INNER-CITY NEWS

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August INNER-CITY NEWS July24, 27,2016 2016 -- August August30, 02, 2016 2016

Financial Justice Key Focus atLife 2016 NAACP Convention New Haven Girl aOvercomes Changing Surgery New Haven, Bridgeport

INNER-CITYNEWS 2198 Volume 21 No. 2194

Black Lives Matter

“DMC” Color Struck?

Targets Chief Malloy Malloy To To Dems: Dems:

Ignore Ignore“Tough “ToughOn OnCrime” Crime”

Nate Parker:

SnowVictim? in July?

Hill Central Teachers FOLLOW US ON 1 1

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

The Zoo just got a little cooler!

2016 SPECIAL FEATURE AFRICAN PENGUINS ICNEWS516

50% OFF BEARDSLEY ZOO

CHILD ADMISSION (ages 3-11)

with purchase of adult ticket and this coupon.

Limit 1 free ticket per household. May not be combined with other offers. EXPIRES: 12/31/16

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

We know our kids can succeed.

Together, we can help them rise.

As parents, you can help. Know the ART of School Success: Attend school everyday Read with your child everyday Talk with your child about his or her day www.nhps.net

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@nhschoolchange

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

John P. Thomas Publisher / CEO

Back to School Spending Expected To Increase This Year

by Cara Rosner

Babz Rawls Ivy

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

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

Editorial Team Staff Writers

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

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

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

________________________

Contributors At-Large Christine Stuart www.CTNewsJunkie.com

Paul Bass New Haven Independent www.newhavenindependent.org

Memberships

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

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Ct. JUNKIE NEWS

Families with school-age children are planning to spend more money on back-to-school shopping than they did last year, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation.

Total spending among K-12 and college consumers is projected to reach $75.8 billion nationwide this year, up from $68 billion last year, the trade group found.

“Families are still looking for bargains but there are signs that they are less worried about the economy than in the past,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement. “We fully expect retailers to be aggressive with offering great deals both in stores and online for back-to-school shoppers.”

Families with children entering kindergarten through 12th grade are on track to spend an average of

$637.57 on clothing and accessories, electronics, shoes and school supplies, up from $630.36 last year.

Overall, K-12 spending on those things is expected to reach $27.3 billion this year, according to the NRF, up almost 10 percent from $24.9 billion last year.

K-12 parents plan to spend the most money on clothing (an average of $235.39) and electronics ($204.96), the survey found.

The NRF cites growing consumer confidence in the economy as a main factor in people spending more money as they get ready to head back to school.

While 43 percent of those surveyed said they are shopping for sales and 32 percent are comparing prices online, the number who plan to spend less overall fell from 27 percent last year to 23 percent this year.

The annual survey was conducted for the NRF by Ohio-based Prosper

Insights and polled 6,809 consumers between June 30 and July 6.

“The budget-conscious consumer is not forgetting about price, quality or value, and we continue to see this when it comes to back-to-school shopping,” Prosper analyst Pam Goodfellow, who helped conduct the survey, said in a statement. “That is why many parents are taking advantage of shopping early, scouring ads and websites for the best deals, and taking advantage of free shipping with online purchases.”

Families with children in college plan to spend slightly less this year than last year on back-toschool shopping. According to the survey, they plan to spend an average of $888.71 this year, down a little from $899.18 last year.

Even with that slight dip, the NRF found overall spending among families with college students is

expected to grow - from $43.1 billion last year to $48.5 billion this year - because more consumers will be doing back-to-school shopping.

Those heading back to college typically spend more on school needs than younger students, Shay noted.

“Whether it’s laptops for class or mini-fridges for the dorm, college simply costs more than the lower grades,” he said. “Some of these big-ticket items can last all four years but when they need to be replaced it’s a bigger investment than pencils and lunchboxes.”

College consumers plan to spend the most money, $11.5 billion, on electronics, followed by $7.5 billion on clothing and $6.2 billion on dorm furnishings, the survey found.

In Connecticut, all purchases on clothing and footwear priced at below $100 is tax free through Saturday, Aug. 27.

Petition Drive Launched To Get Malloy To Support Fines for Large Corporations

by Christine Stuart Ct. JUNKIE NEWS

The Connecticut Working Families Party started a petition drive Friday asking Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to support legislation that would fine large employers who don’t pay their employees $15 an hour.

The Working Families Party and their allies in labor have complained that large, profitable corporations pay their workers so little that most qualify for statesponsored benefits, such as Medicaid and food stamps. The Office of Fiscal Analysis has estimated that fining companies with more than 500 employees would raise about $305 million annually for the state.

The legislature has debated some version of the bill for the past three years, but has not passed it. A version of the bill was raised and then tabled in the Senate in the April. However, it was amended to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020.

Language to fine large employers was stripped through an amendment.

“I’m always willing to study things,” Malloy said Friday at an event at the Connecticut Science Center.

He declined to say whether he would support the legislation if it made it to his desk.

“What I have concentrated on and will continue to concentrate on, is making sure we are steadily increasing the minimum wage,” Malloy said.

The minimum wage is scheduled

CHRISTINE STUART PHOTO

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy talks to youngsters Friday at the Connecticut Science Center

to increase to $10.10 an hour on Jan. 1, 2017, but Malloy said they may need to engage in a discussion about how to increase the minimum wage further over the next few years.

“That’s the appropriate approach to take to that issue,” Malloy said.

Carlos Moreno, communications director for the Connecticut Working Families Party, said they appreciate the governor’s willingness to engage in a conversation about an increase in the minimum wage, but he believes the two concepts go hand-in-hand.

He said they would like to see the state implement a $15 an hour mini-

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mum wage, but absent that they still believe larger employers who are paying their employees less than a living wage should be fined.

The legislation targets companies like Walmart, McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts.

The Working Families Party launched a petition drive to encourage the governor to find a way to lend his support to the issue. They estimate there are 83,000 working poor families in Connecticut.

“These workers are exploited, and the services they then rely on are a strain on our state

budgets,” the petition reads.

But Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said increasing the minimum wage is not a solution to the problem.

“At worst, raising the minimum wage will accelerate a spiral of disparity between the economic classes, a loss of jobs, and an increase in costs for low and middle income families. A false economy is not the answer,” Fasano said.

“The best way to increase wages is to have a healthy and robust economy where employers will increase wages to find employees.”

Fasano said legislation to fine larger employers who don’t pay their employees at least $15 an hour is a “money grab” by the state.

“How does a Connecticut resident benefit when the money is going into the state coffers? Does anyone believe that the penalty fee going to the state will make its way back to the people making minimum wage?” Fasano asked.

He said it’s just another tax by the state.

A Low Wage Employee Advisory Board was created by the legislature in 2015. The 13-member board just wrapped up a handful of public hearings and its next meeting is on Sept. 14.

The board was created to study and monitor the cause and effect of large businesses paying low wages, the minimum wage, and the amount of benefits the state pays to the working poor.

Baton Passed, Poetically THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

by LUCY GELLMAN NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

When Hanifa Washington stepped to the front of 101 Threads to deliver her poem “Beneath the Sea,” still inky on paper and new on her tongue, she didn’t have any idea what Literary Happy Hour was, or exactly what she was getting herself into.

The June 10 event was Juneteenththemed: she knew only that she was going to try hard to do it justice.

“The corridor was about 50 feet,”she began. Honeycomb, light, just two feet above head.

The body suit I was wearing made my heart heavy.

Eyes followed her as she began to walk the length of the room, reciting as she moved. One foot touched the floor, heel-toe, then the other. Running the event, Literary Happy Hour Curator Ifeanyi Awachie watched, transfixed.

“One step. Two. Another,” Washington read. “With each step my breath grew with panic.”

Washington crossed the room again. The audience stuck with it. But even in the tense moment, Awachie felt a sudden sense of calm. She was seeing someone who, with every fiber of her being, was embracing the space she had built with almost no money.

And she saw a glimmer of something else, someone who was

CHRIS RANDALL PHOTO Washington:

Assuming Lit Happy Hour reins.

PRECIOUS MUSA PHOTO

The crowd and Washington at the summer’s first July Lit Happy Hour.

hungry to create more poetry in New Haven, and to keep the lyrical conversation going.

Awachie was onto something. A month after Washington performed at one of the summer’s Literary Happy Hour salons, she offered to take over the event as Awachie prepared to leave New Haven for graduate school at SOAS, an arm of the University of London. And Awachie, thrilled, accepted. For months she had been voluntarily running the series, in which area poets perform and take part in a talk back, and didn’t know if it would live on after her departure.

“Originally I didn’t know if it was going to continue,” she said in an interview with the Independent earlier this month. “I was doing this very intensive work for free, and was worried that it would have to end it at end of the summer.”

Washington, communications director for CEIO, program coordinator at The Word, and an unpaid worker bee with Westville’s monthly Permission to Fail events, wasn’t planning on taking on another job, much less one without funding.

But, she said, the position was in her blood. It felt instinctive, bridging her backgrounds in community organizing and arts outreach.

“Ever since I was young and my mom was a community organizer, I’ve always enjoyed people com-

ing together,” she said in an interview with the Independent. “That feeling of people coming together — always with music, always with dancing. Mixing organizing and fun and art is who I am.”

It was more than that. While performing at her first Literary Happy Hour which doubled as her first interaction with the series she had observed a singular space that was made for creative people of color, by creative people of color. There hadn’t been something quite like that in New Haven before, at least not for her, and she couldn’t bear the thought of it shriveling up.

“It was just one of those things where I looked at her [Awachie], my spirit sort of jumped, and I said: ‘Let’s talk,’” Washington recalled of her initial offer, made after Awachie’s declaration that the series might just end at the end of the summer. “To me it was clear ... so many things were moving in a synergistic way that it just made sense.”

“I see Lit Happy Hour as something that is not replicating the system,” she added. “It’s welcoming people into a new way of being together. I see it as a pioneering tool, saying: ‘Here: This is how it can look.’ The literary arts, being together this is how it can look. This is important applauding and celebrating writers and art-

Head of Early Childhood Office Departs

by Jack Kramer Ct. JUNKIE NEWS

The head of the Office of Early Childhood, Myra JonesTaylor, is resigning from her position effective Sept. 1.

Jones-Taylor was originally appointed as executive director for the newly created Office of Early Childhood (OEC) in June 2013.

In May 2014, when the OEC became an independent, cabinet-level agency, she became commissioner.

She was re-appointed to the position in January 2015. Jones-Taylor had previously served as director of the state Office of Early Childhood

CTNEWSJUNKIE FILE PHOTO

Myra Jones-Taylor and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy at a Meriden headstart program announcing the formation of the office in June 2014

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Planning since 2012, a position aimed at creating a statewide plan for a coordinated early care and education system for young children.

Under her stewardship, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said, the Office of Early Childhood has secured over $50 million in new federal grant money and boosted publicly funded preschool capacity by nearly 3,000 spaces.

“I leave the agency knowing that an uncompromising commitment to do what is right and just for the families we serve is woven into the fabric of the Office of Early Childhood,” Jones-Taylor said.

Jones-Taylor is leaving to seek other professional opportunities, according to a press release announcing her departure.

“Under Myra’s steady leadership, Connecticut has increased access to and availability of early childhood education it’s so critical,’’ Malloy said. “Her passion, expertise, and dedication to the well-being of children especially those impacted by poverty are extraordinary.”

Malloy said he will announce a successor in the coming weeks.

In the interim, Deputy Commissioner Linda Goodman will serve as the acting commissioner.

Black Lives Matter Targets Chief THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

ist group, but reached out to several, including Black Lives Matter New Haven, Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ), and Unidad Latina en Accion.

Esserman, she said, “seems uninspired to change.”

Tuesday also saw a cop shooting of a 39-year-old allegedly suicidal man with a knife at public housing facility Ruoppolo Manor in Fair Haven. John referenced this as evidence of poor departmental training.

“That’s someone who trained under Chief Esserman,” she said. “He did not bring community policing to New Haven.”

State investigators are looking into the incident, a standard requirement when a local officer shoots someone.

Norman Clement, an organizer with ANSWER CT, stopped passersby to urge them to sign a petition demanding Harp remove Esserman from his position.

The petition reads as follows: “We, the undersigned, demand that as a result of his misleadership of the NHPD and his multiple documented outbursts that Chief Esserman be immediately removed from his position at the New Haven Police Department. Further, we demand an independent review of all civilian complaints filed against any officer during Esserman’s tenure as Chief and that serious and immediate disciplinary action be taken against any officer who has abused their power against our city.”

Noon (who declined to give his last name) came to support from Bridgeport.

Since Saturday, Clement said, he has filled pages with almost 100 signatures.

“Free us from Esserman, Toni Harp,” Lia Miller-Granger, one of the leaders of Black Lives Matter New Haven, yelled at the corner of Church and George Streets. She called the chief the “oppressor in this instance” and called on Harp

by ALIYYA SWABY NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Racial justice activists protested in front of City Hall and the police station Tuesday afternoon to demand Mayor Toni Harp fire police Chief Dean Esserman in the wake of his publicized angry outbursts and inability to properly discipline officers who act out.

A couple of dozen demonstrators from at least six different local activist groups Tuesday afternoon reproached Mayor Harp for her inaction on the matter, a day after she announced Esserman would go on an extended sick leave, using accrued time.

It is believed that she is negotiating a financial deal for Esserman to leave office; his contract runs until January.

Organizers of Tuesday’s protests said the issue of the chief’s conduct has united everyone in the city, drawing in groups with various missions.

Two separate small groups of about 10 people gathered at City Hall and the police station at 3:30 p.m., then joined together across the street from Gateway Community College on Church Street at 5 p.m. and marched back to City Hall. They raised signs and called out chants such as, “Esserman is really shitty.

Get your ass out of my city!”

Organizer Barbara Fair said the police station represents the location where the problem started, with the chief. She said City Hall represents where the problem is now—with the mayor, for not firing Esserman. She called for it to end at City Hall.

“Negotiating with a bully is setting a really bad precedent,” she said.

“There’s one person who has the power to wipe this all away,” she added, referring to Harp.

“Why isn’t he fired? How much cause do you need to fire someone?” organizer Catherine John asked. She is not linked to a specific activ-

ALIYYA SWABY PHOTO Miller-Granger taps Facebook Live at protest.

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to remove him immediately.

“If the pigs don’t trust the pig, why should we trust the pig?” she said, referring to a recent 17042 no-confidence vote police officers took against the chief.

Miller-Granger said the demonstration against Esserman fits in with the broader goals of the Black Lives Matter movement, especially when it comes to police accountability: “We have to have a police chief who is for the people.

He is supposed to give directions. We need him to be higher than accountable.

We need him to be higher the standard of regular citizens.”

She also noted that Black Lives Matter doesn’t stand “just for black lives” but for the greater good of the community. “This is a ‘New Haven Residents Matter’ event,” she called out to the group of demonstrators.

Mayor Toni Harp did not attend the rally but released a statement Thursday evening.

“Chief Esserman remains chief; in his absence, day-today command of the department falls to Assistant Chief Anthony Campbell. There has been no interruption in public safety services, nor will there be as a result of the chief’s extended leave the safety and security of residents, property owners, students, and those doing business in the city remains my priority,” she stated.

“The chief has broken no laws to my knowledge, and has committed no dismissible offense.

Whether or not he returns to duty and when is largely up to him. In the meanwhile, we’ll do all we can to extend acrossthe-board, steadily decreasing crime rates of the past five years which coincide with Chief Esserman’s tenure.”

Esserman’s contract runs until January 2018. It is believed that Mayor Harp is negotiating a financial deal with Esserman to leave office now.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Boosters Compile Bowen “Punch List”

by MARKESHIA RICKS NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Weeks before Hillhouse plays its first football game at its the new $16.4 million Bowen Field, Howard Boyd and some Hillhouse parents aren’t celebrating.

At a tour for the media, they pointed out leaks and what they called safety concerns that they believe mar the long-awaited renovation of the stadium and running track.

The renovation project, which was 20 years in the making, cost $16.4 million. It featured, among many other improvements, a new synthetic turf field, and for the first time in Hillhouse history, field lighting for night football games.

“Overall, is this really our money’s worth?” Boyd, a Pop Warner little league coach, said while surveying the stadium Friday. “No. I’ve seen better and I think there are a lot of safety issues that need to be handled.” He and a group of

parents pointed out problems they said the city should address before declaring the project complete.

Will Clark, chief operating officer for the Board of Education, said he has the group’s list in hand.

Many of those items identified by the boosters are also on the school district’s own “punch list” of problems that need to be addressed before the project is deemed complete and any final checks are written. He called the renovation project a success and the punch list a normal part of completing a project. (Click here for a story showing all the new features at the field.

On Friday, Boyd pointed to away-side stadium seating with exposed sharp edges underneath; and a discus and shot-put area that could endanger the people who might be sitting in those stands during a track meet. He pointed to gates that swing into track lanes when opened in one direction and

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO

Boyd: More work needed.

Parents watch the first day of practice.

scrape an uneven ground when opened in the opposite direction.

He showed a pole vaulting area covered in goose feces and run-off.

He said the area is so close to the trees at the edge of Beaver Pond Park that Boyd thinks it could be dangerous for student athletes.

“It looks to me like they took a lot of short cuts,” he said. “For the kind of money they spent, this place should be a showpiece.”

Boosters presented a list of 21 problems they have found with the new stadium that they think the city needs to address. The list includes a call for a fully outfitted concession standcurrently there is no way to cook on site to adding more showers.

In an email to parent and booster

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Bill Oliver, Will Clark wrote that items like outfitting the concessions area are being addressed. Covers for locker room windows had been ordered. Grass that some thought was growing through the turf was actually the result of silt that had washed onto the field, Clark wrote.

“It’s not growing through the field but essentially on it, and that is on the list to remediate and shore up,” he wrote.

Clark said Friday that many of the problems can be addressed and will be addressed. He also said that any money left over from the project could be used to irrigate the baseball field.

“We need to separate fact from fiction and focus on what we can accomplish together in a posi-

tive way,” Clark wrote to Oliver.

Whose House?

Hillhouse?

Meredith Benson, whose son is a rising junior on the Hillhouse football team, said the lack of more showers and other problems at the field reflect a general mentality of mediocrity when it comes to student success at the school.

“A lot of money was spent on this field,” she said. “But when you talk to people in power about problems, you get sarcasm. I’m just tired of how our kids are being treated.”

“For the time and the money, this should be the most state of the art stadium in the state,” said Angela Carolina-Brown, whose son plays football and her daughter baseball at Hillhouse.

Benson said she’d like to see the stadium identified as having a connection to Hillhouse athletics.

Though Bowen Field is owned and operated by the city parks and recreation department, it also has been the traditional home for Hillhouse sports. Benson noted that student athletes at Wilbur Cross High School play on a field identified as connected to their school.

That’s a sore point for Hillhouse Coach Reggie Lytle, a Hillhouse alum.

“We have no problem sharing the field with Hyde [now Creed]” high school, he said. “But this has always been Hillhouse’s field.”

Lytle said he has brought forward concerns about pipe leakages in the coach’s office and the trainer’s room and unpadded poles close to the end zone. He worries a player could be harmed if he were to run into them.

Parent Sherrie Oliver said her two sons, both seniors, have waited a long time to play in the new stadium.

“There are just too many things wrong—too many inconsistencies,” she said of the redo. “There is no reason that we should be having this conversation now.”

“It’s a nice space and a lot of good work has gone into it,” Oliver’s husband, Bill, added. “But we also were unaware of how incomplete it was. We want to be involved with helping prioritize solutions so they can be addressed and get done.”

Hillhouse plays its first football game of the season Sept. 9.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

New Haven Girl Overcomes Life Changing Surgery

by Christian Lewis, ICN Staff Correspondent

Being the parent of a child who has a disability is no easy feat, to be quite honest, it’s pretty stressful. In 2010 after my daughter Ajia turned a year old I noticed she wasn’t reaching certain milestones that she should have reached so I reached out to her doctor for help, she pointed me in the direction of Birth-to-Three. The physical therapist and the Occupational Therapist that were assigned to my daughter were so patient, understanding and just downright phenomenal.

Working with the therapists for two years Ajia was gaining strength in her upper body; her physical therapist would go to her daycare in Hamden and work with her there and they even showed her teachers how to put her in her gait trainer and strap her in for when they would go outside for recess and even for when she was in the classroom and wanted to get around without having the teachers have to pick her up; after she transitioned out of Birth-to-Three she started going to a pediatric physical therapist associated with a local hospital and she was seeing orthopedists, and specialists but no one could diagnose her.

Physical therapy wasn’t doing anything and the physical therapists that were working with her three times a week weren’t teaching her how to do simple tasks such as standing at the sink to brush her teeth while standing in her gait trainer; to say I was disappointed and a bit aggravated is being nice.

Despite the fact that I didn’t believe the physical therapist was doing a good job with my daughter I kept her in therapy until I got to be about 8 months pregnant with my son, then I discontinued her therapy, carrying her and transporting her gait trainer to therapy was beginning to be a bit much.

While watching Entertainment Tonight one evening I found out about Dr. Dror Paley in West Palm Beach, Florida who specialized in working with children who had issues that resembled those that my daughter had. After watching the segment on him I contacted his office to set up a consultation with him for my baby girl, I knew this

knew you weren’t able to walk?

A: No, they were nice to me and even got on the floor to play with me sometimes.

Q: When you met your surgeon, Dr. Paley and he told you that after surgery and therapy you would be able to walk, how did that make you feel?

A: I was happy because I’ve always wanted to walk real bad and now after my surgery I can.

Q: How did you like going to therapy after your surgery in Florida?

A: It was good because I got to play and walk.

Q: What was your favorite part of therapy in Florida?

A: Walking and Fun Friday, Fun Friday was fun because I sometimes got to dress up as a princess and everyone would call me Princess Ajia!

Q: Were you happy or sad to leave Florida and all of your therapists when your six weeks was over?

A: I was sad because I liked therapy there and my therapists made it fun for me.

Q: How with your

Ajia turned was the missing link in the puzzle to getting my daughter to walk.

Two weeks after giving birth to my son I was on an airplane with my two children and my aunt on our way to Florida to see Dr. Paley, and when we got there and met with him, I knew for sure that he would be the one to jumpstart my daughter on her journey to walking. We met with Dr. Paley for all of fifteen minutes and in that time he was able to diagnose her with Spastic Diplegia, which is a form of Cerebral Palsy that only affects a person’s lower limbs. He held Ajia’s hands and had her walk for him, he then saw how her feet turned inward and they weren’t flat on the floor but turned upward as well, he assured me that her case was an easy fix, to say i was relieved would be an understatement.

Three weeks after Ajia’s consulta-

happy are progress so

you far?

A: I’m very happy because I want to walk and I can do a little by myself now! tion with Dr. Paley we were on the road back to Florida for a whole six weeks. Ajia’s surgery went very well, it was the longest eight hours of my life, I couldn’t sit still, I could hardly eat, I was just a nervous wreck even though I prayed the night before her surgery and the morning of her surgery that she would have a smooth surgery and that God would direct the hands and minds of the surgeon and all others that were involved in her surgery.

Two years and four months later and countless therapy sessions I’m proud to say that Ajia has made great progress with her walking. After leaving Florida in the beginning of June and going to therapy five days a week she returned to Connecticut and began therapy once a week, then I ended up moving it up to three times a week. As recently as about

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four weeks ago she began taking steps by herself, to say I was proud would be an understatement, I almost cried. Once Ajia learns how to balance herself, stand up tall and put all of her weight on her feet instead of her heels she’ll be running around in no time and I’m patiently awaiting that day!

I didn’t want this article to be solely me telling it, so I asked Ajia a few questions on how she felt and what she thought about her progress, her surgery, therapy and her surgeon.

Q: When you went to daycare, how did you feel seeing the other children running and walking around and you couldn’t join them?

A: I felt sad because I couldn’t walk like they did.

Q: Did other children in the daycare ever make fun of you or say mean things to you because they

Ajia has to return to Florida in October for her yearly follow-up with her team of physicians, she’s excited about going and she’s hoping she gets to go visit Barbie’s Dream House while in Florida.

Ajia’s mother is having a bake sale fundraiser to raise funds for their travel and Aji’s medical bills as well as new braces for her legs, she is working but doesn’t currently have medical insurance. The bake sale is going on from now until October 14th, the day before they leave to return to Florida. If you would like to donate to help cover the costs, there is also a gofundme page set up by Ajia’s aunt LaVona and Uncle Charles, the link is, https:// w w w.gofundme.com/8s28q0.

To contact Ajia’s mother for the bake sale, please email her at christian.lewis85@yahoo.com.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Correction Officers: Staff and Overtime Reductions Put Them At Risk of Injury

by Christine Stuart Ct. JUNKIE NEWS

Nearly five months after the layoffs began, the presidents of three bargaining groups representing 4,800 Correction Department employees wrote Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to tell him they’re concerned about their safety.

More than 100 Correction Department staff were laid off in April and several posts were eliminated, at the same time staffing levels on shifts were reduced, according to the union president’s letter to Malloy.

Rudy Demiraj, president of AFSCME Local 387, said their biggest concern is the number of “post” reductions.

He said a reduction in posts means there are fewer required locations that Correction Officers have to be at in a facility, which means it will take longer if there is an assault for other officers to get to that post. Also, with fewer officers inside the facility, the longer it will take for officers to respond to an incident, including assaults on staff or inmates, Demiraj said.

Correction Commissioner Scott Semple said Monday in a letter to Malloy that they reduced the number of posts by 56 po-

CTNEWSJUNKIE FILE PHOTO Public Safety workers, including Correction officers, rally at the state Capitol in March

sitions, or 2.5 percent, across the agency’s 15 facilities.

Over the past year, the incarcerated population has dropped from 16,141 to 15,087 inmates, which is a decrease of about 6.5 percent, according to Semple.

“Looking back to 1997, a time with a comparable incarcerated population to that of today, the agency’s 18 facilities operated with a total of 2,171 staffing posts. Fast forward 19 years, the department oper-

ates 15 facilities with a total of 2,150 posts (even after a reduction of 56 posts) and approximately 500 more inmates.”

Demiraj said he’s not disputing Semple’s numbers, but he added that it’s happening at the same time the department is facing increased pressure to lower overtime costs.

Demiraj said they’ve been sending officers home an hour before their shift is scheduled to end.

“Every day there’s one less

10

correction officer in a facility, is a day that a person is not there to respond to a fellow officer or keep the inmates safe,” Demiraj said.

“We protect the public, we protect the staff, and the inmates.”

He said the current situation is creating an “unpredictable” environment that’s likely to lead to an increase in assaults on staff. In the letter, the three bargaining unit presidents cited at least eight incidents

that have occurred at the facilities dating back to 2014.

On June 8 an inmate at MacDougall Walker Correctional Institute in Suffield attacked a counseling supervisor and two Correction officers.

Then on April 30 there was a seven-inmate “melee at Manson Youth Institute in Cheshire that left several staff injured.” Those were the two most recent incidents, but Demiraj said there are serious incidents that happen every month in the facilities.

Semple, however, said the number of incidents is down.

Comparing the period between mid-March and early August with the same period last year, “assaults by inmates are down a significant 41.5 percent. Additionally, inmate on inmate fights, for the same period, are down 8.3 percent,” Semple said.

Semple said for that same period overtime costs are down about $8.8 million.

“Regardless of the numbers, we continue to assess data with an eye toward future trends and adjusting our policies; let me reassure you that safety of the public, staff, and offender population remains a top priority of this agency,” Semple said.

But Demiraj feels like the data won’t help prevent the inevitable.

“The recent layoffs make our facilities inherently more dangerous and will wind up driving up overtime costs,” Demiraj and the other presidents wrote in the letter.

He said Connecticut must do better and take steps to prevent injury.

The union is asking Malloy to re-establish a Correction Staff Health and Safety Subcommittee, which was created in 2009 under former Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell. It also wants him to join them at the facilities to hear firsthand from Correction officers about the increased dangers they face on the job.

It’s unclear if Malloy will take them up on their offer.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Harp Blasts “Fear-Mongering” Fire Union

by PAUL BASS

NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Mayor Toni Harp Monday blasted firefighter union leadership as “irresponsible” for “stoking fears” about plans to switch from a second fire truck to an ambulance at the Ellsworth Avenue firehouse.

“The union is sort of skewing what is going on in a way that really creates a lot of fear and makes people think we’re closing a firehouse. We’re not,” Harp remarked.

Harp made the comment on her latest appearance on WNHH’s “Mayor Monday.” During the program, she also offered a vigorous defense of embattled schools Superintendent Garth Harries.

A Harp administration committee, which included two former fire chiefs, has drawn up a plan to put Engine 9 out of commission at the Ellsworth Avenue firehouse and replace it with a smaller paramedic unit. An estimated 75 to 80 percent of the approximately 25,000 calls that come into the fire department each year are for medical services. The administration argues that it will cost less— and get firefighters there more quickly—to send the smaller ambulances. It is seeking to increase from two to four the number of department ambulances in the city.

The west side of town currently doesn’t have one in operation.

It costs $750,000 to $800,000 to purchase and then fully outfit an engine, according to emergency management chief Rick Fontana, a member of the committee that drew up the plan. Four firefighters are needed to operate it.

The two new paramedic units recently purchased by the city cost $55,000 and $90,000, he said.

Harp argued on the program that the big engines wear out faster by being sent unnecessarily to medical calls, and they’re harder to navigate through narrow streets, especially in winter.

The proposed change “actually is a more efficient way to carry out the business of the fire department,” Harp said. “I don’t understand why the leadership of the fire union doesn’t get that, and why they are stok-

Fire union’s campaign website.

ing fears in people. It is irresponsible and unacceptable to me that they are doing that. ... We are actually making people safer.”

Firefighters union President Frank Ricci responded after the show that the union’s campaign has been factual. You can see its case presented on this website created to oppose the plan.

Ricci said the Harp administration is the side confusing people. It is equating “engine company” fire trucks with “squad” trucks. Both can be hooked up to hydrants to fight fires. But squads have additional equipment for water and boat rescue and extricating people.

The Ellsworth firehouse is one of only two of 10 in the city to have both an engine company and a squad truck. The Harp administration plans to keep Squad 2 at the firehouse.

It will serve as the neighborhood’s fire truck to respond quickly to fires, Fontana said.

Ricci argued that because squads are loaded with more emergency equipment, they’re not ideal for being the first on the scene

to hook up and fight a fire. Fontana disagreed: “They’re both engines. They have the same equipment on them as an engine.”

Ricci argued that squads cover an entire city, not a neighborhood, so the Edgewood and West River neighborhoods will no longer be able to count on four-to-five-minute response times to fires if the change goes into effect. Fontana countered that the plan is to make Squad 2 a local engine for Ellsworth Avenue, not a citywide unit.

The semantic difference also plays into a contractual difference. Fontana pointed out that Section 37.3 of the current fire union contract specifically allows the fire chief to “redeploy men from an engine company to two additional paramedic” units. The city recently purchased two ambulances. Ricci argued that because a “squad” can’t be considered an “engine company,” the section doesn’t apply.

Fontana countered that the squad is a firetruck that does what Engine 9 did. Ricci is “splitting hairs,” Fontana argued.

12

“The fire chief will make that decision. Not Frank Ricci.”

New Haven is about to get a new fire chief. Mayor Harp said on the “Mayor Monday” program that she interviewed three finalists for the open job last week. She said the city is in the process of making an offer to her final choice, whom she declined to name for now.

School Change Harp was also on fire during the program when asked by a listener about the controversy surrounding Superintendent of Schools Garth Harries, whom members of the Board of Education and some members of the public are seeking to oust from office.

“It’s no secret: There has been an acrimonious relationship between some of the board members and Garth Harries,” Harp said.

“When you come in to reform something, people bristle.

People who are teachers may bristle. The administrators may bristle. The people who’ve always done it this way, ‘We never did it that way,’ bristle.

“We’re in the middle of what I

consider to be the biggest civil rights challenge in America, and that’s the achievement gap.

What we have always done, the way that we’ve always done it, doesn’t work…. We’ve got to do something that creates change.

New Haven has been on the forefront of change around teacher evaluation, principal evaluation, administrator evaluation. Well, everyone’s not happy about that.

I know what we’ve always done doesn’t work. I know we’ve made incremental progress by instituting these changes. The question for me: Is it enough fast enough?

“But I also know that people really have trouble with change.

It’s very disconcerting as a human being to have a platform that is constantly moving and changing. But if our urban children are going to be competitive in a knowledge-based economy and that economy is actually changing they’ve got to be educated. They’ve got to have good numeracy skills. They’ve got to have good reading skills. We’re fighting over how to teach that.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

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New Haven Vet speaks out about recent mass shootings

By Christian Lewis, ICN Correspondent

tect and serve their local communities. No one, and I mean no one deserves to be executed for doing their job. The killers, and when I say killers I mean the two officers that gunned down Alton and Philando need to be tried as murders.

In lieu of the recent mass shootings that took place in Baton Rouge, Dallas and Tennessee I decided to sit down with a dear friend of mine, Andrew Fain who is an Army Veteran about his thoughts and his take on things seeing as though all three shooting involved Army Veterans.

Q: What was your branch of service?

A: I am an Army veteran.

Q: What was your rank?

A: I got out as a Sergeant.

Q:

Where

did

you

Q: Being a vet yourself and the fact that the three young men of the mass shootings were vets, do you fear for your life?

A: Yes. If there is ever a mass shooting on law enforcement in New Haven or in Connecticut, I will be listed as a person of interest. That scares me.

serve?

Q: Do you fear law enfoment because you’re Black?

A: Stateside I was stationed in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Kansas. I deployed to Iraq in 2010.

Q: In lieu of all of the shootings involving Black veterans, you being a veteran yourself, how do or did these shootings make you feel?

A: My condolences to the police officer’s families. We live in an America where people are becoming angry. They are tired of seeing civilians killed by officers.

When I heard about the veteran sniper in Dallas, I thought it was just another governmental ploy to change the narrative of what was going on. The veteran in Baton Rouge shooter made me nervous.

Q: When you fir heard that the shooter in the mass shooting in Dallas was a black Army vet, what was the first thing

14

that went through your mind?

A: African American veterans are in trouble. The dialogue has now turned into a conversation about the mental health of Black veterans and that we are going snap eventually due to trauma of deployments. This dangerous narrative is completely ignoring the PTSD that African American veteran suffered prior to enlisting.

Q: With the recent murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, do you feel as if the mass shootings of police officers in Baton Rouge, Dallas and Tennessee are justifiable?

A: Police officers are civil servants, they are held to the standard to pro-

A: I don’t fear the men and women in uniform.

I fear their decision making skills, I fear their poor training. Every time I see a police officer I cringe.

It shouldn’t be that way. I should feel safe. But I don’t.

Q: Do you feel as if people look at you differently because you’re a Black veteran? Or do you feel as if people know you well enough to know that you would never act out as Micah Johnson, Gavin Long and Lakeem Scott did?

A: Even the people closest to may for a moment think about it. I am proud to have been in the Army. So with that being said, If there is ever an incident like Dallas or Baton Rouge in our community, and my face is plastered on every media source in the country, know I am innocent.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Hill Central Teachers Seek Different AP

by ALIYYA SWABY NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Hill Central Music Academy teachers asked the Board of Education to approve their favorite candidate for the school’s assistant principal, instead of the candidate Superintendent Garth Harries chose.

They spoke up at the public discussion portion of Monday night’s regular board meeting held at L.W. Beecher School. That argued that Nicole Brown, Hill Central’s academic leader, should be promoted to its assistant principal Harries had asked the board to approve Clinton Avenue School administrative intern Yesenia Velez for the position.

Board of Ed members decided to postpone making that decision.

They did approve hiring eight administrators and dozens of teachers.

They held an hour-long closed executive session before the meeting began at 5:30 p.m.; last week they kept the public waiting three hours with another executive session. Mayor Toni Harp, the board’s president, had to leave soon after the public meeting began, leaving her second-in-command Alicia Caraballo as acting president.

Hill Central improved academically and socially this year, moving up and off the state’s list of turnaround schools, which need extra support.

“We can’t keep having new faces all the time,” Hill Central teacher Paola Gomes argued at Monday’s meeting.

She said Brown would provide the “consistency” to keep the school’s progress going.

Harries said Brown received “strong recommendations from the school team” put together to carry out the talent search.

He said he wanted to hire Velez for the position because she has “done extraordinarily well” working at Clinton Avenue School and on “districtwide projects,” including summer school and the new Saturday Academy.

Hill Central’s committee also recommended Velez for the position, he said, “not as highly as Ms. Brown, but still recommended.”

He said that when the “dust settles” with leadership hires and transfers, there could be room for other qual-

ALIYYA SWABY PHOTO Gomes: Hire Brown.

ified candidates in other positions.

Harries asked board members to continue the conversation in executive session, so they wouldn’t subject either candidate to unnecessary public scrutiny. Board members agreed—but then couldn’t stop themselves from continuing the discussion at the meeting.

Acting President Caraballo said it was “disrespectful” to the candidates to have public disagreements about whether they would be hired. Velez, she said, “impressed” her and she didn’t realize the school committee wanted a different candidate. Knowing that, Harries should have consulted with the board and informed them of the resistance, she said.

“This is one I will not support,” she said. “It’s not fair to the board to be put in this position,” said board member Ed Joyner.

He asked whether Harries had ever before “disallowed the choice” of the school committee.

“Sometimes yes,” Harries responded. Board member Darnell Goldson asked Harries to bring a synopsis of how any hiring decisions are made, in future meetings.

Other Hires Board members Monday night approved 5-1 hiring human resources chief Donna Aiello as an assistant principal

at Worthington Hooker Elementary School, as well as Lisa Mack as acting director of human resources & labor relations. Joyner voted no on both decisions.

He said he voted no against Aiello as Hooker assistant principal, in part because a dispute over her salary, set at $137,672. Aiello’s role in central office should not count toward her “longevity payment,” which boosts her school leadership salary based on 25

years of experience, he argued.

Joyner said Aiello would be eligible for the payment only if she had spent years as an assistant principal, not as HR director.

Goldson argued the opposite, that Aiello is eligible for the higher salary. But he asked board members to add a contingency to her hire: If the administrators union and district leaders agree Aiello gets the higher salary, she does. If not, she doesn’t.

Aiello’s and Mack’s hires will save about $128,000 for the district, Goldson said. Mack was the assistant HR director under Aiello; that position is likely being cut, saving about $103,000.

Though outside candidates are being considered for the director position, Mack is a strong contender.

As acting HR director, Mack is making $125,000, about $18,000 less than budgeted for the position, Goldson said. And Aiello agreed to a $7,000 cut to her salary at Hooker School.

Without discussion, the board also agreed to six other administrative hires and transfers. John Tarka was approved as Hillhouse High School assistant principal with a salary of $112,043. Eric Barbarito was transferred from Ross/Woodward Magnet School to Hillhouse assistant principal.

Mary Derwin was transferred from Dr. Mayo Early Childhood Learning Center to Edgewood Magnet School assistant principal. Tianko Ellison was transferred from Wexler/Grant School to Ross/Woodward assistant principal, taking Barbarito’s place. Nicholas Perrone was transferred from Hillhouse to Wexler/Grant assistant principal, to fill Ellison’s position.

Garfield Pilliner was transferred from Hillhouse to Wilbur Cross High School assistant principal.

For more information on ACES schools, programs and services, please visit our website.

(203) 498-6800 | www.aces.org 15

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Riders Gird For Fare Hike; Harp Opposed

by MARKESHIA RICKS NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Dontai Lamar Moore takes the bus from New Haven to get to his job as a Milford mall store manager. He said he might start looking for another way to commute if a planned 25-cent fare hike goes into effect.

“It makes it not worth it to me,” he said while standing at the CT Transit stop at the corner of Orange and Chapel streets. “I’d probably be more likely to share rides.”

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has proposed raising the bus fare from $1.50 to $1.75. He also seeks to increase the amount that Metro-North’s Connecticut commuters and Shore Line East riders pay by about 5 percent.

The reason for the price increase is pure economics, CT Transit administrator Michael Sanders said.

“The short answer is budget issues,” Sanders said. “When the fiscal year ended, the governor and the Office of Policy and Management gave the department a savings plan that required that we save $37 million in expenses.”

Sanders said that meant a combination of solutions for the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT), of which CT Transit is a part, including closing some highway rest areas during certain times and reducing over-

Takeya and Brynica on the Q headed downtown.

time. He said the fare hike for bus and rail would cover about half of the overall reductions.

The rail price hike would take effect Dec. 1, the bus hike Dec. 4.

Bus fares pay only 21-25 percent of the cost of providing service, according to DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick.

DOT does not plan any reductions in service, Sanders said. And it’s still going to fulfill a tardy promise to help people keep track of late-running buses by installing

GPS devices. Sanders said the devices should now start appearing in New Haven-area buses in September, with the job envisioned as being completed by year’s end.

The proposed fare hike is not a done deal. Before it can go into effect, the state has to let the public weigh in. New Haven is slated for two public hearings on Sept. 15 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The hearings will be in the city Hall of Records at 200 Orange St. But the fare increase isn’t the only

16

thing that people will get to weigh in on. CT Transit is looking to implement a smart card system, much like the one used in the Washington, D.C. metro area, Sanders said.

Instead of paper fare cards, people would have a permanent card that would allow them to forgo always having to carry exact change and ultimately work not only across the CT Transit system, but also could work on Metro North.

He said it would also cap fares, meaning that depending on how often a rider uses the card, they would never pay more than what the transit system charges for 3 to 31-day passes. The system would keep track of how the person rides the bus and adjust the fare accordingly. ConnDOT also is conducting a statewide bus study to “evaluate statewide demographics, travel patterns, and bus system performance and coverage,” according to the website.

Mayor Opposes Fare Hike.

Mayor Toni Harp, on her “Mayor Monday” show on WNHH radio, came out in opposition to the proposed fare hike.

“Most of the people who take the bus are low-wage workers,” she said. “It’s tough.”

In addition to covering the budget shortfall, state officials also argue that raising the fare puts the transit system closer to paying for itself. Harp argued that the transit system is a public good and

that all transportation users and citizens should share the costs.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was asked about Harp’s position during a press conference at Union Station Thursday. He said that users and the broader society alike should share the cost of bus service and that currently the state is subsidizing too much of the cost.

What Alternatives?

Bus riders interviewed this past week offered varying responses about how the fare increase would affect them.

Bus rider Robert Kirsch was having a smoke Monday and waiting on the D5 Hamden Plaza cube at the Broadway District bus shelter. He said he will probably ride the bus a lot more soon because at least four days a week he will be a student at Gateway Community College. He said he’s not bothered by the price increase, but he said it would probably be a hardship for the mostly working people who use the bus.

“I understand why the governor has to make cuts,” he said just before hopping on his bus. “He made a lot of promises to a lot of people that he’s trying to keep.”

“There are some things that you do as a state and as a municipal government for the people,” she said.

“You have the cost basically go across the entire population. And you don’t try to make the people who use the service” pay for it.

“It would impact me financially,” one bus rider said this week as she she said hopped on the G2 East Chapel Street/Lighthouse bus.

“But I’d still do it. I’ve got to get to work” at a gym in Orange three days a week and the back home.

A woman named Takeya, who didn’t give her last name, was taking the Q bus downtown with her friend Brynica. She said that a 25-cent fare increase means that she would probably alter her habits to take the bus less. She uses it not only to get to school at Gateway Community College on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but also to get most other places. She estimates that she spends between $14 and $18 a week on bus fare.

“I’ll probably walk more,” she said.

“It just means more people are going to drive their cars,” her friend added.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Driving While Black: Stories from the Frontlines

by Maliik Obee Special to the AFRO

In the wake of the recent Department of Justice report which said the Baltimore Police Department routinely violated the constitutional rights of African Americans in parts of the city, the AFRO asked residents of Baltimore and the Washington D.C. metropolitan area to share their experiences, both good and bad, with the police.

Kehinde Badmus, 26, works for DC Water in the Nation’s Capital. Badmus has had his encounters with police “shape” his perspective on being Black.

“My brother and I drive pretty flashy cars, and we were with friends in Greenbelt, Md. when we were pulled over for nothing. The officers wouldn’t tell us their names, one saying my name is Officer Happy and the other threatening to kick my brother in the face. They sat us on the curb in the cold for nothing while a search produced nothing and they arrested my brother for saying he felt uncomfortable. Even though I co-signed on my brother’s car, they wouldn’t let me drive it home and we were stranded.”

Victor Ehienulo is an Information Technology specialist and

graduate from Howard University.

A rough upbringing in Landover, Md. combined with constant harassment from police motivated

him to escape his surroundings.

“My history of police brutality has scarred me for life,” said Ehienulo. “It was one time when

a police officer pulled me to the side in my neighborhood and punched me in the face, like ‘What are you doing around here?’ Just for being in my neighborhood, like I can’t help where I live” Thornal Coachman is a lifelong Washington D.C. resident and graduate of the University of the District of Columbia. A tutor by trade, his accomplishments couldn’t prevent him from a friction-filled encounter with law enforcement.

“I was racially profiled by Temple Hills PD after an officer pulled me over and said my registration wasn’t in their system,” said Coachman. “The officer pulled me out the car and sat me on the curb for 20 minutes searching my vehicle before saying it was an accident because her scanner was broke and to just have a nice evening.”

Dominic Rowe is a Washington D.C. resident and student who has used his time at Morgan State University as an opportunity to immerse himself in the fight for bettering Baltimore. Rowe’s upbringing in the Trinidad area of D.C. and time in Baltimore has afforded him the perspective of possible solutions for the nations problems with police. But Rowe’s time in these urban areas have also unfortunately granted him his

own stories involving the police.

“It was a wrong place wrong time situation, but minding my business nearly cost me my freedom as I had to run from jumpouts just for being Black in my neighborhood,” said Rowe.

Donika Gibson, a graduate of Morgan State University and current resident of Baltimore, is one of many peeved by the constant evasion of justice by cops who have managed to avoid facing repercussions for their actions.

Lucky for her, her encounters with police have been marginal.

“I have only been pulled over once by police for not having my lights on at night, but that turned into them telling me that they thought my boyfriend resembled a robbery suspect just to hassle us,” she said.

Donald Logan, a lifelong Baltimore resident has been “lucky” not to experience the rigors of police brutality comparable to some of his friends.

“It was raining late at night on Route 295, and two White male officers pulled over and helped me change my tire,” said Logan. “The officer said you just look like you didn’t know what you were doing, we shared a good laugh at that

Baltimore Cops Routinely Violate Rights of Blacks

by George E. Curry George Curry Media Columnist After reading the 164-page Justice Department report on the Baltimore Police Department, it is surprising that street rebellions didn’t occur sooner in Baltimore.

The report is a stinging assessment of the police department’s policies and practices that concluded: “there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution or federal law.”

It said the Baltimore Police Department “engages in a pattern or practice of: (1) making unconstitution-

al stops, searches, and arrests; (2) using enforcement strategies that produce severe and unjustified disparities in the rates of stops, searches and arrests of African Americans; (3) using excessive force; and (4) retaliating against people engaging in constitutionally-protected expression.”

Furthermore, the report concluded, “BPD’s targeted policing of certain Baltimore neighborhoods with minimal oversight or accountability disproportionately harms AfricanAmerican residents. Racially disparate impact is present at every stage of BPD’s enforcement actions, from the initial decision to stop individuals on Baltimore streets to searches, arrests, and uses of force. These racial disparities, along with evidence suggesting intentional discrimination, erode the community trust that is critical to effective policing.”

As we have seen from similar investigations conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, this is probably a portrait of most big city police departments. In this case, the sheer breadth of the documented racial discrimination is mind-boggling.

Take the simple matter of being able to walk the streets without being suspected of committing a crime.

African Americans were stopped three times as often as White residents and were 95 percent of the 410 people stopped at least 10 times.

“Racial disparities in BPD’s arrests are most pronounced for highly discretionary offenses: African Americans accounted for 91 percent of the 1,800 people charged solely with ‘failure to obey’ or ‘trespassing’; 89 percent of the 1,350 charges for making a false statement to an officer; and 84 percent of the 6,500 people arrested for ‘disorderly conduct,’” the report stated.

18

Prosecutors rejected more than 11,000 charges because they lacked probable cause.

“BPD also stops African American drivers at disproportionate rates. African Americans accounted for 82 percent of all BPD vehicle stops, compared to only 60 percent of the driving age population in the City and 27 percent of the driving age population in the greater metropolitan area.”

Many of the stops were not justified.

“We also found large racial disparities in BPD’s arrests for drug possession. While survey data shows that African Americans use drugs at rates similar to or slightly exceeding other population groups, BPD arrested African Americans for drug possession at five times the rate of others.”

It explained, “BPD searched African Americans more frequently during pedestrian and vehicle stops, even though searches of African

Americans were less likely to discover contraband. Indeed, BPD officers found contraband twice as often when searching white individuals compared to African Americans during vehicle stops and 50 percent more often during pedestrian stops.”

Baltimore police “engages in a pattern or practice of excessive force,” the report found. “Officers frequently resort to physical force when a subject does not immediately respond to verbal commands, even where the subject poses no imminent threat to the officer or others.”

Police also engage in humiliating public strip searches.

“In one of these incidents – memorialized in a complaint that the Department sustained -officers in BPD’s Eastern District publicly strip-searched a woman following a routine traffic stop for a missCon’t on page 23

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Class of 2020: Highest Number of Minority Medical Students Ever — COM recognized as national leader in recruitment, retention and graduation of African-American medical students —

Charleston, SC — The Medical University of South Carolina’s College of Medicine (COM) has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as having the fifth largest number of AfricanAmerican medical students in the U.S., outside of historically black colleges and universities.

In addition, the American Association of Medical Colleges ranks MUSC COM in the 96th percentile for medical schools with the most African-American students.

In the 2015-2016 academic year, COM enrolled 129 underrepresented minority (URM) medical students, or 18 percent of the medical student body. Of those students, 95 (13 percent of the student body) identified as African-American. The class of 2020 has 19 percent URM students, continuing the upward trend.

MUSC recognizes that the solution to increased diversity in the physician workforce starts with bringing minorities into medical

MUSC College of Medicine Diversity Initiatives: URM Student Pipeline Programs for development and recruitment http://academicdepartments.musc. edu/com/diversity/programs/pipelineprogramsNEW.htm URM Student Mentorship for development and retention http://academicdepartments.musc. edu/com/diversity/programs/studentprograms.htm

Photo: The Medical University of South Carolina’s 184th commencement ceremony back in 2013 at the McAlister Field House on the campus of The Citadel. The Honorable Donna Christensen, M.D., United States House of Representatives for Virgin Islands, gave the commencement address. (Sarah Bates Pack/MUSC) education, and is focused on recruiting, supporting and graduating diverse medical students through a number of initiatives. For example, the cost of a medical education is a hindrance to many students, and particularly URM students.

Since 2012, MUSC’s “Open-

ing Doors” medical scholarship program has funded 27 scholarships to URM students to ease their financial burden as they pursue medical careers. For a deeper look at recruitment and retention efforts for COM URM students, see the links below:

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URM Resident recruitment, development and retention http://academicdepartments.musc. edu/com/diversity/programs/ McClellan-Banks URM Faculty recruitment, development, and retention http://academicdepartments.musc. edu/com/diversity/graph_faculty. htm About MUSC Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the

oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care.

MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents, and has nearly 13,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $2.2 billion. MUSC operates a 700-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children’s Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institutedesignated center), Level I Trauma Center, and Institute of Psychiatry.

For more information on academic programs or clinical services, visit www.musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit www.muschealth.org.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Dear Gabby: You Are Forever Our Champion -Sisters launch #PrettyBrownGirls4Gabby Campaign to uplift Gabby Douglas despite negative media during Rio 2016 OlympicsBy Lauren Bealore Nationwide — Every four years, the world of sports brings us a showcase of some of the most awe-inspiring athletes that use their bodies to be advocates for their country and help us all be patriotic cheerleaders for a national dream. This year, like any other, I sat in front of the television screen, searched for representation of my own ethnic and genetic make-up, and proceeded to be their biggest supporter. However, this year during the 2016 Olympics in Rio felt different. There was a different sense of victory that took place. I found that I was not cheering on a young black woman in one specific category or simply one specific person. I was presented with multiple Black women of all shapes, sizes, and sports that gave me this sense of pride for the historical Olympic Games like never before. To see this upward mobility of Black women dominating not just sports but the highest honor of this industry was beyond fulfilling and helped me to be a patriot for an internal dream. Unfortunately, my uplifting spirit did not coincide with the social media critics that shared the same ethnic and genetic make-up, which has led to an eye-opening conversation about self-awareness and appreciation.

In the Black community, mainly for women, we have experienced decades of being de-sensitized to criticism. Our multi-faceted, Afrocentric, anti-European looks have never been glorified by society, even when reaching the highest height of success, we are still held in captivity by the sub-conscious mental imprisonment of mainstream standards of beauty and acceptance…and unfortunately the most recent victim was our former American media princess Gabby Douglas. Gabby entered our lives and stole our hearts in the summer of 2012, the first African-American woman in Olympic history to become the individual all-around champion, and the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics. Currently, Gabby and new-

tary. Every night as a family we would watch the US Gymnasts and I sense that Gabby was carrying heaviness beyond her smile. When she expressed her hurt, our daughters wanted to wear their hair in ponytails and clips just like Gabby and make posters for her with #PrettyBrownGirls4Gabby, when she does come back online, she will have a message of love and support. Pretty Brown Girls is calling for 10,000 girls of color worldwide to join in unity to show Gabby Douglas love with the hashtag #PrettyBrownGirls4Gabby”, says Crawley. 10-year-old Aliya Crawley says, “Gabby Douglas is an inspiration to African American girls and she shows us that if we try hard enough we can reach our goals and be a champion.” 11-yearold Laila Crawley wants Gabby to know that she has the same hair texture saying “Please do not let others get underneath your skin.”

10 and 11-year old sisters, Laila and Aliya Crawley, share heartfelt message for Gabby Douglas to stay strong despite hurtful social media commentary about her hair. comer to our lives Simone Biles are the only two American allaround champions to win multiple gold medals in a single Olympic Games. Although these two young women are equally very accomplished and Gabby proved to the world that she has the athleticism to be an inspiration for years to come, there was a dark cloud of separatism that took place. This year, we witnessed greatness from several black women, two even on the same team, yet only one was targeted to create defeat rather than triumph before she could even compete. A 20- year-old successful Gabby Douglas representing a country and community in which some have decided to treat her as a catty, high school cafeteria bundle of gossip and ridicule for nothing more than a laugh at a very cheap expense. Both Gabby, Simone, and several other young women have

shown us that collectively, we are a great asset to the world of sports but instead, we saw the use of divisive support in order to secondarily marginalize a woman within her own community. It is apparent that there is a sense of dual consciousness with women of color: the idea of wanting representation to matter to further our identity in society but also helping to push the negative stereotypes that catapult our perception in society.

This unfortunate media blitz has resulted in an organization advocating for young girls of color to take a stand and create a call to action of support. Pretty Brown Girl, successfully launched by Sheri Crawley in 2010, is a social enterprise whose mission is to encourage girls to celebrate the beautiful shades of brown skin all over the world while inspiring positive

21

self-esteem and confidence. Inspired by her two daughters, their scope focusing on positive imagery of girls and women of color has created a buzz in several national publications including the Associated Press, NBC online, USA Today online, and Huffington Post online just to name a few. More importantly, Sheri and the Pretty Brown Girl Movement have created a platform and voice for negating the lack of confidence in standards of beauty for women of color. The mission is vital to today’s society, especially with the emergence of social media attack strategies, where strangers verbally abuse and tear down a new person in the spotlight weekly.

“We are saddened that Gabby did not want to even go online to any social media platforms during the 2016 Olympics because of all of the negative news and commen-

The #PrettyBrownGirlsforGabby campaign has immediately kicked off following the negative attention given to Gabby Douglas.

Pretty Brown Girl successfully creates national initiatives including a revolutionary K-12 AfterSchool Program that addresses adverse social issues that girls of color face. Pretty Brown Girl also collaborates annually with organizations, colleges, universities, churches, and communities internationally for a day of dedication to young girls of color. Similarly, Pretty Brown Girl wants this hashtag to be a viral movement of support for Gabby to show that we do not simply use the black women of our community temporarily and cast them aside but that we forever embrace them so that they can be encouraged to lift up another young woman coming behind them. The #PrettyBrownGirls4Gabby campaign is for every black girl and woman that has ever felt defeated, torn down, excluded, and defined by others rather than having the ability to define themselves. Stay strong and encouraged Gabbies. We need you.

More information can be found on www.prettybrowngirl.com

Southside with You THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Film Review by Kam Williams

Inspirational Biopic Revisits Barack and Michelle Very First Date Who would ever think of making a movie just about Barack (Parker Sawyers) and Michelle Obama’s (Tika Sumpter) first date? Richard Tanne would, that’s who, and he makes an impressive directorial debut with this inspirational biopic chronicling a very eventful day in the lives of the future President and First Lady.

The story unfolds in Chicago during the summer of 1989 when Michelle was already employed as an attorney and living back home with her parents (Vanessa Bell Calloway and Phillip Edwad Van Lear). Barack had just finished his first year at Harvard law school and had landed an internship as her assistant at her prestigious, white-shoe firm.

Apparently, he was so instantly smitten with Michelle that he could barely contain himself. So, she had to politely remind him of the the office’s strict rule against fraternizing among associates.

Nevertheless, when she refused to

consider a romantic rendezvous, he pitched her on the idea of attending a business meeting with him.

Once Michelle grudgingly agrees, Barack arrives late, yet is too cocky to be embarrassed about either his tardiness or the gaping hole in the floor of his rusty jalopy.

What the skeptical object of his affection doesn’t know is that he has added a picnic, a museum and a movie to their planned itinerary.

Again, Michelle balks, but consents only after reminding her self-assured suitor that “This is not a date.” Nevertheless, the smoothtalking chain smoker presses on with his own agenda, with the Art Institute of Chicago being their first port-of-call. And while perusing paintings by the legendary Ernie Barnes, Barack began broaching personal subjects.

The two continued to get to know

each other over sandwiches in the park, with the discussion touching on everything from family to faith to blackness to the meaning of life. So, Michelle had a decent measure of the man by the time they headed to the South Side rec center where Barack had once worked as a community organizer.

The icing on the cake proves to be an inspirational speech that’s nothing short of presidential which

he delivers there to the discouraged denizens of the crumbling ‘hood. Michelle’s floodgates finally open, undoubtedly helped along by one woman’s (Deanna Reed Foster) approval of her as the first sister she’s ever seen Barack with. Next thing you know, the two lovebirds head to the theater to see Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, before capping off the evening with a little canoodling while sharing an ice cream cone.

Southside with You is a syrupy soap opera readily recommended for ardent Obama admirers. The predictable love story has a tendency to telegraph its punches, since its familiar plotline sticks to what’s already public knowledge.

Overall, this plausible account of the blossoming of love between Barack and Michelle serves up a pleasant, if sanitized version of their romantic launch en route to an historic rendezvous with destiny!

Very Good (3 stars) PG-13 for smoking, a violent image, brief profanity and a drug reference Running time: 84 minutes Distributor: Miramax / Roadside Attractions

Shirley Chisholm and the Fight for Equal Rights for All Women

By Julianne Malveaux, NNPA News Wire Columnist With a woman heading the ticket of the Democratic Party, it may be challenging for us to remember that women have had the right to vote for less than a century (and Black folks less that). But the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote was ratified on August 18, 1920, just 96 years ago.

At Congresswoman Bella Abzug’s (D-N.Y.) insistence Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day in 1971. The first part

of the joint resolution of Congress reads, “Whereas the women of the United States have been treated as second class citizens and have not been entitled to the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or intentional, which are available to male citizens.” Reading the words reminds me how far women have come, how far we still have to go, and how little the status of women of color is included when we speak of the status of women.

How far have we come? Few would have predicted that an African American would win an election and effectively lead the United States for eight years, few would have predicted that a women would have more than a fighting chance of winning the United States presidency. And yet the very

campaign that signals progress is also one that illustrates how much more work needs to be done before women’s equality is attained.

Too much of the rhetoric around Secretary Clinton’s candidacy is downright sexist. She should be judged by her positions and there should be absolutely no talk about her looks, hairstyle, attire, or tone of voice. No man could stand the kind of scrutiny that she has had to endure. No man has ever been subject to such scrutiny.

The continuing saga of sexual harassment at Fox News is another example of the distance we must travel to reach women’s equality. The company’s former CEO, Roger Ailes, is accused of multiple counts of sexual harassment, and this is a clear case of

22

where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

One wonders how many other companies have similarly hostile work environments and how often women, simply attempting to earn a living, are placed in the position of having to manage unflattering comments, downright harassment, coerced sex, and even rape. There are documented cases of women being raped in the military then being discharged because they can’t work with their rapists. And let’s not get started on some of what happens on some campuses.

That a Palo Alto judge sentenced a Stanford student to a scant six months in a rape witnessed by another student is amazing. That his father actually decried the sentence as too high a price to pay for a few minutes of “action”

speaks to how much work we have to do to reach women’s equality.

And ain’t I a woman. What about Black women’s equality? It chagrins me that Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s (D-N.Y.) historic run for president has been all but ignored in much of the media frenzy about candidate Hillary Clinton. However, it does not surprise me given the many ways African American women’s contributions are sidelined, marginalized or simply ignored. African American women earn less their White counterparts do, but head more households and have more economic responsibility. African American women are far less likely than their White counterparts to be found in the “C” suite in corporate leaderCon’t on page 26

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016 Con’t from page 18 Baltimore Cops Routinely Violate Rights of Blacks

ing headlight,” the report recounted.

“Officers ordered the woman to exit her vehicle, remove her clothes, and stand on the sidewalk to be searched.

The woman asked the male officer in charge ‘I really gotta take all my clothes off?’ The male officer replied ‘yeah’ and ordered a female officer to strip search the woman. The female officer then put on purple latex gloves, pulled up the woman’s shirt and searched around her bra. Finding no weapons or contraband around the woman’s chest, the officer then pulled down the woman’s underwear and searched her anal cavity.

This search again found no evidence of wrongdoing and the officers released the woman without charges.”

The Justice Department conducted the 14-month study in the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray, 25. He was arrested April 12, 2015 for allegedly possessing an illegal switchblade knife. While being transported for booking, he fell into a coma after suffering neck and spine injuries and died the next day. Relatives attributed Gray’s death to “rough rides” Baltimore police often give to suspects they are transporting to jail.

“We also examined BPD’s transportation of detainees, but were unable to make a finding due to a lack of available data,” the study said.

“We were unable to secure reliable records from either BPD or the jail regarding injuries sustained during transport or any recordings.”

Baltimore police were quick to detain or arrest citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. They frequently took offense if someone used language that was rude or disrespectful, though that does not violate the law.

A 1987 Supreme Court decision (City of Houston v. Hill), held: “The freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principle characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state.”

While no one is accusing the Baltimore Police Department of operating a police state, it clearly needs a major overhaul.

George E. Curry is President and CEO of George Curry Media, LLC. He is the former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA). He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at twitter.com/ currygeorge, George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook, and Periscope.

See previous columns at http:// www.georgecurry.com/columns.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

$1 Million Dollar Loan Fund Launched to Help Caribbean Women Start Businesses

Business women in the Caribbean are all about helping each other. It’s not easy for them to get funding, so two successful business women have decided to “pay it forward” by creating FundRiseHER - a $1 million crowdfunding campaign to help other women start their own businesses.

Why it’s so hard to get funding Most women entrepreneurs in the Caribbean fund their businesses the old fashioned way -- they seek help from family and friends.

They are often brushed off by local lending institutions when it comes to funding. This was the experience of Valerie Grant who got the brush off by a bank in Jamaica, even after she just landed a huge government contract.

So, Grant and her friend Cecile Watson, also an entrepreneur, launched FundRiseHER to raise $1 million to help at least 50 women entrepreneurs from at

for women in the Caribbean region and in the Commonwealth.

Countries in the Caribbean include Jamaica, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Grenada, Aruba, Cayman Islands, and many more.

For more details about FundRiseHER, visit www.facebook. com/fundriseher/ or www.twitter. com/fundriseher Con’t from page 06

Baton Passed

least 10 different Caribbean countries to start their own businesses.

Helping 44% of the world’s poorest women

Arif Zaman, executive director of the Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network, stated that “forty-four percent of the world’s poorest women live in these

Commonwealth countries.” The FundRiseHer campaign hopes to raise matching funds from donors that will provide more entrepreneurship opportunities

of white men. We are apparently supposed to feel a different kind of way about this situation where much of what we do know is not in dispute.

This discussion comes at the same time when some of the same people defending Parker, are lambasting Ryan Lochte as the beneficiary of White Privilege, Athlete Privilege (Parker and Celestin were on the Penn State wrestling team) and a patriarchal system where “boys will be boys.”

Despite the acquittal of Nate Parker and the dismissal of charges against Jean Celestin. There is much about their behavior that seems not to be in dispute:

Parker had sex with the woman the day before.

Parker invited Celestin and another man (who declined) to participate in a sex act with the woman whose level of impairment is in dispute.

3. After being charged, Parker and Celestin publicly named the alleged victim.

4. For years afterward, Parker and Celestin harassed the alleged victim.

5. The woman committed suicide in 2012 at the age of 30.

What I find unacceptable in the discussion I’ve witnessed is the view that he’s not guilty, end of story. Parker was found not guilty of the criminal charge but I find much with which I find fault. I also find it disturbing (despite historical abuse) that the race of the victim is an excuse to ignore what we do know which is an argument more likely to be used against Black people than in support of them.

There are those unwilling to examine the thought process that would have a man invite his friends to have sex with a woman? I understand there are possible consensual situations, I get that. I’m still able to have the discussion when some of my friends are not.

I deviate now to what I believe to be true. I think Nate Parker and Jean Celestin don’t consider themselves rapists or believe themselves to have done anything wrong. I think the combination of male privilege and their

status as athletes along with their limited respect for the female body made them think this was okay. I can remember once in high school being invited to join in when some of my friends were “pulling a train” on a female student. Another time in college, a fellow basketball player invited me to have sex with a woman he had in his room indicating “she was ready.”

I refused both times, much more because I was scared than being morally offended at the prospect. The outcome I’d like to see from the Nate Parker discussion is that we teach our boys what is acceptable in the same way we tell our girls what not to do. I encourage those who defend these men 100%, to explain to their daughters the basis for their feelings. There is wrong here which should not be ignored.

Lastly, is it possible to support the movie and it’s message without consideration of the acts of its creators?

I personally plan to see the movie but completely understand any that choose not to. I also plan to keep alive the discussion and hope there are lessons that can be learned, as long as we don’t refuse to talk about it. I agree with Morgan Jenkins, it is complex.

William Spivey, author and noted blogger resides in Orlando, FL. He can be read regularly at www.EnigmaInBlack.wordpress.com He can be reached at spiveywilliamf@gmail.com

Nate Parker: Victim?

By William Spivey, Noted Blogger and ICN Contributing Writer

I recently posted an article on my Facebook page by Morgan Jenkins, a Black woman on Why the Debate Over Nate Parker Is So Complex? I posted it without comment of my own but was perplexed at the comments of others. Some of whom I am typically in agreement on many other issues.

There are many legitimate questions as to whether the timing of the attacks on Nate Parker’s character are designed to limit the impact of an important film, “The Birth of a Nation” that will make some people uncomfortable? The original article discusses the unique position Black women find themselves in being torn between supporting the Black men involved and ignoring the situation that this time involves a White woman but could easily have been them.

Nate Parker was acquitted of rape charges in 2001, reportedly because he and the woman had sex the day before. His writing partner on The Birth of a Nation, Jean Celestin, was initially found guilty of sexual assault but the case was dismissed on appeal because the alleged victim refused to testify again. In the film, there is a scene where we are supposed to feel some kind of way about the vicious rape of Nat Turner’s wife by a group

24

ists of color. We’re saying: O.K., we’re going to go this ourselves.

“It’s like church in a way. There’s a feeling of communion. It’s not just an open mic. This is people sharing their spirit and their soul, and a chance to have deeper conversations…. We need to create more spaces like that in New Haven.”

That means that the series, which Washington describes as a lifetransforming and wholly empowering experience for her as a performer, will also undergo some changes, expanding with many of the ideas up her verse-filled sleeve.

Like letting youth curate and lead a few of the sessions each year.

Or being bi-monthly instead of monthly. Or moving the evenings around New Haven a lot more, to increase the number of people performing and listening to poetry in neighborhoods and community spaces once unfamiliar to them.

But the bones of it, Washington says, will stay largely the same, and retain the same spirit.

“Literary Happy Hour provides a new way of community connection that we’re all hungry for,” she said. “This is a new venue where we’re keenly listened to and heard, sharpened, pushed ... all around a very holistic experience. There’s not a beat that goes by where you feel like someone is talking at you. When you’re talking about places and spaces that are creating spaces for being ... spaces that have the value of power with, not power over or power under. We’re doing this all together. The questions are jewels, gifts. The role of the curator holding that space ... it’s really tremendous for me in this divinely creative way.”

Awachie feels pretty good about the transition too. Her only regret?

“I’m really excited about what the events in the fall will be,” she said.

“I just wish I could see the first one.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Children of Color Need to See Themselves in Books

by Marian Wright Edelman, President Children’s Defense Fund.

Do your children love the books on their summer reading lists?

Are your children reading about diverse cultures and books that

reflect their experience or history? Children of color are now a majority of all public school students and will soon be a majority of all children in America yet children’s books and the publishing industry have failed to keep up with the rainbow of our children’s faces and cultures and needs.

Children of color need to be able to see themselves in the books they read. Just as importantly, all children need to be exposed

to a wide range of books that reflect the true diversity of our nation and world as they really are.

Doreen Rappaport writes fiction and nonfiction that celebrate diverse histories and biographies such as her Caldecott Medal winner Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. illustrated by Bryan Collier. Her curiosity about one kind of untold story left her wanting to know more and more: “I got into it be-

cause when I was a teenager there were no books about women.

Maybe there was Eleanor Roosevelt and Jane Adams – those were the only two books. There wasn’t much of a place for young girls with a curiosity, and maybe even an ambition, and actually we were told not to be ambitious.”

Author and illustrator Don Brown started out on the very same hunt as Doreen Rappaport: “I had two little girls, and I wanted to read

The Average Black Family Would Need This Many Years to Build the Wealth of the Average White Family

It’s called “the racial gap” and it seems to be taking a very long time for black Americans to close it. The gap refers to the huge difference in wealth that exists between white and black Americans.

A recent study shows that, unless something drastic occurs, it will take 228 years for blacks to accumulate as much wealth as whites.

‘Mo’ money

Basically, wealth is the accumulation of resources, like stocks, bonds, real estate, and money. A new study of the racial wealth gap by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and the Corporation For Economic Development (CFED),

which studied trends in wealth from 1983 to 2013, released its findings, and it wasn’t pretty. It showed that, indeed, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.

During the 30-year-study, the rich -- members of the Forbes 400 list -- experienced a 736 percent increase in their wealth. While the average white household experienced a 84 percent gain in wealth during that time period, this increase was 3 times greater than what blacks experienced.

The problem grows

Starting with one factor, income, it’s clear to see how the gap grew.

Income was 50 percent higher in 2011 for whites than it was for blacks and Latinos, but the median

household wealth for white households was around 16 times greater.

How can that be? More earnings equates to more savings, and greater opportunities to build wealth.

In addition, disasters like the real estate crash have a much greater affect on blacks than on whites.

What about government programs?

The study shined a not-so-flattering light on government programs that are supposed to help build wealth.

Here are some of the highlights: Government spending on wealthbuilding has more than tripled since 1994 but mostly helps people who already have wealth 77 percent of the home mortgage tax deduction benefits households with annual incomes between $75,000 and $500,000

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Two-thirds of all public subsidies for retirement savings go to people whose incomes are in the top 20 percent

Bottom line

Unless things change, the study predicts that in the next 30 years, the average white family’s net worth will grow by $18,000 per year, but growth for black and Hispanic households will be only $750 and $2,250 per year.

Read more by visiting www. thenation.com/article/the-average-black-family-wouldneed-228-years-to-build-thewealth-of-a-white-family-today/

to them stories about real women who were brave and heroic.

I couldn’t find books like that.”

He too decided to write his own, and has since written more than two dozen books on famous and less well known historical figures and events. His latest graphic nonfiction book, Drowned City, is about Hurricane Katrina.

Poet and author Carole Boston Weatherford approaches history from another angle: she said she “mine[s] the past for family stories, fading traditions, and forCon’t on page 26

Con’t from page 23

Equal Rights for All Women

ship, and far more likely to be further down the ladder in every aspect of life in our nation. While people say they saw the glass ceiling shatter with Hillary Clinton’s nomination, others saw the millions standing at the sticky floor with few opportunities to climb up to that glass ceiling. Those standing on the sticky floor are disproportionately women of color, especially those who earn low wages and have fewer opportunities than others. Maybe Hillary Clinton will bridge the gap when she pursues a progressive economic agenda that includes fair and equal pay, affordable childcare, and other benefits for working women.

There has been significant progress for women since the 19th Amendment was passed, significant progress since Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day. Yet women still don’t have even a third (not to mention half) of the seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate, nor in any state legislature in the nation. Women aren’t even 10 percent of our nation’s corporate leaders. Women still face hostile work environments.

While commemorating the progress that has been made in nearly a century, we must also ask whether it will take another century to reach real equality for all women.

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available via amazon.com. For more information visit juliannemalveaux.com.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Common Ground High School is seeking a passionate, creative, and

Fusco Corporation is seeking a Project Manager for Construction Projects in the $ 15M to $100 M range.

DUTIES AND RESPONSBILITIES

CT certified Social Studies/History teacher. This teacher will have the chance to teach Common Ground’s core history and social studies classes, help to build a social studies curriculum that addresses intersections of social studies and social justice issues, and incorporates culturally relevant content for our student body, and co-teach interdisciplinary courses that integrate social justice and environmental issues with content from social studies and history. Common Ground is particularly eager for candidates who help us fulfill our commitment to building a racially and culturally diverse faculty and staff. To apply, please send resume and cover letter to: Liz Cox, School Director lcox@commongroundct.org. For full job description, visit http://commongroundct.org/2016/07/social-studies-teacher.

NOTICE

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this development located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apply.

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 request by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed pre-applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

NOTICIA

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y 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 máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 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 Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas. a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

Facilities Manager:

Responsible for leadership, management & maintenance of plant infrastructure and all related/associated equipment. 5 plus years supervisory experience. Email: Info@redtechllc.com, Fax: 860-218-2433, RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

ELECTRICIANS

Semac Electric is seeking Electricians (CT Licensed Journeymen & Foremen, E1 and E2) to join our team for medium & large commercial construction projects thru out the State of CT: Hartford, Fairfield & New Haven Counties. We have excellent wages and benefits. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applications available at our main office at 45 Peter Court, New Britain, CT or send resume to P.O. Box 638, New Britain, CT 06050 or via fax to 860-229-0406 or email: careers@semacelectric.com

Town of Bloomfield Town Assessor

$77,881 - $120,209

For details and how to apply, go to www.bloomfieldct. org. Pre-employment drug testing.

AA/EOE

• Develops, monitors, and maintains Progress and Cash Flow Schedules for the project.

• Reviews invoices and approves payment to all subcontractors and vendors required for the project.

• Maintains proper contractual relations with owners, subcontractors and vendors, interpreting contracts, plans and specifications.

• Keeps a complete current record of work performed under the contract, and maintains the Cost Reports in conformance with the requirements of the corporation’s established cost system..

• Reviews and drafts monthly requisitions for final processing by the Owner. Monitors the payment requirements of the contract.

• Accumulates data and prepares statements covering extra work for the owner’s account; subcontractor and vendor claims, back charges and any data required by the Manager of Construction Administration.

• Reviews required procedures and develops systems necessary to close out all projects for which he/she may be responsible.

Administers processing of guarantees, warrantees, releases, maintenance and procedures manuals.

Insures collection of final payment from owner and proper final payment to all subcontractors and vendors.

• Produces customized Monthly Owners Progress Report

• Assists in Pre-construction Services, attend meetings, produce constructability and plan completion reports...

• Participates in formal presentations and interviews on qualification based project selection teams.

QUALIFICATIONS

• BS degree in Engineering or Construction Management would be helpful.

• Well rounded computer skills Fusco Corporation offers a competitive benefit package including medical, dental and 401k. Fusco is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Resumes should be sent to openjobs.group@fusco.com. Phone calls will not be accepted.

City of Norwich Fire Department

Maintainer II

Must have 2 yrs. exp. as laborer in field of construction work involving the operation and care of mechanical equipment or 2 yrs. in a skilled trade and 1 yr. exp. in construction operations or and equiv combination of experience and training.

A valid Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Class B and a clean driving record. Pay rate: $21.33 to $25.00 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. The closing date will be that date the 50th application form/resume is received, or August 17, 2016, whichever occurs first. Candidates without a valid CDL should not apply. A copy of your license will be required when applying. EOE

FIREFIGHTER

Salary: $49,296 - $62,901 Visit www.norwichct.org/hr to apply and for more information. AA/EEO.

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 1:30-3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitt hapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven, CT

C

FENCE ERECTING CONTRACTORS

Large CT Fence & Guardrail Contractor is looking for Fence Installer foreman and helpers. Foreman must have at least 5 years’ experience. Helpers-no experience required, will train the right person. Work available 10-12 months per year. Valid Ct. Driver’s license required and must be able to get a DOT Medical Card. All necessary equipment provided. Medical, vacation & other benefits included.

Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Foreman rates from $22 to $28/hour plus benefits, helper rates from $18/hour plus benefits. OSHA 10 training is a plus. Please email resume to rhauer@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE

Portland Youth Services – Junior Staff

Town of Portland, CT (EOE) Junior Staff: High School Youth (age 15 to 18) part-time from August 31, 2016 to June 2017, Monday thru Friday 3:00 to 6:00 PM; Counselor I, $9.60 per hour. Individual schedule determined by need and availability. Based at Brownstone Intermediate School, the Kids Blast After School Program is a very structured team program. Working, interacting and supervising children ages 5 to 12. Help with homework by staff is required. Other creative activities are also planned. Previous experience working with children preferred.

Send Seasonal Recreation Employment Application to: First Selectwoman’s Office P.O. Box 71 Portland, CT 06480-0071 Deadline: August 29, 2016 or until filled

27

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

NEED QUOTE

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF DANBURY Cleaning Services RFP No. P16002

CONTACT PERSON HOW TO OBTAIN THE RFP DOCUMENTS: MANDATORY WALK THROUGH

PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL RETURN QUOTE SUBMITTAL DEADLINE

Ms. Devin Marra, Director of Procurement Telephone: 203-744-2500 x141 E-Mail: dmarra@hacdct.org Contact Ms. Devin Marra, via phone or email.

August 16, 2016 at 9:00am (EST) Housing Authority of the City of Danbury 2 Mill Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06811 Envelope Must be Marked: RFP No. P16002 Cleaning Services August 23, 2016 at 2:00pm (EST)

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

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven Is Seeking to fill three full time positions.

Please refer to our website for details: http://www.cfgnh.org/About/ContactUs/EmploymentOpportunities.aspx EOE

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE TRUMBULL HOUSING AUTHORITY Accepting applications from August 1, 2016 at 9 AM - August 31, 2016 up till 4 PM. Eligible applicant households must have a head, co-head, or spouse age 62 or older, or eligible disabled, at least 18 years old to qualify. Applicants that meet the criteria/national credit & criminal background checks will be selected randomly for a place on the waiting list by a lottery system.

Income Cannot Exceed:

$46,100/YEAR FOR 1 PERSON $52,650/YEAR FOR 2 PEOPLE

Rent calculation is based on 30% of adjusted monthly income.

Tenant pays for utilities, except water.

Applications can be downloaded at www.sternvillage.com, or can be obtained at The THA Office, located in the Stern Village Community Room, at 200 Hedgehog Circle, Trumbull, CT 06611.

electronic submissions only No phone calls

FIREFIGHTER Town of Greenwich

Applications are being accepted thru 7/21/16 4PM. Candidates must possess a H.S. diploma or G.E.D., valid driver’s license, & be at least 18 years of age & a US Citizen. Candidates must also possess CPAT certification (Candidate Physical Ability Test) issued 1/1/16 or after, or be registered for the fall CPAT with the CT Fire Academy by 7/21/16.

For detailed information & to apply online visit NEED QUOTE www.greenwichct.org/jobs. Town of Greenwich, HR Dept., 101 Field Point Rd, Greenwich, CT EOE M/F/D/V NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF DANBURY Cleaning Services RFP No. P16002

CONTACT PERSON HOW TO OBTAIN THE RFP DOCUMENTS: MANDATORY WALK THROUGH

PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL RETURN QUOTE SUBMITTAL DEADLINE

Ms. Devin Marra, Director of Procurement Telephone: 203-744-2500 x141 E-Mail: dmarra@hacdct.org Contact Ms. Devin Marra, via phone or email.

August 16, 2016 at 9:00am (EST) Housing Authority of the City of Danbury 2 Mill Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06811 Envelope Must be Marked: RFP No. P16002 Cleaning Services August 23, 2016 at 2:00pm (EST)

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

For a smaller 1-bedroom, the base rent is $300.

For a larger 1-bedroom, the base rent is $310.

To apply by mail:

Must send a pre-stamped, self-addressed envelope marked THA/Application Phone, fax, email or voice-mail applications will NOT be accepted. Only one application per family; one family submitting more than one application will be disqualified.

The Trumbull Housing Authority does not discriminate in admission or access to its housing programs on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, mental retardation, mental or learning or physical disability, handicapped condition, and hearing impairment, lawful source of income, familial status, and sexual orientation. Both State & Federal Law contain specific exceptions for certain protected classes.

For additional information, please call the Main Office: 203-261-5740 x1 for Heather LeMoult, Office Assistant

TRUMBULL HOUSING AUTHORITY 200 HEDGEHOG CIRCLE TRUMBULL, CT 06611

of experience and training. A valid Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Class B and a clean driving record. Pay rate: $21.33 to $25.00 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. The closing date will be that date the 50th application form/resume is received, or August 17, 2016, whichever occurs first. Candidates without a valid CDL should not apply. A copy of your license will be required when applying. EOE 28

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

It’s RegIstRatIon tIme !

New Haven Public Schools Early Childhood Program

PRE-SCHOOL NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Parents with children from 3-4 years of age are encouraged to apply with us NOW. All programs promote the enrollment of children with special needs. *** NEW *** ***SATURDAY HOURS*** ( No appointments needed.)

Head Start and School Readiness spaces available now….

PLEASE CALL TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT

REGISTER TODAY What to Bring ?: Age: Birth Certificate (long form) Address: Utility Bill in your name (Gas, Electric, Phone or Cable Bill) Income: Pay stubs for the last 4 weeks (consecutive and current) Medical: Current Physical—Yellow Form/ Must have been within the past year and include immunizations, anemia, hematocrit and lead test results, & TB assessment Dental: Recent Dental Exam (within the last 6 months)

(By Appointment ONLY) Please call to register today…….

NHPS—Early Childhood Registration Office - 80 Hamilton Street, New Haven, CT 06511 Monday through Friday 9:00a.m.-5:00p.m. ( See ‘NEW’ Extended Hours) ***NEW*** SATURDAYS -9AM -2PM (Starting Aug. 1st) If you have any additional questions please contact us at 203-946-6950 or 203-946-8446 29

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Black-Owned Vacation Rental Web Sites Help Counter Discrimination

Imagine trying to book a reservation at a Bed & Breakfast and being rejected, not because of credit issues, but because you are black.

Sadly, this is happening often with online vacation booking sites. So two black entrepreneurs started their own vacation booking web sites that offer vacation booking services -- without discrimination.

The two new web sites are Innclusive.com and Noirbnb.com.

The sites are “creating a welcoming and safe platform for people from all walks of life” to enjoy a vacation home. Together, the web sites have a goal to better serve the black community and represent the future of travel for African Americans.

Discrimination in vacation booking

lets such as Buzzfeed, Slate, Yahoo, and others for their racism and discrimination.

The incidents include bookings rejected after sending in a photo from a black guest trying to book a vacation rental, racial slurs against black guests, and the one that really drew attention, cops being called on a black family renting a vacation house because they thought the house was being robbed.

Solving the problem Con’t from page 26

A Harvard Business School study recently found that African-American guests had a lower chance than white guests of being approved for a vacation booking by

Airbnb. Airbnb is an online marketplace that enables people to list, find, then rent vacation homes for a processing fee. They have been busted on Twitter and media out-

We know our kids can succeed.

Together, we can help them rise.

As parents, you can help. Know the ART of School Success: Attend school everyday Read with your child everyday Talk with your child about his or her day www.nhps.net

One practice that Innclusive.com is doing differently is preventing hosts from seeing pictures of their guests until after the booking has been approved. The company’s rules prevent the host from booking with anyone else if they cancel a booking after seeing the guest’s photo. Both companies were created out of a need to stop racism in the vacation rental industry.

For more details about both sites, visit www.innclusive.com and www.noirbnb.com

facebook.com/newhavenpublicschools

@nhschoolchange

30

Children of Color Need to See

gotten struggles” in order to help fill in the gaps of the stories being told. Many of her books are based on historical events spanning the African American experience from slavery through the Civil Rights Movement, and she said children are often amazed to learn the stories she writes about are true: “It never fails, one of the first questions is, ‘Did that really happen?’ Well, you know, that’s exactly the reaction that I want from the kids – because they can’t fathom that some of the inhumanities and injustices that were part of legalized segregation and part of America’s history of institutionalized racism really happened.”

Rita Williams-Garcia has won numerous awards for her historical fiction trilogy that begins with the Newbery Honor novel One Crazy Summer – she began telling stories that were very deliberately not historical. She was writing contemporary fiction about girls like herself whom she had never seen in novels, and the girls in her audience responded with an immediate hunger for more. “My first novel had just been published, and I went out to a library in Long Island, and it was nothing but angry girls . . .

‘Don’t write about slavery, don’t write about the water fountains and the civil rights . . . I want you to follow this girl and then write about her friend.’ They wanted to see – they were saying, ‘I need to see myself in the here and now.’”

Jason Reynolds, the author of When I Was the Greatest, The Boy in the Black Suit, and All American Boys, shared similar feelings.

When he was in school no one ever showed him books that fea-

tured his voice or story, and so he didn’t like to read at all. He now very deliberately writes books for other young people: “Right now what we see in our communities, we see that the young people of color are hyper-visible, yet terribly invisible at the same time, and that puts them in a really complicated spot, and I think all I really want to do is say, ‘I see you.’” He added: “This doesn’t have to be your entire literary lineage. What this is, is your springboard into the world of letters . . . Show them them first.

Then you can give them Shakespeare, you can give them Harper Lee, we can run the gamut of things we can give them – but let’s give them them, and then we can move out. That’s my personal opinion.”

Children everywhere thrive when they see excellent books that give them them and open up their worlds to all kinds of excellent stories about others.

We should seek out diverse books for all children – for summer reading, in school curricula, at library story times, bedtime, and all the time. Are you seeking out books like these for your children and grandchildren? How well are schools and libraries in your community doing in providing them? Find out and ask for more.

Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. For more information go to www.childrensdefense.org

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Toddler Special Mon-Thurs 10-12 • 1 Parent 1 Toddler • Only $15 1 hr $20 2 hr

$60

off

frequent jumper

10 1-hour jump/play passes reg. $150 now $90 Complete coupon must be presented at time of purchase.

One coupon per person. These coupons are only valid in park, in person, and not valid for online purchases.

Cannot be combined with any other offers. Exp: 9/30/16

FREE

buy 1 hour, get second hour free buy 1 hour and jump/play for two hours Mon-Thurs only. Not to be combined with any other offer or promotion. Not valid online. Does not include required jump socks. Exp: 9/30/16

$20

HOURS: 10AM TO 10PM • 7 DAYS A WEEK

off

any Birthday Party booked Monday - Friday Coupon MUST be mentioned when booking. Coupon must be redeemed at time of party to receive discount.

Exp: 9/30/16

203-989-3357 • jumpoffct.com 27

31

THE INNER-CITY NEWS August 24, 2016 - August 30, 2016

Faxon Law New Haven Road Race

Labor Day: 9/5, 8:15am

Half Marathon (13.1 Miles), 20K (12.4 Miles), 2-PERSON RELAY, 5K & Kids Fun Run On the New Haven Green

NEW HALF MARATHON & 2-PERSON RELAY • Flat and scenic courses!

• Tech tees to the first 6,000 entrants • USATF 20K National Championships

• Voted New Haven Living Magazine’s •

BEST LOCAL ANNUAL EVENT! Perfect fall marathon tune-up!

Faxo axon nLa LawG wGroup The

Inner-City News S P O N S O R S 99.1PLR A&A Office Systems Able to Assist Limousine Active Health AMR Amtrak Chabaso Bakery

Crystal Rock Curvin K. Council Funeral Home Inc. Day Pitney LLP Deep River Snacks East Coast Overhead Door The Farmer’s Cow Frank Capasso & Sons, Inc.

Generation UCAN Harpoon Brewery Halloran & Sage, LLP Henkell IKEA Littler Mendelson, P.C. Marcum LLP Murtha Cullina, LLP

Neubert, Pepe & Monteith, P.C. New Haven Register NEWS8 New Haven Living Magazine New Haven Terminal Nulo Pet Food Orange Theory Fitness Shelton Park New Haven

Register at — newhavenroadrace.org 01

Schindler Elevator Turkey Hill Ice Cream Yale Daily News Yale Orthopaedics Yale University Yasso Zangari, Cohn, Cuthbertson, P.C.