Nasal tanning sprays are tanning devices for the nasal tube. They are intended to address the inability to apply tanning lotions within the nostrils. A nasal spray device is made from a tiny container with a spray mechanism meant to be used directly in the nose. It is simple to use by inserting the nasal…
Tens of thousands of activists from all over New York and the country will be heading to NYC for the March to End Fossil Fuels on Sunday, September 17, 2023. They will be calling on President Biden to stop drilling on public lands and waters, and declare a national climate emergency. New York activists will…
HOUSTON (AP) — It’s almost 10 p.m. and still a sweltering, sticky 95 degrees when Texas Southern’s Ocean of Soul band marches onto the top of a parking garage a stone’s throw from downtown Houston.
The glittering skyline is close enough to provide some illumination to the dimly lit structure. It reveals beads of sweat dripping off many faces as the students near the end of a 10-hour rehearsal day. One of the three drum majors, Dominique Conner, speeds through his bandmates, handing out kudos when earned and criticism when needed.
Band director Brian Simmons climbs to the top of a nearby ladder and lifts a bullhorn.
“Everything you do matters,” he barks.
Just why more than 100 student musicians are honing their routines on a giant slab of concrete in the brutal August heat of a Houston summer is a microcosm, in many ways, of life at a historically Black college or university like Texas Southern. They are here because it’s the best available option at a school where resources are rarely plentiful. They are here because they need the practice for a showcase against seven other HBCU marching bands that is coming up fast.
“HBCU bands, it represents a lot of things,” said Simmons, who at 31 is the youngest band director ever at Texas Southern and is decades younger than most everyone else in his position at an HBCU. Simmons performed in Southern’s Human Jukebox band as a student and spent eight years as assistant director there before coming to Texas Southern in 2021.
“It’s competition. It’s discipline. It’s tradition. It’s all those things,” Simmons explained. “Marching band for HBCUs, it’s almost a cornerstone.”
Somewhat quiet by nature, the importance of his role has forced Conner to be more outspoken, even commanding. Being a part of something that means so much to the Black community fills the junior with pride.
“It just gives minorities the chance and opportunity to show their passion and their craft and their culture,” he says. “People have the chance to just show their creativity.”
THE RIGHT NOTES
Competition and showmanship are at the heart of all HBCU bands, which number approximiately 40 across the country. They have been ever since William Foster at Florida A&M formed the Marching 100 band in 1946, launching a high-stepping style and thrilling blend of music and dance that can border on gymnastics. It is unique and it has been emulated at thousands of high schools and colleges ever since.
For Christy A. Walker, HBCU bands are “literally in my blood” and she has spent her life around them. Her parents met while both were in the North Carolina A&T band and she followed in their footsteps playing clarinet in the Blue and Gold Marching Machine.
Walker has written three books about HBCU bands, helped found a website about them and hosts a podcast called “The HBCU Band Experience.” She called the bands a vital part of Black culture that deseve more reverence than they get.
“We do it different and honestly we are, I would say, tastemakers for the entire band culture, including non HBCUs,” she said. “Because we are the ones that will play Top 40 songs that are out now. If a song comes out on Monday, by the time Saturday rolls around a band will perform it.”
At HBCUs, Tennessee State band director Reginald McDonald says, the bands are often “the window to the school” that influences opinions about the institution.
“It basically puts a spotlight on each one of our programs and allows people to understand and know that in terms of music education at each one of these schools they’re very viable programs,” he says. “And we do some unique things with very little funding often and we make magic, in a sense, happen.”
The Aristocrat of Bands he runs is one of the best in the country. Founded the same year as the Marching 100, it began performing at professional football games in 1956 and became the first HBCU band to perform in a presidential inaugural parade when it marched for John F. Kennedy’s ceremony in 1961.
It also has a title no other HBCU band can claim: Grammy winner. The band beat Willie Nelson, among others, in February for the Best Roots Gospel album honor for “The Urban Hymnal.”
THE SHOWCASE
More than 2,200 band members and dozens of directors and staff from around the country have arrived for the chance to show their skills in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 at NRG Stadium, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans.
Derek Webber, a graduate of Hampton University, created the National Battle of the Bands to increase exposure of HBCUs and their bands and to help them educate aspiring musicians. He is proud that the event has raised more than $1 million in scholarships for participating schools, which are often underfunded and lack resources.
“For an HBCU, the bands are part of the culture, they’re part of the lifestyle,” Webber said. “And in some cases, they’re more important than the athletic team.”
Webber proudly noted the size of the crowd the bands would draw on the final Saturday before college football began.
“Here we are on a Saturday and there’s no football going on and we’re going to get 50,000 folks,” he said. “The fans really enjoy what they see. The bands put in a tremendous amount of work to put on a great show. And this is energetic. This is entertaining. This is family. This is lifestyle.”
Nerves were high as Saturday night arrived with the promise of 3 1/2 hours of music, with all eight bands performing and rap artists such as Doug E. Fresh, Outkast’s Big Boi and Slim Thug taking a stage in between.
Tall and regal, Goodrich commanded the band with an easy confidence. Every move he made was precise and crisp, whether leading the band through traditional songs or dancing to a hip-hop medley highlighted by T.I. and Missy Elliott songs. Mr. Spartan is the band’s head drum major and, as Goodrich noted as he cited his responsibility for the success of the band, “enthusiasm is the key and discipline is the legacy.”
“It’s the highest position on the student level … it’s an honor to earn that position,” he beamed. “It’s a lot of work that goes into it and most importantly it’s one of the biggest positions on campus in terms of our culture and how important band is to our university.”
THE PAYOFF
Virginia State’s Myiles Spann began twirling “behind the scenes” in ninth grade, dreaming that one day he would have a shot to perform in a marching band. After two seasons in Virginia State’s Trojan Explosion, he finally got a chance to join the auxiliary line and was the only male twirler in the Battle of the Bands.
Wearing black slacks and a sequined royal blue shirt, Spann dazzled with a flawless performance, a huge smile never leaving his face. When the crowd showered the band with applause, it was better than anything Spann could have imagined.
“It felt so amazing,” he said. “It felt like I was in a dream.”
All those nights the Texas Southern band rehearsed atop that parking garage it was the thought of this event that kept the students focused. With the showcase taking place in their city, they had no choice but to bring it.
“You have to represent your city,” Simmons said. “You have to make people proud that they share a ZIP code with you, that they share a city with you.”
On a night that was also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop, the Ocean of Soul wove that connection into its show. The band brought down the house when Simmons handed a microphone and a bucket hat to a band member, and he rapped Run DMC’s hit “It’s Tricky” while the band performed the song.
Conner, fellow drum major Kevin Smith and head drum major KamRon Hadnot wowed the crowd with a choreographed dance during the piece. It included the Kid ’n Play dance from the 1990 movie House Party and the Druski dance, which went viral in 2021.
“We brought them on that emotional ride with us,” Simmons said. “So, in the end when you turn around and you get to see that standing ovation, it means job well done.”
Anyone not in Houston missed quite a show. But college football has begun and basketball is not far away, which means every week there will be HBCU bands around the country entertaining crowds and showcasing Black excellence.
One of the largest and oldest parades celebrating American Black culture, the African American Day parade, is set to kick off its 54th annual event this weekend in Harlem on Sunday, Sept. 17.
The parade has been operated by the African American Day Parade Inc. (AADP) since 1969, after the original 13 organizers formed the idea the previous year.
The day before the parade, on Saturday, Sept. 16, AADP will also hold a “Get Involved” Community Literacy, Health & Culture celebration for the first time, on the plaza of the State Office Building on 125th Street.
Grand marshals this year include Bevy Smith, TV and radio host, author, and actor; Joy Bivins, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Joaquin Dean, founder and CEO of Ruff Ryders Ent; and Ashley Keiko, musician, entrepreneur, and owner of Keiko Studios Music Academy.
A host of other honorary guests are excited to share in the celebration of Black culture, heritage, and legacy, including New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado.
“Just to be able to celebrate the culture—celebrate the legacy of what African Americans have done, both here in New York [and] for the country, [from] the struggle for voting rights [and] equality to dance and style, food, community,” Delgado said. “We’ve been in every war this country has ever fought. I think it’s important to understand our essential nature when it comes to the story of America and what America has become in pursuit of its ideals because of the work of African Americans.”
Delgado said he attended last year’s parade and will proudly march again this Sunday. He said he has seen other Juneteenth events and African American festivals in other counties throughout the state, but none quite as large or significant as the AADP’s.
The AADP was founded in 1968 by the Afro-American Day and United Federation of Black Community Organizations, right after the Civil Rights Act was passed, organizers said.
The first meeting was held at 2315 Seventh Avenue in Harlem, overseen by community leaders such as Livingston Wingate, who served as the first chairperson, and Conrad Peters. They were joined by 11 other community organizers: Jacqueline Peterson, Abdel Krim, Abe Snyder, Cenie J. Williams, Ennis Francis, Joseph Steele, Piankhi Akinbaloye, Bernice Bolar, Adeyemi Oyeilumi, Lloyd Mayo, and Leonard Davis. The original theme for the parade was “Africa’s Gift to America.”
Since the first event, the parade has been held every third Sunday in September along Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. The first grand marshals were Powell himself and activist and Congressmember Shirley Chisholm.
Current AADP chair Yusuf Hasan lamented the passing of the last two founding members this year: Oyeilumi and Snyder, who were in their late 80s, he said. Hasan said the parade is dedicated to their decades of stewardship.
“This is a new era and we want to keep the focus that they laid out back then to where we are today—showcasing the absolute best and brightest of our people, and also commemorating our ancestors on this very, very special day,” said Hasan. “We salute them and thank God for their vision.”
Hasan, who called Snyder his beloved mentor, said he’s honored to continue the tradition well into the future.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats in Congress are pushing for a new round of money to keep the nation’s child care industry afloat, saying thousands of programs are at risk of closing when federal pandemic relief runs out this month.
Legislation introduced in both chambers on Wednesday would provide $16 billion a year over the next five years, awarded as grants to help child care programs cover everyday costs. It’s meant to replace $24 billion in relief that was passed in 2021 in the American Rescue Plan and is set to expire Sept. 30.
With no Republican support, the bill faces an uphill battle in Congress.
Without a new lifeline, child care programs serving millions of families could close or increase prices. For many, the federal aid only postponed the financial turmoil that threatened their survival before the pandemic.
“There was a child care crisis even before the pandemic — and failing to extend these critical investments from the American Rescue Plan will push child care even further out of reach for millions of families and jeopardize our strong economic recovery,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a sponsor of the bill.
Other sponsors include Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.
A June report from The Century Foundation found that without additional money, about 70,000 child care programs would probably have to shut down after this month. That amounts to a third of all programs that received the federal pandemic grants. States distributed the aid in different ways, and many providers already have spent their grants. Either way, the last of it must be spent by Sept. 30.
Arkansas, Montana, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., are at risk of seeing half their licensed programs close, the think tank reported. In total, the programs in jeopardy serve about 3.2 million children.
Hoping to buffer the industry against the upheaval of the pandemic, Congress created a child care stabilization program in 2021. States were given a total of $24 billion to distribute to local programs. It helped more than 220,000 programs, often being used to pay staff or cover rent and utilities, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The grants helped Cynthia Davis keep her child care center open through the pandemic, serving eight children at her home in Washington, D.C. When the economy stalled, income stopped coming in. Davis used her personal savings to pay staff and buy safety supplies. She was nearing the end of her savings when she received about $70,000 in federal grants and other relief.
“It really was a breath of fresh air for a lot of us, because those dollars gave me money I could put back into my savings and my retirement,” she said.
Still, inflation and safety costs have taken a toll. Davis had to lay off one worker, leaving her with just one other. Without more relief, she figures her center will close within a year.
“I just don’t know what’s going to happen to a lot of programs,” she said. “We already are stretched to the limit.”
The money was seen as a steadying hand for an industry that badly needed it. In the first two years of the pandemic, about 20,000 programs closed, roughly the equivalent of 10% of pre-pandemic levels, The Century Foundation said.
But even before then, the industry was struggling. The number of providers has been on the decline for years as workers fled the industry and its persistently low pay. Yet demand has remained high, pushing programs to raise prices and, in some places, resulting in child care “deserts” where demand far exceeds available spots.
The average annual price for U.S. child care in 2022 was $10,800 per child, according to Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit advocacy group.
President Joe Biden has called for expanded child care support, but his biggest proposal stalled amid a polarized Congress and Democratic infighting.
Under Biden’s Build Back Better Act in 2021, parents earning up to 250% of a state’s median income would have paid no more than 7% of their income on child care. But that that bill failed to win support from Democratic holdouts, and the child care plan was later stripped from a slimmer package approved by Congress.
In a statement, Clark said the pandemic relief allowed parents to return to work and paved the way for economic recovery.
“We can’t turn back now,” she said. “Child care is economic infrastructure — it is critical to growing the economy by growing the middle class.”
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The Associated Press receives support from the Overdeck Family Foundation for reporting focused on early learning. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
DETROIT (AP) — About 13,000 U.S. auto workers stopped making vehicles and went on strike Friday after their leaders couldn’t bridge a giant gap between union demands in contract talks and what Detroit’s three automakers are willing to pay.
Members of the United Auto Workers union began picketing at a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.
It was the first time in the union’s 88-year history that it walked out on all three companies simultaneously as four-year contracts expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
If they last a long time, dealers could run short of vehicles and prices could rise, impacting a U.S. economy already under strain from elevated inflation. The walkout could even be a factor in next year’s presidential election by testing Joe Biden’s proud claim to be the most union-friendly president in American history.
“Workers all over the world are watching this,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, a federation of 60 unions with 12.5 million members.
The strike is far different from those during previous UAW negotiations. Instead of going after one company, the union, led by its pugnacious new president, Shawn Fain, is striking at all three. But not all of the 146,000 UAW members at company plants are walking picket lines, at least not yet.
Instead, the UAW targeted a handful of factories to prod company negotiators to raise their offers, which were far lower than union demands of 36% wage increases over four years. GM and Ford offered 20% and Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, offered 17.5%.
Outside the Ford plant in suburban Detroit, Britney Johnson, 35, who has worked for the company about 3 1/2 years and has yet to reach top union wages, said she’d like higher pay, the return of pensions, and cost of living increases. “I like the job. It’s just that we deserve more,” she said.
She joined about 400 workers on the picket line outside the plant.
At the Toledo Jeep plant, assembly line worker Candace Bowles, 52, said it felt “strange” to walk off the job. “I didn’t want to have to do it, but got to do it,” said Bowles.
As the deadline approached, she cleaned up her workstation and walked out when the midnight bell rang. “I’m really happy that everyone stood together,” she said.
The limited strikes will help to preserve the union’s $825 million strike fund, which would run dry in about 11 weeks if all workers walked out. But Fain said more plants could be added if the companies don’t make better offers.
Even Fain has called the union’s demands audacious, but he maintains the automakers are raking in billions and can afford them. He scoffed at company statements that costly settlements would force them to raise vehicle prices, saying labor accounts for only 4% to 5% of vehicle costs.
“They could double our raises and not raise car prices and still make millions of dollars in profits,” Fain said. “We’re not the problem. Corporate greed is the problem.”
In addition to general wage increases, the union is seeking restoration of cost-of-living pay raises, an end to varying tiers of wages for factory jobs, a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay, the restoration of traditional defined-benefit pensions for new hires who now receive only 401(k)-style retirement plans, pension increases for retirees and other items.
Starting in 2007, workers gave up cost-of-living raises and defined benefit pensions for new hires. Wage tiers were created as the UAW tried to help the companies avoid financial trouble ahead of and during the Great Recession. Even so, only Ford avoided government-funded bankruptcy protection.
Many say it’s time to get the concessions back because the companies are making huge profits and CEOs are raking in millions. They also want to make sure the union represents workers at joint-venture electric vehicle battery factories that the companies are building so workers have jobs making vehicles of the future.
Top-scale assembly plant workers make about $32 per hour, plus large annual profit-sharing checks. Ford said average annual pay including overtime and bonuses was $78,000 last year.
The Ford plant that’s on strike employs about 3,300 workers, and it makes Bronco SUVs and Ranger midsize pickup trucks. The Toledo Jeep complex has about 5,800 workers and manufactures the Jeep Wrangler SUV and Gladiator pickup. GM’s Wentzville plant has about 3,600 workers and makes the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickups, as well as the GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express full-size vans.
The union didn’t go after the companies’ big cash cows, which are full-size pickup trucks and big SUVs, and went more for plants that make vehicles with lower profit margins, said Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit.
“They want to give the companies some space without putting them up against the wall,” Masters said. “They’re not putting them right into the corner. You put an animal in the corner and it’s dangerous.”
Automakers say they’re facing unprecedented demands as they develop and build new electric vehicles while at the same time making gas-powered cars, SUVs and trucks to pay the bills. They’re worried labor costs will rise so much that they’ll have to price their cars above those sold by foreign automakers with U.S. factories.
GM CEO Mary Barra told workers in a letter Thursday that the company is offering historic wage increases and new vehicle commitments at U.S. factories. GM’s offer, she wrote, “addresses what you’ve told us is most important to you, in spite of the heated rhetoric from UAW leadership.”
On CNBC Thursday, Ford CEO Jim Farley said if Ford had agreed to the union’s demands, it would have lost $15 billion during the last decade and gone bankrupt.
Under the UAW strategy, workers who go on strike would live on $500 per week in strike pay from the union, while others would stay on the job at full pay. It’s unlikely the companies would lock the remaining workers out of their factories because they want to keep building vehicles.
It’s tough to say just how long it will take for the strikes to cut inventories at dealers and start hurting the companies’ bottom lines.
Jeff Schuster, head of automotive for the Global Data research firm, said Stellantis has the most inventory and could hold out longer. The company has enough vehicles at or en route to dealers to last for 75 days. Ford has a 62-day supply and GM has 51.
Still, Schuster predicted the strikes could last longer than previous work stoppages such as a 40-day strike against GM in 2019.
“This one feels like there’s a lot more at risk here on both sides,” he said.
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Williams reported from Wayne, Michigan, while Householder reported from Toledo, Ohio.
Today we received this email from Harlem resident, business owner, and Harlem World Magzine (HWM) contributor Robert Pair regarding Mosquito Adulticiding: Dear Harlem Neighbors, I hope this message finds you all in good health and high spirits. As a Harlem business owner and fellow resident, I hold a strong commitment to the well-being and safety…
Organizers are gearing up for the 54th Annual African American Day Parade set for Sunday, Sept. 17 in Harlem. Before you head to the festivities, here are some things you need to know.
1. This is the first African American Day Parade since the passing of parade founder Abe Snyder.
This year’s African American Day Parade takes on special meaning. It is the first parade since the passing of founder Abraham L. Snyder, who died in February at age 87. The African American Day Parade was first held in 1969 and was also started by Livingston Wingate and Conrad Peters along with 11 other community organizers. Founding organizers wanted “the community to come together and celebrate Black American heritage, talents and accomplishments, while also honoring our ancestors.”
Abe Snyder Credit: Contributed
2. Be sure to catch the Pre-Parade Show.
Before the parade starts there will be a Pre-Parade Show from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the reviewing stand at West 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. The show will feature performances by Marima Diop from Broadway’s “The Lion King”, Walter Russell III from Broadway’s “MJ the Musical,” singer/songwriter and rapper Javier Gooden, R&B singer Julia Robertson, the Uptown Dance Academy and others.
Credit: Bill Moore photo
3. Culture takes the spotlight for this year’s theme.
The theme for this year’s parade is “Celebrating African American Culture” honoring individuals and organizations that have made key cultural contributions to the African American community.
4. The grand marshals have made major contributions to African-American culture.
Several cultural icons are serving as this year’s grand marshals. Among them are TV, radio host, author and actress Bevy Smith, musician and entrepreneur Ashley Kieko, Schomburg Center Director Joy Bivins and Founder and CEO of Ruff Ryders, Inc. Joaquin Dean.
Bevy Smith Credit: Bill Moore photo
5. The parade will host the first “Get Involved Community Literacy, Health & Celebration of Culture.”
This year the African American Day Parade is hosting the first “Get Involved Community Literacy, Health & Celebration of Culture” from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Harlem State Office Building Plaza. The event will feature games, giveaways, a health panel, a tribute to hip-hop and a dance battle.
Youngster enjoys Sunday’s African American Day parade
in Harlem. Credit: Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office photo
6. Be sure to wave at the politicians when you see them.
Several politicians will be marching in the parade. Expect to see Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, State Attorney General Letitia James along with several city and state politicians.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at the African American Day Parade Credit: Office of NYC Public Advocate/Twitter
7. Be sure to get there early.
The parade kicks off at 1p.m. and starts at 111th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and heads up to 137th Street. It’s best to secure your spot early before the parade starts so you can see.
African American Day Parade
8. You’ll see your family, friends and neighbors IN the parade.
Several community and national organizations along with churches, labor unions, colleges, sororities and fraternities are participating in the parade. So, if you see someone you know walking the route, give them a shout!
Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity at African American Day Parade. Sept 21, 2014.
9. The weather is supposed to be nice.
Sunday’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies with a high near 80. Be sure to bring water and wear light clothing.
African American Day Parade
10. Have fun!
The African-American Day Parade is a day where the community can come together for celebration and pride for our culture. Bring your family, see old friends and let’s make this the best parade ever!
African American Day Parade Credit: Cyril Josh Barker photo
Unlike other forms of stress, such as acute or episodic, which are temporary and often related to specific events, chronic stress is constant and can persist over a long period. This prolonged exposure to stress can negatively affect health. It can potentially lead to various physical ailments or mental disorders. However, by learning tried and…
Today, in a private ceremony, Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York Senate Bill 1902A (S1902A/A1245A) into law. The bill would mandate that applicants for State unemployment benefits receive information on the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC), the latter of which provides nutrition assistance to new mothers and their…
