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The arrival of Black History Month (also known as African American History Month in the US) is a time to discuss and celebrate the achievements and lives of many brave souls who came before us. On a personal level, my thoughts turn to a dichotomy of experiences: pride that historically, New Yorkers in general have stood on the side of civil rights and equality for all, but dismay at several personal recollections when racism unexpectedly reared its head right before my eyes. » Continue Reading.
Posts Tagged ‘Diversity’
Disappointing Personal Lessons in Racism
Kelly Metzgar On Historic GENDA Legislation
History was made in New York State recently when the New York State Senate – after 16 very long and often disappointing years – finally passed the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) granting basic human and civil rights protections to the Transgender and Non-Binary communities.
GENDA had previously passed the NYS Democratic majority Assembly 11 years in a row. Also signed into law was the ban on LGBTQ Conversion Therapy, a controversial practice that attempted to change a child or youth’s sexual orientation or gender identity through highly discredited therapeutic means. » Continue Reading.
Murder in Troy: The Welshman And William Wesson (Conclusion)
What follows is the conclusion of the murder story that was begun here last week, ending with testimony from several witnesses, including the defendant. This picks up in the trial’s final phase.
During closing statements, defense attorney Jeremiah K. Long pleaded for his client’s life: “The charge of murder in the first degree is a fearful one. To condemn this aged man to death will be a fearful responsibility for every individual juror. The facts did not warrant a conclusion of deliberate killing. The ends of justice might be satisfied by the infliction of a lighter penalty than death…. None of the circumstances showed that the crime was premeditated. » Continue Reading.
Transgender Day of Remembrance Nov 18th
An observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance will be held on Sunday November 18th from 1 to 2 pm, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 136 Main St, Saranac Lake.
Transgender Day of Remembrance occurs annually on November 20th, and is a day to memorialize those who were murdered as the result of transphobia (the hatred or fear of transgender and gender non-conforming people).
TDOR, as it is often referred to, was founded in 1998 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender woman to memorialize the murder of her friend Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts.
Travel Unity Summit Set For Lake Placid Saturday
The Adirondack Diversity Initiative is teaming up with ROOST, ANCA, The Adirondack Foundation and others to host a Travel Unity Summit in Lake Placid and at the Wild Center October 27 and 28.
According to a recently released 2017 Leisure Travel Information Study conducted by Place Marketing for ROOST, the Regional Office Of Sustainable Tourism, a bit over 96 percent of the visitors to the Adirondacks were White/Caucasian, As 48 percent of New Yorkers are not white (19 percent Black, 17.5 percent Hispanic, balance Asian and other) this begs the question why are not more people of color visiting the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.
Hudson River History: The 1903 Spier Falls Disaster (Conclusion)
In spring 1903, more than a thousand men were at work on the final stages of the Spier Falls hydropower project. A large number of skilled Italian masons and stoneworkers were housed in a shantytown on the Warren County (north) side of the river.
Most of the remaining work was on the Saratoga County (south) side, which they accessed by a temporary bridge. But the company feared that the high waters of springtime had made the bridge unsafe. To avert a potential catastrophe, they destroyed it with dynamite. » Continue Reading.
Researching Adirondack Diversity Focus of Historians Day
The Adirondack History Museum has announced their annual Historian’s Day event has been set for Friday, October 12th, from 10 am to 2 pm. This years theme is “Researching Diversity in the Adirondacks” and will feature three guest presenters. » Continue Reading.
ADKX Adds Exhibit On Adirondack Segregation
Adirondack Experience, the Museum on Blue Mountain Lake, has announced a new acquisition on view in its Life in the Adirondacks exhibition: a cramped, dilapidated shack, known as “The Closet” that for two summers was home to a young and talented African-American tenor, Fulton Fryar.
Through the combined efforts of Adirondack Architectural Heritage, the Seagle Music Colony, and Adirondack Experience, this historic artifact was saved from demolition and will help educate museum visitors about the history of racial discrimination in the Adirondack Park. » Continue Reading.
Old in Art School: Historian Nell Painter Book Event Sunday
Nell Painter, author, artist and Professor of American History, Emerita, at Princeton, is set to host a signing and discussing of her new book, Old in Art School, on Sunday, June 17th, at 4 pm.
The event will be held at Lake Flower Landing, 421 Flower Avenue in Saranac Lake. Painter will be joined in discussion by Keene Valley artist Frank Owen. » Continue Reading.
An Arbor Day Experience On Thomas Mountain
Late last year, our NYS DEC removed a cabin atop Thomas Mountain in the Lake George Wild Forest. The cabin, dating to the mountain’s former private ownership, had been vandalized and had become a public hazard. Its presence was also a violation of Article XIV, Section 1 of our NYS Constitution. DEC did the right thing to remove it.
Restoration of the former cabin site was a logical next step, and Arbor Day the right occasion. Adirondack Wild was very pleased to be invited by DEC to collaborate. We reached out once again for volunteers to the Youth EdVenture and Nature Network (YENN). » Continue Reading.
APA Meeting: SLMP Amendments, ORDA Plans, More
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Ray Brook, NY on Thursday, March 8th, 2018.
The meeting will address proposed amendments to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (including changes to the Travel Corridor definition), Invasive Species management, and proposed actions involving Gore and Whiteface Mountains. The Public Awareness Committee will hear a presentation on the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, and the Regulatory Programs Committee will be briefed on revisions to the Variance and Large-Scale Subdivision Applications.
What follows is the agenda issued by the APA: » Continue Reading.
New Aaron Woolf Film Being Shown in Lake Placid
The fall season of the Adirondack Film Society extends into December with a new documentary by Aaron Woolf, best known in the region as the former Democratic Party candidate for Congress who was defeated by Republican Elise Stefanik in 2014.
Outside the region, Woolf is known as a filmmaker, most notably for his documentary about agribusiness, King Corn (2007). His newest documentary is Denial, about gender transition, renewable energy and climate change. Denial follows Vermont electric utility CEO David Hallquist as his company struggles with generating and delivering electricity in the face of climate change. In the process, David Hallquist reveals to his family a lifelong dream to transition to Christine Hallquist. Hallquist’s son Derek directed the film with Woolf serving as one of the film’s producers, writers and co-creators. » Continue Reading.
Pride Parade Set For Plattsburgh Sept 30th
Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance has announced their second LGBTQ Pride Event in Plattsburgh, on Saturday, September 30, 2017, from noon until 5 pm.
According to an announcement sent to the Adirondack Almanack: “Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance’s goal with this event is to bring members of the LGBTQ community and their allies together to stand hand in hand to promote love, acceptance, respect, and unity, and to promote these values for all people in the area and world regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and any other expression or identity that makes us special and unique. » Continue Reading.
Louis Marshall: Wilderness Conservationist; Seeker of Social Justice
Wilderness preservationist Louis Marshall would have not only commented about the extremism, murder and related tragic loss of life in Charlottesville, VA. He would have been outspoken against the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazi followers that caused it. Further, he would have responded vigorously and explicitly against President Trump’s persistent equivocation about who caused the violence and loss of life. To the lawyer and civil rights advocate Louis Marshall, love of justice and love of nature bubbled up from the same headwaters.
We continue to live in a time of specialists where our humanity is defined and constrained as lanes we live and practice within. The messages we receive daily are to stay in our separate lanes, interests and specialties. By dint of his and world history and by force of personality, Louis Marshall (1856-1929) would not stay in any lane. Nor did Martin Luther King. Nor do young people today. Nor should any of us. » Continue Reading.
¡Naturalmente! Summer Program Combines Nature and Spanish
Cultural and natural sustainability will come together in a weeklong program for youth at the Adirondack Interpretive Center in Newcomb. ¡Naturalmente! is a unique program for youth ages 10-14 that provides the opportunity to learn Spanish while exploring the beauty of the Adirondack Park. The program runs from August 20 to 25, 2017.
¡Naturalmente! has two components: Spanish lessons and exploration of the area’s environment. » Continue Reading.
Latest News Headlines
- Golfer and Indian Lake resident Dewey Brown broke through barriers
- Oldest black-capped chickadee in U.S. found in Adirondacks
- Advancing Adirondack inclusivity at John Brown Farm
- "There will be no change at the border," say Canadian officials
- Cambridge school board retires 'Indians' name
- Colton's "Black Fly Diva" battles the biting bugs
- Gypsy moth caterpillar invasion: 'It's a plague'
- Two ADK towns make this list of best NYS small towns
- 5 Multi-Generational Family Trips Worth Taking
- Popular Cobble Hill trail in Lake Placid to get new start
Latest News Headlines
- Golfer and Indian Lake resident Dewey Brown broke through barriers
- Oldest black-capped chickadee in U.S. found in Adirondacks
- Advancing Adirondack inclusivity at John Brown Farm
- "There will be no change at the border," say Canadian officials
- Cambridge school board retires 'Indians' name
- Colton's "Black Fly Diva" battles the biting bugs
- Gypsy moth caterpillar invasion: 'It's a plague'
- Two ADK towns make this list of best NYS small towns
- 5 Multi-Generational Family Trips Worth Taking
- Popular Cobble Hill trail in Lake Placid to get new start
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