UAO Film Screening on June 16: Ousmane Sembene's "Black Girl"

UAO's quarterly African film screening is fast approaching! This June we screen Black Girl / La Noire de by Ousmane Sembene.

Date: Saturday, June 16, 2012
Time: 3:30-6pm
Venue: IIT Tower Building, Floor 6
10 West 35th Street
Chicago IL, 60616

Free parking available.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE

View a clip from Black Girl

Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene's classic film centers on a young Senegalese woman who moves from Dakar, Senegal to France to work for a rich French family. Black Girl / La Noire de was Sembene's first feature length film, launching him into the international spotlight.

Ousmane Sembene is widely regarded as one of the best African film-makers of all time.

Black Girl / La Noire de won Best Feature Film at the prestigious Prix Jean Vigo Awards in France.

The film addresses issues of colonialism, race, gender and immigration. Although it was shot nearly 50 years ago, its themes remain relevant in modern day United States, and to stories of migration to this country.

Join us to see and discuss Black Girl / La Noire de!

BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE

If you have any questions, call the UAO at: (312)-949-9980

Tomorrow: 'Blowing the Dust of Black History'

Tomorrow, Saturday June 2, Trinity United Church of Christ hosts the following discussion:

'Blowing the Dust Off Black History: Examining the Relationship Between Africans and African Americans in Chicago in 2012'

Date: Saturday, June 2, 2012
Time: 2:00pm-5:00pm
Venue: Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 West 95th Street, Chicago

Join the discussion:

"Many African immigrants are bombarded with negative media images of African Americans. Many African Americans who were born in the U.S. may be unaware of very basic information regarding people of African descent who share their communities."

Share insights about the contemporary relationship between people of African descent in Chicago and the U.S.

UAO talks asylum issues on CANTV tonight

Tune in to CANTV tonight (Channel 19 & 21), at 6:30pm CT for the UAO's monthly show on CANTV! In tonight's show, UAO Executive Director Alie Kabba will be talking to Linus Chan of De Paul's Immigration & Asylum Law Clinic. The show will focus on asylum issues and community members are encouraged to call in with questions.

After decades, a journey home for Angolan Refugees

ONGWEDIVA, Namibia, May 18 (UNHCR) – Over 100 Angolan refugees, some of whom had been refugees in Namibia for more than 20 years, returned home on Thursday with help from the UN refugee agency.

The group of 31 families began their journey earlier this week when they left the Osire refugee settlement and travelled over 850 kilometres to a transit centre near the border with Angola. Over the course of the three-day journey the refugees were provided with shelter and food. Before returning to Angola the families received cash grants from UNHCR and food rations for three months from the World Food Programme. The Namibian government also donated trucks to transport the families' belongings back to Angola.

For more information, click here

Source: UNHCR

Beware of immigration scams

Many people offer help with immigration services but not all are authorized to do so. Unfortunately scams offering to help you get your U.S. visa, green card and citizenship are wide-spread. Community members have recently brought one particular scam to our attention. The website www.usa-green-card.com claims that they will enter registrants into the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery and manage their Green Card Application. At some point in the process, the company asks the registrant for $200 processing fee. They take the money and never submit your application for the lottery. This is a scam - please avoid it!

The only website where you can legitimately apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery is the U.S. Department of State Diversity Lottery Website.

What are some common immigration scams?

• When a business in your community "guarantees" they can get you benefits like a Visa, Green Card or Employment Authorization Document. Be wary of anyone who says they can guarantee one of these documents or promise you they will get the document for you fast. 
• When .com or .net websites offer step-by-step guidance when completing an application form. Sometimes they will ask you to pay for these application forms. All forms, form instructions and information on filing fees and processing times are available on USCIS website for free. All U.S. government websites have .gov and not .com addresses.
• Emails or websites that say you have won the DV lottery, Visa lottery or Green Card lottery. The only way to apply for the DV lottery is through the official U.S. government application process. You can submit an application for the lottery or track your application through the  U.S. Department of State Diversity Lottery Website.
• Anyone that tells you they are from the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS). This is an old, outdated agency. It no longer exists. All correspondence about your immigration application comes from the USCIS.

How can you avoid immigration scams?

• Get all the forms you need plus instructions from the USCIS website.
• Use an attorney licensed by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) - list of low-cost and pro-bono attorneys or call 1-800-375-5283.
• If you are not using an attorney licensed by the BIA, make sure the person helping you is accredited to provide legal advice: click here to check if the person is on the list of BIA-accredited representatives. 

To report immigration scams, notify the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.ftc.gov/complaint or call 1-877-382-4357. Alternatively, contact UAO at: services@uniteafricans.org / phone (312-949-9980) and we can help file a complaint on your behalf.

Click here for more information

Picture Highlights from the Chicago African Summit

Over the weekend United African Organization hosted the 6th Annual Chicago Summit on African Immigrants and Refugees, and Community Resource Fair. By all accounts, the Summit was a great success! We had well over 200 participants from a cross-section of the African community as well as allies and supporters in attendance. We were very happy to be joined at the Summit by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, State Representatives Kimberly du Buclet and Ken Dunkin, and Alderman Pat Dowell.

Here is the first batch of picture highlights from the Summit. More to follow!

Call for French-speaking Africans to read short script for an art installation

Dates: May 1-May 15

Artist Sarah Ross (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) is seeking Francophone Africans who will read a short script for a recording for an art installation.

The project is titled "From the Bottomlands to the World" and it will be on view at the Little Black Pearl in Hyde Park at the beginning of June, 2012. The project is about the town of Beardstown, IL where many people from across the globe have come to work. Sarah is collaborating with artist Ryan Griffis and urban planner Faranak Miraftab. Together, they have met and interviewed many West African families in Beardstown. This audio-component of the project comes from these interviews. The installtion will use photos and audio that tell stories of coming and going. The audio script is about 2000 words and includes quotes from Central and South Americans, West Africans, white towns people in Beardstown, a farmer and a scholar.

You do not need to be a professional voice actor! Just interested and willing to share your time!
It will take about 40 minutes to record the script. All recordings must be completed before May 15.

Please contact Sarah Ross to lend your voice to this production:
sarahlynnross@gmail.com or sross1@saic.edu