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“The Old Settler” Weaves Together Sisterhood, Love and Race in One Magnificent Play

Priscilla Mensah
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“The Old Settler” Weaves Together Sisterhood, Love and Race in One Magnificent Play

Review

John Henry Redwood’s “The Old Settler” is currently performing to SRO audiences at The Billie Holiday Theatre at Restoration Plaza, thanks to director Michelle Shay’s clever mounting and the play’s star performances.

Without giving too much of the plot away, playgoers are leaving the theatre with a greater appreciation for the value of love and the power of sisterhood. Audience members quickly realize that they are being teleported to another era of the 1940s. Against the headlines of riots in Detroit and a second World War in progress, the play references many controversial issues facing Black people of those times, including racial segregation.

And the powerful performances of the star cast delivers Redwood’s intentions powerfully.

Denise Burse is the eccentric Quilly, sister to Elizabeth, portrayed by Pauletta Pearson Washington; Warner Miller is Husband, and gifted newcomer Maechi Aharanwa is Lou Bessie.

All things considered, “The Old Settler” is a must-see. Just one spoiler alert: It is more than a love story, more than a race story, more than a sisterhood story. It is these and more.

Through the genius of Shay’s messaging, Redwood’s script comes alive as a timeless lesson, as relevant today as it was in the period in which it was set, some 75 years ago.

Restoration Art is to be applauded for selecting this piece – with this cast — as its premiere opening production. Brava and Encore!

 

Everything is Bigger in Texas

Marlon Rice
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Everything is Bigger in Texas

In Japan, if you wish to purchase a gun, you must first attend gun ownership classes and pass a written test. Then you go to shooting range classes and pass a shooting test. Then you have to take a mental health test at a local hospital to ensure that you are not suffering from any mental illness. After the mental health test, you must apply with the police in your area for a medical certificate which states that they decree you to be healthy and without mental illness or addiction to drugs. The police then investigate your background and your relatives, making sure that there is no instance of crime in your immediate environment. Membership in political or activist groups immediately disqualifies you. However, if you pass this investigation, you receive your license and can now own a gun… A shotgun… for skeet shooting purposes. That is the only type of gun that a Japanese citizen can ever hope to own.

In Texas, if you wish to purchase a gun you simply go to the local Walmart or one of the dozens of gun stores throughout the state. You produce your driver’s license and you are able to purchase a gun. You can buy a handgun, a shotgun or even an assault rifle if you wish. You only need your driver’s license.

In 2016, Japan had six gun deaths in the entire country. This past Sunday, the small Texas town of Sutherland Springs had 26 gun deaths in just one day.

Devin Patrick Kelley walked into a church this past Sunday, armed with an assault rifle, 15 loaded magazines and an urge to kill. Reports say that a dispute with his mother-in-law was the impetus for the attack, although his mother-in-law was not present at church when he arrived. Her mother was there though, and Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire, killing his grandmother-in-law and 25 others before being confronted by another armed Texan who engaged Mr. Kelley in a gunfight resulting in Kelley’s death.

In 2012, while enlisted in the Air Force, Kelley was court-martialed for assaulting his wife and child. While at Holman Air Force Base, Kelley made threats to commanding officers and was found to have snuck guns onto the base. He left the base, was picked up and sent to the Peak Behavioral Health Systems facility in New Mexico, a mental health facility. In June 2012, he went AWOL from the facility. In 2014, he was arrested in Colorado on an animal cruelty charge. In that incident, he grabbed a dog by its neck, dragged it and punched it with a closed fist.

Even with the numerous instances of Kelley’s mental instability, in Texas he was still able to purchase assault weapons, simply by using his driver’s license. If Texas was Japan, Mr. Kelley would not have any access to guns whatsoever. But Texas isn’t Japan. Texas is the “Pride of America”, a frontier land where men still wear ten-gallon hats and women still speak with a distinct twang. The motto of the state is “Everything is Bigger in Texas”, and that includes the steaks, the oil geysers and even the guns.

Since the beginning of the year, America has had 28 mass shooting incidents, with 208 lives lost as a result. The majority of the shooters, men like Devin Kelley and Jimmy Lam, who committed the UPS shooting in San Francisco in June, would have never been able to purchase guns if our gun laws simply prohibited those convicted of a crime from purchasing them. Over and over again, we find ourselves sending prayers to victims and their families, changing our Facebook profile pics to express support for Las Vegas, or Orlando, or Sandy Hook, or Sutherland Springs. We discuss the incidents, we villainize the shooter, we pray for the victims and then we go about our normal lives until it happens again. Wash, rinse, repeat. It’s time for us to change our attitude towards guns, towards life, towards the things we value as Americans. Guns should only be allowed to be purchased by those who pass an intense set of tests and investigations. If we are to be the leader of the free world, we need to begin to act like it, and leaders are responsible and they lead by example. Speaking of examples, Japan is a great example of how to treat firearms. There is no place for them in a peaceful world. Guns don’t protect. Guns kill.

What’s Going On: AS THE WORLD TURNS

Victoria Horsford
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NY/NOV. 7: Will history repeat itself in the NYC mayoral race? Will incumbent Mayor de Blasio get 96% of the large Black vote like he did in 2014? Pollsters are predicting a low turnout but a major win for Hizzoner who captured commanding figures in 2014: Latinos 87%, Asians 70% and whites 50%.  Early 11/7 election results verify that Democrats de Blasio, Public Advocate Letitia James and Comptroller Scott Stringer victories. Other Democrats beating their chests include Ralph Northam, Virginia Governor-elect and Phil Murphy, NJ Governor-elect.

The next big chapter in NYC political current events is who becomes the next Speaker of the City Council, the second-most powerful title in local government.   Eight Councilmen eye the coveted job. They are Robert E. Cornegy, Richie Torres, Jumaane Williams, Donovan Richards, Jimmy Van Bramer, Ydanis Rodriguez who are African-American and Latino, and Corey Johnson, Mark Levine, who are white.   There needs to be more majority people in leadership roles in NYS/NYC politics.

Geoff Berman

NYS DEMOCRATS: Geoff Berman, a former President Barack Obama aide, was named NYS Democrat Executive Director, replacing African-American Basil Smikle, who held the title since early 2015. Read a few accounts about Berman’s rise and all of them included either an Obama or Smikle picture. Wonder why! Smikle will be NYS Democrat Sr. Advisor. As NY Democrats get ready for major elections next year to help reclaim their majority in the US Congress and Senate, and to reelect NYS Governor Cuomo to a 3rd term reelection, why is there no Black leadership in the party.

ATLANTA: Headlines read, “Is Atlanta, America’s Black Mecca, ready for a white mayor”? and “Should the next Mayor of Atlanta Be Black? Atlanta has had Black mayors since the Gerald Ford presidency, which has something to do with a Black majority. Atlanta is now 51% Black.   Current Mayor Kasim Reed is term-limited. Eight people are competing for the job, including Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Black Councilwoman and three white candidates, including Mary Norwood. With this octet of players, a runoff is inevitable.

President Donald Trump visits five Asian countries – South Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam and the Philippines – over 12 days. During a stopover in Hawaii, POTUS was greeted by protesters with signs that read, “Welcome to Kenya”.   North Korea will no doubt be a major talking point on his Asia itinerary.

Donna Brazile

POLITICS READER: Democratic operative Donna Brazile, who served as Interim Democratic National Committee Chair in 2016, wrote an insider book, “HACKS: The Inside Story of the Break-Ins and Breakdowns that put Donald Trump into the White House”. She says that Hillary Clinton controlled the party last year having raised so much money for a “cupboard-is-bare” party, which is dysfunctional.  The timing of the publication is strategic.

On the other side of the aisle former 41st U.S. President George H.W. Bush wrote a book, THE LAST REPUBLICANS, refers to President Trump as a “blowhard”.

Read the 11/6 Time magazine cover story, THE WRECKING CREW: How Trump’s Cabinet is Dismantling Government As We Know It. Article studies the intersections of cabinet members/departments Scott Pruitt, EPA; Ben Carson, HUD and Betsy DeVos, who is “righting government overreach on campuses”.

Shola Olatoye

Read about NYC Housing partnerships in THE REAL DEAL story, NYCHA HAS PRIVATE LIFELINE for insights into the labyrinthine world of NYC housing inventories. Story explains the relationship between NYC Housing Authority and the city’s key real estate developers and landlords. Essay’s key words/names include Shola Olatoye, Cushman and Wakefield, Hudson Companies, US HUD Secretary Ben Carson and wife Candy, and Lynne Patton.

BUSINESS MATTERS

American Express CEO/Chair Ken Chenault, 66, steps down early next year after 16 years at the helm of the Fortune 500 corporation.  His departure leaves three African-American Chairmen/CEOs in the rarified Fortune 500 environment. They are John Thompson, Microsoft; Kenneth Frazier, Merck; and Roger Ferguson, TIAA. Black Enterprise magazine was the only media clever enough to forecast possible F5 candidates: Charles E. Phillips, Jr., Infor Global Solutions CEO; Myron Gray, UPS President of North America; and Rosalind Brewer, Starbucks Corp. Group President/COO.

The 6th EU-Africa Business Forum convenes on November 27 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the host country of the 5th African Union- European Union Summit of Heads of State and Governmnet. The 6th EU-Africa Business Forum concludes a series of business-related events held throughout Africa and Europe this year. E-mail: info@euafrica-businessforum.com.

NY Carib News publishers Faye and Karl Rodney cancelled plans to convene the 22nd Annual Caribbean Multinational Business Conference on November 9-12 in St. Croix, then tentatively rescheduled for NYC. They will host the Caribbean Multinational Leadership Summit in NYC during March 2018. [Visit nycaribnews.com]

ARTS/CULTURE

THEATER: “SCHOOL GIRLS OR THE AFRICAN GIRLS MEAN PLAY” comedy is poised on reigning Queen Bee at a prestigious Ghana boarding school for girls, a Miss Universe aspirant, an ostensible shoo-in contestant. Her world starts to fall apart with the arrival of a new teen, equally beautiful and talented.   Directed by Rebecca Taichman from a play by Jocelyn Bioh, SCHOOL GIRLS runs through December 10 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, located at 121 Christopher Street, Manhattan.

FINE ART: Check out the exhibit, NOT OF THIS ISLAND, showcasing the works of four fine artists, including internationally renown and Ghanaian-born TAFA, which runs from November 7 to December 22 at the Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive @ 120th Street in Harlem. Gallery hours are 9-5 pm.     Exhibit reception will be held on November 16, 5:30 to7 pm.

Burgess Fine Arts presents new exhibit, MYTH AND MIRAGE: The Art of Avel DeKnight, at the Burgess Fine Arts Collection in TriBeca until 12/31/17, by appointment. [Visit Burgessfinearts.com or call 212.406.2400]

FILM: Senegalese fine artist-cum-attorney Bara Diokhani breaks new creative ground with his biopix documentary, IF TREES COULD TALK, a study of the late Senegalese phenom Issa Samb, equal parts painter, sculptor, performance artist, playwright and poet.   Film will be screened on November 13 at 7:30 pm at Bier International, 2099 Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem. [212.280.0944]

NEWSMAKERS

RIP: David Downing, 74, transitioned last week in Los Angeles. A Harlem native son, Downing was an actor, director, coach, teacher.  An Negro Ensemble Company( NEC) charter member, he starred and performed in many of its productions like “The Great MacDaddy”, “Ceremonies in Dark Old Men” and “Song of the Lusitanian Bogey”.   He also worked on so many other theater classics including “Master Harold and the Boys”, “I’m Not Rappoport”, on and off-Broadway. In the 80s, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked extensively in TV prime time shows like “The Jeffersons”, “All in the Family”, “Designing Women”, “Fresh Prince” and on films like “Gordon’s War” and “Up The Sandbox”. David is the beloved older brother of NY-based marketing and theater production guru Darryl T. Downing.

George Edward Tait

RIP: George Edward Tait transitioned on November 5. Born in Oakland, he was raised in Harlem and evolved into musician, educator, activist who was known as the “Poet Laureate of Harlem”. He taught at Queens College and Malcolm-King College.   Defining music as the poetry of sound, Tait was a bandleader who founded the group Black Massical Music. He is survived by his wife Akosua and sons Damani, Sekou and Kamani. Messages of condolence can be sent to welovetamerry@aol.com.

A Harlem-based management consultant, Victoria Horsford can be reached at Victoria.horsford@gmail.com.

Police Officer Isaacs Found Not Guilty

Akosua Albritton
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Police Officer Isaacs Found Not Guilty

Independence Day (July 4th) is usually a day people look forward to gathering with family and friends to enjoy good food and conversation. For some families, however, this day marks a tragedy that seeks justice. In the very early morning of July 4, 2016, Delrawn Small, 37, lost his life on Atlantic Avenue between Bradford and New Jersey Streets in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn. In a matter of two or three seconds, Delrawn Small, an unarmed man, went from being an angry man approaching the car of off-duty Police Officer Wayne Isaacs, who had sideswiped him several blocks before, to a man dying from three gunshots to his chest from Isaacs’ gun. The New York Post obtained the film footage of the incident from an undisclosed source.

The family and community member present were outraged. City Council member Charles Barron sought for an investigation by the NYS Attorney General. What the people received was a trial in the Brooklyn Supreme Court. P.O. Wayne Isaacs was suspended from duty, stripped of his badge and gun. Isaacs also faced 25 years to life in prison had he been convicted.

Victoria Davis, sister of Delrawn Small is
consoled by Assemblyman Charles Barron,
after not guilty verdict in trial of police
officer Wayne Isaac for the death of Mr.
Small. Photo: Akosua Albritton

Presiding over the trial was Judge J. Alexander Jeong in the 2nd floor Ceremonial Courtroom. Prosecuting attorneys were Joshua Gradinger and Jose Nieves. The defending attorneys were Stephen Worth and Michael Martinez. The twelve jurors consisted of five men and seven women whose racial or ethnic backgrounds included African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic and Asian. The seating for the public was arranged such that the victim’s family sat in the series of benches to the left; the Attorney General’s Office and the press sat in the series of benches in the middle and the defendant’s family and co-workers in the right bank of benches.

NOTE: This reporter attended two days of the prosecution’s examination on October 24 and October 25, and the day of the verdict on November 6, 2017.

Detective Crawford, a female member of service, provided testimony about the firearms in Isaacs’ personal car while off-duty. She said she arrived at the scene at approximately 1:15 AM, and stayed there until 10:30 AM. The location of the incident was on Atlantic Avenue, off Bradford Street. Det. Crawford received Isaacs’ firearms, which consisted of a Glot 26 semi-automatic, 8 cartridges and a magazine used in a semiautomatic handgun, cartridges and a round of bullets that had not been fired.

Another witness was NYC Fire Department Paramedic Manuela Farenta-Ralph. It was Farenta-Ralph who turned Mr. Small’s body over. The photo displayed in the courtroom showed Small laid prone on the ground. His shirt is pulled away from one shoulder to expose his chest. It was the display of this image that caused loud crying by two women, one being Small’s wife Zeequanna Albert. The judge called a ten-minute recess. Upon resumption, Farenta-Ralph stated the time of death was 00:13 hours, or 12:13 AM. This paramedic explained, “There was no signs of life”. And that the person “had a mortal injury”. Farenta-Ralph did not administer CPR.

The testimony on October 25, 2017 included a recollection from Sinious Mann and one C.O., Williams, who is a correction officer at Rikers Island. Sinious Mann said that he was on his way home with his son from a barbecue in Cypress Hills to his home on Bradford Street. Mann heard a woman yelling, “Stop, Don’t Do It!” and “Please Stop!” These cries had Mann concerned about the safety of his son and himself and therefore walked much faster. Mr. Mann and his son’s faces are seen on the tape that the New York Post acquired.

On November 6, 2017, the benches were filled with Delrawn Small’s family and supporters; the media in the center bank of benches and Isaacs’ co-workers and supporters to the right. Delrawn Small’s supporters were noticeably upbeat and expectant of verdicts in the Small’s favor. There was occasional laughter. Council member Charles Barron sat with Victor Dempsey and Victoria Davis, Small’s surviving siblings, and Black Lives Matter President Hawk Newsome sat in the last row of the middle bank of benches.

At or about 12:15 PM, the twelve jurors filed into the courtroom and sat in their designated juror seats. Judge Jeong admonished, “No matter the verdict, there should be no outbursts in the courtroom”. The judge asked the foreperson the verdict for “Murder in the Second Degree”. The foreperson responded, “Not guilty”. The judge asked the verdict for “Manslaughter in the First Degree”. The foreperson said, “Not guilty”. Judge Jeong asked each juror to state whether the verdicts given were their personal dispositions. Each one, in turn, said the verdict was his or her individual verdict. Hawk Newsome shouted, “The whole system is corrupt. All of you are murderers!” Other voices cried foul. CM Charles Barron consoled the weeping siblings.

Much has been written and stated about the challenges for African-Americans to secure redress for police brutality. USC Law Professor Jody David Armour opined, “African-Americans who are hurt by the police must be above reproach to get fair treatment in the media…Delrawn Small has a criminal record and had been drinking before he was killed”. Harvard Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad believes, “The reporting is from the lens of the police instead of the victim”.

 

A New Day at Boys & Girls High School

Editor, Our Time Press
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A New Day at Boys & Girls High School

By Margot McKenzie

Too often when we think of a school’s curriculum, we think of specific courses a school has to offer, but after a sit-down one Friday afternoon with Grecian Harrison-Walker, Principal of Boys and Girls High School, one gets the idea curriculum is the sum total of a student’s experience once they enter the school building from ninth grade until they depart four years later.

Principal Harrison-Walker has formulated a curriculum which addresses the strengths and the

aspirations of all of her students. “We don’t have weaknesses here.” If a student’s performance is best optimized using an integrated co-teaching model, that is available. The school also offers opportunities for honors classes which transition to College Now courses at New York City Technical College and to advanced placement classes.” All New York City High Schools won’t have access to at least five advanced placement courses until 2021 (Office of Equity and Access). Teachers must undergo rigorous training to teach advanced placement courses.

Photo: Margo McKenzie
Boys & Girls High’s Electrical Technology students Delano Samuels
and Tyrese Smith work on circuitry

For parents and students looking for a high school, Principal Harrison wants them to know her school is ready now, not four years from now, to offer a quality education.

“I get excited about what’s happening behind these red brick walls. Teachers are happy here.” The school has built a weekly common planning time into the school’s schedule when staff meet in curriculum groups to look closely at how students are performing on various areas in their subject classes. They also meet weekly in grade teams so issues relevant to a specific grade can be addressed by teachers of all subjects.

During these team meetings teachers implementing the Judith Hochman’s The Writing Revolution could discuss how to devise strategies to improve writing across all subject areas one sentence at a time.

“This is a new day at Boys and Girls,” says Harrison-Walker. “These are not the days of the 4,000” (referring to a time when the student body reached that number).  A population of 440 students, “enables us to create a nurturing environment where students are known by adults and feel supported because staff members know their students’ emotional, psychological social and emotional needs.”

During the school’s daily advisory period, a guidance class, teachers equip students with the psycho-social skills needed to handle the vicissitudes of life such as: bullying, peer pressure, de-escalating conflict, etc. In addition, the school has its eye on life after high school, and staff help students navigate college, career or military opportunities.

Guidance counselor Jeannelle Louis meets with students individually and in groups to insure they “are very intentional about post-graduation plans early.” To support that goal, Boys and Girls adopted the following programs:

  • CUNY Linct (Lessons in Navigating College Transitions) program and
  • College Access for All

Besides preparation for college, the school also prepares students for industry-level demands in the work world through course offerings such as the following:

  • Electrical technology
  • Architectural drafting
  • Computer Programming

The electrical technology program provides students with the required hours needed to qualify for entry level positions in the electrical trade or to work with the New York City transit system, says Stephen Hudson, Career Technology Education Coordinator and teacher of electrical technology. In his class, students in hard hats worked in pairs to create electrical circuits consisting of two outlets and a switch.

Then there was Adedayo Adigun, a drama student, who successfully auditioned for Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It” and will play the role of a middle school student in the Netflix remake.

In the architectural design class, using autocad blue prints, students built 1 ½ story or split level houses using hard board.

And Emmy Delormes, a computer programming student from Medgar Evers High School, proudly displayed her group Team Steam’s fastest and lightest robot on wheels.   She hopes to attend Columbia University. Jalen Guerrero’s, leader of robotic design group Hidden Potential, hopes to pursue a career in automotive engineering.

An oak tree has grown in Brooklyn and Principal Harrison credits clergy, politicians, an advisory board and alumni for keeping it alive. She conducted a clergy breakfast to share the school’s progress and developments, and is proud to “blaze the torch” alongside former members of the state assembly such as Al Vann and Annette Robinson; current representatives Robert Cornegy, Tremaine Wright; and Borough President Eric Adams. Their work and contributions on the outside help preserve what the school is trying to do inside.

“So send your kids here, if you don’t want them to get lost. We deal with the whole child,” says Harrison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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