Posted by admin on February 24, 2009 under Blog | 
Greetings,
The saying goes: “many hands make light work”
I have been meeting with the staff at the John Winthrop elementary school in my neighborhood.
We have been meeting about taking initiatives to make it a community school. A hub where people from the community not just students can get resources and services. I have been asked to help.
So I thought of something that had a huge impact on my life that I’m sure probably affected you the same way. When i was a child both in school by teachers and at the Harriet Tubman House by a volunteer named “Brother Blue” I was read to.
It stimulated my imagination, increased my vocabulary, and made me love reading!
I would like to do “Storytelling Saturdays”: 2 hours of (snacks and reading) or (reading and then drawing an image from the story). I haven’t worked out the logisitics but I am open to suggestions. I would like to have men and women but definitely men. I would like to do like a 9:30a - 11:30a or there-a-bouts.
I would like to have small groups of children of no more than 10-15. Maybe 20. There are 4 months left in the school year and I would love to launch this by mid March. Ideally, if there are enough volunteers you would only serve 1 weekend, 2 hours a month. Imagine 4 of us being able to read to 80 kids. Imagine it spreading to other schools. Imagine it being cool to read. Imagine the impact it could have now and into the future.
Are you dreaming yet? Time for some action!
Posted by admin on January 9, 2009 under Blog |
Ladies and Gentlemen,
2008 like every year before it is now history. The word of the year was “change”.
Personally, I believe that change begins within ones self. And that means that we must do our part locally each and every day. We celebrated November 4th, 2008. We will celebrate history again on January 20th, 2009. On the 21st, it will be time to put our minds, money, and effort behind the changes we wish to see. Obama’s victory is only a milestone on the journey to achieve Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream. We have many more milestones to reach. Make your mark.
Locally, we are facing a huge deficits in critical areas that will affect this city of ours for at least the next decade. Boston’s public school system which is currently only graduating 6 out of 10 students with a high school diploma. And an even smaller percent of that graduating group is going on to get a college degree in the city with the most colleges anywhere in the world.
Last year BPS budget was short 10 million dollars. Schools closed. Classroom sizes grew larger. With looming budget cuts BPS might be 30 million in the red. More schools will close, more classrooms will grow and more children will drop out. The only ones losing in these cuts are the children.
We can’t afford that as a family, community or city !
We cannot lose half of a generation to poor education.
Think about what that means to your family, community, city and the 58,000 boys and girls mostly from impoverished neighborhoods already behind in the achievement gap.
This year’s focus should be about service. Who will you serve and who serves you. It is an election year for local city officials. It is time to start asking some serious questions. It is time to join a campaign, support a candidate that speaks to your issues and more importantly speaks to YOU !
Look around you and find out who is serving community.
Is the church in your neighborhood serving your community ?
Is your economic development organization serving your community ?
Are your elected officials (city councilors, state representatives, mayor) serving your community ?
And do you have access to those that are charged, elected, and or paid to serve your community ?
I serve God first and through him community. Let me know if you are looking to serve and I will be happy to point out people and organizations doing good work in your part of the city. Please also feel free to ask any question small or large and I will do my best to be of assistance.
With dreams begin responsibility. . .
It is time to move from dreams to action !
Posted by admin on November 25, 2008 under Blog |
I have been closely watching the frenzy around City Councilor Chuck Turner.
Since Friday, and even before, friends, family, associates, and the press have asked for my thoughts on the matter. Today I have decided to share them with you. Let me first say that I have always considered Councilor Chuck Turner to be an intelligent man who is led by principle and one who always stands firm on his principles of which he makes no secret. I have always respected him for those reasons. I ran against Councilor Turner in 2007 mainly due to differences of methodology and less because of differences in ideology. And contrary to popular belief I have enjoyed a good working relationship with him both prior and subsequent to the 2007 election.Like many of you, my first reaction on Friday morning upon receiving the news of Councilor Turner’s arrest was shock. My second was concern. Before I share my concerns, let me clearly state that I believe that under the constitution of the United States Councilor Turner deserves his day in court. Regardless of what we have read in the released affidavits, or seen in the media, I believe Councilor Turner is innocent until proven guilty. With that said, my concerns are that there is a possibility to now lose two community leaders with over 50 years of combined experience in serving and advocating for the people and causes in the City of Boston that need it the most.
Yesterday, I attended the Councilor’s rally on the steps of City Hall. I listened intently to the Councilor’s words. As I listened many things became clear to me. The Councilor re-affirmed to me my passion for politics and the commitment required to be effective when he said; “Those who know me understand that beyond providing care and support for those I love, I have one objective in life—the liberation of my people.” Those sentiments are feelings that I have had since my teens and for years was scared to say aloud even to my parents who have dedicated their lives to helping others, because I never heard anyone speak these words. I read about the civil rights movement as many of you have and while they often only highlight a few, I always understood that there must have been thousands more that dedicated their life to the same mission of equality, the mission to make sure the equality is applied to every citizen here in America but also one day worldwide.
The second piece of Councilor Turner’s statement that resonated with me was his feelings on the media. One of my major complaints that I am sure many of you share with both myself and the Councilor, is what they choose to cover in our community.
A murder, a robbery, or any other negative energy is covered with ferocity. However, those of us doing good things everyday, and the actions taken to bring positive change go mostly uncovered, painting a skewed negative image of us as people and community. Even as I ran for the District 7 City Council seat, it was almost impossible to get the press to cover either one of us in the race so we could bring to light some of the serious issues the community was facing around unemployment, education, youth and public safety.As I close let me preface by saying in no way, shape, or form do I wish for Councilor Turner’s downfall and even if you supported me in the last campaign or support me in the future I ask that you do not wish for it either. Councilor Turner is a community resource.
Former Senator Dianne Wilkerson is a community resource. Their legacy is one born long before me and one that I hope is continued long after you and I. I am not asking you to ignore facts or your own beliefs, I am asking that you learn of the work that they have done, learn of the sacrifices they have made and be prepared to continue to do the work no matter what the future holds.Sincerely,
Carlos “Tony” Henriquez
