OUR TIME PRESS | June 20 – 26, 2019

| From the Villa ge of Brook ly n |

OUR TIME PRESS THE L OCAL PAPER WITH THE G LOBAL VIEW

| VOL. 23 NO. 25

June 20 – 26, 2019 |

Since 1996

Settling Debts, Building Futures

DELIVERING KING’S MESSAGE: At The Cooperative Culture Collective’s 19th Annual Fort Greene, Brooklyn Juneteenth Arts Festival, gifted twelve-year-old Javier Gooden stunned the audience in his delivery of poignant messages of freedom, liberation and power through the speeches of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The gifted actor, dancer, singer and spoken word artist, in a commanding performance, channeled the walk, tenor and style of the late leader and orator, before an intergenerational audience of some 200, Saturday, June 14th in Cuyler Gore Park.

Next week, Our Time Press recaps the event where cultural arts takes center stage with history, and awards are presented to community standouts.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the June 19th, 1865 announcement in Texas that slavery had been abolished. The TCCC event is the oldest event of its kind in Brooklyn and Javier is the youngest honoree in TCCC history. For more information, visit: www.fortgreenebrooklynjuneteenth. org. (Photo credit: Bernice Elizabeth Green)

EMBRACING THE MANDELA SPIRIT:The leadership of Bed-Stuy’s Nelson Mandela School continues to live up to the mission of the great South African leader whose nme it bears. At a recent awards event for achieving students, a young middle school student, Miss Corbin, was invited to stand in this group shot with principal Tabari Bomani and community leaders Stefani Zinerman (left), Former Chief of Staff of Councilman Cornegy, NAACP Brooklyn Chapter Leader, and Ms. Katrena Perou, CEO of Inspiring Minds (a Youth Mentoring/ Empowerment/Leadership Program). Ms.

Zinerman received the Baba Nkosi Kinard Award (named after Baba Stan Kinard) for her commitment to the spirit of Harambee and Ubuntu. Ms. Perou, CEO of Inspiring Minds (a Youth Mentoring/Empowerment/Leadership Program) received the Community Ubuntu Award for the great work she and Inspiring Minds have accomplished. But the biggest award may have gone to this young lady who was invited to stand in the midst of education greatness. The middle school student is the sister of a Mandela graduating senior who will attend Medgar Evers College in the fall.

Congressional Testimony on Reparations Heard on Juneteenth

T

Senator Corey Booker

he House held on Juneteeth, Wednesday, June 19, the first hearing in more than a decade on reparations – the idea that the descendants of slaves in the U.S. should receive some kind of compensation for the suffering experienced by their ancestors. Among those testifying were presidential candidate Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ), writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and actor Danny Glover.

The purpose of the hearing: The Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties is debating H.R. 40, a bill sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), that would establish a commission “to study and consider a national

apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living AfricanAmericans.” Sen. Corey Booker spoke in favor of the bill, citing a national failure to address “the root causes of a lot of the inequities” that exist in the U.S. The senator said the country has not yet confronted its long history of racism and white supremacy, and that establishing a commission to study the issue would provide an “historic opportunity to break the silence, to speak to the ugly past and talk constructively about how we will move this nation forward..”

➔➔ See Page 10

An article printed in the June 6-12 edition of the paper objected to EMBER Charter School’s submitting a request to the Department of Education for an expansion from K-8 to K-H.S. This week, EMBER founder and Managing Partner Rafiq R. Kalam Id-Din II responded, presenting the merits of the school and correcting what he says are some inaccurate assertions. ➔➔ See Page 8.

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

DBG MEDIA Publishers of Our Time Press, Inc. 358 Classon Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11238 (718) 599-6828 Web site: www.ourtimepress.com e-mail: editors@ourtimepress. com Publisher DBG MEDIA Editor-in-Chief David Mark Greaves Copy Editor Maitefa Angaza Columnists Eddie Castro Victoria Horsford Michael Johnson Abigail McGrath Marlon Rice Reporters Akosua Albritton Margo McKenzie Contributors Lisa Durden Fern Gillespie Web Editor www.ourtimepress.com Lauren Cullins Office Manager Joanna Williams Advisor Bernice Elizabeth Green KinEsthetics International © 2015, DBG MEDIA Publishers of Our Time Press, Inc., printed in New York City.

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VOL. 23 NO. 25

Compassion: Caroline Cohen's Strategy

aroline Cohen is a candidate for Civil Court Judge, 6th Municipal District. Her duties would include presiding over general misdemeanor criminal cases, traffic violations, evictions and most civil small claims under 15,000. “As a Civil Court Judge, I may be placed in Housing Court, Family Court and Civil Court,” she said.

In our interview, I asked Ms. Cohen to tell me what if would be like to walk into her courtroom, not represented, fearful and alone. “My staff would respectfully approach and ask, ‘May I help you?’ I am a big believer that I and the courtroom staff need to know what’s going on with litigants in the room.

Everyone will have a degree of warmth.”

Cohen then described the 10am calendar call may be followed by her choosing to stand in front of the court, greeting everyone with a “Good Morning” and an interpreter presenting rules of the courtroom.

“It’s possible that you will not speak English,” she commented.

The disabled and parents of

children would be seen first. Cohen explained, “Access-A-Ride will not be able to come back and get those that didn’t know that they’d be waiting longer than expected.”

She also commented that parents would likely be affected by having their children in the courtroom for a period of time. “I’d see what their numbers are and take them first. I have a feel for how to operate born out of seeing judges.”

Cohen attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and received her bachelor’s degree and Master of Arts from New York University. She is familiar with the needs of these litigants from her current position as civil rights

attorney and Senior Associate at Crumiller P.C. At the practice, she works to fight against gender and pregnancy discrimination, as well as protecting the civil rights of vulnerable tenants, including the elderly and disabled. Some former employers included the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), where she successfully litigated a variety of cases including discrimination cases brought before the New York State Division of Human Rights, New York City Commission on Human Rights, the EEOC and the New York State Supreme Court.

She’s proud that along with her team of supporters they’ve collectively knocked on 25,000 doors.

“It’s crucially important to personally knock on doors and speak with the community,” Cohen says. “The hallmark of my campaign is trying to be as transparent as possible.”

Cohen is also a working mom.

As a judicial candidate, she feels fortunate that every day on the campaign trail she’s able to call on her friends, neighbors and family to watch her children while

maintaining her professional obligations. Juggling these commitments, she feels it has endowed her with a compassionate perspective needed on the bench.

She feels that new criminal justice reforms, taking effect in January 2020, are necessary.

“I worked to elect progressive candidates that would make such changes.” These reforms include speedy trials, which prevent prosecutors from unnecessary delaying of proceedings and the need for them to present evidence sooner to the defense. It also includes cash bail for most misdemeanor and nonviolent felonies to be released with no need to pay.

In September 2018, Cohen was reelected as Judicial Delegate of the 42nd Assembly District. She is a member of the Park Slope United Methodist Church where she’s been able to hold “Know Your Rights” events, “how laws may change” and additional community-centered interests. She lives in Ditmas Park-Flatbush with her husband Steve, their two children, Daschel and CiCi, and dog Petey.

Unsung Heroes

O

Proud Mother Spotlights Caring Son

ur unsung hero is my son, Tony Curtis. He

has endured numerous challenges since first grade. As his

mother, I have not met anyone who has experienced a classmate, assistant teacher, teacher, and/or family member, passing away at every

grade level. The most recent friend passed on in the Summer of 2018.

To help you with understanding the characteristics of our scholar, one of his classmates who needed another credit was denied participation in the high school prom and graduation. This friend asked the school’s permission to participate in the events, but was denied, prompting him to remind the staff he was suffering from cancer.

Tony and his friends talked to mutual friends, a couple attending the prom. The young man agreed to ask his girlfriend if it would be okay to take JD to the prom in his place. JD had a magnificent time

with his peers at the prom although his cancer was no longer in remission. Unbeknownst to Tony, days later, their friend lost the fight against cancer.

Submitted by DK Pearson & Family (Tony is currently in high school, graduating this year. He requested his photo not be used.)

To the community, if you have an unsung hero, man or woman, who deserves to be highlighted, send text and image to unsungheroes@ourtimepress.com. Our Time Press reserves the right to edit submissions for proofing and length.

Vote on Tuesday, June 25th in Key Primary Elections

VOL. 23 NO. 25

OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

Happy. Healthy. Loved. These are the dreams we have for our children.

So we cherish the moments when little giggles fill the room, imaginations take us on great adventures, and when it seems our hearts could burst with pride and love.

Here and now, we’d stop time if we could. Because when kids are being kids, we all feel better.

Let’s get every child covered.

If your child needs health insurance, Fidelis Care is just a call, click, or visit away.

Call: 1-888-FIDELIS Click: fideliscare.org/everychildcovered Visit: A Fidelis Care community office near you. Search for locations at fideliscare.org/offices

1-888-FIDELIS • fideliscare.org (1-888-343-3547)

TTY: 711

To learn more about applying for health insurance, including Medicaid, Child Health Plus, Essential Plan, and Qualified Health Plans through NY State of Health, The Official Health Plan Marketplace, visit www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov or call 1-855-355-5777.

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

WHAT’S GOING ON ■■

By Victoria Horsford

WEEK IN REVIEW

eyes of “When They See Us” Director Ava DuVernay. The miniseries exemplifies the art and power of film polemics.

The intersection of art and politics oftentimes produces unintended consequences.

The fallout from the screening of the Netflix miniseries, “WHEN THEY SEE US,” about the Central Park 5, the Black and Latino teenagers – Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam and Antron McCray - who were wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park, has been dramatic.

The 5 teenagers’ conviction and imprisonment, the result of NY police culture and faulty work

by Manhattan District Attorney’s Office prosecutors, was a tragedy rooted in race and class. “WHEN THEY SEE US” invites viewer anger, disgust and indignation. The Central Park 5 have all been exonerated after a confession by the actual rapist.

Two of the Central Park prosecutors are taking the heat for their negligent work on the Central Park 5 case and trial. One is Linda Fairstein, no longer a prosecutor, who has been dropped by her book publisher and has been stripped of many board affiliations. The other is Elizabeth Lederer, who resigned from the Columbia University Law School faculty last week, due in part to protests organized by disgruntled Black Columbia law students. Civil rights groups and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams are pressuring Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance to dismiss Lederer from his office.

He says no. He runs for reelection in 2021.

The Central Park 5 real story is plot-twisting and will be continued. If you are unfamiliar with the Central Park 5 case, subscribe to Netflix and view the truth through the

The Albany Democrats delivered on diverse items during this legislative season.

The NYS budget has progressive footprints.

During the eleventh hour, just before its official June 19, 2019 adjournment, the Assembly and the Senate delivered bills with tenant protections which has the real estate industry bristling.TheRealDeal.com called it “devastating.” The NY Times says the new rent laws agreement was a significant blow to the real estate industry. They passed the bill that would grant driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.

The much-anticipated Cannabis legalization hopes were dashed. Gov. Cuomo recommends that legalizing Cannabis sales should be the subject of a referendum. The decriminalization of Cannabis is another option. But that is another session, same time next year.

Meredith Marshall, co-founder of BRP, a full-service real estate development firm, broke ground in Brooklyn in May for a mixed-use building with 100% a ff o r d a b l e residential Meredith Marshall units, 225 to be exact, and with 20,000 sq. ft. of

NEW YORK, NY

community space in Brooklyn’s FlatbushCaton Flats area, an anchor of Caribbean culture and commerce. Marshall enthuses: “Caton Flats is an example of what can be achieved when real estate development is custom-tailored to the needs and culture of the local community.”

NYC Councilman Bill Perkins wants you to attend the “Community 2020 Census Job Fair” on Monday, June 24 from 10 am-2 pm at the Harlem State Office Building, located at 163 West 125th Street. The US Census Bureau is recruiting people to assist with its census count. Jobs are temporary with flexible hours and requires training.

[RSVP to Keith Lilly at 212.678.4505]

CORPORATE CULTURE Former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch (during the Obama Administration) joins the New York law firm of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison as a partner in its litigation department. … … … .

Retired US Navy Admiral Michelle J. Howard was named to the Loretta Lynch IBM Board of Directors in March. She is the first Black woman named to the IBM Board. African American Mary Winston was named interim CEO of Bed, Bath and Beyond.

ARTS/CULTURE FILM/TV: Check out “Stories from the Stage Weekend Bing-A-Thon,” a 24-hour marathon of memorable stories originating in diverse world settings, airs on the WORLD Channel on June 23-24. They are 30-minute episodes of personal stories from myriad backgrounds. “Stories from the Stage” can be accessed via social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WorldChannel.org, which has a marathon programming schedule.

T H E AT E R : NTOZAKE REMEMBERED: Woodie King’s New Federal Theatre presents the “Ntozake Shange Reading Series,” a free-admission event every Tuesday in une at 7 pm at the Castillo Theatre, 543 West 42nd Street, Manhattan. The NY Public Theater will revive the Shange choreopoem classic, “FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE COMMITTED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF.” Set to open in October, it will be the first NY revival of the play since its 1976 opening at the Public Theater before it relocated to Broadway.

BOOKS: History buffs would enjoy the NY Review of Books essay, “Africa’s Lost Kingdoms,” by Howard French and an African scholar/author who wrote the 2014 best-seller, “China’s Second Continent: How a Million Migrants are Building a New Empire in Africa.” The NYRB essay reflects on Africa’s rich history that was obscured in Western academic circles. The books he critiques are: 1) “The Golden Rhinoceros: Histories of the African Middle Ages,” 2) “African Dominion: A New History of Empires in Early and Medieval West Africa,” 3) “African Kings and Black Slaves: Sovereignty and Dispossession in the Early Mid-Atlantic” and 4) “A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution.” All of the foregoing titles are published by university presses.

LGBTQ MONTH June is Gay Pride Month worldwide.

Shout-outs to local and national LGBTQ

VOL. 23 NO. 25

Marlon Jones newsmakers including Alphonso David, counsel to NY Gov. Cuomo; Corey Johnson, NYC Council Speaker; Councilman Ritchie Torres; Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot; South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Historians John Reddick and Michael Henry Adams; Jamaican writer Marlon James; actors/dancers Rhonda Sykes, George Faison and Billy Porter.

The Annual Harlem Pride Celebration Day is on June 29 on 12 th Avenue at 135th Street. The Bronx’ “1 World Pride Festival” will be held on Sunday, June 23 on Third Avenue at 149th Street.

Brooklyn Pride event was held in early June. LGBTQ events culminate with the Pride March on Sunday, June 30. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the infamous clash between NY’s Finest and gays in Greenwich Village which launched the Gay Pride Civil Rights Movement.

CARIBBEANAMERICANS WGO apologizes to Yussuf Khan, theshadowleague.com executive who was mistakenly identified as a Network Journal writer last week. Here are more Caribbean-American notables: Bette Byer; Ursula Burns, former Xerox CEO/Chair; Ambassador Harold Doley; Howard University President Dr. Wayne Al Frederick, MD; US Senator Kamala Harris, 2020 Presidential hopeful; and writers Edwidge Danticat and Junot Diaz.

SUMMER DATES C i v i l r i g h t s legend Dr. Hazel Dukes will be honored at a plaque-unveiling ceremony at 2332 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard at 137th Street, Hazel Dukes Harlem, on June 30 from 3-5 pm. Special guest speakers include local muckety-mucks Gov. Cuomo, Rev. Al, Mayor de Blasio and Jumaane Williams et al.

The Antigua Barbuda Progressive Society hosts its annual community fundraiser, a Shop-and-Sip bus tour to Long Island to visit the Pugliese Vineyards and Tanger Shopping outlets on Saturday, June 29. Breakfast and lunch are included. Bus leaves Antigua House, located at 12 West 122nd Street, at 8am. For reservations, call 917. 841.7957.

Happy Summer Solstice begins on Friday, June 21st A Harlem-based branding consultant, Victoria is reachable at Victoria.horsford@ gmail.com.

VOL. 23 NO. 25

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

New to the city or moving to a new neighborhood?

Our Family Welcome Centers will help you find a great school for your child and get the enrollment information you need.

schools.nyc.gov/NewStudents

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SENATOR MONTGOMERY’S CREDIT UNION BILL PASSES NEW YORK STATE SENATE

n Thursday, Senator Montgomery’s Credit Union Bill (S727-A/ A3320-Zebrowski) passed the New York State Senate and now awaits a vote in the Assembly. It would allow credit unions to receive the same economic incentives as banks to operate in underserved communities through the Banking Development District (BDD) program.

The BDD program was enacted to incentivize banks to locate branches in communities designated as underserved by the Department of Financial Services. Participating banks are eligible to receive up to $10 million in subsidized deposits from the State of New York to lower financial risk and encourage lending in these communities. Many of these areas have few to no banking institutions and instead have to rely on alternative, costly and sometimes predatory options to fill in the gaps.

“There are entire communities across our state where major banking institutions are nowhere to be found to provide financial services. This leaves residents, many of whom are already low-income, to deal with operations that charge exorbitant fees and interest rates,” said state Senator Velmanette Montgomery. “I believe in credit unions and I believe in the role they can play in making sure more New Yorkers have access

Senator Montgomery joined by credit union members from Cap-Com, SEFCU and Sunmark to quality, local financial institutions that reinvest in communities.”

There are 355 credit unions in New York, serving over 5 million members and they are uniquely positioned to advance the goals of the BDD program. Credit unions are nonprofit, locally owned institutions that answer to their members.

They make less risky investments and earnings are returned to their members through lower interest rates on loans and more favorable rates on savings and retirement accounts.

Their structure makes them highly responsive to the needs of their clients and they prioritize being present and giving back to the communities they serve.

New York Credit Union Association President/CEO William

J. Mellin said, “Credit unions are not-for-profit financial institutions that are locally owned by their member-owners. Because of their unique structure and mission, New York’s credit unions are, by their very nature, well-positioned to participate in the Banking Development Districts. Despite being the financial capital of the world, countless New Yorkers sadly lack basic access to the financial system. Thanks to this bill and the efforts of Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, Banking Chair and Senator James Sanders, Jr., Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, New York is now one step closer to ensuring every consumer has a shot at a better financial future.”

Weeksville Heritage Center Designated as a Cultural Institutions Group New York City to support African American Museum in standardizing funding

N

ew York City Council Majority Leader Laurie A .

Cumbo, along with support from Speaker Corey Johnson and fellow Council members, officially secured Weeksville Heritage Center as a Cultural Institutions Group (CIG).

Weeksville now joins three dozen other groups with such designations who receive grants to meet

basic operating needs throughout the year. The 19th Century preCivil War African American settlement is sacred ground which served as a community for freed Blacks is located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

We e k s v i l l e will also become the first Black CIG in Brooklyn.

“Weeksville is sacred African-American ground. For generations, it served as a beacon of hope for those seeking refuge from the vestiges of slavery."

Councilmember Laurie Cumbo

➔➔ Continued on page 13

ron Brown-Hall

e Crispus Attucks School 6

Community partner for Educational excellence Sheltering Arms NY

OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

LionHearted EADERHealth OF THE YEAR Effort

galieILiautaud

n collaboration with the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President, Brooklyn Bedford Stuyvesant Lions Club joined in the presentation of bringing to the community the Fourth Annual “Men’s Health and Wellness Fair”. The event was held June 14, 2019 at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Continental breakfast followed by free health screenings, free giveaways, “Good Things” sneaker giveaway, free health workshops, yoga, meditation, healthy eating. Healthy afternoon refreshments, some made while you watched.

Men’s Health Panelists medical and mental were Unni Mooppan M.D., Director of Urology at Brookdale University Hospital, Marc Wood, Certified Nutritionist, and Antonio Bascom, Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (CBT) Life Coach. The event was well attended. Attendees, both men and women took advantage of the free resources and personal consultations that were provided. Standing are Lions William Crumpe, Shirley Maddox, and Anthony Cochran.

Seated, Lions Douglas Alexander PID, Janet LaCroix, and Lottie Shannon.

edford-Stuyvesant Middle Academy

Standing -Malcolm McDaniel , Coordinator

CB3 CELEBRATES BED-STUY’S BEST IN EDUCATION

On Thursday, June 6th at the Brooklyn Bank establishment at DeKalb & Marcus Garvey, Community Board #3 Education & Youth Committee was honored to host the 2019 Bed-Stuy’s Best Awards. Launched in 2017, this ceremony began with the goal to recognize Bed-Stuy’s principals, teachers, students, parents and others that support an environment that makes learning not only possible but full of love and fun! Now in its

third year, our village has cast nearly 10,000 ballots and this year we had over 150 nominations. A community spokesperson said, “We are thankful for the village that continues to support and celebrate our best and we are proud to announce 2019 Bed-Stuy’s Best Winners.” Our Time Press congratulates all of the winners who are listed in the notice on this page. (Bernice Elizabeth Green)

Community Board 3

Education & Youth Committee presents

BED-STUY’S BEST 2019 Award Recipients

Student Award: Humble Humanitarian

Serenity Dixon

P.S. 5 The Dr. Ronald McNair School

Julia Magee

Parent CoorDiNator of the Year Pamela Tate-McMullen Bedford Academy High School

Deittra L. Wilder

P.S. 25 The Eubie Blake School

Brighter Choice Community School

Jahmaal Clarke

Teacher of the Year: Elementary School Janeese Carter

Leadership Prep Bedford-Stuyvesant Middle Academy

Sherry Jones

The Brooklyn Green School

Student Award: Incredible Improvement

Jada Warren

P.S. 5 The Dr. Ronald McNair School

"On Thursday, June 6th at the lovely Brooklyn Bank establishment Community Board #3 Education & Youth Committee was honored to host the 2019 BedStuy’s Best Awards. Launched in 2017, this ceremony began with the goal to recognize Bed-Stuy’s principals, teachers, students, parents and others that support an environment that makes learning not only possible but full of love and fun! Now in it’s third year our village has cast nearly 10,000 ballots and this year we had over 150 nominations. We are thankful for the village that continues to support and celebrate our best and we are proud to announce 2019 BedStuy’s Best Winners." Submitted

by Natasha Cherry-Perez

VOL. 23 NO. 25

Evan Williams

P.S. 309 The George E, Wibecan Preparatory Academy

Teacher of the Year: Middle School Roland Pope Leadership Prep Bedford-Stuyvesant Middle Academy

Teacher of the Year: High School Isha Moseley

P.S. 5 The Dr. Ronald McNair School

Bedford Academy High School

Nijae Jordan

Principal of the Year Adofo Muhammad

Leadership Prep Bedford-Stuyvesant Middle Academy

Student Award: High school hero

Tianna Brown

Boys & Girls High School

Jada Gibson

The Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance

School Safety Team of the Year K258

(Leadership Prep Bedford-Stuyvesant Middle Academy & P140K)

Support staff Member of the Year Sharon Brown-Hall P.S. 21 The Crispus Attucks School

PARENT LEADER OF THE YEAR Magalie Liautaud

Leadership Prep Bedford-Stuyvesant Middle Academy

Bedford Academy High School

Most Improved: Elementary School P.S. 262 El Hajj Malik El Shabazz Elementary School Most Improved: MIDDLE School Excellence Girls Middle Academy Most Improved: High School The Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance Community partner for Educational excellence Sheltering Arms NY

VOL. 23 NO. 25

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

CAROLINE COHEN DEMOCRAT FOR CIVIL COURT JUDGE • 6TH MUNICIPAL DISTRICT

Civil rights attorney protecting tenants pregnant mothers, workers, and immigrants.

Found 4X qualified by judicial screening committees: Brooklyn Bar Association New York City Bar Association the LGBT Bar Association Kings County Democratic Party

ENDORSEMENTS

ASSEMBLY MEMBER WALTER MOSLEY

PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION FOR POLITICAL ACTION

COUNCIL MEMBER LAURIE CUMBO

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY ELECTION

TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2019

www.cohenforjudge2019.com Paid for by Caroline Cohen for Civil Court Judge

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

VOL. 23 NO. 25

Another Perspective on An Important Education Issue To the Editor: Let me begin by thanking the editors of Our Time Press for providing us with the opportunity to address the misleading and false information conveyed about our school in the letter from Nequan McLean, President of Community Education Council 16. As a Black- founded and led community-based nonprofit organization, we value highly our connection to and engagement with other Black-founded and led organizations like Our Time Press, and thus, we are eager to set the record straight.

The CEC statement and previous article poses the following questions as a means to criticize Ember and our proposed expansion to high school: • “Why should [Ember]

receive expansion to high school status?”

• “Why aren’t charter schools held to the same standard as [traditional] public schools?”

• “Are charter schools really as strong and effective as reported?”

While it is clear that Mr. McLean seeks to suggest that Ember is a failing school being given special treatment, let me state, unequivocally, that this is far from the truth. In fact, because of the great success Ember has been able to achieve as an Afrocentric, culturally relevant and innovative public school (e.g., middle school student achievement completely eliminates the achievement gap), we receive even greater push back and discrimination than our charter school peers from all sides—from

D O N AT E Y O U R C A R

Ember ELA State Test Comparative Analysis (Overall): New York New York York State State Black State Latino New White Students Students Students

Year

Ember

CSD 16 (BedfordStuyvesant)

New Yok City (Overall)

New York State (Overall)

2016

38%

30%

39%

39%

28%

28%

47%

2017

40%

26%

38%

38%

28%

28%

45%

2018

48%

35%

47%

45%

34%

35%

52%

Ember Math State Test Comparative Analysis (Overall): New York New York York State State Black State Latino New White Students Students Students

Year

Ember

CSD 16 (BedfordStuyvesant)

New Yok City (Overall)

New York State (Overall)

2016

19%

26%

40%

43%

27%

29%

54%

2017

19%

23%

41%

43%

26%

29%

53%

2018

32%

30%

43%

46%

29%

32%

57%

The longer students are with us, the greater their success …

Ember Middle School (Grades 6-7) ELA State Test Comparative Analysis New York New York York State State Black State Latino New Students White Students Students

Year

Ember

CSD 16 (BedfordStuyvesant)

New Yok City (Overall)

New York State (Overall)

2017

47%

13%

32%

32%

20%

21%

40%

2018

62%

22%

46%

45%

32%

34%

52%

Ember Middle School (Grades 6-7) Math State Test Comparative Analysis New York New Yok City New York State State Black (Overall) (Overall) Students

New York York State State Latino New Students White Students

Wheels For Wishes

Year

Ember

CSD 16 (BedfordStuyvesant)

Make-A-Wish ® Metro New York

2017

56%

9%

36%

40%

22%

25%

52%

2018

57%

12%

40%

43%

25%

28%

54%

benefiting

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Do you know THESE MEN? Herbert McElroy William McGlynn John G. McLoughlin Edward J. McNicholas Francis X. Mulhall Cornelius (Neil) Otero

Ronald P. Petroski Adam Prochaski James E. Russo Barry J. Ryan Joseph Schuck Patrick Sexton

If you have information regarding alleged abuse or its cover-up involving these men, CONTACT US.

The NY Child Victims Act may be able to help you!

646-493-1850

57 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10019

the people who are invested in the current traditional public school system in order to maintain their own power and jobs at the expense of what’s best for kids to those who claim to want to change schooling for our children yet treat them like they are in prison and need to be controlled.

We have and will continue to receive the greatest support and encouragement from those who care most about Black and Brown self- empowerment and liberation.

This is our mission, that is our truth, and as Brother Malcolm X said, “We will make it plain.” We will not be deterred, no matter how loud the voices of negative and doubting white government officials, no matter how clamorous the jeers and rebukes from self-hating Black and Brown folks, all who loathe Black and Brown people taking command and responsibility for the education, empowerment and future of our community’s children.

“Why should [Ember] receive expansion to high school status?”: Ember was recommended to expand to high school by the NYC Department of Education because we have been able to achieve very strong results and growth for our students as they spend more time enrolled with us, all without using any test prep whatsoever. While it is unclear to us what data source Mr. McLean used to inform his letter from CEC16, the data available via the official New York State data site is clear: Ember’s state test results exceed our district’s (CSD16) in Math (Ember: 32% vs. CSD16: 30%), as well as in ELA (Ember: 48% vs. CSD16: 34%). In fact, unlike nearly every traditional public school in our district, as students continue on with Ember thru middle school their results soar, with our middle school outperforming our district, city and state in Math (Ember: 57% vs. CSD16: 12% vs. NYC: 40% vs.

NYS: 43%) and ELA (Ember: 62%

vs. CSD16: 22% vs. NYC: 46% vs.

NYS: 45%).

As for the other accusations highlighted in the CEC’s letter, they are similarly misleading and false: • Our suspension rates have NEVER exceeded 3% (we rarely suspend, and do so only as a last resort).

• Teacher turnover has NEVER exceeded 20% (2016-18, it was less than 15%).

• We have never expelled any students (even when such behavior may have qualified for expulsion).

• ALL public schools are responsible for scoring the open response portions of the state exams. Like other public schools in New York State, we choose to score in-house to save money on outsourcing costs and ensure all guidelines are followed to the letter of the law. In fact, our scoring has been audited by the state nearly every year without any negative evaluation.

• Our student attrition is neither high nor unusual for our district given the skyrocketing rental costs and gentrification in Bed-Stuy. More than 50% of students who leave our school have transitioned out of our district, city and/or state. Yet, despite this attrition, Ember’s enrollment increases significantly each year, more than 40% since 2016, an indication of the very strong demand for our innovative, holistic and culturally responsive approach.

“Why aren’t charter schools held to the same standard as [traditional] public schools?”: Charter schools are held to even higher standards than traditional public schools. Unlike our traditional public school peers, charter schools must not only conduct an annual third-party financial, operational and programmatic audit, provide extensive reporting to the city and state, and host monthly public meetings with our leadership team, we must also prove our

efficacy every five years or risk being closed. There are traditional public schools in our community who have been failing our kids for many, many years without any accountability whatsoever.

“Are charter schools really as strong and effective as reported?”: While I cannot speak for all charter schools, I can certainly express that Ember is most definitely as strong and effective as reported.

We provide an empowerment and love-based instructional environment, one that centers the development of the whole person through a deep investment in culturally responsive pedagogy, Socratic inquiry, critical thinking, game theory and mindfulness. We specialize in supporting students who have been exposed to trauma and have built our organization around being responsive to children and youth most in need of our nurturing environment. We offer everything from STEM and integrated arts, to study abroad, yoga and Capoeira.

100% of our leadership team and 95% of our lead teachers are Black and Brown, and we all live in BedStuy/Central Brooklyn, the same communities as the students and families we serve—we are deeply community-rooted and are among the most dedicated and committed social justice warriors walking our streets. We are unapologetically engaged in education for liberation and will endeavor to do all we can to serve our people with honor and distinction. That is Ember, this is who we are, and for the legion of reasons we’ve highlighted herein, we should be permitted to expand to high school. Indeed, the many hundreds of families and supporters here in Bed-Stuy demand it, and we will do all we can to answer this call.

Amandla Awethu, Rafiq R. Kalam Id-Din II, Esq. Founder & Managing Partner

VOL. 23 NO. 25

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

Brooklyn Lawmakers Hold Speakout on Health Care & Soaring Costs of Prescription Drugs ■■

I

t seems like getting sick will cost you an arm and a leg, literally. The on-going health care and prescription drug catastrophe is a conversation and debate that will continue until Washington comes up with some resolution. Who are the people that suffer? You bet your bottom dollar, the American people.

Congress members Hakeem Jeffries (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, East New York, Canarsie, Mill Basin, Coney Island, parts of Queens), Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn, L.E.S., Queens), and Yvette Clarke (D-Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Kensington, Midwood, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, Park Slope) gathered alongside employees of the health care system at Long Island University in the Spike Lee Screening Room on Saturday to discuss the struggles individuals face when it comes to the soaring cost of prescription drugs.

LaRay Brown, CEO of 1 Brooklyn Health System and CEO of Interfaith Medical Center, explained that commonly used drugs have doubled in price between the years 2012-2016.

Patients who live with diabetes that need their insulin to live can expect to pay around $630 a month for one month’s supply for the drug Novolog. Brown also went on to note the soaring cost of Morphine and Opioids that is becoming a serious issue for Interfaith Hospital. Interfaith uses the drugs for operating rooms and the ER. The increasing cost of health care is also noticeable when it comes to certain types of cancer treatment. Like the newest cancer treatment, known as Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR-T), first introduced in 2018, ranges

By Melissa Clark, Kings County Politics

from $373,000 to $475,000 a year. The price ranges have left many patients with a choice of having to pay an astronomical price for a lifesaving drug or take an alternative and hope to get better. Another factor in the equation is the drug shortage, which increases the price.

“Drug shortages are a huge problem, and health care workers are forced to either work around it or pay top dollar for medicine.

According to a recent study, drug shortages cost the U.S. health system approximately half-a-billion dollars every year. Due to drugs being generic and on the market for a long time, they experience a low-profit-margin, leaving them with less incentive for the manufacturers to produce them,” said Brown.

One of the solutions discussed at the event would be to speed up the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) drug approval process. Some generic brands of drugs can take anywhere from three to four years to get approval.

Congressman Jeffries made it clear that all three federal lawmakers were elected to lower the cost of health care to protect people with preexisting conditions, to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to deal with expensive prescription drugs.

“We believe that in the United States of America no individual, particularly our seniors, should ever have to choose between putting food on the table, paying rent or getting access to the medicine they need to live with grace and dignity,” Jeffries stated.

Congresswoman Velazquez put the blame on the Trump Administration for all the health care troubles; stating, “We work too hard for the people, and we will fight them on the streets and in the courts.”

et is p y m ne a w c o i r n r k u I “ nah ” i e m o ter. welc n e c n tio evacua

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Maureen Hobbs, a retired health care worker, spoke on behalf of the public’s frustrations.

“Too many complaints are with the phone system and when a call is made to either doctors’ offices, insurance companies or the pharmacies, it can be confusing to seniors who are by themselves or a disabled person. Another problem that was mentioned earlier is the cost of prescriptions,” said Hobbs.

Hobbs went on to tell the audience that one of her medications cost $500 and the generic $150, which was still too much for her.

Congresswoman Clarke shed some light to the crisis, voicing her opinion on the “rigged” system.

“Anything that President Trump says and does is to the benefit of him and the wealthy.

At the end of the day, it’s not about research and development, it’s about profit and greed [P&G],” said Clarke.

Clarke went on to note the seriousness of the issue, anecdotally telling the crowd how she wakes up every morning with a little anxiety about the “dishonest system,” yet she embraces the feeling, “Once we give in and relax, we’ve lost.”

Jeffries went on to emphasize that his goal is to work toward an agreement with President Donald Trump and the U.S. Senate to achieve better prescription drug pricing for all: “We are going to achieve this because it is shameful what is happening now.”

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

VOL. 23 NO. 25

View from the Street: Vaughn Jefferson

Pain’s Cure: “Ideal” Walls of Love and Plenty of “Mick” Inspiration

I

understand my people continue to be in a state of Post-Traumatic Slavery Syndrome. But we continue to strive above it.

This understanding has motivated me to communicate my frustrations combined with love for the community via murals.

This mirror on our lives, I believe, preserves the BED-STUY culture while beautifying the neighborhood. Instead of creating murals only when someone dies, my friend from childhood, Kenya ‘Art-1” Lawton, an air-bush artist and I, birth life with images and colors.

Three of the murals created are located at 830 Lafayette Ave (Marcus Garvey) on the walls of Ideal supermarket. This Supermarket is a work of art itself; it has employed many of the youth in Bed-Stuy including Art-1 and me. Once I received permission from the store manager we created the “I AM” mura,l which is my personal logo and philosophy. We then created a mural in remembrance of the great Dr. Frank Mickens, the late Principal of Boys & Girls H.S. of which we are both Alumni.

Currently, Art-1 and I are finalizing the BED-STUY mural. B is for beauty, E is for economics and education, D is for Divinity, S is for Symbols, TU in Spanish means You so the T and U are dedicated to people as individuals. T is dedicated to things we, as people, would like to see stop in society. U is dedicated to Us as people or you as an individual and ways of being. And last Y is for Youth.

At 158 Lewis Ave (Lafayette) we created a mural of Hip-Hop Legend Big Daddy Kane and this happens to be the building in which he actually lived. He was able to visit and approve of our work and autographed the gate. I got permission from the owner of the corner store and I initially did my I AM logo on one of the gates. This particular logo was rendered by artist Sosa, also an Alumnus of Boys & Girls H.S.

A Picture of Pride & Joy: Boys & Girls H.S. alums Vaughn Jefferson (left) and his friend “Art 1” (far right), sons of Bedford Stuyvesant, are dedicated to preserving the legacy of their late principal Frank Mickens in the neighborhood where he also grew up. As they tell “our stories” with their art on walls for sites like Ideal Supermarket from whom they have permission, The Cure Rater (Jefferson) and Art 1 take time from their mural-storytelling missions to inspire other young people, like these two Bedford Academy students.

One of my overall goals is to make Lafayette Ave between Lewis and Marcus Garvey into a historical block. The neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant has changed due to gentrification, however there is a culture that still exists – no, thrives – and many of the ‘New Comers’ walk in our grace.

An Asian woman stopped and spoke with us about her knowledge of the Aboriginal people of this continent and

she offered us some Japanese pancakes.

Ironically it was not the traditional ‘flap jack’ style of pancake we are used to, and it was delicious! I appreciate how she introduced us to her culture via food. We even shared a joke when I asked if she lived nearby and she said yes, a few houses down. She mentioned she lived here for five years before the ‘New People’ and I replied I’ve lived here since 1981 before the ‘New people’ and we all just

laughed. She even gave us some Japanese characters to add to the letter T and what she would like to see stopped in society.

Before the end of July, I intend to do an unveiling of the murals on Lafayette and Marcus Garvey. One major reason is that July 9th makes 10 years since the passing of Dr. Frank Mickens, 20 years since I graduated from Boys & Girls and 40 years since my mother graduated from Boys & Girls. The unveiling will draw awareness and show the impact Dr. Frank Mickens left on us as a community.

My intention: to carry on and utilize his legacy to connect with my community and inspire us all to unify. Everyone that knows what Dr. Frank Mickens stood for and represented will awaken and tap into their higher selves. I personally, as part of continuing his legacy, have taken on the moniker Franc Mick. I spell it Franc because just like he was about education, community, and self-love, I am empowering a joyful community where people have wealth consciousness, education, and unity.

As part of the unveiling we intend to raise funding to beautify the entire wall of the Ideal Supermarket. So far, I have funded the completion of the lower eye level and we will go higher, which requires more equipment. We will also continue to include neighborhood to support and be hands-on with the projects.

Students from Bedford Academy learned how to airbrush and assisted with painting the dash in the middle of Bed and Stuy.

The word TEAM is beautifully painted as an acronym for Together Everyone Accomplishes More and that was done by students of the community.

Vaughn Jefferson, 38, a filmmaker and artist, calls himself, The Cure Rater. He was born and raised in North BedfordStuyvesant and lives in a brownstone on Lafayette Avenue.

Nelson Mandela School For Social Justice Achievement Awards

"BOYS & GIRLS" CAMPUS VILLAGE CONTINUES TO RAISE & PRAISE ITS PRIDE & JOY

T

he award-giving continues for students at the Boys & Girls H.S. Campus -- comprising Boys & Girls H.S., The School of Research and Service and The Nelson Mandela School of Justice.

And Our Time Press is happy to be on the scene for some of these events. We're still recovering from the euphoria of the Campus' stellar Athletics Gala of a few weeks ago ago. and we were happy to attend the Mandela

School's achievement awards ceremony at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Congratulations to the principal, parent coordinators, and support staff, and to Jordan Grant, Michael Washington, Ashley Nowlin, Brandon Charles, Sadira Philbert Fynn, Kiara Mayers-Lorde, Shamere Padgett, Andre Samuels, Tyriq Holland, Pamela McLean, National Barnett, Ramel Vasquez, Nia Lubin Alfred, Curtis Bryant; Curtis Bryant; Michael

Washington, Iyana Brown, Laquaniasha Boone, Malik Campbell, Al Hanifa Ruqayyah, Alex Dougles, Aquan Bowry, Emanuel Cruz, Brianna Pierce, Mylord Claurens Zephirin, Talynithia Riley Miller, Donald Darious, Justin Hamilton, Chamar Johnson, Nia Willis, Jada Perkins, Brandon CHarles, Bria Prince, Kenvin Bakker, Justin Noel, Nigel Parks, Elijah Brown, Nyquan Cooper, Kadeem Cox, Iyana Brown, Eric Kiazolu, Alaja Rickenbacker, Jonathan Decoteau-Briggs, Zaire Harley, and Ciarra Carroll. The students were given in categories ranging from personal growth to job well done.

VOL. 23 NO. 25

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

How ‘Freeway Revolts’ Helped Create the People’s Environmental Law ■■

Lacking a voice in the development process, residents and community members in cities across the country used tactics that ranged from picketing, petitioning and leafleting to directly occupying facilities. In each case, however, the central message was the same: Government should not ransack homes, divide areas and introduce new sources of smog and noise pollution without the consent of those affected.

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environmental impacts and the voices of communities when federal agencies developed infrastructure projects. NEPA was the first law to require the federal government to conduct an environmental impact study (EIS) when embarking on a project. It required the federal government to tell the public what it wanted to develop and establish time for communities to comment and offer environmentally friendlier or less disruptive alternatives; alternatives the government must consider under NEPA. Over the years, it is communities of color — whose efforts made NEPA possible — that have invoked the law when seeking justice. After all, more than half of the people living less than two miles from

a toxic waste site in the U.S. are people of color. Children of color are disproportionately more likely to face the dangerous health effects of lead poisoning. Indigenous communities like the Navajo Nation have been face-to-face with toxic water thanks to the legacy of uranium mining in the Southwest. In the Northern Mariana Islands, indigenous and low-income U.S. citizens are using NEPA to compel the U.S. Navy to consider the effects that artillery, rockets and bombardment will have on their tropical homeland and sacred sites. According to Cinta Kaipat, a resident of the island Saipan, NEPA allows communities to “fight

➔➔ Continued on page 17

Re-elect Judge Margarita López Torres Brooklyn’s Progressive Titan.

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an arita is any. g r a M e “Judg tion for so m er inspira to re-elect h d We nee 25th.” e n on Ju ongresswoman —C lázquez e V a i d Ny ce excellen ’s a t i r a arg rving “Judge M mitment to se is and com le of Brooklyn the peop wn.” e well knoublic Advocat ms —P e Willia Jumaan ta Margari e g d u J r .” ing fo “I’m vot pe you will, too n and I ho swoma s e r g n —Co Clarke Yvette

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Activists demonstrate against proposed freeway construction in San Francisco in 1960.

In many places, the protests forced city governments to change their plans, or even led to the removal of freeways that had already been built. At the federal level, the protests helped inspire a law that ensures the people get to weigh in on projects that affect their health, homes and neighborhoods: the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

This law has become one of the most important tools to protect communities and our environment — and now, it’s under attack by the Trump administration.

In 1969, after over a decade of relentless pressure and public activism, Congress passed NEPA in a nearly unanimous vote.

The aim of the law was to create a national environmental policy that equally weighed

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I

n the summer of 1969 a banner hung over a set of condemned homes in what was then the predominantly black and brown Brookland neighborhood in Washington, DC. It read, “White man’s roads through black men’s homes.”

Earlier in the year, the District attempted to condemn the houses to make space for a proposed freeway. The plans proposed a 10lane freeway, a behemoth of a project that would divide the nation’s capital end-to-end and sever iconic Black neighborhoods like Shaw and the U Street Corridor from the rest of the city.

Today, Brookland is not home to an interstate. The community’s protest forced the government to cancel its construction plans. And the activists’ efforts helped spur the passage of a law that gives all people the right to weigh in on projects that affect their communities — a right that is now under attack from the Trump administration and its allies.

Residents taking a stand in Brookland were the latest participants in the “Freeway Revolts,” a multi-decade effort to force federal planners to consider the impacts of large development projects on communities and ecosystems. During and after World War II, 6 million Black people moved from the South to cities in the Midwest and California, drawn by employment opportunities and driven by the violence and poverty of the Jim Crow South. Following this demographic shift and growth in cities across the U.S., planners rewrote municipal zoning ordinances and separated residential, commercial and industrial development.

These policies promoted urban sprawl and white flight, which fed the culture of automobile dependency.

The Freeway Revolts formed alliances across lines of race and socioeconomic status. In DC, wealthy white residents of Takoma Park and Georgetown allied with middle-class black and brown residents in Brookland. In Seattle, the Black Panthers aligned with the Sierra Club in opposition to highway widening proposals. In San Francisco, Latinx communities joined hands with white residents to protest the Central Freeway’s devastation to homes and communities. These various communities realized how disruptive and destructive these large urban planning projects are to neighborhoods and communities.

By Teju Adisa-Farrar & Raul Garcia

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

VOL. 23 NO. 25

Fathers/Fathering

F

ounding Fathers: This year’s annual May “Rediscovering Lost Values” tour of South-based shrines to the Civil Rights movement was -- in the words of diarist Glen Beck -- «particularly poignant.»

Actually, those words were a description of Tour students standing on the exterior landing of the Dexter Historic King Memorial Church in Montgomery, Alabama,

Rediscovering Lost Values with fists raised. Beck’s journal excerpt also evokes a moment, the day before, in the lobby of Atlanta’s National Center of Civil and Human Rights.

This photo features Taharka Robinson, center; Bruce Paul Green, far right, organizers of the journey for the Brooklyn Anti-Violence Coalition organization joined two other Tour fathers,, standing proudly with fists raised in front of the Center’s famous large-scale “high

five” mural, a vision of the Center’s Chief Creative Officer, George C. Wolfe.

Beck’s prose captures the moment: “They stood proud with their fists raised high above their heads. They instinctively marked this moment in time for themselves much like Tommie Smith and John Carlos had done during the playing of Star Spangled Banner at the 1968 Summer Olympics when they each raised a black fisted glove in solidarity

of human rights... They expressed perfectly their own need for equality and unity in this single powerful gesture. Certainly, no one was going to ever forget this trip, especially me.”

The journey continues next week, on the way to the July 11 issue when the The Hon. Annette Robinson and other women, will have they say. (Photo and text: Bernice Elizabeth Green)

Fathers/Fathering

Superheroes do not have to defy gravity and wear a cape…

A

mongst 18 siblings, Dr. Christophe Boxe’s father, Keith Boxe, was raised on a farm in Stony Hill, St. Andrews, Jamaica. To help with the family finances, he dropped out of high school and earned a trade as graphics and print designer in Kingston, Jamaica. Dr. Boxe’s first memories were of his father’s boundless energy and remnants of him being a short sleeper. Keith Boxe is among the Sleepless Elite – the 1% to 3% of the population that function efficiently on a few hours of sleep per night. Keith’s superhero powers spearheaded his family toward attaining the “American Dream.”

Achieving this undoubtedly came with sacrifices. Keith was the first to migrate to America, followed by Dr. Boxe’s mom and brother several years later. He worked 2 to 3 jobs at design and printing factories during the week. Dr. Boxe vividly recalls his father coming home at 1 to 2 am in the morning and leaving the apartment at 5 to 5:30 am. On the weekends, Dr. Boxe’s father was fully and always engaged with the family dynamics – getting Dr. Boxe involved in baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics and afterschool activities, and incessantly emphasized always maintaining the highest standard toward one’s educational engagement.

Keith Boxe’s hard work, perseverance, high intellect, and excellent mentorship enabled Dr. Boxe to attain an invaluable education at Morehouse College and California Institute of Technology. Dr. Boxe’s father taught him the true meaning of education as expressed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals… We must remember that intelligence is not enough.

Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education… If we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts. Be careful, “brethren!” Be careful, teachers!” Dr. Boxe’s father never defied any laws of physics and never wore a cape, as exemplified by fictional superheroes, but he’s been Dr. Boxe’s best mentor and friend.

Further reflection from Dr. Boxe on his father: I worked with my father and his father on their farm. They taught me how to grow fruits and vegetables and sustain a select crop size per growth and harvest season. I also helped them feed and maintain cows, chickens,

rabbits, goats, and pigs as well. This allowed me to experience nature to the fullest, where I attained a deep connection to Earth’s and our Solar system’s ecosystem,(through star-gazing at Earth’s constellations and planets, such Mars and Jupiter, which you could always see in the clear night skies of Above Rocks, St. Catherine, Jamaica).These experiences made me gravitate greatly toward STEM. I had bimodal passion for veterinary medicine and space science, where space science inevitably won, as I could/ can engage the world more broadly through it -- thus having a greater impact in STEM).

My father’s father taught me about farming to a great degree, but more importantly taught me how to respect Earth’s ecosystem and thus each other. My grandfather always relayed to me how he learned from past mistakes which involved his own self-centered actions and disregard for mutual understanding within Earth’s ecosystem (and how that marginalized his impact and relationship within his immediate family. After rectifying such behavior, he was able to see the detrimental impact of his past ways, but even more, [to see] that humans can always do better if they choose to do so.

My father was/is definitely an artist (with inherent mathematical proficiency in geometry, architecture, and design/graphics). He lives in the United States and Jamaica.

Dr. Christopher Boxe (right) is seen here with his father, Keith Boxe Apart from being my best mentor, my father’s grace is the best thing he gave to me.

It enabled me to attain a priceless education at Morehouse College (they paid out of pocket), which allotted me the opportunity to attend Caltech for graduate school. The gift of education from my father was a Blessing.

VOL. 23 NO. 25

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

Fathers / Fathering

Fathers / Fathering

Father's Day Reflections

C

■■

By Fred L. Price

elebrate being a father while facing the challenges of the world and culture of today. Fathers must educate and be educated and be an example of what a good and positive man can be. We must celebrate teaching our youth, sons, brothers and friends not to be bullies or to be bullied.

Fathers must teach that we don’t have to talk street and/ or curse to be’The Man.” We can teach love, culture and respect, for ourselves, and others to be that man that can command respect. Father’s Day-, we celebrate being on the road to enlightenment and positive exchange.

We celebrate with minds up, pants up and standing up for education, freedom and justice. We stand up for teaching and tutoring, to be the leaders now and in the future.

We stand up for bringing people together not dividing and we teach and show that to be the real father/man you have to treat the girls, ladies, mothers and daughters with respect.

This Father’s Day, past and future, we recognized that ignorance, bravado, gangs, deny climate change, and cultural derangement is not what we teach and celebrate.

We celebrate our path to enlightenment, despite ‘fake news’ and political disarray. We celebrate our coming together our children, brothers and sisters, family, community and country with our minds up to celebrate-the fathers on this Father’s Day.

"We can teach love, culture and respect for ourselves and others to be that man that can command respect.." Fred Price

Weeksville Heritage Center Designated as a Cultural Institutions Group

Edward

Ki n g

My dad, Albert Lee Walter Johnson, wife of Myrtle Sylvia, father of six daughters and one son. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant in the New York Police Department, Transit Division. I can see him now sitting at his desk writing checks or studying for a promotional exam. He wasn’t the type to compliment good grades; he questioned the lowest. At night, hearing his wood-soled heels against hard-wood floors gave me a sense of security knowing Daddy Bert’s home from work. Though he passed in 2013, at 89-years-old, he remains a model of consistency, responsibility, high expectations and diligence. Margo Johnson McKenzie

VOTE

June 25 Democratic Primary

for Civil Court Judge Kings County

➔➔ Continued from page 5

My entire legal career has been devoted to ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and justly inside and outside of the court room.

Nothing is more important. ”

Q

UALIF

IED

“Weeksville is sacred AfricanAmerican ground. For generations, it served as a beacon of hope for those seeking refuge from the vestiges of slavery. Supporting Weeksville as a Cultural Institutions Group is a recognition of African-American longevity and a commitment from the city writ large,” said Majority Leader Laurie A. Cumbo. “With the help of Speaker Corey Johnson, Cultural Affairs Chair Jimmy Van Bramer, Weeksville President Rob Fields, fellow Council members Robert E. Cornegy, Jr., Inez Barron, Alicka Samuel, Carlina Rivera and many other leaders and community supporters who have stood with us firmly, Weeksville will continue to serve as a learning center for many years to come. I am so proud that New York City has made this critical commitment.”

Today’s victory has been a culmination of years of advocacy and determination. In 2013, Weeksville made its first attempt to become a CIG, but was denied. Since joining the City Council, Majority Leader Cumbo has been a champion of the arts and Weeksville getting the proper support it deserves.

Weeksville has faced financial challenges over the years and recently saw a rush of local and international support. Today, we can be rest assured that the city has backed its struggle.

Association of the Bar of the City of New York Finds Ed King Qualified for Civil Court Judge Kings County.

IT’S TIME

the people we trust trust Ed King

Endorsed by

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

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Notice of Formation of GREEN FLAMINGO DISPENSARY, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/08/19. Office location: Kings County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 335 Winthrop St., Brooklyn, NY 11225. Purpose: Any lawful activity Notice of Formation of VOLCANIC SELECTIONS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State

of NY (SSNY) on 04/08/19. Office location: Kings County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to the LLC Jeffrey Porter, 182 Nevins Street, Apt 1, Brooklyn, NY 11217. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LRG EQUITIES LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 2/19/2019.

Off. Loc.: Kings Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail proc.: c/o Leacroft Gordon, 648 Park Place, Brooklyn, NY 11216. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

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NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF KINGS SRP 2012-4, LLC, Plaintiff, Against Index No.: 511696/2018 516-872-1398 PRESTIGE PROPERTIES, INC., TREVOR MULLINGS, et al., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale, duly entered 5/15/2019, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction, in Room 224 of Kings County Supreme Court, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 on 7/25/2019 at 2:30 pm, premises known as 43 Dumont Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11212, and described as follows: ALL that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York, Block 3551 and Lot 53.The approximate amount of the current Judgment lien is $253,354.68 plus interest and costs. The Premises will be sold subject to provisions of the aforesaid Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale; Index # 511696/2018 Steven Z Naiman, Esq., Referee.

Richland & Falkowski, PLLC, 35-37 36th Street, 2nd Floor, ASTORIA, NY 11106 Dated: 5/30/2019 PB SUPREME C O U RT – COUNTY OF KINGS DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE OF THE INDYMAC INDX MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2006-AR19, MORTGAGE PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-AR19 UNDER THE POOLING AND SERVICING AGREEMENT DATED JUNE 1, 2006, Plaintiff, against TINY O’CONNOR, et al Defendant (s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale; the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 224 of the Kings County Courthouse, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. on the 25th

day of July, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. premises described as follows: All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land situate lying and being in the County of Kings, City and State of New York. Said premises known as 596 Van Siclen Avenue; Block: 4087, Lot: 38. Approximate amount of lien $ 600,760.14 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment and terms of sale. Index No. 504304-15. AARON TYK, Esq., Referee. McCabe, Weisberg & Conway, LLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 145 Huguenot Street – Suite 210 New Rochelle, New York 10801 (914) 636-8900 N OT I C E OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF KINGS, STATE OF NEW YORK MORTGAGE AGENCY, Plaintiff, vs. ZENA MURPHY, AS HEIR-AT-LAW TO THE ESTATE OF CORNELL MURPHY A/K/A CORNELL BILLY MURPHY (DECEASED), ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to an Order Confirming Referee Report and Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly filed on May 10, 2019, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Kings County Supreme Court, Room 224, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY on July 25, 2019 at 2:30 p.m., premises known as 190 Cozine Avenue, Unit 6-1K, Brooklyn, NY 11207. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York, Block 4415 and Lot 1163 together with an undivided 0.0707 percent interest in the Common Elements.

Approximate amount of judgment is $142,027.35 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 517300/2017. Shmuel D. Taub, Esq., Referee Schiller,

Knapp, Lefkowitz & Hertzel, LLP, 200 John James Audubon Parkway, Suite 202, Amherst, New York 14228, Attorneys for Plaintiff NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF KINGS U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE FOR STRUCTURED ASSET INVESTMENT LOAN TRUST MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006BNC3, Plaintiff AGAINST MARIE HUGUETTE JEAN-BAPTISTE, et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly dated January 14, 2019 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Room 224 of Kings County Supreme Court, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201, on July 18, 2019 at 2:30PM, premises known as 9024 AVENUE L, BROOKLYN, NY 11236. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York, BLOCK 8255, LOT 40. Approximate amount of judgment $763,183.05 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment for Index# 511172/2014. Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC Attorney for Plaintiff 1775 Wehrle Drive, Suite 100 Williamsville, NY 14221 63540 SUPREME COURT – COUNTY OF KINGS U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR RESIDENTIAL ASSET M O RT G AG E PRODUCTS, INC., MORTGAGE A S S E T- BAC K E D PA S S THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-NC2, Plaintiff against BEVERLY FIELDS A/K/A BEVERLEY FIELDS, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale

➔➔ Continued on page 16

VOL. 23 NO. 25

OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

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LEGAL NOTICES

Sale entered in the office of the County Clerk of Kings County on June 7, 2017, I, M. Randolph Jackson, Esq., the Referee named in said Judgment, will sell in one parcel at public auction on June 20, 2019 at the Kings County Supreme Court, Room 224, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, County of Kings, State of New York, at 2:30 P.M., the premises described as follows: 9 West 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 SBL No.: Block 534 Lot 46 ALL THAT TRACT OF PARCEL OF LAND situate in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York The premises are sold subject to the provisions of the filed judgment, Index No. 7136/10 in the amount of

➔➔ Continued from page 14 entered on April 3, 2018. I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 224 of the Kings County Courthouse, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. on the 25th day of July 2019 at 2:30 p.m. premises described as follows: All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York. Said premises known as 1520 East 55th Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11234 (Block: 7879, Lot: 82). Approximate amount of lien $ 576,178.74 plus interest and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment and terms of sale. Index No. 508035-15. Shmuel D. Taub, Esq., Referee. McCabe, Weisberg & Conway, LLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 145 Huguenot Street – Suite 210 New Rochelle, New York 10801 (914) 636-8900 NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF KINGS JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Plaintiff AGAINST Ifeyinwa Ifemesia; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly dated May 2, 2019 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Kings County Supreme Court, 360 Adams Street, Room 224, Brooklyn, NY 11201 on July 11, 2019 at 2:30PM, premises known as 300 Van Buren Street, Brooklyn, NY 11221. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of NY, Block: 1615 Lot: 24. Approximate amount of judgment $1,166,952.63 plus interest and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 3403/13. Helene Blank, Esq., Referee Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792 Dated: June 4, 2019 For sale information, please visit Servicelinkauction.com or call (866) 5394173 63733 STATE OF NEW YORK SUPREME COURT: COUNTY OF KINGS GREEN TREE SERVICING LLC, Plaintiff, vs.

DAVID ZOIMEN, et al., Defendants NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT In pursuance of a Judgment of Foreclosure and

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$852,493.88 plus interest and costs. Megan S. Kale, Esq. Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP, Plaintiff’s Attorney 700 Crossroads Building, 2 State St. Rochester, New York 14614 Tel.: 855-227-5072 NOTICE OF SALE Supreme Court County Of Kings HSBC Bank USA, National Association, as Trustee for Nomura Asset Acceptance Corporation Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006AF1, Plaintiff AGAINST Chaim Meisels, 75 Franklin LLC, Broet al, Defendant Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly dated 7/24/2018 and entered on 8/14/2018, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public

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auction at the Kings County Supreme Court, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY on June 20, 2019 at 02:30 PM premises known as 75 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the County of Kings, City and State of New York, BLOCK: 1885, LOT: 1. Approximate amount of judgment is $690,394.48 plus interests and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 028070/2008.

M. Randolph Jackson, Referee FRENKEL LAMBERT WEISS WEISMAN & GORDON LLP 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706

VOL. 23 NO. 25

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

NYC Public Schools, a History of Systemic Racial Discrimination and Bias ■■

T

here’s a reason why the book “The Emperor’s New Clothes” ended up in a lot of US elementary school’s classroom libraries over the years.

I know it taught this 1960’s Brooklyn P.S. 9 kid the importance of acknowledging ‘a thing for what it truly is’. And yet, after so many years of failed ‘school-improvement-schemes’, and so many billions of dollars ($773 million recently in NYC) wasted; we still refuse to listen to people like: Ronald Edmonds, Lorraine Monroe and Jaime Escalante; who identified ‘the problems’ for what they truly were, and then offered workable solutions to those problems. Their collective diagnosis and ‘treatment-plans’ for our public-education underachievement illnesses, are as true today, as they were when they first proscribed them. We ignore these thoughtful educators in part because their focus was totally on student learning and not on adult (from classrooms to the highest level of school-governance) job-satisfaction, financial enrichment and political covetousness.

Three things public-education is good at doing (hint: effectively educating Black and Latino children is not one of them) (1) Wasting money (2) Wasting time and effort (3) Wasting money, time and effort doing things that sound ‘sexy’, but in actuality distracts us from the real work, that would really work to successfully educate Black and Latino students. Part of the problem is the knee-jerk reaction on the part of many to jump on any ‘bandwagon-idea’ when certain trigger words are thrown into the collective misunderstanding of how and why schools work or don’t work. And so, all it takes is for some folks to hear:

By Michael A. Johnson

“Segregation”, “Racism”, “Bigotry” and “Implicit Bias”, and the very willing ‘consultants’ will come running to (again) take us in the wrong direction. We get so excited by these admittedly bad words that we lose all sense of knowing the how, why, what and when to ask the most important pedagogical questions like: “How does this action explicitly improve teaching and learning?” (every initiative in schooling is measured by its ‘pivotal-effect’ on the quality of classroom teaching and learning). We fail in engaging sound inquiries into all types of incoherent and sometimes contradictory systemic-initiatives. For example, as NYC tries to ‘cure’ teachers of ‘implicit bias’, at the same time these teachers are being told that Black and Latino children don’t have the ‘natural brains’ to perform well on a Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT). And having observed and evaluated hundreds of classroom lessons, I suspect that the later negative lesson of Black and Latino student ‘natural inferiority’ will be the one that will stick. The systemic workplace-rules biases (the untouchable political ‘third rail’ here), is that those children never had a chance to do well on the SHSAT, because they received a ‘mind-crippling’ K-8 education. Further, although capable, many were denied access to gifted and talented programs. And yes, removing the SHSAT will provide an artificial ‘pass’, but it’s a cynical ‘seeking-a-sucker’ move, because lowering and/or removing any standardized exam standards won’t make those for whom the lowering pretends to benefit any smarter, or more capable to compete at the next level (ACT-SAT, GRE, MCAT, LSAT, NTE, etc.); where they’ll be forced to face assessment

standards that won’t be ‘racially-rigged’ just for them to pass. Further, their national and international competition, who are being taught to meet and exceed the test standards will leave them in the life-success dust!

There’s a primary cause of NYC Black and Latino student chronic academic underperformance; and that bias is found in a learning opportunity gap that exposes these children to excessive years (1+ any) of inadequate and non-affirming miseducational practices. Some of us wear our ‘institutional memory’ in our hearts. We remember many years ago the ugly opposition that appeared when then Deputy Chancellor of Instruction Lorraine Monroe’s name was simply ‘floated’ on the short-list of those being considered to be Chancellor. The reasons for the huge political-pushback (and ultimate defeat of her “candidacy”) was that Dr. Monroe was known to take on and defeat the real racism that existed in NYC public-schools. To her personal and professional detriment she believed in the systemic-wide Integration of a quality learning environment and high instructional practices, regardless of a child’s zip code.

She also felt that children who arrived to our schools with informal-learning experiences disadvantages required the services of our most capable and efficacious school-leaders and teachers, beyond the many children harming ‘contractual’ rules restrictions.

As one of Dr. Monroe’s mentees I believe as she did, that rather than lowering standards so that more Black & Latino children could ‘appear’ to achieve academically, we should instead raise academic standards so that they could truly achieve. Further, like her school-based administrators need

to stand in the ‘parental-gap’ and be that ‘pushy-activists’ parent for those disenfranchised children who have no effective ‘parental-posse’ to support, protect and defend them.

School districts must employ systemic-wide expectations and operational practices that empowers the affirmation: Having been properly prepared, students of color can and will master the most challenging academic work and assessments that’s provided for their educational peers in NYC or the World! Any belief to the contrary automatically cancels out any “committed to equity and the equality of educational opportunity” rhetorical claims made by that school system.

This will be my last article for Our Time Press; as I take leave to complete my second book on school leadership. I want to thank the Publisher David Mark Greaves, CoFounder Bernice Elizabeth Green, Maitefa Angaza and the great OTP staff for making this columnist experience one of the best learning opportunities of my life; please support OTP! Michael A. Johnson has served as a NYC public schoolteacher, principal, school district superintendent and an adjunct professor of education-St. John’s University. His book on school leadership is titled: “Report to the Principal’s Office: Tools for Building Successful High School Administrative Leadership.” [http://reporttotheprincipalsoffice.net/] Tags: Implicit Bias, Racism, Discrimination, NYC Department of Education, Segregation, Bigotry, SHSAT.

The National Environmental Policy Act is a tool to help uplift the people’s environmental voice ➔➔ Continued from page 11 this fight without firing a shot. The military will sit up and hear our voices.”

Right now, communities of color are using NEPA to challenge the Keystone XL pipeline, President Trump›s illegal border wall, waste incinerators in Puerto Rico, intrusive transit plans in Los Angeles and pollution from the KCI Airport in Kansas City. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana successfully used NEPA to thwart Trump administration›s plans to reopen coal-mining leases on public lands.

Ill-conceived development along the I-70 Corridor near Denver stopped thanks to NEPA. It is community voices, not those of polluting and profit-driven corporations with armies of well-paid litigators and lobbyists that are most likely to be excluded or ignored in the decision-making process. And it is their voices that can help stop further division and destruction in our environments if they are made a part of the planning process.

Photo courtesy of U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Community leaders heightened the national consciousness of the effects of environmental degradation on communities throughout the second half of the 20th century.

Put simply, the National Environmental Policy Act is a tool to help uplift the people’s environmental voice. That’s why it’s no wonder that the Trump administration

That’s why it’s no wonder that the Trump administration and its allies want to stifle it

Photo courtesy of Dan Lin

Communities in the Northern Mariana Islands are using NEPA to challenge the U.S. Navy’s plan to conduct livefire training on the island of Pågan.

and its allies want to stifle it, either by exempting certain proposals from oversight, limiting the length of public comment periods or eliminating public comment altogether.

The spirit that drove communities of color and neighborhood residents throughout the U.S. to hang banners, picket, sit in and stand up in the 1950s and 1960s is alive today. Even though several communities of color across the nation have been displaced and burdened by pollution because of freeway development projects in the 1960s, NEPA helps to fight against exclusionary

and environmentally disruptive planning processes.

As we fight to end environmental racism, we cannot allow the Trump administration and its allies in Congress to retrench the people’s tools for access to justice. We cannot allow them to limit public comments and continue to shut communities out of the NEPA process. It is through direct action and community engagement that NEPA came to be; safeguarding it gives people more power to be a part of the decisions that determine what happens in their communities.

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OUR TIME PRESS June 20 – 26, 2019

VOL. 23 NO. 25

A Community Organizer, A Moment in Time, and a Cross-Generational Movement: My Brother’s Keeper ■■

W

hat is an acceptable rate of: failure, homicide, high school dropout, underachievement, and imprisonment for boys and young men of color in your community?

If all lives matter, the answer is none. While the public rhetoric has been one of equality, meritocracy, and hard work all equals success, boys and young men of color (BYMOC) have not been able to realize this ideal. Summarizing The Economic Costs of Youth Disadvantage and High Return Opportunities for Change from the Executive Office of the President of the United States, in a recent article Dr. Lester Young, a member of the New York State Board of Regents, noted that boys of color graduate at lower rates; drop out at higher rates; tend to have less access to, and as a consequence participate less in accelerated and Advanced Placement courses.

These young men also tend to be suspended from school at considerably higher rates than their white counterparts; are less likely to be able to read and solve math problems at grade level; and are more likely to encounter the criminal justice system as either a perpetrator or a victim. Additionally, Dr. Young points out in the Black Lives Matter: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males, reports and numer-

by Dr. Anael Alston opening question, my follow up question is this: Does your current programming include the identified strategies that we know support outcomes for boys and young men of color to achieve at higher levels and graduate at higher rates?

A Moment in Time

Photo Credit: MBK Alliance

Noah Moreno meeting President Obama ous studies indicate that schools serving this population tend to have the following inequities: inadequate funding that negatively impacts resources; limited access to quality early education; lack of teacher and leader diversity; less experienced teachers, less Advanced Placement course offerings, and ineffective governance structures.

With the exception of a few voices, this data, by and large, has not been a part of any significant policy changes and no commitment of resources to proven strategies aimed at ameliorating the inequities and outcomes for

this population some might say that after so many past efforts, the problem is not solvable. In the absence of uproar and outcry, one could reasonably surmise that failure and underachievement for males of color are normalized and, while not verbalized, seemingly acceptable. In the absence of a plan, action, and resources, the unspoken response may well be Que Sera Sera and there’s nothing strategic or intentional about whatever will be, will be. Unless of course, it is intentional.

School, district, civic, and community leaders, since it is likely that you responded “none” to the

Hattie Carthan Community Garden Annual Food Heritage Festival THIS YEAR’S THEME: “OUR FOOD IS OUR CULTURE” A COMMUNITY OFFERING OF FOODS FROM THE AFRICAN DIASPORA June 22nd, 2019, 2pm – 9pm 363-365 Clifton Place at Marcy Ave Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn 11221 G to Bedford/Nostrand, B38 to Marcy & Lafayette Ave One of the most interesting things about the food of the African Diaspora is how closely it connects the people who prepare it, often without them even realizing it. There are several characters that almost all cuisines of the African Diaspora share: seasoning technique; cooking techniques such as stewing and frying; the prevalence of starchy mashes or porridges eaten with stews and soups or on their own. Among African, Latin and Caribbean cuisines, ingredients are nearly identical, most likely due to the similarity in climate. The distinctive ingredients of southern cuisine, as well as the style of cooking them, have been common for centuries in Africa.

Prompted, in part after 17-yearold Trayvon Martin was shot to death by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida and his subsequent acquittal of criminal charges, in 2014 President Barack Obama began to plan a multipronged public-private initiative aimed at closing the opportunity gaps and life achievement gaps for boys and young men of color. Through the actions of the 44th President of the United States, and because of a tragic moment in time, the My Brother’s Keeper movement began.

I was inspired because I saw hundreds of influential adults in attendance from informal community leaders like Sabrina Fulton, the mother of slain teen Trayvon Martin, education officials like New York State Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia (my current boss), elected officials like Congresswoman Lucy McBath, informal leaders and influencers like award-winning actor Michael B. Jordan, award-winning filmmaker Ryan Coogler, NFL All-Pro and Stanford graduate Richard Sherman, former Essence Magazine Editor-in-Chief Susan Taylor, NFL Super-Bowl champion Victor Cruz and perhaps one of the biggest influencers and role models of our time, President Barack Obama.

To illustrate some of the energy and passion evoked from MBK Rising, I thought sharing quotes from attendees would help you draw your own conclusions: “The experience has been electrifying...because there has been so much energy that has been going around since I stepped in this building.” Lendrell M, student and MBK Rising! Participant

“Everything I’ve learned, I plan on not only taking back to apply to myself, but to the work that I do.”

Elliot K, student and MBK Rising!

Participant What separates MBK Rising from being part of a larger movement as opposed to a singular event? Sacrifice. There is tremendous buy-in and the willingness for people to sacrifice their time, effort, resources, and share their platforms to change the conversation, influence policy, programs, and practices because the plight of young men of color is equivalent to the village being on fire. Fortunately, there is a collective, cross-generational effort to extinguish the fire. For we know that in a global community, if one village is on fire, it impacts everyone.

Where will you, your community, your state, and this nation be when future generations look back on this moment in time? Will you be one of the ones who took action or someone who sat silently on the sidelines, as our country took a long, slow, yet comfortable slide toward mediocrity and irrelevance?

Today is a great day to choose the side of history that you will be on. With over 250 My Brother’s Keeper Communities in America, today can be the day that you volunteer to work with an established My Brother’s Keeper Community or contact the Obama Foundation at www.obama.org and find out how YOU can do the work to create an MBK community. If your personal politics don’t align politically, you can still make a difference by becoming a mentor with the National Cares Mentoring Movement at www.caresmentoring.org. The future of this country will be greatly affected by what happens to boys and young men of color today. You get to decide how we will move forward.

Dr. Anael Alston is an award-winning educator and an Assistant Commissioner at the New York State Education Department.

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Meat Plate $10 – 3 choices of meat Vegetarian Plate $8 Homemade Pies $2 per slice Sorrel & Herb Drinks $2 Fresh Fruit Smoothies $3 Roast Corn $2 Sage Sausages $2 Chicken foot Souse $3 Bowl * Southern BBQ Galore * Wild Meat * Live Blues Music * * Live Farm Animals * Raffles * Recipe Swaps * Garden Tours *

QUESTIONS? Contact: 718-638-3566 or hattiecarthangarden@yahoo.com

Brooklyn was NOT playing! On the opening day of this season’s Celebrate Brooklyn concerts in Prospect Park, someone said they’d gotten on the line at 10:30 am for the free 7:30pm Patti Labelle show that evening. The park was packed with peaceful and happy people brimming with anticipation of what was surely to be a night of beautiful and funky music. Though it need not be said, Ms. Patti did not disappoint. It was a powerfully uplifting exchange with a music artist who loves her fans back.

Celebrate Brooklyn continues through August 10th with a fascinating selection of music artists from many genres.

– Maitefa Angaza, Photo credit: Hemamset Angaza

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Friday, June 21st MAKE MUSIC NY CONCERT & CENSUS JOB RECRUITMENT ARTs East New York 534 Livonia Ave., 12-5pm FREE. See a lineup of performers spanning Hip-Hop to Jazz.

Bring family and friends to enjoy this grand opening of the Summer Solstice. Note: Arts East New York will host the NYC Census Job recruitment inside and visitors will also have the option of filling out their census forms there.

BOROUGH DISTRIBUTION DAY FOR SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK Kenny Leon directed this allBlack musical version of Much Ado About Nothing, starring Danielle Brooks of The Color Purple on Broadway and Orange is the New Black. Countee Cullen Library 104 West 136th St. Manhattan. Show is at 8pm at The Delacorte Theater vouchers (up to 2 per person) distributed at noon (bring a chair and/or a book & get on the line at 9:30), exchange vouchers for tix at the Delacorte at7:30. The hilarity, high drama and masterful acting make it all worth it.

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family and enjoy fun activities, music, games, contests, tournaments and crafts. Total Praise Ensemble, Uncle Majic, the Hip-Hop Magician, community resources and more.

Sunday, June 23rd THE JUNETEENTH BLACK BUSINESS EXPO Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration 1368 Fulton St., 1:30-5pm, FREE. Entrepreneurs and business owners Khaiel Events and Ahm Zadik provide a platform to help money circulate within the community. Meet, support and shop with local businesses and meet some extraordinary people from the community.

Find handcrafted cultural accessories, handmade soaps and garments. Receive financial education, learn ways to travel on a budget, and enjoy great food and music. Tickets at Eventbrite.

Friday, June 28th JAZZ FOR UNITY

Jazz 966, 966 Fulton St., 8 & 9:45pm, (doors at 7) $20. Closing out the season at Jazz 96 with two live bands. Presented by Jazz 966 and the Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium. Group sales

Dwana Smallwood Performing Arts Center 857 Lexington Ave., 12-6pm, FREE. Located right outside DSPAC on Lexington Ave, this street festival extravaganza will feature dance workshops for kids, performances from local artists, family fun, and inventive crafts, fashion and culinary delights of more than 50 local vendors. For info on how to become a vendor or performer contact: http://bit.ly/MAMAFestival2019Vendors

MARK YOUR CALENDARS Sunday, July 7th SOUL SUMMIT MUSIC FESTIVAL Fort Greene Park, DeKalb Ave. 3-8pm, FREE. The annual outdoor music and dancing series returns, courtesy of the Soul Summit DJ Collective. Exercise and clean fun, heavy on the house music.

Thursday, July 4th 48TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN ARTS FESTIVAL

Commodore Barry Park Flushing Ave. & Navy St., 12-10pm Sugg donation $5 at the gate, special pckgs available.

Opening day of this landmark 4-day annual event and this year’s theme is Ya Tond La Taaba (We Are Emmanuel Baptist Church's Total Praise Ensemble All One). The lineup on this day includes Hypnotic Brass Saturday, June 22nd available. For info call 718Ensemble, Jones Family 638-6911 A CLINTON HILL Band, Clifton Anderson Sextet and Dinizulu Cultural ‘BLESSING OUR BLOCK’ th Arts Institute, For info on Saturday, June 29 PARTY vending and housing call Emanuel Baptist Church, St. ANNUAL M.A.M.A. 718-638-6700.

James P.l btw & Lafayette & For general info visit www.

FESTIVAL: MORE ARTS, DeKalb Aves., (rain or shine) iaafestival.org MORE ALIVE! 11am-5pm FREE. Bring the

ENID KNIGHT Chronic Disease Care Manager on Food, Health,Wellness: What’s Eating You!

DR. CHRISTOPHER BOXE Scientist on Healthy Brain, Healthy Diets Kgt-12 and Beyond

BROOKLYN BEDFORDSTUYVESANT LIONS CLUB Men’s Health Initiative Plus

Raffles! Coupons! Product!

Recipe Book Giveways!

Information! Advice! and for the young people Fun Recycling, Reusing, Repurposing Ideas with Chelsea!

Healthy Treats!!

Coming Up on Saturday, June 29 ... 10:00am - 12:00noon Literacy through BOOKMAKING

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VOL. 23 NO. 25