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CUBANEO: COLLAGE ARTIST SHOWS CUBA THROUGH THE LENS OF REALITY pg 16
Epicenter, TCP merger aims to create pipeline to creative economy pg 12
Low MCAS scores launch dispute over test’s value pg 10
plus On stage: ‘A Guide for the Homesick’ pg 16 The Peabody Essex Museum acquires a Yoan Capote sculpture pg 18 Thursday, October 26, 2017 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965 • CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
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Walsh unveils bid for Amazon HQ Rox parcels among proposed sites; pitch puts tax incentives on the table By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
Mayor Martin Walsh unveiled to the public the pitch he hopes will lure online retail giant Amazon to place its second headquarters in the city. “We are excited to present the best of Boston to Amazon,” Walsh said in a statement. “Boston is a thriving city and we invite Amazon to grow with us.” Walsh’s office kept the bid details secret until after it was submitted, saying this denied advantage to competing municipalities. While this meant there were no public weigh-ins on the sites offered up for Amazon’s consideration, his office says any Amazon development necessarily will have to involve local permitting and community processes.
Bid incentives
Walsh’s pitch extols the city’s universities and educated workforce as well as its diverse population, current economic growth, business culture and transportation network. It outlines possible supports such as a task force dedicated to helping Amazon navigate city permitting, develop a workforce pipeline and coordinate relations with community organization, schools and other organizations or firms. Critics, including mayoral challenger City Councilor Tito Jackson, complained that Walsh’s offer to General Electric delved too richly into public resources by offering hefty tax breaks. This time around, Walsh
ON THE WEB Boston’s pitch to Amazon :
https://amazon.boston.gov/ MA’s pitch: www.mass.gov/hq2/ puts tax breaks on the table in the city’s 218-page pitch, but at this stage avoids specifying an amount. In contrast, Worcester promised $500 million in tax breaks. Another available incentive the Walsh administration mentions is payment in lieu of taxes — in which the city waives taxes on an entity in favor of requesting that the entity voluntarily contribute some money. The Walsh administration bid also presents the options of providing grants to train people to be ready to take on Amazon careers and tapping inclusionary development funds for efforts to stabilize housing prices in the neighborhood around Amazon’s second headquarters. Amazon is expected to have received 238 bids in total for its planned second headquarters. Company leaders seek more than 8 million square feet of space with access to housing options, public transit and car access, short travel time to an airport, a nearby educated workforce and other features. Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration released a bid that proposes 26 locations across Boston and the state. House Speaker Robert DeLeo has voiced support for one of Walsh’s proposed sites, Suffolk Downs.
See AMAZON, page 22
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(left) Segun Idowu, third vice president of the Boston branch of the NAACP, and (right) Tanisha Sullivan, president of the branch.
NAACP: Walsh failing to meet campaign promises Little improvement for communities of color under Walsh By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
Mayor Martin Walsh has fallen short of campaign promises to improve educational outcomes, increase access to employment and housing and increase public safety in communities of color, according to a report released by the NAACP Boston Branch on Sunday. Drawing on city data, the NAACP, working in conjunction with a coalition of civil rights and
community-based organizations, rated Walsh no higher than a C in any of the main areas. Conclusions were based on city data and news reporting. “While some of the outcomes are disappointing, we hold firm to the belief that we all want what is best for people in this city,” Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston branch of the NAACP, said in a statement to the Banner. “The report should serve to highlight many of the issues of importance
within communities of color, as well as be a guidepost for our collective work in identifying and implementing results driven solutions.” Walsh’s office disputed the NAACP’s low assessments of his track record, telling the Banner in a statement, “We need to take the time to closely review this report, however we respectfully disagree with the grades given. While there is always room for improvement,
See NAACP, page 8
Jackson outlines mayoral platform Highlights Boston’s growing inequality By YAWU MILLER
BANNER PHOTO
City Councilor Tito Jackson speaks to an audience at the Old South Church.
Tito Jackson outlined his mayoral campaign platform during a forum at the Old South Church last week, telling the audience that the Walsh administration has exacerbated the growing gulf between wealthy Bostonians and the middle class and hitting the mayor for backing business interests like General Electric over the needs of the city’s families. “One of the most difficult things
I faced in office was the night a helipad was proposed for General Electric,” Jackson said. “That same night I had to drive over to the Bolling Building, where they were closing the Mattahunt school.” The pairing of the school closing and the generous tax incentives the city and state offered General Electric to move its headquarters to Boston have provided Jackson a convenient snapshot for what he says is an administration out of touch with the city’s needs.
Over the past two years, Jackson has hammered away at Walsh for a series of budget cuts — totaling more than $140 million — that have hit schools hard, winning him support among parents leery of Walsh’s agenda for the Boston Public Schools. “What kind of a city are we if we can give $25 million in tax breaks to for-profit companies while we can’t fund education?” Jackson said at the forum. Jackson’s criticism of the Walsh administration may have been a
See JACKSON, page 3
2 • Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
Basic Black continues 50-year-old legacy at WGBH Say Brother was first-in-the nation black-run broadcast news program ByYawu Miller
In April 1968, as America’s cities had been rocked by rioting and unrest and were bracing for more in the wake of the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., civic leaders were asking, “What can we do?” Boston Mayor Kevin White asked people to stay home, fearing a riot. Then he asked that WGBH to televise a previously-scheduled James Brown concert, and the station executives complied. That broadcast is widely seen as the impetus for “Say Brother,” a black-themed news and culture program that launched nearly 50 years ago and continues to broadcast under the name “Basic Black.” Earlier this month, “Basic Black” launched its 50th season. With divisive politics and a resurgence of white nationalism playing on the national level, and flare ups of racial tensions in Fenway Park bringing the race discussion to the fore locally, the academics, journalists and agency heads who regularly appear on the show have an abundance of material. The show’s current format, however, contrasts sharply with its early years, when it interspersed commentary with live footage from around the city’s black community and live performances by the likes of Curtis Mayfield and Parliament. “Everybody who was anybody wanted to get on “Say Brother” because that was the first black news show in the country,” said Barbara Barrow Murray, who came on as a production assistant in 1972 and worked as a producer on the show from 1976 to 1985. “The model was a program by, for and about the black community.” Among the luminaries appearing on “Say Brother” were Mario Van Peebles, Muhammad Ali, Miriam Makeba and Eartha Kitt. The show covered local, national and international news events — with interviewees representing Puerto Rican independentistas, the African Party for the Liberation of Guinea and Cape Verde, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front and the African National Congress. The raw, unfiltered representations of the black community
got a little too real in 1970, when “Say Brother” producer Ray Robinson aired a 90-minute episode on a black community uprising in New Bedford without editing out the curse words interview subjects used to describe the hopelessness they were experiencing in the South Coast city. “Say Brother” briefly disappeared from the airwaves and Robinson was fired, but the show was reinstated several months later, continuing with an in-studio interview format. Retired journalist Sarah-Ann Shaw, who reported for WBZ-TV 4 beginning in 1969, says the ’70s were somewhat of a golden era for blacks in broadcast media. “Channel 7 and 5 and 4 had black shows,” she said. “We were better represented on television then than we are now.” Barrow Murray left the show in 1985, and insists that in its current form and with its current name — Basic Black — the show is a far cry from its earlier iteration. “When they changed the name, they lost the identity,” she says.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WGBH
A recent Basic Black panel: Carl Williams, staff attorney at the ACLU of MA; Renee Graham, Boston Globe Columnist; Callie Crossley, host of Under the Radar with Callie Crossley; Phillip Martin, WGBH News Senior Investigative Reporter and Kim McLarin, associate professor at Emerson College.
Basic Black
In its current form, the show follows a more traditional news talk show format. Hosts are drawn from the ranks of black newscasters. What has remained a constant is that the community’s voice is represented, says current host Callie Crossley. “That was actually the genesis of the show: that there should be voices from the community that give a different take on the issues of the day,” she says. Basic Black has endured, even as many such programs sponsored by other networks fell by the wayside in the post-civil rights media landscape: “Third World,” “City Streets,” “Talking Black” and New Yorkbased WABC’s “Like It Is,” which ceased broadcasting 2011. Today’s “Basic Black” draws together panels of academics, journalists, community activists and heads of civil rights organizations to discuss issues of importance to Boston’s communities of color as well as issues that affect the state and the nation. Their perspectives may at times be at odds with the perspectives aired on majority-white
PHOTO: PATRICIA WALKER BRAXTON
A neighborhood choir sings during a 1986 Say Brother broadcast titled “The Nine Voices of Christmas.” news programs, but they are representative of the majority of Boston residents and, Crossley points out, the future of the United States. “We are a nation moving toward a majority-minority population,” she said. “Their perspectives are perspectives we should be hearing from. There are not so many of their voices in other outlets.” Because blacks, Latinos and Asians in the Boston area often occupy the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder, their perspectives, Crossley argues, are representative of the growing income and wealth divides in the country. “We know the extremes of these issues,” she says. “It’s important to talk about. Especially at a time when civic dialogue is very challenging.”
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS WELCOMES YOU
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Say Brother Director Stan Nathan (2nd from left) with Orchard Park residents Deidre Francis, Hazel Bright and Stewart Thomas.
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Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 3
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District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson says he would work to end inequality in Boston if elected mayor.
Jackson
continued from page 1 key factor in his winning the support of voters in Jamaica Plain’s traditionally progressive-voting wards 11 and 19. Along with Roxbury’s Ward 12, those wards were the only three of the 22 wards Jackson won. While Jackson seems intent on expanding that base of support, he may be facing a stiff headwind, with polls showing Walsh in the lead by a commanding 30 points. Jackson has so far struggled to get his message out in an election season where media coverage has been somewhat scant. Walsh hasn’t helped, agreeing to just two debates — and those only after the September preliminary balloting. Many of Jackson’s ideas aren’t new. He’s calling for the dismantling of the Boston Planning and Development Agency, which he says he would replace with an agency that focuses solely on planning. That idea was aired widely during the 2013 mayoral campaign. Jackson’s call for all housing built on city-owned land to be onethird affordable, one-third moderately affordable and one-third market-rate was first implemented in the South End during the 1980s under the Flynn administration. Jackson also is calling for the city’s Inclusionary Development policy to nearly double the number of affordable units developers are required to build, from the current 13 percent to 25 percent — higher than Cambridge, which recently adopted a 20 percent benchmark. But Jackson backs up his call for the policies with statistics showing that market-rate housing developed in Boston under the Walsh administration is affordable to only the top 20 percent of wage earners here. In a PowerPoint presentation at the forum in the Copley Square church, Jackson
used data from the website RentCafe to show that families would need an income of $135,000 to afford the average two-bedroom apartment in Boston. “We are not building a city that takes care of all its people,” Jackson told the audience, lambasting Walsh for pursuing the city’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics and an Indy Car race. Jackson also said he would democratize city government, taking some power away from the mayor by restoring the elected school committee, among other measures. In addition, Jackson criticized Walsh for an increase in violence in Boston under his watch, noting that there have been 168 shootings in Boston and 35 homicides as of August 30. “There is a significant uptick in violence,” he said. “We have to roll up our sleeves and deal with it.” Jackson said he would hire more police officers in order to reduce overtime spending; implement more aggressive outreach to young men involved in gun violence to offer alternatives; redeploy socalled Safe Streets teams of bicycle police; and implement body-worn cameras for police. He also voiced support of an independent, civilian-led board to investigate allegations of police misconduct. Other initiatives Jackson said he would implement: a $15-anhour minimum wage for Boston; the creation of 5,000 new youth summer jobs and 1,000 yearround jobs; and the implementation of a sanctuary schools program that would prevent federal immigration enforcement officers from entering BPS schools. Many of his proposed policies, Jackson said, are aimed at one of the city’s most pressing problems: inequality. “I am moving to change the structures that have created inequality in Boston,” he said.
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4 • Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
EDITORIAL
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INSIDE: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, 16 • BUSINESS, 12 • CLASSIFIEDS, 22
Established 1965
It’s time to forge political unity When African Americans feel aggrieved, they are quick to go to the streets in protest. The opportunity to present a united political front occurs only every four years or so with formal elections. Tuesday, Nov. 7, is such an Election Day. It provides a unique opportunity for voters to go to the polls and express their opposition to the treatment of Boston citizens who are not of European descent. On Feb. 16, 2014, the House of Representatives summarily evicted Carlos Henriquez by a vote of 146-5 because he was convicted on a misdemeanor assault charge brought by a disgruntled acquaintance. Henriquez was duly elected by voters in his district, and there were no House rules to permit such an eviction. In September of that year, Felix D. Arroyo won the election for Suffolk Register of Probate. Apparently dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, employees of the agency began to sabotage operations. According to the Boston Globe account, “They were resentful of change and possibly motivated by racism.” A 66 page report by retired Judge Anthony R. Nesi that reveals the extent of the staff rebellion has not yet been made public. As fate would have it, Register Arroyo’s son also became the victim of political power gone wrong. Felix G. Arroyo, a
former candidate for mayor of Boston, was appointed by Mayor Marty Walsh to serve in the cabinet post as chief of Health and Human Services. But Arroyo was fired by Walsh when Arroyo was accused of sexual harassment by a department employee. However, the truth of the accusation has not yet been established by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Clearly there is a lack of respect in political circles for Boston’s black vote. Four years ago, several candidates entered the race for mayor to change that perception. The serious candidates were Felix Arroyo, John Barros, Charles Clemons, Charlotte Golar Ritchie and Charles Yancey. However, they lost and the final battle was between John Connolly and Marty Walsh, who won. Arroyo and Barros were given top jobs in Walsh’s administration, but it seems with the summary firing of Arroyo that there is little job security. The goal now for blacks must be to go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and establish such a strong black vote that future politicians will be more reluctant to disrespect the interests of the community. Then win or lose in this election, the people will have begun to establish a political bloc of considerable value. Vote on Tuesday, Nov.7.
Much at stake in council races It is likely that the four at-large Boston city councilors will all be re-elected. However, there is greater status for the councilor with the greatest number of votes. African American voters should be certain to vote for Ayanna Pressley. She deserves a strong turnout in order to become an even stronger voice on important issues. The primary city council contest will be in District 7 between Rufus Faulk and Kim Janey. Both are well educated; Faulk went to Temple and Janey went to Smith. Faulk is the director of the Gang Mediation Initiative at Ten Point Coalition. Janey is a senior project director at Massachusetts Advocates for
Children (MAC). Which candidate you support for the District 7 seat depends primarily on your view of the major problems. Black youth across the country are incarcerated at a much higher rate than whites. Massachusetts is one of only six states where the disparity is 10 times greater or more. With the school-to-prison pipeline functioning, many young blacks who could be going to college will be sitting in prisons. There is too little interest in this problem. While the problems with which MAC contends are extensive they are getting attention. We could lose a substantial generation of young men. You decide.
“We gotta to go to the polls and build the strength of the black vote.” USPS 045-780 Melvin B. Miller Sandra L. Casagrand John E. Miller Yawu Miller
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The Boston Banner is published every Thursday. Offices are located at 1100 Washington St., Dorchester, MA 02124. Telephone: 617-261-4600, Fax 617-261-2346 Web site: www.baystatebanner.com Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA. All rights reserved. Copyright 2017. The Banner is certified by the NMSDC, 2016. Circulation of The Bay State and Boston Banner 27,400. Audited by CAC, June 2016. The Banner is printed by: TC Transcontinental Printing 10807, Mirabeau, Anjou (Québec) H1J 1T7 Printed in Canada
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Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 5
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OPINION
The real name of the judicial game is not the Supreme Court, but the federal judiciary
ROVING CAMERA
Are you planning on voting in the November election?
By EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON “But it’s not just the Supreme Court, there are a lot of vacancies at both the court and district court level.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s words on the importance of federal judiciary appointments were meant to placate Trump. He’s so far struck out on just everything he’s tried to get the GOP-controlled Senate to do. But McConnell’s quip about the importance of the federal appointments, was if anything, an understatement. The name of the judicial selection game for the past three decades has been the ferocious battle over a Supreme Court nominee. It has drawn much public and media attention and speculation. It has ignited vicious non-stop partisan political and ideological warfare between the GOP and Democrats and legions of public interest groups. However, a president’s picks to the federal bench is another matter. They have flown for the most part way under the public and media radar scope. There isn’t one pick, as with a Supreme Court pick, to focus on, but dozens. At the end of Trump’s first year in the Oval Office, there could be more than 100 openings on the 13 federal appellate courts. A President’s nominees are mostly nameless, often faceless judges who have labored largely in the public and media shadow for years. So, when one such as Trump’s one and only High Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, was nominated, there was a head long scramble to dig up whatever could be found about him precisely because like most appellate court judges he was virtually invisible to the public for so long. But these are the judges who do far more than the Supreme Court can to impact, mangle, and entomb law and public policy for decades to come. They have a lifetime appointment. They wildly dwarf the number of cases that the Supreme Court will ever hear, roughly 60,000 a year to the Supreme Court’s roughly 75 cases. These judges are the real judges of last resort for a controversial legal and impactful case. Their rulings are the ones that stand as binding law for not just years, but potentially generations to come. These judges are anything but non-partisan and objective. Many of them are just as hidebound politically partisan as a Clarence Thomas or Gorsuch. That partisanship often comes through in their rulings and opinions on hot button cases that involve civil rights, civil liberties, the environment, and what corporations can and can’t do. Let’s take just one area of law and public policy; in this instance environmental cases. A 25-year study by George Washington University, from 1970 to 1994, found that by a wide margin Republican-appointed judges turned back challenges by individuals and environmental groups challenging decisions of the Environmental Protection Agency in the overwhelming majority of cases. Democratic-appointed judges by contrast accepted challenges in the majority of cases. The study was done almost 20 years ago and the numbers would almost certainly be the same if not higher in assessing cases that even more ideologically bent federal appeals court judges have heard in the past two decades or tossed in everything from the environment to civil rights. Appeals court judges take an oath to render the law fairly and impartially. They like to think that they do just that. There are few cases where an appeals court judge will take a position on a case that openly displays their partisan bias. Yet, they all hold political views, some very strong political views, and that inevitably colors how they interpret facts and testimony in a particular case. A judge can find a case law rationale for any ruling that he or she wants to make on a particular case that more often than not conforms to their political and ideological views. GOP presidents egged on by conservative legal and public interest groups know this, Trump most of all. He did not need McConnell to remind him of the importance of stuffing the federal judiciary with as many hardline, strict constructionist judges as he can find. Democrats know this too. And since federal appeals court judges need not be confirmed with a 60-vote count, Democrats are outnumbered and outgunned with scarce weaponry in their arsenal to try and slow down the Trump and the GOP’s federal court packing scheme. Their one weapon, that has driven McConnell to rage and a determination to do something about it, is the use of the “blue slip.” With this, a Senator can block for a time the confirmation of a judicial nominee in their home state. If that weapon is taken away, then the floodgates are wide open for dozens of Trump’s picks and their almost certain swift confirmation. They’d be there for life. They could do a total conservative remake of the federal bench. They would provide Trump or another GOP president with a large crop of hardline conservative legal guns to pick from for the next SCOTUS vacancy that fit the mold of his judicial heroes, Scalia and Thomas. It’s this scary prospect that makes the federal judiciary as important as the Supreme Court.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst.
Yes. The mayor position is important to the city. He can help change things that are happening in Boston.
Tiffany Lewis
Health Center Worker Roxbury
Yes. There’s so much at stake this year.
Aisha Hayes Retired Roxbury
I will. We have people who died to give us the right to vote and put in who we want to represent us.
Phillip Lodge Business Owner Dorchester
Of course. People pay taxes and somebody has to decide how much of that comes back to your community. If you don’t have representation, you get what other people decide.
Bill Wright
Communications Director Chelsea
I don’t see why not. Anybody’s better than the incumbent.
No. I don’t want any of them. They’re all crooks and they all lie.
Versie Matthew
M. Prince
Before that, Griffin was the executive director of Boston Centers for Youth and Families, the largest public human services agency in Boston. She also has served as the executive director of Blue Hill Club and the Boys & Girls Club of Boston. Currently she is on local and national boards focused on youth development, Latino education and education policy. “The true honor of this appointment is that it is in direct service of young people,” Griffin said. “I’m eager to help drive our agenda forward as we aim to support more students in meaningful ways as they navigate high school, college and beyond.” The nonprofit has more than 20 dedicated classroom spaces in Boston and Springfield. The spaces, called “zones,” include technology and other resources and are staffed by full-time Scholar Athletes program coordinators. Students, both athletes and non-athletes, receive mentoring, academic support and
college preparation throughout the academic year in these spaces. The nonprofit also works to remove financial barriers to college by awarding scholarships to its participants. Scholar Athletes was established in 2009 as a partnership between the City of Boston and Suffolk Construction. The program has since grown to serve Springfield as well.
Unemployed Roxbury
Cook Roxbury
IN THE NEWS
DAPHNE GRIFFIN Daphne Griffin was appointed executive director of Scholar Athletes, a Boston-based nonprofit that provides academic support and college preparation. The organization serves nearly 5,000 students in more than 20 schools in Boston and Springfield. “Daphne is the perfect choice to lead this dynamic organization at such a critical moment in its growth,” Sandy Edgerley, Scholar Athletes board member, said. “On behalf of the board, we are thrilled to have her leading our team.” Griffin first joined Scholar Athletes in 2013 as deputy executive director. Her previous roles include serving as the chief of human services under the administration of then-mayor Thomas Menino, making her the first Latino-American to hold that position. As chief of human services, Griffin oversaw seven city departments with a combined budget of more than $26 million.
6 • Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
King’s birthday fete represents the best of Boston
OBITUARY
Phyliss Patricia Raynor writer, radio personality
By RAY FLYNN
The other day at the McKinley South End Academy, the students, teachers, civic leaders, Mayor Martin Walsh and I paid tribute to neighborhood activist Mel King. The old school gym where Mel and I played a lot of hard fought basketball games against each other many years ago was named after Mel King. A well-deserved tribute to a man who has been a friend to many over the past 89 years. After the ceremony, one of the newcomers to the South End community came up to me and said, “Mayor, I’m curious. I’ve lived in the community 11 years, but what I heard about the old Boston by you and Mel King is not what I read about years ago. Especially the remarkable stories we all heard here today. Why do these Boston stories not get told today? Shouldn’t our young people hear and read about them. Wouldn’t it make them feel proud about their neighborhood, heritage and themselves. Why does everything have to be so negative?” Well, Mel’s special day was not yet over. The Scholars Brigade of the McKinley Public School warmed the audience with a beautiful presentation of school unity and pride. One of the students told Mayor Walsh, Mel King and me, “You made us all feel so important being here in our school today.” I responded, “It’s all of you students here today at the McKinley
MAYOR’S OFFICE PHOTO BY DON HARNEY
Ray Flynn, Mel and Joyce King and Mayor Martin Walsh celebrate King’s birthday at the McKinley South End Academy. School who make us all proud to be able to meet the future leaders and citizens of our city. As parents and grandparents, you make us feel like all our hard work, determination and honesty was worth it. Whether our families were dock workers like mine and Mel’s, laborers like Marty’s,
or worked in our hospitals and hotels like my wife’s from Ireland, you are proving to everybody that the future of Boston is still one of tradition, pride and hope.
Phyliss Patricia Raynor was born on April 22, 1946 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. She was the only daughter of the late Patricia Ann Raynor and the late Edward “Billy “Raynor, Sr. Phyliss graduated from Girls Latin High School in 1964 where she was an exceptional student. She earned numerous scholarship opportunities before deciding to attend Brandeis University. At Brandeis University, she was a prominent student leader, most notably leading a Black student takeover of the administration building demanding among other things, the creation of a Black Studies program and more Black faculty and staff. Her commitment to social justice was fueled by the legacy of her mother whom she loved dearly. You could not have a conversation without her mentioning her mother. After graduation, Phyliss moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she became one of the first employees of the Turner Broadcasting company. She had a flair for writing and has a movie credit for her script development for the acclaimed film “Daughters of the Dust.” Phyliss spent countless hours writing grant proposals for numerous non-profit organizations. She later worked at the Atlanta Arts Council and became a radio personality with her late night show “Phyliss in the Night.” She last worked for the Atlanta chapter of AARP where she worked with the elderly. Her passion for people and the improvement of the human condition were evident in everything she did. Phyliss championed many causes and took great pride in her family. Phyliss leaves behind her brothers, James Madison Raynor, George Harvey Raynor, Robert Edward “Bobby” Raynor, Edward William “Billy” Raynor Jr.; Her sisters in law, Marchelle Raynor and Anita Raynor; Her step brother’s Mansur “Butch” Raynor and Tracy Langhorne and her adopted brother Alpha Barry; Her aunts and uncle, Phyllis Rose, Robert “Bobby” Rose, Charlotte Rose, Vivian Williams; Her nieces and nephew, Jasmine “Walter” Arnold, Pilar “Lawrence” Jordan, Jani “ Jelani” Lopes, Toure Raynor and Kamilah “ Carlos” Perry and a host of cousins great nieces and nephews, and many loving friends.
Public Meeting
Raymond L. Flynn is the former mayor of Boston and U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.
Homeownership
FALL FAIR Saturday, November 4th
Learn how the Boston Home Center can help you buy, maintain or retain your home! Mildred Ave. Community Center 5 Mildred Avenue, Mattapan Saturday, November 4th 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
UPHAM’S CORNER IMPLEMENTATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
650 DUDLEY STREET
The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps - Village Hall Dorchester, MA 02125
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The first public workshop of the Upham’s Corner Implementation process will focus on specific uses and amenities imagined for the area. Discussion will focus on ideas about the public library, the Strand Theatre, the relationship between these two important anchors and the supportive uses they will require.
mail to:
phone : email :
KRISTINA RICCO
Boston Planning & Development Agency One City Hall Square, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02201 617.918.4238 Kristina.Ricco@Boston.gov
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Teresa Polhemus, Executive Director/Secretary
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Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 7
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NAACP
continued from page 1 we are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish over the past four years.” Walsh’s office said he had created opportunities for minority-owned businesses, created affordable housing and added more than 700 pre-kindergarten seats.
Economic development: D grade
n Employment, minority businesses and corporate responsibility While the NAACP report authors noted Walsh’s efforts regarding job skills development, they also said it was unclear if this had produced more employment for
people of color, and cited the significantly higher unemployment rate among people of color compared to whites. Only a thin slice of city spending is conducted with minority-owned business enterprises, with the amount of purchasing dollars directed to such firms lower in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 than in the prior two years. It is unclear if recent efforts will help, report authors said. The Banner reported recently that by the Walsh administration’s figures, for each of the past three years, the share of city contracting dollars spent on minority-owned businesses has been less than half of a percent, although the city has promised to study the disparity. Authors also graded Walsh an F in efforts to encourage companies
to engage in hiring and supply proc urement from diverse companies. n Affordable Housing Housing has been a focus issue in the mayoral campaign, with the Walsh administration touting its plans to ramp up housing stock production by 2030. But NAACP gave Walsh a D for results, stating that since 2011 only about 2.3 percent of units constructed or permitted by the city between Jan. 2011 and Dec. 2016 can realistically be deemed “affordable.” The affordable housing supply is not meeting needs, authors said, and clearer strategies are needed for fully addressing the problem. However, they added that increases in the inclusionary development policy requirements were useful and the amount of city-controlled resources directed for affordable housing exceeded the city’s goal.
Education: C grade
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Walsh “consistently underfunded the Boston Public Schools,” and the frequently cited excuse that there are structural inefficiencies is “not a sufficient reason to miss the mark on fully funding our children’s education,” report authors said. While the Walsh administration lauds its efforts to expand pre-K seats, the NAACP authors say the expansion is too minor to lessen racial disparity in early education access. Furthermore, they noted that there has been a significant decline in the retention and recruitment of black teachers over the past decade, grading Walsh a C for effort on retaining and recruiting diverse teachers and an F for results.
n Opportunity and achievement gaps Report authors called for bolder action to address the opportunity and achievement gap, stating that BPS “must move from only theory and experimentation to implementation of practices that nurture the whole child and accelerate learning for students of color.” The report also notes an increase in the number of Level 3 and 4 schools and the disproportionate number of them located in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan.
Public safety: D grade
n Community Policing While Walsh has praised the Boston Police Department’s community policing work, the NAACP found it only C-worthy. Walsh failed to significantly strengthen the Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel, an entity whose members have requested that he replace it
with a better-resourced and more powerful civilian-run Office of Police Accountability. NAACP authors also dinged Walsh for doing little to produce funding for more summer and year-round youth jobs. Additionally, the high number of unsolved homicides and shootings suggest depleted trust between community members and the police. On the positive side, the NAACP said that Walsh had made improvements in community collaboration, including creation of a Social Justice Task Force and reinstatement of the police cadet program. The cadet program has the potential to introduce more people of color into the policing pipeline as one-third of a new recruit class can comprise cadets, thus creating a path to hiring that does not carry the state-mandated veteran preference, which has served as a major obstacle to diversity in police ranks. In the current class, 27 of the 39 cadets are of color. n Body Cameras and violence prevention NAACP authors called out Walsh for dragging his feet on implementing a pilot program and, now that the pilot has concluded, not committing to full implementation. While the mayor scored points for creating an Office of Public Safety and launching Boston’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, authors said the Office of Public Safety lacked a cohesive strategy and needed more powers and that the My Brother’s Keeper program is not sufficiently codified to guarantee it will outlast this administration. n Lawsuits The NAACP report recommends that Walsh settle current lawsuits over discriminatory practices within the BPD. While these suits were initiated against the Menino administration, Walsh continues to fight and appeal, using taxpayer dollars to do so. In one, black officers alleged that the hair-based drug tests used by the Boston Police Department disproportionately produced false positives when testing African American hair. In 2005, a federal court of appeals ruled that the tests did have disparate impact, and in a separate lawsuit, courts in 2013 and 2014 ruled that the tests were unreliable. The city appealed in both cases. Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal is executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, which represents plaintiffs in these cases. In a Banner phone interview he questioned the mayor’s choice to invest
in appeals rather than accept court findings and take up less discriminatory practices. “If the mayor’s commitment to diversity is genuine, we should see a resolution to longstanding discrimination cases challenging the exclusion of people of color from Boston’s public institutions,” Espinoza-Madrigal said. “[There also] is the tremendous pouring of scarce taxpayer resources — over $1.6 million — to defend against discrimination cases brought by the Lawyers’ Committee on behalf of employees of color. If you can’t be fair, you can at least be frugal.” Another suit centers on the test used to determine BPD promotions to lieutenant during a six-year period. In 2015 the court ruled that test had little job relevance and disparately filtered out candidates of color. Walsh’s administration appealed the decision, but its appeal was rejected in 2017. “We are not trying to dismantle Mayor Walsh’s key or landmark programs or policies, so it’s difficult for me to understand why he vigorously defends the discrimination cases, when they are not targeting policies he created,” Espinoza-Madrigal said.
City staffing diversity: C grade
Employee diversity is lacking in Boston Public Schools, fire and police departments and City Hall, and impending retirements are expected to exacerbate disparities in each of these. In BPS, 86 percent of students are of color, but only 46 percent of school leaders are and only 37 percent of teachers and guidance counselors are. The fire department is overwhelmingly white, with whites making up 90 percent of fire chiefs, 92 percent of fire captains and the vast majority of lieutenants. Whites also comprise the majority of firefighters. Low representation of people of color in the latter role cannot be attributed to simply reductions in staffing, as a 6 percent decline in firefighters was disproportionately matched with a 28 percent decline in black firefighters, authors state. As for City Hall, NAACP authors praised the diversity of Walsh’s cabinet and took note of his instatement of an Office of Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer, but questioned whether either of these two had measurable progress, clear goals or timelines for their efforts. In the BPD, Walsh made positive efforts in diversifying command staff, increasing community awareness of and participation in the civil service exam to become police officers, and did well by re-establishing a cadet program, authors said. However, impact is unclear, and 31 percent of the officers who will hit retirement age by 2026 are minorities.
Conversations, studies
By the Banner’s assessment, Walsh’s strategy on racial equity has emphasized dialogue and studies. In September he launched Take the Lead, an initiative encouraging bystanders to speak out against racism they witness. In Nov. 2016, he co-hosted a public discussion on the state of racism in Boston and actions the city can take. Walsh hired Atyia Martin as the city’s first chief resilience officer and in July 2017 the city released its Resilient Boston Plan documenting racial gaps in wealth and health and outlining goals, ideas and actions. This month, the city announced plans to hire a consultant to study disparity in city contract spending.
Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 9
HEALTH NEWS BROUGHT TO YOU BY BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER
THE YOUNG ADULT: NOT A KID ANYMORE Young adulthood — what an awkward age! You’re not a kid anymore, but you really haven’t joined the ranks of adulthood just yet. You’re hovering in between. It all begins at age 18. Many things change. You are now allowed to vote; you can serve on a jury; you can open a bank account and a credit card. Although these are very grown up things, your brain is still not fully all grown up. That doesn’t happen until the mid to late 20s, explained Scott E. Hadland, MD, MPH, MS, adolescent and addiction medicine specialist at Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction. “Areas responsible for planning and decision-making are among the last regions of the brain to fully develop,” Hadland said. “Meanwhile, the brain’s reward center has fully developed by this time.” Clinicians who work with this age group draw an analogy between the brain and a car. The reward system, which regulates pleasure, is like a gas pedal in a car. The prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for decision-making is like the brakes. “Early in young adulthood, many youth have strong gas pedals but weaker brakes, putting them at risk for substance use problems,” Hadland explained. The choice of drug begins to
change in this age group as well, according to a report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Alcohol use remains high among young adults. They drink an average of 4.1 drinks per day on the days they drank. But this period also showed an increase in illegal drugs, including heroin, cocaine and hallucinogens. In 2011, young adults accounted for 845,000 visits to emergency departments due to use of illicit drugs. “It is during young adulthood that the misuse of prescription medications also dramatically increases,” said Hadland. “These include opioids, as well as other medications, such as benzodiazepines, which dramatically increase the risk for overdose.” This risk-taking is highly correlated with the three most common causes of death in people aged 18 to 25. Unintentional injuries (mostly auto accidents), suicide and homicide account for more than 50 percent of deaths in this group, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These deaths are all more likely among young adults who use substances, explained Hadland. In truth this period of life is not easy. Some are heading to college and living independently from parents for the first time. Some may enter the job
market and face the same concerns as older adults — unemployment or substandard wages, high cost of living, monthly bills. It’s no wonder substance use is more common in this age group than any other. That’s why the CATALYST program, BMC’s adolescent and young adult addiction program, is critical. The multidisciplinary team program, made up of a nurse, a recovery coach, social workers, physicians and administrative assistance, is designed to provide young adults with the support they need to enter recovery, explained Sarah M. Bagley, MD, director of CATALYST. The program is unique in that it is completely outpatient-based in both the adolescent center and adult
primary care to assist individuals with substance use make a seamless segue between services. But CATALYST does more than assist in treatment of substance use. If much of the patient’s youth was spent using alcohol or other drugs, in all probability he or she has dropped out of school or missed opportunities to learn how to apply for jobs, Bagley explained. Consequently, they may not have developed the skills that they need to live independently. The program can provide support not only in therapy, but also in receiving a GED or even birth control if necessary. The peer network is important in young adults. “We spend a lot of time with our patients making sure that they can get connected to
a network of people who are in recovery,” she explained. As challenging as this age group is, working with them is rewarding to Bagley. Young adulthood can be an exciting time. Individuals are figuring out their identity and goals. However, it also means they are less likely to want to be told what to do. That’s why the CATALYST clinic uses the approach of meeting participants where they are and letting their goals be a critical part of treatment planning. The CATALYST clinic and other programs at BMC are the backbone of the Grayken Center for Addiction, which is a leader in the treatment, prevention, research and training for substance use.
FROM PERILOUS JOURNEY
TO PEER COUNSELOR. The Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center is transforming the way we treat addiction. Through unprecedented training and education, and innovative treatment programs, the Grayken Center is dedicated to fighting the epidemic and making longterm recovery a reality. This means helping patients like Cassie turn a 15-year battle with heroin addiction into a full, happy life. Cassie’s transformation into an empowered peer counselor, helping others struggling with the disease is just one example of how Boston Medical Center is leading the way in revolutionizing addiction medicine.
N T C E
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See Cassie’s story and learn more at BMCAddiction.org
10 • Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
Low MCAS scores launch dispute over test’s value and use
Scores plummeted on a test typically used to decide graduation, school rank By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
A new MCAS debuted last spring in Massachusetts schools, and student scores plunged. MCAS scores are used in determining both students’ readiness to graduate high school and schools’ rankings. A new version of the test, referred to as the Next Generation MCAS, was administered to grades 3-8 for the first time. Some, like Paul Reville, professor of practice of educational policy and administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and former state secretary of education, says the latest scores suggests the new test is working. Education officials wanted a stronger assessment of student capabilities after many passed the original “legacy” MCAS only to be placed into remedial classes in college, and this next-generation MCAS seems to be holding pupils to higher standards. “I interpret the results as an indication that the bar has been raised,” Reville said. Others, such as Massachusetts Teachers Association President Barbara Madeloni say the new test demonstrates that the state is entrenching itself in a flawed assessment system that focuses narrowly on English language arts and math, while ignoring more complex school quality factors, such as student risk-taking and confidence, creative thinking, transparency and responsiveness to the community.
“What we can draw from [the scores] is that the testing regime and tests-and-punishment regime is absurd,” Madeloni said. “The idea that student learning could change that dramatically [between the legacy MCAS and next-generation MCAS] exposes that the tests are not about the actual experiences that young people are having in the classroom.”
41 percent statewide), 27 percent meeting expectations (falling below the 40 percent statewide) and 4 percent exceeding expectations (compared to 8 percent statewide). Again those subgroups performing below BPS average for meeting or exceeding expectations were Latinos, blacks, males, English Language Learners or those with disabilities.
New results
What the test says
According to DESE’s initial projects, half of the state’s tests takers failed to meet expectations. By the latest Boston Public Schools data, the city’s students performed below even statewide averages. In BPS, an average of 22 percent of students scored as “not meeting expectations” in English Language Arts (compared to 10 percent of students statewide), 47 percent partially meeting expectations (versus 41 percent statewide), 28 percent met expectations (lower than the 42 percent statewide) and 3 percent exceeded expectations (versus 7 percent statewide). Student subgroups that performed below the city average for meeting or exceeding expectations — the test’s top two scoring levels — were Latinos, blacks, males, English Language learners and students with disabilities. In math, BPS children again performed below the state average, with 24 percent not meeting expectations (compared to 12 percent statewide), 45 percent partially meeting expectations (versus
The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is using these initial scores to establish a baseline and as such is not altering school rankings due to them. Along with Reville, others believe standardized test scores demonstrate learning and are a tool to improving it. Linda Noonan, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, said in a blog post that she is hopeful that the new test will certify to employers a work-readiness among high school graduates that the previous MCAS did not. BPS officials indicated a belief that the MCAS has been a useful improvement tool, and issued a statement celebrating a minor increase in math scores on the traditional grade 10 MCAS this year as an indicator that students gained new capability. “We are starting to see gains from our work with high school math teachers to incorporate more cognitively-demanding tasks to better prepare our students to
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Some say the new MCAS is a more effective way to get feedback on important student abilities. Others say tests miss much of what contributes to a quality education and that schools are punished, not helped, for low scores. solve the complex and rigorous problems they will encounter in MCAS and in life,” said BPS superintendent Tommy Chang. Meanwhile, state Senator Pat Jehlen advised reporters that the next-generation MCAS only heightens expectations on a limited slice of skills in two subject areas, and argued that focusing on tests will necessarily deplete time from other educational practices. “Students now read less fiction,” Jehlen’s office stated in an information sheet, “They practice for many years writing five-paragraph essays; professors report students have no experience writing longer research papers. “ Madeloni says the state is perpetually moving the goal post, increasingly demanding that students move faster and faster through subject matter, something she says has little true educational value. “Instead of getting 100s, you have to get 105s. This idea that we’re supposed to accelerate students more quickly through the curriculum is corrupt,” Madeloni said. “It has nothing to do with more meaningful learning.”
Value as an assessment
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Debate over the latest MCAS score’s significance largely is a debate over how the MCAS is used. According to Reville, standardized tests are rooted in equity goals and intended to ensure schools bring all students to high capability levels. While not capturing everything desirable in education, tests have a role in “taking the temperature” of a school and identifying schools or individual students that need more support. “If we’re only measuring in English, math and science, that’s only a piece…but it’s something. It’s a basic minimum,” Reville said. Madeloni, however, says that while in a best-case scenario, a standardized test is used in the diagnostic manner Reville describes, in large part tests distract from real teaching. She does not believe standardized tests, including the new MCAS, truly assess engaged thinking or critical questioning and analysis of information, or address other critical factors of school climate and students’ socioemotional skills. Too often standardized test actually reflect the socioeconomic status of the test-takers, she said. “We don’t need high-stakes testing to know where we have more students in poverty, more English Language Learner students, more students with special
needs so we can go in and supply the resources that we need for those students,” Madeloni said.
Teaching to the test
Jehlen says tests such as MCAS prompt schools to cut back on music, art, civics, social studies, physical education, recess and other areas in order to dedicate time to test prep and to emphasize lessons such as calculus while leaving out practicalities such as financial literacy. Reville acknowledged that there is a prevailing fear that tests are just forced regurgitation of memorized and quickly forgotten facts, but said that in his view, the MCAS defies such concerns by demanding creative problem solving and deeper engagement.
How to respond to scores
One line of opposition to standardized test is concern that the way the state and city respond to schools with low test scores is damaging to students, not supportive. If a school’s test scores drop far enough, the school may be subjected to turnaround, which in Boston thus far has led to mass dismissal of teachers, or state takeover. Madeloni argued that schools are punished for their scores and test-taking practices, not assisted to overcome low scores. As an example she pointed to a school in Hull that dropped from level 1 to level 3 after three students opted out of taking the MCAS, even though the other students scored highly on six MCAS tests. Jehlen expressed similar views, citing others who have said that educators should not be held accountable to performance goals if the city and state fails to provide the school with sufficient funding. Reville said that a test cannot be mistaken for an end goal, but rather as a tool to help indicate progress and where adjustments need to be made. “[A test] is a tool. There are no real adverse consequences for students in the employment of this tool — grades 3-9 for example [where scores do not impact graduation],” Reville said. “It’s incumbent upon all of us to figure out how best to use this tool and not become obsessed with it, but use it as a valuable diagnostic instrument. ...It’s not a strategy for improving education, it’s a measurement instrument.
ON THE WEB
BPS SCORES REPORT https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B84oXyiI9PagR2p5cDFmT005Q1U/view
Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 11
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Boston-Mexico Partnership Featured in BAC Exhibition Opening The Boston Architectural College (BAC) and Centro Metropolitano de Arquitectura Sustentable (CMAS) celebrated a Boston-Mexico joint exhibition: Because of the Water / A Causa Del Agua, at an opening reception and gallery talk on Wednesday, October 11th. Close to 100 guests, students and faculty attended the event at the BAC’s McCormick Gallery on Newbury Street. A simultaneous exhibition is being held at CMAS in Mexico City and can be viewed in Boston via 3D virtual reality headsets. Attending were representatives from Mexico including Francisco Luna of CMAS, Graciela Gomez Garcia and Michelle Arroyo from the Consulate General of Mexico in Boston. The exhibit highlights projects affected by water and examine urban landscapes and cities shaped by politics, human density, lack of green areas, and climate change.
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1: Masters of Landscape Architecture students, Chien Yu and Yingli Zheng designed the exhibition’s virtual reality system with CMAS students in Mexico City. 2: Attending the opening from Mexico City, Francisco Luna of CMAS is greeted by Daniela Coray. 3: The BAC’s Diana Ramirez with Graciela Gomez Garcia and Michelle Arroyo from the Consulate General of Mexico in Boston. 4: The BAC’s Mexico-Boston exchange program organizers Bertha Pantoja and Maria Bellalta 5: Liz Luc Clowes uses virtual reality glasses to view the simultaneous exhibition in Mexico City.
Dance Urban Steppin Weekend Dance Urban presented an All-Star Instructional Team for its First 3-Day Event which included multiple workshops for all levels beginner to experienced steppers at the Adams Inn in Quincy, MA. Steppers were in attendance from Boston, Cambridge, Brockton, Randolph, Stoughton, Bedford, Brooklyn, NY, Jersey, and as far as Philadelphia to attend such a major event on the East Coast.
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1 PHOTOS: SCOTT FREEMAN AND SONIA HARRIS
1: (L to R) Henry Watson Jr, Bev Watson, Yvette O’Donnell, LC “the Technician” Henderson, Sarah Teagle, W. Cruse Jr, Ms. Sonia Harris 2: Dance Urban Ladies Styling Workshop Attendees 3: Boston Urban Dancers Step the Night Away during Dance Urban’s Stepper’s Weekend. (L to R) Laurlene Hardy, Sidney Holtzclaw, Barbara Barrows, L.C. Henderson, Rebecca Holtzclaw, Janel Level, Goldfinger, Gerald Martin.
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12 • Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
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BIZ BITS TIP OF THE WEEK Top tips for locking down your online security We all know hiding your house key under the doormat is a terrible idea, but we do it anyway because it’s a convenient backup. When it comes to safeguarding passwords, especially in a family setting, people often choose convenience over safety. As families manage their digital information and online accounts, many end up opting for that less secure key-under-thedoormat solution. People are already sharing passwords, and their methods of sharing are not always the best. Some 41 percent of adults with online accounts admit to sharing passwords with friends and family, according to an Americans and Cybersecurity survey by Pew Research Center. Yet, 90.8 percent of respondents say they know that having strong passwords helps them better protect their families. Consider the number of security breaches that continue to make national news: n In 2016, we learned the Yahoo data breach compromised 1 billion accounts. n In that same month, we learned 167 million email addresses and passwords were stolen from LinkedIn. n In September 2017, a security breach at Equifax was reported, exposing Social Security numbers and other personal data of 143 million users, which is nearly half the U.S. population. Now more than ever, it’s clear how important it is to protect our personal information online. According to a Verizon 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, 81 percent of data breaches involve weak, reused or stolen credentials. That’s significantly higher than the 63 percent it was in 2016. With a password manager designed for individual or family use, you can create those strong passwords for all the accounts you and your family use, and store them within a secure vault that’s accessed by a single master password only you know. If you’re debating whether to make the switch to a digital password manager, here’s a few ways it can improve your family’s online security and help stop the struggle with passwords. Create rock-solid passwords: Most password managers offer a secure password generator that allows you to set and create a long, strong and unique password for every online account. Secure more than just passwords: There’s an endless number of passwords and sensitive information you can store in your password manager, including banking logins, passport and license numbers, shopping accounts, email and social media passwords and more. By storing all of this information in your secure vault, you’ll always have access to the information whenever and wherever you may need it. Safely share passwords with family members: One benefit of a password manager that’s designed for family use is that it lets you safely and conveniently store passwords and valuable documents in folders for flexible sharing with others in the family. — Brandpoint
TECH TALK Google Maps removes calorie estimator The Google Maps calorie estimator, which estimated how many calories you would See BIZ BITS, page 14
PHOTO: COURTESY OF TCP
(above) At TCP’s annual “Bearing Witness” event in August, Roxbury’s Black Market was presented with the Ida B. Wells award for commitment to building social and economic power for black community members and owning the means of production. (l-r) TCP staff members Reggie Williams, development director; Leora Viega Rifkin, Acclerate Boston coordinator; Cara Berg Powers, executive director; Malia Lazu, strategic director; and Black Market founders Kai and Chris Grant. (below) Alex, a Timilty Middle School 8th grader, in a self-portrait showing him as pioneering Mexican-American Astronaut José Moreno Hernández. The portrait project was part of an “Unhidden Figures” class, part of TCP’s Creative Classrooms program, in which students studied Latinx and black inventors, scientists and mathematicians and created portraits to honor their untold history.
Epicenter, TCP join forces Merger aims to create pipeline to creative economy ON THE WEB
By SANDRA LARSON
The merger of two Boston-based social enterprises has created an organization with new capacity to propel youth and adults toward success in entrepreneurship and the creative economy. Epicenter Community, formerly Future Boston Alliance, is known for its signature programs: Accelerate Boston, a mentoring and training cohort program for aspiring entrepreneurs, and Assemble Boston, a series of cultural and social gatherings connecting diverse individuals and groups across the city. These programs have been geared toward adults. Transformative Culture Project, which began in 2008 as Press Pass TV, focuses on young people, supporting community-based arts organizations, offering training in arts and media production in schools across Massachusetts and running a youth-staffed production agency. Now, the two will function as a single organization under the name the Transformative Culture Project.
Stronger together
“Joining forces allows us to create an economic pipeline for youth in the public school system to adult artists and innovators,” said Cara Berg Powers, executive director of Transformative Culture Project. “One of the things people have said about our work is, they don’t feel
Transformative Culture Project:
www.tcproject.org YouTube: www.youtube.com/tcproject Twitter: @tcproj Facebook: @transformculture
we’re telling someone else’s story, but giving them space to tell their own. And that’s important. We don’t ‘give people voice’ — the people have a voice, and we just make sure it’s listened to. We amplify it.” Powers will continue to direct the merged organization. Malia Lazu, formerly executive director of Epicenter Community, now will be TCP’s strategic director. In an interview, Lazu expressed optimism about the opportunity to create an all-ages pipeline for creative entrepreneurial careers and about the benefits of like-minded organizations taking steps to share operations.
“We have two thriving programs. We have access to their world and they have access to ours,” Lazu said. “I hope that other organizations see what we did and think about how they could come together and strengthen their work by joining forces. I think we would have a more dynamic, less redundant nonprofit space if more of us did that.”
Cultural relevance
Epicenter’s Accelerate program has brought more than 20 businesses to market, including Rica Elysée’s BeautyLynk, a 2016 Gold winner in the MassChallenge
accelerator program. Of the 100 or so businesses Accelerate has engaged, 77 percent were founded by people of color, 63 percent by women and 90 percent by people under age 40, according to figures provided in a press release earlier this month. One of the main strengths of the business accelerator program, Lazu said, has been that it offers culturally relevant services to entrepreneurs of color, who typically may be overlooked by the mainstream startup world. “A lot of times there are biases in the startup culture, so it’s important to have a safe space to develop,” Lazu explained. “[Our programs] have to be responsive to the needs of the community.” As an example, she said, the accelerator classes are on weekends, because most of the entrepreneurs work during the week. “We don’t have expectations of how they will work,” she said. “It’s thinking about designing programming around people who don’t have access to ‘friends-andfamily’ capital to start a business. They can’t just stop what they’re doing and start a business.”
See MERGER, page 14
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merger
continued from page 12 Lazu also has spearheaded initiatives to help create a more vibrant and diverse social culture in Boston. Epicenter’s Assemble Boston has brough together more than 20,000 people each year with events including a winter solstice gathering at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and an annual “Juneteenth takeover” at the Museum of Fine Arts, a night of live art and performance highlighting local artists of color.
Amplified potential
The merger was a natural move for two organizations that seek to boost economic potential in local communities and have worked together in the past and shared and exchanged resources. Press Pass TV, as a young organization, participated in the Accelerate curriculum; more recently, TCP supported Epicenter Community by serving as its fiscal agent, according to Reggie Williams, TCP’s development director. Epicenter’s broad social, cultural and business networks will help extend TCP’s reach for its arts and media programs, Williams said. “We had hoped to get further into the community aspect, and Epicenter was that opportunity,” he told the Banner. “And it’s exciting also, because it shows what nonprofits can do when we work together and reduce the silos.” TCP aims in 2018 to create 30
youth jobs, reach 500 youth with classes in 14 schools, employ 10 teaching artists and provide workspace for 10 artists and two creative businesses. TCP is headquartered in Roxbury but offers programming in Western Massachusetts as well, with a satellite office in Holyoke. The merged organization’s offerings for youth and adults, all of which aim to “activate the economic potential of the creative economy,” are housed in four main programs: n Creative Classrooms — A series of workshops and courses in media and cultural arts offered in and out of school, with a focus on re-engaging students in becoming lifelong learners and fulfilling their academic goals. n Beyond Creative — a full-service, award-winning creative media agency staffed by trained youth producers who receive a paycheck for their work along with intensive training and support. n #AssembleBOS — A series of programs aimed at catalyzing conversation among diverse groups through culture. n #AccelerateBOS — A sixmonth business accelerator for the creative class in Boston that provides a curriculum based on a traditional MBA syllabus, has an advisory board made up of Boston entrepreneurs and recruits young businesses to apply to the program. The Accelerate program culminates in a business plan competition.
Crucial Catch — Intercept Cancer
PHOTO: COURTESY SOUTH END COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
The South End Community Health Center is excited to announce its partnership with the National Football League/New England Patriots and American Cancer Society for the “Crucial Catch — Intercept Cancer” campaign. (left to right) Dr. Mark Goldberg, Eastern New England Board of Directors chairman, American Cancer Society; Monica Valdez Lupi, executive director of Boston Public Health Commission; Bill Walczak, CEO & president of South End Community Health Center; and Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.
Biz Bits
from eating disorders. According to Google, the feature will be removed “based on strong user feedback.”
burn if you walked a certain route instead of drove it, lasted only a week. The estimator became controversial after users criticized the estimator’s “mini cupcakes” count. Along with showing how many calories you could burn, the estimator also showed how many “mini cupcakes” a person could burn while walking the route. Some critics have said the feature is judgmental and could potentially be a trigger for people who suffer
THE LIST
continued from page 12
According to Forbes, the top 10 richest people in America are: 1. Bill Gates ($89 billion) 2. Jeff Bezos ($81.5 billion) 3. Warren Buffett ($78 billion) 4. Mark Zuckerberg ($71 billion) 5. Larry Ellison ($59 billion) 6. Charles Koch ($48.5 billion)
7. David Koch ($48.5 billion) 8. Michael Bloomberg ($46.8 billion) 9. Larry Page ($44.6 billion) 10. Sergey Brin ($43.4 billion)
NUMBER TO KNOW
92
President Donald Trump dropped 92 spots in Forbes’ Annual 400 list of the richest Americans. Trump dropped from 156th place to 248th place. — More Content Now
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Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 15
Few people of color lead nonprofits, and bias is to blame, says report By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
Too few nonprofit organizations in the U.S. — including those serving communities of color — are led by people of color, and more than one-third of people of color in the nonprofit sector report that their race appears to negatively impact their career advancement, according to a new report by the Building Movement Project. Less than 20 percent of nonprofit CEOs or executive directors are people of color — a figure that has stayed static for more than a decade, according to the report. During a discussion at The Boston Foundation last week, report co-author Sean Thomas-Breitfeld said that while there are numerous people of color in senior management second-tier leadership positions, there appears to be a barrier to top-level roles such as executive director or board chair. Beyond moral reasons, taking steps to advance diversity, equity and inclusion are critical to effective work, said various speakers at the event. “It is not a ‘nice to do,’ it is a ‘must do,’” said Orlando Watkins, The Boston Foundation’s vice president for programs.
Myths and obstacles
There is a prevailing myth that the absence of people of color among leadership roles was due to a weaker interest in leading, a need for skills training and a tendency for qualified leaders of color to leave the sector, stated Thomas-Breitfeld and Francis Kunreuther, Building Movement Project co-directors and co-authors of the report. However, when they surveyed thousands of people from the nonprofit sector, the researchers found that respondents of color were more likely than white respondents to aspire to leadership. People of color and whites reported similar experience, skills and educational backgrounds, although some people of color said they felt that official documentation of their skills, such as certificates, was more important for them as their qualifications would be scrutinized more harshly than those of similarly-skilled white candidates. Obstacles stemmed from biased systems, with many minorities passed over in hiring due to assessments that they were not a good “culture fit” — essentially being filtered out due to unconscious bias. Many reported that recruiters for top-level nonprofit positions did a poor job of finding and presenting numerous candidates of color. Respondents of colors also reported a lack of mentors, a perceived lack of human resources support and stress from being asked to represent their entire race to white colleagues. In a write-in response, one person said their organization seemed to value only their racial identity, and to overlook their other abilities. Even when people of color lead nonprofits, many perceive less access to funding sources, with some saying that connecting with traditional funders depends largely on access to funders’ social circles or similar enough backgrounds to make personal connections. “So much about fundraising is about personal connections and moving in particular circles and engaging with people in a particular way,” said panelist Trina Jackson, inclusion initiative program coordinator for TSNE MissionWorks
BANNER PHOTO
(Left): Nonprofit panelist spoke at The Boston Foundation. Left to right: Deborah Re, president and CEO of Big Sister Association of Greater Boston; Danny Rojas, director of postsecondary partnerships for OneGoal; and Trina Jackson, inclusion initiative program coordinator of the Third Sector New England - MIssion Works. (right): Sean ThomasBreitfeld, co-director of The Building Movement Project and co-author of its report “Race to Lead.” (formerly Third Sector New England). “You’re talking to people, networking and interacting — having a conversation on where you went to school, where you go on vacation, what kind of food you eat. We know there is racial segregation across all of those areas. If that’s the main way we do fundraising, then people of color are absolutely facing a barrier.” This creates additional burdens on minority-led organizations, as with less funding, they tend to be smaller and their executive directors need to take on extra work such as hosting events and writing grants in addition to running the organization, Jackson said.
Organizational need
Shaheer Mustafa, CEO of Hopewell (formerly Dare Family Services) has a staff that is 50 percent of color and a management team that is 80 percent of color. Achieving diversity relies on framing it as a business imperative, he said. For instance, organizations that cannot reach, recruit and retain people of color miss out on some of the top talent as well as the variety of perspectives that leads to creative problem solving. “Values are not enough,” Mustafa said. “Those organization that are effective at diversity, inclusion and equity are those than can effectively articulate a business case.” Several speakers also noted that any organization seeking to serve communities of color risks being tone deaf and less informed if it does not have people of color among the decision makers.
Real solutions
The report’s findings point to a need to shift solution strategies from training individual candidates of color to training existing leadership and providing new organization offerings. These include helping board members to identify their own biases before making hiring decisions and extending mentorship supports to new leaders of color, report authors said. One approach starts with awareness and open conversation. Deborah Re’s Big Sisters Association of Greater Boston primarily serves girls of color but several years ago found that only 20 percent of the big sister mentors and only 17 percent of the organization staff at the time were people of color. The nonprofit has jumped to 40 percent staff of color after an active examination of their hiring process and image. Methods included explicitly stating online that the organization seeks candidates of color; reassessing hiring questions to ensure they measure skills such as understanding of Boston history and cultural competency;
creating a diversity council with community members; dropping a master’s in social work requirement that leaders determined to be unnecessary; and examining whether the organization creates an environment that would retain employees of color, for example considering what types of messages are sent by images present in the offices and by celebration of holidays like Columbus Day. Re said she seeks to create an environment where it is easy for people to speak out if they find something offensive and encourages regular conversations on experiences within the organization. Jackson underscored the importance of ensuring that people of color in an organization have opportunities to actively engage and be included, not simply to be made a “diversity presence.” In addition, she said, the model of what leadership looks like needs to be expanded beyond the stereotype of a formally-educated, independently-acting white western male. Danny Rojas, director of postsecondary partnerships for OneGoal, said his organization’s approach includes offering affinity groups — such as a men of color group or a Christian group — that regularly meet, as well as providing every new hire with a mentor to provide support throughout their career at OneGoal and fostering conversation about concerns and experiences of employees. Report authors also made it clear that funders and associations that set standards have roles to play by focusing support on organizations advancing diversity and inclusion and by promoting such values.
The study
The report authors conducted about three dozen interviews with nonprofit leaders, capacity builders and funders in order to inform a subsequent online survey, which collected more than 4,300 responses nationwide from the nonprofit sector. The sector is largely female, and 78 percent of survey respondents identified as female, while 58 percent identified as white alone.
Local results
Of the 4,300 nationwide respondents, 176 were from Massachusetts, with 96 of them from Boston. Massachusetts respondents reported at a higher rate than the national group overall that determinations of “culture fit” removed candidates of color from hiring pools, and more people of color in Massachusetts reported being called upon to represent an entire community, according to Kunreuther. Though the sample
size for an individual city may be too small to draw inferences, 85 percent of respondents of color from Boston said executive recruiters contributed to lack of diversity — a greater share than in the state as a whole. On the other hand, the share of people reporting that race was seen as an asset helping them advance was only 38 percent nationally, but 55 percent
in Massachusetts and 60 percent in Boston, though others still said race was regarded as a barrier.
ON THE WEB
BUILDING MOVEMENT PROJECT’S “RACE TO LEAD” REPORT: http://buildingmovement.org.s221921. gridserver.com/pdf/RacetoLead_ NonprofitRacialLeadershipGap.pdf
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Friendship elusive in ‘A Guide for the Homesick’ By SUSAN SACCOCCIA
The word “friend” comes up often in the dialogue between Jeremy and Teddy, the main characters in “A Guide for the Homesick,” on stage through November 4 in a world premier production by Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion of the Boston Center for the Arts. Yet friendship eludes these men, despite what they have in common: Both were raised in Boston and both are on the run from painful memories. Each believes he has betrayed a close friend in a time of dire need. Written by Huntington Playwriting Fellow Ken Urban, who also is head of the playwriting program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and directed by Tony Award nominee Colman Domingo, the drama follows their one-night encounter in a shabby hotel room in Amsterdam. Roxbury native Teddy, a financial services professional, is in town for an impromptu vacation from his job in New York City. Jeremy, a recent Harvard graduate and scion of a Jewish family in Newton, is en route home after six months serving at a community health clinic in East Africa. After meeting in a bar, they go up to Teddy’s room, at first for companionship and a few rounds of beer. The actors rely a lot on body language that at times seems contrived. Jeremy displays more than his share of tics as a closeted gay man. As he welcomes his guest, inviting him to stay a while and feel at home, Teddy moves with a touch of swagger, a man sure of his charms despite his own burden of secrets. Animating this intensely performed production, which runs 75 minutes without intermission, is its simmering tension, clever staging, touches of humor and, above all, ardent performances by McKinley Belcher III as Teddy and Samuel H. Levine as Jeremy. Something of a psychodrama, with little plot, this play relies on its actors, and they deliver. Thursday night, Belcher and Levine earned a standing ovation for the energy and conviction they
CUBANEO
Collage artist shows Cuba through the lens of reality By CELINA COLBY
www.baystatebanner.com
P
hoto collage artist Mark Guglielmo isn’t Cuban — in fact he’s Italian-American. But you wouldn’t know it from the fluidity of his Spanish and the way he talks about his visits to Cuba, which have served as the primary subject matter for his show “Cubaneo” at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts in Boston’s South End. “That feeling I get at my grandmother’s house is the feeling I get in Cuba,” he says. In the embracive, family-oriented culture, the artist found a second home. To make his large-scale works, Guglielmo uses 4-by6-inch photo prints from a basic digital point-and-shoot camera, or sometimes even an iPhone. He takes a few hundred photos of a subject and a scene, smaller photos that might showcase an elbow or an eye, but will later be composed to make a complete image. He doesn’t necessarily arrange the photos the way he took them, mixing and matching pieces from all over, but his knowledge of color and texture create a piece that allows the eye to see one flowing scene. The flurry of visual stimuli brings a special movement to Guglielmo’s work. Several of his scenes depict fast-paced moments: a family playing music and dancing together in their home, a salsa ensemble in a busy town square, even a children’s assembly at a school. The artist draws you in to the work, not only to look more closely at all the smaller components, but to participate. He welcomes you into the family home, into the real Cuba. AynelDavid Guerra, founder of A R E A Gallery and a Cuban native, curated the exhibition. This provides an interesting dynamic between the artist, who is adopted into this world, and the born-and-bred Cuban who wants to see his home represented properly. Many of the mosaics feature the same person twice. It’s not instantly noticeable because of the carefully constructed collage style, but the pieces often show two iterations of a person standing next to each other. In “Callejón de Hamel” a girl who was dancing stands looking at herself.
See CUBANEO, page 18
ON THE WEB For more information about Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, visit:
See HOMESICK, page 21
http://www.ibaboston.org
ON THE WEB For more information about “A Guide for the Homesick,” visit: www.huntingtontheatre.org/
season/2017-2018/a-guide-for-the-homesick
PHOTO: COURTESY MARK GUGLIELMO
Mark Guglielmo’s mosaic-like collages depict scenes from Cuba in his show, “Cubaneo,” on display at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts.
For more about Mark Guglielmo and to listen to the artist’s audio clips, visit:
markguglielmo.com.
Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 17
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Artist’s works focus on legacy of slavery in American life By SUSAN SACCOCCIA
Black and white dominate the palette of Kara Walker, an artist whose room-size murals, sculptures, videos and works on paper focus on the still-corrosive legacy of slavery in American life. On view in major museums worldwide are her wall-size murals peopled by silhouetted figures of the Old South, with black and white characters intertwined in violent, subservient and obscene acts. In 2014, Walker’s 35-foot high, monumental mammy-sphinx carved out of sugar entitled, “A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby,” turned her into a celebrity well beyond the art world. Fame is neither slowing nor toning Walker down, as a recent show of new works at her gallery Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, makes clear. The show’s 22 murals and smaller works bristled with torrid energy and Walker’s characteristic force, style and humor. All the works were created this summer, except for the show’s 201word title, which she composed in May, wryly predicting “the finest selection of artworks by an African-American living woman artist this side of the Mississippi.” In a more straightforward artist’s statement, Walker voices weariness at being singled out, writing, “I am tired, tired of standing up, being counted, tired of ‘having a voice’ or worse ‘being a role model,’” and asking, “How many ways can a person say racism is the real bread and butter of our American mythology… .” Walker, 47, is not the first black female artist to investigate race, gender, sexuality and violence in America, but she is in the vanguard of a new generation whose distinguished lineage includes Loïs Mailou Jones, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems, Adrian Piper and Lorraine O’Grady. Three years after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design (MFA ’94), Walker became, at age 28, one of the youngest recipients of a MacArthur “genius” grant. Now living and working in New York City, she holds the Tepper Chair in the Visual Arts at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts. Drawing from historic archives, pop culture, folklore and her
PHOTO: SUSAN SACCOCCIA
Murals by Kara Walker are displayed as part of the show “Sikkema Jenkins and Co. Is Compelled to Present the Most Astounding and Important Painting Show of the Fall Art Show Viewing Season!” at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. gallery in New York. imagination, Walker uses traditional, manual techniques such as hand-cut silhouettes, puppetry and drawing to create surreal images that recast the familiar and make what is forgotten or denied visible — often sensationally so. Walker will launch another large-scale public work at the fourth Prospect New Orleans contemporary art triennial, “Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp,” which runs from Nov. 18 through Feb. 25 and coincides with the city’s 300th birthday. Visitors will travel by ferry to Algiers Point, once a holding site for newly arrived slaves, where Walker’s wagon-mounted, steam-powered riverboat calliope will pipe a composition written for the installation by a fellow MacArthur recipient, jazz pianist Jason Moran. The recent show in New York presented drawings on paper and linen created with ink, blade, glue and oil stick that varied in scale from 12-by-10-foot murals to notebook-size works. Like most of her works, they are populated by characters and tell stories that evoke historic periods or conjure desolate post-apocalyptic landscapes. In her silhouettes, these characters are archetypes—the southern belle, the white landowner, the slave children with pigtails and overalls, the mamma and the field hand. In the more intimate art of drawing, these characters become individuals. Walker often fills her pictures with figures; but this show began
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with a solo portrait of a woman, the first of three on view. Rendered on linen brushed in red pigment, the small study portrays a face taut with impatience and suffering. Another, later in the show, entitled “The Laundress (is Done),” is a watercolor of a young woman slumped over with weariness. A cast of some 80 characters populates the pivotal piece of the show, “Christ’s Entry into Journalism,” an 11-by-18-foot ink-andcollage drawing that alludes to Christ’s entry into suffering and death. Near the top, three tiny figures dangle from a tree limb,
echoing the image of Christ crucified between two criminals. The middle figure is tied in a noose, like a lynch victim. Below, oblivious and unchanged, humanity goes about its bad and good business. Whirling in a gyre-like circle are assorted figures drawn from centuries of history—Klansmen, carpetbaggers, soldiers, men resembling Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglass, and near the center, a black man raising his shackled hands in prayer. Characters are usually active in Walker’s images, inflicting and bearing pain as they move in a
loosely horizontal procession or rotate around a central figure. Some of these scenes call to mind the surreal paintings of humanity at its most monstrous by 16th-century painter Hieronymus Bosch. “The Pool Party of Sardanapalus (after Delacroix, Kienholz)” roughly 10 feet by 11 feet in size, is a nightmarish revenge fantasy in which bikini-clad women and toddlers go about wreaking havoc. Its title and content recall a 1827 painting by Eugène Delacroix depicting the legendary last king of Assyria, who after learning he has been conquered, reclines in a divan and watches his subjects destroy each other. Walker also credits American artist Edward Kienholz (1927-1924), whose installations and sculptures fiercely critiqued social injustices, including racism. Walker is steeped in the mainstream traditions of Western art, and like Chicago-based painter Kerry James Marshall, she freely incorporates these traditions to expand and deepen the story of African American life and art. Among these traditions is the history painting, and in “The (Private) Memorial Garden of Grandison Harris,” Walker endows a former slave, Grandison Harris (1816-1911) with an ironic tribute. Owned by the Georgia Medical College, Harris robbed graves to supply the
See WALKER, page 21
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The Peabody Essex Museum acquires a Yoan Capote sculpture By CELINA COLBY
The Peabody Essex Museum has on display a recently acquired sculpture by Cuban artist Yoan Capote. “Immanence,” a massive 10-foot-tall representation of Fidel Castro, on display through Nov. 19, brings a political and cultural meditation to the museum. “The core of the Peabody Essex is the idea of cultural intersection,” says Trevor Smith, curator of the museum’s Present Tense contemporary initiative. “This piece is a perfect example of that.” Though at first sight the sculpture represents a controversial leader, a closer look tells a very
ON THE WEB To learn more about the acquisition and the Peabody Essex Museum, visit: www.pem.org. For more information about Yoan Capote, visit: www.yoan-capote.com/en
different story. The piece is constructed with thousands of rusted door hinges. The Havana-based Capote would bring bags of new hinges back from America and trade with his neighbors and acquaintances for their old ones. In this way, the artist gathered materials while also supporting his community. The hinges bear a dual representation. First, they represent the common people that they came from. “Fundamentally, it’s a collective portrait of the people,”
“A MIRACLE on Broadway.”
says Smith. “A lot of Capote’s work reinforces the power of collective action.” It also represents access. The hinge, though only a small part of a door, controls what is closed or open, public or private. Similarly, Castro controlled what the public saw and knew through propaganda. The two symbolic meanings convey a tension between power and people. Beneath the hinge-head sculpture lies a pile of discarded doors. Without the hinges to move them, what are these wood pieces worth? Without the support of the people, who has the power, really? The idea of collective actions pertains to the current American political sphere. Here in Massachusetts, collective peaceful public protests and marches are a favored avenue of political resistance. Capote works in many media, from sculpture and installation to photography and video. The scale of this piece resonated with the museum group while touring Capote’s studio, Smith said. Smith had the sculpture installed in the East India Marine Hall, an iconic room in the museum, often used for functions and weddings. The room’s walls are lined with
PHOTO: COURTESY PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
Sculptor Yoan Capote’s “Immanence” comments on the control of information during the presidency of Fidel Castro. figureheads from ships and its large windows look out into Salem. This heavily historic, New England-themed room provides an interesting contrast to the contemporary Cuban work. It prompts viewers to compare and contrast their own situation with the concepts the sculpture represents. Smith notes also that
the versatility of the piece shines here. At such a large scale, the bearded figure could be Poseidon, or Socrates, just as easily as Castro. “Immanence” encourages discourse above all. “There’s a universality to it,” says Smith. “It’s a portrait of power, but it’s up to the audience whose power it is.”
Cubaneo
continued from page 16
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Original Broadway Cast. Photos by Matthew Murphy
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It’s a direct confrontation of identity as she sizes up the dancer she was five minutes ago, or will be a half-hour from now. Cubans today are experiencing a similar identity development, as they move away from Castro’s strict rule towards more personal freedom. Guglielmo’s website contains audio interviews he recorded with each of his portrait subjects. These sound clips are another way of bringing viewers directly into the Cuban world he depicts. In the audio clip associated with the painting “Nena la del Valle de los Ingenios Abajo” you can hear the elderly woman laughing and cooking yucca. She offers Guglielmo some of the food, of course, ever the considerate hostess. In the mosaic of Nena she appears happy but reserved. She engages directly with the viewer, hands held in front of her, a thin halo of Guglielmo’s own making resting above her head. The audio clip brings us closer to an otherwise ethereal figure. “Cubaneo” takes viewers off the beaten Havana tourist path of vintage cars and mojitos and guides them into the homes and lives of real Cubans. And it does so in a dynamic artistic style. If you don’t come to the show for the innovative media and expert sense of color and light, come for Nena. Word is, she makes the best yucca in Trinidad de Cuba.
Advertise in the Banner call 617-261-4600 x7799 for more information
Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 19
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MFA exhibits invite viewers to slow down, pay attention ON THE WEB
By SUSAN SACCOCCIA
At its best, viewing art is an absorbing experience. The work slows you down and draws you in and distractions fall away. The art of paying attention is the subject of a beguiling new exhibition, “Seeking Stillness,” and its companion show, “Mark Rothko: Reflection,” both on view at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston through July 1. Unfolding like a journey through three galleries, “Seeking Stillness” presents about 40 works that invite and reward slow looking. Among the featured artists are three extraordinary women not often represented in Boston shows: Agnes Martin, Joan Mitchell and Joan Jonas. This show also serves as preparation for viewing the austere masterpieces of Mark Rothko (1903–1970) in the fourth gallery, on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The show’s uncluttered staging is conducive to contemplation. Adding to a sense of calm is a recording of spare piano solos performed by Ivan Illic, composed by avant-garde musician John Cage (1912–1992), whose repertoire includes a work in which the pianist does not touch the keyboard. Excellent wall texts provide context and artists’ comments, including translated quotes from Chinese artists and poets. Grounding the first gallery and its exploration of space as
For more information, visit:
www.mfa.org/exhibitions/seeking-stillness
PHOTO: COURTESY MFA BOSTON
“Chamonix” (about 1962) by Joan Mitchell a catalyst of contemplation is a monumental, skull-shaped sculpture by African American artist Martin Puryear, who uses artisanal, hand-crafted techniques and materials to create evocative works. Entitled “Confessional” (1996–2000), the sculpture calls to mind the inner sanctum of a confessional space, and even has a kneeler. But with the kneeler mounted on the outside and lacking an entrance, the structure only allows viewers to peek inside. Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photographs of movie palaces and concert halls exude a quality of
FUN&GAMES SUDOKU: SEE ANSWERS ON PAGE 20
mystery. Shellburne Thurber’s images render the quiet stability of a secular haven for reflection, the carefully furnished setting of a psychiatrist’s office. Drawing from his Indian heritage, Gulam Rasool Santosh paints contemporary designs for meditation echoing the geometric patterns of Tantric mandalas. Enclosed in its own viewing space is an overpowering altarpiece by Rosso Fiorentino, “The Dead Christ with Angels” (about 1524–27), a churning portrayal that seems ready to burst from its frame — an odd choice in an
exhibition intended to encourage quiet contemplation. The next gallery focuses on the process of art making as a meditative act in itself. A palette of ivory, soft grey and beige dominates the room and the works on view. Wall texts describe the rituals of some artists whose practices take monk-like discipline and skill. Among the abstract works are paintings by a Korean group active in the 1970s whose meditative art-making involved repeated application and removal of paint, tasks they performed with their whole bodies. A minimalist with a Zen Buddhist’s taste for simplicity, Agnes Martin (1912–2004) is represented with a 1988 painting that translates her memories of the light and air of Taos, New Mexico, into a delicate honeycomb of rippling lines. The third gallery shows works in a variety of media — sculpture, paintings, photography, ceramics, and performance — by artists whose path to contemplation and creation is rooted in the natural world. Drawing on the MFA’s rich collections of Asian art, the gallery shows traditional Chinese renderings of mountain scenes, from mural-size paintings on silk and miniatures carved in stone and wood to prized found objects, rocks that resemble mountains
and bring the contemplation of a mountain scene into the home. Dominating the gallery is a large contemporary version by Zhan Wang, “Artificial Rock #85” (2005) a gleaming tower of chrome-plated stainless steel. Edward Weston (1886–1958) photographed the dunes, rocks and tree stumps of California’s coasts and deserts with his large format camera, and his blackand-white close-ups of their patterns and textures render nature’s own abstractions. Another American, Joan Mitchell (1925–1992), captures the raw power of the landscape surrounding her retreat in the French Alps in her abstract painting “Chamonix” (about 1962), which is accompanied by her comment, “I could certainly never mirror nature. I would like more to paint what it leaves with me.” The smallest works in the gallery, and among the most alluring, are a delicate Chinese porcelain dish (1723–35), and a tiny treasure from the late classical period of the Maya (550–850 AD) — a paint container carved out of a conch shell that fits into the user’s hand. “Ice Drawings,” a sensational installation in its own small gallery, conjures segments of a renowned long-form performance, “Reanimation,” by Joan Jonas, professor emeritus at MIT. Jonas debuted the work in 2013 and performed it for the first time in Boston at the MFA in 2014,
See STILLNESS, page 21
20 • Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER
FOOD
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CHECK OUT NUTRITION AND HEALTH NEWS ONLINE: BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/NEWS/HEALTH
TIP OF THE WEEK Make your own pretzels
Put an
With this simple recipe from NPR, you can make your own pretzels. n 4 teaspoons active dry yeast n ¾ cup sugar n 5 cups flour n 1½ teaspoons salt n 1 tablespoon vegetable oil n ½ cup baking soda n ¼ cup kosher salt
egg
EP IK
on it
FR E
Is that really the secret to brunch? We think so By ARI LEVAUX, MORE CONTENT NOW
I’m hearing a lot of complaints about brunch lately, and about the people who eat it: They are food-fetishizing hipsters who languish in cafes, lubing their grease with mimosas and lattes. I’m really not sure what’s wrong with any of that, or what “hipsters” even are. Come to think of it, I’m not even sure what brunch is. Luckily, I found a guy named Walker Hunter who knows a thing or two about this hybrid meal. Hunter’s business, Burns St. Bistro in Missoula, Montana, was supposed to be a mobile food service, but when the equipment delivery got delayed in 2012, he and his partners had to figure out how to pay for their newly leased commercial kitchen. They opened a sandwich shop, which did OK, but things really took off when they added weekend brunch. “We had noticed the rise in popularity of brunch elsewhere, in other cities,” said Hunter. “In Portland you can’t swing a dead cat without getting brunch on it. My co-workers and I loved brunch. We would try to go out for brunch around here, but nobody was doing much more than just late breakfast, except on holidays.” So they started serving brunch on weekends, following
a simple formula: Cook what you want, and put an egg on it. “Our idea was that brunch could be whatever you wanted — haute cuisine, casual, fine dining, irreverent takes — all bets are off,” he said. “We aren’t limited to omelets and pancakes and waffles. This weekend we are doing rabbit and lamb. With eggs.” Any kind of egg, he says. One fun way to go this time of year, when the tomatoes are dripping ripe, is a BLT with an egg on it. I assume you know how to make a BLT. But here is my one, all-important trick for BLTs and every other sandwich: Toast two pieces of bread, pressed together as one single slice. This will result in one side of each piece of bread being toasted. Orient the slices so the toasted sides face the inside of the sandwich; they’ll handle the mayo and tomato juice without getting soggy. The soft sides face out, cushioning your mouth and preventing the scraping that can occur when a sandwich is too delicious, too big and too toasted.
More morning goodness It’s worth remembering that any cereal can be used to make a morning porridge. Rice can be made into congee. Wheat grains can be ground or boiled
Look online for
NUTRITION & HEALTH NEWS at www. baystate banner.com/ news/ health A publication of The Bay State Banner
Stir yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in 1¼ cup of warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix flour, ½ cup sugar and salt. Add oil and yeast mixture and knead into a dough. Cover the bowl with plastic and let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease two baking sheets. Dissolve baking soda in 4 cups hot water in a large bowl. Divide dough into 12 pieces, roll each into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Dip each pretzel into the baking soda-hot water solution and place on baking sheets. Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake until browned.
KIDS’ FOOD Power snacks kids will love
PHOTO: ARI LEVAUX
Crème fraîche and poached pears are added to a steel-cut oats recipe from Burns St. Bistro in Missoula, Montana. whole. Big grains. Small grains. Ancient grains. Hybrid grains. What oats really have going, nutritionally, is soluble fiber, which other grains don’t have in such amounts. It’s the gooey factor in oatmeal, and really does a number on your bowels, in terms of getting them in line. Washington Post food columnist Tamar Haspel recently made a compelling case for oats, arguing they are not only good for you, quick and easy to make, but they only cost about 10 cents a bowl. In addition to telling us to put an egg on it, Hunter was also kind enough to share another trade secret: the house steel-cut oats recipe. I had it the
other day with crème fraîche and a pear poached in sweetened, spiced rose wine, and it was just how I like it: prepared earlier and allowed to set. If you want it more risotto-like, by all means eat it when it’s hot. If you don’t have steel-cut oats, use whatever you’ve got. n 2 cups steel-cut oats n 4 cups water n ∑ cup butter n ∑cup brown sugar n 2 tsp salt Cook until oats are tender and the desired consistency. Finish with innumerable applications.
To help your kids eat more nutritious snacks and lunches, here are three power foods you can prepare in separate bags ahead of time so your kids can eat better. Baby carrots and snap peas. High in vitamin C, snap peas are a perfect complement to carrots, says Healthy Eating. Almonds. Avoid trail mix-filled pieces of candy. Almonds are highly nutritious and keep you full for longer. Cheese. Because it’s high in protein, cheese is great at staving off hunger and makes for a perfect afterschool snack. Plus, kids love cheese.
RAMEN
Ari LeVaux lives in Montana and New Mexico and can be reached at flash@flashinthepan.net.
SUDOKU ANSWERS FROM PG 19
Make ramen amazing Cheap, loaded with sodium and minimally nutritious, ramen has become something of an infamous food. With a few simple ingredients you probably have lying around the house, you can turn a tired bowl of ramen into a delicious meal. Here are five ideas: n Crack an egg into the boiling water for a soft-boiled addition n Instead of using the flavor packet, use miso soup base n Add a smear of peanut butter n Add beef, chicken, bacon or any variety of protein n Add some frozen vegetables, peas, corn, carrots, or a mixed variety for added nutrition — Brandpoint
Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 21
Stillness
continued from page 19 accompanied by her musical collaborator, pianist Jason Moran. Inspired by the 1968 novel “Under the Glacier,” by Icelandic author Halldór Laxness, the work is a poetic response to climate change. While a row of dangling crystals casts prisms of light on the screen, a video shifts between scenes of glacial landscapes and Jonas rapidly drawing abstract shapes with black ink and melting ice cubes. Any good journey prompts a detour, and a fine one awaits a visitor willing to briefly exit this exhibition and go to a gallery by the main staircase, where a three-part sculpture by Nishida Jun (1977–2005) is on view. His baked porcelain and powdered glaze forms echo processes as violent and strenuous as nature’s own convulsions, and evoke ancient human and geological history. The sculpture’s columnar segments resemble fragments of classical Greek statuary and its raw, unfired portions call to mind volcanic fissures, molten earth and swirls of petrified rock. Then return for the majestic Rothkos displayed in the fourth gallery, chosen by Elliot Bostwick Davis, chair of the MFA’s Art of the Americas department, whose stirring overview of the show is online. The 11 paintings span all stages of Rothko’s career and follow his drive to create art that brings viewers into a profound emotional and even religious experience, a desire that led him to abandon
representation for increasingly abstract works. A curious, touching self-portrait of Rothko in his 30s is displayed next to a painting by his idol, Rembrandt (1606-1669). In both, an artist gazes at an easel, a tool of his trade. Paintings from the 1940s show geometric forms in jeweled colors; arranged in a row, they suggest the stained glass windows of a church. In some, shapes float as if suspended underwater and glow with deep inner light of Old Masters paintings. Later, darker canvases are kin to the series he created in the ’60s for his culminating work, the Rothko Chapel in Houston. These paintings are enormous. In what seems like a paradox, Rothko believed that large works are more conducive to intimacy, enveloping viewer and artist alike. He recommended standing just 18 inches away when looking at a large painting. Seen close up, the serene and warm hues in “Mulberry and Brown” (1958) appear to levitate, their vintage glow a product of Rothko’s masterful use of Italian Renaissance ingredients — egg and hide glue. With its earthen tones and materials, the painting is kin to Puryear’s sculpture. Viewed slowly, the vast, dark works reveal subtle layers of paint, muted bands of color that form frames within frames. Their richly textured surfaces shimmer with light. Such discoveries become visible the way shapes emerge as the eye adjusts to a darkened room. The experience of slow and attentive viewing is a gift that will linger long after you leave these shows.
Homesick continued from page 16
brought to their strenuous roles. Belcher’s Teddy is by far the more sympathetic character, a warm extrovert with a knack for empathy. Teddy tells Jeremy how he encouraged his young friend Ed, who was anxious about his upcoming marriage, by saying, “You got the girl. You’re getting a life.” When Jeremy admits that he may be gay, Teddy urges him to come out and “be part of a community.” As the men feel each other out, their interaction turns into an approach-avoidance game that alternates between sparring and seduction, a game that after a while becomes tiresome to watch. The play gains momentum as, with deft staging and versatile acting, scenes shift between their present and the past, giving both equal reality. Chameleon-like, Belcher morphs into the effusive Nicholas, Ed’s friend back in Uganda, who has taken a gay lover, a relationship that is taboo in his Ugandan community. And Levine entirely embodies fragile, wired-up Ed. Freed from playing men intent on hiding themselves, the actors become characters the audience can care about. Scenes switch from Teddy and Jeremy in the hotel room to the Ugandan clinic, where Jeremy advises a frantic Nicholas, and to Teddy bullying Ed as he succumbs to a manic-depressive fit. This mingling of past and present deepens the play. And by casting the actors as the friends of Nicholas and Ed, the production adds nuance to the pull between the two men, who see in each other
PHOTO: T. CHARLES ERICKSON
Samuel H. Levine and McKinley Belcher III in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of “A Guide for the Homesick.” the friends they have betrayed. Although the cues preceding each switch to the past are a bit hokey — light bulbs flicker to an ominous rumble — the production’s artful staging conjures settings that vary from a dreary hotel room to an Ugandan landscape and heighten the emotional tenor of each scene. William Boles designed the sets, with lighting by Russell H. Champa and costumes by Kara Harmon. Sound design by Lindsay Jones turns the insistent ring of a cell phone into
Walker
continued from page 17 school with cadavers. After gaining his freedom, he continued the job as an employee. The 8-by12-foot diptych, a spare composition in black, tan, grey and white, shows him going about his nightly work observed by his master and a tot with a toy bull.
an urgent motif and in this production, the beat of rain on a roof, often soothing to the ear, becomes a pitiless downpour. “A Guide for the Homesick” offers a lesson with a sting: The homecoming of friendship eludes people who are not at home with themselves. Lacking self-knowledge, Urban’s characters wreak havoc on themselves and others. Theirs is a story as old as the tale of Oedipus, the king who, blind to himself, destroys those he holds dearest. In “Future Looks Bright,” an oil-and-ink drawing on an oval of linen, a turbaned woman looks out in alarm from behind a crystal ball that seems about to explode. Another work offers a note of optimism. In “A Spectacle,” ghostlike male power figures hover over a black girl and boy and Native American girl; but with fists raised and banners flying, the children march ahead.
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22 22 •• Thursday, Thursday, October October 26, 26, 2017 2017 •• BAY BAY STATE STATE BANNER BANNER
Amazon
continued from page 1
Suffolk Downs
First and foremost, Walsh’s pitch presents Suffolk Downs in East Boston and Revere as an ideal location: a shovel-ready, 160-acre campus, with a single owner and access to the Blue Line and the airport. The former horse-racing venue has been proposed for various re-energizing projects over the years, including as the location for a stadium in the 2024 Olympics proposal. Some advertised features hinge on state investment in transportation. Though the MBTA was ranked as having the most breakdowns of any transit system in the nation in 2016 based on federal transit data, it features importantly in city and state bids. The city’s Suffolk Downs proposal presents both planned-for and hoped-for improvements. These include $25 million for a commuter rail station near the Wonderland stop on the Blue Line as well as the re-starting of efforts to link the Red and Blue Lines. The latter Red-Blue Line connection was put on hold in 2015 and Walsh’s administration estimates it will cost $746 million to complete. The state proposal makes no mention of the Red-Blue line initiative. Non-MBTA transit upgrade proposals from the Walsh administration also include $1.6 million in new ferry routes and $40 million in improvements on Route 1A.
Roxbury
Both the city and state pitches identify “the Harrison Albany Corridor,” which contains Roxbury parcels, as an alternative headquarters location. This area is bounded by the South End, Back Bay, Roxbury and Widett Circle. The state attributes 10 million square feet of developable land to the corridor, while the city pegs the figure at 8 million. The state’s documents laud the corridor’s proximity to Logan airport as well as the Red, Silver, Orange and Green lines and to I-90 and I-93, as well as the supply within one transit stop to potential
The Walsh administration is proposing Amazon build at the site of the former Area B2 police station. BANNER PHOTO
workers, including millennials (about 441,000), computer and math professionals (64,000, which beats out Suffolk Down’s 36,000) and people with bachelor’s or advanced degrees (over 875,000, compared to Suffolk Down’s 464,000). Under the Harrison Albany Corridor plan, Amazon would buy and build on sites in several neighborhoods, including Roxbury. These include city-owned parcel B-2 on Dudley Street, the Boston Planning and Development Agency-controlled Blair Lot on Washington Street, P-3 Partners LLC’s Tremont Crossing on Tremont Street, state-owned P-8 on Melnea Cass Boulevard, Madison Park Development Corporation’s P-10 on Washington Street and New Boston Food Market’s Widett Circle on Foodmart Road.
The Amazon balance
Amazon’s request for proposals states the new headquarters would employ up to 50,000, creating the jobs over a period of 15 to 17 years, with average salaries of $100,000. This would bring income tax revenue to the state as well as economic boost to those
local residents attaining these jobs. Additionally, $5 billion in expected investments in the headquarters would bring additional property tax to the city — if the firm is not provided with significant tax cuts — and is likely to enhance Boston’s reputation among tech businesses. Meanwhile, some fear that working class, longtime Bostonians will not receive these full time Amazon jobs, which may instead go to college graduates, including many from out of town, and that Amazon jobs may attract more newcomers to the city, exacerbating its housing crunch. In Seattle, Amazon’s headquarters city, housing costs rose sharply over the past decade, sparking concerns that people not engaged in the tech industry are being pushed out. Northeastern University professor Peter Enrich and Noah Berger, executive director of Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, previously told the Banner that any offer to Amazon should focus on things that will bring long-lasting, widespread benefits — such as transportation improvements — over any generous tax breaks to this one specific firm.
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A map of possible Amazon sites in Roxbury.
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department
Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department
An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411.
SUFFOLK Division
Docket No. SU17P1404GD
Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 In the matter of Marie Joachim Of Boston, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Brigham & Women’s Hospital of Boston, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Marie Joachim is in need of a Guardian and requesting that (or some other suitable person) be appointed as Guardian to serve on the bond. The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondent is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, that the proposed Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority. You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 A.M. on the return date of 11/16/2017. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance, you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date.
SUFFOLK Division
Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing Alicia S. Jones-Rabiu
WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court. Date: October 10, 2017
Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate
vs.
Mufutau A. Rabiu
To the Defendant: The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown
You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Neuselinda Soares, 46 Rosedale Street, Dorchester, MA 02124 your answer, if any, on or before 11/23/2017. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court. Witness, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court. Date: October 17, 2017
Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate
The Complaint is on file at the Court. Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department
An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411. You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Alicia S. Jones-Rabiu, 24 Sonoma St. Apt 4, Boston, MA 02121 your answer, if any, on or before 12/14/2017. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court. Witness, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court. Date: October 17, 2017
SUFFOLK Division
Docket No. SU17D2201DR
Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing Shante Luquanda Mudough Francis
vs.
Nigel Francis
To the Defendant: Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate
The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown The Complaint is on file at the Court.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department
IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person. If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense.
Docket No. SU17D1913DR
SUFFOLK Division
Docket No. SU17D0950DR
Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing Neuselinda Soares
vs.
Anthony Depina
To the Defendant: The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown The Complaint is on file at the Court.
An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411. You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Shante Luquanda Mudough Francis, 160 Fairmount St. Dorchester, MA 02124 your answer, if any, on or before 12/14/2017. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court. Witness, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court. Date: October 11, 2017
Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate
Thursday, October 26, 2017 • BAY STATE BANNER • 23
BANNER CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division
Guertide Dalmacy
Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing vs.
To the Defendant: The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown The Complaint is on file at the Court. An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411. You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Rachel Rado, Esq., Law Offices of Rachel L. Rado, LLC, 98 North Washington St. Suite 402, Boston, MA 02114 your answer, if any, on or before 12/21/2017. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court.
The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown of the marriage
Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate
You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Guertide Dalmacy, 751 St. Marks Avenue Apt. A9 Brooklyn, NY 11216 your answer, if any, on or before 12/07/2017. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court. Witness, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court. Date: October 10, 2017
Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate
INVITATION TO BID
BID NO.
DESCRIPTION
DATE
TIME
WRA-4442
Purchase of Three (3) each 3-cubic foot Screening Pods Siemens (or Equal)
11/08/17
11:00 a.m.
PCB Contaminated Concrete Removal
11/08/17
WRA-4444
Docket No. SU17D0480DR
12:00 p.m.
*To access and bid on Event(s) please go to the MWRA Supplier Portal at www.mwra.com.
REAL ESTATE
Type
Studio
1 BR
2 BR
3 BR
Section 8-PBV from BHA 30% AMI
0
3*
3
0
See below*
See below*
See below*
See below*
60% AMI
0
1
7*
2
Gross Rent**
N/A
$1,164
$1,396
$1,613
70% AMI
0
0
4
1
Gross Rent*
N/A
N/A
$1,448
$1,630
UNIT TOTALS
0
4
14
3
*Preference for persons with mobility impairment 1- (1br PBV-BHA unit) 1- (2br 60% AMI unit) *Rents are based upon adjusted gross income. Section 8 available through the Boston Housing Authority (BHA). To apply, households should contact the BHA, 52 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA 02111 ** Gross Rent includes utility allowance with tenant payment for heat, hot water, and electricity.
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11 Midway Park Dr., Dartmouth, MA 02747 Applications available beginning 10/9/17 thru 12/8/17 at • Dartmouth Town Clerks Office, Town Hall, Rm. 203, 400 Slocum Rd., Dartmouth • Southworth Library, 732 Dartmouth St., S. Dartmouth • North Dartmouth Library, 1383 Tucker Road, N. Dartmouth or by phone 508.513.5223 (TTY 711) or online at RentAtLincolnPark.com or PeabodyProperties.com Mail completed application to: Peabody Properties, Inc. c/o Lincoln Park Lottery, 536 Granite Street, Braintree, MA 02184 or email to lincolnleaseup@peabodyproperties.com
1BR 1BR 1BR 2BR 2BR 2BR
24 1 5 14 1 3
Program Type 60% 30% 30% 60% 30% 30%
$708 $368 PBV Rent** $850 $510 PBV Rent**
Heat & Hot Water Included *Utility allowance to be determined and deducted from gross rent allowable. **Rent share determined by PHA based on income of applicant.
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$13,250 $16,240 $20,420 $24,600
$26,460 $30,240 $34,020 $37,800
Info Session: Wednesday, November 8th | 2 & 6 P.M. Lottery Drawing: Tuesday, December 19th | 11 A.M. Both events held at Rachel’s Lakeside, 950 State Road, Dartmouth, MA Rents, utility allowances & income limits based on HUD guidelines & subject to change. Please inquire in advance for reasonable accommodation. Info contained herein subject to change w/o notice.
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An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411.
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division
Wedly Dalmacy
The Complaint is on file at the Court.
Maimie Iris Johnson-Jones
Witness, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court. Date: October 16, 2017
vs.
To the Defendant:
Docket No. SU17D1602DR
Gagandeep Singh
REAL ESTATE
LEGAL
Use and Occupancy Restrictions Apply Applications may be requested by email at 9williams@winnco.com or picked up during the following dates and times at: 207 Dudley Street Roxbury MA 02119 (Management Office) Reasonable accommodations made Applications available: Monday-Friday 10/16/17 – 10/27/17 & Monday 10/30/17 Hours: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday 10/21/17 Hours: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. AN INFORMATION SESSION WILL BE HELD AT 464 TREMONT STREET BOSTON MA (Castle Square Apartments Community Room) THURSDAY OCTOBER 19, 2017 6PM-8PM Applications will be available at the information session.
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Call today to schedule an Information Session: 617-542-1800 Funding and enrollment based on eligibility
Experienced parking and revenue control professionals needed › Parking Facility Managers › Parking Shift Supervisors › Parking Cashiers › Lobby Attendants › Parking Attendants Full and Part-time Positions available in the Boston area. Competitive wages and employee benefits. Military veterans are encouraged to apply. Please send resumes to mmsgroup@aol.com. Vanguard Parking & General Services Corporation 795 Columbus Avenue Roxbury Crossing, MA 617-585-3150-employment office 617-585-3153-FAX
For more information or an application to be sent by mail or alternate means, call Madison Park Management Office during the application period of 10/16/17 to 10/30/17. Phone: 617-445-8338 Deadline for completed applications to be in the Lottery is: In person at the Management Office by 4:00pm 11/10/17 or mail postmarked by 11/10/17 SELECTION BY LOTTERY Two units have a preference for persons with mobility impairment. Preference for households of at least one person per bedroom. Maximum Income Limits by Household:
HH size
60%
70%
1 Person
$43,440
$50,700
2 Persons
$49,680
$57,950
3 Persons
$55,860
$65,200
4 Persons
$62,040
$72,400
5 Persons
$67,020
$78,200
6 Persons
$72,000
$84,000
**Voucher Holders not subject to minimum income requirements or rent at payment standard** Contact (617) 445-8338 or TDD: 1-800-439-2370 for Reasonable accommodations regarding the application process or to request an application by mail Translation assistance is available. 2101 Washington Street Rental Housing is an equal housing opportunity Managed by WinnResidential
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SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER SOUGHT Home City Development, Inc. (Home City) seeks a Senior Real Estate Project Manager, to develop affordable housing and neighborhood improvement projects in Springfield (MA) and the surrounding Western Massachusetts communities. Home City develops and operates multi-family rental and mixeduse properties and supports community residents in the Greater Springfield area. The Senior Project Manager will work closely with the Executive Director, Project Manager, consultants, property managers and others to complete new projects, continue to develop a project pipeline, and ensure the stability of our existing portfolio of properties. Our ideal candidate is committed to our mission, hard-working, and experienced in affordable housing development. See https://homecitydevelopment.org for a complete position description. Please submit one pdf document containing a cover letter, detailing your qualifications for this position and your salary requirements, along with a resume to: Ann L Silverman Consulting, https://goo.gl/forms/fMOoxlijfcmimONz1. You will be asked to complete a short form, then upload your pdf document. Home City Development is an equal opportunity employer.