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This week, President Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, and enshrined June 19 as a day to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. While the mammoth impact of slavery on our nation’s history cannot be fully measured in a day, nor the toll that it continues to take be remedied by the signing of one bill, the acknowledgment of this stain on our history by our federal government, and the extraordinary activism, sacrifice, and perseverance of advocates to make Juneteenth possible is a demonstration of our collective potential to become ‘a more perfect’ Union.

Juneteenth is the first new national holiday established since Martin Luther King Day in 1983. To King, “Slavery was perpetuated in America not merely by human badness but also by human blindness.” As we share our first national Juneteenth, it is essential that we reflect on how deeply racism is embedded in American policies and how it still affects education, health care, jobs, housing…

We must continually fight to dismantle these inequitable structures and to implement policies that serve us all. It is the effort we make to call out and confront what is unjust and inequitable that defines us, and it is the commitment we make to struggle and overcome that heals us and brings us hope.

Led by the Isaacs Center Junior Board and Out at Isaacs, we are honoring and celebrating diverse expressions of gender and sexuality, and the quest for equality and liberty of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex people in our community and everywhere.

Throughout the month of June:

Post your boldest, most fun Pride selfie, mini-video, or gif and tag #isaacspride.
Visit our Pride banner near the entrance to our Senior Center at 415 E 93rd St. It’s a great spot to take your selfie!
Make a donation in honor of someone who inspires you to be your authentic self.

On Tuesday, June 29th:

Join the Isaacs Center community on Zoom at 12pm for a virtual Pride Celebration hosted by the Isaacs Center Junior Board and Out at Isaacs. All are welcome!
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87119063430

Special guest Michael Cusumano will appear as Madame Olga to headline the event. Community members will share poems, stories, songs, and art, and we’ll enjoy a Virtual Pride Parade, highlighting selfies submitted throughout the month.

Help us reach our goal of $2,021 in honor of all things #isaacspride!

Facebook Fundraiser link: https://www.facebook.com/donate/1196015940848121/

Isaacs Pride Poster

 

The NYC vaccination data show lower rates in the communities that were hardest hit by COVID-19. While many eagerly await their opportunity to get the vaccine, many New Yorkers still face barriers to vaccination, fear, and distrust rooted in inequities in our healthcare system. Isaacs Center took active steps to mitigate the harm of this reality by fully vaccinating 468 community members, who would not otherwise receive access to the vaccine.

 

ISAACS CENTER INVITES YOU TO CELEBRATE
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021
FROM 1:00-3:00PM ON ZOOM

The event will feature:

Women panelists who “Choose to Challenge”
A reading by Soheir Khashoggi from her novel, “Mirage”
Singer Alicia Waller
Community member performances

Isaacs Center is proud to honor these women for their leadership in our community:

Lorean Valentin,
Manhattan Borough Outreach Director, Test & Trace

Gail O’Neill, Isaacs Center Board Member

Saundrea Coleman & La Keesha Taylor,
Holmes/Isaacs Coalition Co-founders

Join by
URL: https://zoom.us/j/96841208624
Meeting ID: 968 4120 8624
Phone: +1-929-205-6099

WHM Invitation

We are proud to share that more than 460 community members – public housing residents of Holmes Towers + Isaacs Houses and older adults – were vaccinated at the Isaacs Center during our temporary service as a City vaccination site last week.

This month, we commemorate and celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of women and honor the collective history that has been made by those who have sought relentlessly to bridge the chasm between the society we are and the one we aspire to be. As we reflect on the pervasive inequalities and inequities that continue to plague our society, we acknowledge the burdens of those who led the fight for women’s suffrage, education equality, economic and social justice, and the unrelenting quest to break the chains of patriarchy.  We stand proudly with those in our City and our sector who now continue on this same, complicated path to liberation.

This Women’s History Month – and every month – we seek to share stories too often untold about the extraordinary leadership, bravery, and sacrifice of women – especially women of color and LGBTQ women.  The following citywide events are free to the public (in order by date):

 

The Rewind: A Celebration of Women’s History Month with an Introduction by Vanessa Reed
Thursday, March 4, 2021 7:00pm-7:30pm EST – Virtual

Women’s History Month: Women in Conservation
Sunday, March 7, 2021 11:00am-12:00pm EST  – Brookfield Park, Staten Island

NWHM Presents: And She Could Be Next Film Screening, Episode 1
Monday, March 8, 2021 6:00pm-7:30pm EST – Virtual

In Dialogue: Smithsonian Objects and Social Justice
Thursday, March 11, 2021 5:00pm-6:00pm EST – Virtual

Women’s History Month: Honoring Women in Central Park
Saturday, March 13, 2021 11:00am-12:00pm EST – Central Park

Women’s History Month: Gravesend Cemetery Tour
Sunday, March 14, 2021 11:00am-12:00pm EST – Gravesend Cemetery, Brooklyn

NWHM Presents: And She Could Be Next Film Screening, Episode 2
Monday, March 15, 2021 6:00pm-7:30pm EST – Virtual

VP Records Founder, Ms. Pat in Conversation with Catalina Maria Johnson and 40th Anniversary Show Reel
Thursday, March 18, 2021 7:00pm-7:45pm EST – Virtual

Brave Girls Virtual Story Time: Ambitious Girl
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 12:00pm-1:00pm EST – Virtual

 

Celebrate Black History month with us! We’re hosting a virtual celebration for our community members on February 19.

In addition, the following citywide events are free to the public and online for your safety (in order by date):

Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, February 3, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual

Lift Every Voice: Celebrating 150 Years of James Weldon Johnson’s Legacy
Thursday February 4, 2021  7:00am-7:15am EST – Virtual

Doc Chat Episode 14: Exploring the Black Alternative Press of the 1960s and 1970s
Thursday, February 4, 2021 3:30pm EST – Virtual

Civil Rights Legacies: Martin, Malcom, Gwen, and Julian
Thursday, February 4, 2021, 6:30pm-8:00pm EST – Virtual

Black History Month: Black History in Queens
Saturday, February 6, 2021 12:00pm-1:00pm EST – Virtual

Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
Tuesday February 9, 2021 7:00pm-8:30pm EST – Virtual

Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, February 10, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual

“Rodney King” Screening & Conversation with Roger Guenveur Smith and Dr. Stephanie Leigh Batiste
Thursday, February 11, 2021 7:00pm-7:45pm EST – Virtual

Black History Month: Seneca Village
Saturday, February 13, 2021 1:00pm-2:00pm EST

Black History Month Celebration: Songs, Dance, & Stories
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 3:30pm-4:30pm EST – Virtual

LAUNCH: Unsung: Unheralded Narratives of American Slavery & Abolition
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 7:00pm-8:30pm EST – Virtual

Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual

The Rewind: A Celebration of Black Culture with an Introduction by Greg Tate
Thursday, February 18, 2021 7:00pm-7:45pm EST – Virtual

Racism’s Hidden Costs: Heather McGhee
Thursday, February 18, 2021 8:00pm-9:00pm EST – Virtual

Black History Month: Brooklyn and the Underground Railroad
Saturday, February 20, 2021 11:00am-12:00pm EST

Mother Tongue: The Philosophy of Malcom X
Monday, February 22, 2021 6:30pm-8:00pm EST – Virtual

The Harry Belafonte Black Liberation Speaker Series: Charles Blow with Hilton All
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 8:00pm-9:00pm EST – Virtual

Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual

Black Entrepreneurs Who Are Making History
Thursday, February 25, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual

30 Years of Easy Rawlins with Walter Mosley
Thursday, February 25, 2021 6:30pm-8:00pm EST – Virtual

Michael Mwenso: Hope, Resist, & Heal, Performance and Conversation with Shannon Effinger
Thursday, February 25, 2021 7:00pm-7:45pm EST – Virtual

Black History Month: The Birthplace of Hip-Hop
Saturday, February 27, 2021 1:00pm-2:00pm EST 

Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual

Talking About Race Matters – Lecture Series
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm EST – Virtual

Ongoing Black History Month 2021 Exhibitions:

• NYPL: Subversion & The Art of Slavery Abolition – Virtual
• NYPL: Traveling While Black: A Century of Pleasure & Pain & Pilgrimages – Virtual
• NYPL: Femmetography: The Gaze Shifted – Virtual
• Alvin Ailey: Black History Month 2021
  

 

Other websites and resources:

• https://www.nycgovparks.org/events/black_history_month
• https://www.nypl.org/press/press-release/february-1-2021/new-york-public-library-celebrates-black-history-month-over-100
• https://www.nypl.org/events/blackhistorymonth
• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/30/at-home/honor-black-history-month.html
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHLO-YM9JYw

As we approach year-end, and face both a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and another rise in food insecurity, we’re doing all that we can to protect the safety of the communities we serve and meet their growing needs. More than ever, we’re grateful for the donors and volunteers who are stepping up to ensure that our food and nutrition services are running fully, particularly during times when our team members – our always essential workforce – is challenged to manage their health and wellness. Thanks to you, seniors continue to receive daily Meals on Wheels and, with the support of a few exceptionally generous funders, we’re re-opening our Community Kitchen for neighbors in need.

Your generosity reminds us all that we, as a community, take care of each other.

– President and Executive Director, Gregory J. Morris

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Give now and double your impact!
With our $25,000 Holiday Match, your gift by December 31st will go twice as far.

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Thank you for being a friend to the Isaacs Center.
Your contribution makes a real difference to our community.

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