In honor of February's Black History Month, we'd like to remind everyone that the only official African Village within the United States is located just outside of Charleston, South Carolina in a small town called Sheldon about halfway between Savannah and Charleston on highway 17.
The Cosmopolitan Charlestonian has visited the Oyotunji Kingdom in the past and found the small tribe absolutely fascinating. The village was founded in 1970, receives tourists and now has a website. Tours include overviews of the Oyotunji history, beliefs, and traditions. Trinkets and clothing, masks and many other handmade crafts are for sale in small wooden stand-like structures near the entrance. Cottage homes are located off toward the back sides of the village, peppered among native Carolina trees blanketed by swaths of dangling Spanish Moss. The ritual and celebration areas linger in the center of the village. The Oyotunji people do have cars and stuff. They're not exactly like the Amish in Pennsylvania living without electricity. But, they are certainly practicing an alternative lifestyle, probably as close to their original African heritage as is acheivable in modern times inside of the US.
Two interesting things stuck out as we sat here pondering the details of our last visit to the Oyotunji Kingdom for you, our readers. We seem to remember being told not to take pictures. The good news is another Charleston blogger has a great one. But the more striking memory was this - as we lumbered down the long dirt road, a painted wooden sign greeted us at the point where the Oyotunji's 27 acres of land began. It read, "You have now left the United States of America."
Check a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ6j4MowCNM
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Celebrating Black History Month in Charleston
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Zero Interest Rate Policy
If there is any doubt the United States has blown itself into one giant bubble economy, supported only by debt - not jobs - one only has to look as far as the inter-bank lending rate reduction announced today by the US Federal Reserve. The United States has reduced the overnight lending rate again. But this time they agreed to set a RANGE policy (this is new territory, people) of 0% to .25%. We have now officially entered ZIRP, or Zero Interest Rate Policy.
The US is now in a balancing act. To discover what happens if we slip, go do some research on Japan's lost era. They tried zero interest rates when their economy crashed in the 1990s. ZIRP didn't work out very well for them. As you consider this, it would be mindful to also remember that Japan was not the holder of the world's reserve currency at the time.
The Fed's outlook today maintained that the economy will struggle for a sustained period. Yet, despite the bleak outlook, and in a twist to this story, if you are financially secure, or you are a solvent bank, you can now practically get (or borrow) money for nothing.
