ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Candidates appearing on September 9th ballot ........................pg. 19
Shinique Smith pg. 15
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Nonprofits, candidates plan to mobilize voters Nate Homan
CJ Victor and Anthony Hicks, both youth organizers at the Center for Teen Empowerment, say they’ve frequently been stopped and searched by Boston police, although neither has carried illegal drugs or weapons. (Banner photo)
Teens say stop-and-frisk an everyday reality in Boston Yawu Miller The last time Anthony Hicks was stopped by the police was two weeks ago, as he and his brother crossed Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan Square. It began with a hand on his shoulder. “I felt someone grab me,” he said. “My first instinct was to turn around and throw a punch, but they said, ‘It’s the police.’ They patted me down, went through my pockets and told me to stomp my feet.” Hicks, who will begin his freshman year at Boston University this month, said neither he nor his brother were doing anything suspicious before the stop, though police told him the bulge in his
brother’s pants from his Samsung cellphone looked suspicious. Like many black Boston teens, Hicks says he can’t remember how many times he’s been stopped by police, but says it’s way more than 20. Police have never found any illegal substances or weapons on him, but he is often searched, although he says he has never consented to a search. When he asks why he’s stopped, there’s always a reason, but Hicks says it’s rarely convincing. “They try to think of a reason on the spot,” he says. “They say there was a robbery at Ashmont, but you’re in Mattapan Square.” Hicks’ experience of being stopped is not unique for black teens in Boston. At a recent po-
lice-youth dialogue organized by Teen Empowerment, where Hicks works as a youth organizer, many teens cited stop-and-frisk as a major problem. And with much of the nation focusing on police practices in Ferguson, Mo., where a white police officer gunned down an unarmed black teen in August, issues of racial profiling and police misconduct are being aired in the opinion pages of newspapers across the country. City Councilor Tito Jackson says he hears complaints about stop-and-frisk from constituents, although he says the issue is probably not as prevalent as it was in the 1980s, when heavy-handed police response to the Charles Stuart police, continued to page 9
Other get-out-the-vote efforts currently underway in Boston’s It’s the last Friday night in August black community are not tied to any and Dillon King, Tatiana Ear- particular candidate. The Boston nest, Shahara Williams, and Xavier branch of the NAACP teamed up Shropshire could have been out with with MassVOTE this year to kick their friends, but are instead canvas- off the B500 Civic Engagement Iniing for Suffolk County Sheriff in- tiative aiming to mobilize 10,000 cumbent Steve Tompkins. black voters in Boston to participate The get-out-the-vote project, in the November midterm elections. headed by political activist Cliff MassVOTE’s executive director Braithwaite, is aimed at training the Cheryl Crawford said that each paryoung volunteers on the basics of a ticipant is charged with bringing 20 get-out-the-vote effort. or more voters to the polls. At presA man asked Shropshire who the ent, Crawford said they have over candidate was and made it clear that 100 committed participants. he didn’t want to read a pamphlet “Voter turnout in Roxbury, on Tompkins. Mattapan and Braithwaite Dorchester stepped in and are historically cited Tompkins’ Crawford “The mayoral election low,” reform efforts in said. “Our mishad less than a 34 the Suffolk jails. sion is to beef “That’s all I percent turnout rate up the vote. need man,” the The mayoral for the entire city. I man said. election had “ T h a t ’ s know things could be less than a 34 all it takes,” percent turnBraithwaite said. different if our people out rate for “Bate them with used their power” the entire city. the quote and I know things give them the — Cheryl Crawford could be differliterature afterent if our people wards. Engage used their them first.” power.” Braithwaite said he thinks the Crawford said that their mission voter turnout for the Sept. 9 primary this week is to go door to door disin neighborhoods like Roxbury, tributing information on gubernaDorchester and Mattapan could be torial candidates in a nonpartisan as low as 12 percent. The GOTV fashion. They intend to educate campaign was started specifically the voting population while sendto get local young adults active in ing elected officials a message that bringing that percentage up. they are watching their legislative Competitive races, like the race records. for Suffolk County sheriff seat, are Tompkins’ get-out-the-vote widely seen as drivers for voter turn- campaign kicked off on Friday and out. The efforts Tompkins’ staff and led up to the big campaigning event volunteers are undertaking may on Monday. well effect greater turnout in BosThe sun hit hard on Columbus ton’s black and Latino communities, Avenue outside of the Park Plaza where Tompkins has focused much Hotel on Labor Day morning, GOTV, continued to page 9 of his campaign efforts.
Candidates turn out to court Puerto Rican vote Yawu Miller Accompanied by guitars and cuatros, Maria Flores sang Verde Luz, the anthemic song extolling Puerto Rico’s beauty. Candidates and their staff made their appeals to voters in the fenced-in Puerto Rican Veterans Monument Square in one of dozens of appearances the politicians made around the state Friday. For many voters and electoral activists, it was not their first time meeting candidates for gover-
nor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, sheriff and other offices that will appear on the ballot next Tuesday. But in an electoral season where the state’s Latino community could provide an important swing vote, multiple contacts with voters is important. “It reminds people that their votes count, particularly in communities of color, where people want to feel appreciated,” said Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins. “Multiple appearances in our candidates, continued to page 10
Former City Councilor Felix D. Arroyo, a candidate for Suffolk County Register of Probate, speaks during an event at the Puerto Rican Veterans Monument Square while Sheriff Steve Tompkins looks on. (Banner photo)
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