Community

From the desk of MIKE BLOOMBERG

Dear Reader,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely,

Mike Bloomberg

New York’s 17 th

Century African Burial Ground on Wall Street

By: Erin Lewenauer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Queens Upcoming Events FREE Recurring events in Queens: York College (94-20 Guy R Brewer Blvd): Every Tuesday, 6:00pm York College Jazz Workshop with Profes- sor Mark Adams M.S. 216 (64-20 175th Street): Every Wednes- day, 6:00pm American Sign Language Class for Adults

Now Until March 22 8:00-4:00pm Art in the Garden: Recollections: High- lights from our Perma- nent Collection

See select works from the first ten years of exhibitions in QBG’s art gallery. 4350 Main Street. FREE drop-ins.

Now Until December 2020 Jay Jaxon: 40 Years of Fashion Design Bril- liance

The Jay Jaxon exhi- bition celebrates the life of Queens native, Jay Jaxon as an Amer- ican Fashion Designer, Haute Couture De- signer, and Costume Designer. Further, it restores the history of Jaxon by displaying artifacts and objects from his personal de- sign archives as well as primary sources from the research of fash- ion scholar and guest curator Rachel Fend- erson. QHS. 143-35 37th Avenue. FREE. February 21 7:00-8:00pm Micha Musica Concert The Public The - ater’s Mobile Unit and Joe’s Pub will be once again in collaboration on their yearly In Tran - sit tour series with the amazing band MICHA Música. This year, MI - CHA has been playing her nylon-string guitar that her abuelo gave to her father, inhaling new rhythms, learning favorite boleros and rancheras, and writing new tunes. In this inti - mate concert, she is mining deep into Lat - in American rhythms, memory and language. Joining her are Miriam Elhajli (guitar, vocals) and Reza Salazar (per - cussion). ARROW Field House. 35-30 35th. FREE. February 21,28 Mar 6 10:00-12:00pm Workshop: Written in the Body

NNY invites you to the “Written in the Body” workshop guid- ed by the poet Clau- dia Prado and the artist Sol Aramendi. In this workshop we will explore the charac- teristics of our moving body through creative writing and image making. As part of the workshop each par- ticipant will produce a writing and an im- age. Queens Library Langston Hughes lo- cated at 100-01 North- ern Blvd. FREE.

February 21 8:00pm SaaWee: New Ritual Performed by Sita Chay (Latin Grammy winning violinist based in New York) and Jihye Kim (provocative per- cussionist based in Lon- don), SaaWee’s New Ritual performance strives to embrace the wounds of current so- ciety and heal through ritualistic performance, incorporating Kore- an shaman rhythm, Korean mask dance movements, and con- temporary languages created through violin. Flushing Town Hall. 137- 35 Northern Blvd. $18. February 22 2:00-4:00pm Winter Wellness: Root Remedies for De- tox & Digestion

The Winter Wellness Workshop Series teach- es how to make herbal remedies to support wellness and health during the winter sea- son. In “Root Remedies for Detox & Digestion,” learn how to make a herbal tincture using the roots of herbs and how ‘bitters’ boost the immune system by helping to remove toxins. QBG 43-50 Main Street. $30.

February 22 9:00-10:00am NYRR Open Run: Crocheron Park

NYRR Open Run is a FREE, volunteer-led running/walking pro- gram that meets at the same time and place every week. Everyone is welcome, even dogs on leashes and stroll- ers. All you have to do is show up! 33rd Road and 215th Place. FREE with registration. February 23 1:00-2:30pm Outdoor Skills: Ani- mal Tracking

In this program, learn how to identify animal tracks to under- stand animal behavior. All programs are fami- ly-friendly but are rec- ommended for ages 8 years and older. Gold- en Bond. Crocheron Park. FREE.

February 23 7:00pm EtM: Dhegrae & Di- gression

EtM Con Edison composer-in-resi - dence, Sheree Clem- ent presents the world premiere of a new work commissioned by vocal duo Dhegrae & Digression, in a set- ting of poems by Phillis Levin. A wildly imagina- tive program curated by Lucy Dhegrae and Ariadne Greif, who are Dhegrae & Digression. Flushing Town Hall. 137- 35 Northern Blvd. FREE with RSVP.

February 23 2:00-4:00pm Watercolor Work- shop: In the Green- house

Learn the basic techniques of painting with watercolors with artist Chemin Hsiao. This class will feature an exclusive peek inside QBG’s Greenhouse and will use plants win- tering there as inspira- tion. 43-50 Main Street. $30.

February 23 2:00-4:00pm Screening: Sorry to Bother You

This 2018 dark com- edy follows a young African-American tele- marketer who adopts a white accent to succeed at his job. This imaginative film is a sharp critique not only on racial tensions but also on capitalism in America. Lewis H Latimer House. 34-41 137th Street. FREE. February 23 2:00-5:00pm My Word(s) These are the tool I trust, Exhi- bition Opening

Please join for the opening of the Com- munity Partnership Exhibition My Word(s) – These are the tools I trust*, an installation of Flash Story Poems cre- ated by participants of the Free Verse Po- etry Workshops held in the waiting rooms of the New York City De- partment of Probation. Queens Museum. New York City Building. FREE with Museum admis- sion. February 25 2:00pm Akeelah and the Bee

Watch the mov- ie “Akeelah and the Bee” – A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee at Queens Library. 89- 11 Merrick Blvd. FREE. February 26 5:30pm Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am: Docu- mentary Film Screen- ing And Director’s Q&A This artful and inti- mate documentary on legendary storyteller Toni Morrison examines her life, her works, and the powerful themes she has confronted throughout her literary career. Ms. Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics, and colleagues on an ex- ploration of race, his- tory, America, and the human condition. Queens Library. 89-11 Merrick Blvd. FREE. February 26 6:00-8:00pm Black History Month Celebration

Celebrate African American Heritage at the Helen Marshall Community Center at Queens Borough Hall. 120-55 Queens Blvd. RSVP at queensbp. org/rsvp. FREE.

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