Courtney Vance brings Black men’s mental health issues to light in book ‘The Invisible Ache’
A May 8 webinar, hosted by the Give Black Alliance — formerly New England Blacks in Philanthropy — featured the award-winning stage and screen performer along with psychologist Robin L. Smith as they discussed their book “The Invisible Ache,” which was published in November.

Cass Recreational Complex to reopen in June
After closing in January for use as a shelter, the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury is set to reopen this summer with significant upgrades on the horizon.

Boston-based nonprofit provides ‘Bridge’ over youth homelessness
In 2022, the number of unsheltered youth in the state increased by 38% from 2019, while less than a quarter of those who sought assistance received all the help they needed, according to the Massachusetts Youth Count, a report by the state’s Commission on Unaccompanied Homeless Youth.

Evandro Carvalho named new police oversight chief
Speaking to a reporter after he assumed leadership of the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency last week, Carvalho said he is excited to begin his new role in the beefed-up agency.

Communities of color, low-income residents face high electricity prices from third-party suppliers
Salespeople might stop people outside of grocery stores or call on the phone or knock on a front door. They’ll say they’re working with the utility company and want to make sure a customer is paying the right rate.

Concord Town Meeting pressures school committee to rename school
The school naming has driven a deep wedge in this affluent suburb of Boston. Proponents of the change have put up “Why Not Ellen?” signs all across Concord, and said that the vote – even if only symbolic – would be a referendum on the community’s values.

Ayanna Pressley’s Mother’s Day speech
Mr. Speaker, the mothers of this country are deserving of policies. Policies that see them, center them and serve them, and they would prefer that over bouquets, verbal or otherwise. We tell mothers that caregiving is their greatest contribution, and then undermine them at every turn.

The gift mothers truly deserve
Our nation sets aside the second Sunday in May to honor the mothers of America. Like so many others, I spent this past Sunday reflecting on the love and sacrifices of the women who do so much to hold our families together, to care for and nurture us.

“Thank you, Mom!”
“Thank you, Mom!”.

Your right to peacefully protest is under attack across America
It began on a quiet Sunday in August 2020, just months after the murder of George Floyd. A few dozen activists in Gainesville, a small town about 70 miles north of Dallas, held an approved, peaceful march calling for the removal of two Confederate statues, one of which is outside the Cooke County courthouse.

IN THE NEWS
“One of the great challenges of today’s humanities,” writes HAA Chair Joseph Leo Koerner, “is to forge a new conception of the global.

Defending reproductive rights: A call to action
By the time the formal ruling was handed down in June, states across the country were already responding to the seismic legal shift.

Chaz Ebert on why we need to ‘give a FECK’
As a young girl growing up in the west side of Chicago, Chaz Ebert was most notably two things: a voracious reader and a precocious entrepreneur.

Communities of color host greater share of damaging energy infrastructure
A new database aims to shine more light on how energy infrastructure impacts public health, including the disproportionate impact on communities of color.

Air pollution and the future of Chinatown
With a population of approximately 150,000, Chinatown is vital to the broader Boston community. It’s a hub of cultural continuity and preservation, social activism, tourism and culinary delights.

Ousmane Diop’s American dream, from Senegal to Roxbury Latin School coach and teacher
“My family really believed in education,” he says. “The school situation in Senegal was poor. Students were constantly striking for better conditions. Some student strikes went on for months at a time, close to a year. My parents had to get us out of Senegal.

NBA roundup
The Boston Celtics, the number-one overall seed, gave their fans a slight case of angina when they dropped the second game of their best-of-seven series to the eighth-seeded and undermanned Miami Heat — thus losing their home court advantage — before winning the next three contests to wrap up that series four-games-to-one.

After 2020, Nubian Square’s Frugal Bookstore reminds customers, ‘We’re here’
Leonard Egerton was managing a group of Concord-Carlisle High School students visiting Frugal Bookstore recently while on the phone for an interview.

Daren Bascome’s Proverb Agency tells Boston’s uplifting stories
The lasting impact of work done by the team at Proverb, led by Bascome and managing partner Chris Needham, on powerful brands such as Lexus, The North Face and Citizens Bank has cemented Proverb as a “bastion, not only for smart marketing, but also for diversity,” said Bascome.

LUCILDA DASSARDO-COOPER IN CONVERSATION WITH ARTIST Reginald L. Jackson
This is the 21st interview in a weekly series presenting highlights of conversations between leading Black visual artists in New England. In this week’s installment, artist Lucilda Dassardo-Cooper talks to artist Reginald L. Jackson. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

'TONI STONE' AT THE HUNTINGTON HITS IT OUT OF THE PARK!
Toni Stone was the first woman to play regularly in a major-level professional baseball league. Turned away from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League because of her race, she played on men’s teams in the Negro Leagues in the 1940s and 50s.

Attention bookworms and bibliophiles: the Greater Roxbury Book Fair is back
Second annual event promises special guests and a celebration of the neighborhood’s literary history

It’s festival season!
Spring and summer in Boston are short and precious seasons, those few moments in between snowstorms and salty boots. To take full advantage of the blossoms and warm temps, consider attending one of the diverse festivals taking place across Boston over the next few months.