Voices

The closing of the Ida Benderson Senior Center in September because of city budget cuts has opened an opportunity for displaced seniors to attend the Salvation Army’s Adult Day Program. In existence for 62 years, it serves people 60 and older. Staff members provide a variety of services, and they welcome people from Ida Benderson to join.

The New Direction Community Network was established to empower young women Tongela Smith was driving one day in 2008 when she had a vision. So the reverend and mother of three pulled over to the side of the road and began to pray. “I knew that I was called to do something bigger with my life,” Smith said as she …

Seniors are losing their hair over the Ida Benderson Senior Center closing. Literally. About a dozen seniors lined the sidewalk in front of the downtown center Wednesday, to show support for three women having their heads shaved to protest the center’s closing Oct. 1, after 36 years.

Coverage of this year’s Juneteenth Festival in Clinton Square held Saturday, June 18, was conducted by a Team of The Stand’s Community Correspondents. Reporters included: Ruthnie Angrand, Miguel Balbuena, Jeremiah Howell, Katherine Hills and her mother, Cheryl Dixon-Hills, who was so inspired by the day’s celebration she contributed a personal reflection. Also contributing was Brenda Muhammad who wrote a piece …

Forum held to hear what services and programs they find most beneficial After burglars broke into Mary Jackson’s house twice in the span of three months, she realized that after 33 years of living on Tallman Street, she would have to leave. “Living alone, I just didn’t feel safe in my own home,” she says, now 98 years old and …

A dash of the light of divine inspiration with a heady dose of perseverance, when combined the elements of the reaction bubble fervently. The mixture boils, the heat of this reaction nearly melting the paint from the walls. The house lights of the Palace Theater drop down cloaking the space leaving only a focused beam of light, completing the reaction …

JustUs, a local Syracuse band, performed June 16 at the Juneteenth Ancestral Recognition Celebration held in the City Hall Atrium. The Stand’s Community Correspondent Brenda Muhammad sat down with group members to learn more about them and their future plans.

The Dunbar court is chosen based on essays written by the students at the center, their attitude in class and how they treat others. The winners are then announced at the Gala in May. This year’s Mr. Dunbar, Jyair Crouch, and his mother, Tarea Crouch, along with other 2011 Juneteenth attendees, vendors and volunteers answered The Stand’s Q&As.

A parade, music, food & healthcare highlight the 2011 Juneteenth Celebration “In order to move forward into the present, we have to know our past,” said organizer Barbara Mattison. The 2011 Juneteenth celebration almost did not happen because of financial difficulties, but the community and sponsors pulled together to make this year’s Juneteenth a reality.

Branch’s Driving School flourishes with a father-son management team When Deraux Branch looks up from his small 8-and-a-half by 6-inch book, he sees the pupils of about 26 eyes staring back at him. One would think that from the second floor of the triangular building on the corner of West Genesee Street, these eyes could be easily distracted. Surrounding them …