Community

From the desk of MIKE BLOOMBERG

Dear Reader,

Thank you for taking the time to learn about The Greenwood Initiative.

As someone who has been very lucky in life, I often say my story would only have been possible in America — and that’s true. But I also know that because of the artificial barriers of discrimination, my story likely would have turned out very differently if I had been Black, and that more Black Americans of my generation would have ended up with far more wealth, had they been white.

Building Generational Wealth for Black Families is Critical. That’s why I launched The Greenwood Initiative in Tulsa last month. I visited the site of the Black Wall Street Massacre, where a white mob decimated the prosperous community of Greenwood. It is to the memory of the lost lives and promise of Greenwood that we’ve dedicated The Greenwood Initiative: a plan to address the systematic bias that has kept Black Americans from building wealth.

THE GREENWOOD PLAN WILL: • Create 1 million new Black homeowners • Double the number of new Black-owned businesses • Invest $70 billion in the country’s 100 most disadvantaged neighborhoods

Fixing the System for Black Families. When I was mayor of New York, I was proud to take on the systematic inequality that held back too many New Yorkers. We increased education funding, built 650 new schools and raised Black graduation rates to record highs. We led an ambitious effort to reduce poverty and managed the largest amount of affordable housing in the nation. And as President, I will work even more aggressively to combat inequality nationwide.

I understand that undoing generations of systematic discrimination won’t happen overnight, but we can make progress with a clear vision and a comprehensive plan. I’ve included a pamphlet along with this letter that lays out my plan. When I’m President, implementing The Greenwood Initiative will be a top priority.

Join me in ending the systemic inequality that has held Black Americans back for too long!

Sincerely,

Mike Bloomberg

New York’s 17 th

Century African Burial Ground on Wall Street

By: Erin Lewenauer

One of the most important archaeological finds of our time is New York’s African Burial ground: the nation’s earliest and largest known African-American cemetery. For years it was hidden and violated, but holds the remains of New York City’s African and African-American pioneers and represents their significant history.

According to historical records, the first person of African descent to arrive in Manhattan was Jan (Juan) Rodrigues who was with the navigators, traders, pirates, and fisherman who boldly crossed the Atlantic as free men during the era of slavery. Rodrigues was a free black sailor from Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic), who arrived in 1613 and set up a trading post with the native Lenape people on the island of Manhattan.

The first enslaved Africans arrived in what was then called New Amsterdam in 1625 as workers for the Dutch West India Company whose profits relied on slave labor for the fur trade and later slave trade.

Along with European merchants and sailors, Africans developed the early colony throughout the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Africans were an important 20 percent of the city’s population in the 18 th century.

Under Dutch rule, African slaves built New York City. They cleared land for farms and shore areas for docks as well as broadened former Native American trails (Broad Way) to accommodate horse-drawn vehicles. The first community of free blacks emerged during the worst fighting of the Dutch and Indian War. In 1644, 11 enslaved men were freed and granted farmland in the dangerous frontier territory North of New Amsterdam. This spanned the “Negro frontier” and “land of the blacks”: the Central region of Manhattan extending from Canal St. to 34 th St. In 1653, upon Governor Peter Stuyvesant’s orders, the colony’s slaves helped to build the most famous fortification: The Wall (Wall St.). In 1658 the same laborers constructed the region’s first highway connecting New Amsterdam with the island’s second largest village: the “road to New Haarlem”. In 1664 the English conquered the Dutch colony and New Amsterdam became New York. The English rescinded many rights for free blacks including the right to own land and, shut out of churchyards within the city, a separate burial ground for Africans developed. The ground eventually covered 5 city blocks and held 20,000 burials.

In 1975, the African Burial land was subdivided and sold for house lots. In the 20 th Century it became New York’s government center. Its existence was forgotten until an archaeological excavation in 1991 in preparation for construction of a federal office building.

The African Burial Ground was designated a New York City Historic District and a National Landmark in 1993 and in 2003 some 10,000 participated in the “Rites of Ancestral Return” and re-interred the remains in a hand-carved wooden coffins from Ghana along with nearly 8,000 personal handwritten messages from the living to the African ancestorswerealso buried. In 2006, the African Burial ground was proclaimed a national monument and in 2007 the African Burial ground National Monument became the first National Monument dedicated to Africans of early New York and Americans of African descent: a sacred space honoring their memory, work, and lives.

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FAMILY WISHES THEIR AUNT A HAPPY 100 TH

BIRTHDAY AT EAST HARLEM SENIOR CENTER!

Esther, a proud mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, and aunt born in Puerto Rico, celebrated her 100th Birthday among family and friends at a party that offered a DJ, cake, and, of course, the singing of “Happy Birthday.”

Esther has been a resident of Harlem for 75 years and has been a Covello member for more than 20 years. She attended Yauco Commercial College.. She has also received numerous Certificates of Achievement and Appreciation from The East Harlem Health Heart Program, The Theater Art Center Senior Fitness, The New York City Department for The Aging and The Office of The Council President, City of New York in 1990 for Outstanding Community Services.

Joining in the celebration was William J. Dionne, Execuals connected by the programs

event were a detective and an of

utive Directorof the Carter Burden Network, who said, “It is with great joy that we honor Esther as she marks this significant milestone. For more than two decades Esther has been a part of our Carter Burden Network family, a community of individ

we offer and time spent together. I am thrilled to celebrate Esther

ficer from the 23 rd Precinct Community Affairs. Officers from the

here among her family members and her Carter Burden Network community of friends.”

In attendance was New York City CouncilmemberDiana Ayala. Also lending a hand at the Precinct often attend and help out at events at the senior center. There was also a Proclamation sent by the office of ComptrollerThomas DiNapoli. T:10”

Black Judges Gather for Black History Month I n celebration of Black History Month, several New York State and federal Judges who are members of sororities and fraternities, gathered for an impromptu picture at Thurgood Marshall Courthouse.

Judges (l-r): Andrew Carter (Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity); Michelle Armstrong, Bahatti Pitt and Patsy Goldbourne (Delta Sigma Theta sorority);

Tanya Kennedy (Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority); J. Machelle Sweeting, Verna Saunders and Erika Edwards (Delta Sigma Theta sorority); and Guy Mitchell (Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity).

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Find our locations and classes at emblemhealth.com/neighborhood Harlem Community Newspapers | February 20. 2020 T:4.92”