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Arts & Entertainment Page 17

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MANY

GRIEVE PASSING OF GHANAIAN POET, AUTHOR,

AND

RADICAL FEMINIST

(GIN) — Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, and scholar Ama Ata Aidoo is resting in power after seven decades of an illustrious career.

A renowned feminist and celebrated writer and playwright, Aidoo spent most of her early life among the Fante community, later studying at the University of Ghana and University of Cape Coast. In the U.S., she attended Brown and Stanford.

Aidoo wrote both fiction and nonfiction, and in some cases, infused the two genres to create potentially real-world situations based on the conflicts and struggles between race, authority, and gender.

Among her plays was “The Dilemma of a Ghost,” first published 1965, in which a Ghanaian student returning home brings his African American wife into the traditional culture and extended family that he now finds restrictive.

Her fiction particularly dealt with the tension between Western and African world views. Her first novel, “Our Sister Killjoy,” published in 1977, remains one of her most popular works.

Many of Aidoo’s protagonists are women who defy the stereotypical women’s roles of their time, as in her play “Anowa.” She also wrote several children’s books.

Her novel “Changes: A Love Story”

won the 1992 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book (Africa), about a career-oriented woman as she divorces her first husband and navigates a new relationship.

Aidoo was appointed by Jerry Rawlings as Ghana’s education minister from 1982 to 1983, before leaving the country for self-imposed exile in Zimbabwe, where she became a full-time writer.

A collection of poetry—

“Someone Talking to Sometime”—won the Nelson Mandela Prize for Poetry in 1987. Her piece

“To be a woman” was included in the 1984 anthology “Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women’s Movement Anthology,” edited by Robin Morgan. Another story, “Two Sisters,” is in the 1992 anthology “Daughters of Africa.”

In 2000, Aidoo founded the Mbaasem Foundation, a nongovernmental organization based in Ghana with a mission to “support the development

and sustainability of African women writers and their artistic output.”

Her radical voice could be heard in a video addressed to western colonizers:

“As far as I’m concerned, since we’ve met you people 500 years ago, look at us, you are still taking…

“It’s true…where would the whole Western world be without Africa? Our cocoa, our timber, our gold, our diamonds, our platinum, our Whatever…Everything you have is from us! I’m not just saying it; it’s a fact. And in return, what have we got? Nothing! Antipersonal indoctrination against ourselves.”

“This morning I hear that our dear sister bring-joy Ama Ata Aidoo has joined the ancestors,” wrote Tsitsi Dangarembga of Zimbabwe on social media. “Condolences to her family & friends. We have lost a granary of wisdom & knowledge.”

African immigrant groups push Biden for TPS status

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

African immigrants’ rights groups conducted a week of actions the last week of May to point out that they cannot afford to wait years before being granted official U.S. government protection.

Organizations representing immigrants from Sudan, Mali, Mau-

ritania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria, and more came to Washington, D.C. to push the Biden administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to individuals from African nations that are unsafe to return to.

TPS status would officially designate a country as in the midst of a war, coping with an environmental disaster, or facing some other

extraordinary or temporary condition that makes it a dangerous place to force an immigrant to go back to.

But Carolyn Tran, co-director of Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP), told the AmNews the Biden administration, like previous administrations, is hesitant to grant TPS status to too many countries because doing so could allow political opponents to accuse them of opening the floodgates for more people to immigrate to the U.S. “This is something that’s very far from reality,” Tran said. “But I think that the administration––and not only this one––has kind of upheld that belief and has been very careful about designating TPS for countries that do actually meet the statutory requirements.

“TPS is provided for individuals who are already currently living in the United States. These are people who have

been in the community for many years. We have TPS holders who have been here for, like, decades,” added Tran.

“So, it’s not for people who are not already here in the U.S. I think people don’t make that connection about TPS, that it’s really about protecting the community that is already in the United States and who cannot return safely back to their countries.”

Nils Kinuani, immigration department coordinator and board director for the Congolese Community of Washington Metropolitan (CCWM), said that some 2,000 members of DC’s Congolese community are currently at risk of deportation. “The armed conflict in the DRC has been going on for about 25 years and it has caused the death of five million people,” Kinuani said. “It’s the deadliest armed conflict since World War II.” Twenty million Congolese have been displaced due to the fighting and there have been natural disasters like last December’s flooding in the capital of Kinshasa and in the country’s southern regions just last month, plus the eruption of the Nyamuragira volcano in 2021.

African immigrants’ rights groups held a press conference on May 25 in front of the U.S. House of Representatives and called on Biden to grant TPS status to more African nations (Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)

Ama Ata Aidoo (GIN photo)

Armed With Love: S.O.S, Students walkout to protest gun violence

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

For the eighth year in a row, Brooklyn’s Launch Charter School leadership organized a schoolwide walkout and march to raise awareness on gun violence in the community last Friday for National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Every year, the seventh grade expedition centers putting an end to gun violence in partnership with Save Our Streets (S.O.S.) violence interrupters. Students wear matching bright orange anti-gun violence shirts they designed and wave hand-made banners, signs,

and posters down the long blocks to Bed-Stuy’s Restoration Plaza. Once at the plaza, the students perform, dance, recite poetry, sing, and discuss gun violence from a public health perspective.

“My aim as an educator is to embolden my students, to help them realize their voices matter, and to see themselves as catalysts for change,” said Camille Hendricks, Launch’s social studies teacher.

The school’s sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students are unfortunately no strangers to gun violence; some of whom have already lost loved ones.

Student Jahmir Caton, 13, lost

his cousin to gun violence in 2020. His family is from Saint Vincent and Trinidad. He worries about safety all the time, constantly checking in with his family, he said. He feels that elected officials and police should be strengthening the state’s gun laws.

“I worry about my friends,” said Caton. “Even though I’m kinda the smallest outta my group, I always try to make sure that all of them are safe and I really care about them a lot.”

Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School was founded in 2012. It serves about 300 students at a colocated space in Bed-Stuy. Part of its core curric-

Harlem Talks Trash

ulum emphasizes teamwork, field trips, social action, and a restorative justice approach to discipline. The school also encourages in school voting and civic engagement.

“This is giving them a real life applicable experience to be activists in our community,” said Tiayana Logan, director of enrichment at Launch. “Everyone participates from student to staff to admin, family members, and alumni.” Diamond Smith, 17, is a Launch alumni set to go to an HBCU. Her first year doing the walkout, she was a chant leader. “It

See WALKOUT on page 27

Drowned teens story still ongoing

By NAYABA ARINDE Amsterdam News Editor

Additional reporting

by

TANDY LAU Report for America corps member

The apparent drowning deaths of two young New York City students—11-year-old Alfa Ousmane Barrie and 13-year-old Garrett Warren—are still under investigation, and still bring many to tears. At the forefront are efforts to bring Alfa’s father to the USA for the child’s burial.

“We are calling on the media to ask Governor Kathy Hochul, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and Mayor Eric Adams to put pres-

sure on the State Department to grant the visa waiver quickly to get Alfa Ousmane Barrie’s father Abdoul Barrie to the U.S. for his son’s burial,” Alfa Ousmane Barrie family spokesman Ahmadou Diallo told the Amsterdam News. Short on conclusive details, the families and the city are still seeking answers.

Barrie went to Democracy Prep in Harlem, and Warren attended the New Explorations into Science, Technology, and Math (NEST+M) in the Lower East Side. The boys went missing on May 12, first near a Harlem fish shop on 145th Street and later thought to have climbed through a gaping hole in the wire fence by the waterfront at 145th

Street and 5th Avenue. Reports have ranged from one boy pushing the other, and both falling into the water, to both playing around and falling in the Harlem River.

On Thursday, May 18, 2023, Warren’s body was recovered from the East River. On Saturday morning, May 20, 2023, a body—identified as Barrie—was recovered under the Madison Avenue Bridge over the Hudson River.

While a funeral was held for Warren on Thursday, June 1, Barrie’s father is waiting for word from the U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone about whether he can come back to the U.S. and attend services for his son.

As Barrie’s family and communi-

ty are asking for a simple degree of immigration compassionate consideration, the Amsterdam News also reached out to their lawyer, Eric Wuestman, who filed an I-192 waiver on Monday, June 5, after Consul Section, U.S. Embassy, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, denied the initial visa application five days earlier.

“According to the U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone, they have forwarded the waiver request to the proper authorities, with a request for it to be expedited,” said Diallo.

The Amsterdam News spoke to Barrie family attorney Ezra Glaser, who said last

NYC DOC rolls back transparency as a third Rikers-related death in 2023 is reported

By TANDY LAU

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

No news is bad news. The NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) recently stopped informing the public about custody deaths in the wake of the third known Rikers Island-related death this year.

Last Tuesday, May 30, the New York Times reported the death of Joshua Valles, who was held at Rikers’ Anna M. Kross Center jail. A DOC spokesperson confirmed the recent passing of a detainee who was released from department custody “on his own

recognizance” before his death. Valles was not directly identified, although the information was provided in response to a media request in his name.

Valles is the second person known to die in or immediately after leaving Rikers Island last month. Rubu Zhao died while held in the complex’s George R. Vierno Center (GRVC) jail on May 16. The DOC did not proactively notify the media of either incident, standard practice throughout last year’s Rikers death crisis, when 19 people died in or shortly after custody. The department subsequently revealed the end of reaching out to the

press when a detainee dies.

“All appropriate internal investigations and required notifications to oversight and outside agencies always take place immediately,” said the DOC spokesperson by email. “Next of kin and the deceased individual’s legal counsel are notified as well.”

Zhao’s court-appointed lawyer, Jonathan Fink, confirmed the department proactively informed him of his client’s death, but he’s currently in the dark about the specifics.

“I don’t know what happened. I haven’t seen a report [and] I don’t know what the details are,” said Fink. “I don’t know if it was an ac-

Come out on June 13th at 7 p.m. to learn more about the Department of Sanitation’s institutional inequities that negatively impact sanitation services in East Harlem.

• New research on DSNY’s Litter Basket distribution will be presented

• Share your opinions on how to improve community cleanliness

Event takes place Tuesday, June 13th, at 7 p.m. in the Henry J. Carter Hospital’s Community Space at 1752 Park Ave (122nd Street and Park Avenue).

Sponsoring organizations include The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association, CIVITAS, 1775 Houses, Harlem East Block Association, and Community Board 11

“Cornell ‘Black Benjie’ Benjamin Way” named in South Bronx

The intersection of the South Bronx’s East 165th Street and Rogers Place has been renamed “Cornell ‘Black Benjie’ Benjamin Way” to honor the 25-year-old former vice president of the Ghetto Brothers, an activist street gang.

“Black Benjie” and the Ghetto Brothers had been working on coordinating a gang truce when the gang member-turned-peace activist was beaten to death in December 1971.

The petition to have the street where he was murdered named in honor of Black Benjie was initiated on Change.org in 2018. The text for the “Cornell ‘Black Benjie’ Benjamin Street Co-Naming Petition” urges: “Cornell ‘Black Benjie’ Benjamin deserves to have this street named for him because he dedicated his life to making change in the Bronx. His life and death are highly important to the history of the Bronx and he should be recognized for his efforts. …

cident. I don’t know if he took his own life. But regardless of how it happened, it’s certainly very upsetting and very tragic… until I see the report, I’m skeptical [of] what happened, and even with the report.

“I don’t know if there’s a video that sheds light on how he died. But certainly that would be something someone should see.”

To be clear, proactive death notifications to the press and public are not eliminated, but require an opt-in by the inquiring party. Incident reports can still be obtained by request. The DOC claims rolling back

“Cornell ‘Black Benjie’ Benjamin was the peacemaker for the Ghetto Brothers gang in the early 1970s. The Ghetto Brothers and ‘Black Benjie’ specifically were trying to create peace among the other gangs in the Bronx. His death directly led to the ‘Hoe Avenue Peace Treaty’ which shifted the trajectory of gang violence in the Bronx. Co-naming this street for ‘Black Benjie’ allows the Bronx to celebrate this hero in order to keep the lessons of his death and the legacy of his peacemaking current in the lives of our young people.”

Panel discussions on neighborhood concerns at Laundromat Project

The Bed-Stuy based Laundromat Project will be hosting a three-day free and open event called “Artists as Neighbors: Living Liberation.” The gettogether will tackle issues like gentrification, activism, and preservation and look at how they are being dealt with in the community.

The event takes place between June 9 and June 11 at 1476 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, NY 11216. Registration is available at their website, laundromatproject.org

For more information call 718-574-0798 or email info@laundromatproject.org.

by Karen Juanita Carrillo

Professor Cornel West––People’s Party presidential candidate

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

Dr. Cornel West, a notable scholar and activist, in a June 5th video announcement on Twitter, aid he has decided to join the 2024 presidential race on the People’s Party ticket. An intrepid, perceptive visionary, West must have known this bid would be met with charges he’s ego-tripping, and providing the opposition with fuel with a futile third-party entry.

“I have decided to run for truth and justice, which takes the form of running for president of the United States as a candidate for the People’s Party,” West said in his video. “I enter for the quest for truth. I enter for the quest of justice. And the presidency is just one vehicle

we pursue that truth and justice.”

To some extent, he has anticipated some of the naysaying, noting at the end of his announcement that “Democracy creates disruption. It creates an eruption. It creates an interruption.” Well, his candidacy is sure to be a key disruption and that is in keeping with a philosopher known for being a thorn in the side of mainstream political parties and neo-liberals.

Twitter was buzzing with responses, almost split down the middle from those ready to support and those taking umbrage with the action. Taking shots from the left and right has never dismayed West, who turned 70 on June 2. Whether on the lectern or in his books, including the phenomenally successful “Race Matters,” he has often expressed a “take

no prisoners” attitude and at the same time conveyed an unwavering Christian compassion.

Currently ensconced at Union Theological Seminary, West has held prominent positions at Princeton and Harvard, and has been on the ramparts against police brutality, often in conjunction with Carl Dix of the Revolutionary Community Party.

West said he is running to end poverty, mass incarceration, to end wars, and provide ecological balance, affordable housing, and health care for all because “Neither political party wants to tell the truth about Wall Street, about Ukraine, about the Pentagon, about big tech,” West said. “Do we have what it takes? We shall see.”

Yep, we shall see.

Dukes, Mayor’s united and final push for housing in Albany

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

New York’s city and state housing crisis is a fact at this point, especially with the influx of asylum seekers. The better question to ask is how leadership is addressing it when many of the proposed initiatives were left out of the state budget this year.

A coalition, including president of the NAACP New York State Conference Hazel Dukes and Mayor Eric Adams, formed to demand housing solutions before the legislative session ends in Albany this week on June 8. Its chances of being included are slim.

Dukes is beyond concerned that no housing legislation is being brought to the forefront. She said that spiked rents, inflation, and a lack of affordable housing options have already made the housing market tenuous for residents, without the additional strain of the asylum seeker crisis. She’s still unsure about why many of the bills centered around bolstering housing and tax incentives were taken out.

“If we don’t have legislation to assist people, we’re going to see homelessness like we’ve never seen before,” said Dukes. “Something’s going to have to give.”

Dukes is joined in the call for more affordable housing production by members of 32BJ SEIU, Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York, and Laborers Local 79, as well as Senators Andrew Gounardes and Luis Sepúlveda, and Assemblymembers Alex Bores, Kenny Burgos, Brian Cunningham, Eddie Gibbs, Jenifer Rajkumar, and Tony Simone.

Dukes’s coalition is currently racing to find an assemblymember and senator who will introduce bills to renew 421-A, a complex tax incentive program for new residential development that expired in June 2022, said the mayor’s office. The city has seen a “significant decline in new housing creation” since then. They added

that rents in some places have skyrocketed to pre-pandemic highs.

Adams is thoroughly in the boat for more housing. He has repeatedly spoken about the desperate situation the city is in with finding appropriate housing for newly arrived asylum seekers and the unhoused.

“Our administration won a critical victory for affordable housing and working people with emergency rent relief for NYCHA residents in this year’s state budget—but there is so much more we can and must do to create the affordable housing New Yorkers so desperately need,” said Adams in a statement. “For the last several months and going back to last year, our administration has put forward serious plans to tackle the city’s severe housing shortage. In close partnership with Governor Hochul, our legislative partners, community and labor leaders, and advocates, we will continue to go to bat for working-class New Yorkers in Albany to make these common-sense changes and create much-needed affordable housing.”

Adams’s agenda for action on housing this year included tax incentives to build (affordable housing), regulatory changes to convert unused office space more easily, and the elimination of a zoning cap for housing in midtown Manhattan, said the mayor’s office.

Both Adams and Dukes spoke about pushing back against this idea of NIMBYism (“You can build housing, just not in my neighborhood or backyard”).

“We always have that,” said Dukes. “We should not have people on the street, but when it comes to where we are going to build the houses, ‘not in my backyard’ and ‘how much it costs.’ Those are the battles we’ve been fighting, but this is a crucial time now. This is a crisis.”

According to Reverend Dr. Johnnie Melvin Green Jr., D. Min, CEO of Mobilizing Preachers and Communities (MPAC), the city needs more housing in every bor-

ough, but especially in Manhattan south of 96th Street, which is limited by the floor area ratio (FAR) cap. Green said this would be the key to “stopping the mass exodus of Black New Yorkers who are finding it harder and harder to live here.” He hopes that lawmakers upstate will help.

John Sanchez, executive director of the 5 Borough Housing Movement, also emphasized that lifting the FAR cap and expanding office-to-residential conversions would help jumpstart the production of new units. Sanchez said most of the proposed projects would be in neighborhoods that already have dense buildings in Manhattan, so it wouldn’t require bulldozing one- and two- family homes. He said, for instance, the garment district has many empty office buildings the city isn’t profiting from that can be converted into affordable housing if the state does its part.

“I think it would be a shame if the legislature gave itself a 30% raise and then oversaw a state where the homeless population increased by 50% and housing production decreased by 40%,” said Sanchez, referring to a bill Governor Kathy Hochul signed late last December. “One would hope that their work would warrant such an increase.”

The bill gave New York assemblymembers and senators a pay raise of $32,000 for a base salary of $142,000, reported CBS, making them the highest paid legislators in the nation.

Sanchez is also joining in reminding legislators that they need to lobby to get housing initiatives through.

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.

NAACP & Edison Township Juneteenth ‘Freedom Day’ festival

The NAACP Metuchen Edison Piscataway Area Branch, in collaboration with Edison Township, AT&T, Mobile Family Success of Middlesex County, Middlesex County Board of Commissioners & Arts Division, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, is thrilled to announce the 23rd annual Juneteenth Festival, Middlesex County’s largest Juneteenth celebration. The event will take place on Saturday, June 10, from noon to 9 p.m. at Papaianni Park (100 Municipal Blvd., Edison).

Juneteenth “Freedom Day” commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. It is a day of reflection, education, and celebration of African American history and culture. This year’s festival aims to celebrate the diversity of New Jersey and foster unity among all communities.

Attendees can look forward to a lineup of exciting performances by artists and groups such as the Lumzy Sisters, Cimarrones Afro Puerto Rican Bomba Ensemble, Eastside Dance Project, American Dance Studios, Earth Wind and Fire Tribute Band, B2Z Dance School, Haynes Preparatory School, and Jai Bharat Dhol Tasha Pathak Dance Group. These talented performers will bring their vibrant energy to the stage to showcase the richness and variety of artistic expression. Sports enthusiasts can participate in a basketball tournament, while children can enjoy pony rides, amusement rides, and face-painting sessions. The event will also feature a diverse array of merchandise and food vendors, offering a shopping and culinary experience for all.

One of the festival’s highlights is the attempt to break the record for the world’s longest soul train line. Everyone is invited to join in this moment of unity and joy. For more information about the 23rd Annual Juneteenth Festival, contact Michelle Haynes at mhaynes@haynesprep. com.

Gov. Murphy joins call to end rightwing book bans, censorship

Nine Democratic Party-aligned governors have signed onto a letter asserting their concerns about the censorship now taking place among school textbook publishers like McGraw Hill Education, Pearson, Cengage Learning, GoodheartWillcox, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, Savvas Learning Co., Scholastic, and Teachers Curriculum Institute.

The governors of New Jersey (Phil Murphy), Illinois (JB Pritzker), Maryland See NEW JERSEY on page 27

The sisters behind Fleur De Lis Beauty & Esthetics

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

Registered nurses (RN) Carla Nelson, 38, and Wendy Jules, 41, are the sister entrepreneurs and founders of Fleur De Lis Beauty & Esthetics, a luxury health and wellness spa that centers beauty, self-care, and education for people of color.

Fleur De Lis offers a wide range of services, including facials, chemical peels, botox, fillers, microneedling, laser hair removal, IV hydration drips, beauty products, and consultations for skin and gut health. They’ve grown their business to serve about 3,000 clients, 80% of whom return on a regular basis, said the sisters.

“Whenever we do product trials or new machinery, we always make sure everything that we have is good for skin of color,” said Jules, “Although we service and love everyone, that is the center and focus.”

The spa is located in their hometown of Flatbush, Brooklyn. Nelson and Jules grew up in Flatbush. Their parents are both Haitian immigrants. They loved how freeing their childhood in the borough was. “We could have chosen to open up in the city because that’s where everybody goes, but we wanted to be home,” said Jules.

Nelson made the move first to go to nursing school back in 2007 to support her family. She worked in hospice and in-patient services. Nelson said that after having her first child, she strove to give her daughter a better life, especially as the descendant of proud immigrants.

“I wanted to give her more than what my parents could afford,” said Nelson.

Her older sister followed into the profession shortly after, working in corporate and travel nursing. They made the decision to become entrepreneurs when they noticed a stark lack of diversity in skincare for their community. One dermatologist even prompted her to lie to a patient of color about their condition, which was a disheartening experience, said Jules.

“That really made me sad that the doctor wanted me to not be honest with the patient, who really was just looking for help,” said Jules, “so that always stuck with me and I said no matter what I do, we will be the most integritous and help our people.”

Nelson, who worked in the dermatology and plastic surgery fields, got additional schooling to be a licensed esthetician (LE). “It’s important to teach children about skincare and it’s the largest organ in our bodies,”

THE URBAN AGENDA

By David R. Jones, Esq

High Court Reversal Would End Parity in College Admissions

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule by the end of June on whether to forbid the use of affirmative action by colleges and universities as part of their student admission decisions. The court’s conservative majority has signaled skepticism toward tools that have boosted the enrollment of countless women, Black and Latinx students.

It would be a stunning reversal if the court bans affirmative action, and it would also be tragic, because the playing field is not level between Whites and people of color who aspire to college educations. In fact, the divide is getting worse. The inequities are growing.

Black college and university enrollment has been dropping steadily. Already down by 22 percent between 2010 and 2020 – or by more than 650,000 students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics – it has fallen by another 7 percent since then, more-recent figures from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show.

In two-year junior college programs, enrollment by Black and Latinx men tumbled between 2019 and 2021, according to the national clearinghouse, with Black male enrollment dropping an eye-popping 23.5 percent and that of Hispanic men falling 19.7 percent.

said Nelson. “It’s only in the U.S. that skincare is not seen to be a nursing degree. In other countries it’s a four year degree. So I want to spread positive information and help educate everyone about skin health.

Skin health is health in general.”

The sisters started the business in a very small space, jokingly referred to as a closet, building out their clientele until they could afford larger accommodations. The name of the spa, Fleur De Lis, was inspired by the French phrase for ‘royalty’ and their mother’s name, Elise. By 2019, they were ready to branch out.

Coincidentally, as soon as they found a home on Flatbush Avenue, the pandemic and subsequent shutdown hit in 2020. But, because Nelson and Jules were registered nurses, they were allowed to continue operating as essential workers.

“We’re sisters and we foster that sisterhood with our clients as well,” said Nelson.

“It’s a vibe, it’s a connection.”

Last week, the sisters were given the Best of Little Caribbean award for Best Caribbean Owned Interior Design Beauty Spa.

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

The Supreme Court rulings expected this summer involve affirmative action programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Both cases were brought by Students for Fair Admissions, a group headed by Edward Blum, a stockbroker-turned-conservative legal strategist, who has spent years filing lawsuits in a campaign to kill affirmative action.

One case contends that Harvard’s admissions policy unlawfully discriminates against AsianAmerican applicants. The other asserts that the University of North Carolina unlawfully discriminates against white and AsianAmerican applicants. The schools, which reject those claims, argue ending affirmative action that applies to a small number of students would result in a significant drop in the number of minorities on campus.

The Supreme Court’s chief advocate on the high court for killing affirmative action is Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving justice, the court’s second Black member and a longtime warrior against race-based policies. Justice Thomas and I attended Yale Law School together (we were among 12 Black students), and we both benefitted from admission to the school under its affirmative action program.

Thomas was a front man for former President Ronald Reagan, crisscrossing the country in the 1980s and giving speeches in support of the president’s views on issues of race. Reagan appointed him head of the Equal Employment

Opportunities Commission, where he shifted the agency away from class-action lawsuits. Think about this for a moment: For someone who reaped the benefits of affirmative action, it’s blatantly hypocritical to become a fervent hater of affirmative action and call for slamming the door closed on others. He seems opposed to the benefits that come from racially diverse campuses, which help foster critical thinking and counter bias in students preparing to become the nation’s next leaders.

Nine states have already ended consideration of race in university admissions, including Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Washington. While many schools do not disclose details about their admissions processes, taking race into account is more common among selective schools that turn down most of their applicants.

What’s truly alarming is that Blum and others in the ultra-conservative movement have already set their sights on the next battle: challenging race-neutral alternatives to affirmative action put in place at a Fairfax County, Va., specialized school after protests over the murder of George Floyd. These alternatives have proven effective in increasing enrollment of people of color.

Taken all together, Blum’s goal in bringing cases that challenge affirmative action is to slash the number of students of color on college campuses.

According to a 2019 survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, about a quarter of schools said race had a “considerable” or “moderate” influence on admissions, while more than half reported that race played no role whatsoever.

The drumbeat to kill affirmative action runs counter to public opinion. Most U.S. adults say the court should allow colleges to consider race as part of the admissions process, yet few believe students’ race should ultimately play a major role in decisions, according to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The study found that 63 percent say the Supreme Court should not block colleges from considering race or ethnicity in their admission systems. The poll found little divide along political or racial lines, but those polled were more likely to say factors including grades and standardized test scores should be important.

What the poll did not measure is that racial divides and racial discrimination persist in America. For that reason, the attack on affirmative action cannot be ignored. At stake are real consequences for basic fairness in our democracy.

David R. Jones, Esq., is President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), the leading voice on behalf of low-income New Yorkers for more than 175 years. The views expressed in this column are solely those of the writer. The Urban Agenda is available on CSS’s website: www.cssny.org.

Sister entrepreneurs and founders of Fleur De Lis Beauty & Esthetics winning a local business award.

(Left) Carla Nelson RN, LE (Right) Wendy Jules RN, BSN. (Ariama C. Long photo)

Former Harlem jail to soon house migrants

Adams passes bill to prohibit height or weight discrimination in housing and workplace

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

By MAL’AKIY 17 ALLAH

Special to the AmNews

Some local residents are angry after hearing Friday’s news that Gov. Kathy Hochul approved Mayor Eric Adams’s clearance for Harlem’s Lincoln Correctional Facility (31–33 West 110th Street), which closed in 2019, to be repurposed as a temporary shelter for displaced migrant workers. His administration has been grappling with finding housing for a wave of migrants who have relocated to the city in recent weeks.

“We’re grateful to the state for providing this site and partnering with the city to open this space as a temporary site for asylum seekers as New York City continues to face this humanitarian crisis,” said a spokesman for Adams, noting that “hundreds of asylum seekers continue to arrive in New York City every day.”

Many migrants were left on the streets and struggling after Adams approved the move last year, causing about 45,000 to still be homeless out of the 70,000-plus who enrolled in the city’s shelter system since last spring. This led Adams to say that the city is overextended and cannot continue to support the number of new arrivals.

Title 42 is a pandemic-era rule that stunted the immigration progress across the U.S./Mexico border. Reportedly, New York City plans to announce programs resulting in 50 “Faith-Based Stabilization Shelters,” with 10 of them opening July 1 and 10 additional ones each month till November, and potentially continuing to at least 950 more beds by the fall.

“As we ride through here, we see so many homeless people. Why isn’t the city taking care of the homeless people who are already here?” Harlem resident Robert Avery asked.

The 10,000-square-foot, eight-story facility intended for use was an all-men’s minimum-security prison, and will now serve as an “emergency respite center,” housing approximately 500 new adults, will open in the coming days.

“In recent weeks, as Title 42 expired, the Governor directed her team to visit every available state-owned property, assess their feasibility for sheltering asylum seekers, and offer suitable sites to the city for their use,” Hochul’s office said. “The city and state have agreed to use 31–33 W. 110th Street in Manhattan, one of the state-owned properties we identified, as a temporary respite center for asylum seekers, and we have begun the process to transform the space so it is appropriately welcoming.”

The centers are operated by the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management.

Hochul released a request in March that said: “This is a temporary and short-term use of Lincoln, and the state’s plans for the site continue to be to move forward in the months ahead to redevelop it as affordable housing. We continue to join our partners at all levels of government to call for a permanent, federal solution to this crisis. We continue to need additional financial and operational support from our partners.”

It seems wild to think that an employer would not hire someone because of their height or body type, but such is the world we live in. At least in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams recently signed into law a ban on discrimination because of a person’s height or weight in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

“We all deserve the same access to employment, housing, and public accommodation, regardless of our appearance, and it shouldn’t matter how tall you are or how much you weigh,” Adams said at the signing. “When you’re looking for a job, you are out on our town, or you are trying to get some form of accommodation or apartment to rent, you should not be treated differently. It creates more inclusive workplaces and living environments, and it protects against discrimination.”

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states that “height and weight requirements tend to disproportionately limit the employment opportunities of some protected groups.” Unless employers can demonstrate during the hiring process why they need to know someone’s measurements, it’s technically illegal under federal law to even ask.

“Workers come in all shapes and sizes and that is a good thing,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

The bill, Intro. 209-A, was sponsored by Councilmember Shaun Abreu and similarly creates an exemption where a certain height or weight is necessary to “performing essential requirements” of a job.

Adams thanked Abreu for thinking outside the box about real equality in employment. Abreu said he owes an immense debt of gratitude to all the people who shared their stories of dealing with this “silent burden,” the organizations that helped spearhead the campaign that re-

sulted in the bill, and all the advocates who helped push for the bill.

“Size discrimination is a social justice issue and a public health threat,” Abreu said in a statement. “People with different body types are denied access to job opportunities and equal wages—and they have had no legal recourse to contest it. Worse yet, millions are taught to hate their bodies.”

The first wave of body positivity protests began in Central Park in 1967 when about 500 people gathered to call out persistent bias against “fat” people. This led to the founding of the National Association to Aid Fat Americans (NAAFA) in 1969, later renamed the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. The group went on to treat fat phobia in healthcare, employment, and education as a serious civil rights issue, inspired by Black and womenled social justice movements of the time.

“This is such a powerful moment for anyone who has ever faced discrimination simply because of the size of their body,” said Tigress Osborn, co-founder of the Campaign for Size Freedom and NAAFA chair. “When the mayor of one the most iconic cities in the world agrees that size

discrimination is unacceptable, it sends a message to leaders all over the country, and all over the world, that creating equal opportunities and accessible communities for people of all sizes should be a priority.”

Osborn added that while attitudes can’t be legislated, people can do everything in their power to ensure that everyone is treated equally and has equal opportunity under the law.

To the criticism that body and fat positivity can be unhealthy, Adams said that he is an avid health advocate. “We are going to continue to talk about our progressive health agenda and science has [shown] that body type is not a connection to [being] healthy or unhealthy. I think that’s a misnomer that we are dispelling,” said Adams.

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.

UPRISING: City Council celebrates honorees for LGBTQIA+ pride month

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

The New York City Council LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and more) Caucus hosted a pride night at City Hall, honoring long-standing queer activists in the city.

The evening’s events were led by CoChairs and Councilmembers Crystal Hudson and Tiffany Cabán, and Speaker Adrienne Adams.

“We celebrate pride to uplift LGBTQIA+

New Yorkers and ensure that they are seen in their fullness. As a government we must be unapologetic in our pursuit of safety and equal rights for all,” said Adams. “That is our purpose, so that everyone can be exactly who we are, especially when trans rights are under attack across the country.”

The caucus honored three Black queer leaders: the Chief Strategy Officer for Hetrick-Martin Institute Soraya Elcock, Reverend Crone Goddess Magora Kennedy, who was present at the first Stonewall Inn Uprising, and Founder and Executive Director for Destination Tomorrow Sean Coleman.

They had two drag story hour performers read short children’s books about the pride parade as well.

“We are fighting for our collective joy,” said Cabán. “We deserve to be safe and healthy enough to have joy, love and to be loved, to become loved. To pass along our stories and usher in the next generation of revolutionaries.”

Kennedy, 84, flamboyant as ever, with a crown and sash and a cane, told the story of the uprising that took place at the

Lincoln Correctional Facility (Bill Moore photo)

Mayor Eric Adams signs Intro. 209-A, which will prohibit discrimination on the basis of a person’s height or weight in employment, housing, and public accommodations. City Hall. Friday, May 26, 2023. (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office photo)

Proposed Changes to MTA Fares

Hearings will be held on proposed changes to fares virtually via Zoom and in person at the locations, dates and times noted below. The public is invited to comment on the proposed changes, which are summarized below and pertain, as applicable, to the fares of the New York City Transit (NYCT) and its subsidiary, the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA), the MTA Bus Company (MTA Bus), and the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIR); Long Island Rail Road (LIRR); and Metro-North Railroad (Metro-North)

The fare proposals allow for a range of options to be considered and fare increases may be less than the maximum amounts specified. Following the hearings, after considering public comment, the Board of the MTA and its affiliated agencies will decide which potential fare changes to adopt.

Space limitations prevent newspaper publication of each proposed new fare. For more details on these potential changes, please visit https://new.mta.info/2023-fare-hearings, consult information posted at MTA stations and on digital display boards, or call the Public Hearing Hotline at 646-252-6777.

Following the hearings, one or more of the proposed changes listed below may be adopted: NYCT, MaBSTOA, MTA Bus, SIR

Fares for Subway (NYCT), Local Bus (NYCT, MaBSTOA, and MTA Bus), and SIR:

Base Single Ride Fare (currently $3.00 for Single Ride Ticket and $2.75 for cash payment or Pay-PerRide MetroCard and OMNY):

•Increase the base fare for cash payment and/or Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard and OMNY by up to 15¢ and increase the base fare for Single Ride Ticket by up to 25¢.

Unlimited Ride Passes:

•Increase the price of a 7-Day Unlimited Ride (currently $33.00) to as much as $34.00.

•Increase the price of a 30-Day Unlimited Ride (currently $127.00) to as much as $132.00.

•Increase the price of a 7-Day Unlimited Express Bus Plus (currently $62.00) to as much as $64.00.

Fares for Express Bus (NYCT and MTA Bus):

•Increase the single ride Express Bus fare (currently $6.75) to as much as $7.00.

Fares for Paratransit Services (currently $2.75):

•Increase the NYCT Access-A-Ride Paratransit Service one-way fare by up to the amount of the increase, if any, of the Subway Pay-Per-Ride Base Fare

Discount Policies:

• Seniors/Customers with disabilities/Paratransit Zero Fare discount policies (except as otherwise noted) remain unchanged.

LIRR and Metro-North

Monthly, Weekly, and Other Ticket Types:

•Increase Monthly and Weekly ticket prices up to 4.5%

•Increase the price of all other ticket types up to 10%

•Special discounted fares, supplemental step-up on-board fares, and ride extension fares may be subject to percentage increases higher than the maximum authorized increases to base fares due to rounding.

UniTicket and One-Way Connecting Fares:

• Increase weekly connecting fares for Hudson Rail Link by up to 50¢, for Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry by up to 50¢, and for Newburgh-Beacon Ferry by up to 25¢.

•Increase monthly connecting fares for Hudson Rail Link and Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry by up to $1.75 and Newburgh-Beacon Ferry by up to 50¢.

•Increase one-way fares for the Hudson Rail Link by up to 15¢, one-way connecting fares for the Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry by up to 25¢ and increase Seniors/Customers with Disabilities fares by up to 10¢.

•Increase weekly fare for connecting local NYC bus service (NYCT, MaBSTOA and MTA Bus) by up to 25¢ and monthly fare by up to $1.75.

•Increase weekly fare for Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) Bus UniTicket by up to 50¢ and monthly fare up to $2.25.

Dates and Times of Hybrid Public Hearings

There will be four (4) hybrid Public Hearings to provide information and receive comments on the proposed changes to MTA fares at the dates and times below. Those interested in speaking will have two (2) minutes to speak.

Thursday, June 22, 2023, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Thursday, June 22, 2023, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Friday, June 23, 2023, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Monday, June 26, 2023, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Location of the Hearings

All public hearings will be held in-person at MTA Headquarters, 2 Broadway, 20th Floor – William J. Ronan Board Room, New York, NY 10004, and via Zoom and livestreamed at https://new.mta.info/2023-farehearings.

Subway: R W to Whitehall St, 4 5 to Bowling Green (accessible station), to South Ferry (accessible station), J Z to Broad St

Bus: M15, M15 SBS, M20, M55, SIM1, SIM35

Staten Island Ferry to South Ferry Terminal

Registering for the Public Hearings

To register to speak at the hybrid public hearings, please register online at https://new.mta.info/2023fare-hearings or call the Public Hearing Hotline at 646-252-6777. Telephone agents are available from 6a.m. to 10p.m. Eastern Standard Time daily. Registration for each public hearing will open on Friday, June 2, 2023 and will close at the start of the hearing. All comments will be transcribed and made part of the permanent record.

You must pre-register to speak at a hybrid public hearing. Oral comments are limited to two (2) minutes for each speaker. Hearings are scheduled for three or four hours. For each public hearing, registrants will be accepted up to 240 minutes (4 hours) of scheduled public speakers. In the event that there are registered speakers remaining after the hearing reaches 240 minutes of public speaker comments, only the remaining registered speakers who have not previously spoken at another 2023 fare public hearing will be given the opportunity to speak. In addition, at all hearings, speakers who have not previously spoken at another 2023 fare public hearing will be given priority in speaking order.

Joining the Public Hearings Virtually

If you are registered to speak and joining the public hearings virtually, you may join the Zoom meeting at the scheduled hearing time either online or by phone following these instructions:

Join Zoom Online: To access the Zoom meeting online, visit the website: https://mta.zoom.us/j/82020291036. You can also enter the URL zoom.us/join and enter the Meeting ID 820 2029 1036.

Join Zoom by Phone: To access the Zoom meeting by phone, please call +1 646 518 9805. Then enter Meeting ID 820 2029 1036 followed by the pound (#) sign.

View-Only Online: Members of the public who wish only to view the hearings may access the event live at https://new.mta.info/2023-fare-hearings.

To submit questions during the hearings, you must join the hearing through the Zoom online platform. You may submit questions at any other time in the ways listed below (see “Additional Ways to Comment or Request Information”). Questions after the proposed fare changes may be responded to by staff during or after the hearing.

Additional Ways to Comment or Request Information

Online: https://new.mta.info/2023-fare-hearings

Mail: MTA Government & Community Relations, Attn: Fare Hearings, 2 Broadway, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

Phone: (646) 252 6777, Telephone agents are available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Accessibility and Language Assistance Services

American Sign Language and CART Captioning Services will be available.

Members of the public who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing can use their preferred relay service or the free 711 relay service, and then ask to be connected to the Public Hearing Hotline at (646) 252-6777 to speak with an agent.

Members of the public who are Blind or have Low Vision can request accommodations on or before June 15, 2023, by submitting a request online at https://new.mta.info/2023-fare-hearings or by calling the Public Hearing Hotline at (646) 252-6777.

Members of the public who do not have access to a computer or who do not have access to the Internet can listen to each of the hearings by calling the Zoom meeting at 1-646-518-9805 (toll-free). Then enter Meeting ID 820 2029 1036, followed by the pound (#) sign.

If language assistance or any other accommodations are required, please submit a request at least five (5) business days before the scheduled hearing date in one of the following ways: online at https://new.mta.info/2023-fare-hearings, by calling the Public Hearing Hotline at (646) 252-6777, or by sending a letter to MTA Government & Community Relations, Attn: Fare Hearings, 2 Broadway, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

For those who request language assistance, the MTA will provide translated information about the hearing process and ensure that any public comments received in a language other than English are translated, included in the hearing transcript, and summarized for the MTA Board.

Go with the Flo

City and YMCA pool together on water safety resources as lifeguard shortage remains

Cuba Gooding Jr. settled the sex abuse lawsuit against him moments after the New York City trial jury selection was supposed to begin on June 6. The Oscarwinning actor was scheduled to go to trial at 10 a.m. The suit accused Gooding of raping a woman at the Mercer Hotel after they met at the VIP Lounge in Greenwich Village in 2013. However, according to multiple reports, an entry on the court docket at 10:24 a.m. said the trial would no longer take place because the matter had been resolved between the parties...

Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, and author Ashanti, in partnership with New York City Public Schools’ NYC Reads initiative, will do a read-along with 300 students of her new children’s book, “My Name Is a Story,” on June 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. In addition to encouraging students to read and develop strong literacy skills, the book is designed to empower students to be brave and develop their self-esteem and confidence as they make connections to Ashanti’s story. “All children should love their name and understand they are unique, and having a name that may be different from others makes them special,” Ashanti said...

“Feel Alright (Blessed)” is the second single to be released this summer from Erica Campbell’s upcoming third studio album. The single is available on all streaming platforms now via the My Block Inc./SRG-ILS Group label imprint. The “Feel Alright (Blessed)” music video just made its global world premiere on BET Gospel, BET.com, and the Radio One stations platforms. The video was directed by Rich Laru. Said Campbell, “I wanted this video to feel like a celebration of the goodness of God for us to dance and sing and just let the joy flow because we are so grateful for how God has blessed us. ‘Feel Alright’ feels so good!” This summer, Campbell will embark on her “Feel Alright” Tour with special guest Lena Byrd Miles…

“Extraction 2,” a new action thriller starring Idris Elba and Chris Hemsworth, will land on Netflix on June 16. It’s the sequel to 2020’s “Extraction,” according to UPI. Netflix released a teaser that unveiled Elba’s character on June 5. Elba and Hemsworth previously worked together on “Thor” and other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…

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

Back to the swim of things, New York City. beaches opened last week and with them comes the annual reminder of disparities in water safety. The CDC has said that Black youth face significantly higher rates of drowning deaths compared to white youth, especially in public pools, which open locally on June 28.

The NYC Parks & Recreation Department’s Learn to Swim program—often credited for democratizing water safety for young Black and brown New Yorkers—returns for the first time since 2019. A spokesperson estimated there will be about 1,000 spots among six outdoor pools. A Learn to Swim summer camp will have room for around 400 youngsters. An online lottery to participate can be entered into on the NYC Parks website. The program served more than 20,000 youngsters pre-pandemic, according to the New York Times

While the absence of swim classes last year hasn’t carried over to this year, the root problem of a nationwide lifeguard shortage has. For a second year in a row, the city reported missing the targeted seasonal staffing number.

“We know how important access to our

pools and learning how to swim is to New Yorkers across the city, and despite a national lifeguard shortage that has continued to shutter pools in cities across the country, we’re doing all that we can to recruit as many lifeguards as possible,” said Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue by email. “We’re fortunate that here in New York City [that] we were able to open all of our pools and beaches last summer, and we’re committed to doing that again this summer, but after an aggressive recruitment campaign over the winter, it is now abundantly clear that we must continue to plan long-term for the lifeguard shortage as we build back our corps to pre-pandemic levels.

“We also understand the grave importance of teaching the next generation to swim, for health and safety and to build a pipeline for the next generation of lifeguards. Our focus has been to devise a sustainable plan for the continuation of summertime swim lessons and access for camps that least impinges on public access to pools.”

One potential pipeline for fresh faces comes from the YMCA of Greater New York, which formed the NYC Lifeguard Interorganizational Task Force last year to address the city shortage. The Y is currently offering to train and certify locals for free. The program also provides a stipend for those

participating in training and a bonus to graduates who take a subsequent job at the Y. Local director Romulus Staton told the Amsterdam News that responsible and inshape New Yorkers with the ability to swim should consider taking up the opportunity.

“Our certification starts with people coming in taking a pretest to make sure that they are meeting the minimum qualifications to participate in the course,” he said. “You can wear glasses, contact lenses, as long as you’re using them while you are working…[we teach] them the skills that they need to keep people safe [and] make quick, correct decisions on what they see in the water so they can either prevent something from happening or react properly.”

The program is for New Yorkers ages 16 and over—young applicants can participate if they hit the minimum age by the end of the certification course. At the Harlem YMCA, Staton’s colleagues pointed out the location’s history with the local community and subsequent drawing power in improving Black water education.

Beyond water safety, lifeguarding also offers young New Yorkers a summer job during the vacation months when youth violence is the highest. First- and secondyear city lifeguards earn north of $20/hour, the Parks Department announced earlier this year.

YMCA lifeguard tower in Harlem (Tandy Lau photo)

Harlem hosts 14th Annual NYC Multicultural Festival in Jackie Robinson Park Bandshell

The 14th Annual NYC Multicultural Festival, held in Jackie Robinson Park Bandshell in Harlem and hosted by Joyce Adewumi, featured music,

dance, and delicious food from around the world. Performers included Harlem’s Uptown Dance Academy, the Samba Drummers, Legacy Drum -

mers/Dancers, Irish Dancers, Georgian/Russian Dancers, the NYC African Chorus Ensemble, and Mali Drummers/ Dances and Singers.

Written by David Goodson

August 11 will see ‘Hip-Hop 50 Live at Yankee Stadium’

With summer almost upon us, we know that the live entertainment is about to ramp up. Couple that with celebrations being planned for the landmark anniversary of what could be the most exciting musical movement of the past century and it’s only up from here.

Some of the projected lineups for some of the projected shows, while star-studded, still feel incomplete. In my estimation, it’s because promoters are looking at acts that popped from the late ’80s (earliest). Some fans, however, want more because their memories run deep. They had the JVC Box. They rocked the Lee, Sergio Valente, Talelord, Clyde’s, 69ers, Mock Necks, British, Cortefiel, and AJ Lesters. They frequented the T Connection, 371, or Norman Thomas Boat ride. Their taste buds need a little more.

That crowd will finally get some light, with a lineup that at one time sold out the Harlem World. We’re talking about the Treacherous Three, Cold Crush Brothers, Fearless Four, Crash Crew, Mel, and Scorpio. Those names are featured acts on the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Mixtape Live concert on June 17 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Curated by DJ Jazzy Jeff, Doug E. Fresh, and Charlie Mack, the show will feature 50 MCs from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, which also includes the Sugar Hill Gang, Roxanne Shanté, Yo-Yo, DJ KOOL, J.J. Fad, Schooly D, and Monie Love, among others. Showtime is set to start for 7:00 p.m. and tickets range from $55 to $175.

Just in…looks like this show will be trumped just by sheer magnitude. It just came down that on August 11, 50 years later to the day, Yankee Stadium will play host to “Hip-Hop 50 Live at Yankee Stadium.”

So far, the headliners will be the possible last reunion of Run DMC in what’s being dubbed the “Bottom of the Ninth…The Walk-Off” performance. Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube are also on deck and the ladies will shine as “Queens of Hip-Hop” spotlight the collective of Eve, Lil Kim, Remy Ma,

and Trina. A “Pillars of HipHop” set will feature Kool Herc & Cindy Campbell, Grandmaster Caz, Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel, Roxanne Shante, Scorpio, and the Sugar Hill Gang. A “Legendary DJ” set will have Clark Kent, Marley Marl, Mannie Fresh, and Battlecat.

Tickets will become available beginning with pre-sales on Thursday, June 8, at 10 a.m. EST until 10 p.m. EST. The general sale starts Friday, June 9, at 10 a.m. EST. Tickets will start as low as $50. Early-bird access to tickets will be granted to the Renaissance Youth Center, New Settlement, SCAN-Harbor, Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, North East Bronx YMCA, Castle Hill YMCA, New York Urban League, Hispanic Federation, Bronx Chamber of Commerce, Bronx Community Foundation, and CORO New York Leadership Center.

“Hip-Hop 50 Live at Yankee Stadium” is co-produced by Mass Appeal, Live Nation, and the New York Yankees. Additional acts will be announced in the coming weeks and will be T.I., Fat Joe, Common, A$AP Ferg, EPMD, Ghostface Killah, Lupe Fiasco, and Slick Rick.

“I am honored to hit the stage in the Bronx, the birthplace of hip-hop, and celebrate all of my heroes,” said Run DMC. “August 11 is hip-hop’s 50th birthday! So…‘Up in the Bronx’ where it all started, we will be celebrating this historic moment in history. I am honored to pay tribute to the culture that allowed this little shy kid from Queens to grow up and become the Mighty King of Rock! Thank you, hip-hop!”

“Hip-Hop 50 Live at Yankee Stadium” is the latest event in Mass Appeal’s Hip-Hop 50 initiative— a massive cross-platform initiative that celebrates hip-hop’s 50th anniversary in the most authentic and globally impactful way possible by acknowledging and recognizing hip-hop as not only a genre, but a movement that has had an impact on the worldwide community.

More on that in a few. Right now, over and out. Holla next week. ’Til then, enjoy the nightlife.

(Bill Moore photos)

Union Matters

IDG protests in front of Gov. Hochul’s NYC offices

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Rideshare workers took over the sidewalk and streets in front of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s New York City offices (633 3rd Ave. in Manhattan) to urge the governor and the MTA to refrain from imposing what they deem as a double tax on them and their jobs.

The Independent Drivers Guild (IDG) said the city’s proposed Central Business District (CBD) Tolling Program already assessed a congestion tax of $2.75 per trip on rideshare drivers in its first phase back in 2019. Now, an additional congestion tax as high as $23 per trip is on the table.

Cars that enter or remain in the CBD during peak hours would be electronically tolled and charged via E-ZPass or have toll bills mailed directly to the home address of a car’s registered owner.

This could come at a high cost to rideshare drivers––the IDG said this new tax would lead to a decrease of nearly 15,000 rideshare driver jobs.

“Today and ever since this congestion pricing conversation started, we started a petition,” Aziz Bah, a rideshare driver who serves as the IDG organizing director, told

hundreds of drivers who took the day off to rally in front of the governor’s offices on Friday, June 2.

“Everyone can see the petition right here. To date, we’ve collected 10,596 signatures and growing, and we want to deliver this to the governor today because she needs to be aware of how this proposal is impacting drivers.”

With more protestors arriving even as he spoke, and other rideshare drivers honking in support of the strike as they drove past the site, Bah told the striking workers that congestion pricing in the proposed CBD program hit rideshare workers first because they were the most vulnerable.

“Please recognize the fact that we were the only, the only group that has been paying this tax since 2019,” he said. “And there is something important about our drivers, there is something actually very obvious when you look at the demographics here: We are all minorities. Is it by coincidence? Is it by coincidence that they picked that group—the minority group— to say you guys are going to pay an additional tax?

“That’s totally unfair, totally unfair, and that’s why we’re here.”

(Karen Juanita Carrillo photos)

Rideshare driver and IDG organizing director Aziz Bah speaks before hundreds of drivers who rallied in front of the governor’s offices at 633 3rd Ave. in Manhattan on Friday, June 2.

Protestors demand no ‘back room politics’ in NYS reparations commission discussions

by NAYABA ARINDE Amsterdam News Editor

Heeding the call for a quickly announced rally, a group of protestors came from as far as DC and New Jersey to support the demand for reparations for people of African descent at the African Burial Ground in Downtown Manhattan on Monday,June 5.

With the current legislative session in Albany ending on Thursday, June 8th, , speakers Attorney Roger Wareham, December 12th Movement chair Viola Plummer; and City Councilman Charles Barron, encouraged the crowd to call on every elected official they knew, especially; Governor Kathy Hochul, speaker of the Assembly Carl Heastie, and the Senate Majority Leader Andrea StewartCousins, to demand that three prominent reparation advocate groups be included in the upstate commission on reparations.

Kenniss Henry from the N’COBRA Washington D.C. chapter noted how the deluded white supremacist who shot and killed 10 Black people out shopping in Buffalo, May 14, 2022, had scrawled on his assault rifle “here’s your reparations.”

She contended, “The people in Buffalo are really struggling psychologically. What we can do to ease some of that pain is to send a message to our elected officials: You will not leave us the great people in the great State of New York with a reparations legacy that is not our legacy.”

“We want a commission that is represent-

ed by the community, and not by the state,” boomed Barron.

Reparations is a top-of-mind topic, with California’s news that they are considering giving reparations for descendants of enslaved Africans; and Missouri Rep. Cori Bush’s H.R. 414, Reparations Now Resolution, calling on the nation’s “moral and legal obligation” to redress the centuries’s long-term trauma, economic, social, and political damages with $14 trillion price tag.

Reparations remains a hot-button and under-reported issue for many New York State’s citizens of African Descent, Monday’s press conference speakers determined.

The question is whether the watered down “mechanism proposed to address the issue, The New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies, will be actually community controlled or another Albany controlled façade,” said Attorney Wareham.

The December 12th Movement International Secretariat continued that the State Senate version, S2416, sponsored by Sen. Jabari Brisport, replicates the bill originally introduced by then Assemblyman Charles Barron, which was passed by the Assembly in two separate sessions.”

Barron and Wareham stated that what makes this version of the Reparations legislation unique from those anywhere else in the United States - is the provision for a Commission which has a majority community-selected membership.

“Three community organizations, of which

we are one, will select 6 of the 11 Commission members. The legislature will have the final determination and execution on the Commission’s findings and recommendations.”

The other version was the only one considered by both houses on Monday, S1163-tA places the selection of all commission members in the hands of the government – three by the Governor Hochul, three by the speaker of the Assembly Heastie, three by the Temporary President of the Senate Stewart-Cousins.

Barron wants the December 12th Movement, N‘Cobra, and Ron Daniels and the Institute of the Black World to pick at least two members of the commission each, totalling six members of the Commission.

This way they would have the “opportunity to bring our experience to help develop a comprehensive program that will improve the quality of life for the state’s Black residents.”

“We are working in tandem with our Senate counterparts on a historic piece of legislation,” said Speaker Carl E. Heastie, in response to an Amsterdam News request for comment. “Throughout history, here in New York and across the country, African Americans have been subjected to racial, economic, and institutional injustices that have plagued communities for decades – a reality we must still acknowledge. To grow towards a better and more inclusive future, we must know our past. This bill, which is being championed by Assemblywoman Solages, would establish a New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies to continue to exam-

ine the institution of slavery and the impact slavery and discriminatory practices have had on living African Americans. We can be the change agents needed to create a better New York.”

In response to the AmNews, Stewart-Cousins’ Press Secretary Amanda Stout, said that the senator “will be advancing a different bill sponsored by Sen. Sanders and Assemblywoman Solages S.1163A.” instead of S2416.

The bill, The New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies, is being supported by State Senator James Sanders, and other state senate colleagues; Cordell Cleare, Leroy Comrie, Brad HoylmanSigal, and Robert Jackson, and Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solanges.

The bill reads in part “Relates to acknowledging the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery in the city of New York and the state of New York; establishes the New York state community commission on reparations remedies to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, the impact of these forces on living African-Americans and to make recommendations on appropriate remedies…make determinations regarding compensation.”

Wareham reminded the folks gathered, and those peering out of windows surrounding the historic African Burial Ground National Monument on Duane Street, “If we talk about

See REPARATIONS on page 29

Speeding ruins lives. Slow down.

An invitation to Dr. West

There was a lot of rumbling and grumbling, particularly among leftcenter voters when Dr. Cornel West announced his candidacy for president on the People’s Party ticket.

Social media was abuzz with commentary, many dismayed that West’s run would pull votes from Biden as a third-party disrupter. Tactically, this may be part of West’s scheme to make sure the left has a voice in the contest for the political narrative nowadays the sole possession of right-wingers, including conservative radio host Larry Elder and Sen. Tim Scott, two Black Republicans seeking the highest office.

We need West in the race to counter some of the ridiculous comments and positions espoused by Elder, Scott, and Ye, formerly Kanye, the other West. Elder absurdly blames CRT (Critical Race Theory), diversity, and the push for equality as reasons for the increased racial tension in the country.

Recently on “The View” Scott suggested that the U.S. playing field is level because a number of Black Americans have secured high places in business and government. A few Black faces in high places appear to be enough to satisfy the senator from South Carolina, a condition that nullifies systemic racism, right?

Dr. West your chance of winning is no better than these out-of-touch Republican candidates and independents but at least your political stumping will remind the nation about some of the pressing issues, all regnant of Jim Crow and white supremacy. And maybe, Dr. West, your campaigning will push the Democrats off their centrist comfort zone, and force them to take firmer stances on affordable housing, climate change, environmental disparities, police reform, poverty, and fix some of the cracks in the democratic process.

When you get a chance Dr. West stop by our office because we would love to hear your response to some of our issues and concerns. Meanwhile, take up your lance Don Quixote and joust with the other contenders.

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher and Editor in Chief

NYC Council must help small restaurants and vulnerable workers

By BERTHA LEWIS

As a longtime civil rights leader in New York City, I’m familiar with so many equity issues in our underrepresented neighborhoods. I recently learned of one issue, however, that is affecting our brothers and sisters in the restaurant industry at this very moment and that the City Council has the power to fix—quickly.

The restaurant delivery service fee cap is hurting our smallest restaurants and should be fixed.

The pandemic mercilessly hurt all our vulnerable communities, but small restaurants and their low-wage workers may have been hurt the most. Both owners and workers suffered when restaurants were shuttered. Things improved when restaurants reopened for outdoor dining and delivery, and now the city is finally open for indoor dining—but many places have fewer tables and are still struggling.

When times were most challenging, restaurants hastily embraced delivery by partnering with services like Grubhub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats. Many were concerned that delivery giants would overcharge desperate, community-based businesses, so the City Council acted quickly to protect them.

As in many cities nationwide, the council passed an emergency law limiting delivery charges. It was intended to help small restaurants and their workers, but now we know that the fee cap backfired and actually hurt our community restaurants and their workers. In many cities, the delivery fee cap was tiered to help small restaurants the most and ensure large, expensive, and chain restaurants did not benefit disproportionately as big companies always do. In contrast, New York City’s fee cap applied equally to all restaurants, so it didn’t boost small restaurants as it should have.

Another problem with the fee cap is

that it didn’t affect only delivery fees— it also limited the amount of marketing services and support that small restaurants can buy from delivery apps. Most of us don’t realize that delivery services do much more than deliver meals. They also help small restaurants with affordable email marketing, website design, ordering software, and in-app promotions. These are most important to the smallest restaurants that cannot afford expensive advertising and agencies like chain restaurants can, and that need the pay-per-order marketing options that delivery companies offer.

Let me repeat that: Unlike other forms of marketing, restaurants don’t have to pay apps in advance or for marketing campaigns that don’t work. They only pay an app when it brings the restaurant orders and revenue.

When small restaurants’ marketing fees exceed the so-called delivery fee

See NYC COUNCIL on page 29

By SAMUEL ADEWUMI

dents received offers out of the 1,498 offers that were made, a paltry 3.74%.

Why have the numbers fallen so low?

Member

Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor

Nayaba Arinde: Editor

Cyril Josh Barker: Digital Editor

Damaso Reyes: Investigative Editor

Alliance for Audited Media Opinion

Siobhan "Sam" Bennett: Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Advertising

Every spring, the NYC Department of Education releases the results of the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), a 3-hour long, 114 question test of reading comprehension and math questions that is the sole criteria for admission into NYC’s Specialized High Schools (SHS). The SHS represents some of NYC and the nation’s top high schools. Each year, the headlines shout, “Only, some single digit number of students are accepted into Stuyvesant this year.” Stuyvesant High School has the highest cutoff score and is considered the most competitive of the 8 SHS. After the scores are released, there are some words of outrage by different concerned individuals and organizations and then we wait for next year for the cycle to repeat. No significant changes are ever made.

Let’s look at this year’s results. Only 11 Back students received offers to Stuyvesant and 7 have accepted those offers. Let us look at the larger but equally prestigious Brooklyn Technical HS. This year 56 Black stu-

Some would say that maybe Black students are not taking the test. Out of the 27,667 students that took the test, 5,714 students were Black, representing 20.65% of all test takers. I would consider that a pretty significant number. Out of these 5,714 students, only 131 received offers, representing 2.29%. My heart goes out to the 5,583 students who did not receive offers and tried their best.

I would assert that the SHSAT is the most challenging High School entrance exam our students encounter. Its complex reading passages and challenging math questions are based on concepts that students learn in school but most have not experienced the intricate level of questions being asked on the exam. The SHSAT can reduce high performing students who are level 4’s on state tests to “shells of themselves,” guessing their way through the test, completely outmatched by a test like nothing they have seen before.

Despite these challenges, in the 80’s and 90’s a school like Brooklyn Tech would have anywhere from 30% to 45% Black students attending the school.

Tech was considered the Howard U of SHS. Since the early 2000’s there has been a steep decrease in the number of Black students attending the SHS.

The majority of the population of the SHS has historically come from the gifted and talented (G and T), classes, programs or schools of NYC. Ask any alum from a SHS that attended in the 80’s and they will proudly tell you about their middle school and how it prepared them for the test without prepping, just based on the depth and quality of their curriculum.

G and T programs are frowned upon today and most significantly, are no longer housed in most schools, as it used to be. The few G and T programs that exist do not exist in communities of color. The few historically G and T schools that did exist in Black communities, such as Philippa Schuyler Middle School, no longer function as G and T schools.

The acceleration that occurred in G and T schools allowed students to move past the limits of their grade level curriculum and interact with higher order work.

If students never see the challenging questions and concepts found on the SHSAT until they sit for the exam or just take the two practice tests found in the city’s SHS brochure, how are they expected to perform well? There is absolutely nothing wrong with our Black students; we just have not, or will not, for whatever reason, prepare

See BLACK STUDENTS on page 29

CUNY Law: A graduation under siege

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

Education ought to be the bedrock for fostering critical thinking and providing a landscape for the exploration of diverse perspectives, rather than serving as an incubator for extremist ideologies. This essential ethos of education, unfortunately, is under threat, exemplified recently by the recent graduation speech of CUNY law graduate and soon-to-be attorney Fatima Mousa Mohammed.

As she claimed the spotlight, Mohammed leveraged this platform to broadcast an array of extreme leftwing clichés. She demonstrated profound disrespect for American institutions that form our nation’s backbone, criticizing entities from our police force and military to our longstanding ally, Israel. Her rhetoric exhibited nothing but contempt. The speech was an unsettling recital of the extreme left-wing rhetoric that’s been increasingly infecting our national discourse, and it was unequivocally inappropriate for a commencement address—an occasion meant to be a celebration of academic achievement.

What was concerning was not only Mohammed’s blatant attempt to tarnish America’s image but also the seemingly complicit behavior of the CUNY Law administration. They allowed, and arguably sanctioned, her to deliver a highly divisive and hateful address. They knew her background as an anti-Israel activist, and they should have approved a copy of her speech before she read it. The law school must have been fully aware that she intended to propagate a narrative painting our society as a dystopian wasteland under attack by systemic racism. If not, then they should come out and say so. The school has tarnished their reputation by having well-known individuals speak at the same event as Mohammed, making them seem radical, too.

Contrary to Mohammed’s portrayal, the United States has made considerable strides over the past two decades toward fostering a more inclusive society and racial harmo-

ny. Our societal fabric is such that public figures risk severe backlash and potential career termination for a single discriminatory remark. This is hardly reflective of a nation inherently racist, particularly considering the rigorous anti-discrimination standards enforced in our public sectors, from the police to the military.

Indeed, America is a land of immense opportunities where individuals, irrespective of their backgrounds, can thrive based on their merit and diligence. It is rather disheartening that Mohammed chose to vilify the very police officers who place their lives on the line daily to ensure our communities’ safety. Similarly, our military, which she so casually criticized, serves as the linchpin of our national security, ceaselessly protecting our freedoms and way of life. Her disdain toward these entities glaringly overlooks the innumerable sacrifices made for our societal well-being.

In a similar vein, Mohammed’s remarks about Israel, a steadfast ally of the United States, were deeply unsettling. Israel has long been a staunch friend of the United States, sharing our democratic values and standing as a beacon of stability in a volatile region. To attack our ally in a graduation speech is not only disrespectful but also shows a complete disregard for the importance of maintaining strong international relationships.

The issue extends beyond Mohammed’s speech, flagging a more systemic problem pervading our college campuses: Universities, originally meant to stimulate respectful debate and the sharing of diverse perspectives, are increasingly morphing into hotbeds for radical ideologies. The promotion of such extreme left-wing narratives, exemplified during the commencement address, only serves to stifle intellectual diversity, thus intensifying societal polarization.

Despite the discord Mohammed’s speech caused, it inadvertently catalyzed a united response.

Figures from both sides of the political spectrum came together in a rare echo of disapproval. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “I was proud to offer a different message at this year’s CUNY Law commencement ceremony…We cannot allow words of negativity and divisiveness to be the only ones our students hear.”

Similarly, Democratic Congressmember Ritchie Torres said, “Imagine being so crazed by hatred for Israel as a Jewish state that you make it the subject of your commencement speech at a law school graduation. Anti-Israel derangement syndrome at work.”

The Board of Trustees and chancellor of the entire CUNY system even condemned the speaker, stating, “This speech is particularly unacceptable at a ceremony celebrating the achievements of a wide diversity of graduates, and hurtful to the entire CUNY community…”

Yet, at the time of writing this, the administration of CUNY Law has been silent.

It is disheartening to witness the indoctrination of young minds with radical ideologies that demonize our country and its foundational institutions. Education should be a platform for critical thinking and the exploration of diverse perspectives, not a breeding ground for extremist ideologies. As conservatives, we must stand up against the suppression of conservative voices and push for a balanced education that promotes patriotism, respect for law enforcement, and appreciation of the sacrifices made by our military. Only then can we ensure that the next generation understands the true greatness of America and works toward its continued prosperity.

Armstrong Williams (@ARightSide) 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

It’s time to go birding

CHRISTINA GREER, PH.D.

I recently had the opportunity to go birding in Central Park with famed birder Christian Cooper. It was exhilarating to see more than 25 species of birds just zipping around the park and singing their various melodies. It is somewhat surreal to live in one of the busiest cities in the world and also be able to walk just a few feet into a park and see gray catbirds chasing one another, cardinals with their mates, a lone heron flying above, or a Baltimore oriole nest just resting in a tree above.

My walk with Cooper was to discuss his new show, “Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper,” which will premiere in the United States on Saturday, June 17, on the National Geographic Wild channel, and will be released on Disney+ in the summer.

Many of you may remember Cooper from an incident that made national headlines after a white woman asserted she would tell the police that, “an African American man was threatening her life” simply because she was asked to leash her dog. As Cooper videotaped their interaction, the world was witness to a type of racial animus that is still very present in big cities and small towns across this country.

What many people who followed this disturbing story did not know was… Christian Cooper has been a lifelong birder and frequently explores Central Park with his binoculars in tow. Therefore, to see Cooper with his forthcoming show is a nice taste of sweet justice. Cooper now gets to travel the country

doing what he loves—finding birds, connecting with people, and spreading the gospel about the joys of birding and the outdoors.

I began birding during the pandemic and have found it to be a salve on the busiest days. Just a few minutes of walking in nature changes my mood and gives me a level of peace and happiness I have not previously known. Even when I am on a stroll without my binoculars, it is amazing how my eyes (and ears) are now trained to see even the tiniest warbler flitting about. I am so excited about Cooper’s new show and what his presence as a Black man will mean for future birders. I am equally excited about his forthcoming book, “Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World” (Penguin Random House), where he delves deeper into what birds can tell us about life.

Be sure to check out “Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper” beginning June 17 on the National Geographic Wild channel. And if you haven’t done so already, take a quick walk in your neighborhood and see how many birds are living around you. Maybe you’ll see a sparrow, a starling, a seagull, and of course, lots of varieties of pigeons!

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.

Caribbean Update

Unease builds as Suriname invites large groups of whites to settle

By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews

No one is sure why Suriname’s Indoled government is trying to bring a large group of white Mennonites to settle in a Caribbean Community nation that is already racked by simmering racial tensions involving different race groups, but lawmakers and social activists are beginning to ask serious questions about the real motives behind their invitation to make the Dutch-speaking republic their new home. Suriname borders Brazil, Guyana, and French Guiana.

Known for living in various countries around the world in their own isolated communities, like American Amish groups, the Mennonites have already made several reconnaissance missions to Suriname, scoping out opportunities for land purchases and testing the general mood of the locals, and for talks with the administration of President Chan Santokhi.

Opposition lawmakers and social activists say they are angry because they are only now learning, by word of mouth, about this startling development with

its attendant implications for the future make-up of the population. Apparently, no official confirmation was made by authorities until very recently when legislators raised the issue in parliament, forcing answers from government colleagues.

“The possible arrival of the Anabaptist is a very serious matter. The government is provoking the natives,” said opposition parliamentarian Iona Edwards. Colleague Evart Karto was also very upset. “I ask the government how and why that decision was made. Who has been consulted and who has received money?”

The government has also taken flak from one of its own party members—Indo assemblymember Asiskumar Gajadien has demanded clarification and a clear statement from the cabinet about exactly what the plan is.

Edwards said Mennonite teams have already been moving to establish a base at Apoera, near the western border with Guyana and are moving to acquire up to 90,000 hectares through land purchases. The nation of about 600,000 is already racked by rising tension among the major race groups, including Blacks, Indians, Javanese from Indonesia, Amerindians, and

Maroons who count themselves as a separate ethnic group.

This is as indigenous Amerindian and Maroons have been struggling with successive administrations for decades to settle land demarcation and allocation borders for the first two sets of people to have occupied this nation.

“With the polarizing policy, there are enough tensions in the country,” Edwards said. “Now people also want to have fanatical groups brought in. In other countries, they have been guilty of rape and other things. We must not expose our people to danger. Are we going to allow this?”

Mennonite publications, including Anabaptists World, and others have already published detailed reports about the plans to set up a Mennonite colony in Suriname. One publication has already labeled the plans to head south as “Suriname fever.” Another showed photographs of Mennonite farmers taking soil samples to determine whether the area would be suitable for the type of agricultural prowess for which they are known.

Mennonites came from Europe many centuries ago, fleeing what they claimed was religious persecution back home

and tensions with the Catholic and other churches after early clashes over religious doctrine. In the Caricom nation of Belize, they comprise about 5% of the population but make a significant contribution to agricultural production. They had migrated from neighboring Mexico to Belize in the 1960s. Belize has about 12,000 Mennonites.

Mennonites are often compared to Amish communities in the U.S., because some shun modern amenities such as technology, including computers, and electrical power. Many of the women wear long clothing, almost all-covering dresses and the men wear straw hats and buttoned-down shirts at times, despite the simmering heat in Belize. Belize originally offered them land and tax-free incentives.

Authorities say they are happy to add this new but controversial group to Surinamese society but won’t give them land—they would have to buy land for themselves. The government is well aware of their acknowledged agriculture production prowess, which has been demonstrated in countries like Bolivia and Mexico.

It’s not just Pride Month, but also National Caribbean American Heritage and Immigrant Heritage Month

June marks not only Pride Month but also National Caribbean American Heritage Month, National Immigrant Heritage Month, and Black Music Month. Sadly, you wouldn’t know it from the prevailing media coverage, advertising, and national promotion, which primarily revolve around “Pride Month.”

While I have nothing against celebrating Pride Month, it is disheartening to witness the lack of attention given to other significant observances.

On May 31, the White House proclamation acknowledged LGBTQ+ Pride Month alongside National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, National Immigrant Heritage Month, Black Music Month, National Ocean Month, and National Homeownership Month. President Joe Biden himself encouraged all Americans to participate in celebrating these diverse “months.” Why do the others receive so little recognition compared to one?

Even the U.S. State Department, in its own releases, recognized only Pride Month and National Immigrant Heritage Month. Nothing about National Caribbean American Heritage Month, which actually started 17 years ago, long before National Immigrant Heritage Month became a reality.

As a proud Caribbean immigrant, I remain “gobsmacked,” to use the British term. It’s most aggravating that 17 years in, we are still largely ignored and dismissed. Not even Madame Vice President, Kamala Harris, who President Biden snuck into his CAHM proclamation as an “extraordinary” leader of “Caribbean heritage” serving in the administration, bothered to tweet “Happy CAHM.” However, her Twitter header changed to say “Happy Pride Month.”

The president was also thrilled to point out Caribbean-born staffers like Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and White House Press Secretary Karine JeanPierre in this year’s CAHM proclamation, as well as Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who is of Puerto Rican heritage. Not one has bothered to even tweet “Happy Caribbean American Heritage Month” or “Happy Immigrant Heritage Month.”

Jean-Pierre, who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, tweeted out only a Pride greeting on June 1. Mayorkas has not acknowledged CAHM or National Immigrant Heritage Month. Instead, on June 2, he posted multiple images of himself raising “the Pride Progress flag” at the DHS headquarters “to recognize the start of #PrideMonth.”

“Today, we continue this tradition—a symbol of our commitment to stand with our LGBTQ+ colleagues and the community with pride,” he tweeted, adding: “There is work to be done to address inequities but let us remember our progress towards creating a safer, more inclusive nation for all. #Pride2023.”

Cardona also had nothing to say about Immigrant Heritage Month or CAHM. Instead, on June 1, he saluted Pride Month only, tweeting: “Happy #PrideMonth! Right now, the moment demands that we do all we can to support the LGBTQI+ community, particularly for our young people. I will do all I can to ensure every student can be their authentic selves, bullying will never be tolerated in our classrooms.”

On May 31, he was, however, happy to acknowledge “#JewishAmericanHer-

itageMonth.”

Why is this so while immigrants and Caribbean Americans are ignored, even though many Caribbean Americans and immigrants are also part of the LGBTQ+ communities?

The answer, I believe, lies in the fact that the LGBTQ+ and Jewish American communities are the most vocal. When they speak, they speak as one voice and politicians are afraid to make waves for fear of upsetting both their financial contributions and their votes.

Immigrants and Caribbean Americans, on the other hand, form a weaker bloc and can easily be taken for granted. Just look at how immigration reform keeps being promised but postponed indefinitely.

The reality is the squeakiest wheel gets the oil and the celebration of diversity in America is all about those who yell the loudest and speak with one voice through donations and at the ballot box. It’s a lesson immigrants and Caribbean Americans need to learn to be taken seriously in America.

The writer is publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com – The Black Immigrant Daily News. She can be reached at felicia@caribpr.com.

Health

Hotter, faster, stronger: Heat island effect endangers New Yorkers

By HELINA SELEMON Blacklight Science Reporter

Every year, as temperatures soar during the scorching summer months, the searing heat experienced in New York City is increasingly exacerbated by climate change and will also be amplified by another factor: the city itself.

The city’s densely packed buildings and dark pavement absorb and radiate heat from the sun, trapping heat and making the city feel like an oven. This phenomenon is known as the “heat island effect,” and our concrete jungle is the third-most intense heat island in the U.S., behind only Newark, New Jersey, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

“New York is definitely one of the epicenters for heat,” said Vivek Shandas, professor of climate adaptation and founder and director of the Sustaining Urban Places Research Lab at Portland State University. “Unfortunately, what we’ve done in our cities is really build them out so much that we’ve eliminated a lot of the green space and trees…and very disproportionately.”

This phenomenon has an impact on some parts of the city more than others. Here’s why it’s important to understand to stay safe this summer.

Why is the heat island effect dangerous?

Rising temperatures due to climate change are creating conditions for more extreme floods, hurricanes, and storms, but extreme heat is the deadliest of them. On average, more than 67,000 people in the United States end up in emergency rooms every year due to heatrelated health issues.

In New York City, the number of emergency room visits for heat have gone back up since they dipped in the summer of 2020. There were 370 heat-exacerbated fatalities in the city in 2021, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).

Heat mortality rates are more than twice as high among Black New Yorkers, who, alongside poor and

marginalized communities, tend to experience record high temperatures in their neighborhoods and the least shielding from heat. Even though more than 90% of New Yorkers have air conditioning, 81% of people dying from extreme heat have no A/C at home.

“It’s gotten to a point where it’s actually killing more people every year,” Shandas said. “And it’s often…Black and brown communities, older communities, communities that have been historically more marginalized that are facing the brunt of the impacts from urban heat.”

ty of cooling centers—designated public facilities like libraries and senior centers that were open during heat emergencies for New Yorkers to cool down—is lower in some of the most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods.

Last summer, Shandas and a team at the New York Environmental Justice Alliance worked on a project to measure air temperatures all around New York, expanding on a project from the previous year focused on the Bronx. Community volunteers fanned across the city on foot and on bicycles, collecting

Steps to prevent heat stress this summer

If you suspect heat stress, heat exhaustion, or heat stroke, take these steps:

Move to a cooler environment : Seek shade or an air-conditioned space immediately. Call 311 to find the cooling center closest to you.

Top 10 most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods with fewest cooling centers per capita (100,000 people)

1. East Flatbush

2. Elmhurst and Corona

3. Kingsbridge Heights and Bedford

Heat Vulnerability Index by Community District (NYC, 2018)

The HVI shows the risk of community-level heat impacts, like deaths, due to extreme heat events. It is made up of data on surface temperature, green space, air conditioning access, poverty, and Black population (the population most excluded from heat resources). Differences in community-level heat impacts stem from structural racism, which limits access to preventive resources.

Mapping the hottest neighborhoods

Trapped heat is made worse by a lack of trees and greenery, and building designs that restrict air flow, creating neighborhoods with hot and stagnant air.

High disinvestment in neighborhoods like Harlem, Hunts Point, and East Flatbush—linked to historical practices like redlining and redirecting public infrastructure resources to wealthier neighborhoods—intensifies the heat island effect in those areas.

In 2021, Harlem was nearly 10 degrees hotter than other neighborhoods surrounding Central Park. To make matters worse, the densi-

up-to-the-minute temperature changes in different neighborhoods of the city.

“We were able to show, at very high resolution, how areas that have been historically kind of disinvested,” Shandas said. He said their research found that Harlem and the Bronx were consistently 10 degrees higher than some highly built-out areas in lower Manhattan.

Solutions that beat the heat

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends a few approaches to combat heat island effect: creating rooftop gardens, painting roofs in light colors, and putting cool pavements on the

Hydrate: Drink plenty of cool water or electrolyte-rich fluids to replenish lost fluids. Apply cool water: Use wet towels or take a cool shower to help lower body temperature.

Rest: L ie down and elevate your legs to promote blood flow.

Seek medical help: If symptoms worsen or if heat stroke is suspected, call emergency services without delay.

4. Kew Gardens and Woodhaven

5. Crown Heights and Prospect Heights

6. Borough Park

7. South Crown Heights and Lefferts Gardens

8. Bedford-Stuyvesant

9. Fordham and University Heights

10. Highbridge and Concourse

(Source: Overheated, Underserved: Expanding Cooling Center Access. NYC Comptroller. August 4, 2022)

street that reflect the heat.

Trees play a critical role in mitigating the effect. A European study recently published in the Lancet found that 30% of deaths caused by the heat island effect could be prevented with more tree cover. Trees provide shade that can significantly decrease temperatures and release water into the atmo-

sphere, cooling the air. Shandas called trees “the original air conditioning systems” for society.

Trees also offer energy-saving benefits, such as lowering electric bills and preventing the evaporation of harmful organic compounds from gas tanks in shaded parking lots. Every year, through June 30,

Jennifer Pagan, center, sits in front of an open fire hydrant in the Bronx in July of 2022. Dangerously high temperatures threatened much of the Northeast and Deep South as millions of Americans sought comfort from air-conditioners, fire hydrants, fountains, and cooling centers.

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Arts & Entertainment

“King James” is a slam dunk at NYCC

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

“King James” is a slam dunk! This stunning play, the latest offering from the Manhattan Theatre Club (New York City Center, W. 55th Street), is being presented by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Center Theatre Group Production. Beautifully written by Rajiv Joseph, it tells the story of two Cleveland Cavaliers basketball fans who meet when Shawn comes to buy season tickets from Matt.

Shawn, a Black man, has had to struggle his entire life and buying these season tickets is a dream come true. A true fan of basketball, Shawn has wanted to attend a game since he was a child, but never had the opportunity or money to do so. When he suddenly receives a large check for a short story he wrote, he now has the capital to buy the tickets. Meanwhile Matt, a white man from a well-off family, owns a bar and has always been taken to the Cavs games by his father. Matt has tried many business ventures but has not been able to make a success of anything. His parents tend to point out his shortcomings, and he does not have the closest relationship with his mother and father.

It is very interesting how Joseph introduces us to these characters and them to each

other. We can see immediately that these two individuals are drastically different. The fact that their initial meeting starts a deep friendship based on their love for the game

and LeBron James, who is a star rookie on the team, is amusing. As we watch the characters develop their relationship, we get to see what can happen to two men who only talk about sports and about what LeBron leaving the Cavaliers for Miami did to them. But this story is so much more.

“King James” shows the feeling of privilege, and of a person staying in their place, that some people can feel. It shows how friends can become jealous of each other for different reasons.

It is intriguing to see how we each view our friends and their relationships to our parents.

This play also shows that life is about change and that one person can start off well, while another can struggle and, due to circumstances that happen in life, the script can flip. Regardless of what happens, though, a friendship can survive.

Glenn Davis is spot-on in his portrayal of Shawn. Watching how mesmerizing he is on the stage, it’s not surprising to learn that he is the artistic director of the Steppenwolf The-

atre Company, which originally produced the show in Chicago. Davis inhabits his character with a great intensity.

Chris Perfetti scores high as Matt, a character with many layers.

These two actors play-off each other with a comfortability that is quite entertaining to see. While this story is about friendship, LeBron James, the fanatical way that basketball fans act with regard to the players, and their loyalty or disloyalty to the team and city they represent, it is also about appreciating the positive things that people have in their lives, instead of taking them for granted.

Kenny Leon's direction creates a stimulating environment and delivers a delicate balance of emotions, discovery, and people deciding that they are ready to move on. The play shows that life can take us in different directions—and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Providing the musical selection before and during intermission was DJ Khloe Janel. She is quite animated and engages the audience, adding to the playful environment of the production.

“King James” is easily a 3-point shot, slam dunk!

For more info, visit www.manhattantheatreclub.com.

‘Without You’ is an incredibly moving theater experience

By LINDA ARMSTRONG

Special to the AmNews

I have never experienced a show that moved me to tears as much as I did while experiencing Anthony Rapp’s one man show, “Without You.”

I have never seen an actor be so vulnerable, so giving, so amazing in telling his story and that of the musical that relaunched his career—Jonathan Larson’s “Rent.”

Rapp starts his story from when he was in his early 20s and was late for his audition for “Rent.”

As he takes the audience on his journey, you see how candid he is. His story touches on his introductions to the musical, its creator, the late Jonathan Larson, and also on what was happening in Rapp’s personal life with his mother.

This play, with music from “Rent,” will have you feeling so much. This 90-minute production talks about all the bold topics that were touched upon in this musical. This was a musical that was revolutionary, as it openly talked about the LGBTQIA+ community, people with HIV and AIDS, drug addicts, exotic dancers, and the other characters that are part of this musical. These characters were friends that formed a tight-knit community. Larson took

on subjects that were taboo, but he did it with love. He did this because many of his friends told him they had HIV and AIDS and then they were gone, and he wanted to remember and honor them. He wanted the world to know that these people deserved to be recognized and loved just as much as anyone else.

Larson’s “Rent” dealt with the subject of death and friendship and how we as human beings have difficulty with both. Rapp takes on so many hats with this production. Not only is he the actor, he also did the book, music,

and lyrics for some additional songs. It is beautiful to see how Larson, through “Rent,” honored his friends and how now Rapp, through “Without You,” is continuing the tradition.

As he takes us through his very personal story, we get to know another side of him, Larson, and he creators behind “Rent,” including the director and some of the other actors who performed in the initial production at New York Theatre Workshop. Throughout the show there are either excerpts or the full rendition of captivating and moving “Rent” songs like “Rent,” “Seasons of Love,” “La Vie Boheme,” “Without You,” “We’re Dying In America,” “One Song, Glory,” and “Finale B/No Day But Today.”

While I cried in silence throughout the telling of this incredible story, I often heard people around me sniffling as they let the tears flow. Rapp’s life has been full of fantastic moments, but also of devastation and sadness. However, like Larson, he is using his talent to make sure that people know who Larson was and what

this rock opera meant in his life and the lives of so many people who were marginalized prior to its existence.

“Without You” is playing at New World Stages on West 50th Street. It features brilliant direction by Steven Maler, additional music by David Matos, Joe Pisapia, Daniel A. Weiss and musical direction by Daniel A. Weiss. The technical aspects also enhanced this stunning production and featured scenic and lighting design by Eric Southern, costume design by Angela Vesco, sound design by Brian Ronan, and projection design by David Bengali. This play is based on Rapp’s memoir of the same title. Marvelous live music is provided by a band that features Clérida Eltimé (Cello), Paul Gil (Bass), Jerry Marotta (Drums), and LeeMoretti (Guitar).

If you have lost anyone who is dear to you, this production will make you reflect on what you are feeling. Sadly, I have recently lost someone very dear, and watching Rapp share his pain gave me the ability to release some of mine. It was healing. Please make sure that you go and experience this transforming performance and take someone you love!

For more info, visit www.withoutyoumusical.com.

Anthony Rapp in a scene from “Without You” (Russ Rowland photo)

Glenn Davis and Chris Perfetti in scene from “King James” playing at NYCC (Luke Fontana photo)

Tribeca Film Festival 2023 Overview

By NADINE MATTHEWS Special to the AmNews

A modern New York tradition, the Tribeca Film Festival, is back in full swing June 7–18, and this year delivers perhaps one of the best slates of films ever. As always, there is something for everyone.

Of course, there are documentary and narrative features and short films. There are also immersive experiences in augmented and virtual reality. Highlighting its music programming, the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival celebrates hip-hop with appearances by some of its stars and a screening of a seminal hip-hop film.

The dynamic speaker series Tribeca X features major names in advertising and entertainment discussing the future of brand content.

Music legend Carlos Santana will perform.

Tribeca TV and NOW will highlight select TV and streaming offerings. For gamers, there is Tribeca Festival Games, showcasing the convergence of games, entertainment, and culture. Tribeca Talks and Reunions will see some of our most popular names on film (in front of and behind the camera) in conversation.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival will be a screening of the classic “A Bronx Tale” in honor of its 30th anniversary and upcoming VOD releases.

Hip-hop will be in the house. French Montana’s film, co-produced by P. Diddy, “For Khadija” will be screened and he will perform after the premiere with Triplets Ghetto Kids.

Chance the Rapper and Megan Thee Stal-

lion will appear as two of the festival’s storytellers. Screenings will include another documentary, “Cypher,” documenting rapper Tierra Whack’s rise in the music industry; the classic film “Wild Style,” which celebrates hip-hop’s 50th anniversary; and “Planet B-Boy,” which explores underground breakdancing dance scenes around the world.

Tribeca TV offers previews of new and returning small screen content, such as the dark comedy “Diarra From Detroit, Exposing Parchman,” which focuses on injustices in the Mississippi correctional system; the series “Swagger,” chronicling the lives of youth basketball players; and unveiling of the new entry in the “Walking Dead” universe, “Walking Dead: Dead City,” which takes place in Manhattan.

Tribeca NOW celebrates independent episodic shorts and series, and will feature the romantic dramedy “Do It To Me If You Want”; the dramedy “Honeycomb,” featuring comedian Baron Vaughn; and the disturbing documentary “The Fourth Wall,” about a New York City-based sex cult, the Sullivanians.

Tribeca Talks will feature conversations with Billy Porter, as well as between Lin Manuel Miranda and actress Rosie Perez. Reunions will showcase Kevin Sullivan and Angela Bassett reunited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” Mario Van Peebles, Michael Michele, and Fab 5 Freddy return for “New Jack City.” Charlie Ahearn, Lee Quiñones, Fab 5 Freddy, and Grand Wizzard Theodore reunite for a special 40th anniversary celebration of “Wild Style.”

As part of the Talks series, the third

annual Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award will be presented to Academy Award-winning actor, producer, author, and activist Jane Fonda. Grammywinning artist Alicia Keys will present the award, an original drawing from artist Julie Mehretuentitled “Exodus #3.” The award recognizes those who have used storytelling and the arts to enact change in their communities. Jane Fonda will be in conversation with “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts.

Also appearing in the speaker series Tribeca X will be meteorologist, producer, and TV personality Al Roker, moderating a discussion of the rise of brand storytelling as a change agent.

For the first time, breakout sessions have been added to Tribeca X and will provide guests with networking opportunities that foster meaningful industry connections. The sessions will also provide the opportunity for a more in-depth look at each topic and open discussion between breakout leaders and guests.

Tribeca Festival Games this year feature world premieres of “The Expanse: A Telltale Series,” a prequel to the popular TV series that puts players in the role of Camina Drummer, played by actress Cara Gee, who portrays the fan-favorite character in the TV series; “Stray Gods,” a roleplaying musical that tells a story of hope, self-discovery, and forging one’s path; and “Nightscape,” an atmospheric adventure game inspired by ancient Arabian astronomy. Tribeca’s Games & Immersive Experience, which is held exclusively inperson at the Festival’s Hub, Spring Studios (50 Varick Street), features playable

demos for this year’s game selections.

Running June 9–17, the Tribeca Immersive series brings the best in extended reality. Among this year’s 13 offerings is an experience based on unheralded civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin who, as a teen and before Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat on a segregated Birmingham, Alabama, bus.

Also featured is “Kinfolk: Black Lands” from Idris Brewster, an AR experience that monumentalizes the past, present, and future of the Black communities that have built New York City. The Immersive experience, for the first time, will be showcased along with Tribeca Games at Spring Studios.

Legendary award-winning actor and Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Robert DeNiro will be in conversation with “A Bronx Tale” screenwriter Chazz Palminteri. Both also starred in the film alongside Lilo Brancato and Taral Hicks. They’ll discuss the September 2023 release of the film on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and VOD on a number of streaming platforms, as well as behind the scenes of making the film.

To close this year’s Tribeca Festival, there will be a special 30th anniversary screening of the film on Saturday, June 17. After the film, De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Palminteri will participate in a live conversation with David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker.

And, of course, there will be films—lots of films!

For more information, follow @Tribeca and #Tribeca2023 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn and visit https:// tribecafilm.com/festival.

Alicia Keys in documentary “Uncharted” at Tribeca Film Festival (Ayana Baraka photo)

Dance Calendar June 2023

By CHARMAINE PATRICIA WARREN Special to the AmNews

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) tops this month’s calendar on its return to BAM for the first time since 2010.

Alvin Ailey made his debut on the BAM stage as a dancer in 1956. In 1969, the company began a residency at BAM and then established the Ailey School in Brooklyn. For the momentous return, planned programs include: “Program A: Brooklyn Bond,” just in time for AAADT artistic director emerita Judith Jamison’s 80th birthday, Ronald K. Brown’s “Dancing Spirit”; Twyla Tharp’s “Roy’s Joys”; and Kyle Abraham’s “Are You in Your Feelings?”

Program B: All Ailey will present “Night Creature” (1975), Cry (1971), “Survivors” (1986) by Alvin Ailey and Mary Barnett, and Ailey’s signature work “Revelations” (1960). Robert Battle has been the artistic director since 2011. Performances will run from June 6–11 at BAM’s Opera House. For more information, visit https:// www.bam.org/alvin-ailey-american-dance-th eater?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvdajBhBEEiwA eMh1U5NivIKjhi7dFOfWzN7ZPSNTAb42hkmF6Bi1JgFFv-OSDGJwUEFVJhoCUTgQAvD_ BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds.

ALSO THIS MONTH:

June 2–19: Kaatsbaan Cultural Park will present their Spring Festival over three weekends, featuring dance, live music, film screenings, and more, both outdoor and indoor. For more information, visit https://ci.ovationtix. com/36035.

June 3–24: The Jamaica Dance Festival, featuring performances by Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Rajarillo Pinta’O Dance, Asase Yaa African American Dance Theater, Obremski/Works, and more, returns to Rufus King Park. For more information, visit https://thejamaicadancefestival.com/.

June 4–11: Yanira Castro will be at the Chocolate Factory with the world premiere of “I came here to weep”: “a performance and collective exorcism co-created with the public…that examines U.S. territorial possession through the redaction, deconstruction and performance of absurdist colonial texts,” according to the release. For more information, visit https://chocolatefactorytheater.org/yanira-castro-2023/.

June 7: For the first time, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company will perform in Times Square with “/Time: Study III.” For more information, visit https://newyorklivearts.org/event/timesquare-perfomance/.

June 8–16: The Contemporary Dance series at Bryant Park, curated by Tiffany Rea-Fisher, will include Robin Dunn and other artists celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary (Jun. 8), Dance Heginbotham (Jun. 9),Tarek Lewis + Kayla Farrish (June 15), and Soles of Duende + Josh Johnson (Jun .16). For more information, visit https://bryantpark.org/activities/picnicperformances.

June 8–10: At the Chelsea Factory, Yue Yin will premiere “NOWHERE,” which “challenges us to embrace feelings of uncertainty and to explore

new possibilities and new directions,” notes the release. For more information, visit https:// www.chelseafactory.org/yydc-nowhere.

June 9–12: (In person & virtual) The 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center closes their dance series with Maleek Washington and collaborators Waverly Fredericks, SaQuoiia Santiago, and Babou Sanneh in “Shades 2.0 D.A.P Diamonds of Principal.” For more information, visit https://www.92ny.org/event/maleekwashington/.

June 9–30: The “OUT LIKE THAT” Festival at BAAD! begins with Antonio Ramos & The Gangbangers (June 3–10) and follows with Pepatián Presents Dancing Futures: Meet the Artists 2023 (June 15), plus Richard Rivera and PHYSUAL (June 30–July 1). For more information, visit http://www.baadbronx.org/home. html/.

June 9–25: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances’

“PURPLE: A Ritual in Nine Spells,” an eveninglength choreopoem inspired by the late playwright, poet, and feminist Ntozake Shange, will be presented at the Clark Studio Theater as part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City series. For more information, visit lincolncenter.org/ series/summer-for-the-city/sydnie-l-mosley-dancesandrsquo-purple-a-ritual-in-ninespells-435

June 9–10: Hilary Brown-Istrefi, the 2023 Resident Artist at the Trisk, will present “Horses full of steam,” which promises to deconstruct and reimagine visual and topical elements from the almost-forgotten 1932 ballet-symphony. For more information, visit https://www.triskelionarts.org/hilary-brown-istrefi-2023.

June 10: nora chipaumire’s five-hour epic, “Nehanda,” “a juridical opera, taking up questions of jurisprudence in defense of the native freedom fighters murdered by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) on behalf of the British Empire and Queen Victoria in 1898,” according to the release, is part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City series. For more information, visit https://www.lincolncenter.org/ series/summer-for-the-city/nehanda-242.

June 10: Danspace Project will offer the inaugural Center for Dialogue and Exchange in the Arts (CDEA), a creative incubator experimenting at the intersection of artistic practice and expansive thinking. The event is organized and hosted by 2021–2023 Danspace Project Artist Research Fellows devynn emory, Okwui Okpokwasili, Samita Sinha, and David Thomson. For more information, visit https://danspaceproject.org/calendar/spring2023-cdea/.

June 11: At the Abrons Arts Center, the 37th annual Performance Mix Festival brings together 30 experimental dance and film artists, including Raúl Tamez, LayeRhythm, and more. For more information, visit https:// ci.ovationtix.com/209/production/1155289.

June 13–18: At the Joyce Theater, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santa will present “El Cuadragésimo” (“The Fortieth”), which celebrates the company’s 40th anniversary and flamenco with original company works and the return of flamenco stars. For more information, visit https://www.joyce.org/performances/flamen-

co-vivo-carlota-santana.

June 15–17: Gibney presents the premiere of Johnnie Cruiser Mercer’s “The Decade from Hell,” “a devised movement theater work and a live-studio audience recording…,” according to the release. For more information, visit https:// gibney.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/ events/a0S8W00000e9nuaUAA.

June 16–17: Kyle Abraham pairs choreographers and composers in “Planting Connections,” which includes Jordan Demetrius Lloyd, Marla Phelan, Kayla Farrish, Vinson Fraley, Anthony R. Green, Shelley Washington, Crystal Monee Hall, and Li Yilei for two evenings of new works as part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City series. For more information, visit https://www.lincolncenter.org/series/summer-for-the-city/planting-connections-curated-by-kyle-abraham-704.

June 16–17: New York Live Arts’ signature residency program “Fresh Tracks” returns for its 58th year to present new work from emerging artists Kristel Baldoz, Malcolm X Betts, Miguel Alejandro Castillo, Jade Charon, and Orlando Hernández. For more information, visit https:// newyorklivearts.org/event/fresh-tracks22new-works/.

June 17–18 & 29–30: Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center will present their 47th season with two musical genres: gospel and funk, “The Gospel According to THPAC” at the Central Baptist Church of NYC and “So Very Sly” at the

Mark O’Donnell Theater. For more information, visit https://www.thelmahill.org/events.

June 21: (In person & virtual) “I wanna be with you everywhere”, organized by Arika, Amalle Dublon, Jerron Herman, Carolyn Lazard, Park McArthur, Alice Sheppard, and Constantina Zavitsanon, a gathering of, by, and for disabled artists, returns to Performance Space and your space. For more information, visit https://performancespacenewyork.org/shows/i-wannabe-with-you-everywhere-2023/.

June 23–24: WHITE WAVE Dance presents the annual four-day DUMBO Dance Festival of contemporary dance by emerging and established dance makers at the Mark Morris Dance Center. The late choreographer Jennifer Muller and the current director of programming at the Joyce, Danni Gee, will be honored. For more information, visit https://www.whitewavedance.org/.

HUDSON RIVER DANCE FESTIVAL

Presented by

Members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (Dario Calmese photo)

HOROSCOPES BY KNOWYOURNUMB3RS

By SUPREME GODDESS

June 8, 2023—June 14, 2023

KYA

Rebirth of a New Nation: LET IT GO, and enjoy the ride with ease and joy. The divine and its nature forces are taking over. It’s better to connect with nature, to ride this earth wave effect that is felt within the hearts, minds, souls, spirits of the people. When there is balance, love is restored, traveling like the waters of the sea, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceans and grounded like the land, air flowing in all directions as it pleases and fire burning its flame, elevating and inspiring the people in higher realms. “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders and interfering with God’s work within us” A.W. Tozer

June is a month to ask for what you need, allowing time and space for growth and development to flourish in ways you dream. Follow the rhythm of your heart to steer you in a new direction. When the soul of the spirit speaks, listen and speak the word or give the command; also deliver any spiritual guidance given straight from the divine creator. What gives you life? When you look around in nature and let yourself just be in nature, you realize nature itself is a lesson through mother earth essence. What is your essence indicating or attracting? On June 13th around 2 pm until 9 pm on June 15th, what signals are you receiving, and are you ready to travel down the rabbit hole into the beaver borrows? Red, Yellow, Green light, it’s a GO!

Mentally, what movie is playing out as you sit back and watch the episode of life carry on daily? When you watch the movie, does what you watch emotionally inspire you to laugh, cry, think, or motivate you to follow your passion, dreams, goals or something you love to do that you are flawlessly great at? June is a month to position yourself for advancement, to pursue whatever will push you to the next level. Rise up out of your comfort zone and make an uncomfortable move, and enjoy the ride while you are at it. On June 7th until 6 am on June 9th, be brave enough to carry out your mission no matter what or who may stand in your way. It’s all a game, be it chess, spades, Scrabble, Trouble, Monopoly, etc.

Looking into the future with looking glasses on is like looking into the future with a crystal ball in your hand. What the soul of the eyes sees only shows you what you need to see at your current level, and cloaks the rest until you are ready. The physical realm reveals details on a daily aspect and the spiritual realm gives the script at will to mix and mingle with the physical realm and the in-between that’s unknown by the naked eye. From June 9th until 9 am on June 11th, spark the flame in you to inspire, influence, and be inclined to let something go and follow the vision given to you. Apply the E in the word ME to evaluate you into higher realms of your creativity.

Are you sprung out with something you just want to put your hands on or get a grip on life? Well snap, crackle, pop out of it and step up to the plate. Lay the foundation or build on the foundation that’s already laid out. Emotionally, without a foundation to stand on, the heart is in imbalance due to lack of nurture, support, and nourishment for the soul, body, mind, and spirit. Think in terms of a newborn baby, it needs nourishment for growth and development. From 9 am on June 11 until 2 pm on June 13th, your senses are telling you more to the story and, given your body signals, clues of what’s coming up, so be ready when it appears or it will catch you off guard like a surprise.

When you know you are right, yet your mind is telling you differently, that’s when you follow it intuitively and soulfully. Written and spoken messages are singing a tune to you. As a matter of fact, what songs are coming to you to remind you of something or an event that occurred in your life at a specific time? The divine creator is sending all types of mixed signals; only you know which ones resonate with you to choose. Ask and you shall receive, convey directly with the bosses, managers, CEOs, and presidents to get your point across and get what you need. On June 13th around 2 pm until 9 pm on June 15th it’s business not personal so get out of your feelings and try again with a different approach.

Change is the best growth you can ask for, like taking a deep sigh on fresh land where the water cleanses you and the sun recharges you. It makes you feel different, rejuvenated, and possible to carry out any plans you set into motion. Circumstances may feel up in the air, but apply the resources to get where you need to be to fill in the missing blanks. Taking notes is beneficial this week, along with drinking water and eating foods that nourish the body. From June 7th until June 6 am on June 9th, let your faith, imagination and creativity be your guide to see results.

When the going gets tough, enjoy the ride and position yourself to relax enjoying the excursion. When you have been working on a project for a long period of time it’s time for compensation for the energy, time invested to receive your return on your investment. Clean out your space to clear your path, making room for the new arrivals. Hot topics this week are romance, finances, family obligations, career opportunities, and taking on a new relationship. Consider taking a class to learn a new tool to add to your arsenal. From June 9th until 9 am on June 11th, the things you do best without a doubt are your gift, skills, and talent, and are what give you the ability to prosper.

This year it’s been a lesson, a blessing, then graduating for advancement. It’s getting better each month with an extra bonus in store. This June is all about change, travel, opportunities, and a new perspective towards your growth process in your life. Listen to the voice of your soul that speaks to you and gives you the vision when you ask for it or when you need to get to point A, B, and C to connect the dots. At 9 am on June 11 until 2 pm on June 13th, take a detour near a body or water for a refresher course to collect your thoughts, then make a decision.

When you formulate your recipes into a product or service for purchase, it’s a win-win situation. You’re now ready to take on a much bigger role. You’ve taken off the training wheels, and now riding with no hands as your body steers you in the direction where you need to go. You understand the power within you is being activated to share your knowledge. In addition, offer classes, courses, and sample demos to guide others on their journey.

When Jupiter and the solar new moon was in Aries, your opposition sign, it was assisting you to change within your character, identity, and the things, people, places you identify with. What lesson did you learn during that phase? When the nodes of the moon change to Aries/Libra on July 13th, there is nowhere to run nor hide as the preparation and previews have been laid out for you. It’s time to face the fear of removing the funk lingering around you for growth, and the expansion of a higher version of you and your craft. On June 7th until June 6 am on June 9th, ready or not there’s a knock at the door. No need to ask who it is, you already know.

You are watching the trailer, previews, clips, and practicing for the upcoming movie. Did I forget to mention the signs are all around you through nature, conversation, symbols, signs, and even hearing it from children? As you make ways to sharpen and develop yourself, embrace what the divine has in store for you. You have plenty of shelves and storage room to do the work of your mission. From June 9th until 9 am on June 11th, it’s the role we play and the position we play that makes the world evolve to see the sunrise and sunset.

The divine has you working in many fields, bearing gifts like the fictitious Santa Claus. The messages you are delivering touch people’s hearts and leave them enlightened, seeing the picture more clearly. On the other hand, the universe is showering you with grace for the courage to deliver the mail with great rewards in due time. When the soul wants to speak, and the soul makes its presence known to others, it’s with no problem speaking through you to get its point across. From 9 am on June 11 until 2 pm on June 13th, the spirit has you feeling like the Aaliyah song “Hot Like Fire,” spreading the word and elevating you higher and higher on a new path. There is no resistance in the process.

Vinateria

Traveling for Juneteenth? Find Jubilee celebrations in these cities across the country

By TRACY E. HOPKINS Special to the AmNews

Juneteenth is a time to celebrate Black liberation and make a joyful noise with family, friends, and extended community.

Also known as Emancipation Day and Jubilee Day, the federal holiday is celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the effective end of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth was first recognized by African American communities in Texas and marks the date in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. This occurred two years after President Lincoln abolished slavery in 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation.

If you’re traveling during the Juneteenth holiday weekend, here’s a sampling of festive events scheduled in six cities around the country (check local listings for more programs and community celebrations in other cities).

Cleveland, Ohio

MetroHealth Cleveland Juneteenth Freedom Fest (June 16–17; https://juneteenthcle.com/) The newly expanded, third annual Cleveland Juneteenth Freedom

Fest will spotlight the history and spirit of the city’s African American community. The free celebration kicks off Friday, June 16, with fireworks over downtown Cleveland at sundown, and continues on Saturday, June 17, with live music, interactive art demonstrations, health screenings, free roller skating, a vendor village, and soul food row spotlighting Black businesses and entrepreneurs.

Mx. Juneteenth: A Black & Queer Liberation Celebration (June 17; http://mxjuneteenth.org/index.html)

Show your pride at the Mx. Juneteenth celebration, featuring live music, drag performances, local vendors, and educational workshops. The event honors the spirit of the Juneteenth holiday by providing a liberatory and safe space and environment for and by Black queer folx.

Juneteenth African Dance & Drum Fest (June 17-18; https://djapo.com/)

Presented by the nonprofit Djapo Cultural Arts Institute, this weekend-long event celebrates Juneteenth through art, music, dance, history, and culture. At the Pivot Center for Art, Dance, & Expression, guest instructors will teach a variety of tradition-

al African dance styles, including capoeira, Haitian dance, and Malian song and dance.

On July 17, the inaugural “Juneteenth Night of Unity” will offer an evening of reflection, remembrance, and celebration. Register online (https://www.eventbrite. com/e/14th-annual-juneteenth-africandance-drum-fest-tickets-635476285677).

Alexandria, Virginia

Led by history buff and Alexandria native John Taylor Chapman, Manumission Tour Company offers an information-packed Juneteenth African American History Bus Tour (June 17; https://www.manumissiontours.com/booking-calendar/alexandriablack-history-bus-tour) that will make stops at historic sites that tell the story of African Americans in early Alexandria, including several historic African American churches in the city.

Also on June 17, the historic Carlyle House is hosting its free annual Juneteenth celebration (https://visitalexandria.com/ events/carlyle-house-historic-park-annual-juneteenth-celebration/) in collaboration with the regional arts organization the Athenaeum and award-winning poet C. Alexandria-Bernard Thomas. Discover the history of Juneteenth through hands-on activities, art, history, and poetry readings.

Charleston, South Carolina

While we wait for the highly anticipated International African American Museum (https://iaamuseum.org/) to officially open its doors at the end of June, the museum is offering a handful of pre-opening events and activities, including a Zoom webinar (June 17; https://us02web.zoom.us/.../ reg.../WN_E1yZMbpXStSLY6rKrNEB_A) that will introduce the Wikitree U.S. Black Heritage Project.

Additional Juneteenth celebrations throughout the city include the third annual Juneteenth Family Fest (June 17; https://www.jffcharleston.com/) at River-

front Park, featuring live music and dance performances, Black art displays, kids’ games, and food trucks.

Houston, Texas

Houston celebrates the home state holiday with BLCK Market’s 4th Annual Juneteenth Celebration (June 17; https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/blck-markets4th-annual-juneteenth-celebration-tickets-504122412707) in the heart of the city’s downtown district. J.O. Malone launched the entrepreneurial marketplace with seven vendors in Sawyer Yards’ hallway as a way to support Black-owned businesses and creators. Since then, BLCK Market has expanded and opened its first brick-andmortar retail location in September 2021, creating a space for more than 50 Blackowned businesses to showcase and sell their products.

Baltimore, Maryland

The longstanding, free community festival AFRAM (June 17–18; https://aframbaltimore.com/afram-headliners) is back in Baltimore City’s Druid Hill Park with a host of family-friendly activities; vendors; food trucks; and music performances by Tamar Braxton, Kid Capri, Ty Dolla $ign, and the Isley Brothers.

While you’re in Charm City, check out “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” exhibition (June 18; https://artbma.org/event/free-admission-to-the-culture-2/) at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Admission is free to the public on Father’s Day.

Columbia, South Carolina

In honor of Juneteenth, the Columbia Museum of Art (June 19; https://www.columbiamuseum.org/events/juneteenthcma-0) offers free admission on the actual holiday. Visitors can enjoy current exhibitions highlighting art of the Catawba Nation, the Southern tradition of quilting, a veterans artist anthology, and more.

(Wil Lindsey photo)

Images from the 2021 Juneteenth Freedom Fest in Cleveland (Matt Shiffler photos)

Classical Conversations, Part 2

By ALICIA HALL MORAN Special to the AmNews

I first heard Metropolitan Opera tenor and Broadway actor Christian Mark Gibbs singing as a Black cowboy in the stellar all-Black production of the classic musical “Oklahoma” back in 2018 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Next time I heard him, we were on the same bill, in separate one-act operas for Washington National Opera’s “Written in Stone.”

Gibbs was dazzling audiences nightly in multiple roles: BKLYN in Carlos Simon’s “It All Falls Down” and Grady Mitchell in Huang Ro’s “The Rift.” Now he is in the Tony Award-nominated music revival “Camelot.”

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Gibbs is the epitome of the singing actor and on-camera hybrid with seamless range. “I am a classical musician, yes, but there are subgenres to every genre,” he explained. “There is pop—but there is also K Pop. And people can get stuck choosing one lane instead of embracing many.”

Must one depart from the classical arts to be diverse?

“Well, [in opera] we are singing in different languages and cultures, so I bring my human experience to my work,” he said when asked about being an artist in 2023. “You have to learn how to be a human first.”

Last month, maestro Malcolm Merriweather conducted an English translation of Bach’s “St. John’s Passion” featuring operatic tenor and Harlem native Noah Stewart, in the storyteller’s role of the Evangelist.

“I am inspired…and I can’t wait to experience what might be another Renaissance in Harlem. Audiences are eager to see, hear, and feel the magic of live performances again.” His output this season included roles new to him but not new to the canon, including tragic heroes Alfredo, Violetta’s romantic lover in 1853’s “La Traviata,” and Tony, the star-crossed lover of Maria in 1957’s “West Side Story.”

An artist’s debuts also shape the classical scene, hearkening back to Tania León’s leveler, “ who gets to be on stage,” because even beyond the complex infrastructural detail of getting cast, it falls on working artists to reimagine themselves . Prolific Los Angeles-based film

composer Kris Bowers earned a Daytime Emmy scoring “The Snowy Day,” a television special adapting Ezra Jack Keats’ classic.

He scored “Chevalier, which recounts the extraordinary life of 18th-century French-Creole composer-violinist Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and the upcoming “The Color Purple,” plus films “Respect,” “King Richard,” and “Bad Hair,” and television’s “Dear White People,” “When They See Us,” and “Raising Dion,” to name a few. He then composed the original score for Netflix’s “Bridgerton” series and prequel, “Queen Charlotte.”

The queen represents “defiance and individuality,” he said. “She’s trying to refine her voice in a space that is trying to contain her.”

Bowers admitted he didn’t fall in love with classical music until attending college, which is also where he met the writings of James

Baldwin, with “a mix of disappointment and deep appreciation that no one ever made me read this before, because coming to Baldwin on my own felt personal. It spoke to me in a different way.”

Orchestration is Bowers’s personal way of “spreading the music through the instruments of the orchestra,” craving what he calls a “visceral moment” with his characters. “The only way I know how to express how I feel about what I’m watching is through music. I can’t really express myself verbally in a way that allows me to release what I’m feeling cathartically. Music is the way that I’m processing. It’s why I love this job so much.”

Harlem is home to Monica Ellis, the bassoonist and executive director of Imani Winds.

“As a Harlemite and touring musician for over 25 years, I take the energy and essence everywhere I go,” she said. “I’m a Black woman,

a proud mom, a bassoonist and founding member of the Grammynominated ensemble Imani Winds, a teacher, an executive, an entrepreneur. All these things make up who I am and inform the work I do.”

Ellis’s take on classical music is that it is vibrant, new, and alive. She takes pride in “uplifting Black excellence through classical music,” adding, “it belongs to ALL OF US!”

Yolanda Wyns, chair of music at the Harlem School of the Arts, has a lot to celebrate.

Her partnership with the Metropolitan Opera earned her students a masterclass and chorus workshop with history-making musician Terence Blanchard, composer of “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” and “Champion.” Students also met with opera stars tenor Lawrence Brownlee and soprano Erin Morely as they pre-

pared Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” Wyns’s process frames each child as a star and p. Pupil Walter Russell lll won a Grammy for his performance last season in “Fire Shut Up In My Bones” as Young Charles. He is currently starring on Broadway in “MJ the Musical.” His performances in these two productions were among two of the most profound theatrical moments I witnessed last year.

Adding to Harlem School of the Arts’ fame, vocalist Wè Ani McDonald soared into the Top 5 on Season 21 of “American Idol” this year.

“My life’s work at Harlem School of the Arts follows the mission of its founder Dorothy Maynor, a critically acclaimed soprano, who started HSA during the Civil Rights Movement,” said Wyns. “[At that time] she had no rights as a woman of color. She could not sing at The Met or any venue in the United States [but]

See CLASSICAL continued on next page

Anthony McGill, New York Philharmonic, and Dalia Staseveska (Chris Lee photo)

Fat Boys to be inducted into LI Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame on June 11

By MAGRIRA Special to the AmNews

The legendary hip-hop trio the Fat Boys will receive a well-deserved honor when they are inducted into the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) at the LIMEHOF 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Concert, at the LIMEHOF museum in Stony Brook (97 Main Street, Stony Brook, NY).

The Fat Boys, consisting of Mark “Prince Markie Dee” Morales, Damon “Kool Rock-Ski” Wimbley, and Darren “Buff Love” Robinson, emerged on the music scene in the early 1980s, leaving an indelible mark on the hip-hop genre. Known for their energetic performances and innovative rap style, they were pioneers in releasing full-length rap albums, with a total of seven studio albums to their name, four of which achieved gold status.

Their initial success was fueled by the guidance of producer Kurtis Blow, himself a LIMEHOF inductee. The group’s discography boasted a string of popular hits, including “Jail House Rap,” “Can You Feel It?,” “Fat Boys,” “Stick ‘Em,” “Don’t You Dog Me,” “All You Can Eat,” “The Fat Boys Are Back,” and “Pump It Up.”

One of their standout achievements was the album “Crushin’,” which reached platinum status, primarily due to the inclusion of their collaboration with the Beach Boys on the hit single “Wipeout.”

Accepting the award on behalf of the group will be Kool RockSki, one of the founding members. The induction ceremony

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she later became the first woman of color to be on the Board of the Metropolitan Opera. Her vision was to expose brown boys and girls to excellence in the arts. My personal mission has been to expose my students to people in the arts who look like them; who are doing great work as composers, musicians, and singers; who are bringing beauty to the community.”

Anthony McGill is principal clarinet with the New York Philharmonic—and the first African American principal player in the organization’s history.

“Playing in the New York Phil-

will be open to the public. Attendance is free with the purchase of a museum admission ticket.

Established in 2004, the LIMEHOF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and pre-

harmonic is a great honor. I have a serious responsibility to perform at the highest possible level artistically and to use my position for good in the world. I was [once] a young man growing up in Chicago without very many mentors that looked like me…Demarre McGill [principal flutist at Seattle Symphony] showed me what was possible through music.”

One important lesson McGill remembers came from his high school teacher, Richard Hawkins. He told McGill, “Every day, there is a clarinetist born who is ‘better’ than you, so you always need to work hard and not worry about any kind of competition.’ Time has already

serving Long Island’s musical and entertainment heritage. Covering Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Kings (Brooklyn) counties, LIMEHOF serves as a community hub that explores and inspires all as-

cast our replacements. All we really control is how we choose to manifest our gifts in the present.”

With the Vienna Radio Symphony and Marin Alsop, McGill recently recorded a concerto written for him by Syrian American composer Malek Jandali that is dedicated to all victims of injustice everywhere. In themes familiar to working musicians everywhere, and certainly in the refrains of the artists and composers in this article, I’m hearing a steady plea to refocus on the Self.

McGill added, “The most important thing in my mind to tell a young musician is to listen and play music with sincere, authentic purpose.”

pects of Long Island’s music and entertainment scene. In 2022, LIMEHOF opened its first Hall of Fame building in Stony Brook Village. With more than 120 musicians and music industry ex-

We work hard to bring audiences ever-new takes on the myths and fairy tales, and sometimes painful histories, that shape our everyday lives. Musicians work to perfect the unique ways they transmit the agony or rejoicing to an audience in the course of a single show, and they do this on repeat, day in and day out, year after year.

“Always be curious and never stop learning and growing,” McGill advised.

We burrow into our practice rooms and our manuscripts, our books and our relationships, to ease the growing pains and celebrate the enormous world of music that we get to connect to. When you come

ecutives already inducted, the organization also provides educational programs, scholarships, and awards to support Long Island students and educators.

Aside from their musical accomplishments, the Fat Boys made a memorable foray into the world of cinema, starring in three Hollywood movies during the 1980s: “Krush Groove,” “Knights of the City,” and “Disorderlies.” Their influence and impact on the music industry have also been recognized through their appearances in various music documentaries.

To commemorate this occasion, the LIMEHOF has organized a special Hip-Hop 50th Anniversary Concert and Panel Discussion on June 11. The event will feature notable figures from the hip-hop community, including Son of Bazerk, DJ Jazzy Jay, Leaders of the New School’s Miloindedance, DINCO D, JVC Force’s AJ Rok, Johnny Juice, Video Music Box’s Ralph McDaniels, and the Sounds of Film’s Tom Needham. Further details about the event can be found at www.limusichalloffame.org.

to a concert, take in a show or a film, attend the opera or the ballet or another dance form; when you watch a film, listen to the score on television, you might just be joining us where we live. Classical music has always been changing and evolving, and so, with certainty, we will be here when you stop by. We’ll be h ere. That is what we do across the centuries. We be.

DJ Jazzy Juice (Photos courtesy of Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame)

Kool Rock Ski

Alicia Hall Moran is a Harlem resident, classical mezzo soprano, conceptual vocal artist, and former AmNews classical music columnist for “Suite Sounds.”

*Dedicated in loving memory of Raoul Abdul.

Black Music Month, Bronx Jazz, Potluck Poets, Vision Festival

include Nana Sula Janet Evans, priestess, singer, and artist, and noted Afro-Latina activist Marta Moreno Vega, the founder of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI). She led El Museo del Barrio among others. Takes place at The Clemente: Flamboyan Theater, 107 Suffolk Street.

Black Music Month, like Black History Month, is 24/7, 365 days per year. Black Music is Black life, Black Music is the American experience, Black Music is wanting to be free in a social structured society, Black Music is Black Power, Black Music is black seeds keep on growing, Black Music is Sly Stone, Black Music is Never gonna to give U up, Black Music is Standing Tall when u too tired to fall, Black Music is searching for freedom instead of ways to keep from dying, Black Music is Playthell writings, Black Music is the Baptist church, Black Music is bitches brew, Black Music is Sun Ra Black futurism, Black Music is Edenwald projects, Black Music is Do or Die, Black Music is Frederick Douglass, Black Music is being Black and never letting them forget, Black Music is Harlem then and Now, Black Music is standing on Lenox Avenue, Black Music is Black Women 24/7, Black Music is kissing in the dark, Black Music is Thomas A. Dorsey, Black Music is the Amsterdam News still Growing, Black Music is Africa, Black Music is everything u wanted to say But didn’t, Black Music is preparation for spiritual warfare, Black Music is Black struggle in the 21st century, Black Music is the Inner City Blues, Black Music is the essential Harold Cruse, Black Music is Ismael Reed, Black Music is Amiri Baraka, Black Music is the gospel truth.

The Boogie Down Bronx, the home of hip hop, celebrating its 50th anniversary, the home of Latin music where salsa was king, and jazz was hip and swinging, will be in full swing for the month of June (for four consecutive weekends). The Bronx River Art Center (1087 East Tremont Avenue) will present its 20th annual Bronx River Sounds Performing Arts Festival: Roots of Rhythms: Celebrating our Caribbean Diversity. The rhythms of jazz, Latin and Caribbean music are distinctive sounds of the Black diaspora but these imaginative musicians will add their own cultural experience to the mix. June 9 will feature Santi DeBriano and Akestra Bembe. The large ensemble playing from Panamanian roots, includes five horns, and four rhythm sections. The band recently released their debut album Ashanti (Jojo Records, 2023), it is DeBriano’s eighth released album, he has recorded with Oliver Lake, Archie Shepp, Kirk Lightsey and David Murray. June 10 will present Valtinho Anastacio Duo, an infusion of Bra-

zilian sounds. On June 16, Victor Santos y Ocho con Clave will enthrall devoted dancers with that old school east Harlem salsa.

On June 17—although he’s a Bronx cat, Harlem and the mother country have adopted him as their respected son—is drummer, composer and multi-media musician Will Calhoun and Euphonious Ensemble Afro-Futurism Jazz. Calhoun, an innovative bandleader and member of Living Colour, is known for playing in the box, out the box, into yester-now. June 23 Kinton ZonoBomba y Plena and June 24 Yacouba Sissoko-Kora, performing the music of Mali…all sets begin at 7:30pm-8:45pm.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for students. For a complete schedule, visit bronxriverart.org or call 718-589-5189.

In this post-pandemic world where even the sane seem insane, and certain politicians have lost all sense of humanity, the POTLUCK POETS will offer an afternoon of moving poetry, stimulating short stories, and rousing music, on June 9, at 3pm, at Chauncey Hopper Towers (10 West 138th Street).

The POTLUCK POETS include percussionist Ajene Washington, poet and vocalist DFaye Anderson, poets Pearl Williams and Roger Parris. They are a collective of artists, who came together to share their extensive experience in the literary and performing

arts while honoring their creative ancestors, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, and the many whose shoulders they stand on. This event is free and open to the public.

Celebrating its 27th year, the Vision Festival: Improvising the Future (this year’s theme) is the primary radical force that annually presents music in its organic state without added ingredients of R&B or smooth jazz to attract a wider audience, kicks off on June 10, 12-8pm at various sites on the Lower East Side. The festival will bring together over one hundred artists of various disciplines—avant-garde, poetry, visual arts, dance, and more to share the message of hope and justice with unencumbered creativity.

The festival will kick off two days of panel discussions that will challenge the social structure and inspire conversation with Arts for Art & Rutgers Advanced Institute for Critical Caribbean Studies Conference on the Legacies of Black Creative Arts/Spirit of the Ancestors.

The panel discussions are from 10am5:30pm. The first panel “Ancestral Spirits from the African Diaspora” will be moderated by Nelson Maldonado-Torres, CoChair of the Frantz Fanon Foundation and Professor Extraordinarious at the Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa. Some panelists

On June 12, the conference on the Ecology of Media and Music Accessibility takes place from noon to 5:30pm at Roulette Intermedium, 509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn. The noon panel, A Point of Comparison - Media in the 1960s, ‘70s & ‘80s, will be moderated by executive director and founder of Arts for Art, dancer and poet Patricia Nicholson. Some of the panelists will include Sharif Abdus-Salaam, WKCR-FM; author and columnist Gary Giddins’ activist, author and Amsterdam News writer Herb Boyd; and bassist, poet, and author William Parker among others. Both conferences are free to the public in-person or streaming.

This year, Vision is partnering with The Clemente and Roulette Intermedium to present two days of films. On June 10 at 6:30pm they will present Janz in the Moment (about the visual artist Robert Janz) at The Clemente. On June 12 at Roulette Intermedium at 6:30, will show Affamée (a film about this year’s Vision Festival Lifetime Achievement Recipient Joëlle Léandre) and In Modern Time (about saxophonist Sonny Simmons). Tickets are $10 per night.

The music performances kick off on June 13 at Roulette Intermedium. The evening will present Vision Festival’s Lifetime Achievement awardee, bassist composer Joelle Leandre performing in various configurations. On June 14, Hamid Drake’s Turiya: Honoring Alice Coltrane with spoken-word and dance; Mark Dresser 7 ensemble with flutist Nicole Mitchel, violinist Keir GoGwilt, pianist Joshua White. On June 16, Matthew Shipp Quartet and Mississippi to NY Freedom Band. On June 17, it’s MiM Intergenerational Ensemble directed by bassist William Parker; pianist Dave Burell with tenor saxophonist Joe McPhee. The festival finale on June 18 features; Melanie Dyer We Free Strings Band and the Reggie Workman Celebration Band featuring an all-star cast with tenor saxophonist Odean Pope, pianist Jason Moran, vocalist Jen Shyu, harpist Elizabeth Panzer, drummer Gerry Hemingway.

All events are live in-person and streamed. For a complete schedule of all Vision Festival events and tickets visit the website artsforart.org.

The Vision Festival reflects jazz boundlessness, its insistent improvisation that plays to a multicultural multi-jazz culture to express a larger more positive dream of inclusion and freedom.

(L-R): Percussionist Ajene Washington, poet and vocalist DFaye Anderson, poets Pearl Williams and Roger Parris (Ajene Washington photo)

Walkout

Continued from page 3

was bigger than me at the time, and I was just screaming out chants,” said Smith.

Smith feels like the larger Black and brown communities in Crown Heights and its students aren’t involved with gun violence but are often caught in the crossfire.

According to recent police statistics, there was a 26.5% drop in shooting incidents in May

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week he was going to “file a notice of claim against the city.”

“We believe that the disrepair of the park is the reason why two kids are now dead,” Glaser said.

He is also filing for discovery, Diallo said.“Now the family is waiting and hoping that Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well both Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, would step to the plate and assist in (these efforts).”

Immigration lawyer Brian Figeroux told the Amsterdam News that the ball is in the court of elected officials to ensure Abdoul Barrie can send off his son.

“Sen. [Chuck] Schumer is the one who should be intervening,” he said.“He gets things done. The pressure should be on him…the Attorney General and his staff are the ones who could make the decisions for those waivers. Senator Schumer

2023 compared to May 2022, and homicides fell by 33.3%. But a drop isn’t an end to the public health crisis.

“The women and men of the NYPD start each day with a clear mission: to work for and with the people of this city in our shared investment in public safety,” said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell in a statement.

“Over the past 17 months, I have seen their tireless work and their critical contributions to the vibrancy returning to our sidewalks and subways, stores and restaurants, and

could call the Attorney General.”

Figeroux added that typical non-criminal deportations draw a decade-long re-entry ban. Waivers go through the U.S. Attorney General’s Office—while approval rates are high, they’re also lengthy. Barrie has to be buried as soon as possible due to the family’s Islamic beliefs. At worst, an ankle monitor can be used if Abdoul Barrie’s whereabouts are a serious concern. Ultimately, Figeroux said, elected officials need to step up in the face of this tragedy, which he’s still waiting for.

“A form that you fill out is… [just] a process of getting things done,” said Figeroux. “People could move if they wanted to. The mayor and Sen. Schumer, who is from New York, should be the ones that will get this done. If there’s a will, there’s a way, but if you’re Black, it’s different from being white.”

Last Thursday, June 1, seated in front of his son’s casket, crying that he was his only son, Warren’s father, who has not been named in the press, was comforted in the chapel during the wake, surrounded by his sisters and mother.

business districts. Our work remains unfinished, but we will never waver in our public safety mission to deliver safe streets and enhance strong bonds between the police and the people we serve.”

The NYPD also made 349 gun-related arrests resulting in 284 firearms seized for the month and 2,802 guns for the year.

Anthony Rowe of S.O.S. acknowledged that gun crime was down, and that their organization would stay vigilant.

“We prepare for the summer, the same way

Two men in smart suits, who turned out to be from the Department of Corrections stood close by as a line of mourners hugged the grieving dad, who was handcuffed the whole time. A short time later, escorted by the men, he went back to an unmarked van. The family demanded that no pictures be taken.

Kadiatou Diallo, the now-activist mother of Amadou Diallo, 23, a 1999 police shooting victim, told the Amsterdam News, “My heart goes out to the family of Garrett, because I know how it feels to bury a child.”

She is sad for both families. “Now Alfa’s family needs support for Alfa’s father to be granted a humanitarian visa so that he can be here to bury their son. I appeal to Mayor Eric Adams, and all the senators and Congress representatives of New York to support Alfa’s father’s visa application.”

Legal observers suggested that while Barrie’s waiver is being considered, his supporters should think about filing an I134 affidavit of financial support. A Go-FundMe page raised tens of thousands of dollars for the child’s fu-

we prepare for fall and winter,” said Rowe, “We’re always going to be outside engaged in community. We’re there regardless, whether people see us or not. It’s going to be an amazing and safe summer. We’re going to manifest that.”

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.

neral, and five siblings and mother.

Ahmadou Diallo said that he visited the fence with the gaping hole, that was reportedly where the two children were last seen.

Ahmadou Diallo said Barrie’s family will not bury him until his father is with the family. “Senator Schumer’s office never responded to my email. I don’t know if he got in touch with the State Department or the U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone. I appeal to the media to help convince Mayor Adams and Senator Schumer and Governor Kathy Hochul to press the State Department to get the U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone to allow Abdoul Barrie to come to New York to hold services for his son Alfa.”

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.

Frances Albrier, a crusader for justice and equal opportunity

By HERB BOYD Special to

the AmNews

Whether in a cartoon by Morrie Turner, a plaque memorializing her civic and labor achievements, or an iconic photo of her marching against racism and discrimination, Frances Albrier was an unflinching social and political activist.

Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1898 and raised by her grandmother, a midwife born into slavery, Albrier embodied many of the fundamental demands of human rights proposed by Booker T. Washington, who founded the institute where she was born. She began her remarkable service to the nation in 1920 in Berkeley, California, where she trained as a nurse, married, and settled into a home on Oregon Street.

Racism and discrimination prevented Albrier from securing employment as a nurse, but she was able to secure a job with the Pullman Company as a maid and become active in a labor union. Almost from the beginning of her association with labor, she became active in a series of campaigns to challenge discrimination and social injus -

tice wherever it reared its ugly head, including marching against stores and companies that refused to hire people of color. Emblematic of this commitment is the photo of her boldly marching in protest against this practice.

In Berkeley, Albrier was instrumental in organizing protests in the school district to hire its first Black teacher. This activity led to her participation in the “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work Campaign,” which gained national attention after A. Philip Randolph and Adam Clayton Powell inaugurated such rallies and demonstrations on the streets of Harlem.

In 1939, Albrier became the first Black person to run for Berkeley City Council. That was unsuccessful, but she later held prominent positions in the California Democratic Party for several decades.

Despite acquiring hours of training as a welder, Albrier was denied an opportunity to work in the

Kaiser Shipyards during World War II. Once again, she was forced into action, demanding an end to what she perceived as racial discrimination. Ultimately, she was successful and became Richmond’s first Black woman welder. Her determination and persistence allowed thousands of African American and women workers to gain better-paying jobs in the Bay Area shipyards. Among a long list of pertinent leadership roles, she was president of the Cooks and Waiters Auxiliary and vice president of the Berkeley Democratic Club. She expressed a relentless opposition to the war in Vietnam and served on Berkeley’s Model Cities program, which brought federal dollars to the community. A community center was named after her in Berkeley in 1984, three years before her death.

ACTIVITIES

FIND OUT MORE

Several books chronicling the role of women in the labor movement, particularly in association with the Pullman porters, have information about her.

DISCUSSION

More about Albrier’s early years may exist in Berkeley City records and labor union files.

PLACE IN CONTEXT

Like the geography of her life, Albrier spanned a wide arc of years from the Spanish-American War to the war in Vietnam.

CLASSROOM IN THE THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

June 5, 1945: Olympic great John Carlos was born in New York City.

June 6, 1959: Jimmy Jam Harris III was born in Minneapolis, Minn.

June 7, 1958: Prince (Nelson Rogers) was born in Minneapolis, Minn. He died in 2016.

Frances Albrier marching in the “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” crusade in Berkeley, Calif.

Rikers

custody death alerts is done “to respect those who have transitioned.” But the new process obstructs the public’s understanding of how many people died on Rikers this year.

After the recent news, City Comptroller Brad Lander changed his office’s tally of DOC custody deaths to “unknown.”

“We genuinely don’t know,” said Lander. “They’ve told us they’re not telling us. You want to compare whether the situation is getting better or worse. You can’t do that unless you have [an] honest number.”

His DOC dashboard—where custody deaths are tracked—was erected roughly a year ago as a transparency measure. It catalogs basic statistics regarding the department, comparing them to previous months and years to track improvement and decline. While some metrics are provided by the DOC, Lander said tallying the number of people who died in Rikers relies on press reports, as well as subsequent, mandated Board of Corrections investigations.

The comptroller believes transparency is an important short-term solution for addressing the Rikers Island “humanitarian crisis.” He added that an open door policy would benefit the DOC as well.

“This issue of correction officers calling out sick—you could actually see improvement in those numbers during the time of the Adams administration,” said Lander. “Be transparent, show what’s taking place. Let us evaluate what’s going on with violence [and] death on the island—with use of force, productions for court, [and] productions for medical. And evaluate what the data tells us—that’s the way to be accountable. Not hide the worst things.”

Mayor Eric Adams, on the other hand, backed the DOC’s decision to end press alerts for Rikers deaths.

“[Commissioner Louis] Molina has turned it around and I support him to do the job I hired him to do,” Adams said last week. “And whatever methods he needs to do it, within the boundaries of not violating any laws or rights of people, I support.”

The hospitalization leading to Valles’s death

New Jersey

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Continued from page 3 (Wes Moore), U.S. Virgin Islands (Albert Bryan Jr.), Massachusetts (Maura Healey), New Mexico (Michelle Lujan Grisham), New York (Kathy Hochul), Rhode Island (Dan McKee), and Washington (Jay Inslee) all added their names to a letter challenging rightwing censorship.

“Sanitizing our educational texts for the mercurial comfort of a few today ultimately limits the next generation’s ability to make informed decisions for themselves,” the letter said. “Moreover, the negative impact that censorship and book-banning has on this nation’s students––many already marginalized and underrepresented in society––cannot be overstated during a time when we

also lines up with one of five harrowing incidents detailed in a special report filed on May 26 by the federally appointed Nunez Monitor. All of them were recorded within a week-anda-half span last month. Like the recent custody deaths, these incidents were not proactively reported by the DOC—according to the monitor’s report, they were learned through either “external sources” or outside media coverage.

The report described the fourth incident as involving a detainee in his early 30s who was placed on life support after reporting headaches around May 20 with low expectation to survive. It was not initially or properly recorded. DOC Commissioner Louis Molina told the federal monitor, Steve J. Martin, that the department did not know much more, although foul play is not suspected.

The report says the detainee was “compassionately released,” although the term is specious and should not be used to refer to pre-sentenced populations, according to a NYC Health+Hospitals spokesperson. Martin later reportedly penned a letter questioning the veracity of DOC’s claims, saying an autopsy showed Valles died from a fractured skull, according to The Gothamist.

The other four incidents detailed in the report were similarly troubling. One recounted an elderly detainee—over age 80, with “alleged cognitive impairments and language barriers”—as suffering “life-altering” injuries after he was restrained by the back and held alone in a pen for a “prolonged period.” The senior was also released following his ordeal.

Rikers critics lambasted the DOC in their statements after Valles’s death and the release of the monitor’s report.

“If the mayor actually plans to invest in mental health, we’d see people like Mr. Valles getting the help he needed in the community,” said Freedom Agenda’s Darren Mack. “We would see the number of people in Rikers plummeting. The fact that the administration is planning for more people in jail shows that, despite giving lip service to ‘upstream’ solutions, they are only planning to follow through on the same failed, downstream approaches that keep feeding the death camp that is Rikers.”

“This is the 22nd person to die in city jails since Mayor Eric Adams took office,” said the

are facing an unprecedented youth mental health crisis. Each and every single student in the United States of America has the right to exist, to be seen, and to be represented. It is an important priority of our administrations to ensure that any educational materials censored to appeal to political pressure do not negatively impact our educational goals and values in our states.

“...please know that we will be working closely with all of our school districts to ensure they are fully informed of which texts include comprehensive and accurate educational information––and which have been inappropriately censored––when they consider procurement of instructional materials for the nearly 9 million students our states serve.”

––Compiled by Karen Juanita Carrillo

Katal Center’s Melanie Dominguez. “The conditions in our city’s jail system are horrific and life-threatening for people incarcerated there and those who work there. Rikers is an appalling disaster. This recent death comes a day after the federal monitor issued an alarming new report outlining how the people incarcerated at Rikers are at an ‘imminent risk of harm’ due to the DOC’s mismanagement (and) outright lack of care, and the administration’s unwillingness to address the longstanding issues plaguing the city’s jail system. And here’s yet another life lost.”

Rikers Island is mandated to close by 2027 and will be replaced by four borough-based jails outfitted with “more humane” detention facilities and located nearby courthouses for faster processing. Before the closure, though, citywide officials like Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams continue to call for federal receivership over the troubled complex.

“I don’t celebrate this step, which I know would bring its own challenges, but it is clear that when it comes to protecting people on both sides of the bars and correcting the crisis conditions on Rikers, after over a year of purported reforms, this administration has earned neither the trust nor the confidence it shows in this area,” said Williams. “They did not create the longstanding issues on Rikers, but despite any efforts they have undertaken, patterns of abuse, neglect, secrecy and misinformation have continued.”

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.

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Louis Molina (center) testifies at City Council hearing about solitary confinement at Rikers last September. (Gerardo Romo/NYC Council Media Unit)

#BlackBirdersWeek celebrated in New York City

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Several New Yorkers came out to take part in the annual #BlackBirdersWeek, which was also held in cities across the country May 28 through June 3.

On the last day of the celebrated week, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy’s Christina Tobitsch and National Audubon Society’s Roslyn Rivas led a “Bilingual Bird Walk” through Brooklyn Bridge Park. While walking through the park’s Pier 1 area, tour participants were able to view Barn Swallows, American Robins, Pigeons, House Sparrows, European Starlings, Cardinals, Grackles, Mallard Ducks and Brooklyn’s most common bird, the Blue Jay.

Later that afternoon, the local chapter of Outdoor Afro sponsored a “Raptors of New York City: Live Bird Demonstration” at Williamsburg’s Marsha P. Johnson State Park. Children and their parents were able to learn about and meet native red-tailed hawks and Eastern Screech owls.

Black Birder’s Week, created by the Black AF In STEM Collective, encourages people of African descent to take part

in outdoor activities like birdwatching, kayaking, hiking and just generally doing things that expose them to nature.

The week was conceived of in the aftermath of the notorious May 2020 confrontation between Christian Cooper and a white woman who tried to harass him while he was birdwatching in Central Park.

In a viral video, Christian Cooper, who is a board member of the New York City Audubon Society and a former Marvel Comics editor, is seen informing Amy Cooper (no relation) that she’s required to have her dog on a leash. In retaliation, Amy called 9-1-1 and falsely claimed that “ There is an African American man—I am in Central Park—he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog .”

That effort to basically put Christian Cooper’s life in jeopardy because he had simply asked her to do what she was supposed to be doing––to leash her dog––led many Black bird watchers and those who otherwise work in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to talk about ways to insert more Black faces into STEM field spaces.

The threat of #BirdWatchingWhileBlack

turned into #BlackBirdersWeek which features online and in person events that feature Black nature enthusiasts. The week also notes resources for those who are new to Black STEM and want to join the fun.

Black AF in STEM Collective tweeted : “We do know that birding has many benefits including improvement to our mental health and well-being, builds community, helps us appreciate and take better care

of the nature around us, and brings joy.”

Meanwhile New York City’s now famed Black Birder, Christian Cooper, has moved on past the Central Park incident with the dog walker. He is set to host the new Nat Geo WILD show “Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper,” which premieres this June. Cooper also has a new book coming out, “Better Living Through Birding: NOTES FROM A BLACK MAN IN THE NATURAL WORLD.”

Outdoor Afro’s ‘Raptors of New York City- Live Bird Demonstration’ at Williamsburg’s Marsha P. Johnson State Park

Black birders saw an American Robin nesting at Brooklyn Bridge Park (Karen Juanita Carrillo photos)

Reparations

Continued from page 11

reparations we have to talk about how Africans get to this country. We have to talk about the labor that was exploited. That we were actually capital.That different from probably from everybody else in the world we’ve never received repair for the damage that was done, and continues to be done to this very day. Even this burial ground came out of struggle.

“If it were not for Sonny (Abubadika) Carson this burial ground would be another federal building. And it was a struggle - people putting themselves in front of the bulldozers that brought us here. That’s why we’re here today to struggle around the repairs.”

”The New York State reparations bill - as you know around the country, different people, states, townships have been moving to address the issue of reparations. New York State is way, way, way behind.”

Wareham noted that when he was in the Assembly, (current) City Councimember Barron put forth a bill that is different from any one that has been put forward.

Barron took the mic, “In this state, where there are 3 million people of African ancestry: whether you come from Africa, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, North America, African people deserve reparations in this state for our labor. We built this city. We built this country.”’

“That’s right,” the crowd responded.

“Right here in New York City, in the Burial Ground are African people, 427 of our remains are buried there, and thank God for Abubadika Sonny Carson who stopped the excavation and made sure they were respected. Throughout downtown New York 20,000 of our re-

NYC Council

Continued from page 12

cap set by the council, the “delivery fee cap” becomes a “marketing fee cap” that prevents independent restaurants from reaching new customers and growing their businesses. Large restaurants don’t get hurt because they market in traditional ways through traditional agencies. I’m sure that the council did not intend to stop only our

Black students

Continued from page 12

them or give them the tools needed to navigate the complexities of this test.

What can we do, if we care to do anything?

Each stakeholder in our children’s educational journey can play a role in addressing this situation. In the case of the city, a few years ago two promising state senators offered a proposal of a practice SHSAT that would be given to incoming 6th graders, similar to the way the PSAT is given to 10th and 11th grade students before they have to take the SAT. Giving all students or interested students this pre-SHSAT would be multi-purposeful. It would 1) allow stu-

mains right now are down here.

New York City was the second largest slave holding city in the country, and was second only to Charleston, South Carolina. It was your brothers and sisters who rose up in 1712, right here in New York City and said ‘We don’t want to be enslaved anymore and burnt down the governor’s mansion. The white community said to the the white power structure then ‘You’re gonna do something because these Africans are angry?’ So they said all right we’ll have a gradual emancipation.

Africans from Africa, from the Caribbean, and from here “fought to end slavery in New York City, and every last one of us deserves reparations.”

Always with the historical facts and stats, Barron told the people gathered at the African Burial Ground, that in 1799 they had the Gradual Emancipation Act. “They said ‘Your males, we’ll only hold them for 27 years. Your females, we’ll only hold for 25 years.’ They didn’t accept that. They said ‘We are going to keep organizing until we are free.’

“They said they didn’t want these folk to keep attacking us, so in 1827 New York City abolished slavery because of the struggle of our people. So we put that all in our bill to tell the history of New York City. The Big Apple— ain'tt never gave you a bite. So we put our bill together and we said that we wanted it to be different from any other bill in the country.”

Barron said in the California reparations bill, five of the appointees of their commission are picked by their governor, four by the state assembly, and so their proposals will be from the “handpicked Blacks,” not community-involved reparation advocacy organizations, which is what they are demanding for New York.

N’COBRA, The December 12th Movement,

community-based businesses from spending their own money to grow their business, but that’s what happened and why the law has to be fixed.

During the pandemic, many lower-income workers were laid off or had their hours cut, so they started delivering for restaurants to make extra money, pay a few bills, and feed their families. But when delivery firms were prohibited from charging restaurants for services provided, they created “order fees” and “delivery fees” charged to consumers. Basic

dents to see where they fared in comparison to students across the city; 2) provide a city wide benchmark that could give parents a sense of where their child really stood in relation to this challenge, and; 3) create a roadmap to determine the work that would be required for success on the actual test. For schools, creating strong cohorts of students from 6th grade through 8th grade that could be enriched and accelerated would be an investment that would bear fruit in two years leading to higher state test results and even Regents classes while still in middle school. This has been done before, but not using a concerted and coordinated approach. Imagine if each school in District 13 identified 15 students per grade for its SHSAT academic enrichment program. In

and Ron Daniels’ Institute of the Black World are “Brothers and sisters who have been in this reparations movement for over 30 years to pick at least 2 members of the commission each. So we would have six members of the commission

The Brooklyn elected reiterated that they got 100 assembly members to support that concept in 2021 when he was in the assembly. It passed the assembly. In 2022 when he left the assembly and went to the City Council, Michaelle Solage, assemblymember and Senator Jabari Brisport, pushed it again, and it got another 100 votes and was passed.

Now in 2023, Barron said, “It had already passed the assembly, Jabari successfully got 25 senators to say if it comes their way they will vote for it in the Senate. We were only seven votes short in the senate and here comes the sabotage. Now all of a sudden, the leader of the assembly Carl Heastie, and the leader of the senate Andrea stuart-Cousins and some other Blacks up there decided they wanted another type of bill. They wanted a bill that would give the governor - a white woman three votes [on the commission], and our groups no votes.”

In typical “no-holds-barred” Barron fashion, he asked the lively assembled, “How do you have a Black leader of the assembly, a Black leader of the senate, Black electeds in the assembly and the senate say we want this white woman governor to have three votes, and three from the assembly, and three from the senate, and none from our community groups?”

Fired up, Barron declared, “I said ‘Hell no that’s not going down.’ We say we will determine the compensation for reparations, not the state that enslaved us in the first place. Those who oppressed us, those who enslaved

economics tell us that the new fees undoubtedly cause consumers to purchase less from the restaurants and reduce their tips. Here again, it’s the most vulnerable restaurants— and the delivery workers—that lose.

So often, our government works for the wealthy instead of the needy, and our laws exacerbate inequality. That makes it doubly painful when the government tries to help vulnerable communities and instead, unintentionally helps corporate-owned steakhouses and chain restaurants, some of which

two years, District 13 would have a pipeline cohort of about 100 students each year who would be ready to effectively compete for seats at a SHS as well as potentially take the Algebra and/or English regents exams in 8th grade. Now imagine if District 16 was doing the same thing. For parents, if your school doesn’t provide a program, working with an academic enrichment company for two years may just be the investment that leads to great outcomes for your child’s future.

When I started CAS Prep 10 years ago, the number of Black students offered admission to Brooklyn Tech was slightly above 100. Despite our success in getting students through the SHSAT test prep process, the number of Black students offered seats has declined each year. This year’s 56 offers

us and representing that, cannot determine the compensation. That’s gonna be determined by those of us who have been working at [reparations advocacy] hard.”

Barron told those gathered to call up every elected reachable to push the bill with the community-involved reparations compensation discussions at the state level before January 8.

Posting up behind the ‘They stole us, they sold us, they owe us - Reparations Now,’ banner, “Ready to go to war?” international activist Viola Plummer, asked the very participatory crowd. “Here in New York Statebecause here was the epicenter of slavery. We must face them head on. We’ve got to let them know we’re mad as hell. The war against us is now going to be two-fold, us against them…and we are prepared after all of these centuries and promises to go to war for our ancestors.”

N’COBRA’s Kenniss Henry said it is about making sure that the Commission is so situated, “To determine what the remedies need to be to repair 400 plus years of pernicious history and current day vestiges and we must be the ones to decide what those remedies are. No one else can do that. Not the appointees from the governor, not the appointees from anyone else.”

“If their sellout bill passes we will still take our victory lap because they will still have to deal with our community. Our bill and our movement has forced this state to deal with reparations in the first place. We are going to continue our struggle,” Barron told the Amsterdam News on the eve of the vote. “Whatever commission comes through they are going to have to deal with the masses as we intensify our struggle. Our demand for just reparations will not be co-opted.”

are the wealthiest restaurants in the country. Local restaurants looking to grow their businesses should be able to pay for marketing services offered by third-party delivery services or anyone they choose. The council should restore small restaurants’ choices by amending the fee cap law today, and thereby help restore some equity for small restaurants and their workers.

worry me; it represents a drop of 50 students in 10 years. If we don’t wake up and put some legitimate plans into action, in 10 years the headlines may read. “This year Brooklyn Technical High School admits 1,500 students and only 7 are Black!”

seven are Black!”

Samuel Adewumi is an alumnus of Brooklyn Technical High School. He came back to his alma mater to teach math and engineering and was the head football coach for several years. He created CAS Prep to give students of color an enrichment and prep program that was 1) located in their community,

2) spoke to their needs and

3) believed in their genius and potential. He can be reached through casprep.org or

Bertha Lewis is the founder and president of The Black Institute (TBI).

Religion & Spirituality

Film director Jessie Maple, former owner of ‘20 WEST— Home of Black Cinema,’ dies

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Director/cinematographer Jessie Maple has died.

Maple made her transition on May 30, 2023, at her home in Atlanta, Georgia, in the company of family members. She was 76 years old.

Maple is known throughout the film world for having been the first Black woman to join the entertainment industry’s camera operators’ union, the International Photographers of Motion Picture & Television (IATSE), in 1975. After becoming a camera operator, Maple published the book “How to Become a Union Camerawoman: Film-videotape” (1977) to help steer others toward information they needed to know so that they could also join the union.

Maple was also the first Black woman to direct a feature-length film. Her movie “Will” came out in 1981 and starred the future award-winning actress Loretta Devine. Her second feature, “Twice as Nice,” came out in 1989 and stars real-life twins Pamela and Paula McGee, who play Columbia University basketball players who are trying to break

into the world of women’s professional basketball. Ironically, WNBA star Cynthia Cooper-Dyke also had a central role in this film, whose characters were concerned with trying to get into what was at the time only a fictional idea of a professional basketball league for women in the United States.

In the New York City area, Maple is also remembered for having owned and operated “20 WEST—Home of Black Cinema,” a small theater space she carved out in the basement of the Harlem townhouse she owned at 20 West 120th Street. 20 WEST showcased the work of Black filmmakers from around the world. Maple and her husband, Leroy Patton, often personally welcomed visitors to the space: Leroy would run the film projector and Jessie supplied homemade cookies and popcorn for patrons. (Full disclosure, this writer also lived in the building and helped out at 20 WEST.) The theater space was in operation up until 1992.

On May 31, Indiana University’s Black Film Center & Archive, which maintains the “Jessie Maple Collection, 1971–1992,” issued a statement from Maple’s family, who announced her death.

“Jessie Maple is recognized as the first Black woman to write and produce a full-length

film independently. She also holds the distinct honor of the first Black woman to join the filmmakers’ union. Her films, books, and unapologetic push to highlight discrimination and injustices within the news and entertainment industries will remain with us. The world through Jessie’s lens offers views of humanity that are often overlooked due to race and power dynamics.

“Jessie loved her family and left an extensive group of family and loved ones to cherish her legacy, including husband Leroy Patton, only daughter Audrey Snipes, and grandson Nigel Snipes. She also leaves behind five sisters, two adopted daughters, and a host of loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Details for a public memorial to follow in the coming months.”

Jessie Maple (BFCA) photo)

Collage of Jessie Maple Patton (JP Designs Art photo)

Health

Continued from page 16

New York City residents can apply to have a tree planted on their street. But as resilient as trees are, they require lots of care—pruning, watering—to thrive and provide those cooling benefits in cities.

Despite new federal investment in environmental justice remedies, lots of neighborhood cooling efforts rely on community members volunteering their time to bring about these changes and check in on their neighbors.

Staying cool this summer

To stay safe during the summer, it is important to recognize the symptoms of heatrelated illnesses and take prompt action.

Heat stress is the mildest form of heatrelated illness and typically presents with

TPS status

Continued from page 2

“So being returned to the DRC is being returned to those unsafe and dangerous conditions. We request that President Biden and [Homeland Security] Secretary Mayorkas uphold their promise of protecting immigrants. The Congolese community members that are here in the U.S. need and deserve protection.”

Brooklyn’s Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus’s

symptoms such as heavy sweating, fatigue, muscle cramps, dizziness, and headache. If not addressed, it can progress to heat exhaustion, characterized by increased body temperature, rapid heartbeat, nausea, weakness, and clammy skin. Heat exhaustion requires immediate attention to prevent it from advancing to heat stroke.

“I always people tell that heat distress can happen in the young and old, and sometimes it comes on very quickly and you’re in the middle before you realize it,” said Lauren Smalls-Mantey, a senior environmental systems scientist studying extreme heat for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).

Even when temperatures drop at night, prolonged periods of hot weather can still cause heat distress, Smalls-Mantey added. This is because the body hasn’t had a chance to recover from high daytime tem-

Immigration Reform Task Force, said it’s time for the U.S. to provide TPS for continental Africans who have come to the U.S.

“When President Biden ran for president, he spoke about the need for us as a nation to address inequity, to address injustice, and to address fairness,” Rep. Clarke noted. “The inequity that exists within the immigration system of the United States of America is a glaring example of work that needs to be done.”

Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey also commented that “we need to extend TPS…to all these

peratures. At night, indoor temperatures in homes without A/C “can be higher than the outdoor temperature because buildings tend to retain heat after prolonged periods of hot weather,” she said.

The CDC recommends staying hydrated by drinking water regularly, especially in hot weather or when engaging in physical activities. Wearing lightweight, loose-fitting, and breathable clothing, and avoiding direct sun exposure during peak hours in the early afternoons is best for the hotter summer days. Take frequent breaks in shaded or air-conditioned areas and be mindful of the signs of heat-related illness in oneself and others.

Prevention is key to avoiding getting sick in the heat. If staying cool at home isn’t possible during a heat emergency, call 311 to find the nearest cooling center.

“When you see these heat warnings, pay attention and be careful,” said Smalls-Mantey.

other countries here. We need to make sure that we treat these countries just like we treated Ukraine. There’s nothing unique about that country from the standpoint of the United States being able to provide protection and assistance to people who needed to get away from political violence and danger within their country.”

The nonprofit African Communities Together (ACT) coordinated the writing of a series of letters to the Biden administration, which detail the situations Africans are facing in some countries and the rea-

“Hydrate, make sure you know your options.”

The federally funded, state-administered Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) of the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) provides a limited number of air conditioning units on a first-come, first-served basis as part of the summer Cooling Assistance Component. Eligible low-income residents can apply online or in person at one of HRA’s benefits access centers, which also can be found by calling 311.

Until enough adaptations are in place to create equitably cooler cities, climbing temperatures will continue to disrupt lives. Smalls-Mantey said that solving for extreme heat requires not just inter-agency cooperation and funding, but also community education to be effective.

“We have to do education toward heat safety,” she said.

sons they require TPS.

The ACT letters point out the ongoing armed conflict in Mali, that there is an economic and political instability in Mauritania which threatens Black Mauritanians with being potentially kidnapped and enslaved, environmental and political turmoil in the DRC, kidnappings, terrorism and religious fighting in Nigeria, and renewed political fighting in Sudan.

TPS status needs to be secured for more of these Black-majority countries, advocates say.

4929NY LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/15/23. 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, c/o Young Ok Park, 100 Old Palisade Road, Fort Lee, NJ 07024. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Vette GPS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 01/21/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail process to: 20 River Road, Apt 22H, NY, NY 10044. Purpose: Human Resources Consulting or any lawful activity.

855413-9574

Continued from page 6

Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969 after a police raid on the gay club. The uprising lasted six days and had violent clashes with the NYPD.

“It was people sick and tired of being sick and tired,” she said passionately. “It was not a riot, it was an uprising.”

The city council also released The Marsha & Sylvia Plan this month outlining a policy agenda to support the city’s growing LGBTQIA+ population, over 700,000 self- identifying adults; it is reportedly the largest LGBTQIA+ population of any U.S. city. More than half identify as white, while 26% identify as Latinx, and 13% identify as Black, said city council.

“New York City is known for its diversity. We are a melting pot, which is supposed to be a place of respect and equality for all, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as we have seen the rise of growing homophobia and transphobia in our own city,” said Councilmember Kristin Richardson Jordan in a statement. “The Marsha and Sylvia Plan is a step towards where we should be.”

The plan, named after activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, addresses homophobia and transphobia around gender-affirming care for youth, drag story hour readings, and classroom discussions on gender identity or sexual orientation.

It also seeks to protect against out-of-state

(Ariama

agencies seeking to prosecute people who received services in New York City, improve Department of Correction (DOC) reentry services for formerly incarcerated LGBTQIA+ members, create a new city office, expand all-gender facilities in public schools, allocate $5 million towards mental health services, $10 million to support nonprofits that specialize in LGBTQIA+ youth housing, and $5 million to aid the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) in recruiting more LGBTQIA+ foster parents.

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

Beginning on June 1, 2023, applications will be available for the waiting list for

COUNCIL TOWERS HDFC Senior Housing

at 777 Co-op City Boulevard, Bronx, New York

to households headed by persons 62 years of age and over (including units that are handicap accessible). Qualifications will be based on Section 8 Federal guidelines.

Applications may be requested by mail from:

Council Towers I Senior Housing

c/o Met Council

77 Water Street, 26th Floor

New York, NY 10005

S c h o m b u r g

C e n t e r

L i t e r a r y

F e s t i v a l

JUN 17 2023

w w w . S c h o m b u r g C e n t e r L i t F e s t . o r g

A u t h o r T a l k s a n d S i g n i n g s , P o e t r y R e a d i n g s , W o r k s h o p s , M a r k e t p l a c e , a n d m o r e J o i n u s f o r a d a y o f p r o g r a m m i n g f e a t u r i n g s o m e o f t h e m o s t t a l e n t e d w r i t e r s a n d i n f l u e n t i a l f i g u r e s i n c u l t u r e t o d a y

OR by telephone: (212) 453-9537 (please speak clearly) OR by sending an email to ct1inquiry@metcouncil.org with your name and mailing address

Completed applications must be returned by REGULAR MAIL ONLY to Council Towers I HDFC c/o Management Office 777 Co-op City Boulevard Bronx, NY 10475. One household member must be at least 62 years of age to qualify. Applicants who submit more than one application will be assigned a higher log number (least chance of obtaining an apartment).

(Left to right) Drag story hour performer, honoree Sean Coleman, honoree Soraya Elcock, Councilmembers Tiffany Cabán and Crystal Hudson, honoree Reverend Crone Goddess Magora Kennedy, and another drag story hour performer.

Long photo)

Teofimo Lopez gets his wish in fight with Josh Taylor

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

After his second fight in the junior welterweight division, a split-decision win over Sandor Martin in December 2022, Brooklyn native Teofimo Lopez was asked who he wanted in the ring next.

“We would love to fight Josh Taylor,” he said. “We would love to fight Regis Prograis. Or even a rematch with George Kambosos. My whole thing now is just staying focused and staying devoted.”

If Lopez (18–1, 13 KOs) answered that question in order of preference, then he indeed received what he wanted. The 25-year-old former undisputed lightweight champion will meet Taylor (19–0, 13 KOs), the reigning WBO light-welterweight title holder, for the latter’s belt this Saturday at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. But is Taylor too much for Lopez in the light-welterweight division?

After his victory against Martin, Lopez appeared to make excuses for the close fight, even saying sorry to fans for what many considered a lackluster performance.

“It’s so hard to fight somebody like this when they’re running the whole time,” Lopez said. “Every time this guy committed, I countered and got him every time. He

just ran the whole time. It’s OK, though. We got a lot to work on. But first off, I want to thank God for this. No matter what it was. I apologize to everybody tonight. This is not how we perform. But, listen, our dancer partner was running the whole time.”

Lopez also suggested the subpar performance might encourage fighters to want to challenge him. “These guys are going to want to fight me now. More than ever… Now I can actually have a good fight.”

Taylor is favored in his fight. But so was

Vasiliy Lomachenko, who Lopez defeated in Las Vegas in October 2020 by a 12-round decision. “The way I think he’s going to fight, we’ll put him out of there early,” Taylor told Sky Sports.

This past Saturday, 11,784 people witnessed the first-ever boxing event at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, as Claressa Shields dominated Maricela Cornejo. The scorecards of 100–90, 100–90, and 100–89 allowed Shields, the undisputed champion, to retain her WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and WBF women’s world middleweight titles.

“I feel great,” she said after her decisive win. “I was landing my shots. I won every round like I knew I could. I went for the knockout how many times this fight? Maricela is tough. She did a great job. Height doesn’t matter and power doesn’t matter, either. It’s all about the skills and will and heart, and I always have more than the other girls.”

With the recent loss by Katie Taylor, Shields, the self-proclaimed GWOAT (greatest woman of all time), is unquestionably the biggest name in women’s boxing.

The fight game returns to Detroit on July 15 when Alycia Baumgardner defends her undisputed world superfeatherweight title against Christina Linardatou at the Masonic Temple.

Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation marks another successful year

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation (WHGF) annual Going for the Gold benefit had inspirational honorees, beautiful performances by WHGF participants and even a fun fundraising challenge. This year’s honorees were Olympic gold medalist swimmer and trailblazing broadcaster Donna de Varona, Marriott executive George Ntim, and Fisk University gymnastics coach Corrinne Wright Tarver.

“I’ve known Wendy for quite a long time, but this is the first time I’ve had a chance to experience anything with the foundation. I’m very humbled that they invited me,” said Tarver, who received the WHGF Spirit of Sport Award. In 2022, she was named Fisk’s first-ever women’s head gymnastics coach, making it the first HBCU institution to launch a gymnastics program. She said the first year was exciting and the enthusiastic reaction was a bit overwhelming. At every meet there were alumni from a myriad of HBCUs in attendance.

“Prior to going to Fisk [where she also serves as athletic director] I was coaching in club gymnastics at a gym similar to what Wendy has,” said Tarver. “It’s always been very important that we have access to the sport of gymnastics and being able to expose young people to the sport. The lessons it teaches you are important.”

Mayor Eric Adams made an appearance and was duly impressed by what he saw. He delivered a proclamation about the foundation, and Hilliard appreciated the mayor’s belief in youth sports.

“Having him there was really special,” said Hilliard. “He spoke directly to the kids and gave a really wonderful story that resonated with everybody in the room. It also gave me the opportunity to let him know we are looking for a dedicated gymnastics space in the city.”

A fun part of the evening is a fundraising effort in which the young gymnasts conduct a flipa-thon, flipping for donations. “The kids have two roles—they get to perform. People don’t often see live gymnastics right in front of them,” said Hilliard.

“The kids stepped up as they always do. Then the top athletes do as many flips as they can in a minute and people pledge an amount per flip. There’s a lot ex -

citement. People can see exactly what they’re donating to.”

Wallace. The gala also marked the launch of the Alexis Page Gymnastics Scholarship Fund named after WHGF alumna and former instructor Alexis Page.

Some WHGF participants with Wendy Hilliard, the honorees, special guests and Mayor Eric Adams. (Photo courtesy of WHGF)

Brooklyn native Teofimo Lopez (right), pictured against Sandor Martin, will face Josh Taylor at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden this Saturday in light-welterweight championship match. (Mikey Williams/Top Rank photo)

Starting the season strongly, Liberty show championship potential

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

Breanna Stewart continues to play like an MVP as the new-look New York Liberty settles into the WNBA season. In a road game last Friday, the Liberty defeated the Chicago Sky, the former team of Liberty newbie Courtney Vandersloot. It looked to be a repeat when New York took on Chicago at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday, but it wasn’t to be. Although the Liberty dominated in the first half, the Sky, led by Kahleah Copper, came back and secured an 86–82 win. The Liberty were 4-2 when they hosted the Minnesota Lynx at the Barclays last night (Wednesday).

“I’m obviously disappointed. It shouldn’t happen. I just think we went away and became complacent, and this is a team that’s very dangerous,” said Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello. “They lifted their intensity and we were still in the locker room. We talked about,

‘Do not be complacent.’ Hopefully, this is a wake-up.”

Four Sky players were in double figures. Three Liberty players, including Stewart, who recorded her third consecutive doubledouble, were in double figures, but it was not enough. A nice addition to the Liberty line-up is Marine Johannès, who made her 2023 home debut against the Sky, contributing 11 points and two assists off the bench.

“We just didn’t play tough enough,” said Brondello. “The film won’t lie, so we’ve got to use it as a learning opportunity. There’s nothing great about our team right now. We’re going through a bit of the mud, but sometimes these games can be what needs to happen.

“It’s on all of us,” Brondello expanded. “I don’t put blame on anyone. It’s on us, including myself. We all have to be better. We all have to buy into the way we want to play. We all have to do it together.”

The WNBA announced a multi-year partnership with

Sony Interactive Entertainment, making PlayStation® the official console and marketing partner of the league. The longterm goal is to elevate women’s sports globally. Look for a big reveal at the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game in July.

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and all the teams across the WNBA will be having Pride festivities. The league is selling limited-edition Pride merchandise, with a portion of the proceeds going to LGBTQ+ charitable organizations, including Athlete Ally.

The Liberty will face the Atlanta Dream on the road tomorrow night and return home on Sunday afternoon for the their annual Pride game versus the Dallas Wings. They’ll meet up with the Dream again next Tuesday in Brooklyn.

Yankees pick up momentum with wins out West

By RASHID MCDONALD Special to the AmNews

The Yankees continue to play winning baseball with a positive six-game West Coast road trip, taking four from the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers before returning to the Bronx to begin a six-game home stand. They opened it on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. The series ends tonight and the Boston Red Sox will be in town starting tomorrow for a weekend three-game set.

The Yankees took 10–4 and 10–2 victories from the Mariners on May 29 and May 30 respectively, followed by taking down the Dodgers 6–3 on Saturday and 4–1 on Sunday after dropping the first game of the series last Friday 8–4. They were 36–25 before facing the White Sox on Tuesday, the fifth-best record in Major League Baseball, but only good enough for third place in the

American League East division, arguably the toughest. The first-place Tampa Bay Rays had the best record in MLB at 43–19 and the second-place Baltimore Orioles were 37–22, the third-best overall mark in the league.

The Yankees saw the return of outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlos Stanton and third base player Josh Donaldson from the injured list. Both came back in the Dodgers series. Stanton had been out since April 15 with a strained hamstring and Donaldson shelved since April 5, also with a hamstring strain. Donaldson immediately made his presence felt, hitting two homers in the Yankees’ 8–4 loss last Friday. Stanton also homered and had a walk in his first action in almost seven weeks.

With the two sluggers adding a lift to the lineup, last year’s AL MVP Aaron Judge injured his right big toe in crashing into the Dodgers’ outfield wall on Saturday. He missed Sunday’s and Tuesday’s games, awaiting results with the possibility of a trip to the IL.

“I really don’t care at this point,” said the frustrated star. “If I’m on it, I’m on it.”

The week started with Judge second in MLB with 19 homers. Starting cen -

terfielder Harrison Bader was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 30 with a hamstring strain and starting pitcher Nestor Cortes is expected to be out of the rotation for perhaps the next two weeks or more with a left shoulder injury. The 2022 All-Star is having a subpar season posting a 5–2 record with a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts.

Meanwhile, after winning three in a row against the Philadelphia Phillies May 30 through June 1, the Mets were swept by the Toronto Blue Jays last weekend. On Monday, the Mets designated Catcher Tomas Nido for assignment and activated catcher Omar Narvaez, who will slot in as the backup catcher to Francisco Alvarez.

The Mets were 30–30 and in third place in the NL East behind the 35–24 Atlanta Braves and 33–28 Miami Marlins when they opened a three-game road series versus the Braves on Tuesday. They will be in Pittsburgh to play the Pirates, with Game 1 taking place tomorrow. Kodai Senga (5–3 3.75 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets, who are back home at Citi Field to meet the Yankees next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yankees outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton returned to lineup last Friday—in 8–4 loss to Los Angeles Dodgers—after being out since April 15 with hamstring injury. (MLB.com photo)

(L) Liberty veteran Betnijah Laney facing off with the Chicago Sky. (Brandon Todd/New York Liberty photo)

Howard sprinter Darci Khan heads to the NCAA Championships

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

In her first year at Howard University, junior Darci Khan put in an outstanding performance at the NCAA East Regional to earn her first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships taking place now on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. The art major has made her mark as a hurdler and sprinter and said the welcoming environment of the HBCU institution has pushed her to elevate her performances.

“I think my teammates and coaches have impacted me a lot because I hang out with my teammates almost every day,” said Khan, who transferred to Howard from the University of Kentucky. “They showed me around Howard. They showed me the ropes. They showed me what the social life is like here. I’ve been having a blast and I love every minute of it.”

She said her athletic skills have improved tremendous -

ly. She’s been more consistent, and her results are evidence of that. The environment has even made training and competing more fun and she feels much less stressed.

“I’m out here representing my team and my school and just enjoying the process,” Khan said. “This is my first time ever making it to nationals, and it feels even better to be wearing Howard on

my chest and representing for Howard and other HBCUs. It means so much more than just the trip. My goal is to make it on the podium, represent my team, and have fun while doing it.”

Khan said she loves the art department at Howard and it is fueling her creative spirit. She’s a painting major with a minor in art history, and she hopes her future includes creating works of art from the heart and uplifting others with her work. Right now, she’s focused on making paintings of her family members.

Discovering the hurdles cemented Khan’s love of track. Her most notable races are 60meter hurdles for indoors and 100-meter hurdles for outdoors. She is also the first leg on Howard’s 4x100 relay and occasionally competed in the 100 meters. Khan loves the different experiences that the hurdles present. “I never get bored,” she said. She and her fellow NCAAbound Bison, All-American senior Jessica Wright and the 4x400 relay team, plan to bring their best to NCAA Championships. “We’re looking forward to representing Howard on the national stage, cheering each other on and enjoying the whole process,” said Khan.

Future Olympians compete at the 2023 NCAA track and field championships

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

The 2023 NCAA outdoor track and field championships began yesterday (Wednesday) at Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field in Austin, Texas, the home stadium of the University of Texas Longhorns, and will conclude on Saturday, June 10.

First held at Stagg Field in Chicago in 1921, the event has been the host of some of the greatest, most accomplished and impactful athletes in the history of sports.

Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee are some of the towering historical figures whose monumental achievements include winning NCAA outdoor track and field titles.

In 1935 Owens, competing for Ohio State, won the 100-yard dash, 220-yard dash, 220-yard low hurdles and the broad jump. One year later, he repeated in the 100, took the 200-meter dash, the 220-low hurdles again, as well as the broad jump. Robinson won the 1940 long

jump for UCLA, and Joyner-Kersee earned first place UCLA in 1982 and 1983 in the heptathlon.

The current group of collegiate track and field participants have in turn displayed the potential to go on to be Olympic medalists like so many of their predecessors. But first, they are seeking to indelibly etch their names among the past NCAA champions. As a collective, the University of Florida, led by their head coach Mike Holloway, is the defending men’s and women’s champion.

Some of the competitors to look out for are Terrence Jones of Texas Tech in the men’s 100-meters, Emmanuel Bynum of Tennessee in 400-meters, and Dylan Jacobs of Tennessee in 5,000- and 10,000meter races. The women will have Kentucky’s Masai Russell in 100meter hurdles, Arkansas’ Britton Wilson in the 400-meter hurdles, LSU’s Michaela Rose in the 800meters, and North Carolina State’s Katelyn Tuohy in the 5,000-meters all vying for titles.

(L) Darci Khan in a winning race (Howard Athletics Media Relations photo)

Texas Tech sprinter (C) Terrence Jones is one of the favorites to win the 100-meters at the 2023 NCAA outdoor track and field championships being held now in Austin, Texas (texastech.com photo)

Sports

The Nuggets try to find an answer to the Heat’s mental resolve

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

In Game 2 of the best-of-seven NBA Finals on Sunday at the aptly named Ball Arena, the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets experienced what the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and Boston Celtics all did in succumbing to the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat this postseason.

The Heat’s mental resolve is unparalleled.

After losing Game 1 on Sunday in Denver by 103–94, a rightful first impression many took away in witnessing the Nuggets’ twotime league MVP center Nikola Jokic (27) and uber-talented guard Jamal Murray (26) combine for more than half of their team’s points in a 104–93 win was the duo would be too challenging for the Heat to overcome.

Although in Round 1 the No. 8 seed had found a way to vanquish

the No. 1 seed Bucks, which possesses their own two-time NBA MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo and All-Star Jrue Holiday, then ended the rugged No. 5 seed Knicks’ season in the conference semifinals with guard Jalen Brunson putting on a superhuman display, and knocked off the No. 2 seed Celtics and the dynamic tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the East Finals, Jokic and Murray were playing at a stratosphere to which the Heat could not ascend.

Until the Heat’s seemingly implausible gravitational pull brought the Nuggets back down to Earth in Game 2. The force perpetually attached the Heat’s All-NBA forward Jimmy Butler, who is also a five-time NBA All-Defensive team selection, to Murray with significant help from his teammates, limiting the multi-skilled scorer to 18 points on 7–15 shooting. Despite Jokic’s 41 points, making

16 of 28 shots, the Heat’s formula of slowing down one of the stars and neutralizing the secondary players, notably forward Micheal Porter Jr. (five points, 2–8 shooting) and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (six points, 1–4) was manifest in the results. Thus, they went into Game 3 at home last night at the Kaseya Center tied 1–1 with the favored Nuggets having Game 4 tomorrow night also in Miami. One win there would assure the Heat a Game 6 next Thursday back in their building. Game 5 will be in Denver this upcoming Monday. “Our guys love to compete,” said Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, speaking with the media after Game 2. “They love to put themselves out there in those moments of truth. Fortunately we were able to make a lot of big defensive plays down the stretch, and then we got a lot of contributions, which you’re going to need against a team like this.”

The Heat look to leverage their home court back in Miami

By ANTONIO CALDERON JR. Special to the AmNews

Game 1 of the NBA Finals last Thursday saw the Denver Nuggets continuing their dominance at home driven by two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic, who scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and 14 assists to lead his team to a 104–93 win. In addition to Jokic, guard Jamal Murray contributed 26 points and 10 assists and forward Micheal Porter Jr. posted 14 points and 13 rebounds. On the other side, the Heat shot just 13–39 (33.3%) from behind the 3-point line and only 39–96 (40.6%) overall in the loss.

They were much sharper in Game 2 on Sunday in Denver. Playing with precision execution on both ends of the court, the Heat took Game 2 by 111–108, shooting 48.7% (38–78) and a precise 48.6% (17–35) on 3-point attempts. They

would get multiple double digit performances including a team-high 23 points from guard Gabe Vincent, 21 from All-NBA forward Jimmy Butler and 21 from All-Star forward/center Bam Adebayo. Even after the increase in offensive production from Game 1, Miami still had to fight to avoid falling 0–2 in the series. Jokic had a monstrous Game 2 finishing with 41 points and leading the Nuggets to a 15point second-quarter lead. But the resilient Heat once again showed unrelenting fight and after trailing 83–75 at the end of the third, outscored them 36–25 in the 4th and held on as Murray missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“I just contested it,” said Butler of Murray’s 26-foot shot from the left side of the circle.

“Pretty glad that he

missed it.” Murray, who was averaging 27 points in 17 playoff games going into last night, was nine below that (18) number in Game 2, taking just 15 shots, connecting on seven. Miami was at home for Game 3 last night (Wednesday) seeking to leverage home court. With Game 4 tomorrow night, a win would put massive pressure on the Nuggets to avoid going back home for Game 5 on Monday in a 1–3 hole. A split at home for Miami would have them in a solid 2–2 position guaranteeing at least a Game 6 in the best-of-seven series next Thursday in South Florida.

Denver Nuggets forward (R) Micheal Porter Jr. looked to reverse course on the road in Game 3 of the NBA Finals last night after shooting  2–8 for just five points in his team’s 111–108 Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. (Bill Moore photo)

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler will have to be exceptional for the Heat to defeat the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. (Bill Moore photo)