New York Amsterdam News Issue Jan.24 - 31, 2024 by AmsterdamNews

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THE NEW BLACK VIEW

Vol. 115 No. 4 | January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE: BLACK INCUMBENTS BATTLING FOR THEIR SEATS (See guide on page 6)

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FEB 13 SPECIAL ELECTION

77TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

56TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

NY DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY JUNE 25 16TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

N O D L A NA I S D N O E LEY T N HU E G R R O E G IME L AT

Challenging wrongful convictions part 2 (See story on page 11)

Second Rikers death in 2024 (See story on page 15)

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2 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

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GHANA BLOCKS STUDENT CONFAB OF THE ‘NKRUMAHS OF ARIFCA’ (GIN)—Ghana’s political leaders are facing heat for their last-minute cancellation of a conference of students and populist leaders one activist called “the Nkrumahs of Africa.” After receiving news of the cancellation, hundreds of student leaders, locked out of the conference, rallied at Independence Plaza in Accra. According to organizers, they had received approval for the event back in November 2023. Nana Oye Ankrah, a freelance journalist, said: “Ghana’s government is clearly unwilling to accommodate events that could make them look bad in an election year. The move to use security forces to enforce the cancellation suggests a deeper fear that the populism gripping some young people elsewhere in the continent could spread to Ghana.” Ghana is currently grappling with the worst economic crisis in a generation, in which the skyrocketing cost of living is leading to widespread frustration. The

fact that just two parties have governed since the move to multi-party democracy in 1922 means that young adults who have never experienced another form of leadership could be hungry for change. Among the invited speakers to the conference were Professor P.L.O. Lumumba, director of the Kenya School of Law; Dr. Arikana ChihomboriQuao, medical doctor, educator, and former Permanent Representative of the African Union to the U.S.; Peter Obi of Nigeria, former governor of Anambra State; and Julius Malema, founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters of South Africa. “Let me be clear,” said one Ghanaian activist. “Our Nkrumah is gone—but there are other Nkrumahs. Julius Malema is one. Professor Lumumba is one. These are the Nkrumahs of Africa. Now we’re here and we’re told the conference is canceled. Why? We are bitter, we are pained, we are very sad.” In a letter to event organizers, Ghana’s chief of staff, H.M. Wood, explained that cancellation of the

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conference was necessitated by “an unforeseen State Event scheduled to take place at the same venue… Under the circumstances, the amount of 10,000 Ghana cedis paid by your office for use of the venue will be refunded.” The event was also intended to unveil the proposed candidacy for president of Nana Kwame Bediako, also known as Freedom Jacob Caesar or Cheddar, a wealthy young Ghanaian businessperson and property developer. Bediako’s picture and message, “Nana Kwame Bediako for President #thenewforce,” has now been posted across Accra. His New Force campaign aims to challenge Ghana’s two main parties. Oye Ankrah expressed doubt that a new party bringing a new president to power could succeed. “It would take time, money, and a nationwide party infrastructure to break the political duopoly enjoyed by the main parties, but Ghanaian authorities have reasons to be worried,” he said.

Theodore Luhaka (GIN photo)

FRENCH POLICE FOUND GUILTY OF RACIST BRUTALITY BUT SENTENCE IS LIGHT (GIN)—Three officers who received suspended jail sentences over their violent assault of a French Black man are symbols of out-ofcontrol racist police violence tolerated by the government in France. The officers were convicted on January 19 of “voluntary violence” toward the youth worker in Aulnaysous-Bois, a working class suburb See INTERNATIONAL on page 29

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Afro Ecuadorians living amid increasing armed conflict

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Translated by KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff The current president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, has asked for international assistance to combat the drug trafficking and violence that has taken over his nation over the last five years. This is violence that has affected Afro Ecuadorian people and caused massive displacement. We spoke with the Afro Ecuadorian journalist/community leader Juan Montaño about the situation. AmNews: How does the armed conflict affect the Afro Ecuadorian population? Juan Montaño: As one of the Ecuadorian ethnic groups with the highest rate of impoverishment, the impact is major. Black communities in the north of the province of Esmeraldas have been (and are) the most affected by the violence of different criminal groups who have allied with business groups. The reckless felling of the primary forest, illegal mining, and the planting of palm oil have all led to the mi-

gration of dozens of families to the cities of Guayaquil and Quito, and the creation of new population settlements in other provinces (for example, in Santo Domingo or the Ecuadorian East) and our dispersion throughout the country. This uprooting has an impact on the education of Afro Ecuadorian youth, a high percentage of whom are now members of criminal gangs. That also deepens the community’s impoverishment and gives some people an alleged justification for racist depictions of us and discriminatory actions. AmNews: What are the most affected Afro Ecuadorian regions? JM: Mainly in the province and city of Esmeraldas and in the neighborhoods of Guayaquil––for example, Pablo Neruda, and La Trinitaria, to name a few. The city of Esmeraldas, where I live, is economically dying from various extortion and business assaults. And the extortion is at all levels: The shoe-shiners are even being extorted. We believe criminal groups from other countries are reorganizing and redirecting the local criminals in Ecuador. For example, extortion (usually called vacuna, the Colombian phrase for extortion), the number of hitmen (increased

spectacularly), and the blackmailing of Ecuadorian and Esmeraldan authorities have increased. That is why this year, the province and city of Esmeraldas have shocking figures: 81 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest in the world! An important, and quite large, proportion of the victims are Black people: yet, so are the perpetrators (they are mostly youth). AmNews: What is Esmeralda’s situation in regards to this conflict and how do you think it could be solved? JM: It needs to be noted that: First, the violence has increased impoverishment, even though the province was already povertystricken. And it is a province with fewer people working in state institutions, so if the economic dynamics (like the circulation of the dollar) slow down or drop to a minimum, problems such as begging accelerate and grow, but the labor force for the criminal gangs increases. That’s what’s happening now. Second, some authorities in Esmeraldas govern in absentia because gangs threaten them. But it must also be said that many of these authorities and their lack of vision took us back to the 1990s because of their inefficiency.

Third, private initiatives by Esmeraldans have stopped and one of their most important economic activities––tourism––has been reduced to almost nothing. Better said, unemployment has become a deadly tragedy. Fourth, education levels, which were already tenuous following the last government administrations (of Lenín Moreno, Guillermo Lasso, and the current Daniel Noboa) worsened. Now there has been the creation of gangs or involvement of gangs in educational institutions. Again, everything is heading to a point of no return. Fifth, the lack of social investments in the area is an “absence of the state.” Afro Ecuadorian organizations have denounced this situation many times, but this has been ignored and underreported by the traditional media. We even proposed doing a “March of 10,000” to Quito to demonstrate against this, but we were not able to come to a consensus and the march has been postponed. In Afro Ecuadorian organizations, we believe that one of the only ways we can reverse our current situation will be to fight “by all means necessary,” following the philosophy of Malcolm X.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 3

Bill of Fights: Mayor’s veto of criminal justice reform legislation faces potential City Council override By ARIAMA C. LONG and TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Members Mayor Eric Adams vetoed two criminal justice reform bills, Intro. 586-A and Intro. 549-A, last week. As expected, the move has been met with a maelstrom of criticism from advocates, the City Council, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who are already demanding an override. The City Council passed two bills in December 2023: one to ban the use of solitary confinement in city jails and one that would require the NYPD to publicly report on all police-civilian Level I and II investigative stops. The solitary confinement ban and the How Many Stops Act (HMSA) is sponsored by Williams.

Adams publicly expressed hesitancy about the bills. He said he was concerned about the legislation making jails less safe for correctional officers and the incarcerated, and streets less safe, considering that statistically, crime in the city is down. On January 19, he announced his official veto of HMSA and the solitary confinement ban. He has consistently pointed to his time as a police officer for why he believes the bills are “misguided,” however well-intentioned they are. “I know that many people are pushing back around our conversation on two bills I vetoed the other day. Right here, we talked about it with community leaders, religious leaders, and others,” said Adams at his morning presser. See CRIMINAL JUSTICE on page 27

Press conference at City Hall with councilmembers and faith leaders calling on City Council to override Mayor Eric Adams’s veto of Int. 586 of the How Many Stops Act on January 23, 2024 (Ariama C. Long photo)

Mayor Adams, Chancellor Banks to create federally funded magnet high schools By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Mayor Eric Adams has announced that the city’s education department will fund six magnet high schools through two federal grants totaling nearly $30 million. “Since the start of our administration, we have kept schools safe and open, introduced a comprehensive approach to supporting students with dyslexia, and delivered strong growth in students’ test scores,” said Adams in a statement. Magnet schools center “career-connected learning” with “rigorous” instruction for students, said the city, and were selected based on their need for assistance. The federal education funds are from the U.S Department of Education (DOE) Magnet Schools Assistance program and will support the schools’ devel-

opment over the next five years. The selected schools are in the Bronx and Manhattan: the Laboratory School of Finance and Technology, High School for Teaching and the Professions, Bronx High School for the Visual Arts, Esperanza Preparatory Academy, City College Academy of the Arts, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School. According to the National Association of Magnet and Theme-Based Schools, magnet schools cropped up in the 1960s in the U.S. in response to racially segregated schools. Some of these “street academies” emphasized core curriculum along with Black history, the Civil Rights Movement, and community needs. Harlem Prep, founded by the New York Urban League in 1967, became one of these schools. By 1971, a school following the same model in Texas was the first to start referring to them as “magnet schools” because it attracted stu-

dents from all walks of life. As more schools were mandated to desegregate, magnet schools grew in popularity. While some education advocates applauded the move, there were still reservations when it came to how the schools would benefit students. According to Zakiyah Ansari, director of the New York State Alliance for Quality Education Advocacy, magnet schools are essentially federal specialized schools that use a lottery system for entry and not always an exam, which could help boost Black and brown enrollment numbers in high schools—an issue that has historically been a point of contention between racial groups in the city. Ansari was still skeptical about the impacts of the mayor’s budget cuts to education and public schools that he has largely attributed to the asylum seeker costs and other factors. “It’s great you got funding from the federal govern-

ment, but you spent the last three years cutting budgets and we’ve been fighting against you for our New York City public schools, magnet or not,” said Ansari. “More schools funded by grants. Eventually, the funding will end.” Fiona Sifontes, a certified paralegal, education advocate, and C.E.O of NY Advocates 4 Kids, Inc. whose focus is on supporting students with learning disabilities or who require an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to advance, said she wonders if magnet schools are a good environment for her type of students when plenty are already struggling to keep up with some of the budget cuts that have been made. Sifontes is also familiar with some of the selected schools that will get the funding. Similarly to Ansari, she worried about the barrier to entry for students with different needs. Her son is an IEP student of See MANAGEMENT on page 27

Manslaughter trial over Jordan Neely’s death expected beyond the fall after judge denies Daniel Penny’s motion to dismiss Neely family’s attorney Donte Milles (left) By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member On January 17, New York County Supreme Court judge Maxwell Wiley denied Daniel Penny’s motion to dismiss charges for manslaughter and negligent homicide over killing unhoused Black New Yorker Jordan Neely. The case stems from the deadly Manhattan subway encounter on May 1, 2023, which garnered national attention after a social media video of Penny choking a limp Neely went viral. No arrest was initially made. The NYC Office of the Medical Examiner determined homicide, specifically from the “compression of the neck,” was the cause of death.

Soon protests erupted, demanding Penny’s arrest while his proponents raised more than $3 million for his legal defense fund, arguing that he defended fellow passengers from Neely, a street performer struggling with severe mental health concerns, who entered the train car and began yelling. A week later, the former marine was charged with second-degree manslaughter. The denied motion by Penny was first reported in October and cited fellow passengers who vouched for the defendant and said they feared for their safety when Neely entered the train. Witness testimony is mixed about exactly what occurred, according to the prosecution’s response to the motion. Several recall Neely throwing his jacket on the ground. Some say he made threats, others say he didn’t. But all

and father Andre Zachery (right) speak to media after motion to dismiss is denied (Tandy Lau photo)

seem to agree that he entered the F-train yelling and did not make physical contact with a passenger or show signs of possessing a weapon. Present at the hearing were Neely’s father Andre Zachery and the family spokesperson, attorney Donte Mills. They held a press conference outside the courthouse, declaring plans to move forward with the case as a victory. “It’s important to know that the grand jury said Daniel Penny should face charges for killing Jordan Neely,” said Mills. “His attorneys tried to get the judge to overrule that—to say that what the grand jury said didn’t matter. But the judge didn’t do that. [He] said that Daniel Penny will face these charges.” See TRIAL on page 27

4 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

Biden wins New Hampshire primary, but no delegates By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews Perhaps as a write-in candidate, President Biden has found another path to victory. At least that was the case on Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary. His name was not on the ballot, the new Democratic National Committee-sanctioned primary calendar, so he had to be a write-in candidate. He won handily over Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson, although he will not get any delegates. Even so, a victory is a victory and should give a boost to his campaign, which has been sluggish and burdened with complaints. Biden did not visit New Hampshire and has given the bulk of attention to the primary in South Carolina that was so decisive in turning things around for him in the previous election. To some degree, the New Hampshire primary was a litmus test to determine how Biden would do against Trump, who was the projected and expected GOP winner. According to a couple of polls, in a headto-head race, Trump would beat Biden by a percentage point. With New Hampshire behind him, Biden and Vice President Harris got back on the campaign trail with a rally in Virginia on Tuesday, stressing the importance of reproductive rights. “The Supreme Court did what it had never done before,” Biden said about what would have been the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision: “They ripped away a fundamental constitutional right that was in place for nearly 50 years.” Biden went on to blame Trump for taking “away this freedom in America.” But even before Biden began his speech, he was met with a barrage of chants about the Middle East crisis: “Genocide Joe—how many Palestinian children have to die?” Biden had no immediate response, but after a pause, other chanters came to his rescue with “Four more years!” This will probably be a scene repeated for the next several months as the nation moves closer and closer to November.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Exiting the assembly: Dickens retires, Joyner resigns By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member In a twist of events this election season, Assemblymember Inez Dickens has decided to retire from her long-held Harlem seat in the 70th Assembly District and Assemblymember Latoya Joyner abruptly resigned from the 77th Assembly District in the Bronx. This Monday, Jan. 22, Dickens announced that she would be retiring at the “end of this year” and would not seek re-election. Dickens had followed in the footsteps of her father, the late Assemblymember Lloyd E. Dickens, and her uncle, the late Assemblymember and state Supreme Court Justice Thomas K. Dickens. She served on the City Council in Harlem from 2006 to 2017 and in the assembly for the last seven years. “It has been a humbling journey to work as a servant leader in city and state government with the longevity I have experienced,” said Dickens in a statement. “I was blessed with the fortitude to make a visible and lasting impact on individuals, families, neighborhoods, and institutions in my beloved village of Harlem. The job of fighting

Assemblymember Inez Dickens (Bill Moore photo)

for the underprivileged, under-resourced, and under-represented does not end with my retirement. As I close this chapter of my life, the story is not over.” Her campaign said that Dickens, 75, has been contemplating retirement for a while, especially since her kidney transplant in 2022. Despite that, Dickens still found last year’s run and loss in Harlem’s City Council race invigorating, said her campaign. Before the news of her retirement, Dickens had three candidates vying for her seat in the upcoming June primaries: Maria Ordonez, Joshua Clennon, and most recently Jordan Wright, the son of Manhattan Democratic Party leader Keith Wright. Clennon said in a social media post, “For years, her voice has resonated through the streets of Harlem, echoing the deep commitment of her father, Assemblymember Lloyd Dickens, to uplift Black and brown communities. Inez has been more than a public servant, she has been a guardian of Harlem’s soul, tirelessly working to ensure our local organizations and nonprofits have spaces they need to thrive.” Dickens’ campaign said that her retirement had nothing to do with See DICKENS RETIRES on page 32

‘Absolutamente Negro/a/x-Absolutely Black’ conversation series uplifts U.S. Afro Latinos By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff Back in 2022, when that leaked audio recording caught Nury Martinez, then-president of the Los Angeles City Council, calling a two-year-old Black boy “monkey,” it was no surprise to Dr. Marta Moreno Vega. Martinez had been celebrated and welcomed as the first Latina to serve as L.A. City Council president, but the leaked audio revealed that even within the Latino community, there remain stark racial divides. Martinez was heard giggling while demeaning Black and Indigenous people alongside fellow Latino Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, with Ron Herrera, then-head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. This small, politically powerful circle decried the growing clout of L.A.’s Black community; called the Black adopted son of a white colleague a changuito (little

monkey); and deemed the city’s Indigenous Oaxaca, Mexican immigrants as tan feos (so ugly). At one point, Martinez said of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón: “F--- that guy, he’s with the Blacks.” “I wasn’t reacting to that only,” confided Vega, founder of New York’s Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), as she discussed why she took action after hearing those comments. “But that conversation heightened issues that––as a Black woman, as a Latina, as a Puerto Rican––one has been dealing with within family and outside family. The obviousness of one group labeled a minority attacking another group labeled a minority, and then trying to disenfranchise that other group, and the language that was revealed––it fired me totally because, you know, we’ve heard those terms within our families and our communities because racism exists, dis-

crimination exists, [and] white supremacy exists. “At this point in time in our history, and in this country, this was just unacceptable,” Vega said. It took her to another level of anger, and forced her to do something. She created a new vehicle for promoting conversations about Latinidad and Blackness. Under the new “Absolutamente Negro/a/x-Absolutely Black” conversation series, Vega is promoting national discussions about everyday Afro Latino concerns. She harnessed the resources of a group she created called the Creative Justice Initiative (CJI) and begin working with other organizations to conduct the new conversation series. Their introductory event, “Contextualizing Absolutamente Negro/a/e/x,” was livestreamed this past October on the CJI YouTube and Facebook channels. The program featured Vega in a discussion with afrolatin@ forum director

Guesnerth Josué Perea, journalist-activist Rosa Clemente, writer Janel Martinez, and Rafaela Uribe of LatinoJusticePRLDEF. Panelists talked about how school book bans have been methodically erasing the Afro Latino cultural footprint. They pointed to the fact that more of the immigrants showing up on U.S. shores are of Indigenous and African descent, and this may be a reason they are facing increased hostility. And they talked about the need to build a national Afro Latino coalition that could truly, faithfully align with other U.S. Black organizations. The second scheduled series conversation, “Afro Latinas’ Realities: A conversation about racism, healthcare, economics, education, and more,” will be held on January 25 at 6 p.m., once again on the CJI YouTube and Facebook channels. This conversation will be in collaboration with Hunter College’s CENTRO/ See AFRO LATINOS on page 32

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 5

Presenting the Gentlemen’s Factory Founder Jeff Lindor By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Jeff Lindor, 37, is a burgeoning entrepreneur and founder of the Gentlemen’s Factory Innovation Lab. He runs out-ofthe-box community and membership spaces for professional Black and brown men looking to gather, network, and build creatively together. “Black men are just so isolated,” said Lindor. “Where do they go to share new ideas, or invest in each other’s companies, or to navigate life? And I was looking for that.” Lindor’s social club, speakeasy, and entrepreneurial hub has proven to be quite popular over the past six years. Members have access to workspaces, professional development training, workshops, coaching, and conference rooms. The “gentleman” mission statement encourages a strong culture of collaboration, unity, sophistication, and accountability. The factory has attracted all ages and people of diverse backgrounds, from titans of industry to local electeds. Lindor was born in Haiti. His parents relocated him and his siblings to Coney Island in Brooklyn in 1989 because of the political unrest in their home country. Coming to America was a culture shock to him. His father was a cab driver and his mother was a caretaker in nursing homes.

Jeff Lindor, founder of the Gentlemen’s Factory Innovation Lab, at Downtown Brooklyn location. (Ariama C. Long photo)

Black

New Yorker

“Coney Island was definitely a community that opened up my eyes to seeing so much talent in my neighbors—brilliant minds [and] super-talented, but just didn’t have the resources to facilitate the dreams that they had,” said Lindor. Lindor said he didn’t have a huge plan

for his future after high school and ended up “bouncing around” a few City University of New York (CUNY) schools. He eventually graduated from Kingsborough, got a bachelor’s degree from York College, and then earned his master’s in urban policy from the New School. He

went on to be a policy advisor to the executive staff at the city Department of Correction (DOC), which runs Rikers Island. He held his first real community event back in 2012 and the idea snowballed into the creation of an “institution” for Black and brown men. Lindor also launched a podcast that gave members a platform to share their experiences, products, ideas, and stories, and feel heard. The lab was opened up to the public in 2018. Lindor started GroomedSuccess, a M/WBE-certified firm that contracts with government agencies to provide mentoring, training, and career development coaching for at-risk youth. Lindor has received myriad awards and proclamations, the latest from the New York City Council Haitian Delegation in celebration of Haiti’s 220th year of independence. The main brick-and-mortar location of the lab is 81 Willoughby Street. Lindor plans to open another location in Bed-Stuy with a community space and barbershop soon. Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

Cancer Straight Talk from MSK A podcast from MSK that brings together national experts and cancer patients to have straightforward, evidence-based conversations about cancer. Its mission is to educate and empower cancer patients and their family members. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Point your smartphone camera at the QR code, and tap the link to learn more. Find us in Harlem at the MSK Ralph Lauren Center and msk.org/RLC.

Dr. Diane Reidy-Lagunes, Host

6 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Primaries: Black incumbents battling for their seats Incumbent 56th Assembly District, Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman (Contributed by Assemblymember Zinerman)

Candidate for 56th Assembly District, Eon Huntley (Contributed by Eon Huntley campaign)

Resigned 77th Assembly District, Assemblymember Latoya Joyner (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

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

Candidate for 77th Assembly District, Landon Dais

This year’s June primaries are turning out to be pretty competitive, with incumbent Black electeds, such as Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman and U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, being challenged in the state assembly and Congress. At the moment, Zinerman is gearing up for budget season in Albany but will be ready to seek reelection once petitioning begins. She called her district her “heartbeat.” “I think my record speaks for itself. People know I’m a community-based legislator, a community builder, and coalition builder. I’m very intentional about how I spend the people’s money to support organizations that support them,” said Zinerman. “I’ve shared my vision with those who want to listen about where this community can go and what we still need to do, and I believe that can only happen if we’re doing it together.” Zinerman is the incumbent in the 56th District. She grew up in the Gowanus New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) housing in Downtown Brooklyn. She has represented “historically Black” and gentrified Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights in Brooklyn since 2021. As of now, her main opponent is newcomer and socialist Eon Huntley. An East New York native, Huntley is a “lifelong renter,” a union committee member

of Workers United Local 340, president of his kid’s parent-teacher association, and a Democratic Socialist with backing from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). He grew up with his family in NYCHA housing, which he said was eventually converted to condos, allowing the opportunity for his family to buy in. He prioritizes security and housing stability for tenants and is against mayoral control of city schools. Housing issues are at the heart of the split between the two competitors, the picture being that Huntley would be for youthful tenants and Zinerman for homeowners. He views Zinerman as being “somewhat representative of the establishment” because of her stance on the Good Cause Eviction law, a bill that would prohibit landlords from ending a renter’s tenancy except in cases of lease violations such as not paying rent. Zinerman, who said she currently is a “renter” in Bed-Stuy, supports using community-based Area Median Income (AMI) for affordable housing criteria, community-based and small homeowners, creating a pipeline for younger generations to buy homes, and protecting tenant rights in the district. Zinerman said Good Cause is a great regional housing law but not entirely suited for her district without amendments. She understands holding corporate landlords to account for deplorable conditions, but would rather have language in the bill that excludes small Black and brown homeowners with four units and under. See PRIMARIES on page 36

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 7

Dexter Scott King, younger son of civil rights icons, passes at 62 By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews In his memoir “Growing Up King,” Dexter Scott King wrote, “I was born worried. I was born anxious,” although he stopped short of explaining the source of his worry or anxiety, which may have been an ominous foreboding. Now, the world learns of his battle with prostate cancer. The younger son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King died Monday in his sleep in Malibu, said his wife, Leah Weber King. He was 62. “He gave it everything and battled the terrible disease until the end,” she said. “As with all the challenges in his life, he faced this hurdle with bravery and might.” His brother, Martin Luther King III, said in a statement, “The sudden shock is devastating. It is hard to have the right words at a moment like this. Please keep the entire King family in your prayers and in particular Dexter’s wife, Leah Weber King.” The Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network was among the first from the activist community to echo the heartbreaking news, but he said he was “comforted by the knowledge [that] he is reunited with his parents and sister. Dexter was only seven when his hero, his role model, and, most importantly, his father was taken from us. He turned that

Dexter King, son of Martin Luther King Jr., speaks to the press outlining his family's plan for an interactive museum to be built at the MLK Center in Atlanta, Dec. 28, 1994. Coretta Scott King, right, and her daughter Bernice are seated in the background. (AP Photo/Leita Cowart)

pain into activism, however, and dedicated his life to advancing the dream” all of his family members embraced. Besides the assassination of his father, one of the other challenges Dexter King faced, and that his wife referred to, was attention deficit disorder (ADD). “I found I have a neurological chemical reaction or

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chemical illness that affects me from time to time” he wrote. “It was worse when I was younger, but today my altered way of life makes it manageable. Traditional medicine doesn’t have a clue as to how to address this ‘invisible disability’; a lot of the ADD kids you hear about today are called Ritalin kids. Doctors tried to put

me on Ritalin as a child. Mother wouldn’t allow it. Some medication is worse than the symptoms.” The anxiety, worry, ADD, and prostate cancer did not impede his commitment to civil and human rights, or carrying on his parent’s desire for a just society, most demonstrably through his leadership at the King Center. “I seemed to be the one who took the most interest in the Center, they said,” Dexter wrote. “Plus, I was the ‘why’ guy. We all had gotten a little bit of something from our father. Yolanda got his sense for the dramatic, for the theatrical, and his great feel for people. Martin got his name and his ability to canvas and to be diplomatic and to advocate, and also his moderacy; Bernice got his deeply rooted spirituality, his religiosity, his philosophical bent if I can put it that way, and, I must add his oratorical ability.” Dexter talked about the sibling rivalry among them that was typical of children eager to get the attention of their parents. Later, those differences would erupt again after the death of his sister, Yolanda, and their mother, but they were never personal, and by 2016, they had been resolved. Along with his writing, and a memoir with Ralph Wiley, Dexter had several film credits as an actor and producer. He even portrayed his father in the television movie “The Rosa Parks Story,” and quite admirably.

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8 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

Go With The Flo FLO

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS W I T H T H E F L O

Bronx Park gets multi-million dollar injection after three decades

ANTHONY The nominations for the 2024 Academy Awards were announced January 23. March 10 promises to be a big night for actors of color. Danielle Brooks, who portrays Sofia in “The Color Purple,” is nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Brooks is one of several cast members in “The Color Purple,” including Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who are members of Delta Sigma Theta Public Service sorority. Other actors who received Oscar nominations include Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who joins Brooks in the same category, nominated for her amazing performance of Mary in “The Holdovers,” which she has already picked up several awards for. “This is Us” star Sterling K. Brown is nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his character in “American Fiction.” Rumor has it that he and Brooks are cousins. For his role as the late civil rights icon Bayard Rustin, Colman Domingo is nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Rustin.” Lastly, Jeffrey Wright, a multiple award-winning great actor and chameleon, has also been nominated for his role in “American Fiction.” All in all, “American Fiction” received five Oscar nominations. The Oscars will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel........ Elected officials were on hand for the poignant unveiling of a life-sized, lifelike bronze sculpture of the iconic civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Black Spectrum Theatre in Jamaica, Queens, on Jan. 15. The event took place in celebration of the late Dr. King’s birthday. Sadly, one of his sons, Dexter Scott King, recently passed away in Malibu, California, following a three-year battle with prostate cancer. Carl Clay, Founder/CEO of the Black Spectrum Theatre, Co. Inc., and notable theater supporters were on hand at the intimate reception that members of the general public attended, including elected officials as NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks, NYC Councilperson Selvena Brooks Powers and Stanley J. Watts, who sculpted the bronze artwork......... Martin Lawrence was among the celebrities honored at the Joy Awards 2024 in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh on Jan. 20. The event, which was hosted by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, honored celebrities for their achievements. Other celebs who were honored included Quincy Jones, Anthony Anderson and new heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou. His Excellency Turki Al-Sheikh presented an award to fashion designer Elie Saab. ...... Former Sweetie Pie’s reality star/restaurateur Ms. Robbie, who was once part of The Ikettes, and sang in other groups, is back in the music game. The gorgeous veteran songstress has released a new single, “Boss Lady.” The song is available now on all streaming platforms, via the MRM label imprint. Says Ms. Robbie, “‘Boss Lady’ is not just music, it’s a testimony to the strength and resilience every woman holds within.” Boss Lady was written by Robbie Montgomery and Latoya Sharen and produced by Robbie Montgomery and Avyon.

Harding Park in the Bronx receiving $11.4 million for upgrades, Jan. 10, 2023 (Jonathan Custodio/THE CITY photo)

By JONATHAN CUSTODIO THE CITY This story was originally published by THE CITY. It has been lightly edited for AmNews style. Sign up to get the latest New York City news delivered to you each morning. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Bronx Councilmember Amanda Farías announced $11.4 million in new funding to renovate and expand Harding Park in the Southeast Bronx on January 10. “All of our families here, and especially our Bronx kids, deserve more,” Farias told a few dozen attendees at a meeting at the Harding Park Homeowners Association to announce the new money, including $6.5 million from Council capital funds, and discuss what would be done with it. “I grew up in this community, actually hanging out in Harding Park with my friends, maybe even making my way to ‘Makeout Point,’” she said, describing a hot spot in nearby Clason Point Park on the Westchester Creek waterfront. “Don’t tell my parents.” Adams, who represents a district in southeast Queens, told the Bronx residents, “Under this Council, we have

prioritized equitable investments for communities that have gone too far, for too long, with too little.” Harding Park opened in 1993 after a campaign led by the Homeowners Association, which was created a decade earlier to govern the cooperatively owned low- and moderate-income community. Harding Park takes up part of a block of Bolton Avenue in Clason Point and has a basketball court, playground, picnic area, swings, fitness equipment, and spray showers, as well as game tables beneath a pergola, all on what’s now a lot of just under one acre. The funds will be used in part to nearly double the size of the park by expanding it into what’s now a vacant parcel of land controlled by the Parks Department and presently filled with parked cars and tall grass. Soundview Park, just northwest of Harding Park, is in the design phase of an ambitious project to restore the coastal wetland and nearby land, while constructing a park entry, pedestrian pathway, and plaza area at Bolton Point intended “to restore valuable coastal habitat in an ecologically important location while creating public access to the waterfront,” according to the Department of Parks and Recreation website.

Before the announcement, a group of teens played basketball at Harding Park after school despite half of the court being underwater after a storm. Whenever the ball bounced sharply off the rim after a missed shot, the players dashed to stop it from being soaked at the wet half of the court. They didn’t always make the save. Carlos Nuñez, 17, told THE CITY in Spanish that the court floods whenever it rains. “Looking at the park, that’s what they need to fix,” he said. By the evening’s meeting, residents suggested improvements the new funds could pay for, including better nighttime lighting, timely park closures, a dog run, separate entrances to areas for kids and adults, bike trails and racks, bottle refill stations, a running track, and even a pickleball court. “There’s nowhere in this area to play, and pickleball is a game that older people can play because it’s not as strenuous [as tennis],” said resident Wanda Lucena, 74, who has lived in the neighborhood with her husband for 40 years. The new funding for Harding Park begins what Department of Parks and Recreation officials said will be an estimated three- to four-year process to complete the project.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS O U T & A B O U T

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 9

New York governor promises floating pool in city waterways, reviving ong-stalled urban venture By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press A plan for a floating swimming pool in New York City’s waterways moved one step closer to reality Friday after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her support— and $12 million in public funding—for the unusual venture. The commitment breathed new life into an idea first proposed over a decade ago and dismissed by some as an urban fantasy: a self-filtering swimming pool shaped like a plus sign in the murky currents of the East River. In the years since the project, known as +Pool, first drew media attention, private backers have seen fitful progress collide with regulatory barriers. But as rising summer heat sends more New Yorkers to beaches and pools, Hochul vowed to fasttrack the “long-stalled, much-debated in-

novative floating pool concept.” She said a “demonstration” version would be tested this summer, with an actual, swimmable pool scheduled to open to the public by summer 2025. Hochul also announced a proposal to build new swimming pools and hire more lifeguards across the state, framing that initiative as a public health investment that will lead to more kids learning how to swim. If approved by state lawmakers, a $60 million grant program would build 10 new pools in underserved communities, and an additional $30 million would pay for pop-up pools during heat waves. A spokesperson for Hochul said the funding for +Pool will come from existing grants and does not have to be approved by lawmakers. Mayor Eric Adams, who also has backed the concept, said New York City would chip in $4 million. Like much of the country, New York City

Renderings of the proposed East River pool. (Courtesy +Pool photos)

has seen a shortage of lifeguards that have led to beach and pool closures and swim lesson cancellations. Budget cuts ordered late last year by Adams have also impacted funding for swim programs. Officials offered few details about the floating pool, including where it would be located or who would be responsible for its operation. A spokesperson for Adams said the city’s Parks Department, which oversees public pools, would be involved in some capacity. Kara Meyer, the managing director of +Pool, said it would be run by the nonprofit Friends of +Pool. Meyer compared the project to the High Line, a privately funded public park on an abandoned freight line that took years to complete. She said the “intent is to be free and open to the public” but there could be special events or activities in the pool that cost money. She declined to say where it would be located.

The project’s backers have previously described an Olympic-length pool attached to the riverbed off Manhattan’s Lower East Side, with a unique filtration system capable of cleaning 1 million gallons of water per day. Though New York’s waters have become cleaner in recent years, millions of gallons of sewage-contaminated water drain into the rivers during heavy rainstorms. Meyer said the floating pool would “change the way New Yorkers experience the water,” recalling an earlier era when residents frequently bathed in the rivers to cool off. “A community of people came together to say we want public access to our waters, and that’s a beautiful thing,” she said. “In the next decade, New York’s waterfronts are going to look very different.” _____ Associated Press reporter Anthony Izaguirre contributed to this report.

10 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Unions Matter Proposed SUNY Downstate Hospital transformation could lead to job losses

Visuals of Kings County Hospital and SUNY Downstate on April 15, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York City. (mpi43/MediaPunch /IPX photo)

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff Ongoing financial problems at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Hospital are leading to what could be a transformation or the probable closing of the East Flatbush-based medical school. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is reportedly working with Downstate Health Sciences University administrators to look for ways to convert the century-old institution into a viable modern facility. The hospital is said to be annually over $100 million in arrears and its buildings will require even more funding for renovations. One plan that’s being floated to deal with these issues would see Downstate move some of its inpatient services to nearby places like Kings County Hospital. Locations like Kings County could then establish a “Downstate wing” within their buildings. Union reps are suggesting the changes at

Downstate would not only drastically affect neighborhood residents who use the facilities’ healthcare services, but would also lead to job losses for hospital workers. Public Employees Federation (PEF) President Wayne Spence says the jobs of 400+ nurses and other healthcare professionals at Downstate will be jeopardized by the proposed changes. “Downstate has been underfunded for years,” Spence said in a statement, “even though it serves a vulnerable community in Brooklyn. Despite ongoing advocacy for more funding, the hospital was never prioritized in past budgets even as private hospitals secured billions in tax dollars to meet their shortfalls. The hospital is connected to the only state medical school educating doctors and nurses of color, yet it was starved of resources. “The institution’s current financial woes and infrastructure problems are a direct result of more than a decade of neglect by

the previous governor,” he said. Fred Kowal, president of the United University Professions (UUP), which represents over 2,300 SUNY Downstate workers, called the proposed Downstate transformation essentially a closing. “If you moved the programs offered at my home campus, SUNY Cobleskill, to nearby colleges and turned the campus into a shopping center, do you still have a SUNY Cobleskill? Of course not,” Kowal concluded in a statement. “And that’s what’s happening at Downstate. If there is no building, there is no hospital. “How can you pull from this community a hospital [that] is so needed and so necessary?” Kowal asked. “Central Brooklyn is a diverse, underserved community that relies on the health care SUNY Downstate provides. “We remain hopeful that Gov. Hochul will not let this happen. This is the state’s hospital. Our patients, the Central Brooklyn community and our members are count-

ing on the state to do the right thing and save SUNY Downstate.” PEF President Spence also weighed in. “This so-called ‘transformation’ proposal is not currently in writing for review by stakeholders,” he said. “Unions like PEF, the staff who work at Downstate, or the community the hospital serves were not asked for their input. But PEF will not stand by and allow this important public decision to be made without PEF weighing in. Our members are public servants dedicated to delivering services to their communities, and they deserve better. “If the state is serious about ‘transforming’ Downstate and creating a plan with long-term viability, it should start by engaging all stakeholders and asking the Department of Health to release its feasibility study on healthcare disparities and access in Brooklyn. A real dialogue about the future of Downstate should start now!”

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Guilty after proven innocent: the challenge of challenging wrongful convictions (Part II)

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 11

My Bklyn. My Care.

Steve Lopez arrives in court for a hearing, Monday, July 25, 2022, in New York. Lopez, a co-defendant of the so-called Central Park Five, whose convictions in a notorious 1989 rape of a jogger were thrown out more than a decade later, had his conviction on a related charge overturned Monday. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Read Part 1 online at amsterdamnews.com The dramatized injustices against the Exonerated Five shown in the Netflix miniseries “When They See Us” sickened Steve Lopez’s daughter. But little did she know her father was the sixth defendant, a truth he kept from her until his conviction was overturned in 2022. The Central Park jogger case entered the history books long before Lopez’s exoneration as arguably the nation’s most famous wrongful conviction case. Five Black and brown boys between age 14 and 16 were arrested and wrongly convicted for the rape and assault of Trish Melli. Police interrogated them for hours without their parents while the media and public held their own trial by racist attacks and calls for punishment. The actual culprit was serial rapist Matias Reyes, who later confessed and provided a DNA match to exonerate the Five in 2002. Lopez waited more than two decades longer for his exoneration. He was 15 when police arrested him and 48 when his conviction was vacated. While his wrongful conviction was ostensibly for the same crime as the Exonerated Five’s, on paper, Lopez pleaded guilty of rob-

bing another jogger to avoid going to trial and facing the more serious charges. By the time he found a lawyer willing to look over his case, People v. Tiger affirmed that a guilty plea could not be vacated by proof of innocence without DNA evidence. “As it relates to Steve, the Tiger decision basically said you can’t make [a 440] motion [without DNA], if you pled guilty, so there’s nothing that actually stopped me from making that motion,” said Lopez’s lawyer, Eric Renfroe. “But what would have happened is a judge could have just tossed it regardless of the merits.” Ironically, the Tiger case law would not stop a challenge to the Central Park jogger rape charge, which Lopez pled out of, because Reyes’s DNA was used to exonerate the Five. But that same exculpatory evidence could not be applied to the robbery he pled down to. Lopez was incarcerated for roughly four years. Ultimately, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit filed a joint motion with Renfroe to vacate the conviction. The process focused on how Lopez’s plea was obtained rather than his actual innocence, thanks to recantations by fellow teens who had implicated him during interrogation. Lopez says he struggled with employment while living with a wrongful conviction for more than 30 years due to the regular background checks. Meanwhile, books, movies, see WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS on page 25

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12 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Opinion When RIP is good news

EDITORIAL

There is at least one RIP that isn’t bad news, and that’s RIP Medical Debt. High fives are sure to come from half a million New Yorkers who will have their medical debt wiped out. Oh, Nellie, you might say, what is this all about? Well, RIP Medical Debt is not exactly new; it’s been around for nearly a decade and is one of the positive developments that emerged from the Occupy Wall Street movement. A relief initiative that, for the most part, has flown under the radar has fresh exposure with Mayor Adams’s announcement on Monday that the city would invest $18 million in a partnership with RIP Medical Debt that buys up unpaid medical debts from hospitals at deep discounts and then erases them. The mayor said, “Up to a half million New Yorkers will see their medical debt wiped out thanks to this life-changing program—the largest municipal initiative of its kind in the country.” How does all this work? According to Daniel Lempert, a spokesperson for RIP Medical Debt, the group has been in conversations with New York City hospitals and examining their books to identify patients eligible for debt relief. The group seeks out patients whose unpaid medical bills are at least 5% of their annual household income, or patients in households with an income under four times the federal poverty line ($31,200 for a family of four). You are possibly eligible for relief if you are, like four out of every 10 adults, saddled with some form of medical debt, and chosen by RIP Medical Debt since New Yorkers do not have to apply to be included in the program. The group will forward you a letter indicating the erasure of your debt. An immediate question is how the organization is funded. According to one source, it relies mainly on donors and partnering with local governments. For those chosen, it’s almost like hitting the lottery. Good luck!

The squirrel and the butterfly By SO’PHELIA MORROW, MPH, MSW Editor’s note: If you or anyone you know needs immediate help, please call or text 988. Visit www.988lifeline.org for more info. For more information about suicide prevention, visit www. cdc.gov/suicide/resources/prevention.html. For more information about suicide prevention in New York, visit www.preventsuicideny.org. Earlier this month, Dr. Antoinette Candia-Bailey, vice president of student affairs at Lincoln University-Missouri, died by suicide after experiencing bullying, harassment, and mental harm from her colleagues. Her death reminds us that we need to talk about Black women and suicide. And the constant struggle of hope. Have you seen a squirrel chase a butterfly? I have. Some might say there’s nothing special about seeing this. It’s nature. But for me, it was a moment that changed my life. One day, I was out walking my regular route. As I walk past one of the houses, I look in the front yard and see a squirrel chasing a butterfly. “Huh,” I say to myself. “That’s adorable. I’ve never seen that before.” It was the first time in a long time that I found life. I was experiencing severe abuse and I wanted to die. I hated myself. I wanted to escape from this world. Instead, I chose to escape through walking. I have

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always loved walking in nature. It’s when I feel the freest. It’s how I can move my body the most. “I’ll take it.” I said to myself. “If it keeps me alive, I’ll take it.” Seeing the squirrel chase the butterfly gave me hope. A will to live. Something to fight for. The moment lasted only a second, but it was long enough for me to receive the message. The squirrel nipped away at the air as if its mission was to eat this white butterfly. I have always thought of the butterfly as a universal symbol of transformation. Metamorphosis. Although I never thought much about butterflies before, at that moment, I saw it as hope. I laughed to myself. Hope was flying in front of me. Change was going to come.

battle was hard. And I came out with scars. But I left. And today, I have my freedom. Hope is not inaction. David Orr says that “Hope is a verb with shirtsleeves rolled up.” Hope is useful. Hope can be nebulous. It’s the residue that’s left after destruction. I use an example from the comic book “The Sandman” by Neil Gaiman to illustrate. The Sandman must play a game of wits with a demon to retrieve his stolen item: Sandman: I am the universe, all things encompassing, all life embracing Demon: I am anti-life, the beast of judgment. I am the dark at the end of everything. The end of universe, gods, worlds, of everything… Sandman: I am hope.

“Why won’t he let me go?” I would ask myself. Because the oppressor will not free you—you have to free yourself. And in those moments, I would think of Harriet Tubman. She had hope. To do what she did: escape to freedom, only to return several times to free others. Freedom was her hope. Freedom drove Harriet. And freedom drove me. Because sometimes, the only way out is through. So whatever your hope is, let it drive you. As Mariame Kaba says in her book “We Do this ’Til We Free Us,” “Hope is a discipline.” And to be disciplined requires practice. Keep returning to whatever your hope is, even in the darkest of times. Become disciplined with your hope.

“We need to be more hopeful about hope. Hope is what anchors us in chaos. Bell Hooks says, 'There’s a light in darkness, you just have to find it.'” We need to be more hopeful about hope. Hope is what anchors us in chaos. Bell Hooks says, “There’s a light in darkness, you just have to find it.” Something was telling me I still had some things to see that I hadn’t yet seen. Even if it’s just to see a squirrel chase a butterfly again, to keep living. I found the light in my darkness. My focus shifted. I made the decision to leave my ex and to keep going no matter the obstacle, no matter how long it took, no matter how much he begged me to stay. I couldn’t give up. I set the plans in motion and let trusted people know. The

Because what can defeat hope? Hope may be residue, but we can do something with the residue. Make something new. Hope may be nebulous, but that means it is flexible, like time. For example, research shows that people with more access to economic resources have more time than people with fewer resources. In other words, people with resources can spend their time how they want. Hope, like time, is flexible. It can be whatever you want it to be, irrespective of your circumstances. You may not have many resources, but you can have as much hope as you want, or as little.

The adage is that “There is nothing new under the sun.” But as Octavia Butler says, “There’s nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.” Each day is a new day. A new day to be hopeful. A new day to fight for hope. To be hopeful about hope. If you feel hopeless, look for hope. Search for it. Practice it. It may take time. But one day, you will see the squirrel chase the butterfly. So’Phelia Morrow is a Ph.D. candidate in the joint Social Work and Sociology program at the University of Michigan and a Public Voices Fellow with the OpEd Project and Equality Now.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS O P I N I O N

Charlie Kirk’s dastardly attack on Nobel Prize winner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the New York Amsterdam News. We continue to publish a variety of viewpoints so that we may know the opinions of others that may differ from our own.

ARMSTRONG

WILLIAMS

Charlie Kirk, speaking to students and teachers at American Fest, a political convention organized by Turning Point, insisted, “MLK [Martin Luther King] was awful. He’s not a good person. He said one good thing he actually didn’t believe.” Kirk has never risked that last full measure of devotion for any principle higher than himself. He epitomizes cynical opportunism on steroids. Has he ever read Gunnar Myrdal’s “An American Dilemma,” Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” or “Black Like Me” by John Howard Griffin? The 1960s ushered in three landmark federal civil rights statutes, not simply one as he insinuates: the 1964 Civil Rights Act; 1965 Voting Rights Act, which ended a century of unconstitutional Black disenfranchisement by white racists; and 1968 Fair Housing Act, which prohibited real estate advertisements saying “No Blacks need apply.” Kirk apparently yearns for the day to return to segregated education, racist grandfather clauses for voting, and Satchel Paige pitching exclusively in Negro League Baseball. Does Kirk know anything about marquee figures in Black history: Crispus Attucks, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Frederick

Douglass, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, W.E.B. Dubois, William Monroe Trotter, Paul Robeson, Marion Anderson, James Baldwin, Ralph Bunche, Charles Hamilton Houston, Rosa Parks, James Meredith, Medgar Evers, William Coleman, and Edward Brooke, among others? Has Kirk denounced D.W. Griffith’s racist film “Birth of a Nation,” which premiered at President Woodrow Wilson’s White House? Has Kirk assailed the United States for conscripting Black soldiers in World War I and World War II to fight in segregated units? Has Kirk criticized the separate-but-equal racism of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) or the declaration by Chief Justice Roger Brooke Tawney in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) that Blacks had no rights that whites are bound to respect? What has Kirk said about the thousands of lynchings of Black people with impunity during a century of Jim Crow? What has he said about the Scottsboro Boys? What has he said about Alabama Governor George Curley Wallace’s, “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, seg-

regation forever”? Kirk’s planned assault on Dr. King is as farcical as would be a student’s critique of Einstein and as ludicrous as would be Pontius Pilate’s declaiming against Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. Kirk is asleep at the wheel. The United States Supreme Court threw a dagger in the heart of the “diversity-equity-inclusion” mania in schools and workplaces in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023). There, the court cast a constitutional cloud over race as a legitimate proxy for educational or other diversity in invalidating racial preferences in admissions at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. It vindicated Dr. King’s legendary “I Have a Dream” address at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. Despite that landmark, widely publicized precedent, Kirk, five months later, bugled to the American Fest crowd, “The courts have been really weak on this. Federal courts must yield to the Civil Rights Act as if it’s the actual American Constitution.” It may be reasonably conjectured that Kirk has never read and digested the Students for Fair Admissions precedent. Intellectual sloth. The decision is online and does

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not require an archeological expedition to be found. Kirk stumbles badly in seeking to find a smoking gun. He points to a student’s complaint that Title IX of the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1972 exposed him to a gender discrimination investigation for posting an Instagram story mocking transgender people. Sorry, Charlie! Title IX is not part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act you are hoping to repeal. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was not a saint. But he gave that last full measure of devotion to lift Blacks from de facto or de jure servitude to white masters. His devotion to nonviolence was worthy of Mahatma Gandhi. He was fearless in the face of Bull Connor’s fire hoses and Jim Clark’s cattle prods. His Nobel Peace Prize speaks for itself. Kirk should continue his education. He has no standing to give Dr. King a report card until he writes something as eloquent, electrifying, and convincing as Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Armstrong Williams (@ ARight-Side) is manager / sole owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the year. www.armstrongwilliams.co | www.howardstirkholdings.com

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 13

So many good books to read CHRISTINA

GREER, PH.D. As a professor, I have the privilege of reading for a living. There are so many great books on my shelves and I am constantly surrounded by brilliant Black women who inspire me, both in person and on the page. I recently wrote about Tanisha Ford’s pageturner, “Our Secret Society: Mollie Moon and the Glamour, Money, and Power Behind the Civil Rights Movement,” which highlights previously unknown women who helped sustain and serve as a foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. There are still so many untold stories of heroes in the Civil Rights Movement, especially women. This season, I am adding three new books to my shelves and I absolutely cannot wait to celebrate these authors. First, Dr. Uche Blackstock has written a must-read, “Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine,” which was released on January 23. For anyone who cares about Black women; the history of race and racism in the medical profession; and an inspirational story about Uche, her twin sister, and their late physician mother, this book will provide an emotional and intellectual journey. Second, most of you know Joy Reid, because she educates us about politics and current events each evening on our television screens. However, we must not forget that Reid is an acclaimed journalist and has written a book about the late civil rights leaders Medgar and Myrlie Evers. In “Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America,” Reid takes us through the relationship between the

Evers. Her work arrives on February 6 and is a perfect complement to Ford’s analysis of the Civil Rights Movement. Lastly, “American Negra” by Natasha Alford arrives on February 27. This memoir is a thoughtful, genuine, and intimate narrative of Alford’s life, linking her experiences to larger racial and institutional structures. Alford writes as though she is a dear friend curled up beside you as she tells you her story. Each of these books dissects race and racism in different ways. They also present Black women in diverse iterations and definitions. Each book lays out systemic forces that have excluded Black women in various ways. However, they all left me feeling inspired and ready to do more with and for Black women. You can order Ford and Blackstock’s books and have them on your shelves immediately, and you can preorder Reid and Alford’s books from your local bookseller or wherever you purchase books. All four of these books have helped me better understand who I am as a Black woman, the long lineage of courageous Black women who came before me, and the ways we can continue to strive for more in large and small ways. Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC and host of the Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio; and a 2023–24 Moynihan Public Scholars Fellow at CCNY.

14 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Caribbean Update

Errors blamed for deaths of indigenous students to avoid fatalities, increasing the “At the weekend, a commission of inquiry that instatetimeof panic as the fire spread throughout the building. “This was accompanied had been appointed by the government to probe with the human failure to access the keys Late last May, a fire raced through a dormitory for indigenous schoolgirls in Guyin those chaotic and fiery circumstances,” ana’s southwestern interior, killing 19 girls the report stated. the disaster and to make recommendations and a male toddler, plunging the Caribbean Dormitory schools are constructed by Community (Caricom) nation into mournthe government to house students from farabout other interior dorms handed in its report ing and forcing authorities to review safety flung interior communities while parents measures at similar facilities. out daily chores, including hunting to President Irfaan Ali and it laid bare a plethora carry A major part of the reason for the deaths and farming. Police had explained that grills at the school near Brazil had much to do were put in place to prevent some of the with the state of panic that ensued once the of errors and missteps involving state officials.” teenaged girls from escaping at nights and BY BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews

fire broke out, that the keys to main doors could not be found, and delays in summoning the ill-equipped fire service to the scene. Many of the windows to a one-story building were also heavily grilled, normally to prevent the high school students from escaping the dorms and heading into the community to socialize with much older miners, brandishing raw cash, gold, and diamond production from nearby mines. Police, fire officers, and residents rescued 14 other students and had the unenviable task of removing the badly burned bodies of the 20 who perished as residents and parents wept uncontrollably. At the weekend, a commission of inqui-

ry that had been appointed by the government to probe the disaster and make recommendations about other interior dorms handed in its report to President Irfaan Ali. It laid bare a plethora of errors and missteps involving state officials. Police have since charged a 15-year-old student with nearly two dozen counts of first degree murder. Investigators said she was angry about being denied a pass to leave the facility for a few hours. “Based on the evidence, we concluded that an individual intentionally set the fire,” said the commission. “We found there was a delay in contacting and/or seeking the assistance of the fire station. Issues [included]

crowd control and access to the dormitory compound encountered by the fire service on route to the fire, inadequacies of the fire service in rescue and firefighting equipment, and the lack of available water supply to fight the fire. These factors assisted with the speed of the conflagration,” Commission Chair and retired Army Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Joseph Singh said. It was the worst single such incident in living memory. Investigators also found that many of the windows had iron grills to secure the buildings from unwanted adult visitors. Panicked dorm officials were also unable to locate keys for five doors that had no grills

weekends to socialize with miners who flash gold, diamonds, and raw cash while grooming the girls for favors, including sexual. The commission contended that this culture has to change because these acts are committed “with the tacit support of family members who benefit financially from such arrangements.” Ali echoed calls for a culture change among students and adults, noting that education and other authorities face “tremendous difficulties in the behavioral pattern and changes in many schools, and we now have to work and see how we incorporate a higher degree of discipline through a systemic intervention.”

Sexual violence adds to woes of migrants trying to get to America FELICIA PERSAUD

IMMIGRATION KORNER “We ventured through the jungle in search of a brighter future, not to meet our demise. A snake doesn’t end your life; it’s the men lurking in the jungle who subject us to rape and murder.” These chilling words struck a chord with me, bringing tears to my eyes. The unimaginable horror they described was laid bare in a recent report from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). This grim reality unfolds in the name of pursuing the American dream, across the perilous expanse known as the Darién Gap, a dense, forested region separating Panama from Colombia. More than 520,000 migrants braved this treacherous journey toward the United States in 2023 alone— more than double the number reported the year before, according to government figures reported by Reuters. They expose themselves to a multitude of risks, including sexual violence. Luis Eguiluz, MSF’s head of mission in Colombia and Panama, laments: “Sexual

violence in the Darién is increasingly cruel and dehumanizing. Patient testimonies tell of armed men kidnapping entire groups of migrants, stealing their money, and telling them it is the cost of passing through. Sexual violence, ranging from touching to rape, occurs in front of other people or in tents set up for that purpose in the middle of the jungle.” Reports show that 95% of the survivors of sexual violence treated by MSF are women. Those who dare to intervene on behalf of victims are met with violence themselves, and in some cases, even death. According to MSF, their teams in Panama treated 397 survivors of sexual violence between January and October 2023, averaging almost one incident of sexual violence every three hours. In October 2023 alone, there were 107 cases. Three of the rape victims were children aged 11, 12, and 16. Moreover, MSF treated 76 cases of sexual violence in Honduras in 2023, 61 in Guatemala, and 500 in Mexico. These statistics probably underestimate the true scale of the problem due to fear, stigma, and the reluctance of victims to report these crimes. Carmenza Gálvez, MSF’s medical coordinator, explains, “Not everyone who experiences

sexual violence seeks help promptly due to the social stigma, threats from perpetrators, limited recognition of various forms of sexual violence, and the fear that reporting these crimes might further delay their journey north.” One survivor, a Venezuelan woman, recounted the ordeal of her entire group being kidnapped and subjected to violence. She said, “They beat me on my legs with a bat because those without money were beaten. Those who claimed to have no money but were found to have some were subjected to even more brutality. They would say, ‘Oh, yes, she has some money,’ and then they would rape them. I witnessed many people being raped, stripped naked, and left battered. They take turns, one, two, or three of them assaulting you, and if you scream, they beat you.” She also revealed that some young men were beaten and thrown to the ground while attempting to defend the women. “I saw them kill a boy with a gunshot to the forehead right before our eyes,” she told MSF. Such inhumanity knows no boundaries, underscoring the complexity of the immigration issue. There is no one-size-fits-all

solution, but it is evident that migration, while not a crime, should occur through legal and orderly channels. This is particularly crucial given the current labor shortages in the United States. Migrants should be afforded the opportunity to apply for asylum and seasonal jobs at U.S. consulates in their home countries, where their applications can be processed or rejected, rather than embarking on perilous journeys through the Darién Gap. The desperation is palpable, but the price of rape and death is too high. It is time for the U.S. Congress to fund modernization of the U.S. immigration system, eliminating backlogs and expediting processing in a humane and timely manner. Simply advocating for border closure is not a viable solution, since desperation remains the primary driving force behind northward migration. “We urge authorities and other organizations to redouble their efforts to provide dignified care for these people,” said Camilo Velez, MSF deputy mission chief in Mexico and Central America. “Migrants have the right to urgent protection and humanitarian assistance.” Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focusing on Black immigrant issues.

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Manuel Luna is the second person to die on Rikers in 2024 Rikers Island in 2021. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Manuel Luna is the second person in NYC Department of Correction (DOC) custody to die on Rikers Island in the new year. The 30-year-old was found unresponsive in his cell around 8:47 p.m. last Friday, Jan. 19 while held in the George R. Vierno Center jail. He entered DOC custody in October 2023. “On behalf of the New York City Department of Correction, we extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the deceased,” said DOC Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie in a statement. “We are conducting a full investigation into this tragic event.” Luna’s passing also marks the 30th known death in DOC custody since the Adams administration entered office. Earlier this month, Black New Yorker Chima Williams died on Rikers Island after collapsing while playing basketball. The two deaths this year are the first under Maginley-Liddie, who was appointed last month after former commis-

sioner Louis Molina was named assistant deputy mayor for public safety. “[Rikers Island] continues to kill our neighbors and leave more families devastated,” said Darren Mack, co-director of Freedom Agenda. “Instead of continuing to send people there, the Mayor needs to make the investments that will keep people safe: housing, mental health treatment, and other services to support people in our communities.” Freedom Agenda, along with other advocates from the Campaign to Close Rikers movement organized a rally urging Mayor Eric Adams to prioritize “care not criminalization” outside of the State of the City address on Wednesday. Specifically, they spoke against his vetoes of criminal justice reform bills, including legislation banning solitary confinement in New York City jails. Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 15

16 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

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Education As a new generation rises, tension between free speech and inclusivity on college campuses simmers By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer Generations of Americans have held firm to a version of free speech that makes room for even the vilest of views. It’s girded by a belief that the good ideas rise above the bad and no one should be punished for voicing an idea—except in rare cases where the idea could lead directly to illegal action. Today, that idea faces competition more forceful and vehement than it has seen for a century. On college campuses, a newer version of free speech is emerging as young generations redraw the line where expression crosses into harm. There’s a wave of students who have no tolerance for speech that marginalizes. They draw lines around language that leads to damage, either psychological or physical. Their judgments weigh the Constitution but also incorporate histories of privilege and oppression. “We believe in a diverse set of thoughts,” said Kaleb Autman, a Black student at the University of Wisconsin whose group is demanding a zero-tolerance policy on hate speech. “But when your thought is predicated on the subjugation of me or my people, or to a generalized people, then we have problems.” New generation, evolving ideas A new understanding of free speech has been evolving on college campuses for years, marked by the introduction of safe spaces, trigger warnings, and a rise in disruptive protests that silence speakers with offensive views. But the Israel-Hamas war and its rhetoric appear to be widening the fault lines and pushing students to demand that university leaders take a side between clashing versions of free speech. The fallout contributed to the January 2 resignation of Harvard University President Claudine Gay, who faced mounting allegations of plagiarism that surfaced after the hearing. Her resignation followed the December ouster of Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania, who shifted her position on campus free speech amid the blowback. Asked on Capitol Hill about balancing free speech and the safety of

Jewish students, Magill told lawmakers that Penn’s approach is “guided by the United States Constitution, which allows for robust perspectives.” A day later, amid pressure from donors, she said Penn’s policies needed to be “clarified and evaluated.” She suggested that rules rooted in the Constitution don’t do enough to protect students in a world with “signs of hate proliferating across our campus and our world in a way not seen in years.” Campuses across the nation have confronted similar tensions amid rising antisemitism and Islamophobia. Debate has raged over whether to police phrases such as “from the river to the sea” and “intifada”—often used as proPalestinian chants, but lately also seen by some as calls for the genocide of Jews. Columbia University is among several institutions that recently suspended pro-Palestinian student groups, citing their “threatening rhetoric and intimidation.” Those types of phrases, however some perceive them, are “clearly constitutionally protected,” says Erwin Chemerinsky, a law scholar and dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley, which was the cradle of the free speech movement in the 1960s. Yet on all sides of the issue, he says, today’s students want to quash speech they don’t like, regardless of its legality. “What I always hear now is how, when students are upset or offended, they phrase it as, ‘I feel unsafe.’ And I think it’s so important that we separate out the campus’s duty,” he said. “It’s not our role to make them safe from ideas that they don’t want [to be] exposed to. But that line, I think, has gotten blurred.” As the U.S. Education Department opens dozens of federal civil rights inquiries into antisemitism and Islamophobia, college leaders face pressure to counter hateful speech even if it’s constitutionally protected, said Howard Gillman, chancellor of the University of California, Irvine, during a panel on campus free speech on Wednesday. Said Gillman: “There is increasingly now a sense of obligation on the part of campuses to do something.”

University of Wisconsin student Kaleb Autman poses outside Bascom Hall in Madison, Wis. On college campuses, a newer version of free speech is emerging as young generations redraw the line where expression crosses into harm (AP Photo/Morry Gash photo)

Different institutions, different approaches The shifting lines have become visible as colleges reach diverging conclusions on hate speech. After the congressional hearing, Stanford University and Cornell University declared that calls for genocide would indeed violate their conduct codes. Chiefs of Harvard and Penn, by contrast, told lawmakers it depended on context. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told the state’s public universities that such a call should face “swift disciplinary action.” Campus officials are being pulled in every direction from donors, alumni, students, and politicians, but the latest battle has seen a reversal of sorts in the allegiances over free speech. Republicans, who have long characterized colleges as liberal hotbeds that stifle free speech, are now calling on those institutions to curb speech seen as antisemitic. Colleges previously accused of ceding ground on free speech are suddenly emerging as its strongest defenders. “The thing that I don’t know is, does anyone really have a principled position on this? Or is it just about the politics?” said Genevieve Lakier, a First Amendment scholar at the University of Chicago. She fears allegations of antisemitism are being used as a weapon to silence pro-Palestinian speech, and the biggest threats come from donors and legislators. Still, she sees a changing tide on college campuses. Students are increasingly suspicious of free speech

arguments they say have been used to empower some and oppress others. Their version of free speech leaves no room for certain racial slurs, Lakier said, and it introduces new rules about pronouns. Amid changing cultural views, certain kinds of language that were once tolerated are now seen as unacceptable, she said. “Except for a few outliers, that is, I don’t think, a bad thing.” In nearly 20 years as president of Augustana College, Steven Bahls saw the generational change play out. When confronted with speech disputes in the past, he could settle it by applying the Constitution and explaining case law. At some point, that wasn’t enough, and emotion came to dominate the debate. “Students expect the college president to be on their side,” said Bahls, a lawyer by trade. “And you know, you can’t blame them. They’re paying a lot for their education. And to show students that you’re on their side doesn’t mean you have to agree with them politically.” Looking at the wider picture Today’s moment carries echoes of past speech battles. The rise of shopping malls in the 1970s brought a slew of legal cases asking if mall owners could place constraints on expression on private property that functions as a public space (in general, they can, courts found). And college campuses have faced past battles of their own, including turbulent protests over the Vietnam War and the proliferation of speech codes that aimed to fight hate

speech in the 1990s. For students, it’s a complex question. Max Zimmerman said he is a firm supporter of the First Amendment, but in the aftermath of October 7, he says it’s sometimes scary being a Jewish student at Towson University, near Baltimore. In a campus plaza known as Freedom Square, a public chalkboard meant to encourage civil discourse often displays anti-Israel phrases. Protesters have marched across campus chanting “From the river to the sea.” “A phrase that has a hidden phrase, like calling for the mass genocide of the Jews—stuff like that shouldn’t be allowed on college campuses,” he said. “There needs to be a limit to what you can say.” The university referred questions to a campus guide on free expression. It says: “Hateful or offensive speech that does not rise to the level of a true threat or unlawful harassment cannot be banned or punished.” Zimmerman says campus officials have responded by erasing the chalkboard twice a day. For colleges, navigating the minefield of public discourse is trickier than ever. They are caught in the middle: Standing up for offensive speech could draw accusations of antisemitism, and they could be added to the list of schools facing federal civil rights investigations. Adding new limits to speech could bring its own legal challenges and threatens to further erode civil discourse. William Adams, a former president of Colby College in Maine, says the solution lies somewhere between. The drift away from a classical view on free speech has left even progressive faculty fearful they will be punished for verbal missteps. At the same time, he says, colleges have a duty to meet the changing expectations of an increasingly diverse student body. “Something has got to really be rearranged in these settings without a return to hard-nosed constitutionalism, because I don’t think that’ll work either,” he said. “We have to get to a place where there isn’t this tension.” ___ The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 17

Arts & Entertainment Film/TV pg 17-18 | Books pg 21 | Jazz pg 24

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96th Oscars® noms: Surprises, snubs, and outstanding performances Jack Quaid and Zazie Beetz host announcement of 96th Oscars® nominations on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 (Al Seib/©A.M.P.A.S. photo)

Colman Domingo in “Rustin” (Photo courtesy of Netfilx)

By MAGRIRA Special to the AmNews Actors Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid announced the 96th Oscars® nominations live from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater via a global live stream on Oscar. com, Oscars.org, and the Academy’s digital platforms, as well as an international satellite feed and broadcast media. Every year there are snubs, and this year is no exception. The film “Barbie” earned $1.4 billion in box office, but the director, Greta Gerwig, was not recognized with a nomination. There was no surprise that “The Color Purple” was a shutout. The only nominations that it received are for Danielle Brooks. Fantasia was not nominated. Many fans of the original film (made in 1985, and directed by Steven Spielberg) didn’t feel a new one was needed. To many insiders, Colman Domingo’s nomination for “Rustin” was understood. His performance is sublime and one of the best of his career, which is saying something because he’s a stunning thespian. In “Rustin,” he plays gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who helped organize the March on Washington, the landmark 1963 demonstration where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. In a happy surprise, actor Sterling K. Brown was nominated for Supporting Actor

“The Last Repair Shop” (Photo courtesy L.A. Times Studios and Searchlight Pictures)

for his role in “American Fiction” along with Jeffrey Wright. America Ferrera earned a nod for her powerful monologue in “Barbie,” in which she said, “I’m just so tired of watching myself, and every single other woman, tie herself into knots so that people will like us,” which was shared around the world via social media. Two documentaries stand head and shoulders above their competition: “The Last Repair Shop” and “To Kill a Tiger.” The Los Angeles Times-produced short “The Last Repair Shop” earned a nomination, and I think this film will win out. Co-directed by composer Kris Bowers and 2022 Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot, the L.A. Times Studios and Searchlight Pic-

tures co-production focuses on a quartet of master craftspeople who repair damaged musical instruments, bringing them back to life for students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Proudfoot won an Oscar for “The Queen of Basketball,” a short doc that focused on Olympian Lusia “Lucy” Harris, the first woman to be drafted by the NBA. He was nominated in 2020 with Bowers for their short doc, “A Concerto Is a Conversation.” In the Best Documentary Feature category is “To Kill a Tiger,” Nisha Pahuja’s Notice Pictures/National Film Board of Canada (NFB) co-production. “I am beyond thrilled that ‘To Kill a Tiger’ has been nominated for an Academy Award,” Pahuja said. “This is an ex-

traordinary honor for the creative team behind this eight-year journey, and it’s a testament to the tireless group of women working outside the normal ecosystem to ensure this story is seen and does what it needs to in the world. We’re here, at this moment, because a farmer in India, his wife, and their 13-year-old daughter had the courage to demand her human rights. We are grateful to the National Film Board of Canada, our executive producers, and everyone on the team for their support. It is our hope and intent that this film will encourage other survivors to seek justice, and that men stand with us in our fight for gender equality.” For a complete list of nominees, visit the official Oscars website at www.oscar.com.

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2024 Oscar noms celebrate inclusion, recognize underrepresented voices

Colman Domingo arrives at the 14th Governors Awards in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 (Trae Patton / @ A.M.P.A.S photos)

By MAGRIRA and ART SHRIAN Special to the AmNews I want to take this moment to highlight that the word and the movement toward diversity isn’t just a Black and white issue. To that end, looking at the 2024 Oscar nominations, there have been some interesting twists and additions. Overall, there seems to be a marked improvement in representation, with women, Afro American actors and actresses, and LGBTQ+ creatives included. In the four acting categories, seven out of 20 nominees are BIPOC, the same number as last year. However, there were no people of color in the directing nominations, and an African American woman has never been nominated in that category. Some might argue that African Americans have slipped back greatly with the shutout of the musical version of the classic film “The Color Purple” and “Origin.” In terms of Latino representation, which has traditionally been dismal across the board, this year brings Afro Latino Colman Domingo (Best Actor nominee for “Rustin”), whose father is from Belize and Guatemala, and Honduran American “Barbie” actress America Ferrera. Together, they bring muchneeded representation. Ferrera remains the only Latina ever nominated for a comedic Emmy; if she wins the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, she would be the third Latina to do so, behind Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose, both winning for their roles in two different “West Side Story” films.

Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown were nominated for lead and supporting actor, respectively, for the best picture nominee “American Fiction,” which skewers pop cultural depictions of Black life. They join Domingo in the lead actor race this year. Under Indigenous (Native American) representation, actress Lily Gladstone became the first Native American nominated for Best Actress for the film “Killers of the Flower Moon,” making her the fourth Indigenous person to be nominated in the Best Actress category, joining Merle Oberon (who was part Maori), Maori actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, and Mixtec and Trique actress Yalitza Aparicio. In the supporting actor category, Indigenous Canadians Chief Dan George and Graham Greene received nominations for, respectively, “Little Big Man” in 1971 and “Dances with Wolves” in 1991. Under LGBTQ+ representation, along with Domingo, is Jodie Foster (Best Supporting Actress nominee for “Nyad”), becoming the first time two performers who are openly LGBTQ+ have been nominated for playing gay characters. Asian representation, which was front and center last year with “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” is nearly absent this year in all categories. The exception is first-time director Celine Song, who made history as the first Asian woman nominated for Best Original Screenplay, for “Past Lives.” Representing female power after the big snub of Greta Gerwig being shut out for Best Director, Justine Triet landed a directing nod for “Anatomy of a Fall,” while Samy Burch,

America Ferrera arrives at the 14th Governors Awards in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Song, and Gerwig were nominated in the writing categories. “American Fiction” composer Laura Karpman is the fifth woman ever nominated for Best Original Score. The South Asian film “To Kill a Tiger” earned a nomination in the Best Documentary Feature Film category. The film delves into the harrowing incident of the Jharkhand gang rape case. Directed by Nisha Pahuja, it highlights the disturbing events surrounding the gang rape of a 13-year-old girl. The executive producers of the powerful doc include British Indian actor Dev Patel and Indian-American actress/writer/producer Mindy Kaling. In her welcome remarks early Tuesday morning, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Janet Yang noted that the organization’s membership now comprises almost 11,000 people from 93 countries. This was the first year that the Academy’s representation and inclusion standards, which determine eligibility for Best Picture, went into effect, yielding four nominated movies at least partially not in English (“Anatomy of a Fall,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Past Lives,” and “The Zone

of Interest”) and four comedies (“American Fiction,” “Barbie,” “The Holdovers,” and “Poor Things”) joining “Oppenheimer” (13 total nominations) and “Maestro” (7). The inclusion standards state that at least some members of the cast, crew, or development/marketing/publicity/distribution teams must identify as a member of an underrepresented group, defined as women, historically excluded races or ethnicities, people of LGBTQ+ identity ,or people with cognitive or physical disabilities or who are deaf or hard of hearing. According to the Academy, roughly a third of all nominees this year are women—a three-year high—and 19% hail from underrepresented groups (up from 15% in 2023). A record-high three of the 10 Best Picture nominees were helmed by women, though only Triet received a nomination for Best Director. The Academy Awards will take place on March 10. https://www.amnewscurtainraiser. com/2024/01/nominations-for-96th-academy-awards.html. www.oscars.org

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January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 19

Netflix’s ‘Lift’ doesn’t fully take off

Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Kevin Hart in “Lift”

Úrsula Corberó and Kevin Hart in “Lift”

d Kevin Hart in “Lift” 3 (Netflix photos)

tBy DWIGHT BROWN -NNPA News Wire

- Any film that begins with an elaborate, ,broad-daylight heist deserves viewers’ at,tention. It’s what comes between that intro hand the film’s adrenalin-pumping final ehour that may give Netflix audiences reasons to take a refrigerator break. d In “Lift,” comedian and comic actor Kevin aHart tries to ditch his funny, smart-mouth -persona to play a suave international thief. AHart showed he can stretch from his comic -roots in the drama “The Upside,” but can he, ywith the aid of action film director F. Gary .Gray (“The Fate of the Furious”), handle nan Idris Elba-type role in a film that should have “Ocean’s Eleven”-style intrigue? Cyrus (Hart) and his band of sophisticated thieves are in Venice, Italy, at an auction where they intend to swindle away a famous NFT artwork (Non-Fungible Token, a digital asset stored on a blockchain that represents content or even physical items).

Kevin Hart in “Lift”

Its creator is the popular AI artist N8 (Jacob Batalon, “Spider Man: No Way Home”). An Interpol agent named Abby (Gugu MbathaRaw, “Belle) and her boss Huxley (Sam Worthington, “Avatar”) surveil the nattily dressed dude who tries to outbid everyone for the AI images. Cyrus is confident he can pull off this caper because his international crew specializes in identity fraud, money laundering, and thievery: Camila the pilot (Úrsula Corberó), Mi-Sun the hacker (Yun Jee Kim), Magnus the safecracker (Billy Magnussen), Luke the engineer (Viveik Kalra), and Denton the master of disguises (Vincent D’Onofrio). It’s a great surprise when someone blackmails the gang into a mission to thwart a possible disaster masterminded by a crime lord/ ecoterrorist ( Jean Reno). What’s on the line? $500 million in gold! The premise has merit. The director has a filmography (“The Italian Job”) that shows he can make such a project work.

What about the script? Screenwriter Daniel Kunka is fine with outlining events, far less accomplished with establishing three-dimensional characters, memorable dialogue, and a storyline not burdened with unnecessary backstories. A lot of the film’s wrinkles and glaring mistakes could have been ironed out in a table-read where the cast and crew aired their opinions. However, there’s plenty of evidence from what’s on the screen that that kind of fine-tuning never happened. Starting the film in picturesque Venice (cinematographer Bernhard Jasper) and ending with steady doses of action was a smart choice. Shooting so many interiors (production design Dominic Watkins, “Dolittle”) and exteriors in funky ways that telegraph the use of green-screen trickery was not so smart. Brawls inside a jet look particularly fake. Gray’s direction is decent, but you wish he’d taken more time to develop a heady, intricate, death-defying crime-thriller style—

something in the vein of Guy Ritchie’s “Snatch” or Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eight.” The lack of clever sleights of hand, or cheeky dialogue makes “Lift” look like it came off an assembly line. Hart is funny, but Cyrus is meant to be debonair. Either hire someone like Elba for the role, or let Hart bring the cray-cray his fans love. He seems too reined in. MbathaRaw is adept at making her character more than what’s on the page. Still, these two leads lack chemistry when they should set the screen on fire. Worthington is suitable as the Interpol stiff. D’Onofrio is fine. French actor Jean Reno plays the villain quite well with a believable sneer. Thankfully for streaming fans, who’ve waited one full hour for the movie to find its footing, “Lift” eventually dials up the clashes, chases, fights, and skirmishes until it ends at 1 h 47 m. If you’ve never met a heist movie you didn’t like (and that’s a low bar), pull up a chair and indulge.

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HOROSCOPES BY KNOWYOURNUMB3RS

By SUPREME GODDESS KYA WWW.KYAFRENCH.COM | CONSULTATIONS 866-331-5088

Rebirth of A New Nation: The Full moon in Leo at 5 degrees indicates adjustment, changes, shifts in all areas of your life. Globally, areas of focus are career, finances, home, the things we were taught in school, and the social aspects or line of profession you are in. This is a golden opportunity to build a solid foundation. 2024 is an eight year which indicates things from your past popping up and remembering how it started and ended. The wait and see game is out like monkey in the middle—there is no middleman, you’ve got to do it for yourself. The wisdom gained is to enlighten you; that shapes your experience and perspective on life as you elevate. “Elevate. Each day, live to elevate yourself, each day elevate one person. Make elevation your religion and you shall reach infinity.” –Harbhajan Singh Yogi

Have mercy on your soul to map out your goals and things to do or explore

Deep changes are occurring in your life like a deep conditioning hair wash under the hair steamer or a deep tissue massage. When you receive these experiences, something that was building up internally Dec 22 June 22 tone of what is forthcoming in October, and also in 2025. Pluto in Capricorn comes out externally. It’s time for a clean slate and to make power Jan 21 July 23 officially has one more push from September 1-November 19, 2024, before moves. If things in your life have not changed, it’s because you have making its official transit into Aquarius. From January 27 around 2:11 p.m. not changed. In the days leading to February 1 around 3:37 p.m., as until January 30 around 2:45 a.m., whatever your heart desires are the areas to focus on. That certain things surface, allow the debris to vanish as you build a new solid foundation, is where your greatness lies. be it trust, unity, familyhood, or self-improvement. When it’s time to form a new path, change and healing occur. Happy Solar Return around the Earth. Climb the mountain per your agenda. Although we plan things to happen one way, they sometimes end up playing What did the wind fly in for you or to you. It’s no joke and the things out another way to execute the agenda. The road to fulfilling one’s purpose is you applied for or initiated are coming full circle. When it’s time for Aquarius always something else ahead once you complete a part of the mission. Also, alignment things magically occur and this is one of those moments. Jan 22 Leo what seems like a detour or roadblock is something needed as you elevate to Time is of the essence and when you continue to speak about what Feb 19 July 24 ascend. From January 30 around 3:04 a.m. until February 1 around 3:08 p.m., you initiated and nourish your plan, it manifests. From January 25 Aug 23 keep elevating, Aquarius, through all challenges— they are your tools and resources to keep around 2:37 a.m. until January 27 around 1:47 a.m., as you continue you afloat to prepare you for the next journey ahead. to elevate, some folks remain in the background; that’s their position until you call on them again to assist you. The universe is always making a way or path just as there are There’s a thin line between loving yourself and having faith in yourself. pathways on the streets and in the sky to follow through to reach your destination. Believing is part of the process of faith. It’s something not seen yet, it’s felt within the bones of your body to do something you are passionate about. Gaining a new perspective on how to find a solution to an issue is Pisces Once you act upon that thing pulling you forward, the dynamic of your life child play for you. You love to utilize that analytical mind of yours to Feb 20 changes for you. It’s a time to get unfamiliar with your current environment solve mysteries like on the TV show “Monk” and know you are right. Mar 20 Virgo or situation to experience something new. In the days leading up to FebruThere is a solution or remedy to everything you can think of because Aug 24 ary 1 around 3:37 p.m., this process is similar to the time of conception of a child to its final you are the creator and destroyer of the things you create. From JanuSept 23 stage in life. Keep your vision activated in your mind, body, and soul to progress forward ary 27 around 2:11 p.m. until January 30 around 2:45 a.m., it’s a great no matter what change occurs. cycle to travel or birth new concepts and operate differently within your personal or business affairs. Review or address any semi-legal matters as well as your partnerThe old way of doing things gets played out no matter how differently ships because change is floating around you for an upgrade. you continue to operate. As you invite January in, it’s a month of change, ending, separation and fulfillment to build a new foundation on a conThere’s a song that goes “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands,” Aries crete level. You weed out the distraction and things that serve no value in and there are signs all around you showing up as confirmation. When Mar 21 your life. From January 25 around 2:37 a.m. until January 27 around 1:47 these signs show up, ask yourself what’s on your mind and what you Apr 21 Libra a.m., growth comes with the great endurance of pain, success, developing are doing, as there are messages and guides showing you the way. Sept 24 new skills, and learning how to say no and yes. Otherwise, the revolving door will conAreas of family and personal life are on the frontline and need your Oct 23 tinue until you stop or be still to see the bigger picture. You can be the player or the creattention. From January 30 around 3:04 a.m. until February 1 around ator of the game you choose. 3:08 p.m., there are things going on in the background that will start to show up. Listen to your gut and speak from a spiritual perspective. All the stars are in motion steerThis is a make-a-wish cycle with a wish list like going to the store with your ing you in the right direction. supply list or a grocery list to get the things you need. This time, the things you need are granted due to the footwork applied. Without application to fill Something old and new is showing up as a lesson to be the receivTaurus in the missing blanks to get where you need to be, it’s like finding a needle in er and giver of information. There are certain details, hints, breadApr 22 the haystack. Jupiter transit in Taurus halfway of 30 degrees before it went crumbs, and clues showing up. Listen to yourself as information is May 21 Scorpio retrograde and now Jupiter is going full throttle nonstop. The previous Jupibeing sent to you by feeling, sensing, and precognition. Something Oct 24 ter regrade was a connection flight to allow you to experience and be equipped with what is coming to a culmination. In the days leading to February 1 around Nov 22 you know before executing the mission. From January 27 around 2:11 p.m. until January 30 3:37 p.m., instead of making a big scene, engage in the energy to make around 2:45 a.m., now it’s time to receive your emerald card or be crowned like when you re- sense of what is being presented to you. Examine your needs as well and remember ceive a diploma from school. your strengths and weaknesses.

 this year. Patience is required. During the duration of your patience, what Capricorn you’ve learned thus far via experiences is your best teacher. January set the

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There are so many ways to do something depending on how in tune you are with yourself and what you know. Forrest Gump said “My mama always said life was like a box of chocolate you never know what you gonna get.” When Gemini you choose to follow a path not knowing what’s ahead but are willing to adMay 22 venture, you never know what or who you will cross your path. From JanuJune 21 ary 30 around 3:04 a.m. until February 1 around 3:08 p.m., what’s the dream, as we all have one, yet what are you soulfully passionate about that will change your life and others? Revelations come in all forms like déjà vu.

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This month makes your belly full and supports others in making sound advice and vice versa. There is an inner change taking place Sagitarius about a sudden decision to make. Listen to the voice within, as you are something like a high roller or a popular person this cycle month. Nov 23 Dec 21 Information is showing up within messages, conversations, group activities, songs, and revelations being made. From January 25 around 2:37 a.m. until January 27 around 1:47 a.m., you express yourself by the things you naturally do. Build a solid foundation.

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January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 21

New Black Nonfiction: “Legacy” & “Surviving God” By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH Special to the AmNews

white men. The authors of these engaging memoirs are In the United States, courageous in their willonly 2% of all physicians ingness to tell their truth in the United States are and express their observaBlack women. Moreover, tions of what is not presthe majority of theoloent or inclusive in their gy-based texts in support respective fields of exof sexual abuse survipertise. Though these vors tend to overlook the authors are indeed very voices of survivors, acknowledgeable in their cording to Grace Ji-Sun work, they are also grapKim and Susan M. Shaw, pling with the realities of the authors of “Survivsystemic oppression and ing God: A New Vision of gender-based violence. To God Through the Eyes of have survived and thrived Sexual Abuse Survivors.” has offered them the tools Dr. Uché Blackstock, to help others look at the author of “Legacy: A Black world through a lens of Physician Reckons with empathy, and see the reRacism in Medicine,” ality of how our culture is part of the first Black is in great need of reform family to become legacy for those who identify and alumnae at Harvard Medconnect with what writers ical School, where she and like these women have to her twin sister followed offer. in the footsteps of their You can find “Survivmother. ing God: A New Vision Some stories can only of God Through the Eyes come from people who of Sexual Abuse Surhave lived through sinvivors” and “Legacy: A gular experiences, like Black Physician Reckons being the first, or survivwith Racism in Medicine” ing abuse in such a way that ent from those of their prede- because the majority of West- pastoral counseling books on wherever books are sold this their perspectives are differ- cessors. This is especially true ern mainstream medical and trauma have been written by year.

New Books on Black Emotion: “The Rise of Rage” & “Seeking Joy as Justice” By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH Special to the AmNews

The Rise of Rage: Harnessing tion by Julie A. Christiansen companied by practical activities a well structured nonfiction title the Most Misunderstood EmoIf you find step-based guides ac- to be useful, “The Rise of Rage” is that supports readers in managing the complex emotion of rage. Approaching emotion in the No one wants to admit that they Black community is a task that suffer from uncontrolled rage, but has rarely been undertaken with a bit of self awareness and throughout the course of our the willingness to live a healthihistorical enslavement. er, emotionally balanced life, this There is much work to be done book can assist readers in overas we look inward and also face coming their struggle with rage. the challenge of understanding how our emotions affect others Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourand our environment externalselves by J. Drew Lanham ly. It is difficult to speak about Eco-reparations is a powerfear and rage, and takes incredful and enchanting concept that ible effort to maintain a state of has been manifested from idealjoy while navigating the disreism into ownership that is tanspect and belittling we can exgible and quite real. “Joy Is the perience as we advance in our Justice We Give Ourselves” exlives and occupations. amines the presence and enviBut there are books that are ronmental gift of nature, and its emerging to assist our commuexistence amongst the perils of nities in fostering empathy for racism. Interweaving poetry and ourselves and others. “The Rise prose, Black joy shines through of Rage” by Julie A. Christiansen in this eco-aware, Black-cenand “Joy Is the Justice We Give tered book that offers a refreshOurselves” by J. Drew Lanham ing point of view and demands are invaluable books to support that Black bodies receive the us in our growth and emotionsame beautified Earth on which al health. we were all born.

22 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

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Patrick Page triumphs in ‘All the Devils Are Here…’ Patrick Page in a scene from “All The Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain.” (Julieta Cervantes photo)

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews Have you ever been to a one-man show and knew you were watching a master actor and creator at work? Well, that is exactly what you know as you sit at the DR2 Theatre (E. 15th Street) and watch the phenomenal Patrick Page in the show he created and performs, “All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain.” This production is a master class in how the great Bard created his characters—how Shakespeare created the villains that we have all come to despise, hate, and judge. Page takes the audience through the history of Shakespeare’s life from his childhood to adulthood. You learn about what theater he was exposed to as a child. Page tells a candid story about Shakespeare. He does not make him come across as a perfect playwright or person. He says that Shakespeare had a shady side. He describes what happened in Shakespeare’s rise to fame. He talks about all aspects of Shakespeare’s life and the

audience gets a clear understanding of the villains that Shakespeare created and what was happening in his life when they were created. What’s so fantastic about this show is how Page gives tidbits of information about each of Shakespeare’s many villains, such as MacBeth, Iago, Prospero, and so many others. With each explanation, he brilliantly renders a famous speech, a brilliant monologue that the characters performs in celebrated plays like “Hamlet,” “MacBeth,” “Othello,” and “The Tempest.” Page delivers this production with such drama, passion, and feeling that you find yourself simply mesmerized with each scene. He gives us Shakespeare’s works in the order that they were written. He also gives us the history of Shakespeare starting out as an actor and then becoming a playwright. This is one of the most interesting, gripping evenings you could ask for in the theater. One of the reasons this play held my attention was that I have been a fan of Shakespeare since junior high school, when my English teacher

first introduced the class to Shakespeare’s work. There is something so beautiful about Shakespearean language in his plays, but what was so enthralling about Page’s production is that he endeavored to let the audience know the climate and culture of the times—the racism that existed against Jewish people and people with dark skin. He let the audience know that Shakespeare crafted characters who had some of the negative attributes that society attributed to these groups of people, but he did not do it to show agreement with the stereotypes—he instead gave the characters redeeming qualities as well, which then challenged the discrimination of the times. Page by no means makes Shakespeare seem to be the end all: He notes that Shakespeare stole from another famous playwright of his time. He demonstrates that a monologue by a character from another playwright’s play sounded similar to one of Shakespeare’s monologues. I love how Page explains that

Shakespeare’s personal life directly affected his playwrighting. We learn that when he was in love, he wrote “Romeo & Juliet.” Shakespeare wrote a lot of dark scenes in a lot of dramatic works and Page delivers those scenes with precision, accuracy, temperament, tone, stance, and shading. This is a man who has performed in many Shakespearean works and the proof is on that stage! Throughout the production, he wears the “figurative hats” of many characters, but he also turns them off and goes into the mode of educator as he relays what he has learned about Shakespeare, the act of creating the villain, the definition of evil, and why Shakespeare’s techniques are still popular today. Anyone who has seen Page perform knows that he has that deep voice that can send chills or thrills into the soul. He is an actor who is often cast in evil roles, but what’s so interesting about seeing him do this production is that he distinguishes between the different types of evil characters that are out there—he explains the char-

acteristics of the psychopath and asks how many might be in the audience. You will be astonished, you will laugh, you will learn! This is a production I highly recommend to everyone. Page is perfection in his writing and performance. Patrick Page triumphs. The direction of Simon Godwin is splendid. This play gives you everything you would ever want to know about Shakespeare’s developing the idea of the villain, a better understanding of what he accomplished with his plays, and the importance of his everlasting legacy for the theater and other mediums. The technical aspects of this play have to be acknowledged and appreciated because they contribute greatly to the eeriness and depth of each moment. This production has scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado; costume design by Emily Rebholz, sound design by Darron L. West, and spectacular lighting design by Stacey Derosier. Go see a master at work, telling you about another master. For tickets, visit allthedevilsplay.com. You only have until the end of March.

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January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 23

“Make Me Gorgeous” Is Absolutely Glorious! By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews There is a touching, funny and boldly told true story playing at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke’s (308 W. 46th Street) called “Make Me Gorgeous!” This incredible production tells the story of Kenneth “Mr. Madam” Marlowe. The new play by Donnie has additional material by Wade McCollum, the solo performer who brings the show to glorious life. In addition to writing, Donnie is also the director. “Make Me Gorgeous” introduces the audience to Kenneth, who was born in the Midwest and quickly realizes that he is not like the other boys; he likes to get dolled up. The audience hears about the life he lived with his alcoholic mother and his father who left them. As Kenneth grows up, he finds refuge in his local church, but it is not somewhere his mother wants him. Sent to live with his aunt and uncle, Kenneth finds himself suddenly among young, gay, cross-dressing prostitutes. He feels at home and they accept him for who he is. Over the course of the play Kenneth often breaks the fourth wall and interacts with audience members. Sitting in the audience, up close and personal with this extremely talented McCollum, you get a sense of the love, respect and appreciation that the star actor holds for Mr. Madam. Kenneth is someone who has a range of experiences in life including being a male prostitute, a kept-man, and a hairdresser. Kenneth is someone who found acceptance from people in the gay community. As much as his family would try to separate him from them, he always finds his way back. Though he becomes a very successful dancer/stripper and earns quite a good living, with this occupation comes risks. Kenneth goes through many ups and downs, but always manages to get back on his feet. He also does make-up for morticians, and hair for celebrities like Phyllis Diller, Lucille Ball and others. He lives in different places from San Francisco to New Orleans. He even works for a gangster. One of the worst things to happen to Kenneth is getting drafted into the military. What happened to him there is unimaginable in the cruelty and abuse realm. No matter what trials he faces, however, he is able to regain his dignity and

Wade McCollum in a scene from “Make Me Gorgeous” (Maria Baranova photo)

reinvent himself. Eventually he decides to write a book about his journey in life as a gay man, a book that inspired the LBGTQIA community. Writing also allows him to deal with the demons in his life. The final choice Kenneth “Mr. Madam” makes is groundbreaking. This play is full of joy, laughter, sadness, anguish, loss, but then triumph!

McCollum is a force to be reckoned with. He delivers Kenneth’s story with great strength, incredible and vivid transitions between all types of characters and his singing voice is both masculine and feminine when called for. He also has a captivating stage presence that beckons attention and pleases the senses. Everything about this production will make you realize the importance

of Kenneth “Mr. Madam” Marlowe to the LGBTQIA community because he is a source of pride, acceptance, and a hero for all he endured and accomplished. McCollum has the audience almost eating out of his hand as he meticulously delivers the charm, beauty, sexiness and humanity of this character. McCollum will portray this role through the end of January. This produc-

tion has marvelous costumes by Jeffrey Hinshaw, set design by Walt Spangler, lighting design by Jamie Roderick, sound design by Ien DeNio. “Make Me Gorgeous” is absolutely glorious! The show has also been extended to run February 1-25, during which time the role of Kenneth will be portrayed by Darius Rose aka Jackie Cox. For more information visit gorgeousplay.com.

24 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

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Viola Plummer, owner of Sista’s Place, dies at 86 Colette Pean. Their first performer, presented at the old Music & Art High School, was Wynton Marsalis, and saxophonist Bill Saxton was also one of the early performers. They held monthly shows at J A ZZ N OT E S Small’s Paradise and presented concerts Viola Plummer, the jazz warrior queen in Jamaica, Queens, at Bernice Johnson’s who consolidated jazz and politics into Dance Studio and summers at Roy Wilkins a community affair at Sista’s Place and Park, where Randy Weston and Eli Founwhose motto reiterated her philoso- tain performed regularly. phy of “Where Jazz: A Music of the Spirit Lives and Culture is Our Weapon,” died Viola Plummer (Omowale Clay photo) on January 15, 2024, at Franklin General Hospital in Queens. She was 86. “The passing of our beloved Viola Plummer is a devastating loss to the Black Liberation movement, the culture, music, family, and community,” said saxophonist Rene McLean. “My first memories of her were at my father’s (JMac) gigs at Club Coronet in Brooklyn and Club 845 in the Bronx during the late ’50s and ’60s.” Plummer was a veteran political strategist, educator, and businesswoman, who felt culture and politics were inseparable. Under her leadership over the past 29 years, Sista’s Place has become not only a jazz club but an international cultural institution, an oasis in the heart of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant community. Their programming has included some of the most influential jazz musicians over the last 25 years, curated by trumpeter, composer, and author Ahmed Abdullah. “Viola, the people’s Plummer, always keeping the pipelines of liberation flowing and flowing and flowing,” said composer and trombonist Craig Harris, who often played the New Year’s Eve celebration at Sista’s Place. For Plummer, the Bed-Stuy community was a communal family and Sista’s Place was the cultural gathering place to experience music and exchange ideas. As chair and co-founder of the December 12th Movement, she noted during our in“Viola was a soldier to the end always terview for the AmNews (2017), “The or- involved in the community,” said pianist ganization was a way for us to say to the Rodney Kendrick. “For over 40 years she people that struggle is for liberation and was one of the captains’ of the ship and there is no struggle for struggle’s sake. true to it.” People have heard our politics better as a result of the music from Africa, to BrookAfter constantly changing venues lyn, to Harlem, to Goshen.” through no fault of her own, Plummer The New York State legislature granted founded Sista’s Place in the heart of Sista’s Place honorary landmark status in Brooklyn’s Black community, in 1995. It 2015 for its longstanding commitment to started out as a coffee shop and became the people of Bed-Stuy. Two years later, a beehive for political minds, jazz enthuthe Jazz Journalists Association, while siasts, and cultural and community adnot endorsing her political stance, pre- vocates to network and exchange ideas. sented Plummer with their Jazz Hero “One day, Carlos Garnett dropped by Award for her tenacity and activism in and told us we needed some music in the the Brooklyn jazz community. place,” said Pean. “And right on the spot, Years before founding Sista’s Place, he became our music director.” The saxPlummer realized the importance of jazz ophonist booked Gary Bartz and the musicians performing in the Black com- rising teenage trumpeter Keyon Harrod. munity and started a Harlem series called Sista’s Place was the venue for fash“Jazz Comes to Fight Back.” Plummer was ion shows and photo exhibits presentassisted on this project and all those to ed by the late Pan African photographer follow by her good friend and colleague Kwame Braithwaite and his brother

RONALD E. SCOTT

Elombe Brath. Brenda Bunson Bey held artist collective shows. “Viola is an irreplaceable nurturer of Black pride and political and social justice for Black people,” said trumpeter Charles Tolliver. “I will forever hold dear the devotion and love she so selflessly gave to our artform.” For many years, Sista’s Place was home to the revolutionary poet Louis Reyes

Rivera; it is where he ran a four-hour writing workshop on first and third Saturdays, as well as “Jazzoetry” and open mic sessions on the first and third Sundays. During a Jazzoetry session, Plummer saw Ahmed Abdullah’s performance and offered him the position as music director. “I started booking in 1998 and retired in 2023,” said Abdullah. “Sista’s Place is a laboratory for what our music is supposed to represent. Thanks to Viola, during my extensive tenure, I wrote a book and a thesis, ‘Jazz Music of the Spirit,’which is a documentation of how to move forward with this music into the future for generations to acknowledge and follow.” Plummer, along with Dean Applin and Torie McCartney, co-founded the Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium (CBJC). Its mission was to bring all the small jazz clubs together and offer a space for emerging and established artists. Just last year, the CBJC celebrated its 23rd anniversary. Plummer was an ardent supporter of

jazz musicians. While being attentive to her own club, she found time to attend their NYC performances, whether it was Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall, Betty Carter, Pharoah Sanders, or Tolliver. “Viola was one of a kind,” said Bill Saxton, owner of Bill’s Place. “One night, she and folks from Sista’s Place came to see me at my place since I couldn’t go to her. I am lucky to have lived in her lifetime.” Plummer was born Viola Holloway on February 16, 1937, in Jamaica, Queens, N.Y., to Carrie (Parker) and Mack Holloway. They lived in the Queensbridge Houses. She graduated from CCNY and became a teacher for the NYC Department of Education. As a young freedom fighter, Plummer worked for a host of NYC programs, including HRA, and eventually found the perfect position as chief of staff to Brooklyn Assemblymember and City Councilmember Charles Barron. (Last week’s online AmNews edition contained another Plummer obituary describing the many contributions she made as a civil rights activist and community organizer.) Sista’s Place was a communal jazz experience. From the moment customers stepped in the door, greeted by Pean’s smiling face, they became instant family. Customers may have bumped into Plummer coming in as she offered warm greetings or maybe served a drink or two. Sit at any table and there is immediate conversation. The family familiarity was contagious; the music tabasco spicy, hard-swinging Black music straight up, no chaser, the way Plummer liked it. In my experience, there was not one band that didn’t receive standing ovations, shouts, hollas, yells, that call-andresponse thing from the cotton fields to the Baptist preacher’s pulpit: that was the music at Sista’s Place, always straightahead, always jazz with intention roaring like the A train from Harlem to Brooklyn. The elder impresario and jazz publication pioneer Jim Harrison holding court on any given Saturday night at his special table. This was the magic of Sista’s Place as owned by Plummer, one of the very few Black women in America to own a jazz club. And now at the end of her journey, we proudly shout, “Amen, sister Viola Plummer—thank you for a job well done!” Plummer was preceded in transition by her daughter Lisa Taylor Carr and her son Robert Taylor, and survived by her daughters Karen and Michele Plummer; 11 grandchildren; and loving nephews, nieces, and cousins. The viewing and wake will take place on January 26 (4 p.m.–7 p.m.) at J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home (179-24 Linden Blvd., St. Albans, Queens). Funeral services will be held on January 27 (5 p.m.–8 p.m.) at House of the Lord Church (415 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn).

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 25

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS Steve Lopez (right) meeting with AmNews in 2023 at his lawyer Eric Renfroe’s (left) Queens office. (Tandy Lau photo)

Wrongful convictions Continued from page 11

and Wikipedia entries told the public who the actual culprit was. Just five years ago, Matias Reyes was portrayed by a “Game of Thrones” actor in a Peabody-winning series while Lopez sat at home with his wrongful conviction. “I’ve lost great jobs, great career opportunities,” said Lopez. “Doors were slammed, then somewhere opened a little. I tried to kick them in, but they got bad locks. I couldn’t kick them in. It's all because of a wrongful conviction…because of the background check, I’m a ‘thief’ now. I can’t work in the financial sector. I’m not talking [about] jobs [but] career opportunities, what defines people’s lives.”

the Central Park jogger case. Back then, Renfroe maintained Lopez’s exoneration was unique in clearing a wrongful conviction stemming from a guilty plea through a district attorney’s postconviction integrity unit, but he said his client is no longer a total exception, with the recent exoneration of Reginald Cameron by the Queens County District Attorney Office. However, the spirit of collaboration is not always present when challenging wrongful convictions. District attorneys and defendants often find themselves on opposite sides of challenging wrongful convictions. And not every case gets heard—according to Natascha Tiger, her case was not picked up Beyond a simple fix by the Orange County District AtLopez first broke his silence a torney’s Conviction Integrity Unit. year after his exoneration when In fact, prosecutors represent the he advocated for the Challeng- most vocal opposition to the Chaling Wrongful Convictions Act last lenging Wrongful Convictions Act, summer to the AmNews. He ulti- including Richmond County Dismately wants to be known for help- trict Attorney Michael McMahon. ing pass the bill rather than being A spokesperson from his office the “forgotten” sixth defendant in pointed to a letter he penned to

Gov. Kathy Hochul in November, asking her to veto the bill. He did not write off the need to “fix” the Tiger decision that would allow people like Lopez and Tiger to challenge their wrongful convictions on the basis of innocence with non-DNA evidence. “Whether or not post-conviction practice should be drastically expanded to include convictions by plea can, and should, be debated,” wrote McMahon. “However, the reasoning offered for such expansion ignores that current postconviction practice already allows defendants to contest resolutions by guilty plea.” Staten Island’s chief prosecutor pointed to the bill undermining the “finality” of convictions, arguing that challenges could arrive “far later,” which allows “evidence and witness memories to degrade.” Given McMahon’s concerns, is the Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act trying to do too much? Advocate Rebecca Brown agreed that the bill reaches far beyond just a Tiger fix. But she said the legislation’s other actions, like enabling post-conviction discovery and the right to

appeal a post-judgment motion, which McMahon openly opposed in his letter, are critical to exonerating someone. “Foundational is the Tiger fix— this is a critical reform. You’re really talking about most people [with a conviction],” said Brown. “The issue is all of these provisions are necessary to really furnish someone with everything they need to file a successful post-conviction claim…there are ways to work through language, and it is a comprehensive bill.” Legal Aid Society supervising attorney Elizabeth Felber, who heads the organization’s Wrongful Conviction Unit, doesn’t foresee “floodgates” opening for CPL 440 motions if the bill passes, as Hochul alluded to in her veto. She believes the legislation serves as a serious deterrent to the mass incarceration of Black and brown New Yorkers. “Maybe prosecutors will think twice about conviction at all costs when they have concerns about the strength or the sufficiency of the evidence they have,” said Felber. “There is a glut of cases right now from when mass incarceration really took off, which is the late ’80s

and the ’90s. It’s a finite amount of cases…nowadays, they have videos, more cameras, cellphones, cell towers, [and] location services. DNA testing has become much more sophisticated. So hopefully, there will be fewer instances of this. “The other thing is lawyers are not idiots, by and large. They’re not going to bring a case unless they believe that the case has merit, that there’s what we call a ‘pathway to exoneration.’” Next steps for challenging wrongful convictions State Senator Zellnor Myrie plans to reconvene stakeholders—both proponents and opponents—again this year to discuss moving forward with the Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act. “We will go back to the table and listen to people who had concerns, not the least of which as expressed by the governor, [and] the district attorneys,” said Myrie. “I recognize that there’s a natural tension in asking district attorneys, who themselves are responsible for some of these convictions, to allow for mechanisms to challenge that…if you are in fact innocent, it doesn’t matter if there are other folks who also are trying to prove their innocence. We are hoping that each individual case could be taken for what is happening in that unique situation. “We also proposed giving more money to both the courts and the DAs to handle any sort of increase in application. I have maintained that the two have to go together. If we were to move this [bill], I think it would be important for us to have the budget support for any increase to the court system or to the [district attorney offices].” The bill’s sponsor said the ultimate goal is to get the legislation to not be “disruptive of the system in an adverse way, but disruptive in a good way that allows for innocent people to be out with their families and in the community.” Lopez said Hochul’s veto provides more time to bring the issue to the forefront. “Maybe not such a bad thing, because [if] it’s another 12 months, [it] just means [we] sharpen the pencils and keep going,” he said. Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

26 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

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Dots Johnson, actor, credited and uncredited in several films By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews In a recent retrospective on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) about the film career of Sidney Poitier, “No Way Out” was one of the features. While it marked the beginning of Poitier’s odyssey in Hollywood, the film also had several uncredited Black actors who would go on to bigger and better roles. Among those were Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Frederick O’Neal. One of the credited Black actors was Dots Johnson, who portrayed Lefty Jones. Three years later, Johnson would get a larger part in the “Joe Louis Story” as Julian Black, Louis’s manager. But Johnson’s most significant role was as an American MP in Roberto Rossellini’s “Paisan” in 1946. Johnson’s character, Joe, has his most moving moment in the second episode, after the Allies invade the mainland and capture Naples, a port city. A street urchin stumbles upon Joe, who is drunk and about to be a robbery prey. When the police arrive, the urchin and Joe run off and during their flight, Joe relates his war experiences to the young boy. Later, Joe falls asleep, and the urchin steals his boots. The next day, Joe, now fully sober as an MP, catches the urchin stealing supplies from a truck, and demands the return of his boots. Joe then accompanies the urchin back to where he lives, but after seeing the conditions of squalor, decides to leave without taking his boots. A poster for the film lists Johnson as Dats, just one of several names that will identify him in his filmography, which includes at least seven in which he is credited. Johnson was born on February 3, 1913, in Baltimore, Maryland and what little information we were able to obtain comes from the brief bios in his films. His first film was in 1946, where he portrayed “The Duke,” and it’s not clear whether this was a reference to Duke Ellington, since “Tall, Tan, and Terrific” is a mu-

Dots Johnson

ACTIVITIES FIND OUT MORE We wish there was much more about him, but our search has thus far proved futile. To the rescue, film buffs!! DISCUSSION One possible answer about his film career would be to see how many of his films are still available to review. PLACE IN CONTEXT Johnson left a legacy of seven films and might have been even more productive in his 73 years. The search is underway.

THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY January 22, 1931: Vocalist Sam Cooke was born in Chicago. He was killed in 1964. January 23, 1946: Author and editor Susan Taylor was born in New York City. sical, starring Mantan Moreland. A year later, he appears in “Reet, Petite, and Gone” as Michaels— some confusion of misidentification may have occurred because another actor, J. Louis Johnson, is also among the performers. There are no problems of identity in his next two films—“No Way Out” and “The Joe Louis Story”— and his roles here give him a chance to demonstrate his acting

ability. In “The Grissom Gang” in 1971, Johnson is not credited and obviously, he is not a member of the white Grissom family or gang. His last film was “If You Give a Dance, You Gotta Pay the Band,” where he portrays Jim. The cast includes several boldface Black names: Laurence Fishburne, Moses Gunn, and Arthur French. The film follows the life of young Billie Jean Sims, whose father is in jail, grand-

mother is blind, and brother is strung out on drugs. Only Fishburne as Fish is her anchor as she navigates the hurdles of the ghetto and seeks to reunite with her father. How Johnson’s character is part of this plot is not explained. Like so many uncredited and even credited Black actors, so much more needs to be said, particularly about Johnson, who died on August 22, 1986. He was 73.

January 25, 1981: Awardwinning singer and pianist Alicia Keys was born in New York City.

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Criminal Justice Continued from page 3

This Tuesday, Jan. 23, he and Speaker Adrienne Adams held competing press conferences on separate floors from one another in City Hall. Speaker Adams and other electeds were joined by interfaith leaders to discuss the HMSA and their fullblown support of an override of the mayor’s veto. “They know, as so many of our colleagues know, that our Black and Latino communities bear the overwhelming brunt of police stops,” said Speaker Adams. “No one is left unscathed. They have a ripple effect that deteriorates the trust needed to make our community safer.” At the press conference, Speaker Adams and Williams presented a united front and called out Mayor Adams for spreading “misinformation.” In 2013, the City Council passed the Community Safety Act, overriding former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto, to improve policing tactics. The use of “stop and frisk” was deemed unconstitutional back in 2014 because of its disproportionate impact on Black and brown people in the city at that time. Then the Council enacted the Right to Know Act in 2018 to make NYPD officers identify themselves to civilians and outline protocol for stops or searches without consent. Only Level 3 stops are defined as “reasonable suspicion” stops. In 2019, Antonio Williams, a 27-year-old Black man, was killed by plainclothes officers in the Bronx while waiting for a taxi. He was chased, tackled, and punched by officers who “jumped” out of an unmarked car. At least six officers drew their guns and opened fire. Officer Brian Mulkeen and Williams were both shot to death. Shawn Williams, his father, has been a staunch supporter of the HMSA since his son’s death. He pleaded for an override at the press conference. “Antonio’s story is the worst-case scenario of what happens during a Level I and II stop. The NYPD had no justification to stop Antonio. His crime was only waiting for a cab while being Black,” said his father. Public Advocate Williams clarified that the bill does not state that police need to report on “casual stops” nor are they suggesting there be additional physical “paperwork” during an emergency or pressing investigation. At the end of their tour, officers normally have to fill out their electronic reports on their phones, he said, and they have collaborated

with officers to find a way to integrate their questions into their existing system. They have to report their observations and aren’t mandated to collect personal information during each stop. Williams explained that the reporting is critical for two reasons: to narrow down searches on body cam footage and to have accurate data. “We didn’t choose the color of our skin, but we are being judged by it and not the content of our character,” said Public Safety Committee Chair and Councilmember Yusef Salaam at the press conference. “I’ve been stopped many times.” Salaam said there are plans to rally around an override of the veto to the solitary ban as well. The NYC Department of Correction (DOC) has said, to the Amsterdam News, that it “does not practice solitary confinement and has not practiced solitary confinement since 2019” under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. In 2015, Kalief Browder’s suicide garnered national outrage against solitary confinement in city jails. He was never convicted of the crime he was accused of: stealing a backpack. Yet Browder was arrested as a teenager and subjected to roughly two years of solitary confinement on Rikers Island. He took his life after his release. Adams maintains solitary confinement ceased roughly five years ago, but Brandon Rodriguez died on Rikers in 2021 while isolated in a caged shower cell. The 25-year-old suffered from mental health conditions. “It’s very disheartening, and it’s telling me that [Adams] doesn’t care what I personally went through losing my son,” said his mother, Tamara Carter. “I mean it’s a slap in the face, because everyone knows my son was in solitary confinement. It’s not a secret—he was in the shower cell and that’s where he ultimately died.” Victor Pate, co-director of the #HaltSolitary Campaign, called Adams’s claims of solitary confinement’s end “untruth and misinformation,” pointing to other practices in city jails involving isolating detainees like the one that Rodriguez was subjected to. “Punitive segregation, administrative segregation, any type of separation from the general population where people are held alone or separated [in] cells 23–24 hours a day [without] receiving any significant programming or out-of-cell time, by any means is still solitary,” said Pate.

“And it’s still harmful, not only to the individuals, but it’s also harmful to the staff, because having solitary confinement does not make the jails safe. It truly does not make our communities safe, and it does nothing for the individual’s well being if there is a need to separate them.” As the debate rages on between Adams and the City Council, directly affected advocates are the ones who actually shaped bills like Intro 549-A. Pate said he continues to experience trauma from his time in solitary confinement decades ago. Another organizer, Five Omar Mualimm-ak, said the movement to end the practice stems from a “campaign of survivors.” “We’re not speaking from a lack of experience, we’re not speaking from a book [where] we read about it,” said Mualimm-ak. “We’re speaking because we’re victims, but also survivors of this torturous system. When you have a collective of survivors from multiple states, because now the movement has grown nationally, it is not just something you can negate.” Strange bedfellows stem from the veto as federal monitor Steve Martin—an independent watchdog appointed to ensure court-mandated reforms at Rikers Island—argued Intro 549-A would “likely exacerbate the already-dangerous conditions in the jails” and “that definition of solitary confinement in this bill is not aligned with any definition of solitary confinement known to the Monitoring Team.” He said the legislation, if passed, could prevent reforms ordered in the Nunez litigation, including handling detainees after “serious acts of violence.” Traditionally, Martin and Adams find themselves on opposite sides over federally appointing a receiver to manage Rikers Island. Calvin John Smiley, associate professor of sociology at CUNY Hunter College, said New York City remains the “majority feeder” to state prisons, so interactions with police, addressed by Intro. 586-A, directly lead to incarceration and jail safety—the battleground over Intro. 549-A. “The NYPD is that frontline because you don’t end up in Rikers [or] state prison without being arrested,” said Smiley. “Police and what police do are the first line of how many people are going to end up in the New York state prison system.” He pointed to data determining that 72% of the state prison population stemmed from residents in just seven New York City community boards during the 1980s, when mass incarceration spiked under the Reagan administration. Of course, those neighborhoods were predom-

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 27 Press conference at City Hall with councilmembers and faith leaders calling on City Council to override Mayor Eric Adams’s veto of Int. 586 of the How Many Stops Act on January 23, 2024 (Ariama C. Long photo)

inantly Black and brown, and subject to the harshest policing. Mayor Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban issued an open call to members of the City Council to ride with officers this weekend as they patrol the city to observe them filling out reports after Level 1 interactions. They also extended an invitation for Council members to ride along during bus transfers between correctional facilities. “In an effort to continue our goodfaith discussions with the authors and supporters of this bill, we invite any and all members of the City Council to join our officers as they do the vital work of keeping our city and its people safe,” said Caban in a statement. “We want to show them firsthand the sheer scale of what NYPD cops and detectives do every day. And we need them to understand how essential it is that our officers spend their time doing police work, not paperwork.” So far, Williams and a handful of Council members said that they would attend the ride-alongs. Williams said he’s currently looking for a time in his schedule because he does genuinely think it’s a “wonderful idea.” However, he doesn’t think his ride-along will change the bill and that it’s being used more as a “distraction” from the override than an olive branch. Ariama C. Long and Tandy Lau are Report for America corps members who write about politics and public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep them writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit. ly/amnews1.

Management Continued from page 3

color who took the exam for a gifted and talented program in elementary school and failed by five points, she said. “I do have graduates that graduated from a few of those schools. They’re very good schools. However, not every student gets into these schools and then what happens to the students that don’t get accepted?” said Sifontes. 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.

Trial Continued from page 3

The news came to the relief of Mills and his law partner Lennon Edwards, who told the AmNews they were concerned about the motion to dismiss in November. At the time, the lawyers brought up the “history of these types of cases,” which they said routinely failed to yield justice. Penny was present at the hearing and heckled by protesters when he left the courthouse. His lawyers, Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff, provided a statement by email about the denied motion. “While we disagree with the Court’s decision not to dismiss the indictment, we understand that the legal threshold to continue even an illconceived prosecution is very low,” they wrote. “We are confident that a jury, aware of Danny’s actions in putting aside his own safety to protect the lives of his fellow riders, will deliver a just verdict. Danny is grateful for the continued prayers and support through this difficult process.” Penny will return to court on March 20, and Wiley expects the trial to take place no sooner than fall of this year.

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

28 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

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Health New Yorkers face challenges in navigating Medicaid recertification process Children’s Defense Fund program director Graciela Camarena hands Lucia Salazar a health benefits flyer in Pharr, Texas. As the state reviews eligibility, some 1 million people have already lost Medicaid and organizations like the one Camarena works for assist people in applying again. (AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez)

Information and steps to re-enroll in Medicaid: https://info.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/COVID-19-Changes By VIVIAN TSAO and RADHIKA PURANDARE Kaiser Family Foundation Months after the end of the Public Health Emergency declaration, New Yorkers and people across the country are navigating a bureaucratic transition due to the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government paused processes that Medicaid enrollees normally go through to renew their coverage. Now, states are restarting regular Medicaid renewals for the first time in three years. As a consequence, 9 million Medicaid enrollees will be required to update their coverage over the next year. This extensive renewal operation is expected to affect a substantial portion of the population that relies on Medicaid services. The recertification journey is well underway across different states, with each progressing at its own pace. As of October 2023, 13% of New York enrollees whose coverage had been extended have had their coverage renewed, compared to 28% in Connecticut

You can reach NY State of Health by calling them toll-free at 1-855-355-5777 (TTY: 1-800-662-1220). and 49% in Oregon, underscoring ly re-enrolled...when they come in the state’s slow pace through the to the doctor for their annual checkbureaucratic maze. up or they come in because they’re “It’s important to remember feeling sick, they find out that they’re that transitioning out of Medicaid not active [in Medicaid].” is not the same as ‘losing healthMaria Arnold, a Medicaid encare coverage.’ Many people will rollee from Staten Island, highenroll in coverage through their lighted a similar concern. She said employer or the Marketplaces. that while healthcare professionals We are laser-focused on making were getting the information about sure people have health insurance re-enrollment, the people who and keep it,” Daniel Tsai, deputy actually needed it weren’t. Like administrator and director of the Palaguachi, she said many people Centers for Medicaid and CHIP were unaware that they had been Services at the Centers for Medi- dropped from the Medicaid rolls. care & Medicaid Services (CMS) “The Medicaid thing has been very told the Amsterdam News. hard for [seniors]. If you don’t have While efforts are being made to someone to explain the process for ensure healthcare coverage conti- you, you can get dropped out withnuity, concerns remain about the out even knowing it.” effectiveness of these measures. With the aid of community orgaJenny Palaguachi, a healthcare nizations, Arnold was able to find advocate with the Healthcare Ed- help and navigate through the ucation Project in Staten Island, complex Medicaid system. Her explained the grassroots challeng- experience illuminates the crities surrounding Medicaid recertifi- cal role community organizations cation. Palaguachi underscored a play in helping individuals undercritical issue in the recertification stand and access the healthcare reprocess: “A lot of individuals are not sources available to them. aware that they are not automatical- See HEALTH continued on next page

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 29

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Health

Continued from page 28

The advocacy from community organizations calling for clear, timely communication and robust support mechanisms to navigate this transitional phase is resonating across New York’s boroughs. In the midst of the unwinding process in New York, healthcare organizations are stepping up to ensure that their members are not left stranded. Amida Care, a nonprofit community health plan that specializes in providing comprehensive health coverage to those with chronic conditions, like HIV and behavioral health disorders, shed light on the hurdles and the initiatives underway

to provide a safety net for its vulnerable members. Addressing the challenges faced by these individuals, especially those without stable housing, the organization has embarked on a robust outreach mission. “Many of [the members] may be couch surfing, don’t have a permanent residence, or [are] moving from house to house. The initial work was around ensuring that their contact information was…updated,” said Sylvia Cowan, vice president of customer experience and growth, who is leading Amida Care’s retention efforts. This proactive step, aimed at preventing disenrollment due to outdated contact information, is part of a broader strategy to retain their members. There is a similar sentiment on “The message is very clear. This

the frontlines of this issue. Hondo Martinez, a community outreach manager from VNS Health, one of the country’s largest community-based healthcare organizations, outlined the disparities inherent in the recertification process, particularly emphasizing the challenges that marginalized communities face. According to Martinez, the barriers are multifaceted. “[Some]…low income [people]… don’t have a phone. They don’t have unlimited data plans, so they can’t access that toll-free line to do the research.” Those who have coverage through the marketplace can access their accounts by calling 1-855-355-5777 to reach the NYS Marketplace and renew their Medicaid coverage. Having

a Marketplace account means an individual has registered and created an account on the NYS Marketplace. For those not part of the Marketplace in the city, such as individuals who receive Medicaid directly, the recertification process might occur in person at their local Department of Social Services (HRS). This dichotomy exacerbates the difficulty for those lacking stable housing or phone access, rendering the recertification process a daunting task. Despite these challenges, VNS Health, like Amida Care, is continuing to reach out to the community. Martinez said, “We're near hospitals, clinics, train stations, major hubs for buses or subways, so we’re really trying to target

everyone. Cast this wide net, and just as they’re passing by, just announce to them, ‘Hey, do you have Medicaid? Do you need coverage? Do you need help with recertifying?’ Although it’s limited just to give them that information.” The re-enrollment process will vary based on how someone is enrolled—whether through NY State of Health, New York City Health Resources Administration, or the local Department of Social Services. Resources and detailed contact information and steps to re-enroll are available at https:// info.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/COVID-19-Changes. Medicaid beneficiaries should ensure that their mailing address is updated, and keep an eye out for a letter or renewal packet.

of which was dissected frame by had been a “disproportionate use of

Most recently, the shooting

International assault should not have happened. frame at the hearings, had no jus- force” and that the baton blows were death of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-yearContinued from page 2

with a large immigrant population. The victim, Theodore Luhaka, was left disabled with a ruptured internal sphincter and a 10 centimeter lesion of the anal canal in a case parallel to that of Abner Louima in 1997. Luhaka, 22, was also beaten in the head and face during the police identity check on February 2, 2017. After more than nine hours of deliberation, the court found officer Marc-Antoine Castelain guilty of an offense rather than a crime, having refused to recognize the victim’s “permanent disability.” He received a 12-month suspended prison sentence and a fiveyear prohibition from exercising his profession in public. His colleagues Jeremie Dulin and Tony Hochart received three-month suspended prison sentences.

Théo had no reason to be arrested. The police officers this evening have been punished," said Antoine Vey, Luhaka’s lawyer, according to the daily Le Monde. Thibault de Montbrial, lawyer for Castelain, described the verdict as a “huge relief.” “For the first time, in the eyes of France, it has been established that...he is not a criminal as he has always maintained,” de Montbrial was quoted as saying. Prosecutors had asked for a three-year jail term for Castelain for dealing the blow and six and three months for Dulin and Hochart, respectively, for taking part in the assault. The court rejected the charge of “deliberate violence resulting in permanent mutilation or infirmity.” “I felt like I was raped,” Luhaka told the court—a charge that the officer denied and was later dropped. But the blow, a video

tification, the court decided. Luhaka, now 29, said his ambition had been to become a professional soccer player, and he was about to join a Belgian third-division club that had scouted him when his life was thrown into turmoil, according to Henri Seckel of Le Monde newspaper. He now suffers from incontinence and spends most of his time trapped in his apartment, watching TV. “The fact is, I’m no longer of any use. The reality is that I’m dead… Tomorrow, the trial will end; the gas, the feces, the leaks will continue; and my family will continue to see an undead man locked in his room.” This was a rare case of police brutality to be tried in a court instead of at an internal disciplinary hearing. Police watchdog body IPGN concluded before the trial that there

inflicted at a time when “Luhaka was not attacking the physical integrity of the police officers.” Castelain said his baton blow was “legitimate” and had been taught at the police academy. The other officers kneed, punched, and aimed pepper spray at Luhaka while he was handcuffed and on the ground. Dulin claimed he did not mean to use the pepper spray. “I regret the consequences[...], but I think I did my job in compliance with the law,” said Hochart, adding that he only gave Luhaka a “light” punch in the stomach “to wind him.” The incident triggered several days of rioting after a video surfaced online apparently showing Luhaka’s arrest on Feb. 2, 2017. Castelain is no longer working in the field and now faces, like all convicted police officers, expulsion from the force.

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old French citizen of North African descent, during a police ID check last June touched off days of rioting around France. The officer who fired into the stopped car driven by Merzouk has been charged with voluntary homicide but was released from detention during the investigation. Police carry out nearly 14 million identity checks in France every year. A young Black or Arab person is 20 times more likely to be stopped by police, according to a study by the French group Defender of Rights. A policing expert at France’s National Center for Scientific Research called Luhaka’s case “emblematic” of persistent problems such as identity checks that are a cover for racial profiling, or the disproportionate use of nonlethal but potentially dangerous weapons like tear gas grenades and rubber bullets.

30 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

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Religion & Spirituality Viola Plummer, the People’s voice for liberation, joins the ancestors at 86 By HERB BOYD and CINQUE BRATH Special to the AmNews Impassioned encomiums for the recently departed Viola Plummer adorn social media platforms, many of them recounting her endless fight against racism and oppression. The Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry of House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn, where her funeral services will be held, agreed with her comrades attorney Roger Wareham and political leaders Charles and Inez Barron that Plummer was “the matriarch of the December 12th Movement.” These sentiments, voiced on Imhotep Gary Byrd’s WBAI show, led a chorus of activists who marched with her and answered her powerful voice for justice and liberation. But long before her transition on Dr. King’s birthday, Plummer had been celebrated and honored, and one of the most poignant interviews with her was conducted by Olayemi Odesanya in the Amsterdam News in September 2016. Asked about the beginning of her activist commitment, Plummer said it began when she was a teenager and joined the NAACP after witnessing a racist unjustified act by the U.N. “I didn’t just want to be a witness, I wanted to be a part of the movement,” she told Olayemi. The article added that, “She has participated in several thousand protests, rallies, and victories over the years, such as successfully shutting down the ‘Scottsboro Boys’ musical in 2009, closing down retail stores in Harlem in honor of Malcolm X’s birthday, bringing awareness

attache/publicist for the December 12th Movement. She spoke about Plummer on her 80th birthday and after noting her formidable background, particularly in global affairs, allowed space for the poet George Tait to submit his poetic vision. “Hewn from the hem of Harriet’s garment/Adorned with the apparLongtime South Queens community leader Viola Plummer has a private el and arsenal conversation with State Senator Malcolm Smith following a meeting of of Asantewaa/ South Queens community leaders. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) Girded within the and calls for justice for U.S. political pris- Nubian garrison of Granny Nanny/A weusi oners, campaigning to get rid of inexperi- woman warrior with a D-12 dossier/Docuenced Schools Chancellor Kathy Black[,] menting decades of dedication and devoand fighting against unchecked police tion/ Documenting decades of discourse brutality and the influx of drugs, guns[,] and diplomacy…” are a few stanzas from and gentrification in the Black communi- the late poet’s piece. ties. These actions are just a few examples I also remember her trips abroad, most of the work that Plummer has engaged in.” memorable for this writer as a member of the Capturing the full scope of her activism delegation to Durban, South Africa, in 2001, would exhaust the limited amount of space where Plummer’s voice was resonant with here, but I would be remiss to ignore her role conviction in having the U.S. admit its human as jazz and music impresario at Sistas’ Place rights violations and commit to reparations. or her relentless campaign for reparations. The last time Cinque and I saw her was at Few of Plummer’s associates can speak Nomsa Brath’s funeral, and there were no with the authority of Amadi Ajamu, the press signs that she wouldn’t be on the ramparts

for an agenda of issues that would now need a cadre of her comrades to shoulder. Plummer was involved in a lot of neighborhood activities early on, from helping to fund work in her church to monitoring younger people with potential in the community. Bernard White, the former program manager for WBAI 99.5, recently said that not only did Plummer lure him from the basketball courts, she also helped start his radio career by connecting him with the right people and advising him to attend a meeting in Harlem with the National Black Human Rights Coalition. This marked the start of his radio career. Plummer’s footprint is felt internationally. In Zimbabwe, a tribute to her life appeared in The Herald newspaper. Condolences followed from the ambassador of Namibia, Neville Gertz, as he headed to Kampala, Uganda, for the Non-Aligned Movement Summit. He took time to release a statement that said, “Our Dear Sister Viola Plummer has fought the Good Fight. [She] was a passionate advocate and pillar of strength in the fight against injustice, apartheid, discrimination, human rights violations, and an icon in raising Black consciousness.” Viola Plummer was an unforgettable personality; our communities will mourn her, and trying to replace her is mission impossible. Funeral arrangements include a wake in Queens on Friday, January 26, and a public funeral at Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry’s House of the Lord Church (415 Atlantic Avenue, downtown Brooklyn) at 5 p.m. Saturday, January 27.

Pablo Yoruba Guzmán’s life and lasting legacy honored at People’s Church in East Harlem By NEYDA MARTÍNEZ SIERRA Special to the AmNews East Harlem, NY –A serious sancocho was made this past brisk Saturday afternoon in El Barrio. Every story told of a man who spoke for those who could not; who fought for Black and brown lives; who saw purpose in rainbows; who mentored, saved, and was saved; and who laughed mightily. “Pablo Yoruba Guzmán loved us!” said LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, author of the book “Village.” “He had more credentials on his pinky

finger than anybody! He was Debbie’s lover and Sally’s son. Guzmán’s life is a star quilt,” added the Harlem-born and -bred poet. The service opened with a mojuba (or moyuba) in the Yoruba language and Lukumi to praise God, the Orishas, and the ancestors. The spiritual invocation, led by Babalawo Baba Ifa Ade Awo, called Pablo Yoruba Guzmán by name to pay homage to his life’s works and now his ancestral legacy. The service, helmed by Mickey Melendez, a lifelong friend and comrade of Guzmán, celebrated this activist-turned-New York broad-

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cast icon. Despite the frigid cold, the service brought a cast of trailblazers, activists, cultural icons, and truth-telling leaders of radical and revolutionary love to East Harlem. In the late 1960s, Melendez, Guzmán, and a small cadre of young activists were part of “the most consequential social, political, and cultural movement of our generation,” recalled Melendez, co-founder of the New York chapter of the Young Lords Party (YLP). Together, YLP members fought against systemic racism that was reflected in the lack of essential services rendered to

(Keith Hasvision photo) See LEGACY continued on next page

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January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 31 when discussing how a transformational trip to Mexico decolonized Guzmán. Among the first Afro Latinos in the largest and most influential media market, Guzmán embraced his identity as a Black man of Afro Caribbean heritage. In her closing remarks, Dr. Johanna Fernandez, author of “The Young Lords: A Radical History,” emphasized that he “built common cause with Black Americans and other oppressed people, and was among the notables present when the late Fred Hampton announced the Rainbow Coalition in Chicago.” After a long private struggle with illness, the pioneering human and civil rights activist and beloved reporter died of a heart attack on Nov. 26, 2023. He is survived by his wife Debbie, mother Sally, children, and extended family. To view Guzman’s service in its entirety, go to the People’s Church YouTube Channel at “Celebrating Pablo Yoruba Guzman (youtube.com)”

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Puerto Rican and Black American communities, compared to other parts of the city. The group spearheaded programs to provide health care, child care, and breakfast to underserved, poor, and working-class Black and Latino communities. The Young Lords also fought against police brutality, U.S. imperialism, and militarism. “Pablo Yoruba Guzmán was an integral part of a generation that birthed, nurtured, and developed transformative intergenerational leadership in NYC and beyond,” said Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of the social services organization UPROSE. “He best represented the brilliance and nimbleness of a strategic movement able to navigate through all the power structures created to ensure our undoing. The lessons are the foundation of my work in the climate justice movement.” Juan González, also a lifelong friend and YLP co-founder, who shared his recorded remarks from Chicago, underscored Guzmán as a communications maverick who established an incredible rapport with New York media, which garnered unprecedented news coverage of YLP collective actions, such as the takeover of The People’s Church and Lincoln Hospital. In his unwavering crusade against injustice, and over his lifetime as avocation and vocation converged, Guzmán earned the public’s trust. He both respected and understood the power of his platform. “In the tradition of the Young Lords, through his journalism, Guzmán served as a bridge among diverse communities,” reflected Wilson Valentin-Escobar, a professor at the New School and a co-curator of the “¡Presente! The Young Lords in New York” exhibit at Loisaida Center. “He understood the importance of listening and true dialogue,

In loving memory, Pablo Yoruba Guzmán (1950–2023) Proclaim his name so that he can be immortal. Ibaye, Pablo Yoruba Guzmán. Ashe. (Ismael Nunez photos)

as well as the ethics and politics of speaking for and/or speaking with. There is activism in that!” Friend and CBS reporter Tony Aiello uplifted Guzmán’s humanity and ability to get the best stories because of his empathy and connection to the people. He likened the late reporter to his namesake, Pablo, as in Picasso, for his ability to keep the essential and paint a narrative with words that was at once gripping and honest. “Pablo cared about making the world a better place for everyone in it,” said attendee Rose Arce, vice president of former television news broadcaster Soledad O’Brien’s production company and a former CBS producer. “His legacy asks us to consider the people around you and lift up the most vulnerable,” she added.

The service, helmed by Mickey Melendez, lifelong friend and comrade of Guzmán, celebrated activist-turned-New York broadcast icon. Despite the frigid cold, service brought a cast of trailblazers, activists, cultural icons, and truth-telling leaders of radical and revolutionary love to East Harlem.

Denise Oliver-Velez, the first woman to be elected to the YLP’s leadership board, the central committee, relayed the significance of their YLP cohort coming together at the State University of New York at Old Westbury. Transfixed by her anecdotes, the audience shared in collective laughter when she said, “He left as Paulie Guzman and returned as Pablo Yoruba Guzmán!”

Neyda Martínez Sierra is an associate professor and director of the New School’s Media Management Graduate Program in the School of Media Studies, a Sundance Documentary Fellow, and a producer of the award-winning nonfiction films “LUCKY” and “Decade of Fire.” A contributor and member of the editorial board of NYU’s Latinx Project portal, Interventions, her article “Past is Present: The Young Lords Party Revisited” is featured online and in their latest print anthology.

Monsignor Mullaney Apartments 4301 8th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11232 Beginning January 27, 2024 our 15-unit building 4301 8th Ave in Brooklyn will be re-opening the waitlist for to the elderly (head of household or spouse is 62 or older) or those with a mobility impairment or developmental disabilities. Income restrictions apply and are based on Section 8 guidelines. Qualifications and eligibility for the affordable apartments, which include units for the mobility impaired, will be based on Section 8 guidelines. Interested persons may obtain an application: Interested persons may obtain an application: BY MAIL POP Management – Msgr. Mullaney 191 Joralemon St 8th Floor, Brooklyn NY, 11201 OR *Written application requests must be received by 2/7/24

ONLINE https://www.ccbq.org/service/ senior-housing info.popm@ccbq.org

Completed applications must be sent by regular mail to the PO Box listed on the application and be postmarked by 2/13/2024. If you have a disability and need assistance with the application process or any other type of reasonable accommodation, please contact Sheena Williams at (718) 722-6155.

32 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Dickens retires Continued from page 4

the candidates who had announced they were running against her. On January 4, Joyner, 37, announced that she was leaving office. Joyner chaired the Assembly Labor Committee and was a member of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, & Asian Legislative and Legislative Women’s caucuses. She had been in office since 2015. In a social media post, she said she’s closing this “chapter” of her life after careful consideration and will be “pursuing an exciting new opportunity” that will allow her to continue serving the community and state. Assemblymember Latoya Joyner, D-Bronx, listens to legislative debates in New York “I’m grateful for the extraordinary serAssembly Chamber Assembly after members returned after regular legislative session vice Latoya has performed for her constituents and our state,” said Governor Kathy ended to work on unfinished business in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, June 20, 2023 (AP Photo/Hans Pennink) Hochul in a statement. “I wish her luck as she embarks on a new journey, and I look tative to deliver for New York.” election to replace Joyner on Tuesday, Feb. forward to working with the next represenHochul finally set the date for the special 13. The Bronx County Committee has al-

Afro Latinos

Texas; Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico; and at the SchomburgCenter in Harlem. In 2025, a Continued from page 4 second phase of conversations will look at what was learned throughout the year and El Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños. A build on that momentum. total of nine more hybrid in-person/liveThe conversation series will help people streamed events will take place this year understand that racism exists among Laat places like GALA Theatre in Washing- tinos and that ignoring it––in a period ton D.C.; in Los Angeles; Chicago; Austin, when right-wing movements are grow-

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ing––disenfranchises communities. “For people that are labeled Latino to be party to it and complicit to it, complicates the issue,” Vega told the AmNews. “And for people outside of our communities, it’s not clear, it’s not understood, because we don’t talk about racism enough within the Latino community. Racism affects us as a joint community, and as people who iden-

ready unanimously nominated Vice Chair and attorney Landon Dais to run in the special election. A New York native, Dais is a dedicated community leader, legal expert, and advocate for social justice, with a deep-rooted commitment to the Highbridge community. He said he didn’t have plans to run before Joyner resigned and is thankful for the chance to represent the district. “I’m not taking the special election for granted,” said Dais. “I’m going to knock on doors. I’m going to phone-bank. I’m going to engage the youth and the seniors and everyone in between. My goal is to make sure the 77th has a representative that is going to fight for them in Albany.”

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

tify as Black and as Indigenous it has to be talked about and it has to be deconstructed in ways that we understand it and can move forward with it toward an initiative that makes sense.”

For more information on the Absolutamente Negro conversation series, visit https://absolutamentenegro.org/.

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

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK THE COLUMBIA CONDOMINIUM BY ITS BOARD OF MANAGERS, Plaintiff -against- IR 96TH ST HOLDING LLC, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated September 28, 2023 and entered on October 2, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on February 14, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known as Unit No. 25F in the premises known as "The Columbia Condominium" together with an undivided 0.002716% interest in the common elements. Section 7 Block 1868 and Lot 1240. Said premises known as 275 WEST 96TH STREET, APT. 25F, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $96,753.84 plus attorneys fees and costs as awarded in the judgment, along with interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 154633/2021. ALLISON M. FURMAN, ESQ., Referee Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 444 Madison Ave., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022

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

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101 LEGAL NOTICES

Til forbid orders charged for rate earned. Increases or decreases in space take the rate of a new advertisement. The New York AMSTERDAM NEWS reserves the right to censor, reject, alter or revise all advertisements in accordance with its rules governing the acceptance of advertising and accepts no liability for its failure to insert an advertisement for any cause. Credit for errors in advertisements allowed only for first insertion. CLASSIFIED • Classified advertisements take the regular earned rate of their classification. Four line minimum on all ads except spirituals and horoscopes (14 lines). CLASSIFIED DISPLAY • Classified Display (boarder or picture) advertisements take the regular earned rate of their classification. Display (boarder or picture) advertisements one column wide must be 14 lines deep; two columns, 28 lines deep; 3 columns, 56 lines deep. Classified Display (boarder or picture) placed as close to classifications as rules and makeup permit. CLASSIFICATIONS All advertisement accepted for publication is classified according to the standard classifications. Misclassification is not permitted. BASIS OF CHARGE Charges are based on point size and characters per line. Upon reaching 15 lines the rate converts to column inch. Any deviation from solid composition such as indentation, use of white space, bold type, etc., will incur a premium. In Case of error, notify the Amsterdam News 212-932-7440

BARBO 906, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/05/23. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 165 West 73rd Street, New York, NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. BARBO 908, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/05/23. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 165 West 73rd Street, New York, NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT – NEW YORK COUNTY – WEST 45TH RETAIL LLC, Plaintiff v. ALANDALOUS PROPERTIES CORP. f/k/a PEOPLES FOREIGN EXCHANGE CORPORATION, et al., Defendants. Pursuant to an Amended Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision and Order on Motion entered on September 29, 2023 (the “Judgment”), I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder in Room 130 of the New York County Supreme Court, 60 Centre Street, New York, New York, on February 14, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., the premises known as 24 West 45th Street, Unit C-1, New York, New York. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in New York County and State of New York: Block 1260, Lot 1001, as more particularly described in the Judgment. Approximate amount of Judgment is $1,632,632.61, plus additional interest and fees. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index #850207/2021. The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with 1st Judicial District's Covid-19 Policies and foreclosure auction rules. Elaine Shay, Esq., Referee. Andriola Law, PLLC, 1385 Broadway, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10018, Attorneys for Plaintiff

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK MASPETH FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff -against- CALIMERO, LTD., et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 23, 2023 and entered on October 6, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on February 14, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the City, County and State of New York, bounded and described as follows: BEGINNING at a point on the southerly side of 84th Street, distant 123 feet easterly from the southeasterly corner of Avenue A and 84th Street; being a plot 102 feet 2 inches by 25 feet by 102 feet 2 inches by 25 feet. Section: 5 Block: 1580 Lot: 47. Said premises known as 504 EAST 84TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $716,258.71 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850247/2022. SCOTT SILLER, ESQ., Referee MASONE, WHITE, PENKAVA & CRISTOFARI Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 69-34 GRAND AVENUE, P.O. BOX 780569, MASPETH, NY 11378 SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. KRISTINE M. GLEIN and DARYL P. GLEIN, Defts. Index # 850273/2022. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated October 23, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00986400000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57th STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $32,039.15 plus costs and interest as of February 24, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Mark McKew, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. DAVID GEORGE JOHNSON, NYC DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU, NYC ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD, Defts. - Index # 850064/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 24, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00493200000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57th STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $17,586.29 plus costs and interest as of March 29, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. BRIAN P. MOORE, DESIREE L. MOORE, NYC TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU, Defts. - Index # 850063/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 24, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.0519144314871446% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $63,724.79 plus costs and interest as of March 29, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY.

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. COLIN MILL and ERICA LYNN RANCE MILL, Defts. - Index # 850272/2022. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated September 28, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of two undivided 0.0519144314871446% and 0.0135990382819495% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $111,378.55 plus costs and interest as of March 29, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Mark McKew, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. MONIQUE DUNCAN, Deft. - Index # 850425/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated October 23, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.1505136467542480% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $65,658.34 plus costs and interest as of August 25, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Tom Kleinberger, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK HILTON RESORTS CORPORATION, Plaintiff, -against- MARCO ARTURO DEJESUS LAGUNES RUEDA, BEATRIZ SANSORES GARCIA, if living, and if he be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, Defendants. INDEX NO.: 850082/2013 FILED: 12/15/23 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff's attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service or within 30 days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant an Order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, a Justiceof the Supreme Court, of New York County, dated December 5, 2023 and entered December 7, 2023. NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT: THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is to foreclose a Timeshare Mortgage in the amount of $32,435.00, recorded in New York County Clerk's Office on August 9, 2011 in CRFN: 2011000280522 of Mortgages covering the .009864% undivided tenant in common interest of the Timeshare Unit which comprises a portion of the premises known as 102 WEST 57th STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10019-3302. The relief sought in the within action is a final Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale directing the sale of the .009864% undivided tenant in common interest of the Timeshare Unit which comprises a portion of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage. New York County is designated as the place of trial on the basis of the fact that the real property affected by this action is located wholly within said County. Dated: October 31, 2013, Westbury, New York. Maria Sideris, Esq., DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC, Attorneys for Plaintiff, 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, New York 11590, (516) 876-0800. WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0340-23152208 for beer, wine & liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, wine & liquor at retail in a restaurant under the ABC Law at 485 Columbus Ave., NYC 10024 for on-premises consumption; Cilantro NYC LLC

Lou & Rose LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/29/23. Office location: NY County. The SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail copy to: 332 E 18th St, #24, NY, NY 10003. Purpose: any lawful act.

34 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. BARBARA G. HAMMERMAN, RAYMOND A. LAVINE, AMANDA G. HAMMERMAN, Defts. - Index # 850274/2022. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 27, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 9,000/28,402,100 tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $36,363.83 plus costs and interest as of February 24, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Christy M. Demelfi, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. BOBBY D. PAYNE, JR. FREDERIKKA T. PAYNE, Defts. - Index # 850203/2021. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated September 6, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00986400000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57th STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $39,520.59 plus costs and interest as of May 18, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Christy M. Demelfi, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK HNY CLUB SUITES OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff, -against- UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DISTRIBUTEES OF THE ESTATE OF MYRNA D. WILLIAMS, if living, and if he be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, Defendants. INDEX NO. 850107/2023 FILED:12/15/23 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff's attorney within 20 days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service or within 30 days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant an Order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, a Justiceof the Supreme Court, of New York County, dated December 6, 2023 and entered December 6, 2023. Dated: December 5, 2023, Westbury, New York. Maria Sideris, Esq., DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC, Attorneys for Plaintiff, 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, New York 11590, (516) 876-0800 SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. THE BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE 812 RIVERSIDE CONDOMINIUM, SUING ON BEHALF OF THE UNIT OWNERS, Plaintiff -against- SOSEFIN MALINOWSKI, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated September 11, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on February 14, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known as Condominium Unit No. 41 in the premises known as “The 812 Riverside Condominium”, together with an undivided 4.4133% interest in the common elements. Block 2136 Lot 1021. Said premises known as 812 RIVERSIDE DRIVE, UNIT 41, NEW YORK, NY 10031. Approximate amount of lien $55,372.43 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 151675/2022. SCOTT H. SILLER, ESQ., Referee. Kagan Lubic Lepper Finkelstein & Gold, LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff. 200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016.

Notice is hereby given that license serial number NA-034023-151676 for a On-Premises Restaurant liquor license has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer, wine and liquor at retail in a Restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at the to be named restaurant located at 5 Times Square, Floor 4, New York in New York County for on-premises consumption. RXR 5TS TRS LLC and Dinex Restaurant Services, LLC, 5 Times Square, Floor 4, New York, NY 10036-6527. Notice of Qualification of MONACO RE LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/03/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/30/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Ilyse Dolgenas, Esq., Withers Bergman LLP, 430 Park Ave., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10022. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of the State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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101 LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF SALE

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

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK

FAREVERSE LLC I/L/T/N FINANCE OF AMERICA REVERSE LLC

HILTON RESORTS CORPORATION, Plaintiff -against- FRANCILLIA BEVANS, ANNETTE M. BEVANS, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated September 25, 2023 and entered on September 27, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on February 28, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-incommon with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an undivided 0.00493200000% interest in the common elements. This a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $19,844.42 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850063/2022. GEORGIA PAPAZIS, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 NOTICE is hereby given that a license, number 1345690 for liquor, wine, beer & cider has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor, wine, beer & cider at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 28-02 21st Street, Astoria, NY 11102, Queens County for on premises consumption. SNN FOOD CORP d/b/a Astoria Taco Factory Dewy Dawn LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/16/2023. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 89 Jewel St, Brooklyn, NY 11222. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Deborah's Beauty Spa, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/08/2023. Office: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 115 W. 142 St., Apt 6B, NY, NY 10030. Purpose: Any lawful act. Bronx Creative Crafts LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/23/2023. Office: Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: United States Corporation Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Ave., Ste. 202, Bklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

101 LEGAL NOTICES INDEX NO. 850495/2023

Plaintiff designates NEW YORK as the place of trial situs of the real property SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS Mortgaged Premises: 519 WEST 135TH STREET, UNIT 1ACA, NEW YORK, NY 10031 District: , Section: 7, Block: 1988, Lot: 1001 Plaintiff, vs. GUZEL GONTCHAROVA, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF JUNE M. HESS; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DISTRIBUTEES OF THE ESTATE OF JUNE M. HESS, any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff; SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE MANHATTAN HILL CONDOMINIUM; MANHATTAN HILL CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION; NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU; NEW YORK CITY PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU; NEW YORK CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK; "JOHN DOE" (REFUSED NAME) AS JOHN DOE #1, "JOHN DOE #2" through "JOHN DOE #12," the last eleven names being fictitious and unknown to plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the complaint,

Defendants. To the above named Defendants YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff's Attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York) in the event the United States of America is made a party defendant, the time to answer for the said United States of America shall not expire until (60) days after service of the Summons; and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Please take further notice that any right you may have pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to dispute the validity or amount of the debt does not change the time within which you must answer this summons and complaint. You must follow the instructions contained in the summons even if you dispute the validity or amount of the debt. Dated: January 9th, 2024 ROBERTSON, ANSCHUTZ, SCHNEID, CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Attorney for Plaintiff Matthew Rothstein, Esq. 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310 Westbury, NY 11590 516-280-7675 Notice is hereby given that license serial number NA-034023-152061 for a On-Premises Restaurant liquor license has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer, wine and liquor at retail in a Restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at the to be named restaurant located at 5 Times Square, Floor 5, New York in New York County for on-premises consumption. RXR 5TS TRS LLC and 5 Times Square Location LLC, 5 Times Square, Floor 5, New York, NY 10036-6527.

Shirty Words LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/04/2023. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 28 E. 21st St, #1A, NY, NY 10010. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Studio Unfurl LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/16/2023. Office: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: Karen Wertheim, 44 W. 62nd St., Apt 15B, NY, NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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101 LEGAL NOTICES

Notice of Qualification of STANDARD POWER HOSTING ULTRA COMPANY LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/14/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/12/23. Princ. office of LLC: 551 Madison Ave., Ste. 450, NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, DE Secy. of State, DE Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

BKLYN 195 272 HELP WANTED UNFURN RMS

Notice of Qualification of BOSTON CHILDREN'S HEALTH NATIONAL, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/21/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Massachusetts (MA) on 08/09/23. Princ. office of LLC and MA addr.: 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of the Commonwealth of MA, One Ashburton Place, Rm. 1717, Boston, MA 02115. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of SOLTEC SOLAR CONSTRUCTION, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/26/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/29/23. Princ. office of LLC: 6100 Waterford District Dr., Ste. 3700, Miami, FL 33126. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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Notice of Qualification of TRIPLE P SECURITIES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/18/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/31/22. Princ. office of LLC: 640 Fifth Ave., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of GATES MILLS VILLA PRESERVATION GP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/19/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of GATES MILLS VILLA PRESERVATION, L.P. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/19/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LP: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. Latest date on which the LP may dissolve is 12/31/2122. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of BSP SUMMER GP L.L.C. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/06/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/25/23. Princ. office of LLC: 345 Park Ave., NY, NY 10154. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of GATES MILLS VILLA DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/19/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Qualification of SIG RCRS D MF 2023 VENTURE LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/22/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/04/23. Princ. office of LLC: 220 E. 42nd St., 16 Fl., NY, NY 10017. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of 40 MADISON HOLDINGS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/20/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/23/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 140 E. 45th St., 43rd Fl., NY, NY 10017. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 820 N. French St., 10th Fl., Wilmington, DE 19801. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Qualification of SIG RCRS C MF 2023 VENTURE LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/22/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/04/23. Princ. office of LLC: 220 E. 42nd St., 16 Fl., NY, NY 10017. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Qualification of CityCom Health, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/04/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/20/23. Princ. office of LLC: 520 Broad St., Newark, NJ 07102. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: To sell ACA approved health plans. Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0267-23152971 for beer & wine has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer & wine at retail in a cafe under the ABC Law at 1378 Lexington Ave., NYC 10128 for on-premises consumption; NTH NY Corp.

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Notice of Qualification of ECLAIR PARTNERS (GP) I, L.L.C. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/15/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/01/23. Princ. office of LLC: 353 W. End Ave., Apt. 1, NY, NY 10024. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State - State of DE, Div. of Corps. - John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Investment management.

Notice of Qualification of CROW HOLDINGS RENEWABLES GP, L.L.C. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/18/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/07/23. Princ. office of LLC: 3819 Maple Ave., Dallas, TX 75219. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wimington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., PO Box 898, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

349 195 APARTMENTS HELP WANTED FOR RENT

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 35

OF THE

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36 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Incumbent 16th Congressional District, Congressmember Jamaal Bowman (Corey Torpie photo)

Primaries Continued from page 6

“The district definitely deserves to be represented better,” said Huntley. “Right now, there’s a large group of people—tenants— who are not being served in the assembly.” Huntley has been endorsed by fellow progressives like Senators Julia Salazar and Jabari Brisport. “I’m really proud to have received this endorsement,” said Huntley. “I think that Jabari and the other socialists in office, who are all Democrats, really speak to the nature of where the party is and what people in the community are looking for in terms of progressive, moving forward, people-centered legislation.” Zinerman said she is “curious” about her progressive colleagues in the Senate banding togeth-

Candidate for 16th Congressional District, George Latimer (Westchester County Government photo)

er behind Huntley to unseat her, since they usually agree the majority of the time, but doesn’t feel pressured. She maintained that small Black and brown homeowners already have tenuous financial situations that affect their families as well as their tenants, and rejects the idea of being a “corporate darling.” “I’m clear that people come from all different perspectives and they don’t always agree, but I don’t think you can survive in politics if you’re a purist, like you think people have to agree with you 100% of the time,” said Zinerman. Even more interesting this election season is the upcoming battle between U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, the first Black representative of the 16th congressional district, and Westchester County Executive George Latimer. The district covers northern Bronx and parts of Westchester County,

including Yonkers, New Rochelle, and Mount Vernon. “I first ran for Congress because too many of our children, from the Bronx to Westchester, were dying of gun violence with too little attention and action,” said Bowman in a statement. “Career politicians and a broken status quo want to keep leaving behind the same communities, over and over again. But we stand up, we fight, and we win real progress.” He said he has worked with the community for the last three years to build a diverse, grassroots movement. Known to be an outspoken and passionate orator who doesn’t hold back, Bowman garnered a lot of negative attention nationally from Republicans when he falsely pulled a fire alarm in the Capitol during a contentious vote on a spending bill last year. He was fined, pled guilty to a

misdemeanor, and was censured. However, it’s Bowman’s stances on the Israel-Hamas war and a call for a ceasefire in Gaza that Latimer seems to mainly take issue with, although he’s said that’s not the only reason. Latimer is a Westchester native, the first Democrat to hold his position for the county, and is also pro-Israel. “Throughout my career, as a legislator and executive, I’ve delivered real progressive victories on protecting abortion rights, expanding civil rights, increasing affordable housing, addressing Black maternal healthcare, flooding, and the high cost of living,” said Latimer in a statement. “I believe that government needs to be a place where people come together and get things done, for all of their constituents.” Latimer said he is choosing this moment to run because Wash-

ington is “mired in dysfunction and performative politics instead of dealing with the nuts and bolts issue of making people’s lives better, and as Democrats, we can’t allow that.” Bowman maintains that Democrats universally in the district, state, and country should reject “hateful, divisive, racist politics of MAGA Republicans.” “It’s straight up damning that George Latimer would rather stand with Trump donors than help hard working people in our NY-16 community,” said Bowman. Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 37

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S

Simidele Adeagbo seeing results on and off the bobsled track By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

Winter finds history-making athlete Simidele Adeagbo in Europe pursuing her next Olympic opportunity. At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, she became the first Black woman to compete in Olympic skeleton. She subsequently made the switch to monobob (one-person bobsled). After falling just short of qualifying for the 2022 Games in Beijing, she has continued to hone her monobob skills and has her sights set on Milano/Cortina 2026. In her first three races of the season, Adeagbo placed well, having top six finishes in two races in Germany, which in bobsled is the podium. “It’s definitely an achievement,” said Adeagbo. “All of this is building up.” In monobob, the athlete is both the driver and the brakeman. Last week, she competed in St. Moritz, Switzerland, finishing eighth. From Switzerland, she travels to Austria. She hopes to qualify for the World Championships, which will be in Germany next month. “I worked really hard this past summer and got stronger than ever,” said Adeagbo, 42. “I’m now

Simidele Adeagbo pushing off in a monobob race. (SimiSleighs Foundation photos)

Simidele Adeagbo demonstrates the skeleton race to an enthusiastic youth.

training more bobsled-specific. I’ve always had the speed, the power and the strength; now I’m doing it in a way that really is focused around bobsled. You have to be super strong. I have to push a 350-pound [sled] off the starting block, and that takes an enormous amount of strength.” Before starting the bobsled season, Adeagbo, who represents Nigeria, spent time in that

“It was amazing to be there and witness firsthand the way the girls just soaked in everything,” Adeagbo said. “The mission of the SimiSleighs Foundation, which I founded, is to build a better world for girls and women through sport.” The foundation has two major initiatives, the Leadership Program being one. Working with girls 14–17 is an opportunity to

nation’s capital, Lagos, where her SimiSleighs Foundation presented its Leadership Program, a transformative initiative aimed at empowering girls ages 14 to 17. One hundred participants from Eva Adelaja Girls Secondary Grammar School took part in the enhanced curriculum representing five core competencies called FIRST (focus, imagination, risktaking, service and tenacity).

build their confidence and help them understand the power they can have as leaders. “It’s about the mindset of being first in whatever way that looks like for them,” Adeagbo said. She also continues to fight for gender equity in the Olympics and Paralympics. The SimiSleighs Foundation has an athlete grant program and applications are open for 2024.

Brooklyn native Diahann Billings-Burford works to eradicate racism in sports By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews\ For the past five and a half years, Diahann Billings-Burford has served as CEO of RISE, a national nonprofit that educates and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice, and improve race relations. Organizations from youth sports to the professional ranks use the RISE curriculum. RISE works with students, athletes, coaches, and administrators to be culturally competent and effective advocates for racial equity, carefully assessing each organization’s needs. “RISE prides itself on partnerships,” said Billings-Burford. “We have a pretty large curriculum based on six topics—six skills that we think folks need to build and topics they need to learn about to have more inclusive cultures. We sit with our partners to really understand where their organization is. Then we say, ‘We suggest that you start here and this is what the trajectory should look like.’”

see the bonds that sports can build and help us address some of our greatest isms,” she said. Now an attorney, Billings-Burford has built a career as an advocate and force for positive change. Her belief is that with every generation, things can improve, but it won’t happen unless people put in the work. An upcoming project is working with the National Women’s Soccer League, which will begin by RISE being part of the league’s rookie symposium. In 2020, RISE created digital models because of the pandemic. That year, about 14,000 digital modules were completed. Last year, the number rose to 117,000. “It’s hard to have open and honest conversations about race, gender, and identity,” said Billings-Burford. “Sports lays this groundwork where there’s already an understanding “We like not to assume,” she said. Brooklyn, which she said helped and connection, and there’s a lan“If you don’t understand the cir- her understand the power of guage that can help get through cumstances that folks are living sport. She experienced a racial in- these discussions and really get to with, you really don’t know where cident when playing against an- the point of inclusion. Sport isn’t to start.” other school, and seeing her team’s the only way, but that’s the way Billings-Burford was a field unanimous support for her left a we’re leveraging to get this difficult hockey player at Poly Prep in distinct imprint. “Early on, I got to work done.”

Diahann Billings Burford (RISE photo)

RISE is currently in the third year of a four-year partnership with the Big East Conference. When RISE meets with leadership, there are representatives from all the member institutions. Each school may have its own unique needs.

38 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S

After acquiring Anunoby, are the Knicks still hunting for another critical piece? By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor Since becoming a Knick via a trade with his former team, the Toronto Raptors, on December 30, forward OG Anunoby’s impact on his new team has been pivotal. They are 10-2 with him going into tonight’s game at Madison Square Garden versus the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets. The 6-7 Anunoby’s reputation as a lowmaintenance, elite defender who can guard all five positions has been bolstered. The 27-17 Knicks have the second best defensive rating in the NBA since Anunoby entered their lineup. On Tuesday in a 108-103 win over Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center, the Knicks’ fourth straight win, his offense and defense in the fourth quarter was the catalyst for New York overtaking Brooklyn after trailing 85-76 to start the period. Anunoby posted six points from 8:18 to 6:56 to help keep the Knicks within 95-89 as they outscored the Nets 19-8 the rest of the game. On the other end of the court, he harassed the Nets into turnovers and tough shots. Anunoby’s stat line included four steals, two blocks and plus-minus of plus11, second on the team behind Precious Achiuwa’s plus-13. Achiuwa came to the Knicks with Anunoby in the trade with the Raptors and closed

Knicks forward Julius Randle is making a case for his third All-Star selection in averaging 24 points and 9 rebounds for the 27-17 Knicks. (Bill Moore photo)

out the game strongly at the center spot against the Nets filling in for starter Isaiah Hartenstein, who sat out the contest with an inflamed and sore left Achilles. The absence ended Hartenstein’s streak of playing in 164 straight games. Achiuwa logged 27 minutes and Jericho Sims, who started at center, gave the Knicks 27 solid minutes, blocking four shots and adding six points. Julius Randle tied for the team lead in points with 30, and regis-

tered nine rebounds and seven assists. Jalen Brunson also had 30 points. “We just kept grinding. Obviously, they were pretty much beating us all game,” said Brunson. “They were playing well. They started the game pretty well.” The Knicks, currently the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, still have more roster construction to engineer before they are a firm conference finals contender. Perhaps obtaining Dejounte Murray

of the Atlanta Hawks, a two-way natural point guard who currently plays off of the ball in the backcourt with Trae Young, would move the Knicks closer to the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. Murray seemingly will be dealt from the Atlanta Hawks by the Thursday, February 8 NBA trade deadline. The 27-year-old, 6-5, seven-year veteran is on the final year of a four-year contract signed when was still a member of the San Antonio Spurs and will become an unrestricted free-agent this summer. The 2022 All-Star is represented by Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports Group. Murray is a complete guard who is an efficient scorer and proficient defender, capable of matching up with opponents’ point and shooting guards, as well as small forwards with excellent positional size and length. He is the Hawks’ second leading scorer behind Young (26.9) at 21.4 on 47% field goal shooting, 39% on 3-point attempts and 83.2% from the foul line in addition to posting 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game. The Knicks have Evan Fournier and his expiring contract, Quentin Grimes, and a plethora of draft picks as assets to offer the Hawks. After the Nuggets, the Knicks will host the Miami Heat at MSG on Saturday afternoon, will be in Charlotte on Monday to face the Hornets and back at the Garden next Tuesday to take on the Utah Jazz.

The Nets grapple with an inability to hold late game leads By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews It’s been challenging for the Nets to string two wins together. The team last won two in a row a month ago, when they defeated the Detroit Pistons 126-115 at the Barclays Center on December 23 and again in Detroit 118-112 on December 26. A key reason why the Nets, 17-26 and the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference, are 2-11 in their last 13 games going into tonight’s match up at the Barclays Center versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, is their inability to consistently hold late leads and close out games. In three of their last four games, Brooklyn was up in the fourth quarter before falling behind. The Nets’ troubling trend continued on Tuesday on their home court in Brooklyn when they led the Knicks by nine points in the fourth quarter. But the Knicks were able to get seven of their 11 total offensive rebounds in the final stanza and walked away with a 108-103 win. Mikal Bridges scored 36 points and hit a career-high seven 3-pointers in the loss. Cam Johnson scored 19 while Cam Thomas added 14 off the bench. “If I was to point to one thing, it was seven offensive rebounds that they had in the fourth,” Brooklyn head coach Jacque Vaughn said after the loss, elaborating that the Knicks’ advantage on

Nets head coach (l) Jacque Vaughn and forward (r) Cam Johnson are searching for answers to the Nets’ fourth quarter issues (Jamir Dickens/Fenceboymedia photos)

the offensive glass and second chance points put more pressure on his team to make shots. It was Brooklyn’s second consecutive excruciating loss. On Sunday, in the final game of a three-game Western Conference road trip, they led 104-86 over the Los Angeles Clippers with 10:54 left in the

contest. The Clippers outscored the Nets 39-10 the rest of the way, including an unanswered 22-0 run in the final 5:33 of the fourth quarter to win 125-114. Bridges again led the team that game with 26 points. Cam Thomas had 20 in his role as sixth man. Last Friday, in their lone win of the three-

game stretch out West, the Nets trailed the Los Angeles Lakers by 11 points late in the second quarter but outscored L.A. 38-22 in the third and came away with a 130-112 victory. Thomas was one of seven Nets in double figures, leading the way with 33 points, while Nic Claxton added 22 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks. Brooklyn began the three-game road excursion against the Portland Trail Blazers and held a nine-point fourth quarter lead. Bridges led the team with 21 points, while Spencer Dinwiddie added 19 points and dished out seven assists. Cam Thomas, who played just 22 minutes against the Trailblazers and only 27 versus the Clippers, would like to see more floor time. When asked about Thomas’s minutes, Vaughn said he would love to play the team’s second-leading scorer (20.4 points per game) more. “The last time we played [the Knicks], we tried Cam Thomas at the one, and I didn’t like the returns on it,” Vaughn said. “I do like having another ball handler out there with Cam. They were blitzing him all night and you know, sometimes we got good looks out of it using his ability to pass out of it. But that’s what it’s going to boil down to.” The Nets are on a five-game homestand with games versus the Houston Rockets on Saturday, the Utah Jazz on Monday and the Phoenix Suns next Wednesday.

January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024 • 39

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S

Local mid-majors try to survive NIL recruiting landscape By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor Long Island University head coach Rod Strickland and assistant coach Maurice Hicks know the culture and landscape of New York City basketball as well as anyone. Both are skilled at Xs and Os, and are adept recruiters—yet the Sharks are 3-14 heading into tonight’s game versus Stonehill College at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn, in part due to a seismic shift in the college order of doing business. Recruiting and securing impactmaking players is the lifeblood of winning college programs. The advent of the NIL (name, image and likeness) era of collegiate athletics, in which student-athletes are monetizing their personal brands, make it nearly impossible for smaller colleges and universities to compete with

well-resourced institutions for not only the most talented high school athletes, but those in the transfer portal seeking more advantageous opportunities. It is why the Saint Peter’s men’s team’s run to the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight in 2022 was one of the most unlikely stories in the history of college basketball. NIL collectives—independent organizations that are primarily funded by wealthy alumni of colleges or rich supporters who own businesses that, in many cases, have relationships with respective schools—raise tens, if not hundreds of millions, of dollars that are used to fundamentally pay student-athletes. Over the past two-plus years, after NCAA NIL rules went into effect on July 1, 2021, the system has become one of the, if not the most, essential

recruiting enticements of highly sought after athletes. But it has extended beyond the top-tier talent. Now, virtually every high school and college student-athlete with multiple college offers is seeking to leverage NIL opportunities. Last summer, one Division I college assistant at a low-major college told this writer off the record that many prospects whose ceilings are low-to mid-major schools in conferences such as the Northeast Conference (NEC), of which LIU is a member, and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), featuring local schools Iona and Manhattan, expect NIL deals. It is a component and microcosm of American capitalism in which the rich get richer and prosper, while the poor fight feverishly to compete, and—more essentially—to survive.

LIU men’s head basketball coach Rod Strickland (LIU Athletics photo)

Kingsborough Community College women’s hoops are scoring By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews Thus far, it’s been a stellar season for the women’s basketball team at Kingsborough Community College (KCC) in Brooklyn, which has dominated CUNY Athletic Conference play and also fared well against nonconference opponents. Except for one sophomore, it’s a new team this year, which is commonplace in community college athletics because student-athletes only have two years of eligibility. Head coach Brendon Bain is also a strength and conditioning coach, who brings top-level training to his players. It hasn’t been easy to get everyone to understand or buy in. “Their belief was ‘I can just play ball to get in shape,’” Bain said. “You can’t do that to compete on this level. You have to get in shape to play basketball or whatever sport you compete in at the college level.” Although it took some explaining, especially about hydration and post-workout nutrition, the serious players who aspire to transfer to a four-year program have embraced the training. Using a holistic approach, Bain gives them insights into what leads to optimum performance. “You have to get your body, mind, and spirit right to play,” he said. “It also helps

KCC’s women’s basketball team (KCC Athletics photo)

with injury prevention.” Bain is also a lecturer in the Health Physical Education Recreation Therapy department, and said a community college allows student-athletes to adapt to both the athletic and academic rigors of college. “If you come to a twoyear school and you fully immerse yourself…, you will be better

equipped and prepared for when you get to the four-year school,” he said. Bain said the KCC team is heading in the right direction, but there is room for improvement. He is driven by the desire to see his players both excel on the court and graduate. “I want to ensure that the academics are taken care

of,” he said. That way, players who are recruited to play at a four-year institution are prepared. Not many CUNY AC teams have excelled at the national level, but Hostos in the Bronx set the bar high, winning back-to-back NJCAA Division III national titles in 2018 and ’19. “The students believe they can

do something special and to do anything special, you have to be committed—showing up daily, putting the work in,” said Bain. “Yes, we have goals, but to get to the goals, we have to meet a few objectives that would enable us to reach the goals. It’s work in progress and it’s confidence and belief we could actually win.”

40 • January 25, 2024 - January 31, 2024

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Sports Lamar Jackson and the Ravens look to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor The Kansas City Chiefs have owned the AFC for the better part of the past decade. They can be legitimately characterized as a dynasty. Sunday will mark the sixth straight season the Chiefs will play in the American Football Conference Championship Game and they have appeared in three Super Bowls, winning two, over the same period. Lamar Jackson and the AFC’s No. 1 seed Baltimore Ravens will try to deny them a fourth when they meet this Sunday (3:00 p.m., CBS) at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The sensational quarterback, who is the heavy favorite to earn his second NFL MVP award next month, craves what the Chiefs superlative signal caller, Patrick Mahomes, possesses—a Super Bowl title. Mahomes, who has been named the league’s regular season MVP twice, also has two Super Bowl MVPs on his resume. Yet Jackson, who was masterful in the Ravens 34-10 victory over the Houston Texans last Saturday in their AFC divisional round victory, accounting for four touchdowns, two passing and two rushing, is keenly aware of the perspective of

those who still doubt him. Naysayers have questioned whether the 27-year-old native of Pompano Beach, Florida, from the time he was the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner at Louisville, could be an effective passer on the pro level despite throwing for 9,043 yards in three collegiate seasons. Jackson was stereotyped as a running QB, a characterization historically ascribed to Black quarterbacks. Yes, his 1,206 rushing yards in 2019, his first MVP campaign, is the NFL’s single season rushing record for a quarterback. But he also led the league with 36 passing touchdowns that year. Undoubtedly the 6-2, 215 pound Jackson is an extraordinary ball carrier. In 86 games in his first six seasons, Jackson is fourth alltime in QB rushing yards with 5,258. Michael Vick is first with 6,109 but attained his numbers in 143 games. Jackson is on pace to shatter Vick’s record. Jackson admittedly needed to evolve in various aspects as a quarterback, specifically becoming more proficient at pre-snap reads and developing more patience in the pocket to allow his receivers, tight ends and running backs enough time to negotiate their routes. The most consequential statistic for Jackson is his 62-24 regular season record and .721 winning percentage as a start-

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will reach his first Super Bowl with a win over the defending champion Kansas Chiefs this Sunday. (baltimoreravens.com photo)

er. But his detractors pointed to his 1-3 history in four postseason starts prior to his win last Saturday. He can quell some of the skepticism by toppling Mahomes and the Chiefs. “You know I heard that,” acknowledged Jackson after defeating the Texans regarding the critique of his playoff record. “I’ve seen

it, I don’t even got to hear it. I see it. But it is what it is. I don’t really care about what people say. I’m trying to win. Day in, day out, every time I’m on that field, I’m trying to play to the best of my ability. Those guys just had our team’s number in the past, but it’s a different team [now].” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has maintained belief in Jackson throughout his career. “I thought Lamar was gonna play great, but he’s played great all year,” said Harbaugh. “Just now, it’s more important than ever. He’s been locked in from Day 1. That’s his term, and we’ve all kind of ran with that. He’s directed this whole thing.” Earlier this week Chiefs two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Andy Reid expressed his respect for Jackson. “This kid [Jackson], he throws it well, he throws it on the move well, runs the ball well, so we’ve just got to stay on top of that part of it throughout practice this week and then during the game.” With the focus rightfully on Jackson and Mahomes, both teams’ defenses are equally critical. The Ravens unit could ultimately be remembered as one of the best ever and the Chiefs’ exceptional defense, not its offense as in past years, has driven them to another title shot.

Detroit Lions face toughest test yet vs. San Francisco 49ers in NFC championship By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews The Detroit Lions are not a team that had experienced much playoff success in the past three decades before the 2023 NFL Playoffs began. The Lions most recent win before 2024 began was against the Dallas Cowboys on January 5, 1992. Detroit hadn’t made the playoffs in seven years and had lost nine games in a row. But when Dan Campbell was hired as the head coach in 2021, he immediately changed the culture of the organization. After losing seasons in 2021 and 2022, this season, the Lions won the National Football Conference North Division with a 12-5 record. Quarterback Jared Goff, who was second in the NFL in passing yards this season (4,575) arrived just before Campbell. Goff was cast aside by the Los Angeles Rams, who traded him in a package for quarterback Matthew Stafford in January 2021. Goff had directed the Rams to Super Bowl LIII, a 13-3 defeat to the New England Patriots. Stafford went on to win Super Bowl LVI in his first season with the Rams. So it was fitting that Campbell and Goff

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (detroitlions.com photo)

The 49ers have been more of a model of ning back in the league in MVP candidate consistency under head coach Kyle Sha- Christian McCaffrey, who led the NFL in nahan, but have yet to break through and rushing this season with 1,459. McCaffrey win it all. Since being hired by the 49ers in is a double threat, as he had 67 receptions February 2017, Shanahan has led them to for 564 yards. The key to the game for DeSuper Bowl LIV and four NFC champion- troit will be the ability to contain McCaffrey, ship games in the past five years with two something that few teams have accomdifferent starting quarterbacks. plished this season. Brock Purdy, who was selected with the For Detroit to win, Goff, who hasn't comfinal pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, found mitted a turnover this postseason, will have himself thrust into the spotlight in rookie to continue his strong ball protection. The season, as both quarterbacks ahead of Lions will also have to establish their runhim on the roster, Trey Lance and Jimmy ning game to open up their passing attack Garoppolo, suffered season-ending inju- led by First-Team All-Pro wide receivries. Purdy went on to suffer a complete er Amon-Ra St. Brown. David Montgomtear of his ulnar collateral ligament last ery and Jahmyr Gibbs, who combined for AM News season in a loss in the NFC Championnearly 2,000 rushing yards this season, can ship game against the Eagles, so Sunday be as dangerous as McCaffrey and difficult 01/18/24 will be another chance to help his team for the 49ers to contain. reach the Super Bowl. One of the most talented 49ers, wide receiver Deebo Samuels, who caught 60 passes for 892 yards in 15 games this season, AMofNews injured his left shoulder in the first half Saturday’s 24-21 win over the Green01/25/24 Bay Packers and did not return. As of Tuesday evening, his status for Sunday is uncertain. Still, the 49ers have arguably the best run-

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eliminated the Rams in the opening round of the playoffs 24-23. No. 3 seed Detroit followed that up with a 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday in the divisional round to advance to the NFC Championship Game versus the No. 1 seed San Francisco 49ers this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. (FOX) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

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