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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

At Bethel AME, "Black Nativity" Honors The Past, Looks To The Future

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, Arts Paper www.nehavenarts.org

Mary and Joseph are desperate for a place to rest their tired bodies. At the front of the church, they wander through a wilderness, hand in hand. Piano rises and swells around them. Voices roll out in a carpet of silk and satin. The lyrics confirm their fate: there is no room at the inn. They will have to keep pressing on.

Their bodies lurch forward, bringing to life one of the oldest stories ever told.

So unfolds a gorgeous, muscled adaptation of Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, opening this weekend at the church’s Goffe Street home. It is the second consecutive year that Bethel’s music department has put on the show, after a single packed performance and calls for an encore in December 2018.

Performers include original members of the now-disbanded Vernon Jones Singers, who first brought Black Nativity to New Haven in the mid 1980s. The play runs Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. Tickets and more information are available here.

“Last year we did it as a memoriam to Vernon,” said Lisa Kellman, producer and director of the show, at a rehearsal Thursday night. “And this year we are acknowledging him as well as Langston

Hughes and his work.”

Written by Langston Hughes in the 1950s and first performed Off Broadway in 1961, Black Nativity is a gospel reframing of the nativity story with an entirely Black cast. As it unfolds between a nativity scene and a modernday church meeting, it braids the story of Jesus’ miraculous birth with rich music, African drumming, poetry, and lyrical dance (a young Alvin Ailey was among the initial collaborators).

Originally, Hughes titled it What A Mighty Day—a nod to a song on which Wydell Sims now solos at Bethel—but changed the name of the show to Black Nativity before it went up.

Over two decades later in 1986, Jones and the then-active Alliance Theatre brought it to New Haven, performing at churches in the city, the Yale Divinity School, and later the Center Church on the Green. As Kellman remembers it, the play was a local phenomenon: the Vernon Jones Singers would perform weekends from mid-November to midDecember, packing congregations in the city and then elsewhere in the state.

To Hughes’ rich verse and dance, Jones added new arrangements and introduced his own compositions (Elder Howard Taylor, music director at the church, has also integrated his own arrangements). The Alliance Theatre split Hughes’ single narrator into two sto-

rytellers, who follow the action of the dancers with winding, beautiful words.

Then in the mid 1990s, the show moved to the University of New Haven.

For Kellman, who grew up watching her parents, aunts, and uncles sing in it each year, something got lost. It didn’t feel the same anymore, a change she attributed to taking it out of a church. Then in 2002, Jones died at the age of 50 from a brain tumor. The singers “pretty much

scattered,” Kellman recalled.

“The music was what brought it to life,” she said. “I wanted to bring that back. After 1995 … it just wasn’t the same to the community. It was a good job. It was great. But it just wasn’t the same spirit. And I figured out it was the music and the people that were missing.”

For years, she thought about staging a Black Nativity revival at Bethel, in the

SAM GURWITT PHOTO Jackson: “I used to drive around with a chainsaw and hedge clippers. I look forward to getting back to that.”

of them, although some positions are vacant.

Scott Jackson served as Hamden’s mayor from 2009 to 2015. Then he went to work for state government: first on intergovernmental policy in the Office of Policy and Management, then as commissioner of labor. He currently serves as commissioner of revenue services. In 2014 he chaired Gov. Dannel Malloy’s Sandy Hook Commission investigating the 2013 school massacre.

In describing his decision to leave state government, Jackson wrote to the governor that he sees the CAO post as “an opportunity to continue my public service in a role that allows me to engage in a more hands-on fashion with communities of need in New Haven, as well as re-initiate conversations around regional efficiencies in which I engaged as a municipal leader earlier in my career.”

“His background working in so many different facets of government and in particular his expertise gained running the City of Hamden will serve the City of New Haven well in his role as Chief

Administrative Officer,” Elicker said of Jackson in a release issued Friday. “I look forward to answering any questions the Board of Alders may have about Scott as they work through the approval process for his appointment.”

Jackson subsequently told the Independent that he enjoys the nuts and bolts working directly with people through local government.

“I used to drive around with a chainsaw and hedge clippers,” Jackson said.

“I look forward to getting back to that.”

Board of Alders President Pro Tem Jeanette Morrison said it’s too early to say whether she’ll support Jackson.

“I’m willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I’m looking forward to the vetting process so I can get to know about Scott or any person that’s selected,” Morrison said Friday. “I’m looking forward to working with everyone that is chosen for the new administration. As long as their goal is to do the best for the city of New Haven, then I am very happy with their selection.”

The alders originally rejected Sean Mat-

same sanctuary that had raised her. She had a choreographer in Carissa KeeConyers, a fellow church member who is also a dancer. She thought often about some sort of Christmas pageant. But by the fall rolled around, it always seemed like a herculean undertaking.

Then last year, she was lying in bed and “literally, physically couldn’t get up until I said ‘yes, God, yes I’ll do it.”

Something fell into place, she said.

She reached out to original members of the Vernon Jones Singers, many of who jumped at the chance to return. From Jones’ sister Gloria Moore, who also attends Bethel AME and runs his estate, Kellman was able to secure permissions to perform the music. When the show ran last year, “audience members really participated and got into the spirit,” so deeply that Kellman knew she wanted to bring it back.

As she worked on this year’s performance, she also dove into research on Hughes, eager to learn more about his gospel plays and his poetry. In the program notes, she has included a page on Hughes’ life and work, including his attendance at a youth revival as a teenager that later inspired the essay “Salvation.”

“I just wanted to bring that to the people’s understanding of what Black Nativity is, because some folks don’t know,” she said. “They know of LangsCon’t on page 11

Elicker Taps Scott Jackson

by PAUL BASS

New Haven I ndependent

Mayor-Elect Justin Elicker Friday announced his first planned change for City Hall: Picking a new chief administrative officer.

That choice is former Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson.

If confirmed by the Board of Alders, Jackson would assume one of the three top “coordinator” jobs in city government. The CAO oversees line departments like police, fire, and public works.

Sean Matteson currently holds the position. The CAO serves at the pleasure of the mayor, as do the other coordinators, who oversee economic development and community services. That means Elicker can pick his own people for those positions, as long as he wins Board of Alders confirmation. He can also pick a chief of staff.

The department heads who report to those coordinators have four-year terms, and they all have two years remaining on those contracts. That means Elicker cannot simply come in and replace any

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teson when Mayor Toni Harp nominated him to serve as CAO. Matteson subsequently won confirmation on a second try — and has since earned the respect of his former alder critics.

“Sean was good. Sean really took our requests very seriously, regardless of what department it was,” Morrison said. “And he produced.”

Elicker told the Independent that his decision to choose Jackson was in no way a knock on Matteson’s performance.

“I think Sean has served the city well and has put his heart into the work he’s done,” Elicker said.

Gov. Ned Lamont, meanwhile, is already starting to look for Jackson’s replacement. Jackson submitted this letter of resignation, effective Jan. 16.

“Scott will bring many talents to MayorElect Justin Elicker’s incoming administration, and I appreciate the service he has provided our administration and our state,” Lamont stated in a release.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Untold Black & Latinx History Surfaces

by CHRISTOPHER PEAK New Haven I ndependent

Alyssa Washington couldn’t stop thinking about the multi-colored map of New Haven on her classroom wall: the narrow green around Prospect Hill and Westville; the swathed yellow, like a waning moon, from Beaver Hills to City Point; the foreboding red around Dixwell and Fair Haven — each section of the city walled in by fixed black lines.

The Metropolitan Business Academy student was looking over a mid-1930s assessment of the credit-worthiness of each New Haven neighborhood, in which the government-backed Home Owners’ Loan Corporation deemed areas with more ethnic minorities “hazardous.”

The map of New Haven’s “redlining” was just one of the 34 picture print-outs covering the walls of Metro’s Room 204 on Thursday morning, all giving different views of America’s borders, for social-studies teacher Nataliya Braginsky’s new class on AfricanAmerican & Latinx History.

“These are things we haven’t learned at all in middle school or high school. These are the things behind the screen,” said Ana Velez, a Metro student in the class. “It shows us the real truth in where we live, that we should have knowledge of, but that a lot of teachers don’t have the time to teach us because they’re not expected to.”

Students across the entire state could soon be signing up for a similar class. Prodded on by testimony from New Haven highschoolers with Students for Educational Justice, state legislators passed a law that will eventually require every high school to offer an elective on African-American and Puerto Rican studies.

Local activists have been pushing for a “culturally affirming curriculum” throughout city schools. They want lessons that are more relevant for its diverse student body, that don’t leave out so much history, as one Latina student recently told the Board of Education.

Metro students said their middle-school classes had covered the same topics ad nauseam: the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, World War II, they rattled off.

“I’ve learned the same thing over and over again. I know this already. Please tell me more; go in depth,” said Elana Fletcher. “I think [the teachers] only tell the textbook part, because that’s all they’ve been taught.

They don’t really know the real truth.”

Nyasia Rivera said she didn’t know why teachers avoided the difficult realities of America’s past, especially since there’s not the same reticence to talk candidly about how the Nazis systematically killed millions in the Holocaust. She called that “super hypocritical.”

Amarion Coleman said he even felt like he’d been told “a lot of lies.”

“We looked at George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus. We were told they started America, when in reality there were all these indigenous people already here and they took their land,” added Kaleah Ramos. “They claimed it as something it wasn’t.”

Ana Velez, Elana Fletcher, Kaleeah Ramos, Amarion Coleman, Nyasia Rivera and Angel Rovira.

But Metro is getting a head start on changespecially with the Undesirable Aliens Act she said. “The audacity the government ing that with Braginsky’s class one that of 1929. had.” could eventually be a model for even wider Over the next decades, it alternated be“It didn’t just happen in New Haven. In a changes in how history is taught in New Hatween invitations in and repatriations out, lot, if not all, major cities, the government ven. depending on how the economy was doing, created these classifications,” Braginsky “Honestly, I believe — and I think the she said. Sometimes those even overlapped: said. “It really impacted neighborhoods. administration here agrees that this course Amid labor shortages on farms the 1950s, They couldn’t get loans or insurance. They should’ve existed here and in other schools the bracero program allowed Mexican imweren’t able to sell their homes for profit, long ago,” she said. “Seeing students, some migrants in at the same time “Operation so they didn’t have the same wealth as these of whom were from Metro, fighting for this Wetback” was deporting Mexican immiwhite families.” [at the capitol] made it very clear that it grants out, she said.

At the end of the hour-long period, Braginwas necessary. Even though the legislation “This country’s disgusting,” Washington sky asked students to answer two “core doesn’t go into effect until 2022, we decidsaid. “It’s a shame to be from here; I’m bequestions.” She does that every class, to get ed, Why wait?” ing honest.” a sense of whether students understood the This past Thursday, about 40 Metro stu“I hear you,” Braginsky said, pausing. content without the pressure of a quiz and to dents in two sections got a chance to do “Well, it’s important that we know the hisgive them a chance to share their reactions to that, as Braginsky opened up a new unit on tory, the shameful history because that’s what they’ve just learned. “moving borders” with a brief lecture about the only way that we’re going to be able to This time, she asked: “How have borders a century of American immigration history, change it moving forward. We need to know been used as a tool of oppression and disa lesson that had particular resonance in the past to know where we’re going, right? crimination? And how is crossing them an Donald Trump’s America, where a Wilbur We can go in a different direction.” act of survival and liberation?”

Cross student is facing deportation.

“Definitely, so it doesn’t repeat again,” Folded into those questions is the guiding She talked about the wars in the mid-1800s Washington said. premise behind Braginsky’s entire curricuthat initially grabbed territory from Mexico Then, students walked around to look at lum: For as long as there has been represand reintroduced slavery in what’s now Texthe pictures Braginsky had taped to the walls sion, she points out in each lesson, there has as, connecting African-American and Latinx with paragraph-long descriptions. They left also been resistance. histories.

Post-It note reactions and replies to each “There always has been a response,” What did the border look like back then? other, like an analog Instagram.

Braginsky said. Throughout, she said she’s Braginsky asked.

There were cartoons, photographs, poems trying to find a balance between talking “A big brick wall.” and articles. There were Jacob Lawrence about “white supremacy and racism” and “People trying to cross it.” paintings, gerrymandered maps of Wiscon“Black and Latinx joy and beauty and powColeman finally got it right: “An imaginary sin’s legislative districts and Hooker’s ater.” line.” tendance zones, pictures of fences dividing Metro students said that the class had creBraginsky showed them a magazine article Arizona from Sonora and Hamden from ated new heroes for them. They cited Mum from 1909 talking about drivers taking “joyNew Haven.

Bett, Richard Allen, Frederick Douglass rides” into Mexico and only knowing they’d Braginsky asked them to talk in small groups — all former slaves who led the abolition crossed the boundary when the roads started about how they felt about the images. movement. to wind.

Washington said she felt disturbed by the In middle school, “they made slaves seem But that border firmed up after World War redlined map. “That’s crazy how they did useless, never defending themselves,” ColeI, Braginsky went on, as the federal governthat,” to write off entire neighborhoods man said. “But all along, they were really ment formalized its immigration policies, based on the skin color of their inhabitants, trying to fight. They did everything in their

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power to be equal.”

Before, “we just learned that they got put on a boat and they came here,” Rivera said.

“But in this class, we learned about the strategies they used to fight back and protect themselves, how some of them jumped off the ships because they didn’t want to live that life of a slave. It’s crazy how we hand it all up to this one person” — Lincoln — “a white man, who didn’t even want to free them, when all he wanted was to unify the country.”

Even if they did talk about the resistance to slavers in middle school, it was often only as armed uprisings, Fletcher added.

“They painted slaves as just angry, but after really studying, you see they used different strategies: with the law, with the church,” she said. “These people really used their minds. There’s a stereotype that Black people are angry all the time, how they fight their way out of things. This slams that into the ground.”

Braginsky’s syllabus began with a debate about the terms for Black and Latinx people and the way race-thinking began. It covered the early history of Africa and Latin America, before moving on to slavery and abolitionism.

After this unit on borders, students will study the postbellum Reconstruction era and then work on a research paper about the “legacies of resistance” that will be presented at Metro’s annual social justice symposium.

Braginsky had previously taught American studies at Metro, but she asked if she could switch to a new course on African-American and Latinx history this year.

To prepare for this class, Braginsky said she read a lot of books, finding Paul Ortiz’s “An African American and Latinx History of the United States” particularly helpful. She took courses with the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. She surveyed Metro students, who told her, “Ugh, we don’t want to learn about slavery,” and she met with Students for Educational Justice, who also told her to avoid “fun facts” about obscure inventors.

“The stakes feel high for this class for me,” Braginsky said. “It’s a privilege to teach and and a responsibility to teach it right.”

Growing up in the Cleveland suburbs, Braginsky said she’d been “sorely miseducated,” mostly by what her classes left out.

In English class, every book was written by a white man, except one by a white woman, Carson McCuller’s “The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter,” which became her favorite.

“I was ill-informed about what other people had suffered at the hands of white supremacy. I knew nothing of the resistance. I didn’t even know the ‘fun facts,’” she said. “It creates less justice in our country when people don’t have this history.”

Braginsky said she hopes the class instills a passion for history and education in her students.

“I love the idea of them out in the world educating other people: their peers or even professors,” she said. “And I love the idea of them becoming historians and teachers. I hope this course inspires them to do to that, especially because we need more Black and Latinx teachers in New Haven and across the country.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Not Your Mama's Jane Austen. Or Is It?

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, Arts Paper www.newhavenarts.org

The first thing one realizes about Pride and Prejudice, running at Long Wharf Theatre through Dec. 22, is that Jane Austen slays whether it’s 1813 or 2019.

The second is that her well-worn text is still fresh and expansive enough for another look.

Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice, now playing on Long Wharf’s main stage, is a tidy and spirited adaptation of Austen’s nineteenth-century classic. The show is directed by Jess McLeod with a cast that brings verve, humor, and moxie to the work. The show runs now through Dec. 22; tickets and more information are available here.

For audiences that don’t know Pride and Prejudice—of which there is no shortage of adaptations, fanfiction, and spinoffs—the novel is a tale of manners, romance, and some serious ego-tripping (sorry not sorry, Darcy) that has a real love story at its core. As it opens on the English town of Meryton, the reader is acquainted with the five Bennet sisters, of whom Elizabeth or Lizzy is the second oldest and perhaps the most pugnacious. In the play, the five have been written down to four: Lizzy (Aneisa J. Hicks), Jane (Octavia Chavez-Richmond), Mary (a winning Luis Moreno), and Lydia (Dawn Elizabeth Clements, who also shines as a very haughty Lady Catherine de Bourgh).

The plot is a rom-com, Regency-style: rude man’s man a.k.a. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Biko Eisen-Martin) bumps into headstrong woman a.k.a. Lizzy Bennet (or really, she into him), rude man offends woman, calls her home a dump and destroys her sister’s engagement, watches as his hot and creepy ex-best friend (Brian Lee Huynh) sweeps her off her feet, and redeems himself but not before his ex-best-friend bangs her other sister.

Then the rude man turns out to be not so rude, and the headstrong woman likes him after all. Wedding bells chime!

In the thick of all of it, the Bennet matriarch (Maria Elizabeth Ramirez) is fixated on getting her daughters married and out of the house, willing to sell them to the bidder with the largest coffer (not a euphemism). Or any bidder. Her husband (Rami Margron) is sort of MIA except for when he’s not. Fun, right?

Hamill’s two-act adaptation, which condenses both the novel and the number of characters, gives Austen the gift of economy. A trip Lizzy takes to the big city with some relatives has disappeared, as have whole, month-long periods of frosty pseudo-courtship. The grand balls of the novel are scrapped, replaced with pink, rubber bouncy balls that get the trick done and make for a device that is as physically funny as it is clean.

Biko Eisen-Martin.

The play, like the novel, draws so much of its richness from Austen’s wit: she is salty and sarcastic, with female characters who think for themselves, turn down proposals for marriage, make mistakes, point out mistakes, and own up to them.

In this structure, McLeod has done a tremendous job, mining the text for its sweetness but also its farce, irreverence, wit and current resonance. From the mo-

ment the lights come up, characters are in motion, fusing period dance styles with a smooth, contemporary sort of sensibility. Their bodies conform to the English country dance and the scotch reel, but it also looks like they could cut the line and electrify a club at any time.

They have bucked the tradition, still pervasive in American theater, that whiteness is the assumed default unless

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otherwise stated. In a stew of lily-white adaptations (even in Bollywood’s 2004 Bride and Prejudice, Darcy is still played

by Disnefied sweetheart Martin Henderson), the cast is composed entirely of actors of color, with characters who suddenly reflect the city in which the play has landed. It’s refreshing to see, and all the more meaningful because McLeod doesn’t name it outright: she just invites the audience to see themselves in the show.

The cast brings it to life, using role reversal and characters that collapse in on each other as a source of momentum.

When Mary (Moreno) and Miss Bingley (Huynh) appear in drag, they peel away layers literary amber in which their characters have been suspended. Moreno is funny and smart as he bounces between Mary and the dog-like, trusting Mr. Bingley who is Jane’s love interest; he shrugs off the gender binary against which Lizzy so ardently rails to reveal norms that are completely arbitrary.

He brings a punchiness to Mary that the novel never did: this Mary knows she’s homely and she’s mad as hell about it.

At one point, she makes a screaming, rushing reference to the Dreyfus Affair that is side-splittingly funny and jumbles period chronology just enough. Huynh, who also plays the unctuous heartthrob Mr. Wickham and ludicrous Mr. Collins, is equally nimble: his Miss Bingley can read a character for filth like nobody’s business (and does many times, without hesitation), but he is an equally quick study in Wickham’s slippery ways, and a Collins that operates with Princess Bride levels of farce and spot-on timing.

Under McLeod’s swift direction, Ramirez’ Mrs. Bennet is not reduced to the ditzy stereotype she often becomes, so much as a victim of gender norms, economic stratification, and internalized patriarchy that were very much a reality then, and still exist today. Across from her, Margron pulls off a switch between Mr. Bennet and Charlotte Lucas, Lizzy’s friend and Mr. Collins’ grudgingly pragmatic bride, that is both masterful and whip-smart, funny and biting as Lucas resigns herself to an unhappy but profitable marriage. It resonates in a contemporary theater, as the wedding industrial complex explodes when women could be ditching the socioeconomic trappings of marriage and history that comes with them.

The core of the show, in many ways, remains Lizzy’s steadfast commitment to herself, and to her sisters. Hicks has brought all of herself to the role: she has the audience from the moment she’s onstage, and she holds them with massive amounts of moxie. Her sense of timing is everything: her patterns of speech cut through old language, words bouncing

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Racially Discriminatory Legislation and Policies Must Be Stopped The Unintended Consequences of a Menthol Cigarette Ban to Black America From pro-slavery laws to Jim Crow, to Prohibition, to racial profiling, to Stop-and-Frisk, history is clear: racist laws and discriminatory bans have been devastating for Black America.

Today, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) and National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) have joined together with other African-American law enforcement executives to call on you - our readers in Black communities across the nation - to see the warning signs of yet another proposed racially discriminatory law: the menthol cigarette ban.

It is a well-known fact that over 85 percent of African Americans who smoke prefer menthol cigarettes. There is no factual basis to assert that a menthol cigarette ban will stop African Americans from smoking. In fact, the unintended consequences of such a racially-discriminatory ban will set the stage for more negative and more likely counterproductive interactions between law enforcement and African Americans.

While proponents argue that a menthol cigarette ban could encourage menthol cigarette smokers to quit smoking coldturkey, another possible outcome could be extremely dangerous—the creation of an illicit market. If this happens, illegal sales of menthol cigarettes will likely be concentrated in communities of color, leading to a greater police presence, citations, fines, and arrests for selling a product that for the past 50 years has been legal.

Possible bans on menthol cigarettes are now being considered throughout the United States as add-ons to e-cigarette bans. It must be said that while FDA has deemed teen vaping an “epidemic,” there is no teen menthol cigarette epidemic.

The fact is teen cigarette use has steadily been on the decline over the past decade.

Recently in New York, the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner courageously issued a public statement warning against the consequences of a proposed menthol cigarette ban. Sybrina Fulton and Gwendolyn Carr stated, “When you ban a product sold mostly in Black communities, you must consider the reality of what will happen to that very same over-represented community in the criminal justice system.”

Law enforcement leaders like Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Grand Council of Guardians, and National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers (NABLEO) have stated countless times that a ban on menthol cigarettes will have unintended negative consequences, especially for African Americans.

Over the past 30 years, we have reduced tobacco consumption overall across this country by about 40 percent. And we did not do that with the criminal justice community. We did that with education, we did it with treatment, we did it from a health and educational perspective. Let’s continue with that. Let’s not do something that’s going to end up with these unintended consequences of increasing interaction between police and community members.

Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), Executive Director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP): “I dedicated 34 years of my life to public safety, enforcing the laws that our legislators placed before me. That’s what cops do, and we trust that those laws are well thought out, studied and based upon sound data and evidence. As we begin to mirror the days of alcohol prohibition with tobacco bans, expect the violence and corruption that comes with the illicit market and add something else, the over criminalization of the black community.”

Jiles Ship, President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives – New Jersey (NOBLE): “Banning menthol cigarettes would be a 21st Century attempt at Prohibition, a past failure of government to restrict a previously legal product. As we learned with Prohibition, every time the government tries to ban something, it seems to cause other problems. And unfortunately, a menthol cigarette ban would be another example of government action that disproportionately disrupts the Black community.”

Charles Billips, National Chair Person of Grand Council of Guardians, “The first question I asked is how are they going to implement this ban on menthol cigarettes, knowing that a large number of Black and Brown people smoke menthol cigarettes? It would be best to educate the communities on the affect it has on our health instead of a ban enforced through Law Enforcement.”

As The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once prophetically said, “The time is always right to do what is right.” And the right thing to do for our families and communities and for all who stand for freedom, justice and equality is to speak out against all forms of racial discrimination and disproportionate law enforcement, as well as the systems, laws, bans and policies that perpetuate them.

Speak out against racism. Stand up against discrimination. Let your voices be heard.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Family Seeks Answers, Arrest In Fatal Crash

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven I ndependent

The family of a motorcyclist who died in a Winthrop Avenue car crash called on the police to release more details about their investigation and to charge the suspect not just with moving violations, but with the death of their loved one.

Police brass pledged to stay in close contact with the family, and explained that the more serious charges will be filed when officers are confident they can secure a conviction.

Ashley Johnson, Michael Grant, Lakeya Grant, and a half-dozen other close relatives of the late James Grant gathered on the front steps of police headquarters at 1 Union Ave. Wednesday morning for a brief press conference about their frustrations with the criminal investigation to date.

“J Blac” Grant, a 28-year-old Hamden resident and member of the Presidents Motorcycle Club, died on Sept. 7 soon after a fatal collision between his motorcycle and a white Acura on Winthrop Avenue near Sylvan Avenue in the Hill.

Wearing a black T-shirt with an enlarged photograph of her late older brother in the middle, Johnson said that her family has been deeply unsatisfied with the level of communication between the police department and Grant’s relatives over the past three months.

After an initial few phone calls with the supervising lieutenant and the return of the possession’s Grant had on him at the time of the accident, Johnson said, the police did not keep the family regularly updated as to the status of their investigation.

“It seemed like things got kind of quiet,” she said.

Only after the suspect made bail did the family learn that the 42-year-old driver of the Acura had only been charged with operating a motorvehicle without a license and illegally operating a motorvehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“We’re just trying to get justice and get questions answered about my brother’s accident,” she said. “At the end of the day, someone is responsible.”

She said her brother was an avid motorcycle rider, and a member of the President’s motorcycle club. He was on his way to the Hill neighborhood reunion at the time of his fatal crash, she said.

“He did not deserve to have his life taken so shortly,” she continued. “The New Haven Police Department, they have done a poor job of keeping us updated and informed on my brother’s case.”

The press conference itself was organized by Mario Boone, an investigative reporter formerly with WTNH. Boone said that the Grant family reached out to him directly with concerns about the apparent lack of communication from the police department, and that he has taken on the role of pro bono media liaison for

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO / CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Grant’s sister Ashley Johnson leads a family press conference outside police headquarters. Below: James Grant.

6

the Grants.

He said he appreciates that police can’t disclose every detail over the course of an investigation in order to protect that investigation’s integrity. But “you have a family in mourning here that’s in the dark. And they deserve some answers.”

Investigation Is Active Asst. Chief Renee Dominguez and Westville top cop Lt. Rose Dell, who serves on the accident reconstruction team, told reporters after the press conference that the department has tried to share as much information as possible with the Grant family over the course of the investigation.

“There has been communication through the whole process,” Dominguez said.

The investigating officer and supervising lieutenant have been in touch with the family as recently as Tuesday, and the Grants have those officers’ phone numbers, she said.

“I think some things that they’re wishing to be told are unable to be told yet,” Dominguez said. That’s because police are still investigating Grant’s death and gathering evidence that would support the filing of more serious charges.

“Typically with fatal accidents, the prosecutor prefers that we do a thorough investigation and not make on-scene arrests,” Dell said.

In this case, the responding officers had reason to believe that the suspect might have been intoxicated, and so arrested and charged him with the two moving violations.

Posted by New Haven Independent That suspect has subsequently bonded out of custody for those charges.

“We have to take many steps because ultimately we’re looking not just for an arrest,” Dell said. “We want to have a very thorough and accurate investigation. We work hand-in-hand with the prosecutor.

And that investigation is active.”

Dominguez said she empathizes with the family wanting closure on such after such a tragic and traumatic incident. She said a conviction is much more likely to provide that closure than just an arrest without enough evidence for a conviction.

She and Dell said they have reached out to the family with an offer to meet up in person on Friday to talk through the latest with the investigation. “We can share as much as we can without impeding the investigation,” Dell said.

Scene Of The Crash The incident report retained by the police department following the Sept. 7 crash indicates that the driver of the Acura may have been intoxicated, not necessarily on alcohol.

Officer Nikko Michael Cari wrote that he and Officer Garcia were dispatched to to the site of the accident at Winthrop and Sylvan at around 5:29 p.m. that day.

Upon arrival, they found a black and

red motorcycle laying on its side in the southbound lane of Winthrop Avenue just past the intersection with Sylvan. Grant’s body was laying next to his bike in the center median. He was wearing a full face helmet An ambulance arrived within moments and ferried him to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

The officers also found at the scene a white Acura in the southbound lane, parked at an angle with one of its tires up on the curb. The driver side door was open and the passenger side airbags had deployed.

Cari then made contact with the car’s driver, who identified himself as the operator of the vehicle involved in the accident. The driver said he didn’t sustain any injuries and didn’t need an ambulance. He “was visibly shaken up from the incident and it took him some time until he was able to speak to me about what had occurred,” Cari wrote.

The driver said he had just turned right off of Legion Avenue and was traveling south on Winthrop. As he was driving just past the Sylvan intersection, he said, Grant tried to go around his car, and struck the vehicle’s passenger side. The driver said he “never saw nor heard the motorcycle until it had impacted the passenger side of his vehicle.”

Garcia interviewed a neighbor who said she witnessed the accident while taking out her garbage. That witness said she saw Grant on his motorcycle attempt to pass the Acura on the right hand side.

During that attempted pass, Grant struck the side of the driver’s car, the witness said.

Cari wrote that he and Garcia ultimately arrested the driver and charged him with driving under the influence and driving without a license because of his performance during several on-scene sobriety tests administered by Officer Meagan Moran.

The driver’s eyes were “glassy, glazed, and slightly red,” Moran wrote in her own incident report from Sept. 7. The driver said he had not consumed any alcoholic beverages that evening, and said the only drugs he took were related to his diabetes.

The driver “did not count his steps out loud as instructed,” Moran wrote, and did not turn correctly when taking a walk-and-turn test. He also displayed a “lack of smooth pursuit” in a horizontal gaze nystagmus test. And he put his food down “prior to being told to stop the test” when taking a one-leg-stand test.

He did, however, pass a breathalizer test with a blood alcohol content of 0.000.

The driver then took a urine test, and that sample was sent to the state crime lab for narcotics analysis, with the results still pending.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Disparities and Complexities of Affordable Housing Explored

by Liz Dupont-Diehl Ct. News Junkie

HARTFORD, CT – It was very nearly standing room only at Hartford’s Lyceum Monday as 120 people turned out to hear author and expert Alan Mallach delve into affordable housing – what it is, the situation nationally and in Connecticut, and what can be done to help families and landlords.

Mallach, of the Center for American Progress, joked that his talk, “Understanding America’s Multiple Affordable Housing Crises,” would require an advanced degree in statistics to understand.

But his analysis of market forces and policy solutions was clear.

Housing is considered “affordable” if it costs no more than 30% of a person or family’s gross income. If housing costs more than 50% of gross income, it is considered severely unaffordable.

A recent report from the Partnership for Strong Communities that hosted Mallach Monday found nearly half of Connecticut’s renter population spends over 30% of their income on housing. A quarter of this population spends over 50% of their income on housing, virtually ensuring that these households will not have enough money left over for health care, child care, groceries, and other essential expenses.

In 2018, Connecticut had the 9th highest housing costs in the country, with only 38 affordable rental units per 100 extremely low-income households.

Nationally, Mallach explained, housing is affordable in most places for most people,

with two key exceptions.

Along the east and west coasts of the country, and in metropolitan and large metropolitan areas, housing it is vastly less affordable. In Connecticut, housing is less affordable in Fairfield County.

And poor people, throughout the country, are paying far more than 30% of their income for housing. “Low- and very lowincome families are living on the edge of survival everywhere,” Mallach said.

Mallach broke down the costs involved in maintaining housing, identifying them as a driver in establishing rental costs.

Landlords won’t rent housing for less than it costs to maintain, he said. “Rents are driven by costs,” he said. “It’s about the basic, systemic cost of providing housing.”

In Hartford, an eviction “crisis” is leading to cascading negative consequences.

Every year, one in 18-20 tenants is evicted, or 1,500 – 2,000 evictions – destabilizing families and neighborhoods and undermining children’s futures, Mallach said.

He also pointed out racial disparities in the Hartford region. The three towns with the highest percentage of minority residents – Hartford, East Hartford and New Britain – also have the lowest incomes.

Policy solutions are important but complex. Simply producing more housing, Mallach said, can result in “filtering” – meaning higher income people get the new or best housing and lower-income people don’t benefit significantly.

Two key existing policy tools are the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and Section

LIZ DUPONT-DIEHL / CTNEWSJUNKIE

Jonathan Cabral of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority introduced keynote speaker Alan Mallach, center. Moderator Susan Thomas of the Melville Charitable Trust is at right.

8 vouchers, through which the government pays any difference between 30% of income and rent.

“Ironically, to live in so called ‘affordable’ housing, one in six people also have a voucher,” Mallach said.

“And having a voucher program doesn’t mean you get a voucher,” he added. Only one in four families who qualifies gets a voucher. “It’s truly like winning the lottery.”

New Jersey is one state showing recent progress on affordable housing – due in part to its affirmative requirement that towns provide affordable housing. Connecticut doesn’t have any such require-

ment, which makes it easier for developers to build affordable housing in cities and towns where it already exists.

“If I had to pick one thing to solve the housing crises,” he said, “it would be a national housing allowance to ensure no family has to pay too much for housing.

The costs of housing are systemic and fixed… I don’t think that’s too much to ask in a country with the resources we have in the United States.”

The audience members questioned the role of the state and federal governments, homeownership, and what municipalities can and should do. A broader discussion is needed, Mallach said, about how exact-

ly to maximize public funds and ensure quality, affordable housing for everyone.

With Hartford’s abundant stock of threefamily homes, Mallach said, “great good” could be done by offering support and assistance for low-income people to become homeowners and landlords “in a way that makes sense for them.”

The event was part of a series hosted by the Partnership for Strong Communities.

“For Connecticut to grow, our state must have safe, stable housing for all levels of income,” PSC Executive Director Kiley Gosselin said. “Currently, our state has a shortage of nearly 80,000 homes that are affordable for our lower-income residents – drastically increasing their risk of homelessness and housing instability. We have to be more creative and open-minded about where to use our resources and what additional tools we need to support housing opportunity the state.”

She thanked Mallach, the former director of housing and economic development in Trenton, New Jersey, who now teaches in the graduate planning program at Pratt institute in New York City, for bringing his perspective.

“With decades of national experience in community development, Alan brings perspective to Connecticut’s struggles with high housing costs,” she added. “By analyzing how Connecticut can make its housing policy more effective and equitable, he adds his voice to a very important conversation that we, as a state, need to have.”

Connecticut Officials: Federal Funding, Legislative Districts At Stake In 2020 Census

by Shawn R. Beals

HARTFORD, CT—State officials said Tuesday that federal funding and political representation are heavily dependent on the 2020 Census count that begins in about three months.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, the chairwoman of the Connecticut Complete Count Committee, said Tuesday that the state will spend $500,000 on efforts to make sure everyone is counted, and that community foundations have pledged to at least match that expense.

The committee met Tuesday morning at the State Capitol.

“We get close to $11 billion a year from the federal government, and we are shortchanged badly compared to other states,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “If we get the census right, if we get the count right, a lot of the money we get back from the feds is quantified based upon what our population is.”

The census count officially begins April 1, but surveys will begin going out in March, officials said. This year, the U.S. Census Bureau is working to get more people to respond to the surveys online.

SHAWN R. BEALS / CTNEWSJUNKIE Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz

But the agency is still hiring tens of thousands of people across the country, and has already hired 11,700 people in Connecticut, Ian Hull, deputy director of the Census Bureau’s New York regional office, said. He said there are 116 local

committees already working on census efforts in Connecticut, and 1,095 registered partners including business groups, non-profit organizations, schools and local governments.

“The coverage and depth of participa-

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tion in this state is unparalleled,” Hull said. “We need to carry the message that the census is safe, that it’s easy to complete, and that it’s so critically important to the state of Connecticut.”

He said Census Bureau staff would be visible throughout the year at festivals and community events in an attempt to reach every person who lives in Connecticut.

“We are bringing census support to the hard-to-count communities,” Hull said.

“We’re no longer going to ask them to come to us. We’re going to deploy mobile units of Census Bureau employees armed with Census Bureau tablets to help people respond to the 2020 Census next year.”

Bysiewicz has been leading the state’s committee since February, and has been making presentations around the state.

Officials said Tuesday’s meeting was the 1,500th census-related event in Connecticut in the leadup to the count next year.

“We are far ahead of many other states because we have worked very hard over almost a year now already to put in place the infrastructure at the local level, which is what we’re counting on to make

this all work,” Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said.

She said Connecticut’s political districts, which are reconfigured every 10 years after the census, are likely to change significantly based on the results of the count.

“Every community’s districts will no doubt be redrawn after the census is taken, and the number of people in each district determines your representation here at the state house as well as in Congress,” Merrill said. “In the past different census counts have resulted in us losing a Congressional seat. We don’t want that to happen again.”

She said the 2020 Census will be “more online than it has been in the past” to capitalize on the ever-growing number of people with reliable Internet access.

Bysiewicz and other officials said census participation cannot be used to change a person’s public assistance program participation or their immigration status, and temporary workers hired by the Census Bureau also will not have their assistance affected.

For information on census hiring, go to www.2020census.gov/jobs.

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10/18/19 4:46 PM

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Standing Rock Supporters Tip Hat To Harp

by STAFF

New Haven I ndependent

Mayor Toni Harp moved city accounts to a new bank — and earned plaudits from social-justice activists.

The administration announced it is moving its three main operating accounts to People’s United, which prevailed in a competitive bidding process.

The accounts were moved from Wells Fargo, which the state deemed a “nonqualified depositary for municipal accounts.” Wells Fargo has come under nationwide criticism — and protest in New Haven — for bankrolling the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, which will cut through the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. It has also taken heat for funding private prisons and immigrant

Con’t on page

Not Your Mama's Jane Austen. Or Is It? between the cast with extraordinary bite and cadence and often equal humor.

So too does Eisen-Martin, who has taken on Darcy’s way of stepping into a room, and making everything around him stop. Yes, he fundamentally gets Darcy—tactless and pompous and also surprisingly sensitive—but it’s more than that. His bumbling chemistry with Hicks freezes whole moments, leaving them clear in one’s mind well after the show has ended. This is a story that doesn’t feel tired or covered in dust, but ready for a retelling.

In this way, Long Wharf has produced a Pride and Prejudice that is for everyone, time-tested and inventive all at once.

Costumes by Izumi Inaba are fresh and surprising, suspending this world between past and present. A pepto-bismol pink Regency-era interior by Gerardo Díaz Sánchez expands the fantasy, as does lighting from Jennifer Fok and a propulsive earworm of a background from sound designer Megumi Katayama, who has composed original music for the show that keeps it bumping and electric.

It feels like a much-needed balm for the stage, where the flames from last year’s Hnathian attempt to write women intelligently may still be smoldering somewhere by the emergency exit. This sticks its landing: it shows that love is still a leap of faith, but it comes with a sticky, complicated and not-totally-resolved baggage that has around for two centuries. There’s still a socioeconomic ceiling. The Bennet girls (mostly) get their happy endings, but Lucas doesn’t.

It’s sweet, with enough bite to keep one coming back to it after the curtain has closed.

detention centers, defrauding customers with bogus accounts, and discriminating against minorities with pricier mortgages.

New Haven Stands With Standing Rock, which pushed the city to shift the accounts, praised Harp’s move.

“It is true that state law required this, but that state law also had no deadline and no enforcement power, so the city took the initiative,” organizer Melinda Tuhus stated. “Wells Fargo has a terrible human rights and civil rights record, which is why we fought to get the city to move its money. Peoples is a regional bank with a commitment, as the mayor said, to our community.”

City Controller Daryl Jones said the bank move will benefit New Haven gov-

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO

2017 protest outside City Hall.

ernment’s bottom line.

“Te City is expected to both save on banking services fees and expand its digital banking solutions,” Jones stated in a city hall release. “What’s more, with People’s United Bank, we’re hopeful about future opportunities for residents to transact business directly with the city at a local People’s branch, sparing them a separate stop at City Hall.”

Tuhus added that her group remains “concerned” that the city plans to maintain a merchant card program with Chase Bank, which she called “the worst offender of all when it comes to investing in community- and climate-killing fossil fuel projects.” The group plans to “take this matter up” with incoming Mayor Justin Elicker.

Cross Students Hit The Road For Mario

by SIMON BAZELON

New Haven I ndependent

Wilbur Cross High School students headed up the stairs to the Track 14 platform at Union Station Tuesday afternoon to embark on a field trip of sorts — to seek justice.

Members of school organizations such as Cross in Action, they headed to the state courthouse in Milford to stage a demonstration calling for the release of one of their fellow students, Mario Aguilar. Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested Aguilar outside the courthouse three months earlier. Aguilar, 18, had shown up at the courthouse to face state charges related to a traffic accident; he is now in federal custody awaiting possible deportation to Guatemala, a country whose gangs he fled out of fear for his life. A decision is expect5ed by Thursday on his request for asylum. Kris Mendoza, who taught Aguilar in algebra the previous year, joined the students on the ride. She talked about the promise he showed in the classroom. Mendoza, who teaches her classes in Spanish, estimated that “roughly one half of my students are undocumented.”

The group arrived outside the Milford courthouse and spent nearly two hours in the cold, wet late afternoon making speeches, holding up signs, and chanting. The rally drew 35 people in total.

“Tell me what community looks like!”

Tayshalee Hernandez asked the crowd.

“This is what community looks like!” came the emphatic response.

The protesters were students, activists, teachers and others.

“I’m here because I want justice for Mario, I want him to come home, and I want him to come back to our community,” said Hernandez, a Cross junior

like Aguilar.

She was joined by students like a senior who missed most of his AP Statistics class to attend the rally — and who declined to have his name published: He said he too is an undocumented immigrant, along with several family members.

“I can relate,” he said. “When Mario was going through that, I had a court case too over a driving incident.

This could’ve happened to me, and it could’ve happened to anyone.”

“The guy was on his way to settle something with the law. It’s pretty unfair that he got picked up while obeying the law. A courthouse should be a neutral zone: no one should fear going to get justice,” the senior argued.

The rally was led in large part by Anthony Barroso, a Gateway graduate who described himself as “undocumented and unafraid.” Barroso is an organizer with CT Students for a Dream, a group with which most of the Cross student present are affiliated.

While the rally was centered around “libertad para Mario” (freedom for Mario), the protesters made clear they had broader goals as well. Signs carried messages like “Abolish ICE” and drawings of boxes labeled ICE, DHS (Department of Homeland Security), and CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) headed for a trash can. “Free them all,” the crowd chanted in reference to the roughly 50,000 undocumented immigrants currently in detention across the country.

Regardless of the judge’s ruling on Aguilar’s asylum request, the protesters vowed to keep fighting.“We will not stop until all of them are free,” they shouted. “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state!”

10

SIMON BAZELON PHOTO

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019 Con’t from page 02

"Black Nativity"

ton Hughes, but they don’t know about Black Nativity. I had the tremendous fortune of growing up knowing about it.”

In the current production, she has succeeded wildly. As they take the stage— which is also at times the pulpit—narrators Rev. Sybil Brooks and Rev. Phillip Agee spin the nativity story into Hughes’ tight, gleaming verse. Around them, the choir and dancers bring it to life.

From the first note of “Joy To The World,” one’s ears perk up, listening for the moment that a solo breaks away into full-lunged wonder. When it inevitably does, the harmony is heart-burstingly good. It only deepens from there. Numbers including “Follow That Star” and “Special Gift,” performed at full belt, can’t not leave an audience transported.

If there’s any doubt about the reason for the season, they fix that succinctly too.

So too the dancers, who never say a word and never have to. As they propel themselves down the main aisle of the church, April Mills and Isaiah Little stun with movement alone. They bring a lyrical, deeply feeling Mary and Joseph straight into the present. When Kee-Conyers visits them as the angel, she seems that she indeed has come from another spiritual plane.

Performers don’t have to take attendees to church—they are already there—but they do anyway. Harmonies, undulating vocals, and full-throated wails seem genuinely heaven-sent. Members of the choir inject cries of “yes!” and “amen!” into chunks of even-keeled narration.

They erupt with whispers of “shame!” when Mary and Joseph are turned away from the inn. They open up a channel straight to the soul, then burrow deeper with notes that soar skyward. It is impossible to leave not feeling uplifted.

“Even though it’s a production and it’s a play, the spirit is authentic,” Kellman said. “That was what Vernon had. That’s exactly how it was then. I can only pray that when we pick up from where he left off, we can carry it a little further.”

Elder Howard Taylor, who was part of the original production, praised Kellman for her work in keeping Jones’ vision alive years after his death. This year, he has returned as music director and arranger, alongside Gwendolyn Williams. He will also be playing the keyboard during the production, as he was during a recent rehearsal.

“The generation behind us is coming to do it,” he said. “It’s instrumental. I don’t want to call it a rebirth, but a renewing.”

Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity ran Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. at Bethel A.M.E Church, 255 Goffe St. in New Haven.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

COMMENTARY:

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Racism and Sexism Help End Kamala Harris’ Presidential Campaign

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

Yesterday, Senator Kamala Harris announced she was suspending her 2020 presidential campaign, because of low poll numbers and financial pressures.

Unsurprisingly, this announcement came on the heels of a coordinated weekend media blitz of a leaked resignation letter by Kelly Mehlenbacher, a disgruntled staffer, who had unsurprisingly left Harris’ campaign to work with former New York City Mayor and billionaire, Michael Bloomberg on his newly announced candidacy.

Harris had announced in early November there would be widespread layoffs and an intense focus on Iowa so Ray Charles could see from the grave that the campaign was in trouble.

Pundits, news publications and political junkies treated Mehlenbacher’s letter like a smoking gun, which detailed how horrible of a work environment Harris created blaming Harris’ lack of leadership, focus and clear vision on how to win for the current state of affairs. Mehlenbacher laid Harris’ issues at the feet of the leadership (Campaign chairwoman Maya Harris and Campaign manager Juan Rodriguez), without detailing what role she may have played in the demise of the campaign as Director of State Operations.

Mehlenbacher’s job was to make sure the campaign was run efficiently by planning, executing, monitoring, evaluating, improving and correcting the systems and processes over time so the campaign could grow and scale as the candidate moved closer to the actual race. Only well-funded campaigns even have this position which is why Mehlenbacher may have cut her losses and bolted to Bloomberg’s campaign because that well-paid, position was about to be over.

Aside from the curious case of Mehlenbacher, what began as a promising U.S. presidential campaign ended with a whimper and the resignation letter was just the final nail in the campaign coffin of a Black woman constantly dogged by racism and sexism.

At a dinner party, I learned of the resignation letter and a friend asked me what my thoughts were. After reading it, I said I’m never surprised by a Black woman being undermined by a disgruntled white woman at work, especially when times get tough.

Yes, the campaign had problems, debate performances were uneven and voters needed more clarity on Harris’ health care plan, which she failed to communicate clearly. No, you cannot blame the ultimate failure of the campaign on the resignation letter. However, who wrote it, how it was received and used, played a significant role in the end of the campaign.

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (Photo: Office of Senator Kamala Harris / Wikimedia Commons)

The willingness of people to immediately take the word of a disgruntled staffer over a campaign manager and chairwoman is telling. Mehlenbacher didn’t say anything in the letter anyone who has spent time working on or covering a political campaign doesn’t already know. When you run out of money, hard decisions must be made and when you fail to deliver i.e., raise enough money or put efficient processes in place, then sometimes what you may have planned is no longer viable. What she wrote isn’t a smoking gun, but simply status quo when it comes to political campaigns.

The weight given that letter by the media was astonishing and the willingness to accept that Harris couldn’t lead a political staff let alone a presidential campaign was interesting.

Three of Senator Bernie Sanders’ top strategists left his 2020 campaign, citing creative differences the week after he launched his campaign in February and nada. No coordinated media blitz about how his campaign was over then or in October when the 78-year-old suffered a heart attack.

One disgruntled white woman essentially says, “I’m mad at Kamala because my job is harder than usual, life isn’t fair and the people in charge won’t do what I tell them to do,” and game over?

It wasn’t just the letter. It was also the idea that the letter was the final straw when folks have been coming for Harris over her racial identity and career as a prosecutor from the jump.

The continued pummeling of Harris by Black folk around being mixed-race and somehow less trustworthy because of it,

is laughable. The fact that people hate her because she was a prosecutor when 80 percent of all prosecutors are white men is ridiculous.

Coupled with the fact that many who don’t trust her because she was a prosecutor, are riding with the white men who actually authored, introduced and voted for the crime bill that led to mass incarceration is disgusting.

As for Harris being a prosecutor – we can’t all be defendants. Having all white judges, prosecutors, lawyers and jurors worked so well for Black folk before those in power started allowing us to hold these jobs.

To lay an entirely broken justice system at the feet of one Black woman, when Black women activists, scholars and filmmakers like Jill Nelson, Angela Davis, Michelle Alexander and Ava Duvernay have been doing the actual work of raising awareness, confronting mass incarceration and actively working to change racist laws is unconscionable.

If it sounds like I’m having a tantrum, I am.

I admit that I am sick of agents of the state like Mehlenbacher and Tulsi Gabbard, who do the bidding of white supremacy and patriarchy and benefit from it while pretending to critique it. Women can’t get free because some women won’t get free.

I am sick of Black folks failing to learn from previous mistakes. If cancel culture had been in place when then Senator Obama was running for president, he would have never made it past early

12

critiques of his Blackness and identity.

Until we realize the damage that is done when parroting the same reckless, white supremacist ideology, language and ideas around what makes someone Black, we will create unnecessary distractions from real issues that need our attention like Harris’ platform.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’d rather see Senator Harris on the Supreme Court than in the White House — especially coming behind Mango Unchained — so I’m not mad that she didn’t get the nomination. I’m mad at how she was forced out while folks who have no business being in the race are still there.

(See Independents Bernie Sanders and Michael Bloomberg for starters.)

I’m mad at the triple standard she has to face when it comes to her race and gender, putting food on the table and choosing a life partner. I’m mad that so-called allies are only allies when Black women are helping them to attain their goals and perfectly willing to throw us under the bus, once they’ve gotten there. I’m mad that the same folks who are now saying we need Harris at the impeachment hearings are unwilling and unable to see a Black woman in the highest office of the land.

I guess I wish that folks could see Black women the way they see infirmed white politicians on borrowed time and billionaires with little to no political experience.

I know that’s asking for too much in a country that is quite comfortable using the bodies and labor of Black women to literally become a global power while telling Black women to be happy singing

in the background.

I’m mad that an entire political party needs Black women’s votes to win local, state and national office, but doesn’t care about the needs of Black women. I’m mad that Black people don’t realize that when we tear down our candidates over bullshit like parentage, it doesn’t take much more than a leaked resignation letter or bad press to finish her off.

Kamala Harris did not run a perfect campaign and no, she wasn’t for everyone. If you look at some of the candidates left in the race – one who talks in Blaxploitationese, one who just discovered racism exists, one who is so clueless about toxic masculinity that he sprays whipped cream into the mouths of adoring supporters and one who is boo’ed up with Trump and White Supremacy, Inc., then there is no reason why a candidate like Harris, despite her missteps, should be out of the race this early. Yeah, some of it is her fault, but it ain’t all her fault.

The relentless assault on Senator Harris will not be forgiven or forgotten at the polls or otherwise by a whole lot of women who look like me. Black women are not here to push everyone else over the finish line while we finish last. Not today or any other day and certainly not anymore.

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.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Billy Dee Williams ‘Comes Out’ as Gender Fluid “I think of myself as a relatively colorful character who doesn’t take himself or herself too seriously,” Williams said.

Describing his role in Star Wars, Williams said the character was truly unique.

“What I presented on that screen people didn’t expect to see,” he shared. “And I deliberately presented something that nobody had experienced before: a romantic brown-skinned boy.”

Last year, shortly after Jonathan Kasdan, a writer on the Star Wars prequel “Solo,” confirmed that Williams character was pansexual (being attracted to people regardless of gender or sex), Glover said: “How can you not be pansexual in space?”

While Williams, who has been married to Teruko Nakagami since the 1970s, this is relatively the first time he’s come out with anything like this.

Remember Billy Dee in those suave Colt 45 beer commercials? He was the

by Derrick Lane, BlackDoctor.org

Actor Billy Dee Williams as always been seen as the smooth-talking, ladies man who made it look all too easy to get women to fall all over him. Even in characters like Louis in “Lady Sings the Blues” with Diana Ross or as the capewearing smuggler Lando Calrissian in the “Star Wars” universe–Williams always gets the girl and does it so effortlessly. He’s forever been cemented as being the epitome of masculinity and a “Man’s Man.” But now, in Williams own words, he not just masculine, not only feminine either–he’s a little bit of both, according to a recent profile in Esquire magazine.

“You see, I say ‘himself’ and ‘herself,’ because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine,” Williams, 82, told Esquire. “I’m a very soft person. I’m not afraid to show that side of myself.”

man! But does this new revelation make him less than manly?

For some people, gender is not just about being male or female; in fact, how one identifies can change… … every day or even every few hours.

Gender fluidity, when gender expression shifts between masculine and feminine, can be displayed in how we dress, express and describe ourselves.

Everyone’s gender exists on a spectrum, according to Dot Brauer, director of the LGBTQA Center at the University of Vermont. Progressive gender expression is the norm for the university, which offers gender-neutral bathrooms and allows students to use their preferred names.

“If you imagine the spectrum and imagine the most feminine expression you have ever seen and most masculine you have ever seen and just sort of imagine where you are on that,” Brauer said.

We need a healthcare system that supports the new American workforce

By Brent Messenger

Americans are increasingly leaving their traditional 9-to-5 jobs to work for themselves. Last year, nearly 57 million people performed freelance work -- up from 53 million in 2014.

The Affordable Care Act made this transition possible for many. It enabled millions of Americans, including those with pre-existing conditions, to purchase health insurance independent of their employer. Consequently, Americans can work independently without worrying that medical emergencies could destroy their finances.

As the head of community at Fiverr,

an online marketplace for independent work, I’ve seen first-hand how important affordable health care is for people to pursue freelancing. Yet policymakers have repeatedly tried to undermine the ACA. These efforts have caused premiums to increase, making coverage unfeasible for many.

Attacking the ACA further is a mistake.

Instead, lawmakers should protect and strengthen the law.

Independent work allows people to become their own bosses -- and boosts the economy.

Consider this hypothetical -- a small public relations firm occasionally needs to make some infographics. In past de-

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cades, that firm would have had to hire an in-house graphic designer. That’s expensive. And only designers within commuting distance could apply.

But now, the firm can engage a freelancer -- who could have many similar clients and earn a sizeable income. Indeed, in 2018, skilled freelancers in the top 25 markets for independent work generated over $135 billion in revenue.

Win-win scenarios like this help explain why freelancing contributes $1.4 trillion to the American economy annually.

Many Americans want to work independently but remain tethered to their employers for health benefits. Fifty-six percent of Americans cite health insurance as the reason they’ve stayed with their current employers.

The ACA sought to remove this barrier, and it largely succeeded -- at least under President Obama. In 2013, the year before most ACA provisions went into effect, only 64 percent of full-time independent workers had health insurance.

By 2016, that increased to 83 percent.

The ACA also spurred entrepreneurship. Consider a study from one Temple University researcher who analyzed the ACA provision that allowed young Americans to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26. Young people who received that coverage capitalized on the security it provided. They were up to three times more likely to start their own businesses.

Yet some politicians have relentlessly attacked the ACA. In late 2017, Congress neutered the law’s individual mandate -- the requirement that all Americans obtain insurance or pay a penalty.

The Trump administration has also allowed insurers to sell lightly regulated

14

plans that cover only some of the benefits included in standard ACA plans.

These politicians hope that, due to these reforms, young, healthy workers will forgo coverage or enroll in junk insurance plans. That would leave only older, sicker Americans in the ACA’s insurance exchanges. Premiums would surge, making plans unaffordable for millions of middle-class people who don’t receive subsidies.

Sadly, the efforts to undermine the law are working. Last year, exchange plan premiums rose 6 percent more than they would have absent this sabotage. The number of people enrolled in unsubsidized ACA plans plummeted from 6.3

million in 2016 to 3.8 million in 2018.

Politicians could promote entrepreneurship by restoring the individual mandate and taking steps to uncouple health insurance from employment. Such reforms are good policy and good politics. More than half of freelancers consider themselves politically active, compared to only a third of non-freelancers.

All Americans should be able to pursue independent work. Health coverage mustn’t stand in the way.

Brent Messenger is vice president of public policy & community engagement at Fiverr. This piece originally ran in the Houston Chronicle.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

#BlackGirlMagic: Congrats To Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi

by Jasmine Danielle, BlackDoctor.org

Did you ever think you’d live to see the day when a dark-skinned Black woman, donning a TWA (teeny weeny afro) unapologetically, would win the title of Miss Universe?

Today we celebrate another Black woman securing a major pageant title this year. Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi, was announced Miss Universe 2019 Sunday night and we couldn’t be more thrilled! She now joins the list of fierce Black women holding titles, including Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss America!

“Tonight a door was opened and I could not be more grateful to have been the one to have walked through it,” Tunzi, told the media after her triumphant win (h/t BBC News). “May every little girl who witnessed this moment forever believe in the power of her dreams and may they see their faces reflected in mine.”

Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi,

More than 90 women competed for the title of Miss Universe, including Miss USA 2019, Cheslie Kryst who honored Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings during the costume competition. What made this evening even more iconic was that it broadcast live from the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s also worth mentioning that the pageant included its first openly gay contestant, Swe Zin Htet of Myanmar (a country that criminalizes homosexuality).

Tunzi, a 26-year-old activist and public relations professional, beat Puerto Rico’s Madison Anderson and Mexico’s Sofia Aragon in the final three. She is the first Black woman to be crowned Miss Universe since Leila Lopes of Angola in 2011.

Representation matters. Young Black girls get to see themselves in women who are currently on the nation’s, and now the world’s stage and who are killing the game! We’re proud of all this

year’s winners, and even more proud of the platforms they stand upon, including Tunzi’s platform, which is centered on advocating for natural beauty and fighting gender-based violence.

“Zozibini Tunzi is a passionate activist and engaged in the fight against gender-based violence. She has devoted her social media campaign to changing the narrative around gender stereotypes.

She is a proud advocate for natural beauty and encourages women to love themselves the way they are.”

The timing couldn’t be any better.

Tunzi’s chocolate skin and natural hair serve as a symbol for the shift in beauty standards globally.

“Society has been programmed for a very long time that [it] never saw beauty in a way that was black girl magic, but now we are slowly moving to a time where women like myself can finally find a place in society, can finally know they’re beautiful,” said Tunzi onstage on Sunday night (h/t People).

The pageantry world is known for its unrealistic Eurocentric beauty standards, which have been under scrutiny for years, so this win is a win for all of us. Tunzi told Steve Harvey, the pageant’s host, that singing Beyonce’s Brown Skin Girl was part of her pageant prep during the week leading up to the big day.

“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me, with my kind of skin and my kind of hair, was never considered to be beautiful,” Tunzi told the press corp after being crowned. “I think that it is time that that stops today.”

Jasmine Danielle is the Associate Editor of BlackDoctor.org. She received her BFA in Dance Education & Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has since done work as a certified fitness & wellness educator, blogger, dancer, and designer.

CHILDHOOD DREAMS OVERCOME CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AS C. DAVID MODDY BUILDS BOOMING

BLACK-OWNED CONSTRUCTIONS BUSSINES IN ATLANTA

By Curtis Bunn, Urban News Service

C. David Moody’s path to creating one of the nation’s most successful blackowned construction firms began with Legos.

As a child in a Chicago apartment, he loved to build towers out of red and yellow plastic bricks. Today his firm, C.D. Moody Construction, has earn more than $3 billion business contracts. For the past 26 years, he has kept secret a childhood torment that dogged him at every chapter of his life.

Moody graduated from Morehouse College and Howard University, where he earned a Master’s degree. He built his business in Atlanta after working jobs in the industry that were not entirely satisfying.

Meanwhile, for more than two decades he hoped, unsuccessfully, that the memory of two sexual assaults allegedly perpetrated by a teenaged boy, who was a family member of his babysitter, would fade away.

They did not. And as Moody built his business, he was haunted by intolerable memories. “I began having panic attacks,” he said. “I tried to hide it. But when you do that, it makes it tougher.

You can’t be free and your torture yourself.”

Still, he ploughed on. He remained spellbound with the idea of building, starting his professional career in 1981 as an architect at behemoth Bechtel engineering firm in Reston, Virginia.

And while he appreciated his job, a field assignment altered the arc of his career.

“I volunteered to visit a nuclear power plant,” he recalled, “and that was it. I loved the noise, the action. And it came to me that I would be average at architecture, but great at construction.”

The idea for C.D. Moody Construction Company came in 1988 with ease; building the company did not. The young Moody needed the money and did not have much of it. But with the support of his wife, Karla, he took out a $4,000 loan and caught a lucky break. He won a small contract to help build Underground Atlanta, a mall concept that became one of the city’s most substantial attractions.

Soon, Moody received his first milliondollar contract working on Grady Hospital. Since then, Moody Construction has been a part of some of Atlanta’s elite projects, including Mercedes-Benz Stadium; the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at his alma mater; Olympic Stadium at Turner Field, the Maynard Jackson International Terminal at Hartsfield Jackson Airport; and the Atlanta History Center, among others.

Through it all, he remained tormented.

He calls 1992 “the worst year of my life.” It was then that the inner tumult became overbearing. “I had a breakdown,” he said. His sleep was interrupted by images. He had panic attacks in his car. After decades of holding in his secret in, he told Karla, his wife of 37 years.

A registered nurse, Karla was “shocked” and recommended therapy. Moody was

soon diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

He said he was in therapy twice, the last time for two years. All the while, he maintained a business that grew as it won more and more prominent jobs in Atlanta. But while he shared his past with his wife and their two children, once they were old enough to understand, he kept it from everyone else. He especially kept his secret from business partners.

“I was afraid they wouldn’t want to do

15

business with me,” he said, adding he thought potential partners would be concerned with his “mental state.”

Then, in 2012, as a panelist during an Operation PUSH event, Moody felt hopelessness among the young audience.

He suddenly did what he had considered unthinkable for much of his life: He spoke publicly about his abuse.

His point: I am a sexual abuse survivor.

If I can make it, you can, too.

That moment sparked another chapter in Moody’s life. He became an outspo-

ken advocate for sexually abused children, often speaking in public about his life and creating MoodySpeaks.com, a blog for survivors to tell their stories.

Every nine seconds, a child is sexually assaulted in America, according to the Rape, Assault and Incest National Network, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. “Many survivors fall into destructive lifestyles to hide the pain,” Moody wrote in one of his blogs.

That’s why he speaks up. “I had my wife and God (as support),” he said, “and my parents, mentors and football coach. . . You need support.

“Many survivors need to know there are people there for them. That’s why I speak up.”

It’s also why he wrote the book, “Fighting Through The Fear: My Journey of Healing From Child Sexual Abuse.”

“When I came along, I didn’t see anyone who looked like me in this business,” he said. “There is a great shortage of craftsmen. It’s a business where you can make a lot of money and do something important. What I love is every project is different, and yet all of them are special because I never dreamed I would build such special places.”

And there was a time that he did not expect to live in peace. “All because I spoke out in 1992 and freed myself,” he said. “I want that for other survivors… internal peace… It’s what I want for every survivor.” others.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Black News Channel In ‘The Red Zone’ Ready for Launch

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

As the historic launch on January 6, 2020, of the Black News Channel (BNC) approaches, officials can count members of Congress among those eagerly anticipating the new platform.

Congresswoman Karen Bass (DCalif.), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, the chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, joined a gathering of BNC officials, anchors, and other guests at a reception on December 3 in Washington, D.C., to toast the launch of the network.

“This has been long in the making,” said BNC’s Vice President of Community Affairs and former Tallahassee, Florida Mayor John Marks.

“When you see what we’ve done and what we’re going to do, it will knock your socks off,” Marks stated.

Bass called the fledgling channel a necessity for African Americans and others who seek a different perspective than what’s available through other news outlets.

“Right now, we have a lot of opinion in the news,” Bass stated.

“There are 54 members of the Congressional Black Caucus who want to be a part of this because you don’t see us, and you don’t hear about us [through mainstream news],” she said.

With a partnership with the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Black-owned newspapers and media companies, the BNC expects to fast become the top destination for all who want to consume African American news in print, on television and mobile

COMMENTARY:

devices.

An independent network that’s minority-owned and operated, BNC will be the nation’s only provider of 24/7 news programming dedicated to covering the unique perspective of African American communities.

The channel is the endeavor of the network’s visionaries and co-founders, Chairman J.C. Watts, Jr. and CEO Bob Brillante.

“I remember going to West Africa with a bipartisan delegation that included Democrat William Jefferson,” said Watts, the former Republican congressman out of Oklahoma.

“We saw the little huts and where they kept African people at the door of no return to never see Africa again. But we also saw clinics, doctors, the building of hospitals, lawyers, and others.

“And [Jefferson] went home and told his 90-year-old granddad that we saw doctors and lawyers and the building of hospitals. And, his 90-year-old granddad said, ‘I knew there was more.’

“That is the mission of the Black News Channel. There’s more to the African American community than what we see,” Watts stated.

During the December 3 reception, Watts participated in a fireside chat with Clarke and Waldo McMillan, the vice president of Legislative Affairs at Charter Communications.

“We don’t have as many opportunities to view ourselves and to have our narratives authentically portrayed through those who have similar experiences,” Clarke stated during the engaging chat before nearly 200 guests.

“What’s significant about the BNC is that it will be a reflection of people of African descent. In my district, I have people from around the world, the [Af-

rican] continent, the Caribbean, South and Central America.

“They’re all seeking knowledge and a viewpoint and lens that speak from their experience. So, I’m excited about this,” Clarke stated.

Watts noted that the BNC would be culturally specific.

“Rarely do you hear anyone on any network today talking about Sickle Cell Disease, which is a disease that primarily impacts African Americans,” Watts stated.

“And, when we talk about being culturally specific, we just had Thanksgiving.

By and large, when we’re talking about Thanksgiving dinner, African Americans are talking about cornbread dressing and sweet potato pie.

“By and large, white people talk about stuffing and pumpkin pie. That doesn’t mean we can’t interchange those dishes, but culturally specific to us would be sweet potato pie and cornbread dressing. We have different cultures, different meals.

“But, it’s a lot of things like that we never hear or see in mainstream media when it comes to African American culture.”

Watts also said it was important to acknowledge Charter Communications’ role in the launch of the BNC. “If someone thinks you can do this without distribution, it’s a pipedream.

Charter came along and bought into our vision and understood where we were going,” Watts stated.

“They could have seen it as risky, and I suspect that someone sitting at the table

said, ‘I’m not so sure,’ but they did it, and it made us real. Things have fallen into place. We have over 60 people employed in Tallahassee, and we have bureaus in New York, Atlanta, Washington, and other areas.”

Watts, who was a star quarterback in college and the Canadian Football League, then used a football analogy to describe where things currently stand with the BNC. “We’re in the Red Zone,” he stated.

“We’re about to raise our hands [signaling a touchdown] on January 6, and I would not be sitting here with Congresswoman Clarke, had it not been for Charter Communications saying, ‘We believe in the Black News Channel vision.’”

Michael Bloomberg, King of Stop and Frisk, Tries to Make Everyone Forget

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

In 2010 in New York City, 601,285 people were stopped-and-frisked by the New York City Police and 315,083 of them were Black. In 2011, 685,724 individuals were stopped and 350,743 were Black. Over 90 percent of those stopped by police where African American or Hispanic.

Michael Bloomberg was Mayor in New York from 2002 to 2013. When new Mayor Bill DeBlasio took office in 2014, and after an ACLU lawsuit against New York City, the stop and frisk program was greatly reduced. All the theories that stop-and-frisk reduced crime were disproven by crime stats going down along with the use of the policy.

Now Bloomberg is running for President and his use and endorsement of a policy targeted to minorities and members of the Muslim faith is again under discussion. This week Bloomberg lied and said he hadn’t been asked about stop-and-frisk until his run for The White House. Bloomberg’s money has allowed him a place on the national debate stage at a time when a creeping sense of doubt remains regarding the Democratic candidates currently competing.

There are now “more billionaires than Black people in the 2020 race,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) after Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) dropped out of the presidential race on December 3.

“Stop and frisk was an outdated and unfounded law enforcement policy of racial harassment. It harmed Black com-

munities and communities of color and did not make us any safer. Police officers regularly violated rights by stopping a disproportionate number of Black and Latino New Yorkers who they often threatened or physically harmed. These stops rarely ended in an arrest and mostly served to terrorize and criminalize our communities,” said Monifa Bandele, Vice President of MomsRising who is a long-time New York City resident and an expert on criminal justice.

The effects of this destructive policy had a profound psychological impact, too. It affected how young Black and Latino men lived their lives in their own neighborhoods, it increased feelings of stress, anxiety and trauma, increased racial discrimination in a city already struggling with massive inequality,”

16

Michael Bloomberg

Bandele told NNPA. But Bloomberg continues to attempt to minimize the impact of a policy that impacted thousands of New Yorkers over ten years during his time as Mayor. Even though the current presidential race just lost a candidate, Sen. Harris, who repeated the line “justice is one the ballot,” another candidate who is likely to bring up Bloomberg’s achilles heel will be on the stage. Sen. Booker is likely to bring up justice reform and stop-and-frisk if he is on stage with Bloomberg.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

House Passes Voting Rights Measure to Restore Portions of Law Gutted in 2015

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

More than four years after sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were taken out by the Supreme Court and following four attempts under a House led by Republicans, Rep. Terri Sewell’s (R-Ala.) bill to reinstate voting protections has finally passed.

“Voting is personal to me because it was on the streets of my hometown, Selma, that foot soldiers shed their blood on the Edmund Pettus Bride so that all Americans – regardless of race – could vote,” Sewell, who is African American, wrote on Twitter.

“I am so proud the House voted to #RestoreTheVote,” she added.

The measure, H.R. 4, passed by a 228187 margin, with all Democrats voting in favor while Sewell and Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick counted as the only Republicans to support the legislation.

Many are now calling on the Senate to take up the measure.

Rev. Dr. William Barber, the president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach and the architect of the Moral Mondays Movement in North Carolina, counts among those calling out Senate

leaders.

“The U.S. House passed legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act,” Barber stated.

“If [GOP Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell refuses to take it up in the Senate, he’s confessing that he believes the GOP can’t win without voter suppression.”

Gerrymandering, unfair voter I.D. laws, and intimidation at the polls are among the tactics being used to prevent voters of color from casting votes, stated Marcela Howell, the founder, and president of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda.

“Passage of the Voting Rights Advancement Act by the House is a first step toward restoring our democracy. We applaud the House of Representatives for passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019,” Howell stated.

“The wholesale disenfranchisement of voters threatens our democracy. Conservative lawmakers across the country are pulling out all the stops to prevent people of color – especially Black people – from exercising our right to vote,” she stated.

Howell continued: “We didn’t march and die fighting for our right to vote only to have that right denied us in this new Jim Crow era –fueled by the racist policies of conservative state legislators and the terrible decision in Shelby v. Holder by the Supreme Court that rein-

forced these oppressive laws.

“We call on Sen. Mitch McConnell to follow the leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop the assault on voting rights by scheduling a Senate vote on the Voting Rights Advancement Act as soon as possible.

“We encourage voters across the country to unite in resistance by holding their elected representatives accountable and, most of all, by exercising their right to vote in local, state, and federal elections.”

Sewell’s bill initially would cover 11 states, including nine in the South, and also California and New York.

The bill would require all states to get federal approval for election changes known to disproportionately affect voters of color, like strict voter I.D. laws, tighter voter registration requirements, and polling place closures in areas with large numbers of minority voters.

The Voting Rights Act is perhaps the most significant piece of civil rights legislation in U.S. history, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated.

For more than 50 years, the law stood as a powerful force to prevent the type of racial discrimination in voting that marred America’s history before the bill’s passage, Schumer stated.

“The Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Shelby County v. Holder gutted this critical legislation and unleashed a surge of pernicious Republican-led voter

suppression laws,” he continued.

“The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act. This is a critical step towards restoring the protections of the Voting Rights Act and beating back the scourge of voter suppression,” Schumer added.

He continued: “The right to vote is the very wellspring of our democracy. Generations have organized, protested, marched, and died to extend the franchise to all Americans.

“It is incumbent upon every member of Congress to continue to fight to increase, rather than impede, access to the ballot box and ensure that every eligible American can have their voice heard. I urge Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring this legislation to the floor of the Senate.

Voting rights are simply too important to be banished to Leader McConnell’s legislative graveyard.”

Official portrait of Rep. Terri Sewell., U.S. House of Representatives

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Unmade in America: Industrial Flight and the Decline of Black Communities

New report explores high black joblessness causes, impact, solutions; Reversal rests in infrastructure, workforce training and trade rules

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — A report explores the wide gaps in white and black joblessness and identifies the roots of the problem to industrial flight in once thriving manufacturing centers that gave African Americans a path to the middle class.

The report, Unmade in America: Industrial Flight and the Decline of Black Communities, goes beyond current statistics that show national black youth jobless rates at 27 percent—nearly double that of white youths. The report examines the multi-generational impact of plant closings, outsourcing and housing discrimination in trapping black communities in concentrated poverty. While high joblessness is the obvious outcome of deindustrialization, other casualties include crime, educational inequity and fractured neighborhoods.

“Unmade in America touches on an array of issues that surface a story hiding in plain sight,” said report author Gerald Taylor, a research fellow with the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM). “The story began with the postWorld War II manufacturing boom that created the world’s greatest economic power for white and black American working families. But when manufacturing began to decline, industrial flight snatched the livelihoods of these workers — and black workers suffered the most.”

The spiral down in the 1970s continued into the 21st Century. More than 63,000 factories have closed since 2001. Over a

15-year period alone (between 1998 and 2013), an estimated 5.7 million manufacturing jobs were lost.

The report spotlights a tale of many cities, the long-term impact in large industrial hubs like St. Louis, Baltimore, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Birmingham.

What they share in common is a once thriving industrial sector and the depleted remains of industrial flight in search of cheap labor overseas and unfair trade policies.

The report points to the author’s hometown, Youngstown, Ohio as a microcosm of how black communities have been unmade. A steel industry mecca in the post-World War II era, Youngstown enjoyed full employment until the drum-

beat of plant closings and massive job lost signaled by the shuttering of a major steel plant in 1971. Without prior notice, that closing instantly threw nearly 5,000 workers into unemployment.

What followed was the rippling failure of other businesses, decline of the city’s tax base and flight of the white middle class. Many black residents, saddled by housing discrimination that limited their mobility, remained trapped in perpetual joblessness, poverty, crime and neighborhood decay. Today, demographers describe Youngstown, reduced from a population of 170,000 to 64,000, as America’s fastest shrinking city with the highest level of concentrated black poverty.

Despite the plummeting economic status of black communities, AAM President Scott Paul said the problems can be reversed with a three-prong approach that includes infrastructure investment, innovative workforce development and fully enforced trade laws that are fair and ensure U.S. workers benefit.

“Manufacturing job loss consumes communities, not just workers. At the same time, manufacturing jobs represent new opportunities and hope.” Paul said. “The key is getting policy right. We must invest in workforce development and America’s crumbling infrastructure programs, and vigorously fight against unfair trade practices if we’re to stop industrial flight and build up our middleclass. Now is the time for our lawmakers to invest, invest, invest.”

For more information on Unmade in America, visit AmericanManufacturing. org.

This article originally appeared in San Bernardino American News.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

Water Treatment NOTICE

Water Treatment Pumping Operator I - The Town of Wallingford’s Water Division is seeking qualified candidates to maintain and operate the water treatment plants, pump stations, and well MACRI facilities.RENTAL Must process a High School Diploma or G.E.D with one VALENTINA HOUSING PREAPPLICATIONS AVAILABLE (1) year of experience involving the operation or maintenance of equipment of the type predominant in the of water treatment industry. to obtain within one (1) HOME INC, on behalf Columbus House and theAbility New Haven Housing Authority, year, State of Connecticut DPH for Class I Water Treatment Plant Operator’s is accepting pre-applications studio and one-bedroom apartments at Certificate, this develClass I Water Distribution System Operator Certification and income successful completion opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven.

Maximum limitations apof an water treatment plant operator’s certificate $25.96 - $31.55 ply.approved Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PMprogram. beginning Monday Ju;y hourly plus an fringe sufficient benefit package.

Apply: Department of Human Re25, 2016 andexcellent ending when pre-applications (approximately 100) have sources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492.

The been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon reclosing will beHOME the dateINC theat50th application/resume is received, Decemberpre16, questdate by calling 203-562-4663 during those hours. or Completed 2019 whichever occurs first.

EOE applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

Construction

Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, operaNOTICIA tor and teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. Reliable personal transportation a validDEdrivers license required. ToDISPONIBLES apply please VALENTINA MACRI and VIVIENDAS ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está 368, Cheshire, CT06410. aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicadoAffirmative en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V máximos. Las pre-solicitudesDrug estaránFree disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 Workforce julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

The Glendower Group, Inc

Invitation for Bid Snow Removal Services – 3rd Party Sites

NEW HAVEN

The Glendower Group, Inc an affiliate of Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking bids for 242-258 Fairmont Ave Snow Removal Services at Third Party Sites. A complete copy of the 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, level ,Collaboration 1BA requirement may be obtained from Elm3BR, City’s1Vendor All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway highways, near bus stop & shopping center beginning on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 3:00PM Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

Request for Proposals Development of Single Family Homeownership Housing

St. New Haven, CT

The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Proposals for Development of Single Family Homeownership Housing. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning Wednesday, November 2019 atAuthority 3:00PM. of the Town of Seymour Sealedonbids are invited by the20, Housing

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Invitation for Bid

A pre-bid conference&will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Lead Abatement Interim Control Measures in 4 Developments Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

The Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking bids for Lead Abatement & Interim Control Measures in 4 Developments. A Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority Ofcomplete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collabofice,Portal 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579. ration https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, November 3:00PM The Housing Authority reserves the right25 to at accept or reject any or all bids, to

reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the Housing Authority.

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.

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

Project Manager/Project Supervisor

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Help Wanted: Immediate opening for a Project Manager/ProjOld Saybrook, CT ect Supervisor for Heavy and Highway Construction. Previous (4 Buildings, 17 Units) experience on CTDOT projects required.

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

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

Autoridad de Vivienda de Branford, Parkside Village II Aceptar solo solicitudes para apartamentos de eficiencia New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Cast- II/ no Utilities A partir de $592 mensuParkside Village in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, ales, Max. Ingresos Please call PJF Construction Corp. @ 860-888-9998.

We are an equal opportunity employer M/F

Town of Bloomfield

Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Límite: Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

1 persona $52,850, Contacto: This contract subject to state set-aside andIcontract compliance requirements.

FullisTime –Benefited Librarian Merit Properties, Inc., 1224 Mill St., Bldg. A Part Time – Non-Benefited Librarian I Berlín Oriental CT 06023, correo electrónico: info@ Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 merit-properties.net, 860-828-0531 ext. 204 Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 For more details on Project how to documents apply visit available www.bloomfieldct.org via ftp link below: Pre-Employment drug testing required.

EOE/AA http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

$37.58 hourly

Branford Housing Authority, Parkside Village II

Accepting Applications for Efficiency Apartments Only Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com Elderly 62+/Disabled 18+ Community HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses

QSR Haynes STEEL CORPORATION Parkside Village II/no Utilities Starting at $592 a month, Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483

APPLY NOW!

AA/EEO EMPLOYER

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

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Max. Income Limit: 1 person $52,850, Contact: Merit Properties, Inc., 1224 Mill St., Bldg. A #102, East Berlin CT 06023, e-mail: info@merit-properties.net, 860-828-0531 ext.204

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

DELIVERY PERSON

NOTICE

Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT VALENTINA MACRIhourly RENTAL PREAPPLICATIONS AVAILABLE We offer excellent rateHOUSING & excellent benefi ts Contact: Tom Dunay Phone: 860- 243-2300 HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, Email: Tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com isWomen accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply apartments at this development located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven.

Maximum income limitations apAffirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon reGarrity Asphalt Incduring seeks: Must quest by calling HOME Reclaiming, INC at 203-562-4663 those hours. Completed pre-Have your Own Vehicle applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. 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: MACRI rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com VALENTINA VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply AffiINC, rmative Action/ Opportunity HOME en nombre deEqual la Columbus House yEmployer de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos 1907 máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 Hartford Turnpike Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction North Haven, CT 06473 julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) Equipment.

Must a CDL clean driving en las oficinas de have HOME INC. License, Las pre-solicitudes seránrecord, enviadas por correo a petición capable operating equipment; be willing to travel llamandoofa HOME INCheavy al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse throughout theenNortheast & Street, NY. tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 . a las oficinas de HOME INC 171 Orange Insulation company offering good pay We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits and benefits. Please mail resume to Contact Dana at 860-243-2300.

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com above address.

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply MAIL ONLY Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

NEEDED

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

If Interested call

(203) 435 -1387

NOTICIA

KMK Insulation Inc.

Union Company seeks:

Coventry Housing Authority is accepting applications for its Section 8 Elderly/Disabled housing. Annual income limit is $21,200 (one person) & $24,200 (two people), Also accepting applications for its State Elderly/ Disabled housing. Annual income limit is $52,850 (one person) & $60,400 (two people). Interested parties may pick up an application at the Coventry Housing Authority, 1630 Main St., Coventry, CT, or have one mailed. Completed applications must be postmarked or hand delivered no later than January 31, 2020. For more information call 860-742-5518.

NEW HAVEN POLICE NOW HIRING

Mechanical Insulator position.

This company is an Affirmative Action/

NEW HAVEN

Apply online at Policeapp.com

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS 242-258 Fairmont Ave HACD Corp.

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 Housing level , 1BA Supportive Program

Or Visit our Social Media Pages SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close P19008 to I-91 & I-95 For More Information Old Saybrook, CT RFP No. highways, near bus stop & shopping center (4 Buildings, 17 Units) HACD Corp. is seeking proposals for a NHPDrecruitment Nhpdrecruitment New Haven Police Department Recruitment Team Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project structured independent living environment for low/very low-income individuals who SCOPE: CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castmay or may not be experiencing Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, homelessness. in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

CONTACT PERSON: St. New Haven, CT

Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework,

Ms. Devin Marra, Director of Procurement Telephone: 203-744-2500 x141 Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

E-Mail: dmarra@hacdct.org

CONSTRUCTION HELP WANTED

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 Contact Ms. Devin Marra, via e-mail.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY LaRosa Building Group is looking for people interested in construction Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

HOW TO OBTAIN THE RFP DOCUMENTS:

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour

for a project in New Haven.

Project documents available via ftp link below: 98 Elm Street, Danbury, CT 06811 PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE: until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its officeDecember at 28 Smith Street, 11, 2019 at 2:00 PM (EST) http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the HACD Corp.

Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

New Haven and Section 3 residents are encouraged to apply.

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com 2 Mill Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06811 For applications: HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL RETURN: Envelope Must be Marked: RFP P19008 HaynesNo. Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Visit the job site at 300 Wilmot Rd, New Haven CT., Supportive Housing Program AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL December 20, 2019 at 2:00PM (EST) DEADLINE Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority Of-

fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

[Minority- and/or women-owned businesses are encouraged to respond]

The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the Housing Authority.

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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 -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

Grim Holiday Season for Nigerian Farmers

Cattler Herders Devastate Crops, Leading To Bloody Clashes

By Douglas Burton, Urban News Service, When Musa, a farmer in Northeastern Nigeria, heard the rustle of hooves, he knew there would be trouble. The 58-year-old told his wife and children to run to the next village for help. He knew the lumbering herd of long-horned cattle was likely owned by Fulani herdsmen.

Armed with a single-shot “Dane gun” he soon confronted a group of herders on his farm. However, despite his firearm, he was soon overwhelmed by Fulani herdsmen armed with machetes, according to Rev. Adamu, his pastor.

“He was slashed badly on his scalp and neck and left for dead,” says Rev. Adamu, who employed Musa as a part-time security guard at his parish house. “By the grace of God, he managed to stagger home, though bleeding badly.” Musa was taken to a hospital in Hong where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.

Late November means harvest time for many in West Africa, but it means tragedy and fear for thousands of small-plot farmers along with Nigeria’s savannah states. To the thousands of displaced persons in Adamawa State, the cattle herds are often compared to a Biblical plague.

There are no fences to stop them from devouring three-acre plots of beans, corn, maize and yams in the Hong Local Governance Area, a part of the troubled state.

“See the cattle blocking the road, said Adamu, Nov. 21, as he pointed to the endless mass of long-horned white cattle on each side of his car. “There are tens of thousands of them. These are the animals that have been eating up all my people’s crops for two weeks,” he said on a call to Urban News Service. “My people will have no food this winter, and nothing to

sell.”

As many as two million Nigerians have been internally displaced in recent years due to such herdsman attacks or terrorism, according to the International Committee on Nigeria, a U.S.-based NGO. Many of the victims already had fled from bloody ethnic cleansing in other areas. Indeed this part of Nigeria is home to two competing conflicts. Boko Haram and other Da’esh-linked Nigerian terrorists have been attacking uniformed security and hapless civilians since 2010.

While this conflict has received much international attention, a less understood conflict over scarce water and arable land have been far bloodier in this region of Nigeria.

Such phenomena are happening every year all over the troubled states of Nigeria’s North and the central states called the Middle Belt. The clash over land and water in Africa’s most populous nation has a religious dimension too, according to some analysts. The cattle herders are predominantly Muslim and of the Fulani ethnicity, whereas many of the farmers are Christian.

Musa, a part-time security guard for Rev. Adamu in Hong, Local Governance Area, with his wounds. Credit: Rev. Adamu “The farmer-herder conflict has become Nigeria’s gravest security challenge, now claiming far more lives than the Boko Haram insurgency” according to a report from the International Crisis Group Adamu has seen the victims of both conflicts in his parish, which covers small churches in more than a dozen locations in Hong. He asked that his real name be withheld to reduce his chance of being kidnapped by Boko Haram, or Fulani-terrorist kidnapping gangs which

are behind an epidemic of kidnapping for ransom.

Musa may have been one of the lucky ones. Seven people were killed. More than 30 were treated for wounds from machetes, arrows or gunshots within the Hong Local Government Area (LGA) alone, according to Adamu. Some believe the new Fulani raids on farms near Hong are deliberate.

“The herders deliberately have moved their herds to Hong where new plots have sprung up,” Adamu said.

Cattle ranching in Nigeria is rare, although the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is himself a Fulani, believes it can provide a solution to the violence. During the last 30 years, open savannah has produced less forage for herds, possibly due to desertification and climate change. At the same time, the rapidly expanding population has put more entrepreneurial farmers into the open bushland to plant crops.

The Fulani tribe is one of the most influential groups in West Africa, whose numbers approach 35 million. Historically, the Fulani people are Sunni Muslims, although some Fulani are Christians. Many Fulani feel that farmers, pushed by Nigeria’s growing population, are encroaching on land they have grazed for centuries.

More than 2,000 people were murdered in herder-farmer clashes in 2018, the Associated Press reported.

Some Nigerian émigré communities in the United States have been advocating for the Trump Administration to intercede in the Nigerian conflict to force the Buhari-led government to stop what they consider ethnic cleansing in several Northern Nigerian States.

Stephen Enada, spokesman for the International Committee on Nigeria.

“Evidence of the criminal culpability of the Muhammadu Buhari government has been piling up for four years,” says Ste-

phen Enada, founder of the U.S. -based ICON. “Criminal complicity of the government or collusion with lawbreakers in the Fulani community needs investigation, which is unlikely to happen while Buhari is in power.”

ICON has warned repeatedly that the continuing insurgency and ethnic cleansing is driving Nigeria towards a policy of two-tiered justice — where Christians are treated as second class citizens and their rights not respected.

“Buhari is the patron of the cattle-herding associations that are behind the ethnic cleansing,” said Chinedu Ukwuani, the president of the African Christian Fellowship (ACF) in Hyattsville, Maryland in an interview with Urban News Service. The ACF has joined a letterwriting campaign organized by Africa United For Peace to appeal to the White House for formal sanctions against Nigeria.

Stacey Abrams to executive produce CBS drama Atlanta Voice

Political powerhouse Stacey Abrams is stepping into the entertainment industry.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Abrams has inked a deal with CBS to executive produce a show based on a novel she wrote.

Abrams is getting into television. The former Georgia lawmaker and votingrights advocate will executive produce a drama in development at CBS The book—titled Never Tell—was released under Abrams’ alias Selena Montgomery. The novel, which made its debut 15 years ago, follows the journey

of criminal psychologist Dr. Erin Abbott.

While investigating the whereabouts of a serial killer in New Orleans, she crosses paths with a local journalist and they end up forming a relationship. Talicia Raggs will serve as the writer for the project. Abrams will executive produce the project alongside Denise Di Novi and Nina Tassler.

Abrams—who served in the Georgia House of Representatives and as minority leader—is very passionate about writing. She has penned eight novels.

The last book that she released under the Selena Montgomery moniker was titled Deception which is centered around

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a woman who has to return to her hometown following a murder mystery. Although she likes to keep her political and literary work separate, Abrams says that both worlds are undeniably intertwined.

“Leadership requires the ability to engage and to create empathy for communities with disparate needs and ideas.

Telling an effective story—especially in romantic suspense—demands a similar skill set,” she told The Washington Post in an interview. “When I began writing novels, I read Aristotle to learn how to perfect structure, Pearl Cleage to sustain tension and Nora Roberts for characterization.

“Good romantic suspense can never underestimate the audience, and the best political leaders know how to shape a compelling narrative that respects voters and paints a picture of what is to come.”

There is no word on when Abrams’ project will be released.

Abrams is pushing national Democrats to treat Georgia as a 2020 battleground and to follow her 2018 strategy nationwide by expanding the Democratic electorate.

This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

ARTS FUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD CULTURAL VITALITY GRANT

call 203-946-7172 for info

We Care.

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

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.

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.

INFORMATION SESSIONS 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

To learn more, please visit rwater.com

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

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

December 11, 2019 - December 17, 2019

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Equipment, taxes and other charges extra and subj. to change.

See details below.

Offer ends 1/12/20. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. Limited to the Standard Triple Play for new residential customers. Early termination fee applies. Equipment, taxes and fees, including Broadcast TV Fee (up to $14.95/mo.) and Regional Sports Fee (up to $8.75/mo.) extra, and subject to change during and after agreement term. After term, regular rates apply. Pricing subject to change. Actual speeds vary and not guaranteed. For factors affecting speed visit www.xfinity.com/networkmanagement. All devices must be returned when service ends. © 2020 Comcast. All rights reserved. Subscriptions required to access Netflix and Prime Video. E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial © 2020 Universal City Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved. NPA229293-0003 NED AA Q4 HOL V6

135836_NPA229293-0003 N ET Holiday_v6_NewHaven_9.25x10.5.indd 1

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