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HARLEM COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

IN CELEBRATION OF WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, NYC & COMPANY ENCOURAGES NEW YORKERS AND VISITORS TO SUPPORT WOMEN-OWNED AND WOMEN-OPERATED BUSINESSES IN MARCH AND BEYOND

In celebration of Women’s History Month kicking off March 1 and International Women’s Day on March 8, NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau for the five boroughs of New York City, is encouraging New Yorkers and visitors to support women-owned and women-operated businesses including hotels, restaurants and shops and to explore countless cultural offerings and sites of historical significance all year-round, with an “NYC-cation” in the five boroughs.

“As Women’s History Month kicks off, NYC & Company proudly celebrates all the women who have made and continue to make an indelible mark on New York City. Female-owned and -operated businesses are so vital to our City and our industry, and we invite New Yorkers and visitors to support these enterprises now and into the future. It’s my honor and privilege to celebrate these women today and every day alongside my wonderful and talented female colleagues at NYC & Company,” said Nancy Mammana, NYC & Company’s chief marketing officer.

Those exploring the City are asked to wear masks, practice social distancing and frequently wash and sanitize hands, as indicated in NYC & Company’s Stay Well Pledge, and check with individual businesses for current operating status and hours, as well as health and safety protocols, prior to visiting.

You can explore Arts and Culture Spotlighting the Lives and Work of Women:

The Alice Austen House Museum honors the life and work of celebrated photographer Alice Austen, who lived in the historic Staten Island home during the early 20th century. Also a national site of LGBTQ+ history, the museum is presenting Powerful and Dangerous: The Words and Images of Audre Lorde and will offer private afternoon tours, Tuesday through Friday.

From March 20-21, Harlem’s iconic Apollo Theater will offer its fifth bi-annual WOW - Women of the World Festival. This year’s virtual event is themed Black Women Transcending! and will include music, film, workshops, panels, performances and more.

On March 5, the Brooklyn Museum will unveil Lorraine O’Grady: Both/ And, the first retrospective of the contemporary feminist artist, on view through July 18. The museum is also the permanent home of The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, an iconic piece of 1970s feminist art. · The Met Fifth Avenue will present Alice Neel: People Come First from March 22 through August 1, showcasing approximately 100 pieces by the radical feminist painter and champion of social justice who called East Harlem home. · From March 11 through September 6, MoMA PS1 in Queens will spotlight over 100 artworks by French American feminist and activist artist Niki de Saint Phalle in Niki de Saint Phalle: Structures for Life. · Morris-Jumel Mansion is Manhattan’s oldest surviving residence, built in 1765 for British Colonel Roger Morris and his wife, Mary Philipse. The Washington Heights museum, which is currently open to the public, also offers a glimpse into the home’s first female owner with a Virtual Parlor Chat: Who was the Real Mary Philipse Morris?

On March 18, the National Museum of the American Indian will present Native Women Making Change as part of its Youth in Action: Conversations about Our Future series. In this free virtual program, Aidan Graybill (Wyandot Nation of Kansas) and Representative Christina Haswood (Diné [Navajo]) will discuss the roles Indigenous women uphold within their communities and society at large.

While temporarily closed to the public, New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem is presenting Femmetography: The Gaze Shifted, an online gallery and resource exploring photography from the perspective of Black women, curated as part of the center’s Teen Curators program.

Celebrating the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which gave American women the right to vote, the Staten Island Museum is exploring the borough’s role in the suffrage movement in Women of the Nation Arise!.

McNally Jackson is one of New York City’s most-recognized independent bookstores, with locations in Nolita, the Seaport District, Williamsburg, and Downtown Brooklyn.

María Herron opened Mil Mundos Books in Bushwick in 2018, with the goal of ensuring community access and empowerment. Nearly half of the bookstore’s titles are available in Spanish.

Started by Eliza Blank, The Sill plant shop has locations on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and Upper West Side, and in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. The company also offers a plant delivery service, online workshops, gift cards and more.

Visit Parks and Outdoor Sites Honoring Women:

On Manhattan’s Far West Side near Hudson Yards, Bella Abzug Park is named in honor of feminist, civil rights activist, lawyer and U.S. Representative Bella Abzug. ·In March 2017, the Fearless Girl statue symbolizing female empowerment was unveiled in front of Lower Manhattan’s Charging Bull statue. Now located opposite the New York Stock Exchange, the four-foot bronze statue was created by artist Kristen Visbal.

Brooklyn’s East River State Park has officially been renamed Marsha P. Johnson State Park, in memory of the influential LGBTQ+ civil rights activist. The park, which is undergoing renovations to be completed by June, is New York’s first state park honoring a LGBTQ+ person and transgender woman of color. · Honoring the first African American Congresswoman and first woman and African American to run for President, Shirley Chisholm State Park in Brooklyn offers trails for biking and hiking, fishing, birding and more, all with panoramic views of NYC and the New York Harbor.

At Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, honor women who helped shape the nation and New York City today, including women’s suffrage supporters Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Carrie Chapman Catt, Mary Garrett Hay and Alva Vanderbilt Belmont.

A new Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument was unveiled last year on Central Park’s Literary Walk, the park’s first statue depicting nonfiction female figures: women’s right activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth.

To learn more about prominent female figures in New York City’s history, check out NYC & Company’s guide to The Women Who Made NYC History.

The “NYC-cations” initiative supports All In NYC: Staycation Guides, which is part of NYC & Company’s All In NYC local revitalization effort.

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WENDY HILLIARD: The Big Heart of a Champion

By Hazel Rosetta Smith

Wendy Hilliard has been a force to be reckoned with in the world of sports, an arena in which she was surely born to conquer. When the long years of gymnastic competition ended, it was not a done deal for Hilliard. Her life’s purpose and a plan came to fruition.

Since 1996, WHGF, The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation, has provided FREE gymnastics for over 10,000 inner city youth in NYC. She has utilized her knowledge in partnership with her heart to turn minds and train the bodies of youngsters toward their greatest potential.

From the profile below, you will get a glimpse of the illustrious career of a Black woman who would not be denied what she rightfully deserved having the ability and willingness to develop the capabilities that create champions. A champion is as a champion does.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, swimming was the beginning of what could have been an entry into the world of sports for Wendy Hilliard. After watching gymnastics on television, Wendy’s interest took a turn and opportunities opened for training by coaches that were brought in from what was then the Soviet Union. Wendy studied the Russian language at Wayne State University in Detroit.

After years of hard training with determi-

Wendy Hilliard

nation and steadfast devotion, working through innuendos and insinuations, her spirit rose to a mindset of advocacy for Black athletes. She would prevail and the proof would be in putting her best to the test.

In 1978, she became the first African American to represent the United States in international competitions and remained on the Rhythmic Gymnastics National Team a record-setting nine times; serving twice as National Team Captain.

As a National and International Gold Medalist, Hilliard, represented the U.S. in over 15 foreign countries and three World Championships (1979, 1981, 1983). She has performed with the world’s finest gymnasts and choreographed for Olympic Gold Medalist, Dominique Dawes.

Retiring from competition in 1988, Wendy stayed with her sport and became a four-time U.S. National Team Coach. Her gymnast, Aliane Baquerot, was a 1996 Olympian.

In 1995, Wendy Hilliard was the first African American and first gymnast to become the President of the Women’s Sports Foundation, the leading organization for women’s sports issues. She was the athlete representative for gymnastics to the United States Olympic Committee and served on the Executive Committee of USA Gymnastics for over ten years.

In 2006, through her non-profit WHGF, Wendy designed and opened a 15,000 square foot gymnastics center for Aviator Sports and Recreation; a modern day multi-million/multi-sport complex in Brooklyn, NY.

In 2008, Wendy was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. In 2011, she was awarded the Rings of Gold from the U.S. Olympic Committee for her work helping children develop their Olympic dreams.

She was Director of Sports for NYC 2012, in the city’s bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As a member of the NYC 2012 Senior Staff, her responsibilities included overseeing all the sports and athlete matters, including over 2,000 Olympians and Paralympians worldwide that supported the bid.

Wendy was instrumental in bringing several international events to NYC that included the Freestyle Wrestling World Championships held at Madison Square Garden, the Archery World Championships, and the Fencing World Cup. She was the lead in developing the NYC

Hilliard practice

Wendy Hilliard

Triathlon which has become an annual soldout event. Hilliard’s big championship heart remains wide open in an embrace of encouragement to sports enthusiasts of all ages serving as a sports consultant with Aviator Sports and Recreation and the Riverbank State Park. And additionally, on the boards of the Armory Foundation, Special Olympics Urban Initiative, and the NYC Sports Commission. She conducts clinics worldwide and is a guest performer, announcer and choreographer for gymnastic tours and television specials.

On behalf of Black youth on their way to gold, I say to Wendy Hilliard in this 2021 Women’s Month of March, “ashay, ashay, continue to make things happen.” [Hazel Rosetta Smith is a journalist, playwright, and artistic director for HRS Productions, retired former Managing Editor and Woman’s Editor for the New York Beacon News and current columnist for Harlem Community News Inc. Contact: misshazel@twc. com]

BRONX UPCOMING EVENTS

Now Until

March 29

March is Music- 15th Anniversary

Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater announces a stellar lineup of traditional, classical, and contemporary musical artists marking the 15th Anniversary of its popular MARCH IS MUSIC concert series. 15 FREE events total! 8 concerts by Latinx and international talent plus 6 special episodes of Pregones/PRTT’s Spotlight: Creatives at Workand Bronx Film Wednesdays illustrate the series’ expansive curatorial vision and status as a must-do event for artists and music lovers alike. You can join on Pregones’ Facebook, Vimeo, or YouTube pages.

March 5 11:00-12:00pm

Botany, Race, and Power: The History of Expeditions To Cuba

This talk will examine this process in the history of botanical expeditions to Cuba, beginning with the Spanish Imnaissance. Please join us via zoom at woodlawn.org FREE.

botany race and power (mar 5)

perial expeditions of the 1790s and ending with the first New York Botanical Garden expeditions to the island in the first decades of the 20th century. The paintings, photographs, and texts produced as part of these scientific explorations reveal how these expeditions drove and were driven by geopolitical and racial struggles of their time. Register online at nybg.org for FREE.

March 6 11:00-12:30pm

Virtual book club (Mar 9)

Van Cortlandt Park East to West Hike

Urban Park Rangers will introduce you to the hidden gems of New York City. Hiking programs feature intensity levels ranging from light, to moderate, to vigorous. Join the Rangers on a journey along the only trail that crosses west-east in the park. This is a one-way hike that will end on the west side of the park, near Broadway. 242nd Street and Van Cortlandt Park East in Van Cortlandt Park.

FREE.

March 8 12:30-1:30pm

Winter Workspace Drop-in Mondays

Three Winter Workspace artists and a member of Wave Hill’s curatorial team come together for casual conversations about life and storytelling. These 20 to 30-minute programs capture the spirit of the workspace, where artists and curatorial staff share and bond over lived experiences and perspectives.

Join online at wavehill.org FREE.

March 9 7:00pm

Virtual Book Club with the Woodlawn Conservancy and A’Lelia Bundles

Please join for a Virtual Book Club with A’Lelia Bundles, great, great granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker, author of Self Made and the upcoming book, The Joy Goddess of Harlem: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Re-

March 11 12:30-2:30pm

Blank Plate Food Demos

Please attend a Blank Plate Food Demo hosted by Bascom Catering at THE POINT! All ages can join in and learn how to make healthy meals that are full of flavor and support a healthy immune system. Join on The Point CDC Instagram Live. FREE.