African American / Latino Round-table Wednesday September 25, 2019 Harrisburg PA

PROGRAM SCHEDULE Breakfast – open at 9:00 am   Call to Order & Welcome – 9:30 am Regional Reports – 9:45 am to 10:30 am Intro. of Elected Officials – 10:30 am to 11:00 am Secretary Reports – 11:15 am to 12:00 pm Present Senator Hughes – 12:00 pm to 12:15 pm Working Lunch – 12:15 pm  1st Panel – Employment & Education – 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm 2nd Panel – Health Care & Housing – 2:00 pm to 3:15 pm

THE ROUNDTABLE IS FREE BUT YOU MUST REGISTER NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 Our mailing address is: Talk Minority Action Group (TMAG) PO Box 143 Monroeville, PA 15146-0143 Our phone number is: (412) 823-4007

The African American/Latino Roundtable is vital in educating, empowering, and uplifting our communities as part of America and the American Dream. ​People of color are the fastest growing population in the United States and the most underrepresented in the democratic political structure.  ​What does diversity, inclusion and equity mean to you?  ​The Roundtable brings people together that want to be diverse and inclusive, intentionally.  We will have elected officials, civic leaders, citizens and activists of like mind who want to make changes in Pennsylvania policies. ​Please join us as we discuss pathways to improve lives of voiceless people in Pennsylvania. Please invite your network to join so we can expand our outreach and our work.  The Roundtable is FREE and open to everyone.  We look forward to talking with you in Harrisburg.

Click Here to Register

This Organization Made History for Black Talent in the Fashion Industry

The National Association of Black Fashion and Accessories Designers was the first of its kind to combat nepotism among White gatekeepers.

BY: Shelby Ivey Christie  Sep 6 2019 · 6 min read

Women and Mary Mcleod Bethune (co-founder of the New York chapter of NAFAD). Photo: Afro Newspaper/Gado/Getty

Being Black in fashion is often boiled down to two words: access and opportunity. The luxury fashion landscape has historically been vastly White. One of luxury’s key pillars is exclusivity; another is scarcity. These principals have been upheld for centuries, not only in luxury fashion but also in the way opportunities and resources are afforded and how talent is defined.

There is a decades-long system where talent of color, mainly Black fashion talent, is left with no entryway into an already exclusive industry.

There are many examples of just how far White nepotism has propelled White fashion talent. Yves Saint Laurent was taken under Christian Dior’s tutelage after his father’s friend Michel de Brunhoff, editor in chief of Vogue Paris, shared Saint Laurent’s sketches with Dior. Anna Wintour’s father was the editor in chief of one of the most revered U.K. publications and set her up with her first job in fashion after she dropped out of high school. Stella McCartney, Paul McCartney’s daughter, was named the creative director of Chloé in 1997, just two years after graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. The Hadid sisters, Lizzy Jagger, Kendall Jenner, and Kaia Gerber have become some of the most recognizable faces in fashion because of who their parents are and the access it affords them.

There is a decades-long system where talent of color, mainly Black fashion talent, is left with no entryway into an already exclusive industry. In response, a collective of Black fashion designers banded together across the United States to form the National Association of Black Fashion and Accessories Designers (NAFAD) to give access and opportunities to Black fashion talent. It was the first organization of its kind. Read More Here:

FESTIVAL UnBound: OCTOBER 4 –13, 2019

Celebrating our home, Bethlehem, the Lehigh Valley, and commemorating twenty years of change since Touchstone’s Steelbound: Art of an Industry. Touchstone will, with our Community, National, and International Partners, forge a vision—through art—for our future.

JOIN US for a ten-day arts festival of original and re-imagined works, created by Bethlehem community members, local professional artists, and international guest artists.

Homecoming

Highlighting the Black community in the Lehigh Valley, an afternoon gathering for all to enjoy features spoken word poets, live music, African drumming, a showcase of ethnic food and vendors, and speakers on health and equity issues. Our featured speaker is Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards.

DATE: Saturday, October 5  TIME: Noon-5:00pm

VENUE: Bob Cohen Room @ Bethlehem Area Public Library | 11 W. Church Street, Bethlehem, PA

PRICE: Love Offering / Pay What You Will donation

Explore the Festival 10 Days of UnBound Events!

10 DAY FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Grace Deliverance Baptist Church Pastoral Vacancy Announcement

Tickets on Sale now for the 2019-20 performance season at the Williams Center for the Arts!

Tickets on sale now for the 2019-20 performance season at the Williams Center for the Arts! Season highlights include Wynton Marsalis, Ballet Hispánico, Sphinx Virtuosi, Jazzmeia Horn, Nobuntu, The Improvised Shakespeare Company—and so much more! Visit williamscenter.lafayette.edu to explore the entire season and secure your seats now!

Greater Shiloh Church 115th Church Anniversary Celebration: Friday 9/20 to Sunday 9/22, 2019

The Greater Shiloh Church will be hosting a celebration of its 115th Church Anniversary.  

The celebration will kick-off with a Gospel Concert on Friday, September 20th beginning at 7:30 pm.


Community Day will be held on Saturday, September 21st, from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, which will feature a Community Yard Sale, a blood drive, financial service. FREE food, FREE kids activities, games and more. The celebration will conclude Sunday, September 22nd, with church services.

For more information please contact the Greater Shiloh Church, 403 Pastor Fred Davis Street, Easton, PA 18042 (610) 252-5640 or check out our website: www.greatershilohchurchpa.com

The Blueprint 2019 Men's Conference Sep 27th to the 28th 2019

YOUR CHANCE TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY through September 23

The Black Heritage Association of the Lehigh Valley supports true Equity, Inclusion and Diversity. We encourage members of the Latino, African, and African American Community to participate.

It's your Lehigh Valley too!

YOUR CHANCE TO SHAPE THE FUTURE

FutureLV: The Regional Plan is under public review, which means everyone has a chance to get involved. Those who’d like to weigh in on the 188-page plan can do it at two public meetings:

Tuesday, August 20 at 12 p.m. at the LVPC, 961 Marcon Boulevard, Suite 310, Allentown. (A pizza lunch will be included). Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/futurelv-public-comment-meeting-1-tickets-68174482713

Wednesday, August 21 at 6 p.m. at Northampton Community College Fowler Family Southside Center – Room 114, 511 E. 3rd St, Bethlehem. Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/futurelv-public-comment-meeting-2-tickets-68174699361

FUTURELV DRAFT IS HERE

The Lehigh Valley is growing fast and the world is changing even faster. 

FutureLV: The Regional Plan is designed to help us prepare for all that change as a thriving region works to manage its growth and prepare for the arrival of more people, more visitors, more online shopping, more autonomous vehicles and well, just plain more of almost everything.

After nearly three years that included more than 170 public meetings and events and participation by 8,500 residents, a draft of the plan is now available at LVPC.org and at public offices across the region. Serving as the plan for Lehigh and Northampton counties, FutureLV will remain open for public comment through September 23.

The plan includes an innovative approach toward managing a successful region’s continued growth, while protecting the key aspects – farmland, open space, scenic vistas, prime location – that are so important in defining its high quality of life. But the challenges ahead are many, and will require we work together.

“FutureLV is a blueprint for a vibrant, sustainable, resilient and forward-moving region,” said Becky Bradley, LVPC Executive Director. “Rising to the challenges before the community, being mindful of the diverse and important assets we have and positioning the Lehigh Valley for the future the community wants and needs, will require everyone to contribute. The most successful regions in the US and World are built on collaboration, partnerships and a collective understanding that everyone is an owner. We must start now.”


The plan strives to bring about five goals:

1. Efficient and Coordinated Development Pattern

2. Connected-Mixed Transportation Plan

3. Protected and Vibrant Environment

4. Competitive, Creative and Sustainable Environment

5. Safe, Healthy, Inclusive and Livable Communities

The plan, designed to carry the region to 2045 and beyond, is built around a Centers and Corridors concept crafted to build up economic centers, create more walkable neighborhoods and enhance our transportation network. It lays out 57 Centers -- ranging from downtown Allentown to Madison Farms in Bethlehem Township to Portland Borough’s commercial district where people live, work or shop. It recommends virtually all future development be focused around those centers, or along the road-and-trail-based corridors that connect them. Doing that will help preserve the region’s farmland and open space, while driving activity into business districts and creating more walkable neighborhoods. The resulting density will increase the activity and vibrancy of neighborhoods, while strengthening the transportation system in a way that makes it more usable for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.

The plan will be available for comment at https://www.lvpc.org/futurelv.html through September 23.

During the comment period, public meetings will be held at the LVPC, at the Fowler Family Southside Center in Bethlehem and other locations across the region. After the comment period, the plan will be revised, based on the comments, finalized and taken for approval before Lehigh County Commissioners, Northampton County Council and Lehigh Valley Transportation Study (LVTS), which serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation projects in the region. The plan is scheduled to be approved by LVTS before the current Long-Range Transportation Plan expires in October.


In addition to finding FutureLV at LVPC.org, it will also be at public locations across the region, including the LVPC offices, PennDOT District 5 offices in Allentown, LANTA’s Allentown offices, Allentown Public Library, Bethlehem Area Public Library and the Easton Area Public Library. Comments can be delivered on the website, by calling the LVPC at 610-264-4544 or by email at planning@lvpc.org.

CLICK FOR ACCESS TO THE PLAN

HOUSE MUSIC Party: Pretty Girls Like HOUSE MUSIC Sunday October 6th 2019 12:00pm to 7:00pm

Pathways 2 Pardons 5:30pm to 8:00pm Tuesday, September 3rd Wilkinsburg, PA

The First Africans in Virginia Landed in 1619. It Was a Turning Point for Slavery in American History—But Not the Beginning

BY OLIVIA B. WAXMAN AUGUST 20, 2019


It was 400 years ago, “about the latter end of August,” that an English privateer ship reached Point Comfort on the Virginia peninsula. There, Governor George Yeardley and his head of trade, Cape Merchant Abraham Piersey, bought the “20. and odd Negroes” aboard in exchange for “victuals” — meaning, they traded food for slaves.

Such a trade, as described five months after the fact in a letter to the Virginia Company of London, had never before occurred in English North America, making this an ignominious milestone — and one that 400 years later is still surrounded by misconceptions and debate.

At the very least, 1619 represented a landmark in the long history of slavery in European colonies, and the beginning stages of what would become the institution of slavery in America. The New York Times this past weekend announced a special project devoted to its indelible mark on American society, and Hampton, Va., is commemorating the anniversary through Wednesday. Previously, on July 30, when President Trump spoke in Williamsburg, Va., to mark the 400th anniversary of Virginia’s General Assembly, he noted — in a speech boycotted by the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, over Trump’s comments about black politicians — that it wasn’t long after that governing body first met that the colony saw “the beginning of a barbaric trade in human lives.”

Read more here:

“Jay-Z” Did Not Sell Out, He Bought In

Wilmer J. Leon III Black Agenda Report  21 Aug 2019

“Jay-Z” Did Not Sell Out, He Bought In

Like the scorpion in the folk parable, it’s in Jay-Z’s nature to make a killing – at Kaepernick and the community’s expense.

“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice,and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the wake of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality and extrajudicial murder, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has struck a deal to lead the NFL’s endeavors into music and entertainment. This deal has caused a lot of consternation within the African American community. The issue now being raised centers around Jay-Z being a “sellout”.

What must be clearly understood is that Jay-Z is a capitalist. He did what capitalists do, he bought in.

Read more here:

Avenging The Ancestors Coalition (ATAC) "400 Year Slavery-Related Commiseration Commemoration" Sunda,y August 25th 2019 @ 2:30pm

                

The Avenging the Ancestors Coalition will hold a 400-year Slavery-related Commiseration Commemoration at 2:30 p.m. at The President's House at 6th and Market streets.

Four hundred children are expected to participate in the event, which will highlight the oppression and struggles African Americans have endured throughout the centuries, including slavery, sharecropping, Jim Crow, mass incarceration and police brutality.

The program also will feature dozens of positive events, victories and African-American individuals “to show that Black people didn’t just submit to the oppression that they resisted and, in many ways, won,” Coard said.

Slavery and Philly: Since arrival of first enslaved Africans, deep scars exist here, across Commonwealth

“All this stuff touches home. It doesn’t go back that far,” says Germantown resident Mark Keenheel as he looks at items in the Lest We Forget Museum of Slavery recently in August. — PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE PHOTO/MICHAEL D’ONOFRIO

The Office of Diversity & Inclusion Presents: PA Turnpike Networking & Outreach Event: Thursday August 29th 3:00pm-5:00pm

Lehigh Carbon Community College www.lccc.edu