INNER-CITY NEWS by INNER-CITY NEWS

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

10 Years, 143 First-Time Financial Justice a Key Focus at 2016Homebuyers NAACP Convention New Haven, Bridgeport

NEWS INNER-CITY 2210 Volume 21 No. 2194

Malloy Malloy To To Dems: Dems: 500 Rally For Jobs; Willie C’s Ignore “Tough On Crime” Ignore “Tough On Crime” Labor Peace Looms

“DMC” Color Struck? NAACP Speaker Boosts Minority Teacher-Hiring Quest

NAACP Hearing Snow in July?

Reveals Charter Divide

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

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10 Years, 143 First-Time Homebuyers THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

by MARKESHIA RICKS NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

They are daughters and sons, and moms and dads shepherding large multi-generational families. And because of a now 10-year old program run by their employer, they’re all homeowners. YaleNew Haven Hospital Wednesday celebrated 10 years of helping them become homeowners through its H.O.M.E. [Home Ownership Made Easy] program. Sixteen of the 143 people who have bought homes thanks to the program were on hand to celebrate what for many was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. For Geraldine Boone, the first YNHH employee from the Saint Raphael campus to purchase a home through the program, that meant a having space for her 12-year-old son who loves music to bang on his drums without their neighbors coming by to ask that they keep it down. The wife and mother of three has worked at the Saint Raphael campus for seven years, since before YaleNew Haven took it over. “We’re so happy with our home,” she said. “My son can be downstairs banging and making as much racket as he wants, and we’re upstairs and nobody is coming to bang on the door asking us to keep it down.” The program was started in July 2006 by offering first-time homebuyers up to $10,000 in forgivable five-year loans and other incentives. The program was

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO

Sixteen of the 143 homeowners who have come through the program to date.

modeled on a similar successful program at Yale University. “We are now 143 homes later,” said Kevin Myatt, hospital senior vice-president and chief human resource officer. ” By the end of this year that number is going to be 147.” In the 10 years, the program has only seen three forfeitures, Myatt said. Meanwhile, the program has helped strengthen city neighborhoods. Under the program, employees who purchase a home in the Hill, Dwight, West River or City Point, which are adjacent to YNHH’s cmapuses, are eligible

for additional monthly mortgage subsidies for the first two years. “The essence of a healthy community is a community that is anchored by housing,” said YNHH President Richard D’Aquila . “I look forward to more and more of this kind of contribution to our community.” Key Bank has taken over a former partner with the program, First Niagara. Philip Swetz, a community business development vice president at Key Bank, indicated that change will not alter the commitment to the H.O.M.E. program. “What an incredible opportunity to work

for an organization that really supports homeownership more than just talking about it,” he said. “They actually help you deliver and get to the finish line. “Without your help,” Swetz said of the hospital, “there are a lot of possibilities that never would have happened.” Larry Graham, who works in food nutrition and been with the hospital for 20 years, said that was certainly true for him. “Without this program, without being a part of Yale-New Haven Hospital, I’d probably still be renting,” he said. Because of the program, he’s been a homeowner

for almost 10 years. “I’m grateful and thankful to be in my house for the time I’ve been.” Philip Williams, who works in diagnostic imaging and radiology and has been with the hospital for 32 years, echoed Graham. He said it had always been his desire to own a home, but it just never seemed like it was possible until he entered the home program. But because of the program, the father of six was able to move his family into a four-bedroom home. “We have a huge yard, but when it comes to mowing, I’m glad to do it, because I’m mowing for myself,” he said. “When it comes to snow shoveling, I’m glad to do it because I’m shoveling my own snow. It’s a great big difference when you own your home instead of renting.” Homeowner Robynne Moran put it all into perspective by noting three characteristics of homeowners: They believe in the future, they’re committed, and they’re risk-takers. “Whatever comes our way, the buck stops here,” she said. “It is my risk, it was my choice, it is my home to love and to protect. I know sometimes the challenges take our breath away. but I hope everyone is doing well and that everyone agrees with me that most of the time it’s a great feeling to say, ‘This is mine, I love it.’”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

500 Rally For Jobs; Labor Peace Looms by PAUL BASS

NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

As union contract negotiations intensified at Yale, hundreds of workers jammed City Hall’s atrium to demonstrate their strength and held their fire at the university. Could that mean labor peace is returning to New Haven’s largest employer? Yale’s UNITE HERE unions organized the town-gown “unity rally for a future for good jobs for everyone” Wednesday evening. They originally planned an outdoor rally. When Mother Nature had other plans, organizers crammed at least 500 people inside the first floor of City Hall and along the second-floor balcony. The rally took place as Yale and UNITE HERE Locals 34 and 35 race to negotiate a new contract for some 3,600 clerical and technical workers and 1,200 bluecollar workers such as custodians and dining-hall employees. Their current contracts run out Jan. 20. (Yale’s 65-member police union has been working without a contract since June 30.) Two main issues have divided Yale and Locals 34 and 35: job security, including a union quest to prevent

986 clinical jobs at Yale’s medical school from being converted into non-union Yale-New Haven Hospital jobs; and a Yale request for a two-tier health insurance plan with new employees starting out with lower benefits. The two sides have squabbled publicly throughout the year in ways reminiscent of the bitter labor relations that led to seven strikes in a 34-year period ending in 2003. But in interviews before the rally Wednesday, Yale Vice-

President Eileen O’Connor, Local 34 President Laurie Kennington, and Local 35 President Bob Proto all reported the two sides had been making progress and bargained in good faith. They all expressed optimism about reaching a deal. “We are hopeful,” O’Connor said. “We feel they have put forward some concrete proposals. We feel we have put forward some concrete proposals.” “We’re trying to roll up our sleeves and get it done,” remarked Proto.

“They are willing to do the hard work. We’ve overcome a difficult relationship. We’re looking to the future now.” So instead of criticizing Yale in his remarks to the crowd, Proto made the case for why the fate of Yale workers is linked to fate of workers throughout Greater New Haven. He noted that one of every three workers in New Haven is employed by either Yale University or YaleNew Haven Hospital.

the State Elections Enforcement Commission. (Ugly Radio and WNHH radio host Joe Ugly gave $250.) Harp said in an interview Monday that she originally approved the PAC to raise money for independent polling to figure out where New Haveners in general stand on hot-button issues, like fights at the Board of

Education. That poll hasn’t been done yet, she said. She said the PAC will also support candidates for the Board of Alders who support her positions on issues of safety, education and enforcement — hence the acronym “SEE” in the PAC’s name. “I think that it’s important for there to be more than one” organized political entity advancing an agenda in New Haven, Harp said. She said she wants to “help candidates who buy into my vision.” Bartlett said that the “2020” stands for the fact that Harp plans to seek at least two more terms in office as mayor, through 2020. He said it also stands for the fact that he and other organizers would like her to run for governor in two years. “I personally have encouraged her

“So when we’re fighting” for job security or the right to organize new unions (such as the drive to represent Yale’s graduate-student employees), Proto said, “we’re fighting for the future of good jobs in this region.” It was a classic UNITE HERE New Haven rally, full of chanting, colorful signs and music, as a keyboardist, bassist, and drummer who usually gig on Sundays at church on Dixwell Avenune filled City Hall to the rafters with the infectious beats from the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” The rally also had choreographed, pithy, energetic speeches from a wide variety of labor and community supporters. (Unions that don’t have a close working relationship with UNITE HERE city teachers, firefighters, and most municipal government bargaining units did not have a presence.) Speakers ranged in age from 13-year-old Lihame Arouna, who lives in the Hill and whose sister is active in the pro-union New Haven Rising activist group (“We want a future with good jobs for

Harp Launches PAC To Build Political Base by PAUL BASS

NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Mayor Toni Harp’s team has created a political action committee to elect alders who support her agenda — and possibly to lay the groundwork for a run for governor. Both goals are encompassed by the name of the PAC, “See 2 2020.” A top Harp adviser, city youth services chief and former campaign manager Jason Bartlett, organized the PAC over the summer and serves as its strategist. Bartlett’s City Hall administrative assistant, Rae Johnson-Boykin, is the PAC ‘s treasurer. A city firefighter and attorney, Amin Dawud, is listed as the chairperson. The PAC held its first fundraiser in October at Fornarelli’s Restaurant on Orange Street. So far it has received over $2,000

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO Harp: Higher office in sights?

from contributors. These include city officials like deputy economic development chief Stephen Fontana ($250) and Livable City Initiative Executive Director Serena Neal-Sanjurjo ($100), as well as former Harp mayoral opponent Kermit Carolina ($250) and his former campaign manager, attorney Michael Jefferson ($250), according to filings with

to consider running for governor,” Bartlett said. “I will continue to do so, especially in light of what happened this year” in the federal elections. The new PAC could “morph” into a statewide campaign vehicle, Bartlett said. Indeed, in the original filing, the organizers marked “yes” next to boxes asking if the PAC is “authorized to make contributions or expenditures for candidates for statewide office” or the General Assembly. Asked if she envisions running for governor, Harp offered this response: “Many have urged me to consider running for governor, but my job is to run this city and continue to improve safety, education and employment for New Haven residents. Right now my focus is on the job I have and

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

John P. Thomas Publisher / CEO

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

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

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

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

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Harp To Carson: Help! Please? by PAUL BASS

NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Mayor Toni Harp Monday began honing a personal pitch to Donald Trump’s newly-announced pick for housing secretary — in order to salvage an endangered plan to rebuild Church Street South. Harp said her administration has learned that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has turned down the city’s application to secure a $30 million “Choice Neighborhoods” grant to help rebuild the soon-to-be-razed 301unit federally subsidized housing Church Street South apartment complex across from Union Station. The city has been clearing the families out of the housing complex because of dangerous health conditions that festered for years while HUD gave the private landlord millions of dollars in annual rent subsidies and passing inspection scores. The city and the complex’s owner, Massachusettsbased Northland Development, have been working on a plan to rebuild a 900-1,000-unit mixeduse apartment complex there, most of it market rate, but 30 percent of it “affordable” to people of modest

Meet the new boss: Harp, Carson.

means. They need government money to do that. Harp and city Livable City Initiative (LCI) Executive Director Serena Neal-Sanjurjo told the Independent Monday that HUD officials assured them in recent meetings that they are committed to helping the city find other money to help subsidize that plan. But their job may have just gotten more difficult. Next month a Republican administration takes over the White House, including at HUD. No longer will a Democratic administration with political debts and a similar philosophical bent be controlling the purse strings. On Monday President-Elect Trump announced that he had selected Ben Carson as his HUD secretary. Carson has equated HUD’s fair housing policies with

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communism. Not favorably. Harp said during her latest appearance on WNHH radio’s “Mayor Monday” program that she plans to press ahead with efforts to convince HUD to support the Church Street South rebuild. Including appealing directly to Carson, a Yale graduate who served on the Yale Corporation. “I try to deal with reality. If he’s what we’ve got, we’ve got to make it work,” Harp said. First, asked by a caller about the Carson appointment, Harp she called it “unfortunate” because Carson, a famous surgeon, has more expertise in medicine than in housing. But then, testing out her upcoming Church Street South pitch, she summoned a more positive spin on the appointment. “‘Ben, it was [already] in the

development phase,’” she pictured telling him about the rebuilding plan.“I will tell him that the book [Gifted Hands] that he wrote — when my daughter was in high school [it] was the reason she became a doctor. So we can connect. He came and he spoke to a lot of high school kids at that particular time. I think he was on the [Yale] Corporation at that time. It really made a difference. He totally inspired her and my younger daughter. They’re both doctors today.” That’s a start. “The really good thing about Ben Carson is that he has been to New Haven. That he spent his formative educational years here. ... I think he cares about New Haven and understands what it takes to make New Haven work,” Harp declared. She warmed to the pitch the more she honed it. “I believe he was doing his residency here when they built Church Street South. So he understands where it is. He’s a very bright man. He’s got to understand transitoriented development. And how important in a city of New Haven it its to preserve” affordable housing, Harp averred. She also noted that Carson spent some of his childhood living in public Con’t from page 8

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

Reverend Kimber The Election is Over…What Now? named to national post

Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network has appointed Rev. Dr. Boise Kimber as the National Coordinator for the “We Shall Not Be Moved” March in Washington DC on January 14, 2017. The march will announce to President-Elect Donald Trump and put Congress on notice that protecting the civil rights of citizens, the voting rights of Americans who have been excluded, providing health care for all people, and equal opportunity for realizing the American Dream should be priorities of this government regardless of political affiliations. “I’m honored to have been selected for a leadership role with this national march,” stated Rev. Kimber. “With this change in government leadership it is important that we continue to strive to make Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream a reality, as well as preserving the legacy of President Obama.” During and after the recent presidential election, media outlets have been reporting an uptick in racial attacks and harassment throughout the country. This march is a response to the newly energized racist elements, “I am looking forward to uniting with other likeminded brothers and sisters to say that America can and should do better,” said Kimber.

By Samuel T. Ross-Lee

Rev. Al Sharpton

About National Action Network The National Action Network (NAN) is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the nation, founded in 1991 by the Reverend Al Sharpton. About Reverend Boise Kimber Reverend Boise Kimber Pastors the First Calvary Churches of New Haven and Hartford. He is the President Emeritus of the Greater New Haven Clergy Association, recent past president of the Connecticut Missionary Baptist State Convention and serves as a director of the National Action Network, Inc., the Conference of National Black Churches, and as Executive Director of the Social Justice Initiative. Contact: Rev. Dr. Boise Kimber, 203-996-8347, drbkimber@gmail.com

I’m writing this article the day before the presidential election day, but it won’t appear until after the election. This is intentional. I have no intentions of trying to influence anyone’s vote, not even my own. Since I won’t be available to vote on election day, I have already cast my ballot. For me it’s all over but the crying, no matter which candidate wins. What I’m fascinated in thinking about at this juncture is trying to determine what will happen to us when all the promises have been made, all the voting is completed, all the ballots have been counted, and the “winner” is declared. Presidential elections can be exciting in so many ways. Obama/ McCain was such an election. The possibility of the first AfricanAmerican President who had served less than one term in the U.S. Senate was contested by a war hero to many and a former POW, who had served many years in the Senate. The electricity of that campaign could not be denied. But, presidential campaigns can also be tedious and irritating as Clinton/Trump has been. I don’t know how many times while watching the non-stop media coverage that I thought to myself: There are some 320 million people in American and we ended up with these two representing the major parties and the likely winners. Oh well. We got what we got, right? One of these candidates will win. Either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States. But, what will happen now that the decision has been made? It is almost universally agreed upon within the African-American community that Donald Trump will not be a good president for us. He started his campaign by putting down our Mexican sisters and brothers, and he didn’t let

up until he had insulted virtually every group in America to which he does not belong. But, for the Black community, Hillary Clinton is not the prize that she is trying to portray herself as. So, she partied with Beyonce and Jay-Z. Her husband played the saxophone on the nowdefunct Arsenio Hall show while walking over the grave of severely mentally ill Black man on death row in Arkansas on Bill’s way to the White House. The man, Ricky Ray Rector, was so unaware of what was happening to him as the guards prepared to walk him to the death chamber that he left his pecan pie from his last meal in his cell, declaring that he would eat it later. Bill was afraid of the “soft on crime” moniker with which Michael Dukakis had been labeled, some said. But what was it that caused the first Clinton administration to institute a mass-incarceration policy that left some many African-American families decimated? Or what led to his now iconic statement that “The era of big government is over” in his 1996 State of the Union Address? Lest we forget, it was “big government” that had to step in often to rescue African-Americans from the extreme and intense racial bigotry and inequality that was so prevalent in the small towns both South and North where relief was not only improbable but often impossible. Bill Clinton’s end of “big government” led to big problems for African-Americans when those places that had been stripped of their autocratic ability to oppress us were let loose with little or no federal oversight. The Clintons have shown that they are willing to say what they have to say and do what they have to do to get elected and to remain in power. Compromising away the protection and progress of African-Americans are not least on their agenda of doing what they “have to do.” So, the question peaks its head again to confront those who have campaigned for, voted for, and practically threatened others to vote for their candidates: What happens after the election? How will we ensure that we

will not be disappointed with our choices this time? Can we ensure this? Do we have any control over what a president does after they are elected? Or are we resigned simply to trust them before we vote for them and pray that they will not betray us in office, and then frighten us to vote for them again by pointing out what a bogeyman their opponent is? It is my contention that the best control we have over a candidate or a party, any candidate or party, is before the vote, not after. It seemed to me impossible for voters to hear this before this present election, but now that it’s over maybe we can “get out of our feelings” and get into our heads a bit more. We can control elections by whom we refuse to vote for as much, or probably more, as we can by whom we do. In fact, refusing to vote in some cases might be more powerful than voting. Think about it: If AfricanAmericans refused to vote for Hillary in record numbers this time, and for the stated reasons that we are dissatisfied with what the first Clinton administration did to us, when the Democrats run their next candidate for president, that candidate must play close attention to our concerns, our values, and our desired policies. Then they must act on those concerns, values, and policies if elected. This way, after the election for us, would be less of a guess and more of a certainty. We should stop giving away all of our political capital based on promises. We should only spend it when the candidates who seriously vie for it completely understand that they will win it if they protect our interest when they get it. An intelligent non-vote is better than an emotional “they died for you to have the right to vote” vote. For, the right to vote is also the right not to vote. And what is the use of voting if your influence evaporates after the election?

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

Willie C’s Unisex Barbershop Given Community Diversity Award by Connecticut Psychological Association by Dr. Jan Owens-Lane, Chair, Ethnic Diversity Task Force of CT Psychological Association; Michael Farrow, University of Rhode Island; Kaye Ramirez, University of Hartford

Historically, black men have had very few places where they feel free to discuss important issues, especially related to mental health. Stigma, social barriers, economic obstacles and mistrust of healthcare providers have prevented them from accessing mental health services. Studies suggest that black males mistrust treatment providers, dismiss signs of mental illness and are more likely to attempt to overcome psychological distress by themselves, or “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” When sought, help seeking in the black community usually comes through barbers, hair stylists and clergy as trusted mentors, sounding boards and people to recommend sound advice. Many men of color with overgrown hair and heavy weight psychological, economic and social issues on their shoulders show up at the local barber shop. Willie C’s Barbershop in New

Haven decided to take action to stop the “suffering in silence” they have seen among some of their clients over the years. Thus, they have partnered with the MindStylz Program, which is a

collaborative project between hair stylists, barbers, and the Ethnic Diversity Task Force (EDTF) of the Connecticut Psychological Association (CPA) to educate and increase mental health awareness

in communities of color. As a result of this partnership with EDTF, Willie C. and his son Billy C participated in a training session at their barbershop on June 22, 2016. Because the barbers received this training, Willie C’s Barbershop is better equipped to recognize mental health symptoms of their clients who confide in them and suggest to their clients who are quite distressed to see a mental health provider, that is make “gentle referrals” to mental health providers of color in the community (i.e. referral list provided). At the 30th Annual Connecticut Psychological Association Convention (CPA) on October 28, 2016, Willie C’s Unisex Barbershop was the 2016 recipient of the Award for Distinguished Contribution to Community Diversity in Psychology that was presented by the Ethnic Diversity Task Force (EDTF). In the interest

of promoting excellence in public service, EDTF presents this award annually to a community organization or business which has demonstrated outstanding commitment to the psychological well-being of ethnically diverse communities. Willie C. Mewborn, Sr. is a native of Ayden, North Carolina. A graduate of Vaughn Barber College in Hartford, Connecticut where he studied cosmetology, Willie C. continued his studies at Kaynor Technical School in Waterbury, Connecticut where he studied Business. In 1980, he opened up Willie C’s Unisex Barbershop at 770 Dixwell Avenue in New Haven and has been cutting hair for the last 36 years. His son, Billy C. joined him in the family business. These entrepreneurs and father-son duo, Willie C. and Billy C. have many years of combined experience cutting, trimming, and styling hair. They not only provide

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Jazz & E Hit Paydirt THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

by PAUL BASS

NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

As usual, it was Jasmine Sanders who suggested an extra lap: Let’s check out that parking lot one last time before ending our shift, she said. As usual, it was Eric Eisenhard who responded with a shrug: OK, he said. That sounds good. It was after 10 p.m. The two patrol cops’ shift would soon end. Partners since they began working on the force last year, they were walking their beat on Chapel Street in the Dwight/West River area. They were headed back to the neighborhood substation for the night. Sanders needed to get there to use the bathroom. But, she recalled, she had “a hunch.” She and Eisenhard often check a parking lot behind a problem apartment building, Winthrop Terrace, at the corner of Chapel and Winthrop. Her hunch told her to check it one more time that night. “It was her intuition,” Eisenhard recalled. “She always wants to go out there and do something more. Sometimes I might want to sit for a second; we do a lot of walking. She always wants to keep going.” Sanders’ hunch paid off. By the time the pair went home, they had the biggest case so far in their budding careers. “He Stuffed Something” As soon as they entered the lot that night two weeks ago, they noticed a tan Toyota parked at the other end with no license plate, no lights on, but a man with his head down in the driver’s seat. Sanders pointed her flashlight at the car as they walked over. The driver’s head remained down. Sanders arrived at the driver’s side of the car, Eisenhard at the passenger side. He noticed the man inside the car fidgeting and placing “something big and white” in the door. “Jazz,” Eisenhard (whom she calls “E”) said out loud, “he stuffed something.” The man finally noticed the cops. He rolled down his window. As Eisenhard walked over to the driver’s side of the car, Sanders asked the man to step outside. He complied with no complaint. “Very nonchalant,” Eisenhard later recalled. “Like he didn’t care.” Sanders checked the inside of the door and found what the man had been hiding: a bag filled with blocks of white. Both officers figured it was drugs.

Sanders and Eisenhard on the beat.

Probably crack. But they were startled: They’d never seen blocks of cocaine that large before. In fact, Sanders, who grew up in West Haven, and Eisenhard, who grew up in Norwich, said they’d never really seen cocaine or heroin up close (as opposed to on TV) until they became cops. “It was like big cookies, multiple chunks of big cookies,” Sanders remembers thinking. “You know those white shiny rocks? I honestly thought that’s what it was at first,” Eisenhard recalls. Sanders took a look under the driver’s seat and found a 9mm Ruger semiautomatic handgun. She founds scads of tiny baggies as well, some already filled with retail-sized minirocks. The two cops called in reinforcements from their policing district as well as the Bureau of Identification. Meanwhile they waited with the suspect, who felt like talking. Sanders — the conversationalist in the duo — ended up in a conversation with him about his situation. She was a mental health case worker before becoming a cop, so she has had a lot of practice speaking with, and calming, anxious people. She enjoys it. (“I”m just not a conversation person,” Eisenhard said, though he does enjoy talking with neighborhood

kids on his beat. “Sometimes she tries to have a long conversation with me,” he said, and he does his best.) In this case, she didn’t need to calm the man down. Even as it became clear he was in a deep load of trouble. He spoke of how he had just moved to New Haven from Puerto Rico, how he wanted to return home soon. “He wanted to talk. I listened,” Sanders later recalled. “That’s what I do. I’m an officer; I’m also a person. I’m not judgmental [when] people make poor choices.” The Bureau of Identification tested the rocks with a Sirchie brand kit, which indeed produced a blue result, confirming they were crack cocaine. It turned out the handgun had 14 rounds in the magazine (though no bullets in the chamber.) It had been reported stolen from a location in Shelton. Police arrested the suspect, who’s 26, and charged him with having an illegal weapon in a motor vehicle, carrying a pistol without a permit, theft of a firearm, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, among other charges. Those big rocks weighed in at 105 grams of crack. “This is definitely a significant arrest,” said the pair’s supervisor, Dwight top cop Sgt. Steve Torquati. Many of the duo’s police academy

classmates have also had the same partners since graduating from the academy in July 2015 and completing training. The department keeps pairs together as long as they click. Sanders and Eisenhard click, despite (or perhaps because of) their different personalities and backgrounds. She dreamed of becoming a gymnast, or a dancer, or a lawyer, growing up, always full of energy. He studied urban planning at University of Connecticut; when he couldn’t find a position in the field (“They either want you to have a masters or have eight years of experience,” he noted; plus towns were cutting their budgets), he waited tables and worked landscaping jobs for years before landing the New Haven police job. Sanders, who’s 28, is eager to become a detective, to work narcotics, to learn every job in the department and rise through the ranks. Eisenhard, 34, said he can imagine himself remaining a patrolman, happily, for his entire career. He rarely works overtime. Instead, he spends every day watching his 17-month-old daughter Annika while his wife is at work. On the three weeknights he’s on work duty (he also works two weekend nights), family members fill in watching Annika for the two or three hours between the time Eisenhard reports for the B shift at the police department and mom arrives home from work. Annika was happy, at peace, sitting on her dad’s lap during an interview for this story; they’ve clearly bonded. “They’ve grown with each other,” Torquati observed. “They balance each other out. One can push; the other can say, ‘Not everything is run, run, run.’” The Last Lap Sanders remembered she needed to go the bathroom a few hours after acting on her hunch, as she and Eisenhard arrived at police headquarters to file their report on their big bust. Sanders wrote the report. “She’s a perfectionist; it’s a good thing. I’m not,” Eisenhard reflected. “When she does reports, she makes sure everything is perfect in it.” He writes good reports, too, he added. “I get the job done.” He finally headed home to his family around 2 a.m. Sanders left two hours later. When she felt she had the report done just right.

Con’t from page 5

Help! Please?

housing. “Look,” Harp said. “If we’ve got a hook and we can get him to understand what it is that we need and use the considerable resources that he has on our behalf, that’s what we’ve got to do.” Just in case the Trump/Carson HUD doesn’t run to send millions to New haven for the project, New Haven has also, according to NealSanjurjo, talked to the state about possible funding for affordable housing in the rebuilt Church Street South. Neal-Sanjurjo said she didn’t want to discuss any specific potential pots of money at this point, in order not to raise expectations. But, she said, “We’ve got a couple of ideas that we’re working on for state funding as well as a couple of meeting s that we’ve got coming up with HUD. HUD is not completely out of it.” She also said Northland has committed itself to trying to make the affordable housing part of the project work. Asked for comment, Northland Chairman and CEO Larry Gottesdiener was noncommittal. “We will have to reassess our plans going forward, particularly in light of the changes in the administration and HUD,” he wrote in an email message. He made a point of expressing his “appreciation” for “all of the excellent work that was done by our partners, the City of New Haven generally, and LCI, and Serena Neal Sanjurjo, specifically, to pursue the Choice grant. We were very disappointed that we were not selected.” State Department of Housing spokesman Dan Arsenault said his agency “is certainly aware of the ongoing work to redevelop the Church Street South property, as well as the efforts to assist current residents with finding stable, safe, and affordable housing. DOH has an open door policy and as such we are always willing to discuss the potential for development.” HUD spokeswoman Rhonda Siciliano said the agency did not have an immediate updated comment ready as this story was being published.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

Con’t from page 4

Harp

Launches PAC providing the best services to the people of New Haven,” Harp said. Doing that job has at times involved running up against organized groups that oppose her specific policies. Harp won her first term as mayor with the support of the Yale UNITE HERE union locals that dominate both the Board of Alders and the Democratic Town Committee. The two sides have had a rockier relationship since then. The administration has also clashed with the politically savvy firefighters union and Yale, the most powerful corporate force in town. Until now, Harp, unlike some of her predecessors, has not actively sought to build an independent political base to advance her agenda. Harp’s administration clashed with the Board of Alders over approval to build a new public school in conjunction with Southern Connecticut State University (that took two tries over two years); over appointments to the Board of Education; and the fate of economic development projects that were stalled by the board’s UNITE HERE majority in part over its differences with the university. If the PAC had existed in 2015, Bartlett said, it might have supported alder candidates who had voted for approving that SCSU project that year. He said other relevant issues might include support for the mayor’s 10-point plan for the public schools, including investing in expandedday learning, technology, a Saturday reading academy and raises for paraprofessionals. Bartlett said he hopes the PAC will also help the public understand Harp’s positions better on controversial issues. He gave the example of the plan to remove Engine 9 from the Ellsworth Avenue firehouse, a subject that prompted vociferous protest from the firefighters union. “I thought the narrative was very one-sided. It probably would have been helpful to get more information out that we weren’t trying to shut down a firehouse,” Bartlett said.

NAACP Hearing Reveals Charter Divide by MICHELLE LIU

NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Black students get a chance they deserve. Or black students get shortchanged by semi-private schools that drain traditional public schools of needed money. Those two views were on display as the national debate over charter schools and their impact on communities of color roared into New Haven. The occasion was a hearing at the Omni Hotel Saturday held by the Connecticut NAACP It was the first of seven such hearings planned across the country in response to a resolution passed in October by the national NAACP calling for a moratorium on new charter schools. And it lasted four hours. With passionate testimony on both sides. Debating the merits of these charter schools for minority students in particular, traditional public school advocates suggested that charter schools only deepen divides between and sap resources out of public schools in minority and low-income communities. Those on the pro-charter side argued that these alternatives to public schools provide viable options for the black, Latino and poor communities that need them the most. The civil-rights group’s moratorium call has been controversial exposing two

MICHELLE LIU PHOTO

Steve Perry testifies at the NAACP hearing.

divergent strains of thought in the black community about the best direction for improving public schools. Members of the NAACP’s National Task Force for Quality Education, created alongside the resolution, heard testimony from teachers, parents, students and experts on both sides of the divide at the Omni Saturday. The hearing kicked off a process that will culminate in a set of

recommendations from the task force. The prevalence of charter schools in primarily urban areas with concentrated black and Latino populations makes this issue especially pertinent to the task force, said Connecticut NAACP President Scot X. Esdaile said. Race has been a flashpoint at New Haven’s charter Amistad High School, where black students staged a walkout May 31 to protest

the lack of black teachers. In his testimony at Saturday’s New Haven hearing, Steve Perry of Hartford pointed to wait lists into the hundreds at Connecticut’s Capital Preparatory charter schools, which he leads, as a marker of the demand for charters and their importance to parents. Likewise, the right to choose, a central tenet in pro-charter arguments, surfaced as Perry

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

NAACP Speaker Boosts Minority Teacher-Hiring Quest by MARKESHIA RICKS NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Offer aspiring teachers scholarship money. After hiring them, match them with veteran-teacher mentors. And treat them with respect. The nearly four-decade head of an historically black university offered those tips and others Thursday night to school districts like New Haven that seek to increase the number of black and Latino teachers in their classrooms. William Harvey, president of Hampton University, a nearly 150 year old HBCU in Hampton, Va., laid out those strategies and more at a town hall meeting at Yale Law School. New Haven Public Schools partnered with the Connecticut NAACP to put on a two-day education symposium featuring representatives from 30 historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, in an effort to create a pipeline for recruiting teachers and administrators of color to the district. In addition to Thursday’s address by Harvey, attendees participated in workshops on principal engagement, preparing teachers from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), teaching and learning, and the state’s teacher certification process. Harvey told attendees at the town hall meeting that HBCUs are a vital part of the conversation about not only recruiting people of color to the teaching profession, but also attacking the national teacher shortage. HBCUs graduate 50 percent of all African-American teachers. He had both good news and not so good news to share with the crowd. Students today have more options about what schools they can attend than Harvey had when he graduated from HBCUs Talladega College in 1961 and Virginia State University in 1966, Harvey said. The good news is that African-American graduates of HBCUs are more satisfied with their education and their overall wellbeing in their post graduate life, than were their counterparts who attended predominately white institutions, or PWIs. “These are Gallup facts, not William Harvey facts,” he said as he referenced a 2015 survey of AfricanAmerican graduates. But he said despite the high level of satisfaction with the HBCU college experience, increasingly black students are steered away from attending HBCUs. Harvey

Benjamin Foster, state NAACP education chairman, presents Harvey a plaque.

Esdaile, at right: looking to create a model.

attributed that fact to a worldview of some guidance counselors that HBCUs are inferior to universities like Yale and Harvard, or even the predominate state university. A Changed Landscape Harvey, who also received a doctorate from Harvard University in 1972, said he wasn’t trying to minimize what one can learn at a PWI, only to highlight the value that can be found in HBCUs. “When I began teaching in 1965, it was a common fact that black students were taught by black teachers who lived and worked in the black community,” he said. “These teachers were often the pillars of the community and well

respected by all during this time. A majority of these teachers attended HBCUs because that was primarily the only option that we had. Now ladies and gentlemen that landscape has changed.” He told the audience that the landscape has changed in other ways, and that’s the not so good news. Teaching is not nearly as popular a career path as it had been among black college students, or students of any ethnic group. Computer science, communications and business are the majors students want to pursue. He said he believes that it’s partly because those profession get all the marketing hype, the headlines and the money.

“College students seem to view other professions as more exciting, glamorous and lucrative,” he said. He pointed to the Princeton Review’s Top 10 College Majors, noting that education was nowhere on the list. “When education is selected as a major it is generally not selected by African-Americans,” he added. “According to the U.S. Department of Education only 5 percent of African-American college students major in education. The majority of college students enrolled in teacher education programs are white and when comparing completion rates, whites have a 73 percent completion rate after six years, and AfricanAmericans only have a 42 percent completion rate.” Several of the solutions he offered were in the vein of making the profession a more attractive path. Harvey suggested that more be done to market the teaching profession. He also suggested that more money be invested in students who seek to teach in the same way that it is now available for those pursing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. Additionally, he called for more public and private investment — forming partnerships with school districts, along with other universities and foundations — in teacher preparation programs, particularly at HBCUs because they are where half of African-Americans educators earn their degrees. Once you get African-Americans into the profession, he said, the numbers show that retention is more challenging than recruitment. School districts can’t abandon those new teachers, he said. Instead, they must be supported, mentored and respected. “The majority who leave the profession do so within their first few years,” he said. “Therefore, the experiences of new teachers entering the work force are critical to them remaining in the profession.” Shortage Can Be Overcome He said new teachers need mentoring relationships with veteran teachers to deal with everything from the politics of their school building to handling discipline problems in the classroom. He said that those relationships must be non-adversarial, meaning that the veteran teacher-mentors should not be involved in evaluating the new teacher’s job performance.

Harvey said that the general shrinking interest in the profession, combined with a shrinking interest in the profession among an underrepresented group like African-Americans, adds up to a significant teacher shortage. He encouraged the audience not to despair, but to act. “I personally believe with the right amount of emphasis on this problem and with appropriate funding our nation will see an increase in the number of African-American teachers in our classrooms,” he said. “We know the problems. We know the challenges. We know the issues, and we also know the promises. So I say to you, we have a lot of work to do. Let’s get on with it.” Scot X. Esdaile, president of Connecticut NAACP, said that creating a pipeline for recruitment and retention is the next step. He said that Friday’s task will be to sit down with representatives from HBCUs, state education heads, human resource directors, and principals to chart a way forward. He said one of the main topics of discussion is creating a retention network that looks at how the community can support these new teachers. “You know kids coming up to the North from the South, there’s the cold weather, they don’t know anybody up here,” he said. “That’s why the community is so important to embrace them when they come here so that we can help them get acclimated.” He said that means helping them connect to churches, school alumni groups, and civic and fraternal organizations. “There are a lot of things that you can do up here and be a part of this movement,” he said. “We’re trying to set this up as a model for the nation.” Esdaile said the Elm City has a good shot in turning these strategies into reality because there are people of color in power in the city, in the school district and at the local school level. It also doesn’t hurt that there is a demand for teachers and administrators of color that comes not just from adults, but also from students, he said, pointing to a walkout that Amistad High students staged this spring. “There’s a lot of concerns around this nationwide,” he said of minority teacher recruitment. “It’s not just a problem here in Connecticut. It’s across the country.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

NAACP Hearing Reveals UNDERSTANDING YOUR BODY SHAPE Charter Divide Con’t from page 5

by Tanisha Bundy, Wardrobe Consultant, Celebrity Stylist and ICN Fashion Correspondent

made a comparison to private universities (for which students can still receive federal aid). “If you had a student who got into Yale University, you’d probably tell them to go,” he said. In Massachusetts, the people have spoken decisively against charter schools, said Jessica Tang, a teacher in Boston’s public schools and an organizer in that city’s teachers union. She pulled up the map on how the state voted on Nov. 8 for Question 2, a ballot question on whether the state board of education should be authorized to expand the cap on charter school expansion throughout the state. While 68 percent of voters voted “no,” the remaining 32 percent were overwhelmingly from the “whitest, wealthiest upper-class” communities, Tang said. On the other hand, in Boston alone, black and Latino communities like those in Roxbury voted against the question. “The narrative that black and brown families want charter schools ... was completely proven untrue by voters’ rights,” Tang said. Even a factoid — the $11,000

allotted per student in a charter school in Connecticut — took on different interpretations. Some said the money per student meant charters couldn’t be siphoning funds away from public schools, others said it put greater pressure for public schools to continue paying teachers, maintaining infrastructure and supporting special education students who don’t get admitted to charters. Shonta Browdy, chair of the NAACP Greater Hartford branch’s education committee, claimed that local charter schools cherrypick their students, holding onto troublemakers until Oct. 1 — the day on which a public school like those in Hartford submit head counts to the state for its yearly funding. And on Oct. 2? “They come in droves,” she said of lower-performing students pushed back into the public school system, to a chorus of incredulous cries in the audience. Jeremiah Grace, the state director for the Northeast Charter Schools Con’t on page 22

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

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Brother’s Work It Out

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

Steve & Wood Harris: Marcus Williams, BDO Staff Writer

At home on the West Side of Chicago, Steve and Wood Harris’ parents wouldn’t have guessed that two of their sons would become professional actors. “We had a very normal, sort of ghetto, urban upbringing,” Wood Harris recalls. “My father was a bus driver and my mother was a seamstress and a substitute schoolteacher, off and on. So, that all adds up to no money.” Their parents stressed to him and his older brother: education over his love for football. Steve attended St. Joseph High in Westchester, Illinois, a private school known for developing star athletes such as basketball star Isiah Thomas and was featured in the documentary Hoop Dreams (1994). Steve played running back. He then played linebacker for Northern Illinois University, where he also studied drama. His football career ended with a torn ankle ligament. He completed his studies with a Master’s degree in theater from the University of Delaware. Best known for his role as Eugene Young in ABC’s

Steve & Wood Harris

Emmy Award-winning series THE PRACTICE. Since THE PRACTICE Steve has made numerous guest appearances on television series and films. Wood, on the other hand, had his first break in the film, Above The Rim with Tupac Shakur. Since then he’s been in many classic roles as Avon Barksdale in

The Wire and the lead character in Paid In Full. “We were sports kids. Wood was actually rapping when we were in high school,” Steve said. “I was following in my brother’s footsteps when it came to academics,” admitted Wood. “My brother went to college and I was thinking that I needed to

go too. But I only thought that scholarships were only given out to athletes. It was a new thing for me when I got an academic scholarship.” “I took an acting class because I thought it was going to be an easy grade,” Steve confessed. “But it was a real acting class…and I enjoyed it!” Steve said. “It gave me the same high that I got when playing football.” The skill the brothers learned in the arts is priceless. Here are top 3 benefits that every child can take from arts programs: Creativity – Being able to think on your feet, approach tasks from different perspectives and think ‘outside of the box’ will distinguish your child from others. In an arts program, your child will be asked to… … recite a monologue in 6 different ways, create a painting that represents a memory, or compose a new rhythm to enhance a piece of music. If children have practice thinking creatively, it will come naturally to them now and in their future career. 2. Conﬁdence – The skills developed through theater, not only train you how to

convincingly deliver a message, but also build the confidence you need to take command of the stage. Theater training has been known to give children practice stepping out of their comfort zone and allows them to make mistakes and learn from them in rehearsal. This process gives children the confidence to perform in front of large audiences. 3. Problem Solving – Artistic creations are born through the solving of problems. How do I turn this clay into a sculpture? How do I portray a particular emotion through dance? How will my character react in this situation? Without even realizing it kids that participate in the arts are consistently being challenged to solve problems. All this practice problem solving develops children’s skills in reasoning and understanding. This will help develop important problem-solving skills necessary for success in any career. The two brothers have done films together as well as assisted in each others projects. To this day, it’s nothing but love in the Harris family.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

Women & Allies Protest Injustice on December 12, 2016 in New Haven, CT and Across the Country Women & Allies, a national organization and grassroots campaign initiated by women to protect the civil rights and liberties of all is organizing “Strike Out and Protest” rallies taking place in New Haven and across the US on December 12. The New Haven protest will be held at the New Haven Green at 12 noon to 2:00pm. The “Strike Out and Protest” peaceful rallies taking place across the country on December 12 will feature noted speakers, voter registration opportunities, and give outraged citizens the opportunity to make their voices heard as women stand together in solidarity with all people who are targets of Trump’s hate. Additionally, protestors will have the ability on site to electronically sign the Change. org petition challenging the Electoral College to cast their votes for Hilary Clinton and honor the popular vote, the will

of the people on December 19. Women & Allies was formed following the 2016 election results to speak out against the normalization misogyny, xenophobia, racism, homophobia, and religious prejudice. This passionate and determined group believes in 100% inclusion, and is actively seeking to partner with individuals and organizations who are dedicated to fighting

discrimination , violence, and hatred toward all marginalized populations. “On December 12, 2016, women/ self-identified women and their allies will gather together in solidarity in cities across the United States to protest the normalization of sexual assault, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, unconstitutional behavior, cronyism and hate,” said Ann Massaro, a Women &

For updates on WOMEN & ALLIES STRIKE OUT & PROTEST DEC. 12, visit WOMEN & ALLIES STRIKE OUT & PROTEST DEC. 12 NEW HAVEN on Facebook. For updates on the national movement, visit WOMEN AND ALLIES STRIKE OUT & PROTEST on Facebook.

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Allies national organizer. “I urge everyone to rally together to protect the inalienable rights for all and fight against the tyranny we’re facing as a result of the 2016 presidential election.” “As an education advocate, community leader/activist and most importantly the mother of an African American boy, I want MY son and the sons and daughters of this great nation to be judged by the content of their

character NOT the color of their skin,” said Veronica DouglasGivan, a Women & Allies participant and a local radio personality. Over the past few months, we have seen hatred, bigotry and racism; promoted, marketed and advertised and this must stop. As a native of New Haven, a city that celebrates diversity, we are hoping everyone will come and stand with us, as we unite in ‘our truth’ of the realities we are facing and will face as a direct result of the 2016 presidential election.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

Black-White earnings gap returns to 1950 levels

After years of progress, the median earnings gap between black and white men has returned to what it was in 1950, according to new research by economists from Duke University and the University of Chicago. The experience of AfricanAmerican men is not uniform, though: The earnings gap between black men with a college education and those with less education is at an all-time high, the authors say. The research appears online in the National Bureau of Economic Research working paper series. The paper looks at earnings for working-age men across a span of 75 years, from 1940 to 2014. The earnings gap between black and white men narrowed during the civil rights era. Then, starting around 1970, the gap between black and white men’s wages started widening once again. “When it comes to the earnings gap between black and white men, we’ve gone all the way back to 1950,” said Duke economist Patrick Bayer, who co-authored the paper with Kerwin Kofi Charles of the University of Chicago.

The picture for black men looks very different at the top of the economic ladder versus the bottom, the authors say. Since the 1960s, top black salaries have continued to climb. Those advances were fueled by more equal access to universities and high-skilled professions, the study finds. Meanwhile, a starkly different story transpired at the bottom of the economic ladder. Massive increases

in incarceration rates and the general decline of working-class jobs have devastated the labor market prospects of men with a high school degree or less, the authors say. The changing economy has been hard on all workers with less than a high school education, but especially devastating for black men, Bayer said. “The broad economic changes we’ve seen since the 1970s have clearly helped people at the top

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of the ladder,” Bayer said. “But the labor market for low-skilled workers has basically collapsed.” “Back in 1940 there were plenty of jobs for men with less than a high school degree. Now education is more and more a determinant of who’s working and who’s not.” In fact, more and more workingage men in the United States aren’t working at all. The number of nonworking white men grew from about 8 percent in 1960 to 17 percent in 2014. The numbers look still worse among black men: In 1960, 19 percent of black men were not working; in 2014, that number had grown to 35 percent of black men. That includes men who are incarcerated as well those who can’t find jobs. “The rate at which men are not working has been skyrocketing, and it’s not simply the result of the Great Recession,” Bayer said. “It’s a big part of what’s been happening to our economy over the past 40 years.” The situation would be even worse if not for educational gains among African-Americans over the past 75 years, Bayer said. On average, black men today have

many more years of schooling than black men of the past, and the education gap between white and black men has shrunk considerably. Nevertheless, a gap remains: These days, black men have about a year’s less education than white men, on average. “In essence, the economic benefits that should have come from the substantial gains in education for black men over the past 75 years have been completely undone by the changing economy, which exacts an ever steeper price for the differences that still remain,” Bayer said. The findings show the need for renewed focus on closing racial gaps in education and school quality, which have been stuck in place for several decades, according to the authors. They also suggest that any economic changes that improve prospects for all low-skilled workers will have the important side effect of reducing racial economic inequality. “We clearly need to create better job opportunities for everyone in the lower rungs of the economic ladder, where work has become increasingly hard to come by,” Bayer said.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

From Banks to Beauty Products, The #BuyBlack Movement Is Real By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Contributor

It’s a trend that many are hoping won’t just turn into a passing fad. Late last month, Essence magazine noted that after years of slowburning idealism, #BuyBlack has seen a community-wide takeoff. And, as the holiday season moves into full swing, the #BuyBlack campaign has led many to imagine what would happen if AfricanAmericans — the largest consumer group of color in the United States with an estimated $1.2 trillion in spending power — routinely demonstrated allegiance to the 2.6 million Black-owned businesses that exist in America. “I think the #BuyBlack initiative is a good move for the Black community and not just because of dollars and cents,” said Walt L. Jones III, principal of the SEQ Advisory Group, a Bethesda, Maryland-based management consulting and advisory firm dedicated to helping businesses achieve the highest level of performance and efficiency. “There’s the deeper perspective of reinvesting in our own community and building up the local businesses, some that are owned by our friends, neighbors, and relatives.” “Similar to the #ECStrong initiative, a community can only heal, recover, and persevere if its residents are willing to make an investment in its infrastructure.” The idea of Black capitalism goes back many decades, according to an NPR report which cited the advocacy of civil rights activists Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey for African-Americans to create and do business with each other to build wealth within their own communities. The #BuyBlack movement has helped Black-owned banks to realize substantial gains. In one month, this summer, Washington, D.C.-based Industrial Bank opened more than 1,500 new accounts with deposit balances of about $2.7 million — or more than the number of accounts that are usually opened in a six-month period. At Baltimore-based Harbor Bank, new accounts totaled about $10

million in deposits, said Joseph Haskins Jr., the bank’s president and chairman. “Because of the [#BuyBlack] movement, we’ve received many telephone calls from individuals and organizations who’ve shown a lot of interest,” Haskins said. “Once folks learned or discovered that we are Black-controlled, things took off.” The idea of supporting the community is vital for all involved, said Shahara Wright, an attorney and business development strategist with The CEO Effect, LLC, a Stafford, Texas-based organization that provides small and mid-sized companies with legal and business strategies including entity formation, mergers and acquisitions, investor packages and contracts. “I think it only works when it is local. Many people point to Jewish and Asian communities, which seem to have cohesive purchasing power to support their own,” Wright said. “The #BuyBlack seeks to create that same idea…it ultimately has to be a community that you support consistently.” Sonja Thompkins, a brick & mortar business strategist and founder of SincerelySonja.com, said #BuyBlack is a trend for consumers of color to consciously spend their money within their own communities and particularly with Black-owned businesses, a

welcome movement. “I believe it gives people a sense of pride to see businesses like ours that offer an array of quality products in our own communities,” Thompkins said. “And, because most people are going to spend the money anyway, the recent occurrences of injustice make people want to do something. Everyone’s not protesting in the street. They have chosen to make a statement economically.” Results from the most recent Nielsen study revealed that the Black buying power has continued to increase, rising from its current $1 trillion level to a forecasted $1.3 trillion by 2017. Black buying power has seen an 86 percent increase since 2000 and accounts for 8.7 percent of the nation’s total. The growth in black buying power stems in part from an increase in the number of Black-owned businesses as well as from an uptick in education among the African-American population, which leads to higher incomes, the report noted. Also, despite historically high unemployment rates, AfricanAmericans have shown resiliency in their ability to persevere as consumers. “The #BuyBlack is important because so much of us do not buy Black, and subsequently we watch Black businesses get shut down because of this,” said Gerra

Harmon, founder of Affirmativeclapbaction.com, a web retailer that Harmon said is all about the creation of something individuals can identify with and wear proudly. “In the past, AfricanAmericans would overlook Black businesses and we do not want to do so anymore. “[The #BuyBlack movement] is about empowering our people and I think it is a great movement, because we are not only letting our communities know, but letting the world know we are worth more than what we have been given in the past.” Being a Black-owned business in the beauty industry presents a unique set of challenges that has encouraged retailers, said Richelieu Dennis, the founder and CEO of Sundial Brands, the largest Black-owned beauty company in the country which manufactures Shea Moisture, Shea Girl, Nubian Heritage and Madam C.J. Walker beauty culture. “So, I am especially encouraged to see the raised level of consciousness that many Black beauty bloggers are driving to bring attention to an issue that has long been a challenge for Blackowned beauty brands,” Dennis said. “Over the last 25 years, I’ve received questions and judgments about our products and our business that I’m pretty sure few, if any, White-owned businesses have ever had to answer like ‘Since you’re Black, your products are just for Black people, right?’” The reality is that Black beauty is at the forefront of the beauty revolution – from the mass shift to demanding natural ingredients to the natural, textured hair that we now see on runways, in advertisements and on the covers of international magazines and beyond, Dennis said. Dennis continued: “So, we have to be positioned to serve all consumers as other groups evolve into embracing new, more inclusive beauty standards. It is critical that we capture the market we have created and that we don’t leave it for someone else to capitalize on which has historically been the case.”

Con’t from page 6

500 Rally

everyone!” she declared. “Thank you!”) ... ... to activist Edie Fishman, 95, pictured at left with Etta Murphy and Yale retiree Pat Carta. Carta noted that women earned 59 cents for every dollar that men earned for comparable jobs when she started working at Yale in 1979. Now, she said, women and men at New Haven’s largest employer earn comparable wages for comparable work. Carta was active in the original Local 34 organizing drive that won recognition in 1983 and set those changes in motion. “The president at that time was Ronald Reagan,” she noted. “And we won. We won big. Let’s keep up the fight.” Local 35 member Eddie Streater, one of the faces in the crowd, knows whereof Carta spoke. Streater, who’s 67, is a painter at Yale’s physical plant. He earned $3 an hour when he began working at the university in 1969. Thanks to gains in subsequent union contracts, he now earns $78,000 a year. Ruth Resnick’s family has lived that story for three generations. Back in 1970, when she worked at Sterling Memorial Library, Resnick joined an ultimately unsuccessful effort to unionize clerical and technical workers through a group called the Yale Non-Faculty Action Committee, one of several organizing efforts that set the stage for the ultimately successful campaign by the union now known as UNITE HERE (then known as the Hotel Emloyees and Restaurant Employees). Resnick watched her late father Sid, who worked in Yale’s law school library, play an active role in the successful Local 34 organizing drive a decade later. Her mom Arlene walked a Local 34 picket line when she worked at the medical school. Wednesday night Resnick attended the City Hall rally with her son Gabe Johnson (next to her in the above photo), who today is one of five Local 34 organizers at the School of Management. He’s keeping a family social justice tradition alive, Resnick said.

Handling their Business THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

By Dr. David Lee Asbery

Parents, have you ever wondered what your teenage son or daughter would do if given the opportunity to attend a college fair alone without your expert parental guidance? Would they be able to handle their business? Or, would they “chill” out and just goof off? Last Saturday, my wife and I took 15 teenagers (without their parents) to the 30th Annual Malcolm Bernard HBCU College fair at the Riverbank State Park in New York City. This standing room only event which was hosted by the National Urban League, provided these kids with the ultimate challenge. They could either dive into their cell phones and played candy crush for 4 hours, or they could choose to meet with the 40 plus HBCU admission professionals, apply for the various scholarships that were available, attend workshops that focused on financial aid and obtaining scholarships, or receive an on the spot admission to their school of choice. With these options in front of them, it was exhilarating to see these kids select the latter. But even more exhilarating was the focus and determination that I witnessed from each kid that attended. So for the readers who were unable to attend the event, I would like to give you a peek into the events as they occurred. At 8:30am a luxury coach bus pulled into the North Haven commuter lot and we were on our way to the event. After picking up 2 kids from the Fairfield commuter

lot, we arrived in New York City at 10:00am. Upon walking into the facility the kids were faced with a long Department of Motor Vehicles type line. But did this discourage our kids? No! Because they were briefed on the bus by

one of their chaperones, Qwaliff Jackson. Qwaliff informed them that “long lines are part of the college experience, and regardless of the technological advances that we see each and every day, the college registration line is today

what it was 30 years ago, long.” At 10:30am the doors opened and the event officially started (on time) and here is where it gets interesting. All of the cellular phones were put away and these kids hit the tables like their lives

depended on it. I was a chaperone for two young men who were a bit apprehensive at first so I ran up to them and asked them which colleges they were interested in. They both pulled out detailed lists that consisted of about 8 colleges each, they both asked questions about the schools that they selected, and both of them achieved their goals of visiting all of the schools on their list. Also, all of the kids attended the Q & A session that focused on the reasons why one would attend an HBCU. When it was all over and we were back on the bus heading home, I looked back at all of the kids and I felt honored and proud to be in their presence. This feeling had nothing to do with their decision to attend the college fair. No, my feelings stemmed from the fact that if any of their parents wondered what their teenage sons or daughters did when given the opportunity to attend this college fair without their expert parental guidance, I would be able to say with confidence that these kids have what it takes to be successful, that these kids are our future engineers, lawyers, doctors and marketing executives. That these kids didn’t goof off or chill out when given the opportunity to do so, and if asked why is it that these kids chose not to do so, I would pat each parent on their shoulder and boldly and proudly respond by saying that these kids, your kids, were too damn busy handling their business and carving out their future.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

Elm City Communities Request for Proposals Energy Consultant Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking Proposals for Energy Consultant. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https:// newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at 9:00AM

Housing Authority of the City of New Haven

The GUILFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY is currently accepting applications for COUPLES ONLY for its one bedroom apartments at Guilford Court and Boston Terrace in Guilford CT. Applicants must be age 62 and over or on 100% social security or federal disability and over the age of 18. Applications may be obtained by calling the application line at 203-453-6262, ext.107. An information packet will also be provided with the application. Applications will be accepted until March 31, 2017. Credit, police and landlord checks are procured by the authority. Smoke free housing. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HOUSING

The Glendower Group, Inc

Request for Proposals Master Planner for the Redevelopment of Westville Manor and Surrounding Area The Glendower Group, Inc an affiliate of Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking Proposals for Master Planner for the Redevelopment of Westville Manor and Surrounding Area. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Thursday, November 17, 2016 @ 9:00 AM.

Property Appraiser

Invitation for Bids Carting, Rubbish & Recycling Removal Services Agency Wide The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for Carting, Rubbish & Recycling Removal Services Agency Wide. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 @ 3:00 PM.

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Invitation for Bids

George Crawford Manor Radiator & Associated Upgrades The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for George Crawford Manor Radiator and Associated Upgrades. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, December 5, 2016 at 3:00PM.

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Invitation for Bids

West Rock Community Center Underground Storage Tank Removal and Soil Excavation The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for West Rock Community Center Underground Storage Tank Removal and Soil Excavation. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, December 5, 2016 at 3:00PM.

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

Assists the Town Assessor in all phases of the property appraisal function; Applicants must have an A.S. degree in economics, business, finance, real estate or related field plus 3 years of real estate or appraisal experience or an equivalent combination of education and qualifying experience substituting on a year-for-year basis. Must have a valid driver’s license. Salary: $30.54 - $38.35 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply: Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main St., Wallingford, CT 06492, (203) 294-2080. Fax: (203) 294-2084. The closing date will be that date the 50th application form/resume is received, or December 28, 2016 whichever occurs first. EOE

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - Portland Proﬁcient in Microsoft Ofﬁce. Knowledge of Haz. Waste Regs., & Manifests a +. RED Technologies, LLC, 173 Pickering Street, Portland, CT 06480; Fax 860.342.1042; or Email to HR@redtechllc.com RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

Class A Driver

Class A CDL Driver with 3 years min. exp. HAZMAT Endorsed. (Tractor/Triaxle/Roll-off) Some overnights may be required. FAX resumes to RED Technologies, at 860.342-1042; Email: HR@redtechllc.com Mail or in person: 173 Pickering Street, Portland, CT 06480. RED Technologies, LLC is An EOE.

Dispatcher - Portland Candidate must have 2-5 years relevant experience in hazardous waste transportation. Must have completed 40 HAZWOPER Certification, Asbestos Awareness Certification a plus. Forward resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 173 Pickering Street, Portland, CT 06480; Fax 860.342.1042; or Email to HR@redtechllc.com RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

Project Manager Environmental Remediation Division 3-5 years exp. and Bachelor’s Degree, 40-Hr. Hazwoper Training Req. Forward resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 10 Northwood Dr., Bloomﬁeld, CT 06002; Fax 860.218.2433; or Email to HR@redtechllc.com RED Technologies, LLC is an

EOE.

Elm City Communities Request for Proposals

Lenders or Investors for Selected RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) Projects Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking Proposals for Lenders or Investors for Selected RAD Projects. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, October 31, 2016 @ 9:00 AM.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

Union Company seeks:

Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of operating heavy equipment; be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. Contact Greg at 860-243-2300. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact: Dana Briere Phone: 860-243-2300 Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Grants Administration

Program Planning Administrator-Seeking a highly qualified professional to administer, manages, and oversees the Town’s Grants and Economic Development Programs. Serves as a representative on various intergovernmental and interagency organizations. The minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university in government or public administration plus three years (3) of progressively responsible public administration and at least two years (2) of grant writing experience or an equivalent combination of education and qualifying experience substituting on a year-for-year basis. $77,695-$99,410 plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply to: Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Closing date will be December 15, 2016. EOE.

ELECTRICIANS

Public Notice

The Manchester Housing Authority will close the waiting list for the Federal Low Income Public Housing (LIPH) program (Elderly/Disabled, 0/1 BR units) at 4:00 PM October 31, 2016. Applications are available in person and on the MHA website at http://manchesterha.org and will be accepted until 4:00 PM October 31, 2016. There is no scheduled date to re-open the waiting list. When the MHA is prepared to re-open the waiting list a public notice will be issued in order to give proper notice to interested parties. The Manchester Housing Authority does not discriminate based upon race, color, disability, familial status, sex or national origin. 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

Town of Bloomfield Town Assessor - Reposted $77,881 - $120,209

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

Public Safety Dispatcher: The Town of East Haven seeks to fill 2 permanent part-time positions. The hourly rate of pay is $24/hour. The work schedule is Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 am-4:00 pm or Sunday and Monday, 4:00 pm -12:00 am. Candidates must possess a High School diploma or GED, State of Connecticut Telecommunication Certification, Priority Dispatch EMD Certification, Priority Dispatch EPD and EFD Certification is preferred, Nexgen LEAS Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) experience is preferred, prior COLLECT/NCIC certification is preferred, and Next Generation 911 System is preferred. Candidate must successfully pass a background investigation, fingerprinting, and a Medical exam including a drug screening as well as have the ability to distinguish and identify different colors and pass a hearing test and NCIC Training. Only qualified applicants should apply at www.PoliceApp.com/EastHavenCT. The fee to apply is $40 and the deadline is December 16, 2016. The Town of East Haven is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities, Females, Veterans and Handicapped are encouraged to apply.

Housing Authority of the City of New Haven Invitation for Bids

Carting, Rubbish & Recycling Removal Services Agency Wide The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for Carting, Rubbish & Recycling Removal Services Agency Wide. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 @ 3:00 PM.

Mechanical Insulator

Insulation Company offering good pay and benefits. Please forward resume to P.O. Box 475, North Haven, CT 06473 This company is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer ELECTRICIANS

Special Projects Manager Immediate opening in a fast-paced petroleum environment For a degreed manager with a BA Degree required, MBA Preferred with 5+ years of oil industry experience. Proﬁcient in oil, logistics software and solutions, IT Knowledge needed with assistance managing network and System projects. Strong Excel and analytical skills a must. Candidate must possess a high level of accuracy and

attention to detail. Petroleum and energy industry knowledge experience a plus. Send resume to: Human Resource Dept., P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437. **An Afﬁrmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

Welder: Large CT fence & guardrail contractor looking for a shop welder. Duties include welding & fabricating chain link gates, steel gates and aluminum; some welding on road and equipment repair work. Must be able to weld steel and aluminum. All necessary equipment provided. Must have a valid driver’s license and be able to get a DOT medical card. Required to pass a physical and drug test. Medical, vacation & other benefits included.

Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

US Based My-Star Radio Strikes Partnership With Citi-FM Ghana

My-Star Radio, an African Radio station which operates out of the Delaware Valley in the US finalized arrangements in November 2016 to formally begin broadcasting LIVE News segment from one of the biggest media companies in Ghana - Citi FM. This present arrangement means My-Star Radio will be able to pick up the feed for LIVE News Bulletins for broadcast to their American audience with a particular interest in Africans in diaspora. My-Star Radio is one of the brands under the umbrella of the successful KOJAC Media Inc., started in 2014 by the entrepreneurial Ghanaian Mr. Kofi Jacquaye. The company has since grown to embrace several professionals in the media industry. They have a very diverse team ranging from award winning TV and radio program producers, researchers, and marketeers, who are serving a diverse African and non-African audience both in the diaspora and across Africa. Some of their team members are CNN-Award-winning

journalist Anny Osabutey, veteran Ghanaian journalist and producer Ekow Acheampong affectionately known as Ekow Fisho and US diversity-awardwinning storyteller Oral Ofori of #TheAfricanDreamLLC and Nana Sapongmaa; head of events and promotions at My-Star Radio. The company also runs the popular My-Star TV which airs quality TV programming for Africans in the United States.

Plans are in the works to churn out two other brands: My-Star Gospel; a 24-hour gospel channel, and an online classifieds company. Citi 97.3 FM is an Englishspeaking radio station that operates from Adabraka in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on 97.3 megahertz and online via www. citifmonline.com Citi 97.3 FM radio as a brand is refreshingly different in that it combines a comprehensive and

credible news function backed by innovative listener-driven on air programs. Exciting promotions with vibrant audience participation are a few of the things that put Citi ahead of the curve. The station has become known as a strong advocate for consumer issues, including road safety, sanitation, education, good health care and security among others. They also organize events like the Citi Business Olympics, the

Money Fair, and the MOGO Festival. The focus of My-Star Radio is educating and informing listeners by airing the best of Entertainment, Sports and News Updates from all over Africa. To tune in and find out more about them, visit www. mystarradioonline.com Source: My-Star Radio release

Con’t from page 12

NAACP Hearing Reveals Charter Divide

Network, argued that charter schools, regulated by the state, are just as “public” as traditional public schools, noting that the increased flexibility charters receive is matched with increased accountability. Grace, like other pro-charter advocates, said that while many underperforming district schools continue to operate, charter schools “can, will and should be closed if it fails to perform academically or financially. New Haven Board of Education member Ed Joyner (pictured) argued that it is inaccurate to say public school districts, like New Haven’s, don’t offer choice, citing themed magnet schools like the city’s Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School just a block away downtown. Students also have academic flexibility within schools, as well as a slew of co- and extracurricular options,

whether that’s the orchestra or intramural football. “You name it, we have it,” Joyner said, noting that these schools are modeled after schools in the South from Joyner’s childhood, “which were black and poor but strong and proud.” Jennifer Alexander, CEO of the New Haven-based pro-charter advocacy group ConnCAN, decried the dichotomy set up by the hearing, pointing out that those who wished to testify had to sign up under a “pro-public” or “pro-charter” column. Instead, she spoke to the idea that the state’s new economy will increasingly require college educations of its workers, emphasizing the pluses of charter schools in preparing students for these new jobs, she said in an interview. Other experts suggested the black-and-white nature of such a debate was taking energy and

time away from more important issues at hand: James Comer (pictured), a professor of child psychiatry at Yale’s Child Study Center, said it was not the type of school, but rather the experience a school provides for a child’s development, that is the problem. Jermaine Smith, an eighth-grader at Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Bridgeport, attributed his and his siblings’ college and career aspirations to his charter school education, saying he wanted to be “challenged in the classroom.” “Now my brother, who transferred, who’s been in public school all his life, wanted to be a boxer. Which is fine! But now that he goes to a charter school, and it’s his second year —” “I’m the boxing commissioner for the state of Connecticut,” Connecticut NAACP President Esdaile noted.

“And now he wants to be a mechanical engineer,” Smith finished, to snaps and claps. Esdaile, also a member of the task force, called the hearing a “great beginning.” He maintained that the task force has no bias against charter schools in spite of the moratorium call. The task force’s next stop will be in Memphis on Jan. 7. Esdaile, on his part, said he believes the solution may lie somewhere in the middle of the two poles. He looks forward to hearing more int he next seven cities. “I want to get to the bottom of this,” Esdaile said. “I want to work to try to move the needle for public education for black students in this country.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 7, 2016 - December 13, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 07, 2016 - December 13, 2016

Pen To Paper Ghana Increasing Literacy Power Of Children

Pen To Paper Ghana is Ghanaian Non-GovernmentalOrganization (NGO) with the objective of improving education and educational facilities for the young Ghanaian. The NGO works in partnership with the Ghana Education Service to prepare youths for a future of success. One way Pen To Paper Ghana sets out to achieve their agenda is by assessing pupils to ascertain their reading ability, a basis on which they provide free afterschool classes to help those struggling with their literacy. How Pen To Paper Ghana works Richard Manu, the Country Director of Pen To Paper Ghana tells TheAfricandream.net that their assessment is a three-pronged approach involving: phonics — pupils are asked to give the letter sound instead of the letter name; word recognition — these are words that are easily recognizable because they are often used such as THE, IT, and AM and; word blending — these test the child’s capability of decoding random words such as PRAM, RACK, or TUB. “Children are taught on a daily

basis through synthetic phonics to understand how to break down words (decoding) to enable them to read them. Besides providing free classes, we improve school infrastructure and give scholarships to students who are academically bright but face financial struggles” Richard says to TheAfricanDream.net Though beneficiaries of scholarships return to help their peers in the program as school mentors, the NGO is appealing for more help from people who have a passion see positive changes in the Ghanaian educational system and its infrastructure.

The Passion behind the work of Pen To Paper Ghana “Here at Pen To Paper Ghana, we believe that reading is a fundamental right for every child. The ability of a child to know how to read and write has a great effect on the growth of a country. We put so much effort into what we do here because ‘Save the Orphan Foundation’ estimates that if every child leaving Junior High School can read and write it would help reduce poverty by 12% globally.” says Richard Manu. A 12% global reduction in poverty potentially mean over 131 million people being lifted

out of poverty. Higher literacy and numeracy rates among Ghanaian children will have a good effect on the economy, agriculture, and environment as a whole. Mr. Manu further reveals that in Ghana, some students who have finished their Junior High School education (equivalent to GCSE in the UK) that don’t how to read but attained good grades in their final exams by guessing answers in the multiple choice sections. The Country Director of the NGO feels this is negatively affecting the education system as the basic foundations of understanding is not being addressed.t “Memorization has been at the root of learning how to read which has led to some children with good memories being rated the best in their classes, a rather unfortunate scenario” —Richard Manu. The Way Forward Katie Emerson, a graduate of The Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK and also a Co-Founder of Pen To Paper Ghana says the NGO believes pupils should be taught how to think and not what to think.

“They should be able to explain things in their own words and be able to teach their peers. As with the core of mathematics, reading should be taught as a formula, which we call phonics, the sound of letters” Katie says. Despite being one of the Founders of Pen to Paper Ghana now, Richard Manu’s education was ironically once hampered due to financial constraints. He was only able to complete Junior High School and whilst there, he had to learn to read by rote. He was passionate about developing his English speaking abilities which lead him to improve his reading and writing skills. “I now want to help as many as I can to at least know how to read as I don’t want to see children in the position I found myself many years ago”, Richard tells TheAfricanDream.net He also encourages readers to support Pen To Paper Ghana to help improve the lives of future generations by checking out their website at www.pentopaperghana.com Source: Oral Ofori

What You Need to Know about the NAACP’s War on Charter Schools By James Clingman, NNPA Newswire Columnist The call for a moratorium on charter schools by the NAACP is a case of “Throwing the baby out with the bath water.” While most Black folks are concentrating on Hillary and Donald, the largest and oldest “Colored” organization approved an internal resolution calling for a halt to the “expansion of charter schools” until those schools meet criteria set forth by the NAACP. The NAACP lacks the power to enforce its resolution, but their call for this draconian measure does come with the familiar stench of other positions they have taken—and not taken—because of political and, of course, economic reasons, the latter of which seems to be the driving force behind this latest move. One of this country’s leading educators, Dr. Steve Perry, who has operated charter schools for years and recently took over the new charter school opened by Sean

Combs, Capital Prep Harlem, in New York City, had this to say: “The NAACP national headquarters has received a significant amount of money from the teachers’ union. The only organizations to call for a moratorium on charter schools in particular, because they are nonunion, are the teachers’ unions.” Perry went on to call the resolution, “absurd.” He further stated, “They couldn’t be more out of touch if they ran full speed in the other direction… the national [NAACP] is out of touch even with their own chapters.” Shavar Jeffries, Democrats for Education Reform, said, “Indiscriminately targeting all charter schools…while ignoring underperforming district schools undermines the quality and integrity of our entire education system. We should be fixing what’s broken and expanding what works, not preempting the choices of [Black] parents…” Calling for a moratorium is indicative of the NAACP’s disregard for existing charter schools established, funded, and operated by Black people. The use of scare tactics, such as “privatization,” under the guise of concern for students, is either disingenuous or ignorant.

Charter schools are about creating better options for education—they provide a choice. I know and have spoken with several esteemed Black educators and operators of charter schools. Amefika Geuka, who founded and ran the Joseph Littles Nguzo Saba School in West Palm Beach, Florida for 16 years, was the largest Black employer of Black people in the county. He used his own funds to sustain the school and fought resistance by the district to keep his school opened despite the success of his graduates in college. One former student is now in law school and is the President of the Student Bar Association. Another long-time friend and charter school founder is Kwa David Whitaker, an attorney in Cleveland, Ohio, who has managed as many as twelve schools. He shared with me the following: “It is the traditional system that has destroyed our children and nation. Putting this intense focus on charter schools is only an attempt to keep the focus off of the continuing ineptitude of our nation’s traditional public school system.” Black parents spoke out against the NAACP’s decision by protesting

during its convention. Roland Martin, News One Anchor, questioned NAACP Washington Bureau Chief Hillary Shelton on whether the NAACP had invited any of those parents to speak or if it had called upon Black charter school leaders to give their input before the resolution was passed. After asking three times without getting an answer, Martin answered it himself: “NO.” Music mogul, Mr. Kenny Gamble, who is now a leading force in economic development and owner of eleven charter schools in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, has invested millions into educating our youth. He shared his experience with me and cited two factors in charter school operations: Academics and economics. My question: Why aren’t more Blacks engaged in ownership and control when it comes to the education of our own children? The NAACP’s vote against charter schools is what Harold Cruse called “Non-Economic Liberalism.” Just as the NAACP will not allow its branches to purchase buildings for their offices and meeting space, via a clause in its original charter (no pun intended) written by Whites who founded the association, according to Dr. Khalid Al Mansour’s book,

“Betrayal by any Other Name,” it now comes out against Blacks starting and controlling charter schools, which would add to our economic progress. I guess NAACP leaders realize that because Whites started the NAACP with their dollars, Whites can also end it by withholding their dollars. The Wall Street Journal noted, it’s a “disgrace” that the NAACP’s idea of “advancement” is now to advance the interests of the unionized public school monopoly over the interests of their supposed constituents – Black students and their parents. The NAACP must stop mimicking what it did in 1909 and support the new paradigm under which “Black” people operate. One charter school owner said, “The NAACP has outgrown its name; the only ‘Colored’ people left appear to be concentrated in the NAACP leadership. James Clingman is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. His latest book, “Black Dollars Matter! Teach Your Dollars How to Make More Sense,” is available on his website, Blackonomics.com.

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Castro paradoxes can't be reduced to black, white By Jesse Jackson Fidel Castro, Cuba’s leader for almost six decades, has died at 90 in Havana. USA Today’s headline on Monday read, “No Mourning in Miami,” noting the continued bitterness of those who left Cuba. The Washington Post featured testimonies condemning Castro’s authoritarian government. A revolutionary, a brutal dictator who sided with the USSR in the Cold War, a sponsor of guerilla wars, leader of a failed economy — Castro’s death has unleashed the full indictment against him. We need a broader view, a more clear-eyed analysis of the man and his times. Why was this leader of a small island nation 90 miles off our coast celebrated across Africa and Latin America? How could he survive the determined efforts of the U.S. government to oust him, outlasting 11 American presidents? Why did Nelson Mandela praise and thank him? Castro led the Cuban Revolution against a brutal dictator to victory in 1959. Always more a devotee of Marti — the Cuban poet and patriot

who led the revolt against Spain — than of Marx, Castro set out to nationalize foreign companies that owned and dominated most of the island, implement land reform, expand schools and clinics, and set Cuba on an independent course. There were victims of the revolution, for whom we continue to seek family unification. Some elites and some common people fled the turmoil of revolution. Relations with the U.S. quickly soured. John Kennedy signed off on the “covert” Bay of Pigs invasion by a CIA-organized and -trained army of Cuban exiles. They were defeated easily, and the CIA never forgave Castro for the embarrassment. The U.S. launched multiple assassination attempts, enforced an economic embargo and tried various ways to sabotage the Cuban economy. Cut off from the hemisphere, Castro turned to the Soviet Union, which supplied oil and aid. The U.S. strangled and starved him into strength. Castro’s defiance and pride consolidated the hatred of U.S. governing circles. He exported doctors and teachers while the U.S. exported weapons and war. Across the world — and in parts of the U.S. — Castro was and is celebrated. He stood with Africans against European imperialism and South

African apartheid. He stood with Latin Americans against Yankee domination and corrupt local regimes. He dispatched doctors across the world to non-aligned nations, earning friends and saving lives. In 1975, he launched an audacious airlift of Cuban troops to repel the South African invasion of Angola, marking the beginning of the end for apartheid. He celebrated Mandela while the U.S. government was supporting the apartheid government and labeling Mandela a terrorist. In 1959, Castro came to the United Nations in New York City. He chose to stay in the Hotel Teresa in Harlem and met with Malcolm X, acts scorned as a publicity stunt. But in 1959, African Americans couldn’t stay in white hotels across the South. We lived under the American version of apartheid. Neighborhoods across the country were redlined by race. Castro was the first Cuban leader to recognize his country’s large black population, descended from slaves, and to help integrate them into national life. Castro’s embrace of civil rights was an electric message across the black community in the U.S. When I first met Castro in 1984, I found him to be a magnetic personality, a brilliant mind and a proud leader. I was told I couldn’t

talk to him about religion. We talked for hours. He told me he had once loved the church and thought of it as a center of activism and social justice, not just piety. But when he came down out of the mountains after defeating the brutal dictator, he was shocked and heartbroken to find the priests armed and ready to kill to defend the graveyards of the rich. I reminded him of Dr. Martin Luther King and the other theologians of liberation, and Castro came to church with me in Havana. It was the first time Castro had gone to church in 27 years. I had to remind him to take off his hat and put out his cigar. We laughed and settled in for the service. I was told he wouldn’t talk about political prisoners. We talked, and he released 48 prisoners to me. In later years, Castro’s government cooperated with the U.S. in countering terrorism. His health and education systems became the envy of much of the hemisphere. He was hero and mentor to a new generation of populist nationalists across the hemisphere — from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to Evo Morales in Bolivia. Castro’s legacy is surely mixed. Under constant threat from abroad, he jailed political enemies, suppressed free speech and trampled on rights. Cuba’s

economy stagnated, particularly after the Soviet Union fell apart, but it survived despite being cut off from a major logical trading partner. U.S. enmity helped make Castro a global hero, a symbol of the possibility of independence for developing nations, but it inflicted great costs upon the Cuban people. The U.S. recognized and traded with the Soviet Union, with communist China, with brutal regimes from Saudi Arabia to Pinochet’s Chile, but the embargo against Cuba went on and on. When Barack Obama came to the White House, he discovered that instead of isolating Castro, the embargo was isolating the U.S. in our own hemisphere. After nearly 60 years of a frozen failed policy, the U.S. finally has started small steps toward normal relations. We shouldn’t be naive. Castro was no saint; the Cuban regime was repressive and wrongheaded about many things. But we shouldn’t view Castro solely from the perspective of those who fled the revolution or of the Cold Warriors and covert operators who spent decades trying to bring him down. We won’t understand the perversity of our own policies if we don’t understand why Castro’s leadership is celebrated across much of the world.

No Ma’am, Trump Does Not Deserve a Chance By Bill Fletcher, Jr., NNPA Newswire Columnist I was sitting at a Starbucks trying to mind my own business and right next to me two individuals were discussing the aftermath of the November 8th presidential elections. At one point, they began discussing the protests that have spontaneously spread across the United States in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s so-called victory. I listened carefully when I

heard them both express their opposition to the protests and their agreement that Trump must be given a chance. One of the two indicated that she would certainly protest, if Trump did something wrong, but that we needed to wait and see. While I wished that I could have entered the conversation, I respected their privacy. Nevertheless, what I wish that I could have said runs something like this. There is no giving Trump a chance. What would anyone hope to see happen? Seriously. Think about it. We have witnessed the rise to the Presidency of an open misogynist, racist and xenophobe. We are now watching

appointments being made, including that of neo-fascists. Word continues to spread that the new administration intends on setting up a registry for all Muslims in the U.S. There is not one piece of this scene that can give anyone of conscience any degree of confidence that this incoming administration will be moderate and reasonable. The youth who are protesting and those people who are speaking out against Trump understand the gravity of the situation we are facing. The incoming administration has made it clear that they plan on orchestrating an ultra-conservative agenda, irrespective of Trump’s campaign promises. An unsettling example

of this is Medicare. Trump promised that Medicare would not be touched. Congressman Paul Ryan announced that he intends to end Medicare. The Trump team then started mumbling about “reforming” entitlement programs. You know and I know where this is going. There is no need to give President-elect Trump a chance. A chance to do what? Actually, the longer that we wait and remain quiet, the more likely it will be that the incoming administration will be especially aggressive. I wish that I could have said to the two people in Starbucks that someone who ran for President demonizing Muslims, Latinos, and Black youth, denigrating

women, someone who was willing to embrace neo-fascism in his campaign and who took his time finally admitting that President Obama was and has been a legitimate citizen of the U.S., is neither to be trusted nor given a pass. Regardless of what politicians may say, for those of us in the broader world, let “resistance” be our watchword, that is, if we have any interest in preserving and expanding democracy. Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a talk show host, writer and activist. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and at www.billfletcherjr.com.

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