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The Suppressed Speech of Wamsutta (Frank B.) James To have been delivered at Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1970

David Mark Greaves
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From The Southern Poverty Law Project:
Three hundred fifty years after the Pilgrims began their invasion of the land of the Wampanoag, their “American” descendants planned an anniversary celebration. Still clinging to the white schoolbook myth of friendly relations between their forefathers and the Wampanoag, the anniversary planners thought it would be nice to have an Indian make an appreciative and complimentary speech at their state dinner. Frank James was asked to speak at the celebration. He accepted. The planners, however , asked to see his speech in advance of the occasion, and it turned out that Frank James’ views — based on history rather than mythology — were not what the Pilgrims’ descendants wanted to hear. Frank James refused to deliver a speech written by a public relations person. Frank James did not speak at the anniversary celebration. If he had spoken, this is what he would have said:
The Suppressed Speech of Wamsutta (Frank B.) James To have been delivered at Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1970
(Excerpts)

Wamsutta (Frank B.) James

I speak to you as a man — a Wampanoag Man. I am a proud man, proud of my ancestry, my accomplishments won by a strict parental direction (“You must succeed – your face is a different color in this small Cape Cod community!”). I am a product of poverty and discrimination from these two social and economic diseases. I, and my brothers and sisters, have painfully overcome, and to some extent we have earned the respect of our community. We are Indians first – but we are termed “good citizens.” Sometimes we are arrogant but only because society has pressured us to be so.
It is with mixed emotion that I stand here to share my thoughts. This is a time of celebration for you – celebrating an anniversary of a beginning for the white man in America. A time of looking back, of reflection. It is with a heavy heart that I look back upon what happened to my People. Even before the Pilgrims landed it was common practice for explorers to capture Indians, take them to Europe and sell them as slaves for 220 shillings apiece. The Pilgrims had hardly explored the shores of Cape Cod for four days before they had robbed the graves of my ancestors and stolen their corn and beans.
Mourt’s Relation describes a searching party of sixteen men. Mourt goes on to say that this party took as much of the Indians’ winter provisions as they were able to carry. Massasoit, the great Sachem of the Wampanoag, knew these facts, yet he and his People welcomed and befriended the settlers of the Plymouth Plantation. Perhaps he did this because his Tribe had been depleted by an epidemic. Or his knowledge of the harsh oncoming winter was the reason for his peaceful acceptance of these acts. This action by Massasoit was perhaps our biggest mistake. We, the Wampanoag, welcomed you, the white man, with open arms, little knowing that it was the beginning of the end; that before 50 years were to pass, the Wampanoag would no longer be a free people.
What happened in those short 50 years? What has happened in the last 300 years?
History gives us facts and there were atrocities; there were broken promises – and most of these centered around land ownership. Among ourselves we understood that there were boundaries, but never before had we had to deal with fences and stone walls. But the white man had a need to prove his worth by the amount of land that he owned. Only ten years later, when the Puritans came, they treated the Wampanoag with even less kindness in converting the souls of the so-called “savages.” Although the Puritans were harsh to members of their own society, the Indian was pressed between stone slabs and hanged as quickly as any other “witch.” And so down through the years there is record after record of Indian lands taken and, in token, reservations set up for him upon which to live. The Indian, having been stripped of his power, could only stand by and watch while the white man took his land and used it for his personal gain. This the Indian could not understand; for to him, land was survival, to farm, to hunt, to be enjoyed. It was not to be abused. We see incident after incident, where the white man sought to tame the “savage” and convert him to the Christian ways of life. The early Pilgrim settlers led the Indian to believe that if he did not behave, they would dig up the ground and unleash the great epidemic again. The white man used the Indian’s nautical skills and abilities. They let him be only a seaman — but never a captain. Time and time again, in the white man’s society, we Indians have been termed “low man on the totem pole.”
Has the Wampanoag really disappeared? There is still an aura of mystery. We know there was an epidemic that took many Indian lives – some Wampanoags moved west and joined the Cherokee and Cheyenne. They were forced to move. Some even went north to Canada! Many Wampanoag put aside their Indian heritage and accepted the white man’s way for their own survival. There are some Wampanoag who do not wish it known they are Indian for social or economic reasons… History wants us to believe that the Indian was a savage, illiterate, uncivilized animal. A history that was written by an organized, disciplined people, to expose us as an unorganized and undisciplined entity. Two distinctly different cultures met. One thought they must control life; the other believed life was to be enjoyed, because nature decreed it.
… High on a hill, overlooking the famed Plymouth Rock, stands the statue of our great Sachem, Massasoit. Massasoit has stood there many years in silence. We the descendants of this great Sachem have been a silent people. The necessity of making a living in this materialistic society of the white man caused us to be silent. Today, I and many of my people are choosing to face the truth. We ARE Indians!
Although time has drained our culture, and our language is almost extinct, we the Wampanoags still walk the lands of Massachusetts. We may be fragmented, we may be confused. … We fought as hard to keep our land as you the whites did to take our land away from us. We were conquered, we became the American prisoners of war in many cases, and wards of the United States Government, until only recently.
… What has happened cannot be changed, but today we must work towards a more humane America, a more Indian America, where men and nature once again are important; where the Indian values of honor, truth, and brotherhood prevail. You the white man are celebrating an anniversary. We the Wampanoags will help you celebrate in the concept of a beginning. It was the beginning of a new life for the Pilgrims. Now, 350 years later it is a beginning of a new determination for the original American: the American Indian.
The important point is … we still have the spirit, we still have the unique culture, we still have the will and, most important of all, the determination to remain as Indians. We are determined, and our presence here this evening is living testimony that this is only the beginning of the American Indian, particularly the Wampanoag, to regain the position in this country that is rightfully ours.
September 10, 1970
To view the speech in its entirety, please visit: www.tolerance.org/wamsutta-speech

More About Frank B. (Wamsutta) James:
Frank B. (Wamsutta) James, an Aquinnah Wampanoag elder and Native American activist, died February 20, 2001 at the age of 77. He first came to national attention in 1970 when he, with hundreds of other Native Americans and their supporters, went to Plymouth, Massachusetts and declared Thanksgiving day a National Day of Mourning for Native Americans.
The National Day of Mourning protest in Plymouth continues to this day, now led by his son, and the group James helped found in 1970, the United American Indians of New England (UAINE).
James was proud of his Native American heritage long before it was fashionable to do so, and spent many hours researching the history of theWampanoag Nation and of the English invasion of the New England region
A brilliant trumpet player, James was the first Native American graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in 1948. While many of his classmates secured positions with top symphony orchestras, James was flatly told that, due to segregation and racism, no orchestra in the country would hire him because of his dark skin.

Art Basel Miami Beach 2015 Stars  Brooklyn-based Leaders in World of Art

Nadia Fattah
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By Nadia Fattah, Arts Writer, Our Time Press

MIckalene Thomas

Pratt Institute and Mickalene Thomas, Brooklyn-based stars of the international art scene, play major roles in next week’s Art Basel Miami Beach 2015 event, December 3-6 in the historic “heart of Miami Beach.”

This distinguished annual American show, this year, shows significant work from 267 leading galleries in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, including the masters of Modern and contemporary art, as well the new generation of emerging stars, including paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, films, works and digital art by more than 4,000 artists.

What promises to be an event highlight will be a panel discussion on “Women of Influence in the Business of Art,” presented by Pratt Institute and W magazine, on opening day, December 3.

The discussion moderated by W’s Editor-in-Chief, Stefano Tonchi, features Ms. Thomas, Pratt Institute Alumna, and groundbreaking filmmaker and Visual Artist, along with Shirin Neshat, Visual Artist;; Heidi Zuckerman, CEO and Director of the Aspen Art Museum.

This exclusive group of influential women have had a profound impact on the art world and are currently shaping its future. The discussion will explore the qualities that define a new generation of female artists and leaders in art, as well as the many different ways in which they have achieved success, despite obstacles and prevailing inequalities.

This panel discussion is the second Pratt Presents event featuring female leaders from the areas of art and design exploring issues related to the impact and success of women in their field. Last spring, Pratt presented “Women of Influence in the Business of Style,” featuring female fashion leaders in a conversation about leading change in the fashion industry.

Mickalene Thomas is a distinguished visual artist and filmmaker who has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally since 2003. She is best known for combining art-historical, political, and pop-cultural references to create striking figurative and nonfigurative paintings. Her work stems from a long study of art history and classical genres of portraiture, introducing complex notions of femininity and challenging common definitions of beauty and aesthetic representation. Thomas’s first solo museum exhibition was in 2012 at the Brooklyn Museum and Santa Monica Museum of Art. Thomas’s work is in the permanent collections of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as the Detroit Institute of Arts; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas; Seattle Art Museum; and Smithsonian American Art Museum, among many others. She was born in 1971 in New Jersey and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

About Pratt Institute:
Founded in 1887, Pratt Institute is a global leader in higher education dedicated to preparing its 4,700 undergraduate and graduate students for successful careers in art, design, architecture, information and library science, and liberal arts and sciences. Located in a cultural hub with historic campuses in Brooklyn and Manhattan, Pratt is a living lab of craft and creativity with an esteemed faculty of accomplished professionals and scholars who challenge their talented students to transform their passion into meaningful expression.

The reception and panel are free and open to the public. Reservations are required and you can register at Pratt Presents’ Public Programs site (https://www.pratt.edu/events/public-programs/) with attendee name(s), number of tickets requested, and a contact phone number.

RABBI DAVID NEIDERMAN Remembers U.S. Service Members this 2015 Veterans Week  

Editor, Our Time Press
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Rabbi David Neiderman, President, United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn, sent us his response to a recent New York Times story, A Pilot and Holocaust Survivors bound by the Fabric of War are Reunited in Brooklyn (11/9/15).
 The feature story reported on the reunion of Williamsburg residents who survived the Holocaust with Service Members who fed and dressed them immediately after the War. His message is followed by Our Time Press Publishers’ salute
 – personally and through this paper over the year — to other service members whose stories were left behind on Normandy Beach, Warsaw and other places, and whose heirs continue to fight for freedom on battlefields here at home. (BG)

U.S. Pilot, Mr. Alan Golub and his P-51 Mustang fighter plane.

Williamsburg – Veterans Day – when we all reflect on the heroic, selfless service of our service members to our country – has a special meaning to the Jewish community in Williamsburg, built on the ashes of the Holocaust by a small number of Holocaust survivors. The community remembers the key role that the US Military played ending the Holocaust, ending the annihilation of the Jewish people in Europe and the tremendous help and care that US service members extended to the survivors immediately after their liberation.
Two weeks ago, an emotional reunion took place in Williamsburg between survivors, many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and a U.S. Pilot, Mr. Alan Golub, whom they thanked for providing them food and clothing after the Holocaust. On his own initiative, Mr. Golub saved them from hunger and returned their dignity. The reunion was covered in Sunday’s NY Times:

UJO’s President Rabbi David Neiderman said: “Lt. Golub is just one of our country’s incredible members of the military. He went unrecognized for 70 years, until he was reunited with the survivors, thanks to the interest of a family member. There are many more service members with similar stories that we don’t even know. They didn’t do it for fame, but to make the world a better place. As we mark Veterans Day, we recognize Lt. Golub and all his fellow WWII vets, many of whom are still with us, for their selfless service. We owe all U.S. veterans our deep gratitude and appreciation for enabling us to enjoy the freedoms we all hold so dear. We continue to pray for all service members in the line of duty to continue to spread freedom successfully, and return home to their families safely and healthy.”

 

The back of the photo with the survivors’ names, and their thank you note presented at the time to Mr. Golub.

Autumn in Lansingburgh  

Bernice Elizabeth Green
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Autumn in Lansingburg, NY

Our Time Press witnessed a few hours in the lives of these incredibly bright, self-directed and motivated youngsters recently.  We were impressed with how they interacted with nature, using elements in the environment as tools for having fun.
The children played around a maple whose fallen leaves were transformed into tools for building. For pitching. For hiding-and-seeking. For adventure.  They were oblivious to the camera, and created their own “photo-ops.”
Being “bored” was not an option.  Even a long bright-red fire truck parked nearby became a learning lab – with the firefighters responding to the kids’ questions.
After a while we left them alone.
Some 20 minutes later as dusk advanced, they approached a property owner:  Do you need any help cleaning up the leaves in your yard?  We can pick them up and bag them for you.
The owner gave them each a $3 raise on their $2 each request for 40 minutes of work for a job well-done.  The junior landscapers’ immediate chorus of “Thank yous” was more than worth the payout.
Yet, the sound of children playing and laughing, a rare occurrence, these days, was worth it, too.
While all of us – parents, neighbors, and politicians – spend a great deal of time fighting to keep monsters and monstrosities at bay, the message of Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods” and founder of the Children & Nature Network, cannot be lost: we need  to take even more action “to create a future in which all children play, learn and grow with nature in their everyday lives.”
We also see that when children are allowed to be children, they too can partner in raising the village – to paraphrase an African proverb.
At the end of that leafy day, a cell phone, pulled out of the pocket of the oldest child, was not meant to connect to distraction – as we initially thought; it was used as a tool to capture an image of an old metal spike.  It promptly was given to the property owner.
Our Time Press thanks Ms. Jodi Stariknok, mother of two of the children, for her assistance with this piece.
(Text: Bernice Elizabeth Green/Photos: Green and David Mark Greaves.)

What you Need to Know About Airbnb

Editor, Our Time Press
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WILLIAMS: Not About Property Owners Getting some “Air”
It’s Putting Brakes on law-breaking Developers Profiting Millions from Warehousing,  Renting Short-Term Spaces

Yes, we know too well how renting space in an apartment under the AIR BnB initiative helps struggling property owners catch up on bills and equalize untenable fiscal situations, like making college tuition payments on time.
But for some reason, there’s a faux picture of Councilman Jumaane Williams depicting him as an ax-wielding prohibitioner determined to slay all forms of the B ‘n B phenomenon – which is alive and well throughout the five boroughs, including the neighborhoods, he serves:
Let’s be clear: Jumaane Williams is NOT going after people who are following the law, owners of single and two-family homes who are ON SITE – not absentee —  if they are renting out an apartment for fewer than 30 days.
Landlords and developers who have constructed their version of a New York City housing project, not designed for the poor, are the ones Williams and other Councilman have an issue with.  These big apartment buildings hold spaces for short-term apartment dwellers, and rack up millions in profit.  Then there are the tenants who stay somewhere else while renting their apartments through the Air BnB service at above-market rates, earning more than the apartment’s landlord.
The three proposals on the table to regulate Air BnB include:
A law passed in 2010 which makes it illegal for hosts to rent out an apartment for fewer than 30 days unless that host is present. The law does NOT apply to owners of single- and two-family homes. A Council bill would increase the penalty for violating the law from the existing range of $1,600 to $25,000 to between $10,000 and $50,000.
Legislation would require the city buildings department to submit an annual report to the Council on illegal conversions in apartments.
A third Council proposal would remind tenants they don’t have to pay rent if their landlords are violating the law.
What Williams says he wants is for Air BnB to be the good corporate citizen he knows it can be and “clarify the law to its users.”   Yesterday, Air BnB said it would comply, but it can’t make it has not satisfied the first step: bringing its data to the table.   Councilman Williams also wants Air BnB to not hide behind an aspect of its brand, helping the good guy dream dreams, and focus on the greedy profiteers.  (Bernice Elizabeth Green)

NYC Council Proposes Steep Fines against Airbnb Housing Law Violators
By Mary Alice Miller

A proposed NYC Council bill would increase tough fines against host Airbnb users. The fine would raise a first-time offense from $1,000 (which does little to deter property owners who break city and state housing laws) to $10,000 with a maximum penalty of $50,000. Violators could face an additional $2,000 per day for each day the original fine is not paid. A second bill would require regular reporting of the number of complaints, inspections and violations, as well as penalties assessed and collected.
State law regarding short-term rentals makes it illegal for most NYC residents to rent out their home for fewer than 30 days at a time, unless they are present.
In response to the pair of proposed bills, Airbnb (last week) sent a three-page letter to NYC Council member Jumaane Williams, who is chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings. The letter from Airbnb head of public policy Christopher Lehane called the proposals the “Freddy Krueger of bills.”
Council members Williams and Helen Rosenthal (chair of the Contracts Committee) said that the maximum fine would not be levied against the occasional Airbnb user, but would target landlords who illegally rent out regulated apartments and landlords with bid buildings who empty out half of their building then rent those units out on Airbnb.
“This isn’t about people going on vacation. Any time someone gets caught (illegally renting out their apartment),” said Williams, “it is because they are doing it repeatedly.”
NYS Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a report in October 2014 that found a dramatic rise in apartments used as transient hotel rooms via short-term rental platforms like Airbnb.
The report found that most short-term rentals booked in New York violate state and local laws that prohibit certain short-term rentals. During the report’s 4-year review period, 72% of units used as private short-term rentals on Airbnb appeared to violate those laws. The report also found that some commercial Airbnb users operate as illegal hotels that offered up to hundreds of unique units, accounting for 36% of private short-term bookings that generated $168 million. Private short-term rentals displaced long-term housing in thousands of apartments. Numerous short-term rental units appeared to serve as illegal hostels where multiple unrelated guests shared tight quarters. Rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods accounted for the vast majority of revenue from private short-term rentals in NYC.
“We must ensure that, as online marketplaces revolutionize the way we live, laws designed to promote safety and quality of life are not forsaken under the pretext of innovation,” said Schneiderman when the report was released. “The joint city and state enforcement initiative is aimed at aggressively tackling this growing problem, protecting the safety of tourists and safeguarding the quality of life of neighborhood residents.”
Airbnb said in a statement that it has helped “countless” families pay their bills and stay in their homes. The company said it has already removed more than 2,000 of the New York listings that violated state or city laws.
In response to the attorney general’s report, the City Council held a hearing earlier this year on how Airbnb affects housing and the local economy. Another hearing took place this week. A vote on the proposed bills is scheduled at the end of the year.
Apartments used as illegal hotels for 6 or more months a year via Airbnb divert much-needed housing from New Yorkers. The problem is exacerbated when affordable housing that has been subsidized by taxpayer dollars are used as illegal hotels. An additional concern is the possible violation of various building and fire codes that create safety hazards for occupants and their neighbors. Crime is also an issue: Around the world, there have been numerous instances of Airbnb hosts committing crimes against guests, including rape and robbery.
Airbnb places hosts at risk of eviction and the possible loss of a co-op or condo due to breaking the lease.
A study published last summer by New York Communities for Change and Real Affordability for All found 10% of available housing has been lost in the 20 most popular Airbnb neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens. The average rental unit was available for 247 days a year and rents 109 nights a year.
A month ago, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce partnered with Airbnb to promote local businesses to guests. Brooklyn accounts for one-third of Airbnb guests in New York City.

 

What Landlords and Tenants of Rent-Stabilized Apartments Need to Know About Airbnb
by Amanda Brown, Associate Attorney, Rozario & Associates

Airbnb is an Internet platform that connects individuals offering accommodations to those seeking to book accommodations. All terms, including price and length of stay, are agreed upon in advance and the transaction is completed online.
As one can imagine, Airbnb has caused quite a stir in New York City, one of the top tourist destinations in the world.
A New York County Civil Court recently evicted a tenant who rented out his rent-stabilized Hell’s Kitchen apartment via Airbnb. In 42nd and 10th Associates, LLC v. Ikezi, Judge Jack Stoller held that it is a violation of the Rent Stabilization Code for tenants to profiteer4 off of their rent-stabilized apartments.
After testimony from various employees of the landlord, the court found that the tenant, Henry Ikezi, was renting out his apartment via Airbnb at a rate three times the regulated rent.

One of the landlord’s witnesses, an employee of the subject premises, testified to meeting one of Ikezi’s guests and to finding an advertisement for Ikezi’s one-bedroom apartment on Airbnb. The advertisement was admitted into evidence.
Another witness, a concierge who is stationed in the lobby of the apartment building five days per week, testified to seeing Ikezi only five times in the four months preceding trial. The concierge also testified to helping another one of Ikezi’s guests who needed assistance with a key.
Ikezi denied remembering any details regarding Airbnb transactions.
The court found that Ikezi’s evasive answers constituted an attempt to withhold information and that Ikezi did not present a defense because, under the circumstances, there was no defense to present.1
Accordingly, the court found that Ikezi engaged in profiteering by renting out his apartment on Airbnb, and that using a residential apartment as a hotel room is an incurable ground for eviction, as it undermines the New York Rent Stabilization Code.
In addition, because such a violation is incurable, the court held that the landlord was not required to serve Ikezi with a notice to cure.
The court cited various cases that held that the commercial exploitation of rent-stabilized apartments is an incurable violation which requires eviction pursuant to the Rent Stabilization Code, and that absolved landlords from serving notices to cure as such violations are incurable.
In a similar decision issued on August 6, 2015, Judge Phyllis Saxe, New York County Civil Court, awarded a final judgment of possession against Tracy Steele, a tenant who rented a three-bedroom apartment in New York City’s West Village.
Steele began subleasing the extra bedrooms in her apartment to guests she found via Airbnb at a rate of $215.00 per night, 2.5 times the rent-stabilized rate.16 Judge Saxe classified the ongoing act as “commercial exploitation, which threatens the integrity of the rent stabilization scheme and deprives the landlord of making the same profits.”
Steele argued that her guests were “temporary roommates” and, as such, the petitioner had no right to terminate her lease.18 However, this argument was of no avail to the court, which found that said guests, who wrote “customer reviews,” were provided fresh linens and food, and were charged a $76.00 cleaning fee, were hotel guests.
In addition to addressing commercial concerns, the court placed an equally strong emphasis on the safety issues that come with “illegal hoteling,” namely, the number of unverified guests who know the building’s access code, the increased risk of injury, theft and fire damage, as well as risking termination of the building owner’s residential insurance policy.
Like Judge Stoller, Judge Saxe found that Steele’s violations of the Rent Stabilization Code were incurable, thus, the landlord was not required to serve tenant with a notice to cure.
While Judge Stoller and Saxe’s opinion unequivocally states the consequences of profiteering from the benefits of rent stabilization, it is important to note what the court did not address. The court did not address situations in which tenants use Airbnb to rent out market-rate apartments, nor did it address rent-stabilized tenants who charge rental rates comparable to their own.
However, Judge Saxe’s discussion regarding building safety should put all tenants on notice that the use of Airbnb to rent out their apartments are potentially violating their lease agreements and the city’s illegal hotel laws, both of which are grounds for eviction.
After Judge Stoller’s ruling, New York State Senator Liz Krueger and New York City Council member Jumaane D. Williams applauded Judge Stoller’s ruling in a joint statement addressing the negative effects that Airbnb has on New York City’s housing market.
Landlords’ opinions are split regarding the use of Airbnb to rent out New York City apartments. Many landlords want nothing to do with the accommodations platform because of the liability that comes with hosting a revolving door of tourists, while others are looking for a way to legally cash in on its popularity.24
Most landlords agree, however, that the legislature must take some action to address the city’s growing “illegal hotel” culture.
Both landlords and tenants of rent-stabilized apartments should be wary of jeopardizing their coveted regulated rental rates by exploiting, or allowing the exploitation of, such rates for personal gain. Landlords who suspect their tenants are in violation of their lease agreements and/or the law should immediately contact an attorney to discuss their options for addressing such violations.
Similarly, tenants seeking to rent out their properties via Airbnb or another platform, as well as those threatened with eviction, should contact an attorney who can advise them of their rights under their lease agreements and vigorously defend their case.
Amanda M. Brown, Esq. is a business attorney with experience handling real estate-related matters, including landlord/tenant, foreclosure defense and real estate closings. She is an associate at Rozario & Associates, P.C., a commercial and business law firm based in Brooklyn, New York. Ms. Brown can be reached at abrown@rozariolaw.com or (718) 859-2325.

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