i am

My photo
harlem, usa
same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

2018 WNBA Year End Awards

listed below are the recipients of the 2018 wnba season awards:

most valuable player - breanna stewart, seattle storm
defensive player of the year - sylvia fowles, minnesota lynx
rookie of the year - a'ja wilson, las vegas aces
sixth woman of the year - jonquel jones, connecticut sun
most improved player - natasha howard, seattle storm
coach of the year - nicki collen, atlanta dream
kim perrot sportswoman of the year - sue bird, seattle storm

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Gentrification increases Quality of Life complaints in NYC

gentrification has increased the quality of life complaints made in two predominantly latino new york city areas, west 136th street in harlem and the bushwick neighborhood of brooklyn. 

buzzfeed news analyzed over 17 million calls made to 311 - a hotline for city residents to report non-emergency matters - and compared this with historical demographic and economic data from the census. 

research shows black and brown people are less likely to use 311 to file complaints. as the white population grew on west 136th street and housing values increased, 311 complaints increased from 130 between 2012 and 2014 to nearly 3,000 between 2015 and 2017: mostly about noise.

newcomers explained they relied on 311 to avoid conflicts with neighbors. reporter lam thuy vo said, "while not every 311 call results in a visit from the cops, officers from the local precinct do respond when they're not handling emergencies."

anthony posada of the legal aid society's community justice unit said these 311 complaints eventually led to an increase in policing within black and brown communities.   


Tuesday, August 07, 2018

International Overdose Awareness Day is August 31

international overdose awareness day takes place august 31. this global event is dedicated to raising awareness of the overdose crisis and the solutions we need to save lives.

drug overdose remains the leading cause of preventable death in the u.s. international overdose awareness day provides an opportunity to affirm the lives of those we have lost while remembering we all have a role to play in helping people live healthier lives.

for almost two decades, the drug policy alliance has been one of the leading advocates for harm reduction policies to significantly decrease preventable overdose deaths caused by drugs in the u.s. 

as a result, the vast majority of states now have "911 good samaritan" laws and some form of access to naloxone - which includes effective policies and meaningful solutions to save countless lives of diverse people across the country.