Press

DALTON, Mass. — By any reasonable measure, Keith Willis has been a success in sports and in life.

And the former NFL tight end probably inspired a little awe among the Wahconah High School student-athletes who filled the Nessacus Middle School auditorium on Wednesday evening.

But he did not come to show off. He came to show those students how to be winners themselves.

“How many think it’s cool that I played for five different NFL teams?” Willis said, asking for a show of hands from the youngsters. “It’s pretty cool, right?

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — An event in Ghana’s capital on Tuesday marked the death of scholar and civil rights architect W.E.B. Du Bois there more than six decades ago.

A wreath-laying and ground-breaking in Accra for a new museum in Du Bois’ honor was attended by dignitaries and celebrities, including Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo and rap star E.L. Akofa Ejeni Aseidu, according to the Modern Ghana news website.

“The sod cutting was done by Akufo-Addo who was the guest of honor,” the article says. “The President laid the wreath on behalf of the people of Ghana.”

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Just four months ago, Lisa Shepperson had never heard of Elizabeth Freeman.

But this spring, she learned that Freeman was not only her ancestor, but the first African American woman in Massachusetts to successfully file a lawsuit for her freedom. What’s more, Shepperson learned that she was Freeman’s first living descendant who genealogists and historians had been able to identify.

“I am standing here, the ninth generation of Elizabeth Freeman, with graciousness and humbleness,” Shepperson said Wednesday morning from the grounds of Ashley House, where Freeman was enslaved. It’s also the location, where Freeman overheard Col. John Ashley and other prominent men discussing the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution — that declared “all men are born free and equal” — which started her pursuit of freedom. 

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Lisa Shepperson fluttered her eyelashes to stop her tears as she stood at the faded tombstone of Elizabeth Freeman on Monday morning. She patted the centuries-old tablet with her manicured hand, as if comforting a longtime friend.

It was the first time she saw the burial site of her ancestor at Stockbridge Cemetery. It was only three months ago that Shepperson found out she was a direct descendant of the formerly enslaved woman whose lawsuit for her freedom in 1781, helped propel Massachusetts to abolish slavery in the state.

Before then, she had not heard of Freeman until that unexpected call from a genealogist. But now, standing there, Shepperson said she could not help but feel a wave of joy rush “past my feet, to my heart, to my head, and out towards God.”

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Starting Memorial Day weekend and continuing long past Labor Day, myriads of Americans light up the briquettes and treat their tastebuds to shared feasts centered around grilled chicken, pulled pork, and barbecued ribs. But for many, the time, patience, and skill required to get the right flavor and tenderness can feel a bit daunting. If you are one of the many—or you’re looking for great food that’s ready to go without all the fuss—Momma Lo’s BBQ in Great Barrington is here to help.

According to FOOD52 writer Arlyn Osborne, in “A Brief History of the American Cookout,”the origins of American barbecue date back to the late 1400s, when Spanish explorers landed in the Caribbean, “where they came across an indigenous tribe known as the Taíno slow-cooking on wooden frames.” Traveling north, they took the new cooking technique (called “barbacoa,” which later became “barbecue”) with them.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Each time Pittsfield Attorney Bill Martin takes on a new client involved in a liquor license transfer, he worries he’ll come across a new hiccup.

“It feels a little bit like ‘Mother, may I?’” he said. “You do your best, and then you get your homework corrected, and you find out that you got a 97 when you needed 100. So, you gotta go back and do it again.”

When representing his clients Ronny and Louise Brizan, the owners of BB’s Hot Spot, he didn’t get the perfect score his clients needed.

The Caribbean restaurant has been open at its new location at 455 North St. since Jan. 1, but only got its liquor license on May 22. For the first five months of trying to establish themselves as a full-service eatery, the Brizans couldn’t serve liquor.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The former Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church building on Elm Court, once the center of its community, has been stripped to its studs and will soon be propped up with steel beams and cross timbers.

The peeled-back paint on one wall in what was once the sanctuary reveals most of the letters of the words: “The Lord Is In His Holy Temple.”

And there are some holes in the wooden floors on which generations of the town’s African American community stepped as they flowed in and out for well over a century. 

Including, at one point, town native W.E.B. Du Bois. Du Bois went on to be a scholar, writer, poet, professor and the architect of the civil rights movement as a co-founder of the NAACP.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Savannah Smith, 11, thought she was going to the North Adams Farmers Market on Saturday morning. 

But once she got into the car, her mother, Jeannette Smith, told her those plans had changed. Instead, Savannah and her older sister Cassidy were going to meet Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The Smith sisters are members of ROPE, a Pittsfield-based leadership program for Black girls and young women; their mom, vice president of student life at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, is a program mentor.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D – Mass.) visited Pittsfield last week to tour and meet with staff at several nonprofits for which she helped secure federal funding. Part of her motivation, she said, was to “gather stories and information” about why congressionally directed spending should continue. The fundamental question, she said, is: “Do we think the federal government has a role to play in helping ensure there’s adequate funding so that our communities can thrive?”

At the new Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) facility, Executive Director and nurse practitioner Ilana Steinhauer explained that the $441,000 helped with their Pittsfield expansion and at the existing Great Barrington facility, allowing them to increase access and connect with patients who weren’t getting any services before, mainly the immigrant community—the only growing population in the Berkshires. They also serve and assist increasing numbers of people seeking asylum.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Black Economic Council’s work to support and attract new small businesses to the gateway city got boost with $455,000 secured by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in last year’s appropriations package.

The state’s senior senator was in the city on Thursday to talk small business opportunities and local health care, and met with four small-business owners who have received assistance, advice and promotion through the council’s programs before joining another roundtable at Soldier On.  

“I’m here to celebrate partnership because I really do believe that we have the pieces right, every part of it then starts to work better,” Warren said. “And of course, I’m also here to celebrate being able to put nearly half a million dollars into funding this effort, and the work that is being done here to make sure that small businesses, that Black-owned small businesses, are not at a competitive disadvantage.”

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In Berkshire County, the housing crisis has a way of coming up in conversations, even if you’re chatting with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

“Obviously, we have a housing crisis,” Warren said during a Thursday afternoon roundtable discussion with Soldier On. “If things work out on November 5, we are looking to put more money into housing starting January 2025. I’m interested in hearing from you what ways we can do that effectively?”

Warren was in town Thursday to hear from several local organizations how federal funding she helped secure last year has benefited Pittsfield. She began the afternoon at Volunteers in Medicine before holding roundtable discussions with the Berkshire Black Economic Council and Soldier On later in the day. Warren called the visit a story-gathering mission.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — “If you don’t listen to our voices, don’t talk s— when we resort to violence.”

Those words from 17-year-old Dance Hamilton ended up being the central thesis for “Violence Prevention/Voice Projection,” a “podcast-style film” that features testimonials and a roundtable discussion among four local teens about the social factors that cause violence among young people.

The film, funded by the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office via the Safe Neighborhood Grant, was screened for the first time Tuesday night at the Berkshire Athenaeum. Members of the DA’s office, Mayor Peter Marchetti and several community organizations attended.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It’s a long way to Accra, the capital of Ghana, from Pittsfield. And Shirley Edgerton and her scholars were feeling every mile of it.

On Sunday, Edgerton and a group of 17 girls from Pittsfield set out for Ghana as part of Rites of Passage and Empowerment‘s annual service learning trip. The scholars, aged 10 to 18 years old, shuffled onto a bus that took them to John F. Kennedy International Airport at 9 a.m. that morning.

The travel itinerary was grueling, to put it lightly. The group was slated to fly 7 hours and 30 minutes from New York City to Amsterdam, where they’d be confronted with another six-hour layover, then another 6 hours and 30 minutes in the air from Amsterdam to Accra.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Chef Ronny Brizan is proud to announce the official grand opening of his new location, BB’s Hot Spot at The Lantern at 455 North Street in Pittsfield, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Nestled in the heart of the Berkshires, BB’s Hot Spot has long been a favorite for its authentic flavors of Brizan’s native Grenada, known as the Island of Spice. You’ll savor the tastes of true cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, saffron, cloves, ginger, and cocoa. The menu features smash burgers, jalapeno cheddar burgers, jerk chicken, craft beer, and an extensive cocktail menu inspired by the Caribbean. Sip on tropical favorites like Sorrel Margaritas, Piña Coladas, and Tropical Rum Punch, expertly crafted to transport you from North Street to the islands.

LEE, Mass — “Since 2007, our BRIDGE mission has been promoting mutual understanding and respect among diverse groups serving as a resource to both local institutions and the community at large. We serve as catalysts for change and integration through collaboration, education, training, dialogue, fellowship and advocacy.”
— Multicultural BRIDGE website

It’s hard to capture all that Multicultural BRIDGE (Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups through Education) is and does. As the needs arise, the programs follow. This responsiveness is how founder and CEO Gwendolyn VanSant has operated since starting the nonprofit organization back in 2007, bringing her skills and passion as a community organizer and renowned thought leader on racial justice, reparations, gender equity, and anti-poverty work to the Berkshire community.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As the group African Francophone of the Berkshires prepared to dance down North Street for the first time in Pittsfield’s annual Fourth of July Parade, one of its members, Brice Atte, declared: “You can’t be a part of Pittsfield and not participate in the parade.”

“This parade is well known around the nation, so we want to be part of it,” Brice said.

African Francophone of the Berkshires was one of 161 community groups that showed their pride on Thursday for Pittsfield, the Berkshires and this year’s parade, which was themed “Red, white, blue and YOU!”

The parade kicked off at 10 a.m., beginning a 1 1/2-mile procession that lasted more than two hours.

ADAMS, Mass. — Community Bancorp of the Berkshires, MHC, the parent company of Adams Community Bank, held its annual meeting on April 10 at Charles H. McCann Technical School in North Adams.

The following individuals were elected corporators of Community Bancorp of the Berkshires, MHC: Justin McKennon, A.J. Enchill, Karen Sinopoli, Tim Burke, Tina Lamarre, Alexandra “Alex” Glover, Lindsay D. DiSantis, Robin Sher, Stella Downie, and Leonard Light.

McKennon, a principal scientist at Electro Magnetic Applications Inc., is an internationally recognized expert in the test and simulation of electromagnetic effects across the aerospace, space, defense, and related industries. He holds master’s and bachelor of science degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. 

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams of Georgia’s 5th District kicked off W.E.B. Du Bois Center’s “Reflections on Democracy” series on Juneteenth.

Approximately 200 people gathered at Saint James Place to discuss democracy with Williams, moderated by Michael Blake, the center’s first-ever visiting scholar in democracy.

The event was the first of a four-part series. This first part focused on democracy and leadership. The next session July 11 will focus on democracy and philanthropy with Marvin Carr, director of Walmart’s Center for Racial Equity.

Blake said Williams was the perfect person to have as the first speaker for the series because you cannot talk about democracy without talking about Georgia.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — It’s been a decade-long passion project to elevate the historic contributions of a Black artist by preserving his writing cabin and, eventually, the land around it.

Now, it’s actually happening.

It is the cabin where Harlem Renaissance poet and NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson did his writing when he was in the Berkshires. It was where he found peace nestled in a hemlock grove.

Now a $575,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program will support a three-year plan for a historic and meticulous restoration of the interior of the cabin, utilities and all its contents. The cabin sits above the Alford Brook off Alford Road, behind the main house and over a footbridge.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — To Akinyemi Blackshear, the dream of opening a nightclub for dancing in the Berkshires seemed like an impossibly heavy lift.

Now, not so much.

After participating in an intensive leadership program steered by the Blackshires Community Empowerment Foundation, the plan seems less daunting. Blackshear now has “achievable goals.”

He’ll start in September with pop-up dance parties across the county. That way he’ll be able to gauge interest and get feedback, before he begins to set his sights on a physical space.

“In my mind it was this big project,” said Blackshear, a marketing project manager at Theory Wellness in Great Barrington, “and they made it much more reasonable.”