INNER-CITY NEWS

THEINNER-CITY INNER-CITY NEWS May27, 26,2016 2021- August - June 01, NEWS- July 02, 2021 2016

The Racist Justice Past of the Filibuster and WhyNAACP it Should End Now Financial a Key Focus at 2016 Convention New Haven, Bridgeport

INNER-CITYNEWS Volume 29 . No. 2442 Volume 21 No. 2194

B arber “DMC”

A New Haven

Malloy Malloy To To Dems: Dems:

Ignore Ignore“Tough “ToughOn OnCrime” Crime”

Comes Home

Color Struck?

Crowded Hill

Snow in July?

Neighbors Blast Zone Changes FOLLOW US ON 1

Movimiento Cultural Afro-Continental

Keeps The Beat

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

Alder To State: Follow New Haven’s Lead On Worker Recall

by CARMEN RODRIGUEZ New Haven I ndependent

(Opinion)—As both a healthcare worker and a member of the New Haven Board of Alders, I have seen the enormous impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our communities.

Last December, the Board of Alders passed a “worker recall” law for hotel workers in our city.

Hospitality has been one of the industries hit hardest by Covid. Thanks to worker recall, hotel workers in New Haven who were laid off will be first in line to get their jobs back when work returns.

Workers in our hardest-hit industries across Connecticut deserve the same peace of mind.

That’s why I’m urging the Connecticut General Assembly and Governor Lamont to pass and sign into law Senate Bill 658, the statewide worker recall bill.

As an Alder, I represent Ward 6, which includes the Hill and Long Wharf neighborhoods.

Hundreds of my constituents and neighbors have lost their job due to Covid-19.

Many of them worked in the hotel, food service, and commercial services industries, which have been absolutely decimated over the past year.

Covid has changed all of our lives, but the pain has not been felt equally. The hardest hit industries are disproportionately staffed by people of color. And in New Haven, as in other cities in Connecticut,

residents in Black and Latino neighborhoods like mine have experienced higher numbers of Covid-19 positive cases than white neighborhoods.

I’m a healthcare worker in an ambulatory facility. When the pandemic first hit, I was moved into one of the cancer care facilities where there was a greater need, assisting some of our community’s most vulnerable patients with getting care and receiving treatment. I have seen how much our community has suffered as a result of Covid-19.

Families are struggling to get by on unemployment, and can barely afford to pay their rent or bills or provide sufficient food for their children. Many people don’t know when their next paycheck will come or what to do if they get sick, since they lost their healthcare along with their jobs. There is a lot of fear and anxiety about the future.

These experiences informed me when worker recall legislation came before the Board of Alders last year.

I voted for New Haven’s recall legislation because I knew it would be good for my community.

Hotel workers in New Haven are some of the most hardworking people I have ever met. They love their jobs and want to return to work. Passing recall legislation let workers know that at the end of this terrible pandemic, they would have a future—that they wouldn’t be left behind or forgotten about.

After recall legislation passed in New Haven, many community members told me that they felt incredibly happy that their voices were heard and that the City of New Haven cared about their livelihoods and wellbeing. It was good for the mental health and the psyche of many city residents to know that they had a little bit more certainty and a little bit more peace of mind about the future.

Worker recall reform is good for workers and good for the economic recovery. It will also benefit employers and strengthen the workplace.

SB 658 requires employers to rehire workers only if the worker is qualified and was laid off through no fault of their own. Recalling former workers instead of hiring new workers is more cost-effective for employers because it reduces search, hiring, and training costs. Moreover, experienced employees are more likely to comply with public safety guidelines and to speak up if violations occur, creating increased safety conditions for both workers and consumers.

Working people across Connecticut need help, and the General Assembly and Governor Lamont have a unique opportunity to help them. I support statewide recall legislation because all hospitality workers in the state deserve the peace of mind that New Haven hotel workers now have.

Carmen Rodriguez represents Ward 6 in the New Haven Board of Alders and is a healthcare worker.

PAUL BASS PHOTO Alder Rodriguez (speaking at an event this month): Hundreds of my constituents and

neighbors lost jobs in the pandemic.

Connecticut Activists, Organizers, and Community Members March in Solidarity with Palestinians and Colombians New Haven, Connecticut - Today on Saturday, May 22nd at 12:00pm, starting at New Haven City Hall, about five hundred organizers, activists and community members marched through the streets of New Haven to show their support for Colombians and Palestinians who have been impacted by the state violence that has erupted over the last few weeks.

The rally featured community organizers, activists and students who condemned U.S. military aid to Colombia and Israel.

Speakers shared personal stories about the devastating impact of the War on Drugs on Latin America, conditions of Palestinian oppression under the Israeli apartheid system, Jewish solidarity with Palestinians.

Speakers also made connections between military violence in Colombia and Palestine with military violence and militarized policing in the United States.

During the rally, organizers demanded that Connecticut congresspeople sign onto HB 2590: The Palestinian Children & Families Act, which protect the human rights of Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation. Organizers also called for Connecticut representatives to support Leahy Law, which prohibits the U.S. Dept. of State and Defense from providing military assistance to foreign security force units that violate human rights with impunity, and enforce it to end U.S. military aid to the Colombian government.

Other demands included: making New Haven an “apartheid-free zone” by divesting from companies doing business in West Bank settlements, ending state pension funded by investments in Israeli companies, and ending joint US-Israel police trainings. Yale students called for Yale University to divest their endowment from any institutions doing business in illegal West Bank settlements; end education trips

to Israel and exchanges with Israeli universities; and end the Slifka Center’s involvement with Israel.

The rally was organized by community members and activists, and endorsed by the following organizations: Semilla Collective; Reclamation and Survival; Mending Minyan; Jewish Voices for Peace New Haven; UConn Students for Justice in Palestine; Wesleyan Students for Justice

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in Palestine; Yale Students for Justice in Palestine; Tree of Life Educational Fund; Central Connecticut Democratic Socialists of America; American Muslims for Palestine Connecticut; Party for Socialism and Liberation; Middle East Crisis Committee; and Promoting Enduring Peace; Toward Abolition.

QUOTES: Camila Guiza-Chavez, member of Semi-

lla Collective and Havenly “As a first generation Colombian who was born and raised in this country, my whole life I have felt disgusted watching how the U.S. unapologetically inflicts profound violence upon the people of Colombia, including my loved ones and family members. The United States is responsible for financing decades worth of horrific human rights abuses by the Colombian government’s military and paramilitary forces. I’m marching on Saturday because I can’t stay silent while the U.S. government quietly pours billions of dollars into a dictatorial government that is terrorizing my people and violently undermining their rights to life and self-determination. In the same hand, I am marching to demand that the U.S. stop financing the apartheid state of Israel. I want freedom for all our people around the world, from New Haven to Gaza to Cali.”

Nadine, Palestinian activist [last name withheld to protect privacy] “Please understand that Palestine does not need our tears and sympathy, this is a human rights issue. They need action. They have tried to silence us. They have tried to censor us. But here we are today. Living proof of Palestine in all of our truth!

We will not give Israel the satisfaction of feeling helpless. This is what they thrive Con’t on page 15

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

Lt. Rankins Suits Up For Colleague’s Funeral

by STAFF

New Haven I ndependent

On his way to recovery, Lt. Samuel “Nuke” Rankins Thursday paid tribute to Ricardo Torres Jr. along with hundreds of fellow firefighters from around the nation.

Rankins was able to suit up in his Class A dress fire uniform Thursday in the burn unit of Bridgeport Hospital, where he is recovering from injuries that almost killed him from fighting a Valley Street fire on May 12.

Rankins suited up so he could watch the livestream of the funeral at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven for Torres, who died fighting the same fire.

Hundreds of firefighters descended on the city to participate in the event and cover for New Haven colleagues.

Rankins at first was placed in a coma at the burn unit after the fire. He is gradually getting better, as friends and family buttress him with prayers.

Rankins “took it very hard when he found out wasn’t going to be able to attend the funeral in person,” his family reported. “Some New Haven and Bridgeport Firefighters arrived to the Bridgeport burn unit this morning and sat by [his] side as he watched the funeral via live stream.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Lt. Samod Rankins, seated at middle in front row, surrounded Thursday in the hospital burn unit by New Haven Firefighters James Hilton, Lt. Johnathan Clarke, Jasmine Williams, Taurese Washington. Back row: Bridgeport Firefighters Lt. Dennis Gregory, Pump Engineer Sheila Brennan, Battalion Chief Harold Clarke, Nicholas Porzett, Brian Zayas.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

Cops, Neighbors Canvass Hill In Wake Of Shootings

by NICK PERKINS

New Haven I ndependent

At a corner where two men were shot last Thursday, 10 Hill neighbors and cops gathered to go door to door to offer people reassurance and seek some sort of solution to the current wave of violence.

The group gathered at the corner of West Street and Columbus Avenue.

“We’re going around to make sure everyone is OK,” said Sgt. Justin Marshall, the neighborhood’s district manager.

The party broke up into three groups and set out, knocking on doors to speak with residents. (In order to maintain the confidentiality of those being spoken with, it was requested that no pictures be taken during this time and that the names of residents not be used.)

The group included two police academy chaplains, Angel Ramos and Maria Rodriguez, police academy chaplains.

Ramos said he wanted to help let people know the police are there for them when they need help.

Howard Boyd, president of the Hill North Community Management team, spoke on making the Hill more “safe, healthy, and educated.”

After making the round Monday, Boyd said he was surprised by how open people were with the police officers. “Their presence made a difference,” he said. However, the residents also said it would make more of an impact if police officers come around to see them more often, not just after a crime has been committed.

One older couple told Boyd Monday that because of the recent spike in shootings, they no longer feel safe to go buy ice cream and walk around the neighborhood while eating it. They feel safer sitting on their porch eating ice cream from their fridge.

With all the federal Covid relief money going around, “the Hill needs to be rescued,” Boyd argued. He spoke of the need for a community resource center, since some people in The Hill have a hard time getting downtown due to Covid concerns on public transportation.

Boyd said he hopes to continue to work with Marshall to schedule walk-throughs, as he thinks the residents would be happy to see the same people checking in on them regularly.

Hill Alder Evelyn Rodriguez, another canvasser, said she learned about a “beautiful initiative” put into place to help local children. In moments of crisis, the Yale Child Study Center and the NHPD work together to stage interventions and help the local children that need it. They provide help by allowing children to talk to trained professionals about the issues that are worrying them. Rodriguez said while going around on Monday, she was happy to see that instead of just gathering information, the police offered parents help. One parent said that they were glad the police came to their door, because their 14-year-old child was distressed and

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Justin Marshal and Howard Boyd at the canvass. needed to know that there was a way to get support. That parent was informed about the Yale Child Study program.

Rodriguez did say that she worried residents would be concerned about police being on their doorsteps without a call.

“When people see blue, they assume there

Sgt. Marshall preps canvassers.

is a problem,” she said. However, she also said that she thought having familiar faces such as herself and Boyd helped to assuage some of those fears, and that they were able to have helpful conversations through that.

Going forward, Rodriguez said, she in-

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tends to continue to work closely with the community management team and keep in mind that they have useful resources, so that they can successfully plan for their districts and work towards a safer New Haven.

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Hero Firefighter Laid To Rest THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

by MAYA MCFADDEN New Haven I ndependent

Hundreds of firefighters flooded city streets Thursday to honor and march for Firefighter Ricardo Torres, Jr., a hero remembered for his love, unmatched work ethic, and dedication to his loved ones.

Torres was laid to rest Thursday by New Haveners and beyond. A procession from Grand Avenue fire headquarters to St. Mary’s Church included firefighters from all over the country paying tribute.

Torres died last week during an overnight Valley Street fire, which also critically injured his colleague Lt. Samod Rankins. The line of duty death was the first in years for the NHFD and the first loss Fire Chief John Alston Jr. has had to deal with since becoming chief.

A hundred firefighters suited up in dress uniforms and white gloves at the Grand Avenue Firehouse. Several hundred more firefighters joined as the service members marched to the church for a closed ceremony.

Active and retired firefighters marched with light synchronized steps to the beat of drums and bagpipes to St. Mary’s.

As the firefighters marched past restaurants and local shops, community members paused, watched and recorded video of the honorary procession.

The hundreds of firefighters and Torres family members were escorted by the Engine Six fire truck decorated with an honorary ribbon for Torres, who helped to rescue two people from the Valley Street fire.

To allow for the NHFD members to attend the funeral service, firefighters for out-of-town departments volunteered to serve shifts in New Haven Thursday.

The NHFD will be getting help from neighboring fire departments while Torres’ fire brothers and sisters grieve two recent losses and pray for the ongoing recovery of Rankins. “They’re coming because they understand that it could be them,” Alston said during a Wednesday press conference previewing Thursday’s funeral. “We still have to manage a city.”

As the bagpipes echoed in the streets Thursday, some firefighters wiped away tears while marching on.

Inside the church, speakers recalled the kind of man Torres was. He joined the NHFD in July 2019 and was assigned to the Engine 6 company.

Former NHFD fire chief and St. Mary Deacon Martin O’Connor led the funeral mass for the family and department members.

Torres’ widow, Erica Martinez, is pregnant with their unborn son Crew Torres and is now raising their 11-month old son Oliver Torres. At the funeral, she said she is working through unbearable emotions of anger, fear, and sadness with support from the NHFD.

Late firefighter Ricardo Torres. Jr.

Firefighters carry Ricardo Torres’ casket into St. Mary’s Church.

“You’re supposed to be here,” she said.

“You’re supposed to go to work, do your job, and come home.”

Their son Oliver’s first birthday is next week, she said. She recalled the pair’s excitement and countdown of the days.

Martinez talked to her husband once earlier on the day of the fatal fire, while he was at work, during a brief FaceTime call that included Oliver.

During her remarks Thursday, Martinez recalled how she met Torres on an online dating app. She signed up to support her sister, who was starting online dating. Just before Martinez planned to delete the app, she got a message from a “decent looking guy” whose dating profile described him as a “5’9 and a chef” she said.

Their first date happened about six years ago after talking through the app.

They went to the movies. Torres was 15 minutes late, had her buy the tickets, and didn’t offer to buy her popcorn, she said.

“I would like to clarify that Ricardo was barely 5’7 and definitely not a chef,” she said.

The two sat in the car after the movie having “effortless” conversation for three hours. Before they both knew it, it was 3 a.m, and they agreed to depart. After a rejected kiss in the car and handshake attempt, Martinez said, they shared a first kiss outside of the car to end their first date. Eleven months later, the two got engaged.

“It is an honor to have met you. To have fallen in the deepest of deep kind love with you. To marry you, and have a family with you. It is a privilege to have been loved by you. To be have been chosen by you and to carry your two sons for you,”

Outside of the Grand Avenue firehouse Thursday morning.

Martinez said.

Torres would often remind his wife that she she was strong.

“I don’t feel strong,” she said Thursday.

Martinez aches with thoughts about her husband not being at her bedside when she delivers their second baby. He was there for their first, Oliver. She recalled

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him brushing her hair in the hospital and taking care of their newborn so she could rest.

Martinez thanked the NHFD for its support over the past week. She said she has formed new relationships with department members like Assistant Fire Chief Lt. Justin McCarthy.

Engine Six commanding officers Lt. William Riggott and Capt. Kendall Richardson described Torres as a hero and leader since his training academy.

Torres was an “optimal performer” who was a fast past and self motivated firefighter, Riggott said. He earned the nickname “Tornado” while in the academy.

Torres was committed to learning how to be the best to serve his community.

Riggott recalled working with Torres on a call during his first two weeks on job.

After watching Riggott struggle to work with a woman who only spoke Spanish, Torres stepped in and worked with the resident.

The two made a deal, Riggott recalled.

Torres said, “You teach everything you know about the job, and I’ll try to teach you Spanish.”

Richardson, who has been struggling to sleep since Torres’ death, formed a tight bond with Torres as his instructor in academy. His class members stood from their seats at the service as Richardson spoke.

Torres pushed fellow members of the academy to their graduation.

Ricardo’s stepfather, Armand Mendez, stood beside Torres’ mother Cathy FosterMendez as they reminisced about their hero at home and on duty.

Armand said Torres was energetic since a young age. He recalled precious memories with Torres growing up watching Sunday football. Torres stepped in as a father figure to his younger sister when Armand had to work.

The family was comforted with thoughts that Torres lived his dream as a firefighter, husband, father, brother, and son.

“I keep looking at the door hoping that at any given moment you’d walk right in and say hey like you use to do and give me a big hug and kiss,” Foster-Mendez said.

Torres loved to eat. His mother recalled him often making his first trip when returning home to the kitchen.

Foster-Mendez raised Torres as a single mother. She said she got her strength from his infectious laugh, big heart, and comforting smile.

“The world needed a hero, and God picked you to be that one. I am so proud of you,” Foster-Mendez said.

Mayor Elicker, Fire Commission President Rev. Steven Cousin, and President of Local 825 Patrick Cannon also made remarks at the Thursday service.

Alston announced that in the fall the NHFD in partnership with the University of New Haven will host a training symposium in honor of Torres on firefighter tactics, mental health, health, safety, and well being of firefighters, and support services for spouses, and partner support.”

“We will never forget him. Ricardo will be amongst us and apart of us forever,” said Alston.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

Crowded Hill Neighbors Blast Zone Changes

by ALLAN APPEL

New Haven I ndependent

Parking is so scarce in parts of the Hill that neighbors put trash bins out on the street to try to preserve coveted parking spots. Homes are so close together that people hear toilets flushing next door.

So neighbors expressed skepticism about proposals to update the city’s zoning rules — including allowing smaller lots sizes and “accessory dwelling units” (or “ADUs,” like garage or mother-inlaw apartments) with no parking requirements.

Neighbors heard about the proposals Wednesday night at the online regular monthly meeting of the Hill South Community Management Team.

The gathering over the Zoom teleconferencing app drew approximately 30 neighbors and presenters.

A spirited discussion pivoted around a a long-in-the-works proposed updating of New Haven’s zoning code, announced last month by City Plan Director Aicha Woods.

WOods said that the city will seek to make it easier to build attic, basement, and garage apartments (aka ADUs) and to drop the minimum required lot size for new housing to 4,000 square feet.

Making it easier to build ADUs in their attics, basements, and garages, for example — would allow for New Haven to significantly increase its much depleted affordable housing supply without eating into more open space, Woods argued.

“We all know zoning matters,” Woods said. Zoning laws “can have an incredible impact” on what kind of housing is built where.

Historically, “exclusionary zoning” regulations around housing type restrictions, minimum lot size, parking minimums, and density have reduced housing choices

TOM BREEN PHOTO Johnny Dye: “There will be holy hell around here.”

and artificially increased the cost of building new places to live, she said.

“I think exclusionary zoning has specifically been used to continue racial segregation,” she said at last month’s City Plan meeting. “I just want to name that as an underlying reason for the work we’re doing and the disparities that we are recognizing the need to correct.”

She added that making it easier to build ADUs in particular “can create new housing units while respecting the scale of our historic fabric.”

Those positions were summarized Wednesday night by Angela Hatley, a

Hill South homeowner and chair of the CMT’s housing committee. Hatley established that committee several years ago in response to pressures from builders, both nonprofit and for-profit, and the city seeking to build in the already dense Hill neighborhood “On the face of it,” she said of the proposed zoning update, “it’s good, but not requiring any additional parking areas and a lot of our neighbors, for them parking is a premium. I don’t know how we feel about more units without parking. I know people who drag toters out to preserve parking.

“They also want to amend the minimum lot requirement to 4,000 square feet citywide. To give context, we are in an RM-1 high density [zone], and our requirement currently is 5,200, so they’re deducting from us. We are already so close to each other people can put hands out windows and touch each other, hear phone conversations, toilets flushing. Someone in another part of town has 6,000 or 7,000 square feet; they already have room to breathe. We live already like sardines.

I think each [neighborhood] should be judged separately to see if they can accommodate the density.”

It didn’t take long for other Hill South neighbors to echo Hatley’s concerns.

“It’ll only get worse if a two-family becomes three, and all of a sudden they are living in basements,” said another longtime homeowner. “If you go to 4,000 square feet, that’s a 40 by 100 lot; that’s no place for kids to play. And if you’re close to your neighbor, if he gets reckless, yours burns down too. That already happened recently on Arthur Street.”

CMT and neighborhood stalwart Johnny Dye said he recently came back from a city meeting and found himself refereeing a fight between two neighbors “complaining about parking. The two combatives were talking about the garbage can on the street. You just can’t put the garbage can on the driveway or sidewalk. I’m particularly opposed to” the proposed change.

Pamela Delerme echoed: “I’m against it for all the reasons, the fire hazards, the close quarters, the parking.”

Parking, Fire, & The Next Pandemic Then she added another reason: “This won’t be the last pandemic, trust me.

I hate to say that, but it’s true. Putting people in close quarters is not a wise idea.

I’m against it unless someone can give me good reasons. The whole of New Haven is not the same. This has not been an ethical process to say let’s do it across the board. It doesn’t work for me.”

CMT Chair Sarah McIver then turned to Claudette Kidd, who was at the meeting.

Kidd is a member of the city’s recently established Affordable Housing Commission.

The committee was spawned by the Affordable Housing Task Force, which recommended more ADUs. “I am a member of the Affordable Housing Commission,” Kidd responded in the chat function. “It has been in discussion Con’t on page 10

Morton Resigns To Answer National Guard’s Call

by STAFF

New Haven I ndependent

Walter L. Morton IV, a rising millennial star in Hamden’s civic life, is resigning from the Board of Education to deploy overseas with the National Guard.

Morton, who grew up in the town, chairs the board’s Personnel and Finance Committee. He plays a leading role in the Urban League of Southern Connecticut Young Professionals (ULSCYP) and served as the town’s director of legislative affairs. He was also active in Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Following is the text of a public letter Morton released Tuesday.

I write this letter to you today to inform you that I will not be seeking reelection to the Board of Education (BOE), and will be resigning effective Monday May 31th.

I was informed this past week by my U.S. Army unit that I will be deploying overseas at the end of the month to Africa.

Working together has been the honor of a lifetime, and choosing to resign was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make, as I have been so invested in the Board’s work the past 5 years. Growing up in Hamden, it has always been a goal of mine to hold elected office in the town I call home, and to be the change I wished to see in our community. After first being appointed to the BOE back in 2016 by the DTC, I was humbled to receive the support of Hamden residents the following year, earning the opportunity to serve the BOE for a 4 Year term. I will forever be grateful for their trust and support, and for allowing me the space and time to grow into the person and Board member that I

Walter Morton.

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am today.

During my time, I worked with my colleagues on a range of issues from budgets, to redistricting, equity efforts, union negotiating, and special education funding to name a few. I can say unequivocally that our Board members are dedicated, hard-working, and work tirelessly to ensure our students – and future leaders – have a bright future. I have been proud to be a part of this district’s work over the years, and regret the fact I will be unable to continue in my capacity. However, aside from physically taking me away from Hamden, my deployment will require all of my time, focus, and efforts and I therefore will be unable to devote the necessary attention that this position demands. I do not wish to take up a space on the Board from a member of

the community who can devote the time and effort to do the job, and do the job well. While I’m sad to go, I’m confident that the Board will continue to do incredible work on behalf of our students and families.

I’m incredibly grateful for all of the friendships I’ve made these past 5 years, whether it was parents, teachers, students, and of course, my fellow board members.

It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you all over the years, and I look forward to continuing those relationships going forward. Thank you all again for your support and love over the years. I hope to see many of you before I depart late this week, and I look forward to continuing to remain actively engaged in our community when I return from deployment. In Solidarity,Walter L. Morton

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

Movimiento Cultural Afro-Continental Keeps The Beat

by Alma Mendoza, The Arts Paper www. newhavenarts.org

Addys Castillo stepped up to the microphone while the beat of the drums echoed across the parking lot. “La Bomba es el ritmo de mi corazón,” she sang. “Bomba is the rhythm of my heart.” A few feet away, Natasha Velez danced to the message, her feet and hands telling the drummer how fast to go. Her skirt swished in her hands as she moved.

That scene unfolded at Fair Haven Community Health Care on a recent Saturday, as Movimiento Cultural Afro-Continental (MCAC) brought Bomba to a sun-soaked parking lot in the city’s Fair Haven neighborhood. Fifteen months into the pandemic, members of the group are working to keep the beat going with new precautions in place. They will perform at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas on June 22, as part of a summer that is picking up.

“We want to create a community of Bomba and we want to bring the young people,” said MCAC founder Kevin Diaz. “It’s important with the big population of Latinx and Puerto Rican people in New Haven.”

Bomba is a traditional dance that comes from Puerto Rico. It was birthed in the 16th century by enslaved Africans in Puerto

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Rico. It mainly comes from African roots, with words that are mainly in Spanish but also have a mix of other languages. The art form involves the “barril” or “drums,” maracas called “cuas” or “sticks,” and at least three drummers. The drummers’ specific names are “subidor” and “buleador” which play different rhythms.

When a dancer approaches, the subidor begins to follow his or her movements to the beat of the barril. Bomba is their shared connection, through which they exchange information and tell a story of resistance and community. This is known as “Bambula,” or the act of remembering one’s roots and humanity. The form is set to Afro-Puerto Rican music that holds strains of Caribbean, Latin American, and West African musical traditions.

Diaz is quick to say that despite a frequent misconception, the tradition is not tied up with “brujeria” or satanism. In fact, there’s no religious element at all. It is truly folkloric.

Diaz, who has been teaching for over 25 years, founded MCAC in 2016. He chose the name because he wanted to capture the breadth of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora, he said. Prior to the pandemic, the group performed in schools and universities as well as events in New Haven, the Bronx, Boston

H A V E N

and other parts of Massachusetts. It held semi-weekly practices in Fair Haven, often using the police substation on Blatchley Avenue as a rehearsal space.

In the years before COVID-19, the group was growing steadily. When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Diaz noticed

a rise in the number of people looking for Bomba. Many had come to Connecticut from the island with almost nothing, and “people would ask, where can I find Bomba?” The group ended up performing at dozens of events.

In early 2020, they were gearing up for

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upcoming performances including several summer festivals and Hispanic Heritage Month. Then the pandemic hit. MCAC watched as months of gigs disappeared overnight and the city shut down.

“It really affected us … really killed us,” Diaz said.

Slowly, the group started offering workshops online, during which dancers and musicians would mask up and perform while socially distanced from each other.

The group used the Black and Brown Power Center, the large space owned and operated by City-Wide Youth Coalition downtown, to gather. Diaz said that the group followed guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

He added that members were grateful to receive a grant from the City of New Haven and Connecticut Humanities so they could keep operating.

Virtual presentations included lessons for the Yale Latino Network Group, Yale African-American Affinity Group, Yale School of the Environment, and the International Society of Tropical Foresters, as well as a “Hope and Healing Day” at the New Haven Public Schools and the University of New Haven’s spring 2021 Modern Language Festival.

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S C H O O L S

A New Haven Barber Comes Home THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper www.newhavenarts.org

The first time Steven Strother did someone’s hair, he was six years old and the face staring back in the mirror was his own. Three decades and one small business later. is back on his home turf and excited to serve the community that raised him.

Strother—or as he is affectionately known, Blaze—is the owner of All Star Line Up Barber Shop, opening this week at 59 Orange St. After years owning a storefront in West Haven, he is growing the business in New Haven’s Ninth Square neighborhood. Strother plans to soft open at the end of this week, and hold a formal opening June 11.

For the lifelong New Havener, it’s a homecoming.

“This was always my initial plan,” the 37-year-old said in a recent interview at the space, as builder Milton Moseley fastened a swiveling chair into place. “To come down here, and have a shop. I never gave up on that.”

Strother grew up in New Haven in the 1980s and 1990s, first in Fair Haven and then in the city’s Dixwell neighborhood.

He became interested in hair when he was just six, after watching his parents and siblings experiment with different styles.

As one of seven kids—he has three brothers and three sisters—he was able to prac-

tice on his siblings. He said that his brothers were always willing to let him tinker, as if they knew that one day he’d be doing it professionally.

Strother bought his own clippers when he was 11. By the time he was a teenager, he had fallen in love with the craft of doing hair. When he was 17, he apprenticed at New Haven’s then-bustling House of Stars Barbershop, then worked at different businesses until he could afford his own space. While it was always his plan to open in New Haven, he struggled to find a storefront that was affordable. In May 2018, he started a shared barbershop and salon in West Haven instead.

While he was there, he honed the distinct style for which he is known. He said he sees hair as an art form—even the most routine of fades and undercuts can become statement pieces with a spiralling, backwards C shape or hard edge that helps someone walk into an interview with their head held high. On a postcard that he’d been handing out to passers-by, he has photographs of customers still in their black smocks, heads tilted down.

One has thick, shiny curls exploding from a fresh fade. Another, a young boy who can’t be more than four, beams as he shows off a new cut. Strother said that behind their hairstyles is a story of the social space that he has created one town away, and now hopes to create in New Haven.

Even as his West Haven business grew, Strother never stopped looking in New Haven. He said he was particularly inter-

ested in storefronts downtown because the location is so central—all of the city’s buses roll through the neighborhood on their way to or from the New Haven Green. When he saw a storefront for rent, he called up Beacon Properties and made

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his pitch. He lives in the neighborhood, meaning his commute to work is now minutes.

“I’ve created a lot of relationships doing this,” he said. “A lot of kids grew up in my chair. This is a great place to flour-

ish—a lot of people trust their barber.”

Strother plans to keep the West Haven shop, which also offers full-service salon options, open as he operates the Orange Street location. He is currently planning to have seven employees including himself. He said that the capacity of the shop is 14 people in total. Currently, chairs are spaced far enough apart that it feels airy, particularly when the door is open to Orange Street.

Inside, All Star Line Up is almost ready for business. Moseley, whose four kids grew up alongside Strother and his siblings and ran a construction company called Moseley & Sons for years, is doing the renovations. Around the space, sleek black sinks and swiveling chairs jut out from a long, shiny tile floor. A front counter greets people just beyond the entrance.

A kitchen and bathroom sit in the back.

On a recent Monday, passers-by poked their heads in every so often to get a first look. On a television screen propped in front of a chair, a narrator spoke calmly about wildlife. Her even, smooth voice became the soundtrack to final construction.

“It’s amazing what God will do,” Moseley said as sunlight streamed through the front door and made the space glow.

“Blaze is a great guy, and this will fit right into the area.”

Steven Strother, who is affectionately known as Blaze, is opening a second location of All Star Line Up Barber Shop at 59 Orange St. Lucy Gellman Photos.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021 Con’t from page 07

Movimiento Cultural Afro-Continental Keeps The Beat It wasn’t the same, Diaz said. The group did not truly regain momentum until last summer, as Black Lives Matter protests shook the city, the state, and the country following the state-sanctioned murders of Gorge Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and dozens of others.

They got a call to play Bomba at a rally in front of the New Haven Police Department headquarters, where 5,000 people showed up. It was one of the largest crowds the group has ever played to.

Members continued performing from there; Diaz said that the group is now at full vaccination. This spring, MCAC performed at the kickoff and follow-up events for Vaccinate Fair Haven, a push to vaccinate New Haven’s Fair Haven neighborhood. The group already has four events planned for June, including on the main stage at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

“I am optimistic because things are starting to pick up,” Diaz said.

Every dancer comes to the group for a different reason. A longtime New Havener, Castillo said she started dancing Bomba to discover more of her Puerto Rican and Colombian heritage and make a connection with her ancestry. As the president of Citywide Youth Coalition, she has long believed in—and is vocal about—the power of arts and culture to further dialogue around anti-racism.

Castillo said that Bomba has “liberated” her creative practice. Before joining MCAC, she never identified herself as a dancer, despite studying genres that in-

cluded hip-hop and West African dancing.

Today, that has changed.

“I say it with pride, yo soy Bombera,” she said. “I don’t just dance. It’s bigger than that.”

She said that she feels at home in Fair Haven, where the group practices and performs. Since starting to dance, Castillo has met several elders dancing Bomba both in Connecticut and across the country.

“Bomba has been an opportunity to build community differently,” she said.

“It’s a mix of everything, cultures, and ethnicities.”

For Castillo, Bomba is about more than just dance. She wants to use the form, and specifically her work with MCAC, to break down cultural barriers and create joyful, communal spaces in a world turned on its head. She sees it as a way to both occupy space and bridge Black and Brown communities. Last year, Castillo joined Bomba dancers at Black Lives Matter marches and rallies in New Haven and Hartford. She performed at voter registration drives and has brought that work more recently to vaccination sites.

“The pandemic is still very present,” she said. “We are in need of space to practice joy.”

Immigrant rights advocate Kica Matos has been a member of MCAC for two and half years. She said she believes that using Bomba expresses solidarity within the community. From protests and teach-ins to vaccine sites, she is often one of the first to show up with a drum and long wrap skirt.

When the pandemic hit, she said, it made

life harder in a neighborhood that was already chronically under-resourced. Fair Haven is a small part of New Haven with over 17,000 people, the majority of whom are Latinx and Black. Many people and families in the neighborhood are undocumented immigrants, meaning that they did not receive relief from the federal government.

Matos, who lives in Fair Haven, saw neighborhood residents struggling with joblessness, food insecurity, and access to medical supplies. To support these Fair Haven families, MCAC began performing for free at local causes and pitching in on food drives to help those who couldn’t afford groceries.

“I saw a community that was devastated and people desperately in need of basic resources and support,” she said. “I want to see a neighborhood that is vibrant and see city officials wrap their arms around Fair Haven … we have an obligation to take care of communities that suffer more than others.”

For Matos, MCAC is also a form of release and an invitation to heal. She grew up in an artistic family, where her mother was a dancer and dad was a drummer and musician. Music has been an essential tool to her identity as an Afro-Boricua. Now, she sees it as tied to her vision of cultural and economic equity in Fair Haven.

“Bomba feeds my soul,” she said. “I don’t know how else to put it. It’s a huge privilege to be part of Movimiento Cultural. The music speaks to me in a way that no other form of music does. I often turn to music as

10

a way to heal, a way to rest, I think Bomba and arts and culture recharge my batteries, be rejuvenated—to feel that my soul is being fed.”

The group has continued to gain steam as it heads into summer. Diaz said he hopes that MCAC continues to grow, and that New Haven continues to be a place where people come and celebrate their heritage.

He wants to bring more attention to the history of the African and Afro-Caribbean diaspora through the work, he said—especially because it’s still not widely taught.

“We cannot forget our history,” Diaz said “They love it, it’s something you learn, and maybe motivate you to look into your ethnic background and try to explore and pass on.”

“It’s something beautiful,” he added. “We welcome everybody.”

Alma Mendoza is a junior at Metropolitan Business Academy. This piece comes to the Arts Paper through the Spring 2021 cohort of the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative (YAJI), a program of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. This year, YAJI has gone virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Castillo (in face shield) at a Vaccinate Fair Haven event in April 2021: “I say it with pride, yo soy Bombera. I don’t just dance.

It’s bigger than that.” Lucy Gellman File Photo.

Members of MCAC performing in April 2021. Lucy Gellman File Photo.

Matos in June 2020, at a rally that drew 5,000 people to downtown New Haven.

Lucy Gellman Photo.

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Blast Zone Changes

because of the homeless and housing shortages. Some home owners want to build a second home on their property to help with the lack of housing.”

“We don’t have a housing shortage over here,” neighbor John Carlson responded, also in the chat. “We have a PARKING shortage!”

“Nothing is being ‘pushed,’” Kidd replied. “It is a discussion.”

Dye had heard enough when Kidd referred to accommodating the homeless as one of the concerns of the commission and the proposed amendments.

“There will be holy hell around here if people want units for the homeless,” Dye said. Movimiento Cultural Afro-Continental Keeps The Beat At the discussion’s end, McIver and Hatley agreed that a speaker from the commission or the city should come to address the CMT, and to do so soon.

“We need to do this before the alders vote,” said Hatley. “I think they are pushing this through. I think they’d know they’d encounter opposition on this and that’s why they’re not coming out.”

After a presentation on April 26 to the City Plan Commission, the zoning changes formally wre referred to the affordable housing commission for review and then they return for further discussion by City Plan. Only then are the changes forwarded to the Board of Alders for review and a final vote up or down.

Although no formal vote was taken at the CMT meeting, the consensus appeared to be unanimous and immediate.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

Commission Report Determines It’s Time for a Racial Reckoning in College Sports

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

At its best, sports can be an arena where everyone’s differences and skills are respected and prized and can come together in an affirmation of the value of talent, teamwork, perseverance, and discipline, wrote the authors of a new report on racial equity in college sports.

“Yet sadly, that’s often not the case in intercollegiate sports,” continued the authors of the report titled, “Achieving Racial Equity In College Sports.”

The report, released by the independent Knight Commission, features a call to the NCAA and its member colleges and universities to improve and enhance the academic performance and career chances of African American athletes who obtain sports-related jobs at much lower rates than Whites.

The Knight Commission, comprised of university administrators and former athletes, focused on racial equity for the report, which also included the experiences of over 80,000 African American athletes who compete in the NCAA.

The report outlined policy changes in four core areas that the NCAA and its member institutions should make to achieve racial equity in sports: Closing educational opportunity gaps to create equitable pathways for Black college athletes’ success during and after college.

Holding institutions accountable in recruitment and hiring to achieve diversity and equity in athletics leadership.

Investing in programs that support and enhance Black athletes’ college experience and promote inclusion and belonging.

Creating more equitable opportunities for Black college athletes to assume leadership roles, especially in advocacy and governance.

The report also calls for the NCAA to dramatically boost financial support for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Accelerating Academic Success Program.

“The Commission’s report comes in the midst of a historic reckoning on race and a rise in Black student activism on college campuses,” stated former basketball

standout Len Elmore, who chaired the Task Force that guided the Knight Commission Report.

“This moment demands transformational actions that specifically improve the college experience for Black athletes,

coaches, and athletics personnel throughout all competitive divisions of college sports,” Elmore noted in a news release.

“The Knight Commission’s report lays out a road map for how the CFP, and the NCAA and its member institutions can

turn pledges into policies that do just that.”

The Knight Commission urged the NCAA and its member schools to address educational and professional opportunity gaps between Black and White athletes.

The report urged more recruiting and the hiring of minorities and those from underrepresented groups.

The authors said the NCAA also should invest in Black athletes while they are on campus, including pouring resources into programs that support African Americans.

“Both NCAA reform and institutional reform of racial equity policies and procedures are long overdue,” the authors wrote.

“It is time now to pursue a more equitable and socially just model of college sports that provides fairer and more diverse opportunities for all college athletes, including Black athletes.”

The commission plans to hold a public town hall at 2 p.m. EST on Monday, May 24. The virtual event will include a discussion of the report and a question-andanswer session.

Former Morgan State Standout has his NFL Dreams Renewed

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

When the NFL canceled a national combine in 2020 for athletes from historically black colleges and universities, former Morgan State standout linebacker Rico Kennedy figured he’d never get another shot.

One year later, with the NFL Draft taking place, Eastbay teamed up with the HBCU Combine to help Kennedy and other prospects who may otherwise have never gotten an opportunity to realize their pro football dreams.

“I feel great. Blessed that I got a second opportunity in being able to go to Morgan State and now the third opportunity because of Eastbay,” Kennedy exclaimed as he prepared for the combine at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

The combines took place on April 30, and May 1 as the NFL Draft took place.

The NFL canceled last year’s combines because of the pandemic.

“Things have come full circle, and the best word that I can use is blessed,” Kennedy continued.

Eastbay, which supplies athletic footwear, apparel, and sports equipment, surprised Kennedy, Jalen Steward (the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff), Deondre Francois (Florida State University), and Elijah Bell (North Carolina A&T) by producing a promotional video of the HBCU players.

The company filmed their reactions and made donations to their respective schools.

Kennedy, who attended a Ray Lewis-run camp as a high school star in 2013, earned

(Photo: Morgan State Atletics) a degree in construction management. He married his sweetheart Destinee, and the couple is expecting their third child in September.

“I was still training and working out to make sure that I was ready for that call,” Kennedy stated. “Once the HBCU Combine came around, I started to get butterflies.

“When I got the call, I thought people had forgotten about me and that I was done. I was moving along with my life, but I credit my wife and my family because they implored me never to give up. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime, and it can change your life.”

According to the sports website “The Undefeated,” the idea of reviving the combine came from Charles “Yogi” Jones, Bethune-Cookman’s assistant head coach and Payne’s cousin, as well as his former client when Payne was a player agent, and Jones was still playing.

“Jones had seen up close how the pandemic had derailed the hopes of HBCU players,” the website reported.

“Just one HBCU player, Tennessee State tackle Lachavious Simmons, was drafted in 2020 (in the seventh round by the Chicago Bears), and only a handful of others managed to make an NFL roster or practice squad during the season.”

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The Undefeated noted three of the four NCAA HBCU conferences (the MidEastern Athletic Conference, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) canceled football.

“The fourth, the Southwestern Athletic Conference, had its defending champion Alcorn State opt-out after Bethune-Cookman was one of the first programs anywhere in the country to abandon the season,” the website editors wrote.

Just two of the 323 players invited to participate in this year’s version of the main combine are from HBCUs: cornerback Bryan Mills of North Carolina Cen-

tral (who chose to opt-out even before the school canceled the season) and guard David Moore of Grambling. Last year, there was just one out of 337 at the full, prepandemic combine in Indianapolis.

“Jones told Payne that he didn’t want two entire classes of HBCU players to get erased in this way,” reported the website.

“Payne didn’t hesitate, in the spirit of a similarly bold move with an HBCU athlete from his days as a baseball executive: drafting Rickie Weeks out of Southern second overall in the 2003 amateur draft.

Weeks became an All-Star and played in the majors for 14 years.”

Kennedy said he plans to make the most of the opportunity. He said his wife, Destinee, and daughters Ayanna and Ava (“The Boss”), provide all the motivation necessary to succeed.

“I’m a husband, a father, and brother, a son, first. But being able to go out there and get an opportunity to shine with all my HBCU brothers and to tell my story is amazing,” Kennedy exclaimed. “Who knows,” he remarked when asked what it might feel like if the hometown Baltimore Ravens drafted him.

“That would be great because I love Baltimore, I love the community. I just want an opportunity, and any team that takes a chance on me will get all of me, a versatile player on and off the field. I’m eager to learn, I’m optimistic, and wherever I land, I’m ready to make an impact.”

Former Morgan State standout linebacker Rico Kennedy said he plans to make the most of the opportunity. He said his wife, Destinee, and daughters Ayanna and Ava (“The Boss”), provide all the motivation necessary to succeed.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

John Hope Bryant vows to create one million Black entrepreneurs, businesses with $130 million fund with Shopify

By Hunter Gilmore, The Atlanta Voice For centuries, people from all over the world have viewed and traveled to America in pursuit of the American dream. To come to a place where freedom, opportunity and financial gain were highlighted at the top of the list.

Everyone aspires to obtain these goals, especially people who are native to this country. However, somewhere along the way various societal and racial factors have discouraged certain groups of people and made it seem almost impossible to strive for the highest.

John Hope Bryant, the founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE took his own personal testimony of humble beginnings and created multiple tools to help others achieve success as well, especially, during a time period that is so crucial to Black people.

Bryant has vowed to create one million Black entrepreneurs and businesses via a $130 million fund with Shopify, the secondlargest e-commerce platform in the world and he’s giving everyone the cheat code in his book, ‘Up from Nothing; The Untold Story of How We (All) Succeed.

Bryant’s book chronicles how every single person has the ability to obtain success through various mindsets and personal awareness. He charges that by ensuring every stakeholder in America has access to the Five Pillars of Success; massive education, financial literacy, strong family structure, self-esteem, and supportive role models, that we can fulfill the promise of America’s greatness.

“Up from Nothing; The Untold Story of How We (All) Succeed is in part my story but in large part Black America’s story and also the forgotten America story. I share a lot of my personal testimonies including my ups and my downs as well as some moments of embarrassment, or what I like to call, moments of opportunity,” said Bryant.

Bryant challenges that America is still the Land of Opportunity but we must turn away from distractions, such as political in-fighting or racial and class divisions, and focus on what we can control.

“Thats why this book obsesses over how much we should ignore the noise around us. There is a lot of noise in your life and people telling you all kinds of things. Depressed people and people without a vision talk about other people, winners talk about their ideas,” he said Bryant’s strong belief in The Five Pillars has become a blueprint for many people.

However, racial injustices have complicated particular groups of people in obtaining all five pillars.

“The reality is that Black folks have been denied all five of them [The Five Pillars].

If you think about the three groups that have underperformed as a race of people in this country, it’s not Africans from Africa, it’s not Africans from Caribbean Islands, it’s African-Americans.

And behind them are Native American Indians and poor whites. These three groups

John Hope Bryant, founder, chairman and CEO of the Operation HOPE (Photo Credit: Courtesy/John Hope Bryant)

were denied three or more of those five pillars of success.”

“If you have three or more of those five pillars, you can make it. You have four or more, you’ll kill it. If you have two of those five pillars it’ll be tough and if you only have one, it’s not impossible but someone would have to really help you out,” Bryant said.

Of course, Bryant hasn’t always possessed the wisdom or know-how to tackle touch obstacles that he does today. “I learned from my mistakes. Rainbows only follow storms so I can’t grow without legitimate suffering.”

Aside from The Five Pillars, mindset is also a pertinent key in achieving success.

“There are three mindsets and they are thriving, winning and surviving”, Bryant said. “In the last 30 years, you have a celebrity culture with big incomes that has grown exponentially. A professional culture that has really been diluted and almost has become thinned out and then this huge group at the bottom of the surviving.

The winning group has become very specialized in entertainment and sports, the thriving group has become thinned out, and then you have nearly 30 million-plus Black people that are just surviving.”

“We are reverting as a race of people into a surviving mindset. If I had a surviving mindset I would probably be dead right now, especially coming from Compton, California, a place that isn’t very aspirational. It was my so-called failures and how I responded to them that saved me. I can’t control how you treated me but I can control how I treated you,” Bryant said.

“Making mistakes, brushing them off and moving myself forward has become my university. I went to college but didn’t complete it so I really had to figure this thing out on my own. The things that should have been my negatives became my positives.”

This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

Billy Porter Reveals HIV-Positive: “The Truth Shall Set You Free”

by T R Causay, BlackDoctor.org

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony-winning actor, not to mention style icon, Billy Porter just revealed that he has HIV in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

For the first time since being diagnosed more than a decade ago, the ‘Pose’ star opened up about the shame that compelled him to hide his condition.

Porter, who also has type 2 diabetes, was diagnosed with HIV 14 years ago during routine testing, he said in the interview.

But the stigma and shame he felt about his diagnosis, especially as a Black man, kept him from making this detail of his life public sooner.

“I was trying to have a life and a career, and I wasn’t certain I could if the wrong people knew,” he said. “It would just be another way for people to discriminate against me in an already discriminatory profession. So I tried to think about it as little as I could. I tried to block it out.”

“I was the generation that was supposed to know better, and it happened anyway,” explains Porter. “It was 2007, the worst year of my life. I was on the precipice of obscurity for about a decade or so, but 2007 was the worst of it. By February, I had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. By March, I signed bankruptcy papers. And by June, I was diagnosed HIV-positive. The shame of that time compounded with the shame that had already [accumulated] in my life silenced me, and I have lived with that shame in silence for 14 years. HIV-positive, where I come from, growing up in the

Pentecostal church with a very religious family, is God’s punishment.” “…In the last year, I started real trauma therapy to begin the process of healing. I started peeling back all these layers: having been sent to a psychologist at age 5 because I came out of the womb a big old queen; being sexually abused by my stepfather from the time I was 7 to the time I was 12; coming out at 16 in the middle of the AIDS crisis.”

That trauma helped fuel his work, he said, and it brought him to his role on Pose, in which he plays a character who is HIVpositive. This gave him “an opportunity to work through the shame [of HIV].”

Now Porter and his husband, whom he married in 2017, are looking to start a family. “Now it’s not just me,” he said. “It’s time to grow up and move on because shame is destructive—and if not dealt with, it can destroy everything in its path.”

Having lived through the death and stigma of HIV of many like him, Porter always questioned, “Why was I spared? Why am I living?”

“Well, I’m living so that I can tell the story,” he wrote. “There’s a whole generation that was here, and I stand on their shoulders. I can be who I am in this space, at this time, because of the legacy that they left for me. So it’s time to put my big boy pants on and talk.”

And Billy is right. Telling your story is something all of us have the right to do and should do, no matter the stigma that still going on now.

According to the National Institutes of

(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)Porter writes that he’s been in therapy since he was 25, but it was during this last year in quarantine that he discovered, “There has never been a moment that I’ve not been in trauma.”

Health (NIH), stigma has the potential to devalue or discredit individuals and people who experience HIV-related stigma report greater discrimination and lower quality of life. African-Americans living with HIV have reported greater perceived stigma and

more social rejection than Caucasians. As HIV/AIDS is a prominent health concern among African-Americans, understanding HIV-related stigma can inform the development of interventions that: 1) have potential for greater impact than individually-target-

ed programming; 2) result in longer-term health benefits; and 3) augment the effectiveness of behavioral interventions by enhancing participants’ likelihood to execute HIV-preventive and treatment behaviors.

Studies show that cultural biases like stigma, discrimination, and homophobia place many African Americans at higher risk for HIV. These barriers prevent many from seeking routine HIV testing or receiving HIV preventative care and treatments due to fear of judgment from family and peers. In fact, the CDC reports 1 in 7 African Americans living with HIV are unaware of their diagnosis. Without knowing they have HIV, they cannot take advantage of the treatments that can lead to viral suppression and prevent them from unknowingly transmitting the virus to others.

Data also show that African Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV. Although they represent only 13% of the U.S. population, they account for 43% of all new HIV diagnoses.

• Among all women diagnosed with HIV in the U.S., African American women account for 59% of new HIV diagnoses.

• African American gay and bisexual men represent 37% of all new HIV cases.

• New HIV cases are steadily rising specifically amongst African American millennials ages 24-35.

Having conversations about sexual health, HIV prevention, testing and status can help change the narrative. Thank you for unapologetically being you, Billy. We love you!

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

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Connecticut Activists

on—thinking we will give up. Thinking our grandparents would give up, our parents, but here we are—united to spread our truth.”

Mikveh Warshaw, member of Mending Minyan “No one is safe under apartheid. As a Jewish person, it is my responsibility to call out the genocide Israel is committing in the name of protecting Jewish people. Funded

by U.S. taxpayer dollars, the escalation of violence by Israel over the last few weeks is not only destroying the lives of millions of Palestinians, but also continues to put Jews in Israel and around the world at risk in retaliation for Israel’s crimes. Jewish people must push back on Zionist ideology, an ideology that makes it extremely difficult for Jews and non-Jews alike to take a strong stance against blatant inhuman and inmoral actions by the State of Israel and Israeli settlers.”

Caroline Scanlan, member of Mending Minyan “I am attending this rally on the Jewish holy day of Shabbat to show that support for Palestinian rights and my Jewish identity are not mutually exclusive. I can both belong to and love the Jewish people and speak out to hold the Israeli government accountable for its human rights violations. I am waking up to the fact that what is happening is not complicated - “a land without a people for a people without a land” was never true, and I cannot support Israel’s long-standing attacks on Palestinian lives, land and liberation.”

Anonymous, member of Reclamation and Survival [name withheld to protect privacy] “Israel is home to more than 2,500 U.S. firms. Israel buys bombs from the United States at a profit to the weapons manufacturers, and uses them to secure factories that produce high-tech components for U.S. companies, which are sold in the United States at a profit. Cisco, Intel, Motorola, Applied Materials, and HP are all steeped in blood.”

Basel, American Muslims for Palestine Connecticut [last name withheld to protect privacy] “Our entire lives, we have been told to suppress our “Palestinian-ness”—our culture, our food, our traditions. We cannot allow this to happen. Israel is not just attempting to erase the Palestinian people— they are also trying to eradicate and steal our dances, songs, roots. This is why it is so important that we celebrate ourselves and perpetuate who we are as Palestinians from Palestine all the way over to here.

We must resist and show unity within ourselves. We will not let them erase us.”

Hijab, community member [last name withheld to protect privacy] “Solidarity between occupied people has always been critical to resisting their occupiers, who collude in and profit from the violence they inflict. Kashmir and Palestine stand together.”

United Nations experts condemn pollution of La.’s Cancer Alley as environmental racism

By Wesley Muller, Contributing Writer

lailluminator.com – A group of United Nations Human Rights experts has raised “serious concerns” about the continued industrialization of the region of Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley,” calling the permitted development of petrochemical facilities and ongoing pollution of St. James Parish a form of environmental racism against the mostly-Black community.

The group of 14 U.N. Human Rights experts strongly condemned companies that are currently polluting the communities or planning expansions along the 85-mile corridor that hugs the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

They also condemned the governments and agencies granting permits to those companies. The group has called on the federal government to deliver environmental justice to communities across the United States, starting with St. James Parish.

Anne Rolfes, an environmentalist with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, welcomed the U.N.’s recognition of the pollution issue in South Louisiana and said she hopes state officials will take it as a cue to act.

“It’s easy to get used to atrocities that are happening in your own backyard, but when you step back and look at the situation in St. James Parish and along Cancer Alley, it does rise to the level of human rights abuse and humanitarian tragedy,” Rolfes said. “The United Nations Report is crucial recognition of what’s happening in St. James Parish. The state and the local parish council are cramming all of the pollution into the two highest majority Black districts. The United Nations has recognized that that is environmental racism. We are relieved and grateful that the United Nations has taken a stand, and we would like our state officials to follow.”

There are more than 150 petrochemical facilities in the area known as Cancer Alley, and many have been found to have released toxic pollutants into the surrounding air and water.

This, according to recent studies, is likely contributing to the spikes in cancer rates and COVID-19 deaths among the residents, though studies have yet to prove a clear scientific link of causation. Still, the Environmental Protection Agency has expressed serious concern after concluding that concentrations of cancer-causing pollution coming from the plants along the corridor are among the highest in the country. The region is starkly contrasted from the rest of the state on the EPA’s air toxin mapping tool, which uses gray shades of increasing darkness to indicate a given area’s cancer risk.

Some communities in Cancer Alley, such as the mostly-Black town of St. Gabriel in Iberville Parish, have little to show for hosting chemical plants and giving tax breaks to the multimillion-dollar corporations that own them. St. Gabriel’s poverty rate far exceeds the state’s average as facilities there employ mostly

Anne Rolfes, an environmentalist with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, welcomed the U.N.’s recognition of the pollution issue in South Louisiana and said she hopes state officials will take it as a cue to act.

out-of-town workers, according to a ProPublica report.

“This form of environmental racism poses serious and disproportionate threats to the enjoyment of several human rights of its largely African-American residents, including the right to equality and nondiscrimination, the right to life, the right to health, the right to an adequate standard of living and cultural rights,” the U.N. experts said in Tuesday’s press release.

Federal environmental regulators have failed to protect Cancer Alley’s residents, the experts said.

In 2018, St. James Parish Council approved the Formosa Plastics “Sunshine Project,” which proposes to be one of the largest plastics facilities in the world. The Parish Council also approved plans to build methanol complexes by YCI Methanol One and South Louisiana Methanol.

Formosa Plastics’ petrochemical complex alone will more than double the cancer risks in St. James Parish, affecting a disproportionate number of African- American residents, they said.

St. James Parish Council Chairman Alvin St. Pierre would not comment when reached by phone Friday (March 5).

According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Air Toxic Assessment map, the cancer risks in predominantly African-American districts in St. James Parish could be at 104 and 105 cases per million, while other districts with predominantly white populations, could have a cancer risk ranging from 60 to 75 per million.

The construction of the new petrochemical complexes will exacerbate the environmental pollution and the disproportionate adverse effect on the rights to life, to an adequate standard of living and to the health of African- American communities. The combined emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent per year in a single parish could exceed those of 113 coun-

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tries, the U.N. experts said.

They also expressed concern with possible violations of the cultural rights of the Black communities in the area, where at least four ancestral burial grounds of enslaved Africans are at risk of destruction by the construction of the Formosa facility.

“The African-American descendants of the enslaved people who once worked the land are today the primary victims of deadly environmental pollution that these petrochemical plants in their neighborhoods have caused,” the U.N. group said. “We call on the United States and St. James Parish to recognize and pay reparations for the centuries of harm to Afro-descendants rooted in slavery and colonialism.”

The experts, known as special rapporteurs, work under the United Nations Human Rights Council’s “Special Procedures,” the largest body of independent experts in the U.N. Human Rights system. Special Procedures is the general name of the Council’s independent factfinding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world.

The experts work as volunteers and are independent of any government or organization.

Christina Stephens, spokesperson for Gov. John Bel Edwards, responded to the Illuminator’s request for comment, saying, “The governor hasn’t reviewed the U.N. report, but great care is taken in the site selection process to identify locations that safeguard communities and their residents. State and federal regulators require an extensive environmental permitting process before construction can begin. Through those permits, industry is required to protect human health and the environment.”

Greg Bowser, president of industrial lobby group Louisiana Chemical Asso-

ciation, released the following statement on earlier this month: “Louisiana faces many health challenges as a state, including higher cancer incidence compared to the rest of the country.

But it isn’t related to industrial activity.

In fact, according to the Louisiana Tumor Registry – a statewide registry of cancer incidences administered by LSU’s School of Public Health – rates of cancer in the Industrial Corridor on the whole are even with or below those in the rest of the state.

The science is clear: the Cancer Alley moniker is unwarranted.

“We whole-heartedly disagree with the statement put forth by the U.N. Human Rights experts. We have seen no science or evidence of a preconceived decision by manufacturers to place chemical plants in areas based on the racial demographics of the region. We do not know if this group found evidence of such actions, and if they did, the statement they released does not share that information with the general public.

“As our industry has told state and federal officials, including President (Joe) Biden, it’s past time to stop talking about a fictional ‘Cancer Alley’ and instead work to address the real challenges we face as a state. We want all Louisiana communities to be healthy and prosperous. Anything we can do to achieve that together is a win for everyone.”

Louisiana Illuminator (www.lailluminator.com) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization driven by its mission to cast light on how decisions are made in Baton Rouge and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianans.

This article originally published in the March 29, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.

This article originally appeared in The Louisiana Weekly.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

The Racist Past of the Filibuster and Why it Should End Now

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and a voting and ethics bill passed the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, but neither stands a chance in the evenly divided Senate.

President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan faced fierce opposition in the Senate, but ultimately a slimmed-down version passed using the reconciliation procedure.

Reconciliation is used only in rare cases.

Lawmakers cannot use it for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the voting rights and ethics measure, D.C. Statehood, and other causes near and dear to some Democrats and most African Americans.

But Democrats do have a rare opportunity to get rid of the filibuster, a Senate cloture rule requiring 60 members to end debate on a topic and move to a vote.

NNPA Newswire has reached out to all 50 Senate Democrats and Independents seeking their position on the filibuster.

While some responded, others have held their positions close to the vest.

“If we want to get things done in the Senate, then we must abolish the filibuster,” declared Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

“It is an antiquated, Jim Crow rule that overrides the majority and halts progress.

It’s got to go.”

Nora Keefe, a spokesperson for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), told NNPA Newswire in an email that Warren “is a long supporter of getting rid of the filibuster.”

Sen. Warren tweeted that the ‘For The People Act’ includes critical parts of her bill to end corruption.

“It’s a good first step for protecting voting rights and restoring trust in our government,” Sen. Warren noted.

“We can’t let [Sen. Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) veto this critical bill for our democracy with the filibuster.

If the Senate is going to do the things the American people expect us to do, we must abolish the filibuster.”

Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) voiced support for ending the filibuster.

“The Senate needs to abolish the filibuster,” Sen. Smith tweeted over the weekend.

“It’s undemocratic, and we need to move this country forward.”

Noting that any significant voting rights legislation would need unlikely Republican support, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (DMinn.) admitted she had changed course on the filibuster.

“I’ve gone from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘yes,’” Klobuchar said.

Sen. John Tester (D-Montana) also is reportedly leaning toward approving any attempts to end the filibuster while Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) remains a “yes.”

Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona both have opposed efforts to eliminate the filibuster.

However, after the marathon session to pass President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, Sen. Machin hedged slightly in a nationally televised interview with NBC News.

“I’m not going to change my mind,” he insisted.

Sen. Manchin noted he would support establishing a “talking filibuster” that might require any senator objecting to ending debate to remain on the floor and speak for

the entire time.

“If you want to make it a little bit more painful, make him stand there and talk, I’m willing to look at any way we can,” Sen. Manchin remarked. “But I’m not willing to take away the involvement of the minority.”

President Joe Biden has refused to publicly discuss whether he would seek an end to the filibuster.

Professor Jared Carter, a Constitutional Law Expert at Vermont Law School, said it’s time to end the filibuster.

He noted that the first filibuster occurred in 1837 and was used infrequently until after the Civil War when minority parties employed the measure to stop civil rights efforts.

“It is a relic of reconstruction and Jim Crow South. It was regularly used to oppress racial minorities and oppose civil rights laws,” Professor Carter wrote in an

email to NNPA Newswire.

“Last year, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) threatened a filibuster over an anti-lynching law,” Professor Carter noted. “It’s antidemocratic in that it gives the minority party veto power over popular legislation.”

Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, noted the filibuster has always stood in the way of racial progress.

“Whether employed by Southern Democrats of the Jim Crow era or the Republican Party today after a major shift in the party’s stance on racial equality,” Robinson wrote in an op-ed for USA Today.

“When you understand the filibuster’s racist past, it becomes clear that it has a racist present as well — and that we need to get rid of it.”

His argument is as sound as any and dates well beyond Jim Crow.

In 1922 the House passed a vital antilynching bill to combat the Ku Klux Klan’s worst violence, but it was filibustered in the Senate by southern Senate Democrats, Robinson noted.

Congress tried again in 1935, but Georgia Democrat Richard Russell organized a sixday filibuster to oppose it.

Russell once said he was “willing to go as far and make as great a sacrifice to preserve and ensure white supremacy in the social, economic, and political life of our state as any man who lives within her borders.”

As Robinson wrote, the Senate’s grandest office building is now named in Russell’s honor, and Congress has never – to this day – passed an anti-lynching bill.

Lawmakers used the filibuster attempting to stop the 1957 Civil Rights Act, and, most recently, Republicans have asserted it in attempts to thwart the DREAM Act, the Affordable Care Act, and other bills that benefit communities of color.

Many have posed the question similar to Con’t on next page

Leaders were advocates for D.C. Statehood since early 1900s

By Micha Green | AFRO D.C. and Digital Editor

As many in the nation’s capital and justice leaders nationwide push for D.C. Statehood, the Council of the District of Columbia took to Twitter to give folks a little history lesson on early 20th century advocacy regarding making the City a state.

On May 8, 1909, President William Taft was the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by the “Citizens of Washington.”

There, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia Wendell Phillips Stafford addressed the diners with a direct message to President Taftthe importance of full Representation in the House and Senate. He said other State leaders had no idea on what was happening in the nation’s capital as it related to quotidian affairs and the City’s residents.

Harris & Ewing, photographer Library of Congress)

“Here [Congress’] ignorance of District affairs has often shown itself so egregious and glaring that it could excite nothing but laughter, if tears were not often a more fitting recognition of the folly,” Stafford said bluntly. “What is needed is

two men in the Senate and one man in the House; real live men with blood in their arteries and brains in their heads; men who have lived long in the District of Columbia and belong to her; men who know her needs and her capacity, who know the history and condition of her institutions, her charities, her prisons, the views and aspirations of her people; men who are proud of their connection with her, and proud that to her soil has been committed the ark of civil and religious liberty.”

Stafford further emphasized having full voting rights in Congress, versus nonvoting delegates, such as longtime leader Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), who has the loudest voice fighting for Statehood, but with no true vote.

“What we need is *members* of these bodies, with the prestige that belongs to members; not figureheads, not lobbyists, not delegates, but two members of the

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Senate and a member of the House, able, enlightened, informed, fit to represent the will and judgment of [D.C.’s citizens].”

He then poses a question to President Taft, that current leaders still ask in regards to the more than 700,000 Washingtonians who are taxed without representation.

“When 1,000,000 men are here, when they ask alone can have no part in a republucan form of government, do you imagine they will call it a sufficient answer answer to be told ‘Because you live in Washington?’”

After a partisan vote that showed Democratic Congressmen in favor of making the nation’s capital the 51st state, Republican Senators are working to ensure D.C. Statehood does not pass in the Senate.

“The [Senate Rules] Committee is marking up the [For ThePeople] Act today.

Republicans have filed an amendment to

change the findings in the bill that support [D.C. Statehood] to findings that oppose it,” Norton tweeted. “I am working with our allies in the Senate to defeat this antistatehood amendment.”

Post reading Stafford’s speech and considering current Republicans’ clear opposition to D.C. Statehood, one Twitter user said that Stafford’s qualifications for proper representation would exclude GOP leaders.

“No wonder the GOP opposes #dcstatehoodnow. People with ‘brains in their heads’ is a clear disqualification for any potential Republican representation for the District.

The post Leaders were advocates for D.C. Statehood since early 1900s appeared first on Afro.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia Wendell Phillips Stafford

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

Con’t from page 16

The Filibuster

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and a voting and ethics bill passed the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, but neither stands a chance in the evenly divided Senate.

President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan faced fierce opposition in the Senate, but ultimately a slimmed-down version passed using the reconciliation procedure.

Reconciliation is used only in rare cases.

Lawmakers cannot use it for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the voting rights and ethics measure, D.C. Statehood, and other causes near and dear to some Democrats and most African Americans.

But Democrats do have a rare opportunity to get rid of the filibuster, a Senate cloture rule requiring 60 members to end debate on a topic and move to a vote.

NNPA Newswire has reached out to all 50 Senate Democrats and Independents seeking their position on the filibuster.

While some responded, others have held their positions close to the vest.

New documentary tells the story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

By Special to the Florida Courier

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. has announced the release of “Twenty Pearls,’’ the official documentary film that the organization’s history.

Narrated by Phylicia Rashad, the documentary focuses on the sorority’s 113 years. Just 40 years past the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, nine Black college women enrolled at Howard University where they organized and built a sisterhood in 1908.

The organization has now grown to more than 300,000 members internationally and has been pivotal in watershed moments that have impacted American history.

Harris interviewed Through narration, interviews and archival assets, viewers will see how Alpha Kappa Alpha impacted the Harlem Renaissance, World War II, NASA, civil rights, women’s rights, as well as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Interviews include Alpha Kappa Alpha International President and CEO Dr. Glenda Glover; Vice President Kamala Harris and Miss Universe Ireland 2019 Fionnghuala O’Reilly (both sorority members); Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and others.

“Telling our own story is essential to preserving our history and uplifting the culture,” Glover said.

“Alpha Kappa Alpha’s remarkable 113year journey is punctuated by stories of history makers, ceiling breakers, public servants and ordinary women who have changed the course of American history.

Through this beautifully written and narrated odyssey, this film highlights, in undeniable ways, the vision, courage, tenacity, determination and power of Black women while dispelling any age-old questions about the relevance of HBCUs and the Divine 9.”

Another AKA first The film production marks another first

17

for AKA. The sorority is the first African American Greek-letter organization to distribute a full-length, feature documentary film.

The documentary premiered on March 21 on Comcast Xfinity Black Experience and Comcast Xfinity platforms, xfinity.com, XfinityFlex internet and Xfinity Mobile.

The documentary will now be distributed across North America through On Demand to Atlantic Telephone Cable, Bardstown Cable, Cass Cable TV Inc., Charter Communications, Citizen’s Cable, Comcast, Cox, Fidelity Cable, Golden West

Cablevision, Grande Communications, Great Lakes DSB, Hiawatha Broadband Comm., Homestead on Demand, Hotwire Communications, Kuhn Communications, Mid-Continent, OTELCO, Paul Bunyan Communications, Pencor Services, Phonoscope Cable, Plantation Cable, RCN, Service Electric Cable TV, Service Electric Cablevision, Troy Cablevision, Wyandotte Municipal Services and others.

Check your cable guide for availability.

The post New documentary tells the story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority appeared first on Florida Courier.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

COMMENTARY:

A Check Up for NAACP President Derrick Johnson

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher We understand that Mr. Johnson, as President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), serves at the pleasure of the National Board that appointed him. But we also understand that this national association is, and always has been, as strong as its members. The members are hardworking volunteers who have replicated themselves in service for

more than 100 years. Within each Chapter or Branch, people have been elected to serve as presidents of those units because of the faith in their service and leadership.

We know that Mr. Johnson understands these principles and, therefore, when he speaks we assume he is reflecting the desires and goals of the national organization and its local leadership.

Knowing that Mr. Johnson is aware of everything said here, it is difficult, if not impossible to understand how he could offer an endorsement of Cindy Marten, Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, for Deputy Secretary of Education in President Biden’s cabinet

without talking to, calling or attempting to communicate with the President of the San Diego Branch of the NAACP. The Branch President, Mrs Francine Maxwell, has followed not only Cindy Marten’s deplorable track record, but has worked closely with parents and members of the education community of San Diego for many years. The leadership of Mrs. Maxwell in the education concerns of the San Diego community extends years beyond her membership and service to the local NAACP. It is her record of service and commitment to the education of the children of San Diego that makes the community so respectful of her monitoring of the San Diego Unified School District

and its failures and disservice to both parents and students.

Mr. Johnson is guilty of tweeting and making statements in support of Superintendent Cindy Marten without so much as the courtesy of a conversation with his local chapter. This is harmful to both the NAACP’s credibility and the hardworking people of the San Diego Chapter and the community it serves. We believe that Mr. Johnson owes both an apology to the San Diego community and a personal telephone call to Mrs. Maxwell as his local Chapter President. A president who has raised more funds and added more growth to this local chapter than any of her predecessors for

more than a decade.

Mr. Johnson, we might be in a pandemic, but if you can find your way to do a stellar Image Awards program which was truly outstanding, then you ought to be able to find time for a telephone call to a most deserving local Chapter President, regardless of what happens to Cindy Marten. As NAACP members, we hope that you will use this as a teachable moment and also communicate personally with your other Chapter Presidents, which we understand you are not doing and have not done.

The post EDITORIAL – A Check Up for NAACP President Derrick Johnson appeared first on Voice and Viewpoint.

OP-ED: A Transformational President

By Congressman James E. Clyburn (D-SC) President Biden has completed the first 100-days milestone that has been used since Franklin Roosevelt to assess new presidents’ progress towards keeping their campaign promises and their prospects for having a successful presidency. So far, in my estimation, Joe Biden is keeping his promises and succeeding in getting the country back on track in our “pursuit of a more perfect union.”

It was much more than a political assessment when I declared 15 months ago that “we know Joe, and most importantly, Joe knows us.” Joe Biden is succeeding because of he understands the needs and aspirations of the American people. His bold and inclusive initiatives are restoring the faith of those who have been hardest hit by the current health and economic crises and

COMMENTARY:

raising the hopes of those who had already been hard hit by injustices in our society long before these crises struck.

After a plethora of Executive Orders on his first day in office, President Biden’s first legislative success was the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The ARP enjoys 77% support among all voters, including 59% of Republican voters. It has put America on a path of fully reopening safely. It has helped make hundreds of millions of vaccines available, and it has stabilized millions of American families. It has kept many small businesses from closing, and, when fully implemented, will lift more than half of the nation’s poverty-laden children out of poverty.

The Administration’s top priority for the next 100 days is passing the comprehensive American Jobs Plan (AJP). The AJP will create good-paying jobs by investing in our long-neglected infrastructure. President Biden recognizes that infrastructure now includes the information highway, and his proposal will bring affordable, highspeed internet to every home. His plan also

includes investments in green energy technology and other research innovations that will help America build a forward-looking economy that will provide sustainable economic growth.

President Biden is also proposing to invest in our country’s human infrastructure through another transformative initiative supporting the bedrock of our nation’s foundation—families. His American Families Plan (AFP) will stabilize and uplift families by extending the child tax credit enhancement, supporting childcare workers and families who pay for childcare, providing universal pre-K, making two years of community college free, and expanding access to quality, affordable health care.

These proposals will reduce systemic barriers that have prevented low-income and many communities of color from fully enjoying the greatness of our great nation.

The American people overwhelmingly support the President’s agenda. One recent poll found 68% of Americans support the AJP, and 64% are in favor of the AFP. These numbers far exceed the margin of

Biden’s election victory. These numbers refute critics who claim President Biden’s agenda is too progressive and has no support among Republicans.

It is wrongheaded to view bipartisanship through the lens of 212 Republican House Members and 50 Republican Senators. I hope Republican Members will listen more closely to the American people, Democrats and Republicans. But if they fail to do so, Democrats will unilaterally act to serve and protect Americans irrespective of political persuasions.

Following President Biden’s first speech to a joint session of Congress, we all heard the partisan Republican opposition to his agenda led by Senator Tim Scott from my home state of South Carolina. Unable to debate the merits of President Biden’s proposals, Senator Scott instead focused on the price tag and racial issues. He and his partisans never questioned the cost of the $1.9 trillion tax cut for the wealthiest Americans and corporations under the previous president. Their tax cut for the wealthy increased the national debt and exploded the deficit.

It is becoming clear to the American people that their fiscal restraint is more about who is benefiting from government spending than the amount of money being spent.

President Biden fully pays for both the American Jobs and Families Plans. He is asking wealthy Americans and corporations to pay their fair share. President Biden, and all of us, applaud their successes made possible by America’s greatness. But it is time for that greatness to be accessible and affordable for all.

Joe Biden has already demonstrated that he intends to keep the promises he made during the campaign. He is relating to people in a personal way and is proposing policies that will directly address the needs of individuals, their families, and their communities. He is not putting a price tag on the American dream. He is making investments to help all Americans realize their dreams. I believe this approach is truly transformational in its potential for dramatic progress toward liberty and justice for all.

Systemic Cheating Threatens Quality of U.S. Education

By Dr. Julianne Malveaux, NNPA Newswire Contributor Education is the bedrock of a successful society. With quality education comes more opportunities to grow, increased equality and stronger communities.

But right now, the quality of a U.S. education is under siege. As a former college president and educator, I will not stand by and watch as it happens.

As educators adapt to virtual classrooms and students are faced with academic burn-

out, a perfect storm is brewing for cheating and plagiarism to thrive. All the while, one company, Chegg, is encouraging the behavior and making billions. It’s time for colleges and universities to put a stop to this company, so it does not continue to grow out of control.

A $12 billion company that has grown as a direct result of exploitation and dishonesty, Chegg provides students with tools to receive near-immediate answers to tests, homework and quiz questions, all without repercussions.

Using the platform, students are able to access test banks, find exact copies of their assessments, and check to see if an essay will be flagged for plagiarism. Most egregiously, a student can log on to Chegg in the middle of taking a test and submit a ques-

tion to the “Expert Q&A” tool, which will give them an answer in the same amount of time it takes to even read one question.

The service is so widely used among students that in a 52-student Forbes interview, “aside from the half dozen students Chegg provided for Forbes to talk to, all but 4 admitted they use the site to cheat.”

It is unconscionable to think that we are sending our kids to school to learn and prepare for the real world, only to see so many of them cheat their way through.

And as with most issues in this country, we are seeing disproportionate effects on students of color and those from underprivileged backgrounds. At nearly $200 a year, not only is Chegg out of the budget for many of these students, but it also lowers the quality of education across the

18

board by requiring less actual learning in exchange for quick and easy good grades.

Unlike their white counterparts, many of these students do not have a safety net to fall back on when they lose access to quality education.

To exacerbate the inequality, many fraternities and sororities, which consist of predominately upper-middle class white students, are subsidizing Chegg for their members. One college junior put it perfectly in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, “I know that not everybody is capable of paying that kind of money to be a part of an organization, and that creates these small groups of privilege, where people share different Chegg accounts and test answers, and it’s further privileging the privileged.”

Racial inequality is a virus in this country. Now it is meeting another virus in our country’s education system: cheating. All students deserve a quality education. To see a company further perpetuate racial inequality as it reduces education quality across the board is unacceptable.

Online learning has allowed our educators to safely continue teaching their students, despite the shakeup COVID-19 has caused.

Even as we slowly begin to re-enter society, I am confident online learning is here to stay. But that means it is time for all academic institutions to step in and keep this cheating platform out of our classrooms, before the problem gets even worse.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author, media contributor, former college president and educator.

INNER-CITY 27,26 2016 - August 02, 2016 THE INNER-CITYNEWS NEWS July - May , 2021 - June 01, 2021

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VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES ELM CITYDECOMMUNITIES

Invitation for Bids Moving and Storage Services

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 julio,City 2016Communities hasta cuando seishan recibidoseeking suficientes pre-solicitudes 100) Elm currently bids for moving (aproximadamente and storage services. las oficinas deofHOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes seránfrom enviadas correo a petición Aen complete copy the requirement may be obtained Elmpor City Communities’ llamandoCollaboration a HOME INC alPortal 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse Vendor https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/ a las oficinas de HOME INC en gateway 171 Orange Street, tercer beginning on piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

Monday, May 10, 2021 at 3:00PM.

Community Action Agency of New Haven Inc.

DELIVERY PERSON

419 Whalley Avenue New Haven CT 06511 Phone 203-387-7700 Fax : 800-721-3040 www.canh.net

NEEDED Part Time

JOB LISTINGS

Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

POSTING DATES: FROM: Thursday, April 29, 2021 - Until filled HOURLY RATE: $12.50-13.00 PER HOUR HOURS: PART-TIME 30 HOURS

Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

JOB TITLE:

(203) 387-0354

JOB TITLE:

FATHER FACTOR CASE MANAGER

Town of Bloomfield

Assistant Director of Information Systems & Technology

Full Time - Benefited $75,909 to $117,166

242-258 Fairmont Ave 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven, CT

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority Office, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any

POSTING DATES: Thursday, April 29, 2021 - Until filled HOURLY RATE: $15.00-$18.00 PER HOUR HOURS: FULL- TIME 35 – HOURS

JOB TITLE:

HOMEBOUND ADVOCATE CASE MANAGER

POSTING DATES: FROM: Thursday, April 29, 2021 - Until filled HOURLY RATE: $15.00-$18.00 PER HOUR HOURS: FULL-TIME 35 HOURS

JOB TITLE: The Mature Adult Advocate and Outreach Case Manager

Pre-employment drug testing. For details and how to apply go to www. bloomfieldct.org AA/EOE

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

NEW HAVEN

FILE CLERK /CUSTOMER SERVICE

POSTING DATES: FROM: Thursday, April 29, 2021- Until Filled RATE: $17.00 - $20.00 PER HOUR HOURS: FULL-TIME 35 hours

JOB TITLE: Invitation to Bid: Passport Transitional Services (PTS) Outreach Specialist

APPLY NOW! 2 Notice

FROM: Wednesday, April 28, 2012 - Until filled HOURLY RANGE: $12.00 – $18.00 per hour SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE HOURS: Full-time 35 hours per week nd

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Top pay for top performers. Health Old Saybrook, CT Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay.

JOB TITLE: (4 Buildings, 17 Units) Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project SMART Women Case Manger (Bi-Lingual)

Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Portland

FROM: Thursday, April 29, 2021 – Until filled

PART-TIME: New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Cast- 30-32 HOURS HOURLY RATE: $15.00 to $17.00 PER HOUR in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Casework, FORResidential MORE INFORMATION visit CAANH Careers Youth Services Administrator Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.https://www.caanh.net/careers full-time position.

This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Community Action Agency of New Haven, Inc.

Attn: Human Resources 419 Whalley Avenue New Haven, CT 06511 Fax: (800) 721-3040 Go to www.portlandct.

E-mail: caanhjobs@caanh.net Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 org for details.

Please Forward Resume and Letter of Interest to Human Resources by 4:00 PM on Closing Date.

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY OF NEW HAVEN, INC. IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Control Act of 1986 requires the hiring of only American Citizens and aliens, who are authorized to work in the United States.

Project documents availableImmigration via ftp Reform link and below: Town of Bloomfi eld http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage The Community Action Agency of New Haven offers pathways to prosperity to those in poverty in the Greater New Haven area through:

Maintainer II - Driver Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com . Service

. Collaboration

. Advocacy

THE GLENDOWER GROUP

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 Invitation AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Full-time, benefited $27.94 hourly Pre-employment drug testing. For details and how to apply go to www. bloomfieldct.org AA/EOE

19

. Knowledge Generation

for Bids

Architectural Design for 34 Level Street

The Glendower Group is currently seeking Proposals for Architectural Design for 34 Level Street. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Glendower’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

Monday, March 8, 2021 at 3:00PM.

THE INNER-CITYNEWS NEWS July - May , 2021 - June02, 01,2016 2021 INNER-CITY 27,26 2016 - August

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Listing: Commercial Driver

Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in

Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory Immediate opening for a Class A part time driver for a petroleum training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT and asphalt company for deliveries for nights and weekends.

We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Previous experience required. Competitive wage, 401(k). Send VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Contact: Tom Dunay resume to: Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437.

Phone: 243-2300 HOME INC, on behalf of860Columbus House and the New Haven HousingHR Authority,

is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develEmail: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com ********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer********** opment& located at 108 Frank Street, Haven. Maximum Women Minority Applicants are New encouraged to apply income limitations apply.Affirmative Pre-applications willEqual be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y Action/ Opportunity Employer 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon request by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed pre Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Incoffices seeks: applications must be returned to HOME INC’s at 171 Orange Street, fast Third paced petroleum company needs a full Extremely Reclaimer Operators Floor, New Haven,and CTMilling 06510.Operators with current licensing and clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the North- time (which includes on call and weekend coverage) detail oriented experienced Dispatcher. A strong logistics backeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits ground and a minimum of one year previous petroleum exContact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 perience required. Send resume to: VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES Email: rick.touHR Manager, P.O. Box 388, Guilford, CT. 06437 signant@garrityasphalt.com

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply ********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer********** aceptando pre-solicitudes estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo Affirmative Action/ para Equal Opportunity Employer

ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en lasTrailer oficinasDriver de HOME INC. & Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas correo Materials a petición LLC, a quarry and paving contractor, has posiTractor for Heavy Highway Construction Equip- por Galasso llamando HOME INCLicense, al 203-562-4663 duranterecord, esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán ment.

Must ahave a CDL clean driving capable of tions openremitirse for the upcoming construction season. We are seeking a las oficinas de equipment; HOME INCbe enwilling 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, , CT 06510 operating heavy to travel throughout theNew Haven candidates for 1). Quality Control (experienced preferred), 2) Of-

NOTICE

Listing: Dispatcher

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

Request for Proposals

Leadership and Team Building Consulting Services Elm City Communities is currently seeking proposals for leadership and team building consulting services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

Monday, May 17, 2021 at 3:00PM.

NOTICIA

HELP WANTED:

Union Company seeks:

Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer 242-258 Fairmont Ave

NEW HAVEN

Invitation to Bid: LASCANA HOMES 329 Smith Farm Road Orange, CT 06477

fice Clerks, 3) Truck/Scalehouse Dispatcher (experience and computer knowledge preferred) and 4) Equipment Operators and Laborers and a Grading Foreman. NO PHONE CALLS. Please mail resume and cover letter to “Hiring Manager”, Galasso Materials LLC, PO Box 1776, East Granby, 06026.

ALL APPLICANTS WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR EMPLOYMENT WITHOUT ATTENTION TO RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, nd GENDER IDENTITY, NATIONAL ORIGIN, VETERAN OR DISABILITY STATUS.

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

We all have

DREAMS.

CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven, CT

Let Job Corps SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY help you Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2,achieve 2016 at its office atyours.

28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Now enrolling!

Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

Tuition-free career training High school diploma programs A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith College credit opportunities Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Housing, meals and medical care provided

Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority OfFor more information, visit jobcorps.gov or call (800) 733-JOBS [5627] fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

New Haven County - Jesselica Rodriguez – Rodriguez.Jesselica@JobCorps.org !"#$%&'(")*+,$*-+#".&/$*0(1,)2*3*4&//2*0(,,&"*5*Conner.Kelly@JobCorps.org Waterbury and Surrounding Areas – Abdul Shabazz – Shabazz.Abdul@JobCorps.org

The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to CAREERS BEGIN HERE reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the Housing Authority.

Job Corps is a U.S. Department of Labor Equal Opportunity Employer Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. TDD/TTY telephone number is (877) 889-5627.

New Construction of 7 Buildings, 46 Units, Approximately 62,573 sf.

This is our project. No Wage Rates, Taxable on materials Bid Due Date: June 3, 2021 @ 3pm Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=lascanahomesoforange All questions and bids must be submitted in written form and directed to the appropriate estimator: Eric Facchini - efacchini@haynesct.com for Site, Concrete, Masonry and MEPs trades.

John Simmons - jsimmons@haynesct.com for all trades in Divisions 6 through 14.

This contract is subject to state and contract compliance requirements

Invitation to HCC Bid: encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 2 Notice AA/EEO EMPLOYER

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE Town of Bloomfield Old Saybrook, CT

MINORITY CONTRACTOR OPPORTUNITY

(4 Buildings, 17 Units) Assessor Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

Salary Range- $83,663-$129,768 Renovations to 268 Putnam St., Bridgeport, CT SOLICITATION OF SBE/MBE CONTRACTORS: Enterprise Builders, Inc., an Affirmative Action/Equal OpportuDeadline to apply 6/11/21 nity Employer, seeks certified SBE/MBE New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Cast- Subcontractors and/or suppliers and local Pre-employment business enterprises to bid applicable sections of work/equipment/supplies for the in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, drug testing. AA/EOE. following construction project: Renovations to 268 Putnam St., Bridgeport, CT. Bid Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Date and Time: Monday, June 21, 2021 by 2:00 PM. Electronic Plans and specifications For Details go to Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. can be obtained at no charge by contacting the Estimating Department at Enterprise www.bloomfieldct.gov This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Builders at (860) 466-5188 or by email to bbaril@enterbuilders.com. Project is Tax Exempt and Prevailing Wage applies. This project is subject to state set-aside and contract requirements. EBI encourages the participation of certified Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5,compliance 2016 Zoning Enforcement Officer SBE/MBE contractors.

EBI is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Town of Bloomfield

Full-time, benefited Project documents available via ftp link below: $38.03 hourly http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage MINORITY CONTRACTOR OPPORTUNITY

Pre-employment drug testing.

For details and how to apply go to www.

North Branford Police Station, Northford, CT SOLICITATION OF SBE/MBE CONFax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com bloomfieldct.org AA/EOE HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran,TRACTORS: S/W/MBE & Section 3 CertifiedBuilders, BusinessesInc., an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity EmEnterprise Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Seymour, CT 06483 ployer,Ave, seeks certified SBE/MBE Subcontractors and/or suppliers and local business QSR STEEL CORPORATION AA/EEO EMPLOYER enterprises to bid applicable sections of work/equipment/supplies for the following construction project: North Branford Police Station, Northford, CT. Bid Date and Time: Thursday, June 10, 2021 by 2:00 PM. Electronic Plans and specifications can be obtained at no charge by contacting the Estimating Department at Enterprise Builders Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders at (860) 466-5188 or by email to bbaril@enterbuilders.com. Project is Tax Exempt Top pay for top performers. Health and Prevailing Wage applies. This project is subject to state set-aside and contract Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. compliance requirements. EBI encourages the participation of certified SBE/MBE/ WBE/DBE/Veteran Owned contractors. EBI is an Affirmative Action/Equal OpporEmail Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER tunity Employer.

APPLY NOW!

20

INNER-CITY 27,26 2016 - August 02, 2016 THE INNER-CITYNEWS NEWS July - May , 2021 - June 01, 2021

Animal Control Officer

NOTICE

The Town of Wallingford is seeking a highly qualified individual to manage the operations of a busy municipal animal control facility in accordance with State statutes and local ordinances. Must be available to work evenings, holidays and weekends, and able VALENTINA RENTAL HOUSING PREAPPLICATIONS AVAILABLE to respond to callsMACRI within 30 minutes.

Must have 4 years paid experience as an animal control officer with some bookkeeping and supervisory experience. This position reHOME INC,CT ondriver’s behalf of Columbus House appointed and the New Haven Housing Authority, quires a valid license.

The person must undergo a series of rabies vaccinations. range: $50,000-$60,000 plus an excellent at benefi packis acceptingSalary pre-applications for studio and annually, one-bedroom apartments this ts develage.

Closing date at is 108 JuneFrank 4, 2021.

Application Forms may be income obtainedlimitations at the Departopment located Street, New Haven.

Maximum apment Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, South St., Wallingford, CT ply.ofPre-applications will be available from 9AM45TO 5PMMain beginning Monday Ju;y 06492.

Forms be mailed request from the Department of Human100) Resources 25, 2016 andwill ending whenupon sufficient pre-applications (approximately have or been may be downloaded theof Department of Human Resources Page.upon EOE.rereceived at thefrom offices HOME INC. Applications will beWeb mailied

quest by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preDEEP RIVER HOUSING AUTHORITY applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third OPENING WAITING LIST FOR Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. KIRTLAND COMMONS SENIOR/DISABLED HOUSING 60 MAIN STREET

NOTICIA

DEEP RIVER, CT 06417

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES The Deep River Housing Authority will open its waiting list for Senior/Disabled Housing on June 1st, 2021. This list will remain open until June 30, 2021. To request an apHOME INC, en call nombre de la Columbus House y de will la New Housing Authority, estáor plication, please 860-526-5119.

Applications be Haven accepted by hand delivery pre-solicitudes estudios apartamentos un dormitorio en esteisdesarrollo byaceptando mail however it must bepara received or ypostmarked byde6/30/2021.

Housing available la 62 calleor109 Frank Street,receiving New Haven. aplican ingresos to ubicado anyone en over those younger SSDISethat meetlimitaciones the incomedeguidelines. máximos.

Lasare pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m.requirement comenzandoofMartes Monthly rates based on income with a minimum base rent $944.25

DELIVERY PERSON

NEEDED

Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

(203) 387-0354

POLICE OFFICER City of Bristol

$67,170 - $81,648/yr.

Required testing, registration info, and apply online: www.bristolct.gov DEADLINE: 06-10-21 EOE

Town of Bloomfield

julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han Deep recibidoRiver suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) Housing en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición 60 Main Street llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse Deep River,Street, CT 06417 a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

Assistant Director of Information Systems & Technology

Income based affordable Rental apartment

Pre-employment drug testing. For details and how to apply go to www. bloomfieldct.org AA/EOE

Full Time - Benefited $75,909 to $117,166

NEW HAVEN 2 bedroom, Riverview.

242-258 Fairmont Ave Contact 347-366-1204

available in the heart of Westport.

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven, CT

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority Office, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any

Invitation to Bid: State of Connecticut Office of Policy 2nd Notice and Management

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

The State of Connecticut, OfficeOld of Saybrook, CT Policy and Management is recruiting (4 Buildings, 17 Units) for a Policy Development Taxposition.

Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project Coordinator Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and Framed, application New Construction, Wood Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castinstructions for this position is available in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, at:

Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

210506&R2=1581MP&R3=001 This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages theExtended, applicationsDue Date: August 5, 2016 Bid of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

Town of Bloomfield

Request for Qualifications

Pre-employment drug testing. For details and how to apply go to www. bloomfieldct.org AA/EOE

due by June 4, 2021, (12 noon local time). The full RFQ document can be viewed at the Council’s website: www.scrcog.org or can be made available upon request. Contact Stephen Dudley at 203-466-8624 with any questions.

The South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) seeks HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Maintainer II Driver the services of one or more consultants for transportation planning studies Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 during the 2022 Fiscal Year (July 1, 2021- June 30, 2022). Disadvantaged AA/EEO EMPLOYER Full-time, benefited Business Enterprise firms are strongly encouraged to respond as prime contractor or to play a significant role within a consultant team. Responses are $27.94 hourly Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com

21

THE INNER-CITYNEWS NEWS July - May , 2021 - June 01,2016 2021 INNER-CITY 27, 26 2016 - August 02,

The Town NOTICE of East Haven

is currently accepting applications for the following positions:

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Public Safety Dispatcher: $54,953.60/year HOME INC, onPolice behalf of Columbus and the New Haven Housing Authority, OfficerHouse C: $59,025/year

is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develApply online at www.policeapp.com/ opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apEastHavenCT<http://www.policeapp.com/EastHavenCT>. ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y Tax application information please visit https://www.

25,Assessor: 2016 and$98,377/ ending year whenFor sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have townofeasthavenct.org/civil-service-commission/pages/job-notices-and-tests been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon request by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preThe Town of East is committed toINC’s building a workforce of diverse individapplications mustHaven be returned to HOME offices at 171 Orange Street, Third uals.

Females, Handicapped and Veterans are encouraged to apply.

Floor,Minorities, New Haven, CT 06510.

NOTICIA

APPLY NOW!

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

DELIVERY PERSON

NEEDED

The Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT is requesting proposals forPRE-SOLICITUDES Legal Services.

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER DISPONIBLES Request for Proposal documents can be viewed and HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está printed www.norwalkha.org underde the Business aceptando at pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos un dormitorio en estesection desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven.isSean aplican limitaciones de ingresos RFP’s/RFQ’s Norwalk Housing Equal Opportunity máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 Employer.Adam Bovilsky, Executive Director. julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100)

Part Time Delivery Needed

en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

(203) 387-0354

Tribus Construction is seeking MBE contractors for the Mapleview Towers Apartments renovation project in Stamford CT. Tribus is seeking contractors in the following trades: laborers, painters, steel, masonry, and HVAC. Please send all inquiries to dmitchell@tribusconstruction.com.

NEW HAVEN 242-258 Fairmont Ave Tribus Construction is seeking MBE contractors the Market Square Apartments ren2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA,for3BR, 1 level , 1BA

ovation project in Newington CT. Tribus is seeking contractors in the following trades: All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 laborers, painters, steel, masonry, and HVAC. Please send all inquiries to dmitchell@ highways, near bus stop & shopping center tribusconstruction.com.

Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

Listing: Commercial Driver

CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates inFull response to the Church’s Ministryfor needs.

The cost is $125.

Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:30Time Class B driver a fast paced petroleum company for nights and 3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. weekends.

Previous experience required. wage, 401(k) and64benefi ts.

(203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Competitive Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church Brewster

Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437.

St. New Haven, CT

********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**********

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY Listing: Commercial Driver

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour until 3:00Class pm Bondriver Tuesday, 2, petroleum 2016 at itscompany office atfor 28days Smith Full Time for aAugust fast paced andStreet, weekends.

Previous wage, 401(k) and benefits.atSend Seymour, CT experience 06483 for required.

Concrete Competitive Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement the resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437.

Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour. ********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**********

A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Street Erecting Seymour, Subcontractors: CT at 10:00 am, onLarge Wednesday, July&20, 2016. Contractor is Fence CT Fence Guardrail

looking for Experienced Fence Subcontractors with at least 5 years of experience in commercial fence. Work available 10-12 months per year, highest labor rates paid.

Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority OfOHSA 10 safety training required and valid CT driver’s license. Must have a reliable fice, proper 28 Smith Street,coverage Seymour, 06483 truck, insurance andCT your own (203) tools. 888-4579.

We are an AA/EOE company.

Send resumes/inquiriesto: rhauer@atlasoutdoor.com.

The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any

Workforce Alliance

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

One/Two Day a Week,

Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

Town of Bloomfield Custodian

Business Services Coordinator Workforce Alliance is a non-profit organization that delivers employment solutions, prepares people for jobs and careers and connects people with jobs in South Central CT. The Business Services Coordinator is responsible for marketing and administering Workforce Alliance services to employers in the region and creating employment opportunities for job seekers. Leads a staff of 5, develops plans, supervises and conducts employer visits, assesses business needs and makes presentations. Special effort to do business with Black and Brown owned employers, small businesses and non-profits is a focus of this position.

Bachelor’s degree is required plus at least 5 years of related experience, preferably in business or career development. Knowledge of the local labor market and workforce needs of business. Excellent communication skills. Ability to effectively collaborate with diverse internal and external groups. Ability to travel around the state.

Compensation: Competitive salary plus excellent benefits package.

Please send resume to: Earl Foster, HR Consultant at efoster@workforcealliance.biz Workforce Alliance is an equal opportunity employer.

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID PARKSIDE VILLAGE I

Enterprise Builders Inc. (“EBI”), acting as Construction Manager for Parkside Village I LLC, will receive qualified sub-contractor proposals for the work associated with the project known as Parkside Village I (the “Project”). Bids shall be received via hand delivery, email, or fax at the contact information below, on or before 3:00 p.m. local time on Monday, June 7th, 2021. The bids will be privately opened.

This project consists of new construction of a 4 story 67 unit 76,000 SF apartment building in Branford, CT. This project will be phased. There are 49 bid packages available, includPre-employment drug testing. AA/EOE. Building Demolition and Abatement (Phase 1 and Phase 2), Temporary Fencing, SiteInvitation ing: to Bid: For Details go to www.bloomfieldct.gov work, Paving, Permanent Fencing, Final Cleaning, Landscaping, Site Concrete, Unit Pavnd 2 Notice ers, Concrete, Gypsum Cement Underlayment, Masonry, Steel, Rough Carpentry, Finish Carpentry/Casework, Wood Stairs, Siding, Air Sealing and Thermal Insulation, Roofing, Gutters and Downspouts, Waterproofing, EIFS, Spray Fireproofing, Firestopping, Doors/ Frames/Hardware, Glazing/Auto Entry Operators, New Passive House Windows, Drywall, Old Saybrook, CT Resilient Flooring, Carpet, Painting, Signage, Toilet Accessories, Postal SpecialSeeking qualified condidates fill Tile, (4 to Buildings, 17 Units) ties, Fire Protection Specialties, Residential Appliances, Trash Chutes and Compactors, numerous vacancies to include, Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing WageTreatments, Rate Project Window Residential Casework and Countertops, Elevator, Fire Suppression, Deputy Assessor, Mechanic Plumbing, Plumbing Insulation, HVAC, HVAC Insulation, HVAC Testing/Adjusting/BalSewer Line, Public Health Nurse Electrical, and Fire Alarm. CastBid package instructions and forms will be issued via New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing,ancing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, addendum. and more. For information and

$23.40/hourly (benefited)

CITY OF MILFORD

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding,

detailed application instructions, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Drawings can be viewed free of charge via iSqFt. Please reach out to the contacts below visit www.ci.milford.ct.us to request an invitation to bid. Documents may also be viewed at EBI’s office 46 Shepard Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

Click on SERVICES, JOBS and Drive, Newington Connecticut 06111 (between the hours of 8am– 5pm), Monday through This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Friday where a disc with all documents may be obtained free of charge.

JOB TITLE.

project is tax exempt. Residential prevailing wages apply.

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5,The 2016 Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Project documents available via ftp link below: Zoning Enforcement Officer Sub-contractors may contact Brian Baril via email at bbaril@enterbuilders.com or phone http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

Town of Bloomfield

(860) 466-5128, Justin Caporiccio via email at jcaporiccio@enterbuilders.com or phone

Hourly Rate-$38.03 (860) 466–5104, or Mike Amarena via e-mail at mamarena@enterbuilders.com or phone Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com (860) 466-5102 regarding the project.

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses

Deadline Haynes to apply 6/15/21 Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 The Owner and EBI reserve the rights to accept any, all, or any part of bids; to reject any, AA/EEO EMPLOYER Pre-employment drug testing. all, or any part of bids; to waive any non-material deficiencies in bid responses, to waive minor inconsistencies; and to award the bid that in its judgment will be in the best interests AA/EOE.

For Details go to www.bloomfieldct.gov 22

of the Owner.

EBI is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer. Section 3, Veteran-owned, S/M/W/DBE’s & DAS Certified are encouraged to participate.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - May 26, 2021 - June 01, 2021

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