Rare and collectible Black dolls will be available at the Morrisania Doll Society’s Black Doll Auction in Harlem on May 20 at the Dwyer Cultural Center, 258 St. Nicholas Avenue. Doors will open at 12 noon for the preview and the auction begins at 1 p.m.

The Morrisania Doll Society’s Black Doll Auction will feature over 40 Black dolls, most are from private collectors. These include one-of-a-kind dolls from noted doll artists like Pamela Ekkens, known for her creative cloth dolls; doll artists Crafty Sisters’ unique cloth dolls; acclaimed doll artist Goldie Wilson’s cloth Christmas tree Black doll ornaments; Shirley Nigro-Hill’s folksy cloth dolls and  Joyce L. Stroman’s art dolls. In addition, there will be a collection of limited-edition Black Barbie dolls.

For more information, contact: 917-655-8531

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Radio station WKCR at 89.9FM and online at http://WKCR.org will conduct a special 24-hour Sun Ra Arrival Day Broadcast on May 22 to celebrate the 109th anniversary of the arrival of Sun Ra (1914–1993) from Monday, May 22, at 12 a.m. through Tuesday, May 23, at 12 a.m. The event will preempt all regularly scheduled programming.

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“Every American worker should have the right to paid sick leave,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr., ranking member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Payne has introduced the Freight Rail Workforce Health and Safety Act, a bill to provide seven days of paid sick leave to railroad workers. “I am disappointed that the railroad industry did not provide this benefit on their own, especially when you consider it provides this benefit to railroad management,” Payne said.

RELATED: Congressman Payne urges the Biden administration to cancel student debt

“These workers risked their health during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep food and medicine on store shelves. They deserve paid leave to care for their own health. When employees come to work sick, they threaten the health and safety of their co-workers. This bill would allow them to take care of their health without worrying about their income.”

Payne represents New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, which consists of portions of Essex, Hudson, and Union counties, and includes the cities of Newark and Orange. The subcommittee has influence over national infrastructure and all modes of transportation, including aviation and mass transit.

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There has been a second push to get the Transit to Trails Act passed. Reintroduced in the Senate and House by its sponsors, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and California Rep. Jimmy Gomez, the Transit to Trails Act is an effort to create a program that awards grants to groups that can provide transportation from critically underserved urban and rural communities to the countries’ green spaces.

“Due to unjust, racist policies such as redlining and economic segregation, communities of color are three times more likely than white communities to live in nature-deprived places,” said the nonprofit Wilderness Society. “Seventy-four percent of communities of color in the contiguous United States live in nature-deprived areas, compared with just 23 percent of white communities.”

“Getting out in nature is essential for our mental health and physical wellbeing, especially for our children. But many cities are built in a way that makes America’s national parks and public lands inaccessible for underserved communities,” Gomez said in a statement. “Everyone deserves access to green spaces, not just those who can afford to drive to them. That’s why I’m proud to partner with Senator Booker on this legislation that will remove barriers between our cities and our parks to ensure everyone, regardless of their ZIP code, can enjoy the beautiful outdoors.”

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