17 September 2009

Service day spurs ‘green’ moves for Rox residents

taliawhyte Uncategorized energy efficiency, environmental justice

Elsie Brown, a resident of the Madison Park Village housing complex in Roxbury, installs a compact fluorescent light bulb on Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts helped install energy-efficient light bulbs in Madison Park and at St. John St. James Episcopal Church. Photo By Talia Whyte

By Talia Whyte

Bay State Banner

Last Friday, President Barack Obama called upon Americans to participate in a National Day of Service and to give back to their communities on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Many of the goodwill efforts revolved around helping to make vulnerable neighborhoods more environmentally friendly.

Locally, members of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts gathered at St. John St. James Episcopal Church in Roxbury to “green” the church and residences in the nearby Madison Park Village housing complex by installing energy-efficient light bulbs.

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16 September 2009

Kanye sparks an explosion of racism online

taliawhyte The Grio Barack Obama, Kanye West, racism, Serena Williams, Taylor Swift, Twitter, Van Jones

By Talia Whyte

The Grio

Kanye West’s latest outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards has drawn mostly negative reactions. After his unsavory diss of country singer Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for the best female video, many people immediately went to their various online social media tools to share their thoughts about the hip-hop star.

I agree with the opinion that West’s blowup was horribly rude and childish. However, there were some Internet users who took their thoughts about him too far. This was particularly obvious on Twitter, which was awash in a flood of racism, with the so-called “post-racial” levees fully giving way.

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3 September 2009

‘Something green is growing here’

taliawhyte Uncategorized environmental justice, sustainability, Urban farming

Dorchester resident Vernell Jordan shows off some of the food she has grown on a small patch of land outside of Dudley Square owned by Lincoln, Mass.-based nonprofit The Food Project. Jordan is one of many community residents who have decided to take responsibility for bringing fresh, organic food into their urban neighborhoods. Photo By Talia Whyte

In Dorchester, residents of color take urban farming to new heights

By Talia Whyte

Bay State Banner

According to the old medical adage, you are what you eat. But what if where you live determines what’s on the menu?

Dorchester resident Vernell Jordan was not satisfied with the food choices she had in her neighborhood, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

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27 August 2009

Hub one of six sites in black male HIV study

taliawhyte Uncategorized African American, AIDS, bisexual, gay, HIV, men who have sex with men, MSM

By Talia Whyte

Bay State Banner

African Americans continue to be hit the hardest by the AIDS epidemic nationwide. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, blacks account for almost half of all Americans living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and they make up nearly half of new infections every year. Roughly one in 16 black men and one in 30 black women will be infected at some point in their lives.

However, health advocates are growing increasingly concerned about one specific high-risk group that research has shown to be most severely impacted by HIV — black men who have sex with men, or MSM. (The term “MSM” is used to broadly identify men who consider themselves gay or bisexual, as well as those who do sleep with men but don’t identify themselves as either, according to researchers.)

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