Six years ago at a family dinner, Paul Grosvenor shared with his family that he wanted to become a singer. His uncle, Peterson Grosvenor, advised Paul’s parents to take him to the Patricia F. Robinson Music Studio where his daughter Erika studied piano and voice. That was the beginning of Paul’s awesome development from an adolescent tenor to a profoundly gifted bass baritone.
After mastering his vocal foundation with Mrs. Robinson, Paul quickly advanced to study with the studios classical vocal coach, Kurt Faussette, who helped Paul find and master his baritone voice. At the tender age of 14, Paul recorded his first CD accompanied by Kurt Faussette which consists of French, English and Italian arias, German lieder, show tunes, spirituals and more.
Paul Grosvenor
Paul entered La Guardia H.S. where he is further developing while studying jazz piano with Richard Parker at the music studio.
The continuous support Paul receives from his parents (Paul Sr. and Kathy) has been the key factor in Paul’s success as well as the success of the music studio. Paul’s parents sit on the Board of Directors and work diligently towards the success of the music studio. They are proof that parent participation is the key element of success.
Paul is a member of the Black Student Union Opera Workshop, Gospel Chorus and Jazz Ensemble at La Guardia, and the Youth President of Mu-Te Or’s youth branch (Brooklyn Branch of the Association of Negro Musicians).
We are so proud of Paul and are looking forward to him being the next Luther. He has that same kind of vocal quality.
“Prisons are the best schools to learn to be better criminals. Our brightest gang members shouldn’t go.” These remarks were part of a presentation from Deanna Rodriguez during a recent forum at Medgar Evers College entitled An International Perspective: Gangs and Crime. Rodriguez, Chief of the Gang Bureau within the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, gave a spirited presentation.
Rodriguez began with a history of gangs in the United States. Rodriguez said Irish, not Blacks and Latinos, are responsible for this country’s gang culture. She told of teasing DA Hynes that the Irish were to blame for gangs, after having brought them to America. She pointed out that Native Americans did not have gangs, and referred to the movie Gangs of NY for a historical perspective.
According to Rodriguez, some immigrants came to this country with criminality in their minds and backgrounds. Rodriguez said “America is to blame” for the increase in Latino gang criminality which was brought here, in particular, MS 13. Rodriguez said the United States “went to El Salvador and trained them.”
Describing the situation in NYC, Rodriguez told the audience gangs are not just in the projects. “Gang recruitment takes place in Catholic schools. Gang recruitment takes place in prep schools, elite prep schools.” Rodriguez said gangs are strong; gang leaders are “running things from top prep schools.” According to Rodriguez, our “brightest” students are being recruited into gangs.
Rodriguez’ definition of a gang is “a group of people who operate together to commit crimes.”
From Rodriguez’ perspective, prison is not the answer. “Prisons are schools to learn better criminality.” Rodriguez’ recommendation is to divert our “brightest” gang members into alternative-to-prison programs.
Puzzled whether prison is punishment for crime, and whether no one should be sentenced to prisons since according to Rodriguez, they are “schools” to learn better criminality, a call was placed to the DA’s office for clarification of official policy.
Sandy Silverstein, in the DA’s Public Relations office, offered this explanation: Rodriguez meant to say gangs are not just affecting the poor. Silverstein went on to say, “Almost all defendants who were put into alternative sentencing were Black and Latino.”
Silverstein said “The DA’s office believes in alternative sentencing,” and pointed out some crime prevention initiatives, such as Treatment Alternatives for Dually Diagnosed Defendants (TADDD).
Silverstein added, “Gangs are more organized. Many gang leaders are already in prison. Members are recruited within prison, or are already gang members when they enter prison.”
Silverstein further explained there is no difference between how gang members in public school and in Catholic and elite prep schools are prosecuted. They would all be treated the same way.
On November 18, 2006 the doors of a Black women-owned funeral home in Prospect Heights officially opened for business. One year to the day, family, friends, clergy and a New York City
Funeral Home Owners Maria K. Sealy and Renaye Cuyler, received the Borough President’s Proclamation from Councilwoman James.
Councilwoman gathered in one of the funeral home’s beautifully designed rooms as the owners of the funeral home, Ms. Renaye Cuyler and Ms. Maria Sealy gave thanks to God and to their loved ones and supporters for one year of success with their baby.
Councilwoman James salutes Cuyler and Sealy entrepreneurs and their Brooklyn business success story.
Words of praise and inspiration were spoken by the Reverends Gary Gibbs and Frederick Ennette, and rousingly sung by the Reverend Alvin Freeland.
New York City Councilwoman Letitia James, a supporter of the ladies from day one, was on hand to dedicate the funeral home’s new name. The funeral home is now officially Sealy Cuyler Funeral Home.
Ms. James also filled in for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who was tied up at another event, in giving the women, and funeral home, a Proclamation.
Ms. Cuyler and Ms. Sealy closed the event by acknowledging and thanking their loved ones in the audience. Both women’s youthful-looking mothers were there and stood up to greet the audience when their daughters thanked them for their constant support.
Regaining the Skill “To Think”
In New York City Chancellor Klein released report cards for the city’s schools. Mayor Bloomberg’s calling the report cards “The best way to hold a principal’s feet to the fire” is disturbing since the flaws and lack of transparency leaves serious questions about the effectiveness of progress measurement. Is the purpose of the reports keeping principals in check or ensuring that students get a good education?
What is a good education? Parents especially need to distinguish holding educators accountable for students being engaged in activities that promote social and academic development, skills in thinking and problem-solving and holding them accountable for their school getting “A” or “B” on standardized tests. There is a difference. Even if the formula was unflawed, judging students by standardized tests results is a complete negation of the child’s ability and most likely accounts for the lack of enthusiasm among students, especially those students who would benefit from Dr. Howard Gardner’s work on Multiple Intelligences. Our children need a curriculum that’s designed for them to experience individual mastery through collaboration with others, has them exploring, solving problems and gaining real-life experiences with the subject matter. We want to end their deaths in wars, their filling the jails, their being killed on our streets. We want them taught skills that prepare them to be self-sufficient citizens who think about and participate in activities that make their communities and the world better. We want them taught how to think, not what to think.
Some concerns about the formula that yielded the report card results:
“The report card relies too heavily on test scores (85%). Math and ELA are the tests, ignoring other factors that make a great school; for example, whether a school has enrichments such as music, art, dance, chess and language classes; whether it encourages children to learn to work cooperatively; whether children are making academic progress based on measures other than test scores.” www.timeoutfromtesting.org
There are questions about how the peer groups were constructed. Is it fair to group and judge the performance of schools with huge differences in populations – or combining percentages of African-American and Hispanics as interchangeable; i.e., as a school with 59% Hispanic and 1% African-American a match for 59%African-American and 1% Hispanic. Questions about factors that impact scores that lie outside of the school, such as percentage of Asian students whose families are organized in a way that extends the school day at home.
These are only a few of the questions. Next time, we’ll look more closely at schools and more of the problems with the formula. Our children deserve more than what the current system offers. PN will be listing programs that acknowledge all intelligences and impact ELA and Math scores. Give your child the gift of recognizing his strengths and arming her with the spirit to master tests. Most of all, watch for opportunities to problem-solve at home with real problems. Encourage them to think of possible solutions. Learning takes place in the real world.
Comments and questions: parentsnotebook@yahoo.com
PN Alerts! Activities are in Bklyn unless otherwise noted.
*Sew What? Create a Bag in Basic Sewing Class with Denise Beckford – 369 Madison St. 917-701-9864 – Saturday, Dec. 15th (2 pm) Recommended for girls 8 years old and over.
*BPL – Bedford Branch, 496 Franklin Ave., 718-623-0012 Friday, Dec. 7th – 4 PM -For Teens – Mind Your Money Workshop – Making a budget and sticking to it; learn skills for smart shopping. For 6 – 12- year-olds – Sing along with the Kaleidoscope Band.
*Master Sabu’s Humble Dojang of Martial Arts, 997 Fulton St., 718-398-7789 – Teaching youth Self-Defense Skills and Child Safety, Courage to stand up for what is right, even if they stand alone, Patience to handle life’s daily challenges, Courtesy and Respect to build strong relationships with adults and peers.
*N.S.P. Youth, Inc.’s calling all youth performers -children (from age 3), teens and young adults. Weekly rehearsals and youth activities. 25 years of youth programming. For info contact Non-Stop Production at 718-415-3474 or e-mail: contactus@nspyouth.org.
*Essay Contest – “The Living Legacy of Malcolm X”, sponsored by The Malcolm X Commemoration Committee and the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. Elementary (4th & 5th grade), Middle School (6th -8th) and High School (9th – 12th). For details contact Iyalula Ferguson by e-mail: MXCC519@aol.com or write the committee at PO Box 34008, Jamaica, NY 11434.
The 35th Annual AUDELCO Awards were held at Aaron Davis Hall on November 19 and they were absolutely wonderful. There was a grace and elegance about the evening, co-hosted by Flo Wiley and Billy Mitchell. A smoothness and organization that was exciting to experience. It was also marvelous that I saw so many people come out for this special 35th Anniversary. There were actors, actresses, directors, producers, costume designers, set designers, other types of technicians and theatre lovers. Some of the actors were veterans like Stephen McKinley Henderson and Russell Hornsby, while others were youth actors who have recently begun getting their feet wet in the business. At the awards the torch was passed to several young actors. If you are not familiar with what the AUDELCO Awards are for, let me educate you about this vital tool that assists and helps Black theatre companies to survive by developing audiences who go to and support Black productions. The AUDELCO Awards are a way of recognizing the talent of African-Americans in theatre. It salutes the accomplishments of our people in Black theatre companies, in companies with Black actors and with Black Theatre-related groups.
Audelco Award Winner, Lou Myers
The AUDELCO Awards, with the theme of “35 And Still Alive,” was a night to remember and was full of stunning moments, in addition to the VIV-which is the award named after Vivian Robinson, one of the late founders of AUDELCOs (Audience Development Committee, Inc.)-being handed out in 14 categories. The AUDELCOs President, Grace Jones, and the members of the Board of Directors-also chose to make this year about Black theatre companies and theatre related groups that have been around for at least 35 years.
We have a lot of awesome theatre companies out there and this year’s awards recognized their hard work and longevity with Outstanding Pioneer Theatre Company Awards, which went to the Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn, the Nuyorican Poets Caf‚ and the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop in Manhattan-each having lasted 35 years. The Black Spectrum Theatre in Queens has been going strong for 37 years. With one more year under its belt, New Federal Theatre in Manhattan, founded by Woodie King, Jr., has been around for 38 years. Richard Allen Center for Culture & Art (RACCA) has been around for 39 years and ties with AMAS Musical Theatre. The longest-lasting theatres, with 40 years to their credit, are the National Black Theatre on 5th Avenue and 125th Street and the Negro Ensemble Company, which just became the resident theatre company at Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) on 141st Street.
Again looking towards the next generation of actors, Youth Theatre Group Rising Stars were given to the Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy; Black Spectrum Teen Acting Academy; Restoration Youth Arts Academy; Impact Repertory Theatre Group; Ronald Edmond Learning Center and Middle School 113, Brooklyn.
VIVs went to Harlem’s own National Black Theatre for its outstanding production of Black Man Rising. The show won for Dramatic Production of the Year; Outstanding Ensemble Performance; Director/Dramatic Production-Patricia R. Floyd and choreography, Juson Williams. The production Passing Strange won Musical Production of the Year; Outstanding Musical Director-Hiedi Rodewald, Director/Musical Production-Annie Dorsen and Outstanding Performance in a musical/male-Daniel Breaker. Another Harlem theatre company had an impressive night, the H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players tied with Black Man Rising as Dramatic Production of the Year for The Guest at Central Park West, and also won the VIV for Playwright-Levy Lee Simon and Lead Actor for John Marshall Jones. Signature Theatre had a great evening, as it accumulated VIVs for King Hedley II-for Supporting Actor Lou Myers, Lead Actress-Lynda Gravatt and Set Design-David Gallo. Signature Theatre Company also won the Lighting Design VIV for Robert Wierzel for Two Trains Running. Take Wing & Soar Productions won two VIVs for costume design and sound design for Hamlet. Classical Theatre of Harlem had actress Petronia Paley come away with the VIV for Supporting Actress for Electra. Outstanding Performance in a Musical/female was won by Eartha Kitt for Mimi Le Duck. And a brilliant playwright/actor, Daniel Beaty, walked away with the VIV for Solo Performance for his one-man show Emergence-See. Samm-Art Williams received a Special Achievement Award.
The evening also included incredible acting scenes from some of this past season’s shows such as Moon Over A Rainbow Shawl, Black Man Rising, and Magpie.
Support Black theatre, there are so many extraordinary companies out there in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. And remember Black Theatre is us telling our stories in the way that they should be told. For more information about AUDELCO, a group you can become a member of, go to its Web site at www.audelco.net or call 212-368-6906.
