INNER-CITY NEWS

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

Next Stop: Springfield!

12 Times A Day Financial Justice a Key Focus at 2016 NAACP Convention INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

New Haven, Bridgeport

INNER-CITYNEWS

Volume 27 . No. 2257 Volume 21 No. 2194

“DMC”

Q House Breaks Ground

Malloy Malloy To To Dems: Dems:

Ignore Ignore“Tough “ToughOn OnCrime” Crime”

Restaurant Staffed By Only

HIV-Positive Chefs

Color Struck?

ACA Enrollment Surging, Even Though It Ends Dec. 15

Care4Kids Reopens Snow in July?

Following Budget Allocation

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

Hillhouse Educators’ Cool Heads Saved Bus Trip

by MARKESHIA RICKS

New Haven Independent Three Hillhouse educators were honored at City Hall Thursday night for their level heads and tenacity in getting a busload of high schoolers through a college tour despite bus trouble.

Dixwell Alder and Hillhouse alum Jeanette Morrison recounted at the meeting how on Oct. 29 she, three educators from the school (her alma mater), and 28 students were stranded in Maryland on a broken down bus. It was pouring rain. They hadn’t reached their destination.

The students were headed south to North Carolina to visit historically black colleges and universities and to get a taste of what it might be like to attend school outside of Connecticut. The trip was supposed to wind its way from North Carolina, through Virginia, to Maryland and Delaware.

They waited three hours for a mechanic who ultimately couldn’t get the part needed to fix the bus. So there they sat.

“We sat with 28 hungry kids for seven hours,” Morrison recalled.

That’s when Hillhouse Guidance Counselor Olafemi Hunter, Home Economics teacher Demetria McMillan and Spanish teacher Adesina DeYounge kicked into action, working the phones and keeping

students calm. The bus company, Kelley Transit Services of Torrington, refused to provide another bus so the trip could continue.

“These three individuals worked and worked with the mayor, our superintendent and our lovely transportation director,” Morrison said. “We got a new bus, a new company and we continued on this trip.”

Because of the level heads of the educators on the bus, she said, the students weren’t thrown off their game as they met administrators at the colleges on the trip. In fact, Morrison said, the students came back with 42 onsite acceptance to the universities they visited.

“When we got on that bus, there were four adults and 28 kids,” Morrison said. “When we came back on the seventh, we had three educators, an alder, and 28 young adults.”

Alders Thursday night presented the three educators with a citation and thanked them for their efforts.

“It’s really important the type of role models we have for our children, and you’re around our kids sometimes more than the parents because they have to work,” Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers said. “You always step up. You were on a bus full of kids and you stayed level-headed and made sure the kids were safe.”

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO

Morrison, who went on the trip: The three Hillhouse educators made all the difference.

Care4Kids Reopens Following Budget Allocation

by Christine Stuart CT. Junkie News

HARTFORD, CT — A program that subsidizes the cost of daycare for working families is reopening and accepting new applications for the first time since August 2016.

Care4Kids, a joint state and federal program, was closed to new applicants in 2016 because the federal government instituted new costly mandates. State officials felt it was best to restrict the number of children in the program, rather than changing eligibility criteria, which meant closing the program to new applicants.

However, thanks to $31 million in funding over the next two years as part of the recently approved state budget, the program will begin accepting new applicants today.

There are currently 5,769 families on the wait list in Connecticut.

“For thousands of Connecticut’s hard working families, Care4Kids is a lifeline,” Office of Early Childhood Commissioner David Wilkinson said. “Care 4 Kids is a two-generation program that enables parents to work while providing piece of mind that their children are safe and in quality care. Our highest

CTNEWSJUNKIE FILE PHOTO

Rally to save the program back in Nov. 2016

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priority is to reach and enroll as many working families in need of this support as our budget responsibly allows.”

Families who registered on the wait list will begin to receive requests to apply in phases starting Wednesday.

Consistent with state rules, enrollment begins with the highest-need families defined by priority groups and those families who have been on the wait list longest.

The federal requirements that elevated state costs also increase stability for families on the program, reducing burden and complexity for working families. The OEC will closely monitor enrollment rates to ensure the program serves the maximum number of families possible while staying within budget.

“After fighting tirelessly to secure funding for the Care4Kids program in the state budget, today it gives me great pleasure to see the program being rebooted to include more families,” Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Trumbull, said.

“Because child care is often one of the biggest monthly expenses families will face, sometimes working parents are forced to quit their jobs to care for their children. This program helps keep parents at work and their children in good care.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

Roth “War Chest” Going To Charity

ellington jazz series

Cécile McLorin Salvant THOMAS BREEN PHOTO Abby

Roth at a neighborhood management team meeting.

by STAFF CT. Junkie News

A newly elected alder who raised thousands of dollars to run against nobody is turning over much of the money to charity.

The alder-elect, Democrat Abby Roth from Audubon/East Rock/ Downtown’s Ward 7, is returning to a seat she used to hold before retiring two years ago. She ran unopposed in Tuesday’s election.

She ended up raising $8,660 for the quest, she said. And she ended up not needing most of it.

She reported Wednesday morning that she expects to have $6,025.05 left over, which she plans to split among four charities: New Haven Reads, Liberty Community Services, Artspace, and New Haven Land Trust.

She sent the following email message Tuesday night to supporters: “Hello!

I want to again thank everyone who donated to my campaign for alder and happily report that I won the election today. After the incumbent dropped out in late July, a write-in candidate entered the race. I won the election against him by a count of 419-8.

As I have said to some of you previously, your generous donations played a critical role in this campaign.. They demonstrated I had strong support, was organized, and was serious about campaigning hard. I am almost positive this played an important role in the incumbent dropping out. Your donations also enabled me to create campaign materials including fliers, yard signs, and mailers. Postage is expensive, but critical to reach folks in some of the apartment buildings downtown that have prohibitions on going door to door to meet folks.. So again, thank you!

While I purposefully raised a lot of money as a show of strength, I only

spent what I needed to spend. Therefore I am happy to report that I expect I will have over $5,000 leftover which, per campaign finance rules, I can distribute to nonprofits. I am going to distribute the money to four local nonprofits doing high-impact work in critical areas for New Haven, including addressing homelessness, education, the environment, and the arts. Specifically the organizations are Liberty Community Services, New Haven Reads, New Haven Land Trust, and Artspace.

I am very excited to become Ward 7 Alder as of January 1, so that I can be strong advocate for residents and businesses in Ward 7 and work hard to address challenges and take advantage of opportunities for all of New Haven.

Again, my sincere thanks for your support of and belief in me!

Abby

“The finest jazz singer to emerge in the last decade.”

–The New York Times

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Tickets from $20, Students from $10 Morse Recital Hall 470 College Street, New Haven Box Office: 203 432-4158

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Con’t from page 6

State’s Obamacare Races To Sign Up

has been criss-crossing the state, meeting with local elected officials as well as church leaders to enlist their help in getting the word out.

Between a quarter and third of all Connecticut residents either obtain insurance or get help signing up for the expanded Medicaid program through Access Health, Wadleigh said.

Connecticut’s agency has weathered the D.C. fights over Obamacare storms over the past five years better than some other states in part by planning ahead and in part by achieving independence. It doesn’t release on the federal or even state government for its budget. Its $30 million budget comes completely from fees from the insurance companies that participate in the program.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

Cookie Novices Learn From The Pros

A seasoned pie baker looking for some help with cookies. A chef’s sister willing to make the drive from Bridgeport.

A second generation cake maker with dreams for an independent business. A new grandfather, a serial sous chef, and a self-proclaimed anti-cook who hasn’t made a meal since last year.

Friday night, these were the six who gathered for an inaugural baking class at the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT), a job training and teaching incubator in the city’s Newhallville neighborhood. After opening its teaching kitchen in 2016, ConnCAT has continued its mission of teaching unemployed and underemployed New Haveners with its Orchid Cafe, open since April of this year.

The idea comes from public interest in the cafe and its chefs, said ConnCAT Communications Specialist Tammy Chapman. Typically, the cafe is open weekdays only, drawing diners who work in the nearby Science Park and Winchester Lofts buildings from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. But a survey three months ago suggested that cafe patrons were interested in two things: increased hours, and a chance to learn cooking from some of the chefs who were learning themselves.

The hours are still tricky: ConnCAT staffs the cafe with its culinary students, of which there have now been three cohorts. But there aren’t enough hours in the day for them to be there for three meals a day, and take their classes.

Getting to know the chefs, though, is an easier feat for the center—so ConnCAT decided to pilot classes a few weeks ago.

The first one came out of a fundraiser that it held, in which baking was one of the prizes.

“We’d love to do more of these sessions,” said Chapman, fixing participants up with name tags and disposable aprons. Chefs Stanley Hair and Joseph “Joe” Williams directed attendees to two sinks, both running taps with water so hot it was steaming.

Eyeing the group, Williams expertly divided attendees in to three teams, strangers who would spend the next two hours bonding as they creamed butter, measured out sugar and vanilla, and piped stiff dough onto their baking sheets.

He directed the group to three glinting KitchenAid mixers accented with silver and red. It was go time. The first assignment: Spritz cookies with berry jam, derived from the Alsatian Spritzgebäck that have become a popular holiday treat.

Teams measured out ingredients carefully, weighing out sugar and butter, salt, vanilla, flour and fruity jams in red and blue. At one station, librarian-turnedbaker Daniel Mugaburu joked to baking partner Tom Breen that he “can’t even cook water without burning it,” hesitat-

Hair, demoing the spritz cookies. The evening included both spritz and chocolate chip cookies. Lucy Gellman photos.

ing as he placed a cup of butter on the scale, and watched it waver between seven and eight ounces.

Two other teams had considerable more luck: Orchid Cafe regulars Kevin Hart and Heather White flew through assembly, ready to pop their cookies in the oven before the other groups had finished, and waiting patiently when they were told it wasn’t time yet.

So did Cameo Johnson and Sharmae Williams, a semi-professional baker and savory cook who is also Hair’s sister. In front of them, Hair and Joe Williams (no relation) bounced from station to station, preheating two industrial ovens as they fielded any rogue questions.

“I told him [Hair] I want learn some of the things he do,” said Williams. “I wanna see him in his world.”

Before teams began to mix their ingredients, all six participants gathered around Hair to watch one of two demos. Standing carefully over a mixer, Hair talked through a process that he said has become a sort of second nature: creaming half a pound of butter and cup of white sugar to become the cookie’s shortbread base.

As he added in unbleached flour, speaking over the mechanized hum of his mix-

er, Mugaburu leaned in, studying how Hair flipped switches off, then on again, as he added the white powder in stages.

Working the stiff dough into a piping bag, Hair squeezed out long, spiral shapes. Mugaburu raised his eyebrows quizzically as a smattering of oohs and aaahhs drifted over the room.

“You ready?” Hair said to the group, showing off two dimples as he grinned.

A murmur of mmmhmmms ran through the group.

But maybe the answer was more complicated. As participants headed back to their workstations, Mugaburu and Breen struggled to switch their mixer on. When they had (an outlet wasn’t working), the two worked methodically, but subbed splenda for sugar, mixing a batter so stiff it would fit in a piping bag, but not make it out of the scalloped nozzle. Declaring the consistency and look similar to “squirrel droppings,” the two pulled Hair over, asking him for help. As he attempted to squeeze the pastry bag, his hands shook, vibrating against the bag’s stiffness.

Not all participants had so much trouble. In the time that piping took, Hart and White had skipped ahead in the directions, and were adding thumb-

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prints to their cookies, into which a small mount of jam would be spooned. As they worked out a system—Hart held the edges of the sheet and White spooned— the two bonded over the Orchid Cafe, at which they both eat several times a week.

As White mentioned that the lesson was her first outing without colleagues she is a new transplant from the Washington, D.C. area she regaled Hart, and then the room, with tales of how famous ConnCAT’s peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich had become around her office.

A counter away, Williams and Johnson had also worked out a sort of assembly line as they piped. The owner of Cameo’s Crazy Cakes & Treats, Johnson took the lead, laying ribbon-like spirals of cookie dough in her wake. She won entry into the class when someone donated a ticket in her name, and said she felt “lucky to be” there, as her three kids played at home. But Johnson comes from a long line of cooks: she learned by watching her mom, who is now a student in the program. When her mom has finished, they and her aunt plan on going into business together.

The two leaned gingerly over a baking sheet, Johnson squeezing the piping bag as Williams held the sheet still. Fat, buttery dough spirals with scalloped edges appeared on the sheets. Wetting their gloves, they worked together to place a thumbprint in the center of each cookie, spooning jam into the shallow wells as they formed. Williams, who is from South Carolina and makes a semi-famous fried chicken and baked ziti, said she was getting the hang of it—but still might let Hair bake for family gatherings.

That was okay with Hair, still helping Breen and Mugaburu with the last of their spritz cookies. As they added the last doll of blackberry jam, the kitchen transformed again, this time into a line leading to the ovens.

Hair and Joe Williams worked together to lift the trays into the ovens, flicking on a light so attendees could watch them start to sweat and brown. Behind him, the purr of a timer sounded like bated breath.

John P. Thomas Publisher / CEO

Babz Rawls Ivy

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

Advertising/Sales Team Trenda Lucky Keith Jackson 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 New Haven Independent www.newhavenindependent.org

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

Make Her (Pay)Day

by PAUL BASS

by MARKESHIA RICKS

New Haven Independent

Big banks rip off millions of low-income depositors with fake accounts or unnecessary fees or mortgage redlining or higher rates . Payday lenders prey on the “unbanked” with loanshark interest rates they can’t meet.

On the other hand, New Haven now has Samantha Savvidou. Can she come to the rescue?

Savvidou, a social worker fresh off receiving her masters from University of Connecticut, has set up shop as a first-ever “Bank On Fellow” to help the 20 percent of New Haveners who don’t have conventional bank accounts obtain accounts and learn techniques that keep money in their hands.

A team of such “Bank On Fellows” have begun work in spots across the country. The national not-for-profit called Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund set up the program through five state-level. The Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS) is its partner for our state, and CAHS hired Savvidou for the two-year gig in New Haven.

Her mission is to connect low-income and working-class people avoid having to go to check-cashing services that end up keeping an extra $500 of their money on average each year (or to payday lenders that advance money for paychecks and then take usurious cuts in exchange). And working with START Bank and other local lenders, Savvidou will connect people with training that helps them budget better, save more money, avoid financial trou-

Q House Breaks Ground New Haven Independent

Samantha Savvidou bles. Her organization presses banks to meet certain standards for access to “safe and affordable accounts,” such as allowing people to open accounts that require $25 or less up front to open or $10 minimum balances to maintain. Major banks here do often have such accounts available, but they don’t people know about them, Savvidou said during an interview on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” program.

She said she sees her mission as social work, even if people don’t always think of banking access as a traditional social-work issue. “I feel like I’m serving a greater purpose” by doing community organizing and helping people avoid financial perils and by developing progressive public policy.

The dream of new Dixwell Community “Q” House rising again moved closer to realization with a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday morning.

With the sun shining overhead and cold air nipping at their noses, 300 people gathered at the site of old Q House to celebrate the journey that had led them to that moment.

Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison said she usually isn’t an emotional person, but looking out at the crowd as the band and cheerleaders of her alma mater Hillhouse High marched by, she grew little misty-eyed.

“I’m emotional,” said Morrison, who helped the lead the years-long effort to obtain state money to demolish the empty old Q House and build a new one.

The old Q House closed its doors in 2003. A group of concerned citizens pushed city and state officials to prioritize the rebuilding of the center that had been the heartbeat of the neighborhood since the 1920s.

Not everybody who helped push for a new Q House got to see it through to the groundbreaking. Morrison Saturday made sure to acknowledge people like Frances C. Russell, a member of the Concerned Citizens for the Dixwell Q House who passed away in May. “She was the calm,” Morrison said.

“Even in her sickness she never missed a meeting.” The passing of architect Regina Winters also was recognized.

Winters designed the new Q House.

For more information on ACES schools, programs and services, please visit our website.

(203) 498-6800 | www.aces.org 5

Janet Parker (left) with women who fought for a new Q : Carroll Brown, Curlena McDonald, and Jackie Bracey.

The firm of her mentor, Ken Boroson, will carry the project forward.

A special presentation was made to Jan Parker by former Board of Alders President Jorge Perez and the Black and Hispanic Caucus.

Construction is scheduled to being in spring 2018, city Engineer Giovanni Zinn said. It is expected to take 12 to 18 months.

“The sun went down on the old Q House,” Mayor Toni Harp said. “Today we celebrate that the sun will soon rise on the new Q House.”

Alder Morrison made an appeal to people to support an endowment that has been established for the new Q House that she said will ensure that it will never be closed again. Supporters

can “Buy a Brick, Build A Legacy,” through the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Bricks start at $100. Morrison said the goal is to raise $3 million to seed the endowment.

Elsie Chapman, president of the New Haven Free Public Library Foundation, made a pitch for people to also support the Stetson Library, which will be an anchor tenant in the new Q House along with Cornell Scott Hill Health Center. The library is looking to raise $2 million to outfit the new library with furniture and new technology and is more than halfway to its goal. She reminded attendees Saturday that any gift from $50 to $10,000 would be matched by the Seedlings Foundation.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

Harp Vows To Boost Scores, Rebuild Dixwell In Term 3

by PAUL BASS

New Haven Independent

Enlist businesses in the quest to create more jobs for New Haveners. Up the city’s game in cleaning up neighborhoods. Get more students up to grade level.

Those are some of Mayor Toni Harp’s top goals for her third two-year term as mayor, which starts Jan. 1.

She discussed those goals on her latest appearance on WNHH FM’s “Mayor Monday” program.

She said she believes the city can do a better job involving local businesses in the job-creation push. She also spoke of her administration’s new effort to send crews from various city departments to sweep through neighborhoods together to root out slumlord problems, overgrown trees blocking lights, crime hot spots, traffic-calming woes; then follow up with citizens to stop the problems from recurring.

(Read about that effort here, here and here.) Developing that effort citywide will be a priority in her third term, she said, along with using a new app called “CitiStat” to get all city departments working more collaboratively to address problems at specific addresses.

Perhaps her most ambitious goal, she said, is to get 75 to 80 percent of students in the system performing at grade level in all subjects. In some cases the numbers are half that right

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO

Harp at this month’s Q House groundbreaking.

HUMPHREYS & PARTNERS LP Rendition of 385-apartment Munson St. plan.

now, she said. “That’s going to be the hardest one,” but an important goal to pursue.

She spoke as well as a slew of projects taking shape in the Dixwell and Newhallville neighborhoods: 385 new apartments eyed for a vacant former factory site, a new senior housing complex, the new Dixwell Q Commu-

nity House, a new Henry Street artists’ center. So put the “Dixwell-Newhallvilel Renaissance” as well on the list by which to judge her third term.

Also on the radio program, Harp said it’s time to start over in figuring out what to do with the vacant former

Strong School in Fair Haven.

Last week an advisory committee recommended rejecting a developer’s proposal to buy the property from the city and build market-rate microapartments. By law the Harp administration can ignore the recommendation and proceed with the sale. But Harp echoed her economic development administrator’s reaction, that the committee’s (and the neighborhood’s) voice should be heeded.

“I would support starting over again.

I’m not as interested in micro-apartments. I’m a little concerned that they might start a whole series if we start approving them,” Harp said.

Mayor Mum on Governor Run Leave Harp off the list of Democrats ruling out a 2018 gubernatorial run, at least for now.

Harp — who two weeks ago won election to a third two-year term as New Haven’s mayor with 73 percent of the vote — formed a committee last year to raise money for a potential statewide run.

She was asked Monday if she is considering running for a statewide run next year.

“Right now I’m not considering it. I’m going to do whatever is best for New Haven,” she responded.

She offered the same response when asked if she is specifically ruling out

a run for governor: “I’m going to do whatever’s best for New Haven.”

Other top elected Democrats who have mulled runs such as Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, Comptroller Kevin Lembo, and Attorney General George Jepsen have decided not to seek the office.

Internal polls are apparently showing strong support for a Republican to win the office, at least for now; a posse of Republicans have already launched campaigns. Democrats who have formed committees include Middletown Mayor Dan Drew and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim.

Harp said Democrats shouldn’t be scared away by polls this far out: “We don’t know what will happen in the world between now and the next eleciton. By the time we select a candidate as Democrats, it’s quite possible that something may happen to change the way that people view Democrats.”

She said she’s “working with my [Democratic] town chairman, Vinnie Mauro,” to “make sure that New Haven has some sort of impact on the Democratic slate.”

Reached for comment after the show Monday, Mauro remarked: “I think New Haven is the largest Democratic Party in the state of Conencticut. We put up more votes than anybody else.

I think New Haven should be wellrepresented on the ticket.”

State’s Obamacare Races To Sign Up People Sooner

by PAUL BASS New Haven Independent

Not only are the reports of Obamacare’s death premature— in Connecticut, the health care insurance effort is thriving. But now the people who make it happen have to dance twice as fast to keep it that way.

The state agency in charge of carrying out Obamacare — aka the Affordable Care Act, which expanded Medicaid and offers insurance through an exchange to uninsured people who make too much for Medicaid—is called Access Health CT. For five years it has earned a reputation for signing people up for the program more effectively than its counterparts in other states. It usually has a three-month annual enrollment period in which to do that.

Declaring he wants to weaken Obamacare, President Donald Trump has authorized his administration to cut back on marketing the

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PAUL BASS PHOTO

Jim Wadleigh at WNHH radio.

program. And it has shortened the annual enrollment period.

Connecticut’s Access Health has only seven weeks this year to sign up people, as opposed to the usual three months.

The seven-week race began a week ago. One week in, the agency so far

is on pace with last year’s effort, in which it enrolled 110,000 people into private insurance plans, according to Access Health CEO Jim Wadleigh.

“We are cautiously optimistic” that it can keep up that pace, Wadleigh said Wednesday during an appearance on WNHH radio’s “Dateline New Haven” program.

To get there, the agency has made changes this year to try to sign up ore people faster, Wadleigh said: • It has opened 10 offices throughout the state for people to come register.

It previously had just two. The New Haven office is at 2 Howe St. • It has improved its website, making it easier both to sign up and to find out information about the available plans (including which doctors are covered).

• It has hired a three-person outreach team to work year-round. Wadleigh Con’t on page 7

T:9.25”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

A Federal Court has ordered R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Philip Morris USA, Altria, and Lorillard to make this statement about the health effects of smoking.

T:10.5”

• Smoking kills, on average, 1,200 Americans. Every day.

• More people die every year from smoking than from murder, AIDS, suicide, drugs, car crashes, and alcohol, combined.

• Smoking causes heart disease, emphysema, acute myeloid leukemia, and cancer of the mouth, esophagus, larynx, lung, stomach, kidney, bladder, and pancreas.

• Smoking also causes reduced fertility, low birth weight in newborns, and cancer of the cervix.

CRC1-GEN-17-05145-11-StatementA-9_25x10_5.indd 1

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11/9/17 3:50 PM

Next Stop: Springfield! 12 Times A Day THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven Independent

New Haveners appeared so pumped to start taking more trains to Hartford and Springfield that no one showed up to complain about the fares.

At least that could be one takeaway from a public meeting Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT) staffers held Monday night at New Haven’s Hall of Records at 200 Orange St. The DOT didn’t end up hearing much public feedback. But what it did hear was that New Haven is ready to start taking advantage of increased rail service to the north.

The hearing concerned proposed service schedule and fares for the longawaited New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) Rail Program. Starting this spring, New Haven commuters will pay less for more frequent train access to Hartford and Springfield, thanks to a $1 billion state and federal rail project that has been 15 years in the works.

The CT DOT expects to launch the Hartford Line service in May 2018.

The new train line will increase New Haven’s round trip service to Hartford from six to 17 trains per day. Twelve of those daily trips will also continue on to Springfield.

The DOT’s proposed fare is $8 for a one-way trip from New Haven to Hartford, and $12.75 for a one-way

62-mile New Haven-Hartford-Springfield line.

trip to Springfield. Amtrak service along this route currently costs between $12 and $25 for a one-way trip to Hartford, and between $17 and $46 for a one-way trip to Springfield, depending on the time and day.

CT DOT Chief of Public Transportation Richard Andreski led Monday night’s hearing, which was the first of three meetings that the DOT has scheduled to solicit public feedback on the proposed train service and fares. The next hearing will be in Hartford on Tuesday night, and the third hearing will be in Spring-

field on Wednesday night.

John Bodnar, a 52-year-old New Havener in an electric wheelchair, was the first to take the microphone to share his thoughts, and praise, for the new proposed Hartford Line.

“I would like to thank everyone on the DOT for doing something right,” Bodnar said. “Because, unfortunately, I’m not accustomed to the state using common sense.”

Bodnar spoke about how he recently paid $18.70 for an Amtrak ticket from New Haven. But, upon getting to the station, he found that the train doors were only 30 inches wide: a good four inches less than his wheelchair, and six inches less than that required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“I hope to god that your doorways will be 34 inches, or maybe even 36,” Bodnar said. “I really look forward to using this train to get to Hartford.”

Andreski later assured Bodnar that all Hartford Line trains and stations would be fully ADA-compliant.

Bodnar praised the DOT for the imminent launch of the service, for their adherence to the ADA, and for setting the proposed train fare at a reasonably low price.

“Why should we have to sit at home and watch TV all day when we could be out enjoying life?” Bodnar said about the deterrent that poorly designed public transit has on peo-

ple with disabilities. “Everything that changed for the better with the ADA happened because we first made people feel uncomfortable.”

AJ Brundidge, a 21-year-old railroad engineering student at Gateway Community College, also expressed his enthusiasm for the new train service, and said that the DOT should make sure to let college students use the new U Pass on the Hartford Line.

Anthony Ray-Hall, a 28-year-old from Norwalk who spends much time traveling the state by train to visit family and friends, said he hoped that the new train line would further encourage people to leave their cars at home and travel by public transit.

“We need to have a clean, safe environment,” he said. “People need to start taking the train a lot more because I-91 in downtown Hartford gets very congested.”

After the handful of speakers had shared their comments, the DOT staffers spent the vast majority of the meeting browsing the poster boards, explaining the new rail line’s service to a few lingering members of the public, and watching the clock for 8 p.m. to come.

New Haven economic administrator Matt Nemerson stuck around until the end of the meeting, talking with Andreski about how the Hartford Line was a major, long-term state and federal investment that would further enhance New Haven’s status in the region as a

major transportation and economic hub.

“These kinds of huge investments are all about thinking about the future,” he said, noting that a thousand new apartments are scheduled to be constructed along the State Street corridor in the coming months. He said that those apartments will be occupied by people who want to live in New Haven and work both in the city and throughout the region.

He said that this rail line will help facilitate easier access not just to Hartford and Springfield, but also to New York and the rest of New England. “This is about a culture change,” he said.

According to the NHHS website, the state first started researching building a new commuter rail between New Haven and Springfield in 2003. According to a factsheet provided by the DOT on Monday night, the state has invested $564 million in the project, and the federal government has invested $204 million in the project.

The state will be applying for another $403 million in federal aid to complete expansions to the rail line that are scheduled to be finished by 2030.

Interested residents can submit comments to the DOT in person at the hearings, or via mail or email by 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 27. At the end of the month, Andreski and his team will conduct a review of the public feedCon’t on page 14

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

Why Black Faith Leaders Must Lead the Fight for Healthcare Access

First of all, despite the Trump Administration’s efforts to kill (“repeal and replace”) the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it is still the law of the land, and because of the federal mandate, everyone is required to have some form of health insurance. However, since “45” and his team have declared it all but dead, they have shortened the enrollment period from three months to a mere six weeks, from November 1-December 15, 2017. Additionally, the United States Department of Health and Human Services has drastically cut the budget for outreach. This time last year, there were television and radio announcements, billboards on buses, and other reminders that people should enroll for healthcare, if they didn’t already have healthcare through their jobs.

The Trump Administration hopes that, without outreach, people will not enroll for healthcare through the ACA, so that they can then crow that people “don’t want” healthcare. Some faith leaders, however, have pledged to use their pulpits to remind their congregations to get enrolled for healthcare through the ACA. Rev. Dr. Barbara Williams Skinner, the first Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus and an activist who melds faith with public policy, who is also a spiritual advisor to many Black leaders, has developed a toolkit for communities of faith to help them do the work that our government won’t: encouraging people to sign-up for affordable healthcare.

You can follow the faith leaders’ conversations about open enrollment and healthcare on social media using the hashtags #SOULSTOENROLL or #SOULS2ENROLL, and by liking the Facebook page, Facebook.com/FaithinPublicLife, where you can find the toolkit adopted from the government page, GetAmericaCovered.org; instructions for the weekend campaign that will begin November 12, suggestions for faith leaders; a sample bulletin announcement; a PSA; and social media tips. In other words, the faith community is being encouraged to treat healthcare enrollment like any other grassroots organizing campaign and get involved in it.

Back in the day, before social media, we used to talk about “the drum,” how

Con’t on page 16

OV 24-DEC

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A R T & D E S I G N B Y P A U L E VA N J E F F R E Y | P A S S A G E D E S I G N

By Julianne Malveaux, NNPA Newswire Columnist

we shared information in the Black community; many of our radio stations, or public broadcast programs, and newspapers were our drums. Now, faith leaders are taking the drum viral to ensure that people who don’t get the word, because of lack of government outreach, will get it through churches and through the Internet.

We will rely on these methods of communicating more and more, as this administration attempts to contract, not expand, the information people need to get essential healthcare (and other services). The toolkit and other resources are proof that our community has the ability to out organize the evil that is seeping out of Washington. “Woke” members of Congress are working with Rev. Skinner and others to get the word out. Congressman Jim Clyburn (DS.C.) had his PSA up before the enrollment period opened on November 1, and some members of Congress have PSAs posted on their webpages; but everyone won’t log on to a congressional website to get access to the PSA. That’s where the churches and community organizations come into play.

Once upon a time, we were great at mobilizing. Without any Internet, 250,000 people managed to get to Washington, D.C. for the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. Mimicking that effort, and using both word of mouth and the Internet, more than a million women made it to Washington D.C. for the post-inaugural Women’s March. Now we have the opportunity to rally millions to participate in the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. There are consequences to not enrolling. If you don’t enroll by December 15, you may have to wait a whole year before getting access to affordable healthcare and the subsidies available under the ACA, and you may have to pay a fine for not enrolling. Some states (California, Washington, Minnesota, Colorado, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.) will allow enrollment until January, but most will close enrollment on December 15. Even with a longer enrollment period, the best thing to do to ensure that the people who need health insurance get it is to encourage them to enroll early.

Helping people enroll for ACA benefits is not only a public service, it is also an act of resistance to “45’s” pernicious attempts to undermine President Obama’s signature piece of legislation.

To be sure, the ACA is not perfect, but it is responsible for expanding the

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Divided Ed Board Selects THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

by STAFF

New Haven Independent

By a 4-3 vote, New Haven’s Board of Education named Carol Birks the next superintendent of schools — at the end of a raucous meeting that signaled that she will begin the job with the challenge of winning over a sizable sector of skeptics.

The vote took place at a tense special meeting held at Beecher School, where it was standing room only and four officers were assigned to keep the peace.

The meeting lasted two and a half hours. The first two hours consisted of parents, students and other members of the public blasting the expected choice of Birks over the two other finalists for the position, Pamela Brown and Gary Highsmith. Only three speakers supported Birks for the position. (Click here for a story detailing the three finalists’ backgrounds and applications.) Opponents said they didn’t want to see Birks get the job because of alleged connections to charter schools, support for student-based budgeting and emphasis on standardized testing data.

Mayor Toni Harp and fellow board members Jamell Cotto, Darnell Goldson and Frank Redente voted for Birks. Redente, who had been under intense public pressure to change his

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO

Carol Birks.

vote, did not show up in person to the meeting; he phoned his vote in.

Board members Carlos Torre, Ed Joyner, and Che Dawson voted against Birks.

“Shame on you! Shame on you!” members of the crowd yelled when Goldson cast his vote for Birks.

Mayor Harp spelled out her reasons for supporting Birks in an open letter to the community posted Monday af-

ternoon on Facebook.

“In my view, she emerged as the candidate best prepared to be effective in the position beginning on day one; she’ll bring to the district exceptional leadership qualities,” Harp wrote.

“I am drawn to Dr. Birks’ familiarity with New Haven Public Schools: she coached principals in the district, she endorses its commitment to restorative practices in disciplinary matters, and she shares my goal for students to achieve across-the-board at grade level, to maximize their chances to succeed. More than other candidates, Dr. Birks demonstrates a clear grasp of complex public education budgeting and the unique, yet interrelated funding responsibilities of the local, state, and federal governments. As public sector funding continues to shrink, and because of the crucial role financing plays in bridging the state’s achievement gap, every possible funding opportunity must be identified and pursued.

“Finally, my endorsement of Dr. Birks is the result of lengthy, in-depth interviews with the finalists, during which I got to know each of them. My choice was determined with the best interests of New Haven Public Schools in mind, solely so it can provide the best possible opportunity for all the students and families it serves.”

During an interview on WNHH radio’s

“Mayor Monday” show earlier in the day, Harp said that the other candidates had spoken at least as much as Birks about focusing on student test data.

The school board’s two student members, Jacob Spell and Makayla Dawkins, who don’t get to cast votes but who did sit in on the board’s interviews with the three finalists, publicly supported Brown. They presented petitions Monday night with over 800 signatures of students supporting Brown.

Birks, who was not present for Monday night’s vote, currently works as chief of staff for Hartford Public Schools. She has responsibility for overseeing administrative services, like labor relations for the 4,000-member staff; assisting with the $417 million budget; and leading a $100 million project to co-locate three academies in a renovated building. The job pays a $170,000 salary.

Previously, as Hartford’s assistant superintendent for four years, Birks developed a training academy to support the growth of principals and administrators.

It took the school board a year to pick a new superintendent after it pushed out the previous superintendent, Garth Harries, last fall. Retired former Superintendent Reggie Mayo has been filling in on an interim basis since

then.

“Tonight this was a turning point in New Haven public schools,” Torre declared after the vote. “The future of our students’ education is now in the hands not of those who dedicated their lives and careers to education, but in the hands of those who dedicated their lives and careers to politics.”

“This was a done deal,” Joyner added.

He and Goldson proceeded to argue about whether alleged threats were made in the process; Goldson threatened to file a lawsuit.

A poignant moment of the evening came when Mark Gonzalez, the son of the late board president Daisy Gonzalez, spoke in favor Brown during the public-comment session. His mom’s role was to advocate for parents, he said. He argued that that board ignored those parents and students by selecting Birks rather than Brown. Thousands of parents and students expressed a clear preference for Brown in petitions and public meetings over the past week. In an Independent “True Vote” poll, 67.5 percent of the over 1,200 respondents preferred Brown or Highsmith; just 13.7 percent favored Birks.

“We should never let education be political,” Gonzalez said.

A fuller story about the meeting will be published Tuesday morning.

Harp Taps Jackson-McArthur For School Board

by MARKESHIA RICKS New Haven Independent

Mayor Toni Harp has made her choice for replacing one of two Board of Education members whose seats expire at the end of December.

Harp has nominated Dr. Tamkio Jackson-McArthur, a pediatrician and owner of New Haven Pediatric & Adolescent Medical Services, to replace long-serving member Carlos Torre.

The terms of Torre and fellow board member Che Dawson, who both hold two of the four seats that the mayor is allowed to appoint under the current hybrid board, both expire at the end of December. The mayor’s most recent appointments have been Frank Redente and Jamell Cotto.

The two other voting members, Ed Joyner and Darnell Goldson, are elected in citywide elections. The two non-voting student members, Jacob Spell and Makayla Dawkins, are elected by their peers.

Jackson-McArhur’s appointment was communicated to the Board of Alders ahead of its most recent meeting at City Hall Monday and likely will be forwarded to the Aldermanic Affairs Committee for consideration.

The full board would then vote on the appointment.

Assuming the alders approve her picks, the naming of two board members gives the mayor the opportunity to have a solid majority on the Board of Education. Until recently Harp opponents had a voting majority on the ed board; her administration recently

LUCY GELLMAN PHOTO

Jackson-McArthur: headed to the BOE.

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has had a tenuous one-vote majority.

Jackson-McArthur currently is a commissioner of the city’s Board of Health Commission. That appointment is good through February 2021.

If alders approve the appointment to the Board of Ed, that appointment will be good through Dec. 31, 2021.

She also most recently served on the original search committee that selected the new schools’ superintendent.

“I am most confident given Dr. Jackson-McArthur’s credentials and commitment to our City, that she will serve the citizens of New Haven in a most conscientious and productive manner,” Harp wrote in a letter to alders dated Nov. 16.

A suggested replacement for Dawson has yet to be communicated to alders.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

There’s nothing more vital to health than the vitality of community.

When you see a row of neatly trimmed yards and children happily playing, it’s a sign of a healthy community.

Yale New Haven Hospital is committed to helping more families own a home where they can grow and prosper in a stable, supportive environment.

Through our partnership with Habitat for Humanity, nearly 500 Yale New Haven employees helped to build 10 Habitat homes – all sitting proudly in The Hill neighborhood. Additionally, the hospital’s Home Ownership Made Easy (HOME) program has enabled close to 150 employees to become first-time homeowners in the City of New Haven. Our neighborhood programs are another example of our commitment to caring beyond the bedside. ynhh.org/community

Homeowner Ana and her son with William Casey, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity and Michael Holmes, Senior Vice President, Operations, Yale New Haven Hospital.

11

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

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Podcasters Board The Dream Train

Tracine Allen and Duha Yeroz are linking arms at the top of a wall when they decide to jump for it. They are wordless, exchanging wide-eyed glances, weighing the chance of falling. Each has short legs, not made for wall-hurtling. But if they don’t do it, a whole future may be at stake. They close their eyes and bend their legs.

“It’s a long way doooowwwwn!” they cry in unison, bodies dropping several stories. Somewhere, in another not-sofar-away universe, their feet squarely hit the ground.

So unfolds one chapter of Dream Train, a new-old podcast by Imaginary Theater Company (ITC). After writing, workshopping and producing the play earlier this year, ITC Founder and Director Starry Krueger has transformed the show into a radio play, to distribute it to wider audiences and give it a longer life span.

Dream Train was originally written as a somewhat visual play, with bright costumes and flower-crowned heads punctuating a minimalist set and musical interludes. It’s a play that brings forest magic, folky, homespun vocals and an otherwise straight-talking script to life, passing on a powerful moral about walls, xenophobia and environmental preservation.

But after the show premiered at the New Haven Free Public Library and Lyric Hall last July, Krueger kept hearing from families who hadn’t been able to see the show, either because their timing wouldn’t allow it or they were far away. One of the young actors, Duha Yeroz, has extended family in Turkey. Krueger started thinking about how to get it to them and others in similar situations.

That form, she realized, was audio.

An educator by day, Krueger uses podcasts to unwind; she said that Brian Reed’s viral series S-Town is a recent favorite. Late last summer, she sat back down with the script, adding new lines and new ways to illustrate certain characters’ motions. She reached out to Baobab Tree Studios as a possible collaborator. As Kevin Ewing jumped onboard, she reassembled the cast and got them ready to go into the studios.

“I felt really, really excited about it,” she said in a recent interview. “It was a new medium for the kids, so they got to work with characters that they already knew, but in a way that was new for them.”

Ewing was excited to work with them, she said. She recalled the moment they made it into the studio to record, and how Ewing calmed the actors, then

12

The cast and crew. ITC Photo.

Krueger works with actor Aija Covington before recording. ITC Photo.

congratulated them when they’d delivered a line just-so. He also rolled with some last-minute changes, like the scene where Allen and Yeroz give a preface to their act of jumping. Or a different narrator where actor Nicole Dankowski had done a quick change of clothes to transition from one character to another. No one could see that on radio, Krueger said. So she had to get a little more inventive.

Now, Krueger said she feels that it’s almost meta—she too has moved far away from New Haven, to support her partner’s nursing career in San Diego.

The couple left in September, just as recording was coming to its end. Now, she said she’s thinking of taking ITC on the road—at least until she and her partner move back here next May, when his contract has ended. In the meantime, having Dream Train close at hand has inspired her to think of scripting her own radio drama.

“I don’t know what will come next,” she said. “I’m trying to build Imaginary Theatre Company up to have year-round programming, and this [podcast] is part of it.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017 Con’t from page 8

Next Stop:

Springfield! 12 Times A Day

Caregiving Around the Clock The theme for National Family Caregivers Month November 2017 is “Caregiving Around the Clock”

Caregiving can be a 24-hours a day/7-days a week job. Caring for a senior with Alzheimer’s or a child with special needs can be non-stop. Providing care around the clock can crowd out other important areas of life. And you never know when you will need to rush to the hospital or leave work at the drop of a hat. What challenges do family caregivers face, and how do they manage them day and night?

Morning: Getting off to work. The average family caregiver is a working mother of school-

aged children. Mornings become a tricky balancing act of getting the kids ready for school, making sure your loved one has what they need for the day before getting yourself out the door for work.

All Day Long: Managing medications. Up to 70% of the time, the family caregiver – not the patient –manages the medications. The more serious the condition, the more likely it is that the family caregiver manages the medications for the patient. This means ensuring your loved one is taking their medication correctly and maintaining an up-to-date medication list.

During the Workday: Juggling caregiving and work. Six out of 10 family caregivers work

full- or part-time in addition to juggling their caregiving responsibilities at home. And most of them say they have to cut back on working hours, take a leave of absence, or quit their job entirely.

Evening: Family time and meal time. Ensuring that you get proper nutrition will help you

maintain strength, energy, stamina, and a positive attitude. Nutrition is as important for you as the caregiver as it for your loved one. Caregiving affects the whole family.

Late at Night: Taking time for yourself. Late at night might be the only time you get a few minutes for yourself. Make sure you take time to rest and recharge. The chance to take a breather and re-energize is vital in order for you to be as good a caregiver tomorrow as you were today.

The Middle of the Night: Emergency room visits. Have you ever had to take your loved one to the emergency room in the middle of the night? Be prepared ahead of time with what you need to know and what you need to have with you.

During National Family Caregivers Month, we recognize the challenges family caregivers face when their loved ones need

Caregiving Around the Clock!

© Caregiver Action Network • www.CaregiverAction.org • 202.454.3970

14

back received, and then submit a final proposal on train schedules and fares to DOT Commissioner James Redeker. Those schedules and fares will go into effect by the Hartford Line’s launch in May 2018.

A dozen DOT staffers filled the Hall of Records’ basement conference room on Monday night with poster boards, fact sheets, brochures and troves of other information about the upcoming rail service.

Andreski began the hearing with a brief overview of the scope and proposed schedules and fares for the new rail line, which he referred to later in the night as the “great missing link” in the state’s public transit system.

Amtrak currently operates six daily round trip train routes between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield. The new Hartford Line will increase that number to 17 round trip trains between New Haven and Hartford, 12 of which will continue on to Springfield.

Weekday service will run from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the trains will operate at speeds of up to 110 mph, putting the New Haven-to-Hartford commute at around 45 minutes and the New Haven-to-Springfield commute at around 85 minutes.

Andreski said that the project includes a number of train station improvements, including new stations in Wallingford, Meriden and Berlin, and new elevated platforms at Hartford Union Station and New Haven State Street station.

Commuters will be able to purchase Metro North and Hartford Line tickets at the same CTrail ticket vending machines at these stations, and CTrail and Amtrak are working on a joint ticketing program that will allow passengers to ride on most Amtrak trains with a CTrail ticket.

The proposed fares, Andreski said, were based on current prices for Shoreline East and non-peak Metro North trains. One-way tickets from New Haven to Hartford will cost $8, and one-way tickets from New Haven to Springfield will cost $12.75.

Senior citizens, persons with disabilities and individuals on Medicare can purchase discounted tickets at 50 percent off. Frequent passengers can also buy ten-trip and monthly passes instead of just the one-way tickets.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

ACA Enrollment Surging, Even Though It Ends Dec. 15

by Cash Michaels Special to the NNPA

The enrollment period to be covered by the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) began Nov.1, and is scheduled to end Dec. 15th, for those hoping to qualify for health care coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2018.

The Trump Administration, which has made no secret of its wish to “repeal and replace” President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement, has done everything it can to force the ACA to whither on the vine by cutting the enrollment period from the previous three months, to just 45 days. And it has also cut the $100 million Obama Administration budget to both advertise the open enrollment period, and slashed grant funding efforts for state and community organizations across the nation that reach those in dire need of all that the ACA offers through education and mobilization, by an estimated 90 percent to just $10 million for the entire nation.

And yet, according to recent published reports, Pres. Trump’s efforts

to strangle the ACA to discourage participation are coming up short. In fact, based on available numbers, people

City of Charlotte, NC Welcomes Its First Ever Black Female Mayor Nationwide — Vi Lyles has just made history as the first Black woman mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. She ran an aggressive campaign, and her victory was confirmed by local and national news outlets on November 8th.

Prior to becoming mayor, she was was an at-large representative on the Charlotte City Council. She was elected in 2013, and served two terms.

Lyles worked for the City of Charlotte for almost 30 years, starting off as an analyst in the city’s budget department before becoming budget director. She was assistant city manager for the city from 1996 to 2004. During her time with the city, she helped create the city’s first capital budget and led the restructuring of government programs to evaluate and assess performance audits for city programs.

She also led and presented the community safety plan and helped develop the city’s affordable housing plan and Mecklenburg County’s Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise Program for small businesses.

She has a bachelor of arts in political science from Queens University and a master of public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a trained facilitator

Vi Lyles and executive coach, completing programs at the Institute of Government, North Carolina State University and the Lee Institute’s American Leadership Forum.

She says her proudest accomplishment is being mother to her two children Kwame and Aisha, 36 and 34, and grandmother to Aryah and Hailey.

are enrolling at a higher, faster pace than last year at this time, and there’s every reason to believe that pace will

continue the closer Dec. 15 comes.

While no official numbers have been released by the administration yet, The Washington Post reports that, “More than 200,000 Americans chose a plan on Nov. 1st (first day of open enrollment). That’s more than double the number of consumers who signed up on the first day of enrollment last year. More than 1 million people visited HeathCare.gov, the official federal website, the official said, which amounts to roughly a 33 percent increase in traffic compared with 2016.”

This doesn’t account for over a dozen states that have their own health insurance exchanges. However, several states, like California, New York and Connecticut, all say they are seeing more signups over last year as well.

Indeed, those wishing to enroll should go to healthcare.gov to qualify for federal tax subsidies to offset the rising cost of health insurance premiums. Those subsidies, better known as APT (Advanced Premium Tax Subsidies), make monthly premiums more affordable for most Americans who apply.

Premiums on some health insurance plans can be subsidized as low as $87 per month from a high of $662, depending on the type of plan an applicant needs and signs up for.

To make sure Pres. Trump’s efforts to squash the ACA signup period fails, several advocacy groups across the nation, including the NNPA, have stepped forward, making sure that their constituencies are properly informed about all ACA deadlines and requirements.

Some states are stepping up to cover the cost of open enrollment education too, like California, adding $5 million to its efforts.

The question now is, though it’s clear that many Americans are ignoring Trump’s efforts to kill the ACA, just how many of them are young people.

There is concern in the health care community that most of the new signups are people who are older and have afflictions, versus young, healthy people who are needed in large numbers in order for the ACA to work properly.

Democrats, Black Candidates Win Historic Victories on Election Night

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Contributor The blue wave that swept the country last week wasn’t just a victory for Democrats, but a resounding win for African American candidates, who defied the odds—and Trumpism—to make history.

In Charlotte, N.C., voters elected the first female African American mayor in the city’s history, choosing Democrat Vi Lyles over Republican Kenny Smith.

In St. Paul, Minn., Melvin Carter became that city’s first Black mayor, earning slightly more than 50 percent of the vote in a field that featured 10 candidates and a write-in opponent.

In Virginia, Democrat Justin Fairfax trounced Republican challenger Jill Vogel in the race for lieutenant governor. In January, Fairfax will become only the second African American to hold statewide office in Virginia.

Doug Wilder was the first, serving as lieutenant governor from 1986-1990, then as governor from 1990-1994.

Fairfax said his and other Democratic victories could “be the match that sparks the wildfire of progressive” change all across the country.

“All across the world. This is a battle

15

for the nation’s soul,” Fairfax said.

“Since I announced my candidacy, this campaign has been about the future, about building a Virginia where all of us have the opportunity to rise.”

Most saw victories by Democrats as a referendum on President Donald Trump, whose record low job approval rating has shrunk to 39 percent according to various reports.

Republicans lost races for governor in Virginia, where Ralph Northam easily beat Trump-backed Ed Gillespie, and in New Jersey, where former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy won election as governor, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

Also, in Virginia, attorney general Mark Herring, a Democrat, won reelection over Republican John Adams while Democrats gained at least 10 seats in the House of Delegates.

The party also won key mayoral races in New York, Charlotte, Stamford, Conn., and St. Petersburg and, in a direct rebuke of Trump and Republicans who have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, voters in Maine approved a ballot measure to expand Medicaid under former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.

On Twitter University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato wrote that the results were a “backlash to Trump and Trumpism, pure and simple.”

Results may have been helped by a strong get out to vote campaign launched by the NAACP. The legendary civil rights organization and its approximately 500,000 adult and youth members around the country were on the frontlines committed to raising awareness for political, educational, social and economic equality of minorities in the electoral process, the organization said in a statement posted on its website.

“The NAACP is actively engaged in increasing the African American responsiveness of citizens to be fully engaged in the democratic process,” the statement read.

Terry McAuliffe, Virginia’s outgoing Democratic governor, told reporters that the election night victories were indeed a springboard for future elections, including the 2020 presidential race.

“This was a spark plug,” McAuliffe said. “This is the revitalization of the Democratic Party in America.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden Con’t on page 16

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

German-Inspired Reform Calms Prison

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven Independent

Young inmates are getting direction not just detention in one corner of Connecticut’s prison system, and they’re straightening out as a result.

State Department of Correction Commissioner Scott Semple created the experiment called the TRUE program (which stands for Truthfulness, Respectfulness, Understanding and Elevating) to help 18-to-25-year-old inmates mature into responsible adults behind bars, and prepare for successful and productive lives after they have been released from prison.

The program, inspired by a factfinding visit Semple took to Germany with the governor in June 2015, is currently in place in one 70-bed unit at the Cheshire Correctional Institution.

Because of its early success, Semple is looking to expand it to other units at Cheshire, as well as to the York Correctional Institution for Women.

Through the TRUE program, the young inmates are paired up with mentors who are older, fellow inmates serving life sentences for crimes that they committed while they were young.

Social workers from the Vera Institute of Criminal Justice lead roundtable conversations with the young inmates that encourage them to talk about how they are feeling, what they are hoping to accomplish through the program, and what their goals are for after they are released. The program applies “restorative” justice techniques that bring people who have been harmed and people causing harm together to resolve their conflict via face-to-face conversation as opposed to through further outbursts of violence.

Semple said that the program also rests upon active involvement of family members of the incarcerated, as well as open lines of communication and respect between the prison staff and the inmates.

Several months in, the program has been a success, Semple said on the latest episode of WNHH-FMs “Community Justice Insider with Babz RawlsIvy & Jeff Grant” program. “We’ve had little to no incidents in that unit [at the Cheshire Correctional Institution].

In essence, [this program has] created less trauma exposure and improved the health and wellness of the staff and the population.”

Semple noted that correctional officers often get a bad rap, and rarely get

Semple at WNHH FM with co-hosts Rawls-Ivy and Grant. as many accolades as police officers, judges, or probation officers. Their work, especially in the context of the TRUE program, is critical for the successful rehabilitation of these young inmates, he said.

“Their job is extremely, extremely important in terms of the mission of improving public safety,” he said.

“Because if they fail, the likelihood of failure from a public safety perspective is much more prominent.”

Nearly three years into his tenure as commissioner, Connecticut’s prison population is dropping precipitously, from a high of nearly 20,000 in 2008 to around 14,000 today. Two prisons have closed or contracted in this year alone, including Enfield’s medium security prison earlier this month.

And, with initiatives like the TRUE program at Cheshire set to expand, Semple said, he feels confident that the department he oversees is getting closer by the day to its mission of correction, not incapacitation.

“We are the model in the United States right now,” Semple said about Connecticut’s DOC. “We’re one of the few states in the country that has lowered its incarceration rate and its crime rate, and we’re beginning to see a reduction in recidivism.”

“It’s important that, whoever’s the next governor,” he continued, “they need to take a look at some of the practices that have been in place. And to realize the benefit in improving folks’ overall wellness.”

German Inspiration Invited by the Vera Institute of Criminal Justice in June 2015 to observe how other countries’ prison systems prepare inmates for re-entry into society, Department of Correction (DOC)

chief Semple and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy found in Mecklenburg, Germany’s Neustrelitz Prison a facility that was specifically designed to meet the emotional and developmental needs of its 18 to 25-year-old incarcerated population.

Instead of throwing young people into lockdown or solitary confinement when they acted out, the German prison had programs that encouraged selfexpression, communication between fellow inmates and staff, minimumwage employment, and a certain degree of autonomy that tried to mimic what life was like outside of prison bars.

A self-proclaimed data-driven, incentive-based commissioner who is willing to experiment with different ways to reduce recidivism, Semple was deeply inspired by the respect, encouragement and sensitivity with which the German prison system treats its young inmates, he said.

“We’re not the department of incapacitation,” Semple said. “We’re the department of correction. And our job is to help correct people. We’re very good at dealing with problematic issues. Our facilities are clean and, for the most part, quiet. But how do we move beyond clean and quiet? It’s as simple as being responsive to people who want to be accountable to themselves.”

After returning from Germany, Semple crunched the numbers on his own prison system. He found that 3,000 people, or roughly 20 percent of the state’s incarcerated population, fell between the ages of 18 and 25. Those younger inmates accounted for roughly 25 percent of all disciplinary incidents within the state’s prison system.

16

“We do know that this is a very impulsive age,” Semple said. He admitted that, when he was a teenager growing up in Waterbury in the 1970s, he was involved in activity that very well might have gotten him arrested if he were in high school today.

He talked to the governor, reached out to the Vera Institute, and decided to bring a little bit of the German incarceral approach to the Nutmeg State.

Inspired By Personal Tragedy Semple started out as a correctional officer at the Cheshire Correctional Institution back in 1988. Over the years he has served as legislative liaison for the DOC, warden for the Garner Correctional Institution, deputy commissioner of operations for the DOC, and, as of 2015, DOC commissioner.

Shortly after Semple became deputy commissioner, his son Matthew was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Soon after he became commissioner, his son passed away.

Semple spoke about how he and his wife struggled to decide whether or not he should accept Gov. Malloy’s offer to serve as commissioner when going through such a difficult time in their lives. Ultimately, he decided to do it, heeding his late son’s strong encouragement to take the position.

“The things you traditionally get worked up about did not seem to bother me as much because quite frankly the worst thing in my life has already happened,” Semple said about how his son’s life and premature death have inspired his passion and willingness to experiment as the head of the DOC. “So why not be bold? It really led and energized the direction that I felt compelled to take this department to.”

Con’t from page 15

Democrats, Black Candidates Win Historic Victories on Election Night said voters clearly sent a message to Trump.

“A resounding defeat tonight for President Trump,” Biden tweeted.

“Voters across the country rejected the ugly politics we have seen this past year. Instead, they chose candidates who unite and inspire us.”

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus also engaged voters.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), urged everyone to vote.

“The vote is precious, almost sacred,” Lewis said. “It is the most powerful nonviolent tool or instrument in a democratic society [so] use it.”

And, if that admonition wasn’t enough, the legendary civil rights leader reminded voters why participating is so important.

“I was beaten, left bloody and unconscious so that every American has the right to vote,” Lewis said. “Friends of mine gave their lives. Do your part.

Vote.”

Con’t on page 9

Fight for Healthcare

base of people who can get affordable health insurance.

This example of “Faith in Action” may be a template for other ways to use the church to organize resistance.

The novelist Dr. Daniel Black (author of “Perfect Peace: A Novel”) recently gave a talk in which he described our churches as the backbone of the Black community. Disagree with your pastor, or with the sermon if you will, he said, but still get to church for the sense of community that can only be found there. While the Black church is less impactful than it was in 1963, when most of us could be reached through church announcements, it is still a place where we gather and share information. If you don’t usually go to church on November 12, when the #SOULS2ENROLL weekend campaign kicks off, consider making your way there to check this campaign out.

If you do go to church, encourage your pastor to participate.

Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author, and Founder of Economic Education. Her latest book “Are We Better Off: Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available via amazon. com. For booking, wholesale inquiries, or for more info, visit www. juliannemalveaux.com. Follow Dr. Malveaux on Twitter @drjlastword.

THEINNER-CITY INNER-CITYNEWS NEWS November 22, 2017 -- November THE November28, 28,2017 2017

MACY’S

BLACK FRIDAY DOORBUSTERS IN STORE:

5PM THURS-2AM FRI, 6AM-1PM FRI & 8AM-1PM SAT

Hours may vary by store. Go to macys.com & click stores for local information.

ONLINE:

SHOP ALL DAY THURS-SAT AT MACYS.COM/BLACKFRIDAY

FREE SHIPPING ONLINE WITH $49 PURCHASE

Valid 11/22-11/25. Exclusions apply; see macys.com/freereturns

PLUS, FURNITURE, MATTRESS & AREA RUG SUPER BUYS NOW-CYBER MONDAY

10 OFF

20 OFF

MACY’S CARD/SAVINGS PASS DOESN’T APPLY TO DOORBUSTERS

$

$

YOUR PURCHASE OF $25 OR MORE ON SELECT SALE IN STORE AND SELECT SALE & CLEARANCE ONLINE: CLOTHING & HOME ITEMS. USE YOUR MACY’S CARD OR THIS PASS 11/22 3PM-CLOSING, 11/23 5PM-2AM, 11/24 6AM-1PM & 11/25 8AM-1PM. ONLINE ALL DAY

YOUR PURCHASE OF $50 OR MORE ON SELECT SALE IN STORE AND SELECT SALE & CLEARANCE ONLINE: CLOTHING & HOME ITEMS. USE YOUR MACY’S CARD OR THIS PASS 11/22 3PM-CLOSING, 11/23 5PM-2AM, 11/24 6AM-1PM, 11/25 8AM-1PM. ONLINE ALL DAY. MACYS.COM PROMO CODE: HURRY50 See macys.com/deals for online exclusions

MACYS.COM PROMO CODE: HURRY25 See macys.com/deals for online exclusions

EXCLUDES ALL: Deals of the Day, Doorbusters, Everyday Values (EDV), Last Act, Macy’s Backstage, specials, Super Buys, athletic clothing/shoes/accessories, baby gear, watches, cosmetics/fragrances, designer handbags, designer jewelry/watches, designer sportswear, electrics/electronics, furniture/mattresses, gift cards, jewelry trunk shows, select licensed depts., previous purchases, restaurants, rugs, services, smart watches/jewelry, special orders, special purchases, select tech accessories, toys, 3Doodler, American Rug Craftsmen, Anova, Apple Products, Ashley Graham, Avec Les Filles clothing, Barbour, Brahmin, Breville, Briggs & Riley, Brooks Brothers Red Fleece, COACH, Demeyere, Destination Maternity, Dyson, Eileen Fisher SYSTEM, Fitbit, Frye, Global Cutlery, Hanky Panky, Jack Spade, Judith Leiber, Karastan, kate spade new york, Kenneth Cole men’s shoes, Kiehl’s, KitchenAid Pro Line, Le Creuset, Levi’s, littleBits, Locker Room by Lids, Marc Jacobs, select Michael Kors/Michael Michael Kors, Michele watches, Miyabi, Movado Bold, Natori, Nike swim, Original Penguin, Panache, Rimowa, Rudsak, Sam Edelman, Shun, Spanx, Staub, Stuart Weitzman, S’well, Tempur-Pedic mattresses, The North Face, Theory, Tommy John, Tory Burch, Tumi, UGG®, Uttermost, Vans, Vitamix, Wacoal, Wolford & Wüsthof; PLUS, ONLINE ONLY: kids’ shoes, Allen Edmonds, Birkenstock, Hurley, Johnston & Murphy, Merrell, RVCA & Tommy Bahama. Cannot be combined with any savings pass/coupon, extra discount or credit offer except opening a new Macy’s account. Purchase must be $25 or $50 or more, exclusive of tax and delivery fees.

EXTRA

MACY’S CARD/SAVINGS PASS DOESN’T APPLY TO DOORBUSTERS

20% OFF SELECT SALE IN STORE AND SELECT SALE & CLEARANCE ONLINE: CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES. EXTRA 15% OFF SELECT SALE IN STORE AND SELECT SALE & CLEARANCE ONLINE: JEWELRY, SHOES, COATS, SUITS, DRESSES, LINGERIE, SWIM FOR HER; MEN’S SUIT SEPARATES & SPORT COATS AND HOME ITEMS. USE YOUR MACY’S CARD OR THIS PASS 11/22-11/25/17. MACYS.COM PROMO CODE: HURRY

See macys.com/deals for online exclusions

EXCLUDES ALL: Deals of the Day, Doorbusters, Everyday Values (EDV), Last Act, Macy’s Backstage, specials, Super Buys, athletic clothing/shoes/accessories, baby gear, watches, cosmetics/fragrances, designer handbags, designer jewelry/ watches, designer sportswear, electrics/electronics, furniture/mattresses, gift cards, jewelry trunk shows, select licensed depts., previous purchases, restaurants, rugs, services, smart watches/jewelry, special orders, special purchases, select tech accessories, toys, 3Doodler, American Rug Craftsmen, Anova, Apple Products, Ashley Graham, Avec Les Filles clothing, Barbour, Brahmin, Breville, Briggs & Riley, Brooks Brothers Red Fleece, COACH, Demeyere, Destination Maternity, Dyson, Eileen Fisher SYSTEM, Fitbit, Frye, Global Cutlery, Hanky Panky, Jack Spade, Judith Leiber, Karastan, kate spade new york, Kenneth Cole men’s shoes, Kiehl’s, KitchenAid Pro Line, Le Creuset, Levi’s, littleBits, Locker Room by Lids, Marc Jacobs, select Michael Kors/Michael Michael Kors, Michele watches, Miyabi, Movado Bold, Natori, Nike swim, Original Penguin, Panache, Rimowa, Rudsak, Sam Edelman, Shun, Spanx, Staub, Stuart Weitzman, S’well, Tempur-Pedic mattresses, The North Face, Theory, Tommy John, Tory Burch, Tumi, UGG®, Uttermost, Vans, Vitamix, Wacoal, Wolford & Wüsthof; PLUS, ONLINE ONLY: kids’ shoes, Allen Edmonds, Birkenstock, Hurley, Johnston & Murphy, Merrell, RVCA & Tommy Bahama.

Cannot be combined with any savings pass/coupon, extra discount or credit offer except opening a new Macy’s account. Extra savings % applied to reduced prices.

BLACK FRIDAY PRICES IN EFFECT 11/22-11/25/17. Merchandise will be on sale at these & other sale prices through 1/2/2018, except as noted.

17

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November November 22, 22, 2017 2017 -- November November 28, 28, 2017 2017

Ohio’s Education Leaders Lean on Strong Literacy Programs to Close the Achievement Gap

By Dr. Elizabeth Primas, Program Manager, NNPA/ESSA Public Awareness Campaign While education officials in Ohio have identified six components for rating schools on their school report cards, they are giving more attention to making sure students don’t fall behind to begin with. Over the last four years, education leaders in Ohio have tripled their investments in the “K-3 Literacy component” and its corresponding preschool program. Ohio has also increased access to high-quality education programs for children living in poverty and low-income families. This investment is aligned with

the state’s birth to third grade support system, that is designed to ensure that students enter school with the skills necessary to be successful and reach third grade with skills needed to read proficiently.

In December 2011, Ohio began using Early Learning and Development Standards that address five essential domains of school readiness for children from birth to five years-old.

Those same standards will continue with the state’s ESSA plan. The five domains include: social and emotional development; physical well-being and motor development; approaches toward learning; language and literacy development; and cognition and general knowledge. These standards have been expanded to provide a continuum of learning for children from birth to five years of age; that implies that there are different expectations for children depending on their age and develop-

Here's What Really Cuts Black Lives Short!

The American Heart Association just released new information that explains why black people do not live as long as white people. Their life expectancy is 3 years shorter than for white people. Why? A recent study showed that higher rates of heart disease and stroke may be a major reason why.

According to researchers, heart disease and stroke contributed to more than 2 million years of life lost among black people between 1999 and 2010.

In addition, heart disease and stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes also start at an earlier age among black people than white people.

Even children are affected Even among black children, 14 percent of black children have high blood pressure, compared to 8 percent of white children. Twenty percent of

black children aged 2 to 19 are obese, compared to 15 percent of white children. The differences among adults is 58 percent of black women and 38 percent of black men are obese, compared to 33 percent of white women and 34 percent of white men.

The solution A major contributing factor to the higher rate of heart disease and stroke among blacks that cuts their lives short is poverty and a lack of healthcare coverage. African-Americans are also more likely to have persistent economic stress and to face concerns about maintaining their health, according to the study.

To read the full report by the American Heart Association, visit http:// newsroom.heart.org/news/africanamericans-live-shorter-lives-due-toheart-disease-and-stroke

ment. Once parents and caregivers understand that children develop on a continuum, or with skills built upon what was previously learned, educators and parents can begin to work in tandem with each other; ensuring that children are learning and developing appropriately.

Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards provide parents with information and expectations for each of the five domains; allowing them to get a jumpstart in preparing their child for school readiness. Standards are organized by topic and age: Infants (birth to around 8 months); young toddlers (6 months to around 18 months); and older toddlers (16 months to around 36 months). The guides are organized to allow parents to easily identify where their children should be, developmentally. For instance, the Social and Emotional Development Domain chart for aware-

ness and expression of emotion, states that infants should express sadness, fear or distress by crying, kicking legs and stiffening the body; by pre-K, children should be able to recognize and identify their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.

In 2003, Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, two researchers at the University of Kansas, published a report titled, “The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3.” They found that exposure to a rich vocabulary in a child’s early years is critical and the disparities in that exposure result in an achievement gap. It is important for parents to speak to their children, all of the time, using “standard” English. Parents can introduce their children to new words by explaining things in the child’s environment. Reviewing the names of items in the grocery store, the names of animals they see in the neighborhood, and the style and color of their clothes are

simple ways to make a big impact. If we are to close the achievement gap, we must start before the child arrives at the schoolhouse doors. From birth, parents should sing songs and repeat nursery rhymes. Reading rhyming books and alphabet stories promote language acquisition and literacy.

Parents are a child’s first teachers. It is up to us to give our children the exposure necessary to close the achievement gap.

To find out more about ESSA and its opportunities in literacy visit www. nnpa.org/essa.

Dr. Elizabeth Primas is an educator, who spent more than 40 years working towards improving education for children of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. Dr. Primas is the program manager for the NNPA’s Every Student Succeeds Act Public Awareness Campaign. Follow Dr. Primas on Twitter @ElizabethPrima3.

Restaurant Staffed By Only HIV-Positive Chefs To Breakdown Myths

by T. R. Causay, Social Reporter

Would you eat from a restaurant that had an HIV-positive chef or if the people that served you had HIV? The logical thing would be to say yes, since you can’t catch HIV from casual contact, but there are many stigmas still out there that would have a lot people say not to eating food from a HIV positive chef. Some others still say they don’t want to shake hands or shower with someone who’s HIV positive.

But that’s the type of stigma that HIV/AIDS hospital Casey House is trying to tackle with their pop-up restaurant.

For two days — Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 — people who dined at June’s HIV+ Eatery were served food cooked only by those who have the virus (with a little help and training from chef Matt Basile of the Lisa Marie bar in Toronto). The purpose of the restaurant was to show people that HIV is not as easily transmitted as some may think — and especially not through food.

The most important players responsible for bringing the campaign to life are the 14 HIV-positive chefs who will be preparing the dishes. “Everything we did had to take into consideration what they had gone through to get to this point,” says Joseph Bonnici, executive creative director and partner at ad agency Bensimon Byrne that partnered with Casey’s House.

“Our HIV-positive chefs, who come from all walks of life, bravely came forward to show they have nothing to

18

be ashamed of, and more importantly, cook a meal for hundreds of people in Toronto who have nothing to fear from them.”

The 14 chefs wore aprons with phrases like “Judge the cooking, not the cook” and “Think you can get HIV from food?

Bite me.”

“For many people living with HIV, it’s the stigma that hurts the most,” the

press release reads. “June’s HIV+ Eatery is an opportunity to fight stigma with every bite. To come together in a show of love, support and acceptance, and to dispel the myths about HIV that condemn so many to suffer in silence.”

So now what do you say? Would you sit eat from HIV positive hands? Start the conversation.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

1

RP inner city news oct 23.qxp_Layout 1 10/24/17 10:00 AM Page 1

THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE

Christian McBride

“Remembering Ray Brown” with Benny Green & Lewis Nash Special Guest Steve Clarke Trio

October 28

Olate Dogs

Winners of America’s Got Talent!

November 15

Dental Services are now available at our Dixwell Health Center

Vanessa Williams in Concert

Martha Davis & the Motels and Bow Wow Wow ft. Annabella Lwin November 1

Meet and greet tickets available!

A Darlene Love Christmas: Love For The Holidays November 18

Tim Currie’s Merry Motown Review December 7

November 4

Call 203-503-3420 to make your appointment today!

203.438.5795 • RIDGEFIELDPLAYHOUSE.ORG

226 Dixwell Avenue, New Haven • cornellscott.org 19

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

First Ever Cooking Competition With All Black Chefs to Premiere Online on Thanksgiving Day

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE. ON YOUR TIME. IT’S WHAT WE DO. Make an appointment online.

Call us. Walk-in. Visit us on the weekends. We’re open when others aren’t.

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY. PPSNE.ORG • 1 (800) 230-PLAN

Nationwide — If you’re a fan of shows like Top Chef and Chopped, but wish they featured more Black chefs, you’re in luck! A brand new web series called Bringing It To The Table will be premiering this Thanksgiving, November 23, and it will have all the Black chefs you can handle!

The six-part series will showcase talented African American chefs as they show off their skills and personalities. (Take a bite and view the official trailer on YouTube.

The show’s creator and executive producer, Aminah ‘Chef MiMi’ Robinson-Briscoe, is from Berkeley, California and a graduate of the prestigious (CCA) California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, CA. She was the youngest in her class to graduate at the age of just 19 years old. For over 20 years, she has been a skilled culinary professional who has won numerous awards and has been featured in Ebony Magazine and Cuisine Noir, the first black online culinary magazine.

According to the show’s creator, the intention behind the series is to show the art of cooking from an African American perspective. “Many times when we think of chefs of color, we think of barbecue and fried chicken. And although we love it, it’s not all that we can prepare,” the show creators said. “But it is society’s stereotypes as seen so often in the media food space.”

Bringing It To The Table is described as “an urban reality cooking competition packed with drama and various challenges of obscure and unpredictable tests of taste inside and out of the kitchen.” Combined with reality, the show puts this creative competition into its own arena of cooking.

“This is exactly why we love the digital age of media. If you feel like what you want to see is not being represented by mainstream media, you can create it and easily distribute it through video and social platforms. It is easier than ever to find like-minded people and share your creation,” the show’s creators said.

For some behind the scene clips and show info, visit www.Bitttshow.com and make sure to catch the series when it premieres on November 23rd.

The series will be available on “Vimeo on Demand”.

Accepting the Challenge to Ensure Future Leadership

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., President and CEO, NNPA I once asked the first African American billionaire, Reginald F. Lewis, what single word best defined the most determinative

factor that led to his monumental financial success? Mr. Lewis answered, “Preparation.” To accept or to meet the challenges of life, one must first be prepared.

Attaining a quality education is one of the best methods for self-development and self-preparation. The long history of African American progress is inextricably linked to our access and attainment of a good education.

From Frederick Douglas to W.E.B. Du Bois to Booker T. Washington, the goal of education for Black people was paramount to achieving freedom, justice and

equality in America and throughout the world. Today, in 2017, that goal is still a top priority for 47 million African Americans across the nation.

It is important to recall lessons from our history to continue the struggle against the forces of racism, oppression and economic inequality. Shortly after the slave insurrection led by Nat Turner in southern Virginia in 1831, the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi all passed laws making it a felony to teach a Black person how to read and write.

20

Educating and preparing Africans in America to meet life’s challenges was once against the law. It was illegal to educate our people in those states. It was against the law in the South for Black people to be educated before the Civil War in America. My great, great, great grandfather, the Reverend John Chavis, defied those terrible laws in 1838 and was beaten to death, as a result.

This subject is personal, but not limited just to my family’s legacy. While those laws no longer exist, the issues of education for millions of African Americans are

still essential and life-advancing. Thus, it is important to assert and to rearticulate the critical importance of supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

I proudly serve on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Equality Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) that represents all of the HBCUs and PBIs (Predominantly Black Institutions. There is no question that these educational institutions continue, with Con’t on page 25

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

NOTICE OF INVITATION FOR BID HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF DANBURY CHIMNEY CLEANING & REPAIR SERVICES IFB NO. B17005

CONTACT PERSON

Ms. Devin Marra, Director of Procurement Telephone: 203-744-2500 x141 E-Mail: dmarra@hacdct.org

HOW TO OBTAIN THE IFB DOCUMENTS:

Contact Ms. Devin Marra, via phone or email.

BID SUBMITTAL RETURN

Housing Authority of the City of Danbury 2 Mill Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06811 Envelope Must be Marked: IFB No. B17005 Chimney Services

BID SUBMITTAL DEADLINE/BID OPENING

December 12, 2017 at 10:00am (EST)

[Minority- and/or women-owned businesses are encouraged to respond]

Experienced Construction Laborer Position requires a minimum of 2 years experience in general construction work. Competitive salary and benefits available. Must hold a current OSHA 10 certificate to apply for job and a current valid CT driver’s license. Position requires taking and passing a drug test/ background check. To apply send resume to TadeMarkLLC@att.net. Women & Minority applicants are encouraged to apply.

Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer

Office or General Help: Immediate opening in the Contract Department, in a fast-paced petroleum environment.

Strong computer skills (ie: Excel, Microsoft Office) and analytical skills a must. Candidate must possess a high level of accuracy, attention to detail and be able to research and work independently. Petroleum and energy industry knowledge experience a plus. Send resume to: Human Resource Dept., P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437.

**An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

Public Notice The Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) hereby announces its 49 CFR Part 26 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) plans related to FAA-assisted contracts for professional services and construction projects for federal fiscal years 2017-2019 for Bradley International and federal fiscal years 2018-2020 for the five General Aviation Airports. The proposed plan, which includes the 3-year goal and rationale, is available for inspection between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday at Bradley International Airport, Administration Office, Terminal A, 3rd Floor, Windsor Locks, CT 06096 or on CAA’s website http://www.ctairports.org, the Bradley International Airport website http://www. bradleyairport.com for 30 days from the date of this publication.

Comments on the DBE goal will be accepted for 45 days from the date of availability of this notice and can be sent to the following: Laurie A. Sirois Manager of Grants, Procurement and Insurance Programs Connecticut Airport Authority Bradley International Airport Administration Office Terminal A, 3rd Floor Windsor Locks, CT 06096 lsirois@ctairports.org

or

Mr. Thomas Knox DBE & ACDBE Compliance Specialist FAA Western-Pacific Regional Office Los Angeles, CA 90009-2007 thomas.knox@faa.gov

TRANSFER STATION LABORER Off load trailers, reload for trans/disp. Lift 50 lbs., operate industrial powered trucks and forklift. Asbestos Worker Handler Training a +. Resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 173 Pickering St., Portland, CT 06480; Fax 860-342-1022; or Email to lkelly@redtransfer.com RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

Field Engineer

BA/BS in Civil Engineering or Construction Management.

2-5 yrs. experience. OSHA Certified.

Proficient in reading contract plans and specifications.

Resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 10 Northwood Dr., Bloomfield, CT 06002; Fax 860.218.2433; Email resumes to info@redtechllc.com. RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

Project Manager Environmental Remediation Division 3-5 years exp. and Bachelor’s Degree, 40-Hr. Hazwoper Training Req. Forward resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 10 Northwood Dr., Bloomfield, CT 06002;

Fax 860.218.2433; or Email to HR@redtechllc.com

RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

Class A CDL Driver

with 3 years min. exp. HAZMAT Endorsed. (Tractor/Triaxle/Roll-off) Some overnights may be required. FAX resumes to RED Technologies, at 860.342-1042; Email: HR@redtechllc.com Mail or in person: 173 Pickering Street, Portland, CT 06480. RED Technologies, LLC is An EOE.

KMK Insulation Inc. 1907 Hartford Turnpike North Haven, CT 06473

Mechanical Insulator position.

Insulation company offering good pay and benefits.

Please mail resume to above address.. MAIL ONLY This company is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT is requesting proposals for the painting of interior vacant units.

Proposal documents can be viewed and printed at www.

norwalkha.org<http://www.norwalkha.org> under the Business section RFP’s/RFQ’s Norwalk Housing is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Curtis O. Law, Executive Director.

Common Ground High School seeks a PART TIME Special Education Teaching Assistant (TA). The TA is responsible for supporting the Special Education teachers in general education and special education classes. Support will include individual and small group instruction, facilitation of on-task behavior, and implementation of students’ IEPs, including accommodations, goals, etc. Click here for more details and how to apply http://commongroundct. org/2017/10/cghs-seeks-a-part-time-special-educationteaching-assistant/.

Wait list Coventry Housing Authority is accepting applications for its Section 8 Elderly/Disabled housing until November 30, 2017. To qualify, you must be either 62 years of age or disabled. Annual income limit is $19,250 (one person) & $22,000 (two people). Interested parties may pick up an application at the Coventry Housing Authority, 1630 Main St., Coventry, CT, or have one mailed. Completed applications must be returned no later than 3 p.m. on November 30, 2017. For more information call 860-742-5518.

Wait list Coventry Housing Authority is accepting applications for its State Elderly/Disabled housing until November 30, 2017. To qualify, you must be either 62 years of age or disabled. Annual income limit is $47,600 (one person) & $54,400 (two people). Interested parties may pick up an application at the Coventry Housing Authority, 1630 Main St., Coventry, CT, or have one mailed. Completed applications must be returned no later than 3 p.m. on November 30, 2017. For more information call 860-742-5518.

Certified Police Officer

The Town of Wallingford is currently accepting applications for current Connecticut P.O.S.T.C Certified Police Officers. Applicants must be active P.O.S.T.C Certified Police Officers in good standing with their current department, or have retired in good standing, still having a current certification status with P.O.S.T.C. This Process will consist of Written, Oral, Polygraph, Psychological, Medical Exam, and Background Investigation.

The Town of Wallingford offers a competitive pay rate $62,753.60$ 74,963.20 annually. Application deadline will be November 9, 2017 Apply: Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main St., Wallingford, CT. phone: (203) 294-2080; fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE.

Listing: Receptionist/Office Assistant

Petroleum Company has an immediate full time opening. Previous experience in a very busy office handling multiple telephone lines and dealing with customers required. Excellent customer service skills a must. Previous petroleum experience a plus. Applicant to also perform administrative/clerical tasks as assigned. Please send resume to: H.R. Manager, Confidential, P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437.

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

21

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

Assistant Facilities Manager

FIREFIGHTER / EMT / PARAMEDIC Firefighter - Paramedic 63,759.27 EMT-D 60,809.27 Annual Salary The West Haven Fire Department will be conducting an Entry Exam on Saturday December 16, 2017 at West Haven High School 9:00am. This exam will be for entry level Firefighter-Paramedic/EMT. This is a Fire Police Selection Inc. (FPSI) exam.

The fee for this exam is $65.00 and shall be submitted on line with the application and certification documents.

Application documents and fee must be submitted through www.FirefighterApp.com.

Application deadline is December 1, 2017.

Qualifications to sit for the exam: 18 years of age (by date of the exam) United States Citizen or legally authorized to work in the U.S The West Haven Fire Department is a progressive Class II Department providing fire suppression, fire rescue, hazardous materials intervention/protection, emergency medical care and mutual aid, responding to more than 6500 calls per year. The WHFD/ Center District has four twelve-person platoons, which rotate four 24/72 hour shifts. The department offers a competitive salary/benefit package. Health and dental benefits, annual health and fitness program and a retirement plan.

Applications can be submitted on www.FirefighterApp.com after November 4, 2017

The West Haven Fire Department is an equal opportunity employer.

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport Invitation for Bid (IFB) Three Tab Roof Replacements at Various Sites Solicitation Number: 093-PD-17-S The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC) is requesting sealed bids for Roof Replacements at Various Sites. A complete set of the plans and technical specifications will be available on October 23, 2017. To obtain a copy of the solicitation you must send your request to bids@parkcitycommunities.org, please reference solicitation number and title on the subject line. A MANDATORY pre-bid conference will be held at 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604 on November 8, 2017 @ 10:00 a.m., submitting a bid for the project without attending conference is not in the best interest of the Offeror. Additional questions should be emailed only to bids@parkcitycommunities.org no later than November 20, 2017 @ 3:00 p.m. Answers to all the questions will be posted on PCC’s Website: www.parkcitycommunities.org. All bids must be received by mailed or hand delivered by December 7, 2017 @ 2:00 PM, to Ms. Caroline Sanchez, Sr. Contract Specialist, 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604, at which time and place all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud. No bids will be accepted after the designated time.

Common Ground seeks an Assistant Facilities Manager/Custodian to be responsible for the care, upkeep and maintenance of Common Ground’s facilities. The Assistant Facilities Manager/Custodian will supervise part time custodial staff.

This is a full time, year round 40-hour per week position with benefits. Work hours will generally run from noon until 8 pm with some weekend hours required. For a more detailed job description and how to apply, please visit http:// commongroundct.org/2017/10/common-ground-seeks-an-assistant-facilitiesmanager/Common Ground seeks an Assistant Facilities Manager/Custodian to be responsible for the care, upkeep and maintenance of Common Ground’s facilities. The Assistant Facilities Manager/Custodian will supervise part time custodial staff. This is a full time, year round 40-hour per week position with benefits. Work hours will generally run from noon until 8 pm with some weekend hours required. For a more detailed job description and how to apply, please visit http://commongroundct.org/2017/10/common-ground-seeks-an-assistantfacilities-manager/

Construction Truck and Equipment Head Mechanic

Large CT based Fence and Guard Rail contractor looking for experienced, self-motivated, responsible Head Mechanic. Responsibilities will include maintaining and repairing all company equipment and vehicles, updating asset lists and assuring all rolling stock is in compliance with state and federal regulations. Must have extensive diesel engine, electrical wiring and hydraulic systems experience.

Top wages paid, company truck and benefits.

AA/EOE

Please send resume to Mpicard@atlasoutdoor.com

KMK Insulation Inc. 1907 Hartford Turnpike North Haven, CT 06473

Mechanical Insulator position.

Insulation company offering good pay and benefits.

Please mail resume to above address.. MAIL ONLY This company is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer.

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Invitation for Bids

Snow Removal ServicesWestville Manor and 295 Wilmot Road The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for Snow Removal ServicesWestville Manor and 295 Wilmot Road. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 3:00PM

The Manchester Housing Authority is pleased to announce the opening of the State of Connecticut Congregate Housing Program. Westhill Gardens Congregate consists of 37 one bedroom units. Applications are available in person and on the MHA website at http://manchesterha.org and will be accepted by mail or in person at 24 Bluefield Drive Manchester, CT 06040. Applications will be accepted October 1, 2017- December 29th, 2017 at 4PM. The Congregate Program offers housing, a daily meal, and supportive services to frail elders, age 62 or older.

!

FY 2017 State of Connecticut Low-Income (80%) Limit (LIL) 1 person

2 person

3 person

4 person

47,600

54,400

61,200

68,000

The Manchester Housing Authority does not discriminate based upon race, color, disability, familial status, sex, or national origin.

22

!

Union Company seeks: Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of operating heavy equipment; be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Invitation for Bids Phone: Contact: Dana Briere Email: Snow860-243-2300 Removal ServicesValley dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com and Waverly Townhouse Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply The Housing Authority ofAction/ the City ofEqual New Haven d/b/a Elm City ComAffirmative Opportunity munities is currently seekingEmployer Bids for Snow Removal Services-Valley and Waverly Townhouses. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 3:00PM

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

s

GARRITY ASPHALT RECLAIMING , INC Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks: Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing and clean driving record.

We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860243-2300 Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming Inc Employer

seeks: Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory Garrity Reclaiming Inc trainingAsphalt on equipment we operate. seeks: Construction Equipment Mechanic Location: Bloomfield CT preferably in Reclaiming and Contact:experienced James Burke Phone: 860Road Milling Equipment.

We offer factory 243-2300 training on equipment we operate. email: jim.burke@garrityasphalt.com Location: Bloomfield CT Women & Minority Applicants are Contact:encouraged James Burke Phone: 860to apply 243-2300 Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity email: jim.burke@garrityasphalt.com Employer We offer excellent hourly rate & Women & Minoritybenefits Applicants are excellent encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

Union Company seeks: Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of operating Union Company seeks: Tractor Trailer heavy equipment; be willing to travel Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer Equipment. Must have a CDL License, excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits clean driving record, capable of operating Contact: Dana Briere Phone: heavy equipment; be willing to travel 860-243-2300 Email: throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Women & Minority Applicants are Contact: Dana Briere Phone: encouraged to apply 860-243-2300 Email: Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Employer Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

ARTS FUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD CULTURAL VITALITY GRANT

RDS GRANT AWA 00 $2,500-$5,0

grant DEADLINES Letter of Intent: November 22 | Application: December 20 MORE INFO/APPLICATION: 203.946.7172 UPCOMING INFORMATION SESSIONS Nov. 1 - Mitchell Library. 5:00pm.

Nov. 8 - Wilson Library. 5:00pm.

Nov. 9 - Fair Haven Library. 5:30pm.

Nov. 13 - Ives (Main) Library. 5:30pm.

Nov. 14 - Stetson Library. 5:00pm.

Questions about your bill?

Yale New Haven Hospital is pleased to offer patients and their families financial counseling regarding their hospital bills or the availability of financial assistance, including free care funds.

By appointment, patients can speak one-on-one with a financial counselor during regular business hours. For your convenience, extended hours are available once a month.

Date: Monday, November 20 Time: 5 - 7 pm Location: Children’s Hospital, 1 Park St., 1st Floor, Admitting Parking available (handicapped accessible) An appointment is necessary. Please call 203-688-2046.

Spanish-speaking counselors available.

10652 (06/16)

CITY OF NEW HAVEN, TONI. N. HARP, MAYOR

Discover Foote School An Independent K–9 School Where Students Love to Learn

Admissions Open Houses November 5 & 18

50 Loomis Place | New Haven | CT | (203) 777-3464 | footeschool.org

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10/17/17 11:09 AM

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

Trump’s Smear of the King Legacy

by AFRO Editorial President Donald Trump has crossed the line. Trump, who continues to disrespect former President Barack Obama, who is hell-bent on repealing the Affordable Care Act, who shows disdain for civil rights and supports White supremacists, is now dragging Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy through the mud.

Trump recently ordered the National Archive to release all documents relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. A 20-page dossier compiled by the FBI on Dr. Martin Luther King, dated three weeks before King’s April 4, 1968 assassination was part of the released documents. Nothing in the King dossier has anything to do with the JFK assassination. The 49-year-old King dossier was filed while J. Edgar Hoover, a well-known anti-King protagonist, was director of the FBI. The 1968 King dossier asserts a number of damaging allegations including, financial irregularities within King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King having connections with communist groups, and King allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct and having multiple affairs. None of these assertions about King appear to be verified or have any corroboration

by Hoover or the FBI. Thus, at best, they are mere speculative observations from a time and by a Hoover FBI that viewed the entire civil rights movement of the 60’s as a threat to the security of this country. Hoover was wrong and off base then and his jaded

Black Celebrities, Athletes and Politicians

Must Respect the Black Press

By Rosetta Miller-Perry, The Tennessee Tribune/NNPA Member

observations and opinions are still wrong now!

Neither Trump nor the FBI have offered any explanation as to why the King dossier was included in the documents relating to the Kennedy assassination. Furthermore, no explanation has been offered as to why after 49 years, the Trump Administration felt compelled to make the King dossier public at this time.

We view the Trump Administration’s issuance of this damaging and insulting King dossier to be an intentional and significantly slanderous campaign to discredit Dr. Martin Luther King, America’s most influential and revered civil rights leader.

King died in his attempt to bring peace and unification to a racially polarized nation in the 1960s. Today, America remains deeply divided

along racial lines. Given the series of despicable incidents that reflect Trump’s inability to utter the truth and his support of racists groups like we viewed in Charlottesville; this latest attempt by Trump to tarnish the reputation of one of America’s most respected Black heroes crystalizes, in our opinion, Trump’s unwillingness and inability to improve the racial environment that continues to decline during his leadership of our country.

The blame for this president’s failures, however, must be shared by the Republican party, whose quest for political legitimization causes them to consistently ignore the glaring short comings of Trump’s leadership as the head of the Republican party.

Trump’s racist actions and continuing failure to unify America’s diverse citizen populations have cast a negative shadow over the entire Republican group. The recent loses the Republicans have suffered in this week’s elections is an indication of Trumps impact on his party’s political power.

As mid-term elections approach, it is imperative that all of the diverse American communities commit to remove the hurtful Republican domination in Congress. The racist actions of Trump and the Republicans must cease. The collective majority of this country’s citizens deserve to have a leadership that truly reflects, promotes and respects the reality of the unified diverse foundation these united states claim, and were originally intended, to personify.

Trump’s release of the King dossier is clear evidence of his miserable failure to unite America’s citizens.

Trump no longer has our support or respect for his leadership.

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Throughout history, the Black Press has been the best friend that Black celebrities, athletes and politicians have ever had. The Black Press often covers Black public figures from the very start of their careers, before they’re “discovered” by the mainstream media, all the way through to their ascension to star or leadership status. Before they became household names, had hit records, secured multi-million dollar contracts or became leaders in the United States Congress, it was the Black Press that was always there for their press conferences and events, often giving them extensive coverage when the mainstream media might only give them a brief mention in the B-section of their newspapers or 15 seconds at the end of an evening news segment.

When the mainstream media finally “discovers” these same Black celebrities, athletes and politicians and they attain a certain degree of fame and success, suddenly, they think it’s okay to snub the Black Press. Now they don’t have time to give interviews to Black newspapers or magazines; there’s no time to make the visits to Black radio stations, where they once made regular appearances; their (usually) White public relations and management staffers guard their time and appearances carefully, and shun Black-owned media.

These same public relations firms often discourage their Black clients from working with Black-owned media companies and advertising with the Black Press.

This is a disgrace, because when things go bad and these Black celebrities want to get “their” side of the story out, the first place these folks run to is the Black Press.

If there is a story about political corruption, infidelity or other alleged crimes involving a Black public figure, the mainstream media’s attitude is usually “guilty until proven innocent.” It’s the Black Press that usually takes the “innocent until proven guilty” approach, urging fairness and caution, telling readers, listeners and viewers to wait until all the evidence is in, frequently reminding folks of all the great things that their favorite hero did in the past.

The Black Press remains the advocate for Black celebrities, athletes and politicians, even now, despite the fact that so many of them seem oblivious to our existence. That is why, increasingly, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade group that represents over 200 Black-owned media companies, that reach more than 20 million readers in print and online every week, is reminding these

Black public figures that Black newspapers are their champions and defenders 24/7, and that we have backed them in good times and bad. While the classic case of a Black superstar, who ran away from the Black Press for years and then returned at the eleventh hour, remains O.J. Simpson, it is instructive to see how mainstream media is covering the NFL in the wake of Donald Trump’s garbage claims that the players are somehow “disrespecting the flag and the military” if they kneel during the playing of the national anthem, a claim that was and continues to be absolute nonsense.

The Black Press backed Colin Kaepernick’s protest against oppression and police brutality from the beginning, and continues to do so. The Black Press supports Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett and other players who have responded positively in the wake of criticism. Black newspapers have printed the entire StarSpangled Banner, including its verses supporting slavery, while many mainstream publications have bought into the Trump idiocy. When conservative newspapers and publications attacked ESPN commentator Jemele Hill for her tweets about Trump, it was the Black Press that offered unqualified support. We’ve been there through decades of attacks on Black leaders, and we remain vigilant to the constant character assassination and innuendos lodged against Black public figures at the local, state and national levels.

What the Black Press wants from Black celebrities, athletes and politicians is respect, fairness, transparency and the same access provided to mainstream media outlets.

Don’t just advertise in The New York Times or The Washington Post; also do business with NNPA member publications; continue to make appearances at Black radio stations; order subscriptions to Black publications, in print and online. Our subscriptions and advertising rates are more reasonable than those of the big corporate newspapers, and despite what some advertising firms say, we’re more trusted in the Black community than “general” market publications.

It’s time for the Black celebrities, athletes and politicians who say they value entrepreneurship and economic empowerment to do business with the Black Press. Why should Black public figures financially support our mainstream competitors, exclusively, who have very few connections to the Black community?

The Black Press was there for our Black entertainers and politicians passionately sharing their stories with our readers, listeners and viewers when no one knew who they were, we celebrate their success and we won’t assume guilt if something goes wrong, or desert them when they’re wrongfully accused and dragged through the gutter by the mainstream media.

So, to the Black celebrities, athletes and politicians that think that they’re too big for the Black Press: recognize and support us as we’ve recognized and supported you all along.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

The Blind Boys of Alabama

Christmas Show

featuring Preservation Hall Legacy Horns

November 17–18, 2017

December 2, 2017

TICKETS: shubert.com • 203-562-5666 Box Office: Monday–Friday 9:30–5:30. Extended phone hours 800-745-3000.

Con’t from page 20

academic excellence, to provide the majority of Black college graduates in science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics (STEAM).

At a recent national conference of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) in Washington, D.C., Koch Industries reaffirmed its contribution of more than $26 million to the TMCF. The support of HBCUs cuts across the partisan political divide in America. The fact is Koch Industries “accepted the challenge” and stepped up to the plate and gave an unprecedented amount of financial support to both the United Negro College Fund ($25 million) and to the TMCF. Accepting the challenge of providing more funding for the higher education of Black Americans should not be reduced to partisan politics. This is about improving the quality of life for Black America and for all communities who yearn for freedom and equality.

As a graduate of Howard University, I know that HBCUs deserve the support of corporate America. Let’s hope that other corporate leaders will also accept the challenge of financially supporting HBCUs. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is the president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and can be reached at dr.bchavis@nnpa.org.

You can follow Dr. Chavis on Twitter @ DrBenChavis.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017 Ghanian Native, Boxing Sensation Dodzi Kemer will get a chance at the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight Title this upcoming Friday, November 17th.

Roman J. Israel, Esq.a Film Review by Kam Williams

Kemer, age 26, recently left his homeland earlier this year to train in Frederick, MD. Kemeh, 19-1 (17 KO’s), has since worked with some of the best in the area, in preparation for his U.S. debut.

This boxing sensation will make his U.S. debut at the DoubleTree Hotel in Ontario, California, on November 17 versus undefeated WBO NABO welterweight champion Giovanni Santillan (22-0, 12 KO’s).

Santillan’s title will be on the line in this 10 round bout. The 25-year-old southpaw currently resides in the San Diego area and is rated no. 7 by the WBO. The winner of this bout will take a major step toward battling for the world title, currently held by Manny Pacquiao’s conqueror, Jeff Horn.

“I’m excited about this fight and to be frank, my target is that in less than two years, we hold a world title...that is my dream,” said Dodzi Kemer. “So, I’m working very hard to reach that. It’s been a very long time since Ghana has held a title. So, I’m praying for that because we need a world title for Ghana.”

Kemeh is managed by Alex Kotei, whose uncle, DK Poison was the first boxer to bring a world title to Africa in 1975.

“This is a big deal, not just for Ghana and all over Africa but for those in the Frederick community that have adopted Dodzie and been supporting him along the way,” said manager Alex Kotei. “Dodzie has been working hard to prepare for this fight, running 13.5 miles a day, sparring with other boxers in the region and training around the clock. If anyone deserves this win, he does!”

He is trained by the team at Bowerhouse Boxing Gym and is frequently found training at their Frederick facility.

They will be in his corner the day of the fight.

Nov. 17 will mark the first time he hardhitting Kemeh will be fighting outside his native Ghana. He has won his last three fights, all by knockout.

Four preliminary bouts are scheduled to round out the card prior to Kemeh & Santillan’s fight which will be the main event.

Denzel Delivers Oscar-Quality Performance as Attorney with Asperger’s Roman J. Israel (Denzel Washington) is a high-functioning savant on the autism spectrum who has been practicing law in L.A. for the past 36 years. The brilliant attorney has spent most of his career under the radar, writing legal briefs in a rear office for indigent criminal defendants, while his partner, William Henry Jackson, served as the face of the firm, whether cultivating clients or arguing their cases in the courtroom.

This unorthodox arrangement worked well for Roman who, besides his disorder, is a longtime political activist dedicated to a progressive agenda, namely, to assist downtrodden individuals unfairly ensnared in the net of the prison-industrial complex. And because of that commitment, he’s been willing to work for far less pay than colleagues of his caliber. Consequently, the highly-principled lawyer has had to scrape by on a modest salary, living in the same dive for decades, where he subsisted on a steady diet of peanut butter sandwiches and jazz classics played on an old-fashioned turntable.

Everything changes the day William Jackson suffers a heart attack and the two-person firm is forced to dissolve.

Roman first applies for a position with a public interest non-profit that shares his values. But when the empathetic director (Carmen Ejogo) explains that

she doesn’t have the money to hire an attorney, he resigns himself to joining a corporate firm where he’s soon teamed with a young associate (Colin Farrell) interested only in maximizing profits.

This leaves Roman sitting on the horns of an ethical dilemma. Should he abandon his morals to keep a roof over his head? That is the question at the center of Roman J. Israel, Esq., a compelling character portrait written and directed by Oscar-nominee Dan Gilroy (for Nightcrawler).

The legendary Denzel Washington is quite convincing as well as moving, here, as a beleaguered soul afflicted with Asperberger’s syndrome.

His powerful performance might very well be remembered at Oscar time, given the Academy’s recent history of rewarding thespians playing impaired characters, including Eddie Redmayne

(2014) for wheelchair-bound Stephen Hawking (ALS); Colin Firth (2010) for stuttering King George VI; Geoffrey Rush (1996) for mentally-ill David Helfgott; Tom Hanks (1994) for dimwitted Forest Gump; Tom Hanks (1993) for AIDS patient Andrew Beckett; Daniel Day-Lewis (1989) for cerebral palsy victim Christy Brown; and Dustin Hoffman (1988) for mathematics savant Rain Man. Win, lose or draw, Roman J. Israel, Esq. deserves accolades aplenty in its own right for its touching treatment of such a sensitive subject.

Excellent (4 stars) Rated PG-13 for violence and profanity Running time: 129 minutes Production Studio: Bron Creative / Cross Creek Pictures / Escape Artists / FZ /Macro Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Black Millennial Launches App to Discover & Review Black-Owned Businesses

Nationwide — The next generation digital platform, Official Black Wall Street, is making it even easier to find and support Black-owned businesses with the launch of their highly anticipated new app. Making its mark as the first of its kind to alert users when they’re near a Black-owned business, the app combines social impact and tech, allowing users to seamlessly circulate the Black dollar.

Founded in 2015 by millennial entrepreneur, Mandy Bowman, Official Black Wall Street became known as the largest global directory of Blackowned businesses. With the launch of their app, Mandy hopes to give quality Black businesses the exposure and sales they deserve. “I believe it’s due time for us to make a conscious effort to buy Black. We’ve heard the

stats that we have a $1.2 trillion dollar buying power yet a dollar only stays in our community for 6 hours whereas in Jewish and Asian communities, their dollar circulates for 20 days and a month, respectively. With our current political state it’s becoming more evident that supporting Black-owned businesses will allow us to vote with our dollars while strengthening the local economy in the Black community,” said Mandy.

Some of the app’s most notable features include the ability to submit Black-owned businesses, search by category, location, open status, and keyword, view all Black-owned businesses around your current location on a map, leave reviews, and more. Black entrepreneurs are also able to message their followers from the app, get pre-

major step to creating a wealthier and stronger Black community. We’ve gotten feedback from so many Black business owners who saw positive effects from listing their business on our webbased platform. We’re excited to see the app take things to the next level.”

You can download the Official Black Wall Street app now on both Android and Apple devices. If you’re a Black entrepreneur, you can also list your business for more exposure.

mium search placement, and analytics amongst other features designed to maximize exposure and bridge the gap between the consumer and the busi-

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ness.

When asked about the potential impact of the app Mandy exclaimed, “I believe the OBWS app is our first

To download the app, visit http://onelink.to/obwsapp Follow the app on social media: Twitter – www.twitter.com/TheBlackWallSt Facebook – www.facebook.com/officialblackwallstreet/

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

BUSHNELL.ORG â&#x20AC;¢ 860-987-5900

27

Cynthia Erivo and the cast of THE COLOR PURPLE on Broadway. Photo by Matthew Murphy, 2016.

DECEMBER 5-10

THE INNER-CITY NEWS November 22, 2017 - November 28, 2017

The Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show featuring Preservation Hall Legacy Horns

Saturday, December 2, 8 pm

SAVE 25%–Buy 4 tickets for the price of 3!

TICKETS: shubert.com • 203-562-5666 Box Office: Monday–Friday 9:30–5:30. Extended phone hours 800-745-3000.

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