Mayor: Juneteenth To Become New York City & School Holiday

By Síle Moloney

Today, Jun. 19, as the country celebrates Juneteenth, the oldest nationally-celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Juneteenth would become an official City and school holiday. The mayor also announced additional steps the City is taking to address disparities and structural racism that have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the creation of a new commission to understand the effects of structural and institutional racism in New York City. The Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission (RRC) will be established to promote social learning,

By Síle Moloney

Bronx Community Board 8 will be holding its virtual Traffic and Transportation Committee meeting tonight, Thursday, Jun. 18, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom, during which a request for a permit for a new farmer’s market will be presented and discussed. The sponsor of the proposed JBOLC Garden Community Farmer’s Market is James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center, Inc, and the entity plans to apply to the Street Activity Permit Office for a permit to operate a farmer’s market each Saturday from Aug. 8, 2020 through Oct. 31, 2020 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The applicant is requesting

By Síle Moloney

Spurred by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, eight esteemed arts organizations with deep roots in local communities of color have announced the formation of the Latinx / POC Arts Legacy Consortium. Partners seek to pool experiences, resources, and shared history in order to better prepare diverse populations for reopening, as well as to ideate new ways of overcoming historic undercapitalization well past the pandemic. The organizations are Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance, Bronx Documentary Center, Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute, El Museo del Barrio, Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater,

By Síle Moloney

Award-winning New York City musicians Norah Jones and Suzanne Vega will perform on Jun. 22 as part of “Music for the Soul of NYC Health + Hospital Heroes,” a series created by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, NYC Health + Hospitals and AFM Local 802. The event will be streamed live on NYC Health + Hospital’s Facebook page on Jun. 22, 2020 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. ET. The “Music for the Soul” series was created to inspire our heroic medical community, especially the 43,000-member staff of NYC’s public hospital system, connect isolated patients to the

By Síle Moloney

Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage’s “SummerStage Anywhere” digital series will honor the 155th Anniversary of Juneteenth, the national commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, with a free digital day of dance on Friday, June 19. Tribute performances will be presented on SummerStage’s Instagram channel throughout the day starting at 12:00 p.m. EST, including an excerpt from RudduR Dance’s ballet, “WITNESS”. The day will culminate on SummerStage’s YouTube channel at 7:00 p.m. EST with a panel discussion, Reflecting the Times, led by Hope Boykin of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, followed by a tribute performance of “HANGING TREE”, featuring Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance

By JASON GONZALEZ

Renowned author and Pulitzer Prize winner, William Faulkner, once said, “Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth.” The murder on Memorial Day in Minneapolis, Minnesota of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man, has given rise to worldwide outcry. The uproar has manifested into protests that have spanned the globe, and has civilians from all races, religions, and sexual orientations calling for police reform and the termination of systemic racism. As unrest permeates

By SÍLE MOLONEY

A solidarity event in support of the Black Lives Matter movement took place at Jacobi Medical Center on Jun. 9, 2020. About 35 hospital staff members stood outside the hospital displaying signs of support. Others spoke about the racial inequities that exist within the health care system and decried budget cuts to health care while the City pays out millions in law settlements relating to police misconduct. Kelly Cabrera, a registered nurse working in emergency medicine addressed those gathered saying, “Racism is a public health emergency. We’re here as health care workers in one of the areas that

By Síle Moloney

Impassioned and resolute, Bronx City Councilman Andy King laid out the implications of being Black in America from a physical, emotional and economic standpoint when he addressed a crowd at a Unity and Solidarity food and face mask distribution event on Jun. 9, 2020. Joined by former NYPD officer and Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams, and 32 BJ Union President Kyle Bragg, King appealed to Black elected leaders to seize the moment and stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protestors to effect lasting change. The event was held outside King’s District 12 office on East Gun Hill

By Síle Moloney

In response to the uprisings across the globe demanding justice for Black lives, New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has created a Black liberation reading list. The 95 titles on the list represent books that the Center and the public regularly turn to as activists, students, archivists, and curators, with a particular focus on books by Black authors and those whose papers the center stewards. For 95 years, the Schomburg Center has preserved, protected, and fostered a greater understanding of the Black experience through its collections, exhibitions, programs, and scholarship. Most of the #Schomburg95 books