Local leaders share thoughts on upcoming midterm election, ballot questions
Pressley, Hayden, Holmes encourage informed voting during forum series

From a bouquet to a school bus: How Black women remade Boston education
The Black abolitionist had helped secure a Massachusetts law prohibiting segregated public schools, and the city’s Black families were celebrating. Elizabeth and other children presented a bouquet; her mother, Georgiana Smith, gave Nell a gold watch on behalf of parents who had worked for the victory.

Remembering legendary R&B singer Freddie Jackson
There are some artists whose voices become part of the soundtrack of our lives. Freddie Jackson was one such artist.

MIT grad students picket for living wage, affordable health care
While MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Gov. Maura Healey kicked off the MIT Future Fest — a five-day festival purporting to herald the future of technology — MIT graduate students, and maintenance workers picketed outside the university’s Kresge Auditorium, protesting what they say has been months of fruitless negotiations over new contracts.

Dorchester’s John P. Holland Elementary School exits 12-year state receivership
Formerly operated as UP Academy Holland during a 12-year state receivership, the K-6 school has officially cleared its chronically underperforming status, shedding its Level 5 identity and returning to district oversight. This is the first successful exit of a school from receivership in the state.

Three criminal cases involving ICE hit the Supreme Judicial Court
Lawyers for three men detained by ICE during their Massachusetts criminal prosecutions argue that judges and prosecutors can do more to prevent immigration proceedings from derailing the normal course of justice.

“Listen, Bro. Your vote is your voice.
And if you are are not speaking they are not listening. Vote and support your local voter drive.”.

Donate to boost Black voter turnout
With a couple weeks left before the midterm election, now is the time to assure the massive Black voter turnout that multiple organizations have been working toward and commentators, including the Banner, have been calling for.

IN THE NEWS
Yale University has selected two distinguished Black scholars, Marlene Daut and Vincent Brown, for endowed faculty positions in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Dear brothers
On our podcast “Freedom Friday,” Chris Stewart, Ismael Jimenez and I spoke with Dr. Jamaal Bowman, a former New York congressman and educator. Inevitably, Black men educators came up. That conversation inspired this letter, a decade after our opinion piece was published inviting Black men to become teachers.

While Black families pay more for power, some attorneys general fight to save high-cost coal
Residential electricity prices are expected to average more than 18 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2026, about 5% higher than last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. At the same time, demand for power is climbing fast as the nation adds data centers, factories and other large energy users.

Franklin Cummings Tech begins a new chapter in Roxbury
Thomas previously worked selling life insurance and working in sales. When he realized he was having another child, he decided it was time to go back to school.

New fed school voucher rules leave states powerless
Under regulations the U.S. Treasury Department released Thursday for the Trump administration’s new federal voucher program, states would have no power over how money is spent and for what purpose.

I wanted to save Black students. Then I became a teacher
Reading Nikole Hannah-Jones’s reflection on her daughter’s education, in the New York Times Magazine, I kept thinking about Emily Paige, the New York City schools administrator she references throughout the article.

Enroll at Roxbury Community College – Fall II and Spring Classes Start Soon!
In addition to offering free community college, RCC takes pride in providing students with the non-academic support they need to succeed. The Office of Project Access helps students obtain SNAP benefits, reduced-fare MBTA passes, tax prep assistance, housing assistance, and more.

Worcester strikes back against racist bullying in school sports
Six months after a girls’ high school basketball team in Worcester faced a wave of online racist attacks, the city’s schools are pushing back vocally and vowing to protect their student-athletes from future incidents of bullying or harassment in sports.

Boston aims to close its life expectancy gap by 2035
Boston has set a goal to close the life expectancy gap citywide by 2035, according to the Boston Public Health Commission’s Live Long and Well campaign. The gap is much older than the goal. A 2012 analysis found a 33-year difference in life expectancy between a census tract in Back Bay and one in Roxbury.

Know your numbers
Essential health numbers, from blood pressure to sleep, and how to check yours

New Seaport cocktail bar is led by Michelin-awarded talent
The heart of the beverage program at Bloom, a new cocktail bar in the Seaport, is tea. Pulling tea out of its role as an afternoon ritual or a coffee alternative, Bloom explores the possibilities in flavor, texture and presentation of this historic beverage.

Caribbean Fashion and Culture Week walks the runway for its 13th year
If you have a passion for fashion and culture, attending this year’s Boston Caribbean Fashion Week (BCFW) is the place for you to be. Founded in 2013, BCFW has grown into a fourday experience of festive fashion events, centered around their four pillars of beauty, culture, fashion and style with this year’s theme of “Ignite.

Regattabar is (temporarily) closing; what’s next? Plenty!
The Regattabar, one of the Boston area’s top jazz venues and among the country’s most highly regarded by fans and musicians, is closing for renovations in mid-November. A spokesperson for the club told the Banner that reopening is planned for June 2027.

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ gets a modern update for the stage
Harper Lee’s classic tale “To Kill a Mockingbird” is refreshed for the stage in this new adaptation by Aaron Sorkin, known for his film and television writing in “A Few Good Men,” “The West Wing” and more. The adaptation maintains the heart of the story, while weaving in a contemporary consciousness.

Lawyer-turned-contractor hones focus on redeveloping properties for housing
But when his stepfather asked for help with contracting as an adult, Donnalson “caught the bug.” He launched Beantown Builders, Inc. in 2011, which now focuses on housing builds including multifamily conversions, redevelopment of underutilized properties, and accessory dwelling units throughout Greater Boston and eastern Massachusetts.

Merger of two major human services nonprofits falls through
“BAMSI remains a robust and thriving organization with solid funding and excellent partnerships whose focus is delivering high-quality services to individuals with developmental disabilities and behavioral health needs,” a spokesperson for BAMSI said.