Victor Toro, a fighter for the people is being separated from his family and deported back to Chile in a lost immigration battle.
This is a great loss and a sad day for the people of the Bronx.

READ MORE:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/11/2011-03-11_south_bronx_community_activist_tortured_by_pinochet_government_to_be_deported_to.html

Check out this interesting piece on the status of being a white man in America.  There are those who argue that white men who are economically disadvantaged suffer disproportionately to their minority counterparts.  There are many scholarships afforded to minorities that caucasian men do not qualify for and let’s not even talk about affirmative action.  Will we ever stop looking at society through colored lenses? [Image courtesy of business week]

For decades on end the Bronx has been on the receiving end of so many jokes and jabs. So many have tried to put us down.  Personally, ever since I could remember, I have always defended the Bronx and now just like Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz, Jr did last week I’m asking YOU to do the same.  We know we are not perfect but we have come a long way in the last 30 years.  So much to be proud of so don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise!

I’m Bronx born and raised and I’m PROUD…are YOU?  Spread this message far and wide because we are not going anywhere!

It seems that the NYPD in the Bronx continue to forget CPR: Courtesy, Professionalism and Respect.  But how if it’s been on squad cars for years now? 
Jorge Cartagena, Jr. was brutally assaulted, for lack of a better word, by two NYPD officers and spent over 24 hours in custody for riding a bike on a sidewalk. 
This is disgusting and a clear excessive use of force.  To add insult to injury, the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau has cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.  Check out the video if you haven’t already done so and YOU be the judge. 

Fellow Bronxite, Ida Keeling, became the oldest woman to break the 60 meter record in her category.  She is an inspiration not only to the Bronx but the rest of the country and the world that one is never too old to keep an active lifestyle.
Here’s looking at you, Ida!! We are proud of your accomplishments! Keep Bronx strong!

From Welcome2Melrose:

This Saturday, February 26th at 6PM, join Italian filmmaker, Fred Kuwornu at PeaceLove Cafe for the free screening of ‘Inside Buffalo‘.  Inside Buffalo chronicles the story of the 92nd Buffalo Division, an all African-American segregated combat unit that fought in Italy during World War II.

Here’s what the invite has to say:

Reconstructing for the first time an important piece of African American history and placing it within the context of Civil Rights history, the award-winning Inside Buffalo tells the story of the 92nd Buffalo Division, the all African American segregated combat unit that fought with outstanding heroism in Italy during World War II.
Called “Buffalo Soldiers,” these men fought two wars at the same time: one against the Nazis, the other against racial discrimination. Those who survived found that their contributions went unnoticed upon their return to United Stated.
Director Fred Kuwornu, an Italian filmmaker of African heritage, finds little-known aspects of the story, including details of the friendships forged between African American soldiers and the Italian partisan fighters and villagers they liberated from fascist rule. It is a 2008 meeting with Spike Lee—who was shooting Miracle at St. Anna on location in Tuscany—that inspired Kuwornu to start this very personal voyage of discovery, culminating in the powerful documentary.
The last living African American soldier awarded the Medal of Honor in WWII, Vernon Baker, recounts vividly his wartime experiences and the heroism of his unit.
Film screening of the documentary and discussion with filmaker Fred Kuwornu.
Presented in collaboration with the Bronxmedia.com and PeaceLove Cafe’.
Thank to support the Legacy of the 92nd Buffalo Soldiers Division in WWII and American Vets.

Visit Inside Buffalo website
http://www.insidebuffalo.org/
PeaceLove Cafe’
617 Melrose Ave, between 151st and 152nd street, Bronx, NY
(347) 577 6397
Take the #2 or #5 train to 3rd Avenue 149th Street and walk 2 blocks to 617 Melrose Ave between 151st & 152nd Street
or Take the # 2,15,19,21,55 bus to the Hub Area.
Free Admission

These are the Bronx related stories making headlines around local media and internet:

Living In:  Williamsbridge, The Bronx

In this Sunday’s New York Times Real Estate Section, the Living In series takes a look at one of the many working-class neighborhoods of the Bronx, Williamsbridge.  [READ MORE: New York Times]

African American History Tour Along The Bronx River Greenway

The New York Daily News reports that Morgan Powell, a volunteer since 2004 at the Bronx River Alliance, will lead a tour of African American History on March 12th.  The tour will be conducted along parts of the Bronx River Greenway and is free of charge. [READ MORE: NY Daily News]

From Welcome2Melrose:

Bronx Social Media Week was celebrated this past Tuesday, February 8th in Melrose and hosted at PeaceLove Café by Clarisel Gonzalez of PRSun Communications.  Panelists included an excellent representation of Bronxites such as  Mark Callendar of BronxMedia, Nicole Perrino, founder of Bronx Mama, BronxTalk’s Gary Axelbank, and myself, founder and editor-in-chief of  Welcome2Melrose as well as Welcome2TheBronx and mynewyork.

Instead of boring you with my own personal details of the event and for the sake of trying to be as unbiased as possible, feel free to read more on the event by Shannon Lee Gilstad who attended the event and wrote about the evening from her own point of view.

Whilst walking along Melrose Avenue the other night, I came across a most curious ad at a liquor store. 
The message was quite simple really and made up of four simple words:  Believe in the Bronx.
Believe in the Bronx.  Strung together, those four simple words exude a powerful message which any true Bronxite already know.  To live in the Bronx is to believe in the Bronx – against all odds and ridicule.
Believe in the Bronx is what we did from the 1970’s through the turn of the century when the government forgot us and refused to believe…in us. 
When crime sky rocketed out of control, we continued to believe in the Bronx.
We are a strong people and a resilient borough.  Let is ALWAYS believe…in the Bronx.