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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2017)
August 2, 2017 The Skanner Page 9 News NAACP Focuses on Millennials for Solar Eclipse Told Through Animal Myths Future Growth By Lauren Poteat, NNPA Newswire FLICKR: WAIFERX A This dog’s owner put solar eclipse glasses on him for safety By Jasmine Streeter, DVM Special to The Skanner News I n less than 30 days – Aug. 21 to be exact -- many of you will wit- ness a once in a life- time opportunity: the to- tal solar eclipse. The last solar eclipse visible in Oregon occurred in 1979, and the next is expected to occur in 2169. According to NASA, a solar eclipse occurs when the moon lines up directly between the sun and the earth. This eclipse of the sun causes the moon to cast a shadow onto the earth. The Greek root of the word eclipse is “ekleipsis,” meaning “failing to appear.” To ex- plain the sun’s disappear- ance, many cultures have “ Dr. Jasmine Streeter again to attack the sun god Ra, who traveled by boat during the day. Oc- casionally Apep was suc- cessful in swallowing the boat and Ra, leading to a solar eclipse. Vietnamese mythol- ogy told of an evil spir- it in the form of a toad that swallowed the sun, while the Vikings spoke of a Sky Wolf named Skoll capturing the sun The Vikings spoke of a Sky Wolf named Skoll capturing the sun for a golden meal passed stories of this cos- mic wonder from gener- ation to generation. My focus for this month is on eclipse mythology that portrays animals at the heart of the story. Since the beginning of time, animals have played an integral part in our lives. They have woven themselves into stories, both real and mythical, as gods, de- mons, friends, heroes and guides. Many an- cient people described the solar eclipse through animals. Korean eclipse mythology spoke of Fire Dogs tasked with steal- ing the sun or moon for an unhappy king. They never succeeded, but as they bit down on the glo- rious orbs, an eclipse oc- curred. Swallowing of the sun by demons or gods in the form of various ani- mals was also popular in eclipse mythology. Egyp- tian mythology speaks of Apep, an ancient spirit of evil and destruction, who appears in the form of a giant serpent inhab- iting the Nile River. Apep attempted time and time for a golden meal. The indigenous people of Si- beria told of a giant bear, Mayan artifacts depict what is believed to be a giant serpent, and Hun- garian eclipse mytholo- gy points to a giant bird that devoured the sun. The eclipse is projected to begin at 9:06 a. m, PST, with the total eclipse visi- ble at 10:16 a. m. PST. This striking natural wonder will last less than two minutes, so you defi nite- ly don’t want to miss it. If you plan on holding your fur babies up to the sun and recreating the Lion King birth scene, make sure you purchase specialized solar eclipse glasses for them as well as yourself. Protecting their eyes and yours should be of the utmost importance. To experi- ence the universe work- ing right before your eyes will be an astonish- ing sight. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to spend that special day than with your pet. Happy So- lar Eclipsing! Reach Dr. Jasmine at drjasmine@theskanner. com. s Derrick Johnson assumes the role of interim president of the National Association for the Advancement of Col- ored People (NAACP), leaders of the nation’s oldest Black civil rights organization say that young people must come fi rst. Youth-led civil rights groups like Color of Change, Black Youth Project 100 and Dream Defenders have ef- fectively used technology and social media to advance their causes online and around the world, while critics of the NAACP question the group’s relevancy, as it struggles to connect to a younger generation that doesn’t always relate to the battles of Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. During a press conference held on July 21, kicking off the group’s na- tional convention in Baltimore, Md., many NAACP offi cials and affi liates gathered to address a critical need to keep millennials active and engaged within the organization. “We have a responsibility to lift up the least of us, but most importantly to put our hands on the young peo- ple,” said Baltimore’s Mayor Cather- ine Pugh. “We can change the tra- jectory of our lives. Let’s have some real conversations around guns in the community killing our children, because we need [our children] to grow up and be a part of the future of our nation.” In order to ensure that such goals come into fruition, NAACP D.C. branch President Akosua Ali, for- mally announced the launch of a national Next Generation Young Professional Leadership Program to train eligible millennials for leader- ship roles in the NAACP. The initiative is in line with the NAACP’s National Youth and Col- lege Division that cultivates young, civil rights leaders. “This national convention will be critical in transforming the associ- ation,” Ali said. “The Youth and Col- lege Division continues to train and cultivate young leaders that are ac- tivists within their own community and, because of that, the NAACP will launch a Next Generation Young Professional Leadership Program “ We have a respon- sibility to lift up the least of us geared toward training young adults between the ages of 21 and 35,” for positions in the NAACP. Ali continued: “These positions include, but are not limited to: politi- cal action chairs, health chairs, envi- ronmental justice chairs and branch leaders. We have been very fortu- nate to have the support of national and youth board members, who have all given input into what is needed for young people to remain active to remain engaged and to be strong leaders within this organization and we are immensely excited about the future of the NAACP through this program.” Eager to see the organization grow and move forward, Hiruy Hadgu, an NAACP member from Howard County, Md., shared his views on the organization’s plan to ramp up ef- forts to actively engage and recruit younger members. “I joined the NAACP aft er the 2016 election and was responsible for helping my chapter revamp mem- bership eff orts, which proved diffi - cult, as we had a hard time keeping up with who was a member or not...a lot of the processes seemed old and outdated and overall didn’t really seem to engage people,” said Hadgu. “I’m only 31, but with these challeng- ing times, I think it’s very important to really re-engage with the commu- nity...especially our youth.” Film cont’d from pg 7 Brigsby Bear, a sci-fi se- ries revolving around a crime-fi ghting superhe- ro full of energy and op- timism. James has a good ex- cuse for his stunted growth. Truth be told, his supposed parents, Ted (Mark Hamill) and April (Jane Adams), are actually kidnappers who abducted him in infancy. And they secretly pro- duce Brigsby, the only program that ever comes on their TV. Everything changes the day James is rescued by the police and re- turned to his birth par- ents (Matt Walsh and Mi- chaela Watkins) in Cedar Hills, Utah. Understand- ably, the adjustment to real-life proves problem- atic, since he remains obsessed with Brigsby to the point that he talks about it incessantly to anyone who’ll listen. He’s lucky to fi nd a cou- ple of sympathetic souls in an actor-turned-de- tective (Greg Kinnear) and Spencer (Jorge Lend- eborg, Jr.), one of his teen- age sister’s (Ryan Simp- kins) friends. They agree to help make a Brigsby Bear movie which just might enable James to fi nd some closure on the sordid opening chapter of his life. 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