The Clarissa Street Legacy holds an annual Reunion that takes place in one of the most culturally rich neighborhoods of Rochester. The event celebrates a neighborhood known for producing renowned jazz musicians in the 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's. The Clarissa Street Reunion, held annually since 1996, is a wonderful celebration of the memories and the relationships that were formed in the neighborhood.
The 25th annual Clarissa Street Reunion takes place Saturday, August 19 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Clarissa Street from Troup St. to Samuel McCree Way. There will be a variety of vendors, exhibits and entertainment. Join the festivities as family, neighbors and friends gather to enjoy presentations from two stages: Jazz and R &B (Clarissa & Troup) and Gospel, Poetry and Song (Clarissa & Adams).
There will be no parking on CLARISSA STREET from 7a.m. until 10pm on Saturday, August 19th. Vehicles on Clarissa Street after 7:00 a.m. are subject to towing by the Rochester Police Department.
The Clarissa Street Legacy sincerely appreciates your participation and hopes that you enjoy the reunion this year!
If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, sponsor or donate contact The Carissa Street Legacy at: 585.454.9354 or info@clarissastreetlegacy.com
Visit our site for updates www.clarissastreetlegacy.com
VENDOR APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN REOPENED! Go to clarissastreetlegacy.com to submit your vendor applications!
Clarissa Street is one of Corn Hill’s most historic and often-changed streets. Originally named Caledonia Avenue by Corn Hill’s early Scottish settlers, in 1844 the southern portion of this street was renamed “Clarissa,” after Clarissa Greig, the daughter of early investor John Greig. Eventually the street was altered to include all of High Street, now the northern section of Clarissa, and by 1930 all of Caledonia Avenue had been renamed Clarissa Street.
As early as 1810, freed Black slaves were living in Western New York and Rochester’s first African American neighborhood was located here on High Street (later Clarissa) in the Third Ward of the city.
In 1830 Rev. Thomas James, an escaped slave, founded the Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, then located on Favor Street. This church became a center for the Underground Railroad, for Frederick Douglass’s abolitionist newspaper, The North Star, and for the women’s suffrage movement. In 1975 the A.M.E. Zion Church was relocated to its present home on Clarissa Street, and it remains Rochester’s oldest ongoing African American institution.
In 1922 the African American YWCA was founded at 192 Clarissa Street. It later merged with the downtown YWCA and the Clarissa Street structure became the Montgomery Continued Page 9
Free professional emotional health and wellness support services are being offered at four City R-Centers. Licensed community-based child and family therapists and social learning specialists are available at R-Centers during regular business hours for registered R-Center youth and families from 6 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 9 at the Willie Walker Lightfoot R-Center for Equity and Justice, 271 Flint St. and 6 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 23, at the David F. Gantt R-Center, 700 North St. Learn more at CityofRochester.gov/RCenters
The 2023 season of Movies in the Park, a series of familyfriendly movie screenings is running now through September.
All movies will begin at dusk, approximately a half hour after sunset. The last three event dates are as follows:
•Rogue One (August 11th – Highland Park)
•Hook (August 18th – Mendon Ponds Park)
•Raiders of the Lost Ark (Sept 1st – Black Creek Park)
The African American Heritage Legacy Banner Ceremony was held recently at the CAO Rafi Green Jr. Masten Resource Center located at 1423 Fillmore Ave. The event celebrated the 15 African American community leaders whose legacy banners are displayed in and around MLK Park and along Fillmore Ave.
The distinguished new honorees include Pastor William Gillison, Karima Amin, Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, William Bill Peoples, past honorees include Arthur O. Eve, Mayor Byron W. Brown, Eva M. Doyle, Ted Kirkland, Sheila Brown, Lloyd Hargrave, Cariol Horne, Donna Habeeb, George K. Arthur, Clifford Bell, Alnisa Banks, Agnes M. Bain, Lorna Hill, Florence Baugh, and L. Nathan Hare.
The ceremony began with a short indoor program featuring remarks from the new honorees and highlighting the remarkable achievements of past honorees. Participants were also scheduled to drive to Fillmore and Northampton to view the banners displayed along Fillmore, in and around MLK Park in celebration of the impactful contributions of these exceptional individuals.
Buffalo Public School superintendent Dr. Tonja M. Williams was recently given a rating of “effective” by the Buffalo School Board on her first full school year. It was the second highest rating possible. Congratulations Dr. Wiliams!
Erie County Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin on Tuesday presented a $20,000 grant to the African American Cultural Center’s Paul Robeson Theatre for its upcoming 2023-2024 Season.
Established in 1968, it is the longest running stage theatre in Western New York.
The theatre’s new Artistic Director, Verneice Turner (See Story Page 12) said the grant represented “a fresh beginning.”
The center and the theatre holds special meaning for both Chairwoman Baskin and Ms. Turner.
Chairwoman Baskin, who pursued theatre while in college, performed her first professional stage debut at the Paul Robeson Theatre .
An award winning actress, Verneice also got her start at the Robeson Theatre
“The funds will be deployed to ensure the Paul Robeson Theater’s Season will be one to celebrate another chapter in the African American Cultural Center’s history book and our community” said Ms. Turner. “Yes, there is work to be done, but we no longer see the work as a challenge, but an opportunity to demonstrate the power of our ancestors to work things out for the greater good of all.”
Embrace your cultural heritage at the INTERNATIONAL BLACK SUMMIT August 3-6.
Aprevailing myth surrounding the Electoral College was that the system was designed to protect small states. However, at the time of the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the real division was between those states which practiced slavery and those which did not. Electing the president through a straight tally of eligible voters (popular vote) would not work to the advantage of slaveholding states of the South, as they had a small number of eligible voters—wealthy, White landowners—but large numbers of people who were unable to vote, including over half a million enslaved Africans at the time.
“The Electoral College was designed in Philadelphia and was revised in the wake of the Jefferson-Adams-Burr election of 1800-1801 to advantage the slaveholding South,” wrote Yale constitutional law professor Akhil Reed Amar wrote in his book, The Constitution Today.
In short, the electoral college system that was established for the sake of preserving the institution of enslavement and upholding the power of slaveholding states.
Dr. Williams
Are
A FREE opening celebration reception will be held Thursday August 3 hosted by the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Buffalo Marriott at LECOM HARBOR CENTER 95 Main Street. Enjoy music performance by the Colored Musicians Club, storytelling by Karima Amin, African drumming and music by a local DJ. There will be remarks and opening prayer by Rev. Mark Blue, President of the Buffalo NAACP
The International Black Summit is a gathering of people of Black African Descent from diverse backgrounds, countries, lifestyles, opinions and views who come together to celebrate and empower the vision for the for the Black community and the world.
To REGISTER for the entire conference visit https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/m?oeidk=a07ejlm3ei6bf4e72f4&oseq=&c =&ch=
Thomas Jefferson, himself an owner of the enslaved, could not have won the presidency without the Electoral College and the bonus it provided to Virginia and the other states that held Black people in bondage. When the Twelfth Amendment was debated in Congress in 1803, Congressman Samuel Thatcher of Massachusetts
Continued Page 15
The Exchange at Beverly Gray is hosting its 2nd Annual Black Business Month Celebration with a series of events and workshops at 334 E. Utica during August for National Black Business Month.
Scheduled events are as follows:
Wednesday August 9: The Business of Real Estate
Learn what it takes to start, run and grow a real-estate business. Learn from successful entrepreneurs that did it. Entrepreneurs from different facets of Real Estate will be on hand to give the real deal.
Thursday, August 10: The Business of Credit
Learn what it takes to increase your credit score, leverage credit to build wealth, and create a personal finance plan. Financial expert Ruth Elisa will give a hands-on workshop around all things credit.
Wednesday, August 16: The Business of Cannabis
Cannabis is becoming ever more popular as it relates to business. With the new laws that affect how business is done, it is important to learn how to maneuver this $13.2 Billion market. Learn from experts and those paving the way in this high-growth industry.
Wednesday, August 23: The Business of Food Food, Food and More Food! Learn the food business from those who built restaurants, caterer services, food trucks and more. Listen as they talk about their trials and triumphs while dropping jewels for future entrepreneurs coming to the industry.
For more informatio call 716 800-2171 or email info@theexchangebuffalo.org
Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Tonja M. Williams has announced today that the District’s Office of Human Resources will be conducting open interviews for school bus aides on Saturday, August 5 from 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts (PS 192), 450 Masten Avenue, Buffalo, N.Y.
On Saturday, successful candidates will complete their Civil Service applications.
The following items must be brought to the interviews:
•Photo identification as proof of residence in Buffalo.
•At least three (3) of the documents below that are dated within the past three months:
•Lease or mortgage statement
•Utility, phone, or cable bill
•Bank statement
•Vehicle registration or insurance
•County Budget Sheet
•Medical bill
Other individuals interested in working for the Buffalo Public Schools can view a full list of job openings here. To learn more about career opportunities, including how to become teacher at the Buffalo Public Schools, visit https:// www.buffaloschools.org/careers.
For more information about the Buffalo Public School District visit www.buffaloschools.org
Mastercard has instructed U.S. financial institutions to stop allowing purchases of cannabis on its debit cards, stripping customers of a convenient way to purchase marijuana without cash. Cannabis businesses say the decision will increase the risk of robbery and violent crime.
The federal government considers cannabis sales illegal, so these purchases are not allowed on our systems," the statement continued.
The crackdown aims to stop marijuana businesses, known as dispensaries, from offering the option to customers of paying with a debit card after entering their account's PIN number.
Marijuana is currently legal for medical use in 38 states. It is also legal for adults over 21 years old to buy for recreational use in 23 states, including Washington DC and the entire US West Coast.
In Canada, where cannabis was legalized on the national level in 2018, customers are often permitted to make payments with credit or debit cards.
“When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets hurt.”
-African Proverb
Last week, Project Mona’s House, Inc. hosted 60 young women on a Culture & College Tour. Led by Ms. Kelly Diane Galloway, founder and executive director of Project Mona’s House–along with dedicated volunteers, board directors, and national members of the Young Women’s Empowerment Academy–the young women visited and toured Bowie State University, Howard University, and North Carolina A&T University. In addition, the group enjoyed a private tour of the US Capitol and the House of Representatives Gallery thanks to Congressman Brian Higgins; visited the African American Museum and the National Council of Negro Women.
Project Mona's House, a 501(c)(3) non-profit in Buffalo, New York is the first restoration home in Buffalo, New York for women who have been victims of human trafficking. At Project Mona's House, staff and volunteers work to shed light on the terrible crime of human trafficking, restore those who have been victimized, and prevent it from ever happening again through education, legislation, and amplifying the voices of overcomers. The FreeTHEM Center is part of Mona’s House and a dropin center that aids at-risk women and children by offering life skills development and counseling and other services, such as the Young Women's Empowerment Program.
The young women joyfully explored our country’s capital city and impressed civic leaders as they shared their desire to connect with their culture. The Empowerment Academy’s local headquarters are found at the FreeTHEM Center, 852 Kensington Ave, Buffalo, NY 14215. This trip was sponsored through grants and donations with no cost to participating young women. Learn more about Project Mona’s House, the FreeTHEM Center, and the Young Women’s Empowerment Academy by visiting https://www.projectmonashouse.com
Five members of New Covenant UCC were awarded a $1,000 Daniel Acker/Barbara Brown Scholarship, on July 30 at the church, 459 Clinton St. immediately after Worship Service.
The Daniel Acker/Barbara Brown scholarship was founded by Rev. Will J. Brown and Dr. Edward Jenkins, in 1996; naming it after two people who encouraged and supported the continued education of our youth.
The celebration was dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Maxine Bennett, who was the ultimate fund raiser and inspiration for the continuation of this scholarship for many years. We thank her very much.
Janiya Betts and Khalon Betts, are the children of Dottie-Humphrey-Benning and the grandchildren of Frank and Gwen Humphrey. They reside in Frisco, Texas, and will both attend Texas Tech University. Khalon’s Betts' unusual career plans are to work with exotic animals because animals are important to him and the environment. Janiya plans to become a veterinarian epidmiologist because of her love of animals. She would like to help people who have problems with their pets, emotionally and physically.
Justin Blue is the son of Lee and Darcel Blue. He has been accepted at SUNY Buffalo State University and plans to enter the health field to benefit others and save lives through healthy living. He received several awards for character and leadership. He states that “the Lord is my light and family is most important.”
Brooklyn Bullock is the daughter of Izeal Bullock III and Dr. Ebony Bullock. She was one of ten students who received the Aaron Salter scholarship. Brooklyn has been accepted at Howard University. Her career plans are helping others achieve their physical goals and advocating for equitable access for all to healthy lifestyle resources.
Aniya Palmer is the daughter of Will and Ta-Tanisha Palmer. She has been accepted in the natural science – health program at Daemen College. Her career plans are to become a physical therapist, helping people in rehabilitation. Aniya feels she can connect with her community.
(Submitted by Pastor Reginald Z. Burtis Pastor of New Covenant UCC.)
D.A.D.S. is hosting a Basketball and La Crosse Summer Program at Community School #54 for students August 5,12,19,26. For more information please contact Dwayne Ferguson at (716)563-1834.
Community Access Services (CAS) will host its annual backpack giveaway and community event on Friday, August 4 at 3297 Bailey Avenue in Buffalo. The event starts at 11a.m. and will go until 4p.m. It is free for all to attend and supplies will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Families are strongly encouraged to attend.
Each year, CAS hosts this free community event as a way of providing students with needed school supplies as they prepare for the upcoming school year. In addition to providing students with supply-filled backpacks, the event will also feature kid-friendly interactive activities, community resources and information tables, free food, music, rapid HIV testing for adults and much more.
“We are pleased to bring the Backpack Giveaway to the community again this year,” said Kim Brown, Executive Director for Community Access Services. “Some families struggle with meeting their basic needs, so adding the additional expense of preparing their children for the school year can be stressful. “Our hope is that through this event we are able to provide additional support to the community all while ensuring they have access to quality healthcare.”
For additional information, please visit www.caswny.org.
Mt. Hope Pastor Charles Walker will be celebrating the12th Anniversary as Pastor of Mt. Hope Community Church starting with a 3 day revival from August 2-4 beginning at 6p.m. Thursday will be the "Youth Explosion" with 12 year old anointed preacher Brother Jamel Brooks. Friday will feature Dr. Cleveland Southern from Higher Heights Fellowship of Rochester. The church picnic will be Sunday August 6 at Evangola State Park where12 people will be baptized into the family of God. This years event is a dedication to Pastor Walker’s "QUEEN" Elder Kendra M. Walker.
Pictured above l/r Living Waters, New Kings of Harmony,Daughter of Destiny, Brouce Myles,The New Gospel Times, Saint James praise Dancers
Return of the New Kings of Harmony presents Summer Gospel Explosion Sunday August 20 at 4p.m. at the Greater Royal Church 1335 Clinton Street. The event will feature Living Waters, St. James Praise Dancers, New Kings of Harmony, Brouce Myles, Daughter of Destiny, Gospel Diamond and special guest performance by The New Gospel Times of Rochester NY. AI Wilson will be the M.C. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children.
Doors open at 3pm and program begins at 4:30 p.m. sharp. For more info call Clarence Rodolph at 716 322-5329.
This is God’s Ministry will hold a Healing and Deliverance Conference Friday and Saturday August 18-19 at Harvest House Church 1782 Seneca Street. Guest speakers include Apostle Joseph Hagley of Baltimore, Friday August 18 and Apostle Jessica Gant of Buffalo, Saturday August 19. For information contact Elder Nee Nee at (716)9947059.
AUGUST
•HEALING BY THE WATER Broderick Park Summer Freedom Celebration Music, Food, Vendors July 7-September 7, Foot of Ferry near Niagara St. FREE
•JEFFERSON AVENUE FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE, EVERY FRIDAY EVENING now thru August 25 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Jefferson & E.Utica Street To become a sponsor or for more info on how to participate go to the Buffalo Funk Fest Foundation facebook page.
PINE GRILL JAZZ REUNION, August 6 & 13, MLK Park. Vendor applications now available at the African American Cultural Center, 350 Masten Avenue.
•WESTY’S SYCAMORE FAMILY & FRIENDS ANNUAL REUNION August 4 Meet & Greet, the Martha Mitchell Center 175 Oakmont St. (in Kenfield Langfield) 6-9pm; August 5 Reunion Cookout MLK Park Noon-8p.m. For more info: (716)783-0099; (716)602-8119; (716)892-8311; (716)247-0258 FREE
•ROCHESTER PAN AFRIKAN FESTIVAL Saturday, August 5, hosted by A.B.O.V.E. @ Highland Bowl, 1137 South Ave. 11am - 8 p.m. Visit PANAFFESTIVAL.ORG
•ROCHESTER BLACK CULTURE FESTIVAL August 12& 13 hosted by Willpower Media Company LLC Parcel 5 (285 E Main St. 14604) 12 p. m. to 10 p. m. both days. Music, arts, local businesses, food, resources & more. For Vendors Applications" go to : https://form.jotform.com/231515471514046 or call 585) 431-2500 or (585) 360-3597.
ROCHESTER CLARISSA STREET REUNION, Saturday, August 19, 10 a .m.– 4 p.m. Clarissa Street from Troup St. to Samuel McCree Way. For info or to volunteer, sponsor or donate 585.454.9354 or info@clarissastreetlegacy.com
AUGUST
•SUMMER GOSPEL EXPLOSIOM HOSTED BY THE NEW KINGS OF HARMONY, 4.m. Sunday, August 20, Greater Royal Church, 1335 Clinton Street, Buffalo Adults $15, Children $5 @ the door. For info: (716)322-5329
•35TH ANNUAL TAKING IT TO THE STREETS FREE August 19th & 20th, 11ampark closing MLK Park. For shelters/participate/vend/sponsor call 716-507-1931/716400-6749.
•BEAU FLEUVE MUSIC & ARTS CELEBRATION WEEKEND starting Thursday August 24 to the main event Sunday August 27 at the Buffalo Central Terminal, 495 Paderewski Drive. Info at www.BeauFleuveMusicArts.com
SEPTEMBER
•“HONORING OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY HEROES AND SHEROES” PARADE & MINI STAND DOWN, Saturday, September 2 hosted by Debbera M. Ransom and The African American Veterans Arts and Culture Corporation, kickoff 2 p.m. Jefferson between Riley and Dodge For more info email: aavaccbuffalo21@ gmail.com or call 716-563-2536.
•ANNUAL BLACK ACHIEVERS AWARDS DINNER, Saturday, September 30 at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, 153 Franklin Street. For more info visit www.buffaloblackachievers.org
•BUFFALO CENTER FOR HEALTH EQUITY sixth annual Igniting Hope Conference on September 29th-30th 2023 Igniting Hope Conference Friday, September 29 at 12:30 p.m.; Saturday, September 30 at 1:30 p.m
OCTOBER
•2023 CHILDREN’S GARDEN FESTIVAL Sunday, October 8 from 2 - 5 pm in Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, co-presented by the Olmsted Parks Conservancy. free food etc.
•WUFO HEALTH, WEALTH & EDUCATION EXPO, Sat.Oct.28, 4-9 p.m. Acqua, 2192 Niagara St. Visit www.power96.5radio.com
CharlesChandler knows it’s important for men to be aware of, and concerned about, their health. He believes one of his mother’s uncles had prostate cancer during the 1970s. “It was rumored someone had a medical problem and they were talking about taking their manhood,” he says. “He did succumb, after saying no one was going to take his manhood, and I remember going to Detroit for his funeral.”
Charles didn’t think too much more about it until he saw ads for Cruisin’ for a Cure, the annual car show at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center each September, hosted by Men Allied for the Need to Understand Prostate Cancer (MANUP) WNY. The event offers free prostate cancer early detection tests in the hope of catching the disease in an earlier state, if present, and helping to erase the stigma among men talking about prostate cancer and having these tests.
A car enthusiast, Charles signed up to show off his prized possession, a 2005 Chrysler 300 he had custom painted to a shade of blue. The car was an instant hit and he even made himself a suit in the same shade, which he’d wear to car shows, earning him the nickname “Blue.”
Charles became a regular, both on the car show circuit and at Cruisin’ for a Cure. (The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 23 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. with prostate detection tests running from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.) But his grandson called him out: “One day we were out there at a show and my grandson said, ‘Granddad, you’re always doing these car shows but you never got checked.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’ll get checked.’”
-A surprising diagnosis-
He went to his primary care physician’s office and took a blood test that looks for elevated levels of a protein that can indicate the presence of cancer. The results of his prostatespecific antigen (PSA) test — a test that originated at Roswell Park in the 1970s — determined he had developed prostate cancer. Charles admits, he hadn’t been concerned about or paying attention to his PSA levels or any other possible symptoms of cancer. He did notice he’d been having trouble urinating for quite some time, to the point where he was limiting his activities away from his house or to where there was guaranteed access to a bathroom.
After what he describes as a “disappointing” conversation with his family doctor, Charles came to Roswell Park and met with James Mohler, MD, now Chair Emeritus of the Department of Urology, and urologist Ahmed Aly Hussein Aly, MD.
Charles was diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer in 2020, with a course of treatment requiring roughly a dozen radiation sessions and hormone replacement therapy. He did not need chemotherapy but did receive a penile implant to help restore function – and in less than a year, he was declared cancer-free.
He already was advocating for prostate cancer
screening and supporting MANUP before his own diagnosis, his efforts have been redoubled since his treatment and recovery
Now he supports the organization by dropping off literature at barbershops and other community gathering places and doing his best to talk about his own experience to help other men get comfortable with the thought of having a prostate exam.
“It’s this thing that’s hidden away and not talked about,” Charles says. “That’s why I did all these car shows. I felt the need to be involved because a lot of people who don’t look like me were in the car clubs. To be part of MANUP was a passion to break through.”
The Healing Station hosts The Power To Change summer sessions via zoom that focuses on Intimate Partner Violence and Self Esteem August 9th through August 30 from 12p.m. -2p.m.; a four week curriculum that will be taking place via zoom.
Gift cards and certificates are provided for completion of the four week session. Registration ends August 9 at 10am . To register in advance contact admin@hsagency.org
ture became the Montgomery Neighborhood Center, which eventually relocated as well.
By the mid-20th century, Clarissa Street had become a main commercial district of the Third Ward. Businesses included the Gibson Hotel, Latimer’s Funeral Home, Ray’s Barbershop, Scotty’s Pool Hall, Smitty’s Birdland, LaRue’s Restaurant, and Vallot’s Tavern. Following the riots of 1964 and the subsequent Urban Renewal program, many of these buildings were either destroyed or torn down.
Glenn recently celebrated their First Wedding Anniversary! The happy couple tied the knot on July 3, 2022 at True Bethel Baptist Church with Bishop Darius Pridgen officiating on July 30, 2022. Congratulations!
Once referred to as “Rochester’s Broadway,” Clarissa Street became famous for jazz and for clubs such as the Pythodd Club, the Elk’s Club and Dan’s Restaurant and Grill (later Shep’s Paradise Lounge – now The Clarissa Room).
Since 1996, current and former Clarissa Street residents have presented an annual Clarissa Street Reunion, held the 3rd Saturday of August to celebrate the importance and the traditions of this historic Corn Hill Street.
American Cultural Center’s
For Two Exciting Sundays August 6th and 13th from 2-9 p.m. our community will once again explode with the Pine Grill Jazz Reunion in MLK Park!
In its heyday in the 50’s and 60’s, the Pine Grill , located near the corner of. Jefferson and E. Ferry Street, was the place to be. It was during the height of the Buffalo jazz scene when Jefferson was alive and vibrant with businesses, people, and music and the Pine Grill hosted some of the biggest names in the business!
Teddy Pendergrass, in his autobiography “Truly Blessed,” said of his experience performing at the Grill:
“For the crowd at Buffalo's Pine Grill, it was the Temptations' ‘Get Ready’ and getting' down 'n' funky, undoing your tie, and letting them see you sweat.”
Renowned Buffalo writer Ishmael Reed described a thriving scene around the Pine Grill in his story “The Buffalo I Remember: “There were restaurants, a movie theater, a library, clothing stores, record stores, a butcher shop, and other lively enterprises, many of them Black-owned. At Jefferson Avenue and Ferry Street stood the famed Pine Grill, a bar and restaurant where you could hear Erroll Garner and Jimmy Smith play. Though it was a small space, they were able to fit the Count Basie band on stage.”
Fast forward to 1989. That’s when former Council President George K. Arthur teamed up with the African American Cultural Center’s late, beloved Agnes Bain to pay tribute to that era by producing the first Pine Grill Jazz Reunion. Both, having personally experienced the Pine Grill magic ”back in the day,” brought to the stage such legends as Count Basie’s trumpet player Harry “Sweets” Edson, blues singer Etta Jones, and Bill Doggett.
At one point Council President Arthur faced political pressure to move the event from MLK Park in the heart of the Black community, to Front Park. He resisted and made sure it “stayed put.”
-The 34th Annual Celebration-
The much anticipated event remains in Martin Luther King Park over three decades later. The Cultural Center released the following invitation to the community:
“Join us at the 34th annual Pine Grill Jazz Reunion presented by the African American Cultural Center, when the community comes together to celebrate part of WNY history, culture and music .
“It will all take place Sunday August 6th & 13th with a wide range of music for all to enjoy.
“In times of challenges, that is when we take hold of the power of music & us coming together. Let's celebrate!
“We are grateful to our founders, beloved Queen Ms. Agnes Bain, George K. Arthur and others who created this time of annual musical celebration. Although they are no longer with us , we will remember & celebrate, as we honor the history of our community, city and region.”
Adorning the stage for the next two Sundays, the 34th season line-up of exciting and talented local and national performers will include:
•Week 1 (Aug. 6) : Bobby Bonner Review, Will Holton Review, Master T, Samuel Walker, Annetta M. Williams, and Uncle Willie.
•Week 2 (Aug. 13): Nia Badger, Brian Freeman & Friends, Jeanette Harris & David Stevens, Intuition, Kenyada Nikile, and the Old School B Boys.
The concerts start at 2p.m. Bring your chairs and be ready to party! Tents are welcome in a designated area. Be ready to have a smile on your face the entire day!
The concerts end at 9:00 p.m. on each Sunday.
For additional information please contact Dorothea Baxter Hughes, Coordinator at (716) 884-2013 or Africancultural350@gmail.com.
Salsa in The Park (Rose Garden Delaware Park) has added additional dates in August this summer: August 7th, August 21st (our special grand finale party with live music, $20/$15 students), and August 28th (our bonus night!).
See you there!
Pine Grill Jazz Reunion!
Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Buffalo!
The Whale Speaks is an original production presented for one night only on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at Shea’s 710 Theater. Although the story is fiction, it is grounded in scientific facts concerning the health of oceans and the environment. It is an entertaining and informative show told from the perspective of a matriarch whale and her dolphin friend that highlights one of today’s most important issues, climate change, and the significant influence oceans and marine mammals, whales in particular, have on weather patterns and the very air we breathe.
Mobi, the whale and Daphene, her dolphin friend, are on a perilous journey to find a safe retreat for their pods when one of their youngsters gets into trouble and they find help from an unlikely source, namely, the crew of a marine rescue vessel, The Star Buck, whose captain is Anya Ahab, the great, great-granddaughter of Herman Melville’s notorious Captain Ahab, known for his crazed obsession with the great white whale, Moby Dick. While Moby Dick’s Captain Ahab hunts and kills whales, The Star Buck’s Captain Anya finds and saves whales in an effort to restore her family’s name and free it from the dark legacy left by her great-great-grandfather.
The story is told using original music, choreography, and dialogue inspired by various poetic forms written by poet, Celeste Lawson, music by Daniel Haskin and choreography by Robin Hibbert and Dominic Giambra. The cast of The Whale Speaks is an ensemble of highly respected, seasoned actors who are not strangers to the stages of Western New York and across the country. The cast of nine includes Mary Craig, Joyce Carolyn, Verneice Turner, Kerrykate Abel-Smith, Joy Scime, Sonia Angeli, John Vines, David Landrey, Shawnell Tillery and VerNia Gavin.
The production was made possible with support from MAP Fund, a private foundation headquartered in New York City that underwrites innovative and unique live performances taking place around the country that address urgent and relevant social issues. Celeste Lawson, Buffalo poet and cultural arts activist, is the creator and producer of The Whale Speaks. Her work has been supported by MAP Fund for this project as well as a previous project on human trafficking. She is the recipient of an individual artist grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, an SCR award through ASI, The David Fendrick Theater Fund, The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (grants to artists during the pandemic), Just Buffalo Literary Center, and The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Tickets for The Whale Speaks are available at https://www. sheas.org/performances/the-whale-speaks or for information call the Shea’s Box Office at (716)847-0850.
Resilience: A Buffalo Story by Mustafa Hussain is currently on Exhibit at CEPA Gallery 617 Main Street now thru August 4. Hussain has also included work from four of his closest friends, photographers Joshua Thermidor, Bandon Watson, Malik Rainey, and Jalen Wright. A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Mustafa Hussain is a photojournalist and editorial photographer, currently based in Chicago. He has worked with the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Chicago Magazine. He has spent recent years documenting Buffalo’s remarkable and harrowing 2020’s transformation. According to the artist, “Resilience: A Buffalo Story is a collection of portraits and reportage work over the past two years focused on the beautiful resilience within the Black community of Buffalo, N.Y. Through COVID, amplified systemic
Art Openings
The opening reception for The Experiment Renaissance Exhibition is on August 6, showing artists Kobie Barber, Princessa S. Williams, Ari Moore, Jarel Adams, Markenzy CesarXIII, Bree Gilliam, Ryan Apointe, Dorthea Edwards at Princessa’s Studio & Art Gallery, at 1271 Hertel Ave.
El Museo Francisco Oller y Diego Rivera presents "Communion," a visual arts exhibition curated by Desiree Kee in honor of Bell Hooks' intimate and motivational book, "Communion: The Female Search for Love." Opening August 5 from 5 –8p.m. at 91 Allen, the Exhibit runs through September 16, and features workshops, a panel discussion, and jam sessions, all led by women/femmes.
racism and violence, loss, and most recently a treacherous winter storm, Buffalo continues to endure. Don’t miss the closing reception at CEPA Friday, August 4 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm.
Artie Awards and Buffalo Spree Best Actress Award winner and director Verneice Turner has been named the new Artistic Director at the African American Cultural Center’s Paul Robeson Theater; the longest running stage theatre in Western New York.
No stranger to the stage, the talented Buffalo native got her start in the very theatre she now directs where she studied drama under June L. Saunders-Duel.
Verneice continued her studies in the performing arts at SUNY at Buffalo. She has worked with directors Edward G. Smith, Saul Elkin, Richard Gant, Lorna C. Hill and others. She has performed in many productions here in Western New York and beyond including New York City ( off Broadway), Washington, D.C. as an actor, singer, dancer and poet.
Locally she ran the Art Space Buffalo East from 2009-13 along with salons at 14102 Main Street until 2019. In addition to her many awards, she was honored by the Buffalo-based Alemaedae Theatre with their coveted Veterans Award. “I appreciate Phil and Chyna Davis of Alemaedae for a beautiful program honoring area artists such as the late Willie Judson, June Duell and others,” said a grateful Ms. Turner.
-Vision-
“I would like to start the rebirth of the Paul Robeson Theatre with Celebrating WNY Playwrights in the first season," said Verneice. " These plays will share a whole range of stories that all in the region can relate to, appreciate, learn from and be informed by.”
The 2023-2024 Season will open September 29- Oct. 15 with “Tolley's Place" by local playwright Shirley Sarmiento. The Play focuses on four African American women who purpose to live their lives rather than just survive in spite of Life challenges.
It will be followed by "Hoarding Hope" by Kerrykate Abel Smith (Oct. 20-Nov. 4). It is the story of a nurse, in NYC, who, in spite of her own personal challenges, make a way out of no way to help those suffering during the AIDS crisis .
Two more plays will follow in the Spring of 2024, “The Polish Cleaning Lady’s Daughter,” by Paula Wachowiak, and the season's closing play “A Pitch From Satchel Paige,” by Loren Keller and James Keller, Paige, about the Negro League and Major League Baseball star's colorful life.
The Paul Robeson Theater just recently received a $20,000 grant from Erie County to support its upcoming 2023-2024 Season!
In addition to the productions, Turner is planning to set up regular artist workshops, and open houses “to share with the community/city on what is going on at the theatre. Monthly poetic and musical jams for the community, city and region are also in the plans. She also sees the theatre being able to provide opportunities to address community concerns and issues through “talk back theatre.”
“I hope to work with area artists when possible, to have access to the theater when working and developing new work,” she added.
“I am thankful to and for all who contribute to my growth and development as an artist, especially my Heavenly husband, Douglas H. May and our daughter Jasmine. God is good!”
Children must consume measl at the site. Breakfast and Lunch times vary at each site. Breakfast 8am10am , Lunch 11am -1pm, Snack 2pm -4pm . Most of the sites are open Monday to Friday, with the exceptions of a few.
Service provided is noted as B- Breakfast, L-Lunch or (BL for both) S-Snack
Sites are listed by zip code
(sourced from Buffalo Public Schools website)
14201
Belle Center -B&L 104
Maryland Street
14202
New Beginnings COGIC
-B&L 828 Genesee Street
Salvation Army - B&L 960
Main Street
Urban League -B&L 638
Michigan Avenue
14204
Commadore Perry Projects -
L&S 279 Perry Street
JFK Community CenterB&L 114 Hickory Street
SS Columba Brigid - L&S
75 Hickory Street
Urban Christian Ministries -
L only 967 Jefferson Avenue
14206
Greater Royal -B&L 1335
Clinton Street
Hennepin Park - L only 54 Ludington Street
14207
Northgate Community -
L&S T-F 60 Hertel Avenue
Northwest Buffalo Comm.
Ctr. - B&L 155 Lawn Av-
enue
Shaffer Village - L&S 112 Isabelle Street
Riverside Park - L only 2607
Niagara Street
14208
Cold Spring Bible ChapelB&L 100 Northland Avenue
Lutheran Church - B&L 26 Brunswick Boulevard
14211
Ferry Grider Homes - L only 976 East Ferry Street
George K. Arthur - B&L 2056 Genesee Street
CONTINUED PG 16
The Pappy Martin Legacy Masten Jazz Festival concluded another successful two-weekend run last Sunday in MLK Park. As usual, the music was great and the park was packed with some of Buffalo's best people! Special thanks to Dawn Martin for keeping the legacy of her dad and Black Classical Music alive in the Queen City! We love and appreciate you Dawn! Challenger Photos
Since the election of former president Donald Trump, Black Americans have flooded social media with what-ifs. What if President Obama, who caused outrage by wearing a tan suit, had agitated for an insurrection? What if Black and Brown people had stormed the capitol on January 6? Would it have taken three hours for the National Guard to show up? Would the insur gents have been allowed to go home? What if a Black man had murdered nine white worshippers? Would the police have bought him lunch? What if Black men had threatened to kidnap and harm the governor of Michigan, a white woman? Two of the white men who concocted that plot were acquitted. If Black men had aimed their rifles at federal agents in Nevada, as the Bundy ranch ers did, would their case have been dismissed? What if those had been white kids under fire in Uvalde? Would the police have waited an hour to do something?
Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people in Wisconsin, was acquitted, and became famous. He took a victory lap by showing up in a bar and posing for selfies while flashing white power signals. Maybe these mass shooters, white men in their late teens and early twenties, view killing Black, Brown, Jewish, and Muslim victims as a path to celebrity. And money: Rittenhouse’s defense fund raised $2 million. His latest venture is a video game in which, according to The Washington Post, “players control Rittenhouse, who, equipped with a cartoonish orange gun, shoots turkeys labeled ‘fake news’ and ‘MSDNC.’” The white shooter who killed ten Black shoppers at a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo on May 14 must have wagered that even if he was holding an assault weapon when he surrendered, he’d be talked to instead of shot on the spot.
The recent massacre at Tops is far from the only violence that the Black community in Buffalo has suffered. Some of that violence has been carried out by young gang members. (In 2018 a woman named Yvette Johnson and her seventeen-month-old grandson Kyrie were shot to death during a birthday party at her home.) But the gangs neither get paid by taxpayers’ money nor take an oath to serve and protect. The police, who do, have long committed acts of brutality against Black citizens.
I lived in Buffalo from the age of two or three until I left for New York City in 1962. In those days, Buffalo police treated Black people like we were inhabitants of an enemy nation. They used to burst into our homes in the projects, Willert Park Courts, anytime they felt like it. I was used to being stopped by cops on my walk home from high school. Once, at The Little Paris—a dive on Michigan Avenue where we used to go dancing in the 1950s—the police ordered that the place be emptied. A Black woman didn’t move fast enough, and a captain slapped her from the barstool to the floor. When the police and their dogs attacked a group of Black women in 1961 after accusing them of prostitution, I wrote about the incident for The Empire Star, where I also covered the integration of the schools and the lack of services in the projects where I lived after dropping out of the University of Buffalo. At one point, a Black councilman called me to his home and told me that the police wanted me to stop my reporting.
One of the most incisive comic strips created by the famed Buffalo artist Spain Rodriguez features a Buffalo detective named Manning who justifies violence: “There’s some crime goin' on… My job…Stop it. After all I gotta fill my quota.” Police brutality was one of the causes of the Buffalo riots in June 1967 and of many protests since. In June 2020, after hundreds of people in Buffalo turned out to protest the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, members of Buffalo’s Black clergy petitioned the city’s mayor, Byron Brown, for an end to the militarization of the police. “Here in Buffalo,” they wrote, “we have struggled with several incidences where Black and Brown citizens have felt the sting of violent abuses of power at the hands of the sworn men and women of the Buffalo Police Department.” They cited “the recent trampling of a 75-year-old peaceful protester by policemen in full riot attire while others callously ignored his dire need for assistance.” I wasn’t surprised when the Buffalo activist Dominique Calhoun told a CNN correspondent that police were sharing jokes about the Tops murders on social media. Racial hatred can turn ordinary human beings into monsters.
My mother and my stepfather arrived in Buffalo in 1941 from Chattanooga, Tennessee. By then my mother had survived tragedies that would have discouraged many others. Her father had been murdered by a white man in 1934. In his last moments at Chattanooga’s Erlanger Hospital, he told my mother, a teenager, that he heard the doctor say, “Let that nigger die.” When I received the death certificate, it noted that he had died of shock. She was left to tend to her mother, who suffered from schizophrenia. Then, in 1938, she was abandoned by my birth father. She was stabbed during a race riot on a Knoxville bus and received $3,000 in compensation only after her employer, a white woman, demanded it on her behalf.
My mom and my stepfather escaped to the North, only to find that racism was a nationwide sickness. On the ground floor of the rooming house where they first lived was Dixie Drugs, the scene of a gambling operation and my first employer. I was thirteen when we moved to Cold Springs,
then the city’s enclave for Black middle-class strivers like them; my stepfather had a steady job at Chevrolet’s Delavan plant, and over the decades they came to own automobiles, two homes, and fur coats. In seventh grade I got the literary bug, after reading Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” The following year I came in third place in the citywide, hundred-year-old Richmond Speaking Contest, which was launched by Henry Richmond, a Buffalo businessman. I chose a message, printed in The Buffalo Evening News, that American troops in Korea had asked Cardinal Francis Spellman to deliver to the nation: “Cardinal, When You Go Home.”
My mother was an early opponent of discrimination in Buffalo. Her 2003 memoir, Black Girl , was praised by both Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cecil Brown, who thought she had preserved a vanishing style of storytelling with which Black Southerners had entertained themselves before radio. But her proudest achievements were planning a strike and a protest without union help. The protest was on behalf of Black workers in Sattler’s department store, where she campaigned against the store’s policy of assigning Black women to stock girl positions instead of sales. She became the first Black salesperson. I remember how proud she was to be invited to a birthday party for one of her new white colleagues. She commissioned me to write a poem about the occasion.
The strike was against a supervisor at the Hotel Statler, where my mother worked during World War II. “It only took me three days living in Buffalo to discover the North’s hypocrisy,” she wrote:
The Northerners claim they treat everyone the same, but they should never condemn the South because the South’s racism is out in the open and the North tries to hide theirs. The first job I had arriving in Buffalo was as a chambermaid at the Hotel Statler, now known as the Statler Hilton. We had one very nice Housekeeper, Mrs. Kendall. But after she left we got the Hitler Housekeeper. She would talk nasty to all of us because we had just arrived in Buffalo from the South. One day I was fifteen minutes late going to the cafeteria from cleaning one of the rooms, so I was taking that fifteen minutes before returning to work. She came and stood over me and said, “Get up. Your time’s over for lunch hour.” I told her, “Look, this is not slavery and I’m not going back to clean up my rooms until my time limit ends.” So when the day was over and all of us were in the locker room changing our clothes to go home, I told all the girls to do rooms tomorrow until 1:00 PM and leave the rest undone, so she would have to make up beds and vacuum before new guests could come in. It worked. That one time we blacks stood together. They had a meeting next day and wanted to know who started the work slow down. No one talked. No Toms there. We got a raise the next week.
In the years when my mother and her family lived in Cold Springs, the Black community around Jefferson Avenue—now the location of Tops—was thriving. There were restaurants, a movie theater, a library, clothing stores, record stores, a butcher shop, and other lively enterprises, many of them Black-owned. At Jefferson Avenue and Ferry Street stood the famed Pine Grill, a bar and restaurant where you could hear Erroll Garner and Jimmy Smith play. Though it was a small space, they were able to fit the Count Basie band on stage. One of the last of the iconic sites of the old Jefferson Avenue strip was Gigi’s, a soul food restaurant where I dined many times. It was gutted by fire in 2015.
I developed my literary skills by associating with local Black artists and intellectuals like Lucille Clifton, who became a nationally known writer after I took her poems to Langston Hughes and he published them in his anthology The Poetry of the Negro, 1746–1970. Our watering hole was Seibert’s, a bar at Jefferson and Northland Avenue. Lucille had gotten some theater experience from acting with the Howard Players at Howard University, and so when I formed the Buffalo Community Drama Workshop, Lucille chose the plays. We performed them at the Michigan Avenue YMCA, which was designed by the Black architect John Brent. She and I acted in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in The Sun. Lucille’s favorite writer at the time was Emily Dickinson.
Professors at the University of Buffalo, then an expensive private school, also encouraged my talents. When I announced to my stepfather that I was leaving Buffalo for New York City to pursue a literary career, he told me that if I couldn’t make it in Buffalo, I couldn’t make it anywhere. After receiving a book contract in 1966 for my novel The Free-Lance Pallbearers, I was slated to be the New York literary world’s next token. Instead, I struck out for California. My partner, Carla Blank, then at the height of her career as a postmodern dancer performing at Judson Memorial Church, left with me. She and Suzushi Hanayagi had just choreographed a masterpiece, Wall St. Journal, an early statement against the Vietnam War.
Carla and I have been together for over fifty years. We last shopped at Tops in 2015. I was buying supplies for my mother, who was living in a senior citizens’ home close to Humboldt Parkway. NEXT: The Buffalo I Knew No Longer Exists
Democrats are increasingly worried about a potential drop in Black voter turnout next year, particularly among Black men, their most loyal constituency, who played a pivotal role in securing President Biden’s victory in 2020 and are crucial to his bid for reelection.
The Washington Post analyzed the Census Bureau’s turnout survey and found that Black voter turnout saw a significant ten percentage-point decline in last year’s midterms compared to 2018, a more substantial drop than among any other racial or ethnic group.
While Democrats initially downplayed these warning signals due to other victories in 2022, such as gaining a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania and Senator Raphael G. Warnock’s reelection in Georgia, the decline in Black turnout has become a significant concern for the party as they look ahead to the next presidential contest in 2024.
States like Georgia, which are crucial to Democrats’ strategy for mobilizing Black voters in significant numbers, saw lower turnout among younger and male Black voters in the midterms, according to internal party analysis.
W. Mondale Robinson, the founder of the Black Male Voter Project, highlighted the urgent turnout problem among Black men, telling the Post that many are “sporadic or non-voters” registered but haven’t voted in recent presidential elections. He expressed disappointment that the Democratic Party seems more focused on converting conservative-leaning white women in the suburbs, considering Black men as potential swing voters who need targeted efforts to be mobilized.
In response to the growing concern, Biden’s political team acknowledged the issue and pledged to act, especially among younger Black men.
Cedric L. Richmond, a former Biden adviser now serving as a senior adviser at the Democratic National Committee, emphasized to the Post’s researchers the need to connect with Black voters, highlighting the benefits they have received from Biden administration policies.
The party aims to learn from past shortcomings and draw explicit connections between its policies and the well-being of Black communities.
The challenge is particularly acute among Black men who often feel alienated from the political process due to historical policies that increased incarceration and job losses in manufacturing sectors.
Many express disillusionment after experiencing upheaval from a global pandemic and witnessing escalating violence in urban areas.
To win their support, Democrats must focus on highlighting specific policy benefits rather than solely concentrating on criticism of former President Trump and Republican extremism, the analysts found.
Despite Black women historically showing more robust voting enthusiasm, concerns over Black voter turnout also extend to this group.
Biden’s reelection garnered a tepid reaction in a Washington Post/Ipsos poll of Black Americans, with only 17 percent expressing enthusiasm about another term.
The poll also revealed that most Black Americans wouldn’t consider voting for Trump, but a significant portion is not enthusiastic about Biden’s reelection.
Since the coup in Niger, there has been a war of words between the military and the West.
Deposed President Mohamed Bazoum was a staunch ally of the West in the fight against “militant Islamists,” and was a strong economic partner as well.
Niger hosts a French military base and is the world's seventh biggest producer of uranium. The fuel is vital for nuclear power with a quarter of it going to Europe, especially former colonial power France.
Since General Abdourahamane Tchiani overthrew the president in a coup on July 26, Russian colours have suddenly appeared on the streets.
One businessman who did not want to give his name, said, "I'm pro-Russian and I don't like France....They've exploited all the riches of my country such as uranium, petrol and gold. The poorest Nigeriens are unable to eat three times a day because of France."
The businessman said thousands had taken part in Monday's protest in support of the military takeover.
"I want Russia to help with security and food," he said. "Russia can supply technology to improve our agriculture."
But a farmer who also lives in Zinder, says the coup is bad news for everyone.
"I don't support the arrival of Russians in this country because they are all Europeans and nobody will help us," he said. "I love my country and hope we can live in peace."
Niger is home to 24.4 million people where two in every five live in extreme poverty, on less than $2.15 a day.-BBC
The year 1865 is very newsworthy as it relates to three events that are still pivotal for the African American race. In January, 1865, A courier set out to inform formerly enslaved Africans that the war had ended, the south has lost and they were now free. It took the courier until June 19th to finally reach Galveston, Texas, where the former enslaved persons started a celebration, Juneteenth, that is now a national holiday.
The second event was the issuance of Field Order # 15 that was proposed by a Union Army general, General William T. Sherman, after meeting with a group of Black men made up of former slaves, freed men and a few who were ministers or who had served in the Union Army. These Black men convinced Gen. Sherman to set aside a 400,000 swath of land is the South East that had been confiscated from White plantation owners who fought or supported the Confederate Army who lost the Civil War. They asked that the land, in 40 acre plots, be given to the newly freed enslaved people. General Sherman sent the request to President Lincoln, who immediately signed it into law and about 400,000 acres of prime farm land situated between Charleston, South Carolina and St. John's Lake in Florida, was redistricted to Black families between January and June, 1865. That 400, 000 acres, worth no more than $10 an acre back then, is now worth more than $640 billion dollars right now.
The third event was the assassination of President Abe Lincoln and the subsequent appointment of Vice- President Andrew Johnson as President. Black people, who were given the 40 acres, had precious little time to enjoy their good fortune. The April 14, 1865 assassination of President Lincoln also killed the 40 Acres and a Mule project. With the appointment Vice President Andrew Johnson to succeed Lincoln as President, the land redistribution project to make the newly freed persons to become self sufficient by farming their own land was quickly rescinded by a president who was not only a slave owner but was also a segregationist, who believed the Black race must always be subordinate to Whites.
As a side bar, the mule was never a part of Gen. Sherman's Field Order #15. But, because there were so many Union Army mules left over from the war, Gen. Sherman and other union generals made them available to all who wanted them. Hence, the term 40 Acres and a Mule was circulated and publicized but the mule was never mentioned in Special Field Order # 15.
If Lincoln had not been assassinated and if President Andrew Johnson had not rescinded the field order, the 40,000 Black men who were given land, would now have a combined 640 billion dollars in generational wealth. And if the remaining 4 million former slaves had been awarded their portion of land from a surviving President Lincoln or even a fair and compassionate President Johnson, the 40 acres among the 4 million slaves would amount to a staggering 6.4 trillion dollars today!
Just think how 6.4 trillion dollars would have changed the condition of our community and our young Black men and women. Instead of standing on street corners, trying to survive or relying on public programs, they could be as successful as other races of people who have the traditional and actual inheritance of generational wealth bequeathed to them by the same society that denied- and continues to deny-the Black race our due.
John Wilkes Booth did not just kill President Abraham Lincoln; he, by his action, led to the appointment of a racist president who killed Special Field Order # 15, the first, and up until now, the only Reparations program to address the grave cruelty enacted on a people who deserved more than just their freedom after over 240 years of enslavement.
noted that “The representation of slaves adds thirteen members to this House in the present Congress, and eighteen Electors of President and Vice President at the next election.” Thatcher’s complaint went unaddressed, and the amendment did not allow for a popular vote in presidential elections, retaining the Electoral College and only tweaking it at the edges.
Scott Lemieux noted in The New Republic, the Electoral College has disenfranchised people of color in the 2016 election, under representing Clinton’s diverse urban coalition, and overrepresenting Trump’s white and rural voter base.” Trump’s white nationalist demagoguery was unable to secure a plurality, let alone a majority, in a racially diverse country—but he didn’t need one,” he wrote.
Slavery was abolished, but the Electoral College—itself based on slavery—remains. More than two centuries after it was designed to empower southernWhite voters, the system continues to do just that.
LEGAL NOTICE
PROBATE CITATION
File Number: 2022-858
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
By the grace of God, Free and Independent
TO: Michael Lewis, Calvin Lewis, Jr., Jamar Lewis, Monique Lewis, Marlena Lewis, Jenna Lewis, Albert Lewis, and Kari Lewis, if they be living, and if they dead to their heirsat-law, next of kin, distributees, if any such there be, all of whom and all whose names, ages, and places of residence and post office addresses are unknown to the Petitioner(s) and cannot after due diligence be ascertained, and HON. LETITIA JAMES, Attorney General of the State of New York, and to JENNIFER G. FLANNERY, Erie County Public Administrator.
A Petition having been filed by Lena Marie Lewis, who is domiciled at 106 Donovan Drive, Apartment B, BUFFALO, NEW YORK 14211.
YOU ARE HEREBY CITED to
SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate’s Court, Erie County, at 92 Franklin Street, Buffalo, New York 14202 on August 23, 2023 at 11 o'clock in the fore noon of that day, why a decree should not be made in the estate of Evelyn Lewis lately domiciled at 526 William Street, Buffalo, New York 14206 admitting to probate a will dated September 24, 2020 (a codicil dated n/a) a copy of which is attached, as the Will of Evelyn Lewis deceased, relating to real and personal property and directing that:
Letters Testamentary to Lena Marie Lewis
Dated, Attested, and Sealed
July 7, 2023
Hon. Acea Mosey- Surrogate
Linda C Novotny - Chief Clerk
Rashied H McDuffie, Esq.
Attorney for Petitioner 594 Winslow Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14211
July 20, 27 August 3.10
LEGAL NOTICE Bid
NFTA PROCUREMENT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 230012 – REPLACEMENT
PANTOGRAPH ASSEMBLY
Go to NFTA's Website to register as a supplier and for instructions to download the Procurement Document at https://www.nfta. com/departments/procurement.
LEGAL NOTICE Bid
NFTA PROCUREMENT
INVITATION TO BID/RFP
230056 – AIR DRYER PARTS
Go to NFTA's Website to register as a supplier and for instructions to download the Procurement Document at https://www.nfta. com/departments/procurement.
HIRING
This part-time, remote position for an administrative representative will pay a fair income and need 5 to 8 hours of work per week in data entry and reports. contact : tillerlux1016@gmail.com.
MLK Park - L only 778
Best Street
Save Our Kids of WNY
B&L (8/17) 858 East Ferry Street
Schiller Park GazaboL only 93 Satler Avenue
Science Magnet School 59
B&L 1 MLK Parkway
14212
Lincoln Field HouseB&L 10 Quincy Street
14213
Asarese Matters Center
B&L 50 Rees Street
West Side Community
S. - Lonly M-Th 161 Vermont Avenue
14215
Cornerstone of Wisdom
LEGAL NOTICE Bid
NFTA PROCUREMENT INVITATION TO BID/RFP
230003 – BUS WASH
CLEANER Download documents at https:// www.nfta.com/departments/procurement
LLC 'S
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY SECOND CHANCE CREATIONS
LLC filed Articles of Organization with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 6/21/23. Office location: Erie County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 31 LOXLEY RD, CHEEKTOWAGA, NY 14225 Purpose: any lawful act or activity.
July 27,Aug 3,10,17,24,31
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
CFP DELIVERY SERVICES LLC filed Articles of Organization with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 6/26/23. Office location: Erie County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 156 MILLICENT, BUFFALO, NY, 14215. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.
July 27,Aug 3,10,17,24,31
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF A DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
Lightning Rod Strategies, L.L.C.. Date of filing of Articles of Organization with the NY Dept. of State: 26 April, 2023. Office of the LLC: Erie County. The NY Secretary of State has been designated as the agent upon whom process may be served. NYSS may mail a copy of process to the LLC at (622 Tacoma Ave. Apt
1, Buffalo NY 14216). Purpose of LLC: Any lawful business for which limited liability companies may be organized under the laws of the State of New York. No specific duration attached to LLC.
July 20, 27, August 3, 10, 17, 24
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF A DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Fast Clean Car LLC. 290 Kenmore Ave Buffalo NY 14223. Erie County Articles of Incorporation filling date 06-06-2023 July 13,20,27 August 3,10, 17
L only 1565 Delavan Avenue Delavan Grider Community Ctr. - B&L 877 Delavan Avenue
Edward Saunder Community Ctr-B&L 2777 Bailey Avenue
Leroy R. Cole Library
L only 1187 East Delavan Avenue
Martha Mitchell Community Ctr-B&L 175 Oakmont Ave
St. Lawrence Church
L only 1520 East Delavan Avenue
14220
Cazenovia Park - L only 25 Cazenovia Street
14225
New Cedar Grove Church - B&L 100 Old Maryvale Drive Cheektowaga
The BPS Food Truck Summer Schedule is through August 18th from 11:00 AM.- 1:00 PM for all kids 18 and under on the following days. Child must consume food on the site.
Every Monday
Cazenovia Park
25 Cazenovia Street 14220
Every Tuesday Hennepin Park 24 Ludington Street 14206
Every Wednesday MLK Park 778 Best Street 14211
786-568-853-518-312-468-014-065-342-781-852612-754-156-801-645-580-234-537-121-065-720626-435-468-075-716-214-250-128-813-576-802201-473-354-160-212-512-469-801-066-980-194-580075-467-890-944-357-909-434-680-073-456-708-286110-781-009-536-580-697-346-579-498-434-680-329736-678-325-758-230-646-701-920-457-910-075-109168-965-468-209-861-017-843-246-878-615-785-432 365-902-784-456-790-109-535-780-735-632-460-
MA RUTH SPEAKS THE TRUTH! SURE HITS!
168-985-678-198-256-890054-698-679-943-001-202147-001-865-732-855-648514-996-202
MIDDAY 4-9-0 QUICK$ (BOX)
1-3-8 MADAM OZLLA’S (BOX)
2-4-7 LIBRA (STRAIGHT),ZR (BOX), MADAM OZLLA’S 1-1-5 QUICK$ (BOX)
5-0-4 ZR (BOX), MA RUTH (BOX)
670 116
743-133-202- 335 -20154444-1871-0978
134-431--143648*123*104
CASH$$$$ 7890-0743-121
017-430-034-501483-656-491-248853-9961
Aquarius -496-235-165-579
Pisces - 056-362-237-694
Cancer - 482-372-895-718
Aries - 289-946-034-594
Taurus -258-231-026-695
Gemini-495-257-694-508
Leo-345-213-157-201
Virgo 385-291-431-170
Libra -247-723-179-501
Scorpio - 453-253-571-597
Sagittarius389-701-234-924
Capricorn:893-275-342-506
4-6-9 #BOOK (STRAIGHT), AQUARIUS (BOX), PISCES (BOX), ARIES (BOX), GEMINI (BOX)
EVENING 3-4-2 CAPRICORN (STRAIGHT), ZR (BOX)
6-0-2 TAURUS (BOX)
8-4-0 LUCKIE DUCKIE (BOX)
980-422-809-981989-970-990-080-800515-996-390-196-102581-752-319-408-378352-126-189-444-886514- 332-522-112-432421-423-154-039-524119-616-719-593-655-
-97-127-111-019-200120-339-303-889-900
007-013-590-698-888
249-752-239-501-381953-382-935-472-843-
THE FAMILY OF Pvt. 1st Class David Evans Jr., was presented with the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Gold Star Lapel Pin and six additional military service medals that he earned while serving in the Iraq War as a member of the 977th Military Police Company in Diwaniyah, Iraq. The presentations were made during Memorial Day services at the African American Veterans Monument in May. David Jr. AKA "little David" "Usher" was born to Esther E. Macklin and David Evans Sr. on November 18, 1984. He attended Buffalo Public School #53 and #11; was part of the Macedonia Boys Scouts; graduated from Kensington High School in June 2002 where he was a star athlete and member of the Kensington Track team. He enlisted in the US Army immediately after graduating from Kensington. Street Legacy Photo by Darvin Adams
SUN. AUG. 6
PINE GRILL, MLK PARK, 2-9 p.m.
MON. AUG. 7
Hustle for Health 12pm at Gloria Parks: 3242 Main St, Buffalo. FREE for ages 55+ Visit www.HustleforHealth. com
TUES. AUG. 8
Free Line Dance Class, Dorothy Collier Community Center, 118 E. Utica, BEGINNER 11a.m.-12p.m.; ADVANCED 12-1 p.m. (716)882-0602.
WED. AUG. 9
Hustle for Health 11am, Gloria Parks, 3242 Main St. FREE 55+ Visit www.HustleForHealth.com
THURS. AUG. 10
THURSDAY FOOD TRUCK AT NORTHLAND TRAINING CENTER! 683 Northland, FREE ENTRY, 5-7 PM artisan vendors, live music & poetry, bounce. Houses & art, community resources free Northland Workforce Training Center tours.
MON. AUG. 14
Hustle for Health 12pm at Gloria Parks: 3242 Main St, Buffalo. FREE for ages 55+ Visit www.HustleforHealth. com
TUES. AUG. 15
What Do You Want The Tops Massacre 5/14 Memorial To Look Like? The 5/14 Memorial Commission public meeting Tuesday, August 15 Makowski Childhood Center 5:-
30 to 7 p.m. 1095 Jefferson Avenue at Best St. Residents can also take an on-line public opinion survey by going to: https://wnysurveys.com/514memorial
WED. AUG. 16
Hustle for Health 11am, Gloria Parks, 3242 Main St. FREE 55+ Visit www.HustleForHealth.com
THURS. AUG. 17
THURSDAY FOOD TRUCK AT NORTHLAND TRAINING CENTER! 683 Northland, FREE ENTRY, 5-7 PM
