• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

  • Home
  • Advertise
    • Advertise in One or All of our Magazines
    • Advertising Payment Form
  • Print Subscription
  • Digital Subscription
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Login
  • Contact Us

Racism

Inside the The Gordon Parks Foundation

August 24, 2019 by Ronni Diamondstein

Gordon Parks, Untitled 1941
Credit: Photograph by Gordon Parks.
Copyright: Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Foundation.

  Making a Difference in the World to Overcome Bigotry, Poverty & Hatred

Nestled on Wheeler Avenue in Pleasantville are the exhibition space and offices of The Gordon Parks Foundation with its mission to permanently preserve the work of Gordon Parks, make it available to the public through exhibitions, books, and electronic media, and support artistic and educational activities that advance what Gordon described as “the common search for a better life and a better world.” The Foundation shines a light on the remarkable career of the iconic creative talent of Gordon Parks.

Parks was an extraordinary artist with an amazing range. His portraits were diverse, from socialites like Gloria Vanderbilt, civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. to sports figures like Muhammad Ali. “Gordon Parks used the power of art to make a difference in the world and to overcome bigotry, poverty and hatred,” says Peter W. Kunhardt, Jr., the Executive Director of the Foundation. As a photojournalist, Parks captured the poverty and racism that affected Black America.

Breaking Barriers

“Gordon broke barriers as the first African American photographer to work at Life Magazine and worked closely with my grandfather Phil Kunhardt who was the managing editor,” says Kunhardt.

Gordon Parks (1912-2006), a multi-talented, modern-day Renaissance man, was born into poverty and segregation in Fort Scott, Kansas.  As an itinerant laborer, he worked as a brothel pianist and railcar porter among other jobs before buying a camera from a pawnshop, training himself to become a photographer. He also found success as a writer, composer and film director. “He was the first black filmmaker to direct a studio motion picture, and his first film Shaft helped create a genre. But Parks’ enduring contribution was to break down the barriers of racism in Hollywood,” writes Desa Philadelphia for the Directors Guild of America.

“At the core of The Gordon Parks Foundation’s work is the support of current and emerging leaders who carry on Parks’ legacy,” says Kunhardt who has led the foundation since 2011. During Kunhardt’s tenure the Foundation created The Gordon Parks Foundation Scholarships and Prizes program, and established The Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship, which has awarded six fellowships to photographers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians whose work addresses themes of representation and social justice. In 2019, he oversaw the launch of The Gordon Parks Arts and Social Justice Fund dedicated to supporting these educational initiatives.

Gordon Parks, Untitled 1941
Credit: Photograph by Gordon Parks.
Copyright: Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Foundation.

Supporting the Next Generation of Artists Inspired by Parks

Each year the Foundation celebrates Gordon Parks’ legacy and honors those who continue his vision for social change at The Gordon Parks Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner and Auction. The Gordon Parks Foundation Award is given to individuals who have enriched our lives in ways that reflect Parks’ ideas and goals by using creative means to inspire the next generation. The Patron of the Arts Award recognizes and celebrates individuals with a deep appreciation of the arts. Recipients receive this special recognition for their support and promotion of artistic creativity in the visual arts, film, literature, or performing arts.

Kunhardt sums up the impact of the Foundation’s work. “Through initiatives such as our scholarship and fellowship programs, as well as these annual awards, we continue to empower the next generation of change-makers and those who are current forces for social justice and the arts.”

The exhibitions at The Gordon Parks Foundation space feature fellowship recipients, curated selections of Gordon Parks’ work, and works by artists whose work is influenced by Parks.

The Gordon Parks Foundation Honoree Chelsea Clinton accepts award from Sarah Lewis and Alex Soros at the annual Gala at Cipriani’s in New York, June 4, 2019. PHOTO BY SEAN ZANNI FOR PMC

I don’t think there has ever been a more important time in my life to support art and artists. They help prevent us from becoming complacent or numb to the challenges we face, while urgently illuminating those challenges. They show us what is possible when love and kindness, not hate and indecency, are celebrated and empowered. And they offer us hope, pushing us toward what Gordon called “the common search for a better life and a better world.
– Chelsea Clinton

Not to Be Missed Exhibits

Two upcoming exhibitions are Guadalupe Rosales’ Must’ve been a wake-dream: September 6 through October 18, 2019 and Hank Willis Thomas’: Exodusters October 25 through December 20, 2019.

Must’ve been a wake-dream is a celebration of Rosales’ work as a 2019 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship recipient, which includes collaborations with Latinx and LGBTQ communities to examine the interplay between photography and community. Through her careful collecting, preservation, and presentation of vernacular photographs, letters, party flyers and ephemera representing Latinx Southern California youth culture, Rosales creates an expanding archive that brings visibility to a community that has been overlooked, misrepresented and criminalized. Also on view during Must’ve been a wake-dream will be a group of Gordon Parks’ photographs, selected by Rosales, from Parks’ celebrated Harlem Gang Leader series, made as the first African-American photographer for LIFE magazine in 1948.

Hank Willis Thomas has an ongoing vested interest in photography as a documentation of history and a universal means for people to represent their stories. Exodusters examines the representation and depiction of history, particularly during a significant moment in the pursuit for freedom and liberty during the Great Depression in Dust Bowl America. Thomas draws upon the archive of Gordon Parks’ seminal and semi-autobiographical film The Learning Tree (1969) that depicts the fictional Cherokee Flats, which is based off of Parks’ hometown in Fort Scott, Kansas, where he returned to produce the movie.

The Gordon Parks Foundation welcomes visitors to view the rotating shows of photography in their exhibition space. Hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free.

For more information: gordonparksfoundation.org

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Black America, Creative Talent, Diverse, Gordon Parks, Gordon Parks Foundation, Overcoming Bigotry, photographer, Racism

Amy Siskind’s Book ‘The List’ Documents a ‘Chipping Away of our Democracy’

July 12, 2018 by Inside Press

Standing room only at Amy Siskind’s packed visit to the Mamaroneck Public Library when over 100 visitors arrived to learn more about The List.

By Renee Coscia

“Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things suddenly changing around you, so you remember.”

Author Amy Siskind holding her book, The List, with Westchester County Executive George Latimer (first on left). To the left of Amy is Catherine Parker, bookseller. and to her right is New York State Assemblyman Steve Otis. Photo by and courtesy of Lori Friedli, Mamaroneck Public Library

 The first time I heard this quote from Amy Siskind, author of The List: A Week by Week Reckoning of Trump’s First Year in November of 2016 we were already experiencing ‘not normal’ things in our democracy.

I clearly remember then President-elect Trump’s attempts to erode our freedom of speech by criticizing The New York Times, Saturday Night Live and the cast of Hamilton.  

Since that time, the chipping away of our democracy has been not so subtle and things that outraged us back then have been normalized. Amy’s quote about authoritarianism echoes in my mind each and every day since that time.  

I’ve been fortunate to have shared conversations with Amy around the changes in our great nation and it was an honor to see her come home to Westchester last evening to host an event at the Mamaroneck Public Library.

The lively 90-minute discussion ranged from the mainstream media not covering all too important topics to how we, the people, can take action to the importance of the 2018 upcoming election to the growing racism and erosion of basic rights to large groups of people.

Amy has a way of inspiring people and the standing room only crowd was invigorated and left last evening ready to take action.

Amy has been and still is my reliable source for the erosion of the America we once knew. Her personal charge to record a week by week decimation of our democracy is truly an act of patriotism.  If you are not following Amy on Twitter or Facebook I encourage you to do so. Get your hands on a copy of her book, so that together we will be able to find our way back to the great nation we know can be.  

‘You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ Eleanor Roosevelt

Renee Coscia is a life-long Westchester resident living in White Plains with her husband John and Three children, Emily, Jake and Rebecca. Renee has been a teacher in a suburban Westchester public school district for 29 years.  

 

Filed Under: Inside Westchester Tagged With: Amy Siskind, authoritarianism, Democracy, mainstream media, Mamaroneck Public Library, normalize, not normal, Racism, Trump, Trump's first year, upcoming election

Bearing Witness to Racism: A Laser Sharp Focus at Packed Multi-Faith Event

January 31, 2018 by Inside Press

Article and Photos by Grace Bennett

January 28, White Plains, NY— At the Mount Hope A.M.E. Zion Church, nearly 400 persons gathered to ‘face racism together, bear witness, and build hope.’ Leaders from ten sponsoring organizations,* spoke decisively and powerfully about racism unique to our times, and the impact of racism inside our communities. The multi faith service**—with its moving candle lighting ceremony, sermons, prayers and rousing choral music–was a call for unity and also for continued involvement with attendees also invited to ‘break bread together’ during the Church’s potluck ‘Beloved Community Dinner’ and learn more at social action tables. Those gathered, noted Clifford Wolf of the AJC Westchester/Fairfield, “are here tonight to be heard as a community of communities.” He spoke of the AJC’s history as rooted in civil rights activism citing its leadership joining Martin Luther King, Jr., in the historic 1965 march from Selma. “It is in our DNA,” he said, “We will never be silent.”

Current events–ranging from the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin to the hate-filled and deadly White Supremacist march in Charlottesville–were recalled.

But there also the everyday insults endured right here in the county, related Wolf. He shared  stories gathered by the AJC from persons experiencing discrimination in housing or even during routine activities. After the mother of one young girl shopping for a dress together noted the dress was expensive, the storekeeper stated: “There is a Salvation Army store across the street.”

One sermon took on Trump—and hinted at his enablers. Dr. Stephen Pogue of the A.M.E. Zion Church, began his talk “Facing the Giant,” looking around the packed auditorium and said, “We need ABC, CBS and NBC to be here,” Then, adding (to some laughter) “I don’t know about Fox News.”  He then likened the times today and its challenges to as when David faced Goliath. 

“We have to be bold enough to stand together to face the giant… the giant is real…” he said, but… “Our God is bigger,” he added.

He spoke too of a future with an end to the racial divide.

“One day in White Plains, little black boys and little black girls will join hands together with little white boys and little white girls,” he preached, “and we will all be able to sing together, ‘Free at last. Free at last!’”

Rev. Kymberly McNair, Coordinator of Community Education and Engagement at My Sisters Place, described the experience of being a black woman in 2018…the ‘insidious trauma’ felt and ‘micro-agressions’ leveled at you. Comments like “Kym, you are so articulate.“ (“It is never said without a note of surprise,” she noted wryly) Or, “Where are you from? No, I mean where are you FROM, from?” 

“It is all the ways we get ‘othered.’” she said.

“Every day, I stand at the intersection of racism and sexism…being both whitesplaned and mansplaned… Racism doesn’t end where the Dixie line ends either.”

Another highlight of the evening was a reading from “The N Trial,” authored by Philip Hall in Rehabilitation through the Arts,” a Katonah-based program with volunteers who work with those in prison. The passages ‘to a jury’ were performed by Clarence Maclin citing in the argument:  ‘malicious and reckless speech’… “Words are like strikes and stains,” he said. “…”They have power over us mere mortals… “People have lost their lives because of words.”

One of the final sermons was by Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman of Larchmont. He quoted the Rev Dr. MLK Jr. who sat in his Birmingham jail cell in April, 1963, reflecting:

“Maybe I expected too much. I guess I should have realized that few members of a race that has oppressed another race can understand the deep groans of those that have been oppressed…” [and, concluding, his ultimate disappointment] “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.” The narrow-mindedness of the hate-filled is unfortunate, but all-too-expected.  The inability of a white, moderate majority to perceive the privilege of a whiteness engrained, and the pain of a societal prejudice that persists, is unacceptable…”

Rabbi Sirkman added many of his own words, too. “Our world today at best seems like a dream deferred,” he stated. “When one of us is in those chains of bondage, all of us are enslaved.”

One person seated in the congregation was State Assemblyman David Buchwald. “This event clearly shows that our community can come together to stand for unity, not division, for justice, not hate,” said Buchwald, later. “We must remain vigilant against those voices that spread hatred and seek to divide us.”

Grace Bennett is publisher and editor in chief of the Inside Press, and the 2017 recipient of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center’s Bernard Rosenshein ‘Courage to Care’ award.

*Sponsoring organizations:

  • AJC Westchester/Fairfield
  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Westchester Stake
  • Hudson River Presbytery, Presbyterian Church (USA)
  • Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
  • New York Annual Conference of the A.M.E Zion Church
  • New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
  • Westchester Jewish Council
  • Westchester Board of Rabbis
  • Yonkers Islamic Center

A 40-strong list of sponsoring Houses of Worship and Institutions can also be found at https://global.ajc.org/westfair/racism 

** The service began with an invocation by the Rev. Gregory Robeson Smith, of Mount Hope, an Islamic Reading by Hussein and Lamya Etzoghby.  Additional program prayers and speakers to individuals noted in story:  Rabbi Shira Milgrom, Congregation Kol Almi in White Plains; President Bradley Jeffries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Westchester Stake; Rabbi Adir Yolkut, Westchester Jewish Center, Mamaroneck; Rev. Dr. James E. Taylor, First Baptist Church, Mamaroneck;  Rev. James O’Hanlon, Dean of Tappan Zee Conference of Evangelical Luteran Church in America; Rabbi Zach Sitkin, Congreatation Beth El, New Rochelle; Rev. Doris K. Dalton, Deacon, NY Annual Conference/United Methodist Church and Executive Director, MLK Institute for Non Violence; and Rev. Wil Tyrell, S.A., Director of the Duchesne Center for Religion and Social Justice, Catholic Chapllain, Manhattanville College. Attending choirs beautifully sang: Let My People Go, He Could Have Let Me Drown,  Draw the Circle Wide, Lift Every Voice and Sing, I’m Gonna Lift My Brother Up, and We Shall Overcome.

Filed Under: Inside Westchester Tagged With: AJC Westchester/Fairfield, Bearing Witness, Building Hope, Mount Hope A.M.E. Zion Church, Multi-Faith, Multi-faith event, Racism, white plains

January 28: Facing Racism Together: Bearing Witness and Bringing Hope | AJC

January 25, 2018 by The Inside Press

As Black History month approaches, a multi- faith community plans to come together “to learn, worship, sing and break bread in response to the racism that exists in our society.” The event will include feature remarks from Rev. Kymberly McNair, Rev. Stephen Pogue and Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman, music, personal testimonies and social action tables presented by local anti-racist organizations.  When: Sunday January 28th, from 3-5 p.m., followed by a “Beloved Community Dinner.”

The program and dinner will take place at the Mt. Hope AM Zion Church in White Plains.

The event is co-sponsored by the following denominations, organizations and institutions:

Denominational Sponsors

AJC Westchester/Fairfield
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Westchester Stake
Hudson River Presbytery, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Metropolitan NY Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
NY Annual Conference of the A.M.E. Zion Church
The NY Conference / The United Methodist Church
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of NY
Westchester Jewish Council
Westchester Board of Rabbis
Yonkers Islamic Center

Sponsoring Houses of Worship and Institutions

Antioch Baptist Church, Bedford Hills
Bedford Presbyterian Church
Bet Am Shalom, White Plains
Bet Torah, Mt. Kisco
Beth El Synagogue Center, New Rochelle
Calvary Baptist Church, White Plains
Church of St. Augustine, Larchmont
Church of the Holy Family, New Rochelle
Congregation B’nai Yisrael, Armonk
Congregation Emanuel of Westchester, Rye
Congregation Kneses Tifereth Israel, Port Chester
Congregation Kol Ami, White Plains
Congregation Sulam Yaakov, Larchmont
Community Synagogue of Rye
First Baptist Church, Mamaroneck, NY
First Baptist Church of White Plains
Greater Centennial A.M.E. Zion Church of Mt. Vernon
Greenburgh Hebrew Center
Iona College
Interfaith Connection
Interreligious Council of New Rochelle
Larchmont Avenue Church (Presbyterian)
Larchmont/Mamaroneck Human Rights Committee
Larchmont/Mamaroneck Interfaith Council
Larchmont Temple
Mamaroneck United Methodist Church
Manhattanville College
Mt Hope A.M.E. Zion Church, White Plains
Northern Westchester Interfaith Council
Pelham Jewish Center
Pleasantville Community Synagogue
Presbyterian Church of New Rochelle
Saint Augustine’s Church, Larchmont
Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El
Sinai Free Synagogue, Mount Vernon
St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, White Plains
St. James Episcopal Church, North Salem
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Larchmont
St John’s Lutheran Church, Mamaroneck
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Rye Brook
St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Mamaroneck
Temple Beth Abraham, Tarrytown
Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, Chappaqua
Temple Beth Shalom, Mahopac
Temple Israel Center of White Plains
Temple Israel of Northern Westchester, Croton-on-Hudson
Temple Shaaray Tefila of Westchester, Bedford Corners
Trinity United Methodist Church, White Plains
Westchester Jewish Center, Mamaroneck
Westchester MLK Institute for Nonviolence

Tickets

Filed Under: Inside Westchester Tagged With: BHM, Black History, Black History Month, Community Dinner, Facing Racism, February, Fighting Racism, multil faith, Racism

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Holocaust Survivor Helga Luden Relates her Story of Escape, Rescue and Survival
  • Four Winters Shines a Light on the Bravery of World War II Survivors Among the 25,000 Jewish Partisans
  • $86K State Grant Awarded to 2023 Phoenix Festival Signals Growing Focus on Tourism
  • Scarsdale Music Festival Gearing Up for a June 3rd Event: Sponsorships, Performers and Vendors Sought
  • Governor Hochul Urges: SHOP SMALL to Help Small Businesses Which Make Up 98% of New York State’s Economy
  • Chappaqua’s Always Magical HOLIDAY STROLL on December 3rd: Ice Sculpting, Tree Lighting, Horace Greeley Encords… and More!

Please Visit

White Plains Hospital
Boys & Girls Club
Compass: Goldman and Herman
Compass: Generic
Desires by Mikolay
William Raveis – Chappaqua
William Raveis – Armonk
Dodd’s Wine Shop
Houlihan Lawrence – Armonk
Houlihan Lawrence – Chappaqua
Lumagica Enchanged Forest
Compass: Miller-Goldenberg Team
Compass: Natalia Wixom
Eye Designs of Armonk
Stacee Massoni
Club Fit
Beecher Flooks Funeral Home
Houlihan: Kile Boga-Ibric
Compass: Aurora Banaszek
Houlihan Lawrence: Harriet Libov
Raveis: Sena Baron
First Congregational Church
Compass: Yona Stougo
Houlihan Lawrence – Rusminka Rose Jakaj
Compass: David Braham

Follow our Social Media

The Inside Press

Our Latest Issues

For a full reading of our current edition, or to obtain a copy or subscription, please contact us.

Inside Chappaqua Inside Armonk Inside Pleasantville

Join Our Mailing List


Search Inside Press

Links

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Subscription
  • Print Subscription

Footer

Support The Inside Press

Advertising

Print Subscription

Digital Subscription

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Did you know you can subscribe anytime to our print editions?

Voluntary subscriptions are most welcome, if you've moved outside the area, or a subscription is a great present idea for an elderly parent, for a neighbor who is moving or for your graduating high school student or any college student who may enjoy keeping up with hometown stories.

Subscribe Today

Copyright © 2023 The Inside Press, Inc. · Log in