THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016
Financial Justice a Key Focus at 2016The NAACP Convention New Street Meters Support Homeless New Haven, Bridgeport
INNER-CITYNEWS 2212 Volume 21 No. 2194
Malloy Malloy To To Dems: Dems:
“DMC”
Ignore “Tough On Crime” Ignore “Tough On Crime” A Night with Will Downing Ben Carson
Color Struck? Casanova Controversy
In City Stop, Carson Lauds The Brain’s Potential
Snow in July?
Deepens
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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Abandon All Hope? Not Just Yet THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
by THOMAS BREEN NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Amid all the talk about impending dangers from the incoming regime in Washington, Karen DuBois-Walton offered a glimmer of hope Tuesday night: Perhaps, just perhaps, there is opportunity in uncertainty? DuBois-Walton, who runs New Haven’s housing authority, was one of three expert speakers at a “community conversation” on what New Haven should expect from, and how it should respond to, President-Elect Donald Trump’s recent choices to run federal departments. DuBois-Walton specifically addressed the selection of neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s appointment to become the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). “I am very concerned about Dr. Carson’s comments about how the government is not the right provider of a safety net for the poor and the elderly,” DuBois-Walton told the 100 people who gathered at the forum at Congregation Beth ElKeser Israel (BEKI) on Harrison Street (which started a half hour late because of a scare over two pressure cookers left across the street on Whalley Avenue).“But the Housing Authority of New Haven (HANH) has always taken advantage of whatever opportunities came down the pike. There are clearly administrations and policies that make our work easier, and there are those that introduce greater barriers. But without a real track record either from the President-elect or from the Secretary nominee, it’s really hard to gauge yet how this
WNHH pundits Rawls-Ivy, Ricks, and Turner on in the panel. THOMAS BREEN PHOTO
DuBois-Walton at forum.
administration is going to approach the issue of public housing.” That was about all of the optimism the night would afford, however, over the course of a two-hour conversation. From concerns over the stalling of criminal justice reform to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act to the defunding of HUD, that assessment was charged with both anxiety and resolve to push back at the local level. The community conversation was the second in a monthly series of post-election debriefings and planning sessions organized by the New Haven Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Following up on last month’s meeting at Bethel AME Church on Goffe Street, the Deltas, a sorority of college-educated African-
American women, reached out to BEKI in a gesture of cross-cultural communication that legal aid attorney and BEKI member Amy Marx identified as reminiscent of “the golden era of collaboration between the African American and Jewish communities, when we marched together and fought together for civil rights equality” in the 1960s. Unlike last month’s meeting at Bethel AME, which looked back at the reasons behind the election results and then looked forward to increased citizen engagement with activist non-profits, Tuesday night’s conversation was grounded in the complicated and all-toouncertain present. New Haven Independent editor Paul Bass, with support from the WNHH Pundit Panel crew Markeshia Ricks, Babz Rawls-Ivy, Michelle Turner and Joe Ugly, moderated a series of presentations from policy experts
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and community leaders that focused on understanding the local implications of the current national political moment. Civil rights lawyer Joshua Perry kicked off the evening with a sobering reflection on the presidentelect’s nomination of Alabama U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions to be the next attorney general. “I think there’s a really optimistic scenario, and I think there’s a worst case scenario,” Perry said as he described the nation’s next top law enforcement official, whose responsibilities will include overseeing U.S. district attorneys to setting high-level policy in areas like civil rights enforcement. “If I had to guess, I think we’re going to be a little closer to the worst-case scenario with Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III as the attorney general. This is somebody who is fundamentally out of step with a bipartisan movement towards
criminal justice reform, and you can expect that local federal prosecutors will be encouraged to seek heavy, serious punishments even for lowlevel and drug offenders.” Push back at the local level, he urged the audience, by supporting immigrant defense organizations, civil rights lawyers, and state legislators who advocate for criminal justice reform, for these groups are going to have a busy and trying four years ahead. Next up, New Haven State Rep. Pat Dillon spoke about Tom Price, the president-elect’s choice to lead the department of Health and Human Services. “In Tom Price’s bill [to replace the Affordable Care Act], an insurance company is defined as having a ‘conscience,’” she noted. “And can therefore deny women’s reproductive services.” Her recommendations: Donate Con’t on page 5
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
Casanova Controversy Deepens by PAUL BASS
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Black cops and clergy Tuesday criticized an assistant chief for dubbing an officer a “fucking mope” and called on the mayor immediately to name a rival the permanent police chief — a call the mayor then rejected. That was the latest fallout from a recent incident in which Assistant Chief Luiz Casanova allegedly twice called a beat officer a “fucking mope” for the manner in which he wore his department-issued knit cap outside a Hill neighborhood substation, then initially denied his request for union representation at a follow-up meeting about it. Interim Police Chief Anthony Campbell Monday suspended Casanova for one day over the incident, on charges of “conduct unbecoming an officer.” Casanova’s lawyer, Norm Pattis, blasted the suspension and said they’re considering legal action over it. On Tuesday, Casanova (pictured) made his first public remarks since the suspension, on WNHH radio’s “Kica’s Corner” program, hosted by Kica Matos, who has organized a support rally for him planned to take place outside City Hall Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Matos began the program by calling Campbell’s decision to suspend Casanova a “bizarre overreaction” and a “horrible scandal.” Casanova refrained from directly addressing the incident, speaking instead about his philosophy of community policing and his 20year career on the New Haven force. He said “real community policing” involves “building trust ... and relationships” and “really listening to the community,” treating the community with “respect and dignity.” “We need to listen to each other. We need to respect each other,” Casanova said. He said that if he becomes the next chief he would focus on “getting back to real community policing” and “refining it”: It’s not enough to have events with “cops giving ice cream to kids on the beat. That’s great. ... Let’s keep our young people out of prison by providing diversionary alternatives.” And he would include “all city departments in community policing.” Two hours before that radio appearance, a group of black
PAUL BASS PHOTO
SNABLEO’s Wilson, Silver Shields President Roach, Kimber, Pastor Donald Morris at Tuesday’s press conference.
Pattis: “Thanks for reading, guys.”
clergy and leaders of two AfricanAmerican police organizations the Silver Shields and the Guardians held a press conference on City Hall’s second floor to criticize Casanova’s behavior toward the beat cop. The officer Casanova chewed out is black. Casanova is Hispanic. Some African-American officers have described “mope” as a racially charged epithet. But at the press conference, the Rev. Boise Kimber, who organized it, said critics weren’t repeating that claim. Instead, he and others criticized Casanova for speaking disrespectfully to the officer, in a manner Casanova himself and other
supervisors tell their cops to avoid. They characterized “fucking mope” ( without using the first word in phrase) as demeaning language. “[I]n law enforcement circles the connotation is of an uneducated, unsavory individual who does more to detract from than to contribute to the good of society,” Kimber stated. “Used with this meaning, the word is derogatory, belittling and thoroughly dehumanizing to anyone whom it is used to describe. It is for this reason that recent recruit classes at the new Haven Police Academy, which falls under Assistant Chief Casanova’s authority, have been admonished to refrain from using the term under any circumstances.” Still, there was an undeniable racial aspect to the event: The speakers called for Harp to suspend the current search process for a new police chief and make interim Police Chief Anthony Campbell’s position permanent. Campbell is African-American. Meanwhile, Latino leaders have been organizing meetings recently to call for more appointments of Hispanics to city government leadership posts. They planned a Tuesday afternoon press conference, in part to respond to remarks Kimber made recently on WNHH radio about immigration. Speakers at the press conference depicted Casanova’s remarks as unbecoming a department
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leader and Campbell’s “swift action” in disciplining him evidence of his fitness to lead. “He has earned the respect of those he served and those who serve with him,” Charles Wilson, president of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers (NABLEO), said of Campbell. Several speakers also criticized attorney Pattis for calling Mayor Harp a “mope” in a blog post about the Casanova incident. Then the clergy and cops swept into the mayor’s conference room to meet with Harp about their demand. Meanwhile, Pattis happened to be on a sidewalk across from City Hall. Told of the criticism over his calling Harp a “mope,” Pattis responded: “They must have gotten dumber when they got together to plan those remarks. What I really should say is, ‘Thanks for reading, guys.’” He said the clergy’s call for Campbell’s immediate appointment “explains it all. They’ve isolated Casanova. Now give us what we want,” i.e. Campbell’s permanent appointment. A dozen or so of the black clergy and cops met with Harp for 15 minutes after the press conference. Afterwards she said she will not suspend the search process and name a new chief now. “We’re sticking to our process,” she said.
Con’t from page 3
Not Just Yet to Planned Parenthood, support community health centers, and be vigilant about how money is distributed from an ever-shrinking state budget in Hartford. Finally, DuBois-Walton took the floor to talk through the uncertainties around Carson’s imminent leadership of HUD, focusing her presentation on how the funding of public housing services supports more than just a roof over everyone’s head. At the core of public housing is “a belief in people that uses the housing as an opportunity to get involved in people’s lives more broadly,” she said. She identified as core to HANH’s mission initiatives that “leverage tenants’ economic and educational success,” such as programs that help children in public housing developments get through school and into college, and others that help residents become entrepreneurs and eventual homeowners themselves. Warning against the allure of lower taxes, she asked the audience to “think about tax policies beyond your own paycheck,” for so many of her department’s public housing services are funded by tax credit programs that rely on higher income levels who pay their taxes and seek out tax breaks. A few audience members in the subsequent Q&A found amidst this rash of conservative appointments one or two unlikely sources of optimism for a Democratic opposition, including one attendee who described the president-elect as a “valuable opponent” because of his thin skin and reactionary Twitter polemics. But the tone of the night’s conversation was marked by concern over the potential harm that these nominees could inflict on the welfare of the city’s most vulnerable populations. “What we should all be prepared for is how you kill a program by continually underfunding it,” DuBois-Walton said towards the end of the evening, expressing a sentiment inherent in all three of the expert assessments of the incoming federal department heads. “I’m not worried that HUD is going to cease to exist. But if it’s not funded at the level that’s required to meet the needs of homeless families, or that allows people to get their first mortgage, then that’s a real problem that’s going to eat away at our city’s social services.”
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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An Open Letter To Barack Obama By William Spivey, Blogger and ICN Writer
Dear President Obama: I perhaps have been a bit too understanding. I understood because you were always caught in the middle. You woke up each day remembering you were the President for the whole country and not just one segment. You continued to the end to reach out to those who openly conspired against you. And I understood. You carried the burden of being the first Black President. As such, you rarely did anything to overtly benefit only Black people; perhaps because of the optics, or the “Whitelash” which would invariably come. And I understood. You withstood their slurs with grace. Absorbed their attacks on your character, your person and your family. Never returning them with anger because to do so would raise the specter of the “Angry Black Man.” And I understood. You saved the economy. Made healthcare available to an additional twenty million people. Oversaw advances on behalf for women, gays, dreamers and more
despite the resistance of those on the other side of history. At the same time you deported more Hispanics than anyone else in history, perhaps needing to appear tough on Immigration. And I mostly understood. You started to make efforts to address hyper mass incarceration. You began reducing use of private prisons to house Federal prisoners. You began addressing sentencing for nonviolent crimes and looked the other way when States began passing laws to legalize marijuana. I knew that in the early moments of your first term. Lost in the pages of your stimulus plan were funding for cities to buy tanks and military equipment and pay for arrests of drug users which added to mass incarceration. I knew you didn’t write the stimulus plan. It may have been a compromise to get votes. A necessary evil that I tried to understand. You later tried to fix those efforts which helped me set that aside. So I ultimately understood. You made some comments disparaging HBCUs. Perhaps your Columbia and Harvard background didn’t enable you to fully appreciate the significance past, present and future of these
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institutions. I didn’t understand but in the overall picture it was a small thing. I remain hopeful that enlightenment in this area will reach you. Since the election of Donald J Trump as your replacement. You’ve more than fulfilled your obligation to the peaceful transition of power which is a hallmark of Democracy. You handled yourself with grace and honor despite the feelings you must have towards the dishonorable, vile man who harassed you for years. You put Country above Party above Self. And I understood. I speculate now… I think you still engage with President-Elect Trump in false hope you can influence his behavior. He leaves a meeting with you and talks about the good parts of Obamacare he’d like to preserve. Then he appoints a man in charge of HHS who wrote bills to repeal it over sixty times. You encouraged him to be a President for the whole country. Then he appoints Jeff Sessions. You take his calls and offer guidance. When your call concludes, Steve Bannon White Supremacist sweet nothings in his ear. Mr. President, your efforts are
having no effect. Worse still, you are helping to normalize him and make him more acceptable by those who should never accept him. You are giving him the cover of normalcy while every action he takes highlights the abnormal and his desire to make America something again that was never great. This I do not understand. Respectfully I ask you to draw a red-line and say, “This Must Not Stand!” You should tell the nation what you’ve seen up close and make clear that the conspiracy theory spouting, racist meme tweeting, tax evading liar-in-chief is exactly who we thought he was. Speak without anger. But clearly articulate the clear and present danger that is Trump. Don’t speak as a Democrat in partisan ways but as an American because he endangers us all. Don’t go softly into the night. Use the bully pulpit one last time to make the record clear. Make us all understand. William Spivey is a writer, poet, blogger and political commentator. He happily lives in Orlando, Fl. He can be read at www. EnigmaInBlack.wordpress.com contact Spiveywilliamf@gmail. com
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
City Prepares To Raze Homeless Camps by PAUL BASS
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
The city Wednesday notified homeless people camping out in the woods off I-91 that they have eight days to come inside or make other plans. Officials have worked since last week with social-service agencies to help more than a dozen people who were found to having been living for up to years in clearings in the wooded section off the highway. Responding to neighborhood complaints about unsafe conditions there, city crews worked with the campers to remove an estimated 12 tons of trash from the area. Meanwhile, outreach workers have met with the campers to try to connect them with medical care, temporary shelter, and longterm supportive housing through agencies like Liberty Community Services. Most of the people have welcomed the help, according to city homeless
PAUL BASS PHOTO
One of the encampments.
coordinator Velma George. “It’s going to be freezing this weekend. We’re trying to get them connected so they will be inside. ... We don’t want anyone freezing out there,” George said. “Once they’re connected to services, we don’t want to leave the encampment standing.” Among other concerns, it presents a fire hazard, she said.
Outreach workers have succeeded in either placing people in housing or on the way to doing so, she said. “There are a couple of holdouts. We just wanted them to know they have a little more than a week to either come in and connect to services or figure out what they want to do. We really don’t want them out there.” She said workers continue to speak
with the holdouts. Dave Sadler, one of the holdouts, reacted with dismay to Wednesday’s effective eviction notice. “I’ve got a week to figure out what i’m doing with my stuff and with myself,” he said. “I’m freaking out.” Sadler, an artist who lives on social security, has stayed at the encampment since officials shut down the non-code-compliant living spaces at the Daggett Street Studios in the Hill in March 2015. He said he needs a roommate to afford an apartment, but because has trouble finding one because of his mental health condition. He said he’s resisting outreach workers’ efforts to get him to stay in a homeless shelter for now. “I refuse to go to the shelter,” he said. “It’s disgusting. You feel like you’re in jail. They take your rights away; you have to be there at 5. They have crappy food. They’ve had bedbugs. I’m a smoker—
they wouldn’t let me go out and and have a cigarette” on some occasions. Sadler said 15-17 people are camping at the site these days, including “two new couples [who] recently moved in.” Amy Casavina Hall of the United Way of Greater New Haven, who has been working with the agencies helping the campers, put the effort in the context of the larger campaign to eliminate chronic homelessness in Connecticut. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said during a recent New Haven visit that he expects the state to be able to declare that goal met some time in early 2017. “The tents are emptying out,” Casavina Hall said of the wooded site off I-91, and several people have already been placed in housing. “We’re finding the folks out there who are most vulnerable, and we’re housing them” and assessing their situations.
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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High School Tests A Non-Test Idea THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
by PAUL BASS
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
In making the case for charter schools, Malachi Bridges challenged the views of his teachers, as well as the rationale for standardized tests. Bridges doesn’t attend a charter school. He used to. Now he’s a senior at a traditional magnet public school, Metropolitan Business Academy Interdistrict Magnet High School on Water Street. Metro has engaged Bridges and his schoolmates this fall in an experiment measuring what they’ve learned. Building on similar experiments in New York City, proponents hope this idea can replace high-stakes standardized tests like SATs and Common Core. Metro’s social studies teachers got together to draw up a common fiveday lesson plan for all their students in grades 9-12: Writing a researchbased essay making an argument for or against charter schools. Malachi’s teachers are skeptical about charters. They worked hard, though, at showing their students both sides of the debate, in depth. Malachi came down in favor of charters as positive alternatives to traditional schools. And he obtained a high score on his project, performing better than he did on the SATs. The point of the exercise wasn’t to convince students about the merits or drawbacks of charters. It was to teach the students a useful, lasting skill, apply that skill to a subject relevant to their lives, tell them the expectations in advance, and then evaluate their work in a common, rigorous way. Unlike high-pressure standardized tests, these projects — designed by teachers rather than faceless outsiders — aim to overcome racial and income biases to provide more meaningful measurements of learning. Tasks that measure what they’ve learned, versus tests that measure how much they’ve studied for a test. Engaging students in “lifelong learning,” as one teacher put it, versus “gaming a system.” Principal Judith Puglisi said she plans to continue this “moderation study” experiment in coming years as teachers refine it and track students’ progress. She noted that, unlike standardized tests with outside contractors, this experiment “costs nothing.” It’s part of the regular work of
PAUL BASS PHOTO
Students Wayde Whichard, Courtney Clemons, Yasmin Abuhatab touting test-alternative at Metro roundtable.
Miller at panel with student Caitlin Wills.
the school. “The teachers love it. Children are responding,” she said. “We want to be able to prove the validity of it this year. I believe there will not be an achievement gap when we look at the data.” The experiment includes math, science and English department projects as well as social studies. Using a common set of guidelines based on standards in the Common Core standardized tests, the social studies teachers spent four class days instructing the students in how to find different sources of information, evaluate them to extract key points, develop an argument and refine it in guided group discussions, and then outline and write up that argument. The fifth day was the “test,” when the students wrote the mini-argumentative essay. The teachers scored the students on their success in forming arguable claims, evaluating information and refuting counterclaims. They ranked the work as “exemplary,” “competent-exemplary,”
“competent,” “emerging,” “novice,” and “no evidence.” Then the teachers met and rescored each others’ students’ papers They looked for inconsistencies in their scoring. They looked for ways to improve the assignment — for instance, detecting where both sides might not have been presented fairly. Last week Malachi and some fellow students, some of his teachers and administrators, parents, and Puglisi met in Metro’s third-floor library for a panel discussion on the experiment with a group of academics called the Connecticut Coalition for Real Learning. That group is looking to reform or replace standardized testing. Jacob Werblow, an education professor at Central Connecticut State University (pictured) and a coalition member, noted after the 90-minute discussion at Metro that the students offered no positive remarks about taking the SATs, but they brimmed with enthusiasm about working
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on their charter-school essays. “It was really powerful to hear that. The state of Connecticut is spending tens of millions of dollars on the SATs for young people. It’s not a predictor of college success. Why are we doing it?” Werblow remarked. New Haven has found that some students who score poorly on SATs — many of them black or Latino or from modest economic circumstances — but who have high grade-point averages end up succeeding in college. Malachi would seem to reflect that trend. He took the SATs three times and was able to nudge his composite score up from 950 to only 1020. But he has amassed a 4.5 grade point average; he’s aiming high for college, including applying to Yale. HIs writing has been assessed at the sophomore college level. He brims with ambition and quiet confidence when he speaks. “I am smart,” he concluded, despite what the SATs indicated. “I can go to college.” “This [Metro experiment] is ahead of the curve, how a school can build an innovative new model.” The experiment builds on the larger trend in public schools to develop “portfolios” of student work as an alternative to test scores, an endeavor in which Metro has been engaged for years. The challenge has always been the “science”: how to devise measurements that can apply meaningfully to large groups of people and correspond to their achievements. In tackling that challenge, Malachi’s teachers had to check their own biases at the door when it came to charter schools. Supermen Puglisi has attracted a core
of young, idealistic teachers to Metro. Some of them, like social studies teacher Leslie Blatteau, have been outspoken against the modern emphasis on standardized tests and against charter schools. She and fellow social studies teacher Julia Miller said they worked hard to check their feelings about charters at the door. “I have plenty of political opinions. It’s not my place to steer a kid in one direction or another,” Blatteau said. “In the front of the room, it’s my job to test their argument and make sure it’s sound enough. I know the arguments for charters. And I know the arguments against. That’s fun” to share. “We wanted to teach them how to make an argument and defend it with evidence. We didn’t care” what conclusions they drew, Miller said. “We wanted to find a controversial issue that would feel relevant to the kids.” Miller took the lead in preparing the materials that all the teachers would use. The teachers showed the kids the trailer to the pro-charter Waiting for Superman movie. They also showed the trailer to the anti-charter response movie, The Inconvenient Truth about Waiting for Superman. “It did come up” in class, Blatteau acknowledged, “that Waiting for Superman was higher-budget. The kids picked up on this.” Miller also culled a Wall Street Journal op-ed on the “charter school advantage” along with a Mother Jones magazine article about the NAACP’s recent call for a national moratorium on new charters. She found two opposing infographics. They discovered that the kids were using the procharter infographic more, because the anti-charter graphic, from YES! magazine, was “pretty hard for the kids to access,” Blatteau said. So they found a different graphic called “CharterLand,” based on the Candy Land game. In class, students began by putting Post-It notes about their position on the subject along a spectrum of pro- and anti-sentiment. Over time they moved those notes as discussions influenced their positions. The Post-Its ended up moving in both directions. The kids loved debating the subject not just in class, but in the cafeteria Con’t on the next page
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
Con’t from page 8
Test Idea
with students from other classes and grades, the teachers reported. Blatteau spoke of one student whose brother attends a charter. He knows he would get kicked out of a charter for misbehavior, he said. But in the end he “worte a pretty good essay” about why charters are “better” than traditional public schools. Another student had attended Amistad’s charter middle school. He “swayed some kids” about the merits, Blatteau said. He sparked conversations in class that ricocheted from one argument to another: “[Charters have the] ability to have kids successfully graduate and go on to four-year schools. Their ability to end up with higher test scores. Are test scores what we want to [emphasize]? It’s a continuous loop of ‘yes, but ...’” arguments, Blatteau said Next Steps In the end, 40 percent of the students came down on the pro-charter side, 60 percent against, Blatteau estimated. As one of the 40 percent, Malachi said he concluded that charters “enabled an environment ... comparable with those on suburban neighborhoods. They have some problems. We all do in life. But I love the idea of charters” because of the opportunities they offer students to succeed. “It was way better than the SAT,” Malachi said of the project. “You were told what was expected of you…. You could see what parts you could improve on ... “With the SAT you walk in blind” about the material being covered, after buying a “$50 book” to cram in. The next step: The teachers are working with the students on research projects about a different subject, that culminate in a year-end research paper. The expectation is that the 11thand 12th-graders will produce “college-level” papers. Meanwhile, they’ll refine the fall five-lesson assessment project for next year. Malachi has plans too. After college, he said he plans to return to high school to teach while obtaining his master’s or a law degree. The ultimate goal is to work as a public defender or legal-aid lawyer and have his high-school students “help me with the classes.” What kind of high school does he plan to teach in? The one, he said, where he’s currently spending his senior year. Metro.
In City Stop, Carson Lauds The Brain’s Potential by MICHELLE LIU NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
When Ben Carson — Yale graduate, renowned neurosurgeon and soon-to-be secretary of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — came to town Thursday evening, the man soon to play a lead role in shaping Connecticut and New Haven’s future said nothing about housing. He did get a letter from New Haveners hoping to hear more in the future. Carson played to the crowd in an hour-long talk hosted by Yale’s William F. Buckley, Jr. Program, delivering humor-laden arguments calling for compassion in politics and eschewing political labels while tracing the trajectory of his life story. But players like city officials and advocacy groups alike hoped to hear something concrete about Carson’s HUD plans, policy choices which could severely impact a city in which an estimated 30 percent of the population lives in subsidized housing. And on that subject, he stayed mum. Hosted by a conservative student group that aims to promote intellectual diversity on campus, Carson’s talk on “The Value of Common Sense” packed the university’s SheffieldSterling-Strathcona auditorium to capacity, nearing a crowd of 400. President-Elect Donald Trump’s HUD pick said he wanted to create “ladders of opportunity,” or mechanisms that wouldn’t keep people dependent on social services; these would focus especially on providing education opportunities. On Anything But HUD Early on, Carson lauded the human brain, the organ he’d built his career upon. “And you might say that I’m a little biased about the brain, certainly but I’ve got to tell you, the human brain is by far the most fabulous organ system in the universe,” he said. “I mean, billions and billions of neurons, hundreds of billions of interconnections, can process more than two million bits of information in one second. Remembers everything you’ve ever seen, everything you’ve ever heard.” Carson set the example on what it takes for the human brain to complete a simple task. He asked
Ben Carson — Yale graduate, renowned neurosurgeon and soon-to-be secretary of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) the crowd to raise their hands if they recalled what they’d had for breakfast that morning. Then he broke down what the brain was doing in that split-second recall — neurons firing, a string of complex steps. Breathlessly, Carson rapid-fire articulated the minute steps that added all the way up to raising your hand in response to his breakfast question. The crowd laughed and applauded. But just imagine, he said, if the brain can do that, what it can do when applied to problemsolving. Carson dismissed the notion “of allowing ourselves to be manipulated into opposite corners where we spend all of our time fighting each other” (perhaps alluding to the particularly hyperpartisan nature of this recent election) for the more laudable goal of combining resources to solve problems. Drawing an arc from the child who always knew he loved medicine (“I would gladly sacrifice a shot just so I could smell an alcohol swab,” he said of going to the doctor) to the neurosurgeon who would successfully separate conjoined twins, Carson honed in on the need to provide education
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opportunities for young black men, citing a high incarceration rate. And he cleared up a rumor that he’d spent his childhood in public housing. In fact, he said, his mother had worked multiple jobs to maintain independence for herself and her children to shield them from public housing. “We didn’t live in public housing because there was a lot of danger there and she wanted to shield us from that danger,” he said. Moderators plucked audience questions written on cards for the question-and-answer session. On a question about how he lived as a Christian in an increasingly secular society, Carson stressed mutual respect for freedom of religion — before adding that immigrants needed to follow the Constitution or else “go to a place compatible with their beliefs.” After deftly deflecting a question on what he admired from the liberal ideology, Carson answered a question on the conservative anti-poverty agenda more straightforwardly: his support of vouchers for school choice. What About New Haven? As Carson was whisked away for a post-talk reception with Buckley
fellows at the Quinnipiack Club, other talk-goers were left to make sense of it all. New Haven’s economic development administrator, Matthew Nemerson, said he saw Carson speak because after all, HUD is probably the federal agency the city relies upon the most. Cities, Nemerson said, can’t afford to play partisan politics with residents’ lives — it’s their job to work with federal and state governments. And city officials are hopeful — to an extent — that Carson’s Yale and New Haven ties will spur the compassion Carson himself argued for Thursday night; Carson served on the Yale Corporation board from 1997-2003. (Mayor Toni Harp is already working on a pitch to the future HUD secretary: one that may become urgent as HUD has recently turned down the city’s application for a $30 million grant to help rebuild Church Street South, the federally subsidized apartment complex that will soon be razed.) Two groups that advocate for some of the city’s most vulnerable populations showed up in hopes of starting a conversation with Carson himself. Amy Marx from New Haven Legal Assistance Association delivered a letter to talk organizers, congratulating Carson on his recent appointment and inviting him to a future meeting “regarding the need for affordable housing in diverse, inclusive communities free from the scourge of historical discrimination” between Carson and lowincome residents of New Haven. “The importance of federallysubsidized housing as a safety net for low-income families cannot be overstated,” the letter stated. Signees of the letter — from NHLAA, Christian Community Action and Mothers for Justice — voiced concern about an editorial by Carson in which he described President Barack Obama’s fair housing policies as an “experiment” and a “mandated social-engineering scheme.” Marx found Carson’s talk “charismatic, thoughtful, funny and brilliant,” she said. She said she hopes he returns to New Haven — this time, to talk about housing.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
OP-ED | How Should Connecticut Invest in Youth? Listen to the Experts
by Toni E. Walker As co-chair of the legislature’s Appropriations Committee, I have a central role to play in forming our state’s budget. Yet I have never been totally happy with the result. No one is, because need always dwarfs resources. That does not mean, however, that we resign ourselves to inadequacy. We keep looking for ways to spend smarter – to do more good in our great state with what we have. I have found that the best way for the legislature to do its job better is simple: It always starts with listening. Reforming our juvenile justice system to offer young people opportunity and fairness has always been my passion. But far too often, we adults do that
work without listening to the real experts: youth who have been through the system. Walk in Our Shoes: Youth Share Their Ideas for Changing Connecticut’s Juvenile Justice System is a new report composed of the opinions and experiences of youth who have been through the system or are at risk of entering it. They inject some much needed common sense into the conversation. As those of us in Hartford talk about closing the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS), the teens have moved beyond thinking in terms of buildings to making suggestions about community-based programming. They think that safe, affordable housing and quality schools will do more to promote public safety than CJTS. I agree. They tell us that they want jobs that will help them contribute to their families – but they lack the opportunities to build skills or even exposure to career possibilities. They think that providing these experiences
will both decrease crime and benefit the state’s economy. I agree. They would like to see more support for families and more community-based programs that will hold young people who break the law accountable in their own communities – or in some cases will prevent juvenile delinquency altogether. Again, I agree. It is hard to find anyone these days who thinks it is a good idea to spend $30 million-plus on a juvenile prison where more than 80 percent of the kids only leave to be rearrested. What the report offers is a fresh perspective. Often the CJTS conversation gets stuck in talking about replacing this obviously bad building with a better one. Young people are freer in their thinking. They are imagining a system where we prevent crime and create opportunities in communities. In such a system, we would need only a few locked beds. So instead of building walls – our focus should be on building
Questions about your bill? Yale New Haven Hospital is pleased to offer patients and their families financial counseling regarding their hospital bills or the availability of financial assistance, including free care funds. By appointment, patients can speak one-on-one with a financial counselor during regular business hours. For your convenience, extended hours are available once a month. Date: Tuesday, January 17 Time: 5 - 7 pm Location: Children’s Hospital, 1 Park St., 1st Floor, Admitting Parking available (handicapped accessible) An appointment is necessary. Please call 203-688-2046. Spanish-speaking counselors available.
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communities. We adults have agreed to the broad outlines of closing CJTS. As we plan for a better juvenile justice system, it will be critical to include the voices of youth and families in those discussions. We have yet to get into the nitty gritty of what our system would look like without a training school. Those discussions will be incomplete and ill-informed unless we talk with the people who live the nitty-gritty every day. Involving people most affected by our decisions is often reduced to drafting a plan and asking for a response. That is not true involvement. True involvement is getting youth and families to the table as we draft these plans. They should be the foundation – not an afterthought. As we strive to create opportunity for youth and keep communities safe – and within budget constraints that nobody likes – I’ll be relying on the experts. I will be listening to
youth and families. People often think of families involved in the system as fundamentally different from their own. That has never been my experience. I meet youth who want to belong, want to be valuable members of their community, want to make their families proud. I meet adults who, more than anything, want to see their children happy, healthy and successful. Connecticut is a great state. These aspirations should not be beyond anyone’s reach. It is time to build a system that makes this possible – and we can only do it together. Toni E. Walker represents New Haven’s 93rd Assembly District. She is House Chair of the Appropriations Committee. DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions, or strategies expressed by the author are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of CTNewsJunkie.com.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
New Street Meters Support The Homeless
Change” meters was unveiled. Donations through the meters go fully for homeless services, said Davis, one of the lead organizers of the campaign. “We are the only city in the
state of Connecticut supporting homeless[ness services] with city dollars,” said Hausladen. That’s a budget line item of about $1 million each year. The income generated by the
meters as well as an online portal, givechangetomakechange. com goes 100 percent to that cause, he added. The meters have all been donated by the IPS Group, a parking meter company headquartered San Diego. It has provided the tenmeter launches of such campaigns in cities across the country, including Denver; Missoula, Montana; and Albuquerque, N.M. Hausladen said New Haven’s program is modeled generally after the Albuquerque. Four out of the ten meters have already been installed on sidewalks like parking meters, but recessed from the curb and painted bright tangerine and yellow. The locations of the four include the Crown Street Garage, the New Haven Parking Garage at Union Station, College Street near the Shubert, and on York Street near the Yale Rep. The “Give Change To Make Change” meters operate exactly like parking meters, accepting cards and coins. Credit card and coin donations at the meter are funneled to the New Haven Free Public Library Foundation. Hausladen said it will use them to augment $25,000 that the foundation already deploys annually to three city charities dealing with the homeless: Columbus House,
PAUL BASS PHOTO Martin Looney.
over how rules will work in the Senate, which is now deadlocked 18-18 between the two parties. (Democratic Lt. Nancy Wyman will serve as the tie-breaking vote.) “I intend to be in the chamber on Jan. 4,” Looney said in an interview. “At least 30” people came forward to offer to donate their kidneys to Looney after he announced in August that his doctors said he needs one. Looney suffers from interstitial nephritis. A release from Looney’s office noted that he has suffered from
“Ankylosing Spondylitis since he was a teenager. This form of arthritis affects the neck and spine. A long-term side effect of taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories to treat this condition is kidney problems.” The chosen donor has asked to remain anonymous for now, Looney said. He describe the donor as “somebody I’ve known for a long time.” The surgery has been scheduled pending the outcome of a few final compatibility tests scheduled in coming days. “I’m just extremely grateful for the
by ALLAN APPEL
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
A panhandler downtown may not be homeless, or hungry, or even jobless. In fact some in the city’s “professional” group of panhandlers can make as much as $100 a day. That revenue could augment real services to end homelessness, feed the truly hungry, and maybe even job training to turn a life around. Those stark points differentiating the problem of panhandling from that of homelessness emerged Monday as the city launched its “Give Change To Make Change” initiative. The centerpiece of the initiative is the installation of ten charity meters on downtown streets that function exactly like parking meters — only the change you put in them (credit cards are accepted as well) will go 100 percent to homeless services. Mayor Toni Harp, city transportation czar Doug Hausladen, Market New Haven Marketing Manager Bruno Bagetta, and Town Green Special Services District Executive Director Win Davis were among two dozen officials on hand for a press conference Monday afternoon in the atrium of City Hall, where a model of the “Give Change To Make
The meter on College Street between the Shubert and Crown.
Liberty Community Services, and Youth Continuum. If you give online, those funds go directly to Liberty Community Services, which among other activities, runs the Sunrise Cafe, the daily breakfast program for the homeless at the Church of St. Paul & St. James at Chapel and Olive streets. Yale Medical School post-doc William Khoury-Hanold liked the idea of the meters. But as many times as he’s walked by the one on College Street near the Shubert, he had never understood how they worked until a reporter explained. Explanatory devices at the meters are forthcoming, as the rollout continues. Khoury-Hanold identified a thorny ethical problem: The meters are all “safe” because they “give us a little more leeway to avoid that human interaction on the street,” he said. To maintain the meters, to get the word out about them, and to process the donations, the initiative is looking for corporate sponsor, said Market New Haven’s Baggeta. Officials also want the public to suggest at which other locations the six remaining meters should be deployed. If you have an idea or strong feelings on the matter, you can communicate that by going to the website, Hausladen added.
large numbe rof people who came forward who agreed to be tested,” Looney remarked. “To donate a kidney is the height of friendship and big-hearted generosity and kindness. It’s an extraordinary gift. Medical professionals say it’s beneficial that I am able to get the kidney before having to go dialysis. It increases the likelihood of a successful transplant.” Looney, who’s 68, has served in the Senate for 24 years. He served in the state House of Representatives for the 12 years before that.
Looney Finds Kidney Donor by PAUL BASS
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
New Haven State Sen. Martin Looney is scheduled to receive a needed new kidney this month after receiving an outpouring of offers and support. Democrat Looney, the president of the State Senate, said he has surgery tentatively scheduled for Dec. 20 to receive the kidney. He said he expects to return to work when the next legislative session begins on Jan. 4. He said the procedure will not interfere with negotiations with Republicans
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Lincoln-Bassett Aces The Math Test THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
by ALLAN APPEL
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Connecticut State Department of Education Commissioner (CSDE) Dianna Wentzell was on hand Thursday to lead a round of applause and a victory lap for Principal Janet Brown-Clayton, her staff, and the parents at the Lincoln-Bassett School in Newhallville. That’s because Lincoln Bassett, a “Commissioner’s Network” school that for two years has been struggling mightily to turn itself around with state help, placed number two in Connecticut among high-needs students for growth in math. “Lincoln-Bassett is one of our superstars,” the commissioner declared. The commissioner chose to recognize the K-6 school as her department released the results of student growth analysis of the Smarter Balanced standardized test scores, the first year Connecticut has been able to release results of how kids in what are called “matched cohorts” for how much learning has taken place among the same youngsters as they moved from third to fourth grade, for example. Smarter Balance exams replace the old CMTs (Connecticut Mastery Tests) in that the results, rather than reflecting one-time performance, show how much growth each kid has attained,based on goals set for each student, according to the CSDE press release. Showing “growth” as opposed to onetime “achievement” is the mantra of measurement now with the CSDE. Lincoln-Bassett’s success by those more accurate measures, according to the commissioner, should be modeled statewide. Across the state, Connecticut students on average achieved 63.8 percent of their growth targets in English language arts and 65 percent of their growth targets in math. In New Haven students at Lincoln-Bassett on average achieved 94.6 percent of their growth targets a third higher than the state average with 69.4 percent meeting their acutal targets. Interim Schools Superintendent Reggie Mayo also called out for
ALLAN APPEL PHOTO Principal
Brown-Clayton and Commissioner Wentzell
Asstistant Principal Jenny Clarino, Operations Manager Stephanie Skiba, math coach Rolanda Booker, literacy coach Regina Carini.
praise the Quinnipiac Real World Math STEM School, which achieved 86.2 percent of its growth targets, with 61.5 percent actually meeting targets in English and Language Arts (ELA). He also cited the Strong School, Conte West Hills, and the West Rock school. All the results can be viewed on the state’s website. In an hour-long discussion Thursday among staff, ed officials, and parents, the main reasons emerging for Lincoln-Bassett’s
success were: improvements in school attendance, dramatic reduction in suspensions, the active presence of reading and math “interventionists,” the provision of Chrome books, computer carts, projection screen in the cafeteria and other technologies not previously present; a highly committed staff provided with innovative staff development time; and perhaps above all wrap-around services provided by the Boys and Girls
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Club and ConnCAT extending the school day by four hours. Some of these new inputs have become possible since LincolnBassett became part of the state’s Commissioner’s Network, schools in need of major turnaround, which are infused with additional funds and flexibility to accomplish their aims. There are 17 schools in the network. The network had a line item in last year’s budget for $9.8 million, of which Lincoln-Bassett
has received $450,000. That money pays for the beforeand after-school programming, a reader interventionist, an attendance and technology staffer, a “refocus coach” to deal with kids in danger of suspension, and 170 Chrome books and other technologies, said Stephanie Skiba, the school’s operations manager. Of course, it is all about leadership as well. Brown-Clayton created a motto for the students “Lincoln-Bassett where eagles soar and failure is not an option” and another for the staff: “Truth over artificial harmony.”“That includes dealing with institutional racism in a school that is 95 percent African-American and the staff is not [reflective of that],” said Brown-Clayton. Among the most moving testimonials were those of the parents who hailed the involvement of the teachers and the before- and after-school programs, which enable them to leave the kids early and pick them up late if their working lives require it. Renee Carmichael, who has a first grader in the school, said, “I can contact the teachers any time. I texted [her son’s teacher] at night about the homework, and he gave me pointers.” Another parent said she was on the verge of taking her kids out of the school before the turnaround Brown-Clayton and her staff effected, but no longer. Wathia Kelly, who has a sixth grader in the school [she’s also the school’s clerk], recalled that “two years in a row [her daughter] had substitutes for most of the year.” No longer. And the reading interventionist has helped her child in critical ways. “If I could keep my daughter here to graduate high school, I would. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I can’t wait to see where” [next the school goes in its turnaround saga], she added. “We need to amplify your stories,” Wentzell said to make the case to sustain Commissioner’s Network funding. “You saw the turnaround,” she said to the parents. “You’re witnesses.
Re-Entry Program Seeks A Lifeline THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
by MICHELLE LIU NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
With a loss of state funding looming, one of New Haven’s prison re-entry programs is looking to secure a community development block grant from the city to ensure it can keep providing services to newly-released inmates. Darryl Thames and Pam Linder of Easter Seals Goodwill Industries dropped by the Dwight community management team meeting Tuesday night, looking for the team’s support as they await approval of the grant request, which would keep Easter Seals’ reentry service center at 95 Hamilton St. afloat for another year. “As of July, I will lose funding for all but one case manager,” Thames said. Severe budget cuts to social services across the state in recent months as well as a looming $1.5 billion state budget deficit mean there’s no guarantee of state
MICHELLE LIU PHOTO
Thames pitching Dwight.
funding beyond June 30, 2017, the last day Thames can afford the program’s two case managers and one community advocate position.
So Easter Seals is looking for some $119,000 from the city to pay for one caseworker and the community advocate for a year
starting in July 2017. These positions are essential to the work Easter Seals does, Thames said. While many associate the not-for-profit with work it does with the developmentally disabled, Easter Seals has also provided re-entry services to New Haven residents for over a decade, serving about 125 men and women a year. These services are focused upon the Dwight, Dixwell, Newhallville, the Hill and Fair Haven neighborhoods, Linder said — where the majority of formerly incarcerated individuals returning to New Haven go to. The state deposits an estimated 25 newly released inmates into New Haven each week. In collaborating with the state Department of Corrections and the city, the Easter Seals program provides case management services — like housing assistance and substance abuse treatment — to reduce recidivism. Linder, the program coordinator,
said the community advocate position is crucial to retain: The job is currently staffed by an individual who was once incarcerated for 21 years then “came out and turned his life around.” “We have some legitimacy,” Linder said. “We’re not just a bunch of people who have no idea what it’s like to be incarcerated. He’s been there, done that.” Dwight alder Frank Douglass, who chairs the Board of Alders’ Community Development Committee, noted that he was familiar with the grant application (submitted in October) at hand. Community management team Chair Florita Gillespie asked why Easter Seals hadn’t approached the team earlier. Thames acknowledged the short notice. He said he is diligently making the rounds now. Like many not-for-profits hit by the state cuts, his learning to “do more with less,” he said.
Paolillo Plans To Do Double Duty by PAUL BASS
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
State Rep. Al Paolillo Jr. will also be Alder Al Paolillo Jr. At least for a while. Paolillo (pictured) won election Nov. 8 to the open 97th state General Assembly seat, representing the city’s east shore in Hartford. He takes office next month. He also has another year left in his term representing the Annex neighborhood on the New Haven Board of Alders. Paolillo said that for now he has decided to keep his alder seat and do both jobs. He has spent 15 years on the board, rising to the position of majority leader. He’s not ready to step down just yet. “I love my position right now. I love what I do every day,” Paolillo said. “At some point I’m not going to do both [jobs]. At the beginning of the year, I’m going to do both,” then evaluate after a while whether
he should continue through the years. Newly elected state legislators throughout Connecticut routinely face that choice of whether to continue in a elected municipal position. Almost all choose to resign the local post. (Similarly, Toni Harp and John Daniels resigned as state senators upon
assuming the mayor’s office in New Haven.) Roland Lemar, the last New Haven alder to face that choice, resigned his alder seat immediately, leaving time for a special election for his successor. “I thought it made sense for me not to do both at once. I didn’t think I could handle both jobs,” he
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said. “It’s really hard to do both.” But there is local precedent. In 1984, New Haven Alders Pat Dillion and Bob Hauser were elected to the state House of Representatives. Both remained on the Board of Alders (then called the “Board of Aldermen”) through the end of their terms in 1985 before stepping aside. Like
Paolillo, both held leadership positions on the board at the time. Dillon said she remained on the board at the urging of thenDemocratic Town Chairman Vincent Mauro, who told her she was needed to continue running the budget committee as important development proposals came up for review. “They really hadn’t prepared for a successor,” she said. Today, the late Mauro’s son, Vincent Mauro Jr., serves as Democratic town chair. Mauro said he did not tell Paolillo, “You’ve got to stay on the board,” but he did “encourage” him to continue serving in the local position. “Al is a very important member of the board. He will do both jobs as well as he can,” Mauro said. “I think he can handle both jobs. To up and move right away, it would create a little bit of a vacuum.”
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 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,
Questions about your bill? Yale New Haven Hospital is pleased to offer patients and their families financial counseling regarding their hospital bills or the availability of financial assistance, including free care funds. By appointment, patients can speak one-on-one with a financial counselor during regular business hours. For your convenience, extended hours are available once a month. Date: Monday, December 19, 2016 Time: 5 - 7 pm Location: Children’s Hospital, 1 Park St., 1st Floor, Admitting Parking available (handicapped accessible) An appointment is necessary. Please call 203-688-2046. Spanish-speaking counselors available.
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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 barbering service to families in the community of New Haven and surrounding towns in Connecticut for many years; they also provide health screenings in collaboration with Yale-New Haven Hospital and other community services. Willie C’s Unisex Barbershop stands out as a gem. Rather than cold metal and concrete floors, Willie C’s is lined with warm wood surfaces and boasts an old-school feel. Instead of flat screen plasma televisions surrounding the space, the shop is decorated with antique toys, novelty items, and photographs of historic events in black history. More importantly, the barbers create a cozy and inviting atmosphere through their humor, friendly demeanor, and open ears. The duo has recognized that many clients feel comfortable talking to them about their lives and asking for advice. Many of their customers started coming to their barber shop years ago and it is no wonder most of them return time and time again. Willie has been recognized for his many accomplishments in the community. He was honored by
the Hamden Notables and King Solomon’s Lodge #23 PHA for being the Man of the Year in both 2004 and 2005. Other awards include the James Thorpe Humanitarian Award, AIDS Interfaith Community Service Award of New Haven, Cosmetologist & Barbers Award of New England. In 2005, Willie served for 2 years as the 5th District Councilman for Hamden, Connecticut where he enjoyed helping and serving his community. He is a member of Immanuel Missionary Baptist Church in New Haven where he serves as a Deacon and President of the male chorus. Outside of the church, Willie is an active member of West River SHIP Investment Group, Gateway Community College Advisory Board, Hamden Black History Committee, Widow’s Son Lodge #1, and New Haven Eureka Chapter. MindStylz is a collaborative project between hair stylists and barbers sponsored by the Ethnic Diversity Task Force of the CT Psychological Association. This project is community-based and increase mental health awareness in communities, especially minority communities through presentations at hair salons and barber shops; also at community health fairs and presentations at high schools and colleges. We have been partnering and educating hair stylists since 2003 with a commitment to educate hair stylists and barbers. Our specific goals include: Increase understanding of depression and anxiety; teach about how to appropriately make referrals of clients to mental health professionals and identify self-care tips.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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A Night with Will Downing THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
By Christian Lewis, ICN Arts & Entertainment Correspondent
Q: WIll your current, as well as previous albums be for sale at the concert in Waterbury? A: Absolutely, and I’m hoping to get to be able to sign them, but if not, they will definitely be available.
On December 16, 2016 Will Downing will be in concert at the Palace Theatre in Waterbury; I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing him to see what we can expect to see at his concert, as well as how polymyositis, which he was diagnosed with in 2006 has affected his music.
Q: Do you have a favorite song on your Black Pearls album? A: A favorite? No, I love all of them, it’s like children, you love them all.
Q: If music wasn’t your career choice, what do you think you would be doing for a living?
Q: Growing up, who were some of the music artists you listened to?
A: Calling to wake up Christian Lewis everyday (laughing and joking). I would be in the service, a buddy of mine and I were doing the buddy/buddy program to join the Marines, I had my pen on the line to sign when the recruiter realized I was only seventeen. I had to go home to get my father to sign the papers giving me permission to join and he wasn’t having it. Q: Are either of your parents musically inclined or was this a gift that was bestowed upon you? A: I think I was adopted (laughing), it was definitely a gift, I have one brother and two sisters and no one in my family can do anything musically. My brother is an electrical engineer, my sisters are school teachers and principals, my mother was a
A: Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, Luther Vandross, George Simpson, Al Jarreau, Donny Hartman, DJ Rogers. I try to emulate most that have come before me.
school teacher; nothing in my family tree of anyone doing music. Q: In 2006 you were diagnosed with Polymyositis, has that affected your career at all? A: It put me down for close to two years, it stopped me from doing anything but it also changed my perspective on everything, it was an enlightening moment it changed my whole life on how I
looked at things. Q: What can concert goers who have never been to a Will Downing concert expect from you? A: I’ve been doing this for 28 years, I have 19 albums, they are going to get the *Oh Wow* experience. We are bringing all the hits, (myself and Najee). We are going to go down musical history, giving you close to 30 years worth of music.
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Q: Do you write all of your own music? A: No, not all of it. A lot of my biggest hit are remixes that have originally been done by female artists. Q: Start to finish, how long does it take for you to record a full album? A: Probably 6-8 months, I release them probably every year and a half to two years.
Listening to how Mr. Downing didn’t allow being diagnosed with polymyositis keep him down was such an inspiration to me. For those that don’t know, polymyositis is an uncommon inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness affecting both sides of your body. I, for one am looking forward to seeing Will Downing in concert on the 16th of December at the Palace Theatre in Waterbury. Will’s new album Black Pearls is FIRE!!! Will is such a down to earth person, and his music is so soulful. Hope to see you all at the concert because I’ll definitely be there!!
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
Democratic Pollster Cornell Belcher Delivers Blunt Talk on 2016 Election Results
By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor
During the recent Rainbow PUSH Coalition conference in the nation’s capital, top Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher told a room full of activists, journalists and community leaders the most recent election was a game of inches. “On the Republican side, their coalition is shrinking,” he added. “When people say they want their country, back we should understand that they are serious.” Belcher not only served on the presidential campaign teams for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, he also worked with the Democratic National Committee. For some reason, Hillary Clinton’s team did not use Belcher this year in a race where the get out to vote efforts of the Black community would play a key role in a Democratic victory. The prominent pollster is also the author of the new book, “A Black Man in the White House: Barack Obama and the Triggering of America’s Racial-Aversion Crisis.” The book explores the questions around the historic run of the first Black president of the United States, as well as the “problem of the color line” in America. With Black and Brown political power on the rise due to shifting demographics in America, the socalled “Trump effect” isn’t going
away any time soon. On December 6, at the Rainbow PUSH conference, Belcher made a presentation on the importance of the expanding electorate, the Obama campaign and the tactical failures of the Clinton campaign. He first reminded everyone of the winning landscape Barack Obama created. “In 2008, we expanded the electorate by 11 percent…when you’ve done that, it’s a really big deal,” said Belcher. “Barack Obama is not President without
that expanded electorate.” Belcher continued as he backed up his arguments using PowerPoint slides. “This was not a sea change election, we’re not doing better with White voters, including women overall,” he said. “If you had talked about this a year ago, people were saying [Hillary Clinton] doesn’t need to completely get the Obama coalition, because certainly she’s going to do better with White women, right? Well, she didn’t do better with White women.”
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He noted that, in 2016, minorities made up a larger piece of the electorate, but in 2008 Barack Obama ran up the score among moderates and liberals. Part of the problem for Hillary Clinton in 2016 was that moderates and liberals were more likely to vote for a third party candidate while, in the end, Republicans stuck together and “got in line” as others were casting protest votes. The result was a surprise victory for New York real estate developer Donald Trump.
Belcher also said that “race trumps gender” in America and that it always has. For that reason, Trump did much better with White women voters than anyone had predicted. So many polls and pundits ended up being incorrect in 2016 that the pollster/ pundit class has been thrown into a state of self-study over the 2016 election results. Yet, Belcher has been talking about many of these issues for years. Barack Obama was the first person of color to hold the office of the presidency and he only won 38 percent of the White vote with the vast majority of that group breaking the other way. The bottom line: White voters, for the first time in American history, did not decide who would be President of the United States. “When you think every vote doesn’t matter — it absolutely does. Every vote matters,” said Belcher. “Barack Obama wasn’t winning states like Ohio and North Carolina by three or four points, he was barely winning by the tiniest of margins.” Lauren Victoria Burke is a writer and political analyst. Lauren is a frequent contributor to BlackPressUSA.com and the NNPA Newswire, the news service of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. She can be reached by email at LBurke007@ gmail.com and on Twitter at @ LVBurke.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
Television Academy Gets First Black CEO In Its 70 Year History
Hayma “Screech” Washington has been elected as chairman and CEO of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, also known as the Television Academy. Washington is the first AfricanAmerican to hold the position of CEO in the organization’s 70 years of existence What is the Television Academy?
ceremony honoring achievement in U.S. primetime television.
the lack of minorities among Oscar nominees.
Washington is a former Walt Disney Co. executive who has won seven Emmys as an executive producer for “The Amazing Race.” His works include sports programs, awards and music shows, which he produces and directs through his own company.
So, we can expect changes to be coming in the near future with Washington at the helm of The Television Academy. As he recently stated, “This is a time of considerable change for our industry and I am deeply committed to ensuring that the academy is at the forefront as we move towards a more inclusive future.”
His goals for the future
Founded in 1946, this professional honorary organization is dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is the organization that every year presents the Primetime Emmy Awards, an annual
As CEO, Washington wants to focus on diversifying the Academy’s membership. He also wants to reverse the sharp criticism that has occurred over
For more information about the Television Academy, visit www. emmys.com
The First Black Woman in Space is Also a Successful Entrepreneur
You might say, ‘The sky is the limit’ when it comes to Dr. Mae C. Jemison. Not only was she the first woman of color in the world to go into space, but she is also a successful entrepreneur, having founded two technology companies and a non-profit organization. The sky is the limit Dr. Jemison is an engineer, physician and former NASA astronaut. After general medical practice and the Peace Corps, she was selected by NASA to join the astronaut corps. In 1992, she became the first African-American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Her companies After returning home from space, in 1993, she founded a company
called the Jemison Group that researches space technology and it’s application to daily life. In 1999, she founded another company called BioSentient Corp.
which focuses on developing portable technology that allows mobile monitoring of the involuntary nervous system. Jemison is also currently a
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Professor-at-Large at Cornell University, but taught at Dartmouth College from 1995 to 2002 as a professor of Environmental Studies. In 2009, she worked with
First Lady Michelle Obama in a forum for promising girls in the Washington, D.C. public school district. Her background Although Jemison calls Chicago home, she was born in Alabama in 1956 and attended school in Chicago. She entered Stanford University at the age of 16, earned her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1981 at Cornell Medical College, and interned at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. She is also an accomplished dancer, and she serves on many boards, including the National Academy of Medicine and the National Women’s Hall of Fame. To learn more about her company and foundation, visit www.drmae. com and www.jemisonfoundation. org
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
We’ve Been Trained To Forgive & Forget But It’s Not Healthy To Pretend You’re Okay With Trump Being Elected
by Nikki Lynette, BlackDoctor.Org On December 19th, the members of the Electoral College will cast their ballots for the President of the United States. Although this vote is usually considered a formality, with the expectation being that the Electors will rubberstamp the outcome of the November election, this year it has taken on a new significance after the results in November sparked the biggest social conversation about the electoral college that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Many people didn’t seem to know prior to voting that Hillary winning the popular vote did not mean that she would win the presidency. Another thing that most Americans didn’t know at the time of casting their vote was the fact that the American spy and law enforcement agencies had reason to believe, weeks before the presidential election took place, that Russia had allegedly made
plans to have computer hackers interfere with the outcome. Problem was, they didn’t know precisely what the goal of the interference was or how it would be carried out. Recently, the C.I.A. divulged their findings, stating that Russia had intervened to make Trump president. And although nobody knows why the C.I.A. didn’t divulge this information before
Should Colleges Be Fined For Not Admitting More Low Income Students?
udent enrollment in four years.
life.
Rewarding colleges that agree to be more fair
Making “the American Dream” available for everyone
The $200 million proposal includes funding more grants, particularly at minority-serving and historically black colleges, to improve graduation rates. Colleges who comply would also receive other rewards, such as bonus points in federal competitive grants or a reduced regulatory burden. Colleges who don’t comply would be fined, which means they would also temporarily lose their access to federal financial aid.
Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, who proposed the legislation along with Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, explains that “higher education should be part of the American dream for those who choose to pursue it.”
It’s an aggressive proposal that has the support of many higher education leaders. It would mean an opportunity for many low-income students to attend college, an opportunity they might otherwise not have for success in
the election, the news has left all of us dumbfounded, with many media outlets demanding that the December 19th Electoral vote be delayed until they get to the bottom of the confusion. In the aftermath of Trump’s election, our country has seen a rise in hate crimes and public displays of racism. And amongst those affected by this ugliness the most, the overwhelming message has been to rise above it, to be the bigger person, to forgive. Forgiveness in the face of racial injustice is a familiar hallmark of the Black church’s influence on how Black people handle
Regarding the proposed legislation he added, “We’re working to even the playing field to make sure that’s a reality for students of all economic backgrounds at every college and university in the country.” Read more at www.insidehighered. com/quicktakes/2016/09/22/ senate-proposal-enroll-more-lowincome-students-or-pay-fine
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sociopolitical issues. Even as recently as July 22, 2015, in the aftermath of the Charleston church massacre, while most of us were still trembling from outrage, the families of the victims as well as the church were expressing forgiveness for the murderer. I understand that forgiveness is an important part of letting go of something painful. But at what point does the expectation to forgive become self suppression? At what point does preaching forgiveness turn into lulling people into complacency, encouraging them to accept the things they once considered unacceptable? And most importantly, what do you think that does to a person psychologically? In the Black community, the damaging affects of self suppression show up time and time again. The expectation that a person will stay silent or quickly recover from something traumatic creates room for mental illness to thrive. It’s only been about 150 years since slavery ended in this country. The road Black people walk is very different from people who were never subject to institutionalized racism. For this reason, it is important to remember that a person’s race and upbringing play a huge role in their mental health needs. This is why “culturally competent care,” which is the ability to provide care to people with diverse
values, cultures, and beliefs, is so important for mental health. It’s something I never even thought about, until I needed help myself. The Electoral College was founded 83 years before Black people got the right to vote. It was created as a way to deter the masses from electing a demagogue, which is a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument. Now, on December 19, the Electoral College is expected to vote in a man whose popularity is due, in part, to his tenure as a reality TV star. And although some electors have publicly stated that they will snub their state’s “faithless elector” laws that prohibit them from voting against their party, it is quite probable that Trump will be inaugurated and the emboldening of overt racists will continue. I don’t know if Russia impacted the results of our election. I don’t know if it makes sense to hold Trump personally responsible for racists acting out on the streets. But what I do know is that it’s not healthy to pretend you’re okay with it if you’re not, all in the name of forgiveness. Nikki Lynette is a rapper, singer, producer, songwriter, visual artist, blogger and on-air personality. And a goddess with real locs. Follow her on Twitter @ NikkiLynette.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
John Legend The “La La Land” Interview with Kam Williams
Ohio-born John Legend is an awardwinning, platinum-selling singer/ songwriter. His work has garnered him ten Grammy Awards, an Oscar and a Golden Globe, among others. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he studied English and African-American literature, John participated in a wide range of musical activities while in college. During that period, he was introduced to Lauryn Hill, who hired him to play piano on her track “Everything Is Everything.” Shortly thereafter, he began to play shows around the Philadelphia area, eventually expanding his audience base to New York, Boston, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. After college, he was introduced to an up-and-coming hip-hop artist named Kanye West. Kanye quickly signed John to his G.O.O.D. Music imprint and had him sing vocal hooks on some of his tunes. John’s career started gaining momentum through a series of similar collaborations with established artists. He added vocals to an impressive list of chart-topping hits including Kanye’s “All of the Lights,” Jay-Z’s “Encore” and backup vocals on Alicia Keys’ 2003 song, “You Don’t Know My Name.” John’s debut album, Get Lifted, was released to critical acclaim in December of 2004 by Columbia Records. The album landed multiple Grammys, including Best R&B Album, Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. And earlier this year, John won his first Academy Award for “Glory,” a song he wrote and performed with Common for the film Selma. . Throughout his career, John has worked to make a difference in the lives of others. In 2007, he launched the Show Me Campaign (ShowMeCampaign. org), an initiative that focuses on education as a key to breaking the cycle of poverty. He’s received the 2010 BET Humanitarian of the Year Award, the 2009 CARE Humanitarian Award for Global Change, the 2009 Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award from Africare, and the 2011 Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year Award. Furthermore, John sits on the boards of The Education Equality Project, Teach for America, Stand for Children and the Harlem Village Academies. Here, he shares his thoughts about playing his first, major movie role opposite Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in La La Land, a picture which he also executive produced. And he talks about his philanthropic work and his new album, Darkness and Light, too. Kam Williams: Hi John. Thanks so much for the time. John Legend: My pleasure, Kam.
and I. The four of us just sat in a room and played, and figured it out. Justin, obviously, was the composer for the rest of the film, and he’s wonderful. But since I always feel comfortable singing, that particular song [“Start a Fire”] worked, and made sense for the character I was playing. Yet, it posed an interesting challenge, because you wanted the song to be good and represent a viable creative path, but you also wanted it to be a song Ryan’s character, Sebastian, wouldn’t want to play, given the storyline. So, it called for an interesting balance of making it a good, jazz-influenced tune you could hear on the radio while also making it something that represented too much of a departure for Sebastian. KW: Early in your career, were you a musical purist like Sebastian, who had a reverence for the classics?
KW: I’ve tried to land an interview with you for years, so I’m honored to finally have this opportunity to speak with you. JL: I’m excited, too. KW: Let me start by asking what made you decide to do this film with Damien [writer/director Damien Chazelle]? JL: Well, it really started with meeting him as a filmmaker in my capacity as a producer, because my company, Get Lifted Film Company, has done a few movies and a couple of television shows now. We love meeting with upand-coming directors who are doing great things. And, obviously, upon the success of Whiplash, Damien was someone we’d love to collaborate with. My producing partner [Mike Jackson] suggested we connect with him very early on, after we saw a screener of Whiplash. We finally got a chance to sit down and discuss something creative when he was in the process of preparing to shoot La La Land. The script was finished, and they were already in talks with Ryan and Emma to star in it. Damien wanted to see if we were interested in getting involved. He was originally thinking in terms of executive producing and in terms of the music for the character, Keith, and his band, The Messengers. But eventually, he asked me if I wanted to play Keith. I said, “Yeah, let’s do it!” I hadn’t done anything like it before. I hadn’t had a major speaking role in a film before. But I guess he felt that I could pull it off, because the character had some
similarities to my own background as a musician. Damien thought I could relate to the character, and I felt the same way. So, it made sense for me to do it, since I was already a fan of his work. And then, when I found out that Ryan and Emma had come aboard, it seemed like a no-brainer for us to get involved. KW: After watching the film, I was surprised to see that you have so few acting credits, because you did a phenomenal job. JL: Thank you! I’d spent my whole career focused on music. Acting wasn’t something I was really pursuing, even though we were doing film and TV behind the camera as producers, because music takes up so much of my creative energy. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with such great people. KW: After Damien released his first movie, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, I wrote: “Appreciate Damien Chazelle now and avoid the rush!” JL: Yeah, he’s brilliant! You can tell, just by virtue of the fact that he made Whiplash and La La Land before turning 32. That’s not even fair. [Chuckles] KW: What did you think of Justin Hurwitz’s score for La La Land? Did he compose the songs you played in the movie? JL: We wrote those together. He, Marius [de Vries], Angelique [Cinelu]
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JL: No, I never looked at myself as a purist in the sense of simply wanting to recreate old music that I’d grown up listening to. I never struggled with that conundrum. But I think every artist is influenced by certain traditions and the artists they grew up listening to. For Taylor Swift, it was Country music. For me, it was Gospel and Soul. Other artists grew up listening to Folk, Classic Rock or whatever else it was for them. But no matter what your early influences are, you have to decide how much you’re just recreating the feelings those artists gave you, recreating their styles, or doing something fresh and new that’s influenced by them. I think we all deal with that. There’s always the push and pull in our careers of how much we go traditional and how much we try to change it up and do something new. KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier says: like many people, I think that you are a great artist and I consider you like the young Stevie Wonder. I saw you in Montreal when you opened for Alicia Keys on one of her tours. Given that your new film is about jazz, please name a few of your favorite jazz musicians. JL: Honestly, I don’t consider myself much of a jazz aficionado. When I was growing up, my dad used to play a lot of vocalists like Billie Holiday, Ella [Fitzgerald], Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson and Nat King Cole. So, I grew up loving some of the great standards singers and jazz vocalists. Also Nina Simone who cut across a few different genres. Those are a few of my bigger influences, but i wouldn’t say I was much of a jazz expert. KW: Patricia also notes that you consider yourself a feminist. She would like to know why men should feel as concerned as women about female issues and how men can advance
women’s causes?
JL: First of all, because its the right thing to do. It’s fair, you have women in your family, women you work with, and women who are your friends. Why shouldn’t they have the same possibilities and opportunities as you? Why shouldn’t they live in a world where they are valued for what they contribute, and valued as much as men are for the same thing? Who wouldn’t want to live in that world? It doesn’t hurt men for women to do well, because it just makes the planet a better place. There’s more innovation, more creativity and more productivity in the world. All of our lives are improved when women have power, influence and opportunity. KW: I’d like to congratulate you on your new album, Darkness and Light, which I’ve been listening to. It’s terrific! JL: Thank you. I’m really proud of it. It’s funny being in La La Land mode today, since I’ve been in Darkness and Light mode for the past month, and I’ll be back into it for the next year or so. It’s exciting to support this really beautiful film and to have a new album out at the same time. KW: I’ve always been impressed by your incredible commitment to charity work. What has inspired you to do that? JL: I’ve always thought that if I were successful in this career, I would have a lot of resources and a lot of influence, and that I would would want to use them to make the world a better place. Part of my making the world better involves creating great art, and part involves my being an activist and contributing directly to causes that improve people’s lives with my time, my money and my influence. I think that’s part of who I am and of who I always will be. KW: Finally, what’s in your wallet? JL: What’s in my wallet? [Laughs] Credit cards... insurance cards... membership cards... I got my Academy membership renewed this year. KW: Congratulations on the Best Song Oscar for “Glory” last year. And it looks like you’ll be back in contention, since it looks like La La Land’s going to be nominated for a lot of Academy Awards. JL: Well, I don’t know whether I’ll personally be nominated, but I’m going to be rooting for the whole team. We have some wonderful contenders in a wide range of categories. KW: Well, thanks again, John, and best of luck with both La La Land and Darkness and Light. JL: Thank you very much, Kam.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
Women’s Rights Activist Dorothy Height Honored With 2017 Black Heritage Forever Stamp By Jason Hughes, BlackDoctor.org
Get ready for more Black excellence, folks! Women’s rights icon Dorothy Height will be featured on the 40th stamp in the US Postal Service’s Black Heritage series in 2017. A peer of Shirley Chisholm, Height fought against the racial and gender inequalities suffocating minorities and women in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. “2017 will be an exciting year for the Postal Service’s stamp program,” said Mary-Anne Penner, US Postal
Photo: Manny Ceneta/Getty Images
Service Director, Stamp Services. “This amazing collection of stamps features beautiful art, distinguished Americans and historic events.” According to the organization, Height rarely received the recognition she deserved for her years of tireless service as an activist. She served as the president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years. Height also won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994, followed by the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., serving as its national president from 1947 to 1956.
Height’s stamp features artwork by Thomas Blackshear II. It’s a board portrait of Height with gouache and acrylics, according to the postal service. She’s wearing a beautiful pearl necklace and earrings and a purple and gold church hat. Height passed away in 2010 at age 98. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, along with other dignitaries, attended her funeral. Height joins a long list of AfricanAmerican leaders featured on the Forever stamp, including Harriet Tubman, Alvin Ailey, James Baldwin, Sojourner Truth and Malcolm X.
degree from a 2 or 4-year College when applying for the scholarship. Jackie Robinson was an American baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era. In 1973, the Jackie Robinson Foundation was created as a national, not–for–profit, organization to perpetuate his memory through the advancement of higher education among
underserved populations. The foundation’s strategic combination of financial assistance and support services results consistently in a nearly 100% college graduation rate. The deadline for this scholarship is usually in FEBRUARY of each year, and the award amount is usually $7,500. For more details, visit www. JackieRobinson.org
Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship Native American). Applicants must also plan to attend an accredited and approved four-year institution within the United States, must show leadership potential, must demonstrate a dedication to community service, and must present evidence of financial need. Applicants must also have a minimum SAT score of 1,000 combined on the math and critical reading sections or a composite ACT score of 22, and not possess a
The Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship is for minority high school students in the United States. In addition to a financial grant, the foundation also provides its scholars with mentoring and leadership development opportunities, and internships. To be eligible, all applicants must be graduating seniors and must belong to a minority group (African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, or
Will White Workers Accept Trump’s Billionaire Cabinet Picks? By Julianne Malveaux, NNPA Newswire Columnist When Donald Trump was running for President, he specifically targeted the “White working class,” telling them that he’d prevent their jobs from leaving the country, that he’d bring back manufacturing jobs, and that he’d revive the oil and steel industries. He hasn’t taken office yet, but he has already celebrated the fact that Carrier, a furnace manufacturer in Indianapolis, Indiana, has agreed to keep jobs in the United States, even though they had earlier announced that they would have moved jobs to Mexico. The Carrier deal that Trump has been crowing about is so deceptive, that some business writers describe
it as a scam and a union leader accused Trump of lying his hind parts off. Trump says he saved over a thousand jobs, but the real number may be closer to 730. Carrier will still relocate more than 500 jobs to Mexico, and they had already planned to keep about 300 jobs in the United States. So Trump may have “saved” 400 jobs, not 800 or a thousand, and Indiana Governor Mike Pence had to give up $7 million in tax benefits to keep the jobs here. Trump and Pence have also signaled that they are willing to play “let’s make a deal” on a case by case basis to keep jobs in the United States, instead of using public policy to encourage the development of U.S. jobs and to limit the mobility of capital. And, Carrier is still closing another Indiana plant, but there has been no intervention for that closure. Now, Mr. Trump has indicated that Andrew F. Puzder is his choice for Secretary of Labor. Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurant Holdings,
a company that franchises Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. fast food outlets, has opposed minimum wage increases, worker protections, paid sick leave, and the Affordable Care Act. He has said that he welcomes automation in the restaurant industry, because machines are “always polite… never take a vacation, never show up late, there’s never a slip and fall or an age, sex, or race discrimination case.” While the Department of Labor has been the advocate for workers, Mr. Puzder seems to be an advocate for worker exploitation. Okay, y’all working-class White folks, those of you who voted for Mr. Trump, are you ready to swallow a bitter pill? Because Mr. Trump has shown you, yet again, what he thinks of you. The historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote about President Abraham Lincoln’s “Team of Rivals.” What Mr. Trump seems to have assembled is a team of war-mongering generals and bombastic billionaires. The Puzder
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appointment, then, is consistent with Mr. Trump’s philosophy, but it is inconsistent with the notion that the Labor Department should be an advocate for workers, and should regulate labor markets and enforce labor legislation. The minimum wage was stuck at $5.15 an hour for ten years before it was increased in 2007. Then, Congress approved a three-step increase, raising the wage to $5.85 an hour in July 2007, then $6.55 an hour in 2008, finally increasing to $7.25 an hour in 2009. It has been stuck there ever since. President Obama has recommended an increase of the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, less than the $15 an hour that many activists are advocating through the Fight for Fifteen. Puzder does not think the minimum wage should be more than $9 an hour. He also opposes Obama Administration efforts to give overtime pay to more workers. It would be crass to say that Puzder purchased his position,
but it is important to note that he contributed more than $300,000 to the Trump campaign. His nomination is consistent with that of Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt, a climate change denier, to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Just as Pruitt has no intention of protecting the environment, prioritizing energy production over environmental protection, Puzder has no intention of advocating for or protecting workers. Lots of people who voted for Mr. Trump swear they aren’t racists and say they simply voted for “change.” If Mr. Trump and Mr. Puzder have their way, they’ll get chump change for hourly pay. Is that the change they want to believe in? Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available via www.amazon.com for booking, wholesale inquiries or for more info visit www.juliannemalveaux.com.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 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.
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 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
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
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
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
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.
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Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
The Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT is seeking bids for Janitorial Services. Bidding documents can be viewed and printed at www. norwalkha.org under the business tab, RFPs/ RFQs. Norwalk Housing Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Curtis O. Law, Executive Director
PUBLIC NOTICE
New Haven Section 3, DAS certified MBE & WBE subcontractors wanted Encore Fire Protection is looking for Section 3, DAS certified MBE & WBE subcontractors to install a fire sprinkler/suppression system. All interested bidders, companies and employees are to be licensed in the State of Connecticut, Bonded and Insured. Work duties will include all tasks required for proper fire sprinkler system installation per approved plans. Construction experience is a must. All F2 licensed mechanics are responsible to arrive to the job site on time, have a minimum of OSHA 10 training and possess approved personal protection equipment. You will also participate in daily, weekly and monthly progress reports. If interested, please contact encorefire110@gmail.com.
Construction oriented company seeking full-time Accounting/Administrative Assistant to answer phones, schedule sales appts, filing, typing & other general office duties. Will also have accounting responsibilities-data entry, sales order billing, and processing A/P transactions, supporting our over-the-counter sales person, the controller & CFO. Min 5 yrs. Related experience, excellent written & verbal skills, ability to multitask, knowledge of basic accounting principles, excellent computer skills (5+ yrs. Experience) with Excel & Word, accounting software knowledge a plus. $31,200 annual salary-negotiable based on experience & qualifications. AA/EOE Email resume to mmunzner@atlasoutdoor.com
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.
Project: Meriden Commons 1 161 State Street Meriden, CT
SUBCONTRACTOR PRE BID MEETING Tuesday, December 20, 2016 5 to 7:00 pm Location: Meriden Housing Authority 22 Church Street, Meriden
INVITATION TO BID: New Construction 1 Building, 75 Units, Approx 100,000sf
This is our Project, Taxable & Residential Wage Rates apply. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. This contract is subject to state contract compliance requirements, including non-discrimination statutes and set-aside requirements. State law requires a minimum of twenty-five (25%) percent of the state-funded portion of the contract be set aside for award to subcontractors holding current certification from the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services. The contractor must demonstrate good faith effort to meet the 25% set-aside goals.
Bid Due Date:
Site-work and Concrete Subcontractor bids due: 12-23-16 @ 5 pm All other trades due: 1-11-17 @ 5 pm Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=meridencommons1 Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER
**An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
Toddler Special Mon-Thurs 10-12 • 1 Parent 1 Toddler • Only $15 1 hr $20 2 hr
$60
off
frequent jumper
10 1-hour jump/play passes reg. $150 now $90 Complete coupon must be presented at time of purchase. One coupon per person. These coupons are only valid in park, in person, and not valid for online purchases. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Exp: 9/30/16
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
Even Small Rise In Blood Pressure They Could Be Signs of HIV Increases Death Risk In Blacks
Black Women Should Beware of These 5 Symptoms --
STUDY:
By HealthDay News
The Minority Health Blog An estimated 1.2 million people in the U.S. were living with HIV at the end of 2013, according to the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. Although African Americans make up only 13 percent of the U.S. population, in 2015 they had 45 percent of all new HIV diagnoses. The frightening fact about HIV is that about 13 percent, or 1 in 8, do not even know they are infected with HIV because they do not know what to look for in HIV symptoms. 5 symptoms of HIV: #1 - Fever: a low-grade fever, which includes a temperature between 99.8 and 100.8 degrees Fahrenheit, can be a sign of HIV. It can also include sweating at night to the point where it wakes you up. #2 - Swollen glands: this is another sign of HIV. As it spreads throughout the body, it can enlarge the lymph nodes in the neck, back of the head, armpits, and groin. Swollen glands is one of the first signs of HIV. #3 - Changes in menstrual cycle: women’s menstrual cycles generally don’t change, but if they do, it can indicate HIV. Other indications include yeast infections, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and pelvic inflammatory diseases (PID). #4 - Joint pain: joint pain, muscle pain and fatigue can often be ignored but should not because they can be signs of HIV. #5 - Unexplained rapid weight loss: rapid weight loss that has no explanation is another symptom of HIV. It can also include decreased appetite and diarrhea. If you or someone you know is experiencing any or all of these symptoms, see a doctor immediately. HIV is a treatable medical condition and most people treated remain fit and well and able to live normal lives if treated early. Read more at www.healthline.com/health/hiv-aids/symptoms-women
Even small increases in blood pressure can be dangerous for black people, a new study suggests. A rise of as little as 10 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure in blacks raised the risk of dying during the study by 12 percent. The risk was even greater for black people under 60 — each additional 10 mm Hg increased the risk of dying early by 26 percent, compared with a 9 percent increase for those over 60, the study showed. “These findings should urge doctors and patients to consider all the available data and weigh the risks and benefits prior to selecting a blood pressure goal in African-American patients,” said lead researcher Dr. Tiffany Randolph. She’s a cardiologist with the Cone Health Medical Group HeartCare in Greensboro, N.C. Blood pressure is made up of two numbers. The top number is called systolic pressure. This measures the pressure in the arteries when blood is being pumped from the heart. The bottom number diastolic pressure measures the pressure between heartbeats. Blood pressure is expressed in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). The 2014 blood pressure guidelines from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Eighth Joint National Committee changed blood pressure goals for patients over 60 without diabetes or kidney disease. The goal was changed to a target of less than 150/90 mm Hg. Previously the goal had been 140/90 mm Hg, Randolph said. Although the recommendations were based on clinical trials, the trials didn’t include many black people, she said. “Our data suggest that increases in blood pressure are associated with greater risk of death among all ages of African-Americans, even people over age 60,” Randolph said. Only about 50 percent of all people with high blood pressure reach these goals. And because black people are more likely to have high blood pressure and suffer from its consequences, such as stroke, heart attack and kidney failure, “there is concern that raising the recommended blood pressure goals in this population may have unintended consequences,” Randolph said. Moreover, even though the increased risk of death from high blood pressure was smaller among people 60 or older, they may actually benefit most by having well-controlled blood pressure, as their overall risk of death is higher than those under 60, she said. Dr. Gregg Fonarow is a professor
of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles and a spokesman for the American Heart Association. He said, “These findings provide further evidence of the potential harms in terms of increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and premature deaths that resulted from any physician or patient that followed the Joint National Committee blood pressure guidelines.” These guidelines have been controversial, Fonarow added. Rather than tightening blood pressure goals to be consistent with all clinical trial evidence in adults 60 and over, they actually loosened the goal. Major professional societies, such as the American Heart Association and others, have refused to endorse these guidelines, he said. The new study included more than 5,200 people enrolled in the Jackson Heart Study between 2000 and 2011 in Jackson, Miss. All of the study participants were black and their average age was 56. Nearly two-thirds were women. Participants were followed for an average of seven to nine years. At the beginning of the study, 60 percent of the participants had high blood pressure, Randolph said. The median blood pressure at the start was 125/79 mm Hg. “We found that every 10 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure was associated with a 12 percent increase in the risk of death and a 7 percent increase in the risk of being hospitalized for heart failure,” she said. Fonarow recommended these target numbers for optimal health: “The ideal for heart and brain health is a systolic
blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure less than 80 mm Hg,” he said. Recently, the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), of which 30 percent of patients were black, showed that aiming for a systolic pressure of less than 120 mm Hg saved lives, reducing deaths from any cause by 27 percent, Fonarow said. Dr. Stacey Rosen is vice president of women’s health at Northwell Health’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health in New Hyde Park, N.Y. “This study highlights the need to do more work on where treatment goals should be,” she said. “We cannot underestimate the importance of pushing blood pressure lower in order to minimize cardiovascular risk,” Rosen said. High blood pressure is manageable with a heart-healthy lifestyle, including maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, being physically active, not smoking and, for some, taking blood pressurelowering medication, the researchers said. The report was published online Dec. 7 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. SOURCES: Tiffany Randolph, M.D., cardiologist, Cone Health Medical Group HeartCare, Greensboro, N.C.; Gregg Fonarow, M.D., spokesman, American Heart Association, and professor, cardiology, University of California, Los Angeles; Stacey Rosen, M.D., vice president, women’s health, Northwell Health’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health, New Hyde Park, N.Y.; Dec. 7, 2016, Journal of the American Heart Association
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
Black Community Shocked by Michael Slager Mistrial By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Contributor
Last week, the nation was shocked to learn that the jury for the trial of Michael Slager, the North Charleston police officer who shot and killed an unarmed Black motorist as he jogged away from a traffic stop in 2015, could not agree on a murder or manslaughter conviction or any punishment for the officer. “I don’t have anything new to say,” tweeted Deray Mckesson, a prominent activist associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. “I mean, we have a video of an execution and planting evidence and even that’s not enough.” After a brief struggle offcamera, a passerby recorded Slager, shooting Walter Scott in the back from nearly 20 feet away. Then Slager walked back to where the initial struggle took place and picked up what looked like a Taser. Slager then returned to Scott’s body and dropped the Taser, contradicting his initial police report. Mckesson, who gained national attention in 2014 for his social media presence and citizen reporting in the aftermath of the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, was not the only person who expressed disbelief on Twitter. Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author of “Between the World and Me” and a national correspondent for “The Atlantic,” commented about the Charleston County chief prosecutor’s opening statement, where she “acknowledged from the beginning of the trial that she thought Mr. Scott had contributed to his own death by running away,” according to “The New York Times.” “Re: Walter Scott. When DA sounds like the defense, can’t really be surprised by a mistrial. This is incredible,” Coates tweeted. During an interview last week on the “Today” show, Dorsey Montgomery II, the jury foreman from the Slager trial, said that several jurors had doubts about convicting the former police officer. “Initially it was going to be
murder,” Montgomery said. Then jurors requested additional information about the evidence presented in the case and about the possible charges and “the things that were presented to us by the judged, we had come to find out
he didn’t do anything malicious.” Since the 2014 murder of Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y, dozens of videos have surfaced showing violent, sometimes fatal, interactions between police and Black men and women. The ease
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of use of video technology in the information age has brought into public view a problem that has for decades been ignored and dismissed by mainstream media and White society at large: police brutality in the Black community.
Despite the brutal visual evidence, the American police uniform has consistently shielded officers who commit murder from prosecution. The case of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio, Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn., and John Crawford in Beavercreek, Ohio, are only a few examples of police shootings caught on camera, where the officers involved escaped murder convictions. The mistrial in the Scott case comes on the 61st anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which started on December 5, 1955. The boycott began four days after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a White man on a Montgomery bus. For doing so, she was arrested and fined. The boycott lasted 381 days and a decision in a case that went before the United States Supreme Court forced Montgomery to integrate it’s public bus system. Months before the Montgomery Bus Boycott in late August 1955, Emmett Till was murdered in Money, Mississippi at the age of 14. Till was beaten, tortured and mutilated by two White men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam. Both men were acquitted in Till’s murder by an all-White jury and some would suggest that police officers are given the same preferential treatment by the criminal justice system today. Civil rights leaders have suggested that it will take the same type of sustained economic pressure of the Montgomery Bus Boycott to force real reform in the criminal justice system. During a press conference following the announcement of the mistrial, Judy Scott, Walter Scott’s mother said that, “justice will be served, because the God that I serve is able. Injustice will not prevail.” Scott continued: “It’s not over. [God] will get his just reward.” Lauren Victoria Burke is a writer and political analyst. Lauren is a frequent contributor to BlackPressUSA.com and the NNPA Newswire, the news service of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail. com and on twitter at @LVBurke.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS December 14, 2016 - December 20, 2016
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