Category Archives: Around Town

Personal posts — some social justice (Not in Our Town), some faith-related (Princeton United Methodist Church), some I-can’t-keep-from-writing-this

February 2 will be Walter Harris Day.  A Princeton Borough police officer, he was shot and killed in the line of duty on February 2, 1946.  Greta Cuyler writes about it for Princeton Patch.

What caught my eye was this paragraph: The grandson of slaves, Walter Harris was born in Princeton and grew up on Jackson Street, which later became Paul Robeson Place. The family’s house was moved to Birch Street when Palmer Square was being developed and the trolley used to run in back of the Harris’ house.

What is now Palmer Square was formerly an a neighborhood of African Americans, many of whom worked at the university.  Those who now live in what is sometimes known as “the Witherspoon neighborhood”  remember the displacement.

Palmer Square is now, indeed, a tremendous asset to Princeton for both tourists and townies. It is a wonderful gathering place. But, as Sheldon Sturges says, it was “an enormous social  justice wound.”

For the Historical Society of Princeton, Shirley Satterfield has put together a wonderful tour of the African American history of Princeton — and anyone can take it, any time, via cellphone.

Only 7 of the 48 luxury homes in Palmer Square have sold, says the New York Times.

It quoted Sheldon Sturges of Princeton Future as saying the development represents an “enormous social justice wound.” Indeed.

The homes are marketed as a “bespoke luxury.”

Tough sell? Oh well.

“I don’t think most whites understand what it is to be black in the United States today,” said Douglas Massey, a Princeton University sociology professor in the Office of Population Research. “They don’t even have a clue. They blame the blacks to a large degree for their own problems.  . . . As a white, I can tell you that whites have a lot to do to make it a fair game.”

White privilege is not an easy concept for many of us whites to understand.  Massey investigates the academic side of it. Tim Wise explains it to the general population with books like “White Like Me.”  Wise speaks on Monday, February 10, at 6 p.m. at the Carl Fields Center. Not in Our Town holds “Continuing Conversations on Race and White Privilege” on first Mondays at 7 p.m. (February 3 and March 3) at the Princeton Public Library

The Massey quote came from “And don’t call me a racist! A treasury of quotes on the past, present, and future of the color line in America,” selected and arranged by Ella Mazel, Argonaut Press, available free for download here.

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Cosmo Iacavazzi, left, with Dan Papa of ETS and Coach Bob Surace

Pressure bursts pipes or makes diamonds. Pigeons eat crumbs — be the eagle. 

Princeton University football coach Bob Surace  entertained the Princeton Regional Chamber breakfast crowd with inspirational one-liners that work as well for business as for sports.

At my table was Dan Papa, director of HR at ETS, who had been a senior on the Princeton squad when Surace was a freshman. And Surace was introduced by Princeton’s NFL celebrity, Cosmo Iacavazzi.

Just two years from a 1-9 season, Surace won this year’s Ivy League championship, surely a man worth listening to:  Have answers not excuses. To combat nerves, do what you are supposed to do when you are supposed to do it. Develop habits and rely on your technique when you are under stress.  

In the NFL, only results matter. At Princeton, growth matters. So, says Surace: Constantly evaluate. Make people feel special. Those who had the best workout Monday get to wear the special Tshirts on Tuesday. By working on strength and making other changes, he reduced concussions dramatically.

Here’s one to take home — Surace asks the Princeton business community to consider offering internships to his football players. He’d love to have them in his weight room this summer.

 

The S&M novel “Fifty Shades of Gray” could be named “Fifty Shades of Profit.” From profits on that book, the publishers gave everyone, even the mailroom, a $5,000 bonus. To cash in on the phenomenal interest in that rag (Ok, Ok, I read it too) the Women in Business Association borrowed the title for its meeting on Thursdaya CHyde_Headshot_Web, January 23, 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Capital Health. Cost: $25. One of the speakers is, natch, a sex therapist, Dr. Christine Hyde.

Wait a minute. I relish being in a room with powerful women. I went to WIBA’s anniversary party at Capital Health, was energized and inspired (see my previous post  and for pictures click here). But I am not that interested in sex therapy in a group.

Turns out Hyde has a different topic — what you eat. She has a phenomenal story of going from 300 pounds to running a mini-marathon in a matter of months.  “As you start detoxing your body, your mind gets clearer and your energy level sours. You don’t realize how bad junk food and poor-quality food affect how you think, ” she says.

In this magazine story Hyde tells of her turnaround. Now that, I could use.

An article in this week’s U.S. 1 Newspaper, by Dan Aubrey, alerts us to a reception at the Princeton Public Library today (Saturday, January 18) from 3 to 6 p.m. it is for “Concentric Circles of Influence: the Queenston Press, The Woman Portfolio,” an exhibition that was inspired by the United Nation designations of 1975 as International Women’s Year.

Aubrey’s cover story, Defending the Arts Amid a Culture of Fear, has a much different tone. It tells about his ‘bridge closing moment,” on March 25, 2011, and if that sounds familiar, yes, it is about his battle with the Christie administration. Writes Aubrey.

While the current revelations about the Christie administration waging retribution on Fort Lee may be an eye opener for some, it is something I have lived through.

His 4,000 word account is an eye opener. Read it in hard copy or read it here.

I’m delighted to say that my Not in Our Town colleague, Larry Spruill, will be honored with Princeton University’s Journey Award on Martin Luther King day, Monday, January 20, at 1:30 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium. Larry represents Nassau Christian Center on the board of Not in Our Town Princeton.

The program includes music by the Princeton High School Studio Band and a keynote from Omar Wasow. a politics professor at Princeton who founded the social networking site for African Americans (BlackPlanet) and who is known as Oprah Winfrey’s social media tutor. It will be an exciting afternoon and a tribute that Larry richly deserves.

For details, click here.

When I get homesick for Germany (we lived there for three years) there are three places to soak up some echte Deutsche Weihnachten kitsch: Peddler’s Village has a German store (as pictured) year round. Plus I just learned from a Washington Post article, reprinted in the Times of Trenton, that Philadelphia and Baltimore host a Christkindle Mart every year. Gluhwein…. but more about that later.

Zastra is the new store for Aruna Arya. Congratulations, Aruna! Her previous store, Miss Simoni, was on a lower level on Nassau Street. Aruna has been an enthusiastic supporter of UFAR and Women, Cradle of Abundance.
At 28 Palmer Square East, it will be a terrific location for a fine designer and energetic retailer.