New York Amsterdam News: Issue March 21-27, 2024

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INDEX

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International News

AFRICAN WOMEN SPUR FIGHT FOR GENDER EQUALITY, SEEKING ECONOMIC AND LEGAL RIGHTS (GIN)—At the recent “Africa Disrupt” conference which included pan-African feminists, economic justice activists, and community leaders, one thing was certain: the time for gender equality for African working women had arrived.

Halfway around the world, a new report by the World Bank gave fuel to the fire. Currently, women enjoy only two-thirds of the legal rights as men and the gender gap is wider than laws on the books might suggest due to insufficient legal implementation.

“Women have the power to turbocharge the sputtering global economy,” said In-

dermit Gill, the Bank’s chief economist. “Yet, all over the world, discriminatory laws and practices prevent women from working or starting businesses on an equal footing with men.”

Globally, women’s legal rights have improved since 1970, but progress in many critical areas appears to have been overestimated.

Gill, an Indian economist who has worked on economic growth, poverty, institutions, conflict, and climate change, and Tea Trumbic, the World Bank’s senior advisor for gender equality, released their report, “Women, Business and the Law (10th edition)” earlier this month.

For the first time, the Bank investigated the impact of childcare and safety policies on women’s participation in the labor market. When these two factors are taken into account, women on average receive just 64% of the legal protections that men do, down from the previous estimate of 77%.

Among the success stories was Togo with one of the lowest rates of maternal mortality and less tolerance of violence against women between 15 and 49 than in peer countries.

On the down side, Togolese women participate in the labor market to a much lower extent than men, and most female employment is informal and vulnerable.

Togolese women also appear to be disadvantaged in terms of access to and ownership of land, productive assets, and finance. Although girls outnumber boys in primary school, the gender gap in enrollment favors boys in each subsequent educational level, and the chances of girls to complete secondary school are much lower than those of boys.

Moreover, the rates of child marriage and teenage pregnancy, though lower than in most neighboring countries, continue to be very high.

South Africa, by comparison, has the highest income inequality in the world, with large numbers unemployed or with very low incomes. Gender-based violence is a profound and widespread problem, impacting almost every aspect of life. It is systemic and deeply entrenched in institutions, cultures, and traditions in South Africa.

Afropalenqueros are reaffirming their African identity

By JESÚS CHUCHO GARCIA Special to the AmNews

Translated by KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA––Palenque de San Basilio, in the Colombian Caribbean, was one of the regions that received a large number of men, women, and children during Colombia’s more than 250 years of African enslavement.

This situation of depersonalization, which tried to turn enslaved Africans into another mercantile capitalist piece of machinery for exploitation, was thwarted by a forceful leader by the name of Benkos Biohó. Along with 10 other African men and women, Biohó rose up to escape the slave port of Cartagena and found the liberated

territory of San Basilio de Palenque in the 17th century.

Biohó’s liberated palenque territory was not uncommon: Throughout the Americas, self-liberated Africans escaped enslavement and created spaces where they could be free. In Brazil, these locations were known as quilombos, and in Venezuela, they were called cumbes.

In this territorial space, Biohó and his compatriots rebuilt a family system that had been deconstructed by slavery. With great determination, these cimarróns— or self-liberated Africans––preserved their spirituality, music, and traditional African food. In 2008, the efforts of these palenqueros to retain their ancestral memory was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The residents of Palenque de San Basilio

have been able to maintain their linguistic system, called “palanquera speech.” It features words like kimbundo , kongo, and umbundo, which come from the languages of Angola and Congo.

Palenque house in Bogotá

In a sector of the Candelaria neighborhood in Bogotá, we had an exchange with palanquero poets and writers at what’s known as the Casa Palanquero, or Palenquero House.

Cover of the new book, “Kutura ri Palenque.” (Jesús Chucho Garcia photos)

Jesús Chucho Garcia and palenquero authors at Casa Palenquero.

(GIN photo)

Rent strike! Public Advocate Williams, East Harlem tenants take action against landlord

By ARIAMA C. LONG

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Tenants in five buildings on East 103rd Street in East Harlem gathered last week to sue their landlord and threaten to withhold rent over their living conditions. The landlord, Isaac Kassirer and his firm Emerald Equities, is reportedly Number 72 on Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’s 100 Worst Landlord Watchlist.

About 40 tenants in the buildings (112, 118, 122, 124, and 126) on East 103rd Street not only said repairs are routinely not done, but are also suing Kassirer, alleging that his firm has stolen thousands in security deposits. The suit, filed by the Legal Aid Society and Legal Services, also alleges there’s a hole in the roof of one building, blocked fire exits, and a faulty security system, among other things, that legally allow tenants to withhold rent.

“I grew up in this community my whole life. My childhood started right here in this same building,” said tenant Elizabeth Toyos. “My family and I work hard each day to pay our rent, which takes up almost half of our checks. Finding out that the landlord has probably stolen our hard-earned money to profit even more off our issues is not right. I’m here with my neighbors to go on a rent strike.”

Anna-lisa Young, who lives in building 112 with her four children, said it’s hard to even charge her baby’s bottle sanitizer be-

cause of allegedly bug-infested outlets. Emerald Equities has had money troubles for the last few years and defaulted on a nine-figure loan, which affected the maintenance of some buildings they owned in the Bronx, reported the Real Deal. The company also faced foreclosure and bankruptcy in 2020 during the pandemic.

“I’m sad that we have to be here,” said Williams at the protest. “What I have

found particularly with the worst landlords is that it’s not about providing the service of housing, it’s about extracting as much money as humanly possible irrespective of what a tenant is experiencing, and that is just not right.”

Williams’s office releases the Worst Landlord Watchlist every year. On last year’s list, there were a total of 626 buildings that house a total of 13,541 units. From November 2022 to October 2023, these buildings

Hugs for Harlem founder Michael Green missing since October 2023

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Michael Green’s brother Kareem awaits the Harlemite’s return after going missing last October. He hopes the public can help bring Michael home safely.

The 46-year-old missing man is known around the community as the founder of the nonprofit organization Hugs for Harlem. He was frequently the subject of crank calls by the Howard Stern Show back in the 2000s. But for Kareem Green, he is his brother—and best friend.

“We always hung out and traveled together,” he said. “We both work together to take care of our nephew, Steven. He was a man of the community. He was a family man. He always loved to help people. My relationship with my brother can never be replaced. We have a bond, and we bonded even more after my mother passed away and we became really inseparable. I really love my brother and I just want to find him.”

He adds that Michael Green, who is the older brother, inherited the role of family patriarch after his parents passed.

According to the NYPD, Green was reported missing on Oct. 13, 2023 and was

last seen in Harlem around W. 143rd Street wearing “a black knit hat, black New York Yankees jacket, blue jeans, and green and white sneakers.”

He also walks with a cane, Kareem said.

Green’s brother last recalls seeing him on the night he went missing. He was apparently going to 125th Street. The brothers spoke over the phone after Kareem returned home from the gym around 6 p.m., and Green remained active over Instagram until around 1 a.m. the last time anyone heard from him, says his brother.

“My brother never left like this before,” he added. “So if the public could help me find him with any information—anything. His last whereabouts, the last time anybody else [has] seen him in the public. Just anything.”

Those with information about Michael Green are encouraged to reach out to the detective Borough at Manhattan North at 212-694-1093 or directly with detective Carlos Matos at 212-690-6315.

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

averaged 69,018 open Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) violations, according to the watchlist.

“We won’t see behavior change until these buildings are either taken from these landlords or they’re arrested,” said Williams, referring to the warrant put out for notorious Washington Heights landlord and watchlist regular Daniel Ohebshalom in January 2023. The warrant, for New York and California, ordered Ohebshalom to be detained up to 60 days unless he addressed the almost 700 violations at 705 and 709 170th Street in Manhattan. Conditions included visible peeling lead paint, roach and mice infestations, inadequate electricity supply, and mold.

A representative for Comptroller Brad Lander’s office added that Kassirer’s firm has an average of 500 violations in their buildings. “Clearly, Emerald Equities has not been held accountable,” she said.

Community Board 11 Chair Xavier A. Santiago, who is running for the 68th assembly district, said that the state needs to create “tenable solutions” to fixing these buildings amid a housing crisis, and landlords need to step up.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

Tenant Alexandra Mason, who’s lived in building 118 for last eight years, joined protest on Thursday, Mar. 14. (Ariama C. Long photo)

Michael Green (Courtesy of Kareem Green)

Trump provides Biden with another opening

by HERB BOYD

Special to the AmNews

When it comes to campaign talking points, President Joe Biden has a trough full of issues to draw upon, and Trump last week gave him one that will certainly be key: Social Security.

On Monday during a CNBC interview, Trump said there was “a lot you can do in terms of entitlement, in terms of cutting.” While he didn’t explicitly cite cuts in Social Security, the implications will not be missed by Biden and other Democrats facing reelection.

Trump’s campaign team, recognizing what might be an opening for opponents, quickly announced that what he meant was cutting the waste, although that, too, required context and elaboration.

Even Barrett Marson, a GOP political strategist from Arizona, was alarmed by what he deemed an ambiguous comment and felt they might have currency given that they were taped.

“But in some ways, that doesn’t matter because it’s on tape, and the Biden campaign will almost assuredly use that tape a lot, and the Trump campaign will have to spend time and money to refute that,” Marson said.

Biden wasted no time seizing on the threat to the cuts. “Not on my watch. Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security and Medicare back on the chopping block again. If anyone tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age again, I will stop them,” he said.

The president went on to say, last week in New Hampshire, “Instead of giving tax breaks to the wealthy, I will protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and make the wealthy begin to pay their fair share.”

Most Americans were in accord with Biden on this when he mentioned it during his State of the Union address. Of course, anything to do with cuts is mainly left on the campaign trail since the budget and proposed cuts are determined by Congress. Even so, it will be a hot-button issue right into November.

$2 million for Daniel’s Law pilot could be first steps toward removing NYPD from mental health responses

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Last week, the State Senate suggested designating $2 million toward a pilot program replacing police with trained medical workers as default mental health call responders in its one-house budget resolution. The advised amendment to the Governor’s budget would provide a small-scale preview to the Daniel’s Law bill, which establishes a uniform, statewide approach to non-law enforcement responses to mental health calls, including here in New York City, if passed.

State Senate sponsor Samra Brouk told the Amsterdam News the proposed money would go to programs following the “tenets of Daniel’s Law.” The Rochester legislator, who chairs the mental health committee, adds there’s no stipulation where the pilot is placed in the state.

“The truth that we all unfortunately know is that anytime there are adverse outcomes across this country [and] certainly in New York State, the people feeling the brunt of those adverse and negative outcomes are

largely people of color, and specifically Black people,” said Brouk. “When we say things like people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter, we know that the people feeling that statistic are most likely Black people with untreated mental illness. We [also] know from all the data that Black people are in worse off positions when they have these encounters.

“And so when we are able to solve for those things, we’re going to help anyone who finds themselves in one of these situations. At the end of the day, we’re trying to make New York a safer place whether you have a mental diagnosis or not.”

The announcement coincides roughly with four years since Rochester police killed the legislation’s namesake, Daniel Prude. On March 23, 2020, the Black Chica-

goan experienced a mental health episode while visiting his brother Joe in upstate New York. Police responded to the 911 call and restrained an unclothed Prude with a mesh bag over his head known as a “spit hood” and pinned him to the frigid street. He later died by homicide, partly from asphyxiation, according to the medical examiner. The officers were not charged.

“No person deserves to be treated like their life doesn’t matter, especially in their moments of need. I’m thankful to Senator Samra Brouk and Assemblymember Harry Bronson for securing this funding for a Daniel’s Law Pilot, and I hope that Governor Hochul supports this funding in the final budget,” said Joe Prude, Daniel’s brother, in a statement.

Daniel’s Law would prevent police from responding to similar calls. But the bill does not charter unexplored territory, Brouk said. The architects of Daniel’s Law draw heavily from the Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets (CAHOOTS) program in Eugene, Oregon, which deploys a

In a first, Vice President Harris visits Minnesota abortion clinic to blast ‘immoral’ restrictions

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Vice President Kamala Harris visited a Planned Parenthood in Minnesota clinic on Thursday, marking what her office said was the first time a president or vice president has toured a facility that performs abortions, as the White House escalates its defense of reproductive rights in this year’s election.

“Right now, in our country, we are facing a very serious health crisis,” Harris said. “And the crisis is affecting many, many people in our country, most of whom are, frankly, silently suffering.”

The clinic, in an industrial area near the city line between St. Paul and Minneapolis, has been a beacon for many women in the region. Although Democratic leaders in Minnesota have protected abortion access, neighboring states have banned or severely restricted the procedure with policies that Harris described as “immoral.”

“How dare these elected leaders believe they are in a better position to tell women what they need,” Harris said. “We have to be a nation that trusts women.”

Harris said she met two dozen health care workers at the clinic who had created an environment where patients can “be safe” and “free from judgment.”

Dr. Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States, introduced herself as “a proud abortion provider” and called Harris’ visit a “historic moment.” She said the number of patients visiting the clinic from out of state has doubled.

“Everyone should have the right to access health care,” Traxler said. Protesters gathered across the street, holding signs that said “life is a human right” and “abortion kills a human being.”

Cathy Blaeser, the co-executive director of the anti-abortion group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, said, “The vice president’s visit shows the Biden administration’s full-blown devo-

tion to extreme abortion policies.” She added that “Minnesotans don’t want to be known for abortion tourism.”

The White House has few options to protect access to abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, clearing the way for Republican-led states to enact limitations or bans on the procedure. But the visit reflected Democrats’ intense focus on reproductive rights to rally their voters to reelect President Joe Biden in a likely rematch with Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Harris, the first woman elected vice president, has led the White House’s outreach, and her trip to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is part of a nationwide tour she began in January.

The decision to make a historic visit to a clinic showcased her more aggressive approach to the issue than Biden. While Biden has vowed to restore Roe v. Wade’s protections if Democrats regain full control of Congress, he tends

to talk about the “right to choose” instead of saying “abortion.” During her visit, Harris spoke plainly about women’s health needs and the clinic’s role in providing birth control and preventative care.

“Everyone get ready for the language—uterus,” Harris said. “That part of the body needs a lot of medical care from time to time.”

After visiting the clinic, Harris spoke at a campaign event held at the Coven, a coworking space that caters to women in St. Paul. She said Minnesota had “once again demonstrated to our nation just how much progress a Democratic trifecta can make,” a reference to the party’s control of the governor’s office and both legislative chambers.

Democrats harnessed that power in January 2023 by rushing through legislation that enshrined in state law the right to abortion and other kinds of reproductive health care. There are no restrictions on abortion at any

See

Photo of Daniel Prude held by his nephew Armin (left) and his brother Joe (right). (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Francilia Wilkins envisions growth for Black women-owned companies

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Francilia Wilkins’s 13-year-old company, R.F. Wilkins Consultants, just signed a new contract with the city.

During a press conference on March 7 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Mayor Eric Adams announced that Wilkins’s firm has been named the new developer and operator of the $25 million state-of-the-art AYO labs facility. AYO labs will further R.F. Wilkins Consultants’ efforts to work with and guide the development of small business entrepreneurs.

“This lab will have everything a small business needs to flourish, from back-office support to world-class instructors, hands-on training, technical assistance, mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to capital,” Adams said.

AYO labs will focus on helping Black, Indigenous, and female entrepreneurs launch businesses in the health and wellness industry. Once qualified to join the AYO labs incubator, a small local business that might have started in somebody’s kitchen will receive the coaching and support to help it scale upward.

“R.F. Wilkins Consultants was one of 30 firms that bidded for this opportunity, and after being in business for so many years, I was not interested in seeing another technical assistance program,” Wilkins told those attending the press conference. “I was tired of hearing that Black businesses didn’t exist; I was tired of hearing that we don’t have the capacity to work…I understood the only way we would scale and thrive as Black and brown communities is if we had access to contracts, if we had access to capital.”

R.F. Wilkins Consultants has spent years helping companies gain such access. To date, they say they’ve raised close to $900 million for everything from after-school programs to homeless shelters, affordable housing, and transitional housing. But project management is what they’re known for, such as managing the compliance and oversight on the $20 billion redevelopment of John F. Kennedy International Airport. They’ve also worked with companies like the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) by researching, defining, and managing their Developers of Color Program for Minority-owned Business Enterprise developers.

An independent business development consultant

“I always say I didn’t come from money or any of those things. I didn’t know how to run a company,” Wilkins, who started the firm when she was 23, told the AmNews. “I didn’t know anything about building or scaling a small business, and definitely not how to do business in New York.” Yet, 13 years after she founded the company, R.F. Wilkins Consultants is in the top .1% of Black womenowned firms by revenue in the nation. When she was fresh out of college, Wilkins

said, she couldn’t get hired for a job. She’d graduated at the tail end of the Great Recession and sent out hundreds of résumés, but could not find employment.

“So, I went on this website, and I saw consulting and what the different fields looked like. And I started to tell people just generally, ‘Oh, I’m an independent business development consultant.’ I just started to say it.”

A friend called whose father was trying to start a nonprofit organization to advocate for disabled individuals in the prison system, and asked if she could help build the new charitable entity. “My friend calls and he’s like, ‘My father needs help building out this company.’ He’s like, ‘Aren’t you an independent business development consultant?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m an independent business development consultant.’ And––I kid you not––that was my first ever client.”

Black New Yorker

because it’s not an easy thing,” she said.

Wilkins credits her family and their experiences with helping her build her tenacity. Her mother, Rudine, was assistant minister of agriculture in Liberia while her father, Jerry “Ayo” Wilkins, was a petroleum geologist just before war broke out there. “I was born in Liberia, I grew up here in New York, and my siblings were literally born wherever my parents were traveling—all over the United States.

“When that war broke out—the second one in the 1990s, our family, like other Liberians, were displaced. A lot of people died. My mom always shares the story of us running through, you know, dead bodies. I was probably about two years old at that time. My mom was pregnant, she had my little sister and was holding her…so there was no one to hold me; they had to just hold my hand. She said, ‘While you were crying and crying, we just told you to sing this song.’ And they had me running through, and singing this song, and I just braved through it. That’s like the graduation story they told me every time I got another degree.”

Wilkins wants to help more Black women entrepreneurs confront any fears they might have about starting a new business.

“There’s so many different things that I love to share about how to get there and what it takes for us––Black women-owned companies––to even be able to have access to scale

“There are huge investments happening in New York. Whether you look at the news and you see new construction is happening somewhere, you see what’s happening with the infrastructure bill on the federal level and a lot of money is coming into the city and the state. You see developers are here in communities, building stuff. You see money allocated to human services, money allocated to DOE, money allocated all over the place.

“Now, small businesses, minority-owned small businesses, there’s a good number of us in New York. And the narrative is always that, ‘Oh, we don’t have the capacity to give small businesses this work,’ right? I say all the time, ‘Give us contracts.’ The way I was able to grow is I got contracts. The more contracts I got, the more people I could hire. The more people I could hire, the bigger my company grew. The bigger my company grew, the more capacity I had.

“...the point is, we support communities by creating initiatives that pour back into the community. That [money] goes back to the community, whether

it’s workforce, people who are working on the ground, or…small businesses who can do the construction or project, who can do the tiling, who can do signage, who can do pouring concrete—these small businesses count, and they should not be overlooked.”

R.F. Wilkins Consultants CEO Francilia Wilkins speaks at a press conference for the announcement of AYO labs (Simi Vijay photo)

For Black female athletes, it’s about more than competition

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

There have been many iconic firsts achieved by Black women in sports.

Wyomia Tyus is the first person to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 100 meters. Gabby Douglas is the first Black woman to win the Olympic gymnastics allaround gold medal. Teresa Edwards is the first women’s basketball player to amass four Olympic gold medals. Vonetta Flowers is the first Black athlete to win gold at the Olympic Winter Games. Most recently, Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to win Olympic gold in speed skating. Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history. These are just a handful of incredible accomplishments.

What isn’t often discussed are the efforts that went into becoming leaders in sports. Even today, there are struggles with what scholar Dr. Moya Bailey

has called misogynoir (the intersection of misogyny and racism).

Challenges

In 2017, Dr. Cynthia Frisby produced a study in which she and a student examined 643 news stories about tennis players Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber, who is white. They found 758 instances of microaggressions against Williams and 18 against Kerber.

Despite the challenges, Black female athletes continue to stand in their power. Today, they are vital to the growing appreciation of and, dare we say, enthusiasm for women’s sports.

WNBA player Brionna Jones of the Connecticut Sun, who won a World Cup title with the USA Basketball Women’s National Team in 2022, said it’s a pleasure to be a Black female professional athlete in 2024. She appreciates how social media allows players to create their own brands and ad-

vocate for causes and issues that matter to them. She is well aware it has not always been that way, even in the WNBA.

While the launch of the WNBA in 1997 certainly brought a rush of excitement, it also brought detractors, some of whom wrote opinion pieces trashing the players’ abilities and physical appearance. Today, the players are celebrated for who they are as complete people.

“I definitely feel we have that connection with the fans,” said Jones. “There are moments to talk and have conversations with them. We have a great fan base here in Connecticut.”

Women’s sports finally seem to be entering its sweet spot, but the road has been long and the journey nowhere near done.

Dr. Tomika Ferguson is the assistant dean for student affairs and inclusive excellence and an assistant professor in educational leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University. She developed the Black Athlete

Sister Circle between 2015 and 2016 as part of her doctoral dissertation. It launched at James Madison University in the fall of 2016. A former Division I track and field athlete at the University of Virginia, she was aware of the isolation Black female student-athletes often felt.

There were some young women who were the only individuals of color on a team. Others, in sports like basketball or track and field, had networks within their own teams, but due to their demanding schedules had little time to meet athletes in other sports.

“It was important for me to create a space and to encourage other institutions to create spaces for these Black women athletes that were designed for them—no matter their background, no matter their sport—where they can just be a collective group that’s encouraging one another and gaining leadership skills,” Ferguson explained. “The Black

Wyomia Tyus, right, speeds to victory in the 100-meter sprint with a new world record of 11.0 seconds and another gold medal for the U.S. in the Olympic Games in Mexico City Oct. 15, 1968. Barbara Ferrell (nearest to camera) of the U.S. took the silver medal and Irene Szewinska (33) of Poland took the bronze. Margaret Bailes (84), left, of the U.S. finished fifth. (AP Photo)

Athlete Sister Circle is a free space to talk authentically about the challenges, the successes, and opportunities that can come from being a Black woman.”

Change Makers

In 1976, Dr. Alpha Alexander came to Temple University as a graduate assistant in the women’s sports administration department while working on her master’s degree. Shortly before she arrived, Tina Sloan Green and Dr. Nikki Franke had been named head coaches of their respective sports, field hockey and lacrosse and fencing. Together with attorney and law professor Linda Greene, they founded the Black Women in Sport Foundation (BWSF) in 1992. They felt Black women needed a seat at the table when it came to national issues around women’s sports.

“We saw that in the non-traditional sports, such as field hockey, we needed to emerge a diversity of girls and women,” said Alexander. “The way you do that, you start them young and let them participate.”

BWSF’s initial vision remains today: develop young girls, particularly in non-traditional sports. “Also, I would say, a seat at the table in terms of organizations and development of minority head coaches and minority administrators,” said Alexander, who after earning her doctorate worked at the national office of the YWCA.

She even developed a video (voiced by Robin Roberts) about women excelling in athletics after their days as competitors are over. There were also professional development opportunities for young coaches and administrators.

“We were able to introduce…the educational framework of encouraging young girls to become involved in sport and young women to become athletic administrators,” said Alexander.

Black women still are underrepresented in many sports. As sporting op -

portunities increase for girls, those opportunities are often inaccessible to girls of color. Ferguson said she wants to see attention paid to bringing more Black girls into sports other than basketball and track and field, which means building pipelines. While it hasn’t stopped a determined few, advocates are trying to create better pathways.

In 2023, figure skater Starr Andrews became the first Black female to earn a spot on the U.S. Figure Skating Championships senior ladies medal podium since Debi Thomas in 1988. Andrews, now 22, said that as a young girl in skating, she didn’t realize she was any different than the other girls learning their

“It was important for me to create a space and to encourage other institutions to create spaces for these Black women athletes that were designed for them—no matter their background, no matter their sport—where they can just be a collective group that’s encouraging one another and gaining leadership skills,”

Dr. Tomika Ferguson

first jumps and spins.

“As I was going through puberty, your brain is developing and I feel I noticed it more, especially when I went to competitions,” Andrews said. “I’d be in the locker room and I’d be the only African American girl in there. It really opened up my eyes that there aren’t a lot of us in the sport.

“There was a moment where I was sad about it, but then it also inspired me to keep going, push hard, and just show this sport is for everybody,” she added. “It’s important that a lot of people know that.”

Andrews has been intentional in selecting music. One year, it was from the soundtrack of “Black Panther.” This year, she’s skating her short program to Be -

yoncé. During the summer of 2020, she developed an exhibition program to the Mickey Guyton song “Black Like Me.”

“I learned to celebrate all of the victories in me showing aspiring skaters to start in the sport,” said Andrews. “It’s really important for them to see representation.”

Something as simple as finding tights that match their skin color has been an issue for skaters. In the mid-1990s, French skater Surya Bonaly decided to go with bare legs, but she was threatened with deductions to her scores. So, she crafted a solution in which she put a piece of dark material over her skates, replicating a popular look for skaters at the time of having their tights over their skates. Some Black female skaters wore pantyhose, which are not optimal for a cold ice rink.

By the time European and World Championship medal-winning pair skater Vanessa James, who competed in four Winter Olympics (representing France three times and Canada once in 2022, where she was the lone Black skater), was reaching international prominence, the British lingerie company Nubian Skin was making tights, bras, and underwear designed for Black women with a range of skin tones and distributing them worldwide.

“There are skaters and dancers, young Black women and other women of color as well, who want tights to complete their costumes,” said Ade Hassan, founder and CEO of lingerie company Nubian Skin. “It’s amazing that something I thought of as a fashion solution has an impact…far beyond the realm I originally thought about.”

The sports of the Olympic Winter Games have little diversity. Over the past 30 years, there has been a slow change, particularly on Team USA. It came first in bobsled. As the U.S. grew its reputation in the sport, there was intentional recruitment of track and field athletes. At the 2002 Games in

Simidele Adeagbo (Photo courtesy of Simidele Adeagbo)

(l-r) Dr. Alpha Alexander, Tina Sloan Green, and Dr. Nikki Franke at the Black Women in Sport Foundation’s 30th anniversary gala. (Photo courtesy of BWSF)

Go with the Flo

FLO

ANTHONY

The March 16 telecast of the NAACP Image Awards 2024, which was broadcast on multiple networks, wrapped up a week of non-televised virtual ceremonies that led up to the two-hour special.

This year’s ceremony, hosted by Queen Latifah, took place at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles. On March 11, Usher won the award for Outstanding Male Artist. On March 16, the multi-Grammy award-winning crooner was the recipient of the show’s President Award. He was also named the 2024 Entertainer of the Year, an honor that was presented to him by Oprah Winfrey. The NAACP also gave Oprah and her “The Color Purple” crew their flowers.

After being practically shut out from wins throughout the entire awards season, the movie picked up 11 Image Awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture and Outstanding Ensemble Cast in A Motion Picture.

Meanwhile, Fantasia Barrino won Outstanding Actress, Colman Domingo won Outstanding Supporting Actor, Taraji P. Henson won her 12th Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi picked up Outstanding Breakthrough Performance. Congratulations to “The Color Purple” Crew!...

Tongues are wagging that Meagan Good and her boyfriend Jonathan Majors sat in the front row at the NAACP Image Awards. The evening out marked their first big awards show appearance as a couple since the “Creed III” star’s guilty verdict this past December for reckless assault and harassment of his ex-girlfriend. Good exclusively told People on the red carpet at the awards that she’s going through a “crazy time in her acting career and personal life.” Speaking about her relationship with Majors, the Harlem actress told People, “I’m in love, I’m transitioning, I’m healing, I’m growing, [and] I’m getting excited about what’s next.” Good added, “I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time.” She is also slated to star in Tyler Perry’s Amazon movie “Divorce in the Black.” The couple is currently living together in New York City’s Greenwich Village…

Hollywood publicist extraordinaire Charmaine Blake produced a star-studded red carpet Oscar Viewing Dinner on March 10 at the Mr. C Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, that benefited the Faber Ryan Youth Foundation. Guests, including “Chocolate City” actor Robert Ri’chard and Michael Jackson biographer Janis DaSilva, enjoyed a scrumptious three-course dinner, live entertainment, and fabulous gift bags...

Celebrities such as Kim Whitley, Diane Warren, Kim Magnusson, “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Monica Garcia, actress Porscha Coleman, Richard Grieco, Mathew Knowles, several NFL players, and others were just a few of the celebrities invited to “A Fire Gifting Lounge” presented by the Merritt & Marianna Group at the Ambrose Hotel on March 7 in Santa Monica, California. The event, which included a champagne toast, was in memory of Hollywood publicist Doris Bergman and presented by Nicole Lester and Heather Marianna, founders of the Merritt Marianna Group. The gifting lounge featured unique and luxury brands, such as Empress Gin, Ophora Water, ATA Cosmetics, and culinary genius Chef Katie Chin. The lounge benefited the Vanderpump Dogs Foundation, Kids Excelling in College Foundation, and Business Architects TXG Foundation...

GO WITH THE FLO

‘Black Excellence’: A look inside 55th NAACP Image Awards Gala Dinner

By MAGRIRA and ART SHIRIAN Special to the AmNews

The 55th NAACP Image Awards Gala was the whole vibe—an example of African American excellence perpetually in motion. There is an undeniable crackle and a palpable energy that runs through a room when “fam” gathers because they know that everyone in the room has done the work and continues to move the collective us forward.

Hosted by Sherri Shepherd, the Emmy and NAACP Image Awardwinning talk show host, actress, and comedian, the 55th NAACP Image Awards Gala event recognized talented individuals nominated in 20 categories.

The evening started with an invocation by Dr. Thema Bryant and was followed with welcome speeches from NAACP Chair Leon W. Russell and NAACP Vice Chair Karen Boykin-Towns.

The ceremony saw a diverse range of talent take home awards. Chloe Bailey won Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited Series, or Dramatic Special for “Praise This,” while Ayo Edebiri emerged victorious as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for “The Bear.” William Stanford Davis and Keith Powers were recognized for Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series, and “The Jennifer Hudson Show” received the award for Outstanding Talk Series.

Winners delivered impassioned speeches about the importance of representation, including Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, who received an Image Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture for her role as Young Celie in “The Color Purple.”

When Shepherd tearfully accepted her award for Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (Series or Special) for “Serri,” she reflected about the studio executives who dismissed her, refusing to watch her sizzle reel when she tried to pitch her talk show idea.

“It took me 23-plus years to get to the place,” Shepherd said. “Sometimes you have to mature into the dream that you’ve been dreaming about.”

Kyle Bowser, NAACP Hollywood Bureau senior vice president, announced a groundbreaking book publishing partnership with Amistad, a longstanding commercial African American publisher and

an imprint of HarperCollins. This partnership signifies a commitment to amplifying diverse voices and ensuring Black narratives have a prominent place in the literary landscape. Through the initiative, HarperCollins and Amistad will publish two original books and a reprint of an existing, highly regarded self-published work nominated for the NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Literary categories. The chosen book, selected by an independent group of judges, will be given a wider platform.

“We realize that we are in a season of censorship and book banning,” said Bowser. “This partnership gives us an opportunity to encourage you to continue to tell our stories in a very forthright way.”

Building on the night’s celebration of Black excellence, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson called on the star-studded audience to use their influence to mobilize voters before the presidential election.

“We cannot take our freedoms for granted. We must continue to fight for them, and to protect them, with everything we have,” said Johnson. “The NAACP was founded for this fight. We are committed now and forever, but we cannot fight alone. We need your commitment. Alone, we cannot win. Together, we cannot lose.”

The Awards Gala also featured a powerful moment when Dr. Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic

Justice League, was honored with the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, presented virtually by Prince William and Meghan Markle. Buolamwini’s work in ensuring fairness in artificial intelligence algorithms embodies the spirit of this award, which recognizes those creating change at the intersection of social justice and technology.

Singer-songwriter Shanice delivered a nostalgic performance of her 1991 hit “I Love Your Smile,” followed by NAACP Award-winning singer Kenny Lattimore serenading the audience with his 1997 hit “For You.” Music legend Frankie Beverly received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Adding a touch of glamor, the gala featured appearances from presenters Aisha Hinds, Aja Naomi King, Coco Jones, and Courtney B. Vance, along with other notable figures from the entertainment industry.

The room exploded when Luke James performed several of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly’s hits, with many guests taking to the floor to dance. The legendary entertainer Frankie Beverly himself was in attendance, and the room erupted when he was introduced. Several guests remarked that it felt like a family reunion and the sentiment echoed throughout the night.

The event culminated in a lively tribute performance by Lalah

William Stanford Davis from “Abbott Elementary” and Art Shrian (Magrira photo)

Community leaders honored during Black Educators Committee’s Legends Ball

Nassau County Legislator Seth I. Koslow (D–Merrick) and Freeport’s Black Educators Committee honored an array of accomplished community leaders during their Legends Ball at Verdi’s of Westbury on Saturday, Mar. 16.

The Black Educators Committee

is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that seeks to provide students in the Freeport School District with scholarships to advance their higher education pursuits. The committee engages in community service; sponsors, hosts, and/or participates in events and activi-

ties that will provide scholarships to deserving high school seniors; identifies individuals, groups, and corporations that have made significant contributions to the Freeport community; and fosters and improves community relationships.

The committee is led by Treasurer

Arlene Blaize-Easter; Community Liaison Cynthia Vanager-McManus; President Claretha Richardson; Vice President Vashti N. Burke, RP; Membership Chair and Legends Ball Chair Angela Dickens; IT Officer John Udaze; and Secretary Renson Delos Santos.

“The Black Educators Committee invests in our young people, directly addressing educational inequities by offering scholarships and a support network for high school seniors,” said Koslow. “I was honored to present citations for the 2024 Legends Ball honorees.”

Black Educators Legends Ball attendees (from left, with Seth I. Koslow at center) Treasurer Arlene Blaize-Easter; Community Liaison Cynthia Vanager-McManus; President Claretha Richardson; Vice President Vashti N. Burke, RP; Membership Chair and Legends Ball Chair Angela Dickens; and IT Officer John Udaze. (Photos courtesy of the Office of Legislator Seth I. Koslow)

Honorees included (from left) with Koslow: Florence Bell, Arlene Blaize-Easter, Margaret Sameroff, Saundra Wilson, and Eric Poulson. Also honored but not shown: Julius O. Pearse.

Union Matters

Dartmouth refuses to work with basketball players’ union, potentially sending case to federal court

HANOVER, N.H. (AP)—Dartmouth will not enter into collective bargaining with the union its men’s basketball players voted to join earlier this month, the school said Monday, in a move that could send the case to federal court.

In a statement announcing its refusal to bargain a labor deal with the athletes, the school was adamant that it believes “athletes in the Ivy League are not employees.”

A regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled last month that Dartmouth basketball players were employees, clearing the way for them to vote to join the union. The players then voted 13-2 to join the Service Employees International Union Local 560.

“Given Dartmouth’s decades-long commitment to athletics as an extension of our academic mission, we believe the re-

gional director has made an extraordinary mistake in finding these students are employees,” the school said in its statement that called the players “students whose educational program includes athletics.”

Dartmouth is asking for a review of the regional director’s decision by the full board.

“From a procedural standpoint, if the full NLRB refuses to overturn the regional director’s decision, Dartmouth’s only remaining option to challenge this legal error is to engage in a technical refusal to bargain, an unprecedented step in our long history of labor negotiations,” the school said. “This will likely result in SEIU Local 560 filing an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB, which we would appeal. This is the only lever Dartmouth has to get this matter reviewed by a federal court.”

Workers at Tennessee Volkswagen factory ask for vote on representation by United Auto Workers union

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP)—The Volkswagen(VW) factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is likely to be the first test of the effort by the United Auto Workers (UAW) to organize nonunion automobile plants across the nation.

Workers at the 3.8 million square foot (353,353 square meter) factory filed paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Monday, March 18, seeking an election about union representation, the UAW said. They are the first to ask for a vote in the union’s campaign, which was announced last fall after the UAW won strong contracts with Detroit automakers.

The UAW said it would simultaneously target more than a dozen nonunion auto plants, including those run by Tesla, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Honda, and others.

The drive covers nearly 150,000 workers at factories largely in the South, where the union thus far has had little success in recruiting new members.

The UAW said a supermajority of the VW plant’s roughly 4,000 production workers had signed cards supporting union representation, but it would not provide a number. A union can seek an election run by the NLRB once a majority of workers support it.

It wasn’t clear when the election would be held. The NLRB confirmed that it received the petition and tentatively set a pre-election hearing for March 26 in Atlanta.

Volkswagen also confirmed receipt of the petition. “We respect our workers’ right to a democratic process and to determine who should represent their interests,” Volkswagen said in a statement. “We will fully support an NLRB vote so every team member has a chance to vote in privacy in this important decision.”

The UAW has said workers in Chattanooga, who make Atlas SUVs and the ID.4 electric vehicle, have complained about

mistreatment by Volkswagen management including mandatory overtime on Saturdays. They also are seeking higher pay.

“When we win our union, we’ll be able to bargain for a safer workplace, so people can stay on the job and the company can benefit from our experience,” Chattanooga worker Yolanda Peoples said in a statement provided by the union.

The union has come close to representing workers at the VW plant in two previ-

ous elections. In 2014 and 2019, workers narrowly rejected a factorywide union under the UAW. Some prominent Tennessee Republican politicians had urged workers to vote against the union during both campaigns.

The year after the 2014 vote failed, 160 Chattanooga maintenance workers won a vote to form a smaller union, but Volkswagen refused to bargain. Volkswagen had argued the bargaining unit also had to include production workers. The 2019 factory-wide vote followed as a result.

In February, the union said a majority of workers at a Mercedes plant in Vance, Alabama, near Tuscaloosa, also had signed union cards. The Alabama factory complex has about 6,100 employees.

The union embarked on its organizing effort last year after it went on strike against General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, earning big raises and other benefits.

After the Detroit Three contracts were approved, many nonunion factories announced worker pay increases.

In November, VW gave workers an 11% pay raise at the plant, but the union says VW’s pay still lags behind Detroit automakers. Top assembly plant workers in Chattanooga make $32.40 per hour, VW said.

The UAW’s pacts with Detroit automakers include 25% pay raises by the time the contracts end in April of 2028. With cost-ofliving increases, workers will see about 33% in raises for a top assembly wage of $42 per hour, plus annual profit-sharing.

A “We stand with the UAW” sign outside Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., on December 18, 2023. Volkswagen’s factory in Chattanooga is likely to be first test of United Auto Workers’ effort to organize nonunion automobile plants across the nation. The union said workers at the factory filed paperwork Monday, Mar. 18, 2024 with National Labor Relations Board seeking union representation election. (Olivia Ross/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP, file photo)

A poster of a basketball player on campus of Dartmouth College, Tuesday, Mar. 5, 2024, in Hanover, N.H. Dartmouth basketball players voted to form a union, an unprecedented step in the continued deterioration of the NCAA’s amateur business model. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty photo)

Callahan v. Carey: NYC Right to Shelter case settled

By ARIAMA C. LONG

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

At long last, the legal battle over New York City’s right to shelter law has reached a settlement with seemingly all parties satisfied by the terms.

The city’s “right to shelter” was established in 1981 under consent decree in Callahan v. Carey, which related to a homelessness crisis at the time. As of late, the law has been applied to aid the influx of the more than 180,000 asylum seekers and migrants to the city since 2022, pushing the city to a breaking point. This prompted Mayor Eric Adams to controversially attempt to amend the law, saying that the city’s shelter system could no longer handle the homeless population and the migrant crisis. Advocates at the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless wanted to keep the law as is.

After months of negotiations, an accord has been reached.

In the simplest terms, the law remains but with some temporary caveats that only apply to newly arrived, single, asylum-seeking adults. New adult arrivals will have an initial 30-day shelter placement, and single adults under the age of 23 will have 60 days. Families with chil -

dren are not affected. Extended stays will be addressed on a case-by-case basis as long as a person is making an effort to find a place outside the shelter system to stay. The settlement requires the elimination of the use of “waiting rooms” as shelter. Finally, the city will continue to provide reticketing services to help more people move out of the shelter system.

“New York City has led the nation in responding to a national humanitarian crisis, providing shelter and care to approximately 183,000 new arrivals since the spring of 2022, but we have been clear, from day one, that the ‘Right to Shelter’ was never intended to apply to a population larger than most U.S. cities descending on the five boroughs in less than two years,” said Adams in a statement. “Today’s stipulation acknowledges that reality and grants us additional flexibility during times of crisis, like the national humanitarian crisis we are currently experiencing. In a joint statement, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala agreed that the settlement protected the right to shelter law while allowing for some flexibility in response to the migrant crisis.

“This settlement seems to preserve the foundation of this essential protec -

tion from further efforts to undermine it, and encourages the continued support of families and individuals seeking asylum, while eliminating the backlog of new arrivals who are reapplying for shelter placements,” they said. “As a Council, we remain focused on working with the Administration and all stakeholders on immediate and longterm solutions that relieve pressure on the shelter system by helping New Yorkers transition into stable, permanent housing. We are examining the details of this settlement further, and will continue our oversight efforts to protect the health and safety of all New Yorkers.”

New York Immigration Coalition President and CEO Murad Awawdeh was pleased that the underlying right to shelter law was unchanged and commended the Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless for defending it. He continued to advocate for expanding access to City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) vouchers and a viable path to permanent housing, stability, and self-sufficiency for all New Yorkers.

“The settlement includes some important provisions, including ending the use of waiting rooms as temporary shelters, which forced too many new arriv -

als to sleep on floors or in chairs while they waited for shelter placements—assurances our communities did not have until today,” said Awawdeh. “Yet, challenges persist.”

Awawdeh bristled at the “discriminatory practice” of identifying single asylum seeking adults to be removed from shelters after 30 or 60 days without any true path to affordable housing.

“That is not only immoral and antithetical to the intent of the Right to Shelter, but also short-sighted,” said Awawdeh. “A continuation of the 30and 60-day limits will only exacerbate the City’s long-standing housing crisis and will unnecessarily force new residents onto the street. We cannot stress enough that Mayor Adams’ unyielding commitment to demonizing and victimizing our newest arrivals will make him the sole architect of a manufactured crisis that will impact the health, safety, and security of all New Yorkers.”

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/ amnews1.

‘20 Days in Mariupol’ is bloody but essential reminder

If you have an hour and a half, an interest in reality, and a measure of fortitude, you will see why “20 Days in Mariupol” won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film and a 100 percent rating from “Rotten Tomatoes.”

For many Americans, the documentary has been below the radar and only gaining traction since the various awards. But it graphically captures the turmoil, death, and destruction, and what many deem as the genocidal invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military.

Opinion EDITORIAL

The “Clean Fuel Standard” is a false solution

by EDDIE BAUTISTA, NYC-EJA

The conflict there began to recede from public attention once Hamas launched its savage, merciless attack in Israel on October 7. The two wars have much in common, not the least of which is human carnage— the countless deaths of innocent people.

Perhaps the best way to experience the “20 Days in Mariupol,” which is bravely documented by Mstyslav Chernov, a Ukrainian video journalist, is online, so you can control seeing the unrelieved atrocity in small doses. It’s challenging to endure the gruesome scenes of mutilated bodies, particularly of pregnant women and babies, to say nothing of bodies wrapped in plastic and thrown into mass graves.

All of this will provide people who have encountered similar acts of genocide, whether in the more distant past vis-avis the Holocaust, slavery in America, the massacre of indigenous people, or the one that rages now in Ukraine and the Middle East, with a considerable amount of empathy.

Now what is needed is a global cry for a ceasefire. Let your voice join a chorus of activists who are seeking ways and means to bring an end to the pointless and needless murder of innocent people.

For those needing a fresh perspective on these atrocities, “20 Days in Mariupol” is a bloody reminder.

New Yorkers experience dramatically different air quality depending on where they live. Some New Yorkers are breathing in dirty air and dying from it. Polluting infrastructure, land use policies, and discriminatory decisions are causing air pollution that contributes to the detrimental health and environmental crisis that disproportionately affects low-income communities of color. We must act now to break the patterns of decisions and investments that poison communities of color as the State figures out how to implement the Climate Act and meet its emissions and disadvantaged community mandates. However, the proposed “Clean” Fuel Standard (CFS) is a false solution to our fight for clean air.

Access to safe, clean air is a racial justice, public health, and environmental justice issue. There are proven solutions to reduce air pollution that address these disparities and injustices, including rapidly electrifying and investing in the transportation and transit systems in our state. Full electrification and improved public transportation will result in numerous benefits for all New Yorkers, but especially for communities of color and low-income communities. Benefits include less vehicle pollution, cleaner air, lower asthma rates, fewer hospitalizations, increased bus and train service and access, and more union jobs and workforce opportunities.

The so-called “Clean” Fuel Standard (CFS), promoted by the fossil fuel industry and a small faction of other groups, would delay and even prevent the materialization of these benefits and investments for communities of color; it is a “false solution” opposed by the environmental justice movement, along with ally organizations. False solutions are known as industry-supported technological “fixes” that purport to reduce emissions but often are found to not decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) and copollutant emissions.

of Injustice,” Bertha Lewis, a Clean Fuels NY Coalition member, acknowledged the inadequacy of a similar policy when commenting on NYC’s heavy-duty vehicle fleet transition to renewable diesel: “This is a step forward, but let’s be clear: it’s not the systemic change we need to fully confront the disproportionate air quality impacts faced by communities of color every day.”

The “Clean Fuel Standard” should not be mistaken for a tool to advance New York State (NYS) climate action and decrease emissions in environmental justice communities. Co-pollutant emissions from vehicles lead to harmful health impacts, such as cardiorespiratory diseases in communities of color that are disproportionately burdened by air pollution. Studies have shown that blending biofuels actually could increase co-pollutant emissions. An International Council on Clean Transportation meta-analysis found that modern combustion engines emit 4% more NOx, 7% more hydrocarbon, and 10% more carbon monoxide with a mere 20% blend of biodiesel with conventional diesel. Yet this bill is silent on the negative health-impacting co-pollutants and does nothing to address the reduction of co-pollutant emissions. We will move in the wrong direction if the State diverts and wastes funding, time, and energy by giving industry incentives for “cleaner, low-carbon fuels” that require combustion—aka, burning toxic fossil fuel—and creating harmful air pollution and increasing asthma, heart disease, and stroke in our communities.

proportionate environmental and public health impacts in environmental justice communities. The California program has incentivized polluting vehicles over zeroemission electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. In 2022, nearly 80% of LCFS credits went to non-zero-emissions vehicles and fuels. The system is built to incentivize new methane gas and biofuel rather than zero emissions. A methane-driven truck in California receives three times the credit value of an electric vehicle charged with 100% renewable electricity.

These problems are compounded by the fact that if the program is enacted and more people start blending biofuels into their fossil fuels, we will almost certainly raise food prices and increase food insecurity. Crop-based biofuels are leading to increased food prices and insecurity, contributing to deforestation, and when grown incorrectly, may not even be low-carbon. The NYS legislation does not offer any guardrails that would prevent the bad outcomes in California from occurring here; in fact, it replicates the design that has been proven harmful on the West Coast.

Passing this bill will only exacerbate inequality and worsen air quality in New York’s frontline environmental justice communities and forsake all the health, environmental, and labor benefits from rapidly electrifying and investing in the transportation and transit systems in our state. The NYC Environmental Justice Alliance (NYCEJA) strongly opposes this bill because of the harm it would cause our communities.

Elinor

Aaron Foley: News Editor

Cyril Josh Barker: Digital Editor

Wilbert

The Clean Fuels NY Coalition is an industry-dominated group pushing biofuels and other false solutions that might look good on the surface, but are rooted in generalizations, mischaracterizations, and imperfect evidence. In an op-ed published in the New York Amsterdam News titled “A Breath

The current proposed CFS bill also includes a toothless directive to meet the existing NYS legal requirement that 40% of clean energy benefits and investments be directed to disadvantaged communities. Troublingly, the lower carbon fuel standard would create a market that allows big businesses, who are directly responsible for the pollution, to choose how and where to invest in solutions. We cannot afford to continue investing in half-measures and fall for industry-peddled games and lies that only sicken and kill our communities and waste critical time and resources on ineffective approaches.

Some have cited similar policy measures in California as a success. The Golden State has made some progress on air pollution, but proponents cannot offer clear evidence that the California Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) has been the reason for air quality improvements. Environmental justice groups in California have expressed concerns that the LCFS has allowed polluters to continue polluting and harming vulnerable communities and demanded program reforms and protections that are not in this bill. We know that trading emissions credits can create or perpetuate dis-

Almost every environmental and climate group in New York, including NYC-EJA’s member organizations, Environmental Advocates NY, EarthJustice, and NY Renews oppose this bill.

It is now a constitutional right in New York to have clean air—not slightly cleaner air. Our communities deserve clean air and meaningful progress toward environmental and racial justice. We get there with proven solutions supported by frontline communities, not by expanding a slightly-less-toxic fossil fuel market that will only continue to poison our lungs and take our lives. The evidence is clear: the Clean Fuel Standard will not reduce pollution in our communities. It’s time we fully charge ahead to an all-electric future and put this bad-faith policy in our rearview mirror.

Eddie Bautista is an award-winning organizer, planner, strategist and non-profit leader who serves as the Executive Director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA), a network of community-based organizations of color advocating for the empowerment of environmentally overburdened neighborhoods.

Haiti is the cruelest place to live on planet Earth

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the New York Amsterdam News. We continue to publish a variety of viewpoints so that we may know the opinions of others that may differ from our own.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS

A civil war is brewing in Haiti—at least that’s what the Haitian gang leader, ex-policeman Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier said in a warning to the prime minister. In his warning he said that if the Prime Minister Ariel Henry “does not resign… we’ll be heading straight for a civil war that will lead to genocide.”

Barbeque and his gang have been in opposition to the prime minister ever since he assumed office in 2021 without an election, subsequent to the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise. Ever since that time, gangs have utterly dominated Haiti; they are estimated to control approximately 80% of the capital today.

More than a thousand people have lost their lives to gang violence since the start of this year, and virtually everyone lives in constant terror that they, too, may fall victim. Reports are circulating now of dead corpses lying in the street with no one to remove them.

Recently, the gangs orchestrated an enormous prison break that led to the escape of thousands of inmates. At this time, the gangs have seized control of Haiti’s primary airport, even forcing the prime minister, who was out of the country at the time much of this

occurred, to divert his return flight to the Dominican Republic. It’s also left many Americans and other foreigners stranded, unsure of how to escape.

The Dominican Republic, which shares an island with Haiti, is also experiencing difficulties stemming from gang rule; in response, it is enhancing border security to prevent the spread of violence from Haiti.

The future of Haiti remains unclear. The gangs are causing chaos. From here, it is impossible to predict how things are going to end.

Haiti is a country paralyzed, not just by the gangs’ stranglehold but by a systemic failure that spans decades of multiple political administrations. Corruption and mismanagement have long been hallmarks of Haiti’s political landscape, exacerbating the suffering of its people. The international community has intervened sporadically, with efforts often criticized as too little, too late, or misdirected–but none of those efforts have led to the stabilization of Haiti. At best, those efforts have led to temporary moments of peace and progress, which is typically followed by more chaos and corruption. With the current situation deteriorating so rapidly, the call

for more substantial and effective international assistance is louder than ever. However, one must ask, will it make a difference this time, and if not, what should the international community do so that it does make a prolonged difference?

Economically, Haiti remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere despite its natural resources. The gangs, thriving in this vacuum of power and authority, are not just criminal enterprises but have often become de facto rulers in many areas— providing a twisted form of governance in the absence of a stable state. They exploit the population, extort businesses, and control the distribution of essential goods, further deepening the crisis; sometimes they do all of this with the support of politicians who are more interested in lining their own pockets than in seeing Haiti recover and grow.

In this cauldron of despair, the resilience of the Haitian people is often hailed, but it’s a resilience born of necessity, not choice. The spirit of the population is truly remarkable, but one must wonder how much more they can withstand before the country is completely in chaos, led by gangs.

For Haiti, the path for -

More books to read

CHRISTINA GREER, PH.D.

ward is uncertain and bleak. The country is in critical need of robust international intervention to restore order and support the establishment of a legitimate government that can actually maximize its power to lead the country forward. Yet, skepticism abounds, with past failures casting long shadows. The fear is not just of a continuing descent into chaos but of a complete collapse, leaving a void that could cause further destabilization not only to Haiti but impact the surrounding region.

As the world watches, the question remains: can Haiti find a way out of this cycle of violence and despair? It seems like the answer is no, but if the international community is willing to invest deeply and consistently in the country’s future by supporting Haitians in their quest for stability, justice and a dignified life, things can begin to turn around. The tragedy of Haiti is not something that we’ve seen; the difference is we actually have the ability to do something about it now.

Armstrong Williams (@ ARight-Side) is manager / sole owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the year. www. armstrongwilliams.co | www. howardstirkholdings.com

There are so many good books around me that it feels like an embarrassment of riches. I recently had the opportunity to speak to two authors about their works: one a political analysis of the history of Black Republicans and the other a book of short stories about a Jamaican American family living in Miami during the 1980s. Both books were a window into the complexities of Black people living in America under the shadow of white supremacy and trying to navigate what it means to survive and possibly thrive as Black people living in the United States.

Clay Cane’s bestselling book, “The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump” lays out how modern day Black Republicans have cast their lot with racial opportunists and keepers of white supremacy and white nationalism. He takes the reader through a detailed account of Black Republicanism, party realignments, and the calcification of the two-party system for Blacks in America. This accessible book is perfect for anyone who is curious how we have gotten to the moment where a portion of Black people support a party actively working to malign their communities and make policy detrimental to Black people throughout the nation. This will be a long year as we inch toward the Nov. 5 presidential election and Cane’s book is mandatory reading to help you better understand many of the conversations pertaining to Black people this election season.

As someone who cares about and has dedicated

her life to better understanding the ideological and ethnic diversity of Black people, Jonathan Escoffery’s novel “If I Survive You” is a must read. I’m a bit late to the party considering the novel was nominated for several awards in 2022 and was considered one of the best books of the year by several outlets and magazines including Oprah Daily, TIME , and The New Yorker. Escoffery’s short stories are at once touching, informative, funny, heartbreaking, and filled with memories. He weaves in the history of American policies, Jamaican politics, and economic and environmental factors affecting the lives of one family in his short stories. I am partial to the art of the short story and the skill it takes to create entire worlds in such a short span of time. His stories are page turners and lead the reader to tussle with the ramifications of personal decisions as well as political decisions beyond an individual’s control.

It is my hope that you will purchase these books, support Black authors, and use these books (both nonfiction and fiction) to help you better understand Black politics and people. Both of these books help us feel less alone and make sense of the world around us.

Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC and host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio. She is a 2023-24 Moynihan Public Scholars Fellow at CCNY.

Caribbean Update

Haiti could get an interim government soon

BY BERT WILKINSON

Special to the AmNews

Hopes that strife-torn Haiti could get an interim government to stabilize gang violence, host a multinational peacekeeping force, and organize fresh general elections in the coming months soared in the past week, with most of the groups identified to participate handing in names to serve in the administration.

Up to the weekend, one of the few major stumbling blocks that had remained for the formation of the presidential council had to do with internal disagreements by the December 21 group that had submitted two names to sit on the council, though they have been allotted only one, like the other six political parties and two civil society groups.

Up to mid last week, December 21 had three names on the list they had submitted to the joint group involving Caribbean Community leaders and an array of Haitian stakeholders, signaling their inability so far to pick a single nominee.

A second group linked to ex-senator Jean Charles Moise of the Platform Pitit Dessalines party has already rejected Caricom’s offer to help form an interim government for its poorest and most populous member state, leaving the proposed nine-person council with

“The UN has already authorized a multinational peacekeeping force to head to Haiti to take on heavily armed gangs which have disrupted life in the country.”

seven members.

The latest word from the 15-nation bloc is that December 21 might, this week, propose a compromise candidate, separate and apart, from the two submitted names to get the processing moving and sealed, but Caricom says it will go ahead with the whittled-down administration as a start while leaving the door open for the disaffected to join when they are ready.

The push to form an interim administration took firm root at a Caricom emergency meeting of interested parties, the U.S., the United Nations, Canada, France, and Mexico, among other players, a week ago in Jamaica, where the decision to form an umbrella interim administration was finalized.

As the new week began, Caricom ambassadors in New York and Jamaican Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith were preparing to brief the UN Securi -

ty Council on Monday at a closed-door session primarily on Haiti. The UN has already authorized a multinational peacekeeping force to head to Haiti to take on heavily armed gangs which have disrupted life in the country. Deployment of troops and police officers from Kenya, Benin, and Caricom nations has been stalled because of legal hurdles in Kenya, which is the lead country with 1,000 officers.

Meanwhile, the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) have stepped up maritime surveillance in the wake of the ongoing unrest in Haiti, saying that they cannot absorb any more Haitian migrants. The British are sending marine assets to the TCI, one of its remaining colonies in the region, to intercept any migrants, while the Bahamas are doing likewise.

Prime Minister Phillip Davis, a leading Caribbean advocate for a solution for

The Trump immigration plan

FELICIA PERSAUD

IMMIGRATION KORNER

Like many, including Texas Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, I was floored last week by polls claiming that Donald Trumpeto’s standing with Latino voters has grown since his defeat in 2020.

Not that I give a lot of credence to polls since the Hillary Clinton loss, but according to the New York Times, surveys “find him winning more than 40 percent of those voters—a level not seen for a Republican in two decades.”

Appalling considering the xenophobia Trumpy continues to spew and the fact that many Latino immigrants have been the ones facing the brunt of his draconian policies during his four-year reign of terror and will continue to be should he—God forbid—win again.

Congressman Gonzalez’s comparison of Latino support for Trump to “Jews for

Hitler” highlights the irony. It prompts the question: Have these voters forgotten the hardships of the Trump era, or do they prioritize their American citizenship over the plight of fellow immigrants?

From the travel bans on countries with large Muslim populations, to mainly Latino family separations at the border and children in cages, to the systematic dismantling of our legal immigration and refugee systems, to the targeting of immigrants in their homes, schools, and workplaces—the Trump record on immigration still gives me nightmares.

Now he is running for re-election, and terrifyingly, his rhetoric and immigration agenda is even scarier than what we saw last time.

Trump has repeatedly employed Nazi language, saying immigrants are “poisoning the blood of the country.” Are Latino voters really OK with this?

Trump has said he would be a “dictator” on day one to enact his extreme immigration agenda and has promised to deploy the military on U.S. soil to con -

duct “the largest deportation effort in US history,” which reports say will likely ensnare U.S. citizens.

One version of Trump’s plan is called “Project 2025,” and the Niskanen Center described it as a “meticulously orchestrated, comprehensive plan to drive immigration levels to unprecedented lows...specifically engineered to dismantle the foundations of our immigration system.”

According to America’s Voice, it entails: launching a private “red-state army” to conduct mass deportations; blocking federal financial aid to everyone in states that allow Dreamers to access in-state tuition; terminating DACA status for Dreamers; using backlogs to halt application intake for legal immigrants; suspending updates for H-2A and H-2B temporary worker visas; barring U.S. citizens from qualifying for federal housing subsidies if they live with undocumented immigrants; and forcing states to share driver’s license databases and other identifying

Haiti, says the archipelago has no choice. “We are now deploying significant defense force assets to establish a southern Bahamas blockade operation, including surface vessels, aircraft, and 120 highly trained personnel,” said Davis in a weekend statement. “Operations will focus on the northern coast of Haiti, the Old Bahama Channel, and the Windward Passage. As we expand our patrols in our southern waters, the United States and the United Kingdom are also working to position assets in the region. We are working with the U.S. Coast Guard, with Turks and Caicos, and with the Cuban border patrol, to share critical intelligence and align our efforts. Through these collaborative efforts, we have successfully intercepted a number of vessels originating from Haiti. The repatriation of individuals aboard those vessels will be conducted in a manner that prioritizes the safety of our officers and respects the human rights and dignity of the passenger,” he said.

And while this is occurring, the U.S. is sending planes to evacuate HaitianAmerican citizens from Haiti, using the airport at Cap Haitian in the north rather than the one in the capital, which is under the control of gangs. Citizens will have to make their own way to the airport and will have to pay for seats.

information.

Trump is also planning to bring antiimmigrant extremists and fascists Stephen Miller and Ken Cuccinelli back to the White House in a second term, according to the Washington Post, which noted that Trump and his aides would be “more effective in operating the levers of the federal bureaucracy and less vulnerable to internal resistance.”

Can Latino voters really support this agenda, or have they gone mad? I have to believe that the polls are fake news and, like Trump’s so called “Black base,” are an AI-generated figment of his imagination.

Let us pray! The prospect of Trump’s return is like the rebirths of Hitler and Mussolini, combined. It is an outcome we must collectively work to prevent in 2024, not just for immigrants, but for all America.

Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focusing on Black immigrant issues.

Black female athletes

Continued from page 7

Salt Lake City, Flowers, a former sprinter, served as brakeman in the two-man bobsled for driver Jill Bakken, winning gold. In 2014, sprinter Lauryn Williams, a two-time Olympic medalist in track, won the silver medal with Elana Meyers Taylor, who is also African American, in the two-man bobsled. With this accomplishment, Williams became only the fifth person in history and first American to win medals in both the Summer and Winter games. Three years later, Williams would provide insights into her ex -

Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games.

“My teammates and I did all the work to make that happen,” said Adeagbo, who now competes in monobob (one-person bobsled) and has the goal of competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics. “Here we are in front of the world and people are seeing that it is possible for Nigerians to be at the Winter Olympics. … Walking in, you’re carrying those hopes of the nation with you and it feels very powerful.”

While Adeagbo placed 20th, she completed four clean runs, ensuring her

“Here we are in front of the world and people are seeing that it is possible for Nigerians to be at the Winter Olympics. … Walking in, you’re carrying those hopes of the nation with you and it feels very powerful.”

Simidele Adeagbo

perience for a former triple jump record holder for the University of Kentucky, Simidele Adeagbo.

Looking Forward

In the summer of 2017, Adeagbo was toying with a crazy idea at age 36 and nine years removed from competing in track and field: She was thinking of trying to qualify for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Adeagbo had seen a video of three women who were endeavoring to be the first Winter Olympic athletes representing Nigeria. All former track and field athletes raised in the U.S. in Nigerian families, the motivation to take up bobsled came from Dr. Seun Adigun, a chiropractor and biomechanist who had represented Nigeria in the 2012 Olympics. Adigun would be the driver and Akuoma Omeoga and Ngozi Onwumere would alternate as brakemen.

At the time, Adeagbo was a marketing executive with Nike based in Johannesburg, South Africa. After a colleague showed her the video, she began to do some research. This led her to a tryout in Houston in August 2017, which led to an invitation to a training camp in Canada. The opportunity to make history for Nigeria proved irresistible after Adeagbo focused on skeleton, which involves only one person on a sled going headfirst down the ice track. In February 2018, she joined Adigun, Omeoga, and Onwumere at the Opening

name is in the record books. As the first Black person to ever compete in Olympic skeleton, her presence was duly noted. At the conclusion of the event, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach shook her hand.

“For me, that was solidifying the significance of that moment,” Adeagbo recalled.

Today, Adeagbo fights for gender equity in the Olympic movement. She has also launched the SimiSleighs Foundation, which issues training grants to women from around the world who are Olympic or Paralympic hopefuls.

Ferguson sees the upswing for women’s sports and how Black female athletes are now being embraced. “I have seen the improvement honestly when it comes to representation, marketing, and earning potential,” she said. “Female athletes now are able to be seen as an option to invest in.”

Alexander mentioned the ongoing dearth of Black women in various organizations and governing bodies, even those developing opportunities for people and men of color over the past three decades, but she has seen positive evolution since 2020.

“The power of sport, how women in the WNBA raised some of the awareness around racism, has had an impact,” said Alexander, referencing the player activism around the election of Sen. Raphael Warnock. “Organizations are now recognizing the importance of the inclusion of Black women in their athletic programs.”

United States’ Brionna Jones shoots the basketball at the Basketball World Cup in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Baker; Photo illustration by StephGil)

Health The CDC has relaxed COVID guidelines. Will schools and day cares follow suit?

By BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS and MORIAH BALINGIT AP Education Writers

BOSTON (AP) — Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools and upended child care, the CDC says parents can start treating the virus like other respiratory illnesses.

Gone are mandated isolation periods and masking. But will schools and child care centers agree?

In case you’ve lost track: Before Friday, all Americans, including school children, were supposed to stay home for at least five days if they had COVID-19 and then mask for a set period of time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Now, with COVID deaths and hospitalizations dropping, the CDC says children can go back to school when their overall symptoms improve and they’re fever-free for 24 hours without taking medication. Students are “encouraged” to wear a mask when they return.

Still, the change may not affect how individual schools urge parents to react when their children fall sick. Schools and child care providers have a mixed record on following CDC recommendations and often look to local authorities for the ultimate word. And sometimes other goals, such as reducing absences, can influence a state or district’s decisions.

The result can be a confusing array of policies among states and districts, not to mention workplaces—confounding parents whose lives have long been upended by the virus.

“This is so confusing,” said Gloria Cunningham, a single mom in the Boston area. “I just don’t know what I should think of COVID now. Is it still a monster?”

Cunningham, who manages a local store for a national restaurant chain, said her company requires her to take off 10 days if she gets COVID-19. And the school system where her son is in second grade has still been sending home COVID test kits for kids to use before returning to school after long breaks.

“I feel like we should just do away with anything that treats COVID differently or keep all of the precautions,” she said.

The public education system has long held varying policies on COVID. During the 2021-2022 school year, only 18 states followed CDC recommendations for maskwearing in class. When the CDC lifted its masking guidelines in February of 2022, states like Massachusetts followed suit, but California kept the mask requirement for schools.

And in the child care world, some providers have long used more stringent testing and isolation protocols than the CDC has recommended. Reasons have ranged from trying to prevent outbreaks to keeping staff healthy— both for their personal safety and to keep the day care open.

Some states moved to more lenient guidelines ahead of the CDC.

California and Oregon recently rescinded COVID-19 isolation requirements, and many districts followed their advice.

In an attempt to minimize school absences and address an epidemic of chronic absenteeism, California has encouraged kids to come to school when mildly sick and said that students who test positive for coronavirus but are asymptomatic can attend school. Los Angeles and San Diego’s school systems, among others, have adopted that policy.

But the majority of big-city districts around the country still have asked parents to isolate children for at least five days before returning to school. Some, including Boston and Atlanta, have required students to mask for another five days and report positive COVID-19 test results to the school.

Some school leaders suggest the CDC’s previous five-day isolation requirement was already only loosely followed.

Official policy in Burlington, Massachusetts, has been to have students stay home for five days if they test positive. But Superintendent Eric Conti said the real policy, in effect, is: “It’s a virus. Deal with it.”

That’s because COVID is managed at home, using the honor system.

“Without school-based testing, no one can enforce a five-day COVID policy,” he said via text message.

Ridley School District in the Philadelphia suburbs was already using a policy similar to the new CDC guidelines, said Superintendent Lee Ann Wentzel. Students who test positive for COVID must be fever-free without medication for at least 24 hours before returning to school. When they come back, they must mask for five days. Wentzel said the district is now considering dropping the masking requirement because of the new CDC guidance.

A school or day care’s specific guidelines are consequential for working parents who must miss work if their child can’t go to school or child care. In October 2023, during simultaneous surges of COVID, respiratory syncytial virus and influenza, 104,000 adults reported missing work because of child care issues, the highest number in at least a decade. That

number has fallen: Last month, child care problems meant 41,000 adults missed work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Melissa Colagrosso’s child care center in West Virginia dropped special guidelines for COVID about a year ago, she said. Now, they’re the same as other illnesses: A child must be free of severe symptoms such as fever for at least 24 hours before returning to the center.

“We certainly are treating COVID just like we would treat flu or hand, foot, and mouth” disease, said Colagrosso, CEO of A Place To Grow Children’s Center in Oak Hill.

As for kids without symptoms who test positive for COVID? Most parents have stopped testing kids unless they have symptoms, Colagrasso said, so it’s a quandary she has not encountered.

Still, some parents worry the relaxed rules put their communities at greater risk. Evelyn Alemán leads a group of Latino and Indigenous immigrant parents in Los Angeles County. The parents she represents, many of whom suffer from chronic illnesses and lack of access to health care, panicked when California did away with isolation requirements in January.

“I don’t think they’re considering what the impact will be for our families,” she said of California officials. “It feels like they don’t care—that we’re almost expendable.”

Other impacts of the pandemic linger, too, even as restrictions are lifted. In Ridley, the Philadelphiaarea district, more students are reclusive and struggle to interact in-person with peers, said Wentzel, the superintendent. Interest in school dances has plummeted.

“Emotionally,” Wentzel said, “they’re having trouble.”

Balingit reported from Washington.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

A student wears a mask and face shield in a 4th grade class amid the COVID-19 pandemic at Washington Elementary School in Lynwood, Calif. Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools and upended child care, the CDC says parents can start treating the virus like other respiratory illnesses. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Arts & Entertainment

Lincoln Center, AFROPUNK honor pioneering Black poet Phillis Wheatley

By NADINE MATTHEWS

Special to the AmNews

Born in West Africa around 1753, Phillis Wheatley was brought to America on a slave ship from which she was given her first name, at approximately 8 years of age. Too sickly to be dropped off in the Caribbean, she was sent to Boston. Ailing, naked save a carpet remnant, and experiencing tooth exfoliation, she was sold for a pittance to the Wheatley family.

Despite her trauma and desperate situation, Wheatley, who received a classical Western education from her enslavers, became the first person of African descent to publish a book of poetry. In 1773, the child prodigy’s “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” was published to critical acclaim, especially from American and British abolitionists keen to prove the intellectual equality of African-descended people.

On Friday March 22, Echoes of Freedom: A Tribute to Phillis Wheatley, will be hosted by AFROPUNK and Lincoln Center. The event takes place at the Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center. According to the press release, “The event is part of Lincoln Center’s American Songbook, which celebrates our shared musical inheritance by spotlighting change makers throughout history.” Lincoln Center’s website adds that the event “will feature songs performed by multi-instrumental composer aden, collaborative recitations of Wheatley’s work by Lincoln Center’s poet-in-residence Mahogany L. Browne, and a concert by Afrofuturist artist and Grammy-nominated jazz trumpeter and composer Theo Croker.”

Allen T. Lamb, head of AFROPUNK Worldwide LLC., said via email, “AFROPUNK sought to curate a creative collision with Lincoln Center’s longstanding American Songbook series to offer a performance that is both celebratory and thought provoking, filtered through the lens of the resilience and joy of Black people in America.”

Though she was rarely published

due to discrimination, Wheatley was a prolific poet, much of her work written before she reached adulthood. In addition to classical and neoclassical techniques, Wheatley’s moving and impactful poetry was imbued with biblical symbolism and directly and indirectly implored readers to acknowledge the inhumanity of slavery.

So taken with her work was America’s first president, George Washington, that he corresponded with her, closing his letter with the staggering “...your obedient and humble servant.” Other well known colonial-era personalities such as John Hancock and Benjamin Rush were also impressed with her work.

Browne, who has published numerous poetry collections, told Amsterdam News via email, “Phillis Wheatley’s story as a poet and the lack of respect she endured because of her being a Black free woman in the U.S. with the language to challenge the intricacies

made her a threat. It’s very similar to what I’ve experienced.”

Browne also discussed her own evolution as a poet because of Wheatley’s work, and the impact of Wheatley’s work from the standpoint of Black liberation. “My recitation of her work in conversation with my own is a full circle moment. When I was first introduced to her work in high school, it didn’t vibrate the same. The language felt foreign and it was [not until] many years later, I realized her anti-slavery, and fight against inequality using poetry was the exact bedrock that contemporary poets are anchored by today.”

Lambe had a similar evolution.

“Phillis Wheatley’s works have been a mainstay in my lexicon, growing up in a family steeped with Black educators and historians. But a resurgence of my awareness arrived upon reading about the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s (NMAAHC) acquisition of a

trove of her works in September 2023,” he told Amsterdam News

Lamb pointed out that this celebration of Wheatley’s work is important in a number of ways, including continuing to validate it. He explained that although her intellect was acknowledged by many, Wheatley also suffered indignities from many detractors. “There was an active undercurrent,” he said, “that she had not actually authored her poems.”

Lamb highlighted Thomas Jefferson’s statement in his “ Notes on the State of Virginia.”

“He said, ‘Religion indeed has produced a Phillis Wheatley; but it could not produce a poet. The compositions published under her name are below the dignity of criticism.’”

Wheatley was also criticized by members of the Black literati for many years after her death. Perhaps overlooking her age at the time she was kidnapped from Africa, James Weldon Johnson lambasted her most famous

poem, “On Being Brought From Africa to America” saying she “exhibited smug contentment at her own escape.”

Lamb further clarified AFROPUNK’s motivation for participating in this event. “The Smithsonian’s curation of manuscripts written in her own hand move in defiance of historical attempts to minimize her impact.

AFROPUNK’s collaboration with Lincoln Center is in this same spirit.” He added that he hopes “the audience departs newly inspired about their role in enhancing the ‘future of’ and ‘freedom to’ as it relates to Black American culture today.”

Browne predicted that ultimately, the audience will be transformed by the beauty of Wheatley’s work. “The work of Phillis Wheatley has a heartbeat. It’s given so many of us a wingspan beyond our imagination. Her work informs music, language, and policy. Lean into this knowing and be changed.”

(L-R) Pictured are: aden, Mahogany L. Browne, and Theo Croker (Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center website)

‘Shirley’ gives Chisholm much of her due

By DWIGHT BROWN NNPA News Wire

She was a pioneer. A political warrior. A woman who earned an esteemed place in herstory.

After Frederick Douglass (1848), Edwin Taylor (1904), and Channing E. Phillips (1968); before Jesse Jackson (1984), Alan Keyes (1992), and Barack Obama (2008)— there was Shirley Chisholm (1972). All vied to be president of the United States. She was the only Black woman who dared to enter the ring.

First Black candidate vying for a majorparty nomination. First woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Distinctions that deserve more than just an honorable mention.

Giving Chisholm her due has been a passion project for actress/producer Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk” and much more) and her producing partner and sister Reina King. Their love and respect for Chisholm is visible in every frame of their bio/drama/history film.

The movie chronicles Chisholm’s first days in Congress as a U.S. representative from New York City’s 12th district, which includes Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant, and then recounts her decision to run for president and all the roadblocks that ensued.

What it doesn’t do is give the audience her backstory—early events that would help viewers understand how she got her drive, ambition, and ability to stand up to bullies. Many biofilms just show a section of their subject’s life; a segment or period that’s usually the most profound. For instance, “Bob Marley: One Love” concentrated largely on the making of his classic album “Exodus,” but he’s a world-famous figure. Chisholm is not. Viewers will yearn to know more about her childhood, aca-

demic accomplishments (Columbia University graduate), and early career.

On the first day of Congress in 1969, on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., a new class of freshmen representatives poses for a photo. One member stands out: Shirley Chisholm (King). She’s Black. She’s a woman. The rest are white men.

Fighting for her place in the U.S. House of Representatives starts immediately, when she’s assigned to the Agricultural Committee. Conventional wisdom says take your first assignment and be grateful. Not knowing anything about a farmer’s life, Chisholm fights her way off that committee and onto another. And so it begins. Conventions thrown out the window, with Chisholm finding her own path.

In the paint-by-numbers script, as written by writer/director John Ridley, historical characters are assembled, and Chisholm’s journey is charted. The depth of the characters is never more than surface. The rivalries, jealousies, saviors, detractors, supporters—and backstabbers, too. Don’t fault the actors; they give solid-to-excellent performances. But none are better than the words on the page, except King.

When Chisholm expresses her intentions to run, her campaign advisor, Wesley McDonald “Mac” Holder (Lance Reddick, “The Wire”), is blunt: “Shirley, if you run, you can’t win.” Chisholm chides him: “Well, not with that attitude!” And so, she builds her inner circle.

Arthur Hardwick Jr. (Terrence Howard), who had served with her in the New York State legislature, helps with strategy. Stanley Thompson (Brian Stokes Mitchell), campaign manager. Robert Gottlieb (Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”), a white Cornell law student, becomes her student organizer. Barbara Lee (Christina Jackson, “Devotion”), Chisolm’s young protégée,

acts as her liaison to the Black community and a link to the influential Black Panthers. Treachery is sprinkled along the way. Some of the sneaky trickery comes from Black politicians, like Walter Fauntroy (André Holland, “Moonlight”) and Ron Dellums (Dorian Missick). Add in figures like George Wallace (W. Earl Brown) and Huey P. Newton (Brad James), and this film becomes a fairly intriguing who’s who in Black politics and American history.

The direction seems perfunctory. No great artistry exhibited, although no huge mistakes made. Ramsey Nickell’s (“American Crime”) camerawork captures the athome and tense confrontations between Chisholm and her overly understanding husband and head of security Conrad (Michael Cherrie). An awkward outdoor meeting between Chisholm and Newton at the home of Diahann Carroll (Amirah Vann, “Underground”) is displayed, too. Chisholm: “I’m going to force all the politicians to earn our votes!” Newton: “You gonna do all that? Schoolteacher from Brooklyn?” Chisholm: “Yes, I am just a schoolteacher from Brooklyn, and Harriet [Tubman] was just a slave.” In general, the dialogue is thoughtful, but it’s likely these conversations are not verbatim, and at times seem too manufactured.

All production elements are adequate for a TV movie: production design, Dina Gold-

That’s minus some parts of the soundtrack that seem like placeholder music, not a score. A theatrical release would expose flaws. A Netflix release on the little screen is just right. Plot pieces, peaks, and valleys are pulled together decently. Slowly, it all starts to gel, build momentum, and become educational and fascinating. But there isn’t a real climax. No satiating crescendo.

Through it all, Regina King releases a fire that retrieves the spirit of Shirley Chisholm from the less-read pages of history books. The accent, courage and determination are all in King’s bravura performance. She was right to champion this production, for Chisholm’s sake and as a showcase for her own talent. Another acting kudo goes to Terrence Howard, who shows great restraint as Hardwick, the voice of reason. His performance is nuanced—magnetic in the most subtle way.

This is a history lesson worth learning. A political shero worth knowing. Some viewers will wish Chisholm’s legacy had been kept alive in a more unique and distinguished way, while some will be grateful for any introduction to her groundbreaking achievements.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=hjBeKNHIdMY

man; costumes, Megan Coates; set decoration, Jon L. Bush and Imogene Lee; and art direction Danny Brown.

Regina King, star of “Shirley” (Netflix photos)

Regina King

Christina Jackson, Michael Cherrie, Regina King, Lance Reddick, and Lucas Hedges in “Shirley”

New books from Black icons Deesha Dyer & Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH

Special to the AmNews

Deesha Dyer, the former social secretary to the Obama administration, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., most recently known for being the host of the PBS “Finding Your Roots” program, both offer the world new works.

“Undiplomatic: How My Attitude Created the Best Kind of Trouble” by Dyer and “The Black Box: Writing the Race” by Gates are valuable additions to the Black literary canon. Their exciting new books provide context and prestige in a world that, many times, prioritizes youth over the wisdom of veteran thinkers and public servants.

Undiplomatic: How My Attitude Created the Best Kind of Trouble by Deesha Dyer

In the corridors of power, amid the grandeur of the White House, one might expect to find individuals groomed from birth for positions of influence and authority. Yet, in “Undiplomatic: How My Attitude Created the Best Kind of Trouble,” Deesha Dyer defies convention with her remarkable journey from community college student to senior official in the Obama administration.

Dyer’s memoir is a refreshing departure from the typical narratives of political insiders. Instead of pedigrees and connections, she brings grit, determination, and an unapologetic attitude to the table. From her humble beginnings as a part-time community college student, Dyer’s trajectory to the White House is nothing short of inspiring. Motivated by the historic election of former President Barack Obama, she embarks on an audacious leap of faith, applying for a White House internship at the age of 31. What follows is a candid, humorous, and deeply personal account of her ascent

through the ranks of the White House, culminating in her role as the White House social secretary.

Through her witty prose, Dyer pulls back the curtain on the pomp and glamor of Washington, revealing the insecurities and self-doubt that plagued her throughout her journey. Despite the accolades and achievements, she grapples with imposter syndrome — that nagging voice in her head telling her she doesn’t belong. Her perspective offers valuable insights into the inner workings of the White House and the broader implications of governance. “Undiplomatic” is a must-read that will leave you uplifted, enlightened, and thoroughly entertained.

The Black Box: Writing the Race by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

In “The Black Box: Writing the Race,” Henry Louis Gates, Jr. delivers a profound and essential exploration of African American identity through the lens of literature and written expression. Drawing from his career and Harvard course in African American studies, Gates presents a reckoning with the power of words to shape, define, and resist the narratives of racism that have long plagued American society. Gates skillfully navigates the complex terrain of African American literature, highlighting the diversity of perspectives and experiences in the community. He acknowledges the tensions and disagreements that have emerged over questions of identity and strategy, emphasizing the dynamic and evolving nature of Black self-definition.

Through essays, speeches, novels, plays, and poems, Gates demonstrates how writers have both resisted and transcended this confinement, pushing back against the limitations imposed upon them and

asserting their right to define themselves on their own terms. Gates challenges readers to confront the legacy of racism and to actively participate in the ongoing struggle for justice and equality. He reminds us that literature has the power to inspire, educate, and mobilize, urging us to harness its potential for social change.

One of the book’s most compelling insights is its exploration of the concept of the “black box”— the metaphorical space in which Black Americans have been confined, categorized, and marginalized by the dominant culture.

What sets “The Black Box” apart is its deeply personal and impassioned approach to its subject matter. Gates brings to life the stories of the writers who have shaped the

African American literary tradition, weaving together historical analysis with personal reflections and anecdotes. In doing so, he invites readers to engage with the material on a visceral level, encouraging empathy, understanding, and introspection. Moreover, “The Black Box” is not just a historical survey; it is a call to action. “The Black Box: Writing the Race” is a tour de force that deserves a place on the bookshelves of scholars, students, and activists alike. Gates has crafted a masterpiece that illuminates the past, informs the present, and points the way toward a more just and equitable future. It is a book that celebrates the power of the written word to transcend boundaries, challenge assumptions, and transform lives.

New nonfiction books about money and survival

By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH

Special to the AmNews

Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “The Apocalypse” by Emily Raboteau

In a world plagued by intersecting crises such as racial injustice, climate change, and environmental degradation, Emily Raboteau’s “Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against ‘The Apocalypse’” offers a poignant and timely meditation on resilience, hope, and the enduring power of love.

As a mother navigating the tumultuous landscape of the 21st century, Raboteau embarks on a series of pilgrimages, both physical and emotional, in search of sanctuary and solace for herself and her children. Armed with a camera and a heart full of determination, she sets out on a journey that takes her from city streets to remote Indigenous communities, and from bustling parks to the

quiet corners of her own home. Through her prose, she celebrates the sanctity and power of Black womanhood, motherhood, and the human spirit, offering a profound sense of hope in the face of adversity.

Through her exploration of environmental justice and Indigenous wisdom, Raboteau challenges readers to confront their own complicity in systems of oppression and to take meaningful steps toward a more just and sustainable world.

The Social Justice Investor by Andrea Longton

In a world rife with inequality, injustice, and environmental degradation, Andrea Longton’s “The Social Justice Investor” offers a beacon of hope and empowerment for individuals seeking to align their financial decisions with their values. With clarity, compassion, and practical guidance, Longton demystifies the world of finance and in-

vestment, showing readers how they can make a positive impact on the world while securing their financial future.

As a call to action and a rallying cry for

individuals to recognize the power they hold to effect change through their financial choices, Longton argues that we all have the ability to shape the world for the better by investing in companies and initiatives that align with our values. “The Social Justice Investor” makes financial jargon relatable and easy to understand, allowing the principles of investment management to be accessible to readers of all backgrounds and experience levels.

Whether you’re looking to build wealth for yourself or for future generations, this book offers invaluable wisdom and guidance that will empower you to make a meaningful difference through your financial decisions.

HOROSCOPES BY KNOWYOURNUMB3RS

By SUPREME GODDESS KYA

We the people of humanity are put through certain obstacles and tests as we break through the veil of reality. What is your reality this week, as you are the creator of your life? Think it, believe it, do it, and know that you have the power within you to make things happen. The body is a magical vehicle; give it the command to see it through. It’s a cycle to meet people in high places, as opportunities come in different forms. From March 22 around 3:42 a.m. until March 24 around 4:12 p.m., your opportunity can be in the departments of wealth, health, money, perspective, a conversation that ignites you, or the simple things in life like bird watching. What you do, utter, envision, and create all has a purpose to get you to a destination.

When you know, you just know; it feels great or indifferent. Trust your instinct and act accordingly. This cycle week is a new pivot point of changes that are necessary as you move forward on your path. You’ve already established a plan. At this point, it’s time to expand and when you aim higher, the greater the lesson, and pain that turns into joy. The ingredients are knowing you can achieve it without doubt or fear. From March 24 around 4:37 p.m. until March 27 around 4:45 a.m., finances are rewarding this week when you apply yourself, knowing you have sweat and skin in the game. The wisdom you gain is based on your experiences and observations that turned into a belief. You can do anything. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

The phases of changes are like a newborn baby from infancy, to toddler, childhood, and adolescence into adulthood. Whichever stages of changes you are in in your life at this moment will determine the experiences that shape your reality. Once you have outgrown those stages, you can accelerate and maneuver with ease. You must learn the lesson and utilize the resources gained to assist you in your endeavors. These are your tools, like a handyman carries alongside himself while working. From March 27 around 5:03 a.m. until March 29 around 3:33 a.m., what tools are you carrying that can get you to point A to Z to complete the mission or assignment ahead? This is a forward movement in your life. You already know what going backwards offers you. Your future is ahead of you.

There’s a bit of confusion or up-in-the-air energy going on, until things begin to clear as you gain clarity. The old program you are used to operating is changing, which means it’s time to nip things in the bud or put people on notice, including yourself. There is a saying that goes “Ain’t no fun when the rabbit got the gun.” No more hiding in the dark or light. This is a balance of energy you must face. In the days leading up to March 29 around 3:52 a.m., it’s out with the old, in with new. It’s time to elevate yourself into a higher reality or continue in the mundane world of conformity in society. The choice is up to you.

Taurus is the sign of the bull. They are strong, muscular, and poised until they need to use their bullish energy to get things done. Be the bull in the game around sharks and vampires that want to bite you and dangle things in your sight to get a hold of you. This cycle week is about business, relationships, investments, connections, prior engagements, and being true to yourself about the things you are working on accomplishing. From March 22 around 3:42 a.m. until March 24 around 4:12 p.m., not all opportunities that come your way are great; some hinder you from moving forward. Choose and commit to the best offer in your best interest.

Plans are plans and some have detours of paths to get you where you need to be. It’s like having a connecting flight instead of a direct flight. The main information is, what messaging are you receiving, or what story is playing out that pulls your coattails to give you the 411? Pay attention to the signs, conversations, and environment, as the little simplest things are your clues, that déjà vu kind of moment. From March 24 around 4:37 p.m. until March 27 around 4:45 a.m., the old ways are where you are the most loyal and comfortable and it is time to break a cycle of comfortable habits. Do things differently.

Rebirth of A New Nation: During this full moon lunar eclipse in Libra at 5 degrees on March 25, 2024, weigh it out as there are pros and cons in everything we do. After confusion, clarity kicks in once you decide on something. When you decide to see that plan through, whatever detours appear, follow through because it’s part of the plan—maybe not your plan but God’s plan. When we are tested, the old things, habits, places, money, people etc. will come to distract you from your path. Ignore them at all costs and continue to move forward. The numerical universal effect will ease up the evening of March 21. This energy will ensure you are provided with what you need to know. Although the Mercury in Aries retrograde influence is in effect, remember to do your best as you push through. “The moment you want to quit is the moment you need to keep pushing.” –Anonymous

When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and life be lifing. What are you to do in the midst of funk? You are going to funk, sweat, and breathe it out until you see the new beginning. Keep going even when you see an opening to take a break. You must keep the wheels rolling as this too shall pass. Stick to your plan and be as disciplined and stern as possible. Once you get off the path you must start over from where you broke off from. From March 27 around 5:03 a.m. until March 29 around 3:33 a.m., ask yourself: you have come this far, do you really want to start over? What’s the point of starting to go back? What’s the benefit of it?

What do you envision and, most importantly, where do you see yourself? This cycle week, get the information you need to assist you in crossing that path. All the answers you seek are within, by inner-knowing and focusing on that particular thing to see results. Long-distance travel, be it a short trip or a long voyage to the people you need to see and places you need to be, may be featured. In the days leading up to March 29 around 3:52 a.m., there is a spirit message from the higher realms to settle affairs, utter words that stick, experience spontaneous meetings, all mixed with a divine intervention to step in to guide you the rest of the way.

What in the world did the wind blow your way today? Whatever it is, it has you stopping in your tracks. Backtrack your steps to see the missing link to give you insight into your plans before moving forward. You can call it a personal mini retrograde moment that allows you to move forward, then place you on a back-and-forth rock in neutral before you drive through. From March 22 around 3:42 a.m. until March 24 around 4:12 p.m., it feels as if you travel into two worlds, only to realize you are living in that world and are experiencing the opposite side of it. For example, what hand do you write with? Try writing with the opposite hand.

Writing things on paper helps with getting things done and knowing how powerful human beings are. Take a thought and apply your hands to transfer the words to paper and read it out loudly to hear how it resonates with you. That is one avenue toward believing in yourself. From March 24 around 4:37 p.m. until March 27 around 4:45 a.m., the universe has its ways of revealing things to you when it’s time. This week, things are revealed to you, be it by reading, hearing, seeing, or being in the act of something until something clicks in your mind, reassuring you of your ability. A great mastermind plan or money-making idea can come from such something.

You were born to be ready and evolve. Although experience is humanity’s best friend and teacher, there are certain experiences that are made just for you to evolve yourself. There is a lot at stake right now, so utilize all the resources you have in your possession to create a miracle. It’s a month to counsel, advise, and vice versa as changes are spiraling into effect. From March 27 around 5:03 a.m. until March 29 around 3:33 a.m., instead of closing yourself off from the spiritual effects, be still to receive the message or answer you seek. Go within and ask yourself why, what, when, where, and who, and remember you are the how.

Oh, happy day, you are receiving all the orange juice straight from the root of the trees the oranges grew upon, sweet and juicy as they can be. Wait—you have one orange that is a spoiler alert and has a different taste than the rest of the oranges. That’s the one you question, due to its standing out from the rest of the crowd. In the days leading up to March 29 around 3:52 a.m., find out more about the soil and that part of the tree only. There you will find answers which then help you find an answer to your situation.

‘An Enemy of the People’ will have you mesmerized

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

“An Enemy of the People” is devastatingly powerful. This production grabs hold of you and takes you on a turbulent journey that you will not soon forget.

What would you do if you were a doctor who realizes that the company you work for has a product that is deadly? You have proof of the danger, and you go to the local press and the mayor, who happens to be your brother with whom you don’t get along but to whom you look for support. What happens when you not only don’t get the support, but the corrupt mayor then turns your allies into your foes?

Playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre (W. 50th Street), the perfect space for it because the audience surrounds the stage, this riveting play by Henrik Ibsen features a new version by Amy Herzog. The direction by Sam Gold is phenomenal.

A small town in Norway has visitors who come there for the healing waters, but Dr. Thomas Stockmann, realizing something is not right, sends samples of the water out for analysis. The report he gets back gives him no moral dilemma: He knows the right thing to do is to bring the danger to the attention of the people, the newspapers, and his brother the mayor. But doing the right thing is not always that cut and dried.

What would people in a town do when their means of income is threatened? What would people in a town do when one man

knows the truth and tells it to them, but all they see is the potential financial devastation the revelation would have on the town, so they choose not to see the danger? This play truly shows what happens to a man, his family, and his well-being when he chooses to stick to the truth.

This cast is stupendous. It is led by the

‘Brooklyn Laundry’

By LINDA ARMSTRONG

Special to the AmNews

“Brooklyn Laundry,” playing at New York City Center (W. 55th Street) is a funny, heartfelt play that is the work of playwright and director John Patrick Shanley. It is presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club and is a production not to be missed.

This play tells the at first very amusing and then interesting story of a couple who meet when a customer, Fran, takes her clothes to the laundry and deals with the owner Owen. Their conversations start off awkward and funny, but then go on to be so much more.

Both characters have serious personal issues that are made very clear to the audience. This play deals with trying to find new love, fighting loneliness, and facing the upcoming death of an older sister and realizing what that will mean in your life. It deals with our life courses and the way that we sometimes don’t have a choice except to do the right thing. But what could that cost us?

The journey of this production is beautiful to witness and one I highly recom -

is stunning as Petra, the doctor’s daughter, who fully supports her father’s decision to try to protect people from the contaminated water, regardless of the personal cost to their family.

Caleb Eberhardt is remarkable as Hovstad, editor of the local paper. His character at first is fired up to expose the truth, until he realizes the impact it will have on the town’s poor. Matthew August Jeffers is captivating in the role of Billing, a journalist at the paper who goes whichever way the breeze is blowing. Thomas Jay Ryan is intriguing as Aslaksen, publisher of the paper, who at first supports the doctor, but then turns into one of the Stockmanns’ biggest foes because he is also chair of the property owners’ association and would lose quite a lot of the town had to shut down to repair the water system. David Patrick Kelly is outstanding as Morten Kiil, the doctor’s father-in-law, who has his own motives for wanting the town to fail.

Other capable cast members include Alan Trong and Katie Broad, along with Bill Buell, David Mattar Merten, and Max Roll.

incomparable Jeremy Strong, who plays Stockmann. He delivers, on all levels, one of the most engaging, powerful performances you will experience in the theater. Michael Imperioli is tremendous in the role of Peter Stockmann, his brother—the corrupt mayor and one of the heads of the Baths, the town business. Victoria Pedretti

The production has engaging scenic design by dots collective; costume design by David Zinn; lighting design by Isabella Byrd; sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman; and hair and wig design by Campbell Young Associates.

There is no late seating, so make sure you get there before curtain time.

For more info, visit www.anenemyofthepeopleplay.com.

is one of the best plays of the

mend you embark on.

The cast consists of four captivating thespians. David Zayas plays Owen with a love, innocence, and vulnerability that is immediately engaging. He is absolutely charm-

ing in the role. Cecily Strong is funny and defensive, but also vulnerable and frightened in the role of Fran. She displays an insecurity that makes the audience want her to go after more in life. Florencia Lozano

season

is moving and brilliant in the role of Trish, the oldest sister, who knows her days are very numbered. Her character realizes the importance of living life to its fullest and repeatedly tries to persuade Fran to do so with her life. Andrea Syglowski is devastatingly poignant as Susie, Fran’s older sister, who realizes that she is in a loveless marriage and has a disabled son, and has one more secret to share. You have to go to see the play to find out what it is.

These characters and the issues they face are real slices of life that many of us have faced, or know someone who has faced them. The play is a case in which art truly reflects life, in a way that makes you think and feel strong conviction about the choices we all make—the choices we make with family in mind and those we make for our own happiness.

“Brooklyn Laundry” is one of the best plays of this season so far. The production, which only runs through April 14, features a set design by Santo Loquasto, costume design by Suzy Benzinger, lovely lighting design by Brian McDevitt, and original music and sound design by John Gromada. For tickets and more info, visit www.Manhattantheatreclub.com.

Scene from “An Enemy of the People” with (l-r) Victoria Pedretti, Caleb Eberhardt, and Jeremy Strong (Emilio Madrid photo)

Scene from “Brooklyn Laundry” with (l-r) David Zayas and Cecily Strong (Jeremy Daniel photo)

Harlem Fine Arts Show’s Sweet Sixteen captivates dreamers

By BRENIKA BANKS Special to the AmNews

A live jazz performance serenades a crowd as visitors are in awe by colorful art everywhere. The exciting fusion of paintings, sculptures, photography as well as mixed media pieces highlight the history and journey of Blackness. Harlem Fine Arts Show’s threeday event took place Friday, Feb. 23 through Sunday, Feb. 25. Founded by Dion Clarke, the display of Black art, artists and galleries, referred to its sixteenth year as, “Sweet Sixteen.”

Clarke assured that the culture of Harlem is still embedded in the art show, no matter the location. “I’m excited, we’re at the Glasshouse again this year,” said Clarke. “This is the second year out of Harlem, but we never leave Harlem.” The art show was impressed with today’s talent, entailing those from various cities and countries. Over 80 artists and 10 galleries, the most ever, were showcased. According to Clarke, the show sold about half a million dollars of art this year.

The show’s theme was buying Black art and empowering artists. Clarke fondly encouraged visitors to buy works which resonated with them and made them happy. Additionally, artists had their dreams of selling their art in NYC come true, including Justin Ellis, 34, who had his artwork showcased in Manhattan.

“It’s been a remarkable dream of mine be-

cause I always used to ask my mom, ‘can I please go to New York?’” said Ellis. Being from Charlotte, NC, unfortunately, Ellis’s mother didn’t have the necessary resources to assist with his aspirations. He decided to pursue them himself. “It’s been a blessing just to see how artistry has been [at] the forefront of my life now.” Ellis sold 15 of his pieces at the Harlem Fine Arts Show during the threeday weekend. His first purchased piece, “Pop Quiz,” uses a projector instead of a canvas to creatively compose. His art further shows representations of layering and stacking colors, while mixing different mediums to “create the most obscure abstract compositions.”

Ellis described his participation in the art show as “remarkable,” pleasantly surprised to behold his art on a wall behind the main stage. This made Ellis’s work more viewable to everyone who attended. He also called Clarke a “blessing.” “I was very, very blown away,” said Ellis. “For this to be my very first showcase and for [Dion Clarke] to bless me like that, it meant the world to me.”

La’Jasha Champion is another one of the show’s dreamers actively creating her own world. The multidisciplinary artist believes in the power of creating and said that she’s “living out my little girl dreams by doing whatever I please.” After a classmate’s suggestion and some research, Champion discovered new media art. It encompasses everything from

Artist La’Jasha Champion posing for visitors in front of her art. (Brenika Banks photos)

Founder Dion Clarke posing with this year’s honorees.

traditional art-making methods to digital. This major, pursued at the University of North Texas, led her to formulating various styles.

“Receiving that opportunity to dive into those multiple disciplines helped me to shape my work,” said Champion. She strategically learned a range of skills to resonate with a variety of clients. She relishes staying outside the box and loves making custom costumes. “I don’t limit myself to just one discipline.” She refuses to restrict herself to only paintings. Her dreams are to produce clothing, photography, and videography as well.

The dreams of a person may also unlock beyond retirement. A show from abstract painter Ed Clark, “lit a fire” in painter David Dixon. “It really inspired me, like, I got to pick up my brushes again,” said Dixon. His works displayed at the Harlem Fine Arts Show were the result of that inspiration. Dixon didn’t allow being in his 60s to make him believe he was too “old” to pursue painting professionally. Now at 68, he said his favorite part of being an artist is the meditative aspect. “It comes through me and that is my favorite part.” He also incorporates photography in his abstract work within pictures digitally.

Dixon’s artwork led to his great relationship with Clarke. “Dion works very hard to make this a success; I appreciate that.” He was delighted sharing thoughts on his art with those who stepped into his booth. A

buyer from last year returned to tell Dixon how much she still loves her purchased piece. “That feels good,” said Dixon. He described being around other artists as awesome, stimulating and humbling.

Another modest artist, Champion, wisely saw her fellow artists as inspiration, not competition. “What I’ve enjoyed the most this year and last year was being able to witness the beautiful works from the diverse Black artists who are here today,” said Champion. “Everyone has their own unique flair [and] aesthetic.”

She enjoys wearing sparkly outfits or anything artistic. As a lover of fashion, she said dressing up is therapeutic and applauded the positive effects of paintings with color. Harlem Fine Arts Show celebrated 10 years of saluting African Americans in medicine.

“This is a great way to show the heart of healing and how art and the healing elements really put everything together and make it so important in our lives.” The show commemorated 15 honorees from the tri-state area.

“We’re always looking for partners in the African American community,” said Clarke. “That partner can be a sponsor, a social organization; something that helps us get better in the community.” Clarke predicts the show will continue bringing in economic and cultural power. For more info, please visit https://www.hfas.org.

Charlotte, NC artist Justin Ellis posing in front of his work at the 16th Harlem Fine Arts Show.

Artwork by La’Jasha Champion at the 16th Harlem Fine Arts Show.

First ever NYC purchased artwork titled, “Pop Quiz,” by Justin Ellis.

Bronx artist David Dixon posing in front of his art during night two of the show. (Brenika Banks photos)

Arts for Art, Haynes, Schomburg, Puddin,’ Harlem Stage, Gallery

Arts for Art, a long-standing nonprofit organization located on the Lower East Side, is known for its vast music programs (festivals and panels). In other words, they are one of the few who promote musicians whose creativity soars beyond the stars into that far-away Land of Oo-Bla-Dee, the altar of avant gardism.

Their Artist Series Thursdays at 62 Avenue C continues on March 21 when Devin Brahja Waldman curates NuBlu Classic. The multiinstrumentalist’s bio indicates it will be a most intriguing evening. The native New Yorker, who leads the group BRAHJA, is the co-founding member of such diverse configurations as Radical Reversal, Diva of Deva Loka, and Notable Deaths. He is also a member of Heroes Are Gang Leaders (led by poet Thomas Sayers Ellis and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis).

The evening begins at 7 p.m. with Yale scholar, mbira player, and advocate of African culture Kevin Nathaniel Hylton. He will perform solo percussion. Other performers will include Lexiglass: pianist Alexis Marcelo and drummer Will Glass.

Marcelo’s sound is embedded in the creative and forward-thinking traditions of African American music. He began his studies at the Harlem School of the Arts, where he studied classical piano, music theory, and ear training.

Tickets are $15 (Pay-what-you-can at door). For a complete schedule, visit the website: artsforart.org.

Another Lower East Side organization featuring boundless music is FourOneOne, which is committed to providing an equitable and open space for New York’s many audiences to engage with multiplicity and alternative approaches to time and space. They

support historically aware and rooted performance practices that blur the dominant esthetic and social categories that marginalize communities and their creative lives.

The cornetist and composer Graham Haynes is FourOneOne’s Artist in Residence now through April 15. Haynes’s residency will be the second in its new series of artists in residence. The project will highlight his voyages and their artistic consequences, from his 1980s co-founding of the seminal M-Base Collective; collaborations with performers in African, Arabic, and South Asian idioms; 1990s albums of soundscapes largely drawn from Paris’s immigrant populations; work with New York’s drum’n’bass DJs and the turntables and digital samplers of the 1990s hip-hop scene; releases like 2000’s BPM, a marriage of drum’n’bass and opera; and, starting in the 2010s, densely layered chamber works, including the upcoming “Requiem for Young Black Men Assassinated by Police in America,” an evening-length performance for a 40‐voice chorus and orchestra, with an English text by Carrie Mae Weems.

Haynes, the composer, bandleader, and musician currently based in Bahia, Brazil, expands and confounds what we understand as jazz and electronic music. The project will span performances, listening parties, public conversations, and master classes with Robin D. G. Kelley, Adam Rudolph and Maalem Hassan Hakmoun, Nublu Orchestra, Shakoor Hakeem and Lucie Vítková, Momenta Quartet, and others.

On March 27, welcome an evening with Vijay Iyer and Graham Haynes at Blank Forms (468 Grand Ave #3d).

March 28 features Momenta Quartet: Graham Haynes’s String Quartet No. 1 at Greenwich House Recital Hall (46 Barrow Street).

For a complete schedule, visit www.fouroneoneprojects.org

Melvis Santa & Jazz Orishas will close the Women’s Jazz Festival series at the Schom-

burg Center on March 25. The singer, composer, pianist, and Afro-Cuban dancer will celebrate women’s legacy in Afro-Cuban and Jazz traditions. The band will perform Santa’s original compositions and reimagined jazz classics infused with the sounds of Cuba and the diasporic music of today. There will also be a special appearance from the ACVT Community Choir.

Santa just returned from an engagement at the Blue Note franchise in Milan. After that gig, she was off to play with saxophonist Kenny Garrett (she is a regular band member). She has performed at venues such as the Birdland jazz club, Zinc Bar, Jazz Gallery and Bronx Museum with her two musical projects Melvis Santa & Ashedi, which explores the connections between her Afro-Cuban–rooted musical traditions, bolero, and jazz influences; and Ellas-Son, an allfemale ensemble formed by multi-instrumentalist and talented musicians honoring Women in Cuban Popular Music.

For times and tickets, visit nypl.org/ Schomburg.

Rome Neal, the producer, director, vocalist, and actor, presents his three-decade Banana Puddin’ Jazz Production on March 25 at Theater for the New City (155 First Avenue at 10th Street). Lady Jazz Thespians will feature vocalists Ria Alexander, “Lady Leah” Fennie, Allison Semmes, and Tracy Titus with musicians pianist Mamiko Watanabe, bassist Melissa Slocum, and drummer Wen-Ting Wu. An open-mike jam session to follow. For tickets, visit https://ci.ovationtix. com/35441/production/1195296.

At 7:30 p.m. on March 29–30, Harlem Stage presents composer, trumpeter, and bandleader Ambrose Akinmusire in “banyan seed,” a multi-part suite that incorporates interviews with jazz elders who share their ideas, knowledge, history, and community with younger musicians, and connects audiences to the living stories of jazz. He will be joined by alto saxophonist Cosmo Lieberman, guitarist Emmanuel Michael, pianist Esteban Castro (piano), bassist Jeremiah Edwards, and drummer Timothy Angulo. For tickets, go to harlemstage.org.

Camila Meza is musically inspired by jazz guitarists like George Benson and Pat Metheny, as well as influenced by South American music and folk. She first studied with Jorge Vidal and Jorge Díaz. Increasingly oriented to Claudia Acuña from the mid-2000s, she worked on the jazz scene of her hometown, where her first recording, “Giovanni Cultrera, Espinoza y Cia” (Navidad en Jazz), was released in 2005. In 2007, she presented her debut album “Skylark” (Stateside).

Meza will appear in two separate configurations, implementing her jazz interpretations with roots of her native Chile to the Jazz Gallery on March 22-23. She opens with the Camile Meza Portal and on March 23, she appears with the Nectar Orchestra. Two shows each night at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

For reservations and schedule, visit jazzgallery.org.

Film Forum hosts centennial tribute to jazz legend Sarah Vaughan

“If you want to learn how to sing, listen to Sarah Vaughan.”—Ella Fitzgerald

A special tribute to “The Divine One,” legendary jazz singer Sarah Vaughan (1924–1990), will take place at Film Forum on Wednesday, Mar. 27, the 100th anniversary of her birth.

This program of rare film performances, compiled and presented by noted author, producer, and Wall Street Journal jazz critic Will Friedwald, will cover Vaughan’s five-decade career, from her roots in Newark to the height of her international fame. Also featured are some of Vaughan’s equally iconic co-stars, including Billy Eckstine, Tony Bennett, Michel Legrand, and Dizzy Gillespie.

The program will be presented just twice, at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m.

“From the moment she won the Apollo Theater amateur contest at age 18, Sarah Vaughan immediately joined the pantheon of great jazz singers,” said Friedwald. “While Ella was the voice of pure melody, Dinah the voice of the blues, and Billie the

voice of the human condition, Sarah was the voice of the Angels. ‘The Divine One,’ or ‘Sassy,’ as she was nicknamed, was the closest jazz ever had to an artist with operatic chops: She took a technique normally associated with Verdi and Puccini to extoll the glories of Gershwin and Ellington.

“Likewise, she took the pure power and passion of the great gospel singers and brought it to bear on earthly matters like love and the blues. Hers was a voice that often seemed to be more than merely human, and yet her greatest strength was not the purely rapturous quality of the voice but her down-to-earth nature; not her divinity but her humanity. She was the very spirit of human playfulness, of spontaneous melodic invention, and of effortless swing.”

Friedwald writes about jazz and night-

life for the Wall Street Journal, and is the author of 10 books about music and popular culture, including the award-winning “A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers,” “Sinatra: The Song is You,” “Stardust Melodies,” “Tony Bennett: The Good Life,” {Jazz Singing,{ and {Straighten Up and Fly Right: The Life and Music of Nat King Cole.” He has written more than 700 liner notes for compact discs, received 10 Grammy nominations, and appears frequently on television and in documentaries.

The Sarah Vaughan tribute, produced by Film Forum Repertory Artistic Director Bruce Goldstein, follows sold-out tributes to Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday, presented by Friedwald at Film Forum in past years. For more info, visit www.filmforum.org.

Graham Haynes (Adrien Tillmann photo courtesy of www.fouroneoneprojects.org)

Sarah Vaughan (Photo courtesy of Film Forum)

Daniel’s law

Continued from page 4

pair of non-law enforcement personnel— a crisis worker and a medical professional—to handle mental health calls. Neither carry weapons. Instead, they employ their verbal skills and medical expertise. The mobile crisis service is contracted through the White Bird Clinic by the City of Eugene (and sister city Springfield), but is officially integrated into the 911 dispatch system and regarded as the “third branch” of public safety next to the police and fire department.

“We’ve found that oftentimes when folks are in crisis, they have multiple issues that present and so that’s why having the EMT paired with a crisis worker is really important,” said Adam Walsh, CAHOOTS development and external relations coordinator. “There’s often a mental and physical component to what folks have going on. We can take vitals, we check blood sugar, we can provide wound care, basic first aid, and then also [provide] crisis de-escalation: we do welfare checks, we do death notifications, these types of things.”

Beyond responding to 911 calls, CAHOOTS teams are also reached through the 988 suicide and crisis hotline, as well as the city’s nonemergency police hotline. So there’s “no wrong door,” says Walsh. But the program does not respond when a crime occurs, nor does it handle situations when a weapon is present, barring those exclusively involving self-harm.

So how can New York apply the best practices from CAHOOTS in the event of Daniel’s Law becoming state law? Eugene Springfield Deputy Fire Chief Chris Heppel said a successful program goes beyond shuffling personnel.

“Who is doing the work can drive a lot of the perception as to why the person or persons are there and what their true intent is,” said Heppel. “CAHOOTS is very clear as to

VP Harris

Continued from page 4

what their intent is. It’s very collaborative. It’s about partnership with the patients: What do you want to do and how can we help you today? And then let’s move forward. I’ve seen some systems attempt to implement this and it was just ‘well, we’re just going [to] send this instead of that.’

“But they still end up in the same place or [with the same] outcomes, whatever that case may be. So there’s a lot more to it than just simply assigning a resource.”

Luke Sikinyi, public policy director for the Alliance for Rights and Recovery, said while programs like CAHOOTS provide a critical blueprint, the Daniel’s Law pilot allows a localized understanding of how statewide programs would operate.

“We do need to also give some data to how it works in our state,” said Sikinyi. “The goal of getting the pilots up is to, one, provide that service immediately to at least a small number of folks, and then also to provide more information to the task force in the state at large on how to best implement this program in an area in New York state. We’re a very different state from Oregon or California, and making sure that we have data that we can rely on that is coming directly from our state.”

Beth Haroules, director of disability justice litigation for the New York City Liberties Union (NYCLU), said quantifying the pilot’s data could be tough. She believes anecdotal evidence is crucial.

“Measuring individual success is always very difficult in a social services delivery model,” said Haroules. “But if a person is traumatized or put into involuntary treatment, they’re taken out of their community. Do they lose a job? If they lost their jobs, did they lose their housing? What happened, are there children in the family? Is there a partner? How do you measure that?”

Last year, a Daniel’s Law Task Force was formed to examine how the bill would roll out if passed, and featured commissioners of several statewide agencies like the New York State offices of mental health and divi-

sion of criminal justice services.

Ruth Lowenkron, director of disability justice for the New Yorker Lawyers for the Public Interest, believes the pilot can sway state lawmakers who are on the fence about Daniel’s Law.

“It’s a real exciting opportunity to ensure that Daniel’s Law will be passed and to ensure that legislators understand what a great concept Daniel’s Law is,” she said. “Because they will have an opportunity before they sign on the dotted line before they pass it—before they vote on it—to see how it would work in New York. Because it’s based on programs that really work, in large part on CAHOOTS, we’re very confident it will succeed.

“But we are getting the sense from discussions at the task force that the elected officials and the legislators appreciate seeing what it would look like here in our neck of the woods.”

The State Assembly also included a proposal requiring the Daniel’s Law Task Force to “establish one or more pilot programs to support community-led and public health responses for persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis” in its recommendations.

But is $2 million enough? Last year, the State Senate suggested $10 million for the Daniel’s Law pilot. Gov. Kathy Hochul rejected the suggestion, instead forming the task force. Walsh and Heppel say $2 million does not go far for launching a program like CAHOOTS.

The NYPD currently boasts the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD) pilot, which operates largely in Black and brown neighborhoods like Harlem and the South Bronx by sending teams of two EMTs and a crisis worker to handle mental health calls. But only around half of the eligible 13,350 calls received a crisis unit instead of police between July and December 2022. The AmNews contacted the NYPD to find out whether B-HEARD would consider participating in the Daniel’s Law pilot, but received no response by press time.

a million programs that are rolled out and it’s supposed to be the answer,” she said. “They’re supposed to be the solution and nobody was put into those conversations. [The Daniel’s Law] coalition meets every Wednesday, and it’s open. People can join and hear because this is a community-led, community-focused bill that really strives to make sure that we are meeting each other where we’re at.”

While Daniel’s Law cycles through the state legislature, Brouk says rebuilding mental health infrastructure gutted in New York over the past few decades is tantamount. And the bill not only necessitates more crisis workers, but culturally competent ones. Efforts like removing racially-biased barriers for the state’s social worker licensing would diversify the workforce in preparation for Daniel’s Law’s passing. “We’re only a couple of years into rebuilding that infrastructure,” said Brouk. “There’s no successful Daniel’s Law or any of these pieces of legislation without [a] mental health workforce. We have a very dwindling mental health workforce…specifically with things like this, we know where we need to invest. We know where we need to build up the mental infrastructure.”

And a more robust mental health apparatus expands beyond just emergency responses—even when a program like CAHOOTS is present.

“[A] misconception is that we’re solving a bigger problem,” said Heppel. “What I mean by that is CAHOOTS operates in our mental health world, they’re responding to growing mental health challenges in our community. But they’re not the answer to our mental health challenges, they are our answer to responding to mental health challenges. The problem doesn’t go away because CAHOOTS responded.”

A rally commemorating Daniel Prude will take place in New York City outside City Hall on Thursday, March 21 at 9 a.m.

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1. stage of pregnancy in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, abortion is currently illegal in more than a dozen states, including Minnesota neighbors North Dakota and South Dakota, and is restricted in Iowa and Wisconsin. Harris blamed Trump for the erosion of abortion rights and called him the “architect of a health care crisis.”

“Let us all recognize who is to blame,” she said. “The former president, Donald Trump, handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would overturn Roe. He intended for them to take your freedoms. And he brags about it.”

Trump touted his role in eliminating the nationwide right to abortion during a recent Fox News town hall, saying, “I’m proud to have done it.” During his term,

he tipped the ideological balance on the high court by nominating three conservative justices, paving the way for the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade. Since then, Democrats have felt encouraged by electoral victories in 2022 and 2023 when abortion access was on the ballot. And in his State of the Union address last week, Biden vowed that “we’ll win again in 2024.” He also said that if voters “send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.”

Before the flight back to Washington on Thursday, Harris surprised Central High School’s girl’s varsity and junior varsity softball teams at practice. As she watched, Harris told the players, ‘I’m impressed.”

Associated Press writer Chris Megerian contributed from Washington.

Shay Herbert, a NYCLU organizer in Rochester, underscored the roles of those living with mental health conditions contributing to Daniel’s Law.

“Especially here in New York, there are

CLASSROOM IN THE

John Chaney, basketball Hall of Fame coach at Temple University

By HERB BOYD

Special to the AmNews

Watching Temple University upset Florida Atlantic to reach the ACC championship the other day, brought to mind Temple’s legendary basketball coach John Chaney who shepherded the team from 1982 to 2006, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He often roamed the sidelines like a caged tiger.

Born on January 21, 1932 in Jacksonville, Florida, Chaney grew up in Philadelphia but began his college career at the HBCU BethuneCookman. He was a standout player there from 1951 to 1955 and later joined the Sunbury Mercuries from 1955 to 1963. For three years (19631966), he was with the Williamsport Billies. During his time with the Billies, he was also the basketball coach at William L. Sayre Junior High School in Philadelphia.

There were several other stops, including ten years as a head coach at Cheyney State. Chaney and Cheyney had an appropriate link in name and success: his record of 232-56 was highlighted by the 1978 NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament championship. Almost from the start at Temple and Division I basketball, his reputation as a taskmaster marked his career, including early morning practices and drilling his team on his idea of a touch defense. In 1987 and 1988, he was the recipient of the Henry Iba Award, emblematic of the best college coach by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Chaney’s conquests on the court, and his fiery take-no-prisoners attitude, sometimes spilled over off the court, as it did in 1994 when he threatened to kill John Calipari, then-coach of University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Calipari was speaking at the podium when Chaney entered the press conference and began calling Calipari an “Italian son-of-a-bitch,” accusing him of influencing and manipulating the referees. He demanded that Calipari “Shut up” when he attempted to respond to the accusations.

The exchange soon became a confrontation before Chaney was detained by security, and even then he continued to threaten Calipari. For this altercation, Chaney received a one-game suspension, but they later reconciled and later defended him over the Derrick Rose controversy at the University of Memphis, though as with Chaney, Calipari and Rose put their differences in the rearview mirror.

In 2004, Chaney joined several notables—Bob Knight, Eddie Sutton, Lou Henson, and Hugh Durham—as coaches to appear on the sidelines for 1,000 games. But a year later he was again in the throes of controversy when he or-

dered Nehemiah Ingram, a backup forward, to commit a series of hard fouls because of missed calls by the referees. Later, he admitted that he sent the player as part of a “goon squad” to send a message about the poor officiating. John Bryant, a Saint Joseph’s player, suffered a fractured arm as a result of an intentional foul. He suspended himself for one game but the university, given the injury, suspended him for the rest of the season. Chaney added punishment, selfextending the suspension to that year’s Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball tournament.

In 2006, Chaney announced his retirement, and Fran Dunphy

was named his successor. His overall record as a coach with a total of 741 games won. He took Temple to the NCAA tournament 17 times. The Owls were ranked first in the country in 1987-88, and he reached the Elite 8 on five occasions. Two books, “Winning Is An Attitude: A Season in the Life of John Chaney and Temple Owls,” by Steve Wartenberg, and “Chaney: Playing for a Legend,” by Donald Hunt, capture various aspects of his coaching style and influence on the game.

He and his wife, Jeanne, had a daughter, Pamela and two sons, Darryl and John, Jr. Chaney died on Jan. 29, 2021, at the age of 89.

ACTIVITIES

FIND OUT MORE

The two books, cited above, help us gain a better understanding of Chaney’s life and coaching style.

DISCUSSION

Not much is disclosed here about his early years and this information may be found in the two books mentioned.

PLACE IN CONTEXT

There were very few Black coaches at major colleges when Chaney began at Temple University in 1982.

THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

March 17, 1919: Singer/ pianist Nat King Cole was born in Montgomery, Ala. He died in 1965.

March 18, 1959: Academy Award-winning actress and dancer Irene Cara was born in the Bronx. She is known for her role in “Sparkle” and the song “Flashdance.”

March 20, 1971: Journalist and TV personality, Toure was born in New York City.

John Chaney

Black New Yorkers speak up on congestion pricing

By ARIAMA C. LONG

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) wrapped its series of public hearings on the proposed toll rate schedule for the Central Business District (CBD) tolling program or congestion pricing in Manhattan zones. The controversial congestion pricing program was established under the MTA Reform and Traffic Mobility Act of 2019. It allows the city to collect tolls via E-Z Pass cameras from vehicles entering Manhattan below and including 60th Street. This area excludes the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Drive, West Side Highway, and any surface roadway portion of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel connecting to West Street.

Passenger vehicles pay $15 during peak periods (Mon.–Fri., 6 .a.m.–9 p.m.) and $3.75 during the overnight period (Sat.–Sun., 9 a.m.–9 p.m.). Motorcycles pay $7.50 during peak and $1.75 overnight. Small trucks and charter buses pay $24 peak and $6 overnight. Large trucks and tour buses pay $36 peak and $9 overnight. Taxis pay $1.75 a trip while appbased drivers pay $2.50 per trip.

The program is projected to generate $15 billion toward transit improvements in the subway, trains, and buses while reducing traffic congestion. The MTA hearings that began in February were filled with rapid and passionate testimonies from a wide range of commuters, community members, and drivers in the city.

Here’s what Black New Yorkers had to say.

“I recognize that congestion pricing can reduce traffic in the CBD and establish a major new funding stream for transit projects throughout the city,” said Majority Whip Selvena BrooksPowers, who chairs the City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and represents Southeast Queens neighborhoods. “But I also know that tolling stands to impact people living in outer-borough neighborhoods, including members of my community who would prefer not to drive. Many do so because they lack access to reliable, affordable transit.”

Brooks-Powers urged the MTA to make sure that the impact of tolling on marginalized communities citywide is minimal and that funds made from the program are distributed equitably.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards are in support of congestion pricing, but said they have reservations about implementation and that there should be exemptions for frontline workers and low-income residents.

Plenty of others were in full support of the program as a means of funding MTA fixes. Danna Dennis, senior organizer with the Riders Alliance, has advocated for congestion pricing for years and recently moved to Essex County in New Jersey.

“I know the fear that people feel around this program. Systematic racism and redlining has plagued our city for many years and…what it has done has made some of us feel like we are more privileged based on where we were born and where we grew up in this city,” Dennis said

of Black commuters. “We have a very Manhattan focus and we start to think that programs like congestion pricing are only for those who live here, but it’s not. I’m going to tell you as someone who grew up in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, it’s for you. Far Rockaway, it’s for you.”

Dennis insisted that Black and brown people, immigrants, and marginalized commuters who suffer from long wait times at bus stops and delays will benefit from congestion pricing.

Others expressed major concerns about potential negative environmental impacts to Black and brown neighborhoods in Harlem and the Bronx.

The MTA’s Final Environmental Assessment and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) 2023 noted that trucks might be diverted to other routes on highways and bridges on Staten Island, near Harlem, and in the Bronx. The South Bronx, in particular, was deemed an “environmental justice community,” burdened with high levels of air pollutants and associated chronic disease because of racist redlining practices. The report said adverse pollution effects in proposed tolling scenarios could be lowered for impacted communities if the truck toll price was lowered.

“The MTA’s own study shows that the Bronx will see an increase in air pollution as vehicles are diverted into our borough, particularly affecting neighborhoods near major highways, even as overall pollution decreases in our city,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. “For decades, we [have known that] the Cross Bronx Expressway has been one of the main catalysts

for air pollution in the Bronx, poisoning residents and families and causing significant negative health outcomes. Congestion pricing has the potential to make this even more challenging.”

Gibson said that the Bronx needs a real commitment from the MTA to upgrade its infrastructure to combat pollution and not just air quality monitoring sites.

Michael Mulgrew, United Federation of Teachers (UFT) president, who heads a union that’s been vocal about its environmental stances of late, said the UFT was excited initially about congestion pricing’s potential to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. However, that excitement has turned to immense concern since the MTA assessment was released.

“We waited for your papers to be filed. Your environmental assessment found that there would be a negative impact upon millions of New Yorkers, but it would not be significant, which is why we have intervened at this point and have asked the courts to order a full environmental impact statement,” said Mulgrew. “This is a serious issue that will control and have an impact on our people in our city for 10, 20 years from now. The very idea that you came to this conclusion of not significant without even having the tolling plan in place is absurd.”

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

Education School Safety: Positive parenting and responsive classrooms as a form of anti-gun violence,

anti-racism

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Even though the city has touted that statistically crime is down in some ways, that doesn’t mean that it’s been eliminated. Gun violence and school safety remain a very real concern in the lives of students and parents, especially in high-risk neighborhoods.

Some anti-violence advocates have gone on the offensive, deciding to educate students and parents in conflict resolution and positivity skills through various workshops and programs. Schools have even shifted their entire curriculum and mission to focus on nonviolence

and security as a way of fostering safer communities.

The Ascend Public Charter Schools, in collaboration with local organizations like Single Parents University, are taking this innovative approach for their students—both inside and outside the classroom.

“It’s all about fostering inclusive learning environments and directly addressing systemic inequities,” said Maryann Li, Ascend’s chief operating officer.

The Single Parents University, which is a grant-funded subsidiary of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, is run by Gizan Noonan, director and operations manager. As a single mom herself, Noonan is passionate about creating space for

ident in a statement. “By investing in the well-being and resilience of single parents and their children, we believe we can help create safer environments where all individuals, regardless of their background, can thrive and flourish.”

The Positive Parenting series is led by Jeffrey Barratt, who works for Martin De Porres Youth and Family Services and is transitioning to be a social worker. The class focuses on building communication skills, encouraging positive reinforcements and praise, and promoting problem-solving skills with the small cohort of single mothers that can attend. The series addressed ways of tackling even minor issues, like sibling rivalry and the undue influence of social media, with patience and openness while navigating the everyday burdens of running a household.

“I’m from Jamaica. I was raised a certain way. My father beated me because he was beat, and I’m pretty sure his father beat him because he was beat. That was how they taught discipline,” said Barratt. “You mix that with today’s society and those forms of discipline don’t work anymore or aren’t acceptable. Working with ACS, I can tell you how just beating your child can have an effect on the home. We have to find better ways.”

serving mostly Black and brown students and parents from the Brownsville area.

The Brownsville area has been prone to gun violence for decades. Though Noonan hasn’t experienced a loss to gun violence personally, she believes in aiding the parents who have to deal with that stress and pain on a daily basis.

“There was a shooting on Saturday and another today, the 13-year-old last week. I feel like I turn on the TV and there’s someone, even if it’s not in the confines of our home,”said Noonan, referring to the police involved shooting that occurred blocks away from school where the workshop was held on Monday, March 18. “Sometimes I can’t imagine what they’ve been through so I try to be there on the backend.”

Ascend’s CEO Recy Dunn said his schools are absolutely invested in the physical and socioemotional well being of their students. They have an incredibly high level of security, including a Raptor check in system that employs a quick background scan on visitor IDs.

He sees the positive parenting workshops as a great extension of their restorative justice policies.

other single parents. The idea is to give parents tools along their parenting journey. The workshops are designed to assist with stress management, financial management, career building, personal development, and then the Positive Parenting series. It’s also ACS-approved so if parents need parenting classes they can take the course and get a certificate, she said.

“We recognize the disproportionate impact of gun violence on Black and brown communities, and we are committed to addressing the root causes of this violence through education, empowerment, and community-building efforts,” said Rev. Edward-Richard Hinds, the 67th Precinct Clergy Council pres-

Barratt feels that behavioral issues have to be tackled very early on in the home so that students don’t seek out gangs or gun violence in an attempt to gain a sense of community or acceptance. “A lot of the kids go to school and join gangs because of the influence. The imagery, the support, the idea of a family. I’ve seen a lot of these kids ruin their lives,” said Barratt. “You have to start [positive parenting] at a young age. You can’t start at 15.”

Ascend was founded in 2009 and made the shift to “responsive classrooms” in 2015, a different discipline model to better serve their Black and brown students. Prior to the pandemic, they made anti-racism core to their values. Noonan’s programs are facilitated at her daughter’s school, Brooklyn Ascend Lower—one of 17 of the charter schools run by Ascend throughout Brooklyn,

Ascend Principal Jennifer Bauer was enthusiastic about allowing Noonan’s program to hold meetings and workshops in their building last November. Bauer said that she made it a priority to bring the parents into the fold this school year and invest in them as well as their kids. Currently, the school offers single parent support groups, positive parenting workshops, childcare spaces, free English language classes for parents, financial literacy workshops, resume building, and health and wellness initiatives in an effort to holistically educate the whole family.

“I’m also an immigrant, so when we came to the states it was not the priority to be fluent in money. It was just survival mode. I feel like most people are in survival mode to this day and it’s hard to come out of when real life is happening,” said Bauer. “And when I met with one of our parents, she brought Single Parent University to us.”

Single Parents University Director and Operations Manager Gizan Noonan at the Positive Parents workshop held at Brooklyn Ascend Charter School on Mon, March 18. (Ariama C. Long photos)

Positive Parenting workshop leader Jeffrey Barratt with parents at the Brooklyn Ascend workshop.

Why you should stop texting your kids at school

By JOCELYN GECKER AP Education Writer

Virginia high school teacher Joe Clement keeps track of the text messages parents have sent students sitting in his economics and government classes:

• “What did you get on your test?”

• “Did you get the field trip form signed?”

• “Do you want chicken or hamburgers for dinner tonight?”

Clement has a plea for parents: Stop texting your kids at school.

Parents are distressingly aware of the distractions and the mental health issues associated with smartphones and social media. But teachers say parents might not realize how much those struggles play out at school.

One culprit? Mom and Dad themselves, whose stream-of-consciousness questions add to a climate of constant interruption and distraction from learning. Even when schools regulate or ban cellphones, it’s hard for teachers to enforce it. And the constant buzzes on watches and phones are occupying critical brain space regardless of whether kids are sneaking a peek.

A few changes in parents’ behavior can help make phones less distracting at school. Here’s what teachers and experts recommend.

Try it: Stop texting your kid at school

Many parents stay in touch with their child by texting, but school is a place for focusing on learning and developing independence. Teachers say you can still reach your child if you have a change in plans or a family emergency: Just contact the front office.

If the message is not urgent, it can probably wait.

Think of it this way: “If you came to school and said, ‘Can you pull

School Safety

Continued from page 28

Noonan and Bauer bonded over this core belief that nonviolence can start at the home and in school for children, ultimately impacting how they navigate an unsafe environment in the long run. It also adheres to the school’s mission to promote educational equity and anti-racism through restorative justice practices. Instead of harsh punishments for unfavorable behavior, which are more likely to

Pa. Citing mental health, behavior and engagement as the impetus, many educators are updating cellphone policies, with a number turning to magnetically sealing pouches. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

my child out of calculus so I can tell them something not important?’ we would say no,” central Virginia school counselor Erin Rettig said.

Teachers emphasized: They are not saying parents are to blame for school cellphone battles, just that parents can do more to help. Tell your kids, for example, not to text home unless it is urgent. And if they do, ignore it.

“When your children are texting you stuff that can wait—like, ‘Can I go to Brett’s house five days from now?’—don’t respond,” said Sabine Polak, one of three mothers who cofounded the Phone-Free Schools Movement. “You have to stop engaging. That’s just feeding the problem.”

Cut the cord from 8 to 3

Many parents got used to being in constant contact during the COVID19 pandemic, when kids were home doing online school. They have kept that communication going as life has otherwise returned to normal.

“We call it the digital umbilical cord. Parents can’t let go. And they need to,” Clement said.

Parents might not expect their kids to respond immediately to texts (though many do). But when students pull out their phones to

be doled out to Black students than their white counterparts, the school leans on accountability and repair. The school strives to not use in-school suspension, corporal punishment, or involve law enforcement.

“We don’t have any punitive systems at Ascend,” said Bauer. “We have restorative practices, that means we meet kids where they are by understanding what choice they made and how it impacted them and the people around them. We give logical consequences to whatever the action

reply, it opens the door to other social media distractions.

Anxiety via text message

At parent workshops, Rettig, the school counselor in Virginia, tells parents they are contributing to children’s anxiety by sending messages, tracking their whereabouts, and checking grades daily, which doesn’t give kids space to be independent at school.

Some teachers say they get emails from parents right after returning graded exams, before the class is over, because kids feel the need (or are told) to report grades immediately to parents.

Dr. Libby Milkovich, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, says she asks parents to consider what kids miss out on by having parents at arms’ reach during school hours.

“By texting back and forth with a parent, a child is unable to practice either self-calming or problem-solving skills,” Milkovich said. “It’s easy to text, but if I don’t have a phone, I have to go ask the teacher or I have to figure it out on my own.”

Some kids who oppose school cellphone bans say it’s helpful to reach out to parents when they’re

is. So if you hit someone, you write an apology or spend some time outside that classroom in another class—still learning but understanding that you hurt someone in your community.”

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

music in class in one earbud.”

Turn off notifications

Parents’ reining in their texts will only go so far. So work with your kids to turn off some or all of their attention-stealing notifications.

To prove just how distracting smartphones are, Clement ran an in-class experiment where he asked students to take their phones off silent and switch on notifications for two minutes.

“It sounded like an old-time video arcade — bizzing, buzzing, dinging, and ringing for two solid minutes,” he said.

feeling anxious or worried at school. For children with serious anxiety who are accustomed to texting parents for reassurance, Milkovich suggests phasing in limits so the child can gradually practice having more independence. She urges parents to ask themselves: Why does my child need constant access to a phone?

“Often parents say, ‘I want to be able to reach my child at any time,’ which has nothing to do with the child’s outcome. It’s because of the parents’ anxiety,” she said.

Take away that old phone

Beth Black, a high school English teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area, tells parents to consider confiscating their child’s old phones. Her school requires students to put phones in a special cellphone holder when they enter classrooms. But she has seen students stash their old, inactive phone there, and hold onto the phone that works.

Like many teachers, she says phones aren’t the only problem. There’s also the earbud issue.

“Forty percent of my students have at least one earbud in when they walk into class,” Black said.

“The kids will set their phone in the holder to music and they’ll listen to

Many studies have found students check their phones frequently during class. A study last year from Common Sense Media found teens get bombarded with as many as 237 notifications a day. About 25% of them pop up during the school day, mostly from friends on social media.

“Every time our focus is interrupted, it takes a lot of brain power and energy to get back on task,” said Emily Cherkin, a Seattle-based teacher-turned-consultant who specializes in screen-time management.

Teachers say the best school cellphone policy is one that physically removes the phone from the child. Otherwise, it’s hard to compete.

“When the phone vibrates in their pocket, now their focus is on their pocket. And they’re wondering, ‘How do I get it out to the table? How do I check it?’” said Randy Freiman, a high school chemistry teacher in upstate New York. “You ask them a question and they haven’t heard a word you’ve said. Their brain is elsewhere.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Students at the Washington Junior High School leaving classes for the day, use the unlocking mechanism to open the bags their cellphones were sealed in during the school day in Washington,

Martin De Porres Youth and Family Services worker Jeffrey Barratt. (Ariama C. Long photo)

Religion & Spirituality

Late cop-watch advocate Joseph “Jazz” Hayden celebrated at Harlem service

By MAL-AKIY 17 ALLAH

Special to the AmNews

Members of the city’s grassroots community held a memorial in March for native Harlemite and cop-watch activist Joseph “Jazz” Hayden, 82, who passed on Jan. 6 in Northampton, Pennsylvania.

Hayden earned notoriety through documenting police activities for potential harassment—always with a camera—and also was an advocate for criminal justice reform and restoration of voting rights for former felons. Hayden, 82, suffered a heart attack, according to his daughter, Jo-Anne Hayden-Williams.

During the service at Harlem’s Erudite Academy, it was noted how he was a Harlemite from day one.

Hayden was born May 12, 1941 at

Harlem Hospital, and went from being a reckless youth during the 1970s to serving as a lieutenant for disgraced drug kingpin Nicky Barnes. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees while in prison, and later became an advocate for parolees and convicts.

“As I educated myself and developed, I began to see opportunity in other areas,” he said in a 2009 interview. “I started to work on changing the system, on trying to reform the system.”

Hayden was one of Barnes's close associates in a squad known as “the Council.” The collective was convicted of conspiracy to distribute $1 million worth of heroin a month; Hayden got a 15year sentence. During their 1977 trial, prosecutors called Hayden the No. 2 man.

After being freed from federal prison in the mid-1980s, he was arrested again and charged with manslaughter after a traffic altercation led to a sanitation worker’s death. That led to a conviction and a 12-year sentence.

Upon being released from prison in 2000, Hayden dedicated himself to political and social activism. That same year he filed a class-action lawsuit, Hayden v. Pataki, to restore prisoners’ and parolees’ voting rights. The Legal Defense Fund unsuccessfully argued Hayden’s case in federal court, but his efforts led to a national campaign, becoming the catalyst for Free the Vote, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo supported in New York by executive order in 2018.

“[The VRA] stopped at the

prison walls,” Hayden said in a 2005 interview. “What Congress gave, the states took away…We have unfinished business. We hope to sweep these laws, too, into the dustbin of history along with the poll tax, literacy test, and grandfather clause.”

It was a landmark case.

“Mr. Hayden is a legend in Harlem and in the broader community of formerly incarcerated activists, one who helped to jumpstart a powerful movement” to win voting rights for released felons,” said Janai Nelson, president of the Legal Defense Fund.

“Mr. Jazz Hayden was an extraordinary activist and brilliant strategist who, in the name of justice, worked to redefine what it means to be an incarcerated citizen in a democracy.”

Hayden began recording “bogus stop and frisks” in Harlem in 2008 for his All Things Harlem website series of “Copwatch” videos after raising $40,000. He worked to bring awareness about the burgeoning policy and its racist implications.

“This is the kind of policing we get in Harlem,” he said in one video with a hint of sarcasm, as police are seen arresting a man for a marijuana cigarette.

Along with Ms. Hayden-Williams, he’s survived by six other children: Geneva, Jazzanee and Nicole Hayden, Jazzmin Brown, Stephen Ramon, and Joseph Adams; a sister, Gloria Hayden; 12 grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren. His wife of more than 30 years, Jacqueline (Adams) Hayden, died in 2011.

Virgin of Charity unites all Cubans—Catholics, Santeria followers, exiled, and back on the island

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO and GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press

EL COBRE, Cuba (AP)—Ramon Nieblas fixed his tearful eyes on the small golden statue, a beloved icon of Cuba’s patron saint. In a whisper, he asked the Virgin of Charity of Cobre for a miracle: Please save his sick son.

“I came to pray for his health,” said Nieblas, a Cuban living in Brazil who traveled thousands of miles to the basilica in eastern Cuba, a pilgrimage site nestled in the shadow of the Sierra Maestra mountains.

He sat in Mass, wrapping his arm around his son, 26-year-old Hernando Nieblas, a physician undergoing treatment for leuke-

mia. They were among the thousands who visit the shrine each year, seeking intercession from the Virgin Mary for their most desperate concerns and giving thanks for their blessings.

The Virgin of Charity has been crucial to Catholicism in Cuba, which repressed religious practice after becoming an atheist state after the 1959 revolution. It turned into a secular state in the early 1990s and has become more tolerant of religion over the past quarter-century, but the Vatican-recognized Virgin, venerated by Catholics and followers of Afro-Cuban Santeria traditions, is more than a religious icon. She is at the heart of Cuban identity, uniting compatriots from the Com-

munist-run Caribbean island with those who were exiled or emigrated to the U.S.

“The Virgin is deeply entrenched in our culture,” said the Rev. Rogelio Dean Puerta, the basilica’s parish priest, who also has celebrated Mass at the sister shrine in Miami.

“You can’t talk about Cuba without talking about the Virgin of Charity.”

A replica of the Virgin was smuggled to Miami six decades ago by exiles who later built the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity just south of downtown. It remains a powerful symbol of unity despite decades-old political divisions among Cubans.

“Cachita,” as she’s affectionately

See CHARITY continued on next page

People light candles in honor of Cuba’s patron saint, the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, at her shrine in El Cobre, Cuba. The Vatican-recognized Virgin, venerated by Catholics and followers of Afro-Cuban Santeria traditions, is at the heart of Cuban identity, uniting compatriots from the Communist-run Caribbean island to those who were exiled or emigrated to the U.S. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa photo)

Hathaway, Kenyon Dixon, Lattimore, and James, who belted out Maze/Beverly favorites like “Golden Time of Day,” “We Are One,” and “Joy and Pain.” The evening closed with a rousing rendition of “Before I Let Go.”

The full list of winners from the gala is:

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture

Cord Jefferson, “American Fiction”

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture

Ava DuVernay, “Origin”

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited Series, or Dramatic Special

Chloe Bailey, “Praise This”

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, LimitedSeries or Dramatic Special

Keith Powers, “The Perfect Find”

Outstanding Television Movie, Limited Series, or Dramatic Special “Swarm”

Outstanding Talk Series

“The Jennifer Hudson Show”

Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble Sherri Shepherd, “Sherri”

Outstanding Animated Motion Picture

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Gail Bean, “Snowfall”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Adrian Holmes, “Bel-Air”

Outstanding Drama Series

“Queen Charlotte: A Bridgeton Story”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

William Stanford Davis, “Abbott Elementary”

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture

Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, “The Color Purple”

Outstanding Comedy Series

“Abbott Elementary”

Outstanding Youth Performance (Motion Picture) Mila Davis-Kent, “Creed III”

Outstanding Social Media Personality Angel Laketa Moore

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special Phylicia Rashad, “Heaven Down Here”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special

Don Cheadle, “Secret Invasion”

Outstanding International Motion Picture “Brother”

Winners of the 55th NAACP Image Awards were revealed via telecast on March 16, 2024, on BET and CBS. The NAACP also recognized winners in nontelevised Image Awards categories virtually from March 11–13 on www. naacpimageawards.net.

For information and updates, follow NAACP Image Awards on Instagram @ NAACPImageAwards.

The 55th NAACP Image Awards are supported by sponsors Wells Fargo (presenting sponsor), Google, Bank of America, Gushers, FedEx, Airbnb, Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Diageo, Denny’s, Alaska Airlines, and American Airlines.

Partners include Bacardi, CVS Health, Entergy, Hyatt, Intuit, L’Oréal, Lyft, Planned Parenthood, SheaMoisture, Uncle Nearest, Spill, and Variety Magazine.

Note: The Legal Defense Fund, also referred to as the NAACP–LDF, was founded in 1940 as a part of the NAACP, but now operates as a completely separate entity.'

Charity

Continued from page 30

called, is etched in tattoos, street murals, cartoons, and other artwork on the island. She is revered at makeshift home altars, in songs, and at her ivorycolored shrine with soaring red domes some 500 miles (805 kilometers) east of Havana.

Many of the offerings left behind decorate Cuba’s: college diplomas, crutches, stethoscopes, handwritten notes, baby clothes, military insignia, and more. Mementos left by the shrine’s famous visitors include baseball jerseys, Olympic medals, and other accolades.

Fidel and Raul Castro’s mother once left a small golden figure of a guerrilla when her sons were fighting dictator Fulgencio Batista before the revolution. Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Cuba for two decades, had a replica of his 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature placed at the Virgin’s feet to thank Cubans for inspiring “The Old Man and the Sea” and other works.

Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVII visited the basilica during their papacies, and Pope Francis said he would pray to the Virgin of Charity for Cuba during his visit to the island.

Some people visit more than once. Years back, Ramon Nieblas and his wife went to the shrine to pray for their family. This year, his wife also has cancer, and they have a two-year-old boy. “We once came here to ask the Virgin to let her have that baby. Today, I prayed that she could be blessed to see him grow up,” he said.

Juan Gonzalez, who lives near the shrine, prays to the Virgin every day. His home altar is adorned with statues of Afro-Cuban Santeria deities, whose followers know the Virgin as “Ochun,” the goddess of female sensuality and maternity.

“They’re the ones who bless humanity—that’s why I believe in the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre and the great power of God,” he said.

A saint becomes a national symbol

The Virgin of Charity of Cobre dates to 1612, when two Indigenous brothers, Juan and Rodrigo de Hoyos, along with Juan Moreno, an enslaved African boy, are said to have found the statue of the Virgin in the Bay of Nipe, holding the infant Jesus. It was floating on a wooden board inscribed with the words “I am the Virgin of Charity,” according to the basilica.

Over the past four centuries, the Virgin of Charity’s significance has grown. She became a symbol for injured soldiers in Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain, and veterans of that war petitioned the Vatican to make her Cuba’s patron saint.

“She became this national symbol,” said Michelle Maldonado, an expert on the Virgin of Charity and provost at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

The cult of the Virgin of Charity became part of Cuban nationalism in the late 19th century. Among the Cuban diaspora in Miami, it has taken on a strong political significance, also in rebuke to the Cuban government’s history of religious repression, said Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.

Many of the early worshippers at Our Lady of Charity fled or were expelled by the Castro government, and reached safety in Florida on rickety rafts like the one featured behind the Virgin’s statue in the Miami shrine’s mural.

Looking at the ocean separating him from his homeland, the Miami shrine’s vicar, the Rev. Angel Andrés González, sees how the Virgin has been “the connecting thread” of his life.

“It’s like the heart of Cuba, here in the United States,” he said.

Like many of the Cuban exiles who built, and still worship at, La Ermita, as the Miami shrine is known, González’s devotion to the Virgin preceded his Catholic faith—and anchors his life in the U.S.

Although his family was largely non-practicing, his mother still made him recite Hail Marys to a print of the Virgin during thunderstorms. It had hung behind his bed since he was baptized in the Cobre sanctuary.

Miami shrine remains a beacon for migrants

La Ermita welcomes both long-term Miami residents for whom the church is a symbol of resistance to Cuba’s government and new arrivals who want to make video calls to their “mother” in Cuba from a familiar place.

At the Ash Wednesday celebrations marking the beginning of Lent, both political refugees and santeras—Santeria practitioners—brought their petitions to the Miami Virgin, who, as a mother, has a gift for all her children, as Sister Inés Espinoza tells visitors. The Havana native and member of the Daughters of Charity order, which was expelled from Cuba in 1972, ministers to the material and spiritual needs of growing numbers of migrants from throughout Latin America, including Cuba, who make La Ermita their first stop. In just the past few years, U.S. border authorities encountered more than half a million Cubans.

During an Ash Wednesday Mass this week, as the prayers of the faithful were recited, attendee Rafael Madlum Payas loudly called out a petition for freedom in

Cuba.

The 81-year-old political refugee fled to the United States nearly 20 years ago, he said, and finds comfort in La Ermita because “it means that the Virgin is with us wherever we are.”

In this, he was of one spirit with Yenise Hoyos, a santera who came to La Ermita during the same Mass, carrying a figure of her Yoruba religion’s deity, whom she considers a “sister” of the virgin.

“What you are—your idiosyncrasy, your religion—never, never gets lost wherever we go,” said Hoyos, who came from Cuba four years ago. “It’s an incredible peace that one breathes when one gets here.”

To clergy, the Virgin allows the Miami shrine to remain a beacon to migrants. The biblical exhortation to welcome the stranger is the theme that the rector, the Rev. José Espino, chose for this Lent.

“This is always the place of giving thanks to the Virgin for a safe arrival,” Espino said. “She has always accompanied the dreams of the Cuban people.”

Dell’Orto reported from Miami.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Yaneisy Frometa shows her necklace pendants of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre at the Virgin’s shrine in El Cobre, Cuba. Yamilca said she came to attend Mass at the shrine to fulfill a promise she made to the Cuban patron saint, whom she attributes to giving her a healthy baby. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa photo)

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101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL

Supreme Court-New York County Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v. IKENNA ODIKE AND OMOMENE ODIKE, if living, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, et al., Deft. - Index # 850300/2017. The foregoing supplemental summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 5th day of February 2024 and duly entered the 28th day of February 2024 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York. TO THE ABOVE- NAMED DEFENDANTS:

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff's attorney, within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State) In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT

THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of a fractional interest of 5,000/28,402,100 in the premises at Block 1006, Tax Lot 1302 located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas NY, NY. Mortgage bearing the date of December 24, 2015, executed by Ikenna Odike and Omomene Odike to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $33,750.00, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on May 19, 2016, in CRFN 2016000171807. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above.

YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York , U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR VRMTG ASSET TRUST, Plaintiff, vs . Avi Sivan , Defendant(s). Pursuant to an Amended Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on January 5, 2024 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, Room 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on April 3, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 635 West 42nd Street, Unit 45H, New York, NY 10036. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block 1090 and Lot 1337 together with an undivided 0.17879 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $734,925.62 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850226/2019. Cash will not be accepted. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

In

Georgia Papazis, Esq., Referee Knuckles, Komosinski & Manfro, LLP, 565 Taxter Road, Suite 590, Elmsford, NY 10523, Attorneys for Plaintiff

101

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, NYCTL 1998-2 Trust and the Bank of New York Mellon as Collateral Agent and Custodian, Plaintiff, vs. Katherine Mosley, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion dated October 18, 2023 and entered on November 28, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, Room 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on April 24, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., all that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 2011 and Lot 23.

Said premises may also be known as 125 West 142 Street, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $100,111.55 plus interest and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index # 154723/2022. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Doron A. Leiby, Esq., Referee

The Law Office of Thomas P. Malone, PLLC, 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 553, New York, New York 10165, Attorneys for Plaintiff

COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Plaintiff AGAINST Pedro D. A. Alvarez Arenas, if living and if dead, the respective heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, executors administrators, trustees, devisees, legatees, assignors, lienors, creditors and successors in interest and generally all persons having or claiming under, by or through said defendant who may be deceased, purchase, inheritance lien, or otherwise or any right, title or interest in and to the premises…; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered March 28, 2022 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on April 24, 2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 15 William Street, New York, NY 10005. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block: 25 Lot: 1503. Approximate amount of judgment $792,245.73 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 810049/2012. The auction will be conducted pursuant to the COVID-19 Policies Concerning Public Auctions of Foreclosed Property established by the First Judicial District. Mark McKew, Esq., Referee LOGS Legal Group LLP f/k/a Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792 Dated: December 15, 2023 78955

Winthrop Consulting LLC, filed with SSNY on 3/6/2024. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: Kathleen Adams 34 West 139th St., #2P, NY, NY 10037. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice is hereby given that a license, number NA-037024-107279, for beer, wine and liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, wine and liquor at retail in a theatre under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 1564 Broadway, New York, NY 10036 for on-premises consumption. Broadway Palace Theatre Company & Sandbar Concession, Inc.

RICHARD SALTOUN LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/19/23. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 19 E. 66th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10065. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Supreme Court-New York County - Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v. Any unknown heirs to the Estate of ALAN S. RAFTERMAN, next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, creditors, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest, as well as the respective heirs at law, next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest of the aforesaid classes of persons, if they or any of them be dead, all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to the plaintiff, et al., Deft. - Index # 850207/2019. The foregoing supplemental summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 13th day of February 2024 and duly entered the 15th day of February 2024 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York. TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff's attorney, within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State) In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT

THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of a fractional interest of 0.00986400000% in the premises at Block 1009, Tax Lot 37 located at 102 West 57th Street NY, NY. Mortgage bearing the date of August 6, 2015, executed by Alan S. Rafterman to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $40,920.23, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on January 4, 2016, in CRFN 2016000000603. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above.

YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.

NOTICE OF SALE - SUPREME COURT – NEW YORK COUNTY – AC 31, LLC, Plaintiff against Melissa Fawer, Mark Fawer, et. al., Defendant(s) – Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion dated December 5, 2023, and entered in the New York County Clerk’s Office on January 11, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, Room 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on April 3, 2024, at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 52 East End Avenue, Units 12A, 12C, 14B & 14C, New York, NY 10028. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, Block 1578 Lot 1023, Lot 1025, Lot 1026 and Lot 1027. Approximate amount of judgment $4,091,749.40, plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850250/2017 and Terms of Sale. The auction will be conducted pursuant to Supreme Court, New York County Auction Park Rules for Outdoor Auctions. Craig J. Albert, Esq., Referee Dated: February 9, 2024

Harris Beach PLLC

Kevin Tompsett, Esq.

Attorneys for Plaintiff 99 Garnsey Road Pittsford, NY 14534

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: OUR NYC HOME, LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 04/21/2023, office location Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of the process to the LLC, 4632 Third Avenue, Bronx, NY 10458. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Corrente Medical Care PLLC filed Arts. of Org. with the Sect'y of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/5/2024. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o The DeIorio Law Group PLLC, 800 Westchester Ave, Ste S-608, Rye Brook, NY 10573. Purpose: Medicine.

Application for Authority of PRIVATE LENDER PARTNERS

LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) 2/12/2024. Formed in FL 1/29/2024. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The principal business loc. and address SSNY shall mail copy of process is Sergey Smirnov, 17475 Collins Ave., Unit 603, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160. Arts. of Organization filed with the Secy. of State, Div. of Corporations, 2415 N. Monroe St., Ste. 810, Tallahassee, FL 32303. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Annah Mayer Fine Jewelry LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/2/2024. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 108 Leonard Street, #7F, NY, NY 10013. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK –COUNTY OF NEW YORK

INDEX # 103164/2008 FILED 01/17/2024

SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS

Mortgaged Premises: 158 West 130th Street, New York, NY 10027 Tax Map ID: 1914-55 U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE CERTIFICATEHOLDERS OF BANC OF AMERICA FUNDING CORPORATION, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-6, Plaintiff, GREGORY STEPHENSON AS HEIR AT LAW AND NEXT OF KIN OF DEBORAH A. STEPHENSON; VINCENT STEPHENSON AS HEIR AT LAW AND NEXT OF KIN OF DEBORAH A. STEPHENSON; DWIGHT STEPHENSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS HEIR AT LAW AND NEXT OF KIN OF DEBORAH A. STEPHENSON, if living, and if dead, the respective heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, executors, administrators, trustees, devisees, legatees, assignors, lienors, creditors and successors in interest and generally all persons having or claiming under, by or through said defendant who may be deceased, by purchase, inheritance, lien or otherwise of any right, title or interest in and to the premises described in the complaint herein, and their respective husbands, wives or widow, if any, and each and every person not specifically named who may be entitled to or claim to have any right, title or interest in the property described in the verified complaint; all of whom and whose names and places of residence unknown, and cannot after diligent inquiry be ascertained by the Plaintiff; "JOHN DOE" AND "JANE DOE" 1 THROUGH 50, INTENDING TO BE THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, DISTRIBUTEES, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, TRUSTEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, AND ASSIGNEES OF THE ESTATE OF DEBORAH A. STEPHENSON, WHO WAS BORN IN 1964 AND DIED ON MARCH 25, 2011, A RESIDENT OF NEW YORK COUNTY, WHOSE LAST KNOWN ADDRESS WAS 605 WEST 147 STREET NY, NY 10031, THEIR SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST IF ANY OF THE AFORESAID DEFENDANTS BE DECEASED, THEIR RESPECTIVE HEIRS AT LAW, NEXT OF KIN, AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF THE AFORESAID CLASSES OF PERSON, IF THEY OR ANY OF THEM BE DEAD, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE HUSBANDS, WIVES OR WIDOWS, IF ANY, ALL OF WHOM AND WHOSE NAMES AND PLACES ARE UNKNOWN TO THE PLAINTIFF; MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC; GREENPOINT MORTGAGE FUNDING, INC; NYC PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU; AMERICAN EXPRESS CENTURION BANK; NEW YORK CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA O/B/O INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, Defendants. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on the Plaintiff's attorney within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a Defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service hereof. Jn case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. NEW YORK County is designated as the place of trial. The basis of venue is the location of the premised encumbered by the mortgage to be foreclosed herein. NOTICE: YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME. If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. This action was commenced to foreclose a mortgage against property located at 158 W 130th St., New York, NY 10027. McCabe, Weisberg & Conway, LLC, Attorneys for Plaintiff, 1 Huntington Quadrangle Suite 4N25 Melville, NY 11747. (631) 812-4084. (855) 845-2584 facsimile. File# 19-300697 HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS IN FORECLOSURE. NEW YORK STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT WE SEND YOU THIS NOTICE ABOUT THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY. SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME. IF YOU FAIL TO RESPOND TO THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION, YOU MAY LOSE YOUR HOME. PLEASE READ THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT CAREFULLY. YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CONTACT AN ATTORNEY OR YOUR LOCAL LEGAL AID OFFICE TO OBTAIN ADVICE ON HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF. SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE The State encourages you to become informed about your options in foreclosure. In addition to seeking assistance from an attorney or legal aid office, there are government agencies and non- profit organizations that you may contact for information about possible options, including trying to work with your lender during this process. To locate an entity near you, you may call the toll-free helpline maintained by the New York State Department of Financial Services at 1-800-342-3736 or visit the Department`s website at www.dfs.ny.gov RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO LEAVE YOUR HOME AT THIS TIME. You have the right to stay in your home during the foreclosure process. You are not required to leave your home unless and until your property is sold at auction pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure and sale. Regardless of whether you choose to remain in your home, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR PROPERTY and pay property taxes in accordance with state and local law. FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCAMS Be careful of people who approach you with offers to "save" your home. There are individuals who watch for notices of foreclosure actions in order to unfairly profit from a homeowner`s distress. You should be extremely careful about any such promises and any suggestions that you pay them a fee or sign over your deed. State law requires anyone offering such services for profit to enter into a contract which fully describes the services they will perform and fees they will charge, and which prohibits them from taking any money from you until they have completed all such promised services. § 1303 NOTICE

Supreme Court-New York County – Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. V. Any unknown heirs to the Estate of ROY STEPHEN POWERS, next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, creditors, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest, as well as the respective heirs at law, next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest of the aforesaid classes of persons, if they or any of them be dead, all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to the plaintiff, et al., Deft. – Index # 850208/2018. The foregoing supplemental summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 27th day of October 2023 and duly entered the 2nd day of November 2023 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York.

TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff’s attorney, within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State) In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT

THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of a fractional interest of 10,000/16,783,800 in the premises at Block 1006, Tax Lot 1303 located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas NY, NY. Mortgage bearing the date of April 7, 2015, executed by Roy Stephen Powers to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $61,457.62, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on November 13, 2015, in CRFN 2015000404903. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.

Supreme Court-New York County - Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v. UKOHA OLUGU IGWE AND GOSPEL OLUGU IGWE, if living, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, et al., Deft. - Index # 850036/2018. The foregoing supplemental summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 2nd day of February 2024 and duly entered the 6th day of February 2024 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York. TO THE ABOVE- NAMED DEFENDANTS:

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff's attorney, within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State) In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT

THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of a fractional interest of 16,000/28,402,100 in the premises at Block 1006, Tax Lot 1302 located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas NY, NY. Mortgage bearing the date of July 31, 2015, executed by Ukoha Olugu Igwe and Gospel Olugu Igwe to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $96,150.00, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on January 5, 2016, in CRFN 2016000002039. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above.

YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.

Notice of Formation of FSFHP OWNER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/04/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 116 E. 27th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Products and services real estate development.

216 EAST 47TH STREET, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/05/24. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 312 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

NEW YORK - INDEX

NO.:850222/2023 SUMMONS.

NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF Nation Land Company, LLC Application for Authority filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/23/2024.

Office location: NEW YORK

County. LLC formed in Ohio on 10/31/2001. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is: 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. The principal business address of the LLC is 4300 Sterilite St. S.E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.

Certificate of LLC filed with Secretary of State of Ohio located at: 180 S. Civic Center Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of DD SACK WERN DEVELOPER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/11/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 7 Penn Plaza, Ste. 600, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of PORTA MANAGEMENT, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/08/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/28/18. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, Div. of Corps., PO Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

ANASTASIA DOES ASTROLOGY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/10/24. Office: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 276 W 71st St, 7, NY, NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of DD ATLANTIC PARTICIPANTS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/06/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 7 Penn Plaza, Ste. 600, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Jeffrey Levine at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of MIDTOWN ESTATES PRESERVATION GP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/05/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of MIDTOWN ESTATES DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/05/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of 885 HOSPITALITY LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/05/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/07/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Plaintiff designates NEW YORK COUNTY as the place of trial based upon the location of the premises herein described having tax map Block 1397, Lot 1524, NEW YORK, NY, County of NEW YORK – CITIMORTGAGE, INC., PLAINTIFF, -against- CARMEL REAL ESTATE LLC, BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE BARBIZON/63 CONDOMINIUM, “JOHN DOE #1” through “JOHN DOE #12,” the last twelve names being fictitious and unknown to plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the complaint, DEFENDANTS. YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff's Attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York); and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this Summons and Complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered against you and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Dated: Syosset, New York, February 28, 2024. Roach & Lin, P.C., attorney for Plaintiff, 6851 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 185, Syosset, NY 11791. Tel: 516-938-3100. To the above-named defendants: The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, a Justice of the Supreme Court, State of New York, dated February 14, 2024 and filed with the NEW YORK County Clerk together with the supporting papers thereon. This is an action to foreclose a mortgage held by Plaintiff on the premises known as Block 1397, Lot 1524, NEW YORK, NY, County of NEW YORK as described in the complaint on file and commonly known as 140 EAST 63RD ST, UNIT 6C, A/K/A 140 E 63RD ST 6C, NEW YORK, NY. 79893

Notice of Formation of PC NYC PROPERTY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/01/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Engaging in and exercising all powers permitted to a limited liability company formed under the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act.

Notice of Qualification of GREYSTONE MONTICELLO FUNDING SH-73 LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/15/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/13/24. Princ. office of LLC: 600 Third Ave., 21st Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Engaging in and exercising all powers permitted to a limited liability company formed under the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act.

Notice of Qualification of STRETCHD WORLDWIDE, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/07/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/17/24. Princ. office of LLC: 12636 High Bluff Dr., Ste. 200, San Diego, CA 92130. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o C T Corporation System, 28 Liberty St., NY, NY 10005. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CT Corporation System, 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Stretching services.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of NATASA KENNEDY CONSULTING LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/12/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 228 Park Ave S. #178498, NY, NY 10003. R/A: US Corp Agents Inc. 7014 13th Ave, #202, BK, NY 11228. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of DD 82ND STREET PARTICIPANTS

LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/06/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 7 Penn Plaza, Ste. 600, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Jeffrey Levine at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of SPECIAL PRODUCTION AGENCY

LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/07/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/19/21. Princ. office of LLC: 545 W. 25th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Mama Naya LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/29/2024. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 182 Bennett Ave., #1H, NY, NY 10040. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of HYDROGEN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/16/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/11/22. Princ. office of LLC: 205 Detroit St., Ste. 200, Denver, CO 80206. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808-1674. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of RGNNEW YORK C, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/16/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/16/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of OTG CONCESSIONS MANAGEMENT, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/11/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/31/17. Princ. office of LLC: 352 Park Ave. S., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10010. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 820 N. French St., 10th Fl., Wilmington, DE 19801. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

This Is Your Moment Productions LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 8/10/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 234-18 118th Street, Cambria Heights, NY, 11411. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of FORTHILL MOXY HOLDER, LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/16/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/15/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State, 820 N. French St., 10th Fl., Wilmington, DE 19801. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Green Ductors LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/26/2023. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 57 West 57th St, NY, NY, 10019. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Alana Kaminetsky Psychological Services PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 2/8/24. Office: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 2248 Bdwy, #1104, NY, NY 10024. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of 22 MONTAIGNE ENTERTAINMENT LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/26/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/20/24. Princ. office of LLC: 19 E. 57th St., NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Entertainment production.

Notice of Formation of 515 W18 1804 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/01/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 515 W. 18th St., #1804, NY, NY 10011. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: To purchase, own and sell real estate in New York.

Step Change Coaching LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/04/24 Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 8 Spruce St, NY, NY 10038. Purpose: Any lawful act.

TESLA SKY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/29/2023. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 28 LIBERTY ST, NEW YORK, NY 10005. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Falafel & Crepe LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 9/8/2023. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 265 West 114th St., Ste. 521, NY, NY 10026. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK, 75 STREET SERVICING LLC, Plaintiff, vs. CLST ENTERPRISES LLC, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on December 8, 2022 and a Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on December 7, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, Room 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on April 10, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 19 East 75th Street, New York, NY 10021. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block 1390 and Lot 14. Approximate amount of judgment is $7,346,196.91 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850001/2021. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee

Glenn Rodney, PC, 368 Birch Road, Wallkill, New York 12589, Attorneys for Plaintiff

ABOTOS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/12/2024.

Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: ROCKET

CORPORATE SERVICES INC.,

2804 Gateway Oaks Dr. #100, Sacramento, CA, 95833. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Secret Society Dance Company

LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/04/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 1-05 Astoria Blvd 1D, Astoria, NY, 11102. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of CERTIFIED ORNAMENTAL, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/07/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of DD ST. NICHOLAS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/06/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 7 Penn Plaza, Ste. 600, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of BENNY BRONCO LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/15/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Mobile Medicine, PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/16/2023. Office: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 228 Park Ave S, Ste 20769, NY, NY, 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Evey Gallery New York LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/01/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 240 S County Rd, Palm Beach, FL, 33480. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0240-24107733 for beer & wine has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer & wine at retail in a restaurant under the ABC Law at 1750 2nd Ave., New York, NY 10128 for on-premises consumption; Charoensuk Corp.

BERTRIS ENTERPRISES,

LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/08/24. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 299 Broadway, Suite 1405, New York, NY 10007. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of ARTONUS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/06/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 38 W. 32nd St., Ste. 1101, NY, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

234 West 123rd Street Apts, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/25/2015. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 234 W. 123rd St., Apt. G., NY, NY 10027. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of 30

HY WM UNIT DEVELOPER

LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/01/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/29/24. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of DE, Corp. Div., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice is hereby given that a license for OP 252 Wine, Beer, Cider and Liquor License, has been applied for by 130 Saint Marks, LLC dba Crispiano, to sell wine, beer, cider and liquor under the Alcoholic Beverage Control law at the premises located at 130 St. Marks Place, New York, New York 10009.

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Meanwhile, the U.S., despite being the wealthiest country in the world by GDP according to the International Monetary Fund, still has a sizable gender pay and equity gap, and is one of just a few wealthy countries, including Japan and China, that does not mandate pay equality.

The world loses USD $160 trillion in human capital wealth due to gender wage inequality every year. Inequality is not just an issue of fairness. It is also undesirable because it hampers poverty reduction strategies and leads to suboptimal allocation of resources.

A copy of the World Bank report can be obtained by downloading it from wbl.worldbank.org

MAJOR DISRUPTIONS REPORTED

ACROSS AFRICA AS SUBSEA TELCOM CABLE SUFFERS DAMAGE (GIN)—What is a world without a phone? Without long distance service? Without a digital cellular network?

It’s hard to imagine since billions of people across the globe can now call relatives, do business or exchange information without having to put it in writing.

Within 50 years of its invention in 1849, the telephone has become an indispensable tool until this week in West and Central Africa when, according to NetBlocks, a watchdog organization that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the Internet, multiple subsea cable failures cut Africa off from the world.

The precise cause of these failures remains unclear at this time.

According to NetBlocks, Ivory Coast faced the most severe outage, while Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso experienced significant impacts. Cloudflare, an internet firm, confirmed ongoing major disruptions in Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, and Niger through one of its monitoring accounts.

By 8 a.m., bank closures were being reported across Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, and Ghana. Network disruptions caused by cable damage have occurred in Africa in recent years. However, “today’s disruption points to something larger (and) this is amongst the most severe,” said Isik Mater, director of research at NetBlocks.

Associate Professor Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah, writing for The Conversation, noted that large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, have been left without internet services since March 14 because of failures on four of the fiber optic cables that run below the world’s oceans.

Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and South Africa are among the worst out of 10 affected. Microsoft warned its customers there could be a long delay in repairing the cables. West African data center and connectivity provider MainOne blamed the internet outage on a break in its submarine cable system.

Afropalenqueros

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When we entered the house, there was a palanquero prayer that read: “La itoria ni Palenque ni San Basilio que la Vitoria ni brabura i resistencia ni ma afrikana ima africano i ma resendiente ri and ké a lucha pu suture ané,” which translates to “The history of Palenque de San Basilio is one of rebellion and resistance of the Africans and their descendants who fought for their freedom. In this house, solidarity, the teaching of the palanquera language, and spiritual practices is a point of reference for the palanqueros who migrate to the city of Bogotá.”

Casa Palanquero has coordi -

South Africa appears to be in a relatively good position but in several African countries— including Sierra Leone and Liberia—only one fiber optic cable actually comes into the country. Internet traffic from these countries basically stops when the cable breaks. Namibia and Lesotho were also affected.

“Naturally that has huge implications for every aspect of life, business and even politics,” Jahajeeah continued. “While some communication can be rerouted via satellites, satellite traffic accounts for only about 1% of digital transmissions globally.”

Questions are now emerging over what is called ‘digital colonialism,’ she said. “Previously cables were financed by a combination of public and private sector partnerships, but now big private companies such as Alphabet, Meta, and Huawei are increasingly financing cable infrastructure. That has serious implications for control and monitoring of digital infrastructure.

Poorer countries often have little choice but to accept the terms and conditions of wealthy corporate entities. That’s potentially incredibly dangerous for African digital sovereignty, and is something we should be seeing a lot more public conversation about.”

U.S. MILITARY ‘NO LONGER JUSTIFIED’ IN NIGER, JUNTA LEADERS SAY (GIN)—The West African nation of Niger has suspended military cooperation with Washington after high-level talks to break recent tensions between the two parties collapsed.

Speaking for Niger’s military junta, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane announced on state TV that the U.S. military presence was no longer justified and that U.S. flights over the country’s territory in recent weeks were illegal.

Summarizing the talks held recently with U.S. officials, Col. Abdramane said the Americans had accused Niger of making a secret deal to supply uranium to Iran. He described the accusation as “cynical” and “reminiscent of the second Iraq war.”

Further, the U.S. had raised objections about the allies that Niger had chosen. “The government of Niger strongly denounces the condescending attitude combined with the threat of reprisals by the head of the American delegation against the government and the people of Niger,” Col. Abdramane said.

U.S. officials were hoping to resume their friendship with Niger, having spent over $100 million to build a base where more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have been stationed.

Following a coup last year that

removed Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, the U.S. largely suspended military aid to Niger, with activity at the base limited to surveillance for protection of U.S. forces.

At the Agadez base, Americans train Niger’s military, conduct surveillance and target Islamic State and Al-Qaeda-linked militants operating in the Sahel region. The airbase cost about $100 million and was completed in 2019.

Air Base 201 in Agadez is the most expensive construction project ever undertaken by the U.S. government. It’s there for war on terror operations but it’s really there also for great power projection against countries like Russia and China, said Al Jazeera correspondent Shihab Rattansi.

The U.S. and France had more than 2,500 military personnel in the region until recently, and together with other European countries had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance and training. Shutting down the base is “a huge blow to the U.S.,” Rattansi said.

nated the publication of a new book, “Kutura ri Palenque,” which brings together Afropalenquero poets, especially the new generation. The poetic verses reflect the love, pain, and justice of these people, who are a bridge to the Caribbean and the mainland.

The text gathers the reflections and essays of Bogotá-based palanqueros, including Neris Isabel Barrios Reyes, Leonor Diaz Cañete, Luis Gerardo Martines Miranda, Aiden Salgado, Alejandro Gonzalez Santa Fe, and Alberto Torres Perez, among others.

The poet and psychologist Bar-

rios Reyes talks about El Kuagaro as the social and political organization of the palanqueros, traditional games, and wakes. Musical chronicler Luis Gerardo Martinez, a scholar of traditional African and contemporary music, looks at the deep roots of African music in palenque.

“Kutura ri Palenque” is an example for the rest of the countries of the African diaspora in America: It shows a way to build collective poetics and essays in the same way that Benkos Biohó dreamed of doing before his death on March 16, 1621.

To contact members of Casa Palenquero and if you have interest in the new book, “Kutura ri Palenque,” use Salgadocaiden@ gmail.com.

(GIN

Usher, Fantasia Barrino, and ‘The Color Purple’ win big at 2024 NAACP Image Awards

By MAGRIRA and ART SHRIAN

Special to the AmNews

Black excellence. That’s the only way to describe the week’s worth of events leading up to the 55th annual NAACP Image Awards that took place last Saturday in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium.

Packed to capacity, the invitation-only event echoed the pride the assembled participants felt as they gathered to celebrate the continued power of Black culture.

Queen Latifah hosted the awards ceremony aired live on BET and she did it beautifully!

Usher was named Entertainer of the Year at the awards, which highlighted works by entertainers and writers of color.

Usher made it clear that he was standing in the glow of gratitude. After accepting his award, the superstar R&B singer spoke about that as he reflected on his successful career that has lasted three decades.

He listed many of his recent big moments, which included his soldout residency in Las Vegas, getting

married, releasing his ninth studio album “Coming Home,” and his Super Bowl halftime performance, which became the most-watched in the game’s history.

“I don’t know how many people do that much stuff in one setting,” Usher said in being presented the award by Oprah Winfrey. After being surprised by Winfrey’s presence, the multi-Grammy winner thanked those who have supported him throughout the years.

“This is for you, you, my number ones,” the singer said as the audience repeated his words back to him. The final words of his speech were lyrics from “Superstar,” his hit from his 2004 album “Confessions,” which sold more than 10 million units in the U.S.

Earlier in the ceremony, Usher was honored with the President’s Award for his public service achievements through his nonprofit Usher’s New Look. He thanked the strong women in his life, including his mother and his wife Jenn Goicoechea, whom he married after his Super Bowl halftime performance

last month. “They say behind or beside or with every strong man is a stronger woman,” he said. Also nominated in the Entertainer of the Year category were Oscar nominees Colman Domingo and actresses Fantasia Barrino, Halle Bailey, and Keke Palmer.

Fantasia Barrino won Best Actress in a Motion Picture for portraying Celiel in “The Color Purple” at the NAACP Image Awards.

“The Color Purple” was awarded Best Motion Picture. The musical

film featured a star-studded cast, including Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Domingo, H.E.R., Danielle Brooks, Corey Hawkins, and Bailey.

“I didn’t prepare a speech, because I didn’t think I was going to win,” Barrino said. “I was afraid to play Celie, but I’m glad I did. Because I kept saying, ‘If I don’t win an award, the awards that I will win will come from the people who watched ‘Color Purple’ and the women who will relate to her and feel like Oscars when they walk out.’”

New Edition was inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame. The induction is bestowed on individuals who are viewed as pioneers in their respective fields and whose influence shaped their profession.

“We stand here in brotherhood,” sai d Michael Bivins. The Grammynominated group includes Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant, Ronnie DeVoe, and Ricky Bell. “You’ve seen our story. You know what we’ve been through,” said Bivins, who spoke about the group overcoming conflict and tension in their earlier years to now holding a residency in Las Vegas.

“But we call each other every day,” he said. “We text each other every day. We check on our families. You watched us grow up. We’re still growing.”

Damson Idris won Best Actor in a Drama Television Series for his role in “Snowfall.” Henson and Domingo took home best supporting roles in “The Color Purple.” Domingo also won Best Actor in a motion picture for his role in “Rustin.”

Usher (Bellamy Brewster photo)

Yankees and Mets make final preparations for Opening Day

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

Major League Baseball’s spring training schedule ends on Monday and next Thursday is Opening Day. It’s a time of hope and optimism across the league’s 30-team landscape. This feeling doesn’t last for long for many clubs that will find themselves stuck in the low end of the standings before the midpoint of the summer.

The absurdly talent-loaded Los Angeles Dodgers, who in designated hitter/outfielder Shohei Ohtani, second baseman/ outfielder Mookie Betts, and first baseman Freddie Freeman have three of the top four favorites to win the National League MVP award. The Dodgers are also the overwhelming betting favorite to win the World Series. The Yankees have the fourth best odds by all major sports betting companies. The Mets are listed at 18th.

Yankees fans will have to wait until April to see their team play in the Bronx. The squad will be on the road for seven games to begin their 2024 journey in search of the franchise’s first World Series title since 2009, which was also the last time they played in baseball’s premiere event. The Yankees will face the Houston Astros in a four-game series before going to Arizona to meet the

defending National League champion Diamondbacks for three games. They will make their home debut on Friday, April 5 against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Mets will host the Milwaukee Brewers for three-games at Citi Field in Queens beginning next Thursday followed by a three-game home set against the Detroit Tigers. They will play their first road series the weekend of April 5 versus the Cincinnati Reds. The Mets haven’t won a World Series since 1986 and their last appearance was in 2015, losing to the Kansas City Royals 4-1.

The Yankees will be without Gerrit Cole, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, for at least one month after he experienced right elbow discomfort earlier this month, officially diagnosed as nerve inflammation and edema (swelling caused by too much fluid trapped in the body’s tissues). There is no expected date for Cole’s return.

With a rotation that was already suspect even with a healthy Cole, the Yankees will have to persevere for the early part of the schedule. Nestor Cortes has been slated to be the opening day starter in Cole’s absence with Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, and Clarke Schmidt in order behind him. If Cole’s injury causes him to be shelved for an extended amount of time— two or three months— the Yankees’ odds of making the playoffs, no

less the World Series, will be greatly reduced. They failed to make the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016.

On the other end of the injury spectrum, the Mets are enthusiastic about the return of All-Star closer Edwin Diaz. The righty, who was arguably the best closer in all of baseball in 2022, was out the entirety of last season after tearing the patellar tendon in

his right knee last March celebrating Puerto Rico’s win over the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

Diaz and his teammates were jumping for joy in a huddle in the infield when he sustained the injury. Heading into the Mets’ game yesterday versus the Miami Marlins, Diaz had two perfect innings, throwing only 24 pitches in two spring training outings.

HBCU and local women’s D1 basketball teams prep for NCAA tournament

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

March Madness is upon us, and now that NCAA women’s basketball teams are officially allowed to use that term, even though it’s been used for decades it only became official in 2022, let’s go mad. While the only teams from New York and New Jersey headed to the Big Dance—the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament—are Columbia, Princeton, and Syracuse, other local teams will be dancing in other arenas.

This year, the NCAA unveiled the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), its version of the long-running Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT), which also continues to exist as does the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI), so more than 100 teams not part of the NCAA Tournament will still have a chance to compete.

Stony Brook, which was narrowly defeated by Drexel in the CAA Championship game on Sunday, is headed to the WBIT and will face the No. 1 seed James Madison today. Stony Brook comes in with the momentum of a good season in which the Seawolves earned their inaugural CAA Regular Season Championship. St. John’s University is also headed to the WBIT and is taking on the University of Florida in Gainesville today. Seton Hall University will play in the

WBIT, heading to Philadelphia to play Saint Joseph’s today. Monmouth University is an automatic qualifier for the WNIT. Round one of the WNIT began yesterday. The overall top seed in the NCAA tournament and top seed in Regional 1 is the University of South Carolina. The undefeated Gamecocks begin action tomorrow against the winner of the Round of 68 game between Sacred Heart and Presbyterian. The top seed in Regional 2 is Iowa, which features the all-time scoring leader in NCAA Division I, Caitlin Clark. Iowa will face the winner of the Holy Cross vs. UT

Martin game. Defending champion LSU received the #3 seed in this region and will play Rice tomorrow. The top seed in Regional 3 is USC, which features former Columbia player Kaitlyn Davis.

Also going to the Big Dance this year are two HBCU teams that earned spots in the NCAA Tournament. They are Norfolk State, which won its second consecutive MEAC Tournament, and Jackson State, which prevailed in the SWAC. Jackson State takes on UConn on Saturday, and Norfolk State plays the #2 seed in Regional 4, 2021 NCAA Champion Stanford, tomorrow.

Jackson State University punched its ticket to NCAA Tournament by winning SWAC. (Jackson State Athletics photo)

Point guard Skye Owen. St. John’s Red Storm will compete in WBIT. (St. John’s Athletics photo)

Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman tunes up in spring training for the start of a long regular season. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

St. John’s falls short of a spot in the NCAA’s Big Dance

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

St. John’s Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino believed his team did enough to get into NCAA Division I field of 68 men’s basketball tournament after defeating the Seton Hall Pirates last Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. He turned out to be wrong.

The 20-13 Red Storm’s 95-90 loss to the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 seed Connecticut Huskies the following evening was the Red Storm’s final game of the 2023–2024 campaign.

“We had a terrific season,” Pitino said, speaking with the media virtually on Sunday night. “We played exciting basketball down the stretch. We lost to the defending national champions 95-90. We had a lot of firsts this year. I’ve never been

on this end of the stick before as a coach, and it certainly hurts, but for me, the hurt really is in the eyes of my players and that’s what hurts the most.”

St. John’s was among seven major college programs that did not get selected for the field of 68 to decline an invitation to play in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

“I feel if we’re going to move forward, most of our time now needs to be spent recruiting, because we’re going to have to

bring in probably seven or eight new players, and preparing for the NIT does not help our future,” Pitino explained.

“Now, if it was a normal year, we [would] only have to bring in three or four players, then I think it would be beneficial, and you had a lot of young players that you wanted to further develop, but right now we’re in a situation where we’ve got to replace a lot of players.”

The NCAA transfer portal for men’s basketball, which allows players to transfer from one school to another, opened Monday and closes on May 1.

Before this season began, the Red Storm were picked to finish fifth in the conference in the coaches’ poll. The prediction was accurate as St. John’s was 11-9 in the Big East. They closed their season by winning six straight before losing to Connecticut.

Whether the Red Storm’s first season under Pitino was a success or disappointing is open for debate, but looking ahead, sophomore RJ Luis Jr, an athletic 6-7 wing and the team’s only eligible returning player to average double figures in points, will be expected to take on a much bigger role. Sophomore’s Zuby Ejiofor and freshman Brady Dunlap, both forwards, should also be mainstays of Pitino’s rotation if they come back. Ejiofor played in all 33 games, averaging 11.3 minutes and Dunlap avenged 12.5 minutes in 25 games.

How Pitino rebuilds his roster, probably more with transfers than incoming freshman from high school as he did this season, will determine if he has laid the foundation for a berth in the NCAA Tournament next season.

UConn enters NCAA Tournament primed to repeat

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

The University of Connecticut’s men’s basketball team is a juggernaut. After rolling to the Big East Conference regular season title with an 18-2 record and then defeating Marquette in the Big East Tournament championship by 73-57 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, the 31-3 Huskies enter the NCAA Tournament as the top seed in the East region and No. 1 overall seed among all teams.

“We’ve been (trying) all year to win multiple championships, and this is one of the stops,” said senior point guard Tristen Newton after the Huskies eliminated St. John’s by 95-90 in the semifinals on Friday.

The First Team All-Big East selection registered 25 points and 9 assists, against the Red Storm, both team highs, and his six rebounds tied freshman guard Stephon Castle for the Huskies lead.

The Huskies won the DI men’s title last year, crushing San Diego State by 76-59 in the finals. Each of their six wins

en route to the championship were by double-digits. This iteration of the Huskies is likely to face a close game along their path this year and could even be a victim of an upset, given the randomness and unpredictability of the tournament, which makes it one of the world’s most compelling and dramatic sporting events. But they will be extremely difficult to beat since their balance, size, depth, and versatility are unmatched on the college level.

Head coach Danny Hurley has several future NBA players at his disposal, including Castle, Newton, and 7-2 sophomore center Donovan Clingan, who dominated Marquette on Saturday with 22 points and 16 rebounds. UConn opens up against No. 16 seed Stetson today at 2:45 p.m. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The other No. 1 seeds are North Carolina in the West, Pudue in the Midwest, and Houston in the South. On Tuesday, No. 16 Wagner defeated Howard 71-68 in a First Four matchup and will now meet North Carolina today at 2:45 p.m. in Charlotte.

University of Connecticut point guard Tristen Newton will lead the Huskies, the 2023 NCAA men’s DI basketball champions, into this year’s tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

St. John’s senior guard Daniss Jenkins rises at the rim in the Red Storm’s 91-72 win over Seton Hall in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. (Bill Moore photos)

UConn celebrates the Big East Tournament win.

Columbia women’s hoops earns first ever NCAA Tournament bid

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

After Columbia University’s 63–61 victory over Harvard University on Mar 15, Columbia coach Megan Griffith was asked for her thoughts on the championship matchup against Princeton University the following day. “This is March; you’ve got to show up and want that moment,” she said. “I’m really confident we want the moment.”

Unfortunately, experience prevailed and Princeton claimed its fifth consecutive Ivy Madness title and with it an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Tigers dominated the Lions throughout, winning 75–58. Kaitlyn Chen was named Most Outstanding Player for the third consecutive year.

“We knew it was going to be challenging,” said Princeton head coach Carla Berube. “We watched a lot of film—the staff and then as a team—and we knew it was going to be really difficult. … When I saw my team this morning at shootaround and before the game, they were very, very locked in and ready to win this game. We knew the scout, we knew the game plan, and they executed really, really well.”

The Columbia Lions have played

strong all season, even earning a victory over Princeton on senior night. The team clinched its second consecutive Ivy League Regular Season Championship and headed into the Ivy League Championship game on an 11game winning streak. Griffth was Ivy League Coach of the Year and Abbey Hsu was named Ivy League

Player of the Year. An emotional Griffith spoke from the heart after the loss. “There’s no secret that I feel we should be playing in the NCAA Tournament,” she said. “The NCAA talks about wanting to grow the game, and we consistently put SEC teams that are 15–14 [in the Tournament]. … We did everything we could to build

a resume. … I can’t say enough about Abbey Hsu. She’s one of the best players in the country, and she needs to be seen and I really hope the committee gives her and this team a chance because if we keep being in this spot, we’re not growing the game.”

Griffith’s words proved prophetic. For the first time in program

history, Columbia will compete in the NCAA Tournament. The Lions began play in the round of 68, facing off against Vanderbilt yesterday, with the winner playing Baylor on Saturday.

Princeton received the #9 seed in Regional 2 of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers face West Virginia on Saturday.

Dr. Leeja Carter hosts Pretty in Power women’s empowerment conference

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

Former student-athlete Dr. Leeja Carter, who founded an organization focused on holistic health, recently produced Pretty in Power: A Jersey City Women’s Empowerment Conference in celebration of this year’s Women’s History Month.

“We invited some amazing businesswomen, leaders in politics and community, women who had done some transformative work in Jersey City as well as across the state, to be speakers,” said Dr. Carter. “The first part of the day was one-on-one interviews with them, and I asked them questions about their journeys through leadership and through business.”

One of the speakers, Dorota Mani, owner of Design by Mani and co-owner of Café Peanut, spoke about how her background in jiu-jitsu has enabled her to be a strong, self-empowered woman. “That journey in ath-

leticism gives her discipline and allows her to see things in a way where she doesn’t see challenges as deterrents; she sees them as opportunities,” said Carter.

A track and field student-athlete at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Carter went on to earn a master’s degree in psychology and a doctorate in kinesiology with a concentration in the psychology of human movement. After spending more than a decade working in academia, she founded the Coalition for Food and Health Equity in 2020, with a focus on holistic health.

Her research is centered on making a community impact. A program she created, Ujamaa Well: An Integrated Wellness Program for Black Women, funded by Google’s Racial Health Equity Initiative, is examining physical activity. One cohort recently finished a 20-week program and another cohort will soon be enrolled. Participants receive exer-

cise psychology coaching as well as nutritional education.

“It’s all centered on a decolonized wellness approach,” said Carter.

“We’re not focused on the steps on your Fitbit (which participants receive), but instead how you define wellness as a conduit to actually being able to achieve your fitness goal. We’ve had awesome outcomes with cohort one.”

Among the topics that Carter has written about are health and sport equity. In 2019, she published “Feminist Applied Sport Psychology: From Theory to Practice.” She has been an athlete her entire life, but it took until college for her to follow her desire to be a pole vaulter. She also threw the discus and was a track and field team captain.

“Pretty in Power represents creating safe, affirming spaces for women,” she said. “These types of spaces are necessary, particularly for women in sport, providing affirming environments that normalize the challenges that women experience.”

The Columbia University women’s basketball team was selected for the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance.

(Columbia University Athletics/ Joshua Wang photo)

Dr. Leeja Carter (in white suit) with fellow speakers at Pretty in Power empowerment conference (Photo courtesy of Leeja Carter)

The Knicks bank pivotal road wins to maintain high seeding Sports

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has often expressed that he is not watching the standings while trying to keep his team focused on the game directly in front of them. But there are only 14 remaining in the regular season for the 41-27 Knicks, who end a four-game Western Conference road trip tonight in Denver against the Nuggets following three critical, impressive wins.

The Knicks began the string of wins by taking down the Portland Trail Blazers last Thursday, 10593, toppling the Sacramento Kings 98-91 on Saturday, and knocking off the Golden State Warriors 119112 this past Monday. The Knicks go into tonight’s game having won five of their last six games and are No. 4 in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the 43-25, No. 3 Cleveland Cavaliers and one-

half game ahead of the 41-28, No. 5 Orlando Magic, who have briskly risen in the playoff race with a 12-3 record since Feb. 14.

The Knicks are 19-14 on the road this season, the third best mark in the East, with only the Boston Celtics (23-11) and Cavaliers (21-12) better. Their victory over the Warriors exemplifies a no-excuses mentality that has been at the core of maintaining one of the East’s top seeds despite numerous games missed by their starters due to injuries, notably three-time All-Star forward Julius Randle, who tonight will be sidelined for the 22nd time this season as he recovers from a dislocated right shoulder.

Forward Ogugua “OG” Anunoby flew back to New York earlier this week when he experienced pain in his surgically repaired right elbow, having undergone a procedure to remove a bone fragment early last month, and

was out versus the Warriors. The Knicks are uncertain when he will be back in the lineup.

“When you talked to him after the [Kings] game, he felt good,” said Thibodeau. Anunoby seemingly reaggravated his elbow against Sacramento after missing 18 games when he suffered the initial injury on Jan. 27. In his absence, Jalen Brunson, who was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 21 of this season (March 11-17) and Miles “Deuce” McBride mitigated the void. Brunson, who has now won East player of the week three times this season, scored 34 points and McBride had a career-high 29.

Brunson also posted 45 against Portland and dropped 42 on the Kings, becoming just the fourth Knick in franchise history to have back-to-back 40-point games in addition to Hall of Famers Bernard King and Patrick Ewing, and future

Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony.

“I don’t have the resume those guys do, so it means a lot,” said Brunson following the win over the Kings. “But I’m just happy we found a way to win.”

The staggering Nets postseason hopes rapidly fade

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

The Brooklyn Nets have essentially played themselves out of the NBA’s Eastern Conference playin tournament hunt as they enter tonight’s match up with the Milwaukee Bucks on the road on a four-game losing streak. Despite relieving Jacque Vaughn of his head coaching duties on Feb. 19, the team still faces similar deficiencies on both ends of the floor, which reveals that the issues affecting the team are not coaching, but a roster not constructed to compete at a playoff level.

The Nets have lost 10 of their 15 games under interim head coach Kevin Ollie, the most recent being a defeat on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center to the playoff-bound New Orleans Pelicans. And the schedule isn’t in their favor. The Nets are in a stretch of playing 10 of 11 games on the road.

They began with a 118-112 loss to the Detroit Pistons on March 7 and after the Bucks tonight, will face the

Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday and the Raptors in Toronto on Monday before ending the span next Wednesday in Washington against the Wizards. Still, Ollie is motivated by small signs of life such as the Nets’ final 24 minutes against the Pelicans in which they outscored their opponent 46-40.

“Yes, I’m going to take the positive out of it, [the] second half, and you hold a team to 104 points… you should win,” Ollie said after the Nets’ 104-91 loss, which dropped them to 26-43 and a No. 11 seed in the East, 4 1/2 games behind the No. 10 seed 30-38 Atlanta Hawks for the final play-in spot with 13 games left.

“We just got to be better. We got to do simple, better. And that’s it. I thought we had a good second half. I’m not going to just throw that under. That’s a good team. So let’s take that effort and have that effort in the first two quarters and not get down by 20. I think we’ll be in good shape.”

Nets guard Cam

The Knicks will be back at Madison Square Garden on Saturday to face the Brooklyn Nets and will host the Detroit Pistons on Monday before meeting the Raptors in Toronto next Wednesday.

Thomas had a similar take. “We can try, but we just have to keep executing and just keep trying to put it all together to stack these wins,” he said. “We can definitely look at stuff we did in the second half and show that this is the team we need to be for these last 13 games.”

Thomas, who’s averaging 21.5 points per game, has led the team in points in six straight contests.

Day’Ron Sharpe, the Nets’ 6-foot-9-inch reserve center, grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in the loss to the Pelicans.

“He’s going in there, he’s battling, he’s been doing that even in the San Antonio game,” Ollie said of Sharpe. “He is just doing everything right and doing all the things that we asked him to do. So great game by him.”

Knicks guard Miles “Deuce” McBride scored a career high 29 points on Monday night in New York’s 119-112 road win over the Golden State Warriors. (Bill Moore photo)

Nets point guard Dennis Schroder and his teammates fell to Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans 104-91 at the Barclays Center on Tuesday night. (Bill Moore photo)