15th Congressional Race: Samelys López on Class Warfare, Progressiveness, Sanders & Serrano

In a still-crowded 15th congressional district race, Samelys López has a clarity of vision for the Bronx that is rooted in continuity, inspired by personal experience, and imbued with a sense of urgency for social justice. A former intern of the incumbent, Congressman José Serrano, who is soon-to-retire after 30 years of service, López said she wants to continue Serrano’s legacy, while also recognizing the timely need for class warfare, and a true reckoning with what it really means to be a “progressive”.   It is this latter point that is central to López’s campaign and she is eager to


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NYC Parents & Teachers Conference June 20: Sharing Ideas & Solutions for Reopening Schools

NYC parents and educators will convene and present ideas for re-opening schools tomorrow Saturday, Jun. 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at a conference entitled, Sharing Ideas & Solutions for Reopening Schools: The Path Forward. The event will be held remotely, co-sponsored by Class Size Matters, NYC Kids PAC, and Community Education Councils from Districts 4, 8 (Bronx), 14, 17 and 32.   During this conference, NYC parents, guardians, teachers and concerned New Yorkers will discuss and develop proposals around the reopening of schools in the fall and present them to invited decision-makers. If schools are to reopen, it


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Bronx Arts & Culture Groups Unite to Form Latinx / POC Arts Legacy Consortium

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,


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Norah Jones & Suzanne Vega Perform “Music for the Soul” Series for Hospital Heroes

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


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155th Anniversary Of Juneteenth Honored With a Digital Day of Dance

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


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Summer Programming Grant for 5,000 NYC Public School Students: Deadline Friday, June 26th

  Practice Makes Perfect (PMP), a benefit corporation, in partnership with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and The Heckscher Foundation for Children, has created a free, virtual summer academic program for up to 5,000 NYC public school students who are completing Grades 3 – 8.   Through a $1.4 million dollar grant, the program is open to students attending both district and charter schools, and aims to address the impact of Covid-19 and mitigate summer learning loss.   Practice Makes Perfect (PMP) partners with K-12 schools to operate high-impact programs before, during, and after school hours. Since 2010,


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Op-Ed: The Legacy of George Floyd

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


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Jacobi Health Care Workers Highlight Racial Disparity in Health Care, Address City Budget Cuts

  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


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Andy King Talks Being Black in America at Unity and Solidarity Event

  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


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