Daily Archives: March 27, 2022

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Husband-and-wife chefs Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate realized something funny as they moved closer to launching Honeysuckle Projects, their endeavor that forwards Black aesthetics, philosophy, and ideology in many ways, but especially through food.

Cybille and I barely cook anymore, said Tate, a West Philly native whos gained national renown for his cooking.

St. Aude-Tate couldnt help but laugh at that, and Tate laughed with her. As Honeysuckles physical locations continue to develop, the two chefs have spent less time in the kitchen, but theyre not mad about it. Its actually a great thing, Tate said.

In the works since 2020, Honeysuckle will manifest in a few projects that are still on the boil a cafe in Walnut Hill, and a larger grocery space on 52nd and Market that doubles as a cultural center and one you can taste now: seasonal breakfast boxes that can be ordered online and picked up weekly. As the footprint grows, the team is expanding.

Elaine Holton manages the farm Honeysuckle runs on 46th and Market. Sterling Pope and Aya Iwatani work on the farm and have picked up many of the responsibilities in the kitchen. Budding fermentologist Jamaar Julal lends his talents to their recipes.

The idea that connects it all is to create community while providing for the community.

The entire project is really geared towards offering an alternative to folks in the neighborhood, explained St. Aude-Tate, so West Philly residents dont need to venture too far or spend too much to get nutrient dense food, to get food made by chefs and people that actually care about where your food comes from.

The cafe at 48th and Spruce is slated to open fully in June. Along with counter service, it will feature a grocery wall offering products from Black farmers in the tri-state area.

Honeysuckles intention is to grow with its network of producers, as the farm grows more and more of the kitchens ingredients. Championing and supporting self-sufficiency as part of a network or within an organization is a key element of the project.

The ability to sustain land and strengthen Black communities was a critical emphasis in the work of George Washington Carver, whose experiments with sweet potatoes inspired items in this seasons breakfast box.

In the box is a whipped sweet potato butter that pairs well with the BLACKenglish muffins the name references a 1979 essay by James Baldwin made with einkorn sweet potato flour.

An item called the BLACKeyed pea scrapple is not only delicious, it also embodies the convergence of cultural touch points, said Tate, referring to the Black people who introduced the black-eyed pea to America, the influence of the Pennsylvania Dutchs trademark breakfast invention, and the prevalence of West Philadelphians who avoid swine when they dine.

To make it, peas grown by Honeysuckle are combined with cornmeal, oats, and a black eyed pea miso fermented by Julal, lending the final result a savory umami surprising for plant-based food..

Fry it up next to a farm-fresh egg, top it with a slice of cheese, and place it on the muffin for a fantastic breakfast sandwich.

The pea scrapple was one of many items formed in a deeply collaborative process, one that far outstripped the level of input and interplay farmers Iwatani and Pope were accustomed to in previous fine dining gigs.

This is very intentional and purposeful in a way that is absent from, I think, a lot of restaurants and kitchens in general, said Pope.

From the jump, it was easy to speak with Tate and St. Aude-Tate, Iwatani said, and be candid about how I felt about where the industry was in the middle of the pandemic, and the struggles of having to make ends meet and function in an industry that wasnt really supportive.

She noted a critical difference with the Honeysuckle management: All ideas are considered in this company.

Iwatani and Pope were both compelled to join the team because of conversations with Honeysuckles founders that convinced them that they could leave a deeper imprint in the community theyre situated in.

Ive done a lot of mutual aid and mutual aid is great, but it doesnt pay, Pope said. So if I have to choose between going to work and helping someone out this job feels like I dont really have to make that choice.

The Tates care about the intimacy of a home cooked meal and the importance of feeling at home, and want to cultivate that spirit in their spaces beyond just the dishes they serve..

Well be creating product lines that arent food, doing art engagements that bridge food, art, culture, and literature, Tate said, describing whats ahead for the 52nd Street location.

St. Aude-Tate mentioned having artwork on the walls, space to work and meet, and a library as a few of the ways that Honeysuckle aims to assure patrons that they neednt worry about being in an unwelcome or unsafe space.

Safety and security, especially in a communal context, have weighed heavily on the Honeysuckle hive mind, a shift that the Tates credited to the fact that the company was born in the COVID era.

One instance of that orientation is a deeper sense of spirituality thats imbued their work since the pandemic started.

During Tates 2021 residency at the famed Blue Hill at Stone Barns, the duo set up an altar commemorating their families. As a form of ancestor veneration they said permeates Black diasporic culture from voodoo to hoodoo i.e. from St. Aude-Tates Haitian background to Tates South Carolinian roots these altars will continue to figure into their work.

The practice of giving reverence, holding space for our ancestors and folks that have paved the way for us, became a necessity that we have taken up in practice and are doing more intentionally in our spaces, St. Aude-Tate said. The sanctity of family, for her, is foundational in life and her work: Dining with us means youre dining with our family.

As they get closer to opening doors on their storefronts, Honeysuckles work is reaching for a new level of connection, both inward and outward.

Its almost like we create this huge wall of defense, you cant really penetrate it, you know? Tate said, stressing the importance of a network and collaboration in getting beyond that wall to connect with those around you. I think Black folks have been doing that since we got here, because weve always had to, to survive.

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Honeysuckle is making Philly's best new breakfast sandwich - On top of Philly news - Billy Penn

Walking near the underpass of the West Colfax viaduct on the way to Raices Brewery, Meow Wolf or the Original Brooklyns in Sun Valley feels a bit dangerous.

There isnt much around besides warehouses and whizzing cars trying to navigate the strange traffic patterns getting onto Interstate 25.

Now, community leaders and stakeholders in west Denver are looking to activate the area and turn it into a colorful destination.

On May 14, Sun Valley Kitchen + Community Center, along with the West Colfax Business Improvement District and Denver Streets Partnership, will host the Sun Valley Rising Viaduct Night Market, an evening event filled with local food and art vendors. The market will be located at the south end of Empower Field under the Colfax Viaduct west of Raices and east of the Latino Cultural Arts Center at 2705 W. Colfax Ave.

The community has always said, wouldnt it be great to do something with that viaduct, said Jeanne Granville, the president of the Sun Valley Community Coalition. Highways tend to isolate and separate people, so lets make it into something excitingwhere we could feature our local chefs and entrepreneurs, as well as artists and entertainers.

The event is part of the West Denver Rising Initiatives international marketplace series, which will include five events across west Denver celebrating the areas various cultures. The first event was the Lunar New Year celebration in Little Saigon on South Federal Boulevard.

Theres a huge appetite in the Denver community for these types of very local events that celebrate the culture we have here in Denver, said Jill Locantore, executive director of the Denver Streets Partnership. The South Federal community has been celebrating Lunar New Year for years, but with our help they were able to amplify that event, spread it to more locations along the corridor, really advertise it and invite the larger community to come and participate.

Locantore said Denver Streets Partnership and other organizers were able to secure grant funding for the marketplace. With the additional funding, the Lunar New Year Celebration was able to expand along South Federal.

The other events will include an additional marketplace under the viaduct in Sun Valley in August, the Mid-Autumn Festival at the Far East Center in September and the annual Westwood Chile Fest on Morrison Road, also in September.

West Denver Rising is a collaboration between Sun Valley, Little Saigon and BuCu West Development Association. Besides all being on the westside, Westwood, Sun Valley and Villa Park and other neighborhoods are experiencing rapid development and are considered high-risk for displacement, according to the city. The initiative is their way of banding together to ensure their communities stay their communities.

Its a bunch of different organizations across west Denver coming together to guide the redevelopment and reinvestment thats happening in West Denver and making sure that its intentional and thoughtful, said Lindsay Miller, the special-projects manager at Sun Valley Kitchen + Community Center. Its impossible to stop the investment. So West Denver Rising is saying were going to guide that investment and make sure it benefits people who have lived here for a long time.

As with the established events like Chile Fest and the Lunar New Year celebration, the Viaduct Night Market will feature local westside vendors, like Raices, and musicians like Los Mocochetes. But the night market will also give locals who arent established an opportunity to show off their craft.

Miller said some of the vendors will be people who are interested in starting businesses of their own but who dont yet have the capital or skills to get off the ground. Its an opportunity to learn and build entrepreneurial skills.

Were reaching out to residents and connecting them with the resources they need so, for some of them, they can get their first shot at running a business, Miller said. Were trying to recruit as many food vendors and craft vendors as we can that have a business idea or maybe have always dreamed about owning their own restaurant or small business, but they just havent had the opportunity or the training to really take it to the next level.

One of those vendors is Carlos Maestas.

At 15 years old, Maestas worked as a dishwasher to help support his mother and family. From there, he worked his way up through the restaurant industry from a cook to a waiter, supervisor, general manager and finally a regional trainer. But two years ago, he had a change of heart.

Maestas said he left the corporate restaurant world in search of something more meaningful. He found that at Sun Valley Kitchen and through the Kitchens owner and founder, Glenn Harper.

Glenns a man of little words but a lot of action, Maestas said. He and the Kitchen have been very supportive of finding entrepreneurs and providing a platform for them to launch a business. Sun Valley is just this place of nurturing. Theyre nurturing talent and opening peoples eyes to something that maybe they have not seen themselves or seen in themselves.

Soon after Maestas found Sun Valley Kitchen, the pandemic hit. He was working at the Kitchen and another job and lost both of them on the same day when mandatory closures happened.

But through that entrepreneurial spirit nurtured through the Kitchen, Maestas said he took his last bit of money, bought some tools and started a fencing business, Littos Fencing. Now hes got about six employees and is making a livable wage.

But Maestas said its time for him to get back in the kitchen through his up and coming taco stand, Littos Taquitos. At the Night Market, Maestas said hell be serving up all his favorites, including his self-proclaimed best taco, the Bella taco, named after his daughter. Its a handmade fresh corn tortilla filled with marinated chicken, grilled Oaxaca cheese, bacon, arugula, marinated tomatoes and a homemade green salsa.

We take that Oaxaca cheese and put it on the grill and it makes a nice crust, Maestas said. I hope we spread the word about something new and something exciting. Its not your average taco. Our flavors are different. Our swag is different. I want people to be inspired by someone who comes from the community who has aspirations and is living into those aspirations. Im very excited for the market. I think Sun Valley is sometimes overlooked because its such a small community and its by the Broncos stadium but we have talented people here. Its just an inspiring story.

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An international night market will head under the West Colfax viaduct in Sun Valley - Denverite

March 23, 2022

Marie T. Nolan, professor and scholar, has been appointed by Catholic University President John Garvey as the next dean of the Conway School of Nursing. Nolan, M. Adelaide Nutting Endowed Chair at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, will assume her new duties in May.

Nolan earned her bachelors degree in nursing from Niagara University, a master of science in nursing from Boston College, a master of science in education from Johns Hopkins University, a master of public health from George Washington University, and her Ph.D. in nursing from Catholic University.

I am so pleased to welcome back Marie Nolan to Catholic University. She has had a remarkable career at Johns Hopkins University and has a solid background of leadership in bioethics, education, and practice, says University President John Garvey. We are thrilled she is bringing her passion and experience in nursing back to the Catholic University, especially as we look forward to growing our nursing program after the opening of the new Nursing and Sciences Building.

Nolan has spent more than 20 years in academic leadership positions and advancing research on improving the quality of care for patients and their families at the end of life.

To serve in this capacity at this challenging time in our history will be the greatest honor and privilege of my career, Nolan says. The pandemic and the suffering it has caused calls out to us to reclaim what it means to be a nurse and more specifically, what it means to be a nurse from The Catholic University of America Conway School of Nursing; a nurse who recognizes each human person as created in the image and likeness of God with inherent dignity. It is also an honor to follow in the footsteps of Dean Emerita Patricia McMullen, who for the past 12 years has led the School of Nursing faculty in preparing nurse-leaders known for their intellectual and moral strength; who continually seek to develop a well-formed conscience to make decisions for the good.

My vision for nursing is grounded in the Trilogy model of nursing proposed by Brother Ignatius Perkins, fellow Catholic University Ph.D. graduate in nursing, with three interrelated phenomena: Human Dignity, Human Flourishing and Human Freedom. Human dignity as the inestimable value of every person, human flourishing as the desired outcome of human nature, and human freedom as the intentional search for the good by the patients, families, and communities whom we accompany on their journey.

As Nolan arrives at Catholic University, construction is beginning on the Nursing and Sciences Building, which is expected to open in 2024 and allow the school to double its enrollment and increase its faculty.

Being part of The Catholic University of America and all it stands for holds great promise for the Conway School of Nursing to transform healthcare through the formation of nurses with the moral courage to lead the charge, Nolan says.

Nolan was raised in Iowa and practiced in clinical leadership positions in Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., before completing her Ph.D. at Catholic University and accepting a position at Johns Hopkins. She is married to Patrick Nolan and they live in Beltsville, Md.

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University Alumna Named Dean of Conway School of Nursing - Catholic University Communications

(CNN) The Memphis Police Department and the New York State Police took a pledge this week to increase the representation of women in their ranks to 30%, joining a total of 150 law enforcement agencies in the US and Canada that have made the commitment in the past year.

The 3030 Initiative is a coalition of police leaders, researchers, and professional organizations aiming toincrease the representation of womenin police recruit classes to 30% by 2030 and ensure that policing culture and policies support these women throughout their careers.

Four other police departments took the pledge which had its one-year anniversary on Friday in recent weeks, including Fresno, California; the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC; Indiana University at Bloomington; and the city of Bloomington in Indiana, according to Kym Craven, executive director of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE).

Research shows women make up roughly 12% of sworn law enforcement positions nationwide, and only 3% of executive level positions, Craven said.

The 3030 Initiative is affiliated with NAWLEE and the Policing Project at NYU School of Law.

We started this with really no funding and just sheer will. Weve now attracted some funding and were expanding our programming as a result of that, Craven said. They come in steadily and were getting a real big diversity of agencies signing on now. Even smaller agencies are seeing that they can join the pledge.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday the New York State Police signed the 3030 pledge as part of its recruitment campaign for its entrance exam, which is the first step towards becoming a state trooper, according to a press release.

The state police, which has a female membership of 11.6%, also redesigned its recruitment program to reach more female and minority candidates, the governors office said.

The New York State Police was created due to the efforts of two women, Moyca Newell and Katherine Mayo, who started a movement to form a state police department that would provide protection to all of New Yorks rural areas, according to Hochuls office. As a result of their efforts, the New York State Legislature passed a law in 1917 that established the state police.

The State Police was created over 100 years ago after the determined efforts of two women, Hochul said in a statement. We will build on this legacy and continue to diversify our ranks, and I encourage all who are interested to take advantage of the opportunity to have a profound and positive impact on the lives of others by joining this law enforcement community.

Craven said the move is significant because the number of women in state law enforcement agencies is much lower than municipal organizations, hovering between 7% to 9% of female representation in the ranks.

When you think of 12 to 13% being the average and getting to 30% by 2030, state police organizations are just much further behind, she said.

As these bigger agencies come on board and can adopt these policies and practices that can really change what this looks like for the long-term, they need to be able to step forward and be informed, Craven added.

Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis, the departments first woman chief, announced Tuesday the agency would take the 3030 pledge in celebration of Womens History Month.

The number of women in the department is already higher than the national average, standing at 17%, according to the department.

17% is a lot, especially in a male-dominated sort of environment, Davis said in a public statement. If were intentional in our recruiting campaigns and projecting our department as one that is inclusive for any woman that wants a challenging career, I think we can get there. We have time to get there.

Davis, who was appointed in 2021, said the initiative is an incredible opportunity to promote women and noted that she was one of only two female officers who graduated from her recruit class in the early days of her career.

It didnt mean that the other women in that class werent qualified, it was that we were ready for law enforcement, but law enforcement wasnt ready for us, she said.

NAWLEE was established in 1996 by six female police leaders to support women in the field. The association offers a mentoring program to help agencies promote as many women as possible through the ranks by offering support, training and education.

It also conducts focus groups to look at female-friendly policies such as modified work schedules for women planning to have children and strong policies against discrimination and harassment.

Departments around the country are having higher percentages of women in their recruit classes, Craven said, as NAWLEE continues to do outreach and spread the word about the movement.

Police departments in major cities such as Baltimore; Austin, Texas; New York; and Miami have all signed the pledge, agreeing to report on their efforts to identify and address the obstacles that women officers face in recruitment and throughout their careers, according to the initiatives website.

In December, New York became the largest city to appoint its first woman police chief to lead an agency that employs roughly 52,000. Cities such as Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Oakland, Portland, Oregon and Washington, DC, have all had female police chiefs or currently employ one.

According to the 3030 Initiative, the under-representation of women in policing undermines public safety.Research has foundfemale officers are less likely to face allegations of excessive force and are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits.

Research also shows certain policies disproportionately dissuade women from becoming law enforcement officers, according toa special reportby the National Institute of Justice.

In joining the initiative,agencies agreeto increase female representation in all ranks; ensure that policies and procedures are free from bias; promote equitable hiring, retention and promotion of women; and ensure their culture is inclusive, respectful and supportive of women officers.

We look forward to the expanded role of women in the profession, Craven said. We truly believe its a way to increase trust within communities, and that because of the different strategies that women bring to the role, it will really change the profession over time.

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150 law enforcement agencies in US, Canada take pledge to increase women in ranks to 30% by 2030 - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort...

Administrative leave for federal employees to vote was previously only granted on election day.

The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has given federal employees the right to take leave to vote in federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial elections.

Agency workers may take up to four hours of administrative leave to vote. According to a release published by OPM, this time can be combined with other leave for employees wishing to work as non-partisan poll workers and election observers.

Until now, OPM has only granted administrative leave to federal workers to vote on election day, and poll work has had to be arranged through excused absences.

The move follows an executive order signed by president Joe Biden in March 2021 on promoting access to voting. OPM said Biden had directed it to create more flexible conditions for federal employees to vote, as well as to boost early voting.

New guidance released today recognises that voting has evolved beyond a single election day and reduces barriers to voting by directing agencies to provide time off for employees to vote at any time the polls are open, either on election day or during an early voting period, it said.

The functioning of our democracy and protecting the right to vote are core American ideals, said Kiran Ahuja, director of OPM.

Todays guidance advances fundamental goals of the Biden-Harris Administration: to promote democracy, reduce barriers to voting for federal employees, and further position the federal government as a model employer for other employers to follow.

Read more: Top teleworking tips: Performance management advice for hybrid-working US federal government

Bidens goal of turning the federal government into a model employer that prioritises employee engagement has spurred OPM to issue several guidance memos to agency heads in recent months. In one of these, OPM shared performance management advice for hybrid-working, in which it emphasised giving staff intentional breaks from work.

This came as part of what Robert Shriver, associate director of employee services at OPM, described as the agencys renewed focus on employee engagement, learning, development, health, and wellbeing.

In its statement, OPM acknowledged that the federal governments aspiration to become a model employer made granting employees voting leave a valuable opportunity. It also acknowledged that many employees in the private sector already enjoyed such benefits.

For democracies to shore up civic participation, OPM said, voting would need to be made easier for Americans who traditionally encounter obstacles to taking the necessary time off.

In a report by Government Executive (GovExec), Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federationof Government Employees (AFGE) said the move would not only directly help more Americans play a part in our democracy[but will] ensure no working American ever has to choose between a paycheck and their right to vote.

One of the most effective ways to strengthen our democracy is by ensuring more Americans have the opportunity to participate and make their voice heard, he added.

To counter the range of barriers to voting experienced by Americans, the White House also recently published a report by the Interagency Steering Group on Native American Voting Rights, created through the March 2021 order.

The report outlines the barriers native communities in America face to voting, such as language barriers, a lack of accessibility for voters with disabilities, cultural disrespect and outright hostility, geographically remote residences, and persistent poverty.

It added that such difficulties have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report included recommendations for congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Read more: Bidens management agenda prioritises federal employee engagement

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OPM grants US federal officials paid leave to vote in elections - Global Government Forum

So far, March 2022 has brought about a series of stomach-churning, rollercoaster-esque moments. Geopolitical happenings aside, locally it has felt as if were collectively moving slowly, as if not to make sudden moves that would bring on the wrath of 2022. To be honest, this has not been the easiest start to any decade.

That said, it is encouraging to see a two-year-old global pandemic finally trending in a better direction. My concern, of course, is in how we transition. The brunt of the last two years has disproportionately fallen on folks who have been historically excluded and marginalized from power to begin with. This really came to mind with the recent discord between Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association over changes in mask use prior to spring break, which may bring an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

In ideal conditions, this would make sense. However, it does seem that to return to a pre-pandemic reality, there is little emphasis on intentionally addressing structural impediments to meeting the material needs of folks who struggled before the pandemic started. In truth, folks may fare worse after the pandemic if this central question continues to go unaddressed.

In sticking with the educational theme, I was reminded of a policy brief that was recently published out of University of Washington (UW) in mid-March. The short research summary, part of the UW Latino Center for Healths COVID-19 Policy Brief Series, presented results from the Understanding Washington Latinos Experiences Around COVID-19 survey, which surveyed Latinos from throughout the state. Initial findings note that for families with new childcare and teaching responsibilities, 77 percent reported reduced income, 52 percent reported reduced hours and 83 percent reported not being able to work from home. Likewise, although an estimated 86 percent of respondents reported having internet, only 44 percent reported having access to high-speed internet and only 58 percent reported owning a computer or tablet. The majority an estimated 76 percent accessed internet via cellphones.

In sum, the report illustrates challenges with having equitable access to educational resources, on top of also having to make do with fewer monetary resources. As such, the effect of the pandemic will have an impact that will reverberate long after COVID-19 restrictions lapse. This is notable given that 1 in 5 children in Washington state are of Latinx ancestry. It is safe to assume that this dynamic will also impact other communities that encounter similar economic and technological challenges.

We must be intentional about collectively addressing this byproduct of the pandemic. This also goes beyond the educational arena. Housing and food insecurity will also have a deleterious impact on our communities. Lets ensure that all are provided immediate material relief.

Oscar Rosales grew up in the Yakima Valley and works and resides in Seattle.

Read more of the Mar. 23-29, 2022 issue.

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Opportunity gaps and pandemic recovery | Mar. 23-29, 2022 - Real Change News

A Fort Collins report released a year ago confirmed what many people already knew: People of different ethnicitiesdont experience life in this city the same way.

As a non-white person in Fort Collins, youre more likely to live in poverty, to be cost-burdened for housingand to be arrested or subjected to police force. Youre less likely to go to college, own a home, have internet access and air conditioning, or trust your local government.

The disparities are clear in the citys Equity Indicators Report, a collaboration between city staff and the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance. The report examined 114 aspects of life in Fort Collins, stratified mostly by race and ethnicity, and found disparities in almost all of them. White residents fared about the same as or better than the general population in every outcome, from income to academic achievement. The researchers also found disparities by gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and disability status.

More: Cultural center opens to help Black students in Fort Collins build confidence, learn history

Some selected findings from the report:

The reports findings were no surprise to the grassroots leaders who are steeped in this work.

Weve pulled the veil back, and we're seeing exactly what we expected to see behind it, said Jamal Skinner, founder and executive director of the Cultural Enrichment Center. The center provides Black children sort of a GPSfor how to navigate existing in a town like this and helps them build self-confidence and self-advocacy, he said.

Skinner and other community leaders interviewed for this story are more interested in what the citys going to do next. The Equity Indicators Project is the first public-facing endeavor of Fort Collins new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office, created by City Council in the shadow of George Floyds murder and nationwide unrest over racial injustice. Differing views on the next steps for the project and the DEI Offices work as a whole display the tension between the urgency of racial inequity and the methodical approach of local government.

The Coloradoan spoke extensively with city staff, council members and local advocates to understand where the city hasmade progress with equity and where there's room for growth. The next section of this story describes the city's historic approach to equity work and advocates' perspectives on that history.The final sectiondetails advocates' suggestions for continued work.

The story continues after the graph.

DEI Officer Claudia Menndez and her team are working to condense the 175-page Equity Indicators Report into an online dashboard that shows disparities in the city and tracks how they change over time, creating a tool to gauge if equity-focused reform is working. A first draft of that dashboard is online now.

The next step is a root-cause analysis assessing what's driving the disparities, so the city can see where local policy could have the biggest impact. Council hasnt yet funded this work, but it could be part of the 2023-24 budget.

Menndez said she sees the Equity Indicators Project as a spotlight on inequities and the dashboard as the door to transparency and accountability as the city works to change them.

The next steps for the project come as the DEI Office marks its seven-month anniversary. Menndez spent much of those first months ascending the learning curve, getting to know the complexities of the citys myriad departments and having in-depth conversations with staff about how equity intersects with their service to the community.

Now shes moving to more public-facing work.On April 28, the city will hold an equity-focused community forum on criminal justice, housing and economic opportunity the three outcome areas posted so far on the Equity Indicators dashboard. For the upcoming 2023-24 budget, Menndez and other staff developed three equity-related questions for each departments budget requests.

The questions are related to how the department can use the budget cycle to diversify public engagement and participation in city programs, with a focus on data-informed methods. The questions specifically reference communities of color andunderrepresented social identities.Each department will need to address at least one of themin their funding requests.

The goal is to infuse the citys existing processes with an equity mindset rather than looking at equity as an additional task, said Menndez and interim City Manager Kelly DiMartino.The latter said shes seen the city take an increasing focus on equity during her nearly 25 years with the organization, particularly in departments where employees have shown passion for the work.

The challenge has been organizing disparate projects into an intentional and consistent citywide strategy, DiMartino said. Until Menndez joined the organization, the city had been without a dedicated point-person on equity since the now-defunct human rights officer position was cut in the 2000s.

There's a lot of interest in this, but how do we get more strategic, and how do we focus the work a little bit more? DiMartino said. I think that we are still on that journey."

More: Claudia Menndez picked for city of Fort Collins' new DEI job

Several local advocates said they want to see changes in the city's approach to equity work. Theyre urging the city to avoid "analysis paralysis" and focus on concrete actions to make Fort Collins a more equitable placewhere a persons race, ethnicity and other identities dont shape their experiences.

Its good theres data, said Cori Wong, an equity advocate who gives talks, leads workshops and offers coaching on DEI issues through her consulting company, Positive Philosophy Consulting. But if we get too focused on always looking for more data instead of really assessing these inequitable conditions and realities we should already be aware of, then its like were looking at the finger rather than looking at the moon its pointing to.

Wong is referencing a proverb commonly attributed to Confucius.When a wise man points at the moon, the imbecile examines the finger.

Wongs point relates to another theme in community criticism of Fort Collins history of equity work: That city leaders have focused more on data and public engagement than meaningful action, perpetuating a cycle of seeking insight from people of color, putting the findings in a report or dashboard, and letting the effort gather dust as other priorities take center stage.

This is the MO of the city of Fort Collins, said Johanna Ulloa Girn,co-founder of The BIPOC Alliance whos been attuned to local government for about 12 years. They create dashboards about everything, and then they do a lot of community engagements which, if you talk with a lot of people who are from marginalized communities, they continue to have conversations with the same agencies, the same community members, and nothing happens. This has happened year after year after year after year after year.

Betty Aragon-Mitotes, a longtime advocate for the Latino community, said the issue has gotten to the point where a lot of her friends have stopped attending city events.

Theyve said, Im tired of going to meetings, Aragon-Mitotes said. It seems like all we do is talk, and they say theyre listening, and then nothing happens. If were really being asked to come to the table and I fought to be at the table then I want my voice to be heard.

City leaders and staff acknowledged the criticism, but said equity is a bigger part of their internal conversations, plans and budget requests than people might think.

That might be a perceived cycle, because I have seen the city move and act, Mayor Jeni Arndt said. Still, she added, "people are right to be concerned that action should follow the words and the data.

Much of the city's equity work goes on behind the scenes, staff said. They added it will take time to see the influence of public engagement and institutional changes spread out into the community.

Often, even when there's community engagement done and feedback given for a particular project, the actual project will not be seen for several years, Menndez said. And although internally we may recognize that timeline, the timeline isn't always made public."

Menndez said she wants to reshape the citys public engagement soit feels more like a reciprocal conversation. The city has shifted the timing and format of many public forums to accommodate more people, but engagement events can still feel one-sided.

It needs to be a two-way street, she said. The community is informing us of their needs, but theyre also leaving informed and understanding some of our processes and what were doing to advance equity for all.

The citys equity work has taken many forms over the last several years.

Since 2015, the city has incorporated first diversity and then equity into its strategic plan, which influences the city's budget and policies. Fort Collins City Council adopted a priority for 2018-21 to promote equity and inclusion. The priority didnt return for 2021-23.

Over the last two years, council has worked on several equity-focused projects, including:

Some other highlights of the citys equity progress include a focus on housing equity in its Housing Strategic Plan, the addition of Spanish interpretation at some council meetings and city events, a Historic Preservation project delving into the citys history of intersectional civil rights movements, and the creation of employee resource groups to support city employees of color and those who arepart of the LGBTQ+ community.

More: It takes an army of community groups to get vaccines to Larimer County's nonwhite communities

Council member Susan Gutowsky, who is Hispanic,said she understands the community concern that the city has been more talk than action in terms of equity work. Gutowskysaid thats one of the reasons she and two other council members on the ad hoc Community Impact Committee proposed the new DEI Office in 2021. Council formed the committeein response to calls to examine police funding, but ultimately, the members didnt recommend any major changes to police funding or practices.

It was really bumpy and really difficult, Gutowsky said, describing the initial meetings as a lot of hand-wringing about what to do.

We came to the conclusion that we support our police; we're not going to defund them, she said. But how else can we help the community? And then we came up with the (DEI Office), because we felt that would be our vehicle for getting stuff done.

Skinner sees a focus on board creation, dialogues and data collectionas signs that an organization doesnt know how to go about addressing inequity. The shock of seeing cellphone footage of police murdering a man in 2020 seemed to drive a wave of momentum for racial justice, Skinner said, but hes felt that momentum wane over time.

It sort of has deflated into roundtable discussions about the same things that people arent admitting were talked about 14 years prior to George Floyd, he said. For those of us whove been doing the work, it feels like GroundhogDay. Were at a point, probably for the last eight months, of saying, Well, weve had this conversation for well over a year. What are we doing to move forward?

The coming months could be pivotal for Fort Collins newborn DEI Office. Progress depends not only on building trust between the city government and communities of color but also on the political and moral will, as Wong put it, of those who wield decision-making power to acknowledge inequities and allocate attention and resources accordingly.

It also depends on a strategy thats both unified and tailored to the city'svarious departments. Nina Rubin, a leader of Fort Collins' Jewish community, said she's observed that challenge as an executive committee member ofOur Commitment to Self and Society. The group's purpose is to encourage and celebrate businesses and organizations making meaningful progress with equity. The city is one its three main partners.

There is no question that city leadership is supportive of moving forward with DEI, Rubin said. But it is a most unusual conglomerate of departments, and there isnt going to be a one-size-fits-all solution for moving all of that forward. So I commend their commitment to doing this, and I also understand that their commitment will be a challenging one.

Aragon-Mitotes has a lot of reasons to feel discouraged about equity in Fort Collins and one big reason to feel optimistic.

She feels discouraged because she said Fort Collins has taken 10 steps back in terms of racism in the last seven years, since she and filmmaker Shari Due released the documentary Fort Collins, The Choice City ... for Whom?Former President Donald Trumpseemed to beckon in a tide of blatant discrimination, she said, and many of Fort Collins Latino residents are struggling with deteriorating mental health and the threat of evictionbecause of fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gentrification in the Tres Colonias neighborhoods, a key source of inspiration for the film, has worsened, Aragon-Mitotes said. She said there are few Latino homeowners left in the historically Latino north Fort Collins neighborhoods.

Aragon-Mitotes said shes watched as the Buckingham, Andersonville and Alta Vista neighborhoods have shifted in the public consciousness from across the tracks to an "up-and-coming area.

Aragon-Mitotes said shes watched as an influx of government attention accompanied the influx of white residents. Lincoln Avenue was renovated. The dirt field where Latino kids used to play baseball became a manicured field for soccer games. The Vine Drive and Lemay Avenue railroad overpass came to fruition after years of resident complaints about traffic backups.

Its hard to swallow, because its like, why didnt they do that for us? she said. We had dirt streets. Plumbing didnt come in until the '70s. Its like we got left behind.

Still, Aragon-Mitotes said she feels over the moon about Menndez and her new office.

I think its really important that Claudia is in this position, but I really hope that they give her the leeway to do her job and find out how to move forward and fix those disparities, Aragon-Mitotes said.

The Coloradoan asked Aragon-Mitotes and several other sources about their ideas for specific actions the city could take to make Fort Collins more equitable. Everyone had different ideas, but several themes emerged.

The city should look inward and hold itself accountable.

Ulloa Girn, Wong and others suggested that city leaders focus on the place where city policies can have the most significant impacts: Within the organization itself.

As a community member and a person of color who lives in Fort Collins, the No. 1 thing that I want to know is what the city of Fort Collins is doing themselves to attain equity, Ulloa Girn said.

She said she wishes the Equity Indicators Report had measured things like whether people of color feel welcome in city buildings, how many staffers speak languages other than English, what kind of diversity or implicit bias trainings the city is providing to staff, how much money the city has spent settling lawsuits alleging police discrimination, and the level of city funding for equity initiatives. Instead, she said it mostly consisted of things she couldve Googled.

I already know the system is racist, Ulloa Girn said. What I want to know is, what are they doing to change the system? That will indicate to me that they actually are doing something different instead of just keeping track of these outcomes.

Wong agreed, adding that the city should focus on its sphere of influence.

We have a better chance of making change if we all recognize where we have the opportunities to intervene and make more equitable changes, she said.

Aragon-Mitotes said its imperative that the city work to increase diversity on its staff and city council.Council currently has six white members and one Latino member, Gutowsky. Ray Martinez, a previous council member and former mayor, is also Latino. Otherwise, the city has had very few people of color on City Council.

We cannot have people that dont understand our reality making policy decisions that affect us, Aragon-Mitotessaid. They look at life through a different lens because of their environment, their income, their background. They dont know the struggles of so many people of color.

The lack of diversity sets the city up for the carousel ride of continually seeking policy input from people of color, Wong said.

It needs to be acknowledged that people in these positions of privilege and power often do not know enough about the actual concrete challenges and what it takes to navigate them, she said. So we need to completely rework our whole system of leadership in that sense, and not in a way that just tries to take from people with lived experience who navigate systems of inequity, or from community leaders who have greater perspective, when it doesn't benefit them at all.

One potential way to diversify council, in terms of ethnicity as well as income, would be to pay council members a living wage for their work. Council members earn $853 permonth, and the mayor earns $1,280. Because of the low pay, most council members are retired or have some other form of financial support. Just two of councils seven membershave full-time jobs in addition to being on council, and both have been upfront about the challenges of balancing work with their council duties. Since people of color on average have significantly lower income than white residents of Fort Collins, the income barrier effectively reduces the likelihood of non-white people running for council.

Council could act on the pay issue by referring it to voters. A 2019 ballot measure that wouldve increased council pay lost with 41% of the vote.

Diversity on council is important, but so is diversity on staff, said Eric Ishiwata, an associate professor of ethnic studies at Colorado State University. He suggested the city focus on professional development for people of color to increase diversity at all levels, including middle and upper-level management.

When underserved or historically marginalized residents start to see people who look like them in positions of leadership, then all of the sudden, those offices or agencies seem to be more welcoming, Ishiwata said.

The city introduced an employee resource group in 2019 to retain employees of color by giving them a safe space to connect with each other. Staff have also created a talent recruitment guide with an equity lens, expanded recruitment outreach, experimented with blind hiring where all identity information is redacted from applications, and added language to job postings acknowledging that research shows women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs if they dont meet every aspect of the job description. The addition notes that the city is interested in finding the best candidate, even if they come from a different background.

Another area where the city lacks diversity is on the boards and commissions that influence council decisions. As of 2017, about 94% of the volunteers were white, compared to a population that is 80% white, and 69% earned more than $75,000 a year, compared to a population where 39% of people meet that income threshold.

Council prioritized reimagining boards and commissions for 2019-21. Term lengths and meeting format are now more flexible, but council members said boards have yet to become significantly more diverse.

More: Fort Collins leaders look to diversify city boards

The city should focus on action rather than words.

Some advocates interviewed for this story said the citys equity work can sometimes seem performative. An example is the citys planned land acknowledgment statement, which got funding in the 2022 budget, and the proposed Indigenous Peoples Day resolution.

Those are such empty words, said Christinia Eala, a Lakota activist and co-founder of Tiyospaye Winyan Maka, an organization promoting alternative housing, education, energy and food sovereignty for Indigenous families. Tell me, how many treaties have been honored? We were massacred and wiped out and pushed off our homeland, our rights for hunting were taken away, and we were corralled into concentration camps. … In a city that was built on the blood of the Arapaho, the Shoshone, the Lakota, the Apache and the Ute people, thats empty.

Eala, who emphasized she was only speaking for herself, said a more meaningful way to build trust between the city and the Indigenous community would be to give land back and not interfere with any Indigenous peoples activities on the former Hughes Stadium site. City workers removed a ceremonial sweat lodge from the land last fall because they didnt realize the cultural significance of the structure. Indigenous community members are planning another event at the site this summer.

Giving land back could be in the cards for Fort Collins. The city plans to hire a facilitator to carry out an extensive public engagement process related to the future of the Hughes land, which is now zoned as open lands after a successful citizen initiative. Returning some or all the land to the Indigenous community is among the options for the land.

Ishiwata also suggested that the city take action by creating community initiatives and events designed to bring together people of different cultural backgrounds. The city is culturally and ethnically siloed, he said, evidenced by the fact that an estimated 38% of the Latino population lives in mobile home parks. The Equity Indicators Report also found that most of the citys census tracts werent representative of the communitys diversity.

There are certain risks that come with having a stratified community where poor folks of color are exclusively in this one network, and that network has very few intersections with other resident groups, he said. The way to try to mitigate those risks is to intentionally work to build bridges across those boundaries.

Those kinds of cultural events and outreach are on Menndezs mind. She agreed that the city needs to get the word out about resources like Spanish interpretation, and she said the city ismakingheadway on cultural events and collaborations. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day march, hosted by CSU with supportfrom the city, took a different route this year to pass by homes once owned by historic Black families. She said those kinds of events are important for the visibility ofFort Collins communities of color, who make up about 21% of the population.

It might depend on where youre going or whether you choose to see it or not, but Fort Collins is a more colorful place than sometimes we think, she said. So how do we highlight that and bring those efforts together?

'Not a day off': Hundreds gather in Fort Collins to honor legacy of MLK, Little Rock Nine

The story continues after the graph.

The city should demystify the budget process and seek out feedback in a way that feels less like checking a box.

Several of those interviewed lamented the highly technical nature of the city budget and esoteric city processes that raise barriers to involvement in local government. After all, they said, its hard to advocate for change if you dont know how local government works or you lack the time or know-how to dissect hundreds of pages of budget documents.

The BIPOC Alliance assigned a 12-person team to comb over the 2021 budget, Ulloa Girn said, but it was still difficult to make sense of how much money the city was spending on equity initiatives. Their feedback about the budgets contents at public hearings didnt result in any significant changes to funding.

The criticism prompted changes to the 2022 budget process. Staff released a budget in brief summary in both Spanish and English going over the higher-level points of the budget and the citys process. But boiling down a 9-or-10-figure budget into a more digestible format that allows residents to compare the citys stated goals to its actual spending? That remains an unsolved problem.

A related issue is the lack of public engagement around the budgeting process. The city hosts several events and public hearings for each budget, but theyre often sparsely attended.

Poor attendance at the budget engagement events left Francis, the mayor pro-tem, feeling unsettled. Shes wondered if Fort Collins needs to invest in more education about participation in local government and more alluring engagement events. The city could follow in the footsteps ofDenver-based Warm Cookies of the Revolution, which uses things like bingo, obstacle courses and dance parties to get laypeople civically engaged.

Ulloa Girn said the city needs to stop talking about how to bring more people to the table and just leave the table altogether.

Put people on the streets; hire people to go home to home and distribute information; go to meetings at (local organizations) go everywhere, she said.

And when you get feedback, she added, you need to either take it or really explain why you arent taking it.

Advocates also said the city is missing part of the picture on things like Spanish interpretation. Providing interpretation is a good start, Ishiwata said, but the city also needs to make sure Spanish-speakers feel welcomed at those events and that their input makes a mark in the decision-making process.

If we really are going to recognize that our economy and our health and the wellbeing of the entire community depends upon all of our residents being heard and included, Ishiwata said, then there needs to be not just a space but also a political voice and decision-making power for all residents as well.

More: CSU has been working on inclusion for decades.Mary Ontiveros built her legacy around it.

The city should invest resources into parts of the community that have been underserved.

Wong came back to this point often: The best way to address inequity is to make it easier for people to get what they need.

If we have resources we can reallocate, redistribute and reinvest, then invest in the leadership among the people who have firsthand experience of the issues and make it easier for them to do and get what they need, to apply their knowledge and their expertise, she said.

Originally posted here:

A Fort Collins report 'pulled the veil back' on the community's inequities. Now what? - Coloradoan

DEKALB COUNTY, GA Nonprofit organizations in DeKalb County can apply for grant assistance of up to $5,000, according to a news release.

The Forever Pink Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization in DeKalb County, is requesting letters of interest from local nonprofit organizations to be considered for grants assistance this year. Letters of interest will be accepted until midnight April 15.

The Foundation aims to support organizations that work to support and uplift underserved communities in DeKalb County and Metro Atlanta, according to the release. Grant requests that focus on education, family, economics, health, social and environmental issues are of special interest. The maximum grant award per project is $5,000.

"Partnerships are essential to making the good deeds of nonprofits possible," said Shemia F. Washington, Esq., president of the Foundation in the release. "We must be intentional in our support of organizations whose missions are aligned with ours, and collaboration is the key to ensure impact in our communities."

Nonprofits interested in learning more about Foundation and applying for 2022 grants can learn more online visit and then email their letter of inquiry to fpfgrants@gmail.com.

See the original post here:

The Forever Pink Foundation Offering Grant Assistance Up To $5K - Patch

Between the rise of the creator economy and the utopian (if fragile) promise of decentralization hailed in by web3, fandom is on the brink of a new era. This South by Southwest panel, presented by Plus Company, drills deep into this evolving relationship.

FEATURING:-Yves Bhar, founder, fuseproject, a Plus Company; world renowned designer and author of Designing Ideas-Dani Calogera, VP of brand and digital marketing, Showtime-Shawn Francis, head of creative, We Are Social US, a Plus Company-Brett Marchand, CEO, Plus Company-Lore Oxford, global head of cultural insights, We Are Social, a Plus Company

-Moderator: Steve Madden, GM, Haymarket Media Business Media Group

A product truly only has ultimate meaning if others [fans] talk about how good it is, observes Brett Marchand, CEO of Plus Company, at the outset of this special SXSW gathering, entitled The New Fandom Economy.

Everyone's launching products these days, he continues, so how do you differentiate them in an incredibly complex world where there are so many choices?

Marchands words take on extra resonance inasmuch as the organization he leads has just undergone a rebranding in which a main goal is to achieve the differentiation of which he speaks.

Enter world renowned designer Yves Bhar. The design and integration firm he founded, fuseproject, spearheaded efforts to create a new identity and name for Marchands organization a holding company created to be a new model of intra-agency teamwork that would resonate with key audiences.

The notion of plus means that every member of the team, every agency, every acquisition we make is additive, explains Bhar. Its another discipline, another perspective, another level of diversity and thinking that contributes to make the work better.

For him, the rebrand was a manifestation of intent, the lens through which he views all design. I see design not as something aesthetic or functional, but as something intentional, he shares. Its what you want to accomplish, how you want to show up in the world.

Calling out that point of difference gives Plus Company its meaning.

You know the saying Advertising is the price you pay for being unoriginal? When a product doesn't have meaning in people's lives, people are not advertising it on their own. Today everybody's a fan and thats the best PR, offers Bhar.

Harnessing the power of a fan base is a critical component of any marketers strategy. As the panel commenced, the first area of focus was the manner in which the explosion and evolution of digital platforms and intense channel segmentation have affected what it means to be a fan.

Fandom is freedom, explains Shawn Francis, head of creative at We Are Social US. A brand used to drive the journey. Now fans can be a passenger on that journey or start driving the car themselves. Instead of just buying a teams cap, a fan can start making merch that plays on something that happened during a game. The incident goes viral and one fan decides to monetize the moment. Suddenly theyve got a business.

Francis cites Arsenals LGBTQ fan base as an example of how a niche community can create a new conversation.

They've created this entire community within a community, Gay Gooners," he notes. "There are 1,000 different places you can talk about Arsenal online or offline. Fans can get together and communicate and collaborate in a way they couldnt before and create a world that coexists within the larger scene of what they are into. That applies to music, sports or any brand.

New media has enabled creativity to become open source for fans. In the music space, for example, social media enables fans to stay in contact with a band in new ways.

Bands are putting out individual tracks, called stems [basslines, vocals or drums] of a song and giving them to fans, continues Francis. Then fans take those pieces and power up GarageBand to make their own version of the song. So fans can now contribute and become a part of the story of whatever they are into.

Wattpad, the online social reading platform that launched Fifty Shades of Grey fanfiction, is an example of allowing fans to piggyback on franchises to create their own original content.

So much Twilight fan fiction lives on Wattpad, reports Lore Oxford, global head of cultural insights at We Are Social. Fandom isn't just people loving fan fiction. It's generating original content and having an impact on the wider culture.

It's to our benefit that fans want to imagine different scenarios, adds Dani Calogera, Showtimes VP of brand and digital marketing. She believes the pandemic intensified consumers desire to take a deep dive into their passions.

We've had this return to fewer, bigger, better, deeper relationships and experiences, she says. People are investing in communities where they can go deeper into their interests.

Calogera cites Discord as a platform where consumers are having hyper-specific conversations with people that share their passion.

Even mass platforms such as Twitter Spaces have become more intimate, she explains. It's been interesting to see that convergence of online and offline behavior where we're interested in more intimate connections and how that's manifested in the places and the ways that fans are engaging.

A We Are Social study conducted at the beginning of the pandemic indicated a shift in the way influencers were engaging with followers.

A lot of them were struggling because they were dealing with requests for intimacy, notes Oxford. Fan communities in the pandemic were an incredible source of connection and community. Platforms such as Cameo that deliver that intimacy and individualization might just be the next era of fandom, she suggests.

In turn, brands are finding new ways to connect more intimately with fans. Citing the success of the Community platform for fans of the hit show Shameless, Calogera highlights a Gallagher family group chat that, complete with Chicago area code, Showtime launched for the franchise.

Every family has a dysfunctional group chat, so we invited fans into this intimate experience where they feel like they're texting with this family that they love, she notes. Fans feel like they have a seat at the table to something really special based on their passion around this IP.

The pandemic changed fandom for creators, as well.

We're starting to see a shift towards more direct access, reports Oxford. OnlyFans has around 30 million users. A big part of that is about the maturing of the digital landscape. We've realized that [content] is worth paying for.

As the internet evolves, so does the relationship between fans and creators.

When fandom gets so intense, people take it to that next level and become a creator, observes Francis. With so many ways for people to become creative, the challenge is for brands to find ways to give those people a stake in creative decision-making.

Renumerating people who are contributing to culture is where fandom is going, suggests Oxford. Fans are willing to pay the people they love to make sure those people can keep producing. The next phase is going to be fans wanting to be stakeholders and have equity in the things that they love.

Similarly, Francis sees more brands deputizing the evangelists, giving them the tools to keep doing what they do. He cautions brands, though, to take a light touch with fans.

You want to make it easier for them to keep talking about your products, he advises. Give them a little help, but don't interfere if they're doing a great job.

Francis describes how his firm is harnessing fans to help a client, Major League Soccer, cross over into pop culture.

We started doing interesting things with creators that have a genuine interest in a team or in the sport, he says. Were throwing them the keys and urging them to create something that would make them stand up and pay attention to this league.

In this evolving age, maintaining brand integrity in the face of intense interactivity with your fans can be a delicate balancing act. The panelists offer the example of The New York Times removing its brand from a food community the publication launched on Facebook after political discussions on it could not be moderated effectively.

The great thing about social media is that anybody can have a voice. The bad thing about social media is that anybody can have a voice, says Francis. We're not always going to hit everything out of the park. It's not always good. But if its genuine, people tend to be supportive.

At the core, people want to find community and express themselves, concludes Oxford. Fans will continue to be fans. They'll just find new places and ways to express themselves as the world around us evolves.

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The new fandom economy - PR Week