In an era of declining religious observance, studies show that this particular generation is interested in traditions, heritage, one-on-one gatherings and social justicejust not the old-fashioned institutions of their parents or grandparents

By: Deborah Fineblum

When Rebekah Paster moved to New York City, she was just out of college and knew almost no one there. So when a friend insisted I had to go to the nearest Moishe House, she said, I was blown away with how warm and welcoming they were. And I can say now Ive met a lot of my really good friends through Moishe House, people Id never have met otherwise.

Not only did the place make her feel at home in a big city full of strangers, but at 25, Paster is now one of the three young adults living in the Moishe House in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. The trio is responsible for hosting everything from Shabbat dinners and holiday parties to rooftop yoga classes, rock-climbing outings and social-justice activities, like collecting books to send to prisons. Events can pull in more than 1,000 young adults each year.

Moishe House has taught me that I can infuse my Jewish life in ways that may or may not be explicatively religious, she says. That I can be proud of my Jewish identity in whatever form that takes.

And the form Jewish expression takes is changing for many millennialsa generation defined by the Pew Research Center as those born between 1981 and 1996, and sandwiched between Generation X (born 1965-1980) and Generation Z (1997-present).

Jewish young adults take part in a Hanukkah dinner outside of Berlin at Moishe House in Germany. Source: Moishe House via Facebook.

Todays millennials (they are also referred to as Generation Y) find themselves with all kinds of organizations in hot pursuitfrom advertisers to graduate schools to employers. And in Jewish America, where indications abound that most of them (more about the observant ones later) are less traditionally identified and engaged than earlier generations, theres a new and growing crop of initiatives designed to pull them into Jewish life, if not the mainstream then some millennial-flavored version of it.

Driving many of these strategic efforts is a number of studies pointing to millennials dwindling Jewish identity and engagement, and seeking to pinpoint the generations patterns of belief and behavior. Just out: one commissioned by Hakhelthe Jewish Intentional Community Incubator, based on responses by 125 Jewish millennials, all of whom are active in one of Hakhels intentional communities (involving young Jews in activities around shared values and interests) in 35 countries.

A division of Hazon, an organization that describes itself as strengthening Jewish life and contributing to a more environmentally sustainable world for all, Hakhel commissioned the Do-Et Institute to conduct the study to identify this generations values and priorities. So says Hakhel founder and general director Aharon Ariel Lavi, saying it showed overwhelmingly that they dont drift away from their Jewish identity but from old-fashioned institutions.

Indeed, only 30 percent of respondents said they had any interest in joining a synagogue, and only 7.5 percent were interested in the work of Jewish federations and community centers. But in what Lavi calls the silver lining, 84 percent were interested in Jewish learning and holiday/life-cycle activities, and 46 percent were attracted to Jewish arts and culture.

The organized Jewish community has been aware of the drifting of millennials from its ranks for many years, adds Lavi. What this research shows is the extent of that disengagement on the one hand, but also the creative alternatives that are sprouting from below on the other.

The studys results echo many of the findings of a recent Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) report on millennials concluding that hyper-individualism and slackening trust or interest in institutions and authority leads many young Jews to eschew denominational identity and affiliation with establishment institutions. This leads to seeking alternative and more niche expressions of Jewish identity.

This shift reflects a larger trend, according to a leading observer of the Jewish scene. America is in the midst of a religious recession; its not just a Jewish issue, says Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University. Pew has clearly documented millennials moving away from traditional religion, most of them claiming to be spiritual but not religious.

This reflects fundamental demographic shifts from previous generations, he adds. Chief among them: Intermarriage and the age of marriage is older than any time in human history. For the so-called Seinfeld generation, many remain single until their late 30s, and those who do have children often dont become parents until theyre nearing 40. By that time, for many of them its been 20 years since theyve been in a synagogue because most synagogues are not seen as welcoming to singles, says Sarna.

The exception, typically ignored by the studies, he notes, are the roughly 10 percent of American millennials who are Orthodox, and tend to marry and have children younger and be more involved in synagogue life.

Issue No. 1: Finding and engaging a new generation

According to the JPPI report: Engaging young Jews, who often feel out of place in mainstream institutions, due to low Jewish literacy or other identity components (sexual orientation, political views, etc.) requires a vastly different approach.

So what kind of approach does attract this generation?

Many of the initiatives that are most successful in pulling in young Jews, according to the report, are independent of established denominational or national movements. They question the benefits of belonging to a national denomination and stress nimbleness as an advantage.

Moishe House founder and CEO David Cygielman. Credit: Courtesy.

Or as Hakhel community participant Bradly Caro Cook puts it: Our generation is looking for something authentic, says the Las Vegas millennial. Were not going to do Judaism by the numbers and metrics.

Among the crop of new organizations designed to meet this new generation of Jews where they live:

Moishe House was among the first on the millennial scene: When we started out in 2006, there was a black hole for post-college Jewish young adults, says founder and CEO David Cygielman. Some have a strong Jewish identity, but are disengaged; others never had it. But they all want to be part of a meaningful Jewish community where you know everyone and they know you; were combating loneliness at a time when its rampant.

The Moishe House formula: Find a neighborhood with a population of young Jews and a Jewish community (most often, the federation, local donors and family foundations) committed to supporting the Moishe House model. That has resulted in 115 of themand they just signed a lease for No. 116, in Rome. Some 70,000 young adults turned out for programs last year in vibrant home-based Jewish communities, says Cygielman, adding that theyre adding more immersive Jewish learning and Israel programming.

Base Hillel was born in 2015, when Faith Leener and her freshly ordained rabbi husband Jonathan moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., and began hosting Shabbat dinners. We started thinking, how can we impact the young people asking for Jewish learning without knowing theyre asking for it? she says. We saw that they wanted meaning and community, but werent going to synagogue for it. With friends Rabbi Avram Mlotek and Yael Kornfeld, they soon linked up with Hillel Internationals office of innovation, and were off and running with a brand of radical hospitality featuring Jewish learning, holiday celebrations and social-justice projects. Now the executive director, Leener lives in Base Brooklyn with her family, and oversees the nine bases run by young rabbinic families and underwritten mostly by local grants from federations, Hillel and others. The Bases, mostly along the East Coastwith one in Ithaca, N.Y., and another in Berlinserve 6,000 young Jews annually.

Were post-denominational, but deeply rooted in Jewish tradition, says Leener. Its not do-it-yourself Judaism, but letting go of the labels and immersing in each Jewish communal experiencebe it in text, ritual, Shabbat, holidays or life-cycle counseling.

OneTable was designed to welcome young Jewish adults to Friday-night Shabbat dinners hosted by their peers. Each week, OneTable, which has been described as a social dining app that helps people of all religious backgrounds celebrate inclusive Shabbat meals, averages 190 dinners across the United States. Support comes from grants from federations, local philanthropists and Jewish foundations that help underwrite the meals served in participants homes.

The idea has caught on, and in the last five years since founding executive director Aliza Kline cooked up the idea, more than 30,000 Friday-night dinners have been served to young adults. According to their website, its ultimate goal: for the Shabbat dinner experience to become a platform for community building for those who otherwise would be absent from Jewish community.

GatherDC, unlike the initiatives above with locations in a number of communities, began a decade ago to offer community-based Jewish experiences to young Jews in the Washington D.C. area. On tap: interactive Jewish learning, twice-yearly retreats, social-justice projects, and Shabbat and holiday celebrations.

They also have coffee with every newcomernot just to find out what they want to do, but who they are, says its community rabbi, Ilana Zietman, a millennial born in 1989. We offer them a Judaism they never got growing up, she adds. They say, This Torah portion has so much of my life in it. I never knew it existed. Meaning we have to work harder to showcase whats beautiful about Judaism, and build community people are craving and where they feel valued. GatherDC is supported by Jewish family foundations, local federations and private donors.

Not Learning, but Experiencing Jewish Identity

The identity of American Jews for most of the 20th century was rooted in ethnicity, love of the Jewish people, fear of anti-Semitism, horror and guilt over the Holocaust, commitment to Soviet Jewry, and love of and concern for the State of Israel, writes Barry Shrage who, after 31 years at the helm of Bostons federation, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, is now a professor in Brandeis Universitys Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. But assimilation inevitably erodes ethnic identification and theres never been a more powerful assimilating culture than America in the 21st century.

The best defense against assimilation, argues Shrage, is Jewish peoplehood.

You cant learn Jewish identity; you have to experience it to create a love for the Jewish people. Whats more, he adds that one of the most powerful experiences for this generation is Birthright Israel, the 10-day trip to Israel which nearly half of them have taken. Its having a powerful impact on them.

Indeed, studies show the 750,000 Birthright travelers are much more likely to marry other Jews, raise Jewish children and stay connected to Israel, says Len Saxe, who directs both the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis. Still, he acknowledges that times have changed. These young Jews are broadening what it means to be involved Jewishly and doing it in new ways.

Saxe says it reminds him of Israel, where more than half the country is not religious but Friday nights are for family to eat together. So for young Jews here having Friday night at OneTable, whos to say theyre less engaged?

Synagogues and Programs for Younger Individuals

Evidence abounds that young Jews are seeking religious communities that are alive and warm, and that can add real meaning to their lives, says Shrage.

Among congregations experiencing success in drawing in millennials are Bostons Temple Israel, whose Riverway Project is designed to meet their young members where they live (among them, many studying medicine down the street) and Sixth & I, a synagogue as well as a center for arts, entertainment and ideas in Washington, D.C., that reimagines how religion and community can enhance peoples everyday lives.

Another young-flavored variation on the synagogue theme is The Den Collective, whose rabbis conduct a range of services in suburban Washington homes and elsewhere. They describe themselves as seeking to build spaces of meaning that invite people to deepen their connection to Judaism, feel part of a community and enrich their lives. The Den strives to be collaborative, experimental, transparent and radically welcoming.

Says Sarna: Of the Jewish religious start-ups todaythe emergent congregations, partnership services, independent minyanim and moremany of them will not survive, but some of them will make it very, very big and reshape American Judaism in the decades to come.

(JNS.org)

(To Be Continued Next Week)

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Millennials Search for Meaning & Authenticity When it Comes to Judaism Part 1 - The Jewish Voice

Success is Measured by the Lives We Impact

The business world, and in fact, the country, lost a great man recently with the passing of Clayton Christensen.

This Harvard School of Business professor authored some of the finest business books hundreds of thousands have benefited from. He was a genuine gentleman and he will be missed by many. One of his greatest pieces of business advice was very simple, yet so profound. Paraphrased, he said, Success is measured by the lives you touch and impact. It was no secret that this was his guiding philosophy regardless whether it was in his business or his personal life.

One might ask, while that might be great advice, what does that have to do with my community or with me? When I look at our community, I believe that how we positively impact the lives of those in our community is the ultimate measurement of success. Every supportive action that we take in our community makes an impact. Every dime we spend at a local establishment makes an impact. Casting a vote in a local election makes an impact. Every volunteer hour we spend helping or lifting people up in our community makes and impact. Every time we say a kind word to others impacts our community. When you view it through that lens, we can all have a great impact in our community and on the lives of those in our community.

We have all heard the term unintended consequences used, usually in a negative light. But let me share a positive economic intended consequence of our actions that we can have control over.

While the community size only impacts the final numbers, the following example remains the same. Lets say you live in a community of 20,000 residents. For this example, lets also assume that residents will travel to other nearby communities or cities to do much of their shopping, dining and entertainment. Lets also assume that like most, many in your community are starting to shop online more and more each year. What would be the impact if each resident were to make a conscious effort to spend $25 each month at a locally owned and operated business that they might have otherwise spent out-of-town or online? That small commitment to your local community would be enormous. That would equate to five hundred thousand dollars each month or six million dollars each year circulating throughout your small community. This intended consequence becomes a game changer in many communities.

How would an additional six million dollars impact the locally owned and operated business community? How many local jobs might that help create? How many more tax dollars would be available to assist with the local roads, fire, schools, infrastructure and so forth? How would it feel to intentionally assist with the paving of your own roads in lieu of paving the roads in Bentonville, AR. or some far off corporate headquarters?

Yes, we can surely impact so many lives in our community by our small and intentional actions. Not only how we treat people, but how we choose to spend our money can make a significant positive impact. When we look at our friends, co-workers and neighbors, we can have a greater impact on their lives right here and right now more than we know. We are all in this economic battle together, local communities need to not only think truly local, but act that way as well.

Ill close with the quote I shared at the beginning by Clayton Christensen with a slight modification, Our local communitys success is measured by the lives we touch and impact. Are we measuring up to that challenge or do we need to evaluate our lives and rededicate and commit to our local community? You cant go wrong in thinking local, in fact, when it comes to measuring impact it may very well be the only right thing to do.

John A. Newby, author of the "Building Main Street, Not Wall Street " column dedicated to helping communities and local media companies combine synergies that allow them to not just survive, but thrive in a world where truly-local is lost to Amazon, Wall Street chains and others. His email at: john@360MediaAlliance.net.

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Success is Measured by the Lives We Impact - Huron Daily Tribune

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --CNotehas entered into a partnership with the Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund) that will allow NCIFund to access new investor capital aligned with NCIFund's mission of catalyzing environmentally and socially responsible business development, sustainable jobs, and wealth creation in rural, minority and low-wealth communities.

This partnership builds on CNote's mission to create a more inclusive economy for everyone by enabling investors of all sizes to deploy capital with mission-aligned organizations while generating competitive financial returns and measurable social impact.

As CNote aggregates increasing investor demand seeking socially responsible investment opportunities, it partners with leading Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) like NCIFund. CDFIs are federally-certified community-focused lenders that enable transformative economic development in their communities, providing funding to small businesses, affordable housing development, and other projects in communities that often lack adequate access to financial resources.

NCIFund's focus on locally owned triple-bottom-line (TBL) small to mid-sized businesses in central Appalachia and the Southeast aligns with CNote's mission and matches growing investor demand to support rural communities. CNote co-founder Yuliya Tarasava remarked, "We're excited to have NCIFund as a partner; they have an amazing pedigree of driving measurable change in the communities they serve. As more investors look for ways to invest in rural America, NCIFund presents an opportunity to do that in a very intentional and sustainable way."

Founded in 1999 by The Conservation Fund, in partnership with the West Virginia Small Business Development Center and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), NCIFund was created to address the lack of access to capital for small businesses and farms that responsibly steward natural resources and provide vital community services. NCIFund now serves West Virginia, North Carolina, and the Appalachian regions of surrounding states, where it has lent over $70 million to 400+ companies, generating more than 5,300 jobs. Over 50% of NCIFund's borrowers are women or people of color.

"We rely on capital from impact investors to help us increase our support for women business owners, entrepreneurs of color, and the underserved and rural communities we work hard to serve," said Marten Jenkins, CEO of NCIFund. "So, we're very pleased to become a CNote partner. CNote is an exciting way for NCIFund to connect with investors who share our mission."

About CNote

CNoteis an award-winning, first-of-its-kind financial platform that allows anyone to make money investing in causes and communities they care about. With the mission of closing the wealth gap, CNote directs every dollar invested toward funding female- and minority-led small businesses, affordable housing and economic development through its nationwide network of CDFI community lenders.

About The Natural Capital Investment Fund

The Natural Capital Investment Fund(NCIFund) invests in enterprises that promote a healthy environment and healthy families in Central Appalachia and the Southeast, catalyzing environmentally and socially responsible business development and wealth creation in rural, minority and low-wealth communities. The fund meets its mission as a federally certified community development financial institution (CDFI) by lending to and assisting triple-bottom-line enterprises that promote equity, protect the environment and grow the economy, including: healthy local food and specialty agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency, eco- and heritage tourism, child and adult day care, primary care providers, and small town main street redevelopment.

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Anya Khalamayzer | anya@thinkshiftcom.com, 732.614.2318

Sandra Stewart | sandra@thinkshiftcom.com, 415.391.4449

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CNote Partners With the Natural Capital Investment Fund - PRNewswire

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CP photo: sarah huny young

Tara Fay Coleman at The Pittsburgh Courier archives at John Heinz History Center

When Bloomfield artist Tara Fay Coleman was notified that she won an award from a local publication last year, a mix of emotions followed. She knew it was a big deal; it substantiated her hard work, and she felt validated. Which made it all the harder for her to turn down the award.

Coleman, who is Black, says that you often will see Black people and their accomplishments celebrated in media organizations yearly award ceremonies, but not in their day-to-day coverage.

I thanked them and told them, 'I would love to accept this, but unfortunately I dont see myself or my work reflected in any of your content,' says Coleman. Once a year, you want to throw a few Black people a bone, she adds. I feel like it does more for them than it does for us.

An arts curator who works part-time in a local Black-owned fashion boutique in addition to her office job at a local tech company, Coleman said shes tried to get local media organizations over the years to publish more stories on Black artists and fashion designers she was representing, with little success.

After continuously getting turned down for coverage, Coleman says she started to become outspoken about how these publications look, in terms of what theyre featuring, [and] what their staff looks like, compared to what theyre actually covering.

What she does see from local media organizations when covering the citys Black communities instead are largely stories on crime. Shes not alone.

The Pittsburgh problem: race, media, and everyday life in the Steel City, a 2019 news report published by Letrell Crittenden, program director and assistant professor of communication at Philadelphias Thomas Jefferson University, confirmed many of Colemans suspicions in his executive summary: Pittsburgh news media over-represents African Americans as criminal," Crittenden wrote in the report.

It noted two studies in 2011 commissioned by The Heinz Endowments that found that men of color in Pittsburgh were shown as criminals or athletes more than 80% of the time in print; in broadcast news stories, 90% of the time.

There are some Black media outlets in Pittsburgh, including print publications The New Pittsburgh Courier and Soul Pitt, and radio station WAMO, along with national online publications coming out of Pittsburgh like Damon Youngs Very Smart Brothas and Jenesis Magazine, edited by J. Thomas Agnew. But the media landscape at large in Pittsburgh which, for full disclosure, includes Pittsburgh City Paper is still predominantly white.

I think a lot of the responsibility lies on white-led media, Coleman says. Youre choosing this content, and your content is reflective of the publication you aim to be.

It was when Coleman first moved to Pittsburgh in high school that she says she experienced racism for the first time. After growing up in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, N.Y., she says it was a culture shock to go to Shaler, a mostly white school, and realize how segregated Pittsburgh was in the early aughts.

For her senior project, she facilitated Diversity Day, an all-day educational event that included a visiting group from the University of Pittsburgh helping students with anti-racism exercises. She says she worked with her school principal to mandate that anyone who had been reported for any racially-motivated fight in the school attend Diversity Day or face in-school suspension.

People were calling it Hug a Nr day, Coleman says, adding that while her principal and vice-principal were very supportive, some teachers were consoling kids who were upset they had to attend. I pulled [the event] off, and it was great, she says. But backlash was crazy.

Now a mother to two daughters of her own, both who attend public school, Coleman acknowledges she has even more of a reason to advocate for change. Especially because she thinks it may have gotten worse in some ways since she graduated high school in 2006.

Pittsburgh: A Most Livable City, but Not for Black Women, a September 2019 CityLab article by Pittsburgh journalist Brentin Mock, detailed last years widely-shared report on Pittsburghs Inequality Across Gender and Race.

Black people in just about every other comparable city in the U.S. are doing far better in terms of health, income, employment, and educational outcomes than Black people living in Pittsburgh, wrote Mock of the report.

According to PublicSource, the report showed that Pittsburghs rate of infant mortality for Black babies is more than six times higher than it is for white babies. The report also found a significant wage gap among adults. Black and other non-white women earn between 54 and 59 cents for every dollar a white man in Pittsburgh makes.

I want to see more accountability in how we frame Pittsburgh as the most livable city when thats not everyones reality, Coleman says.

Just last week, in a CityLab article entitled How Racism Became a Public Health Crisis in Pittsburgh, Mock reported on Black city council members Rev. Ricky Burgess and Daniel Lavelles proposed legislation calling racism a public health crisis affecting our entire city.

If the media was less biased, Coleman says, it could put more pressure on local politicians and hold more people accountable.

CP photo: sarah huny young

Tara Fay Coleman at The Pittsburgh Courier archives at John Heinz History Center

Coleman hopes to bring attention to these issues during a Pittsburgh Black Media Panel at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center on Wed., Feb. 12, where a panel of eight local Black media personalities will speak on their shared experiences on working in the Pittsburgh mediascape.

Her goal of the event hosted by both City Paper and local nonprofit news organization PublicSource, with additional support from the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation and California University of Pennsylvania is for it to be a learning experience to help all local media organizations become more intentional in their reporting and hiring practices and to reevaluate the culture of their publications: who theyre trying to reach and what theyre trying to accomplish.

My experience isnt really unique, and theres a lot of people who have similar experiences and similar feelings of being misrepresented, and those people dont have the ability to put something like this together, Coleman says. So those are the people Im advocating for.

Panelists include Crittenden, Mock, and Agnew, as well as CP and PublicSource contributing writer Tereneh Idia; sarah huny young, creative director of Supreme Clientele and event producer of Darkness is Spreading; Lynne Hayes-Freeland, reporter with KDKA-TV news and host of The Lynne Hayes-Freeland Show; Markeea "Keea" Hart, of Girls Running Shit; and Brian Cook, president of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation.

Coleman says it was important that the panelists were not just all Black, but that they had a balance in terms of Black femme representation and a good mix of legacy media people and alternative media.

The panel will be broken into two parts, moderated by Coleman and PublicSource community correspondent Jourdan Hicks. CP writer Jordan Snowden is gathering social media feedback using #PGHBlackMediaPanel on Twitter and Instagram to present during the event, and a testimonial booth will be set up during the panel to allow the public to record a message for local media organizations.

I want Black people to read things about us in our communities that can make us proud, Coleman says. I want someones grandma in Larimer to read positive things instead of hearing about crime in her community or her being outpriced and gentrification moving further east.

Event Details

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Pittsburgh Black Media Panel aims to challenge organizations to be more accountable when covering the citys Black communities - PGH City Paper

This week, to mark Waitangi Day, the Guardian is publishing five pieces of commentary from Mori writers.

Bill English once said of Waitangi Day that New Zealanders were bored of the spectacle the unnecessary controversy and deserved a more positive national day. The language is deliberate in its exclusion of Mori as New Zealanders and dismissive of our mamae [pain]. Our anger is a bore and a buzzkill. He declined the opportunity to own those words at Waitangi in 2017, perhaps out of fear or contempt that he would be held accountable. We will never know his party lost the election in September later that year.

In 2017, the tide shifted. Labour spent five days on the whenua [land] to listen, reciprocate the manaakitanga [hospitality, generosity] shown and invest in kanohi kitea [physical presence, represent]. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern, hapu [pregnant] with baby Neve, made the promises of her government to Mori explicit. Her speech underlined the need for the government to be held accountable; a process which National, among others, had expropriated from Mori the year before.

In 2019, Labour returned. Murmurs of discontent were to be expected after what felt like a year of working groups, reviews and inquiries a lot of talk; a lack of action. Anticipation for delivery was ripe. But Ardern stumbled on what should have been an easy question the articles of Te Tiriti. She leaned on her Mori colleagues before deferring to the principles. Her whaikrero reaffirmed the governments commitment to closing the gap between Mori and non-Mori. This, she said, should be a ubiquitous goal of any party; not to be politicised but to be measured against, and held accountable to.

Labours relationship with Mori is of course not solely epitomised by Arderns speeches at Waitangi. Beyond the mahau [veranda] at Te Whare Rnanga, the coalition government under her leadership has sown discord among Mori. This was most pronounced at Ihumtao and Arderns indecisiveness as to whether to even visit the whenua [land], let alone intervene. On it went. Oranga Tamariki and the states theft of our tamariki [children]. The government relinquishing any commitment to implementing a comprehensive Capital Gains Tax. Failures of Kiwibuild, and the Mori Housing initiative.

The glue that bonds these issues, together with Arderns leadership, her krero [speech] and the action or inaction of the coalition government, is accountability. Ardern found herself on the defensive at Waitangi last year, listing the policy developments made under her government. The Winter Energy Payment was accessed by 150,000 Mori whnau [families]. Mori unemployment was the lowest it had been in a decade. There was cross-party consensus on the Child Poverty Reduction Bill. Increases to the accommodation supplement, public housing and the Mori Housing Fund. A reduction in the number of Mori incarcerated. Wharves, roads and tourism initiatives. Investing in te reo in schools.

Arderns speeches endorse an inveterate position in the states relationship to Mori. The apparatus through which our rights as Indigenous peoples are quantified is not tikanga [correct procedure, lore], nor is it the documents our tpuna [ancestors] signed in 1835 and 1840. How well we are doing as a people, how we progress forward is never measured on our terms. It was, and remains, at the discretion of the state. Mori development is weighed in terms of the state clinging to sovereignty and measured in KPIs, the speed of settlement disputes, decorative gestures of goodwill; the discourse of lip-service.

Mori, however, continue to pursue accountability on our own terms. We measure the words of Ardern, and her government, against what is tika; what is right for our people. Every government fronts up to Waitangi each year with commitments, numbers and promises most of them empty. We dont necessarily dispute the gains made by this government, but we continue to resist the system that enabled the wrongful theft of our lands, our water, our children and the right to make decisions regarding the future of our communities. We continue to agitate for recognition of He Whakaputanga, the Declaration of Independence, and of Te Tiriti, to measure our own progress, to hold both the government, and ourselves, accountable.

Ardern is right. Waitangi our National Day is imperfect. But the flaws are intentional. Our rage, protest and mamae are much easier to dismiss if the forum designated for such processes is not of our own making. Accountability on our terms demands a reconfiguration of power relations; the return of mana to hap [subtribes] and iwi [tribes]. With 2021 approaching, our focus must turn to constitutional transformation if we are to bind accountability to consequence. Food is indeed the talk of chiefs te kai o te rangatira, he krero. But establishing appropriate forums for accountability is only possible through a constitutional overhaul; that is the feast we all deserve.

Miriama Aoake (Ngti Raukawa, Ngti Mahuta, Tainui) is a student, writer and Mori rights activist.

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Jacinda Ardern is right, Waitangi Day is imperfect. But the flaws are intentional - The Guardian

DearNextGen Black Male Leaders:Can we talk? Brother to brother? Heart to heart?

Ive been thinking of you. With all thats happening in our communities, in our education system, in our political and justice systems, there is no shortage of social justice issues that require our immediate attention.ButI couldnt be more proud nor am I surprised by the fact that Black men all around us have risen to the occasion.

BrotherSharif El-Mekki is doing an amazing job bringing attention and action to increasing the number of Black males inside the preK through 12th grade education space. Brother and State Representative Jordan Harris is turning the criminal justice system on its head while Brother Malcolm Jenkins and Brother Howard Stevenson are other great examplesdoing phenomenal work.

L to r: Sharif El-Mekki; State Rep. Jordan Harris; Malcolm Jenkins; and Howard Stevenson. (Photos: LinkedIn profiles; Rep. Jordans website.)

Time and space dont permit me to shoutout every Black male who is making arealdifference for our belovedcommunity.At the same time, we acknowledge the countless men of color who are giving back and advancing our communities whether they have formal titles or not.The point is, asexecutive director of a leading education nonprofit in Philadelphia, Im fortunate to share the leadership space with so many thoughtful and dedicated Black men across our city. Black men who are working diligently to right the wrongs of injustice and reversing inequities faced by so many.

Because of this, I dont have to tell you there is a place of fierce urgency that we as leaders must operate fromwhile looking ahead towards a vision for a better tomorrow.

To the young brothers rising in the ranks: we see you.We need you.The leadership positions held byme and others need successors and we need to apply the same sense of urgency to passing the mantle to our brothers up-and-coming.We also need you to start your own organizations as answers to these persisting issues.

We know that the perspectives to approaching and tackling the challenges of our society are broadened andopento even more innovation when Black men are involved. Oftentimes we bring first-hand experience of being impacted by social injustices. Other times, wevebeen recipients of the services that are in place to correct disparities. As a result, we contribute auniqueempathy and understanding to the audiences we serve.Thesecontributions then translate intomoreequitablepolicies and decision-making.

Finally, havingbrothers like yourselfreadyto take the baton is importantasit reinforces the notion of see us to be us.Seeing more Black men in leadership roles, hearing from more, understanding what they do, and why, willshowthose coming up behindyouthatholding positions of leadership is obtainable for us.Not only is it obtainable, butI have no doubtyouallwill takethings to new and greater heights.

Still, assuming leadership as a Black male is not an easy feat. From my own experience, I can tell you that youll encounter everything from having to educate on why statements and messaging are problematic for their racist content, to being considered threatening enough to have job offers made to you unsolicited just to move you out of your position. You may even be penalizedfor being unable to meet unrealistic goals.

Theres also the seemingly never-ending judgment of your ability to be in leadership; to contribute intelligently or intellectually to whats going on. While the notion of Imposter Syndrome is widely attributed to women in business, I can assure you it applies regardless ofgender.

Mydream for you:shake it off. Use the resilience youve built over the years and utilize the support systems youve had in family or close friends. Those systems will still be there andwillplay an important role in how you moveand evolveas a leader.

Trust in yourself, your skills, and what you bring to the table.

I also hope you will know what its like to be affirmed in leadership. In my case, Ive been championed by board members, lifted up and advocated for by supervisors, and room has been made for me to grow and flourish throughout my career. Likewise, Id be remiss if I didnt shout out initiatives like the Urban League of Philadelphias PhiladelphiaAfrican-American Leadership Development Forum, a consistent and invaluable support system for meand others.

To my brothers, as men of color in leadership, there are days where youll be alone in whatever decision youre making, plan youre implementing, or idea you are building buy-in for. All of this comes with your role as a leader.

When that happens, trust in yourself, your skills,and what you bring to the table.Surround yourself with people of color from this world, the business arena,and other areas along with others who are willing to pour into you. Start/continue learning from them in big and small ways as well as intentional and coincidental ways.

I cant wait to see all that youre going toaccomplish,and I look forward to supporting you as thechangemakers you are.

Yours in service,

DarrylBundrige

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Brother to brother: An open letter to the next generation of Black male leaders - Generocity

The Our City Our Schools (OCOS) coalition formed in 2016 with a goal of abolishing the School Reform Commission (SRC) and regaining local control of the School District. The coalitions work is dynamic and it responds to pressing education-related issues in the city. It is important for our movement to take note of the significant gains and recognize the people and groups that have led successful campaigns toward education justice in the past decade.

The decade got off to an auspicious start when the newly elected governor, Tom Corbett, announced a staggering $1 billion cut to education funding. Corbetts plan disproportionately affected Philadelphia, causing the Districts budget gap to reach $629 million in 2011. The SRC responded with austerity measures and mass layoffs. These measures were met with public outcry and protests locally and in Harrisburg. This gave rise to the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools (PCAPS), which included all three school unions and more than a dozen community-based groups.

In 2012, the SRC advanced its privatization agenda by hiring the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and then William Hite as superintendent. In August that year, the BCG issued a report recommending the closure of 60 of the citys public schools by 2017. Due largely to PCAPS successful organizing, the SRCs plan was reduced from 60 public schools to 24 schools. From there, PCAPS began advocating and organizing for community schools as an alternative to privatization and closure turnaround strategies.The idea of community schools is to make school buildings into neighborhood hubs for services that the particular community needs, including health, recreation, and social services.

In 2014, PCAPS played a critical role in influencing Democratic mayoral candidate James Kenneys educational platform. Upon Kenneys election as mayor in 2015, he introduced a municipal initiative for adopting a community schools strategy as a way to strengthen Philadelphias public schools and neighborhoods. OCOS and education activists continue to push the Mayors Office of Education toward a more community-driven process rather than the current model that prioritizes service providers.

On Nov. 16, 2017, we won the fight for local control of our schools and the SRC voted to abolish itself. The establishment of the Board of Education, appointed by the mayor, marks a step toward a governance structure that is accountable to the communities it is supposed to serve. With local control, the city now faces the challenge of how to fill a five-year deficit of $700 million for Philadelphias public schools.

Read the first-year report card of the Board of Educations operations and protocols written by the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, an OCOS member group. Join us as we begin the new decade continuing to push for a school board that operates in a transparent manner, is representative of the citys students and families, and actively fights to protect and improve public schools.

In the final month of the decade, we saw the collective power of solidarity as we stood alongside movements for housing and land justice to end the 10-year tax abatement. With Philly Power Research, we found that the School District lost about $7.034 million in revenue in 2017 due to new abatements (OCOS Report, 2018). Using this as a baseline, we estimated what the District could gain $386,922,635 over 10 years if the program were phased out.

As City Council member Helen Gym said at the annual community-building dinner hosted by Movement Alliance Project, the bill that was approved on Dec. 12, 2019, is just the beginning, not the end, of this fight. OCOS and our allies enter the new decade with a renewed commitment to fight for fair and equitable funding for public schools at the state, local, and federal levels.

On Jan. 6, 2020, we saw our own Kendra Brooks get sworn in as the first-ever third-party City Council member. Brooks has been a part of all of these victories, fighting alongside us in her many roles: mother, restorative practitioner, researcher, advocate, organizer, and as the OCOS coordinator before Pep Marie.

We close out this decade reflecting on the hard work that it has taken to make these incremental shifts toward equity and justice. Because despite these efforts and successes, our schools are still toxic.

In Philadelphia, our students and educators spend about 1,165 hours each year in schools where they are exposed to toxic materials that pose serious health and developmental risks. Due to historical intentional disinvestment, our citys schools are in a state of crisis, with toxins such as asbestos, mold, lead paint, and lead in water that are quite literally making people sick.

In the first half of the 2019-20 school year, six schools have closed due to asbestos. There are 120 schools that need lead remediation, and all 214 District-run schools need asbestos remediation, pest cleanup, and temperature regulation. The toxic condition of our school buildings is not only unethical, it is inhumane. In 2020, OCOS will continue to support and lead campaigns for fair and equitable funding as well as emergency funding to address the toxic conditions of our citys schools.

We look into the new decade with hope, imagining things as though they could be otherwise. We will persist in our fight for quality equitable education for all Philadelphians.

Contact OCOS if you are interested in a skills-based or issue-based training or presentation about our work. Learn more about how you can get involved in our ongoing work by following OCOS on Twitter (@OCOSPhilly) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/OurCityOurSchoolsPhilly/).

Kristen P. Goessling, Our City Our Schools member, is an assistant professor at Penn State University, Brandywine; and Pep Marie, Our City Our Schools coordinator, is a Philadelphia public school alum, homeowner and family to current students.

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Our City Our Schools coalition reflects on the fight for equity, justice in the 2010s - Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Women's Business Enterprise National Council recognizes company for best-in-class supplier diversity program and 50% increase in spend with women-owned businesses

CINCINNATI, Feb. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --For the sixth consecutive year, The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) has been named one of America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

The annual list honors corporations that have established a sustained commitment to the inclusion of women-owned businesses in their supply chains.

"Diversity is at the core of our people-first culture and an integral part of our business strategy at Kroger," said Angel Coln, Kroger's senior director of diversity and inclusion. "Women make up more than half of our workforce and 31% of our senior management, and we're deeply committed to increasing women's business enterprise representation across Kroger's supply chain. We're proud that this intentional approach to inclusion has once again earned us WBENC's prestigious 'Top Corporations' recognition."

Kroger's 2019 Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) Highlights:

Kroger invested an additional $163 million with women-owned businesses across its supply chain in 2019, increasing its annual WBE spend by 50%.

Kroger established 234 new WBE supplier partnerships, a 57% increase from 2018.

Kroger held a Supplier Inclusion Innovation Summit in May 2019, inviting more than 80 diverse suppliers to pitch their products and services while networking with Kroger's key category managers and buyers. Nearly half of summit attendees were WBE suppliers, including Tempagenix, Kroger's Top Innovation Award honoree.

Kroger partnered with WBENC's Student Entrepreneur Program to mentor Sinzuca Chocolates Founder Yolanda Martinez and other emerging WBE vendors.

Kroger achieved Billion Dollar Roundtable status for 12 consecutive years, reaching more than $1 billion in spend with certified minority- and women-owned suppliers.

Kroger ranked 13th on Omnikal's 2019 Omni50 list, which recognizes America's top 50 corporate and government buyers of products and services from inclusive and diverse suppliers.

Kroger ranked fourth on The Wall Street Journal's list of the top 20 most diverse Fortune 500 companies.

The Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises list is the only national award program honoring corporations for establishing supplier diversity initiatives that proactively integrate women-owned businesses into their supply chains. The 75 companies named to the prestigious list will be recognizedat the 2020 WBENC Summit & Salute, a gathering of more than 1,800 entrepreneurs and corporate business leaders taking placeMarch 16-18 inNashville, Tenn.

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About The Kroger Co.

At The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), we are Fresh for Everyone and dedicated to our Purpose: ToFeed the Human Spirit. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety ofbanner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit ournewsroomand investor relationssite.

About WBENC

WBENC is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned, controlled, and operated by women in the United States. WBENC partners with 14 Regional Partner Organizations (RPOs) to provide its world-class standard of certification to women-owned businesses throughout the country. WBENC is also the nation's leading advocate of women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. Throughout the year, WBENC provides business development opportunities for member corporations, government agencies and close to 16,000 certified women-owned businesses at events and other forums. Learn more at http://www.wbenc.org

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SOURCE The Kroger Co.

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Kroger Named Top Corporation for Women-Owned Businesses - Yahoo Finance

This new study, by researchers at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, looked beyond Boston to include 13 other cities and towns and found, across the board, that there are not enough homes available for larger families. Its becoming a mounting problem for the regions economy and workforce, said study author Tim Reardon, the councils director of data services.

Theres a growing body of evidence that this is discouraging people from coming [to Greater Boston], whether theyre younger people who dont want to live with roommates or families who are baffled at the notion of a $700,000 starter home, Reardon said. Its very worrisome.

In the area the group studied it included dense sections of Boston and Cambridge, inner-ring urban communities such as Everett and Quincy, and more suburban towns like Milton and Winthrop the council found 221,000 houses and apartments with three or more bedrooms. Of those, about 78,000 are home to families with children. About the same number house just one or two people, many of them homeowners older than 55.

Among rental properties, about 25,000 more than one-third are occupied by groups of roommates. Taken together, people with such living arrangements have more spending power than one or two working parents.

The findings, Reardon said, highlight a mismatch in the regions housing supply which exacerbates home prices and rents that are among the highest in the nation. In many suburban towns, older people and couples remain in single-family houses where they once raised children, while in urban neighborhoods, three-decker apartments originally built for families often are filled by groups of younger people.

It stems from the lack of options for those two very different demographics, Reardon said. In many communities theres simply very few smaller units for seniors to downsize into that are both attractive and affordable. On the flip side theres this big need from millennials for one-bedrooms, and there are quite a few being built. But many people are priced out of those.

Thats why policy makers such as Reardon suggest the shortage of three-bedrooms can be solved at least as much by adding modestly-priced smaller units studios and one-bedrooms as it can by building a surplus of larger apartments.

Thats largely the tack the Walsh administration has taken in Boston, where a growing number of developers are experimenting with micro-units and so-called co-living buildings, which city officials have encouraged as a way to relieve pressure on Bostons large stock of three-decker apartments built a century ago, typically with three bedrooms.

There are enough large units to accommodate the families we have in Boston. The problem is theyre not all available, said the citys housing chief, Sheila Dillon. "Thats why weve been very intentional in trying to build smaller units, units for the elderly, and dorms, to free up that valuable family housing stock.

Boston has built larger units, too. Of the 33,000 homes permitted since 2010, Dillon said, 45 percent have been for two or more bedrooms. In most projects, she said, the city pushes developers to include a mix of unit sizes. And its trying to find ways to finance more senior housing, in particular, to provide options for older residents who might want to move out of a large home theyve lived in for decades.

We want communities that are integrated. We want families living with seniors and with young people around, she said. We dont want these buildings that are all singles."

Another way to mix things up is by encouraging so-called accessory dwelling units, which are converted basement and backyard apartments that can increase the housing supply suitable for either seniors or students without new construction. More municipalities, both urban and suburban, are experimenting with zoning for these sorts of apartments, Reardon said, and that can also free up larger units for families. But, he said, some cities and towns are writing onerous rules for accessory dwelling units that drive up the costs.

The key, Reardon said, is flexibility. Just as three-deckers that were built for families a century ago today house groups of twentysomethings, whatever is built today will probably serve different needs over time. Building just for seniors or students, or even for families with children, could be something the region comes to regret in a decade or two.

Theres risk in saying housing is going to be built only for one demographic," Reardon said. That prevents the kind of fluidity we need to make this region affordable for everyone.

Tim Logan can be reached at timothy.logan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @bytimlogan.

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Few families occupy Greater Bostons multi-bedroom homes, report says - The Boston Globe