|
Springfield High Schools Report Card Springfield Student enrollment Cohorts Graduation Rate Plans of High School Graduates 2003-20014 rate of graduates attending institutions of Higher Education Gender and Selected populations Selected Populations 2016-17 Special Education Data |
Happy New Year! We begin 2017 very excited to engage in deep study of New Afrikan urban affairs, particularly in the city of Springfield, MA. We especially welcome students who live in or who call Springfield home to enroll or be involved with our class. This is not, strictly speaking, a lecture course. #BSM2017 is a team-based, civic engagement research seminar. This semester I will be a CESL Faculty Fellow studying with my colleagues how to make this class a more dynamic, engaged service learning course. I also continue to work on the creation of a UMass Amherst Racial Justice Institute. Please contact me at shabazz@umass.edu with any questions or concerns, and please let folks know about the course who might want to be involved in this work. I will announce key research themes for the course so keep checking this site for more information. One key area I will introduce in this post is the issue of criminal justice reform, which, more commonly known as the problem of mass incarceration, is one of the most important issues of racial justice facing the City of Springfield.
In the previous offerings of this course I connected students with the case of Charles Wilhite. We were there in the fight for Justice for Charles when he was in prison serving a life sentence, during his second trial, his release, and, just recently, his winning an historic $1.4 million settlement for his wrongful imprisonment from the City of Springfield. Below are some news stories that can acquaint you with Charles’ landmark struggle for justice against police and prosecutorial forces that are a textbook example of social injustice and systemic racism. As we study matters this semester State Senate President Stan Rosenberg has announced* that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will be pursuing criminal justice reform as a top priority of legislative action this year. Let us do our part to advance that critical process through our work to identify, document, and analyze problems in policing and prosecuting, the problem of mass incarceration in Springfield, MA. More to come…
December 23, 2016 – Charles Wilhite of Springfield wins $1.4 million for wrongful imprisonment after …. Activists with Arise for Social Justice and Justice for Charles stood outside the … topics.masslive.com/tag/charles–wilhite/
The readings below are courtesy of Fred Rose who served as a community organizer in Springfield for 15 years with the Pioneer Valley Project, a faith-based organizing project. He now works through the Center for Public Policy and Administration to co-direct the Wellspring Cooperative Corporation, a community development project to create worker-owned companies that provide living wage jobs in Springfield. For background and context, see “Springfield Economic Development Project Receives Grant from Merck Fund” news story.
Springfield’s Food Deserts
Patricia Leboeuf, “Food Deserts in Springfield: How Many Buses Would You Take to Buy Groceries?” in Valley Advocate. Online at: http://www.valleyadvocate.com/2015/04/14/food-deserts-in-springfield/
Amanda Drane, “Food Deserts in Springfield: Lack of Access to Healthy Food in Springfield Underlies High Rates of Diabetes and Obesity,” In Valley Advocate, November 12-19. 2015. Online at: http://www.valleyadvocate.com/2015/11/09/food-deserts-of-springfield/
Springfield Community Newspapers
African American Point of View. Online at: http://www.afampointofview.com/
Reminder Publications. Online at: http://www.thereminder.com/
El Pueblo Latino. Online at: http://www.masslive.com/elpueblolatino/
Pay for Success
George Overholser and Caroline Whistler, “The Real Revolution of Pay for Success: Ending 40 years of Stagnant Results for Communities” +
Daniel Stid, “Pay for Success is Not a Panacea” in San Francisco Federal Reserve, Community Development Investment Review, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2013. Read pp. 5-18. Online at: http://www.frbsf.org/community-development/files/review-volume-9-issue-1.pdf.
Towards a new economy
Gar Alperovitz, “Inequality’s Dead – And the Possibility of a New, Long-Term Direction.” in Nonproft Quarterly, March 10, 2015. Online at: https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2015/03/10/inequality-s-dead-end-and-the-possibility-of-a-new-long-term-direction/
Another UMass faculty member doing interesting work in Springfield is Krista Harper in our Anthropology department. Learn about her Springfield Futurescapes.
It is a new year. It is an election year and once again black people are running–for their lives. Reason is another King Alfred Plan, another elusive scam. But “we gonna be alright.” We start this year off in recognition of all 2015 victims of homicides in the City of Homes:
“The violence has claimed the lives of high school students, victims of domestic violence and, as noted by Mayor Domenic Sarno, alleged gang members previously known to the Springfield Police Department. The city has surpassed last year’s total of 14 homicides. In 2007, 20 people were victims of homicides in Springfield, the highest rate this century; 2011 and 2013 neared that total with 19 killings each.”
Here is MassLive and The Republican’s coverage of 2015’s homicides:
1. January 1: Shawnki Gladden, 18
2. January 5: Yahaira Hernandez, 30
3. February 11: Kathryn Mauke, 17
4. February 23: Alexis Perez-Melendez, 38
5. March 10: Luis Sanchez, 26
6. March 11: Salina Merritt, 29
7. March 16: Rakeem Nixon, 22
8. March 25: Kenneth Lopez, 18
9. March 28: Kevin Jose Marrero-Rivera, 23
10. May 12: Monique Van Zandt, 25
11. May 18: Bernard Collado, 28
12. June 7: Anthony Serrano, 25
13. June 30: Chris Calvente, 20
14. August 29: David Steven Guasp, 21
15. Nov. 1: Isaiah Michael Emanuel, 18
16. Nov. 7: Fan Cheung Li, 40
17. Nov. 19: Kenneth Taitt, 28
18. Dec. 11: Larry Finney, 47
If Pirus and Crips all got along
They’d probably gun me down by the end of this song
Seem like the whole city go against me
Every time I’m in the street I hear
“YAWK! YAWK! YAWK! YAWK!”
For masslives’ coverage of BLM protests, see:
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/photos_black_lives_matter_prot.html
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/black_lives_matters_protest_he.html
Below is a summary of “Telling Our Stories: Local Residents Recall the Great Migration” — at American International College (AIC). Please add your own comments for those who attended.
We arrived right at 7:30PM and everything was set to begin. The Griswold Theater was a very large room making the turnout look very low. The audience was about 80 people with about 8 of us from the class. We took our seats on the dais and Gary Jones, Assistant Professor of History at AIC introduced me and I open things up by introducing our panel’s most senior member, the honorable Ruth B. Loving. She recalled knowing people from the South, particularly her brother-in-law, who moved here in the north seeking better opportunities than those available to him in the South. She also stressed the need for African Americans to exercise their right to vote as a safeguard against the kind of oppression that compelled millions of Afro-descendant people to move from states like Georgia to Massachusetts.
Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali, professor of Ethnic & Gender Studies at Westfield State University and alum of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst doctoral studies program in the Center for International Education, spoke next of his having been born in Springfield and how his grandfather arrived in the city fleeing persecution and injustice below the Mason-Dixon line.
Wayne Phaneuf, editor of The Springfield Republican, shared many interesting historical allusions, especially from the 19th century, as a foundation to a discussion of the 20th century Great Migration period. He noted that his publisher is offering his forthcoming book, The Struggle for Freedom: The History of African Americans in Western Massachusetts for $10 off the normal price. The book ships November 15th.
The venerable James “J.B.” Bradley was on the program but was unable to be on the panel. Click his name to go to a video of a great interview with by Janine Fondon.
Tony Bass and AIC taped the program. I will provide a link to it as soon as it is uploaded and I hear about it.
Create a Chronology of Black Springfield, 1650-1950
1. Think in terms of centuries and decades
2. Think about major events and historical figures
3. What themes emerge from the timeline?
Work on this timeline during first hour of class. Use the texts I’ve provided you with and other resources on the internet. Research/identify any media (photos, audio, video) that explain or inform about elements in or themes that arise from the chronology. Here are some good models:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline/early_01.html
Bring laptops, ipads, etc. with which to do this research in class. Let class meet in rool 309 in New Africa House (where we were last week).
This upcoming class meeting we will discuss history articles and introduce the team-based learning projects:
1. Accessing and interpreting demographic data on Black Springfield
2. Learning the fundamentals of Africanapedia work
http://websites.umass.edu/shabazz/africanapedia
Which of the items in the list below do not have entries in wikipedia? Which ones do you want to do an entry for?
A
Adams, Anna Jones, 8. | Addison, Adele, 21. | All – Pine Camp, 17.
B
Baptist, Eli, 5, 6, 15. | Bethel A.M.E. Church, 12, 13, 16. | Booth, Gustaves, 7. | Bowens, Dr. Bruce T., 19, 20. | Brown, Dr. Anthony L., 20. | Brown, Charlotte (Davis), 8-9, 20. | Brown, Emerson, 8-9, 20.
C
Camp Atwater, 17. | Carver Automobile Club, 16. | Clark, Ed, 21. | Clarkson, J. Clifford. 9, 21, 27-28. | Clarkson, John H . 9. | Clay, Henry, 9.
D
DeBerry, Rev. Dr. William N., 11, 17, 19, 26. | Dorsey, Isaac, 7. | Drew, Howard, 22-23. | Dunbar Community Center, 16, 19, 27. | Dunbar Community League, 17, 19. | Dupree, Rev. Silas L., 13, 17.
E
Elks Lodge, 15. | English, Dr. Walter, 22.
F
Frances E.W. Harper Club, 16. | Frazier, George, 16. | Frazier, Dr. O.L.K., 21. | Free Church (or St. John’s Congregational Church), 4-5, 6, 9, 11, 12-13, 31 | Fullilove, Rev. Paul, 13.
G
Garnes Carlton, 24. | Garnes, William, 24. | Garrett, Helen S., 21-22. | Gauntt, William, 11. | Golden Chain Lodge of Odd Fellows, 15. | Gordon, Dr. Miles R., 20.
H
Harper, Harvey J., 26. | Harrell, James, 26. | Harris, Rev. Spencer, 13. | Harrison B. Wright Post, 16. | Heacock, Rev. Roland T., 29. | Henderson, James, 26. | Higgins, James H., 19, 28. | Holt, Richard, 24. | Hughes. Alexander, 10-11, 24. | Hughes, William, 9.
I
Ifill, Rev. Dr. O. Urcille Sr., 13. | Ireland, Charles, 9.
J
Jackson, William C., 17. | Jenny, 2. | Johnson. Hobart, 22. | Johnson, James Weldon, 17. | Johnson, Margaret. 27. | Johnson, Mary (Davis), 9. | Johnson. Peter, 7. | Johnson, Rebecca, 22. | Johnson, Thornton. 9, 24. | Johnson. W.W., 9. 24. | Jones, Kathryn, 24. | Jones, Dr. William B. Sr., 19, 21.
K
Kennedy, Dr. Howard P., 20-21. | Knights of Pythias, 8, 15. | Ku Klux Klan, 26.
L
Lancaster, Alfreda, 2l. | Laws, Florence H. 16, 21, 24. | “Little Hayti”, 6. | Ruth B. Loving | | Lyons, Timothy, 9.
M
Mapp, Alexander B., 19. | Martin, William H. 21. | Mason, Primus, 6. | McLean, Rev. Fletcher R., 13. | McLean, Dr. Mary, 22. | Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, 8, 13, 16. | Mt. Calvary Community Association, 17. | Mullins, Albert, 9.
N
N.A.A.C.P .• Springfield Branch, 17-19,27, 29. | Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club, 16. | Negro Civic League, 2:7. | Negro Political Union, 27. | New World, 26.
O
Oliver, William, 7. | Olivet Community Center. See Dunbar Community Center. | Oneal, Rev. Gordon C. Jr., 13.
P
Picken, Adele, 22. | Pynchon Street Church, 4-5.
Q
Quincy Street Mission, 12-13.
R
Rainey, Olive A. 22. | Randolph. Edna. 16-17. | Roberts, Abby Ritter, 22.
S
St. John’s Congregational Church, 5, 13, 16, 17, 23.
Page #s are from Jeanette G. Davis-Harris, (1978) Springfield’s Ethnic Heritage: The Black Community–An Interpretation of the Black History of Springfield, Massachusetts from the mid-1600?s through 1940.
Vans will leave New Africa House at 6PM and 6:30PM. If you cannot leave at one of these times please contact me immediately. We hope to return you to campus by 9PM.
Dr. Ruth Loving will be ready to begin at 7PM. Mr. J. B. Bradley may be with us as well.
Our conversation will be videotaped (45-60 minutes).
Read up on Dr. Loving and Mr. Bradley by going to the links below:
See masslive’s photo gallery and feature story:
http://topics.masslive.com/tag/james-j.b.-bradley/photos.html
http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/02/springfield_photographer_captu.html
On Dr. Loving:
http://www.americancenturies.mass.edu/centapp/oh/story.do?shortName=loving1945
http://www.americancenturies.mass.edu/activities/oralhistory/loving/bio.html
www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2012/02/ruth_loving_at_97_springfields_mother_of_civil_rights.html
The video below is courtesy of Mr. Tony Bass:
And the course begins like this….
We begin by reading part 1 of Imani Kazini’s “Black Springfield: A Historical Study,” published in Contributions in Black Studies, online at http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cibs/vol1/iss1/2 or
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=cibs
This is the work of an Africana Studies major in the Du Bois Department during its first decade under the direction of faculty like John Bracey. We read it with the objective of studying the relevant historical studies (historiography) of the African American presence in Springfield, MA; which is the starting point of New African urban studies. Simultaneously, we engage the here and now of Black Springfield: look, taste, feel, hear, smell, witness, and all of these together with a purpose (Nia).
Dig this by DJ Scope, “Welcome Back 2 Springfield Shitty”
http://www.datpiff.com/TOX-welcome-Back-2-Springfield-Shitty-mixtape.158584.html