New York Amsterdam News Issue #50 Dec.15-21, 2022

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(GIN)—Zambian officials are seeking an explanation from Russian authorities of the death of

engineering in Moscow. The student was killed in September fighting on the side of the Russian army.

of

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of operations for the Russian paramilitary Wagner group, acknowledged this week that they recruited the Zambian student from a Russian prison, but claimed he volunteered for the job.

“Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda, on September 22, was one of the first to enter the enemy trenches, showing courage and bravery,” Prigozhin was reported to have written on his social network.

The mercenary group is said to be recruiting fighters directly from

U.N. holds first meeting of Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

The first meeting of the United Nations’ Permanent Forum on People of African Descent took place from Dec. 5 to 8 in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting, which was also livestreamed on UN Web TV, was the first time members of the Forum, created in August 2021, were able to come together and talk about how government policies across the world are affecting people of African descent.

Forum participants made ample reference to the guiding importance of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action (DDPA), adopted 21 years ago at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which calls on world governments to take definitive actions to invest in education, housing, health care, environmental issues and equal employment opportunities for people of African descent. Those attending also spoke of the symbolic significance of the Black Lives Matter movement protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020.

Pastor Elías Murillo Martínez, a lawyer from Colombia who is an inaugural member of the Forum, explained to the AmNews, “The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent is a platform of the utmost importance to amplify the voices of people of African descent on the road to recognition, justice and development. It will allow us to search for alternatives aimed at solving the structural problems that affect

us, the systemic racism that affects people of African descent.”

Justin Hansford, director of Howard University’s Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, who is also an elected member of the Permanent Forum, commented that “This is really the dream of Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X and so many people who have fought for human rights for Black people for generations––to have this global platform and be able to take our case before the United Nations.”

Natalia Kanem, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, called the opening of the Forum a recognition of the resilience of African people after 500-plus years of enslavement, discrimination, and the denial of land and compensation. Kanem lifted up the names of a few of the numerous activists who have made history fighting for Black people’s rights: “Queen Nzinga. Nana Yaa Asantewaa. Toussaint Louverture. Nanny of the Maroons. Harriet Tubman. Sojourner Truth. Marcus Mosiah Garvey. W.E.B. DuBois. Fernando Ortiz. Audre Lorde. Martin Luther King Jr. James Baldwin. Angela Davis. Our grandmothers and our forefathers took bold acts of great courage to bring us to this moment. Heroes past and present fought and sacrificed to make this achievement a reality,” she told those in attendance.

Various governments and civil society representatives made statements that allowed them to talk about how racism affects Black communities. Joyce McMillan,

Russian prisons with the promise of a salary and amnesty.

Zambian Minister of Foreign Affairs Stanley Kakubo is asking Russian authorities for details regarding the recruitment of Nyirenda and how he ended up fighting in Ukraine.

According to Nyirenda’s father, the youth had been sponsored to study nuclear engineering at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and was working part-time as a courier when an unknown person handed him a package containing drugs. This led to his conviction on unspecified crimes in April 2020 and a sentence of nine years at the Tyer medium security facility on the outskirts of the Russian capital. The

family was not told who conscripted their son from prison and only received a message “from a man we do not know in Russia who told us that there was a will, which our son left, and we should travel to Russia,” the father said.

The youth was killed on Sept. 22 and the ministry learned of his death on Nov. 9.

Zambia has traditionally sent students to Russia to study on scholarships, as was the case with Nyirenda.

Zambia has taken a neutral position on the Russia-Ukraine war, as many other African countries have, but says it condemns any form of war.

U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit looks to court African nations

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

This week’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit was designed as a new opportunity for the United States to prove its commitment to forging stronger ties with African nations. Some 49 African heads of state received invitations for the threeday summit, which took place Dec. 13-15 in Washington, D.C. The only nations in attendance were those that have not been sanctioned by the African Union (AU), the organizing body of the 55 countries on the continent. Six countries—Eritrea, Guinea, Sudan, Mali, Western Sahara and Burkina Faso—were not invited to take part in the summit, a U.S. State Department official acknowledged, because the U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Eritrea or Western Sahara. The other four nations are currently suspended from the AU. AU Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat was also in attendance.

“The summit is really rooted in the recognition that Africa is a key geopolitical player and one that is shaping our present and will shape our future,” U.S. senior administration officials insisted in a background press call. “As Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken underscored during one of his recent trips to the continent this year, Africa will shape the future not just of the African people, but of the world.

Indeed, with one of the world’s fastest-growing populations, largest free-trade areas, most diverse ecosystems and…largest voting––re-

gional voting groups in the United Nations, African contributions, partnerships and leadership are essential to meeting this era’s defining challenges.”

The summit began with a Young Leaders/Diaspora Forum at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. That event was aimed at recognizing the shared cultural and historical bonds the African diaspora community has within the United States.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson Gregory Meeks (D-NY) told those at the museum that he has always advocated for “a U.S. foreign policy that aims to strengthen our relationship with our African partners by drawing upon the immense talent and diverse experiences of the African diaspora.” Meeks said that serving as the first African American to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee has meant “moving Africa from the back burner to the front burner. … So that it is not just being heard by subcommittees but by the full committee and so that everybody knows the importance and significance of making sure that we are engaging with the youngest and fastestgrowing continent on the planet called Earth.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), the first naturalized U.S. citizen born in Africa to serve in the U.S. Congress, spoke up about the resiliency of Africans and Africa’s diaspora. “There is a danger to a single narrative that oftentimes

ZAMBIAN STUDENT SENT TO FIGHT IN UKRAINE FOUND DEAD ON BATTLEFIELD

Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda, a former student

nuclear

(GIN photo)

Mayor Adams’ new involuntary hospitalization directive faces legal, grassroots opposition

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

From the court of public opinion to the actual courts, Mayor Eric Adams’ recent directive to emergency responders to involuntarily hospitalize individuals with severe mental illness is facing stiff opposition. Recently, lawyers and plaintiffs from an existing class action are hoping legal avenues from their related case against the city can stifle the plan short-term.

The lawsuit was filed in December 2021 against New York City, challenging the NYPD’s involvement in responding to those with mental health disorders, and those involved requested last week for a temporary restraining order to halt the Adams’ administration’s new directive. The judge converted the request to a preliminary injunction, which would similarly prevent a legal party—in this case, the city of New York—from

taking a certain action. And in this case, the certain action is Adams’ directive to involuntarily hospitalize those with mental illness, even if they don’t pose an immediate physical threat. Such a request is handled on an expedited basis.

The coalition of lawyers and plaintiffs filing the suit included firms such as New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP and Marashi Legal and organizations such as Community Access and National Alliance on Mental Illness-NYC (NAMI-NYC).

“In the context of this pending litigation, we were really shocked when the mayor announced this new policy,” NYLPI attorney Marinda van Dalen said to the Amsterdam News. “Under the new policy, it becomes even more dangerous for people who have mental disabilities to feel safe in New York City. It’s the new standard allowing the police officer to assess on the street

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SOS

whether somebody appears mentally ill, and whether a police officer thinks they have an inability to meet their basic needs. And we believe that this new watered down standard tramples on the rights of people with mental disabilities.”

NAMI-NYC CEO Matt Kudish added that many members of the coalition suing New York City initially welcomed nationwide Critical Intervention Team programs, which train law enforcement to serve as first responders to mental health calls. But after the police-led deaths of New Yorkers experiencing mental health crises—most of whom were people of color—organizations began to rethink their stance on officer involvement and oppose measures such as Adams’ new directive.

“I’m really actually grateful that we have a mayor right now who’s focusing on serious mental illness and I think that there’s a lot that we could do to improve the lives of the people

See INVOLUNTARY on page 27

Teen slays girlfriend in Harlem, domestic violence activists

demand immediate action

By NAYABA ARINDE Amsterdam News Editor

A baby-faced alleged killer reportedly turned himself in on Monday, Dec. 12, after being sought in the death of a 16-year-old girl in Harlem.

The killing highlights two torturous NYC issues—youthful misdirection and domestic violence.

“When are we gonna make domestic violence a hate crime?” asked Stephanie McGraw almost rhetorically. The founder and CEO of WARM: We All Really Matter

said, “Raising awareness in the community about domestic violence. This is getting worse.

“Silence hides violence. If you’re silent you are part of the violence—because what you see or say might save a life. So many people saw her abused by that little boy,” said McGraw.

For a tense and gut-wrenching day from Sunday, Dec. 11, to Monday night, 18-year-old Zyaire Crumbley was being sought in the death of his girlfriend Saniyah Lawrence, 16.

The NYPD circulated video of a

shadowy figure walking away from the scene of the crime where the teenage girl had been stabbed in the neck in a transitional building on 135th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard in Harlem, just after neighbors said they heard arguing. Reports said that Crumbley felt that the young lady was seeing someone else, and that was the cause of the fight.

The NYPD press statement said that at about “5:40 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022, police responded to

See DOMESTIC VIOLENCE on page 27

Deadly year in Rikers with 19 deaths in DOC custody

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

Edgardo Mejias is the 19th person to die in—or shortly after in—Department of Corrections (DOC) custody this year. The 39-year-old was pronounced dead at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island this past Sunday, Dec. 11 at approximately 5 p.m.

“Mr. Mejias’ passing fills our hearts with sadness, and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to all who held him dear as we recognize how hard it is to lose a loved one during the holidays,” said DOC Commis-

sioner Louis A. Molina. “As with all deaths in custody, we will work with our sister agencies to ensure that this matter is thoroughly and completely investigated.”

Mejias entered DOC custody on Oct. 2, according to a department spokesperson.

This past Tuesday, Dec. 13, a City Council hearing was held about Rikers Island by the Committee of Criminal Justice. Mejias’ medical history leading up to his death was questioned but DOC officials could not be disclosed due to HIPAA policies.

“The progress is so remedial—it should shock all New Yorkers that

such basic safeguards to health and safety were not already in place,” said Committee on Criminal Justice Chair Carlina Rivera during the hearing. “The reports of conditions in Rikers that were described in today’s hearing are clear evidence that closing Rikers as planned is the only path forward. We cannot accept that the city’s jail population will inevitably increase if nothing changes.”

In Molina’s testimony, more than 500 staff members were suspended this year. Another 180 were terminated. During the hearing, Rivera revealed reports of other detainees finding Mejias before his death See RIKERS on page 31

Metro Briefs

New York Urban League welcomes three new directors to Board of Trustees

The NYUL announced three new members to the Board of Trustees. They were voted onto the board in December and will serve for a three-year term. Ward Corbett, NYUL Board chair, stated, “We are thrilled to have Reverend Jacques DeGraff, Keith Wright and Marcia Maxwell join us at this time. They collectively bring experience in working in faith communities, government, real estate and cannabis. They have served as advocates for small business owners and will help equip NYUL to further our advocacy efforts.”

This week, NYUL hosted an employment information session with Chick-Fil-A for its newest location in Harlem.

Toys being distributed to veterans’ families at Bronx Zoo

Last Saturday, Bronx Borough PresidentVanessa L. Gibson and officials from the Bronx Zoo joined Santa and Mrs. Claus at the zoo to distribute toys to local children of Bronx military families in need at the Dancing Crane Pavilion.

Spanning two BP administrations and now in its 14th year, this event has become a tradition in the Bronx. The partnership between the Bronx Zoo and Borough President Gibson is continuing to honor members of the community who have served their country but find it difficult to make ends meet during the holidays.

The Bronx Zoo serves as a collection point for donations. Toys can be purchased and donated in any of the gift shops at the Bronx Zoo or any of the other WCS zoos or aquariums in New York City. The borough president’s office manages distribution of toys to families of veterans and active-duty members of the military. Those who make a qualifying donation will receive a free ticket to the Bronx Zoo or New York Aquarium (based on the donation location).

Churches host Choose Healthy Life Community Wellness programs to eliminate health disparities in Black communities

This holiday season, Black churches are offering the ultimate gift to the community: the gift of better health. Addressing health disparity for Black and brown people, the program engages local Health Navigators to help others in their communities receive valuable health screening and services.

Churches will be hosting Choose Healthy Life Community Wellness programs in partnership with United Way of New York City and Quest Diagnostics. The events, free and open to the public, offer Blueprint for Wellness, a comprehensive risk-based healthy screening test. In addition, Health Navigators receive training at Columbia University and full-time jobs through a workforce development component of the program.

Choose Healthy Life is a non-profit faith-based organization that ensures Black churches—the oldest and most trusted institutions in the Black community—receive the resources to address health disparities through preventive wellness programs. The organization was founded in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by Debra Fraser-Howze with support from founding partner Quest Diagnostics and implementation partner United Way of New York City.

Young people in NYC still face double-digit unemployment

More than two years after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, young people in New York City continue to face double-digit unemployment, with young men experiencing the greatest challenges in finding work, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Unemployment among 16- to 24-year-olds stands at nearly 18% in the city, as compared to about 9% in the rest of New York State and 8% nationally. In comparison, overall unemployment is currently 5.6% in New York City, and 3.4% in the nation.

DiNapoli’s report found unemployment rates among young people in the city are recovering at a much slower pace due to the city being the initial epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment in 2020 for 16- to 24-year-olds in the city reached 22%, while in the rest of New York state it was 16.5%, and 15.9% across the United States. The pandemic not only caused staggering job losses in 2020, but devastated industries that employ more young people like restaurants, retail and recreation, causing more young people to leave the workforce.

Rev. Sharpton calls for unity and a summit

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

If the Rev. Al Sharpton’s call for a political summit goes as planned, a host of the state’s elected officials will convene sometime next month to discuss how to rectify the recent midterm setbacks. His call for unity, a “collectivity,” has a similar resonance to comments made by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries just before he was elected the first Black man to lead a party in Congress.

“I believe that Speaker Carl Heastie, Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and [Gov.] Hochul have the ability, the skill and the wherewithal to strike the right balance moving forward in the next legislative session. It’s not my job to weigh in aggressively with respect to the specific legislative path that they should take, but I do believe that they will aggressively address the issue of public safety in the next legislative session,” he told the Gothamist.

It’s a bit too early to say who will be at the summit, and certainly the issue of bail reform and why the Democrats lost three seats in the House will be on the agenda. Crime will ineluctably be a topic of concern and as Sharpton noted, “They

haven’t been in the room together to talk about crime. Why are we not talking collectively?”

Asked what factors were decisive in the midterm election results, Jeffries was unwilling to place the blame on the issue of bail reform laws, particularly on the loss of congressional seats in the Hudson Valley and Long Island.

“I think the [state] Legislature needs to take a look at the criminal justice system comprehensively in the next session and figure out what is the best way to balance public safety with fairness and criminal justice reform. We’ve been able to do it successfully in Washington, D.C. and bring together Democrats and Republicans on this,” he said.

He and Sharpton seem to strike a similar chord, and that comes as no surprise given their long association and often working in tandem on community problems. That accord echoed Sharpton’s statement on Jeffries’ election. “Another barrier to equal representation has come down. Next year, Democrats will enter the House Chamber led by a Black representative for the first time. This has been a long overdue moment in America— more than 150 years after Joseph

Rainey became the first Black American to serve in the House. I think today of one of my mentors, Brooklyn’s own Shirley Chisholm, who over 50 years ago became the first Black woman elected to the House. She fought to make sure Black voices didn’t only have a seat at the table, but that America listened when they spoke.

“They and those who came in between laid the groundwork, so that today we can call Hakeem Jeffries the House Minority Leader,” Sharpton continued. “He grew up in the National Action Network, standing with us over the last 25 years to fight for justice. The NAN DC Bureau has worked with him and other members to push for policies that advances justice. All that time, Rep. Jeffries has been our ally in government who appreciates that legislation is the true pathway to change. Even with a GOP-led house, we are confident he will not give up on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act or the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. In turn, we will not give up [until] there is more diversity and inclusion in House leadership.”

Will Jeffries be at the summit? Who knows?

Fair Chance for Housing offers fighting chance for New Yorkers with a conviction against racist rental practices

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

Fair Chance for Housing may finally get a fair chance in New York City. Last Thursday, the proposed bill—which would make criminal history background checks of prospective tenants by landlords an unlawful, discriminatory practice—was brought in front of the Committee on Civil and Human Rights during a City Council hear-

ing. Ahead of the meeting, a rally was held at City Hall drumming up momentum for the act.

“Right now, our city is experiencing an overwhelming housing and homelessness crisis that’s devastating the lives of countless New Yorkers,” said Majority Leader of the City Council Keith Powers at the rally. “As temperatures keep dropping, let these frigid days serve as a reminder: we must do everything in our power to get people off the streets and

into stable housing. It’s past time we stop this endless cycle of incarceration and homelessness, and give these folks the chance to rebuild their lives.”

Another speaker, nonprofit Fortune Society’s Andre Ward, stressed to the Amsterdam News the importance of the rally the day before.

“[It] is to ensure that New Yorkers and concerned people realize that discriminating against people with conviction histories is not the

STILL MISSING: Black women and girls who haven’t come home yet

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

Throughout New York, Black women and young girls go missing everyday. Some have never been found. According to the Black And Missing Foundation (BAMFI) database, there are 26 open cases of Black women and girls.

“That’s evidence of how serious this is and how young Black

girls’ lives just don’t mean anything to society,” said Stephanie McGraw, founder and CEO of W.A.R.M. “I’m just really saddened and angry. We can’t fix what we can’t see and if we can’t call it for what it is, how are we going to start eradicating or deal with it.”

The earliest missing person case is of Ethel Atwell abducted outside her job on Staten Island in 1978. She’d be 90 today.

The youngest person on the

missing list is Selah Lee Davis, who was taken when she was four months old in February 2008. The baby was last seen with her mother and brother in a vehicle heading to Rochester from the Bronx. Their vehicle was found abandoned in Rochester and the family has not been seen or heard from since. Davis would be 15 today.

One of the more recent cases is that of 19-year-old Marshae

NewJersey News

New Jersey Citizen Action celebrates 40th anniversary

By CYRIL JOSH BARKER Amsterdam News Staff

New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) celebrated its 40th Anniversary Gala by honoring Congressman Bill Pascrell, Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake and advocates from the Latino Action Network Foundation, Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), and Fair Share Housing Center for their roles in advancing policies and legislation championing low- and moderate-income people, communities of color, and New Jersey’s most vulnerable residents. Pascrell and Timberlake received NJCA’s 2022 Legislator of the Year Award.

Cuqui Rivera, programs manager of the Latino Action Network Foundation, received NJCA’s EvanoffShuchter Award for Organizing.

Debbie White, president of HPAE; Adam Gordon, executive director of Fair Share Housing; and the Rev. Eric Dobson, deputy director of Fair Share Housing, were also honored with awards.

NJCA Executive Director Dena Mottola Jaborska said since its inception in 1982, NJCA has been a convener of alliances, where diverse people of different faiths, races, concerns and economic circumstances come together to fight for justice and opportunity for all.

The organization’s many successes

over the past 40 years were only possible because of collaboration with, and the hard work of, both the awardees and many others throughout New Jersey.

“NJCA’s mission is big and broad— to fight for social, racial and economic justice for all,” said Mottola Jaborksa. “That mission requires a movement of likeminded people who are willing to work collectively and relentlessly, to struggle together, to organize and recruit others to work together to advance a shared vision of justice, peace and prosperity for all.”

Jaborksa noted that the challenges faced by New Jersey and the country today—deep poverty, systemic racism, anti-democracy forces, anti-immigrant sentiment, unfettered corporate power, anti-unionism and white supremacist hate—made NJCA’s mission even more crucial than 40 years ago.

But she also pointed to the organization’s many accomplishments thanks to movement and coalition work with partners, allies and activists throughout the state.

“This movement is only possible because of the support, funding, collaboration, hard work and friendship of so many others,” she said. “We thank you for making 40 years of our movement possible. And we look forward to many more years of continuing to work with you for social, racial and economic justice.”

sector

Gov. Phil Murphy’s Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy (OCAGE), in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), announced the release of a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) to support innovative pilot programs focused on building a diverse, inclusive green workforce.

Through the Building our Resilient, Inclusive, and Diverse Green Economy (NJ BRIDGE) initiative, a total of $5 million is available to fund scalable projects to support residents entering the green workforce or climbing the green career ladder, with a focus on engagement in overburdened communities.

“My administration is proud to provide crucial support for new and existing opportunities in the green jobs sector for all New Jerseyans, including members of overburdened communities who have disproportionately experienced climate impacts,” said Murphy. “These significant funding commitments and

interdepartmental synergies testify to our comprehensive, all-of-government approach to positioning New Jersey as a national leader in the green economy.”

Additionally, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority will begin accepting applications Dec. 8 for a competitive grant program that will help New Jerseyans, particularly those in overburdened communities, develop skills for offshore wind careers. The $3.725 million Offshore Wind Workforce and Skills Development Grant Challenge (Grant Challenge) will offer grants to selected entities that will aid in launching or expanding workforce training and skills programs focused on strengthening and diversifying New Jersey’s offshore wind workforce.

Together, the OCAGE NOFA and the Grant Challenge amount to more than $8 million in funding toward the cultivation of a green economy founded upon good-paying jobs and longterm career opportunities.

Murphy administration announces more than $8 million to build a diverse, inclusive green jobs

Sylvia’s Restaurant scion Lindsey Williams cooks up Congress campaign

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

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

Hip hop mogul, entrepreneurial chef and descendant of Harlem’s legendary Sylvia’s restaurant Lindsey Williams has decided to throw his hat in the ring against incumbent U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the upcoming election for the 13th Congressional District.

Sylvia’s soul food restaurant is a cornerstone of Black-owned businesses in Harlem. It was founded by Sylvia Woods in 1962. The restaurant became a gathering place for Harlemites, Black politicians and advocates alike. The restaurant is still operating on Malcolm X Boulevard and is owned by the Woods family.

Williams is a grandson of the Woods’ dynasty and was born in New York City. He admittedly said that even though the restaurant was often the epicenter of political discourse, he shied away from getting involved through the years and the restaurant is nonpartisan. He remembers people such as Rep. Charles Rangel and Mayor David Dinkins in the restaurant and his mother grew up with Assemblymember Inez Dickens.

“I don’t feel the same energy anymore. The connection,” said Williams. “Go to any grocery store, any restaurant and you’d see Charlie

Rangel. He was connected to the community. Say what you want, but he loved Harlem and he went to D.C. and fought for Harlem. I want to be that person to fight for this community and other Black communities across the country.”

He vividly recalls the night then-U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited the family restaurant. Williams was working as a manager under his grandmother at the time, and insisted she prioritize meeting the chief Cabinet member. But the “Queen of Soul Food” greeted every other customer present— from locals to the Rev. Al Sharpton to Ed Bradley from “60 Minutes”—with the same dignity and respect before she got to Albright.

“She [didn’t] say much, she just [did] things and you have to learn a lesson later,” said Williams. “Always take care of your people. Take care of your locals. The ones that get you here, take care of them first, you see them first.”

Williams says he’s worked in the music industry for 18 years, experience he maintains will help him navigate the similarly shark-infested waters of politics. As a chef, Williams authored his “Neo Soul” cookbook for a healthier spin on the family trade. He’s applied both endeavors towards advocacy, working on healthy eating campaigns in Black and brown communities during his time in the kitchen and masterminding a Public Enemy benefit for detainees in Rikers while he was at Def Jam.

The pervading issue of gun and gang violence has inspired him to passionately turn his attention to Congress. He has been speaking about

New Yorker

running for the last year.

His main mission, he said, is to focus on fully funding education, decreasing gang and gun violence, and growing youth development in the district through vigorous hip hop, vocational education and community programs. The congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. In short, Williams wants folks to know the neighborhoods are more than just cheap rent for incoming businesses.

He believes Black and brown youth in the city are disillusioned, disenfranchised, and can’t relate to traditional politicians and therefore

don’t vote. Williams said his campaign would target younger voters and get kids more engaged in politics to reduce recidivism. His ultimate plan, if elected, is getting youngsters civically engaged and then passing them the political baton—fittingly, he tags his campaign slogan as “we got next.”

“We know that these kids are worth saving. We know that our communities are worth saving,” said Williams.

Still, he’s up against stiff competition. Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the House and was elected back in 2016. He is an outspoken advocate for the rights of immigrants, affordable housing, meaningful criminal justice reform, infrastructure improvements, expanded youth programs and better educational opportunities.

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

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

Lindsey Williams (Denny Mor photo)

NYCHA audit reports are in, budget gap holds up repairs

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

Based on resident audits and the latest federal monitor report, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments can stand to improve in areas of repairs and maintenance, security, sanitation and sustainability. Things that the agency is slow to address due to a deficit in funds.

City Comptroller Brad Lander’s office convened a NYCHA Audit Resident Committee that surveys developments in each borough. The biggest complaints from 795 residents in 132 buildings were that repairs are not done on time; and sanitation, safety and repair tickets are often closed without work being completed. The survey asked “nearly 50%” of residents who have lived in NYCHA for over 20 years.

“NYCHA residents are the experts on what is broken in our public housing authority, and they must be part of the solutions. By partnering directly with residents, our resident-powered audits will aim to move the needle forward on the much-needed repairs, resources, services, investments and quality of life issues that matter most to the people who call NYCHA home,” said Lander in a statement.

Complaints detailed sanitation and maintenance issues with cleanliness, pests, elevators, door locks, scaffolding, intercoms, mold, contractor oversight, construction materials and Hurricane

Sandy repair funds. They asked for more initiatives to address speeding, gun violence, e-bike safety concerns, smoke-free building protocols, availability of translation services, and long vacant units not being repaired or rented.

“They applied to all of us across the board,” said Karim Couser, a resident of Johnson Houses in East Harlem, told City Limits “The lobby doors aren’t locked.”

The resident survey has prompted a field review of building entry doors at NYCHA developments. The Comptroller’s Office found that nearly 60% of residential building entrance doors were open and/or had broken locks. That number was up dramatically from 23.5% in a similar field review from 2018.

Among their concerns, residents want to know where rent goes and what capital dollars are spent on. The City recently reported on how NYCHA’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program rent collection shortfall of over $400 million is also affecting the pacing of repairs.

NYCHA’s Budget Book estimates a smaller $35 million deficit for 2022, but expects it to increase in coming years. The 2022 NYCHA adopted budget is $12.24 billion, broken down into the operating and capital budgets. The operating budget is $4.18 billion. The capital budget is the 5-year plan for the adopted budget in 2022 at $8.06 billion. The projected deficit falls under the operating budget, which encompasses the areas of personnel

services (PS) and pays for salaries and non-personnel costs (OTPS). The PS budget is $1.54 billion. Finally, the OTPS budget pays for the Authority which is the entity that handles payments for utilities at the developments, contract services, painting, elevator maintenance, fire safety, plumbing and heating services, insurance, equipment and consulting services. The OTPS dishes out payments to private landlords participating in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. This section of the budget is $2.64 billion.

Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who chairs the public housing committee, said that NYCHA sorely needs more operating funds to train and hire additional staff to improve decades of deferred maintenance. According to Aviles’ office, the challenges that have presented since the pandemic slowed down repair work and staffing for all agencies including NYCHA.

“It’s no surprise that residents who responded to the comptroller’s survey listed improperly closed tickets as a top concern. Like we’ve seen with the recent Federal Monitor’s report, investing staff time and resources in maintenance can bring about significant reductions in time spent responding to emergencies,” said Aviles.

In 2019, NYCHA was placed under a federal monitor in collaboration with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. They have

worked together to develop realtime performance reporting on onsite heating, unplanned boiler and elevator outages as well as removing lead paint, eradicating mice and roaches, and mold and leaks. In the 2022 federal monitor report, the team said it has been identifying problems with NYCHA’s capital processes, “some of which do not reflect industry best practices.”

They said that since 2019, project schedules for heating system, elevator replacement and waste management haven’t been approved by the City’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), significantly delaying repairs.

“NYCHA and the Monitor’s efforts to track progress towards the goals of the HUD agreement represent progress on some fronts and ongoing persistent problems in other areas,” said Aviles.

In response to an Amsterdam News’ inquiry, a NYCHA spokesperson said that during COVID in 2020, NYCHA followed all federal, state and local health guidance. NYCHA halted evictions,

increased sanitation, redesigned interim and annual recertification to make it simpler for residents, discontinued 31,000 non-payment housing cases, and submitted more than 31,330 ERAP applications totaling $120 million, said the spokesperson.

“Improving our ability to successfully deliver critical services for our residents has been a key focus of NYCHA’s Transformation Plan and we look forward to collaborating with the comptroller and our partners in the city around these issues,” said the spokesperson.

As part of NYCHA’s Transformation Plan, the Work Order Reform program aims to make faster repairs with fewer delays.

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

Barrons break ground on latest 100% affordable housing

In a time when truly affordable housing is in high demand throughout NYC, there is one community that continues to create housing that is 100% affordable to its current local residents. On Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, the office of Councilmember Charles Barron held a groundbreaking at the development site located at 875 Erskine Ave., Brooklyn. The site is the location for the new Alafia Village, a development of 2,600 units of 100% affordable housing. The project comes after four years of negotiations between Councilmember Charles Barron (then Assemblymember), former Councilmember Inez Barron, and the collaborative development team of Apex Building Group, Riseboro Community

Partnership, other developers and Services for the Underserved, who were chosen by the state in response to the vital Brooklyn initiative. With the sounds of live drums reverberating across the 25 acres that will serve as the site for an urban farm, fitness area, recreational space, commercial sites, affordable residential units and parking, Charles Barron explained the plan he implemented to arrive at this moment. The “Barron Plan” of affordability is a roadmap he openly shares with his colleagues. The key seems to be a record of community involvement that pulls in the community board members and other stakeholders for feedback, as well as holding developers accountable to the affordability needs of

the local population. Commissioner of NYS DHCR, RuthAnne Visnauskas, praised the project as a standard of community inclusivity that was spearheaded by the Barrons’ partnership in the process. The Alafia Village project comes on the heels of the Innovative Urban Village project approved by the city council after six years of negotiations with the Barrons to get 100% affordability for 2,000+ units and 100 condominiums. As shovels went into the ground and the dirt was thrown, the group exclaimed “Alafia,” an African word which means peace and good health. Charles Barron said, “Alafia appropriately expresses the hope and destiny for our beloved community.”

project—Alafia Village!

NYCHA Resident Committee (Contributed photo by Jose Suarez)

Another boost in the fight against hunger

Bank of America proudly continues to support our employees’ health and safety while addressing food insecurity in our local communities, which typically spikes during the winter months.

Our employees are taking action to support the important work of our local food banks. For those who let us know they’ve received a coronavirus booster and/or a flu shot, we’ll donate $50 for each to a local hunger relief organization. In addition, employees can double the impact of their personal donations to fight hunger with our matching gifts program. Through these efforts, we’ll donate more than $8 million to address food insecurity in our local communities.

The team here in New York City recently presented God’s Love We Deliver, Feeding Westchester and Citymeals on Wheels with checks totaling $500,000. This contribution is in addition to our long-standing philanthropic support to help fight hunger and food insecurity across the country. We are proud to be able to help our community as we work together to move forward.

José Tavarez President, Bank of America New York City

Donations in each market reflect $50 per employee who has recorded their booster, $50 per employee who has recorded a flu shot and an additional company contribution. Vaccination boosters and vaccination reporting are voluntary. Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Credit Opportunity Lender. © 2022 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

Go With The Flo

FLO ANTHONY

Rihanna, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James and Tyler James Williams have all been nominated for the first time for Golden Globe Awards. Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Zendaya and Donald Glover have also received nominations. According to UPI, Jerrod Carmichael will be this year’s host at the revamped Golden Globes Awards. Carmichael will host the show live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2023. Last year, the comedian/actor won an Emmy for writing in a comedy special for Jerrod Carmichael Rothaniel, which aired on HBO Max. Carmichael came out as gay in the special.

CEO and Executive Director of FPWA Jennifer Jones Austin bought out several showings of the documentary “Loudmouth,” which chronicles the life and battles of civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton, which premiered at three theaters on Dec. 9. The AMC Magic Johnson in Harlem, AMC Bay Plaza in the Bronx, and Regal Union Square are among nearly 120 theaters across the country that screened the feature-length documentary. FPWA was able to distribute these 450 tickets to a number of its human-service and faithbased partner organizations. Said Jones Austin, who is also vice chair of the NAN Board, “This film is something special, and I urge everyone to go see the magnificent journey of the civil rights legend on screen.”

Leon Lacey, composer, music producer and music editor, scores music on the up-

coming Clive Davis produced biopic/musical about the life of the late iconic pop star Whitney Houston, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

The Sony Pictures release is directed by Kasi Lemons and stars Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston. The film will hit theaters on Dec. 23. The one to watch in 2023, New York-raised, Los Angelesbased Lacey was presented with the opportunity to orchestrate some of Whitney’s biggest songs for the movie by Grammy Award-winning super producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. Said Lacey, “Rodney Jerkins asked me to remake/reproduce a hit song of Whitney Houston, then a few months later, he called me to compose orchestrations for a few more hit songs that are featured in the movie. I had five days to compose, score, then be flown to Nashville to record at Oceanway Studio.”

Sean “Diddy” Combs announced on Twitter recently that he has a new baby girl by the name of Love Sean Combs. Since then, it has been revealed that little Love was actually born on Oct. 15, 2022, and her mother’s name is Dana Tran, reports TMZ. Love is Puffy’s seventh child. She joins Justin Dior Combs, whose mom is Misa Hilton-Brim, Christian, D’Lila Star and Jessie James Combs, who the rap mogul shares with the late Kim Porter. He also adopted Porter’s son Quincy Brown, whose biological father is Al B. Sure!, and has a daughter Chance, with Sarah Chapman. For the last year, Diddy has been linked to City Girls raptress Yung Miami.

December 12th Movement International Secretariat celebrates 35 years in the struggle

By DALEEL JABIR MUHAMMAD Special to the AmNews

In the People’s Republic of Brooklyn, well-wishers and comrades came out to honor one of the premier movements for self-reliance, self-determination, liberation, reparations and many of the struggles for Black people in America and in the African Diaspora at The SkyLight Gallery in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

The D12 Movement is a Black human rights organization founded in 1987 on Dec. 12 by five Black Power movement mavericks, Elombe Brath, Sonny Abubadika Carson, Coltrane Chimurenga and Father Lawrence Lucas, who all returned to the realm of the ancestors, and currently the longtime Chairperson Viola Plummer, affectionately known as the modern day Mother of the Revolution.

To rousing applause, respect and admiration, Sister Viola spoke of the crucial work they had done over the years. She acknowledged with great love the supporters of over three decades, and the standing-room-only attendees at the packed event. After regaling the audience with the D12 history, she said, “The struggle is about freedom.”

“It is a blessing to be here tonight in honor of the great works that D12 has done over the years,” stated Newark activist and Chairperson of WISOMM (Women In Support of the Million Man March) Frederica Bey. “D12 has been fighting to lift the sanctions on Zimbabwe for a long time. I remem-

ber when I was over there in Africa with them, it lifted my spirits to see a country ran by all Africans [Blacks],” she recalled.

The December 12th Movement and secretariat is also a non-governmental organization (NGO) that has sat on panels at the United Nations, and in Durban South African to address political and economical redress, particularly in the form of reparations for the atrocities from the Trans-Atlantic holocaust of slavery.

D12 and its members have been on the frontline to close crack houses, fight to free political prisoners and remember Minister Malcolm X on the Annual Shut ‘Em Down marches in Harlem. They were also the organizers of the Millions March in Harlem and the Millions Youth March alongside the late Dr. Khalid Muhammad, also in Harlem, N.Y. And led the call for reparations, in Washington D.C., Millions for Reparations Rally.

Comrades from far and near came out to support the movement from Cuba, Africa, N.Y. , N.J. and from a cross spectrum of clergy, elected officials, activists and musicians. Minister Akbar Muhammad, International Representative of Min. Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam called in to honor his long time comrade, and extending congratulatory greetings from the minister.

“We will always speak fondly of my friend Viola Plummer and its members for their work in the National Black United Front with Reverend Herbert Daughtry, and whether it’s

fighting to lift sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela or Zimbabwe, they have been there on the frontline,” stated Councilman Charles Barron. “Even when it comes to electoral politics Sister Viola and D12 is the reason why we won.

“D12 has been the most consistent revolutionary organization that we ever had,” Barron went on to say. “So when we honor D12, we are honoring the best!”

Another longtime friend, activist and radio personality Bob Law, who also hosted the 35th Anniversary Celebration, said, “Viola Plummer and D12 is a community-based organization that is committed to the best interests of the community. Over the many decades that they have worked in the community they have stayed committed to not only to our people on the African continent, but they are also committed to the welfare of the Black community here in America. “They were part of the leadership to bring justice to Tawana Brawley, Yusef Hawkins and many other struggles, so they built a legacy to leave behind.” He added, “I’ve known Viola Plummer for over 40 years, from the days of my Respect Yourself Youth Crusade to the Collective to the forming of D12 with Father Lucas, Coltrane, Elombe, Sonny and Viola, and they always been consistent and leaders with integrity.”

The celebration was filled with musical interludes from The Reggie Woods band led by musical director Ahmad Abdullah.

The Reggie Woods Band (Afro Jeffrey Antoine photo)

Harlem holds Tree Lighting in Adam Clayton Powell Plaza

Continuing a 40-plus years tradition, Harlem held its annual Christmas Tree Lighting. The Adam Clayton Powell Plaza was the bright and beautiful location

where residents and visitors participated in the fun activities. There was Santa for the kids young and old, and entertainment was brought by dancers and

the choir from Harlem School of the Arts. From WBLS Dr. Bob Lee was the MC; guests included the likes of Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, 28th Precinct CO Capt.

Tarik Sheppard, and master tap dancer Omar Edward. There were train rides, pan music players, gifts of toys, games and hot chocolate.

(Bill Moore photos)

Union Matters

1,100 NYGuild members picket The NewYork Times

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Workers at The New York Times marched on picket lines along 8th Avenue on Thursday, Dec. 8.

Members of The New York Times Guild— part of the NewsGuild, the national union of media professionals (which also has a unit at the Amsterdam News)—conducted a 1-day work stoppage and rallied in front of the newspaper’s offices to show their determination to urge management to come to a labor agreement with union representatives.

“I love my job, but we shouldn’t have to struggle financially to work at a place like The New York Times—no matter what positions we hold at the Times,” Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of “ The 1619 Project” told fellow protestors. The Pulitzer Prizewinning Times staff writer said workers,

including journalists, security guards, tech workers, shouldn’t have to stage walkouts just to get a liveable wage in New York City.

NewsGuild has been negotiating with Times management for two years now, trying to come to an agreement regarding salary wages, health care and retirement benefits for the papers’ security guards, tech workers, concierges and journalists.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander joined the rally and encouraged protestors by congratulating them on insisting on having diversity, inclusion and equity as non-negotiable union and workforce issues that must be included in a new labor agreement. “Investors, shareholders and customers don’t want a company that refuses” these issues, he warned.

“It’s not just at The New York Times that you’re fighting. We can build an economy where workers are respected and paid what they are owed. We can build

where they’re a fundamental part of the companies and the workplaces that we are building. And we can build that all throughout the economy. And you know what? That will be really fantastic for customers. That will be really rewarding for investors and shareholders for those nurses and firefighters who depend on growing value of just like the kind that you create. So I again want to say thank you because the 1,100 of you that signed and all of you are out here today, you’re not only out here for your own contract and for your own job, you are out here building a sector and building an economy that works for all of us.”

An article published in the Times which covered the one-day protest stated that “Compensation remains the most contentious aspect of the negotiations. The

3% raises in 2023 and 2024, and a 4% retroactive bonus to compensate for a lack of raises since the contract expired. The union has proposed a 10% raise upon ratification, 5.5% raises in 2023 and 2024, and an 8.5% retroactive bonus.” Joe Kahn, the executive editor of The New York Times , was seemingly dismayed by the walkout, deeming it unnecessary since management and NewsGuild are still at the bargaining table and still trying to come up with an agreement.

Bill Baker, NewsGuild’s unit chair at The New York Times , called it a bittersweet day. “We’ve been negotiating with Times management for 20 months,” he reminded the picketers. “We are here because we told them that if they did not have a deal by December 8th that we would be here. And here we are!”

New York demonstration ignites demand for ‘Railroad Paid Sick Days Now!’

By AMADI AJAMU Special to the AmNews

A critical mass protest demonstration in support of railroad workers’ right to sick days was held in New York City at the landmark Grand Central Station on Dec. 7, 2022. The rally, attended by labor unions, human rights organizations and political activists, marched through the station chanting, “Sick days are a human right!”

The rally was attended by several organizations, including the Coalition of Black Trade Unions, Workers Assembly Against Racism, Teamsters Local 808 and endorsed by Amazon Labor Union, Struggle La Lucha, Association of Commuter Rail Employees – Signal Maintainers, SouthWest Airline Pilots Union, United Federation of Teachers, NYS Nurses As-

sociation, Electrical Workers Local 3 and many others.

The organizers and participants had responded to the call from the December 12th Movement, who understood that workers are building a broad coalition throughout the United States in support of the railroad workers and their right to paid sick leave—while railroad companies made over $21.2 billion in profits the first three quarters of this year.

Organizers say that the December mobilization has put major union leadership and the Biden administration on notice that waving a Trump fear flag cannot and will not deter workers and the broad community from the human right for sick days.

In fact, the intensification of this fundamental workers’ struggle led more than 70 U.S. lawmakers to write a letter to Presi-

dent Biden urging him to guarantee rail workers’ sick leave.

According to a Reuters article written by David Shepardson on Dec. 9, the letter said the Labor Department can set mandatory occupational safety and health standards for businesses affecting interstate commerce that could cover paid sick time, while the Transportation Department must promote safe railroad operations: “Guaranteeing that workers are not operating trains or inspecting rail signals while sick or tired would fundamentally improve the safety of our national rail operations,” the letter said.

On this point, as a signatory of the lawmakers’ letter to Biden, Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “Railroad workers grind themselves to the bone for this country

as their labor produces billions for Wall St. They demand the basic dignity of paid sick days. I stand with them. If Congress intervenes, it should be to have workers’ backs and secure their demands in legislation.”

Key sponsor and a spokesperson for the Grand Central Station mass support rally, Omowale Clay of the December 12th Movement stated, “We demand that President Biden issue an executive order concretizing the human right of workers to paid sick leave now!”

Representatives of labor unions, human rights organizations and community leaders strove to educate the masses of people passing through Grand Central Station, to the absolute necessity that workers see that the power is in their hands to demand and win sick days as a human right.

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times staff writer Nikole Hannah-Jones was on the picket line protesting with fellow Times workers for a new union contract.

The New York Times Guild members picketed in front of the newspaper’s headquarters. (Tim Try/NYGuild photos)

Trump was MIA on Paul Whelan

We’ve often expressed our dismissal of polls, believing they are but a momentary barometer of a political tendency. Even so, it is encouraging to learn that a recent poll released in Suffolk University/USA Today on Tuesday reports that Trump trails Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by a 23point margin among GOP voters to be the party’s presidential nominee. That same poll disclosed that Trump would lose to Biden in a 2024 election. But DeSantis, on the other hand, leads Biden by 47 to 43%.

In other words, Trump is out but Trumpism appears to be still in play in the next presidential race, a race that is quite a bit down the road and we are sure to experience a flood of polls before the next election.

We are not surprised by any of this, and we know the GOP leaders and its followers will play down every victory Biden accomplishes. Check out the naysayers, led by Trump, who insist Moscow got the best of the prisoner swap that brought Brittney Griner home from a penal colony. Trump was beating his chest declaring that it was the worst exchange in history.

What we would like to see is Griner’s slam dunk on Trump’s head, demonstrating she has lost none of her skillset for the courts and is ready to resume playing, of course not in Russia.

Trump would be wise to listen to David Whelan, twin brother of the imprisoned Paul Whelan, whom Trump has praised and said it would have been a better choice to free him rather than Griner.

“I just wanted to call out the fact that during his presidency, Trump never, ever mentioned Paul’s name in public,” David told the press. “Not once in his many, many tweets or any sort of public statement. In a sense, you could say they did nothing.”

In a subsequent tweet, David wrote, “You judge a person by their actions or, in this case, inaction.”

Yes, dear readers, there are sure to be more polls than you can shake a stick at, and oh how we wish they would ask David Whelan his opinion on Trump’s candidacy should it hit the ballot. Any bets on how he would vote? All of this may be academic if the recent poll has any validity because 60% said he should not run. Of course, this means little to a man who continues to believe he won the last election.

Mayor Eric Adams’ Op-Ed: A safer New York

While I was on the campaign trail, I met many New Yorkers who expressed their desire for a safer city. New Yorkers want to feel safe in their neighborhoods, at their places of worship, in the subway and on the streets. I vowed to make public safety my top priority, and under the bold leadership of NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, our efforts are paying off. We have a lot more work to do, but I want to be clear to New Yorkers: we are making progress.

For the first time this year, we saw a drop of 1.2% in overall index crimes in November compared to November of 2021. What does that mean? It means that in November of 2022, compared to November of 2021, we saw a 32.8% decrease in shootings, a 14.1% decrease in rapes, a 6% decrease in burglary and a 5.5% decrease in grand larceny.

We have also removed more than 6,750 guns from our streets so far this year. Gun arrests are at a 27-year high. And we’ve seen a decrease in murders and shootings.

This is not a coincidence. It shows that our laser focus on public safety is working. We created an anti-gun unit that has been effective at removing illegal firearms, and we’ve added more checks to

AMNEWS READERS WRITE

detect illegal guns before they enter New York City. We’ve also had success in our fight against “Ghost Guns”—these are guns that can be ordered online and assembled at home; they do not have serial numbers and are untraceable, which makes stopping them from entering our city even more urgent.

We have more officers on patrol in key neighborhoods, and newly created Neighborhood Safety Teams are focusing on the 30 precincts where a majority of violence occurs. We are working hard and working smart to make the most of our resources and to make our city safer.

As part of our Subway Safety Plan, we are sending mobile crisis teams and outreach workers into the system to connect with homeless New Yorkers and help them get the assistance they need. We’ve also introduced a surge of 1,200 additional police officers patrolling subway platforms and trains each day. As a result, in just over a month, we have seen a 12.8% reduction in major crime in transit stations compared to the same period last year.

We’re addressing the problem of “Ghost Cars”—cars with illegal paper or

obscured license plates that don’t follow our traffic rules. And we’re pursuing targeted bail reform in Albany.

Just as important, we have achieved historic diversity in hiring. We want our NYPD academy classes to resemble the neighborhoods they serve so they can better understand our diverse communities’ needs and form closer connections, so our most recent hires to the NYPD are on average 41% Hispanic, 23% white, 19% Black and 15% Asian. And on average, this group is 29% female.

There is much more work that remains to be done. Crime is still substantially higher than it was in 2017, and New Yorkers deserve to be safer than they are right now. We will not rest until New Yorkers both are safe and feel safe. Public safety is the key to prosperity. It is the only way we can achieve a just and equitable New York in which everyone— no matter what language you speak, or where you come from—can thrive.

I promised I would make a difference on public safety during my campaign, and as mayor, I am proud to say that we are well on our way to a safer New York.

Redefining the use of words related to African enslavement in the Americas

By DESMOND BOLLERS

In an effort to diminish the heinousness of the crime against humanity represented by slavery, white supremacists have propagated the false narrative that the Africans who were transported across the Atlantic between 1500 and 1850 had already been slaves in Africa; therefore no one should have a problem with slavery in the Americas.

We Africans, both in the Americas and in Africa, need to be careful regarding the language we use, lest we unwittingly subscribe to and promulgate that false narrative.

ropeans through either threats or bribery. Therefore, the people transporting these kidnap victims/prisoners of war across the Atlantic were not slave traders; they were human traffickers. The ships were human trafficking vessels, and the trade was human trafficking, not “slave trading.”

Our ancestors did not become enslaved until they were sold in the “slave markets” after brought to America, at which point, they became enslaved Africans.

Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor

Nayaba Arinde: Editor

Cyril Josh Barker: Digital Editor

Damaso Reyes: Investigative Editor

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

Wilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): Chairman of the Board, CEO and Publisher Emeritus

Take the use of the terms “slave trade,” “slave traders” and “slave ships” to refer to the trafficking of kidnapped Africans across the Atlantic, the people who engaged in that horrific endeavor and the ships that transported the kidnap victims. We need to characterize the whole system correctly.

The Africans were not slaves in Africa. They were captured in inter-tribal wars instigated by the Eu-

We never talk about “Irish indentures” or “the indentures” when speaking about the indentured Irish, so why don’t we accord Africans the same respect and refrain from using the terms “African slaves” or “the slaves” to refer to the enslaved Africans”

Similarly, we should never use the terms “slave revolt” or “slave uprising” to refer to their attempts to gain their freedom. Rather, those were revolts or uprisings by enslaved Africans.

Another example of the way in which whites use language to influence our thinking about slavery is when they use the term “running away” to describe marronage as if those escaping enslavement were unhappy or disgruntled children running away from home.

We wouldn’t say that Papillon “ran

away” from Devil’s Island or that prisoners of war “ran away” from POW camps. Enslaved Africans did not “run away” from plantations or mines; they escaped. Escaping or even planning an escape required tremendous courage, determination and fortitude. The dangers included being tracked by Black Miskito/Miskito Zambo trackers and being torn apart by Cuban “bloodhounds,” which were not actually bloodhounds but attack dogs (Dogo Cubano) bred specifically to hunt Africans.

Similarly, we should never say that “slaves were imported into Country X.” This information should be rendered as “kidnapped Africans were trafficked to Country X and sold into slavery.”

I emphasize these points when I teach the online course “Freedom Fighters of the Caribbean.”

To sum it up, we need to think carefully about the message we are conveying when we use the words racist whites have deliberately associated with slavery.

Desmond Bollers is the presenter of Freedom Fighters of the Caribbean, https://www.caribfree.net. https://www. facebook.com/desmondbollers2.

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher and Editor in Chief

A fumbled opportunity and a blunder

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

What is the future of Black politics?

CHRISTINA GREER PH.D.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS

Brittney Griner fumbled an electrifying opportunity to advance the standing of the LGBTQ community and the Women’s National Basketball Association. Taking inspiration from Sydney Carton substituting himself for Charles Darnay to die at the guillotine in “A Tale of Two Cities,” Ms. Griner could have insisted that former Marine Paul Whelan jump to the front of the wrongly imprisoned queue and be released before herself. She could have explained that the former Marine had risked that last full measure of devotion to defend herself and all Americans from foreign aggression and has been consigned to a Russian dungeon on concocted charges of espionage since June 2020. Whelan was the more deserving of release by any moral yardstick.

If Griner had displayed such gallantry, she would have become an instant LGBTQ icon and global celebrity. It was an opportunity for a turning point in history that didn’t turn. It proves the likes of Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King Jr. are as rare as unicorns.

Griner’s fumble was eclipsed by President Joe Biden’s stupendous blunder. To secure Griner’s solo release, he agreed to commute the 25-year sentence and surrender to Russia Viktor Bout, a.k.a. the “Merchant of Death,” convicted of conspiring to murder United States nationals and arming the narco-terrorist organization FARC, i.e., the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Bout is to arms trafficking what Al Capone was to robbery, “protection” rackets and murder.

In contrast, Griner’s offense was both innocuous and trivial: possessing two vaping cartridges containing hashish oil for medicinal purposes. By any metric, President Biden’s trade of Bout for Griner was lopsided, like trading Nazi Herman Goering for a

bootlegger. Is it any surprise that Russia has exhibited jubilation over the swap?

Biden accepted the unequal trade to bolster his political standing with LGBTQ, Black and women voters. At a minimum, it created an appearance that Biden had blinked in the face of Russian President Vladmir Putin’s intransigence over the release of Whelan. But as Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” teaches, appearances are reality. The world now sees Biden as a paper tiger. He has a credibility gap bigger than predecessor President Lyndon B. Johnson’s during the Vietnam War.

The United States is beset with multiple enemies. There is Russia over Ukraine and the assassination of dissidents abroad. There is China over Taiwan, navigation in the South China Sea, and the genocide of Uyghurs. There is Iran over its nuclear ambitions and adventurism in the Middle East and hostility towards Israel. There is ISIS, Al Qaeda and international terrorism generally. All will be emboldened by Biden’s display of weakness in the face of Putin’s implacability.

Biden cannot be faulted for endeavoring to secure Griner’s release. The Hostages Act of 1868, as amended, demanded no less. It saddles the president with a “duty” to seek the release of any citizen “unjustly deprived of his liberty or under the authority of any foreign government” by any means short of war. But Biden’s capitulation to Putin in the Viktor Bout-Brittney Griner swap heightens the risk that other Americans traveling abroad will be arbitrarily detained by unfriendly foreign governments in hopes of negotiating a sweetheart deal for one of their own imprisoned in the United States (but after enjoying multiple due process safeguards against injustice). Will caveat viator—let the travel -

er beware—soon be stamped in our passports?

To prevent a reprise of the Griner-Bout debacle, Congress should amend the Hostages Act. The amendment should prohibit the president from trading any United States inmate for a United States citizen unjustly imprisoned by a foreign government without 60 days notice to Congress and the American people; and testimony by the secretary of state before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs explaining and defending the exchange. Sunshine is said to be the best of disinfectants and transparency the coin of the realm.

To enforce the amendment, Congress should employ the power of the purse to prohibit the expenditure of any funds of the United States to effectuate a prisoner swap with a foreign government without the required notice and testimony. To flout that spending limitation would be a criminal violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act.

What can Biden do to ameliorate his blunder? Ask Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate an exchange of a Russian in Ukraine, arrested or convicted of a war crime, for the release of Whelan. It is the least Zelensky can do after the staggering dollars, weapons, intelligence and training the United States has provided Ukraine to defeat Russia’s aggression.

It should be made a tacit condition of Ukraine’s admission to NATO.

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

I’ve been thinking a lot about Black politics and Black leadership lately. With the ascendance of Representative Hakeem Jeffries as the incoming House Minority leader, a first for an African American in the history of our nation, I am curious about what gains can be made for Black people under our current system. We are not lacking Blacks in leadership positions, but we are still lacking substantive policies and economic gains for Black people across the country in cities large and small.

When Karen Bass is sworn in as the new mayor of Los Angeles, a first for an African American woman, and only the second African American in the city’s history to become mayor, the four largest cities in the United States will be led by African Americans. In New York, Eric Adams is only the second African American ever elected. In Chicago, Lori Lightfoot is only the second African American elected and the first African American woman. And Sylvester Turner is the second African American elected mayor of Houston. All four major cities have African American leaders, but will the quality of life for their Black residents significantly change under their leadership?

We know mayors are constrained by limited budgets, control by state houses, powerful governors who maintain power over utilities, transportation and large budgets, and more. However, we have never seen a moment with so many Black electeds in positions of power—and I have never been so skeptical about the actual gains possible for African Americans in this moment.

For example, in New York

City alone, the mayor, public advocate, attorney general, state senate majority leader, state house majority leader, district attorneys and significant portions of the city council, state legislature and state senate are all African American. The lieutenant governor even identifies as African American, yet the wealth gap, health inequities, education opportunities and more continue to leave African Americans in the bottom rungs. Sadly, when it comes to incarceration rates, arrests and interactions with the criminal justice system, African Americans remain at the greatest levels per capita.

I am at a loss as to how we can translate some of the descriptive representation gains into more substantive representation for African Americans in New York City and beyond. Many of the hurdles we face are institutional, structural and beyond the control of any one elected official. What I do know is we have the power to help elect leaders who will continue to grapple with these issues and fight for the rights and dignity and policies that will directly help to uplift Black communities. We cannot be shy about supporting and electing individuals who are unwavering in their understanding and support of Black communities. We must continue to stay vigilant long after election season ends.

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 FAQNYC and host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio.

Caribbean Update

Dutch sending ministers to region ahead of apology for slavery

By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews

In what is the clearest sign yet that the Netherlands will take some positive action for its role in the brutal transAtlantic slave trade, the Hague is sending out advanced parties of ministers for talks ahead of a planned apology for its genocidal past later this month.

Local and international media, including the Dutch Telegraaf, are reporting that Prime Minister Mark Rutte thinks it is better for the ministers to smooth the way ahead of a planned formal apology for Dutch slave era horrors, officials said. The date being floated is Dec. 19.

Rutte himself had visited the former Dutch Caribbean Community nation of Suriname in September, weeks after a multiparty delegation of lawmakers had come on a factfinding mission to assess the lingering effects of slavery. They promptly recommended that a formal apology be made

to Suriname and Dutch colonies around the world. The delegation has also visited existing Dutch colonies such as St. Maarten, where they found the same level of bitterness about slavery, the lingering effects on health of today’s generation, and a slew of other complaints.

Minister Sigrid Kaag, the first deputy prime minister, is identified by media as the one who will fly to Paramaribo for talks with President Chan Santokhi, the local reparations commission and other stakeholders.

Additional reporting is indicating that PM Rutte could even raise the issue in the Dutch parliament this week while the selection of ministers fly out to the region “to smooth out” any political, cultural and other wrinkles that could spoil what could be a landmark event.

This is because the umbrella Caribbean Reparations Commission had long written to European governments asking for a summit to

discuss the issue and also because demand letters setting out a host of atrocities had been sent to various capitals. Several of them, including France and Portugal, have not replied, while the British has so far refused to even discuss the genocide against Black Africans. An apology from the Dutch could open the door for the Caribbean and others seeking reparations as it signals an admission of culpability for wrongdoing.

Next year, Suriname will observe 150 years of the abolition of slavery, so all sides have jumped at this opportunity to do something meaningful, officials said.

And, apparently leaving nothing to chance, two representatives from the Surinamese commission are headed to Holland for talks with the deputy PM and others this week.

Armand Zunder and Audrey Christiaan are scheduled to meet midweek as planning intensifies.

“This matter now seems to be

a hot item. Everyone seems to be getting involved in this matter, while committees are being set up from various quarters who believe they are the legitimate representatives of the descendants of enslaved Indigenous and Africans,” the local Star News online publication quoted Zunder as saying.

The committee wants the apology to be at least at the level of the Dutch king, make a distinction between the atrocities in Suriname and the Caribbean islands, take responsibility for crimes committed against Africans and indigenous people, accept the lasting effects on descendants, establish a major reparatory fund, and legislate the apology to make it formal and legal.

“If the Dutch government announces the non-limitative points before or on December 19 in a meaningful statement for acknowledgment, apology and repair, then the basis has been laid to extend the repair process of the

U.S. Immigration Weekly Recap

FELICIA PERSAUD

IMMIGRATION KORNER

Can a bi-partisan immigration bill finally become a reality? News of this dominated the immigration headlines across the U.S. this past week. Here’s where things stand so far:

1: Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent after being the Democrats’ worst nightmare in the past two years. Obviously Sinema wants to continue to play power broker, but the move is unlikely to change the power balance in the Senate, as it comes days after Sen. Raphael Warnock won the Georgia runoff.

However, Sinema’s party change is not the Christmas miracle some are touting and praying for. The real miracle is her working on potential last-minute immigration reform measure in the lame duck session that would give 2 million

undocumented youth, known as Dreamers, a path to citizenship while extending the controversial Title 42 border restriction for another year.

Sinema, along with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., detailed the draft framework last week, hoping to forge bipartisan legislation before a new Congress, with Republicans taking hold of the House in January. The Senate and House will have to act now.

The draft comes less than three weeks before the slated end (Dec. 21) of Title 42, the Trump-era health policy that allows border officials to rapidly expel migrants. Alongside extending Title 42, the framework would protect undocumented youth who came to the U.S. as children and now face an uncertain future.

The bill also includes border security funding of at least $25 billion and upwards of $40 billion.

“We urge negotiators to reach a deal which protects people who have been living here nearly all their lives, while also respecting the fundamental right to protection which is enshrined in our

laws and history,” said Executive Director of The American Immigration Council Jeremy Robbins.

2: Countdown to end of Title 42

The countdown to the end of Title 42 is on. The pandemic expulsion authority is scheduled to terminate in less than two weeks, in accordance with a November court ruling. A Biden administration appeal will not change that date, but a challenge from Republican state governments might. The Senate bill being pushed by Sinema and Tillis also may prolong Title 42 for a year in exchange for giving legal status to “Dreamers.”

3: TPS for Haitians

The U.S. government last week broadened a program that allows certain Haitian immigrants to live and work in the country without fear of deportation.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it would allow tens of thousands of additional Haitians to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by moving up the program’s cutoff date. Previously, only Haitians who had arrived in the U.S.

before July 29, 2021, were eligible for TPS. The new designation will allow those living in the country as of Nov. 6 of this year to apply for the program.

DHS also announced that the U.S. would push back the expiration date for the Haiti TPS program from Feb. 4, 2023, to Aug. 3, 2024. Officials stressed that Haitians thinking of coming to the U.S. illegally should not do so, as they would not qualify for the program and could face deportation.

4: Advocates file lawsuit demanding ICE makes immigration bond procedures publicly available on website

The American Immigration Council, Immigrant Legal Defense, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and the National Bail Fund Network with its local bond fund members NorCal Resist, Prairielands Freedom Fund, and the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, have filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act to compel U.S. Immigration and Customs En-

Caricom that has been under discussion since 2013 for the coming years’ roles,” Zunder said.

Taking no chances with begging Europe to come on board and talk reparations, Caricom governments have already hire a British law firm which won reparations compensation for Kenyan tribesmen mass murdered by soldiers during the colonial era to represent it. The feedback as told to governments is that there is a strong case to make.

In the meantime, Barbados has taken the lead to target individual families such as those of British lawmaker Richard Drax to start talking about their past. He flew to the island recently for talks with PM Mia Mottley. The Draxes are known for their role in establishing the plantation system on the island and across the region. They are reported by British newspapers to be fabulously wealthy today thanks to slavery.

forcement (ICE) to publish on its website guidelines and procedures explaining how the agency processes bonds for the release of individuals in detention.

The new lawsuit challenges ICE’s failure to provide the public with information about different aspects of the bond payment process, which leads to obstacles and delays for advocates, families and friends attempting to pay bonds to free their loved ones. People who try to pay bonds often lack information about ICE offices’ hours of operation and forms of accepted payments, have encountered inconsistent payment rejections, and even have been racially profiled for additional questioning. Family members, advocates and impacted individuals should have access to agency manuals and instructions relating to the posting, revocation, cancellation and refunding of immigration bonds, the lawsuit says.

The writer is publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com – The Black Immigrant Daily News.

Black Liberation Church opens in Harlem

By DALEEL JABIR MUHAMMAD Special to the AmNews

The Black Liberation Church held its inaugural worship service at the Historic Riverside Church on Dec. 2, led by Harlem native the Rev. Dr. Derrick Shahem Johnson Sr. The mission of the newly formed church is to be an epicenter of spiritual development while serving as a community resource and empowerment zone in West Harlem for Black men, women, children and families.

Johnson’s message of representing Christ in the 21st century dealt with connecting Yeshua/Jesus based on Egyptian culture, not the Greek understanding and meaning of the name. Giving praise to Marcus Mosiah Garvey for his works and famous quote of “Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men,” Johnson recalled how the United African Movement (U.A.M.), led by attorney Alton Maddox Jr., instilled positivity in him when growing up in New York with the African affirmation: “We will honor the struggles of our elders and strive to bring new values and new life to our people.”

Johnson also recalled being inspired by the Rev. C. Vernon Mason, the Rev. Clemson Brown, and the scholar and

historian Dr. Leonard Jeffries when he was growing up in the village of Harlem as a youth leader.

“My aim is to bring social justice with a global impact to effect positive changes in the community,” Johnson said. “At The Black Liberation Church, you will receive the logic and the reasoning of God from the scriptures.”

On deck were Rosalind and Leonard Jeffries, who received the first two Legacy Awards in their names for their lifelong work in academia and the advancement of Pan-African culture throughout the world. Sister Reverend Dr. Eleanor Moody-Shepherd was honored by receiving the first Queen Mother Award for her works in the New York Theological Seminary and her international study seminars in Africa and other parts of the world, including the Holy Land.

Johnson said that his ministry in the Black Liberation Church is a Biblebased, Christ-centered church rooted in Afrocentricity. “We approach the Bible through the lens of a Black Social Theory [that] affirms Black people’s connection and relationship to their ancestors in the holy scriptures of the Bible,” he said.

For more information, go to www. blackliberationchurch.org.

(L-R) Dr. Jeffries Leonard, Sister Rev. Dr. Eleanor Moody-Shepherd and the Rev. Dr. Derrick Shahem Johnson Sr. (Daleel Jabir Muhammad photo)

The New 988 Mental Health Hotline: What you need to know

By ELLEN PARK, MPH candidate at Columbia University Special to the AmNews

What’s the 411 on 988? As of July 16, 2022, the new national three-digit Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number ‘988’ came into effect. The easier to remember number improves on the number from the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 800273-TALK (8255) which will still continue to function. After dialing the number, people who are suicidal or in any other mental health crisis will be connected to a trained mental health professional.

The primary goal of this new number is to make it easier for people to call for help when they need it. The 988 hotline fills a big gap that exists in mental health crisis care today, especially for those living in areas that do not have reliable access to mental health services.

Before the launch of 988, individuals seeking mental health support often called 911. However, because the 911 hotline is not oriented to specifically address mental health concerns, callers often did not receive the care and support that they sought. With the transition to this hotline, the United States has been able to expand emergency medical care to specifically address mental health.

Incoming calls to the 988 number can trigger immediate dispatches of mobile crisis teams, day or night, to anyone and everyone who is experiencing a mental health crisis if necessary. Texts as well as online chats for the 988 number are also available for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled.

The implementation of this three-digit number is intended to become instrumental in addressing immediate mental health concerns, but how does this affect the Black community? One perceived problem with contacting the 988 number is that the police may be called, which could

deter some people who are experiencing a mental crisis. It is important to understand the impact of over policing of the Black community, which has eroded trust between the community and police.

This distrust and fear of the police force may have an impact from the number of Black people accessing the 988 hotline. After the launch of 988, many people who have had challenging experiences with the mental health system voiced their concerns about 988, warning others not to call it without knowing the risks involved which may include police involvement, involuntary treatment at emergency rooms or psychiatric hospitals, and the emotional and financial toll that occurs as a result of these experiences.

One strong opponent to the 988 is Liz Winston, who is a New York-based peer supporter and mental health rights advocate. After the launch of 988, Winston took to social media to post against 988.

The AmNews had an email exchange

with Liz Winston. On her website and in her email, Liz stated that 988 can see callers’ phone numbers and can “dispatch the police or ‘crisis teams’ to transport the person to an ER or psychiatric hospital— willingly, or with violence.” As someone who says she has had personal experience with the mental health system, Winston wrote that “the modern psychiatric hospital is still like a medicalized jail, and it is wildly likely that a person would see a therapist or receive any kind of treatment other than confinement. Far from saving lives, involuntary mental health treatment creates lasting trauma that extinguishes life force.”

The AmNews also spoke with Aneri Pattani, author of the KHN article “Social Media Posts Critize the 988 Suicide Hotline for Calling Police. Here’s What You Need to Know.” When asked about her perception of critics against calling 988, she stated that “to my knowledge, the emergency rescue policies that people were concerned about haven’t changed. Nor has there been a release of new

data to show how often emergency rescue has been used since 988 launched or if there are racial disparities among the callers involved in emergency rescue. Without that data or any changes to policies, it seems unlikely that critics of 988 will change their mind about those concerns.” Pattani acknowledges that there are people who have valid concerns about 988’s policies around emergency services and consent, but there also are “hundreds of thousands of people who are helped by the hotline and are able to find resources, referrals, and a kind ear through it.”

James Plastiras, the director of Public Information at the New York State Office of Mental Health, has been heavily involved with collecting statistics and other information associated with the 988 number in New York State after its launch. Plastiras said that in July 2022, “12,154 callers were connected to a crisis counselor in a New York State 988 Contact Center. In nearly all cases, the calls, texts, or chats are resolved through the initial contact with crisis counselors, or with assistance from local mobile crisis services that are able to help de-escalate the crisis at hand.”

In very few cases, if the caller is assessed by the trained counselor to be at a high risk of injury or death, 911 emergency services may be contacted, according to Plastiras. It is important to note that 911 is usually contacted at the request of the caller. Plastiras went on to explain that “nationally, less than 2% of all contacts to 988 result in 911 involvement.”

For New York specifically, Plastiras stated that “988 implementation has relied heavily on input from a diverse array of community stakeholders, which has helped ensure rollout is done in a racially inclusive way.” There are various diversity, equity and inclusion requirements that were included in the legislation that implemented the 988 hotline number. For those communities that may be reluctant to call or engage with emergency medical services or police, 988 will connect them with a trained crisis counselor who will listen and provide support and resources, rather than immediately dispatching law enforcement or emergency services.

•

• Safe Horizon Domestic Violence Hotline: (212) 227-3000

• The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network: 1-800-621-4673

•

•

•

Prevention Helpline: 1-800-273-8255

• Y our Life Your Voice (focused on supporting youth) 1-800448-3000 or Text VOICE to 20121

• Veterans Crisis Hotline Confidential support available 24/7 Call 1800-273-8255 and press 1 or Text the number 838255

• National Domestic Violence Crisis Line: 1-800-799-7233

• National Eating Disorders Association 1-800-931-2237 or Text 1-800- 931-2237

• Al-Anon/Alateen (Hope and Help for young people who are the relatives and friends of a problem drinker): 1-800-3442666

• TransAtlas Digital resource map for transgender, non-binary and/or intersex residents of NYC

• The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678

• The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community Center (212) 620-7310

• Audre Lorde Project (212) 463-0342

• Brooklyn Community Pride Center (347) 889-7719

• Pride Center of Staten Island (718) 808-1360

• Covenant House 212-613-0300 Provides emergency shelter, crisis care, counseling and clothing.

• Ali Forney Center 212-206-0574

• Safe Horizon Streetwork Project 1-800-621-HOPE (4673) Provides LGBT-affirming services for runaway and homeless youth, including emergency housing, food, clothing, showers, medical care, needle exchange and an HIV support group.

• Trinity Place Shelter 646-580-7045 Transitional housing program for LGBTQ youth ages 18-24 in New York City.

(Megan Alodie illustration)

Arts & Entertainment

‘Ain’t No Mo’’—You’ve never seen the likes of this before!

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

There ain’t nothing on Broadway like “Ain’t No Mo’”! It is a comedic production that has timely truths and boldly makes a commentary about the state of Blacks in this country. While you will laugh heartily, this incredible, creative gem from playwright and star Jordan E. Cooper will give you a great deal of food for thought. It’s playing at the Belasco Theatre on W. 44th Street.

Cooper uses vignettes to share many aspects of Black life, from the humorous to the serious and the deadly. He shows the shame of how this country treats Black people and how Blacks are so discouraged from living here that when they are being given free one-way tickets to go “back” to Africa, flights are departing loaded up. Peaches (played by Cooper) is the check-in person at the airport. She stamps the boarding passes and sends people on this journey to the motherland.

I had the great pleasure of experiencing this unique production when it was playing at the Public Theatre and I absolutely loved it! Jordan has a talent and a stunning gift for capturing our stories in a way that offers humor, but also lets us connect with our ancestors, our past, our greatness. Cooper lets everyone know that Black history, culture, music, pain, trauma matter. He shows the outrage of a Black person as he demonstrates how white people are trying to steal what is the very being of Blacks. They want to take everything away from us and send us to Africa, alone, disoriented and afraid.

Cooper tells our stories through sketches per-

formed by five other cast members, who brilliantly portray multiple roles and are referred to as Passenger 1–5. Four of those cast members are from the original off-Broadway cast and they bring the same unbridled energy and perfectly delivered characters as they did with that production.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

This phenomenal cast includes Fedna Jacquet, Passenger 1; Marchant Davis, Passenger 2; Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Passenger 4; and Crystal Lucas-Perry, Passenger 5. A newcomer to the cast, Shannon Matesky coming on board as Passenger 3, is truly demonstrating her acting chops.

This production has captivating direction by Stevie Walker-Webb, who was also its original director.

“Ain’t No Mo’” is one of those productions that I don’t want to let on anything about. I want you to go there and experience this powerful production for yourself. You know that this is an important work because it has caught the attention and financial backing of some incredible Blacks—producers include Lee Daniels; Dwayne Wade, the NBA champion; actress and author Gabrielle Union; RuPaul Charles; playwright Jeremy O. Harris; BET: Black Entertainment Television; CJ Uzomah, New York Jets

tight end; and several others. Please make plans to see “Ain’t No Mo’”— you will want to go back and take others to share this stunning, funny, moving piece of theatrical fare. Cooper will take you to church with this play and he will have the church shouting “AMEN!”

See more about “Ain’t No Mo’” on pages 22–23.

Theater pg 17 | Film/TV pg 18 | Books pg 19 | Jazz pg 24

Your Stars

Fedna Jacquet, Shannon Matesky, Marchant Davis, Crystal Lucas-Perry and Ebony Marshall-Oliver in a scene from “Ain’t No Mo’” on Broadway

Jordan E. Cooper as Peaches in “Ain’t

No Mo’” on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre (Joan Marcus photos)

Del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’—now on Netflix

By MARGRIRA Special to the AmNews

Pinocchio, the character, was created by Carlo Lorenzini (Carlo Collodi) and introduced in the book “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” which was published in serial form beginning in 1881 and turned into a children’s book two years later. To say that this character is part of the world’s cherished children stories is stating the obvious—which is curious and speaks volumes about the human experience. Allow me to explain.

In the story, the woodcutter Geppetto creates a marionette from an enchanted piece of wood. He never intended to create a “boy”—that was a mistake because of magic. Instead, what he made was an upset and disobedient puppet who wants to be human. Pinocchio runs away, gets jailed and almost hanged, is turned into a donkey (and almost gets skinned), and then kills a talking cricket with a hammer. This is literary Pinocchio.

In the film, Pinocchio is unfinished, has nails and twigs sticking out of him, moves strangely, and is impulsive. And just like a real boy, he challenges the world around him including re -

Waltz), a circus ringmaster, and the Podestà (Ron Perlman), a Fascist official, who both want the talking puppet to serve their agendas.

This isn’t exactly a kids’ movie. It’s made, after all, by Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”). Elements of satire paint this dark fairytale and there are also moments of sweet sentimentality. And there’s enough action, especially between Pinocchio and Count Volpe’s monkey puppeteer Sprezzatura (Cate Blanchett), to keep most audiences invested in the outcome of the rivalry, but something is missing.

The craftsmanship is stunning; the film is produced by ShadowMachine in studios in the U.S., U.K. and Mexico, delivering rich moments where you suspend your belief system, acknowledging for a time that these characters are real.

The screen is always filled with stunning color and detail. And for the stop-motion community and those who love this art form, this is the high bar to reach.

But del Toro didn’t let the artistry overwhelm the story he was trying to tell. He won there. But it’s a dark story, so go in…warned.

‘A Brother’s Whisper’ closes out African Diaspora International Film Fest

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Jacinto Taras Riddick’s film “A Brother’s Whisper” was the closing night film at this year’s New York African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF).

“A Brother’s Whisper,” which won this year’s Ja’Net Dubois Narrative award at the Pan African Film and Arts Festival in California, tells the story of Solomon Bordeaux’s return to Fort Greene, Brooklyn after serving three tours of combat duty in the Iraq-Afghanistan Wars.

Solomon (played by the film’s writer/director/producer, Jacinto Taras Riddick) comes to stay with his younger brother, David (Che Ayende) and his wife, Leona (Lekethia Dalcoe). The two try to support Solomon and welcome him back to his old world and his old life, but Solomon is suffering from PTSD—plus, he’s now looking at an old world that has been transformed.

Solomon’s old neighborhood is

gentrified and the ties he forged in the past with neighbors and friends may still be warm, but there are fewer of them. His brother informs him that the neighborhood is now only 60% Black, “And that number is rapidly declining,” he reports. “Yuppies were paying $2500 a month for a studio in Manhattan—what do you think they were willing to pay for a onebedroom in Brooklyn?

The loss of predominantly Black neighborhoods in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and BedStuy are only the start of Solomon’s issues. The film shows how his anger for changed neighborhoods explodes in a place where interracial and gay couples are

now dominant. There’s a question of whether his PTSD is inflating his anger, or if he is feeling desperation and only expressing his fears through resentment.

“A Brother’s Whisper” is challenging for viewers—it takes you through views of Brownstone Brooklyn, its deep pockets of Black culture and the changing demographics of today.

It’s an adult film, told from a

very masculine point of view: the point of view of an African American male in today’s Brooklyn.

“My goal is to develop creative, independent, soul-stirring, passionate and provocative films,” says Riddick, the film’s creator, in a statement. “My mission also is to produce works that are an alternative to generic mainstream films, giving depth in storytelling and subject matter that is often overlooked or tucked away in an undeserving closet.

“‘A Brother’s Whisper’ is a film that I plan to use as my calling card into directing and producing feature-length films. Unlike this so-called politically correct world in which we live, this film does not apologize, nor does it take sides. In my humble belief, it is an honest depiction of our love, dysfunction, fears, triumphs and reaction to what society has bestowed upon us.”

“A Brother’s Whisper” trailer can be viewed at: https://vimeo. com/763606379/6adbe23191

ligion, asking a wooden Christ a local question—a rather big question. Then he crosses paths with Count Volpe (Christoph

“Landlords went upstairs, knocked on a Black tenant’s door, doubled their rent and when they couldn’t pay, they kicked them out.”

Gepetto (voiced by David Bradley) and Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) in “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (Courtesy photo)

Jacinto Taras Riddick directed and stars in the new film, “A Brother’s Whisper” (Courtesy photo)

New books on Africans in Harlem, Black women trailblazers, Black American health

By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH Special to the AmNews

The history of Black Americans and Black human beings of the diaspora is layered, rich and full of wisdom regarding resilience; migrational adaption; the navigation of systemic structures; and countless stories of family, pride, ancestry and lineage. In America, millions of people were forced onto this land, but as the centuries unfolded and Black American received their freedom and autonomy, people from African countries began to migrate and settle into the country as immigrants. The weaving of our experiences, of birthright and bloodline, can and should be explored well into the future so we as a people may understand the purpose of our presence on American soil.

Three books, either recently published or soon to be released, document, examine and celebrate the multifaceted substratum of the Black experience.

Africans in Harlem: An Untold New York Story by Boukary Sawadogo (Fordham University Press)

Author of “Africans in Harlem,” Boukary Sawadogo, assistant professor of cinema studies and Black studies at the City College of New York, has carefully crafted the history of African immigration in Harlem. Fordham University Press says: “‘Africans in Harlem’ reveals how African immigrants have transformed Harlem economically and culturally as they too have been transformed. It is also a story about New York City and its self-renewal by the contributions of new human capital, creative energies, dreams nurtured and fulfilled, and good neighbors by drawing parallels between the history of the African presence in Harlem with those of other ethnic immigrants in the most storied neighborhood in America.”

Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation by Linda Villarosa (Doubleday)

Linda Villarosa, author, journalist and former executive editor of Essence magazine, has written a vital text about the under-examined effects of racism on the health of the Black com-

munity. Doubleday says: “Black people live in dirtier, more polluted communities due to environmental racism and neglect from all levels of government. And, most powerfully, Villarosa describes the new understanding that coping with the daily scourge of racism ages Black people prematurely. Anchored by unforgettable human stories and offering incontrovertible proof, ‘Under the Skin’ is dramatic, tragic and necessary reading.”

DUMBO boosts Biggie with new statue

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Clinton Hill’s most famous rapper, Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, is getting love in DUMBO. A new sculpture installation that sits at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge—at the corner of Prospect and Washington streets—features The Notorious B.I.G. looking out over Brooklyn from the height of a grassy, sloped lawn. As you climb the grassy knoll and come closer to the piece, you’re serenaded by the sounds of some of Biggie’s classic songs piped out for all to hear via a solar power system.

Sherwin Banfield, the artist who created the 9-foot-tall, mixed media, stainless steel and bronze structure called “Sky’s the Limit in the County of Kings”

thanks to a grant from the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and Dumbo Improvement District, said that “Delivering this project means so much to me personally, my story and artistic development as well as countless fans of hip hop culture who continue to be positively affected and influenced by the communal experiences and sonic frequencies of B.I.G.’s artistry…

“More importantly,” Banfield added, “I cherish the significance of the potential impact on young children of color who will have an opportunity to experience a public sculpture that represents and reflects their identity, circumstance and/or dreams.”

Notably, Banfield’s “Sky’s the Limit in the County of Kings” sits on Clumber Corner, a small area

just off the BQE which is mere steps from the famed 19th-century Black neighborhood that once occupied High Street. Beginning around the year 1810, a large African American community had established itself along High Street, near Bridge Street; they worked between the shipping industry in Fulton Ferry Landing and Brooklyn’s farms which supplied food to Manhattan. The Biggie statue now looks out over the same East River waterfront landing areas and views of Manhattan that Brooklyn’s Blacks used to see in the early 19th century.

Trailblazers, Black Women Who Helped Make America

Great: American Firsts/American Icons by Lyah Beth LeFloreItuen (2Leaf

Press)

Trailblazers is an expansive and enlightening collection that highlights the accomplishments of Black women leaders and visionaries. 2Leaf Press says: “The second volume of the [six-part] ‘Trailblazers’ series features women who are visual artists, women who served their coun-

try as elected officials or working in government, and composers, songwriters, and conductors. Each of these sections is preceded by an introduction, which provides insight into these women’s stories in a historical timeline. This volume includes biographical essays of eighty-five women, illuminating the significant role each have played in shaping America’s greatness, accompanied by powerful photographs that help illustrate who they are.”

Sherwin Banfield’s “Sky’s the Limit in the County of Kings” (Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)

HOROSCOPES BY KNOWYOURNUMB3RS

By GODDESS KYA

December 15, 2022 — December 21, 2022

Rebirth of a New Nation: The Goddess, Gods, board of directors, trustees and higher-ups have been asserting their plan since May to get your affairs together in all aspects of your life. Even if you are just now starting, it’s never too late to explore a new journey for yourself. After a lot of self-examination, it may be time to cancel your “subscriptions,” be they memberships, friends, teachers, mentors, gurus, loved ones, family members, a place, a thing, a habit—you name it. Numerically speaking, 2022 is a six-universal year that has taught us an invaluable lesson blended in with people who are by the book— old-school grandmothers, grandfathers, big momma energy, in-person interactions, behind-the-scenes, the master of the masters—backed by ancient knowledge that is forever embedded within you. Everyone is born with a gift, talent, skill, trade or expertise, given by almighty power, that you possess inside you. Listen within for the guidance you seek and continue to build with your family, friends or team to leave a generational legacy. The inheritance was given while you were developing in your mother’s womb. “An inheritance is what you leave with people. A legacy is what you leave in them.” —Craig D. Lounsbrough

Be in lockstep with your agenda to nourish the seeds you planted to reap the benefits by month’s end. You have been appointed to a heavy-duty assignment to get the job done. There is a lesson and test in disguise, testing your ability, tenacity and leadership. No matter what occurs, the show must go on. Upon the arrival of the new moon on Dec. 23, a new direction and new opportunities await you. Dec. 14–15, it’s a glorious feeling when a mastermind plan comes together. Can you say fate/destiny and the divine creator intervened to make this occasion occur?

What an unusual, unexpected meeting to occur in the physical and spiritual realm. The W’s have been on your mind and in due time, the answer will reveal itself. Pay attention to catch the news when it appears. A heart-to-heart conversation needs to be addressed with yourself, or an individual, and the main question to ask is what role you played. Where you are honest within your affairs, the truth needs no proof. If you have not been honest or vice versa, karma plays musical chairs taking a big bite out of the sandwich. Dec. 16–17, what a divine pleasure it is when you apply yourself and take accountability for your actions.

A match made in heaven to have the divine universal power to grant your wish. You must know exactly what you want and what you are willing to do to keep up your end of the bargain. This isn’t a “give it to me.” The universe demands that you prove yourself by action, producing a change in a humanitarian way. What goes around comes around. What new direction within your self-image and in your personal, and business affairs do you want to see progress? Dec. 18–20, claim it and it shall be, as long as you are willing to put in the work.

Applied pressure makes you do the work to get where you have to go and then rejuvenate. What are you asking for? Is it really what you want? Think about it and the commitment to do what it takes to climb the mountain, even if you have to walk alone. In life, walking the lonely road is a journey to self-discovery and indefinite transformation for maturity. You have to want it and want the help or else everything remains the same. Starting Dec. 21, take the first steps—you are one step closer than you have been before, no matter what the outcome. You made the effort.

There is a unique spark about you, a twinkle in your eyes, confidence in your walk and certainly high regard in your belief. So many opportunities are presenting themselves to you; decide on the one that aligns with your agenda. Everyone wants their hands in the cookie jar when you have a great product, making you high in demand. Choose the best option that will set the 2023 year off on a harmonious flow. Dec. 14–15, you got the power, speak your truth. You are the boss, no need to ask or question yourself.

Well, Gemini, the tables are being turned as others have helped you out in the past and present, and will in the future. What you do in the Mars in Gemini retrograde will be fully in effect come January 2023. You win some and you lose some. Most importantly, what you have contributed will come to reward you and teach you a lesson at the same damn time. Practice what you preach. Share what you know and inform your people as the universal forces are among you. Just know that as long as you play your cards right, everything will be alright. Dec. 16–17, step your game up and raise the bar as your ante just went higher.

What you do from here on out will set the standard high, low or in the just-right position. It’s time to get in preparation with your diet, home and family, and get a handle on your resources. Trim the fat so you won’t bleed during a certain time and allow the air to just flow. This year has been a get-it-together like the law enforcement or bailiffs knocking down your door and stripping you of everything, only to rebuild your foundation and propel you closer to your purpose. Dec. 18–20, you have everything to gain, like the sunrise and sunset.

What you say, baby, you got it, topping it off with respect for self and others. You have been the mastermind, planning and getting to the business and personal matters. You understand what it truly means to nourish the soul and fight some battles on your own like the lion in the jungle. A few scars, a bruise here and there; you were able to get out and still perform every day, making the necessary adjustments, connections and moves to keep elevating yourself and lifting others up. Well, rewards are on the way. Beginning Dec. 21, remember that your light always shines, even in the darkest nights.

Gather up your facts and research, and take notes to merge everything into another project. You love information because it helps you understand yourself and allows you to share it with others to aid in their journey. Take a mini break from work, regain your focus, and prepare yourself for what's next. Dec. 15, you're building your foundation to pass on generational wealth, knowledge, and recipes so your descendants can carry on your evolutionary legacy.

The divine force ensured that you applied yourself to the missing link to succeed. Mainly, it was you coming out of your shell; you know when you are stuck in your old ways. This is a journey into the newness of you. You have been given the signs, plans, details and associations to build your foundation; some you took advantage of and some were a disadvantage. Opportunities are presented to you at your feet, in plain sight, and you still do not see the picture. Get in attunement with yourself and have revival with yourself to sail on through. Dec. 16–17, it’s up to you whether you are going to be about it or not. Cut your losses and keep it moving.

A well-equipped, intelligent mind can lead you into doing many things to get what you want, understanding how to manipulate energy to receive what’s for you. You put in the work, time off and sweat, and made some investments during the process. Now it’s time to see your efforts pay off. You had to journey down a different detour just to see how you would end up where you are today. This month, follow your dreams and do what your heart is directing you to do. Dec. 18–20, say your goodbyes and peace out. You are in the driver’s seat; are you ready, captain/Goddess, God of your fate/destiny?

The unbelievable occurs this year like immaculate conceptions interfering in the football game. You have been stirring the pot for a long time now and it’s time to deliver the entrée. Insert the last bells, whistles, ornaments and details to the projects for their debut date. It’s time to ride out on the slay game after all the behind-the-scenes work. Get dressed, suited and booted up. Don’t forget to grab the keys; not sure if you are flying or driving. Do a double-take in the mirror and smile. In the days leading up to Dec. 21, you know what you know, no doubt about it. Speak your truth.

Vinateria

A walnut-centered holiday party

By CHEF EILEEN BARETT Special to the AmNews

My first holiday party of the year wasn’t actually a party, but a culinary workshop (which is a party to me). The evening began with cocktails, a choice of walnut-infused bourbon apple cider or walnut horchata martinis; we were off to a great start!

At any good holiday party there is quite a bit of mingling, and I met Gordon Heinrich, a fifth-generation walnut farmer who walked us through the process of walnut farming (something he has been doing since childhood). With more than 1,200 acres of farmland, the Heinrich farm harvests millions of nuts a year. Heinrich beamed with pride as he talked about working the farm side-byside with his children. It made me want to know more—and boy, did I get more.

We were introduced to seven walnut centered recipes, and I was so excited. After all, the holidays are the perfect excuse to try out new recipes. You can share your creations with loved ones and even gift the most successful of your baked goods because people

love a homemade treat. I shared with the hosts of the event that I spend a great deal of time in a kitchen, and that baking for others brings me joy. Though I love snacking on nuts, I’ve rarely used them in my baked goods because of the prevalence of nut allergies. So, when I received an invitation to the holiday culinary workshop at the Institute of Culinary Education, I was intrigued by the fact that the main ingredient would be the walnut.

Growing up, there were always walnuts in my home during the holidays. We didn’t bake with them because mom never baked; we would just eat them or use them to decorate. They weren’t my favorite snack, but I ate them because everyone else was eating them, and because I loved the satisfaction of successfully getting one out of its shell. This workshop at I.C.E. gave me a new appreciation for the mighty walnut. Some of my favorite takeaways: walnuts complement both sweet and savory dishes and can add texture, flavor and complexity to any plate. They make a lovely addition to your holiday centerpiece, and they are nutrient dense, boasting 4 grams of plant pro-

tein and 2 grams of fiber per serving!

Back to the party, the cooking demo was led by a culinary nutritionist who made a soup, two cocktails, vegan shepherd’s pie, a vegan meatball appetizer, walnut whipped cream and candied walnuts. We typically see nuts used in desserts or with fall favorites like squashes, apples and pears, but there was nothing typical about any of these recipes. I watched as she made “walnut meat” in minutes. While I was skeptical, I found that with the right spices it really mimicked ground beef. The walnut shepards pie and the meatless walnut meatball were my favorites of the night—they are a true holiday gift for all the non-meat eaters in your life.

I’m grateful to the California Walnut Board for cracking open my newfound love of walnuts and for teaching me that my family has been storing them incorrectly for years—store them in your refrigerator or freezer for optimal freshness. Try the recipe below at your holiday party this year and find other great recipes at https://walnuts.org/recipes/

Walnut

liqueur

pinch ground cinnamon Cinnamon sticks, for garnish

Preparation: 1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add walnut milk, vodka, liqueur and cinnamon.

Shake and strain into a glass.

(Eileen Barett photos)

(congerdesign from Pixabay)

Stars shine on ‘Ain’t No Mo’’ red carpet night

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

Thursday, Dec. 1, was an exciting evening on Broadway: the official opening of the new Jordan E. Cooper comedy “Ain’t No Mo’” at the Belasco Theatre on W. 44th Street. The play was written by and stars Jordan with five other cast members, referred to as Passenger 1, Passenger 2, Passenger 3, Passenger 4 and Passenger 5.

The premise of the play is that the U.S. government is trying to get all Black people out of this country by offering them free one-way tickets back to Africa. It doesn’t matter if you were born there or not; if you are Black, you are going.

Cooper first presented this work at the Public Theatre and even though he uses vignettes that can be funny, engaging and sometimes serious, he is providing a commentary to get people thinking about how Blacks are mistreated in these United States of America. The red carpet was a marvelous place to be and I want to share some of the interviews.

Regarding being on Broadway, Cooper said, “All day, I’ve been saying literally I’m standing in the middle of a dream. I’ve been wanting to be here since I was seven years old, putting on plays in my mama’s livingroom. And just to think that I’m actually here, my feet are actually touching the ground and that I’m in it and it’s a story that means so much to me, it’s wild. God is so good.”

Talking about his journey with the production, he said, “I started writing it in 2016 and it all came to me and I had to take my time. The characters started coming and the scenes started coming and I workshopped the play at Spellman and Morehouse…I was so happy the way my people lifted me up and then the Public put it on and then Lee Daniels got it and now we are here.”

Cooper goes through many emotions throughout this production, explaining how he can do it show after show. “It’s the passion to tell the story and the passion for the people. I love the fact that I get to meet new people every night. No audience is the same. That’s what gets me: I get to tell the story with a new audience every night.”

Lead producer Lee Daniels was very excited to be behind this production. This is a first for him to produce on Broadway. What grabbed his interest? “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said. “I hadn’t seen anything like this since I was a kid and I stole my mom’s El Dorado to come and see ‘Dreamgirls’ at the Imperial. I knew that I had to be a part of this world after seeing ‘Dreamgirls’—it changed my life. Not since that have I seen something that I knew was going to be impossible to do on Broadway. I knew everybody told me ‘Don’t do it, you’re going to lose your money.’ If I lose my money and 10 people see this and walk away changed, then I’m good. I’m shepherding someone. When I was his age, there was nobody—no writer, no directors—let alone gay filmmakers—that I could look up to. So it’s important to me at 63 to pass it on. This show inspires me.

“I thought I knew it all, but I don’t. I’m learning about myself through this work,” Daniels added.

Ebony Marshall-Oliver, an original cast member, said she cried when she got the

call that the show was going to Broadway. “This show is a wild ride, but it’s a good ride. You will laugh, cry; you will feel some type of conviction and joy!” About the multiple characters she plays, “I had to be specific as to who each of these people are and use the body language that goes with them,” Marshall-Oliver said.

Kedren Spencer, an understudy with the production, said the show’s breaking of the fourth wall is “a commune where you get to fellowship with the audience, and it’s incredible.” The timing for this show is perfect, according to Spencer. “When Obama became president, a lot of sores were ripped open… We came from a hopeful place, but there’s a lot of work to be done. It shows how much Americanness is Blackness. This country would not be what it is if it weren’t for Black people.”

Marchant Davis, an original cast member, proclaimed, “It’s a wild ride. It’s exciting to be on Broadway. I feel like we’re home now and everybody gets to come

Jordan E. Cooper, playwright and star (Linda Armstrong photos)

Lee Daniels, lead producer

Kedren Spencer, understudy

Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union, co-producers Ebony Marshall-Oliver, cast member

share it with us.” Doing multiple characters is draining, according to Davis. “It’s a rollercoaster. There’s joy inside of me, but I have to conserve it to be able to give what Jordan has written all the life and commitment it deserves.”

Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union, co-producers of the show, talked about why they are behind this production. Union explained, “I wanted to work alongside him, knowing his brilliance, knowing this piece, because it comes from love and a celebration of Blackness and Black people and our collective history. You have to be a part of that and be

excited about that, and we are.”

“I remember hearing about ‘Ain’t No Mo’’—it was different,” said Wade. “I heard about this 23-year-old that was going to change how we think about things and it opened doors for us in this industry. To be here four years later and be a part of the producing team—we are super honored to be able to amplify his story, his thoughts, but it’s for all of us. We look forward to going in and laughing and just experiencing it.”

Others on hand included Broadway director Kenny Leon, singer Deborah Cox, Brittney Ing from “The Ms. Pat Show” on BET+ (a show that Jordan created) and many others.

Shannon Matesky, cast member (Linda Armstrong photos)

Marchant Davis, cast member

Deborah Cox was on hand to lend her support for “Ain’t No Mo’”

Brittney Ing, star of “The Ms. Pat Show” on BET+

CARMEN LUNDY, STATEN ISLAND JAZZ

Carmen Lundy is a special voice, a smoked honey filtered vocal instrument that intoxicates. She will display her attributes as one of the 21st century’s great female vocalists on Dec. 16, Aaron Davis Hall at City College (129 Convent Ave. at West 135th Street), 7 p.m.

Lundy’s ensemble, another generation of musicians, who are already outstanding but still rising to their zenith, will include pianist Julius Rodriguez, organist and keyboardist Matthew Whitaker, guitarist Andrew Renfroe, saxophonist Camille Thurman, bassists Curtis Lundy and Ben Webster, trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr. and drummer Terreon Gully. This is the same ensemble that performed on Lundy’s Grammy-nominated album “Fade to Black” (City Hall Records, 2022); her album “Modern Ancestors” (2021) was also nominated for a Grammy.

“Fade to Black,” her 16th album, was the result of a grant from Chamber Music of America. “I wrote the songs and arrangements during the pandemic which was a difficult time for all of us, my brother and I lost two siblings,” said Lundy. The music

represents an emotional journey of loss, sorrow and healing with a bright future that is more embracing. The 11 tracks also take on today’s social issues, along with love and relationships. “I wasn’t trying to follow any outlines of what jazz is,” says Lundy during a phone interview. “I was just true to myself with great artists with a similar experience. You can hear the essence of us, it is 21st century for now.”

The grant was for two live performances; the first was recently performed in California and now at Aaron Davis Hall. “I haven’t performed in New York since 2019 at the Jazz Standard just prior to the country being closed down. Unfortunately, the Standard is now gone.” Prior to that her last performance in Harlem was about five or six years ago at Harlem Stage. She was wondering if Harlem still remembers her, but how could they forget such a talented woman, who’s been at the helm for four decades making her own path excelling as a composer, lyricist, pianist and artist.

“While I was writing ‘Fade to Black,’ I was also editing the video from the experience of taking my mother and her gospel group, The Apostolic Singers of Miami, into the recording studio,” explained Lundy. “They had been singing for 40 years and never recorded an album. We entitled the recording experience “Nothing But the Blood.” To our joy it won Best Music Documentary at the 2022 Downtown Los Angeles film festival.”

The “Modern Ancestors” album was recorded prior to the pandemic. Lundy says, “It was the end of four decades of my performing. I was a jazz singer in the late 1960s, the Modern Ancestors were on the bandstand when I got to New York. I am acknowledging the ancestors who helped us to where we are in the music whose shoulders we lean on. My vocal experiences include many of our most recent ancestors like Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Shirley Horn, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.”

The diversity of her musical perspectives can be heard on her tune ”Jazz on TV,” phrased with lyricisms that swing like a hip cat riffing on a Harlem street corner. Her cover of The Dells’ “The Love We Had Stays on My Mind” should be an R&B oriented jazz standard. The Dells would be proud. Her harmonic musings fly like birds in the sky.

In 1980 she formed her own trio, performing with pianists John Hicks and Onaje Gumbs. She has also performed with Walter Bishop Jr., Don Pullen, Mulgrew Miller, Billy Childs, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kip Hanrahan, Courtney Pine, Roy Hargrove, Robert Glasper, Marian McPartland and the band Quasimode.

Lundy’s oil on canvas paintings have been exhibited in New York at The Jazz Gallery (Soho), The Jazz Bakery, and in Los Angeles at the Madrid Theater. Her art also appears in the booklets that ac -

company her CDs. This concert is presented by the Jazz Museum in Harlem and CCNY Center for the Arts.

For ticket information, visit the website Citycollegecenterforthearts.org

On Dec. 16, improvisational melodies will be in the air during the 34th Staten Island JAZZ Festival presented by Universal Temple of the Arts, at the St. George Theatre, 35 Hyatt St. in Staten Island, steps away from the Staten Island Ferry.

The festival lineup will include rousing drummer Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, they swing from jazz to soul and some in between (he opens the fest), followed by bassist Andy McKee Quintet and closing with composer, arranger and pianist the Nat Adderley Jr. Quartet. Saxophonist and educator Mark Gross will be master of ceremonies, at 7 p.m.

For many years Universal Temple of the Arts has promoted the festival with images by the prolific artist Romare Bearden; this year the festival image will be his piece entitled “Out Chorus.”

Sajda Musawwir Ladner (1940-2021), artistic and executive director of Universal Temple of the Arts, founded the Staten Island JAZZ Festival in 1988. All proceeds from the festival support UTA’s free yearround programming. For further information call 718-273-5610, email info@utasi. org or visit our website at www.utasi.org

Carmen Lundy (Press photos)

SUPER STOCKING STUFFERS

Hot Honey Fire Sticks by Savannah Bee Company $7

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Honey & Oatmeal Soap by Saafsoap $7.49

Tones skin while moisturizing and repairing damage from elements. www.saafsoap.com

Tangle Pets Aquatic 6 Pack 3+ Tangle $48

Six different Tangle toys with an underwater pets theme that can be used as bracelets. www.tanglecreations.com

The Weighted Blanket For Your Eyes by Nodpod $34

This blanket made from microbeads encased in microfleece and jersey cotton actually made testers feel relaxed and peaceful. It uses deep touch pressure to work magic. www.nodpod.com

Dogs vs Squirls 4+ Cepia LLC $4.99

Each surprise plush vivid dog or squirl in a blind bag. www.dogsvssquirls.com

Mountain Classic Fleece Gloves by LL Bean $29.95

Soft machine washable glove that is lightweight but warm. Choose from three colors and they are sold for men and for women. www.llbean.com

Yule Log Socks for Men by Sock It to Me $14

This is a fun but practical gift with a holiday theme. www.Sockologie.com

Gilded Agate Coasters from Anthropologie $16

Pick from six different colors and brighten up a stocking. www.anthropologie.com

LOOK AT THE BOOKS!

LED Dinosaur String Lights 3+ MiniOwls $14.98

Light up colorful dinosaurs that are strung together and can be hung up. www.miniowls.com

Cat Parade Gel Crayons 3+ Ooly $17.99

Twelve twist-up watercolor cat topped crayons that will not dry out! They are for every cat lover on your holiday list! www.ooly.com

Little Loon Finds His Voice by Yvonne Pearson with pictures by Regina Shklovshy 2+ The Collective Book Studio $17.95

A loving story about brave little Loon and his father. www.thecollectivebook. studio

Paint with Water Magic and Merry Christmas by Jenny Copper with Illustrations by Rachael McLean 3+ Imagine That Publishing Ltd Book $12.99

Holiday book includes paint-

brush to do artistic holiday works that only take water! www.imaginthat.com

The Underground Railroad on Long Island Friends in Freedom by Kathleen G. Velsor 10+ The History Press $19.99

Understand how Long Island played a part in the historic underground railroad. www. arcadiapublishing.co

My Epic Life Daily Word Workout: 180 Ways to Train Your Brain For An Epic Day by Mrs. Wordsmith 5+ $24.95

The book is a curriculum that is fun and creative. www. mrswordsmith.com

A History Lovers Guide to New York City by Alison Fortier 10+ Published by The History Press $21.99

Learn all about NYC’s amazing history and tour the city in a whole new way! www. arcadiapublishing.com

Meet Claudie by Brit Bennett published by American Girl $16.99

Learn all about the latest American Girl historical doll

from the New York Times best-selling author. It takes place in Harlem 100 years ago and delves into the legendary art scene. www.americangirl.com

The Magical Unicorn Society: Unicorns, Myths and Monsters compiled by May Shaw and published by Michael Omara Books Limited £9.99

Eight enchanting tales of mythical and magical beings, including unicorns. www.magicalunicornsociety.co.uk

CLASSROOM IN THE

the heroic Jesse LeRoy Brown, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart Medal and Air Medal recipient

Honoring

There is every indication that the film “Devotion” will do for Jesse LeRoy Brown what “Red Tails” did to bring wider recognition to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2012. Reviews of the film have been overwhelmingly strong since it arrived in theaters in November, and the positive response shows no sign of lessening.

If all of this is new to you, the film is based on a true story about Brown, the first Black American to complete the U.S. Navy’s basic flight training program and later, due to his heroics in the air, earn a Distinguished Flying Cross. Rather than review the film, which I haven’t seen yet, let’s recount how Brown’s legacy began on Oct. 13, 1926, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Brown was born in poverty. When he was 6 years old, his father, John Brown, took him to an airshow and thus began his deep interest in planes and flying. His education on planes and flight continued when he read stories about such famous Black pilots as Eugene Bullard and Bessie Coleman, mainly from the Pittsburgh Courier, a newspaper he delivered. In 1937, he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt in which he complained about Blacks being unable to join the U.S. Army Air Corps, and the White House thanked him for his concern about the issue.

As a high school student, Brown excelled in the classroom, graduating as the salutatorian of his class; he was also a member of the basketball, football and track teams. When he expressed a desire to attend Ohio State University, following in the footsteps of his idol Jesse Owens, he was discouraged, but he pursued his dream and overcame the obstacles. To earn money to pay his tuition, he worked at a saloon that served white soldiers. Despite their insults and abuse, he persevered and saved the money he needed to leave Mississippi and enroll at Ohio State University.

He majored in architectural engineering and, on several occasions, attempted to enter the school’s aviation program. His race restricted him from the program, but not from the track and wrestling teams. Eventually, he had to drop these pursuits for financial reasons. But there was still an opportunity to join the Aviation Cadet Train-

ing Program conducted by the U.S. Navy, and Brown was successful in passing the entry exam. In 1946, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, becoming a seaman apprentice and a member of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps.

A year later, Brown completed the engineering program and reported to Glenview Naval Air Station in Illinois to begin training as a naval flight officer, one of a few Blacks to gain this distinction. It wasn’t long before he achieved the rank of midshipman—the only African American in the program. There was no abatement of the racial slights and even some hostility from Black workers at the facility who were apparently jealous of his successes. He got his first flight aboard a trainer aircraft.

After being transferred to Pensacola Naval Air Station, Brown secretly married Daisy Pearl Nix, since cadets were not allowed to marry until their training was complete. They managed to see each other on weekends by living in separate quarters. He finished his training in 1948 and received his Naval Aviator Badge. This moment was captured in several publications, including Life magazine. He was often deemed the “Jackie Robinson of Naval Flyers.”

After the birth of his daughter, Pamela, Brown was assigned to Fighter Squadron 32 aboard the USS Leyte.

In 1950, the Leyte was ordered to the Korean Peninsula as the Korean

War heated up. Ensign Brown was among the VF-32 crew who flew 20 support missions for U.N. forces. At this time, the war was not going well for the South Korean forces, and the advancing North Korean army was only miles from Seoul, the South Korean capital. To impede this advance, the U.N. stepped into the fray and the U.S. dispatched its Seventh Fleet. When this measure proved less than successful, President Truman ordered ground troops to supplement the air support. The Leyte was placed on alert.

Brown was part of a six-aircraft flight in support of U.S. Marine Corps ground troops trapped by Chinese forces. They flew 100 miles to the Chosin Reservoir through harsh wintery conditions and began searching for targets. It was partly reconnaissance and partly a search-and-destroy mission. He was flying low when his plane was hit by a barrage of bullets from the Chinese, who often hid in the snow. His plane was seriously damaged, and Brown attempted to land it on a snow-covered side of the mountain. The crash practically demolished the plane and left Brown trapped. He tried to free himself from the plane as it was engulfed in smoke and flames.

His wingman, Thomas Hudner, deliberately crashed his own plane and rushed to free Brown, using handfuls of snow to drench the flames. To free him, Hudner used an ax and thought about amputating Brown’s trapped leg, but soon re-

alized that the cause was hopeless. Brown gradually lost consciousness and uttered his last words to Hudner: “Tell Daisy I love her.”

Later, when Hudner requested to retrieve Brown’s remains from the wreckage, he was denied. The entire scene was destroyed to keep Brown’s body and the aircraft from being possessed by the enemy.

Brown is considered as the first African American U.S. Navy officer killed in the war, although there is some dispute of this fact. (While Brown is often cited as the first African American naval aviator, historian Robert J. Schneller has maintained that Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Oscar W. Holmes preceded him, earning the designation of naval aviator in 1943 with an exemption from the Navy’s basic aviation training program due to his prior civilian piloting experience.)

Brown was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Purple Heart Medal and the Air Medal. Hudner received the Medal of Honor for valor—the highest award presented by the U.S. military. In 1973, the Navy commissioned the Knox-class frigate the USS Jesse L. Brown, only the third U.S. ship named in honor of an African American.

In 2013, Hudner visited Pyongyang in an attempt to recover Brown’s remains, but was told to return when the weather was better. Perhaps some of these unfinished issues will be explained in the film, where Jonathan Majors portrays Brown.

ACTIVITIES

FIND OUT MORE

There are at least two fairly definitive biographies on Brown’s life, one by Theodore Taylor, “Flight of Jesse Leroy Brown,” and one by Adam Makos, “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship and Sacrifice.”

DISCUSSION

More research is needed to sort out the controversy about who was the first Black Navy pilot killed in action.

PLACE IN CONTEXT

The end of World War II and the Korean War frame the most eventful years of Brown’s life.

THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

Dec. 12, 1940: Dionne Warwick, a five-time Grammy Award-winning singer, was born in E. Orange, N.J.

Dec. 13, 1967: Oscarwinning actor Jamie Foxx was born in Dallas.

Dec. 15, 1883: William A. Hinton, developer of the Hinton Test for syphilis, was born in Chicago. He died in 1959.

Brown in the ready room of the USS Leyte (Courtesy of the U.S. Navy files)

he says he’s so concerned about,” said Kudish. “[But] I think that there’s a lot that we could do to improve the lives of the people he says he’s so concerned about and I think that announcing we’re going to increase involuntary hospitalization is not the way to accomplish that goal.”

Adams originally announced his directive on Nov. 29. The mayor maintains his initiative doesn’t rewrite the state’s approach to dealing with New Yorkers experiencing mental health crises via involuntary hospitalization but rather interprets it to include those who don’t pose immediate risks to others if their disorder is causing them to be unsheltered or if they pose risks to themselves.

On Monday, the courts punted the decision, reported The City. According to van Dalen, the end goal for the litigation remains to replace police with non-police teams to respond to those in need of health care, along with involuntary arrest, detention and transport of those actual or perceived with mental disorders.

In October 2021, the NYLPI surveyed 154 New Yorkers with past mental health crises and found patterns of inadequate care, unsafe feelings and general bad experiences dissuading respondents from seeking subsequent care or help during city responses. Through the Washington Post’s fatal police encounter database, the report also found at least 18 people were killed during mental health crises by New York City cops since 2015, with at least 15 being Black or other New Yorkers of color.

Outside the courtroom, rallies against Adams’

new directive took place, including one outside City Hall last Thursday, Dec. 8 organized by Communities United for Police Reform (CPR).

“We are here today to demand that Mayor Adams roll back this dangerous plan that disguises forced treatment as compassionate care,” said CPR spokesperson Anthonine Pierre. “Expanding the power of the NYPD to institutionalize people in crisis will harm, violate and traumatize the New Yorkers the mayor claims to help.

“NYPD officers are not equipped to decide if someone should be forced into mental health treatment, and they should not be the primary agency to address the mental health and housing needs of New Yorkers.”

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams withheld immediate judgment for the directive, but he penned a letter to Adams shortly after the an-

nouncement asking for specifics and clarification, including with protections for those removed and the authority of private, non-city hospital EMS workers.

“The mayor’s announcement leaves many details unspecified, questions unanswered, and must provide more information on the intentions, implementation and non-police investment in its plan,” said Williams on Nov. 29. “A framework that continues to center overreliance on police, diminishes the role of health professionals, and de-prioritizes the role of peer support will not be sustainable or effective in meeting the needs of New Yorkers in need or a city in crisis.”

And Adams is facing pushback from New York City police, who are still awaiting new training roughly two weeks following the directive. While the Police Benevolent As-

Domestic violence

a 911 call of a female stabbed inside of 2306 Adam Clayton Powell Apt 1A…Upon arrival police discovered an unidentified female who was stabbed in the neck at the location.”

Lawrence was taken to Harlem Hospital where she was pronounced dead. She lived with her mother in Harlem, who McGraw says “was working, working hard to get her away from him.

McGraw said that Saniyah’s mother, Sharisse Jackson, “is devastated. She does not know how to navigate this tragedy, she doesn’t know what to do,” but hailing the all-too-familiar steadfast nature of Black women under pressure, McGraw, who has steered many an unfortunate family through such loss, added, “That’s what we as Black women do. We help our sisters and their families through this dramatic time. This is a baby. She is a minor. This is awful.”

Having worked for years on domestic violence cases, now retired NYPD detective Marq Claxton told the AmNews, “Every year many of our young people fall victim to Intimate Partner Violence. It is harder to identify and prevent these fatal encounters because the victim and offender may not be cohabitating, but the emotions and passions may be just as intense.”

The director of the Black Law Enforcement

Alliance continued, “For teens and young adults the emotional immaturity and limited coping skills could add layers of danger to relationships. Families and communities need to pay close attention and immediately intervene in these volatile relationships because just like traditional domestic violence cases, the risk of fatality is always present and requires direct intervention and support services. Many of these senseless IPV deaths are avoidable.”

Stephanie McGraw hosted a rally on Tuesday night in Harlem that initially was planned to seek out the killer. Once Crumbley was arrested on Monday, the community vigil became a memorial for Saniyah Lawrence. Harlem activists and community members gathered with her family in front of dozens of lit candles, fliers and photos of Saniyah.

“It was overwhelming. Her mother Sharisse stood with us, but it was too much, it was heartwrenching, and so she went back into the car.”

Saniyah’s family came out too though: her father, aunts, her grandfather and her great grandfather.

“Domestic violence affects all sides of the community. These children are out here drinking, smoking and experiencing all kinds of traumas. Something must have happened to this boy,” said McGraw. “His eyes are vacant, that’s the only way you can take someone’s life. His eyes were vacant because of the violence he suffered as a little boy, both of his parents were

in jail—hurt people hurt people.”

Claxton continued, “My experience as a domestic violence investigator in the NYPD, is that most of the teen dating IPV cases weren’t classified as domestic violence because the parties typically didn’t live in a familial setting or co-

sociation (PBA) supported the mayor’s general plan earlier this month, the union met the announcement with skepticism and renewed concerns over the NYPD’s existing staffing issues..

“We need extremely clear guidance and training on when and how we should compel people to accept help,” said PBA President Pat Lynch in a statement. “We need our leaders to back us up when we carry out these duties. And above all, we need our leaders to recognize that each new responsibility is a strain on our severely understaffed, overworked and underpaid ranks. If our city does not take immediate action to reverse the NYPD staffing emergency, we won’t be able to adequately help any of the New Yorkers who need it.”

This past Tuesday, Dec. 13, the mayor addressed those concerns during a presser, adding that the initiative would not be “policedriven” but led by mental health experts.

“Two weeks is not a long time,” said Adams. “We’re going to make sure our officers are trained. We’re going to make sure they execute this plan appropriately so that they can make the best decision for people who can’t take care of their basic needs, and they are a danger to themselves and others. And so as we continue to evolve, we are going to produce a good quality product.”

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

habitate and had no children in common. That classification difference results in a different law enforcement response and focus.”

Mayor Eric Adams’ office did not respond to a request for a statement.

“Domestic violence doesn’t just happen to the intimate partners, it has a ripple effect,” domestic violence survivor and activist Rosalyn McIntosh told the AmNews. The founder and president of Sisters Building Sisters in Brooklyn, Inc., said, “Domestic violence affects their family, loved ones and a host of others.”

McGraw told the paper, “The family is definitely going to be doing a fundraiser. Aside from general funds, we want to start a scholarship in Saniyah’s name, so that she will never be forgotten. We need to have a conversation as a community too about the need to talk about insurances, and death. There is a great need.”

She added, though, that in the depth of the despair, the community has come out to support the family.

“We are some loving, supportive Black people. We are warm and loving, and that showed when we heard about this family and people came out to show their love and support. We are amazing.”

The funeral service for Saniyah Williams will be at Unity Funeral Chapel, 2352 Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem.

www.weallreallymatter.org smcgraw@weallreallymatter.org

Public Safety Announcement with Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon (Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office)

Saniyah Lawrence

Education

First-ever children’s museum in the Bronx open to the public with new hours starting January 2023

The brand-new Bronx Children’s Museum is a 13,650-square-foot permanent space in the South Bronx, featuring site-specific art installations and interactive exhibits where families can play, learn and connect to the Bronx—its natural and cultural resources—through dramatic role-play, art and scientific exploration. Geared for kids from infancy to fourth grade, exhibit highlights include The Waterways, a 35-foot long water table where children can launch boats, splash and play with locks and bridges while learning about local waterways such as the Bronx River, Harlem River and Orchard Beach. In The Woods exhibit, children can discover a variety of animals, plants, and other natural features of the Bronx through a microscope, observe live animals in their enclosures, create nature patterns, or build a kid-sized beaver lodge. A whimsical casita, bodega, community garden, farm stand and surrounding streetscape give children a chance to explore The Block, a miniature replica of a local neighborhood. Families and caregivers will delight in The Nest, a soft area museum space, where little ones, ages 0-3, are encouraged to develop their fine and gross motor skills through crawling, pulling up, and sorting objects. Sonia’s Corner, named in honor of both Justice Sonia Sotomayor and fellow Bronx native, actor and writer Sonia Manzano, has an array of children’s books and family-friendly resources.

MUSEUM HOURS: As of January 3, 2023! Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

LOCATION: Bronx Children’s Museum

725 Exterior Street, Bronx (near Yankee

Stadium, along the Harlem River)

INFO/TICKETS: Visit the Museum’s website for Museum hours, ticket reservations and information.

Arts Building Community Collection

Bronx Children’s Museum’s Arts Builds Community (ABC) Collection, curated by Natalie Collette Wood, includes work by 12 contemporary Bronx-connected artists who have created new site-specific installations for the museum. Each work was directly inspired by the natural environment of the Bronx, its rich history, music and culture and, mostly importantly, the children in the Little Friends of the Museum Program. By working with children, artists have integrated the fantastical spirit and wonder of being a child into their work.

After more than 12 years of providing quality enrichment programs to children throughout the Bronx as a museum “without walls,” Bronx Children’s Museum is proud to open the doors to the first-ever children’s museum facility in the borough, just steps from Yankee Stadium and Bronx Terminal Market, in a city-owned former powerhouse in the South Bronx along the Harlem River.

Founded in 2005, Bronx Children’s Museum is a new kind of multicultural, Bronx-inspired children’s museum operating “with and without walls” geared to those from infancy through fourth grade. Since programming began in 2010, the museum has engaged more than 124,000 children and families at 584 different community events and 106 educational institutions. Bronx Children’s Museum nurtures children to find their voice, fulfill their potential and connect to their communities, the Bronx and the world beyond. www.bronxchildrensmuseum.org

(Photos courtesy of Bronx Children's Museum)

(Matthew Lapiska photo)

African descent

the executive director of New York City’s JMacForFamilies (Just Making A Change For Families; https://jmacforfamilies.org/) spoke about having “experienced the dehumanizing and devaluing effects of policies that shape the U.S. child welfare system, a system that is rooted in slavery and colonialism. The policies that govern this system encourage and support the over-surveillance and policing of Black families.”

Black Canadians spoke about their creation this past July of the Halifax Declaration, which calls for, among other things, more accountability and recognition of police violence against Afro Canadians and educational reform to address anti-Black racism. Afro Mexicans spoke about how they are being displaced from land their families have lived on for decades, and how the racism in their country continues to deny their communities’ existence.

Conrad Bryan of Ireland’s Association of Mixed Race Irish talked about the children of African fathers and Irish mothers who were abandoned in Catholic church-run mother-and-baby homes. “Our

childhoods were stolen,” Bryan said. “Our childhoods were stolen. In its 2021 state apology the Irish state recognized for the first time in its history that children of different racial backgrounds were left institutionalized because of an unjust belief that they were unsuitable for family life such as adoption or fostering. This long-term institutionalization resulted in multiple and intersectional violations of the human rights of children of African descent. We welcomed the state apology after years of campaigning, but we are still fighting for separate recognition in the state’s reparation scheme that is currently being developed in Ireland. An apology on its own without recognizing adequate redress is simply not enough … It’s not simply enough to say sorry. States must be brave and act. They must recognize that we do have rights under Article 6 of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We do have rights to reparations: be bold and take steps to act now.”

Barbados Ambassador Matthew Wilson presented his government’s statement to the Forum

Leaders Summit

strips us of the resiliency of our brilliance— of our strength,” she said. “The narratives that are existing in the continent and outside of the continent lead folks to forget that when given the opportunity, we excel.” When barriers are removed, Omar insisted, Africans can innovate and create. African nations may have governments that are still dealing with the residues of colonialism and wars, but African people are pushing past those remnants and creating beyond that, she said. “When we start to believe in ourselves, I think we are limitless and there are great opportunities for us to create the kind of investment that the African continent needs—if we push for the right partnerships that do not exploit the continent and its people but enrich the continent and its people.”

And that’s what groups like the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) say they fear with efforts like the U.S. Leaders Summit. The U.S. role in Africa has been to disrupt African governments, said Margaret Kimberley, BAP’s Africa Team co-coordinator. “The same country that led the destruction of Libya in 2011 precisely because Muammar Gaddafi was trying to unify African nations—trying to come up with a currency that would help nations like his that were rich in natural resources—this same country can’t turn around 10 years later and claim to be a friend of Africa.” BAP held a week of protest actions to counter the summit. The

which pointed to the CARICOM Reparations Commission’s 10point plan to help move nations toward reparative justice. Barbados also called for the U.N. to ensure that the Forum has the resources to act on any of the work it plans to put in place.

Statements from governments and civil society groups were heard throughout the 4-day event. Some 900 organizations registered to submit statements to the Forum, but there wasn’t enough time to hear them all. Forum representatives

are hoping that the second session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, set to take place at the U.N. in New York from May 30 to June 2, 2023, can be extended to last more than three days, so that more statements can be taken, and more discussion can take place.

At the end of 2023, Forum representatives will submit a report and raise issues with U.N. governing bodies about methods for tackling some of the issues Black people face throughout the world.

Howard University’s Justin

Hansford told the Amsterdam News, “We want to try to get resources to Black people who need it. Really, at the end of the day, that’s the goal. And that can include financial resources, it can include interacting with local governments, businesses, churches—whoever we can interact with to try to make sure that some of our crises get addressed…This Forum can bring people together, help people begin to learn from each other so that we can then help each other and support Black liberation.”

group said it wants to highlight issues that should be on the agenda at the summit, like the dismantling of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), which controls the military of most African countries and gives the U.S. some sway over those nations.

If it really wants to forge closer ties with the African continent, the U.S. itself will have to change and no longer be committed to the kind of full-scale dominance that says the U.S. has the right to control the rest of the world, BAP’s Kimberley said: “Despite any words, actions show that the U.S. is still dedicated to getting what it wants and the impact on other countries [is] of no consideration.”

The Biden administration has termed this second-ever U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit as an event rooted in the recognition that Africa is a key geopolitical player. It fended off suggestions that the U.S. is trying to counter inroads made on the continent by Russia, which is now the largest weapons supplier to Africa, and China, whose Belt and Road Initiative has made billion-dollar investments in infrastructure on the continent.

The previous, and initial, U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit was held in 2014 under President Barack Obama, after his summer 2013 trip to Africa. President Biden is said to be planning to travel to Africa in 2023 and Vice President Kamala Harris may go as well.

Justin Hansford and Pastor Elías Murillo Martínez on the dais at the first meeting of Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (Contributed photo)

Religion & Spirituality

Former Harlem icon, Dorothy Pitman Hughes, joins ancestors

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

There was much more to Dorothy Pitman Hughes than the iconic fist to the air pose with Gloria Steinem, much more to her than all the various enterprises she touched with her passion and ingenuity. Rather than composing a fresh look at her legacy in an obit—she joined the ancestors on Dec. 1 in Tampa, Florida—we can edit several articles about her that appeared in our paper.

Back in May we reflected on her productive life as we covered the convergence of Roe v. Wade and Mother’s Day, and Dorothy’s commitment to women’s rights and the feminist movement. At that time we began: “Dorothy was born in 1938 in Lumpkin, Georgia, but she spent some very productive time and leadership in Harlem. She was 10 years old when her father was beaten and left for dead on the family’s

doorstep. To the family and local officials it was a vicious hate crime, and probably the cowardly work of the Ku Klux Klan.

“It was this brutal and disturbing experience that set Dorothy on a life of activism and to improve the social and political possibilities of the oppressed, particularly African Americans and their plights.

“In 1957, she moved to New York City and began working as a domestic worker, sales lady and a vocalist, all the while raising money for civil rights protesters in need of bail money. By the late ’70s, with three children, she began organizing a multiracial cooperative day care center, called the West 80th Community Childcare Center, an endeavor later profiled in New York Magazine by columnist Gloria Steinem.

“This would begin a lifelong friendship with Steinem, in which Dorothy would play a vital role in getting Steinem to take her message of women’s rights to the streets. To ensure the advice she extended to Steinem,

Songstress Joyce Sims passes

By MAL’AKIY 17 ALLAH Special to the AmNews

Numerous fans took to social media and several radio DJs played on-air musical tributes last month in paying homage to 1980s-’90s chart-topping singing sensation/songwriter Joyce Sims, 63, who passed on Oct. 13 at her Los Angeles home.

Joyce Elizabeth Sims-Sandiford was born Aug. 6, 1958, in Rochester, N.Y. She played drums and piano as a child, and studied music in college. She was one of five siblings in a close-knit family. Her father was a machinist for Kodak, and her mother was a head chef at their familyowned restaurant.

“Sad news. Joyce Sims & Kurtis Mantronik was one of the great collabs of its era: her beautiful songs & achingly open vocals + the irrepressible joie de vivre of his production,” noted music journalist Pete Paphides Nb. “These tunes always sounded to me like puppy love played out amid space invaders machines & milkshakes.”

Sims signed with Sleeping Bag Records,

and under the tutelage of house music producer Kurtis Mantronik, released the single “(You Are My) All and All” in 1986, which reached No. 16 on the U.K. Singles Chart and No. 6 on the U.S. Dance Chart. Her 1987 follow-up single, the Mantronikproduced “Come Into My Life,” reached the top 10 on the U.S. Billboard R&B Chart and the U.K. Singles Chart, pushing the same-named album to certified Gold status.

“A lot of the dreams and aspirations I had came true when that album was released,” Sims said earlier this year.

She wrote all the songs on the album except “Love Makes a Woman.” Some of her popular tracks were “Lifetime Love,” “Walk Away” and “Looking for a Love.”

She released her second album, “All About Love,” in 1989, which hit No. 64 on the U.K. Albums Chart, and continued releasing memorable albums throughout the next couple decades, including 2009’s “Come into My Life: the Very Best of Joyce Sims,” a double-CD of her greatest hits and remixes. That same year, she estab-

Dorothy agreed to travel with her on speaking engagements, in fact, often sharing the podium with her. For their next venture, and once more at the urging of Dorothy, Steinem founded Ms. Magazine, where the photo with them with their balled up fists raised high gained public traction and was circulated in the media. That iconic photo was originally taken by Dan Wynn for Esquire magazine and it symbolized racial solidarity, even as Dorothy expressed some concern about the possible violence they might incur with such a picture of resistance. Later, another photographer Dan Bagan would create, at Dorothy’s insistence, an homage portrait of the two friends at an event celebrating Steinem’s 80th birthday in 2014.

“Meanwhile, Dorothy continued her community service with the organization of the first shelter for battered women in the city and at the same time co-founded the New York City Agency for Child De-

velopment. ‘Too many women were being forced to leave their children home alone while they worked to feed their families,’ she announced upon founding the agency. Together with Steinem, she co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance with the specific mission to promote non-sexist, multiracial children’s education. With this in place the duo continued to tour the nation with their several messages of equality and women’s rights.

“Dorothy was among the signers of the Ms. Campaign ‘We Have Had Abortions,’ a year before Roe v. Wade became law, citing an end to the ‘archaic laws’ that limited reproductive rights for women. This interest was delivered widely at various forums and into classrooms at City College, the College of New Rochelle, and Columbia University.

“In 1992, she co-founded the Charles Junction Historic Preservation Society in

lished her own record label, August Rose Records, and released albums “Wishing You Were Here” and “Back in Love Again.”

She’s been recorded or sampled by Randy Crawford, Angie Stone and Snoop Dogg.

“My heart is broken,” her sister Annette Ramsey said on Facebook. “I will always

remember the happy times we’ve shared, the love and support you have given me will not go in vain. I Love you Big Sis RIP.”

Another sibling, Debbie Sims-Hall, described her as “a beautiful soul inside and out” who “will truly be missed.”

SoulTracks website’s publisher, Chris Rizik, described Sims as a “great talent who sang, wrote and played for us for more than three decades. The music world will mourn the passing of this multifaceted talent whose impact on music was even greater than the mass popularity that she achieved over the past three and a half decades.”

Sims was also a humanitarian: “In my opinion, no one in the U.K.—or the United States—should be hungry or homeless. If everyone were able to have a home and not worry about food, I believe they would live a more productive life—and the world would be a better place.”

Sims had been touring in the U.K. earlier this summer and was planning on releasing an album at the end of this year. She has two children and lived with her husband, Errol, in New Jersey.

“A lot of the dreams and aspirations I had came true when that album was released”

Rikers

during a suspected overdose. Molina and other DOC representatives did not confirm but said Mejias was in “fully-staffed” dorm housing where he was found and assisted by others held at the facility.

A five-year Rikers closure status report in October by The Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform found 61% of detainees are Black and 89% are awaiting pre-trial; 51% need mental health treatment. And the average detention is 286 days before pre-trial, with 533 people at the time of publishing in Rikers held for over two years.

“Edgardo [Mejias] was delivered a death sentence without a trial,” said Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack. “What will it take for judges, prosecutors and police to stop churning people through this death trap, and for the mayor to stop encouraging them?

“New Yorkers know this is not normal, and we know we don’t need to keep sending people to a death camp to keep our city safe. Now is the

Fair housing

Continued from page 4

right way to go,” he said. “And that people that have conviction histories deserve housing opportunities, just like anyone else. We know as an organization that there are 750,000 people in New York City who had conviction histories, that’s around 11% of the population.”

Of those with a conviction in the “Big Apple,” nearly 80% are Black and/or brown based on race data findings between 1980 and 2019 by the CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice. So while racial discrimination by landlords is explicitly banned by almost every level of government, an absence of Fair Chance for Housing opens the door to deny a significant number of Black New Yorkers housing.

Roslyn Smith, a program manager for the anti-violence movement V-Day, says after coming home from a 39-year sentence, she was rejected by race during her apartment search long before she could even be rejected by her conviction history.

“I would call them up and you know, I sound Black,” she said. “So I would have conversations with them. And I would ask them, is the apartment currently still available? ‘Oh, no, we just rented it out.’ But I just looked on the website 10 minutes ago, and ‘oh the website was updated.’

“They were giving so many stupid excuses that I knew it was because I was an African American person. Half the time, I didn’t even get to the point of putting in an application where they had the background check.”

City Councilmember Shahana Hanif says opposition of the bill is heavily rooted in landlord anti-Blackness rather than good faith safety concerns given that the Fair Chance for Housing Act, as it stands, would still allow property owners to check the sex offender registry with appropriate notice and would provide an opportunity for the applicant to dispute.

time to invest in housing, treatment and everything we know creates safety, and stop sending people to Rikers to die.”

For Human Rights Day last week, Freedom Agenda projected messages demanding Mayor Eric Adams and other city officials to intervene with closing the jail.

Also this past Tuesday was a rally at City Hall for Mejias’ death held by community activists as a followup to a movement last month based on a federal hearing on whether city jails would end up in the hands of federal receivership. A District Court Judge ultimately failed to consider the motion, much to the disappointment of many decarceration advocates.

Organizers say the main demand this time is for more action by Mayor Eric Adams to reduce the jail’s population, both in preparation for Rikers’ closure in 2027 and in general to prevent extraneous detention of New Yorkers before trial.

“I spent part of my childhood growing up in Brownsville,” said Katal Center Leader Henry Robinson at the rally. “I saw the devastating impact that mass incarceration had on my community. The devastating impact it had on my family when I was incarcerated. The mayor

is from Brownsville and he knows that our communities need care.

“Yet he continues to send more Black and brown people to Rikers. Nineteen people have died in the city’s jails. This is unacceptable. Mayor Adams, you need to shut down Rikers and invest in our youth.”

As it stands, four borough-based jails are slated to replace Rikers and can hold no more than a combined 3,300 detainees—the limited space means an opportunity for curbing mass incarceration in New York City. Last month, the city tallied 5,846 held in New York City jails.

Katal Center Senior Community Organizer Melanie Dominguez says it’s up to Adams to ensure the new jails don’t follow the same mistakes as Rikers.

“He’s the one that needs to be thinking through and his team needs to be thinking through about how things can be different,” she said. “Just going back to the problems at Rikers Island, it can offer lessons to be learned. And this makes me think of the [City Council] hearing, they discussed the fact that people don’t have access to mental health services, people don’t have access to proper medical care, they’re not being taken care of, they’re not being

taken to get medical care, because correctional officers have been not showing up for work.”

Dominguez also mentioned discussions of Int. 806 during the hearing. The floated bill would establish borough-based jail review teams to comb over cases that can be quickly wrapped up or don’t require detaining the person charged. She added that efforts will continue to focus pressure upon Adams to act, but other New Yorkers are welcomed to chip in.

“He’s always been our biggest target and will continue to be,” said Dominguez. “But the only way we’re going to be able to hold him accountable is through community power. And so it’s going to be really, really critical, critical for communities to come out, show out and be present at these rallies, be present in your conversations of what is needed, what it is that they’re concerned about.”

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

But landlords still didn’t respond—like Donavan, a connection at work ultimately landed her in permanent housing. And while men overwhelmingly make up the number of New Yorkers arrested in the city each year, justiceimpacted women face specific, gendered concerns when they come home.

“I don’t understand the concerns, to be honest, because there are several exceptions to who has access to housing through this piece of legislation that would give them some ease,” she said. “This is about people’s safety and stability and people who are coming into neighborhoods to return to a life where they have stable housing, employment, school, and to be able to integrate into family life again. Landlords should be supportive of this [and] advocating with these people who will be paying rent and be good neighbors. And that’s the commitment.”

“That’s who I’ve heard opposition from. My team and I, and the majority of the Council— we have over 30 sponsors on this piece of legislation—are ready to debunk any of these myths that some of these landlords are spewing. I think a lot of what we’ve seen are dangerous myths and tropes. And then specifically, just anti-Black. It’s really important [to know] that this is the way the landlord community thinks of Black people. That’s not okay.”

In fact, proponents of Fair Chance for Housing argue that banning rental background checks increases public safety. They contend the bill would lead to easier re-entry to society, more employment and less recidivism. Additionally, a significant population of those returning home from a sentence are elderly and face elevated danger themselves if they cannot secure a long-term place to stay.

Smith ultimately found permanent housing

after taking over a lease from a friend without a conviction, despite holding a decent paying job. For others, like Vilma Donavan, a leap of faith by sympathetic landlords is the pathway to housing. But before her stroke of luck, the long-time Fortune Society member was told to her face during an affordable housing lottery she would never find a place as a “felon.”

“The only reason I got housing is because a coworker who knew somebody else who knew somebody else, had an apartment, and the landlord knew of my conviction,” said Donavan. “This man said to me, ‘I’m gonna give you a shot.’ I lived in that apartment for 11 years. And not once was my rent ever late.

“Having a key to your own place to rest your head is the most important thing when you come home from prison. Especially when you’re doing everything that you’re told to do to re-enter society. Get a job, you got to do this stuff—this is what society says and I was doing it.”

But not everyone returning home from a sentence can count on his or her support system. Both Smith and Donavan initially stayed in transitional housing. Fearing she would take up city resources for someone else, Leah Faria moved home instead after her release despite a strained relationship with her mother. She said her surroundings made reentry significantly more difficult.

Still, Faria found work within a month of coming home, earning more than enough to make rent for the apartments she applied to.

“When you’re trying to get re-acclimated, [there’s] other obstacles, like [to] obtain your vital documents, find employment, take care [of] your medical issues, not to mention, if you’re a mother, you’re trying to regain custody of your kids, you need housing,” said Faria. “You need that…safe space, especially me being a survivor of domestic violence. Coming out, you’re still vulnerable, you need to have that safe space to lay your head at night.”

But passing Fair Chance for Housing isn’t the finish line. Smith says it’s difficult for justiceimpacted Black and brown New Yorkers to seek second chances when they’re often never afforded a first chance. For now, she’s hoping they’ll get a chance to restart.

“The majority of formerly incarcerated individuals work harder than the average person, because we know that it’s going to be pushed back,” said Smith. “And if we mess up, then Peter is going to pay for Paul, everybody’s going to be subject to the backlash from it.

“We are looking for housing [and] that we can be independent. We did our time. We paid our dues. We’re out here, we’re being productive citizens, we’re working, we’re paying taxes, we’re paying our bills and we’re not thinking about doing anything wrong. We want a safer society, too.”

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

Fair Chance for Housing rally before City Council hearing (Fortune Society photo)

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SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK, US BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR FIDELITY GUARANTY LIFE MORTGAGE TRUST 2018-1, Plaintiff, vs 286 WADSWORTH LLC, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on June 24, 202 2, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the portico of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on January 18, 2023 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 286 Wa dsworth Avenue, New York, NY 10040. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of New York, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 2170 and Lo t 22. Approximate amount of judgment is $963,443.54 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850005 /2021. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale

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SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf v. CHRISTIE LEE GARDNER, Deft - Inde x #8 50039/2021. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated April 19, 202 2, I will sell at public auction Outsid e the Portico of the NY County Courth ouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 12, 2023, at 2:15 pm, an undivided 0.00493200000% ten ant in common in terest in the timeshare known as 57th Street Vacation Suites lo cated at 102 West 57th Street, in the County of NY, State of NY. Approximate amoun t of judgment is $21,880.44 plus costs and in terest as of January 28, 2022. So ld subject to terms and cond itions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which include s annual maintenance fees and ch arges Paul Sklar, Esq., Refe ree. Cruser, Mitche ll, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Stree t, Farmingdale, NY

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Forec losure dated July 5, 2022, and entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of New York, wherein HSBC BA NK USA is the Plaintiff and KA REN KENNEY A/K/A KA REN KENNY, ET AL are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction RAIN OR SHINE, at the PORTICO OF THE CIVIL SU PREME COURTHOUSE, LOCATED AT 60 CENTRE STR EET, NEW YORK , NY 10007, on January 4, 2023 at 2:15PM, premises known as 144 WEST 123 RD STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10 027: Block 1907, Lot 53:

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SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf v. BRENDA JEAN AMBRIZE, GORDON W. STATHAM, Deft. - Index #850033/2021. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sa le dated January 28, 2022, I will sell at public auction Outside the Portico of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 12, 2023, at 2:15 pm, an undivided 0.00493200000% tenant in common in terest in the timeshare kn own as 57th Street Vacation Suites loca ted at 102 West 57th Street, in the Coun ty of NY, State of NY. Approximate amount of judg ment is $49,366.11 plus costs and in terest as of Au gust 4, 2021. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which in cludes annual maintena nce fees and charges Paul Sklar, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 34 1 Conklin Street, Farmingd ale, NY

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Ivey, a young mom who went missing in May 2021 in Rochester, N.Y. near the northeast neighborhood. She was wearing a black hoodie with pink leggings and had a flower tattoo on her chest.

“The number of missing persons is fluid as investigations are active and constantly change,” commented a DCPI spokesperson about the status of missing persons.

Natalie Wilson, co-founder of the BAMFI nonprofit, said that disproportionate media coverage of missing Black and brown girls, and people of color, has improved incrementally but there is plenty of work to be done.

Wilson said there seems to be an uptick in cases in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Baltimore and in rural areas like North and South Carolina and the midwest. Sex trafficking, domestic violence and abuse, mental health conditions that worsened during the pandemic, and kidnapping are among the several reasons people go missing.

Last week a 12-year-old autistic girl went missing in Brooklyn on Dec. 6. Her mother found that a man in the Bronx had “lured” her away via Instagram and told her how to visit him. She was found soon after in the Bronx and sent home to her father in Harlem.

“We’re spending a lot of our time online especially since the pandemic so are our children and the predators are as well,” said Wilson. “They know the right words to say to these kids to make them comfortable. Make them think they’re their friend and lure them out of the house. We have definitely seen an uptick and our caseload has doubled because of it.”

The FBI’s National Crime Information Center Missing Person and Unidentified Person database indicates that over the course of last year, there were 89,020 Black women and girls of all ages recorded as missing persons. At the end of 2021 there were 14,323 active missing cases involving Black females out of the 93,718 open files. And, at least 119,519 of the missing were “juvenile” Black girls and boys.

BAMFI stats show that “nearly 40%” of missing persons are of color but Black people make up significantly less of the population at 13%. McGraw and Wilson noted that the persistent coverage of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old blond white woman who was missing in 2021 and found to have been murdered by her fiance, motivated Black outlets and social media sites to shine a spotlight on their missing.

“Because of the outrage with Gabby Petito, where she continued to dominate the news cycle, Black Twitter really stepped up and said, ‘Hey what about missing young women and people of color.’ They’re not getting the same level of attention,” said Wilson.

Wilson said the “Black and Missing” docu

series on HBO that came out last year has also gone a long way in chronicling the organization’s work. BAMFI was started by Wilson and her sister, Derrica, in 2008. Wilson was in public relations and her sister was in law enforcement. They were trying to help find 24-year-old Tamika Huston who disappeared from Spartanburg, South Carolina in 2004.

Wilson delved into the classification of the “runaway” narrative that’s usually attached to Black girls and boys by law enforcement. She said it really impacts the case and recovery efforts because you don’t receive an amber alert, media coverage or resources from police to find someone.

A Phoenix university scholarly journal explained that the AMBER Alert system has strict criteria for issuing a message. If those criteria are not met, kids are labeled runaways which allows cops to legally delay response and investigation time. Because Black children were consistently mislabeled runaways over the years, impacted families have pooled resources to attempt new broadcast systems. The Jholie Alert system was launched after 16-yearold Jholie Moussa was found dead 14 days after she had gone missing in 2018, labeled a runaway by police. Rilya Wilson was 4-years-old when she disappeared from family services custody in Florida in 2001.

She wasn’t reported missing for almost two years afterward, prompting a local movement for the RILYA Alert and Rilya Wilson Act to combat disparities in media coverage and alerts that send crucial information out even without criteria being met.

“We are trying to change the policy around classifying these children as runaways. Even if they left voluntarily we need to figure out why they leave home and most importantly what they are running into,” said Wilson.

The Wilson sisters now meet with national news outlets to coach reporters on how to cover missing persons cases involving Black women and girls. Maybe not every case would get that media coverage, said

Wilson, but at least newsrooms are starting to reflect on how they can do a better job.

“There is no policy for many of these news outlets, and the decision is made by an editor who is typically white, middle aged man,” said Wilson. “And they’re thinking about ratings and ad dollars, so we need to make sure that we stay in the forefront and stay connected to the media outlets who have our missing persons stories to tell as well.”

For more information on these missing persons or to report an anonymous tip, please visit BAMFI.org.

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

Ethel Atwell (Contributed by Black and Missing Foundation)

Marshae Ivey

Selah Davis

Jacksonville, Fla. where she continued her war against poverty by developing community gardening and food production. Her entrepreneurial dream was realized with the launching of the first African American owned office supply store in Harlem, and thereby becoming a member of the Stationers Association of New York. Her store, Harlem Copy, was opened in 1983 on 125th Street. Five years later she began offering HOS stock at $1 a share to individuals, corporations, partnerships and nonprofit organizations focused on African American children.

“Her various ventures were later published in “Wake Up and Smell the Dollars” (2000) that advocated small business ownership to other African Americans, all in the interest of self-determination and selfreliance. This pursuit morphed perfectly into Congressman Rangel’s Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, funded by the Clinton administration that set aside $300 million for economic development in Harlem. Eventually, she was a member of the Business Resource and Investment Service Center (BRISC) that aimed to support the small businesses in the community. But she was dismayed and criticized the project when too many large corporations arrived and defeated the program. ‘Some

are convinced that empowering large corporations to provide low paying jobs for our residents will bring economic empowerment to the community…[But] without African American ownership, there is ultimately no local empowerment,’ she complained, believing BRISC’s resources were being unevenly distributed among small businesses in Harlem. Subsequently she wrote, ‘Just Saying…It Looks Like Ethnic Cleansing (The Gentrification of Harlem)’ that provided advice to African American business owners who might want to utilize similar government programs such as President Obama’s Jobs Act.

“In 2008, Dorothy and Steinem were once again united at Eckerd College where they recreated their famous fist to the air pose. On several occasions Steinem has been a visitor and speaker at Dorothy’s center in Jacksonville, where she has lived since leaving Harlem.”

According to a website, Dorothy is survived by three daughters—Delethia Malmsten, Patrice Quinn and Angela Hughes; two grandsons, Sean Ridley and Devin Baptiste; and predeceased siblings, AyreLou Owens, Mary Cunningham and Milton “Roger” Ridley. Among her surviving siblings are Julia Van Mater, Tommy Lee “Tom-Tom” Cherry, Mildred Dent, Alice “Tan” Ridley and James D. “Jimmy” Ridley. More information regarding funeral services can be found at www.sconiersfuneralhome.com

Dorothy Pitman Hughes (Bob Self The Florida Times-Union via AP photo)

After a beatdown by the Eagles, the Giants focus on the Commanders

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

The wide talent gap between the Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles was affirmed last Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Coming into the game, their trajectories were headed in opposite directions. The Eagles had the best record in the NFL and their only loss of the season came on Nov. 14 to the Washington Commanders (3221). They demolished the Tennessee Titans 35-10 the week prior to facing the Giants.

On the other hand, the Giants were treading water. They were 1-3-1 in their five games before the crucial NFC East matchup with the Eagles and had a disappointing 20-20 tie versus the Commanders at home on Dec. 4 in Week 13. So the 48-22 Eagles’ domination of the Giants wasn’t as unexpected as it was informative. The loss dropped the Giants to 7-5-1 and into the No. 7 seed, the final NFC wild card spot. Conversely, the Eagles are now 12-1, the best record in the NFL, and strengthened their hold on the race for home field advantage in the con-

ference throughout the playoffs.

“When you take a loss like this, you have to look at yourself in the mirror and figure out what you got to do to get better,” said Giants rookie defensive lineman Kayvon Thibodeaux of the loss to the Eagles. The 21-year-old from Los Angeles surprised students at C.S. 55 in the South Bronx this past week, visiting and distributing toys through his Jream Foundation and Toys for Tots.

Putting the Eagles defeat behind them, the Giants’ immediate charge is to focus on their road game this Sunday against the 7-5-1 Commanders, which has critical implications to both teams’ playoff aspirations. The Commanders are currently the No. 6 seed and have a better winning percentage (1-2-1) than the Giants (0-3-1) in games versus division opponents to give them the edge in a tie-breaker. A Commanders victory would bolster their position over the Giants as head-to-head games are the first determinant in the tie-breaking procedures.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll is keenly aware his team is con-

fronted with a difficult remaining schedule, which also includes the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts and Eagles in succession, and the pressing challenge they face going up against a Commanders squad that is 4-1-1 over the last six games. “It’s a long season. There’s quite a bit of adversity throughout it. Maybe for some teams, it’s in the beginning. For some teams, it’s in the middle, and other teams, it’s at

the end,” said Daboll on Monday.

“We’re going through a little bit of it right now, and I think it’s important to stay consistent, do the things that you need to do to try to win games with your preparation and practice. You explain that to your players, which I think they all understand. Again, whether it’s the coaching staff or the players, they’ve tried to remain as consistent as you can be. And that takes some mental

toughness throughout the year.” When this season began, few expected the Giants to be competing for a playoff invitation in the closing weeks of schedule. It was supposed to be a rebuilding year with a first-year head coach and general manager in Jim Schoen. They were 4-13 and tied with the Jets for the third worst record in the league. Yet with the postseason within reach, the outlook and realistic hopes have changed.

In the thick of the playoff race, the Jets host the rising Lions

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

Twice this season, the Jets have proven they are on par with the Buffalo Bills, a team that ahead of the NFL’s opening week many prognosticators picked to be the eventual Super Bowl champions. At 10-3 they are the AFC’s No. 1 seed entering this Saturday’s Week 15 matchup with the Miami Dolphins at home. To the 7-6 Jets, the Bills serve as a measuring stick as to where they are and how close they have become to being a title contender.

Their record may not reflect it, but the Jets have the makeup and talent to compete with the league’s best and themselves be looked at in the same vein. After defeating the Bills 20-17 at home at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 6 in Week 9, they fought them hard last Sunday in Upstate New York before falling 20-12.

The Jets aren’t celebrating any moral victories, not when they are deep in the hunt for a playoff spot, but once again they demonstrated toughness and resilience, two requisite characteristics for a team en-

deavoring to be a title contender. The defeat dropped them to the No. 9 seed in the AFC as the top seven teams in each conference make the playoffs. Although the New England Patriots (No. 7) and Los Angeles Chargers (No. 8) are also 7-6, they both have better records against conference opponents.

The Jets are also fourth in the AFC East behind the Bills, 8-4 Miami Dolphins and Patriots. But Jets head coach Robert Saleh is unbowed and believes they will have a rubber match with Bills in the postseason.

“We’re going to see these guys again,” he said to the media after the game with conviction.

The Jets and Bills both found it difficult to generate offense on a wet and slippery field at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. The Bills led 7-0 at halftime and took a 17-7 lead into the fourth.

The Jets held the Bills to just three points in the final period but only had a field goal and safety on a blocked punt by defensive end Jermaine Johnson with 7:30 to go.

Starting quarterback Mike White was knocked out of the game twice

by the Bills defense but came back in both times to try and rally the offense. The Jets have lost four of their last six games by an average of only 6.25 points. They will host a hot and rising 6-7 Detroit Lions team this Sunday who started the season 1-6 but are 5-1 since Week 9.

“I just have so much faith in that locker room. So much faith in the coaching staff. So much faith in everybody that is involved day to day,” said Saleh. “I don’t think there is a guy in that locker room who doesn’t think we are capable of so much more.”

A personal milestone was set by the Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson, whose six catches for 78 yards moved him in front of Keyshawn Johnson for the most receiving yards in a single season in franchise history. Wilson has 868 yards while Johnson had 844 in 1996.

“That means a lot,” said Wilson about the mark. “It would have meant a whole lot more if we win this game. I can’t lie. I was expecting to get that. It’s about winning. I want to win.”

Giants rookie defensive lineman Kayvon Thibodeaux, pursuing Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts last Sunday, is now tasked with stopping the Washington Commanders offense (Giants.com photo)

The Jets’ superlative defensive tackle Quinnen Williams left last Sunday’s 20-12 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the second quarter with an injured calf and is listed as day-to-day. The 7-6 Jets host 6-7 Detroit Lions this Sunday (Bill Moore photo)

Lauren Park-Lane garners Big East Conference honors

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

Big East Conference action started the first week of December for Seton Hall University, and senior guard Lauren Park-Lane came in hot. She averaged 27.5 points and 6.5 assists in wins over Xavier and Marquette. For this, she received Big East Player of the Week.

“It means a lot,” said Park-Lane. “I got this honor because of our team’s success and I just want to keep that going. Us playing all together has really helped me get all these things. I’m just appreciative of my teammates.”

After wins over Rider and UCF, Seton Hall is 8-3. Park-Lane said the team is doing a good job of incorporating new players and returnees. It’s nothing new to have transfer students join the Pirates. As a co-captain, Park-Lane said her role is to “show the new kids coming in how we do things as a team—by the way we play, the way we practice, our off-the-court behavior as well. Just trying to be a lead-by-example type of leader,” she said.

She feels she started off the season slow, so having some high-scoring games gave Park-Lane a boost. Associate head coach Lauren DeFalco basically told her to just

play her game and not worry about missing. The likelihood of making baskets is good because she works on shooting every day. “To have her in my ear actually really helped me,” said Park-Lane.

This season is putting Park-Lane and other upperclassmen in a positive mood. So much of her college career has been impacted by the pandemic, so to have in-person classes and some social interactions has given her a boost of energy and confidence.

“I’m happy that it’s happening my senior year,” said Park-Lane, who is majoring in social and behavioral sciences. “I get to finally have the college experience. I had a little bit of it freshman year, but at the end we didn’t get to go to any tournaments because of COVID. Now it feels back to normal.”

Following her time at Seton Hall, ParkLane wants to play professionally and then go into coaching, but for now she’s focused on this season. After games against Fordham and UConn, the Seton Hall players will get five days off to go home for Christmas.

“I’m really excited to see how much our team capitalizes off of the wins that we’ve had,” said Park-Lane. “I want to see how we play. I’m just really excited to play.”

Student-athletes address current issues at the IAF Forum

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

Name, image and likeness (NIL), the transfer portal and social media were among the topics at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum. The participants on the panel StudentAthletes Speak Out on the Issues of the Day didn’t hold back in sharing their experiences and concerns.

Walter Rouse, a senior offensive tackle on Stanford University’s football team, said he’s seen increased attention to the health and well-being of student-athletes since he began college. Graduate student softball player Morgyn Wynne from Oklahoma State University said it’s been rewarding to see transformations, but we’ve only scratched the surface on gender equity issues.

“We started seeing the inequity in the women’s basketball tournament or the women’s softball tournament that resources weren’t as readily available for female athletes as they were for male athletes,” said Wynne. “Their set-up was a lot different than what ours looked like. … Getting that ball rolling has been very important.”

Brynn Carlson, a volleyball player and recent graduate of the University of Missouri, has served on the NCAA’s Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as the Big 12 Conference’s representative.

“One of our main focuses and goals as of late has been working on student-athlete voice in the governance structure,” she said. “We’re working towards increasing the amount of power that we have within the decision-making process.”

NIL has increased financial literacy among student-athletes as well as image consciousness and desire to build a personal brand. That makes them more thoughtful about what they put on social media. While the ability to earn money is very meaningful to many student-athletes, the panel noted that access to NIL deals can impact a recruit’s choice of institution, causing them to opt for greater financial potential as opposed to best fit.

“I don’t want it to play a big part, but it’s going to,” said Rouse. “I would hope an athlete in picking a college would take into consideration all the factors—NIL along with how it’s going to affect them academically, the rest of their life, relationship with the coaches, what’s going on in the locker room and issues of their community overall.”

The transfer environment has evolved over the past few years. In terms of women’s sports, Carlson noted it’s great for basketball because transfers no longer have to sit out a year. “I would love to continue to see the environment open up from a studentathlete perspective,” she said. “Protecting student-athlete freedom of movement.”

Morgyn Wynne of Oklahoma State spoke on the studentathlete panel of the Intercollegiate Athletics Forum (Oklahoma State Athletics photo)

Seton Hall’s Lauren Park-Lane is thriving in her senior season (Seton Hall Athletics photo)

Knicks look to keep their winning momentum on the road

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

The Knicks looked to extend their winning streak to five games last night (Wednesday) when they squared off with the Chicago Bulls in the first game of two straight in Chicago. They will play the Bulls again tomorrow and the Indiana Pacers on Sunday before returning to the Garden next Tuesday to meet the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

The Knicks had won four in a row to move up to No. 6 in the Eastern Conference standings. They were 14-13, one game behind the No. 5 Philadelphia 76ers (15-12) and two games below the No. 4 Brooklyn Nets (17-12) before the league’s slate of games last night. It was the Knicks’ longest stretch of consecutive wins thus far. They won three straight the first week of the season after losing their opener.

In wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers (92-81), Atlanta Hawks (113-89), Charlotte Hornets (121-102) and Sacramento Kings (112-99) at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, the Knicks displayed increased intensity and execution on defense. They held three of the opponents under 100 points. By the eye-test, it was their best duration of sustained defensive efficiency this season.

“The defense is gelling all together,” said Knicks guard RJ Barrett after the win over the Kings. Barrett had team highs of 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists. “We’re playing hard and we’re giving effort. Getting rebounds. It’s not one particular thing, just a lot of different things gelling together.”

The Knicks were led in victory by forward Julius Randle, who had all 27 points by halftime before being ejected after being assessed two technical fouls for arguing non-calls at 3:35 of the third quarter.

“It’s an emotional game,” said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. “When he got the first one we have to do a better job and get him to walk away. I get the frustration. It was a physical game and he got hammered on the play. But he had a great game going and we can’t let him get distracted.”

Randle has been on an offensive tear beginning in late November. He had averaged 25.2 points over his 10 prior games before playing the Bulls, including a season-high 36 versus the Pistons on Nov. 29, the same day as his 28th birthday. Randle’s cumulative numbers were at 22.8 points on 46.1% shooting and 8.7 rebounds.

Following the Warriors, the Knicks will play three more at MSG against the Toronto Raptors (next Wednesday), the Bulls (Dec. 23) and Christmas Day matinee (12 p.m. tip-off) versus the 76ers.

Putting distractions behind them, the Nets stack up wins

By VINCENT DAVIS Special to the AmNews

The Brooklyn Nets’ 112-100 road win over the Washington Wizards on Monday lifted them into fourth place overall in the Eastern Conference with a record of 17-12. It was a positive way for the Nets to begin a three-day break without having to play before challenging the Toronto Raptors tomorrow in the third game of a four-game road trip. They’ll end it facing the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. The Nets have won eight of their last nine games and four in a row.

Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn had his regular starting lineup versus the Wizards after winning the previous game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday by 136133 with an opening five of forwards Markieff Morris and Kessler Edwards, center Day’Ron Sharpe, and guards Patty Mills and Edmond Sumner. They had eight players sit out, including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons.

Thomas, in his second-year in the NBA out of LSU, whom the Nets drafted with the 27th pick in the first round last year, came off the bench to score a team-high 33 points in just 29 minutes. Vaughn had alerted Thomas beforehand of his plan. “You’ll probably get a lot of minutes to-

night,” he informed the 6-foot-4 shooting guard.

“…I trusted him,” Vaughn said of the 21-year-old who was born in Japan and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. His lineup decisions paid off. In addition to Thomas, Sharpe added 20 with 12 rebounds, Mills 24, Sumner 21 and Morris 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Nets dominated the glass, nearly doubling the Pacers in rebounds 59-30.

“I was very impressed with the guys that played for them,” said Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle after the game. “These guys played hard. They were aggressive. They were fearless. They attacked, and they earned the win.”

Irving explained the team’s mindset in turning around their early season issues. “Let’s just go win ball games. That’s it. That’s really what the attitude is,” he said. “We know the talent we have. This is our group. No more excuses. No more distractions.”

The Nets will return to Brooklyn to host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, Dec. 23.

Knicks forward Julius Randle was averaging 25.2 points and 8.8 rebounds over his previous 10 games heading into the last night’s matchup with the Bulls in Chicago (Bill Moore photo)

Nets guard Cam Thomas scored 33 points against the Pacers when called on by head coach Jacque Vaughn in a 136-133 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday (Bill Moore photos)

Cam Thomas

Jacque Vaughn

Sports

After 294 days, Brittney Griner released in dramatic prisoner exchange

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

In the early morning hours of Dec. 8, news broke that a prisoner exchange with Russia had been agreed upon securing the release of basketball star Brittney Griner, who had been detained for almost 10 months. The exchange involving Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in a U.S. prison, happened in the United Arab Emirates. After that, Griner, 32, a WNBA Champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was flown to San Antonio, Texas, for medical evaluation and treatment, arriving in the early morning of Dec. 9.

“Today, we gladly applaud the administration for the hard work of ensuring Brittney’s imprisonment finally came to an end. My prayers for her and her family remain as strong today as ever because her journey is far from over. Brittney returns home with spiritual and emotional wounds that can only heal now that she’s free,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton in a statement.

“The fact that Griner was both Black and LGBTQ+ made her even more of a target, and the treatment that she faced in the Russian court system even more horrific. The Biden administration was right to recognize that bringing Griner home was a top priority, and we thank them for that,” noted Victoria Kirby York, director of public policy and programs at the National Black Justice Coalition, a leading Black LGBTQ+ civil rights organization.

Griner’s WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, released the following: “The emotions for our organization, just like for our fans and so many across the world, are those of joyous celebration, deep gratitude, grief for the time lost, and sincere hope for all families still awaiting the return of a loved one.”

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke with the media on Dec. 8. She mentioned the unrelenting support that Griner received from WNBA players, coaches and others. “They advocated for her every day, and the whole women’s basketball system. I want to thank you, the media, for keeping

BG at the top of your coverage because that was helpful. And to the WNBA fans as well who continued to advocate for BG in getting her home,” she said.

There is ongoing discussion that the whole reason Griner was playing for a team in Russia was because WNBA players don’t earn enough. It should be noted that in her absence Griner’s full salary was paid for the 2022 season. The mood among those connected to women’s hoops remains filled with gratitude over Griner’s release.

“It has been super hard to keep the faith,” said broadcaster Lawrencia Moten, a former college player turned commentator. “Right now, everyone’s thoughts, love and prayers are with her family, but I do feel there’s going to be a lot more to unpack.”

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

With a dazzling performance against Croatia in Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup semi-final pairing, Argentina’s Lionel Messi has elevated the debate among ardent soccer fans as to who is the greatest player ever.

Argentina bested Croatia 3-0 as Messi scored a goal on a penalty try, and used his dazzling skills to weave through defenders and set up a goal by Julian Alvarez. It was the 35-year-old Messi’s 25th World Cup appearance, tying him with Germany’s Lothar Matthaus, who played in five World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998) and his 11th goal, the most all-time for an Argentine player. Messi has also played in five World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022). He has already announced that his last World Cup appearance will

be Sunday at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

He ensured Argentina will have a chance to win the country’s first World Cup since 1986 and its third overall. Argentina also captured the title in 1978. For Messi, it would cap a brilliant individual World Cup career resume that is only lacking a championship.

“I feel very happy to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final,” said Messi. “It’s many years for the next one and I don’t think I’ll be able to do it. And to finish like this, it’s the best.”

So if Messi does conclude this tournament with a victory, is he the GOAT, the greatest of all-time? It’s a subjective argument. His contemporary, 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, has countless followers are unwavering in their opinion he has no superior on the pitch. Nevertheless, Ronaldo, who has played in five World Cups for Portugal, has never won the championship.

Portugal was eliminated 1-0 by Morocco in the quarterfinals amid the former

Manchester United and Real Madrid star clashing with the team’s coach Fernando Santos. Ronaldo exited Qatar with only one goal scored and no assists.

The 82-year-old legendary Pele, who in 1999 was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee, was the force behind Brazil’s 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cup championships. He has a legion of supporters place him at the top of the debate.

All are worthy of being deemed No. 1. But right now, Messi has taken center stage as more than 1 billion people across the globe will be watching him this weekend chasing the elusive World Cup.

Brittney Griner returned to the U.S. on Dec. 9 (USA Basketball photo)