Category Archives: Intentional Communities

DENVER (CBS4) So many people have experienced tough times during the coronavirus pandemic. Those can include being sick, losing a loved one, losing a job and being isolated from your loved ones.

During Fridays coronavirus briefing, Gov. Jared Polis said, Theres been a 600% increase in telemedicine use for anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

In any other year, the holiday season marks the passage of another year and can provide a welcome respite for the troubles of the day.

Holidays are also rituals that bring our families and our communities that meaning, joy and connection, said Aimee Voth Siebert, Behavioral Health and Inclusion for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

This year, 2020, is different, the holidays may be tough on many more this year.

Disasters like this pandemic, unfortunately, can shake up a lot of our routines, said Voth Siebert, As individuals we may be feeling more isolated this year.

So, what can you do if you feel depressed, anxious or alone this year? The first thing is find help; seek out a mental health professional or just talk to a trusted friend or family member, but dont feel like you have to suffer alone.

You can also think of the positive things that happened this year for a quick mood boost.

Its been a tough one but continuing to ask that question, What has made it better? can be really helpful, said Voth Siebert.

You can also help others. Volunteer or give socially distant gifts by leaving them on doorsteps or through the mail and remember is that its OK to grieve if you have had a loss in your life, even if it is the holidays.

Theres no right or wrong way to grieve and no timeline for these feelings, said Voth Siebert.

Its also important to remember that everyone is going through something. So embracing the spirit of the season can help others while helping yourself feel better.

Lets use this as a reason to be kind to each other and intentional about caring for our mental health, said Voth Siebert.

If you feel anxious, depressed, suicidal or have a substance abuse problem the following resources can help you find the help you need:

Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Colorado Crisis Services: 1-844-493-8255

Health First Colorado (apply for medical insurance and find Dr.): https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/hcpf/colorado-medicaid

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Findtreatment.samhsa.gov

Colorado Spirit Crisis Counseling Program: covid19.colorado.gov/crisis-counseling-program

Colorado LADDERS (find a substance abuse treatment or mental health provider): Colorado.gov/ladders

UCCS GRIT Resiliency Training- build skills to support one another: grit.uccs.edu

Mental Health During the Holidays: covid19.colorado.gov/mental-health-during-the-holidays

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COVID In Colorado: Isolation, Depression Due To Pandemic Amplified This Holiday Season - CBS Denver

NASHVILLE Tennessee voters are divided along partisan lines over issues ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election's outcome, according to a new Vanderbilt University survey.

"Political partisanship is the ultimate factor shaping Tennesseans' beliefs on every vital issue of the hour the pandemic, the economy and the election," said Dr. John Geer, the Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science and co-director of the Vanderbilt-Tennessee poll. "The disparities in decision making between Tennessee Republicans and Democrats are at an all-time high, a signal to the new administration on the challenges that lie ahead to unify America."

The survey of 1,007 registered Tennessee voters was done between Nov. 18 and Dec. 8 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.6 percentage points. Vanderbilt University's Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions conducts the survey twice annually. It is directed by Geer and Josh Clinton, the Abby and Jon Winkelreid chair and professor of political science.

Republicans "overwhelmingly doubt the validity of the results of presidential election," according to Vanderbilt, which says just 12% of Tennessee Republican voters surveyed said they were confident that national votes were counted fairly and accurately. That compares to 97% of Democrats.

Even when assessing the accuracy of the vote count within Tennessee, which Republican President Donald Trump easily won over Democrat Joe Biden, Tennessee Republicans had more doubts about the accuracy of the results than did Democrats. Poll directors said that finding suggests Trump's repeated attacks on the process extended into red states and his own supporters.

Just 15% of Republicans polled here think Biden is the legitimate winner, while 70% think Biden is trying to "steal the election," according to the Vanderbilt survey.

Meanwhile, 95% of Democrats told pollsters they think Biden is the legitimate winner. And 70% of Democrats believe Trump, who still hasn't accepted the results, is trying to "steal" the election. At the same time, 35% of Republicans said they don't think Trump should concede after the Electoral College certifies the votes, which occurred this week after the survey was conducted.

"In no other time in recent history have we seen voters so skeptical and dissatisfied with election results," Geer said. "Even those voters satisfied with the outcome remain concerned that the opponent is trying to steal the election. Such obstinance must be curbed or could result in a long-term decline in the public's faith in democratic institutions."

When vaccines to protect people from COVID-19 become available to the public the first round are being distributed this week 75% of Tennesseans polled stated they are likely to get vaccinated.

But more than one out of three Republicans surveyed 36% said they are unlikely to get the vaccine, compared to just 15% of Democrats, according to pollsters. That comes despite increased concerns and awareness of the coronavirus at the community level.

For example, 80% of registered voters surveyed said they know someone who has contracted coronavirus, a finding that is consistent in urban, suburban and rural communities as well as partisanship. And 66% are concerned that they or a member of their family will get infected, a rise of 6 points from Vanderbilt's spring poll. Concern among Republicans polled rose 17 percentage points from last spring's poll, going from 37% to 54%. Concern among Democrats remains high at 88%, up 6 percentage points from spring.

Sixty-two percent of Tennesseans polled believe the pandemic is now a large or extremely large public health problem, an increase of 34 percentage points across urban, suburban and rural communities since last spring. Among Democrats, 83% think the pandemic is a large or extremely large public health problem, up 32 percentage points from the spring 2020.

But only 47% of Republicans think COVID-19 poses a large public health problem, according to the poll.

Polarization also impacts socializing and travel plans. Despite raised awareness and concern for COVID-19, 32% of Tennesseans said they don't plan to change how they would normally celebrate the holidays with family and friends. Fifty-two percent of Republicans said they won't change their plans, compared to only 14% of Democrats.

Just over one out of every five Republicans surveyed 22% said they don't usually wear a mask or face covering in a store or public place where they encounter other people. That compares to zero percent of Democrats and 11% of registered voters who are independents. Vanderbilt officials say a zero percent finding is "rare" in polling and underscores the "dramatic polarization" on mask wearing.

But Republicans, Democrats and independents do share something in common. They are somewhat or very concerned that the pandemic has harmed student learning, with 87% to 88% worried it has diminished learning for students at the elementary, middle school students and high school levels.

"It's clear that Tennesseans increasingly see the negative impact of the pandemic on their communities, especially as an inhibitor of public health and a quality education for their children," said Clinton. "Yet there still remains significant, intentional resistance to the CDC's top recommendations to prevent the spread of the virus."

The latest poll found Tennesseans' confidence in the U.S. economy rebounded to fall 2016 levels at 53%, up from 35% in the spring. Confidence in the Tennessee economy increased from 51% to 67%.

But Republican Gov. Bill Lee is taking a first-time hit in his job approval ratings, which dropped from 64% in May to 57% in the latest Vanderbilt poll.

The governor has come under fire from the medical community and Democrats who accuse him of not doing enough to stop the state's spiraling COVID-19 infection rates and now rising deaths.

"Democrats' approval of Gov. Lee declined by a significant 22 percentage points, which likely reflects dissatisfaction with his response to the pandemic among Democrats and independents," Clinton said.

But he noted Lee's approval among Republicans remains the same as it was in May, saying the governor's support in his Republican base "remains strong."

Thirty-seven percent of Tennesseans surveyed, meanwhile, said the pandemic continues to be the leading priority for Tennessee state government, followed by the economy (28%) and education (13%).

But there's a partisan split there as well: 64% of Democrats prioritized the pandemic, education (13%) and the economy (8%). But 40% of Republicans surveyed cited the economy as their top priority followed by the pandemic (19%) and education (13%).

Health care was the top priority for 9% of Tennesseans polled, followed by infrastructure at 5%.

Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.

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Poll: Tennessee voters split along party lines over COVID-19, presidential election outcome and priorities - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Portrait of Monsignor Fahy by John Canfield, untitled publication by the Seton Hall Office of Public Relations, 1976, held the Priest Vertical Files of the Archdiocese of Newark, Box 24.

I learned about Monsignor Fahy in the spring semester of 2018. It was at an intergenerational panel discussion at the Walsh Library of former Seton Hall student-activist leaders. The event was organized by the Concerned 44, an activated student group. The panel discussion was a teach-in about the history of protest on Seton Hall's campus and discussion about the progress of the then student movement. You can follow the Concerned 44 on Instagram. If it weren't for this panel discussion I would not have learned about President Fahy and I'd still be pronouncing Fahy Hall wrong. As an alumna, I can't help but be angry that it took this long. I became more interested and invited colleagues into the journey of getting to know Fahy.

Monsignor Fahy with the leadership of the Black Studies Program, Newark Star Ledger, April 21, 1975.

Alan Delozier, University Archivist, did the work to uncover the Fahy Inaugural address which is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. The CORE has integrated the speech as a required reading for the Journey of Transformations course. And this article intends to showcase a digital communal reading of the text as an activist performance practice. The point of the project is to position the text and its ethos as a cultural imprint on our collective memory. To me, Fahy is a white anti-racist abolitionist ancestor who risked and used his power to benefit others. Social justice is a term we're hearing a lot. What is it? How do you define it? What does it look like? Everyone will have a different answer. I define it as: righting a wrong. If it doesn't right a wrong, it is not justice. Not only did Fahy leverage his power to right a wrong with some of the most impactful undertakings of Seton Hall's history but he acknowledged the problem. Often, we rush to solutions without first doing the self interrogation to name the problem. He used this moment, his inaugural address, when everyone was listening and we're still listening 50 years later.

The video, this collective recitation, brings many voices together for one message. Faculty and students, separate, but together. It carves a lineage. There are protests now as there were 50 years ago. In the streets and on our campus.

Greg Iannarella offers insight into what moved him to gravitate toward one of the most unwavering parts of Fahy's speech, "This section always felt really powerful to me. The description, the intentional language, invoking real scenes and real communities, conjuring the people! It's a moment where he turns the gaze outward and challenges the audience to see what is relevant."

Participants were encouraged to think about their location as a backdrop. These choices offer additional meaning and subtext. Virtual performance lets us become our own set designers. Brooke Duffy presented her portion outside of a new school. "It is a public elementary school in Teaneck that was recently renamed for Theodora Smiley Lacey, a civil rights activist, 'living legend.' The NorthJersey.com website describes, 'it was because of her efforts that Teaneck became the first city in the United States to voluntarily integrate its public schools.'"

Program of Monsignor Fahys Inaugural Address, October 14, 1970, from the Priest Vertical Files held by the Archdiocese of Newark, Box 24.

This isn't the last we'll hear of Fahy's address. Jon Radwan describes a new participatory oral history project designed to ensure access, inclusion, and equity in its research process to document and preserve the entirety of this part of the University's history. "We are confident that the Inaugural Address is only the beginning of learning about Msgr. Fahy's social justice leadership. Our recent proposal to the New Jersey Council for the Humanities seeks funding for a large scale oral history project. We plan to contact alumni, faculty, and administrators who worked closely with Fahy to record their stories about SHU's collaboration with Newark activists to launch the Black Studies Center." To support this project please contact Angela Kariotis and Jon Radwan.

Centering historical figures creates their own mythology. Retrospectives are not without their limitations. But there are so few white allies to look up to for this work. Allies must dig deep, activating themselves, stepping into their consciousness. We can extend the Fahy legacy and course correct. Like 50 years ago, it is a transformative yet fragile time. We must have the will to meet it.

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50 Years Later, Msgr. Fahy's Inaugural Address Foreshadows Issues of Today - Seton Hall University News & Events

Imagine it's 2050 and the world is well on its way to meeting the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. Use of coal, oil, and gas has fallen drastically. Energy and materials are used efficiently. Public transportation thrives; the worlds cities are green, dense, and walkable.Because this green boom was designed by diverse stakeholders with environmental justice in mind, it has created more equitable societies around the world.Everyone agrees, these huge shifts began in the early 2020s with the economic recovery from COVID-19.

That's a thought experiment, of course, but it could be a reality. A recentpaperin the journalSciencecalculated that if 10 percent of the $12 trillion already committed to economic recovery were invested in clean energy and energy efficiency, the world could be on a path to meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Instead of the modest rate of decarbonization that is currently underway, investments could steer economies strongly away from fossil fuels.

Properly designed, that turn away from fossil fuels could also improve racial, gender, and economic equity. For instance,researchersargue that energy efficiency assistance to African Americans can improve health and provide an equitable solution to energy insecurity. In Portland, Ore., a tree planting program lead to a decrease in violent crime;researchers foundthe effect was greatest in low-income neighborhoods. Tree planting is an efficiency measure that reduces energy needed for cooling and has been shown toimprove mental health and community trust. A solar-powered drip irrigationprojectin Benin improved crop production, income level, and food security for women farmers.

These examples show that, nationally and globally, a COVID-19 recovery could advance climate and equity goals. Unfortunately, this opportunity is not being grasped to its full potential. According to theEnergy Policy Tracker,less than half of global recovery investments in the energy sector are green. Analysis by theRhodium Groupshows that nearly a fifth of the European Unions recovery spending could be considered green, but most countries have made far weaker commitments. So far, India, China and the U.S. are all directing less than 3 percent of their planned recovery spending in a "green" direction.

While green investments and policies can increase equity, it is hard to say if the green elements of recovery plans put forth so far will be equitable.

The mostcomprehensive databaseof stimulus spending, maintained by the IMF, shows little standardization or consistency on equity provisions. When equity considerations do figure into a countrys stimulus package, they rarely apply to green investment. The handful of national plans that integrate equity considerations and green investments are vague and difficult to quantify. Some countries COVID-19 stimulus packages refer to a just transition, but fail to specify how funds will be spent in an equitable way.

In other words, not much of the worlds planned recovery spending protects the future climate. Of the small fraction that will be green, not much is explicitly designed to be equitable.

There are some exceptions, though, and this is good news. Around the world, bright spots show the potential for COVID-19 funds to fight climate change while simultaneously increasing equity. For example:

These isolated examples represent possibility. But how can that possibility be realized on a larger scale?

On the climate side it is fairly straightforward. From big renewable infrastructure projects to weatherization of the smallest dwellings, recovery dollars should be poured into the clean energy economy. Public transportation, faltering as riders opt for other modes of transport during the pandemic, provides another opportunity for massive investments that can spur recovery, provide good jobs, and keep cities moving. And avoid investment in infrastructure for extracting and burning fossil fuels.

To seize the equity opportunity, decision makers must recognize that equity never improves by accident. Green investments produce improved equity only with intentional planning, which can take many forms. For example:

If enough money is injected into an economy, recovery will happen. But struggling communities around the world are calling for more than recovery. They are calling for a transformation that includes justice and decisive climate action. Visionary leaders, like those behind the projects weve described above, are showing that a transformative recovery is possible. But it wont happen by accident and it wont happen with the plans currently on the books. Theres still time for a transformative recovery, but theres less of it every day.

Cassandra Breeze Ceballos is the Multisolving Program Associate and Elizabeth Sawin is Co-Founder and Co-Director ofClimate Interactivea think-tank that helps people find solutions to climate change and related issues like equity, health, food, and water. You can learn more aboutmultisolvingon Climate Interactives website, where you can also explore adatabaseof green, resilient, equitable recovery measures being taken around the world. You can alsofollow Sawin on Twitter.

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COVID-19 recovery spending could catalyze transformative change, but time is running out | TheHill - The Hill

"Chicago was the center of Black entrepreneurship," says Marquis Miller, chief diversity officer for the city of Chicago and former vice president of the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

While these firms served their own Black communities, they also did business with non-minority firms, whether it was advertisers reaching Ebony readers or supermarkets carrying ethnic hair products.

Perhaps the area's largest Black-owned company is a legacy of that tradition: George Johnson's son Eric in the 1990s acquired small food companies to form Baldwin Richardson Foods. It has grown to be a manufacturer of ingredients and a McDonald's supplier, with sales of $272 million last year.

Gradually large non-minority companies began to diversity their suppliers but largely in fields that have lower barriers to entry. Some had success in airport concessions, liquor distributing and in the McDonald's system as suppliers and franchisees.

Construction firms took advantage of the opportunity to participate as subcontractors. They made money but became comfortable and made the mistake of not building bonding capacity, Moore says.

That was in contrast to Atlanta, where three-term Mayor Maynard Jackson elevated newer Black companies. He used minority set-asides so successfully in the expansion of what is now Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport that it spurred the Federal Aviation Administration to recommend similar initiatives at other national airports. "Jackson made sure Blacks built bonding capacity," Moore says.

Black business in Chicago nevertheless became associated with construction. Rogers recalls serving as board president of the Chicago Park District during the 1990s and organizing an event for the executives of the museums on parkland to meet minority entrepreneurs. The invitation to the event was a picture of a worker with a shovel and hard hat with the tagline, "Digging up business." "These decision-makers thought about Black and Brown businesspeople with a shovel in their hands," Rogers says.

Fortune 500 companies have meant well by signing on to the Billion Dollar Roundtable, pledging to spend $1 billion with minority- and woman-owned businesses. But many young Black firms don't have manufacturing capacity and end up passing along goods such as computer equipment, corporate gifts or masks. Revenue isn't the best barometer if the margins are minuscule, Rogers says, adding, "You're not creating real jobs or wealth."

Everyday business is a series of small transactions, Blackwell says. "We don't need a $30 billion plan to save the world."

A NEW GENERATION

Younger Black-owned companies are forgoing the pass-through route, winning customers and building capacity. Entrepreneur Nosa Ehimwenman in 2012 started general contractor Bowa Group in Chicago after spending 10 years at national builder Gilbane.

Ehimwenman credits Joan Archie, executive director of construction compliance at the University of Chicago Medical Center, for opening Bowa's first opportunitya group of lab, office and clinic renovations. Bowa, which means "to build" in the Edo language of southern Nigeria, went on to serve as general contractor for a Starbucks concession at O'Hare International Airport, becoming the first African American firm to be a primary contractor at the airport. One of Bowa's biggest clients is megadeveloper Related Midwest, a supporter of minority- and women-owned businesses.

Bowa has grown to revenue in the range of $35 million with a workforce of around 60. The contractor's bonding capacity, which was less than $1 million at the start, has grown to $100 million. "That doesn't happen if you're a pass-through," Ehimwenman says.

Another contractor making progress is Trice Construction in Chicago, headed by second-generation owner and attorney Stephanie Hickman. Hickman left her job in human resources at Commonwealth Edison to acquire her family's business, which poured concrete for residential garages and home projects on the West and South sides and in the south suburbs.

Hickman knew the firm's future would lie in utility work. It pivoted by patching streets for Peoples Gas after the utility had to drill through the concrete for repairs. She spent years attending industry networking events to get her name before potential clients and added to bid lists. Although she had earlier worked at ComEd, it took seven years to build enough capability to win a contract. Today, utility work represents 60 percent of revenue at the company that she calls lower middle market. ComEd and other utilities have been "intentional about positioning us for success and growth," she says.

While Trice declines pass-through work, it participates in government projects that typically set aside 26 percent for minority firms and 6 percent for women-owned firms. The difficulty is that minority firms can become too big to qualify and end up competing with much larger non-minority contractors. "You don't have the same constraints outside government, so we look to build our business in the private sector," Hickman says.

Originally posted here:

Supplier diversity needs to focus on industries of today and tomorrow - Crain's Chicago Business

Alibi Drinkery in Lakeville and Neighbors on the Rum in Princeton were among dozens of businesses that threatened to open their doors in violation of the executive orders. And on Wednesday they served dozens of customers at each restaurant despite the prohibition aimed at mitigating the spread of the coronavirus.

When staff at each business were notified by law enforcement that they were operating in violation of the law, they said they were aware and planned to continue, according to news release from the attorney general's office.

I know its tough out there for businesses and employees and help is already on the way but what these establishments are doing is wrong. Not just wrong in breaking the law wrong in exposing their loved ones, their customers, their employees, their communities, and potentially every Minnesotan to COVID-19. People will get sick, and some will die, because theyre breaking the law, Ellison said. The businesses were holding accountable today know what they need to do to comply with the law and instead, theyre flouting it.

EARLIER:

Ellison in his lawsuits against the businesses asked that the court stop the owners from violating or threatening to violate the executive orders and sought restitution for the state. He also requested civil penalties of up to $25,000 for each violation or threatened violation of the order.

Gov. Tim Walz's recent extension of coronavirus-related business closures, as well as Ellison's enforcement of the laws, have sparked a new round of political fighting between the executive branch and Republican state legislators. State Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, at a Thursday news conference was joined by business owners who said the executive orders are crushing them.

Gazelka issued a warning to Ellison: The Legislature "holds the purse strings," and in 2021 will be writing a two-year budget for the state. That includes setting the budget for Ellison's office.

"We're going to look at how many $10,000 fines he inflicted upon these people that were absolutely desperate," he said. "And I'm going to expect that to come out of his budget."

Later in the day Thursday, Ellison also filed for a restraining order against Alibi Drinkery as owners continued operating despite the pending lawsuit. Owners of the Neighbors on the Rum restaurant closed voluntarily.

On Wednesday night, the businesses received notice from the Department of Public Safety that their liquor would be suspended for 60 days due to the intentional violations.

Most bars and restaurants are playing by the rules and following the law," Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said in a news release Wednesday. "Those that have chosen not to comply are putting the health of the community at risk, and we will hold them accountable."

A handful of other restaurants and bars reportedly opened their doors early in an effort to publicly defy the governor and make up for lost revenues. Ellison his office continues to investigate other reports of businesses opening out of compliance with the law.

The "pauses" on indoor dining were set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, but Walz on Wednesday extended the closures through the new year citing ongoing concern about hospital capacity to accommodate patients with COVID-19. Walz also announced elementary schools could reopen for in-person learning next month and that restrictions on gyms, outdoor activity centers and social gatherings would be relaxed.

Health care practitioners and hospital groups applauded the decision, saying it would give them a bit of continued reprieve amid the continued tide of COVID-19 hospitalizations. But business groups, and in particular the hospitality sector, said the decision not to allow indoor dining would deal a critical blow.

Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson, call 651-290-0707 or email dferguson@forumcomm.com

Forum News Service correspondent Sarah Mearhoff contributed to this report.

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Ellison sues Minnesota bars that opened in violation of executive orders - Pine Journal

By Kevin Dallas, Wind River President & CEO

In this digital age, the importance of having tech-related training and skills cannot be stressed enough. The statistics tell us that not all kids have the same equitable access to opportunities. According to data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, African Americans make up 7% of the tech industry, with only 2% holding executive roles in the sector; meanwhile, Hispanics make up 8% of the tech sector with 3% at the executive level; women hold 36% of tech roles, with only 20% at the executive level.

At Wind River our vision is an AI-first world that drives deep transformational economic and social change where technology empowers and protects organizations and societies. With a company culture that comprises attributes of customer focus, growth mindset, and diversity and inclusion (D&I), Wind River has a responsibility to our customers, our employees, and our communities. In addition to growing the business and making an industry impact, driving positive social change through front-line contribution to the education of underrepresented youth in our community is a top priority.

Enter Wind River

As one of very few Black CEOs in the tech sector, its a personal commitment and a commitment for the Wind River Executive Leadership Team to make access to technology more inclusive and equitable for underrepresented groups. A few months after joining Wind River, I was introduced to the Oakland Promise initiative launched by Oakland Mayor, Libby Schaaf. Led by CEO Mia Bonta, the Oakland Promise has been working toward advancing Oaklands community by supporting the citys young people to achieve their postsecondary educational aspirations. This unique cradle to career program offers Oakland youth the resources, support, coaching, and incentives they need throughout their school years to empower them to thrive in the higher education environments and careers of their choosing.

The Oakland Promise services are provided through four core programs at each stage of a young persons development. Through these programs, Oakland Promise offers college savings accounts (529s), Early College Scholarships, 2-4 year College Scholarships, financial guidance for parents and students, college building culture programs and critical resources to empower students to develop their college and vocational bound identity and persistence.

According to Oakland Promise:

1. Among their 1800 Oakland scholars:

79% are First-Generation in their family to go to college

88% are from families classified Very Low Income

91% are from underrepresented groups

2. 88% of their scholars persist from year 1 to year 2 of college/post-secondary, compared to state average of 70% and national average of 74%.

3. The median annual household income for a Black family in Oakland is $37.5K, and simultaneously the average total amount of loans taken out to attend a public post-secondary institution is $27K.

4. Only 45% of Black-identifying middle school students in Oakland strongly believe they will go to college.

Wind River will invest in a real front-line program for Oakland Promise students.

Through this partnership we all win, because in addition to supporting our local youth, this will grow our pipeline of new diverse talent. Our program will include:

College internships that provide exposure to cutting-edge projects and innovations with real-world relevance

Mentorship from some of the brightest minds in the technology field

Graduate career opportunities at Wind River

Mia Bonta shared these words with me, "At Oakland Promise, we are so glad to partner with Wind River to not only help Oakland students expand their horizon of potential careers, but help them see the ways they can contribute to the world through fascinating STEM-related fields."

Mia Bonta, Oakland Promise CEO

Were showing our commitment to investing in Oakland and lifting up and elevating young diverse talent. This will continue to be a priority for Wind River as we seek to be intentional in expanding our already-inclusive organization to further diversify our teams. In fact, weve recently brought in a D&I lead to help drive and accelerate this effort. Im proud of who we are, and who were continually evolving to become.

For more information on Oakland Promise visit: https://oaklandpromise.org/

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Wind River Invests in Underrepresented Youth in the City of Oakland - WIND

Left to Right: Janet Albright-Captain, Jacquie Eaton, Tony Drummond, Ann Driscoll, Sarah Corlett, June Alexander, Dionna DeeDee Flowers, Jeremy Neff and Key Beck as part of a series at Storefronts at buddy's place.(Photo: Joe Walsh and MC Rietz/Provided)

In the middle of Over-The-Rhine's entertainment district is an art collective made for and by community members.

Some are artists, others are educators andstudents,and some are longtime residents.

The work featured as part of the "Storefronts at buddy's place" series varies from cutoutsto live performances andlight installations.

And it's all housed on buddy's place, a building with 20 units of permanent affordable housing for former homeless residents. The building itselfis recognizable by a giant mural on its side that features sunflowers, people and a sign that says "Over-the-RhinePeoples Movement."

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buddy's place was named after buddy gray, a homeless advocate andfounderof Cincinnati's Drop Inn Center. buddy did not capitalize the "b" or "g" in his name and buddy's place has continued the tradition.

Storefronts was formed in 2017with the goal to allow residents to produce art shows that address issues that impact their lives, such as development and gentrification in the community.

"For many of us, even folks who weren't here since the beginning, we've always wanted something to do," said Key Beck, an organizer, collaboratorand board member of the OTR community council. Becksaid that Storefronts feels like something theycan do.

On various projects, Beck has served several roles from community member to participant. "It shows you what intentional community work looks like. The voice of the community is always being heard."

Dorothy Darden as part of a series called "Vigils" at Storefronts at buddy's place.(Photo: Storefront at buddy's place.)

The first exhibit at Storefronts was called Vigil. Community members dressed in black stood in the windows with signs that said things like, "We need to support affordable housing," and "Neighborhoods are nothing without neighbors."

The process has evolved over the years at Storefronts.

Mary Clare Rietz, the facilitating artist for Storefronts' art series at Miami University's Center forCommunity Engagement, first would bring the concepts to the community. Since then, OTR residents now work together to flesh out ideas for the Storefronts presentations.

Tony Drummond says he'slived in OTR for 12 years and has met more than 50 people since joining Storefronts. He currently lives at buddy's place and was part of Storefronts' Blink presentation called "Time for an UPdate?"

"I wore a big hat on with lights, and I'm a big man, so I guess I drew a lot of attention," Drummond said. "But we had a lot of educational stuff there, people looked at that and read that. It wasn't just a big light show. People were stopping. People were learning. People were seeing things they didn't know nothing about."

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June Alexander has lived in OTR for more than 20 years and saidStorefronts reminds her of the Harlem Renaissance.

"Without that expression that ability to say, in a healthy way, what's going on with us and have that support there would be other things going on," Alexander said. "This is what people need to see. Grassroots people, people in your own community, must have supporters."

Student involvement differs for each project. Sometimes they help with facilitating conversations or gathering props. Other students design posters and artwork or create costumes for exhibits.

Students from Miami University as well as the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning have also assisted with projects.

"The good thing about working with the students is that they're often involved in different portions of the project," Beck said.

"It's kind of a good partnership between students who are working in this kind of environment from an academic perspective and communities coming from the experiential perspective and together we have a unified goal of representing something," Beck said. "It's more like we're doing work with the students and working together."

End Times exhibit by Dionna "DeeDee" Flowers at Storefronts at buddy's place in Over-the-Rhine.(Photo: Storefronts at buddy's place)

The summer art project was bolstered by Black Lives Matter protests happening in Cincinnati and across the nation.

"With the powerful emergence of this most recent movement for Black lives and all of the other storefronts being covered with wood and then art," Rietz said. "Some of us decided it might be a good idea to have art in our windows."

This current series will feature several single-artist shows for the windows, rather than the usual collective approach.

Dionna DeeDee Flowers created the art for the first installation of BLACKLIBERATION. The second part of the series will premiere on Aug. 28as part of OTR's Final Friday art programming.

"It has been a very moving experience for me to be a part of this movement," Flowers said. "Whether they be rich, poor, professional, street person or whatever, what have you, Over-the-Rhine community folks, new ones and nostalgic, this is getting us together and getting us to communicate with one another."

"Wonderland" exhibit at Storefront at buddy's place.(Photo: Storefront at buddy's place)

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Storefronts at buddy's place: These windows in OTR offer a voice to the community - The Cincinnati Enquirer

A wave laps up on the beach, the surge pushing waters against the wet sand. It is a rhythm that is quite predictable. Even little children find it easy to distinguish the areas where their feet will get wet from places where the effort of building a sandcastle will not be wasted.

Like a child on the beach, I can recognize areas in our communities where we need to build and our efforts will not be wasted. Meaningful change happens one person at a time, neighbor to neighbor. The solutions to many of our most entrenched problems are likely to come from the bottom up, not the top down.

When communities choose to recognize things that reinforce their values and beliefs, the results can be powerful.

Recognition, appreciation, encouragement, praise. These are all simply business words for love. It not only changes how others perceive us; it changes how we perceive ourselves.

The Mon Valley has long been representative of the working class and its aspirations. We must stand proud in our culture and history to create our own intentional positive energy. Recognition strengthens communities and attracts resources.

Our merchants and consumers can plant the seeds together for a sustainable economic future for our communities. While we can create sustainable economies, the reality is we must work for a larger social change if we are really going to solve our problems.

Like any good local resident, I love my place. I spend a lot of time thinking about what the Mon Valley could look like in 10 years. I know it must include a commitment to sustainability, and address equity, diversity and creativity to ensure our long-term resilience.

We need to nurture a vibrant and diverse sector of locally owned retail shops and restaurants, while planting seeds for manufacturing and production businesses. These businesses are key to keeping and growing family-wage jobs, and to preserving our cultural identity and community vitality.

We have the opportunity to be a leader in reimagining what the American small town of the future looks like. If our local businesses, entrepreneurs, communities, counties, and other public and private institutions work together, in 10 years we could have multiple, thriving business districts from Elizabeth to California.

It is imperative that we create opportunities for local ownership and meaningful employment, especially for our low- to moderate-income individuals with less typical skill sets. We must build our regions long-term resilience, and celebrate the Mon Valleys unique cultural identity.

One way to fill our empty storefronts is to grow our own entrepreneurs. I can envision seed, a technology, arts and culture business incubator that would offer affordable space and technical support to aspiring local entrepreneurs. This program would help new businesses thrive in those difficult first few years after launching, and cultivate economic growth and community development at the local level.

Our empty storefronts are simply opportunities to build sandcastles.

Jamie Protin is founder and principal of The Protin Group in Belle Vernon.

To submit business-related columns, email Rick Shrum at rshrum@observer-reporter.com.

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Growing entrepreneurs is a way to grow the Mon Valley - Observer-Reporter

The inaugural Centering the Margins summit, hosted by the American Humanist Association (AHA) and the LGBTQ Humanist Alliance in March of 2019 brought together BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) LGBTQ humanists, atheists, and freethinkers.The mission of the LGBTQ Humanist Alliance is to cultivate safe and affirming communities, promote humanist values, and achieve full equality and social liberation of LGBTQ persons. In pursuit of this mission, the alliance works at the national level to build a thriving network of LGBTQ humanists and partners devoted to compassionate activism. Through grassroots activism and events such as Centering the Margins, members of the alliance work to raise awareness, advance social progress of queer communities, and build relationships with other corresponding and allied communities.

In 2009 the LGBT Humanist Council formed as a project of the AHA in partnership with the Gay and Lesbian Atheists and Humanists (GALAH). They got their start when local leaders gathered at the World Humanist Congress in Washington, DC, that June to discuss how the humanist community could reach out to the LGBT community and recognize the growing number of LGBT humanists. Their first priorities were to provide LGBT humanists across the country with a forum to exchange ideas on local organizing, find support in coming out as LGBT and as a humanist, and to speak out with one voice on issues of concern to the LGBT humanist community. In this capacity they organized for same-sex marriage and equal benefits for same-sex partners in the State Department, and they protested both the anti-gay papal agenda and the Boy Scouts discriminatory policies against gays and atheists.

Although the name has changed to reflect an expanded constituency, the alliance continues to fight for the rights of LGBTQ humanists and nontheists. We recognize that we should celebrate our wins in marriage equality but also understand that the fight for marriage equality asks members of our community to participate in a potentially harmful assimilation that stretches the marginalization gap. There are numerous LGBTQ rights issues that disproportionately impact queer communities and demand attention in our ever-changing political climate. These include healthcare deprivations, homelessness, and violence targeting queer and trans people. The LGBTQ Humanist Alliance is dedicated to realizing a more inclusive humanism that confronts these issues head on through education and advocacy.

The creation of the Centering the Margins summit reflects the LGBTQHAs commitment, internally and externally, to advance much needed anti-racism efforts in our country. The alliance believes that many progressive movements, including, at times, our humanist movement, demand that people work in silos, that people choose either the room where racial justice work happens, or the room where LGBTQ equality work happens, or the room where secularist work happens.Centering the Margins is committed to creating and maintaining a safe, productive, and welcoming experience for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, neuroatypicality, physical appearance, body size, race, nationality, ethnicity, or religion. As a movement, we can only succeed if we work as a cooperative, proactive, and supportive community.

The inaugural summit was held at the Washington Ethical Society in Washington, DC. The event featured a musical performance by Danile Rogirs, plenary addresses by Black Humanist Alliance Leadership Council Chair Ashton Woods and the Vice President of Programs at American Atheists Debbie Goddard, caucuses, and more.In addition, LGBTQ Humanist Alliance member Tris Mamone and social justice activist Danna Pope facilitated a White Folk against Racism caucus for White-identifying attendees, while Lucky Garcia and Diane Burkholder facilitated a caucus for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

The day brought together folx who were engaging in humanism for the first time, longtime activists, and everyone in between while centering the identities too often marginalized in the secular community. Attendees discussed anti-racism, making intentional spaces, secular organizing, and shared stories about what it means to show up as our full selves.

All of the sessions from last year were recorded and are available on YouTube. The LGBTQHA is now in the process of planning their second annual Centering the Margins, but this year the conference will be virtual. Speaker applications are still open. If you would like to apply to be a speaker, you can so by clicking the link here. If you have any questions before applying, send those to CTMproposals@americanhumanist.org.

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Re-Centering the Margins: LGBTQ Humanist Alliance to Hold Second Annual Summit - The Humanist