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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Affordable Housing Nonprofit Celebrates 44 Years

by ABIBA BIAO

The new haven independent

Re-entering society is a daunting task for many formerly-incarcerated individuals. For Marcus Harvin, that stress was partially alleviated thanks to Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven (NHS) — an affordable housing nonprofit where Harvin has found a sense of purpose through community building and beautification.

Harvin was one of the many guests that celebrated the work of NHS at the organization’s 44th annual meeting last Monday night.

The event, held at the NXTHVN art gallery at 169 Dixwell St., commemorated the affordable housing nonprofit’s achievements over the years as it has worked to increase homeownership among New Haven residents.

Some of the event’s speakers included state Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno, Mayor Justin Elicker, NHS founder and Executive Director Jim Paley, and local visual artist and muralist Kwadwo Adae.

Adae, 46, was a special guest of the night, receiving an award for his artistic work with NHS since 2016. For him, partnering with NHS was a natural move to extend his art into the social justice sphere and empower communities.

“Both of our missions is to utilize art in ways that beautify the communities that have been redlined previously in the City of New Haven and beautify the community in a way that allows public art to be something that everyone can enjoy,” he said.

Adae wasn’t the only one to receive an award Monday night. Others who were awarded by the nonprofit included NHS homebuyer Ojay Lewis, EMERGE CT Director of Training and Business Development Reinaldo Cruz III, and Operation Fuel Energy Efficient Programs Manager Tenée Mack.

Paley, 77, nodded in agreement, expanding on NHS’ mission and core values.

“There are a lot of absentee-owned buildings and under-maintained buildings, and we want to be able to stabilize neighborhoods so that we can have people feel good about where they live,” he said.

Ashley Bailey, 30, spoke to how she has felt the impact of NHS’ services. First having heard about the nonprofit through her dad as well as from her sister, she decided to give the program a try and is currently going through the homeownership process with the goal of getting the keys to a future house located in the Hill.

“Homeownership is important to me, so I could leave something for my legacy and my family and for my daughter,” she said.

Bailey hasn’t experienced any difficulties with the homeownership process and attributes her success and the easy process to Bridgette Russell, managing director of NHS, and the rest of the nonprofit’s team.

“They are wonderful staff and they will make sure they do everything in their

ABIBA BIAO PHOTO Marcus Harvin: “As long as they’ll have me, I’ll be there.”

Jim Paley and Kwadwo Adae.

Ashley Bailey, Brittiany Mabery-Niblack, and Crystal Bailey.

Attendees at NHS's annual meeting, and viewing art displays up for auction

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power to make sure that you become a homeowner,” she said, “if in fact you’re willing to put in the work to do what you need to do as far as getting your credit together, coming to meetings, showing up, and doing what needs to be done to become a homeowner.”

Sitting in the corner eating cupcakes were Jesse Phillips and Brittiany MaberyNiblack.

Phillips, 40, holds two jobs, including working as a coordinator for inclusive growth at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, and is on the board of NHS. Phillips felt compelled to join the board after seeing the impact NHS has had revitalizing neighborhoods and has held his position for over a year.

“I’ve literally seen these properties go from abandoned properties to firsttime homebuyers, to becoming assets in a neighborhood,” he said. “I’ve seen some of my friends purchase these properties, so I was like, the way they’re creating wealth and stabilizing neighborhoods — it’s very few organizations that are doing it in this area.”

Mabery-Niblack, a 33-year-old Democrat nominee for Ward 20 alder, agreed with the sentiment, coming out to celebrate her possible future constituents and understand the needs of her ward.

“I’m excited for what they [NHS] do for the community and how they present opportunities for people in New Haven to purchase homes that are affordable,” she said.

Mabery-Niblack, praised the nonprofit for its prominent exposure in the community, hoping that “more people can learn about the resources that‘s afforded to them.”

Harvin, 35, was formerly incarcerated at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Facility and earned an associate’s degree in general studies through a partnership from Yale Prison Education Initiative and the University of New Haven.

Originally from Newhallville, Harvin found his way to NHS from his role as a President’s Public Service Fellow at University of New Haven and College to Career Fellow at Yale College, which matched him with a fellow site. Through his work at NHS in their community building and organizing programs, he partakes in community beautification projects such as removing litter from the grounds of Lincoln Bassett Community School, which he fondly remembers attending years ago.

“They gave me an opportunity as being a formerly incarcerated individual to work with them as a fellow and then actually go on to work with them as a contractor after, still doing community building work,” Harvin said.

Harvin voiced his joy working with NHS, hoping to continue with the nonprofit to wherever life takes him.

“As long as they’ll have me, I’ll be there,” he said with a smile.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

From Jazz To Tea, New Haven Feels The 6th Dimension Danielle Campbell The Arts Paper Newhavenarts.org

With his eyes closed and head bobbing, Johnathan Moore began improvising on his cello, smiling faintly as the sound filled a corner of Edgewood Avenue.

Strains of his composition “Sands” still hung in the bright, warm air, drawing a crowd in close to listen. As he picked up the beat, attendees joined in, clapping as the music floated over them.

Moore’s performance was part of the AfroGalactic Tea Party, held Sunday afternoon at the Westville-based business BLOOM at 794 Edgewood Ave. in New Haven. Last weekend, it was one of two events celebrating the 6th Dimension, an arts festival and exhibition that culminates this month in a day-long summit at NXTHVN and film screening and dance party on Oct. 19. The accompanying exhibition, which is up at the LAB at ConnCORP, runs through Oct. 26.

Friday evening, musicians Ryan Sands and Finn The Scientist joined forces for “Bookspace After Dark: Afrofuturism & Jazz,” held at Possible Futures in New Haven’s Edgewood neighborhood. Then Sunday afternoon, artists and makers gathered at BLOOM for the AfroGalactic Tea Party, a version of the centuries-old African-American tea ceremony meant to amplify and literally toast to Black voices in New Haven and Connecticut.

Both were the brainchild of curator Juanita Sunday, who has brought the 6th Dimension to life through months of community partnerships and cultural collaborations.

“When I was curating the programming for 6th Dimension, I wanted it to be versatile so people would be able to engage in Afrofuturism in different forms of art as well as in different places,” Sunday said Friday, as soft, pink and purple mood lighting filled Possible Futures. “[It’s] to allow people as many different opportunities to attend the programming as possible.”

Friday, listeners and attendees could feel that as they shook off the afternoon’s rain and made themselves cozy in the space, seated among shelves of books, art displays and friendly-looking hand puppets made from recycled wool. On a makeshift stage at the front of the store, Sands and his band (Sands on drums, Wes Lewis on saxophone and Pete Blake on bass) settled in, greeting the audience as they took in a packed house.

Soon, soft drums, smooth bass and powerful sax were making their way through spot, no bookshelf, poster display or corner left untouched by the music. During and between numbers, attendees responded in a language of head nods, smiles and dancing from their seats—as well as verbal affirmation that felt fundamental to jazz.

Madison Grady, Damali Willingham and Elisha Brockenberry.

Sands praised the bookspace, which has hosted music in the past but is a nontraditional venue, as a welcoming environment. In particular, he said he was grateful to work with Sunday and with Possible Futures founder Lauren Anderson.

“I just love this—just having jazz in a different environment,” Sands said during the show. “Actually bringing something like this around books …it's great.

We just want to actually bring something here that's accessible to the people in a new way.”

Also playing Friday (they returned Sunday to perform at the AfroGalactic Tea Party as well), Finn The Scientist created a one-artist symphony, layering vocals onto each other as they soaked the whole space in mellow, rich sound. As they looped vocals, banishing the rain and gloomy weather outside, it felt like a testament to the diversity and spirit of Afrofuturism—that it can hold many possible futures for Black lives and Black creativity, including musical progression.

In the audience, Madison Grady said they were excited to be in the space because it highlighted music, a part of Afrofuturism that may not be addressed as frequently as visual art and new or digital media.

“I am really glad I got to attend this event,” Grady said. “It was a very welcoming space and a great way to spend a Friday night after a long week! I think it was important to attend and support because, for me at least, the event did a great job of helping me wrap my brain around the utility and function of Afrofuturism in art that isn’t print or visual media.”

Less than 48 hours later, that cultural vibe extended to BLOOM, as afternoon tea flowed into live music and spoken word poetry (shop owner Alisha Crutchfield, who has described it as “all

Sha McAllister and Juanita Sunday.

Lindsay Cromwell and Mars.

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the things,” has worked to support fellow Black creators since opening the space two summers ago).

Alongside a delicate display of teacups, attendees milled around containers of apple cider, iced sweet tea, and a spiked Arnold Palmer that paired with chicken skewers, empanadas, and pot stickers from ConnCAT’s Orchid Café. Outside, artist from Moore to poet Lolade Siyonbola prepared to perform.

As the event progressed, participants showed up in their best Afrofuturistic attire, some with meticulous face paint meant to mirror and build on African tribal styles, rite, and ritual. Friends drifted through the space, some spilling out onto the patio as others remained inside. As a mix of music and spoken word bathed the corner in sound, Sunday also encouraged party-goers to get to know each other through cards with prompts and questions that she had set out on each table She also brought the spirit of the show to the party, with prizes for best and most thematically dressed that went to friends Cookie (she declined to give her full name) and Jasmin Agosto of Hartford and New Haven. The two received original artwork, as well as a Love Box from New Haven-based creator Farron Harvey.

While the duo may have technically won the contest, it felt like the prize could have gone to any one of the attendees, as stunning silk, satin and cotton tea dresses, aviator glasses, chrome-colored headbands, fascinators and vibrant African prints abounded. At tables, friends caught up, laughed and took in the art as they sipped sweet, iced, and spiked versions of afternoon tea.

Mars, who came with her friend Lindsay Cromwell, said she was interested in creating relationships and finding community.

“I’m very connected to Afrofuturistic, Afro everything,” she said. “So, this just feels natural. This feels like a safe space … like another great addition helping fill my cup, fill our cup, make us feel connected to community and that's all we want to do.”

Malakhi “Dr. Kreative” Eason, dressed in a black and silver top and gray pants, praised the event for both teaching people about Black culture and creating a safe space to celebrate it. For several years, both he and Sunday worked together at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas before departing this year to pursue their own creative ventures.

“The teatime, which is something that traditionally in African American culture is something that our grandparents and our grandparents’ grandparents used to do," he said. "So, bringing that back into a space like this to my generation is something I think is very legendary. And I think that with Juanita being a part of the community in New Haven, we are in safe hands."

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

City Awards Artists, Arts Orgs Over $675,000 In Federal Funding by lucy Gellman, Editor The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org

An expanded arts education program that recognizes the power of spoken word. A parade that returns each year to Westville with the first bursts of fall foliage, bringing dozens of dancing puppets into Edgewood Park. A creative arts program that operates out of a corner store in Dwight, arts collective for Afghan moms, and pottery studio that is still just getting off the ground.

Those are just some of the arts organizations, grassroots collectives, and individual artists to receive a total of $677,121 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from the city’s Department of Arts, Culture & Tourism this year. Friday, city officials and grantees outlined some of those projects from the roof of 70 Audubon St., a building that now houses the New Haven Ballet, Long Wharf Theatre, Arts Council of Greater New Haven, and classes from the Educational Center for the Arts.

Grantees range from the long-running New Haven Ballet, Westville Village Renaissance Alliance, CT Folk Fest and others to new creative undertakings in every corner of the city. View a full list of grantees, with funding amounts, on the city’s website here.

"We wanted to make sure that we are centering people in this community who are doing the work of cultural equity,” said Cultural Affairs Director Adriane Jefferson. “We have to remember that we are bouncing back, still, from the pandemic.

Our hope is that some of this funding has allowed businesses to thrive a little bit more, the organizations to be supported a little bit more, and to really help mitigate the economic impact and the damage that was done during the pandemic."

“It’s really about the history, the culture, the arts that make New Haven such a desirable place to be, and you all are the roots of that,” added Courtney Walker Hendricson, deputy director of economic development for the city. “We are working hard to ensure that all of our American Rescue Plan supports meaningful projects, events and organizations in New Haven.”

In all, $199,020 has gone to a total of 35 individual artists, many of whom are representing small businesses and collectives, and the remaining $478,101 to over 20 arts organizations based in the city of New Haven. Funding for artists will be administered by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven; funding for organizations will come directly from the city.

For the sake of full transparency, the Arts Paper is a program of the Arts Council, but is editorially independent from it.

The money comes out of a total $1.2 million in ARPA dollars that the department received last year, and does not include the $350,647 that the city allocated to Arts & Culture this year in its $662.7 million general fund budget. Grant fund-

Hafeeza "Wind" Turé: “We are about connection, collaboration, and really restoring the love." She is pictured at the center with Shayla "Earth" Streater and Arden "Fire" Santana.

ing is divided into six programs: summer partnerships, communal holiday celebrations, arts gathering and networking events, expanded arts education, creative arts advancement, and citywide arts and culture.

Both Jefferson and Community Outreach Coordinator Thabisa Rich noted that it dovetails directly with the department’s vision for cultural equity, which has been at the forefront of Jefferson’s work since her arrival in February 2020.

Both also pointed to the grants as part of the city’s Cultural Equity Plan, which is just over a year and a half old.

“Everybody said: ‘Hey, we want to be represented. We want change to be visible. We don't just want a pat on the back, but we want to see you go down in your pockets and affect change with your dollars,’” Rich said. “And this is exactly what we're doing right now.”

Recipients reflect that commitment in spades, Rich added—including a number of returning grantees who have used city and federal funds to boost creative endeavors, and new grantees who have never qualified for or received funding from the city before. Artists’ projects, which netted between $2,000 and $10,000 each, range from new podcast initiatives (listen here, for instance, to hear host Jamarr Jabari talk to musician Ashley Hamel) and ceramic studio practices to music festivals by and for artists of color.

Some artists, like Alisha Crutchfield of BLOOM and Angel Dahfay of Sweets & Sounds Con, have already established themselves as cultural connectors in the city. Others, like author Colleen Marie Olinski and art therapist Rita Charles, will be kicking off new initiatives from a grassroots publishing project to an art therapy studio on wheels. Many grantees, such as Marianna Apostolakis of East Rock House and Shayla Streater of

" You all know my motto," said Alisha Crutchfield. "Let's Grow!"

the Elements of Abundance, are working directly with grassroots collectives to build intentional and safe affinity spaces in the city.

Many are also lifelong or longtime New Haveners who have historically been boxed out of funding. Kenia and Michael Massey, who run the Black Corner Store on Edgewood Avenue, will be able to reach beyond their own pockets for a creative teen program that they’ve dreamed about launching for years. Artist Manny James Sorrels, who grew up in the Hill and leads the nonprofit Creative Hearts, Inc., is taking the grant to learn more about music himself, so he can pass it on to the young people he works with every day out of his Shelton Avenue studio.

“I am thankful and excited to receive the funding because it gives me the opportunity to further my musical education, which will enhance my artistry and help me provide a higher level of service to the young people of Creative Hearts!” he said via text message after Friday’s

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press conference.

“We are about connection, collaboration, and really restoring the love,” said Hafeeza Turé, “Wind” of the Elements of Abundance. Already, the group has established a relationship with Accra, Ghana, and with New Haven Sister Cities to promote cultural awareness in and beyond New Haven—work that they’ve been doing for free up to this point. “Everywhere we go, we want to plant those sorts of seeds.”

Meanwhile, the remaining chunk of funding has gone largely to arts organizations that are helping build crosscultural understanding and grow equity through their programming. In addition to free citywide arts events like the annual Puerto Rican Festival, Black Wall Street New Haven, Westville-based Seeing Sounds Festival, annual Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green and growing growing Apizza Fest, there are several community-centered and educational projects that can continue in part because of the city’s support.

Arts for Learning Connecticut, for instance, will be able to extend its “Emerge” initiative for teaching artists into a second year. Music Haven will be able to support its after-school programming in Fair Haven, and keep its student concerts free to the community. Elm Shakespeare Company, which has been growing its footprint in the New Haven Public Schools and with the youth anti-violence group Ice The Beef, will be also able to keep all of its performances free and open to the public.

“The heartbeat is something that we hold really near and dear in Shakespeare,” said Rebecca Goodheart, artistic director of Elm Shakespeare. “It’s the life force that goes through everything we do. And really, just the way that rhythm is a life force, we want to be a life force in this community.”

“The reality is that for arts organizations, financial support is a life force,” she continued. “That’s something we need to stay healthy and to function and to do what we do. That makes the Office of Arts, Culture and Tourism the heart of this city.”

There’s also the chance for New Haveners to feel the echoes of that funding: several ARPA-supported events are coming up as New Haven heads into fall, and each brings with it the opportunity to grow community. In addition to concerts and performances that will unfold across the next months, Wine Down CT Founders Thema Haida and Loren Jefferson will hold their next event, meant to bring together creatives of color, on September 23 at Bear’s Smokehouse.

Jamal Robinson, director of sales and marketing at New England Brewing Company and the co-founder and president of the Change In the Air Festival and eponymous foundation, pointed to how ARPA dollars distributed by the city can help undo centuries of economic harm and exclusion that have fallen disproportionately on Black people and non-Black people of color.

Currently, he said, craft brewing is an $85 billion industry—and yet Black brewers represent less than one percent (brewers of color represent under five percent).

The Change In The Air Foundation seeks to change that through its annual craft beer festival, a growing scholarship fund at Sacred Heart University, and awareness among Black consumers who have never felt that craft beer is for them. The foundation will be using $20,000 from the city to throw its third annual festival at Bear’s Smokehouse in October.

“The new spaces aspect of that is vital,” he said. “If we are going to diversify that space, this allows us to do it in a way that really builds community and builds culture. This grand funding allows us to take the idea … and turn it into a reality that involves community and culture in a meaningful, impactful way that everyone benefits from.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Aid in Dying Supporters Gather at the Capitol as Advocate Continues Trek Across Connecticut

by Hugh McQuaid Ct. News Junkie

Partway through his 300-mile trek across Connecticut, aid in dying advocate Tim Appleton stopped Thursday at the state Capitol building where he and legislative allies discussed plans to advance a longstalled proposal to allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives.

Appleton, campaign director for the Compassion and Choices advocacy group, began a five-week walk across the state in late September with the goal of rallying support for legislation that would give patients with six months or less to live an option to end their own lives with the assistance of doctor-prescribed medication.

He made a pit stop for a press conference Thursday afternoon outside the Capitol building. Appleton told reporters that, despite some rainy days, he was taken aback by the beauty of Connecticut as he traversed around 100 miles of the roadways, talking to residents along the way.

“You walk into a diner in Norwich, all drenched and shaking off all this rain gear, it starts a conversation with a server,” he

said. “What I realize is, aid in dying is not a controversial issue outside of here [the Capitol]. People in the communities that I walked are genuinely supportive.”

However, the support Appleton described in the community has not translated to success in the legislature. For three consecutive sessions, the legislation has stalled in the Judiciary Committee, where leaders say the proposal lacks adequate support to pass.

On Thursday, the co-chairs of the legislature’s committee of cognizance, the Public Health Committee, expressed their support but said they were not yet sure whether they would raise the bill again during next year’s short session.

The public health panel has raised and advanced the bill for the past three sessions only to see it stall in the Judiciary Committee. The public health chairs — Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, and Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield — said they wanted to find a way to inspire more support among members of the Judiciary Committee.

“Either maybe the bill would start from the Judiciary, so that they would have the

Tim Appleton, campaign director for the Compassion and Choices advocacy group Credit: Hugh McQuaid / CTNewsJunkie

opportunity to get to know each and every one of you [supporters] and also listen to your stories,” Anwar said. “That would be the way to approach this because Public Health has weighed in on this.”

When the legislation stalled before the Judiciary Committee earlier this year, its leaders said the panel was deeply divided

on the concept and one of its co-chairs, Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, said that caution was appropriate given litigation in other states with similar policies.

The proposal also has staunch opponents including advocates for disabled residents and some faith-based organizations. On Thursday, one of those groups,

the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, issued a press release saying the concept abandoned terminal patients and opened the door to devaluing human life.

“At a time when suicide rates are at record highs, where our mental health needs require action and love, it is sad that some elected leaders continue to support state sponsored suicide. Chris Healy, the group’s executive director, said. “The answer is to improve end-of-life care in a way that shows true compassion and values every life that God has created.”

The proponents gathered Thursday disagreed, including Luther Weeks, a veteran voting rights advocate, who said he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Though Weeks said he would likely survive the cancer for nine to 14 years, he believed Connecticut should adopt the aid in dying policy.

“I was born in Connecticut. My ancestors go back to the founding of Connecticut. I’d like the option to die here, the way I’d like to die, with my relatives around me,” Weeks said. “Not in the middle of the night in terrible pain.”

Armory Added To CT Freedom Trail

by THOMAS BREEN

The new haven independent

Thousands of National Guardsmen gathered in the Goffe Street Armory, weapons of war in hand as they prepared to confront anti-war activists and Black Panther trial protesters on the Green.

But unlike at Kent State and Jackson State just a few days later, in New Haven, that violence didn’t come. A “conspiracy” of town and gown, Black and white, local and national players prevailed. The peace was kept, for the most part.

Fifty-three years later, the Armory — used as the National Guard’s staging ground for the May Day rally of 1970, a potential wellspring for bloodshed on that tumultuous day — was commemorated instead as a city landmark of the civil rights movement.

On Friday, local and state officials and historians and civil rights advocates gathered at Bethel AME Church on Goffe Street to officially designate the long-vacant armory at 290 Goffe St. as a site on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.

That’s the roughly three-decade-old map of 170-ish sites across Connecticut “that embody the struggle for freedom and human dignity” and celebrate the African American community, State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Architectural Historian Todd Levine said at Friday’s ceremony.

New Haven already had 20 sites on the trail, including the 29th Colored Regiment Memorial in Criscuolo Park and the Amistad Memorial outside City Hall and

CT Freedom Trail Director Tammy Denease (center) at Friday's presser.

the Grove Street Cemetery and the William Lanson statue on the Farmington Canal Trail.

The armory now marks New Haven site number 21. And, as Levine and Connecticut Freedom Trail Chairman Charles Warner and Director Tammy Denease explained, it also represents the first of four sites that make up a “trail within a trail” focused on the history of the Black Panther Party case in New Haven. (Levine said these four sites will be added to the Freedom Trail in honor of the late Paul

Hammer, who advocated for their commemoration.)

As explained at Friday’s presser by Paul Bass, the co-author of Murder in the Model City: The Black Panthers, Yale, And the Redemption of a Killer (and the founding editor of the New Haven Independent), the armory had a momentary role in one of the watershed episodes of the Black Panther Party, in New Haven and across the country.

That was the May 1, 1970 rally on the Green in protest of the murder trial of

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Black Panther Party leaders Bobby Seale and Ericka Huggins. The federal government sought the death penalty against Seale and Huggins for the Orchard Street murder of Alex Rackley, a 19-year-old alleged (but not actual) informant who was indeed tortured and killed by Black Panther Party members — but to whose murder there was little if any direct evidence to tie Seale and Huggins.

As civil rights and anti-war activists rallied by the thousands on the Green, the National Guard got ready at the armory on Goffe Street. They had grenades and other weapons, Bass said, and were given an order: that if they shot and killed someone on the Green, they would not be prosecuted.

Thanks to secret meetings being held at that very same time at the Yale president’s house among local Black activists, New Haven police, white activists from out of town, and others, “that day, besides tear gas in the air, was a non-event.”

Unlike at Kent State on May 4, 1970, when National Guardsmen shot and killed four unarmed student protesters in Ohio.

Unlike at Jackson State on May 15, 1970, when police shot and killed two unarmed student protesters in Mississippi.

“We were the city that held it together,” Bass said.

Mayor Justin Elicker said that the Black Panther trial in New Haven posed a fundamental question that still resonates these decades later: “whether a Black

American could get a fair trial in our city, in our country.”

The murder cases against Seale and Huggins were ultimately thrown out.

Dori Dumas, the president of the Greater New Haven NAACP, spoke during Friday’s presser not just from her perspective as a local civil rights leader, but also as someone who grew up in New Haven during the civil rights movement, during the time of the Black Panther Party.

“We have to continue to tell the stories: the good, the bad, and everything in between,” she said.

Outside of the tragedy of Rackley’s murder, she said, her experience of the Black Panther Party was that “the Black Panthers addressed and advocated for children, spoke out against horrible housing conditions and policies, advocated for health clinics” in New Haven, and ran a “free hot breakfast program of which I personally benefited from.”

“I have fine memories of the Black Panthers,” Dumas said. “I recall them teaching us as children positive affirmatios, like: Black is beautiful.”

She also spoke about how the armory was a “gathering place for events like the Black Expo” of 1972.

As he presented the mayor with the plaque officially designating the armory as a Connecticut Freedom Trail site, Warner spoke about the importance of “telling the stories that are maybe controversial,” but that are true, and that should and must be remembered.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Sisters’ Journey October Survivor Of The Month- Cheryl Paige

Hello, my name is Cheryl. My cancer journey began towards the end of March 2001 when I was 43 years old. I was always one to do self-examinations. One day while doing so I felt an unusual formation in my left breast. Iasked my fiancé to feel the area and he agreed he felt something different too. My annual GYN appointment was scheduled, so I was anxious to see if my doctor would feel what I had felt. After my doctor completed the pap smear and breast exam, he asked if I had any questions. I told him “Yes, would he be so kind as to reexamine my left breast as I had felt something in that area.” He redid the examination and scheduled me for a mammogram to be on the safe side.

When I went to my mammogram appointment, I had several pictures taken at different angles. They agreed that there was a mass and I would need an ultrasound done to get a better observation.

All the while, I was praying to God that whatever the results were, I was going to be alright and to give me peace at this moment. The ultrasound showed a lump on my breast. I was referred to Dr. Michael O’Brien for a biopsy. I met with Dr. O’Brien and he performed the procedure and advised me that his office would call once the results were received. A few days later, April 1, 2001, my fiancé and I went into Dr. O'Brien's office where we were told I had Invasive Ductal Carcinoma breast cancer. My fiancé had a lot of questions. I was thankful to God that he was there with me. He was and still is very supportive.

Dr. O'Brien explained the possible treatment plan – a lumpectomy to remove the mass, then chemotherapy and radiation to

kill the remaining cancer cells. He performed a successful lumpectomy. He then referred me to my current oncologist, Dr. Johanna Lasala. Dr. Lasala reviewed my case and explained the suggested steps to eradicate this disease. She recommended eight sessions of aggressive chemotherapy and four weeks of radiation. Wow! I experienced severe nausea, hair loss, and fatigue! At the end of all my treatments, I was now cancer free. To God be the Glory!

When April 1, 2021 rolled around, I said to my husband, “I am a 20-year breast cancer survivor. Isn’t God good!" I continued to self-exam and go for my mammograms each year. I had yearly visits with Dr. Lasala. In August 2021, I scheduled my mammogram appointment. I went in looking forward to the same results it had been for the last 20 years. They said I was scheduled for an ultrasound because they saw something on my left breast again. Lord, I have been down this road before! You were with me then, and I know you are with me now!

Yes, I am going through the same steps as I did 20 years ago.

Ultrasound...biopsy...and the results – positive! It was back. But because I had gone through this before, and the faith I have in the God I serve had grown even more over the years, I knew I was going to be alright. My oncologist advised since I had radiation before, I probably would not be a likely candidate for another round as my breast tissue would not hold up. She wanted to be confident in her recommendations. Therefore, she had my case reviewed by the Tumor Board. Their recommendation was the same – no more radiation and either a bilateral or partial

Cheryl Paige

mastectomy. Since this was a second occurrence, I opted for a bilateral (double) mastectomy with a Diep Flap reconstructive surgery. The surgery was on December 1 and lasted about 10 hours. The surgery was a success. I was up and walking around the hospital halls the next day (I love to walk). I recovered from the surgery within the expected time frame with no issues. I am currently on Anastrozole hormone based therapy.

One of my favorite scripture verses is: "The joy of the Lord is my strength." I find solace in lifting His holy name and giving Him all the praise that He is due, no matter what I may be going through. I will bless the Lord at all times, for He has done so much for me. I am truly grateful for the folks he has placed in my life.

Kenny, my loving and adoring husband, has been my rock and best friend! To our son Austin and daughter Fallon, thank you so much for stepping up and helping (shout out to nurse Fallon!). To my niece in Atlanta, Alicia, who is a nurse and mom, for calling each day to check on me and seeing that I had everything medically to make my recovery smooth. To my brother Joe, my sister-in-law Brenda and my other two nieces, Jade and Jasmine, thank you all for the many phone calls and visits. I appreciate each one!

Thank you to my sisters in Christ who prayed fervently on my behalf. And lastly, I must acknowledge my late mother, Mary Thomas, for all the prayers that were prayed and for every day she sat with me while I received my chemo treatments. I love and miss you, Mother. To God be all the glory!

Upcoming Events Sisters’ Journey Pink Tea Save the Date! for Our 25th Anniversary Annual Pink Tea Saturday October 28th, 2023 Tickets are no available in our Shop Support us by Shopping or Donating: Tee Shirts are available in our Shop!

New Haven Virtual Support Group Meeting: Every 3rd Tuesday of the month 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Bridgeport Virtual Support Group Meeting: Every 3rd Thursday of the Month 6:30pm – 7:30pm Contact Us: sistersjourney@sbcglobal.net Or Call: 203-288-3556 We’re on the web @ Sisters Journey Inc. or Virus-free.www.avg.com

Author Meetup Explores “The Other Side Of Yet”

by SHEILA CARMON

The new haven independent

On a gloomy, rainy and chilly September day, the New Haven (CT) Chapter of the Links Incorporated and friends assembled alongside the esteemed author Michelle D. Hord of Hope Warrior, Inc. and moderator Babz Rawls Ivy to explore the profound impact of “The Other Side of Yet.” This book presents an inspiring narrative of resilience, hope and faith that has left an indelible mark on all of us.

The event was sponsored by the Howard University Alumni Association and Howard University Alumni Club of Greater Hartford, The Prosperity Foundation, Yale University, the NewAlliance Foundation, ConnCORP, and the New Haven Independent.

The following photos were submitted by Links member Sheila Carmon about a Sept. 29 book signing and meet and greet with Daytime Emmy Award winner, author, and media executive Michelle Hord. The event was organized by the New Haven chapter of The Links, Incorporated.

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Penfield Communications Inc

John P. Thomas Publisher / CEO

Babz Rawls Ivy

Editor-in-Chief Liaison, Corporate Affairs Babz@penfieldcomm.com

Advertising/Sales Team Keith Jackson 10 Delores Alleyne John Thomas, III

Editorial Team

Staff Writers Christian Lewis/Current Affairs Anthony Scott/Sports Arlene Davis-Rudd/Politics

Contributing Writers David Asbery / Tanisha Asbery Jerry Craft / Cartoons / Barbara Fair Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur Michelle Turner / Smita Shrestha William Spivey / Kam Williams Rev. Samuel T. Ross-Lee

Contributors At-Large Christine Stuart

www.CTNewsJunkie.com

Paul Bass www.newhavenindependent.org

Memberships National Association of Black Journalist National Newspapers Publishers Association Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Greater New Haven Business & Professional Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. The Inner-City Newspaper is published weekly

by Penfield Communications, Inc. from offices located at 50 Fitch Street, 2nd Floor, New Haven, CT 06515. 203-387-0354 phone; 203-3872684 fax. Subscriptions:$260 per year (does not include sales tax for the in State subscriptions). Send name, address, zip code with payment. Postmaster, send address changes to 50 Fitch Street, New Haven, CT 06515. Display ad deadline Friday prior to insertion date at 5:00pm Advertisers are responsible for checking ads for error in publication. Penfield Communications, Inc d.b.a., “The Inner-City Newspaper” , shall not be liable for failure to publish an ad or for typographical errors or errors in publication, except to the extent of the cost of the space in which actual error appeared in the first insertion. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication. The entire contents of The Inner-City Newspaper are copyright 2012, Penfield Communications, Inc. and no portion may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

In "Unbecoming Tragedy," An Artist's Life Journey

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

In one universe, a young Terrence Riggins is up against two school bullies, about to receive a beating when a miracle happens. From down the hall, his middle school crush comes running, begging them to stop. Her arms glide through the air, and even in a fog of fear, she is perfection. Riggins holds his breath. She's matter-of-fact: Don't beat up a kid who was good in the school play. He exhales.

Back in the present, the light shifts, and Riggins steps forward. Around him are the bare bones of a solitary cell. "Acting didn't get me the girl, but it definitely saved my ass," he says. There's a beat.

"Maybe it can save my life."

The sheer and persistent power of theater—and its ability to show up as a source of salvation—sits at the wildly beating heart of Unbecoming Tragedy, an autobiographical play from writer and performer Terrence Riggins that is now growing its roots in New Haven. In roughly 60 minutes, it tells the story of Riggins' life and long relationship with the stage, leaning into all the complexities of being human, Black, male, and an artist in a country that still has not made space for those intersecting identities to soar.

Last weekend, a workshopped performance from Collective Consciousness Theatre (CCT) and Long Wharf Theatre (LWT) landed at Bregamos Community Theater for two nights only. Directed by Cheyenne Barboza with assistance from Finn Wiggins-Henry and Valerie Badjan, the work doubled as a testament to not only Riggins' tight and affecting writing, but also the importance of theater as a form of healing and of education. Further

Riggins at Bregamos Community Theater. Lucy Gellman Photos. performances in the community have yet to be announced.

"I felt that I could not move forward in my theater career or my acting career if I did not write this play," Riggins said in a phone interview before hours of rehearsal. "I cast myself in the story of my life.

I've done other people's plays, I've done other people's projects, but I've never done my own. I'm not afraid of serious catharsis and gravitas and pathos. And I had to use my life and my vulnerability in

order to achieve that."

"This is not a solo show," he added.

"This is a play. It's also a ritual."

And it is. Conceived when Riggins was in solitary at the Cheshire Correctional Facility several years ago, the work begins and ends in a single cell, the playwright constantly blurring the lines between perception and reality, the way one's mind can bend sometimes, and

break at others. In between, he tells the story of his life in lyrical, sometimes raw and unflinching detail, allowing moments to shift in and out of focus so often that they melt into each other.

For instance: early in the show, his present becomes an affecting fade into his past, jumping between decades with quick, crisp rhythm. As the actor enters the cell and lays his body down, sleeping fitfully, he mutters in his sleep, drawing the audience in close to listen to his half-conscious ramblings. Around him, the set is minimal—a bed, sink, tube of toothpaste and floor where he works out fanatically. So when he wakes and begins speaking to a grayscale portrait of his mother, something falls right into place.

Moving from the bed to the floor to a sink, he turns the clock back to a childhood in 1960s Los Angeles, where he spent his youth learning among Black nationalists.

Riggins has a gift for clear language—"I was a boy, once," he says with the same weight that one might deliver a cancer diagnosis—and listers can see siblings dressed in dashikis, a young Terrence learning Swahili and West African dance as he moves through a world.

It's here that one can also feel a tension rising, between Riggins the will-be actor, the empathic artist, and Riggins as the threat the white world already perceives him to be (or in his words, "becoming tragedy"). Jump forward, and the Black revolutionaries he looked to are dead, leaving him grappling with a system that is broken. Forward again, and he's discovered Joe Turner's Come and Gone in an L.A. prison, suddenly aware of the mesmerizing power of August Wilson's words. Forward once more, and his daughter is born while he is playing Caesar Wilks in Gem Of The Ocean.

That his heartache and his joy live side by side is part of the performance. Often, he is rocketed back to the present, in dialogue with the cell. Each time, it brings the audience back to a sort of harsh reminder of the world that is (overly punitive, especially of those who are Black and male before they are human) rather than the world that could be (restorative and rehabilitative, rather than a literal cage).

It's this that makes the show so immediate, using theater as a vehicle to amplify both memory and the splintered system in which Riggins and his audience live.

"Well damn brick face!" he says at one point, and the audience can see the smallness of the cell, the way its design is meant to feel like it is closing in on a body. "You just became my fourth fucking wall!"

What makes Unbecoming Tragedy stand out is Riggins' ability to marry matter-offact storytelling with deep feeling, tight and cheeky lyricism, and a physically powerful performance. From L.A. to New York City, from parochial school to his father's passing, he works through vignettes of his life, always returning to theater as a level set and an unmatched balm.

Sometimes, he is Riggins but he is also Othello, wronged by both Iago and the world. Sometimes, he is Riggins but also Paul Robeson, collapsing decades of struggle in a few single verses of "Ol' Man River." Sometimes he is Riggins and also Herald Loomis, trying to find his way in a country built by stolen people on stolen land.

Sometimes, he is just Riggins, and he is just surviving. It has the intended effect: his art and his life are often porous, flowing in and out of each other until they Con’t on pape 10

HL: Highly praised absurdist singer, Joseph Keckler, to perform in New Haven

By Babz Rawls Ivy, Editor, The Inner-City News & Host, LoveBabz Lovetalk 103.5 WNHH Radio

A singer who defies musical boundaries by combining reality and fantasy, humor and the mundane with a mutating vibrato sound, is set to perform at Yale Schwarzman Center on Thursday, Oct. 5, in “An Evening with Joseph Keckler.”

“I consider myself a singer and a writer in an un-boundaried way. One thing I do is write these short vignettes often drawn from observation or nights of misadventure … and I might turn those into a faux Italian aria,” he explained.

It was an interesting journey for Keckler to get where he is today. He went to the University of Michigan, earning a degree in painting. Then, he headed to New York where he started experimenting in several different art forms: playwriting, monologuing, performing his music and opera

along with other areas of the arts sphere.

“I was working all sorts of weird jobs, doing a lot at once, so eventually I decided to synthesize all the different elements into one sort of performance,” Keckler shared.

His upcoming show on Thursday will feature songs that are comedic and some that are not. Keckler said audiences can expect the songs to display characters that are “outside” their own life.

Since he will be performing to an audience that has students in attendance, Keckler shared what he wants young, burgeoning artists to know.

“I think that people should try to follow their dreams, pursue their passion and their own vision, and also not necessarily be influenced by the increasingly sort of corporate culture that we're immersed in,” Keckler said. “And, especially when you're really young, you have a kind of freedom, so go for it.”

Keckler discussed how he feels like he is accomplishing all of his goals. He is a performer and also a published writer, where his work has been featured in VICE, McSweeney’s among others. Keckler explained how he is grateful for all his experiences.

“I'd love to have a bigger audience. I'd love to release some music. I'd love to do a bunch of things. We're getting some films. So in a way, I'm doing everything I wanted. I’ve performed for 20 people, I’ve performed to 200 people. No matter what, it’s all good. Never performed for 20,000 people, that might be too many,” he said, laughing.

His story and essay collection, Dragon at the Edge of a Flat World, was published in 2018. He currently tours with his production, Train With No Midnight. He wrote, composed and stars in a forthcoming film, directed by Laura Terruso, and is currently working on a new EP.

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The super talented Mr. Keckler was my guest Friday, 9/29/2023 Photo credit: Michael Sharkey

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

"Hope On, Dixwell!" As Rev. Streets Preaches Final Sermon,

By Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Streets looked out over Dixwell UCC, studying the sea of faces that smiled back at him. Behind him, a half-moon of congregants over 80 sat and stood, soaking in the moment. Before him, pint-sized parishioners made their way to the front in a rush of tiny tweed and tulle dresses and suits.

The strains of "We've Come This Far By Faith" still hung low in the air. He took a deep breath.

"This is the current and future of the church," he said. In the pews, some people linked hands; others murmured back as if to say yes. And it was: even in the endless gray of a rainy fall morning, the path forward seemed bright.

Sunday, Rev. Dr. Frederick "Jerry" Streets preached his final sermon as the senior pastor at Dixwell United Congregational Church of Christ (Dixwell UCC), where he has occupied the position since October 2013 and been in relationship with the church since August 1972. This fall, he joins the Yale Divinity School (YDS) as the coordinator of its new joint degree program in Divinity and Social Work.

In a service filled with song, impassioned speeches, legislative proclamations and tear-filled memories, congregants wished him a fond and loving farewell after 11 faithful years of service.

"The record of what I have done here, what I have attempted to do here, or what ways by which I have failed lies in your hands, and for your interpretation and appraisal," Streets said as he stood at the pulpit for the last time. "Today I leave you with this sermonic hug, a reflection on the hope of the gospel."

The story of Streets' relationship with Dixwell UCC, which last year celebrated over two centuries of history in New Haven, stretches out over five decades. After graduating from Ottawa University in 1972, Streets and his wife, Annette, moved to New Haven to pursue his graduate studies at the Yale Divinity School. It was August 20, 1972—the day after his wife's birthday—when he and his family walked into the church for the first time.

He never completely left. At the time, the Rev. Dr. Edwin R. Edmonds, then the pastor at Dixwell UCC, took Streets under his wing. As a graduate student, Streets served as an intern in the church, getting to know a spiritual community that aligned with his values as both a Christian and an advocate for justice. Sunday, many congregants remembered meeting him over 50 years ago for the first time, and feeling overjoyed to have him in their orbit for decades thereafter.

After graduating from YDS, Streets served as the senior pastor at Mount Aery Baptist Church in Bridgeport, and later University Chaplain and Senior Pastor of the Church of Christ in Yale. His spiritual

Streets on Sunday morning. Lucy Gellman Photos.

work, and his belief that it can and should be tied to service, led him to a career in not just the clergy but also social work and education, including as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Outside of New Haven, he has held positions in the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and at Yeshiva University in New York, and served as a fellow at the Connecticut Health Foundation.

But New Haven, and specifically Dixwell UCC’s history of activism and abolition, always had a way of calling him back (he has for years also been on adjunct faculty at the Yale Divinity School).

In 2011, he returned to Dixwell UCC as its acting pastor, following the retirement of Rev. Dr. John Henry Scott, III. He became the church’s senior pastor in 2013, ultimately carrying Dixwell UCC through not just the life transitions of its congregants, but the existential and spiritual crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since he began his tenure, he has worked to grow the church’s relationship with the Yale Divinity School, the Institute of Sacred Music, and the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine—while also welcoming new babies and children, presiding over marriages and homegoing services, and providing grief counseling and end-of-life spiritual care.

With the help of both legislators and individual members, he has secured over $3 million in aid for the church, helping sustain Dixwell UCC for its next two centuries. Last year, he and the church also spearheaded a survey and report on the wellbeing of clergy members, documenting self-care (or lack thereof) among spiritual leaders.

"There's still much work to be done to

Streets on Sunday morning. Lucy Gellman Photos.

promote the mission of this church, which includes being a voice for justice in our society today," he said. "I assumed the responsibility of being your senior pastor 11 years ago and release it today with profound gratitude for the love and support of my family."

Sunday, several congregants said that they have been grateful for his guidance.

Speaking during the service, Judge Clifton Graves thanked Streets for his leadership, which has remained unflagging “in the midst of crisis and controversy.”

Fifty-five years ago, Graves became a member of the church when his parents first moved to New Haven from North Carolina, partly at Edmonds’ request.

For years, “this church has been very supportive,” Graves said. After his family relocated to New Haven, he met Streets in 1972. He remembered watching Edmonds wrap his arms around the then-young, bespectacled graduate student in their family home, and call Streets his son. Years later, it had felt fitting for Streets to return to the church as a spiritual leader. He remains forever grateful on a personal level, he added: when Graves’ parents passed away, it was Streets who handled their funeral services.

“We come today to say thank you,” Graves said before handing the podium over to those awarding Streets with proclamations from State Rep. Rosa DeLauro, members of the New Haven legislative delegation, and the New Haven Board of Alders.

Carroll E. Brown, founder of the West Haven Black Coalition, remembered Streets’ constant care and guidance—particularly during her own illness in 2020, and as she faced the death of her late husband, 82-year-old Ralph “Teddy” Brown, in March of this year. Three years ago, Brown remembered, she and Teddy were both hospitalized and afraid—and Streets remained a steady and calming presence.

So when Teddy became ill again this year, Brown knew who to call on. In midMarch, Streets remained in their home for hours, ultimately holding his right hand as she held his left. It was and is profound, Brown said, to watch that display of care.

She added that she feels held by the entire church community, including those who have dropped off food, checked in, and offered to take her out to lunch to make sure she is eating.

“We couldn’t have found a better church family,” she said. “Reverend Streets, you are the best.”

State Rep. Toni Walker—who has lived and breathed decades of Dixwell UCC as Edmonds’ adoring daughter, and a proudly self-described PK—said that she was finding the day bittersweet. Through her dad, she met Streets 50 years ago, in the breakfast room of their New Haven home.

The two have been close since.

Streets and Carroll E. Brown.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

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"The record of what I have done here, what I have attempted to do here, or what ways by which I have failed lies in your hands, and for your interpretation and appraisal," Streets said as he stood at the pulpit for the last time. "Today I leave you with this sermonic hug, a reflection on the hope of the gospel."

She thanked Streets’ wife, Annette Streets, as well as his children and children in-law for their years of sacrifice and service. Then she turned back towards Streets.

“This is just one stepping stone for you, sir,” she said. “God knows what he’s doing.”

"Hope On, Dixwell!"

Nowhere, perhaps, was that message clearer than during Streets' sermon on “The Hope of the Gospel,” delivered in a fiery, applause- and awe-filled 30 minutes from the pulpit. From the well-loved pews, generations of congregants looked back at him, soaking in the words. Some fell to a hush; others murmured back with each line. At the front of the church, musician Markel Greene sat ready to hop on the keys if the spirit called for it.

Speaking with a soft, then soaring and poetic lilt, Streets pointed to the gospel as a source of spiritual and moral fortitude and liberation, through which those who believe in it are able to draw strength. He turned the clock back centuries, looking to how Christian teachings and gospel music helped sustain millions of enslaved Black people who were stolen from their homelands and forced into labor in what is now recognized as the U.S. "Because of the hope of the gospel, they were undaunted by contradictions," he preached, his voice rising. "They birthed new songs from the music that was in their souls. A melodic bridge connected them with who they were, with who they would become."

He traced the power of the gospel to songwriter and pianist Thomas Dorsey, often called "the father of gospel music," to performances from the Dixie Hummingbirds and Mahalia Jackson, who stunned and moved an audience of thousands when she sang "How I Got Over" at the March on Washington in 1963. He followed it to jazz, rhythm and blues, funk

and the collaborative beats and layering that built the backbone of hip hop in the 1980s.

"The hope of the gospel is that each of us experiences its power to heal and to strengthen us and to discover how we can give our lives a deep and abiding sense of purpose emotionally and spiritually," he said. By then, Greene had begun to follow along on the keys. "The hope of the gospel, Dixwell and friends, lies in its ability to give those who believe in it strength for today and hope for tomorrow. For these are the attributes of our resilience in the face of life's difficulties."

It's that same hope, he continued, that lets him know that Dixwell UCC will survive and thrive as he departs. Through December, the church will welcome a series of guest ministers, many from the Yale Divinity School. Then in January, an interim pastor will take over, as the United Church of Christ begins its search for a replacement.

"My friends, the hope of the gospel is not just for our own strength and courage," he said, his voice smooth. "It is to be active in our community and world which faces daunting and sometimes frightening challenges. Dixwell Church, this time of transition is creating a space in which something new and wonderful can be created for the glory of God." The best, he promised the congregation, is still to come. After weeks of reflection, in which he has asked God if he is leaving the position too early or has stayed too long, he has realized that Dixwell UCC will be fine without him—just as it has with so many spiritual leaders in the past.

He pointed to the leadership already embedded in the church, including a deacon board and emerging church committee.

"I leave you with the promise of our savior. I am with you, always," he said. "The Lord … the Lord … the Lord! will make a way somehow."

"My prayer as we leave this place is that our only savior so dwelled within us that we cay go forth with the light of hope

in our eyes and the fire and inspiration on our lips, God's words on our tongues, God's love in our hearts," he continued, the words sailing over the congregation.

"Dixwell Church, for 203 years, you have witnessed the hope of the gospel, the hope and love of God. Hope on, Dixwell! You pray for me, and I will continue to pray for you."

In the bursts of music, song and applause that followed, congregants surrounded Streets with warmth, sending him on his way with several gifts, embraces, whispered secrets and fond utterances of “thank you.” Throughout, Streets’ still-youthful smile rarely faded, filling the church with light.

Agnes Farrar, who turned 101 in May, said that she will miss Streets, “a wonderful person and pastor” who she’s known for roughly half of her life. Because mobility is sometimes difficult for her, she doesn’t always come to Sunday services—but wasn’t going to miss her final chance to see Streets at the pulpit.

Sunday, she attended with her daughter Verna Carr, who drives over two hours from New York to make services as often as she can. “It’s a miracle to be able to sit here,” she said.

“This is how I start my week,” Carr chimed in as she stood beside her mother.

“I’m looking to be uplifted. He is going to be very, very missed” As she made her way towards a postservice lunch in Streets’ honor, longtime member and educator Sharon Esdaile said that she too will miss Streets, who with the onset of Covid-19 carried the church through some of its most difficult years in recent history. After moving from Alabama to Connecticut in 1963, she became close with the Edmonds family, and met Streets early in his time in New Haven.

“The church has always been a center of activism and ideas and possibility, and he has a similar way of thinking,” she said.

“He’s very inspirational and without limit himself.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Bears-Bulldogs Match Kicks Off HBCU Conversation

by LISA REISMAN

The new haven independent

A door opened for high school senior Devin James at The Lab at ConnCORP. The occasion was a Friday evening conversation, moderated by ESPN’s Michael Eaves, on “Athletics & Academics at HBCUs” with Dena Freeman-Patton, the first female athletic director at Morgan State University.

Freeman-Patton was in town for Saturday’s NAACP Harmony Classic between her Maryland-based school’s Bears and Yale’s Bulldogs. Yale would prevail 45 – 3.

Organized by the Connecticut NAACP “to inspire peace, fellowship, and harmony on college campuses,” and hosted by the Connecticut and Greater New Haven Chapters of the NAACP, the Harmony Classic is in its 10th year, with Yale marking its second year of participation.

Toward the end of Friday’s conversation, James, a student at Highville Charter School who specializes in shot put, discus, and javelin for Hillhouse Track and Field, asked for advice on how to get recruited for both academic and athletic ability.

“I got this one,” said Greg Jones, host of the event, founder of the Legacy Foundation of Hartford, and among the small but fiery band of orange-and-blue-clad Morgan State alums, including Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison, who ventured out to the Morse Street institution in Friday night’s monsoon-like conditions.

That was when Devin James learned about the Pennington Fellowship, which was announced by Yale last December to support New Haven high school graduates who attend HBCUs with up to $20,000 toward tuition and fees for each of the four years.

“College coaches love the good academic student,” said Freeman-Patton, a Baltimore native who played basketball while studying sports management at Liberty University.

“Now I see I was doing what I do now even when I was in high school,” she said. “I was always getting on the basketball and football players about doing their work so they could get to college.”

At first, she said, “it was about having a seat at the table, a voice in the decisions of the people I cared about.” Then, “as I started to grow in the field, I realized I needed to be at the top so I could have a say in what happens to our studentathletes.”

The way she became a Division I athletic director — a position in which 14 percent are women and 3 percent are Black—was, she said, “putting myself in uncomfortable situations,” as, for example, a high-powered athletic director symposium with predominantly white male speakers and the men’s Final Four because “that’s where the presidents and ADs were at the time.”

“Sometimes you have to be intentional about putting yourself in those uncom-

SIRENA MCNEAL PHOTO Legacy Foundation's Greg Jones and high school senior Devin James, with Morgan State AD Dena Freeman-Patton and Alder 22 Alder Jeanette Morrison after the event.

Dena Freeman-Patton with ESPN's Michael Eaves.

Devin James and mother Sirena McNeal.

Event host Greg Jones, another Morgan State alum.

fortable positions because oftentimes no one asked you to go,” said FreemanPatton, who was named Women Leaders in College Sports Administrator of the

James Nicholas, Morgan State alumnus, Class of 1970.

Year in 2018 and appointed as chair of the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee in 2020.

“You have to put yourself in that posi-

10

tion and be uncomfortable until you get comfortable and also until they get comfortable with you.”

Asked what she brought to the role as athletic director, her answer was plain.

“The life after part,” she said. “What are you going to do next? So every place I’ve stopped, I’ve tried to create some sort of program to benefit student-athletes after college.”

One example is the influx of money to college athletes as a result of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. “I have no problem with it,” she said. “I believe it’s the student-athlete’s right to earn money off their own name. I see it as an opportunity.”

Toward that end, she’s “making available avenues for our student-athletes to educate themselves on how to brand themselves for life, for the future, for business,” she said. “It’s about getting them to think about how to monetize their gifts and not depend on anyone else for that.”

On her seemingly meteoric rise to a position in an institution that, as alum James Nicholas, Class of 1970, put it, “has grown from one little building, one gym, to this magnificent infrastructure,” Freeman-Patton was blunt.

“I was always told don’t worry about the reason, take advantage of the opportunity,” she said. As a student at Liberty, “the director of my sports management program told me, ‘you’re in a field in which there are a not a lot of you, there are doors that are going to open for whatever reason, whether it’s that you’re Black or you’re a woman. All I can say is walk through them.’”

“I took that advice,” she said. “I threw out the first pitch at the Orioles game for HBCU night. I did a coin toss at the U.S. Open for HBCUs. It’s all about exposure for HBCUs.” It was no different, it seems, for Saturday’s Harmony Classic. “All of this attention, let’s take advantage of it, let’s use it to showcase who we are,” she said.

“We need to win this game but it’s bigger than the game. It’s our cheer team, it’s our alumni there supporting, it’s our marching band. Let’s use all that to let people, especially young people, know who we are.”

It’s an opportunity to show Morgan student-athletes that the university is invested in them as well. “That’s why we got a charter flight here,” she said, as opposed to enduring a bus ride from Baltimore. “That’s about giving our studentathletes that experience, so they don’t feel they’re less than. It’s about helping them not miss as much class, not be as tired when they’re competing.”

Maybe Devin James becomes one of them. Maybe he gets that Pennington Fellowship.

Whatever the case, “it’s about giving our young people the opportunity to grow, and the support to rise,” Freeman-Patton said. “It’s about opening that door.”

Con’t from page 07

Unbecoming

have become intractably tethered.

The writing, paired with an intensely physical performance, carries the show.

Riggins is a master of narrative, with an ability to knit humor, storytelling and verse that feels rare and sacred (he has studied Wilson's work meticulously, and it shows). His descriptions are not only evocative but often poetic (describing a fight with a fellow inmate: "this scuffle is more of a war dance." On the vicious cycle of addiction: "My body is heavier and denser than all the water in the world.")

It allows him to tap into a sort of timehopping and magical realism that propel the play. At multiple points throughout the play, a prison wall becomes a screen onto which Riggins' memories are projected, his description so vivid that an audience can all but see them in real time. There is Riggins' daughter, her smile a beacon of light as the camera flashes. There are his siblings, frozen in time. There is his mother, witn an opal necklace he bought her for her birthday.

It's this that makes the work so intimate: Riggins' delicate touch is on everything, and so is his fearlessness, which persists even when every eye in the house is on only him. Nowhere, perhaps, is that clearer than in a sequence near the end of the show, when Riggins works through a thick fog of grief, eulogizing his mother after trying to get back to her in a place that has been built not to move. It's here that something clicks, pulling him out of a half-conscious state and back into the present, with all its ugliness and baggage and also its potential.

"You gon' be alright man," he says, and the audience knows that it's true. "You belong in the world. Just like the water and the rambling river."

While it is told from solitary confinement, Unbecoming Tragedy is not a play about abolition or the futility of the carceral state, although Riggins the actor has taken on both during his decades on the stage. Instead, it is a show about deep self-exploration, self-interrogation, and at times self-flagellation—and the sheer force of one man's human-ness in a system that does not make room for second chances.

It's this, he said in an interview before the play, that he's still sitting with as he continues to work on the show. After years of moving—he has lived in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Alaska, Texas, Massachusetts and Connecticut—Riggins said he feels a sense of rootedness in New Haven that's still relatively new to him.

That sense of being home is carrying him forward—and has helped bring the work to fruition.

"It's just another journey," he said. "It's another way of looking at the world. It's a kind of a different, unusual ironic journey of a human being trying to figure it out, as we all are. Just trying to make sense of their lives."

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Awaiting Appeal, Maleek Jones Walks Free

by LAURA GLESBY

The new haven independent

After nearly three decades behind bars for a now-overturned murder conviction, Maleek Jones found a first taste of freedom in a cheese pizza slice from Modern — a taste “better than any other pizza from the last 30 years,” he said.

He took his first steps out of incarceration on Thursday, as the state appeals a judge’s decision that he was wrongfully imprisoned for all those years.

More than a month had passed since federal Judge Janet Hall overturned Jones’ conviction for the 1992 murder of Eddie Harp, declaring Jones’ imprisonment for close to 31 years “unconstitutional.”

Jones has always maintained his innocence.

On Thursday, he hugged his mom for about the fifth time since he was first imprisoned shortly after his son was born in 1995.

He ambled through the New Haven Green for the first time in decades, after glimpsing the iconic park through images on TV news stations over and over again.

He celebrated his release with a quick pizza party involving family and friends, before taking a trip down to North Carolina, where he’s agreed to live with his sister while still under federal supervision.

“I’m soaking it all in,” he said in disbelief.

Hours earlier, he had been sitting in an orange uniform beneath a federal courtroom’s golden chandelier, uncertain of whether he’d sleep next in a prison cell or a bedroom.

The court had convened to respond to an emergency motion from lawyers representing Jones advocating for his release.

The presiding judge was the same Judge Hall who overturned Jones’ conviction in mid-August. She had made this decision on the basis that Jones had ineffective legal representation, and that the trial court’s decision to exclude testimony from someone to whom one of the perpetrators of the shooting confessed, led to an unconstitutional conviction.

The only surviving witnesses of the shooting — bystander Sheila McCray and confessed perpetrator Tyrone Spears — both say that police pressured them to identify Jones as one of the people who shot Eddie Harp.

Spears initially caved to this pressure and implicated Jones as one of three shooters that night, including himself, before ultimately recanting this narrative years later. (Ballistic evidence, as Judge Hall noted, did not support the notion that three people had been involved in the murder.)

Meanwhile, McCray, who had been a friend of Harp’s, has always maintained that Jones was innocent. Despite being the only neutral witness to the crime, she

Maleek Jones' friends and family celebrate at the Full Citizens Coalition office. was never interviewed by Jones’ lawyer or called to testify at his trial.

The state has decided to appeal Hall’s decision, meaning that Jones’ freedom is in the hands of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. That case remains pending. The state’s attorney’s office declined to comment for this story.

On Thursday, Hall released Jones from state custody and permitted him to move to North Carolina with his sister under federal supervision.

During the hearing, Hall praised the feedback she received on Jones as an employee in prison as “extraordinary,” noting “how hard a worker he is, how capable he is.”

She observed that he had not received a disciplinary ticket since 1997. “To me, that speaks volumes.”

Hall additionally commended Jones’ unofficial “sister,” Sabrina Mack, as an “outstanding candidate” to live with Jones and serve as his “custodian,” the person who will inform the court about any violations, for the duration of his supervised release.

Jones has already secured a job as a quality assurance and quality improvement specialist at Carolina Family Alliance, a mental health services organization where Mack is the executive director.

While incarcerated at Garner Correctional Institution, Jones had worked as a tutor and in other capacities with people who have mental illnesses.

“There’s not a high level of concern” that Jones would pose a “danger to the community or flight risk,” said Hall. Her main concern, she said, is the duration of time he has spent in prison.

Jones was 19 when New Haven police arrested him for Harp’s murder; he’s now 50 years old.

“The world has really changed,” Hall said. “The adjustment is extremely dif-

ficult.”

As a result, she decided to release him under a fair degree of supervision. Per her order, he’ll have to wear a GPS device and adhere to a 9 p.m. curfew for at least 60 days, among other requirements. After two months, Hall will review reports from a North Carolina-based probation officer in order to decide whether to alter the conditions of Jones’ release.

As she announced this decision, Jones’ mother and sister wept.

“Thank God the innocent prevailed,” said his mother, Denise Jones, outside the courtroom.

Jones steps out of the courthouse.

LAURA GLESBY PHOTO Maleek Jones hugs his mom, Denise Jones, outside federal courthouse.

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“I can’t wait to feed him some good food,” she added. “Imma see what he wants.”

After hours of wading through the logistics of transferring from state custody to federal supervision, Maleek Jones was finally able to leave the federal courthouse on Church Street with his family and friends.

The group walked to the Temple Street office of the Full Citizens Coalition, where the nonprofit criminal justice reform organization’s founder — Jones’ friend and advocate James Jeter — hosted a pizza party.

There, Jeter screened a short documentary about Jones, “FREE MALEEK,” which was directed by Wesleyan student Eliot Kimball and released this past summer.

Jones had participated in the documentary by way of ten-minute phone interviews.

He had not yet seen the final product.

He nodded stoically through narrations of his criminal case, but teared up at his mother’s words to the camera: “He’s been in there 30 years, my child has been locked up for 30 years … I want justice for my child.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Far-Right Republicans Push for Controversial Spending Cuts Impacting Vulnerable Communities 17.1% of Black American families live below the poverty line. In comparison, only 8.6% of their white and Asian-American counterparts face the same economic hardship. The glaring inequality underpins Brazile’s assertion that the proposed House Republican spending cuts, targeting crucial programs aiding low-income individuals, would inflict severe hardship on Black communities.

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia In a scathing op-ed, seasoned political strategist and former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile has accused far-right Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives of pursuing drastic and merciless reductions in programs that disproportionately support Black Americans and low-income individuals. Brazile, now a senior advisor at Virginia-based communications firm Purple Strategies, warned that a shutdown would prove devastating and hard to recover for specific populations.

With a pointed emphasis on the demographic disparities in poverty rates, Brazile highlighted the staggering contrast in figures: 17.1% of Black American families live below the poverty line. In comparison, only 8.6% of their white and Asian-American counterparts face the same economic hardship.

The glaring inequality underpins Brazile’s assertion that the proposed House Republican spending cuts, targeting crucial programs aiding low-income individuals, would inflict severe hardship on Black communities.

In the op-ed published by TheGrio, Brazile also noted that Hispanic families, grappling with a 16.9% poverty rate, and Native Americans, facing an alarming 25% poverty rate, would be profoundly affected by these proposed cuts.

The contentious nature of these potential cuts has ignited a fierce political battle on Capitol Hill, with far-right Republicans pushing their agenda even at the risk of a federal government shutdown. The impasse highlights the deep ideological divide within the House, with concerns over the welfare of vulnerable communities at the forefront of the debate.

Critics argue that these proposed cuts significantly threaten the social safety net, potentially exacerbating existing disparities in access to essential resources and opportunities. On the other hand, despite the Biden-Harris admin-

istration already shaving more than $1 trillion off the national debt, MAGA Republicans and their supporters claim that the cuts are needed to show fiscal restraint and ensure the long-term stability of government finances.

“The Republican MAGA extremists putting vital programs on the chopping block in the House are following the orders of former President Donald Trump,” Brazile asserted. This week, Trump wrote on his social media site that they should make no compromises with mainstream Republicans and Democrats.

“UNLESS YOU GET EVERY-

THING, SHUT IT DOWN!” Trump wrote on social media. “Whoever is President will be blamed.”

Brazile noted that, in contrast, President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., both urged House Republicans to fund the government to avoid the disastrous impacts of a government shutdown.

“Unfortunately, rather than considering themselves public servants, the MAGA House Republicans prioritize serving Trump over their own constituents,” Brazile continued. “Instead of focusing on governing, they are focused on attacking whoever Trump

denounces.”

Brazile listed several of the social safety net programs that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California), supports to appease extreme MAGA Republicans, including: • Denying food assistance payments to more than 1 million low-income mothers and their children under age 5.

This would quite literally take food out of the mouths of babies.

• Slashing housing subsidies for poor families by one-third. A rise in homelessness would be inevitable.

• Cutting aid that helps poor families pay their home heating bills by more than 70%. The Biden administration won congressional approval a year ago to spend $4.5 billion on the program to aid over 5 million poor families.

• An 80% cut in funding for public schools that serve many low-income students. This would make it harder for such students to get a good education that would help them work their way into the middle class and higher.

• Cutting over $150 billion annually from programs that help fund child care, education subsidies, college scholarships, medical research, and hundreds more vital programs.

“It’s outrageous that rather than raising taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations to reduce the federal deficit, House Republicans are demanding that low-income Americans bear the brunt of the burden of deficit reduction,” Brazile concluded.

California Governor Gavin Newsom Names Laphonza Butler to Replace the Late Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor Laphonza Butler will fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Dianne Feinstein. The groundbreaking Senator died on September 29.

Newsom’s decision was not on the political radar screen of most prognosticators.

With the selection of Butler, the decision of California’s Governor will not include any of the currently announced candidates for U.S. Senate in 2024 in California. Those current candidates include veteran members of Congress Barbara Lee and Adam Schiff.

“As we mourn the enormous loss of Senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for — reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence — have never been under greater assault.

Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington, D.C.,” wrote Gov. Newsom

in a statement released on the evening of October 1 announcing Butler’s appointment.

running for President and switched topics to the policies he believed the party should focus on.

Laphonza Butler will be yet another addition to the Congressional Black Caucus, which is now on the brink of having 60 members for the first time in history.

Though the current membership of the Congressional Black Caucus is 58, one more Black member is all but certain to enter Congress in Rhode Island after the resignation in May of Congressman David Cicilline. Former Biden White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Deputy Director Gabe Amo won the Democratic nomination for Cicilline’s seat. The election is on November 7.

Butler will be the only Black woman in the Senate. But Delaware Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester is expected to win the Senate seat vacated by Senator Tom Carper. Carper announced he would not run for re-election in 2024 and Rochester announced shortly afterwards that she would run for Carper’s seat.

Butler will be sworn in to the U.S. Senate this week.

Butler has been serving as the President of EMILY’s List. The fundraising platform supports and funds women candidates and amplifies issues that disproportionately impact women. EMILY’s List was founded in 1985 by Ellen Malcolm and founding members Barbara Boxer, Ann Richards, Anne Wexler, and Donna Shalala. From 1985 through 2008, EMILY’s List raised over $240 million for political candidates.

The move by Newsom could assist him if he should run for higher office in 2024 or 2028. Newsom has been rumored to be on a short list of Democratic candidates who could run for President if, for some reason, Biden or Harris are not options.

But Newsom was recently asked about

Laphonza Butler

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“Throughout her career, Laphonza Butler has been a strong voice for working families, LGBTQ rights, and a champion for increasing women’s representation in politics. I’m honored to welcome her to the United States Senate. Governor Newsom’s swift action ensures that Californians maintain full representation in the Senate as we navigate a narrow Democratic majority. I look forward to working together to deliver for the people of California,” wrote California U.S. Senator Alex Padilla in a statement.

Senator Laphonza Bulter / Wikimedia Commons Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the publisher of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Biden:

‘I Make No Apologies for Efforts to Support HBCUs’

The Roosevelt Room event included key figures like Dr. Tony Allen, Chair of the Board of Advisors and Delaware State University President, and Mayor Steve Benjamin, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held a roundtable discussion inside the Roosevelt Room of the White House with the Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The event included key figures like Dr. Tony Allen, Chair of the Board of Advisors and Delaware State University President, and Mayor Steve Benjamin, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Biden, humorously recalling their past collaborations, commended Allen’s contributions and emphasized the transformative impact of HBCUs. Allen, highlighting the unprecedented support from the current administration, lauded their $7 billion investment in the Department of Education. He underscored the vital role of HBCUs in enabling low-resourced African American students to ascend to the middle class.

“HBCUs produce 40% of all Black engineers in America, 50% of all Black lawyers, 70% of all Black doctors and dentists, and 80% of all Black judges,” Biden asserted. “And HBCUs are engineers of economic mobility helping to increase the Black middle class. When the middle class does well, everybody does well. The poor have a road up, and the wealthy still do well although they’ve got to start paying their taxes. That’s why it’s critical we

invest in these universities.”

During the meeting, Allen revealed a list of recommendations, all centered on four crucial tenets set by President Biden and Vice President Harris: 1. Infrastructure Investment: This encompasses physical and technological infrastructure, aiming to align the quality of living and learning spaces with the toptier education that HBCUs offer.

2. Research Capacity Building: Dr. Allen emphasized the unique expertise across diverse disciplines in HBCUs, with numerous institutions poised to attain R1 status.

3. Connected Pathways: The President and Vice President’s advocacy for industry collaboration ensures that HBCU students have genuine opportunities from matriculation to graduate studies.

4. HBCU Preservation and Growth: Given their pivotal role in African American students’ upward mobility, preserving and expanding HBCUs remains paramount.

Biden, resonating with Dr. Allen’s sentiments, spotlighted the substantial impact of HBCUs on various professional domains, such as engineering, law, medicine, and judiciary. He stressed that in-

vesting in these institutions is not only an investment in the Black community but a step towards fortifying the nation’s overall prosperity.

Addressing misconceptions about funding cuts, Biden reaffirmed his commitment to historic investments in HBCUs, including research allocations and significant increases in Pell Grants. He emphasized the necessity of advanced facilities, particularly laboratories, to bolster competitiveness in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Biden also touched on the urgency of supporting HBCU students through increased Pell Grants, reiterating their vital role in enhancing access to higher education. He said he’s worked for bipartisan support in helping HBCUs. “Just a few months ago, the Speaker of the House and I agreed to spending levels for the government. We were up right to the very edge, almost reneged on our debt, and — that we could fund essential priorities and still cut the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade,” Biden noted.

“Now, a small group of extreme House Republicans, they don’t want to live up to that deal, and everyone in America could be faced with paying the price for that.

They’re changing it. We made a deal. We shook hands. We said, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ and now they’re reneging on the deal, which is not much of a surprise these days. And the Black community, in particular, is going to suffer if that ocCon’t on page 25

Tenth Annual Wrongful Conviction Day Shines Light on Injustice

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia

October 2, 2023, marks the Tenth Annual Wrongful Conviction Day, a global initiative to raise awareness about the pervasive issue of wrongful convictions and its profound impact on innocent individuals and their families.

Founded by the Innocence Network, a collective of organizations dedicated to offering pro-bono legal and investigative services for those seeking exoneration, Wrongful Conviction Day aims to rectify the root causes of these miscarriages of justice while also providing support to the exonerated as they reintegrate into society.

Since its inception in 1989, over 3,320 wrongful convictions have been unearthed nationwide, resulting in a staggering cumulative loss of 29,500 years for those unjustly incarcerated. Today, it remains impossible to ascertain the exact number of innocent individuals still languishing behind bars. However, experts estimate that between 2% and 5% of the nearly 2 million incarcerated in the US

are victims of wrongful convictions, indicating that anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 people are presently suffering

this grave injustice.

Recent studies show a 70% increase in wrongful convictions in five years. Anal-

15

ysis of those cases showed race is a significant influence in wrongful convictions.

Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States 2022 examined 3,200 innocent people exonerated in the U.S. from 1989. They concluded that Black Americans are seven times more likely than white Americans to be wrongfully convicted of severe crimes. This applies to all significant crimes except white-collar crime.

White homicide victims are roughly twice as likely to be wrongfully convicted. Black people are eight times more likely to be wrongfully convicted for sexual assault than white people. White victims are much more likely to be wrongfully convicted than Black victims.

Drug offenses show the most significant racial differences. African Americans are 19 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of drug crimes. Wrongfully convicted Black persons serve harsher sentences than innocent white people in all crime categories.

Organizers at The Innocence Network noted that this Wrongful Conviction Day is a rallying call to educate and disseminate knowledge about this pressing issue.

The Innocence Network, a loose coalition of independent innocence organizations, has remained at the forefront of the battle, working tirelessly to combat wrongful convictions globally and advocate for systemic reform in the criminal legal system.

While most Network members focus on providing legal representation for the wrongfully convicted, a select few are exclusively dedicated to aiding and assisting those exonerated, helping them transition back into society.

As the Tenth Annual Wrongful Conviction Day unfolds, the Network said they are urging individuals worldwide to join the cause, advocating for justice, and supporting the fight against wrongful convictions, ultimately striving to ensure that every person receives the fair and just treatment they deserve under the law.

“The number of innocent Americans in prison or jail is disturbing,” NBA coaching legend Doc Rivers, an advocate of the Innocent Project, stated. “Our system fails too many of us, and any person who has been wrongfully convicted deserves justice.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Former NFL Player For Baltimore Ravens is Now a Math Professor at MIT

math while playing, but I always prided myself on doing what I wanted to do and not budging on things.”

In 2017, after three NFL seasons, Urschel retired to fully pursue his passion for advanced theoretical mathematics. In 2021, he completed his Ph.D. at MIT, focusing on matrix analysis and computations, with a strong emphasis on theoretical applications for real-world situations.

Now, Urschel was hired as one of the 16 new faculty members in MIT’s School of Science for the Fall 2023 semester. On his faculty bio page, he mentioned his interests in numerical linear algebra, spectral graph theory, and certain aspects of theoretical machine learning.

Moreover, Urschel reportedly aspires to increase diversity in the field of mathematics, where only seven percent of professors are Black. His goal is to inspire young Black students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

by BlackNews.com

Former Baltimore Ravens player John Urschel has made a remarkable career pivot after retiring early from the NFL at the age of 26. Urschel is now a math professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

While playing in the NFL, Urschel pursued his Ph.D. in mathematics at MIT. Surprisingly, he managed to publish six academic papers during his football career, a fact not widely known among his teammates and colleagues.

In 2017, Urschel earned a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for his outstanding work in mathematics at just 25 years old.

He was truly dedicated to both football and mathematics, demonstrating his commitment by juggling these demanding pursuits.

“I felt actually kind of guilty,” Urschel told Sports Illustrated. “I was actually kind of ashamed of myself. I was doing

Black Woman Makes History With Lead Role in Upcoming Broadway Premiere of Betty Boop Musical

By BlackNews.com Jasmine Amy Rogers, a 23-year-old African American actress, is set to take on the lead in “BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical” that will debut on Broadway. The musical, which promises to bring Betty’s charm to life on stage, is making its premiere in Chicago this November before hitting Broadway.

This musical, directed and choreographed by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell, is bringing Betty Boop to life. Mitchell is all praises for Rogers, lauding her versatile talents in acting, singing, and dancing that perfectly fit the character of Betty Boop.

“From the moment Jasmine walks into a room and shares that magnificent smile and her contagious laugh, you know you are in the presence of Betty Boop. And, like the cartoon Betty, Jasmine can do

16

everything brilliantly — acting, singing, dancing — I know her performance will capture the hearts of audiences of all ages,” he told Blex Media.

Behind the scenes, a talented team including David Rockwell, Gregg Barnes, Philip S. Rosenberg, Gareth Owen, Finn Ross, and Daryl Waters are working hard on set design, costume design, lighting, sound, projection design, and musical supervision.

The musical is inspired by Max Fleischer’s iconic characters, with music by Grammy winner David Foster, lyrics by Tony nominee Susan Birkenhead, and a book by Tony winner Bob Martin.

The story follows Betty’s quest for an ordinary day away from her celebrity status. Her adventure takes her to colorful, musical New York City, delivering a message of empowerment: “You are capable of amazing things.”

Betty Boop debuted in 1930, initially as a dog-like stage performer. She evolved into a human character, becoming the world’s only female animated screen star in 1932, voiced by Mae Questel.

Moreover, it’s important to acknowledge the Black historical connection to Betty Boop’s creation. Esther Jones, known as “Baby Esther,” is credited with inspiring the character. Born in 1918 in Chicago, she was a talented child performer known for her unique singing style and blackbottom dancing.

A lawsuit in 1930 revealed the true origins of Betty Boop. Helen Kane, a white performer, sued Fleisher Studios for appropriating her “Betty Boop” character.

During the trial, it was revealed that Kane had imitated Jones’ scat act, leading to the recognition of neither Kane nor Jones as the source.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Why Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar was replaced

By Mildred Europa Taylor, Face2FaceAfrica.com

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Sunday night presented Howard University with a replacement Oscar for Hattie McDaniel’s 1940 best supporting actress award. McDaniel was the first Black person to win an Oscar for her supporting performance as Mammy in the 1939 classic “Gone with the Wind.”

McDaniel subsequently bequeathed her Oscar to the university before her death in 1952. The award was displayed in the school’s drama department up until the late 1960s when it mysteriously disappeared.

“For a young aspiring artist, a student, a would-be actress, being able to see that every day was an affirmation,” Phylicia Rashad, the dean of Howard’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, said of the award. Rashad, known for her role on The Cosby Show, accepted the replacement Oscar with Howard President Ben Vinson III and Kevin John Goff, McDaniel’s great-grandnephew.

“It was Hattie McDaniel’s intention that her Oscar should be placed here at How-

Hattie McDaniel was the first Black person to win an Oscar for her supporting performance as Mammy in the 1939 classic "Gone with the Wind." Photo: YouTube

ard University in the College of Fine Arts in perpetuity,” Rashad said.

When McDaniel took the stage in a blue gown and gardenias in her hair at the 12th Academy Awards held at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in The Ambassador Hotel eight decades ago, she had been allowed in after a petition from her producer, David O. Selznick. Even when she entered, she was not allowed to join costars Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable on the Gone With the Winds table but was instead given a separate table at a far wall with her escort.

Though the award was a historic moment for her, the 46-year-old’s career took a not-too-impressive turn right after.

Born in 1893 to two former slaves, McDaniel grew up in poverty and followed her brothers onto the stage, making fun of stereotypes by performing in whiteface.

In 1931, she moved to Los Angeles where she began uncredited film roles as maids and slaves; roles that were shunned by black actors at the time. Her assertiveness eventually landed her the role of Gone with the Wind’s Mammy. This became her most significant role at the time. But the NAACP condemned Gone With the

Wind, and some black theatres were not willing to show it. McDaniel was also banned from attending the film’s Atlanta premiere.

Black audiences further accused her of perpetuating negative stereotypes, and white filmmakers cast her only in domestic-servant roles.

However, she made history again in 1947 when she became the first black actor to star in her own American radio program, The Beulah Show, replacing a white male actor. After some years, McDaniel was diagnosed with breast cancer and passed away at the age of 59.

It is documented that she made two requests in her will: for her body to be buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and for her Oscar to be given to Howard University. But the cemetery refused her burial due to her race, and she was rather buried at the nearby Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery.

By the early 1970s, her award went missing and is yet to be seen. Some have argued that the award was taken from the campus as part of the student unrest in the 1960s.

Leading the Charge: Dr. Uché Blackstock’s Fight Against Pain Inequity

by Jasmine Smith, BlackDoctor.org

Pain inequity within the Black community is rooted in centuries of historical oppression and systemic racism. Additionally, the attitudes around pain tolerance have far-reaching consequences for Black individuals’ health and well-being. BlackDoctor.org sat down with physician and health equity expert Dr. Uché Blackstock to discuss the key factors contributing to pain inequity in the Black community, how it differs from experiences in other racial or ethnic groups and what can be done to ensure equitable access to pain management and treatment for Black patients.

What are the key factors contributing to pain inequity within the Black community, and how does it differ from other racial or ethnic groups?

There are very deep historic and systemic roots to pain inequity in Black communities. These roots stretch back to slavery, a societal institution that was falsely based on and perpetuated the notion that Black people were biologically inferior to other races. Enslaved Black people were experimented on, without their consent, and traumatized during slavery to help the medical establishment to make important discoveries that benefitted society. They were put on display in medical school lecture halls, and even textbooks included myths that Black people were biologically different. Those notions and myths have

been perpetuated for centuries and still infiltrate our medical education curricula.

How do these disparities manifest in healthcare settings?

Pain inequity is an acute public health crisis in the Black community. Ninetythree percent of Black people interviewed for the Advil survey, in partnership with the Morehouse School of Medicine, said that pain impacted their day-to-day lives and 3 out of 4 believed that bias and discrimination were involved in how their pain was diagnosed and treated. Black patients’ concerns are often minimized and even ignored by health professionals.

What are some common misconceptions or stereotypes about pain perception and tolerance among Black individuals, and how do they impact healthcare outcomes?

Some of the myths and stereotypes that health professionals hold about Black people and pain include, Blacks have a higher pain tolerance, thicker skin, less sensitive nerve endings and that we are biologically different than people of other races. These are myths and categorically false. Many of these myths were believed by students and residents in a 2016 study done at the University of Virginia. This mythical thinking is very much current day as well.

What role do healthcare providers play in perpetuating pain inequity, and what steps can be taken to address this issue within the medical profession?

Healthcare providers can perpetuate pain inequity by not listening to Black pa-

Photo: Advancing Health Equity

tients, not treating their pain adequately, not properly investigating the source of their pain, and not making the correct diagnosis. All healthcare providers should have continuing medical education and training about pain inequity. For example, part of their continuing medical education should be watching and discussing the powerful videos on the Believe My Pain website and bearing witness to the stories of Black people living with the pain. Also, their workplaces should develop pain equity metrics for healthcare providers that can be measured, tracked, and then intervened upon, if necessary.

What are the potential consequenc-

17

es of unaddressed pain inequity in the Black community, both in terms of individual health outcomes and broader societal implications?

If pain goes untreated, people experience physical, emotional and psychological distress. They cannot enjoy activities of daily living, like spending time with family and friends. They are unable to work and cannot pay their bills. Even worse, they likely have a clinical diagnosis that is being missed or delayed that could potentially harm them or ultimately result in their death.

What strategies or interventions can healthcare institutions implement to re-

duce pain inequity in the Black community and ensure equitable access to pain management and treatment?

Healthcare institutions must recognize systemic racism detrimentally impacts the health and well-being of their Black patients and hold themselves accountable.

They must use a multi-pronged effort to combat pain inequity. We already know that many of these racist myths can be perpetuated in medical education and training. The Advil Pain Equity Project is working with the Morehouse School of Medicine and BLKHLTH to develop a pain equity course for medical schools.

This course will be very important since we know that the next generation of health professionals holds the key to changing how we care for patients. Healthcare institutions must also implement rigorous clinical protocols and processes to track pain inequity in practice and intervene when necessary.

How can healthcare providers improve communication with Black patients regarding their pain experiences and needs?

Healthcare providers must recognize the internal racial biases they hold and how those biases can negatively impact the care they provide to Black patients. They should make sure that they are actively listening to Black patients’ concerns, responding competently based upon those concerns to find an answer for their pain, and then make sure to adequately treat their patients’ pain.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

Simone Biles Becomes the Most Simone Biles now has 5 skills named after her as she makes history landing Yurchenko double pike Decorated and Dominant Gymnast in the World

By Roz Edward | Chicago Defender Olympic champion and gymnastics marvel Simone Biles has earned the title of most decorated gymnast in U.S. History with her 33rd World and Olympic medal, which also ties her for first place in the world. The famed gymnast and Team USA prevailed at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

“Before going up on the floor, I was like, ‘What do I need? What do I need?’ And usually, you don’t feel that pressure, so I think the pressure was a little bit on but we stood up to the occasion.”

Biles, who returned to her first competition since she withdrew from five out of six events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics returned with a vengeance. After bringing attention to the need for athletes to take care of themselves physically and emotionally, with several other world-class athletes following suit and taking time out for their mental and emotional wellbeing.

After her two-year hiatus from competition, Biles handily won the U.S. Classic over the weekend. After the win the 26-year-old Olympian wrote to fans and supporters through social media channels.

Following her two-year hiatus, “Tears of joy as I make this comeback, surrounded by the love you’ve shown! thank you for believing in me,” she captioned in a post to Instagram. Hubby Jonathan Owens, whom she wed back in April, also expressed his adoration and praise for his wife’s win, writing in the comments section: “So damn proud of you baby. Makes my day seeing you so happy and back doing what you love, and having FUN!!! I love you so much” “It means the world because after everything that transpired in Tokyo, I worked on myself a lot,” Biles said to the BBC following her recent win. “I still do therapy weekly and it has just been so exciting

by Dollita Okine, Face2FaceAfrica.com

Star Gymnast Simone Biles completed a Yurchenko double pike, the most difficult vault in women’s gymnastics, at the world championships on Sunday, becoming the first woman to perform the move in a major international competition successfully and cementing her place in gymnastics history.

Since the 26-year-old already has four skills named after her, two on floor exercise and one each on balancing beam and vault, the Yurchenko double pike, a vault with an extra flip that makes it so difficult and deadly, will now be known as the Biles II. “People, I hope, realize that maybe that’s one of the last times you’re going to see a vault like that in your life from a women’s gymnast. I think it’s time to appreciate that,” Biles’s coach Laurent Landi stated, according to The Washington Post.

Simone Biles at the 2016 Olympics all-around gold medal podium. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Agência Brasil Fotografias

LeBron James shares health update on Bronny and how he is preparing to return to court Simone Biles

to come out here and have the confidence I had before.”

She continued: “Everything has fallen into place. I feel really good about where I am now mentally and physically. I still think there are some things to work on in my routine but, for the first meet back, I would say it went pretty well. I’m very shocked and surprised.”

During the time of her withdrawal from the 2020 Olympics, she explained that the decision was made in order to preserve her mental health and safety and revealed she was suffering from the “twisties”— a condition that causes gymnasts to lose track of their surroundings while in the air.

The post Simone Biles Becomes the Most Decorated and Dominant Gymnast in the World appeared first on Chicago Defender.

By Stephen Nartey, Face2FaceAfrica.com LeBron James has provided confirmation that his son, Bronny James, is on the path to a full recovery following a successful surgery after experiencing cardiac arrest in July.

Providing the Los Angeles Lakers’ media with a status on his son’s health progress, he indicated that he is in excellent condition and has already commenced his rehabilitation process to prepare for his return to the basketball court this season.

These questions about Bronny’s health and recovery come in the wake of the 19-year-old experiencing cardiac arrest during a workout at the University of Southern California a little over two months ago. Despite the health scare, LeBron James was optimistic about his son’s basketball future, especially as Bronny began his freshman year at USC this fall.

Lebron James & Bronny James/Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons & USC Athletics

Mo’Nique Wants CBS to Fairly Compensate Her and Actress Countess Vaughn For “The Parkers” Mo’Nique, known for her role in The Parkers, is urging CBS to provide fair compensation for herself and her co-star Countess Vaughn, as they seek recognition for their work on the long-running show.

In a recent Instagram video with her husband Sidney Hicks, Mo’Nique expressed solidarity with striking unions, particularly mentioning the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the SAG-AFTRA strikes, which affect writers and actors, respectively, according to The Shade Room.

Mo’Nique shared her concern about the alleged lack of compensation for their work on ‘The Parkers,’ a show that has been on the air for 24 years. She and Vaughn starred in the sitcom from 1999 to

2004 which ran for five seasons with over 110 episodes.

Despite being informed that they made no money from their ownership of the show, Mo’Nique and Hicks claim to have seen profit statements indicating that the series generated over $700 million. This stark contrast between reported profits and alleged deficits raises questions.

Mo’Nique also pointed out a different deal with CBS, one made with comedian Dave Chappelle in 2021, wherein CBS reportedly ensured fair compensation for him. Mo’Nique and Hicks are now seeking similar fairness.

“So what we’re asking you, CBS, is can you please treat these two Black women fairly,” Mo’Nique said. “What we’re ask-

ing you, CBS [is] don’t pay us anymore but don’t pay us any less.”

In taking this public stance, Mo’Nique and Hicks hope to shed light on the challenges faced by creatives in the industry and ensure fairness for future generations.

Countess Vaughn has shown her support by sharing Mo’Nique’s video on her Instagram Story.

Earlier this year, Mo’Nique also filed a lawsuit against CBS and Paramount, emphasizing the importance of actors receiving the compensation they are owed, especially for successful shows like ‘The Parkers.’ The lawsuit also involves claims related to Hicks Media, their company, and the sitcom’s production company, Big Ticket Productions.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

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Note: all artists, events, dates, programs and policies are subject to change.

W W W. T I C K E T S . S O U T H E R N C T . E D U

19

Growing up in the early 1990s, Thuso Mbedu never dreamt of being an entertainTHE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 2023 ment 17, figure.

At a very young age, she wanted to be a dermatologist, but after taking a dramatic arts class in the 10th grade, she became interested in acting.

Her acting career has earned her fame and fortune locally and internationally, rising Recently, many specialized video games to become one of the most sought after ac- have been developed that can be played tresses from South Africa. At 27, she was at home under the supervision of a telenamed in the 2018 Forbes Africa 30 Under therapist. These video games focus on 30 List, and one of the 100 Most Influential the affected body area and stimulate them for a better recovery. These video games Africans by New African Magazine.

Born on July 8, 1991, at the Midlands are very interactive, and the controlling Medical Center in Pietermaritzburg, Kwa- device is also customizable. Such games Zulu-Natal in South Africa, to a Zulu moth- have been designed to have alternating er and Xhosa and Sotho father, she never therapist-supervised hours and independent, unsupervised hours played at home. enjoyed the care of her parents who died Some of the games like RecoveryRapids, when she was barely four years old. She Brain Age, MusicGlove, FitMi, Fruit Ninwas raised by her grandmother, a very strict ja, and a few other Virtual reality-based Thuso Mbedu. Photo -IOL school principal in school and at home. video games like NVIDIA VR Funhouse, Reel Awards’ Actress Her name reflected the multicultural tribes ‘Black the Lab, Beat Saber,(Outstanding Climbey, and PierTV Arcade Movie / are Limited the ‘Hollyof her parents – Thuso is a Sotho name, –head greatSeries), resources to help Critics Association Awards’ (Best a stroke patient improveTVthe functionalNokwanda is a Zulu name, and Mbedu is wood ity of either an affected areaAnthropology or the whole Actress in a Limited Series, Xhosa. body. Moreover, they are funthe to ‘Gotham play and or Television Movie), Mbedu went to Pelham Primary School Series are very (Outstanding engaging. Often, availingina New therPerformance and Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School Awards’ apist’s help is challenging for the Black the ‘Hollywood Critics Associaand graduated from the University of Wit- Series), population; these(TV games require Star), very little TV Awards’ Breakout and watersrand in South Africa in 2013, where tion supervision and, if needed, can be availed she studied Physical Theatre and Perform- the ‘Critics Choice Television Awards’ online.

Actress in a Miniseries or Television Artssource Management.

Earlier in for 2012, she (Best tested for being a fun activity for healthy patient in re-learning the patterns. If noth- ing a great of rehabilitation stroke Stroke is devastating for an individual Movie), all for and her role ‘Cora Randall’ in took a summer course at the Stella Adler people at all stages. However, the same ing else, the good old memory cards help patients. Playing most classic games does both mentally physically.

Managing 2021requires TV seriesa ‘The Underground Railof Acting in New York City. board games can miraculously help a a stroke survivor regain or relearn the lost Studio not require a therapist’s supervision and the stroke collaboration between stroke patient recover. vocabulary. can be played atCareer a convenient corner of road.’ the affected individual, their healthcare She wonand the their ‘TV Breakout Star’friends. award Classic games like puzzles, Sudoku, These board and card games also require your home. career began in 2014 when she Her acting provider, family and Connect4, and Guess-Who challenge slow but constant arm movement, provid- played Research conducted at Lancaster Uni- from The healthcare provider can recommend the Hollywood Critics Association a minor role of ‘Nosisa’ in the poputhe stroke survivor to think deeper and, ing excellent physical exercise without lar versity showed thatSoap playing Nintendo Wii TV a setand of won games improve thePerformance functionaltheto‘Outstanding South African Opera ‘Isibaya’ in turn, help in regaining or fortifying putting the patients under undue pressure from helped significantly improving arm ity New of theSeries’ affected body from part. the Gotham award Mzansi Magic. Inin2015, she played a in the memory. Who doesn’t remember the to perform. These games are affordable guest movement compared only physioFamilies in the Black community should role asas‘Kheti’ in thetoSecond Season Awards. game Monopoly played during child- and readily available at grocery or conve- therapy in stroke patients. Other recent actively stroke survivors to In 2022,encourage Mbedu was nominated for the of the SABC 2 youth drama series ‘Snake hood? A stroke survivor feels the warmth nience stores. Also, some of these games studies have shown that Microsoft Xbox play fun games at home. Helping them ‘Independent Spirit Awards (Best Female Park.’ of childhood memories, and making strat- require a companion to play that boosts 360 Kinect games, Peggle, IREX, and play games is a win-win situation: the She got firststroke starringpatients role in improve the teen Performance in a New Scripted Series), for egies while playing Monopoly helps a lot up a stroke patient’s social life.

HTC Viveherhelp patient gets to heal faster, and the family ‘Corahave Randall’ in theand 2021 drama television series ‘IS’THUNZI’ from her in improving memory. cognitive and motor skills. androle friends a quality funtelevitime seriesFor‘The Underground Railroad.’

Mzansi Magic where she played ‘Winnie.’ sion Amongst the card games, Catch-a-Fish 2. Classical video games together. stroke patients: play games wonhealed the ‘Critics international debut was in ‘The Un- She is an excellent game that assists a stroke Studies have shown that video games are Her 3. Interactive video games and get faster. Choice Television derground Railroad’ an American fantasy Awards’ for ‘Best Actress in a Miniseries or historical drama series based on the novel Television Movie’ for her role ‘Cora Ran‘The Underground Railroad’ written by dall’ in ‘The Underground Railroad.’

In her keynote speech at TheWrap’s PowColson Whitehead.

In 2022, she starred in her first film ‘The er Women Summit, Thuso Mbedu tearfully Woman King’ an epic historical drama spoke of how she overcame the loss of her parents, grandmother, and aunt. But about Agosie, where an entire female warCity of Newdear Haven herHispanic role in Amanda ofAfrican Alders KingBlack and CaucusLane’s ‘IS’THUNZI’ rior unit protectedBoard the West Gala renewed her hope in life. dom of Dahomey in the 17 –12th 19thRecognitionFall century. gradually “…my world was that blur, until AmanShe played ‘Nawi’, a zealousViva recruit inLa the Cultura da Lane happened in 2016. The role that military unit.

Adorned in Bowties & Jewels Amanda Lane gave me was the difference In 2017, Mbedu was nominated for the Thursday October 26. 2023, 6pm between ‘DSTV Viewers Choice Awards’ and the Ocean Anthony’s View life and death for me. ReceivingNew thatHaven audition brief, I told myself that ‘International Emmy Awards the ‘BestRoad, 450for Lighthouse I would Performance by an Actress’ forHonoring her roleLocal Heroes:audition like it was my last audiAssistant John tion.- IFire gaveChief it the lastAlston of everything that I ‘Winnie Bhengu’ in the Police 2016 Chief -2017David televi-Zannelli Haven's Harvest -La Voz Hispana had, that at the time I got the callback, I had sion drama series ‘IS’THUNZI.’ Linda Hannans NHPS -Y.A.R.D For more made the decision In 2018, she won the ‘South African Film nothing left. I secretly Donation $100 information. and Television Awards’ for ‘ Best Actress not to do the callback because I had noth– TVplease Drama’ for her role ‘Winnie Bhengu’ ing left to give. But fortunately, I received contact the callback. So I didn’t do the callback bein the 2016 -2017 203-946-6483 television drama series https://tinyurl.com/ cause the role was mine.

I had given up. I ‘IS’THUNZI.’ She was also nominated for or any member of at the time, and the the ‘International Emmy Awards for ‘Best was in a very dark placebhcaucusgala23 the Black and Performance by an Actress’ for her role character, the role, the opportunity, was a Caucusin the television drama Hispanic much needed light. And I told myself that ‘Winnie Bhengu’ I will act as if it was the last character that series ‘IS’THUNZI.’ In 2021, she was nominated for the I will play. And through a great script and anflag amazing director,ofI your earned two Interna‘Television Wear Criticsan Association item or bring Award’ a small table representative culture (Individual Achievement in Drama), the tional Emmy Awards for that role…”

Three Types of Games That Help Brain Recovery After Stroke

by Shaveta Kanoria, BlackDoctor.com Stroke affects a person in many ways, depending upon the severity. It leaves the patient paralyzed, unable to perform daily activities un-assisted, or damages a part of the brain, affecting memory, slurred speech, etc. Also, a paralyzed limb can take a long time to regain some strength or sometimes remains dysfunctional forever. Unfortunately, the Black population is impacted more due to stroke. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black people are twice as likely affected by stroke as white people. Without specialized medical care, the Black population is 70 percent more at risk of death due to stroke than the white population.

Therapy for stroke requires several office visits or many sessions with a therapist at home to encourage physical and mental exercises. Our brain can overcome some damage by re-assigning the tasks from damaged to unaffected areas in due course. Gaming is an integral component of rehabilitation upon stroke. Several studies have shown that playing games makes the healing process much faster.

The Black population feels challenged to receive the right kind of in-office therapy upon stroke. However, they can easily participate in gaming activities for a faster healing process. Here, we explain three types of games that the Black population can play in the comfort of their homes for recovering from a stroke with little or no therapist involvement.

1. Board and card games Board games played at home are time-

20

14

THE INNER-CITY 2023 - October 2023 INNER-CITYNEWS NEWS- October July 27,11, 2016 - August 02, 17, 2016

Administrative Aide NOTICE (Mayor’s Office)

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

The Town of Wallingford is seeking a highly qualified individual to perform a variety of responsible administrative duties in support of the Mayor. Requires an A.S. degree HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, in office management or related field plus 3 years of progressively responsible cleriis accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develcal or office management experience, or a H.S. diploma plus 5 years of progressively opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apresponsible clerical or office management experience, or an equivalent combination of ply. Pre-applications be available from 9AM 5PM beginning Monday education and qualifyingwill experience substituting onTO a year-for-year basis.

Must Ju;y pos2016 endingcertifi whencation sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) sess25, or be ableand to obtain as a CT ADA Coordinator within 1 year andhave as a beenPublic received at 6the officesofofappointment.

HOME INC.Annual Applications be mailied uponplus reNotary within months salary: will $69,587 to $89,039 quest by fringe callingbenefi HOME at 203-562-4663 during those Completed an excellent ts INC package that includes pension plan, hours. medical insurance,prelife applications must be returned to HOME INC’s time. officesAat 171 Orange Street, Third insurance, 13 paid holidays, paid sick and vacation complete job announcement New Haven, 06510. andFloor, application may beCT downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@wallingfordct. gov by the closing date of October 2, 2023. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 2942084. EOE

NOTICIA

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

SECRETARY

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 Senior Clerk:LasPerforms a wideestarán variety of responsible clerical duties in a municipal máximos. pre-solicitudes disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 government ce.cuando The position requires 4 yearspre-solicitudes of office work experience of a100) rejulio, 2016offi hasta se han recibido suficientes (aproximadamente sponsible nature and a H.S. diploma. $23.72 to $28.28 pluspor an correo excellent fringe en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes seránhourly enviadas a petición benefi t package.

Apply: Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 llamando a HOME INC alDepartment 203-562-4663ofdurante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse South Street, Wallingford, mayNew be obtained at the office a lasMain oficinas de HOME INC enCT 171 06492.

Orange Applications Street, tercer piso, Haven , CT 06510 . of the Department of Human Resources or may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and emailed to wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov. The closing date will be that date the 50th application form/resume is received, or September 27, 2023, whichever occurs first. EOE.

NEW HAVENII MAINTAINER

242-258 Fairmont Ave The Town of Wallingford is seeking applicants for Maintainer II. The position requires 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA,work 3BR, 1 level , 1BA and care 2 years’ experience as a laborer in construction involving the operation

Alland newother apartments, newequipment, appliances, carpet, close I-91 of trucks mechanical or new 2 years training in to one of & theI-95 skilled highways, in near bus stop operations, & shoppingorcenter trades and 1 year of experience construction an equivalent combination of experience and training. valid (CDL) Class B is required a copy included Pet under 40lb allowed.AInterested parties contact Maria @and 860-985-8258 with your application. Wages: $23.73 - $27.82 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefit package that includes pension plan, paid sick and vacation time, 13 paid holidays. medical, dental andAssociation life insurance.

A complete job announcement and application may CT. Unified Deacon’s is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Program.

This is aDepartment 10 month program designed Resources to assist in theWeb intellectual Candidates be Certificate downloaded from the of Human Pageformation and canofbe mailed in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:30to the of Human Resources, Town 3:30 Department Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, (203) 996-4517 General Elijahto: Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. 64 Brewster Wallingford, CTHost, 06492, orBishop emailed wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov

by Church the closing date of September St. New Haven,25, CT 2023. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

Continuum of Care, New Haven, Connecticut – LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID: CONTINUUM OF CARE is requesting until 3:00 pm on Electrical Tuesday,contractors August 2,to2016 at its office at 28property Smith Street, licensed and insured provide bids for their located at 12 MichaelCT Street, Eastfor Haven.

The Sidewalk project is for the design and installationatof Seymour, 06483 Concrete Repairs and Replacement thea standby generator (24KW) for the property.

Scope to include a 200A automatic transfer Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour. switch, mounting pad and include battery and programming for the site. The awarded vendor is responsible for furnishing permit application to the City of East Haven for A pre-bid conference willfees. be held the Housing Office 28 Smith their work scope and related Priceatshould includeAuthority dumpster (if necessary) and permit fees.

The property can support natural gas fueled standby generator. The Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, ona Wednesday, July 20, 2016. project is tax-exempt, and funded by owner. A bidding site meeting will be held at 12 Michael Street, East Haven on 9/22/2023 at 11am. All bids are due by 9/29/2023 by Bidding documents are available the Seymour 3pm.

All bids and questions should be from submitted in writing Housing to MonicaAuthority O’ConnorOfvia fice,moconnor@continuumct.org 28 Smith Street, Seymour,orCT 06483 to(203) email delivered 109 888-4579.

Legion Avenue, New Haven.

Minority/women’s business enterprises are encouraged to apply.

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

Town of Bloomfield

Continuum of Care, New Haven, Connecticut –

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID

Patrol Police Officer

$37.93 hourly ($78,885 annually) – full time, benefited Pre-employment drug testing.

For more details, visit our website – www.bloomfieldct.org Deadline: Applications will be accepted until position is filled

Town of Bloomfield

Finance Director

Salary Range - $101,455 to $156,599 (expected starting pay maximum is mid-range) Fully Benefited – 35 hours weekly Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website – www.bloomfieldct.org

Portland

Police Officer full-time

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID: CONTINUUM OF CARE, NEW HAVEN is requesting licensed and insured contractors to provide bids for their property located at 310 Winthrop Avenue, New Haven. The owner is seeking proposals for the Interior Painting of 310 Winthrop, a three-family property. Scope includes clean, scrape, and paint all identified paintable surfaces of property. Cleaning, prep and paint of all interior doors, walls, and targeted trim. House colors to be selected by owner and Sherwin Williams is preferred. The project is CDBG funded by the City of New Haven. Project is tax-exempt and Davis/Bacon/Prevailing Wage rate. The selected company and any subcontractors must comply with EEOC workforce requirements. City of New Haven Chapter 12 ¼ of the New Haven code of Ordinances (MBE subcontracting ) applies- Minority/women’s business enterprises are encouraged to apply. A bidding site meeting will be held at 310 Winthrop avenue, New Haven on Monday, 8/28/2023 at 2:30pm. All bids are due by 9/8/2023 by 3pm. All bids and questions should be submitted in writing to Monica O’Connor via email moconnor@continuumct.org or delivered to 109 Legion Avenue, New Haven.

Request for Proposals (RFP) Plumbing Maintenance Services The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is seeking a qualified contractor to provide Plumbing Maintenance Services throughout the Agency. Proposals due by September 21, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.

A copy of the RFP documents can be obtained at the Bristol Housing Authority, 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT 06010 during normal business hours or by contacting Yvonne InvitationTirado, to Bid: Director of Accounting & Special Projects, at ytirado@bristolhousing.org, 2nd Notice phone 860-585-2039 or Carl Johnson, Director of Capital Funds, at cjohnson@bristolhousing.org, phone 860-585-2028. Scope and proposal requirements will be available starting August 21, 2023.

Go to www.portlandct.org for details

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, CT APPLY NOW! (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

SBE, MBE, W/DBE, and Section 3 businesses are encouraged to respond.

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay.

Planner – Project Manager New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing,Transportation Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, AsphaltThe Shingles, Vinyl Siding, South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) is seeking to fill the Transportation – Project Manager position. Visit www.scrcog.org for the full Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Planner Residential Casework, position description, qualifications, and application requirements. Applications are to Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

State of Connecticut be submitted by noon on Monday, September 11, 2023, or until the position is filled.

Office of Policy This contract is subject to state set-asideQuestions and contract compliance requirements. may be emailed to jobs@scrcog.org. SCRCOG is an Affirmative Action/

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

and Management

Equal Opportunity Employer.

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management isAnticipated recruiting Start: August 15, 2016 for an OPM Assistant Division Project documents available via ftp link below: Director in the Office of Finance.

Payroll

http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage Further information regarding

Payroll Clerk- Performs responsible office work in the processing of all general governthe duties, eligibility and application ment payrolls and maintain all payroll records. The position requires a H.S. diploma Faxrequirements or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com instructions are available at: of all Veteran,orS/W/MBE G.E.D,&plus 5 years of Businesses experience in responsible office work involving typing, acHCC encourages the participation Section 3 Certified https://www.jobapscloud.com/ counting, data entry and payroll processing. $27.22 to $32.68 hourly plus Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave,bookkeeping, Seymour, CT 06483 CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply: Department of Human Resources, Town AA/EEO EMPLOYER 230908&R2=0104MP&R3=001 of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Forms will be mailed The State of Connecticut is an equal upon request from the Department of Human Resources or maybe downloaded from opportunity/affirmative action employer and the Department of Human Resources Web Page and emailed to wlfdhr@wallingfordct. strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. gov. The closing date will be the date that the 50th application form/resume is received, or September 11, 2023, whichever occurs first. EOE

21

THE INNER-CITY INNER-CITY NEWS October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023 NEWS- July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

TOWN OF STRATFORD

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR LEGAL SERVICES Town of Bloomfield NOTICE RELATED TO LABOR, EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol (BHA) invites proposals from qualified VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL PRE-services APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE attorneys, legal teams or law firms toHOUSING provide Legal in labor laws, employment & benefits. For copy of RFP please contact Carl Johnson, Dir. of Capital Funds at 860HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and theMon., New Haven Authority, 585-2028 or cjohnson@bristolhousing.org beginning Sept. 4,Housing 2023. Sealed prois accepting pre-applications apartments at this marked develposals must be received no later for thanstudio 4:00 and p.m.one-bedroom on Thurs., Oct. 12, 2023 clearly opment located at 108 FrankEmployment Street, New&Haven. income limitations ap“RFP – Legal Services.

Labor, BenefiMaximum ts” with one (1) original and three (3)ply. copies mailed or delivered Housingfrom Authority of the City of Bristol, Attn: Mitzy Pre-applications will beto: available 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y Rowe, CEO, and 164 ending Jerome Ave., CTpre-applications 06010 25, 2016 when Bristol, sufficient (approximately 100) have

been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon reThequest Housing Authority of the of Bristol is an Equalthose Opportunity/Affi rmativepreAcby calling HOME INCCity at 203-562-4663 during hours. Completed tionapplications Employer. must SBE,be MBE, W/DBE, and Section 3 businesses are encouraged to rereturned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third spond.

Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

NOTICIA Community Engagement Senior Project Manager FHI VALENTINA Studio is seeking CommunityDE Engagement Senior Project Manager.

Candidates MACRIa VIVIENDAS ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES should demonstrate their ability to lead project teams, supervise and develop staff, provide excellent client service innovative solutions, manage multiple HOME INC, en nombre de lawith Columbus Houseand y destrategic la New Haven Housing Authority, está projects concurrently, and conduct business development.

Responsibilities will include aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo developing and implementing strategic outreach plans to meaningfully include and ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos facilitate communication with stakeholders and the general public on transportation máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 and community planning projects, utilizing a wide variety of tools and techniques injulio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) cluding public meetings, printed materials, social media, website, press releases, and en las oficinas de HOME The INC.candidate Las pre-solicitudes enviadas por correo a petición PowerPoint presentations. must alsoserán possess excellent oral and written llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirseis communication skills. Experience with major transportation infrastructure projects a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 . preferred.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN (EMT)

NEW HAVEN

The Town of Wallingford is accepting applications for EMT. Must possess a H.S. diploma or G.E.D., plus one (1) year of recent experience as an EMT. Must be 18 242-258 Fairmont Aveed EMT with CPR Certiyears old and be a Connecticut or National Registry Certifi fication and2BR a valid State of Connecticut vehicle 1 operator’s Townhouse, 1.5 motor BA, 3BR, level ,license.

1BA Starting wage $796.53 (weekly), plus an excellent fringe benefits package. Apply: Department All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT highways, near bus stop & shopping center 06492. Forms will be mailed upon request from the Department of Human Resources or Pet under 40lb allowed.

Interested of parties contact MariaWeb @ 860-985-8258 may be downloaded from the Department Human Resources Page. Phone (203) 294-2080, Fax (203) 294-2084. The closing date will be the date of the 50th application or resume is received or August 28, 2023, whichever occurs first.

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

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

St. New Haven, CT

Bike Share System – Development and Implementation New Haven Parking Authority New Haven, CT Sealed bids are invitedNHPA by the Project Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour #23-065 until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour,Proposals CT 06483 fordue Concrete Sidewalk Repairsatand Replacement August 29, 2023 3:00 P.M. at the Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Requesting proposals to develop and implement a Bike Share System in New Haven, CT. Proposal Documents will be available beginning August 8, 2023 at no cost pre-bid conference held Parking at the Housing Authority Smithat byAdownloading from the will Newbe Haven Authority/Park NewOffice Haven28 website https://parknewhaven.com/request-for-bids/ or visit theJuly Main ce at 232 George Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, 20,Offi 2016.

Street, New Haven, CT to obtain a copy.

Bidding documents available from thermative Seymour Housing Authority OfNHPA is anare equal opportunity/affi action employer. fice, 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 BID #2024-09

Salary Range:

$87,727 to $136,071 Deputy Finance Director/Controller

STERLING HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER – IMPROVEMENTS & RESTORATION

Pre-employment drug testing.

Sealed Bids for the Sterling House Community Center – Improvements & Restoration Project

AA/EOE. For Details go to www.bloomfieldct.org

Town of Bloomfield

Finance Director

Salary Range - $101,455 to $156,599 (expected starting pay maximum is mid-range)

1) ALL SEALED BIDS are to be in the office of the Town of Stratford Purchasing Department, 2725 Main Street, Room 104, Stratford, CT 06615, prior to 2:00 PM November 9, 2023, at which time they will be opened publicly and read aloud. Bids received after this time will be rejected.

Project description This project consists of interior improvements and exterior restoration of the existing 13,000 SF building. Interior scope includes the installation of a fire suppression system, HVAC system, and miscellaneous finishes. The exterior rehabilitation scope includes a slate roof replacement, brick and brownstone replacement, and masonry repointing.

Pre-Bid Conference: There will be Pre-bid conference on Friday October 20, 2023, at 10:00am at the Sterling House Community Center located at 2283 Main Street, Stratford, CT 06615.

Link: Microsoft Teams Conference Call will be available for those attendees who cannot attend in person (please contact Maryann Bigda at 203-712-6070 or email mbigda@ tcco.com to receive a link for this event) SBE/MBE Participation: This project will be partially funded by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Section 3 Requirements: The work to be performed under this contract is subject to the requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended, 12 U.S.C. 1701u (section 3). The purpose of section 3 is to ensure that employment and other economic opportunities generated by HUD assistance or HUDassisted projects covered by Section 3, shall, to the greatest extent feasible, be directed Go to www.portlandct.org for details to low- and very low-income persons, particularly persons who are recipients of HUD Invitationassistance to Bid: for housing. All bidders must agree to comply with HUD’s regulations in 24 QSR STEEL CFR nd 2 Notice part 135, which implement Section 3.

Fully Benefited – 35 hours weekly Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website – www.bloomfieldct.org

Portland

Police Officer full-time CORPORATION

APPLY NOW!Old Saybrook, CT

Bid VILLAGE Security: A bid bond for the sum of five percent (5%) of the total amount of the bid, SAYEBROOKE

payable to Turner Construction, utilizing the form included within the Project Manual must accompany the bid as a guarantee that the contract will be entered into if awarded.

(4 Buildings,The 17 Units) bid bond surety must be a corporate surety company licensed to sign surety bonds Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders in the StateRate of CT as listed on the Department of the Treasury’s Listing of Certified Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Project Top pay for top performers. Health Companies. All successful bidders will be required to provide 100% Payment and Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Performance bonds as a condition of the contract.

Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, AsphaltDrawings Shingles,and VinylSpecifi Siding, cations: To Access this project please call Mary Ann Bigda with Turner Construction at 203-712-6070 Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, to get a link to Building Connected.

State of Connecticut Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

Office of Policy An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Minority/Women's Business This contract subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. andisManagement Enterprises are encouraged to apply. This contract is subject to state set-aside

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut, Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 Office of Policy and Management Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 is recruiting for an Information Technology Technician hour).

Project(40documents available via ftp link below:

and contract compliance requirements.

Emergency Medical Technician

Further information regarding http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage The Town of Wallingford Fire Department is seeking qualified applicants for EMT. Ap-

the duties, eligibility plicants must possess a H.S. diploma or GED, plus 1 year of recent experience as an requirements and application EMT and dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com be a Connecticut or National Registry Certified EMT with CPR Certification.

Faxinstructions or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 are available at:

possess and 3maintain a valid State of Connecticut Driver’s license. Wages: $796.53 HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran,Must S/W/MBE & Section Certified Businesses

https://www.jobapscloud.com/ weeklyAve, plus an annual EMT bonus of $2,000 effective 11/1/2023. The Town offers an Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Seymour, CT 06483 CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, paid sick and vacation time, 230927&R2=7602FR&R3=001 AA/EEO EMPLOYER The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

22

medical insurance, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, and a deferred compensation plan.

Applications may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov by the closing date of October 30, 2023. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084.

EOE

THE INNER-CITY 2023 - October 2023 INNER-CITYNEWS NEWS- October July 27,11, 2016 - August 02, 17, 2016

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Construction

Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valCT We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits id drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 621Contact: Tom Dunay VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE 1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

Phone: 860- 243-2300 HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom at this develAffirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to applyapartments Drug Free Workforce opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven.

Maximum income limitations apAffirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:will be mailied upon rebeen received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications Reclaimer and Milling with current quest byOperators calling HOME INC atOperators 203-562-4663 duringlicensing those hours. Completed preand clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the NorthLargeStreet, CT Fence applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Third Company looking for an individual for our east & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits PVC Fence Production Shop. Experience preferred but will Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. train the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawing and tape Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com measure. Use of CNC Router machine a plus but not required, will train the right person. This is an in-shop production poWomen & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and AffirmativeMACRI Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer VALENTINA VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDESsition.

DISPONIBLES more. Must have a valid CT driver’s license & be able to obtain a Drivers Medical HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está Card. Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com.

Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipaceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of AA/EOE-MF ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos operating heavy equipment; be willing to travel throughout the máximos.

Las We pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 Northeast & NY. offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Full Time julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100)Administrative assistant position en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición for a steel & misc metals fabrication shop who will oversee the llamandoEmail: a HOMEdana.briere@garrityasphalt.com INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirseof clerical duties such as answering phones, acdaily operations Women & Minority encouraged to apply a las oficinas de HOMEApplicants INC en 171are Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .purchase orders/invoicing and certified payroll. counts payable Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer Email resumes to jillherbert@gwfabrication.com

NOTICE

PVC FENCE PRODUCTION

NOTICIA

Union Company seeks:

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

WATEr meter technician I

SEYMOURDISPATCHER HOUSING AUTHORITY

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour Theuntil Town of Wallingford is seeking responsible candidates to perform police, fire 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 911, Smith Street, and EMS emergency dispatching duties. Must be able to work under stressful conditions Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the and be able to type information with a high rate of speed and accuracy. Must be able to Smithfield Gardens Assisted Livingand Facility, 26 and Smith work all three shifts including weekends holidays be Street able to Seymour. work additional

shifts beyond the regular shift schedule. Requires a H.S. or business school diploma with courses in typing and 2 years of responsible office work experience. Wages: $ 23.72 ~ A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith $28.28 hourly plus shift differential and excellent fringe benefits. Closing date is October Seymour, CTreceipt at 10:00 Wednesday, July 20, 2016.first. Apply: De16,Street 2023, or the date of of theam, 50thonapplication, whichever occurs partment of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main St., Wallingford, CT 06492.

Forms will be mailed upon request fromthe theSeymour Department of Human Resources Bidding documents are available from Housing Authority Of-or may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and emailed to fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 Fax: (203)203-294-2084.

888-4579. EOE. wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov.

Phone: 203-294-2080,

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

The Town of Wallingford Water Division is seeking qualified candidates for Water Treatment Pumping Operator I to operate and maintain the Town’s potable (drinking) water treatment plant and pumping, storage tank, pressure regulating and groundwater well facilities. Must possess a H.S. diploma or equivalent with 1 year of experience involving the operation and maintenance of equipment used in water supply and treatment; or a technical high school diploma with demonstrated career and technical education related to electronics technology, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or water supply and treatment activities and operation; or completion of a program in water management. Applicants must possess State of Connecticut Department of Public Health Class I (WTP I) or higher Water Treatment Plant Operator certification, and completion of a program in water management or have the ability to obtain both within twelve (12) months from the date of hire. Must possess and maintain a State of Connecticut driver’s license. Wages: $28.03 - $34.05 hourly, plus an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, paid sick and vacation time, medical insurance, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, and a deferred compensation plan. A complete job announcement and application may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov.

Phone # 203-294-2080, Fax # 203-294-2084. The closing date will be the date the 50th application/resume is received, or October 24, 2023 whichever occurs first. EOE

Construction

Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valid drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V

Drug Free Workforce

NEW ISSUE / REFUNDING ISSUE

NEW HAVEN

The Town of Wallingford Water Division is seeking qualified applicants to perform semi-skilled work disassembling, cleaning, testing, calibrating 242-258 Fairmont Ave and repairing all types of water meters utilized in the water distribution system. Applicants should possess 2BR Townhouse, 1.5orBA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA a H. S., trade school, vocational school, H.S. equivalency diploma, plus 1 year of All new new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 &orI-95 experience as a apartments, maintainer/laborer in a water utility, or in the construction plumbing field, or any equivalent combination of experience andcenter training. Must possess highways, near bus stop & shopping and maintain a valid State of Connecticut Motor Vehicle Operator’s License. Wages: Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 $23.71 to $28.73 hourly. The Town offers an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, paid sick and vacation time, medical insurance, life insurance, 13 CT. paid holidays, and a deferred compensation plan. Applications may be downloaded Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. Thisof is aHuman 10 monthResources program designed assistand in thecan intellectual formation Candidates from the Department WebtoPage be mailed to of the Departin response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:30ment of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, 3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. CT(203) 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov.

TheChapel closing dateChurch will be date 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts U.F.W.B. 64 the Brewster theSt.50th or resume is received or October 17, 2023 whichever occurs first.

New application Haven, CT Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

WATER TREATMENT

KEEP CONNECTICUT MOVING

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

$1,215,000,000*

SAYEBROOKEState VILLAGE of Connecticut Hon. Erick RussellOld Saybrook, CT

Connecticut State Treasurer (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

$875,000,000* Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

Special Tax Obligation Bonds, Transportation Infrastructure Purposes, 2023 Series A

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Cast$340,000,000* in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Special Tax Obligation Refunding Bonds, Transportation Infrastructure Purposes, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, 2023 Series B Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

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

Retail Order Period* Institutional Pricing* Wednesday, Tuesday, October 17 Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 October 18

Delivery Date* Wednesday, November 1

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 Tax Status** Expected Project documents available via ftp linkis below: Interest on the 2023 Series A & B Bonds exempt from federal income taxes (non-AMT) http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage and is excluded from Connecticut taxable income Fax ormore Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com For information onLang these Bonds, contact your broker or visit BuyCTBonds.com.

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 *Preliminary, subject to change. **Before purchasing any Bonds, contact your tax advisor to determine any applicable federal, AA/EEO EMPLOYER state and local tax consequences. These Bonds may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time an Official Statement is delivered in final form. Under no circumstances shall this announcement constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the Bonds in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities law of any such jurisdiction. Bonds are subject to availability. The Bonds will only be sold by means of an Official Statement.

23

THE INNER-CITY INNER-CITY NEWS October 2023 - October 17, 2023 NEWS- July 27, 11, 2016 - August 02, 2016

Continuum of Care, New Haven, Connecticut – LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID

NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID: CONTINUUM OF CARE, NEW HAVEN is requesting licensed and insured contractors to provide bids for their property located at 310 Winthrop Avenue, New Haven. The owner is seeking VALENTINA RENTAL HOUSING PRE-Scope APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE proposals for theMACRI Hardwood Floor Refinishing of 310 Winthrop, a threefamily property. Finish plan will be provided at open bid visit which details the INC, of Columbus House andasthe Newstairwell, Haven Housing Authority, refiHOME nishing of on keybehalf locations of property such main 1st fl offi ce, and is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develsecond floor unit.

Owner to select stain color.

The project is CDBG funded by opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven.

Maximum income limitations apthe City of New Haven. Project is tax-exempt and Davis/Bacon/Prevailing Wage ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y rate. The selected company and any subcontractors must comply with EEOC 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have workforce requirements. City of New Haven Chapter 12 ¼ of the New Haven been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon recode of Ordinances (MBE subcontracting ) applies- Minority/women’s business quest by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preenterprises are encouraged to apply. A bidding site meeting will be held at 310 applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Winthrop avenue, New Haven on Thursday, 9/7/2023 at 12:30pm. All bids are Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. due by 9/15/2023 by 3pm. All bids and questions should be submitted in writing to Monica O’Connor via email moconnor@continuumct.org or delivered to 109 Legion Avenue, New Haven.

NOTICIA

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.

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 Invitation for Bids ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos Agency Wide and09Lock Services máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estaránKey disponibles a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) 360 Group,INC. Co. is seeking bids for agency widea key and en Management las oficinas de HOME Lascurrently pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo petición lock services.

A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse Management Vendor Collaboration https://newhavenhousing. a las oficinas deGroup’s HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, Portal tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 . cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

Monday, October 2, 2023 at 3:00PM.

NEW HAVEN System Maintainer II – Collections

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

APPLY NOW!

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders

Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Principal Labor Relations Specialist.

Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 230417&R2=6342MP&R3=001 The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

WANTED

Environmental Senior Planner FHI Studio is seeking an Environmental Senior Planner. Candidates should demonstrate their ability to develop proposals and attend interviews, develop project scopes and fees, and conduct environmental reviews utilizing best practices. Responsibilities include preparing NEPA and state documentation, guiding permitting efforts, conducting technical analysis, writing reports, and participating in public meetings. The candidate must also possess excellent oral and written communication skills. Experience with major transportation infrastructure projects is preferred.

Minimum degree: Bachelor's degree in urban planning, environmental planning, environmental science, or related field with a minimum of 4 years of experience in environmental consulting or related field. Candidates with a valid driver's license preferred. Salary commensurate with level of experience. Submit your cover letter and resume at https://fhistudio. isolvedhire.com/jobs/. Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc. is an EEO/AA /VEV/Disabled employer.

Continuum of Care, New Haven, Connecticut – LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID: CONTINUUM OF CARE, NEW HAVEN is requesting licensed and insured contractors to provide bids for their property located at 310 Winthrop Avenue, New Haven. The owner is seeking proposals for the Hardwood Floor Refinishing Scope of 310 Winthrop, a three-family property. Finish plan will be provided at open bid visit which details the refinishing of key locations of property such as main stairwell, 1st fl office, and second floor unit. Owner to select stain color. The project is CDBG funded by the City of New Haven. Project is tax-exempt and Davis/ Bacon/Prevailing Wage rate. The selected company and any subcontractors must comply with EEOC workforce requirements. City of New Haven Chapter 12 ¼ of the New Haven code of Ordinances (MBE subcontracting ) applies- Minority/women’s business enterprises are encouraged to apply. A bidding site meeting will be held at 310 Winthrop avenue, New Haven on Thursday, 9/7/2023 at 12:30pm. All bids are due by 9/15/2023 by 3pm. All bids and questions should be submitted in writing to Monica O’Connor via email moconnor@continuumct.org or delivered to 109 Legion Avenue, New Haven.

Bid: FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR ACCOUNTING TRUCK DRIVERInvitation toREQUEST

242-258 Fairmont 2nd Notice The Town of Wallingford Sewer Division is seeking Ave qualified applicants to perform AND FINANCIAL CONSULTING SERVICES a variety of2BR skilled tasks in the operation, maintenance, construction of Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1repair leveland, 1BA SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE Truck Driver with clean sanitary sewers, including CCTV inspection and high velocity flushing. Requires a All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95

H.S., trade school or vocational school or H.S. equivalency diploma, plus highways, near busdiploma stop & shopping center 3 years employment in a field related to sanitary sewer construction, operation or Pet under allowed.

Interested partiestrade contact Maria @ for 860-985-8258 maintenance, or 140lb year of training in a skilled substituted 1 year of experience up to 2 years plus a minimum of 1 year of employment for a sewer utility or in the eld with iswork experience in the installation and maintenance of CT.construction Unified Deacon’sfiAssociation pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program.

This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates pipelines, or an equivalent combination of experience and training.

Must possess in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:30or3:30 have the ability obtain months of appointment a valid State of ConContact: Chairman,to Deacon Joewithin J. Davis, 6 M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 GeneralWages: Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapelplus U.F.W.B. 64 Brewster necticut ClassHost, B CDL. $26.16 to $31.18 hourly, an Church excellent fringe St. New CT that includes pension plan, medical insurance, life insurance, paid benefi ts Haven, package sick and vacation time. Applications may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov by the closing date of October 3, 2023.

Phone: 294-2084.

EOE of the Town of Seymour Sealed(203) bids294-2080; are invitedFax: by (203) the Housing Authority

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

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.

INVITATION TO BID

Subcontractors are invited to bid on the RE-BID Downtown Evening Kitchen Addition A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith and Renovations. 266 State St New Haven, CT 06510. The project consists of new Street Seymour, CT 850sf, at 10:00 Wednesday, 2016. BIDS DUE Stair/Elevator Addition andam, GutonReno 5,400sf toJuly the 420, Floors.

October 13, 2023. Send email to ngorneault@pacgroupllc.com for copy of the detailed Invite and Trade Bid Packages.

Projectfrom partially

by DECD, DEM. OfThis Bidding documents are available the funded Seymour HousingDOH, Authority project is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. An Affirmafice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579. tive Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Minority/Women's Business Enterprises are encouraged to apply.

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 informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol (BHA) invites proposals from qualified Old Saybrook, CT firms to provide Accounting and Financial Consulting Services. For copy of RFP please (4 Buildings,contact 17 Units) Carl Johnson, Dir. of Capital Funds at 860-585-2028 or cjohnson@bristolhousTax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project ing.org beginning Mon., Sept. 4, 2023. Sealed proposals must be received no later than

CDL license

4:00 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 12, 2023 clearly marked “RFP –Accounting and Financial

with one (1) original Please send resume to Housing,Consulting New Construction, Wood Framed, SelectiveServices” Demolition, Site-work, Cast- and three (3) copies mailed or delivered to: Housing Authority of the City of Bristol, Attn: Mitzy Rowe, CEO, 164 Jerome Ave., attielordan@gmail.com in-place Concrete, AsphaltBristol, Shingles, Vinyl Siding, CT 06010 PJF Construction Corporation Flooring, Painting, DivisionAA/EOE 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

SBE, MBE, W/DBE, and Section 3 businesses are encouraged to respond.

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

Town of Bloomfield

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 Assistant Building Official

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR LEGAL SERVICES $39.80 Project hourly documents available via ftp link below: Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

RELATED TO LABOR, EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS

Pre-employment drug testing. http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage AA/EOE. For Details go to www.bloomfieldct.org The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol (BHA) invites proposals from qualified atFax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com torneys, legal teams or law firms to provide Legal services in labor laws, employment & HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran,benefi S/W/MBE & Section Businesses ts. For copy3ofCertified RFP please contact Carl Johnson, Dir. of Capital Funds at 860-585Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Seymour, CT 06483 2028 orAve, cjohnson@bristolhousing.org beginning Mon., Sept. 4, 2023. Sealed proposals must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 12, 2023 clearly marked “RFP – AA/EEO EMPLOYER Full Time – All Shifts Top Legal Services. Labor, Employment & Benefits” with one (1) original and three (3) copies mailed or delivered to: Housing Authority of the City of Bristol, Attn: Mitzy Rowe, CEO, EOE Please apply in person: 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT 06010

DRIVER CDL CLASS A Pay-Full Benefits

1425 Honeyspot Rd. Ext. Stratford, CT 06615

24

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. SBE, MBE, W/DBE, and Section 3 businesses are encouraged to respond.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023 Con’t from page 13

Biden:

curs. For example, a shutdown is going to risk nutrition assistance to nearly 7 million moms and children, and it’s going to disproportionately affect Black families.”

Harris, the first HBCU graduate to ascend to vice president, expressed her deep appreciation for the work of the Board. She underscored HBCUs’ role in cultivating academic excellence and their potential to drive innovation across critical fields, from public health to artificial intelligence.

Harris emphasized the need for diverse perspectives in shaping decisions about emerging technologies, highlighting the importance of HBCU graduates in these discussions. The vice president also stressed the relevance of HBCU voices in media, ensuring comprehensive representation in storytelling.

“I strongly believe — based on experience and knowledge about what our country needs, in terms of its strength and growth and development — that our HBCUs are extraordinary centers of academic excellence and must continue to be supported, not only because of the historical role that they have played in building and helping to contribute to America’s leadership and global leadership, but also because, as the President has said: As we look forward, we know that our HBCUs are also pipelines for very extraordinary young people to enter the fields of work that we require to cure disease, to create that which we have not imagined, to supply us with the innovative approaches that will allow us to continue to work on the strength, prosperity, and security of our nation,” Harris said.

Mayor Benjamin echoed the sentiments, acknowledging the significant challenges HBCUs face, including smaller endowments, infrastructure needs, and a predominantly Pell Grant-eligible student population. He praised the administration’s dedication to addressing these issues.

Biden and Harris both highlighted the profound impact HBCUs have on the nation, emphasizing their role as engines of progress for all American, with the president noting that most HBCUs are landgrant universities.

“Land-grant universities used to be robustly supported by their state legislative bodies. They would support, in some cases, up to 60 percent of the land-grant budget for that university,” Biden stated.

“From 1987 to 2000, land-grant universities have lost — Black and white — more than $13 billion in investments from the state — from the states and government to help them. And that has exacerbated the problem — particularly for Black landgrant universities, HBCUs. Everybody does better in the whole United States when the potential of HBCUs is realized.

Everybody. I make no apologies for the kind of effort we’re expending on HBCUs.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

All About Lupus: Understanding the Basics BlackHealthMatters.com

According to the Lupus Foundation of America at least 1.5 million Americans have some form of lupus. There are several different types of lupus including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), cutaneous lupus erythematosus, druginduced lupus, and neonatal lupus.2 This article will focus on SLE which is the most common form of lupus and makes up about 70% of lupus cases.

Lupus is a serious and complex autoimmune condition that can be damaging to different parts of the body.1 If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with lupus, understanding the basic details of the condition can be empowering and help you receive and provide necessary support.

What is Lupus?

Lupus occurs when your body’s immune system attacks your body’s immune system attacks you and cell damage.1,2 It is more common in women of childbearing age.1,2 Severity of the disease can be mild with little to no symptoms or severe with chronic symptoms. Without the protection of your immune system, you are at higher risk of potentially experiencing organ damage which can be life threatening.1 If you have lupus you will likely experience episodes where your symptoms get

worse known as flares as well as periods of symptom improvement usually referred to as remission.3 Early detection and diagnosis are vital to living a full life and minimizing complications.

What Causes Lupus?

The exact cause of lupus is unknown.

One theory is that there is a genetic link and specific triggers such as infection, exposure to sunlight, smoking, certain medications or stress may result in disease expression.2,3 There may also be hormonal or environmental factors.1-3 Additional research is needed to better understand the disease and how it impacts those affected.

What Are the Risks?

The risk factors for developing lupus include:4 • Age and sex • Women between the ages of 15-44 • Race • Minorities are at higher risk including African American, Hispanic, Asian • American, Native American, and Pacific Islander • Family history Are There Any Complications?

Lupus can raise your risk of developing other health problems and there is an additional risk of developing these conditions earlier in life.2 There are specific health conditions you should be aware of and take proactive steps to protect yourself.

• Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the

most common type of heart disease and you are at an increased risk if you have lupus.2 If you have lupus you are more likely to experience inflammation and have metabolic syndrome which includes • elevated blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. The presence of these symptoms are all risk factors for CAD. • Kidney disease is one of the more se-

rious complications of lupus.2 It is also one of the most common complications as more than 50% of people with lupus experience kidney issues known as lupus nephritis. There are usually no early symptoms of kidney disease, but there are routine lab tests that can monitor your kidney function over time.

Lupus in Black Women

African American women are at least three times more likely to be diagnosed with lupus, to be diagnosed at a younger age, and experience worse symptoms including seizures and strokes.2 Black patients are also underrepresented in lupus clinical trials.

You can make a difference by participating in lupus research.

The TOPAZ studies are evaluating an investigational lupus drug. If you or someone you know has been living with lupus for at least 6 months and are currently taking lupus medication, click here to learn more about eligibility. If you are eligible and participate in the study, you will be regularly monitored and receive the investigational drug at no charge.

References 1. CDC. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 2. CDC. Lupus in Women 3. Lupus Foundation of America. Quick Guide: African Americans and Lupus 4. Lupus Foundation of America. Risk factors for developing lupus 5. Lupus Foundation of America. Quick Guide: African Americans and Lupus 6. Sheikh SZ, Wanty NI, Stephens J, Holtz KD, McCalla S. The State of Lupus Clinical Trials: Minority Participation Needed. J Clin Med. 2019;8(8):1245.

Published 2019 Aug 17. doi:10.3390/ jcm8081245

Respect For The Aged Day: Why Elder Care Is Vital To The Black Community

By BlackHealthMatters.com

September 18th is Respect For The Aged Day otherwise known as Keirō no Hi or in Japanese. Observed on the third Monday of every September, this day holds cultural significance in Japan. However, it is profoundly important in the Black community here in the United States and vital for us to understand. We owe a debt of gratitude to the generations that came before us and respect for their health should be a major priority.

After a lifetime of facing racial and health inequities, Black seniors are confronted with the daunting prospect of spending their twilight years with declining health, limited income, and virtually no savings. The disparities in health outcomes, economic opportunities, and access to quality care have placed them at greater risk, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores the critical issues surrounding elder care in the Black community, including the alarming health disparities, cultural norms, and challenges that impact the quality of life for older Black Americans.

1 Chronic Health Conditions: Numerous studies have shown that Black Americans suffer from a higher prevalence of chronic health conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and Al-

zheimer’s disease. These conditions not only reduce their life expectancy but also lead to a diminished quality of life.

2 Healthcare Access: Generations of racial discrimination have resulted in limited access to quality healthcare for Black individuals. They often receive lowerquality care and face barriers in accessing essential medical services.

3 COVID-19 Impact: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately af-

fected older Black Americans, resulting in higher infection and mortality rates.

Lack of access to healthcare, distrust of institutions, and comorbidities have compounded the crisis.

Economic Inequities: 1 Wealth Gap: Historical economic racism has left many Black seniors with low wages, low homeownership rates, and minimal savings or investments. The wealth gap between Black and white

26

Americans is substantial and continues to grow.

2 Retirement Savings: Many older Black Americans lack retirement savings, with fewer participating in employersponsored retirement accounts like 401(k) plans. This leads to reduced financial security in their later years.

3 Social Security Reliance: A significant portion of Black seniors heavily relies on Social Security as their primary source of income. However, the average Social Security benefit is insufficient to cover essential expenses.

Cultural Norms and Family Dynamics: 1 Cultural Values: Providing care for elderly family members is deeply ingrained in Black culture. Many Black caregivers view it as a duty and privilege, to find meaning and purpose in caring for their aging loved ones.

2 Strong Community Networks: Historically, Black families have relied on strong community networks, including churches and extended family, to provide eldercare support. This has shaped cultural norms around caregiving.

3 Distrust of Institutions: Deep-seated mistrust of healthcare and government institutions, rooted in historical injustices such as the Tuskegee syphilis study, leads many older Black Americans to be hesitant about seeking outside help or insti-

tutional care.

Challenges and Solutions: 1 ncreased Outreach: Healthcare providers and community organizations must engage in targeted outreach to build trust and provide culturally competent care to older Black individuals.

2 Economic Empowerment: Initiatives to address economic disparities, improve access to education, and promote financial literacy can help Black seniors accumulate wealth and retirement savings.

3 Caregiver Support: Acknowledging the vital role of caregivers, particularly in the Black community, and offering support services, respite care, and educational resources can ease the caregiving burden.

4 Culturally Relevant Healthcare: Healthcare professionals should receive cultural sensitivity training to better understand the unique needs and concerns of older Black patients.

Addressing these issues surrounding elder care in our community requires a comprehensive approach that prioritizes healthcare access, economic empowerment, and culturally sensitive support systems. As we strive for equity and justice, it is crucial to ensure that older Black Americans receive the care, dignity, and respect they deserve in their later years.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - October 11, 2023 - October 17, 2023

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9/15/23 3:36 PM