By Led Black
January 20 – January 25
In light of our President, Barack Obama, delivering his all important State of the Union speech this week, I thought it was only right that he receives a proper shout out for spreading so much Uptown Love as of late. It began a few weeks ago, when Harlem ninth-grader Kiara Molina, of the Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy, gave a rousing introduction for President Obama at a White House event and just recently he spoke highly of 17-year-old student Estiven Rodriguez of the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS). The people of Uptown have an immense love for our President and it’s great to see that love reciprocated. Yes We Can Indeed!
The Cabrini Movement, dedicated to saving the venerable Mother Cabrini High School from closing its doors, continues to grow apace. As this is being written, they have raised nearly 50K. With that said, we published an excellent and moving article on the movement and the importance of the neighborhood institution, by our very own Amaris Castillo entitled, Holding Onto Mother Cabrini. It is a must-read. Read it, share it and then donate what you can to become part of The Cabrini Movement.
Okay folks, this Thursday, January 30th, is a kind of a big deal Uptown. First off, we will be hailing the release of the inaugural issue of Hydrant, which is a publication celebrating Uptown NYC published by Fractious Press, at Word Up Books (2113 Amsterdam Ave @ 165th) with readings from myself, Yakira Tejada, Alison Loeb and MJ Murphy. The closing reception for Andrea Arroyo’s Memories Interlaced art exhibit is taking place at The Shabazz Center (3940 Broadway) on the same day. In addition, the 2014 Harlem Fine Arts Show, which is one of the largest and most prestigious collections of works featuring African-American artists from around the world, is also kicking off on January 30th.
It is a must that I shout out our reader, @JTsuccess, for sharing a picture of him rocking our Spread Love It’s the Uptown Way tee on a trip to Puerto Rico. By the way, there are a few tees still available online and at Word Up Books.
Arlene Shulman transported us back to summer with her latest video, Take Me Out to the Ballgame – From Santo Domingo to NYC. Enjoy!
Keep checking us out at www.uptowncollective.com.
Led Black
Editor-in-Chief
The Uptown Collective
The UC’s mission is to become “the” definitive, transformative and community-based force impacting the arts, culture, business and New York City’s overall perception of Upper Manhattan. Its objective is to reset, reboot and positively redefine Uptown’s artistic, political, cultural and business spheres via the online space as well the collective’s initiatives and functions.
