This and That by JL

Just when I thought I knew everything about Abraham Lincoln, I found out something new while watching the fabulous CNN documentary on his life. Now, we all know that history is often tinged with various interpretations of events. No surprise there. But my “a-ha“ moment was truly a revelation, and a source of great pride as […]

Artist Charles Fazzino says he makes art like he makes lasagna—layer upon layer. We caught up with him recently when he made an unsolicited $5,000 gift to ArtsWestchester’s Artist Relief Fund. As an artist himself, he has been concerned about the plight of many fellow creatives who have been unemployed during  Covid. According to a […]

Vinnie Bagwell is finally coming into her own, and all her admirers (I am one of them) couldn’t be happier. I might even be bold enough to say that this may be her year. On April 7, ArtsWestchester will bestow upon her its Artist Award, given annually to an extraordinary artist who has created a significant […]

ArtsWestchester announced a major new competitive artist grant program, which will award three artists with $10,000 each to propose and actualize new works related to social justice.

ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam is commemorating President’s Day with this blog about a founding father.

During this week, I have chosen to reread many of the words of wisdom of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. These are words that resonated with me as a youth in the sixties. For example, it is true today as it was then that: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We were […]

One of the things we miss the most during this Covid nightmare is teachers. They have always been the unsung social workers of the neighborhoods.  As a kid growing up in Far Rockaway, I learned that from my mother, a fifth-grade teacher who practiced her own version of tough love both in the classroom and at […]

Polio was all around me as a kid growing up in Far Rockaway. It was in every whisper, every newspaper, every mother’s nightmare—the idea that the simple act of going to a swimming pool or a movie could cripple you for life. Those were the stark choices we had to make as kids growing up […]