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Community Calendar

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Community Calendar

Friday, March 6th
 Ghanaian-American Heritage Celebration 2020 Brooklyn Borough Hall Ceremonial Courtroom, 209 Joralemon St., 5-8pm, FREE. Ghanaian-Americans and people who’d like to join in celebrating them are invited to join in the festivities at Boro Hall. The evening is hosted by Brooklyn Borough President and the Hon. Eric Adams, Consul General of Ghana in New York and Professor Samuel Amoako, and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ghana in the United States Her Excellency Martha Ama A. Pobee. To RSVP, contact Marcus Harris at Brooklyn Borough Hall at 718-802-3847.

Carmen De Lavallade

A Birthday Tribute to Carmen De Lavallade Film Forum, 209 West Houston St., Manhattan, 6:30pm, $15. You’re invited to celebrate the 89th Birthday of the iconic Carmen De Lavallade with a screening of the documentary, Carmen & Geoffrey, about her and husband Geoffrey Holder, along with rare footage of the 1960 Porgy and Bess ballet danced by the couple. Amazing and accomplished dancers, actors and choreographers, they were married a month after meeting, they remained so for nearly 60 years until his death in 2014. Carmen was star soloist for the Lester Horton and Alvin Ailey Companies and the Metropolitan Opera’s prima ballerina.

Fashion Show 2020 – New York Top Designers Medgar Evers College, 1650 Bedford Ave., 6-10pm, $20/ $10 for students & seniors. In celebration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, the People of the Sun, Student Life, Student Government and the Women’s Center of Medgar Evers College sponsors this event featuring local fashion designers, highlighting talented musicians and honoring community leaders and bright lights. The audience will see fashion by Akeem Collections, Moshood and Rasta Royal Elegance. Honored with the Afrikan Spirit Award will be Jose Richards, Marceline Watler and Esmeralda Simmons. The evening offers a special performance by Ras Atiba and the Shabatia World Reggae Band. For information call 718-659-4999.

Sunday, March 8th
Visions 1020 William Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, 214 East 2nd St., Manhattan, 3-6pm, FREE. A photographic exhibition featuring some of our great Black fine art, journalistic, fashion photographers and more. Together, they documented and made history. Just some of those featured include: Abbensetts, Ali, Barboza, Cash, Cowens, Fournier, Gaskin, Hazlewood, Mutlaq, Pinderhughes, Santana, Sherman, Simmons, Stewart and Wright.

Tuesday, March 10th
 Two hundred years have passed since the birth of our great hero Harriet Tubman, born Araminta Ross! Let’s honor her remarkable sacrifices and courageous achievements by sharing her story with the young people in our lives.

The Story of Seeds Park Slope Food Coop, 782 Union St., 7pm, FREE. One of the world’s most precious resources is at risk. This documentary illuminates what is at risk and what can be done to protect the source of nearly all of our food – seeds. The basis for fabric, food and fuels, seeds are as essential to life as air and water. Approximately 90 percent of the fruit and vegetable varieties that existed 100 years ago no longer exist. This documentary reveals how we can breed new varieties that are resistant to pests and temperature extremes.

Saturday, March 14th
 50in50 with Letters to Our Sons Kumble Theater at LIU, 1 University Place, 3pm and 7pm, also Sun. 3/15 at 3pm, $25. In response to MacArthur “Genius” Dominique Morisseau’s curatorial statement, “50 original monologues” – selected from hundreds of submissions from women of African descent from across the globe – will be read by renowned actors to include: Lisa Arrindell, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Lilli Cooper, LaChanze, Joie Lee, Celestine Rae, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney and Pauletta Pearson Washington with live music performed by Maritri Garrett. [Tickets at thebillieholiday.org or at 866-811-4111]

Sunday, March 15th
 Memoir Writing with Gotham Writers Shakespeare & Co., 2020 Broadway, Manhattan, 6:30-7:30pm, FREE. Take part in an introductory Creative Writing 101 class with instructor Jon Reiner, an award-winning fiction writer and also satirist, screenwriter and filmmaker. Gotham will provide notebooks and pens, so just bring your creativity. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Also, please note that class will take place in the cafe. No outside food or drinks allowed.

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman Day of Commemoration
 New York, New York. February 13, 2020…On Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 10 A.M., The Black Women’s Leadership Caucus, Inc. will host its annual celebration of the life and legacy of Harriet Ross Tubman at a wreath laying ceremony at the Harriet Tubman Memorial located at 122nd Street/Harriet Tubman Square at Frederick Douglass Boulevard in the Village of Harlem, New York. The Memorial, created by artist/sculptor Alison Saar, was dedicated on November 13, 2008.
On August 27, 2003 then Governor Pataki signed legislation for the Harriet Tubman Day of Commemoration honoring Tubman every March 10 in New York State. Other states honoring Tubman on March 10 include Delaware, Maryland, Georgia and Texas.
 In January 2017, legislation passed to establish the HARRIET TUBMAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK IN AUBURN, NEW YORK, preserving the Homestead where she lived until her death on March 10, 1913, the Tubman Home for the Aged and the Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church where she worshipped. National Park Service Ranger-led tours are available.

A WOMAN’S PLACE IS ON THE $20 BILL – in particular, HARRIET TUBMAN. The year 2020 is when we expected to see Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill; plans are to renew our efforts after the 2020 election.

What’s Going On

Victoria Horsford
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March is Women’s History Month. March also hosts March Madness, Super Tuesday and other Democratic primaries; Daylight Saving Time 3/8; St. Patrick’s Day 3/17; and the vernal equinox, aka the first day of Spring 3/20

US PRESIDENCY 2020
 What a difference the SC Democratic Presidential Primary made on February 29! Joe Biden got the much-needed adrenal rush from SC voters, winning 49% of the vote from a field of five contenders, thanks in large measure to the large Black and suburban turnout and the endorsement of SC Democrat and elder statesman Jim Clyburn. The Biden SC victory signaled to his competitors Tom Steyer, Peter Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar that it was time to suspend their campaigns operations. Early Super Tuesday results in 14 states indicate a Biden sweep/resurrection in AL, AR, MA, MN, NC, OK, VA, TX, and TN – and a Sanders win in CA, CO, UT, and VT. Alas, American Democrats must sit back and watch Biden, Sanders, Bloomberg, Warren and Gabbard duke it out until the Democratic convention in Wisconsin, July 13-16. Many of the “Super Tuesday” venues are super inclusive with sizeable blocs of Black, Latino, and white suburban white women voters, all capable of a formidable coalition to win a majority of popular and electoral college votes come November.

Who could have predicted that a virus and fear would enter the presidential race to influence outcomes? The Coronavirus, a worldwide pandemic, presents a challenge to all presidential hopefuls. Will it determine the November race as it is wreaks havoc with the stock market? Let’s see which of the presidential hopefuls has the skillset to manage this health crisis, with its American uneasiness.

NY PERSPECTIVES
BRONX: Assemblyman Marcos Crespo leaves his post after June 2020 primary. He will ankle all posts- Bronx Democratic Boss and City Council Speaker determiner. This is weird on the heels of Ruben Diaz Jr. announcement. Close to Heastie, Crespo also close to major union honchos. People thought that he’d consider succeeding Diaz Jr. Crespo cut his political teeth working for Bronx elected staple Ruben Diaz Sr, a candidate for US Congress.

LAND USE: The NYC Council Subcommittee on zoning and franchises unanimously rejected the Olnick Organization’s rezoning application for its Lenox Terrace $800 million expansion in Harlem on 132-135 Street, Lenox to Fifth Avenue which includes five new 28-story buildings to accommodate 1600 more market and below market rate apartments. Harlem Councilman Bill Perkins opposed the expansion. The entire 51-member City Council must vote on the Olnick zoning plan this month. Olnick will, however, proceed with a more modest plan, with four new towers and no upgrades for current tenants, according to as-of-right plan, a legal entitlement.

NYS Supreme Court African-American jurists Franc Perry and Verna Saunders are making news in Land Use cases. Judge Franc Perry ruled that the top 20 floors of luxury 668 ft skyscraper located at 200 Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan, must be deconstructed. The condo unit price points range from $2.6 to $40 million. Jurist Perry concluded that developers circumvented zoning laws. Developers vowed to rigorously appeal the decision. ………Judge Verna Saunders ruled against the controversial sprawling rezoning plan, approved by City Council for Inwood in Upper Manhattan area. Community advocates were the plaintiffs vs. electeds Mayor de Blasio and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, in this case. Community argued that “NYC did not give due consideration to the racial and environmental impact of rezoning and the displacement of current residents.” To be sure, this disposition will be appealed.

NYPD: The NY Police Department opened an investigation into the NYPD Sergeant union leader Ed Bullin’s declaration of war against Mayor Bill de Blasio. Why is Hizzoner being held responsible for the shooting of on-duty police officers, one at a NYPD precinct, by a city lunatic, in the Bronx last month? The shooting was egregious, reprehensible and incomprehensible. The African American perpetrator sounds like he is mentally challenged with infrequent reality checks. Why is Bullins, an NYPD member with a long history of racist rhetoric, declaring war on de B? Is it because of Hizzoner’s perceived progressive leanings, his wife’s race? How would the US military deal with an underling who declares war on a superior?

BUSINESS MATTERS
 Rev Jesse Jackson returns to NY for the PUSH Wall Street Project Economic Summit, which convenes March 10 – 12, at the Sheraton NY Times Square Hotel in Manhattan. Founded in 1996, the Summit has become the pre-eminent business gathering for Black Americans and Corporate America to network and access capital for Black entrepreneurs. Visit rainbowpushwallstreetproject.org.

Ericka H. James was named dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business effective July 1. An award-winning scholar and educator, James has been dean of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University since 2014. A “staunch virtue capitalist,” she says that business can be a force of positive change.” She earned her Master’s and PhD at the University of Michigan.

BLACK WOMEN
 2020 Women’s Jazz concerts will be held at the Schomburg Center for Black Culture, Harlem on March Mondays, at 7 pm. Concert topliners are Haitian-American vocalist Pauline Jean, on 3/9; Renee Neufville, formerly of the HIPHOP duo Zhane, on 3/16; Laurin Talise 3/23; and Firey String Sistas! on 3/30

The Netflix 4-part miniseries, starring Octavia Spencer, “Self Made: Inspired By The Life of Madam C.J. Walker,” America’s first self-made woman millionaire, premieres on March 20. African American hair-care products mogul, Walker (1867 to 1919) launched a business with a sales force of hundreds of Black women, nationwide, which evolved into a multimillion dollar empire. Miniseries was adapted from Walker’s great, great granddaughter A’lelia Bundles’ book, “On Her Own Ground, The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker.”

The Black Women’s Leadership Caucus will host its annual celebration of the life and legacy of Harriet Ross Tubman with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tubman Memorial located at 122 Street at Harriet Tubman Square at Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Harlem on March 10 at 10 am. Contact Elizabeth Rankin-Fulcher: 917.584.3799

MARCH EVENTS
Brooklyn Boro President Eric Adams and Professor Samuel Omoako, Ghana Consul General to NY will co-host a celebration of the Ghanaian Heritage Foundation, on March 6 , 6-8 pm, at Borough Hall, Brooklyn.

The Network Journal pre-eminent Black internet business magazine, hosts its 22nd Annual 25 Influential Black Women in Business Awards on March 20, 11 am at the Marriott Marquis Hotel 1535 Broadway, Manhattan. Honorees include Nkonye S. Okoh, JP Morgan; Montressa McMillan, TD Bank; and Yolanda Ragland, MD/Entrepreneur, Fix Your Feet. For reservations, visit TNJ .com

Wash Your Hands Immediately After Touching These 10 Things

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Wash Your Hands Immediately After Touching These 10 Things

Emily DiNuzzo, Reader’s Digest

Washing your hands is a given if you want to avoid germs—but it’s especially important after touching these microbe magnets.

Handwashing works
 Washing your hands is essential to good hygiene, stopping germs in their tracks. Washing your hands limits the transfer of bacteria, viruses and other germs, according to the Mayo Clinic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using soap and clean water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to wash your hands, as studies show both are effective ways of keeping germs at bay. Of course, it’s impossible to keep your hands 100 percent germ-free all the time, but it’s absolutely essential after touching the following 10 things.

Money
 These days, you can use a debit or credit card for most purchases, but sometimes you just need to handle cash. When you do, be sure to wash your hands as soon as possible. Researchers tested $1 bills from a New York City bank and found hundreds of microorganisms, including oral and vaginal bacteria, and DNA from pets and viruses. Similar research has shown some cash and coins even contain pathogens like E. coli and salmonella. It doesn’t help that money circulates for a while—$100 bills can circulate for as long as 15 years, according to the Federal Reserve.

Handrails, handles or doorknobs
 Handwashing is incredibly important to limit the spread of bacteria and viruses, says Katy Burris, MD, a dermatologist at Columbia University Medical Center. One of the critical times to remember to wash is after riding public transportation, where multiple people are continuously touching the same surfaces, Dr. Burris says. This includes everything from handrails on an escalator to poles on the subway to bathroom door handles.

Restaurant menus
 Restaurants can be germ-ridden places—but the menu is the worst carrier. Researchers from the University of Arizona found that menus had a whopping 185,000 bacterial organisms. It makes sense, as so many people handle restaurant menus. You can’t avoid touching it but do wash your hands afterward.

Almost anything in a doctor’s office
 Thanks to a parade of patients coming through all day, most things in a doctor’s office harbor germs or bacteria—especially the sign-in pen. In fact, there are 46,000 more germs on that pen than on an average toilet seat. Other gross things to avoid are the waiting room chair armrest and the door handle. So, take a few minutes after your visit to stop by the rest room and thoroughly wash.

Any animals
 Not everyone washes their hands after touching pets or animals, but they should, according to Nesochi Okeke-Igbokwe, MD, a physician and health expert. “Animals may carry various diseases,” she says. “And because pets are generally thought of as family-friendly, handwashing is sometimes overlooked.” Handwashing after touching animals or interacting with pets, whether yours or someone else’s, is absolutely essential.

Touch screens
 Now that technology replaces some paper goods, it’s key to wash your hands after touching any screens. One of the worst offenders are kiosk machines in airports or public transportation locations, Dr. Burris says. “Germs are everywhere, and some places may harbor more than you may realize,” she says. Cell phones count, too; especially as we may share them with others. The good news: “Simple washing with soap and water will reduce transmission of these pathogens,” Dr. Burris says.

Cutting boards and kitchen sponges
 The kitchen is a germ-laden environment. You are not only bringing in raw or uncooked food but also cleaning food, utensils and textiles, like kitchen towels and sponges. One study found as many as 326 different species of bacteria living on used kitchen sponges. Make sure to toss out the old ones and, as Dr. Burris suggests, always wash your hands before preparing a meal and after handling raw meats.

Pens that aren’t yours
 Although many people use their phone or computer to take notes and write lists, sometimes you just need to borrow a pen. That’s fine but wash your hands after using it. The average office pen has ten times the germs of the average office toilet seat, at about 200 bacteria per square inch, according to the Wall Street Journal. If that doesn’t gross you out, consider that many people like to chew or gnaw on pen caps.

Soap dispensers or pumps
 Wait, are we saying you need to wash your soap? Well… sort of; soap dispenser pumps are a haven for bacteria. Researchers from the University of Arizona found refillable soap dispensers especially germ-laden. As you’re pressing the pump, any bacteria you’re hoping to wash off has an equal opportunity to get transferred onto the dispenser. Lead researcher Charles Gerba, Ph.D., says touching refillable soap containers can actually transfer more bacteria to your hands than if you stuck your hands in a toilet.

Pretty much anything in an airport
 Some 2.6 million airline passengers are traveling every day, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. More people mean more germs, and more shared public surfaces where you’ll encounter them. Avoid touching doorknobs, water fountains, kiosk screens and especially those plastic tubs and trays in the airport security line. People put their dirty shoes and bags in those trays, leading to contamination, according to research published in BMC Infectious Diseases.

Jeffries: As Trump Admin. Attempts to Dismantle ACA and Underfund Medicare and Medicaid, Dems Fight to “Protect Health of All the People.”

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Jeffries: As Trump Admin. Attempts to Dismantle ACA and Underfund Medicare and Medicaid, Dems Fight to “Protect Health of All the People.”

WASHINGTON – This week, Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Vice Chair Katherine Clark (D-MA) [far right] held the House Democratic Leadership’s weekly press conference where they outlined steps that Congress is taking to keep all Americans protected from the Coronavirus. They were joined by Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) [left], a pediatrician and the only female doctor in Congress, and Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), who previously served as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), helping communities across the country prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters, bioterror threats and public health emergencies.


On Monday, Hakeem Jeffries, Chair, Democratic Caucus, led a very “robust discussion” press conference on the meeting in Washington, D.C. on the threat presented by the Coronavirus. He said, “It’s clearly a national emergency. It requires an all-hands-on-deck approach.”
“Our goal is to make sure that we do not leave Washington this week without an allocation of resources to deal with the Coronavirus. It is our expectation that that number would be substantially greater than the amount requested by the administration, and that it will involve new funds, not a reallocation of existing funds.” 

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Il), is a nurse and public health expert.


Congresswoman Kim Schrier from Washington stated, “We’ve known from the start that COVID-19 would come to the United States and that it was a matter of when, and not a matter of if, and that is why preparations have been ongoing. We know for sure that this disease will spread, especially at the beginning in urban and suburban areas, and it will get worse before it gets better. We all have a role to play and we need to do our part. There are things that we can do to limit the spread and protect our communities, and these (like handwashing) should not be underestimated, even though they’re simple. They also should not be dismissed by people who consider themselves “low-risk” because of their age or their health. This disease can be very serious for certain populations of people. It is incumbent on every one of us to do our part to slow the spread as much as possible, but total containment is not likely.”
 REP. UNDERWOOD stressed, “When it comes to this Coronavirus, the most important thing is, now is the time to prepare, not panic.”


“Prior to being elected, I worked as a senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. In that role, I worked on the department’s responses to public health emergencies like Ebola and the Zika virus. I remember feeling the weight and gravity of our work, of knowing the American people and the world were looking to us. The threat was grave, but we took it with resolve, with focus and with coordination. Our communities were left stronger and we must do that again. That means ensuring an all-of-government response that builds sustainable capacity within our local public health systems. That is essential, as is relying on experts and putting them directly in front of the American people to communicate about steps that they can take to minimize their risk of infection and to prevent transmission to others. 


“We need to support the essential role of state and local public health officials with more sustained funding.
“I convened a call with those in my community last Friday to gather information about what they’re seeing and hearing and to thank them for their work. These are the people truly on the front lines. I’m so proud of the work that they’re doing to protect our communities. Here in Congress, make no mistake: we will answer this call with the policy direction and the resources required to fund an all-of-government approach that supports state and local government responses, guarantees affordable vaccines for all and prioritizes an COVID-19 response without diverting funds from other essential public health needs. The safety of our community depends on it.”

Clyburn Drives Biden Sweep of the South

David Mark Greaves
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Clyburn Drives Biden Sweep of the South

African-American Vote Leads the Way

We can see why the Republicans concentrate so much on repressing the African-American vote. We are the point of the spear for the consciousness of the nation. We proved it by showing the path forward is with former Vice President Joe Biden.


We understand the appeal of Senator Bernie Sanders. He has been consistent over the decades, calling for “Power to the People” before it was a song. He would make it his mission to ensure every child was educated, everyone had health care, the rich pay their fair share and everyone was able to expand their horizons. And I agree that all of it can be done.


The problem with Bernie is the downside risk. Because all of America is not Central Brooklyn – he might receive twice as many popular votes as Hillary Clinton did in 2016 and still lose in the Electoral College. Or, he might win. After all, many in the nation would vote for Sanders because they don’t like Trump’s manner, but are okay with his policies. That is why they will split their vote between Sanders and a Republican representative to prevent Sanders from making his words real. Giving him a Republican-controlled Senate, House and Federal Judiciary, including the Supreme Court to deal with. And the Republicans give no quarter.

Jim Clyburn “Bernie didn’t ask for my endorsement.”


As President, Bernie Sanders would be reduced to a figurehead, while the inevitable increase of voter suppression and gerrymandering would lead to White Supremacy and White Nationalism becoming the law of the land. Sanders would have to watch as his voting masses are punished, and the country is taken back to a dark and mean time when White Supremacy reigned supreme.
That might be an extreme scenario, although unfortunately, it does not seem so, but why risk it? Joe Biden is a far safer bet. He’s a reasonable, decent, well-known guy. And if he likes to stay in the middle of the road, that’s okay because it’s only a one-way road to the future and the middle is the safest place to ride.


And when Sanders rails against some of Biden’s past votes on the Iraq War or Social Security, he’s actually encouraging moderate Republicans to vote for him. I think the more Sanders talks up Biden’s conservative side, the better he does in the Republican community. They see he’s not what they would call “crazy,” and they will remember that climate change is not a hoax, that they want healthcare, and they’ll vote for the President and Congress that will deliver on both.


As for the majority of Democrats, they just want to get Donald Trump out of office. The other issues and policy differences truly don’t matter. First, we win. Then we haggle.

Coronavirus and Hand Awareness
The best defense against any virus, including the novel coronavirus COVID-19, is to wash your hands every chance you get. Not to go, “that damned spot,” but do be aware of everything touched and gently assume everyone’s a carrier. This morning at the bodega, I touched the door, the coffee urn tap, the milk carton, adjoining cup sleeves and tops, a dollar bill, the door out and then my office front door handle and bathroom door. Quick, the soap and water! Disinfectant spray and wipes on mouse and keyboard.

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