Bay State Banner June 25th, 2020

inside this week

Police have an uncertain place among unions pg 6

INSIDE ARTS

business news

THE POWER OF PUPPETRY pg 16

Business survival during pandemic pg 15

plus Arts community celebrates Juneteenth pg 16 In conversation with jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington pg 17 Vol. 55 No. 48 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965

www.baystatebanner.com

Electeds struggle with police funding Baker draws fire with pay bonus, activists picket at Walsh residence

By MORGAN C. MULLINGS On Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker joined state Rep. Russell Holmes in a show of support for legislation that would require certification for police in Massachusetts, a measure widely seen as bringing accountability to law enforcement.

Yet in the same legislation, Baker slipped in a measure that would pay officers $5,000 for trainings. This measure comes at a time when activists in Massachusetts and across the country are calling for police departments to be defunded and resources diverted to social services.

Baker’s pay bonus measure underscores a growing rift between elected leaders and anti-police-violence activists. In Boston, Mayor Martin Walsh has resisted calls from activists and some city councilors who are calling for a 10% cut to the police budget, and instead proposed a more modest 2.4% cut.

Both Baker and Walsh have drawn fire for their seeming support for increased police funding. Demonstrators last week picketed in front of Walsh’s Dorchester home.

During a demonstration at the State House Monday, protesters blasted Baker’s proposal.

“Not only is it disrespectful, but it goes to show how little he values black lives,” said anti-violence activist Monica

Cannon-Grant.

That Baker is advancing certification, legislation Holmes has sought to advance unsuccessfully for the last six years, indicates a growing sense of urgency around police reform.

Under the legislation, officers would be required to pass a certification test, renew their certification every three years and be subject to decertification in cases of serious misconduct. According to the bill, officers can also be decertified after specific use-of-force cases and for failing to intervene when another officer engages in misconduct on the job.

The bill creates a Police Officer Standards and Accreditation Committee, at least half of whom would be required to be persons of color. At a briefing last week, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito noted that Massachusetts is one of just four states without a certification process for police.

“The high standards of training we require for our police departments give us a strong foundation on which to build one,” she said.

Taking a different tone, Holmes referred to the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus’ police reform legislation, including mandatory collection and sharing of data on police stops, special independent investigators for police

See CAUCUS, page 18

BANNER PHOTO

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley chats with a commuter in the MBTA bus terminal in Nubian Square.

COVID, police reforms top Pressley’s agenda Congresswoman listens to concerns in Nubian Square

By YAWU MILLER In Washington, Ayanna Pressley has filed legislation at a rapid clip during the COVID pandemic and the anti-police-violence protests — bills covering everything from data collection to the qualified immunity standard that has compelled courts to let officers charged with murder beat their cases.

On a visit to Nubian Square last

Thursday, Pressley pursued a more pedestrian agenda: making sure the bus drivers, passengers and merchants in the commercial district are doing ok. She spoke to T riders and bus drivers as her aides passed out masks.

As a bus pulled into a berth in the MBTA’s busiest bus terminal, Pressley approached the driver’s window.

“Do you have everything you need to stay safe?” she asked the driver.

“Yes I do. I was sick for a month, though,” the driver replied.

“I’m fighting for all the frontline workers like you,” Pressley said.

“Your work is essential, but your life is more essential.”

Pressley was in Nubian Square as part of an effort to register voters and encourage participation in the U.S. Census. During her visit there, she spoke with the Banner about her legislative agenda.

See PRESSLEY, page 12

Walsh resists calls to defund police Activists seek changes before budget vote

By MORGAN C. MULLINGS

PHOTO: JOSHUA QUALLS

Gov. Charlie Baker filed legislation last week to require certification of police in Massachusetts.

While youth activists and city councilors are calling for reallocating 10% from the Boston Police Department budget to social services, Mayor Martin Walsh last Friday said he will make no further cuts to law enforcement.

In an interview with WGBH host Jim Braude, Walsh dug his heels in against activists demands for a $40 million cut.

“Not out of the police budget,” he said on WGBH News’ “Greater Boston” Wednesday. “It’s not just about taking money from one pot to another pot.”

Walsh’s remarks came after youth activists picketed his home earlier that morning and draped signs on City Hall calling for defunding the police department.

The youth-led group, For the People Boston (FTP) have made the following demands: Cut 10% of the Boston Police Department’s

overall budget, remove police from Boston’s public schools and put a cap on overtime accrual and overtime pay for military exercises.

The activists held a town hall meeting Friday during which Boston city councilors stated their position on the demands.

Walsh was invited, but he sent Chief of Economic Development Chief John Barros in his stead.

Eight out of 13 councilors attended and answered “yes” or “no” to FTP’s demands.

See DEFUND, page 8

2 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

Domestic workers now facing homelessness Survey finds workers struggling without access to social safety net

By MORGAN C. MULLINGS In a survey conducted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, black immigrant domestic workers in Boston and other cities explained the widespread unemployment and fear of losing their homes without a safety net.

While dealing with “three converging storms,” the pandemic, economic depression and systemic racism, 59% of domestic workers in Massachusetts lost their jobs, according to the report, which was released last week. In addition, 49% of respondents dealt with relatives who had COVID-19 symptoms or had the symptoms themselves.

The National Domestic Workers’ Alliance (NDWA), in partnership with the Institute for Policy Studies’ (IPS) Black Worker Initiative, conducted the survey between May 19 and June 6, with 811 responses from black immigrant domestic workers in Massachusetts, Miami-Dade Florida, and New York City. A jarring 45% lost their jobs overall, and 25% had their pay or hours reduced in some way. In a press call June 16, Associate Fellow Marc Bayard said that those who work as nannies, caretakers, house cleaners and other domestic workers were

chosen for the survey “to capture the large Haitian Jamaican, Nigerian and Caribbean populations in those major metropolitan areas and the Afro Brazilian population.”

“

I feel like right now I'm in a limbo. People don't want me to in their house for fear of me bringing the virus.

My husband is the only provider at the moment.”

— Lydia, domestic worker

Focusing on immigrants allowed the researchers to divide the data by those documented and undocumented, uncovering many disparities. Undocumented workers were twice as likely to experience job loss. In addition, more than half of the undocumented respondents said their immigration status impacted their ability to find new work.

“Given the fragility of this industry and the lack of regulation,

rules and work contracts, the ability for the employers to let workers go so easily; that's really been highlighted in this pandemic. And unlike other workers who could apply for unemployment and who can apply for [Paycheck Protection Program] if you're a small business, these workers … do not have the ability,” Bayard added. That includes Boston domestic workers — 59% lost their jobs or have fewer hours and less pay. About half of those who remained at work received no safety equipment from their employer.

Lydia, a domestic worker from Boston, was told not to come back into work because of COVID-19, with no prior notice.

“I feel like right now I'm in a limbo,” she said during the press call. “People don't want me to in their house for fear of me bringing the virus. My husband is the only provider at the moment.”

It’s been almost a month without work for Lydia, and recently her husband contracted the virus and has been staying home as well.

One of the most important findings was that workers were afraid to reach out to their local government for help, despite expressing a dire need for cash assistance. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the NDWA and IPS will continue to survey workers, especially black female immigrant workers, as they have been doing since 2018, to highlight the underlying crises they endure.

Aimée-Josiane Twagirumukiza,

black organizing director at NDWA, says her group is continuously looking for new ways to get governments to support increasing wages and leave policies for domestic workers, “something

that could make a really big difference for people who are having to make the hard decisions of caring for themselves or their families and having a day's work on their paycheck.”

Juneteenth

PHOTO: JOHN WILCOX, MAYOR’S OFFICE

Mayor Martin Walsh participates in the Juneteenth flag raising at Boston City Hall.

Find The Right Job For You.

Connect With Hundreds of Employers.

MassHire Boston Career Center All Services Available Remotely WWW.MASSHIREBOSTONCAREERCTR.ORG 617-541-1400

Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 3

Have fun. Get moving.

Be active together!

At home or in your neighborhood— easy, low-cost ideas for safe, healthy family fun.

@kohlshealthyfamilyfun kohlshealthyfamilyfun.org

4 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

EDITORIAL

SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Email: yawu@bannerpub.com Mail: The Bay State Banner, 1100 Washington St., Dorchester, MA 02124 Fax: 617-261-2346 Letters must be signed. Names may be withheld upon request.

INSIDE: BUSINESS, 15 • ARTS & CULTURE, 16 • CLASSIFIEDS, 18

www.baystatebanner.com

Established 1965

America’s ugly history America has experienced a problacks by whites in Tulsa was much foundly ignominious moment. On May greater among the older generation. A 31, 1921, whites in Tulsa, Oklahoma conversation in 1953 with blacks who utterly destroyed the black section of claimed to have been involved in the the city that was known as Greenwood. battle only 32 years earlier was much This was one of the most well-develmore lively. They had accounts of varioped and law abiding communities in ous aspects of the massacre.

Tulsa. According to some historians, With such limited knowledge of the that was the problem. Greenwood’s suc- Tulsa violence, few are likely to know cess created a fatal case of white envy. much about the backstory. Oklahoma The conflict began in a common did not become a state until 1907. Only way in racist America. A white woman 14 years before Greenwood, Oklahoma accused a black boy of sexual assault. was known as the Indian Territory.

After he was arrested, a white mob Whites seized land settled and owned developed to execute the accused before in several Southern states by various the courts could complicate the matter Native American tribes and gave them with a time-consuming trial. But armed in exchange some land in what became black men showed up to escort the pris- Oklahoma. The rights of Native Ameroner to security within the justice sysicans prevailed against the compulsory tem. A shootout began, land swaps, but Presiand it developed that the dent Andrew Jackson On May 31, 1921, sheriff ’s department was refused to enforce the whites in Tulsa, allied with the lynching court decisions. party.

The Choctaw, Creek Oklahoma utterly The battle soon and Cherokee tribes destroyed the black spread to the residenwere forced out of section of the city tial area of Greenwood Georgia, Alabama, as residents joined the North Carolina, Florthat was known as fight to protect their ida and Tennessee on Greenwood. This was families. The National what became known as one of the most wellGuard entered the fray the “Trail of Tears” in with machine guns, and 1835 and 1836. The trek developed and law airplanes flew over and was more than 5,000 abiding communities dropped fire bombs to miles from their lands in Tulsa. burn Greenwood to the in the South and thouground. The final damsands died along the age of the encounter was way. Native Americans an estimated 50-300 residents killed did not get U.S. citizenship rights until and homes, stores, business buildings 1924, and their voting rights were not and churches destroyed by fire, and assured everywhere until 1962. about 10,000 blacks left homeless.

After 1865, during the ReconstrucAll of this violence and destruction tion period, blacks in the Old Conoccurred only because blacks wanted federacy left to start a new life in the the charges against the black youth to Indian Territory where there was no be decided in a court of law rather than history of the enslavement of blacks by by a mob, and whites in Tulsa were whites. But after the establishment of humiliated to see blacks build a more the state of Oklahoma in 1907, whites prosperous community than theirs. did not intend for blacks and Native Clear-minded whites knew at once Americans to have a major role in that the conduct of whites in Tulsa government. was unjustifiable. Awareness of what The brutal treatment of the Native happened in Tulsa on one day in 1921 Americans established that whites seemed to discreetly disappear. In a could not be expected to be more recent “60 Minutes” interview with cordial to blacks. Perhaps inhumanity middle-aged black Tulsa residents, it to outsiders is a consistent element of seemed that there was no mention of their culture. Certainly, blacks should the event in the public schools and learn from this the importance of people had little knowledge of the mas- maintaining a solid historical record sacre of blacks in their own town. of their progress, as well as the anticiThe awareness of the attack on pated difficulties.

“Sometimes you wonder what those folks are made of!”

USPS 045-780

Publisher/Editor

Melvin B. Miller

Assoc. Publisher/Treasurer

John E. Miller

Senior Editor

Yawu Miller ADVERTISING

Advertising Manager

Rachel Reardon

NEWS REPORTING Health Editor

Karen Miller

Staff Writer

Morgan C. Mullings

Contributing Writers

Anthony W. Neal Brian Wright O’Connor

Copy Editor

Sandra Larson

Staff Photographers

Ernesto Arroyo Don West

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Contributing Writers Colette Greenstein Celina Colby Susan Saccoccia PRODUCTION Graphic Designers

Joanne Storin ADMINISTRATION

Business Manager

Karen Miller

The Bay State Banner is published every Thursday.

Offices are located at 1100 Washington Street, Dorchester, MA 02124 Telephone: 617-261-4600 • Fax: 617-261-2346 Website: www.baystatebanner.com Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA. All rights reserved. Copyright 2020.

The Banner is certified by the GNMSDC, 2019.

Circulation of The Bay State Banner 27,400.

Audited by CAC, June 2019.

The Banner is printed by: TC Transcontinental Printing 10807, Mirabeau, Anjou (Québec) H1J 1T7 Printed in Canada

Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 5

OPINION THE BANNER WELCOMES YOUR OPINION: EMAIL OP-ED SUBMISSIONS TO YAWU@BANNERPUB.COM • Letters must be signed. Names may be withheld upon request.

A healthy recovery calls for social housing

By JOHN LLOYD AND LYDIA LOWE, GREATER BOSTON COMMUNITY LAND TRUST NETWORK As the graph of new COVID-19 cases in the state begins to trend downward, our public conversation now shifts to the questions of reopening and how we balance health and economic aspects of recovery. But, if it is too soon to toss away our masks and social distancing practices, it is equally unwise to return the economy to business as usual.

Business as usual got us into this mess in the first place. An estimated 48 million U.S. households lived in unaffordable housing before the pandemic, and a majority of the lowest-income renters are people of color or single mothers. From 2000 to 2014, rents rose 13% while household incomes declined by 7%. Now, a mind-boggling 40 million people are unemployed!

We appreciate that the commonwealth has enacted a strong moratorium on evictions and foreclosures in order to keep people in their homes during the COVID quarantine. But what actions can we take now to address the long-term housing crisis?

The core principle of our current housing system is protection of the private market, with 96.3% of the nation’s housing stock in private hands. Only 3.7% is made up of different forms of social housing ⎯ public housing, nonprofit housing, cooperatives and community land trusts. In contrast, Hong Kong’s 10-year housing plan calls for a 60/40 split between social and private housing development. Only a quarter of the housing stock in Vienna is privately owned for profit. Some 40 percent of housing in the United Kingdom was social housing before privatization whittled it down to about 9 percent today.

The biggest U.S. homeowners are the banks, who are the actual landlords behind most who consider themselves homeowners. We were witness to this precarity during and following the crash of 2008, when some 15 million homes were foreclosed. Working families lost their homes, banks received a $700 billion bailout, and speculative investors scooped up more properties. Let’s not repeat this mistake.

How can we emerge from the pandemic with an approach to housing that prioritizes human needs over speculative profit? This is not some utopian dream; the means to house the nation lies within our reach.

Boston is home to one of the most successful community land trusts in the country. In the Dudley neighborhood triangle, community ownership of the land keeps 226 homes permanently affordable, through a deed restriction, and provides security in times of disinvestment and gentrification alike. The Greater Boston Community Land Trust Network now has seven community land trusts in Boston, Somerville and Chelsea. Using collective ownership and control of land, members are working to stabilize working-class communities of color, combat displacement and organize for democratic governance of healthy neighborhoods. We believe the growth of the CLT model is an opportunity to address the root causes of wealth inequality; together, we seek to drive systemic change and support our communities’ health and well-being.

On the policy front, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar has proposed the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act, H. 6515, which would not only ensure that renters and homeowners emerge from the crisis debt-free, but also establish a buyout fund to turn foreclosed and at-risk properties into social housing instead of speculative portfolios.

Here in Massachusetts, Sen. Brendan Crighton and Rep. Dan Cullinane have proposed a Tenant First Right of Refusal, H 1260/S 786, which would require that an owner of a large multi-family building provide tenants the right to make a first offer and to match a third-party purchase offer. Tenants of limited means could partner with a nonprofit to preserve their homes. Boston and Somerville already have programs to help nonprofits preserve occupied homes, but more funding is needed. A proposal at the State House would allow cities and towns to raise funds for affordable housing through a real estate transfer fee.

The pandemic has done us the service of exposing what is wrong with the current system, while pushing us to think nimbly and creatively to save lives. Now we need to exercise the political will to seek longer-term solutions and expand strategies that we know work, like the community land trust model.

John Lloyd is executive director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, which launched Boston’s first community land trust in 1988. Lydia Lowe is executive director of the Chinatown Community Land Trust, established in 2015. Greater Boston Community Land Trust Network: Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Boston Neighborhood Community Land Trust, Chinatown Community Land Trust,Comunidades Enraizadas de Chelsea, Dudley Neighbors Inc., Highland Park Community Land Trust, Somerville Community Land Trust, Urban Farming Institute Community Land Trust

Racism isn’t just a public health crisis. It’s a chronic illness.

By DWAIGN TYNDAL As the Executive Director of Alternatives for Community and Environment, a black-led environmental justice organization in Roxbury, I welcome Mayor Walsh’s recent declaration that racism is a public health crisis.

The city of Boston can do a lot to address its history of racist policies in housing, education, environment, and more. We look forward to continuing that work.

But if we’re actually going to solve the crisis of racism, we need to clearly understand the nature of this public health crisis: racism in America isn’t just a virus or a broken leg. Racism in America is a chronic illness. It won’t be healed unless we understand the underlying cause and treat it.

I am grateful for the attention that’s being paid to racism right now. The recent videos of police brutality and the pandemic have made it impossible to ignore deep systemic inequities — the death rate for black folks is three times higher than the death rate for white Americans.

But I’m also skeptical. Once the news media moves on, will Mayor Walsh and other political leaders still care?

Racism in America is a pervasive problem. What we’ve seen in the last few weeks — horrific recordings of police violence against black folks, and the loud, angry response across the country — that’s a bad flare-up. But treating the flare-up alone won’t treat the underlying chronic disease.

The disease of racism isn’t just a white policeman kneeling on a black man’s neck. It’s black and brown people breathing polluted air. It’s black folks in Boston

spending 64 more hours stuck on the bus than white folks. It’s decades of housing policy that leave the average black family in Boston with $8 in wealth while the average white family has $247,500.

To really treat this chronic illness, we have to go to the core, heal the original wounds, and repair the damage it has done to

ment Program) to fight for better employment opportunities, better training, justice in our education system.

In the short-term, we’re asking that when the BPDA permits developers in key Nubian Square areas of Crescent Parcel, the Malcolm X Parcel, the Putnam Parcel and Parcel 3, they commit to passive house and LEED Platinum

The disease of racism isn’t just a white policeman kneeling on a black man’s neck. ... It’s decades of housing policy that leave the average black family in Boston with $8 in wealth while the average white family has $247,500. our systems. That means looking closely at how we ended up with such deep inequity. It means calling into question long-held ways of making decisions, like rethinking the way police do their job, reconsidering the way we “redevelop” neighborhoods and force longtime residents out, doing more to redress environmental injustice like unhealthy air and unequal transit and lack of green space for black and brown Bostonians.

At ACE, we’re dedicated to this fight and rooted in the historic black heart of Boston, Roxbury’s Nubian Square. We’re fighting for transit justice. For environmental justice, reduced pollution and cleaner water and more access to green space. We’re fighting for housing justice and ending displacement. We’re working with our youth program REEP (Roxbury Environmental Empower-

buildings, as well as traffic flows to increase walking and reduce vehicle air pollution.

We’re also asking that as the MBTA decides how and when to fully relaunch bus service, they look at the impact on black and brown and immigrant communities first. Our communities are hardest-hit by COVID-19, the most reliant on the bus, and the most in danger of contagion on crowded buses.

So let’s keep fighting the flare-up. I welcome Mayor Walsh’s leadership as we use the energy of this moment to fight police violence against our communities. But let’s also use some of this momentum for the longterm fight. Racism is a chronic disease and we have to be in this fight for the long haul.

Dwaign Tyndal is executive director of Alternatives for Community and Environment

IN THE NEWS

ELIJAH HECKSTALL Boston Public Schools and Boston Plan for Excellence have announced the appointment of Elijah Heckstall as Principal of Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School, effective July 1, 2020. Heckstall will replace outgoing principal Dawn Lewis, who served the community with dedication for five years. An interview committee of Dudley Street School parents, teachers, community leaders and Board members conducted the search and recommended his appointment.

Heckstall hails from Middletown, Conn. and attended Trinity College in Hartford, where he earned a batchelor’s degree in education with a concentration in neuroscience. He found that his work tutoring and helping to lead an afterschool program sparked a

passion for education, specifically working with students in underserved communities.

Heckstall began working for Citizen Schools, working with middle school students in Dorchester to provide mentorship and real-world learning experiences. While completing his master’s in education from Lesley

University, Heckstall became a Teach For America corps member and worked as a science and special education teacher at what is now the Dearborn STEM Academy. Heckstall remained working in schools as a teacher, a Dean of Students and finally his most recent school-based role as co-principal of the 9th Grade Academy of Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Mass.

Heckstall joined Teach For America’s staff in the summer of 2018, leading the direct support and development of the current corps members in the region. In this role, Heckstall supervised the region’s school-based coaches and supported program management as the managing director of Teacher Leadership Development.

6 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

Police have an uncertain place among unions

By SANDRA LARSON On June 17, Seattle’s King County Labor Council (MLK Labor), an affiliate of the national AFL-CIO, voted to expel the 1,300-member Seattle Police Officers Guild from its ranks.

“We can’t both stand with a police system that’s set up to hurt our black community and stand up for our people of color who are oppressed by police,” a representative of a member SEIU Healthcare union explained. Elsewhere, other unions have been pressuring the AFL-CIO to oust the International Union of Police Associations.

As the firestorm of protests over the killing of George Floyd on May 25 in the hands of Minneapolis police continues, police reform and defunding proposals are being taken up with new urgency across the U.S., with advocates and lawmakers sensing a window of opportunity open for real change.

And as outrage grows at the way police seem to be able to kill black people with impunity — with officers rarely charged and almost never convicted — attention is turning increasingly from individual officers to law enforcement unions.

Even when cities are ready to take steps to rid departments of bad actors or change police culture, police unions, banking on public fears and politicians’ reluctance to appear “soft on crime,” often present a formidable obstacle to change. Over the years, they have bargained successfully for not only typical union wage and working condition demands, but also protections against discipline actions and accountability.

Campaign Zero has gathered data on police union contracts in more than 80 of the largest U.S. cities. The effort has revealed a host of dubious protective provisions such as erasing or destroying officer discipline records; protecting violent officers from “embarrassment” by the city; allowing cops to review evidence against them, including videos, before being interrogated; preventing civilian oversight groups from disciplining officers; and protecting the identity of officers under investigation.

One of Campaign Zero’s eight recommended actions for local, state and federal governments to take to tackle police violence is “fair police contracts” that don’t

BANNER PHOTO

The Boston Teachers Union drew fire from the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association in February after teachers expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement. thwart police chiefs and civilian oversight bodies in punishing officers who are unfit to serve.

A recent Boston Globe editorial argued that lawmakers need to remove matters of police discipline and accountability from the collective bargaining process.

“Until bad cops are fired, they will feel emboldened to act as they wish,” the editorial said, going on to address not just to use of deadly force, but racist police culture: “Until departments can get rid of officers who make racist posts on social media, black citizens will have no reason to trust the officers who are supposed to protect them.”

Uneasy relationship

While on the one hand racial justice advocates and progressive politicians are calling for curbs on police unions to hold violent cops accountable, some right-leaning commentators are seizing the moment to suggest that the problem lies not with police unions, but with collective bargaining in general, thus widening the spotlight to other public sector unions.

This thrusts the larger labor union community into the uncomfortable role of defending the ideals of the labor movement — and the gains collective bargaining has brought for workers —while distancing themselves from the

unsavory side of police unions.

In a recent forum, “Police Unions in the House of Labor,” hosted by the UMass Labor Extension, panelists wrestled with the difficult question of “how we engage with police as an institution or with the police officers who are also our members.” All generally agreed that police are workers with a right to organize, but that police unions’ aims often are antithetical to other unions’ focus on lifting up women and people of color. Not all agreed that expelling police unions is an effective strategy.

“Kicking them out does not get rid of the problem,” Tiffany Dena Loftin, national director for NAACP’s youth and college division, said in the forum. “Yes, they can have a union. My problem is when unions protect murderers.”

Panelist Katie Garrow, deputy executive secretary at MLK Labor, noted that police could use their unions to further the common good. Other unions, she noted, have evolved to embrace terms that go beyond employee protections to a wider public benefit.

“We’ve seen teachers unions work to weaken the school-toprison pipeline and to reduce discipline disparities,” she said.

Nationally, the unsavory aspects of some police unions have been in the open, as when the Buffalo

POST YOUR OWN job openings, real estate, events and obituaries to The Banner’s online classified section.

OUR CLASSIFIEDS are the easiest way to get your important information in front of interested readers!

CHECK US OUT TODAY!

BAYSTATEBANNER.COM

Police Benevolent Association praised the crowd who gathered to cheer officers who had shoved a 75-year-old unarmed protester to the ground, causing a serious head injury.

In Boston, police belong to several unions, none of which are members of the Greater Boston Labor Council. The largest of them, the Boston Patrolmen’s Protective Association (BPPA), has not shied away from attacking elected officials, District Attorney Rachael Rollins and fellow unions.

In February, former BPPA President Michael Leary fired off a strongly worded letter to Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang, criticizing the BTU’s support of “Black Lives Matter At School” activities, a week-long set of events during Black History Month, now in its third year. In his letter, Leary called Black Lives Matter an “anti-police organization whose activities have the effect of making my members less safe” and referred to BLM’s “irrational fear and hatred” that he said erodes public support for improving police officers’ wages, benefits and working conditions.

In later statements, both union leaders indicated an intention to engage in a dialogue. Tang said she has reached out to Leary and then to Lawrence Calderone, who is now BPPA’s president, but that

dialogue has not yet started.

Joel Richards, a Blackstone Elementary School teacher, BTU representative and chair of the local BLM at School program, said he was not wholly surprised by police union criticism of BTU’s antiracism efforts.

“I was surprised they did it publicly. But after reading it, I wasn’t.

It was a total misunderstanding of everything about the movement,” he said.

BPPA did not respond immediately to a request to comment. The mission statement on its website strikes a faintly belligerent tone: “Today, the BPPA continues to fight — often against the prevailing political winds — for the basic rights of the street-level police officer.”

The BTU this month passed a detailed resolution on building an antiracist union. The resolution calls for removal of police from schools, another potential battle line with a police union.

Unions for the common good

Enid Eckstein, a longtime union staff member, officer and activist, emphasized the value of unions today in protecting workers, and especially protecting women and people of color.

“Many people criticize unions for racist practices and historic discrimination, some of which is true — but unions are the great equalizer, your ticket into the middle class,” she said. “For people of color and women, that is indisputable.”

She added, “We need to distinguish between the role of collective bargaining in improving wages and benefits and a police union’s defense of police brutality. …

Public sector unions can mobilize members to fight for the common good and good public service.”

In Massachusetts and Boston, even unions traditionally seen as entrenched “old-boy” networks, such as building trades unions, have recently voiced support for anti-police violence protesters. This may serve to make it even harder to ignore that police unions often stand starkly apart from fellow public unions whose missions have evolved to push for broader good.

“Every union has to ask themselves, do they care about human rights? Because that’s what unions are about,” said BTU’s Richards. “I don’t know how you can call yourself a union if human rights isn’t your angle.”

Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 7

Walsh warns against second COVID surge City is expanding testing while cases in Mass. continue to decline

By KENNEAL PATTERSON Mayor Walsh warned Boston residents that COVID-19 will likely have a second surge and encouraged them to take precautions as the city reopens.

“If you don’t take this virus seriously enough, we can and will get spikes,” he said during a June 18 briefing.

As of Sunday, there had been 107,061 confirmed cases in Massachusetts and 7,858 deaths. Boston’s case count was 13,302 total cases and 694 deaths. Over 8,990 people have recovered.

“We continue to monitor the data closely, and the trends continue to go in the right direction,” said Walsh.

Walsh said that the city is continuing to expand testing for communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

“This week, we met an important benchmark,” he added.

“The overall positive test rate is down to 19.6%. That is the first time that our test rate in the commonwealth and the city has fallen below 20%.”

Walsh said that that rate has been one of the city’s key targets for continuing a safe reopening.

Walsh also addressed COVID19 risks from the city’s recent

demonstrations. Thousands of Bostonians took to the streets to honor George Floyd and protest police brutality. Walsh encouraged residents to stay safe as they make their voices heard.

He said that pop-up testing sites opened in Roxbury for anyone who had gathered during the protests.

“Nearly 1,300 people got tested, which I was very happy to see, and the positive rate was just 1% where those tests happened,” Walsh said, who noted that most of the protestors wore face coverings. He added that the state administration is opening testing sites around the commonwealth for anyone that has gone to protests in other parts of the state.

Last week, Walsh declared racism a public health crisis. The announcement followed months after Councilor Ricardo Arroyo urged the city to acknowledge the crisis and recognize the health disparities between white neighborhoods and communities of color.

“We continue to make equity in public health our priority in Boston,” said Walsh. “Our budget adds $13 million to the Public Health Commission, getting our total contribution to the Boston Public Health Commission $106 million. They also get a lot of federal money as well.”

PHOTO: JOHN WILCOX, MAYOR’S OFFICE

Mayor Martin Walsh during a press briefing last week.

Walsh said that the money will go to battling both COVID-19 and Boston’s health inequities.

“Boston is a leader in this work, and we are strengthening that leadership at a time when it is needed now more than ever,” he said. “That focus on public health is essential to our progress in Phase Two of the state’s reopening plan.”

Walsh noted that Boston Public Schools’ summer learning programs are moving forward on a remote basis, as well as adult job programs.

Walsh also recognized the businesses of color opening across the commonwealth.

“A key building block of equitable recovery is our diverse small business sector,” he said. The Small

Business Relief Fund gave over $5.9 million to over 1,600 of Boston’s small businesses, said Walsh, and over 50% are owned by people of color. The updated directory of black and brown businesses is available on the Boston website’s reopening page.

Boston officials are also permanently increasing the availability of liquor licenses with 184 new licenses. Fifteen are set aside for minority-owned businesses, said Walsh.

“We need to make sure to continue to give our restaurants every opportunity they can to recover and succeed,” he said.

Walsh also acknowledged concerns regarding housing security and said that 3,000 affordable homes are currently back under construction. Furthermore, the One Plus mortgage program was launched last week, which gives first-time homeowners low interest rates and down payments.

“Our goal is to create a thousand new homeowners in the city of Boston,” he said.

Walsh closed by commemorating the history of Juneteenth. He said that people need to acknowledge the role they have in breaking down systemic racism. This is the time to make history and move forward, he said.

Walsh called June 19 a monumental day for the nation and for Boston itself.

“Juneteenth is as important as it ever has been because the legacy of injustice and the fight for freedom continue today,” he said.

BLACK VETS ON BLACK VETS Join Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts, John D. O’Bryant African American Institute and Veterans Benefits Clearinghouse for a virtual

FIVE-PART CONVERSATION ON BLACK VETERANS MEET EVERY THIRD SATURDAY ON ZOOM

June 27 July 18 August 22 September 19 October 17

All time zones: 1pm eastern 12pm central 11am mountain 10am pacific

Hear from veterans of all wars, male and female, about how their military experience continues to impact relationships with famiy, community, and being black in America today.

We’ll kick things off in June with a discussion about Da 5 Bloods, Spike Lee’s new film now streaming on Netflix. Then zoom in each month as the dialogue continues.

Visit www.cbmm.net for Meeting ID & event details.

HELP REDEFINE THE RELEVANCY OF MILITARY SERVICE FOR THE BLACK MAN & WOMAN! BlackVets_BannerAd.indd 1

6/22/20 4:17 PM

8 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

“

We are asking for the money to be put back into public health to be put back into education to be put back into housing. That's what we are asking for. And I’m sorry if I did not make that clear.”

— Organizer

defund

continued from page 1 Councilor Michael Flaherty was the only councilor to answer “no” to all three demands.

“I’m loath to make a commitment on a percentage or dollar amounts,” Flaherty said, and repeated throughout the call that these issues have more nuance and deserve more than a simple yes or no. “As we talk about reimagining public safety, it can’t just be defunding for the sake of defunding.”

The organizers took his neutrality as a no.

“We are asking for the money to be put back into public health to be put back into education to be put back into housing. That's what we are asking for. And I'm sorry if I did not make that clear,” one of the organizers said.

The date of the town hall was strategic. The Council was

BANNER PHOTO

Activists Monica Cannon Grant (2nd from left) leads a protest march on the Statehouse. Cannon Grant supports defunding the Boston Police department. expected to vote on the budget June 24, putting pressure on councilors just before the decision. Though Councilor Kenzie Bok agrees that these budget appropriations could and should be done, she said she doubts that it will happen for the FY21 budget.

On Monday, councilors went over the latest version of the FY21

budget, which includes the mayor’s commitment to divest $12 million from the $60 million BPD overtime budget — a move that would cut about 2.4% of the proposed $414 million police budget.

If the councilors do not approve the budget, it will automatically revert to the original version, with the full $60 million overtime

budget intact.

During last week’s hearing, Councilor Ricardo Arroyo noted the BPD’s overtime budget is still larger than other city departments centered on employment, the environment, public health, housing and more.

“What aspects of accountability have we put in place to ensure

that that $12 million cut is actually real?” he questioned.

Councilors Lydia Edwards, Julia Mejia and Andrea Campbell confirmed last week at the town hall that they were not consulted before the Mayor’s announcement of the 12 percent cut. Mejia said, “We’re an afterthought in that situation.”

GOOD CREDIT. GOOD JOB. GOOD REFERENCES. BUT THE LANDLORD DENIED HER THE APARTMENT BECAUSE OF HER DISABILITY. AND THIS HAPPENS EVERY DAY. It’s against the law for landlords to deny your application, give you the run around, charge you more rent, or steer you away from a rental complex or neighborhood because of your disability. If you suspect housing discrimination, file a complaint with HUD or your local fair housing center, so we can investigate it.

To file a complaint, go to hud.gov/fairhousing or call 1-800-669-9777

FAIR HOUSING IS YOUR RIGHT. USE IT. A public service message from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in partnership with the National Fair Housing Alliance. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or disability. For more information, visit www.hud.gov/fairhousing.

ADVERTISE IN THE BANNER

Call 617-261-4600 ext. 7799

Need Help?

WE’LL DESIGN IT FOR YOU!

Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 9

Boston police data show disparities in stops communities, of course, there's going to be higher reports of crime,” he said.

As the City Council gets ready to vote on a budget that may reallocate $12 million from the BPD’s overtime budget, part of Mayor Martin Walsh’s declaration of racism as a public health emergency, these numbers are now part of the discussion among Boston youth and their community leaders.

By MORGAN C. MULLINGS Attorneys with the ACLU of Massachusetts have been calling for the Boston Police Department to release data on pedestrian stops since the department last did so in 2016. Today, the data for 2019 show that little changed over three years: Black people, and specifically young black men, are most likely to be stopped.

The Field Investigation Observation (FIO) data is a collection of stops initiated when police believe they have probable cause to make an arrest, reasonable suspicion that a person is engaging in a crime, or when they believe a person has a known criminal history. Seventy percent of those stopped in 2019 were black, as was the case in 2016.

In data collected for all of 2019, the number for individual black men under age 30 stopped by police is about double the number of white people stopped overall.

This information separates pedestrians by races black, white, Asian, Native American or unknown, with a separate column noting Hispanic origin. Considered important for transparency in the government, the lack of recent data prompted District 4 City Councilor Andrea Campbell to issue a subpoena in March 2020 demanding the information be turned over. Now the FIO data from 2017 to 2019 is publicly

“

It became part of my daily routine to not get arrested, despite the fact that I was doing nothing arrest-able.”

— Armani Thomas

BANNER PHOTO

Demonstrators marched to the State House Monday to protest police violence. available for the first time since the BPD promised to release it yearly in 2015. The demand for transparent and effective policing data is not new; the ACLU of Massachusetts sued the BPD over its gang database in 2018.

Armani Thomas, a student at Bunker Hill Community College, has lived in Boston all his

life. He has never been stopped by the police, but all the men in his family have. “All the men in my immediate family have police records … my father served time when I was young,” he said. “It became part of my daily routine to not get arrested, despite the fact that I was doing nothing arrest-able.”

Thomas attended a youth protest June 10 advocating to defund the BPD, but he says it’s not about punishing the police for doing their job.

“The moment that police are involved, whatever they're handling seems like a crime. So, if you have all these leads in lower income, black and brown

“I understand [the mayor is] worried about the risk,” says Thomas. “But on the flip side, I want him to realize that taking police officers out of schools isn't necessarily to allow danger to run rampant.”

In an interview with WGBH Friday, Walsh said he was “shocked” by the percentage of those stopped by the police who were black.

“It’s undeniable that we have major work to do,” he said.

Social Distancing?

Stay connected to your local news, arts and culture at

BayStateBanner.com

Like us on

facebook bay state banner

Follow us on

twitter @baystatebanner

GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965

10 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR

CLASS OF 2020!

School of Undergraduate Studies Fatima L. Abdul Zahir Anyis Acevedo Dawna Marie Aiello Hasan Aksu Emilienne Sandra Alexis Crystal Marie Almeida Melissa Anaya Shakyra Arias Zaida Ayala Jamie Samantha Baksh Tharshan Balachandran Pujan Balami Shawn A. Barrett Lordysmilet Batista Adam J. Batt Nicole Bedrosian Imene Belloumi Susan A. Bethoney Ferliannie Yaleska Bonilla Nayila Brito Safrya Alana Browne Westphalie Bruno Tawauka C.A. Bryant Elizabeth Candelario Delca M. Castillo Irelis J. Castro Tobie Cerchiari Roberto Cerda

Ginnette V. Charles Luny Chery Honey Jairaj Chhatani Nickolas Clark-Durham Denise Constantino Marisol Contreras Ana P. Costa Flavia Cristina Leandro Rocha Indra Anauska Cruz Lizabeth Cruz Susana Daniela Curvale Gimenez Suresh Dangol Staci M. Davis-Spencer Elida Dedaj Freddy A. DeJesus Jr. Zelangela Depina Marie Darnette Desvallons-Andre Shammika R. Dickerson Charlene M. Dominik Sabrina Louise Duckworth Geralyn Maria Fagan Melanie M. Fleury Palmira Fonseca Jannelle Fontes Donald Gilbert Fortin II Anaisis Cristina Foster

Diana Ivette FPerez Katherine Franco Karen Judy Furtado Julia Galanek Guillermo Garcia-Ipina Melanie A. Gause Kebetu M. Gebremedhin Zuleica Gil Mason Fisher Gohl Shweta Gomes Maria González Sarah Goodman Pamela Amparo Gotay Johanna Graciano Atabey Gungor Roselyn Marie Headley Rhonda Ingrid Heard Carolyn J. Henderson Darren Paul Hicks Jr. Leidy M. Hidalgo Treena Anne Hogan Brendan Holleran Judy Patricia Holmes Alejandra Huot Firat Iletir Mondeline Jean Steven M. Jones Jr. Carla R. Joseph-Adeleye

Feyza G. Kanberk Turanesh Charity Kirkwood Roshana Koirala Krista Victoria Kowalczyk Roubbins Jamal LaMothe Naomi Katharina Linsmeier Samy Ritchy Louissaint Sacha Lu Joseph Patrick Macaro Desiré Maldonado Lefebre Shilu Manandhar Alycia Nancy Manganaro Roxanne Marie Mata Isabelle Mathieu Melyssa I. Matos Yhinny Alexandra Matos Judith McCalop-Milner Michael J. McCarthy Khyona Dawne McCrear Yocasta I. Medina Wanda I. Merced Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud Yiralda Carolina Montero Mota Yvonne Montilla Any M. Montoya Paul Marshall Moskevitz Sr.

Maudeline Jean-Pierre Nelson Thao Nguyen Anhar Obyat Caroll Ogando Gwanseon Park Steven Patino Murana Paul Wilda Masiel Peguero Johana Pepin Theodore S. Pfaff Margaret Beth Power Carmen Queliz De Abreu Elizabeth A. Ramos Maria Del Carmen Razo Kim Sayuri Richardson Diana Marcela Rivera Herrera Kathryn Regan Ruderman Martha Y. Samboy Ian Heladio Sanchez Lissette Santiago Samantha Eve Sarno Justin Michael Schmidt Husam Mohamed Hussain Seed Ahmed German R. Serrano Pooja Shakya Tracy-Ann Shellika Shand Megha Shrestha

Sarita Shrestha Kimberly A. Smith Yilda Solano Sonia N. Solas Ellie Stefanllari Antonella Bongianni Takats Van Khanh Tang Mark David Tarbell Brian Scott Tate Gina M. Taymore Caroline Thompson Silviya Krasimirova Valeva Anastasiia Vasyliv Ghislaine Vatelia Diana Vazquez Diana C. Velastegui Judith K. Vicente Carmen Odalisa Vidal William Volcimus George David White IV Andre Wicker Veronica Leonce Wilkins Angela Williams Eboneé Crystal Williams Shawn J. Wood Sheena D Wooden Mai Chou Xiong Aled Daniela Zeledon

Graduate School of Psychology & Counseling Ashley Dominique Abbondanza Lizmarys Acevedo González Michelle L. Addi Sandy Alvarez Valdimar Alves Fernanda A. Andrade Katrina Lizzette Austin Adalis Daine Ayala Ortiz Ifemide Ayo Eric Bailey Débora Barbosa Nieves Derek Barbosa Barros Carla Lee Barry Jessica Donnamarie Beech Mellissa Beech Halida Begovic Maria Pia Konah Biggs Allyson Leah Bragg Jillian Dorothy Brooks Nicole Louise Brown Kayla Aliah Caceda Lucian Davina Campbell Sharling Carabajo-Santana Carolina Carmona Debra Tedrick Casallas Shannon Lee Casey Inés M. Cátala Lalique Cervantes Katie Anne Chagnon Rebecca Cleveland Taylor Ann Clooney Christina Cocchiara Amanda M. Columbus Jennifer LaToya Corbin

Mitzy Coreano Sara J. Correia Kaylee M. Cortes Michael Costello Alexandra Coteau Patrick Owen Coyne Maria D. Cruz Melissa D’Angelo Tamika Patrice Davis Jeanilda Maria De La Cruz Brianna Gannon DeCoste Sujeliz M. Del Valle Benitez Paula Michelle Delgadillo Ana P. Dias Samuel Diedhiou Shelbi R. Donato Kristin Michelle Duggan Claudia J. Dupré Stephanie Edouazin Kendra Linda Ann Enaharo Juan Encarnacion Denyluz Escobar Iglesias Darian Leigh Ferdinand Lourenco Fernandes Silva Tavares Jasmin Fernandez Mayelin L. Fernandez Krysta Lauren-Marie Flascher Annette J. Florentino Mejía Kevin Floyd Flynn Yanelli Fondeur Karen Ann Fontaine Emily Nicole Ford Danielle Charlene Fowler Andrea J. Fraser

Cecilia Fuchu-Sanchez Naomi Leora Gabovitch Luis Alejandro Gamez Cindy Ann Gauthier Diana Denise George Amy Jane Giller Edwin Alexander Gomez Paola Gomez Caroline Ann Green Afton Greenidge Hayley Austin Greland Edwing Guilloteau Rosa Alvarez Hanks Sally Suzann Hardy Timothy Joseph Heneberry Afeisha Henry-Rennie Belkis M. Hernández Dania Hernández Miranda Venus Ho Elyse S. Horton Selena Colette Housey Isadora Howard-Karp Lydia D. Iraola Katherine Irizarry Shaleah Starr Israel Charles L. Israel II Jilliana R. Jean-Charles Jennifer Brien Jerome Kandice Evadney Jones Gladys Nakungu Kasansula Stella Kleinbock Kimberly Lynn Knowlton Raymond F. Landry Kathryn Kelly Lane Evamary Largaespada

Gregory James Leach Tyeneen B. Lee Alexa Sylvie LeGuyader Crystal LeVatt Felicia Burgo Lima Ana Karina Lizardo Alisha Lillie Lugo Jascelinda Fontes Maitoza Shaquiri J. Manns Leslie Márquez Fuentes Keilian Martell Rojas Carmen De Los Angeles Mata Isamar Diane Maysonet Garcia Laura Ann Mcauliffe Nicole McDonald Sasha Marie Medina Richard Osei Mensah Theophilus Abakah Mensah Arlene Mercado Rivera Lauren Jeanne Michael India Pamela Moore Queen Shanice Moore Maria Carmen Morales Marcela Mota Aversa Alyssa Mucciolo Jordyn N. Neves Ivelisse Nieves Carlota M. Noriega Génesis Ocasio Báez Erin Marie O’Connor Brian Matthew O’Dea Noemis Ortiz Carolyn Pacheco Lynsey Shanna Page

Nicole Tiana Palermo Craig A. Parker Charmaine M. Patterson Renee C. Patton Joel Thomas Peck Nicole E. Pero Melishia R. Phillips Susan Diane Pollock Jaime L. Pons-Madera James Prendergast Susana Rosalia Pulido Ashley A. Quintal Afreen Rahman Allaphia Sackeena Richards Joseph Angelo Rinchiuso Sonia Ivelisse Rivera Daiana Rivera Alvarado Daniel E. Rivera Gómez Cherill Roberts Estephaníe Benita Rodriguez Gabriela Rojas Tufino Richard G. Rondeau Germinudy R. Rosario Angelique TaShanna Ross Ricardo Ruiz Rivera Thanthara Rungruang Glennice Natasha Ryan Ivonne Saldaña John Joseph Santarpio Yomaira Santiago Kathleen Marie Sarfde Soeun Sath Douglas Schlehuber Troya Scruse Magdalena Silva

Diane M. Simons Novelette Jacqueline Smallwood Ashley Snyder Rachel Lauren Somers James Thomas Stewart III Jamesha Mae Stokes Jessi Anne A. Surette Laury De los Angeles Tavarez Rodríguez Shenida Shential Taylor Valerie Tecci Kristina Lynne Tetreault Courtney Anne Thibeault Beverley Juan Thorington Elizabeth Torres Cruz Kimberly Joyce Tula Stephanie Vasquez Alice C. Verrill Agnieszka Von Grotthuss Rayhana Y. Washington Kyle Westberg Robert White Stevie Lee Whitley Nicholas Whooley Michelle Leigh Wilga Carlene Denise Williams Debbie Ann Wilson Garrison Cross Woodfield Anna Marie Wright Darrell C. Wright Georgina Young Lisa A. Zappala Griselle M. Zayas Betty Zayas Baez de Feliz

Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 11

Graduate School of Management Dina Hussein Abdel-Baky Ahmad Mohammad Hussein Alkhatatba Enida Angjeliu Leticia Arend Barichello Marsha N. Arthur Lucy Ngimkeng Asongwed Ramazan Atug Jessica Azurdia Su Jung Bae Marie Ann Báez Ayala Natacha Bernard Kuljit Kaur Bhathal Frantz A. Boneau Samuel Garjay Brown Rafaela Francine Bundchen Camila Caldas Rodrigues Maria Jose Campos Yamileth M. Cedeño Hasan Celayir Chayaphon Chayluksamee

Jasmin Chazulle Olivia C. Chikezie Panut Chirachanakul Hanh B. Chu Maryoris Sofia Corcho Padilla Larissa Helena De Oliveira Mariottoni David A. Desmond Melissa Lyn Donalds Gayle A. Durham Daniel Elias Hikmat Ennab Oluyemi Bridget Falaiye Stephen Eric Farnum Rey Fernández Gisela J. Frias-Castillo Zul-Erdene Ganbat William Gantt III Madeline Gazmey David Hidir Gevis Jonette Glass

Diana M. Gonzalez Stacey Ann Goulet Mona Griffith Susan Laura Hanley Donna Jean King Hayes Weiguo He Sarah Martha Hemingway Diana Marcela Hernandez Pedroza Chethana Honnisiddaiah Po-Hsiang Hsu Osasenaga Igbinigie Yasemin Iletir Oguzhan Ilhan Gorethie JeanPierre Inderpreet Kaur Ramandeep Kaur Jonathan J. Kellogg Jin Seok Kim Crystal M. Lahart

Miklos Otto Leitner Pedreáñez Yadi Li Xu Liu Christopher Lizotte Nadezda Logay Mohammed Shedly Louati Jean Louis Serenity Rose Love Natacha K. Malila Priya Manandhar Sarsha Deanna Martin Bryan Alwyn Garfield Maule Jr. Scott James McCraney Janelis Medina Carla M. Medína Irizarry Bethlehem Mekonnen Asmita Sandeep Meshram NyTasha R. Minor Vermilia Mae Mosley

Jacqueline Andrea Nash Daisy Ngozita Obi Ishani D. O’Riordan Gabriela Daniela Ortiz Ann Osborne Burak Ozden Bundiht Pankam Kerrie-Ann Pankam Deise Paraguay Rosa Payes Marie Dominique Pierre Sahin Nisar Raj Irasema Ramirez Sashwot SJB Rana Diane Rankin Margaret Ger Rarieya Garima Rawal Misael De Oliveira Rehbain Maritza Avendaño Ruiz Rudolph R. Russell Jr. Muge Sanag

Rosa Sánchez Christopher J. Santiago Rosas Samantha KK Sarblah Danaiporn Sathitirat Amal James Scott Johane Seide Rajan Shrestha Pratchi Singh Basnet Darko Stankovic Nuray Suslen Danielle Taylor Michael R.P. Teixeira Audris Terrero Jamal Chase Thomas Ivelisse D. Vélez García Ali Arslan Vural Keisha Brooke Washington Linnan Zhang Xian Zhang

Christopher Anthony Nicastro Judy Nieves Negrón Christina M. Oceguera Kaleigh Elizabeth O’Connor Debbie Lee Olivera Quiñones Matthew O’Reilly Melissa Orlowski Yaritza Ortíz Gómez Carmen J. Ortiz Maldonado Luis Alberto Otero Diaz Megan Patricia Owens Angel Luis Palermo Meredith Palumbo Rebecca Paradee Rachel Lindel Lence Patrick Shiting Peng Jenniffer S. Pérez Charitin Perez Ruiz José G. Pérez Sanabría Marilyn Maria Pérez Santana Laurent Plaisimond Christina Virginia Poillucci Jevian J. Pomales Correa Ursula Annazette Porter Deborah J. Provanzano Amanda Marie Quimby Katherine Ann Raposa Kelsey Rapoza Caroline Reading Ellen Reardon Ivette Reyes Sheila Reyes Liamy Reyes Jackson Loamy Reyes Jackson Michelle Reyes Muñiz Deann Reyes-Wangh Rosa Maurisol Reynaga Dani Rimoni Lindia F. Rinto Kyle M. Ritchie Ginamarie Rivera Wildalie Rivera Albert Suheily Rivera Marrero Yajaira Rivera Muñiz Philip Joseph Rizzuto Lydivette Rodríguez Yahaira Rodríguez Jordan Whitney Rogoff Rubelisse Román Otero Glenda Lee Rosa Rivera Henry Rosario Apratim Roy Julie Kristen Rybacki Lynn R. Sakey Cheryl M. Sánchez Anamaris Santana

Mayra D. Santiago Luz M. Santiago Monserrate Edna Janelle Santini Cartagena Yarimar Santos Llanos Harry Cristian Santos Rosario Edythe Jean Saucier Betul Ayse Sevinc Colm Shannon Jaimie Shaughnessy Suzanne Shields Gonzalo A. Silva Ashanta Marie Smith Julie Ann Sodergren Jamie Anne Mill Spires Samantha Marie Standring Entzi Stefani Victor Emanuel Stewart Phoebe Kathryn Tateronis Lisa Ann Therrien Amanda M. Thompson Hannah Thompson Daretha Tolbert Christina Rose Tomaski Yanira L. Torres Joselyn Marie Torres Feliciano Nydia A. Torres Irizarry Glenda Liz Torres Ortiz Kristine Worth Trayers Janet Trottier Brendan Tyman Flor Susana Ubaldo-Russell Cemre Dila Usenmez Szilvia Eva Vanderberg Elizabeth Vasquez Nora Victoria Vázquez Melissa Vega Ayala Mariam Vega Suárez Xaymara Velázquez León Blanca Victoriá Jamie Lynne von Freymann Demie Warner Alexandra Xenia Washburn Derrick D. Washington Derrick Allan Watkins Michael Bradley Webb Robin Gale Lundberg Wellwood Charlene L. Wheeler Molly Katherine White Michael Tyrone Williams Jaclyn Wilson Laura Catherine Wilson Jirakorn Worachina Jana Young

Graduate School of Education Lara Abbott Margarita Abreu González Alexandra Acevedo Wilvette Acevedo Jason Paul Adams Jennifer M. Adorno Madelyn Alméstica Kenia Yaris Alvarado Calderón Olga M. Alvarez Alberto Enrique Amy-Cordero Misty Marie Anaya Jimena Elena Arnal Machado Naeyjalite Baez Brandon Fredrick Bage Scheba Basile Charlene Bautista Jeremias Bauzo Ramos Wilbyns Beauvais Andrew Bell Toni Ann Berthelette Bridget Bettencourt Lucretia I. Black Sara Costa Blackwood Rachel Boepple Peggy Borgard Karla Marie Bosque Kathryn Riley Boucher Lizbeth Bourdon Sherrelle N. Boyce Kyle Robert Brassard Raeanne Brazee Jennifer Lauren Briggs Lesley Brower Aubrianne N. Buckley Alfrenesia Lewis Bunyan Maria del Carme Elaine Cabrera Aponte Lindsey Anne Campion Johanny Canada-Hlatshwayo LaTarsha Tajuana Carter Lirica Melis Casado Serrano Milagros Castillo Kiara Castro Vázquez Natalia Catone Vannessa Marie Ceja Lauren Ann Cenower Daphne A. Chamberlain William L. Chan Xiaowen Chang Matthew Scott Chieffo Eddie W. Cintrón Cueves Yanira Cintron-Cordova Irnerie Liz Colón Kiara Colón Jessica Colón Cartagena

Jessica Columbus Alexander Nelson Conant Noemi Conde Joseph Conlon Carla L. Constanza Brianna D. Cormos Erika Cruz Mackenzie Lee Cruz Linnette S. Cruz Págan Amanda C. Cummings John David Cummings Jr. Shailagh Anne Curran Kathleen Cyr Shannon E. Czerwinski Saran LaFrance Day Diana Del C. De Jesús Fabiana de Mira Carissa Holly DeAmaral Mary H. Deffley Génesis Del. C. Delgado Cabán Renee DePalo Lizbeth Marie Díaz Johanna M. Díaz Aponte Andrea Marie DiTerlizzi Kara Louise Dodd Donna Doherty Heidi Lynn Dooley Erika Lynn Downing Mary Alice Dupont Melissa Kimberly Dyer Gracemarie Stephanie Edmonds Danielle Elizabeth Erle Dilara Ceren Eser Michelle Esteva Julia Rae Fabiano Lizmaris Falcón Ramos Christina Elise Federico Michelina Feola Cassandra Maria Figueiredo Elielitte Figueroa Isha D. Figueroa Garay Ana M. Figueroa Rivera Brendan James Fitzpatrick Christopher Mark Fitzpatrick Abdiel Flores Allison Elizabeth Foley Sarah Anne Fox Dagmar Fragoso Gina Lena Fraumeni Kevin Rodolfo Garcia Yaiza N. García Dávila Wilnelia Garcia Flores Laura Gesner Jo-Anne Gibson

Sheila Marie Gilmartin Matthew James Gilmete Diana Carolina González Lennys Y. González Marcela A. González Belinda Michelle Gordon-Hughes Rebecca H. Goreham Tatjana Gorohovsky Yared Gorritz Callie Anne Graham Raschel Marie Grandmaison Theresa Rachel Grassi Elizabeth Becker Gresser Shannon Hajj Kayli Marie Hamblin Carmeta C. Harper Elizabeth Harris Erin C. Harris Coral Anderla Trinear Harris-Thomas Patrick J. Healey Jason L Heath Muania Darvinez Henry Suzanne Elman Herbst Maricarmen Hernández Yashaira Hernández Cordero Miryam Hernández-Coté Danielle Tara Hoffman Victoria Hogan Sydney Siegfriedt Holman Diane M. Houghton Kristin M. Houlihan Meghan Elizabeth Hubbard Melissa L. Hughes Julie Hunt Alicia Shani Hunter Brittany Ann Irwin Corinne Elizabeth Jackman Lisa Jackson-Lockhart Alena Maria Jewett Myrnaliz Jiménez Boria Rachel Elizabeth Johnson Winnie Johnson Joanne Juarbe López Kubra Karabas Kimberlee Lynn Wright Kasanov Heidi Dale Katz Debra Anne Keefe Marissa Keleher Bahij Hassib Khouzami Kathleen W. Knight Bonnie Michelle Kowalsky Emily J. Labato Josie Marie Lang

Emily Kate Lawson Gwen Lemire Christina Lemonias Zalikah Lateefah Lewis Blanca Gabriella Linera Eric James Lochiatto Janette Lopez Karla Nicole López Meléndez Yokaira Ana López-Tifa Brenda Liz Luna Santiago Kim C. Madera Caroline Magaña Dalyn Maldonado Yadira Maldonado Delgado Donna Marie Maluccio Natasha Marie Manganiello Laura Marquez Ashley L. Marsh Cindy Martínez Grace M. Martinez Lozada Ayleen Martorell Candelaria Lizzette C. Matos Tessie Anne Maxwell Stephanie Anne McCann Rosario McDonagh Kevin W. McDonough Brianna Kristine McFarlin Meaghan Margaret McGoff Patrick B. McGoff Erin L. McGough-Silvia Meaghan McKinley Fanny Medina Farrera Diana Meléndez Yanira Meléndez Morales Raquel Brucks Mirambell Jean C. Miranda Rodríguez Maria Alys Mitchell Jecsica A. Molina Katherine Monahan Carlos R. Montañez Dávila Lourdes M. Montañez Delgado Dayana Morales Acosta Kyrk L. Morris Jane Catherine Morrissey Matthew Christopher Muise Desirae Dawn Murphy Katherine E. Murphy Maryjean Murrell Brennan Bartholomew Natoli Rosina Navarro Iliana Nazario Alvarez Rachel Nazon Karen Leticia Net Zayas Elaine Nevers-Williams Jane Elizabeth Newman

New England Institute of Business at Cambridge College Mecca Khadijah Abdullah Ingrid Rodleen Sarah Adrien Laura Richter Austin Dmitriy Banar Jennifer Ashley Barker Matthew Gordon Bergeron Marissa Leigh Bolanos Andrew James Brown

Ashly Marie Camacho Ana Sofia Carr Carol Hofmann Carroll James Edward Cepa Neil Herbert Chesebro Nicole M. Daly Garret Charles DeNeve Jason Alan Dumas

Benjamin Michael Egner Ronald L. Fritchley Jr. Wendy Yamileth Fuentes Piota Julia M. Goncalves Brittany Stacy Haley Meabon Cole Hamilton Kimberly Anne Hanson

La’Shanda Renee Holmes Shanell Latrice Jackson Thuynga Thi Kieu Dorothy Nash Lautoa Dianna Love Adan Mascorro-Rodriguez Donna Loretta McLean Francis J. Mishinkash

Ishraph Mohammed Michelle Christine Moniz Brandishea Marie Moses Daniel R. Neifer Michael David Oldenburg Alvonta K. Primm Ada M. Quintanilla Jessica Marisol Ramos Monica Rosario

Milagros Enid Salomon Natasha Santana-Marrero Ludina Ramos Silva Bryan Alan Stone Tyler Logan Swain Johnny Christofo Tienda Jr. Ana Raquel Vargas Andrea C. Whitaker Rinita Williams-Garrett

12 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

Pressley

continued from page 1

Responding to a crisis

Pressley says that when COVID19 cases first began growing in the U.S., she knew it could have a devastating effect in the 8th Congressional District, which she represents in Congress.

“We knew anecdotally it was going to hit our community the hardest, because we’re hit hardest by everything,” she said. “As the adage goes, ‘When the rest of America catches a cold, black folks get pneumonia.’ That is as metaphorical as it literal.”

But in the early stages of the pandemic, when Pressley sought information on how people of color were being affected by the virus, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar initially declined to share data. Pressley and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren filed the Equitable Data Collection and Disclosure on COVID-19 Act, mandating the collection and sharing of data on COVID infections broken out by race. Data shared at the in Massachusetts has confirmed fears of a disproportionate impact on communities of color.

“The Massachusetts 7th [district] has been hit the hardest,” Pressley said. “Chelsea has the highest rates of infection per capita.

Randolph, Roxbury and Dorchester have high numbers.”

In April, Pressley and other lawmakers in the Massachusetts delegation helped secure $36.5 million for community health centers, funding that helped the state provide needed services to communities hard hit by the pandemic. The funding helped pay for mobile testing, contact tracing and antibody testing.

In Chelsea, where many families live in packed, multi-generational households, the funding allowed public health officials to quarantine infected individuals in temporary housing. In Randolph, where there are many essential workers and no community health center, Pressley worked with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to make it easier for residents to obtain testing.

Pressley said the aid to community health centers can help them address some of the underlying causes of higher rates of infections

in black and Latino communities.

“They need the investment to meet the scale and the scope of the pandemic, but they have to be viable after to address these health disparities,” she said. “That’s what we’re managing. It’s the co-morbidities and the impacts of structural racism.”

Business assistance

While in Nubian Square, Pressley also visited local pushcart vendors, purchasing T-shirts and a hand-stitched mask.

In Washington, she and California Sen. Kamala Harris introduced the Saving Our Street Act, which created $124.5 billion microbusiness grant fund.

“We saw that our true micro-businesses — businesses that employ 10 people or less, our beauty shops, our restaurants, our bodegas — they were not getting their Payroll Protection Program funds,” Pressley said. “These business owners don’t need loans.

They need grants.”

“

BANNER PHOTO

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (right) and Duane Edward Osborn (left) visit a pushcart stall operated by Babacar Thiam.

To be serving in of hurt — a mass eviction crisis,” Congress in such a she said. “Housing is a critical determinant of health. It is a basic moment of inflection need. I think it should be a and acute pain, there’s human human right.” a tremendous responsibility. I’m just trying to Policing At one Nubian Square kiosk, be an effective steward Pressley stopped to purchase a Black Lives Matter T-shirt. She of the moment.” said the demonstrations against — Ayanna Pressley

The Saving Our Street Act would provide businesses with grants up to $250,000. The act requires that 75 percent of the funds go to businesses that are historically underrepresented and requires reporting on who’s getting the grant.

“Right now we’re lobbying very hard for that bill to be included in the next relief package,” she said.

Pressley said she’s also seeking the cancellation of rent and mortgage payments.

“I’m glad that our state legislature led on eviction and foreclosures, but if you do that and you’re not cancelling rent and mortgage, we’re going to deal with a tsunami

police violence that have swept the nation indicate a broad mandate for change. But nothing will happen without legislative action at the local and national level, she warned.

“What we’re seeing is a culture shift, but we need to see a power shift,” she said. “Until we see laws change and until we see black humanity, dignity and health codified in our budgets, then we’ve not been successful.”

Pressley and U.S. Sen Ed Markey introduced a bill that would end qualified immunity, the legal standard that shields police officers from being prosecuted for acts undertaken while they’re on duty.

“If you believe that black lives matter, then you believe that justice matters for the black lives that we’ve been robbed of,” she said. “Qualified

immunity has meant that officers could show callous disregard for human life, for black lives, with great impunity — without any accountability and without any justice. How do you deter behavior if there are no consequences? Justice is when people are held accountable for murder and prosecuted.”

In addition, Pressley has authored bills requiring officers to provide medical aid to people in their custody who are in need and banning “no-knock” warrants and chokeholds. She has also advanced a bill to stop the transfer of military-grade weapons to police forces.

Pressley said she agrees with calls to defund police departments and channel funding into social service programs.

“What this is about is investment in communities that have historically been divested from,” she said.

“This is about funding our communities, investing in our communities. We know what works. We just don’t fund it.”

The volume of legislation Pressley is authoring and co-sponsoring is considerable, but she says the urgency of the crises facing the 7th Congressional District and the

I’M PAUL GEORGE

W H E N I WA S S I X

NBA All-Star Paul George

M Y M O M HAD A ST RO KE Learn the signs of a stroke F.A.S.T.

Face drooping Arm weakness Speech difficulty Time to call 911 strokeassociation.org

nation as a whole call for action.

“To be serving in Congress in such a moment of inflection and acute pain, there’s a tremendous responsibility,” she said. “I’m just trying to be an effective steward of the moment.”

FIND MORE STORIES AND UPDATES ONLINE AT

BAY STATE BANNER .COM

Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 13

House leaders demand details on PPP program Newer, shorter form announced as June 30 application deadline nears

By CHARLENE CROWELL As the remaining days dwindle for small businesses to apply for loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), both banks and federal officials are being challenged by several House leaders to explain how the $670 billion program intended to aid the nation’s small businesses has actually been operating.

Although more than $130 billion remains, the program’s application deadline is June 30.

In two separate but related Hill hearings convened on June 17, the nation’s fiscal status and how taxpayer dollars dedicated to PPP are being used were the focus of congressional inquiries.

Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve testified before a House Financial Services Committee hearing entitled, “Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy,” reviewing the central bank’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report released on June 12.

In his prepared remarks, Chairman Powell said, “To support the small business sector, we established the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility to bolster the effectiveness of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)’s Paycheck Protection Program … This direct support can make a critical difference not just in helping families and businesses in a time of need, but also in limiting long-lasting damage to our economy.”

He continued, “If a small or medium-sized business becomes insolvent because the economy recovers too slowly, we lose more than just that business. These businesses are the heart of our economy and often embody the work of generations.”

In speaking to the specific needs of black and other minority business owners, Powell added, “Low-income households have experienced, by far, the sharpest drop in employment, while job losses of African Americans, Hispanics, and women have been greater than that of other groups.

If not contained and reversed, the downturn could further widen gaps in economic well-being that

the long expansion had made some progress in closing.”

The second June 17 Hill hearing, convened by the House Committee on Small Business, was entitled “Paycheck Protection Program: Loan Forgiveness and Other Challenges.” This forum focused on what has generally worked with the program, what has not, the changes Congress has recently made to the program and suggestions to continue optimizing the program.

Ashley Harrington, the Center for Responsible Lending’s director of federal advocacy and a senior policy counsel, testified in the session.

“Preserving businesses owned by people of color is paramount to an equitable recovery,” said Harrington. “Employer businesses owned by people color are a substantial source of income and employment — accounting for more than 8.9 million jobs at total annual payroll of $295 billion, and $1.4 trillion in revenue … Business ownership is also a proven mechanism for wealth-building, with economic benefits that extend beyond the individual business to the entire community. Ensuring that federal small business relief works for small businesses owned by people of color is essential to an inclusive economic recovery.”

The same day, the Small Business Administration released a new and shorter PPP loan form for certain borrowers. Only three pages in length, this form must certify that employees’ hours were not cut, and that the applying business was unable to operate at pre-coronavirus levels due to health mandates.

The new form might have been in response to the mounting concerns expressed on the program, and the flurry of information requests on approved applicants and respective loan amounts.

The Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by South Carolina’s Rep. Jim Clyburn, demanded that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the Small Business Administration’s Jovita Carranza and many of the nation’s largest banks “take immediate steps to ensure that remaining PPP funds are allocated

Stay up to date with local

ARTS & CULTURE news and reviews at

baystatebanner.com

Submit local arts & entertainment news to yawu@bannerpub.com

to businesses truly in need, and to increase transparency so taxpayers can see whether federal funds are being diverted due to waste, fraud, and abuse.”

That June 15 letter stated in part, “Of the $310 billion in additional PPP funds appropriated by that law, $60 billion was reserved for various community lenders, which have a proven track record of serving small businesses lacking long-standing relationships

helping vulnerable businesses and saving jobs, or are being diverted due to waste, fraud, and abuse …

Contrary to Secretary Mnuchin’s recent testimony, there is nothing ‘proprietary’ or ‘confidential’ about a business receiving millions of dollars appropriated by Congress and taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent.”

A similar letter from the Select Subcommittee was sent the same day to CEOS of the following banks: Citibank, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, Santander, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.

The mid-June Select Subcommittee letter is the second time the members expressed PPP concerns. On May 8, the subcommit-

“

If a small or medium-sized business becomes insolvent because the economy recovers too slowly, we lose more than just that business.

These businesses are the heart of our economy and often embody the work of generations.”

— Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve chair

with large financial institutions.

As of June 6, 2020, SBA had approved more than $511 billion in PPP loans, leaving more than $130 billion available for future lending.”

Continuing, the Select Subcommittee added that the agencies “provide more transparency about the administration of this program so American taxpayers can understand whether federal funds are

tee asked companies that received $10 million or more in PPP loans to either return funds or provide documents and information explaining why they believed they were eligible to keep the monies.

These businesses were also identified as having 600 employees, publicly traded stock and a minimum market capitalization of $25 million.

On June 13, three other House

Committee chairs also expressed their issues with a lack of disclosure with the PPP program.

Representatives Richard E. Neal (Committee on Ways and Means), Maxine Waters (House Financial Services), and Nydia M. Velazquez (Committee on Small Business) jointly wrote both Mnuchin and Carranza, saying in part, “Transparency is critical to ensure the program is operating as intended … Furthermore, we are deeply concerned that Treasury and SBA have yet to share this information with the Government Accountability Office, which is required to report to Congress on the CARES Act by the end of the month.”

No one can predict what will or will not result from the pressures to ensure a key federal program will in fact honor its legislative intent. Perhaps Dr. Raphael Bostic, President and CEO of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, best summarized Black America’s quest for financial justice: “A commitment to an inclusive society also means a commitment to an inclusive economy.

Such an economy would represent a rebuke of systemic racism and other exclusionary structures. It would represent a true embrace of the principles that all are created equal and should enjoy unburdened life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness … I believe the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve more generally, can play an important role in helping to reduce racial inequities and bring about a more inclusive economy.”

Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending.

On the road?

Take us along.

(We’re headed in the same direction.)

BAYSTATEBANNER.COM

News, arts, culture.

Just a click away.

14 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

!

N IA N O T S O B Y R E V E R A MUST-READ FOack Bostonians over the course of 50 years.

Chronicling the achievements of bl

Did you know...

One of Boston’s skyscrapers — State Street Bank — was developed by black people?

That Roxbury’s Clifton Wharton Jr. became the first black president of a major U.S. college?

Or that Boston is the headquarters of OneUnited Bank, the largest black-owned and managed bank in the country?

Learn about these black achievements and more in “Boston’s Banner Years: 1965-2015”

It’s your black history!

Pick up your copy today at Melvin B. Miller

FRUGAL BOOKSTORE 57 Warren St. (Dudley Sq.) Roxbury, MA

or order your copy at BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/BOSTONS-BANNER-YEARS

Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 15

BUSINESSNEWS Business survival during pandemic www.baystatebanner.com

CHECK OUT MORE BUSINESS NEWS ONLINE: WWW.BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/CATEGORY/NEWS/BUSINESS

“

By YAWU MILLER With a statewide stay-at-home order and nonessential retail businesses ordered closed, Leonard Egerton, owner of Frugal Bookstore in Nubian Square, was facing uncertainty.

“I was scared I wouldn’t be able to take care of my family,” he said.

“I was scared I would lose this business.”

Businesses around the world faced similar dilemmas — sudden closures and loss of revenue left them with unpaid bills and a looming recession that brought the threat of financial ruin.

Egerton orders books regularly and found himself suddenly unable to pay those bills, let alone rent for his storefront on Warren Street.

He laid off his three employees, while he and his wife switched their business model to online orders. During March, April and May, Egerton, his wife and other family members hand-delivered books to addresses across the city.

“It was a big decline in revenue,” he said. “People weren’t in the store, browsing.”

Egerton did catch a few breaks that many other businesses weren’t so lucky to receive. Most importantly, his landlord, Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation, gave him a break on the rent.

David Price, executive director of the Roxbury nonprofit, said, “We approached all of our retail tenants and asked how they

The virus is still out there. People are not social distancing. The governor could order us to close again. We’re taking it day by day, living in the moment.”

— Leonard Egerton

BANNER PHOTO

Leonard Egerton reopened Frugal Bookstore to walk-in customers last week. were doing,” said. “We worked out agreements on rent relief.”

Price said Nuestra Comunidad received federal Paycheck Protection Program funds, which helped soften the impact of lost rent from multiple retail tenants.

Egerton also launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised $20,000 to help his business get through three lean months.

“It helped us pay our bills,” he

said. “Right before this happened, we stocked up on inventory, but then we couldn’t sell it. We still had to pay for it.”

Egerton first opened the bookstore jointly with Robert Romanow, owner of Frugal Furniture in the Washington Park Mall. The bookstore operated within the furniture shop. In 2006, Egerton transitioned the shop to a standalone business, with his wife

Clarissa joining him in the venture. The business relocated to its current Nubian Square location in 2016, hosting book signings, discussions and other events. All that ground to a halt in March.

On June 17, the store opened its doors to customers for the first time in three months. While traffic is down in Nubian Square and MBTA buses are not yet running at full capacity, Egerton said the

volume in the store has been good.

“We’re riding the wave right now,” he said. “Folks still want to read.”

But there’s a note of caution in Egerton’s assessment.

“The virus is still out there,” he said. “People are not social distancing. The governor could order us to close again. We’re taking it day by day, living in the moment.”

As for what’s popular with readers, Egerton said books dealing with topics of race are in demand now, given the ongoing anti-police violence demonstrations taking place around the world.

“Any book that’s written by a black author that has to deal with racial topics is hot,” he said. “Many are on back-order. The book most people want is ‘How to Be an Antiracist’ by Ibram Kendi, next to ‘White Fragility’ and ‘The New Jim Crow.’”

ON THE WEB Frugal Bookstore: frugalbookstore.net

Stay connected PRINT • ONLINE • MOBILE • SOCIAL

BAYSTATEBANNER.COM

16 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

ARTS&CULTURE CHECK OUT MORE ARTS NEWS ONLINE: WWW.BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/CATEGORY/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

W O E P R E OF H T

E P T P R Y U P PUPPET SHOWPLACE DEBUTS GRANT FOR BLACK ARTISTS

By CELINA COLBY Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline has opened applications for a new Black Puppeteer Empowerment Grant & Creative Research Residency for summer 2020. The grant offers five black artists $1,000 grants to support the research and development of new projects, along with mentorship from master puppeteer Brad Brewer and the facilitation of a performance of the works in progress.

“We need to talk about racism in Boston, we need to look at practices in our own institution that we want to change,” says Roxanna Myhrum, artistic director of Puppet Showplace Theater. “In puppetry that means artists of color, specifically black artists, but it also means diversity of characters and stories and traditions that we present on stage.”

These grants are part of a long-term mission at the Puppet Showplace Theater to diversify voices in the industry. Performances in the past few years at the Brookline theater by wellknown black puppeteers like Jeghetto and Tanya Nixon-Silberg are also part of this commitment to

(above) Tanya Nixon-Silberg with Pop-Up Puppet Stage and Puppet Innosanto, production designed by Sarah Nolen PHOTO: SARAH NOLEN. Students from the Trotter Innovation School.

John McDonough (right) of Pumpernickel Puppets with the Troll puppet from The Three Billy Goats Gruff. PHOTOS: ROXANNA MYHRUM

“Some of the foundational origins of puppetry are in the African puppetry tradition.

They’re some of the most celebrated and copied forms of performance in the world.” broadening the theater’s scope.

Myhrum says that the puppetry industry in the United States is often centered on white voices, despite the many talented black artists involved. There are big names in the industry, such as Kevin Clash, who voiced Elmo on “Sesame Street” from 1985 to 2012, but they’re not at the forefront of puppetry conversations. The history of puppetry is also global, an often unacknowledged fact.

Myhrum says, “Some of the foundational origins of puppetry are in the African puppetry tradition.

They’re some of the most celebrated and copied forms of performance in the world.”

Here in the U.S.,

www.baystatebanner.com

Boston’s arts community celebrates Juneteenth

By CELINA COLBY On Friday, June 19, cultural organizations around Boston came together to celebrate Juneteenth with song, dance, spoken word, panel discussions and visual art. This year’s celebration reached corners of the art world all across the city, creating one of the largest collective Juneteenth celebrations ever in the Boston art community.

The Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists in Roxbury continued its annual tradition of recognizing Juneteenth, this year with a Facebook Live event including music performances, a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and recognition of community members. Museum director Edmund Barry Gaither discussed the history of the celebration and some of the milestones made in the black community throughout the year, including the renaming of Dudley Square to Nubian Square.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley also made an appearance. “We come together in the face of crises within crises, of trauma layered upon trauma,” she said. “…Yet despite all the entrenched barriers placed in our path, we are resilient, we are vibrant, we are determined and we are proud. I remain clear in my conviction and emboldened in my faith because of all of you.”

Other black-run arts organizations like Castle of Our Skins also

See JUNETEENTH, page17 there are many barriers to entry into the industry, including the economics of the practice, which often requires a heavy upfront investment from the artist to produce their work. Myhrum hopes this grant will help ease some of those burdens, while also making a safe space and community for these artists.

Artists nationally are encouraged to apply, as are artists who want to incorporate puppetry into another medium. Applicants don’t necessarily need to be formally trained puppeteers. The application deadline is June 27, and participants will be selected by July 1.

Virtual presentations to the public of worksin-progress will stream in late August.

Myhrum believes that puppetry is a valuable platform for having challenging and contemporary conversations. She recalls Jeghetto’s performance “Just Another Lynching” at the Puppet Showplace Theater; the piece sparked in-depth dialogues after the show about the black American experience.

“We want people to be learning and engaging in puppetry in a way that is vital,” Myhrum says. “It’s an art and a practice that empowers expression that is complex and that helps us make sense of the world, that tells the stories that the world needs to hear now.”

ON THE WEB

Application deadline: June 27. Learn more and apply at www.puppetshowplace.org/empowerment-grant

ON THE WEB Watch the MFA’s Juneteenth celebration online at: mfa.org/event/community-celebra-

tions/juneteenth?event=3253

IMAGE COURTESY OF ROBERTO LUGO

The MFA’s Juneteenth celebration included an art making event inspired

by Roberto Lugo’s ceramic work “Law and Order: The Reincarnation of Frederick Douglass,” above.

Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 17

ARTS&CULTURE CHECK OUT MORE ARTS NEWS ONLINE: WWW.BAYSTATEBANNER.COM/CATEGORY/ARTS-AND-CULTURE

In conversation with Kamasi Washington

By SCOTT HAAS Kamasi Washington, jazz saxophone player out of Los Angeles, is, at only 39 years old, the leading musician of his generation, because his work is fearless, without boundaries and of the highest levels both artistically and politically. “The Epic” in 2015 heralded his arrival, followed by “Heaven and Earth” in 2018. What’s remarkable about Washington is his range: He has performed with Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Raphael Saadiq, adding and blending hip-hop with more traditional jazz. He has toured with Herbie Hancock, legendary jazz pianist and composer, and he cites the towering figure of saxophonist and composer John Coltrane as inspirational. Washington performed in the final episode of the Showtime series “Homeland” and did the soundtrack for “Becoming,” the Michelle Obama documentary on Netflix.

The Banner caught up with Washington recently by phone from his home in LA.

You have spoken about mental enslavement. You have said, “Jazz is one of the first recognized inventions we had” to establish freedom from that. Like Bob Marley’s “Free your mind from mental slavery.” Can you say more about that in practical terms?

Long ago, you’re coming out of a time period when African Americans were very much stifled in terms of what they could do with their minds — weren’t allowed to read and write, weren’t allowed other forms of expression. So jazz was what we created and studied and practiced, and it was a huge tool in dismantling African American so-called ‘inferiority.’

The period of 1949-1964 was a kind of “golden age” of jazz — Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane,

Sarah Vaughan, Sonny Rollins, Billie Holiday, Bud Powell and Ella Fitzgerald, among many others. Do you wonder how these individuals could create such beautiful music during yet another horrifying period for black Americans?

Earth,” and said that your appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s album “To Pimp a Butterfly” established you as “the jazz voice of Black Lives Matter, in a grand tradition of jazz as black protest.” What does that even mean?

Isn’t it hard enough to be a black musician in America without that designation?

It does baffle me at times. Like, how did they sustain their mental health? It was an amazing feat. I think that the music they created was the medicine, what allowed them to survive, and allowed them to be able to cope. It was and is a way to release the pain.

You need to release that pain, or it will destroy you. The beauty is in the music, and that comes about a lot through openness and what we create.

To me, what we’re seeing now with the Black Lives Matter movement is a movement of equality.

It’s not one person. It’s not one black life. Black lives matter — there are millions and millions.

My music is representative of Black Lives Matter, but I’m not the only one. Where you are, what you’ve been through — it’s going to come through in music, not “the” one person. It’s not exclusive. Music opens our hearts and connects and unites us. The reality is that we are all extraordinary.

“

Music opens our hearts and connects and unites us. The reality is that we are all extraordinary.”

For youth who are, say, between 16 and 30 reading this, experiencing dystopia or negativity, what in music addresses this? This goes back to freeing your mind.

— Kamasi Washington You’ve played with Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Raphael Saadiq.

What influence do these artists have on you, and you on them?

Whoever you work with has their own language in music, and I think of the genres as dialects within the languages, all of which are related. Like Portuguese being related to Spanish. So I try to learn the dialects of the musicians I work with and discover the gems and secrets in each one. Then, too, working with hip-hop and R&B musicians, they are in a pocket, and what I bring to their music is a moment of release. That happened with Raphael Saadiq when he had me take a solo — that release. The thing is: Musicians like Snoop and Raphael, they love

COURTESY PHOTO

Kamasi Washington jazz! And you know? Even James Brown thought of himself as a jazz musician.

the mid-1960s was what thrilled my heart — the music he did in 1963 spoke to me first.

You’ve spoken about the power of John Coltrane. What might you say are the elements of that force?

And for those familiar with you but unfamiliar with him, where best to begin in listening to Coltrane?

I know that you are really intrigued by sci-fi and futuristic imaginings, which is fascinating because it suggests the possibilities of moving beyond what is to what will be. How is your music part of that evolution?

Coltrane puts so much of his spirit into his music. Once you get it, what he’s doing, it’s so powerful — in every measure, every chord.

You could spend a lifetime in one song. It’s almost like the night sky with the stars: Each time you look, it’s different. So much concentrated in his music. As for where to begin? I always tell people, there’s no right way to do it, just start on your journey. For me, with Coltrane, his work from

I’m always trying to tap into the full spectrum. Part of my mind focuses on science, science fiction, physics, and their connection to music. These are all connected to one another. And music has a way of unlocking the way, of creating stories, providing directions.

Music takes an idea, for example, and helps express it. Music lifts the fog.

The Guardian reviewed “Heaven and

YOUR

Juneteenth continued from page 16

took to the internet to rally community on Juneteenth. The performance organization dedicated to celebrating black ancestry through music streamed an original composition called "Hannah Elias II," by composer and viola soloist Shannon Sea. Front Porch Arts Collective, a theater company dedicated to telling black stories and uplifting black talent, hosted a dance party, a workout class and a safe refuge space for black artist to regroup in.

The Museum of Fine Arts, in collaboration with BAMS Fest, put its eighth annual Juneteenth celebration in the hands of Boston’s black artists for panels, readings, artist talks and live artmaking. Chanel Thervil led an artmaking event inspired

by Roberto Lugo’s piece “Law and Order: The Reincarnation of Frederick Douglass.” Lugo later gave a talk about the piece,

One of the biggest drawbacks of the quarantine is the social distancing. The isolation. In prison, the worst thing they do to an inmate is put them into solitary. We are a social species; we are meant to interact with one another. This time is unique and unprecedented. To the youth, I know and am sorry that the time is lost. You can’t get the time back, it’s like a waterfall. They are missing out: senior year of high school, other important experiences. I can say to those kids: While you didn’t have a lot of freedom, you have time. Use that time and ask yourselves: “What do I want to have? What do I want to do?

What am I looking for?” Nothing can stop you from achieving your goal. Your course can be altered, but all life is the goal. If the road is closed? Take another road, you don’t know what you’re going to find there. Keep an open mind.

SOURCE

FOR ART

NEWS & REVIEWS

PHOTO: CELINA COLBY

Artists and art organizations came out in droves to celebrate Juneteenth and to recognize the work still to be done. a porcelain pot painted with images of the black experience.

The coming together of so many different arts organizations on Juneteenth was an important and powerful experience. But its joy was accompanied by the knowledge that there is still a lot

Follow us on twitter @BAYSTATEBANNER

of work to be done.

“If you read the Emancipation Proclamation, you realize that this was no easy battle, and the victory came in fits and starts.

Kind of like today, where we’re still struggling for certain kinds of rights and recognitions,” artist

and children’s book illustrator Ekua Holmes commented after her reading from “Black is a Rainbow Color” by Angela Joy. “But I feel like celebrating every victory that we’ve achieved as a country and a people is worth doing.”

CONNECT WITH THE BANNER

BAYSTATE

BANNER •

COM

Like us on facebook BAY STATE BANNER

18 • Thursday, June 25, 2020 •• BAY BAY STATE STATE BANNER BANNER

“

Caucus

continued from page 1 shootings and the diversification of the state police force.

“A state police force that is 95% male and 90% white is unacceptable,” he said.

Caucus members hope to advance their measures before the legislative session ends July 31.

“We want the best police officers we can possibly have,” Holmes said. “My neighborhood is not asking for less police. We want the best, most trained officers we can have, period.”

In addition to their meeting with Baker, Caucus members met

Enhancing the level of trust between our officers and the community members we protect and serve is something we work on and strive for every single day.”

— Lawrence Calderone, Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President

with the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Policy Group, which represents some of the state’s largest police unions.

The legislators and union members reached agreements on several police reforms, including

banning chokeholds, the standardization of training procedures and protocols across the state, training and guidelines around how to intervene when officers are engaging in misconduct and guidelines to ban use of

excessive force.

Caucus Chairman Carlos Gonzalez said the discussion was “meaningful,” and thanked the union leaders for making progress on the reforms.

“Their input is invaluable as we work to craft legislation to improve law enforcement services to communities of color,” he said.

Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President Lawrence Calderone said in a statement, “Enhancing the level of trust between our officers and the community members we protect and serve is something we work on and strive for every single day.”

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @baystatebanner

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK Bay State Banner

Yawu Miller contributed to this report.

BANNER CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL

LEGAL

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is seeking bids for the following: BID NO.

DESCRIPTION

DATE

TIME

WRA-4867

Purchase of Battery Chargers

07/09/20

2:00 p.m.

W328

RFQ/P Dam Safety Compliance and Consulting Services

07/22/20

11:00 a.m.

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.

WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.

Date: June 10, 2020

To access and bid on Event(s) please go to the MWRA Supplier Portal at www.mwra.com.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 In the matter of: Leairy Johnson Of: Roxbury, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Beth Israel D Medical Center of Boston, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Leairy Johnson 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 07/22/2020. 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.

WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.

Date: June 10, 2020

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU20P0663GD

LEGAL

SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU20P0737EA

Citation on Petition for Formal Adjudication

Docket No. SU20P0658GD

Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 In the matter of: Gloria Kahn Of Boston, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Boston Medical Center of Boston, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Gloria Kahn 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 07/22/2020. 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.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Estate of: Scott J Fisher Date of Death: 01/18/2020 To all interested persons: A Petition for Formal Adjudication of Intestacy and Appointment of Personal Representative has been filed by Russell Fisher of Waverly, MA requesting that the Court enter a formal Decree and Order and for such other relief as requested in the Petition. The Petitioner requests that Russell Fisher of Waverly, MA be appointed as Personal Representative(s) of said estate to serve Without Surety on the bond in an unsupervised administration.

IMPORTANT NOTICE You have the right to obtain a copy of the Petition from the Petitioner or at the Court. You have a right to object to this proceeding. To do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance and objection at this Court before 10:00 a.m. on the return day of 07/22/2020. This is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline by which you must file a written appearance and objection if you object to this proceeding. If you fail to file a timely written appearance and objection followed by an Affidavit of Objections within thirty (30) days of the return day, action may be taken without further notice to you.

UNSUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE MASSACHUSETTS UNIFORM PROBATE CODE (MUPC) A Personal Representative appointed under the MUPC in an unsupervised administration is not required to file an inventory or annual accounts with the Court. Persons interested in the estate are entitled to notice regarding the administration directly from the Personal Representative and may petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses of administration.

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

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.

REAL ESTATE

REAL ESTATE

REAL ESTATE

Mixed-Income Apartment Community

WAKEFIELD RENTAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING Three—One or Two Bedroom Apartments Rents: One/$1,630 and Two/$1,807 Utilities are NOT included

IMPORTANT NOTICE

AFFORDABLE NET RENT

AT LONGWOOD

WAITING LISTS ARE OPEN FOR AFFORDABLE RENTALS

High-rise living in Boston with elevators, skyline views, swimming pool, fitness center, 24hr Concierge and more!

CityView at Longwood Apartments

Pick up applications at the leasing office** 75 Saint Alphonsus Street Boston, MA 02120 cityviewleasing@jagmgt.com (617) 397-4457

Studio 1BR 2BR 3BR

$1635 $1913 $2172 $2437

1 Bedroom/Selection by Lottery ~ A 62 & Over Community ~ Type

1 Person 2 Persons 3 Persons 4 Persons 5 Persons 6 Persons

$79,000 $90,650 $102,000 $113,300 $122,400 $131,450

For TTY Services dial 711. Free Translation Available.

CityView at Longwood shall not discriminate against any person because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, handicap, veteran status or any basis prohibited by law. *Rents and income limits are subject to MHP approval and may change with HUD’s publication of area median income. **Reasonable accommodation

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

Bay State Banner

1BR 1BR 1BR 1BR Ashland, MA 01721

Applications available 6/15/20 thru 8/13/20. Apply online LedgesAshland.com or by phone 781.664.4029 (TTY 711) or email: ledges@peabodyproperties.com Mail completed application to: Peabody Properties c/o The Ledges Lottery, 536 Granite Street, Braintree, MA 02184 or email to ledges@peabodyproperties.com Deadline: Last day for paper application distribution is 8/13/20 with a postmark date for of 8/15/20. Lottery to be scheduled at a later date.

# of Apts. Gross Rent Income Limit

24 24 1 15

$1,440 $1,200 ** **

60% 50% 50% 30%

**Rent share based on income of applicant.

Income Limits #HH

30% AMI

50% AMI

60% AMI

1 2

$26,850 $30,700

$44,800 $51,200

$53,760 $61,400

PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 21, 2020 Zoom.com Meeting ID: 882 4346 9048 Password: main APPLICATION DEADLINE August 15, 2020 LOTTERY 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 25, 2020

MAX ALLOWABLE INCOME

Units by lottery. Smoke Free. Pets Allowed.

Information Session: In an abundance of caution, and based on current CDC guidance, information session will be available online. Please visit LedgesAshland.com for more information or call 781.664.4029.

AMI - Area Median Income as of 4/1/20. Income, asset & use restrictions apply. Preference for current residents and current employees of the Town of Ashland. Rents, Income limits & utility allowances based on HUD guidelines. For more info, language assistance, or reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, please call or email.

MORE CLASSIFIEDS AT BAYSTATEBANNER.COM

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

598 North—598 North Ave.—Wakefield

Rents:

MAXIMUM HOUSEHOLD INCOME

WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.

Date: June 10, 2020

1 person: 2 person: 3 person: 4 person:

$67,400 $77,000 $86,650 $96,250

Reasonable Accommodations Available for persons with disabilities Sect. 8 or other housing voucher accepted.

Language/translation assistance available, at no charge, upon request.

For Info and Application Availability: Pick Up: Wakefield Town Hall, - Town Administration Ofc, Public Library (if open) & Leasing Office, MHM Realty Office—310 Main St. Phone: (978) 456-8388/FAX: 978-456-8986 Email: lotteryinfo@mcohousingservices.com TTY: 711, when asked 978-456-8388

Applications must be submitted or postmarked on or before the application deadline. Applications can be returned by mail. The Application includes all submission information.

Application available online at: www.mcohousingservices.com

Thursday, June 25, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 19

BANNER CLASSIFIEDS REAL ESTATE

REAL ESTATE

Affordable Housing Lottery

Apartment for Rent

REDTAIL CROSSING PHASE I

14 Ferndale St, 1st Floor, Dorchester

5 Eagle Brook Blvd., Wrentham, MA 02093

2BRs @ $1,904*, 3BRs @ $2,197*

*Rents subject to change. Tenants will pay own gas (heat, hot water), electricity (cooking is electric). The costs of water and sewer are included, as is free parking.

REDTAIL CROSSING is a 100 unit rental apartment community featuring town house style units located at 5 Eagle Brook Boulevard in Wrentham, MA. The units are designed to feel more like a home than an apartment with each unit having its own garage, driveway and private patios for outside lounging and grilling. Besides these features, there is a large open area, walking trails, a restaurant and the publicly accessible Lake Pearl within walking distance. The interior of the units feature Stainless-Steel, Energy-Efficient Appliances, AC, In-Unit Washer and Dryer, and Wood-Style Flooring. Residents are permitted to have 1 dog or cat.

Redtail Crossing will be constructed in three phases. This application process applies to Phase I, which will have a total of seven affordable two and three bedroom apartments.

MAXIMUM Household Income Limits: $67,400 (1 person)

$77,000 (2 people)

$86,650 (3 people)

$96,250 (4 people)

$103,950 (5 people)

$111,650 (6 people)

Completed Applications and Required Income Documentation must be received, not postmarked, by 2 pm on July 31st, 2020.

REAL ESTATE

ACE FLATS APARTMENTS 24 Gould Street, Reading, MA 01867

3 bedrooms, 2 full baths

Affordable Housing Opportunity in Reading!

Hardwood floors

(4) One-Bedroom, (8) Two-Bedroom and (2) Three-Bedroom apartment homes

Off-street parking

*Applicants with rental assistance vouchers are encouraged to apply

$2200 per month

MAXIMUM HOUSEHOLD INCOME LIMIT 80% of AMI of Reading Metro Area

Utilities not included

*Income limits will be updated as published

by HUD at the time of lease-up One-Bedroom Rents: $1,805; Two-Bedroom Rents: $2,166; and Three-Bedroom Rents: $2,503

No Pets

Call D. Ramsey 617-903-2000

HH SIZE 1 2 3 4 5 6

80% $67,400 $77,000 $86,650 $ 96,250 $103,950 $111,650

Applications are available by mail, e-mail, or in person as of June 15th, 2020.

In Person: 1925 Commonwealth Avenue Brighton, MA 02135 during normal business hours Email: aceflats@wingatecompanies.com Phone: (833) 990-2740

ADVERTISE

DEADLINE: Completed applications must be postmarked by August 15th, 2020. *Selection by lottery

YOUR CLASSIFIEDS IN

INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS to be held on 07/01/20 and 07/07/20, from 5pm – 6pm via Virtual Zoom Meeting.

THE BAY STATE

BANNER

Zoom Meeting ID 7/1/20 – 935 8049 7689 Zoom Meeting ID 7/7/20 – 930 3875 4585 Please contact our office for additional details.

(617) 261- 4600 x 7799 ads@bannerpub.com

A Public Info Session will be held on July 1st, 2020 at 6pm via YouTube at https://youtu.be/GmkRFno6ecg (or just search “SEB Housing” in YouTube and click thumbnail for Wrentham Redtail Crossing Info Session) and via conference call at (425) 436-6200. Code 862627 The Lottery will take place on August 12th, 2020 at 6pm via YouTube at https://youtu.be/fHvNOyRkJm8 (or just search “SEB Housing” in YouTube and click thumbnail for Wrentham Redtail Crossing Lottery) and via conference call at (425) 436-6200. Code 862627

South Boston NDC Income-restricted Rental Opportunity O’CONNOR WAY SENIOR HOUSING 5 Major Michael J. O’Connor Way, South Boston, MA 02127

For Lottery Information and Applications, or for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, go to www.sebhousing.com or call (617) 782-6900 (x1) and leave a message or postal mail SEB Housing, 257 Hillside Ave, Needham MA 02494.

For TTY Services dial 711. Free translation available.

46 INCOME-RESTRICTED UNITS FOR SENIORS 62+

Metro North Housing Corp.

Washington Street SRO

# OF UNITS

# OF BEDROOMS

PRICE

INCOME LIMIT

5

one-bedroom

30% of Household Income

up to 30% AMI

* 17

one-bedroom

30% of Household Income

30% – 50% AM

** 24

one-bedroom

$1,111 – $1,333 (based on your household size income)

over 50% and up to 60% AM

*Three units are built-out for persons with mobility impairments. **One unit is built-out for people who are deaf/hard of hearing and/or have vision impairment.

115 Washington Street, Malden, MA 02148 PROFESSIONALLY MANAGED BY:

New England Communities, Inc.

280 Salem Street, Box C, Malden MA 02148 carolecollins@creativehousingcollaborative.com • 781-397-0223

SUBSIDIZED HOUSING OPPORTUNITY Two openings for affordable single room occupancy units in 14-unit house in Malden.

Each tenant has a single, private room with a bed and dresser.

Shared kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, washer/dryer, office, and yard. House manager on site part time. Professional cleaning. One accessible unit.

ELIGIBILITY: 1-person households only. Your income must be at or below $41,000. Preference for people who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.

Rent will be 30% of your income as determined by Housing Choice Voucher Program (“Section 8”) or Mass Rental Voucher Program guidelines.

To get an application: CALL: 781-397-0223 OR EMAIL: carolecollins@creativehousingcollaborative.com OR PICK UP: Bread of Life, 54 Eastern Avenue, Malden at these times: Tuesday 12:00–5:00 PM ` Wednesday 12:00–3:30 PM Thursday 12:00–5:00 PM Friday 12:00–1:30 PM Applications must be postmarked or received by July 10, 2020 by mail to: New England Communities, Salem Towers-Box C, 280 Salem Street, Malden, MA 02148 OR by email to: carolecollins@creativehousingcollaborative.com.

Everyone who applies by the application date will be added to a waitlist in random order and screened for next steps in application process.

The 22 units affordable to households earning up to 30% AMI and between 30% and 50% AMI Filled directly through the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) Applications are available by visiting BHA’s website and printing an application to be mailed in, by completing an application through CHAMP online, or by calling 617-988-3400 and requesting BHA mail you a paper application. Applications are available at https://www.bostonhousing.org/en/For-Applicants/How-Do-I-Apply-for-BHA-Housing.aspx.

To apply online please visit CHAMP at https://publichousingapplication.ocd.state.ma.us/.

MINIMUM INCOMES (set by owner + based on # of bedrooms + AMI) MAXIMUM INCOMES (set by DND + based on the household size + AMI) # OF BEDROOMS

HOUSEHOLD SIZE

MIN-MAX YEARLY INCOME 30% AMI

1

1

0 — $24,900

1

2

0 — $28,440

MIN-MAX YEARLY INCOME 50% AMI MIN-MAX YEARLY INCOME 60% AMI

$24,901 — $41,500

$28,441 — $47,400

$41,501 — $53,760

$47,401 — $61,440

For the 24 units affordable to households earning between 50% and 60% AMI, income minimums do not apply to households with housing assistance such as Section 8, MRVP, or VASH. Applications are available during the application period for 22 days, from Monday, June 29 – Tuesday, July 28, 2020 from 10 AM – 4 PM and on Thursday, July 9 and Thursday, July 23 evenings until 7 PM and Saturday, July 11, 10:00am – 2:00pm 60% AMI units — To request an application online, please visit https://bit.ly/OConnorWaySeniors. After careful consideration and an abundance of caution, the City of Boston has decided to cancel the in-person application distribution period. If you cannot complete the application online or from your smartphone, please call us at 617-464-2483 to request that we mail you one and to ask for any guidance you might need to complete the application. When you call, you will be asked for your full name, complete mailing address, and phone number. This is a City and HUD requirement.

DEADLINE: Applications must be submitted online or postmarked no later than Tuesday, August 4, 2020 Mailed to: 273 D Street, South Boston, MA 02127 n Selection by Lottery for the units affordable to households earning between 50% and 60% AMI n Age Restricted, must be 62 years or older by the move-in date. n Asset & Use Restrictions apply. n Preferences for Boston Residents.

n FOR MORE INFORMATION, language assistance, or reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities please call Michelle Zenga at 617-464-2483 or email o'connorway@sbndc.org

Call or email for reasonable accommodation or questions.

CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS! You’ll find Help Wanted and Real Estate listings at BAYSTATEBANNER.COM

Speed?

Oh, we’re way past that.

Xfinity delivers more than just fast Internet. With Xfinity xFi, you get the ultimate control over your home WiFi network. See who is connected and even pause your WiFi with the xFi app. Plus, get peace of mind with an added layer of protection for all your connected devices.

That’s Internet made simple, easy, awesome.

Get Xfinity Internet & TV starting at

54

$

99

Upgrade to DOUBLE the download speed – FREE for 1 year

a month for 12 months

Get xFi Advanced Security — FREE with the xFi Gateway

Equipment, taxes and other charges extra, and subject to change. See details below.

Go to xfinity.com, call 1-800-xfinity or visit an Xfinity Store today.

Offer requires enrollment in both automatic payments and paperless billing through Xfinity My Account. Offer ends 7/21/20. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Limited to the Choice Double Play with Performance 100 Mbps Internet service. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, including Broadcast TV Fee (up to $14.95/mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $8.75/mo.), and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after promo. After 12 mos., speed reduced to Performance 100 Mbps unless customer calls to add Performance Pro. After promo, or if any service is canceled or downgraded, regular rates apply to Choice Double Play. Comcast’s service charge for Choice Double Play is $89.99/mo. (subj. to change). Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. TV: Limited Basic service subscription required to receive other levels of service. Internet: Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. For factors affecting speed visit www.xfinity.com/networkmanagement. Xfinity xFi is available to Xfinity Internet customers with a compatible Xfinity Gateway. Ability to pause limited to home WiFi network. Does not apply to Xfinity WiFi hotspots. Call for restrictions and complete details. NPA231765-0002 NED AA CDP V2

137523_NPA231765-0002 Choice DP 10x15.75 BostonBay.indd 1

6/16/20 1:55 PM