“The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.”
— President Donald Trump
Tag: African-American
Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church group hires architects for design and restoration
In a news release, Clinton Church Restoration said the New York City-based firm, headed by architect Mario Gooden, “is one of the few African-American architectural firms in the country.”
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Becoming’ shows Michelle Obama’s transcendence of bias to ultimately flourish
Michelle Robinson Obama was born, in her words, “a black working class girl” at a time when her hardworking father, tending boilers for the city of Chicago, provided a cramped apartment on the second floor of “a tidy brick bungalow” owned by her mother’s aunt on the South Side of Chicago. There, she and her brother and parents lived in a space meant for two.
THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Artney Jackson’ at WTF offers quiet yet powerful social commentary
“Artney Jackson” creates a world where dreams and the workday co-exist.
The arc of life as told in tap: Dorrance Dance at Jacob’s Pillow
Solos, duets, trios and multitudes crackled with electricity, improvisation, shouts and whispers of the legacies of their and our tap forebears, and at the same time protecting and insulating us.
THEATRE REVIEW: ‘The Closet,’ a hilariously wicked satire at WTF
If Beane weren’t gay, he probably couldn’t get away with this parody, but that kind of thinking is exactly what Beane is lampooning.
Renowned journalist April Ryan urges Simon’s ‘Rockers’ to be ever-curious
While based in the White House, Ryan has covered the last four presidents. She is one of the longest serving members of the White House Press Corps and is the only African-American to have reported daily from the White House for over 20 years.
Plans unveiled for restoration of historic A.M.E. Zion church
All wanted to transform Clinton Church into a community gathering place that would preserve its history, honor civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois, and retain enough space for performances and other events.
Clinton Church Restoration in Great Barrington nears fund-raising goal
“We’re at $89,675. As long as this generosity keeps up, we’re going to make it.”
— Ed Abrahams
Historic AME Zion Church needs continued support
In their letter to the editor, Wray and Cora Gunn write: “It is an important piece of architecture, but it is so much more. It has been the political and spiritual home of Great Barrington’s Black community for over 130 years.”
At Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church fundraising session, sobering racial tension emerges
The concept of an auction to get the fundraising rolling salted some deep historic wounds when one African-American attendee felt the auction process harkened back to the auction blocks of slavery.
Historic African-American church building on the road to salvation
Ever since a call went out last week to save the church, people showed up at a Saturday meeting with ideas and a generous outpouring of support.
Lynching threat reveals racial tension among Monument teens
Monument parent Linda Shafiroff said, while she thought the threat was “deplorable,” both students had been engaging in insults that highlighted racial tensions at the school as well as national political divides and cultural differences.
Preservation effort underway for A.M.E. Zion Church, first African-American church in the Berkshires
Great Barrington native and African-American author, scholar and civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois attended the church as a child. The church is registered as an important site on the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail and on the National Register of Historic Places.
Two local STARs aim for sickle cell disease cure
Research and cures for sickle cell disease have been underfunded as attention and wealth floods into other conditions, but this may change with the work and passion of local physician John Horan and grant writer Ruth Dinerman.
Police close lynching threat investigation, say ‘reprehensible’ act is not ‘criminal’
Investigating officers concluded that the “verbal altercation…allegedly involving racist comments between two high school students…did not rise to a physical level.”
In wake of lynching threat, Monument principal, students, say school has racial tension, issues
“There are bigots and racists in the world, but Monument doesn’t have to be the way the world is out there…we can influence our community by the way we treat others and ourselves.”
— Student Senate President Teddy Michaels
African American student at Monument High School reportedly threatened with lynching
“We have an obligation to use those horrible moments to educate, do counseling, workshops, movies and discussion groups. We do it as part of our work, but sometimes we bring in other outside groups — whoever is best positioned to help us think through that.”
— Berkshire Hills Superintendent Peter Dillon
PREVIEW: ‘Red Velvet,’ playing the man who played kings, at Shakespeare & Company
Ira Aldridge’s love of theatre was so all-encompassing, he wouldn’t abandon it no matter what the personal cost. He toured hundreds and hundreds of miles on terrible roads in conveyances that were beyond uncomfortable
Nola Watson Lawrence, 89
Nola was one of several senior citizens recognized by Gov. Deval L. Patrick for her life-long commitment to the African-American community in the Berkshires.