Wakefield Poet Promotes Literacy and Pride in the Bronx and Beyond

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Bronx poet and spoken word artist, Lorraine Currelley, has nurtured a life-long love of the written word, and actively shares that passion with as many people as possible. As executive director of both the Bronx Book Fair and the Poets Network & Exchange, she is leading a group of fellow word lovers on a mission to expand literacy in the borough, provide workshops for writers, and promote storytelling by underrepresented groups in the literary world. “I’m about change,” Currelley said. “I’m about growth.” In May, she was appointed State of New York Bronx Beat Poet Laureate for 2020-2022

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Wooden boards on the storefront glass of the Amalgamated Bank at 94 E. Burnside Ave. give it the appearance of a long-time shuttered business. Officially though, it is scheduled to close by Sept. 25. On Monday, Aug. 24 a group of protestors gathered to let bank administrators know the decision will hurt a community already facing daunting financial prospects in the midst of an economic downturn complicated by a public health crisis. Speakers at the rally included several small business owners as well as community board leaders. The protest, organized by the Jerome Avenue Revitalization Collaborative (JARC),

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

On any given morning people can be seen walking, running, or biking along Mosholu Parkway. Benches on the sidewalks can even provide a contemplative resting stop for others. For Barbara Korman however, the landscaped thoroughfare provides a source of inspiration for her art. Korman has lived in Bedford Park for 50 years, the last 42 of which she has spent in the same two-bedroom apartment, having converted one of the bedrooms into a studio. The passage of time has not caused the artist to slow down however. “I’m always working,” Korman said. When asked if the pandemic had impacted

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Local residents, Mahfuja Chadani, Madiha Madani and Nusrat Tasnim, took a stroll through Williamsbridge Oval Park on July 31 to celebrate the Muslim holy festival of Eid al Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice. This year, the holiday was observed from sundown on Thursday, July 30, to sundown on Friday, July 31. Chadani said typically the Muslim community have two big celebrations each year. The earlier festival of Idul-Fitr (Eid Al-Fitr) is celebrated among friends and family to mark the end of Ramadan, a month-long period during which Muslims fast during daylight hours, while offering up additional

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Every year, each of the City’s five boroughs hosts an arts festival at the school year’s end to celebrate and highlight student achievement in the arts, from kindergartners to high school seniors. In the Bronx, the celebration is usually held at Lehman College, with a performing arts showcase at Lehman Center, and a visual arts exhibition at the Lehman College Art Gallery. This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the exhibition, just like the Lehman College campus that hosts it, went virtual. The City’s department of education officials who produce the festivals, worked with Lehman on this year’s event.

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Future and current generations of scholars, historians, and anyone else interested in learning how COVID-19 has affected the borough will find a well-researched resource in, “The Bronx COVID 19 Oral History Project“. The work is conducted under the auspices of Fordham University’s Bronx African American History Project. The goal of the online project, which is still ongoing, is to gather a wide variety of testimony from Bronxites, through both video and audio interviews, describing how their lives have been disrupted by the global pandemic. The student-run project is putting a face and adding a voice to the people who

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), 13-member Climate Justice Working Group will hold its initial meeting on Thursday, Aug. 13 at 3 p.m. Established under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (2019), the Group is tasked with establishing criteria for identifying disadvantaged communities to reduce co-pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, compile regulatory impact statements, and manage the allocation of investments pursuant to the Act. The Act is among the most ambitious climate laws in the world and requires New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030, and no less than

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Dear Readers, Hope you’re well. As if we hadn’t enough to contend with already, what with the ongoing pandemic, a global recession, stifling humidity, a rise in gun violence, and random shark-sightings in New York City, it seems we’re also set to be hit with the tail end of Tropical Storm Isaias later this evening, August 3, so batten down the hatches, hang tight, and check out this year’s ninth and latest edition of the Norwood News. Following the arrest earlier this month of Ghislaine Maxwell on charges relating to human trafficking, which she denies, our cover

By DAVID GREENE

After being shut for several months during the global coronavirus pandemic, the staff of the Dominguez Expert Martial Arts School on East 204th Street have restarted Tae Kwon Do classes. More than a dozen young students were taken outside of the Norwood school, for their first resumed Tae Kwon Do class since the shutdown, ensuring adequate social distancing and more access to fresh air. The youngsters were spotted on the open field of Mosholu Parkway at Bainbridge Avenue, throwing punches and kicks on Friday, July 24. According to Wikipedia, Taekwondo, Tae Kwon Do or Taekwon-Do is a Korean