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PITTSFIELD — The Sumpter Brothers will be back in the ring together, representing Pittsfield in Pandemonium at the Palladium 3.
Quintin and Steve “The Savage” Sumpter will be fighting on the same card for the first time in almost two years, on March 23 at The Palladium in Worcester. They both won fights in Framingham in 2022, and will return to central Massachusetts next Saturday.
Steve (9-0, 7 KOs) fought in the first Pandemonium at the Palladium, beating James Perkins to claim the IBA Americas Super Middleweight Championship on Aug. 20, 2023. He was supposed to fight in the second edition of the event, but his opponent dropped out at the last minute.
STOCKBRIDGE — On her first day working at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, in the summer of 2019, Eset Rose stood by a statue of Ganesha, the Hindu God of beginnings.
“Why did you bring me here?” she says she called out, a couple hundred feet from the office where, at 39, she had her first 9–to–5 job.
As a Black woman — Rose calls herself “a Jewmaican” — used to the diversity of the music industry, she was hyperaware of being in a largely white space. In another life, Rose had been Alicia Keys’ manager and creative director, as well as the president of her production company AK Worldwide. Why, she wondered, had she applied to be director of luminary programming at a wellness retreat center in Western Massachusetts?
Jocelyn Guelce is one of the other recipients of the Vibe North Street grants. With support from the Berkshire Black Economic Council, Guelce is launching The Collab, “a dynamic blend of a recording studio, art gallery and collaborative workspace” that’s “an extension” of The Collab’s digital marketing agency, at 163 North St.
Guelce said her mission — and the mission of the studio’s resident engineer Mark Messina — is to “nurture and promote our local arts community while also serving as a catalyst for professional development.”
The response to that drive has been overwhelming, Guelce said, adding that the first youth workshop the Collab hosted nearly sold out. On March 1, the organization plans to host its grand opening showcase event.
A calling from a loving community played a part in finding Dolce Rose a space on North Street as well. The new beauty supply, located at 305 North St. is the product of the love and passion of mother-daughter team Gloria and Destiny Saunders.
LENOX — Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Allyn Burrows is determined to shake things up this summer with two world premieres; one regional premiere; two major outdoor productions — one of which is described as “an enhanced staged reading” — and a Shakespeare cabaret.
The cabaret, “Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret,” is set for July 2-7 in the Tina Packer Playhouse, which will be transformed into a full cabaret setting. The show is being put together by Burrows and stage and film actor Jacob Ming-Trent, who played Bottom in last summer’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
LENOX — Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Allyn Burrows is determined to shake things up this summer with two world premieres; one regional premiere; two major outdoor productions — one of which is described as “an enhanced staged reading” — and a Shakespeare cabaret.
The cabaret, “Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret,” is set for July 2-7 in the Tina Packer Playhouse, which will be transformed into a full cabaret setting. The show is being put together by Burrows and stage and film actor Jacob Ming-Trent, who played Bottom in last summer’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Greylock Federal Credit Union’s Pittsfield roots date back to the establishment of the credit union in 1935. Since then, the credit union has sought enriching partnerships to enhance the well-being of community members in its home city. Its collaboration with the Westside Legends, Inc., is one such example. The Westside Legends formed with the mission to improve the quality of life for residents living in the Westside, a purpose for which Greylock has fully supported.
PITTSFIELD — When it comes to making the most of February break in the Berkshires, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better expert than the region’s youngest residents.
Released from the routines of school and extracurriculars for eight glorious days, local kids and their families are making the most of their school vacation days. It’s a time for visits with grandparents and cousins, trips to sights and activities just off the beaten path and an opportunity to just slow down and enjoy the freedom of a completely open schedule.
The Berkshire Eagle caught up with some of the foremost leaders on school break for a look at the tips and tricks to a fun-filled week. Here’s what they had to say:
Great Barrington— Rachel Melendez-Mabee has been named to the board of CHP Berkshires.
As vice president of culture and brand and DEI officer at Greylock Federal Credit Union, Melendez-Mabee brings to CHP her skills in corporate workplace diversity issues, training and initiatives. She has previously worked for the PGA of America, as PGA WORKS’ workforce development and lead manager, DEI. She has also worked as social and digital brand manager for Berkshire Bank, and as a senior account executive for Roberts Communications, a public relations firm. Earlier, she worked as a sales and marketing specialist for PGA of America.
The W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy hires an executive director, elects emeritus and executive officers, and announces theme for 2024 season.
PITTSFIELD — Greylock Federal Credit Union has appointed Brett Random to its volunteer board of directors. A Pittsfield resident, Random is the executive director for Berkshire County Head Start and a certified parent educator. She earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies: children, families and society from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; a master’s degree in social work from Westfield State University; and a certificate in organizational leadership from Harvard Business School. Random also is a 2018 recipient of the 40 Under Forty Award from Berkshire Community College.
After Berkshire Nursing Families identified that there were no Black doulas working in Berkshire County, Health New England made a $50,000 grant to Springfield Family Doulas to help train and support Black people in Berkshire County to become doulas and lactation counselors.
The Freedom Center chose Whitaker to lead it after a seven-month national search. She is a former White House senior adviser and professor at New York University. She has held leadership positions for more than two decades in the corporate, nonprofit and public sectors — among other things, she knows how to raise a lot of money.
Coloring books aren’t just for kids anymore. Most recently, coloring has been recognized as a helpful tool for those practicing good mental health. According to the Mayo Clinic, coloring is good for your health — it promotes mindfulness, relieves stress and helps us “embrace the imperfect.”
The Gladys Allen Brigham Center in Pittsfield. The community center, along with Berkshire United Way and Greylock Federal Credit Union, accepted donations on Saturday for an MLK Day Community Clothing Drive, which will be held on Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
BOSTON — On January 15, 2024, during the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, Governor Maura Healey, in partnership with the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO), announced additional efforts to increase state contracts with diverse and small businesses by assessing and reopening contracts that can provide such opportunities. This effort also includes swearing in the state’s first Diverse and Small Business Advisory Board for the Supplier Diversity Office.
For Desiree Addy and her family, a jam-packed afternoon of sledding and snowball fights was about far more than enjoying the winter’s first real snow.
Pine Cobble School has appointed longtime educator Alana Harte as head of school as of Jan. 1, according to a December announcement sent to the school community by its board of trustees.
In a Pittsfield courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, a different kind of case was heard: a fictional one.
The attorneys, on either side, were middle schoolers.
For the second straight year, students at Reid Middle School participated in a proceeding through the Discovering Justice Mock Trial Program. The program provided volunteer attorneys to 34 middle schools across the commonwealth, accounting for more than 400 students statewide.
(Pictured left: Romelo Holley)
Pittsfield, Massachusetts received over $40 million in federal relief through the American Rescue Plan Act President Biden signed into law in 2021. Its allotment from that windfall to the Berkshire Black Economic Council has led to a flourishing of the city’s Black businesses, which are filling vacant storefronts downtown and contributing to a culinary golden age for Pittsfield.
Makai Shepardson paints Christmas ornaments in Colleen Quinn’s art class at Pittsfield High School.
Devante Owens hold scripts while fully costumed in “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley” in 2021, a skill they’ll both bring to “Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley.”
A portrait of Agrippa Hull (1759-1848), who was born free in Northampton and became the most prominent Black landowner in Stockbridge, has been borrowed by New York City’s American Folk Art Museum for its new exhibit, “Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North.”
WILLIAMSTOWN — A new work on Broadway had its start at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” — which follows a day in the life at a Harlem hair braiding shop — was commissioned by the festival in 2018, but was never staged in Williamstown before its world premiere on Broadway this fall.
Area veteran groups decided to recognize Bradley as Veteran of the Year during services following the city’s annual Veterans Day Parade. The honor was bestowed in front of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument just off South Street, as part of remembrances for those who gave their lives in service to their country. Bradley, who’s still recovering from a heart attack earlier this year, was lauded and given a standing ovation by his fellow veterans and onlookers.
A new scholarship program from the state now gives back to students who plan to make a career caring for people in their communities. With the passage of the fiscal 2024 budget, Gov. Maura Healey and state legislators set aside $18 million to cover the costs nursing students at community colleges would normally take on in tuition fees, books and supply costs.
NORTH ADAMS — McCann Technical School held a pinning ceremony Tuesday for 24 students who completed the school’s postsecondary practical nursing program.
Former World Champion NBA player and coach Clifford Ray visited the Berkshires from Oct. 18-20 to discuss his book, “Big Clifford Ray Saves the Day.”
GREAT BARRINGTON — In what she described as “a miracle,” a postal worker and her family of five are the winners of a housing lottery that will allow them to purchase one of the few affordable homes in town.
Smooth and sharp, minimalist but inspired and mellow yet forceful: Sunny War’s set was as paradoxically powerful as the artist’s name would indicate.
The Black Legacy Project released their album on September 22, and performed at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, where the project began.
The Milwaukee-based singer-songwriter graced the stage during the annual three-day FreshGrass Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts
Jacob Ming-Trent starred in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the New Spruce Theater in Lenox (70 Kemble Street).
The Massachusetts State House is thrilled to announce the highly anticipated exhibition “Reinventing Rockwell and Beyond” by renowned artist Pops Peterson, running now through October 16.
Keith Hamilton Cobb was working on a staging of his play “American Moor” — which will be seen at Tanglewood.
Joshua Culbreath in “Nuttin’ but a Word,” with Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater, in the 2023 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
Steve Sumpter out of Pittsfield (8-0, 7 KOs) will be fighting James “Pitbull” Perkins (12-0-1, 9 KOs) in “Pandemonium at the Palladium” in Worcester. It will be an eight-round bout between two undefeated up-and-comers for the vacant International Boxing Association (IBA) Americas Super Middleweight belt.
On Sunday and Monday, Aug. 13 and 14, she’s debuting “An Evening with Lillias White” at Mr. Finn’s Cabaret at Barrington Stage Company.
Neoclassical pianist brings his solo compositions to Mass MoCA’s Club B10.
Simon’s Rock presents activist and author Shanae Watkins as the Keynote speaker for the Symposium on Social Justice and Inclusion.
MHA’s Anchoring Equity blog series profiles the work of our members as they work to advance health equity, diversity and inclusion in their organizations and in their communities.
The Berkshire Innovation Center and other local stakeholders have big plans for this empty Pittsfield business park. They want to build an “innovation district” and reclaim the region’s history as a hub when companies like General Electric called it home and employed around 13,000 at its height.
The MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board was commissioned by the Executive Office of Labor & Workforce Development to identify the region’s critical career pathway opportunities. The board—co-chaired by Boulger, Berkshire Community College (BCC) President Ellen Kennedy, and 1Berkshire President/ CEO Jonathan Butler—had active engagement from its partners in education and economic development. The result was the “Berkshire Workforce Blueprint,” which has been used by organizations to apply for training resources and workforce initiatives and to guide post-secondary and adult training curriculum. The board is accountable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and has to provide annual reports.(pictured left: Melissa Melbe, Culinary Arts, Taconic High School, Class of ’20.)
Graduating Students: 16
Cosmetology: 9
Dental Assisting: 5
Medical Assisting: 1
Surgical Technology: 1
PITTSFIELD — When I was growing up, everyone in my neighborhood had a summer job.
It meant independence and extra money in your pocket. It was the first time many of us learned about the importance of hard work, responsibility and accountability.
EGREMONT — There are no pricey consultants or specialty lawyers. There is no corporate machinery. Heidi and Ari Zorn stepped, nearly alone, into the regulatory maze required to open a cannabis shop.
LEE — Nick Woodard stands in the gym at Lee Elementary School with both ends of a jump-rope in his hands. Before he really shows off what he can do, he needs to know something first: How much energy is in the room right now?
“If you answer my question right, I’m going to keep jumping,” Woodard said. “If you answer it wrong, I’m going to go home. I don’t want to go home yet. Here’s the question — are you ready for a show?”
LOWELL — After knocking on the door for years, Taconic finally broke through on Saturday evening with a Division 5 state title.
The Pittsfield vocational school held off a spirited effort from previously unbeaten David Prouty, surviving with a 53-51 victory at the Tsongas Center.
NORTH ADAMS — Otha Day was self-employed, making his living as a musician teaching and playing classical piano when he had a stroke in 2003.
Unable to make money, he had to make a career shift.
“I couldn’t lift a bowl of cereal,” he said during a recent interview.
For A.J. Enchill, the president and executive director of the Berkshire Black Economic Council (BBEC), economic development for Berkshire County and building up Black entrepreneurs and businesses go hand in hand.
“The makeup of our community in Berkshire County is changing,” Enchill said. “If we ever want to close the wealth gap and uplift this economy, we need to have a diverse plethora of racial makeup in our industries. It’s going to take Black and minority businesses, and other white-owned mom-and-pops, filling up our vacant storefronts.”
NORTH ADAMS — The key to a good sandwich: the bread.
That’s according to Berkshire chef Xavier Jones, who will soon be serving up Philly cheesesteaks in the Berkshires once again, and on bread imported from Philadelphia.
In late April, Jones and two other co-owners, Warren Dews Jr. and Dully Saimbert, are opening BiggDaddy’s Philly Steak House on the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art’s campus in a space that was occupied by A-OK Barbecue until it closed last year.
NORTH ADAMS — How does a body dance oxygen? How does a body dance trees breathing out and people breathing in — the invisible balance that keeps us alive?
South African choreographers/dancers Thulani Chauke and Albert Fana Tshabalala will find out in North Adams as they improvise together.
Greylock Federal Credit Union (Greylock) makes no secret of its commitments to supporting the local community. But it’s not until you see them laid out on the page — or 16 pages, to be more precise — that the full scope of the 88-year-old institution’s contributions become apparent.
In its 2022 Impact Report, published this month, Greylock outlines its many community-centric initiatives from the past year, ranging from monetary donations to special loans, educational programs and research projects.
Pittsfield has found itself in a little bit of a boxing renaissance. Steve and Quintin Sumpter have been fighting out of the largest city in the Berkshires, with Steve winning the Massachusetts Light Heavyweight Title in November.
Now a new fighter is taking the Massachusetts stage and he, too, will have a shot at a state title. Pittsfield’s Jamer Jones (2-1, 2 KOs) will be boxing on Saturday at Melrose Memorial Hall in Melrose, Mass. The Taconic graduate will be challenging Massachusetts State Middleweight Champion, Anthony “The Gentle Savage” Andreozzi (4-2, 1 KO) for his belt.
Congratulations to all the grant recipients! Click the link below to watch the video.
GHENT—Newspaper owner and editor Parry Teasdale has agreed to sell The Columbia Paper, a weekly in the Town of Ghent, NY, and the news website www.columbiapaper.com to Capital Region Independent Media, LLC for an undisclosed amount. Capital Region is headed by Mark Vinciguerra, a veteran media executive.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Black Economic Council made its first grant awards to six organizations on Wednesday evening.
The Leaders for Equitable Pittsfield recipients are Maggie Sadoway Immigrant Co-op leader Maria Arias, Gustitos Boricuas/La Cocineras Latinas owner Miriam Orengo, Grice Beauty owner Ranish Grice, Guelce Marketing Collaborative owner Jocelyn Guelce, Cravins Ice Cream owner Ludwig Jean-Louis, and Berkshire International Market owner Goundo Behanzin.
Now in its third year, The Boston Globe’s Black History Month Film Festival will honor and celebrate the lives, culture, and creativity of Black Americans through film. Both classic and new works will be made available for virtual viewing throughout the month. Each screening will also be followed by a virtual panel event to provide insight and context for these stories of strength, joy, and love. Join Globe writers and editors, filmmakers, and talent for these five installments.
PITTSFIELD — By the time Manny Slaughter gets home each day, he’s just about ready to go to bed.
Between his day job at Alternative Living Centers and running the After School Homework and Mentorship Program, he’s certainly got enough to keep him busy. But the payoff is worth the effort.
PITTSFIELD — If these walls could talk, volunteer Laura Harbin-Waters thinks they’d have a lot to say.
Harbin-Waters stood alongside other volunteers at the Habitat for Humanity property at 58 Gordon St., white primer dripping from rollers and brushes as the crew was tasked with coating the second floor. The act, she said, was more than meets the eye.
PITTSFIELD — The poems are there, inside these young Pittsfield authors. They just need coaxing.
That’s a given for leaders of the Fireside program, which since 2017 has helped elementary students blossom as writers, with support from The Mastheads, the humanities program based at Arrowhead, former home of writer Herman Melville.
NORTH ADAMS — “Communion with life begins with the earth,” a blue poster declares to those who pass by MCLA’s Design Lab.
A growing effort to channel students’ enthusiasm for esports toward preparing them for jobs in science, technology, engineering and math could address the lack of racial diversity in STEM careers.
As a kid, Kevin Fair would take apart his Nintendo console, troubleshoot issues and put it back together again — experiences the Black entrepreneur says represented “a life trajectory changing moment” when he realized the entertainment system was more than a toy.
PITTSFIELD — On Thursday night, Cashey Young, 16, could hardly contain her nerves leading up to her first Kwanzaa performance.
Young had spent the week reflecting on the African-American holiday in preparation. “It’s great that there’s a holiday that celebrates everybody who’s Black. Uniting with Black people is really important for me, because alone we can’t accomplish what we can do together,” she said.
NORTH ADAMS — Give the Spartans an inch and you’re going to need a tape measure.
The Monument Mountain boys hit their stride in the middle of the third quarter and broke free of the Blue Devils, going on to win, 77-49, Monday night.
For Ciany Conyers, the long journey from Valentine Road in Pittsfield to Hoosick and Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y., has paid off.
Conyers, who helped Taconic win a Western Massachusetts Division II championship in 2020, signed her National Letter of Intent back on Nov. 10, to play Division I basketball at Siena College, over in Loudonville, N.Y.
PITTSFIELD — For the formerly incarcerated, the first 72 hours of freedom can be as difficult as the sentence they’ve just finished.
This is the period when ex-cons are most likely to take the steps that lead them to re-offend, according to law enforcement authorities. They have two choices: Return to the environment that got them into trouble in the first place, or choose an alternative path that allows them to become a productive member of society.
NORTH ADAMS — Jean Clarke-Mitchell, an assistant professor of social work at Lesley University in Cambridge, has been nominated to the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ board of trustees.
A 2000 graduate of MCLA, Clarke-Mitchell is currently serving her second term on the college’s foundation board.
PITTSFIELD — Local officials and civic leaders Thursday were paid a visit by Kimberly Budd, the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Budd was appointed chief justice by Gov. Charlie Baker months into the pandemic, in 2020, when she became the youngest chief justice of the high court in the past 150 years and the first Black woman to lead it.
So much for the slow buildup. The come-up for young fighters is tough and there’s a need to have an impressive win-loss record. So it’s commonplace for up-and-comers to avoid each other. Because an early loss might end your career before it begins.
Steve Sumpter (6-0, 6 KOs) got the memo, but he doesn’t care.
I write frequently about the Reconstruction period after the Civil War not to make predictions or analogies but to show how a previous generation of Americans grappled with their own set of questions about the scope and reach of our Constitution, our government and our democracy.
The scholarship on Reconstruction is vast and comprehensive. But my touchstone for thinking about the period continues to be W.E.B. Du Bois’ “Black Reconstruction,” published in 1935 after years of painstaking research, often inhibited by segregation and the racism of Southern institutions of higher education.
PITTSFIELD — Today, Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Undersecretary of Community Development Ashley Stolba and MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera were joined by state and local officials in Pittsfield to announce more than $143 million in grant awards to support 337 local economic development projects in 169 communities. The grant awards were made through Community One Stop for Growth, a single application portal that provides a streamlined, collaborative review process of 12 state grant programs that fund economic development projects related to community capacity building, planning and zoning, site preparation, building construction and infrastructure.
PITTSFIELD — About 15 years ago, Hayford Osafo started Integrity Tax and Accounting Services from his basement after he noticed that people around him needed bookkeeping help.
Now his office on Tyler Street offers accounting and financial services and help for those starting businesses, he told a group of about half a dozen people representing other Berkshire businesses potentially interested in his services.
Frances Jones-Sneed, the celebrated scholar and educator, joked that on Sunday she was surrounded by her “roadies.”
And, indeed, at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, where she was an honoree in the 2022 Governor’s Awards in the Humanities, Jones-Sneed of North Adams had her support crew with her. In tandem to the award itself, her wide and varied crew served as testament to the mark she has made on the world.
LENOX — During that tumultuous era of civil rights struggles that was the 1960s — and perhaps still is — carloads of Black and white women drove Cadillacs around the American South talking with women in their living rooms about voting and standing up to the injustices in their lives.
Award-winning Boston playwright Tori Sampson turned this little-known story into the play “Cadillac Crew,” now receiving only its second professional production by WAM Theatre at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse through Oct. 29.
STOCKBRIDGE — Samuel Donkor heard his phone ring with what his caller ID warned him was “potential spam.” He still took the call. “Hello?”
“Congratulations, you’re now an American citizen!” said the voice on the other end of the line.
GREAT BARRINGTON — Twenty years after they first met, things have come full circle for local hip-hop artists Quintavious Walls, Regi Wingo, Eric Shuman and Jackson Whalan.
Together, as BRK BRD, Walls, aka Carolina Black, Wingo aka Dominik Omega, Shuman aka D.R.A.M.A.T.I.C., and Whalan recently released the full-length album, “Corona Diaries” featuring 10 songs and three interludes, with themes spanning the importance of family, racial identity, politics and the pandemic.
PITTSFIELD — Born and raised on the West Side, I have had the opportunity to see the changes in the area over the years.
As a kid, I remember the West Side as a place full of family and friends. There was always music playing, the smell of a grill going, kids playing in the streets or at the parks.
PITTSFIELD — A taste of West Africa has arrived on the West Side of Pittsfield.
Raissa and Mathieu Doumbia, a married couple originally from the West African nation of Ivory Coast, recently opened House of Seasoning Grill at 117 Seymour St., the site of the former Friends Grille.
Trey Carlisle and Todd Mack / The Black Legacy Project
Victor Blackwell shows us two champions tapping into music’s power to evoke empathy, spark collaboration and promote racial harmony. Trey Carlisle and Todd Mack started The Black Legacy Project to form racially diverse groups of musicians who build understanding by creating modern interpretations of historically Black songs. Through roundtables and performance, The Black Legacy Project enables musicians of different backgrounds to listen to one another, recognize their interdependence and inspire their audiences to do the same.
At the heart of “Brake Run Helix” is a rideable sculptural roller coaster. Filling Building 5’s 100-yard-long gallery, the exhibit also includes paintings, a stage for performances, and freestanding sculptures inspired by the form and function of roller coasters. Hill’s practice focuses on experiences that intermingle public struggle, endurance, trauma, and joy, whether within athletics, religion, the American education system or amusement parks. In the United States, amusement parks were contested sites throughout Jim Crow-era desegregation efforts for equitable access to pleasure, leisure and recreation.
One year ago, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art was honored to receive a $300,000 award from the Wells Fargo Foundation to support its rapidly expanding Assets for Artists program. The two-year grant supports a broad spectrum of the Assets for Artists program activities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut needed to meet more-than-doubled demand for their artist support services at this time of high need.
SHEFFIELD — A roundtable of Black history scholars will talk next week about the way Elizabeth Freeman’s legacy has been mythologized in a way that confines her story to a narrative that might not be entirely accurate.
Freeman never told it herself, and there might not be enough historical material to work with.
On August 19 the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy will present this first in a series of events to honor Freeman’s journey as a way into a larger conversation about ethical storytelling of African American history.
Contributed by the Mahaiwe. Photos by Julia Kaplan.
Friends of the historic Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington gathered on July 30 to celebrate the organization’s past, present, and future with — what else? — gorgeous music. Some 600 people attended the Mahaiwe’s 2022 gala, which included dinner under a tent on nearby Memorial Field and a multiple-standing-ovation performance by world-acclaimed vocalist Renée Fleming, who performed a range of arias and modern numbers, from Händel’s “Bel piacere e godere” from Agrippina to “Climb Every Mountain” from “The Sound of Music.”
Berkshire Bank recognizes the importance of financial growth opportunities for both individuals and businesses. As a community bank, we are driven by our sense of purpose to help raise the economic potential of our surrounding communities. During Black Business Month in August, we celebrate the more than 2 million Black-owned businesses in the United States, including many of our customers and community partners. In Berkshire County, MA, the operational hub of Berkshire Bank, the Berkshire Black Economic Council (BBEC) is working with Black-owned businesses and future generations of Black entrepreneurs to help them reach their dreams while paying it forward.
As Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation barring discrimination on the basis of a person’s natural hairstyle or hair texture into law in his office Tuesday afternoon, twin sisters Deanna and Mya Cook, 21, smiled with pride and joy.
“I never thought we’d be here,” Deanna Cook, in tears, told the dozens of legislators, activists, and reporters gathered for the historic moment. “To be here and know that no one will go through what we did again, it means more than the world.”
Grant programs are laced with cumbersome red tape. The high cost of housing makes it difficult for laborers to live in the communities where they work. Smaller farmers have a hard time accessing capital.
Those are among the challenges some Berkshire County farmers say they routinely face. And Wednesday, they’ll have a chance to talk about those issues with the state’s top agriculture official.
GREAT BARRINGTON — Tucked in among the downtown’s commercial buildings is an old, shingle-style church with peeling white paint and a 30-foot tower out front.
Its dilapidated condition belies its historical importance. The Clinton AME Zion Church served as a gathering place and spiritual home for Black Berkshirites for nearly 130 years, a refuge from discrimination, its pulpit a platform for pastors’ antilynching campaigns, and its basement hall a venue for social events. A National Register of Historic Places landmark, the church closed in 2014 and fell into disrepair.
STOCKBRIDGE — Berkshire County has several well-known cultural venues. But what those sites don’t have is a lot of Black visitors.
According to a survey conducted by the Black Arts Council of the Berkshire Black Economic Council 47 percent of the respondents had never been to Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, 43 percent had never gone to Tanglewood in Lenox and 33 percent had never traveled to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. And those weren’t the highest numbers.
TYRINGHAM — Protecting the vote of Black citizens involves a lot more than ensuring their ballots are counted.
It involves deeper work by entire communities to encourage people of color to vote by showing them that their opinion matters, that they are counted as people, that they have a stake — and that even subtle barriers to their running for office are removed, said panelists at a “Protecting the Vote” discussion at the Tyringham Union Church Saturday.
PITTSFIELD — When students at Crosby Elementary School were having a difficult time returning to school after a year of virtual learning, school leaders decided to launch a diversity, equity and inclusion read-aloud program.
Staff say the program has reminded students that school is a place where they are loved and celebrated.
PITTSFIELD — Responsibility isn’t a choice for Ludwig Jean-Louis, it’s a necessity.
After his mother, Roselie, died at age 51 in March 2021, Jean-Louis became in charge of the finances for his four younger siblings. That’s a big task for anyone at any age, let alone someone who is 26.
But Jean-Louis had always been interested in becoming an entrepreneur. That passion is what motivated him to recently purchase Cravins Soft Serve & Frozen Yogurt, a small, popular ice cream stand on Elm Street where he, his siblings, including 18-year-old twin sisters, and two of his cousins are all part of an eight-member workforce.
PITTSFIELD — Cam Stockton has been promoted to program director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires.
In this role, Stockton will be responsible for all youth programming at the Boys & Girls Club and will also serve as camp director at Camp Russell in Richmond.
STOCKBRIDGE — For Avie Maloney, it’s been a long, complicated journey from her native Grenada in the West Indies to Stockbridge, where she’s the town’s newest restaurant proprietor.
After eight years as a waitress at Once Upon a Table — down an alley at 36 Main St. in a shopping plaza called The Mews — Maloney has a clear vision for the popular down-home dining spot, which was founded in 1996 and subsequently owned by Alan and Teresa O’Brient for 23 years.
“I want to give people good food for the money they’re spending, serving a $30 steak that tastes like $60,” she said. “I want everyone to feel welcome here. For patrons, irrespective of possible dietary restrictions, we’re going to take care of you.”
GREAT BARRINGTON — Roughly 70 years before W.E.B. Du Bois was born, just down the street, Elizabeth Freeman became the first slave to successfully sue for her freedom in Massachusetts.
That historic event took place at a courthouse where Town Hall sits at the corner of Castle and Main streets.
Now, plans are in motion to honor Freeman by designating the area “Elizabeth Freeman Way.”
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – After months of getting community feedback on how to spend millions of dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funding, the city of Pittsfield announced the first round of grants on Thursday.
A total of $5.9 million is being given to 18 different nonprofits and cultural groups.
One of the biggest grants went to the Berkshire Black Economic Council, which will use the money to develop programs to support local Black business owners.
“We’ve been working for almost three years as a volunteer-based organization,” said A.J. Enchill, the council’s president and executive director. “And now that we have this capital, we can really begin to look into our future.”
For groups hit especially hard by the pandemic, the funds will help them get their operations back to normal.
PITTSFIELD — On the map, this bit of Pittsfield high ground, home to the Powell and Hamilton families, is inked in red.
“Hazardous,” a label says.
The hazard isn’t crime, including the arson that destroyed the house at Robbins Avenue and Division Street, next to where Courtney R. Hamilton is raising four kids.
The hazard isn’t all of the people going in and out of drug houses, some of whom drive recklessly through this neighborhood and have struck children, spurring parents to holler “Car!” to children playing outside.
PITTSFIELD — In 1940, residents in an area of the West Side neighborhood petitioned the city in complaint of housing conditions that were dirty and unsafe.
“A menace to life,” they wrote.
In 1956, the situation had only worsened. Philip Ahern, a Planning Board executive assistant, wrote in an Eagle column that year entitled, “Minorities and Bad Housing,” that the city had both “blighted housing and segregation.”
LeLand Gantt’s performance of Rhapsody in Black was an entry point for people in an overwhelmingly White region to talk about race. This compelling one-man show exploring racism, identity, and self-image was presented virtually in 2021 through a Berkshires community collaboration.
Clinton Church Restoration is revitalizing a historic Black church as an African American cultural center rooted in the life and legacy of civil rights pioneer W.E.B. Du Bois, whose hometown was Great Barrington. This relatively young nonprofit partnered to host Rhapsody in Black with Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, a Great Barrington institution dating to 1904 that is making strides to engage a broader audience with work that fuels community interaction and dialogue.
Lotetta “Momma Lo” McClennon says running her own restaurant has always been a dream. Even though it took a long time and a lot of struggle, she says Momma Lo’s BBQ, now open right in the middle of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is that dream come true.
Tucked into the back of the well-trafficked Great Barrington House Atrium at 24 Main Street, Momma Lo’s may be humble in size and appearance but is serving up authentic southern-style barbecue the region has been missing.
McClennon is soft spoken and isn’t one to brag about her cooking. Luckily she has two of her sons, Attarilm and Ahmed, working with her. Ahmed, a talented rapper who performs under the name Buddha da Great, is more than happy to serve as his mother’s hype man. It’s clear the men take a lot of pride in their mother’s success.
“We’ve got the flavor, the sauce and the love,” Ahmed says. “This has been a dream of hers for so long. We’re really blessed to be here.”
PITTSFIELD — Warren Dews Jr. has lived in the Berkshires for 11 years. He has been involved in numerous business ventures and serves on several area boards. He knows local bank presidents by their first name.
Yet, when Dews recently tried to obtain a loan to open a cigar lounge in Pittsfield, he found no takers.
PITTSFIELD — For the better part of two years, Pittsfield has been on a path to transform city business into a more diverse, equitable and inclusive process. That journey may cross a critical milestone this week with the hiring of a chief diversity officer.
The candidate Mayor Linda Tyer is bringing to the City Council for approval this week is a rising political star in North Adams: Michael Obasohan.
ADAMS — Xavier Jones is coming back to Adams, this time to start a restaurant at Park Street’s historic Firehouse Cafe.
Folks might remember the 38-year-old chef from BiggDaddy’s Philly Steak House, which Jones owned and operated in Adams from 2017 to 2018 and in Pittsfield from 2018 to 2019.
Now, he is returning, alongside business partner Warren Dews Jr., to try something new: a Mediterranean-infused small plates restaurant with a menu that will reflect the cuisines of up to 30 countries.
“This building is a landmark, and we don’t want to be just a restaurant — we want to be a destination,” Jones said. “People go to Lenox for great food. People go to Williamstown for food. We want people to go to Adams and know they can get the same quality of food, even better.”
PITTSFIELD — Kamaar Taliaferro, of Pittsfield, is among the Black leaders across Massachusetts who will be honored Monday at an event organized by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus.
The caucus holds the Black Excellence on the Hill celebration annually to recognize Black community leaders. Anyone can register at bit.ly/3swxZrb to attend the virtual event at 6 p.m. Monday.
Taliaferro chairs the housing committee of the county NAACP chapter and is a member of Westside Legends.
In a news release, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, who nominated Taliaferro, described him as “often in the background, but very much a leader and team player.”
GREAT BARRINGTON — Preserving Black history in the Berkshires often begins with recording people’s stories, and a new oral history project will advance that work.
Oral history interviews are sometimes “the only lasting artifact that we have of a person’s life,” said Frances Jones-Sneed, a professor of history emeritus at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
“Most African Americans, most working-class or poor people, don’t have the archive or family papers that our senators or presidents or people who have money to get someone to write their biography have,” she said.
“Quilting Our History: African American Voices of Wisdom and Memory” is a collaboration between Clinton Church Restoration, the Berkshire County chapter of the NAACP and the Housatonic Heritage Oral History Center at Berkshire Community College.
PITTSFIELD — When the Barrington Stage Company approached Shirley Edgerton last year with an idea for a festival celebrating Black voices, she knew what to do.
Edgerton revisited a piece she’d co-written more than a decade ago with Felicia Robertson that brought audiences face-to-face with the African American women who had shaped this country but were forgotten by its history books.
PITTSFIELD — It’s hard to imagine a more qualified local candidate to lead the recently formed Berkshire Black Economic Council than Alfred “A.J.” Enchill Jr.
The Pittsfield native’s father, Alfred Enchill, runs Elegant Stitches, a small Black-owned business in Pittsfield that has been operating for over 20 years. Enchill and his three brothers grew up in the family-owned business and saw firsthand the obstacles that Black-owned businesses in the Berkshires face while trying to develop and sustain themselves.
PITTSFIELD — The coronavirus pandemic has further tilted the economy toward large corporations, but a new local fund seeks to offer small businesses and nonprofits a lifeline.
Starting Dec. 1, Berkshire County businesses with up to 25 employees can apply for grants of up to $15,000 to cover costs experienced during the pandemic.
“We have struggled to keep the lights on and gas going,” said Penny Walker, who with Frank Walker owns Smokey Divas, a barbecue restaurant at 239 Onota St. “Everybody’s gone but the people who own it. I can’t afford to hire any staff right now.”
The Rites of Passage and Empowerment program is a holistic mentoring program that emphasizes the development of mind, body and spirit and supports adolescent girls in discovering their inner voice.
Our mission is to celebrate and honor their entry into womanhood via mentorship from women who are culturally aligned, as well as provide them with the skills and knowledge that they need to be successful, independent and responsible women.