by | Oct 30, 2020 3:55 pm | Comments (10)
Courtesy New Haven Museum and Historical Society
Women’s suffrage speaker greets workers at plant entrance, ca. 1916.
Paul Bass Photo
Cavanagh, Criscola outside ex-factory entrance; their new book (below).
If you closed your eyes, you could imagine hearing the factory whistle blow and seeing thousands of workers streaming past Joan Cavanagh and Jeanne Criscola the other day.
by | Oct 16, 2020 12:45 pm | Comments (3)
Contributed photo
Angela Robinson.
After retiring as a judge in 2018, Angela Robinson began educating the younger generation in New Haven full-time about the legal profession in hopes of diversifying the field.
Continue reading ‘Retired Judge Inspires Young Black Students To Follow Her Footsteps’
by | Oct 1, 2020 10:09 am | Comments (2)
Allison Hadley Photos
You’ve probably seen the posters for The Crowd around town. Black and white, and affixed to everything, from the usual light poles to more avant-garde trash receptacles, they shout at passersby to “vote early, vote often” and portray such illustrious figures as socialist and trade unionist Eugene Debs.
The posters are part agitprop and part advertisement. But there is no contact information. The poster points the way, but to find the Crowd requires more digging.
Continue reading ‘When The Crowd Gets Weird, The Weird Gets Published’
by | Sep 1, 2020 7:23 am | Comments (4)
Everyone knows Frank Sinatra, but no one knows about his agitation for leftist causes in the 1930s and ‘40s. Fiorello La Guardia got an airport, but Sacco and Vanzetti got a march and a folk song. Italian-Americans are known for their cultural contributions to American society and, of course, New Haven in particular — look no further than Wooster Street, the cradle of pizza civilization — but what about their political legacy as a group that often struck and organized for worker’s rights and better treatment by White society? The path to assimilation was not smooth, and the very organizing that got them there seems to have been lost to public consciousness.
Continue reading ‘Author Unearths The Radical Side Of Italian-American History’
by | Jul 7, 2020 11:18 am | Comments (3)
Laura Glesby Photo
Polly Gulliver picks up a pair of Jo Nesbø novels.
For the first time since Covid-19 hit, Polly Gulliver resumed a cherished activity: borrowing a hardcover book from the library.
by | Jun 1, 2020 1:13 pm | Comments (0)
The NHFPL Facebook Page
Stuck at home in this era of sheltering in place, many have turned back to long-forgotten lists of hobbies they had wanted to try, people they had meant to reach out to, personal goals they had hoped to achieve.
For the past month, five local librarians followed the trend by each setting out to read one book they’d never gotten around to reading. They gathered to discuss their experiences — and found themselves questioning what makes a book worth wanting to read in the first place.
by | May 13, 2020 3:02 pm | Comments (3)
Dave Duda takes the long view on pandemic business survival.
by | Apr 27, 2020 12:21 pm | Comments (15)
Neil Proto on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven.”
Author Neil Proto went to Yale’s library to start researching the life of A. Bartlett Giamatti, the 39-year-old Italian-American with New Haven roots who became the Ivy League university’s first non-Anglo-Saxon president.
He came across a statement that stunned him — and steered him in an unpredictable direction.
by | Apr 24, 2020 1:38 pm | Comments (2)
Anna Oppenheimer (pictured) checked out the seventh Wizard of Oz book electronically from the library.
Before the pandemic hit, Cyd Oppenheimer visited the library every Wednesday when dropping off her kids off at Hebrew school. When libraries closed to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Oppenheimer had to find another way to meet her family’s need to read.
The library — now in virtual mode — again became her source.
Continue reading ‘Library Keeps City Reading During Pandemic’
by | Apr 21, 2020 10:35 am | Comments (1)
Miss Erinn, a representative of the Miss Kendra Programs, beams over jaunty yet gentle piano music. She speaks directly into the camera. “Oh! Hello! I’ve been waiting for you! Wow, it’s so good to see you. Do you know what time it is?”
“It’s Miss Kendra Time!” children say. Miss Erinn’s smile gets even bigger. “It’s Miss Kendra Time,” she affirms. Without losing her welcoming tone, she continues. “Today we’re going to be talking about the coronavirus and the way that it has been affecting all the kids and families around this community and all over the country — even all over the world.”
Continue reading ‘Miss Kendra Helps Kids Deal With Covid-19 Fears’
by | Apr 13, 2020 10:37 am | Comments (0)
Courtesy Bitsie Fund
Clark.
The Bitsie Clark Fund for Artists, established in 2018, is now accepting applications from New Haven-area artists for 2020. The deadline to apply is May 1.
by | Jan 14, 2020 1:53 pm | Comments (0)
The American immigrant story is taking a new turn — away from focusing on assimilation and back toward examining the past.
by | Jan 6, 2020 5:44 pm | Comments (0)
Mamadi Doumbouya photo
Dwayne Betts (right) and his new poetry collection, Felon.
Reginald Dwayne Betts was 17 years old and locked up in solitary confinement in an adult prison when he found his calling to become a poet.
Continue reading ‘Dwayne Betts’s Path From Prison To Poetry’
by | Jan 1, 2020 7:13 pm | Comments (0)
Marriages gone bad. Greek and Roman mythology. Midwinter malaise. These were a handful of many themes in the fifth installment of “Songs and Stories,” organized and hosted by Saul Fussiner and held at Next Door on Humphrey Street — a full Saturday evening of storytelling from Jeni Bonaldo, Marco Rafalà, and Mike Isko, and music from Kriss Santala and Stefany Brown, Shandy Lawson, and Daniel Eugene that packed the pizza place’s back room and turned it into a listening room.
by | Dec 23, 2019 11:34 am | Comments (4)
Common Ground
John Jessen.
City library Deputy Director and former Wilson Library Branch Manager John Jessen has been tapped to serve as the city’s next top librarian.
by | Nov 15, 2019 3:00 pm | Comments (15)
Paul Bass Photo
Outlaw leading a support group for ex-offenders.
William “Juneboy” Outlaw III was New Haven’s top cocaine dealer before he reached the age of 20. Then he spent decades behind bars, staring at death.
This week Outlaw, who’s now 51, hit the big time again — this time as a star street outreach worker featured on the Today Show and in a biography about to rock the nation with a tale of personal redemption.
by | Nov 11, 2019 12:51 pm | Comments (6)
Markeshia Ricks Photos
Brown-Dean reads from her new book at Kehler Liddell Gallery …
… and signs a copy for ConnCAT CEO Erik Clemons.
As you reflect on Veterans Day, Khalilah L. Brown-Dean asks you to think of Jimmie Lee Jackson and Leonard Matlovich.
And when you think of them she wants you to consider how their identities and the politics and policies that shaped their lives still have much to teach us today.
Continue reading ‘“Identity Politics” Illuminates Past, Present’
by | Nov 1, 2019 1:13 pm | Comments (2)
Inside Squirrel Hill’s Giant Eagle.
Recovering from a communal trauma can begin in the aisles of a neighborhood supermarket.
by | Sep 16, 2019 12:17 pm | Comments (0)
The Dog Healers movie
Pampita connecting with some Argentine pups.
Local dog lover Mark Winik found himself in Argentina, pitching the assistant to the president of the country’s premier filmmaking society on a documentary he wanted to make about the special relationship between people and pups in Buenos Aires.
Continue reading ‘Dog Doc Highlights Human-Canine Connection’
by | Aug 16, 2019 12:56 pm | Comments (6)
There once was a boy named Abdul. He loved to read books.
He noticed that he almost never saw someone who looked like him in those books.
by | Jul 24, 2019 12:45 pm | Comments (1)
Paul Bass photo
City Librarian Martha Brogan.
Martha Brogan will step down as the head of the New Haven Free Public Library in October after helping the local system win the highest national award available for libraries that provide “exceptional contributions to their communities.”
by | Jun 21, 2019 3:34 pm | Comments (8)
Caroline Tanbee Smith Illustrations
Josh & DT, 2 of 14 contributors to “New Haven and Yale.”
When decision time came this week about whether to allow a youth homeless facility to open on Grand Avenue, neighbors and policymakers had a lot to say on the subject. DT did too.
by | May 28, 2019 3:07 pm | Comments (2)
Allan Appel Photo
Art Tyson in action.
One white player thought because Arthur Tyson is African-American, he must have a tail.
When Tyson beat white players at a tournament in Virginia, the championship trophy mysteriously would disappear. The $250 winner’s check could not be found
None of that deterred “the champ.” Because Tyson, born and bred in the old Elm Haven projects, was determined to become the greatest black horseshoe player in the world. And he made it, coming in second three times in the world championships.
by , and | May 10, 2019 7:16 am | Comments (1)
Kate Cebik Photo
MakeHaven Facilitator Clancy Emanual and Kirsten Levinsohn of New Haven Reads with Victoria Smith of New Haven Read.
A team of 13 dedicated volunteers gathered at MakeHaven with MakeHaven’s woodshop facilitators to build 6 “Help Your Shelves” — free book boxes that will be installed around New Haven.
Continue reading ‘“Help Your Shelves” Project Builds Literacy Access’
by | May 7, 2019 5:26 pm | Comments (3)
Paul Bass Photo
The New Haven Free Public Library has won the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the highest honor a library can win for “exceptional contributions to their communities.”