Get Lit Thanksgiving Cook-off
(from left) Alda Witherspoon, Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia, Shirley Shillingford, City Councilor Frank Baker, Fritz Jacquet, Boston firefighter from the Vulcans Society and City Councilor Brian Worrell. Story page 6..

Hyde Park residents seek solutions to traffic safety issues
“When I started talking to people in the neighborhood, people were feeling so helpless,” said Marilynne Smith Quarcoo, a Hyde Park resident.

NAACP campaign targets Medicaid disenrollment
Those decreases, the focus of a new campaign by the NAACP, come as states reinstitute the annual process of redetermination, which verifies if a recipient is qualified to receive Medicaid, based on factors such as income.

Commitment to DEI initiatives under question
Local leaders appeared disappointed that major businesses in Massachusetts blocked the release of their data on racial diversity for use in a recent report that appeared in the Banner last week, saying the lack of transparency hurts equity and inclusion efforts.

A walk down the block: Nubian Square’s assets
“This has always just sort of captured what my neighborhood has meant,” said Rufus J. Faulk, who’s lived in Roxbury most of his 41 years. “We got a picture of Brother Malcolm.

Science Club for Girls unlocks STEM possibilities for young students
That is what Science Club for Girls is attempting to change. The Cambridge nonprofit offers after-school, hands-on science courses for girls and gender-expansive youth, especially from communities of color and low-income communities — groups that are often underrepresented in STEM fields.

“How soon they forget the commitments they made.”
“How soon they forget the commitments they made.”.

Large Massachusetts companies need to do better
After the murder of George Floyd and the unprecedented protests against police brutality and systemic racism, many corporations recognized that they could no longer stand silent and would take an active role in confronting the overarching problem through diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives.

A Black Wall Street: beyond a shopping district
According to a presentation by Katz Multicultural, Black American buying power has increased 48% from 2010 to 2019, with an estimated growth to $1.

IN THE NEWS
Chief Justice Jeffrey A. Locke, of the Massachusetts Trial Court, and Trial Court Administrator Thomas A. Ambrosino made the announcement last week.

Black gay couple to receive AARP award
On Nov. 12, Paul Glass and Charles D. Evans of Falmouth were honored with this year’s AARP Andrus Award for Community Service. It’s AARP’s most prestigious and visible state volunteer award for community service.

Boston firefighters, police officers test skills in cook-off to benefit Get Lit program
That issue was highlighted by researchers from Harvard and Stanford who uncovered steep learning losses, particularly in communities of color, stemming from remote learning during the pandemic.

Black quarterbacks in the running for Heisman Trophy
If members of the New England Football Writers Association were to nominate only local athletes for the national Heisman Trophy in early November, their likely candidates would have been Black quarterbacks Jaden Craig of Harvard University and Thomas Castellanos of Boston College.

Leaders honored at RFK Community Alliance celebration
On Thursday, Nov. 9, former Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III and Matt Kennedy, grandsons of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, celebrated their grandfather’s legacy and the lasting contributions he made toward protecting society’s most vulnerable during the Embracing the Legacy celebration, the 17th annual event of RFK Community Alliance.

Sign-stealing scandal steals Michigan’s thunder
Volumes can be found in a library on the subject, enough to make one think that the world, or at least the cities of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Columbus, Ohio, revolve around “The Game” played each year on the third weekend of November.

Brookline renames Heath School after Roland Hayes
Earlier this month, the town of Brookline approved renaming Heath Elementary School the Roland Hayes School.

Alumni push to rename Burke High School
During Holland’s tenure, the Burke was transformed from a school entangled with gang activities to one with a higher graduation rate and a decreasing dropout rate.

Holiday pop-ups for festive food and drink
It’s the most festive time of the year, and food and drink are essential parts of celebrating the holidays.

LARRY PIERCE IN CONVERSATION WITH ARTIST Susie Smith
This is the eighth in a weekly series presenting highlights of conversations between leading Black visual artists in New England. In this week’s podcast, Larry Pierce interviews sculptor Susie Smith. The interview has been condensed and slightly edited.

‘Black Nativity’ marks the start of Boston’s holiday season
Langston Hughes’ “Black Nativity” has been a Boston tradition for more than 53 years. Produced by the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA) in Roxbury, the production tells the nativity story with joyful gospel music, a cast of community performers and original choreography.

‘Urban Nutcracker’ shakes up the Tchaikovsky classic
It’s the time of year when twinkle lights go up in the Boston Common and holiday music rings from speakers in every shop. ’Tis the season for merriment, and for holiday performances.

Drama therapy group helps Black women heal, connect and evolve
A group of 17 women gathers every Tuesday evening in Cambridge. For six weeks, the group is led by two facilitators, Jamila Batts Capitman and Paige Brooks-Cook, who invite them to play and process their feelings in nontraditional ways.

RCC holds 50th Anniversary Academic Symposium
Roxbury Community College (RCC) continued celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a two-day Academic Symposium in early November called “Learning, Innovating, Responding: The Power of Education in Building Thriving Communities.