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Mae Jemison orbited the Earth aboard the Endeavour with six other astronauts on Sept. 12, 1992, becoming the first Black woman in space. She was on the space shuttle for nearly eight days.

Jemison — her mother a schoolteacher and her father a maintenance worker — was fascinated by science at an early age. She was an excellent student in high school and went to Stanford University on a full scholarship at the age of 16.

She earned degrees in chemical engineering and African/African American studies. Then she earned a doctorate in medicine from Cornell University in 1981.

Jemison worked as a general practitioner in Los Angeles before becoming a medical officer with the Peace Corps in West Africa. Jemison worked on several medical research projects with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. She was part of a team who developed a vaccine for hepatitis B.

Upon returning to the United States, she applied to NASA to become an astronaut. She was one of 15 people accepted. About 2,000 people applied. Jemison completed her training as a mission specialist in 1988. She initially applied in 1985, but NASA had frozen astronaut training after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.

Jemison flew her only space mission in 1992, between Sept. 12 and Sept. 20. The crew orbited the Earth 127 times, spending more than 190 hours in space. Among the items that she brought with her on the Endeavour was a poster from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She also brought a statue from West Africa and a photograph of Bessie Coleman, the first African American with an international pilot license.

She has dozens of honorary degrees and awards. Jemison, who lives in Houston, is the only real astronaut to appear in an episode of the television show Star Trek.

God made me a woman. A special woman, a resilient example of finer womanhood. A Black woman who is fearless, dedicated to public service and committed to the elevation of her people. But, I am not special. I stand on the shoulders of women, elders among us who deserve their flowers. And I stand on the shoulders of powerful and dynamic women who came before me.

Sojourner Truth, for example, was an evangelist, an activist for women’s rights, an author and abolitionist. She was born into the cruel and inhumane system of slavery in Ulster County, New York, before she escaped to her freedom. The most famous speech attributed to Sojourner Truth was delivered at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851. She used the rhetorical question, “Ain’t I A Woman?” to draw attention to the discrimination she faced as a Black woman. Some historians have disputed the exact text of the speech, but let me give you a little taste:

“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?”

She was a woman and she is my hero.

“I am here today to demand fair pay for the human services workers who are under contract with the city or state. This segment of the workforce represents more than 80,000 employees. About 70% are women. About 55 percent of the workers in the nonprofit human services workforce are women of color. They earn between 20 and 35 percent less annually than their counterparts in the public and private sector. That’s plain unacceptable.

These are workers who show tremendous compassion for the most vulnerable among us. These are workers who provide critical services to homeless people and to those in the foster care system. They provide mental health services, assistance with job placement, and substance use counseling. They’re crisis intervention workers and court support workers. They are magicians who were on the frontlines during the peak of the pandemic.

Today, they’re asking for just pay. They’re asking for annual cost-of-living increases for human services contract workers. That’s fair. But that’s just a start. The city and state need to close the wage gap now. They’re asking for a living wage of at least $21 an hour. That’s fair. They just want an honest day’s pay for the critical work they do. They just want to take care of their own families after they take care of everyone else. That is fair. That is just.”

The Campaign Against Hunger

• Address:
  2010 Fulton St.
• Phone: 718-773-3551
• tcahnyc.org

Salvation Army Brownsville – Food Distribution Center

• Address:
  280 Riverdale Ave.
• Phone: 718-345-7050

Our Lady Of The Presentation – Food Distribution Center

• Address:
  1677 St Marks Ave.
• Phone: 718-345-2604

Our Lady Of Mercy Church – Food Distribution Center

• Address:
  680 Mother Gaston Blvd.
• Phone: 718-346-3166

OPIN (Other People in Need) – Food Distribution Center

• Address:
  1768 St Johns Place
• Phone: 718-421-0148

New Hope Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ – Food Distribution Center

• Address:
  1838 Park Place
• Phone: 646-626-1827

Brooklyn Rescue Mission Urban Harvest Center

• Address:
  426 Decatur St.
• Phone: 917-426-3001

Salvation Army Corps Comm Center

• Address:
  280 Riverdale Ave.
• Phone: 718-345-2488

Brooklyn Rescue Mission

• Address:
  255 Bainbridge St.
• Phone: 917-301-6747
• brmuhc.org

Sesame Flyers

• Address:
  905 Winthrop St.
• Phone: 718-221-8881
• sesameflyers.org

Neighbors Together Corporation

• Address:
  2094 Fulton St.
• Phone: 718-498-7256
• neighborstogether.org

The New York State Seed Funding Grant Program was created to support the growth and success of small businesses in a recovering New York State economy.

To qualify for the program, applicants must provide evidence of their operational status and meet the eligibility requirements set by the state. Micro-businesses, small businesses, for-profit arts and cultural organizations, and independent arts contractors must submit documentation as prescribed by Empire State Development to demonstrate their qualification for the program as part of the application process.

Due to a limited amount of funding and the high volume of requests expected, business type, geography, and industry may factor into the ability to receive a grant.

The Empire State Fellows Program is designed to provide comprehensive leadership training to promising professionals who are aspiring to become policymakers in New York State. Participants in the program will be selected for the two-year term from September 2023 to September 2025, and will be offered an annual salary of $85,000, along with attractive benefits.

After the completion of the fellowship, Empire State Fellows will undergo a performance evaluation to determine which ones will be offered the chance to assume leadership roles in the New York State government.

The central focus of the Empire State Fellows Program is to involve participants in the workings of the New York State government. Under this program, the Governor’s Office will designate each Empire State Fellow to collaborate directly with a Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, or other top-level policymakers at a New York State agency or authority or within the Executive Chamber.

The central focus of the Empire State Fellows Program is to involve participants in the workings of the New York State government. Under this program, the Governor’s Office will designate each Empire State Fellow to collaborate directly with a Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, or other top-level policymakers at a New York State agency or authority or within the Executive Chamber.

Experience international affairs firsthand in New York City with a term of intensive study and a professional internship.

The SEO Scholars program is a free, eight-year academic program that gets low-income public high school students to and through college – with a 90% college graduation rate.

SEO Scholars are committed to their personal growth, building successful futures, and creating a more equitable society for generations to come.

SEO (Seizing Every Opportunity) is looking for scholars who will contribute to the program with character, commitment, and grit, and can also grow academically and professionally. We accept applications from any New York City public high school ninth (9th) grade student with a minimum GPA of 70%. Annually, we have over 1,000 Scholars, representing more than 120 schools across all five boroughs.

Our results speak for themselves:

• 90% college graduation rate
• 100% of Scholars accepted into four-year colleges
• More than half of our SEO Scholars Class of 2022 are attending schools ranked as top by a U.S. News and World Report
• $5.9 Million in college scholarships and grants for the Class of 2022

The New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), a program that helps New York residents pay tuition for full-time enrollment at approved schools in New York State, has now been extended to part-time students as well. To be part-time, a student must take at least six credits per semester.For information on which schools are included in the program, eligibility guidelines, and to apply, CLICK HERE.

As part of new investments in public education in the state’s budget, SUNY has waived application fees for every student at 500 high schools in New York.

Specifically, the schools selected were the ones with the highest percentage of students receiving free lunch.

Additionally, any student at any high school in the state who receives free lunch will also have their fees waived.

To see if your local school has had its application fees waived, click this LINK.

When emergency repairs are needed, we call on our pre-qualified list of contractors to get the job done. When lead-based paint is found in a family’s home, or heat and hot water service have been interrupted, our Emergency Operations Division orders and monitors emergency repairs in response to these immediately hazardous conditions. We’re looking for contractors with experience in housing maintenance, repairs, and demolition to help keep New York City homes safe!