New York Amsterdam News

01/11/2025

Today we honor singer, songwriter, actress and New York's own Mary J. Blige on her birthday!

01/11/2025

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame will induct its 2025 class in June in Knoxville, Tenn., and Sylvia Fowles is still processing her inclusion. Her selection makes perfect sense to those who watched her 15-year professional career, but she remains remarkably humble about her extensive accomplishments, which include two-time WNBA Champion with the Minnesota Lynx, eight-time WNBA All-Star, and four-time Olympic gold medalist.

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame will induct its 2025 class in June in Knoxville, Tenn., and Sylvia Fowles is still processing her inclusion.

01/11/2025

During the holiday season, self-care and baby-care gift bags were presented to new and expectant mothers by the Lambda Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA). This citywide undergraduate chapter assembled 200 gift bags with assistance from several partnering organizations.

This service event was the brainchild of Kynnedy Smith, the president of the Lambda Chapter of AKA, which proudly serves the Harlem community. Smith, an Oprah Winfrey Leadership Scholar (OWL) and senior at Columbia University in New York, has a double major in computer science and cognitive science with a specialization in artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction.

self-care and baby-care gift bags were presented to new and expectant mothers by the Lambda Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

01/10/2025

Brooklyn U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke was elected to chair the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) for the 119th Congress and was sworn in on Friday, Jan. 3.

The swearing-in ceremony kicked off early in the morning at the Anthem, a music venue and auditorium at the southwest waterfront of Washington, D.C. The event was attended by family, friends, racial justice advocates, and Black elected officials from all over the nation. Read more here: https://bit.ly/429eBzQ

01/10/2025

Figure skater Starr Andrews finished 2024 by earning the gold medal at the Santa Claus Cup in Budapest, Hungary. She greatly enjoyed the competition, noting that the rinks in the city were beautiful.

Adding to the good atmosphere, other U.S. skaters with whom she trains also competed. Other skaters included, including her rinkmates Goku Endo, Beck Strommer, and Lindsay Wang. “It was like a little vacation with my friends, except we competed.” Read more here: https://bit.ly/3DQfymJ

01/10/2025

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01/10/2025

Toward the end of 2024, a federal judge granted preliminary approval for settlement of a $29.9 million class action lawsuit brought against the city by New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire protection inspectors (FPIs).

The FPIs and their union, the Uniformed EMTs Paramedics & Fire Inspectors Local 2507, had alleged in a case first filed in 2020 that the city created different pay scales for its FPIs –– 70% of whom are people of color –– and its majority white NYC building inspectors (BIs). Read more here: https://bit.ly/3Cf4eQp

01/10/2025

This Saturday, January 11, from noon to 2:30 p.m. the Connecticut-based Palestine Museum US will sponsor a free virtual screening of the documentary film “The Palestine Exception.”

The film explores last year’s college protests against Israel’s war on Gaza, with academics asserting that political and major media attempts to label these protests as antisemitic reflect a modern form of McCarthyism. On its website, creators of “The Palestine Exception” argue that “As students across the country organize protests against Israel’s war on Gaza, decades-long taboos in academia around criticism of Israel –– the ‘Palestine exception’ –– are shattered.

The Connecticut-based Palestine Museum US will sponsor a free virtual screening of the documentary film “The Palestine Exception.”

01/10/2025

Today we honor former professional boxer (two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist), entrepreneur, minister and author George Foreman on his birthday!

01/10/2025

The Caribbean, a.k.a the Antilles, has been colonized for centuries by old European powers. Despite their anti-colonial struggles, most Caribbean nations have remained colonized since the arrival of the conquistador Christopher Columbus in 1492.

We spoke with Andrew Seraus, one of the leading anti-colonialist/Pan-Africanist active members of ARAAC (Articulacion Regional Afrodescendientes de America Latina y el Caribe/Regional Afrodescendant Coordination for Latin America and the Caribbean).

Most Caribbean nations have remained colonized since the arrival of the conquistador Christopher Columbus.

01/10/2025

BLACK NEW YORKER: Darnell “Mr. H” Hospedales, 44, is a media and community associate with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. He’s spent a lifetime working as a local rapper, hip -hop journalist, photographer, entrepreneur, and now mentor to students of all ages.

“A lot of people call me Mr. H,” said Hospedales, chuckling about his nickname. “It’s half Trinidadian, half Venezuelan. It’s cool and goes back to an ancient tribe. I love it — I do not have a slave name, but I am addressed here as Mr. H for the simple fact that I don’t like people chopping up my name.”

Darnell “Mr. H” Hospedales, 44, is a media and community associate with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

01/10/2025

OP-ED: "Theater has always been a mirror reflecting society’s triumphs and tribulations. Yet, for centuries, that mirror has often failed to capture the richness and diversity of all its audiences.

The Classical Theatre of Harlem stands as a beacon in the movement to change that narrative, drawing inspiration from Harlem’s cultural legacy and the enduring significance of the Harlem Renaissance." - Carl Cofield, Associate Artistic Director, Classical Theater of Harlem

Black characters and stories have long existed in the classical canon, but they are too often overlooked, obscured by a Western-centric lens.

01/10/2025

The deadly beating of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility is being seen as the “George Floyd” for incarcerated New Yorkers. Body-worn camera recordings showed corrections officers punching and kicking the handcuffed 42-year-old Black man in a prison medical examination room just hours before he was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead on Dec. 10.

Black people in New York state prisons were 38% more likely to receive a misbehavior report compared to white people.

01/09/2025

An atypically easygoing Apollo Theater crowd greeted Mayor Eric Adams and company for his State of the City address on Thursday, Jan. 9.

“Don’t listen to the noise, don’t listen to the rhetoric,” said Adams in his address, “the state of our city is strong.”

Throughout his speech, he focused on his humble roots and reflected on the hardships his mother faced raising him and his siblings. Adams also reiterated how he was a “blue collar mayor,” with unions including 32BJ SEIU present.

An atypically easygoing Apollo Theater crowd greeted Mayor Eric Adams and company for his State of the City address on Thursday, Jan. 9.

01/09/2025

After another disastrous season for the New York Jets ended on Sunday with a 5–-12 record after a 32–20 win at home over the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium, what seems like an endless number of questions are left unanswered.

Four-time NFL MVP and future Football Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, who started all 17 games this season, predictably did not break any news after the game.

After another disastrous season for the New York Jets ended on Sunday with a 5–-12 record after a 32–20 win at home over the Miami Dolphins.

01/09/2025

PARTNERED CONTENT: Union carpenters and contractors are making a significant impact across New York City, going beyond constructing skylines to build stronger communities. Over the past few months, they've been actively engaged in community service. To learn more about these impactful initiatives and how they're building a better New York for all, read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3MUoIQp

01/09/2025

The planned closure of a predominantly Black and Brown middle school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was postponed last month by the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) due to an outcry from parents at a public hearing.

Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School (MS K394) is a small, non-zoned district school serving students in grades K–8, and offering 3K and preK in School District 17. The building also houses the Explore Empower Charter School, which serves grades K– 8 and a total of 515 students.

The planned closure of a middle school in Crown Heights was postponed by the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) due to an outcry from parents.

01/09/2025

Protesters braved subfreezing temperatures to protest Mayor Eric Adams as he came to the famed Apollo Theater to deliver his 2025 State of the City address. Dozens of protestors from different groups including Make the Road NY chanted and waved signs advocating for the closure of Rikers Island as well as asking the mayor to reverse proposed cuts to city agencies and services and to increase access to affordable housing. See more here: https://bit.ly/425W6wc