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business news Fab Lab comes to Roxbury Innovation Center pg 9 black history Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin pg 12 Horatio Homer pg 14

plus Trinity Irish Dance Co. at Emerson pg 16 The 20th anniversary of “Rent” pg 17 Thursday, February 4, 2016 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965 • CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

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Students seek say in charter cap case Lawyers file to intervene for BPS kids who say cap lift harms them

By JULE PATTISON-GORDON

BANNER PHOTO

Kylie Webster-Cazeau (left) and Meggie Noel, BLS seniors who launched #BlackatBLS, spoke before the Boston School Committee last Wednesday.

#BlackatBLS campaign gets school officials’ ears Boston Latin School seniors allege inaction on racism

By JULE PATTISON-GORDON

Boston Latin School seniors took to YouTube and Twitter recently to draw light to what they regard as widespread racism at the school and the administration’s inaction. Within a week, the seniors met with the Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, gained attention of Mayor Martin Walsh and secured a reform plan from BLS Headmaster Lynne Mooney Teta.

Soon after, they testified before the Boston School Committee.

ON THE WEB Watch BLS BLACK’s video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=72akBcSZiOY Two members of BLS Black Leaders Aspiring for Change and Knowledge, 17-year-old Meggie Noel, president of the organization, and 18-year-old Kylie Webster-Cazeau, launched a social media campaign in which they called upon peers and alumni to share experiences of marginalization and racism, accompanied by the hashtag #BlackatBLS. The

campaign prompted officials to promise of school system-wide change, including a more active approach to preventing and combating racism and consideration of greater student representation in policymaking.

Campaign starts

Meggie Noel and Kylie Webster-Cazeau were moved to action in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MI. When the grand jury announced

See BLS BLACK, page 20

Seven Boston Public School students, along with the New England Area Conference of the NAACP, moved on Thursday to intervene in a pending lawsuit over the cap on charter schools.

The intervention seeks to introduce a viewpoint some regard as insufficiently present in the case — that of the defense.

That lawsuit, filed in September, calls for completely lifting the cap. Several defendants in the case — education officials in the Baker administration — have stated support for such a measure.

The intervenors — students of color, English language learners and students with disabilities — aim to present the voice of those who would believe their education would be harmed should the plaintiffs win, said Matthew Cregor, education project director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice and one of the lead attorneys for the student intervenors.

“It is critical that the voices of students in traditional public schools be heard in this lawsuit,” Cregor said.

Intervenors and their counsel claim that charter schools serve proportionately fewer students who are ELL or have disabilities, and push out students of color using harsh disciplinary measures. Exacerbating the problem, they say: Charter schools draw millions of dollars from district schools, making it harder for BPS to serve students that charters do

not, or will not.

The motion, filed last Thursday, enables the lawyers to bring the seven students’ testimony and perspective to the next court hearing.

The lawsuit

In September, lawyers Paul F. Ware Jr., Michael B. Keating and William F. Lee brought a lawsuit against the Baker administration officials responsible for enforcing the charter cap, charging that the limit on charter school seats deprives thousands of students across the state of their constitutional right to quality education.

The lawyers filed on behalf of five Boston students who, after failing to receive seats in charter school lotteries, were assigned to district schools. These particular BPS schools are classified by the state as “underperforming.”

The defendants on the case include James Peyser, secretary of education; Mitchell Chester, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education; Paul Sagan, chair of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; and nine of the board’s members. Peyser, Sagan and Governor Charlie Baker have come out in support of lifting the cap.

This makes it imperative that the views of those opposing a cap lift are featured in the case, Cregor said.

“The plaintiffs and a number of the defendants are aligned in this lawsuit,” stated Alan J. Rom, another attorney representing the proposed intervenors. “Unlike the

See LAWYERS, page 8

Walsh cites progress on policing Data suggest rights violations persist

By YAWU MILLER

Questioned last week about police reports alleging unconstitutional searches, Mayor Martin Walsh said the department is making progress in reducing crime and arrests, and pledged to work to improve relations between police and the communities they patrol.

“We have to continue to work every single day at community policing and building trust in the

neighborhoods,” Walsh told the Banner. “Clearly, some of those numbers are bothersome. For me this year, the biggest number I’m looking at is the 15 percent drop in the number of arrests. Every day with the police we’re building trust and building support. Something’s working. So we’re going to continue to build on that.”

Three weeks ago, the police department released 54 months of entries from the Field Intelligence Observation Report database, a

repository of reports on police observations and interactions. Officers are required to file FIOs when they observe, question or detain people suspected of criminal activity. The reports are filed in a database that is intended to allow officers to track the activities and associations of gang members and criminally-involved individuals.

Among the 149,545 entries in the database, police officers recorded 3,533 instances where they searched an individual’s person, vehicle or property citing “reasonable BANNER PHOTOS

See FIO DATA, page 21

Left, Mayor Martin J. Walsh. Right, City Councilor Tito Jackson.

2 • Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER

New city planning puts focus on Dudley Square

By JULE PATTISON-GORDON

As developers continue to eye Dudley Square, city officials are making the district the focus of a new community planning effort.

“People want to live in Boston.

That’s a good thing. But we need to shape growth as a community, not let it shape us,” Mayor Martin Walsh said during his State of the City address last month. “That’s what folks are doing along the Red Line in South Boston, and the Orange Line in Jamaica Plain.

They’re helping us plan vibrant, walkable streets, with affordable homes, diverse businesses and great open space. Tonight I can announce two new planning areas: Glovers’ Corner in Dorchester and Dudley Square in Roxbury.”

New vision

Current high-level developer interest in Dudley Square has prompted city officials to move more quickly on crafting a plan for the district’s growth, said Sara Myerson, new director of planning for the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

“There are certain areas we are working on with huge development pressures [which] means we feel the need to accelerate their planning,” Myerson said. She will be charged with integrating neighborhood-focused visions into the larger citywide plan of Imagine Boston 2030.

“The goal here is to get ahead of some of the development pressures in a concerted way, where the community can really advise on the visions that they want to see for the area,” said Nick Martin, BRA director of communications.

According to a Boston Redevelopment Authority press release, three principles will guide the process: “Preserve assets valued by the community, enhance underutilized spaces and places and identify strategies to grow responsibly in order to accommodate future residents.”

The new planning effort also provides an opportunity to reassess the vision laid out in the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan to see if it still suits community goals, said Lara Mérida, BRA deputy director for community planning.

The planning team will explore opportunities to encourage investment and development on

privately-owned land and best uses for the many vacant parcels the city and BRA own in Dudley, according to Mérida.

“We will be thinking about how we can encourage responsible growth on those parcels and hopefully release requests for proposals on those parcels in the area,” Mérida said.

One aim will be to find ways to accommodate more middle class affordable housing and more housing overall, Martin said.

Martin expects the process will involve nine months of gathering feedback from the Dudley Square community and creating plans, then another three months of internal BRA work on revising the district’s zoning rules.

Reclaim Roxbury

Another planning effort involves engaging Roxbury at large.

City Councilor Tito Jackson launched Reclaim Roxbury, a community planning initiative that initiated a series of meetings last fall and continues to meet. The councilor highlighted the need for residents to take control of how land is used in their community and create an overarching plan to guide all projects.

He emphasized local voice: “Community planning does not happen downtown. Community

planning happens in our neighborhood and in our community.”

Reclaim Roxbury’s focus includes establishing a representative governing structure that will oversee planning in the community and ensure developers uphold their promises. Both Jackson and Martin said the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan, adopted over a decade ago, needs updating.

Joyce Stanley, executive director of Dudley Main Streets, seconded the need for better planning, saying that often the BRA has taken a project-by-project approach without accounting for each one’s impact on traffic and other conditions in the area.

Stakeholder voice

The best way for Walsh to assist community planning is to solicit and support residents’ opinions, said Jackson, who learned of the mayor’s intentions for Dudley during the State of the City address.

“I think the best resource that the mayor can provide is an ear to listen to the community and what the community wants, and to follow the direction of the individuals who live, work and love this community and have transformed it into what it is today.”

The BRA’s Nick Martin said that for its planning efforts in Dudley,

GOOGLE MAPS

Several groups seek to organize community planning in the area. the agency will create an advisory board comprising stakeholder-nominated residents, elected officials and local business owners.

“We always work very closely with all the electeds in the neighborhood,” Sara Myerson said as well.

Retail, jobs and infrastructure

Stanley said Dudley Square’s main need is economic development, particularly a plan to bring visitors, retain small retailers and attract restaurants and destination businesses.

“We need a plan to get

businesses,” Stanley said. “Right now there’s not much to bring people here.”

Rising property values has contributed to struggles to keep small retailers. In recent years, such businesses increasingly have vanished, as many landlords decline to renew leases in order to redevelop buildings to sell or rent to higher bidders, she said. Other small storeowners find it difficult to afford locations in Dudley Square.

Jackson said Roxbury residents’ major concerns include displacement, gentrification and a need for more job creation. As development happens, efforts must be taken to ensure local hiring, he added.

Housing, business and employment

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Many developers are eyeing Dudley Square.

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In his State of the City address, Walsh also announced the creation of an Office of Housing and Stability whose work will focus on helping residents stay in their communities as rents rise. The new department, he said, will “develop resources for tenants, incentives for landlords who do the right thing and partnership with developers to keep more of our housing stock affordable.”

Walsh also seeks to boost small businesses and employment through a variety of initiatives including a new Small Business Center, an apprenticeship program aimed at low-income workers, a resource to help employers hire local and a task force to study the impact of a $15 per hour minimum wage.

Other initiatives include increasing park land and making the city more affordable to seniors.

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Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER • 3

Dudley St. 2030: Group plans for future of neighborhood

By YAW MILLER

Roxbury residents registered their concerns and hopes for the future of Boston during a Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative planning exercise last week.

During the event, which was attended by Mayor Martin Walsh and other city officials, residents visited different areas of DSNI’s office, which was organized to gather input on three topics: housing, employment and transportation.

In the housing section, residents responded to a series of questions, adding red dots to statements they agreed with.

Some residents complained of evictions, others cited property tax increases and many registered their red dots in the rental increase section.

“This will tell us as an organization where we should focus our energy,” said Tony Hernandez, who is director of operations for the nonprofit’s land trust, Dudley Neighbors Incorporated. “We’re getting the pulse of the community so we can focus on the needs of the community.”

The data DSNI collects in its community visioning process will also help the city better understand the needs of the Dudley Street neighborhood, according to Sheila Dillon, director of the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development.

“A lot of the folks here might not participate directly in Boston 2030,” she said, referring to the citywide planning process the Walsh administration kicked off last year. “This is perfect timing.”

Displacement fears

For DSNI, the timing of its planning process is important not just for Boston 2030, but also because of rapidly rising rents and land values in Roxbury and Dorchester that have attracted speculators to the area where DSNI is active, which includes

BOSTON REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

BANNER PHOTO

DSNI Executive Director Juan Leyton addresses an audience at the Roxbury nonprofit’s office during a planning exercise. Looking on are Mayor Martin Walsh, City of Boston Chief of Economic Development John Barros and board member Keila Barros.

Dudley Street, Quincy Street and Blue Hill Avenue. In the 1980s, when vacant lots abounded in the area, DSNI was granted eminent domain powers, which allowed the agency to take vacant lots out of the speculative market and build deed-restricted affordable housing.

But as DSNI Executive Director Juan Leyton told the gathering last week, the organization still has much work to do.

“More than 30 years ago, residents formed DSNI because there was a threat of speculation and displacement of residents who have lived here for generations,” he said. “Despite all of the accomplishments we have made, this remains a threat, along with education, housing and income inequality.”

While there are only a handful of vacant lots remaining in the DSNI catchment area, there

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are many in the streets beyond.

Hernandez says the agency may move beyond its borders to add more lots to its land trust.

“For this neighborhood, affordability is a must,” he said.

Because 80 percent of the residents in the DSNI area are renters, many of them are feeling the pressures of the housing market. Many of those renters have been turning to DSNI for help, says board member Maribel

Quinones.

“You see new housing being built, and it’s not affordable,” she said. “Residents aren’t benefitting from the new development.”

Boston 2030

DSNI is the second neighborhood organization seeking to append its own planning process to the Boston 2030 effort. In Chinatown, the Chinese Progressive Association also has held planning

events and completed its own neighborhood master plan.

Across the city, Boston Redevelopment Authority officials hope to stitch together individual plans, like the process the agency has launched along Washington Street and Columbus Avenue in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, and those it plans to launch in Dudley Square, South Boston and the Freeport Street area in Dorchester.

Walsh said DSNI’s move to take the lead on planning in its catchment area is in keeping with Boston 2030’s goal of fostering community participation in city planning.

“That’s really the intention,” he said. “It’s to get DSNI and other neighborhood organizations discussing what the future of the city should be. This is probably the best I’ve seen, so far, of an organization doing something on Boston 2030. They have boards, charts, numbers, suggestions, they have young children talking about this.

That’s the way it should be.”

Other local officials who attended DSNI’s event included Boston Chief of Education Rahn Dorsey, Chief of Economic Development John Barros, Rep. Evandro Carvalho and Councilor Tito Jackson.

“DSNI is doing what it has always been doing, which is community engagement,” said Rep. Carvalho. “Looking forward, I want to work with DSNI to make sure we continue to build and develop the community, and increase opportunities for people that are here today.”

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4 • Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER

EDITORIAL

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INSIDE: BUSINESS, 9• BLACK HISTORY, 12• ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, 16 • CLASSIFIEDS, 21

Established 1965

A lack of civility tolerated at Boston Latin Students at the Boston Latin School are among the most intellectually gifted in the Commonwealth. Upon graduation they attend the nation’s most prestigious universities.

They then become prominent in business, the professions and the humanities. Unfortunately, academic acuity in the teenage years is not always accompanied with wisdom, kindness and common courtesy.

The sociology of success might even be destructive to the more civilized human qualities. Students admitted to Boston Latin are the academic leaders of their elementary schools, a position they have always taken for granted. For many of them it is the first time that they have been in the company of their academic peers. It might be harrowing for some to be confronted for the first time by those able to dislodge them from the status of the academic elite.

In earlier decades the spirit of competition was stimulated by the administration. Newly arrived seventh graders were told at their first assembly, “Look to your right and then to your left. Only one of you will make it to graduation.”

Young students had already become aware of the time-consuming homework. Then they were made to feel that for their success they had to prevail academically over others.

One would expect that such an intense and competitive environment would generate hostilities, and it did. Conflicts developed and racial epithets were not uncommon when one of the antagonists was black. At that time, decades ago, there were no specific rules against calling another student a n----r. However, there was an expectation that a Latin school boy would always be decorous and appropriate, so the offending bigot had to avoid being perceived as disruptive and ill-mannered.

Heated controversies had to be settled out of sight of teachers. Boston Latin was an all-boys

school, and the students resorted to fisticuffs when diplomacy failed. There were not many black students, but they seemed to have little concern about whether white students liked them. Different students developed their own groups of friends.

Times have changed in several ways. Boston Latin School is now co-educational, so it is no longer an all-boys club. There is now a Boston Public Schools Code of Conduct to determine the discipline for racial slurs, rather than an afterschool fist fight. Under 7.5.4 of the Code, “Using racial or ethnic slurs in a persistent and/or abusive manner” can result in a student’s suspension. But there is another penalty that bigoted students have not probably considered — being blackballed from admission to major universities.

Young people tend to use Facebook or Twitter to communicate hostile messages, rather than rely on face-to-face confrontations. This creates an electronic record of their bigotry.

With the problems presently besetting American universities on racial issues, it is unlikely that a certified bigot will be favorably considered for admission. One would expect that Boston Latin students are too smart to be caught up in such racial controversies.

Black students have every right to file an official complaint of racial abuse, but it is good to remember that it is also demeaning to be considered a whiner. Bigoted whites have every right to dislike blacks as long as they do not violate the blacks’ peaceful enjoyment of the academic process. However, polite society will tend not to embrace those with a disposition to reject others on the basis of race, religion or country of origin.

Life is hard. Blacks have to maintain the attitude of being tough enough to succeed despite any petty impediments.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A proven model to end student homelessness

The recent Banner article, (How rising homelessness strikes Boston’s students, 1/13) shines a light on the tragic fact that some students don’t have a place to go home to after the school bell rings.

As Councilors Tito Jackson and Annissa Essaibi-George pledge to address this issue in their upcoming term, there’s an important success story that they should look to as a model.

No Child Goes Homeless is a part-

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nership between Project Hope, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and schools in Roxbury that brings access to homeless support services into the schools.

Through the partnership, school staff are trained to recognize signs of housing instability and connect families to social workers, shelters and permanent housing close to their schools.

Connecting community organizations, schools and families in the Dudley Village Campus that have not typically worked together has been instrumental in making this initia-

INDEX

“How could any Latin School student not know that we all belong to the same human race: Homo sapiens?”

tive succeed.

Since its launch in 2012, the program has served well over one hundred families, providing shelter, job training and stable housing, all in a location that ensures their kids don’t have to change schools.

Hopefully councilors Jackson and Essaibi-George can look to this program as a model as they seek to end student homelessness citywide.

— Juan Leyton is executive director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative

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Flint’s great future ... If

Who would you like to see become the next president of the United States?

By LEE A. DANIELS The danger facing the residents of Flint, Michigan is heartbreaking and extraordinary — a tale seemingly out of 18th-century Europe, or scattered parts of today’s less-developed nations rather than the 21st-century United States of America.

For more than a year water flowing from the city’s ageing, corroded pipes subjected apparently many of its 100,000 residents to a toxic mix of lead and other dangerous chemicals while state officials, intent on cutting governmental costs, ignored a growing chorus of warnings.

The lead and other toxins that contaminated Flint’s water-delivery system during that time represent a direct and long-lasting threat to residents’ physical and emotional health. Some have already experienced skin rashes and hair loss and other physical manifestations. Even more alarmingly, the effect on children’s intellectual development — on their speech patterns, motor skills, emotional stability and capacity to learn — could either show itself immediately or lay dormant for years.

Not every child in Flint will develop these problems. But how many will and how many won’t are at present unknowable. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at Flint’s Hurley Medical Center and one of the first who warned of the dangers the state’s 2014 decision to use the polluted Flint River as the source of Flint’s water supply was having, said during the town hall forum held there last week by MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow that every child in Flint will have to be monitored their entire childhood for signs lead is damaging their health.

The need for that kind of effort suggests an additional way — the first being the apparent political mobilization of a large segment of Flint’s citizenry the Maddow forum made evident — the tragedy in Flint can be reversed.

Flint can have an extraordinary future — if the people of not just Flint but America as a whole compel the now deservedly-disgraced administration of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and the federal government to “flip the switch” on the governmental neglect that beleaguered city suffered.

The response of numerous celebrities and private-sector companies in supplying millions of bottles of water and other aid to Flint’s citizens and schools has helped the city and helped spread the word about the crisis.

Now, the federal and state of Michigan governments need, in concert with Flint’s citizens, to launch a comprehensive project to protect Flint’s adults and children from both the now-evident and the potential health effects of the state’s policy of deliberate neglect.

Some first steps have been taken.

They include the sacking or forced resignations of some of the officials who directly “managed” the state’s regime of indifference to the health of Flint residents; and the Michigan state legislature’s unanimous approval of Snyder’s request for an immediate $28 million in emergency state funds for Flint.

In addition, the Governor has asked the federal government to expand Medicaid to cover every Flint resident under the age of 21.

And he’s appointed a commission of outside experts on children’s health, water quality, and civil engineering projects to suggest what needs to be done and monitor the multitude of city, state and federal actions that will be taken. State officials said the corrosion-control chemicals they added, finally, to Flint’s water system in recent months has made the water flowing from residents’ taps safe (although many question whether that’s true).

And, of course, huge issues now loom — about whether the entire pipe system should be replaced; and, even more important, what will be the shape, scope and cost of the health-care project that should be created to monitor, reduce and repair the physical and mental damage Flint residents have suffered and will suffer?

In fact, the possibilities here — of rebuilding part of a city’s infrastructure and of providing comprehensive health care to a large but very specific population — are enormously exciting. But, the crisis in Flint has already become a fiercely contested political issue, especially in this presidential election year.

So be it. Democrats and other Americans who care about governmental responsibility shouldn’t back down from pursuing stillmurky questions about the Snyder administration’s actions that led to this humanitarian crisis. And they shouldn’t back down from demanding that Flint have all the money it needs to provide for the health care of the adults and children harmed by this man-made tragedy.

Lee A. Daniels’ collection of columns, “Race Forward: Facing America’s Racial Divide in 2014”, is available at www.amazon.com.

I would like it to be Hillary Clinton.

She’s more in to the community. She cares about low-income people.

I don’t really like any of the candidates.

I’m a Democrat. I’m with Hillary.

Sandra

Felicite Valentine

Receptionist Dorchester

Student Revere

Hillary. She has experience. She understands health care and foreign policy. Bernie is good, but Hillary is experienced.

Hillary Clinton, because she’s a formidable leader and she demonstrated her capability as secretary of state.

Charles Credle

Othuman Ntale

Cornelius Hudson

Teacher Roxbury

Retired Roxbury

As the Founder and President of Center Focus International, Inc., Monroe worked with Partners’ Diversity and Inclusion Council over the past two years to develop the organization’s diversity and inclusion vision and strategy. In this new role, she will provide leadership in the execution of Partners’ strategy and her work will primarily focus on enhancing the diversity and inclusion efforts of Partners corporate departments while building upon similar work underway at Partners’ institutions.

At Center Focus International, Monroe also led diversity, inclusion and organization effectiveness efforts for the Central Intelligence Agency, John Hancock, Hasbro, Pfizer, Novartis, Raytheon, Shell America, the State Street Corporation and the Walt Disney Company, among others. Monroe is also a published author on the topic of workforce diversity. She received the Boston Business Journal Lifetime Achievement Award in Diversity,

and in 2012, she was appointed to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women by then-Governor Deval Patrick. She holds a master’s degree in organization development from Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s from California State University in Dominguez Hills.

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Monet Smith Primary Care Dorchester

Hillary Clinton. She has experience.

IN THE NEWS

DANI MONROE Partners HealthCare today announced that it has created the position of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and filled it with Dani Monroe, who has led diversity efforts for some of the country’s largest organizations. In this new role, Monroe will be responsible for the development and implementation of an innovative diversity and inclusion strategy at Partners HealthCare.

“Dani brings a wealth of experience to her new position,” said Peter K. Markell, Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Partners HealthCare. “Her skills and energy will help Partners do everything we can to ensure that our workforce is reflective of the patients that we care for and that we have the right mix of leaders and a broad array of perspectives in order to make the best business and programmatic decisions necessary to meet the needs of our diverse patient population.”

6 • Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER

NU equips semiautomatic rifles

By JULE PATTISON-GORDON

Northeastern University’s new safety plan has drawn praise from some and left other students, community members and officials feeling less safe than before. The plan: train campus police to use semiautomatic rifles against high-level threats.

Currently 20 of the 65 NU Police Department officers are learning to handle the weapons, which will be deployed in their vehicles during emergencies. Officers carry handguns, and NUPD has owned such rifles for years, but until now has not had an official deployment policy.

Last Wednesday, Josh Zakim and Tito Jackson, city councilors whose districts encompass much of Northeastern, called for a hearing on the issue.

Equipping campus officers with greater firepower than that carried

by Boston Police Department officers is unnecessary and a recipe for accidents, some students and officials said. Zakim and Jackson admonished university officials for failing to involve or alert the surrounding community.

Ralph C. Martin II, NU senior vice president and general counsel, argued that the rifles are critical.

Should there be an active shooter, the administration cannot spare minutes waiting for city police to arrive, he wrote in a letter to the city council.

No time to spare

The edge of Northeastern’s campus is across the street from BPD headquarters, causing some to argue that the university already is well-protected.

“The Boston Police Department is well equipped and trained to respond within minutes to incidents that require an elevated tactical response,” BPD Lt. Detective Michael McCarthy told WBZ. Police Commissioner William Evans told WGBH that the rifles were unnecessary and BPD could arrive on NU’s campus within six minutes.

NU’s Martin argues that is too long to wait.

“FBI data suggests that the vast majority of active shooter situations are over in less than 5 minutes, and a quarter are over in less than 2 minutes,” he wrote. “Actions by first responders within the first few minutes can help reduce fatalities and severe injuries. Proximity to these emergencies is key — Northeastern’s officers are on campus and will always be the first responders.”

The responsibility for protecting students, he said, ultimately lies with Northeastern, and its officers know the campus best.

NU’s increased firepower is not unique: Officers at MIT, Boston University, Tufts and UMass Boston also are equipped with semiautomatic rifles.

Fears rise

In a Dec. 11 letter, members of Northeastern Students Against Institutional Discrimination said equipping the rifles has dangerous implications.

“This action has the potential to lead to police misconduct and disrupt trust between the community and administration,” stated the letter, posted on Facebook. “Limited training in cultural competency and racial sensitivity in conjunction with the

excessive use of force by police departments negatively impact black and brown individuals.”

Third-year NU student Marley Kimelman’s online petition against the rifles has garnered more than 7,500 signatures.

Zakim and Jackson underlined a similar point in a December letter to NU President Joseph Aoun.

“This is a step backwards for community policing and encourages mistrust and fear between NUPD and Northeastern students, as well as Mission Hill and Roxbury residents who often come in contact with NUPD,” the councilors wrote.

Although NUPD has no jurisdiction off-campus, the university is embedded in neighborhoods, making the officers a regular presence to residents, Zakim said.

BPD’s McCarthy told WBZ that firepower is not the answer: “Community policing and community engagement, two things the Boston Police are experts in, always prove to be a more effective tool than any piece of equipment an officer can carry.”

No voice in the matter

Among the largest complaints levied against NU is the allegation that it did not consult or inform the community, campus and officials prior to initiating the plan.

“The community should not find out about these types of weapons being deployed in the community in the newspaper. That’s unacceptable,” Jackson said. “I think this sets a pretty bad precedent.”

The approach contrasts with NU’s prior community outreach over plans such as new building construction,

food for thought

BANNER PHOTO

City Councilor Tito Jackson said the campus’ arming up came as a surprise to the surrounding community. he added.

“They undertook this over objections of the Boston Police Department, the [police] commissioner and without conduction any outreach,” Zakim said. “People are nervous. This just came out of nowhere.”

NU’s Martin disputes that the BPD was taken by surprise.

According to Martin, NUPD Deputy Chief Ruben Galindo briefed Cpt. Patrick Crossen on the plans in late October and discussed training opportunities. A week later, Galindo met with Commissioner Evans. NU officials were informed that Evans first learned of the plans at that time and “that he appeared to be upset.”

Galindo and NUPD Chief Michael Davis met with Evans in November, where Martin says they discussed tactical weapons and deployment strategies. In December, Evans spoke against the plan on WGBH radio.

Contention among councilors

During a city council meeting, Jackson and Zakim critiqued the process and plans. Councilor Matt O’Malley also questioned if highpower weapons were the solution.

“There are new threats that didn’t exist before, and we want to keep everybody safe, but that doesn’t mean we need to have this kind of weaponry,” he said.

Councilor Michael Flaherty said that while better notice should have been given, arming campus police with rifles is a life-saving measure. To combat a shooter, officers must be able to return equal firepower, he said.

“If you’re a parent of a kid on campus, you want to be able to match that firepower pretty quickly.

We know once [the shooters are] met and that firepower is matched, they tend to turn the firepower on themselves and that threat is stopped,” Flaherty said.

Quick response, he said, is critical.

“Having this firepower readily available for academy-trained officers is advisable,” he said. “It’s going to be that Boston campus police officer that’s first on the scene. Boston’s on its way, but while it’s on its way people are being killed.”

O’Malley, Jackson and Flaherty are all members of the Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice.

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Community members look to turn report on black lives into action

By JULE PATTISON-GORDON

Last Thursday, researchers, elected officials and community members gathered in the Bruce Bolling Municipal Building to discuss how to turn a recent report on the state of black lives in Massachusetts into action. Attendees included Rep. Byron Rushing, City Councilor Andrea Campbell and Rep. Russell Holmes.

The wide-ranging report, released in December, touches on topics such as unemployment rates, population characteristics, educational attainment and health characteristics of the black population in Massachusetts, compared to other races. Written by James Jennings, professor emeritus at Tufts University; Rachel Bernard, independent researcher and public policy consultation; Linda Sprague Martinez, assistant professor at Boston University School of Social Work, and Russell Williams, Chair of economics at Wheaton, the “Blacks in Massachusetts: Comparative Demographic, Social and Economic Experiences with Whites, Latinos and Asians” represents a rare instance of collaboration between black researchers.

Thursday’s meeting was titled “Persistence Against the Odds: A 21st Century Comparative Analysis of Diversity in Massachusetts.”

Theme of the night was identifying local resources and opportunities to effect change.

“We have a responsibility with this report to do something with the information that has been given,” Bridgette Wallace, founder of SkyLab, said.

Youth power

Among the report’s findings: The state’s black population is relatively young.

Over 25 percent Massachusetts’s black females are age 17 or younger, and nearly 29 percent of black males are 17 or younger. The median age for blacks in the state is 31.6 years, compared to 42.7 years for non-Hispanic whites and 26.3 years for Latinos.

The energy of youth may be a great advantage, said moderator Bithiah Carter, president of New England Blacks in Philanthropy: “We are a very young population.

That is a tremendous asset.”

Several panelists spoke of the power of young people, including referring to the activism of two

seniors at Boston Latin School whose campaign calling for action and systemic reform in response to racism at their school won the attention of the Boston Public School superintendent and the mayor.

Community connections

Another resource is the community itself, panelists said, which needs to be harnessed more strongly and intentionally.

According to the report, while white, non-Hispanic males age 16-64 have a 9.4 percent unemployment rate and white females 6.6 percent, the rate for black males in that age group is 16.5 percent and for black females, 15 percent. Unemployment rates may be even higher because census data — used in the report — does not count as “unemployed” part-time workers or those who have been without a job for a long period of time and have given up searching, cautioned Williams.

Social networks are immensely powerful tools for finding jobs, Russell Williams said.

“Fifty percent of jobs are found through people that we know. If we don’t know people who are employed, people who have access to jobs, we don’t have the same access as others.”

Sprague Martinez spoke of what she called a “foot-in-the-door responsibility” to extend opportunity to community members. For example, she said she hires local high school students to do graphic arts and provides internships.

Newcomers need to be given opportunity, as well. Richard O’Bryant, director of the O’Bryant African American Institute, said that far too often black people come to Boston for postsecondary education, get their degrees and, not seeing a way to engage with or find opportunity in Boston’s black community, move away.

“The biggest challenge for us is trying to retain black talent,” O’Bryant said. “[We need to find ways to] grow the black community in Boston. Not just black professionals, but all levels. To make them feel welcomed, support them and help people grow and advance.”

Meetings like “Persistence Against the Odds” represent important opportunities for connecting with other community members, one audience member said during the Q&A. “If you leave here without

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having met someone that you don’t know, that’s a lost opportunity to be part of the solution,” she said.

Black vs. Latino

Although black and Latino communities often work together on issues — one notable example being the joint Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus — there is still too much division, said panelist Yvette Modestin, founder and director of Encuentro Diaspora Afro.

“When we do ‘black’-‘Latino’, that leaves me out. I walk as both.

We keep using the same narrative that creates this division,” she said.

“We are disconnected as a people, and more as a people of African descent. … There is a deep disconnect, especially between the African American and the Latino communities.”

She pointed to the tendency of many Dominicans and Puerto Ricans to identify as white on the census, despite many being of African descent, and called for coming together as common members of the African diaspora.

Paul Watanabe, director of the Institute of Asian American Studies at UMass Boston, also called for greater relationship-building both across the state, potentially working together with towns that have large populations of color, and across lines within racial groups.

“We’ve got to see them as a relationship to build together and not as a zero-sum game.”

BANNER PHOTO

Barbara Lewis, Director of The Trotter Institute, introduced the panel.

Control the narrative

Several panelists said taking control of the stories told of and about the black community is a significant empowerment tool.

Narratives can frame issues in a way that gives clear image of the issues’ roots and leads to a way forward.

Rahsaan Hall, director of the racial justice program for the ACLU of Massachusetts, said that when discussing the disturbing statics around the quality of life of black people in Massachusetts, one must also acknowledge the reason for them: institutionalized and structural racism.

“We have to acknowledge and name the things that have created the situations we find ourselves in, name how structural and institutional racism has created the problems we have,” Hall said. “[That knowledge] can be used to empower the community, to say

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27

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Narrative can also be framed to emphasize the shared experiences of communities of color and promote connectedness, Trina Jackson, Inclusion Initiative program coordinator for Third Sector New England.

“We can start to use culture in the form of storytelling or the arts to help facilitate conversations and relationship-building among us, so we can start to see and make the connections and the dots between our lived experiences as people of color, especially as black people coming from many different contexts.”

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lawyers

continued from page 1 current defendants, the students we represent have a vested interest in seeing this lawsuit defeated. If the cap is lifted, their schools would face devastating cuts. That perspective should be heard in this litigation.”

Possible dismissal

Last fall, Attorney General Maura Healey, acting as attorney for the defendants, moved to dismiss the case to lift the charter cap.

She contested the plaintiffs’ argument that the allegedly poor education they received was a result of the charter school cap, noting, in part, that not all charter schools are high performing. She called the plaintiffs’ reasoning “illogical, speculative and remote” and stated that “numerous factors other than the cap could be responsible for the poor performance of some schools.”

The dismissal motion is currently pending. Should it fail, Cregor expected the case’s next hearing would happen in spring.

Students for the cap: BPS services

One of the intervenors’ arguments is that lifting the cap on charters would pull more money from BPS, damaging the quality of services the district schools can offer.

BPS officials have pointed to unpaid charter school reimbursements as a major cause of the school system’s projected $50 million budget shortfall. And the financial gap directly impacts services: BPS’s current funding shortages prevent one of the intervenors —a grade 8 student identified as B.H., who has significant

developmental disabilities — from receiving services he needs, said Scott P. Lewis, partner at Anderson & Krieger LLP, which is representing the proposed intervenors pro bono.

“This diversion of funds is doubly harmful to the students of color, students with disabilities, and English language learners we represent,” Lewis said. “These are the students who are disproportionately excluded from charter schools. Moreover, when funds are diverted from traditional public schools to charter schools, these same students experience devastating cuts to services they desperately need.”

JazzBoston honors Yancey

ELL and special education

Intervenors and their counsel also charge that charter schools do not serve all students.

In 2014, charter schools enrolled ELL students at approximately half the rate of BPS schools, and students with disabilities at three-quarters the rate, according to Roger Rice of Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy and Kathleen Boundy, co-director for the Center for Law and Education, who are among the attorneys for the student intervenors.

Marc Kenen, executive director of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, contests this.

“The Committee’s arguments that public charter schools exclude children with special needs and English Language Learners (ELL) are patently false,” Kenen said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice are fighting on the wrong side of the civil rights issue of our time.”

He cited Department of

PHOTO: JEAN HANGARTER

More than 130 guests from all over Boston’s diverse arts community gathered at Fort Point’s Pastoral Restaurant Sunday to celebrate JazzBoston’s 10th anniversary and honor Councilor Charles C. Yancey for his passionate support of Boston jazz.

Councilor Tito Jackson delivered official congratulatory resolutions from the Boston City Council for Councilor Yancey and JazzBoston, and JazzBoston CEO Emmett G. Price III, accompanied by the organization’s president, Pauline Bilsky, presented JazzBoston’s own official resolution. JazzBoston encourages jazz lovers to express their appreciation to Councilor Yancey on February 7, declared by the City Council as Charles Yancey Day.

Elementary and Secondary Education data demonstrating that across the state, the percent of special education student enrollment in charters is approaching district levels. A DESE Dec. 2015 report also attests that the percent of ELL students enrolled in Massachusetts charters currently surpasses the statewide enrollment average.

However, charter schools may be enrolling ELL and special education students with less intensive needs than those attending district schools.

“The number of ELLs with the lowest levels of English language

proficiency is a small fraction of the few ELLs enrolled by charter schools,” Rice said.

Boundy noted that BPS takes in pupils with greater levels of needs, enrolling twice as many pupils who were developmentally delayed, had intellectual disabilities or had autism Some families of students with higher levels of special education needs have found that not all charters provide the range of supports and services offered by BPS, said Carolyn Kain, chair of the Boston Public Schools Special Education

Parents Advisory Council.

“This has previously resulted in some special needs students returning to BPS,” she said.

One reason for the difference is that a charter school operates as a separate legal education agency.

An individual school may not have services in place for needs it has not previously encountered.

Kain said that BPS and charter schools are currently sharing information on programs and teaching strategies in the effort to ensure the needs of all kinds of students are met.

Y AR TU BI O

Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy

JAMES F. LEATH, JR. SUNRISE: July 19, 1942 SUNSET: January 20, 2016 James F. Leath, Jr. was born on July 19, 1942 to the Late Reverend Dr. James F. and Mrs. Bertha M. Leath, Sr. He graduated from Huntington High School in Huntington, N.Y. where he was a distinguished athlete in basketball, football, and track and field. He is still the New York State record holder for the 100 yard dash. His academic record and athletic prowess won him a scholarship to Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, Class of 1964, where he continued to distinguish himself in football, and track and field.

In 1980, Jim (also known as Frankie to his family and some friends) received his diploma from the Institute for Acupuncture Studies and realized a long time dream of practicing acupuncture and herbal medicine, and became a member of the Acupuncture Practitioners Association of Massachusetts. In 1996, he earned a certificate in UNIX System Administration from Boston University.

Throughout his career, he was Director of Teenage Employment Skills Training, worked at Abt Associates as a Deputy Contract Manager, was Compliance Officer at Massachusetts Port Authority, and was Senior Computer Operator at Education Loan Services and EMC, before his retirement.

He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Sigma Chapter. He was a Prince Hall Mason in Widow Son Lodge #28.

Jim/Frankie was a lover of music with a beautiful tenor voice; he loved three and four part harmony. As a founding member of Onyx and JoyFul, he was able to use that beautiful voice and his skills to produce and sing music that delighted his audiences. He was a life long learner, something he passed on to his children and grandchildren, whom he loved unconditionally. He is survived by his three children: Michelle Leath, Sarai Senat (Ralph) and James F. Leath III; his eight grandchildren: Zahra, Ayana, Jayda, Bakari, Jasmine, Eryka, Avel and Amir; his brother, Bishop Jeffrey N. Leath (Susan), sisters, Caprice I. Buskey (Dwight) and Natasha S. Leath; Leslie, his former wife and friend, as well as cousins, nieces, nephews and a host of family and friends.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center celebrates 2016 YMCA Black Achievers, Jennifer Thomas, RN, and Menrika Louis, MHA, MPA. Every day, Jennifer and Menrika bring BIDMC’s mission to life.

They represent the very best of who we are.

Congratulations! We’re proud to have you in the BIDMC family!

Cards and other messages of sympathy can be sent to The Family of James F. Leath, Jr., 1786 Windsorbrooke Dr., Marietta, GA 30062.

A Memorial Service celebrating his life will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2016, at Grant A.M.E Church, 1906 Washington St., Boston, MA 02118 at 1:00 pm.

MLK-Newspaper-v2.indd 3

2/1/2016 11:05:55 AM

Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER • 9

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BIZ BITS TIP OF THE WEEK

American companies embrace a sustainable future Meeting in Paris, delegates from 195 nations ended 2015 by reaching a landmark agreement to make significant efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The historic pact represents a global effort to curb climate change and a move toward widespread investment in zero-carbon energy sources and other sustainable practices.

Many saw the Paris climate deal as a major change in global policy and a step in the right direction. Though nations at the highest levels might be in agreement on the next steps to take, there is still a lot to be done at the ground level. While there is plenty of discussion about how an individual can lead a more sustainable lifestyle, what doesn’t get a lot of coverage is what businesses can do to reduce their carbon footprint.

This is an unfortunate oversight because businesses have a vital role in addressing global environmental issues such as climate change, carbon emissions and water security. As it stands, buildings in the United States account for 39 percent of CO2 emissions and consume a staggering 70 percent of the electricity load.

Over the next 25 years, it is projected that CO2 emissions from buildings will grow faster than in either the industry or transportation sector. Among these, commercial buildings are projected to increase their CO2 output the fastest, by 1.8 percent a year, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

Through its green guidelines and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the U.S. Green Building Council is responding to an urgent need to help businesses around the world save energy, water resources and money while amplifying human health and wellbeing.

Though it is a demanding set of guidelines, many companies have made it a priority to make their buildings LEED certified. One successful example is the Colgate-Palmolive Co., which currently has 11 LEED certified facilities and eight more in the works. The company has been so successful in their efforts that they were awarded the 2015 Ray Anderson Radical Industrialism Award for exemplifying leadership in the evolution of green manufacturing. The company has set such goals for 2020 as reducing absolute greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing plants by 25 percent compared to 2002 levels, and cutting production water use by half and energy by one third.

Widening its sustainability efforts beyond its plants and office buildings, Colgate has launched a “Save Water” campaign which includes a Super Bowl ad, a discussion forum on social media, #EveryDropCounts, and “Save Water” messaging on product packaging. The overall aim of these efforts is to remind consumers that by simply turning off the faucet while brushing, one person can save up to 3,000 gallons of water a year.

While Colgate continues to make substantial efforts in these areas, they are not alone. Manufacturing plants for Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, Mars, Kraft and Intel Corp. are making strong efforts to reduce carbon emissions. As of August 2015, there were over 72,500 LEED building projects around the world.

In fact, the world’s second tallest building, the Shanghai Tower, has achieved an LEED Platinum rating.

See BIZ BITS, page 10

PHOTOS: MARTIN DESMARAIS

Alessandra Brown, the Roxbury Innovation Center’s program manager, showing off products made by the FormLabs Form 1 3D Printer in the Fab Lab.

Fabricating new business

Fab Lab comes to Dudley Square Roxbury Innovation Center

By MARTIN DESMARAIS

The Roxbur y Innovation Center opened last September in Dudley Square and has been busy with over 50 events supporting the area’s small business entrepreneurs, specifically focusing on how to start and grow a company. But this week saw the opening of a key component of the center, which will help hands-on development of products — Fab Lab Roxbury.

While innovation centers have been shown to be crucial in helping establish and solidify a startup ecosystem, the concept of a Fab Lab delves into the practical. It is a digital fabrication workshop containing tools such as a laser cutter and 3D printer that help entrepreneurs put concepts to work to see if a vision for a product can be realized.

Fab Lab Roxbury is part of an official network of 1,000 Fab Labs in 30 countries around the world, which was pioneered by MIT and now backed by the college’s Fab Foundation.

The Fab Foundation’s Sarah Boisvert worked with the Roxbury Innovation Center to get its Fab Lab up and running.

According to Boisvert, one of the crucial parts about Fab Labs is that they all have to follow specific guidelines and have the same machines, which makes it easier for the Fab Foundation to support them all effectively and also ensure the most chance of successfully helping design and innovation.

Fab Labs must use industrial grade fabrication and electronics

The Epilog Mini Laser Cutter at Fab Lab Roxbury.

“

What I see the Fab Labs doing is taking digital fabrication and all of these tools and 3D printing out of the colleges and out of the high-end companies and making it accessible to anyone with any idea.”

— Sarah Boisvert

tools, with software and programs from MIT. Specific equipment includes a laser cutter that makes 2D and 3D structures, a vinyl cutter that can make antennas and flex circuits, a high-resolution milling machine that makes circuit boards and precision parts, a large wood router for building furniture and housing, and electronic components and programming tools to make circuit prototypes.

While the equipment may be uniform, Boisvert pointed out that

they can be used to develop a wide variety of products and, in this way, each Fab Lab can be focused on the needs of the entrepreneurial community it is supporting.

For Fab Lab Roxbury this might mean products related to the food industry or making signs or designs for jewelry. Fab Labs have also been used to develop and design medical devices, wearable technology and all types of robotics. The real mindset behind Fab Lab innovation is that you can make anything and

everything there.

“People will have an idea to make something and don’t know how to make it and they go into the lab for help and guidance and training,” Boisvert said.

Of course, these type of design services aren’t new. Commercially, any company can pay engineers and designers to do the work, but will just have to shell out big bucks for it. The problem is most small businesses can’t afford that.

“What I see the Fab Labs doing is taking digital fabrication and all of these tools and 3D printing out of the colleges and out of the highend companies and making it accessible to anyone with any idea,” Boisvert added. “It lowers the barriers to market entry when you have somebody who can run into the Fab Lab and, for a minimal cost, do it themselves as opposed to having to pay a high-end company to do it for them.”

Kevin Wiant, executive director of Venture Café, which operates the Roxbury Innovation Center, District Hall in Seaport, and business innovation events in Kendall Square, said the focus of Fab Lab Roxbury will be on entrepreneurship, but a secondary focus will be on supporting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education.

The Fab Foundation also emphasizes this. The STEM component emerged as schools near Fab Labs adopted them as places for project-based, hands-on education. Students are able to learn by

See FAB LAB, page 10

Thursday, December 3, 2015 • BAY STATE BANNER • 21 10 • Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER

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Fab Lab

continued from page 9 creating and designing objects related to class topics.

With the headquarters of Boston Public Schools right across the hall in the new Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in Dudley Square, where the Roxbury Innovation Center is located, Wiant said working with BPS to incorporate the Fab Lab into the city’s education makes perfect sense and is already in the works.

Overall, the combination of the

Fab Lab with the Roxbury Innovation Center’s other programs is the one-two punch Boston officials envisioned when plans for the center were pitched several years ago.

“It is a place where people can just drop in from the community and say, ‘I have an idea. I have a business. How might I move that forward?’” said Wiant. “We can give them some of our own advice and then we can point them toward this class or this workshop or say go talk to this person.”

In the startup world, success is often attributed as the ability to go from “concept to consumer,”

and the Fab Lab is a major step in giving the Roxbury Innovation Center all the tools it needs to help local entrepreneurs do so.

Alessandra Brown, the Roxbury Innovation Center’s program manager, will incorporate the Fab Lab into the many programs the center already runs and is planning a whole slate of programs for the Fab Lab. First up is to offer education courses so that entrepreneurs can learn how to use the equipment in the Fab Lab. There are also plans to run a student class during

February school vacation focused on designing wearable devices.

She views the Fab Lab as a major asset to everything the center does.

“We have entrepreneurs and innovators who are already working on projects for which they will use this equipment and need this equipment for prototyping,” Brown said. “We have also been having conversations with local organizations — the incubators and the accelerators — to find out how their businesses can use this space.”

Biz Bits

continued from page 9 The range of these efforts to reduce carbon emissions encompasses daily activities, business practices and the global community. While such accomplishments don’t make headlines like the Paris climate deal did, they are a reminder that a sustainable future begins at home with people, families and with the brands they trust.

— Brandpoint

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12 • Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER

BLACKHISTORY CELEBRATE: FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin:

A pioneer in the black women’s club movement

By ANTHONY W. NEAL

Known as a pioneer in the black women’s club movement, journalist, suffragist and civil rights activist, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin issued the first call for a national convention of African American women and thus laid the groundwork for the eventual formation of the National Association of Colored Women.

Family life

Young Josephine was reared in a home of refinement, culture and comparative luxury. She was born in Boston on August 31, 1842, the sixth of nine children. Her father, John St. Pierre, was a Martiniquais clothier of French, Indian and African ancestry, and her mother, Eliza Mahinnick, was an Englishwoman from Cornwall.

Avoiding the segregated schools of Boston, her parents sent her to public schools in Charlestown and Salem. After Governor Henry J. Gardner signed into law in 1855 a bill outlawing separate schools for black children, she returned to Boston and completed her

education at the Bowdoin School on Myrtle Street — a school for girls.

On June 30, 1858, she married George Lewis Ruffin, a barber from Richmond, Virginia. He would become the first African American graduate of Harvard Law School, the first elected to the Boston Common Council, and — years later on November 19, 1883, when he was confirmed as a Charlestown Municipal Court judge — the first African American north of the Mason-Dixon Line to hold a judicial office higher than magistrate.

Immediately after their wedding, the couple set sail for Liverpool, England, intending to raise their children in a country where slavery had been abolished. But they soon returned to America, prepared to take part in the struggle for black freedom. They had five children: Hubert St. Pierre Ruffin, Florida Y. Ruffin, Charles Stanley Ruffin, George Lewis Ruffin Jr., and Robert Ruffin.

Good works

Short in stature and plump, Josephine Ruffin was an intelligent and pragmatic woman. W. E. B.

Du Bois described her as “an aristocratic lady, with olive skin and high piled masses of white hair.”

Another contemporary observer noted that she was thoroughly progressive and always in touch with the spirit of the times. Still another found her to be a “woman of fine personality.” He added that she dressed with taste and her presence was stately.

During the Civil War, Ruffin helped to recruit soldiers for the 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments and volunteered her time working with the U.S. Sanitary Commission, a relief agency that cared for sick and wounded Union soldiers and promoted clean and healthy conditions in the Union Army camps. Moreover, she dedicated her efforts to performing charitable work. In January 1875, for example, she established and headed the West End Relief Association — an organization whose goal was to provide a home to destitute children. And in late April 1879, she helped form and became founding president of the Colored Women’s Refugee Aid Society. Its purpose was to offer assistance to poor black refugees fleeing the

Sweet Georgia Brown

Following the 90 minute film , a panel of women veterans will share their stories. *Celebrating Black History and Women’s History Month Refreshments will be served.

post-Reconstruction South.

A civic-minded woman, Ruffin held leadership positions in several organizations. On August 13, 1887, she was elected president of the newly formed West End League of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association, and on January 1, 1889, she became an executive committee member of Boston’s Colored National League — a non-partisan organization devoted to the welfare of the race.

Ruffin also founded the Association for the Promotion of Child Training in the South, whose aim was to aid kindergarten work in Southern cities.

Women’s Era Club

With the help of her daughter, Florida Ruffin Ridley, and Maria Louise Baldwin, Ruffin established and became founding president

See RUFFIN, page 15

Our job is to find YOU a job.

Celebrating Black History Month.

Saturday, February 13 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The Friends of the Dudley Branch Library and the League of Women for Community Service invite you to a showing of “Sweet Georgia Brown”. This documentary illustrates the lives of African-American Women in the military during World War II.

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin

of the Woman’s Era Club in 1893.

Composed chiefly of prominent black women of Boston and the vicinity, the club performed educational work generally, and its main feature was its division into various committees, such as ways and means, domestic science, philanthropy, temperance, current events and moral reform.

Club members also devoted their efforts to women’s suffrage and matters pertaining to the race — particularly anti-lynching reform. With a membership of as many as 133 women at its height, the Woman’s Era Club met twice a month and discussed the burning issues of the day. Taken from the abolitionist and women’s rights activist Lucy Stone, the club’s slogan was “Help to make the world better.”

Ruffin wrote for the Boston Courant and was the first African American member of the New England Woman’s Press Association.

She was also a charter member of the Moral Education Society. Though often identified with public movements, she never held public office.

In 1894, Ruffin and her daughter, Florida, founded the Woman’s Era — the first monthly journal ever published by and for African American women. They touted their publication as “the organ of the Woman’s Era Club,” but it was devoted to the interests of black women’s clubs, leagues and societies throughout the country as well.

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Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER • 13

February 2016 Join us this February as we salute a rising icon of African American culture!

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Jurnee Smollett-Bell Join us “In Conversation” with actress JURNEE SMOLLETT-BELL for an entertaining look at the next wave of African American cultural luminaries and taste makers! Then enjoy a special reception following the discussion where you’ll get a chance to meet Jurnee and snap a photo with her!

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14 • Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER

BLACKHISTORY CELEBRATE: FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Sergeant Horatio J. Homer: Boston’s first black police officer

By ANTHONY W. NEAL

With unfailing courtesy and diplomatic tact, Sergeant Horatio Julius Homer, the first African American appointed to the Boston Police Department, served 40 faithful years as police commission guard. The son of Sarah Fields and Charles Homer, he was born May 24, 1848 in Farmington, Connecticut. There, he attended public schools until the age of 12.

At 14, Homer left for Waterbury, Connecticut, where he found work at a hotel as a bellhop. He soon became a waiter and trusted employee of that hotel. In his youthful days, he also worked as a steward on a steamboat, plying from Boston to Bangor, and as a porter on a Pullman parlor car, running from Philadelphia to Pittsburg.

Pullman cars were very crude at that time, said Homer, and it was no easy job to spend most of your life on one of those jogging cars.

At the age of 17, he married Sophia A. Williams, a native of Haddam, Connecticut. Around 1873, they made their way to Boston and, before long, found a home at 271 Tremont Street. She kept house, and he started his life in the Hub as a waiter at the old Commonwealth Hotel on Washington Street. Homer later landed another job as a waiter at the Hotel Brunswick — a first-class establishment on the corner of Boylston and

Sargeant Horatio Homer

RETAIL:

“

During his long service, Sergeant Homer has performed his duties with uniform courtesy and strict attention to all the requirements of his exacting position. He will be missed by many citizens of Boston having business with the department and all connected with headquarters.”

— Boston Police Commissioner Edwin Curtis, 1919

Clarendon streets. Amos Barnes and John W. Dunklee, owners of that hotel, touted it as “a pleasant permanent home and desirable stopping place for the business or pleasure seeker.” President Rutherford B. Hayes was among the hotel’s many distinguished guests.

Promotions

In 1878, Homer was offered a job as janitor of the Globe Theatre, at 598 Washington Street, by its proprietor, John Stetson. While employed there, he met several influential men who suggested that he become a police officer, taking up a post at the front door of the Office of the Police Commission, at Pemberton Square. Since the thought of becoming a policeman had never crossed Homer’s mind, he hadn’t ever sought such a position. But when one was offered, he accepted it.

Appointed by Police Commissioner Henry Sturgis Russell, Homer left the Globe Theatre and joined the Boston Police Department as a patrolman on December 24, 1878, becoming the first black officer in the city. The police force then consisted of only 746 men.

As a patrolman, Homer was connected to Station 4, but he reported there on Sundays and holidays only.

Most of his time was spent in front of the commission’s office.

By the time he became an officer, Homer had moved with his wife, Sophia, to 46 Buckingham Street in the North End. Boston was a pretty rough city in those days, he said, particularly down around Fleet and Richmond streets, which were lined with sailors’ boarding houses. There were riots and trouble all the time.

Oddly enough, though, Homer

told a reporter that his time as a policeman was a very peaceful experience. In all his 40 years of service he had to use violence just once, on an unwelcome caller who refused to leave the commission’s office. He took the man by the neck and threw him out on the street. A consummate diplomat, Homer avoided resorting to force if at all possible, preferring instead to use tact when dealing with people. He was a courteous man, noted one observer, “always extremely polite” and “exceedingly well versed in police duties.”

After passing his civil service exam, on September 23, 1895 Homer was promoted to the rank of sergeant by Police Commissioner Gen Martin. His home was then 35 Newton Street, Brighton.

That promotion brought him an increase of $200 in his annual salary and made him the first African American in the Boston Police Department to wear the stripes of a sergeant. He retained his post at headquarters, however, and remained there until his retirement.

No one could pass into the inner office of the board of police until undergoing his scrutiny. During Sergeant Homer’s many years of service, he saw the Hub’s police force grow to 1,700 men, met every president from Hayes to Wilson, and also served as an escort for noted foreign ambassadors.

He once made an insightful observation about an individual who has been placed under arrest. He remarked, “People should be more careful how they sympathize with a man or woman whom an officer has put under arrest. One word of sympathy expended upon the

See HOMER, page 15

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Horatio Homer worked at the Globe Theater on Washington Street, seen here in 1904, before becoming a police officer.

Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER • 15

BLACKHISTORY CELEBRATE: FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

“

Ruffin

We are not alienating or withdrawing. We continued from page 12 are only coming to the front, willing to join any First National Conference of others in the same work and cordially inviting and Colored Women of America welcoming any others to join us.” The clubwoman With the aim of bringing Africoncluded, “If any differences arise, let them be can American women together for discourse on issues of vital concern quickly settled, with the feeling that we are all to them and creating a permanent workers to the same end, to elevate and dignify national black women’s organization, Ruffin organized the first colored American womanhood.”

National Conference of Colored Women of America. The idea of a national conference came about as a natural result of communications established between the Woman’s Era and its regional correspondents. She called for a convention in the May 1894 issue of her publication.

A national conference had been under consideration for more than a year when the appearance in 1895 of a letter written by John W. Jacks hastened the call for one.

He was president of the Missouri Press Association and editor of the Montgomery Standard—a newspaper in Montgomery City, Missouri. Jacks wrote a libelous letter to Florence Balgarnie, an Englishwoman and the Honorable Secretary of the Anti-Lynching Committee of London, in which he denigrated black women as prostitutes, liars and thieves, and disparaged white women who championed antilynching reform.

Balgarnie forwarded the letter to Ruffin, who enclosed it with a flyer, entitled “A Call: Let Us Confer Together,” and mailed it to black women’s clubs throughout the country. She said that the Jacks letter, “too indecent for publication,” reflected upon the moral character of all black women.

Ruffin advised, “Read this document carefully and use discriminately and decide if it be not time for us to stand before the world and declare ourselves and our principles. The time is short, but everything is ripe; and remember, earnest women can do anything.”

African American women from all parts of the country converged on Boston from July 29 to August 1, 1895 for the first National Conference of Colored Women of America. On its opening day, participants assembled at Berkeley Hall. The platform was decorated with palms and potted plants, a portrait of Lucy Stone was exhibited on an easel, and on a table to the right of the platform were several books written by black women. As Ruffin called the convention to order, she said, “We are not here for long speeches. We feel that a gathering of this sort, the first of the kind ever held in this country, is of great importance.” Hanna Smith of Boston read the initial roll call, which revealed eighty-four delegates representing fourteen states, the District of Columbia, and more than forty-two black women’s clubs.

Twelve more clubs reported in the afternoon session, increasing the

— Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin

number of delegates to 104.

Part of the afternoon session was allotted to the reading of reports of the various women’s leagues and clubs. The consensus of opinion, derived from those reports, was that black women were steadily advancing in mental, moral and physical attainments, that by unifying throughout the country they would gain strength in order to protect themselves from outrage and slander, and that they were anxious to be seen and judged in a fairer and broader light than they had been in the past.

Alliance of progress

The evening session began at 8 p.m. with Ruffin delivering the keynote address. Underscoring three chief reasons why black women from all over the country should convene a conference, she said, “In the first place we need to feel the cheer and inspiration of meeting each other; we need to gain the courage and fresh life that comes from the mingling of congenial souls of those working for the same ends.”

Second, she said that they needed to talk over not only those things which were of vital importance to them as women, but also the things that were of special interest to them as black women: “the training of our children, openings for boys and girls, how they can be prepared for occupations and occupations may be found or opened for them, what we especially can do in the moral education of the race with which we are identified, our mental elevation and physical development, the home training it is necessary to give our children in order to prepare them to meet the peculiar conditions in which they shall find themselves, and how to make the most of our own, to some extent, limited opportunities.”

Ruffin left until last her discussion of the most important reason for conferring: to change the dominant perception that black women were generally ignorant and immoral and to disprove those “unjust and unholy charges.”

This was to be accomplished not just through individual effort, but through the efforts of an army of organized African American women “standing for purity and mental worth.”

A staunch integrationist, Ruffin remarked, “We are not alienating or

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withdrawing. We are only coming to the front, willing to join any others in the same work and cordially inviting and welcoming any others to join us.” The clubwoman concluded, “If any differences arise, let them be quickly settled, with the feeling that we are all workers to the same end, to elevate and dignify colored American womanhood.”

She hoped that a national black women’s organization — one that would actually bring in a new era — would spring from the conference.

Among the papers read on the first day were those by Washington, D.C. delegates Ella L. Smith, who read one on “Woman and the Higher Education,” Oberlin College graduate Anna “Annie” Julia Cooper, who read one on the “Need of National Organization,” and Helen Appo Cook, president of the National League of Colored Women, who read one on “The Ideal National Union.”

This story continues next week.

Homer

continued from page 14 arrested party and it makes him rebellious. Of course, the public do not realize this, but I wish they would!”

Not only was the sergeant great at his job, but he was a gifted musician. He played as many as eleven different instruments proficiently, among them, the violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, clarinet, trombone, guitar and mandolin. In fact, he gave guitar and mandolin lessons. In addition to musical ability, Sergeant Homer possessed artistic talent. He built marvelous creations in household furniture and ornaments out of pasteboard and cancelled postage stamps. He was a coin collector and a history buff as well, who had a remarkably sharp memory.

The sergeant was active in civic affairs as a member of the Fraternal Association, a local benevolent organization consisting of prominent black businessmen, politicians and community leaders. The association was formed in 1870 by George H. White and others to aid the poor and the needy.

Homer’s wife, Sophia, died childless on March 5, 1902 at the age of fifty-four. Highly esteemed, she served as the chaplain of Corps 79 — a women’s relief organization in Brighton.

On November 3, 1903, the sergeant wed 27-year-old Lydia Spriggs, a woman half his age

from Deer Creek, Maryland. The couple moved into a second floor apartment at 686 Massachusetts Avenue in the South End. Their first child of the marriage, Horatio Julius Homer Jr., was born there in 1912. And at the age of sixty-seven, Homer became the proud father of a second son, David Lawrence Homer, born March 26, 1916.

“Sergeant Horatio J. Homer, hale and hearty, with gray waving locks and a strongly lined face, but with all the strength of young manhood with him in his [70th] year,” wrote a reporter in 1918, “still sits as he has for forty years, in front of the door of the commissioner of Boston’s police.”

Sergeant Homer petitioned Mayor Andrew Peters for voluntary retirement on January 27, 1919. Two days later, after dedicating four decades of his life in service to the city, he retired on half salary — $875 a year — at the age of 70. In the general order retiring the sergeant, Police Commissioner Edwin Curtis said of him, “During his long service, Sergeant Homer has performed his duties with uniform courtesy and strict attention to all the requirements of his exacting position. He will be missed by many citizens of Boston having business with the department and all connected with headquarters.”

After the sergeant retired from the force, he and his family moved to 82 Humboldt Ave., Roxbury, where he died on January 9, 1923. He is laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery in Brighton.

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Trinity Irish Dance thrills at Emerson

By SUSAN SACCOCCIA

Ana Gasteyer will perform Feb. 6 at Sanders Theatre.

PHOTO: PETER HAPAK

Ana Gasteyer in concert at SNL alum

SandersTheatre

By COLETTE GREENSTEIN

T

his past Sunday, former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Ana Gasteyer returned to her ensemble roots in FOX-TV’s live presentation of the musical “Grease.” She joined Julianne Hough (Sandy), Aaron Tveit (Danny), and Vanessa Hudgens (Rizzo) as Rydell High School’s Principal McGee, which was originally played by Eve Arden in the 1978 film.

The multi-talented actress and comedian trained early on in her career with the LA improv and sketch comedy group, The Groundlings, after having found her calling and “her people” at Chicago’s Northwestern University. Although she first went to Northwestern as a vocalist, she “very quickly got sucked down the comedy rabbit hole,” recalls Gasteyer by phone from her home in Los Angeles.

Her training at The Groundlings laid the foundation for her career in comedy and also prepared her for her big break in 1996 — joining NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Of her time with the famed Los Angeles troupe, the actress really learned that she loved being part of a group.

“I’m an ensemble performer,” she said.

“I love collaboration. I love working with other people. I love writing with other people. I submitted to those inclinations at The Groundlings for sure.”

ON THE WEB Celebrity Series of Boston presents “Saturday Night Live” alum Ana Gasteyer on Saturday, February 6, at 8:00

p.m. at Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street in Cambridge. Tickets start at $50, and are available online at www.celebrityseries.org; by calling CelebrityCharge at (617) 482-6661, Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m.

- 4:00 p.m.; or in person at the Harvard Box Office, Holyoke Center located at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge.

During her time there, Gasteyer says it was much more than “just having fun and taking improv classes. … The training is very consistent there and everybody has to matriculate, so it’s not like you just show up and take classes. You have to move through those levels together.” While at The Groundlings, she worked with future SNL cast mates Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell and Chris Parnell.

After a six-year run on SNL, where she was known for the characters — high school music teacher Bobbie Mohan-Culp, National Public Radio “Delicious Dish” host Margaret Jo McCullen and her dead-on impression of Céline Dion — the classically-trained vocalist had a renewed interest in musical theater.

For the first five years after leaving the series, she performed in a number of musicals and concerts, including originating

the role of Elphaba in the Chicago production of the musical “Wicked” in 2005, for which she was nominated for a Jefferson Award for her performance.

With a slate of projects in the works including the TBS comedy “The Group” and a recurring role opposite comedian Maria Bamford in the Netflix comedy “Lady Dynamite,” the vocalist once again is ready to take center stage when she performs in concert at Sanders Theatre on Saturday as part of the Celebrity Series of Boston. Her upcoming performance is described as “evoking the swagger of an era when a lady ruled a nightclub and an audience knew they were in for a good time.”

Gasteyer brings a sense of humor and a bit of sassiness to her performance of the 1950’s classic songs “One Mint Julep” and “Proper Cup of Coffee.” “Serious singing is just not my thang,” says the vocalist.

Of the concert she describes, “ultimately, I returned to what I actually listened to and what I actually had fun singing. Those kind of entertainer’s era, the ‘jazz wink’ that we include in the show just kind of marries both of those things I do the most, which is kind of a light-hearted approach, a fun patter–focused show that also features great music,” says Gasteyer. “There’s room for improvisation both musically and comedically.”

People in diaspora bring their culture with them as they leave their homeland. Often both the people and their culture take fresh, life-giving turns on new terrain.

Consider jazz and tap dance, two of the arts invented by African Americans as they brought rhythmic patterns and movements rooted in Africa across the Atlantic.

So, too, the tradition of Irish step dance has evolved since crossing the ocean. Like tap, it is a percussive dance tradition springing from roots in a distant homeland.

In the 1890s, after the British eased their repression of Irish culture, the newly formed Gaelic League launched small-town festivals reviving Irish language, literature and dancing. About six people competed in their first step-dancing competition. Now, church basements and community centers all over America practice its rapid, intricate foot movements and drilllike quadrille formations.

Yet new currents of step dancing have emerged over the past two decades. Colin Dunne, star of the commercial juggernaut “Riverdance,” has moved into contemporary dance, and he joined tap star Savion Glover in a Grammy-winning duet at Madison Square Garden.

New meets old

Another pioneer, Emmy award-winning choreographer Mark Howard, has injected a new-world twist into Ireland’s dance legacy. Founded 25 years ago, his renowned Chicago-based Trinity Irish Dance Company, along with its two schools in Chicago and Milwaukee, has developed a progressive style of Irish dance that blends tradition with contemporary style. While winning world championships in the old-school style, the company has collaborated with notable contemporary choreographers, including Dunne, to create works that blend the clockwork precision and fast, intricate footwork with the expressiveness of contemporary dance.

This combination was thrilling to watch last weekend as Howard’s company performed at the Emerson/Cutler Majestic Theatre, a presentation of World Music/CRASHarts.

See TRINITY, page 18

Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER • 17

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Fredi Walker-Browne celebrates the 20th anniversary of ‘Rent’

By COLETTE GREENSTEIN

Twenty-years ago, fate guided actress Fredi Walker-Browne in the direction of becoming part of musical history when she originated the role of JoAnne Jefferson in Jonathan Larson’s 1996 Tony Award-winning musical “Rent.”

At the time she was booked for two shows that were on the exact same night.

“They were the exact same time commitment. They both would have gotten me enough weeks for my health insurance to kick in through my union. One was on the Upper East Side and one was in the Village, and I lived in Brooklyn and I took the one in the Village,” recalls Walker-Browne by phone recently. “It was completely serendipitous. My landlord knew Jonathan Larson. I was being led to it the whole way.”

Walker-Browne is eternally grateful for the role which has had a huge and positive impact on her life both personally and professionally.

“At the end of the day I get to do what I love because of the success of “Rent.” I have been able to continue acting, directing, writing, all the things that I love to do,” says the actress, who earned an Obie Award for her performance in the musical.

PHOTOS COURTESY FREDI WALKER-BROWNE

“Rent” opening night in 1996.

In that same spirit, Walker-Browne presents a free seminar on Saturday called “Storytelling for Actors” at the Back Bay Events Center from 12-4 p.m., to coincide with Fiddlehead Theatre Company’s 20th anniversary production of the iconic musical. The seminar will include “breaking down the art of storytelling, working on the craft of storytelling and how it enhances an actor’s work, but also how it relates to pretty much everything we do because

See ‘RENT,’ page 18

Fredi Walker-Browne

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18 • Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER

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PHOTO: PAUL MARSHALL

Members of the Trinity Irish Dance Company.

Trinity

composer, singer and guitarist Brendan O’Shea, who was accompanied by fiddler Kathleen continued from page 16 Grennan; guitarist Christopher Kurwin; Brian Holleran, playNotable, too, was the warm ing flute, whistle and uilleann tone of the dancers and musipipes, the traditional bagpipes of cians. Unpretentious in manner, Ireland; and percussionist Paul they interacted with the audience Marshall, who played a drum kit as if visiting old friends, a tone as well as a bodhran, a traditional that suits a dance tradition that Celtic handheld drum. was born in a rural town.

Playing in a lilting acoustic Unlike high-test productions, musical style familiar to any devothe two-hour show of 10 works tee of an Irish pub, the musicians had the atmosphere of a commuoccasionally nity event.

Its congenial host was SS Fisk AD2 16.qxp_Layout 1 2/1/16 2:49 PM Page left 1 their berth, a

platform behind the dancers, to join a jig. Midway through the show, they sat in a circle with three dancers and took turns showing their own step-dancing prowess. Grennan was a standout.

collaborative works was “Curran Event,” by acclaimed contemporary choreographer Seán Curran, who as a boy in Belmont learned Irish step dancing and then became a lead dancer in the Harlem-based Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane Dance Company. The playful, vibrant piece unfolded to the wailing vocals and slow drumbeats of “Ón Taobh Tuathail Amach” by Irish folk group Kéla.

The dancers wore bright plaid kilts, their hair knotted in braids, pony tails and multicolored ribbons. In Curran’s ode to joy, they leapt, clapped and slapped their bodies in bravura solos and bold formations that echoed schoolgirl games.

As the company performed works old and new, they interwove intricate visual and sound patterns. Clad in hard shoes, the dancers’ feet stomped and rippled, and in soft shoes, their toes summoned sheets of sound from the floor. With slaps, claps and sticks, the dancers turned their whole bodies into percussive instruments, injecting their own sounds into the music of the band.

And in some of most riveting moments, they moved in silence.

Shadow and light

Dustin Derry’s artful staging included evocative lighting that accented the primal power of contemporary pieces.

Unafraid to be strange, the company opened its program with the stark “Communion,” by

The Fisk Jubilee Singers at Symphony Hall: A Tribute February 21

Since 1871, the Fisk Jubilee Singers have sustained the tradition of the negro spiritual throughout the world. Directed by Paul Kwami, the Singers will perform with narration from former Gov. Deval Patrick and author Sara LawrenceLightfoot. Guests include the Boston Children’s Chorus, Berklee students and faculty such as vocalist Donna McElroy, Dennis Montgomery, and conductor Julius Williams.

Concert begins at 7:00 p.m.

2016 SIGNATURE SERIES

Howard and co-choreographer Sandy Silva. On an otherwise blackened stage, a triangle of light hovered over a band of dancers in dark costumes. In this fierce, minimalist work they performed sculpted, rapid movements that suggested the distilled essence of step dancing to the sounds of their stomping feet and clapping hands. They concluded by exhaling as one, like Maori completing a warriors’ dance.

In contrast to the taut power of “Communion,” a traditional work seemed almost like a parody of old-school practices, with its crisp, military precision and artifice. Following the established regimen, the dancers wore embroidered costumes with stiff shawls and rhinestone tiaras, and curly wigs resembling pale Afros.

Their faces were pasted with makeup and frozen in set smiles.

But plenty of people in the audience came to see this flawlessly executed spectacle. A few similarly attired small children from local schools took part, darting across the stage and performing the same steps as the adults to the delight of all.

Among the company’s

For Berklee Performance Center tickets, visit berklee.edu/bpc, the Berklee Performance Center box office, or call 617-747-2261. For Fisk Jubilee Singers tickets, visit bso.org, Symphony Hall box office, or call 617-266-1200.

PHOTO: FIDDLEHEAD THEATRE COMPANY

The London marquee for “Rent.”

‘Rent’

continued from page 17 we’re storytellers by nature. That’s how we communicate,” describes Walker-Browne.

As part of the 20th anniversary, she participated in a panel last month with several of the other original Broadway cast members for the first-time event, BroadwayCon, which was held in New York City. Walker-Brown said she wishes she and her former cast members would reunite more often.

“People ask me does it bring back memories,” she said. “That was one question they had asked me during the thing [BroadwayCon].

It doesn’t exactly bring back memories so much it feels like a continuum. It’s as if we’re never apart and we come back together. It’s just this continuum of what was.”

Based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera “La Bohème,” the musical tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling in New York City’s East Village under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. It addressed the social issues of the day and is just as relevant now as it was when first premiered in 1996 according to Walker-Browne.

ON THE WEB Fiddlehead Theatre Company presents the 20th Anniversary production of “RENT”

February 5-21 at the Back Bay Events Center, located at 180 Berkeley Street in Boston. Single tickets range from $25-$45. To purchase tickets or for more information about special discounts for students, seniors and groups of 15 or more, visit www.fiddleheadtheatre.com.

The on-stage presentation of “Storytelling for Actors” is limited to 20 participants, but the audience is open to everyone. Pre-registration is required. Please call Fiddlehead Theatre Company at 617.514.6497.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the issues it addresses are still relevant and some of them are ever present in human nature — hatred and exclusionism and elitism, and the need to destroy others, lessening others.”

She goes on to add that “the need to make ourselves feel better by somehow making others feel less than us, and so we gather together in our samenesses and we use that to pressure others who are different.

That is something that is constant to the human condition, and so unfortunately for those reasons Rent will always be relevant. It speaks to those truths, seeking a community that accepts you as you are.”

Advertise in the Banner call 617-261-4600 x7799 for more information

Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER • 19

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Award-winning viewing party ideas Award season is here. Each year, Hollywood rolls out the red carpet to celebrate the industry’s hottest movies, shows and stars. Make it a night to remember by bringing the festivities into your home with an awards show viewing party. n A black-and-white color scheme with pops of gold and red will lend a touch of Hollywood glamour. Purchase a simple red runner to bring the theme to your table. Decorate serving tables with miniature film reels, gold confetti and movie label puns. n Create a decadent cheese board.

“A cheese board is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser,” says celebrity chef Michael Symon, co-host of ABC’s “The Chew,” author of three best-selling cookbooks and owner of several restaurants. “The stars of my cheese board always include Castello cheeses such as Traditional Danish Blue, Aged Havarti and Double Crème White. In the supporting roles, I recommend sweet and salty pairings like honey, stone ground mustard, apples, olives, prosciutto and sliced baguette.” n Highlight your wine and cheese pairings with special awards and notecards. “Best International Pairing” could go to Traditional Danish Blue Cheese and Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel from Folie à Deux wines. Or, choose pairings that tie into the gold theme, such as Castello Aged Havarti with the winery’s Russian River Valley Chardonnay.

— Brandpoint

Unbeatable Bolognese A rich dish in no time at all

BY THE EDITORS OF

RELISH MAGAZINE

W

hat can beat a bowl of pasta with a creamy, savory meat sauce?

Bolognese (boh-loh-NYEH-zeh) is a sauce from its namesake city, Bologna, Italy. Made rich and hearty by including ground meat, milk and wine, Bolognese is best ladled over ribbons of tender pasta.

While traditional recipes can take many hours of very slow cooking to develop the deep flavor, our fast variation is still enormously satisfying. Even better, the sauce can be made in nearly the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.

Classic Quick Bolognese

EASY RECIPE

Quick Tomato Salsa

n 1 tomato, cored and diced n 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion n 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro n sprinkle of ground cumin n sprinkle of garlic powder n 1 lime wedge, juice only n salt and pepper, to taste In mixing bowl, combine tomato, onion and cilantro. Season with cumin, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper, to taste.

— Family Features

THE DISH ON …

RELISH MAGAZINE

n 3 Tbsp olive oil n 1 medium onion, chopped n 2 cloves garlic, minced n 1 pound lean ground beef chuck n ½ tsp coarse salt n Freshly ground black pepper n ½ cup dry red wine n 2 cups tomato puree n ¼ cup milk n 8 oz wide pasta (like fettuccine), cooked n ½ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium. Add onion; cook, stirring, 5 minutes.

Add garlic; cook 1 minute.

Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef, salt and pepper. Cook until brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain excess fat. Add wine to pan and stir, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any brown bits. When wine is nearly evaporated, add tomato puree, stirring well. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce tightens around the meat, about 5 minutes.

Add milk, stir and cook 5 minutes.

Serve with hot cooked pasta and sprinkle with cheese. Serves 4 Variation: For Turkey Bolognese, substitute 1 pound ground turkey for the beef and ½ cup chicken broth for the red wine.

— Recipe by Andrew Cotto

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Thu 2/4: Jazz By Any Means Necessary (feat.

Fulani Haynes) – Tribute to African-American Jazz Composers and Love Songs, 7 pm Thu 2/11: #LiftedBoston from Outside the Box, 7 pm Fri 2/12: The House Slam feat. Krysten Hill, 6:30 pm Thu 2/18: Art Is Life Itself! with Nina LaNegra, 7 pm

Be sure to check out our website and mobile site www.baystatebanner.com

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20 • Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER

BLS BLACK continued from page 1

it would not indict the officer who killed Michael Brown, BLS students posted their reactions on Twitter, Noel recalled as she spoke before the Boston School Committee last week. What started as a “healthy debate” soon turned to hate speech. Some teens told their black peers to “go back to Africa” if they did not like how things were in the U.S. and spat racial slurs.

Members of BLS BLACK brought the incident before administrators the next day, turning in to the headmaster a binder full of printouts of racist tweets, Noel and Webster-Cazeau said. Months later, they say they continued to experience microaggressions and overt racism. As far as Noel and Webster-Cazeau could tell, the adults had taken no action. So the two seniors made a stand.

This year, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Noel and Webster-Cazeau posted a video to YouTube asking peers, alumni and students at other schools to report their experiences of racism and cultural insensitivity on any social media accounts they had, using the hashtag #BlackatBLS. By the next day, the video garnered approximately

14,000 views and as the #BlackatBLS campaign gained steam, it became clear that racism was a common experience for many BLS students, something often overlooked by faculty.

Momentum continued to build.

Social media storm

In part, the campaign attests to the wide reach of social media and its power as a tool for activism.

“Many students felt as though going to our administration was ineffective. That is why we went to social media,” Webster-Cazeau said.

“We took to social media because it was the only way we knew to get everyone’s thoughts and feelings in the same place. And it worked.”

Posts with the hashtag #BlackatBLS spread across Twitter.

Other schools adopted their own versions. Boston Latin Academy started the hashtag #BlackatBLA and others discussed the overall school system, tagging posts with #BlackatBPS. One Twitter user complained BLS teachers could not tell their black students apart; another said her teacher described Amy Tan books as “exotic” and “oriental.”

Others wrote of causal racism and marginalization: “When people tell you you’ll get into college only because you’re black #blackatbls” read one post.

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At a meeting of the Boston School Committee, BPS Superintendent Tommy Chang praised the students’ bravery and said the system as a whole needs to implement changes.

“I don’t know how to describe you, you speak too white to be ghetto #blackatbls” recounted another.

Getting results at BLS

The outpouring produced promises of real change.

On Monday, Jan. 25, BLS Headmaster Lynne Mooney Teta wrote a letter to the BPS community announcing the administration would collaborate with Colin Rose, BPS assistant superintendent of Opportunity and Achievement Gaps, to examine equity, identify needs and plan to address them. Proposed reforms include curriculum reassessment and faculty sharing of best practices for culturally competent instruction.

In the meantime, Mooney Teta outlined a six-point reform plan to be implemented immediately.

The six steps aim to create a safer space for airing concerns, promote a respectful and supportive school environment and open dialogue around race.

In her letter, Mooney Teta promised the administration would: n “Establish a structure that will provide opportunity for open dialogue between students and school leadership in order to develop trust and provide a safe place for students to raise concerns. n Explore opportunities for leveraging student leaders who are engaged in social justice issues to take steps to develop a more tolerant, respectful school and stand up for one another. n Conduct and strengthen professional learning to develop greater cultural competency for faculty and provide them the tools to better facilitate discussions about issues of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender and social class. n Clarify the mechanisms by which students can report inappropriate, hurtful or degrading behavior that they encounter within the school community. We need to insure that hateful, intolerant, disrespectful speech or actions will not be considered acceptable anywhere at BLS. n Facilitate required educational opportunities for students that include space for critical dialogue on issues of race. n Support plans for a TeachIn—a full day of workshops for students—under development by student leaders of B.L.A.C.K. in collaboration with other student-led cultural groups.”

Systemic reform

Speaking at the school committee meeting, Noel and Webster-Cazeau called for enduring systemic change.

“We don’t want to come back ten years from now and be sitting

in some of the alumni places like, ‘I faced this too,’” Webster-Cazeau said.

Her point was underscored when committee member Jeri Robinson said that the accounts of racism brought back memories of her experience at Girl’s Latin School — now Boston Latin Academy — more than 50 years ago.

Noel and Webster-Cazeau said real change requires early intervention — for instance, introducing constructive conversations about race as early as elementary school.

Officials agreed that need for reform was districtwide.

“We need to create space to critically examine existence of race and cultural biases together as a BPS community,” School Superintendent Tommy Chang said at the school committee meeting.

Michael O’Neill, chair of the Boston School Committee, said BSC could take a “critical” role working with the district to implement and maintain reform.

“BSC could really take a leading role in this that would both perpetuate through graduating classes and really bring a broader issue,” he said.

Youth voice on youth issues

Looking at the two high school students before them, officials emphasized the need to give voices of youth greater authority in school reform.

Regina Robinson, BSC member, cautioned against adultism and said she was interested in a model in which student voice guides reform.

One way to do this? Give more power to BSC’s student representative to the school committee.

City Councilor Tito Jackson said voting power needs to be granted to the student representative, and Noel questioned limiting that role to just one person.

“Why not have a student represent each [school], so that you can talk to different schools and just contact that person, and have a direct line?” she said. “If you’re working for the school, you’re working for the students. If you have a direct line of contact, maybe you can make that change.”

O’Neill asked the committee’s student representative, Savina Tapia, to take a leadership role in engaging the BSC board and fostering conversations with the Office of Equity, Office of Opportunity Achievement Gaps and school leaders.

Thursday, Thursday,February February4,4,2016 2016••BAY BAYSTATE STATEBANNER BANNER••21 21

FIO data LEGAL continued from page 1

suspicion.” Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which defines protections against illegal search and seizure, “reasonable suspicion” is insufficient basis for conducting searches. Police are required to have “probable cause” to arrest in order to make a warrantless, nonconsensual search.

According to department spokesman Lt. Detective Michael McCarthy, police supervisors check the records entered into the database.

“Detective Supervisors are required to sign off on every FIO that is submitted,” McCarthy said in an email sent to the Banner.

Officers can observe or question individuals at random. But the same is not true for detaining a person against their will. In the 1968 Terry v. Ohio case, the Supreme Court ruled that officers can briefly detain

a person only if they reasonably suspect the individual has committed a crime or is in the process of committing a crime. Under that standard, police may also conduct a pat-down of a suspect if they have a reasonable suspicion that the suspect is “armed and dangerous.”

Teenagers and young adults in Boston say police often overstep those bounds, going through their pockets, bags or vehicles to search for weapons or drugs. The wording of the Fourth Amendment clearly proscribes such warrantless searches: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Walsh cited changes in the police department — including his

appointments of people of color to over half the top command positions — which he says have made the BPD more responsive to the communities it polices.

The data show a noticeable change in recordings of illegal searches. From November 2010 through December 2013 – during the administration of the late Mayor Thomas Menino – officers recorded illegal searches at a rate of 72 a month – more than two per day on average. Following Walsh’s re-ordering of the department, that number dropped to 40 a month – just over one such search per day on average.

LEGAL

A call for oversight

The Boston police released its latest batch of data, from November 2010 through April 2015, after the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts sued the department for its release. Critics say the data, with its documentation of seemingly unconstitutional

BANNER CLASSIFIEDS

searches, underscores the need for greater supervision of police practices. City Councilor Tito Jackson said the data underscores the need for police officers to be outfitted with body-worn cameras.

“It would help determine the constitutionality of these interactions,” Jackson said.

Jackson also suggested that a civilian review board could help ensure that people complaining of rights violations would get a fair hearing.

Like the data released last year, which covered 2007 through October of 2010, the data released in January showed that blacks were 58 percent of those entered in the database, despite making up just 24 percent of the city’s population. Whites, who make up nearly half of the city’s population, were just 22.8 percent of those entered in the database.

In a statement emailed to the Banner, Walsh said his administration is working to ensure fairness.

“Myself, as well as Commissioner Evans and the Boston Police Department are deeply committed to ensuring fair and equitable treatment of all Boston residents,” he said. “There is no tolerance for discrimination on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender, national origin, ethnicity, age, religion or economic status. It’s something I believe in strongly: leadership should reflect Boston’s people and there is no room for discrimination in our city. That applies to our school systems and in our streets.”

Jackson said police practices that target black teenagers are not effective in fighting crime.

“When police stop young people who are not involved in illegal activity, that actually makes our neighborhoods and communities less safe, because young people are then less likely to trust the police,” he said.

“Every young person deserves to be treated with the dignity and respect that the Constitution affords them.”

LEGAL

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LEGAL

INVITATION TO BID The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is seeking bids for the following: BID NO.

DESCRIPTION

DATE

TIME

WRA-4168

Purchase of Two (2) 90-Ton Chillers Daikin Model AGZ090E with Electrofin Coated Coils (or Equal)

02/17/16

10:00 a.m.

To access and bid on Event(s) please go to the MWRA Supplier Portal at www.mwra.com.

LEGAL NOTICE TOWN OF ARLINGTON

LEGAL

This contract will be federally and state funded. The DBE Participation Goal for this contract will be 6%.

The complete request for qualifications can be found on the MBTA website.

Please use the following link: http://www.mbta.com/business_center/bidding_solicitations/current_solic itations/ This is not a request for proposal. The MBTA reserves the right to cancel this procurement or to reject any or all Statements of Qualifications.

Stephanie Pollack Mass DOT Secretary & CEO

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 day, action may be taken without further notice to you.

UNSUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE MASSACHUSETTS UNIFORM PROBATE CODE (MUPC) A Personal Representative appointed under the MUPC in an unsupervised administration is not required to file an inventory or annual accounts with the Court. Persons interested in the estate are entitled to notice regarding the administration directly from the Personal Representative and may petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses of administration.

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

Date: January 21, 2016 Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

Francis A. DePaola, PE General Manager Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU16P0112GD

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

Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM (CDBG) PUBLIC HEARING Pursuant to Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations formulated thereunder, notice is hereby given that the Town of Arlington, acting through the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen, will hold a Public Hearing on the Community Development Block Grant Program. The purpose of this hearing is to receive proposals for funds for our CDBG Program Year 42 (July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2017).

Said hearing will be held at 7:15 P.M., MONDAY, February 22, 2016 IN THE SELECTMEN’S MEETING ROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE ROBBINS MEMORIAL TOWN HALL, 730 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, ARLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS. The Town expects to receive approximately $1,000,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for CDBG Program Year 42. There is a HUD requirement that all funded programs must principally benefit persons of low and moderate income; aid in the prevention of slums and blight; or meet other urgent community development needs that pose a threat to the health or welfare of the community. For further information and technical assistance in determining eligibility of proposed programs and in preparing proposals for funding, please contact the Department of Planning and Community Development, 730 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, Massachusetts 02476, at (781) 316-3095.

Proposals for the use of funds must be submitted using the Town’s standard CDBG application which can be accessed at www.arlingtonma.gov/cdbg or by contacting the Planning Department at 781-316-3091. Applications must be received by the Department of Planning and Community Development no later than noon on Friday, February 12, 2016.

The Selectmen’s Meeting Room is accessible for the mobility impaired. If you require other assistance in obtaining access to the hearing, or to the materials to be presented, please contact the Arlington Commission on Disabilities office at (781) 316-3431 during business hours.

Adam Chapdelaine Town Manager

In the matter of Melvin Cook Of Boston, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Department of Mental Health of Westborough, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Melvin Cook is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Department of Mental Health of Westborough, MA (or some other suitable person) be appointed as Guardian to serve on the bond.

The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondant is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, that the proposed Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority.

You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 A.M. on the return date of 03/03/2016. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance, you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date.

MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY SOLICITATION FOR CONSULTANT SERVICES FEDERALLY-FUNDED PROJECTS MBTA CONTRACT NOS. ENMPS01-05 The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is soliciting engineering services for consultation and assistance on a task order basis. The amount of $25,000,000, with $5,000,000 available for each of the five consultants selected, has been budgeted for this project.

Services will include advice to and consultation with the Authority’s Engineering and Maintenance Division on matters of design, construction, and quality engineering on an as-needed basis. Services may include, but not be limited to: design services, project engineering assistance, contract management assistance, value engineering, claims management, quality assurance, field quality control, maintenance plans and methods, planning, design review, industry innovations, field safety, training, computer applications, cost estimating, environmental assistance, material testing, feasibility surveys, and independent cost estimating.

Concepcion, Claribel

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

Docket No. SU15P3149EA

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: Claribel Concepcion, 146 Health St. #63, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 your answer, if any, on or before 03/10/2016. 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.

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

Date: December 21, 2015

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

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

IMPORTANT NOTICE 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 the return day of 02/11/2016. This is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline by which you must file a written appearance and objection if you

Docket No. SU15P1640GD In the interests of Jediell Jomar Perez of Dorchester, MA Minor

NOTICE AND ORDER: Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Minor 1.

2.

Estate of Mildred Ruby Palmer Date of Death: 10/31/2011

A Petition for Formal Probate of Will with Appointment of Personal Representative has been filed by Crystal D. Palmer of Mattapan, MA requesting that the Court enter a formal Decree and Order and for such other relief as requested in the Petition. The Petitioner requests that Crystal D. Palmer of Mattapan, MA be appointed as Personal Representative(s) of said estate to serve Without Surety on the bond in an unsupervised administration.

Concepcion, Juan

The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown of the marriage pursuant to G.L. c. 208, Section 1B.

Citation on Petition for Formal Adjudication

To all interested persons:

vs.

To the Defendant:

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

Date: January 22, 2016 Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

Kevin F. Greeley, Chair Board of Selectmen PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing

IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person.

If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense.

Docket No. SU15D2549DR

NOTICE TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES Hearing Date/Time: A hearing on a Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Minor filed on 07/07/2015 by Johanna Martinez of Dorchester, MA will be held 03/03/2016 08:30 AM Review Hearing Located at 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114.

Response to Petition: You may respond by filing a written response to the Petition or by appearing in person at the hearing. If you choose to file a written response, you need to: File the original with the Court; and Mail a copy to all interested parties at least five (5) business days before the hearing.

3.

Counsel for the Minor: The minor (or an adult on behalf of the minor) has the right to request that counsel be appointed for the minor.

4.

Presence of the Minor at Hearing: A minor over age 14 has the right to be present at any hearing, unless the Court finds that it is not in the minor’s best interests.

THIS IS A LEGAL NOTICE: An important court proceeding that may affect your rights has been scheduled. If you do not understand this notice or other court papers, please contact an attorney for legal advice.

Date: December 9, 2015

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

22 • Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER

BANNER CLASSIFIEDS

LEGAL

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department Docket No. SU15P1641GD

SUFFOLK Division

In the interests of Isaac R. Perez of Dorchester, MA Minor NOTICE AND ORDER: Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Minor NOTICE TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES Hearing Date/Time: A hearing on a Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Minor filed on 07/07/2015 by Johanna Martinez of Dorchester, MA will be held 03/03/2016 08:30 AM Review Hearing Located at 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114.

1.

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department Docket No. SU15P3079GD

SUFFOLK Division

File the original with the Court; and Mail a copy to all interested parties at least five (5) business days before the hearing.

In the matter of Sergida Antonia Ruiz Of Roxbury, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person

3.

Counsel for the Minor: The minor (or an adult on behalf of the minor) has the right to request that counsel be appointed for the minor.

4.

Presence of the Minor at Hearing: A minor over age 14 has the right to be present at any hearing, unless the Court finds that it is not in the minor’s best interests.

To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Altagracia R. Ruiz of Roxbury, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Sergida A. Ruiz is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Altagracia R. Ruiz of Roxbury, MA (or some other suitable person) be appointed as Guardian to serve on the bond.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department Docket No. SU15D2551DR

SUFFOLK Division

Divorce Summons by Publication and Mailing Egwu, Chante

vs.

Egwu, Oblora

To the Defendant: The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a divorce for irretrievable breakdown of the marriage pursuant to G.L. c.

208, Section 1 B. 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 finan-

REAL ESTATE

HELP WANTED

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

Date: December 21, 2015

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Chante Egwu, 113 Shandon Rd. Apt 601, Dorchester, MA 02124 your answer, if any, on or before 03/10/2016. 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.

Response to Petition: You may respond by filing a written response to the Petition or by appearing in person at the hearing. If you choose to file a written response, you need to:

Date: December 9, 2015

REAL ESTATE

cial status of either party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411.

2.

THIS IS A LEGAL NOTICE: An important court proceeding that may affect your rights has been scheduled. If you do not understand this notice or other court papers, please contact an attorney for legal advice.

Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304

The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondant is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, that the proposed Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority.

You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 A.M. on the return date of 02/18/2016. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance, you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date.

IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person.

If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense.

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

Date: December 15, 2015 Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

REAL ESTATE

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United Housing Management is currently seeking the professional below. Please forward resumes no later than February 12, 2016 to 530 Warren Street, Dorchester, MA 02121 or fax to 617-442-7231.

Occupancy Specialist: The ideal candidate will have 3 years of experience in Tax Credit and Section 8 Housing. (COS) certification is required - Tax Credit experience is a plus. Candidate will maintain the waiting list of applicants for housing; strong organizational skills and attention to detail are required – bilingual English/Spanish is a plus. Transportation is a must.

United Housing Management LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Thursday, February 4, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER • 23

BANNER CLASSIFIEDS

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MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN

Land Use and Transportation Analyst

HS diploma or GED required.

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Tenants’ Development Corp. is seeking a Maintenance Technician to join our team to provide maintenance service repairs for 300+ units of scattered site housing located in Boston South End. Job requirements are minimum 5+ years multi-family/apartment repair experience. Experience must include proven HVAC, plumbing, carpentry and electrical skills. Valid driver’s license required. Duties to include emergency on-call service rotation and snow removal. TDC offers an excellent salary and benefits package; medical, dental, life insurance, short and long term disability, 401(k), optional Aflac insurance products, 15 paid holidays, paid sick and vacation benefits. Please send resume and salary requirements to ahuggins@tenantsdevelopment.com.

Call 617-542-1800 and refer to Health Insurance Training when you call

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council in Boston seeks a Land Use and Transportation Analyst to develop land use projections, construct integrated land use and transportation scenarios, and conduct research activities in support of sustainable regional planning. This is an opportunity to apply cutting-edge modeling tools and analytical methods to real-world applications in a large metro region with a variety of social, environmental, and transportation challenges. Responsibilities include enhancement and operation of MAPC’s regional land use allocation model (Cube Land), application of GIS-based sketch models (Community Viz) for local planning efforts, and research related to transportation and land use.

We seek an individual who is innovative, mission-driven, and committed to a more sustainable and equitable region. The ideal candidate will have excellent quantitative abilities, a strong understanding of scenario planning principles and methods, demonstrated experience working with land use and/or transportation models, the ability to interpret and communicate model results to the general public, and experience working with big data. MA or higher in planning, statistics, transportation, economics or a related field, with at least 2 years experience. Salary Range: $55,000 to $75,000 per year depending on qualifications.

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For more information and to register for the next Open House please visit our website at www.prohope.org/openhouse.htm or call 617-442-1880 ext. 218.

Hoyle, Tanner is headquartered in New Hampshire with branch offices in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and Florida. We are seeking the following:

RESIDENT ENGINEER: To oversee and observe an airport construction projects in Connecticut. The airfield construction project will include civil site work associated with new or reconstructed pavements, airfield lighting and signage, markings, navigational aids, and facilities. Maintains frequent client contact, coordinates material testing, maintains project records and ensures that construction is in accordance with the plans and specifications. 15 years of resident experience with heavy emphasis on airport work required. BSCE or Construction Management degree preferred, NETTCP certification or equivalent a plus. The position is temporary full time, BUT if the candidate possesses other skills that are valuable to the Company, he or she will be considered for all other opportunities that may arise. We are seeking motivated candidates who have interest in both office and field work. (CAREER CODE NEG10116)

MAPC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. MAPC takes pride in the diversity of its workforce and encourages all qualified persons to apply.

PLEASE SEE FULL JOB AD AT www.mapc.org (Jobs at MAPC) AND APPLY AT LINK SHOWN THERE. Posted 1/28/16. Barbara Wooten, Manager of Human Resources.

Please send resume citing the Career Code to: HOYLE, TANNER & ASSOCIATES, INC., 150 Dow Street, Manchester, NH 03101 or e-mail jhann@hoyletanner.com. Visit www.hoyletanner.com for more.

Quinsigamond Community College has an immediate need for a: NURSING FACULTY Associate Degree in Nursing/Practical Nursing This position facilitates learning for students enrolled in the Associate Degree in Nursing Program or the Practical Nursing Certificate Program. The ideal candidate will possess a combination of strong clinical skills and academic experience in medical-surgical, pediatric or mental health/psychiatric nursing education.

The full-time workload for this position may require day, late afternoon, evening or weekend hours and may take place in Worcester, Southbridge, or any other QCC satellite location.

Master’s Degree with a Major in Nursing is required.

Interested candidates should visit our website www.QCC.edu/human-resources for a complete job description, requirements and application procedures.

Applicants must apply online by February 21, 2016 for consideration.

QCC is an equal opportunity affirmative action college supporting diversity.

www.QCC.edu

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT The Executive Assistant at the Massachusetts Port Authority coordinates the collection, exchange, and transfer of information between Aviation Units, the Director, Aviation Operations, the Aviation Business General Manager, the Aviation Operations, the Deputy AdDeputy #: Director, 23139-6 Director of Aviation Security Operations, the Manager, Aviation Services, Publication: Bay State Banner and the Director, Airline Route Development Provides administrative and Run Date: 2/4/16 project management support to the personnel listed above and their staff.

Section: HW Healthcare

EDUCATION: Secretarial graduate or equivalent professional experience Cost: $235.00 + $125.00 Internet required.

Size: 2 col x 3 inches EXPERIENCE: 3 - 5 years secretarial experience required. Prior airport/ airline experience preferred.

MASSPORT IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER COMMITTED TO WORKFORCE DIVERSITY You can now apply online by clicking on the job title you are interested in and clicking on the “Apply” link! http://agency.governmentjobs.com/massport/default.cfm

Delivery Driver’s Assistant (30-40 hrs)

The job will require working on the road as a helper or delivery driver when necessary. n Must have experience driving vans n Must know Boston and surrounding areas n Have a valid driver license and provide copy of current clean driving record n Must be willing to take drug test n Ensuring all paperwork related to delivery of rugs or pick up of rugs is signed for and completed n Must be able to do heavy lifting at times. 60+ pounds Please call LaNette between 11-1 to make appointment for interview Adams & Swett 617-268-8000

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Civic Web Developer The Metropolitan Area Planning Council in Boston seeks a Civic Web Developer to join a growing team of planners and programmers working at the intersection of digital technology and regional planning.

This position plays a leading role in the development of public sector web applications related to planning, municipal operations, social issues, and civic engagement. The Developer will work closely with our product team in a collaborative, respectful environment, iterating on inclusive, human-centered product design and development processes. While writing code will comprise the majority of responsibilities, the work touches all aspects of the product delivery cycle, including product scoping and design. There are also opportunities to build relationships and collaborations with Boston’s civic tech community. Qualifications include BA in computer science, technology, design, engineering, or related field; two years experience and proficiency in Ruby and/or Ember JS. This is an ideal position for a developer looking to apply strong technical skills to real-world problems of equity and sustainability in the public sector context.

Salary Range: $65,000 to $77,000 per year, depending on qualifications.

MAPC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. MAPC takes pride in the diversity of its workforce and encourages all qualified persons to apply.

PLEASE SEE COMPLETE JOB AD AT www.mapc.org (Jobs at MAPC) AND APPLY AT LINK SHOWN THERE. Posted 1/28/16. Barbara Wooten, Manager of Human Resources.

Digital Services Manager Boston’s regional planning agency seeks civic technologist to lead new Digital Services group. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council in Boston seeks an experienced and committed individual to lead a growing team of planners and programmers working at the intersection of digital technology and regional planning. MAPC’s Data Services Department recently formed a new Digital Services group charged with finding new and effective ways to use digital tools to improve the quality of life in Metro Boston. The Digital Services Manager will oversee three web developers and will work with an interdisciplinary team of planners, analysts, and designers to execute a long-term digital product strategy, including all stages of product development, deployment, and user engagement. We are looking for someone able to expand our community partnerships, enhance our human-centered design process, and strengthen our connections with the civic tech community in Boston and across the nation. While not a technical programming position, familiarity with core web technologies is a must. BA or MA in planning, management, public policy, computer science, or related field, and three years of management experience a must. This is an ideal position for an accomplished civic technologist committed to advancing equity and sustainability in the public sector context. Salary range is $70,000 to $85,000 depending on qualifications.

MAPC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. MAPC takes pride in the diversity of its workforce and encourages all qualified persons to apply.

PLEASE SEE COMPLETE JOB AD AT www.mapc.org (Jobs at MAPC) AND APPLY AT LINK SHOWN THERE. Posted 1/29/16. Barbara Wooten, Manager of Human Resources.

The Plainville Housing Authority (MA) seeks an experienced housing administrator for the position of

Executive Director.

The Authority will also consider proposals from another local housing authority to serve as managing agent. The person selected will administer 40 units Ch. 667 elderly housing. The Executive Director reports to the Board of Commissioners. The Executive Director is responsible for compliance with Board policy and State and Federal regulations.

The minimum qualifications require two years’ experience in housing, community development, public administration, or a closely related field. A Bachelor’s Degree in a related field may substitute for up to two years of the required experience.

Knowledge of the principles and practices of housing management, finances, capital improvement, and maintenance systems in public or private housing is required. Candidates must have strong computer, verbal, writing and problem solving skills in addition to knowledge of laws regulating State housing programs. Public Housing Manager (PHM) or Massachusetts Public Housing Administrator (MPHA) Certification preferred but must be obtained within twelve months. Candidates should demonstrate experience and sensitivity working with people of various socio-economic and diverse backgrounds. Valid Massachusetts driver’s license required.

Salary is commensurate with experience within DHCD guidelines for 14 minimum hours per week Submit cover letter and resume with three references to: Search Committee Plainville Housing Authority 140 E. Bacon Street, Plainville, MA 02762 or email to: phasearchcommittee@gmail.com. No faxes will be considered.

The search will remain open and resumes will continue to be accepted until the position is filled.

The Plainville Housing Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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NPA177808-0003 DIV16-1-203-AA-$89x24-A5

110673_NPA177808-0003 Game Day ad_A5_10x15.75.indd 1

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