Latest news with #Black-led
15-07-2025
- Politics
They came to Toronto for safety. Instead African asylum seekers faced racism, homelessness, says new report
The halls of Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles Church sit empty now, a stark contrast to 2023 when they were brimming with African asylum seekers who had nowhere else to go. Several cultural and faith-based community organizations banded together to house and support the influx of refugee asylum seekers coming into the city at the time — many of whom had been forced to sleep on the streets without adequate municipal support, unable to access the city's overflowing shelter system — says Nadine Miller, the church's executive director. We became a house. We became mother, father, medical doctor, the whole nine yards until we could get [the government] to step in, said Miller. [Asylum seekers] couldn't get in. They were stuck outside of the system. Two years later, a new study by United Way Greater Toronto has detailed systemic anti-Black racism faced by newcomers in the Greater Toronto Area in 2023 — most of whom were Black and from African countries — as well as failures within the government system. The report also offers solutions needed to ensure asylum seekers don't end up on the streets and in churches again. Nadine Miller, executive director of Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles Church, says they were one of the many cultural and faith-based organizations that stepped up to address the rise in African asylum seekers who were struggling to find adequate support in the GTA. Photo: CBC / Talia Ricci Toronto's ombudsman had previously found (new window) that the city's decision to limit refugees' access to shelter beds for several months in 2023 was anti-Black racism. The city manager disagreed with that finding last year. At the time, Black-led groups were able to move more than 200 asylum seekers (new window) from the streets of downtown Toronto to shelters in indoor shelters, many of them churches. Refugees denied jobs, faced foreign credential bias: report The United Way study was done in partnership with the City of Toronto, and with the support of the Region of Peel and the Regional Municipality of York — areas that reported the most significant challenges. While a lack of housing and employment were the biggest issues, asylum seekers also struggled with language barriers and limited access to responsive legal support, the report found. Participants in the report shared their experiences of being unable to secure housing as refugees and getting denied jobs due to racism and foreign credential bias. Until this topic comes to the table, and society itself comes to discuss it, nothing is going to be changed, a service provider said in the report. For the report's lead researcher, Jean de Dieu Basabose, the investigation resonated with his own experience of arriving in Canada from Rwanda in 2018. Basabose says he too struggled to find a stable job as a newcomer, but he luckily found housing through friends. For asylum seekers, he says racism came as an extra layer of challenge. This form of discrimination is deeply embedded in everyday life and institutions and it undermines the entire settlement process. And that makes it harder for African asylum seekers to find belonging and stability, he said. While many study participants called for government intervention going forward, Basabose says social services need to do more to address cultural sensitivity and provide trauma-informed services for refugees. WATCH | Toronto volunteers help asylum seekers find shelter in 2023: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Report includes 29 recommendations The report included 29 recommendations organized into three categories: programs and services, investments, and policy. Among them, a call for a centralized hub in the Greater Toronto Area to support African asylum seekers access reliable information and culturally-informed services. It also recommended anti-racism training and increased government funding to community organizations. Miller says Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles luckily had extra money to take people in in 2023, but the federal government should have taken more responsibility to support newcomers. If you're going to bring people in, you also need to take the responsibility of making sure that you put something in place just in case they are going to say that they need asylum, she said. Some change already underway Debbie Douglas, the executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has started a Canada-wide pilot project to support grassroots Black and racialized organizations through funding. We have lots of work to do on the ground, said Douglas, [The funding] shows that there is a recognition that over the decades … Black communities have basically been sidelined and have been left out of that funding stream. But Douglas says the eligibility criteria for IRCC funding is limited and doesn't include services for refugee claimants. Enlarge image (new window) Asylum seekers from Africa and other locales are photographed outside of a shelter intake office in Toronto in 2023, after a lack of shelter space forced some asylum seekers to sleep outside. Photo: Radio-Canada / Alex Lupul CBC News reached out to the IRCC for comment, but did not receive a response before deadline. The City of Toronto, meanwhile, says work is underway on a dedicated refugee shelter system that includes settlement support and culturally responsive services. In an emailed statement, the city said the initiative will include Toronto's first Black-led and Black-mandated shelter. But the City cannot meet this challenge alone, the statement read. The City continues to advocate for sustainable, long-term funding and a coordinated regional response from all orders of government to manage the growing demand for emergency shelter and ensure new arrivals are welcomed with dignity. Arrthy Thayaparan (new window) · CBC News Arrthy Thayaparan is a Toronto-based multimedia journalist. She's interested in health, climate and community stories. She has previously worked at Reuters and CBC Vancouver. You can contact her at With files from Kirthana Sasitharan and Talia Ricci
Cision Canada
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Cision Canada
United Way Report Urges Action as African Asylum Seekers Face Systemic Barriers Across GTA Français
TORONTO, July 15, 2025 /CNW/ - A new report from United Way Greater Toronto reveals that African asylum seekers continue to face profound barriers in their resettlement journey — from unaffordable housing and employment discrimination to systemic anti-Black racism and uneven access to basic supports. Understanding the Experiences of African Asylum Seekers was initiated in response to the 2023 refugee crisis, when hundreds of newly arrived asylum seekers — many from African countries — were forced to sleep on the streets as the shelter system buckled under pressure. Developed in partnership with the City of Toronto, and with support from the Region of Peel, York Region, and an advisory committee of community leaders, the report draws on interviews with 29 African asylum seekers and nine service providers, offering an unfiltered look at the challenges people face — and the steps we need to take to fix them. "Collaboration is key to tackling the challenges this crisis has exposed. From the frontline to all levels of government, hand in hand with those affected, we need to be working together," said Nation Cheong, Vice President of Community Impact and Mobilization at United Way Greater Toronto. "This research — shaped by the lived experiences of asylum seekers — is helping us build a coordinated strategy to improve support systems and prevent future crises." The findings are impossible to ignore: Housing is out of reach. Many asylum seekers struggle to find safe, stable shelter, often facing discrimination or overcrowded conditions. Employment pathways are blocked. Foreign credential bias, racism, and restrictions on training access make it difficult to secure work. One participant recounted being told directly by an interviewer that they would not hire a Black person or an African. The system is fragmented. People encounter inconsistent information, limited legal aid, and a lack of culturally appropriate services — especially for Black asylum seekers. Relocation doesn't solve the problem. One participant, a 2SLGBTQ+ asylum seeker and mother of three, described moving from Toronto to Cornwall in search of affordable housing, only to face an abrupt shelter closure, a lack of support from the government, and isolation from cultural communities. She eventually returned to Peel. Similar stories emerged from others who relocated to regions like Niagara, only to face racism, legal hurdles, and limited employment, forcing many to return to the GTA. Racism is a throughline. Anti-Black racism shows up at every turn: in housing, health care, employment, and service delivery. However, the report also highlights what is working and where change is possible. It highlights promising practices like wraparound support from Black-led and faith-based organizations, trauma-informed programming, hiring staff with lived experience, and better digital access. To help guide next steps, the report outlines three key areas for action: Strengthen programs and services through centralized resource hubs, peer mentorship, and culturally responsive care. Invest in frontline organizations — especially Black-led agencies — to meet urgent needs and build long-term stability. Advance policy change to fast-track asylum claims, address systemic racism, and remove barriers to employment — including systemic bias against foreign credentials. The report also calls for the creation of accountability mechanisms such as formal complaint procedures and evaluations, giving asylum seekers a way to report discrimination or service failure and drive improvement. The report further emphasizes the need for increased advocacy to confront anti-Black racism and push for durable policy reform — ensuring that what happened in 2023 is not repeated. United Way Greater Toronto is acting on these recommendations with an initial $400,000+ investment in two community-led initiatives: one by CAFCAN Social Services and one by African Community Services of Peel. Together, these projects will support 200 African asylum seekers — helping at least 50 secure stable housing — while improving access to employment and culturally relevant care. Read the full report here. About United Way Greater Toronto: As the largest non-government funder of community services in the GTA, United Way Greater Toronto reinforces a crucial community safety net to support people living in poverty. United Way's network of agencies and initiatives in neighbourhoods across Peel, Toronto and York Region works to ensure that everyone has access to the programs and services they need to thrive. Mobilizing community support, United Way's work is rooted in ground-breaking research, strategic leadership, local advocacy and cross-sectoral partnerships committed to building a more equitable region and lasting solutions to the GTA's greatest challenges.
Politico
11-07-2025
- Health
- Politico
The Black maternity mortality crisis comes to the Hill
Greetings from POLITICO's newest horse girl/cat mom reporter! Major thanks to Teresa Wiltz and Maura Reynolds for letting me contribute to this week's discussion. You can find me at cdaniels@ We know that Black women are up to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 percent of these deaths are preventable. That's why more than 50 Black-led organizations have collaborated on a comprehensive policy road map aimed at addressing the Black maternal mortality crisis, even in the face of increasing restrictions on reproductive health care. Spearheaded by In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda, a national-state partnership dedicated to advancing sexual and reproductive equity for Black women, the nonpartisan 2025 Black Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda outlines legislative recommendations to help eliminate racial disparities in maternal health outcomes. The organizations warn that limiting reproductive health services could exacerbate the Black maternal mortality crisis, leading to rising deaths among both mothers and infants. The agenda calls for Congress to pass the Abortion Justice Act, which would decriminalize those seeking or providing abortion services. It also calls for increasing funding for doulas and midwifery care in federal health care programs as well as providing free prescription contraceptives. While some of the proposed policies face significant hurdles in the Republican-controlled Congress, In Our Own Voice has the support of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. Women Rule sat down with Regina Moss, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice, and Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, to discuss the agenda and how Congress is viewing the maternal mortality crisis. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. While many associate the topic of reproductive justice with abortion rights, the Black Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda delves into much more than terminating a pregnancy. What is reproductive justice? Moss: In 1994 when the Clinton Health Administration was putting forth their health care reform, inevitably, the conversation centered on abortion. And there were 12 Black women at a conference in Chicago and they said, 'No, this is not right. We are not taking into consideration all the other things that have an impact on the decision whether or not to continue a pregnancy.' So they coined the term 'reproductive justice,' which is a splice of reproductive health and rights with social justice. It says: Just as much as we should have a right to not have a child, we should have a right to have a child. Black women were, at that time, being sterilized against their consent. We didn't have the full range of contraceptive options open to us. Following on that is the right to raise a child in a safe and sustainable environment. Those were the core tenets, and then later on, they realized that just as much as we have those rights, we should have the right to sexual expression. We are often subject to these negative narratives about Black women and girls and gender-expansive people being hypersexual, unfit mothers, all of these tropes and stereotypes. Reproductive justice is expansive on purpose because it leans into the fact that the intersectionality we sit in — of racism, classism, sexism, homophobia — both exacerbate as well as continue to create more systemic barriers for us. We know that Black women are up to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than their white counterparts. Congresswoman, how have you tried to draw attention to the crisis during your time in Congress, and have you received any pushback? KELLY: I didn't even realize it was a problem that still remains in this country until a constituent told me a story. But I can tell you, my colleagues on the other side fought me tooth and nail until we had a state legislator, a champion from Georgia come in [to speak to Congress]. She fought for the legislation extending the postpartum Medicaid coverage period, and she helped get it done in Georgia. And that's when [Republican Rep.] Buddy Carter said, 'I can't believe my state is one of the worst.' I wanted to scream so loud 'I've been trying to tell you that,' but they just refuse to acknowledge it, you know? As the person that actually brought maternal mortality and morbidity legislation to Congress, I think it's been, like, 10 years now, I'm fighting an uphill battle. When Black women are helped, that means all women are helped. I will tell you that not only the Congressional Black Caucus, the other caucuses too, are trying to keep various entities accountable. I'm the co-chair of the bipartisan Maternal Health Caucus. I think our problem that we face is that a lot of Republicans who know the right thing but — and I hate to use this word but I can't think of another word — they're afraid to do the right thing. But it doesn't mean we're not going to push for change, you know? Because we need to be ready when the change does come. And it's coming. We just need to build the relationships. The agenda calls for Medicaid funding for doulas and midwives, which are crucial to the success of Black pregnancy, as well as clinics like Planned Parenthood. But the recent reconciliation bill signed by President Donald Trump calls for reducing Medicaid funding. Can funding for doulas and midwives and Planned Parenthood still be achieved with these cuts and how will the cuts impact the maternal mortality crisis overall? KELLY: In the 2nd congressional district that I represent, 300,000 people are connected with Medicaid. It's drastic, it's horrible, it's cruel, it's mean, it's outrageous. Yes, it's babies and mamas, but it's a whole bunch of other people too. They forget rural areas. In Illinois alone, nine rural hospitals will close. And to throw in what just happened with Planned Parenthood? That was where I got my first care. We're devastated. We had [Health] Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy Jr. before the [House Committee on Energy and Commerce] and I talked about Medicaid and maternal mortality and issues around women. Everything we raised though, didn't matter. It's so frustrating and it's scary. Women will die. Things will get worse. They're not going to get better … But he is like a brick wall. But we're fighting. We're demanding things of him. We went over to his office. He didn't see us, but we're not going to let this rest. [Editor's note: The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.] It's not a secret that we're in the minority right now. We don't have all the numbers, but that doesn't mean that we don't still stand up, stand out, speak out about all of these issues. Reproductive rights are under attack in the courts, state legislatures and in Congress. So it's very important we have an agenda. MOSS: Fifty-two percent of Black girls rely on Medicaid. Half of all women of reproductive age with Medicaid are women of color. Two-thirds of Black births are born to mothers on Medicaid. Black nursing home residents are more likely to be female and reliant on Medicaid. So when we say that this will devastate the lives of millions of Black women, girls and gender-expansive people, it is not an understatement. POLITICO Special Report 'I Really Feel For Her': Brooke Rollins' Impossible Trump Administration Mandate by Jake Traylor, Myah Ward and Samuel Benson for POLITICO: 'Shortly after President Donald Trump temporarily paused immigration raids on farms last month, Brooke Rollins' team asked a well-connected D.C. lobbying firm to help defend the Agriculture secretary against an onslaught of attacks insinuating that she had betrayed America First principles. The request for outside help, which a department spokesperson denied was made or directed by the secretary, underscores the difficult position in which Rollins, who is thought to have political ambitions beyond this Cabinet post, finds herself. As secretary, she represents the interests of farmers and agriculture groups, who rely on immigrants to work long hours for modest pay. As a Trump official, she serves a president who has decried amnesty efforts, carve-outs and open borders that he believes have ruined the country under previous administrations.' How an Arizona Special Election Is Inflaming Democratic Divides by Nicholas Wu and Andrew Howard for POLITICO: 'Adelita Grijalva, the late [Rep. Raúl] Grijalva's 54-year-old daughter, seemed poised to pick up his seat after clinching support from national Hispanic and progressive Democrats, Arizona lawmakers, the gun violence-focused Giffords PAC and EMILY's List. Complicating her coronation is the late rise of Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old influencer who has the backing of Hogg's PAC and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus' campaign arm. And a third candidate, 35-year-old former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez, is posting strong fundraising numbers for his bid.' Linda Yaccarino Resigns as CEO of X by Aaron Pellish for POLITICO: 'Linda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down from her role as CEO of X in a post on the website on Wednesday. The former NBC Universal executive joined X in 2023 shortly after Elon Musk took ownership of the social media platform. Musk and Yaccarino had spearheaded an initiative to totally remake the company — which was then known as Twitter — with the tech titan warning the platform was too 'woke.'' Number of the Week Read more here. MUST READS In New Lawsuit, Pregnant Doctor Says RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Policy Puts Her at Risk by Barbara Rodriguez for The 19th: 'A pregnant physician is at the center of a new lawsuit against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and doctors say her concerns about whether she'll have access to a COVID-19 vaccine reflect a growing confusion about vaccine policy across the country. The lawsuit focuses on Kennedy's announcement in May on social media, which plaintiffs describe as a directive, that COVID-19 vaccination would be removed from the recommended vaccine schedule for healthy pregnant people and healthy children. The change was made without consulting vaccine experts or staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the lawsuit.' The Backdoor Way That Pete Hegseth Could Keep Women Out of Combat by Missy Ryan for The Atlantic: 'Since the military opened ground-combat units to women, in 2016, 160 have earned their Ranger tabs. And in the vision that Pete Hegseth laid out days before being tapped as defense secretary last year, none of them belong on the front lines. But to win confirmation as America's 29th defense secretary, Hegseth needed votes from senators, one of whom, in particular, was a woman who had served in combat. Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who commanded troops in Iraq and Kuwait, remained a holdout. With his future riding on her vote, the nominee suggested under oath that his views had evolved. It wasn't that he was against women in combat, per se. It was just that he wanted to uphold military excellence.' Judge Blocks Trump From Cutting Off Planned Parenthood Funding Under 'Big, Beautiful Bill' by Joe Walsh for CBS News: 'A judge on Monday temporarily barred the Trump administration from revoking Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, partially freezing a provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act just days after President Trump signed it into law. The temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani lasts 14 days and directs the Department of Health and Human Services to 'take all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed' to Planned Parenthood. The ruling, which came after a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood, doesn't apply to any other health care providers.' Quote of the Week More on that here. on the move Catherine Morehouse has launched a strategic comms firm focused on power grid policies and the energy transition. She most recently was an energy reporter at POLITICO. (h/t POLITICO Influence) Skylar Rubin is now digital media director for Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.). She previously was associate director of marketing and engagement at BGR Group. (h/t POLITICO Influence) Olivia Davis is now press secretary at the Democratic Governors Association. She most recently was comms director for ModSquad, and is a Tom Carper and Catherine Cortez Masto alum. (h/t POLITICO Playbook)
The Herald Scotland
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Trump impressed by Liberia president's English, the nation's language
"Well, thank you, and such good English," Trump replied. "That's beautiful. Where did you learn to speak so beautifully? Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?" "In Liberia?" Trump asked. "Yes, sir," Boakai said. "That's very interesting," Trump said. "I have people at this table who can't speak nearly as well." Following Boakai's visit to the White House, several people, including at least one elected official, took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with Trump's comments, calling them inappropriate. "Trump never misses an opportunity to be racist and wrong, and every day he finds a new way to be embarrassing," Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas posted on X, formerly Twitter. "Asking the President of Liberia where he learned English when it's literally the official language is peak ignorance. I'm pretty sure being blatantly offensive is not how you go about conducting diplomacy..." "This is an example of microaggression, highlighting Trump's view of Africans," one X post reads. "Many Africans, who were born, raised, and educated in Africa, communicate in 'beautiful English.'" USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment on the interaction. When did Liberia make English its national language? English has been Liberia's national language since 1847, alongside 27 indigenous languages that are also spoken. Liberia was founded in 1822 as the United States wanted to relocate freed Black men and women after the Northern states had either abolished slavery or made plans for gradual emancipation by 1804. The settlers declared their independence from the United States in 1847, writing their own constitution and becoming Africa's oldest modern republic as well as the second-oldest Black-led republic in the world, following Haiti. Though President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, declaring enslaved people in Confederate territory were to be free, it wasn't until the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865 that slavery was formally abolished in the United States. Reuters contributed to the reporting of this story.
Boston Globe
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump's DEI assault leaves Boston's Black cultural institutions in peril
Now 'we're cooking with hot grease,' she recalled thinking. Trent embarked on a plan to hire new staff and expand its field trips program, a sure way to increase revenue and elevate the museum's profile. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up But then the rug was pulled out. Amid the new Trump administration's frenzy of culture-altering cuts, a letter arrived this spring from the grant's provider, the US Institute of Museum and Library Services. The award was cancelled, the letter said, in part because it 'no longer serves the interest of the United States.' Now, Trent said, the museum's future is uncertain, including an outside chance it will have to close. Advertisement The Museum of African American History had a $500,000 federal grant canceled. Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe Similar cuts at cultural institutions across the country have wrought damage far and wide. But the Trump administration's drive to abolish diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and, seemingly, to quash all efforts to illuminate Black experience, have hit Black cultural groups especially hard. Advertisement 'It has been an attack since January on this field,' said Vedet Coleman-Robinson, head of the Association of African American Museums, adding that corporate bookings and overall visitor numbers have fallen since Trump mounted his sustained assault on DEI efforts. 'While we have stamina, and while we are tenacious, I think that everybody is just trying to get to the next day.' For many, it is a moment of profound cultural whiplash. Black groups that saw a surge in interest in their work after the murder of George Floyd must now contend with the Trump administration's assertion that their elevation of Black culture is racist. And while other organizations can now simply soft-peddle, or even table, DEI initiatives, Black cultural groups are often mission-driven to present Black narratives of nuance and complexity. 'There's a target on my back,' said Trent, whose museum has campuses in Boston and Nantucket. 'We're all trying to figure out how to survive.' The effects are being felt well beyond the world of museums. Front Porch Arts Collective, a Black-led theater company in Boston, and Castle of our Skins, a Black musical arts group, were among a small cohort of up-and-coming New England cultural groups that recently lost sizable awards from a National Endowment for the Arts pilot program meant to support groups that had shown a ' Led by co-producing artistic directors Maurice Emmanuel Parent and Dawn M. Simmons, Front Porch has thrived in recent years. The theater troupe, which regularly works with more established companies to co-produce shows about the African diaspora, has sextupled its operating budget and now has seven employees, three of them full-time. Advertisement Dawn M. Simmons and Maurice Emmanuel Parent, co-producing artistic directors at Front Porch Arts Collective, had funding terminated by the NEA. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff The $130,000 NEA grant was going to help them create a permanent home in Roxbury, fund salaries, and offer free community and education programs. Boston-based Castle of our Skins has made similar strides. The group, which collaborates with artists and organizations to present African diasporic music, garnered two NEA grants last year totaling $140,000. Then, in December, the group secured its own performance and events space to be built in the Lower Roxbury/South End neighborhood. Castle of our Skins co-founder and artistic director Ashleigh Gordon compared the last year to the 1980s-era video game 'Paperboy.' 'The whole point is that you're supposed to deliver the paper to someone's doorstep, and there's like a car, and a lawnmower, and a snake, and all these things sort of jumping out,' she said. 'We just want to build our organization, and then there's these things being thrown at us, which present their own Pandora's box of stresses.' Simmons (center) and Parent (foreground) at a rehearsal last year for 'A Strange Loop." Nile Scott Studios Front Porch's Parent said he began to worry their NEA funds might be in jeopardy after president Trump won the November election. 'I just kind of saw the writing on the wall,' said Parent, who like other grant recipients in the NEA pilot program received half the funds up front. He noted that part of the company's mission is 'to advance racial equity through theater.' 'Look at the population of people that run the organizations receiving these grants and the populations being served.' The Institute of Museum and Library Services grant cancellations Advertisement For Trent, whose Museum of African American History had already received a portion of the canceled grant, that includes whether schools will come for field trips at all. 'Is visiting us now a high risk activity?' she asked. 'Is there potential, given the circumstances, for a school to lose federal support?' Black leaders said they've also been frustrated by the Trump administration's stated position that DEI efforts are discriminatory. 'We are a Black theater company, but we have never said we're only for Black people,' said Parent. 'Having knowledge of our community makes our entire Commonwealth better, just like having knowledge of all communities makes us all better.' Simmons, who will become 'Somebody who's telling predominantly white stories wants us to come, wants us to see all of those stories,' she said. 'They think that there is a place for us there. Why would the reverse not be true?' Meanwhile, Parent, like many nonprofit leaders, has been watching closely Harvard University's showdown with president Trump, who's floated the idea of stripping the school's nonprofit status. 'Take nonprofit status away from organizations, and we would all fold,' he said. 'People get tax breaks for giving to us. If that goes away, we don't have enough revenue to keep going.' But Castle of our Skins executive director Ciyadh Wells said her organization will remain 'steadfast in our mission.' 'Our organization has been threatened, but we are going to continue,' said Wells, whose organization lost a total of $80,000 in canceled grants. 'If anything, it makes us double down.' Advertisement Castle of our Skins honors Fredrick Douglass with a performance at the Museum of African American History. Heather Diehl for the Boston Glo On a recent Sunday afternoon, Gordon and other Castle of our Skins musicians performed for a small crowd at the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill. The program -- which included works by Black composers interspersed with excerpts from Frederick Douglass's speech 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" -- was at once celebratory and defiant. It was just the sort of program the museum's founder, Sue Bailey Thurman, likely envisioned when she founded the museum nearly 60 years ago. 'This whole idea starts from a woman who arrives in 1953 and thinks that Black history in Boston should be marked and preserved,' Trent had said while seated in the Meeting House a few days earlier. 'You don't want to be the leader who had to close it down.' Ashleigh Gordan, viola player for Castle of our Skins, honored Fredrick Douglass with a performance at the Museum of African American History. Heather Diehl for the Boston Glo Malcolm Gay can be reached at
