How Gregory Sheppard challenges norms and diversifies the genre If you ask most people what a bass is, they might tell you that it’s a stringed instrument that holds down the low end in popular music. Of course, if the question was written on paper some might say it’s a fish. But since this is a music column, we won’t …

‘Figure 8’ by Brooklyn-based artist explores the possibilities of freedom By Kamal Morgan In Steffani Jemison’s new project “Figure 8” she explores the ideas of movement, form and who moves whom.  In collaboration with Light Work’s Urban Video Project, Jemison and athlete Alexis Page held a Zoom workshop April 15 to explain the newest exhibition.  The project consists of a 20-minute video …

By Violet Lazarus “This trial was about the right to breathe,” said Bishop Colette Matthews-Carter, president of the Syracuse Onondaga NAACP, of the verdict taking national attention. On the evening of April 20, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on all three charges against him: murder in the second degree while committing a felony, murder in the third-degree …

New grocery store set to open offers more than food By Kambui Bomani Brady Faith Center Director Kevin Frank always viewed Brady Market as a place that could serve as “much more than a market.” In his vision, the space included a health component for workers and residents. “Placing choices of supports and health services together, side by side under …

“Even in the hallway, we must stay a few feet apart,” Russo said. “Our custodians work hard to keep railings and other surfaces clean and sanitized.” Thirty-two Syracuse Latin School students in Ms. Kristina Russo’s fifth-grade class spent four weeks as part of an enrichment project on photojournalism. Their goal: to capture what school life is like now.Paired with each …

Inequity. Racism. Sexism. They rear their ugly heads in the strangest of places, like the paint on your windowsill. | Cover photography, from left to right, by Emily Kenny, Bond Demetri Photos and Jessica Ruiz As Syracuse residents like Darlene Medley know all too well, that paint is more likely to contain lead in homes located in diverse, city neighborhoods …

By Katherine J. Scoville  As the Policed Bodies conversation came to a close, more important and essential points of view were brought to the table. The final session was led by Yusuf S. Abdul-Qadir, a member of the Syracuse Police Accountability and Reform Coalition, who was accompanied by other panelists.  The conversation first centered on what it meant to be …

Syracuse webinar provides a dark reality of American policing By Kambui Bomani The Lender Center for Social Justice launched a two-day conversation on issues of race, disability and justice centering around the issues of policing. During one session titled “Policed Bodies: A Community Conversation on Race, Disability and Justice” local advocates discussed the current relationship between Blacks and police in …

By Sydney GoldDarlene Medley talks about her kids the way mothers do. She has nine children, the youngest two a set of twins named Rashad and Devon. She calls her oldest twin “huggy bear” and remarks upon his unparalleled sharing skills. Sometimes she gets overwhelmed thinking about how sweetly he offers a chicken nugget to her or his siblings, when …

By Reggie Seigler This downtown effort is being led by Jazzfest director to imprint Syracuse basketball icons Frank Malfitano is seeing things. He sees the south east wall of a six-story building at 333 E. Onondaga St. in Syracuse as a huge mural, and he wants us to see it, too.  The mural, he says, will pay homage to four …