Rethinking Black History Month
By N Oji Mzilikazi
Originally published in the Montreal Community Contact Volume 23, Number 02 January 24, 2013
Even though Black History Month is geared to instil pride in People of African Descent and sensitize non-Blacks to the accomplishments of Blacks, and in the early 90s I did the lecture thing on Black History at a couple high schools for its celebration, I’ve always found Black History Month problematic…
Language Matters
By N Oji Mzilikazi
Originally published in the Montreal Community Contact Volume 23, Number 01
January 10, 2013
Language facilitates communication.
Language gives meaning to words. If words do not mean what they say, if circumlocution, obfuscation, misnaming, mislabelling, re-engineering the meanings of words, and language confusion are allowed to stand, the lack of clarity would not only lead to miscommunication, misunderstanding, increased coarseness and offense, but place society on a downhill trajectory. Language matters…