Going underneath a Brooklyn church, once the grand central depot of the Underground Railroad.
Before Central Park there was Seneca Village, a place African Americans could call home.
One artist looks back at his work and the joy it brings to people.
Louis Armstrong’s home and his ties to the Diocese of Brooklyn.
By Emily Drooby
A space untouched by time and a melody that lasts forever.
“It feels like Louis and Lucille just stepped out for a moment and they’re coming right back,” explained Regina Bain, the executive director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum.
A museum now exists inside the former home of Louis Armstrong. It was made possible by his wife Lucille, who wanted to preserve his legacy. Employee, Frederick James Armstead Jr., told Currents News, you can feel him when inside.
“When I first got here, I went through the house,” Frederick explained, “you could feel, almost feel him in the house.”
The space is temporarily closed during the pandemic but the museum’s Executive Director Regina gave Currents News a tour.
Armstrong’s workspace and tape decks are in the corner and a painting by Tony Bennett hangs on the wall. Bennett and Armstrong were close. A preserved bedroom and Lucille’s gloves lay on the dresser. In the corner is a space to pray as Lucille was a devout Catholic.
“Lucille’s Catholicism was a big part of her life,” Regina said, “and she actually worshipped right around the corner from the house here.”
Where did Lucille worship that was right around the corner? It was at Our Lady of Sorrows in Corona, Queens.
Louis was more spiritual than religious, although researchers discovered he was baptized Catholic right after birth, likely because of his Catholic grandmother.
Before the pandemic, people from all over the world visited the space, drawing inspiration from his talent and his story.
“Slavery had just ended in the United States when he was born in 1901,” explained Regina. “He lived through the Civil Rights era. He lived through that time, and yet he was still able to become an American Icon that represented the beauty, and the innovation, and the excellence of this country. That’s who he is as a black person, as a black man and as a musician.”
Soon, visitors will be able to feel even closer to the jazz legend as The Armstrong Center is being built across the street and extensive archived sound will be on display.
An important legacy forever preserved in this quiet, Queens neighborhood.
The museum is currently closed to the public because of COVID, but virtual tours are being held online.
For more information about visiting the Louis Armstrong House Museum, just head to their websitelouisarmstronghouse.org.
By Jessica Easthope
At 90-years-old, Otto Neals has made his mark on New York City and Black history. Though he has art scattered all over, he’s one of the first Black artists to have work featured in a New York City park.
“I run into so many people in the area who, when I speak to them about the piece, they tell me how much they enjoyed being with Peter and Willy growing up,” Otto said.
Otto is self-taught. The array of materials he works with is one of the many things that makes his art unique. Some of his artwork you can hear, like his carved percussion and wind instruments.
His sculpture “Peter and Willy” was installed in Imagination Playground in Prospect Park in 1997. The characters come from the literary works of Brooklyn-born author Ezra Jack Keats – they were first introduced in his book, “The Snowy Day.” On another snowy day, Otto remembered reading Keats’ work with his children, and he remembers what he thought of the book at the time.
“I thought it was very odd to have a white writer and illustrator to concentrate on a little Black boy, but I was happy and it worked out beautifully,” he said of the book which was published in 1962.
The characters touched Otto‘s life. The sculpture, which was named a literary landmark, has touched the lives of so many others. “My children they’re teenagers now, they grew up playing with this statue,” said Christine Palmer, who comes to Prospect Park almost every day, told Currents News while she looked at the familiar sculpture.
She raised her children there, and now as a nanny she’s helping to raise more kids — all of whom have a connection with “Peter and Willy.””All my children that I took to the park, they really, really, really like that dog and the little boy,” she explained. “They always sit in the little chair and pet the dog, and it looks so real.”
When Otto created the sculpture, the bronze was bright blue. Its vibrance has since rubbed off. But Otto says it means his work is serving its purpose: that children have been interacting with it all these years.
“Peter and Willy” is part of Otto‘s living legacy. He believes the sculpture is one of the reasons he was given the talent to create.
“I believe that there’s something higher than me that caused me to be able to do the things I’m doing. I don’t take credit for it, there’s some other force,” Otto said.
Peter and his dog Willy have been sitting in the same place for decades – but the generations of children who played here can all trace a piece of their own history back to this spot.
State Democrats’ latest push to take away Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Coronavirus power.
The U.S. is quickly reaching capacity at facilities for children found crossing the southern border.
The Holy Father getting to see an ancient Iraqi book saved from being destroyed by ISIS.
A look at Louis Armstrong’s roots in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
By Jessica Easthope
The calls are continuing from lawmakers across the state and the aisle, saying Gov. Cuomo shouldn’t be this powerful.
“Cuomo stated nursing homes were told that they were to accept COVID+ nursing home patients “if they could.” The 3/25 directive does not have “if they could language,” Democratic Senator Alessandra Biaggi tweeted.
“We must repeal Cuomo’s legal immunity for nursing home executives now,” tweeted State Assemblyman Ron Kim. “No more excuses.”
This comes after a scathing report by the state Attorney General that the Cuomo Administration underreported nursing home deaths due to COVID-19, something the governor has adamantly denied.
“New York State DOH has always fully and publicly reported all COVID deaths in nursing homes and hospitals,” the governor said.
Nearly a year ago when New York began to experience an unprecedented health crisis, the state legislature passed a bill lawmakers thought would help oust the deadly virus. But buried in the bill was a part that allowed Gov. Cuomo to suspend, modify and create laws by issuing directives and executive orders.
Now, a year later, the governor has issued more than 230 executive orders and directives. One that mandated nursing homes to take in COVID-positive patients, resulted in the deaths of more than 15,000 nursing home residents across the state.
“I’ve called for the governor to resign at this point,” said Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. “This is inexcusable. I mean they purposely mislead the public and then they had a cover up.”
And amid this backlash – another blow to the Cuomo Administration: allegations of sexual assault and harassment by former aide Lindsey Boylan. Gov. Cuomo has denied any inappropriate behavior took place, but now the White House is weighing in.
“When a person comes forward, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. “Their voice should be heard, not silenced. And any allegations should be reviewed.”
New York’s state of emergency expires Friday, but the governor can renew it indefinitely. Currents News reached out to the governor’s office about the call to repeal his emergency powers but our request hasn’t been answered.
Currents News Staff
At a church in Queens, one parishioner is trying to revive the Knights of St. Peter Claver. The historically African-American Catholic service organization at the church used to be really active, but not anymore.
Dr. Anthony Andrews Jr. joins Currents News to educate on the Knights of St. Peter Claver and recruit members.
If you would like to be part of the first virtual national initiation on March 6, head on over to KofPC.org and hit the “join now” button. APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, February 26, 2021.
Currents News Staff
Sidra, an Aramaic manuscript that’s at least 500 years old, belongs to the Syriac-Christian Church of Qaraqosh. It contains prayers to be recited between the feasts of Easter and the Holy Cross and is a gem for the Christian community, which is the largest in Iraq.
The book has a noteworthy story. It was objects like these that ISIS targeted. A group of priests managed to hide it, and in 2017, two Italian journalists found it.
It ended up in the hands of FOCSIV, a federation of Christian organizations dedicated to volunteer work. Its members restored the book.
They call it the “Refugee Book,” because it was a silent witness of the persecution of Iraq’s minorities between 2014 and 2017.
Before returning it to its land of origin, those who restored the book wanted to show it to Pope Francis.
“It had many problems. All the miniatures were covered with scraps of paper so they wouldn’t be visible,” they said. “The manuscript has a fascinating story, which we were able to write down.”
“You’ve worked miracles, haven’t you,” asked Pope Francis.
Lucilla Nuccitelli, from the ICPAL organization, which was in charge of the restoration, told the pope that it took 10 months to complete the project.
The president of the NGO that salvaged the book gave the pontiff a gift, with his upcoming trip to Iraq in mind.
“I am giving this to you as a symbol. It’s an apron for the women at our house in Qaraqosh,” they explained. “It’s a shelter for women, where they can receive formation and aid. It’s for refugee women.”
Pope Francis gave them a blessing and asked them for a favor, which has become a staple of his meetings.
“And pray for me, of course. And in favor, not against me,” he said.
“Certainly. Rest assured,” they answered.
In Iraq, the Holy Father will visit the Nineveh plains. He will arrive in Erbil on Sunday, March 7. There he will celebrate Mass. He will also visit Mosul and Qaraqosh.
This city is known as the Vatican of Iraq, as it is home to the country’s largest Christian community. It’s also the city that suffered the most damage from ISIS.
The pandemic has hit us all very hard – working mothers in particular – one Catholic mom shares her story.
The FDA says Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine is safe and could approve it very soon. What this means for controlling the pandemic.
How one priest is using his old baseball cards to help Catholic school students.
By Jessica Easthope
Mornings come fast and seem to last long. For the last year, Brooke DiMeo has been working two jobs: one she doesn’t get paid for, it’s just expected.
“More like Groundhog Day,” Brooke said. “Chaotic but the same, you know, the same chaos: school work, work-work, housework, feeding the kids, entertaining the kids making sure I’m doing enough for the kids, doing enough for my job being as productive as I was prior.”
By 7:30 a.m. Brooke’s getting her kids, six-year-old Grace and four-year-old Tommy fed and ready for the day. But it’s not always smooth – it takes a lot of compromise, like allowing Tommy to watch his current favorite movie and helping Grace to put a little shimmer on her eyes.
Some days Brooke’s slippers get changed to sneakers because Grace and Tommy go to school in-person. But the second Brooke is back home and turns the key in the door -she clocks-in as an account executive at Hanes and only has a few hours to work in peace.
But on the days the kids are home, Brooke is forced to make yet another compromise.
“I’ve cried many times, like sitting at my desk because I have a project,” she said. “I have a deadline but my kids need the school work done. Tommy’s screaming over something and I mean I definitely feel like I’ve been set back a bit in my career.”
According to the Census Bureau, one-in-five working-age adults are unemployed because the pandemic has upended their childcare. Women are three times more likely than men to stay home with the kids. Whereas 9.8 million working American mothers are suffering from burnout, they’re 28 percent more likely to experience it than fathers.
“You’re never able to give 100 percent to one thing because you’re doing, you know, two, three, four things at once,” said Brooke, whose husband Mike works as an elevator mechanic in Manhattan. “So it’s kind of depleting and it’s upsetting. You always feel like you’re failing.”
Along with longer grocery lists, higher bills and shorter days, Brooke says the pandemic has shown just how undervalued mothers are and that their strength is only as strong as the support they’re given.
“When you equate how many hours they’re working as a mother – financial compensation would be nice from the government,” she said. “I don’t think they’ve really supported mothers the right way at all considering how much they’ve taken on during the pandemic.”
But Brooke says she can’t help but count her blessings and that her faith is part of what keeps her powering forward.
“I need that Sunday at church to just like, I don’t know, have a second to reset for the week,” she said, “to be praying and to be a little more spiritual, in that sense, kind of just makes you feel better.”
Both jobs are tough and the pandemic has made them tougher. But for mothers – it’s all in a day’s work.
By Emily Drooby
On a quaint Brooklyn Heights street sits Plymouth Church. Hidden among the pews, are crucial pieces of Black History.
Senior Minister Brett Younger, took Currents News on a tour.
A marker where Abraham Lincoln sat praying for the abolition of slavery, the space where Martin Luther King Jr. preached an early version of his “I Have a Dream” speech.
Major pieces of history, but the most powerful piece is hidden just past the basement door.
“We were the Grand Central Depot of the Underground Railroad,” Brett explained.
Enslaved African Americans stopped at this church for rest and food during their long and terrifying journey. No larger overarching documentation exists of how many or who exactly passed through, only small fragments of information.
Hidden in the sub-basement of the popular church is a windowless room with no lights.
Brett explained while he turned off the lights, which were added later.
“Imagine that you’re spending the night here and you hear someone walking down the stairs and you don’t know if they’re coming to bring you food or coming to take you back to slavery,” he said. “The courage of those seeking freedom is stunning.”
The space feels haunting and hopeful at the same time.
The church’s minister at the time, Henry Ward Beecher, was a well-known abolitionist. Thousands came to hear him speak. He used all kinds of methods to help free slaves, including mock slave auctions. He also bought people’s freedom with money collected from worshipers.
A long history of fighting for what is right is what current church leaders strive to emulate. That includes highlighting complicated parts of their heritage, like a statue that sits on their grounds done by the infamous Mt. Rushmore sculptor, who had racist ties. The sculpture depicts Beecher helping to free slaves.
“You know there had to be people in the church saying ‘Hey, let’s get out of politics, ‘Hey let’s stop breaking the law. We should be working to change the laws,’” said Brett. “And yet, this was a church that understood if you’re not helping the people that need the help the most, then you’re not being a church. So that’s put a lot of pressure on us to try and live up to our heritage.”
The church is now heavily involved in fighting trafficking and fighting for racial justice.