THE FILM, WHICH FEATURES FORMERLY INCARCERATED ADVOCATES AND FORMER PAROLE COMMISSIONERS WHO EXPOSE THE BOARD’S LAWLESS ADDICTION TO PUNISHMENT, MAKES THE CASE FOR REFORM
WHAT: A screening of “The Interview”, a short film exposing the injustices of parole release hearings, followed by a panel featuring people directly impacted by New York’s prison system and unjust Parole Board. The film features members of the Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign, and other formerly incarcerated advocates, who each faced as many as ten parole denials despite having transformed their lives while behind bars many years earlier. In addition, two Parole Commissioners appear in the film and, in very different ways, articulate how the Parole Board makes decisions about the release of people based solely on the nature of their crime, even after they have already served a minimum sentence.
The Q&A after the film will feature panelists who have been directly impacted by incarceration and the parole process in New York.
WHERE: Story Screen Theater, 445 Main St, Beacon, NY 12508
WHO: The screening is hosted by Beacon Prison Rides Program and Beacon Prison Books Project, in partnership with the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and the People’s Campaign for Parole Justice. Panelists include RAPP Executive Director Jose Saldana, RAPP Westchester Community Leader Greg Mingo, Beacon Prison Rides member, Ms. John, and After Incarceration Co-Director, Jose Pineda.
The Beacon Prison Rides Project is a volunteer-run organization providing free rides for families between the Beacon train station and Beacon-area prisons. Since November 2017, Beacon Prison Rides has provided an alternative to costly taxis or prison vans, providing more than 1,800 rides for more than 200 people visiting their incarcerated loved ones. Find out more about the project and about how to request rides, volunteer, or donate here >
The Beacon Prison Books Project is an organization that provides books to incarcerated persons throughout New York State, by request. People who are incarcerated in NYS use free postcards or simply write to us at our P.O. Box to request books or book recommendations. Then we order the books, connect with individual sponsors, pack up the books, and send them to the person who made the request. Most of this activity happens through Binnacle Books in Beacon, NY. Learn more here >
The People’s Campaign for Parole Justice is a new, statewide, grassroots campaign pushing for parole reform in New York State. The campaign platform is supported by over 350 organizations across New York State and led by a coalition of the state’s biggest and most influential social justice and criminal justice groups, including the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, Parole Preparation Project, VOCAL-NY, Citizen Action, New Hour for Women and Children, NY Communities for Change, Center for Community Alternatives, Osborne Association, NYCLU, FWD.us, #HALTsolitary Campaign, Legal Aid Society, Center for Justice at Columbia, CUNY Law Defenders Clinic, and NYU Law's Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law.
BACKGROUND: Nearly 1 in 4 people from Dutchess county incarcerated in New York State prisons is over the age of 50, which many departments of corrections across the country define as “older” due to accelerated aging behind bars. About 63 percent are people of color, even though people of color only make up 23 percent of the general population of Dutchess county, and many are serving long sentences with few opportunities for release based on their rehabilitation and current readiness for release. Without parole reform, many will never make it out of prison.
Racism infects the parole release system just as it does every element of the criminal legal system. A white person in a New York prison is significantly more likely on average to be released on parole than a Black or Latinx person and the disparity widened in 2020, according to a Times Union analysis of the nearly 19,000 parole board decisions over the last two years. The data, which spans October 2018 through October 2020, shows the Parole Board granted parole release to 41 percent of white people, compared to 34 percent of Black people and 33 percent of Latinx people. Importantly, these racial disparities are not new. In 2016, the New York Times conducted an investigation of parole release data and similarly found Black and Latinx people were significantly less likely to be released than their white counterparts.
The People’s Campaign for Parole Justice is calling on lawmakers in Albany to pass two bills that will address this pandemic behind bars and prevent similar tragedies in the future:
Elder Parole (S.15/A.3475) would allow the State Board of Parole to provide an evaluation for potential parole release to incarcerated people aged 55 and older who have already served 15 or more years, including some of the state’s oldest and sickest incarcerated people.
Fair and Timely Parole (S.1415/A.4231) would provide more meaningful parole reviews for incarcerated people who are already parole-eligible.
The Campaign is also calling on Governor Hochul to fully staff the Parole Board with 19 Commissioners who come from communities that have been directly affected by mass incarceration and who have professional and clinical backgrounds in areas such as social work, nursing, reentry services, and other fields that allow them to evaluate incarcerated people for who they are today. The Board currently has three vacancies.
From the film: Former Parole Commissioner Carol Shapiro said, “The research is so clear on this, and has been for years,” regarding low reincarceration rates in New York State among people convicted of murder who are subsequently released on parole. Keeping people incarcerated for decades—well into old age—has changed the very nature of prisons, she says: “We are running geriatric institutions in America right now.”
Amy’s African Braids was located inside of Mr. Bell’s salon. A Little Beacon Blog has been writing about Amy’s African Braids ever since she was open in Sexy Nails (now the cat cafe after the nail salon moved out during the pandemic), then in a spot in the strip at the car wash which she moved out of in 2019, and into Mr. Bell’s.
On the afternoon of the fire, one of Amy’s stylists had just left for the day, before the fire broke out. She returned to the salon after being called about the news that everything was destroyed in the fire. When A Little Beacon Blog asked her if she lost assets that she needed to braid customer’s hair, she stared blankly, and could only answer that she was thankful that she was not inside when the fire started. When asked where she would continue her braiding, she remained bewildered and thought maybe from her home.
Now that some time has passed, Amy’s Braids has launched a GoFundMe page. A Little Beacon Blog is in direct contact with Amy. After all of these years, our paths have crossed, as one of ALBB’s children is best friends with Amy’s nieces.
To learn more about her business, Amy answered a few questions. She’s looking for chairs, mirrors, hair, and products. Usually different hair is purchased in advance, and some is in stock at the salon for the stylists to braid into different styles. Both men and women come in from every 2 weeks to a month to have their hair braided in protective styles, depending on the occasion. Braiding starts at $40 and goes up.
ALBB is finding out where people can find Amy’s African Braids now, for those who need her for style refreshes or new designs. This article will be updated. As of now, to be out of work and all tools and products lost, the GoFundMe is the most important.
When Mr. Alvin Bell’s decades old and beloved salon burned in a fire last week, destroying everything including professional tools and memory markers, the community rushed to want to help him. A GoFundMe page couldn’t have been created fast enough to satisfy the amount of people who asked A Little Beacon Blog if a donation page had been started yet.
Ears to the ground, we waited to hear. It was slow going at first (a 24 hour turnaround in this case was too long). Mr. Bell is in his 80s, so things might take a while. Taking to the streets to find the answer, we found a family member of Mr. Bell, who had heard something was in the works. The following day, word spread that a GoFundMe page had been created, but nobody knew who the creator was.
Beaconites, and New Yorkers in general, are a skeptical bunch. ALBB got Mr. Bell’s phone number, and even he didn’t know about the GoFundMe page. He asked that we wait until he learned more.
According to the GoFundMe, the creator, Nathan Chackerian, had created the page with deep concern for getting Mr. Bell back into a salon, and was working with Mr. Bell’s wife, Shirley, to make this happen. According to Nathan’s Facebook, which he confirmed to ALBB, Nathan moved to Beacon around March 2022, and is ninja warrior full stack developer who is currently developing a new social media app.
Nathan told ALBB: “My mom is the person that knows him the best. I like Beacon so far and am trying to get to know more people my age in town.” He says he has been to Bank Square often.
Nathan set the goal for $6,500, and many Beaconites began donating. ALBB called Mr. Bell again, who this time, handed the phone over the Shirley. With confidence and enthusiasm, Shirley confirmed that Nathan and a person named Alexander were helping, and that the GoFundMe page is legit.
Nathan has already updated the page by saying he hadn’t expected such a generous turnout, and did not know the true cost of recreating a salon. According to his update, he is going to post itemized assets provided by Shirley that they would need. “They are hoping to stay on Main Street,” Nathan told ALBB.
Said Nathan in an update about the low-ish goal: “The $6500 number was an off-the-cuff estimate from someone who knows nothing about what they do (me)- it might be somewhat low. They had six chairs - three for braiding and three for barbering services and wash stations and cabinets with mirrors plus equipment. At the time we started this campaign, I had no idea we could get anywhere near that number... but now that we see what extraordinary kindness is possible, we might increase it here - or otherwise ask private donors for help purchasing any remaining items.”
The power remains off at Mr. Bell’s as well as John the Cobbler next door, whose shop also endured smoke damage. Said Nathan in an update on the donation page: “I am told that this week they may have access to the space to see what, if anything, can be salvaged - I will plan to shoot a quick video of the interior to post here-- and then leave them alone at what is likely to be an emotional time. Thank you again for your outstanding generosity.“
On Wednesday afternoon (7/6/2022) at around 3pm, several fire engines pulled up to Main Street and Willow Street, and did not leave. Several more fire trucks from other fire engine companies pulled into town, including Rombout Fire Company, an all volunteer company serving the Town of Fishkill, as well as multiple trucks from Central Hudson.
With such a collection of trucks over the course of several hours, one might have expected to see flames billowing out of a building on Main Street. But no such flames were seen, nor billows of black smoke against the blue sky.
However, inside of Mr. Bell’s Unisex Main Street Beauty Salon, a line of fire had spread up a wall to the back going up the ceiling, with smoke coming out the bottom of the front door, according to a local person who spoke with the woman who first reported the fire.
No one was inside the shop, and no one was hurt. Mr. Alvin Bell and his wife Shirley were at home, done for the day, and the stylists of Amy’s Braids had left the shop and locked up, according to Mr. Bell and a stylist from Amy’s Braids. If you don’t know Mr. Bell, he is iconic, and a deep part of Beacon, having opened his shop decades ago after being laid off as the lead pressman at the Nabisco box printing factory, which is now Dia. He restarted his career at the age of 54, following his wife in hair styling, which was his passion at a very young age.
According to a local person, a woman was handing out free pizza from Big Vinny’s, the new pizza and cannoli shop (not new to New York, however), and noticed a line of fire traveling up the right side wall and up the ceiling, with smoke pouring out of Mr. Bell’s and called 911.
The fire engines arrived and worked to control and put out the fire. According to a firefighter, Beacon’s Chief Gary VanVoorhis will put out a media release soon, as the investigation is ongoing.
According to a neighbor, some smoke spilled into neighboring units, including John’s Shoe Repair, the cobber ALBB has blogged about before. When approached to see what of his business assets were damaged, the cobbler was the most concerned about retrieving customer’s shoes for them, rather than commenting about any loss.
After the fire was put out, Mr. Alvin Bell and his wife Shirley stood outside of their shop, bewildered. Shriely what as a total loss, saying they had lost everything. Furniture, photos, memorabilia. On the walls were photos of their lives as they grew the salon business in Beacon, as well as Shirley’s career. She started as a stylist, and pivoted to West Point, where she retired as a government inspector. The photo of that retirement, she said, seemed to be gone in the now rubble of the shop.
Mr. Bell was chipper as usual, in his ever-dapper clothes, but he expressed the most concern about his photo with Pete Seeger, as well as his boxing gloves. A Dutchess County Fire Investigator brought to Mr. Bell a stack of jewelry boxes, with at least one containing cuff links. His next recovered item was a suitcase that Mr. Bell was quite excited about.
However, the inspector could not yet find the photo of Pete Seeger, but suggested that a pair of boxing gloves might be salvaged.
The stylist at Amy’s Braids was equally stunned, amazed this had happened. When asked if she lost anything, she only commented that she was simply grateful she was not inside to get hurt. When asked where she could be found braiding again, she slightly shook her head and suggested her home.
The New York State Senate and Assembly advanced the first passage of an amendment, S.51002, to codify the right to an abortion and the right to contraception in the New York State Constitution. After this first step of passing this resolution, it “must be passed by two successive legislatures, and supported by a majority of voters in a public referendum,” said Senator Anna Kaplan, a co-sponsor, with the earliest for a referendum coming to a vote being November 2023.
The Resolution that passed on July 1, 2022 would codify the right to an abortion and the right to contraception, in addition to protecting New Yorkers from various forms of discrimination, as well as protecting from future action by the Supreme Court dismantling rights for LGBTQ+ people, according to a press release by Senator Kaplan. "The resolution expands equal protection under the law to several new identity classes, including on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sex,” she said. “Sex includes sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive healthcare and autonomy."
Is Modifying The State Constitution To Protect Abortion Rights, Women, Girls, And All Birthing People New?
According to the New York Times, 15 states including California are seeking to amend their state constitutions to protect the right to save the life of the woman, girl or birthing person for any reason, including financial, wrong time in life, wrong potential partner, and mental and physical health. New York State had tried this before, but failed. During the creation of that effort back then, the lead sponsor, Senator Liz Krueger, said they learned many things while drafting it.
Back in February 2022, The Times Union reported on that earlier proposal that the "inclusive Equal Rights Amendment" is different than the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) at the federal level. Said Senator Krueger then, it was very different than the 45-year-old federal effort, because the state-level amendment "would expand on the federal ERA language to include protections for race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and pregnancy."
According to reporting in Politico, the earlier version of the proposal stalled because over disagreements of recognition based on religion. Politico pointed out that this version was “modified to address critics’ concerns over potential effects on religious freedom.”
The Assembly passed broad state Equal Rights Amendment with 98-43 vote Friday evening, and the Senate “hours earlier swiftly approved the resolution on a 49-14 vote after just minutes of floor discussion,” reported Politico. “The amendment would add explicit protections for New Yorkers to access abortion care,” as well as the right to contraception.
Why Now?
New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for a special session after the Supreme Court struck down New York's open-carry gun law. The Supreme Court then struck down Roe V. Wade, and New York's Equal Rights amendment was added to the agenda for the special session shortly thereafter.
As reported by Politico, the lead sponsor of this version of the bill, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins “told reporters that the Supreme Court’s ruling last week ratcheted up lawmakers’ urgency to finally move the proposal after years of debate in Albany. She noted that Friday’s vote came on the anniversary when New York’s abortion law took effect more than 50 years ago.”
After the extraordinary session on Friday called by New York Governor Kathy Hochul to address New York’s gun laws and abortion, she told reporters: “It’s part of our fighting back to protect women’s reproductive freedoms here in the state of New York. That [amendment] is going to protect reproductive health in the state of New York for generations to come.”
In defense of both votes, Governor Hochul said: “We're not going backwards. They may think that they can change our lives with the stroke of a pen. But we have pens, too," as reported by The Poughkeepsie Journal.
Abortion Rights Protection At The Federal Level In The Constitution
The Times Union interviewed Wilfred Codrington, an assistant professor at Brooklyn Law School and a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, to discover more about the federal effort to add an equal rights amendment for women to the U.S. Constitution. According to him, it has been in the works since the 1920s.
Codrington said "the Constitution doesn't require women be treated equally." He explained that "if there’s nothing permanent and enshrined in the Constitution protecting those values, a number of statutes we’re seeing being contested in the courts and eviscerated or struck down that also were meant to be enduring."
Senator Krueger was starting with New York state by attempting a broader reach than just women, which "would make New York state, I believe, the first in the nation to recognize that all of our populations should have nondiscrimination protections within our Constitution ... (for) a broader universe of categories of humans and for a broader range of issues than gender," she said as reported by The Times Union.
With Senator Krueger’s bill “There's all kinds of precedent that we need to make sure we have the language correctly on, that we are not impeding one right by protecting another right. So I have found that attempting a complex change in a Constitution is a much more difficult assignment than I had originally hoped for," Krueger said.
On June 24, 2022, the United Healthcare Workers East 1199SEIU, the largest union of healthcare workers in the United States, sent a statement to the press in response to the overturning of Roe vs Wade, which fundamentally changed the control people who give birth have over their bodies and future lives.
“Large majorities of Americans support abortion rights. Yet the Supreme Court, stacked with extremist voices totally out of step with our nation’s values, has radically undermined the right of every person who can get pregnant to control their own bodies.”
— George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
Their statement from George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East reads as follows:
“As a union of healthcare workers, we recognize that the right to an abortion is fundamental to reproductive health, overall health, and bodily bodily autonomy. 1199SEIU is appalled that the US Supreme Court has erased half a century of legal precedent allowing people to make the most basic decisions about their bodies, lives, and families. While much of the world is moving forward to secure greater reproductive rights, we have taken a tremendous step backward.
“Large majorities of Americans support abortion rights. Yet the Supreme Court, stacked with extremist voices totally out of step with our nation’s values, has radically undermined the right of every person who can get pregnant to control their own bodies.
Hello, World!
“Those who can afford it will travel out of state or out of country for abortion procedures; those with the least financial means will have nowhere to go. The same politicians who herald the end of reproductive freedom will not raise a finger to improve pre- and post-natal care and ensure that health services are universally available.”
— George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
“The ramifications of overturning Roe vs. Wade are as gut-wrenching as they are predictable: there will be an immediate wave of abortion bans in states around the country as trigger laws go into effect. People will seek out alternative and dangerous ways of ending their pregnancies. Rape victims, including children, will be forced to carry to term. Those who can afford it will travel out of state or out of country for abortion procedures; those with the least financial means will have nowhere to go. The same politicians who herald the end of reproductive freedom will not raise a finger to improve pre- and post-natal care and ensure that health services are universally available.
“This decision must be a glaring wake-up call to the dysfunction of our nation’s political life and the grave threat of authoritarianism to our democracy, our laws, and institutions.
“1199SEIU stands firmly behind the right to choose and we will continue to fight tooth and nail to preserve this most basic freedom. We call on Congress to codify abortion rights into federal law immediately.
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. They represent over 450,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
Several readers of A Little Beacon Blog have written in, asking “Where is the protest in Beacon? Where can I go to express? How do I get a permit for a protest? I can’t stay quiet on this one!”
Well friends - you are in luck. The 3rd Annual Chalk Art Protest created and produced by Moraya Seeger DeGeare, MA, LMFT is this Monday, July 4th, at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park from 10am-12pm. Did you just see that last name, Seeger, twice? You did. Moraya is a marriage and relationship therapist with BFF Therapy; she’s a relationship and sex columnist for Refinery29; she’s a parent of two young children in the Beacon City School District; and she’s a granddaughter of Pete and Toshi Seeger, the musical and poetic activists who were crucial in the civil rights movement and restoring climate justice to the Hudson Valley.
About The July 4th Chalk-In Protest
In this riverside protest, Moraya will be leading a chalk-based therapy protest in a way most likely none of you have experienced in a protest before. This chalk-in is about getting in touch with yourself to find your message, and most importantly to speak it loudly (or at all). Moraya, a human of multi-races (her grandmother is half Japanese and half from the USA’s South, her father is Black, and her mother and grandfather are White), maintains a very special lens for viewing the world. Her mission is to share it with you so that you can experience your surroundings more broadly.
“While you may be coming to this chalk-in protest for abortion-rights rage, you will be leaving with racial injustice rage that you should also be speaking about. Oppression is everywhere, and one person’s oppression that is unique to them cannot be ignored for another person’s oppression just because someone hasn’t experienced it. ”
— ALBB
One of her specialties is spotting intersectional morphisms. According to Wikipedia: “Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of advantage and disadvantage.”
While you may be coming to this chalk-in protest for abortion-rights rage, you will be leaving with racial injustice rage that you should also be speaking about. Oppression is everywhere, and one person’s oppression that is unique to them cannot be ignored for another person’s oppression just because someone hasn’t experienced it. If you feel an ounce of it here, recognize an ounce of it there. Respect it and do something.
This chalk-in can be an outlet for the rage anyone is feeling right now with the latest Supreme Court ruling that strips birthing people of the rights and independence to their bodies, as well as upcoming rulings the Supreme Court has reached out on (voting rights, redistricting, climate justice). Says Moraya about the chalk-in: “Identity work is understanding all the different parts of self. My persional view is that it builds from the values in your childhood home along with your location in the world aka culture and society. Sexual, race, gender, age, it’s constantly evolving.”
Kids Are Welcome & Encouraged To Attend
Part of Moraya’s mission in this is to encourage conversation between parents and caregivers with their children. But also with their own inner child. From her website of the movement:
“The heart of this project is to have deeper conversations about systemic issues with children so that they can grow up having language and confidence to continue to talk about racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, sexism, climate change and the list goes on. One of the main things I experienced in 2020 was the number of White people in my life who reached out with emails, texts, people from decades ago sliding into my DMs, and leaving outrageously long apology voicemails saying they had no idea that Black people have been navigating so much racism.
“I’ll be honest, each time someone who I have known for years said those words it nearly hurt worse than watching the news and seeing another Black person murdered. After talking to my Black friends, it turns out I was getting a particularly high number of these messages – I am talking hundreds of them in the spring of 2020. Even my 1st-grade teacher reached out with a story that only centered on her White experience as a teacher to me, her only Black student.
“I didn’t need to hear about how she learned so much from me, a 6-year-old, as I dealt with racism in her class. I needed her to say: ‘I am so sorry for not protecting you. For creating an environment you felt safe to learn in.’
“I got off the phone with her, I was 9 months pregnant, doing remote school with my kindergartener who also was struggling to learn to read, and I just cried. I wept for 6-year-old Moraya who was in all-White education environments her whole childhood.
“I cried for my own children, who are now living in a pandemic and civil unrest. My Black son just hugged me and said ‘let’s go garden and pick some tomatoes mom.’ I looked at him and thought, I have taught you to love the earth, to have a voice, to know that your birthright is to feel joy. A radical act for Black children in America. But I cannot keep you safe once you leave this little house in the woods, with our streams and waterfalls. I can’t protect you from other kids saying your skin is too dark to play their games.
“All of these moments fueled me. It told me that I need to do something to help folks understand that these conversations can and need to happen from a young age. If my kids can experience racism since birth, with their Black mother almost dying in the hospital, yours can certainly talk about it.
“This year’s project is focusing on the idea that if ALL of us are doing our own identity work, we will have deeper empathy and curiosity in ourselves, to hopefully have a deeper desire to understand and connect others who are navigating complex and marginalized identities.”
Chalk-In Schedule
10am: Start. Do any kind of chalk art, writing, scribbles, whatever comes out of your brain/hand.
11am: A little lesson on identity, intersectional identity and the value in understanding your own identity in your activism work.
Then back to chalking.
12pm: The chalk-in ends, “but people can chalk longer,” Moraya says.
While coming off the exit ramp of I-84 into Beacon from Poughkeepsie, a 12 year old child and their mother were behind a black Chevy Silverado pickup truck with two billowing flags mounted in its bed: one traditional American flag with stars and stripes; and the other a black combo 2nd Amendment/”Don’t Treat On Me” statement flag with a white rifle in the middle as its logo. On the back window, there was a sticker decal of a dog pooping on something, and bumper sticker saying “Fuck Communists.” Mounted atop the flag pole with the 2nd Amendment/“Don’t Tread On Me” flag was pistol hand gun.
By this day, 10 Black people had already been shot and killed by an 18-year old White teenager on a mission to kill Black people in Buffalo, NY, and 19 children and two teachers had been shot to death at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas by an 18-year old Hispanic teenager who had been regularly bullied by family and friends.
Back in Beacon, the 12 year old child in the car on the I-84 ramp looked at the pistol mounted atop the flag pole and asked the mother driving the car: “Can he do that? Can he have a gun up there?” The child had already done numerous lock-down drills in school, and the Beacon City School District had dedicated a Board of Education Meeting to informing the people about safety measures they have been making after numerous school and public places shootings.
Not sure on the legality of the gun, an inquiry was made by ALBB to the Beacon Police and the City Administrator Chris White. This City Administrator has instructed all City department heads to not respond to questions from A Little Beacon Blog without his permission based on an earlier article.
The black Chevy Silverado pickup truck with the American flag on the left, and the black rifle flag on the right, with the pistol mounted atop the rifle flag pole. This taken on the west-bound exit ramp of I-84 getting off to turn left for Beacon.
Thankfully, the police officer, Lt. Figlia, responded: “This is an interesting question and the City Administrator asked that I address it. The law prohibits the carrying of a handgun without a permit and New York does not issue permits for the open carry of a handgun. I would say, therefore, that if this were a real, functioning handgun, then it would be a violation of the law and also extremely irresponsible. On the other hand, if it is a replica handgun, which I very much hope that it is, then it would not be illegal.”
This was two weeks ago, before the decision this past week when the Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 ruling that struck down New York’s law pertaining to carrying a gun in public.
According to SCOTUS Blog: “The state law at the heart of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen required anyone who wants to carry a concealed handgun outside the home to show ‘proper cause’ for the license. New York courts interpreted that phrase to require applicants to show more than a general desire to protect themselves or their property. Instead, applicants must demonstrate a special need for self-defense – for example, a pattern of physical threats. Several other states, including California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, impose similar restrictions, as do many cities.”
Justice Clarence Thomas led the ruling striking down New York’s law, and wrote that “the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the right ‘to keep and bear arms’ protects a broad right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense.”
Further, according to SCOTUS Blog: “Thomas rebuffed New York’s effort to justify its proper-cause requirement as an effort to regulate guns in ‘sensitive places’ – specifically, crowded urban areas, like Manhattan, where people are likely to gather. Thomas agreed that, as a historical matter, there have long been laws restricting guns in places like courthouses and polling places. Moreover, he continued, restrictions that apply to the modern versions of ‘sensitive places’ may also pass constitutional muster. Although Thomas left open exactly what might qualify as a ‘sensitive place,’ he made clear that urban areas do not meet that definition. The state’s ‘argument would in effect exempt cities from the Second Amendment and would eviscerate the general right to publicly carry arms for self-defense,’ Thomas concluded.”
According to CNBC, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said, “This decision isn’t just reckless, it’s reprehensible.”
Hochul said that because “the federal government will not have sweeping laws to protect us ... our states and our governors have a moral responsibility to do what we can and have laws that protect our citizens because of what is going on — the insanity of the gun culture that has possessed everyone all the way up to the Supreme Court.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said: “This decision has made every single one of us less safe from gun violence.”
President Joe Biden said he was “deeply disappointed” in the ruling, which he said, “contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all.”
Not sure how the Supreme Court’s new decision impacts Lt. Figlia’s answer for the truck here in the Hudson Valley region.
Where Did This Legal Case Come From?
According to CNBC, “the case was brought by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and two of its members, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, whose applications for concealed-carry handgun licenses for self-defense purposes were rejected. New York Supreme Court Justice Richard McNally ruled that neither man had shown proper cause to carry guns in public because they failed to demonstrate that they had a special need for self-protection.”
According to the NPR Legal Correspondent, Nina Totenberg, this Supreme Court is looking for cases it can make national changes on. This observation was supported by this reporting in CNBC regarding this gun law: “After a federal judge in New York dismissed the case, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that judgment. The U.S. Supreme Court then took the case.”
As for this truck pulling into Beacon: it was spotted again headed south on 9D on Juneteenth afternoon, which was June 19, 2022. The truck pulled into Buffalo Wild Wings and parked alongside the resteraunt. A White man with a close clipped brown beard in a long sleeved cotton jersey walked around the truck, checked the 2nd Amendment flag pole with the pistol mounted on top, and went about his day.
Had the driver of this truck been a Black man, or an Arab man, or a Hispanic man, or an Indian man, or an Asian man, would the vehicle still be out on the road?
Imani Perry has published many books, earned many degrees, traveled to many states within these United States, all to translate and tell the story of the characteristics and developments that happened here and before "here" was here as we know it today. As she says in her book, South to America: A Journey Below The Mason-Dixon To Understand The Soul Of A Nationin reference to the birth of America: "There are so many birth dates: 1492, 1520, 1619, 1776, 1804, 1865, 1954, 1964, 1965."
On Juneteenth 2022, Imani was standing alone on the Bardavon Presents stage in a long black dress with a capped shoulder sleeve, her curly bangs spilling out of her bun and her nails painted a light glossy pink, serving as a focal point as she rubbed her hands together before letting her fingers fly open when she told the audience her story of Juneteenth and what it has meant in her life as a Black woman living in America.
The theater was about a third full with a mixture of older Black women and men, and many more older White women and men who came as a couple or separate. She thanked Poughkeepsie for having her, and let us know she had been here many times to visit friends and family.
Editor’s Note: Grammatically for this first time in this blog, the “W” is capitalized in White because Imani has declared in her book she is doing it, even though it’s not been formally adopted by style guides yet. ALBB has also wanted to capitalize it, and will follow her style.
Imani was at Bardavon to promote her books with a book signing at the end, but she spoke with dedication about Juneteenth, aka Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Black Independence Day. The date of this author talk was June 19, 2022, which also happened to fall on Father’s Day this year. Immediately, Imani connected the two holidays by sharing how her father, an social justice mover, would not let her family celebrate the Independence Day of July 4th. His reasoning, Imani said, was that Independence Day on July 4th established in 1776 was not inclusive of African Americans at that time, as they remained enslaved. As a compromise, her child self asked her father if she could celebrate July 4th in the form of a protest.
Imani went on to share thoughts on how fathers might have felt when they learned about the Emancipation Proclamation. Imani imagined how a the African descended father might feel when he learned he was free, as his thoughts traveled to his children and how they were free. But his children most likely had been taken from him and sold at auction, so he did not know where they were.
Imani also wondered how the father might feel about having the ability to name his own child. She took that moment to expand on the roll of the grandmother in enslaved families; how the grandmother was often at the center of the remaining family because so many different family members were taken out of the group at any given time to be sold.
Imani insisted that Juneteenth was a day of jubilation. That it is celebrated with red food, like red velvet cake and watermelon (also a resistance food for Palestinians). In Beacon, the group Beacon4Black Lives organized a BBQ of jubilation for all community members to attend, making a point to say that it was not a protest this time, but a day of joy. Beacon4Black Lives organized a majority of protest marches down Main Street followed by speaking opportunities at open mikes in 2020.
Back in the Bardavon, Imani, in her cheer for the day of jubilee, did quietly say that Juneteenth was also “a day of rage.” Perhaps she was feeling the words in her book, South To America, where she writes in her Introduction: “A flock of black skimmers might have flown over the slave pens that night. Or rested there, callow jailbirds. How could they know their presence taunted, that the people inside wished they could fly? Or that the nights they were up, bodies rubbed with beef tallow, hair painted to gleaming black, faces scrubbed, had the most terrible foreboding? Sale tomorrow.”
After reading images like these, recalls of history, the sentances helps give meaning to regularly listened to songs, like “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” when sung by Nina Simone, written by Billy Taylor and released in 1967. Particularly this passage that Nina Simone sings resonates with Imani’s detail about wishing to fly:
Well, I wish I could be like a bird in the sky How sweet it would be if I found I could fly Oh, I'd soar to the sun and look down at the sea And then I'd sing 'cause I'd know, yeah Then I'd sing 'cause I'd know, yeah Then I'd sing 'cause I'd know I'd know how it feels I'd know how it feels to be free, yeah, yeah
Imani suggested why deep belly laughs in the community were so important - to release stress in order to go to sleep and wake up to face another day. Each day had hope. She encouraged us to read the Emancipation Proclamation - it’s very short - to see how it was worded. Abraham Lincoln’s executive order specifies certain states, leaves out others, and recommends African Americans to continue laboring but for “reasonable wages” this time, create no violence “except in self-defense,” while making it very clear that they will be received into the military should they want to pick up arms and serve in several parts of the military. The involvement of Black soldiers helped the Union win the war, as well as battles and wars before and after the Civil War.
Imani concluded her talk, and opened the one-way dialogue up to a Q+A session with the audience. Several hands flew up, and she took questions graciously asked from vulnerable places and provided her responses from her perspective in a non-judgement zone.
About Imani Perry
Imani is the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and a faculty associate with the Programs in Law and Public Affairs, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Jazz Studies.
She is a scholar of law, literary and cultural studies, and an author of creative nonfiction. She earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from Harvard University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA from Yale College in Literature and American Studies.
Her writing and scholarship primarily focuses on the history of Black thought, art, and imagination crafted in response to, and resistance against, the social, political and legal realities of domination in the West. She seeks to understand the processes of retrenchment after moments of social progress, and how freedom dreams are nevertheless sustained.
Her book: Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation (Duke University Press 2018) is a work of critical theory that contends with the formation of modern patriarchy at the dawn of capitalism, the transatlantic slave trade, and the age of conquest, and traces it through to the contemporary hypermedia neoliberal age. Her book More Beautiful and More Terrible: The Embrace and Transcendence of Racial Inequality in the United States (NYU Press, 2011) is an examination of contemporary practices of racial inequality that are sustained and extended through a broad matrix of cultural habits despite formal declarations of racial equality.
It's Juneteenth on Sunday! Let us remember that this holiday of independence for African Americans living in the USA is a holiday of delay of freedom and decency - delay that processes can create, and that laws can create in plain sight to make people not matter.
Juneteenth has been celebrated by the Black community since 2 years after the Civil War ended and the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, abolishing slavery. Enslaved people in Texas were never told about President Abraham Lincoln's executive order declaring enslaved people to be free. Two years later, a Union soldier rode into town to deliver the news. The response from the African American community was jubilation and celebration with music, food and community.
Juneteenth is also known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, and Juneteenth Independence Day, according to Britannica. Despite these words of freedom, the Black community would be kept down by Jim Crow Laws, making it nearly impossible for them to vote, own property, and other basic functions of living in the United States of America.
For the first time since 1865 - that's 157 years later - the holiday became a national (paid in some cases) holiday, made possible by President Joe Biden. One hundred and fifty seven years is a lot of delay! Especially evident as many in the white community only learned about Juneteenth in 2020 during the first months of racial re-awakening in our time.
Thanks to notifications in the Beacon Free Press and a great roundup at the Chronogram, we are able to share several Juneteenth events that you can participate in. For staying in place, the Highlands Current has been printing a great series on Black history in the Hudson Valley. Do give it a read and a listen to their podcast. The stories told by elders in the Black community here tell of experiences and an at times continued way of life that is not acceptable and rooted in strange comfort.
Also a great listen is the reading of essays from the students for the 2022 Martin Luther King Essay Contest at Beacon's City Council Workshop Meeting this week. The ceremony, usually held in February, had been delayed numerous times. Former Councilmember Ali Muhammad suggested hosting it during a Community Segment of the public meeting, so that you can have a chance to hear the kids read their essays on video. Give a listen (it's in the beginning).
PS: Speaking of the other Independence Day on July 4th, the Mayor announced during that meeting that July 4th event details if any were supposed to come down that night, but perhaps will come next week.
PPS: The Saugerties Town Board voted to cancel a scheduled gun show that was to be held at the Kiwanis Ice Arena, an event organized by David and Cathy Petronis, as reported in the Times Herald-Record. The Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra released a statement with comments from Petronis and Town Supervisor Fred Costello Jr. citing "recent mass shootings around the country" as the reason for the discomfort. David Patronis was in favor of continuing the show, and lamented the loss of revenue for small business, but it seemed many in the community and law enforcement did not want the event.
AND: Happy Fathers Day! Shop and Dine on Main Street!! To your heart's content.
Everyone: A GREAT Thank You to our sponsors in the Shopping and Restaurant Guides, and the Business Directory featured below. It is with their support, and reader support, that we produce this publication. Please make a point to give them your patronage. Thank you!
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Edited and Written By Teslie Andrade and Katie Hellmuth Martin
Office for the Aging Summer Picnic Series Returns with Traditional Picnic 2022
Day: Wednesdays, June 22, June 29 Time: Begins at 12pm Location: Thomas Boyce Park, 6420 NY 55, Wingdale
Proof of residency and advance reservations are both required, and space is limited; walk-ins cannot be accommodated. There is a $8 charge for each non-resident guest and those 59 or younger. Space is limited at each picnic, and residents who wish to reserve their space at the picnic are encouraged to call (866) 486-2555 during office hours.
1st Annual Pride in Beacon Day: Saturday, June 18, 2022 Time: 2pm - 6pm Location: The Yard, Beacon, NY
A free family event! A dance party with an epic DJ! Come dance and frolic at this outdoor community event. Good treats, good eats, local vendors- random prizes! Arts and crafts! Information >
Juneteenth The Cookout Day: Sunday, June 19, 2022 Time: 6pm Location: @ The Yard, 4 Hanna Lane, Beacon, NY
Tell your friends and bring your aunties- the third annual Juneteenth celebration is happening and you’re all invited to the cookout! Lots of food, games, a community playlist to dance to, tarot readings, and more! This isn’t a protest, just a celebration of black culture and community. In the spirit of community, we encourage y’all to make this cookout a potluck and bring your best dish (suggestion not a requirement). This event is free and for people of all ages. On site parking is limited. Masks are not required in outdoor spaces, however we do ask that you where them when entering indoor facilities on site, and be mindful and respectful of people who choose to wear them. If you are feeling sick or have ANY symptoms, we ask that you sit this one out. Information >
Author Imani Perry At Bardavon For Juneteenth For Her Book "South To America"
Day: Sunday, June 19, 2022 Time: 5pm Location: Bardavon Presents, Poughkeepsie, NY
The author and multi-degree earner Imani Perry will speak on her new book South to America, followed by a Q & A and a book signing in the Bardavon lobby. In her new book South to America, the author seeks to change how people view the American South and, thus, the country’s history as a whole. Her writing and scholarship primarily focuses on the history of Black thought, art, and imagination crafted in response to, and resistance against, the social, political and legal realities of domination in the West. She seeks to understand the processes of retrenchment after moments of social progress, and how freedom dreams are nevertheless sustained. Information >
The City of Peekskill Youth Bureau's 11th Annual Juneteenth Celebration Day: Saturday, June 18, 2022 Time: 12pm-5pm Location: Depew Park, Peekskill, NY Reported by the Chronogram: "This year’s event theme is celebrating African American firsts. Honored guests and Grand Marshals of the event are Joan Battle King, the first Black woman to own a licensed childcare facility in Peekskill; Judge Reginald Johnson, the first Black judge in Peekskill; Mayor Vivienne McKenzie, the first Black woman mayor in Peekskill; and the first Black deputy County Executive in Westchester. Freedom Day celebrations will include plenty of music, art, and dancing, with marching bands, jazz, gospel, hip hop, African drums and dance, and spoken word, plus food and craft vendors. " Information >
Resistance Revival Chorus At Bardavon In Kingston Day: Saturday, June 18, 2022 Time: 7pm Location: Bardavon Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston, NY Reported by the Chronogram: "The group is made up of over 60 women and nonbinary performers highlighting and uplifting their peers voices. Members of the group represent a variety of career paths, including musicians, actors, activists, educators and other creatives. The singers focus on breathing joy and song into the gender equality movement." Information >
Q POP Hosts Film Festival & Night Market for Juneteenth Day: Saturday, June 18, 2022 Time: 6:30pm Location: Elmendorf Lot @ the corner of Broadway, Midtown Kingston, NY Reported by the Chronogram: "Queerteenth Film Festival & Night Market. The festival will feature films from Black and Black Queer filmmakers and guest speakers. The theme for this year's film festival is celebrating Black creativity, Black and Queer multiplicity, its place in Queer spaces, and liberation. All filmmakers in the area identifying as artists of the African Diaspora are welcome to enter a film for free. There will be a cash prize for the best film as voted by the audience. All admission to the event is free." Information >
Q POP Hosts Block Party For Juneteenth Day: Sunday, June 19, 2022 Time: 6:30pm Reported by the Chronogram: "Q POP celebrations will continue on June 19 at 2pm at Block Park on Abeel Street with a block party, marketplace, and wellness event. The event will have local musicians, grilled food, farmers from the area with local produce, and wellness practitioners offering their healing experiences." Information >
The Hudson River Maritime Museum:“Indigenous Removal in the Hudson Valley During the French & Indian War”
Day: Wednesday, June 22, 2022 Time: 7pm Location: Virtual Via Zoom
The lecture will discuss an attempt by the colonial governments of New York and New Jersey, as well as Sir William Johnson, the British superintendent of Indian affairs, to remove members of Algonquian-speaking Native groups from the wider Hudson Valley region during the Seven Years’ War (1754-63). Information >
BEACON BREAD COMPANY 193 Main St.
It's the weekend and all we can think about is sipping on this absolutely summery Watermelon + Mint Margarita all weekend! Join BBC for awesome, new cocktail specials, and obviously for brunch/lunch! Happy Hour is from 4-7 (with $7 food + drinks!) TGIF! OPEN:
Sunday-Thursday until 7 pm (Closed on Wednesday)
Friday + Saturday until 10 pm Happy Hour $7 ‘til 7 pm menu is available every day starting at 4 pm! Menu > Order Pick Up or Delivery > Beacon Bread Company is a Sponsor, thank you!
MEYERS OLDE DUTCH
184 Main Street, Beacon, NY
Weekend plans = Yummy Single Dutch Goodness from MODr! The only thing that can make this better is actually holding one and eating one with friends, family, or even yourself! Guaranteed to fill your belly and your soul. Never ever forget the dirty fries. Open Sunday thru Thursday for Food 11:30am - 9pm; Bar until 10pm Friday and Saturday Food 11:30am - 11:00pm; Bar until midnight. Order Now > Meyers Olde Dutch is a Sponsor, thank you!
HUDSON VALLEY FOOD HALL 288 Main Street, Beacon, NY
You want & you NEED the Hummus Plate from Hudson Shawarma. Stop in the HV Food Hall this weekend for all the goods! Follow HV Food Hall's foodies:
Miz Hattie's BBQ: Southern Style BBQ, from North Carolina. Order ahead via their Toast-app menu! El Nica: Nicaraguan Food Roosevelt Bar: Cocktail Bar in a well-ventilated space with Outdoor Patio! Shmuck's Sweet Stuff: Local Ice Cream, Hot Waffles, and Other Sweet Stuff Hudson Shawarma: Falafels, shawarma, baklava, and platters Ciao Chow - Hand made pasta and fried rice Hudson Valley Food Hall is a Sponsor, thank you!
BAJA 328 328 Main Street, Beacon, NY
Nothing like the calamari from Baja! Especially when you can enjoy it outside by the garage doors/ or inside by the garage doors! Good vibes & good food = Baja! Stop in this weekend & don't forget to try their Spring drink specials! PS: Different specials every week! You don't wanna miss out. See some examples here > PPS: Happy Hour Tues-Fri 4-6pm Check out their specialty drinks > Check out the specials >
BAJA 328 is a Sponsor, thank you!
ZIATUN
244 Main St.
Happy Friday! Don’t forget to treat yourself this weekend to something delicious like the Rice Bowl from Ziatun! It is one of our favorites because it includes a little bit of everything- seasoned basmati rice, salad, baba ghanoush, hummus, and beet-pickled turnips. Open today until 9pm, with a few outside tables available! Easy online ordering for pick-up and delivery! PS: Now also open on Tuesdays till 9pm! Ziatun is the go-to spot for commuters and "late night" eating Beacon-style. Menu > Order Online > HOURS
Monday + Thursday-Saturday 11 am-9pm
Tuesday + Wednesday 11 am-4pm
Sunday 11am-8pm Ziatun is a Sponsor, thank you!
WITCH HAZEL Online Shop based in Beacon, NY!
We are obsessing over this new planter from Witch Hazel! This is Vivian, and talk about a classy gal. Vivian is a black and white marbled concrete planter, hand-poured to perfection. She also has handy little rubber feet to protect windowsills and other surfaces. Vivian deserves a place in your home, no? You can $hop Witch Hazel's Summer Edit here >
& trust us, you want to! Buy it here > Order florals > Follow Witch Hazel on Instagram! >
BINNACLE BOOKS
321 Main Street, Beacon What are you reading this summer? You're gonna need something good to occupy you at the beach, at a picnic, out in the backyard, or in bed! Find a bunch of hidden gems at Binnacle Books! And if you're not sure what to find, or what you're interested in, the crew is more than happy to help! Books bought & books sold! Order ANY book you like from Binnacle Books on their website. It will be sourced and found and ready for you to pick up at the shop. PS: We are ordering Imani Perry's book Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation tonight, because you can order any book from Binnacle on their website. Binnacle is *Open daily!
Binnacle Books is proud to partner with Beacon Prison Rides and Beacon Prison Action on the Beacon Prison Books Project. Read more about it here >
Shop online > Binnacle Books is a Sponsor, thank you!
BRETT'S HARDWARE 18 West Main Street, Beacon
The vintage Edison bulbs are so pretty, you can take off your vintage glass coverings from your 1980s ceiling fan to expose them. Yup! Available at Brett's in different shapes and sizes. OPEN
Monday-Friday 7:30am - 7pm
Saturday 8am - 6pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm Brett's Hardware is a Sponsor, thank you!
LUXE OPTIQUE 181-183 Main Street, Beacon
Wondering if you made the decision to purchase new eyewear from Luxe Optique yet?! You know you wanna! I mean, c'mon, you can wear anything (sweats and pjs) and still look so fab as long as you have Luxe Optique! Reading, sunglasses, fashion, whatever ya want, just make the appt and stop in!
Check out Luxe Optique's Instagram to see the best eyewear collections and how you can style them!
PS: Appointments required for exams. HOURS:
Monday 10 AM - 5 PM
Tuesday - Saturday 10 AM - 6 PM
Closed on Sundays Shop Online > Luxe Optique is a Sponsor, thank you!
ANTALEK & MOORE INSURANCE AGENCY
340 Main Street, Beacon
Head on over to Antalek & Moore's website to subscribe to their monthly newsletter! Never miss out on the latest company updates, industry news, and more. Antalek & Moore is your one stop shop for all insurance needs! Latest Announcements > Antalek & Moore is a Sponsor. Thank you!
TIN SHINGLE
Tin Shingle a training platform and community for businesses, artists and makers who are getting the word out about their business. Learn More > Tin Shingle is a Sponsor. Thank you!
KATIE JAMES, INC.
Okay, it's time... upgrade your website! Your business is constantly growing and your website should reflect that! Customers are constantly checking in to see whats new and you must show them and tell them. Let us help! Learn About This Service > Katie James Inc. is a sponsor. Thank you!
HIRING: Part-Time Sales Associated At NFP: New Form Perspective Details >
The author and multi-degree earner Imani Perry will speak on her new book South to America, followed by a Q & A and a book signing in the Bardavon lobby. The event is free, and is presented by the Poughkeepsie Public Library District and Bardavon Presents. Tickets are limited to two per person and can be reserved here. Imani is an American interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature, and African-American culture. Order the book online from Binnacle Books in Beacon.
In her new book South to America, the author seeks to change how people view the American South and, thus, the country’s history as a whole. Her writing and scholarship primarily focuses on the history of Black thought, art, and imagination crafted in response to, and resistance against, the social, political and legal realities of domination in the West. She seeks to understand the processes of retrenchment after moments of social progress, and how freedom dreams are nevertheless sustained. Her book: Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation (Duke University Press 2018) is a work of critical theory that contends with the formation of modern patriarchy at the dawn of capitalism, the transatlantic slave trade, and the age of conquest, and traces it through to the contemporary hypermedia neoliberal age. Her book More Beautiful and More Terrible: The Embrace and Transcendence of Racial Inequality in the United States (NYU Press, 2011) is an examination of contemporary practices of racial inequality that are sustained and extended through a broad matrix of cultural habits despite formal declarations of racial equality.
Imani is the author of 6 other books, including Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry, which received the Pen Bograd-Weld Award for Biography, The Phi Beta Kappa Christian Gauss Award for outstanding work in literary scholarship, the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Nonfiction and the Shilts-Grahn Award for nonfiction from the Publishing Triangle. Looking for Lorraine was also named a 2018 notable book by the New York Times, and a honor book by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. It was a finalist for the African American Intellectual History Society Paul Murray Book Prize. Her book May We Forever Stand: A History of the Black National Anthem, winner of the 2019 American Studies Association John Hope Franklin Book Award for the best book in American Studies, the Hurston Wright Award for Nonfiction, and finalist for an NAACP Image Award in Nonfiction. Her most recent book is: Breathe: A Letter to My Sons (Beacon Press, 2019) which was a finalist for the 2020 Chautauqua Prize and a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Excellence in Nonfiction.
Imani is the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and a faculty associate with the Programs in Law and Public Affairs, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Jazz Studies. She is a scholar of law, literary and cultural studies, and an author of creative nonfiction. She earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from Harvard University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA from Yale College in Literature and American Studies.
Abijah Spence is a self employed gig worker who reached out to A Little Beacon Blog about being included in ALBB’s Black Owned Business Directory for his Personal Shopping & Delivery service. That’s the kind of hustle it takes to start and run your own business. After years of working in the Gig Economy, and experiencing the pros and cons of several delivery apps, Abijah’s favorite delivery app to use is the Dumpling app. “This is the only app that lets me set my own price for delivery charges, doesn’t take my tips like other big delivery companies have tried to do to me, and gives me control over how I grow my business,” Abija told A Little Beacon Blog.
Abijah is a Personal Shopper who can get things for you from stores that are synced with the app like Key Food Beacon , Aldis, Hannaford, CVS, Home Depot, and more. But the app also allows for you to type in your own store not in the list. We tried it with Brett’s Hardware for leaf/lawn bags that we have been needing for weeks but keep forgetting to pick up and need them now but can’t get to the store. Abijah will be on his way! Schedule him now.
“Honestly, the Dumpling app is very easy,” Abijah told us. “Anywhere you want me to go, you type in the store if it’s not already in the list, and type in what you want. The app stores your credit card, and when I go in to pick up your things, the store charges your card that’s on file with the app. I don’t see your card - only Dumpling holds that info. I bring you the receipt of exactly what you purchased, if it was on sale, etc.”
To get Abijah, visit ALBB’s Business Directory where we link directly to him. You’ll need to download the Dumpling app. Easy.
Thank you to all of the business who list their services as sponsors of ALBB. If you want to list your business and become a sponsor of ALBB’s Business Directory, you can find out more information here! >
While Mayor Lee Kyriacou initially slated a Moment of Silence for COVID-19 deaths into the official agenda for the meeting, he added two more dedications in: a moment for the the racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, NY, and the shooting death in Beacon at Forrestal Heights on Saturday, May 14, 2022. Mayor Kyriacou called it a homicide. City Administrator Chris White expressed condolences to the family, and urged people to call the Beacon Police with any tips.
A Police Officer, Trevor Wood, was promoted to Detective. The affirmative vote was unanimous, with Councilmember Justice McCray abstaining from voting.
A Community Segment for the MLK Essay Contest was postponed due to the early dismissal of the schools to prepare for today’s thunderstorm.
The City of Beacon is moving forward with rehabilitation work for dams in order to keep the dams in good working order, and stop water seepage that is happening, as well improve run-off systems for increased rainfall so that there are no overflow issues. After revisiting the plans, the overall price was reduced.
The parking lot off West Center Street in the Beacon Housing Authority’s Forrestal Heights apartment complex. This is the second parking lot, around the bend from the first, where people familiar with the shooting say it happened.
The first parking lot off West Center Street in the Beacon Housing Authority’s Forrestal Heights apartment complex.
According to neighbors and the Beacon Police, a man named Lionell Pittman, age 32, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Forrestal Heights affordable housing apartment community on West Center Street, which is managed by Beacon Housing Authority, on early Saturday evening while people were coming home from busy Saturday days of kids sports, shopping, day tripping, and returning from work.
According to their press release from Detective Jason Johnson, the Beacon Police got a call for shots fired at 6:50pm. The Beacon Detective Division is asking anyone with information to contact the City of Beacon Police Department at 845-831-4111 with any tips.
According to people who heard the shots, commotion could be heard from the second parking lot around the bend from the first parking lot on West Center Street. The parking lot and the apartment units are located next door to the Beacon Recreation Center and across the street and next door to houses owned by homeowners.
According to those who heard the shots, there was a motorcycle driving around which popped off its exhaust, and sounded like gunshots, which apparently is a common sound in that neighborhood, and is definitely a common sound on Main Street and other side streets around Beacon.
Moments or seconds later, a second series of shots were heard that occurred in a period of one or two seconds. These were the gunshots that killed Lionell. According to one person, 18 shots were released in 1 or 2 seconds. Three of these shots allegedly landed in Lionell, one allegedly to his head and two in his chest. Another person reported hearing 7 shots in 1 second.
According to reporting by Bill Beale for K104.7 and Midhudson News, Lionell received CPR in the ambulance while being taken to the hospital but did not survive the gunshot wounds.
According to someone who spoke to a resident, Lionell was a brother of someone who lives in the apartment units. They felt like the shooting was a targeted event. A Little Beacon Blog is seeking confirmation on if Lionell lived there, and if a funeral will be announced for him.
At that time of the shooting, the sun was still shining and residents were pulling in and out of the parking lot. After the shots, residents apparently came out of their apartments, visibly distraught. At a later time, Beacon’s Mayor Lee Kyriacou was seen by some to be walking to houses located on the opposite side of the street to reassure homeowners that everything was safe, and that Beacon Police were investigating the crime. The suspect remains at large.
It is not known if Mayor Kyriacou went into the Forrestal Heights community where the murder occurred to visit with residents in apartments to relay the same message. A Little Beacon Blog reached out to Mayor Kyriacou and City Administrator Chris White for comment, but has not received a reply by the time of this publishing. Administrator Chris insists that all inquiries from A Little Beacon Blog for all department heads and staff go through him. Should a response come, this article will be updated.
A Little Beacon Blog has reached out to the Beacon Housing Authority’s ross coordinator, Noah Hargett, to confirm the location of the parking lot, the residential status of Lionell, and how is family is coping. Should we get a response, this article will be updated. ALBB has also reached out to the Beacon Police to confirm the parking lot location, and will update here should a response come in.
According to people familiar with the area, no news reporters have visited the scene to learn more information, which surprised them. This report showing a picture of a different parking lot is totally incorrect. Different affordable housing apartment complex.
The Christmas Day murder of Rene “Scout” Vivo, who also lived in the Forrestal Heights apartment units, remains unsolved. Rene was stabbed on Main Street, and died while walking in the direction of his home at Forrestal Heights.
It’s World Keffiyeh Day, and in the little city town of Beacon, this is being greatly celebrated by the Palestinian restaurant, Ziatun on Main Street. Owner Kamel Jamal’s sister, Khitam (who used to go by Kate and reverted back to her Palestinian name last year after Palestine was particularly annihilated in the escalated conflict with its occupier Israel last May), contacted ALBB to spread the word that the keffiyeh scarf, which started as a farmer’s scarf for protection against the sun but was adopted as a resistance scarf to occupiers, was being celebrated today, May 11th.
You can buy keffiyeh scarves at Ziatun, or order online at Handmade Palestine, who still has a factory in Palestine. Many Palestinian businesses are destroyed or strangled by Israeli forces by way of cutting off water or electricity or limiting shipments, so supporting local business in Palestine matters.
Says Kamel about what the keffiyeh means to him: “Every day the keffiyah means something different. Today the keffiyeh means ‘unapologetically Palestinian’”
The Embassy for the State of Palestine - South Africa, commemorated World Keffiyeh Day with this statement: “Today is World Keffiyeh Day, a global movement to bring awareness and show solidarity with the Palestinian cause and struggle. The commemoration educates the world about the ongoing occupation of Palestine, by wearing a Keffiyeh. #FreePalestine #KeffiyehDay #worldkeffiyehday”
While there is an embassy and many official records recognizing Palestine, Kamel says that sometimes people walk into his restaurant, take a look around at his homages to his homeland of Palestine, and then tell him that Palestine does not exist. He shared this reality in passing the other day while sauntering down the sidewalk with ALBB after giving us a tour of the new building he just bought (!!!). “People come in and tell me that Palestine doesn’t exist. They ask why we show it on the walls.”
It’s a confusing statement to receive, as Kamel was born there and left at the age of 2 when his family was sponsored by a friend to come to America. Listen to his podcast here to learn all about it. But in online reviews for Ziatun, there was a person who left a bad review because they were so offended by the Palestinian decor. They stated that they preferred Israel only for that region. Israel is generally viewed as an occupier of Palestine, who encroaches on Palestinian land over the years.
In an unexpected and tragic turn of events, Al Jazeera Arabic’s iconic journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was shot in the head today while covering the current escalation in the West Bank. Word has been spreading to Western media outlets, as outrage in social media swells. Especially after the New York Times ran the headline of her simply having “died.”
According to fellow reporters who were with her, as reported by Al Jazeera: “We were four journalists, we were all wearing vests, all wearing helmets,” Hanaysha said. “The [Israeli] occupation army did not stop firing even after she collapsed. I couldn’t even extend my arm to pull her because of the shots being fired. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.”
The New York Times that outraged many for its neutered headline.
During Ramadan as Muslims prayed at Al-Aqsa Masque in Palestine/Israel, journalists released videos of themselves being shot at as they tried reporting on Muslim people praying at that mosque being dragged away by Israeli forces. A source to find those videos is Muslim Daily on Instagram.
“Abu Akleh, who was a dual Palestinian-American national, was one of Al Jazeera’s first field correspondents, joining the network in 1997.
“Grief and sorrow filled the Al Jazeera offices in downtown Ramallah as the news quickly spread and dozens of colleagues, fellow journalists, friends, and Palestinian figures poured in, including Palestinian politicians Hanan Ashrawi and Khalida Jarrar.
“Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar said that Abu Akleh was the voice of Palestinians and was killed by ‘the monstrosity of Israeli colonialism and occupation’.
“Shireen was always my voice from the prison cells,” Jarrar told Al Jazeera, adding that a month into her last detention by Israel, Shireen was the first person she saw at her court hearings.”
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A podcast from A Little Beacon Blog. Your hosts: Katie Hellmuth martin & Brandon Lillard.
The City of Beacon entered into a contract with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley to provide increased access to Beacon tenants facing eviction. They may also be able to help with sources of rent arrears assistance. Call the paralegal, Steven Mihalik at 845-253-6953 to inquire.
Dutchess County Helpline. Open 24/7 to take your calls, listen, and give you resources.
The Hudson River Maritime Museum: “Indigenous Removal in the Hudson Valley During the French & Indian War”
HUDSON VALLEY FOOD HALL
