inside this week
Opinion: Not the right time for school disruption pg 5
INSIDE ARTS
business news
GET YOUR ART FIX — VIRTUALLY pg 9
Black businesses in peril pg 8
plus Ayodele Casel: ‘Diary of a Tap Dancer’ pg 9 Books by black authors to savor while social distancing pg 10 Vol. 55 No. 35 • Thursday, March 26, 2020 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965
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Governor issues stay-at-home order Non-essential businesses are to close amid public health emergency By YAWU MILLER Gov. Charlie Baker issued an executive order Monday morning calling on all non-essential businesses to close their physical workplaces to workers, customers and the public starting Tuesday at noon and running until April 7. A separate public health advisory Baker issued outlined guidelines for self-isolation and social distancing protocols and strongly urged people over the age of 70 and those with underlying health issues to remain in their homes. The measures bring Massachusetts in line with other states, including New York, California, Illinois and Vermont, that have issued stay-at-home orders. As the coronavirus pandemic takes hold in countries around the world, one-fifth of the world’s population has been advised or ordered to remain in their homes in an effort to stem the spread of infection. Baker said that grocery stores will remain open, as will the businesses that support them, including shipping firms and farms. Gas stations, pharmacies, medical facilities, and manufacturers of medicines and medical supplies will also remain open. Much of Boston seemed already shut down Monday afternoon, with downtown streets largely empty of pedestrians and cars. Baker acknowledged that the closures would have a severe impact on businesses and
workers. “It’s not lost on me, or anyone else in my administration, that many businesses — locally grown and owned by our neighbors and friends — are the businesses most unlikely to be able to put in place remote or telework policies,” he said. “But I also know that by taking this action now, we can significantly improve our position in the fight to slow the spread of this virus.” By limiting social contact to slow the spread of the virus, Baker and other political leaders are seeking to prevent a spike in the number of cases that could inundate the state’s hospitals. In countries such as Italy that did not take extreme measures early enough, health care systems have struggled to keep up with rapidly growing caseloads and deaths. “A concerted effort now will help us get back to work and back to school,” he said. People can and should get out of their homes and go for walks, Baker said, but should avoid any close contact with others. “Every step we take to cut down on the chances this thing has to spread is a way to help our communities get through it,” he said. While the MBTA will remain open, Baker said public transportation should be used only for essential workers. “Just because the T is open doesn’t mean we think it’s a good
See STAY-AT-HOME, page 6
BANNER PHOTO
Grove Hall restaurants, barber shops, hair and nail salons were still doing business Friday.
Boston neighborhoods respond to coronavirus Local businesses struggle as residents stay indoors By YAWU MILLER For barber Lanice Mikell, his business outlook is calculated one day at a time. “We’re open now,” he said as he put the finishing touches on a customer’s close-cropped cut last Friday. “I don’t know how long we’re going to be open. Until they come and say we gotta stop.” That order to stop came Monday, as Gov. Baker announced
a ban on all non-essential businesses. Supermarkets and drug stores are to remain open. Barbershops will close, along with salons and non-food retail stores.” The order may bring low-income communities more in line with what had already taken hold in Boston’s wealthier neighborhoods. Last week, downtown neighborhoods such as the Back Bay and the South End were largely bereft of commuter traffic and shoppers. But most businesses in Grove Hall
were open on Friday, March 20 — nail shops, hair salons, takeout restaurants and liquor stores — and doing what seemed a healthy business volume. In many middle-class communities, the norms of social distancing were quickly adopted, with children staying in and friends greeting each other from a distance of at least six feet. But outside Blue Hill Barbers, where
See NEIGHBORHOODS, page 6
Roxbury activists provide free meals Service moves from on-street to delivery By YAWU MILLER
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Monica Cannon Grant takes a break from serving meals in Grove Hall last Friday.
Next to the Grove Hall post office, a queue stretched back 20 yards as families waited in line for bags of takeout food supplied by the nonprofit group Violence in Boston. On the menu last Wednesday: American chop suey lunches and spaghetti dinners. Violence in Boston Executive Director Monica Cannon-Grant said she was inspired to start the
free meals program when she realized Boston Public Schools were about to shut down. While BPS is providing free grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches at sites across the city, Cannon-Grant wanted to take direct action in her local neighborhood. “I’m a mother of six kids,” she said. “I know what it’s like when school is closed and you’re struggling.” Grant teamed up with her friend Donnell Singleton, who
owns the restaurant Food for the Soul at 651 Warren Street. The pair raised money from local elected officials including Julia Mejia, Liz Miranda and Chynah Tyler, as well as organizations including the New England Patriots and No Books, No Ball, and began serving the pre-packaged meals, along with other handouts such as hand sanitizer. “We get up at 5:30 and go to The Restaurant Depot,” she said. “We get all the food we need and prep and cook at Food for the Soul.”
See GRANT, page 7