Boston Center for Independent Living celebrates 50 years of serving the disability community. The Franklin Park Defenders protest the sale of Franklin Park's White Stadium to a private company and its potential demolition. The Boston Haitian community and their allies gather at Boston Common's "The Embrace" for the Stop Discrimination Rally following harmful, false claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Thirteen Bostonians are inducted into the Centenarian Society of Boston by Central Boston Elder Services. An interview with Steph Lewis, president and CEO of The BASE. Steph shares what's in store for their organization, which aims to educate and inspire youth in Boston through sports.
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(upbeat music) - Good evening Boston, welcome to B&N News. It's Friday, September 27th, 2024. I'm Natalie Kanler, thanks for tuning in. Since 1974, the Boston Center for Independent Living has uplifted disabled residents through resources and outreach. And this year, they celebrated 50 years of serving the community. (upbeat music) This year, Boston Center for Independent Living marks its 50th anniversary of serving the disability community in Boston. And the lively celebration of the organization brought together disabled individuals and able-bodied allies from all over Boston. - We're celebrating 50 years of fighting for independence, for integration, dignity for people with disabilities. That's our mantra. We're gonna keep it going for 50 more years. Disability impacts the whole country, the whole community. One in four people will have a disability. It's everywhere, and we don't want people to be isolated. We're about being part of the community. - BCIL offers services and advocacy in critical areas for people with disabilities, including housing, healthcare, employment, and civil rights, upholding the principle, nothing about us without us. 70% of its staff and board are individuals with disabilities. A pillar of the independent living movement, which Boston Center for Independent Living has led, is something called dignity of risk. Unfortunately, sometimes people don't even allow disabled people the dignity to fail or take a risk, get a job, be a parent. And because of Boston Center for Independent Living, there are almost, there are hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities living with independence across the country. But here in the city of Boston, there are about 78,000 people with disabilities. - The Boston Center for Independent Living means everything to me. Without the skills I learned through the help of BCIL, I wouldn't have been able to graduate from UMass Amherst. I wouldn't have been able to live there independently. I wouldn't have been able to then transition and gain valuable job skills that allowed me to become a tax paying citizen in Massachusetts. I wouldn't have been able to live independently, get my own apartment. - Featured at the event were the adaptive power soccer teams who shut off their impressive skills and prove that wheelchair users can excel at any sports they set their line to. - So the things that are more important for me is being able to be independent. That's such a key part of my life in particular. Being able to connect to people and do things on my own terms and my own decisions. It's so encouraging. It's very motivating. And I want people like me to be part of the community, but most importantly, that they are able to do it on their own. BCIL, Boston Center, many organizations. What they're doing is that they are adding, giving you resources for you to discover the best part of yourself. - BCIL knows that supporting disabled people isn't just about giving them resources, but about granting them the respect that you would to any other able-bodied person. - Every person deserves to live a life of dignity, a life of their choosing, regardless of our physical abilities, regardless of the situation that we're in, we deserve an independent life. And BCIL is right there in the community to help people with disabilities empower our ability to live in the community with a life of our choosing. - It's about dignity and it's about respecting themselves and having other people respecting them as well. And I think that when people see individuals with disabilities, they immediately decide something about them. They make a choice about their abilities. And all disabilities are different. And so many are hidden. And my children both have unique disabilities. Some are more obvious than others. And they have challenges and they have strengths that are hidden just as well. And knowing that the work of BCIL and all of the advocates here today and all the 50 years and how far we've all come is gonna help my girls and everyone else's as we all move forward together. These individuals move to the world with their heads held high. All they need is an extra tool to help them achieve their goals. Whether it be a chair, a service dog, or just a helping hand, Boston Center for Independent Living has uplifted the disabled community without judgment for 50 years. - Earlier this month, activists stood outside of the entrance to Franklin Park to let their voices be heard. - Franklin Park is the central gem of the Emerald Necklace with over 500 acres of green space and includes White Stadium, a sports complex that hosts various BPS teams and games. But now, this precious community space is being sold to a privatized company. And the Franklin Park defenders are not backing down. - They are gonna take down most of White Stadium, which is an iconic building. They are going to take down 70 to 140 old growth trees. They're gonna pave part of the park. We are in climate crisis, not climate change. We're in an urban setting, and every square inch of park land is important and precious. And they should not even consider something so insane. - For years, residents and lovers of the park have requested upgrades. But the city of Boston is focused on using the $50 million grant to transform the stadium into a state-of-the-art professional sports stadium, which will bring in thousands of tourists in a city where there already isn't enough parking and disturbing the daily lives of thousands of residents. - This park is not for sale. They should take the $50 million and modernize. They should bring things into Franklin Park. This is a jewel to this city. It's a treasure and we can't allow it to be stolen. If this ruthless plan goes through to sell off our children's future, there will be no more children going to White Stadium. And we have to make sure we defend this for this generation and the next generation. - Demolishing White Stadium was never a part of the proposed plans when the city announced the idea. And residents are devastated by the thought of their access to their community park being ripped away. And their neighborhood being gentrified. - There was no true transparency in this development, in this proposal. They are now bringing it to the community and they're basically telling the community, you do not have a choice what comes into your neighborhood. And we're gonna spend your money, the tax-paying money the way we want to. So we're out here trying to let everybody know we don't want this, we wanna go back to the drawing table and we want people to be able to sit down at the same table and make a decision together on what we want in our community. - We all want an investment in this park and in the football field. But we don't wanna see it privatized. This park is about the neighborhood. It's about city kids coming here, enjoying the park and families coming here and enjoying the park. And the neighbors around here have been supporting this park for a hundred years. And you've seen good times in the city and you've seen difficult times in the city. But one thing you always did was, kept this park going. Your love of this park has never stopped. - Leaders of the Franklin Park defenders say that the city still needs an environmental impact assessment. So the fight isn't over yet. (wind blowing) Amid false rhetoric directed at a small immigrant community in Ohio, dozens of Boston residents and city leaders came together in a powerful show of solidarity with those under attack. - Just a few weeks ago, during the 2024 presidential election debate, former President Donald Trump perpetuated violent and false claims against Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, causing an uproar of discrimination against Haitians all across the nation. On Tuesday, the Haitian community and their allies stood in solidarity and let their voices be heard during the stop discrimination rally at the Embrace statue in Boston Columbia. - In this moment, we've all have come together to stand up as Americans and say enough is enough. - Yeah. - And to stand up with the people of Ohio who are suffering right now. Sadly, today, the same forces that once sought to keep Haiti enslaved are now using the tool of othering, painting, Haitians, black people, immigrants, as somehow less as if we are not worthy of respect or deserving of humanity. And we know that's a lie. - Yeah. - Race was a construct that was created, my friends, and it was created to divide us. The fact of the matter is all of our hearts beat, all of our blood bleeds red. We all breathe in oxygen and we exhale it. These are nothing but lies from the enemy to try to keep us apart and to keep us not focused on the goal that is ahead of us. - The location was a perfect setting for the message they were proclaiming. Stop the lies, stop the hate, and treat our immigrants with respect. After all, their contributions to this nation are innumerable. - And I'm not just here to support the Haitian community. I'm here for all of us. - Yeah. - When you attack someone in Springfield, we feel it in Boston. (cheering) - When you injure our Haitian neighbors, the whole country bleeds. - Yeah. - As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, we all have inherent dignity. And nobody can take that away unless we relinquish it. And we are standing here to say that Haitians deserve respect and will not give up their dignity. - Yeah, yeah. - The Meric coalition stands firmly against any attacks on our immigrant communities here in Massachusetts. Racist, xenophobic language, and baseless snares have no place in our multicultural, (cheering) multiracial society. Rather, I want to stand with you all today and I want to celebrate the amazing contributions of Haitian Americans and Haitian immigrants to the United States and to Massachusetts. - The impact of spreading these hateful words and false narratives about Haitian immigrants doesn't just affect that community. It ripples throughout the country and causes more hateful rhetoric towards all of our immigrants. - Whenever you attack one group of people, one group of immigrants, you're attacking all immigrants. And we know words matter and we know the consequences of words against immigrants can have a deficit impact. So that's the reason why we are fighting. We don't want to hear those things. That must be a stop. - When you don't understand the culture, anything that makes you feel that it's a way for you to elevate yourself, you will use it. Besides any political affiliation that you might have, at the end of the day, you need to be human. And you need to understand that any statements that you made that affects people's culture in an everyday life is something that has an negative impact. - It's completely wrong to use Haitian people as a political chip in a game that we hope he is going to lose, that they are going to lose. We've seen it time and time again. We punch down on immigrants because they oftentimes don't speak the language or we feel like they aren't organized. But I think we heard it all today that our immigrant communities are organized and we stand together in unison. - Gathering at the Embrace statue and standing in unity sent a powerful message. Hate and discrimination have no place in this country. (people chattering) - Last week, Boston honored their centenarians at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center. Hosted by Central Boston Elder Services, the event highlighted the city's commitment to caring for its elders. - Last week at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Roxford, 13 Bostonians who are 100 years and older who are honored by the Central Boston Elder Services into the Centenarian Society of Boston. - Being able to care for older adults is paramount. It's extremely important. I'm so glad to work for a city and administration that prioritizes and is taking care of our older adults in the city of Boston. The programming, the services, the resources that we provide is an example of how much we prioritize what they mean in our lives. And so being here today to be able to celebrate folks who are having a milestone birthday is just a wonderful opportunity. It's a testament to having a city that allows you to age and grace and age strong. - At this year's Centenarian celebration, the focus was on caring for our elders and ensuring them the best possible quality of life. - We have a duty to take care of our elders. Our elders are the pillars of our community. They have given their lives to take care of us as children, as adolescents, as young adults, as older adults, as we've reached our middle years. And just always there to impart wisdom upon us and share their experiences, their life experiences to help shape our lives. So we really owe it to them to celebrate this is such a significant milestone. - When I look at the people that are here, the Centenarians that are turning 100 here, what I'm seeing is people that are surrounded by social connection. I see friends sitting at all of these tables. I see people that have been engaged in community. I see people that have been active their whole lives. And it really just warms my heart to see just the contributions over the years that these folks have made to Boston and to the community. - And honoring our elders, it folds back to how we alter each other, all and young. - We have to respect the old and the young. Because each person has a different life, their different way of living. - And so the serenading at the end of the day for these special individuals was sweet, appreciated, and certainly well deserved. - Since 2013, the base has been a transformative force for youth in Boston, especially for students in Roxbury and Dorchester. Through its sports programs, founder Robert Lewis Sr. and his protege, Steph Lewis, have paved a new path to success for Boston's young people. With the recent acquisition of their own facility in Roxbury, the base is set to expand its impact even further. President and CEO, Steph Lewis joined BNN in studio to share this exciting development and discuss what's next for the organization. Enjoy the interview. - The base just recently officially acquired the 150 Shirley Street location and new market. How will this official acquisition of the location enable you to serve the urban youth and what opportunities does it create for this area? - Yeah, so we did just acquire our building at 150 Shirley Street. And that's just something first and foremost, we're extremely excited about. It just says so much for the team, but so much of what we can do and where we'll be within the community. It's just a very important thing for us because we'll be able to realize a ton of savings that we can put directly back into our programming. So we already do a lot of great work with our sports. We're getting ready to launch off a major health and wellness initiative. We have careers, we also have our college access programming. And again, these are all programs within the organization that we do great, but now we'll be able to do it even better. And that's the thing that excites me the most. - Absolutely, and can you tell me a little bit more about the health and wellness programs that you guys are developing? - Yes, yes, yes. We actually just received a million dollar grant from Atre's Health Equity Foundation in which what we'll be doing is really taking a look at a lot of the health disparities that our community faces in creating youth led solutions for our young folks to be advocates out in the community within their circles and being able to really just discuss a lot of the things our community faces and being able to push the agenda forward. - What role do you envision the base playing in the revitalization of the new market neighborhood and other neighborhoods that you're invested in? And are you looking to engage with local leaders or businesses? - That's actually something that excites me the most as well is that, you know, if you think about 2019 when the pandemic hit, mass and cast the new market area was almost a no-walk zone, right? Everybody's talking about what was happening and the base was there and we wanted to discuss really the shining light and the great things that are happening in that neighborhood. But now when you look at us acquiring this building, there'll be a brand new field at Clifford Park, Roxbury Prep is building their school right across of Clifford Park. If you look at this area right here, that will be a premier destination for youth around the city to be able to get their education, to be able to go have access to sports and other different opportunities that are out there for them. - Can you share any specific examples of the base using sports as a vehicle for education and personal growth? - Totally. You know, when you look at Forbes magazine, they said it best out of Fortune 500 CEOs, 90% played sports. So the concept of sports and being able to have that transfer over into your work life, into your careers, it's very similar with that. So understanding how to work within a team, how to have leadership, how to make sure you're showing up on time, how to be vocal, how to be able to support those around you when sometimes they're not having their best day, right? But ultimately your goal is to win, right? And ultimately your goal is to go and push forward. And so that aspect in those lessons of sports, apply every single day into the careers of people across all industries. And so what we're doing is we're taking those tokens of sports and letting our young folks know that you can apply everything that you learn on the field, off the field as well. Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals and aspirations for the base? And how do you plan to fully extend your reach into the community? - Yeah, I mean, one of the big goals for the base is we really wanna be one of the best sports-based youth development nonprofits in the country, right? Utilizing all different sports, but knowing that, again, our young folks can take sports, but really gain so much more once they walk through our doors, right? We have over a million dollars of academic scholarship money for our young folks at partnering colleges. Again, we have access to careers and then the soft skills and career development right here in our space as well. Like I mentioned, we're getting ready to launch off our health and wellness initiative. Every single young person that walks through the doors of the base can have access towards their success and whatever it is that they desire. And we wanna make sure that we're always pushing that agenda for our young folks, but even more so because of our building, it's ours. And we actually purchase an adjacent plot of land that abuts our building. So that allows us to be able to build in the future even more so, so therefore more of our young folks can have access to play, whether it be in baseball, basketball, softball and other sports as well. And again, we just wanna make sure that we're part of the new narrative at Newmarket Square with Roxbury Prep, with the brand new fields, the base being right there and folks discussing about what's great in the community. And again, we will continue to showcase that. - Can you just tell me where the idea for the base came from? - The idea of the base, it goes back. So I'm actually a product of the program where the base was born out of. So starting in 1978, there was a baseball program called the Villa Victoria Astros. They eventually had this major growth and became the South End Astros, which again, it just turned into two blocks over. And then eventually the Boston Astros. And so again, I'm gonna learn with the Boston Astros program, along with many other folks in the city that are doing great things. And eventually what we decided is you know, the Boston Astros were serving just a small group of baseball players. But how do we serve other youth across other sports, whether they were quote unquote, some of the most talented, or they just wanted to have access to sports. And the conversation can't just stop at sports, is that again, we have to look at our young folks and they are the next future, the next generation of our economy right here in this city. And we have to prepare our young folks for that. And we can't do it just in the sport itself. We have to make sure we're doing the exposure. We have to make sure that we're putting them in places to be able to succeed. And therefore, that's where our scholarships come in. That's where again, our network and our alumni come in as well and continue to help out, along with other partners and other believers in the city. (upbeat music) - B&N wants to remind all of our viewers to register to vote for this year's elections. To register to vote or check of your registered, go to vote.gov. That's V-O-T-E dot G-O-V. Thank you for watching Boston, that's our broadcast for tonight. 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 sound channel 15 and Fios channel 2161. And make sure to check out our B&N HD Xfinity channel 1072. You can also hear us on the radio Fridays at 7.30 and 9 p.m. And Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m. And now you can watch B&N News on the go with the cablecast app. For B&N News, I'm Natalie Kimley. I'll see you next Friday. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)