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05.28.2019

In WBUR’s ‘The Artery:’ With ‘I Am A Man,’ Castle Of Our Skins Rewrites The Narrative Of Black Masculinity

Fed up with low wages and poor working conditions, more than a thousand black sanitation workers flooded the streets of Memphis on Feb. 12, 1968. The men, pushed to the breaking point by the death of their colleagues, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, who were “crushed by a malfunctioning truck,” went on strike. They protested with bold signage that decried “I AM A MAN.” That declaration demanding dignity and equality is at the center of Castle of Our Skins’ (COOS) latest project, “I AM A MAN 2019,” premiering June 2. Through music, film, history and more, “I AM A MAN 2019” examines that historical moment through the lens of contemporary concerns of black masculinity and humanity.

05.10.2019

On WGBH: Longtime Leader Of Roxbury Nonprofit Announces Departure

Jeanne Pinado can barely drive a mile from her office near Roxbury’s Dudley Square without passing a building whose construction or renovation she has overseen during her two decades directing the Madison Park Development Corporation.”And that’s another building we own,” Pinado said, pointing to a 43-unit apartment building on a recent driving tour of the organization’s real estate. Pinado easily spouted details and dates behind several other developments, including the Tropical Foods supermarket on Melnea Cass Boulevard, the Smith House apartments for the elderly on Shawmut Avenue and the Daily Table grocery store on Washington Street. Each was built or modernized on her watch.

05.06.2019

In the Bay State Banner: Jeanne Pinado leaving Madison Park CDC after 20 years at helm

When Jeanne Pinado took the reins at Madison Park Development Corporation in 1998, Dudley Square was on the verge of a major makeover, but it had a ways to go. Although street-level retail shops were thriving, the upper floors of the area’s large office buildings had been vacant for years.Some, like the hulking Hibernian Hall, appeared on the verge of collapse.Over the course of two decades, Pinado, who will step down at the end of this year, steered the Roxbury-based community development corporation through Dudley Square’s redevelopment. Along the way, the CDC cut the ribbon on 600 new units of affordable rental housing and 95 units of owner-occupied affordable housing, oversaw the refinancing and redevelopment of the 546 units in Madison Park Village and the adjacent Haynes House and Smith House developments.Along with the redevelopment of Hibernian Hall on Dudley Street into an arts center and initiatives such as the RoxVote voter mobilization effort, the CDC has in the last 20 years expanded from its mission of building and maintaining affordable housing to a broader vision of community-building.

04.19.2019

On MySouthEnd.com: CEDAC Honors Community Leader Mel King

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) honored former State Representative Mel King at its 40th anniversary celebration, held on March 14 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Samberg Conference Center. King, a legendary community organizer, crafted the state legislation that created CEDAC in 1978. CEDAC is a community development financial institution that provides early stage financing and technical assistance to community-based and other non-profit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts.