Our Time PressThe Local Paper with the Global View

By Danielle Douglas

With Congresswoman Yvette Clarke settling into her new seat in the House of Representatives her former City Council post awaits occupation. Before Clarke could unpack her bags in DC, the rumor mill began churning out a list of potential candidates to replace her in the 40th Council District. By some estimates, there were over 30 people vying for the seat, but that number has been whittled down to 12 contenders who wrangled over 2,000 signatures to get on the ballot for the special election – to be held on February 20th.
The 40th District, anchored by Crown Heights and Flatbush, is home to one of the largest concentrations of West Indians in the city, hence the reason why so many of those expressing their interest in the seat hail from Grenada, St. Vincent, Haiti and Jamaica. Considering that the first West Indian elected to City Council – Mrs. Una Clarke – came from the 40th, many political insiders expect residents to push for a Caribbean candidate.
Still, the district is comprised of folks from varying ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, meaning that a successful candidate will have to be inclusive of their needs. At a recent debate held at Vox Pop in Flatbush, several contenders presented their case to an audience of 50 or so people.

 
While many of the candidates exposed themselves as political novices with their inability to give thoughtful and viable answers to questions of education and housing, others demonstrated a holistic understanding of the dynamics of city government, grassroots initiatives and community activism.
Of the eight candidates who participated, standouts included Jesse Hamilton, Leithland Tulloch, Gerry Hopkins and Harry Schiffman. Each had thorough knowledge of the needs of the community, thoughtful legislation and a clear understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the City Council. The following is a brief summation on all of the candidates (who were all contacted for this piece), their backgrounds, their strengths and their weaknesses:
Jesse Hamilton
Occupation: AttorneyPolitical Office(s) Held: Democratic District Leader, 43rd Assembly District Community Leadership: President of Community Board 8 (1996-2003)
Key Platform Positions: Universal Pre-school, more funding for small business owners, more arts programs in the schools, extended school hours for aftercare Key Supporters: DC#37 (he’s a member) For more Info: http://www.votejessehamilton.com
Wellington Sharpe
Occupation: President and CEO of Nelrak Inc. (day care, preschool and after-school) Political Office(s) Held: N/A (Ran  against Yvette Clarke in 2002) Community Leadership: Member of Community Board 17.
Key Platform Positions: Developing a community center and trade school in the district. Key Supporters: N/A For more info: http:/www.wellingtonsharpe.com
Zenobia McNally
Occupation: Marketing Executive Political Office(s) Held: N/A (Ran against Clarke in 2005) Community Leadership: Founder of Concerned Citizens of Flatbush Block Association. 
Key Platform Positions: Create legislation so that all taxpayer-subsidized developments include job placements, present legislation to deal with predatory lenders Key Supporters: N/A For more Info: (718) 282-8818
Mathieu Eugene
Occupation: Doctor; Founder of Youth for Education and Sports, Inc. Political Office(s) Held: N/A Community Leadership: Member of Community Board 14, Co-founder of the Committee for the Development of Northern Haiti Key Platform Positions: N/A (never returned calls or E-mails) Key Supporters: Congresswoman Yvette Clarke For more info: (718) 940-2006
Joel Toney
Occupation: Former Ambassador to the UN Political Office(s) Held: N/A Community Leadership: Member of Community Board 14.
Key Platform Positions: Convert abandoned city property into affordable housing, increase vocational training Key Supporters: N/A For more info: http://www.friendsofjoeltoney.com/
Harry Schiffman
Occupation: Director of Government and Community Relations for Kingsbrook  Jewish Medical Center Political Office(s) Held: N/A Community Leadership: Member of Church Avenue Merchants Assoc. (etc.)
Key Platform Positions: Preservation of Victorian homes, conversion of top floor of small community libraries into affordable housing Key Supporters: N/A For more info: http://schiffmanforcouncil.com/
Jennifer James
Occupation: Former campaign manager for Yvette Clarke Political Office(s) Held: N/A Community Leadership: Founder of Council of Urban Professionals.
Key Platform Positions: Protect the rights of immigrant workers, enhance law  enforcement training Key Supporters: N/A For more info: http://friendsofjennifer.com/
Mohammad Razvi
Occupation: Co-founder and executive director of Council of Peoples  Organization Political Office(s) Held: N/A Community Leadership: Co-founder of We Are All Brooklyn.
Key Platform Positions: Create living wage jobs, more after school programs,
more affordable housing Key Supporters: N/A For more info: (347) 627-5607
Gerry Hopkins
Occupation: Journalist Political Office(s) Held: N/A Community Leadership: Founding member of Concerned Americans for Racial  Equality.
Key Platform Positions: Overhauling the Civilian Complaint Review Board,  extended after-school programs, more affordable housing Key Supporters: N/A For more Info: http://votegerryhopkins.com/
Leithland Tulloch
Occupation: Senior Associate Director Network Internal Affairs Political Office(s) Held: N/A Community Leadership: Member of Community Board 17.
Key Platform Positions: Advocate for contextual zoning to prevent developers from uprooting residence and demolishing Victorian homes; preserving rent stabilization for moderate and low-income residents; creation of quarterly police/community forums to address community relations Key Supporters: Assemblywoman Rhonda Jacobs For more Info: (718) 462-2519
Karlene Gordon
Occupation: N/A Political Office(s) Held: N/A Community Leadership: N/A
Key Platform Positions: Implementation of more vocational schools in the district; create a socialization curriculum emphasizing self-esteem, respect and conflict resolution; food stamps.
Key Supporters: N/A For more Info: (347) 529 2263
Mozell Ductan Albright
Occupation: N/A Political Office(s) Held: N/A Community Leadership: N/A
Key Platform Positions: N/A (never returned phone call) Key Supporters: N/A For more Info:

Spotlight
GALA CELEBRATION AND TRIBUTE TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS
TO BE HELD, FEB. 11 – 13, 2007
.February 11 thru 13, 2007 has been chosen by The Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (DBNA) along with the Brooklyn Borough President, The House of the Lord Church, Polytechnic University and the Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC) to host a three (3) day celebration highlighting the birthday of abolitionist, journalist, visionary Frederick Douglass.
This celebration will also highlight the fact that New York State and Brooklyn, New York in particular, was a gateway to liberation for freedom seekers, otherwise referred to as escaped slaves. 
During this three (3) day celebration the great-grandson of Frederick Douglass, Fred Douglass IV and his wife, B.J., will be present to discuss and remember Frederick Douglass and the contributions he made to the movement to abolish slavery.   In addition, a number of the noted sites in Brooklyn and Manhattan visited by Frederick Douglass during his noble struggle for the freedom of mankind will be revisited.  
The itinerary for the celebration is as follows:

Sunday, February 11, 2007 – 5:00 PM
At the historic House of the Lord Church, Fred Douglass IV and his wife will perform artistic skits of the life and times of Frederick Douglass in his quest for freedom and the abolishment of slavery. 

Monday, February 12, 2007 – 9:00AM
Fred Douglass IV and his wife will address the general assembly of two schools in Brooklyn named in honor of his great-grandfather (the Frederick Douglass Academy in Bedford Stuyvesant and Brownsville Brooklyn).

Monday, February 12, 2007 – 1:00 Noon
Luncheon at the New York City Polytechnic University hosted by the Brooklyn Borough President, FCRC and DBNA.  The present Wunsch Student Center located on the campus of Polytechnic University from 1854 to 1938 was the African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church, the first black congregation in Brooklyn now known as the Bridge Street AWME Church. In the basement the church housed and fed fugitive slaves, “it is important for us to recall and educate people on that piece of history” said Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry, pastor the House of the Lord Church.

Monday, February 12, 2007 – 7:00PM
Dr. Adelaide Sanford will be the keynote speaker for the event held at the Mother Zion African Church in Harlem. This church was one of the first churches in New York built and led by African-Americans and thought to have been a major Underground Railroad depot. Rev. Gregory Smith is the pastor of this church.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 – 9AM
This celebration will begin with a brief ceremony at the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn.  Participants will cross the Brooklyn Bridge and pay  respect at the African Burial Grounds. Participants will later travel to the Manhattan pier where a marker will be placed earmarking the location of a soon to be statue erection of Frederick Douglass. From this point participants will trace the route of several safe havens in Manhattan and culminate with a special reception at City Hall hosted by Council Members Charles Barron and Alan Gerson. The contribution of David Ruggles will be lifted at the reception. In 1938 Mr. Ruggles was thought to have published the 1st black magazine in the United States, the “Mirror of Liberty.”  In that same year he provided shelter to Frederick Washington Bailey, a fugitive slave who arrived in New York disguised as a sailor who would later change his name to Frederick Douglass.  Special guest at this reception include student representation from Junior High School 258 in Brooklyn whose school name has been changed to The David Ruggles School. 
The celebration will begin each day at 8:00am with a prayer and continental breakfast at the historic House of the Lord Church located at 415 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York where the Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry is Pastor. 
For further information, contact: (347) 756-0049 and/or (718) 596-1991.

Monday, February 5
 7 p.m., Kevin Powell, Brooklyn activist and author of “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” shares an intimate discussion with poet/writer Asha Bandele. Co-sponsored by African Voices. FREE.  Kumble Theater at L.I.U., DeKalb/ Flatbush.

Tuesday, February 6
1:30p SWANN GALLERIES presents the first-ever auction devoted to African-American Fine Art, comprising over 200 prints, drawings, collages, paintings and sculptures by well-known African-American artists. The auction contains a veritable who’s who of important African American artists, and includes some of the scarcest and most important examples of their work. Represented are:  complete sets of Jacob Lawrence’s first and last major series, both based on paintings made by the artist early in his career; prints by other artists such as Dox Thrash’s Old Barns, aquatint, 1937-38; Charles White’s poignant Awaiting His Return, lithograph, 1946; Elizabeth Catlett’s Negro Woman, lithograph, 1945.  The sale also features works by Romare Bearden, including Untitled (Four Figures), collage composed of various papers with pencil additions, on wood panel, circa 1970; a number of fine oils on canvas, including Hale Woodruff’s powerful abstract Totem, circa 1950; Norman Lewis’s Many Faces of Legend #1, 1960; and Beauford Delaney’s Untitled (Yellow Painting), from his desirable Paris Yellow Paintings series, 1962. There are three fine sculptures in the sale. Leslie Garland Bolling’s Beautiful Womanhood, 1931 and New Moon, 1933. An exquisite carved mahogany Nude Torso, 1976, is believed to be the first sculpture by Elizabeth Catlett ever to come to auction.  Finally, there are many beautiful drawings and watercolors, including Palmer Hayden’s Ocean Point, Maine, watercolor circa 1925-26; and John Wilson’s Untitled (Farm Boy), charcoal portrait, 1944.
The works of art will be on public exhibition at Swann Galleries on Wednesday,  through Friday, February 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, February 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Monday, February 5, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Tuesday, February 6, from 10 a.m. to noon. Swann Galleries: 104 East 25 Street, New York, NY.  The art works can also be viewed online at www.swanngalleries.com. For further information, please contact Nigel Freeman at (212) 254-4710, extension 33, or via email at nfreeman@swanngalleries.com.

Saturday, February 10:
1pm – “Chesstizing” – Sculptor Daniel Blake invites children to play an educational game called Chesstizing with his original wooden chess pieces that he carved to represent people who have played significant roles in African-American history.  .Central Library, Youth Wing Program Room, Grand Army Plaza, 718.230.2119

Tuesday, February 13:
3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Spike Lee Screening Room at L.I.U. Free Media Arts professors Dennis Broe and Maureen Nappi will present “When the Levees Broke,” Spike Lee’s documentary on Katrina.

Friday, February 16
7a-2:30p: 2007 National Woman’s Heart Dayr  Health Fair Offers  Free 15-minute Screenings, Advice for New York City Women on Heart Disease, Madison Square Garden, NYC. “Women in general need to be advocates for their own heart health,” says Dr. Diane Acuna, a cardiologist at St. Vincents Hospital Manhattan. “But this is especially important for African-American women, given that they are 72% more likely to suffer from heart disease than white women. The most important way for African-American women to be advocates for their own heart health is by learning what their personal risk of heart disease is so they can take action to live a long and healthy life. Women should ask their doctors about receiving screening and about heart healthy lifestyle choices such as proper diet and activity levels.”

RESTORATION and BLACK VETERANS for SOCIAL JUSTICE
EDUCATION & JOB PLACEMENT CLASS SESSSIONS
Restoration is pleased to announce its new partnership with Black Veterans for Social Justice, and Medgar Evers College called NYC Works! Our NYC Works Partnership offers a number of free resources for unemployed job seekers and those seeking to upgrade their skills. Also, get your GED and get access to career specific training including Commercial Driver’s License, CISCO Training, Pharmacy Technician/Medical Billing training and much more! Advance registration required for classes. All sessions begin at 10 AM. Call (718) 636-6978 to register for one of our information sessions.
Feb. 5:    Information Session; Feb. 6:    Life Skills Part I & II: Customer Services, Business Language, Mock Interviews, Financial Literacy, and Computer Intro: Feb. 7    Resume & Cover Letter  Feb.  12:  Information Session: Feb. 13:  Life Skills Part I & II: Feb. 14:  Resume & Cover Letter.

Forest City Ratner’s announcement of the naming rights to the Atlantic Yards Nets Arena to England’s Barclays Bank has ignited a controversy about Barclay’s slave trade business and apartheid-supporting past.
Councilwoman Letitia James’ office released a statement saying that Ratner was partnering with a corporation founded on the slave trade.  Former assemblyman Roger Green, a previous supporter of the Atlantic Yards deal, has called for Barclays to pay reparations to the African-American community in Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Paper reported his successor, Hakeem Jeffries, as saying the “naming agreement was insensitive and offensive.” And that “Ratner should consider ‘terminating’ his $400 million dollar deal.”
But on the issue of apartheid, Barclays is only one of the major corporations named in a 2005 lawsuit filed by the Khulumani Victim Support Group (a group of victims of past political violence in South Africa) filed in the New York Eastern District Court. Among the other multinationals named were the U.S.-based corporations Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Exxon Mobil, Fluor Corporation, Ford, General Motors and IBM.
On the issue of profiting from the slave trade, Barclays certainly doesn’t stand alone either, and certainly not in Brooklyn with Chase Bank as a neighbor and admitted slave profiteer.
Based on research undertaken by Chase itself in order to comply with Chicago legislation, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that “Thousands of slaves were accepted as collateral for loans by two banks that later became part of JP Morgan Chase. The admission is part of an apology sent to the JP Morgan staff after the bank researched its links to slavery in order to meet legislation in Chicago. About 13,000 slaves were used as loan collateral between 1831 and 1865. Citizens Bank and Canal Bank are the two lenders that were identified. They are now closed, but were linked to Bank One, which JP Morgan bought last year.”  Chase has issued an apology to the African-American community, particularly those who are descendants of slaves, and to the rest of the American public for the role that Citizens Bank and Canal Bank played.  They have also set up a $5 million scholarship for students living in Louisiana, the state where the events took place.
The reprint of the 1998 Our Time Press article “Stolen Land, Stolen Labor and the Case for Reparations,” makes clear why only a comprehensive reparations program can begin to address the slave trade’s profiteers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Yung Ja “Toye” Williams, owner and CEO of Black Pearl Car Service and Allied Central Ambulette, died Monday of pancreatic cancer. She was 72.

Together with her husband, the late Hon. Calvin Williams, Toye helped to break the color and economic barriers in New York’s taxi and transportation industry.
Born in Kimhae, South Korea, Toye met and married Calvin, a US Air Force sergeant, and settled with him in New York after the Korean war.  Ambitious and eager to make a life and living for themselves, they took a small GI loan and started a local restaurant business.
It was not long before they noticed the lack of transportation services in their Bedford-Stuyvesant community, as well as in many of the other communities outside of Manhattan. At that time, the great metropolitan city of New York had only a yellow taxi service which did not serve many parts of Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx.
Toye and Calvin started Black Pearl Car Service in 1962 with its slogan: “We’re Not Yellow, We Go Everywhere”; “Particular People ride Black Pearl” and for almost a decade fought many public, political and legal battles to have the city’s non-medallion cabs licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission as legitimate independent companies.
For years, Black Pearl was the largest privately owned taxi company in New York and stood out as a beacon for minority, political and entrepreneurial ambitions. Toye and Calvin put their heart and soul in the fight for services to New York’s underserved communities and won not only the services but thousands of jobs and expanded commerce for all.
Many years later, Allied Central Ambulette was a pioneer in helping to fill the community’s need for nonemergency medical transportation.
From the beginning, serving the community was Toye and Calvin’s natural passion and direction. When she lost her husband twenty years ago, Toye Williams did not retire. She pushed forward to continue growing the business and herself.
Toye was loved and respected as the business stabilizer, the family rock and the strength and light that made all things possible. She is survived by three of her four children, five grandchildren, three brothers and two sisters.

By Stanley Kinard

Say it Loud,
I’m Black and I’m Proud!
The Black community sighed when informed of the passing of James Brown.  “The Godfather of Soul” made his transition on Christmas Day.  Many of us were fortunate to grow up on his music that shaped the Black Cultural Aesthetic of America.  We thank James Brown for giving us the affirmation, “Say it loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud!”.  Spike Lee has been commissioned to do a screenplay on Mr. Brown.  We want to see who will be cast to do the James Brown part.  This will truly be a hard act to follow.  In addition to the loss of Mr. Brown our community lost several other legends last year.  Our dear sister, Aliyah Abdul-Karim quietly made her transition a few months ago.  Sister Aliyah was a writer, grandmother, educator and member of The African-American Teachers Association.  Our community will always be indebted to her for her wisdom, love and grace that she gave us so unselfishly.  She cared so much for her people and we must never forget her.  Another community legend, Charlie Story, also made his transition in November.  Mr. Story affectionately was called The Mayor of Bedford-Stuyvesant.  He owned several furniture stores on Fulton Street in addition to being a great gospel singer.  He promoted gospel shows throughout the community and made several recordings.  It is important as we begin this New Year that we continue to acknowledge our community ancestors.
Kwanzaa celebrations took place throughout central Brooklyn this past week.  It was a very festive week as family and friends gathered to reflect on the principles of Kwanzaa.  It is imperative that we now practice these principles throughout the year.  We must continue to advocate for justice for Sean Bell and not forget about this horrible tragedy.  We also must not forget about this racist school system that continues to fail Black kids and refuses to teach Black history.  We do approach the New Year with renewed determination.
This is the year that the school system will be forced to implement Black history in the curriculum.  BNYEE will play a pivotal role in negotiating this resolution.  It is important that the community be supportive and ready to act when called upon.  This is also a year that Operation Power will emerge, a major human rights organization concerned with obtaining political power.  I see great things for our people this year if we unite and maintain our focus. 
To our retired educators, we need you back on the front line.  So many qualified educators have left the system and there is a tremendous void.  There is still a lot of work to be done with our children and now that you are receiving your pensions, you are no longer liable to a system that doesn’t work.  Now, you can say what needs to be said and assist in developing a new system of education that works for us.  We must do this in the tradition of our ancestors like Dr. Carter G. Woodson, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington and Ida B. Wells.  They knew how to educate Black kids and left for us a blueprint. 
Last column, I commented on the riot that took place at a basketball game between Paul Robeson and Thomas Jefferson High Schools.  The Public School Athletic League reviewed this situation and ruled that the basketball season at Robeson will be terminated for the entire year.  Jefferson will also forfeit its next three games.  This is a major penalty that will have a negative impact upon the student athletes at both of these schools.  I question whether it is doing much to curtail the cause of the violent outburst or the problem of violence among our youth.  We certainly can’t learn how to play a game or watch a game without violence if there is no game.  The major media didn’t really report this incident in the matter they reported on the Knicks brawl with the Denver Nuggets.  That made national news while the Robeson riot has more significance than the Knicks brawl to our community.  It is time that concerned leaders and residents come together and discuss the culture of violence among our youth.  We must do this before it is too late.