Monthly Archives: June 2025
South to North, chasing artistic dreams
By Corey Leathers Jr. Eighteen months. That’s how long it took a transplant from South Carolina to go from being a broke college dropout to paying New York City rent with what he’s earned selling his rap records, designing clothes for his BoofNYC brand and walking the runway at New York Fashion Week. He couldn’t […]
Food banks helping more with less
By McGlauthon Fleming Amid federal funding cuts to food banks, Xavier Mission in Manhattan has asked its neighbors for support while East Flatbush Village in Brooklyn has been getting less and less food from umbrella organizations like City Harvest that serve food banks throughout the region. “In particular, we get food supplied by [Campaign Against […]
More Black swimmers, fewer drownings
By Jaden DeGruy When social media strategist Paulana Lamonier was trying to figure out a side hustle, a conversation helped settle the question. “There was this young lady,” Lamonier said, recalling that small talk from several years ago. “She was, like, ‘Oh I can’t swim because my bones are too dense.’” “I was, like, ‘Whoa! […]
A life-saving, donated kidney
By Izzy Sy Lying face up and side by side on separate operating room tables, Dr. Alex Hilario and his sister, Elizabeth Hilario, were nervous. They were anxious. A surgical team would extract a kidney from her body to place in his. Her brother’s kidney function had been diminishing for at least 20 years. Two […]
Creating community at a drugstore
By Maurice Brown As a stranger tore past the pharmacy’s shelves, she insisted that the staff behind the front counter answer one question: “Who here is Thomas?” “Oh, *^!$,” Thomas James thought as he braced for a scolding. But seconds later, he saw the woman’s eyes begin to pool with tears as she made her […]
Prison experience infuses artist’s work
By Danilo Wrightsell Art-enthusiast Nastasia James did a few double takes before she figured out just what kind of art she was looking at that evening in a Manhattan gallery. “When I walked in, at first, I was a bit confused [about] why I was seeing urinals,” said James, a jewelry designer, who was being […]
Mental health for Black men
By Johnathan Hooker Black men are among the least likely people to seek mental health counseling. Some Black therapists are trying to change that by tailoring their services to better attract Black males and hosting workshops just for them. In New York City, licensed clinical social worker Frederick Bush on June 11th kicks off his […]