On Monday, August 23rd from 6 pm to 9 pm, there will be Candidates Forum and Debate moderated by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Les Payne at Convent Avenue Baptist Church (420 West 145th Street) in Harlem.

Rep. Charles Rangel, State Senator Bill Perkins, State Assembly Member Keith L.T. Wright will debate their challengers (candidates running for the offices of  U.S. House of Representatives 15th Congressional District, NYS Senate 30th District and NYS Assembly 15th District) and defend their records before the Harlem and Upper Manhattan residents vote for their candidate in the Democratic Party primary on September 14, 2010.

This event is sponsored by the Gang of Six (G6), a group of concerned citizens from three of the largest private apartment complexes in Harlem, Lenox Terrace, Riverton and Savoy Park, who came together two years ago with the goal of providing information of concern to Harlem residents in the areas of housing, education, health and overall quality of life.

To contact the sponsors, email NYGangofSix@yahoo.com.

To find out more info about voting in New York City, click here.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14th, 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM

“Summer in the City”

Part I • 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

NY City “Children’s Festival” On W.135th St. btwn. Malcolm X & A.C. Powell Jr. Blvds. Featuring Excerpts from Disney musicals, games, arts & crafts, live music and dance, healthy eating and living exhibits, open houses by the Harlem YMCA, “Back to School” exhibits, sports and recreation clinics.

Part II • 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Youth/Seniors Swimming Demonstrations by the Harlem Honeys and Bears for the whole family. Hansborough Recreation Center, 35 West 135th Street (between Malcolm X Blvd. and Fifth Avenue)

Part III • 12 Noon-7 PM

National Historic Black College Fair & Expo. Over 50 Historical Black Colleges and Universities, City and State Colleges and Universities. Distributing information on admissions, scholarships and test requirements. W.135th St. (btwn. Malcolm X & A.C. Powell Jr. Blvds.)

Part IV • 12 Noon – 7 PM

International Exhibitors & Vendors Village. On W.135th St. btwn. A.C. Powell Jr. & F. Douglass Blvds. Major Arts & Crafts, Music, Clothing, Jewelry, Hats, Sculptures, Foods, Beverages, General Exhibits, Job Recruitment, Product Sampling, Corporate Exhibits, Vending Sales & Exhibits.

To learn about other events on this day, click here.

*****

SUNDAY, AUGUST 15th, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM

HARLEM DAY — “A Salute to the Children of Haiti”

Site I •10:00 AM to 7:00 PM

On W.135th St. (Btwn. 5th Ave & Malcolm X Blvds.) The Upper Manhattan Auto Show, Health Village “Our Village within the Village, Upper Manhattan Small Business Expo & Fair, a salute to Rhythm & Blues musical tributes Rock, Gospel, Blues, Dance, Calypso

Site II • 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM:

On W.135th St. (Btwn. Malcolm X & A.C. Powell Jr. Blvds.) NY City “Children’s Festival” (Part II) (P.S. 175 School yard), YMCA Stage “Open Line” Radio Broadcast, Children’s Fashion Show, Vending & Exhibits with Foods, Arts & Crafts, Clothing, Books, much more

To learn about other events on this day, click here.

Award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s latest documentary FREEDOM RIDERS, is the powerful, harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives — and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment — for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders’ belief in non-violent activism was sorely tested as mob violence and bitter racism greeted them along the way.

FREEDOM RIDERS features testimony from a fascinating cast of central characters: the Riders themselves, state and federal government officials, and journalists who witnessed the rides firsthand.

“I got up one morning in May and I said to my folks at home, I won’t be back today because I’m a Freedom Rider. It was like a wave or a wind that you didn’t know where it was coming from or where it was going, but you knew you were supposed to be there.” — Pauline Knight-Ofuso, Freedom Rider

Despite two earlier Supreme Court decisions that mandated the desegregation of interstate travel facilities, black Americans in 1961 continued to endure hostility and racism while traveling through the South. The newly inaugurated Kennedy administration, embroiled in the Cold War and worried about the nuclear threat, did little to address domestic Civil Rights.

“It became clear that the Civil Rights leaders had to do something desperate, something dramatic to get Kennedy’s attention. That was the idea behind the Freedom Rides — to dare the federal government to do what it was supposed to do, and see if their constitutional rights would be protected by the Kennedy administration,” explains Raymond Arsenault, author of Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice, on which the film is partially based.

Organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the self-proclaimed “Freedom Riders” came from all strata of American society — black and white, young and old, male and female, Northern and Southern. They embarked on the Rides knowing the danger but firmly committed to the ideals of non-violent protest, aware that their actions could provoke a savage response but willing to put their lives on the line for the cause of justice.

Each time the Freedom Rides met violence and the campaign seemed doomed, new ways were found to sustain and even expand the movement. After Klansmen in Alabama set fire to the original Freedom Ride bus, student activists from Nashville organized a ride of their own. “We were past fear. If we were going to die, we were gonna die, but we can’t stop,” recalls Rider Joan Trumpauer-Mulholland. “If one person falls, others take their place.”

Later, Mississippi officials locked up more than 300 Riders in the notorious Parchman State Penitentiary. Rather than weaken the Riders’ resolve, the move only strengthened their determination. None of the obstacles placed in their path would weaken their commitment.

The Riders’ journey was front-page news and the world was watching. After nearly five months of fighting, the federal government capitulated. On September 22, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued its order to end the segregation in bus and rail stations that had been in place for generations. “This was the first unambiguous victory in the long history of the Civil Rights Movement. It finally said, ‘We can do this.’ And it raised expectations across the board for greater victories in the future,” says Arsenault.

“The people that took a seat on these buses, that went to jail in Jackson, that went to Parchman, they were never the same. We had moments there to learn, to teach each other the way of nonviolence, the way of love, the way of peace. The Freedom Ride created an unbelievable sense: Yes, we will make it. Yes, we will survive. And that nothing, but nothing, was going to stop this movement,” recalls Congressman John Lewis, one of the original Riders.

Says Stanley Nelson, “The lesson of the Freedom Rides is that great change can come from a few small steps taken by courageous people. And that sometimes to do any great thing, it’s important that we step out alone.”

=====

Limited engagement starting today at IFC Center. Click here for details.

It was June 1964, the beginning of the Freedom Summer — the height of the Civil Rights movement — when a mob of Klansmen in Neshoba County, Mississippi murdered three civil rights workers: two Jews from New York and an African-American from Mississippi. It took 41 years for the state to convict one man, Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old Baptist preacher and notorious racist, in the killings.

The disappearance and murder of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner quickly became an international story as the shocking crime woke up the consciousness of the nation and the world.

On August 4th, 1965 the Voting Rights Act was passed in part because of the revulsion over the “Mississippi Burning” murders.

The new documentary NESHOBA: THE PRICE OF FREEDOM tells the story of these three American heroes and the Mississippi County still divided over the meaning of justice 40 years after their murders. The film takes an unflinching look at ordinary citizens struggling to find peace with their town’s violent, racist past in today’s America.

Filmmakers Micki Dickoff and Tony Pagano gained unprecedented access to Killen, following him from shortly after his indictment through his trial. For the first time, the film captures the outspoken views of a Klan member charged with a civil rights murder and takes viewers on a journey into the mindset of a man who still feels the murders were justified as “self-defense” of a way of life.

Dickoff, an Emmy award-winning filmmaker and social activist, was haunted by the slayings of the three civil rights workers, kids only a few years older than she was at the time.

“I wanted to register voters too, but my father wouldn’t let me go. He grew up in Mississippi in the only Jewish family in his town,” she explains. “The unpunished murders helped shape my politics and my art. When Ben Chaney called me about making a film, I jumped at the chance.”

Teaming with Pagano, an award-winning director of photography, they began shooting on the 40th anniversary of the killings in Neshoba County, Mississippi where the three civil rights workers were slain. Pagano makes his feature directorial debut on NESHOBA.

“When Micki introduced me to Andrew Goodman’s mother Carolyn, I knew I needed to tell this story,” says Pagano. “Micki’s passion for the truth and Carolyn’s passion for justice were doubly inspiring.”

Through intimate and surprisingly candid interviews with Killen, the families of the victims, and black and white Neshoba County citizens with diverse points of view, the film explores whether the prosecution of one unrepentant Klansman constitutes justice and whether healing and reconciliation are possible without telling the unvarnished truth.

As Dickoff puts it, “James, Andy and Mickey, and hundreds of others in the civil rights struggle, died so Barack Obama could be elected President. Their legacy is our heritage. We must never forget them or the “price of freedom.” We hope our film reminds us how far we’ve come in race relations and how far we still need to go.”

=====

Limited engagement starting today at Cinema Village. Click here for details.

The mission of Harlem Pride is to promote Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Same Gender Loving pride in Harlem and to provide opportunities for networking and communication among its LGBT and SGL organizations and community members.

This weekend, they invite the Harlem community to join them at The Fire Island Black Out (FIBO) and is offering participants a chance to win a Beach Concierge Package: A Beach Bag that includes a bottle of Champagne, champagne flutes, beach towels, sun block, sun tan lotion and many other Goodies.

FIBO is a multi-cultural weekend event celebrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community of color and their families and friends. The FIBO weekend focuses on diversity, community, and friendship. EVERYONE regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation is invited to attend and enjoy FIBO!

FIBO’s mission is to bring a unique world-class experience to the LGBT community of color and their family and friends while raising funds for non-profit organizations that provide life sustaining resources to the LGBT community of color. In addition, FIBO provides funding to non-profit groups that support the communities hosting FIBO events.

Established in 2003, FIBO began when two friends decided to give their friends, and LGBT people of color in particular, a unique beach experience. After jokingly tossing around the idea of going to Fire Island, a predominantly white gay beach community, the two friends decided “why not?” and invited others out for a simple day at the beach. That simple “day at the beach,” has grown into one of the nation’s largest, most diverse, and friendliest three day beach events for the LGBT community. Since its beginnings, FIBO has been held in Cherry Grove, Fire Island during the second full weekend of August.

During the three day event, FIBO attendees enjoy dance parties, barbeques, live entertainment, volleyball tournaments, pool parties, and an unparalleled beach experience. While at FIBO, attendees enjoy generous discounts extended by partnering businesses and amenities offered exclusively to FIBO attendees.

Join Triumph and threeKINGS for “Next Chapter” as they celebrate new beginnings, career transitions and progression of life. Join them as they take over downtown at Element Night Club.

• 2 Floors of Partying
• 2 DJ’s
• Ladies Free w RSVP B4 11:30pm Guys Reduced
• Table Service Available (First Come First Serve Basis)
• Special Bday Celebration for Mike Beal of Triumph Group and a host of other Leo’s

For more info, and to RSVP, click here.

(click here to view details)

You’re invited to attend the launch of “On the sofa with Joseph Riley Land.” The event, co-sponsored by Billie’s Black (where it will take place) and Pollen Nation, will be an Oprah-style sit down interview with renowned entertainer Angela Johnson. This will be part listening party, part interview, so come prepared to hear some phenomenal music and get a little more personal with Ms. Johnson.

Lucy Walker’s Sundance award winning documentary Waste Land follows Brazilian artist Vik Muniz, who has pieces in museums worldwide (including El Museo del Barrio), on this daring project.

Arriving at a landfill, Muniz discovers that the workers are welcoming, engaging, bright people. One man has opened a library using the discarded books he’s found, while another has started a union for the pickers. They are also not just scavengers: they run a sophisticated recycling system, doing more for the environment than the mix of millionaires and paupers whose garbage they sift through. In a shining lesson, a wise old man imparts the necessity of recycling each and every possible item, valuing everything, “because 99 is not 100.” There is always more you can do; there is always a unique individual who can do something special in this world.

As the pickers help Muniz create portraits of themselves, they become invested in the project, their eyes opened to new ideas, new possibilities. It is then that Muniz and his artistic crew realize the fallacy of their initial assumptions, that though these people were living in squalor, they were somehow happy. In fact, they made do, but they would do anything to leave the landfill. And so as the project comes to a close, the question rises, how can Muniz bare to leave? What will he have done to them, by revealing options but not offering opportunities? It’s a meaningful question for many artists and filmmakers, and Muniz and Walker handle it deftly, creating a series of uplifting and genuinely helpful works of art. Muniz is based in Brooklyn and has work in the permanent collection at El Museo del Barrio, and we’re thrilled to be recreating a little bit of this wonderful project at Rooftop this summer.

Location: On the roof of the El Museo Del Barrio
8:00pm: Doors Open
8:30pm: Live music by
9:00pm: Film
10:30pm: After party with complimentary drinks courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: $10 online or at the door

For more info and to purchase tickets, click here.

A combative Rep. Charles Rangel told the House on Tuesday he’s not resigning despite 13 charges of wrongdoing and demanded the ethics committee not leave him “swinging in the wind.”

Rangel, who is 80, spoke without notes in an extraordinary, often emotional 37-minute speech that defied his lawyers’ advice to keep quiet about his case.

The Harlem Democrat and 40-year House veteran had a sharp message in dismissing fellow Democrats who, worried about election losses, want him to quit: “If I can’t get my dignity back here, then fire your best shot in getting rid of me through expulsion.”

Expulsion is the harshest penalty that can result from an ethics case. It would be highly unlikely in Rangel’s case because the former chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee is not accused of corruption.

Rangel, who said he has lost much sleep during the two-year investigation, was interrupted by applause twice — including when he said: “I am not going away. I am here.” A few Republicans clapped, but most support came from Democrats.

The Democrat from Harlem acknowledged that he made mistakes, especially in belatedly reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets and income, but he insisted he was not corrupt.

“I’m not asking for leniency. I’m asking for exposure of the facts,” he said in demanding that the ethics panel expedite the hearing of his case.

Rangel noted the committee is scheduled to convene Sept. 13, the day before his primary election, but that the main part of his ethics trial would not come until later in the fall.

“Don’t leave me swinging in the wind until November,” he demanded.

For full article, click here.

Earlier today, Harlem’s 19 term Congressman, Charles Rangel demanded the right to be heard on the floor of the House of Representatives. He is currently facing an Ethics Committee trial and has rejected the advice given by some to accept a plea agreement.

According to CSPAN, “the Congressman apologized for any embarrassment he has caused surrounding his current ethics investigation.”

Twitter was buzzing with opinions from people around the country but what’s your opinion. If you live in Harlem, let me know what you think in the comments section below after you watch the video.

(click image to view video)

Join the New York Urban League Young Professionals and Share and Share Alike in support of their 5th Annual Back to School supplies drive.

For more info and to RSVP, click here.

Can’t attend but still want to donate? Visit them at www.nyul.org/backpack

From Newsweek: The Fire This Time — Baldwin’s newly collected essays pack as much firepower as ever.

When I play reverse time travel and imagine historical figures turning up today (what would Ben Franklin say about the iPad? Or Jane Austen about Jersey Shore?, etc.), James Baldwin’s name comes to mind. The essayist and novelist spent four decades picking at the scab of American race relations. He could be incendiary, but at his best he was sly, writing with a sharply ironic sensibility that gave him one of the most distinctive voices of the early postwar years. In part because he warned that the country’s inability to solve its racial problems could bring about its downfall—“Carthage” was the specter he invoked—he was tagged, and seemed happy to be tagged, the American Jeremiah.

All of which makes you wonder: what would the preacher turned secular prophet, the implacable critic of America’s treatment of blacks, think of the fact that America has elected a black president? A timely answer can be found in The Cross of Redemption, a new anthology of his previously uncollected essays and public letters. In a 1961 speech, he told his audience that Bobby Kennedy had made him “the soul-stirring promise that one day—thirty years, if I’m lucky—I can be president too.” Baldwin seemed amused that RFK hadn’t considered that he might not want to be president. “And in any case, what really exercises my mind is not this hypothetical day on which some other Negro ‘first’ will become the first Negro President. What I am really curious about is just what kind of country he’ll be President of.”

Click here for complete article.

Brooklyn-based educator and filmmaker, Aiesha Turman, will screen her first feature, The Black Girl Project at the Spike Lee Screening Room on the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University.

“In a culture where Black women and girls are either praised for their saintly accomplishments, stripping them of any other character except that of a martyr or mammy, or demonized and used as the scapegoat when explaining all the wrongs with the Black community and society in general, it is important to hear and see Black girls speak their truths.”

Aiesha Turman

The event will begin with a cocktail reception to celebrate the completion of the documentary followed by the screening of the hour long film. A panel discussion and informal Q&A session focusing on the central themes of the film follows where the audience will get to speak with Aiesha Turman and featured participants from the film including Courtney James, currently a senior at The City College of New York, Paige Padgett, a Political Science major at Lehman College and Netchem Hairston who attends the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). The discussion will be moderated by Neycha Herford, a highly sought-after personality and lifestyle expert with a multidisciplinary background as a musician, transformational counselor, writer, speaker and new media journalist.

Produced by Turman’s Super Hussy Media, The Black Girl Project focuses on one core question: “who are you? “That one question spawned another, then another and yet another, but the one initial question is at the heart of the film.

This film, also the impetus for a non-profit of the same name, seeks to portray black girls as the complex beings they are. Not just the two sides of the coin we see perpetuated in the media: saint or sinner. It also seeks to spark inter and intra-generational dialogue between black girls and women. The film screening will also serve as a fundraiser for the Black Girl Project organization. For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, email Tamara Walker at nyprdiva@gmail.com or visit BlackGirlProject.com

The Museum of the City of New York presents The Speakeasy at 1220 Fifth Avenue on Wednesday nights, 6 – 9 p.m. until the end of August. Enjoy cocktails on the Fifth Avenue terrace and a special installation on the fictional 1920s character “Flapper Jane.” Visitors will be treated to tours of current exhibitions.  Admission includes one FREE drink and access to the Museum’s first- and second-floor galleries. Tickets sold online and at the door. Rain or shine!

Museum Members: $10 • Non-Members: $15

http://www.mcny.org/sidebars/1093.html

Last week H&M, Hennes & Mauritz, rolled out the red carpet to celebrate the grand re-opening of their flagship Harlem store. The store first opened in 2002 as a part of “Harlem Center”, a group of retail establishments that were first to open in the now “revitalized” Harlem.

Through out the evening the H&M staff welcomed guests, both Harlem residents and visitors, to the neighborhood that has had a long history of being fashionable and chic. They also gave the press and Harlem’s fashion elite a sneak peek into their new collections (delivered to the store daily) and innovative styles which give Harlem shoppers even more access to the latest trends for the whole family.

As the evening went on it was hard to determine who was a guest and who was a model because everyone looked like a walking mannequin for H&M. The VIP crowd, as well as the store layout, was bold, colorful, daring, trendy and fabulous.

Celebrity Stylist Misa Hylton-Brim

During the event I spoke with LT, a Harlem resident and H&M employee of almost ten years. He mentioned that the company takes care of its employees and he’s extremely proud to be part of the H&M family. I also had a few moments to speak to speak with Max Bonbrest of LaForce + Stevens (H&M’s PR firm) who worked with his team to make sure the event was run efficiently. Hors d’oeuvres from Sylvia’s included macaroni and cheese balls, catfish and shrimp battered in grits, and miniature red velvet cupcakes. Belvedere Vodka was a sponsor and they provided the evening’s libations.

Uptown Magazine Was Also a Sponsor

The last person I interviewed was Tony Everett, H&M’s Publicity Director. He said “he’s satisfied with Harlem as a premium location because it’s more than a typical shopping experience; it’s also a family experience“. We also discussed the appeal that H&M has had in the menswear industry over the past few years. Everett explained that H&M offers more than skinny jeans and tees for men. Their menswear selection is versatile and your typical male shopper can shop for both work attire and leisure wear at affordable prices.

In addition to H&M being the go to source for budget-savvy shoppers who don’t want to dismiss quality or style, they are also one of the major companies devoted to supporting members of Harlem community. As a part of their re-opening celebration, the next day they opened their stores an hour earlier to let the members of the local Boys & Girls Club shop at discounted prices before the store opened to the general public. They also donated gift cards and financial grants to support the Club and one lucky person won an Access to Fashion Pass, which granted the shopper a personal H&M stylist.

Top photo via Curbed. All other photos Courtesy of Taj Washington.

Originally on Broadway in 1998, Paul Simon’s musical THE CAPEMAN tells the true story of a Nuyorican street gang member, Salvador Agrón, whose story exploded on to the front pages of the tabloids in 1959, ultimately revealing the cultural and racial tensions beneath the surface of New York in that era. THE CAPEMAN’s score is a dazzling blend of Latin music, Doo Wop, gospel and artful ballads to tell a gripping and controversial New York story.

The original production was notable for its cast of mostly Latin-American actors and marked the Broadway debuts of Marc Anthony, Renoly Santiago, Ruben Blades, Ednita Nazario, and Sara Ramirez.

“I think the Delacorte is the ideal place to hear the music from The Capeman,” said Paul Simon. “It’s going to be a great musical night.” In this concert version, Sergio Trujillo will provide choreography and the Grammy-winning Oscar Hernandez and an extraordinary 12-piece orchestra will play Simon’s haunting score. Every night after the show, legendary Puerto Rican singer Danny Rivera will perform a special encore.

Free tickets will be distributed the day of the show in person at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at 1 p.m. or by registering for Virtual Ticketing online at ShakespeareInThePark.org the day of the performance you want to attend. Virtual Ticketing recipients are chosen at random to receive tickets, not in the order requests are received.

Reserved Concert Seats can now be reserved for a tax-deductible donation of $175 per seat. CLICK HERE to make your donation or call The Public Theater Box Office at 212-967-7555.

Priority Concert Seating, for a tax deductible donation of $250 or $500, is available through The Public Theater Development Office at partners@publictheater.org. The $500 Priority Seats for the final performance on Monday night, August 16 includes admission to a post-show cast party. Priority Concert Seating availability is limited to ensure that that highest number of free seats are available for the general public on the day of the show.

For more info, click here.

• [Aug 5] The1209affair.com Presents George C. Fraser

While the glory days of Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis, Jacob Lawrence and countless others have come and gone, Harlem is once again experiencing an arts renaissance. With a respectful nod to artists of the original Harlem Renaissance and “props” to contemporary Harlem artists, Jacqueline of Taste Harlem Food & Cultural Tours and Averlyn of Canvas Paper and Stone Gallery, present ArtCrawl Harlem.

ArtCrawl Harlem is a guided trolley tour of local galleries. Participants visit seven Harlem art galleries and receive a 20- 30 minute “tour within a tour” at each site. The participants receive a tote bag with a bottle of water and refreshments throughout the day.

Galleries will include: Casa Frela Gallery, Dwyer Culture Center, LeRoy Neiman Art Center, Renaissance Fine Art, Rio II Gallery and Studio Museum in Harlem.

Each ArtCrawl Harlem tour culminates in a reception with food, wine, and music.

Saturday, August 7
Trolley tour 12:00PM to 4PM; Reception following until 5:30PM

Sunday, August 8
Trolley tour 1:00PM to 5PM; Reception following until 6:30PM

For more info and to purchase tickets, click here.

• [Aug 5] Harlem Week Economic Development Day

• [Jul 31] Harlem Week — Relieve The Stress Morning Exercise

Hello Harlem! was the welcome message seen by thousands of shoppers at the grand opening of the Target East Harlem location. Early last Sunday morning Harlem community leaders and New York City notables, including Sharon Joseph and Gail Richards (Harlem Lanes), Thelma Golden (Studio Museum) in officially opening the new Target location in Harlem with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony.

After the ceremony I took a special tour around the store to see why the East Harlem Target is special and different. One special feature is the shuttle bus service. They pickup and drop off from Target to the public train stations at 116 street and 125 street. Inside, the store format is unique since its a single-level store layout. The store is connected to a pedestrian bridge that’s accessible by mass transit. A parking deck is also available.

Target has partnered with Harlem artist to offer an exclusive collection. Isabel and Ruben Toledo, renowned designer Stephen Burrows, as well as chef extraordinaire, Marcus Samuelsson have created limited-time only collections that reflect and honor the spirit of Harlem. Target will donate 5 percent of each product’s purchase price to a non-profit of the designer’s choice. The collections will be available in the East Harlem store from July 25, followed by select stores and on Target.com on August 1.

The store’s other main highlight is it’s commitment to the neighborhood to provide culturally relevant items. Also, section signs in the store are in English and Spanish. The posters and display show a multi racial community. There’s a large selection of multicultural items including Spanish language and Ebony greeting cards, Gospel and Latin music, Spanish language books and movies and a large assortment of multicultural dolls.

After my “official” tour I decided to tour “unofficially” to check out the things that make shopping as a parent more convenient. As with other Targets there’s a large food court that includes a Starbucks coffee section. The bathroom were clean and easy to find. There was a third bathroom the doubled as a handicap / “family” bathroom. Inside there was a changing station. Awesome!

For the residents and families in Harlem having Target open this store means so much. Over 400 local jobs have been created for Harlem residents. Yes this stores opening is a community convenience but more important the opening gives this community a future. Hello Harlem indeed!

• [Jul 29] The Metropolitan Opera: Summer Recital Series in Harlem

Transforming and changing the health of Harlem will require a community effort. The health care forum at Harlem Hospital Center will allow members of our community to discuss the future of health care nationally and locally, and the roles we each must play in preparing ourselves for success. Our panelists, representing the whole community, will answer and discuss questions from the audience on topics relevant to all of us.

Health Care Forum at Harlem Hospital Center

Saturday, July 24, 2010
9:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Herbert G. Cave Auditorium
MLK Pavilion, 2nd Floor
506 Lenox Avenue (135th Street)

****

Moderator
Mark Riley, WWRL Radio Personality

Guest Speaker

The Honorable Charles B. Rangel
Member, United States House of Representatives

Panelists

John M. Palmer, Ph.D., Executive Director
Harlem Hospital Center and Renaissance Health Care Network

Pat Wang, President and CEO
Healthfirst

LaRay Brown, Senior Vice President
Corporate Planning, Community Health and Intergovernmental Relations
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation

Judy Wessler
Director, Commission on the Public’s Health System

Patricia Ricketts, Vice President of Programs
The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce

Neil Calman, M.D., President and CEO
Family Health Center at North General

Help us make a Healthier Harlem by joining us at the Health Care Forum at Harlem Hospital Center. Come out to hear how the Health Care Reform Bill will affect you and your family, learn the results of the Community Survey that was given at the First Annual Outreach Center of Excellence Health Expo, and let your voice be heard. Breakfast will be served.

All Are Invited

Need More Information?

(212) 939-1372

harlemhospitaloutreachcenterofexcellence@nychhc.org

• [Jul 25] A Great Day In HARLEM A Salute to The Sounds of Philadelphia
• [Jul 27] Summerfest presented by Jazzmobile – Harlem Renaissance Orchestra
• [Jul 26] Summerfest presented by Jazzmobile – Ghanniyya Greene
• [Jul 23] Summerfest presented by Jazzmobile – Ray Mantilla

On July 24th, Young Professionals United for Change in conjunction with Triumph Group, as well as the Harvard Black Alumni Society, presents the 2nd Annual Young Professionals Rooftop Fundraiser for the Harlem Children’s Zone.

The intimate afternoon of cocktails in support of the Harlem Children’s Zone will have a keynote address from its founder and CEO, Geoffrey Canada.

The Harlem Children’s Zone is a pioneering community based organization that President Barack Obama heralds as the conceptual foundation of his anti-poverty program. Last the event raised over $17,000 in support of HCZ’s Harlem Gems, the organization’s Early Childhood Initiative.

This year the organizers hope to surpass the success of last year’s event by raising $25,000+ for the College Success Office (CSO), focusing their efforts on another critical component to the HCZ pipeline: its recent 250 high school graduates heading to college.

To attend the event they ask for a suggested donation of $125 (a minimum donation of $75) which can be made at www.hcz.org/event. Heavy appetizers and an open beer and wine bar will be provided

If you can’t make the event, but believe in the organization’s mission, the organizers hope you would still consider making a donation of any amount at www.hcz.org/event as your support is of the utmost importance.

=====

Date/Time: Saturday July 24th, 2010 3-5PM

Location: Rooftop of Harlem Children’s Zone, 35 East 125th Street

For more detailed information about the hosts of this event or the Harlem Children’s Zone, click here.

• [Jul 21] Nas & Damien Marley Concert
• [Jul 25] Addictive Reggae Sunday
• [Jul 23] Reggae Fridays at Madame X