Baron Ambrosia and Bronx Flavor presents a holiday special video, ‘THANKSCHRISKWANZAAKAH‘ so get ready to watch what happens, “When Awesome-Mart combines all the holiday’s in order to make more money, a terrible curse is unleashed on the Bronx.”
Baron cleverly mixes many of our wonderful cultures in one of the most diverse boroughs of New York City—The Bronx.
This is rather appropriate given the fact that Christmas decorations are already being put up in October!
Back in August we took this picture for an article on Parkchester and we wrote, “Zaro’s is still there after all these years!” Now, the store will be gone in just 6 days after 56 years.
A trip to Parkchester usually meant a stop over at Zaro’s Bakery.
Zaro’s Bakery was founded in The Bronx back in 1927 by Polish immigrant Joseph Zaro and in 1959, the iconic location at Parkchester was opened. For 56 years the store has been a favorite for generations of Bronxites and now the store is closing its doors for good.
According to a tip by Bronx resident and actor Dominic Colon who posted images of a sign on Zaro’s doors, the landlord is refusing to renew their lease which expires on December 31st, just over a week away.
“It is with a heavy heart that the Zaro Family regrets to inform you that we will be closing our store for good on December 28th. The Parkchester community has supported us at this location since 1959, over 55 years and 3 generations of Zaros. The landlord informed us 4 weeks ago that our lease, which expires on December 31st, would not be renewed. In all likelihood we will be replaced by another big national food chain.” the note read.
Note taped to the inside of Zaro’s as shared by actor and Bronx resident Dominic Colon.
However, according to a representative at Olsham Properties who wished to remain anonymous, “That is simply not true, they did not lose their lease.”
When we spoke to the folks at Zaro’s headquarters they claimed that they were just given 4 weeks notice that their lease would not be renewed.
Rumors have it that a Boston Market will take over the space although the landlord would not confirm that.
Meanwhile over at Boston Market headquarters, they were unable to verify that that was the case but did verify that The Bronx will be getting 3 new Boston Market locations. One of those locations is most likely the soon to open spot in Melrose at Triangle Plaza on 149th Street so the verdict’s still out on what is coming.
Once the news broke out on Facebook, residents immediately began expressing their dismay at the loss of the store. Carol wrote, “So many good memories of that place…sad.”
I remember as a child, my parents would drive to Parkchester so mom could pick up a cake from Zaro’s — especially the carrot cake which was (and is still) one of our favorites — for special family occasions and gatherings.
Zaro’s Port Morris bakery and other locations will remain open, however, now you have to travel to Manhattan to get one of their classic items. Several of their locations in Manhattan have closed in recent years but their Grand Central Station location and others in midtown are still open.
Whatever the circumstances behind the closing of the store, it seems to be between Zaro’s and the landord.
It’s pretty safe to assume that the rent went up and perhaps considerably as typical retail and commercial leases are between 5 or 10 years. With the increased attention by developers in The Bronx and not to mention the closing of over 20 stores that will be bulldozed for a new retail/commercial building closing dozens of long time small businesses, retail rents are sure to only escalate.
National chains have the capital to readily pay these rents as evidenced by the recent opening of a Starbucks in Melrose on 161st Street and a soon to come Chipotle right next door.
It was a good 56 years of a mom and pop business right here in our borough and we’re sad to see them go. Maybe they’ll open up another Bronx location? After all, the rents are definitely cheaper than any of their multiple Manhattan locations.
Bronx Musicians / Via The Bronx African American History Project
Fordham University has made public over 300 oral interviews conducted for the Bronx African American History Project of said residents living in the borough since the 1930’s. It, “is regarded as one of the premier community based oral history projects in the United States”, according to project’s website.
Well known Bronxites like the late Morgan Powell, Caridad de la Luz (aka La Bruja), and Kurtis Blow are included in this massive archive—even Latinos, and Jews alike.
The project began in 2002 and for over a decade, researchers conducted oral interviews with these individuals along with research of historical archives to come up with the Black experience as told by themselves and not the often distorted media narratives we are accustomed to reading.
These were done in conjunction with the Bronx County Historical Society which, “conducted over 300 full length interviews with African American political leaders, educators, musicians, social workers, business people, clergy. athletes and leaders of community based organizations who have lived and worked in the Bronx since the late 1930s, along with a small number of their Latino and white neighbors and co-workers.”
“The interviews, all conducted by scholars associated with Fordham’s Department of African and African American Studies, provide an in-depth portrait of the cultural, political, and social history of Bronx Black communities as seen through the eyes of a diverse group of neighborhood residents and document the mass migration of African Americans and West Indians from Harlem to the Bronx in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
An elementary school class in The Bronx, 1949
Mark Naison, professor of history and African and African-American studies at Fordham and principal investigator of the project, notes that for many years The Bronx was a very diverse community as White flight did not happen all at once. “For about 20 years the Bronx had a very unusual mix,” said Dr. Naison. “The transformation was a much slower process than people realize. We captured that experience.”
In the abstract of Morgan’s interview, “He recalls being among the first dark-skinned people in his northern Bronx neighborhood in the 80s, which was mostly Italian and Jewish, and he remembers playing in board games with the neighborhood kids. It was a place full of life, but was regarded as being worthless and full of social decay by the rest of America during the time.”
It goes on to say, “Unlike most the other people he grew up with, Powell “identifies with the Bronx, has come from the Bronx, and is an educated person who wishes to stay in the Bronx.” He stayed for several reasons, one being that after graduating high school at age 17, his mother refused to sign any papers for him going to college. He also reflects that people wanted to leave the Bronx because, growing up there, they were taught it was a “godforsaken” place.” (you can view the full transcript of the interview or even listen to it via the website).
After Morgan’s untimely death last year, his family graciously donated his entire collection of his own research he had done on the African American experience in The Bronx to the Bronx African American History Project to be housed at Fordham University’s Walsh Library (Although not yet archived, Morgan’s papers are available to the public. To make an appointment for the collection at Walsh Library, contact Patrice Kane- Head of Archives and Special Collections, 718-817-3560, kane@fordham.edu.).
A group of young boys on Lyman Place in the South Bronx circa 1960. / Via Bronx African American History Project
Make sure you check out the following:
You can scroll through the list of oral archives (abstracts, transcripts, and even audio files of the interviews are included) by going here.
The scope of this archive and the historical content available is simply breathtaking. The oral histories provide a glimpse into a world we don’t know all to well and is not taught in schools. The range of individuals, their professions and walks of life are as wide as can be.
The Bronx African American History Project needs to receive continued funding and expansion, it is simply that important part of our collective history here in The Bronx.
Goodbye beauty, you will surely be missed/Image via City Island Bridge Facebook page.
Tonight at 1AM, New York City Department of Transportation will shift traffic to and from City Island in The Bronx to the temporary bridge as the old bridge will be replaced—sadly by a not so charming structure. The bridge has been serving clam diggers & mussel suckers alike for 114 years as well as visitors to the picturesque and quaint New England-like island of The Bronx.
So hurry up before 1AM tonight to take your last trip across that famous bridge—or you can take a special “one last ride” across the bridge tomorrow, Friday, December 18th at 3PM starting from Legion Triangle on the City Island side.
A new traffic pattern will be enacted effective Friday, December 18th at 1AM so be sure to take a look below at the images. You will no longer be allowed to make a left when coming off the bridge and onto City Island.
Traffic will be shifted to the temporary bridge (to the right) at 1AM tonight, December 18th / Image via New City Island Bridge Facebook page
The Bronx Documentary Center is seeking 1-2 qualified interns, “…with a passion for documentary photography and film and desire for social change,” and Bronx candidates are strongly urged to apply.
Ideal candidates would have most of the following abilities:
• Writing and research skills
• Familiarity with Photoshop, Microsoft Word, and Excel
• Comfortable doing on-the-ground outreach in our South Bronx community
• Comfortable shooting and editing photo and video
• Experience in gallery, museum or clerical settings encouraged
• Knowledge of Spanish a plus
The Bronx Documentary Center was founded in 2011 and is located in the heart of the South Bronx. Our mission is to create conversation around social justice through documentary photography and film with underserved Bronx communities and the cultural community at large.
Travel stipend is available for subway and late-night taxi.
Interested applicants may contact us at info@bronxdoc.org with a resumé and cover letter.
The internship is unpaid. We are looking for someone who can commit 16 hours per week from January to May of 2016. Attendance at Saturday evening events is sometimes required.
The Morris Park Race Track Clubhouse as it appeared in 1910. The clubhouse was located on the southside of Van Nest Avenue between Fowler and Bogart Avenues. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Morris Park Race Track.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1910.
Decades before The Bronx neighborhood of Morris Park came to be, it was home to the 360 acre Morris Park Racecourse which ran from 1889 until 1904 as an important center of American thoroughbred horse racing which was the home of the Belmont Stakes from 1890 until 1904 and even saw the famous Preakness Stakes in 1890.
The 1 1/4 mile track was bounded by what is today Sacket Avenue, Williamsbridge Road, Bronxdale Avenue, and Pelham Parkway and by 1902 attendance was no longer what it once was and a decision was made to shut down the track which saw its last horse race on October 15, 1904.
Soon after that it was used for automobile racing—3 years prior, mass production of affordable automobiles had begun by Oldsmobile in Lansing, Michigan—but even that didn’t last as the owners ran into financial difficulties and the property was taken over by the City of New York.
From 1907 until 1909 the land was leased to the Aeronautic Society of New York and the area was the site of air shows. From horses to airplanes, Morris Park Racetrack had it all.
After a fire destroyed much of the stables and facilities, the 360 acre track was auctioned off to developers and the land was eventually subdivided into what we see today Morris Park.
Morris Park Avenue was laid out along with rail for a trolley and the urban grid began to take over the land.
Today Morris Park is an ethnically diverse neighborhood with a strong Italian history blending with Latinos, Muslims, Bangladeshis, and many other ethnic groups into a beautiful melting pot.
Morris Park Avenue during its construction in 1913 at Bogart Avenue. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Morris Park Avenue – Bogart Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. Spring 1913
Today:
Workers lay down rail for a trolley line as Morris Park Avenue is constructed at Bronxdale Avenue in 1913. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Morris Park Avenue – Bronxdale Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. Spring 1913
Today:
Morris Park Avenue at Paulding looking west towards Bronxdale Ave in the distance in 1913. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Morris Park Avenue – Paulding Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. Spring 1913
Today:
Trolley line and Morris Park Avenue both under construction in 1913 at Williamsbridge Road facing West. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Morris Park Avenue – Williamsbridge Road” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. Spring 1913
Today:
Morris Park Racetrack just before division and streets were laid out in 1913. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Morris Park Race Track.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1913.View of Morris Park as the grid is laid out in 1913 from atop the clubhouse facing east. The streets running from left to right across the image are probably Fowler and Bogart Avenues and the vertical streets are possibly Pierce and Sacket Avenues. Note the slight curve on the bottom left of the image which was a remnant of the racetrack. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Morris Race Track.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1913.View of Morris Park as the grid is laid out in 1913 from atop the clubhouse facing east. Notice the bend of the former racetrack still visible. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Morris Park Race Track.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1913.
Area of detail for Riverdale Station Park Extension
Although The Bronx is on the mainland, as a peninsula, we are surrounded by water yet access to our waterfront is limited especially in the West Bronx.
Now a group is pushing for greater access to the Hudson River in Riverdale by expanding a small 600 foot park by 2 miles all the way north through the Westchester County border into the City of Yonkers.
The Kingsbridge Riverdale Van Cortlandt Development Corporation is seeking to use Riverdale Station Park as the spot along the Hudson to expand access.
After years of wrangling with various government agencies and rail lines, the park opened in 2005.
I was pleasantly surprised when the tiny park was opened. For years I would go to the Riverdale Metro North station and walk along the river (not something that’s recommended and also trespassing) and soaked up the beauty of being along the Hudson River with stunning views of the Palisades in New Jersey.
Unlike the noise of traffic along the Hudson in Manhattan, this The Bronx section of the river is relatively quiet with the exception of the roar of Metro North and Amtrak zooming by.
But in between the trains there is a tranquility to be enjoyed.
It isn’t right that so much of our waterfront is cut off from our residents by rail and industry. Our waterfront are a precious resource and The Bronx is lucky to have lots of it—we just need to continue fighting to obtain access which is a given in the other 4 boroughs.
Call me an optimist but one day I forsee our residents to be able to enjoy our waterfront from Riverdale down to Port Morris and wrapping around our beautiful borough.
Maybe KRVC can join hands with South Bronx Unite and their Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan as well as the Harlem River Waterfront Working Group.
Yes, you read that correctly. According to an interview in The New Yorker with Anthony Daniels, the British actor who plays the iconic C-3PO in the Star Wars franchise, was supposed to have a “Bronx” accent as George Lucas had imagined he would.
As Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens officially today, we’d thought we would reshare this article from two years ago when Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened up.
“C-3PO’s lines were muffled by his elaborate headgear on set. So in 1976, Daniels traveled to the U.S. for the first time to rerecord them. “I walked into the sound producer’s stage on Highland,” he remembers, “and the engineer said, ‘Huh, interesting. We spent a couple of months trying to find a voice for your part because George really hates it.’” Lucas had imagined the droid as a used-car dealer from the Bronx. “He’d never thought of him being a British butler. But he had the generosity of spirit to change his mind. Had it not been for that, I wouldn’t have been in Episode V.”
Although it clearly never came to fruition, we did get a bit close with Joan Rivers as Dot Matrix in the Mel Brooks Star Wars spoof, “Spaceballs”
Thanks to The New York Public Library Digital Collections, the public has access to thousands of images of New York City from the 1870’s to the 1970’s. Today we’re sharing some of our favorites of The Bronx where you can see how things have changed—or not.
Third Avenue at 148th Street in The Hub looking north towards Melrose in 1926. Many of the buildings in this image still stand including Immaculate Conception Church (minus its steeple). Long gone is the Third Avenue El which left a gaping transit desert in Morrisania and other points north / Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: 3rd Avenue – 148th Street (East)” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1926.Beach Avenue looking north at Gleason Avenue in Soundview in 1915. At the end of the street you can see PS 47 which still stands but today would barely be visible from this same vantage point as the 6 train obscures the view. Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Beach Avenue – Gleason Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1915.Arthur Avenue in Belmont between E 186th and E 187th Street (date unknown) Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Arthur Avenue – 186th Street” The New York Public Library Digital Collections.Apartment buildings under construction along Allerton Avenue and White Plains road (you can see a sliver of the 2 line to the left of the image) in 1930. Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: Allerton Avenue – White Plains Road” The New York Public Library Digital Collections.1924 image West 238th Street in Riverdale facing east towards Broadway were you can see the 1 subway line running through mostly empty lands to the west of Broadway. The photographer noted the landfills being prepped for “extensive real estate development”. A lot of this development which occurred throughout The Bronx was in fact due to the expansion of the subway system throughout our borough. Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: 238th Street (West) – Spuyten Duyvil Road” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1926.E 233rd Street at Katonah Avenue in Woodlawn, 1924 / Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: 233rd Street (East) – Katonah Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1924.East 180th Street on Bryant Avenue. The El you see, however, is NOT East 180th Street on Morris Park on the 2/5 train but the old Bronx Park Terminal of the 7th Avenue IRT on Boston Road. In the distance you can see the East 180th Street station which is now the 2/5 line.(1926) Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: 180th Street (East) – Bryant Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1926.E 178th Street and Hughes Avenue in Tremont (Date Unknown) Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: 178th Street (East) – Hughes Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections.The semi-rural neighborhood of Castle Hill at Watson Avenue and what would become the infamous Cross Bronx Expressway. (1926) Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: 177th Street (East) – Watson Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1926.161st Street looking East towards the Grand Concourse and the Concourse Plaza Hotel / Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: 161st Street (East) – River Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1926.Also taken in 1926, this image of 149th Street and The Hub in Melrose looking West with Immaculate Conception Church standing as the tallest structure for miles. / Image Credit: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. “Bronx: 149th Street (East) – Bergen Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1926.
Call them Brujas (Spanish for witches), an all Latina skate crew right here in our borough. But they’re not just women skating in a male-dominated sport but are also socially aware challenging and questioning the world we live in.
For the Brujas girls, their crew is about more than skating: it’s about friendship, and the radical potential of sisterhood to foster real support systems, outside the mainstream social norms. They see the preventative and healing power of friendship as a source of collective empowerment, especially in the context of Western medicine and philosophy, where it’s discouraged to tap into extra-spiritual realms.
“So much of our world is described through patriarchal, rigid, academic, medical ways, and concepts of understanding the world scientifically,” Arianna says. “Traditionally behind those perspectives are just men. In traditional indigenous cultures, which a lot of our cultures are derived from, women were in charge of health and community and motherhood and wellness and food. Not in ways that were demeaning but in ways that were powerful.”
Sam’s Skateboard / PHOTO: COURTESY OF LAUREL GOLIO.
For that reason, female collectives like Brujas create spaces of trust, openness, and agency. “It’s significantly important to me that people feel like they’re an actor in their own health,” Arianna says, referring to physical and mental well-being. “If you can’t trust doctors, at least you can trust your friends … Whether you’re with some dude who was really fucked up to you, or you’re actually chemically imbalanced and need a different kind of support system around you than what our traditional society offers us… That’s definitely part of the fabric of what we do, how we see the world.”
In the words of photographer Laurel Golio, the women of Brujas, an all-Latina skate crew in the Bronx, “are cool as shit.” Golio took the photos in 10 of Twelve, her project about the crew — the 10th in a series of 12 photo projects she produced monthly in 2015 — over an afternoon in the Bronx at 157th and River Avenue, where the Brujas’ skate park is located. The women refer to the park simply as “157.”
“About a year ago, I had read an interview with Arianna [Maya Gil] and Sheyla [Grullón], the founders of Brujas, and thought it would be cool to photograph them,” Golio says of the project’s genesis. “During the course of 12 of Twelve, I thought a lot about subculture(s) and identity and how those ideas intersected with gender and performance. I kept thinking about Brujas because they seemed to touch on a lot of those things, so I reached out to Arianna.”
Photography Stephanie Griffin
Arianna arranged an informal meet-up with Golio and the Brujas at 157 in October, and in the images she produced that day, “I was trying to capture the energy of the crew, the environment, the feel of the park and the surrounding area,” Golio says. “The members spoke to the importance of all-female spaces and how those spaces intersect with race, community, heteronormativity, systems of oppression — they literally covered all these topics within a few hours. Not to fan-girl too hard, but I was really inspired by the crew.”
These women are definitely bad-ass in every sense of the word and make us proud. They are a reflection of what makes Bronxites a strong people.
Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13, 11:00am to 6:00pm
Save your holiday shopping for the Bronx Museum’s Holiday Market Weekend! In collaboration with FromTheBronx.com, The South Bronx Farmer’s Market, THE POINT, and The Bronx Beer Hall, the Bronx Museum welcomes more than 25 local artists, artisans, farmers, bakers, brewers, and more for a holiday market that is not to be missed. Free admission!
Shop for:
– Artist-made gifts and crafts
– Jewelry from local designers
– Artisan cookies, cakes, and sweets
– Bronx-crafted spirits and beer
– Handmade scarfs, ties, and other apparel
Enjoy:
– Photos with Ms. Santa and friends
– Face painting
– Hot cocoa and cider
– Art-making activities
– Musical and dance performances
2015 VENDORS
-Aficionado Arts/THE POINT
-Bear Hand Creations
-Beazer’s Garden
-Bronx Beer Hall
-Bronx Chicks
-Daniel Hauben / Bronx Artist Documentary Project
-Dennis Redmoon Darkeem
-Ellude’s
-FromTheBronx.com
-Humble Trees
-Jaynine Taylor
-Lady K Fever
-Lucia Hernandez
-Morris Perk
-Native Tec
-Niizeki Hiromi
-NYC Taxi Drivers Calendar
-*Paper*Crane*Heart*
-Port Morris Distillery
-Potter’s Jewerly
-Resourceful Design
-South Bronx Farmer’s Market
-Special Mama
-Spizane
-Taylor Made Creations for All Occasions, Inc.
-Uptown Roasters
-White Pine Community Farm
-Youniquely Created, Inc.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12 SCHEDULE
ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE DAY
12pm to 6pm – Ms. Santa and friends join us for photos and holiday face painting
1pm to 6pm – Art-making activities led by a Bronx Museum teaching artist
PERFORMANCES & TOURS
11am – Museum gallery tour with teaching artist
2pm – C. Debra performing holiday poetry
3pm – Friends of Martin Wong exhibition tour with Charlie Ahearn and Jane Dickson
4pm – Flamenco demonstration by Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana II in the market space
5pm – Performance by Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana II in the Lower Gallery
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13 SCHEDULE
ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE DAY
12pm to 6pm – Ms. Santa and friends join us for photos and holiday face painting
1pm to 6pm – Art-making activities led by a Bronx Museum teaching artist
PERFORMANCES & TOURS
11am – Museum gallery tour with teaching artist
1pm – Girls Prep Bronx Elementary School Performance Choir
2pm – Performance by Bharati S. Kemraj
3pm – Girls Prep Bronx Middle School Performance Choir
4pm – Cirque du Monde, Social Circus at THE POINT
5pm – Cirque du Monde, Social Circus at THE POINT
The Bronx Museum is located at 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street.
Kim Watson, of The Bronx, won the right to stay and not be deported / Image Via Kim Watson
These past few years, the transgender community (the oft-overlooked T in LGBTQ) has been getting more and more attention in the spotlight as individuals like Laverne Cox of Orange Is The New Black fame and formerly Bruce Jenner of Olympic medal-winning fame turned Kardashian superstar who transitioned into Caitlyn Jenner earlier this year.
But that is the “glamorous” side of this community.
Kim Watson, a Bronx woman and “unrelenting advocate of the LGBT community in The Bronx,” can stay right here in her home with her family in our borough after being threatened with deportation back to her native Barbados where she feared going back.
“During the past three years, she had been fighting her removal from the United States — and from her husband and daughter.
While tourists view the Caribbean island nation as a breathtaking paradise, Watson saw her homeland, with its anti-gay laws, as perdition for members of the LGBT community and people suffering from HIV.
She and her lawyer had argued that if she were deported, she would have likely faced torture or worse.
“I feel like if America had sent me back, they were signing off on a death sentence,” she said last week.
On that day in court three weeks ago, Watson’s case was finally supposed to go to trial. She had experts on Barbados and other witnesses ready to testify on her behalf.
Just before the trial started in the Manhattan court, the Homeland Security lawyer said he would not challenge Nazrali’s request for a deferral of removal, a rarely granted protective status that allows an undocumented immigrant to remain and work in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice set up regulations in 1999 that protected undocumented immigrants from torture and inhumane treatment in their home countries.”
What’s often overlooked, not talked about, or seen are the daily struggles the trans community faces often dealing with violence and discrimination at such levels that it can become unbearable to the point that the community experiences a suicide attempt rate of 41%.
This is far above the national average of 4.6% and double the gay, lesbian, and bisexual attempt rate at roughly 20%.
For transgender individuals of color the number is increased dramatically from 38% for white transgender individuals to 44% and 45% for Latinos and Blacks (respectively) and for mixed and Native Americans it sky rockets to 54% and 56%.
Let’s not forget all the struggles this segment of the population faces. It’s not just about the glitter and glam we see on TV.
