Segregation is a thing of the past right? Wrong. Segregation is alive and doing quite well across the country and right here in NYC. The New York Times put together an illuminating piece on segregation in the Big Apple. NYT asked residents in community districts that were highly divided along racial and ethnic lines to describe what they liked and didn’t like about their neighborhoods. Our very own Washington Heights was one of the communities featured in the story. Shout out to Mireya Navarro for her profile of two Washington Heights’ residents as well as the NY Times for shedding light on a topic that you don’t hear enough about. Josefina Baez is a storyteller, performer, writer, theatre director, educator, and founder and director of Ay Ombe Theatre. Quite simply, she is a genre-bending Dominican dynamo. She is best known for her panoply of published books and is a mesmerizing performer. Catch her at the United Palace on May 9th. The event is free but seating is extremely limited so make sure you RSVP. The Up Theater Company has a new playing coming out next week, An American Drum Circle. A young woman and her Nigerian beau become entangled in a web of falsehood. God is the lure. Wealth is the bait. But it’s the family ties that bind. Buy your tickets ASAP! Katie Dupere of Mashable filled us in on the great work of ChildSight, a program of Helen Keller International, which provides free glasses to underserved youth in need. Sarah Ryley of ProPublica penned an excellent article on how the NYPD is targeting immigrant-owned businesses. Dale W. Eisinger and Denis Slattery of the NY Daily News reported on the good news that the first Black FDNY commissioner, Robert Lowery, was recently honored with a Washington Heights street dedication. Pete Wells of the NY Times wrote a really awesome review of Chaiwali in Harlem, which has been wowing diners since it opened last year. Our Mood Music selection comes to us from Cruz, Born & Raised (NY). Uptown’s own Skematics recently released his EP entitled, Somewhere In The Gray. The collection features such names as Sean Price, Saigon and production from PF Cuttin among others. The EP is available on Tidal, Spotify and iTunes so check it out and spread that Uptown Love. 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.
April 25 – April 30
