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Tag: Clinton Church Restoration
Resistance to America’s ‘double system of justice’ has long history in Great Barrington
In a letter to the editor, the Clinton Church Restoration board members write, “Du Bois’ writing in ‘Souls’ reminds us that the systemic racism that led to the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and too many other Black people in this country is not new.”
Clinton Church Restoration founder Wray Gunn reflects on 90 years and life in the Berkshires
March 11 marked Gunn’s 90th birthday; his fervent wish is to see his family’s church preserved and returned to the center of community life.
Business Briefs: CCR exhibition designer; Wortis joins Mahaiwe; Berkshire Nonprofit Awards nominations; grant for Jack Miller Contractors
The Berkshire Nonprofit Awards recognize those who work tirelessly in the nonprofit sector to serve the Berkshire community.
‘Creative Aging’ exhibit highlights growing older in the Berkshires
“As our Berkshires community — and the world’s population — grows older, this exhibit reminds us all to look beyond stereotypes and to know that growing older can encompass more curiosity, creativity and community engagement than ever.” -Megan Whilden, Berkshire OLLI executive director
Don’t just stand there: Volunteer!
Underwritten by AARP Massachusetts, the volunteer fair at St. James Place in Great Barrington will give 35 nonprofits as well as municipalities the opportunity to meet face to face with prospective volunteers.
Clinton Church restoration turns the page to a new and important chapter
At midday Wednesday, about 50 people gathered at the church on Elm Court to hear speakers give an accounting of the history of the church and the efforts to save it after it closed five years ago.
Bits & Bytes: Clinton Church restoration kickoff; ‘Kohelet’ at the Mahaiwe; ‘Creative Aging’ on Beacon Hill; STEAM Challenge Night; Red Cross blood drives
Close Encounters With Music will kick off its 2019-20 season Sunday, Oct. 27, with the American premiere of Andre Hajdu’s ‘Kohelet’ for four cellos narrated by film, stage and television actor Sam Waterston.
Dedication of the Du Bois homesite: A 50-year anniversary celebration
The original 1969 homesite dedication was deemed so controversial, in part because of Du Bois’ embrace of communism late in his life, that no town officials attended the event.
It’s Not That Simple: What’s happening with the Clinton Church Restoration?
The completion of Clinton Church Restoration will help tell the largely unknown story of African Americans in the Berkshires.
News Briefs: Clinton Church Restoration grant; GB downtown improvement project ‘substantially complete’; man charged with assault to murder
Clinton Church Restoration awarded National Trust for Historic Preservation grant Great Barrington — Clinton Church Restoration Inc. is one of 22 sites and organizations dedicated to preserving African-American history that has received grant support from National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. As part of the second class of Action Fund
Bits & Bytes: Music Mountain opening concert; Clinton Church Restoration benefit concert; ‘A Year of Dance Dates’; Vita Kay at Sandisfield Arts Center
“Common Ground: A celebration of Jazz and Jewish Music” will benefit Clinton Church Restoration’s effort to restore and repurpose the historic Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church as an African-American heritage site, visitor center and community space.
GB ArtWeek: Spoken-word performance by slam poet Kofi Dadzie plus youth poetry slam and open mic at Fuel Bistro
As a genre, spoken-word poetry has its roots in oral traditions and performance. Spoken word can encompass or contain elements of rap, hip-hop, storytelling, theater, jazz, rock, blues and folk music.
Museum exhibit highlights the African-American experience in the Berkshires
Visitors are invited to explore the history of African-Americans in the Berkshires through compelling, contemporary stories from today as recorded by leaders from the local African-American community and the NAACP Berkshire chapter.
Bits & Bytes: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor at Simon’s Rock; ‘Being Black in the Berkshires’; Williams College French Film Festival; LitNet seeks volunteer tutors
In her lecture, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor will give historical context to the Combahee River Collective’s groundbreaking work and how it informs present-day social movements such as Black Lives Matter.
In Great Barrington, interfaith community celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘dream’
On the musical agenda was “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” the NAACP anthem written by Great Barrington resident James Weldon Johnson.
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.”
Bits & Bytes: Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service; ‘Rockwell, Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms’; Leah Penniman at Darrow School
In Interfaith Celebration program will begin with a service opened by Rev. Cara Davis and officiated by Wray Gunn of the Legacy Festival and Clinton Church Restoration with a performance by Olga Dunn School of Dance and songs from local congregations.
Bits & Bytes: Walk a Mile in Her Shoes; ‘Being Black in the Berkshires;’ Joachim Frank at Lenox Library; ‘Having Difficult Conversations’ workshop; Amanda Stern at Stockbridge Library
A discussion of African-Americans’ Berkshires history and culture as well as the stories and voices not being told or heard, ‘Being Black in the Berkshires’ will remember the past, assess the present and plan for the future.
Business Briefs: Clinton Church Restoration seeks proposals; grant for CDCSB; Davis joins Saint James Place board; Jack Miller Contractors makes Remodeling’s Big50; BCC receives grant
Saint James Placehas announced that Leigh Davis, director of development at Mill Renaissance LLC and Eagle Mill Redevelopment LLC, has been elected to its board of directors.
Du Bois’ environmental legacy celebrated at River Walk, by his ‘golden river’
“His love of rivers and his dedication to environmental justice play a very small part, but can be a lens through which to understand his fuller achievements. There is no better place in the world to tell this part of the story, at the very spot where he was ‘born by a golden river.’ ”
— Rachel Fletcher, founder of River Walk
Business Briefs: Clinton Church receives grant; Number Ten opening; new Williams College Museum of Art director; Lenox Chamber gains executive director; Community Day at Salisbury Bank
After major renovations and re-orientation as a classic steakhouse, Number Ten restaurant has opened at the site of the former Castle Street Cafe in Great Barrington.
Great Barrington’s pot wars resolved and other tales from the floor
The battle royale involved the planning and select boards. For weeks, the two panels had been at odds over which should be the special-permit-granting authority in regards to the marijuana production and sales facilities, and whether most, if not all, of the facilities should require a special permit.
Bits & Bytes: Wray Gunn at Dewey Hall; ‘Sweet Berkshire’ dessert auction; ‘Using Theatre to Extend Community and Deepen Empathy’; tree care workshop; Williamstown Repair Cafe
Attendees of the Sweet Berkshire fundraiser will be able to bid on desserts donated by Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, Haven Cafe and Bakery, Wheatleigh, Canyon Ranch, Patisserie Lenox, Barrington Brewery, Taft Farms and other area food producers.
Of plastic water bottles and the evil weed: A preview of Great Barrington’s 2018 annual town meeting
The challenge for the state’s 351 cities and towns is to revamp their zoning regulations so that they’re not caught flat-footed by applications from cannabis retailers and manufacturers.
Bits & Bytes: Shepard to discuss new book; ‘Honoring Du Bois’; ‘Alison Larkin LIVE!’; waste oil & paint collection; Berkshire School student wins songwriting contest
The W.E.B. Du Bois Educational Series will offer “Honoring Du Bois,” which will feature a presentation by Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, of the State House resolution honoring Du Bois on the 150th anniversary of his Feb. 23, 1868, birth in Great Barrington.
Business Briefs: Emergency grant for Clinton Church; ‘Entry to Entrepreneurship’; rail museum acquires new locomotive; report highlights nonprofit tax changes; Greylock promotes three
The Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail.
Clinton Church renovation receives major funding from National Park Service
The grant, part of $12.6 million awarded to 51 projects in 24 states, is aimed at preserving sites and highlighting stories related to the African-American struggle for equality in the 20th century.
Housatonic Heritage wins grant for historic Clinton Church
Phase 1 work will focus on areas of the building that most urgently need attention and will include a new wood shingle roof, abatement of mold and mildew, improved drainage, replacement of the basement floor slab, raising the building to make the basement usable, and repair or modification to the parsonage.
‘Faith and caring:” MLK’s life and legacy honored in Great Barrington celebration
The celebration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was also the kick-off for a series of townwide events commemorating the 150th birthday of civil rights pioneer and author W.E.B Du Bois who was born in Great Barrington. Included in the article is a video of Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial.
UMass Amherst museum students present Du Bois poster concept to town officials
There are five sections on the poster: birth and childhood, familial ties, civil rights activism, a return to Great Barrington, and lasting impact. Photographs and captions accompany each section and there is a scannable QR code to learn more about Du Bois.
Three recreational trails among 10 projects vying for Community Preservation funding
This year, the CPA application requests from the town of Great Barrington and other organizations totaled more than $1 million.