Facebook Invite: Eric Gioia

Event

Eric invited you to “Councilman Eric Gioia’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration” on Thursday, March 12 at 5:30pm.

Event: Councilman Eric Gioia’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
“with Special Guest Congressman Joseph Crowley”

What: Fundraiser

Host: Eric Gioia for New York

Start Time: Thursday, March 12 at 5:30pm

End Time: Thursday, March 12 at 7:30pm

Where: Donovan’s Pub

Prepared Text From President Obama

Politics

Text of President Barack Obama‘s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening, as prepared for delivery and provided by the White House:

_____________________________

Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, and the first lady of the United States:

I’ve come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here.

I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If you haven’t been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has — a friend, a neighbor, a member of your family. You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It’s the job you thought you’d retire from but now have lost; the business you built your dreams upon that’s now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.

Rupert ‘Monkey’ Murdoch Apologizes

Media

There must be some joke here to be made about hell freezing over and monkeys flying. (Anyone know the last time Rupert Murdoch wrote a personal letter of apology for his paper?) Anyway, as sort-of speculated by Michael Wolff the other day it seems that Rupe was not happy about the chimpanzee cartoon. Not sure anyone really anticipated this sort of response so quickly — there’s definitely no ‘sort-of’ about it — however it appears that Rupe hopes to put an end to the controversy before it gets any further out of hand.

Bring Me Your Daughters Conference

Event

“Celebrating Woman’s Heritage Month” GirlSpirit WomenSong Inc. Proud Recipient of the Procter & Gamble

My Black is Beautiful Award presents the 6^th Annual

Bring Me Your Daughters GirlPower Conference Theme 2009 “Each One Teach One” College Bound Harriet’s Heart guides 4^th- 10^th grade Ladies from Girlhood to Young Womanhood … Mind, Body, Heart, & Soul!

Saturday March 7^th 2009 8:30am – 3pm

People Of Note: ‘Know Thy Enemy’

Theater

“Know Thy Enemy,” a Hadley Players offering featured at the Democracy Prep Charter School, located at 207 West 133rd Street, in Harlem, is a must see play that will run until March 8th. Written and directed by Lillie Redwood, and performed by an esteemed cast, “Know Thy Enemy,” is the story of the Hunters, a freed black family who lived in the slave state of New York in the late 17th century. Believing their status as free educated black people was protection against slavery, the family soon found they were not exempt from kidnappers who stole the family and forced them back into slavery.

Having known freedom, Joshua Hunter was determined to get free. Once he did, he rescued his family one by one with the help of other escaped slaves who hid in secret runaway maroon camps in the swamps of Georgia and parts of Florida. As laws changed it became more and more dangerous and difficult for escaped slaves to find safe havens anywhere within the USA at that time.

Columbia Vs Harlem, Expansion 1

Real Estate

Columbia University and Harlem have been neighbors since 1897 when Columbia moved uptown and settled in an area that would become Morningside Heights. In my first column, I discussed Morningside Heights as a kind of border area that fits between Harlem and the Upper West Side. Without the presence of Columbia, it seems entirely possible that Morningside Heights would not stand out as a separate neighborhood but rather would have been absorbed by Harlem. But because the neighborhood is an area that has risen up around the University, it acts as a kind of bridge between Harlem and the Upper West Side.

The relationship between Columbia and Harlem has always been fairly positive—many of the University staff are Harlem residents, and the school has invested a good deal of money in the community. But more recently, there has been cause for tension and controversy between residents of and business owners in Harlem and Columbia University.

BET’s ‘Harlem Heights’ Docu-Drama

TV

New Docu-Drama Follows the Sometimes Complicated Lives of Eight 20-Somethings as They Live, Love, Work and Make Their Way in New York City

People from all walks of life flock to New York City, but the historic neighborhood of Harlem seems to attract the best and brightest of Black America. Some of the country’s grandest young tastemakers now call the legendary neighborhood home and this beautiful and eclectic bunch are determined to take the biggest bite they can out of the Big Apple. They work hard and play harder, living life to the fullest while acknowledging the past AND confidently claiming the future. The glamorous lives of this new crop of the young black elite have never been captured, until now.

NYC Kids Int’l Fim Festival

Film

What a great opportunity for Harlem parents, uncles, aunts, etc., to bond with their kids.

NEW SITA SHOW ON SALE (REALLY THIS TIME): The ticket link for SITA SINGS THE BLUES is now online and working. Our apologies to all those who called and emailed. Don’t miss this brilliant film from NYC’s own “One Woman Pixar” (Wired), playing this Saturday, Feb 28, 11:00am at IFC Center.

MOONACRE: We have added a screening of SECRET OF MOONACRE (by Bridge to Terabithia director and Rugrats creator Gabor Csupo) Sunday, Mar 8, 5:30pm at Cantor Film Center.

NYPost Needs A History Lesson

Politics

The New York Post caused quite an uproar last week when it ran a political cartoon featuring a dead chimpanzee and two police officers with smoking guns who had just shot the chimp. If I were a police officer, I would be offended. As an African-American male, I am offended. The Post and the cartoonist claimed that they did not intend any racist implications by the cartoon or intend to demean President Barack Obama. Given these denials and the non-apology apology that appeared in the paper Friday, a little history lesson may be in order.

First, the context. On the day the cartoon ran, a picture appeared in the Post of President Obama signing the economic stimulus bill. On the editorial page, the cartoon depicted a dead chimp, with two bullet holes, and two police officers standing over him with drawn weapons. The caption read, “I guess they will have to get someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” Now if that is not an implicit reference to President Obama, I don’t know what was intended by the placement of the cartoon on the same day and pages away from a picture of Obama signing the stimulus bill. The coded message was to compare a black president with a dead monkey.

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‘Disorder In The Court’ In Harlem

Housing

People and Buildings: Disorder in the Court, Harlem, NY

The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) and The Maysles Cinema are pleased to present Disorder in the Court, an evening about Housing Court in the Bronx. A screening of William Sarokin’s and Bienvenida Matias’s 1985 documentary Housing Court will be followed by a discussion with Bronx Housing Court Attorney Philippe Knab.

Through interviews with tenants, landlords, judges, attorneys, and activists, Sarokin’s and Matias’s Housing Court paints an engaging social portrait of the contract between tenant and landlord and the complicated ethics, logistics, and administration of New York’s housing crisis in the mid-80’s. The documentary ties images of a devastated Bronx to the problems of a housing market that treats housing as a commodity rather than a long-term investment. Though the landscape of rubble may seem like a distant memory, the underlying problems uncannily parallel our contemporary housing crisis.

Harlem Small Business Workshop

Business

Rangel Withstands Controversies

Politics

Though reporters and constituents have followed the money to tie U.S. Representative Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) along a string of controversies over the past year, he remains a fixture both in Washington and New York as his past credentials and ability to charm a crowd maintain Rangel’s political stature.

Last week, Rangel turned ahead to discuss the economic crisis and field questions from members of the local Broadway Democrats—some of his most loyal supporters. In his speech at Congregation Ramath Orah on Thursday evening, Rangel asserted that healthcare reform is progressing as planned, emphasized the importance of education, and frequently praised President Barack Obama.

“We support him 100 percent,” Broadway Democrats president Luis Roman said. “He has a nearly 40-year career of accomplishments in Washington and an incredible history of representing Harlem.”