributed was in its original form, free from government
censorship, in the magazine's November 1979 issue. The Progressive had to pay $250,000 in the end for legal expenses.

It [the media] plays a very important role in bringing to the

public information to inform debates on important issues, said
David Logan, a professor of law at Roger Williams University.

The fact that we won the case meant that what we were saying was
true and that the information that we shared was no longer classified, said Morland.

17

UNIVERSITY OF NIKE
By Harrison Connery

A little boy sits in the backseat of his familys black Chevrolet Station Wagon, listening to the low rumble of the car as it makes its
way over the Mount Hope Bridge, into Bristol, and past the fledgling university encroaching on the bay. Across a field to his right
there is movement at Nike Missile Base PR-38. The launch bay
doors are opening and in seconds a MIM-3 Ajax Missile is
cocked skyward under the blue suburban sky. The boys mother
reaches for the dial and turns on the cars radio.
Its only a drill, says his father.

18

Music is playing and the tension drops; an emergency government

civil defense broadcast would have been a death sentence. The boy
is Earl Gladue, the year is 1959, and the United States appears to
be on its way to the brink of
nuclear annihilation.
Earl Gladue is now a 62year-old mathematics professor at Roger Williams University (RWU), located in Bristol,
Rhode Island, where Gladue
was raised. His office sits no
more than 1,500 feet from
the former site of base PR38, which has been replaced
by a dormitory and parking
garage for the school. The
university briefly considered
using the pumped out missile silos as science labs.
You see the doors open and
the missiles coming up and
youre wondering if its a drill
or if its World War III, he says, explaining why the memory has
stayed with him his entire life. Our neighbor built a bomb shelter in
his backyard.
The Bristol base, like all Nike bases, was comprised of two separate
locations. The radar installation, built on a hill two miles north of
RWU, tracked incoming enemy targets and provided missile guidance. The site built on what is now RWU was the assembly and

launch site. The missiles stationed at the Bristol site did not carry nuclear warheads; instead, their purpose was to shoot down an enemy
plane carrying a nuclear bomb.
The base, which opened under the command of First Lt.
Nelson Legette in 1956, was
constructed in cohesion with
16 homes to house the battalion of 90 men. It cost the military $900,000 to build and
included three underground
missile bays that held seven
missiles each. Each missile
was worth $20,000 apiece.

THE FAIL SAFE

Gladues memory of the Nike
base dates back to the last
years of the United States
nuclear superiority over the
Soviet Union. The Nike Project, named after the Greek Goddess of victory, went mainstream in
1949 when the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb. The Soviets had already created bomber planes that could reach targets
within the continental United States and there were fears of a massive Soviet fleet destroying the country. Nikes objective was to serve
as a fail safe against a Soviet air campaign if the Air Forces long
range fighters failed to deter an attack.
19

Nike missiles were deployed around population centers and key government locations within the United States. Because of their relatively short range, many missile sites were built in close proximity to
the communities they were built to protect. Starting in 1953, the military constructed about 250 sites in the U.S. and overseas.
The first generation of Nike missiles were named Nike Ajax missiles.
They were capable of speeds north of
1,600 mph and could destroy a target
at 70,000 feet. The one Gladue saw in
Bristol towered 34-feet 10-inches tall,
the booster adding an extra 13-feet
10-inches to the missiles height. Missile and booster together weighed just
under 2,500 pounds.
The Ajax missile generated a fair
amount of controversy: critics claimed
that its limited range of 25 miles prevented it from being an effective
surface-to-air missile. However, it was
the only anti-aircraft missile in existence at the time and it was far superior to anti-aircraft artillery. Ajax missiles carried three warheads located at the front, center, and rear of the missile. Plans to equip Ajax
missiles with nuclear warheads were abandoned in favor of building
a new and improved Nike missile: the Nike Hercules.
Development of the Nike Hercules began before the first Nike Ajax
missiles had been deployed. The Nike Hercules was designed to
produce a missile with superior speed, altitude, and range compared to the Ajax. A Hercules missile could achieve speeds of 2,700

mph, had a range of 90 miles, and could destroy a target at 150,000

feet. Larger than the Ajax, the Hercules missile rose 41 feet above
the ground with the booster and weighed over 10 thousand pounds.
While the Ajax missile was designed to defend against subsonic aircraft, the Hercules was built to shoot down jets with supersonic capabilities. Nike Hercules missiles were manufactured with nuclear warheads ranging from three to 30 kilotons
(for reference, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima measured 15 kilotons). Arming
missiles manufactured for defense with a
nuclear payload had two main advantages: a single Hercules missile could destroy an entire formation of fighter jets, and
the blast had a greater chance of destroying the incoming nuclear bomb(s). Hercules missiles were deployed in the United
States starting in 1958.
Another improvement the Hercules had
over its predecessor was its versatility as a
weapon. While Ajax missiles were exclusively surface-to-air missiles, the Hercules
could be used as a surface-to-surface missile, meaning it could be
used to destroy enemy troops on the ground or to attack an invading
navy. However, due to the missiles limited range the Hercules could
not be used to attack another country, like an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) would be.
In the end it was the creation of the ICBM that ended the Nike program. As a result of the widespread deployment of Nike missiles
across the United States, the Soviet Union adjusted their nuclear pro20

gram to develop ICBMs whichunlike their

planescould not be shot down. Nike Ajax
sites were closed by 1964, the Hercules lasting another ten years before it was deactivated. The Nike Project was the United
States most visible and costly defense system, but, according to Gladue, not an oppressive one.
You didnt really think anything of it, he said.

THE RISE OF THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL

COMPLEX
Nikes departure from the public eye and the
bases replacement by a private university
represent the tension drop since the height of
the Cold War, but the transition is not indicative of a movement towards demilitarization.
Visible defense systems such as the Nike program, itself largely the work of private contractors, have been replaced with the omnipresent, invisible military industrial complex.
Since the start of the Eisenhower administration the nature of the American military has
changed dramatically. Once a massive government entity that employed everyone from
soldiers, to research and development
teams, to kitchen personnel, the military has
become increasingly privatized as the nations military industrial complex has grown.
The growth of the military industrial complex,

which has bred and fed the use of private

contractors, dates back to the concept of
Military Keynesianism, named after the
economist Lord Maynard Keynes who popularized the concept that government stimulus
spending could lift a country out of recession. Intuitively, Military Keynesianism applies
the same concept to the military: the more
the United States spends on its military, the
more people are needed to run it, the more
people it employs. Future conflicts and the
ensured obsolescence of military technologies make the military a permanent, self sustaining stimulus package. This economic theory replaced the traditional belief that spending on war diverted resources from more socially desirable outlets.
As the military industrial complex grew, outsourcing military jobs was viewed as able to
produce more efficient results and as more
economically responsible. Projects undertaken by the U.S. military must meet strict
Congressional rules and are subject to invasive oversight procedures. Contractors are
not subject to the same rules: as long as Congress approves the total cost of the project,
day-to-day developments are safely out of
sight in the private sector. As military technologies became increasingly complex, the
government found itself increasingly reliant
on private companies to develop, maintain,
and operate its equipment (even Nike mis-

21

siles were developed by private companies). In addition to the relative ease of passing work off to private contractors, the idea that free
market principles would control costs and ultimately save the government money became popular in the defense sector: bidding on government jobs would assure the lowest possible cost and eliminate
wasteful spending. Indeed, at first glance the growth of the military
industrial complex appears to be a win-win: eternal economic stimulus and responsible government spending; whats not to like? But
new analysis suggests that the privatization of American warfare has become extremely detrimental to the wellbeing of the country.

HAYEK-SPLOSIVE
First, the Military Keynesianism bubble
burst. A viable economic stimulus in
the 1950s, the pursuit of military hegemony now burdens the American
taxpayer. Then, America was at peace.
The benefits of the growing military
economy stayed home with the troops.
Now, Americans employed as contractors work in conflict zones or
on tour in foreign countries where the United States keeps a military
presence. Worse, the Rutherford Institute reports that 90 percent of
the security contractors hired in Afghanistan were Afghan, the most
extreme example of a growing trend in which contracting companies
hire foreign nationals instead of Americans. Additionally, a Political
Economy Research Institute (PERI) report found that growing sectors such as renewable energy, education, and healthcare create

more domestic jobs per dollar than the military does. Investing in the
military industrial complex is no longer synonymous with investing in
the American public.
Exacerbating the situation is the fact that a free market does not exist in the defense industry. During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
40 percent of Department of Defense (DoD) contracts were offered
exclusively to a single company. Secondly, in the case of the defense industry, the government is the sole consumer; free markets,
however, rely on a number of consumers
working with and against each other to dictate demand, which ensures affordable
pricing. Finally, economic inefficiencies
are permissible in the defense industry, unlike the free market, where running over
budget puts a company out of business. If
private contractors run over budget the
cost can be passed on to the federal government (read: taxpayers) with no consequences.
According to The New York Times, a Congressional report found that of the $206 billion paid to private contractors during the
first 10 years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, at least $30-$60
billion had been wastedthat was a conservative estimate. Civilian
officials and military members benefitted from financial kickbacks in
some cases and in others up to 20 percent of Defense contracts
were spent on bribes to local warlords and insurgents for protection.
The dynamic that exists between the military and private contractors
is identical to the much more publicized relationship between politi22

Shawn Clover | Flickr

cians and special interest lobbyists. In some instances, senior military officials retire from the military to lucrative lobbying jobs for contracting companies. According to an article on The Atlantic website,
Military Professional Resources, Inc. (MPRI) brags that it has more
generals per square feet than the Pentagon.
Like on Capitol Hill, there exist few regulations to delineate the extent of fraternization appropriate between the military and the private
sector. Former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary
Michael Chertoffs consulting agency, the Chertoff Group, represented the manufacturer Rapiscan, which builds full body airport
scanners. Chertoff leveraged his status at the DHS with great effect

to publicly and privately lobby for the installation of the scanners

even though there existed no evidence that they improved security.
Central to the well being of the military industrial complex is a narrative fed to the American public that they are constantly under threat
of attack. It is what allows corporate corruption and waste to go unpunished and prevents politicians from gutting the industry financially (the Pentagons budget is $700 billion). After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld instructed his
staff to elevate the threat posed by terrorists in their public statements so that Americans would realize the prevalence and danger
of armed insurgents.
23

AMERICA: HOME OF THE SERVILE?

Whether or not the narrative has made Americans more fearful and
suspicious now than during the 1950s is up for debate. Earl Gladue
provided a conflicting account, describing the accustomed nonchalance some felt with one breath while referencing his neighbors bomb
shelter with the next.
Associate Professor of Anthropology at Roger Williams University Jeremy Campbell believes the visibility of the Nike program could have
reassured some, while spiking fear in others.
People may have derived a sense of safety from the visibility of the
Nike program. There was a PR upshot to the bases: the government
could say, See? Were protecting you, he said. Conversely, it may

have increased paranoia in those who lived near the bases, as it provided a reminder of the danger. For his sake, Earl Gladue thinks the
country is better off now than it was half a century ago.
I like the fact that you can get on the phone and call Russia, he said.
From Gladues perspective, the existential threat posed by the Soviet
Union disappeared when the former USSR began to liberalize its economy and has not been replaced by any modern threat. The more stakeholders in the global economy, he believes, the less incentive there is
to destroy one another. As for the current situation, Gladue says: As
tense as things can be with terrorists, my own sense is that people
were much more worried then than now, because there was a real fear
that the whole country could have gone up in flames.

24

THEOLOGY
Peace on Earthwhich man throughout the ages has
so longed for and sought aftercan never be established, never guaranteed, except by the diligent observance of the divinely established order.

Pope John XXIII

HOW WOULD JESUS TREAT JESSICA: ONE GIRLS

FIGHT AGAINST CHRISTIAN AMERICA
By Sabrina Caserta
Small signs dot the lawns of Cranston homes, beginning with, Our
Heavenly Father, grant us each day the desire to do our best.
Theyre the same words that hung in the auditorium of Cranston
High School West just years before. Now, on her way home from the
University of Vermont, 20-year-old Jessica Ahlquist notices the
prayer and is reminded of the year-long, grueling lawsuit she fought
with her high school when she was only 16.
Maybe if I hadnt had this experience, I wouldve liked to live here,
but having everything happen to me, it ruined the area, Ahlquist
said.

Towards the end of her freshman year of high school, the Cranston
native first noticed the large banner hanging in the schools auditorium that hosted the School Prayer. Having been raised Catholic,
Ahlquist never identified with organized religion and was a selfproclaimed atheist from a young age.
I was just kind of startled by it. I mean it was titled School Prayer, it
started with Our Father and ended with Amen, so I wasnt completely unaware that it was illegal, even before the lawsuit. I was confused because at that point, I didnt think my school would be blatantly breaking the law, Ahlquist said. I spent the summer doing research on it. It was something I thought about pretty regularly, be26

cause I was interested. I wanted to feel like I belonged in my

school.
The summer of 2010, when 15-year-old Ahlquist was entering her
sophomore year, she read in the newspaper that another mother
had commented on the presence of a Christian prayer banner.
The mother, who was Jewish, had garnered support from the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island who
called for the prayers removal.
I think Rhode Island, in some respects, has shown a very
healthy respect for the separation of Church and state, said Stephen Brown of the Rhode Island ACLU. Once in awhile, it falters.
The Ahlquist case is a good example of that.
Cranston High School Wests School Committee, in response to
the ACLUs letter, formed a subcommittee which would meet to
discuss the prayers place in the school.
That was a problem with the prayer, its a public school. Not everyone there is Catholic, not everyone there refers to a god,
Ahlquist said. Anyone who has ever taken an American history
class knows that the people who settled this country were escaping religious persecution, especially Rhode Island. And I think
people dont value, because they dont understand why its so significant, the consequences of not having this clear separation.
You dont want this government endorsement of something thats
supposed to be a personal belief and a personal decision, so I
think that for a lot of people, as long as the government is endorsing their religion, they dont realize the danger of it. The point is to
protect people.

27

Since the emergence of the United States, the First Amendment of

the Constitution birthed a firewall between church and state in attempts to safeguard both the nation and religious entities from the
corruption, overreach, and bloodshed which plagued Medieval
Europe.

religion played a very vital role in the founding of this country, said
Father Henry Zinno, a pastor the Mount Carmel Church in Bristol,
R.I. The ministers, who were the preachers at the time had a great
deal of influence on the founding fathers of this country. And Church
services were integrated into the very fabric of this nation.
Today, the United States remains home to more Christians than any
other country in the world, and a vast amount of Americans
roughly seven in ten continue to identify with some branch of Christianity.
Sixty-five percent of Americans claim religion is an essential component of their day-to-day lives, as compared 33 percent of Polish, 25
percent of Germans and 24 percent of Japanese, according to Gallup. This makes the U.S. one of the highest developed nations with
an emphasis on organized religion.

Weve seen various instances across two hundred years of Constitutional History where there has been interference between, or interaction between the government and the Church, said June Speakman, a political science professor at Roger Williams University.
The overlap brokered between church and state has been showcased in our nations politics and public affairs. The words, In God
We Trust, are printed on our dollar bills, the United States Congress
begins their sessions with a morning prayer and national politicians
regularly invoke religioninviting God to bless America, while asking citizens to pray for victims of tragedy and disaster.
I think if you look in the history of America, you see in the very beginnings of our country- this land of the free, home of the brave- that

Rhode Island is the most Catholic state in America, with roughly 44

percent of the state identifying as Roman Catholic, according to a
study done in 2014 by the Public Religion Research Institute. The
second-biggest religious tradition in Rhode Island, however, is no religion. 21 percent of Rhode Islanders surveyed described themselves as atheist or religiously unaffiliated.
Ahlquist, who was publicly religiously unaffiliated, was pleased that
the issue of the prayer had been brought to the schools attention
and decided to attend the meeting, which at that time, only drew in
roughly 20 other people. Ahlquist, not planning on participating or
commenting, believed the meeting would be an open and shut case
where the school prayer would be promptly removed. Instead,
when she arrived, she was greeted by a sea of people strongly push-

28

ing for the prayers preservation, with many saying, God will be mad
if we take it down.
For me, it was really shocking. I just didnt expect adults, these
grown-ups, to completely miss the point of a legal issue. I really tried
to redirect the conversation to the legality of it, not that I didnt believe in God, because that really became the
focus for a lot of people, Ahlquist said. It became this non religious community versus religious community thing. If there was one
thing that was disappointing about the whole
thing, it was that. Even though I was nonreligious, I was trying to represent people of other
faiths too. I was trying to say that this isnt fair
to anybody.
Ahlquist was equally surprised at how cavalierly the school committee, as well as the
elected officials of the city of Cranston discussed the involvement of their own religious preferences in supporting the school prayer.
Its their job to make the community the best they can. It should be
common knowledge that when in a government, political setting,
were not talking about our personal opinions. Were not talking
about our personal beliefs, were talking about politics and law and
these officials were saying, I cant leave my religion at the door. My
religion is a part of who I am, my religion is a part of this community
and my vote. Yes, I am going to vote based on my own religious preferences. And they were proud of it, the community liked that. I
mean they got re-elected, Ahlquist said. This was obviously something that was a political move but its an illegal political move, its

wrong, its not constitutional, its not ethical. I really thought it was ridiculously immature and inappropriate for elected officials to be saying, No, Im not going to leave my religion at the door. Im going to
involve religion in my voting.
Political scientists have been citing religion, as well as gender, family and socio-economic status as major factors that influence politicians legislating, as
well as voting patterns amongst Americans.
Politicians seem less reservedcertain politiciansTed Cruz comes to mind, in expressing their religious views. But I would say weve
become more secular, not more religious as
we move into the 21st century, Speakman
said, Religious influences public affairs
mostly indirectly through the role it plays in citizens lives. Public opinion, of course, leads
voters to support candidates with certain religious beliefs. I do think since the 1980s youve seen more pastors getting involved in politics and being free to express their political opinions to their flock.
According to 2014 midterm election analysis by Pew Research, the
frequency of religious service attendance is a strong indication of
how people will vote in elections. The 2014 exit poll data revealed
that regular Churchgoers were more likely to vote for a Republican
candidate over a Democrat by a 58 percent to 40 percent margin.
Further research showed that avid Christians are less likely to support gay marriage, with only 24 percent of white evangelical Protestants, being the least. Similarly, roughly 53 percent of devout Chris29

tians who regularly attend services believe

abortion ought to be illegal in all or most
cases.
As priests, or pastors or ministers or rabbis, we speak to issues of the day. Where
the nation had evolved from this very involved experience with the Church and
State to now more of a separation, but a
willingness to listen and be guided by the
truths of the Gospel, the truth of the presence of God and see how that affects our
lives and then to inspire legislation and
leadership that can lead our country in freedom and democracy and justice, Father
Zinno said. The Church wants to help the
State or the community to be a better place
to live. A place of moral principle and virtuous habits and thats how the Church is
able to to do that, through its preaching
and teaching and sanctifying.
Christians continue to make up the majority
of the United States Congress. As of 2014,
92 percent of Congress claimed to be practicing the faith, with 71 percent of the country also Christian. While nearly 23 percent
of all Americans identified as religiously unaffiliated, there is is one member- or point
two percent- of the body that claims no religious affiliation.
30

Its very important that people feel that their government represents
them regardless of what their religious beliefs are. If you have a government thats neutral on religion, that isnt trying to promote a religion, then you wont see these kinds of nasty types of disputes take
place, said Stephen Brown of the Rhode Island ACLU, one of the
lawyers in charge of Ahlquists case. I was certainly really proud to
see how Jessica handled this, I dont think a lot of adults couldve
handled it the way she did, but it is a very good example of why its
so important, why this principle is so important, so people who see
their government representing them, do in fact, get represented by
them.
After witnessing the vast support for the prayer, Ahlquist began to
comment during the public sessions and pursue the issue further.
She spent the majority of her sophomore year attending meetingswhich grew larger and larger each time, as more people in the community began defending the prayer.
A lot of the things people tried to say in response to what I was doing was, Well, of course there can be religion in the government because, look, its in the Pledge of Allegiance and its on the money,
and its the national
motto. And Im like,
these things werent
there until 40, 50
years ago, Ahlquist
said. Thats also
when the prayer at
the school went up.
What a coincidence. These are

all things that happened in the 1950s, and it was a direct result of
communism. I think it has had a cultural impact. Our generation, the
whole time weve been alive in this country, thats how its been the
way it is, so a lot of people dont question that. They just think thats
the way Ive always been.
Post-war America brought droves of people to churches in record
numbers, skyrocketing the numbers of traditional denominations,
Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Disciples of Christ, Lutherans and
Presbyterians. The growth of Churches swelled and the Bible became the number one sold book in the United States.
This is attributed to the looming Cold War threatpitting Christian
America against the Soviet Unions godless communism. The
American perception of the Soviet Union in the 1950s found a base
in atheism, totalitarianism, and communism. Communist thinkers
from Marx to Lenin to Trotsky to Stalin advocated an abandonment
of a religion, stating they felt it to be superstitious and unproductive.
Throughout the post-war years of the Second Red Scare, godless
communism, along with similar variations, became a cautionary tale
to any religiously reluctant American. As the communist threat to the
American way of life grew, so did the idea that Christianity was inextricably linked with the countrys self-image.
It was during these years that our national motto was established,
though the phrase "In God We Trust" had appeared earlier in the nation's history, including on coins minted in the 19th century, the
phrase officially becomes the national motto during the Cold War.
The Pledge of Allegiance also included Under God, and public
schools across the nation began embracing school prayers, Cranston High School West being one of them.
31

The amount of support in favor of the prayer put pressure on the city
of Cranston, as well as the school committee, to leave it up. The
ACLU, noticing the commotion, offered to represent Ahlquist in
court, if she decided to pursue it further.
At this point, I was really hopeful that I could convince them to take
it down. I did public comment for like five meetings, I was really doing everything I could to prevent it from going to court, Ahlquist
said. I shouldve been a little more scared. I didnt know what I was
getting into.

After the school committee voted to keep the prayer up, Ahlquist,
with the help of her father, decided to file a lawsuit in early 2011
against the town of Cranston and Cranston High School West calling
the legality of a School Prayer in a public high-school into question.
Though Ahlquist was hesitant to jump into a legal battle, she felt it
necessary.
I was a really shy, quiet kid, I didnt want this attention but it was
something I felt so passionate about, I felt I couldnt accept this defeat because I believe in this now, I know this is wrong, Ahlquist
said.
32

After a year-long court case, the judge ruled in favor of Ahlquist in

April of 2012, her junior year of high-school, and called for the removal of the prayer. Cranston High School West covered the prayer
in tarp for the time being and decided against appealing the decision. Though the legal battle was over, Ahlquists problems seemed
to only have begun.
I guess I should have known that winning wouldnt be the end, thats actually when things started to get worse,
Ahlquist said.
People began threatening Ahlquists
life, both online and in hand-written letters. She would often receive notes
stating, I know where you live and I
know the license plates of your familys
cars. Ahlquist, who has three younger
siblings, began to worry for her familys safety as well as her own. After being followed home on the bus one day,
the threats became so severe and so
chronic that the city had enlisted police officers to escort Ahlquist to and from each of her classes. They
also had constant police patrol around their block every hour to ensure that her and her family were kept safe.
Some of the insults directed towards Ahlquist on Twitter or Facebook
read, Hail Mary, Full of Grace @JessicaAhlquist is gonna get
punched in the face, We can make so many jokes about this dumb
bitch, but who cares #thatbitchisgointohell and Satan is gonna to
rape her, Yeah, well I want the immediate removal of all atheists

from the school, how about that?, Hmm Jess is in my bio class,
shes gonna get some shit thrown at her, and Nail her to a cross.
According to research by DoSomething.org, 81 percent of young
people think bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying
in person, while well over 90 percent of youths have witnessed cyberbullying, and ignored it.
There was a ton of cyberbullying.
Thats what people did to stay anonymous. A lot of people didnt even
bother to stay anonymous. A lot of people in the community, definitely my
peers in school were attacking me, viciously on social media, Ahlquist
said. I was really startled by how
many adults were coming out of the
wood-work and saying really, really horrendous things, threatening my family.
Just some of the insults you would
hear were unnerving. Its unacceptable
and completely ridiculous that on one
note, people are saying that Im evil
and immoral while also threatening me. I mean, the irony there is precious.
Radicalized Christianity in America has spilled into the public
sphere, instances range from the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting in November of 2015, to the Kentucky county-clerk,
Kim Davis, refusing a same-sex marriage license to a couple. Her
singular claim being that she was acting under Gods authority.

33

Ed Uthman | Flickr
With the notion that the United States is still a Christian-nation, the
German non-profit Bertelsmann Stiftung looked at Americans response to non-religious or atheists. Their 2013 survey found 50 percent of Americans still consider atheism to be threatening.
In 2012, the Pew Research Center found that the number of millennials reporting doubts about the existence of God has doubled in five
yearsbeing roughly 31 percent at the time the survey was published.
This means more people in the United States now identify as nonreligious than any time in the past 30 years, and those numbers are
steadily increasing, especially amongst the youth.

Ahlquists story in Rhode Island is echoed by other cases like that of

Damon Fowler in Louisiana, who got his school to cancel their plans
for a prayer at his graduation ceremony, only to be kicked out of his
house by his parents- and Gage Pulliam of Oklahoma, who was
greeted with threats, bullying and exclusion when he anonymously
sent a picture of the 10 Commandments hanging in his public highschools biology classroom to the Freedom From Religion Foundation. After being found out, he feared for his safety, as well as his
familys due to the high-level of hate he received.
For Ahlquist, the insults weren't confined to the Internet, or school
walls- from students yelling insults across the halls while wearing a
T-shirt with the prayer printed on it, to teachers telling her that she
34

asked for it- but, elected officials commenting on public radio or in

front of large crowds.
Ahlquist was forced to sit through a question and answer session
during the high-schools Diversity Week, featuring the Mayor of
Cranston, Allan Fung, who, when asked about the prayer, said that
he saw no problem with it, that he didnt understand why I wanted it
taken down, and should be kept up, Ahlquist recounted. She was
then greeted by a room chock-full of cheering students and teachers.
Her state representative, Peter Palumbo, publicly called Ahlquist an
evil little thing, and referred to her as a pawn-star, insinuating she
was nothing more than a pawn for the ACLU and the atheist agenda.
I was 16 at the time, so this was adults, my representative, attacking a 16 year old high school girl. I definitely saw the worst from humanity, Ahlquist said. At this point it wasnt just about the legality or
the religion anymore, it was about, is it right to attack a 16 year old
girl?
Her supporters began printing their own T-shirts, saying Evil Little
Thing, to turn Palumbos comments into a joke. They also carried
signs asking: How would Jesus treat Jessica?
So it was a lot of anxiety, a lot of negative attention that really took
away from my education, that took away from my overall childhood.
But for me, it was something worth doing and it wasnt just negative, Ahlquist said. It was also people coming out to tell me that
they supported me. Not just in the community, but on a national
level. Even on an international level. I started to get invited to speak
at different events which was a really rewarding experience for me. I
got to go all over the country and meet different types of people.

Meet people who believed that I did the right thing. That was really
great to hear. So there were these extreme negatives as well as
these extreme positives.
Though Ahlquist was garnering support outside of her community,
the stress of attending a school where everyone seemingly hated
her caused her to become depressed. That, combined with the
amount of speeches she was traveling for, caused her to opt out of
Cranston High School West and chose to be home-schooled by her
mother instead. She spent the end of her junior year, and the remainder of her senior year at home, chipping away at her high-school diploma. She did not attend graduation or prom in the city she had
grown up in.
At that point, I felt like so many people in my school wished I was
dead. I mean I didnt want to be around that so honestly I moved on
from it and was happy that I was traveling and meeting people who
agreed with what I did. That meant more to me than prom, Ahlquist
said.
Today, Ahlquists siblings attend Cranston High School West without
issue. Her siblings, all much younger when this issue came to fruition, werent really involved. Her parents, each supportive in their
own way, were also going through a divorce during the time of the
case, which added to Ahlquists stress.
There were definitely times I felt like I was really alone, Ahlquist
said. But, I dont regret it at all. I'm happy I did it. I'm living with the
good and bad results of it and I think that if I hadnt done it, thats
what I would regret. At the end of the day, the majority doesnt have
the right to take away my rights. Who cares about what people
think? Is the law on your side? Do you feel passionately about it?
35

A PEACE OF THE SOUL

By Chelsea Boulrisse

FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

Dukkha or The truth of suffering
The Truth of the cause of suffering
The Truth of the End of suffering
Truth of the Path leading to the End of suffering

Let us be still for a moment. Let us mute the racket of our everyday
search for success and happiness and allow ourselves to be present in this very moment. We are here. And everything worth looking
for is here too. As we breathe in and out we begin to recognize
those lovely intangibles that we go out into the world to find are in
fact right inside of us. Waiting for this moment when the noises are
off and we are nothing but present. Here.
Buddhism is the practice of finding oneself in those pockets of stillness, and recognizing the importance of this fleeting moment before
returning to the distractions of the external world. Through meditation and intrinsic evaluation, one can reach happiness, peace, with-

36

out any needed help from those things that occupy the world outside of ourselves. Zen is not a path traveled in tandem, it has to be
followed as a solo journey into the recesses of ourselves that we
overlook because of its subtle and unassuming ways.
Zen means understanding yourself, said Zen Master Bon Haeng of
the Providence Zen Center. With our minds we can solve the little
questions of life.
The practices of Buddhism can be traced
back to India during what is believed to be
between 4 or 6 BCE. There is no god in
Buddhism, no higher power that tells you
what is right and wrong; the moral responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of
those who seek it. Unlike Christianity or Islam, where there are set philosophies and
practices that one is required perform in order to be accepted by God, Buddhism has
no dogma. Instead, there are techniques
that have been refined so that people can
come together and meditate. One of the
common misconceptions about Buddhism is that Buddha is a deity,
a god who is above all those he teaches and who follow him.
Our practice has nothing to do with getting something new, said
Bon Haeng. It has to do with recognition of what we already are.
The endless quest for peace is what keeps religions in business.
People who are lost in this world find guidance through the spiritual
teachings of others who claim to have found this elusive peace. In
Pope Johns encyclical, Pacem in Terris, he outlined what he

thought the world needed to do to apparently achieve peace. Those

who subscribed to that particular version of peace saw this as their
call to arms to go out into the world and create peace.
The practices of Buddhism challenge the ideals of an extrinsic
peace by citing that the very peace others are searching for in our
surroundings, is in the last place any of us thinks to look -- right inside of us.
Peace on Earth is already here, said Zen
Master Bon Haeng of the Providence Zen
Center. We get in the way of peace on
Earth and inadvertently create suffering for
each other.

PEACE ABOVE GROUND

The only oxygen John Kohler had was
within the small triangle cavity made by his
arms in the duck and cover position. On
top of him was almost eight feet of Rockland Red dirt, a premature grave caused by the lack of safety structures in the ditch Kohler was working in which folded in on itself, covering him in the process. The electric jigsaw he had been using on a
plastic sewage pipe was still whirring, but the pressure of the dirt allowed no movement. All he could do was wait for help that may not
come in time.
My immediate reaction was that I was going to die, there was not a
doubt in my mind, Kohler, a New York contractor, said. My first
thought was that I didnt have enough life insurance and my wife
37

who was eight months

pregnant with my daughter was going to lose
the house.
His brother, Pete, who
was working with him on
the project was above
ground, panicked and
searching for a quick
way to pull his brother
out. His first response
was to grab the sites
backhoe and just dig. While the effort was there, beneath the dirt
Kohler was in a state of sheer terror because now suffocation was
not his only risk. The backhoe claw was ripping through the dirt to
either side of him and was getting closer and closer to hooking him
and dismembering him in one well-meaning scoop.
All I pictured was the four prongs on the bucket going into my back
and tearing me in half, Kohler said.
Soon after, due to the stress and lack of breathable air, Kohler
slipped into unconsciousness. He said that at that moment he was
preparing to die. This was the end.
I dont know where I went but I was on the other side somewhere
because there was this extremely bright light down there, Kohler
said. And it was like looking into the sun and my sons face is down
there with me.
Above ground, Pete had abandoned the risky backhoe rescue and
had recruited passersby to help with the rescue of his brother. Men

were on their hands and knees digging with trowels, shovels, or their
bare hands to pull Kohler up to the surface in time. An unconscious
Kohler woke up to a strangers hands pulling him up by his arm. The
unnamed man was crying because he had been so sure that he was
about to pull up a dead body. Kohler blinked in the sunlight and saw
himself surrounded by firefighters and police officers who helped
him into a responding ambulance bound for the hospital.
After checking him out and concluding that he did not have to stay
overnight for observation, Kohler went home with his pregnant wife
and in-laws. He sat in his living room that night, drinking a beer and
coming down from the adrenaline rush before going to bed, drained
after straddling the line between this world and the next.
In 1996, a similar incident happened to two public workers, unfortunately with a fatal outcome. The two men were working in a hole very
similar to Kohlers, again without the safety precautions. A water
pipe was broken and the hole immediately filled with mud. They
were stuck as the mud rose and they became submerged in the
muck.
The headline of the next days paper lying on Kohlers doorstep said
the two men had drowned. All because simple safety equipment
had been ignored in the name of getting the job done quick. Kohler
was immediately transported back to his brush with death and immediately became upset at the negligence of people and the cost it always seem to bring.
It was a horrible day. I was really a nasty person that day, Kohler
said. And here I am. I say why me? Why was I so friggin lucky?
After the accident, Kohler devoted himself to his faith, which allowed
him to come to terms with it and move on in such a way that didnt
38

hinder his ability to be present in his own life. He tells the story
with ease, seeing it as a fact of his life that can be used not only
as a story of hope, but of caution. He was able to watch his three
kids grow up with his wife, Maureen, and lead a life of peace and
faith.
Today, almost 26 years later, Kohler continues to do the work he
loves and is thankful for the second chance at life given to him by
what he considers a miracle. Coming to peace with this near
tragedy, though, was not a smooth road for him. He spent the following six months in therapy six days a week and still suffers pain
from it most days. On job sites around the area, even a whiff of
that Rockland Red dirt can bring him back into that accidental
grave. It soon passes and Kohler breathes easy again. He is
here. He is alive.
You dont appreciate what you have until you almost dont have
it, Kohler said. I wake up every morning with a stiff back which
is a good reminder because it sets the tone for the day because
its going to get better.

DIVISIONS OF DIVINITY
Albert Schweitzer, a German theologian and philosopher, said:
Dogma divides, the Spirit unites.
We look at our world through the individual lens of what we know,
what we see, and what we are taught. For a while we find comfort
in this recognition of our world; until we encounter people whose
view is different from ours. Our first instinct is to repel. Avoid the
possibility of other ideas, deny the opposition. How dare anyone
suggest our thinking is anything but absolute truth?
39

We love to kill each other over ideas, said Zen Master Bon Haeng.

The Buddha -- meaning the awakened one -was a man who was born into high society, but
gave up the lifestyle in search of something greater.
He vowed himself to poverty, denying his birthright and impending riches and became a student
of the now. He believed that within himself was everything a man ever needed to survive. He could
find peace and happiness not from the things he
had or the people he ruled, but from the intrinsic
values that lie dormant within us until we pause
and take time to seek them out.
He was no more than a man. A man who swore off
all forms of material luxuries in search of peace
and happiness.
At the age of 35, Buddha had cleansed himself of
his former life and no longer felt the need to pad
his life with tangible goods. He found peace within
himself and the glow of it washed over him. He
had reached enlightenment.

Wars have started over the simple fact that we all hate to admit we were wrong. We
would rather put a gun to the head of differences and leave acceptance cowering in
the corner. People of different faiths incite fear in the small-minded who lash out with
muddied reasoning and half-formed ideas that those who are not with them must
clearly be against them. And in order for there to be peace, all of those who oppose
must be removed or changed to fit in with what the ignorant deem to be true.
But when we examine what exactly it is that each belief system is trying to do, we
begin to realize that the motives of every one of them intersect. Universal truths of
goodwill towards man and the ideals of acceptance over violence ring clear within
every dogma. Whether it is the Ten Commandments saying Thou shalt not kill or
the Buddhist precept Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami (one must
refrain from destroying living creatures), there is a general understanding that life is
precious. And to take that away, to rob a human of the gift of being present in that or
any other moment afterwards, is considered the ultimate betrayal of man and Earth.
We have to get along. We have to believe in something, said John Kohler. If you
have a belief of god or some other being that you try to emulate or follow then that
will help.It doesnt matter who you believe in or what you believe in.

He did not ask people to worship him or to take his

word as gospel. He knew the steps he took towards
inner peace would not match those of any other
person. He did not want others to try and copy
him word for word but find the way that fits best
for them.

Every book, every religion, every person has a dogma, a motto for which they base
all decisions, all actions upon. But what happens when they ideas of another threatens that dogma? Is that a call for us to arm ourselves and go to battle for these dogmas? Or should we simply let the spirit, the sentiment of reaching peace trump it all?

[Buddha] was a human being, said Bon Haeng.

We just honor him because he sacrificed everything to recognize some inherent truth.

When we finally erase the fear of being wrong and supplant it with the simple belief
that we are all just trying to do good in this world, then we find that peace has been
walking along the path right beside us the entire time. It resides in the moment waiting for you to clear your mind of everything and letting peace and wisdom step in.

40

If you decide to get caught in whats going on outside of you, Zen

Master Bon Haeng. You lose the moment and you lose wisdom.

ON PACEMS PATH
During the winter months in Warwick, New York, Peace on Earth
is closed to the public. Seekers of
peace who emerge before May
are denied access to the physical
embodiment of Pacem in Terris
by padlocked fences and stern
warnings on wrinkled paper that
dictate when one can find peace
on these grounds.
This gated garden, Pacem in Terris, was created by Frederick
Franck, a Dutch artist who made
his home in Warwick after fleeing
his home in war-torn Europe. He
saw this as his proclamation of
peace. A commentary on the perpetual human desire to establish
oneself over others and the damage it brings disguised as good fortune.

spired the creation of this sculpture garden. Albert Schweitzers

name sits humbly next to that of DT Suzuki and just a few inches
away is a tribute to Pope John XXIII whose encyclical and cry for
peace proved the base that the entire garden rests upon.
Dispersed along Covered Bridge
Road, other portions of the garden
stand as they have for decades.
Black metal silhouettes of man and
nature gleam with drops from a recent rain. Giant hands in various positions of surrender and peace line the
river running parallel to the garden.
Artistic coils of copper, green from
the persistent elements of New York,
hang from the chapel and clotheslines, suggesting that every idea, everything we seek out on our lifes path
eventually comes back to the center
of it all: ourselves.

The focal point of the garden is the wooden building, a chapel, comprised of jutting angles and rounded windows that peek into a small
performance space that draw in tourists during the peak summer
months. Along the base of the building, scrawled into the wood, are
the names and ideals of scholars and philosophers who had in41

DIASPORA
There are great numbers of such refugees at the present time, and many are the sufferingsthe incredible
sufferingsto which they are constantly exposed.

Pope John XXIII

THE SHACKLES OF HISTORY

Remembering Slavery In Rhode Island
By Mark Thayer
Just beyond the campus of Roger Williams University, in Bristol,
Rhode Island, sits an unkempt graveyard containing the remains of
the states most influential slaving family. The entrance is barely visible at the end of Woodlawn Avenue, marked only by the rusted iron
gate that sits crooked on its hinges.
To the right, an array of grave markers in varying states of decay,
bare the names of DeWolf family members. One, a gravestone in the
form of a cross, rests broken upon its base. A piece of a memorializing puzzle. To the left, down a short path covered by overgrown
vegetation, is another collection of grave markers. A tall obelisk rises

above the rest in the center of the pack. Carved in its stone base is
the name Mark Antony DeWolf.
In 1744, Mark Antony DeWolf served as a clerk under Captain
Simeon Potter, a wealthy privateer, and the first captain of a Bristolbased slave ship. Antony later marked the beginning of the DeWolf
familys rise to power as the most notorious slaving family in Rhode
Island.
It is hard to imagine anything beyond the quaint suburban lifestyle
that persists in the town of Bristol, Rhode Island. Many of the trees
are still bare, but a resurgence of greenery can be seen along
43

Thames Street. In the early morning hours, Rockwell Park is quiet,

and a chill is in the air. A cast-metal swing set creaks as the swings
sway lightly, blown by a sharp breeze. Moisture coats the yet-to-betouched slides.
Across the street, Aidans Pub is only just preparing itself for the inevitable onslaught of weekend activity. It is a popular location for
both the casual diners at the evenings start, and the rambunctious
college population that hopes to quench
the Friday night thirst by closing time.
The scent of the sea is strong along the
road, and the calls of the seagulls
above are hard to ignore.
Just down the street sits DeWolf Tavern,
atop the historic DeWolf Wharfnow
known as Thames Street Landing.
Bonnie Warren, a historic preservationist, calls DeWolf Wharf the most important maritime site in New England that
relates to the history of the eighteenth to
the mid-nineteenth century, in Thomas
Norman DeWolfs Inheriting the Trade.
DeWolf Wharf marked the rise of the economic superpower that
would be the DeWolf Family, forged from humble beginnings.
Witnessing the potential gains to be had from the slaving industry,
Antony separated from Potter, and captained his own ship in 1769.
The fortunes he had hoped to amass never came to be, due in large
to the sheer size of Antonys familymany of which now lay buried
beside the Obelisk bearing his name.

Six of Antonys fifteen children participated in the slaving industry to

some capacity. At the height of their power and influence over
Rhode Island slaving, the DeWolf family was responsible for nearly
60 percent of all slaving voyages sailing out of Bristola feat credited, in large, to the efforts of former U.S. Senator James DeWolf.
Rhode Island made the slave trade an illegal industry in 1789, but
the DeWolfs used their influence and notoriety to circumvent many
of the new obstacles that arose from the illegality of slavery in the
state. James [was] savvy enough to know
how to make money, to change, how to roll
with the time, said Warren. James DeWolf
assured his family's continued success in
the slave trade by lobbying Congress to establish a new customs district in Bristol and
positioning a friend of the family, Charles
Collins, into position to oversee all cargo inspections throughout the newly established
district.
James DeWolf proved, on multiple occasions, the great lengths to which he was willing to go in order to protect both the industry and the men and women helping it grow.
According to the historical findings of the Tracing Center, a digital
expansion of the documentary feature Traces of the Trade: A Story
from the Deep North, while DeWolf captained aboard the Polly, an
enslaved African woman became ill with smallpox.
After assessing the situation and seeing no alternative, DeWolf ordered the woman to be tied to a chair and tossed overboard. With
no way to contain the spread of the disease, DeWolf opted to assure
44

the safety of his crew, rather than keep the potentially contagious
woman aboard the ship. In the years that followed, DeWolf was
charged with murder, on two separate occasions, for condemning
the woman to death. Charges raised against DeWolf were deemed
groundless and DeWolf was found not guilty in both Rhode Island
and the island of St. Thomas,
though his actions were called
morally evil by the presiding
Judge Advocate Christian
Petri.
For 350 years, human trade
was a reality with a truly global
impactand for over 75 years,
Rhode Islanders were continuously engaged in that history.
The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Marker Project
(MPCPMP) is now looking to
establish an enduring commemoration for the Africans
who fell victim to the slaving
industrys presence in the
Ocean State.

100,000 slaves entered the Americas aboard those vessels. This volume was unprecedented for the North American sect of the slave
trade. Half of the slave trading voyages that departed from North
American ports were launched out of Rhode Island.

Photography by Mark Thayer | Scroll through to see more

There is a real history of slavery in Rhode Island, and the MPCPMP believes that history needs to
be remembered. By the mid-18th century, 10 percent of Rhode Islands population was enslaved, and the state had developed for itself a crucial role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. By 1807, more
than 1,000 slaving ships were crewed by Rhode Islanders, and over

1 of 11

For Bristol, the towns historic involvement with the

slave trade remains a dark
mark on the communitys
celebrated patriotic past.
Bristols Fourth of July Celebration was first hosted in
1785, making it the oldest
continuous Fourth of July
celebration in the nation.
With red, white, and blue
colored street lines, symbols of the American spirit
run deep and through Bristol, a town that proudly embraces its independence.
The town and its inhabitants warmly welcome the
swelling crowds throughout
the summer as July 4th approaches.

While a celebrated town for its recognition of Independence Day,

Bristol was built, in large, by the most significant slaving family in all
of North Americathe DeWolfs. The DeWolf familys involvement in
the slave trade spanned three generationsover 50 years. In that
45

time, the DeWolf family profited from the transportation of well over
10,000 slaves who were abducted in Africa and shipped across the
Middle Passage. Bristol was notably financed by the DeWolf family,
and the economy of the small port community began to flourish as a result of the DeWolfs participation in human trade.
Upon learning of her familys ancestry, Katrina
Browne sought to unearth the extent of her family's involvement in the slave industry. Browne is
just one of many descendants of the DeWolf family, and not the only one that found horror in her
familys past actions. In a journey to fully unearth
and understand her family's history, Browne set
out to produce a documentary regarding Northern
participation in the slave trade, and the DeWolf
legacy. Thomas DeWolf, cousin of Browne, was
just as disheartened to learn of his family's troubled ancestry. In his book Inheriting the Trade, DeWolf documents the emotional journey that ten descendants of New Englands premier slaving dynasty partook inuprooting the long forgotten
atrocities of their ancestors.
Before the suppression of the Transatlantic Slave
Trade, approximately 10 million Africans were
forcefully removed from their homes, and relocated to the Americas as slaves. Another 2 million Africans were estimated to have died during the long sea voyages. The MPCPMP is
actively engaged in honoring those 12 million Africans who were subjected to the Transatlantic Trades Middle Passage by seeking recog-

nition in port cities along the entire East Coast that have a historic involvement with the slave industry. In large, the MPCPMP has been
met with great successhaving held commemoration events and
establishing port markers in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia,
and Florida.
The societal impacts of the slave trade
were devastating, and are still felt to this
day. This recalling is not an easy exploration. It is a reorientation, filled with tension, said Massachusetts State Representative Byron Rushing at Bostons Middle
Passage Ceremony on August 23, 2015.
Slavery brought with it feelings of superiority and inferiority, suppression and submission, anger and fear. Society inevitably developed contempt for the enslaved populations, and stigmatized them as bestial and
uncivilizeddehumanizing them in the
eyes of the public. They were a free labor
force, not a human population.
Remember, slavery and the slave trade in
the Americas existed longer than emancipation and civil rights has yet existed. It
will not be until 2111 that people of African
descent will have been free as long as they have been enslaved in
the United States, said Rushing.
In 2011, the MPCPMP was established by the joint efforts of many
like-minded individuals from various backgroundsindividuals who
46

sought to ensure that this history is remembered, and that the victims of this history are honored. Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the head of
the MPCPMPs Honorary Board, is a journalist and civil rights activistwell versed in freedom movements of the United States and Africa. She is joined by the likes of
anthropologists, filmmakers, historians, and various other specialists.
Victoria Johnson, the 2nd VicePresident of the Newport Historical Societys Board of Directors,
is aiding the MPCPMPs effort in
Newport, Rhode Island. Johnson has been garnering support
from local organizations, and
has seen nothing but positive
reception so far. Were only in
the early stages, but its looking
positive, said Johnson. A committee has been established to
establish the MPCPMP marker
in Newport, which Johnson is
proudly serving on. The initial
meetings are already underwaywith a goal to establish a strategic
plan for the creation of Newports port marker.
The remaining port communities in Rhode Island that the MPCPMP
is looking to acknowledge are also in support of the placement of
historic markers. Committees comprised of community members
from each port location have formed to consider the logistics of plac-

ing port markers. The communities of Bristol and Warren want to

take this initiative further by ensuring the involvement of their towns
school systems. Warren is seeking alterations to their curriculum to
include a deeper exploration into Rhode Islands connections to the
slave industry.
There is a well known phrase
among historians that God cannot alter the past, but historians
can, said Dr. Charlotte
Carrington-Farmer, a history professor at Roger Williams University who has become involved
with the MPCPMP. As a historian, I feel very, very responsible
for presenting an honest version
of the pastwhatever that honest version may be.
In 2003, Brown University initiated an exploration of its own
past, looking to acknowledge
and better understand the role
of slavery in the development of
the institution. Ruth J. Simmons, former President of Brown University, formed a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice with a directive to investigate the relationship of the University with the slave
industry in Rhode Island. In addition to unearthing the Universitys
connections to the slave trade, the committee was also tasked with
the organization and implementation of various public programs to
help the community understand any findings and explore the histori47

cal findings in relation to the present day. Mixed responses to this

effort appeared in the Slavery and Justice Report from Brown Universitys Steering Committee.
One commentator praised the initiative, marking its potential to
serve as a model for future conversations regarding society and the
residue of slavery, but acknowledged the potential discord that it
could cause. Another commenter
held nothing back in condemning
the Universitys move to unearth a
troubled past:
You disgust me, as you disgust
many other Americans. Slavery
was wrong, but at that time it was
a legal enterprise. It ended, case
closed. You cite slaverys effects
as being the reason that black
people are so far behind, but that
just illustrates your ignorance.
Black people, here and now, are
behind because some cant keep
their hands off drugs, or guns, or
cant move forward, cant get off
welfare, cant do the simple things to improve life They dont deserve money, they deserve a boot in the backside over and over until they can find their own way.
Anthony Bogues, current Director of Slavery and Justice at Brown
University and Professor of Humanities and Critical Theory, holds
that the benefits of acknowledging the past far outweigh any potential conflicts. Bogues explained that many of the racial issues pre-

sent in todays society require a critical understanding of the past

that proper consideration of the past could actually move society towards overcoming many of those racial issues. An accurate portrayal of the racial divisions, inhumane interpersonal realities, and
moral ignorances, may actually help set course for a more peacefilled future, according to Bogues.
Bogues office is located in the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University. The building
appears out of place amidst Browns
campus in the heart of Providence,
Rhode Island. Its dull-yellow exterior
siding separate it from otherwise
brick covered buildings along Waterman Street. A bright-red door commands attention, and leads into the
elegant interior. Just beyond the entrance and finally polished wooden
stairwell, the Center for the Study of
Slavery and Justice presents visitors
with an eye opening display.
Strings of rope hang along a wooden
display in the center of the room, crossing at random, and creating a
chaotic assortment. Blue bowties dangle from the yarn, each holding an index card adorned with written text. They are accounts of microaggressions, experienced and recalled by any who wish to contribute to the message being told by Browns Center for the Study of
Slavery and Justice. You play softball? So, are you a lesbian?
reads one card. Youre pretty for a black girl! reads another.
48

In bold black text, the definition of microaggression fills a wall beside the display. It reminds
viewers that microaggressions are manifestations or symptoms of larger institutionalized
structures of oppression and can be perpetrated by anyone, including the oppressed.
If you dont answer the difficult questions of
the past, then they will come again and grab
you by the throat, said Bogues.

49

CAST INTO REFUGE: EXAMINING THE MODERN CRISIS

By Zachary Mobrice

"You'll put down strangers,/ Kill them, cut their throats, possess
their houses,/ And lead the majesty of law in lyam/ To slip him like
a hound
...Go you to France or Flanders,/ To any German province, Spain
or Portugal,/ Nay, anywhere that not adheres to England:/ Why,
you must needs be strangers."

-William Shakespeare, The Book of Sir Thomas More (1601)

Omar Bah stands stiff, formal, and ready, in the middle of a small yet
spacious room. Around him, the walls hold several pieces of political
art, calling for direct action, change, and equality. The building is his
workplace: the Refugee Dream Center, where he helps asylees as
they try to assimilate into their new home. He thinks back on what it
was like for him to make such a transition.
It was only nine years ago when Bahs life in his native country of
Gambia had been cut short. Government officials arrested and tortured him for political reporting that did not sit well with the regime in
power.

50

I was a journalist for six or seven years, and was a torture victim on
several occasions because of my writings.
When he was freed, he fled to Ghanaforced to leave his wife
where he awaited permission to resettle in the United States as a
refugee. One year later, Bah was told he would be resettled in Providence, Rhode Island. Having never even heard of the state before,
he was shown a map to gain a better
understanding and prepare for the trip.
He left the next day.
For all of human history, groups of people have had to run from disasters like
war, famine, disease, and terrorism. In
the last 100 years alone, several notable refugee crises have taken place,
from the Jews in Nazi Germany, to the
Muslim Bosniaks and Croats in the Balkans. This decade has been no different; millions of people in the last five
years have fled the Middle East and
North Africa as a result of radical politics and subsequent violence.

2011. Just over a week later, the Egyptian Revolution began, and a
month after that, the Libyan Civil War; both events ousted the nation's respective leaders. Close behind was Syria, where protests
quickly escalated to riots and eventually a full-scale international
conflict currently ongoing. The civil war in Syria, according to the UN
Refugee Agency, has caused 3.8 million people to flee. Not only
that, but the warzone gave rise to the radical Islamic militant group
Daesh, or ISIL, who have decimated large swaths of the region.
Now, Syria has become a maelstrom of rebellion and extremism.
With this challenging of old regimes comes a large amount of different peoples leaving, said Sargon Donabed, Ph.D., a Roger Williams University history professor
whose focus is on the Middle East.
Theyre threatened by ISIS and the
rising Syrian opposition...theyve become displaced peoples.

While there are multiple, constantly moving pieces playing in the apparent refugee crisis, the immediate reason for the phenomena is
clear: the political instability of several nations in the region allowed
for the rise of a spectrum of revolutionary movements, collectively
known as the Arab Spring.

Professor Donabed also believes

the Iraq War played a massive role in this refugee crisis. A lot of this
begins there, going back all the way to 2003, as you remove the
strongman from power and assume that a country will immediatelywithin a year or twostand on its own two feet without aid, he
said. I think there wasnt enough forethought, in the midst of all of
that.

The Arab Spring movement was catalyzed by the pro-democratic Tunisian Revolution, which lasted three weeks in the winter of 2010-

U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq in the previous

decade left the two nations in a state of reconstruction. The former
51

has dealt with attacks from the Taliban without end, causing the
second-largest exodus in the region2.6 million fled the nation in
2014 alone, according to the UN. The latter was dealt a severe
blow in 2014 when Daesh began a full insurgency in the west.
This sent Arabs, Yazidis, Kurds, and several other ethnic groups
on the run, culminating to an exodus almost 370,000 strong.
Some communities were forced out of Iraq in 2003, lived in
Syria, then were forced out of Syria in the past couple years due
to the civil war, and fled back to Iraq. Now, with Iraq not necessarily being hospitable because of the rise of Daesh, a lot of these
people dont have any place to go, Donabed said.
Isolated from the Arab Spring but still prominent in this modern
diaspora are nations like Somaliawhere 1.1 million refugees left
in 2014 due to Islamic insurgency and high crime rates Sudanwhich has been the site of bloody conflict since 2003and
Eritrea, a totalitarian regime.
Of the roughly 70,000 refugees admitted into the United States
each year, an average of 200 settle in Rhode Island, according to
the American Immigration Council. Historically, the state has
mostly accepted refugees from Liberia, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, Bhutan, and Myanmar. The last few years, however,
have seen a geographical shift; Eritreans, Somalis, and Iraqis
now dominate the statistics.
Omar Bah created the Refugee Dream Center (RDC) as a way to
lend a helping hand to refugees who, as he can attest, are in dire
need of extra support.
Despite being able to read and write English, I went through a
lot of challenges [when I came to the U.S.]. I thought, people that
52

could not read or write Englishwhich is the case for most refugeescould not be left like that, Bah said. So I started the Refugee Dream Center to continue the services refugees get, so that
theres no interruption in the resettlement process.
Acting as a voluntary second tier, the RDC takes in refugees who
have already gone through the initial assimilation programs at either
Dorcas International Institute of RI or the Diocese of Providence.
Both agencies work with the U.S. Department of State to bring in
and resettle those on the run from international crises. Although less
refugees seek out Bahs help as a result, he certainly isnt left idle.
Right now, the RDC is working with almost 60 clients, and theyre expecting more in the coming months.
On top of this, Bah also represents the state of Rhode Island at the
U.N.-hosted Refugee Congress, leading the discussion on how to
better assist the many people who are fleeing their homes in an attempt to find a better, safer life. At the Northeast Refugee Conference, hosted by the RDC, Bah opened up dialogue regarding the
difficulties for resettled refugees to truly grow in the United States.
Just gaining entry into the country is a remarkable feat.

THE SECOND FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL

Brandon Lozeau, Community Relations Manager at Dorcas International Institute of R.I. (DIIRI), knows the process well. Previously a
teacher at DIIRI, Lozeau worked with many clients whose first experiences with reading and writing were learning English upon their arrival in the United States. While DIIRI utilizes a $6 million annual
budget to fully aid its refugee clients in finding employment, many
rocks must still be cleared to pave a road toward self-sufficiency.

THE PROCESS
In Omar Bahs experience with entering the United States as a
refugee, he had to wait a year before arriving in Providence.
For most refugees, especially those from Syria, it can take
twice as long to gain entry.
According to the official White House website, refugees must
go through an arduous process, including the most strict security checks of any traveler entering the U.S., in order to be admitted into the country:
The first step in the refugee process is getting in contact with
the United Nations Refugee Agency, who collects all the applicant's biodata and biometrics; if the applicant is from the Middle East, an iris scan is necessary. Applicants are then interviewed to assess their need for resettlement.
Less than 1 percent of refugee applicants will move forward
into the resettlement process.
Those who make it this far are accepted into one of the countrys Resettlement Support Centers (RSCs). The state of
Rhode Island has two RSCs: the Diocese of Providence and
Dorcas International Institute of R.I.. These RSCs create an applicant profile for the accepted refugees in order to keep track
of them.
Refugee applicants then have to be screened by the National
Counterterrorism Center, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department to make sure they do
not pose a threat. Homeland Security concludes security
checks by interviewing the applicants and collecting fingerprints for a biometric check, resulting in more screenings. If
the applicant is a Syrian refugee, they must go through an en53

in services; every refugee is dealing with traumaPTSD, depression.

In the 1980s, the U.S. used to fund services for three years.
In 1980, the United States also accepted over 200,000 refugees. In
this decade, its accepted 70,000 a year on average. The U.S. has
set a cap at 95,000 refugees for 2016. Germany has said it would
welcome 800,000 refugees from Syria, and thats 1 percent of their
population. If we were to welcome 1 percent of our population as Syrian refugees, wed be resettling 3 million people! The fact that were
taking in 10,000 Syrians...it really doesnt represent a significant number, Brandon Lozeau said.

THE MOST POWERFUL EMOTION

For the many refugees who are not able to practice their profession
in the United States, due to a culmination of qualification translation,
language barriers, and lack of opportunity in an already competitive
American job market, life becomes all the more frustrating. Lowwage and non-professional jobs thus become a career path for
many. At Bahs Northeast Refugee Conference, Fathiya Shalloa Somali refugee who resettled in Providenceopened up about this
struggle. I want to advance, but when [employers] see on my resume that Ive been a housekeeper or factory worker...then I cant
get new jobs.
Six months isnt a long time to get acclimated to a new culture,
Omar Bah told EcoRI News, referring to the average length of time
refugee clients stay with Rhode Islands RSCs. Theres a huge gap

Why has support for refugees in the United States dwindled over
this span of time?
I think theres a large amount of fear, said Sargon Donabed. Responsibility or nonresponsibility, most people are going to air on the
side of: Im afraid of something I dont know. They see what happened in France, what happened in Belgium, and immediately
theyre frightened. And 9/11 wasnt so long ago; its still in peoples
collective memory. That was frightening for most people, especially
in the United States. In the old days, there were ways to safeguard
against invading forces entering your country. Now, in the days of
terrorism, theres the prospect of radicalization that could happen to
just about anybody.
In the United States, the public debate regarding a plan of action towards helping these refugees has been fiery and widespread. Since
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2012, just over 2,000 Syrian refugees have come into the U.S.. President Barack Obama has made a pledge to take in as many as
10,000 displaced Syrians, yet more than half of the nations governors have come out to say that the refugees are not welcome in their
respective states. In a March 15 poll created by NBC, 64 percent of
Republicans in Ohio and Florida, and 67 percent of Republicans in
Illinois and North Carolina, said they supported a ban on Muslims
entering the U.S.
In Rhode Island, State Senator Elaine Morgan suggested that Syrian
refugees be kept in segregated camps, in fear that the displaced
people were sent here to murder all non-Muslims. In her words, the
Muslim religion and philosophy is to murder, rape, and decapitate
anyone who is a non-Muslim.
Fear can be felt on both sides of the spectrum. For those fleeing,
death is always a looming possibility. This year, roughly 1,000 refugees have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Italy;
about 500 of those deaths occurred in just one incident this past
April. Incidents at border crossings elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East add to the toll of those lost.

FINDING RESOLVE
Though an air of deterrence towards refugees and their struggles
has been sweeping through the world, solidarity has gained the
stronger voice. In 2014 alone, Turkey and Lebanon collectively accepted 2.7 million refugees. The nations of the European Union saw
the arrival over 1.3 million refugees in 2015, and hundreds of thousands have already reached the continent this year.
This past February, a protest was held at the Rhode Island State
House pushing for the denial of Syrian refugees to enter the state.
Despite this, the first Syrian family entered Rhode Island that month,
with Governor Gina Raimondo promising more. Brandon Lozeau believes those voices do not truly represent Rhode Islands sentiment.

According to Lozeau the voice who truly represents the peoples

emotions is Omars, who led hundreds of counter protesters to the

Even for those who have already made it to a new home, feelings of
safety do not come easily. I am an immigrant, a refugee, a black
man, and a Muslim. Each of these identities is an obstacle, Omar
Bah said. I have discovered the freedom that the founders of this
great nation have fought for...only I live it in fear.
With an entire region seeing a massive loss of population as a result
of war and radical politics, an international discussion has been
raised. Countries are debating how to best help those on the run, or
whether they should even be helped at all.
55

State House that same day to promote acceptance and cultural

unity. It is Governor Gina Raimondos, who saw to it that the first Syrian family entered Rhode Island that same February, and promised
more on their way. It is Rep. Jim Langevins, who expressed his overwhelming support for the Refugee Dream Centers cause.

On the brisk, cloudy morning of April 2, more than one hundred peoplefrom all over the regionenergetically shuffled into a sizeable
auditorium in the middle of South Providence. They all listened, for
nine hours, to the stories of several refugees and experts; they
learned about the tragedies experienced oversees, the difficulty in
getting educated in the U.S., and other topics that were bound to
open up minds. Refugees and citizens joined together in the lobby

to converse, take pictures, and share each others home-cooked

meals.
In Omar Bahs memoir Africas Hell on Earth: The Ordeal of an African Journalist, one notably powerful line on the back cover sticks
out:
Now, with a gun pointed at me, a torch light flashing into my face, I
stood up and raised my arms up in surrender.
Now, on the streets of Providence, fighting for the rights of refugees
to escape danger and find a safe haven in the U.S., it doesnt seem
like Omar will surrender anymore.

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Anders Ostergaard | Flickr

THE PORTUGESE
EXPERIENCE
By Michael Huber

Saint Elizabeths Church stands in the same place since it was

built in 1921. The gathering hall has not changed much either,
both in appearance, and its teachings and traditions. Next door
is a quaint, white-walled colonial not garnering much attention
from passersby. This is the rectory of Saint Elizabeths, and on a
Wednesday afternoon, both buildings are empty.
It is here in the rectory that Father Luis Dutra sits doing his daily
work and talking to his congregation as they come and go. Dutra
is a dignified man dressed in the traditional garb of Catholic
priests: all black clothing, save for the white collar around his
neck that he adjusts every so often as he talks. He has olive skin
57

and a thick Azorean accent, but is as eloquent as any native

speaker.
Im on loan to Bristol from my parish back home in the Azores, said
Dutra. I apologize if my English is rough, since I learned it in school
when I was much older.
Despite being so far from home, Dutra says that he likes Bristol and
will miss it when he eventually leaves. He says its very much like being a priest back home, just in a completely different side of the
world.
In 1958, there was a massive volcanic eruption on
the Azorean island of
Faial, which continued
for over a year, forcing a
massive evacuation of
the 2,000 residents from
the island. Due to the humanitarian need, the
United States government lifted the ban on immigration to accommodate for those affected by the disaster. Within
a few months, over 50 percent of the population of many Azorean islands had left.

families are a tribute to the vast array of cultures that have passed
through the island. Still, the omnipresence of Portuguese culture on
the islands is the predominant societal structure.
Despite speaking the language and adopting a great deal of Portuguese culture, Azoreans are quick to separate themselves from their
mainland kin. They see themselves as a completely separate ethnicity from Portuguese.
Marie Fraley is a small Portuguese woman with a warm smile and
exuberant demeanor. She heads the Portuguese and Lusophone
World Studies Institute at the college, and while she may not be from
the Azores, her knowledge of the region and the Portuguesespeaking world is on par with any native scholar. Fraleys office is
covered in artifacts and artwork of Portuguese origin.
They brought everything they could carry and sold everything
else, Fraley said. They left nothing behind.

The Azores are an island chain in the center of the Atlantic ocean
and have been under the control of Portugal since they were discovered in the 16th century. Since it was necessary to stop at the
Azores in order to reach the New World, it was a melting pot of different cultures and languages. Names and lineages of many Azorean
58

Portugal was once one of the major European powers during the Medieval and Renaissance periods of Western history, rivalling the empires of Spain and England. Portugals influence spread from Africa
to South America, and created the Lusophone world, or countries
and territories under Portuguese control and that spoke Portuguese.
Starting in the 17th and 18th centuries,
though, Portugals power began to wane
and the territories it controlled began to
crumble away.
By the beginning of the 19th century, Portugal was a shadow of its former self: filled
with poverty, corruption, and despair. From
this point, many Portuguese citizens began
to leave their home in search for a better
life for themselves and their children. Thus
began the waves of Portuguese diaspora
and immigration to places across the New
World, including New England.
Rhode Island and Massachusetts have been the landing grounds
of thousands of Portuguese and Azorean immigrants since the 19th
century, said Fraley. Just like the Irish and Italians, they came here
to work and made a life for themselves. Now theyre a major force for
change in Rhode Island politically, economically, and culturally.
Fraley also noted that in preparation for their entrance into the
United States, many took steps to Anglicize their children out of fear
of discrimination. They changed their names to traditional American
ones and taught their children to speak English as opposed to their
native Portuguese.

Fraley created a documentary on the subject of PortugueseAmericans and their place in the politics and societal structure of
Rhode Island and the nation as a whole, titled Luso-American
Elected Officials Project. Made in 2008, the 16-minute-long documentary goes over the families, legacies, and various other aspects
of Portuguese-speaking legislators lives
throughout Rhode Islands history.
The Portuguese community in Rhode Island
as well as across the nation is very tightknit, said Fraley. Even if there isnt much immigration from the country anymore, theres little
bits of Portugal across America, and they
arent going anywhere.

PORTUGUESE IMMIGRATION
There are three defined waves in the history of Portuguese immigration to the New England area, primarily in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The first of these waves started in the 19th century as Portuguese men jumped aboard whaling and fishing ships and disembarked in the port towns like Newport and New Bedford. Some of
these men stayed for a few years before returning to Portugal, others remained longer and eventually bring their families with them to
start a new, better life away from Portugal where crime, corruption,
and political persecution proved an imminent threat.
The second wave was during the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
the textile industry that arose out of the Industrial Revolution in America led to thousands of Portuguese immigrants coming to Rhode Island and Massachusetts to work in the booming textile factories in
59

New England. They were astounding workers: dedicated, dutiful,

and fast. Many factory owners in the region would hire Portuguese
immigrants on the spot. However, after World War II began, the
United States closed off its once flowing immigration standards due
to the fear of communism spreading to the country.
When the brutal dictatorship that
controlled Portugal was overthrown in the mid 1970s, and replaced with a European-style
democratic republic, many economic and political embargoes
levied against communist governments were lifted from Portugal,
including immigration to the U.S.
By the end of the 1970s, Portuguese immigration dried up.
There are very few immigrants
coming into America from Portugal due to better economic and
living conditions in Portugal and
other Lusophone countries, particularly Brazil.
Bristol and Rhode Island at large is one of the places that still has an
incredibly vibrant and lively Portuguese and Azorean population,
and many of these people still follow the old traditions of previous
generations. Places like St. Elizabeths are full of the vivacious pride
and kindness indicative of these peoples traditions and values that
date back decades and even centuries.

While the warm temperatures of the Azore Islands are not found so
far north, the warmth of its people and parishioners is found in abundance. The rich history of the Portuguese-American population residing in Bristol have allowed the Azorean traditions to withstand time
and remain a large part of the congregation. Many parishioners and their
families have called Bristol and Saint
Elizabeths home for over 95 years.
Most of the people who see me
learned Portuguese at home as their
first language, especially the older
ones, Father Dutra said. They want
to keep their traditions alive, even
thousands of miles away from home.
If you want things done the way
Azoreans did 40-50 years ago, you
dont find it in there, you find it in Bristol.
There are still some Portuguese immigrants that come to Rhode Island
and Massachusetts every year, but nothing close to the prior waves
of immigrants that created the expansive community seen today.
And this community welcomes the newcomers with open arms,
homemade wine, and churico at the family table.

60

Nick Kenrick | Flickr

ONE WORLD

A new age of Cuban-American Relations

By Mark Thayer & Galileo West

For 88 years, Cuba has not seen an acting American President enter
its borders. In March 2016, President Barack Obama assured that
Cuba would not reach 89 years without a presence from the
Commander-in-Chief of the United States.
Here is my message to the Cuban government and the Cuban people, said President Barack Obama in a speech to the Cuban people and President Raul Castro at the Gran Teatro in Havana. The
ideals that are the starting point for every revolutionsAmericas
revolutions, Cubas revolution, the liberation movements around the
world; those ideals find their truest expression, I believe, in democracy.

President Obama explained that he hoped to shatter any final remnants of the Cold War tensions that existed between the United
States and Cuba. He assured President Castro that the United
States was no longer a threat to Cuba, and that the U.S. government
would not burden the nation any further with economic or political restraints. This visit from a U.S. President, after nearly nine decades,
was one for reconciliation and reinvigoration.
Discussions between the Presidents of these two nations led to both
groundbreaking cooperation and a resurgence of long standing resentments. When questioned about human rights concerns, specifically regarding political prisoners taken into custody for speaking
61

out against Cubas leadership, President Castro had a pointed response. Though promising release of political prisoners if he was to
be provided a list of such prisoners names, President Castro remarked that the United States was not in a proper position to question the human rights conditions of Cuba. The lack of universal
healthcare and equal pay in the United States makes for similarly disgraceful human rights violations according to President Castro, and
the continued occupation of Guantanamo Bay by the United States
should cease if a real cooperation
is to take place between the two
countries.
While President Obamas visit to
Cuba will likely have a historic impact, educators from the United
States recently made a visit of their
own, and were truly moved by the
experience. While the leadership
of these two governments work to
repair relations, the citizens of
each nation are more than ready to
see this new age of cooperation
take hold.
Kimberly Smith, Ph.D, Superintendent of Wakefield, Massachusetts Public Schools, visited Cuba in
February, 2016, as part of a cooperative initiative involving 22 Superintendents, both active and retired, from Massachusetts, New York,
and New Hampshire. This collection of Superintendents traveled to
Cuba as a part of Global Studies 21, a program dedicated to discussing educational practices around the world. The trip was self

funded, with each educator paying for their own travels in fulland
each traveling on a people-to-people Visa.
Obtaining a people-to-people Visa is one of only a few ways for
Americans to travel to Cuba, as it is part of a legal educational distinction of travel. The difficulty surrounding U.S. travel to Cuba is due
to the strict regulations existing between the two nations and the ban
of tourism in the United States to Cuba. The educational programs
that include people-to-people
travel are fully organized and include an emphasis on cultural immersion. Those traveling under
people-to-people Visas are provided with full schedules that include site visits, guest speakers,
community outreach, and local visits to small businesses.
As part of Global Studies 21, this
trip to Cuba was in an effort to explore the educational system in
Cuba. Smith and her fellow travelers were looking to better understand education from a Cuban perspectivehow the lack of technology and lesser availability of the internet impact educational practices, the lack of autonomy between curriculums, and the notably
high, 99.9 percent, literacy rate of Cuba. Smith and company were
granted access to every level of the Cuban educational system,
from preschool through the university level.

62

In the final days of Smiths Cuban experience, the group of educators made their way to the embassy of the United States. As she
stood in the lobby, recalling the day with her fellow superintendents,
a television in the background caught her eye. On the screen was
the President of the United State, Barack Obama.
Smith diverted the groups attention to the Presidents announcement. I was so proud in that moment, said Smith. To be on the
front line of such change.
That day, the President of the United States announced that he
would be traveling to Cuba with an intent to improve Cuban/
American relations. In just a months time, it would be the first such
visit in over 80 years.
The direct interactions that Smith had with Cuban children of all
ages was the highlight of her Cuban experience. With the youngest
students they met, Smith recalled trading nursery rhymesfirst hearing the Cuban children sing to them, and then responding with Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Rock-a-Bye Baby. After we traded song,
the kids ran up to us and hugged us all, said Smith.
As a former high school teacher and principal, Smith found herself
right back at home with the high school aged Cuban children.
Speaking with a group of Cuban boys reminded Smith of her students from Wakefield. Smith was at ease speaking with them, learning about their experiences in school, and sharing stories of her
own. But just like her own students, she watched their attention fade
as a group of Cuban girls strolled by. It was like I was back in the
halls of [Wakefield Memorial High School], Smith said with a laugh.

________________________________________

The Reporters Notebook: Galileo West in Cuba

There is a link between hamlets in Irish counties and towns in the
depths of Australias outback. It is the same similarity towns in Tanzania have with Cuban towns. It is the common theme between rural
French villages and New Englands northernmost townships. It is something one cannot find in cities, nor even in the suburbs. It is community
spirit. In Cuba there is a shared life, a shared existence. Even in Havana, people gather together. People grow up together, they influence
one another and they celebrate the same beliefs and ideals. Here in
Cuba, the buses are ancient, the cars seem to run on magic, and everything is, as American socialites would say, vintage darling.
63

Despite all of her advances, money and freedom, America appears to

have lost its community spirit. It started with New York and spread,
like a cancer. People maintain their friendliness, but nobody really
knows their neighbors anymore. Not like they used to. It has spread to,
or perhaps originated from, Europe. Nobody knows the people who
live behind that white picket fence, so identical to the one they hide behind.
It is a positive thing to see crowds spill
out onto the streets on Saturday nights.
They dont need to Instagram everything or tweet about the sunset. It
brings a smile to the lips to see how
they forget their differences and revel
in their similarities. Americans can
hate based on who somebody roots for,
on who they voted for last time. But
Cubans dont do this. Cubans show us
how it should be. We wont take their
example, but they prove how much
more there is than simply that which
meets your eye.

Across the world there are millions who are just the same. The clothes
change, the accents differ and they look different on the outside, but on
the inside they are broken.

We are all changed by technology and by privilege. You and I have

casually judged someone or something before without thinking. We all
do it and will continue to, but in Cuba, surrounded by Cubans with
riches we cannot comprehend that statement is more than wrong. It is incorrect on every level. The town is not
trash because beauty really is only skin
deep. Mother Teresa never featured on
Vogue magazine. Marilyn Monroe was
never made a saint. It may not be full
of glass and steel, but there is a love
there, a positivity that only shared experiences can bring. Cubans are content
with what they have, they are decidedly unmaterialistic. Developed nations are never satisfied, they have to
consume, and they have to satisfy their
Photography by Galileo West | Scroll to see more
desires and wants, so cheaply disguised as needs.

1 of 20
There is no obvious explanation for the
decline in community spirit, but social
In the Western world, we have lost
media and technological advances are one of the causes of this decline.
touch. We have forgotten the joy of a cycle ride to the park, the happiIm traveling on a tour through Cuba, and one of my fellow tourists
ness in walking through a park. We never grab baseball bats and head
while staring out the windows of the tour bus, callously offers: This
down to a diamond to try and strike out our friends. Instead, we have
town is trash. It was said automatically, casually as if he had the right
built a trap, a digital trap made up of 140 characters only, where a Faceto simply dismiss the way these people live their lives. Wearing debook conversation equates social time.
signer clothes, complaining about the WIFI and taking the resort lifestyle for granted, he is an American, and one of the lost generation.
64

Not content with ruining our own youth, we are now hell-bent on ruining Cubas. As well as having limited internet, they have no Starbucks.
McDonalds has no presence here. McDonalds does not hold sway
over these people. Subways is yet to corrupt the people here. And Walmarts icy reach has not yet spread so far as this unspoiled isle. Socially, especially with its free health care, Cuba is healthier than the Estados Unidos. Physically, too, it is healthier. But instead of learning
why that is, instead of using Cuba as a good example, we deride it. We
look away.
Cuba has grown and developed in ways we should copy. Instead we are
set on corrupting them. But in 50 years when Western civilization has
broken another country and its culture, and infected it with its sickness,
perhaps we will have the bravery to look back and realize we were
wrong.

Its been 56 years since the United States shut off its contact with this
little island nation just 90 miles south of Miami. During this time, Cuba
has been a nation that has been forced to look inward. Sure, the Canadians and the Mexicans have had tepid contact with Cuba; the Europeans
too; but in the Western hemisphere, it is the United States and its pronounced economic influence that has driven the social narrative
throughout the Americas. The embargo is all but over now, the veil has
been cast aside, and Americans are curious to explore and search and
survey; where, perhaps the opposite might be a better truth: maybe we
should consider what the Americas have lost in the noise of the Digital
Age and work to possibly recapture a better sense of ourselves as humans as we finally peer, once again, inside the cafes and bars and music halls of this new Cuba.

65

NATURE
What emerges first and foremost from the progress of
scientific knowledge and the inventions of technology
is the infinite greatness of God Himself, who created
both man and the universe. Yes; out of nothing He
made all things, and filled them with the fullness of His
own wisdom and goodness.
Pope John XXIII

CLEANER WATERS
By Sabrina Polin

A WAR ON THE WATERFRONT

Tom Kutcher has been fighting on the frontline in a case for environmental justice for the past six years. Kutcher, the Baykeeper
for the environmental agency, Save the Bay, has been in hot pursuit of an unrelenting and allegedly illegal scrap metal facility operating on the shore of the Providence River since 2009.
The facility, Rhode Island Recycled Metals (RIRM), has been reportedly unresponsive to state regulations and numerous regulatory actions. A warrior against pollution in the already compro-

67

mised Narragansett Bay, Kutcher took action into his own hands to
halt the progression of this regressive behavior.
The Narragansett Bay has been subject to pollution since the industrial era, and the Providence River is already contaminated enough,
said Kutcher. But, we cant continue polluting it, and Im not going
to let them keep putting metals and PCBs into the bay.
The corporation has violated state and federal laws in many instances, according to Kutcher. When RIRM arrived to the site in
2009, the foundation was already contaminated with PCBs toxic,
carcinogenic compounds and was covered with a soil cap. RIRM
was supposed to cap the soil with concrete, and failed to do so before beginning operation.
When Kutcher first notified the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), he questioned the necessity of RIRMs
waterfront location. Their original intention was to scrap an old Rus-

sian submarine, but then expanded their business into scrapping

cars and other sources of expensive metals without the proper permit to do so. They never improved the site, and their seaside location was no longer a convenience but rather an open opportunity for
hazardous waste to enter the estuary.
They never improved the drainage system, they never put down a
cement cap, said Kutcher. So every time it rains, it goes through all
these scrap piles and contaminated soils and flows right into the
bay.
The DEM issued a cease-and-desist order and a $46,250 fine in
2012, but both were dropped in exchange for a smaller fine and an
agreement to pave the property, install an underground drainage
system, and remove the ships and illegal fill material.
Recycled Metals failed to meet these conditions by Dec. 31, 2014,
and a lawsuit was filed. They declined to comment on the issue.

SEPARATION OF EARTH AND STATE

Tom Kutcher and his associates at Save the Bay have been initiating
the conversations about Rhode Island Recycled Metals with the
DEM for six years and have been getting little to no support, according to Kutcher.
A big part of my job is being an environmental watchdog and holding the state accountable for what their job is, said Kutcher. The
DEM is continually getting pressure from politicians, and we are continually giving pressure on the other side.

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While the DEM responds to the state, their main priority is intended
to be the upkeep and maintenance of the environment. Yet, Kutcher
believes that theres a break in the supposed partnership between
environmental agencies and the government regarding pollution,
and doesnt think the DEM is using its power and authority to the extent that it should be in addressing environmental concerns.
Theres a culture that enforcement isnt important, that we should instead be working with people, said Kutcher. But, we should not be
working with people who are blatantly breaking the law, blatantly polluting. Theres a difference.
Spokeswoman Gail Mastrati, on the other hand, believes DEM is ardent in their mission to keep Rhode Islands water clean, drinkable,
and suitable for marine life. These goals, however, require a holistic
effort.

We all play a role in protecting our environment, said Mastrati.

Government, private industry, community; every individual must be
leveraged.
The Clean Water Act of 1977 was enacted to establish a uniform
standard and goal regarding legal environmental regulations,
in response to pollution disasters in areas such as the Narragansett
Bay. RIRM hasnt been the only culprit in the bays long-rooted history of unclean waters, but the facility is putting the bay into a backward transition from the progress its made since the Clean Water
Act.
A POLLUTED PAST
Just by looking at the shores of the Narragansett Bay in the 1950s,
you would be able to tell what color fabric the textile manufacturers
were making that day according to Roger Williams University Pro69

fessor of Environmental Science Scott Rutherford because the water along the shore would turn the color of the dyes.
As Rutherford describes it, the Narragansett Bay used to be one of
the most industrialized estuaries in the world, inevitably accompanied by the contamination that came
with the title. The estuary suffered
largely on ecological levels from the
urbanization of the area, compromising water quality, marine life, and human benefit. The Narragansett Bay
has come a long way from its dark,
polluted past, but it took a beating to
get to the point its at today.
With its naturally deep channels, the
bay has always been appealing for
shipping trades; slaves, rum, crops,
and other goods have been imported
into Providence as early as the 1700s
through the convenient port. Yet, the
shipping port also attracted the detrimental side effects that decades of heavy traffic and development in and along the bay
wrought.
Industrialization boomed along the Narragansett Bay following the
opening of Slater Mill in 1793 often dubbed the birthplace of the
Industrial Revolution. Situated on the bank of the Narragansett Bays
Blackstone River, the mills pioneering technology of harnessing the
power of the dammed river was a huge success. While great for industrial advancement, the success of the Slater Mill was largely detrimental in another sense.

The Slater Mill inspired other entrepreneurs to open more mills along
the bay on nearly every tributary. Soon enough, the mills had harnessed so much river power that they drained the bay of any waterpower at all; it was starved of water flow. Fish passage through the
tributaries was constricted and resulted in the obliteration of countless fish populations.
By 1900, hundreds of mills were using Narragansett Bay tributary waters
not just for power and processing but
for washing and directly depositing
waste. At this point, the mills were not
only starving the bay of marine and
aquatic life, but were actively polluting the stagnant waters as well. As
steam turbines operating on fossil fuels replaced hydropower,
hydrocarbon-derived pollutants were
flooded into the estuary, polluting the
bay with organic matter and later debilitating hydrologic and biological processes.
Putting salt on the wound, Rhode Islands population tripled from
1860 to 1920, and the state was stressed on resources and capacity. Streets, waterways, railroads, and urban sewage systems were
implemented in an effort to accommodate the swollen populace, but
the systems couldnt keep up. The sewer systems overflowed, and
large quantities of waste and hazardous sludge were being deposited directly into the bay.
Adding to the mess at hand, military operations were also being stationed along the bay, and the waters were being used for training
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grounds, weapon testing, and a depository for hazardous pollutants. Urban runoff from structures, industries, and operations
along the coast contributed largely to pathogenic, toxic metal,
and hydrocarbon pollution.
Urbanization of the watershed contributed largely to the introduction of toxic metals such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel,
and zinc, among others into the Narragansett Bay as well.
While most toxic metal sediment lay concentrated upstream on
the floor of the bay, these sediments are agitated by dredging or
bioturbation, and are carried down bay with the flow where theyll
spread further and settle in other areas. Inputs as well as dredging of these metals occurred mostly during the 1800s, but the
damage remains; there are still multiple areas closed off to fishing
because of the health hazard it would pose to humans if ingested.
We often dont think about whats in the sediments from the last
100 years of industrialization, said Rutherford.
RIRM is a culprit in the release of these toxic sediments. The 12inch soil cap on the site intended to keep the contaminants at
bay has most likely been compromised, according to an article
by the Providence Journal, and pollutants were being released
into the water while simultaneously increasing the chances of erosion.
There are many point and non-point sources of pollution in the
bay, the big ones being eutrophication excessive nutrients
leading to low oxygen levels and industrial activity. Rutherford
said that within the last few decades, and primarily due to government regulations such as the Clean Water Act, the bay has improved substantially in its pollution status.
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Were on the right path, said Rutherford. If we can continue that,

the health of the bay will continue to improve, and we should enjoy a
long-term healthy Narragansett Bay.
WAVES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

top priority, but some situations like with RIRM are not an easy
fix.
DEM has taken many enforcement actions [with RIRM] and continues to follow up in Superior Court, said Mastrati. Unfortunately,
regulation and compliance are not one-time activities, and often sustained efforts are required to address industrial facilities.
A receivership petition began in December 2015 and shortly after,
the company was prohibited from taking in any more cars or boats,
ordered to remove waste, ordered to take steps to reestablish the
shoreline and decrease contaminated runoff, and given a deadline
to get rid of ships. It is unclear how closely RIRM is following these
orders, as they declined to comment and restricted public access to
the site, but they have declared bankruptcy.
Kutcher believes he put too much time into this case, and that it took
so much longer to get to this point than it should have. However, he
says that people like him and others at Save the Bay are necessary
in making sure the bay continues progressing.
Really, the environment needs to come first, he said. Its peoples
quality of life, and people associate Narragansett Bay with Rhode
Island.

Rhode Island Recycled Metals isnt the only wrongdoer in the history
of the Narragansett Bay, but its one of the few in this era that blatantly and continuously reminds us of the archaic pollution acts of
the past. So begs the question: Are RIRMs detrimental activities a
fault of the corporations ignorance, or a fault of a government lax in
enforcement?
Gail Mastrati says that the DEM takes their role in regulating environmental laws very seriously and that keeping waterways clean is a
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ROLLIN DOWN ELECTRIC AVENUE

By Paul Struck
THE SPARK
The electric vehicle was not invented in one swift motion, but rather
it came into fruition following a succession of inventions that contributed to the overall model. Contrary to popular belief, electric vehicles are not brand new by any means. They originally hit the streets
as far back as the 1830s, when Robert Anderson invented the first
crude electric vehicle. Even though the contraption was not the most
practical, it helped lay the groundwork for environmentally conscious innovations in future years.
By the 1890s, small electric wagons were gaining popularity, and
many of the reasons urban dwellers were attracted to the vehicles

still persist today. They did not present themselves as being rough
around the edges, in the way many gas vehicles operated at the
time. Gaining widespread attention, the electric vehicle soon occupied a third of all other cars on the roads in the United States, and
reached their highest point of popularity in the first decade of the
20th century.
The peak of popularity in these electric vehicles came about over
one hundred years before the EV models of today were conceived.
Several well-known figures such as Thomas Edison and Ferdinand
Porsche contributed to the technologys early stages. Edison believed in the future of the electric vehicle and the societal influence it
could boast. He worked on improving the electric battery, which
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would contribute to the vehicles efficiency, and set a precedent for

battery quality. Porsche created an entirely new vehicle that ran on
an electric battery and a gas engine. This became the hybrid category of vehicles, and allowed for more fluidity in consumers range
of options.
However, consumers who were eager for
the electric car would soon be disappointed. Throughout the 1910s and into
the 1920s, gas-powered vehicles retook
their place as the number one choice for
travel. An electric car starter was invented
in 1912, and with the help of Henry Ford,
Americans were able to have access to
an efficient car that would not burn a hole
in their pockets. This vehicle was the
widely acclaimed Model T, and it made
assembly line production the norm. In addition to Fords automobile, oil reserves in
the western portions of the United States provided generous
amounts of usable fuel, and electric vehicles ultimately fell by the
wayside.
The trend continued for decades. Oil discoveries were on the rise,
infrastructure improved, and the combustion engine became more
efficient. As transportation cross-country by vehicle became more
and more feasible, fuel availability followed suit, and Americans began to feel settled in their gas-powered way of life.
NASAs manned lunar rover was a prominent electric vehicle that
landed on the moon in 1971, and helped to bring the concept back
into the minds of many Americans. Shortly thereafter, at the First

Symposium on Low Pollution Power Systems Development, General

Motors exhibited a prototype of an electric vehicle that bore striking
resemblance to many of the smart cars we see on the roads today.
Compact, shiny and sleek, the car hit the streets in the mid-1970s,
but did not see much traction, as the
benefits of driving gas-powered machines
still outweighed those of electric vehicles.
Traditional gas automobiles outperformed
electric ones and still proved more desirable to the general public, despite increasing fuel prices.
The electric car had to cross one more
speed bump before it was able to gain
commercial success. The 1980s saw a
short-lived decline of the electric vehicles
popularity, following adjusted federal restrictions, companies were able to operate on their popular models to integrate
electric technology. This lead the way for GMs EV1, and Toyotas
Prius, released in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Both vehicles became instantly popular with the American public.
In the 20 years since the re-introduction of the electric car to our city
streets, the technology has grown exponentially. In 2006, Tesla Motors, a brand new automobile company at the time, began producing high-end electric vehicles which received outstanding support,
and blew ratings for other vehicles out of the water entirely in just 10
years. To add to Teslas success, GM released the Chevy Volt.
Dubbed the first commercially available plug-in hybrid, it ushered in
the era of nationwide charging stations, and decreased electric bat74

tery costs for the average consumer. All of these factors, including
the invaluable benefit the presence of electric cars would have for
our environment, helped bring these sustainable machines back into
the public eye, where it seems they will stay for a long time.
PACKING A PUNCH
What must be the largest collection of antique car batteries can be
found in Kingsport, Tennessee at the home of Mark DiLuciano, a consultant for those who work directly with electric vehicles and the
chemistry that powers them for years.
I probably have 500 antique batteries from the late 1800s and early
1900s, said Mark. If you saw them you probably wouldnt even recognize them as batteries.
The basic building block of electric vehicles and their hybrid counterparts is the battery. Lithium powered batteries in zero emission transportation have become commonplace throughout the United States
throughout the last 15 years. They pack a
punch comparable to that of a traditionally
fueled car that runs on gasoline, in addition
to weighing less than batteries that came before the new millennium.
Long-term maintenance appears to be the
only pitfall associated with lithium batteries,
considering if one cell overcharges or malfunctions then the rest of the battery is rendered useless. In a 400-volt lithium battery,
just one 4-volt cell can negatively impact performance. Overcharging can cause the cell
to catch fire, while low voltage can damage

its potential and prevent cohesive functioning with the other units.
Imagine a length of string lights that burn out all due to a single bulb
that goes bad.
For 30 years, DiLuciano has been collecting antique electric vehicle
batteries and advocating for a societal switch to green transportation. With committed research and public participation, DiLuciano
believes we may reach a point where electric vehicles become as
ubiquitous as they were 100 years ago. However, before we are able
to see results of this magnitude, we must tackle two central issues
associated with battery-powered vehicles: range and charging time.
Range anxiety is a common symptom among those confronted with
the idea of going electric. How far can I drive this thing before I have
to recharge? What if my battery is low and I cant find a station anywhere nearby? The concerns manifest themselves in ways that relate directly to charging locations and how frequently they appear
on the roads. Figuring out the range limitations of your electric vehicle is relatively easy although it differs depending on the make and
model.
For example, Nissans Leaf can
travel roughly 80 miles on a full
charge, while some Tesla models
can reach as far as 200 before
needing to be plugged in again. A
car with farther range capabilities
will certainly ease the worries of
many who wish to make the move
away from their gas guzzlers, but
the range comes at a price.
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Anyone interested in a Tesla can expect to drop around $100 thousand on their current green pieces of technology. However, by late
2017, Tesla will begin delivering their first shipments of the Model 3,
an affordable, efficient, and safe vehicle that will be accessible to
many more people who want to go green. For just $35 thousand, consumers can have their own piece of luxury that will take them as far as
215 miles before needing to be recharged.

MEETING HALF WAY

John King, Vice President of Student Affairs at Roger Williams University, has owned a plug-in hybrid since 2012. King, who lives in Franklin, Mass., commutes an hour and 45 minutes to and from his job on a
daily basis. Having initially considered going all-electric in order to

maximize personal sustainability and decrease emissions, King kept

his commute in mind and found a halfway point with the Ford C-Max
Energi.
The C-Max Energi is a plug-in hybrid variation of Fords C-Max that features an electric motor and a gas engine that is capable of extending
the vehicles range dramatically. The Energi travels just 21 miles on
battery power, but reaches 620 including gas power.
Despite a louder engine when accelerating, and the option to not only
refuel but now also recharge, the experience has not been too much
of an adjustment for King. Not to mention, fuel savings only add to the
list of perks that come with making greener lifestyle changes.
I was driving a 2010 Honda CRV before this. Pretty good gas mileage, but I would fill up on average twice a week for my commute since
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I put about 600 miles a week on, said King. Now I just fill up once
a week and can sometimes get a few days into the next week.
King has cut his fuel costs down by more than 50%, and also does
not have to pay a cent to charge his vehicles electric battery on
Roger Williams Universitys campus. A recent school wide partnership with the National Grid allowed for the installation of four free
charging stations across the campus in order to encourage the
switch to electric vehicles, in addition to serving as a central location
where drivers can charge their EVs regardless of the make or
model.
That was part of the Grids approach to having a seamless way to
get across Rhode Island, said King.
Roger Williams Universitys partnership with the National Grid has
helped create a streamlined way for those with electric vehicles to

travel across the state, and ultimately enhances the progress of the
Rhode Islands Zero Emission Vehicle Action Plan. The plan, drafted
in October 2015, aims to increase the number of electric vehicles on
Rhode Islands streets. [SIDEBAR with more info]
Overall, the plug in hybrid has been a perfect common ground for
Kings lifestyle. Highway speeds drain the C-Maxs electric power especially quick, so the complementing four-cylinder gas engine is
able to carry him the rest of the way. It is for this reason that King recommends all-electric vehicles to those who simply do not drive as
much, or those who travel mostly on suburban roads at slower
speeds.

i ON THE ROAD
German automobile manufacturer BMW introduced a new pair of vehicles in 2013, branding them as part of the BMW i series. With environmental impact in mind, BMW unveiled production versions of the
i8: a high-end hybrid plugin, and the i3: an equally high-end and
compact electric car. Since its inception just three years ago, BMWs
i3 has quickly risen to the top tiers of competition with other electric
vehicles on the market, and won several awards such as the 2014
World Green Car of the Year and the iF Product Design Gold Award.
The i3 comes at a $42 thousand price tag for the most basic configurations. Potential buyers also have the option to tack on another $4
thousand for a range extending gas engine that activates when the
battery drops below a predetermined level. To rely solely on the
cars electric battery provides anywhere from 80 to 100 miles of
range. These figures increase by 35-50% with the inclusion of the
range extender, bringing potential driving range to an upwards of
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160 miles before needing to recharge or

refuel.
With an easy-to-repair plastic casing
over the cars aluminum frame, and recycled materials throughout its interior, the
i3 is a fresh step forward for accessible
and functional green energy.
LOOKING AHEAD
The ultimate goal of the electric vehicle
concept is to reduce personal emissions
on a daily basis by switching to a renewable fuel source that does not adversely
affect our environment. It is an impactful
way for individuals to make a difference
in the long term while saving money on
traditional fuel. The reward is substantial
all-around if one decides to make the
switch. However, according to Vice President John King, saving money should
not be the only reason to go electric.
You really have to be conscious of your
environmental impact, said King. I
wouldnt tell someone to switch to electric vehicles just to save money on gas.
Electric cars are generally more expensive when it comes to consumer vehicles. To switch does mean saving money
over the course of ownership, however
the vehicle must have time to pay for itself considering the substantial cost that

individuals pay each month; their wallets

simply might not feel the cost benefits for
a long time. For this reason, it is important to be aware of how we all contribute
to the environmental state of our planet,
whether we drive an electric car, a hybrid plug in, or a traditional gas-powered
vehicle. For many, switching is a big
deal, and people are generally uneasy
about what is unfamiliar.
For many, dropping money on an all-new
electric car is simply not an option. For
those who money is not an issue for, lifestyle differences such as daily commutes can play a role in the decision to
switch. It was for this reason that King decided to purchase the Ford C-Max Energi plug in rather than jump to allelectric. According to King, there are
ways to have positive, cost-effective, and
personal impacts on our environment
that start when we wake up in the morning. We do not need to buy an electric
car to practice sustainability.
The unfamiliar can certainly be intimidating, but it is up to all of us to do our research and understand that sustainability, within the context of our planets future, is not an option, but a requirement.
In order to achieve peace on Earth, we
must have an Earth to live on.
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TAKING THE L.E.E.D

By Cassondra Cote
The United States Green Building Council was established in
1993 by Rick Fedrizzi, David Gottfried, and Mike Italiano. Their
mission: to promote sustainable practices in construction and
building industries.
The founding meeting took place in 1993. Representatives from
approximately 60 architectural firms and nonprofits met at the
American Institute of Architects and developed ideas for a balanced association that would span the entire building industry.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED
was the offspring of those ideas.
Unveiled in March 2003, LEED has changed the ways communities are planned, constructed, maintained, and operated. LEED is
the most widely used third-party verification for green buildings,
and offers various types of certifications for different aspects of
developing long-lasting sustainable architecture for the future.

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The latest version of LEED, known as v4, supports a variety of different forms of buildings
and sites whether they are still being deBilge Gkhan
signed or are deemed historical pieces.
elik explains the
Within each category of LEED certifications is
LEED rating system
the specified rating system for the type of
building receiving the certification. V4 is flexible enough to apply to
all project types within its five different major categories.
The Building Design and Construction category applies to buildings
that are being newly constructed or going through a major renovation. The Interior Design and Construction category applies to buildings that are completely suitable for occupants. The Building Operations and Maintenance category applies to existing buildings that
have occupants and are undergoing improvements or low levels of
construction.

Neighborhood Development applies to new land developments or

redevelopment projects. Projects in this category can be at any
stage of the development process. The Homes category applies to
single family homes, multi-family homes that are low-rise (meaning
they are one to three stories tall), and mid-rise multi-family homes
that are four to six stories tall.
Each type of building has its own rating system and scorecard
within v4 of LEED certifications. Despite each type of certification being individual, buildings can hold more than one LEED certificate if
the two categories have overlapping credits. For example, LEED ND
and LEED BD+C both have credits that can work together, allowing
the site to have both ND and BD+C certification.
People themselves can also become LEED accredited with the title Green Associates by taking a professional credential exam
that tests their knowledge. Green Associates have a documented,
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current understanding of recent green building practices and principles. Another form of accreditation is LEED AP. These credentials
show advanced green building knowledge and expertise in a particular LEED rating system, either BD+C, O+M, ID+C, ND, or
Homes.
As of March 16, 2015, Rhode Island has 75 sites that have earned
LEED certification; buildings that have gone through LEED certification processes and met the performance requirements. These 75
sites accrue a total of 6.8 million gross square feet that is certified,
equivalent to seven Empire State Buildings. Out of these 75 sites, 36
of them received Gold LEED Achievement, 20 received Silver
Achievement, 18 earned Certified level of Achievement, and one site
earned Platinum level.
The state also has 73 sites that are registered with LEED; these sites
have signified their intent to seek LEED certification upon construc-

tion of a new building or improving upon a preexisting building. The

total gross square footage of registered sites in Rhode Island is 12.8
thousand square feet.
One of the LEED certified buildings in Rhode Island is the Perry and
Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts at Brown University in
Providence. This building applied for the BD+C School LEED certification, and was awarded a Gold LEED rating in v2 in 2012, having
earned 44 of 69 points on its scorecard. The sustainability of the site
itself earned the building 11 of 14 points towards it certification. The
water efficiency rating was two out of five points. Energy and atmosphere of the building earned nine of 17 points. Materials and resources gathered six of a total 13 points. Indoor environmental quality earned 13 of 15 points. The buildings overall innovation earned it
three of five total points.
The building was designed by Diller Scofidio and Renfro, an architectural firm based out of New York. Construction on the site was performed by Shawmut Design and Constructions Providence location,
although the company has locations across the northeast. The building also earned Metalmag Magazines Architectural Award for Metal
Building.

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ART & PREDJUDICE

Man's personal dignity involves his right to take an active part in public life, and to make his own contribution to
the common welfare of his fellow citizens. As Pope Pius
XII said, man as such, far from being an object or, as it
were, an inert element in society, is rather its subject, its
basis and its purpose; and so must he be esteemed.

Pope John XXIII

WHITE, BLACK, AND BLUES AN AGE OF

JAZZ IN NEWPORT
By Christopher Langone

George Wein is the founder of the music festival that not only
brought jazz music to the forefront in the United States, but transcended the way people looked at segregation in music. The
Newport Jazz Festival, established in 1954, ignored the idea that
blacks and whites couldnt share a stage in front of a large
crowd. Instead, this festival was a way for prominent AfricanAmerican jazz performers to showcase their talents in a primarily
Caucasian community during a time of racial turmoil.
Since the festivals creation, it was clear that Wein didnt see
color; he saw only talent. When the likes of legendary performers

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Elainas Blueprint | Flickr

such as Miles Davis, Ray Charles, and Langston Hughes headlined

the festival, the crowd felt the same way.
All artists were treated with admiration, affection and, in a sense,
idolatry, by the audience and crowd, whether they were AfricanAmerican, white, or Japanese, said
Wein.

music. As an alternative to going to shows in small clubs to hear local jazz performances, the Newport Jazz Festival mainstreamed the
genre and brought the best jazz artists from every city coast to coast
to play in one giant festival. Billed as The First American Jazz Festival, the event brought some of the most prominent names in the
genre to Newport and changed the
way the world heard jazz.

Jazz music, a combination of gospel

and ragtime musical stylings, gained
notoriety in New Orleans in the early
1900s when musicians such as
Louis Armstrong gained popularity.
Jazz started to make its way up
north, and by the mid 1930s, it was
in full swing. A variety of clubs
opened up all over the nation, including the Celebrity Club in Providence
which was the first integrated nightclub in New England. Jazz was a fun
experience for people of every color
at the time.
The jazz audience in the early days was predominantly white but
had a larger African- American audience than it has now, said
Wein. Thats because it was before rap and soul music became
more popular with the African- American population.
Much like how the white audience adopted the African-American musical cultures of rap and hip-hop in the 1980s, jazz offered the same
thing decades prior. White America nationwide went to clubs to
hear their African-American counterparts play their favorite style of

It was never difficult to persuade

performers to come to Newport,
Wein said.They were actually upset
if they werent invited. I could make
friends or enemies depending on if
artists were invited to the festival or
not.
Wein, now 90, is widely considered
one of the most respected jazz producers of all time. Thanks to his persistence, the Newport Jazz Festival
will be featuring its 62nd consecutive show in 2016.
Dedication, love, guts, nerve, sometimes lack of brains. The festival
happens because you want it to happen, said Wein.

A MUSICAL MOVEMENT
Jazz was ahead of its time when it came to integrating whites and
blacks. Some say as early as the 1930s the two races could be spotted at local jazz clubs enjoying the same genre of music.
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Paul Ygartua | Flickr

Rudy Cheeks, a jazz artist who was recently inducted into the Rhode
Island Music Hall of Fame saw firsthand what kind of noise jazz was
making in the 1960s.
Jazz clubs were raided all the time, a lot of people didnt like the
fact that whites and blacks were enjoying each others company and
enjoying music together. It was a different time, said Cheeks.
A generation of music redefined the way Americans were looking at
the color of someone's skin. Jazz was becoming a cultural tool to
those who looked at things differently than the majority of the popula-

tion. While jazz music has lost its mainstream popularity, the lessons
learned from the pioneers of this music are timeless and very relevant in todays society. Many people involved with jazz during times
of discrimination didnt pay much attention to the social barriers being presented to them.
New England was a hub for experimental African-American jazz virtuosos. They hosted the first jazz nightclub, the first integrated jazz
music festival, and was also home to the first black radio announcer,
Sam Jackson.

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The National Guard was called to the scene after unruly fans caused
a disturbance that hindered the remainder of the performances. The
cancellation of many performances brought up issues surrounding
the festival, particularly about the pay gap between headliners and
innovators. At the time, the headliners were mostly white and the innovators were mostly black, which upset many people. The damage
was minimized in 1964 when Wein took sole control of the festival as
an independent business venture, rather than pairing with a nonprofit organization.

First appearing on the radio in 1947 and then retiring from the business in 1950, Jacksons short stint in radio was not soon forgotten,
especially by his son. Eric Jackson has become a well-respected
jazz radio host in his own right, as he has spent over 30 years on the
air at WGBH in Boston, the same city his father had appeared on.
My father used to come on my radio show once a year around Father's Day and tell the most amazing stories about his days in the radio business, said Jackson. I lived with him my whole life and I
was just now hearing these stories about his times with some of my
heroes in jazz, it was pretty amazing.

Back to the Roots

The Newport Jazz Festival has had its issues; like any major music
festival. The most notable being the riot in 1960 which inspired Langston Hughes composition entitled Goodbye Newport Blues.

The festival also experienced a number of venue changes over the

years. Some locations included an expansion of the festival into New
York City in 1972, filling Yankee Stadium and the Radio City Music
Hall for its concerts. In 1973, the Newport New England Jazz Festival at Fenway Park in Boston hinted at success, but proved unable
to sustain success in longevity. Throughout the 1970s, the venue
bounced from city to city, but ultimately George Wein missed the traditional venue in Newport and brought the festival back home to
Rhode Island in 1981.
Though jazz music has
suggested a decline in
popularity over the years,
there is still a demand for
artists to come back to
Newport each year and
perform. The festival,
which runs from July 2931, has expanded its
lineup over the last few
years and now has multi-

Swipe to see more

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ple venues including Fort Adams State Park and the International
Tennis Hall of Fame.
We now have three stages, play many more artists, and include all
styles of jazz, from traditional to very contemporary. We also feature
a lot of younger artists who are very adventurous in their approach
to the music, said Wein. Additionally, the programs now take place
in the daytime. Originally there was just one stage and we did afternoon and evening shows.
The growth of the festival has brought out more artists who strive to
find a different voice in jazz music and there are those who stick to
the classical roots that made jazz so well respected.
There is a continual search for new artists and an everlasting concern with what the jazz veterans are doing each year, said Wein.
Great artists are always creating and there is no problem finding
groups to come to Newport.

lauded as a living legend and was recently recognized for all of his
accomplishments by the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame. He was
a 2015 inductee into the hall where some of the best jazz musicians
from the state of Rhode Island are recognized.
My induction into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame means that
once again I can dream of the days I had the privilege of playing
with Bobby Hackett, said Wein.
The influence jazz had and continues to have on the AfricanAmerican and music communities in New England is recognized by
people like Eric Jackson, George Wein and the many artists that
have inspired through their music. Jazz continues to be more than
just a style of music, but rather an expression of freedom characterized by people who wish to push social and racial limitations.

The event has a rich history that proved influential both musically
and socially, but as Wein moves forward he embraces the evolving
jazz artists and their craft.
Jazz has changed over the years, but at present, young musicians
are looking to the influence of history to create new directions, said
Wein. There is more respect for history now than there was in the
original division of swing and bebop.
Wein has had creative direction over the Newport Jazz Festival for
its entirety. His 62-year reign as creative director is a benchmark not
only for jazz but for anyone who has ever produced a music festival.
He will soon be succeeded in that role by Christian McBride, a jazz
virtuoso and multiple Grammy-winning bassist. Wein will forever be
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ALL DOLL(ED) UP
By Carli Buono

Windows are covered with images of figurines and walls are filled
from top to bottom with different ethnicities and types of dolls. The
National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture in Mansfield, Massachusetts is run by the executive director, Debra Britt. From a gift
shop, to almost a dozen rooms full of dolls from different backgrounds and different categories, the museum is now a second
home for Britt.
In 2012, the museum was founded after Britt and her sisters created
the Doll E. Daze Project, a fan club for doll collectors all over the
world. The sisters collection became too large to keep in the rooms

of their houses, so they sought out a more ideal place to display

their collection. Thats when they established the museum.
Britt is a doll enthusiast, but her passion lies with not just any dolls;
she favors dolls of different ethnicities. She started collecting at a
young age along with her three sisters. Britt began to continuously
collect every African-American doll she could get her hands on. As
visitors move through the museum, they can witness the fruits of her
labor as they travel through different time periods with rooms that include Native American dolls and slave-made dolls, to rooms dedicated to black musicians and athletes.

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There is also a room full of Barbie dolls. Britt was not a fan of Barbie
due to her past experience and teachings with the doll being white,
but there is a special place in her heart for the doll because of a special family member. When the Barbie doll was first invented, Britt
begged her parents to let her have one but they refused. The original Barbie was a tall, lean, white woman and her body shape was
disproportionate, and Britts parents only wished to purchase her
dolls that resembled her race.
When Britts younger sister, Kareema, had a stroke at 25, Britt
started to use Barbie as a form of prayer and appreciation.
Kareema, was unable to walk after her stroke. Britt and her two other
sisters promised Kareema that they would buy her a new Barbie
every time she was able to walk and she could pick out which one
she wanted. This sparked a love for Barbie within Kareema. Britt explains that the more Barbies Kareema wanted, the more she wanted
to learn to walk. The Barbie room in the museum is now dedicated to
her sister Kareema.
Dolls that were once primarily white, blonde, thin figurines have just
recently begun to be modeled to reflect the worlds diversity. Today,
just about any ethnicity one can name has a doll on toy store
shelves. This is the direction Britt, and her museum, are leading doll
customers towards.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Barbie is a fashion doll originally invented by Ruth Handler. Ruth
watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls and often noticed her role playing giving them adult job rolls. Ruth and Elliot
Handler founded Mattel in 1945, and 15 years later, Barbie arrived.

Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied Barbie doll to her

husband Elliot, in which he was unenthusiastic about the idea as
were Mattels directors. The Handlers traveled to Europe in 1956
with both their children and while there, Ruth came across a German
doll toy Bild Lilli.
The Lilli doll similar to Barbie was a blonde bombshell and a
working girl. Lilli used men to get what she wanted. Originally, she
was sold in 1955 only to adults. She became popular after children
found out she could be used as a dress up doll and her outfits were
sold individually. Handler purchased multiple versions of the doll in
which she gave to her daughter Barbara to play with as well as a
few for Mattel to use as inspiration.
After Handler and the family returned to the United States, she began her re-design of the doll. She and her friend, an engineer, Jack
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Ryan designed exactly what she hoped for, Barbie. The name Barbie came from somewhere close to the Handlers heart, their daughter Barbara.
Barbie began modeling herself off at the American International Toy
Fair in New York on March 9, 1959, a date also commonly known as
Barbies official birthday.
Barbie was dressed head to toe in
a black and white zebra-striped
bathing suit and she was sporting
a high ponytail either blonde or
brunette. She was unnaturally
skinny and tall; her dress size diverging disproportionately to the
average woman. Barbie was considered a Teenage Fashion Model
and was a high-fashion model. Her
clothes were hand-stitched in Japan, and there were many different
outfits sold to dress her in and thus
allowing her to pursue many different careers as well.

Barbie is considered a cultural icon, receiving honors that no toy in

the world has ever received prior. She has a street in Times Square
named after her and she has starred in multiple animated movies including in Pixars Toy Story movies. She even has a restaurant
named after her in Taiwan. Barbies adventures dont stop there, she
is equipped with just about every accessory in the world to match
the hundreds of careers she has
pursued since her creation.

BODY DISTORTION & EATING

DISORDERS
Though Barbie is one of the most
famous dolls created, she has
caused much controversy over the
years involving young women, their
parents, and their body types. Even
despite efforts over time to change
Barbies appearance.

According to Medical Daily, if Barbie were a real woman, her measurements would cause her to walk
Swipe to see more
Barbie was very popular when she
on all fours and she would be incawas first sold. The marketing stratpable of lifting her over-sized head.
egy of Barbie was based solely on
She would stand 6- feet tall, weigh 100 pounds, have a 39-inch bust
television advertising, which caught the eyes of children and young
and a 19-inch waist.
women all over the world. An estimation of over one billion Barbie
dolls were sold worldwide in over 150 countries, and even more to
Associate Professor of Psychology at Roger Williams University
count. According to Mattel, three Barbie dolls are sold every secLaura Turner explains the unrealistic portrayal of their bodies with
ond.
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much younger than seen with other types of media and teenage
girls. Psychologists explain that it is possible for the exposure of Barbie dolls at a younger age can trigger body dysmorphia, later in life.
Mattel was aware of this idealization and in 1965, yet the company
still released a Barbie named the Slumber Party Barbie. She was
packaged with a bathroom scale set to 110 pounds which set out
the unreasonable quest for young women to reach that goal weight.
In the text, Body Image by John Worobey of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers University, he explains the number of
studies that have measured body size stigmatization, or the negative
characteristics to individuals considered fat. Many of the samples
come from children as young as preschool age.
the influence of Barbie and its roots in the unrealistic portrayals of
bodies in the media.
Barbie is unrealistic by almost any realistic standards of beauty,
said Turner. Barbie has caused me to be hesitant on which dolls to
purchase for my daughter.
The image of Barbie, though appealing to the eye, may give the
wrong idea to many women and become too appealing to girls under the age of six. Because young girls aspire to be Barbie with the
beautiful blonde hair, the sparkling blue eyes, and the outstanding
careers she has day to day, the unhealthy image of her sticks into
the minds of adolescent females whose brains are still forming and
their bodies as well.
Playing with a doll with such an unrealistic body type causes children to have body identity issues. The portrayals of unrealistic body
images are starting around the ages of five or six in young girls,

Forty girls ages 3 - 5 were asked to assign various traits to one

of three dolls; thin, average, and fat, said Worobey. Positive characteristics were attributed most often to the thin or average doll
whereas the negative characteristics were almost always given to
the fat doll.
Helga Ditmar from the Department of Psychology at the University of
Sussex also studied the experimental effect of the exposure of these
dolls to the body image of a five to eight year old. A total of 162 girls
were shown the images of these dolls and it was seen that those images of Barbie produced lower self-esteem and a greater desire for
a thinner body shape than in other exposed conditions with different
dolls.
According to the article The Negative Effects of Barbie on Young
Girls and the Long Term Effects, the oldest girls in the experiment
did not have an immediate negative impact from the images,
whereas the younger girls did.
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ders are a large part of the consequences young women have after
the idealization of having a Barbie body.
On the official Dying to be Barbie, rehabilitation website: Four out
of five 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat. Almost 42 percent of girls
in first through third grade claim that they wish to be thinner, and half
of girls aged nine through 10 claim they feel better about themselves
when they are dieting.

THE GROWTH OF BARBIE

For young children, fantasy and play are both vital parts of socialization in which they internalize ideals and values, and dolls provide a
tangible image of the body that can be internalized as part of the
childs developing self-concept and body image, said Ditmar.
There have been numerous studies to experimentally test the direct
exposure of thin dolls, such as Barbie, to body image and food intake of young female adolescents. There have been more and more
girls confessing the ideals of wanting to be thinner or look more like
fashion models. The media has taken over the ideal image of a female, and portrayed it as the image of a Barbie doll.
Body dissatisfaction, or the experience of negative thoughts and esteem about ones body, is just the beginning of the effects on young
brains. Negative self-esteem, depressiveness, and eating disorders
are a large part of the consequences Barbie creates. Eating disor-

Though the Barbie doll began to initiate questions from the ideals of
many families and the ideal images of young children, Mattel has
created a sense in which Barbie has grown to meet the standards of
today.
Last January, Mattel announced that it would add tall, curvy and petite body shapes to its lineup of dolls. The new 2016 Barbies doll includes four body types, seven skin tones, 22 eye colors, 24 hairstyles, and still countless fashions and accessories. With new images speaking to the adolescent females, they now feel comfortable
going into a store with their parents and choosing a Barbie that is
more fit to their lifestyle instead of heading straight to original Barbie.
In the magazine Doll Scene, Senior Vice President and Global General Manager of Barbie, Evelyn Mazzoco says, Barbie has always
given girls choices from her 180 careers, to inspirational roles, to
her countless fashions and accessories. We are excited to literally
be changing the face of the brand. These new dolls represent a line
that is more reflective of the world girls see today around them the

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variety in body type, skin tones, and style allows girls to find a
doll that speaks to them.
Barbie has many fun new looks to help children all over the world
find a Barbie that resembles them allowing them to feel like they
fit in with these body shapes and images, instead of trying to
make themselves portray one. Her new image has children stating that they feel more comfortable with a doll that looks like
them.
When children are given the knowledge that this is not the way
people look, and the photos are retouched and changed, the children can take that knowledge and look at those images more critically, said Turner.
Barbie sales have plummeted in the recent years due to the body
image issue, Mattel has high hopes of this change in Barbie to
help the sales excel over the next few years and bring Barbie
back to where she belongs in the market.
Britt explains that Barbie is not her favorite and although Mattel
has transformed their appearances to make them more diverse,
she believes it was all for the money and publicity, rather than the
cause.
All in all, Barbie is simply a doll, but the effects such figurines

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INTERSECTIONALITY INFLUENCING THE LIVES OF WOMEN

By Nadine M. Hapst

The Mathewson Street United Methodist Church invited Cheryl Albright on Sunday, March 20 to share her musical called Oh Freedom
Over Me with about 60 people. She does not only open her heart to
her supporters, but educates them about racism and poverty. Albright highlights the accomplishments of five African American female artists who came before her. In Oh Freedom Over Me, Albright
portrays Sissieretta Jones, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson, and Nina Simone.
Born in Ellenboro, North Carolina, Albright comes from a very spiritual background and her strong faith led her to sing in churches on
the East side of Providence where she moved to help her uncle. Her
family had a strong faith and it led her to her musical inspiration. Her
grandmother, mother, and the Southern Baptist Church exposed her
to all genres of music, including country, western, bluegrass, and
classical music.

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Bessie Smith (1894-1937), an inspiring Jazz and Blues vocalist,

became known as the Empress of the Blues who influenced artist
such as Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, and more.
Billie Holiday (1915-1959), an influencing Jazz musician, became
the first female African American vocalists to work with an all-

"The cultural changes and the transformation that took place for me
being in unusual places I never expected, said Albright. I think
that at some level, we all had a strong faith and belief in what we
were doing that music could help change the consciousness of a human being or change the world."
Sissieretta Jones, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson and
Nina Simone also change the world in their own way.

SISSIERETTAS LIFE
Jeremiah Malachi Joyner was born into slavery around 1833 in Noth
Carolina until he escaped. In Portsmouth, Virginia he became known
as an educated carpenter, pastor, and choir leader of the African
American Methodist Church. His wife, Henrietta became known for
her singing in the choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

"I believe God inspired me to sing, but people encouraged me after

they heard me sing," said Albright. "It was just a gift. It was something within me that I had to do."
Albright performed eight musical shows with her accompanist Thomas Reed Jones to show their appreciation for the five female artists. Albright even performed at Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame on
April 28, 2013 to honor Sissieretta Jones as an inductee and continues to hope she is not forgotten.

Henrietta and Jeremiah married in 1862 and had three children; Matilda, Sissieretta, Joyner, Isabella, and Jerry. Born in 1868, Sissieretta
became an only child when her sister and brother died. In 1876, Sissierettas father accepted a ministerial position in Providence, Rhode
Island, to provide a better life for his wife and daughter.
A fifteen-year-old Sissieretta began formal training in 1883 at the
Providence Academy of Music. During the same year, she married
David Richard Jones and seven months later they had their first
child. With her mothers help, Sissieretta was determined to be a
mother and follow her passion for singing.
She became a local public figure by performing in churches with
many musical groups and well-known black singers including Flora
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Batson. Batson became the leader singer in the Bergen Star Concerts and became a role model for emerging black singers.

Grau. Sissieretta Jones's voice intrigued Risen and he immediately

connected with Henry Abbey.

Despite her local celebrity status, Sissierettas career did not launch
until she was eighteen-years-old when she performed at Providences Amateur Dramatic Hall and Providence Music Hall.

The management firm of Abbey, Schoeffel, and Grau was in charge

of the Metropolitan Opera Company who represented Adelina Patti,
a white Spanish-born soprano singer touring in South America.
Risen and Abbey hired Sissieretta Jones for the tour
of West Indies with the Tennessee Jubilee Singers.
Sissieretta performed for the first time with the Tennessee Jubilee Singers in Kingston, Jamaica in 1886.
The audience appreciated her phenomenal voice
and she received her first gold medal.

In 1886, she was invited to perform at

Steinway Hall in New York City and had to
decline the invitation due to the death of
her daughter. After pursuing her studies
at New England Conservatory of Music
and Boston Conservatory of Music, she
realized she wanted to join Flora Batson.
Sissieretta later performed at the Bergen
Stars Concerts with Batson. People began praising Sissieretta for her voice and
this led her to become a national public
figure.

BLACK PATTI
Most likely no one at the hospital knew about Sissierettas famous
and glorious past, when she was billed as the greatest singer of her
race and called Madame Sissieretta Jones or Black Patti, a nickname created by the press to suggest a comparison to the worldfamous European prima donna Adelina Patti (1843-1919) (p.1,
Lee).
The Director of the Little Tycoon Opera Company, William Risen, was
also an agent to the management firm of Abbey, Schoeffel, and

However, the press report for the performance was

not written until three years later. The press report
called Sissieretta Jones the Black Patti, comparing
her race to Adelina Pattis. Her managers found the
nickname Black Patti to be useful terms for publicity
and for the stage, yet Sissieretta Jones did not like
the name.
Sissieretta performed for mixed race audiences alone and with the
Tennessee Jubilee throughout many countries. Although she performed for mix race audiences, she still experienced racism.

IN THE STATES
Eager to start her concert career in the United States, Sissieretta returned home to perform along the East Coast. She performed at the
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church which opened the
door for a bigger opportunities. She was one of the first African
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American female vocalists to perform at the

White House for President Benjamin Harrison, and his guests.
Sissieretta became known for her signature
song "Swanee River" also known as "Old
Folks at Home, written by Stephen Foster.
The blackface minstrel song altered its meaning when Sissieretta embraced it. She
wanted people to be proud of their race, not
ashamed.
Soon, people noticed her voice was strong,
powerful, and she began to be recognized
as a well-known opera singer. "Swanee
River" also became her signature song, yet
there are no recordings of her singing the
sentimental song.

SINGING OPERA
Sissieretta performed "Swanee River" at
Madison Square Garden in 1894 for a charity
concert directed by the famous Antonin Dvorak and raised more money than they ever
dreamed of.
Even though doors opened for her, society continued to limit her. By
mid 1890s, Madame Jones almost disappeared from the concerts
halls as music evolved. Thankfully,, Rudolph Voelckel and John J.
Nolan presented Sissieretta with another opportunity just in time: the

opportunity to create the Black Patti Troubadours.

Sissieretta Jones performed at World's
Fair Colored Opera Company in 1893 inside the main space at Carnegie Hall.
She also performed two other concerts in
1894 and 1896 in the same performance
space.
"The reporter suggested that makeup
and wigs could bring about marvelous
transformations on the stage, to which
Sissieretta replied, Try to hide my race
and deny my own people? Oh, I would
never do that. I am proud of belonging to
them and would not hide what I am even
for an evening, (p. 101, Lee).
Sissieretta wrote an article called 'Negro
Folk Song' and this demonstrated her truest feelings for the black race that incorporates songs she sang.
"Is there a soul so insensible that it cannot be stirred to the very depths by the
heartbroken cry of the poor old homesick
darky longing for "The Old Folks at
Home?" Is there a heart so dead to the human feeling that it cannot
be touched by tender, "To My Old Kentucky Home?" Their very vocabulary inadequate, and their freedom of speech denied, the Negroes very naturally fell to expressing themselves in son. Thus, we
97

have the "Negro folk song" running the entire gamut of human emotions (p. 184, Lee)."
When twenty-four-year-old Arielle Rogers was a senior in college,
she wrote her thesis on blacks in classical music. She titled her thesis The Negro Classics: Blacks in Opera and Classical Music
based on her findings. She saw the parallels within her own story.
Rogers desires to pursue her professional opera career further and
she can only hope the business improves.

DETERMINED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Cheryl Albright would like to perform more at universities and fluent
churches. She says that is where public policy and conversations
can happen about racism and poverty.
Oh Freedom Over Me demonstrates how the five female and Albright demolish barriers to make a difference.
"Somehow when you begin to share that story, you begin to feel that
freedom deep inside of you. And I think that is what Oh Freedom
has done for me. Its really showed me how I am able to feel freer as
I share myself with others," said Albright.

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Alan Eng | Flickr

THE WORDS, THE STYLE,

THE TREND

EXPLORING RHODE ISLAND GRAFFITI

By Jonathan Perlstein

In Rhode Island, The Providence Graffiti Task Force is responsible for cleaning up street art and remediating graffiti in the neighborhood. With their 1-800-TAGGERS hotline, the Graffiti Task
Force takes a strong stance against vandalism and assists the
community in hosting graffiti cleanups within the neighborhood.
Across the United States, other organizations have come together to justify the beauty in urban street art and encourage
street artists to create commissioned artwork under government
jurisdiction. However, these graffiti prevention groups that respond to vandalism complaints remediate the artwork from the
walls in many urban environments across the United States.
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Art has been a tool utilized by people to get various messages

across to the public; however, the art of graffiti has been negatively
critiqued by the eyes of society for the way it is publicly presented.
The question arises what is considered acceptable art and where
graffiti fits into that definition.
Art has been at the heart of countless cultures and communities
across the world, and it has allowed societies to communicate with
one another through various representations.
At the Rhode Island of School Design, Associate Professor Leslie
Hirst has previously explored the manipulation of words, the fences

jumped to create artwork, and the aesthetic visual communication of

graffiti in urban communities. Some of her exhibitions have been inspired by the language of graffiti and draws from certain aesthetics.
Hirst thinks that there is more unbeknownst to the public eye besides defacing property, as its muscle memory to draw the same figures over and over again.
Graffiti ranges from vulgar and trashy profanity to magnificently vibrant murals and posters on walls and billboards; countless civilizations reveal evidence of utilizing aspects of graffiti, dating back to

101

the Paleolithic cave paintings of Lascaux and the ancient Egyptian

hieroglyphics.
The modern art of graffiti has been a controversial point of interest
in the visual art community because while some see graffiti as an
aesthetic art form, other people consider it as delinquent vandalism
and perceive graffiting as an act of violence against society.
In the Boston headquarters of Clear Channel Outdoor, one of the
worlds largest advertising corporations, senior account executive,
Erin OSullivan, is in charge of multiple responsibilities including handling phone calls with the company's clients who report whenever
their billboards or advertising spaces are defaced. While she wholeheartedly believes that graffiti is a destruction of property, she admits that graffiti is not a daily issue in her department due to the
height and size of their billboard spaces.
I think its something that happens very, very infrequently, and it
doesnt generally happen to the same clients but they do get upset
and take it personal, OSullivan said in regards to it affecting her
line of work.
While Clear Channel Outdoor generally removes the reported graffiti
within 48 hours, OSullivan believes that graffiti artists never consider the impact after they leave their mark, and the after effects of
their work creates a ripple effect that disrupts the advertising companies, their clients, and the homes in the community of defaced
properties.

102

international network of collaborators replicating Faireys original design.

The artwork that Fairey created did not cause mass riots amongst
the public but instead sparked curiosity in everyone who encountered his art. On the Henry Rollins Show, Shepard Fairey discussed
how his Obey pieces started out as an inside joke which blew up
bigger than he was expecting.
When I created the Obey to go underneath the stylized Big
Brother is Watching You version, it was this cautionary Hey, what
am I supposed to Obey? What else is telling me to Obey? Fairey
said. I think its empowered a lot of people to realize one individual
or a collective of individuals can make an impact.

Street artists certainly live a lifestyle that borders on illegality.

Shepard Fairey notoriously recognized by his Andre the Giant
has a Posse and various OBEY stencils rose from the underground graffiti scene to fame after his poster of Barack Obama
came under fire from the Associated Press.
A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Fairey was an
icon of the graffiti community; in 1989 when the Obey Giant was created, Fairey posted his design everywhere he could possibly display
it; the aesthetic value developed a cult following that grew via an

In another discussion with Co.Create, Fairey commented on the confrontational scale of murals and graphic designs. He later compared
creating murals to the same satisfaction mountain climbers achieve
as it takes physically challenging effort to create this artwork.

VOICES FADED WITH TIME

Graffiti has been practiced for millennia, dating far beyond the
1970s in New York; the legacy of graffiti extends past the spraypaint cans and markers as the ideals of the art form can be found
throughout history.

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In the ruins of Pompeii, scholars and archaeologists have uncovered

various etchings engraved throughout the city. Runes left from the
destruction of the Viking Age have revealed multiple inscriptions left
in Norse, from erotic comments to the names of the pillagers who
took part in their conquests.
During Adolf Hitlers regime in 1942, a group of students from the
University of Munich acted out in non-violent resistance by painting
walls throughout Europe with anti-Hitler slogans. After they were arrested and executed in 1943, copies of their propaganda leaflets
were dropped over Germany by Allied planes and retitled The Manifesto of the Students of Munich.
Throughout World War II, the United States servicemen doodled a
baldheaded man with a large nose with the phrase Kilroy was
Here, a symbol which American troops used to alert others of the
areas they were stationed, visited, and claimed.
A Professor of Art and Photography at Roger Williams University, Jeffrey Silverthorne has exhibited his work in solo and group projects
for over 40 years. During his artist occupancy in SoHo in the early
1990s, Silverthorne began noticing a wave of anti Gulf War leaflets
and graffitied propaganda posters being posted up on walls in the
area on his daily walks. In the early mornings and late in the evening, he would go out and extract the artwork from the wall with his
exacto knife and preserve them in a portfolio bag.
Counting over forty prints, Silverthorne says that he doesnt believe
they were completed by the same artist, yet the message was clear
in all the prints that they were fed up and disgusted with war.

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POSTSCRIPT

Note from the Professor:

Project Pacem is an experimental digital magazine. The plan, from
the beginning, was to have students from Roger Williams Universitys journalism program conceive and produce a cohesive multimedia project that draws its inspiration from one source. In this case,
the students inspiration came from Pope John XXIII and his encyclical, Pacem in Terris, or peace on earth. The pontiff drafted this
letter to the world in 1963 during the height of the Cold War and in it,
he outlined what he thought were the problems plaguing humankind. Specifically, he called on the worlds leaders to address issues
related to nuclear weapons, the environment, prejudice, diaspora
and the plight of the refugee. Although the essay is over 50 years
old, Pope John XXIIIs concerns remain poignant today.
As for the work itself: The students labored for 16 weeks to produce
Project Pacem. The final product is 110 pages long and includes
over 45 minutes of video and scores of photos.

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Prof. Earl Gladue

Heidi Benedict

Acknowledgements

Lydia Serpa
Erin OSullivan, Senior Account Executive of Clear Channel Outdoor
Katherine Costantino

Pope John XXIII

Students at Hope Elementary School

Alison McGuigan

Susan Marchetti

Dean Robert Eisenger

Students at Stephen Olney Elementary School

Prof. Kamille Gentles-Peart

Janine Napolitano

Prof. Roxanne OConnell

Laura Menna

Prof. June Speakman

Refugee Dream Center

Prof. Autumn Quezada-Grant

Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island

Prof. Sargon Donabed

Brown University

Prof. David Logan

Newport Historical Society

Prof. Scott Rutherford

John Hay Archive

Prof. Gohkan Celik

Save the Bay

Prof. Charlotte Carrington-Farmer

Cheryl Albright

Prof. Leslie Hirst

Omar Bah

Prof. Jeffrey Silverthorne

Maureen D. Lee

Prof. Jeremy Campbell

Carnegie Hall
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Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame

Carolyn Tidwell
Scullers Jazz Club
Eric Jackson
George Wein
John & Maureen Kohler
Ed Borden
The Cohen Group
BMW North America

108

MASTHEAD
Chelsea Boulrisse is part of the Roger Williams University Journalism class of 2016
with minors in French and Chinese. She
grew up on Cape Cod but will soon begin
her career as a reporter in Wabash, Indiana.
She hopes to one day write about the theater and film industry.
Carli Buono, a member of the Roger Williams University Class of 2017, is a Journalism and Legal Studies double major with a
minor in Italian. She plans to attend Law
School in Boston after graduation and
hopes to pursue a job in the Sports Broadcasting industry and/or practice Sports Law.

Harrison Connery is a bilingual FrenchAmerican undergraduate journalism at

Roger Williams University. He is a member
of the class of 2017. He aspires to work as
an investigative journalist for a print or online
publication. He is originally from Providence,
Rhode Island.
Cassondra Cote
Nadine Hapst studied journalism and creative writing at Roger Williams University. She
is a member of the class of 2016 who
proudly identifies as a first-generation college student. She was raised on Long Island
in New York and hopes to work in a local
newsroom until she advances her skills. She
ultimately aspires to be a multimedia journalist.
Michael Huber
Christopher Langone

Sabrina Caserta, born and raised in Bronx,

New York, is a freelance reporter whose
work has appeared in the New York Daily
News and Street Sense- a homeless-run
street paper located in the District. As a
member of Roger Williams Universitys class
of 2016, Sabrina studied Journalism and Political Science. She will be pursuing her Masters Degree in Investigative Journalism at
Columbia University in the Fall of 2016.

Rachel Lombardi, of the Roger Williams University Class of 2017, is a journalism major
with a minor in anthropology and sociology.
Lombardi, of Wethersfield, Conn., was a
state desk news intern at the Hartford Courant based in Hartford, Conn. in the summer
of 2015. Here, she covered community and
town news throughout Connecticut. She
hopes to gain more experience in the field

and to be a multimedia journalist for a print

or online news publication in the future.
Zach Mobrice is Journalism, History, and
Psychology student in the RWU class of
2017. From Cumberland, R.I., he holds a
passion for social justice and the environment. He hopes to use his digital journalism
skills to create a future for himself in the
news market, writing about world issues and
giving a voice to those who truly need it.

Kaelyn Phelps is a Journalism and Legal

Studies student of the Roger Williams University class of 2017 with a Political Science minor. Originally from Griswold, Connecticut,
she looks forward to pursuing her Juris Doctor at the Roger Williams University School
of Law in the Fall 2016 semester. She has a
special interest in the Constitution and
hopes to one day achieve success as an advocate in the legal field.
Jonathan Perlstein
Sabrina Polin
Paul Struck is a Journalism, Political Science, and Gender & Sexuality student at
Roger Williams University. He is from Suffield, Conn. and wishes to pursue photojournalism and broadcast-related endeavors in
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the near future. With one more year left as

an undergraduate, Paul hopes to further advance his multimedia skills and prepare for
life in the real world.
Mark Thayer is a Journalism and Political
Science major and a member of the Roger
Williams University class of 2017. He is from
Wakefield, Mass.
Michael Scully is an associate professor of
journalism at Roger Williams University. He
has been teaching for 10 years; he also has
18 years of professional news experience.
He has degrees from Ithaca College and Columbia University; he is also working on his
PhD in Digital Humanities at Salve Regina
University.

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