INNER-CITY NEWS

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Black Teen Suicide Reaches Highs Financial Justice a Key Focus at 2016Historic NAACP Convention INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

New Haven, Bridgeport

INNER-CITYNEWS

Volume 27 . No. 2357 Volume 21 No. 2194

Crushes Harp

Critics’ Malloy Dems: Malloy To ToCall: Dems: Ignore “Tough On Crime”

500

Snow in July?

Elicker

“DMC” Color Struck?

Nearly

Can Cops

Ignore “Tough On Crime”

THE BLERD BINDER FOLLOW US ON

Inmates Released from Prison Making U.S. History

1

1

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

FALL JAZZ at LYMAN CENTER

KIM WATERS

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Inner City Ad 10/30 11/13

FEATURING KAYLA WATERS

NOV

23 SAT

NORMAN BROWN’S JOYOUS CHRISTMAS DEC

14 SAT

featuring

Norman Brown Bobby Caldwell Marion Meadows

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! LYMANCENTER.ORG

203-392-6154 Your regional non-profit home for the performing arts, film & education

ARTS FUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD CULTURAL VITALITY GRANT

call 203-946-7172 for info

BUDDY GUY

KEB’ MO’

grant DEADLINES Letter of Intent: November 20 | Application: December 18

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2019 8:00 PM

JINGLE BELL JAMBOREE

With Tom Hambridge The one and only, Grammy award-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee electric blues guitar master!

This fall, Keb’ Mo’ will embark on a holiday tour, Jingle Bell Jamboree, which will feature the four-time Grammy-award winning contemporary Blues and Americana artist performing songs off of Moonlight, Mistletoe, And You.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019 8:00 PM

INFORMATION SESSIONS

WWW.GARDEARTS.ORG | 860.444.7373 X1 | 325 STATE STREET | NEW LONDON, CT

Oct. 21 - Wilson Library @ 5:00pm Oct. 24 - Fair Haven Library @ 5:30pm Oct. 29 - Mitchell Library@ 5:00pm

grant writing @ stetson library Nov. 6, 13, 20 6:00pm-8:00pm Nov. 23 10:00am-4:00pm

CITY OF NEW HAVEN, TONI. N. HARP, MAYOR

2

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Bronin, Elicker, Ganim Win Top Spots in State’s Largest Cities

by Christine Stuart Ct. News Junkie

HARTFORD, CT — Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin easily won re-election Tuesday, defeating six challengers, including former Mayor Eddie Perez.

“We’ve tackled some of the toughest crises the city’s ever faced. We didn’t shy away. And we will be equally determined in taking on the battles we have left to fight,” Bronin said.

There was some anger against Bronin for running for governor in 2018 just two years into a four-year term, but it wasn’t enough to make a dent in his support.

In Hartford, all six Democratic candidates for city council won, but the Working Families Party lost one of their three seats to John Gale, a Democrat who formed his own party to run. Gale raised nearly $22,000 in contributions from supporters, including donations from Bronin’s parents, Andrew and Rita Elaine Jones-Bronin.

Councilwoman Wildaliz Bermudez will retain her seat on the council and Josh Michtom won the second Working Families Party seat.

In New Haven, Justin Elicker defeated New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, who ran as a Working Families Party candidate.

Elicker defeated Harp by a 2-1 margin in an election where turnout was around 29%.

Harp “is not going to be remembered for these past three or four weeks,” Elicker said, alluding to her negative campaigning. “Mayor Harp is going to

be remembered for her 30 years in public service.”

In Bridgeport, Mayor Joe Ganim easily won Tuesday’s general election. By 8:30 p.m., state Democratic leaders had enough information to believe Ganim would win a second four-year term since his return from prison to the local political scene.

In Danbury, Republican Mayor Mark Boughton survived his toughest election challenge in two decades by narrowly defeating Democrat Chris Setaro.

When it comes to the state representatives and senators who were also elected or running for local office, the results were mixed.

Greenwich voters elected Rep. Fred Camilio to be their next first selectman, reversing the momentum the Democrats had gained over the past two years. Republicans also took back control of the Board of Estimate and Taxation and tax collector’s office as well.

In Fairfield, Rep. Brenda Kupchick, a Republican, defeated eight-term Democratic incumbent Michael Tetreau, whose public works director was recently arrested.

In Vernon, Republican state Sen. Dan Champagne fended off a challenge from former Democratic state Rep. Claire Janowski. Republicans also maintained control of the Town Council and Board of Education.

In Sprague, Sen. Cathy Osten, who chairs the General Assembly’s powerful Appropriations Committee, lost her First

CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin embraces his treasurer Cal Torres

Selectwoman seat to Republican Cheryl Allen Blanchard. Even though Sprague is a small town, Republicans believe the victory sends a strong message not only about what’s happening in Sprague, but what’s happening at the state level.

Mary Fay, a Republican who won reelection in West Hartford, said that Tuesday’s contest was about the damage the Democratic Party has done at the state level. She said it was ridiculous to even suggest the election was about Republican President Donald Trump. Democrats maintained control of six of nine seats on the Town Council with Shari Cantor

once again garning the most votes to retain the title of mayor.

Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy Wyman maintained that her party had a strong day.

“Democrats also flipped leadership in five towns and swept seats on under-tickets across the state. Democrats worked hard and came out to vote,” Wyman said.

Democrats had wins in Madison and East Haven.

Republican Party Chairman JR Romano said the GOP has expanded their control at the local level with Tuesday’s vote.

Romano cited Sprague and Fairfield as

big victories for the party.

“Tonight, Connecticut Democrats heard loud and clear that voters are frustrated and exhausted by their constant assault on our municipalities,” Romano said.

“While results are still trickling in, I am thrilled to announce Republican victory in Fairfield, Danbury, Greenwich, New Britain, Derby, Rocky Hill, Old Lyme, Sprague and more! These results are nothing less than a stunning shot across the bow for out-of-touch-liberal Democrats, who so far have remained clueless of the struggles their policies have inflicted on Connecticut families.”

Access Health CT Focuses On The Uninsured

by Christine Stuart Ct. News Junkie

HARTFORD, CT — Enrollment for 2020 health insurance plans began last week and officials working with Access Health CT are targeting the uninsured population.

Connecticut’s uninsured rate was 5.3% percent or around 186,000 individuals in 2018. That’s up from an eight-year low of 4.9% in 2016, according to an Access Health CT report on the uninsured population. However, it’s much lower than the 9.4% uninsured in 2013 before people could purchase insurance through the Affordable Care Act. “We can tell you within a five square block radius of where the uninsured are living,” Access Health CT CEO James Michel said.

This year’s open enrollment campaign is using additional resources to target those areas with door-knocking and community outreach through places like the Community Renewal Team in Hartford.

CRT is a community action agency that offers everything from behavioral health

CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE

Access Health CT CEO James Michel gets a tour of the CRT enrollment center.

services to home energy assistance.

“We need boots on the ground to get them access,” Michel said last week during a tour of CRT’s enrollment center in the basement of its 300 Market Street offices. “We have to meet people where

they are.”

More than 5,000 people are served by CRT’s Market Street location and there are four to five people now to help them enroll in an insurance plan or Medicaid, depending on their income. CRT was

3

one of three navigators chosen this year

by Access Health CT to assist with enrollment. The agency serves more than 67,000 individuals and over 28,000 families throughout Connecticut.

He said the reason most folks go without insurance is because they don’t believe it’s affordable.

The study Access Health CT did on the uninsured population found the number one reason people didn’t get insurance is because they assumed coverage would not be affordable. The second reason was that the “premium costs appear too high because third-party insurance sellers present plan options that do not offer premium assistance.” And the third reason was because they “can’t make an additional monthly cost work in their financial reality,” the report found.

Further down on the list was that they didn’t believe they needed it or were ineligible for federal subsidies and priced out of the marketplace as a result.

“A lot of folks who are uninsured qualify for Medicaid,” Michel said.

While Access Health CT is encourag-

ing people to shop and compare plans for 2020, an estimated 80% will auto-renew their 2019 plans.

However, that could come at a cost, especially for those who don’t receive any subsidies.

The 50% of consumers who will see a decrease in their premiums are those who receive a federal subsidy, according to Wakley, an actuarial consulting firm whose data was included in the presentation at the Access Health CT board meeting last month. Premiums are what consumers pay on a monthly basis that gives them access to insurance.

Based solely on premiums, the report by Wakely found a majority of consumers who are not eligible for federal subsidies and are in gold plans will see an average $116-per-month increase. Those in silver plans will see an average $66-per-month increase, and those in bronze plans will see a $59-per-month increase. A small number of those consumers who don’t receive subsidies will receive a slight reduction in rates depending on what plan Con’t on page 09

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

New Haven Men Among 100 Men of Color Honored Inner City News Contributor Dwight Bachman Named Valedictorian, Encourages Men to Tell Their Children “I Believe in You!”

By Kate Harner ’ 12, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist,Hawkes Learning, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina On Oct. 18, at the Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford, the June Archer & Eleven28 Entertainment Group, 5 New Haven residents, along with 95 other men, the “100 Men of Color Black Tie Gala and Award.” The ceremony is named for musician, author and motivational speaker Dr. June Archer. The gala, which drew more than 1,000 people, recognizes the contributions men in business, education, entrepreneurship, entertainment and service have had an impact in communities in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Archer named Dwight Bachman, public relations officer at Eastern Connecticut State University and a contributor to the Inner City News, “Valedictorian of the 100 Men of Color Class of 2019.”

Bachman is a frequent contributor to the African American press of features stories that celebrate the lives of African Americans pursuing excellence. He also is a veteran, high-octane public relations official with an extensive record of excellent service to the community who has served as public relations director/officer with distinction at Eastern for more than 30 years.

Mr. Bachman is responsible for helping to preserve and enhance the brand and image of Eastern and its mission.

Editor-in-Chief Liaison, Corporate Affairs Babz@penfieldcomm.com

Advertising/Sales Team Keith Jackson Delores Alleyne John Thomas, III

Editorial Team Staff Writers

Christian Lewis/Current Affairs Anthony Scott/Sports Arlene Davis-Rudd/Politics

Contributing Writers David Asbery Tanisha Asbery Jerry Craft/Cartoons Barbara Fair

1.Dwight Bachman and Dr. June Archer

by Christine Stuart Ct. News Junkie

CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE Gov.

Ned Lamont meets with DAS staff Monday

three years. The state plans to replace only 60 of those positions. The cost savings resulting from the consolidation of human resources is expected to be around $10 million.

An estimated 100 state employees who work in human resources throughout state government will be brought to the DAS headquarters in Hartford by the end of the year.

But that’s just one of the efforts to reimagine state government.

Noel Petra, deputy commissioner for real estate and construction services, said they are reducing the size of the cubicles DAS employees use at the agency and creating new work areas. He said they will reduce their footprint in the building by at least 30%.

Publisher / CEO

Babz Rawls Ivy

Lamont Gets Glimpse of DAS ‘Nerve Center’ HARTFORD, CT — If there’s one state agency where Gov. Ned Lamont feels at home it’s the Department of Administrative Services.

The little known agency oversees that state-owned real estate and leasing, purchasing, human resources, and information technology.

It’s the 14th state agency Lamont has visited since taking office.

Lamont called DAS the “nerve center” of state government several times during a wide-ranging tour of the offices at 450 Columbus Boulevard.

He said that if state government is going to look very different 12 years from today, “then now is the time to think about it.”

DAS is trying to figure out what state government needs and how many people it needs to run efficiently, while keeping pace with the private sector.

Lamont said his private sector experience is not all that relevant to agencies like the Department of Children and Families, but “I think at DAS we can provide most of those private-sector experiences and help them apply to the public sector.”

In the summer, Lamont and DAS Commissioner Josh Geballe announced the consolidation of the state’s human resources by the end of the year.

There are 325 human resource officers working for the state, and 124 of them, or 38%, are expected to retire in the next

John P. Thomas

He said on any given day 20% of their workforce is not in the office because their work requires them to be in the field or some personal issue.

“Instead of giving someone a workspace based on their title or the hierarchy, we are giving them a workspace based on the actual work that they do,” Petra said.

He said they are working with the Office of Policy and Management to do a review of all their office space in Hartford.

“What’s the future of real estate for our government?” Lamont asked Petra.

“Much smaller. Much, much smaller,” Petra replied.

He said they are hoping to give the private sector back a lot of commercial

4

space over the next couple of years.

Geballe admitted it would be a challenge, but given the opportunity to save money it simply makes sense.

“We need to take the steps now to have the workforce the state needs to meet the challenges that are coming,” Geballe said.

One of the most immediate changes people will see at the agency is the business One-Stop.

Carol Wilson, director of procurement at DAS, said the program will have the intelligence to guide a business through all the state agency approvals it might need to get up and running in Connecticut in one transaction.

That’s in addition to the rollout this summer of Amazon Business Services to help state agencies purchase items that don’t require a state contract. Through Amazon they can get many quotes for what they need and now the agency can track those non-contracted purchases.

“What are the biggest purchases on the Amazon platform?” Lamont asked.

Wilson told the governor they are seeing a lot of books being purchased.

The Department of Correction buys a lot of books for the inmates, Wilson said.

Geballe said they had no idea what the agencies were purchasing before they started using the Amazon platform for these goods.

“This is a good glimpse into the centralization of the state’s business functions,” Geballe told Lamont.

Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur Michelle Turner Smita Shrestha William Spivey Kam Williams Rev. Samuel T. Ross-Lee

_______________________

Contributors At-Large

Christine Stuart www.CTNewsJunkie.com Paul Bass New Haven Independent www.newhavenindependent.org

Memberships

National Association of Black Journalist National Newspapers Publishers Association Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Greater New Haven Business & Professional Association Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.

The Inner-City Newspaper is published weekly

by Penfield Communications, Inc. from offices located at 50 Fitch Street, 2nd Floor, New Haven, CT 06515. 203-387-0354 phone; 203-3872684 fax. Subscriptions:$260 per year (does not include sales tax for the in State subscriptions). Send name, address, zip code with payment. Postmaster, send address changes to 50 Fitch Street, New Haven, CT 06515. Display ad deadline Friday prior to insertion date at 5:00pm Advertisers are responsible for checking ads for error in publication. Penfield Communications, Inc d.b.a., “The Inner-City Newspaper” , shall not be liable for failure to publish an ad or for typographical errors or errors in publication, except to the extent of the cost of the space in which actual error appeared in the first insertion. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication. The entire contents of The Inner-City Newspaper are copyright 2012, Penfield Communications, Inc. and no portion may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

-ASSISTED LIVING SERVICES HONORS NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVERS MONTH -

CT Homecare Agency Supports Caregivers Financially and Emotionally

Personal caregivers for the elderly or people with special needs provide an invaluable service. Many times, family members take on this critical role at the expense of their own financial and physical wellbeing. During National Family Caregivers Month in November, Assisted Living Services, Inc. is paying tribute to all caregivers by offering them resources that ensure they remain empowered, energized and enthusiastic.

“Regardless if you are a caregiver for a family member or it is your profession, it can be overwhelming if you have additional worries about your own finances and personal responsibilities,” said Ron D’Aquila, RN, Co-Founder and CEO of Assisted Living Services, Inc. (ALS) in Cheshire. “We understand the demands of caregiving and have spearheaded multiple initiatives to elevate pay and recognition within the industry.”

D’Aquila highlights a state program that can alleviate the financial burden of family caregivers who often have to cut back on working hours, take a leave of absence, or quit their job entirely. The CT Department of Social Services added The Adult Family Living/Foster Care Program in 2013 under the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE) and the Personal Care Assistance (PCA) Waiver Program. Assisted Living Services, Inc. is a credentialed provider for this program, which means the company provides the oversight that helps caregivers

succeed including on-going support by a Registered Nurse with the “tools” needed to be comfortable with caregiving, along with the financial compensation that they deserve.

To be eligible for the CHCPE, applicants must meet certain criteria, such as being a Connecticut resident, be at risk of nursing home placement, as well as meet certain financial criteria. Adult Family Living / Foster Care is defined as personal care and support services that are provided to participants who reside in a private home by a principle caregiver that lives in the home. The direct provider may be a relative of the participant as long as they are not a legally liable relative (such as a spouse).

There are four different levels of care that depend on the complexity of care needed. When a referral is made to DSS, a representative visits the home for an assessment and to determine eligibility and level.

Under the program, the caregiver can receive a tax-free stipend of over $500 per week. Direct foster caregivers can care for up to three individuals in a household.

In addition, ALS is a champion for their employed staff as well, by offering competitive wages, specialized training, and a unique and generous monthly award program. The company’s Platinum Caregiver Award recognizes caregivers who exhibit exemplary care and stellar service by presenting them with a beautiful crystal stat-

ue, a certificate of merit and $5,000 every month. Employee Linda Papaspliliotopulus was the award honoree in April and used her winnings for a dream trip to Italy for a family reunion.

“Linda was born in Italy and she told me that this was a big reunion with family from all over, many of whom had not gotten together for years,” said D’Aquila.

“We are thrilled that our monthly award can enhance the lives of our valued team members and proud that there is truly nothing like it in the entire country!”

D’Aquila stresses the importance of taking time away as just one thing caregivers need to do in order to practice good selfcare. He shares some other strategies:

• Engage in regular activities as a reminder that you are more than just a caregiver.

• Give yourself permission to take short breaks. Get out of the house throughout the day, even for 10 minutes. Visit with friends.

• Take care of yourself. Don’t skip your own doctor’s appointments because you’re too busy. Exercise, eat well and don’t sacrifice sleep.

• Get up 15 minutes earlier and use the time just for you. Journal about your struggles and feelings, meditate or stretch.

• Watch out for signs of depression and don’t delay getting professional help.

• Give yourself credit for doing the best you can in one of the toughest jobs!

Technology can also help a senior main-

Assisted Living Services, Inc. in Cheshire recognizes the outstanding efforts of employee caregivers each month with a $5,000 Platinum Caregiver Award. From left: Lynne Schmidt, Director of Marketing and Hourly Services, honoree Linda Papaspliliotopulus of Meriden and Mario D’Aquila, MBA and Chief Operating Officer. Linda used her windfall for a family reunion in Italy.

Photo Credit: Assisted Living Services

tain independence while providing peace of mind. Through the ALS sister company, Assisted Living Technologies, Inc. there are automated medication dispensers to improve compliance, home safety devices that shut off a stove that is inadvertently left on, fall avoidance technologies, and Personal Emergency Response Systems that can help augment or supplement care.

For nearly 25 years, award-winning

home care agency Assisted Living Services, Inc. in Cheshire with branch locations in Clinton and Fairfield has provided quality care to residents across Connecticut. Their award-winning CarePlus program blends personal care with technological safety and monitoring devices from sister company Assisted Living Technologies, Inc. Learn more by visiting www.assistedlivingct.com or calling 203.634.8668.

The Hilton Als Series | Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Through December 15, 2019

Free and open to all 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven | 1 877 BRIT ART britishart.yale.edu @yalebritishart #LynetteYiadomBoakye

5

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Greenhouse Fantasies (detail) 2014, oil on canvas Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York © Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Elicker Crushes Harp In Mayoral Election

by PAUL BASS, THOMAS BREEN, CHRISTOPHER PEAK, & MELISSA BAILEY New Haven I ndependent

Justin Elicker is the next mayor of New Haven, after defeating incumbent Toni Harp by well more than a 2-1 margin in Tuesday’s election.

With all wards reporting — and close to 1,150 absentee and same-day registration votes still uncounted — Elicker was leading Harp by 11,605 to 4,714 votes on the machines, according to a tally by the Independent. That computes to 70.4 percent to 28.6 percent.

Elicker, the Democratic candidate, captured 27 out of 30 wards against an incumbent who previously won 17 out of 17 elections for various positions over 32 years in New Haven.

His campaign was looking for that kind of broad mandate after a bitterly divisive campaign with explicit racial appeals to black voters to deny office to a white candidate who, in the argument of one prominent Harp supporter, was launching a white “takeover” of New Haven.

Those appeals fell even flatter in nonwhite neighborhoods than they did in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary, when Elicker defeated Harp by 58 to 42 percent. Harp ran as the Working Families Party candidate in Tuesday’s general election.

“This victory is resounding across the city,” Elicker shouted at a victory party at the Next Door restaurant in Jocelyn Square.

The bar was filled with both long-time supporters like Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen and NHPS Advocates cofounder Sarah Miller as well as with high-profile local politicos who threw their support behind Elicker only after he won September’s primary like New Haven Rising labor organizer Scott Marks.

“New Haven is a place where divisive rhetoric has no tolerance,” he said soon after arriving to a raucous applause just after 9 p.m.

Elicker said Harp called him to extend congratulations and offer her help for a smooth transition.

“I’m grateful to have her as a partner as we move forward into the next steps,” he said. He told the crowd Harp will be remembered for her decades of public service and for many accomplishments, such as creating YouthStat to support young people struggling with deep challenges, taking down a fence that separated two communities in Hamden and New Haven, rebuilding the Q House.

Voter turnout was 29 percent.

After the 933 absentee ballots and 163 Election Day Registration (EDR) ballots are counted, it’s possible Harp will match or come close to the 5,150 votes she won in the Sept. 10 primary, in

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO

Elicker (center) surrounded by his wife and parents (left) and labor organizer Scott Marks (right).

which Elicker beat her 58 to 42 percent.

Elicker increased his margin in Tuesday’s general election, when Republicans and independents were eligible to vote.

Elicker also continued narrowing the margin in African-American wards like Newhallville’s Ward 20, which was supposed to be the heart of Harp’s base. She concentrated her campaign only on the black community with blunt racial appeals— and lost more ground to Elicker.

Elicker even won Wards 22 and 27, two districts with sizeable African-American electorates that in the past always backed Harp.

Inside the victory party at Next Door.

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO Toni Harp: I’m grateful and proud of what we accomplished.

6

Over At The Elks Club…

In a concession speech at the Elks Club in the Dixwell neighborhood, Harp congratulated her challenger and said she intends to continue “some form of public service.”

“I’m grateful in my heart of hearts for the ability that I’ve had to serve the people of New Haven,” she said.

Probate Judge Clifton Graves, Alders Yvette Hamilton and Frank Douglass, and Livable City Initiative Director Serena Neal-Sanjuro all showed at the subdued after-party.

They shed tears over the stinging defeat, attacked the Democratic “machine” that they felt had betrayed them and the challenger that they accused of making politics too “personal,” and tried to figure out what to do next.

Some of Harp’s supporters had already started plotting how to take back

City Hall, saying they needed to get the “mongoose out of the chicken house.”

“We cede nothing!” Yasmin Amico, a Hamden resident and New Haven teacher who’d spent the day campaigning for Harp downtown, said after picking up the mic, as “Aint No Stoppin’ Us Now” came on the speakers. “We do not give up the fight! We march on tonight!”

But most echoed the message of Harp’s speech, that they’d be a part of New Haven’s continued rise.

“I appreciate her reminding us that we all need to work together,” said Shirley Ellis-West, a former Quinnipiac Meadows alder. “The foundation has already been set, and now we have to figure out how we can work together to build on it.”

Emma Jones, who first approached Harp about a general-election run and later became the chair of The People’s Campaign PAC, cried near the back of the bar.

She said she was feeling torn up about how she felt Harp had been smeared as racial fissures split the city. She tied Harp’s reelection campaign to the history of the civil rights movement.

“I will always hold in my heart what a wonderful servant she really is and how tremendous this community is,” Jones said. “That, despite the fact that many of us felt that there had been a division made within the Black community and a further schism between the white community and the Black community.”

“For me, that rolled back so many of the accomplishments that people like Martin Luther King made to get us to the place where we can have the right not only to vote, but the right to be in a world where we can contribute tremendously to society, that we will not be scandalized in our character, that we will not be punished in the process of trying to do that,” she added. “Mayor Toni Harp did so much for this community.”

Harp “is not going to be remembered for these past three or four weeks,” Elicker said in his victory speech, alluding to her negative campaigning. “Mayor Harp is going to be remembered for her 30 years in public service.”

Alex Taubes, a local attorney who worked as the campaign’s treasurer, said that, in 2020, volunteers could bring along voter registration forms as they fanned out to help take the Census.

With a different electorate? Another Harp supporter leaned over to Jones and whispered the rest secretly in her ear.

Democrats swept all the Board of Alders races as well. City Clerk Michael Smart won a fourth term. Board of Education President Darnell Goldson was re-elected as well.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Ambitions'"."-,">,/')3'89'3-#*'I#2/"7'"JJ

Non-stop streaming for the whole fam?

All day, every day.

When it comes to entertainment, the only challenge the fam will struggle with is what to !"#$%&'()'*)+'!"#$%',-./'01')2')3/')4'#%/'#%)+5"365')4'%-#'5%)!5'"36'7).-/5')3'89'3-#*' :3'(/7"36;':2<'9'3",,*'$%/$=')+#'#%"#'5%)!'/./2*>)6*?5'>//3'#",=-3@'">)+#')3'A/#B'-C' )2' D2-7/' 1-6/);' E%"#/./2' *)+' $%))5/<' F+5#' 5"*' -#' -3#)' #%/' 8G' 1)-$/' H/7)#/' #)' 9'36' -#&' E-#%'89'3-#*<'"3*'$%",,/3@/'-5'simple, easy, awesome.

SPECIAL OFFER

Get started with Internet + TV + Voice

$

79

99 a month

Includes DVR service FREE for 1 year

FOR 2 YEARS with a 2-year agreement

Now with even faster speed â&#x20AC;&#x201D; up to 100 Mbps download speed

KQ<15=$&0C#04R$(C#4&'#30?$%#2?4%P$(#$R0%4C 4&'#(<:W$20#03#2?4&P$.#@$$#:$63;#D3%#'$0416(.#

Call !"#$$"%&'()*+, go to %&'()*+,-./, or visit your local 0&'()*+'1*.23 today.

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nternet: S$(0#H&0$%&$0#($%912$#5%391'$%#2641=#:4($'#3&#'3;&634'#(5$$'(#=$4(<%$'#:7#39$%#)))#=16613&#0$(0(#04]$&#:7#23&(<=$%(#40# @5$$'0$(0.&$0.#Y20<46#(5$$'(#94%7#4&'#4%$#&30#P<4%4&0$$'.#Voice: HD#0?$%$#1(#4#53;$%#3<04P$#3%#&$0;3%]#1((<$C#24661&PC#1&26<'1&P#2466(#03#-))C#=47#:$#<&494164:6$.#8BY++V^+_`FFF)# 8KX#YY#a^#TIY#I))

135159_NPA228427-0001 Everyday ad_V11_NewHaven_9.25x10.5.indd 1

7

10/7/19 6:58 PM

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Tracey Sketches Schools Vision

by CHRISTOPHER PEAK New Haven I ndependent

New Haven’s new schools chief wants to bring music and art back to the classroom and stability to a district that has been mired in turmoil for the last two years.

Interim Superintendent Iline Tracey revealed some of those plans at her first official Board of Education meeting as Superintendent Carol Birks’s replacement Over two and a half hours Monday night at King-Robinson Interdistrict Magnet School in Beaver Hills, the board’s routine agenda items on academic data and staffing appointments turned into weighty discussions.

Tracey was challenged to make sure Spanish speakers are adequately represented without tokenizing them as an after-thought; improve student achievement without getting too caught up in test scores; and restore trust without knowing what comes next in what could be another divisive superintendent search.

After sticking with a decades-long career in urban education, ever since she started out at Dwight Day Care in 1980, Tracey said she’s feeling up for the challenge.

“This school system has been very dear to my heart. I’ve taught kindergarten, first grade, fourth grade, eighth grade — all the different grades — and I’m proud to say that I’m committed to this system,” Tracey said. “I’m not committed to a person, but to the system. That means people can come and go, but I still have my commitment to the system.”

“I’m not also here reveling in anyone’s demise. I will work with whoever’s in the system, because I’m working on behalf of families and students,” she went on. “I’m continuing this commitment.

I’m not ready to go anywhere, even though my hair is gray. I still have a lot of energy left.”

Later in the meeting, she described a vision of classrooms where students read books and play music, though it’s up to the board how long she’ll have to see that through.

Tracey’s contract is still being negotiated. It can’t be signed until Friday anyway, in case Birks decides to pull out of her severance agreement.

But once the details are worked out, Tracey will likely remain interim superintendent until the end of this school year. A search will get going after the Nov. 5 mayoral election and the filling of an open board seat.

Right after the Board of Education inked a $175,000 severance agreement with Birks and tentatively handed the job over, parents and administrators inside King-Robinson’s auditorium leapt to their feet, whooping and clapping.

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO Iline Tracey: I’m committed to this school system.

Florence Caldwell May Mitchell, and Robert Gibson at Monday’s school board meeting.

Hazel Pappas: I hope you’re here for a long time.

During public comment, nearly every speaker endorsed her for the job.

Florence Caldwell maybe the only person in the auditorium who’s been involved in city schools longer than Tracey, showing up for school board meetings for more than 40 years — said she couldn’t think of anyone better. She called Tracey a “woman of compassion, conviction and dependability.”

“It’s going to take us a while to get back where we need to be,” Caldwell said.

“But we’re on the right track, as long as there’s open commitment to transpar-

ency, we can move forward as New Haven Public Schools, a school district that we’re all so very proud of.”

After the congratulations, Tracey quickly had to start answering questions about how she planned to approach academics this school year.

Elementary schools district-wide are slowly catching up to the state average in reading, but they aren’t keeping pace in math. And high schoolers reversed a recent upward swing on SAT scores.

Tamiko Jackson-McArthur said that, while standardized tests are a “one size

8

fits all” exam, she still felt “very disturbed” by how far New Haven lags behind the state average, even as it routinely beats out Hartford and Bridgeport.

She said the district needs to make sure that it’s making pre-kindergarten spots available to all New Haven families.

Mayor Toni Harp said she noticed the high schools with the highest SAT scores also had the highest proportion of white students: Engineering & Science University Magnet School and The Sound School. “That is a problem,” she said.

Ed Joyner called it “a rigged game.”

Tracey didn’t discount the test results.

She said that the board needed to take the scores seriously, because state ratings and federal grants depend on them.

But she added that one number shouldn’t define a student’s learning.

That view was a stark contrast with Birks, who’d ended her public job interview by distributing a run-down of the district’s test scores and who’d set specific test score targets in the district’s strategic plan.

“Are we where we should be? No,” she said, but “our schools are helping kids set goals where they are, not just based on numbers but based on how they’re performing qualitatively and quantitatively.”.

“I, for one, don’t think test scores define who our kids are,” she added.

Tracey said that, while she was working at Southern Connecticut State University, she met many New Haven grads who couldn’t read well or write well. But she said the main problem was that students didn’t have “the right approach to learning.” They needed to work on how they analyzed the material, not how they picked out “eenie, meenie, miney, mo” on a scantron, she said.

Her solution? Tracey said she wanted to get kids interested in learning again, and she said she’d need New Haven’s help in doing that.

“The problems are complex. I think we have to, as a community, come together to figure it out, because I know that our teachers are working very hard,” Tracey said. “We need to get our kids to move, getting our kids to read, getting music back, to let kids have fun with their learning, not sitting in sedentary positions in the classroom just being compliant.

“I need the whole community to rally around that,” she added. “Come in to read to kids. Come and support our youngsters. Our teachers need that level of help.”

The Board’s Second Test The other big question, since Birks’s departure, is how long Tracey will have to carry out that vision of her ideal classroom.

That question has rattled parents for the last two weeks, after Darnell Gold-

son, the board’s president, said at the last board meeting that he thought the last superintendent search was “very transparent.”

“You may not have liked the conclusion,” Goldson said, but “we all knew what was going to happen at the end because it was so transparent.”

Joyner objected that “a lot of things were hidden from the public, a lot of things were done behind the scenes.”

And Krystal Augustine, the former City-Wide Parent Team president, joined in, shouting from a corner of King-Robinson’s auditorium. She said that parents were given a one-day notice before a September forum with the three finalists.

“Just apologize,” she yelled. “Just be honest.”

Goldson told her she was out of order and temporarily shut down the meeting.

Two weeks later, on Monday night, Goldson agreed the board maybe should have just picked Tracey, one of the seven superintendent semifinalists, in the first place.

“I don’t know why we didn’t make the decision before to bring her on as superintendent,” he said.

Several members of the public — whom Goldson had accused of “publicly lynching this lady” for loudly protesting Birks’s hiring two years ago — burst out into disbelieving laughter.

“Really?” one mom said.

Goldson chuckled too. “I am super happy to make the decision now,” he clarified. “I feel a kind of sigh of relief throughout the entire district, and I’m looking forward to working with her to move this district forward.”

Would anything be different this time around? After Monday’s meeting, Goldson told reporters that the board would do site visits for any out-of-towners to see what parents and students thought.

“I think the search firm might have done that, but board members didn’t do that” he said. “Next time I want to be more hands-on.”

Hazel Pappas, another fixture who’s shown up to board meetings with Caldwell for decades, said that the school board should look within its own ranks for its next leader.

“When we have people’s that in New Haven that could be the superintendent from the get-go, that’s what should happen, because Dr. Tracey should have the superintendent from the beginning,” she said. “Since we’re so broke, let’s not be willing to go looking for somebody else, pay this and pay that, when we have somebody that’s qualified, even more than the people that we paid all this money for.”

“Dr. Tracey,” Pappas added, “I hope you stay with us for a long time.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Muslim Peacemaker Dies At 83

by PAUL BASS

New Haven I ndependent

Imam Dr. Abdul-Majid Karim Hasan, a New Haven Muslim leader and interfaith peacemaker for more than a half century, died Monday at the age of 83 after a long illness.

A community service in his memory will take place at the Colonial Funeral Home at 86 Circular Ave. in Hamden, followed by a repast at the masjid that bears his name, the Abdul Majid Karim Hasan Islamic Center just over the New Haven-Hamden line at 870 Dixwell Ave. Imam Hasan’s personal journey reflected that of many American Muslims.

A former jazz musician, he helped found a Dixwell Avenue temple of the National of Islam on Dixwell Avenue in New Haven in 1961. He became the imam there in 1968.

In 1975 he made “the transition” to a more traditionally Islamic-centered practice, following the lead of Warith Deen Muhammad, who broke with his father to form a new branch, the World Community of Islam. They followed a path forged by Malcolm X. For decades Imam Hasan led a vibrant congregation, centered on New Haven’s Carmel Street, then, beginning in 1997, at its current location at 870 Dixwell.

It was originally called the Muhammad Islamic Center, then renamed for Imam Hasan in 2010.

He mentored many local people who

ALLAN APPEL PHOTO Imam Hasan (at left) at 2010 renaming of the masjid.

pursued more religious paths in their lives. He served as a prison chaplain in the state. He also collaborated often with leaders of Jewish and Christian congregations in events to promote interfaith peace and cooperation. His gentleness, kindness, and deep spiritual strength

struck all those who had the fortune to encounter him.

“People like him, you imagine him living forever,” masjid convener Yusuf Shah said Tuesday.

“We are saddened and devastated and loss of our imam, a father to all of us,

Questions about your bill?

an imam, a leader. Everything a leader could be, Dr. Hasan was to us. He touched so many lives and gave everybody an opportunity to be the best person he could be, to build their character to the highest level.”

Con’t from page

Access Health CT Focuses On The Uninsured

they are on.

The uninsured research found that individuals who are self-employed at their own non-incorporated business account for 14.1% of the uninsured population and those who have worked less than full-time over the last 12 months are 37.6% of the uninsured population.

“When considered together, these findings could indicate that individuals who are self-employed, including contract, freelance workers, or sole-proprietorships, should be key areas of focus for Access Health CT,” the research concluded. This year Access Health CT is focusing on the uninsured.

Michel said if they don’t get out and start knocking on doors then these residents are not going to know what they are missing.

“In 2019, we enrolled close to ten thousand people who were brand new to our system, and we are looking to continue to increase that number for 2020,” Michel said.

Aside from focusing on populations with a high propensity of being insured, Access Health CT will be doing in-home events like “Tupperwear parties” and they will try and meet people where they are like barber shops.

There will also be 30 enrollment fairs in 23 towns and there will be two enrollment centers one in the Raymond Library in East Hartford and one in the Ferguson Liberty in Stamford.

Enrollment began on Nov. 1 and goes through Dec. 15 for anyone who wants to be covered starting on Jan. 1, 2020.

AfricAn AmericAn StudieS At YAle Celebrating Fifty Years • 1969–2019

Yale New Haven Hospital is pleased to offer patients and their families financial counseling regarding their hospital bills or the availability of financial assistance, including free care funds.

African American Studies marks its 50th Anniversary at Yale by inviting alumni and former colleagues to reflect on past developments in our field while looking ahead to future changes we would like to see.

By appointment, patients can speak one-on-one with a financial counselor during regular business hours. For your convenience, extended hours are available once a month.

Looking Back at 50 Years of change in the artworLd

Date: Monday, November 18 Time: 5 - 7 pm

Thursday, November 14 • 5:30–7:00 pm Robert L. McNeil Jr. Lecture Hall • Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel Street, New Haven

Location: Children’s Hospital, 1 Park St., 1st Floor, Admitting Parking available (handicapped accessible)

Howardena Pindel MFA, 1967 Wangechi Mutu, MFA, 2000

An appointment is necessary. Please call 203-688-2046.

Kevin Beasley, MFA, 2005

Spanish-speaking counselors available.

moderator

Courtney Martin Director, Yale Center for British Art thiS event iS SponSored in pArtnerShip with YAle univerSitY Art GAllerY And YAle School of Art

free and open to the puBLic Twitter: @yaleafamstudies

Facebook: yaleafricanamericanstudies

afamstudies.yale.edu

SponSored SponSored bY depArtmentS bY of: African American Studies Endeavors Colloquium; Afro-American Cultural Center; Gilder Lehrman Center, Departments of Anthropology, English, French, History, History of Art, Psychology, Sociology; Political Science - Institute for Social and Policy Studies; President’s Office, Programs in Public Humanities and American Studies; Race, Indigeneity and Transnational Migration; Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies; The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center, Whitney Humanities Center, Yale Art Gallery, Yale School of Art, Yale School of Drama

9

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Can Drunk Gummy Bears Break Curse?

by PAUL BASS

New Haven I ndependent

The latest restaurateurs to try their luck in the cursed concrete canyon below the Temple Street Garage may have a secret weapon: rum-bloated-candy drinks.

City officials joined with the restaurateurs Monday to cut the ribbon on Mr. Crab Seafood & Bar, which features spicy seafood and signature cocktails across Temple Street from Criterion Cinemas.

“I can’t wait to have cajun crab,” effused Mayor Toni Harp, who indeed got the chance after wielding the scissors for the ceremonial cut. “I am so excited that you’re here. It’ll be a little bit of New Orleans on Temple Street.”

Mr. Crab — the owners’ second version of a restaurant they opened in Bridgeport’s Black Rock section — sits on a garage-buried block where eateries seem to open and close faster than the jaws of a dracula ant.

Its 25 Temple St. storefront alone has since 2012 hosted the deluxe-donut Orangeside Luncheonette, the beloved vegan Red Lentil, and the Greek diner

Kalimera.

City deputy economic development chief Steve Fontana noted the challenge of making a restaurant work inside a dark grey concrete block at the edge of downtown without much foot traffic. The garage “looms hover Temple Street,” he noted. “We have to come up with a way to make it more encouraging and inviting.” He said the city is looking at adding more lighting and landscaping to enliven the block.

Mr. Crab co-owner Roy Poon endorsed that idea. He said he hopes to unite with other restaurateurs on the block to pursue other ideas.

Co-owner Munik Bringel server Nichol Phelan are also hoping the Cajun shrimp and chips and cocktails make Mr. Crab a destination.

Bringel demonstrated what goes into the “Drunken Gummy Bear.” She mixed peach schnapps, mango-flavored Stoli, grenadine for color and gummy bears bloated from days of soaking in rum. It was a tad too early in the day to sample ... ... but it looked exquisite.

FREE PHONES

When you switch 2 lines. Plus sales tax and activation fee. ID validation required.

Switcher Instant Rebate: For a limited time at participating Metro® by T-Mobile stores, purchase a Samsung Galaxy A20 or LG Stylo 5 phone and port-in an existing eligible wireless number to that phone and receive an instant $239.99 rebate off full retail price with validation of name, address, and date of birth provided through independent database and presentation of matching identification. Limit four (4) Switcher Plus Instant rebates and four (4) total combined Switcher Plus, Switcher, New Line, and Upgrade Instant Rebates per account/household.

Excludes phone numbers currently on T-Mobile or active on Metro in past 90 days. Provided in form of credit against regular purchase price at time of sale and has no cash value. See store associate for complete details. Sales tax not included and is collected in accordance with state and local laws. Certain restrictions apply. Offer available while supplies last. No rain checks. General: $15 activation fee per line. Not all phones or features available on all service plans. Coverage and services not available everywhere. Rates, services, coverage, and features subject to change. Phone selection and availability may vary. Screen images simulated and subject to change. Metro features and services for personal use only. See store or metrobyt-mobile.com for details, coverage map, restrictions and Terms and Conditions of Service (including arbitration provision). Metro and other words, slogans, designs and devices are registered or unregistered trademarks of T-Mobile USA, Inc. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks, service marks, and other intellectual property are the properties of their respective owners.

Copyright ©2019 T-Mobile USA, Inc.

10

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

6 Reasons Why You’re Still In The Friend Zone Jasmine Browley, BlackDoctor.com

Rejection is awful. After gathering the courage to approach someone you’re interested in or already have feelings for, the last thing you want to hear is, “Oh, you’re sweet but I don’t feel the same way.” Believe me, I’ve had to deliver that line to quite a few guys and it hurt me every time.

I can only imagine how it made them feel.

So, in return, I’ve rounded up a few tidbits that might help our fellas find love. Here are 6 reasons why she isn’t your girl yet.

1.Simply Put, You Just Don’t Have Chemistry Admittedly, successful relationships run on more than chemistry but in the early stages, it’s critical. Recognize when she’s just not that into you early on, and move on.

What You Can Do About It If all signs are pointing to her liking you, but for some reason, there’s still a firm friendzone boundary up, don’t get down on yourself. Listen to her when she says, “You’re great, but you’re not my type” because it’s most likely the truth. You’re awesome, but she’s looking for a different type of awesome. Move around and align yourself with someone that’s looking for someone just like you.

2. She’s Having A Life Transition Is there a huge change in her life like the death of a parent or loss of a job? This might not be a good time for her to open a can of romantic emotions for anyone just yet. She’s already drained and/or confused enough.

3. Personality Clashes There’s some validity to the Love Languages theory and the Myers-Briggs personality types test. Assessing upfront whether a person fits into a certain behavioral category will definitely help you both down the line.

Of course, it doesn’t mitigate all possible issues, but it at least helps you foresee certain challenges in the future.

What You Can Do About It Sit with yourself. Take the personality test and find out what makes you YOU. Try not to go after people who don’t share those same traits, and open your heart for those that might align with your known personality markers. It’s easier to have friends from all walks of life because surface experiences are easier to maintain. But a potential life mate or relationship partner is something different entirely and requires a certain level of unshakable compatibility.

4. You Don’t Take Care Of Yourself You can’t smell bad and expect a new girl to just not care about it. You could have the best personality, insane chemistry, and every interest in common, but if you don’t smell good…that’s a definite deal-breaker.

Does she slightly lean away when you say something to her? Is she always the one to let go first when hugging?

NEW HAVEN’S GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY RADIO STATION! www.newhavenindependent.org

JOE UGLY IN THE MORNING Weekdays 6-9 a.m.

This is very simple. You’ll know she’s interested in someone else if she says “I’m seeing someone” or “I like someone else” or “I have a boyfriend/girlfriend.” What You Can Do About It Back off. She’s in a relationship and it’s not with you. If you really like her and you’re having trouble handling how unavailable she is, try to distance yourself from her. If she’s someone you work with, only interact at work and only when you have to. If it’s a friend, tone down the friendship. Don’t torture yourself.

6. You’re a Nice Guy And not in a good way. This might apply to you if: -You purposely do nice things in front of her just for cool points, but wouldn’t think to do them if she weren’t around.

-You think that if someone isn’t attracted to you there’s something categorically wrong with them.

-You believe that every person your loveinterest dates is terrible.

-You have a savior complex when she doesn’t need saving.

Bottom line, great girls like humans who act like humans. People who do good for people because it’s just the right thing to do, and because they WANT to do it. Keep that in mind the next time you Instagram live your next volunteer effort.

What You Can Do About It Assess what really drives you to do good things. If it’s for compliments or acceptance, you may have to do a self-pivot. Using good deeds to manipulate a situation to get the thing you want is not only messed up, it’s obvious.

Jasmine Browley holds an MA in journalism from Columbia College Chicago, and has contributed to Ebony, Jet and MADE Magazine among others. So, clearly, she knows some stuff. Follow her digital journey @JasmineBrowley.

THE TOM FICKLIN SHOW Mondays 10 a.m.

MAYOR MONDAY!

MERCY QUAYE

Mondays 11 a.m.

Mondays 1 p.m.

“THE SHOW”

“DJ REL”

MICHELLE TURNER Tuesdays 9 a.m.

“WERK IT OUT”

ELVERT EDEN Tuesdays at 2 p.m.

MORNINGS WITH MUBARAKAH

“JAZZ HAVEN”

Wednesdays 9 a.m.

Wednesdays 2 p.m.

STANLEY WELCH

“TALK-SIP”

LOVEBABZ LOVETALK

Thursdays 1 p.m.

Mondays-Fridays 9 a.m.

ALISA BOWENSMERCADO

FRIDAY PUNDITS Fridays 11 a.m.

At Saint Aedan Pre School

We believe in supporting an d valuing all families.

We believe that a parent is the child’s first an d best teacher.

We are committe d to providing a high-quality experience that enhances the overall development of the child an d supports the family unit. We incorporate play in our detaile d experience plans that are in line with the CT ELDS an d CT DOTS.

What You Can Do About It Shower every day, work out regularly, maintain a balanced diet and invest in one good cologne. It’ll make all the difference in the world. I PROMISE.

** Our Program is Full Day / Full Year /Open from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm ** NAEYC Accredited ** Care4Kids accepted ** State mandated sliding scale fee based on income and family size ** Onsite Social Worker and Educational Consultant

https://catholicacademynh.org/pre-school/pre-school-overview Dr. James F. Acabbo, Director St. Aedan Pre School 203-387-0041

5. She’s Interested In Someone Else

11

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Black Teen Suicide Reaches Historic Highs

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent African American teenagers in the United States historically have had lower suicide rates than their white counterparts – until now.

A new study analyzing suicide among American teens by a team led by researchers at the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University have uncovered several troubling trends from 1991 to 2017, among Black high school students in particular.

Researchers discovered that between 1991 and 2017, there has been an increase in the number of African American teens who said they had attempted suicide in the past year. Suicide rates for teenagers of other races and ethnicities either remained the same or decreased over that period.

The researchers did not cite a reason for the trend.

Bill Prasad, a licensed professional counselor with Contemporary Medicine Associates in Bellaire, Texas, cited what he believed are some reasons.

“Lack of accessibility to mental health care, the inability to pay for medications and healthcare coverage, the lack of acceptance of mental illness among some members of the black community, and the availability of firearms,” Prasad stated.

Prasad was not among the researchers involved in the study.

Frank King, the so-called “Mental Health Comedian,” called the problem a “cultural phenomenon.”

“Young people in these groups are less likely to share their issues surrounding depression and thoughts of suicide with friends and family than youth in other racial and ethnic groups,” King stated.

Among the answers is starting the conversation on depression and suicide in high-risk groups,” he said.

“A partial answer is giving young people permission to give voice to their experiences and feelings, without recrimination, such as ‘If you were stronger in Christ this wouldn’t be happening,’ or ‘What do you have to be depressed about, we’ve given you everything. Your father and I started our life with nothing,’ and so forth,” King stated.

Researchers in the NYU study noted that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for teens from all demographics.

They found that only accidents kill more young people than suicide.

The study also revealed that, in 2017, approximately 2,200 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 died by suicide.

Researchers gathered information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 198,540 high school students from 1991 to 2017.

Among high school students of all demographics, 1 in 5 said they were thinking about suicide, and 1 in 10 said they had

made a plan to end their lives.

CNN Health reported that the study is in line with earlier research that has shown African American boys, especially younger boys between the ages of 5 and 11, have experienced an increase in the rate of suicide deaths.

In black children ages 5 to 12, the suicide rate was found to be two times higher compared with white children, according to CNN Health.

The study authors found “an increased risk in reported suicide attempts among African-American teens between 1991 and 2017, and boys saw an increase in injuries related to those attempts. That might mean that black teens were using more lethal means when attempting suicide.”

They found a decline in attempts overall among teens who identified as white, Hispanic, Asian American, or Pacific Islander.

“As an African American woman, suicide is prominent in our community for two reasons: we often do not know how to handle it amongst our families, and the pressures on our culture are rising,” said Sabriya Dobbins of Project Passport LLC, a company that encourages getaway retreats centered around three mental wellness areas: reflection, community and personal.

“Oftentimes when a black family member says they want to take their life, the family may resort to church, belittle their response and tell them to stop overreacting, or simply assume it is not a big deal,” Dobbins stated.

“African American families are taught to be tough and to hold it together because it is already ‘us against the world.’ We are taught to put our heads down and work hard to get those degrees and move up in our careers.

“Parents should take heed when they observe specific warning signs like changes in behavior, including difficulty concentrating, difficulty focusing on school or following routine activities, researching ways to kill oneself on the internet, increasing the use of alcohol or other drugs, and acting recklessly,” said Dr. Fran Walfish, a Beverly Hills family and relationship psychotherapist and the author of “The Self-Aware Parent.”

“This causes expectations to be too high, then depression and anxiety are heightened. Not only are black youth trying to satisfy their families and be strong, but they are trying to fight their way through a world that is not always accepting. A world where they are dying in alarming numbers in senseless crimes. It is a double edge sword.”

Parents should be on the lookout for risk factors, such as a recent or severe loss like death or divorce, said Dr. Fran Walfish, a Beverly Hills family and relationship psychotherapist, author of The Self-Aware Parent.

Dr. Walfish also counts as a regular expert child psychologist on CBS Television’s “The Doctors,” and she co-stars on

WE TV’s, “Sexbox.”

“Parents should take heed when they observe specific warning signs like changes in behavior, including difficulty concentrating, difficulty focusing on school or following routine activities, researching ways to kill oneself on the internet, increasing the use of alcohol or other drugs, and acting recklessly,” Walfish stated.

Included among other signs are changes in personality, appearing withdrawn, isolating to their room, irritability, extreme mood changes that are more than typical moodiness, exhibiting rage or talking about seeking revenge, Walfish added.

Other alarms include changes in sleep patterns, insomnia, oversleeping, nightmares, talking about dying, going away,

or different types of self-harm, she said.

“Teaching problem-solving and conflict resolution skills, building a strong connection to family, friends, and community support are ways to help,” Walfish stated.

“Restrict access to highly lethal means of suicide, such as firearms, and provide access to effective mental health care, including substance use treatment. Talk to your child. Many people are fearful that talking to their children about suicide will increase their risk of suicide. This is a myth,” Walfish said.

How to get help: In the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or 1-800-432-8366. You can also visit http://teenlineonline.org.

Single Dad Adopts 5 Siblings So They Can Stay Together

After nearly 2 decades of fostering, Thomas thought he was finished taking care of children as his older children already moved out, some even starting families of their own.

However, when he learned that the children of a man he once fostered have been taken into foster care and split up in four different cities for almost 2 years, he decided to get re-certified and applied to foster with intent to adopt.

After fostering the siblings for two years, he officially adopted them last month.

“They bring new energy to me. They’re lovable kids, very affectionate,” he said.

“They deserve to be raised as siblings, and that was my fight.”

Thomas hopes other people would consider being foster parents as well, just like him.

“I wanted to make a difference by being a difference, and I love what I do,” he added.

BlackNews.com

Buffalo, NY — Lamont Thomas, a 48year old single father who has fostered over 30 children over the past 20 years, has recently adopted 5 siblings under the age of 5-years old so they can stay together. He currently has a total of 12 children, 10 of whom he adopted and 2 who are biologically his.

Last month, Thomas officially adopted siblings Zendaya, aged 5, Jamel, aged 4, Nakia, aged 3, Major, aged 2 and Michaela, aged 1.

“I was fighting to keep back the tears,” Thomas told Good Morning America.

“Every day I think about it, my eyes swell up. All that we endured to make this happen, it was something.”

Since 2000, he has been fostering, initially to help some friends who lost their children to the system. Eventually, he got certified to be a foster parent and started adopting in 2007.

12

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Not sure which way to go for Medicare Advantage benefit information?

Let me help you navigate through your questions.

I’m your local expert. Call me to help you select the health care plan that will best fit your needs.

I’ll guide you through understanding Medicare and make sure you have all the facts.

I can steer you toward your best options by: Listening to your specific health needs and budget goals.

Reviewing our many affordable plan choices, which will protect your health and provide peace of mind.

Guiding you through the enrollment process so you don’t get stuck in the paperwork.

Michele DePina an authorized licensed insurance agent for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut License number: 1082264

Call today! There is no obligation.

1-203-231-2501 TTY: 711 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 5 days a week michele.depina@anthem.com

We do not discriminate, exclude people, or treat them differently on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in our health programs and activities. ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-888-211-9817 (TTY: 711). ATENÇÃO: Se fala português, encontram-se disponíveis serviços linguísticos, grátis. Ligue para 1-888-211-9817 (TTY: 711). This policy has exclusions, limitations, and terms under which the policy may be continued in force or discontinued. For costs and complete details of coverage, please contact your agent or the health plan. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is a Medicare Advantage Organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield depends on contract renewal. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Anthem Health Plans, Inc. Independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Anthem is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. Y0114_20_107527_I_C_0003 10/01/2019 500681MUSENMUB_0003 13

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

THE BLERD BINDER: HBO’s Watchmen

By Noah Washington, NNPA Newswire Contributor

My initial thoughts on the series premiere Blurb: The Blerd Binder covers nerdy news for the Black nerds of the world.

We welcome all as we talk about subjects ranging from Movies to Music and Tech to Toys. Today, we will be talking about the “Watchmen” premiere.

(SPOILER ALERT! This article contains spoilers for the first episode of HBO’s “Watchmen.” Read ahead at your own risk.)

HBO’s Watchmen can be described very simply as a never-ending paradox.

A young Black Boy is watching a silent film in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921 with a Black lead, “Bass Reeves, The Black Marshall of Oklahoma.” In the film, the sheriff catches a cattle thief and when the mob wants to hang him, Bass Reeves says, “There will be no Mob Justice today. Trust in the law.”

This is horribly ironic, since the young boy repeats these words amid the violent and horrible Tulsa Race Riot, a horrific event in American and human history.

The young boy is able to make it out in the back of a car in a trunk, but the car he is in crashes resulting in the death of his mother and the driver. The young boy finds a baby in the wreckage who is gender identified because she is covered in a pink blanket. The young boy says, “You’re ok,” while wrapping her in an

American flag. The two then start to walk on the rural Tulsa road.

The irony was not lost on me when the dynamic seemed to shift from the powerless African Americans in Tulsa being massacred in the riot, to the (seemingly) all-powerful cop, Officer Charlie Sutton. This would be flipped on its head when Officer Sutton is shot by a white supremacist while he tries to retrieve his weapon.

In the world of “Watchmen,” the police must be authorized to use their weapons which are locked in their cop cars. Police have to wear masks because criminals have been targeting them and their families.

Not long after the start of episode one, we see a reference to the musical, Oklahoma, being performed by an all-Black cast and referred to as Black Oklahoma.

When I think of Oklahoma (the musical), I think of it as representing what was truly “all-American” for the time that it was created. The all-American hero gets the girl, kills the bad guy and gets to be the big hero. This concept is as American as it gets, though I highly doubt that this series will have the same type of wholesome uncomplicated ending as Oklahoma did.

The reveal of Don Johnson’s character’s name, “Captain Jud,” was very good foreshadowing that sealed that character’s fate. At the end of the episode, another paradox is revealed as Don Johnson’s “Captain Judd Crawford” is seen hanging from a tree.

Another paradox is Angela’s (Regina

King) relationship with her husband, Cal (Yahya Abdul-Mateen). Angela seems to be the dominant partner in the relationship. She works while her husband picks the kids up from school and cooks the family meals. Angela even seems to be dominant in their sexual relationship.

She is even the one who goes out and kicks criminal but as a vigilante.

The series also makes a commentary on the superhero movie renaissance and

the global obsession with superhero culture by giving us teasers for “American Hero Story,” a TV event chronicling the adventures for the original “WATCHMEN” comic book characters, “The Minutemen.”

Watchmen contains easter eggs from the original Watchmen comic: President Robert Redford, Nixon as one of the greatest presidents, and squids raining from the sky (there is even a cleanup).

There are many more questions that the series premiere sets up that need to be answered: “Who truly killed Captain Jud?” “Who was the baby that the young boy found at the beginning of the episode?” “What is Jeremey Irons’ Ozymandias up to?” and “Will we see Doctor Manhattan?”

For as much promise this show presents, we will certainly be “watching the Watchmen.”

Nearly 500 Inmates Released from Prison Making U.S. History

by Derrick Lane, BlackDoctor.org

It’s a historic day for Oklahoma and the country. Children are being united with their parents and family are being restored as nearly 500 inmates are being released from prison Monday.

It is believed to be the country’s largestever day of commutations — all of this is part of the state’s criminal justice reform.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board approved the commutations Friday and forwarded them to Gov. Kevin Stitt, a former mortgage company CEO who was elected in 2018. The board voted unanimously to recommend that the sentences of 527 state inmates be commuted, with 462 of those inmates slated to walk out of prison Monday and 65 others being held on detainer.

“With this vote, we are fulfilling the will of Oklahomans,” Steve Bickley, executive director of the board, said in a statement Friday. “However, from Day One, the goal of this project has been

more than just the release of low-level, nonviolent offenders, but the successful re-entry of these individuals back into society.”

Stitt, a Republican, has advocated for criminal justice reform, pledging to move away from policies that have made Oklahoma the state with the highest incarceration rate in the country. At a news conference Friday, Stitt hailed the decision to give hundreds of Oklahomans “a second chance.”

Of the hundreds of inmates who had their sentences commuted: — The average age is 39.7 years old — 75% are men, and 25% are women — They had been incarcerated for three years Oklahoma news station, KOCO 5 spoke with Lana Lemus, one of the 13 inmates released Monday from Kate Barnard Correctional Center in Oklahoma City.

“Ecstatic! It’s the great thing that the governor is doing so we can be home

with… … our kids. Been out of her life for three years. But she’s my hope. She’s never given up on me,” Lemus said.

The inmates set to leave are doing time for nonviolent crimes, including drug possession and lower-level property crime.

This move is estimated to save Oklahoma taxpayers nearly $12 million.

Gov. Kevin Stitt joined state and community partners to greet an estimated 70 women whose sentences have been commuted at the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Facility, an all-women’s prison in Taft.

“The historic commutation of individuals in Oklahoma’s prisons is only possible because our state agencies, elected officials, and partnering organizations put aside politics and worked together to move the needle,” Stitt added.

Image Credits Creator:CHRIS LANDSBERGER

Credit:CHRIS LANDSBERGER Copyright:CHRIS LANDSBERGER/The Oklahoman

14

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Master of Comedy, Dave Chappelle Receives ‘Mark Twain Prize for American Humor’

By Lauren Poteat, NNPA Newswire Washington

On Sunday night, Dave Chappelle, the legendary, no holds barred comedian, was awarded the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Gifted with a spirit of perseverance, determination and extreme creative intelligence, the award recognizes Chappelle as one of the world’s greatest humorists.

Bestowed only on a select few, including comedic geniuses Eddie Murphy, David Letterman and the late Richard Pryor (who received the inaugural award), Chappelle emphasized the importance of the genre, while also paying tribute to the late Pryor, during his award at the Kennedy Center.

In honor of Chappelle’s brilliance and ability to convey more than one thoughtprovoking message within a single joke, the event brought out a slew of alist celebrities, all eager to support the clever comedian and his work, including Morgan Freeman, Bradley Cooper, Marlon Wayans, Tiffany Haddish, Keenan Thompson, QTip, Sarah Silverman and Saturday Night Live (SNL) creator, Lorne Michaels, who recounted Dave’s 2016 anticipated hosting debut on SNL. “I knew when the moment came, [Dave would] be ready to perform, yet small doubts about his appearance still lingered until, [he sat down] beside me and everyone in the room and asked if he could read a quote by Toni Morrison,” Michaels reminisced, as he delivered the first official remarks of the night.

“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal,” Michaels recited. “I knew then, we’d be ok.

A Washington, D.C. native and former student of the Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts (located in the Northwest quadrant of the District of Columbia), Chappelle recounted his love for the arts and an even bigger appreciation for those cultivating those same skills within the youth.

“To be on a list with Richard Pryor is unfathomable, like nobody would actually feel worthy enough,” Chappelle reflected during an interview prior to the award ceremony. “And not just Richard, you’ve got George Carlin, Lorne Michaels—that really shaped my imagination, my life… and I hope that one day, somebody will look at me the same way and literally stand on something that I’ve built on, that wouldn’t fall apart.”

“There’s something divine about artistry, it’s like the god-like part of a person that can write a song or tell a good joke, it’s the best part of our nature,” Chap-

Dave

WELL­WOMAN CHECK­UPS. IT’S WHAT WE DO.

Chappelle pelle said.

“Life without art would be miserable. If I could never laugh again at a great joke, hear no beautiful music, or only see bare walls, what kind of life would that be?”

Dave went on. “You touch a higher part of yourself, you connect with people on a more profound level and society is better with good art, so it should be protected and cultivated, and the youth should be encouraged to express themselves in every way.”

Chappelle earned his bearings as a stand-up comedian from many platforms, including Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam (1990’s), Eddie Murphy’s “The Nutty Professor” (1996), and Martin Lawrence’s “Blue Streak” (1999).

However, it was Chappelle’s 2003 Comedy Central show, aptly titled, “Chappelle’s Show,” that cemented his place in history.

Challenging race relations with controversial skits like “Ask a Black Dude,” Black White supremacist “Clayton Bigsby,” and his spoofs of celebrity icons Rick James, Prince and Wayne Brady — the segmented show earned three Emmy nominations and became the best-selling TV show in DVD history.

“When we started the show, I knew Dave was the funniest person I had ever met,” Chappelle’s Show Co-Creator and Co-Writer, Neal Brennan, said. “After the show, I knew he was the funniest person of all time.”

In a special recorded interview presented during the awards ceremony, Eddie Murphy heralded Chappelle as one of

With 682,208 preventative check-ups, screenings, exams and counseling services last year to young women like you, we know women’s health care.

the most intellectual comedians ever. As the ceremony was coming to a close, the former host of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart, took to the stage to share his appreciation and admiration for Chappelle.

“I met Dave in the early ‘90s, a 17-yearold kid cutting his teeth in the toughest comedy clubs in the country and he was shockingly formed. This young prodigy.

This young Mozart,” Stewart said.

“But he didn’t become a legend to me until 2005. I was at ‘The Daily Show’ and he was at ‘Chappelle’s Show.’ …

Comedy Central offered him $50 million to just give us one more [season].

He walked away. It was at that moment I remember thinking, ‘Comedy Central has $50 million?’ …Dave left, but I knew that money was going to need a home. I want you to know that I raised that money like it was my own.”

Like the distinguished 19th century novelist and essayist best known as Mark Twain, Chappelle is among the small group of people whose humor has been able to have an enduring impact on American society and culture.

Chappelle shared that maybe the only thing second to being able to make people laugh is having the right to do so.

“There’s something so true about this genre when done correctly,” Chappelle said. “That I would fight anybody that isn’t a true practitioner of this artform’s way, because I know this is the truth and you are obstructing it. I’m not talking about the content. I’m talking about the artform.”

15

SCHEDULE A CHECK­UP TODAY. PPSNE.ORG • 1 (800) 230­PLAN

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

BLERD BINDER*:

By Noah Washington, NNPA Newswire Contributor

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Racebending in live action adaptations

“Holy Cow Batman! Aquaman is Catwoman’s stepfather!!!”

HOLY COW! Last week, a historic moment happened in Nerd Culture: the casting of Catwoman for director Matt Reeves The Batman.

As far as Blerd Culture is concerned, the casting of Zoe Kravitz (Aquaman, Jason Moama’s stepdaughter) as Catwoman is big news on a number of different levels.

Racebending of fictional characters (changing of a character’s perceived race or ethnicity during the adaptation of a work from one medium to another) has become a hot topic in today’s age of comic book renaissance.

Sometimes, it heavily divides fans.

Sometimes, it has fans screaming for joy.

Sometimes, nobody cares. But each time the decision is met with commentary.

In this article, we will talk about Zoe Kravitz’s casting, times when racebent casting was awesome, times when racebent casting failed, why it is an important conversation to have, and how it affects the audience and fans.

Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman casting brings me a feeling of nostalgia as I can’t help but think of Eartha Kitt’s turn as Catwoman from the Batman ‘66 show. Based on what Matt Reeves has said about his interpretation of Batman and his surrounding characters, the film will be a story that harkens back to the Dark Knight’s detective roots.

Kitt was one of the earliest actors who racebent a character when she took over the role from White actress Julie Newmar in the third season of the iconic TV show.

The casting change was reportedly made because Newmar was filming another movie at the time.

It’s worth noting that Kitt was one of the most recognizable actors to appear the role during the show’s run. Her personification of the character is as close to perfect and unique as she could have gotten without literally plucking the illustrated character from the pages of a comic book.

Another example of racebending was Marvel’s casting of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, even though the race of the character has already been changed in the comics before Jackson was even cast.

According to the site, comicbook.com, “I still buy comic books, so I go to this store in L.A., Golden Apple, and I was in there one day and I’m passing the rack and I see this thing, The Ultimates, and I go, ‘Wow, it looks like me,’” Jackson recalled. “So I started looking, and it’s like, Nick Fury looks just like me, and I’m reading, and he goes, ‘Well, if they make a movie about us, who do you want to play you?’ and Nick Fury goes, ‘Samuel L. Jackson.’

I go, ‘I didn’t give anybody my permission to use my image in a comic book.’”

Jackson goes on to explain that, after

calling his agent and explaining how and where he discovered his likeness in a comic book, “She said, ‘Let me call somebody,’” the actor shared. “So she calls Marvel and they say, ‘Well, we are thinking about making these movies and, hopefully, if we make them, he would play Nick Fury.’ I’m like, ‘For real?’”

When the news of Jackson being cast was revealed to the public, the internet went into a frenzy. However, after more than 10 years of playing the character, Nick Fury has become indelibly associated with Mr. Jackson.

Eartha Kitt and Samuel L. Jackson are just two examples of how racebending a character with the right actor can deliver amazing results for a television show or feature film.

These two performances were met with the type of acclaim and mainstream success that is indicative of blockbuster hits.

Not because they look different from the original presentations of the characters they portrayed, but because they were the right actors to embody the characters transition from 2D comics to television and film.

However, Kitt and Jackson’s success hasn’t changed the underlying controversy and question: Why not just create new diverse characters?

While purists may always have issues with new interpretations of legendary characters, there’s often a business reason driving the decision to change an existing character instead of developing new characters with a focus on diversity.

At a time when comic book properties are seemingly optioned for television, film and theater projects on a weekly basis, the reason that producers and others don’t just go and make new characters is a matter of economics: Financing these projects is expensive, and to ensure adequate return on investment, the most popular characters with highest consumer awareness are usually chosen as the centerpiece of the show or film franchise.

Some existing characters are so popular that it’s almost be impossible to develop a new character with any reasonable hope of achieving a similarly high level of popularity without significant investment.

Investing to make a completely new character popular enough to be a box office draw, just to cast an actor of color in a role, when there is an existing character that is perfect for the story, makes no sense. Especially since, in many cases, the goal is to find the best actor for the role and, frequently, an actor of color is cast that perfectly embodies role.

Of course, there are times when a racebending isn’t only controversial, it’s also wrong. I am talking about in cases of White Washing, where instead of replacing a white character with a minority actor, a minority character is played by a white actor.

I have two very good examples of this.

A significant portion of the cast of M.Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, and the controversial casting of Tilda Swinton as the ‘Ancient One’ in Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

I’ll start with Doctor Strange. I do not have any problem with Swinton’s performance as The Ancient One. I thought the spin on the character was alright, but I did not appreciate the opportunity it took away from casting an Asian actor who could have been the live-action representation.

This signals a problem because most of the time, in fantasy films where magic is involved, the mystical and powerful elder has always been an old White man. I know that Swinton as a woman, is also a minority, so that is a plus, but what does this say to other minorities? Can only elderly White men hold great power and wisdom?

I love Dumbledore from Harry Potter, The Doctor from Doctor Who, Gandalf from Lord of The Rings, and Professor

16

X from X-Men. But there comes a point when all of these characters tend to blend together. You need diverse casting, like in the case of Djimon Hounsou as “The Wizard Shazam” from Shazam to keep things interesting.

And now that most dreaded moment when the entire collective nerd community cringes: Whenever The Last Airbender is brought up in conversation.

Nearly all of the anime’s/cartoon’s superb characters — heavily based in Asian culture — were replaced with White actors that did not represent those original characters in characteristics, appearance, or even name.

When none of these qualities are present, then they might as well be new characters. This was one case of racebent casting that served no purpose and is insulting to the original material, the creators and the fans that truly love Avatar: The Last Airbender.

This is an issue that shouldn’t be happening in the 21st century. Scarlett Johannson’s casting in Ghost in the Shell should never have happened. I understand that actors should be able to do what they were hired to do and “act.” but some roles were not meant for certain people.

We have to be inclusive of the actors that might not be able to find work outside of the roles that are in their perceived purview.

One of the most iconic rumors that ended with rage and fury is when Micheal B.Jordan was rumored to be cast as Superman after Henry Cavill supposedly left the role (these are just internet rumors that have not been made official by DC or Warner Bros).

The internet broke out in such a frenzy that somebody would have thought the world had ended. Numerous online fans said, “Superman can’t be Black.”

All I have to say to that is that Superman has had a history where he indeed was Black so it’s not a stretch to say that one day, we may see a live action adaptation.

Calvin Ellis was a black Superman modeled after Barack Obama from the comics, as well as more recently, Val-Zod, who was created in 2014.

On the other side of things, there are times where storyline and lore of the original source material would truly stop a character’s race from being changed. One of the most notable examples is the iconic character, Bruce Wayne.

The Wayne family is said to have had a hand in bringing Gotham City to life and had wealth going back generations as early as the 1700s in America. It would be very hard for an audience to believe that an African American had Wayne family wealth in the 1700s during the period of slavery. That doesn’t mean that Batman can’t be black, but that Bruce Wayne shouldn’t be black.

There is also the old argument that “if you make a character who was already White suddenly Black, why can’t Black Panther be White?” I will happily give you the answer to that question. Some character’s lore and location make the character who they are. T’Challa, the Black Panther, is an African King who is native-born and, similar to the case with Bruce Wayne, it would be very hard to write that character as any other race.

We should save our criticism of racebent casting to situations where the casting excludes marginalized groups that would not have been represented otherwise.

We in nerd culture tend to make judgments before we see the final product.

Good or bad, casting choices usually come down to the ability of the actors cast in the role and how they well they embody the interpretation of the character the director envisions.

This is an important discussion as we should just allow these actors to show us their interpretation of these iconic characters before we make judgments. But we also need to have cultural awareness so that we know when a culture is taken advantage of or appropriated, as is too often the case with white washing.

I hope that you keep this in mind the next time you watch a TV show or movie where a familiar character looks a little different. Remember, this is about who the younger generation can look up to with pride and see themselves in.

We now live in an age where superhero Films and TV shows are released in droves. There is plenty of room at the table for everyone to feel welcomed.

Zoë Kravitz speaking at the 2018 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. (Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons) Blurb: The Blerd Binder covers nerdy news for the Black nerds of the world.

We welcome all as we talk about subjects ranging from Movies to Music and Tech to Toys. Today, we will talk about racebent casting in the movie industry.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Health insurance plans that are just right for your right now.

Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the first generation or the third, we connect you to quality health insurance plans that help you protect your health â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and your finances. Find the plan that fits your needs at AccessHealthCT.com.

Financial help is still available.

Open Enrollment ends December 15.

36965_CORE_Inner City 925x105_English.indd 1

17

10/18/19 4:46 PM

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

COMMENTARY:

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Reality TV — The Respectable and the Ratchet

By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., NNPA Newswire Entertainment and Culture Editor

Much to the chagrin of some media critics, scholars and television fans, reality television is here to say. Colloquially referred to as “ratchet tv,” reality television is loved and loathed often by the same fan base who like or detest the genre for the same reasons.

Some of the reality shows, particularly those with all-women and all-black casts, have become synonymous with promoting the worst of women’s behavior with constant bickering, physical fighting, back stabbing, pettiness, anger and mean-spiritedness put on full display.

Many believe the shows highlight the most stereotypical behavior of women in general and black women in particular.

Others enjoy the genre as an escape from the reality of their everyday lives and appreciate the entrepreneurial endeavors of the women on the shows, sometimes resulting in spin-offs like Vanderpump Rules and retail businesses owned by members of the casts of RHOA, RHONY, RHOP and Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta.

Whether network or cable television programs, reality television shows garner some of the highest ratings in broadcast and cable television.

Season 12 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA) returns to television Sunday, November 3 and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills made history by adding actress Garcelle Beauvais to the cast, making the former model the first Black woman on that particular franchise.

Married to Medicine’s programming day has been changed multiple times; yet and still their fans continue to find them and bring new fans with them along the way.

There’s an old adage that says you should never discuss politics or religion in polite company. Perhaps another category should be added? Reality television.

If you want to hear a heated debate, then bring up reality television in any number of settings and a range of responses and emotions will surface. Some live for the genre, while others despise the television category which is broad enough to include Cops, The Bachelor, The Masked Singer, Dog The Bounty Hunter, 90 Day Fiancé, Say Yes to the Dress, House Hunters, RHOA, Chopped and a host of other reality shows.

Reality shows continuously rank high on ratings lists; reality shows featuring women casts and all black casts continuously rank high on cable ratings lists.

Not only are the shows popular on television, they spawn other streams of revenue for reality show stars. Cookbooks, restaurants, clothing stores, fitness videos, weight-loss products, ear buds and the like are being hawked by cast members of these shows.

Real Housewives of New York’s Bethenny Frankel built a multi-million-dollar empire with her Skinnygirl lifestyle brand.

RHOP stars Gizelle Bryant and Karen Huger launched a make-up line and fragrance over the last three seasons. While RHOA’s

Kandi Burress, who was already successful in music prior to being cast on RHOA, has morphed into a successful entrepreneur in online retail and restaurants.

RHOA’s NeNe Leakes has jettisoned to mainstream popularity, having starred on two network television series, other reality shows, performed on Broadway and is currently pursuing a career in stand-up comedy, among other businesses.

Model turned RHOA reality star Cynthia Bailey opened a modeling company and lunched a sunglass line. Cardi B launched herself musically into the stratosphere from her journey on Love and Hip-Hop New York to the 2017 cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, relegating rock legend Fats Domino to a corner mention, en route to becoming rap music royalty.

It’s not just the women on these shows who are winning financially, but also the men. The Apprentice’s Bill Rancic sold his cigar company for millions to Synergy Brands, remained on the board of directors and continues to broker million-dollar deals.

Recently, Love and Hip-Hop Hollywood’s Ray J closed a $31 million deal securing the launch of his new electronics transportation brand Raycon.

Reality stars like K. Michelle, Huger (RHOP), Leakes, Shooter Gates (LHHA) also use their platforms to highlight important issues like domestic violence, rape and gun control. While reality television shows featuring primarily all-women casts are problematic, it is difficult to dismiss them and the genre itself with their consistent ratings, successful brands and businesses.

In fact, reality television shows, became so popular with women audiences in the early 2000s, they displaced legendary soap operas like All My Children and One Life to Live, both of which had been on-air for more than forty years each at the time of cancellation (2011).

Reality television mimicked the narrative and stylistic elements of soap operas, but with far less production costs. For example, even though 90 Day Fiancé is a popular reality show on TLC, reportedly, each couple gets $1000 to $1500 per episode, with some cast members starting GoFundMe pages to ask for help with bills.

The Bachelorette (ABC) earns $250,000 per season, while some Teen Mom’s (MTV) like Catelyn Lowell earn $500,000 per season. As for the Real Housewives franchise (BRAVO), the beginning salary per season started off at $7,250 for the entire season of season 1 of Real Housewives of New York.

New reports claim Bethany Frankel made upwards of $1.5 million per season for her last turn on RHON, while Lisa Vanderpump (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) and Nene Leaks (RHOA) make up to $2.7 million per season. It is estimated that Kim Kardashian rakes in $7 million per season for Keeping Up the Kardashians.

While it is easy to assume that reality stars are making that kind of money, the vast majority are not, particularly on women cast shows whose re-runs dominate daytime television programming and new episodes strike ratings gold for primetime audiences.

Most reality shows of this type – women cast housewives shows – are filmed with three to five crew members on location, unlike soap operas which were historically filmed on set, with scores of crew members and star salaries that were in the millions of dollars.

The lower production costs of reality shows including crew and star salaries coupled with the rise of social media giants Facebook and Twitter brought the reign of daytime soap operas to a screeching halt.

While many want to get rid of what some call “Trash TV,” reality television is here to stay, if for nothing else – high return on investment in the form of advertising and viewership relative to the low cost of production and distribution.

Reality show executive producers Andy Cohen, Mona Scott Young and Carlos King understand the business model and know it is good business to produce problematic reality shows. Despite the outcry on social media about the danger of reality television, the popularity of reality shows with audiences challenges the presumption that ratchet television is bad for the culture.

Dr. Mark Cunningham, Professor of Black Popular Culture at Austin Community College, thinks the critique is wrapped in respectability politics. “What we see on these shows falls under everything we discuss in other contexts as stereotyping: self- absorption, hypersexuality, over-indulgence, superficiality, hyper masculinity and so forth, he offers. I don’t buy into these critiques of the shows being worthless although I do recognize that there is some truth to the critiques in terms of the stereotypical behaviors of those on the shows. People need to understand this is just one example of black life. This is not all of black life.”

18

The reality shows with black women casts do represent the worst of what folks have to say about black people, but they also fill the desire for black people in general and black women specifically to be seen on television.

Dr. Alfred L. Martin, Jr. Assistant Professor of media studies in the departments of Communication Studies and African American Studies at the University of Iowa states, “These shows emerged at a time when black women were pretty nonexistent within mainstream media. So, on one hand, they were feeding an unsatiated appetite for black female representation.

On the other hand, these representations emerge in a post-network environment where networks are seeking modes of differentiation in an ever more crowded television landscape,” Martin offers.

“At the same time, these representations are complicated in the ways they mix the respectable and the ratchet. So, in a way, they break from ‘Saint’ Claire Huxtable who did not have a ‘negative’ bone in her representational body. These black female reality TV characters — and they are characters versus necessarily being their “real” selves –are far more complex,” Dr. Martin adds.

It is impossible to dismiss the large audiences in general and women of color they draw despite the chorus of naysayers who believe the stereotypes bring more harm than good by playing into the “angry woman” stereotype among others.

Reality show viewer Miranda Solomon has diverse reasons for watching the shows.

“Specifically, I watch Love and Listings because I sell real estate and am interested in seeing a show that is entirely focused on people of color doing what I do for a liv-

ing. I also watch Basketball Wives, Love and Hip Hop (all cities), Real Housewives of ATL and Married to Medicine. I watch each of these shows as a mindless indulgence. Each of these shows provides just the right about of reality escape for me,” says Solomon who also sees the reality in the show despite the cattiness.

“These shows draw large audiences because some showcase professional Black women and the triumphs and struggles we all experience daily. They highlight the iconic ‘Black Girl Magic’ that makes the whole world interested in what we are doing. The cat fighting and mean girl behavior definitely add to the entertainment value. I also love the way Black family life is highlighted on both of these shows (RHOA and Married to Medicine).”

When asked about the negative images perpetuated by both shows and the criticism the show receives because of these images, Solomon offers, “If you’re only watching the cattiness and the fighting, then it is easy to have that opinion. I actually follow the story lines of the characters. I find the characters’ family lives intriguing and, in many cases, endearing. I wonder if the critique is the same for White reality shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette?”

Dr. Martin speaks to Solomon’s concerns.

“At base, that sort of critique is rooted in a racialized and racist understanding of blackness. White folks get to consume all sorts of garbage and their consumption is often bound within ‘ironic’ stances toward the ‘bad object’ or general notions of kitsch and camp. When black folks consume ‘bad objects’ it is understood as endemic of our lack of taste, class and education.

Con’t on page 22

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Private, online therapy could be best choice when help is needed

By Candace J. Semien, Jozef, Syndicate reporter

From her virtual private practice in Baton Rouge, Shameka Mitchell Williams (SW) helps people who are overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted. Her focus is singular: help them recover from pernicious experiences and toxic relationships.

“I hold space for people who are hurt and confused to talk about what that relationship or marriage is really like without any judgment about how they should feel,” she says.

A graduate of Louisiana State University and Washington University in St. Louis, Williams is a licensed clinical social worker who practices in Louisiana and Texas. She says she believes in the importance of helping her clients understand how their thinking shapes their experience and also how they are influenced by societal systems.

Williams, who is the owner of The Chrysalis Center, LLC, is one of 300 licensed therapists in Louisiana who offers online video counseling according to the Psychology Today database. This Pensiri: A Talk with Shameka Mitchell Williams explores online video therapy, who can benefit from it, and why.

As a therapist with more than a decade of experience in community-based programs, schools, psychiatric hospitals, and correctional facilities, you’ve seen mental health professionals expand their services from in-person counseling to teletherapy

and now to online video therapy. How should we be defining therapy and who can practice or treat people with therapeutic needs?

SW: Therapy is a specialized, systematic, formal interaction between a mental health professional and a client (an individual, couple, family, or group) during which a therapeutic relationship is established to help resolve symptoms of mental disorder, psychosocial stress, relationship problems, and/or difficulties coping in the social environment. It is also to help the client achieve specified goals for well-being. The term “therapy” is used interchangeably with counseling. While many therapists provide both therapy and counseling, not every counselor is qualified to provide therapy. The term “counselor” is often applied to highly trained mental health, education, or legal professionals, but it is also used for volunteers with minimal training and for paid workers who provide guidance and structure in group settings (as in camp and dorm hall counselors).

Is virtual or online therapy a growing service among practitioners? When did it begin?

SW: Online therapy is definitely a growing service. It may have first begun taking shape as early as the 1960s, and it began growing as most people know it today in the early 2000s. Earlier names for it included teletherapy and telemental health

care since clinicians started offering sessions by telephone before beginning to utilize email, chats, and video. Today, many clinicians offer a mix of in-person and online services, and some offer online services exclusively. There even exists an International Society for Mental Health Online, which formed in 1997.

How can we tell if we need or could benefit from therapy? (in general) SW: If you are experiencing distressing changes in your normal mood or functioning that are present more days than not for a period of at least two weeks, you may want to consider consulting with a professional. It can be good to start with talking to a medical professional to rule out any physiological reasons for the changes.

Should there be some type of diagnosis or referral to seek therapy?

SW: You don’t need to have a diagnosed mental disorder to benefit from therapy. If you are simply feeling overwhelmed with what life is throwing at you, and your usual coping mechanisms are not working, you may benefit from having a therapist to help you identify and remove obstacles that are blocking the progress you’d like to make. An obstacle could be as simple as a negative thinking pattern that you do not recognize on your own.

What are signs that a person may need therapy?

SW: You could benefit from therapy if you find yourself:

Eating more or less than usual Sleeping more or less than usual Having unusual difficulty concentrating or focusing Experiencing intrusive thoughts that are distressing Worrying or feeling nervous more than usual Withdrawing or isolating yourself from family and friends Are there any specific conditions or needs that someone would have that would make them a good candidate for online therapy over in-house therapy?

SW: People who suffer from mental health disorders that make going out in public difficult, such as agoraphobia • People with limited physical mobility and those who do not drive or who have limited access to transportation • People who live far away from their nearest mental health professionals • Stay-at-home mothers with young children who would rather not arrange childcare and other caregivers who cannot be away for long periods of time • People who need/want a provider who is credentialed in a specialty, such as an intensive trauma-focused treatment, energy psychology, or perinatal/postpartum mental health

• People who would not seek in-person treatment due to fear of being recognized at/near a therapist’s office What are the pros of online therapy?

SW: Convenience, Efficacy, and Privacy. Research has found online therapy to be just as effective as traditional in-person therapy for many issues including depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

What are the cons?

SW: Online therapy is not appropriate for clients who are a danger to themselves or others (i.e., suicidal or homicidal) or for those whose mental health is seriously impaired as with psychosis, delusions, or uncontrolled mania. Some elements of nonverbal communication will be missed when the ​client and therapist can only see each other from the​​cropped view of a screen. Confidentiality could become an issue if the therapist is not using HIPAAsecure software, sites, or apps or if clients are not careful with securing their own electronic devices. Some insurance companies do not cover online therapy.

Williams admonishes anyone considering online video therapy to do additional research to make sure their potential therapist is qualified and licensed to provide the service they are seeking.

Online resources can be found at: https://thechrysalisctr.comPsychologyToday.com Better Help.com - talkspace.com breakthrough.com

We Care.

Ellington Jazz Series

Louis Hayes

We understand the value of providing high-quality water service and what it means to our customers on a daily basis. Unfortunately, some individuals and families are having difficulty paying their water bill. For customers who need aid, the RWA’s Residential Water Assistance Program can help.

Nov 15 | 7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall

To see if you qualify, contact the RWA’s program administrator, the Dollar Energy Fund at 1-888-282-6816, or the RWA at 203-562-4020.

JazzTimes has described Louis Hayes, whose career has featured performances with the likes of Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, and Oscar Peterson, as “one of jazz’s most soulfully swinging drummers.”

Tickets from $22, Students $10 | music-tickets.yale.edu

To learn more, please visit rwater.com

19

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

Police Officer Town of Greenwich Do You Want A Job That Makes A Difference? Become A Town of Greenwich Police Officer. To view detailed information and apply online visit www.governmentjobs. com/careers/greenwichct Candidates must fulfill several basic requirements including: Be a U.S. Citizen Be at least 20 years of age · Possess 45 college credits, or 2 years of active military service or equivalent

Current Salary: $68,301

The Town of Greenwich is dedicated to Diversity & Equal Opportunity Employment; Town of Greenwich, HR Dept., 101 Field Point Rd, Greenwich, CT 06830 Close Date 4:00 PM 1/23/20.

After School Activity Specialist

Part Time – non benefited $11.00 hourly (15 to 18 hours weekly) Pre-employment drug testing. For details and how to apply go to www.bloomfieldct.org – AA/EOE

HELP WANTED:

Large CT guardrail company looking for Laborer/ Driver with valid CT CDL Class A license and able to get a medical card. Must be able to pass a drug test and physical. Compensation based on experience.

Email resume to dmastracchio@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE M-F

LEGAL NOTICE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR SERVICES OEC-QIS-024 Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Quality Improvement Supports

ISSUE DATE: October 25, 2019

The State of Connecticut, Office of Early Childhood (OEC)is seeking proposals from private and public organizations to design, deliver and or implement OEC technical assistance activities. The scope of work includes reaching personnel working with young children in settings including family childcare, and center- and school-based programs. Technical assistance activities may include training, coaching, and consultation utilizing best practice strategies for delivering assistance that provides not only information but also enhances early care and education practice.

The request for proposals is available from the following sources: • Online at http://www.biznet.ct.gov/SCP_Search/Default.aspx?AccLast=2 • Online at www.ct.gov/oec ; or • From the Official Agency Contact:

Deborah Adams Office of Early Childhood Mail: 450 Columbus Blvd, Suite 304 Hartford, Connecticut 06103 E-mail: OEC.RFP@CT.GOV Telephone: 860-500-4535

A bidder’s conference will be held on November 13, 2019 at the Office of Early Childhood, 450 Columbus Blvd., Hartford. Registration for this event must Be completed at: Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/oec-bidders-conference-for-oec-qis024-tickets-77496284473 Or Search Eventbrite.com for OEC Bidders Conference OEC-QIS-024 The due date, post marked, for proposals is 1:00 PM on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 Please direct all questions to the Official Agency Contact.

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

HELP WANTED: Large CT guardrail company

looking for Laborer/Driver with valid CT CDL Class A license and able to get a medical card. Must be able to pass a drug test and physical. Compensation based on experience. Email resume to dmastracchio@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE M-F

Equipment Operator Help Wanted: Immediate opening for Equipment Operator for Heavy and Highway Construction.

10 hour OSHA certificate required. CDL license a plus but not required.

Please call PJF Construction Corp.@ 860-888-9998. We are an equal opportunity employer M/F.

Laborer Help Wanted: Immediate opening for Construction Laborer for Heavy and Highway Construction.

10 hour OSHA certificate required.

Please call PJF Construction Corp. @ 860-888-9998. We are an equal opportunity employer M/F.

CDL Driver Help Wanted: Immediate opening for CDL Driver for Heavy and Highway Construction.

10 hour OSHA certificate and clean CDL license required.

Please call PJF Construction Corp. @ 860-888-9998. We are an equal opportunity employer M/F.

Project Manager/Project Supervisor Help Wanted: Immediate opening for a Project Manager/Project Supervisor for Heavy and Highway Construction. Previous experience on CTDOT projects required.

Please call PJF Construction Corp. @ 860-888-9998.

We are an equal opportunity employer M/F

Listing: Accounting Accounting Department has an immediate opening in Accounts Payable. This full time position in a fast-paced office environment could be an excellent entry to an Accounting career. Requires good computer and organizational skills, attention to detail, and multi-tasking. Benefits include health, dental & LTD insurance plus 401(k). Send resume to: Human Resource Dept. P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437. ********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**********

Town of Bloomfield Vehicle Mechanic Technician Full Time - Benefited $30.49 hourly

Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website – www.bloomfieldct.org

20

Civil Engineer

Diversified Technology Consultants (DTC) is a multi-disciple engineering and environmental consulting firm. DTC is a leader in servicing governmental clients for four decades. DTC prides itself as having worked on a wide variety of project types. From schools and senior centers to town halls and universities, our diverse portfolio provides extensive experience to our communities.

As DTC enters its forth decade, we are seeking an energetic, organized and proactive professional in our Civil Engineering Department. The successful candidate(s) will work closely with our technical staff in support of DTC’s strategic goals and objectives.

This is an entry level position located in our Hamden, Connecticut office.

Responsibilities:

• Assist in the preparation of plans, specifications, supporting documents, and permit applications for private and municipal projects.

• Assist in preparation of calculations such as storm drainage, water supply & wastewater collection, cost estimates, and earthwork quantities.

• Perform design and drafting using AutoCAD Civil 3D. MicroStation experience is beneficial but not required.

Qualifications:

• Graduate from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering.

• Engineer in training certificate preferred.

For Further information or to apply send resumes to ellen.nelson@teamdtc.com DTC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

DTC is a Drug Free Work Place.

Individuals with Disabilities, Minorities and Protected Veterans are encouraged to apply.

Construction Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valid drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V Drug Free Workforce

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Policy Development Coordinator position.

Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions for this position is available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= 191011&R2=1581MP&R3=001 The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

APPLY NOW! Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Top pay for top performers.

Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Construction Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valid drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V Drug Free Workforce

The Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT

EMPLOYMENT SPECIALIST - (P/T)

Property Management Company

Assist individuals receiving services in identifying and making choices about their social, vocation and personal goals. Duties include case management, job development/placement/retention services and job support as needed. Requires use of personal vehicle. B.A. in a related field; plus 2 yrs’ related experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Pay rate $16.61/hr.

is seeking a Resident Services Coordinator in New Haven, CT. Part time- 16 hrs/wk. Must have experience working w/ senior and disabled community. Social Services background preferred.

Please call (860) 951-9411 x238 for inquiries.

Apply to: GWSNE, 432 Washington Ave., North Haven, CT 06473/Fax (203) 495-6108/hr@goodwillsne.org EOE/AA - M/F/D/V

DELIVERY PERSON NEEDED Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

Must Have your Own Vehicle

If Interested call

is requesting proposals for Legal Services.

Request for Proposal documents can be viewed and printed at www.norwalkha.org under the Business section RFP’s/RFQ’s

(203) 387-0354

Norwalk Housing is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Adam Bovilsky, Executive Director.

Listing: Accounting

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks: Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact: Tom Dunay Phone: 860- 243-2300 Email: Tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks: Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing and clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Union Company seeks:

Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of operating heavy equipment; be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact Dana at 860-243-2300.

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Accounting Department has two immediate openings for full time Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable professionals in a fast-paced office environment. Must be highly organized, possess good computer skills, be detail oriented, and able to manage multiple projects. Benefits include health, dental & LTD insurance plus 401(k). Send resume to: Human Resource Dept. P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437. ********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**********

DIESEL MECHANIC: Diesel Mechanic responsible for the maintenance of Norwalk Transit District’s fleet of diesel and gas powered vehicles, including buses, body-on-chassis vehicles and all support vehicles; vehicle related components, including wheelchair lifts and ramps; vehicle support equipment; facilities and their related equipment, including fork lift and sweeper; light repair of HVAC, electrical and plumbing; maintaining all fixed passenger amenities; and, other duties as assigned by the Foreman/Management.

For more information and to apply, please go to:www.norwalktransit.com/employment The Norwalk Transit District is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

CDL will be required within six months of employment.’

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Housing Coordinator P/T. Bristol Housing Authority is seeking an individual with working knowledge of and experience in federally subsidized housing program rent calculations. Salary will be commensurate with experience. Send resume and references by Oct. 23, 2019 to Mitzy Rowe, CEO, Bristol Housing Authority (BHA), 163 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT 06010

An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Entity

21

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

Invitation for Bids

Window, Screen and Glass Replacement and Repair Services The Housing Authority of the City of New Havend/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for Window, Screen and Glass Replacement and Repairs Services. A complete copy of the requirementsmay be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems. com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 3:00PM.

NEW HAVEN POLICE NOW HIRING

Apply online at Policeapp.com Or Visit our Social Media Pages For More Information New Haven Police Department Recruitment Team

Nhpdrecruitment

NHPDrecruitment

CONSTRUCTION HELP WANTED LaRosa Building Group is looking for people interested in construction for a project in New Haven.

New Haven and Section 3 residents are encouraged to apply.

For applications: Visit the job site at 300 Wilmot Rd, New Haven CT., or join us on Thursday, November 14th, at 6:00 PM

or

Email: HR@larosabg.com

An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

Illinois Prison Bans Black History Books

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent Officials Claim the Works are ‘Racial’ In the 1800s, many states in the Union adopted laws that prohibited teaching African American slaves how to read and write.

Thirty lashes or even death would be the punishment for blacks who learned to read or write. Whites who taught blacks would incur fines or even a short jail sentence.

Perhaps, someone forgot to tell Illinois prison officials that it’s 2020, not 1820.

Officials at the Danville Correctional Center removed about 200 books from a prison library and banned their use in an inmate education program because they said the books were “too racial.”

The catalog ban included several classic books related to African American history like, “The Souls of Black Folk,” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

According to published reports, three out of every four inmates in Illinois prisons are African American, causing some to conclude that banning the books was a means for prison officials to deprive blacks of learning their history.

The books are part of an education program initiated by the Education Justice Project (EJP) and run by the University of Illinois.

The Chicago Tribune, which first reported the dispute, noted that the flap between the program and prison officials started last year when the Education Justice Project began the review process

for the upcoming semester’s books and course materials.

That’s when a corrections lieutenant told program officials that the problem with the materials was that they were “racial,” according to testimony by EJP Director Rebecca Ginsburg.

The EJP library is separate from the prison library, and it follows a different review process than the process that governs how reading materials are distributed to inmates through the prison’s mailroom. But Ginsburg told lawmakers [at a July hearing] the review policy has gone through seven revisions over the past four years.

“In this case, records show EJP submit-

ted 25 books for approval. Of those, four were denied outright, nine were allowed in for review but then denied, and 12 were approved,” The Tribune reported.

“Among the books not allowed in for review was “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America.” Books denied after review for the spring semester deal primarily with race and social issues, including “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe and “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet Jacobs, both written in the 1800s,” according to the newspaper.

“Censorship in prisons is the biggest First Amendment violation in America.

Yet, it remains one of the least talked about and least examined,” Kelly Jensen, a former librarian, wrote in a blog for Book Riot.

The criminal justice system is no longer primarily concerned with the prevention and punishment of crime, but rather with the management and control of the dispossessed, D. Gilson, a writer for ExpertInsuranceReviews.com, told NNPA Newswire.

“Education empowers individuals to rise above their dispossession,” stated Gilson, who has taught writing and popular culture studies at the university level for more than a decade.

“Thus, it is no surprise the state of Illinois had banned black history books — books that explain the injustices that have been brutally forced on black and brown bodies since the first African slaves were brought to the Americas,” Gilson stated.

“By disallowing black inmates to learn about their specific history, the state reinforces the incarceration cycle instead of empowering folks to thrive outside the system as free members of society.”

Social media influencer Kenny Screven told NNPA Newswire that removing

22

books on black history from prisons where the population is predominately African American is unfair.

“It has forbidden people to learn about their history. As a black man, it’s really bizarre to hear this,” Screven stated.

“Throughout school, we are constantly talking about white folks and how they’ve influenced society. They rarely ever talk about black people doing amazing things in the world. We’re only ever taught about slavery, but there’s so much more to our history than slavery,” he stated.

Screven continued: “I don’t think it’s humane to stop someone from learning about their culture.

Being aware of our past helps open doors for the future. If those inmates learn more about our history, maybe they will have a change of heart. If we are not able to learn about our history, we increase the risk of being forgotten. Knowledge is power, and the more we know, the better off we will be.”

Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for The Greenlining Institute, said removing the books does reflect racism.

“All of American history has ‘racial content,’ from the Constitution’s accommodation of slavery to the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans to Japanese internment during World War II,” Mirken stated in an email to NNPA Newswire.

“To ignore black perspectives doesn’t eliminate racial content, it just ensures that only white points of view get included.”

“By disallowing black inmates to learn about their specific history, the state reinforces the incarceration cycle instead of empowering folks to thrive outside the system as free members of society,” said D. Gilson, a writer for ExpertInsuranceReviews.com.

Con”t from page 18

Reality TV

Of course, that goes back to Stuart Hall’s conceptualization of the function of the stereotype: to fix, essentialize, reduce and naturalize blackness as inherently inferior and ‘othered.’”

Therein lies the rub. Why is it that in a reality genre that is teeming with shows ranging from tow truck operators to police officers to college kids sharing a house together to dance teams and the lives of little people, are so many bothered by the black cast reality shows? It is possible to realize that much of what you are watching is problematic and find some sense of pleasure in the show despite the problematic images? Is Rachel Lindsay, the first black Bachelorette, any worse than the twenty “Bachelorettes” that came before her?

Some television viewers like Donna White, who rarely watches black cast reality television shows because of the problematic images of black people, understands why people want to see these images and believes the cast members should have the opportunity to use their platform to develop and grow their businesses.

However, White, who jokingly refers to herself as a “bean bag culture critic” is still bothered by the representation of black people on these shows. “Reality shows often perpetuate and reinforce stereotypes about black love, relationships, and how black people act and what is important to us. Black folks are dynamic and multidimensional people, but that is rarely captured on most reality shows,” she says.

When asked what it take for her to watch more black reality shows, White states “I would have to see the formula change. I don’t want to see black women always fighting each other. I don’t want to see black men with problematic lives juggling multiple women,” she says.

When asked what type of show she would like to see, White offers, “I’d like to see something with travel and adventure. What I want to see won’t sell and won’t garner the large audiences,” she says making a sobering observation of the realities of black cast reality television shows.

Is there room for more diverse representations of blacks on reality television shows?

More importantly, if the formula changed as White would prefer, will audiences watch these new types of reality shows with the same fervor as “ratchet” reality shows? Does it have to come down to the respectable and the ratchet or is there something in between?

This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., entertainment and culture editor for NNPA/Black Press USA. Nsenga is also founder & editor-in-chief of the award-winning news blog The Burton Wire, which covers news of the African Diaspora. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.

Whether network or cable television programs, reality television shows garner some of the highest ratings in broadcast and cable television. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

23

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

November 06, 2019 - November 12, 2019

WE HAVE IMMEDIATE OPENINGS NOW!

NHPS - Early Childhood Registration O ce: 54 Meadow Street, New Haven, CT 06519 If you have any additional questions please contact us at: Head Start (475) 220-1463 and School Readiness (475) 220-1482

24