603 Diversity, Issue 6 (Spring 2023)

...and community access to information and resources.

We are a non-profit organization in New Hampshire that connects the Indonesian community with our surrounding area through community support services in health, education, workforce, immigration, business and economic development, government, food distribution, and festive affairs. We promote the richness of Indonesian cultural heritage and serve as resource hub for the people in our immediate community, the local government and our valued collaborators in Indonesia, to facilitate mutual understanding among different cultures and values.

LEARN MORE ABOUT US AND GET INVOLVED AT INDONESIANCONNECT.ORG

THE BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS INDONESIAN CULTURE WITH THE COMMUNITIES IN THE SURROUNDING AREA

ICC promotes the richness of Indonesian cultural diversity...

...mutual understanding among different cultures and values...

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is proud to underwrite 603 Diversity and to devote this advertising space to promote nonprofit organizations working to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in New Hampshire.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Technology PAVING THE ROADWAYS OF empathy

Ihave spent a great deal of my career thinking about two fundamental issues: technology and story. And I’m intrigued to see these two issues dovetail so elegantly in this issue of 603 Diversity.

I’m approaching my mid-50s, so when I was a kid, home computers were just hitting the market. We didn’t have one in the house until I won one – coincidentally as part of one of my first newspaper jobs as a paper carrier. I was about 11, and at the time, I wanted nothing more passionately than to be a writer; to create the stories and books that constituted so much of the world I lived in at the time. That world of literature was a comforting distance from day-to-day life, especially as an awkward, introverted pre-adolescent having a hard time figuring out where he was supposed to fit into the real world.

When I got that computer, a new passion collided with the desire to make stories: I discovered I loved to solve the puzzles entailed in writing code. And it was all new enough at the time so there was nobody to tell you that was something you did as a job and not for fun, or that you were supposed to have someone teach it to you rather than self-instruct. There were no gatekeepers. So I wrote code, and I continued to write stories. One day, many years down the road, I was a young newspaper editor who’d made his newspaper’s first website. I’d discovered that nexus where storytelling and technology met and this had become my career.

For many years I ran digital operations for media companies, trying to help them figure out how to adapt storytelling to a new technological landscape. It’s stunning to consider the impact things like the Internet, and later the smartphone, had on how stories were curated, promoted, presented

and consumed.

But throughout all of that change, I don’t believe the fundamental power of a story to connect with a human heart changed. And I believe the technology, like it has throughout history, after disrupting things for a while, went on to make it even easier to convey stories, to spread them around the world, like positive viruses. Empathy viruses. Which brings me back to our issue this week. Our cover story is about two people from diverse backgrounds in conversation; sometimes difficult, uncomfortable conversation. And it’s also about the technology that is facilitating that conversation: podcasts.

I’m a big fan of podcasts. I listen to them while I run, drive, do dishes, while I shovel snow and clean the house. Like novels and long-form magazine stories (couldn’t resist), they are an antidote to the sound-bite news brief or the half-read headline you scroll past on social media – both designed, sometimes intentionally, to create outrage. Because outrage creates engagement. But it never creates empathy.

Discussions such as the ones in the “The Conversations We Should Be Having,” podcast hosted by Tanisha Johnson and Elliott Moya, do create empathy. Just as great stories do. Because they give you time to live inside them. To really feel them. And importantly, to experience and sit with the difficult feelings that arise when we really struggle to understand a consciousness, an experience, outside of our own. This is not easy work.

As Johnson says, “We have to show how we can disagree, and get mad but not walk away from the conversation. We have to sit with our discomfort and talk about it so we can move to what comes next.”

Contributing Writers

Connie Cherise

Ben Bacote

Wildolfo Arvelo

James McKim

Rony Camille

Beth Santos

Xochiquetzal Berry

Yasamin Safarzadeh

Contributing Photographer

Robert Ortiz

Contributing Artist

Richard Haynes

Editor/Publisher Ernesto Burden x5117 ernestob@yankeepub.com

Managing Editor Rick Broussard x5119 editors@603diversity.com

Managing Editor, Custom Publishing Robert Cook x5128 editors@603diversity.com

Creative Services Director Jodie Hall x5122 jodieh@yankeepub.com

Senior Graphic Desinger Nancy Tichanuk x5126 nancyt@yankeepub.com

Advertising and Events Sales Director Jenna Pelech x5154 sales@603diversity.com

Sales Executive John Ryan x5120 johnr@yankeepub.com

Operations Manager Ren Chase x5114 renc@yankeepub.com

Digital Operations and Marketing Manager Morgen Connor x5149 morgenc@yankeepub.com

Billing Specialist/IT Coordinator Gail Bleakley x113 gailb@yankeepub.com

COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

UNDERWRITERS ROCK!

The 603 Diversity underwriters provide a significant financial foundation for our mission, enabling us to provide representation to diverse communities and for diverse writers and photographers, ensuring the quality of journalistic storytelling and underwriting BIPOC-owned and other diverse business advertising in the publication at a fraction of the typical cost. We’re grateful for our underwriters’ commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in this magazine, their businesses and their communities.

THANKS TO THE UNDERWRITERS OF THIS ISSUE FOR THEIR SUPPORT:

CORRECTION

In our story, “Latino Candidates: ‘We Are Here to Stay,’” published in the winter 2022 edition, there were some errors:

Jason Bonilla was not running as a candidate for the Manchester School Committee Ward 5 seat in 2022. State Rep. Alissandra Murray successfully ran and was elected to Hillsborough District 20. She was not running against Dr. Trinidad Tellez for that seat in the September 2022 NH Democratic Primary. State Rep. Trinidad Tellez, D-Manchester, successfully ran and was elected to Hillsborough District 40 after she defeated Republican Carlos Gomez in November.

A central part of McLane Middleton’s statement of core values is our commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion. It’s what we believe in.

As part of that commitment, we’re proud to announce that we’re participating in the Mansfield Rule certification process - a national initiative aimed at closing the diversity gap in the legal profession.

A MISSION ON THERise

To illustrate the mission of 603 Diversity, Seacoast artist Richard Haynes has provided one of his recent designs to accompany our motto “Live Free and Rise.” We are selliing T-shirts with Haynes’ design to benefit the Manchester Chapter of the NAACP Visit 603Diversity.com to buy one today.

HELP DESIGN OUR 2023 T-SHIRT!

Richard Haynes’ brilliant art has helped to raise nearly $2,000 for the Manchester NAACP. For the coming year, we’re hoping to add a new work of art to our T-shirt and motto (keeping this one available as well). If you are an artist or designer who would like to submit T-shirt art that expresses the spirit of “Live Free and Rise,” send an example or a note of interest to editors@603diversity.com

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Ben Bacote

Ben Bacote teaches humanities to high school students and is an activist working for social justice. In his free time, he enjoys taking his kids on outdoor adventures, roller skating, snowboarding, and frequenting his favorite local swimming hole. His favorite thing about NH living is making small-town connections across the state and uncovering connected stories.

Beth Santos

A new writer for 603 Diversity comes with a background in international development, thoughtful community building and social enterprise. Beth Santos, who filed two stories for this issue, set out to change the landscape of travel for women worldwide by creating the first iteration of Wanderful — a travel blog aimed to explore the diverse and shared experiences of women traveling the world. Today, Wanderful has exploded to an international community and social network with the active participation of over 40,000 women and gender-diverse people of all ages and backgrounds.

James McKim

James McKim, who was involved in the original plannng of 603 Diversity and has written essays for past issues, serves as managing partner of Organizational Ignition. He is driven by an intense need to help organizations achieve their peak performance through the alignment of people, business processes and technology. He is recognized as a thought leader in organizational performance, the uses of neuroscience and program management.

Wildolfo Arvelo, Ed.D.

Dr. Wildolfo Arvelo is executive director of Cross Roads House, the second largest homeless shelter in New Hampshire. Prior to Cross Roads House, Arvelo served as director of the Division of Economic Development for New Hampshire. From 2007-2017, he served as president of Great Bay Community College, in Portsmouth. Arvelo has a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Massachusetts/Boston.

Constance Cherise

Constance Cherise is a three-time awardwinning NH Press Association freelancer. Her regular arts/entertainment gigs include assignments for Manchester Ink Link and the Turner Classic Movies Tumblr. For more of her work, visit constancecherise.wixsite.com/ mysite.

Courtesy photos

Xochiquetzal Berry

Xochiquetzal Berry is the marketing and communications coordinator for Northeast Organic Farming Association NH in Concord. She holds an AOS in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America and a BS in sustainable food and farming from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Xochi is a food systems specialist and certified permaculture designer who, in her 14 years of experience, has worked as a chef, school garden coordinator, permaculture program head and agricultural educator. She is passionate about helping the foodloving folks of New Hampshire develop a resilient, equitable and vibrant regional food system.

Rony Camille

Our regular 603 Diversity cuisine reporter is Rony Camille, a freelance journalist (and son of Haitian immigrants) based in Nashua. A media manager with a focus in digital editorial content and operations, Camille is currently the media program director for the Town of Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.

Robert Ortiz

Primary photographer for 603 Diversity is Robert Ortiz of Robert Ortiz Photography. Ortiz began his photographic career at 15 and has chronicled everything from local weddings and events to the lives of the native peoples of the Peruvian Amazon. He lives in Rochester with his wife and son and 15-year-old daughter, Isabella, who is currently in training as his photo assistant.

Richard Haynes

603 Diversity stories emphasize not only how things are, but how they might or even “ought” to be as we seek out and reveal our state’s diverse communities. When we needed a single image to summarize the mission of this magazine, we went to a man who has long been telling complex stories with bold strokes of color and universal symbols. Artist Richard Haynes provided a selection from his recent work for this purpose. See page 5 for how you can fashionably spread the good words.

Yasamin Safarzadeh

Yasamin Safarzadeh is a native Angelino and current resident of Manchester, NH. She is an artist, advocate, coordinator and educator. She hopes to secure a future for a more diverse young adult population in New Hampshire, in effect securing a more prosperous and effective future. DM her at phat_riot on Instagram

Photo by Jeremy Gasowski/University of New Hampshire

THE POWER OF art AND hope

On January 16, Manchester’s Currier Museum of Art invited people to experience the power of art and hope while spending a day celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Around 260 guests accepted the invitation and participated in discussions and enjoyed special gallery tours. Young artists from local schools had a chance for their work to be displayed in the world-class museum. Socks and warm clothing were collected to support the work of service and advocacy group Waypoint. Many attendees participated in a collaborative mural project led by New Hampshire-based artist Richard Haynes who kicked off the day with a presentation about his own life and experiences

and how we can advance the legacy of the Civil Rights leader.

“He’s one of New Hampshire’s most beloved artists,” says Bruce McColl, director of engagement at the Currier Museum, adding that the artist’s “creative and uplifting spirit” was on display, bringing a room full of people from different walks of life together. A theme throughout the event was “Infinite Hope,” a reference to Dr. King’s words: “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” His words were a reminder of how important persistence and optimism were to the American Civil Rights movement. The mural project and gallery tours were both focused on finding such hopeful

moments in the museum’s classrooms and galleries.

“This event gave us all a chance to create something meaningful through a collaborative artmaking experience,” says Rachael Kane, the curator of education and interpretation at the Currier Museum. “We hope that finding examples of Dr. King’s ideals in our galleries, local classrooms, and broader communities will serve as a joyful reminder of the importance of hope and creativity.”

The day ended on an inspirational note with the viewing of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in the auditorium, after the unveiling of the completed community mural. 603

Currier Director Alan Chong, Director of Engagement Bruce McColl, artist Richard Haynes, and Citizens’ Glenn Rowley, SVP, Director of Government Banking with Citizens volunteers in front of the mural.

Participants add their finishing touches to the community mural, led by artist Richard Haynes.

Courtesy photos

Seacoast snowboarder Callen Hwang SOARS TO NEW HEIGHTS

n BY ROBERT COOK

On the surface, Callen Hwang is like a lot of other New Hampshire teens with her mind focused on friends, school, braces and her family. But that is where the similarities end for this 13-year-old Rye resident.

Instead of attending Rye Junior High School this winter, Callen is taking an intense training program for snowboarders and skiers at Killington Mountain School in Vermont. Her days are split between making runs down the mountain in the morning and academics in the afternoon.

Her goal is to compete in more United States of America Snowboard and Freestyle Association (USASA) tournaments across the country as she hones her skills. She competed in her first USASA event at Waterville Valley when she was eight and won her first bronze medal at age 9. More recently,

Callen captured another bronze medal at the USASA National Championships at Copper Mountain in Colorado in 2021. She won third place in “slopestyle” and finished fourth in “rail jam” where Callen was the youngest female athlete in the field.

“I was super stoked, super happy,” reflected Callen in December between her daily training and her studies.

Callen also believes her success will inspire other Asian girls to take up winter sports like she did when she was just 2 or 3 years old. Whenever she competes at USASA events and sees more girls who are either

older or younger and Asian like her, it makes her feel great.

Her father, Frank Hwang, accompanies Callen when she travels out west and competes in states like Colorado and Oregon. Callen is Amerasian, half Korean and half Caucasian, but 100 percent New Englander. It is not lost on her dad how important it is for his daughter and his son, Ryder, 11, who also skies, to identify with other Asian-American winter sports athletes.

“One of the biggest insights that I can share from the last Winter Olympics is that both Callen and her brother made me realize that diversity encompasses so much. We were watching amazing athletes of all colors, and they said, ‘they look like me.’

“To me that was Americans or Koreans. What I didn’t realize until later was they specifically meant half-Asian athletes like Hailey

Langland or Eileen Gu,” says Frank.

“It was super cool to see Hailey (Langland) there. She’s like me, yet she has such good style on her snowboard,” Callen says.

Callen was invited to the inaugural Soy Sauce Nation’als in Mount Hood, Oregon, which is a celebration of Asian snowboarders. It brought together over 100 Asian snowboarders and half-Asian snowboarders from pro athletes to those who work in snowboarding or up and comers like Callen.

“It was a great experience to see people who looked like me and were super nice,” says Callen. “I enjoy the community of it and the progression. I enjoy the aspect of sports, exercise and advancement.”

For Callen, her journey to become a national teen snowboarder began when she was just a toddler, Frank recalls. “She didn’t want to ski,” he says, “but was attracted to the snowboard right away.” She started her snowboard training at Gunstock Mountain in Gilford and Loon Mountain.

Callen said that when her parents introduced her to snowboarding, “I got addicted to it.”

From the moment she experienced snowboarding for the first time, Callen’s love for the sport snowballed.

Frank said his daughter began competing in USASA events when she was six. By

age 9, Callen won her first bronze medal in slopestyle.

Just recently, Callen competed in a USASA event held at Loon Mountain in Lincoln. She was the only snowboarder in her age group, and she actually helped a 7-year-old who was doing her first competition — Callen could reach the youngster on the slope where coaches are not permitted to go.

Callen has not set her sights on the Winter Olympics just yet. For now, she is content to compete in national USASA events and gain more experience and ability. Whenever she has a good run, whether it is in the morning at the Killington Mountain School or during a competition, Callen says “it’s an adrenalin rush” she always enjoys.

“We’re all incredibly proud and excited. What has been so impressive is this is really Callen’s show. We’re lucky to help as parents and support and advise. The best part is the adventure and experiences that

come from it and the places we get to travel and experience,” says Frank.

He and Callen’s mom, Megan, are impressed that she remains strong in her academics with straight A’s. “I have been there in a hotel and she is on Google Classroom taking a course after a day of working out and snowboarding,” says Frank. “One day, if she really wants to focus on other activities, we’re here to support that.”

Frank works in marketing in Boston for a real estate company called Senné. What originally brought the family to New Hampshire was a return to New England, to the mountains and the seacoast. He worked at Timberland in Stratham before Callen was born.

“We’re just along for the ride,” says Frank when he reflects on his daughter’s successes and her drive to be an accomplished snowboarder.  But what a ride it has been.  603

“One of the biggest insights that I can share from the last Winter Olympics is that both Callen and her brother made me realize that diversity encompasses so much. We were watching amazing athletes of all colors, and they said, ‘they look like me.’” — FRANK HWANG

Snowboarder Callen Hwang of Rye competes in one of several USASA events at Loon Mountain in Lincoln.

Tech advocate Flo Nicolas

FORMER BANKRUPTCY LAWYER TALKS ABOUT HER JOURNEY AND DEI IN THE TECH SECTOR

If you met a frustrated Flo Nicolas two years ago and asked her to envision her current reality, she would fervently respond, “I am absolutely shocked.”

Nicolas is tuned in and tapped on, creating her own technology-minded network, equipped to serve underrepresented communities. “I feel like I need to continue to use my platform because people are listening,” says Nicolas, “but who can I align with? Who can I partner with? Who can I collaborate

n BY CONSTANCE CHERISE/ PHOTOS BY ROBERT ORTIZ

with? Who will help me put together action items that we can push, initiate and get things moving?”

Now, such questions are being answered. Nicolas, a former bankruptcy lawyer turned tech advocate, is celebrating the success of her first event, the DEI Tech Networking Event, which took place on Nov. 3, 2022. Sponsors included Franklin Pierce, Manchester Community College, Black in Technology New England and her own Get Tech Smart TV show. “Honestly, I was astonished that people showed up,” she says, “and it was a diverse group!”

Impressed with her mission and ambition, UNH Center for Business Analytics has offered to host the next DEI networking event on April 13, which will be open to a variety of industries including tech, STEM, legal, business, medical and more.

“UNH said, ‘we’re going to help you promote DEI. You’re not doing this one alone,’” she recalls. She’s still in a bit of shock over the acceptance. “They’re like, wow, this is something that we can stand behind, we can promote and we can collaborate with,” Nicolas says.

However, it is not only her successful event that has her excited. Nicolas now hosts her own tech-inspired local TV show, Get Tech Smart, and advocates for the industry, spreading the good word internationally on her social platforms. She was selected to be a part of The Creator Accelerator Program, a 6-week incubator-style series where participants bring new concepts and visions to life, helping to grow their audience and engage in the LinkedIn community, which Nicolas described as a “phenomenal experience.” Her proposal of a short segment featuring global minority tech talent garnered the attention of LinkedIn, the web’s largest professional networking and career development platform, earning Nicolas a $12,000 business grant. “What I consider “the underdogs of technology” are doing amazing things, but they don’t get the spotlight they deserve,” Nicolas says.

According to online sources like CNBC, Fortune and JFF, Black candidates account for approximately 7% of the tech workforce. Nicolas has made a resolution to increase those figures. “Right now, my platform is about advocating for women in STEM because the numbers are very low, especially in New Hampshire.” Here, she says, “It’s probably about 1% Black tech talent, and my journey in tech, to be quite honest, was not a very pleasant one. What

into their own pool of talent or an array of open employment slots.

“What we are seeing now more is a lot of ‘earn and learn’ entry-level roles.” Apprenticeship NH, a web-based service of the Community College System of NH, is one driver working with local companies. “They have teamed up with Manchester Community College, and they are offering the cybersecurity and IT program,” says Nicolas.

As a way of improving the statistics, Nicolas had a conversation with software engineer Phil Kasiecki, “He was on my show one day and he was talking about diversity in New Hampshire. One of the things he said to me really hit home. A lot of times companies will hire and attract underrepresented tech talent, but they don’t focus on retention. We just started talking about what can be done,” says Nicolas.

That conversation led to the idea of the Diversity Tech Networking Event.

When Nicolas’s career as a lawyer began, she was still a newlywed just starting a family. When she realized her legal caseload was upsetting her work-life balance, Nicolas pivoted mid-career, joining a telecom company.

I said to myself was, how can I take my journey, the rejections that I got, and fuel them into something positive.”

With the emergence of virtual reality, AI and an ever-growing need of cybersecurity, each day technological opportunities progress faster. And even though this increase has slightly slowed, currently, the tech industry is projecting steady growth through 2030 with many vacancies that companies will be looking to fill.

According to the website Built in Boston, the average salary for a technical support agent is easily upwards of $70,000. Companies providing free training, (some without the need of a bachelor’s degree) and job placement are well poised, directly feeding students either

“I wanted a little bit more flexibility from having to be in the courtroom, going back and forth, traveling,” she says. Nicolas says she found that the telecom world had the flexibility she desired. She studied the business from the ground floor, working with engineers, consultants and construction teams. “I had to learn everything from the equipment to evaluating structural engineering reports and construction drawings, because I was overseeing vendors from various markets. So, it was a great learning experience for me ... that was pretty much my introduction into the tech industry,” says Nicolas.

During her six years in telecom, noticing the lack of diversity initiatives in the industry, Nicolas became inspired. “I just felt like there was more lip service than action,” Nicolas says, and she wanted to

“I had to learn everything from the equipment to evaluating structural engineering reports and construction drawings because I was overseeing vendors from various markets. So, it was a great learning experience for me. That’s how I learned about telecom and that was pretty much my introduction into the tech industry.”

reverse that.

In spite of Nicola’s efforts, education and responsibility, she felt unhappy with her own lack of corporate progress. “I felt like my career was flatlining, and I’ve always been someone who’s really looking to learn and grow and develop,” she says. Nicolas found herself at a crossroads, contemplating the best decision for her career, so she left the corporate world.

She met Laura Frederick, founder of How To Contract, who hired her as chief growth and community officer for her training and skill development organization. The acceptance was a shock at first, she says, because, in her previous role, “I was being told that I wasn’t qualified to go up the ladder even though I had a Juris Doctor, even though I’ve spent seven and a half years and did everything — then nothing ever happens. This-

woman was like, ‘No, I see your credentials. I see what you can do.’ It was a wake-up call because, to be honest, I really was feeling insecure about who I was. I felt maybe I didn’t deserve to climb the ladder. Maybe it was me,” Nicolas says.

Nicolas’s objective of introducing tech to minority sectors, specifically women, is now warranting international attention. Nicolas, herself originally from Zimbabwe, began to share the story of her corporate struggle on social media and was surprised to find out that similar frustrations were universal.

“I started getting women from all over the world that were sharing their stories and their struggles within the corporate atmosphere, where they felt like they didn’t belong or they didn’t have a voice, and they said thank you because I was being honest and sharing my story,” Nicolas says.

Nicolas began mentoring BIPOC individuals looking to break into the tech industry. She recalls, in particular, working with a man who had accepted a $13-per-hour job. She encouraged him, shared websites and job listings, and networked with recruiters.  A couple of weeks later, she notes, “I see he keeps calling my phone backto-back…he sends me a message on LinkedIn. I’m thinking, okay, there’s definitely something going on. I call him back, he’s like, ‘Well, guess what? I got multiple offers!’” These were tech jobs paying in the six-figure range, she says, admitting, “And I almost gave up. I thought maybe I was not as smart as I thought I was.’’

To share her skill with others, Nicolas created a television show, “Get Tech Smart,” on her hometown of Hudson’s Cable Channel 20 where she hosts guests in the tech sector. “I try to be strategic to invite people who can share resources,” she says. Nicolas also makes videos on the TikTok platform geared at training Black women

“I started getting women from all over the world that were sharing their stories and their struggles within the corporate atmosphere, where they felt like they didn’t belong or they didn’t have a voice. They said thank you because I was being honest.”

High-tech jobs advocate Flo Nicolas held her first DEI Tech Networking Event in November and also hosts the ‘Get Tech Smart’ television show to encourage people of color to pursue careers in the technology sector.

in tech that have received over 200,000 hits. “There is a hunger out there, women and tech professionals that are looking for work. What’s lacking is the opportunity,” says Nicolas.

“I want to clarify something,” says Nicolas, “no one is asking for a handout. I am not asking for people who are unqualified to get a job. That is not what this is about. This is about qualified people. People who have two master’s degrees, who are electrical engineers struggling to get a job.”

In her work as a board member, television show producer, social media presence and mentor, Nicolas’s aim is to make her mission more widely known. Her strategy is to continue to get deeply involved in the tech sector and “to infiltrate some of these boards,” she says.

“I joined the NH Tech Alliance Workforce Development. I found out that the board was not really diverse. They’re talking about DEI in the tech sector, and I said, ‘Hey, I’m here.’” She says this approach is important because, “if you

want to talk about DEI, it starts with your board. I’m also part of the advisory board for the Center of Women’s Enterprise. Diverse boards actually increase creativity and you need to have that ... especially these companies that are creating products that are targeting diverse communities. Your employees need to be a reflection of your customers.”

Nicolas says she draws her formidable fortitude from her parents. “I think, like most immigrants that came here in search of the American dream, they leveraged every resource they could find. My mom was the first one [to immigrate]and she had no money. Other people helped her, other immigrants who had already been here. She worked so hard to buy a ticket for me and my father, and then brought us over here after she established herself. My father practiced law for years and then he became an entrepreneur. Their hard work ethic is what I’ve always known. I have not known anything less than that. You’ve got to work hard. That was the bottom line,”

ONG LIVE SMILE POWER

Nicolas says with passion.

For those interested in tech, Nicolas recommends, “Look into cybersecurity. Why? Look all around you. Every week there is a breach somewhere. They are targeting schools, hospitals, Microsoft, Google and TikTok. All these big companies are getting targeted and, unfortunately, right now the hackers are successful at finding vulnerabilities to these networks.”

What does the future hold? With her current visibility, Nicolas is “creating connections, magnetizing competent allies, and expanding the space for inclusion, she says. “I’m actually going to be joining Manchester Community College faculty,” says Nicolas, “being able to continue to add diversity where it’s needed. I am thankful for that opportunity because of my network. And that’s my platform. It’s promoting resources that are available for people to get into tech, and it is putting awareness on tech companies to make a commitment to really look at their hiring practices and make sure that they are inclusive.”  603

THE CONVERSATIONS

WE SHOULD BE HAVING

n BY BEN BACOTE

Photos courtesy of theconversationsweshouldbehaving.com

Tanisha Johnson

Elliott Moya

Johnson and Moya come from different backgrounds and represent two unlikely groups of conversants. Elliott Moya is the chief of police in Elliot, Maine, and Tanisha Johnson is the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Seacoast. And like the title of their podcast suggests, the two of them have been talking, critically, to each other. But what future good can come from simply talking?

When George Floyd was murdered, over 90 million Americans took to the streets to protest police brutality, particularly towards Black Americans. These protests sparked pledges from politicians and inspired performative events at sporting occasions and televised dramas intended to raise awareness. Long-lasting legislative changes intended towards reforming the judicial system seem to have sparked nationwide resistance and acts of resentment from many segments representing law enforcement officers, but little actual change has occurred to the U.S. judicial system that seems to hold an outsized

As a general rule, cliches are boring, trite or too simplistic to be used in writing, especially when describing important issues. Another prescription for writing is to avoid using rhetorical questions, as they are overused and rely on popular assumptions. But, after encountering “The Conversations We Should Be Having,” a podcast hosted by Tanisha Johnson and Elliott Moya, cliches seemed like an important starting place.

Podcast hosts Tanisha and Elliot take a break from the microphone.

Photo by Robert Ortiz

appetite for consuming Black lives.

From California to Maine, a new dawn of racial reckoning seemed to be on the horizon as place names were changed, monuments and figures central to enslavement were toppled and history’s varied legacies were re-examined with the sensitivity of a society ready to reflect multi-cultural values. But the legislative efforts and nationwide attention to police and race-based interdiction was sadly short-lived.

Locally, New Hampshire debated rolling back the bail reforms. The council that Governor Chris Sununu formed to examine the legacy of race and policing in New Hampshire was disbanded without having any of their recommendations adopted. And, now, along the New England’s seacoast there have been a rash of public anti-Semitic, anti-Black and anti-immigrant incidents involving white supremacists.

Enter Project Empathy. The brain child of Catherine Cote, Project Empathy was brought to the Green Acre Campus of the Baha’i community in Eliot, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, by director Najee Brown, who intended to highlight the tenets of oneness celebrated by their faith. However, as Johnson stated, “they got me. And, so, the project evolved.” Johnson brings her background of 15 years in social work with her to these conversations. Originally from New Jersey, she came to her nonprofit organization career seeking to better impact the lives of children.

Elliott Moya is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., a Hispanic veteran who later moved to Springfield, Mass., after leaving the Air Force. His call to public service began shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He has always loved the “sense of camaraderie, the personalities and shared purpose” he found in the Air Force. He continues to enjoy those he works alongside. When he began Project Empathy he says, it personally felt right. He sees his personal priorities as: “First, I’m a family man. That is

where I put my passion. I’m a cop also, the chief of police. ... I also see myself as a social justice activist.”

He also is positioned as an ambassador representing the views of law enforcement officers with his personal goal of reversing some of the negative narratives about policing. “So often,” says Moya, “we find ourselves reacting to big city problems in our small towns. I want to reverse the ‘down the pipe’ [approach to providing justice] and be a leader, a model for how we can come together in our small communities beyond our labels and talk to each other.”

Johnson agrees. “Elliott and I were able to click. We had a ‘vibe.’ Ultimately, an interchange.” Moya would later call what they had established a “team,” says Johnson. Together, with the help of the Green Acre Baha’i community, Moya and Johnson continue creating episodes of their podcast.

Past topics covered include the “Black National Anthem,” “All Lives Matter,” “The History of Policing in the US and its Relation to Enslavement,” and the slogan “Abolish the Police” — with both sides getting equally heated with each other.

“Elliott would get mad and be ready to walk out, but

Photos by Robert Ortiz

“We have to show how we can disagree, and get mad but not walk away from the conversation. We have to sit with our discomfort and talk about it so we can move to what comes next.”

— TANISHA JOHNSON

he wouldn’t. I would tell him, we have to model this uncomfort. We have to show how we can disagree and get mad, but not walk away from the conversation. We have to sit with our discomfort and talk about it so we can move to what comes next,” says Johnson.

Moya adds, “I would see officers too worried to act and concerned about the unknown — good people who didn’t know how to act or talk, but didn’t want to do the same old things. Some of them were able to do complete 180’s with education and shift their perspectives.”

Other times, the solutions to the racial inequities in policing are less clear. For example, in Episode 6, “Unity vs Uniformity,” Moya and Johnson discuss the term “unity” and its contemporary contexts: “Unity has this connotation of ignoring the differences,” Johnson says. Moya counters, “Does history sometimes hold us back from moving forward saying, it’s there, I respect it, but we gotta figure out a way to move forward?” To which, Johnson has no clear answer.

To what end is “The Conversations We Should Be Having” focused, not only as a podcast but as a model led by two disparate community leaders? Moya and Johnson consistently question themselves, their roles and their personal outcomes. Maya says, “I don’t

feel like I am a bad person, I am making myself vulnerable. I don’t want to put myself through that, but it’s for the greater good.” In Episode 5 of the podcast, “How do We Promote Unity,” he asks, “Why am I putting myself out there. Why am I defending myself?” He then recalls one person who answered the question for him, saying, “I wouldn’t be talking to you right now if you hadn’t.”

Season 2 of the podcast is now in production. “I believe this is a model that can be scaled, that can change the world,” says Johnson. 603

For more information, and to listen to the podcast, visit theconversationsweshouldbehaving.com.

“

So often, we find ourselves reacting to big city problems in our small towns. I want to reverse the ‘down the pipe’ and be a leader, a model for how we can come together in our small communities beyond our labels and talk to each other.”

— ELLIOTT MOYA

SAACC: NEW HAMPSHIRE’S FIRST BLACK CULTURAL CENTER

n BY BETH SANTOS

Sandi Clark Kaddy, President of the Seacoast African American Cultural Center.

Photos by Robert Ortiz

At the corner of Islington and Middle Streets in downtown Portsmouth are two Federal-style buildings with majestic brick facades. Outside of them is a bright orange sign announcing the Discover Portsmouth Center, operated by the Portsmouth Historical Society. But just below it is a sign that announces another important part of Seacoast history: the home of the Seacoast African American Cultural Center, or SAACC. New Hampshire’s first Black cultural center, SAACC has been sharing and celebrating African American history and culture around the Seacoast for over 20 years.

SAACC hasn’t always lived inside the Discover Portsmouth Center. It started in a small room in City Hall in 2000. The city offered the space to founder Vernis M. Jackson, a Portsmouth educator who moved to the area in 1965 and who had chartered another organization called Kwanzaa with a colleague before this one.

Upon retirement she, along with a coalition of members from various African American organizations in the Seacoast area, founded SAACC, a nonprofit with the mission of celebrating the lives and achievements of African Americans in the Seacoast area and educating about Black arts and culture. Its first exhibit, called “Quilts: The Underground Railroad Connection,” opened in 2002.

But the organization quickly outgrew its space, and Jackson knew it was time to move into bigger quarters when she noticed that their exhibits – and the strew of paper clippings and art supplies that accompanied them during setup and cleanup – started to overwhelm the City Hall space and staff.

“I went to the mayor to ask for a larger space,” she explained in an interview for the podcast Artists of New England. “And I was very emphatic with him, because I had taught him in fourth grade.”

A teacher’s influence made the difference, and SAACC was relocated to a room at the Connie Bean Community Center. But it wasn’t until 2009 that the Discover Portsmouth Center became home.

“I love Discover Portsmouth,” says Casey Golomski, a SAACC board member and anthropology professor at the University of New Hampshire. “The front desk staff really helps us to bring visitors to our Center who come in not knowing we are also here.”

Golomski teaches about and researches health and spirituality in Southern African countries, and joined the board after being a guest curator in 2018 to stage “Guinea to Great Bay: Afro-Atlantic Lives, Culture and History,” a show of African and Oceanic masks and material culture.

Since joining, he has helped host a number of exhibits in collaboration with his SAACC colleagues and a healthy staff of volunteers. “Obama: An Intimate Portrait” in 2020 featured internationally recognized photos of the Obama presidency by renowned White House photographer Pete Souza. “Fashion Forward: Africana Style” in 2021 featured photos from Vogue Fashion Book of the Year awardee Tariq Zaidi. And “We the People: The Fight for Justice in White Suburbia” in 2021 showed photos from the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests throughout New Hampshire, and was curated by SAACC board member and Portsmouth Assistant Mayor Jo Kelley.

This last exhibit was particularly notable, Golomski explains, because it showed “how the people of New Hampshire, one of the whitest states in the nation, showed up for their minoritized neighbors.”

Celebrating and uplifting Black voices, art, culture and history in a state like New Hampshire has come a long way, but it still has a ways to go. With enough financial

and volunteer support, SAACC plans to continue to tell stories for years to come.

“As a public educator to the people of New Hampshire, I want the people of our state to be open and willing to hear the stories of their fellow neighbors and citizens, which SAACC does through our shows and programs,” Golomski says. “Much of the legislation in our state that’s

Sandi Clark Kaddy, President of the Seacoast African American Cultural Center in Portsmouth, and SAACC Vice President William ‘Towny’ Manfull, work together to bring several educational exhibits to the Discover Center.

(Photo by Robert Ortiz)

Seacoast

Past exhibits at SAACC

Above : ‘Fashion Forward: Africana

Style Connecting Threads of Africana Fashion Design Through Time and Place’

Left: ‘Guinea to Great Bay: Afro-Atlantic Lives, Cultures and History’

Bottom left: Dolls of Color 2016

Below: “We The People” exhibition

come out in recent years around what and what not to teach about race has left educators like me in a bind and many of our Black and other community members of color feeling effectively silenced. Racist actions and talk happen today in New Hampshire, and we must be willing to hear, see and talk about it if we are going to make this a state where everyone can be free.” 603

SAACC is located at 10 Middle Street in Portsmouth, and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. For more information call (603) 430-6027 or go to www.saacc-nh.org.

Photo courtesy of saacc-nh.org

Refreshyour palate thisspring

n BY RONY CAMILLE / PHOTOS BY ROBERT ORTIZ

FOUR NH RESTAURANTS OFFER EXCITING SEASONAL RECIPES

Spring — it’s the season of renewal, warmth and freshness. Goodbye to the cold, long winter nights and hello to the long, warm days. Our palates are now yearning for something different: exciting cuisine that will refresh jaded taste buds.

Here are four New Hampshire restaurants that are serving up a diverse blend of culinary delights that deliver the new energy we crave.

SOEL SISTAS | NASHUA

For Kendra Smith, 45, her passion for cooking originated out of necessity, growing up as the oldest of three children in a single-parent household in Lowell, Mass.

“My dad was in the military and a single dad,” Smith says. “The first thing that I loved to cook was French fries, because we always had potatoes,” she says. “I mean, we didn’t always have a lot of food, but we had potatoes. If you have potatoes and grease, you can make French fries.”

Her passion for soul food grew from her father’s Alabama roots as they split their time between their home in Lowell (and later Nashua) and visiting her grandmother down South.

According to James Beard Award-winning author Adrian Miller, “soul food” is “a coined term that brilliantly captures the humanity and heroic effort of Black Americans to overcome centuries of oppression and create a cuisine that deliciously melds the foods and cooking techniques of West Africa, Western Europe and the Americas.”

The term gained popularity in the 1960s when Black culture entered the mainstream. As Smith grew up, so did her love for cooking. Today, she pours her soul into Soel Sistas, which stands for: Simply Offering Edible Love.

She launched in the spring of 2019 with a number of catering events. Then it all propelled in March 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the schools closed, Smith saw an immediate need feeding students and those in need.

“I just couldn’t see the kids being hungry. Because I saw them every day, I knew which kids got free lunch. That means if they weren’t getting free lunch at school, they were most likely not eating,” she says.

While Smith doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar spot where one can sit down, her renewed success has been through catering, a food truck and pop-up events.

Smith currently runs her operations and her Feed the Kids program from the Arlington Street United Methodist Church’s commissary kitchen in Nashua. She offers pre-order lunch for pickup on Thursdays and Fridays.

Plus, you can occasionally find Soel Sistas at various pop-up events at Nashua’s Lounge 38 on E. Hollis Street.

If there’s a big town event, look for the food truck with the line around the block. Popular items include vegetarian collard greens (no ham hocks) and her Bestie Burger — a double cheeseburger with bacon, macaroni and cheese and barbeque sauce, named for Jose Castacio, one of Smith’s best friends.

Those interested in supporting Smith in the Feed the Kids project can visit the Soel Sistas website at www. soelsistas.com.

Soel Sistas

Shrimp and Grits

8 slices of thick-cut bacon

1¼ pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

¼ cup chopped cilantro

2 tbsp Cajun seasoning

6 cups water

1 cup milk (optional)

¼ cup salted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups quick cooking grits

1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup chopped tomato

1 stick melted butter

Bring water (and milk, if used) to a boil in a large saucepan, add salt and pepper to taste, melt butter in the water, wisk in grits slowly to prevent lumps, and cook covered for 5 to 10 minutes until tender. Turn heat to low.

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate, and crumble. Reserve bacon drippings.

Heat a skillet over medium-high burner, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook Cajun-seasoned shrimp until blackened on outside and no longer translucent in the center, 3 to 5 minutes. Place grits in a serving dish, garnish with cheddar cheese, chopped tomato, crumbled bacon and cilantro. Add more melted butter to the drippings left in the skillet. Turn heat to low and deglaze the pan and pour seasoned butter over the grits.

The dish is ready to serve!

Kendra Smith’s passion for soul food inspired her to open Soel Sistas in Nashua.

R&J TEXAS BBQ | HILLSBOROUGH

As a native Texan, Lakisha Regina Davison never imagined herself living in the Granite State.

“We fell in love with the beaches,” she says.

She also never imagined changing careers from managing operations at Wal-Mart stores across the Northeast to going after her PhD in public health and sharing a piece of the Lone Star State’s culinary staple — barbecue — with northern bellies.

“Me and the kids were talking at dinner one night and we were like, there’s food here to eat, but not our comfort food from Texas. So we were looking for something, looking for a place that reminded us of home, and we couldn’t it find anywhere. And the kids said, ‘Well, your cooking is good. You should just open your own restaurant.’ And I thought, you know what? Maybe,” says Davison.

After a few years, Davison says they decided to give it a try. R&J Texas Style BBQ began in 2018 as a catering business. It evolved into a food truck in 2020 during the pandemic. After a brief stint in Milford, Davison settled in Hillsborough in February 2021.

The result was a great success. “And now people come. People from Texas, they find us. They say, ‘Oh, we’re so glad you’re here. It’s been so hard to find something that reminds us of home,’” says Davison.

R&J Southern Style Oxtails

4 lbs oxtails (2 to 3 servings)

½ cup flour

1 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp red chili flakes

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

½ cup olive oil

1 cup butter

2 cups beef broth

2 cups of water

Rinse oxtails with cold water, set aside while you cut the onion and bell peppers. Place oxtails in a bowl and combine all spices with oxtails, tossing until completely coated.

Coat a cast iron pot with olive oil, heat on medium and cook oxtails in the oil until brown on all sides. (Turn the oxtails to assure that each side is golden brown.) Leave heat on low and add the garlic, then add in Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, 2 cups of boiling water and 1 cup of beef broth. Make sure the oxtails are completely covered. Continue cooking on medium heat.

Make remoulade sauce (on right). Slowly pour in your remoulade sauce and stir until combined evenly.

Place cast iron skillet or pan in the oven and bake at 350 for 2½ to 3 hours.

Lakisha Regina Davison serves up authentic dishes like the R&J Southern Style Oxtails (right) at R&J Texas BBQ in Hillsborough. (Photos by Robert Ortiz)

Authentic Texas barbecue ribs from R&J BBQ

The restaurant’s name is an homage to their favorite spot back home in Texas with a similar name. “They are R&J Barbecue. We’re R&J Texas Style Barbeque on Wheels. So we’re different,” Davison says.

So what makes their barbecue so unique? The secret is in the way it’s prepared, according to Davison. “We are slow and steady,” she says. “We use wood and charcoal. We take our time with our barbecue, and we make our own barbecue sauce. And I make my own seasoning. So, everything is homemade. We take our time.”

A few popular items on the menu are gumbo, etouffee, brisket, grilled chicken and oxtail.

When you walk inside R&J’s, Davison says she wants her patrons to feel like they are at home.

“You don’t walk in feeling like you have to be told where to sit. We ask you where you would like to sit. We try to make your experience special,” says Davison. “You’re part of the family. You are our family when you walk through those doors.”

While the restaurant is closed during December and January due to slow traffic, they were scheduled to reopen in February.

Remoulade sauce

1 cup butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper

¼ minced garlic clove

½ cup flour

1 cup beef broth

1 cup water

1 tbsp red chili flakes

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

In a second skillet, coat the bottom with a cup of butter. Cook on medium heat to melt the butter completely, then add in the onion and bell pepper, stir until onions become translucent.

Next sprinkle ½ cup all-purpose flour and mix until pasty. Slowly add in beef broth, spices and 1 cup water, stirring continuously until broth becomes creamy. Reserve.

Oxtails can be paired with white rice or mashed potato. Davison’s family loves this dish served with red beans, white rice and collard greens.

GUMAA’S BAR & GRILL | MANCHESTER

Prior to 2020, Estella “Mya” Gumaa worked as a pediatric technician at one of Manchester’s area hospitals. However, the challenge of having six children at home during the pandemic left her yearning for something else.   Although she has a medical background, Gumaa’s first training ground was in the kitchen while growing up in North Sudan at the age of 7. “It’s a must in Africa; every woman is in the kitchen cooking,” says Gumaa. “It wasn’t my main interest, but I grew to love it, and somehow people love my food.”

In addition to raising six kids and working at a hospital, Gumaa was often called upon to cook at various community events in the city. “I knew I wanted to open up a restaurant with a mixture of African and Caribbean cuisines to cater to everyone in the area,” says Gumaa. “There isn’t much presence in Manchester, and there was a need.”

She opened her eatery, Gumaa’s Bar & Grill, at 343 Lincoln Street in Manchester last year. It’s a cross-mixture of African and Caribbean cuisines, just as she wished. One can find oxtail on the menu, a popular staple in the islands. “We eat this back home [in North Sudan]. We just cook it differently,” she says.

Fufu, another item, is a mashed yam or other starch used as a side dish with meat or vegetable stews and soups known across the diaspora. “I put my own recipe on things,” she says.

Her okra beef stew and spicy rice provides a kick that combines well with the tenderness of the beef.

In addition, the tilapia is another must-try item. It’s a considerable portion (the entire fish) that can be ordered, breaded or fried.

Above: Fried plantains from Gumaa’s Bar & Grill

Below: Estella Gumma

The bar at Gumaa’s Bar & Grill

TASYA’S KITCHEN | SOMERSWORTH

Tamara Tasya and Markus Subroto are no strangers to rolling up their sleeves and creating lovely savory foods from their homeland in Indonesia. They do so in their cozy kitchen, also known as Tasya’s Kitchen on High Street in Somersworth.

Indonesian food blends a variety of culinary tastes and recipes based on various ethnic groups and foreign influences. Indonesia includes more than 17,000 islands, making it the largest archipelago, and 1,300 groups.

Tamara hails from Surabaya on Java Island, and Markus is from Samarra. “The cuisine is very different when you travel from one end of the country to the other,” Tamara says.

After taking a hiatus from their first Somersworth restaurant business to raise a family in 2004, they opened Tasya’s on High Street in September 2019 at the urging of their community.

“We felt the time was right to get back,” says Markus.

Since then, they have been getting lots of traction in the Seacoast and the Indonesian diaspora community. The restaurant was featured in a video produced by the United States Embassy in Jakarta as one of five Indonesian restaurants to visit in the United States. Doug Emhof, the second gentleman and husband to Vice President Kamala Harris, makes an appearance in the video.

Indonesians have a strong presence on New Hampshire’s Seacoast region. About 2,000 Indonesians live in Somersworth as of spring 2021. It is also the home to the Little Indonesia Project, a long-term effort to connect Indonesian communities with the Granite State and beyond through expressions of art, culture and economic opportunities via a vibrant, revitalized business district.

The restaurant may be small, with seating for less than 20 people, but it is mighty in taste. Patrons immediately feel like they are visiting an exotic place thanks to the vintage airline travel posters and photos of Java that make up the décor.

Recommended to the curious newcomer: the Tour of Indonesia, described as their signature menu item with a little bit of everything: beef rendang, chicken satay, curry chicken, spicy egg and tofu, crispy potato, peanut, anchovy in sweet spicy palm sugar, pickled veggies, jasmine rice and soup.

The beef rendang, slowly prepared over several hours, a must-try, is so tender it melts in your mouth, and pairs nicely with their homemade chili paste. In addition, try the fried chicken which is remarkably crispy and still juicy. 603

Beef Rendang

Source: TasteAsianFood.com

Serves four to six people

1 kg beef

600 ml coconut cream

100 ml vegetable oil

Ingredients (B)- to blend

4 candlenuts

12 cloves chopped garlic

Note: Since not everyone tolerates the same level of chili spiciness, please reduce the amount and remove the seeds of the chilies if you are not used to spicy food.

300 g red chili peppers (Serrano chili/pepper)

250 g onions

50 g ginger

50 g galangal

25 g ground turmeric, or 50g of fresh turmeric

1½ tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp sugar

4 green cardamom pods

1½ tsp cumin seeds

10 cloves

Seasonings and spices

4 stalks lemongrass, bashed

3 pieces kaffir lime leaves

1 piece asam keping

2 turmeric leaves, tied up

Cut the beef into 4 cm squares, half cm thick. Do not cut the beef too small, as the meat can break into smaller pieces during cooking.

Blend all the seasonings and spices (above), set the blend aside. (Remove the green section and the outer sheath of the lemongrass. Use only the white portion. Bash the lemongrass to ensure the release of the flavor.)

Heat up the vegetable oil in a wok. Saute the spice paste over low heat until aromatic.

Add the coconut cream, turmeric leaves, kaffir lime leaves, asam keping and lemongrass into the wok.

Add the beef and cook over medium heat. Bring the coconut milk to a boil.

Once it is boiled, continue simmer over low heat. Add water from time to time when the stew is about to dry.

Cook until the beef absorbs the flavor of the spices thoroughly and the color turns to dark brown. It will take about three hours. Serve with rice or bread.

"Building a Community of Informed and Engaged Leaders" since 1992, Leadership NH is currently accepting nominations and applications for the LNH Class of '24

Each year, LNH brings together a diverse group of 30-35 talented and accomplished individuals and provides them with an opportunity to learn about the complex issues facing our state and connect with one another to better serve in positions of leadership and responsibility.

Application Deadline for the LNH Class of '24 is March 15, 2023

Apply online at www.leadershipnh.org

Markus Subroto and Tamara Tasya display examples of their Indonesian cuisine at Tasya’s Kitchen in Somersworth.

A specialty at Tasya’s Kitchen in Somersworth is their “Tour of Indonesia” platter.

603 Diversity: News Briefs

NH mayors call for more state action on homelessness crisis

Eight New Hampshire mayors made a unified call for Gov. Chris Sununu and state officials to take more action to help the state’s unhoused population.

News Collaborative.

These articles were adapted from stories shared by and with partners in The Granite State News Collaborative as part of our race and equity project. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

“The State of New Hampshire’s systems of care for individuals experiencing or at-risk of homelessness are not meeting the needs of communities across the state and are contributing to a statewide homelessness crisis,” the mayors wrote in a letter sent earlier this year.

But in response to the letter, Sununu’s office defended the investments they already made and criticized cities like Manchester for not effectively using the funds they already have.

Eight of New Hampshire’s 13 mayors — including those in Manchester, Nashua, Claremont and Dover — signed onto the letter. The call for action comes after a series of incidents in Manchester that underscored the severity of the state’s homelessness

crisis: Two unhoused people died, and a baby was hospitalized after his mother, who was unhoused, allegedly gave birth in frigid conditions. The mayors and other public officials say nonprofit organizations and community action programs that support the unhoused can’t handle the pace at which the state’s homelessness crisis is growing.

The American Friends Service Committee, which coordinates Homeless Persons Memorial Day efforts in New Hampshire, reported that at least 95 unhoused people died here in 2022. According to the New Hampshire Coalition to End Homelessness, the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness nearly tripled from 2019 to 2021. Housing rights advocates and public officials have reported that they’ve had to turn individuals away from their winter shelters because they don’t have enough beds available.

— JEONGYOON HAN, NH PUBLIC RADIO

Telehealth exploded in New Hampshire during the pandemic, and now it’s here to stay

A few years ago, officials at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene began to examine how much time it took for patients to be seen for a routine care visit.

They started tracking from the time a patient left home, factoring in the drive to the office, the hunt for parking, waiting in the check-in line and waiting room, until they were finally seen by a physician.

The results confirmed what doctors suspected. Patients were spending an average of two hours to get to their 30-minute medical consultation.

Cheshire Medical wasn’t the only establishment examining accessibility to medical care in New Hampshire. Long before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,

New Hampshire was already considering telehealth.

Two and a half years later, telehealth has become an integral part of medical care for many New Hampshire residents. The service has been particularly useful for rural residents, as well as those who need to travel for care or just lead busy lives. New legislation passed in August expanded eligible services and added to the list of medical professionals permitted to provide online care, making it clear that telehealth is here to stay.

In August, the state Legislature expanded the definition of telehealth to include texting or emailing a therapist in order to make it more accessible to rural residents

and those with poor internet service. The law requires any state-regulated insurance carrier to cover these expanded services to meet standards for treatment.

In addition to doctors, the new law includes nurses, midwives, psychologists, dentists, community mental health providers, addiction treatment professionals, dietitians and others certified by the National Behavior Analyst Certification Board. If they cover in-person treatment, they have to allow telehealth as well.

— MELISSA RUSSELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER, FOR THE KEENE SENTINEL. THE FULL STORY IS PART OF THE SENTINEL’S HEALTH REPORTING LAB

A journalistic look at our state of diversity from the reporters at the Granite State

Gilford police shooting of teen suffering with mental health issues highlights complex problem

Police officers responding to a distress call in Gilford on New Year’s Day were on scene for approximately two minutes before shooting and killing a teenager inside his home who was allegedly armed with a knife.

Mischa Fay, 17, was killed by a single gunshot fired by an officer, according to an autopsy report released Tuesday.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office says it is in the midst of a criminal investigation into Fay’s death and has released little publicly about the events that lead to it. But according to a police report from the evening, Fay’s mother called 911 at 9:52 p.m. asking for assistance with her son who “has a knife and is in a rage.”

At the time of the call, Merrill Fay, Mischa’s father, was locked in his office inside

the house, according to the police report.

Two Gilford police officers arrived at the home on Varney Point Road at 9:56 p.m. Within two minutes, one officer had fired a Taser, while another officer fired his gun. It’s not clear from the police report how much time passed between the Taser being fired and the fatal gunshot. The officers attempted CPR before Fay was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Records provided to NHPR show that police had been called to the address on previous occasions due to mental health concerns for Fay and claims of aggressive physical outbursts by him.

According to reporting from NHPR and The Concord Monitor, a large portion of people killed by police in recent years in

New Hampshire had a mental illness.

Merrill Fay owned Fay’s Boat Yard on Lake Winnipesaukee, a business the Fay family started in 1942. It is now operated by one of Merrill’s older sons. Merrill is also the namesake of the Merrill Fay Arena, an ice rink in Laconia, operated by another of his sons.

According to an obituary published in the Laconia Daily Sun, Mischa Fay was an avid hockey player and Bruins fan. He also loved boating on Lake Winnipesaukee. He also enjoyed Star Wars. His family noted Mischa was in “declining health” for two years.

— BY TODD BOOKMAN, SARAH GIBSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO

New American youth at empowerment workshop discuss how to improve Concord

When Heshima Mulinde immigrated to the United States from Namibia in 2014, he spoke six languages. Now, he speaks only English.

At 15 years old, he focused so much of his effort on learning English in order to blend into the Concord culture that the languages his parents taught him have faded into the background.

He’s felt pressure to fit in and be accepted by adults and other students his age.

“You have to really impress people to have more support because people are really expecting you to be less than what other people are,” Mulinde said. “It puts a lot of pressure on you. People think I’m a bad person because of my skin color. People think you’re uneducated if you don’t talk professionally. People think you’re involved in gangs if you don’t dress well.”

On Wednesday night, Mulinde took to the Bank of NH Stage in front of nearly 80 New American youth to discuss discrimination in Concord and how to make the community more equitable and accepting.

The event, called Building Peaceful Communities, was a youth empowerment and leadership workshop hosted by Overcomers Refugee Services and Project S.T.O.R.Y — organizations that work to educate, empower and engage New American youth while providing them with resources to be successful. Students of various ages agreed that stereotypes, social media, discrimination and a lack of diversity suppress their education and overall success.

To tackle some of these issues, the group of middle school students suggested organizing a peer support group for refugees and New Americans, while the elementary

school students talked about how to be more inclusive with their peers by making them laugh and smile.

“It was my dream at the beginning to empower youth to engage in the community and organize for kids to understand why we’re here and what they need to achieve,” said Clement Kigugu, director of Overcomers Refugee Services. “They can be whatever they want to make of themselves and make their dreams come true, but they need to understand who they are first.”

Kigugu helped organize the event with Charm Camacho, director of Project S.T.O.R.Y, which stands for Supporting Talents Of Rising Youth, and Jessica Livingston, community outreach coordinator for the Capitol Center of the Arts, which empowers children to express themselves through art and music.

— JAMIE L. COSTA, THE CONCORD MONITOR

Ryan Campbell Stacey Gagnon

Fluet Alex Rey Habla Español

In defense of similarity over difference

Reflecting on the last few years, it occurs to me that we spent quite a bit of time thinking and talking about how people differ and how diverse people provide color (pun intended) to our world. While that is something we need to think about, I think it might be worth spending some time focusing on how similar we really are.

n BY JAMES MCKIM, PMP, ITIL

Contrary to popular belief created by the protestations highlighted in the media, melanin-enhanced people really just want the same things as those who are melanin-challenged. And many of the challenges faced by melanin-enhanced people face are the same as those who are melanin-challenged.

SIMILAR NEEDS

In 1943 Herman Maslow posited that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy which he called the “Hierarchy of Needs” (shown at left). It describes the types of needs everyone has and creates a framework for how one need builds upon another. The lower two levels focus on quantity of life (i.e. whether or not we live at all). The upper three levels focus on quality of life. Maslow said that every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. While psychologists now believe that you don’t need to totally fulfill a lower-level need them in order to work to address a higher-level need, contemporary research by Tay and Diener (2011) indicates the general framework is valid. My own experience is that this model resonates with people regardless of race, creed, color or any other personality dimensions used to define diversity (see the Gardenswartz and Rowe Diversity Wheel, above and to the right).

SIMILAR CHALLENGES

Maslow also said that, unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by a failure to meet lower-level needs. In addition, life experiences, including divorce and loss of a job, may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of the hierarchy. People of all personality dimensions experience all these challenges.

What is unique for those who are melanin-enhanced people is living in a White Normative society where products, services and attitudes favor those who are melanin-challenged. And we tend to focus on those White Normative challenges rather than focusing on the successes. Why? Because White Normative challenges are akin to discrimination which is considered, rightfully so, negative. And negativity sells. In the Huffington Post article “Negativity Sells,” Melissa Heisler quotes an advertising executive as saying, “Research in neuroscience and human behavior has determined that — while we may not be consciously aware of it, or even want to admit it — we humans are more influenced by bad than good.”

How should we think about similarities going forward? Why do we prefer to focus on differences rather than similarities? Because humans are tribal. We have Affinity Bias — a bias to prefer people who look, sound, think and act like us. A mindset probably built into us when we were living in caves millions of years ago to help us survive (think the

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lower three levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy). Our society (controlled by those of the dominant culture — straight, white males through history) has evolved, consciously and unconsciously, to reinforce that bias through discriminatory systems. And that has and created other biases in us to maintain the status quo of division. It has created a society that is unjust.

So, how do we move to celebrating our similarities more than our differences?

First, perhaps we should look back at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and realize we have more in common than we are different. We all share the needs at all five levels.

Then, we might look at how society addresses difference and works to eliminate discrimination. In his recent article “Is It Time to Replace Race with Class in Affirmative Action?” Ian V. Rowe, founder and CEO, Vertex Partnership Academies and Senior Visiting Fellow, The Woodson Cen ter, invites us to consider replacing “race” with “class” with respect to Affirmative Action. This recognizes that, as Isabel Wilkerson so deftly describes in her book “Caste,” racism is really a caste system which has just as much, if not more, to do with class than skin color. This kind of thinking gets us out of the coarse discus sion of physical characteristics and into the more nuanced discussion of individual circumstance.

Finally, I encourage you to contemplate these questions posed by Steve Knight in his Be Human Project article “Are Humans Naturally Tribal?”

How many tribes do you participate in?

Are you a network connector?

Is there a way to expand the diversity of your affiliations?

When was the last time you listened to and seriously considered an uncomfortable idea from an outsider source?

Answering these questions will help you see that we are more similar than different.

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people can do extraordinary things for children.

Counting the unhoused

Life moves at a different pace and reality when you are homeless. It can happen to most of us under the right circumstances and it does not take much. I was homeless for two months during the 1980s, and all I can recall is the instability and the fear it brings. Where was I going to sleep? Where was my next meal coming from? How would I get to school or work? Vulnerability sweeps over you, and staying alive becomes a primal concern.

n BY WILDOLFO ARVELO

As executive director of Cross Roads House, the second largest homeless shelter in New Hampshire, every day is full of life-changing events as we work with the first-time and long-time homeless. The problem is not getting smaller as more people get left behind by an increasingly merciless economy and culture becoming immune to extreme poverty.

Homelessness has no bounds, but it will always impact most deeply our vulnerable populations. The

counted in one given night across cities and municipalities. We suspect that these numbers significantly undercount the real problem of homelessness. For example, these numbers do not capture individuals and families that are couch surfing or are housed in some sort of transitional shelter situation. As an example of the differing numbers, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, in 2017 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported 553,742 people that were homeless in the United States. However, the U.S. Department of Education found that in 2013-2014, 1.3 million school children were homeless. In New Hampshire in fiscal year 20202021, according to the New Hampshire Coalition to End Homelessness (NHCEH), 4,500 of our citizens — children, individuals and families — were homeless. This number does not even begin to account for the estimates of couch-surfing youth mentioned above.

poor, the marginalized and, increasingly, our elderly. At Cross Roads House, we have seen our over 62+ aged population increase from 11% to 15% in one year. We do not see this letting up. Particularly as older New Hampshire residents on fixed incomes continue to be pushed out of housing to make way for others that can afford to pay higher rents. Single parents on fixed incomes facing the multiple challenges of life are also just as vulnerable. As are youth.

InDepthNH.org (March 22, 2021) estimates, based on University of Chicago research, that New Hampshire has 15,000 couch-surfing youth. Statistics kept by NHDOE counted 3,378 homeless children in 2021/22.

Truth of the matter is that there are no exact numbers that account for all the homeless in America or New Hampshire. Much of the projections are based on in-time counts, which are the number of homeless

As in many other phases of American life, culturally diverse communities and people of color are negatively impacted to a much higher degree that the white population at large when it comes to homelessness. Again, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness 2022 report, “Race is another significant predictor. As with so many other areas of American life, historically marginalized groups are more likely to be disadvantaged within housing and homelessness spheres. Higher unemployment rates, lower incomes, less access to health care, and higher incarceration rates are some of the factors likely contributing to higher rates of homelessness among people of color.” Add structural racism and bias throughout our society and you begin to see how culturally and/or racially distinct groups are more deeply impacted by homelessness. According to the study mentioned above, within the general population, 18 of 10,000 are homeless. That number rises for Native Americans to 45 of 10,000 and Blacks or African Americans to 52 of 10,000. In New Hampshire, according to the NHCEH State of Homelessness 2021 Annual Report, African Americans/Blacks were four times and Hispanics two times more likely to be homeless when compared to homelessness among the state’s white population.

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Homelessness is deeply tied to poverty, and poverty is deeply conflated with an economic system that leaves people behind or discounts them completely, regardless of your skin color, your culture or your background.

THE NUMBERS OF NH HOMELESS RESIDENTS ARE INEXACT, BUT ONE THING IS CERTAIN: THEY ARE INCREASING

Homelessness is deeply tied to poverty, and poverty is deeply conflated with an economic system that leaves people behind or discounts them completely, regardless of your skin color, your culture or your background. For decades in America, this battle has been bravely fought by smart, passionate and courageous people, but here we still are. As a society, we fail to understand that housing is not just four walls. These are places to find stability and heal to prepare for the rest of life and, hopefully, to prosper. Problem is, band-aid solutions used for decades have failed to stem the tide of homelessness, and the problem is only getting worse. Finding a permanent solution will require a shift in how we see the homeless and how we strive to create a more equitable economic system.

It can happen to anyone of us. It happened to me.

DISCOVER SUMMER

Friendship, fun, and a world of adventure beneath a golden sun. The Granite YMCA strives to ensure everyone has access to the essentials needed to learn, grow, and thrive. Financial assistance and scholarships are available to help provide every child with the opportunity to enjoy summer day camp or overnight camp.

SUMMER DAY CAMP LOCATIONS

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OVERNIGHT CAMP LOCATIONS

• Camp Foss in Strafford (for girls ages 8-15)

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Valuing diversity and inclusion

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We are committed to dedicating our efforts; including leadership focus and investing our financial resources, to promote diversity, equality and inclusion across our work environment and within the communities we serve. Doing so, we believe, makes us a stronger, more successful and sustainable organization over the long-term.

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Using nature as a blueprint

n BY XOCHIQUETZAL BERRY

Biology shows us that the health of an ecosystem can be measured by its variety of life, or biodiversity. Although modern humans have long sought to exclude themselves from the complex interdependent relationships that comprise the ecosystems we call home, we remain a vital and important piece of this puzzle. In the same way that ecosystems thrive and survive on diversity, our society, and the agricultural systems that keep us fed, flourish when many voices from many backgrounds are given the figurative and literal space to grow.

As we face the very real effects of climate change in our region, the collective agricultural knowledge shared across varying cultures and identities is crucial to ensuring that we can feed our people, protect our ecosystems and nourish our minds for generations to come. This variety in backgrounds, wisdom and knowledge bases reduces our vulnerability to the very real and tangible threats that climate change presents us with — challenges many farmers in the Granite State are experiencing right now.

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a community of organic food activists and educated consumers to help support New Hampshire’s organic farming community. We have taken actionable steps towards becoming an antiracist organization and centering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all our work. We see this as an essential step in working towards a just and holistically sustainable New Hampshire food system that serves us all. In 2020, we published the first iteration of our DEI statement:

“NOFA-NH is committed to creating an inclusive culture where all forms of diversity are seen and valued within our organization and the greater organic agriculture community. As farmers, gardeners and eaters, NOFA-NH recognizes that modern American agriculture was founded on

structural racism and inequality, and that there is much work to be done to address generations of injustice experienced by Black, Indigenous and People of Color, LGBTQ+ individuals, disabled individuals, incarcerated individuals, economically disadvantaged individuals, women, veterans and any other marginalized groups.

With a mission of helping people build sustainable, healthy food systems for healthy communities, NOFA-NH is committed to advocating for farmers and farmworkers, food justice, environmental justice and racial justice as part of building a truly sustainable agricultural sector in New Hampshire and beyond.”

We know that the diverse and lively voices of New Hampshire’s agricultural community have so much to offer, to share with us, to create with us, to savor with us. It is vital to the health of our agricultural systems to empower these many voices.

We have worked to actively seek diverse leadership within our organization and diverse educators to present at our many programs, including our Winter Conference, Organic Gardening Series, on-farm workshops and so much more. Their knowledge, skills and time have been invaluable to our collective education, touching on topics such as the importance of seed saving, creating a sustainable food economy, raising backyard chickens, food sovereignty, community organizing and equity in our food systems.

With this commitment, we acknowledge that this work is far from over. Black and brown

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Our differences do not divide us, but rather reinforce our robust community, skills and understanding of the natural world around us.

CELEBRATING AND EMPOWERING DIVERSITY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE’S AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

farmers are still outnumbered over 36 to 1 in New Hampshire1, despite people of color comprising over 8% of the state’s population. Language, lack of generational wealth and land access are all barriers we seek to dismantle in order to work towards an equitable and just New Hampshire farm and food system. We are fortunate to collaborate with so many fantastic organizations committed to this important work, including the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success (ORIS), the New Hampshire Food Alliance, the Kearsarge Food Hub, the Indigenous New Hampshire Collaborative Collective and many others. There is power in our collective organizing and energy working towards the common goal of diversity,

equity, inclusion and environmental justice in New Hampshire’s agricultural systems.

The faces that make up these agricultural systems are undeniably varied. Our differences, however, do not divide us, but rather reinforce our robust community, skills and understanding of the natural world around us. We need each other, now more than ever, to face what lies ahead. Just as biodiversity strengthens our ecosystems, the many cultures and identities of New Hampshire’s vibrant farmers, gardeners, eaters and advocates strengthen our community resilience and demonstrate that the future of sustainable agriculture in the Granite State is not only bright, but beautifully diverse.

NOFA-NH is always seeking passionate Board and Committee members from diverse backgrounds to share their perspectives and join our growing community. Interested individuals can contact info@ nofanh.org or visit www.nofanh.org/ volunteer to learn more.

1Wilhelm, J.A. and Saunders, O. 2022. Measuring Racial Equity in the New Hampshire Food System. Durham, NH. University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. Retrieved from: extension.unh.edu/agriculture-gardens/farmer-support-networks

Farmers from Fresh Start Farms, a project of ORIS (Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success), host a tour of their Concord fields for NOFA-NH Board & Staff. (Photo courtesy of NOFA-NH)

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Events THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

FEBRUARY 16

“Love and Resistance” –An Evening of Poetry and Conversation

Join Diannely Antigua, who is both the youngest and the first person of color to be named Poet Laureate of Portsmouth, NH, and Ben Bacote, founder and director of NH PANTHER, writer, activist, and humanities teacher, for an evening of poetry and conversation. Antigua and Bacote will share selections by BIPOC writers touching on the themes of love and resistance, and discuss the intersections of poetry and activism through the lens of their personal experiences. Additionally, Antigua will record the event, to be featured on her podcast, Bread & Poetry. This is intended to be an immersive arts experience. Expected outcomes are a rich and fuller appreciation

FEBRUARY 25

of, and, for BIPOC voices, “resistance activism” (poetry, culture), as well as for the presenters themselves. Open to all. 6pm-7:30pm at Plymouth State University, in the Hub Hage Room Hosted by the Plymouth Area Network To Help End Racism nhpanther.org

“Speak It Into Existence: Expanding Black Youth’s Definition of Excellence in New Hampshire”

This concluding session of BLM Seacoast’s Black Excellence Conference at UNH will be hosted by Diannely Antigua who will lead a panel of three 2022 Black Excellence Fund & Storytelling Project Community Grant recipients. Through insightful questions, storytelling, and nuanced conversation, Antigua will lead panelists to discuss Black Excellence, expanding and showcasing it through the lens of their individual lived experiences here in New Hampshire.

The Black Excellence Fund & Storytelling Project provides unrestricted community grants directly to young (under 35) Black and BIPOC individuals across all disciplines who are striving to embody excellence against the tides of systemic oppression. Recipients were nominated by a peer or community member in 2022 and received an unrestricted $5,000 community grant. 2022’s recipients are: Akon Nakdimo of Manchester, NH, Niamiah Perry of Concord, NH, and Ronelle Tshiela of Manchester, NH.  Hosted by the Plymouth Area Network To Help End Racism nhpanther.org

To submit multicultural or changemaker events for the next issue, send them to editors@603diversity.com.

MARCH 3

Rhapsody in Black

The Capital Center for the Arts in Concord will showcase a remarkable stage experience written and performed by LeLand Gantt and developed at NYC’s Actors Studio with Estelle Parsons. Rhapsody in Black is a one-man show that explores LeLand’s personal journey to understanding and eventually transcending racism in America. We follow his spellbinding life story — from an underprivileged childhood in the ghettos of McKeesport, Pennsylvania to teenage experiments with crime and drugs to scholastic achievement and an acting career that lands adult LeLand in situations where he is virtually the only African-American in the room. How he manages to cope with the various psychological effects of consistently being marked “The Other” is recounted in remarkable and exquisitely moving detail, guaranteed to leave lasting impressions.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Show starts at 7 p.m. (Recommended age 18+)  Information at Ccanh.com

COMPILED BY YASAMIN SAFARZADEH / COURTESY PHOTOS

MARCH 5

Tea Talk “Exploring the Heart of Cross-Racial Conversation”

This presentation will be held at the Portsmouth Public Library from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. as part of the 2023 Tea Talks Lecture Series. This panel will explore what happens when racialized groups begin to dialogue. Panelists will discuss the myth of the model minority, what happens when language is used as a social construct to divide, and what happens when the American racial hierarchy forces one to choose a particular identity or culture over another. How can we speak openly and honestly in cross-racial conversations?

For more information about all of the 2023 Tea Talks Series lectures, please visit blackheritagetrailnh.org

MARCH 12

Tea Talk “Youth to Power: Black Female Activists”

This will conclude the 2023 Tea Talks Series at Temple Israel in Portsmouth from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Black Women have been leaders in this country for centuries as abolitionists, voting rights advocates, college founders, civil rights defenders, labor leaders, entrepreneurs, and more. Often, their work to overcome race and gender stereotypes has been seen as unusual or magical, serving to minimize their labor and talent. This closing discussion will feature a group of young BIPOC women exploring where we are culturally as a state and where we want to be heading. Panelists will share how their activism is shaping their world view and hopes for the future.

For more information about all of the 2023 Tea Talks Series lectures, please visit blackheritagetrailnh.org

APRIL 6

The Bell and Brick Concert Series presents the Andriana Gnap Band

The Belknap Mill in Laconia presents an evening with Andriana Gnap, an American born singer/songwriter with a strong connection to her Ukrainian heritage. She has appeared as a vocalist, violinist, and dancer in theater and musical productions throughout the U.S. and Canada. Her original music can be heard on international radio and streaming programs. She is known for smooth, heartfelt vocals and moving ballads. While Andriana enjoys performing folk, country, pop, and other

styles of music, traditional Ukrainian songs remain closest to her heart. She will share a variety of cover tunes (Sarah McLachlan, Alison Krauss, Nora Jones style) and original songs with you.

Showtime is 7 p.m.

More at Belknapmill.org

APRIL 22

“All My Friends are in This Show”

“All My Friends are in This Show,” at Kimball Jenkins in Concord is an inclusive, interactive, engaging and bold curation of innovative artists from California and New Hampshire who actively shape their communities. The event will be held on April 22 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and express a new normal for the arts, modernizing the notion of artistic expression and engagement. The show will run from April 20 to June 30. Contact connect@ kimballjenkins.com for more.

Fisto Ndayishimiye

COMMUNITY ORGANIZER

n BY ROBERT COOK

When Fisto Ndayishimiye and his younger brother, Alex, first arrived in New Hampshire from their native African country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, six years ago, he realized he had a lot to learn if he hoped to realize the American Dream.

At 24, Fisto is making Concord Heights a better place to live for the many refugee families who settled there. Recently, he worked with the Concord City Council to install lights at the soccer field at Keach Park to give young people a safe place to play at night.

The soccer field lights are just one example of several things that are needed in The Heights to make this Concord neighborhood safer and more welcoming, Fisto believes. He would like to get city leaders to do more community outreach, so they can better understand what is needed to help refugee families.

In addition to being a community organizer, Fisto takes communication classes at the New Hampshire Community Technical Institute and plans to attend Southern New Hampshire University to further his education. He wants to earn a

B.A. in communications and then go on to law school. The freedom that he enjoys as a New Hampshire resident presents him with the opportunity to pursue these goals.

“I do think that we also have a responsibility to learn how to be part of the community. I am trying to teach them to get involved in their community and learn more about being involved in the community,” Fisto says.

By bringing refugee families and Concord officials together, Fisto believes the city and the Granite State will gain many valued citizens. 603

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Fisto Ndayishimiye stands before a map of the Concord Heights where his activism is taking root.

A healthy workplace is a welcoming, inclusive workplace.

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