WBCA Podcasts

Boston Neighborhood Network News

Report from Boston Harborfest, with attendees commenting on what the Fourth of July means to them; Rogerson Communities brings together seniors from across Boston to celebrates LGBTQ Pride; the Local Bands Festival celebrates Black Music Month and the cultural and musical diversity of the African diaspora; lifeguards from different branches of the YMCA of Greater Boston gather for the annual Golden Guard Training Event in Waltham; the first Annual Witherspoon Gala is held at the Roxbury Branch Library and celebrates the community and the National GET-LIT Book BAN-D Literacy Program, also featuring a ribbon cutting for Roxbury Branch Portrait of Purpose Gallery; an interview with Karen Howard, CEO and Executive Director of Organic and Natural Health Association and author of Upset Is Optional: Say Goodbye To Unnecessary Suffering on maintaining a positive mindset in the midst of Election Season.

Duration:: 26m
Broadcast on:: 15 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

(upbeat music) - Good evening, Boston. It's wonderful to see you. Welcome back to BNN News. It's Friday, July 12th, 2024. I'm Faitha Maffodon. Thanks for tuning in. We have quite a selection of stories from the break, so let's jump right in. In celebration of Independence Day, BNN hit the streets to ask residents and visitors why they honor July 4th and how they plan to celebrate. (upbeat music) Patriotic drumming filled the streets of downtown crossing to celebrate Harborfest, a series of activities during the week of Independence Day, and the country's largest Fourth of July festival. (people cheering) - God save the king, perhaps. - The seven days of festivities honored colonial America by providing like music, interactions with historical reenactors, and even a childerfest that exuded Boston Pride to ringing America's birthday. - The Fourth of July is such a momentous occasion. It is the birth of a nation that stands for liberty and justice for all, and it is such a beautiful moment. And I loved being here in every single minute of it, and being able to perform my music just helps me think that I'm giving a little bit back to the founding fathers who started our country. - People of all ages got in on the fun, including nine-year-old Janae Daniels, who was inspired to be a colonial reenactor after watching her father perform as one, combined with her deep appreciation for American history. - I like how you dress in the colonial style of old America or colonial America, and you get to relive history, basically, and you get to interact with tourists, speak to new people, and just have fun. Basically, we see a lot of tourists here, like from Poland, from Spain, yeah, Austria, a lot of people from different countries and states and all that stuff, and it's just really fun to meet new people and tell them about our country and the experiences. - While the celebrations were joyous and upbeat, attendees reflected on the bigger picture, and the privileges that day in 1776 has given them today. - It's all about freedom, and I love that our country, we have so many immigrants that come here, and that we welcome everyone. And I hope that even our own people who have been born here, I hope that they appreciate it, realize the freedoms that we have, and how many people have fought and died for that freedom. - As American, the Fourth of July means everything, it means celebration, family time, just overall, I'm proud of my country and what we have became over time, and really just a celebration, really. - Harborfest also coincides with Boston's Navy Week, and member of the United States Navy, Kayla Rowe, says that while we should honor the founding fathers' contributions to our country, it's important to acknowledge the people who fight for our country in the present. - I've always celebrated Fourth of July, really heavily growing up. Military has always been a really heavy thing since I've been a kid. So Fourth of July has always been really important, not for just the fireworks and all the events that go behind it, but the deeper meaning behind it all for the armed forces that have died and that are alive today and that are still fighting today. - To conclude Pride Month, Rogerson Communities brought its residents together to embrace their LGBTQ members and enjoy a very special performance. - On Tuesday, residents of the Rogerson Communities gathered in Rossendale to celebrate LGBTQ Pride with music, dancing, and a very special performance. ♪ Baby how come I say ♪ ♪ Baby how come I say ♪ ♪ Baby how come I say ♪ ♪ Baby how come I say ♪ - Rogerson Communities provide housing and healthcare for elders and low-income individuals since it was founded in 1860, and their unwavering support of LGBTQIA people aligns with their mission of uplifting underserved groups. - That also means that the LGBT community must have places to live that are accepting, that are loving, that are compassionate, and understand that we all come from different places and are in different places, but we are accepted where we live. And so whether it is your sexual orientation, the color of your skin, your gender, your religion, makes no difference to us here at Rogerson Communities. You are part of our community. We are all part of a larger community, and everyone has to be accepted. - And for the first time in 12 years, allies and LGBT residents of the 10 Rogerson Houses came together to honor Pride Month and find community with a diverse crowd of seniors from all over Boston. - It's bringing all of the different residents together because there was one point where I was going from different building around to different buildings, whereas working as a resident service coordinator, so to be able to actually bring all of the residents together and have them celebrate with each other and have a good time with each other, it's just been awesome, and it's really been teamwork from Rogerson and for the residents that have volunteered for the program. - You know, frankly, I like the diversity. We've got all kinds of people living there, and it's sort of, it's like a rainbow. It's, you know, I feel modern, I feel up to date. We're celebrating LGBTQ today, and I'm here to celebrate. - To let people know that they are part of all of us, part of the community, the people, white, black, green, whatever color they, you know, they will all one day come to our community. - In collaboration with Rogerson, the Boston Foundation Equality Fund feels that it's necessary to promote not just the acceptance of LGBT people, but to share multi-generational queer stories. - It's really important for us that we think about the varied and distinct lived experiences of those who are of the Stonewall generation, who may be in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, and what it meant for them to come out. And then we think of the no less important, but really distinct experiences of a 20-something, where they may be non-binary or much more gender, fluid, and thinking about we are as a community, we have different needs to support, but aging adults remain a consistent priority for the Equality Fund. - Sometimes when you're young, it's like everything feels so big and so important, and like you're never gonna get over something, but seniors, they kind of have more life experience, and so they can see that, you know, even things when things are hard, those times will pass and better times will come. - Just be true to yourself and help others be kind, be happy. - Fenway Health says that about 65,000 people that are 65 and up, identify as LGBT+ in Massachusetts, watch the communities paint to hold more events like this one in the future. For BNN News, I'm Makua Devau. June was also Black Music Month, and the local BAMS Festival shined a light on the cultural and musical diversity of the African diaspora. BNNs Zakua Devau spoke with the woman behind it all. (upbeat music) R&B, hip-hop, and reggae were just some of the many genres performed at the sixth annual Boston Art and Music Soul Festival at Franklin Park on June 29th. - It all eliminated people of the diaspora, 'cause this is the Boston Black Art and Music Soul Festival. So y'all give it up for yourselves to be that size. Man Black. - Known to locals as BAMS Fest, the two-day-long event showcased a diverse range of Black artists to amplify the voices of local and national Black and Brown performers, empower Black creativity, and serve as a summer treat to Bostonians. Founder and Executive Director of BAMS Fest, Katherine Morris, says that since she founded the festival in 2015, the event has grown from four artists to now over 800 performers across Massachusetts. - Black music is American history, it's global history, and it's important that we celebrate that constantly and remind people that even though the world is hard and difficult, when you turn to the arts, when you turn to Black arts, Black music, you can be transformed. - Black joy was on full display, as attendees weren't just fed with music, but also food, services, and art from local vendors in order to elevate Black entrepreneurship, along with entertainment. - It's for us, by us, right? And it's just affirming to keep these dollars within the Black community, and for us to support Black culture in this way. You know, I'm an Afro-Latina, I understand my roots, you know? I understand that when they abducted our ancestors, the only difference was the port. They dropped us off at, so I very much claim my Black roots, right? And so being here is about celebrating that. - In a lot of spaces, especially for me, like in the creative space, you don't necessarily see the follow through. You don't know where your creativity can lead, and it's nice to be able to see diversity within that, that we can be, we're not a monolith, we can be many, many things that we can do, and create differently in so many ways. So I think it's important to be able to know that you can be more than you can imagine, and you have spaces like this where you can dream, and actually see manifestations of someone else's dream. - Attendees say events like this one represent a bigger picture of breaking down racial and economic barriers in Greater Boston. - I love venues like this. It's because we get to see that we exist, and we're gonna continue to exist if we support each other financially, economically, and culturally. - I feel like it's important because it all, it like brings everything together, kind of like a family reunion, but just like new people. So you get to meet new people, get to see new people, experience new things. - Here behind me, about 10,000 people, and more than 30 musical artists came out to celebrate the weekend long event altogether. For BNN News, I'm Akua Duval. - Suited up in red, a lifeguard from across Greater Boston, a met up to hone their life-saving skills, preparing for the summer. - The sound of this whistle is the signal for lifeguards on duty that someone is in trouble, and it's time to act quickly. Lifeguards from different branches of the Greater Boston YMCA joined together on Saturday to be part of the annual Golden Guard training event in Waltham. - When I'm in the guard stand, we do what's called effectively scanning, so that means we have to look slowly left and right, look at the different depths of the water, just to ensure that we haven't missed anything, that we can always see who's at the surface of the water, who's at the bottom of the water, hopefully nobody. And if we do see an emergency, we have to be ready to jump in at any minute, which is why we hold those guard tubes, 'cause they help us float in the water. I've had about 30 or so saves in my career as a lifeguard, and every single time it's that natural instinct to just get in and go, which is why these trainings are so important, so that we continue to reiterate those skills in our head, so that when the emergency happens, we can just jump right in. - Lifeguards were locked in and taking part in the hours long multi-course evaluation, with the goal to strengthen their life-saving techniques and rescuing skills. - In knowing that there are obviously moments where you might need to jump in, help someone out, and you never know when it's going to happen, that's why trainings such as the ones that we're performing today are super essential and helpful, 'cause they help us practice in our response time, and obviously when someone needs help in the pool, it's super shocking, and it's like the flip switches in your brain, and you have this almost innate sense inside of you by doing these trainings to sort of immediately respond and know exactly what to do in these circumstances. - Honestly, it's a scary situation that we're putting ourselves through, where we have to trust somebody in any certain way, and to put somebody's life in our hands. It's definitely a very scary situation, but it's definitely how we react, and how we keep a level ahead, that makes us a good lifeguard definitely. - The skills that they sharpen while in the water range from rescuing swimmers, performing CPR, and applying first aid, as well as strengthening their mental preparation for a high pressure environment, where life is falling in mind. - Being a lifeguard honestly is great because you can interact really with families, you get to interact with yourself, you get a deeper understanding of what it means to be safe around bodies of water, and it's also just great to be able to prevent casualties or anything really bad to happen to people in the water, and lifeguards are responsible for most of the building safety as well, so it's great to know that if anybody really needs help, I am one of those people they can rely on to help. - I think being a lifeguard is a truly special job, and we're very lucky to have these young folks working for us, there's a lot of salary compression that's happened out there with minimum wage increases, things of that nature, these young folks could be choosing to work at McDonald's, at Dunkin' Donuts for the same amount of money that they're making here, but instead, they choose to come to work, serve the mission, and save lives every day. To me, they're real life superheroes. - Continue CPR, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, realize 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14. - It's been a busy year for when, as the Witherspoon Institute launched its National Bookband Literacy Program. Recently, when lit up Roxbury with arts, culture, and achievement for the inaugural gala and awards ceremony. - The light of learning and accomplishment cast its glow on the first annual Witherspoon gala held at Roxbury Branch Library. The gala guests were there to celebrate the important contributions made by people of color to the city of Boston. - The importance of today is that the fact that they're gonna have young people gonna have an opportunity to see persons who have made significant contributions in the community. And what we want to be able to impart to them that there's an opportunity for these young people to replace us in the work that we're doing, to build up our community, to strengthen our community, and provides positive underpinnings for our community. That's what today is about, and we're celebrating folks, and we want to make sure that the celebration continues on into the future. - Kids, what they need, they need representation, and that's something that I think is undeniable. When we're looking into our books, and we're looking, and we're reading, and we're seeing people on the screens, it's unfortunate when we don't see people who look like us, because even though we might be able to relate to them and internally, there is that level that we need to see, in terms of seeing people who look like us. - Highlighting the evening was Get Lit Literacy Program. It started in 2023 at Boston Public Libraries. The program emphasizes advancing literacy, and fosters the love of reading, writing, and critical thinking through community awareness and engagement. - Literacy is so important, it's foundational to being able to be not only just survive, but really thrive in this world, whether it comes to becoming the next biologist, becoming the next inventor, becoming the next teacher, the next artist or actor. Literacy is so fundamental and crucial for all of that. So it's so important that we support the work of the Witherspoon Institute and in Boston Public Schools that we continue to underline and underscore the importance of literacy for all of our kids and for our adults. We know that literacy matters at every level. - Acquiring these essential skills at an early age helps our youth learn and grow with the prospect of a brighter future. - Literacy is one of the most important issues of the day. One third of the population is illiterate or functionally illiterate. And we know since COVID, our children have fallen behind. And so one of the reasons why the Witherspoon Institute has taken this on as a mantle, is that we feel we can, as a community, wrap around these children and help them get back on the learning track. (upbeat music) - People enjoyed singing, dancing, and an award ceremony which recognized achievements in the arts, literature, and culture. Included in the festivities was a ribbon cutting for the Roxbury Branch Portrait of Purpose Gallery. This new gallery is a treasure of leading Boston-based African American figures of our time, immortalized in portraits by noted photojournalist Adon West. - What I find the most inspirational about being a photographer and capturing a lot of these images is that the community, how we come together over and over again and celebrate our small accomplishments, because it's many small accomplishments over time that lead to big change. - West strives to build a connection between a viewer and the essence of the individuals in his portraits. - So a young person comes and they see a picture of someone, they can say, "Well, could I meet that person?" "Well, yes, you can." And for me, as a photographer who took the photograph, it just makes me feel good that I connected something. This young boy to another older person who has greater experience and can share that. And someone made the metaphor tonight. When you ride up in the elevator, don't forget to send it back down. As positivity radiated throughout the gala, participants honored the commitment to advancing literacy and applauded the ongoing contributions of Boston's black community. - As the 2024 election approaches, many Americans are finding themselves between a rock and a hard place, with anxieties about the future of our country steadily increasing as we draw closer to November 5th. - Karen Howard is the CEO and executive director of Organic and Natural Health Association, an author of Upset is optional. Say goodbye to unnecessary suffering. The self-help book offers advice on how to deal with the stresses of life through strategies that decrease anxiety and calm the nerves. Howard joined us through Zoom to discuss her new book and share tips on dealing with the mental challenges of an election year. Enjoy the interview. - You recently wrote a book in March of this year, Upset is optional. Say goodbye to unnecessary suffering. I'd love to get the conversation started, talking a little bit about the concept of Upset is optional. - You know, there's a lot of suffering in the world and there will always be suffering, unfortunately. But the difference between Upset and suffering is pretty profound. So you actually can control your emotions as we all know. And there are tips and tools that I have been taught by my mentor to help us get through times when we do find ourselves legitimately Upset and want to step away from it. You can actually stop that and reframe and come down and be your normal self. - Excellent. And can you talk a little bit about how that concept applies to our current political stress right now? - You know, all I think election seasons are complicated and we've been at this for probably now more than eight years. I can remember during a particular presidential election when no one was able to actually sit at a Thanksgiving table. So we're all kind of built shields and trying to figure out how to get through this next one because it's equally volatile. And I do believe that, you know, there are ways that we can like communicate with one another so that you're not taking this stress in and it goes into your body and it literally can make you physically ill. Think about an ulcer, think about asthma attacks that our language has that much impact on how our body responds physically and with each other. - And can you talk about some of the strategies that you've outlined in your book and how our audience can practically use these tips? - So the first thing I recommend is create a word wall. We're all using probably similar language when it comes to the candidates. I could suggest that somebody might say stupid a lot if they're watching the news. Not a great word. So pick those words and create them in your head and you know that using them. Don't even have friends. I have friends who use the word sugar instead of anything else. So my recommendation is you find the words that you are triggered to moron, idiot. You know, just painful words and swap those out. And they can be nonsensical words. They can be sugar. They can be, that's interesting. And there's a lot of in my home. There's a lot of, that's interesting. That's interesting. And you'll find that you'll feel better as you learn to adapt and not use the language that you just go to so easily. - Excellent. So I'm hearing to substitute using some negative words for more positive ones to help reframe a negative emotions that you might feel like frustration and fear. How does setting daily intentions help to set our mood and help to alleviate some of this anxiety during this election season? - A great practice for everyday living. So every day before I put my feet on the ground and everyone has their morning routines, could be while you were brushing your teeth, I designed my mood. I choose a way that I wanna be when I'm walking out in the world. And for me, most of the time it's peaceful. And then, so then when you like put that intention in your body and you get up and you start your day and you turn the news on and you start to, you know, go with that lead story. You go, I'm going to be peaceful today. Step back, take a breath, recenter. And it's something that you have to do throughout the day. And it's something that you need to practice all the time. These are not things that just work once and you are readily have access to them at the drop of the hat. So sometimes I just wear a scrunchy and flip myself during the day and say, people. - Some very, very good advice. And can you talk about some of the other ways that you've been able to put this in practice for yourself? - Yeah, so reframing is a really good way of living your life. And I'll give you the perfect example. I was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Sunday, headed to the Willie Nelson concert. And I went across a motor, every traffic was stopped on all the highways. It was the motorcade for the president. And I went, huh, reframing. It's not a problem, it's a temporary delay. - And one phrase that you talk about in the book is serving the seven generations. Can you explain the idea behind that and its relevance to managing stress? - It really is rooted in Native American culture. And it means that I live in one generation. I have three generations that came before me. And that served me and I'm gonna honor them. And I have three generations that I may never know that are coming after me. So when you choose your work and you move through your day, recognize that everything you do impacts all of that that makes you in those seven generations. - And it's hard right now, it's hard to get away from any type of talk in terms of the presidential candidates and what's going on and debates and whatnot. So for people who are feeling a little overwhelmed by the current political climate, how can they feel reassured that their vote matters right now? - I know there's a lot of fear and anxiety. And I think everybody needs to remember that the action of voting is a gift and a privilege. And it's really important. And it's really important for our children's future, but it's also up and down the ballot. Don't let one candidate race take away your right to vote when so many people fought for us to have it. And that is power and that do not ever seek your power with that vote, even if it's for the local PTA or the city council. - And earlier you talked a little bit about some of the discomfort that we might be feeling with family or friends, especially when it comes to Thanksgiving dinners or just social interactions. So how can we get along with our family and our friends and our colleagues who might not agree with our political views during this time? - And I know that a lot of people have just quit mentioning the candidates' names. I know that I see this in interviews all the time. It's just an avoidance theory and it really has impacted the polls, I think, which is very interesting. So I've renamed the candidates and I call them Martha Washington and Mary Todd. And when you start having a conversation about an election and there's no one to tie that to, you can actually talk about some issues. It's just something that I have started recently. So it goes back to that reframing and also just deeply listening and not necessarily engaging. Don't let your body react. Just sit there and be the best self that you can be without sacrificing your health. - Thanks for tuning in, Boston. As a reminder, you can stream or watch the news on demand@bnnmedia.org. Each episode will be re-broadcast at 9.30 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Xfinity channel nine, a Stone channel 15 and Fios channel 2161. And make sure to check out our BNN HD Xfinity channel 1072. You can also hear us on the radio, Fridays at 7.30 and a 9 p.m. and Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m. And now you can watch BNN news on the go with the cable cast app. For BNN news, I'm Faitha Maffodon. I'll see you next week. (upbeat music)