Introduction to the black side.............

For a while I have been concerned that the black side of life and design here in the city of boston gets overlooked. In a city that is 51% minority with a Black Governor, why do we have to work so hard to know about all the exciting things that are happening in the city? Therefore the goal of this blog is to pass along information about events, activities, job opportunities and restaurant reviews from a minority perspective. The Black side or hidden side of life and design here in Boston is the scope of what you will find in the posts. And some occasional commentary will also make its way to the web. Enjoy!


Friday, March 27, 2009

Fwd: Countdown To Zero at The Boston Architectural College - April 2nd



Begin forwarded message:

From: Janet Oberto <janet.oberto@the-bac.edu>
Date: March 23, 2009 4:32:25 PM EDT
Subject: Countdown To Zero at The Boston Architectural College - April 2nd

The Boston Architectural College
Count Down To Zero 
Cascieri Hall | 320 Newbury Street, Boston, MA
Thursday, April 2, 2009 | 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
 
 
The Boston Architectural College will host the local USGBC Massachusetts Membership Forum and the Urban Land Institute for an evening of discussion and debate of the two major construction industry stimuli to affect the State of Massachusetts in many years: Governor Patrick's Zero Net Energy Buildings Report of 2009 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
 
The event will apprise attendees of these two major strategies with a presentation on both, followed by a panel discussion made up of a cross section of practitioners from the construction industry who will comment on the realities and opportunities going forward to a more energy efficient future. 
 
 
Speakers will include
Marcus Springer - Director, Sasaki Associates; Chair, Advocacy Committee USGBC Massachusetts membership Forum
Eric Friedman - Director, Leading by Example, Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs
Mike Davis - Vice President, Bergmeyer Associates; Co-Chair Legislative Affairs Committee, Boston Society of Architects

Panel Members
Norman Lamonde
- Sustainability Manager, Turner Construction Company
Michael Pascavage - Executive Vice President and Regional Manager, Skanska USA Commercial Development
Bryan Koop - Senior Vice President and Boston Regional Manager,
Boston Properties
Fran Boucher - Principle Engineer, National Grid

Please respond and RSVP to Marcus Springer.


The Boston Architectural College offers online
Sustainable Design Courses and a Certificate Program. Our comprehensive course offerings, offered completely online, are taught by practicing professionals and green building experts. Find more information here.

The Green Round Table   Urban Land Institute   USGBC
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Boston Architectural College | 320 Newbury St. | Boston | MA | 02115

Fwd: Sustainable Urbanism Summit - Join the Conversation!



Begin forwarded message:

From: "CNU New England" <newengland@cnu.org>
Date: March 26, 2009 8:20:46 AM EDT
To: "Cliff Dowd" <Eelaj@aol.com>
Subject: Sustainable Urbanism Summit - Join the Conversation!


Just one week left until the Sustainable Urbanism Summit on April 2 & 3.

Be a part of the conversation. 



Join Summit participants for a day of thought-provoking discussion and critical thinking about the state of the natural and built environment. Together we can move forward a more progressive planning agenda in New England!   
 
Check out our Blog for interviews with Summit speakers.  What inspires Juli Beth Hinds?  "The good that can happen in our communities and watersheds when creative people are willing, as Benjamin Franklin put it, to 'trust a bit more in their own fallibility' and forge new solutions."   What does Mike Lydon feel is most needed to help create more sustainable places?  "We have very low-tech technologies ready to go. Things like form-based codes and understanding how to build walkable communities are about as basic as it gets, yet there is little else harder to do in this country. We must use these technologies."  

Also view the Summit web site for additional speakers and sessions, including those highlighted below.  

Keynote: Self-Sufficient Urbanism
by: Jaime Correa, Jaime Correa and Associates

In response to the emerging economy, New England towns and cities will again need to achieve Self-Sufficient Urbanism, marked by the contraction of urban centers, the re-localization of resources, and the development of technologies that will reduce fossil fuel dependency and our current rate of carbon emissions. Self-Sufficient Urbanism will result in the return to sustainable urban villages and rural settlements where production districts function in closed economic loops and where almost everything needed for daily life is found, produced, created, used, re-used and recycled at walking distance from an identifiable center. Towns and cities now have the opportunity to actively embrace Self-Sufficient Urbanism, one of the most comprehensive mitigation and adaptation strategies in today's transitional market.

Coding For The Future
by: Robert J. Sitkowski, Robinson & Cole LLP & FBCI

Like New Urbanism itself, Form-Based Coding has had difficulty making the sort of progress in New England that it has made in other regions of the U.S. However, as the real estate industry undergoes rapid restructuring in all segments and markets to focus on smaller, centrally-located projects, the conditions appear increasingly ripe for both New Urbanism and Form-Based Coding to gain rapid acceptance among both private and public sector development participants here in New England. As states and municipalities reassess their tolerance for new, more compact, and efficient development in light of falling tax revenues and reduced public budgets, Form-Based Codes may finally become accepted as the regulatory device of choice for enabling traditional patterns of development across the entire region.

The "New Rural": Strategies for Small Town Sustainability 
by: Armando Carbonell, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

With particular reference to small New England towns in the path of exurban commuting and amenity migration, this talk will examine the difference between "faux rural" and "new rural." I will talk about ways to integrate food production, landscape protection, urban design, and appropriate infrastructure to create communities that are complete in themselves, yet connected to the world. Specific examples and illustrations will be drawn from Cape Cod, Southeastern Massachusetts, and recent work of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Strategies that would support these new rural communities include adjustments to zoning, conservation easements, ecosystem services pricing, rural transit, new information networks, decentralized energy systems and the smart grid, and community land trusts for affordable housing.



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Fwd: Moving Ahead When the Economy is Down: Non-profit Organizational Strategies



Begin forwarded message:

From: Union of Minority Neighborhoods <umnunity@gmail.com>
Date: March 26, 2009 12:27:04 PM EDT
Subject: Moving Ahead When the Economy is Down: Non-profit Organizational Strategies

Union of Minority Neighborhoods
Moving Ahead When the Economy is Down: Non-Profit Organizational Strategies
 
Should we get a 501(c)3?  Merge our programs?  Share back office expenses?  What is the best way to survive this recession and continue our good work? 
             

This workshop will give you the tools your organization needs to survive.

Tuesday,  April  7,  2009
6 pm- 8 pm
891 Centre St.  Jamaica Plain


Sponsored by the Union of Minority Neighborhoods' Institute for Neighborhood Leadership

Trainer: Jill Friedlander, fundraising consultant

How much?  Only a $5.00 donation to pay for materials.

Parking lot next to building on Centre St.                                                           

Public transportation:
Green St. T stop on Orange line (10 min. walk) or Bus #41 at Jackson Sq. T station to Centre & Elliot St. (2 min. walk) or Bus #38 at Forest Hills T stations stops in front of the building.                                                                    

For registration email umnunity@gmail.com or phone 617-522-3349
 
This discussion is designed for nonprofit staff and activists of color.
 
 

 
Horace Small
Union of Minority Neighborhoods
617-522-3349
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Union of Minority Neighborhoods | 891 Centre Street | Jamaica Plain | MA | 02130

Fwd: The deeply entrenched traditions of the Catholic church through the eyes of four Catholic women.



Begin forwarded message:

From: Jamaicaway Books <jamaicawaybooks@aol.com>
Date: March 27, 2009 7:45:52 AM EDT
Subject: The deeply entrenched traditions of the Catholic church through the eyes of four Catholic women.

Jamaicaway Books & Gifts
Celebrating Over a Decade of Service to Our Community 
"Multicultural Titles for a Diverse Community of Booklovers"  
676 Centre St. Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 (617) 983-3204 
   Celebrating the Creative Spirit of Jamaica Plain featuring  Kathleen M. Henry, author  
 
    "Critical Mass" 
  Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 3 p.m.
 
Through a series of short and interrelated stories, this fiction volume looks critically at the deeply entrenched tratitions of the Catholic church and its Mass. 
 
The Catholic faith is one steeped in tradition and ritual--from its cathedrals to its prayers, its hymns and its priests and nuns.  Through a series of short-interrelated stories, "Critical Mass" explores some of these traditions through the eyes of four Catholic women in different time periods.  There's Molly Donoghue in 1910, Anne O'Brien in 1955, Christine Roy in 1998, and Michelle Joanne O'Brien in 2000. 
 
Following a Mass from its beginning, "Critical Mass" narrates events in the lives of these four women and their family and friends.  From the processional to the sign of the cross, the homily, the creed, the offertory, and communion, author Kathleen M. Henry delves into the unyielding underbelly of the Catholic Church and also examines the role of of women within its ranks.  
March, 2009
Sunday, March 8 at 2 p.m.
Marion Kilson and Florence Ladd, authors
"It That Your Child: Mothers Talk About Rearing Biracial Children". 
Kilson and Ladd take us on a fascinating and informative journey into the social and psychological challenges of raising biracial children in a society still wrestling with demons left over from our racial past.
 
 
Saturday, March 21 at 3 p.m.
Amy Kwei, author
"Intrigue in the House of Wong"
Kwei's coming of age novel explores the cultural conflicts and adjustments of an Asian family whose entrepreneurial success allows them to move from Chinatown in New york to the Upper East Side. 
 
March 21 until April 12, 2009 
"Build Your Own Easter Basket"
Lots of toys, crafts, stuffed animals, and of course, books and tasty goodies to create the basket of your dreams.
 
Saturday, March 28 at 3 p.m.
Celebrating the Creative Spirit of Jamaica Plain featuring Kathleen Henry and Others
Henry's short stories, "Critical Mass", highlights the tradition and ritual of the Catholic faith through the eyes of four Cathloc women during different time periods.  Henry will be joined by other Jamaica Plain artists.
 
  
April, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 3:30 p.m.
A Celebration of Local Poets
Lisa Beatman, author,
        "Manufacturing America"
Mel King, author,
        "Streets"
Elizabeth Quinlan, author,
        "Promise Supermarket"
 
 
Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 3 p.m.
David Huerta, Poet
"Before Saying Any of the Great Words" 
Huerta, one of Mexico's major living poets will read from his newest anthology, "Before Saying any of the Great Words".  Huerta will be joined by his translator, Mark Schafer.
 
 
Sunday, April 12, 2009 at 2 p.m.
Annual Jamaicaway Easter Celebration
Join us for this day of celebration with exciting events for all ages: games, prizes, crafts, storytelling and refreshments.     
 
 
Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 2 p.m.
Sarah Benton, author
"Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic"
This book challenges the stereotype of the typical alcoholic by lifting the veil on alcoholicc who believe they can hide behind their external successes.  Being successful professionally or personally and being an alcoholic are not mutually exclusive.
 
 
May, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 2 p.m.
Panel Discussion on White Privilege with:
Clara Silverstein, Patricia Wild and Others
Silverstein's memoir, "White Girl: a Story of School Desegregation", details the upheavals of court ordered busing through the lens of a white student.
 
Wild's memoir, "Way Opens: A Spiritual Journey", is an unflinching exploration of her own white privilege set against the backdrop of the integration of the the public schools in Lynchburg, VA.
 
Other panelists will soon be announced. 
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This email was sent to eelaj@aol.com by jamaicawaybooks@aol.com.
Jamaicaway Books & Gifts | 676 Centre Street | Jamaica Plain | MA | 02130