Continue reading along with John: I spotted my pastor friend, Rev. H.W. Washington who was representing the NAACP group in the Ventura County area. He was pastor of Oxnard’s Trinity Baptist Church. He was a man of deep Christian conviction for civil rights and an inspiration to me during the time of my indecision and consequently my decision to … [Read more...] about ‘Today, I am a Negro’ – Part III: The Day of the March
Life & Arts
Q&A: A Sit-Down with Pepp Alumnus John Skelly (’56)
Multimedia Content by Alexander Hayes Pepperdine Graphic Media's Multimedia Producer Alexander Hayes and Digital Strategist Alysha Tsuji visited George Pepperdine College alumnus John Skelly ('56) at his home in Newport Beach where he resides with his wife of 13 years, Norma. We sat down with John in his living room and asked him questions about his memoir, "Today, I am a … [Read more...] about Q&A: A Sit-Down with Pepp Alumnus John Skelly (’56)
‘Today, I am a Negro’ – Part I: Rise Up
The day I participated in the historic “Voting Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama,” I asked myself, “What was my true motivation to participate in this life changing event?” Is it because I, as an American Assyrian teenager, grew up in South Central Los Angeles where my closest friends were Negro? Is it Mrs. Bailey, our African American next door … [Read more...] about ‘Today, I am a Negro’ – Part I: Rise Up
‘Today, I am a Negro’ – Part IV: Drama of Redemption
Continue reading along with John: I arrived home around 6 a.m. when my memoir takes on its other deeper meaning. Gracing our dining table was an open Oxnard-Press Courier newspaper dated, Thursday, March 25, 1965, and staring at my tired eyes was the headline, “Today I am a Negro, declares Port Pastor in rights March.” I was overwhelmed because I was home with my … [Read more...] about ‘Today, I am a Negro’ – Part IV: Drama of Redemption
Film Screening Challenges Arab Stereotypes in Media
Photos by Shawn Jones The Hollywood cinema has long played into extreme stereotypes about Arabic people, which imply that the Middle East is a land of cultural “otherness” and jam-packed full of a people who do not understand or respect Western beliefs and should therefore be treated as sub-human. These beliefs have been propagated by decades of misrepresentation in the … [Read more...] about Film Screening Challenges Arab Stereotypes in Media