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NABJ Names Sharon Toomer, Former Journalist/Nonprofit leader, as its Executive Director

Editor, Our Time Press
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NABJ Names Sharon Toomer, Former Journalist/Nonprofit leader, as its Executive Director

Sharon Toomer, an accomplished media executive and nonprofit leader, is the new executive director of the National Association of Black Journalists, the largest organization for journalists of color in the nation. The announcement came Monday after an extensive national search.

“We are excited that Sharon will be joining us at this critical time in NABJ’s history,” said Sarah Glover, NABJ President. “Her combined fundraising, organizational, executive management, journalism and public affairs experience and skills make her a dominant force. Sharon is experienced, a visionary and passionate. We feel confident that she will serve us well in the implementation of NABJ’s strategic plan and be an impactful leader.”

For Toomer, joining NABJ as executive director, “is a rare moment in my career lifespan when opportunity, preparedness, shared interest and timing intersect”.

Prior to joining NABJ, the Spelman graduate served as senior vice president for public affairs and policy at Matlock Advertising & Public Relations, where she led the agency’s Reputation Group in its work with a diverse portfolio of clients representing the corporate, nonprofit, academic and business sectors.

Toomer also served as chief of staff and senior policy advisor for U.S. Representative (D.C.-Shadow) Franklin Garcia and has also worked as an editorial producer for CNNfn and CNN Headline News and founded the award-winning digital news platform Black and Brown News.

As a communications professional, Toomer served two Kings County (Brooklyn, NY) District Attorney administrations. She also worked for the Association of Black Foundation Executives, the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office under Marty Markowitz and the City University of New York faculty union.

A past recipient of CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism Political Reporting Fellowship, Toomer’s wide range of experiences and multicultural worldview has earned her awards in journalism excellence and appearances on television, radio, print and digital news outlets.

Toomer is expected to begin her work with NABJ on Oct. 9. For additional information, please visit www.nabj.org.

A New Beginning: Brooklyn Neighborhood Services Honors Community Leaders and Celebrates Its “25 & 1” at 2017 Fundraising Event

Bernice Elizabeth Green
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A New Beginning: Brooklyn Neighborhood Services Honors Community Leaders and Celebrates Its “25 & 1” at 2017 Fundraising Event

 

Brooklyn Neighborhood Services celebrated two historic milestones during its elegant September 14th “25 & 1 – A New Beginning” Awards Reception at Weeksville Heritage Center: the organization’s first year as a fully independent community development organization and its 25th year serving the community under the Neighborhood Housing Services umbrella..

BNS, formerly an affiliate of the Neighborhood Housing Services, continues to provide, said Board president Jeffrey Charles-Pierre, “services to people in unserved neighborhoods by creating and preserving affordable housing opportunities for financial empowerment and homeownership. And we have more people doing a better job than the year before”.

Charles-Pierre and BNS Executive Director Richard Trouth praised the board, staff, volunteers and partners for working together, “doing good things” and “making a difference in the lives of families and individuals in the community”.

BNS’ 2017 honorees were praised “for making a major impact in the lives of many residents of the borough and beyond”, said Trouth, adding, “Their expertise spans across education, philanthropy, real estate, youth education, politics, senior advocacy and more”.

BNS’ Community Partner Awards were given to honorees Dr. Kim Best, currently Chair, Restoration Alliance Club, 79th Precinct Council, and Daniel Fisher, President, 81st Precinct Council. Presenter Sundra Franklin cited them for providing “service to the community every day and pretty much every night and pushing their young people, The Explorers, to (engage in community work).”

Dr. Best expressed concern for our youth and urged the community to continue working with them. Mr. Fisher also expressed the need for organizations to get involved in youth projects “to make our neighborhood stronger.”

Board presenter Brena Bracy-Seals awarded the Neighborhood Recognition honor to Ms. Lena Scarborough Gates, Principal, Ronald E. McNair Public School 5, for her valuable work in education.

BNS’ Presidential Awards, the first ever, given by Charles-Pierre to Bessie Edwards, the real estate expert and visionary, and Mr. Fred L. Price, education advocate and philanthropist.

Both delivered messages describing their respective passions for the community; the award as an inspiration to continue doing the work they do; their personal journeys to arrive where they are and the importance of information-sharing and communication.   “The community is my passion,” said Mr. Price. “My goal has been to serve my people, especially now that the challenges are all clear and dramatically in front of us.”

Paul G. Hawthorne, Board Vice President, presented the Award of Appreciation to NYS Assembly member Wright, the evening’s dynamic guest speaker. He thanked her for “representing us and taking our interests up to Albany”. In turn, Hon. Wright said, “I do look forward to working with BNS and the other housing partners”.

Mr. Sam Pinn, considered the dean of community activism, was presented the coveted Catherine L. Arline Citizen Participation Award by board member Tory Netto. Mr. Pinn, who knew Ms. Arline – the beloved community leader and former BNS board member — for some 60 years of his 82 years, delivered an emotional salute to her and other great Brooklyn activists. He said, “I stand here on the shoulders of many others who came before me”, naming Joan Maynard, for whom he announced a street would be named, the second Saturday in October; the Reverends Milton Galamison (Siloam Presbyterian Church), William Augustus Jones (Bethany Baptist Church) and Gardner C. Taylor (Concord Baptist Church of Christ); Brother Sonny Carson, Sister Lucille Rose, Congressman Major Owens and Sister Janie Green. He also recalled his association for 16 years with Brooklyn CORE and his current work with community-based organizations, including senior citizens and day care programs.

He summed up the feelings of everyone attending the “25 & 1- A New Beginning” reception with the mandate “to do the great work that you are doing of being BNS. I appreciate the fact that you are willing to get out there and do what you can do in your field to cut (gentrification) off at the pass.”

Mr. James C. Durrah, BNS Treasurer and fundraising chair, closed the awards segment by acknowledging, too, the good works of the organization in enriching lives. He gave a nod to The Rev. Dr. Valerie Durrah, his wife of 40 years, and his good friend Carlton Brown. Ms. Durrah and Brown shared honorary chair duties with David Greaves of DBG Media, Publishers of Our Time Press, and Bernice Elizabeth Green, the evening’s host.

Also recognized during the evening was board member Cheryl Wright; staff member Madeline Roman; Gerard D. Miller, housing counselor, financial literacy and resiliency services; Courtney E. Corbin, foreclosure specialist; Kevin D. Washington, homeowner services manager and Andrea Green, the community outreach coordinator.

Said Trouth, “We work together as a strong team, we believe in what we do and we never look back. With the staff that I have here and the board and all of the support from friends and sponsors, we are here”.

Earlier in the evening The Reverend Gwen Dingle, pastor, the Pentecostal House of Prayer, delivered the moving invocation, and special guest Rob Fields, the new Interim Executive Director, Weeksville, welcomed BNS to the historic landmark site. In his remarks, which can be read in their full manifestation on page 15, Field drew a connection for BNS to, yet, another anniversary, Weeksville’s 180t,h which occurs next year. Mr. Fields said, “Having affordable housing and homeownership means that you can focus on a few things other than “will my family be safe and warm? It means you are not worrying about where your family can live but how you and your family can be part of a neighborhood and help that become a community.

“Being financially literate means that you are willing to take on and capable of taking on the responsibility of being a homeowner. So, the original investors and families who made up Weeksville came here for that reason – to have a place of their own. So, it is in that spirit that I applaud Brooklyn Neighborhood Services and all the honorees tonight.”

 

A Special Place: Rob Fields, Interim President and Acting Director, Weeksville Heritage Center

Bernice Elizabeth Green
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A Special Place: Rob Fields, Interim President and Acting Director, Weeksville Heritage Center

Rob Fields’ job calls for him to take long walks in and out of the past while strategically managing one-and-a-half acres of landscaped beauty plus a staff of caretakers. But Mr. Fields is more than a property manager or lord of the land. On September 14, just eight short days into his new role of Interim President and Acting Director of the Weeksville Heritage Center (and on his way home after some long hours), Fields learned that Brooklyn Neighborhood Services was hosting a fundraiser with top community leaders on site. He asked board members if they needed anything and they asked him to say a few words at the opening of the event.

“How much time do I have?” he responded.

The following remarks by Mr. Fields, prepared a brief time before the start of the event, reflect the reason some leaders are hoping this scholarly history buff, Tweeter – virtual Renaissance man – will be around Weeksville, Brooklyn and nearby for a long, long, long time. Note: Mr. Fields also announced the naming of Joan Maynard Way after the Weeksville preservationist who passed at 77 in 2006. (BG)

A Special Place

Rob Fields, Interim President and Acting Director, Weeksville Heritage Center,

 

(spoken at Brooklyn Neighborhood Services’ 9/14/17 New Beginning “25 & 1” Reception)

Good evening everybody.

I am literally 8 days into the job so I consider it an accomplishment that I have actually figured out where they hide the staples upstairs. Seriously though, on behalf of Weeksville Heritage Center, its Board of Trustees and its staff, I wanted to welcome you all here tonight.

In fact, I want to welcome you all back because this is the 4th time you guys have been here, so welcome. As long as we are here you guys have a place to continue to celebrate your successes and accomplishments. I want to compliment the BNS board under the leadership of Jeffrey Charles Pierre and the staff under the leadership of Richard Trouth for continuing to build on the important work that was started back in the early 90s. I also want to compliment BNS on being close to completion its first year as a fully independent organization. That’s no small thanks so please give yourself a round of applause. My hats off to the honorees tonight. You would not be here had your work not risen to a certain standard so my hats off to all of you.

I want to welcome back our New York State Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright. Thank you for your ongoing support.

You know Weeksville is a special place. It’s not because of a building but rather what this place represents. It represents free black people coming together to build intentional Community like they intended to make this a community and in doing so they modeled a lot of characteristics that we can be proud of and we can carry on to this day — Self-sufficiency, self-determination, Civic engagement, political activism and Entrepreneurship.

That’s Weeksville and you are saying, “That’s great and what’s that got to do with Brooklyn Neighborhood Services?

Having access to Affordable Housing, Home Ownership means that you can focus on a few things other than “Will my family be safe and warm?”

It means you are not worrying about where your family can live but how you and your family can be a part of a neighborhood and help that become a community. Being financially literate — something that no one should really take for granted — means that you are willing to take on, and capable of taking on, the responsibility of being a homeowner.

Once you own a piece of property no one can push you out. They can’t gentrify you out. So, the original investors and families who made up Weeksville came here for that reason: To have a place of Their Own.

And they built (it). So, it is in that spirit that I wanted to applaud Brooklyn Neighborhood Services and again all of the honorees tonight. I encourage you all to — if you have not been here before — come back and see the exhibits, tour the historic houses that are from 1860, 1900 and 1930. They are sitting right there.

This is a New York City Landmark and it is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.

This is a little jewel in the piece of Brooklyn that hopefully this time next year, so many people are going to know about Weeksville because YOU are all going to tell them what an amazing space this is. There is a couple of things coming up that I do want you to encourage checking out. Some fun things that we are doing.

On the 24th we are hosting MOCADA, 651 and Weeksville’s Soul of Brooklyn Festival.

There’s going to be films, panel discussions, live music and it is all free so come hang out with us.

On the 30th, the following Saturday, we are taking Weeksville over to Kingsborough houses and (for) a really cool interactive art installation where we are telling all of the residents of Kingsborough the reason we are here is because this is the nearest community, we are telling them to “Wear your Sunday Best. We’re going to do free portraits of either your family or yourself, and the photographer is the award-winning photographer Barron Claiborne. If you don’t know Barron you know his iconic photo of Biggie Smalls with the crown on. He’s going to be there all day taking photos and this whole project has been brought to us. by the actor Gbenga Akinnagbe. Many of you know him from The Wire. He is also very politically active artist and he has tried to spearhead programs that bring back dignity and self-awareness to the community so those are two great programs we are doing.

On October 14th and the second Saturday of every month is Weeksville Weekends and you can come out and have a tour of various activities we’ve done: Vegan food Workshop, fashion drawing workshop, oral storytelling workshops. If anybody wants to capture their family history from an oral storytelling perspective we have an oral historian on staff and he is giving a lesson about how to do that.

There will be more through our Legacy Project but the second Saturday in October, in addition to all the other cool events we are renaming the street out here Joan Maynard Way. You should all join us for that. There’s a lot more that’s going to be happening here at Weeksville. 2018 is the 50th anniversary of the rediscovery of Weeksville. We want to celebrate that in a big way and we want you all to be part of it.

I wish I could tell you all of the amazing things that are going to happen but I am kind of coming up with them right now and it is going to be an amazing, 2018. It will be even better if you all join us so please know that this place is here and know that we see ourselves as a place to convene in the neighborhood.

We often offer the space up for community-based organizations particularly on Wednesday nights and we are open late. Community-based organizations can do meetings and things like that and we also have space rentals so if you want to do fantastic events like this then you can do that too but we are here to be a part of this community, be a part of the greater New York City Cultural community and just have a great impact so again I want to welcome you here on behalf of everyone here involved with Weeksville and hey let’s get this amazing show on the road.

Thank you all.

(More on Weeksville, next week).

12’ Statue to Honor Octavius V. Catto Erected in Philadelphia

Editor, Our Time Press
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12’ Statue to Honor Octavius V. Catto Erected in Philadelphia

In recognition of the many contributions of Philadelphia’s own Octavius V. Catto, a prominent African-American intellectual, scholar, teacher, athlete, Civil War veteran and civil rights leader who was slain on Election Day in 1871, Mayor Kenney joined the Octavius V. Catto Memorial Fund co-chairs Carol Lawrence and James Straw and other dignitaries at the unveiling of the Octavius V. Catto Memorial — “A Quest for Parity” – on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 11 AM.

The memorial sculpture — the first statue in the city’s collection dedicated to a sole African-American — is erected on the southwest apron of City Hall.

In addition to erecting the memorial monument to Octavius V. Catto, the long-range goal of the Octavius V. Catto Memorial Fund is to educate the public about Catto’s life and accomplishments, as well as highlight the contributions of other African-Americans throughout Philadelphia’s history by creating educational programs aiming at broadening the public’s understanding and awareness of African-American history.  

Born in 1839, Octavius Valentine Catto was a major in the Union Army during the Civil War, as well as a scholar, educator, athlete and member of the Union League, The Library Company of Philadelphia and The Franklin Institute. He was a prominent civil rights leader who fought for the right to vote for all men regardless of ethnicity [women were not allowed to vote at this time] and successfully led efforts to integrate street cars in Philadelphia in 1867. He was gunned down on Election Day — October 10, 1871 — at the age of 32 while on his way to the polls to serve in his official capacity as a National Guardsman assigned to protect newly registered African-American voters.

The memorial sculpture to Octavius V. Catto is a groundbreaking art installation in that it is the first statue of an African-American on public land in the city of Philadelphia.

Renowned sculptor Branly Cadet created the work.

Hookah Smokers at High Risk: Council member Ydanis Rodriguez introduces Bill to Regulate

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Hookah Smokers at High Risk: Council member Ydanis Rodriguez introduces Bill to Regulate

“New York, at the city and state levels, has been successful in curbing cigarette use and its health impacts. Now we’re faced with similar challenges where the use of hookah is becoming prevalent; advertising makes it appealing to youth and the public knows little about the consequences of its use. We must address the issue of non-tobacco shisha use in our city and we must do it now. We must get ahead of this issue before it gets out of our hands.

“Forty minutes of smoking hookah is equal to 120 cigarettes. As with cigarettes, our communities of color are most negatively affected. In the last decade, hookah smoking has more than doubled among Hispanic youth and more than tripled among Black youth. According to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New Yorkers between 18 and 20 are three times more likely to smoke hookah than people 21 and older. Bills 1075-A and 1076-A will require signage warning of the health risks associated with smoking shisha at non-tobacco smoking establishments and raise the age for hookah use from 18 to 21 years of age, respectively.

“We must also be mindful of the secondhand hookah smoke health impacts on workers of hookah establishments. They’re exposed to harmful particulate matter and toxicants that may cause cancer, cardiovascular disease and decreased lung function. I want to commend my colleague and Council member Gentile for addressing these dangers by introducing Bill 139-C, which would include non-tobacco shisha in the Smoke-Free Air Act and regulate its use in bars, restaurants and other places.

“This package of bills, 139-C, 1075-A and 1076-A, puts the health and well-being of New Yorkers first. I want to thank Council Health Committee Chair Johnson, Council member Gentile, the members of the Committee on Health, Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett and her team at DOHMH.”

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