News — new york

A 36-year-old Guyanese man was arrested at the John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday after he allegedly attempted to smuggle 35 live finches he obtained from his native country for “singing contests” in New York City,  a complaint from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said.

The suspect, identified as Kevin Andre McKenzie, was approached and searched by Customs and Border Protection officers while he was going through formalities after arriving. Upon searching his jacket and the upper side of his shoes, officers found the birds placed in individual hair rollers that were covered with perforated nets.

McKenzie, who was subsequently taken into custody on a charge of illegally importing the birds, was later released after posting a $25,000 bond. During interrogation, McKenzie reportedly told officers he received an advance payment of $500 to smuggle the birds to New York before boarding his flight in his native Guyana. Had he been successful with his attempt, he said he would have received an outstanding balance of $2,500.

Kathryn McCabe, a special agent for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, said finches are typically used for “singing contests” in Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods, adding that the Guyanese species are the most sought-after as they are believed to have better-singing prowess, CNN reported.

“In such contests, often conducted in public areas like parks, two finches sing and a judge selects the bird determined to have the best voice,” McCabe said in the complaint.

“Many who attend the singing contests wager on the birds. A finch who wins these competitions becomes valuable and can sell for more than $10,000. Although certain species of finch are available in the United States, species from Guyana are believed to sing better and are therefore more valuable.”

Many people take their jobs seriously and commit to serve till their last breath and that is a brave thing to do regardless of the risks. Sadly, a man died while trying to help his passengers escape a burning train. The No. 2 train which he was operating blew up last Friday leaving its operator, Garrett Goble lifeless after he tried helping the passengers.

According to the New York Post, there were 16 injuries during the fire of which five were firefighters. Investigators found a badly burnt grocery basket in the ruins and believe that it could be the starting point of the fire.

“As [the train] reached 110th Street here, an employee that was on the train reported to the motorman that there was heavy smoke and fire coming from the second car,” NYPD Deputy Chief Brian McGee said during a press conference. “The train stopped, and many people got off because there was a large, large fire on that train.”

The NYPD say they will investigate the incident as arson. Goble and another conductor who was not on duty assisted other passengers caught in the fire to escape the burning train.

Tony Utano, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, told the Post the conductor “is a little traumatized.”

“He was happy that what he did to save the passengers made him feel that he did a good thing,” Utano added. The 36-year-old was found unconscious and helpless on the train tracks. He was then taken to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigators seem to think he died of a cardiac arrest triggered by the smoke.

Delilah Goble and the deceased had two sons, a 10-year-old and a five-month-old. She said she knew something didn’t add up when Goble’s usual call didn’t come through during his usual shift. No wife wants to see the police at their doorstep when they feel something unusual is going on with their husband.

However, when Delilah heard how he stayed to help the other passengers she said she was not surprised. “It doesn’t surprise me that this is how he lost his life,” she told The New York Daily News. “He would do anything to help… He was a great guy. He was funny. He was the best father. He loved his kids so much.”

However, she admits pulling through the tragedy has not been the easiest for her and her boys. “I’m just numb. Actually, it feels like a dream. I feel like he’s going to come through the door. I don’t think I’ll ever accept this,” she told Post. “I’ll just learn to live with it. I don’t know how I’m supposed to go on without him.”

Her eldest son cannot seem to cope. “It comes in waves. Sometimes he just sits, looking out the window crying, ‘I want to see my dad,’” she said.

His mother, Vicky Goble is devastated by the accident as well. “The whole thing doesn’t make sense. Set a fire! For what reason? A good man was taken from this earth and the rest of us just have to continue on as best we can. I’m too shell-shocked to be angry,” she said.

Planning a funeral amid the coronavirus pandemic is hard because New York has been hit hard by the virus. “We are looking at funeral homes and what we are allowed [to do]. If we can’t do what we want to do, once this is over, we will have a memorial for him,” Vicky said.

His co-workers including his boss Utano is also torn by Goble’s demise. “This is a sad day for our entire city. We’re devastated,” he told reporters. Goble had been with MTA for six years. “He was starting a whole new career. He was family, and now it’s over. It’s over just like that.”

MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick Foye grieved Goble and are offering a $50,000 cash reward to any witnesses or anyone with information that could help catch the perpetrators.

 “The entire MTA family mourns [Goble’s] death alongside a grateful city,” Foye said. “Our hearts break for his family, loved ones and all those who knew him.”

A suspect was taken in by the NYPD and later released after questioning. Nonetheless, no arrests have been made yet, and the department is also offering a reward totaling $52,500.

Minnesota is one of the most cosmopolitan states in the United States and this is certainly a case of this one not being like the others because Midwestern America is not the place you are most likely to see global cultural and ethnic variety. You stand a better chance in the east coast, particularly New York, and west coat or specifically California.

It is estimated that about 100,000 Minnesotans are African immigrants, most of them, of Somali ancestry. The next largest group of African immigrants are the 30,000 or so Liberians. Like the Somalis, the Liberians also started settling in Minnesota during the 1990s when America maintained a temporary protected status option for many African refugees. One of the Liberian refugees, Mike Elliott, became a mayor in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

Elliott came under national scrutiny after a Black teenager, Daunte Wright, was gunned down by a city police officer. Elliott described the shooting as “heartbreaking and just unfathomable.” He has promised a full investigation and said his “position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession”.

But one would guess that these are not the conditions within which Elliott would love to receive national attention. He is actually the first Black mayor of Brooklyn Center and when he came into power in 2018, that barely arrested the national focus. Now, he has to maintain both the pride people have with him in power as well as navigate the unforgivable slopes of political decision-making.

Elliot went to the United States from Liberia with his family at age 11. Liberians had been going to the States from about 1991. He went to the Brooklyn Center High School and after that, Hamline University. Elliott has since made life himself an entrepreneur, starting Fastforward Education, a mentoring program designed with students at Brooklyn Center schools in mind. The city’s public schools take in many students from low-income homes. One estimate says about eight out of ten students at Brooklyn Center High School, for instance, are eligible for assisted feeding at school.

Brooklyn Center’s mayoral position allows its occupant to be a part-time mayor. When he is not to be found at City Hall, Elliott is a full-stack software engineer who dedicates his time to personal and professional projects.

Each shooting of an unarmed Black man by a police officer brings with it its own burdens and implications for political power and for the people. Elliott realizes this and thus decried how Wright’s life was taken away while “[w]e are all collectively devastated…by the killing of George Floyd and…continue to be distressed as we go through the Derek Chauvin trial“.

The mother of an 11-year-old sixth-grader at a Long Island Catholic school is accusing the institution’s headmaster of forcing her Black son to kneel and apologize after claiming that’s the “African way” of saying sorry.

In an interview with New York Daily News, Trisha Paul said St. Martin de Porres Marianist School headmaster John Holian forced her Haitian-American son to get on his knees and render an apology after his English teacher reported him for doing the wrong assignment. When Paul got in touch with Holian to discuss the incident after her son told him what had occurred, the headmaster allegedly justified his action by claiming he learned that disciplinary practice from a Nigerian parent who told him it’s an “African way” of rendering an apology. Paul said the explanation left her shocked.

“Once he started mentioning this African family, that’s when it just clicked,” Paul told the news outlet. “Like, this is not normal procedure. I felt there was no relevance at all. Is he generalizing that everyone who is Black is African? That’s when I realized something is not right with this situation.”

Paul, who said the February incident left her son embarrassed, believes race played a factor. “My son was humiliated, hurt, embarrassed, sad and confused,” she said. “He reads about things happening because of your skin color. To experience it… he’s just trying to process it in his 11-year-old brain.”

In a phone call on March 1 to discuss the incident, Paul said Holian admitted the punishment in question wasn’t a standard disciplinary procedure. He also couldn’t properly clarify how the kneeling story about the Nigerian family was relevant after making reference to it. And when the two met face to face to further discuss the incident, Holian alleged her son was made to apologize to the teacher for being disrespectful. Paul, however, said the school had never contacted her about her son’s conduct, adding that he is a “well-mannered, honor roll student.”

During their discussion, Holian also told Paul he made her son kneel because simply saying sorry wouldn’t have changed anything. “If I had said to him ‘apologize and get back to class’… it would’ve meant nothing,” Holian told Paul in the video recording of their meeting, according to New York Daily News. “So it was changing the way you say ‘I apologize.’”

Holian also doubled down on forcing Paul’s son to kneel, saying he learned that form of punishment from a Nigerian parent whose child was enrolled at the school.

“This father came in and said, ‘you’re going to apologize to this teacher the African way, and you’re going to get down on your knees and apologize.’ I’ve never seen that before,” Holian said, adding that that form of punishment is justifiable irrespective of a child’s race.

“I have six kids, and four boys. And if one of them is really acting rude and arrogant… I will say at times, ‘get on your knees and apologize,’” he told Paul. “I was speaking to your son as I would my own son.”

Meanwhile, school authorities released a statement on Friday announcing Holian has been placed on temporary leave pending an investigation into the incident.

“I want to assure you that St. Martin’s neither condones nor accepts the actions of our headmaster,” acting headmaster James Conway wrote in the statement. “The incident does not reflect our long, established values or the established protocols regarding student related issues.”

Though Holian apologized to Paul over the incident, the mother said the harm has already been caused. “He showed no remorse until he realized how it’s impacted my son,” she told New York Daily News. “He’s going to therapy. He’s been very reserved and humiliated.” Paul also said her son now tries to “stay away from the headmaster and not speak to the teacher if need be.”

Kevin Livingston is the Founder and CEO of 100 Suits for 100 Men. Founded in 2011, the organization was created to serve the needs of men and women in need of business attire in New York City.

In 2015, the organization obtained 501 (c)(3) non-profit status and expanded its programs beyond suits. 100 Suits has tackled socio-economic issues and has been an integral part of the communities they serve. Recently, the organization shifted to food delivery work to support seniors and others in need during the pandemic.

“No one could have told me that when I started the senior delivery in the first week of March…that it would turn into a Cutlery program,” says Livingston. “And we would hire several young people from our community people to run it. Truly amazing!”

100 Suits Supporting Families During Pandemic

When the pandemic hit in March 2020,  millions of Americans were faced with unexpected challenges. Livingston decided to step up to the plate, organize a team of individuals, and make a difference where it was needed most.

On March 6th, Livingston created a senior delivery program to help those most vulnerable to the woes of the pandemic. Since March, 100 Suits has delivered over 22,000 home groceries and meals to seniors in Queens, New York. Through the 100 Soups Program, the organization provided weekly home-cooked soups to families in homeless shelters. The organization also developed the #Feed500 initiative to provide fresh produce boxes.

Livingston created a culinary program for youth to fuel these initiatives. During the summer, the youth came together and cooked meals to be delivered to seniors. This program created 12 new jobs for youth who were impacted by the cancellation of traditional jobs.

100 Suits was also there to provide personal protective equipment (PPE). The team distributed 30,000 PPE which included masks and sanitizer.

Building the Next Generation of Leaders

100 Suits has been on the move since the pandemic started. The organization has been able to help the most marginalized individuals in Queens, ranging from underprivileged youth to seniors.

“As I look back we have done a lot and one of the proudest moments I have is our senior program is supervised by an 18 yr old,” says Livingston in an email to Black Enterprise. “I love my team because they along with myself put our lives on the line to help others.”

Even during the pandemic, 100 Suits has stayed true to its core mission: providing resources that create employment opportunities. Before the pandemic, this outreach came in the form of suits, free haircuts, and salon referrals. Colin Kaepernick has been an instrumental supporter, donating custom suits to prepare more men and women for job interviews.

Now, the organization has been a part of the job creation process. 100 Suits provided 10 jobs to formerly incarcerated men and women to become Social Distance Community Ambassadors. The team handed out PPE masks and sanitizers, They also encouraged testing to ensure the safety of residents.

“Children, young men, and men of color need to see people like themselves represented in a positive light by “ordinary” people. Furthermore, it provides a framework for them to understand that dreams coupled with hard work lead to success and empowerment. It speaks to possibility, demonstrates hope, and has the capacity to spur someone else to pursue their dreams despite the lack of initial support.”

Sheila Brown walked out of WUFO in Buffalo, New York, after working at the radio station for 14 years. She left after the station changed management and their operations were not in line with her vision. Brown however plans of returning to the station had but was not sure in what capacity. After eight years, she came back and purchased the station. Today, she is the first Black woman to own a radio station in Buffalo, New York.

According to reports, she started her career at the station in the ’80s. True to her vow, Brown returned and bought the station. “I looked at the building and I waved and said, don’t worry baby, I’ll be back,’” Brown told reporters. 

It was not an easy journey for the Buffalo native who grew up in Hamlin Park. The banks did not believe in her vision and at a point, she was told to revise her business plan. Her church and Bishop had faith in her from the onset.

“I went through everything, we had banks say no like three times before they said yes, and credit unions said no your business plan needs to be updated, but True Bethel and Bishop Daris Pridgen, and they had faith in me.”

Not only has Brown taken over the station which she worked hard to get, but she has also elevated their frequency and added an FM channel to it in partnership with Power 96.5. Now the WUFO brand is reaching more folks than it has over the years.

This has made it more attractive and lucrative because advertisers know they can reach millions with the new visibility. Also, many influencers and popular DJs have walked through their doors for business.

WUFO is certainly going places under the leadership of Brown. Prominent figures are interviewed at the station and the station hosts a weekly talk with the mayor. The station runs the WUFO history collectible containing about 60 years of WUFO memorabilia.

Brown admits that being the youngest of three siblings and growing up in an extremely supportive family gave her the confidence she needs to take on the world.

She grew up wanting to pursue greater exploits. “My uncles coming to see us would go hey here comes our superstar,” she said. “Not saying it to boost me but just positive affirmation, so I never was afraid of anything I was going to do.”

Her only reservation is, it has been a long time coming for her to own the station but that should not have been the case. This only goes to show there are many aspects of our potential as Black people and women to be precise that we are yet to explore.

Vice President Kamala Harris is certainly proud to be the first Black-Asian female second in command in the country and she certainly has made it clear she does not want to be the last. The same goes for Brown who intends on using her platform to open more doors for many who aspire to step into their greatness.

“It feels good, but it’s sad in 2021 we’re still talking about the first if anything, but I’m just proud that the lord used me to be the first woman of color to own a radio station,” shared Brown. “The Vice President said she might be the first but not the last so my goal is to prep other people.”

A 29-year-old New York man who was arrested for allegedly attacking women unprovoked at a subway stop in Brooklyn is facing a 52-count indictment and could be sentenced to up to life behind bars if found guilty.

According to New York Post, Khari Covington allegedly attacked five women at the Morgan Avenue subway station somewhere between November and January. He also allegedly assaulted two other women around the vicinity on August 5 and January 4 respectively. Covington faces a slew of charges including burglary as a hate crime, strangulation as a hate crime and assault as a hate crime. Asked about the motive behind his attacks, Covington allegedly told investigators he targeted the women because they were light-skinned.

“This defendant’s alleged violent and unprovoked attacks endangered the women he targeted and caused widespread fear in the community,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement on Wednesday. “I am committed to prosecuting all hate crimes where victims, including as alleged in this case, are targeted because of their gender, skin color or race.”

One of the victims who earlier spoke to the news outlet condemned the police for not doing enough to warn women of Covington’s unprovoked attacks at the subway when they got to know about the pattern.

“I was stunned that this had happened so many times. I didn’t see any police stationed there. There were no flyers,” Bianca Fortis said in January. “There’s not enough security. After it happened the first time, or certainly the second, there should have been more information. Even just a flyer saying be on alert.”

Elizabeth Wakefield, another victim, also narrated her ordeal to NBC New York, saying: “He was coming down behind me, and he must have — from the angle and from what I’ve gathered — kicked me in the side of the face and head from behind. My immediate thought after it happened to me was, I really hope this doesn’t happen again to somebody else.”

And though police did not confirm to NBC New York if the attack on Wakefield was connected to the other incidents, she said it was possible Covington was behind them following conversations she had with the other victims.

“It sounds like similar descriptions of what he looked like and pretty much the exact same style of attack, and the same exact subway stop,” Wakefield said.

Covington was arraigned in court on Wednesday and his bail was continued at $150,000.

Fatoumata Danson, a 39-year-old Gambian immigrant residing in New York, was fatally shot in the head by her 22-year-old son in retaliation for allegedly kicking him out of her home and telling him to get a job, family members said.

According to NBC New York, the incident occurred in Danson’s apartment at Lehman Village in Harlem on Tuesday, January 26. The accused – identified as Musa Camara – was later apprehended by the police somewhere around the neighborhood while still armed with the murder weapon.

Following his arrest, police said he underwent a psychiatric evaluation at a hospital. Distraught relatives who spoke to the news outlet said they want the accused to face the full rigors of the law, with Danson’s brother, Yaku Basangari, saying he wants his nephew Camara to “to rot in jail for the rest of his life.” Besides Camara, Danson had seven other children.

Basangari, who described his sister as lovely and kind, said the family immigrated to New York City from Gambia and Sierra Leone in the 1990s in search of greener pastures. “She always smiled and laughed,” he said.

Asked what may have been the motive behind Camara fatally shooting his own mother, Basangari said it was because his nephew is a “lazy bastard.” “My sister told him to get a job, threw him out of the house…and this was his reaction,” he added.

Meanwhile, the New York Daily News reported Camara was due to appear before the Manhattan Criminal Court on the day of the shooting for earlier threatening to kill Danson. Authorities had also provided Danson with a “panic button” she could press for help after she was granted an order of protection against Camara. He flouted that order when he went to her apartment to kill her.

Prior to the shooting, Camara was initially facing charges related to body-slamming his deceased mother before telling her, “I will kill you”, during a confrontation in her apartment last year. The police also reportedly visited the home several times to break up altercations between the two.

“She is an immigrant in this country, come and look for a better life and she got killed by her own son,” Yankuba Sangarie, another brother of Danson, told the New York Post.

“I want him to go the rest of his life in prison,” he emotionally added. “My nephew- I want him to go life in prison, no mercy for him.”

Camara has been charged with murder.

A Black dentist in Manhattan is suing the City of New York for $5 million after claiming he was racially profiled by NYPD cops who allegedly accused him of breaking into his own office while he was working late.

According to the New York Post, the incident occurred on March 9 when Dr. Benjamin Shirley was taking out trash from his office around midnight. Video camera footage shows officers outside his office shinning their torchlights to check what’s going on inside, with the notice of claim alleging the officers demanded Shirley show his identification.

Shirley’s lawyer, Reza Rezvani, told the news outlet that though his client informed officers he was the owner of the building, the officers – via intercom – allegedly threatened to break in if he did not comply with their orders.

Per the notice of claim, the two officers in the video allegedly “attempted to unlawfully gain entry to the building by force and repeatedly called [Shirley] threatening to destroy his property and enter with force if he did not come outside despite the fact that at all times, they lacked any probable cause or reasonable belief that [Shirley] had committed any crime.”

The claim accused the officers of negligence, false arrest, unlawful detainment, illegal search and seizure and trespass.

“They were threatening to break in, they were threatening to break down the security equipment, they were threatening to break down the door and go inside,” Rezvani told The Post.

The claim also alleged the encounter left Shirley fearing for his life, leaving him to call 911. “I’m actually being harassed by the cops here,” he said in the call obtained by the news outlet. “I’m pretty scared here. I’m working in my office and they shine the flashlight in my face.”

“I’m trying to ask them why they are bothering me, and he said he saw me walking in here,” Shirley said. “They are asking me for my ID and I’m not doing anything … I don’t know if it’s because I’m African American.”

Rezvani added: “Imagine how terrifying it is to have to call the police on the police and then to be met with no help. It’s the definition of helplessness.”

Shirley eventually went to his door and showed his identification after two more officers later reported to the scene. The claim, however, alleges that despite his office address being listed on his identification, he had to show it to the officers several times before they left.

“Despite the fact that [Shirley’s] state-issued identification lists the address of the location of incident, [Shirley] was forced to provide his identification to [the police officers] multiple times before they would agree to leave,” it said.

His lawyer also added Shirley, who usually closed late, initially refused to cooperate with the officers because he was afraid. “It’s midnight, he’s black, they are shining flashlights inside — that’s how you set up all kinds of bad things happening, Rezvani told The Post. “To casually walk out, it’s not possible in that scenario.”

Rezvani added: “What happened to him is common and it shouldn’t be. The idea that this could happen to a man going to his office because of his skin color is outrageous.”

Responding to the notice of claim, a spokesman for the NYPD said “we will review the lawsuit if and when it is filed.”

Before Central Park was created, the landscape along what is now the Park’s perimeter from West 82nd to West 89th Street was the site of Seneca Village, a community of predominantly African-Americans, many of whom owned property. By 1855, the village consisted of approximately 225 residents, made up of roughly two-thirds African-Americans, one-third Irish immigrants, and a small number of individuals of German descent. One of few African-American enclaves at the time, Seneca Village allowed residents to live away from the more built-up sections of downtown Manhattan and escape the unhealthy conditions and racism they faced there.

The formation of Seneca Village

Seneca Village began in 1825, when landowners in the area, John and Elizabeth Whitehead, subdivided their land and sold it as 200 lots. Andrew Williams, a 25-year-old African-American shoeshiner, bought the first three lots for $125. Epiphany Davis, a store clerk, bought 12 lots for $578, and the AME Zion Church purchased another six lots. From there a community was born. From 1825 to 1832, the Whiteheads sold about half of their land parcels to other African-Americans. By the early 1830s, there were approximately 10 homes in the Village.

Detail of map of the pre-Central Park landscape showing the area of Seneca Village. Courtesy of New York City Municipal Archives.

There is some evidence that residents had gardens and raised livestock in Seneca Village, and the nearby Hudson River was a likely source of fishing for the community. A nearby spring, known as Tanner’s Spring, provided a water source. By the mid-1850s, Seneca Village comprised 50 homes and three churches, as well as burial grounds, and a school for African-American students.

A thriving African-American community

For African-Americans, Seneca Village offered the opportunity to live in an autonomous community far from the densely populated downtown. Despite New York State’s abolition of slavery in 1827, discrimination was still prevalent throughout New York City, and severely limited the lives of African-Americans. Seneca Village’s remote location likely provided a refuge from this climate. It also would have provided an escape from the unhealthy and crowded conditions of the City, and access to more space both inside and outside the home.

Compared to other African-Americans living in New York, residents of Seneca Village seem to have been more stable and prosperous — by 1855, approximately half of them owned their own homes. With property ownership came other rights not commonly held by African-Americans in the City — namely, the right to vote. In 1821, New York State required African-American men to own at least $250 in property and hold residency for at least three years to be able to vote. Of the 100 black New Yorkers eligible to vote in 1845, 10 lived in Seneca Village.

The fact that many residents were property owners contradicts some common misperceptions during the mid-19th century that the people living on the land slated for the Park were poor squatters living in shanties. While some residents lived in shanties and in crowded conditions, most lived in two-story homes. Census records show that residents were employed, with African-Americans typically employed as laborers and in service jobs, the main options for them at the time. Records also show that most children who lived in Seneca Village attended school.

The creation of Central Park

During the early 1850s, the City began planning for a large municipal park to counter unhealthful urban conditions and provide space for recreation. In 1853, the New York State Legislature enacted a law that set aside 775 acres of land in Manhattan — from 59th to 106th Streets, between Fifth and Eighth Avenues — to create the country’s first major landscaped public park.

The City acquired the land through eminent domain, the law that allows the government to take private land for public use with compensation paid to the landowner. This was a common practice in the 19th century, and had been used to build Manhattan’s grid of streets decades earlier. There were roughly 1,600 inhabitants displaced throughout the area. Although landowners were compensated, many argued that their land was undervalued. Ultimately, all residents had to leave by the end of 1857. Research is underway to determine where Seneca Village residents relocated — some may have gone to other African-American communities in the region, such as Sandy Ground in Staten Island and Skunk Hollow in New Jersey.

Seneca Village extended as far east as Seventh Avenue, and would have bordered the present-day Arthur Ross Pinetum (mid-Park between 84th and 86th Streets).

Discovering more about Seneca Village

Although we have limited knowledge of what life was like in Seneca Village, there has been ongoing work to learn more about its residents and their lives. In 2011, archaeologists from Columbia University and The City University of New York conducted a dig of the site. They uncovered artifacts such as an iron tea kettle, a roasting pan, a stoneware beer bottle, fragments of Chinese export porcelain, and a small shoe with a leather sole and fabric upper. These items have helped us piece together what life was like for the village’s residents.

Despite its short history of only 32 years, Seneca Village is understood as a tight-knit community that served as a stabilizing and empowering force in uncertain times.