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2 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

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INDEX Arts & Entertainment �����������������������������������������Page 17 » Astro ������������������������������������������������������������������Page 20 » Dance ������������������������������������������������������������������Page 21 » Jazz ��������������������������������������������������������������������Page 34 Caribbean Update �����������������������������������������������Page 14 Classified ���������������������������������������������������������������Page 41 Editorial/Opinion ������������������������������������������������Pages 12,13 Education ��������������������������������������������������������������Page 16 Go with the Flo ����������������������������������������������������Page 8 Health ��������������������������������������������������������������������Page 35 In the Classroom ������������������������������������������������Page 36 Community ������������������������������������������������������������Page 9 Religion & Spirituality ����������������������������������������������Page 40 Sports ��������������������������������������������������������������������Page 48 Union Matters ��������������������������������������������������������� Page 10

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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

International SUPERSTAR RUNNER DIES IN Kelvin Kiptum (GIN photo) training near his father’s farm. He’d LATE-NIGHT CAR CRASH come kicking at my heels, and I (GIN)—Kelvin Kiptum, a suwould chase him away.” perstar in long distance runNews of Kiptum’s death brought ning and the first man to run tributes from Kenya, throughthe marathon in under 2 hours, out Africa, and across the world of died tragically in a late-night road running. William Ruto, Kecar crash in western Kenya. nya’s president, wrote on X (formerHe died along with his coach, ly Twitter), “Kiptum was our future.

Gervais Hakizimana, when he An extraordinary sportsman has left veered off the road into a ditch an extraordinary mark in the globe.” and hit a large tree, authoriKiptum’s victories came at a time ties said. He and Hakizimana when nearly 300 athletes from were killed instantly. A third Kenya were being punished for person in the car, Sharon using banned substances, tarnishKosgei, was injured. ing the country’s image as a runKiptum was 24 years old. ning powerhouse.As a result, the His world records began with his first mar- 23-year-old record-holder—who was not acathon in Valencia, Spain, in 2022, with a win- cused of doping—found himself defending not ning time of 2:01:53. At the London Marathon only what he had done in Chicago, but what he in 2023, he crushed the field to win in 2:01:25, had not. His record time, he said, was the prodthe second-fastest time in history, 16 seconds uct of running 150 miles or more per week at short of the world record of 2:01:09 held by Eliud high altitudes, not the use of banned substances.

Kipchoge, also of Kenya. He broke a new world “My secret is training,” he said. “Not any record at the Chicago Marathon, obliterating the other thing.” world record with a score of 2:00:35.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe ofKiptum was born on December 2, 1999, in fered his condolences. “We are shocked and Chepsamo, Kenya. As a young man, he worked deeply saddened to learn of the devastating as a goat herder and trained as an electrician loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach,” Coe before deciding to become a runner. wrote. “An incredible athlete leaving an inIn an interview with the BBC, coach credible legacy, we will miss him dearly.”

Hakizimana recalled seeing the little boy herdKiptum’s survivors include his wife and ing livestock barefoot. “It was in 2009. I was two children.

News KENYAN WOMEN RALLY AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GIN)—Hundreds of women dressed in black gathered in Kenya’s capital this week at a vigil dubbed “Dark Valentine” to protest the rise in femicides in the country. Police and media have reported more than 16 cases since the start of the year.

“We are losing so many women, so many girls, so today, most of us have come here to ensure that we end femicide,” said Merlin Kawira, a student and founder of an oncampus mental health support group called Africa Arts and Mental Talks.

On a day traditional for celebrating love, students gathered to remember the victims of femicide by lighting candles, chanting names of those killed, and holding red roses.

The Valentine’s Day protest came on the heels of a march last month, when thousands took to the streets, calling for an end to the scourge and for Kenya’s notoriously backlogged justice system to deal seriously with domestic violence.

Grace Wangari, age 24, is one of 16 Kenyan women who died allegedly at the hands of their partners since the start of 2024. Last month, 26-year-old Starlet Wahu was stabbed to death by a man alleged to be part of an extortionist criminal ring that targets women through dating sites.

Less than two weeks later, another woman was drugged and dismembered by a man she See INTERNATIONAL on page 39

South Africa tells top UN court that it’s accusing Israel of apartheid against Palestinians Pro-Palestinians

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)—South Africa argued at the United Nations’ top court on Tuesday that Israel is responsible for apartheid against the Palestinians and that Israel’s occupation of land sought for a Palestinian state is “inherently and fundamentally illegal.” Israel rejects such claims.

The South African representatives spoke on the second day of hearings at the International Court of Justice into a request by the General Assembly for a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israel’s policies in the occupied territories.

“South Africa bears a special obligation, both to its own people and the international community, to ensure that wherever the egregious and offensive practices of apartheid occur, these must be called out for what they are and brought to an immediate end,” Vusimuzi Madonsela, ambassador to the Netherlands, told the panel of 15 international judges.

Israel rejects accusations of apartheid and usually dismisses U.N. bodies and international tribunals as unfair and biased against it. Israel is not making a statement during the hearings, which are taking place against the backdrop of the war in Gaza that has killed

demonstrators protest outside United Nations’ highest court, which opened historic hearings in the Hague, Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

more than 29,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israel sent a written submission last year in which it argued that the questions put to the court are prejudiced and “fail to recognize Israel’s right and duty to protect its citizens,” address Israeli security concerns, or acknowledge past agreements with the Palestinians to negotiate “the permanent status of the territory, security arrangements, settlements, and borders.”

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for an independent state. Israel considers the West Bank to be disputed territory and says its future should be decided in negotiations. Israel considers the entire city of Jerusalem to be its capital.

Israel has also built settlements in the West Bank, many of which resemble fully developed suburbs and small towns. The settlements are home to more than 500,000 Jewish settlers, while around 3 million Palestinians live in the territory.

The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements to be illegal.

Israel’s annexation of east Jerusalem, home to the city’s most sensitive holy sites, is not internationally recognized.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Monday that Israel does not recognize the legitimacy of the discussions at the International Court of Justice. He called the case “part of the Palestinian attempt to dictate the results of the political agreement without See APARTHEID on page 39

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 3

ABANDONED: Harlem building will not be used to house migrants, says Mayor Adams after community pushback

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Harlem organizers, enraged over the city scouting an abandoned luxury building in their neighborhood as a possible asylum seeker shelter, called an emergency meeting at NYCHA’s St. Nicholas Houses community center in Harlem last week. Mayor Eric Adams made an impromptu visit to plead his case to Black residents—twice.

Harlem is a historically Black community despite a wave of gentrification and displacement in recent years. Many of the residents who packed into the community center on Thursday, Feb. 15 have lived in the neighborhood for decades, a last bastion of what made Harlem in the first place.

“Migrants and asylum seekers are not going in the spot,” said Adams to a room full of concerned residents. He assured people that the building would be designated for survivors of domestic violence and their families from the district. The Mayor did not say that the building could be used as affordable housing at this time.

The meeting was convened by Silent Voices United and the St. Nicholas Houses Resident Association after community

appreciate the lack of representation we’ve gotten from the Democrats or let’s go back to Bloomberg, the Republicans. We don’t like the way the state is treating us, we don’t like the way Congress is treating us, we don’t like the way the country is treating us. As Black people we are constantly dumped on.”

Residents viewed the city’s furtive haste to convert the building to a shelter as an extension of the same prejudiced treatment Harlem has received in the past. In short, people were hurt that such treatment would continue under the leadership of the city’s second Black mayor. The emotion of it all led to a fairly hostile attitude towards Adams and the idea of being overlooked for migrant needs in general.

“Asylum seekers are not Harlem residents.

They are not citizens,” yelled one Concerned Harlem residents gathered at NYCHA’s St. Nicholas Houses community center man at the meeting. in Harlem on Thursday, Feb. 15. (Ariama C. Long photo) Legally, New York City is a sanctuary city members discovered movement and bunk any plans for the 53-unit building in ques- and has to house the thousands of incombeds inside the building that had been dor- tion at 2201 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. ing asylum seekers. In response, Adams has mant since 2010. According to the city, the Organizers angrily railed against resources hastily built relief centers and emergency original developer went bankrupt and the not being prioritized for residents and put shelters, converted hotels to shelters, and co-opted community spaces like school new owner was going to lease the build- the word out to come together to stop it. ing to a nonprofit with the assumption that “We’re oversaturated. We’re done,” said gyms—all of which received immense it would be used as a shelter. The commu- longtime Harlem resident Regina Smith, pushback from predominantly Black and nity realized the city had not held a public deputy director at Harlem Business Alliance. white communities all around the city See ABANDONED on page 37 forum or informed Community Board 10 of “I seen this before. We don’t like it. We don’t

Migrant crime wave or tsunami of sensationalism?

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member There’s no evidence of a “migrant crime wave” in New York City despite high-profile incidents over the past few weeks, according to Daniel Stageman, director of research operations at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. And if southern border arrivals contribute to an uptick in crime, migrants may be the victims, not the perpetrators.

“They are often moving in fairly desperate conditions; they don’t have access to housing; they don’t have access to stable, legitimate [and] legal employment,” said Stageman.

“They often don’t have access to the social or cultural resources that will help them avoid victimization. And they are often seen as easy targets by criminals. And then there are also a number of crime types that you’re going to see migrants are hugely disproportionately represented [in]…like wage theft.”

Historically, southern border migrants consistently contribute to crime less than the average American, said Stageman. He pointed to work as the headlining factor, with many new arrivals coming to the U.S. for a job so they can send money back home to family.

“The only caveat I would put is that folks who are making their living in criminal participation at home are likely to continue that pattern wherever they’ve migrated to,” said

nurses, they’re teachers, they’re writers, they’re reporters.”

But he pushed back against a state bill preventing the shelter limits his administration imposed for migrants due to the “thousands that are coming per week.” Single adult migrants can only stay in a shelter for 30 days and families can stay for 60 days.

Service providers say they often need more time to connect arrivals with services and that without access to employment, migrants are more likely to participate in “subsistence criminality” to stay afloat in New York City.

In a comment by email, State Senator Mayor Eric Adams walks in front of a video projection of migrants involved in a Times Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who introduced the Square brawl with police during a press conference where several charges were announced bill, called the decision to limit shelter stays Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) both “arbitrary” and “cruel.”

“While we hope families can find housing Stageman. “There’s always, with any immi- and services for the historically Black neighoutside of the shelter system in 60 days, we gration wave, some degree of transnational borhood’s long-time residents. criminality. But we…don’t see that increasMayor Eric Adams, who attended the meet- know that that timeline is not always possiing crime rates. Statistically, we don’t see ing unexpectedly, pushed back on the “crime ble and this rule makes it harder, not easier, that right now. The narrative that’s out there wave” narrative. He said his trips to Mexico for families to ultimately leave the shelter is not consistent with the recent drop in and Venezuela last year provided him a better system with a more secure housing option,” crime rates in the city.” understanding of who the migrants were and he added.

Such public safety concerns surfaced last credited immigrants for holding down the Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps week in Harlem during a forum at the St. city as hospital workers and delivery drivers member who writes about public safety for Nicholas Houses after rumors that a shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic. converted from an abandoned luxury devel“These are migrants and asylum seekers the Amsterdam News. Your donation to opment could house migrants. Some men- [who] are paroled into the country,” said match our RFA grant helps keep him writing tioned conflict between newly arrived young Adams. “Many of them are coming now stories like this one; please consider making men and neighborhood youth. Others ex- from all over the globe…these are pro- a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by pressed frustration over the lack of resources fessionals that are coming here. They’re visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

4 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

Is VP Harris flexing her political muscles?

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews One good thing for Vice President Kamala Harris is that her disapproval ratings are not as high as President Biden’s. A recent poll tracker, FiveThirtyEight, found that her approval rating is 36.7 percent, while 51.9 percent of Americans disapproved of her. Biden’s approval rating was 39.4 percent with 55.9 percent of Americans disapproving of the president’s leadership.

These numbers arrived on Feb. 18, two days after Harris experienced an uptick following her speech at the Munich Security Conference and shoring up both her visibility and global savvy.

“It is in the fundamental interest of the American people for the United States to fulfill our longstanding role of global leadership,” she said.

She lent her voice to the president’s in countering Trump’s promise to encourage Russia to attack NATO members who were delinquent in their payments.

Harris’s trip also occurs at a time when the GOP is doing all it can to hold up funding for Ukraine and Israel. She addressed these points in her speech and later at a press conference, noting that it has been nearly two years since Russia invaded Ukraine. “Many thought Kyiv would fall within a day,” she said, adding that Ukraine had regained more than half of its territory.

Her good news, though, arrived almost simultaneously with reports that Avdiivka, a longtime Ukraine stronghold, had fallen to the Russians. On Saturday, Ukraine ordered a complete withdrawal as the Russian military marched on the city.

Harris echoed Biden in asserting that Putin and Russia are responsible for the recent death of dissident Alexei Navalny. “Let us be clear: Russia is responsible and it’s a further sign of Putin’s brutality,” she said.

Some are suggesting that by flexing her political muscle, Harris is ready to step into the presidential race if Biden bows out. But critics contend she is not prepared to deal with the insults and bombast of Trump. That’s mere speculation, as is the possibility of her replacing Biden.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Black New Yorkers faced increased criminalization last year, finds police watchdog PROP

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member In 2021, police arrested Black New Yorkers 611 times for theft of services, a misdemeanor charge largely represented by fare evasion. Arrest numbers soared to 2,993 last year.

Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP) founder Robert Gangi believes such raw data, obtained from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), demonstrate trends in escalating “broken windows policing” practices. “[Broken windows policing is] where there’s a concentration on arresting and ticketing people who engage in what is loosely referred to as quality of life crimes,” said Gangi. “And in some cases, they’re not technically crimes—for example, if you’re arrested for disorderly conduct, that’s not considered a crime. That’s considered a vio-

lation. The theory is if you target these low-level offenses, you’ll have a significant effect in reducing more serious crimes like manslaughter or rape or homicide.”

Second-degree murder arrest rates of Black New Yorkers remained steadily at 2% from 2021 to 2023, with a small increase each year reflecting a general rise in criminal charges. The one-time mayoral candidate Gangi found that roughly 88.5% of misdemeanor arrests involve non-white New Yorkers. Within the two-year span, misdemeanor arrests of Black New Yorkers jumped from 32,436 to 45,776.

To be clear, arrests of white New Yorkers also grew between 2021 and 2023, but more than half of felony arrests and roughly 44% of misdemeanor arrests in New York City involved a Black person last year, the most of any racial category. Gangi said these numbers echo similar findings previously made by

PROP while monitoring arraignment parts.

A DCJS spokesperson told the AmNews that the report stems from agency data of the 20 most frequent arrest charges in New York City between 2021 and 2023 from January to December. The findings were solely determined by PROP, but the statistics were formatted per request by the state agency.

The NYPD responded with an email statement maintaining that the department enforces the law impartially and said officers are not directed to conduct specific stop numbers.

“When responding to all manners of requests for assistance, performing stops of any kind, or enforcing the law, NYPD officers carry out their work without consideration of race or ethnicity, and the NYPD will continue to address conditions in a fair and equitable manner, and in direct response to community concerns,” said the police spokesper-

son. “This is the public safety that New Yorkers expect and deserve.”

The uptick in arrests coincides with the appointment of the city’s first Black woman police commissioner and first Latino police commissioner, although Gangi said history shows that a more diverse police force cannot change existing practices.

“Whether you’re white, Black, brown; whether you’re a woman or a man; whether you’re gay or straight, you have to get with the program,” he said, “and the program in the current NYPD is to target low-level offenses in primarily Black and brown communities.”

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

White House addresses Black generational wealth at first ever Descendant Day event

By ASHLEIGH FIELDS Special to the AmNews White House officials welcomed members of prominent Black families to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Feb. 13 for its first-ever “Descendants Day.” The observance marked a time for racial convening, political reckoning, and powerful conversations to shape the future while remembering the horrors of America’s brutal past with chattel slavery.

“We owe them a great sense in terms of duty and responsibility and obligation, to continue to carry on their legacy through our deeds, our words, and our actions,” Vice President Kamala Harris told a packed room of attendees carrying the bloodlines of former President Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, Ida B. Wells, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Booker T. Washington.

“As a daughter of Selma and the Representative of Alabama’s Civil Rights District, I know that I stand on the shoulders of giants like the ones we honor today. It is because of their courage that this little Black girl could go on to become Alabama’s

Descendants at the Lincoln Memorial. (Ashleigh Fields photo)

first Black Congresswoman,” said Rep. Terri Sewell, who shared opening remarks. “I applaud these families for their personal sacrifices and tireless work to preserve and protect the legacies of their ancestors. At a time when our fundamental freedoms are once again under attack, we are grateful to President Biden not only for convening this event, but for his commitment to furthering the progress that our foremothers and forefathers fought and died to achieve.”

A 2023 Reuters analysis determined that at least 100 of 536 members of the last sitting Congress descended from slaveholders. Four living former presidents were discovered to have similar roots, with Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush cited as familial benefactors of the slave trade.

Many in attendance noted how the elected elite have a stark and storied heritage as it relates to their wealth acquired through racial discrimination in the U.S. “We need generational investments in our country,” Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Steven Horsford remarked on efforts toward See DESCENDANT on page 38

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

NYC Parks’ project manager Juernine Sheppard concludes a storied career in city service

February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 5

Building a more inclusive economy: Q&A with JPMorgan Chase’s Thelma Ferguson Sponsored content

by JPMorgan Chase How is JPMorgan Chase working to advance a more inclusive economy?

Juernine Sheppard (NYC Parks / Malcolm Pinckney photo)

We believe that we are only as strong as the communities we serve and the economies they support. We also understand that our company can play a role in helping communities grow, driving local economies, and helping people build their prosperity.

We’re helping to power economic growth by breaking down barriers and creating opportunities in communities across the globe.

We do that through a focus on advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within our own workforce, as well as through business and community investments and policy advocacy.

Thelma Ferguson

Black New Yorker

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member From the five boroughs to rat burrows, Juernine Sheppard has spent more than the past three decades serving the “Big Apple.” With retirement looming later this year, she says her current role as NYC Parks project manager caps off her municipal career on the highest of notes.

“I’m the type of person, before I started working for parks, that was just…routine,” she said. “But [working at NYC Parks opened] my eyes to something different, something new. I’m always learning more, always observing new things.”

Her story started briefly in Harlem, but her family moved to Jamaica, Queens, while she was a baby. Sheppard would spend her formative years in the “world’s borough.” She recounts her childhood fondly, surrounded by a tight-knit community where everyone knew everyone.

Back then, New York City parks served as occasional venues to watch MC and DJ battles with her siblings during hip hop’s burgeoning years.

After graduating from Morgan State, Sheppard found herself in the skies as a flight attendant. The job was fun, but every trip was a nerve-racking experience for her mom, so Sheppard began working in the city in 1988 as a caseworker for the Human Resources Administration. She made a career change 20 years later, joining the NYC Parks Department.

Sheppard was apprehensive at first and a little squeamish when she heard about the rats. But moreover, she was excited.

“Exploring and seeing so many things that I didn’t even know existed [and] just seeing the operational side of New York City Parks was just amazing,” said Sheppard. “It’s pretty cool to go out to the pools because honestly, I’ve never gone to a public pool as a kid growing up. Just seeing what’s offered to New York City residents and tourists, it was just amazing.

“I think I missed out on a lot when I was younger [by] not taking advantage of all that New York City Parks has to offer to the public.”

Sheppard adapted quickly and soon developed a reputation as NYC Parks’ “troubleshooter.” The department soon entrusted her with a grand assortment of responsibilities, ranging from rolling out Summer Meals with the Department of Education for children at local pools to leading MulchFest, the city’s Christmas tree recycling initiative. Of course, she works on the interagency rodent taskforce. Sheppard even works with identifying nesting red-tailed hawks.

What’s next?

“I’m planning in my head; I really haven’t pinpointed exactly what I want to do,” said Sheppard. “I want to do something and I want to do something that I would not have normally done five years ago. To take a challenge. To take a risk.”

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

All communities should have the resources they need to strengthen their economic futures. This Black History Month, JPMorgan Chase is affirming their commitment to breaking down barriers -- including the racial wealth gap -- and promoting opportunity for all.

In recognition of Black History Month, we connected with Thelma Ferguson, Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Vice Chair, Commercial Banking at JPMorgan Chase, to get her insights on how she’s celebrating Black History Month, how JPMorgan Chase is advancing equity and inclusion and what she hopes to achieve in the year ahead.

Tell us a little about yourself and your role at JPMorgan Chase?

The majority of my 25-year tenure at JPMorgan Chase has been in Commercial Banking, providing clients with the financial solutions they need to grow their businesses. Yet, no matter what my role was, I have always been focused on driving inclusion and equity.

Today, as the Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, I’m proud to look after our leading strategies to uplift employees, clients and the communities we serve as the bank for all. I also continue to serve as Vice Chair for Commercial Banking, building and managing key client relationships from coast to coast.

What does Black History Month mean to you and how are you celebrating?

Black History Month is an important opportunity to reflect on the achievements and struggles of our Black communities. To me, this means honoring the immense reach, depth and richness of Black communities’ global history, in addition to its connection and intersection with other communities. At JPMorgan Chase, we organize events and activities to honor the designation, highlight Black history and culture, and enable impactful conversations and opportunities to continue our commitment to help create more equitable pathways for all.

How has your company’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy evolved over the past couple of years as the spotlight has been put on the country’s lingering racial inequality and social injustice issues?

We’re working to address inequities, including the racial wealth gap, in a meaningful way. Our efforts to support inclusive growth dates back decades. One more recent example is our $30 billion, five-year Racial Equity Commitment (REC) focused on advancing sustainable homeownership, driving small business growth, bolstering financial health and expanding access to banking. Through this commitment, we’re helping to create greater access to affordable home loans, low-cost checking accounts and financial health education workshops in the communities we serve and particularly in historically underserved neighborhoods. Our goal is to help close the racial wealth gap and ensure all members of communities – including our own employees – can access the resources they need to strengthen their economic futures.

How should other companies and individuals be thinking about diversity, equity and inclusion as it relates to the growth of their business?

Inequity stifles economic growth. If you start with that fact, it becomes clear how engaging more communities and helping to create more equitable opportunities is just smart business. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are not buzzwords. Their tenets should be core ingredients in the design and execution of your business strategies and run with the same commitment and rigor as other parts of your business.

What are your goals for this year and what are you looking forward to in 2024?

This year, my goals include deepening our culture of inclusion for our 300,000 employees, across all backgrounds and geographies and perspectives. I’m also focused on further embedding inclusive practices and solutions within JPMorgan Chase to inform our business, gain efficiencies and deepen impact. I am optimistic about the road ahead and continued progress in helping to lift all.

6 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

NYS 53rd Annual Black, Puerto-Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Conference looks to the future

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

The New York State Association of Black, Puerto-Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislators (NYSABPRHAL) held its 53rd Annual Legislative Conference upstate in Albany this past weekend with the theme of “The AI Renaissance—Navigating Our Future.”

“The Association’s Annual Legislative Conference is an empowering and immersive experience held each year to celebrate our community’s collective power. Caucus Weekend attracts innovative change-makers, thought-leaders, entrepreneurs, scholars, entertainers, influencers, and creatives to network and exchange ideas,” said Chairperson/Assemblymember Latrice M. Walker, who chairs the NYSABPRHAL. The conference is affectionately known as “Caucus Weekend” as elected officials from all over the state descend on Albany for the whole weekend, flooding hotels and nearby restaurants. It’s headed by Walker and Executive Director Charlene Gayle.

The conference convened policymakers, leaders, advocates, and members of the public who braved the trip to the state’s capital to see their elected officials up close.

Participants attended a series of discus-

mitted to the same thing: thriving together.”

This year’s conference showcased international and local vendors as well as entertainers. The lineup included headliners like R&B vocalist Tank and Grammy-nominated Rick Ross.

“Over the three days of this conference, New Yorkers will come together not only to agitate and legislate,” said Gayle, “but also to celebrate…to enjoy our unity, lift up our culture, and dance the way King David danced—into victories that will lift up nations of our people toward progress.”

The conference’s Scholarship Gala Dinner always closes out Caucus Weekend with flair. The dinner recognizes the 2024 NYSABPRHAL scholarship winners who have contributed to society while uplifting and empowering communities of color. Walker 53rd annual legislative conference hosted by NYS Association of Black, Puerto Rican, said the NYSABPRHAL has provided more Hispanic, and Asian Legislators took place in Albany from Feb. 16–18 (Ariama C. Long photo) than $150,000 in scholarships to hundreds sions between voters and electeds focused Women’s Empowerment Brunch, and mi- of young New Yorkers through its youth on cultural and legislative issues such as nority- and/or women-owned business en- scholarship program. reparations, artificial intelligence, affir- terprise (MWBE) Networking Reception.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for Amerimative action, small businesses, criminal “We gather collectively every February justice reforms, bias in medicine, mental during Black History Month to foster our ca corps member who writes about politics health, Black maternal health, the state’s intergenerational approach to advocacy,” for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to migrant crisis, and social equity in can- said Gayle in a statement. “Policy discus- match our RFA grant helps keep her writing nabis. Highlights included the Interfaith sions, luncheons, and the exhibition hall stories like this one; please consider making Clergy Breakfast, Tomorrow’s Leaders Con- connect activists, allies, and entrepreneurs a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by ference & Youth Summit, Labor Luncheon, from varying backgrounds who are all com- visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

Primary: Taylor vs. Segura

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Another Harlem incumbent in the assembly has officially announced his bid for reelection: Assemblymember Al Taylor. His opponent so far is organizer Julien Segura.

Taylor, known for his impeccable bowtie fits, was first elected in 2017 to the assembly in an unopposed special election. The 71st assembly district includes Inwood, Washington Heights, Sugar Hill, West Harlem, and Hamilton Heights. He is also a pastor at the Infinity Mennonite Church located between 146th and 147th streets on Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.

A native to Hamilton Heights, Taylor served in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps while earning his GED. He then graduated from Lehman College and became a community leader to give back. He’s worked to help tenants stay in their homes, fought to get guns off the street, worked to improve schools, combatted hate and bigotry, and given voice to seniors and families.

Off rip, Taylor came out swinging with big endorsements from his colleagues in government. Congressmember Charles Rangel, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, State senators Cordell Cleare, Robert Jackson and Luis Sepúlveda, Assemblymembers Inez Dickens and Eddie Gibbs,

and District Leader Maria Luna have all pledged to support him, according to his campaign.

“I have walked from New York to Chicago against gun violence. I have ministered to those who were unwanted and unloved.

I have fought in the Assembly for affordable housing, good schools, safe streets, accessible health care, and to combat climate change. I’ve worked to make a difference by taking bold actions,” said Taylor in a statement.

“Our Community and our State are facing multiple crises. We need to rise together and confront these challenges with a bold vision for a better future - a future that is equitable and that centers on the needs and experiences of our most vulnerable communities.”

Last year, Taylor lost in a crowded race for the city council seat in District 9, which went to Councilmember Yusef Salaam.

Taylor’s main challenger is Segura, who was born and raised in Sugar Hill in Harlem.

He has lived in an affordable housing co-op in the district since his teenage years. He is an activist and political strategist that cofounded the New Leaf Democratic Club. His parents are both immigrants, his mother from Lebanon (Lebanese Armenian), and his father from France (Spanish Algerian).

He believes that the cost of living in Harlem is skyrocketing. He plans to address the

Assemblymember Al Taylor (right) officially announced his re-election campaign on Feb. 10. (Contributed by Taylor’s campaign)

need for low-income and senior housing, public health and reduced prescription copays, struggling small businesses, and properly funded parks.

“Uptown has been sold out,” said Segura in a statement. “We need a new champion to ensure that we can afford to stay in the communities that shaped us.”

Photo of Assembly candidate Julien Segura. (Contributed by Julien Segura)

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/ amnews1.

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Empire is now Anthem.

New name.

Same commitment to your community.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield celebrates Black History Month.

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February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 7

8 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

Go With The Flo FLO

ANTHONY Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph stole the spotlight at the star-studded ACLU SoCal’s Centennial awards on Feb. 18. The “Abbott Elementary” award-winning actresses looked incredible in their stunning gowns as they graced the red carpet at the Westin in Downtown Los Angeles, California, reports the Daily Mail. Ralph, who was accompanied to the ceremony by her husband, Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes, received the Bill of Rights Award as one of the evening’s three honorees. The award recipients were honored for being leaders “who have meaningfully challenged the status quo.” The Emmy Award-winner received the award for founding the DIVA Foundation, which focuses on women and girls, health awareness, social justice and racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights and housing and food security. Other celebs at the event included Shari Belafonte and Dulé Hill.....

Brenda Russell, currently riding high on the release of the contemporary anthem “What Will It Take” —her first solo recording in 20 years— as well as the movie musical “The Color Purple,” the Grammy-winning and Tony Award-nominated songstress/songwriter will appear at The Roxy on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, for the first time ever, with the Hollywood Jazz Orchestra. The show takes place on Friday, May 24, 2024, at 8 p.m. Tickets can be bought after March 1 at AXS.com. Says Brenda, “I’m very honored to be asked to perform with the Hollywood Jazz Orchestra, as this will be my first time performing with an orchestra and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m bringing a little Latin, jazz and straight up pop. It should be a wonderful evening!”.....

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns is turning his girlfriend Jordyn Woods into a “basketball savant,” as she continues to support the NBA star on and off the court, according to People. KAT scored 50 points in the Feb. 18 NBA All-Star Game. Woods, who is a fashion designer and influencer, traveled to Indianapolis to cheer on the power forward/center in the All-Star game. The basketball player says “it means a lot” that Woods shows her support for him by immersing herself in the world of basketball.........

R&B legend Frankie Beverly of Maze will embark upon his final tour with the group. The “I Wanna Thank You Farewell Tour” will start in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, March 22 at the State Farm Arena.

Plans for a post-soiree are in the works after the concert in Atlanta. The Frankie Beverly and Maze “I Wanna Thank You Farewell Tour” will also hit cities and venues including Mobile County Fairgrounds in Mobile, Alabama, April 6; Toyota Arena in Houston, Texas, April 13; United Center in Chicago, Illinois, April 27; KIA Forum in Los Angeles, California, May 12; and Dell Center in Philadelphia, Pa, July 6.

Beverly will retire this year after more than 50 years of creating and performing his classic hits. This final trek across the United States is produced by the Black Promoters Collective (BPC), a coalition representing six of the country’s top independent concert promotion and event production companies....

G

O

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NYC Council celebrates Black Girl Magic Day

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member The New York City Council and other city electeds held a festive celebration at City Hall last Thursday for Black Girl Magic Day. The majority women- and women of color-led council presented honorees with proclamations.

Honorees included Yasmeen Majid, Dr. Rosemari Mealy, Jamila Pringle-

Fynes, Dianna Rose, Kamora Freeland, and Dr. Meisha Porter. Performers included Jumanah “Juju” Escalera, Shakira “Lady Kay” Brunson, and BrickHouse NYC. “As the first Black woman to serve as City Council speaker, I was honored to co-host the Council’s Black Girl Magic Day Celebration with my colleagues on February 15th,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams in a statement. “Black women are essential to the success and strength

of our communities and city, and it’s important that we uplift the significant impact of our contributions.”

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

New York City Council members hosted Black Girl Magic Day at a celebration at City Hall on Thursday, Feb. 15. (John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit photos)

Attendees at the Black Girl Magic celebration.

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February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 9

BrickHouse NYC youth performance at the Black Girl Magic celebration at City Hall. (John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit photos)

Councilmember Althea Stevens at the podium with her daughter at the Black Girl Magic celebration on Feb. 15.

Councilmember Farah Louis (far left), honoree Dr. Rosemari Mealy (middle), and Councilmember Althea Stevens (right).

10 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Unions Matter Medicaid equity is a civil rights issue in NY budget

GEORGE

GRESHAM Speaking at a press conference of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in March 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described inequities in healthcare as “this most notorious expression of segregation…because it often results in physical death.” While legally sanctioned racial segregation in healthcare was outlawed by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, racial disparities in healthcare remain commonplace to this very day.

Here in New York City, healthcare disparities are staggering. The average life expectancy in some neighborhoods on the Upper East Side, for example, is 15+ years greater than the average life expectancy in many areas of Harlem, the Bronx, and Central/East Brooklyn, according to U.S. Census Data.

These aren’t just statistics— these are the lives of countless individuals, predominantly people of color—dying early because of healthcare inequity.

Why? Part of the reason is that the healthcare services that Black and brown communities rely on are being critically underfunded by the State.

The hospitals that serve our communities—often public and safety-net hospitals—are especially reliant on Medicaid funding, which pays 30% less than the actual cost of care.

These hospitals cannot offer the same level of services as in more affluent communities where healthcare institutions benefit from the higher payment rates provided by private health insurers. And as we’re seeing today, hospitals around the state are being forced to cut back services or even close entirely—Mount Sinai Beth Israel in Manhattan and Eastern Niagara Hospital upstate are but two examples.

New York can fix this crisis,

keep hospital doors open, and begin to eliminate healthcare disparities by closing the Medicaid funding gap in the state budget. This is the message that I and thousands of 1199SEIU healthcare workers are bringing to the halls of Albany. It’s why I’ve been on Hot 97 and WBLS, and will continue to speak out on the airwaves. It’s why our union has launched, in partnership with the Greater New York Hospital Association, a major statewide campaign to educate the public about what is at stake and to demand that Governor Hochul do the right thing.

Alarmingly, the governor’s proposed budget pours accelerant on the fires of New York’s healthcare crisis. Gov. Hochul is proposing healthcare cuts amounting to $1 billion, in addition to other egregious plans that include slashing the pay of thousands of low-paid homecare workers by $3 an hour and eliminating sick leave protections for workers affected by COVID-19. Where will these cuts hurt most? In communities of color.

I grew up under segregation. I carry physical scars of unequal treatment in health.

To see segregation and hierarchies in healthcare perpetuated, 60 years after the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act, which ostensibly outlawed Jim Crow, is unconscionable to me.

As we honor Black History Month, we must not sit idle while decisions are made in Albany that have life-anddeath consequences for our families. We must demand, as a core principle, that New York State’s budget ensures Medicaid Equity. A person who relies on Medicaid for their care is no less of a person than anyone else. Medicaid care for New Yorkers must be fully funded, not shortchanged.

George Gresham is president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the largest union of healthcare workers in the nation.

CUNY peace officers file pay discrimination suit

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff In a new class action lawsuit filed on Jan. 26, five City University of New York (CUNY) peace officers allege that the state of New York is failing to pay them at the same salary rate as their counterparts at State University of New York (SUNY) schools.

New York state employs both groups of officers who, other than having different job titles, do the same work, the lawsuit claims.

The only difference between the two groups is their racial composition: “The higher-paid group is about 90% white. The lowerpaid group is about 90% people of color. This lawsuit challenges that pay discrimination,” the text for the lawsuit states.

Mohamed Alshami, who works as a CUNY Campus Peace Officer at Hunter College, said back in 2022 he started researching the average salaries of university law enforcement offices in New Jersey, Connecticut, and especially New York. He was shocked to see how much more other groups were getting paid. CUNY officers, who are part of Teamsters Local 237, recently reached a tentative labor agreement with the state but even this new contract doesn’t place CUNY officers close to the earnings SUNY officers receive.

“I looked at our collective bargaining agreement and I checked other agencies’ collective bargaining agreements and compared ours with theirs, and I saw a big difference,” Alshami told the Amsterdam News. “With New York SUNY, they get like double our salary and I feel like it’s unfair and we need to do something.”

CUNY peace officers are hired with a starting salary of $36,614, but SUNY police officers can start out earning as much as $82,928 if they work near New York City.

The employment discrimination law firms Valli Kane & Vagnini and Mehri & Skalet, PLLC who are representing Alshami and four other plaintiffs say they’ve determined that most CUNY officers are people of color. As of 2022, 48.9% of CUNY officers were Black, 24.9% were Latinx, 13.6% were Asian, 11.1 % were white and 1.4% were classified as other.

Meanwhile, the statistics on SUNY police officers found that in 2021, 89% were white, 7% were Black, and 4% were Latinx or Asian.

The pay difference between CUNY and SUNY officers is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the officers in their class action suit said.

“This has always been the talk over the years,” commented Derrick Trotman, a peace officer at CUNY’s Brooklyn College.

“As officers, we always talk to one another about what’s going on as far as other agencies.

Some of us look to go to different agencies, so that’s always a talk amongst us as far as who’s making what type of money and what the requirements are. So, we always knew that they were making more than us.

“Being in law enforcement, you always look at the deal, the pay differences in the departments.

It’s always been a talk within the department as far as the pay differences, whether it be corrections, whether it be SUNY, the courts... So, yeah, we always knew that there’s a disparity in pay, although we’re pretty much doing the same job.”

When hired for their jobs, CUNY officers and SUNY police officers are expected to have the same level of educational or experience requirements, the lawsuit contends: “Candidates for CUNY Officer jobs need: ‘[a] High School Diploma/GED from an accredited institution plus two (2) years of full-time work experience OR successful completion of 60 college semester credits with a minimum grade point average of 2.0.’ Equivalently, a SUNY police officer candidate requires ‘60 college credits’ or ‘two years of active military service with an honorable discharge, which may substitute for 30 of the 60 hours of college credit. For both positions, eligible candidates must pass a written test, a physical agility or fitness test, a background investigation, a psychological test, and a medical examination including a drug test.”

The work assignments are similar as well. Trotman noted that when he was working over the weekend, “My campus is closed: A general description of activi-

ty at this moment. [I do a] patrol of various buildings making sure essential rooms and offices are locked and secured. We protect people and property, maintaining that agenda while there are no classes. During classes, as the campus is open to students, we will respond to any additional situations and, as mentioned, just maintain a normal working college atmosphere.”

The lawsuit claims that “The title difference––‘police officer’ versus ‘peace officer’––does not signify a material difference in duties. Under New York Criminal Procedure Law Section 2.20, peace officers have broad powers similar to police officers, including to make warrantless arrests, use physical force and deadly physical force in making an arrest or preventing an escape, carry out constitutionally permissible warrantless searches, issue appearance tickets and summonses, and exercise other powers authorized by state or local law or charter.

“While CUNY Officers and SUNY police officers have similar qualification requirements and similar duties, CUNY Officers work in New York City, where the cost of living is higher and the risks to officers’ health and safety are greater than for SUNY police officers who work throughout the State. The State recognizes these disadvantages by paying SUNY police officers who work in or near New York City more than officers who work elsewhere.”

Alshami was the one who mobilized other CUNY officers who wanted to have the CUNY/ SUNY pay discrepancies investigated. The other CUNY officers named in the class action suit are Nadeem Mohammad, a public safety sergeant at Hunter College; Derrick Trotman, a peace officer at Brooklyn College; David Irizarry, who works as a peace officer at Baruch College; and Jeffrey Pawell, who is a sergeant at City College.

CUNY peace officers are suing for back pay, salary increases, and other better terms and conditions of employment. “We just want to be treated equally,” Alshami said. “We don’t want to be treated better than other officers of the other agencies. We just want to be treated equally, that’s all we ask.”

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 11

12 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Opinion Reparations resounds!

EDITORIAL

Slavery, whether resounding at Yale University or in the city of Boston, is once again prominently in the news. In a formal apology for its ties to slavery, Yale University has pledged to address racial disparities.

While the apology by Yale only slightly mentions any financial compensation, the Boston People’s Reparations Commission’s proposal calls for $15 billion to be split three ways, including cash payments and investment in new financial institutions.

It’s no coincidence that our lead story this week is about slavery and reparations, since it’s hard to go very long nowadays without reparations being part of the social and political discourse.

We have framed the issue in both a historical and contemporary context, and the situation at Yale University, and especially in Boston, correlates demonstrably with our aims.

In 2001, a delegation of Americans attended the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, with two demands on the agenda: that the U.S. apologize for its complicity in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and enact a plan of reparations for the centuries of enslavement and suppression of civil and human rights during the Jim Crow era.

We hope our story provides additional resonance to the demands. We certainly support the proposals in Boston and applaud the intentions at Yale.

Like Black History Month, reparations should not be a momentary state of mind but a permanent part of the ongoing struggle for total freedom and justice.

Let us know how you feel about our discussion and what more can be done to bolster reparations that, in these latest developments, are signs that restitution and compensation are by no means things of the past.

Keep the beat going in Boston, and all hail Yale!

A new New Deal: The call for reparative and universal policies

By TREVOR SMITH In the throes of contemporary challenges from the lingering scars of systemic racism to the widening racial wealth chasm, the United States finds itself at a pivotal crossroads. Four years after the murder of George Floyd launched global protests in support of the Movement for Black Lives, we are in a moment that calls for a national policy platform that not only addresses the historical injustices faced by Black and Indigenous communities but also casts a wider net of economic reform through policies like baby bonds, guaranteed income, and universal healthcare.

This comprehensive approach acknowledges the intertwined nature of racial justice and economic inequity, asserting that the path to a more equitable society requires addressing both specific injustices and the broader economic structures that underpin inequality.

The original New Deal, while transformative in its time, left deep fissures of inequality, particularly along racial lines. It is now time for a “New New Deal” that rectifies these historical oversights by placing reparations for Black and Indigenous people at its heart. Such reparations are not merely a matter of justice; they are a step toward acknowledging and rectifying the centuries of exploitation, displacement, and marginalization that have systematically obstructed these communities from accessing the wealth and opportunities that they have significantly contributed to creating.

However, reparations will not solve the stark economic in-

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“Integrating the movement for Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty into a broader economic agenda is not just strategic—it’s essential for achieving the type of systemic change that we desire. It recognizes that while the specific histories and injustices faced

by Black and Indigenous communities require targeted redress, the mechanisms of economic inequality and systemic racism are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.” equality that exists throughout our society, regardless of race or ethnicity. Reparations must be a part of a broader and comprehensive economic agenda that seeks to dismantle the systemic barriers that all working-class people face. This is where universal policies like baby bonds, which would provide every newborn with a savings account that matures with them, guaranteed income, and universal health care come into play.

These policies are designed not only to address the symptoms of economic disparity, but also to attack its root causes, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their race or socio-economic status, has access to the opportunities and resources necessary for a dignified life. Too often are reparative and universal policies pitted against each other, but a New New Deal would assert that these types of policies can coincide and exist beside each other.

Integrating the movement for Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty into a broader economic agenda is not just strategic—it’s essential for achieving the type of systemic change that we desire. It recognizes that while the specific histories and injustices faced by Back and Indigenous communities require targeted redress, the mechanisms of economic

inequality and systemic racism are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. By placing these movements in a broader framework of economic reform, we can create a more inclusive and equitable vision of justice—one that addresses both the particular injustices that stem from colonialism and slavery and the universal challenges of economic inequality.

Although critics may argue that such sweeping reforms are utopian, impractical, or too ambitious, the current moment, with democracy hanging in the balance, demands bold action.

Just as the original New Deal responded to the Great Depression with innovative policies that reshaped the country’s cultural and economic landscape, so must the New New Deal rise to the challenge and confront our system of racial capitalism.

Truly understanding the imperatives driving the “New New Deal” requires grappling with the concept of racial capitalism—the process by which economic systems are predicated on the exploitation of communities of color. This framework shows how wealth and power have historically been accumulated in the United States, often at the direct expense of Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities.

Racial capitalism not only underpins the vast economic disparities we see today but also entrenches systemic racism within the fabric of our society.

A New New Deal would confront this head-on by dismantling the economic structures that perpetuate racial inequality. Institutional reparations and universal economic policies would be a means of redistributing power and wealth. This approach is not merely about economic reform; it would be a fundamental challenge to the racialized underpinnings of capitalism that have long supported those who have access to ownership, opportunity, and resources.

Such a package of transformative policies would rely on a renewed, broad-based, multiracial movement for liberation and decolonization. The movement would have to unite individuals across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines around a shared vision for a just society. This would entail fostering solidarity in principle and action by actively engaging in dialogues that bridge historical divides, and organizing collectively to demand change. Through this collective action and solidarity, the vision of the New New Deal can be realized and help transform the landscape of American society.

While the vision for a New New Deal is ambitious, it is within this ambition that its potential lies. Confronting racial capitalism head-on and building a multi-racial inclusive movement for transformation are not just strategies; they are imperatives for those seeking a more equitable and just future. As we look toward this horizon, let us be guided by the lessons of the past and the possibilities of the future, united in our pursuit of a society that truly embodies the principles of liberation.

Trevor Smith is the co-founder and executive director of the BLIS Collective, an organization dedicated to strengthening movement and narrative infrastructure across Black, Indigenous, and progressive social movements to repair, decolonize, and transform cultures.

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February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 13

Pathways to progress: Navigating How do we figure out reparations?

America’s educational reform DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the New York Amsterdam News. We continue to publish a variety of viewpoints so that we may know the opinions of others that may differ from our own.

CHRISTINA

GREER, PH.D.

ARMSTRONG

WILLIAMS

In the realm of education, crises are not merely disruptions but illuminations of systemic failures that have festered beneath the surface for decades. The U.S. stands at a crossroads, where the path forward demands not just acknowledgment of these failures but a steadfast commitment to rectifying them. The initiatives across states, from Maryland and Texas to Washington and Nevada, present a tapestry of efforts that, while commendable, underscore the complexity and enormity of the task at hand.

Maryland’s legal battle against its own school district reveals a disturbing truth: Accountability in education, or the lack thereof, has profound implications on the quality of leadership and, consequently, on the outcomes we expect our institutions to deliver. The resignation of a state superintendent after a report on inadequate outcomes is not a mere administrative shuffle, but a clarion call for a fundamental reassessment of how we define and measure educational success. That lack is the greatest threat to the U.S. today—yet it comes from within.

In South Carolina, the legislative crackdown on explicit material in schoolbooks is a

testament to the power of policy in shaping the educational environment. It’s a clear indication that what is taught, and how it’s presented, matters deeply in molding young minds. Similarly, Florida’s response to chronic absenteeism and juvenile violence through legislation is a proactive step, yet it raises questions about the root causes of these issues. Are we addressing the symptoms rather than the disease?

Alabama’s reliance on parental involvement for improving reading scores speaks to a broader principle: Education cannot be compartmentalized away from the community and family.

It is a holistic endeavor that thrives on engagement and participation.

Yet, the resignation of an Oklahoma principal over inappropriate content raises a poignant question: Who decides what is appropriate, and by what standard?

The push for school choice in Texas and the banning of cellphones in Seattle classrooms are efforts to reclaim the educational space for education’s sake. Yet, these measures, while addressing certain aspects of the educational milieu, highlight the piecemeal approach often adopted in reform efforts. Larger systemic issues, including the

bureaucratization of education, erosion of standards, and sidelining of merit, remain largely unaddressed.

The activism seen in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, particularly concerning teacher pay and school safety, underscores a vital aspect of the crisis: the human element. Teachers, the linchpins of the educational system, find themselves increasingly caught between bureaucratic dictates and the reality of the classroom. Their advocacy for better conditions is not just a demand for better pay or safety; it’s a cry for respect and recognition of their central role in shaping the future.

These vignettes of challenge and change across the U.S., while showcasing the diversity of approaches and the depth of commitment among educators, policymakers, and communities, also reveal the fragmented nature of educational reform efforts. The crisis in the classroom is not merely one of policy or practice but of philosophy. What is the purpose of education? Is it to mold citizens, foster critical thinkers, or prepare workers for the marketplace?

As we navigate these turbulent waters, the lessons from these states offer both caution and direction. It’s clear that

there is a need for a multifaceted approach to reform, encompassing legal, policy, administrative, and communitydriven efforts. Yet, as we strive for an inclusive, equitable, and highquality educational system, the imperative to ground these efforts in a coherent philosophy of education becomes all the more urgent.

The journey toward educational reform is fraught with challenges, but it is also replete with opportunities for meaningful change. If we tackle this crisis in the classroom with diverse strategies, the successes that are occurring in some states serve as a testament to what can be achieved through determination, innovation, and collaboration. Yet, as we reflect on these achievements, we must not lose sight of the larger picture: the need for a comprehensive, philosophically grounded approach to education that prepares students not just for the tests of school but for the tests of life.

Armstrong Williams (@ ARight-Side) is manager / sole owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the Year. www. armstrongwilliams.co | www.howardstirkholdings.com

Whenever the topic of reparations comes up in conversation, someone will inevitably ask, “How will we figure out how to give out the money and resources?”

I immediately think of my grandmother’s wise words.

She told me more than once, “If we can figure out how to put a man on the moon, we can figure this out!” When it comes to resource allocation and restitution for the horrors African Americans experienced, as well as the inequities they continue to experience, I think this country can figure out a way to right the past and present wrongs ailing this nation.

Reparations aren’t new for the U.S. government. Over time, the U.S. has distributed economic payments to numerous groups, from Japanese victims of internment camps to some Native American groups and victims of forced sterilization, to name just a few. The loopholes in some of the reparations given to Native peoples should make one pay close attention to any future promises made by the U.S. government. The U.S. government has also been instrumental in helping Jewish victims of the Holocaust receive financial compensation from various German and European entities. The idea of nations providing financial restitution for past wrongs is not a new or novel concept.

Some ask who should be a beneficiary of said reparations. Should someone who has recently migrated from an African or Caribbean nation be eligible, even if they may fall prey to racist and unjust American practices? What about African Americans who are economically sound—should they

receive benefits that could more readily assist poorer Black people? None of these questions have easy solutions, but there are many ways we can think about fiscal solutions that tackle institutional structures and not just individual pocketbooks. There are also ways we can think about compensation that are devoid of nativist concepts.

I have always bristled at the idea of cash payments for Black people that will just put money back into a white economy and white institutions. If Black people receive taxable cash payments and then buy goods that will further enrich white Americans, where is the progress?

I want reparations to change longstanding institutions—I want these changes to help Black Americans create generational wealth. Indeed, a cash payment may help many in the short term, but reparations are supposed to be longstanding and with a concrete recognition of the wrongdoing that has occurred (and in many instances, still occurs).

Money without a fundamental explanation to all Americans about the past and current wrongs lets too many people and institutions off the hook. I applaud the federal and state-wide commissions trying to assess the best avenue to provide assistance. It’s a hard task but not impossible.

Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; cohost of the podcast FAQ-NYC; host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio; and a 2023-24 Moynihan Public Scholars Fellow at CCNY.

14 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Caribbean Update

Packed agenda for Caribbean leaders; Haiti is key issue

By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders head to bloc headquarters Guyana this week for the first of their biannual summits, with the situation in strife-torn Haiti a key agenda item, as a number of member states say they are ready to send police officers and soldiers to the country as part of a multinational peacekeeping and support force to assist local police.

What’s left of Haiti’s shaky and beleaguered government has asked the international community to put together a force to help local police dismantle heavily armed gangs that have been ravaging the country for the past three years, especially in the aftermath of the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise at the hands of hired mercenaries.

Police in Haiti and in the U.S. have arrested several people linked to the plot to kill Moise. Some have been convicted and sentenced in the U.S. Others remain in detention in Haiti.

The issue dominated the past two summits in the Bahamas last February, and the other in Trinidad in July. Several regional countries, especially the Bahamas and Jamaica, have already identified and trained police and soldiers for deployment to Haiti, but this has been stymied by a recent court ruling in Kenya deeming Kenyan participation as illegal.

“The Bahamas remains committed to helping the people of Haiti find peace and stability. Along with other members of Caricom, we remain committed to help the Haitian people find a Haitian solution, led by the people of Haiti.”

—Bahamas PM Phillip Davis Kenya had agreed to be the lead country in the deployment, but deployment has been delayed by the recent court ruling. Haiti, with the help of the U.S. and Canada, is now working out a bilateral request agreement to get around the ruling and allow for boots to be deployed to the country of more than 11 million people as gangs continue to kill people, burn and loot buildings, and extort money from others.

It is unclear whether Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has resisted widespread calls for his resignation, will attend the summit, but officials at the Guyana-based Caricom secretariat say the leaders will hear from a three-person group of former prime ministers they had appointed last year to try to broker a peace deal in the country, bring disparate stakeholders together to help Haiti prepare for fresh elections nationwide.

Because of the protracted crisis, the island is operating with no functioning parliament or elected officials. The same is true for the mayorship of several towns.

The eminent persons group, composed of former prime ministers Bruce Golding of Jamaica, Perry Christie of the Bahamas, and Kenneth Anthony of St. Lucia, is expected to brief the leaders on the progress of their mediation with various political and civil society groups, having held several rounds of discussions with them in bothHaiti and Jamaica in the past year. They have reported encouraging signs from the sessions.

Haiti is the last nation to join the 15nation integration grouping, back in 2002. The Bahamas, Jamaica, and the Turks and Caicos islands, all of which are close neighbors to Haiti, have said they are most anxious for a solution to the crisis because they are often the recipients of hundreds of refugees.

“The Bahamas remains committed to helping the people of Haiti find peace and stability,” Bahamas PM Phillip Davis told a recent international conference in Uganda.

“Along with other members of Caricom, we remain committed to help the Haitian people find a Haitian solution, led by the

people of Haiti.

“In the face of humanitarian and other disasters, we consider that there is a moral imperative to help, but we also do so in the knowledge that our own national interest is well-served by having peace and security in Haiti. Their misery translates into surges in irregular migration, resulting in security issues at and within our borders.”

Other key agenda items include preparation and planning for the T/20 Cricket World Cup, which the various member states are hosting in June; energy and food security; improving the regional single market and economic system; climate change challenges; and border issues, including the simmering Guyana-Venezuela demarcation row and the Belize-Guatemala border line claim.

Specially invited guests will include Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who had helped to stave of possible military conflict between Guyana and Venezuela in December by brokering peace talks; Ilan Goldfajn, president, Inter-American Development Bank; Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia; and Reem al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Some leaders are also expected to attend the summit of Latin American and Caribbean states (CELAC) that follows immediately after in the Eastern Caribbean nation of St. Vincent.

Legal battle over Prince Harry’s U.S. visa set to unfold this week FELICIA PERSAUD

IMMIGRATION KORNER Once again, Prince Harry finds himself thrust into the spotlight, this time facing a legal battle over his U.S. visa status. The controversy stems from revelations in his memoir, where he openly discussed his past experimentation with drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, “magic” mushrooms, and ayahuasca.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is facing pressure to reveal whether Prince Harry disclosed this information on his immigration forms from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative organization. The lawsuit will be heard in federal court in D.C. before Judge Carl J. Nichols. It has left many questioning the integrity of the immigration system and the treatment of high-profile individuals.

The Heritage Foundation said it wants to uncover the truth behind Prince Harry’s visa application. Their argument is straightforward: Either Prince Harry concealed his drug use, potentially receiving preferential treatment, or he disclosed it, raising questions about why he was granted a visa despite his admission.

The Heritage Foundation contends that the American public has a right to know whether DHS officials afforded Prince Harry preferential treatment, especially given his status as a public figure. However, the DHS maintains that Prince Harry’s visa status is private information exempt from disclosure, raising concerns about government transparency and accountability.

U.S. immigration authorities take a firm stance against drug-related activities and their potential impact on public health and safety. The visa application forms, such as Form DS-260 for immigrant visa applicants, explicitly ask about any history of drug use or drug-related offenses. Chapter 8 of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Policy Manual on Drug Abuse or Drug Addiction clearly states: “Applicants who are found to be drug abusers or addicts are inadmissible. Drug abuse and drug addiction are current substance-use disorders or substance-induced disorders of a controlled substance listed in Section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association or by another authoritative source as determined by the Director.”

When applying to live in the United States, applicants have to check “yes” or “no” to the question “Are you or have you ever been a drug abuser or addict?”

As the court prepares to hear arguments from both sides, the implications for Prince Harry’s visa status and future plans remain uncertain. The outcome of this case could jeopardize Prince Harry’s residency in the United States and affect his aspirations for American citizenship. Moreover, it sheds light on broader issues in the immigration

system, including the treatment of highprofile individuals and the need for greater transparency and oversight.

Regardless of the court’s ruling, the controversy surrounding Prince Harry’s U.S. visa status underscores the need for reform within the immigration system. Transparency, fairness, and accountability must be prioritized to ensure that all immigration applicants are treated equally under the law. As the legal battle unfolds, it serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by both applicants and immigration authorities in navigating the complexities of the immigration process.

It is imperative that these issues are addressed to uphold the integrity of the immigration process and ensure equal treatment for all individuals, regardless of their status or background.

The judge will release a written ruling within weeks of the hearing this Friday.

Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focusing on Black immigrant issues.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 15

For an NYPD hero, the eternal search for justice O

Detective Bolden at the 75 Pct., posing with the reward poster, when the search for his grandfather’s killers was resumed four years ago.

Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, Inc. Patrick Hendry, President

n a Friday night 53 years ago last month, NYPD Patrolman Robert Bolden stopped by to visit the bartender at his neighborhood restaurant in downtown Brooklyn. Only one other person was there, a man lingering in the phone booth. The bartender, who wanted to close the empty bar, asked Bolden to let the man know it was time to leave.

The off-duty cop tapped on the phone booth door, and the man replied by revealing a shotgun and opening fire, mortally wounding the surprised cop.

As the gunman fled, an accomplice ran in and grabbed Robert Bolden’s 38-caliber service revolver.

The suspects were never apprehended, making this the oldest unsolved cop-killing in modern NYPD history. But the story doesn’t end there.

For the past five years, Detective John Bolden of Brooklyn South Homicide, Patrolman Bolden’s grandson, who was born seven years after the killing, has been part of a renewed effort with NYPD Crime Stoppers to offer a reward for tips that could finally lead to a resolution of the case. The fund, bolstered by donations raised by police unions and organizations like Blue Lives Matter, totals $111,500 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction – or at least an explanation of what happened.

Although Detective Bolden never knew his grandfather, his ancestor was a constant and visible presence in his young life. A portrait of his grandfather hung in the living room when he was growing up and he remembers looking at the shield every single day. He says the killing impacted his family for generations and caused his grandmother’s health to deteriorate. “She really had a broken heart,” Detective Bolden says.

His grandmother would often tell him, “Someday they’re going to catch the person who did this.”

Witnesses to the murder might be anywhere from 65 to 95 years old today. Tipsters can contact NYPD Crime Stoppers by phone or at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org. Tipsters can remain anonymous and still collect the reward through a bank code number received at the time of giving the information.

“Even if the killer is dead,” says Detective Bolden, an 18½-year NYPD veteran, “It doesn’t mean the case is closed as far as the family is concerned, because we still have a lot of unanswered questions. We want justice – or, at the very least, closure.”

Asked how long he is willing to carry on the search, Detective Bolden answers unhesitatingly: “Forever.”

1-800-577-TIPS

https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org

16 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Education Biden administration looks to expand student loan forgiveness to those facing ‘hardship’

By ANNIE MA and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP)—Americans who are struggling to repay federal student loans because of financial hardship could get some of their debt canceled under President Joe Biden’s latest proposal for widespread loan forgiveness.

Several categories of borrowers would be eligible for relief under Biden’s second try at widespread cancellation after the Supreme Court rejected his first plan last year. Those with older loans or large sums of interest are being targeted for relief, for example. On Thursday, the Education Department expanded its proposal to include those who face financial hardship.

The plan was expanded amid pressure from advocates and Democrats who said the proposal didn’t do enough for struggling borrowers who don’t fit into one of the other cancellation categories.

Whether any of the relief will materialize is a looming question as conservatives vow to challenge any attempt at mass student loan cancellation. The proposal is now going through a rulemaking process that’s expected to take months to finalize, and a legal challenge is almost certain.

Biden initially attempted to cancel up to $20,000 each for an estimated 43 million people with incomes under $125,000.

After the Supreme Court ruled that he overstepped his authority, Biden asked the Education Department to craft a new plan under a different legal basis. The new proposal is narrower, focusing on several categories of borrowers who could get some or all of their loans canceled.

Here’s what we know so far about who could be eligible for cancellation under the Biden plan.

Hardship Borrowers facing financial hardship could see relief under the newest proposal put forth by the administration. The proposed regulations include automatic relief up to the entire outstanding federal loan balance for borrowers who are considered highly likely to be in default in two years.

Additional borrowers would be eligible for relief under a wide-ranging definition of financial hardship, up to the outstanding balance of their loans. Those factors include but are not limited to a person’s relative loan balance and payments compared to their total income.

Other considerations include whether a borrower has high-cost, unavoidable expenses such as paying for childcare or healthcare.

Several categories of borrowers would be eligible for relief under Biden’s second try at widespread cancellation after Supreme Court rejected his first plan last year. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The administration said it could not provide an estimate of how many people might be eligible under the hardship proposal.

The draft text was meant to be as expansive as possible within the limits of the law and the court decision, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition they not be identified.

In addition to the list of factors, which also includes age, disability, and repayment history, the proposed regulations state that “any other factors of hardship identified by the Secretary” may also be considered. Borrowers may be eligible for relief either automatically or through an application.

The department’s language about financial hardship amounts to a first draft of the policy, and it could be changed. The proposals are scheduled to be discussed next week when the panel of federal rulemakers meets to debate the details.

Interest reset Borrowers who have seen their loans grow larger because of snowballing interest would be eligible for up to $10,000 or $20,000 in relief, depending on their income. The broad goal of this category is to reset borrowers’ loans back to their original balances, but there are some limits.

For individuals who earn up to $125,000 or couples who earn up to $250,000, the proposal would knock off up to $10,000 of their accrued interest. This applies only to the amount of money that has piled up beyond the original loan amount, so a borrower whose current balance is $7,000 higher than the original loan would get $7,000 forgiven.

For borrowers who make less than also cancel loans for those who are eligible $125,000, or $250,000 as a couple, accrued for other targeted relief programs, including interest could be reduced by up to $20,000. Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Borrower Defense to Repayment, and the closed Older loans school discharge program.

Borrowers could get their entire remainSupporters see this as a way to deliver ing balance erased if they have been repaying relief to people who need it most but might their loans for at least 20 or 25 years, depend- struggle with complicated application proing on the type of loan. cesses or simply never find out that they’re Those who entered repayment 20 years eligible for help. ago—on or before July 1, 2005—would be eligible for full cancellation if they received Low-value programs the loan as an undergraduate student. Those Borrowers could get their loans canceled with other types of federal student loans if they went to a for-profit college program would be eligible if they entered repayment that leaves graduates unable to repay their 25 years ago—on or before July 1, 2000. federal student loans.

Determining when someone entered reThe Education Department plans to judge payment depends on the type of loan they the value of college programs under a separate have. For a Federal Stafford Loan, Direct Sub- initiative known as the Gainful Employment sidized Loan, or Direct Unsubsidized Loan, Rule. Borrowers who graduate from programs repayment starts after the initial grace period that don’t deliver value could get their outends. For a Federal PLUS Loan or a Direct standing loans erased. Borrowers would be elPLUS Loan, repayment starts the day the igible for cancellation if, while they attended loan is fully disbursed. the program, the average federal student loan The proposal aims to help older borrowers payment among graduates was too high comwho have struggled with student loans for de- pared to their average salary. cades and might never be able to repay them.

In general, programs are considered failing if graduates are paying more than 8% of Other forgiveness programs their average yearly income on federal stuThere has been a range of student loan dent loan payments. Borrowers would also forgiveness programs for years, but some be eligible for cancellation if their programs borrowers who are eligible don’t know about left graduates earning a lower average salary them or don’t apply. Those borrowers could than that of college-age workers with only a automatically get their loans erased under high school diploma. the proposal. It would allow the Education Department to cancel the entire loan The Associated Press education team rebalance for borrowers who meet the eligi- ceives support from the Carnegie Corporability requirements of one of the existing tion of New York. The AP is solely responsible income-driven repayment plans. It would for all content.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Arts & Entertainment

February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 17

Art pg 17 | Dance pg 21 | Theater pg 22 | Jazz pg 34

Pg. 20 Your Stars

Met’s new exhibit looks at Harlem Renaissance “Beale Street Blues, 1943,” by Palmer Hayden (Karen Juanita Carrillo photos)

“Black Belt” by Archibald J. Motley, Jr. (Photo courtesy of The Met)

“Mask, 1934” by Sargent Claude Johnson and “Woman with Kerchief, 1939” by William Artis

“Scottsboro Boys” by Aaron Douglas

“The Crisis,” children’s editions

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

tions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) like th Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, Fisk University Galleries, Hampton University Art Museum, and Howard University Gallery of Art. The show is on view through July 28, 2024, and will feature public programming such as jazz performances at the Met in March and April, and an evening designed ge for Harlem families va a S to see the exhibition in ta us April. g Au The Met will also host a vaby riety of exhibition-related educational and public programs, in addition to other opportunities to engage the New York City community. On April 14

at 2 p.m., as part of the Sight and Sound series, Leon Botstein and the Orchestra Now will perform the work of William Grant Still—considered to be the “Dean of African American Composers,” whose close ties with leading cultural figures of the Harlem Renaissance cemented his place as a frontrunner of the movement.

Jazz music from the era will be performed live at Date Night at the Met on March 8 and 9 and April 26 and 27. On April 15, the Met will welcome families from Harlem to explore the exhibition and other parts of the museum after hours, with family-friendly activities and opportunities to speak to Met experts about the collection. Other family- and teenfocused programs will include activities at the Museum Mile Festival (June 11), a Family Afternoon (July 14), Teen Fridays workshops (spring), a weeklong Art Explore program for teens (summer), and more.

For more information, see the Met website at https://www.metmuseum.org/ events/whats-on.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens its new exhibition “The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism” on February 25. The show features paintings, sculptures, and photographs, and even displays important books and film clips from that philosophical movement that took place some 100 years ago and pushed Black people to reconceptualize themselves.

The Met’s show is a chance to see how the convergence of Black people in the 1920s led to a meeting of artists, activists, musicians, and everyday people who wanted to make a new life for themselves. They turned to cities like New York, Chicago, and Paris for a taste of a cosmopolitan life full of culture, new ideas, and new opportunities.

The exhibition points to the cultural philosophy of the New Negro movement and its artistic boldness. There are images that show Black people demonstrating organi-

zational unity—as members of Elks Clubs, as part of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association, and as members of local tea clubs.

Photos and paintings depict them marching to demand an end to police brutality and white mob violence, spending time together to dance and enjoy the vibrant sounds of jazz, and creating a comfortable world for themselves—an intimate world separate from the “G am immediate past of enslavein, 193 ment and a safe place that dis0,” tanced them from racial violence.

“The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism” features some 160 works, with 40 percent from the collec-

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Poet Amanda Gorman gives special performance at Carnegie Hall

Amanda Gorman with cellist Jan Vogler at their recent performance at Carnegie Hall. (Photo by Chris Lee - @chrisleephotonyc on IG; @chrisleephoto on FB)

By NADINE MATTHEWS Special to the AmNews Anticipation hung in the air last Saturday night at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium/Ronald Perelman Stage. The audience had come together for a special evening of spoken word poetry and classical music presented by Dorn Music. World-renowned classical musician Jan Vogler and superstar contemporary poet Amanda Gorman had joined forces to offer, as the program for the performance described, “hope and humanity being expressed through two different genres.”

The Los Angeles-born and -raised Gorman is most known for being the youngest-ever inaugural poet in U.S. history, having performed at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The East Berlin-born Vogler was a child prodigy and is an award-winning musician and composer who also shattered records as the youngest player in the history of the Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra.

Decked out in a bright-yellow coat and red headband as hopeful and passionate as her poetry, Gorman apparently made an im-

pression on Vogler with her performance at the 2020 inauguration. In an interview with National Public Radio, Vogler explained, “What I admire about Amanda is her optimism that is really visionary, and we need that, I think, in our time.”

Since Vogler is based in New York and Gorman in L.A., they rehearsed via Zoom for a few months and in person in the days leading up to the performance.

He explained in an interview with ABC Channel 7 News that after seeing her, he reached out and suggested the collaboration. It isn’t the first time Vogler has done something artistically bold and unconventional; he previously performed with actor Bill Murray (“Ghostbusters”), combining his music with Murray’s recitation of works from the Western literary canon.

In addition to pushing the envelope artistically, the evening was about Carnegie Hall’s efforts to seed new audiences for its storied venue, which opened in 1891.

Carnegie Hall has hosted many luminaries, including opera singers Roland Hayes, Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, and Marian Anderson. Soprano Sissieretta Jones performed at Carnegie in 1893.

Jazz legends Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington also performed there. More recently, Jon Batiste and Angelique Kidjo have headlined Carnegie events and jazz musician Jason Moran is scheduled to perform in March.

Carnegie Hall also has a long history of featuring non-musicians, including activists Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Even poet Gil Scott-Heron has performed there several times.

The two were seated next to each other, Vogler on a slight platform, and took turns performing for most of the evening, interrupted by an intermission. Gorman wore a soft-pink chemise-style gown with silver glitter accents by Prada with her hair braided by Larae Burress and styled into a sophisticated updo by Aggie Ashi.

Gorman recited “An Ode We Owe” right after Vogler’s stirring interpretation of the “Prelude for Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major,” a piece probably familiar even to those who don’t normally listen to classical music. Part of what made the evening so special is that Bach’s music is so ubiquitous, much of it familiar to the general public.

With the help of the venue’s legendary acoustics, the 25-year-old Harvard graduate’s penetrating yet mellifluous words rang out, often falling into punctuated rhythm. Gorman’s poetry used, among other things, scripture, pop culture references, and civil rights rhetoric. Graceful and expressive movements of her arms and hands gave her words further life, providing warning and encouragement, and urging unity.

Vogler’s next performance was “Bach’s Suite No. 5,” and he and Gorman bantered after the prelude, with him describing it as a fugue after she asked him to go into some detail about the solemn, dramatic movement. It’s likely no coincidence that Gorman’s next poem was titled “Fugue,” which she said she was inspired to write by a desire to retain a collective memory of the pandemic experience.

Later in the evening, Gorman, who wrote the children’s book “Change Sings” and poetry collections “The Hill We Climb” and “Call Us What We Carry,” exhorted the audience to interact and “give energy” via finger snaps, and respond to her words. The packed audience, a representation of a wide swath of ages and ethnicities, was

all too happy to oblige.

As if the evening wasn’t already exciting enough, Gorman informed the audience she was spontaneously adding another poem, “The Truth in One Nation,” to the program, which she performed with verve to an audience pleased with the unexpected addition.

With the tiniest hint of defiance, Gorman elicited raucous applause when she prefaced one of her last readings by warning the audience she was going to recite from “my most banned book.” “The Hill We Climb” is one of many books by people from historically marginalized groups that have been banned in various schools around the country in the last few years.

The evening ended with Vogler’s rousing rendering of “Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major” and Gorman’s “What We Carry.” Bowing to audience insistence, the pair reappeared for an encore after what was supposed to have been the finale. They then performed in unison rather than separately, with Gorman delivering her “What We Carry” while Vogler played the “Prelude from Suite No. 1 for Solo Cello,” and concluding the evening in climactic and dramatic fashion.

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February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 19

American Masters Shorts airs ‘Searching for Augusta Savage’ in honor of Black History Month

By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH Special to the AmNews In a poignant tribute to Black History Month, Audacious Women Productions introduced “Searching for Augusta Savage,” a 22-minute documentary that premiered last week. This inaugural film sets the stage for American Masters Shorts, a digital series presented by the PBS biography program, “American Masters.”

Narrated by art historian and curator Jeffreen M. Hayes, Ph.D., alongside the voice of Lorraine Toussaint, the documentary unfolds the captivating life story of the trailblazing artist Augusta Savage, whose influence during the Harlem Renaissance left an indelible mark.

Savage’s impact extended beyond her sculptures: In 1939, she established the first gallery dedicated to showcasing Black artists. Her commitment to free art education and mentorship, reaching 2,500 individuals, including mentees such as Romare Bearden, Gwendolyn Knight, and Selma Burke, is a testament to her dedication.

The documentary is a labor of love from Charlotte Mangin and Sandra Rattley, creators of the award-winning UNLADYLIKE2020 series. In discussing the film, Mangin emphasized its contemporary

Augusta Savage’s Lift Every Voice and Sing monument exhibited at 1939 New York World’s Fair.

Sculptor Augusta Savage in her studio, working on her 1939 New York World’s Fair monument Lift Every Voice and Sing. (Photos courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library)

relevance, particularly in addressing the underrepresentation of Black women in major art institutions.

This exploration of Black American history marks a historical renaissance of relevant, valuable stories of Black heroes in the arts, culture, and beyond.

For more info, visit www.audaciouswomen.com. http://www.youtube.com/ Sculptor Augusta Savage with her monument AmericanMastersPBS Realization (1936), which is missing today.

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HOROSCOPES BY KNOWYOURNUMB3RS

By SUPREME GODDESS KYA WWW.KYAFRENCH.COM | CONSULTATIONS 866-331-5088

Rebirth of A New Nation: Folks are talking, positioning themselves, and standing up for what they believe in, which causes a series of events to play out that were initiatives as early as January 2024—though this chain of reactions began years ago. Timing is everything. There are certain things, cycles, and alignments that need to occur to spark the hearts and minds of people to receive the message. 2023 taught you to go within and to have faith, with vision, imagination, spiritual revelation, and deja vu. 2024 features financial structures with regard to destiny, fate, and the inheritance of certain spiritual gifts from prior generations to pass the baton.

When the elders appear in your life with great intention, get all the knowledge you can receive from them. Take note of what resonates with you and carry a tape recorder to record the message. The full moon, in Virgo at 5 degrees on February 24, is ringing in a new direction and bringing an upward rising in the social aspects. “When you find your spiritual gift, God will give you the opportunity to use it.” -John Maxwell

You’re moving through the darkness of nights and lightness of the

What causes you to take a step back to analyze a particular recurring scene? Was it a familiar situation that you decided you are not going to go through again? This is a time to question or discover things about Dec 22 June 22 and change the flavor. Here comes the test with new ideas, hidden yourself, and to nip things in the bud. If the shoe no longer fits or is Jan 21 July 23 agendas, and old and new scenarios playing out. From February 23 beat up to capacity, toss it. From February 28 around 10:09 p.m. until around 8:38pm until February 26 around 9 a.m., be still in the midst, March 2 around 8 a.m., there are many notifications that are being dislike in the eye of a storm. Your six senses are blossoming like a flower and the scent patched to you to catch the drift. Be inspired to move forward no matter what hapignites your aura field, making you more magnetically attractive this cycle. Folks pens. The universe gives you what you are ready for at a certain time. want to know who you are. Remember, you are building a solid foundation.

 days and the test of times. If people show bitterness towards you, Capricorn shower yourself with natural sweetness to combat the bitterness

 Cancer

Selfish versus collective: When you operate on a collective energy, You can stay put or ask around. The best teacher is your experiyou expand on a global scale. When you operate on a selfish scale, you ences, and seeing what signs are showing up for you. February has only get so far in life. Life is symbolic and everyone, everything, every been a wait-and-see time, and in the midst of the wait-and-see you Aquarius little rock and creature has a vibration on a collective scale. Pluto is in Leo meet folks and gain knowledge and insights that will benefit you Jan 22 July 24 Aquarius for a second time in a different season from its last preview, this cycle week. From February 21 around 8:40 a.m. until February Feb 19 Aug 23 which last took place from March 23 through June 11, 2023. From 23 around 8 p.m., hug yourself and embrace others with a warm February 26 around 9:39 a.m. until February 28 around 9:40 a.m., take note of what hug. Listen to those qualified folks that can pass down vital information only in occurred in your life then, as this second transit of Pluto in Aquarius is giving you person, like the elders did back then. Thank the greats that came before you to another test drive, preview, review, and medicine dose of what’s to come. Decisions assist you in the position you are in now. are soon to be made.

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Neptune transits in Pisces for the last several degrees before its preview/ The universe always shows us an out or a new path. It’s up to you debut into Aries on March 30, 2025, indicating transformation, growth, to choose the route. Every path brings new voyages, excursions, death, and rebirth, and an initiation/slow-progress phase. Pay close attenand adventures as a learning experience. Be as open minded as you Pisces Virgo tion to the things you do and what occurs in your life during the Neptune can be. Investments made last year in May will show progress or a Feb 20 Aug 24 retrograde transit, back and forth in Pisces and Aries. From February 28 return on your investments. From February 23 around 8:38pm until Mar 20 Sept 23 around 10:09 p.m. until March 2 around 8 a.m., this is a time to determine February 26 around 9 a.m., take what is useful from the old version your core values, where you stand spiritually, and where your creativity lies. to remix it in a way that the root of the foundation is not tampered Your soul is reaching and calling out to you. Follow your passion. with. Keep everything intact to pass it down to the next generation.

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Conversations are spiraling like the direction of the air blowing in all four directions and then some. What’s the 411 you are receiving? Is your sixth What is the matter with you? South node is in Libra and North sense finally switching on the light bulb, or would you rather keep it off until node in Aries; it’s an 18-month cycle to bring peace, balance, Aries certain issues resurface? Breaking free brings change to give more flexibiliand to fight for what you believe in. It doesn’t have to be a physMar 21 Libra ty and freedom to adapt to certain environments and circumstances. What ical fight, as the fight is within. From February 26 around 9:39 Apr 21 Sept 24 Oct 23 really brings you joy? From February 21 around 8:40 a.m. until February 23 a.m. until February 28 around 9:40 a.m., review any notes you around 8 p.m., the north node is in Aries at 18 degrees traveling clockwise infound pertaining to your craft or why you began your journey. dicates how you are procreating, bringing forth your creation from the inside, and express- The revolving cycle is what it is. The question is, how are you going to naviing the outside on a collective level. Utilize your talent to elevate higher. gate through it?

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Hunches, clues, and inklings here and there come with a feeling of something or someone approaching nearby. It’s a cycle to examine your partnerships and relationships, as some things, habits, places, and/or Taurus persons, must be renewed or ended to rebirth the energy of a project or Apr 22 situation. From February 23 around 8:38pm until February 26 around May 21 9 a.m., the universe operates in silence, showing you images of what is an immediate or future event. Visiting near a body of water clears your aura, and as the air blows more information will come.

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A new horizon comes to extend whatever you are working on like everything else in life. For example, Apple, Microsoft, HP—any brands you use—started from something, then reached a new horizon that elevated their products. You can do the same and over time you become more polished and original, as will your product. Go with the flow of change and see what you can find to bring more meaning.

The universe’s blessings can occur like a swift thunderstorm, after which Create a mastermind plan or agenda to bring peace, or to bring the sun shines to clear the sky, bringing joy and smiles after a hefty assignfolks together for a main objective. This is a community cycle ment. Apply the effort, even if it’s a long drawn-out task that seems imposwhere everyone assists to help one another. You are a scholar, and Gemini Sagitarius you know that when We The People come together doing positive sible to complete. It’s the impossible experience that is worth it, to elevate May 22 Nov 23 your skills to a higher level. From February 26 around 9:39 a.m. until Februthings, it sends a signal in the universe to start a chain reaction.

June 21 Dec 21 ary 28 around 9:40 a.m., each level indicates the capacity of your strength Next thing you know, those who are on the same frequency will and mental ability to respond to a high-volume task. It’s how you react to the assignment at catch the vibration. From February 21 around 8:40 a.m. until February 23 around hand that leads to a reward. The power is in you. You can tell by the way you carry yourself. 8 p.m., this is where it begins. The next-level journey has begun.

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February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 21

Annual award honors legacy of pioneering dance educator Pioneering dance educator Martha Hill (Photos courtesy of MHDF)

By CHARMAINE PATRICIA WARREN Special to the AmNews For the 2024 Martha Hill Dance Fund, now in its 23rd year of continuing Hill’s legacy, Joan Myers Brown will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, along with Jim May, while Ronald K. Brown will receive a mid-career award along with Jacqulyn Buglisi. This year’s gala will be held on Monday, February 26, and will be hosted by Norton Owen.

Martha Hill, the fund’s namesake, was the founding director of the dance programs/departments at New York University’s School of Education (teaching dance in the Physical Education Department starting in 1930 and initiating the graduate program in dance education in 1938), Bennington College (1932), and the Juilliard School (1951), as well as the summer festivals of the Bennington School of the Dance (1934) and Connecticut College School of the Dance (1948), precursors to the American Dance Festival. Hill was the moving force behind the scenes of 20th-century American concert dance and dance education, and tied the two together in a lasting relationship that continues today to the betterment of both.

The fund ensures access to Hill’s work through published materials, film, digital archives, and other projects established in her name, while continually influencing the world of dance and performance.

The fund’s president, Vernon Scott, wrote, “This year’s awardees are true pioneers—establishing their own companies and advancing the art form on their own terms [and] each [embodies] the best qualities of Miss Hill and her legacy as performer, teacher, and nurturer.”

Joan Myers Brown is the founder of the Philadelphia School of Dance and the Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO).

Myers Brown’s award will be presented by Robert Garland, artistic director of Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Ronald K. Brown founded EVIDENCE, A Dance Company in 1985. He has worked with Mary Anthony and Jennifer Muller, among others, and has set works on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Ballet Hispánico, and many more. Brown’s award will be presented by Arcell Cabuag, associate artistic director of EVIDENCE. Myers Brown and Brown often speak of sharing the same last name, and although they are not blood relatives, their love for each other is palpable. I chatted with them over Zoom about receiving the award. This is an excerpt from our conversation.

AmNews: Did either of you know about the Martha Hill Awards before this invitation?

Joan Myers Brown (JMB): I did, but I haven’t been to one since (2002) when Doris Herring received it.

Ronald K. Brown and Joan Myers Brown

Ronald K. Brown (RKB): I went last year, when Diane McIntyre and Diane Byer (founder and artistic director of the New York Theatre Ballet/NYTB) got one.

AmNews: And did either of you know Martha Hill?

JMB: I knew of her, and because Herring documented so many things she told me about her and asked me to attend.

RKB: The same here. I know of her. (Photo by Thomas Bouchard, 1938) AmNews: What were your thoughts when you found out that both of to your institution and who believe in what you were being honored? you do and want to help you further your JMB: I’ve been a major representative for goals and your art form.

Ron for years; I waved a flag for him and RKB: I performed text in our last show, tried to help him. I appreciated his work because it was required for the piece, but I and what he did for me. So, me and Ron, haven’t been on a stage dancing for quite a that’s special. while, which is fine. I love to dance and I love RKB: The same thing. It’s great to be hon- to teach and for our 40th anniversary next ored, but when you see who else is going to year, I hope to perform a duet with Arcell that be there, you go, oh, we’re going to be there I choreographed for his 20th anniversary. If in the same room together? How am I in the God has his way, I’ll be dancing. It is also such same room as Joan Myers Brown? a blessing to nurture the next generation of all JMB: When you have a romance going, the ages. It’s really a beautiful opportunity to it’s easy. I love him, and he loves me. And I lift people up. I love it so much. know it.

JMB: Well, I’ve got a direct line to God and I’ll RKB: And there we go! make sure that he gets it, so that’ll happen!

AmNews: Scott says, “…they each embody RKB: Thank you. I appreciate that. the best qualities of Ms. Hill and her legacy JMB: I think it’s just amazing that regardless as performer, teacher, and nurturer.” What of what happened, Ron’s a wonderful teacher. do you say to that?

He sits down and teaches his movement termiJMB: Well, they can’t talk about me being nology without moving. His creativity and his a performer ’cause you know how long ago style and his movement translates to dancers, that was, and the fact that I didn’t get to be the and that’s a blessing. dancer that I wanted to be. Performing was RKB: I do get up sometimes. I say to the always second to me. I don’t want to be on no- company, I don’t know what I’m going to body’s stage, trying to dance at 92 years old! do, but I’m about to stand up. Last season, I RKB: Excuse me, mama. got up, coached them in rhythms, and [got] JMB: Yeah, babe? them to move. With these recent challenges, RKB: I’ve seen the pictures. A beautiful I became a teacher to myself again, which has dancer in pointe shoes! been another blessing.

JMB: Yeah, but that was back in the day.

JMB: What I do is more coaching than I wanted to be a ballet dancer and I took a teaching now. We have four companies, and job. I’ve been teaching for 80 years and the each group has to be handled differently. It’s school is 63 years old. I was teaching when more important who is teaching who, and I I was 17 and I’ve always felt that Ron is a encourage them how to teach. nurturer ’cause he’s just an all-around ballRonald K. Brown will receive the Lifetime park player. I try to nurture because so many Achievement Award at the American Dance of our kids come without ethics, without Guild Performance Festival at the Ailey Citiknowing how to be good people. They think group Theater. if they get their leg up, that’s all they have to This year’s theme is “Leaps Beyond Bounds.” do, but you want people who are committed The four-night program (Feb. 22–25) cele-

brating the Guild’s 68th anniversary will also honor the late choreographer Joan Miller (Lifetime Achievement Award), and Celia Ipiotis/Eye on Dance (Distinguished Service in Dance— Lifetime Achievement Award). The American Dance Guild has served the dance field in many capacities for more than 60 years, including sponsoring conferences, festivals, and publications.

For more information about the performances, visit https://www.americandanceguild.org/ Honoree Jacqulyn Buglisi co-founded the Buglisi Dance Theatre in 1993 after a career as a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Terese Capucilli will present Buglisi with her award.

Jim May was a disciple of Anna Sokolow for 35 years and co-artistic director of her dance company, Players’ Project, since 1990. He has performed with Danny Lewis, Eliot Feld, Kathryn Posin, the José Limón Dance Company, and as a soloist for Kazuko Hirabayashi. May’s award will be presented by Daniel Lewis.

For more information about the Martha Hill gala, visit https://www.marthahilldance.org/.

Philadanco! returned to the Joyce for their 32nd season (Feb. 6-12) in an evening of dance titled “Intangible” that includes Nijawwon K. Matthews’s “From Dystopia to Our Declaration,” Christopher Rudd’s “Mating Season,” Ray Mercer’s “Balance of Power,” and Tommie-Waheed Evans’s “Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth,” made in collaboration with the Philadanco dancers. This was their first season at the Joyce since 2018.

For more information about the performances, visit https://www.joyce.org/performances/55//philadanco.

Please visit our website for the full interview.

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Juney Smith’s mission: Preserve Black theater stories is through perpetuity, and Black people should document our history so we can learn who we are.

We must know who our Black theater artists are to help the younger and future Black artists proliferate what was already done and build upon that while taking the people/ audiences along with them. Often, these artists are very well known and respected in the performing arts community, and our goal is to get them exposed to the masses.

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews Juney Smith should be a household name. He’s done it all and then some: actor, director, writer, and producer of stage, screen, and television. He’s performed in such plays as “A Raisin In The Sun,” “The Odd Couple,” and “Gem of the Ocean.” He served as artistic director of four theater companies: the Renaissance Drama Company; Mattie Theatre Company, New York; Rainbow Connection Drama Company; and Rebirth Drama Company in Los Angeles.

After completing the film program at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, he’s gone on to write, direct, and produce 37 feature films—22 narratives and 15 documentaries.

Smith’s love for and dedication to preserving the history of Black theater in New York—and this country—led him to create a partnership with actor Glynn Turman and Turman’s company, Backyard Ventures Inc., where they focus on producing documentary films about Black performing artists and performing arts institutions.

Some of the documentaries they have created to date include “King of Stage: The Story of Woodie King Jr.”; “King Arthur & The Count,” which featured interviews with actors Arthur French, Count Stovall, and Marie Thomas, and playwrights Dominique Morisseau and Richard Wesley; lead Broadway producers Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey and Crossroads Theatre founder Ricardo Khan; “Women of Theatre, New York: A Supreme Love,” featuring actresses Elizabeth Van Dyke, Petronia Paley, Joyce Sylvester, Elain Graham, Kim Weston Moran, Perri Gaffney, Peggy Alston, and Terria Joseph (who performed in numerous Black Theatre productions), and myself—Linda Armstrong as the Black female theater critic; and “A Spectrum of Theatre: The Story of CARL CLAY.” All of these documentaries are available on BluRay and DVD in major retail stores online at

AmNews: What do you want people to know about these artists, and what significance do you want your documentary films to hold for future generations?

JS: It’s important that these artists be documented through film so it is available to the present generation and future generations to learn about the shoulders they stand on—the methods, ways, and means they have passed on to them. The lessons of their history teaches them. The responsibility is made clear by these Black theater artists through their mere participation passed on to present and future generations to carry on.

Glynn Turman and Juney Smith (Photo courtesy of Juney Smith photo)

Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and Amazon and streaming markets such as Peacock, Prime Video, Tubi, Vudu, and Hoopla worldwide. Coming in June 2024 will be “The Artistry of A. Dean Irby: Giving It All to the Art.” Smith spoke with the AmNews about the documentaries he and Turman have done.

Amsterdam News: How did you come to partner with Glynn Turman and start making these documentary films on Black theater artists and companies?

Juney Smith: As a teenager in 1972, I saw Glynn Turman in Woodie King Jr.’s “What the Wine Sellers Buy” at Lincoln Center, the first Black Broadway show I ever saw, and he became my favorite actor. Period. He still is to this day.

In 2007, I had the honor and privilege of meeting him and directing him in a movie entitled “City Teacher/A Hard Lesson.” The experience was seamless and we became friends.

In 2017, Glynn comes to town on business and I tell him, “Let’s head over to the New Federal Theatre. A great actor, Tim Simonson,

is doing a one-man show, ‘Adam,’ Peter DeAnda’s play about Adam Clayton Powell Jr.” After the performance, Woodie King invited Glynn and me, along with Tim, to a restaurant across the street from the theater. As we sat down and began to talk about the wonderful show, a staff member of the restaurant holding a microphone begins to ask the audience questions about general historical facts, geography, and literature. The patrons shouted out the answers. What was peculiar to me was Woodie answered all the literature questions, whether the name of a book or an author.

I said to myself, “This man is an erudite of the highest form. No wonder he’s the icon he is.” Then I blurted out, “Woodie, I want to do a documentary film on you,” and he chuckled and said, “I’m in a number of documentaries.”

I said, “I know, I’ve seen all if not most of them, but I want to do it on only you—nobody else in the film but you.”

Glynn said, “Yeah, just you, and he won’t take a lot of time. I’ve seen him do it!”

The next day, Glynn and I dis-

cussed a formula and concepts to begin to produce a library of documentaries on Black performing artists and Black performing arts institutions. He decided to executive produce the film on Woodie, along with Neema Barnette. Reed McCants asked to edit it and “King of Stage, The Woodie King Jr. Story” was born. Glynn and I recognized our formula and concept worked and kept going.

AmNews: How do you determine who you’ll spotlight in a documentary?

JS: The artist or institution having longevity, and the impact their work has on the Black community.

AmNews: Why is Black history preservation so much more necessary in today’s climate?

JS: Due to the erasure of Black history in today’s climate. It’s [essential] that we preserve our history. White people are not going to, nor should they, make documentary movies on our Black theater artists. It’s Black people’s responsibility to document our Black theater artists and institutions. Glynn and I understand that, and in our way, are helping fill the empty vault of documenting Black performing artists and Black performing arts institutions by feature films.

All our documentary films have major distribution. Visit americanblackactorsdocumentarymovies. com and newyorktheatredocumentaryfilms.com.

AmNews: Black theater artists are often the ones who get ignored and that most people don’t know a lot about—why was it important to you to film and document these particular artists?

JS: The theater is a place where people come to dream in public, and the theater artist and theaters are in charge of that dream. The theater gives a reflection of life. It enriches people. Black theater artists have been doing this through customs and rituals from the moment we hit the shores of America.

History is important so one can decide the present and the future based on what already happened. Film is the most powerFor more info about Smith’s work, ful medium there is. The artform visit www.Juneysmithfilms.com.

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February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 23

Veteran stage manager Kenneth Hanson— an unsung Black B’way hero

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews When we think about Broadway shows, we think about the actors we see onstage, but most of us don’t realize there are people working tirelessly behind the scenes who make sure that all facets of the production occur according to the director’s vision. Kenneth Hanson (KH) has been a Broadway stage manager for nine productions and a national tour: “Jelly’s Last Jam,” “Sophisticated Ladies,” “Bubbling Brown Sugar,” “The Wiz,” “Truly Blessed,” “Leader of the Pack,” “Big Deal,” “Smokey Joe’s Café,” the Boys Choir of Harlem & Friends, and ] the national tour of “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” Now retired, he started at a time when Black stage managers were somewhat rare.

AmNews: What is the role of the stage manager on a Broadway show?

KH: The stage manager maintains the show that the director has directed. They put together the technical elements, the scenery, the lights, the music—they coordinate it all by the director’s specifications and the stage manager maintains it, including the actors.

The stage manager prepares the understudies to go on.

Stage managers belong to the Actor’s Equity, the same union as the actors. Stage managers can go on if a cast member is not available.

You could be a stage manager and an understudy. I understudied the Gatekeeper and Uncle Henry in “The Wiz,” and I went on for a week as the Gatekeeper on Broadway with Stephanie Mills in 1978. I became a stage manager in 1976, when I quit teaching public school in Harlem and went into show business.

AmNews: How many other Black stage managers have you known of?

KH: There were not a lot of Black stage managers around. I taught myself; I trained myself on the job. A couple of my mentors told me that they thought that my personality was correct to be a stage manager—it’s almost like you’re a teacher in the classroom, but the class is the show.

Kenneth Hanson and original cast of “The Wiz” on Broadway.

Patti LaBelle and Kenneth Hanson when they worked together on “House of Flowers”.

Kenneth Hanson (Photos courtesy of Kenneth Hanson)

My mentors were choreographer Luster Wilson and Michael Peters.

Wilson choreographed “Saturday Night Fever,” “Sister Act,” “The Luster Wilson Dancers.” He began on Broadway with “Golden Boy” with Sammy Davis Jr. He suggested I should be a stage manager. Peters choreographed “Dreamgirls,” “Beat It” for Michael Jackson, which he was featured in, and “Thriller.”

AmNews: You are Harlem-born and raised, and were one of the first students at Harlem School of the Arts. What has that meant for you as a stage manager working in this industry?

KH: I was first and foremost a musician. I studied under Dorothy Maynard, who founded the school. When I did all my shows, it was second nature to me because I was a trained musician. Theater I fell into—I went to school and I was an academic, I have a master’s degree in mathematics from Boston University on a full scholarship, but theater was in my heart. I loved the show business subculture. When I walked into my first theater, I said, “This is where I belong!” The first theater I worked

at is now called the August Wilson Theatre; “Bubbling Brown Sugar,” “Jelly’s Last Jam,” and “Smokey Joe’s Café” were all there.

AmNews: What was it like to be production manager for the Boys Choir of Harlem for five years?

KH: I just loved it, because I was a musician and this was an opportunity to travel around the world with this remarkable group. It was incredible, the places we went and how people would respond to the boys...The boys were really ambassadors. We did a concert with Luciano Pavarotti. Jonathan Iverson, the first Black ringmaster for Ringling Bros., was one of our boys. It was fabulous! We went all around the South and Texas, and people were just so excited about these boys. It gave you a lot of Black pride.

AmNews: In addition to being a stage manager, you are a gifted baritone soloist singer who has done five South American tours with the Harlem Jubilee singers. You have directed several church youth choirs and directed enormous events, including “The Sun and the Moon Lives in the Sky” by Ellen Lewis for

the 22nd Command Performance at the National Arts Club of Gramercy Park; James Weldon Johnson’s “God’s Trombones” for the Harlem Theater Company; and “30 Years in the Life of Cleopatra Jackson” at the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C. What does it mean to you to do these roles?

KH: I’m a Gemini and I became a Renaissance person—I go with it when everything changes. Church stuff I’ve done since I was a kid and did it until I turned 65. I’m a lifelong member of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church, where I directed the youth choir for nine years. I’ve been the minister of music at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, Church of the Abiding Presence in the Bronx, and Rendall Memorial Presbyterian Church in Harlem, and organist at St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem.

AmNews: What do you want your legacy to be?

KH: I never really thought about it.

I always trivialize my life and career.

My friend Lisa Dawn Cave, the top Black stage manager on Broadway, started as my assistant and they gave her a special Tony Award last year

and she shouted me out. She works for Disney now. She, Beverly Jenkins, and some others have an organization now for Black stage managers called Broadway & Beyond: Access for Stage Managers of Color. Lisa has done 25 Broadway shows. I’m just so proud that I had something to do with her career. She was telling me all the Black people that she helped get jobs on Broadway.

Jenkins, who did “Hadestown,” has also done 25 shows as well. Behind-the-scenes people don’t get interviewed. You’re not used to putting yourself out there like that.

I did things at a time where there weren’t a lot of Black people being stage managers—Charlie Blackwell was the most famous one in my day. They didn’t call us to do shows that were white. I got Black shows, except for Bob Fosse’s show—I was the one Black stage manager out of five stage managers for “Big Deal.”

At 6 feet, 6 inches tall, I was a towering figure and that worked well for me.

As shows open for Black stage managers, it’s mainly more Black women than Black men. They can accept it from a Black woman, but an authoritative Black man is different. They are okay with a man being openly gay now; back in my day, it was don’t ask, don’t tell.

A stage manager who is doing well now is Cody Renard Richard, who was stage manager for “Sweeney Todd” and a producer on “A Strange Loop.”

Times have really changed; all these Black stage managers are working now. After the pandemic, Black shows opened, like “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” “Passover,” “Clyde’s,” etc. A lot of them had Black stage managers. Now stage managers and press agents like Irene Gandy have become producers. None of that was happening in my day. Only three people would call me and ask me to be their stage manager: Maurice Hines, Michael Peters, and Billy Wilson.

Considering his legacy, this stage manager, musician, director, and singer said, “My legacy is I want people to think of me as a person of Black excellence!”

For more information about Kenneth Hanson, Google “Kenneth Hanson, stage manager.” He is also on Facebook and Instagram, where he posts photos.

24 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

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February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 25

(Thais Silva illustration)

The Road to Reparations

by HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews When Michigan Rep. John Conyers (1929-2019) introduced HR 40 in 1988, the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, reparations gained perhaps its most significant public recognition. This was by no means the first time the idea of retribution for formerly enslaved African Americans had been proposed or demanded. Belinda Royall, also known as Belinda Sutton, proposed the first recorded case of reparations in the U.S. in 1783 as a pension payment. She was enslaved by the Royalls in Massachusetts when she petitioned for three years of back pension. The petition was granted, though it has been disputed as a legiti-

mate challenge to bondage.

A little over a century later, in 1894, another Black woman, Callie House, along with the Rev. Isaiah Dickerson and other associates, began organizing the National Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty and Pension Association, which by 1897 was formally established. Her inspiration for reparations partly came from the failed promise of “Forty Acres and a Mule” at the close of the Civil War and from reading a pamphlet entitled “Freedmen’s Pension Bill: A Plea for American Freedmen,” then circulating in Black communities.

She and Rev. Dickerson traveled across the exslave states, announcing their plan for restitution for former Black captives, whose labor had been stolen from them, and recruiting followers.

“We are organizing ourselves as a race of people who feel they have been wronged,” House declared upon co-founding the organization. “The association collected dues to help finance the lobbying effort and a lawsuit that was filed on behalf of those once held in slavery,” Johnita Scott-Obadele wrote in “Race and Resistance: African Americans in the 21st Century.”

“Instead of addressing in even a token way the past and ongoing injustices and crimes against Black people,” Scott-Obadele continued, “the various governmental entities spent about twenty years observing and investigating, finding that the leaders had committed no crime. In 1916, mail fraud charges were brought against Mrs. House, and she was convicted and sent to jail.”

See THE ROAD TO REPARATIONS on page 26

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The road to reparations Continued from page 25

A year before she was convicted, the first known reparations lawsuit, Johnson v. MacAdoo, was filed, according to Charles Ogletree (1952-2023) in his book “All Deliberate Speed.” “In Johnson, the plaintiff, Cornelius J. Johnson, sued the U.S. Department of Treasury, claiming the government’s taxation of raw cotton produced by slave labor constituted an unjust enrichment from the labor of African Americans. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him, concluding

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that the government was immune from suit on sovereign immunity grounds.”

In 1963, the indomitable Audley “Queen Mother” Moore (1898-1997) proposed reparations to members of the National Emancipation Proclamation Centennial Observance Committee (NEPCOC) conference in Philadelphia. She called on her audience to “demand reparations for the injuries inflicted upon them by the dominant white nation.” As Ogletree noted, “She was able to gather over one

million signatures from citizens supporting this demand; even more remarkably, she managed to present the signatures to President Kennedy, along with the demand.” She would continue to promote the crusade for reparations at the Black National Convention in Gary, Indiana, in 1972.

A dramatic event in the reparations movement occurred on May 4, 1969, when James Forman (1928-2005), former chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), interrupted worship at New York City’s Riverside Church with a largely white congregation and presented the Black Manifes-

to demanding $500 million from U.S. churches and synagogues for reparations. He said the money would support a southern land bank, four television networks, and a university. Many of the components of the manifesto had been determined weeks earlier in Detroit at the National Black Economic Development Conference (NBEDC).

“Actually, BEDC received less than $300,000 in reparations by the summer of 1970,” Forman wrote in his book “The Making of Black Revolutionaries.” He said most of the money was funneled to other organizations, and “most of the funds they retained... were invested in a revolutionary publishing house called Black Star Publications.”

During the late 1960s, there was a proliferation of Black Nationalist formations, including the National Black United Front, the Republic of New Afrika, and the Black Workers Congress, each espousing some form of reparations. Several of the more prominent and militant organizations were founded in Detroit, where there was a coterie of passionate activists advocating for reparations: the Rev. JoAnn Watson (1951-2023) and Detroit activist Ray Jenkins (aka “Reparations Ray”) are among the most vocal leaders. It was often suggested that they created the groundswell that put reparations high on Congressman Conyers’s agenda. Of course, by the time the Michigan politician became fervently involved, other influences were at play, particularly the passing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 in support of Japanese Americans who were forced to live in internment camps.

Each surviving Japanese American internee was awarded $20,000 in compensation, with payments beginning in 1990. According to the legislation, their internment was based on “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership” as opposed to legitimate security reasons; more than 82,000 received redress checks. The success of Japanese Americans was a source of inspiration for many in the African American reparations movement, believing they were next in line for restitution.

Around the time Japanese Americans were celebrating their achievement, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparation in America (N’COBRA) was formed and held its first town meeting in Washington, D.C. by 1989.

“Members of the organization discussed a draft bill calling for reparations, prepared by Congressman John Conyers, with the congressman’s staff,” Scott-Obadele wrote. “The bill, titled “A Commission to Study Reparations Proposals for African Americans Act” and assigned the number H.R. 3745, was first introduced in the House of Representatives in the 101st Congress, November 2, 1989.”

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(The National Archives image) It should be noted that this particular bill did not call for reparations. This is the bill that the Michigan congressman would issue and see tabled each year until his death.

By the 21st century, the reparations movement was hardly noticed, given the scourge of police brutality against Black Americans.

But among the stalwarts joining Conyers would be Randall Robinson (19412023) and his cohort at the TransAfrica Forum, most notably Danny Glover and Bill Fletcher. Robinson’s book “The Debt” gave the reparations movement the treatise it required to open up a new century of struggle and impetus. All it needed now was a living plaintiff to provide the ballast demanded by the court.

Once more, the able and astute Charles Ogletree was equal to the task, along with the highly proficient Johnnie Cochran (1937-2005).

The Tulsa Massacre of 1921 would be the gambit, especially with two elderly witnesses and sible that we still have two standards of victims of the incident ready to testify. justice in America: one for victims of doAs Ogletree put it in his book, “Despite mestic terror perpetrated by individuals compelling evidence that Black Tulsa and one for victims of domestic terror residents were entitled to receive repa- perpetrated by the state? Is it possible rations for their loss of life and property, that we still have different standards of their claims were largely ignored. All we justice depending on the race of the vicneeded were clients.” tims? If there can be no justice for the Ogletree’s team found 60 survivors of victims of the Tulsa Race Riot, there may the Tulsa Massacre who were willing to be little hope for justice in America.” sign onto a lawsuit. They all agreed that The Oklahoma lawsuit disappointed the incident could advance the case for Ogletree and his team, but other cities Jim Crow reparations. Buttressing the and states have waged their campaigns team was attorney Michael Hausfeld, on reparations and restorative compenwho successfully represented Holocaust sation. No matter the dismal outcome victims in lawsuits against Germany and in Tulsa, Ogletree envisioned a promother European nations. Assembling a ising new development in the struggle cadre of clients, forging a support com- for reparations, citing the dedication mittee of outstanding scholars and ac- of Chicago Alderman Dorothy Tillman. tivists, and an incomparable legal team She worked closely with former Mayor were to no avail. Judge James Ellison of Harold Washington and, by 2005, had the United States District Court for the introduced an ordinance ensuring that Northern District of Oklahoma denied corporations that do business in Chicago the plaintiffs’ claim, even as he validat- disclose their prior connection to slaved the appropriateness of the lawsuit. ery. Almost immediately, her ordinance “What can we say about courts that began to bear fruit when JPMorgan was admit that the state of Oklahoma and forced to admit that two banks affiliated the city of Tulsa helped to destroy an with them had served as banks to planentire community and kill its citizenry tations and thereby helped facilitate the but announce that the survivors cannot slave trade. seek legal redress?” Ogletree asked at Over the last several years there have the close of his chapter on reparations. been some astonishing breakthroughs.

“What can we say about laws that would In the fight for reparations and in part enable the perpetrators of atrocities to two of our series we will explore the escape liability by destroying evidence modern day struggle to turn the dream and denying legal remedies? Is it pos- of reparations into a reality.

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‘40 acres and a mule’: The state of Black reparations today

Still of Emmett Lewis from Netflix’s “Descendant,” directed by Margaret Brown. The film features descendants of enslaved Africans who survived the “Clotilda,” the last-known slave ship to arrive in the U.S. (Contributed by Chavonne Jones)

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member On nights when it’s quiet, do you ever contemplate the rapid heartbeat of a slave in the belly of a ship, the seconds before a Black child was shot by police, the stillness of a prison cell? Make their skin your skin and their fear your fear. The first bold step to repair is empathy. — Ariama C. Long The dream that generations of activists have fought for—to see the United States compensate the victims and descendants of slavery, racial violence, and discrimination—is closer than ever to becoming a reality. These dedicated reparations advocates have toiled for decades at local, state, and federal levels, protecting that promise like an Olympic torch relay runner, each one with the singular understanding that they might not directly see a reward themselves, but others well might. In a few municipalities across the country and in two major states, the race for reparations has already begun.

The activists and elected officials involved who spoke with the Amsterdam News unanimously agreed that acknowledging the harms done to enslaved Africans in the past, righting those continued wrongs in the present, and planning for the future is indeed a marathon and not a sprint.

As of now, New York is the second state in the nation to pass a law establishing a reparations commission that will research the state’s role in perpetuating slavery in the

U.S., study the years of racial discrimination after emancipation, and recommend whether there should be compensation to the descendants of those affected or not.

The law’s main sponsors, Queens Senator James Sanders and Elmont Assemblymember Michaelle C. Solages, have long championed reparations, first introducing the bill in 2017.

Sanders explained that reparation has been a personal passion project for him for the last 30 years, along with colleagues like former Brooklyn Assemblymember Charles Barron. Sanders comes from a military family, was a Marine himself, and is a descendant of American slaves.

“As the son of a sharecropper and my mother a domestic worker, my father from South Carolina, my mother from Alabama, this is legacy” said Sanders. “This is a quotient of back pay. This is a quotient of justice—not a theoretical exercise. This is an attempt to get justice for a lot of people.”

Setting the stage According to Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor, founder of the National Black Cultural Information Trust and a reparationist specialist based in the Washington, D.C., area, talks about how reparations and their implementation are not new conversations by any means. She said that Belinda Sutton, an African-born woman who was enslaved by Isaac Royall Jr., petitioned Massachusetts courts for back pay during her time as a slave and won in 1783.

Sutton claimed a pension from the estate of the Royalls throughout her lifetime, and

renewed her claims whenever there were missed payments. Aiwuyor also noted that anti-slavery documents, like David Walker’s Appeal, published in 1829, might not have used the term “reparations” but had the same sentiment.

“I’m not sure when we started using that specific term, but I know that for the longest, we have been seeking the root, which is repair,” said Aiwuyor.

Reparations truly began in a period after the Civil War known as the Reconstruction Era. In fact, this time period is where the phrase “40 acres and a mule” comes from, according to a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) post. General William T. Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton spoke with Black ministers in Sa​​ vannah, Georgia, in 1865. The ministers, some free Black men born in slave states, and others who had been recently freed, believed in land redistribution as a way to build wealth. They came up with a government promise of 400,000 acres of land to newly freed slaves, to be governed by themselves in South Carolina; Skidaway Island in Georgia; Florida; and settlements in Texas under a special field order.

All the progress the U.S. made toward reparation ended abruptly when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and former President Andrew Johnson, a “sympathizer with the South,” overturned the special order.

“Slavers attempted to strip our ancestors of their humanity,” said Aiwuyor. “If you don’t believe that the people you are enslaving are actually people or human

beings, you can come to believe that you’re doing them a favor. People now feel like we want something for nothing as their descendants because they still do not view our ancestors as full human beings [who] were taken against their will and endured some of the worst crimes against humanity. The harms that they endured became continued [images] of slavery through law that continue to impact our communities.”

The modern-day struggle According to a report from the Brookings Institution, various Native American tribes have received land and money for being forcibly exiled from their lands, Japanese Americans were paid about $1.5 billion for being interned in camps during World War II, and the U.S. has joined Germany in doling out some reparations to Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. However, “Black Americans are the only group that has not received reparations for state-sanctioned racial discrimination, while slavery afforded some white families the ability to accrue tremendous wealth,” according to the Brookings report.

Even by the early 21st century, communities of color were still reeling from the effects of mass incarceration with the legacy of Jim Crow, inequitable sentencing, gun violence, police killings and brutality, displacement, and the fallout from the war on drugs.

It was around this time that a small number of U.S. elected officials started to formally apologize on behalf of their states for the role they played in slavery, such as

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Alabama’s Republican Governor Bob Riley and North Carolina’s Senate in 2007. In 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Res.194, which apologized for the enslavement and racial segregation of African Americans nationwide.

Progress has been made in a small historically Black community in Mobile, Alabama, known as Africatown (Plateau). It was founded by a contingent of Africans who were illegally kidnapped and enslaved

by Timothy Meaher, a wealthy whitemerchant in 1860 who owned a slave ship called the “Clotida,” which is the last known U.S. slave ship from the transatlantic slave trade. The 2019 film “Descendant” documents Africatown’s descendants in their search and historic discovery of the ship, as well as the legacy of the Meaher family.

In the field of study of folklorist Dr. Kern Jackson, director of the African American Studies Program at the University of South Alabama who co-wrote and co-produced “Descendant,” stories are a powerful tool that informs culture and heritage. Many of the elders from Africatown are “highly organized” and motivated by the stories they’ve told as a collective for the past six generations, Jackson said. For about 100 years, Africatown residents weren’t allowed to speak publicly about the existence of the slave ship, but kept the knowledge of it going as a family secret.

“That’s the biggest weapon,” said Jackson of the importance of passing down stories.

“How [else] do you fight a multinational corporation without financial resources?

How do you fight a political system where the mayor of your city has business interests on the opposite side of the environmental fight?”

Jackson believes reparations are less about “getting something” and more about figuring out ways to have a healthy participatory democracy. He views the current foot traffic in Mobile that coalesced around the “Clotilda” site, the Africatown Heritage House, and the new Africatown Welcome Center that opened in 2023, not as reparations but as “historical tourism” that can generate money for the state.

The fight goes local In 1994, Florida’s state legislature passed House Bill 591 in an attempt to atone for the Rosewood Massacre. The town of Rosewood was a small Black town with approximately 20 families who owned their homes and other property. In 1923, Fannie Taylor, a white woman, claimed that she had been attacked by an unidentified Black man. An angry white mob swiftly sought out Black men in the area, burned down several buildings, slaughtered animals, and chased Black residents into nearby swamps. About 143 survivors and descendants of the massacre received checks from the state in amounts close to $2,000 and had a scholarship fund established for them.

In 2017, then-Councilmember Robin Rue

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Simmons led the charge to pass the first tax-funded reparations program for Black Americans in Evanston, Illinois. Simmons is an Evanston native who experienced racial segregation in her city as a child, which motivated her to become a councilmember as an adult. She soon realized that the symptoms of racism and discrimination she was fighting against didn’t happen in isolation and had to be addressed more broadly. She was particularly inspired by journalist TaNehisi Coates’s “The Case for Reparations” that was published in the Atlantic in 2014.

“I didn’t run on reparations. It was not part of my platform as a candidate. I had never even thought about local reparations

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ly about how to implement a reparations system locally.

In March 2022, Evanston became the first U.S. city to provide reparations to its Black residents, providing $400,000 to 16 eligible Black households and $25,000 toward housing assistance or a downpayment on a property.

“It took a couple of years to get to the payout process and that amount [allocated] because it was attainable and a real first step and one that could be measured,” said Simmons. The process also took that long because council members had to research and legislate for any legalities, penalties, or potential taxes that

(Thais Silva illustration)

until my time as a local elected leader,” said Simmons. “I called into question, in 2019, that our city pass reparations legislation— one that would move beyond ceremony and a policy one that would be funded. And one that we could operationalize, implement, and begin to measure the outcomes so we could build on it.”

Simmons collaborated with the equity commission to make reparations recommendations before coming to her colleagues in the City Council and introducing a bill, presenting it as a “thoughtful action plan” rather than simply reparations. She spent four years working on getting the ball rolling before leaving politics to become the founder and executive director of FirstRepair, a not-for-profit organization that consults with other entities national-

would take away from a resident’s payout.

She hopes that every community can be inspired by Evanston to make the same repairs to the Black community.

The Black Lives Matter movement reinvigorated the call for reparations of earlier social justice and Civil Rights Movements.

Other cities and states were inspired to revisit the idea of reparations as a long-term solution to the nation’s racial injustices.

The city of Asheville, North Carolina, apologized for its role in slavery, and in June 2022, their City Council approved a budget of $2.1 million to fund reparations initiatives. In Detroit, Michigan, voters passed a ballot initiative in 2021 that established a 13-member Reparations Task Force that is working on recommendations for housing and economic development programs

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that will address historical discrimination against the Black community in Detroit.

“It was decided that for reparations, the people of Greenbelt (Maryland) would have to vote on whether or not there would be a commission. I personally did not expect it to pass and I was really surprised when it did,” said Brooklyn native Dr. Lois Rosado, 80, who sits on a 21-person reparations commission in Greenbelt.

The Greenbelt commission was established in 2021 when voters passed a referendum to review and discuss the issue of reparations for Black and Native Americans in Greenbelt under Mayor Colin Byrd.

Rosado was active in the Civil Rights movement and has a background as an educator. She said there were challenging months spent just finding commissioners to carry out the work. The Greenbelt commission is composed of both Black and white Greenbelt residents with professional backgrounds, such as lawyers and historians.

“I think there’s a problem when people just use the word reparations and [do] not consider the whole gambit,” said Rosado.

She defined reparations as transitional justice, an international legal standard that has five pillars: criminal prosecution to hold accountable those most responsible for any atrocities, truth commissions, addressing harms or reparations, memorialization of the enslaved, and institutional reform. She added that their commission is still in the research phase.

In Providence, Rhode Island, Mayor Jorge Elorza and the City Council established a reparations commission in 2022. In the same year, Mayor Michelle Wu and the City Council of Boston, Massachusetts, passed an ordinance to start a reparations task force.

New York City, for all its “forward-thinking,” has struggled to establish its own reparations task force, even with powerhouse reparations activists, such as December 12th Movement founder Viola Plummer, leading the charge. In June 2023, Brooklyn Councilmember Farah Louis, who chairs the landmarks committee, introduced a reparations task force bill (Intro 1082) that was partially withdrawn, edited, and reintroduced. Louis’s office said the bill is still active and will be introduced again this year as a package with similar bills on the books. During a reparations session at the annual New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislators (NYSABPRHAL) caucus in Albany, Louis spoke about how “difficult” the journey has been to an auditorium of attendees. “I’m happy that we’re having this conversation and I look forward to seeing the commission on the state side as well as the city side move forward so we can accomplish the goal,” said Louis.

New York City’s Chief Equity Officer and Commissioner Sideya Sherman, See BLACK REPARATIONS TODAY on page 30

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Black reparations today Continued from page 29

who operates in the Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice, said the office is also glad to see state and local efforts towards reparations. “The painful legacy of slavery and disenfranchisement of African Americans, perpetuated by both government and private institutions, is a stain on our shared history,” said Sherman. “From a persistent racial wealth gap to health disparities and other inequities, the consequences of slavery have spanned generations. This comes at a significant economic, social, and moral cost to our society, threatening the great promise of our country.”

In 2020, California was the first state to pass legislation (Assembly Bill 3121) to create a task force to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans. The bill was sponsored by then-Assemblymember Shirley Weber from San Diego, and inspired by the conversations about slavery and structural racism that sprang up after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in 2020.

After months of listening sessions statewide and engaging experts, the nine-member task force produced a final report of more than 1,000 pages, referred to as the California Reparations Report. It details the state’s role in slavery, propagating state-sanctioned discrimination and “racial terror” against Black Americans, standards for reparations and who qualifies, and recommendations for policies that the state can implement, such as the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 (RJA).

So far in California, there’s been only minimal movement in actually doling out justice.

For example, Charles and Willa Bruce bought an old beachfront in Los Angeles in 1912 that they called Bruce’s Beach. The couple owned a beachfront hotel that catered to Black travelers and families during the segregation era. Los Angeles County officials forcibly removed and stole land from the Bruces in 1924. After years of campaigning by the family and supporters, the city finally returned the land to descendants of the family in June 2022.

Expanding the fight Areva Martin, a national civil rights attorney and lead counsel for Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors in San Francisco, became engaged in a reparations effort when California started its reparation commision and is excited for New York to follow suit. Section 14 is an area of downtown Palm Springs that used to be predominantly Black and Latino in the late 1950s and 1960s. The city and land developers demolished it with little warning and no compensation for residents.

“One of the areas that became very, very contentious for California was who should qualify for reparations,” Martin said about one of the stumbling blocks the commission faced. “This whole fight over whether you must be a descendant of a slave in the U.S. versus a Black person

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Americans,” said Booker in a statement.“Many of our foundational domestic policies that gave rise to the middle class systematically excluded Black people, depriving them of opportunities and the ability to build generational wealth.”

from the Caribbean—it’s an age-old dispute.”

This dispute is often attributed to intraracial conflict within the African Diaspora, a term that generally refers to various African nationalities and the descendants of peoples from Africa throughout the Americas, Caribbean, and Latin countries as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. A Black person can have “multiple ancestries with lineages from Africa, Europe, Asia, and Native America.”

Although some experiences are shared among global Black communities, there can still be stark differences within Blackness in culture, socioeconomic status, language, food, religion, political affiliation, hair type, and skin color, to name a few. With these differences, conflict over what being Black means in the U.S. and who deserves reparations have cropped up time and again.

The California report estimated that up to 1,500 enslaved African Americans lived in California in 1852, but the task force decided that eligibility for reparations would be “based on lineage, determined by an individual being a Black descendant of a chattel enslaved person or a descendant of a free Black person living in Blacks To Ask U.S. For "Reparations" New York Amsterdam News (1962-); Jun 23, 1973; the U.S. prior to the end of the 19th Century.” ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Amsterdam News Several commissioners were opposed to the ex- pg. A2 clusion of Caribbean people and their descendants born in America, said Martin.

Martin suspects that will be a much larger sticking point in places with larger Caribbean demographics, like New York, but that shouldn’t derail the conversation about reparations. She said those kinds of objections only crop up when it comes to reparatory justice for Black people.

“I say to folks who ask those questions, and they’re very legitimate questions, let’s not let the details get in the way of the bigger principle, because at the end of the day in this country, we have had to figure out thorny questions about who we gets paid,” said Martin.

The national agenda On the federal level, reparations advocates have also moved the needle, if only a bit.

In Texas, U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee introduced H.R.40 in 2021, which establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans and would research slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the U.S. from 1619 to the present.

According to Aiwuyor, Raymond “Reparations Ray” Jenkins, co-founder of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’Cobra), was a driving force behind getting his then-congressmember, John Conyers Jr., to introduce the original H.R. 40 reparations bill in Detroit in 1989. Conyers reintroduced the bill every year until he retired in 2017.

New Jersey U.S. Senator Cory Booker, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced S.40, the Senate companion to H.R. 40.

“Our nation must grapple with our dark history of slavery and the continued oppression of African

Booker added that he applauded efforts at the state level to study the enduring impact of slavery and reparation proposals. The independent New Jersey Reparations Council, which was convened by the New Jersey

(National Archives Image)

(AmNews Archives June 23, 1973)

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Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ) last year, called New Jersey the “slave state of the North.”

When the state was established as a colony, it “incentivized” enslavers to take up residence there by promising them 150 acres of land and additional land for each enslaved person they brought in. The state went on to pass slave codes reflective of laws in southern states.

Although New Jersey hasn’t sanctioned the council yet or passed a bill on reparations, the group is dedicated to exploring reparations in education, history, economic justice, public safety, and health equity. They are currently holding public sessions and plan on putting out their own report

by Juneteenth 2025.

“When we launched this council, we were thinking about answering a fundamental question: What does it take to make Black people free in New Jersey?” said Jean Pierre Brutus, the convenor representing the NJISJ. NJISJ also leads the Say The Word: Reparations campaign as a grassroots way of de-stigmatizing language about the issue. Brutus found that many electeds and members of the public were uncomfortable with even saying the term. “The idea is that we can’t get away from the solution,” said Brutus. “We want to help normalize the phrase so that it’s not scary. There’s nothing scary about the term reparations.”

The future of New York State’s commission Sanders, the sponsor behind New York State’s reparations commission bill, said a selection process is underway to choose who will be on the commission. The state reparations commission has six months after its commissioners are chosen to begin meeting. A year after their first meeting, they are expected to produce a report containing recommendations. Sanders said the plan isn’t to directly follow in California’s footsteps, but to create a “New York model” of reparations that caters to the state’s communities.

Many in the reparations field locally and nationwide have hope for what New York will do next. At least one historian who spoke to the Amsterdam News noted that Governor Kathy Hochul already signed an executive order to create the New York State Commission on African American History, on March 9, 2022.

Brooklyn Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman is an avid reparationist. Her grandmother’s parents were sharecroppers and she said it was definitely a struggle among col-

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leagues to get the reparations commission bill passed. She anticipates even more controversy and infighting as the process continues, but is committed to getting it done.

Zinerman’s idea is to expedite the process, first by choosing commissioners from the established African American History commission, since they have already been vetted by the state. Her nomination for commissioner is civil rights lawyer Esmeralda Simmons.

Speaking about her dream reparations list, Zinerman said there are quite a few outcomes she would advocate for. “We would have to secure housing [and] healthcare, and [ensure that] everyone gets access to higher education,” she said. “The [most important] thing that we would need is to have a set of laws that would truly protect us from racism so we can live in peace. The only thing our ancestors asked for was to be left alone. We wanted the abuse to stop.”

Other reparationists are simply glad for any discernible movement forward, regardless of any future backlash.

“I think we’re going to see more and more reparations commissions and task forces created around the country,” said Aiwuyor. “Everytime we get a new one, that emboldens another group of people to create more.”

Trevor Smith, 30, co-founder and executive director of the BLIS Collective, believes in the importance of the commission’s research and data to inform policy decisions, as well as educate the public. He feels that younger generations of reparations activists are tired of “lip service” after the groundswell of racial reckoning in 2020 and are bringing new energy to the movement on a local level, especially, he said, at a time when Black history is being “weaponized” and taken out of schools.

“Despite all of that, the conversation of reparations in New York is moving forward,” said Smith.

“I’m really looking forward to see what the commission does and as a New Yorker, I’m just proud.

This is how we come together as a country to actually move toward the ideals of democracy.”

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

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CEO of Parents Supporting Parents NY Tanesha Grant at a reparations session in Albany during Caucus Weekend. (Ariama C. Long photos)

Senator James Sanders leads a reparations discussion in Albany at the 53rd legislative conference.

Assemblymember Michaelle C. Solages (left), who is assembly deputy majority leader, and Councilmember Farah Louis (right) at a public reparations discussion in Albany.

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In the future, when we have reparations…

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff Keep your self respect, your manly pride Get yourself in gear Keep your stride Never mind your fears Brighter days will soon be here Take it from me, someday we’ll all be free, yeah —From “Someday We’ll All Be Free” by Donny Hathaway It’s a bright, beautiful morning. It’s Tuesday, June 5, in the year 2050.

Your grandchildren come crawling into your bed. They’ve woken you up from that dream you were having—that fuzzy remembrance you have of the time before reparations had been achieved.

It was only after a series of marches, a few decrees passed in local towns, directives passed in several states, and then–– after the mass “Reparations2Repair March on Washington” of 2032––that the president signed the Black Freedmen’s Justice Act of 2036. Descendants of U.S. enslaved African Americans were finally compensated for the enslavement of their ancestors and the added century and a half-plus of segregation and discrimination successive members of their family were forced to live through.

Before she signed the Black Freedmen’s Justice Act, the president issued a formal apology to all of the nation’s African descendants: “Historically, this nation has not been kind to you. Historically, U.S. laws have excluded, belittled, and, although the U.S. brought you here, the U.S. never welcomed you.

“With the signing of the Black Freedmen’s Justice Act, I want to formally welcome you and give you the keys to the home—the nation—you built. The Black Freedmen’s Justice Act is today’s reparations for the United States’ sin of enslavement. Now, we can be better.”

“In the year 2050,” promises Georgia State University Professor Akinyele Umoja, “reparations look like Black communities who have life chances that are the same as anybody else’s. It’s where Black people have quality health care. Where we can apply to and attend any educational institution in this country based upon merit, and have the same human capacities as anybody else coming from our communities.

“In 2050, we can create policies that are beneficial to our life chances. We can have safety in our communities. We will live the same as everyone else: We don’t have to live in fear.”

Getting to 2050 from 2024 will take time, strategic thinking, and imagination. It will mean carving out a vision of reparations. It will mean envisioning a Black life that’s different from today’s.

A community with a better quality of life When Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” about how to wage a campaign for change, he noted that “…there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.” The road to reparations is being shaped today by activists and legislators who occasionally don’t agree on priorities but have the same objective: reparative justice.

“I think you have to call them historical reparations for transatlantic slavery,” said Claudia Mosquera Rosero-Labbé, a social Reparations for Blacks idea gains in the House

work professor at the National University of Colombia, Bogotá. “They are an opportunity to rethink the world, to rethink democracy, to rethink reparations, to rethink justice, to rethink rights, and to rethink peace.

“When you talk about historical reparations, you realize that liberal democracy, for example, has not lived up to its promises. The vast majority of people of African descent live on the margins of liberal states, so it’s also a way of thinking about justice, because social justice has not been enough to include people of African descent, and that’s why we talk about racial justice.”

A Black community with social and racial

Walker, Jesse H New York Amsterdam News (1962-); Nov 3, 1990; ProQuest Historical (AmNews ArchivesNewspapers: Nov. 3, 1990) New York Amsterdam News pg. 61

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

justice is a community that has access to quality education, safe and healthy homes, sufficient employment, nutritious food, and quality health care.

The effort to establish reparations and build this model of a just future for Black people is developing throughout the world.

This past December, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill to establish a Commission to Study Reparations and Racial Justice.

The commission will look at the era of African enslavement in the state of New York, research the harms that were caused, and “recommend remedies and reparations.”

In 2020, California became the first state to set up a “Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans (Reparations Task Force),” which came up with a report that looked at the idea of restorative justice as it has played out nationally and internationally in several communities over the last few decades.

This past November, the African Union and Caribbean nations declared they would form a united front to push Europeans toward “addressing historical injustices and injurious crimes committed against Africans and people of African descent, through transatlantic enslavement, colonialism, and apartheid, and to addressing the inequities present in the international economic and political orders.”

Almost every nation with a Black population is examining its past and looking at its current structure to see if, with changes, life could be better.

The cry for financial reparations for African enslavement, colonialism, and racism has been the loudest. But calls for apologies, commemorations, and tributes to the centuries of Black people who were victimized are equally salient. In each case, the reparations call leads in a direct path toward appreciating the humanity of Africans and their descendants.

In a future where African Americans finally have reparatory justice The impulse toward reparations, for that future where African Americans finally have reparatory justice, has always been present in Black culture. “One of the things that I’ve always thought is that the music in the Black traditions has always represented resistance,” said Drew University Professor of Composition/Theory Trevor Weston. “And resistance, not in the way that people always think of resistance, which is protest…although there is also protest music. But, you know, as soon as Africans were brought here, they resisted the way they were being treated and affected by slavery. There was a huge concern by slave owners to have Africans forget their Africanness.”

But Black people used Black music––and it’s distinctiveness––as a form of resistance, Weston says: “It’s not anger. Resistance ...is

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nities have also been proposed in cities like St. Paul, MN; St. Louis, MO; Providence, RI; Boston, MA; Tullahassee, OK; Berkeley, CA; and Asheville, NC. One of the more popular ideas for reparations is cash payments to individuals or to Black communities. The U.S. government has in the past spent funds to compensate other ethnic groups for overt injustices. With the creation of the Navajo-Hopi Rehabilitation Act of 1950, the U.S. paid $88,570,000 for the reclamation of Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations. In 1971, the government settled the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act by paying Indigenous Alaskans $1 billion and transferring 44 million acres of land back to 200 local villages. In 1988, Japanese Americans who were forcibly interned during World War II received an apology and $1.2 billion ($20,000 a person) with the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

The only cash payments for African enslavement in the U.S. were granted to enslavers with the establishment of the D.C. Compensated Emancipation Act of April 16, 1862. Congress paid the enslavers up to $300 for each Black person freed because the government acknowledged they were losing a vital asset.

The value of Black lives for others has regularly been seen in the United States. In the future, reparations will be an acknowledgment of Black value for all of us.

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(Thais Silva illustration)

not necessarily an anger thing. It’s more of a reaction, a reaffirmation. And when you reaffirm who you are, when people think that you should be something else, I think that’s the issue. There’s something in reaffirming your core beliefs that will act as a form of resistance.”

In the future, when we have reparations, being Black or of African descent won’t be an act of defiance; it will be normal.

The United States government has yet to create a federal commission for reparations, but in the absence of a national plan of action, local cities and some states are devising programs to begin to confront the injustice.

In the future, reparations could take the form of housing subsidies similar to the “Reparations Restorative Housing program” passed in Evanston, Illinois in 2019.

That program is designed to begin to make amends for city zoning ordinances which created decades of housing discrimination.

Evanston’s City Council endorsed this program which grants housing subsidies to Black Evanston residents or their direct descendants who lived in the city at any point between 1919 and 1969. Evanston’s program is being paid for with the tax funds collected from sales of recreational marijuana.

Addressing homeownership inequities has become a preferred reparations tool for other cities as well. Housing and infrastructure investments in long-neglected commu-

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LINES Ballet, Plummer tribute, Khaliq at Joe’s Pub RONALD E. SCOTT J A ZZ N OT E S A most intriguing event will take place at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall (60th Street & Broadway): The Alonzo King LINES Ballet will perform “Deep River” with singer Lisa Fischer and pianist/composer Jason Moran. There will be three performances, February 22–24, at 7:30 p.m. each night.

Both Fischer and Moran represent fearlessness in music. They are continuously in search of new platforms. “I love working with Jason—we have done eight ballets together,” said King, “and I love working with Lisa—her humility, power, and beauty of her voice is amazing. She is a masterpiece.”

In describing the meaning of “Deep River,” King noted, “We have one aim: to head to the ocean. We all have deep rivers to be listened to and followed. Talking about the divine source and purpose of life, love is cultivated and can lead to bliss. We are sleepwalkers. Awake, we realize there is no difference between fallen human beings and the rivers. Are you a god? No, I am awake!”

King’s “Deep Rivers” is a metaphor of life in dance, just like Langston Hughes’ poetic words, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” King said his dancers and artists he works with are watching the audience’s consciousness and live ideas through their movement.

“Life is a fine, incredible world of listening to each other. Turn off your brilliance and listen,” said King during a phone interview. “If you are really listening, there is no argument because you let go and listen.

That’s what indigenous cultures are about to come together for your larger self, which is what the ballet company represents.”

King’s ethics and strong commitment to his LINES ballet and life goals reflects his being born and raised in Georgia, where his father was a civil rights leader—Slater King, who served as president of the Albany Movement—and his grandfather was the founder of the Albany NAACP. Many members of King’s family were prominent figures in the Civil Rights Movement and close to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “My parents were willing to die for what they believed in. Their commitment to truth was my tuning fork,” said King. “What you speak, you must live, or else do not speak it. That became my template for how to both behave and create in the world.”

King uses his Georgia childhood experiences and his father’s history in fighting for civil rights to create, and has built a career for himself as an eminent international choreographer and artistic director of LINES out of San Francisco, as well as guest choreographer around the world.

This will be LINES’s first return to NYC

Majid Khaliq (Anthony Jones photo)

since the pandemic. With Lisa Fischer and Moran, this is sure to be a triumphant affair.

For tickets, visit the website jazz.org.

After thousands from around the globe (including African and Cuban dignitaries) paid their final farewells to Viola Plummer, warrior activist and community leader and mentor to many, at Rev. Daughtry’s House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn, her favorite musicians, who called Sista’s Place their home and sanctuary, will come out to pay tribute with the blues, jump up and shout, moan holla stomp your feet kick it up…

Viola, we miss you, but will carry on in your grand warrior fashion!

On February 25, “A Jazz Tribute to Viola Plummer” will honor her and Ahmed Abdullah for the jazz institution they led in building for a quarter century. The fiery event, sure to burst the heavenly clouds, will take place at Bed-Stuy Restoration Corp. (1368 Fulton Street), 3 p.m.–7 p.m.

Tickets are $35.

Abdullah will host an amazing lineup of

College Aaron Copland School of Music.

He is from the boogie-down Bronx, and the soul of the streets induced an innerswing that went much deeper than classical music could inspire.

He possesses virtuosic skills that dare to move the instrument on new excursions.

He incorporates hip hop, the now 50-yearold music he grew up on; the soul sounds of the Bronx; and his commitment to the jazz tradition. He lays it all out on his recently released third album, “No Looking Back” (Bassline Live Records)—a most enticing album, co-produced with fourtime Grammy Award-winning drummer Lenny White.

“No Looking Back” crosses genres like a rainbow-colored sky after a sun shower.

It’s not easy to create a multi-genre album without over-indulging, but Khaliq’s creative musicianship has created an exciting album for listeners of good music that is not to be categorized. The six tracks serve as a glimpse into Khaliq’s music galaxy, where his violin reigns supreme, from the opening title track paying homage to that Seattle rock sound that still rings, to the second track, “Proof,” that features the vocals of Ciara Leah exploring the inner yearning for love in a world that seems to have forgotten the definition. Khaliq’s solo violin work infuses a depth of warmth. The album ends too soon with the tune “You” that features Yancyabril’s vocal chorus creating a musical revelation.

On February 25 at 6 p.m., the No Looking Back EP release party will bring the music to life on the stage of Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette Street) as Khaliq features allstar cast with the Roots keyboardist Ray Angry and Lenny White, as well as a core rhythm section with NY mainstays bassist Alex Busby Smith, drummer Norman Paul Edwards Jr,. and the vocals of Yanmusicians, including Reggie Woods, T.K. cyabril. Check the brilliance of a multiBlue, Sharp Radway, Patsy Grant, Dwayne dimensional violinist still rising.

Broadnax, Alan Palmer, Benito GonzaFor tickets and reservations, visit publiclez, George Gray, Gene Ghee, Bill Saxton, theater.org/joespub.

Robert Rutledge, Jimmy Owens, Winard Harper, Craig Harris, Danny Mixon, Will Charles Mingus was one the most prolifCalhoun, Paul Beaudry, Lesedi Ntsane, ic composers and musicians in jazz histoSteven Kroon, Bryan Carrott, and more— ry, along with Duke Ellington, although he the list is still in formation. stretched beyond traditional to big band For information, call 718-398-1766. and avant garde. Take a listen to “Pithecanthropus Erectus” (Studio 1956) and The violin is still much regarded as the in- “The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady” strument of choice in the world of classi- (Impulse! 1963). cal music. We can, however, thank the great Take time out from life’s realities and venviolinist/composer Chevalier de Saint- ture into the world of science fiction under Georges for infusing early improvisational the spell of Octavia E. Butler’s “Parable of lines from French society to the American the Sower” (Four Walls, Eight Windows, shores. Even today, despite that you may 1993)…Although it depicts the struggle to find violinists everywhere from a sympho- survive the socioeconomic and political ny orchestra to a jazz quartet, be assured collapse of 21st-century America due to they are well-versed in the art of European poor environmental stewardship, corpoclassical music. rate greed, and the growing gap between One such violinist is Majid Khaliq. He is the wealthy and the poor…ooops, that a well-entrenched violinist hailing from sounds like now! Well, don’t be afraid to the renowned Juilliard School and Queens give it a read—it’s worth the scare.

February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 35

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Health Let Us Breathe Fund receives thousands in aid to stop police violence against Black people Kellie Terry, Philanthropy Programs Director, North Star Fund.

(Gerard Gaskin photos)

The Let Us Breathe Forum: Building Toward Black Liberation.

By LEAH MALLORY Special to AmNews

foundations in the U.S. In a recent initiative, they awarded $7.7 million in grants to 39 nonprofit organizations around the city. The aid supports local organizations in addressing various community needs,

grants to support grassroots campaigns dedicated to ending police violence against Black people.

The Let Us Breathe Fund, a localThe new funds come from the ly-based Black-led organizing fund, New York Community Trust, one of was recently awarded $200,000 in the oldest and largest community

including care for cancer patients, support for youth development programs, and improvement of housing and public transportation.

The Let Us Breathe Fund, in par-

ticular, supports organizing around police reform and Black liberation.

It is one of several campaigns within North Star Fund, a social justice charity that provides aid to grassroots organizations led by communities of color.

“Our hope is that two things: One is that we are providing long-term sustaining financial and other resources to Black-led organizing groups who remain and often are the most underserved, underinvested in the sector,” said Jennifer Ching, Executive Director at North Star Fund. “And then we really hope that the fund is a model for the way we can do philanthropy differently, that philanthropy can be collective.

It doesn’t have to be in the ownership of just the few people who have the most resources.”

Ching explained that the North Star Fund aims to channel the money that they raise into the hands of community

See LET US BREATHE continued on page 38

Mental health emerges as dividing line in abortion rights initiatives planned for state ballots

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press CHICAGO (AP)—The weeks after Kaniya Harris found out she was pregnant were among the hardest of her life.

Final exams were fast approaching for the college junior. Her doctors told her she had an ovarian cyst, and the risk of ectopic pregnancy was high. The wait times for abortion clinics near her city of Bethesda, Maryland, seemed impossibly long, and she couldn’t go to her family in Kentucky because of the state’s abortion ban.

Harris was having regular panic attacks. It all felt like too much, she said.

“My mental health was at the lowest point it’s ever been in my life,” said Harris, who had an abortion last May. As advocates push this year for ballot measure initiatives aiming to protect abortion rights, key differences have emerged in the language of proposed measures.

Among them is the inclusion of

Kaniya Harris, senior at American University, poses on campus in Washington, D.C. Abortion rights advocates are trying to get initiatives to protect reproductive rights on the ballot in several states this year, and one major difference has emerged in their proposed language: whether to include mental health as an exception (AP Photo/ Stephanie Scarbrough)

mental health exceptions.

A Missouri proposal would allow lawmakers to restrict abortions after a fetus is considered viable, except if an abortion “is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.” A similar measure has been proposed in Arizona. In 2022, Michigan voters passed an abortion rights amend-

ment with a mental health exception for viability limits.

Meanwhile, proposed ballot measure language in Arkansas only says “physical health,” excluding a mental health exception. Proposed abortion rights initiatives in other states, including Florida, Montana, and Nebraska, don’t explicitly mention mental health.

“It’s heartbreaking to hear about these policies ignoring mental health,” said Harris, now 21. “An abortion can save someone’s life, including when they’re in a mental health emergency.”

Most states with abortion bans include exemptions for life-threatening emergencies, but only Ala-

bama’s includes an exception for “serious mental illness” that could result in the death of the mother or fetus. Lawmakers added the provision after getting pressure from the state’s medical association, which was concerned about women at high risk for suicide.

The law, passed in 2019, was among the strictest abortion restrictions in the country at the time. It did not include exceptions in cases of rape or incest and considered performing an abortion to be a felony.

Alabama began enforcing the ban in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which once granted a federal right to abortion.

Abortion bans in at least 10 states— Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming—explicitly exclude mental health conditions as a possible exception.

Others are murkier, allowing for exemptions for the “life and health” of the woman without defining whether mental health is included.

See MENTAL HEALTH continued on page 38

36 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

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The Rev. John Gloucester, founder of first ACTIVITIES Black Presbyterian Church in U.S. FIND OUT MORE

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

Elizabeth.

With the help of associates and friends, he raised $1,500 and was Several years ago (four, to be able to liberate his family. Meanprecise), a promise was made while, Gloucester continued to to follow up a profile of the Rev. build his congregation and a new James Gloucester with one about church. He was briefly sent to his father, John. A recent New York Charleston, S.C., to preach, but by Times article about Elizabeth Gloucester brought back that memory of her husband, and Brent Staples framed the family poignantly in the context of African American history.

Elizabeth Gloucester’s prominence, as putatively the richest Black woman in America during her lifetime, gave additional exposure to her husband and his lineage, particularly patriarch John Gloucester, or Jack as he was originally known, according to an article by Daniel Rolph for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

No exact date is given for his birth in Kentucky, where Gloucester was enslaved before the Revolutionary War, although one source lists it at 1776. Rolph noted that Gloucester was purchased by Gideon Blackburn, a Presbyterian minister of Tennessee, who later authorized him to preach. Gloucester’s petition for freedom was denied by the Tennessee legislature in 1806, but he was later given a certificate of manumission. He was 30 years old when he changed his name to John Gloucester.

By this time, he had already begun studying at Greeneville, now Tusculum College— the first African American to attend the institution.

By 1807, Gloucester was preaching on the streets of Philadelphia, although without a 1809 he was back in Philadelphia. license. Three years later, he re- A year later, he was ordained and turned to Tennessee to become legally allowed to spread the Presan ordained minister. In 1811, he byterian gospel. All of his children became a member of the Presbytery became ministers in the faith and of Philadelphia. Delivering sermons three of them forged ahead with might have been a prime concern their own congregations. of the reverend, but he also devotGloucester, as we learn from Staed time to emancipating his wife, ples’s article, founded Siloam PresRhoda, and four children—includ- byterian Church in Brooklyn. He ing James, who later would marry served as pastor of the church

until his death from tuberculosis in 1822. Among the tributes bestowed on him, Gloucester is deemed the founder of the first African American Presbyterian Church in the United States.

The Presbytery of Boston, Mass., sponsors John Gloucester Memori-

al Scholarships for Presbyterian college students nationwide.

Thanks to BlackPast.org and Euell Nielsen of Philadelphia, we present portions of an address delivered

by Rev. Gloucester in 1811 before the dedication of his Presbyterian church.

“Glad tidings of great joy to the African race, and particularly to the infant church, in which the hand of God has been so visible in collecting

so many of us from the dark mountains of ignorance, sin and woe, to the bosom of the visible church.

The ground of our joy being somewhat similar to that ancient branch of God’s church who had been so long enslaved under the Babylonish yoke, but having accomplished the years of their suffering bondage, they were permitted to return to the land of Canaan and rebuild their temple. After they had begun this building they met with great discouragement which stopped the work of the Lord’s house for eight years, after which time Ezra and the friends of Zion began and finished the temple, but terminated in the grief and confusion of their opposes. In like manner many of us have accomplished the years of our captivity, and returned to the land of blessed light and liberty…

“Having finished our building, we have set apart next Friday the 31st as a day of Thanksgiving to God for the innumerable blessings conferred upon us. The mode of spending this day will be in our private families in the morning, and at 3 o’clock in the afternoon we shall repair to the new finished building to present our public thanks offering to God, at which time there will be a sermon preached by Rev. D.D. of Princeton, whose name I am not at liberty to mention, after which there will be a collection taken up to assist in defraying the expenses of this building, and we hope that those who gave us birth as a visible church will help this poor branch of God’s vineyard in putting up the capstone of this building, which is too high for our circumstances. Believing there is enough in the King’s treasury, we throw ourselves at the feet of those whom he has entrusted it, in hopes of receiving aid to finish a house which will stand as an eternal monument to the glory of God, the honor of the Christian religion in this place, and finally, we trust, will prove a blessings to many souls.”

Two sources are included in the text above— BlackPast.org and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

DISCUSSION Whether the Rev. John Gloucester was born before or after the Revolutionary War, one fact remains indisputable: He was enslaved.

PLACE IN CONTEXT Although his life was not very long, Gloucester accomplished quite a few notable things, including founding the first African American Presbyterian Church.

THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY Feb. 19, 1940: Singer/ songwriter William “Smokey” Robinson was born in Detroit.

Feb. 20, 1895: The great statesman Frederick Douglass died in Washington, D.C. He was 77.

Feb. 21, 1936: Representative Barbara Jordan was born in Houston, Texas.

She died in 1996.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Abandoned Continued from page 3

since April 2022. Though Adams shifted some blame on the current handling of the migrant crisis to recent City Council housing laws and backlash against his 30 and 60 day shelter notices, he largely attributed it to state and national immigration problems. Adams tried his best to dispel some of the misplaced hate and vitriol against immigrants themselves at the meeting.

Adams said when Senator Cordell Cleare told him about what was happening last week with the building he was “unaware” but determined to correct course.

More than one resident called for more low-income targeted and long-term housing that fit the community’s needs. There are also several homeless shelters already located in Harlem as well as the state’s only two drug overdose prevention centers (OPCs) that allow monitored drug usage on site, said residents, that contribute to safety issues and “oversaturation” in the neighborhood.

Assemblymember Inez Dickens, who has announced her retirement this year, attended the meeting. She arrived after Adams had left. Dickens resolutely stood with Adams, and reiterated that the migrant crisis wasn’t his doing but a culmination of policies from a former city administration and ongoing federal immigration issues. She also was upset

about longtime residents being priced out of housing, oversaturation of shelters and OPCs in the neighborhood, and about the community’s voice.

She called for the abandoned building to be made into affordable housing and for the state to revisit 421-A, which is a viable housing tax incentive program that allows developers tax breaks for new construction of housing with a percentage of “affordable” units that was established in 1971. The program was opened and closed several times since it was first suspended back in 2016. It officially expired in January 2023.

“I don’t care whether you call it 421-A, or 222 or whatever you want to call it. If we don’t have something like that in place, there’s no way in hell affordable housing or income-targeted housing is going to be built,” said Dickens passionately.

To his credit, Adams returned for a second community meeting a few days later held at a much larger venue on Sunday, Feb. 18 at Williams Institutional CME. He again took questions along with his commissioners to dispel any rumors that had cropped up and to soothe community relations.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 37

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Descendant Descendant Continued from Continued from page page44

achieving equity.

Shannon Lanier, a descendant of former President Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, who was enslaved, said his family’s story is just one of many that delineates slavery’s permutation on Black families and their ability to acquire accrued wealth.

“Depending on who you ask, there... are different narratives on Hemings’ relationship with Jefferson. Some see it as a love story, but we know she was owned property, as an enslaved woman who did not have the option to say yes or no,” Lanier said. “It’s a complicated story but not one that is uncommon. So many people owned people and had their way with them as they saw fit.

Let Us Breathe Continued from page 35

organizers directly working to address police accountability.

For Shawn Morehead, the Vice President for Grants at the New York Community Trust, the collaborative nature of the grantmaking process at North Star Fund appealed to her.

“It incorporates a participatory grantmaking process so that people who have been affected by police violence or overly

Mental health Continued from page 35

Medical experts say even states that do allow mental health exceptions require patients to jump through hoops that may be inaccessible to some people, especially those with low incomes. Alabama, for example, requires a state-licensed psychiatrist with at least three years of clinical experience to certify the mental health condition as an emergency.

Some days, when Harris would get home from class, she would be “so overwhelmed that I’d have a breakdown on the floor,” she said. For two months, she cried every day. But facing an abortion ban in her home state and stigma from doctors, Harris said she didn’t feel comfortable speaking about her experience with a mental health professional.

“People shouldn’t have to jump through hoops and prove their pain to have access to the care they need,” she said.

Mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths from 2017 to 2019, with nearly 23% of pregnancy-related deaths attributed to mental health conditions, including suicides and overdoses from substance use disorders, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

About one in eight women experience postpartum depression, according to the CDC, but mental health struggles during

THE THE NEW NEW YORK YORK AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM NEWS NEWS “I’ve always known my history and our legacy was shared and passed down to my brother and I,” he added. “Our family members believed we had to know where we were coming from so we could see where we were going.”

The families in attendance embraced the call for change and engaged in conversations amongst themselves as it relates to educational repeals.

“When you marginalize someone, you try to push that person down or push their history down to make their history less than, which is the same thing that happened on the plantation,” said Ernestine Wyatt, a greatgreat-great-grand niece of Harriet Tubman.

“Our ills as a country do not make us lessthan. Recognizing the ills and writing the ills makes us grow to be a better country. To try to hide that is a disservice to the people this has

happened to, but also to the country itself.”

As a descendant, Wyatt actively works to uplift Tubman’s legacy already known for her efforts in liberating enslaved Blacks, but whose time served in the U.S. Army is often overlooked. Wyatt is also the founder of Harriet Tubman Day, hosted annually in Washington, D.C. and an advocate for Tubman’s inclusion on currency printed by the U.S. Treasury.

“I view her as patriotic and I try to lift her up as a symbol. Symbolism and how symbolism has been created in this country remains a silent influence in our lives,” Wyatt said. “She is the kind of person we should aspire to be: Full of love, full of faith.”

The successors present which Wyatt referenced as “iconic people of Black history” felt handpicked to continue the legacies which they were born into.

“We are standing on their shoulders and their sacrifices to be where we are today. It’s our job to push the country to become the best it can be where there is justice, opportunity, and equality for all,” said Michelle Duster, descendant of Ida B. Wells and author of “Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader.”

Her words were echoed by Kenneth Morris Jr., who laid the groundwork to plan this event over two decades ago.

“It was pretty amazing to have all of those families together today. We bear the weight of expectation. It could be a burden or a blessing,” he said. “I just feel very fortunate. Somehow God chose me to carry this forward and then to bring all of these descendants together that still carry that weight of expectation, but also have that obligation to carry freedom’s torch forward.”

intrusive justice systems are involved, not only in doing the work funded by the grants but also in making decisions about how those grants are deployed and distributed,” said Morehead.

The Let Us Breathe Community Funding Committee decides how resources are dispersed. The committee consists of activists skilled in Black-led organizing and police accountability.

Kesi Foster, a member of the Let Us Breathe Community Funding Committee, explained that the goal of the funding is to

bolster the efforts of Black-led organizations in combating police violence.

“These resources are coming at a dire time,” said Foster. “Because the reality is Black-led organizations get a really small amount of philanthropic funding, and so the resources are really critical to continue to consistently lift up Black-led organizations.”

He further mentioned the lack of accountability from legislation.

“The police police themselves,” he said.

“They’re not accountable to elected officials, so there needs to be independent power

from Black communities that’s able to push back against the lack of accountability from the legislative arena right now.”

With police accountability being a significant concern for Black communities, this funding instills hope for a safer future, free from the looming threat of police violence.

“We are not going to be free right until all communities and, most significantly, Black communities can live without fear of violence and retribution at the hands of our government at the hands of our police,” said Ching.

pregnancy, especially the psychological trauma of those forced to carry unwanted pregnancies, are understudied, said Michelle Oberman, a Santa Clara University law professor researching the impact of abortion restrictions.

“These statistics, these stories of women’s suffering, have been really haunting me,” Oberman said. “We don’t, as a society, have a great track record of treating mental health the same way we do physical health.”

Policies that dismiss mental health as less important than physical health put lives at risk, said Columbia University psychiatrist Paul Appelbaum. He said there is also growing evidence that being denied an abortion causes significant mental distress. This distress has been apparent in recent stories of women forced to flee their states or continue pregnancies despite serious risks to their health.

“I am extremely concerned by the exclusion of mental health exceptions in these ballot measures,” said Appelbaum, a former president of the American Psychiatric Association. “It’s absolutely cruel and will lead to the suffering deaths of pregnant women in these states.”

Jayme Trevino, an OB-GYN in Missouri and fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, said she has seen first-hand how being denied abortion care can affect a patient’s well-being, including their mental health.

“It’s a devastating, regular reality for my patients,” she said, adding that she was grateful

for the mental health exemption in the state’s proposed ballot measure language.

Mallory Schwarz, a spokesperson for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, said the initiative’s language “is written to make sure that doctors—not politicians—are able to determine what’s best for their patients.”

Conversely, an Arkansas initiative only includes exemptions “to protect a pregnant female’s life or to protect a pregnant female from a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury.”

Previous versions of the proposal included broader exceptions, said Gennie Diaz, executive director of For AR People. Initially, she said, “We wanted to craft language for a constitutional amendment that would be as broad as possible and would hopefully account for something like mental health.”

But when handed a proposal with exceptions to “protect the life and health” of the mother, the state’s attorney general, a Republican, rejected the language, saying it must define “health.”

“That was a signal to us that we were going to have to make a choice,” Diaz said. “And another unfortunate factor is that the majority of Arkansas voters are unlikely to support mental health as a reason for an abortion after a particular timeframe. We felt it was unlikely for a version that explicitly names mental health to pass.”

Arkansas advocates were also worried that the opposition campaign would target a mental health exception, Diaz said.

The National Right to Life Committee’s

model state legislation for abortion bans explicitly excludes mental health exceptions.

These exceptions allow pregnant women “to kind of bypass those laws and still abort pregnancies of children that were viable,” said Ingrid Duran, state legislative director of the NRLC. “We specifically exclude mental health exemptions because we saw how that creates a loophole in a law, and it leaves that unborn child at risk of dying for a sometimes treatable, sometimes temporary condition that the mother may be experiencing,” she said.

When asked if targeting mental health exceptions will be part of their strategy for campaigning against abortion ballot measures in 2024, Duran said, “I can’t necessarily say that would be part of the strategy.” Still, she said, “When I see mental health exceptions like this, my heart drops.”

Oberman said she expects to see the anti-abortion movement “employ a strategy of minimizing and dismissing the mental health consequences of forced pregnancy.”

“The mental health issues of pregnant people remain in the shadows and highly stigmatized, and that clouds our judgment of what a medical emergency looks like during pregnancy,” she said.

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

International whose mission is to end genContinued from page 2

had arranged to meet in a rented flat, with her body discarded in plastic bags.

This week’s vigils are expected to be the country’s largest commemoration yet of the victims of gender-based violence.

“The reality of any woman living in this country [is] you always live under the banner of fear, because we’ve grown up with this. It’s ahistorical to say it’s a recent spark that has sent people over the edge,” said Muthoni Maingi, one of the conveners of the nationwide protests.

Hashtags like #WeAreNotSafe, #StopKillingWomen, and #EndFemicideKE are trending in Kenya. They reflect an intense national debate over a series of murders that have rocked the country. In the month of January, 30 women were murdered, according to data compiled by the grassroots organization Usikimye (Swahili for “Don’t be silent”),

Apartheid Continued from page 2

der-based violence, working with other feminist and human rights groups.

The Kenya Police Service does not track murders by gender.

Wangari’s mother, Susan Wairimu, said she was haunted by recent discoveries about her daughter’s life. She recalled with sadness how she had promised to send her money to move to a new apartment.

Wangari had two daughters, who now live with Wairimu.

At least 500 femicide cases have been recorded in Kenya since 2016. A majority of the killings follow systematic domestic violence, according to the platform Africa data hub, which says femicide cases are probably heavily under-reported and miscategorized, due to inadequate coverage.

“We are holding the vigils to remind the country that in [what are supposed to be] circumstances of safety and love, a lot of women meet their demise,” said Maingi. nation and declare that “the Israeli occupation is illegal and must end immediately, totally, and unconditionally.”

South Africa has a long history of support for the Palestinians. Its governing party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands” before ending in 1994.

That led to South Africa launching a separate case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in its assault on Gaza that followed the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel. At hearings in January, Israel strongly rejected the allegation. Israeli legal advisor Tal Becker said that the country is fighting a “war it did not start and did not want.”

A final ruling in that case is probably years away, but the court has issued a preliminary order that Israel do all it can to prevent death, destruction, and any acts of genocide in its campaign in Gaza.

negotiations.”

South African representative Pieter Andreas Stemmet told the court on Tuesday that the settlements have extended the “temporary nature of the occupation into a permanent situation in violation of the Palestinian right to selfdetermination.”

South Africa’s legal arguments echoed those made a day earlier by Palestinian representatives as six days of hearings opened before the court. A total of 51 nations and three international organizations are scheduled to address the court, which is likely to take months to issue its advisory opinion.

The Palestinians argue that Israel’s open-ended military occupation has violated the prohibition on territorial conquest and the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and has imposed a system of racial discrimination and apartheid.

“This occupation is annexation and supremacist in nature,” Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Tuesday. He called on the Find more of AP’s coverage court to uphold the Pales- at https://apnews.com/hub/istinian right to self-determi- rael-hamas-war.

February 22, 15, 2024 - February 28, 21, 2024 • 39 37

Affordable Housing for Rent RHEINGOLD AFFORDABLE SENIOR RESIDENCES 65 NEWLY CONSTRUCTED UNIT AT 11-23 MONTIETH STREET, BROOKLYN NEW YORK 11206 (15th MONTIETH STREET) Amenities: Office Space, Community Room, Bike Storage Room, Laundry Room, Rooftop Garden, Office Space and Classrooms Transit: Trains: G, L, J, C; Buses: B43, B57, B69 No application fee • No broker’s fee • Smoke-free building • more information: https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWed/ This building is being constructed through the Senior Affordable Rental Apartments Program (SARA) and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Who Should Apply?

Individuals or households that have at least one household member who is 62 years of age or older at the time of application and meet the income and household size requirements listed in the table below may apply. Qualified applicants will be required to meet additional selection criteria. Applicants who live in New York City receive a general preference for apartments.

A percentage of units is set aside for: o o

Mobility–disabled applicants (5%) Vision/Hearing–disabled applicants (2%)

AVAILABLE UNITS AND INCOME REQUIREMENTS UNIT SIZE

UNITS AVAILABLE

TENANT RENT SHARE1

HOUSEHOLD SIZE2

Annual Household Income3 Minimum – Maximum4

Studio

26

Eligible resident pays 30% of income

1 Person 2 People

$0 - $49,450 $0 - $56,500

1-Bedroom

39

Eligible resident pays 30% of income

1 Person 2 People 3 People

$0 - $49,450 $0 - $56,500 $0 - $63,550

1

Tenant is responsible for electricity & electric cooking. Heat and hot water are included with the rent.

Household size includes everyone who will live with you, including parents and children. Subject to occupancy criteria.

Household earnings includes salary, hourly wages, tips, Social Security, child support, and other income. Income guidelines subject to change.

4 Minimum incomes listed may not apply to applicants with Section 8 or other qualifying rental subsidies. Asset limits also apply.

2 3

How Do You Apply?

Apply online or through mail. To apply online, please go to https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/. To request an application by mail, send a self-addressed envelope to: Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9 th Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11238. Only send one application per development. Do not submit duplicate applications. Do not apply online and also send in a paper application. Applicants who submit more than one application may be disqualified.

When is the Deadline?

Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than April 15th 2024. Late applications will not be considered.

What Happens After You Submit an Application?

After the deadline, applications are selected for review through a lottery process. If yours is selected and you appear to qualify, you will be invited to submit documents to continue the process of determining your eligibility. Applicants are usually contacted from 2 to 10 months after the application deadline. You will be asked to submit documents that verify your household size, identity of members of your household, and your household income.

Español

Presente una solicitud en línea en https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ Para recibir una traducción de español de este anuncio y la solicitud impresa, envíe un sobre con la dirección a: Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9th Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11238. En el reverso del sobre, escriba en inglés la palabra “SPANISH.” Las solicitudes se deben enviar en línea o con sello postal antes 15 de abril 2024.

简体中文

访问https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ 在线申请。如要获取本广告及书面申请表的简体中文版，请将您的回邮信封寄 送至：Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9th Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11238. 信封背面请用英语注明“CHINESE”。必须在以下日期之前在线提交申请或邮寄书面申请 2024年4月15日.

Русский

Чтобы подать заявление через интернет, зайдите на сайт: https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ Для получения данного объявления и заявления на русском языке отправьте конверт с обратным адресом по адресу Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9th Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11238. На задней стороне конверта напишите слово “RUSSIAN” на английском языке. Заявки должны быть поданы онлайн или отправлены по почте (согласно дате на почтовом штемпеле) не позднее 15 апреля 2024

한국어

https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ 에서 온라인으로 신청하십시오. 이 광고문과 신청서에 대한 한국어 번역본을 받아보시려면 반송용 봉투를 Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9th Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11238. 으로 보내주십시오. 봉투 뒷면에 “KOREAN” 이라고 영어로 적어주십시오. 2024년4월 15 일까지 온라인 신청서를 제출하거나 소인이 찍힌 신청서를 보내야 합니다.

Kreyòl Ayisyien

Aplike sou entènèt sou sitwèb https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ Pou resevwa yon tradiksyon anons sa a nan lang Kreyòl Ayisyen ak aplikasyon an sou papye, voye anvlòp ki gen adrès pou retounen li nan: Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9th Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11238. Nan dèyè anvlòp la, ekri mo “HATIAN CREOLE” an Anglè. Ou dwe remèt aplikasyon yo sou entènèt oswa ou dwe tenbre yo anvan dat Avril 15, 2024.

‫العربية‬

‫ أرسل مظروفًا‬، ‫ لتلقي ترجمة باللغة العربية لهذا اإلعالن والتطبيق المطبوع‬.https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ ‫إرسال طلب عبر اإلنترنت على‬ Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9th Fl., Brooklyn, [ :‫بالعنوان إلى‬ .2024 ‫ أبريل‬15 ‫ يجب تقديم الطلبات عبر اإلنترنت أو عن طريق ختم بريدي قبل‬."ARABIC" ‫ اكتب باللغة اإلنجليزية كلمة‬، ‫] على ظهر المظروف‬NY 11238

Polskie

Aby złożyć wniosek online, przejdź na stronę https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ Aby uzyskać polskie tłumaczenie tego powiadomienia oraz wniosek w wersji wydrukowanej, wyślij kopertę z własnym adresem: Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9 th Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11238. Wpisz słowo „POLISH” w j. angielskim na odwrocie koperty. Wnioski muszą posiadać stempel pocztowy lub zostać przesłane online nie później niż 15 kwiecień 2024.

Français

Pour déposer votre demande en ligne, rendez-vous sur le site https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ Pour recevoir une traduction en français de cet avis ainsi qu’un dossier de demande papier, envoyez une enveloppe libellée à votre nom et votre adresse à l’adresse suivante : Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9th Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11238. Inscrivez le mot « FRENCH » au dos de l’enveloppe. Les demandes doivent être envoyées par la poste ou soumises en ligne au plus tard le 15 avril 2024, le cachet de la poste faisant foi. অনলাইনন আনেদন করনে, অনুগ্রহ কনর https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ এ যান। এই বেজ্ঞবির বা​াংলা অনু োদ এেং আনেদনটি ছাপাননাভানে পপনে এই ঠিকানায় একটি স্ব-সম্বাধিত খাম পাঠান: Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 Vanderbilt Avenue 9 th Fl.,

বা​াংলা

Brooklyn, NY 11238.। খানের বপছনন “BENGALI” শব্দটি ইংনরবিনে বলখু ন। অ্যাধিম্েশনগুধল অ্বশযই এবিল 15, 2024এর েনযে প াস্টমােক করনে হনে বা অ্নলাইম্ন জমা ধিম্ত হম্ব। ‫اردو‬

‫ پر جائيں۔ اس نوٹس کا اردو زبان ميں ترجمہ اور پرنٹ شدہ درخواست‬https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ ‫ برا ِہ کرم‬،‫آن الئن اپالئی کرنے کے ليے‬ Rheingold Affordable Senior Residence c/o MHANY Management Inc. 470 :‫ اپنے ذاتی پتے کا حامل ايک لفافہ‬،‫موصول کرنے کے ليے‬ ‫ " انگريزی ميں تحرير کريں۔ درخواستوں کے ليے پوسٹ مارک‬URDU" ‫ پر بهيجيں۔ لفافے کی پشت پر لفظ‬Vanderbilt Avenue 9th Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11238 ‫ سے زيادہ تاخير سے آن الئن جمع نہ کرايا جانا الزم ہے۔‬2024 ‫ اپريل‬15 ‫کردہ ہونا يا‬ Governor Kathy Hochul • Mayor Eric Adams • HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr.

40 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Religion & Spirituality Eminent literary and film scholar Dr. Clyde Taylor dies at 92

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews “We live in days of Great Change, a shuffling of status and symbols,” Dr. Clyde Taylor wrote in 1973. “Yeats’ cry ‘Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold’ is good news in the Third World; a ferment rises in the young bloods in the bush. And stepping out of the shelter of their place in the shadows of American exceptionalist rationalizations.”

Taylor, an example of the activist scholars of his day, composed this as part of an essay about “Black Consciousness in the Vietnam Years,” reflective of his stance against the Vietnam War. That strong voice of the Black liberation movement took a final breath on January 24. He was 92 and died in Los Angeles. According to his daughter, Rahdi Taylor, the cause of his death was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Born Clyde Russell Taylor on July 3, 1931, in Boston, he was the youngest of eight children of his parents, Frank and E. Alice (Tyson) Taylor. His father was a member of the legendary Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,

cluding Toni Morrison and Amiri Baraka.

After graduation from Howard, Taylor enlisted in the Air Force as an intelligence officer and left service as a first lieutenant; he was honorably discharged with a National Defense Service Medal. At Wayne State University in Detroit, he earned his doctorate with a dissertation on the works of William Blake and the ideology of art. In 1960, he married JoAnn Spencer and they had two daughters, Rahdi and Shelley Zinzi Taylor. They divorced in 1970.

Two years later, Taylor moved to San Francisco and married Martella Wilson. Together, they founded the African Film Society. By the mid-’90s, the marriage had dissolved. Taylor moved to New York City and began teaching at New York University. and his mother was an entrepreneur who was Throughout these turbulent times, Taylor active with the NAACP’s Boston chapter. was on the ramparts of the Black studies moveNot much is known of Taylor’s formative ment, particularly at UCLA, with a critical role years, although we do know that he was a in advancing revolutionary cinema, most nograduate of English High School and later tably as a presenter and commentator: “The Howard University, where he received his B.A. making of ‘O Povo Organizado’ [‘The People degree in 1953 and six years later, his master’s Organized’] in Mozambique by Bob Van Lierop, in the same subject. It was there that he met an African American, or of ‘Sambizanga,’ about several Black literary and political activists, in- Angola by Guadoupian Sara Maldoror, or the Clyde Taylor (Photo courtesy of NYU Gallatin School)

Ethiopian Haile Gerima’s ‘Bush Mama,’ set in Los Angeles, or Pontecorvo’s ‘The Battle of Algiers,’ or the several Latin American and African films created by Cubans, or the many Third World films made by Europeans and white Americans––all suggest the cross-fertilizations of an embryonic transnational Third World cinema movement.” Taylor figured prominently in this development.

A book certainly could have been forged from Taylor’s extensive study of cinema, and one was published: “The Mask of Art: Breaking the Aesthetic Contract––Film and Literature in 1988.”

In one of his last essays, Taylor expounded on the differences between Africa and Hollywood: “Africa stands today (2021) at the other end of the spectrum from Hollywood.

If Americans view cinema from the center of profitable, monopolistic production and distribution, Africa is a laboratory for the study of film’s relation to society from the vantage point of the exploited.”

Right down to the end of his extraordinary life, Clyde Taylor possessed a keen analysis and passionate commitment to the world of cinema and its prospects here and abroad.

Dr. Charles V. Hamilton, an avatar of Black Power, passes at 94

What it means for LGBTQ+ Americans to leave—or choose—Christianity

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

By ORION RUMMLER LGBTQ+ Reporter, The 19th*

Institutional racism and functional anonymity are two concepts from the political corpus of Dr. Charles V. Hamilton, but it was his advocacy of Black Power that gave him long standing academic prominence and respect. A scholar who was more interested in conveying his ideas in the classroom, leaving the bullhorn to Stokely Carmichael, Hamilton’s reticence almost made his death in November in Chicago go unnoticed. He was 94, and no causes of his death were reported.

Dr. Hamilton might have quietly continued to teach without public attention, but the book he co-authored with Carmichael (who later changed his name to Kwame Ture), “Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America,” thrust him momentarily on the ramparts, though it was Ture’s promotion that gave the concept its popularity in radical circles. While Ture shouted “Black Power,” Hamilton was content

to stay in the stacks, conducting research that led to his biography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. in 1991 and other political issues and debates.

Hamilton was born in Muskogee, Okla., on October 19, 1929, and in 1935, his family moved to the south side of Chicago. During his formative years, he expressed an interest in journalism but was convinced that little opportunity existed there for African Americans. In 1951, he graduated from Roosevelt University, at that time a vortex of social and political turbulence. Six years later, he had his master’s degree from the University of Chicago, and in 1958, he began his teaching career at Tuskegee University.

Noted political scientist and author Wilbur Rich recalled having Hamilton as a teacher. In his profile of Hamilton in Columbia magazine, Rich said that “unlike most Tuskegee professors, who always seemed so deferential toward the school’s traditions, Hamilton was not See HAMILTON continued on page 44

HAVE YOUR LOVED ONES MEMORIALIZED IN THE AMSTERDAM NEWS’ OBITUARY SECTION. FOR MORE INFO EMAIL: William.Atkins@amsterdamNews.com

*This story was originally published by The 19th.

When Karmen Michael Smith moved to New York City in 2003, he joined a new progressive Baptist church. He was raised with the understanding that if he wanted to find community in a new place, he needed to find a “church home.”

But in a city known for progressive views, the homophobia that had sprouted in his childhood church like a sudden, invading weed was still waiting for him. Smith wanted to lay down roots. He even took a job at the church as a member of the praise and worship team—but the minister still refused to look him in the eye.

“This minister would talk to me in private. In public, I could be standing right next to him, and I was working at the church, and he would never look in my direction. He wouldn’t speak…it’s like I was invisible,” he said.

From the outside, leaving Christianity or the church might seem like an easy solution for LGBTQ+ people who are discriminated against within the faith, but for many queer people, especially for Black Americans, leaving the church means leaving more than just a particular way to worship. New data suggests that queer Black Americans are sticking with the church more than other LGBTQ+ people.

What Smith experienced in New York is one of the many moments that led him to speak out against how he sees Black churches treating their LGBTQ+ followers—and to explore his faith outside of the church.

The Black church is a cultural and social hub that, throughout the country’s past, has been a singular source of protection and dignity for Black Americans. The community within the church isn’t just centered on religion; family life, school life, and everyday support are intrinsically tied together.

See LGBTQ+ continued on page 44

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 41

CLASSIFIED ADS 100 PUBLIC NOTICES RULES AND REGULATIONS CANCELLATIONS must be made in writing by 12 Noon Monday.

100 101 PUBLIC LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK

Til forbid orders charged for rate earned. Increases or decreases in space take the rate of a new advertisement.

The New York AMSTERDAM NEWS reserves the right to censor, reject, alter or revise all advertisements in accordance with its rules governing the acceptance of advertising and accepts no liability for its failure to insert an advertisement for any cause. Credit for errors in advertisements allowed only for first insertion.

CLASSIFIED • Classified advertisements take the regular earned rate of their classification. Four line minimum on all ads except spirituals and horoscopes (14 lines).

CLASSIFIED DISPLAY • Classified Display (boarder or picture) advertisements take the regular earned rate of their classification. Display (boarder or picture) advertisements one column wide must be 14 lines deep; two columns, 28 lines deep; 3 columns, 56 lines deep. Classified Display (boarder or picture) placed as close to classifications as rules and makeup permit.

CLASSIFICATIONS All advertisement accepted for publication is classified according to the standard classifications.

Misclassification is not permitted.

BASIS OF CHARGE Charges are based on point size and characters per line.

Upon reaching 15 lines the rate converts to column inch. Any deviation from solid composition such as indentation, use of white space, bold type, etc., will incur a premium.

In Case of error, notify the Amsterdam News 212-932-7440

INDEX NO. 850554/2023

U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR RCF 2 ACQUISITION TRUST

The forwarding of an order is construed as an acceptance of all advertising rules and conditions under which advertising space is sold by the NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS. Publication is made and charged according to the terms of this card.

Rates and regulations subject to change without notice. No agreements as to position or regulations, other than those printed on this.

101 LEGAL NOTICES

Plaintiff designates NEW YORK as the place of trial situs of the real property SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS Mortgaged Premises: 46 MERCER STREET, UNIT 4W, NEW YORK, NY 10013 Block: 474 Lot: 1407 Plaintiff, vs.

GIANLUIGI TORZI, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS PRESIDENT OF SUNSET U.S. CORPORATION, if living, and if she/he be dead, any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff; SUNSET U.S. CORPORATION; BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE SOHO APARTMENTS; PARADIGM CREDIT CORPORATION II; NEW YORK CITY PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU; NEW YORK CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD; NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE; PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, "JOHN DOE #1" through "JOHN DOE #12," the last twelve names being fictitious and unknown to plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the complaint, Defendants, To the above named Defendants YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on the plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days of the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service of the same is complete where service is made in any manner other than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service. Your failure to appear or to answer will result in a judgment against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. In the event that a deficiency balance remains from the sale proceeds, a judgment may be entered against you.

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above caption action is to foreclose a Mortgage to secure the sum of $2,557,750.00 and interest, recorded on September 05, 2018, in Instrument Number 2018000296942 , of the Public Records of NEW YORK County, New York, covering premises known as 46 MERCER STREET, UNIT 4W, NEW YORK, NY 10013.

The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above.

NEW YORK County is designated as the place of trial because the real property affected by this action is located in said county.

NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home.

Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property.

Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action.

YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Dated: February 1st, 2024 ROBERTSON, ANSCHUTZ, SCHNEID, CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Attorney for Plaintiff Jinghan Zhang, Esq. 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310 Westbury, NY 11590 516-280-7675

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK Freedom Mortgage Corporation, Plaintiff, -againstRegina Kiperman, as Administrator of the Estate of Melanie Silvera a/k/a Melanie Grace Silvera, Jefferson Malcom Silvera, as Heir to the Estate of Melanie Silvera a/k/a Melanie Grace Silvera if living and if any be dead, any and all persons who are spouses, widows, grantees, mortgagees, lienor, heirs, devisees, distributees, or successors in interest of such of the above as may be dead, and their spouses, heirs, devisees, distributees and successors in interest, all of whom and whose names and places of residences are unknown to Plaintiff , Ann Silvera, as Heir to the Estate of Melanie Silvera a/k/a Melanie Grace Silvera if living and if any be dead, any and all persons who are spouses, widows, grantees, mortgagees, lienor, heirs, devisees, distributees, or successors in interest of such of the above as may be dead, and their spouses, heirs, devisees, distributees and successors in interest, all of whom and whose names and places of residences are unknown to Plaintiff , Board of Managers for the Regatta Condominium Association, New York City Environmental Control Board, New York City Parking Violations Bureau, New York City Transit Adjudication Bureau, United States of America-Internal Revenue Service, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Defendants.

Index No. 850553/2023 SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS Plaintiff designates New York County as the place of trial. Venue is based upon the County in which the Mortgage premises is situated.

TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S): YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your Answer or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a Notice of Appearance on the attorneys for the plaintiff within twenty (20) days after service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within thirty (30) days after service is complete if this Summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York). In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is to foreclose a Mortgage to secure $535,713.00 and interest, recorded in the Office of the Clerk of the County of NEW YORK on July 15, 2022, in Book CRFN 2022000282777, Page , covering premises known as 21 South End Avenue, Unit# 435, New York, NY 10280.

The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above.

NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this Summons and Complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the Mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home.

Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the Summons and protect your property.

Sending a payment to your Mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action.

YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Dated: Bay Shore, New York December 14, 2023 By: Robert Tremaroli, Esq. Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, New York 11706 (631) 969-3100 Our File No.:01-098657-F00

Notice of Qualification of ESRT 1400 TOWNHALL TRS, L.L.C. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/30/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/25/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Application for Authority of PRIVATE LENDER PARTNERS LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) 2/12/2024.

Formed in FL 1/29/2024. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The principal business loc. and address SSNY shall mail copy of process is Sergey Smirnov, 17475 Collins Ave., Unit 603, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160. Arts. of Organization filed with the Secy. of State, Div. of Corporations, 2415 N. Monroe St., Ste. 810, Tallahassee, FL 32303. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

42 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. MARIJEAN P. JERRELL and NEWTON A. PERRIN, Defts. - Index # 850072/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated October 3, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 14,000/28,402,100 tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $66,372.66 plus costs and interest as of July 21, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Clark Whitsett, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY.

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK

STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF D-101CV-2023-02136 AUDRA ARMIJO AND CARLOS VALLES, SR. INDIVIDUALLY AND CARLOS VALLES, SR., AS THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WRONGFUL DEATH ESTATE OF ALVARO VALLES, DECEASED, Plaintiffs, vs. BRIAN V. CASHIN, MD, TAJDHARY TIWARI, MD and DEMING HOSPITAL CORPORATION D/B/A MIMBRES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, Defendants. NOTICE OF SUIT TO: Defendant Tajdhary Tiwari, MD, You are hereby notified that the abovenamed Plaintiffs have filed a civil action against you in the above-entitled Court and cause, the general object thereof being to bring about a medical malpractice and wrongful death suit. That unless you respond to the Complaint for Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death within 30 days of completion of publication of this Notice, judgment by default will be entered against you. Name, address, and phone number of Plaintiffs’ attorney: Poulos & Coates, LLP 1802 Avenida de Mesilla, Las Cruces, NM 88005 575-5234444. BY ORDER OF The Honorable Bryan Biedsheid, District Judge of the First Judicial District Court of the State of New Mexico and the Seal of the District Court of Santa Fes County, entered on December 27, 2023.

Notice of Qualification of SOLTEC SOLAR CONSTRUCTION, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/26/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/29/23.

Princ. office of LLC: 6100 Waterford District Dr., Ste. 3700, Miami, FL 33126. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Corrente Medical Care PLLC filed Arts. of Org. with the Sect'y of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/5/2024. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o The DeIorio Law Group PLLC, 800 Westchester Ave, Ste S-608, Rye Brook, NY 10573. Purpose: Medicine.

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. KAREN D. JOHNSON, Trustee of THE KAREN D. JOHNSON REVOCABLE TRUST, dated July 2, 2009, and KAREN D. JOHNSON, Defts. - Index # 850167/2020. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated May 11, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 7,000/28,402,100 tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $42,460.12 plus costs and interest as of June 21, 2021. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Jerry Merola, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. AMADEO F. URBANO JR. and CORAZON D. URBANO, Defts. Index # 850055/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated October 3, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.0271980765638990% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $45,563.22 plus costs and interest as of July 21, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Clark Whitsett, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE 610 PARK AVENUE CONDOMINIUM, Plaintiff -against- 16EF APARTMENT, LLC and MARA ENTERPRISES, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated September 29, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on March 6, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known as Unit No. PH16E in the building designated as 610 Park Avenue Condominium. Together with an undivided 4.0581% interest in the common elements.

Block: 1379 Lot: 1189 Said premises known as 610 PARK AVENUE, PH16E, NEW YORK, NY Approximate amount of lien $171,820.02 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 151261/2023.

CHRISTY M. DEMELFI, ESQ., Referee Belkin Burden Goldman, LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff HELL'S KITCHEN PICKLE BALL LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/04/23.

Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Robert Iacono, 660 12th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB not in its Individual Capacity, but Solely as Trustee for Residential Mortgage Aggregation Trust, Plaintiff, vs. GK Venture Partners LLC, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on August 4, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, Room 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on March 6, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 200 West 139th Street, New York, NY 10030 a/k/a 2378 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, New York, NY 10030. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 2024 and Lot 36. Approximate amount of judgment is $3,836,408.98 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850128/2022. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Christy Demelfi, Esq., Referee Polsinelli PC, Amy E. Hatch, Esq., 600 Third Avenue, 42nd Floor, New York, New York 10016, Attorneys for Plaintiff 216 EAST 47TH STREET, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/05/24. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 312 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

NYCTL 2021-A TRUST, and THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN FOR THE NYCTL 2021-A TRUST, Plaintiff -against200 EAST 61ST STREET, LLC, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated May 19, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on March 6, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known as Unit No. 32-E in the premises known as "Savoy Condominium" together with an undivided .3517809% percent interest in the common elements.

Said premises known as 200 EAST 61ST STREET, UNIT 32E, NEW YORK, NY Approximate amount of lien $109,853.89 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 159350/2022.

CHRISTY M. DEMELFI, ESQ., Referee Bronster, LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK US Bank National Association as Trustee for CMSI REMIC Series 2008-02 - Remic Pass-Through Certificates Series 2008-02, Plaintiff AGAINST Paul Mihalitsianos a/k/a Paul Peter Mihalitsianos, Corrinne Borges a/k/a Corrine Borges, et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered August 28, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on March 27, 2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 309 East 105th Street, Unit 1N, New York, NY 10029. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the City, County and State of New York, BLOCK: 1677, LOT: 1102. Approximate amount of judgment $823,969.95 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850147/2019. The aforementioned auction will be conducted in accordance with the NEW YORK County COVID-19 Protocols located on the Office of Court Administration (OCA) website (https://ww2.nycourts. gov/Admin/oca.shtml) and as such all persons must comply with social distancing, wearing masks and screening practices in effect at the time of this foreclosure sale. Thomas R. Kleinberger, Esq., Referee Frenkel Lambert Weiss Weisman & Gordon, LLP 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 01-087595-F00 78581 Lou & Rose LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/29/23.

Office location: NY County. The SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail copy to: 332 E 18th St, #24, NY, NY 10003. Purpose: any lawful act.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: NEW YORK COUNTY. NYCTL 19982 TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN, Pltf. vs. SONIGIO LLC, BOARD OF MANAGERS OF 310 WEST 52ND STREET CONDOMINIUM, Defts. Index #158610/2022. Pursuant to for judgment of foreclosure and sale entered October 6, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on March 6, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. prem. k/a 310 West 52nd Street, Storage Unit 155, New York, NY 10019 a/k/a Block 1042 Lot 1470.

Judgments amount: $2,827.20 and $2,494.69. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

JEFFREY R. MILLER, Referee. THE DELLO-IACONO LAW GROUP, P.C., Attys. For Pltf., 312 Larkfield Road, Lower Level, East Northport, NY. File No. 22-000139 - #101036 Notice of Qualification of MONACO RE LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/03/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/30/23.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Ilyse Dolgenas, Esq., Withers Bergman LLP, 430 Park Ave., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10022. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of the State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

234 West 123rd Street Apts, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/25/2015. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 234 W. 123rd St., Apt. G., NY, NY 10027. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of CityCom Health, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/04/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/20/23.

Princ. office of LLC: 520 Broad St., Newark, NJ 07102. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: To sell ACA approved health plans.

LITTMAN PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES, PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/18/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 368 Briarcliffe Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Purpose: Practice of psychology.

William Farrington Photography LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/16/2023. Office: Kings County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 160 Parkside Ave #6A, Bklyn, NY 11226. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Soft Lighting LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/16/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 110 West 90th St, Apt 3B, New York, NY 10024.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Alan's Blow Clear LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/14/23. Office: Albany County.

Registered Agent Inc. designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to United States Corporation Agents, Inc 7014 13th Ave Suite 202 Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of CVE US NY WELLSVILLE 362 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/30/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 109 W. 27th St., 8th Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Joshua Engle MD PLLC dba ExciteMD Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/31/2023.

Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 501 5th Ave, Ste 1203, NY, NY, 10017. Purpose: Any lawful act.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of NYCNCC SUB-CDE 21, LLC(the “LLC”) filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on 11/16/2023. Office location: New York County. The principal business address of the LLC is: One Liberty Plaza, New York, New York 10006. SSNY has been designated as the agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail service of process to c/o New York City Economic Development Corporation, One Liberty Plaza, New York, New York 10006, Attention: General Counsel. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of NYCNCC SUB-CDE 22, LLC (the “LLC”) filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on 11/16/2023.

Office location: New York County. The principal business address of the LLC is: One Liberty Plaza, New York, New York 10006. SSNY has been designated as the agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail service of process to c/o New York City Economic Development Corporation, One Liberty Plaza, New York, New York 10006, Attention: General Counsel. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Law Office of Brett J. Nomberg, PLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/31/2023. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served against PLLC to: 600 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA. Purpose: any lawful activity.

RPM & COMPANY, LLC filed with the SSNY on 01/18/24 under the fictitious name of RPMUMBY LLC. Originally filed with the Secretary of State of Louisiana on 05/21/2012. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 41 5th Avenue, #4F, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of PC NYC PROPERTY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/01/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

Notice of Formation of GTK CREATIVE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/23/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP, Attn: Gina Piazza, Esq., 1350 Broadway, 11th Fl., NY, NY 10018. Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Formation of SHELBY MULLER LCSW PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/31/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of PLLC: 401 E. 80th St., Apt. 17K, NY, NY 10075. SSNY designated as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the PLLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Licensed clinical social work.

Notice of Qualification of 2 CROSBY OWNER LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/29/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/28/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

AOIFE REDDAN PHOTOGRAPHY LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/04/24. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 200 North End Avenue, Apartment 9A, New York, NY 10282. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of 105 CGD LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/26/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 111 E. 88th St., Apt. 4A, NY, NY 10128. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Nicholas W. Burke at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of GOLD TOP MANAGEMENT, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/01/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of GREYSTONE MONTICELLO FUNDING SH-69-A LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/01/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/04/24. Princ. office of LLC: 600 Third Ave., 21st Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Engaging in and exercising all powers permitted to a limited liability company formed under the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act. Annah Mayer Fine Jewelry LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/2/2024. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 108 Leonard Street, #7F, NY, NY 10013. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Falafel & Crepe LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 9/8/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 265 West 114th St., Ste. 521, NY, NY 10026.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

TESLA SKY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/29/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 28 LIBERTY ST, NEW YORK, NY 10005. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Step Change Coaching LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/04/24 Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 8 Spruce St, NY, NY 10038.

Purpose: Any lawful act.

Mobile Medicine, PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/16/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 228 Park Ave S, Ste 20769, NY, NY, 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of MIDTOWN ESTATES PRESERVATION GP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/05/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of MIDTOWN ESTATES DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/05/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 43

44 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

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afraid to discuss the Civil Rights Movement or other controversial issues in class.”

Rich said that Hamilton was “always challenging his students to raise their questions about commonly accepted ideas, Hamilton encouraged us to debate the issues of the day. But whenever anyone commented on the top of his head, Hamilton would shoot back, ‘Show me your data.’”

Showing the data would be the watchword of his research, just as taking a stand against racism would be part of his calling. Rich offered another example from his days at Tuskegee: “When Martin Luther King Jr. visited Tuskegee in the late 1950s, school administrators, fearful of reprisals from the white community, would not permit him to

appear on campus, so he spoke at a local church instead.

“Sitting in the audience,” Rich continued, “I realized that Hamilton was the only Tuskegee professor in attendance.

At a time when many people (both black and white) saw King as an outsider whose methods of nonviolent protest would only stir up more trouble for black people, Hamilton stood on stage with King and even had his photograph taken with him.”

In 1964, he returned to the University of Chicago and earned his doctorate before teaching at several colleges, and by 1969, he was a professor at Columbia University, where his reputation would be considerably advanced. As a Ford Foundation-funded professor in urban political science, he became one of the first African Americans to hold an academic chair at an Ivy League university. To some extent, the radicalism at Roosevelt University prepared him for the turmoil that

LGBTQ+

For many queer people, especially for Black Americans, leaving the church means leaving more than just a particular way to worship. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)

Growing up in rural Texas, Smith found community at his family’s Baptist church.

He made school friends there, had sleepovers, ate meals, sang with the choir.

Then he got older, and he wasn’t acting like the other boys. He liked music and the arts, not sports. He wanted to grow up to be both Janet Jackson and Prince. Once he was a teenager, his community began to ostracize him for his differences.

“People could see, I think, quite clearly, that I was gay, but it’s not a term that I would’ve used or that I even thought about in that sense. I was just being me, and it became a threat. And then people in the church started looking at me differently… and mainly, this was adults,” Smith said.

The prejudice rotted everything that had filled his “home away from home” with love. “Adults became the bullies and the unsafe people,” he said.

Smith is not alone. The complicated relationship that LGBTQ+ Americans have with Christianity, and the demographics of those who choose to leave, is explored in new data from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law and Utah State University. The study found that almost two-thirds of LGBTQ+ people who were raised Christian have since left the faith—and those who stay are typically older, Black, cisgender men, and those who live in the South.

“The data shows a religious exodus,” said Tyler Lefevor, an associate professor of psychology at Utah State University and lead researcher in the study. “Religions do a [terrible] job of affirming queer folks.”

The overall picture of the study found that for LGBTQ+ Americans, identifying as Christian is associated with greater experiences of stigma and stress—but the church also provides a community that can’t be easily replicated elsewhere.

“The church has historically been, for Black

Americans, the one place where we could be ourselves,” Smith said. “During Jim Crow and slavery, this was our place—[where] we could come in our Sunday best; we could look good; we could be affirmed, inspired.”

The study found that of the 87 percent of Black LGBTQ+ people who were raised Christian, over half of them—53 percent— stayed Christian. The research used a nationally representative sample of 1,529 LGBTQ+ people, recruited by Gallup, who were polled in 2016, 2017, and 2018. While the Williams Institute study does not measure what kinds of churches people are attending, data from the Pew Research Center shows that most Black Americans who attend religious services go to Black congregations.

In 2011, still living in New York City, Smith left the church. In 2019, he became an ordained nondenominational Christian minister—something he had long believed he could never become as a gay man. In those intervening years, Smith was seeking a relationship with God outside of the institution that had tried to

Hamilton Continued from page 40

Continued from page 40

erupted at Columbia.

Even so, the classroom was his bailiwick, and again, Rich, after being recruited to join the faculty, renewed his friendship with his mentor.

“During the seven years I spent at Columbia,” Rich recounted, “I taught undergraduate courses in political science and contemporary civilization. More importantly, I had a second opportunity to learn from Hamilton, whom I had not seen since our Tuskegee days 13 years earlier.

“Not only did I come to call him ‘Chuck,’ but I also got a chance to watch him teach both undergraduate and graduate students. He once told me that when he first started at Columbia, every course he taught had the word black in the title. However, since his expertise was far broader than protest politics, he soon began to teach graduate courses on public policy and undergraduate courses on American government. Despite

his busy schedule, Hamilton was always approachable. The hallway outside his office at the southwest end of the SIPA building was often filled with students discussing city administration, presidential politics, and changes in the black leadership class.”

During his tenure at Columbia, Hamilton lived in New Rochelle until his retirement in 1998. He later moved back to Chicago to be closer to his niece.

Among Dr. Hamilton’s other books was “The Dual Agenda: Race and Social Welfare Policies of Civil Rights Organizations” (1997), which he wrote with his wife, Dona Cooper Hamilton, a professor at Lehman College in New York. She died in 2015. He is survived by a stepdaughter, Valli Hamilton. His daughter, Carol, who was press secretary to Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown, died in 1996 when a plane carrying Mr. Brown and others crashed in Croatia. whom you can talk with,’” he said. “If you choose to leave, know that even as much as you may gain, please be aware you will also lose something.”

That loss can be a cultural one, Smith said. The Black church is more than a religious practice—it’s a culture enriched by unique music and art. Finding an affirming congregation could mean leaving the Black church and losing that culture, he said.

But there are accepting spaces within the Black church, too. Dozens of churches across the country and various denominations are part of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, a Black LGBTQ+-affirming coalition that pledges to create safe spaces for queer and transgender people, as well as anyone else who has been “wounded by oppressive religion.”

“I don’t understand why, with the number of choices that we have, people don’t choose to be fully free,” said Victoria Kirby York, director of public policy and programs at the National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights group that advocates for Black LGBTQ+ people.

There are other alternative spaces outside of religion that can also feel like a form of worship, like the ballroom scene, Smith said, where group praise takes place during voguing and drag competitions. But some of the older Black gay men who have reached out to him feel that they don’t have a place in the broader LGBTQ+ community. Many of their generation died during the AIDS epidemic, and they feel disconnected from younger queers.

Whether they choose to stay or go, Smith said, there is collateral damage.

“There’s still some negativity that you’ve ingested along the way that you’ll still have to deal with, even if you leave. Because you’ve been told, Sunday after Sunday, that you are the problem,” Smith said.

convince him that God could never love him because of his identity.

“I learned that if God had not wanted me to be this way, I would not be gay, and then I also learned the divine privilege it is in which to be gay…that it is not anti-God,” he said. “It took me getting out of church to learn that.”

Although Smith visits churches occasionally, he’s not interested in going back— unless God calls him back to a traditional church setting. He wants to reach people who have been pushed outside of the church, however that manifests. As a Black openly gay man, he feels that he’s different from many preachers, and he views his ministry the same way.

Smith said that he often gets calls and messages from queer Black people, especially older men, who consider the church their family, but don’t feel safe or included.

They don’t know where else to go. Many of them reached after he published his book, “Holy Queer: The Coming Out of Christ.”

“I offer them two journeys. You can stay, To read the full, longer version of this and I say ‘Please find a qualified therapist story, visit amsterdamnews.com/news/ whom you can talk with, and a good friend category/religion/.

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February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 45

Frustrated Rick Pitino lashes out as St. John’s falters

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews The Rick Pitino-led St. John’s Red Storm men’s basketball program was tied for first place in the Big East Conference with a record of 4-1 on January 10.

Pitino, in his first year at St. John’s, was garnering a lot of attention and so was the basketball team. Now, after relinquishing a 19-point lead on Sunday night in a 68-62 loss to Seton Hall, the Red Storm have dropped eight of their last 10 Big East games, are 14-2 overall, and 6-9 in conference play heading into last night’s game versus Georgetown on the road.

Following St. John’s strong start, the expectations coming into this season were that they would be an NCAA Tournament contender.

Pitino’s roster was built primarily through the transfer portal, bringing in a bevy of experienced upperclassmen. But they haven’t produced or gelled as he envisioned.

Fifth-year senior Joel Soriano is emblematic of Pitino’s irritation. Soriano, the one player Pitino wanted to return to St John’s, was scoring less (15.0) this season than he

St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino shows his dissatisfaction with his team in a 86-75 road loss to Marquette on February 10. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

pointed out. “I see people that don’t handle the ball, that’s just interested in taking quick shots. So it’s been a disappointing year.”

The 71-year-old Pitino’s comments are harsh and seem to fit a time 30 or more years ago when he was in his early 40s and boisterous coaches like the late Bob Knight were still at Indiana. Will it motivate some of the players to perform better?

Probably. But it may force others to check out as well, and it certainly does not seem like the best recruiting tool to land some of the best high school players and transfers for the 2024-2025 season.

Of St. John’s nine conference losses before facing Georgetown, five had been by six points or less, including one-point losses to nationally ranked No. 7 Marquette and No. 15 Creighton (who took down No. 1 Connecticut on Tuesday by 85-66), a threepoint loss to Providence, and a four-point did a season ago (15.2), and rebounding at ing,” Pitino, who began his coaching career loss to Connecticut. a much lower rate—9.4 compared to 11.9. in 1978, said on Sunday.

With four games remaining, the Red Storm Soriano was benched in the loss to Provi“We are so non-athletic that we can’t guard will need to win the Big East Tournament to dence for sophomore forward Zuby Ejiofor. anybody without fouling and really is not receive a berth into the NCAA Tournament’s “This has been the most unenjoyable ex- about losing because even in winning, when field of 68 as they have no chance of being perience I’ve had since I’ve been coach- we watch the film, I see unathletic plays,” he selected as an at-large team.

NYC native Natalija Marshall finds a basketball home at Notre Dame

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews Growing up in Brooklyn, basketball was just part of Natalija Marshall’s life. Growing up, the 6-foot-5 forward at the nationally ranked University of Notre Dame (UND) was always the tallest in her class. Both of her parents had been competitive athletes— her father in soccer and her mother in track and field—so sports are a family thing.

“Anyone who grew up in New York City, grew up in the parks,” said Marshall. “One of our first apartments in Brooklyn, I could see a basketball court from our living room window, so we were always over there. My dad taught me how to shoot. That’s where I really worked on fundamentals growing up.

I joined a local club team and then eventually went onto the AAU circuit and that led me to Christ the King.”

When Marshall had the opportunity to attend Christ the King High School, alma mater of women’s basketball greats Chamique Holdsclaw, Tina Charles and Sue Bird, the family moved to Queens. She credits her time management and organizational skills to lessons she learned from the school’s basketball program.

Unfortunately, not only did the pandemic coincide with her senior season of high school, but she tore her ACL shortly before quarantine began. With many physical therapy facilities closed, she rehabbed on her own, but was not in playing condition when she arrived for her freshman year at UND, causing her to redshirt. “It taught me

Notre Dame senior forward Natalija Marshall. (Fighting Irish Media photos)

so much, seeing life and the game from a different perspective,” said Marshall, who began to see action in her sophomore year.

Academics played a huge role in Marshall’s choice of where to play college basketball.

She also wanted to play for a female head coach. “I really wanted to be around powerful women; I wanted to be mentored by them,”

she said. “That wasn’t something I’d really experienced a lot in sports up until that point.”

Now in her senior year academically, but a junior in terms of basketball eligibility, Marshall hasn’t yet decided whether she will return for another season. Regardless of what comes next, playing for head coach Niele Ivey has been incredibly satisfying.

“The people have made this experience amazing,” said Marshall, who has double majors in American studies and political science with a minor in public service. “Being able to be mentored by a Black woman and having powerful Black women around me, pushing and inspiring me every day, has been huge.”

46 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S

Candice Hill and Courtney Davidson selected for prestigious hoops coaching program Candice Hill (St. John’s Athletics photo)

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews Come April, Candice Hill, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at St. John’s University, and Courtney Davidson, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Fordham University, will be taking a huge step toward their futures in women’s college basketball.

Both have been selected for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Next Generation Institute, an educational program for experienced assistant coaches who aspire to become head coaches at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels.

The curriculum will focus on cultivating the skills to lead a program in the ever-changing world of intercollegiate athletics.

“This opportunity presented itself, and I thought it would be pretty helpful in helping me grow as a coach,” said Davidson.

“It would be cool to learn as much as I can in spaces with other people who are likeminded or have more knowledge.”

Davidson’s entry into coaching came at the high school level. After entering the college coaching ranks, she found her educational background—an undergraduate degree in communications and a master’s in school counseling—highly beneficial.

“A lot of time, we as coaches are looked at as just Xs and Os and on-the-court things, so I think that my school counseling background has been able to help me build those relationships off the court and help prepare the players for things outside of basketball and life after basketball as well,” she said.

As a college senior, Hill participated in the WBCA’s “So You Want to Be a Coach” program, which laid a foundation for her coaching career. She knows the Next Generation Institute will provide crucial insights.

“I hope to learn and grow toward my ultimate goal, which is to be a head coach, and to continue to build my network and get to know people—put myself in uncomfortable positions so that I can grow and become what I ultimately want to be,” said Hill.

Hill initially pursued a career other than

basketball, but her love of the sport and desire to coach was strong thanks to “that feeling of helping and giving back to the game that has given so much to me,” she said. “I feel like I have a purpose.”

The WBCA uses the analogy that the head

coach is the CEO of the team. St. John’s head coach Joe Tartamella has allowed Hill to experience some of those aspects in recruiting and academics.

“He has challenged me to have that CEO feel,” she said.

Ice Theatre of NY skaters celebrate Black History Month Skaters at Ice Theatre of New York’s Valentine’s Day performance (Lois Elfman photos)

Joy Thomas and Theron James

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews On February 14, skaters with the Ice Theatre of New York (ITNY) brought their artistic skating to the Rink at Rockefeller Center. While it was scheduled on Valentine’s Day, the event was an opportunity for two of the performers to use the sport and art of figure skating to honor Black History Month.

For coach and choreographer Joy Thomas, it was a moment filled with passion, purpose, and nostalgia. She performed to the music of Billie Holiday’s “Lady Sings the Blues” with “Skates” replacing “Sings” in a program choreographed by ITNY founder/artistic director Moira North.

“Coming back and doing this after 27 years was so meaningful because of the journey I’ve gone through as a skater,” said Thomas, who was the original skater to perform North’s choreography.

“To be able to bring that through movement and to remember the piece and bring it back was such a joyful process—to return to work from nearly 30 years prior and still be able to pull out the emotions that Billie Holiday hopefully would have wanted if she could skate.”

Having developed her own skills as a coach and choreogra-

pher made Thomas interpret the program’s blues theme and character somewhat differently from in the past, “sometimes having sadness and being able to emote more throughout and pulling deeper into certain movements,” she said. “It may not have been as flashy as I was back then, but I felt the emotions deeper.”

Theron James performed a piece of his own creation, “Amistad,” which he debuted last fall. It depicts an enslaved person devastated by his situation, but ultimately throwing off his chains and reclaiming his identity.

“It’s a very loving day to perform this,” said James. “To perform it at the iconic Rockefeller Center is big and this talks about freedom in so many different aspects. I was really happy to be able to do it here…

Stepping into a new day is exactly what this piece is about. It’s about finding progress and momentum to keep moving forward.”

Getting to skate his program in front of New Yorkers who were walking around the Plaza and are not necessarily regular watchers of skating gave it additional meaning.

“It makes me feel very honored to be able to have a platform through my art to express the Black history experience,” said James.

February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024 • 47

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S

HBCU football standouts look to show out for NFL evaluators

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor There were 31 players from HBCU football programs on NFL rosters at the start of this past season. With the league composed of 32 teams, that’s an average of less than one player per squad. Of the 31, 22 were on active 53-man rosters when the 2023 campaign began.

The season culminated with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII (58) in a gripping overtime finish. HBCU alum Javon Hargrave is among those who shined in the game. The 31-year-old South Carolina State alum and 49ers defensive lineman had six tackles, three solo tackles, one tackle for a loss and one sack of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Super Bowl MVP. This week in New Orleans, young men who hope to follow a similar path as Hargrave participated in the HBCU NFL Combine on Monday and will play in the Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl, presented by the Black College Hall of Fame, this Saturday at Yulman Stadium, home of the Tulane University Green Wave.

The Combine was televised by the NFL Network as will the Legacy Bowl (3 p.m.).

The two events are showcases for draft eligible players to display their physical skills, mental acumen, and social-emotional maturity in on-field drills and interviews with

Jackson State safety John Huggins runs the 40-yard dash for NFL scouts at the HBCU NFL Combine held in New Orleans this past Monday. (AP Images for NFL/Cheryl Gerber)

representatives from the multitude of NFL franchises that are in the Crescent City for the week’s activities.

Players will suit up for Team Gaither and Team Robinson, honoring iconic late HBCU head coaches Alonzo Smith “Jake” Gaither, who led Florida A&M from 1945 to 1969, and Grambling State’s Eddie Robinson, who directed the Tigers from 1941 to 1942, and from 1945 to 1997, and developed more than 200 players that went on to compete in the NFL.

Alcorn State running back Jarveon Howard takes part in drills on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans.

(AP Photo/Derick Hingle)

The head coaches for Team Robinson are South Carolina State’s Chennis Berry and Prairie View A&M’s Bubba McDowell. Team Gaither will be directed by Howard’s Larry Scott and Virginia Union’s Dr. Alvin Parker.

Several players had impressive showings at Monday’s Combine, notably Alcorn State running back Jarveon Howard, a Syracuse University transfer; Jackson State safety John Huggins, who began his collegiate career at the University of Florida; and quarterback

Davius Richard of North Carolina Central, a two-time MEAC Offensive Player of the Year.

The last HBCU QB drafted by an NFL team was Tarvaris Jackson, taken by the Minnesota Vikings out of Alabama State in 2006 in the 2nd round (64th overall). Jackson played for the Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills in his 10-year NFL career, starting 34 of the 59 games in which he appeared. Jackson was killed in a single-car accident in 2020 at the age of 36 in Alabama.

The NBA leadership must reimagine its All-Star Game

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and filmmaker Spike Lee share a lighthearted moment during the first half of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Adam Silver is one of the most forward thinking commissioner’s in the history of sports. Since taking over the reins of the National Basketball Association in 2014 from the legendary pioneering late commissioner David Stern, Westchester native Silver has cemented the league as the vanguard of North American professional sports.

Partnerships between sports leagues and sportsbooks were still considered a third rail and potentially deleterious to the integrity of professional sports, but Silver’s prescient lobbying efforts changed widespread perceptions. Now one of his next transformative challenges in conjunction with the NBA players should be to address the declining credibility of the All-Star Game.

Alas, for this basketball junkie, the All-Star Game has devolved into an insufferable farce.

Watching from the comfort of my home this past Sunday, I turned it off early in the first quarter and never switched back until the final minutes simply to learn what ridiculously elevated score the exhibition would reach.

211-186!

What!

Nah man, enough is enough!

Growing up as a young boy, I can still vividly recall the palpable anticipation and elation the annual NBA All-Star Game elicited in me. It had an enchanted aura, seeing the players—Walt Frazier, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—represent-

ing their respective teams. Decades later as a journalist, in 1998, those emotions barely waned as I sat only several rows up from the Madison Square Garden court, behind one of the baskets and adjacent to the players’ bench, to witness live the

great Kobe Bryant’s All-Star debut.

While the game held an inherent element of entertainment, the natural and impregnable competitive spirit of the performers, some of the best to ever lace up kicks, Bryant, Shaquille O’ Neal, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the greatest of all-time, Michael Jordan, was irrepressible. Jordan would ultimately win the game’s MVP as his Eastern Conference squad prevailed over the Western Conference 135-114.

In 2001, it was Allen Iverson who garnered the MVP playing at the MCI Center in Washington D.C., as he and the then New Jersey Nets’ Stephon Marbury willed the East to a dramatic and memorable 111-110 comeback win over the West after trailing 95-74 with nine minutes remaining. One year later, Kobe earned his first All-Star Game MVP in Philadelphia at the First Union Center, carrying the West to a 135-120 victory.

The irony was inescapable as Philly is the city where he honed his massive skills and his unsurpassed resolve to attain excellence.

The meaningful character and vigor of the All-Star game must be revived or like the NFL’s Pro Bowl game, which ended in 2022 and became a flag football affair in 2023, the NBA should just scrap it.

48 • February 22, 2024 - February 28, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Sports Knicks get back their regular season schedule still short-handed

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor The Knicks limped into the NBA All-Star break after losing five of their last six games, the final defeat to the Orlando Magic by 118100 on the road on Valentine’s Day before a seven-day respite. They get back to their regular season schedule tonight in Philadelphia, taking on the 76ers.

First-time All-Star Jalen Brunson was the only Knicks regular starter to play against the Magic. Julius Randle (dislocated right shoulder, OG Anunoby—right elbow surgery), Mitch Robinson (left ankle surgery in December), and Donte DiVincenzo (right hamstring strain) were all out. So was center Isaiah Hartenstein (left Achilles soreness), who has been exceptional in replacing Robinson in the starting lineup. Add newly acquired Bojan Bogdanovic to those who missed the game versus the Magic, and it explains why the Knicks were a shell of themselves.

Before their slide, clearly due to injuries, the Knicks had won 16 of 19 games since the December 31 trade with the Toronto Raptors that brought them Anunoby and

23-7 Milwaukee Bucks, the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in the conference, respectively.

On Tuesday, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said DiVincenzo, Hartenstein, and Bogdanovic are expected to be back tonight.

“I’m basing that on practice today,” he said.

“We’ll see how they feel tomorrow.”

Anunoby had what is characterized as cleanup surgery on his right elbow two weeks ago and will be reevaluated in roughly one week. “Yeah, it really sucks,” Anunoby said on Tuesday. “But I’m feeling better and better.”

The Knicks are hopeful Robinson could return sometime next month. As for Randle, Thibodeau expressed a promising outlook on Tuesday. “He’s doing well overall,” Thibodeau said. “He hasn’t been cleared to practice yet (but he’s) meeting all of the markers.”

The left-handed Randle, who was named to his third straight East All-Star team this season, has been out since dislocating his Precious Achiuwa for RJ Barrett and Im- ference. They have 27 regular season games right shoulder on January 27 in a 125-109 AM News manuel Quickley, with other assets for both remaining, with eight of their next 10 at Knicks win at home over the Miami Heat. teams being exchanged.

Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks Tonight will be the Knicks’ 10th consecu01/18/24 The Knicks go into tonight’s game at 33-22 are 19-8, the third-best home mark in the tive game without Randle, who is averagand as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Con- East behind the 26-3 Boston Celtics and ing 24.0 points and 9.2 rebounds.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau coaches up his team as they head into stretch run of regular season. (Bill Moore photos)

There is no definitive return date to the Knicks’ lineup for Knicks forward Julius Randle, who is recovering from a dislocated right shoulder.

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The tumbling Nets move on from Jacque Vaughn 01/25/24 AM News

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

announced on Monday.

Just one year ago, the 49-year-old Vaughn, who compiled a record of 71-68 over parts “This was an incredibly difficult decision, of three seasons as head coach of the Nets, but one we feel is in the best interest of the signed a contract extension during the 2023 team going forward,” said Brooklyn Nets All-Star break. He was terminated during this general manager Sean Marks following the season’s All-Star recess. firing of former head coach Jacque Vaughn Kevin Ollie, who played 13 seasons in the NBA, and as a head coach guided his alma mater, the University of Connecticut Huskies from 2012-2018, winning the 2014 NCAA championship, will take over as interim head coach. Ollie, 51, joined the staff prior to the start of the 20232024 NBA season.

“Jacque has represented this organization with exemplary character and class for the past eight years,” Marks added. “The consistent positivity and passion he poured Kevin Ollie, second from the right standing behind fired former into our team daily will Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn, has been named the team’s interim head coach. (Bill Moore photo) remain with the play-

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ers and staff he interacted with throughout has been on the court for 49 of 54 games, his tenure. We thank Jacque for all he has having played in the second most. done for the Nets and the borough of BrookNow it is up to Ollie to get the Nets, which lyn, and wish him, Laura and their family begin a four-game road trip tonight versus the nothing but the best in the future.”

Toronto Raptors, back to playing competitiveAM News The Nets have been in a free-fall since mid- ly. They are currently the No. 11 seed in the 02/01/24 December. They were 13-11 on December 14 East, one position out of a Play-In Tournament but went into All-Star weekend 21-33, getting spot. The No. 7-10 seeds earn play-in bids. embarrassed in a 136-86, 50-point road loss to On Tuesday, in his first press conference the Boston Celtics on Valentine’s Day, their last as Nets interim head coach, Ollie said he game heading into the break. is going to try to build on the foundation Vaughn was a Nets assistant coachAM andNews that Vaughn laid. took over as head coach on November 1, “(I’m going to) try to bring level five energy 02/08/24 2022, after the franchise terminated former in everything I do and hopefully that spreads head coach Steve Nash. His roster included to our team and through this whole organiKevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, zation,” Ollie said. “I’m excited for this opvastly different from the team he coached in portunity. We have 28 games, 55 days, and I his final game. Mikal Bridges was the only put that on the board with the guys.”

AMtoNewsThe Nets will face the Minnesota Timberstarter to reach double figures in the loss the Celtics. Simmons, who has only played in wolves on Saturday, the Memphis Grizzlies on 02/15/24 12 of the Nets’ 54 games this season, sat out Monday, and the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. with a left knee effusion and is not yet able to compete in back-to-back games.

The Nets’ flawed roster is more to blame for the team’s poor results than Vaughn, which AM should mean that Marks, who has held theNews position of GM since February 2016, has to 02/22/24 bear most of the accountability. Bridges is the only Nets player to appear in every game this season, with reserve Day’Ron Sharpe, who

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