New York Amsterdam News - Issue June 13-19, 2024

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INDEX

Arts & Entertainment Page 21

» Astro Page 24

» Jazz Page 28

» Travel Page 25

Caribbean Update ...............................................Page 14

Classified Page 38

Editorial/Opinion Pages 12,13

Go with the Flo Page 8

In the Classroom Page 30

Community Page 9

Religion & Spirituality Page 34

Sports Page 47

Union Matters Page 10

International News

SOUTH AFRICA IN UNCHARTED WATERS AFTER PIVOTAL ELECTION

(GIN)—Thirty years after the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa finds itself at a political inflection point. The 2024 election saw a collapse in the vote for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which received only 40% of the vote, 17 percentage points lower than 2019—with less than a majority of votes cast for the first time.

Turnout was also down 6%. The loss was even more notable as it followed a bitter preelection split in the ANC with former president Jacob Zuma leading a break away party (MK Party).

At stake is whether or not South Africa will make rapid progress on poverty and inequality or whether it sends its population even deeper into a state of deprivation.

South Africa’s voting age population is roughly 42 million; just over 27 million of whom are registered, and of those, only 16 million registered voters cast ballots. In other words, according to Liberation News, abstention was the biggest winner of the 2024 election.

Some have framed this loss as a rejection of the ANC government. But others say the results show that the election was a rejection of the entire political establishment and the idea that casting a ballot can bring positive change—a reflection of the dire state of the country.

South Africa’s mineral wealth is generating at least $125 billion a year with at the least $2.4 trillion worth of minerals still left in the ground. Yet 50% of the country lives in poverty, 65% live in rural areas. Unemployment officially stands at 32.9%, 55% of households are without running water, and 34% still don’t have flush toilets.

South Africa has the highest level of income inequality on earth. In addition, 75% of farmland is still owned by whites.

The ANC, Zuma’s MK party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) of Julius Malema have all pledged to address these issues more vigorously if elected. The ANC told voters they would end poverty by 2030.

The MK and EFF promised voters they would expropriate land without compensation and nationalize mines and banks. All promised to expand access to healthcare, housing, and education, at little to no cost.

According to the socialist Liberation News, a clear majority of South African voters are looking for policies that seriously roll back poverty and the legacies of settler colonialism while taking an anti-imperialist approach to international relations.

Meanwhile, the ANC is considering its options—including participating in a government of national unity with coalition partners.

“A government of national unity is the most viable, most effective, and most powerful way of meeting the expectations of all South Africans at this particular moment,” declared South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“It’s the best option to move our country forward.”

A coalition of major parties would resemble the cabinet of Nelson Mandela who worked with other parties back in 1994—even the Afrikaner-led National Party which was responsible for the racist system of apartheid.

But this drive to create some sort of coalition government, particularly between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA), would represent a shift to the right and involve further privatization of state-owned companies, implementation of austerity budgets, and a move in the opposite direction of where 60% of the electorate would like it to go.

The ANC is under pressure to find coalition partners and conclude negotiations by June 16, according to South Africa’s constitution.

But the election outcome has created a complex situation for Ramaphosa and his party and a difficult search for partners.

Most of the opposition parties differ with the ANC on various socioeconomic policies and are also at odds with each other on policies like land redistribution and affirmative action.

Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, has already rejected President Ramaphosa’s proposal of a government of national unity and has accused the ANC of arrogance despite having lost the election.

The Democratic Alliance, for its part, is fiercely opposed to the ANC’s efforts to create a welfare state—especially a government funded national health service, which the DA rejects as too expensive and a threat to the future of the private health sector.

Any deal with the DA would be welcomed by financial markets but unpopular with many ANC supporters who regard it as the party of South Africa’s wealthy white minority.

“A lot of people that are disaffected in South Africa…want to see a much more radical policy orientation than what the ANC could provide,” said Oscar Van Heerden, researcher and author of books on the ANC.

Will South Africa move towards eliminating poverty and stake out its own ground in a multipolar world order, asks Eugene Puryear of Liberation News, or regress towards a role more akin to the former apartheid regime as a node for the West in Africa and beyond?

“South Africa’s pivotal election has thrown the country into uncharted waters. The country now faces opportunities and risks requiring leadership,” writes the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. “The challenges of building a government of national unity are formidable.

DISPUTES ON SEXUALITY SHAKING THE AFRICAN CHURCH

(GIN)—Leaders of the United Methodist Church expressed regret over last week’s decision by the branch in Ivory Coast to leave the union following the decision of the church to repeal a long-standing ban on LGBTQ+ clergy.

The developments were the latest in a series of ripple effects in conservative Africa, which is home to the vast majority of United Methodists outside the U.S., amid disputes on sexuality and theology that have shaken the Methodist church.

In early May, delegates at the church’s first legislative gathering in five years voted overwhelmingly to remove a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers. It was a sharp contrast to past General Conferences of the United Methodist Church, which had steadily reinforced the ban and related penalties amid debate and protests. The change doesn’t mandate or even explicitly affirm LGBTQ+ clergy, but it means the church

(GIN photo)

(GIN photo)

Washington Heights tenants call for co-op conversion in continued fight against city’s ‘worst landlord’

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

New York City’s hardest-working brokers might be the tenants of 705 and 709 W. 170th Street. On Monday, June 10, they scaled the two neighboring five-story walk-ups to show reporters the appalling conditions of two empty units “warehoused” by the city’s “worst landlord,” Daniel Ohebshalom. Some were elderly, one walked with a cane, and most were out of breath by the end of the tour, but their spirited efforts backed their calls to turn the pair of Washington Heights apartments into co-ops.

“Prior to [this], I was never involved in any kind of organized tenant fight against [a] landlord,” said resident Gilbert Butcher. “This

definitely prepares you for the eventualities that we would have a co-op and that we would know what to do.”

He said the tenants went on a rent strike, redirecting their monthly payments toward an escrow account instead. When the front door went missing, residents got the city to replace it and pooled resources to install a lock and security cameras.

Butcher himself, who lives under a warehoused apartment, tends to the vacant units to mitigate the festering deterioration, including closing windows so birds don’t get in.

Tenant Sonia Peralta described freezing conditions during a recent winter due to a lack of heat and frequent trespassing, which led to urination, defecation, and open drug use in the hallways. She blamed the vacant, warehoused apartments for

attracting unhoused outsiders. While these issues are nothing new for long-time residents like Peralta, who moved in 45 years ago, they only enlisted the help of tenants’ rights groups like the Met Council on Housing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a rally before the apartment viewings, State Senator Robert Jackson recalled how the tenants became organized.

“I remember coming here, trying to communicate with [residents] and asked if [they had] a tenants’ association,” said Jackson. “At that time, [they] did not, so we organized the tenants’ association right on this stoop that night.”

To call the empty units “fixeruppers’’ would be an understatement. Sickening smells greet the

See ‘WORST LANDLORD’ on page 41

Waitlisted: Black and Brown NYers eagerly apply for NYCHA Section 8 vouchers

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

New York City’s housing and affordability crisis prompted Mayor Eric Adams to open the waitlist for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, which had been closed to general applications for nearly 15 years. During the open period this month, applicants across the city applied in droves, desperate to secure a spot.

“Addressing our city’s housing crisis means using every tool our city has, and that’s exactly what we are doing,” Adams said in a statement.

Section 8 is a federally funded housing program run by NYCHA that provides rental subsidies for eligible low-income families to rent housing in the private market, or from landlords directly. It was created in 1978 under the Housing and Community Development Act, allowing families to pay no more than 40% of their adjusted monthly income toward their rent while NYCHA pays the rest.

The application period for the waitlist, now closed indefinitely, was open from June 3–9. During that time, NYCHA received a total of 633,808 online applications, demonstrating a vast and immediate demand for housing solutions.

NYCHA currently provides hous-

ing vouchers to 241,117 residents in the city. The program does not have residency requirements or mandate that applicants be previously unhoused. Heads of household must generally be at least 18 years old to qualify. Income limits range from $54,350 for a single person to $102,500 for a family of eight.

The city’s online portal streamlined the process for those newly applying. For people struggling with accessing the portal or filling out the application, electeds across the boroughs quickly organized free workshops to assist them all last week. Mostly Black women and the elderly, two groups more likely to experience housing in-

See NYCHA on page 37

Navy Yard Clubhouse met with mixed reaction from residents

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

The new owners of the Navy Yard Boys & Girls Clubhouse held an open house for Downtown Brooklyn community residents on June 1. A large placard placed in front of the building at 240 Nassau Street encouraged locals to stop by for food and drinks, entertainment, and to “[l]earn more about us at Alloy.”

Alloy Development, a real estate company and developer, purchased the Clubhouse for $15 million in November of 2023. The Navy Yard Boys & Girl Clubhouse, which primarily serviced families who live directly across the street––

at NYCHA’s Farragut Houses––and kids in the Downtown Brooklyn, Navy Yard, and DUMBO neighborhoods, was abruptly shuttered in June 2023.

Alloy’s open house was held in the Clubhouse’s gym and featured food catered by Tarsha Crandell Catering, ice cream, raffles, balloon party figures for children, and a cheer/step performance by the Brooklyn Diamonds.

The gym even had suggestion boards where locals were encouraged to write their ideas about “What should be the future of this space?” and to detail what “I want ____ in my neighborhood.” Some of the responses written on the boards were: “Needs to remain a

community that the community can actually use,” “Childcare centers/Youth programs,” “Boxing,” “College classes/high school fair,” “Business and community development, “Stepping music classes,” “College enrichment workshop,” and “Library [or] dance floor.”

But those suggestion boards were mildly resented by locals who spoke to the AmNews after the event. One mother of three children at the event, who did not want to give her name, said there seemed to be little point in leaving her hopes for what the Clubhouse could become since she was sure Alloy already had their own plans for the space.

Tenant Gilbert Butcher surveys the conditions of an empty unit in 709 W. 170th Street. (Gerardo Romo/NYC Council Media Unit photo)

Councilmember Farah Louis’ office organized a Section 8 application workshop at the Flatbush YMCA last week. (Ariama C. Long photo)

Alloy’s open house at Downtown Brooklyn’s Navy Yard Boys & Girls Clubhouse. (Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)

Trump says only ‘sicko’ would call Marines ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

On Sunday, Donald Trump demanded that President Joe Biden take down an attack ad with a series of quotes in which he mocks dead soldiers. What spurred this response were Biden’s comments during his visit to France and the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, a burial ground Trump ignored in 2018 and reportedly later described as “filled with losers.” Trump denied saying this, as well as allegedly calling some 1,800 Marines “suckers” for being killed.

At a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, one of the first since he was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records recently, Trump continued his dismissal of the quotes. “He said I stood over graves of soldiers and I said: ‘These people are suckers and losers, the dead soldiers from World War II,’” Trump said, referring to Biden. Moreover, he said that Biden “made up” the incident and that “they still took out an ad using it—these are sick people.”

Trump elaborated further about what he claimed are fabrications, noting that “unless you’re a psycho or a crazy person or a very stupid person, who would say that anyway?” Later, on his social media platform, Truth Social, he called the matter “another Democratic hit job” and that only “a sicko with an axe to grind would suggest that anyone would make such a statement.”

Of course, many of his opponents would say that Trump fits the bill and refer to even more insulting and demeaning comments.

Trump continues to maintain a lead over Biden in the battleground states, although the margin in some instances decreased after the verdict. Even so, issues such as inflation, immigration, and the war between Israel and Hamas, to say nothing of Hunter Biden’s trial, cause more concern from the voters, particularly those on the right.

Meanwhile, the world awaits the Trump sentencing for falsifying business records and his possible appeal of the verdict, although several experts doubt whether the verdict will be reversed. The Appellate Division, First Department, has rarely reversed criminal convictions, and according to one report, only about 4 to 6 percent of cases are reversed.

During the trial, Trump’s lawyer called for a mistrial after Stormy Daniels’s testimony and an examination by the prosecutor in which she said she felt intimidated and the sex encounter was not consensual may be a key source in the appeal. All of this remains in the arena of conjecture, however, and only time will reveal the outcome.

Independent and Black: Do they stand a chance on presidential ballot?

Harvard professor Cornel West speaks at campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at Whittemore Center Arena at University of New Hampshire, Feb. 10, 2020, in Durham, N.H. West says he will run for president in 2024 as a third-party candidate ( AP

Harnik)

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

Shifting trends among Black and Brown communities regarding policy party loyalty, and genuine dissatisfaction among many voters with the current Democrat and Republican candidate choices, mean that one of the few independent candidates running could indeed influence the outcome of the November 2024 presidential election.

An independent candidate has never won the presidency in American history. In modern times, independents are reviled for siphoning off votes that could otherwise go to candidates in the two-party system, particularly in cases where state electoral votes come down to small margins.

However, about 49% of Black voters polled recently by the Pew Research Center said they would replace both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump with different

candidates going into their election rematch—if they could. This sentiment trends among the highest with younger Black voters (57%) in comparison to older voters (37%), said Pew. Non-Hispanic White Americans are most likely to say a third party is needed, according to aggregated data provided by Gallup from 2016 to 2023. The last time this wasn’t the case was in 2012, reported Gallup. Their 2023 polling also showed 58% of Republicans endorsing a

See INDEPENDENT on page 43

Biden’s executive order changes border security overnight, asylum seekers turned away at Southern border

By ASHLEIGH FIELDS Special to the AmNews

For months, President Joe Biden received backlash for the constant influx of immigrants at the southern U.S. border. In response, the president has announced strict enforcements to cap the number of asylum migrants.

Patrol officials now have the authority to close ports of entry after 2,500 migrants cross over. Once they hit this number, agents will cease all admissions for two weeks until entries are at or below 1,500 per day for seven days. For that duration, those seeking asylum and refuge will be turned away.

“I would have preferred to address this issue through bipartisan legislation, because that’s the only way to actually get the kind of system we have now, that’s broken, fixed: to hire more Border Patrol agents, more asylum officers, more judges,” Biden said in official remarks on June 4.

Earlier this year, Biden adamantly ad-

vocated in favor of the bipartisan Senate bill that would have allotted an additional $20 billion in funding for border security; 4,300 asylum officers to review cases day to day; and more than 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection personnel. However, bipartisan bills aimed at bolstering border security have failed to pass with lawmakers twice.

Biden’s proclamation on June 4 is a stark pivot from the original plan of action, and now deters those who are most vulnerable from seeking safety in America.

“This action will help us to gain control of our border, restore order to the process,” Biden said. “This ban will remain in place until the number of people trying to enter illegally is reduced to a level that our system can effectively manage.”

However, statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol show numbers at southern ports of entry as significantly lower than in the past. In April, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded 128,900 encounters between ports of entry along the

southwest border—6% lower than the previous month and 30% lower than this time last year.

“We have executed the largest surge of removals and disruptive activities against human smuggling networks in the past decade,” said Troy A. Miller, senior official performing the duties of the commissioner. “As a result of this increased enforcement, southwest border encounters have not increased, bucking previous trends. We will remain vigilant to continually shifting migration patterns. We are still experiencing challenges along the borders and the nation’s immigration system is not appropriately resourced to handle them.”

According to their reports, the majority of all individuals encountered at the southwest border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled. Total removals and returns since mid-May exceed removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2013.

International human rights advocates

See BORDER on page 31

Independent presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz (left) and running mate Karina Garcia (right) (Contributed by De la Cruz’s campaign)

Photo/Andrew

Dr. Sandra Scott wants to bring joy back to practice of medicine

Black

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Dr. Sandra Scott knew she wanted to be a medical doctor when she was only six years old. She grew up in the state of Louisiana and says that, from a young age, she understood that there was a power and a joy in being a medical doctor and being able to help a patient learn about their body and find ways to improve their health.

“I was accepted into medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas,” Scott reminisced. “I did my emergency medicine residency training at Boston Medical Center, and then I decided I really wanted to live in California…I wanted to live in Northern California.”

The opportunity to hike by the coast and up mountain trails, and visions of doing wilderness medicine seemed exciting, but before she could make that move across the country, Scott decided to accept an emergency medicine posting in New York City.

That first post was at Kings County Hospital. “And this was back in the late ’90s when…there was a lot more crime, particularly in the central Brooklyn area,” Scott said.

Working with patients who were experiencing trauma and trying to survive inner-city emergencies was shocking, rough, exhausting work. “But I got the Brooklyn bug, and I got the New York City bug,” Scott said with a shrug, “and I never left.”

For a little over 25 years now, Scott has been practicing medicine while residing in Brooklyn. She has served as chief of service for emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, chair of emergency medicine at Lincoln Medical Center in the South Bronx, and—in 2021—the first woman and first person of color to serve as executive director of Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in that facility’s 100-

year history.

In January 2024, Scott was appointed interim chief executive officer of One Brooklyn Health, a new safety net hospital system that combined the financially distressed Brookdale, Interfaith, and Kingsbrook hospitals in 2016 into a network that could serve central and east Brooklyn.

“Part of the concept of forming the safety net system was to create efficiencies, greater access, greater quality by capitalizing on the advantages of bringing the three hospitals together,” Scott told the AmNews. “In some circumstances, we would consolidate services and therefore reduce costs, but still be able to provide high-quality healthcare to the little over a million people [who] are in our catchment area.”

After beginning her medical career working in the constant high-pressure environment of emergency rooms, Scott has now become a fixture in hospital administrative offices. She said one reason for the change was the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m sure you know how hard-hit this community was in 2020. I used to say that I felt like I was walking through the valley of death. In addition to managing the emergency department, I was also privy to the decisions that were made about where the COVID vaccines would go, who got access to medications for COVID when they became available, who had the resources of PPEs [Personal Protective Equipment] and ventilators. There were a lot of decisions made around tables about the distribution of resources that support health and healing, and I really understood how important it is for us to have diversity and different perspectives around those tables when making decisions about the healthcare of communities.

“I had an epiphany—‘I think something else is coming for me’—and I had to make a decision about whether I was going to

See BNY on page 31

Sponsored content by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Having a plan for your money is crucial to building a solid financial foundation. If you’re just getting started on your financial journey, the 50-30-20 rule can help you spend and save your money wisely.

By distributing your dollars into three main categories or buckets: needs, wants and savings, the idea is to limit fixed expenses (or needs) to 50% of your after-tax income and discretionary expenses (or wants) to 30%, leaving 20% for savings.

The 50-30-20 rule isn’t a requirement but can be a great starting point to help you take control of your finances, plan your spending and progress towards your financial goals.

50: What are your needs?

In this bucket, half of your funds go toward paying expenses you can’t avoid. We all need food, housing and healthcare, and other needs could include transportation, clothing and utilities. Regular debt payments, like monthly credit card minimums and loan payments, would also be considered a need because you have a deadline to pay them each month.

What makes something a “need” versus a “want” depends on your lifestyle. Transportation is typically considered a need, but the type of transportation you select might vary depending on where you live. Having a vehicle may be a legitimate need to get to work and earn money to pay bills, but consider whether you need a luxury car, or if something less expensive would work.

We also need food and clothing, but funds spent on these two categories can flow into the “wants” bucket depending on your choices, such as dining out versus cooking at home or wearing designer gear versus department store basics.

30: What do you want?

Everyone should be able to enjoy life’s simple pleasures, and maybe a few extravagant ones as well. Put aside 30% of your funds for these “wants,” which can include entertainment, cable/ streaming services, dining out, fitness memberships, travel, hobbies, personal care beyond the basics and a cell phone beyond the basic plan.

Overspending can be common in this category since it’s fun to spend money on things we enjoy. Take time to prioritize your most important wants and desires and cut back if you find your spending here going over 30%.

20: Save for the future

This category is all about what you want to do with the money in the future. Do you want to travel the world? Retire early? Help your children pay for college? Once your essential needs and more immediate wants are handled, you can put the rest of your funds — 20% — toward achieving your long-term goals.

If you want to pay off debt more quickly, beyond making your ongoing required payments, you can use money from this bucket to help speed up your plan as well.

Refilling your buckets

Once you’ve given this rule a try for a few months, you might notice your spending and savings habits fall well outside of the 50-30-20 guideline. That’s when it’s time to make some tradeoffs.

Be honest about whether the items you’re putting in the needs category are vital to your life or if you could classify some or all those expenses as a want. It’s OK to spend more on housing if having a more expensive place is important to you; it just means you spend less on a car to balance things out.

If your wants are way beyond 30%, consider scaling back and contributing more to saving for long-term goals. In the same vein, if you don’t have 20% leftover after spending on needs and wants, consider making some adjustments in your other buckets so you have enough for savings.

Tying it all together

The 50-30-20 rule can help you allocate your money to needs, wants and savings and offer insights into where you may need to cut back. Use it to help you on your journey to financial success.

New Yorker

Dr. Sandra Scott (One Brooklyn Health photo)

Why are reparations for Black Americans so hard?

By MARISSA BRASWELL Special to the AmNews

The topic of restitution for Black Americans is highly contested. Now that the conversation has entered the mainstream, what is the solution?

Over time, the movement for reparations has persisted, grown louder, and pushed the argument forward, but critics insist these efforts lack real weight, and don’t answer the most pressing question at hand: Where’s the cash?

This past January, Governor Kathy Hochul posted a statement on X, but she and her team had no idea that a simple, end-of-the-year boast that “New York has secured over $183 million in compensation for Holocaust victims and their heirs” would result in a firestorm of criticism from thousands of users of the social media platform.

Some posters wondered why Holocaust victims receive compensation while Black Americans have received “nothing.”

@P.Y.T on X said, “This is a literal slap in the face to African Americans. Compensation for holocaust victims where the trauma didn’t even take place on American soil.”

Filmmaker Yoruba Richen discovered this debate firsthand while making her documentary “The Cost of Inheritance” in 2023. Part of the film investigates the history of Georgetown University’s reparations. The university admitted in 2014 that the institution had sold 272 enslaved people in 1838. In response, the university created The Reconciliation Fund in collaboration with some of the descendants. However, not all of the descendants are on the same page due to the lack of cash payments.

acres of land in 1971 to make up for destroying their claims to the land. In 1988, victims of Japanese internment camps received $20,000 per person.

These examples show that the government has a long history of paying when there’s a mistake made on their part. Critics wonder why there is a hold-up for Black Americans.

Even journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, who

by the effects of slavery and discrimination. The only other state that has followed suit is New York, which created a committee in 2023. Some cities have followed suit, with Evanston, Ill., offering up to $400,00 in 2021 to purchase or repair property because of the history of housing discrimination.

In January, California took another step forward: Its Legislative Black Caucus an-

D., a former American history teacher, who now creates content that teaches about Black history to challenge what many have been taught. “Our ancestors built for free. There is no payout but there are many excuses.”

These feelings are fueled by the contentious conversation about reparations that has picked up steam over the last few years, but the debate traces back to the Civil War.

“There is another group of descendants who are fighting for cash payments,” said Richen, who was surprised by the lack of agreement. “They are not interested in a foundation.”

Those who call for cash payments for descendants of enslaved Black Americans point to historical examples. A century ago, the Pueblo Lands Act of 1924 forced the government to pay $1.3 million to the Pueblo for the land they lost. More recently, Natives in Alaska received $1 billion and 44 million

created the 1619 Project, commented, “Why is there such an aversion to doing something similar for descendants of slavery and the living victims of US apartheid?”

@P.Y.T. and Hannah-Jones are part of a growing movement of individuals who are tired of waiting for the government to pay what they feel they’re owed.

Some officials are starting to pay attention. In 2020, California became the first state to create a task force to examine the possibility of reparations for Black Californians affected

nounced a package of 14 bills that will be a part of a multi-year plan. The bills are aimed at fixing the injustices toward Black residents through compensation, apologies, and community programs.

Despite this forward momentum, though, many Black Americans feel that these gestures toward repair don’t go far enough. Those like AL D., who goes by @Colorfullstory on social media, want money. “I was frustrated by many who say we should just get over how our country [treated us],” said AL

The U.S. government first attempted to provide compensation to those who were formerly enslaved nearly a century and a half ago through Special Order 15, better known colloquially as “40 acres and a mule.” On January 15, 1865 Union General William T. Sherman gave the order, which promised 400,000 acres of newly gained land, from the coastline of South Carolina down to Florida, to freed Black people in 40-acre increments. The order never came to pass because by the fall, President Andrew Jackson rescinded the order and returned the land to the former owners.

The answer seems to lie less with the government and more with American attitudes. A Berkeley poll in 2023 found that 60 percent of Californians were not in favor of cash payouts for descendants of chattel slavery. Katherine M. Franke, a Columbia University law professor and the author of the book “Repair: Redeeming the Promise of Abolition,” believes the opposition is twofold. First, not being able to see, meet, or hear from people who were enslaved seems to make the damage seem long ago and easier to ignore.

“There [were] still plenty of people around who had been encamped during the Holocaust, and the same with Japanese Americans who received reparations,” said Franke. “That campaign was undertaken by people who had been interned.”

She added another piece: “Racism is the answer. Repairing the injuries of white people may be more compelling for white people than repairing the injuries of enslaved Black people.”

It seems that the solution to the reparations issue will be long and contested, and probably a combination of all of what advocates are seeking. AL D. feels that the fight will extend beyond her.

“I can’t see it in my lifetime, nor in my children’s,” she said, “but I truly hope if I have grandchildren, we will see it.”

(Photo illustration by AmNews)

Go With The Flo

ANTHONY

On June 11, Gayle King told viewers of her show “CBS Mornings” that her BFF Oprah Winfrey was supposed to appear on the show along with author David Wroblewski to promote his new book “Familiaris,” but instead had been hospitalized because of a stomach problem. This sudden illness comes several months after the media mogul confessed that she had been using weight loss drugs similar to Ozempic. Said King, “She had some kind of stomach thing— stomach flu—stuff was coming out of both ends. I won’t get too graphic. Needless to say, she ended up in the hospital, dehydrated, had to get an IV, it was a very serious thing.” King said Oprah is now improving. We wish her a speedy recovery!........

Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good are still going strong. The coosome twosome exchanged a kiss on the red carpet at the June 7, 58th Gala Annual Frederick Douglass Awards in New York City. Meagan served as honorary co-chair of the event. Held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, the evening was hosted by De Marco Morgan of “GMA:3.” Celebs at the gala included “Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard” star Jasmine Ellis Cooper and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. Good, who stars in Amazon Prime’s “Harlem,” told the audience, “The Frederick Douglass Awards honor those who, like Douglass, are dedicated to justice, and empowerment for all,” reports Forbes......

Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe and her husband Brandon Frankel welcomed twins, a girl named Maya and a boy named Cooper, back in April. The “Precious” and “Empire” star told The Shade Room, “Brandon always wanted to name a son Cooper, so we call him ‘Coop,’ and Maya was named shortly before our babymoon to the Mayan Rivera in Mexico.” Congratulations!.......

We hear former “American Idol” judge/music producer extraordinaire Randy Jackson’s protege, Karin Ann, recently had a starstudded album release event at DOM lounge, with Artisan Luxe skincare given out to all the celebrity attendees. Her debut album is called “Through The Telescope”....

Juneteenth through the years

Juneteenth parade (Bill Moore photos)

FLO

Naturi Naughton receives a proclamation from Mayor Bill de Blasio. Violence interrupter Iesha Sekou speaks at Juneteenth celebration

Fight at the Museum: NYCC questions why private cultural institutions on city land charge admission

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

One of the country’s largest organizing groups wants New York City to reevaluate whether museums and other cultural institutions on public land should offer unconditionally free admission to local residents. And a study bill by State Sen. Cordell Cleare would do just that.

On May 31, New York Communities for Change (NYCC) staged a rally outside the Museum of the City of New York pushing for the legislation and called for free admission for New Yorkers.

Advocates believe a century-plus publicprivate partnership between the City and the 17 cultural institutions stipulates free rent on public parkland in exchange for free local admission. Those sites include the Museum of the City of New York, the Met and the four Wildlife Conservation Society-run zoos.

A spokesperson for Sen. Cleare told the

Amsterdam News that the Harlem-based lawmaker seeks to “peel back layers” on what led to these institutions deviating away from free access, as well as holding them to their initial pledges. Her bill would enlist the department of economic development to look into such matters and produce a one-year report. Key topics study areas include current public access, historical public access and laws governing free access. The bill did not pass this past legislative session.

While most institutions boast pay-asyou-want fee structures or free admission days, activists like NYCC’s Rachel Rivera believe anything but free access for locals is only a barrier. Rivera, a mother of six, recalled the mounting expenses for taking her family to a museum, pointing to additional costs of food and travel totaling well north of $100. The advocates said the suggested admission or complimentary tickets are not always readily advertised and can be lost to those who don’t speak English as a first language.

Rivera added that several institutions, like the Museum of the City of New York in East Harlem, are located in working-class Black and Brown neighborhoods that aren’t accessing them to their fullest.

“It’s not fair that you have all these beautiful museums, beautiful gardens and zoos for all these animals,” Rivera said in a phone interview. “And New Yorkers that live by these museums, zoos, and gardens still have to pay an admission fee.”

Stephanie Hill Wilchfort, Museum of the City of New York Ronay Menschel director and president, told the AmNews over email that paying staff fair wages and providing “robust service” is partially dependent on collecting admissions. She also pointed to the continued and upcoming budget cuts to cultural institutions as an added funding barrier, calling reduced entry revenue a “terrible blow” for “small and mid-sized organizations without significant endowments.”

She added that admission is free for SNAP/EBT holders, educators, city em-

ployees, CUNY students and members of the United States military.

“The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) believes that culture should be accessible to all New Yorkers,” said Hill Wilchfort. “More than half of our visitors come for free or at a reduced rate, and MCNY never turns a visitor away for lack of funds. MCNY is always free to anyone under the age of 19, and to individuals of any age who live or work in zip codes 10029, 10035, or 10037 (our East Harlem neighborhood). Free passes can be obtained through the New York Public Library’s Culture Pass program.” Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) told the AmNews that they are reviewing the request to respond and will provide a response.

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who 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

New York Communities for Change (NYCC) protests outside of Museum of the City of New York over admissions fees. (Photo courtesy of the TASC Group)

Union Matters

Amazon Labor Union moves to affiliate with Teamsters union amid struggles

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer

The Amazon Labor Union, a grassroots group that won a major victory at an Amazon warehouse two years ago, has agreed to affiliate with the Teamsters union, a move that’s bound to inject new energy into the struggling organization.

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien announced the affiliation during the union’s general executive board meeting in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 4, according to a union post on X.

If the move is ratified, members of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), who belong to one warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island, will essentially join the Teamsters as an “autonomous” local union with the same rights and duties as a standard chapter, according to the agreement.

The Teamsters said its board has already unanimously approved the affiliation, a step that will bring them closer to their goal of unionizing Amazon’s non-corporate workforce.

If the move is ratified, members of the Amazon Labor Union, who belong to one warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island, will essentially join the Teamsters as an “autonomous” local union with the same rights and duties as a standard chapter.

to ever pull off a labor win at an Amazon warehouse in the U.S.

Since then, the ALU has faced many other challenges, including two election losses at other Amazon warehouses and internal strife about its organizing strategy. Some organizers have left to form the ALU Democratic Reform Caucus, a dissident group that sued the union last year to force an election for new leadership. That election is expected to be held in July outside of the warehouse that voted to unionize, said Arthur Schwartz, an attorney who represents the dissident group.

“Our message is clear: We want a con-

Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls wrote in a post on X that the labor group was combining forces “with one of the most powerful unions to take on Amazon together.”

tract and we want it now,” Smalls wrote, referring to the union contract his organization still hasn’t been able to secure more than two years after becoming the only one

The agreement announced by the leaders of both organizations is already facing pushback from the caucus. Schwartz said the Teamsters have indicated they want the ALU membership to ratify the new agreement before the union holds its internal leadership election in July, but that will pose a challenge because the ALU currently doesn’t have an updated list of members, which the caucus has been seeking for the internal election that’s currently underway.

Representatives for Amazon and the Teamsters did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Letters representing Amazon Labor Union adorn fence next to Amazon distribution center on Staten Island on Oct. 25, 2021 (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle photo)

Rivera Lassén wants to rep Puerto Rico in U.S. Congress

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Puerto Rico’s Senator Ana Irma Rivera Lassén was in New York City last week to take part in meet and greets and to talk with some the city’s more than half a million diaspora Puerto Ricans. She attended events in the Lower East Side, East Harlem, and the Bronx, and then marched with Puerto Rico gubernatorial candidate Juan Dalmau up Fifth Avenue in the 67th annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

An attorney who once served as president of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, Rivera Lassén is long known for her feminist, LGBTQ+, and pro-Black advocacy work. Now, after serving as a member of the Puerto Rico Senate since 2021, Rivera Lassén is campaigning to be elected Puerto Rico’s sole representative in the U.S. Congress, in a role known as Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner.

“The resident commissioner is not exactly the same as a congressperson,” Rivera Lassén told the AmNews. “She is in Congress, she has a voice, she does not have a vote, but she represents Puerto Rico and everything that has to do with what affects Puerto Rico: She promotes legislation, she can present legislation, but she does not vote on the floor. That means that [they have] to look for people who support the issues and everything that she does, so that it can then be voted on in the committees and then on the floor of the House. It is a very complex position, but it is different from the traditional congressperson.”

Usually the person elected to serve as Puerto Rico’s U.S. congressional representative leans heavily on the partisan ambitions of the political party they come from. Jenniffer González-Colón is the current resident commissioner––the first woman to hold the office––and has helped sponsor bills that are in line with the New Progressive Party (Partido Nuevo Progresista; PNP), which is Republican Party-aligned and wants Puerto Rico to become a U.S. state. The other major political party on the island is the Democratic Party-aligned Popular Democratic Party (Partido Popular Democrático; PPD), which promotes the continuation of Puerto Rico’s current commonwealth status.

Rivera Lassén is campaigning for resident commissioner while representing the party she helped found, the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (Citizens’ Victory Movement; MVC). The MVC has allied with the Puerto Rican Independence Party (Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño/PIP) during this electoral cycle because they are both ultimately fighting for the decolonization of Puerto Rico.

If elected resident commissioner, Rivera Lassén said she would caucus with the Democratic Party, Congressional Black Caucus, Democratic Women’s Caucus,

Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Congressional Equality Caucus. She would also like to caucus with other U.S. territories about the common issues they face. One thing she’d like to emphasize in Congress is that people in Puerto Rico have a right to federal funds and should not have to beg for them. There will need to be more transparency about the use of those funds to avoid corruption, but guardrails can be put in place so that the funds can be used to help support the economy. The senator said she would look to have the island’s ongoing political status question resolved with “a process that is immediate, that is participatory and democratic. That means that the people of Puerto Rico should have all the information about each of the status options that we know of––statehood, independence, and free association––that they should have all the answers to all the questions they may have, that they should know how long each transition process takes with any of those options, and that it should also be binding. That means that the United States accepts the decision made by the people of Puerto Rico once this process is over.” And, as resident commissioner, Rivera Lassén says she wants to represent all the people of Puerto Rico—including those in the diaspora. “I have a vision far beyond the territory of Puerto Rico,” she stressed, “I believe that the Puerto Rican identity should be included when we talk about who represents us.

“What I am emphasizing is that in addition to the people in Puerto Rico, the resident commissioner should also be seen as representing and looking after the interests of the Puerto Rican people who are in the United States, in the diaspora. … And it is important to use the term of unity with Puerto Rico, because the people who live here and vote here can always help us, by helping to create awareness about the people who are in Puerto Rico, so that when we are––in my case––in the Congress, they will support Puerto Rican causes.”

Diaspora needs to have a seat at the table too

Melissa Mark-Viverito, the former New York City Council speaker, was born in Puerto Rico. She is volunteering to support Rivera Lassén’s candidacy and helping to coordinate the senator’s meetings with diaspora Puerto Ricans. “She believes the diaspora needs to have a seat at the table, too, in these conversations,” explained MarkViverito. “This is something I deeply respected, because I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and I know that there are elements on the island that see us in the diaspora very dismissively, they don’t value or even consider us as real Puerto Ricans, right? And they say that we shouldn’t have anything to say about what happens with

PARKER - CYBER SECURITY ANALYST

Eric Adams Mayor

We’re capitalizing the B in both Black and Brown

At the Amsterdam News, we’ve capitalized the B in Black for decades. When major news organizations refused to refer to our community with respect, we took the lead in capitalizing B and making certain our readers knew we were writing about a community that deserves to be recognized.

It was only in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in 2020 that the journalism industry’s most influential style guide, the Associated Press, decided that it would also begin capitalizing the Black B, decades after the AmNews and other Black newspapers had done so and advocated for the change.

“AP’s style is now to capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa,” the AP stated in its June 2020 decision. “The lowercase black is a color, not a person.”

We’ve been having ongoing conversations in the Amsterdam News newsroom about also capitalizing the B for Brown. Similarly to the old argument against capitalizing the B in Black, major news organizations do not capitalize the B in Brown because they say it does not efficiently describe a distinct community. They say Brown could refer to people who span the Caribbean islands, Central America and South America, the Middle East, Southern Asia, and sometimes even the Indigenous community, which are all culturally unique.

By that logic, we could disqualify the capitalizing of the B in Black.

The United States has native African

Americans, but our B in Black also refers to the collective weight of the diaspora in different geographic locations: Immigrants from Jamaica, Haiti, Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, and other locations are part of the African diaspora. All of these Black people have assorted cultural peculiarities, but we are all African diasporan, all Black—and all treated as Black in U.S. society, which centered white supremacy from the onset.

The Amsterdam News centers Black voices. We provide news coverage of all Black people.

We find that clear writing indicates to our readers whom we are talking about when we also capitalize the B in Brown. Our coverage tends to look at issues that affect Black and Brown communities: Our readers know whom we are talking about when we write that descriptive phrase.

When we capitalize Brown, we are honoring and respecting a community as we name it.

From now on, when we write about Black and Brown community issues, it will always be with an uppercase B.

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher and Editor in Chief

Cyril

Celebrating the intersection of pride and progress: recognizing Black queer liberation in June

By ALPHONSO DAVID

June is a convergence of power for Black queer people to celebrate our history and our progress. It’s a privilege to recognize Juneteenth and Pride Month each year because they are each rooted in histories of resistance and resilience. Black queer people have often been at the forefront of movements for liberation—especially in the racial and LGBTQ+ justice movements—only without the visibility and recognition for our contributions. In our pursuit of universal equality and social justice, we owe it to ourselves to celebrate our progress and cement our commitment to a future of liberation, especially when defending attacks against our freedoms at every turn.

Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, marks the day in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of slavery, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. This day has evolved from a Texas tradition into a national symbol of Black American freedom. The delay in enforcing emancipation in Texas, and the fact that Black Americans remained enslaved in Delaware

until December 6, 1865, when the 13th Amendment was ratified, reflect the persistent resistance necessary to maintain our progress. Even when we win significant battles for our freedom we still experience a delay in access to what we earned. It is a reminder of the systemic racism that has long plagued the political truth of the United States. While Juneteenth is a moment of celebration, it is equally representative of the reality that freedom delayed is freedom unrealized.

Over a century later, in the summer of 1969, New York City became a turning point in LGBTQ+ history. Led by Black queer people, the Stonewall Riots, sparked by a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York City, gave birth to a movement that demanded visibility, equality, and the end of discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Figures such as Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, and Stormé DeLarverie were pivotal in these protests, representing the critical role of Black leaders sparking the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Fifty-five years since the Stonewall Riots, Black queer people remain at the forefront of resistance, fighting back against oppressive systems across the

globe. Recent setbacks, including the “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” bills, bans on Critical Race Theory, the Dobbs decision against reproductive justice, and the elimination of affirmative action, did not occur in isolation. Instead, these actions are part of a deliberate strategy by right-wing leaders aimed at undoing the hard-won progress we have achieved. For us, the intersectional oppression we face can be especially violent because the attacks seem to target the very essence of our identities, simply for openly being who we are. Whether it’s attacks on transgender youth getting to participate in sports or LGBTQ+ people having the freedom to live openly and unapologetically, our present-day advocacy reaffirms lessons we have learned in the past: meaningful change is driven by collective action and mutual support. This June, our charge is clear: celebrate the achievements of our ancestors, remember what’s at stake, and mobilize to protect our freedoms. By leveraging our collective power, we can build a future where we can live free from oppression.

Alphonso David is the president & CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum

Damaso Reyes: Executive & Investigative Editor

Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor

Aaron Foley: News Editor

Josh Barker: Digital Editor

Siobhan "Sam" Bennett: Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Advertising Wilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): Chairman

“Led by Black queer people, the Stonewall Riots, sparked by a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York City, gave birth to a movement that demanded visibility, equality, and the end of discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.” (AP Photo/Seth Wenig photo)

(AmNews photo illustration)

My Juneteenth

JUNETEENTH

Why we celebrate Pride

By MARK WINSTON GRIFFITH

“Don’t call it a comeback. I been here for years.”—LL Cool J

I was in high school the first time I understood the power of national observance.

It was the early ’80s. Stevie Wonder had just released the song “Happy Birthday,” which explicitly campaigned to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a federal holiday—a proposition that Congress was about to consider legislatively, but naïvely, I couldn’t imagine how anyone could possibly oppose it. That was until a white classmate of mine looked me in the eye and argued that Martin Luther King Jr. was a Black hero and icon, and, by definition, not an American one. I was shaken. I had been born and raised in Black neighborhoods, but this was my first time attending a predominantly white school and I was seduced into craving the acceptance of the white majority around me. With a single verbal swipe, that white classmate didn’t just relegate me to guest status in what he claimed was his world, but casually denied my full humanity as well. Never again, I vowed, would I make myself prone to the affirmation of white people.

Roughly 40 years later, the federal government designated another national holiday aimed at affirming the Black experience in America, and I pause to consider its meaning.

Juneteenth National Independence Day was signed into law by President Biden in 2021 and commemorates the unofficial end of slavery on June 19,1865. Like MLK Day before it, Juneteenth is a referendum on just how immutably “American” Black folks are in this country. It serves as a prompt for Americans to celebrate the promise of Black liberation, as well as a reminder not to sleep on America’s claims to equalitarian, multi-racial democracy. Celebrated informally for more than 150 years before Biden enshrined it, Juneteenth marks the moment when emancipation was enforced in the western reaches of the Confederacy, and enslaved Texans learned for the first time they were free—two and half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee formally surrendered, but months before the 13th amendment was ratified by Congress, constitutionally ending slavery.

Even then, enslaved people in Del-

aware and Kentucky were not emancipated until December of 1865 and Native American tribes held Black slaves until 1866.

Some might consider my own connection to Juneteenth, and the Black identity it invokes, as tenuous. My mother and all four of my grandparents were born in Jamaica and Guyana, where slavery ended 30 years earlier than in the U.S. And while I don’t believe I embody the stereotypical elitism that Caribbean people often display toward descendants of U.S. slavery, my kinship with southern culture is limited, and the legacy of slavery doesn’t feel particularly immediate for me.

However, proximity to American slavery is not the same as proximity to Black American consciousness. Caribbean culture and history are inextricably bound up in the American experience, and vice versa. Moreover, I have lived in this country all my life.

I was raised on quintessential American formations like New York public schools, hip hop, Hollywood cinema, and American race constructs. Juneteenth is not directly part of my lineage, but I inarguably live a Black American life—and for anyone to say “my people escaped slavery 30 years before yours” is a ridiculous flex. Even those born on the African continent can hardly claim to have escaped the effects of white supremacy.

Race is as much a reductive force as it is a polarizing one. The people who viewed MLK and racial justice as representing anti-American values, and the America First and “anti-woke” movements of today that seek to scrub Black history and white guilt from textbooks and memory, make few distinctions between expressions of Black identity, whether they originate from the U.S. or from Trump’s “shithole” countries. If Black people are not unified politically and ideologically, we are certainly thrown into the same boat by anti-blackness.

In this way, Juneteenth can feel so trivial and so not-up-to the task of acknowledging the debt to Black people accrued through slavery. It is a token, and woefully inadequate, gesture at best, especially when you consider demands for reparations. As it is, Americans give little thought to the history and significance of most national holidays. Whether it’s a time to rest and connect with family and friends, or an opportunity to get paid time-anda-half, or simply a day of discount shopping, the original significance of national holidays fades the more they are ritualized or churned by capitalism.

Like the act of putting Malcolm X’s

face on a postage stamp, celebrating the end of chattel slavery was originally a subtle act of subversion that was itself subverted once it was appropriated by the federal government. But observing Juneteenth is not like celebrating Nat Turner’s rebellion or the Amistad revolt—moments when Black people threw off their own shackles—or even like the Fourth of July, which represents the birth of a nation through armed struggle. When dramatic depictions of slavery, like the television series “Roots” or the movie “Twelve Years a Slave,” were released to critical acclaim, there was always a running commentary that American audiences are way too comfortable with representations of Black people on plantations. Seen cynically, at a time when revisionist historians are insisting the institution of slavery benefited Black people, it’s as if Juneteenth is that time of the year when white people get to say, “Remember, we set you free. You’re welcome.”

On the other hand, Juneteenth is not simply a mid-June day off work, nor was it bestowed upon us by the federal government. It was invented by Black folks, for Black folks, and observed by Black folks across the country throughout three centuries, mostly out of plain view of popular culture. Although Congress, people, and organizations have been lobbying for decades to make it a federal holiday, rank-and-file Black folks have been just fine with celebrating Juneteenth under the radar. Like Malcolm X’s birthday, Kwanzaa, Black Solidarity Day in November, Indigenous People’s Day (which supplants another federal observance, Columbus Day), or the National Day of Mourning that reframes Thanksgiving, there is a robust nationalist tradition in this country, practiced by people of color, that asserts an alternative set of historical narratives and values.

The Black American experience is nothing if not a state of contradiction, a poetic place where oppression, pain, and dehumanization meet unrivaled success, brilliance, and even patriotism. While this country was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic and social justice protests were inspired by the death of George Floyd, Biden used the memorialization of Juneteenth as a nod to the Black electoral base that, once again, changed the course of history by putting him in office.

Of course, not unlike the backlash that followed the so-called Radical Reconstruction after the Civil War, polling shows that public opinion has since soured on the 2020 uprisings and

It’s not too late to celebrate Pride Month. Every June, I try to take the time to learn more about LGBTQ+ history and support organizations doing the work to make our society more just and inclusive. As I talk to my various friends who identify as LGBTQ+, they have varying stories of their relationships with family members, and how they have had to navigate a sometimes hostile environment at home, at work, and in the world more broadly. During the month of June, we can find ways to support and uplift our LGBTQ+ friends and family to make our community more inclusive.

I often look to the work of Dr. David Johns, executive director and CEO of the National Black Justice Collective (NBJC), a national civil rights organization serving primarily Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The NBJC often collaborates with national civil rights groups and LGBT organizations to advocate for the unique needs of the African American LGBT community in the United States. Their efforts continue to educate wider audiences through their advocacy and collaborations with organizations across the country. If you are so inclined to support the efforts of NBJC, go to www.nbjc.org.

I also follow the work of the Griot Circle, an organization that supports LGBTQ+ elders of color. Their work is so important as we reflect on the number of LGBTQ+ elders who may have particular economic and emotional needs. I often think of my mother’s gay colleagues in the airline industry from the 1980s. When I was grow -

ing up, there were so many of her colleagues who were disowned by family members or who lost friends and loved ones to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Those individuals were able to build a network and community of friends who became family, but there are still specific needs we must be aware of when supporting LGBTQ+ elders of color. If you are so inclined to support the Griot Circle and all they do for LGBTQ+ elders of color, go to www.griotcircle.org.

Hopefully this Pride Month we will learn about trailblazing LGBTQ+ individuals who have paved the way for a more just society. When I think about pioneers like Marsha P. Johnson, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, or even Colman Domingo, I realize there is much more I need to learn. I always say, “Black history is American history.” The two histories are inextricably linked. That being said, LGBTQ+ history is also American history. In order to understand the ebbs and flows of progress, we must know the LGBTQ+ luminaries who helped pave the way for a more inclusive society for all of us.

Hopefully you will take a little time this June to learn more about LGBTQ+ leaders who have made our country and our world a better place.

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.

CHRISTINA GREER, PH.D.

Caribbean Update

Caribbean to begin storm preparations in earnest

By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews

Caribbean nations are stepping up preparations for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season amid predictions that it will be an intense one, with up to 25 named storms likely to form off the West African coast in the coming months during a simmering heatwave in the region.

Officials at the Barbados-based Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) say that the past year of intense El Nino heat across the Caribbean will only contribute to a trickier than usual storm season. CDEMA has stepped up training and procurement of emergency equipment to help any member nation in need.

“Sea surface temperatures in the eastern and central Atlantic are currently at record warm levels and are anticipated to remain well above average for the upcoming hurricane season, and what that means is that we have a dynamic environment that is not only conducive for cyclone formation, but also for intensification,” said CDEMA boss Liz Riley. “Of very key importance to us is the possibility of rapid intensification, so I think this is something we have to remain very much focused on as we traverse this year’s hurricane season.”

The warnings from the umbrella agency come just weeks after the 39-nation Small Island and Developing Nations (SIDS) group held its summit in the eastern Carib-

bean state of Antigua. Nearly every delegation called for western and other countries, which are contributing to global warming, sea-level rises, and other major aspects of climate change, be made to pay for their actions, which are affecting other countries negatively.

The season commenced at the beginning of June and will run until the end of November, and is also being monitored in the wake of a recent ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea that emissions from fossil fuels and other gases amount to pollution once they are absorbed by oceans.

Delivered by the Germany-based body in late May, the ruling has represented a major victory for small states which have been fighting to make the more powerful polluting states involve themselves in climate justice by compensating SIDS member nations for damages from climate changes. The ruling is not legally binding, but leaders like Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua say the opinion gives them ammunition to continue the fight for climate justice.

Antigua, St. Vincent, and several islands in the Pacific region, themselves under severe threat from sea-level rises, had brought the

case to the tribunal as a first step in their major showdown with developed nations.

“This test case is the starting point of many more legal rulings and sanctions to come, as large ocean territories continue the legal and political fight for their survival,” Vincentian Sustainable Development Minister Carlos James told reporters recently. “This is definitely a step in the right direction and it pushes the door further open for us to legally challenge the major emitters on their failure to act in averting a global climate crisis.”

As SIDS nations bask in the glory of the ruling, the regional disaster agency says it is taking no chances because all indications point to an unusual, if not dangerous, season this year.

An additional 31 experts have been trained to work out of the disaster relief unit, and a 60-person crew is on standby as a search and rescue team in the event that any nation is affected by a storm. A total of 14 emergency operators also form part of the emergency system that is already in place.

“We have nine additional Starlink internet satellite terminals and six solar generators for use by our teams,” said Riley. “We have also expanded the number of cellphones and laptops for deployment, and have 20 GPS units and additional power supplies. This is very important because communication is usually one of the critical areas impacted after events.”

The hypocrisy of celebrating immigrant heritage while closing borders

June is a significant month for immigrants in America, marked by both National Immigrant Heritage Month and National Caribbean American Heritage Month. These observances are meant to honor the countless immigrants—whether from the Caribbean like myself or other parts of the world—who have contributed immensely to the greatness of this country. These immigrants include those who were brought here against their will, such as enslaved people, and those who chose to come seeking a better life.

On May 31, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation to recognize these months, emphasizing America›s unique identity as a nation enriched by the diversity of its people. In his proclamation on Na -

tional Immigrant Heritage Month, Biden eloquently stated: “America is the only country in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new. We are home to people whose ancestors have been here for thousands of years and home to people from every place on Earth. Some people came freely, some came chained by force, some came when famine struck or to flee persecution, and some came to chase dreams that are only possible here in America. We all come from somewhere, but we are all Americans.”

However, it was disheartening to see President Biden, just days later on June 5, issue another proclamation focused on “securing the border.” While I understand the need for a comprehensive plan to address illegal immigration and the rising influx of migrants entering via the southern border, the timing and nature of these proclamations reeks of hypocrisy.

On one hand, Biden›s May 31 proclamation highlighted his efforts to rebuild the United States Refugee Admissions Pro -

gram, positioning it as a beacon for displaced persons globally. Yet, within days, he endorsed a broad asylum ban via executive order, impacting migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

This order allows border agents to deport migrants without processing asylum claims and bars them from reentry for extended periods. The border shutdown is activated if more than 2,500 migrants cross in one day, with exceptions for unaccompanied children, those facing serious medical or safety threats, and victims of trafficking, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

This policy is not only politically unsound but also a slap in the face to immigrants, particularly during National Immigrant Heritage Month and National Caribbean American Heritage Month. Who is advising Biden? While securing the U.S. border is necessary, implementing such measures now, even as his voter base begins to waver, makes no sense. Is

he so eager to appease the right that he has forgotten his core supporters?

Biden is essentially digging his own political grave or, worse, falling into the one Republicans and Trump are preparing at the border. Ironically, as a candidate in 2019, Biden criticized Trump’s asylum policies during a debate, stating: “This is the first president in the history of the United States of America that anybody seeking asylum has to do it in another country. That’s never happened before. You come to the United States, and you make your case. That’s how you seek asylum, based on the following premise: why I deserve it under American law.” In 2024, much like his National Heritage Month proclamation, Biden›s words now carry little substance.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focused on positive news on the Black immigrant communities of the Caribbean and Latin America.

The Right Honourable Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda (Photo by Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brasil - https://commons.wikimedia.org)

Harlem’s Masjid Malcolm Shabazz celebrates 31 years of Juneteenth parades

JUNETEENTH

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

The Masjid Malcolm Shabazz has been celebrating Juneteenth in Harlem well before it was a nationwide holiday. The celebration and parade is now in its 31st year and will be held on Saturday, June 15, with a bevy of activities and a festival for all ages.

Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation of enslaved Africans and their descendants on June 19, 1865, wasn’t recognized as a significant date for a long time. For two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, people were still held in captivity in Galveston, Texas. Union troops were sent in to enforce the new law. Outside of local celebrations, many advocates feared that Juneteenth would become a footnote in history. “We use that date to mark our time of freedom here in America,” said Ade A. Rasul, former grand marshal and Juneteenth coordinator at the masjid (mosque).

The historic Masjid (West 116th Street), known for its unique green domed architec-

ture, was founded in 1956 by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and civil rights icon Malcolm X, known to many as Minister El Hajj Malik Shabazz. The Muslim community, fostered in the heart of Harlem under their leadership, fought to promote ideals of racial equality and pan-Africanism for years. After X’s murder in 1965, the masjid was fire

bombed by those who believed that Nation of Islam assassins were responsible. Two of the three people imprisoned in that case had their convictions overturned in 2021 and new witnesses have since alleged a government coverup. The top floor of the building was lost in the bombing, but X’s original office remained intact. The masjid continued to exist and

thrive. By the 1990s, it had become a pillar of the Harlem community and inspired the tourist attraction, the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market, that was constructed down the street. At the behest of Muhammad, said Rasul, the masjid strove to keep the memory and history of Juneteenth alive for the last 30 years with See MASJID continued on next page

Float in Masjid Malcolm Shabazz’s annual Juneteenth parade. (Bill Moore photo)

Juneteenth Ribbon Cutting in 2023 with Rep. Adriano Espaillat. (Juneteenth Committee of Masjid Malcolm Shabazz photo)

an annual honorary breakfast, community parade, and all-day street festival with local vendors. The event has swelled to include live bands, a moving museum, a double-dutch and basketball tournament, and health screenings for attendees—all funded by the masjid, Rasul said.

“That was our objective,” said Rasul. “We didn’t know that in our lifetime, George Floyd would happen or the holiday would be recognized.”

Because of the racial reckoning that was the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Juneteenth became a statewide holiday in New York under former Governor Andrew Cuomo. A year later, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which officially made Juneteenth a federal holiday. Finally, in 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams designated Juneteenth as a paid city holiday.

Rasul said the Juneteenth Coalition of NYC has now set its sights on moving the needle forward on the issue of Black reparations in the state and across the U.S. For more info, visit www.juneteenthcelebrationnyc.org and www.themasjidmalcolmshabazz.com.

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

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Juneteenth Proclamations 2023

Juneteenth Parade Masjid Banner 2023

Juneteenth Celebration 2023. (Juneteenth Committee of Masjid Malcolm Shabazz photos)

(Photo illustration by AmNews)

Juneteenth 2024: What's On!

Why are reparations for Black Americans so hard? JUNETEENTH

By NADINE MATTHEWS Special to the AmNews

By MARISSA BRASWELL Special to the AmNews

The topic of restitution for Black Americans is highly contested. Now that the conversation has entered the mainstream, what is the solution?

Over time, the movement for reparations has persisted, grown louder, and pushed the argument forward, but critics insist these efforts lack real weight, and don’t answer the most pressing question at hand: Where’s the cash?

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but in 1865, many African Americans were still unaware slavery had been abolished. General George Granger brought the news to the enslaved in Galveston,Texas, that year, setting off a wave of celebrations across the country that were subsequently annually observed. Although some of the revelry associated with the holiday ebbed over time in certain areas, President Joe Biden’s 2021 passage of law to make Juneteenth a federal holiday brought renewed enthusiasm and observance, with a host of celebrations of all kinds across the country.

From family days of arts and crafts to food festivals, dance performances, singing, and much more, New Yorkers have a plethora of ways to honor the holiday. Here is a selection in order of date, with start times and details for each event.

June 14

This past January, Governor Kathy Hochul posted a statement on X, but she and her team had no idea that a simple, end-of-the-year boast that “New York has secured over $183 million in compensation for Holocaust victims and their heirs” would result in a firestorm of criticism from thousands of users of the social media platform.

Some posters wondered why Holocaust victims receive compensation while Black Americans have received “nothing.” @P.Y.T on X said, “This is a literal slap in the face to African Americans. Compensation for holocaust victims where the trauma didn’t even take place on American soil.”

6PM: The Unsung Collective with worldrenowned soprano Janinah Burnett and baritone Phillip Bullock will perform a free concert at Columbia University. The group will honor works by Jessie Montgomery, Carlos Simon, and H. Leslie Adams at the Forum (601 W. 125th Street). Directed by Tyrone Clinton Jr., the Unsung Collective is a Harlem-based music collective devoted to celebrating stories of the Black experience. FREE. More info at https://theforum. columbia.edu/

Filmmaker Yoruba Richen discovered this debate firsthand while making her documentary “The Cost of Inheritance” in 2023. Part of the film investigates the history of Georgetown University’s reparations. The university admitted in 2014 that the institution had sold 272 enslaved people in 1838. In response, the university created The Reconciliation Fund in collaboration with some of the descendants. However, not all of the descendants are on the same page due to the lack of cash payments.

“There is another group of descendants who are fighting for cash payments,” said Richen, who was surprised by the lack of agreement. “They are not interested in a foundation.”

To commemorate Juneteenth, Blue Engine Records releases “Freedom, Justice, and Hope,” the live recording of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s multidisciplinary concert to streaming platforms. The production contextualizes jazz in Black Americans’ pursuit of equality. It features the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in creative collaboration with Bryan Stevenson, social justice activist and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. The recording features new arrangements of some of the most important protest songs in jazz history and new works by featured guest artists Endea Owens and Josh Evans, intermixed with Stevenson’s monologues, which provide commentary on American terrorism, disenfranchisement, and racial injustice while highlighting the history of activism and artistic creativity that defined the Civil Rights Movement. “Freedom, Justice, and Hope” also features Stevenson, who is also a pianist, joining the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on “Honeysuckle Rose” and “We Shall Overcome.” Available as a CD on June 19. More info at blueenginerecords.org

June 15

11AM: The New York Botanical Garden

Those who call for cash payments for descendants of enslaved Black Americans point to historical examples. A century ago, the Pueblo Lands Act of 1924 forced the government to pay $1.3 million to the Pueblo for the land they lost. More recently, Natives in Alaska received $1 billion and 44 million

acres of land in 1971 to make up for destroying their claims to the land. In 1988, victims of Japanese internment camps received $20,000 per person.

These examples show that the government has a long history of paying when there’s a mistake made on their part. Critics wonder why there is a hold-up for Black Americans.

Even journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, who

(NYBG) offers free tickets for Bronx residents to join the Bronx Day Celebration of Juneteenth with Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. Features music, dance performances, arts and crafts, food trucks, culinary demonstrations, and other activities, such as a symposium with author and historian Dr. Jessica B. Harris as NYBG opens the African American Garden in its newest form. Visitors can also explore Wonderland: Curious Nature, a Garden-wide exhibition inspired by the classics “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass,” and “What Alice Found There,” featuring a flower show and works by contemporary artists. FREE but advance tickets required for admission (4 maximum) that can be requested at nybg.org/bronxday.

1PM: Historic Greenwood Cemetery celebrates Juneteenth with activities for everyone. Their Juneteenth Family Day offers free kids’ art activities in Greenwood’s historic chapel (500 25th Street, Brooklyn) and self-guided tours of the gravesites of Black historical figures. Maps and biographies of featured burial sites will be available when you enter the cemetery, and their trolley will run on a loop to all sites so folks can hop on and off as they please. FREE. More info at www.green-wood.com.

11AM: Weeksville Heritage Center and Jummy’s Picks by Black-Owned Brooklyn are partnering again for their third annual Juneteenth Food Festival, with 40+ food vendors and artisans, performances, art-making projects, wellness activities (including a yoga session), and more. More info at https://www. weeksvillesociety.org/event/3rd-annual-juneteenth-food-festival/

12PM: Times Square Alliance and the DM Firm/Brunch Pitch are partnering to bring a Juneteenth celebration to Times Square, with an African-American Pitch Competition, live music performance, spoken word, and the African American tradition of a sorority step show. FREE.

Pop-up will curate a marketplace experience for the day composed of Black-owned businesses and Black vendors and artisans. More info at www. eventbrite.com

by the effects of slavery and discrimination. The only other state that has followed suit is New York, which created a committee in 2023. Some cities have followed suit, with Evanston, Ill., offering up to $400,00 in 2021 to purchase or repair property because of the history of housing discrimination.

In January, California took another step forward: Its Legislative Black Caucus an-

June 16

1:30PM: After a three-year hiatus, Women of Color on Broadway (WOCoB) returns with a new production of “Juneteenth Symphony,” a blend of music and theater, celebrating the contributions of Black artists. Under the musical direction of WOCoB’s Artistic Director Alexia, the POC ensemble will perform pieces orchestrated by Alexia, Sen Raines, and Raiz Sajan, collectively known as the musical group Chrysalis. The concert will also showcase vocal performances by Alexia, Isaiah Alston, and Sydney Williams.

In addition to its musical lineup, “The Juneteenth Symphony” will shine a spotlight on local Black-owned and women-owned businesses, reaffirming WOCoB’s commitment to supporting BIPOCentrepreneurs. $20. At at Open Jar Studios. More info at https://www. womenofcoloronbroadway.org/

Juneteenth

10AM: ARTECHOUSE (Chelsea Market, 439 W. 15th Street, Manhattan), NYC’s home for experiential art celebrating the work of Black artists, offers a free art exhibition and art activities for visitors of all ages to enjoy onsite, including a special “Sorrel Punch” cocktail, made with hibiscus and chai from West Africa. FREE but must register. More info at https:// www.artechouse.com/location/nyc/.

D., a former American history teacher, who now creates content that teaches about Black history to challenge what many have been taught. “Our ancestors built for free. There is no payout but there are many excuses.”

These feelings are fueled by the contentious conversation about reparations that has picked up steam over the last few years, but the debate traces back to the Civil War.

The U.S. government first attempted to provide compensation to those who were formerly enslaved nearly a century and a half ago through Special Order 15, better known colloquially as “40 acres and a mule.” On January 15, 1865 Union General William T. Sherman gave the order, which promised 400,000 acres of newly gained land, from the coastline of South Carolina down to Florida, to freed Black people in 40-acre increments. The order never came to pass because by the fall, President Andrew Jackson rescinded the order and returned the land to the former owners.

and the Film Funds. FREE. More info at www.diversity.broadway

11AM: Friends of Brower Park, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn Public Library— Brower Park Library, the Crown Heights North Association, Campaign Against Hunger, More than a Meal, and Repair the World Brooklyn partner to celebrate Juneteenth (Shirley Chisholm Circle Brower Park, Kingston Avenue and Prospect Place, Brooklyn). The day will feature live music, dance, workshops, performances, and art projects. There will be a performance by the Brooklyn United Marching Band, presentation by author Alliah Agostini, story time led by Laleña Garcia, and musical performance by Tahira Clayton. Food from CG’s Fish and Chips will be available for purchase onsite. FREE. More info at www.brooklynkids.org/ programs/juneteenth/

The answer seems to lie less with the government and more with American attitudes. A Berkeley poll in 2023 found that 60 percent of Californians were not in favor of cash payouts for descendants of chattel slavery. Katherine M. Franke, a Columbia University law professor and the author of the book “Repair: Redeeming the Promise of Abolition,” believes the opposition is twofold.

created the 1619 Project, commented, “Why is there such an aversion to doing something similar for descendants of slavery and the living victims of US apartheid?”

@P.Y.T. and Hannah-Jones are part of a growing movement of individuals who are tired of waiting for the government to pay what they feel they’re owed.

Some officials are starting to pay attention. In 2020, California became the first state to create a task force to examine the possibility of reparations for Black Californians affected

2PM: 651 ARTS, Brooklyn’s premiere organization for the African Diasporic arts, is returning for its Fourth Annual Juneteenth Celebration, once again in collaboration with the outdoor music concert series the Soapbox, by presenting “We Outside: A Brooklyn Juneteenth, Vol. II” (300 Ashland Place). This year’s theme is “Individual Expression” and spotlights the spirit of Black creativity with a series of live performances and experiences throughout the day. This year’s program will include a workshop where participants are invited to share the stories of their neighborhoods, cities, countries, and cultures through dance; a special tribute to HBCU Culture; “Melanated Notes,” with spoken word performances by local poets; and the the Soapbox Presents: “Stoop Sessions, Freedom Songs,” a journey through Black protest music to a party of radical joy. Brooklyn

(Photo illustration by Amanda Ulloa)

nounced a package of 14 bills that will be a part of a multi-year plan. The bills are aimed at fixing the injustices toward Black residents through compensation, apologies, and community programs.

Despite this forward momentum, though, many Black Americans feel that these gestures toward repair don’t go far enough. Those like AL D., who goes by @Colorfullstory on social media, want money. “I was frustrated by many who say we should just get over how our country [treated us],” said AL

11AM: Cast members from 18 Broadway shows will perform at the fourth annual “Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth Concert” at Times Square. The concert includes presentation of the Juneteenth Legacy Award to Tony Award® winner Phylicia Rashad, with Michael James Scott as host. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided. Flagstar Bank will be this year’s presenting sponsor. The event will feature cast members from shows such as “A Beautiful Noise”; “The Neil Diamond Musical”; “Aladdin”; & Juliet; “Back to the Future: The Musical”; “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”; “Chicago”; “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”; “Hell’s Kitchen”; “Illinoise”; “The Lion King”; “MJ”; “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”; “The Notebook”; “Suffs”; “Water for Elephants”; “The Who’s Tommy”; “Wicked”; “The Wiz”; and the return of the kids of “Young, Gifted, and Broadway.” All performances will be accompanied by live music provided with help from the Music Performance Trust Fund

First, not being able to see, meet, or hear from people who were enslaved seems to make the damage seem long ago and easier to ignore.

“There [were] still plenty of people around who had been encamped during the Holocaust, and the same with Japanese Americans who received reparations,” said Franke. “That campaign was undertaken by people who had been interned.”

She added another piece: “Racism is the answer. Repairing the injuries of white people may be more compelling for white people than repairing the injuries of enslaved Black people.”

1PM: Juneteenth March, the 4th Annual Charity 5K to Celebrate the Liberation of Enslaved Peoples in the U.S., founded as a march to New York City Hall in 2020 to highlight multiple injustices and reforms at the center of the city’s power. All proceeds go toward the building fund for the Harlem Center, a 10year effort started by a coalition of New Yorkcentered, community-based organizations (CBOs). Harlem Center is a 20,000-squarefoot community center offering services from 30+ CBOs in the five boroughs to provide community support services, from economic inclusion to the arts to health/wellness and uplifting citizens affected by issues ranging from recidivism to anti-LGBTQ sentiments, as well as increase capacity to address unmet needs and gaps. Central Park. FREE. More info at EMERGE125.org.

It seems that the solution to the reparations issue will be long and contested, and probably a combination of all of what advocates are seeking. AL D. feels that the fight will extend beyond her.

5PM: As part of the New York City (NYC) Parks “Art in the Parks” program, New Orleans artist Marcus Brown will unveil three augmented reality (AR) exhibits exploring the economics of slavery and amplifying

“I can’t see it in my lifetime, nor in my children’s,” she said, “but I truly hope if I have grandchildren, we will see it.”

651 Arts celebrates Juneteenth 2023 (Alex Bershaw photo)

‘Black Barbie’—Shonda Rhimes-produced doc makes its point

By MAGRIRA Special to AmNews

“I hate dolls,” writer-director Lagueria Davis says early in her debut documentary, “Black Barbie,” and I agree. There’s something downright creepy about her aunt’s spare bedroom, which is packed with dolls. But what begins as a statement of her true feelings quickly morphs into a celebration of the history of the Black doll Mattel released in 1979—20 years after the first (white) Barbie doll was launched and walked toward becoming the most iconic doll in America. An uncomfortable influence, since it clearly says to the world that “white is right” with no room for Black and Brown.

Davis presents an argument about the road the Barbie had to travel before diversity and inclusion was even a sliver of a possibility.

Despite the facts of the matter being laid out, executives’ prejudices and many of the other “isms” threw up roadblocks and detours, leading to many dead ends. Pivot and determination were applied to the sticky situation.

Davis keeps “Black Barbie” (exec-produced by Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers for Shondaland) moving along with her firstperson POV, giving us a sneak peek into her aunt’s (the doll collector’s) journey, which started in 1953. Her name: Beulah Mae Mitchell. Her journey: from Forth Worth, Texas, to Los Angeles, where she landed a job at Mattel from 1955 to 1999.

The documentary skillfully uses archival photos of Mitchell working as a “spinner” (a person who tested the crank on a Jack in the Box), along with other materials, such as newspaper clippings, photographs, and newsreels that depict just how Black life was in the United States.

Walking down memory lane is one of the best parts of “Black Barbie” and it’s a long lane—Mitchell was among the employees who started advocating for a Black Barbie in the early 1960s.

Two decades of advocacy, and finally designer Kitty Black Perkins arrived at Mattel. In crafting the first Black doll, she kept the image of icon Diana Ross firmly in mind and dressed the first Black Barbie in a red gown, with a sliver of back and a little leg showing.

Visionary Perkins was responsible for hiring another Mattel artist, doll designer Stacey McBride-Irby, stressing that change must originate in the workplace.

Davis and cinematographer Sara Garth make the Barbie dolls look alive and glamorous. Esin Aydingoz’s score works well here.

Most people who study race in America know about the 1940s experiment conducted by Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark,

where Black children and dolls showed the internal damage caused by segregation and racism. It’s heartbreaking, but a necessary reminder, so here it is again. The doctor asked Black children: “Show me the white doll. Show me the colored doll…Show me the doll you want to play with. Show me the nice doll. Show me the doll that’s a bad doll.” The majority of African American children associated the Black doll as less than—and themselves as less than.

The final section of this well-constructed doc offers some insight from thinkers like developmental psychologist and professor Dr. Amirah Saafir and family therapist Yeshiva Davis, who have conducted studies on dolls with a new and more diverse collection of BIPOC children. The results? You have to watch “Black Barbie” to find out.

“Black Barbie” screens globally on Netflix on June 19.

“Black Barbie” (Photo courtesy of Netflix)

Will Smith & Martin Lawrence’s latest for ‘Ride or Die’ fans only

By DWIGHT BROWN NNPA News Wire

They’re older. Wiser? Well, older. Boyz II middle-aged men. They still got it? And if they do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

“Bad Boys” (1995) and “Bad Boys II” (2003), starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as rambunctious Miami cops Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowery, respectively, were directed by the flashy director Michael Bay. “Bad Boys for Life” (2020) had new life breathed into it when the young, edgy Belgian and Arab team of directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Black,” “Rebel,” and “Gangsta”) took command. These filmmakers, Lawrence, and Smith have gone back to the same well one more time for this latest venture. Anything left?

The character of Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano), the guys’ much-loved commanding officer, was a constant in the three previous movies. In the last chapter, he was assassinated by the sniper hitman Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio), who happened to be Mike’s son. This new, formulaic script by Chris Bremner and Will Beall starts where the last film finished. Howard’s legacy as an honorable, trustworthy cop is being besmirched by crooks who try to tie him to a deadly cartel. Howard speaks from

beyond the grave: “Boys, we have rats in our walls!”

Outraged, Marcus and Mike try to clear his name. It’s a premise that provides lots of forward momentum.

The guys’ investigation is aided by former rookie cops Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens) and Dorn (Alexander Ludwig). As their new boss, Captain Rita Secada (Paola Núñez), seems skeptical, a stealth hitman named Banker (Eric Dane) connives to kill all the good guys who get in his way.

It’s on.

You’d think that this tight ensemble would be just enough. But the franchise has so much baggage, more

and more characters show up: Marcus’s wife Theresa (Tasha Smith), his war-veteran son Reggie (Dennis Green), and grandchildren. Mike’s new wife Christine (Melanie Liburd), Conrad’s enraged Federal Marshall officer daughter (Rhea Seehorn), and innocent granddaughter Callie (Quinn Hemphill). Add in a smarmy politician (Ioan Gruffudd) and a bodacious strip club owner (Tiffany Haddish), and it’s a full house. If there’s a star in this movie, it’s the action scenes. Adil and Bilal excel at bringing the car chases, gun fights, brawls, and violence. The footage, shot by cinematographer Robrecht

Heyvaert, starts with a bang in a convenience store; kinetic energy is well measured throughout (editors Asaf Eisenberg and Dan Lebental) and doesn’t let up until the last deadly shot hits its mark.

During the mayhem, Marcus is on the hood of a car pumping bullets at the bad guys, an art gallery becomes a battlefield, a helicopter loses control, loved ones are in jeopardy, and an old amusement becomes a burial ground. The one action sequence misstep involves the boys driving a van totally engulfed in flames. It’s silly, stupid, and improbable. But for the most part, the steady supply of adrenaline-pumping scenes gives action and comedy fans what they want, and the Lawrence-Smith team exemplifies the wacky buddy cop pairings moviegoers like.

With Jerry Bruckheimer as the prime producer (“Top Gun: Maverick” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”), everything is bigger, excessive, and more outlandish than it needs to be, especially the final scenes. What if this chapter had been a reboot that took the guys back to their roots? What if, instead of a grandiose style, the filmmaking was stripped down to its roots? This would have given the two leads a bigger chance to spotlight their comic chops. Imagine if this episode was as close to the ground and gutter as the Safdie

‘Tuesday’ offers surreal look at mortality

By MAGRIRA Special to the AmNews

“Tuesday” is a surprising story about a mother’s fight with death— literally a fight with death—to save her dying teenage daughter. Death appears in the form of a wise talking parrot, trying to explain why everyone and everything must die. The production is written and directed by Daina O. Pusić.

Zora (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is the overworked single mother dealing with a terminally ill teenager Tuesday (Lola Petticrew), whom she loves so much that she refuses to imagine her life without her.

Death literally flies in—visually represented by a world-weary macaw that can shrink or grow to a massive size—and is voiced by Arinzé Kene (“I’m Your Woman”).

The movie begins with an “eye of God” shot appearing to be filmed high above the planet. It then finds an eye and stays focused there. But it’s not a human eye, or even one of

a loving guardian angel. This “all-feeling” eye belongs to Death, who, as a tiny macaw, suffers from headaches due to hearing the requests of those suffering and their pleas (praying, screaming, chanting) for the release that only death can provide. In a blink, Death grows huge and moves with purpose as it attends to the requests of those who are suffering terribly. It

travels through the streets of cities, into the homes of people scheduled to die. This is Death’s job. The bird is constantly surrounded by the cacophony of voices in its head—the sound of pain. And then it hears Tuesday, struggling to breathe and very close to dying.

Tuesday, who has been sick for years, has a young, dedicated home nurse (Leah Harvey) who seems to

Brothers’ “Uncut Gems,” but funny? What if audiences got to see the seamy side of Miami and not the Hollywood-ized version? Well, not even Hollywood-ized, because the supreme irony is that the film was largely shot in Atlanta. Authenticity be damned.

In case audiences had forgotten, Martin Lawrence always stole these movies from Will Smith. He got the most hilarious lines and knew how to handle his comic business. Weird facial expressions, great timing, whining, bugging out… Now, this script gives him an incident that makes him become overly spiritual—to the point of feeling he’s untouchable and becoming reckless. It’s a nice gimmick that gives him room to shine. Marcus, “I spent my whole life being scared!” Better than the secondary characteristic laid on Smith, which has him freezing up at inopportune times. All other cast members are good, too. But Haddish, in a small club scene, leaves her bawdy scent all over everything. She’s hysterical. They’re older. Worn and frayed like a pair of old shoes with holes in the bottom. But they’ve got their loyal followers who’ll ride or die with Marcus and Mike forever in any imperfect buddy cop movie. Why? Because Lawrence and Smith know how to charm and disarm.

spend more quality time with her than does her mother, Zora. Zora is suffering in a myriad of ways, including creating ways to avoid any level of real intimacy.

When the “bird” enters Tuesday’s life, she understands why it’s there. They develop such a bond that Death starts to talk, something it hasn’t done in a very long time.

When Tuesday offers the filthy bird a bath, Death shrinks to about an inch and sticks its head under the running water from the faucet.

Clean and refreshed, its magnificent orange-and-scarlet hue can be seen. Death is not without manners and appreciates the quiet it experiences with Tuesday—a respite from the nonstop soundtrack of suffering souls crying for mercy and relief.

But still, it is Death, and it has a job to do. Tuesday understands. Although she’s in pain and seems to be looking forward to peace, leaving her mother is what plagues her. How can she leave, knowing it will devastate her mother?

She asks Death to allow her to say a final goodbye to her mother. She makes the call, but Zora doesn’t pick up her phone. It isn’t that Zora is busy; she’s unemployed, drifting around her adopted city, London, selling things from their house to make extra money.

When Zora finally gets home, she refuses to speak directly to her daughter. She tries to push it off until the next day, but Tuesday knows that for her, there won’t be a tomorrow. With no other options, Death is waiting.

I won’t offer any spoilers, but Zora meets Death and devours it whole, transforming herself and Death into something entirely new.

An A24, BBC Film, BFI, Wild Swim Films, Gingerbread Pictures Production, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lola Petticrew, Leah Harvey, and Arinzé Kene. Directed and written by Daina O. Pusić. Produced by Helen Gladders, Ivana MacKinnon, and Oliver Roskill. Rated R; 1 hour 51 minutes.

“Tuesday” (Photo courtesy of A24)

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in “Bad Boys: Ride Or Die” (Images via Sony Pictures Entertainment images)

At CENTRO, community archiving is community building

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Displays of medals, letters, photos, awards, certificates greet patrons as they enter the commemorative exhibition of the life of Antonia Pantoja, currently on view through August 30 at Hunter College’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO).

Pantoja’s archives feature the Presidential Medal of Freedom she received in 1996, and photos of her as she was welcomed to the award ceremony by then-President Bill Clinton.

An Afro Puerto Rican who migrated to New York City in the 1940s, Pantoja was an educator and social worker. She became the founder of the national educational advocacy program ASPIRA, which was originally designed to help Puerto Rican students stay in school (in 1974 ASPIRA and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund won a lawsuit against New York City’s Board of Education and were able to get New York City schools to provide bilingual education to students whose primary language is not English). Pantoja was also part of the establishment of Boricua College in 1974 and in 1986 she co-created the Puerto Rico-based small business

economic assistance organization

Producir with her life partner, Dr. Wilhelmina Perry

Pantoja was the first Puerto Rican woman to ever receive a United States Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her activism remained vibrant at the grassroots level and although she was urged to run for a wider political office, she stayed very private about being a lesbian and preferred not to have that fact of her life exposed.

CENTRO’s Pantoja archives exhibition is the perfect example of how the research institute, which was established in 1973 to document the Puerto Rican experience in the United States, is working to help boost excitement around the importance of archiving community history.

CENTRO library manager

Aníbal Arocho notes that Pantoja’s archives are one of many kept at the library. Researchers, media outlets, scholars, genealogists, and everyday people regularly make appointments to come use CENTRO’s resources. The library maintains microfilms, maps, books, records, and films that document the lives of Puerto Ricans who left the archipelago and made new lives in places like New York City, Connecticut, Cali-

fornia, and Hawaii.

CENTRO is preserving the papers of Nuyorican scholar Juan Flores, husband and co-author along with Miriam Jiménez Román of “The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History & Culture in the U.S.” Papers from Piri Thomas, the author of “Down These Mean Streets” are available, as are the works from the East Village Nuyorican Poets Café co-founder, the poet and playwright Pedro Pietri; documents from the famed New York Public Librarian Pura Belpré can be read; and there are also clippings, photographs and reports from the early 20th century activist Jesús Colón; biographical documents, photos, newspapers clippings and film ad audio files related to the Young Lords Party, and more.

CENTRO has been preserving the history of individuals and community members for over 50 years, and regularly conducts events to help show people how they can preserve their family history—for themselves and for posterity.

Arocho encourages community members to visit the site and utilize the research documents they have available, but he also notes that CENTRO is a community hub for locals who just need access to a computer, printer, and other li-

services. Individuals who drop in and use CENTRO’s basic services are demonstrating another way of preserving the community’s influence.

CENTRO library, reading room, and archives are open by appointment from Monday-Friday at the Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work in East Harlem. To arrange a time to visit, contact centro.library@hunter. cuny.edu or 212-396-7882.

brary

The

CENTRO photo shows Antonia Pantoja with her partner Dr. Wilhelmina Perry coordinating work at the Puerto Rico-based small business economic assistance organization Producir (Karen Juanita Carrillo photos)

Arturo Schomburg, Jesús Colón, Pura Belpré, Evelina Lopez Antonetty, and Antonia Pantoja

Boxes of documents from the Juan Flores papers at CENTRO

Entrance to the Antonia Pantoja archives exhibit at CENTRO

HOROSCOPES BY KNOWYOURNUMB3RS

SUPREME GODDESS KYA

By

This is a God power week, to take time to sit in silence to be one with the universe and receive information straight from the divine source. Your intuition is heightened. Déjà vu is occurring repeatedly for you, to help you remember something or handle a certain task in your life, in order to progress forward. There’s a possible ending of some sort that leads you on a new quest in your mission. Pay close attention to your behavior, mood, tone, and dissect the what, who, where, why, and when to know your answer to your question. Not all answers are revealed, however the universe provides you with detailed information.

When you know, you know; and when you don’t, it will reveal itself to you at some point in life. It’s a cycle to change your reputation and to do something differently to enhance the way you operate. Take things to a higher level. Listen very closely to the messages coming to you and to the people you interact with. Promote, advertise, assist, and spread the word to get your point across or message through. Allow the small changes to occur, leading you to a new deeper inner-standing of yourself and your environment.

Folks say double the money, up your ante, and triple the money. It’s time to quantum jumpstart your foundation into a new direction. Silently, you've been working on something and it’s coming to a grand turning point to operate on a higher level with a grand opening or debut. If you haven’t caught up by now on your agenda, begin working towards the mission, and the purpose will be your noise.

A new beginning means operating in a new direction like the signs you see on buildings that say “under new management.” Your foundation is already set; it’s time to elevate and fly upwards like helicopters in the sky. When the helicopter takes off, the rotors remove all debris in the way to lift off on a clear path. What’s the vision of your new journey? When you start applying yourself, the folks from the background and from the woodwork will come to aid and assist. This is a new opportunity, a journey for you to take the lead.

Updated information is received to help put the pieces of the puzzle together. The more an opportunity is presented, the greater the test and work that naturally comes with the process. Be unique within your approach and get the information you need to move forward. As a reminder do things in increments, check your messages, voicemail, emails, and all forms of communication. At the end of each day as you set your day, the question is: did you deliver?

Slight changes in your daily plans seem to throw off your day. Take a deeper look into why things are happening in such a way. The universe places situations in our lives to take notice or slow humanity down for a cause, or even for protection. When your agenda has altered, due to a delay or mishap, investigate the reason as everything happens for a reason. Either you are invited or attending group activities and joining organizations; just know that, whatever throws your plans off early in the day or week, you were meant to be at a certain time and place to receive a message or see something for clarity. The universe works in mysterious ways. Keep playing your part and the universe will do its part.

Rebirth of A New Nation: Folks used to say back in the day, “An eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth” referring to the “golden rule.” And, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Stay the course; no matter the obstacles, tests, or tribulations, continue to remain grounded until the mission is complete. Mentally work around the changes as you would change up your home, patterns, habits, beliefs, life, etc. Change occurs on different levels, be it spiritually, physically, mentally, or emotionally to better your life. Attract the life you want to create by applying yourself. “As you think, you travel, and as you love, you attract. You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” James Allen

The spirit is leading you one way, and your mind wants to go its way. Listen to your higher self and trust your intuition. Most importantly, the mind, body, spirit, and soul all need to operate in one accord, each playing its role or position. Cut the noise out or whatever no longer serves a purpose or holds value in your life. The revolving door must close to enter a new relationship with yourself and others. It’s a weekly cycle of self reflection and discovery to transform the old parts of you and to crystallize into the new. Ask for what you need and apply the footwork.

When you do great deeds, rewards and good things come to you. Family, friends, business and personal affairs are on the agenda with things to do, attend, cancel, and reschedule. It’s a productive week to accomplish all tasks as obligations seem to build up; however, take your time and everything will work out as planned. What initiated back in February and April is slowly bearing fruit. Financial gain on any investment is forthcoming with rewards, monetary support, and longterm future investment. A culmination is occurring: stay focused on your mission and vision as something old and new crosses paths.

The vision is a given, yet the mission is where the work is applied to see it through. Starting new is invigorating, inviting, and inspiring. When you have the blueprint to your vision, it will manifest. What you are sensing, feeling, and witnessing with your eyes is purely for you. Your ancestors, through your bloodline, have your back when you are willing to initiate a new beginning for your growth. The funky mood you will experience will pass, and it will bring forth insights to your awareness. Remain centered in your due diligence.

The universe works in mysterious ways: you plan one thing, and the universe has the extended version added to your experience. As you go through this month, the information, events, and sudden and odd changes are there for you to collect the pieces to solve the puzzle toward the end of the month. Change comes when you are ready to advance in life. Keep the momentum of why you wake up every day to do what you do. How are you inspired to keep going?

The old folks say action speaks louder than words. June is an actionoriented month that keeps you on the go and in the public eye. It’s a time to assist, help others, adjust your schedule, and set your priorities on the to do list. Opportunities are popping up at your doorstep because of the work you put in and because you stayed true to your vision, mission, and purpose. Revelations occur in a person’s life when you elevate to higher realms. The eyes, the windows to the soul, see and witness different levels to life, allowing you to see beyond the surface.

There are no time-outs or breaks in life, yet the sun still rises and sets. The planets retrograde for humanity to learn, experience, and witness certain things they didn’t see, in order to perform and operate more efficiently in life. Right now, you are set on a focused schedule on a trajectory for long-term effects, support, and residual income. Yes, you are building an empire, an estate, and a place in the market for generations to follow suit. Keep building onto the legacy to strengthen the short-term investment that produces long term prosperity.

Travel & Resort

Summer weekend getaways to the DMV

By TRACY E. HOPKINS Special to the Amnews

You don’t have to travel far this summer in order to have a fun— and frugal—time. Here are a few free cultural events happening in the DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia area, plus cool hotel picks for each city.

Alexandria, Virginia

Kick off your summer with a weekend getaway to this historic old port city (this year marks Alexandria’s 275th anniversary) full of colonial charm and cobblestoned streets at the Portside in Old Town Summer Festival (June 21-22), a free festival featuring an eclectic mix of live music, local craft beer from Port City Brewing Company, and family fun on the Alexandria waterfront. On Friday evening, don’t miss jazz performances by the Lovejoy Group, Brandon Woody’s Upendo, and Kokayi at the ALX Jazz Fest @Portside

(https://www.alexandriava.gov/ arts/alexandria-jazz-fest). The festivities continue on Saturday with more music, local food, and interactive arts and history activities. While in town, take a walk along the waterfront and discover the African American Heritage Trail, peruse the shops and eateries on King Street (every August there’s an annual summer sidewalk sale), and check out artist studios at the Torpedo Factory Art Center Where to Stay: Centrally located in Old Town, the pet-friendly Hotel Indigo is Alexandria’s only waterfront hotel. Get a cozy room with a view of the Potomac River and dine at the rustic, Hamptons-reminiscent Hummingbird Bar + Kitchen. Baltimore, MD

If you love arts and culture festivals, then you have two reasons to visit Charm City. First up is the annual AFRAM (June 22-23), one of the largest African American festivals on the East Coast. The two-

day event in the city’s Druid Hill Park draws thousands of attendees who come for the soul food, fashion, and music performances. (Fun fact: this public park inspired the name of hometown R&B group Dru Hill.) A few of this year’s scheduled headliners are Busta Rhymes, Morris Day, Big Daddy Kane, and Karen Clark-Sheard.

Later in the summer, there’s Artscape (Aug. 2-4, https:// www.artscape.org/aboutartscape/), one of America’s largest free outdoor arts festivals, with local food and crafts vendors, public art displays, and performances from local and world-renowned recording artists. Where to Stay: Hotel Revival Baltimore is a new boutique hotel that boasts 107 beautifully restored guest rooms in the city’s historic Mount Vernon neighborhood. The handsome hotel is accented by local art and features the popular rooftop restaurant, Topside,

and a spirit-forward speakeasy with karaoke rooms.

The hotel overlooks the landmark 178 foot-tall Washington Monument at Mount Vernon Place, the first monument to George Washington in the U.S.

Inside the monument’s restored white marble interior, climb the tower stairs to the top for a breathtaking 360 view of Baltimore City.

During your stay, walk to the Walters Art Museum and check out the nearby eclectic shops and ethnically diverse restaurants.

Washington, D.C.

The District of Columbia comes alive in the summertime. An annual calendar highlight is the free Smithsonian Folklife Festival (June 26-July 1), which celebrates Indigenous and international cultures on the National Mall with craft exhibits, live music and cooking demos, and coincides with the 20th anniversary of the National Museum of the Ameri-

can Indian. For the July 4th holiday, pack a picnic, arrive early, and secure a spot to watch the fireworks against DC’s iconic skyline of monuments and memorials on the National Mall. Then over Labor Day weekend, don’t miss the DC JazzFest (Aug. 28Sept. 1), celebrating its 20th anniversary with performances by D-Nice, Samara Joy, Chuck Brown Band, Dianne Reeves, and more at the Wharf and across the city.

Where to Stay: Eaton DC, in the District’s downtown corridor, is a whole vibe. Enjoy live music and tasty sips and bites at the rooftop bar and lounge Wild Days, savor artisanal cocktails and sway to DJ sets at the artsy speakeasy Allegory, and take an R&B yoga or sound meditation class at Eaton Wellness. Then get your beauty rest in one of the hotel’s modern rooms accented with niche amenities like a record player with a curated vinyl selection.

Baltimore’s Washington Monument at night (Photo courtesy of Hotel Revival Baltimore)

4th of July festivities

DC JazzFest (Photos courtesy of Washington.org)

ALX Jazz Fest at Portside (Joy Asico photo)

Gun violence reporter Josiah Bates discusses debut book, ‘In These Streets’

By SHANNON CHAFFERS

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

“There’s this idea that Black people don’t care about gun violence, that Black people only care about a killing when the cop is the triggerman,” says seasoned journalist and first-time author Josiah Bates. “I want to kill this narrative.”

That is where Bates is most effective in his book, “In These Streets: Reporting from the Front Lines of Inner-City Gun Violence,” released this week. Through his reporting, Bates traveled the country and conducted more than 300 interviews to uncover the impact of gun violence as it surged in marginalized communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The book takes most of its material from New York City, and Brooklyn in particular. Bates grew up in Brownsville and draws on his and his family’s experiences being exposed to gun violence. One of the book’s central sources, Roy Alfonso (a pseudonym used to protect his identity), grew up in neighboring Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Roy’s story acts as an important anchor for the book, which at times abruptly transitions the reader to different epicenters across the country. His journey from committing gun violence in his youth to becoming a violence interrupter after two decades in prison encapsulates key themes in the book: how Black boys and men get caught up in gun violence, the strained relationship between police and residents of poor Black neighborhoods, and how a key part of the solution to gun violence must come from communities themselves.

A multitude of solutions

Bates explained that the impetus for the book came while he was reporting on the 2020 rise in gun violence for Time magazine.

“A lot of conversations I was having with community activists and leaders was just them saying, ‘We know what needs to be done to address this, we should have addressed this by now, we should have a handle on this by now,’” he said.

In addition to highlighting individual stories, Bates sought to highlight the solutions. He identified an emerging consensus around four main issues to confront.

“Most people agree: we need to address the poverty factor. The police, whatever role they have,

it can’t just be targeting entire neighborhoods, [they] have to be very strategic. We have to figure out some way to stop the flow, or at least lessen the flow of guns into these communities. And we need the community itself to be part of that,” he explained.

Bates dedicates a significant portion of the book to fleshing out these ideas. One chapter describes how lax gun laws and weak enforcement at the federal and state levels fuel the flow of illegal guns into communities. Thus, states like New York that have strict gun laws must contend with guns trafficked from states with looser laws. Bates argues that enacting stronger gun regulations like universal background checks, and empowering enforcement agencies like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, can help restrict the amount of trafficked guns that make their way to neighborhoods.

Throughout the book, Bates also highlights how poverty and systemic disinvestment drive gun violence in poor Black neighborhoods. This economic insecurity causes some residents to turn to illegal activity and carry guns, fueling violent conflict. Even as gun violence declined in New York and other cities across the country in the early 2000s, poverty and residential segregation persisted. Bates argues that the failure to address these underlying factors meant these neighborhoods were primed for a spike in violence when the pandemic plunged more residents into poverty and weakened neighborhoods’ social fabric.

“The city never addressed poverty, never addressed the structural issues that exist. And if you never address those, you might have some period of time where gun violence ebbs and flows… but it’s just set up where it can go back up again. That’s what we saw around 2015, and that’s definitely what we saw in 2020.”

For Bates, this is proof that any lasting solution to gun violence requires addressing structural inequality.

“The government [at both the local and federal levels] needs to commit to improving these communities on a large scale. It needs to properly fund the schools, improve the hospitals, and fix the blocks with vacant houses, stores, and lots,” he writes, adding that such investments must be made for the benefit of the existing resi-

dents, rather than as a way to fuel gentrification.

But Bates recognizes that this solution will take time. He turns to law enforcement practices and community-based programs as solutions that can generate results within a shorter time frame.

The role of policing

In addition to the pandemic, the killing of George Floyd and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests sparked a major upheaval during the summer of 2020. Bates doesn’t pull any punches as he illustrates the harm that police have caused in the Black community. From stop-and-frisk policies that target entire neighborhoods, to corrupt departments, to police brutality, he demonstrates how police mistreatment of people in poor Black neighborhoods contributes to cycles of violence.

These protests brought more attention to community violence intervention, a strategy through which community-based organizations, like the one Roy works at, provide resources and mentoring to people likely to engage in violence. Bates argues for continued funding of these efforts, which have yielded promising results in many cities across the country, including New York.

Some activists have highlighted community violence intervention as a way to address violence

“I can’t see it happening in a large-scale way for a while, until these city leaders really hold [police] accountable. That’s what it’s going to take,” he said.

Still, there are proponents of police and prison abolition involved in anti-gun violence work. Aside from a mention of Alex Vitale’s book “The End of Policing,” though, Bates doesn’t feature any of these advocates. His vision for strategic policing as a solution to gun violence would have benefited from a more thorough engagement with the abolitionist critique of policing.

For example, abolitionists advocate for developing responses to those who perpetuate harm that don’t involve incarceration, arguing that the conditions of imprisonment only fuel violent behavior. But the police strategies Bates proposes rely on the use of incarceration.

without involving the police. But Bates criticizes efforts to eliminate police from the conversation on gun violence entirely, explaining that many of the people he spoke to did not want to see police removed from their communities.

“It’s not an either or thing, where it’s either we have the police and they’re violating people’s civil rights and terrorizing communities, or we don’t have the police at all,” he said. “I think most people understand it’s somewhere in the middle. Right now, the way society is set up, the police are going to be here. There’s no political will to get rid of the police, and that’s not what people in communities want anyway, so how can we have them be most effective [while] having the most minimum harm?”

To make law enforcement part of the solution to gun violence, Bates argues that police departments must adopt strategies that focus specifically on the small number of people committing violence, while ending stop-andfrisk policies that antagonize whole communities. These strategies include focused deterrence, which targets those involved in violence, or hot-spot policing, which targets particular areas where violence frequently occurs. Politicians must commit to ensuring that police departments implement these strategies, Bates says.

At one point in the book, Bates touches on this issue through a quote from Roy, who explains that he views the police as necessary enforcers who can get a person with a gun off the street by arresting them. But he questions whether incarceration is the appropriate response: “Should that kid be sent to prison for a mandatory minimum sentence, or do we put them in a program and try to redirect their behavior and redirect their thinking? Do we try to teach those kids or just lock them up?” he asks.

This question opens up an opportunity to consider alternatives to a police response to gun violence, which necessarily involves incarceration. Instead, Bates sets the issue aside as a “different and necessary discussion,” before concluding that “there are violent criminals in these communities who simply need to be off the streets.”

Overall, “In These Streets” provides informative reporting on the human impact of gun violence, and the causes and proposed solutions to this crisis. But the limited analysis of the police abolition debate might leave readers wanting more.

Shannon Chaffers is a Report for America corps member and writes about gun violence 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.

Josiah Bates is the author of In These Streets: Reporting from the Front Lines of Inner-City Gun Violence. (Photo courtesy of Josiah Bates).

Tony nominee Camille A. Brown on cooking up choreography for ‘Hell’s Kitchen’

BY LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

If you only see one show this season, you must make it the Alicia Keys’s musical “Hell’s Kitchen.” Not just for the music, which features many Alicia Keys songs, or for the storyline, which tells a bit of her story in growing up in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood—you must see it for the stunning choreography that makes the show vibrant and flow in a way that will leave you captivated. The choreography is the work of Camille A. Brown, who is currently nominated for a Tony Award. Brown recently discussed her specific inspirations with the AmNews for the choreography that she created and shared her process.

AmNews: What is the inspiration for the fun hip hop choreography in the first number?

Camille A. Brown (CAB): In the beginning of the show, Ali introduces us to her world. She expresses how trapped she feels in the apartment at Manhattan Plaza, and how free it feels to walk outside the building into the streets of NYC. I wanted the choreography to embody the joy she feels when seeing the many individuals who make up the city and for it to also align with her personality. Her whole vibe is hip hop, so I decided to use a combination of hip hop and step dance for the opening number. This is

how she sees the world: She sees rhythm, heartbeat, and joy in the streets, and I wanted the choreography to embody that. This is the first time the audience is introduced to NYC, so it was important to establish how connected she is to the world and how she places herself inside it.

AmNews: “Kaleidoscope” has moves that seem to reflect ballet and interpretative dance. There’s a freedom and joy that

‘HOME’ is heartfelt on Broadway

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

The brilliance of the late Samm-Art Williams is back on Broadway for a new generation to see, with his play “Home” playing at the Todd Haimes Theatre (W. 42nd Street). This is a production that has not graced the Broadway stage for more than 40 years, but its timelessness is evidenced by the strength of its message, which can still be appreciated today.

“Home” is about a young Black farmer in North Carolina named Cephus Miles, who is raised to love the land, and appreciate his family and the life lessons his grandfather and uncle taught him, especially “thou shalt not kill.” He believes in these lessons so much that when the government tries to draft him into the Vietnam War, he would rather go to jail than join the military. He stands by his convictions, even when they cost him his freedom, his family’s farm, and so much more.

Williams clearly shares Cephus’s love for his Southern roots. He also shares the pureness of first love and how there is hope, even when life may not immediately let you be together, as long as there is life. Williams also shows that no matter the severity of life’s ups and downs, we can all have a place to redeem our souls and find peace when we return home to the place where our roots

comes across. What did you want the audience to feel?

CAB: This is the first time Ali sees Miss Liza Jane playing the piano, and something inside her feels alive for the first time. She can’t quite put her finger on it, but something has changed inside of her. It’s a magical experience for her, so I wanted the dancing to embody that. The movement for “Kaleidoscope” tapped into my modern dance side. It was fun to show another side of myself to the theater community. It’s also a fun moment where the piano moves in space for the first time. I think of things very cinematically, so I was constantly working on how to make the movement of the piano a major event, manipulated by the dancers as they move in space. The music has a very gospel feel, so I saw the dancers as a moving gospel chorus. Wherever the song went, the dancers were always in alignment.

AmNews: Your choreography adds to the excitement of many scenes. How long does it take to create the choreography for a musical like this?

CAB: Thank you! I approach each musical differently. Before I even get in a room, I always ask myself how I want the audience to feel when watching the choreography. I joined the team in February 2022, and had two workshops leading up to our shows at the Public Theater. In each workshop, I

worked on more scenes and continued to craft the ones I had already started. For instance, “Gramercy Park” is the moment where Knuck expresses to Ali how he feels about walking in the world as a Black man and how he is perceived versus who he knows himself to be. During the process, I spoke with Chris Lee [who plays Knuck] and the male dancers who are men of color about their experiences. By listening, I was able to create a movement language that combines the emotions of protest and oppression. The music itself felt like a work song, so I made the movements represent that kind of hardship: what it feels like to be worked to exhaustion. I wanted to approach each number with specificity. They all move very differently, evoke different emotions, and are inspired by dance influences like African, modern, jazz, ballet, tap, and hip hop.

AmNews: What is your process with the dancers? They seem to perform the moves effortlessly.

CAB: I always try to lead a room with the combination of rigor and joy. The dancers are a beautiful hybrid of members of my dance company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and dancers I am working with for the first time on “HK.” They have always been

See CHOREOGRAPHY on page 36

are, and from whence our strengths can be cultivated once again.

The three actors embody more than 40 characters—Tory Kittles, Brittany Inge, and Stori Ayers—and deliver astronomical performances. What I love the best about these actors is how they each, at times, convey so much emotion and depth without saying one word. They communicate with only facial expressions and gestures. When they do speak, though, you better

be paying attention because they often talk fast and seamlessly transition from one character to another.

While all three actors have impressive theatrical backgrounds, they are all making Roundabout Theatre Company debuts. I’m sure we’ll see much, much more of them.

Within 90 minutes, without an intermission, you hear the story of the tragedies that befell Cephus’s life. You see him

go through trials and tribulations, abusing drugs and alcohol. You see him seem to be at the end of his rope, but then through the grace of God, you see his life start to rejuvenate and his spirit finally gets to soar.

“Home” will inspire you and make you see that no matter what happens in the world, there is somewhere that you can be and regain control of things: returning to where it all began—your life, the lessons your family taught you, your values. Although you might not think he is seeing or helping you, know that God is always there. He may not do things the way you want him to do them or when, but he is looking out for you and will bring you through and back “Home” to a place of feeling stability, empowerment, and growth.

These three powerhouse actors will grab your attention, make you laugh, feel sad, be amused, and reflect on your own journeys in life. “Home” has loving direction by Kenny Leon. The creative team behind this production does an amazing job and includes set designer Arnulfo Maldonado, costume designer Dede Ayite, lighting designer Allen Lee Hughes, and sound designer Justin Ellington.

This production is dedicated to the late Samm-Art Williams. What a beautiful piece to leave on Broadway and in our hearts. For tickets to this Roundabout Theatre Production, visit roundabouttheatre.org.

Cast of “Home” playing at Todd Haimes Theatre (l–r): Stori Ayers, Tory Kittles, and Brittany Inge (Andre D. Wagner photo)

Camille A. Brown (Josefina Santos photo)

The African Suite, NAMA, Vision Fest 28

The Canadian born Oscar Peterson is undeniably one of the most influential pianists in jazz history. On June 12 at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, he will be acknowledged as a part of the 41st San Francisco Jazz Festival and his upcoming centennial. SF Jazz will introduce the U.S. premiere of Peterson’s previously unperformed “The Africa Suite” along with a full performance of his 1964 “Canadiana Suite” and a selection of his other notable compositions.

This concert will be anchored by a core quartet featuring Berkeley-raised pianist and Peterson’s protégé Benny Green, guitarist Russell Malone, bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton’s Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. They will be joined by special guest pianists, NEA Jazz Master, and SF Jazz Resident Artistic Director Kenny Barron, Gerald Clayton and Tamir Hendelman, and bassist Robert Hurst. The evening will be hosted by SF Jazz Executive Artistic Director Terence Blanchard.

Peterson, who died in 2007, would have been proud to see his “Africa Suite” performed in public for the first time in the U.S. It originally debuted in 2020 at Koerner Hall in Toronto with a big band made up of all-star Canadian musicians, conducted by John Clayton with an accompanying piano trio of Benny Green, Christian McBride, and Lewis Nash.

Peterson started composing this expansive suite in the early 80s—or late 1970s, depending upon your references—but regardless, he only played a few of the pieces in concert, including “Nigerian Marketplace.”

But he never performed the entire suite live, nor did he record it professionally. “It existed only in the form of home demos, using not acoustic piano but synthesizers, which enabled him to overdub many parts—from basslines to strings (Jazz Times, 2020).”

Alert people in the San Francisco area! For tickets, visit sfjazz.org.

The New Amsterdam Musical Association (NAMA) is the oldest Black musical organization in the U.S., founded in 1904. It was organized during segregation when the American Federation of Musicians Local 310 (now Local 802) denied admission to minority musicians while New York law stated only union members could perform in the city.

The association became a key cultural reference point for Black music during the Harlem Renaissance from the 1920s to 1950s. Members during the time included founder James Reese Europe, Eubie Blake,

Will Marion Cook, and Charlie Parker, who was also a member of Kansas City’s Local 627, then known as the Colored Musicians Union, founded in 1917. The organization has since become the Mutual Musicians Foundation; the original renovated space at 1823 Highland Avenue continues to serve as a social center for musicians with regular live performances.

Since purchasing their building at 107 West 130th Street on June 26, 1922, NAMA is now celebrating their 102nd anniversary. Like their Kansas City counterpart, the association is a testament to the history of African American musicians, having maintained their reputation as a venue for live music, as well as an influential voice for the promotion of jazz, blues, and beyond in Harlem and the greater Tri State area.

On June 16, NAMA will present its annual Men’s Legends Father’s Day Show (107 West 130th Street). The Gentlemen of NAMA will portray the lives and music of such artists as Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, James Brown, Bill Withers, and Arthur Prysock. Presentations will be given by Dawn L. Jones and DaKota Pippins, Harlem Late Night Jazz. The evening will be hosted by WHCR radio

personality Lamon Fenner. Live music will be presented by a string of talented artists, including percussionist Manny Montanez Band with bassist Robb Roberts, pianists Eric Smith and Charles Lovell, and drummer Sam Newton. The roster romps on with pianist and vocalist Santiago Edie; vocalists Kaushik, Calvin Cody West, and Lorenzo Von Smith; spoken word poet Ras Amon; and drummer Glenn Goldman. The Ladies of NAMA will pay tribute to their dads: Harmony Bartz to her father Gary Bartz, and Imani Scott to hers, Martel Welsh Scott. For tickets and a full listing of NAMA’s June events visit namaharlem.org.

The bassist, composer, poet, author, and community activist William Parker is a creative inventor, a musical explorer. His music exemplifies life’s daily existence of improvisation in the unknown of now and moments yet to arrive, it reflects not only Black American Music but the many cultures that invigorate the globe. Parker’s music, like his poetry, is a vibrant source of inspiration. It brightens the soul and enhances the spirit, and it’s the link to his commitment to community activism, bringing people togeth-

er for the common good to feel better, to do better. All of which are absorbed in his music of avant-gardism, voices of modern jazz to string quartet, duo, vocal art songs, big band, classical, and folk music. Two albums that best describe his totality: in “The Mayor of Punkville,” William Parker and The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra (AUM Fidelity 2000), the entire album electrifies, but the track “James Baldwin to the Rescue,” sums it up vocally and instrumentally; and his epic 10-album CD box set “The Music of William Parker: Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World, Volumes 1-10” (Centering Records, AUM Fidelity 2021). Each album focuses on a single band or performer and concept, presenting the vast magnitude of Parker’s musical kaleidoscope.

Parker will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award on opening night of the Vision Festival 28 on June 18, a festival that he co-founded with his wife, dancer and activist Patricia Nicholson Parker in 1996 on the Lower East Side. The bassist’s showcase night will happen both in-person and online, streaming on Roulette Intermedium from downtown Brooklyn (509 Atlantic Avenue). The evening (6 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) will feature the New York native in varied configurations; Roots and Rituals (with indigenous instruments), Parker playing doson ngoni (a West African string instrument), Joshua Abrams on gimbre (Moroccan ancient flute), and Jackson Krall on Ibo bells (Nigerian iron bells of different sizes with varied tones). “The Ancients” features the compelling group of Parker, the Chicago penetrating tenor saxophonist Isaiah Collier, drummer William Hooker, and pianist Dave Burrell.

The bassist has two new albums out June 21, on AUM Fidelity/Centering Records (Parker’s independent company) to coincide with the bestowal of this latest recognition. The albums are entitled “Heart Trio” and feature his longtime collaborators, pianist Cooper-Moore and drummer and percussionist Hamid Drake, as well as “Cereal Music,” his first spoken word album of original poetry.

Vision Festival 28 comes to a finale on June 23 with a grand celebration of the 100year orbit of saxophonist Marshall Allen as he leads the famed afrofusion group Arkestra (he’s led since 1995). The Vision Festival, with its enthralling avant-gardism blended with interpretative dance, prose, and multimedia concepts, is a nest of virtual movement. The days in between will be motivated by the likes of Davalois Fearon; James Brandon Lewis and Chad Taylor; Matthew Shipp Trio CMA; and Nasheet Waits: Tarbaby. There will also be commissioned works by Matana Roberts, Melanie Dyer’s new large ensemble, and Mendoza Hoff Revels.

For a complete listing and tickets, visit roulette.org.

no longer forbids them.

But each member church was free to decide for itself—and while some bishops favored staying on, others pushed to disaffiliate.

On May 28, Ivory Coast’s church voted to split from the United Methodists. With over 1.2 million members, the West African country’s church has one of the denomination’s largest overseas followers. The United Methodist Church has about 5.4 million members in the United States, and about 4.6 million in Africa, Europe and the Philippines, according to church figures.

“While we grieve” Ivory Coast’s decision, commented the Council of Bishops, “we commit to work with them through the process of becoming an Autonomous Methodist Church.”

Elsewhere in Africa, hundreds of United Methodist Church members gathered last week at the headquarters of the church in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, to protest the decision of the church to welcome LGBTQ+ members.

“The church has aligned with the Rainbow Movement, and this is also a threat to our African traditions and human existence at large,” read

a petition by church members.

Zimbabwe’s Christian denominations, and others in Africa, have been vocal against any moves to welcome gays into the church.

In January, Catholic bishops in Africa issued a unified statement refusing to follow a declaration by Pope Francis allowing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples, asserting that such unions are “contrary to the will of God.”

Chester Samba, director of GALZ, which represents the LGBTQ+ community in Zimbabwe, said he was not so hopeful for Zimbabwe and much of the continent to change their conservative stand.

“It is my hope that platforms for dialogue are created and supported to enhance understanding so that all may be welcome in the house of worship regardless of sexual orientation,” said Samba, whose members have been targets of harassment and stigmatization.

MOBILE LIBRARY, FIRST OF ITS KIND, LAUNCHED IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

(GIN)—If you don’t go to libraries, they will come to you.

This is the concept behind Kitabus, a mobile library designed to promote reading to a wide audience. The name “Kitabus” is de-

rived from “Kitabu,” which means book in Swahili, and “Bus” as a means of transport.

An initiative of the French Institute of Bukavu in Eastern DRC, the book project aims to promote basic education in the region through books that align with the Congolese education curriculum.

It offers a varied collection of novels, fables, manga, manuals, and more to promote access to reading.

Upon arriving at this school located in the heart of the capital of South Kivu, students devour several pages during two hours of reading, both inside the bus and in the outdoor area set up in the courtyard of this private institution.

Kitabus addresses potential issues of mobility or the low interest in reading in a city of 3 million

inhabitants, but which has fewer than 5 physical public libraries.

These students are accustomed to finding only textbooks in their school library, but with Kitabus, they are spoiled for choice. Once inside, they don’t want to get off the bus, captivated by books they are used to seeing only on TV shows.

“At this moment, I am reading ‘L’atelier de Roxanne.’ I feel comfortable and happy to be here and see the books. It will help me write, read well, consult, and love books,” said Bizimana Johanna, a pupil at Le Progres School Complex.

For Enabel, a development agency of the Belgian agency for international cooperation that supports this project, eliminating poverty in all its forms begins with basic education, the prime channel for

preparing a generation capable of addressing the huge developmental challenges in the near future.

For Patrick Zezé Irenge, a school teacher, stimulating a love of reading in children and young people symbolizes growth beyond learning, developing vocabulary, and improving oral expression.

“We supported this project because we are convinced that young people need to learn a lot and should have this culture of reading, sharing, and exchanging to enable their development,” said Patrick.

“This means that after this activity, our children will be able to use manuals, and this project is here to foster a love of reading in our children at the Le Progrès School Complex,” said Modeste Bushishi, the school’s director.

IN THE Harriet Pickens, one of the first Black women commissioned in the Navy

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

There is much recent discussion about D-Day, the landing of U.S. troops in Normandy, France in 1944, an arrival that was pivotal to ending World War II, but only a passing nod has been given to the role of African Americans in the event, and even less mention of Black women in uniform. Several months after D-Day, Frances Wills and Harriet Pickens were the first two African American women commissioned by the U.S. Navy. We focus on Pickens this week and in the future will profile Wills.

Pickens was born March 17, 1909 in Talladega, Alabama and she was the daughter of William Pickens, a noted educator and civil rights leader, and more will be said about him later.

She earned her undergraduate degree from Smith College and later studied at Columbia University and Bennett College for Women. Andrew Zimmerman, in an article posted online at Women Offshore, picks up on her adventurous life.

“When World War II broke out, Pickens was working as a public health administrator, but was not allowed to enlist until 1944, after the Navy allowed formally decided to integrate the WAVES [Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service] program....Both Pickens and Wills volunteered immediately and were chosen to be part of the last class to go through the Naval Women Midshipmen’s School at Smith College.” Zimmerman noted that both started behind in the program “but had no problem catching up and exceeding expectations.”

Pickens not only caught up, Zimmerman added, but exceeded all expectations. “According to historical records, Harriet Pickens not only caught up to her fellow classmates, but finished at the top of her WAVES commissioning class,” Zimmerman wrote.

In December, both women graduated and were commissioned as the first African-American women in the U.S. Navy. They were assigned to the same base at Hunter Naval Training Station in the Bronx. Here,

Pickens, a lieutenant (and the first Black woman to earn this distinction) was in charge of the physical training phase while Ensign Wills taught naval history and administered classification tests to WAVES recruits. After the war, Pickens returned to work as a public health administrator for the Harlem Tuberculosis Office and the New York City Commission on Human Rights. She also worked for several years at

the New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Pickens was eleven years old when her father, William Pickens, then a leading figure in the NAACP, signed a letter with eight others demanding that Marcus Garvey, founder and head of Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), “Garvey Must Go!” The letter to the U.S. Department of Justice charged that Garvey had mis-

managed his organization. Later, Pickens, believing that Garvey’s sentence was excessive and racially motivated, wrote a letter in 1927 to the New Republic magazine calling for the leader’s release from prison. That same year President Coolidge commuted Garvey’s sentence and had him deported.

In 1969, Pickens suffered a stroke and died in New York City. She was 60 years old.

ACTIVITIES

FIND OUT MORE

There are two boxes of memorabilia of her held in the NY Public Library.

DISCUSSION

Not sure how much of her early years and her relationship with her eminent father can be found in the files at the library.

PLACE IN CONTEXT

As a young woman she experienced some of the most exciting years in American history with a particularly significant view on WWII.

THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

June 9, 1929: John M. Alexander, best known as Johnny Ace, the singer, was born in Memphis, TN. His death was attributed to Russian roulette in 1954. He was 25.

June 10, 1893: Oscarwinning actress, Hattie McDaniel, was born in Wichita, KS.

June 11, 1930: Congressman Charles Rangel was born in Harlem.

(U.S. Navy)

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say the new policy is fundamentally flawed.

“President Biden’s action sets a dangerous international precedent as a firstof-its-kind numerical cap on asylum, limiting the number of people who can claim asylum in the U.S. and effectively shutting down the U.S.-Mexico border, using the same legal authority that the Trump administration used to implement the dangerous and xenophobic Muslim and African travel bans,” said Amy Fischer, Amnesty International USA’s director of refugee and migrant rights. “This executive action will not fix the problems plaguing the border, address the needs of big cities faced with high numbers of new arrivals, stop people from fleeing for their lives, nor…keep communities safe.

It will only cause more chaos and cruelty, and inevitably, more torture, violence, and deaths of women, men, and children seeking safety in the U.S.”

Other organizations strongly agree. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), for example, has declared the policy illegal and has set forth plans to sue.

“We need solutions to address the challenges at the border, but the administration’s planned executive actions will put thousands of lives at risk,” said Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer at the ACLU. “They will not meet the needs at the border, nor will they fix our broken immigration system.”

Nonetheless, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Tom Suozzi, and mayors from cities heavily affected by the border crisis, such as Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio, Texas; Norma Sepulveda, Harlingen, Texas; and Ramiro Garza of

Edinburg, Texas, among others, stood in support behind Biden during the public announcement. Many of them are eager to comply with Biden’s policy, which is now actively being enforced at the southern border.

“This will stem the flow, because otherwise, there is no end in sight,” Hochul said in an interview with Spectrum News. “This gives us the breathing room to manage the people we have, help them get the work permits.”

Suozzi and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) wrote a letter to Biden urging him to “restrict the entry of any “aliens” who would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States,” citing drug cartels as “guides” for migrants. In commenting to the Amsterdam News , Suozzi said the current caps in place for legal immigrants are adequate and can uphold families’ dreams of being reunited.

“Congress has to act to make this better, but this is a very positive step and they’ve vetted it very well in the White House,” Suozzi said. “We’ve been reassured that they thought it through as to how it can pass legally.”

The executive order also extends punishment to those helping immigrants cross the border unlawfully. Biden’s administration has claimed to revoke visas of CEOs and government officials who profit from migrants coming to the U.S. unlawfully, increase financial rewards for tips about human smuggling activities, and added 40 machines to detect fentanyl at the border. Biden said he will continue working with Mexican officials to curb illegal activity.

“For those who say the steps I’ve taken are too strict, I say…‘be patient,’” Biden said. “Doing nothing is not an option. We have to act. We must act consistent with both our law and our values as Americans.”

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continue to primarily practice medicine and be a clinician leader in a clinical department, or if I was going to step up and be a part of management and administration and policy and resource distribution. That was a pivotal moment for me.”

Scott is still the interim CEO at One Brooklyn Health, and she wants to apply to

make the position permanent. Even from her administrative desk, she can practice the joys of medicine and healing, but is now in a more powerful position to make a difference in people’s lives by making resources available for diagnosing illnesses and giving patients “more leverage when they’re interfacing with the healthcare system.”

According to Scott, “The people who work at One Brooklyn Health, myself included, are dedicated to serving the population—we could work in places where the

financial structure is easier, where the population has less chronic disease, right? This type of healthcare delivery requires a special population of healthcare workers who really are dedicated to the mission of closing health inequities and supporting populations that have been disenfranchised for many, many years. My culture––the culture that I am continuing to promote––is one of service, and making sure that we bring the joy back to the practice of medicine and the joy back to the service of medicine, be-

cause COVID was a hard slap in the face. A lot of people have left the healthcare industry because it was traumatizing and a very difficult experience to live through. That’s why I think the work of emphasizing the joy of healing—the joy of being one with the communities that we serve—will one day make us able to actually see remarkable outcomes with all of the local and national efforts to close the healthcare gaps and inequities that exist, not only in New York City, but across the country.”

Ellison’s ‘Juneteenth’—a novel of reverie and reverence

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

It took the nation 156 years to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. After Ralph W. Ellison, the esteemed author, published his novel “Invisible Man” in 1952, nearly a halfcentury went by before “Juneteenth” was completed in 1999, though it’s not exactly accurate to say he alone finished the book. The novel was still a hodge-podge of 2,000 pages when Ellison’s editor and friend John Callahan assembled the pieces into what he called “a novel of liberation.”

While Ellison, who died in 1994 at the age of 81, never saw the published manuscript, his genius resonates on practically every page, and to a great degree the metaphors and creativity that made “Invisible Man” such a celebrated book are pervasive in “Juneteenth.”

Ellison was born in Oklahoma, not far from Galveston, Texas, where on June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger and his union troops arrived to inform Black residents they were no longer in bondage. That announcement of liberation came more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

The intention here is not to review the novel, which is the work of two men with very complicated and often differing viewpoints, but to see how it provides context for the holiday. Oddly, the holiday is only mentioned a couple of times, and you are left to wonder why it was given that title. To gather some understanding of the book, two characters have to be showcased and explained, and Ellison and Callahan open in this manner: “It is Washington, D.C. in the 1950s, and a race-baiting senator has just been shot on the Senate floor by a young black man. On his deathbed the senator calls out for a mysterious stranger, an elderly black Baptist minister from Georgia, who comes to his side. Their remarkable conversation and the memories it sparks take them back through the senator’s life to the deeply buried secrets of their shared past.”

If the protagonist is invisible in Ellison’s magnum opus, indivisibility could be the trope in “Juneteenth,” particularly as the novel unfolds mainly through a conversation between Rev. Alonzo Hickman, a jazzman turned Black preacher, and Senator Adam Sunraider, who was formerly called Bliss, a race-baiting politician. As Callahan explains in the book’s introduction, Hickman and Bliss are a veritable double helix, their lives mysteriously and intricately bound in kinship and race. Bliss is a youngster when he flees Hickman and his Baptist congregation. Like the young man in “Invisible Man,” he reinvents himself, at first as a filmmaker and then a flimflam man, and Ellison’s tendency to play on words is apparent here.

The African American experience is art-

fully delineated through a variety of episodes, similar to the way Ellison unravels Black history in his previous novel. It is through a network of chauffeurs, Pullman porters, and waiters that Hickman keeps track of Bliss. When he learns that Bliss’s life is in danger, he leads members of his congregation to D.C. to warn his prodigal son, who by now is a senator. But he and his followers are not allowed anywhere near the politician, and from their seats in the gallery they witness a young Black man rising in the gallery to shoot the senator. “Lawd, why hast thou...” the senator says in Black vernacular. He is aston-

like a trickster-cum-preacher, a man of the Bible, and in Ellison’s words, “God’s own straight man.”

Some of Ellison’s best writing evolves as the senator, in a somewhat feverish state, begins to recount his life after his flight from Hickman, where he was essentially a hustler, and conman, fleecing people of their earnings. The senator even recalls a love affair, but it is as opaque and clouded with meaning as his other ramblings and half-remembered incidents growing up in Oklahoma, much like Ellison’s teen years there. Putting all the pieces together is something Ellison and Callahan let readers figure out. Scattered throughout the text are historical clues and literary signposts often subtly dropped, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, his namesake, and clever names like Bliss, where he puns the old saying “ignorance is bliss where it’s folly to be wise.” Hickman may also remind us of Bledsoe and Trueblood, their names signifying elements of brutality and kinship.

No less baffling is why the book is titled “ Juneteenth” when it gets only a passing nod: once as the time in which Bliss wanders off and when it’s cited in one of Hickman’s sermons. At the end of their long conversation, Hickman compels Bliss to discuss that eventful Juneteenth night when he began that long journey through the corridors of history, forcing him to summon the dark and light of his fading memory. This is rendered in Ellison’s typical sense of the absurd and surrealism.

Perhaps the best summary and conclusion is delivered by Ellison’s alter-ego or coauthor: “Dismissive at first of Juneteenth as ‘the celebration of a gaudy illusion,’ the Senator realizes too late that his liberation is bound up with the Negro American communion expressed by and on Juneteenth Day. But, Ellison hints in his epigraph, it is not too late for those surviving ‘to become renewed, transfigured, in another pattern,’ the pattern of art. Always in progress, Ellison’s work may now find pause.” Indeed, there is a momentary pause and pulse that echoes “the rich babel of idiomatic expression around me, a language full of imagery and rhetorical canniness,” Ellison once concluded.

ished when a voice he recognizes answers above him says, “For thou hast forsaken... me.”

Rushed to the hospital and attended, the senator calls for only Hickman to be brought to his bedside. Here begins the conversation, replete with flashbacks and foreshadowing that the novel unfolds, and Ellison deftly revives Bliss’s childhood, the little boy who looks white, Callahan relates, but talks Black, ultimately loved and accepted in Hickman’s community. Their conversation is part reverie and resurrection as Bliss recalls his indoctrination as a boy minister and traveling with Hickman

The changing personalities of Bliss, running in vain for self-discovery, make it difficult to discern his true feelings about Juneteenth. Is it a day that we should celebrate, or dismiss as just another gaudy illusion that places its celebrants in another form of captivity? The young wayward man at the center of “Invisible Man” retreats from the world by going underground, and his closing words “Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you.”

In as much as Ellison has given us a novelistic way to appreciate and apprehend the holiday, he has spoken most eloquently and eternally for us, and we should accept both his imagination and guidance into those often forgotten moments of reverie and reverence—and read the book.

White House hosts second annual Juneteenth concert

By ASHLEIGH FIELDS Special to the AmNews

The White House South Lawn was teeming with Black professionals, artists and musicians for Washington’s annual Juneteenth concert, marking its second staging this year. Performances from legendary stars including Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Charlie Wilson and Anthony Hamilton masterfully crafted a musical portrayal of enamoration for the trials overcome by a resilient community.

“Black artists like these have put song to our nation’s fight for freedom,” Vice President Kamala Harris told concertgoers in her opening remarks. “Through spirituals, blues, and gospel, through jazz, soul, and hip-hop, artists give voice to the joy and hope, ambition and aspiration, courage and conviction of the people of our nation.”

Moments later, she took the stage next

to gospel legend Kirk Franklin twirling and dancing gleefully. Afterwards, Gladys Knight floated on stage in a bright red suit singing melodies including “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and “Midnight Train to Georgia.”

Eventually attendees were graced by charting record label phenomenon LaBelle who swayed to songs like “Love, Need and Want You” and “Oh, People,” kicking off her shoes to ignite attendees with her stage presence.

The evening was filled with opportunities for celebrities and lawmakers to let their hair down and take a moment to enjoy dreams fulfilled and achieved. Famed Netflix actor Billy Porter jammed with her while sitting in the front row next to the Vice President and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Congressman Jim Clyburn, Maxine Waters and Symone Sanders also enjoyed the live concert and could be seen cheering, chanting and singing along to hit records of the present and past.

Amidst a bright stage and shining lights,

host Roy Wood Jr. of “The Daily Show” fame frequented the stage embarking down the path of history by narrating Black Americans’ journey to success from oppression.

“It’s important to understand how we got from enslavement to the first Black vice president. It is important to understand how we got from enslavement to the first Black supreme court justice,” he said.

Flanking Wood were two screens rolling the names, faces and likeness of the formerly enslaved as he addressed the audience.

“More than 186,000 Black Americans joined the armed forces to fight for their liberation, half of whom were formerly enslaved,” he continued. “They turned the tide of the Civil War from a conflict about preserving the union into something about the ending of slavery.”

Wood reflected on the day many discovered they were freed under the Emancipation Proclamation. A formalized declaration of Black freedom that would fail to be ratified by many states in the

City celebrates Juneteenth

South, leading to Black codes and Jim Crow laws.

“Just because we were free didn’t mean everybody was ready to give us our freedom,” Wood said with affirmations from the crowd.

Throughout the evening, Biden affirmed this message by referencing haunting hate crimes and horrific tales of “old ghosts in new garments.” He pledged to continue making a difference by uplifting community activists like Texas native, Opal Lee who’s credited for the idea of making Juneteenth a federal holiday, an aspiration that became a reality in 2021 as Biden signed the bill into legislation.

“The North Star is the idea that we’re all created equal, [in] the image of God, and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. While we’ve never lived up to it, we’ve never fully walked away from it either,” Biden said hopefully. “That’s because of you and the generation before you who led the march from slavery to freedom toward more than a perfect union.”

Celebration at City Hall (Bill Moore photos)

Juneteenth flag flies at City Hall

Juneteenth revelers

Religion & Spirituality A last bite of the Apple

By PAMELA K. JOHNSON

Before my father left this Earth last May, he spent the final months of his life the farthest away from home he’s ever been, and the closest to home he’s ever felt.

After visiting West Africa, where my youngest sister lives in 2021, Oliver Johnson eagerly accepted a Kenyan friend’s invitation to visit East Africa. Despite having been in the hospital weeks earlier for congestive heart failure, my 87-year-old dad left for Nairobi on Christmas Day 2022. Unfortunately, his ambitious plans to go on safari, speak at churches, and mentor youth never gelled. Aside from the heart condition, he had kidney disease and diabetes, which could slow anyone down— especially as Dad gave his medication the side eye.

That is how he came to spend two months in bed in Africa, fantasizing about the New York of his youth.

We’re talking before he’d moved to California with a wife and 3-month-old me. And before he’d been divorced, remarried twice more, and gone from Yellow Pages salesman to law school. We’re talking Harlem in the ’40s and ’50s, when Dad reveled in catching acts at the Apollo like Sammy Davis Jr., or going to Yankee Stadium with his father to cheer as heavyweight champ Joe Louis wiped the floor with Tami Mauriello. And then there was the teenage edition of my pops, who hustled unsuspecting simps at the pool hall.

More than anything, though, as my father lay in a Kenyan bed barely eating, I imagine he craved the buffet that is New York City. Throughout his life, he spoke fondly of the pork chop, mound of fried rice, and eggs that he got on Lenox Avenue for 65 cents, “but you had to eat and go; no sitting around.” He and my mom often reminisced about their courtship over meals at the Automat in Times Square. And of course, there were the assorted hot dogs, pizzas, and egg creams that gave life its glow.

While my sister, Keren, thought Dad might stop in Ghana on his way back to California to see her, and I figured he’d come straight home to his apartment, not far from where my middle sister, April, and

I live in the L.A. area, he decided to take one more bite of the Apple.

Sure, he put a veneer on it to assuage our feelings: A childhood friend in the Bronx had had a stroke and he needed a stop-

over in New York to check on her. Also, his cousin Ruth was turning 99 and he wanted to deliver his birthday greetings in person. But the quiet part that he did not say out loud was that he was going for the food.

Leave it to fate to pull a signature move: When he got to the nursing home the morning of Cousin Ruth’s birthday, March

See APPLE continued on next page

Oliver Johnson, my dad, in Harlem on Easter Sunday, 1943 (Photo courtesy of Pamela K. Johnson)

2, he learned that she’d passed away the night before. I flew in for the funeral, planning to stay a week and then accompany him on his flight back. That’s how I ended up getting a bonus week with my dad.

Around Cousin Ruth’s services, we had a packed schedule of restaurants to hit. My father slowly, but determinedly, made his way down my cousin Larry’s three sets of steps in a south Bronx apartment building, so we could go to restaurant on Arthur Avenue, where Dad tossed back a black Russian—“I like the high”—and then dug into his spaghetti and meatballs, my eggplant parmesan, and Larry’s lasagna. The waiter knew to keep the garlic bread coming.

In the ensuing days, Daddy had to have pastrami from Katz’s Deli, hot dogs from Gray’s Papaya, vanilla malteds, bagels, and pizza. One night, our Antiguan cousin Tina had us over for codfish and fungi. My father brought the Pepsi and ice cream.

We’d planned to leave on a Saturday in mid-March, but he wasn’t ready, most likely because he had few more spots on his list. I had to get back and went without him.

Two days after he finally got home to California, at the end of March, Keren had come from Ghana, and she, April, and I went to his

apartment. He had said he wanted us all to go to lunch, but when we got to his place, we could hear him moving around inside, but apparently he was unable to make it to the door.

Paramedics rushed him to the hospital on April 1, and a month later, he was moved to another facility, his condition having worsened. He was in intensive care.

About a week before he died, a blustery older doctor in a plaid shirt, apparently coming off vacation, breezed in and asked, “Who’s in bed 11?” The nurse on duty filled him in, and then he eased over to where I sat next to my father, who by then was semi-conscious and relying on a breathing tube.

Finally, I had someone I could blab to about Dad’s foolishness. How he had run off to Kenya and ate his way through New York. “Good!” the doctor declared. “Glad to hear it!”

What? I was aghast. I studied his face to see if he could possibly be serious. I mean, what kind of nonsense was that? Where’d he get his medical license—a Cracker Jacks box?

But as he sailed on to the next patient, something in me shifted. I had been looking at my father through the gaze of hope that he could, somehow, be restored to the

man I knew him to be. At the same time, the doctor saw Dad through the harsh glare of reality as a person who had run out of road while racing toward his joy.

I stroked my father’s arm and smoothed his hair, grappling with the truth that before he was mine, he was his own.

As the clock ticked down, it turned out that my dad had only had two remaining items on his bucket list: to see a part of the

world where he had never been, and to savor his beloved New York one more time. Now, a year out, I’m okay with that.

Pamela K. Johnson lives in California, but was born in Harlem. In May 2024, she completed an O’Brien Public Service Journalism Fellowship at Marquette University in Milwaukee and is working on a film about Black people and swimming.

PUBLIC NOTICE

DEMOCRACY PREP NEW YORK SCHOOL MEETING OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Pursuant to Section 104 Public Notice of the Open Meetings Law, this notice is to inform the public that the board of trustees of Democracy Prep New York School will hold a board meeting on June 18th, 2024 at 8:00 am., local time. The address is: 1767 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10035 4th Floor.

Some board members may choose to participate remotely via video conferencing, but as of this notice it is not clear what their location will be. Please contact Cecil Frazier at cecil.frazier@democracyprep.org for such information once it is finalized.

(Photo courtesy of Pamela K. Johnson)

Events Roundup

Continued from page 20

lesser-known aspects of slavery in the U.S. The reveal at the existing Slave Market: Wall Street ((100 Wall Street, Manhattan) will include a 5 p.m. performance by the artist. Other exhibits simultaneously revealed will include American Gold I at North 5th Park and Pier in Brooklyn and American Gold II at Queensbridge Park in Queens—both are interactive musical AR slave ships. The exhibits are part of Brown’s “Slavery Trails” project, which aims to create decentralized memorials to enslaved people across the United States. FREE. More info at arslaverytrails.com.

6PM: Screening of TransLash’s upcoming PBS World documentary “American Problems, Trans Solutions” at WNYC’s Greene Space. “American Problems, Trans Solutions” follows the work of three Black trans social entrepreneurs who are tackling some of the nation’s most pressing problems. After the screening, there will be a talkback with the three featured leaders: Kayla Gore,

Choreography

Continued from page 27

Breonna McCree, and Oluchi Omega. A brief reception will follow. FREE. More info at www.thegreenespace.org.

6PM: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will present “Some Sing: A Juneteenth Celebration” by Carl Hancock Rux, which commemorates the history of Black American music. Visitors will hear performances fusing blues, jazz, rock, country, zydeco, and more by purveyors of Black sound, including free jazz experimentalist Cooper-Moore, Brooklyn singer-songwriter Tamar-kali, Bronx-born soul musician Stephanie McKay, and many more, culminating in a concert set with Toshi Reagon and her full band. Hearst Plaza. FREE. More info at www.lincolncenter.org.

6PM: The New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ) will host the third annual NYABJ Juneteenth Gala, which will celebrate members and the reporting they produced in the past year. Hosted by CBS New York anchor Maurice DuBois and CBS national correspondent Jericka Duncan, the black-tie event will gather New York media professionals to announce

hardworking, loving, and supportive in the space. We had a ritual during the process that was very special to all of us: Someone would offer a question up for the group to answer. One particular question stands out. It was, “Where does your power come from?” It was wonderful to hear each person’s answer. I felt like we grew stronger to-

CLAYTON APTS.

*Based on the number of persons in the household. **Subject to change OCCUPANCY STANDARDS: STUDIO: 1-3 people. ONE BEDROOM: 1-3 people. TWO BEDROOM: 2-4 people. THREE BEDROOM: 4-6 people.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: (FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ANY OF THE FOLLOWING WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION)

• Applications are not transferable.

• Applicants must be financially responsible.

• Current Shareholders are not eligible to apply.

• Applicant must be a New York State resident.

• Applicant/Head of household must be at least 18 Years Old at the time of the lottery.

• Peference will be given to documented veterans selected in the lottery that are NY State residents only.

• Any applicant that does not have the proper family composition will automatically be disqualified.

• ONE REQUEST ONLY PER APPLICANT. Any applicant placing a duplicate request will not be entered into the lottery. An applicant can only submit a paper entry or an on-line entry. If applicants enter on-line and also mail in a letter or postcard, they have submitted a duplicate request and will not be eligible for the lottery.

• An applicant whose name is selected in a lottery cannot be included in the family composition of any other applicant who is selected in the same lottery for that particular housing company development. Failure to comply will result in the disqualification of both applicants.

Additional Information: Upon conclusion of the lottery, selected candidates will be required to pay a nonrefundable application fee of $75 to the managing agent. The Studio & One Bedroom waiting lists will be established by a limited lottery of 300 applicants. The Two Bedroom waitlist will accept 150 applicants and the Three Bedroom waiting list will be established by 100 applicants.

the Excellence in Media Awards; reflect on the current state of the journalism industry; and recognize NYABJ’s achievements in the past year, including being selected as a NABJ Chapter Finalist for the second consecutive year. Standard Hotel (848 Washington Street, Manhattan). Contact bonita@nyabj.org for more info.

6:30PM: Juneteenth LP and Olivia K & the Parkers will perform at Joe’s Pub in celebration of Junteenth. This exploration of music by Black composers is set against a backdrop of arrangements of Afrobeats, hiphop, R&B, gospel, and blues. More info at publictheater.org

7PM: New Jersey Reparations Council presents a star-studded panel and report on its research into New Jersey’s history of slavery and systemic discrimination and its implications for reparations. Moderated by award-winning New Yorker journalist and Dean of Columbia Journalism School Jelani Cobb, who will provide a one-year update on the Council’s work. Takes place at NJ Performing Arts Center. FREE. More info at www.njpac.org

gether whenever we did this ritual. We were learning about each other, and in doing so, trust was getting stronger and stronger every day. They really are a fantastic group of individuals who move beautifully and harmoniously together.

AmNews: The spiritual number that occurs at the memorial service of Ms. Liza Jane has moving, praise dance moves— what was the inspiration for that?

CAB: The inspiration behind that number was to evoke sorrow, praise, and love for Miss Liza Jane who has passed on. It is the moment [when] Ali’s whole universe is disrupted. I wanted the cast to show the loss of Miss Liza Jane and what she meant to them through their bodies. When the solo dancer performs, he is embodying Ali and everyone’s heartache in that moment. I wanted the movement to be on its own rhythm and ahead of the music to capture the rollercoaster of emotions Ali could be experiencing at that time. The solo dancer rejoins the group and they begin to dance together to continue expressing pain, but to all work their way toward healing. The number turns into a communal mourning dance.

HOW TO APPLY: ONLINE You can now apply to a lottery online through Mitchell-Lama Connect. Applying is fast, easy and you will be able to check the status of your entry to see if you have been selected. To apply on line go to: https://a806-housingconnect.nyc.gov/nyclottery/lottery.html#ml-home BY MAIL Mail Post Card or Envelope by regular mail. Registered and Certified Mail will not be accepted. Clearly print your full first and last name, current address and last 4 digits of your social security number and the bedroom size lottery that you wish to apply for. If you do not include the last 4 digits of your social security number or fail to indicate the bedroom size lottery, you will not be entered into the lottery. Mail post card or envelope to:

Through 7/5: Lefferts Historic House presents a series of posters created by local artist Grey Jones commemorating Juneteenth and July 5, the day that many Black Americans historically celebrated American Independence. Location Lefferts Historic House Brooklyn. FREE. More info prospectpark.org/lefferts

Throughout the summer: The Tenement Museum presents the exhibit “A Union of Hope: 1869,” the only permanent exhibit in New York City focused on Black history during and after the Civil War. Created in large part by a team of Black researchers and historians, the exhibit explores a period in New York history when Soho was the center of Black life in the city. The museum will also be hosting the “Reclaiming Black Spaces” Walking Tour throughout the summer, which will explore the stories of Black New Yorkers and their resonant impact on local communities. Following Juneteenth, A Union of Hope: 1869 Lead Researcher Marquis Taylor will lead a free virtual talk, via Youtube Live, to discuss the primary sources and research on the lead-up and eventual passage of emancipation laws in New York State.

saw that because it was exactly what I was going for! It made me feel so good to know she was pleased with the work I was doing. I am very thankful for her love, support, and generosity throughout the process.

AmNews: Where were you professionally trained?

CAB: I am originally from Jamaica, Queens, New York, and started my training at the Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center. When I was 11, I began attending the Devore Dance Center. I started at Fiorello H. LaGuardia HS [the “Fame” school] at 13 years old and attended the Ailey School on scholarship starting my sophomore year. I received my BFA at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and last year, I was given two honorary doctorates, one from UNCSA and the other from Drew University.

AmNews: What dancers were your role models?

AmNews: When you did the choreography for Alicia Keys’s musical, did she give you any feedback?

CAB: Yes! She was encouraging and supportive the entire way. I have been a fan of Alicia’s music since forever, so to actually be in collaboration with her—creating movement to her music—was a gift I will always cherish. I loved hearing her responses to the choreography. She would always share specific things that she liked about it. I remember when she watched “You Don’t Know My Name” and said she loved the TLC moment. I was so happy she

CAB: As a dancer, my biggest inspiration was Ella Fitzgerald—her range and clarity, her keen awareness of her instrument…I wanted to dance the way she sang. Dancers: Dormeshia, Matthew Rushing, Elana Anderson, Angelica Edwards, Karah Abiog— all of them sophisticated storytellers. You could see their blood memory when they danced! Watching them was always an enlightening experience.

AmNews: How do you feel when you dance?

CAB : I feel alive! There is absolutely nothing like it. I used to get teased when I was younger, so dance was a way for me to create a safe space for myself. I could show my emotions and express myself without fear.

security in the city, showed up, said organizers. “I hope [my application] goes through. I’m just praying,” said S.A., 65, a Brooklyn resident who wished to be identified only by her initials. She attended a Section 8 application workshop in Flatbush, Brooklyn, organized by Councilmember Farah Louis. She has lived with her 92-yearold aunt as a caretaker for years up until the aunt’s recent death, and now is in housing court with their landlord, who wants to evict her. Her case comes up for review next month.

Tenant organizers said they’ve heard anecdotal evidence that people can spend months, or even years, on the waitlists for a Section 8 voucher. Part of the organizers’ job at the workshop is to set realistic expectations for applicants. “I had to explain to a couple that this is not a guarantee,” said Lindsey Sutton, Resident Engagement Specialist for Impacct Brooklyn. “People with disabilities, [the] elderly will be given priority, but there’s just so many people looking for places and rent is so high.”

In Flatbush, for example, where there is a large Haitian community and many residents speak the island’s Creole, many applicants had issues with understanding the application because of the language barrier. The portal didn’t have a Creole translation available, so Louis provided a translator on the premises to help attendees communicate with tenant organizers.

One of the other issues encountered in filling out the application online was a gap in digital literacy for elderly people. One woman showed up to the Flatbush workshop with stacks of folders and documents, and ultimately was shown how to go through the necessary forms online on her phone within 30 minutes.

According to NYCHA, 3,700 applicants were on the waitlist before the lottery application period opened. The applicants selected for placement on the waitlist through the lottery process will not have an effect on those already on the existing waitlist, which will be updated

Navy Yard

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Clubhouse was forced into bankruptcy

Though it was one of six Madison Square Boys & Girls Club Foundation clubhouses to offer daily enrichment programming for 6through 18-year-olds throughout the city, the Clubhouse was forced to file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 because it faced hundreds of child sexual abuse lawsuits filed under the New York State Child Victims Act (CVA) against a former Foundation volunteer. Claims were that the volunteer abused children beginning in the year 1948 and that he continued doing so up until 1984.

The Foundation filed for Chapter 11 restructuring in June 2022 to save itself and said it found it could get the most money to pay the claims against it by selling its Navy Yard Clubhouse.

The shock of the sudden notice of the Clubhouse’s closure still resonates for local residents. Many told the AmNews that while they appreciated this open house effort by Alloy, efforts to reestablish trust with the community will require

with the new applicants by August 1. The city said 200,000 new applicants in total will be randomly selected to join the waitlist.

The plan is to give out at least 1,000 vouchers a month beginning in August, NYCHA said, but the actual rate of issuance is “dependent on funding and our authorized voucher turnover capacity.”

All lottery applicants will receive written notification of selection or rejection, said NYCHA.

The hardest part for many people in dire situations, besides waiting to be put on the waiting list, is navigating land mines in the city’s housing market to find a landlord who will accept the housing voucher, said tenant organizers. Many continue to illegally discriminate against voucher holders.

“I was in the shelter for three years before I even received a housing voucher,” said Althea Matthews, 65, a homeless advocate. “The Section 8—I’m blessed to have it; everyone doesn’t get that opportunity. The process takes forever.”

Matthews was fully employed and housed before living in the shelter. On her way to work one day in 2011, her apartment building caught on fire. She was placed in temporary housing in a hotel when her father died. She had to give up her unit to attend his funeral and reapply for placement with proof of an obituary. In addition to struggling with the insurance to cover her damaged property, the storage facility that held recovered goods from the fire was hit by Hurricane Irene, further destroying her belongings, she said.

“I was distraught and trying to keep my mentality, because in the shelter, sometimes you can fall into depression which I was falling into,” Matthews said. “But I said, ‘I’m not going there.’”

Her advocacy work for the homeless kept Matthews grounded. She currently lives in a deregulated apartment in Williamsbridge, the Bronx. Her landlord was renting the apartment for $2,100. Matthews was looking for a landlord who would accept her voucher for about six months. She said she found an open house on Zillow on her own and pleaded her case with the owner. Her advice to others is to just be patient.

more than free food and entertainment.

In response to questions sent to Alloy regarding the motive for the open house and what plans there are, if any, for the suggestions offered by community members to be taken seriously, the company said: “Alloy is committed to running a robust community engagement process for this project. Since acquiring the property, we’ve had more than 50 meetings with community organizations, NYCHA Tenant Associations, elected officials, and individual neighbors. We’ve provided free space to six local community groups, which are all doing free programming for youth in the area.

“Saturday’s event was one of many moments of community engagement and we’re eager to continue to learn and digest all of the great feedback over the next few years.”

Alloy has reportedly donated $2 million for the temporary resumption of Madison Square Boys & Girls Club-directed after-school services for at least the next two years. After those two years, Alloy has plans to construct a new building, which is expected to have a permanent community recreation facility with a stillto-be-determined site operator.

Housing advocates agree that the state passing and funding the Housing Access Voucher Program (HVAP) would help alleviate the need for Section 8 vouchers.

“This tremendous demand for vouchers should be a wake-up call for lawmakers,” said Jay Martin, executive director of the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), in a statement. He added that a mechanism is needed for vacant apartments to be renovated and put back on the market.“Regulating rents provides poor housing quality, but subsidizing rents could give tenants the high-quality apartments they deserve. It’s what tenants need and it’s what our members want.”

Milton Perez, a leader with VOCAL-NY’s Homelessness Union, said in a statement, “Homelessness is not limited to the five bor-

oughs—cities across the state, like Rochester and New Rochelle, are commencing their application processes. Our leaders in Albany must recognize this mad rush to join this waiting list as a wake-up call. New York needs a meaningful contribution toward solving its homelessness crisis by passing and funding the [voucher program] and building statewide permanent affordable housing for the more than 100,000 Homeless New Yorkers across the state.”

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

Resident Engagement Specialist for Impacct Brooklyn Ozzie Martinez (left) assists man with filling out Section 8 application on Friday, June 7 in Brooklyn. (Ariama C. Long photo)

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This is to announce that the next meeting of the Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy I Charter School Board of Trustees will occur in person on Tuesday, June 18th, 2024 at 7:30am. The meeting will be held at 245 West 129th ST, NY, NY.

This is to announce that the next meeting of the Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy II Charter School Board of Trustees will occur in person on Tuesday, June 18th, 2024 at 7:30am. The meeting will be held at 245 West 129th ST, NY, NY.

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY-HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. MICHAEL G. STRUNK, Deft. - Index # 850616/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated May 10, 2024, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00986400000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57TH STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $42,026.00 plus costs and interest as of December 19, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Sofia Balile, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY.

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK.

JOSEPH NATHANSON, Plaintiff -against- THE NORA GROUP, LLC, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated February 5, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on June 26, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, known and designated as Block 2059 and Lot 43. Said premises known as 453 WEST 144TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10030

Approximate amount of lien $204,394.08 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850205/2020. PAUL R. SKLAR, ESQ., Referee

The Law Office of Jason Chang, Esq.

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 252 West 37th Street, Suite 600, New York, NY 10018

Notice of Formation of NORWALK NORTH HOUSING CLASS B, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/20/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

APM LUXURY LIMO LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/4/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 205 W 115 St Suite 4A, NY, NY 10026. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of NORTHCREST GARDENS HOUSING GP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/17/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of PRIVACORE CAPITAL ADVISORS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/02/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/05/24. Princ. office of LLC: 1411 Broadway, 17th Fl., Ste. B, NY, NY 10018. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Investment advisor.

Notice of Formation of FAIRVIEW HOUSING I AND II, L.P. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/21/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LP: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. Latest date on which the LP may dissolve is 12/31/2123. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice is hereby given that a license for RW 241 Wine, Beer and Cider License, has been applied for by Salka Food LLC dba Copper Mug Coffee, to sell wine, beer and cider under the Alcoholic Beverage Control law at the premises located at 131 N 4th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11249.

Notice is hereby given that a license for OP 252 Wine, Beer, Cider and Liquor License, has been applied for by Botte Tribeca, LLC dba Botte Tribeca, to sell wine, beer, cider and liquor under the Alcoholic Beverage Control law at the premises located at 6 York Street, New York, New York 10013.

Notice is hereby given that Application ID number NA-034024-119901 for a On-Premises Restaurant liquor license has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer, wine and liquor at retail in a Restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at the to be named restaurant located at 601 West 26 th Street, 10 th and 11 th Floor, Outdoor Terrace, New York in New York County for on-premises consumption. RXR SL TRS Sub LLC and SL F&B Management, LLC, 601 West 26 th Street, 10 th and 11 th Fl, Outdoor Terrace, New York, NY 10001.

SNF Global LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/23/2022. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 100 W 31 St Apt 20D, NY, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful act.

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK CITIMORTGAGE, INC., Plaintiff -against- TREVOR C. MORAN, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated April 22, 2022, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse located on the portico at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on July 10, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. The Unit known as Residential Unit No. 10A in the building known as The Heritage at Trump Place, 240 Riverside Boulevard, in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, Together with an undivided 0.7911% interest in the common elements. Block: 1171 Tax Lot: 2111. Said premises known as 240 RIVERSIDE BOULEVARD, UNIT 10A, NEW YORK, NY 10069. Approximate amount of lien $5,673,292.89 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee’s attorney. Index Number 850110/2019.

THOMAS KLEINBERGER, ESQ., Referee, David A. Gallo & Associates LLP, Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 47 Hillside Avenue, 2nd Floor, Manhasset, NY 11030. File# 5025.1930

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK-COUNTY OF ORANGEIndex No. EF007582-2023-Date Purchased 11-03-2023-SUMMONS WITH NOTICE- Plaintiff designates Orange County as the place of trial - Basis of venue: Plaintiff's Residence-James Cade, Plaintiff-againstStephanie Mack aka Stephanie Mack-Cade, Defendant-ACTION FOR DIVORCE-To the above named Defendant YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to serve a notice of appearance on the plaintiff's attorney within thirty (30) days after the service of this summons is complete and in case of your failure to appear, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the notice set forth below. Dated: May 30, 2024, Melville, New York, by Roy F. Gerard, Esq., Plaintiff's Attorney, 68 South Service Road, Suite 100, Melville, New York 11747, (800)495-8028, NOTICE: The nature of this action is to dissolve the marriage between the parties on the grounds of cruel and inhuman treatment by the Defendant against the Plaintiff pursuant to DRL Section 170 (1). The relief sought is a judgment of absolute divorce in favor of the plaintiff dissolving the marriage between the parties in this action. NOTICE OF AUTOMATIC ORDERS: Pursuant to domestic relations law section 236 part b, section 2, the parties are bound by certain automatic orders which shall remain in full force and effect during the pendency of the action. NOTICE OF GUIDLELINE MAINTENANCE: Pursuant to Chapter 269, Laws of 2015. NOTICE OF ELECTRONIC FILING: Uniform Rule Section 202.5-b. For further details on any of the preceding you should contact the clerk of court, Supreme Court, 285 Main Street, Orange County Government Center, Goshen, New York 10924, Tel: (845) 4763500.

DRL 255 NOTICE: Please be advised that once a judgment of divorce is signed in this action, both you and your spouse may or may not continue to be eligible for coverage under each other's health insurance plan, depending on the terms of the plan.

Supreme Court-New York County - Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. V. JIM YOUNG LIM, if living, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, et al., Deft. - Index # 850560/2023. The foregoing supplemental summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 9th day of May 2024 and duly entered the 10th day of May 2024 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York. TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:

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

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of an undivided 0.00493200000 tenant in common interest in 57TH STREET VACTION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street NY, NY. Mortgage bearing the date of November 12, 2021, executed by Jim Young Lim to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $23,639.65, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on June 2, 2022, in CRFN 2022000221254. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above.

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

Velvet Riot Creative LLC Auth. filed w/ SSNY 5/20/24. Off. in NY Co. Cert. of Form filed w/ SSDE 4/4/24. Process served to SSNY - desig. as agt. of LLC & mailed to the LLC, 2912 Hostetler St, Raleigh, NC 27609. Add. maint’d. in DE: 3500 S Dupont Hwy, Dover, DE 19901. Name & add. of auth. officer in DE where Cert. of Form filed: SSDE Div. of Corp, 401 Federal St, Ste. 4, DE 19901. Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of H 18 & 8TH, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/18/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 115 W. 30th St., Ste. 1107, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, 605 Third Ave., 15th Fl., NY, NY 10158. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Supplemental Summons And Notice Of Object Of Action Supreme Court Of The State Of New York County Of New York Action to Foreclosure a Mortgage Index #: 850626/2023 Wilmington Savings Fund Society, Fsb, D/B/A Christiana Trust, Not Individually But As Trustee For Pretium Mortgage Acquisition Trust Plaintiff, Vs Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner Individually And As Heir To The Estate Of Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner, Joshua L Weiner As Heir To The Estate Of Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner If Living, And If He/She Be Dead, Any And All Persons Unknown To Plaintiff, Claiming, Or Who May Claim To Have An Interest In, Or General Or Specific Lien Upon The Real Property Described In This Action; Such Unknown Persons Being Herein Generally Described And Intended To Be Included In Wife, Widow, Husband, Widower, Heirs At Law, Next Of Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assignees Of Such Deceased, Any And All Persons Deriving Interest In Or Lien Upon, Or Title To Said Real Property By, Through Or Under Them, Or Either Of Them, And Their Respective Wives, Widows, Husbands, Widowers, Heirs At Law, Next Of Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assigns, All Of Whom And Whose Names, Except As Stated, Are Unknown To Plaintiff, Alexis M Holton As Heir To The Estate Of Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner, Unknown Heirs Of Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner If Living, And If He/She Be Dead, Any And All Persons Unknown To Plaintiff, Claiming, Or Who May Claim To Have An Interest In, Or General Or Specific Lien Upon The Real Property Described In This Action; Such Unknown Persons Being Herein Generally Described And Intended To Be Included In Wife, Widow, Husband, Widower, Heirs At Law, Next Of Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assignees Of Such Deceased, Any And All Persons Deriving Interest In Or Lien Upon, Or Title To Said Real Property By, Through Or Under Them, Or Either Of Them, And Their Respective Wives, Widows, Husbands, Widowers, Heirs At Law, Next Of Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assigns, All Of Whom And Whose Names, Except As Stated, Are Unknown To Plaintiff, Board Of Managers Of The Pickwick House Condominium, Board Of Managers Of Bethune Street Condo, David F. Eisner, Karen Lehmann Eisner, Theodore Haber, New York City Parking Violations Bureau, United States Of America On Behalf Of The Irs, People Of The State Of New York, New York Supreme Court, Lawyers Fund For Client Protection For The State Of New York, Christopher Aidun John Doe (Those Unknown Tenants, Occupants, Persons Or Corporations Or Their Heirs, Distributees, Executors, Administrators, Trustees, Guardians, Assignees, Creditors Or Successors Claiming An Interest In The Mortgaged Premises.) Defendant(S). Mortgaged Premises: 35 Bethune Street, Apt. 1b New York, Ny 10014 Aka 33/35 Bethune Street, Unit 1b, New York, Ny 10014 To The Above Named Defendant: You Are Hereby Summoned To Answer The Complaint In This Action, And To Serve A Copy Of Your Answer, Or, If The Complaint Is Not Served With This Supplemental Summons, To Serve A Notice Of Appearance, On The Plaintiff(S) Attorney(S) Within Twenty Days After The Service Of This Supplemental Summons, Exclusive Of The Day Of Service (Or Within 30 Days After The Service Is Complete If This Supplemental Summons Is Not Personally Delivered To You Within The State Of New York). In Case Of Your Failure To Appear Or Answer, Judgment Will Be Taken Against You By Default For The Relief Demanded In The Complaint. The Attorney For Plaintiff Has An Office For Business In The County Of Erie. Trial To Be Held In The County Of New York. The Basis Of The Venue Designated

Above Is The Location Of The Mortgaged Premises. To Joshua L Weiner As Heir To The Estate Of Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner, Unknown Heirs Of Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner Defendants In This Action. The Foregoing Supplemental Summons Is Served Upon You By Publication, Pursuant To An Order Of Hon. Francis A Kahn Of The Supreme Court Of The State Of New York, Dated The Ninth Day Of May, 2024 And Filed With The Complaint In The Office Of The Clerk Of The County Of New York, In The City Of New York. The Object Of This Action Is To Foreclosure A Mortgage Upon The Premises Described Below, Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner (Who Died On March 20, 2020, A Resident Of The County Of New York, State Of New York) Dated The June 16, 1999, To Secure The Sum Of $551,000.00 And Recorded At Book 2904, Page 672 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County On June 30, 1999. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By An Assignment Executed May 25, 2001 And Recorded On August 31, 2001, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Book 3351, Page 463. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By A Gap Assignment Executed February 26, 2020 And Recorded On May 17, 2021, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Crfn 2021000180314. Plaintiff Is Also Holder Of A Mortgage Dated June 18, 2001 Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner To Secure The Sum Of $206,760.59 And Recorded At Book 3351, Page 466 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County On August 31, 2001. Said Mortgage Was Consolidated With The Mortgage Referred To At Book 2904, Page 672 By A Consolidation, Extension And Modification Agreement Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner Dated June 18, 2001 And Recorded August 31, 2001 At Book 3351, Page 493 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County To Form A Single Lien In The Amount Of $750,000.00. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By A Gap Assignment Executed August 19, 2020 And Recorded On May 17, 2021, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Crfn 2021000180315. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By An Assignment Executed July 13, 2003 And Recorded On July 10, 2003, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Crfn 2003000223378. Plaintiff Is Also Holder Of A Mortgage Dated January 24, 2003 Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner To Secure The Sum Of $209,900.63 And Recorded At Crfn 2003000223379 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County On July 10, 2003. Said Mortgage Was Consolidated With The Mortgage Referred To At Book 3351, Page 493 By A Consolidation, Extension And Modification Agreement Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner Dated January 24, 2003 And Recorded July 10, 2003 At Crfn 2003000223380 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County To Form A Single Lien In The Amount Of $950,000.00. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By An Assignment Executed July 29, 2005 And Recorded On March 10, 2006, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Crfn 2006000136531. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By A Gap Assignment Executed November 17, 2020 And Recorded On November 30, 2020, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Crfn 2020000337168. Plaintiff Is Also Holder Of A Mortgage Dated August 4, 2005 Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner To Secure The Sum Of $572,990.62 And Recorded At Crfn 2006000136532 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County On March 10, 2006. Said Mortgage Was Consolidated With The Mortgage Referred To At Crfn: 2003000223380 By A Consolidation, Extension And Modification Agreement Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner Dated August 4, 2005 And Recorded March 10, 2006 At Crfn 2006000136533 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County To Form A Single Lien In The Amount Of $1,500,000.00. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By An Assignment Executed November 29, 2007 And Recorded On November 21, 2007, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Crfn 2007000581072. Plaintiff Is Also Holder Of A Mortgage Dated September 5, 2007 Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner To Secure The Sum Of $160,834.90 And Recorded At Crfn 2007000575041 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County On November 19, 2007. Said Mortgage Was Consolidated With The Mortgage Referred To At Crfn: 2006000136533 By A Consolidation, Extension And Modification Agreement Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner Dated September 5, 2007 And Recorded November 19, 2007 At Crfn 2007000575042 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County To Form A Single Lien In The Amount Of $1,750,000.00. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By An Assignment Executed July 2, 2015 And Recorded On July 20, 2015, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Crfn 2015000249598. Said Mortgage Was Subsequently Modified By A Loan Modification Agreement Executed By Peter N. Weiner Aka Peter Weiner And Susan N. Weiner Aka Susan Weiner On June 15, 2017 And Recorded August 17, 2017 In Crfn 2017000308213 In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By An Assignment Executed January 30, 2020 And Recorded On May 17, 2021, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Crfn 2021000180317. The Consolidated Mortgage Was Subsequently Assigned By An Assignment Executed June 17, 2019 And Recorded On May 17, 2021, In The City Register Of The City Of New York, New York County At Crfn 2021000180318. The property in question is described as follows: 35 Bethune Street, Apt. 1B, New York, NY 10014 AKA 33/35 Bethune Street, Unit 1B, New York, NY 10014 NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this Foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.

DATED: May 13, 2024 Gross Polowy LLC Attorney(s) For Plaintiff(s) 1775 Wehrle Drive, Suite 100 Williamsville, NY 14221 The law firm of Gross Polowy LLC and the attorneys whom it employs are debt collectors who are attempting to collect a debt. Any information obtained by them will be used for that purpose. 80873

Zyero LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 4/7/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 228 Park Ave S PMB 416142, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of NORTHCREST GARDENS HOUSING, L.P. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/21/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LP: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. Latest date on which the LP may dissolve is 12/31/2123. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

TOP CHOICE SERVICING, LLC. App. for Auth. filed with the SSNY on 05/14/24. Originally filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware on 9/27/2023. 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, 1500 Broadway, 2022, New York, NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK: COUNTY OF NEW YORK. JY TANGEROUS L.P., Pltf v. SIXTH STREET COMMUNITY CENTER, INC, et al., Defts. Index No. 850041/2021pursuant to the Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 16, 2023 and entered on October 12, 2023, I will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, at the Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, New York, room 130 on June 26, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., prem. k/a 638 East Sixth Street, New York, New York 10009, Block 387, Lot 128 (the “Property”). Approx. amt of judgment is $ 1,483,225.50, plus costs, attorneys’ fees and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. Paul Sklar, Esq., Referee. Jacobowitz Newman Tversky LLP, Attys. for Plaintiff, 377 Pearsall Ave., Ste C, Cedarhurst, NY.

The West Prjct LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/14/2024. Office: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 110 Horatio St #111, New York, NY 10014. Purpose: Any lawful act.

The Missouri Rowe Collective LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/07/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 228 Park Ave S PMB 321009, New York, NY, 100031502. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice is hereby given that a license, serial number 1367346, for liquor, wine, and beer has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor, wine and beer at retail in a tavern under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 620 E. 6th Street, S-1, New York, NY 10009, for on-premise consumption. Little Fish Reserve LLC d/b/a Rosella Bar Miller

Notice of Formation of MAD RIVER MANOR PRESERVATION GP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/16/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LF 2024 RETAIL LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/09/24. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Larstrand Corporation, 500 Park Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

McDonough Engineering Practice, PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/27/2023. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 3528 80th Street, Jackson Heights, New York, 11372. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of 170 EAST 83RD STREET OWNER

LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/24/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/07/24. Princ. office of LLC: 7 Penn Plaza, Ste. 600, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808-1674. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of HAUTE HOME LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/29/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 17 E. 84th St., Apt. 9A, NY, NY 10028. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Sandi Harris Pleeter at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of FIVE IRON GOLF KIRKLAND LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/26/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 883 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Compass Rose Publishing LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 4/27/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 7014 13TH AVENUE, SUITE 202, BROOKLYN, NY, 11228. Purpose: Any lawful act.

STARLIGHT EVENTS GROUP

Notice of Formation of NORWALK NORTH HOUSING, L.P. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/21/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LP: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. Latest date on which the LP may dissolve is 12/31/2123. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

One Golden Eagle LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/23/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: U.S. Corp. Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Ave., Ste. 202, Bklyn, NY, 11228. Purpose: Any lawful act.

LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/24/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 7014 13th Ave Ste 210, Bklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Notice of Qualification of FORTHILL WALKER HOLDER, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/20/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/16/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 802 N. French St., 10th Fl., Wilmington, DE 19801. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of AlleyCorp Exavir 2022, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/23/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/07/22. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 220 5th Ave., 17th Fl., NY, NY 10001. DE addr. of LLC: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

TAMARES CORNER OF MAIN LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/20/19. 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 Braunstein Turkish LLP, 7600 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 402, Woodbury, NY 11797. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Sophie Amelkin Music LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on April 14, 2024. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 110-20 71st Avenue, Apt 204, Forest Hills, NY 11375. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Uptown Clay LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/22/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 14 Bogardus Pl. #5W, NY, NY 10040. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Pars Abode, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/11/2023. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 29 Burt Ct, Valley Stream NY 11581. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Jamie Samantha Glass LCSW PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/03/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 228 Park Ave S, #941255, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of LLC

Name: 216 E 6 Street LLC Articles of Organization filed by the Department of State of New York on: 04/03/2024 Office location: County of New York. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: c/o The Sabet Group, 38 West 31 Street, Suite 3, New York, NY 10001. Purpose: Any and all lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of LLC

Name: 329 E 17 Street LLC Articles of Organization filed by the Department of State of New York on: 04/03/2024. Office location: County of New York. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: c/o The Sabet Group, 38 West 31 Street, Suite 3, New York, NY 10001. Purpose: Any and all lawful activities.

Harvest NP in Psychiatry, PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/19/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 7014 13th Ave., Ste. 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of THIRD PRIME CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.P. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/02/24. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/29/16. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Application of Authority of Limited Liability Company Zen Org LLC (“LLC”). LLC Application for Authority filed with the Secretary of State of New York (“SSNY”) on February 13, 2024. N.Y. Department of State Office location: One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany NY 12231. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against LLC served upon it is c/o the LLC: Zen Org LLC, 401 Ryland Street, Suite 200-A, Reno, NV 89502. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION OF AUTHORITY IN NEW YORK BY A FOREIGN LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. Name: JANS Investment Company LLC. The fictitious name which the LLC will use in the State of New York is AntNick Company LLC. Application of Authority filed with sec. of state of NY (SOS) on 4/24/24. Office location: New York County. SOS is designated as agent of LLC for service of process. SOS shall mail copy of process to 105 Fifth Ave, 5D, NY, NY 10003. Purpose: All lawful purposes.

Notice of Formation of EH DOMINION HOLDING COMPANY, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/29/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 55 Water St., NY, NY 10038. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Attn: Jeffrey Chansler at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of 499 GRAND ST, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/10/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/23/24. NYS fictitious name: GB 499 GRAND ST, LLC. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Pure Holding LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/08/2023. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 7 Sutton Square, NY, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of Cameron Enterprises A Limited Partnership filed with the NY Secretary of State on January 30, 2024, Office Location New York County. LLC formed in Oklahoma (OK) on 2/18/1986. Secretary of State of New York is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. Secretary of State of New York shall mail process to 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10005. Oklahoma address of LLC is 9000 Cameron Parkway, Oklahoma City, OK 73114. Certificate of Formation filed with OK Secretary of State, 421 NW 13th St., Ste 210/220, Oklahoma City, OK 73103, Purpose: any lawful activity.

111 CHAMBERS STREET LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/01/24. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 111 Chambers Street, Apartment 3, New York, NY 10007. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of MH Equestrian, LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with NY Dept. of State on 8/15/23. Office location: New York County. NY Sec. of State designated agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served, and shall mail process to The LLC, c/o Monica L Halem, MD, FAAD, 988 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10075. DE addr. of LLC c/o Vanguard Corporate Services Ltd, 3500 S Dupont Hwy, Dover, DE 19901. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St, Dover, DE 19901 on 8/9/23. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Rake Eats LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/05/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 154 Attorney Street, Unit 702, New York, NY, 10002. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Lanark Consulting LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/18/24. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 983 Wyckoff Ave #1, Ridgewood, NY 11385. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Ambitious Soule L.L.C. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/08/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & mail a copy to: 7014 13th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful act.

KREISMANN ADR SERVICES, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 5/09/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 2500 Westchester Ave, STE 117, Purchase, NY 10577. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of DD BEDFORD PARKING LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/09/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 7 Penn Plaza, Ste. 600, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of BST KNOX LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/01/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/22/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 2125TH9B LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/01/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 212 Fifth Ave., 9B, NY, NY 10010. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Rental.

Notice of Qualification of COMBINED BUILDING SERVICES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/07/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/24/86. Princ. office of LLC: 150 E. 42nd St., Fl. 7, NY, NY 10017. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK.

OCTAVIA CONDOMINIUM, BY ITS BOARD OF MANAGERS, Plaintiff -against- AASH TWO CORP., et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated February 2, 2024 and entered on February 6, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on June 26, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known as Unit No. 6B in the premises known as Octavia and by the Street Number 216-218 East 47th Street, Borough of Manhattan, together with an undivided 1.69% interest in the common elements. Block: 01320 Lot: 1310

Said premises known as 216 EAST 47TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10017

Approximate amount of lien $89,663.03 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 154684/2023.

SOFIA BALILE, ESQ., Referee

Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 444 Madison Ave., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022

Notice of Formation of LP PRESERVATION HTC LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/23/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 116 E. 27th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Real estate.

100 BARCLAY 16M LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/05/24. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 100 Barclay Street, 16M, New York, NY 10007. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of ARTEMIS OUTDOOR HOLDINGS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/14/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/07/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association, Plaintiff AGAINST Eric Braverman a/k/a Eric R. Braverman; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered February 22, 2024 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on July 17, 2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 200 Chambers Street Unit 26C, New York, NY 10007. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block 142 Lot 1183. Approximate amount of judgment $4,900,532.49 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 850253/2019. The auction will be conducted pursuant to the COVID-19 Policies Concerning Public Auctions of Foreclosed Property established by the First Judicial District. Matthew D. Hunter, III, Esq., Referee LOGS Legal Group LLP f/k/a Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792 Dated: February 26, 2024 79829

Notice of Qualification of BMH Penn, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/16/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Pennsylvania (PA) on 06/21/18. Princ. office of LLC: Three Logan Sq., 1717 Arch Street, Ste. 5100, Philadelphia, PA 19103. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of the Commonwealth of PA, 302 N. Office Bldg., 401 North St., Harrisburg, PA 17120. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of 980 MADISON AVENUE HOLDINGS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/30/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/14/07. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Mega Mode LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/19/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 207 W 110th St, Unit 16, New York, NY 10026. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Crowned Marketing Solutions LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 6/6/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 88 Greenwich St #809, New York, NY 10006. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of 251 WEST 91ST STREET 4A LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/23/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

GEBAYA LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/04/2024. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 420 EAST 111TH STREET, P.O. BOX 689, NEW YORK, NY 10029. Purpose: Any lawful act.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK LINKER NOTES, LLC, Plaintiff, Against MARC SCOTT KALLMAN, ET AL

Defendant(s)

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale, duly entered 01/25/2024, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction, at the New York County Supreme Courthouse, in Room 130 at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on 6/26/2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 52 East End Avenue Ph 2, Manhattan, NY, 10028 And Described As Follows:

ALL that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in The Condominium Unit (Hereinafter Referred To As The "Unit") Know As Unit No. PH-2 In The Building (Herinafter Referred To As The "Building") Known As 52 East End Avenue Condominium And By The Street Number 52 East End Avenue, Borough Of Manhattan, County Of New York, City And State Of New York.

Block 1578 Lot 1083

The approximate amount of the current Judgment lien is $618,916.49 plus interest and costs. The Premises will be sold subject to provisions of the aforesaid Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale; Index # 850273/2019

Mark L. McKew, Esq., Referee. Richland & Falkowski, PLLC, 28-07 Jackson Avenue, 5th Floor, LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101

Dated: 3/4/2024 File Number: KALLMAN CA

My Juneteenth

demands for racial justice, while the American judiciary methodically goes about dismantling civil rights.

But Juneteenth had already resonated profoundly with a new generation of unapologetically Black activists who celebrate it in ways I never saw people react to Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, or any other holiday, for that matter.

As the director of a Black community organizing group, I watched Black abolitionists, anti-capitalists, and self-proclaimed radicals alike claim Junetheenth as their own. While organizations and politicians routinely spend MLK Day lining up speeches and ceremonies, it’s more common to party and come together as Black family and community on Juneteenth. Sure, MLK Day points to a vision of American progress, but Juneteenth more keenly evokes Black transcendence and Afrofuturism.

It’s easy to turn a jaundiced eye toward national holidays, especially one that recalls a moment in which enslaved Texans had to be told that they were already free. I will choose to see Juneteenth not as something that the American government or anyone else has the ability to recognize and give us, but, in the spirit of selfdetermination, as a grace and freedom that we Black people, from every part of the world, can always grant ourselves.

Mark Winston Griffith is co-executive director of the progressive news broadcast network, Free Speech TV. He is the co-creator and host of Schools Colors, a documentary podcast about race, class, and power in American cities and schools that was distributed by NPR.

Puerto Rico

Continued from page 11

Puerto Rico. She sees it differently, so when the MVC party was founded, they actually created a chapter in the diaspora, and that chapter in the diaspora has votes and voting power in the assemblies and in the decisionmaking processes for the party on the island. That’s why she came here: one was to walk alongside Dalmau in the parade, to uplift the alliance, but two, it was to engage in conversations with us because she values us, and she believes that we have a role to play.”

The MVC, a political party that was only created in 2019, has already shaken up the political landscape in Puerto Rico. In its first electoral effort, the MVC was able to win two senatorial seats: one for Rivera Lassén, the other for Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl

This year, the MVC was campaigning for the Nov. 5 general elections with two candidates for at-large seats in the House of Representatives and two for the Senate. Just this past Tuesday, June 10, though, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico disqualified four of MVC’s five national candidates, leaving the party with only the resident commissioner candidacy of Rivera Lassén. The disqualification was based on a lawsuit initiated by one of the island’s

major political parties.

By founding a political party, Rivera Lassén is in line with Afro Puerto Ricans who have founded and/or led major political parties on the archipelago. The attorney Pedro Albizu Campos was the president of and spokesperson for the independenceminded Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico. Dr. José Celso Barbosa, a medical doctor whose work among the island’s poor Blacks led him to push for the creation of a health insurance system, led the island’s first statehood movement and founded the Republican Party of Puerto Rico in 1899.

As a senator, Rivera Lassén has underwritten progressive policies such as a restorative justice bill and Senate Bill 1282 (PS 1282), the island’s version

3.5x2

of a CROWN Act, which bans discrimination against people based on their hair styles.

Mark-Viverito said, “When she called me to tell me that she was going to run, I cried. I cried because I just know the significance of what her candidacy represents for us, and what we can aspire for Puerto Rico to be. This is another Puerto Rico that she represents, and she wants that Puerto Rico to lead and to govern and to be respected.

“It’s very important, at the crossroads we’re in, not only Puerto Rico, but also what we’re going through here, to have people like Ana Irma running for office and get them elected. It’s very much needed if we’re going to change and build a more inclusive society.”

Puerto Rico’s Sen. Ana Irma Rivera Lassén is campaigning to serve as Puerto Rico’s sole representative to U.S. Congress. (Ernesto Morales photo)

third political party and an uptick in support for a third party, 40 to 46%, among Democrats.

“Historically, African Americans strongly identified with the Democratic Party, and what we’ve seen with every generation since the civil rights period is—even though Black voters continue to vote at a rate of about 90% Democratic—more registering as Independents, although they may ultimately vote for the Democratic Party regardless,” said Omar Wasow, an assistant professor in political science at the University of California-Berkeley who studies race and American politics. “There’s a kind of loosening of that historically strong bond.”

Wasow posited this may have to do more with the label and expectations of being a Democrat or Republican than policy.

“We’re in this hyperpartisan period in America, where for a lot of people, the folks who care a lot about politics are seen unfavorably, so people register Independent simply because they don’t want to be associated with these labels they perceive as damaged and attached to hyperpartisans who they don’t identify with,” Wasow said.

Wasow said that even with Black and Brown voters moving away from the Democratic ticket, it would still be “exceedingly hard” to disrupt the two-party system and elect an Independent.

The two-party system is embedded in the country’s voting laws and electoral college in what’s referred to as “first past the post” or a reliance on a plurality of votes to win, he said. One of the only third-party candidates to come close to a presidential election was former Alabama Governor George Wallace in 1968. Wallace was a racist and segregationist who was endorsed by, among others, the Ku Klux Klan.

The Independent candidates running this year are philosopher and former Harvard University professor Dr. Cornel West; political scion, lawyer, and anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; and socialist Claudia De la Cruz.

In terms of sheer numbers, Kennedy has raised the most money of the three, with $43,180,717 from individuals and $13,200 from political action committees (PACs). Most of his financial support comes from

Nevada and California donations, reported the Federal Election Commission (FEC). West has raised $1,015,257, with most of his contributions from Texas, California, and New York. Trailing behind is De la Cruz, who has raised $178,945 and has virtually no local or national support.

Kennedy is often slammed for his “extremist views,” such as linking vaccines to autism, supporting a 15-week abortion ban, and advocating for corporate interests instead of the environment. Others don’t like that he rides the coattails of his name, since he is the son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy.

“I can understand why people want to vote against Biden,” said Wasow, “but Kennedy is coasting off the name of his father and uncle, who are often revered in the Black community for some of the good works that they did on civil rights. Carpetbagging.”

Still, polling from Quinnipiac University and the Marquette University Law School has shown that Kennedy could get the second-highest vote share of any independent or third-party candidate in the past half-century, splitting the Republican or Republican-leaning vote. He’s also reportedly polling well among conservative Latino voters.

“The threat is real and growing by the day, and we have to mobilize now before it’s too late,” said MoveOn Political Action Executive Director Rahna Epting in a statement. “Democrats have ignored third-party threats in past presidential elections to their own peril. It is up to us to come together to protect our communities against Donald Trump, RFK Jr., Jill Stein, and the MAGA Republican agenda.”

Meanwhile, West has been keeping up a robust Justice For All campaign schedule preaching the absolute opposite of Kennedy.

West is the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary, former University Professor at Harvard University, and the first Black person to receive a Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University. As a well-known author on race and democracy, West has centered his campaign on reviving the nation from its current sense of “moral bankruptcy.” His lengthy list of progressive

policies includes abolishing poverty and homelessness, national free pre-K childcare, ending all pay discrepancies based on race and gender identity, instituting a four-day work week, ending medical apartheid, giving reparations to Black U.S. residents, and addressing the disproportionate maternal mortality rate for Black pregnancies. West specifically takes aim at the “corporate-dominated two-party system” by running as an Independent.

Wasow said that a “Black radical” candidate like West could appeal much more to far-left white voters than Black and Brown voters.

“I think Black voters are attuned to who is supporting Black issues—voting rights, health care, improved economy—and just being Black is neither necessary nor sufficient,” said Wasow. “It’s not that there isn’t a Black radical tradition; it’s this deep pragmatism [among Blacks] that says there’s hell to pay if people who despise us get power.”

At the moment, West’s campaign is “broke” and catching flack over recent reports that Republicans are working to put him on the ballot in North Carolina and siphon votes from Biden to boost Trump’s chances. West hasn’t wholly condemned the assistance and his campaign said they were not fully aware of Republican efforts to help him, NBC News reported.

De La Cruz is from the South Bronx

and is second-generation Dominican. She’s been a political and education organizer in the city for about 30 years. Her campaign exists to give people an alternative choice to vote for and highlight the pitfalls of capitalism. She believes that the Democratic Party kills progressive movements and upholds the current “sham” of democracy in the country, she said.

“There’s a lot of discontent that’s been growing, but there’s always been discontentment of the people with the two-party system. It’s hardly that you vote for someone; it’s that you vote against the other guy,” De La Cruz said. “The narrative of ‘the lesser of two evils’ is not as strong in our community as it used to be.”

De La Cruz said her candidacy isn’t splitting the vote for Biden; rather, his funding of foreign wars and refusal to aid migrants hasn’t “earned” people’s votes.

Her policies include seizing assets of major corporations in the U.S., cutting the federal military budget by 90%, solving the housing crisis, and supporting efforts for Black and indigenous reparations.

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

The Yankees’ deep roster flexes its power as they maintain

MLB’s best record

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

Seventy games into the 162-game Major League Baseball regular season, the Yankees have solidified themselves as one of the best teams in the sport. They were 48-21 before facing the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night in the third game of a four-game road series. The Yankees held a 2 1/2 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East division and had the most wins in MLB, two more than the National League’s Philadelphia Phillies, who were 46-20.

The Yankees depth throughout their roster has been a key strength. They hosted the preseason World Series favorite Los Angeles Dodgers—who led the NL West with a 42-26 record when MLBs schedule began yesterday—in the Bronx this past weekend without outfielder Juan Soto, who has been sensational playing in the final year of his contract after being acquired in a seven-player trade with the San Diego Padres in December.

Soto was batting .317 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI in 244 at-bats prior to last night’s game. But he sat out all three-games versus the Dodgers recovering from left forearm inflammation.

The Yankees dropped the series opener 2-1 in 11 innings on Friday and manager Aaron Boone’s squad was pounded 11-3 on Saturday.

The breadth of the Yankees’ quality was ex-

emplified on Sunday when outfielder Trent Grisham, who came to the Yankees with Soto from the Padres, hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning to give New York a 6-3 lead. Grisham was the Padres’ starting center fielder last season but has played a limited role with the Yankees, appearing in just 27 games as of last night.

Another example of the team’s foundational talent base is that they have thrived without their ace, starter Gerrit Cole, who is progressing towards making his 2024 season debut. Cole was shut down in spring training with nerve inflammation in his right elbow but made his second rehab start on Sunday.

There is no definitive timetable for last season’s AL Cy Young Award winner to return to the rotation, but there is the possibility he could be back in the fold next week. In his absence, the Yankees’ starting rotation has been superb. On Tuesday, the group received another strong outing on Long Island from native Marcus Stroman, who went 5 2/3 innings, allowing just four hits and no earned runs to improve to 6-2. Stroman is 4-0 in his last six starts.

In the game, Aaron Judge hit his 25th home run, which topped the Major’s before yesterday’s slate of games, and extended his on-base streak to 36 games, which also led the MLB.

The Yankees will be in Boston for three games this weekend beginning tomorrow and then be back home to meet the Orioles for three Tuesday through Thursday.

MLB father and son, Mike Cameron and Daz Cameron, exchange lineup cards

By KEVIN MOORE MLBbro.com

Special to the AmNews

Last Thursday, Oakland A’s outfielder Daz Cameron had a moment he will never forget before facing the Seattle Mariners. Prior to the first pitch, the 27-year-old, who was selected by the Houston Astros in 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, was informed that he would deliver the lineup card to the umpires before the game.

But unbeknownst to Cameron, the man presenting the Mariners lineup card would be his father, Mike Cameron, who played 17 seasons (1995-2011) in Major League Baseball with eight teams, was a three-time Gold Glove outfielder and 2001 All-Star. The elder Cameron is currently the special assignment coach for Mariners, the franchise for which he played from 2000 to 2003.

So when the younger Cameron went to home plate and saw his father standing on the other side, it was a proud surprise.

“That’s how I found out,” said Daz. To see him at home plate in a big league stadium, it was inspiring. It’s something that I won’t forget. It was special for me...

“Nothing beats an actual regular-season big league game,” he continued. “To see him on the field, shake his hand and talk to him for a little bit before the game and ex-

change cards, that was cool to do.” Daz and Mike shared a lighthearted moment.

“It was a casual talk,” Daz said. “After

we exchanged cards, we said good luck to each other. The umpires were standing around just laughing.”

Cameron made his season debut with the A’s on May 23 and in his first big league game since 2022. He went 2-for-5 at the plate against the Colorado Rockies with a home run and two runs scored in a 10-9 A’s win in 11 innings.

Cameron can provide value to the team both at the plate and in the field. He can solidly play any position in the outfield and has shown the ability to hit for average and power. He made his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers in 2020 and in three seasons with the organization played in 70 games.

Before joining the A’s this season, he put up some impressive numbers in the minors, appearing in 41 games and batting .307 with six home runs and 27 RBI for the Las Vegas Aviators, the A’s Triple-A affiliate. In 11 games with Oakland this season with 35 at-bats before they went up against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, Cameron hadn’t yet found his groove, hitting .214 with a home run and four RBI. He is looking to establish himself on a team which last made the playoffs in 2020.

Oakland A’s outfielder Daz Cameron (left), exchanges lineup cards with his father, Mike Cameron, a coach for the Seattle Mariners, before a game on June 6. (MLBbro.com photo)

Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham, who was in the lineup on Sunday filling in for Juan Soto (left forearm inflammation) flips his bat after hitting a three-run home run in his team’s 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Liberty end Sun’s undefeated season and craft seven-game

winning streak

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

In the New York Liberty’s win over the Washington Mystics last Sunday, Jonquel Jones not only led the team’s offense with 29 points, but also established a new scoring high for her Liberty career. The win brought the Liberty to 11–2 overall and 5–0 in Commissioner’s Cup games, which guarantees homecourt for the Commissioner’s Cup Championship on June 25. New York has thus far accumulated $15,000 for Women Creating Change, the social justice organization selected by the team related to the Cup.

The Liberty returned to the Barclays Center on Sunday, admittedly tired from a three-game road trip, which included an 82–75 victory over the Connecticut Sun the day before that ended the Sun’s nine-game run to start the season. Against the Mystics, which is the bottom team in the WNBA, the Liberty struggled at times before prevailing 93–88.

“It was the professionalism,” said Jones. “We understood that regardless of the situation we’re in, we can use every game, every opportunity, to get better and be ready, so that in the playoffs, we’ll be able to say

we’ve been tested in various situations.”

Fourth-year guard Sabrina Ionescu has been consistently scoring in double figures, including 24 points in the win over the Sun. On Tuesday, USA Basketball announced its final roster for the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team set to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, naming Ionescu and Breanna Stewart to the 12-player group. The team will be vying for its eight consecutive gold medal. That will be a third Olympics for Stewart and a first for Ionescu, both of whom played on the winning U.S. World Cup team in 2022.

What has received a lot of attention is that this year’s top rookie, Caitlin Clark, will not be on the Olympic team. This has overshadowed those who will be on the team, from Diana Taurasi, 42, who is going for her sixth gold medal, to Alyssa Thomas, getting her first Olympic spot at age 32. Just so people remember, Ionescu is also a number one draft pick and a brilliant three-point shooter who earlier this year narrowly lost a three-point contest with Steph Curry. Why not give credit and earned respect where it’s due?

The Liberty have a few days off and are back in action on Saturday against the Las Vegas Aces in Las Vegas.

New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones scored gamehigh 29 points in her team’s 93-88 victory over Washington Mystics at Barclays Center on Sunday (Brandon Todd/New York Liberty photo)

Basketball great Teresa Weatherspoon reflects

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

Teresa Weatherspoon is a pioneering basketball figure. She was a member of the inaugural New York Liberty team when the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) launched its first season in 1997. A two-time All-American and NCAA champion at Louisiana Tech in 1988, the Pineland, Texas, native had a storied playing career: five-time WNBA All-Star, four-time All-WNBA Second Team honoree, two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year; member of the league’s 15th (2001) and 20th Anniversary Teams; and driving force behind the Liberty making it to the WNBA Finals four times between 1997 and 2003, although the team came up short of winning a title in each season.

Affectionately known as T-Spoon, the 58-year-old 2019 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee is currently in her first season as head coach of the Chicago Sky. She recently reflected on her career playing for the Liberty before leading the Sky against her former team.

“(The fans) treated me with such kindness and generosity from day one of me entering into this place, and it has been the same from that day until this day, so I’m thankful and I’m

Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon is one of New York Liberty’s all-time great players.

(AP photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

on time

with Liberty

grateful for the love that’s given,” said Weatherspoon,. “And it’s definitely given it right back. I throw it right back at them because I love every one of them tremendously.”

Weatherspoon is not a coaching novice, having guided her college alma mater from 2009–14. In facing and following the Liberty through the lens of an experienced coach, she has the utmost respect for how today’s team has carried on a legacy she greatly helped to build and the fans’ continued enthusiasm.

“When I take a look at the way the fans are supporting [the current team], that does bring up memories of how it was for us,” she said. “We could walk into the arena getting ready to play and it was just packed—fans are going crazy. You’ve got that same thing here—they have their towels waving and everyone gets excited about what’s going on, and it’s great to see. It’s great to see this across the board with people supporting women’s basketball and what we do.”

Being with the Sky is both different and the same, Weatherspoon said.

“It just so happens that I’m in a different uniform. I’m on the other side,” she said. “They know I’m a competitor. Everybody in here knows who I am. They know how I approach the game, so there’s no difference. I’m going to approach it the same way as a coach.”

Columbia basketball standout Perri Page attends Black Student-Athlete Summit

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

As Perri Page prepares for her junior year at Columbia University, she is not only emboldened by the Lions’ first-ever trip to the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament, but her own journey of being a student-athlete with a voice. Last month, the 5-11 guard/ forward from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania participated in the Black Student-Athlete Summit held at the University of Southern California.

“It was incredible to see how many people showed up, studentathletes from all across the country,” said Page, who is involved in the Black Student-Athlete Alliance at Columbia and in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“There were even professional athletes on panels, speaking about what they learned as a studentathlete and what they wish they could have done if they could do it all over again.”

The student-athletes were able to engage with current and former student-athletes on numerous aspects of the collegiate experience.

“I was able to attend an Ivy League plus Duke University panel,” said Page. “They spoke about the experiences they had, some things that made other groups butt heads with

Columbia University guard/ forward Perri Page, pictured playing in Columbia’s first-ever NCAA Tournament game in March, was a participant at last month’s Black StudentAthlete Summit in Los Angeles. (Columbia University Athletics/Josh Wang photo)

them and what they have done to bring Black student-athletes together to help empower them. Also, what they can do to move forward and help raise awareness for what they need on their campuses.”

Each school on the panel shared strategies to help Black studentathletes have satisfying college experiences. Page is the wellness coordinator for the Columbia

women’s basketball team.

Former Lions basketball standout Kaitlyn Davis attended USC for graduate school this past year. Although Davis, a New York Liberty draft pick, headed out to her professional team in Mexico before the summit, she was able to connect Page with several people.

“It was good for me to understand and meet with people who

had the same ambitions and goals as I do, who aspire to be great and successful,” said Page. “[At Columbia], it’s great to build awareness about all different cultures and communities. It brings us together to have these conversations and share experiences.”

Page has returned to campus to help with basketball camps. This summer, she will balance

an internship with training for the upcoming season. With the graduation of Abbey Hsu, Columbia’s first-ever WNBA draft pick, the pressure is on to keep the wins coming.

“I was just named captain for my junior and senior years,” said Page. “It is a big honor for me to have a voice and to take on this leadership role.”

Reallocated medals to be celebrated at the Olympics for the first time in Paris

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

When the Olympic Games get underway in Paris this summer, there will be an Olympic first. While medals have been reallocated over the years due to various disqualifications, these Olympics will be the first time those medals will be officially presented at the Games. Ten athletes will receive their medals at Champions Park. Among those medalists is the entire medal podium in the women’s 400-meter hurdles from the 2012 Olympics in London. The disqualification of gold medalist Natalya Antyukh of Russia due to doping means American Lashinda Demus will receive the gold medal, Zuzana Hejnova of Czech Republic will get the silver, and Kaliese Spen -

cer Carter of Jamaica will receive the bronze.

“I’m extremely happy, but at the same time I think, ‘Imagine if that would have happened 12 years ago,’” said Carter. “I know I’m going to feel great when I get my medal, but also certain it won’t be the same [feeling] that I would have had 12 years ago if I were to get it right there in the stadium at the time of the race.”

The 2012 Olympics were amazing for Jamaican track athletes. Usain Bolt and ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce both repeated as champions in the 100 meters, among multiple other medalists. After missing the 2008 Olympics due to injury, Carter had been competing consistently.

“England has a lot of Jamaicans, so it was one of the places I wanted to do so well.

I always performed well when I went there in the past,” said Carter. “In the finals, I was in lane eight. I gave it my all. I got a season’s best. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to finish in the top three. It would have been one of the greatest things for me having gotten that medal right there and then.”

Carter, 37, was still training and competing until last year. When she first received news that she would be receiving the bronze medal, she was in disbelief. Now a mentor to young track athletes, having this tangible moment will be special. Her three-year-old son, Michael, will accompany her to Paris.

“I have my suit from 2012; I’ve never worn it,” said Carter. “If I need to wear it, I will, but I’ll see if I get the 2024 suit. If not, I’ll put my 2012 suit on.”

2012 Jamaican Olympian sprinter Kaliese Spencer Carter (right) will be honored this summer at the Paris Olympics with a reallocated bronze medal. (Photo courtesy of Kaliese Spencer Carter)

Sports

The Mavericks try to solve the Celtics’ stifling defense back home in Dallas

By JAIME C. HARRIS

AmNews Sports Editor

The Dallas Mavericks were back home last night (Wednesday) for Game 3 of the NBA Finals after being stifled by the Boston Celtics’ masterful defensive execution in Games 1 and 2.

The Celtics opened the best-of-seven series by holding the Mavericks’ seemingly irrepressible future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame guard Kyrie Irving to just 12 points on 6-19 shooting in a 107-89 win, and then harassed him into missing 11 of 18 attempts for only 16 points as they won Game 2 105-98.

Although Irving’s backcourt mate, Luka Doncic, an offensive savant, posted 30 and 32 in Games 1 and 2 respectively, the Celtics’ blueprint, crafted by head coach Joe Mazzulla and his staff, of preventing the duo from igniting while minimizing the Mavericks role players was carried out nearly flawlessly. In Game 2, the Celtics held five Mavericks reserves, who collectively played 62 minutes, to a combined nine points.

Boasting four world-class defenders in the 2024 NBA All-Defensive Team selections, guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, wing Jaylen Brown—a perennial All-Defensive candidate—and forward Jayson Tatum, who has now become one of the sport’s best two-way players, the Celtics relentlessly disrupted the Mavericks at the point of attack and compelled their head coach Jason Kidd into deep contemplation as to how to counter. Moreover, Boston’s 7-2 center Kristaps Porzingis, who returned to the lineup in Game 1 after being sidelined since April 29 with a calf injury, proved to be a force on both sides of the floor blocking and altering Dallas’ shots and netting 20 points in Game 1.

On offense, four of the Celtics starters scored at least 18 points, led by point guard Jrue Holiday’s 26, who converted 11 of 14 shots in addition to snaring 11 rebounds. The 33-year-old, 14-year pro was a key component of the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2021 title squad and has brought a championship pedigree to the franchise after being acquired by the Celtics in a trade with the Bucks last September.

Holiday was averaging 19 points and 9.5 rebounds in this year’s finals heading into

last night’s matchup to augment Boston’s two superstars, Brown and Tatum.

“That’s why they are the No. 1 team in the NBA with the No. 1 record,” said Doncic after Game 2, referring to the Celtics’ NBA best 64-18 regular season record. “They have a lot of great players. Basically, anybody can get off.”

But another injury to Porzingis had the Celtics considering adjustments ahead of last night’s game. He sustained what has been termed a rare knee injury, a “torn

medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg,” as revealed by the Celtics. It occurred late in the third quarter in Game 2.

Earlier this week Porzingis’ desire to be on the court may have contrary to the diagnosis.

“It’s a serious injury and at the end of the day, our medical team is not going to put him in any bad situations,” said Mazzulla. “We’ve taken the decision to play out of his hands. He’s going to do everything he can to play and we’re going to leave it up to our medical team.” Porzingis’ status has been listed as day-to-day. Game 4 is Friday in Dallas and Game 5 back in Boston on Monday.

“That’s something I’ll leave in the medical staff’s hands to determine whether I can go or no,” he said. “But from my side, as I said, nothing is going to stop me unless I’m told I’m not allowed to play. That’s the only reason I would not be out there.”

Boston Celtics guard (l) Jrue Holiday was averaging 19 points and 9.5 rebounds in this year’s NBA Finals heading into Game 3 last night while Dallas Mavericks guard (r) Luka Doncic, who was averaging 31 points, was looking to lift his team up from a 2-0 series deficit. (AP photos/Steven Senne)