Bay State Banner 09/05/13

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Tamron Hall talks crime and loss

Obama: ‘Because they kept marching, America changed’.............pg. 10

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BPS turns to new tech to better bus system Martin Desmarais

Governor Deval Patrick participates in Landmark Orchestra’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech and the March on Washington at the DCR Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston on Aug. 28. (Photo courtesy of the Govenor’s Office)

“Technology and the use of it was a key thing we were looking for.”

Workers march in Cambridge for improved jobs, benefits Martin Desmarais Several hundred workers and supporters marched from the steps of Cambridge City Hall to Cambridge College and then on to Harvard University on Labor Day. Organizers said the event was meant to honor workers but also to remind employers that quality jobs and benefits have a direct effect on quality of life in the Boston community.

“Today, as we celebrate and honor the work of so many workers that came before us, we also honor ourselves for continuing this fight,” said Rocio Saenz, leader of 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU) New England District 615.

The march was organized by 32BJ SEIU, which is the largest property services union in the country with more than 145,000 members, including 18,000 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

After a rally and a number of speeches at Cambridge City Hall the march proceeded to Cambridge College to protest against the college’s security services contractor, Longwood Security. According to 32BJ SEIU, non-union contractors such as Longwood threaten industry standards for wages and benefits.

The march ended at Harvard University, where marchers joined with students from Harvard Medical School to rally at Harvard

On Sept. 4, Boston Public Schools (BPS) started off the school year in the passing lane with its new bus contract and an increased emphasis on technology to make its bus service better.

Some of the new services include a bus app that will allow parents to track their kids’ buses and know exactly where they are on the way to and from school.

According to Carl Allen, BPS transportation director, the new bus contract with Illinois-based Veolia Transportation Inc., which began on July 1, gave BPS the perfect opportunity to ramp up its efforts. “ Te c h n o l ogy and the use of it was a key thing we were looking for,” Allen said. “We kind of wanted to change the paradigm of school bus transportation.”

BPS made specific demands when seeking companies for the new contract. These included a target of 95 percent ontime bus performance, twice as much safety training for school bus drivers and more safety supervisors on the road. In addition, the demands also included fuel savings, reductions in overall fleet emissions through environmental technology and an anti-idling plan.

Perhaps most important to parents and school administrators are the plans for regular surveys of parents and schools and ongoing community meetings to listen to feedback and respond to requests.

Organizing the BPS bus system is no easy task. The BPS budget for transportation is close to $100 million for the year. The BPS has a total fleet of about 800 buses. About 700 of them are on the road every day, bringing more than 30,000 students to over 200 schools.

Initially a lot of the new technology will be on the back end of the bus system, helping improve systems such as the one dispatchers use to keep track of buses and make sure they’re on time.

BPS has also created an entirely new system called “Safety Desk,” which Allen describes as similar to 911, that can be used to manage safety issues. In the past, safety issues went through the dispatch and often tied up the lines, causing delays in other areas. “ We a r e able to operate much more efficiently because of the new technology,” Allen said. “We can respond quicker.”

New software is also being added to improve office functions such as payroll and human resources.

Eventually though, students will see more technology on the school buses, such as devices used to keep track of riders.

For now, the exciting technology change for students and parents is the Where’s My School Bus? app, which allows parents to go to schoolbus.bostonpublicschools.org, log in and find out exactly where their children’s buses are at that exact moment.

Yard against announced cuts to janitorial staff at the school, which will begin in mid-September. The Cambridge City Council recently passed a resolution urging Harvard Medical School to reconsider lay-offs and look to cut other expenses in the budget before laying-off low-wage workers.

Walking in the march were workers such as Barbara Bastardo, a janitor at Harvard Medical School and mother of three boys.

A single mother, Bastardo works the morning shift in order to take care of her children after school.

March organizers emphasized that many, like Bastardo, depend on their jobs for health insurance and to pay bills, and that the impending Labor, continued to page 18

— Carl Allen

Buses, continued to page 21

Abolitionist Frances E. W. Harper’s message to young black Bostonians Anthony W. Neal One hundred and nineteen years ago, on the evening of Aug. 21, 1894, the interest of Boston’s Colored National League (CNL), “a non-partisan organization devoted to the welfare of the race,” was aroused by the spirited address of African American abolitionist, author and poet Mrs. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper of Philadelphia, Pa. Nearly 70 years old at the time,

Harper had been visiting friends in Boston when she attended a meeting of the CNL at the Charles Street A.M.E. Church.

As the league members listened attentively, she offered the following words of wisdom to “the younger people of the race.”

“There is considerable talk nowadays by the younger people of the race about the old folks taking the back seat,” she said.

“I do not agree with them. It is Harper, continued to page 20

(L-R) Shirley Owens-Hicks, Royal Bolling Jr., Charlotte Golar Richie, State Rep. Gloria Fox, former Boston Housing Chief Doris Bunte and Bill Owens at Golar Richie’s fund-raiser for her mayoral campaign at the Old Colony Restaurant in Dorchester. Golar Richie received endorsements from the iconic Boston political families the Owens and the Bollings. (Don West photo)

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The mayoral forum for only black candidates is a bad idea M.B. Miller Bad ideas often find their way to Roxbury. A group of local residents is now developing a project which has to be the worst imaginable idea.

They are organizing a candidates’ forum for Boston’s campaign for mayor, but only minority candidates are invited to participate.

Such an event would be racially discriminatory. There is no explanation or rationalization that could make it acceptable. The golden rule is clear and simple — “Do unto others only what you would have them do unto you.” Blacks would be screaming “discrimination” if whites were to establish a candidates’ forum for whites only.

Unwittingly, the organizers have impaired the political success of the black candidates. Any candidate who attends can be subjected to criticism by white voters, who would expect to see the next mayor stand against racial discrimination. Candidates who refuse to attend would be vulnerable to criticism by militant separatists for their failure to comply with a poorly conceived black strategy.

Last week, Americans celebrated with great jubilation the 50th anniversary of the Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. That was a historic time

when citizens of all races and all walks of life came together to eliminate the curse of racial discrimination. With that spirit so strong in the culture at this time, how could organizers of a candidates’ forum step back into the darkness of racial discrimination?

Where is the community leadership to speak out against this renunciation of the commitment to racial equality?

Have we not learned from the effectiveness of Pres. Barak Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick that political success requires multiracial unity?

Vote November 5th

Find more information at www.wheredoivotema.com

The mayor’s race in Boston took a step backward as the six minority candidates were asked to participate in a black only forum. The six white candidates were not invited.

(Banner archives)

4 • Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Established 1965

MAMLEO fails leadership test on prep for civil service exams The Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO) has leveled unwarranted accusations against Boston’s Police Commissioner Edward Davis accusing him of racial discrimination. It is well known that municipal police are more effective when they have a trusting and cooperative relationship with the community. In urban areas around the country residents are harried by the continued violence of youth gangs. This is no time to pursue strategies that generate alienation between the people and the police.

Strangely enough, MAMLEO is intentionally causing such a conflict. Assertions that Davis is a bigot cause some minorities to view the police with hostility. This attitude is not helpful when people must rely on the police for protection.

Such assertions by the leadership of MAMLEO have no support in fact. The complaint stems primarily from the dismal promotion record of minorities, but MAMLEO knows that is the result of poor performance by minorities on the tests required by the state civil service.

The road to promotion is through a successful score on the sergeant’s exam. The only requirement to take the exam is at least three years of service on the police force. The racial classification of those who took the last sergeant’s exam was 277 whites, 165 blacks, 48 Hispanics and 13 Asians. A so-called passing score of 70 percent was attained by 117 blacks, but none finished in the top 10 percent. Only 41 whites and one Hispanic scored that high.

While it might be encouraging to the officer taking the test to learn that he or she has passed,

promotions will be made from the top 10 percent as required by civil service rules. Also, no blacks have finished in the top 10 percent of the last exams for lieutenant or captain.

Rather than develop a solution to the problem, MAMLEO chose to insult the police commissioner for refusing to flout the civil service laws. And they even criticized Davis’ plan to have consultants design an exam that would be more relevant and more culturally compatible for blacks.

There is a simple solution which has been done effectively before. In 1965 there were so few black police officers in Boston that the Bay State Banner advertised in its pages for recruits and established a curriculum to train applicants to pass the test. It worked. One of the program’s first graduates was Billy Celester who went on to become the highest ranking police officer in Boston history.

In an editorial entitled “Preparation is key,” dated Nov. 22, 2012, the Banner suggested that MAMLEO assume responsibility for training its members to perform better on all the qualifying tests. There is no reason to believe that blacks lack the intellectual capacity to perform as well as other applicants, if not better. Higher pay of about $345 per week on the day shift should be enough to encourage patrolmen to study for the sergeant’s exam.

At any rate, it is an unconscionable disregard for the welfare of the black community for MAMLEO to instigate hostility of the community toward the police. The people and the police have to work together to establish a safe community.

“I wish MAMLEO would run a prep course so I can do better on the sergeant’s exam.”

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Lettersto the Editor

Different strategies have led to civil rights gains

If asked whether there was one recurring theme in the centuries-old fight for black Americans to achieve freedom, justice and equality, I would point to the divergent and symbiotic relationship between black leaders who have different perspectives on how to advance “the struggle.”

Working within the halls of power and challenging the systems from within are two strategies. Black Nationalism is another. Armed revolution, non-violent direct action and legal challenges are still others.

Each of the different strategies is the basis for the sharp ideological differences that have often divided us, from slavery to Trayvon Martin.

The question is always: How do you navigate a political process, irrespective of race, that hinges upon money, access, influence and votes?

If you are not at the table, you are on the table. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never did and it never will.

Our race has debated for generations the best approach to being at the table. One need only turn on the

What’s Inside

Brian Wright O’Connor Tiffany Probasco Staff Photographers

television to see how divided people can be all over the world when faced with oppression and inequality. Pay particular attention to the conflicting levels of patience with the pace of progress, or the lack of patience.

But thank God for diversity of thought and strategy. I believe our history of sacrifice in America is similar to an orchestra, one that seated some of the best and brightest Americans, like Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. DuBois, Whitney Young and Roy Wilkins, Malcolm and Martin and

many others (men and women), as well as many of the “Joshua Generation” who continue the fight today.

One day, the truth will catch up to history and all Americans — black, white, gay, straight — will appreciate the sacrifice of these Americans as we do that of the Founding Fathers and the other revolutionaries of our imperfect democracy!

Michael A. Curry, Esq., President, Boston Branch NAACP

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RovingCamera

Opinion President Obama still chasing King’s dream

Do you believe fast food workers are underpaid?

Earl Ofari Hutchinson

President Obama punctuated the official White House proclamation on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington with the oft-quoted line from Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I have a dream” speech imploring the nation to let justice to roll down like a mighty stream.

Obama did not quote the even more oft-quoted King admonition from the speech that the content of character should trump skin color. And that was telling. The first line was a frontal challenge to the nation to wage tireless battle against racial discrimination and the equally corrosive injustices of racial violence, poverty and war.

King’s fight was against all three, and that eventually made him a pariah at the White House and the target of a decades-long ruthless, relentless noholds-barred assault on the part of the FBI. Fifty years after the march, Obama has been the target of the same relentless, ruthless and no-holds-barred assault on the part of the GOP, coupled with an even more racially skewed snide and vengeful assault by right-wing blogs, websites and talk show hosts. Obama has been the recipient of more death threats than any other modern-day president.

In that sense, Obama was right to cite King’s admonishment that the job the civil rights leaders started is far from over, and the at times vile treatment of Obama is a powerful reminder of that fact.

But that’s, of course, only part of the five-decade saga of racial struggle and change that Obama has sometimes benefited from and sometimes been throttled by. Obama’s election did show that millions of whites were more than willing to punch the ticket for an African American for the world’s most powerful political post.

King would almost certainly glow with approval at that. But there are a couple of troubling caveats that mar America’s great racial leap forward.

Obama won in large part because he did what no other Democratic presidential candidate did, and that includes Bill Clinton. He turned his presidential campaign into a virtual holy crusade by African American voters to get him into the White House.

At the same time, the majority of whites in 2008, and even more in 2012, voted for his GOP rivals. And they weren’t all Republicans — many were rural and blue-collar whites, many of whom were Democrats. Both presidential elections showed that the racial fault lines are still tightly drawn within a wide segment of the electorate.

Periodic surveys of racial attitudes also found that a significant percentage of whites who said they’d vote for Obama also said that blacks were more crime prone and less industrious than whites. Other surveys, including the recent Pew Research Center Race Survey, the release of which was timed to coincide with the march’s 50th anniversary commemoration, found the same racial disparities in income, wealth, housing, employment and the criminal justice system that plagued the nation in 1963 and that King and the civil rights leaders of his day fought against.

Countless government reports and studies, and the National Urban League’s 2012 State of Black America Report also found that discrimination and poverty are still major barriers for millions of African Americans.

King’s special concern was poverty and how it had divided the country into two Americas: one wealthy, prosperous and in total control of the nation’s wealth and resources and one poor, desperate and disproportionately minority.

President Obama has taken much heat from black critics for not forcefully addressing the needs of that America, and more importantly, as the critics claim, not taking stronger, more direct steps to alleviate that America’s suffering.

King almost certainly would have been careful not to lambast Obama for the poverty of millions or suggest that the president’s policies had anything to do with that poverty. This would have just played into the hands of the arch-enemies of both Obama and of greater civil rights protections and the end of income inequality.

But King almost certainly would have been in the streets marching for economic justice. King’s willingness to do this not only made him persona non grata at the White House, but also put much distance between him and the established civil rights organizations of that day.

Obama has publicly bristled at the notion that the Civil Rights Movement is outdated, or worse, that he somehow supplants the ongoing work of civil rights leaders. He has repeatedly praised past civil rights leaders for their heroic battle against racial injustice. He did it again in his official march commemoration proclamation.

But by not making any mention of King’s dream of a color-free and economic-justice-assured nation, Obama conceded the obvious. That he and America are still chasing the dream King had a half-century ago.

Discrimination and poverty are still major barriers for millions of African Americans.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst.

The Banner welcomes your opinion. Email Op-Ed submissions to:

hmanly@bannerpub.com ­Letters must be signed. Names may be withheld upon request.

Yes. The companies seem to target young adults and the wages they pay mirror their choice in workers.

Dan Hall Physician Dorchester

Yes, especially considering how fast food companies drive their prices higher along with expensive advertising campaigns. The result of that is with underpaid workers and low-quality food.

It depends on the person and what their needs are. Not everyone’s expenses are the same.

John Huynh

Mathew Thompson

Software Engineer Back Bay

Yes, corporate America is greedy.

Yes, and the minimum wage in general needs to be raised.

No they are not. That’s what they signed up for.

Johanna Washington

Pelaiah Auset

Accounts Manager Dorchester

Consultant Boston

Singer-songwriter Roxbury

June Lyle

Financial Adviser Baton Rouge, La.

INthe news

Rachael Rollins

On Tuesday, Rachael Rollins became the first African American to serve as chief legal counsel to the Massachusetts Port Authority, overseeing legal activity in real estate, construction, litigation, employment and ethics, seaports and maritime facilities, aviation, security and public finance. ​R ollins is now the general counsel to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the MBTA. She is the first female general counsel in the history of the MBTA, and the first person to ever serve jointly as general counsel for both entities.

Rollins is a former assistant United States attorney for the District of Massachusetts. She prosecuted both civil and criminal cases, defended the United States and its agencies in a wide array of civil suits, brought actions to recover damages against those who committed frauds against the government and prosecuted federal criminal firearm and drug offenses. Prior to joining the United

States Attorney’s Office, Rachael was an associate at the law firms of Bingham McCutchen and Seyfarth Shaw.

Rollins earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, her juris doctor at Northeastern University School of Law, and her master of law degree at Georgetown University Law Center. She is the immediate past president of the Massachusetts

Black Lawyers Association.

Rollins has also received numerous awards, including Top Women of the Law award from Mass Lawyers Weekly, a Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40 award, the Volunteer Lawyers Project’s Lawyer of the Year award and selection as one of the top-10 lawyers in New England by the Women’s Business Journal.

6 • Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

CommunityVoices

Foreclosed homeowners get federal help for new homes Charlene Crowell In the aftermath of more than 2.5 million foreclosures, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is offering a home-ownership program that will put previously troubled borrowers on the fast track to return to the home-ownership market.

The new program, Back to Work — Extenuating Circumstances, cuts the standard three-year waiting period to only 12 months.

“We understand that families occasionally experience financial difficulties that are simply beyond their control. We already have a policy allowing for exceptions to this waiting period when there is an extraordinary life event. This mortgagee letter is a targeted expansion of that policy,” said Charles Coulter, deputy assistant secretary for single family housing at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“As part of FHA’s ongoing mission,” Coulter added, “we want to make sure that qualified borrowers are not being unnecessarily shut out of the market. We are looking forward to working with our industry partners to strengthen our housing market, to protect FHA’s insurance fund, and to make certain access to credit remains available for future generations of homeowners.”

That’s good news for borrowers who lost their homes due to specific financial hardships but

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins recently hosted District 5 Boston City Council candidate Ava Callender for a tour through of the Suffolk County House of Correction (HOC). During the tour, Sheriff Tompkins (far left) spoke with Callender (center) about the myriad educational and vocational programs made available to inmates at the HOC, as well as several of the department’s external public safety initiatives. (Photo courtesy of Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office)

can now demonstrate that they have regained previously lost financial ground.

The list of eligible financial hardships reads like a list of housing crisis woes: Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, deedin-lieu, forbearance, foreclosure, pre-foreclosure sales, short sales, loan modification and loss of income, employment or both.

For those with loss of income or employment to qualify, the loss must come to 20 percent of previous earnings for at least six months, and applicants must submit copies of applicable termination notices or documentation of changes in employment status.

Additionally, consumers must also meet other verifiable measures to participate in the program.

Applicants must have a credit score of at least 500 and a credit history pre- and post- the eligible hardship event that is free from late payments or other major credit issues, including late rental-housing payments and accounts delinquent by 30 days or more.

Applicants must get housing counseling from a HUD-approved counselor at least 30 days but no more than six months before submitting an FHA application, and must also submit proof of current income — usually W-2 forms or federal tax returns that show the desired mortgage would be affordable and sustainable.

For consumers who meet all of the criteria as well as other standing FHA mortgage guidelines, the Back to Work program is now available nationwide through FHA-approved lenders. Once participating lenders

determine that mortgage applicants meet all eligibility and policy criteria, a 3.5 percent minimum FHA downpayment requirement will apply. Mortgage insurance and closing costs will also apply.

Only one FHA program is ineligible for the Back to Work program: reverse mortgages.

Earlier research by the Center for Responsible Lending found that more than 2.5 million homes were lost to foreclosure during the housing crisis.

According to Core Logic, a firm providing data and analysis to financial services companies and real estate professionals, the number of homes in some state of foreclosure dropped below 1 million to 949,000 as of July 2013.

This figure also represents a drop of 32 percent since July 2012.

Underwater mortgages, properties that are now worth less than their purchase price, also continue to haunt housing recovery. As of May 2013, Core Logic found that in 11 states, more than one in five homes have underwater mortgages. The seven states with the highest numbers of underwater properties were Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, California and Illinois.

As CRL has stated before, the housing crisis is not yet over. But programs that enable formerly troubled borrowers to regain the pride of home ownership and the chance to build family wealth have to be good news.

Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending.

The state of black workers still needs improvement African Americans face inequalities in workforce Janell Ross In 1935, when Congress passed the Social Security Act, supporters declared it one of the pivotal moments in the country’s history.

The act, which created a guaranteed income source for most American workers during retirement, was a declaration of the country’s faith that the economy would not only rebound from the Great Depression but would also flourish.

But for black workers, there was just one problem.

In order to secure the support of a contingent of Southern Democrats in Congress, the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt — architects of many of the policies that continue to govern work, pay and workplace conditions — struck a deal. Domestic workers and farmhands — fields in which nearly two-thirds of all blacks were employed at the time — were excluded. A full 65 percent of black American workers got nothing. No guaranteed retirement. No guaranteed income in old age.

The exclusion remained in place until the 1950s, just another example of the uphill climb that black workers have faced throughout history. Indeed, the real story of work in the United States is one that includes slavery, along with other forms of exploitation and unfair treatment that have rendered some workers better paid than others, and more often recognized and rewarded.

And those divisions have often occurred along racial lines. That history makes the state of the black worker in 2013 worthy of a closer look this Labor Day. “Black unemployment is and has long been a crisis, but somehow unseen or at least largely misunderstood,” says Algernon Austin, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy. “The worst levels of unemployment experienced by whites nationally correspond to the absolute best that blacks have ever experienced in the last 50 years.”

Still, some of the news is good.

Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, a large share of the

black population is employed or actively seeking work. In fact, when the Department of Labor released its first comprehensive post-recession look at black workers, it found that in 2011, blacks made up roughly 13 percent of the nation’s population and more than 11 percent of the country’s workforce. That trend has continued.

While black unemployment remains elevated, things are improving. In July, 12.6 percent of black workers, or roughly 2.35 million men, women and teens, remained unemployed. Black unemployment has edged downward for much of 2013. It has also dropped off sharply from its January 2010 high of 16.5 percent.

African American “educational-attainment levels” — that’s the term that economists use to describe just how far individuals go in school — continue to climb.

In fact, nearly 85 percent of black Americans over the age of 25 have completed high school, and just over 20 percent have a bachelor’s degree or graduate degrees, according to the most recent federal data. Both figures have climbed considerably in the last two decades. In addition, the share of black students completing undergraduate or graduate degrees has nearly doubled.

Education boosts most workers’ wages and has, to a limited degree, narrowed the nation’s racial income gap. Black workers have also become the most unionized portion of the American workforce. Although opinions vary about the value of union membership, when it comes to pay, the benefits are clear and indisputable.

But the fight continues for equal pay and on-the-job advancement, as well as access to new, developing and high-paying industries.

For most of the last 50 years, black unemployment has remained about two times higher than the white joblessness rate, and in some major cities more than a third of working-age black men don’t have jobs. That trend continues in 2013.

Also worth noting is that education has proved to be of limited benefit for black workers. Black workers with college degrees enjoy a lower unemployment rate

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than those with only high school diplomas. But at every educational level, black workers remain unemployed at roughly twice the rate of their white peers.

In 2012, the unemployment rate for African Americans with at least a bachelor’s degree sat at 6.3 percent. That figure is equal to the unemployment rate experienced by white Americans with some college education but no bachelor’s degree.

Black workers remain clustered in industries such as government, the service industry and retail — the last two of which offer some of the nation’s lowest wages. And a continued spate of layoffs and furloughs in one sector that has consistently provided middle-class wages to black workers — state, local and federal government — not only has reduced the share of black people who are working but has also cut into average weekly take-home pay.

Government figures for weekly median wages of full-time workers point to another troubling racial economic inequality.

In June, the median weekly wage for full-time salaried and hourly-wage black workers sat at $634, compared with $799 for white workers. And although white workers’ overall wages climbed by a few dollars in the second quar-

Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 7

ter of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012 — because of slight gains made by white women — black workers’ wages fell by almost the same amount that white workers’ earnings rose.

Although the gender wage gap receives a great deal of annual attention, the difference between the median wages of men and women persists and takes on additional economically damaging forms across racial lines. In 2012, white women working full time earned a median wage of $719 each week compared with $879 earned by their white male peers.

Meanwhile, black men employed full time earned a median of $665 each week, while black women earned $599. Latinas working full time took home the nation’s lowest

median weekly wages: $521.

In black families, women’s wages have long accounted for a larger share of household income than in white families. But deindustrialization — the disappearance of manufacturing and other blue-collar jobs beginning in the late 1970s — has particularly affected the employment prospects of black men. Almost the same percentage of black women and black men are working, a situation that has never existed for any other racial or ethnic group. That fact indicates that very few black families can survive on a man’s income alone.

Janell Ross is a reporter in New York City who covers political and economic issues. This article first appeared in The Root.

Air Force airman Bryan P. Davis graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. He completed an intensive eightweek program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills. Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate’s degree in applied science through Community College of the Air Force. Davis is a 2010 graduate of Techboston Academy, Boston.

8 • Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

The March On Washington: Civil rights then and now Scott Douglas In 1960, I watched John Lewis and other black college students march past our Nashville, Tenn., high school on their trips downtown to the sit-ins. In 1963, while I was preparing for my senior year, Medgar Evers was assassinated in Jackson, Miss. For me, news of the Civil Rights Movement was an unsettling blend of dark tragedies and heady victories.

In our barbershop, black men

debated the pros and cons of the actions of civil rights leaders.

I recall one debate on whether Martin Luther King Jr.’s returning to town was good or bad. And I remember the letdown I felt when arguments focused on what the good white people would think. But at 16, it was not yet my turn to speak.

I got wind of a “March on Washington.” When I found out the march would be the subject of the next meeting at our Methodist

church, I attended, immediately getting caught up in the spirit of the meeting. I can’t recall who spoke, sang or prayed, but I remember they talked about the significance of the march, that there would be thousands in attendance.

They wanted youth participation.

Someone said they had one seat left on one of the buses. I rushed up, saying I wanted to go. But I was told I needed my parents’ permission, which I thought would be no problem. So I ran home and

On Aug. 28, Governor Deval Patrick participated in Landmark Orchestra’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech and the March on Washington at the DCR Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. (Photo courtesy of the Govenor’s Office)

asked my mom for the OK. She quickly and unequivocally said, “No, you might get hurt.” The decision was final.

What I didn’t understand then was that violence befalling blacks seeking change was common. I didn’t understand that racist violence was capricious and arbitrary.

And I didn’t realize I was being protected by generations of black mothers’ wisdom.

The march became the largest peaceful protest in American history. But the glow from the march evaporated when, a few weeks later, four girls were killed in a church bombing. Then President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

The following year, I enrolled at the University of Tennessee to major in engineering physics. It was a five-year interdisciplinary program combining a technical education with a heavy offering of liberal arts, basic sciences and languages.

There were only two African American students in the university’s freshman dorm. Across the hall was another engineering physics major. Early on, he asked if we could study together. I welcomed the opportunity because I loved the idea of team-tackling science and math problems.

But after a couple of sessions, it became obvious I was helping him far more than he was me. He asked me about my scholarships; I told him I had none — I was there on educational loans. He expressed shock, and I asked why.

He said he was on a full scholarship. It was my turn to be shocked.

Here I was, tutoring a white, out-of-state scholarship student while I was on a college loan. At that moment, I lost my “glad to be here” attitude. By my junior year, I had co-founded UT’s Black Stu-

dent Union, helped elect UT’s first African American Student Government Association president, and discovered a haven for challenging my limited world view: Knoxville’s Highlander Center.

The 1963 March on Washington called upon the best of the American promise when Dr. King noted that though the arc of history is long, it bends toward justice. There was ample contemporary evidence of this fact, as global struggles for national liberation resonated with African American struggles in a mutually reinforcing cadence.

Looking back over the span of 50 years, other more sinister arcs appear. The Civil Rights Movement occurred during a growing economy. From World War II until around 1980, the wealth gap between the poorest and richest Americans actually narrowed. With an expanding economy, although ever-present reactionary voices were heard, they were unheeded.

Today, with the wealth gap growing and the middle class on the same downward trajectory as the poor, near maniacal fear of the future is a potent weapon in the arsenal of political forces that divide Americans.

That 1963 march carved new ground. The 2013 march can recover now-lost ground while providing a foundation for a future with brighter prospects for low- and moderate-income Americans, overcoming fear and division, jingoism and xenophobia, racism and sexism.

Scott Douglas is executive director of Alabama-based Greater Birmingham Ministries, a multi-faith, multiracial organization dedicated to pursuing social justice, helping those in need and building stronger neighborhoods.

Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 9

Students thank Menino for Success Boston efforts

36 Greater Boston colleges and universities. Each of the approximately 250-300 students from each Boston Public Schools graduating class who joins Success Boston is assigned a coach to help them meet the many challenges of college, providing critical support navigating academic settings, financial aid and other systems.

The coaching component plays a key role in efforts that begin during high school to ensure students “get ready, get in and get through” college.

“There are 800,000 reasons — $800,000 is the difference in average lifetime earnings between someone who had some college but didn’t finish, and someone who got their degree.”

All the speakers noted the power of the Success Boston model, with its network of coaches, fellow students and alumni, to ensure that students get through to graduation.

“With students as smart, savvy and as talented as each and every one of you and as committed as

“There are 800,000 reasons — $800,000 is the difference in average lifetime earnings between someone who had some college but didn’t finish, and someone who got their degree.”

— Boston Foundation President and CEO Paul Grogan

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino accepts a jersey signed by dozens of Boston Public Schools graduates now enrolled in college at the annual Success Boston kickoff at UMass Boston’s Clark Athletic Center. The number 70 signifies Mayor Menino’s goal of 70 percent college-completion among BPS students. (L-R) Tucker Gaye of Dorchester, a second-year student at UMass Boston; Annabel Cordero of Mission Hill, a senior at Emmanuel College; Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino; and Dr. Pam Eddinger, new president of Success Boston partner Bunker Hill Community College. (Photo courtesy of the Boston Mayor’s Office) Banner Staff In honor of his work improving the college-graduation rate for Boston Public Schools (BPS) students, Mayor Thomas M. Menino was presented last week with a jersey signed by dozens of BPS graduates now enrolled in college.

The jersey, adorned with the

number 70, was given to him by two members of the Success Boston Student Leadership Council at the event at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Clark Athletic Center. Menino’s stated goal is a 70 percent college-completion rate for the BPS graduating class of 2011 and beyond.

In 2008, Menino launched

Success Boston, a key part of his effort to double the college-completion rate of BPS graduates to 70 percent, with support from the Boston Public Schools, the Boston Foundation, the UMass Boston, the Boston Private Industry Council and many other area nonprofits and colleges.

Success Boston students attend

The kickoff program featured workshops for the newest Success Boston students run by some of the Success Boston partner organizations, followed by speakers including Menino, UMass Boston Chancellor Keith Motley and Boston Foundation President and CEO Paul Grogan, the co-chairs of Success Boston.

Students also heard from Boston Public Schools Interim Superintendent John McDonough and Gary Uter, a 2013 graduate of UMass Boston from Dorchester and a former Success Boston student.

The speakers spoke about the importance of college completion in the 21st-century economy.

“There are a lot of reasons to get over the finish line,” Grogan said.

you are to graduation, we know that you will achieve all your dreams and beyond,” said Motley.

“And a team like this behind you is something you should never take for granted. Make sure you reach out.”

Menino was equally appreciative. “Out in this audience today, I see a Chancellor Motley, a doctor, an engineer — someone who could be the next mayor,” said Menino, who earlier chided the chancellor for not mentioning that Menino himself is a UMass Boston alumnus. “You can be anything you want to be because if you work hard, stay focused, you’ll get there — we’ll give you the tools.”

“No other city has this,” he added.

10 • Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Obama: ‘Because they kept marching, America changed’ Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from President Barack Obama’s speech at the “Let Freedom Ring” ceremony at Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington.

Five decades ago today, Americans came to this honored place to lay claim to a promise made at our founding: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

In 1963, almost 200 years after those words were set to paper, a full century after a great war was fought and emancipation proclaimed, that promise — those truths — remained unmet. And so they came by the thousands from

every corner of our country, men and women, young and old, blacks who longed for freedom and whites who could no longer accept freedom for themselves while witnessing the subjugation of others.

Across the land, congregations sent them off with food and with prayer. In the middle of the night, entire blocks of Harlem came out to wish them well. With the few dollars they scrimped from their labor, some bought tickets and boarded buses, even if they couldn’t always sit where they wanted to sit. They were seamstresses and steelworkers, students and teachers, maids and Pullman porters.

And then, on a hot summer day, they assembled here, in our nation’s capital, under the shadow of the “Great Emancipator” — to offer testimony of injustice, to petition their government for redress and to awaken America’s

long-slumbering conscience.

We rightly and best remember Dr. King’s soaring oratory that day, how he gave mighty voice to the quiet hopes of millions, how he offered a path of salvation for oppressed and oppressors alike.

His words belong to the ages, possessing a power and prophecy unmatched in our time.

But we would do well to recall that day itself also belonged to those ordinary people whose names never appeared in the history books, never got on TV. Many had gone to segregated schools and sat at segregated lunch counters. They lived in towns where they couldn’t vote and cities where their votes didn’t matter. They were couples in love who couldn’t marry, soldiers who fought for freedom abroad that they found denied to them at home. They had seen loved ones beaten and children fire-hosed,

and they had every reason to lash out in anger or resign themselves to a bitter fate.

And yet they chose a different path. In the face of hatred, they prayed for their tormentors. In the face of violence, they stood up and sat in with the moral force of nonviolence. Willingly, they went to jail to protest unjust laws, their cells swelling with the sound of freedom songs. A lifetime of indignities had taught them that no man can take away the dignity and grace that God grants us. They had learned through hard expe-

tion swung open so their daughters and sons could finally imagine a life for themselves beyond washing somebody else’s laundry or shining somebody else’s shoes.

Because they marched, city councils changed and state legislatures changed, and Congress changed, and, yes, eventually, the White House changed.

Because they marched, America became more free and more fair — not just for African Americans, but for women and Latinos, Asians and Native Americans; for Catholics, Jews and Muslims; for gays, for

“And because they kept marching, America changed. Because they marched, a civil rights law was passed. Because they marched, a voting rights law was signed.”

— President Barack Obama rience what Frederick Douglass once taught — that freedom is not given, it must be won, through struggle and discipline, persistence and faith.

That was the spirit they brought here that day. That was the spirit young people like John Lewis brought to that day. That was the spirit that they carried with them, like a torch, back to their cities and their neighborhoods. That steady flame of conscience and courage that would sustain them through the campaigns to come — through boycotts and voter registration drives and smaller marches far from the spotlight; through the loss of four little girls in Birmingham, and the carnage of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and the agony of Dallas and California and Memphis. Through setbacks and heartbreaks and gnawing doubt, that flame of justice flickered; it never died.

And because they kept marching, America changed. Because they marched, a civil rights law was passed. Because they marched, a voting rights law was signed. Because they marched, doors of opportunity and educa-

Americans with a disability. America changed for you and for me.

And the entire world drew strength from that example, whether the young people who watched from the other side of an Iron Curtain and would eventually tear down that wall, or the young people inside South Africa who would eventually end the scourge of apartheid.

Those are the victories they won, with iron wills and hope in their hearts. That is the transformation that they wrought, with each step of their well-worn shoes.

That’s the debt that I and millions of Americans owe those maids, those laborers, those porters, those secretaries; folks who could have run a company maybe if they had ever had a chance; those white students who put themselves in harm’s way, even though they didn’t have to; those Japanese Americans who recalled their own internment; those Jewish Americans who had survived the Holocaust; people who could have given up and given in, but kept on keeping on, knowing that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 11

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Tamron Hall talks crime and loss

The MSNBC anchor discusses her new show and the family tragedy that inspired it

Keli Goff Tamron Hall is one of the busiest women in the news business. Already the chief anchor for MSNBC’s NewsNation with Tamron Hall, she is also a regular substitute anchor for NBC’s Today show.

As if two jobs weren’t enough, on Sept. 1 she began hosting a new show for Investigation Discovery called Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall. Hall took a few minutes out of her day to discuss the family tragedy that inspired the show, as well as the sense of humor of one of her friends, music legend Prince.

You’re one of the most visible anchors on one of the most visible networks in America. What appealed

to you about joining a smaller, non-news network?

I didn’t think of it in terms of size. I think of it more in terms of loyal audience. MSNBC has an incredibly loyal audience — people who will leave it on all day and not turn it, and Discovery ID has the same kind of passion.

I consider myself to be a passionate person, sometimes ruled too much by my heart and not enough by my head, but I love when people are attached to something and believe in it and get behind it, and MSNBC viewers and ID viewers are like that, so it seemed like a great fit.

When I first started meeting with the ID team, I didn’t have a show in mind. We found this common ground on crime stories as it related to my personal story in my family.

So tell us about the show.

The show is considered a magazine show, but I consider it some of the best storytelling I’ve participated in and tackled as a journalist. We’re talking with people who have lost loved ones, who have been personally affected by crime in different ways. We are going deeper than the headlines we see on the Internet or [in the] paper and really [bringing] to life these people who have been affected in horrible ways. Some have overcome and some still struggle.

Can you tell us a bit about your sister?

Well, I’ve talked a lot about it in the past. We’re from a blended family. My mother is 25 years younger than my father. She had two children and my father had two children. They married

when I was very, very young.

I instantly had the most amazing sister in the world — someone that I looked up to who was stylish and smart and beautiful.

Everything I dreamt of being, my sister was. We were very, very close, and throughout her life, like many women, she struggled with self-esteem issues and [self-] acceptance and ended up in a relationship that was plagued by domestic violence.

Years after she met and married [her husband], she was murdered, and the person responsible for her death has never been charged and it remains a mystery.

And we talked about the difficulty of having that open wound for my father especially, for my mother and myself. And we realized a lot of people who experience violent crime have that open wound for one reason or another.

Do you think sharing her story will prevent other women from being victimized? Is that your hope?

That’s always a hope. I can’t say what impact it will have. I’m not sharing that story for any reason [other] than that. It’s difficult for my mother. My sister had children. My nephew is now married and has a son of his own who constantly asks, “When can I meet Grandma?” I’m not telling this story for therapeutic reasons for my family. I am telling it in the hope of saving a life.

Do you think hearing stories about women like Rihanna has an impact on younger girls?

I think it would have to have Hall, continued to page 16

Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 15

Driving Miss Daisy

Gloucester Stage Company wraps up its 2013 season with Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy from Sept. 5 through Sept. 22. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama details the friendship between a sharp-edged Jewish widow and her black driver in a deeply personal and humorous journey set against the backdrop of the American Civil Rights Movement. Directed by Benny Sato Ambush, the Gloucester production features Lindsay Crouse as Daisy Werthan, Johnny Lee Davenport as Hoke Coleburn and Robert Pemberton as Boolie Werthan, Miss Daisy’s son. In 1989, the play was adapted to a Hollywood film featuring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy. For reservations or further information, call the Gloucester Stage Box Office at 978-281-4433 or visit www. gloucesterstage.com. (Gary Ng photos)

16 • Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Hall

continued from page 14

an impact. I don’t know if it is eye opening.

Specifically Rihanna’s

struggle with domestic violence?

I don’t know if it’s a struggle with domestic violence. I can’t speak for her because I don’t know all of the details. I know what we’ve reported in the news and I

know that [she and Chris Brown] reconciled, and I think that young women see that, but how they process that I don’t know.

I think celebrity culture is something we discuss a lot, but I think what happens in your home

Tamron Hall, chief anchor for MSNBC’s NewsNation with Tamron Hall, began hosting Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall on Investigation Discovery on Sept. 1.

has a larger impact. If a girl sees [that] her mother, sister or loved one in her home is a victim of a domestic-violence situation, that has a larger impact than our celebrity-obsessed culture, than what’s happening in Rihanna and Chris Brown’s [lives].

So when I talk to girls, I’m not talking to them about the latest headline on TMZ. I’m talking to them about what they are seeing in their home and what they are experiencing. I think that has an impact, when a young girl is trying to understand why her mother or sister is staying in that relationship, because that’s what I was trying to understand with my sister, and what we discussed in our intimate conversations. ... Why do you stay?

That’s something that haunts me because I feel I didn’t listen as much and didn’t know what to do. So I don’t think young women are obsessing over Rihanna in the way they’d obsess over their sister or mother or selves.

Do you have any advice for a woman who is struggling with domestic violence or has a family member who is?

I think you have to talk to someone. Even though the images and messages are there, I still believe people feel alone and that there’s no one to talk to, and we’ve got to break that cycle.

There’s still this feeling of loneliness or helplessness. My passion for all of this is the desire to help people know they are not alone.

There have been stories about the decrease in newsroom diversity. How would you rate where the industry is on diversity at the moment, and what could be done better on the issue of diversity in the news industry?

You know I’m always taken aback by this question because that’s applicable to any profession. I think in our business we often get hooked on what we see on TV and not what’s happening behind closed doors, if you will.

For me in my journey, I’ve been on TV since I was 18, and I’m now 42. I see more people of color than I ever have. That doesn’t mean that we’re at some perfect level. I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying diversity needs to be discussed on all levels — who is being hired as a producer, as an executive, but it cannot be an obsession focused on the media.

This obsession of what the news looks like has to be broadened out, and I mean that from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. I was just reading about the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley, but that’s maybe not as sexy as how many people of color are on air. You can count how many brown anchors there are, but companies are not taken to task in the same way media is for a lack of diversity, even in companies that are bringing in far more money and have a larger economic impact than the daily newscast.

That’s not to say it’s not important. It is, and MSNBC has done an exceptional job in diversity, which is why we’ve seen a spike in our ratings among African American viewers, but the conversation can’t be an obsession with the media. It has to be discussed on a broader scale.

I heard that you’re friends with Prince Nelson, also known as the superstar Prince. Any thoughts on his new album cover for Breakfast Can Wait featuring Dave Chappelle?

He’s incredibly funny. He’s such a funny person. I’m just happy people are starting to see there are many sides to that complex individual — including [that] he’s got quite a sense of humor.

Keli Goff is a special correspondent for The Root, in which this story first appeared.

Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 17

Mayoral Election Campaign Calendar Below is the calendar for upcoming mayoral forums.

This list gives you a great opportunity to get out and meet the candidates in person. We will update the calendar as it changes. If you have any questions email news@bannerpub.com

9/5 Ward 19 and Ward 5 Democratic Committees

First Baptist Church, 633 Centre St., Jamaica Plain 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

9/10 NAACP Forum

Salvation Army KROC Community Center, 650 Dudley St., Dorchester 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

RSVP – https://cocfforum2013.eventbrite.com

9/11 Action for Boston Community Development forum

Action for Boston Community Development, Inc., Melnea Cass Room, 178 Tremont St., South End 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

9/11 Boston Teachers Union Forum Boston Teacher’s Union Local 66, 180 Mt. Vernon St., Dorchester 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

9/12 Boston University Schoo of Education Forum Boston University, Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

9/16 Back Bay Association Forum Liberty Mutual Conference Center, 175 Berkeley St., Back Bay 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

9/18 Dorchester Board of Trade

Freeport Tavern, 780 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester 6:30 p.m.

UMass Boston’s Professor Paul Watanabe to moderate.

9/19 UMass Boston’s McCormack School, The Boston Foundation and WBUR UMass Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Mayoral Candidates Here’s the list of mayoral candidates and their websites. Find out where they stand on key issues and how they plan on achieving their goals.

City Councilor Felix Arroyo

Charlotte Golar Richie

John Barros

City Councilor Mike Ross

Charles Clemons

Bill Walczak

District Attorney Dan Conley

State Rep. Marty Walsh

City Councilor John Connolly

David James Wyatt

City Councilor Rob Consalvo

City Councilor Charles Yancey

BOSTON ES NUESTRA HOGAR

BOSTON IS OUR HOME

Lo que pase en esta ciudad nos importa. Al votar estamos decidiendo sobre el futuro de las escuelas y la seguridad pública de nuestra comunidad. Por eso hoy mismo debes a inscribirte para poder votar en las primarias para elegir a nuestro próximo alcalde el 24 de Septiembre. Vota -por tus hijos, tu familia y tu ciudad

What happens in this city matters to us. By voting, we are determining the future of our schools and safety in our communities. For that reason you should make the decision to register TODAY so that you can vote in the preliminary elections on September 24th. VOTE – for your children, your family and your city.

www.forwardwithfelix.com

www.barrosforboston.com

www.charlesforboston.com

www.danconleyformayor.com

www.Connollyforboston.com

www.robconsalvo.com

massvote.org

www.mikeforboston.com

www.billforboston.com

www.martywalsh.org

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www.charlesyancey.org

BOSTON ES NUESTRA CIUDAD, BOSTON IS OUR CITY Este es nuestro momento y lo que pase aquí nos importa.

This is our time and what happens here affects us all.

INSCRÍBETE ahora y VOTA.

REGISTER RIGHT NOW and VOTE ON SEPTEMBER 24th

Visita: www.voteoiste.com ó llama a el 617-426-6633

For more information visit us: www. voteoiste.com or call us at 617-426-6633

www.voteoiste.com

City Council Candidates and Forums

MassVote will be hosting three forums for the City Council races. For more details go to massvote.org

District 4

Wednesday, September 11, 6-7:30 p.m.

Codman Square Health Center, 637 Washington St, Dorchester, MA 02124

Candidates:

Charles Calvin Yancey Divo Rodrigues Monteiro Steven Godfrey Terrance J Williams

District 5 For Information on voter registration, where to vote, absentee voting or any other voting rights or procedure questions visit

www.charlotteformayor.com

Monday, September 16, 6-7:30 p.m.

Roslindale Community Center (located at 6 Cummins Highway in Roslindale Square)

Candidates:

Michael E Wells III Jean-Claude Sanon Margherita Ciampa-Coyne Ava D Callender Andrew Norman Cousino Mimi E Turchinetz Timothy P McCarthy Patrice Gattozzi

Preliminary At-Large Wednesday, September 18, 6-8 p.m.

Roxbury Community College

Candidates:

Martin J. Keogh Ayanna S. Pressley Catherine M. O’Neill Francisco L. White Michael F. Flaherty Frank John Addivinola Jr. Jeffrey Michael Ross Douglas D. Wohn Keith B. Kenyon Stephen J. Murphy Ramon Soto Jack F. Kelly III Christopher Conroy Michelle Wu Gareth R. Saunders Seamus M. Whelan Phillip Arthur Frattaroli Althea Garrison Annissa Essaibi George

The Bay State Banner’s weekly campaign update (also available at baystatebanner.com)

18 • Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Workers and members of 32BJ Service Employees International Union New England District 615 marched from Cambridge City Hall to Harvard University on Labor Day. The event was held to honor prior service industry workers, but also to protest employment practices at Harvard and Cambridge College, according to organizers. (Above) The march kicked off with a rally and several speakers. (R) The march streamed down Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge with marchers carrying flags and many chanting labor slogans through bullhorns. (Martin Desmarais photos)

Labor

continued from page 1

lay-offs are a massive concern.

Another marcher was Cecelia Johnson of Mattapan, who has worked as a security officer for over 20 years. Only within the last several years has she had union support. She says the union brought her better pay and benefits and she wants to do her part so others don’t have to go decades

without such help, as she did.

“The union is the best thing that ever happened to us,” Johnson said. “People should help fight because they need that.”

Another marcher was Yahya Bajinka, an immigrant from Gambia in West Africa who works at Logan Airport. Bajinka’s presence at the march was to support 32BJ SEIU’s efforts at a picket at Logan Airport that happened after the march in Cambridge.

Bajinka works part time at Logan Airport for $8 an hour and

with no benefits. “Workers are forced into sweatshop-like conditions,” Bajinka said. “Logan takes advantage of the fact that many immigrants are in need of work and they use that to exploit us.

“We have no job security and are in fear of losing our jobs at any time,” he added. “My family in Gambia relies on me to survive.

I send them hundreds of dollars a month along with paying bills for myself. It is not easy.”

According to Bajinka, he says it is important to take part in such

marches and demonstrations to show the importance of union support.

“What motivates me is seeing the difference a union makes,” he said. “I believe it is my right to participate and won’t give up.”

Cambridge City Councilor Minka vanBeuzekom spoke prior to the march and also participated in the march. “It is just completely a no-brainer,” she said about taking part in the march. “It is about justice.”

VanBeuzekom told the crowd the city is behind their efforts to receive fair wages and benefits. “This is Cambridge and we definitely support good jobs,” vanBeuzekom said. “You are the people who build this community. … I just want to say that I personally support your efforts to build a strong community.

Cambridge Vice Mayor E. Denise Simmons also spoke to marchers from the steps of Cambridge City Hall. She pointed out that she wrote a letter to Cambridge College asking them to sit down and talk with 32BJ SEIU. “We are here to fight for good jobs and good pay,” Simmons said. “So however long it takes: one day, one month, one year — which is too long — we are going

to fight.

“We are not going to let anybody turn us around,” she added.

“Stay strong and know that you don’t walk alone. … We walk with you.”

Steven Tolman, president of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), was also on hand to support 32BJ SEIU and the marchers.

He said the AFL-CIO is working hard to push immigration reform and well as better legislation for worker benefits such as minimum wage and sick time.

“Most importantly the minimum wage has not been raised in five years and that must change,” Tolman said. “Minimum wage must also be tied into the consumer price index so that it goes up regularly.

“I am honored to stand with you in your struggle,” he added.

This sentiment was echoed

by Rick Rogers, Greater Boston Labor Council executive secretary-treasurer. “We will support you in your struggle for better wages and benefits,” Rogers said.

“And we will bring the support of all our workers. … Together we can make a difference.”

The New England District 615 of 32BJ SEIU led a march on Labor Day that called for improved working conditions, a higher minimum wage and employee benefits. The demonstration went from Cambridge City Hall to Harvard University.

Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 19

Citizens Bank to give out $150K in community grants Banner Staff The Citizens Bank Foundation recently announced a call for applications for its Growing Communities initiative in Massachusetts. Through the Growing Communities initiative, the Citizens Bank Foundation will award up to $150,000 in grants ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 for projects that contribute to the resil-

iency of neighborhoods by fostering economic growth.

Applications may include efforts for neighborhood revitalization in distressed communities, support for local economic activity and creation of small businesses and jobs. The application deadline is Sept. 19.

“Investing in the health of our local communities by funding key

community partners is a priority for Citizens Bank, and we are proud that our Growing Communities initiative will support and encourage neighborhood-based economic development activities throughout our Commonwealth,” said Jerry Sargent, president of Citizens Bank and RBS Citizens, Massachusetts.

“Grant recipients can invest in the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit

of small businesspeople who contribute to the wellbeing of communities across Massachusetts.”

Growing Communities is part of Citizens Helping Citizens Strengthen Communities, the bank’s program to help contribute to the economic vitality of its communities. The Growing Communities initiative is designed to promote and invest in neighborhood revitalization based on the existing assets of a community.

“Investing in the health of our local communities by funding key community partners is a priority for Citizens Bank.”

— Jerry Sargent

(L-R) Geoff Muldaur of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Dom Flemons of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Jim Kweskin of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band before a performance at the Rhythm and Roots Music Festival held in Charlestown, R.I., over the Labor Day weekend. (Don West photos)

The Growing Communities program was launched in Ohio in 2010 then extended to Michigan and New Hampshire in 2012. The program came to Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New York earlier this year and is now expanding its reach to Massachusetts.

“These grants will continue to revitalize local communities and create jobs in cities and towns across the Commonwealth,” said Aaron Gornstein, undersecretary of the Department of Housing and Community Development. “We encourage nonprofit organizations in cities and towns across our Commonwealth to apply and take advantage

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CATERING HALEY HOUSE BAKERY CAFÉ

Breakfast Specials, Signature Muffins and Scones, A la Carte Breakfast, Lunch Package Deals, Wrap and Sandwich Platters, Steamin’ Hot Entrees, Soup and Salads, Pizza, Side Dishes, Appetizers, Desserts, Beverages and more.

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CONSTRUCTION KERRY CONSTRUCTION, INC

22 Sylvester Rd, Dorchester Interior & Exterior Painting Replacement Windows & Doors • Carpentry • Roofing • Gutters • Masonry • Kitchens • Bathrooms • Vinyl Siding Free Estimates • Licensed & Insured Call James O’Sullivan (617) 825-0592

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EYE DOCTORS & GLASSES URBAN EYE MD ASSOCIATES. P.C.

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FIRE EXTINGUISHERS FIRECODE DESIGN,LLC

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HOTEL SUPPLY HOSPITALITY PRODUCTS …

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provides products such as blankets, Bed Linens, Towels, Bathrobes, Guest Amenities, Table Linens, Soaps and much more to: • Hotels • Motels • Resorts • Spas • Salons • YMCA • Camps • Cruise Ships • other businesses www.gocomfortessentials.com Call now 1800-935-3006 email: sales@gocomfortessentials.com

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LAW OFFICE JAY U. ODUNUKWE & ASSOCIATES

Criminal: Drug Offenses/Probation Surrenders, Drunk Driving/OUI, Vehicle Offenses/Firearm, 209A/ DomesticViolence, Sealing Records/Sex Crimes, Personal Injury/Automobile Accidents Immigration: Deportation/Removal Proceedings, Employment Visas/Citizenship Sports/Entertainment: FIFA Player Agent Creative Solutions Always Delivers The Best!!!

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of these grants and we thank Citizen’s Bank for their commitment to giving back to the community.”

Growing Communities investments may support the creation and expansion of small businesses, workforce development and job creation or activities to encourage patronage of local businesses. Investments may also support efforts to make an area more livable, including façade and block beautification, park clean-ups, public art enhancements, access to local farm systems and nutritious food and financial education to encourage stability.

Projects eligible for the Growing Communities initiative must meet the following criteria: • Applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations and meet all the eligibility requirements of the Citizens Bank Foundation.

• The project proposed must improve the quality of a specific neighborhood where there is a Citizens Bank branch location, and it must establish clear goals that will demonstrate and report measureable outcomes.

Priority consideration will be given to projects that serve lowor moderate-income individuals, that strongly impact a community in need, that foster collaboration with other nonprofit partners or that demonstrate a plan for long-term sustainability.

Interested applicants must complete Citizens Charitable Foundation’s online application located at www.cybergrants.com/ citizensbank/charitable_grant with the project title Growing Communities. Applicants must also submit a supplemental Growing Communities application narrative for the application to be reviewed.

THE LAW OFFICE OF VESPER GIBBS BARNES & ASSOCIATES

Legal Services in areas of Landlord/Tenant, Real Estate, Probate Matters, and Personal Injury.

Call (617)989-8800, or visit our website: www.vespergibbsbarnesesq.com

REMOVAL SERVICES FREE TREE WOOD REMOVAL good hardwood only Call Akee Roofing (781) 483-8291

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ROOFING AKEE ROOF REPAIRS

Roof Leaks repaired, Gutters repaired, cleaned, and replaced, Flatroofs replaced. Call Richard (781) 483-8291

SKILLED NURSING FACILITY SKILLED NURSING & REHAB CENTER Proudly serving the Community since 1927

BENJAMIN HEALTHCARE CENTER

120 Fisher Ave, Boston, MA 02120 www.benjaminhealthcare.com Tel: (617) 738-1500 Fax: (617) 738-6560 Short-term, Long-term, Respite, Hospice & Rehabilitation Myrna E. Wynn, President & CEO, Notary Public

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BlackHistory 20 • Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

BlackHistory

Harper

continued from page 1

true that I am an old woman now, but the same spirit that urged me years ago, before the majority of the people of this great audience were born, to go forward in the interest of the people I am identified with is still young.

“I tell you plainly tonight, young people, that I for one will not take a back place, because, notwithstanding my age, I feel that my work is not done and that I can still be of some use. If I should happen to pass away I want to be in the harness.”

Though born to free parents in Baltimore, Md., on Sept. 24, 1825, she was left an orphan at the age of three, when her mother died. Young Frances was reared by her aunt and abolitionist uncle, Henrietta and William Watkins.

She received a classical education at her uncle’s school, the Watkins Academy for Negro Youth.

The Watkins family fled Baltimore following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, when conditions for free blacks in Maryland deteriorated. Frances Watkins moved to Ohio, where she taught domestic science as the first woman faculty member at Union Seminary — a school established by the Ohio Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

She relocated to Little York, Pa., around 1853 to teach and later worked with abolitionist William Still in Philadelphia,

helping fugitive slaves along the Underground Railroad on their journey to Canada. She joined the American Anti-Slavery Society and, from 1854 to 1860, lectured throughout the East and Midwest on the evils of slavery.

In 1854, a Boston publishing company published her book, Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects, which contained a preface by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison.

More than 10,000 copies of the volume were sold. In her poems, the abolitionist assails racism

In 1870, Harper and her daughter settled down in Philadelphia, where she attended both the First Unitarian Church and the Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church. From 1883 to 1890, she held positions of leadership in the National Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, an organization founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in November of 1874.

At the age of 67, Harper published Iola Leroy, or Shadows Uplifted (1892). It was the first published novel by a black author

“While I still linger with you, remember that I shall never consider myself too old to work in the interest of my race.”

— Frances E.W. Harper and the oppression of women.

At public meetings, she often recited her poetry, including the very popular “Bury Me in a Free Land.”

Frances Watkins married Fenton Harper in 1860 and bore a daughter, Mary, in 1862. Her husband died two years later.

After the Civil War, Harper travelled throughout the South, speaking to large audiences, encouraging emancipated slaves to become educated, and assisting in Reconstruction. She also lectured on temperance and fought for women’s suffrage.

after the Civil War. Two years later, Harper was in Boston and attended the meeting of the Colored National League.

Her speech on what would now be called the “generation gap” is still relevant today.

“Old folks are often a great deal of use to young people,” she told the gathering at Charles Street A.M.E. Church. “And it is the calm advice gathered by the experience of time that we are able to speak to you who are so full of ambition to do something for yourself and your race.

“When I was a young woman

the conditions which surrounded the race were far different from what they are today. We did not dream of the great opportunities that now lay before you awaiting your development. You have many things in your favor which we did not have in ours. But, few as these opportunities were, we made the best of them, and in so doing laid the foundation of your future development.

“We now expect you, with the advantages of classical, mechanical and commercial education that are so immensely superior to those which we enjoyed, to do something that will prove to us old people, who have made such tremendous sacrifices for you that our labor, time, money and other sacrifices were not in vain.

“We know full well that you have to contend against a prejudice that seems almost insurmountable. This prejudice, notwithstanding the assertions of certain narrow-minded people to the contrary, will be overcome with time. That it is slowly dying is shown by the prevalence of a fairer play toward our colored students in the highest educational institutions in our country.

“What the younger people of the race want is not Southern care or Northern indignation, not English sympathy, but American justice. American justice is broad. It is willing to give justice to those who can prove that they are really deserving of it.

“Instead of bothering yourselves about lynchings and getting up meetings to condemn them,

you should be forming among yourselves associations for moral and mental advancement. I admit that the lynching of innocent colored men, women and children in the South for supposed crimes is the blackest blot that has befouled the escutcheon of our country since the foul blot of slavery was washed away, but this curse will be wiped out by the rising indignation of the justice-loving American people.

“While I still linger with you, remember that I shall never consider myself too old to work in the interest of my race.”

In July of 1896, Harper helped Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and others establish the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs and became the association’s vice president in 1897.

Harper died in Philadelphia on Feb. 22, 1911.

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Boston Public Schools’ new contract with vendor Veolia Transportation went into effect on July 1. The company is helping BPS use new technology to improve bus timeliness and safety. (Photos courtesy of Boston Public Schools)

Buses

continued from page 1

“Any parent who has bus registration can just go to the website and set up the app,” said Allen.

“Those parents can just log in, enter the student’s identifying information and they will see their student’s bus on the map.”

Any bus changes will automatically be updated into the system.

The web-based system works through any browser on computers, mobile phones or tablets.

“They can see all the buses for their students using the app just by logging in once,” Allen said. “There is no need to download anything.

All parents need is the link.”

According to Allen, the idea for the app came a few years ago during a snowstorm, when the BPS bus call center was inundated with calls from parents looking for their children on all the delayed buses.

The buses already have GPS in place, so developing a system for the parents was a logical next step.

Last school year, BPS tested the bus app with about 500 parents and used feedback to improve the system.

“I think it really offered the parents a measure of safety,” Allen said. “People that used it were really happy. There was such an enormously positive response we deduced we should roll this out to everybody.”

In addition to the technology improvements, Allen said the other crucial area of improvement for this school year is an increased emphasis on safety. Veolia will double the hours of safety training drivers receive to 80 hours. This includes training dealing with incidents and emergencies, and awareness of driving around cyclists.

The implementation of onthe-road driver training is entirely new for BPS. Veolia, which offers bus services through about 200 contracts

in the United States and Canada, is using its driver-training experience to add this training for BPS. Veolia’s parent company, Veolia Transdev, operates contracts for public transportation for 5,000 city transit authorities in 27 countries.

Alex Roman, general manager of Veolia, said that many of the practices and systems that work well with city and transit bus systems are easily adaptable to a school bus system.

However, Roman also points to the technologies mentioned in the new BPS contract. “One of the things that attracted us to working with Boston Public Schools was their willingness to embrace new technologies,” he said.

Two years ago, BPS started to change its bus-scheduling system and Veolia is building on that change. The first step is adding an “arrival board” to track buses more efficiently and make sure they get going on time.

“We studied that software suite that they are using and that is

where we came up with the arrival board,” said Roman. “If buses get started on time they will operate on time and they are much more likely to run on time for the rest of the morning.”

All BPS drivers will now have bus schedules on a tablet with them at all times. “They can much more quickly find the schedule they are looking for as well as get updates as the schedules change, because some of them change daily,” Roman said.

On a twice-daily basis Veolia will also analyze bus-performance data to track how the schedule goes in the morning and afternoon and fix any issues by the next day. Technology will also be used to track customer complaints and response to these complaints, breaking down complaints by details such as cause or location.

“This is the same kind of technology that we use in all of our transit operations,” Roman said.

BPS typically sends a survey to parents about the bus system

and Veolia will help automate this process in the future.

Roman said Veolia is thrilled to get the contract with BPS, citing “their approach and interest in changing the paradigm of how the school bus management was provided.” He added, “Our use [of] technology to more efficiently operate the service was a good fit with Boston Public Schools.”

With Veolia, Allen believes BPS has found the company to help set a new high standard in bus service to students and families, and one that is helping the city save money as well.

The company took a BPS-proposed $17 million increase in total transportation costs for this year and came back with a proposal for an increase of only $11 million.

BPS officials say the money saved will be used to invest in classrooms.

“We hope that it is going to be a great year,” Allen said. “Even when the buses are on time there is always room for improvement in terms of safety.”

Boston Public Schools has launched a new school bus app, “Where’s my school bus?”

It allows parents to track the buses their students are on. All parents need to track their children is to login to the apps’ website, shown above.

THE BANNER’S REACH Print newspaper

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22 • Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

of administration.

Docket No. SU13P0920EA

Citation on Petition for Formal Adjudication

Date: August 13, 2013

WITNESS, HON. Joan P. Armstrong, First Justice of this Court.

Date: August 21, 2013 Patricia M. Campatelli Register of Probate Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department

Estate of Melvin B.R. Webb Also known as: Lee Webb Date of Death: 09/22/2012 SUFFOLK Division

To all interested persons: A petition has been filed by Pamela D. Jones of Mattapan, MA and Cynthia R. Fernandes of Canton, MA requesting that the Court enter a formal Decree and Order of testacy and for such other relief as requested in the Petition.

And also requesting that Pamela D. Jones of Mattapan, MA and Cynthia R. Fernandes of Canton, MA be appointed as Personal Representative(s) of said estate to serve Without Surety on the bond.

You have the right to obtain a copy of the Petition from the Petitioner or at the Court. You have a right to object to this proceeding. To do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance and objection at this Court before 10:00 a.m. on 09/26/2013. This is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline by which you must file a written appearance and objection if you object to this proceeding. If you fail to file a timely written appearance and objection followed by an Affidavit of Objections within thirty (30) days of the return date, action may be taken without further notice to you.

The estate is being administered under formal procedure by the Personal Representative under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code without supervision by the Court. Inventory and accounts are not required to be filed with the Court, but recipients are entitled to notice regarding the administration from the Personal Representative and can petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses

Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing vs.

Ernesto P Crespo

The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for Desertion.

The Complaint is on file at the Court.

An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411.

You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Robert J Dilibero, Esq., 500 Commercial Street, Boston, MA 02109 your answer, if any, on or before 10/24/2013. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of the Register of this Court.

SOUTH YARMOUTH

Simpkins School Residences

Affordable Rental Opportunity For elders 62 years or older*

Call 508.394.7111 or visit www.SimpkinsSchool.com for more information.

Income restrictions apply.

35 Units (ALL 1 BEDROOM)

Rent is based on 30% of adjusted gross income Maximum Income Per Household Size HH Size

30%

50%

1

$17,850

$29,750

2

$20,400

$34,000

Applications may be picked up and returned (weekdays only unless otherwise noted) at Winn Residential 233 Blue Hill Ave. Roxbury, MA 02119: Tuesday, September 3rd to Friday September 20th 9am to 5pm Saturday, September 14th 9am to 1pm Tuesday, September 10th 9am to 8pm Thursday, September 19th 9am to 8pm To request an application to be sent to you, please call 617-442-8472 during the application period September 3-20.

Deadline for completed applications at the above address: In person by 5:00pm on or postmarked by Friday, September 27, 2013.

Selection by lottery. Use and occupancy restrictions apply. *At least one member of the household must be 62 years or older at time of occupancy 5 units are restricted to CBH-Eligible households, of which 2 will have preference for wheelchair accessible units and 1 unit will have preference for families requiring sensory features 3 units have preference for homeless households referred by Homestart Inc., or other agencies serving the homeless. Preference for Boston Residents and households working in Boston for up to 70% of the units.

An informational session will be held on September 9, 2013 at 4pm. This meeting will be held at the Community Room at Castle Square Apartments, located at: 484 Tremont St. South End, Boston, MA 02116.

Community Room is located behind the management office adjacent to the parking lot.

An informational session will also be held September 10, 2013 at 4pm. This meeting will be held at the Community Room at Atkins Apartments located at: 215 Blue Hill Ave Roxbury MA 02119.

For more info or reasonable accommodations, call Winn Residential 617-442-8472 Equal Housing Opportunity

A Complaint has been presented to this Court by the Plaintiff (s), Juan Liriano, seeking Complaint in Equity to Enforce a Foreign Judgment.

You are required to serve upon Jenny H. Guirado-Gonzalez, Esq. — attorney for plaintiff (s) — whose address is 112 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 your answer on or before October 24th, 2013. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer in the office of the Register of this Court at Boston.

Witness, Joan P. Armstrong, Esquire, First Justice of said Court at Boston, this 13th day of August, 2013.

Publication: Bay State Banner

Patricia M. Campatelli Register of Probate Court

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278 Blue Hill Ave, Roxbury, MA 02119

Juan Liriano , Plaintiff v.

Juana M. Ramos , Defendant

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Brand New Affordable Studios, 1 & 2 Bedroom Apts for adults 55+. 65 apts. Available by Lottery.

Applications Available through 9/16/13 at 134 Old Main Street S. Yarmouth MA,02664/ 1146 Rt 28 S. Yarmouth MA, 02664 & 528 Forest Rd. West Yarmouth MA, 02673.

Quincy commons

Summons By Publication

Witness, Hon. Joan P. Armstrong, First Justice of this Court.

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(617) 261-4600 x 7799 • ads@bannerpub.com

Docket No. SU13E0072QC

To the above named Defendant:

To the Defendant:

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU13D1616DR

Elsie Cazeau

Patricia M. Campatelli Register of Probate

Unquity House 30 Curtis Rd., Milton

Unquity House is a 139 unit apartment complex offering activities and security for ages 62 and over.

Studio and One bedroom apartments with utilities included, prices range from $695 to $872. Accepting applications, some income restrictions apply.

Please call 617-898-2032 or visit our website at www.mreinc.org

APPLICATION OPENING The Saugus Housing Authority will be accepting applications for the 2 and 3 bedroom units of family housing located at 212 Essex Street, Saugus, MA. The income limits for family households are:

2-person household: $52,000 5-person household: $70,200 3-person household: $58,500 6-person household: $75,400 4-person household: $65,000 7-person household: $80,600 8-person household: $85,800 Applications are available between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and between 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Friday at the Saugus Housing Authority, 19 Talbot Street, Saugus, MA. You may also obtain an application by mail by calling the Authority at (781) 233-2116.

All applications in the Authority’s possession as of 2:00 p.m., Thursday, October 3, 2013, will become part of the lottery system for tenant selection set forth by DHCD. On Thursday, October 3, 2013 at 2:00 p.m., application numbers will be drawn from a container one at a time. Each corresponding application will be assigned a permanent control number and the application will be entered into a Master Ledger. Applications will remain on waiting list for consideration as vacancies occur.

Stanley T. King, Chairperson, Saugus Housing Authority EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

Parker Hill Apartments The Style, Comfort and Convenience you Deserve!

Heat and Hot Water Always Included Modern Laundry Facilities Private Balconies / Some with City Views Plush wall to wall carpet Adjacent to New England Baptist Hospital Secured Entry, Elevator Convenience Private Parking Near Public Transportation and much more ...

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888-842-7945

Wollaston Manor 91 Clay Street Quincy, MA 02170

Senior Living At It’s Best

A senior/disabled/ handicapped community 0 BR units = $1,027/mo 1 BR units = $1,101/mo All utilities included.

Call Sandy Miller, Property Manager

#888-691-4301

Program Restrictions Apply.

CHELSEA APARTMENT

4+ bdrms Newly renovated, 2000+ sq ft apt in 3 fam, no smkng/pets, hrdwd flrs, eat-in kit, pantry, lg master bedroom, din and lv rm, laundry rm, enclosed frnt/bck prchs, off street prkng, T access, min to Bost.

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Thursday, September 5, 2013 • BAY STATE BANNER • 23

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Arlington 360

Affordable and Middle-Income Housing Lottery Arlington, MA www.s-e-b.com/lottery = www.LiveArlington360.com Arlington 360 is a 164 unit rental apartment community located in Arlington at 4105 Symmes Circle. There are Twenty Six (26) Affordable apartments available to households with incomes at or below 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). Nine (9) Middle-Income apartments are available to households with incomes below 120% of Area Median Income (AMI). Apartments include designer finishes such as plank flooring, stainless steel appliances and designer cabinetry in the kitchens, tile floors in the baths, and in-unit washers and dryers. Community amenities include a pool, fitness center, clubhouse, two business centers, tot lot, sport court, community garden and easy access to two public parks. Please note that apartments may be converted to condominiums. The date of conversion is unknown but eligible tenants in the units will be given the first opportunity to purchase their unit at affordable or middle-income prices. Please see the Information Packet for more details.

Affordable Apartments for Households Under 80% AMI

Studios @ $1,093, 1BRs @ $1,243, 2BRs @ $1,364-$1,381, 3BRs @ $1,496-$1,518

Middle Income Apartments for Households Under 120% AMI Studios @ $1,867, 1BRs @ $2,127, 2BRs @ $2,359-$2,376, 3BRs @ $2,602

All tenants will pay their own gas heat, gas hot water, gas cooking, and electricity.

Household Size

Affordable Units (80%) Maximum Income Limit

Middle-Income Units (120%) Maximum Income Limit

1

$47,150

$79,296

2

$53,900

$90,624

3

$60,650

$101,952

4

$67,350

$113,280

5

$72,750

$122,342

6

$78,150

$131,405

Completed Applications and Required Income Documentation must be received, not postmarked, by 2 pm on Nov 5th 2013. A Public Info Session will be held on Oct 8th, 2013 at 6:00 pm in the Arlington Senior Center Main Room (27 Maple Street, next to Town Hall). The Lottery will be held on Nov 18th 6 pm in the Arlington Senior Center Mural Room.

For Lottery Information and Application, or for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, go to www.s-e-b.com/lottery or call (617) 782-6900x3 and leave a message.

Applications and Information also available at the Robbins Library on 700 Mass Ave in Arlington (M-W 9-9, Thurs 1-9, Fri+Sat 9-5, Sun 2-5) and Arlington Town Hall Planning Department, 730 Mass. Ave. (M-W 8-4, Thurs 8-7, Fri 8-noon)

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CODMAN SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD

director of operations Boston-based environmental non-profit seeks strategic-minded, personable, and team-oriented F/T director of operations with 5-7 yrs. exp. w/MBA or equiv. Responsible for human resources, facilities, office management, information systems, and administrative support. Exp. leader, mentor, and ops professional w/strong desire to advance mission.

Exp. in environmental non-profit strongly preferred.

Resume and cover letter to

careers@clf.org.

http://www.clf.org/about-clf/employment-opportunities/#directorofoperations

Project Hope

FAIRMOUNT COMMUNITY ORGANIZER

Director of Workforce Development

Experienced Community Organizer sought to support the Mattapan community in organizing around transit and economic development opportunities related to the Fairmount/Indigo commuter rail line.

Project Hope works with families so they can move up and out of poverty. We seek a director of the Workforce Development and Employer Partnerships (WDEP) department to maintain existing programming and partnerships and to establish new training and partner agreements. In addition to leading ongoing expansion of workforce development services, the Director manages a talented staff and performs administrative duties including budget development and monitoring, collection of participant data and reporting, and coordination of outreach and marketing activities.

The Fairmount CDC Collaborative and Coalition has a focus on undertaking transit oriented development within a 1/2 mile radius of the proposed, new and existing Fairmount Indigo line stops.

With a focus on transit equity, including construction of a new Mattapan stop on the Fairmount/Indigo line and for “fair fares” and more frequent service on the line, the Fairmount Community Organizer will provide leadership and support to the main organizing campaigns of the Fairmount Indigo CDC Collaborative and the Fairmount Indigo Coalition.

Qualifications:

Successful candidates must have proven experience in managing grassroots campaigns, have an understanding of organizing strategies and have excellent communication skills (verbal and written).

Ability to engage community constituents and work with stakeholders of diverse backgrounds required, including working with public entities. Experience in organizing in Mattapan a plus. Solid knowledge of Microsoft Office programs and social media important.

Bachelors degree with 3-5 years proven experience as an Organizer in low-mod income communities preferred. Ability to work flexible hours, including nights and occasional weekends required.

• Significant content knowledge of and experience in workforce • development with a focus on low income communities and/or homeless families; • Demonstrated success with program management and implementation; • Experience in program development; • Understanding of public/private funding sources and reporting requirements; • Experience with performance management and outcomes driven programming; • Computer literacy; • BA/BS in Human Services or related field.

Send cover letters, salary requirements and writing sample to: jgrogan@prohope.org Project Hope values diversity in its workforce and candidates from a wide range of backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

This is a part time position (20-25 hrs/wk) based out of ABCD Mattapan. Salary commensurate with experience.

Send cover letters and resumes with salary requirements to Karleen Porcena at 535 River St, Mattapan, MA 02126 or karleen.porcena@bostonabcd.org or call for more information at 617-298-2045x245.

Deadline for all applications is Friday September 13, 2013.