S O C V ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ Bringing the news W ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ to generations of E ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915 The National Herald Greek- Americans N c v A weekly Greek-AmericAn PublicAtiOn www.thenationalherald.com VOL. 18, ISSUE 909 March 14-20, 2015 $1.50 Over $600K is Brothers in Arms: The Selma March, 50 Years Later Raised for Fr. Greek Leaders Follow Baker’s Wife Archbishop Iakovos' And Children Civil Rights Journey By Constantinos E. Scaros By Theodore Kalmoukos SELMA, AL – Presidents Bush and Obama and their wives, CRANSTON, RI – Hundreds Congressman John Lewis and people of all ages from numerous of his legislative col - many parts of the United leagues, and various clergy, in - States, among them many cluding Greek Orthodox Arch - priests from many Orthodox bishop Demetrios, traveled to Jurisdictions participated in Selma, the Alabama city most the Funeral Service of the famously known for the 1965 late Fr. Matthew Baker at marches that sparked a major the Annunciation Greek Or - turning point in American civil thodox church in Cranston, rights, to commemorate the RI where Fr. Baker was or - 50th anniversary of those tu - dained into the Holy Priest - multuous and transformative hood on January 19 2014. events. Metropolitan Methodios The Selma marches were a of Boston presided at the Fu - turning point for all Americans. neral Service, assisted by Certainly for the millions of Bishop Andonios of African-Americans and other Phasiane, and about 50 persons of color who had been priests. denied the right to vote by prej - Metropolitan Methodios udiced segments of Southern read a letter from His All Society that made that basic Holiness Ecumenical Patri - American principle a practical arch Bartholomew of Con - impossibility because of a com - stantinople, addressed di - bination of Draconian red tape, rectly to Presbytera intimidation, and actual physi - Katherine. “It is with deep cal (sometimes fatal) force. But and sincere sadness that we also for white Americans, most learned of the sudden death of whom felt an increased sense of your precious husband, ABOVE: (LEFT): In of pride to live in a nation where Fr. Matthew. We have March 1965, the basis of their Declaration of learned of his profound love Archbishop Iakovos Independence became more for Christ and the Church, joined Dr. Martin meaningful in deed, not just in which he served so devot - Luther King, Jr. on word, and fewer of them, who edly, albeit so briefly. His a historic civil begrudgingly acknowledged personal quest for the Or - rights march in that the majority of their fellow thodox Church was an at - Selma, AL, that Americans did not equate supe - traction for many to under - captured national riority and inferiority with skin stand the breath of its attention and color. tradition and brought atten - prompted the Also benefitting in 1965 was tion to some of the most em - passing of the the Greek-American community, inent of its teachers, includ - Voting Rights Act. whose members were oppressed (RIGHT) At the in the South as well for decades Continued on page 5 50th anniversary – inspiring the establishment of commemoration, the American Hellenic Educa - Iakovos’ successor, tional Progressive Association Archbishop (AHEPA) in 1922 – the face of Demetrios, is which that year and for many The Latter-day embraced by the years since was Archbishop nation’s first Iakovos, Demetrios’ immediate African-American predecessor. History of the president, Barack After brutal attacks by State Obama. Troopers on civil rights LEFT: AHEPA marchers crossing the Edmund Parthenon Supreme President Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965, Phillip Frangos led by John Lewis, whose skull shakes hands with was fractured, a day that lived By Constantine S. Sirigos Congressman John in infamy as “Bloody Sunday,” TNH Staff Writer Lewis as AHEPA Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Supreme Counselor called on fellow clergymen NEW YORK – The auditorium Gregory Stamos across the U.S. to join the cause. of the Zimmerli Art Museum of looks on. Iakovos answered the call, de - Rutgers University was recently filled with people – mainly Continued on page 4 young – who were fascinated by the title of a lecture presented by Dr. Robert Ousterhout of the University of Pennsylvania: “For - gotten History of the Sen. Murphy’s Town Hall Meeting on Greek Issues Demanding Parthenon.” Ousterhout teaches courses in Byzantine art and architec - By Constantine S. Sirigos Reparations, tural history at Penn and serves TNH Staff Writer as the Director of the Center for Ancient Studies. He argued that STAMFORD, CT – Senator Chris Greeks Eye “buildings must be understood Murphy, a high-ranking democ - as the sum of their history, a his - rat on the Senate Foreign Rela - tory that in many ways tran - tions Committee participated in Grm. Assets scends the specificity of its orig - a Town Hall meeting on “Cur - inal context,” and he bemoaned rent Events in Greece and Im - the fact that “the afterlife of the portant Greek Orthodox Com - Greek demands for World Parthenon is nowhere present munity Issues” in Stamford, CT War II reparations for damages on March 8. and atrocities wrought by the Continued on page 6 The meeting, which was pre - Nazis, and threats to seize Ger - sented by the Archons of the Ec - man assets have ired Berlin, just umenical Patriarchate, the Or - as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras der of AHEPA, and Stamford’s is hoping to get additional aid – two parishes, the Church of the much of it from Germany. Greek-American Annunciation and the Church of With Greece about to start a the Archangels, which hosted new round of negotiations with Classic Guitar the event in its hall, was a international lenders, Tsipras model of how the community ramped up the tension with Ger - should engage with its elected many, the biggest contributor to Master Papas representatives. 240 billion euros ($272.5 bil - The young Senator im - lion) in two bailouts, by de - By Steve Frangos pressed the guests who filled the manding payment for the Nazi TNH Staff Writer hall of the Archangels church occupation, and with plans to with his appreciation of the confiscate German assets to pay CHICAGO- For some unknown (L-R) Sharad A. Samy, Dino Kallenekos, Andy Manatos, Nikiforos Matthews, Senator Chris the families of the victims of reason Sophocles Papas, among Continued on page 3 Murphy, John Louizos, William Kambas and Nicholas Nikas in Archangels Church hall. atrocities and for infrastructure modern Greeks, is one of the damage. most overlooked of all Greek German officials said that the master musicians to settle on matter of compensation for the American shores. Without ques - Nazis' World War II occupation tion Sophocles Papas was an in - Onassis Cultural Center: Truth and Lies in Myth of Greece is closed and the gov - ternationally known teacher of ernment isn't prepared to dis - classical guitar. The fact that Pa - cuss the issue further with pas did not play in a traditional NEW YORK – International tural Center as part of the Hel - not kill herself and his Helen “endlessly creating myths.” It Athens. Greek musical genre is certainly bestselling author Daniel lenic Humanities Program at was innocent of the blood of the seems some knowledge or Tsipras, leader of the Radical not the issue. Dozens of Greek Mendelsohn and Simon BAM. Violaine Huisman, BAM’s Trojan war. lessons about life must still be Left SYRIZA, has revived the men and women who per - Critchely, professor of philoso - Director of Humanities wel - That point opened the door conveyed in mythic form. question of war-time debts, formed as vocalists or now play phy at The New School and host comed the guests and intro - to a fascinating discussion about Perhaps so that they can be telling Parliament that his debt- Western style instruments have of the popular NY Times blog duced Mendelsohn, the featured what makes some versions more remembered and sink in more ridden country has never been been and/are now praised by “The Stone” presented “On speaker, and Critchely, the mod - compelling than others. deeply than what is learned in fully compensated by Germany. Greeks across the planet. That Truth (and Lies) in Myth at the erator of the ongoing series of Myth’s primitive function classrooms. Greece believes it is due pay - Papas, as both a musician, Brooklyn Academy of Music talks. seems to be that of explaining There was intriguing talk ments for wrecked infrastruc - (BAM) on March 6. It was interesting to learn the universe, but they are also about the role of celebrities in ture, war crimes and a loan that Continued on page 7 The conversation about the that scholars debate over the de - vehicles for deep truths about society, and the family keeps occupied Greece was forced to roots of ancient mythology and gree to which the ancients saw human nature, explaining why coming up as a context, which make to the Nazis. its meaning in the modern their religious stories as myths. societies retain myths after they was illustrated by the story of The issue has further soured world – Mendelsohn said “the A strong reason for believing are called into question as facts. Oedipus – and the Kennedies. relations between Athens and For subscription: line separating modernity and they were taken lightly, even by Mendelsohn also noted that “We still feel a need to profile Berlin, already fraught amid the 718.784.5255 antiquity is not as hard as we non-intellectuals, is the co-exis - “Much of Greek myth is ob - a limited number of families and ongoing wrangling over [email protected] imagine” – was held in conjunc - tence of many versions of the sessed with the limits of knowl - we keep telling stories about Greece's financial bailout.