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Aisha Ahmad-Post, executive director of the Newman Center for the Performing Arts, poses for a portrait at the University of Denver on Dec. 15, 2020. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

My first (job) interview was the week the pandemic shut down the world, said Aisha Ahmad-Post during a Zoom call, an I-know-I-know smile punctuating the seeming absurdity of that fact. She got the job, and her start date as executive director of Newman Center for the Performing Arts was Aug. 3.

Playwright and director Idris Goodwin, too, began his job as the pandemic surged and waned, surged and waned (sort of) and the streets were populated with citizens reiterating what should have been a no-brainer, that Black Lives Matter. He now directs the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

Hired in 2018, Caitlin Lowans had a little more time under her belt as the artistic director of Theatreworks before the pandemic changed everything. The notable Colorado Springs company was on the eve of staging An Iliad, its sixth show in her first full season of programming, when all hell broke loose.

This month marks the year anniversary of the moment when the gathering arts began to crumple under the weight of COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, under the stewardship of Ahmad-Post, Goodwin and Lowans, the Newman Center, Theatreworks and the Fine Arts Center have stayed the course sharing performances, almost entirely in virtual fashion even as they have course-corrected. Each has been doing the work she/he embraced when they undertook their gigs: building community even in the midst of a community-bedeviling pandemic.

One of the highpoints of the Newman Centers 2010-21 season was supposed to be a visit by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. It still was a highlight, as the March 5 virtual performance of Marsalis Democracy! Suite, by the famed jazzman and a septet gamely proved. Was it live? Not quite, but it was memorable.

This fall I started having some conversations with the Jazz at Lincoln Center team about a virtual performance, Ahmad-Post wrote in an email. At the time, we were gearing up for the election season and the Democracy! Suite was particularly fitting. As Wynton will tell you, jazz is all about listening, responding, harmonizing, point and counterpoint. Maybe we could all use a reminder about how to be in dialogue, in conversation.

Ahmad-Post, a classically trained musician turned arts honcho, has known of the Newman Center since her time in New York City, when she was producing the New York Public Library systems Live! artists series.

It has all the things that are exciting to me when I think about the role of a performing arts center, when I think about the arts in a regional metropolitan center, she said. Ahmad-Posts goals go beyond maintaining the high-profile tug of the acoustically impressive Gates Auditorium that lure artists of Marsalis caliber, but also support homegrown but globally known creatives like choreographer Cleo Parker Robinson and her dance ensemble. It really has its own thing going on, so what should that look like and what should our conversation with the national and international community look like?

The pandemic has given her room unasked for, to be sure, but valuable just the same to start answering those questions.

Before grabbing the reins at Newman Center, Ahmad-Post had proven she could guide an arts organizations grandest designs while nurturing its deepest values, helming the opening of the Ent Center at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. The Ent is home to an art gallery, Theaterworks and an Artists Series.

The ambition of that project was enormous, says Ahmad-Post, who asked, How the Center could be part of the Colorado Springs resurgence and renaissance, especially in the arts.

That Ahmad-Post, Goodwin and Lowans share a relationship to the states second-largest city isnt lost on any of them. And the work theyve done has forced arts-loving Denverites to rethink any aversion to that drive south down Interstate 25. I think Colorado Springs is on the precipice of something really big with the arts and culture sector, Ahmad-Post said.

As for the Newman Center, beyond maintaining the high-profile tug of the acoustically impressive Gates Auditorium, Ahmad-Post intends on deepening the conversations between audience, venue and artists: giving local audiences more of a sense of their role in that equation.

I think theres a unique role for an arts center. How do you shape what a community is? How do you build empathy? How do you share stories that are highly specific and also universal?

Goodwin is no stranger to the Rocky Mountain West. He had been a professor at Colorado College for six years. During that time, his reach extended beyond the classroom: As a playwright and director, hed helmed productions at Curious Theatre Company and had his work performed at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

When the Black Actors Guild mounted a socially distanced but also virtual production of his hip-hop drama Hype Man last September, it was one of the few plays to be staged for an in-person audience during the 2020 fall season.

Being a professor was a great launch pad and foundation, he said of his time at CC. But I developed a real appetite for doing things in the civic space.

In 2018, he took a job as the producing artistic director of StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville, Ky. The organization introduces youngsters to the arts.

Goodwin and his family were living in Louisville when Breonna Taylor was killed by police. Being there this summer, during that (shooting) and also working in the cultural and civic space for two years its been a very surreal set of months, he said.

This American moment and his role in influencing the direction of a well-regarded multidisciplinary arts organization challenge him in ways he feels hes been moving toward his whole and varied career.

To be in the arts is really advantageous because were in the humanity business, were in the empathy business, the storytelling business, said Goodwin.

I came into my (job) interview basically saying, Are we just a building with some objects in it? Or are we more than that? Are we a conversation? Are we a lifestyle? Are we a cultural engine? Thats what I came in with. So then when we had to shut things down, it was a great opportunity to dig into that conversation.

An Iliad had been scheduled as the sixth show of Lowans first full season of programming, and was to open on March 12.

I was excited about it, said Lowans. Especially for the Springs, because of telling a story of war in a community, many of it comes from the military and veteran community.Lowans has become even more keen on expanding the communities that Theatreworks speaks and listens to.

In the intervening months, Lowans and Theatreworks juked and tweaked. In October, they presented monologist Anna Deavere Smiths House Arrest: A Search for Character In and Around the White House, past and present, having paired eight directors with eight performers for Zoom rehearsals.

For the last two weekends of February, Theatreworks experienced the fruits of all that pivoting. The Mitten: a Midwinter Puppetry Fable, created by JParker Arts and Katy Williams Designs, brought together a lovely, diverse group of puppeteers (across the race, gender, theatre discipline, level of experience spectrums), Lowans wrote in an email. And the warm response from the audience made me hopeful for the interdisciplinary adventurousness of audiences to come. The show sold out.

An Iliad is back on the companys slate for a late spring/early summer production in 2021. Whether it will unfold indoors, outdoors or virtually has yet to be confirmed. Before that, Theatreworks is providing two more pieces in its Sunday series of free virtual readings: Kate Hamills adaptation of Little Women, (April 11) and Aubergine by Julia Cho (May 16).

Lisa Kennedy (lkennedywriter@gmail.com) is a former film and theater critic for The Denver Post.

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Is Colorado Springs' theater scene on the cusp of something big? - The Know

LEWIS HAMILTON will be allowed to continue his anti-racism campaign ahead of F1 races this season.

Last year, the reigning world champion used the moments ahead of the national anthems to highlight causes, such as the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Hamilton also wore a t-shirt bearing the words "arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor" at the Tuscan Grand Prix to raise awareness of the woman who was shot by police in her own home.

Hamilton also chose to take a knee before the races but his decision was not universally copied, with six of the 20 drivers choosing to remain standing.

There was some criticism that it diluted F1's We Race As One campaign, used to promote anti-racism and equality.

The issue was raised by F1's new CEO Stefano Domenicali during testing earlier this month in Bahrain and the sport will make some tweaks to its pre-race procedure.

The rainbow will be dropped from their message and the sport will use time on the grid to raise awareness to a number of issues, such as sustainability and diversity.

However, drivers have been told they are free to express themselves during the message.

That means Hamilton can again take a knee if he wishes to do so.

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An F1 spokesman said: "The whole of Formula 1 is united in its support for #WeRaceAsOne and the drivers will all show their own support for the initiative ahead of the grand prix.

"The drivers will be free to show their commitment in their own way before the race and there will be no requirement for them to make a specific gesture.

"The important thing is all of them being together in full support of our initiatives on sustainability, diversity and inclusion and community."

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Lewis Hamilton will be allowed to continue anti-racism stance and highlight Black Lives Matter by F1 chiefs... - The Irish Sun

Social media users are wrongly claiming that an official Black Lives Matter organization was charged with committing wire fraud, laundering money and misusing donation money.

The reality is different: a lone Ohio activist was indicted on similar charges after he allegedly created a Facebook page that he passed off as a Black Lives Matter charity.

The facts havent stopped the spread of misleading claims about what happened.

"Black Lives Matter of Atlanta Charged with Wire Fraud, Money Laundering and Allegedly Using almost 500k in Donations For Personal Use," said conservative commentator Chuck Callesto, a former Republican congressional candidate, in one such tweet posted March 16.

Screenshots of Callestos tweet were shared on Facebook, along with other posts that repeated versions of the same claim. They were flagged as part of the platforms efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The posts give the misleading impression that the wire fraud and money laundering charges were filed against an official chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement formed in 2013 after the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager, in Florida.

But Black Lives Matter was not charged.

The charges are actually against a 32-year-old activist named Sir Maejor Page, or Tyree Conyers-Page, according to the Justice Department. Page is accused of using a Facebook page called "Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta," an illegitimate nonprofit, to defraud donors on the platform who thought they were supporting a legitimate social justice organization.

Page created the Facebook account and registered "Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta" as a nonprofit organization in 2016, and he continued soliciting donations through Facebook after the groups tax-exempt status was revoked for failure to submit required IRS forms for three years, according to the indictment against him.

Prosecutors say Page misled Facebook users into believing their donations would be used to back protests in support of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. He received donations from more than 100 people through the Facebook page. He put thousands of dollars toward personal items, entertainment, hotel rooms and a house, the indictment says.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, a charity created as an outgrowth of the Black Lives Matter movement, said in September that it was not affiliated with Page and that it rejected "the extreme misleading behaviors of people who utilize our name for their own personal wealth and gain."

"Our stance remains that Mr. Page is not affiliated with Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, nor is he an activist for the movement," the foundation told PolitiFact.

Fox 5 Atlanta, a local TV station, reported in 2016 that Page had "parted ways" with the Black Lives Matter movement in Atlanta before starting his Facebook page.

A Twitter account for "Black Lives Matter Atlanta" posted two tweets that same year saying Pages group was "not a real chapter" and "not aligned w/ principles of BLM." The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation confirmed that the Twitter account is legitimate.

Using Facebook, PolitiFact messaged Callesto, who created the tweet that appeared on Facebook as a screenshot. After we reached out, he acknowledged that his tweet "could mislead" and posted a follow-up tweet in a thread under the original.

"This tweet is missing CONTEXT," Callesto wrote in the March 18 update. "It should read.. Black Lives Matter of GREATER Atlanta Charged with Wire Fraud, Money Laundering... Black Lives Matter of GREATER Atlanta refers to a(n) illegitimate nonprofit organization."

Callesto cited a Toledo Blade article about Pages indictment. He said he had copied the original claim from a headline on a news site. But PolitiFact searched Google and the Nexis news database and did not find a headline that matched the language in his tweet.

Conservative activist Jack Posobiec tweeted a similar claim while sharing a Daily Caller story about Pages indictment. Posobiec wrote, misleadingly, "Black Lives Matter of Atlanta Charged with Money Laundering, Wire Fraud, Allegedly Used $450,000 in Donations for Personal use."

Our ruling

A tweet reposted to Facebook said, "Black Lives Matter of Atlanta Charged with Wire Fraud, Money Laundering and Allegedly Using almost 500k in Donations For Personal Use."

Thats misleading. Black Lives Matter was not charged. The charges are against one person accused of misusing donations to what the Justice Department says was an illegitimate nonprofit posing as a Black Lives Matter charity.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation said in a September statement that it was not affiliated with that person. A local news report from 2016 said he had "parted ways" with the Black Lives Matter of Atlanta movement.

We rate this tweet False.

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No, Black Lives Matter wasn't charged with fraudulently spending donation money - PolitiFact

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Nine months after racial justice protests swept across New York City and videos showed police punching, kicking and trapping demonstrators, the city agency responsible for investigating abuses has revealed the number of officers who have so far faced serious disciplinary charges.

Two.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board released the figures on Tuesday after ProPublica reported that the CCRB was declining to disclose how much progress it had made on protest cases. The new numbers show about 60% of the agencys 297 protest-related cases are still open.

CCRB investigations can take a long time, about eight months on average. Its investigations into the summer protests have been slowed in particular by a lack of NYPD cooperation, as ProPublica detailed last week, and agency staffers have been discouraged from confronting the NYPD. After our reporting prompted pointed criticism from a City Council member and others, CCRB officials promised at a public board meeting last week to release figures as soon as possible.

So far, the agency has only been able to fully investigate 37 cases. About 75 cases were closed before a full investigation could be completed. Sometimes civilians did not follow up or decided to withdraw their complaints to pursue lawsuits.

The relatively few completed investigations have resulted in 14 complaints being substantiated so far. In 12 cases, the CCRB has recommended relatively minor punishment, which is to be decided by the officers commanders. In the other two, the CCRB has moved for departmental disciplinary trials.

The CCRB said in an emailed statement on Wednesday that one of the two cases involved an officer who appeared to flash a white power sign, and the other concerned an officer who allegedly hit a protester with a baton.

The chair of the CCRB, Rev. Frederick Davie, also acknowledged at a City Council hearing on Tuesday that investigators have faced a challenge around access to information from the Police Department.

As ProPublicas story last week noted, CCRB staffers emailed superiors that the NYPD repeatedly said it had no body-worn camera footage of an incident, only to have investigators later discover that there was, in fact, footage. In response to questions, the NYPD said in a statement last week, We have spoken with senior executives at the CCRB who state they do not have any complaints about footage.

The CCRBs statement Wednesday also said investigators have had difficulty identifying officers due to the Police Department not keeping track of where officers were deployed and due to officers wearing protective gear with incorrect shield numbers.

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The release of information about the protest cases comes as the city and the NYPD face increasing pressure to change the discipline process for officers. On Tuesday, state legislators introduced a bill to strip the NYPD commissioner of final authority over discipline. The move follows a New York City Council resolution in January calling for the legislature to act.

As ProPublica has detailed, commissioners have often used their discretion to overturn not only the CCRBs recommendations for punishments but also rulings by NYPD hearing officers and even guilty pleas agreed to by police officers.

Allegations of misconduct by officers can also be investigated by the NYPDs Internal Affairs Bureau, and the department has said that investigations of some protest encounters have been referred for disciplinary action. The department did not respond to a request this week for comment about the status of any discipline stemming from protest cases.

Mollie Simon contributed reporting.

Excerpt from:
Only Two NYPD Officers Face Serious Discipline From a Watchdogs Investigations Into Abuse of Black Lives Matter Protesters - ProPublica

Yasmin Rashid acted largely as a peacekeeper between the two sides.

ITHACA, NY -- Tensions were high on March 14 as Back the Blue supporters were met with a large group of counter-protesters at Bernie Milton Pavilion. Back the Blue supporters had announced earlier in the week that they had planned to protest the Reimagining Public Safety proposal that recommends replacing Ithaca Police Department with the Community Solutions and Public Safety Department. However, the Ithaca Police Benevolent Association put out a statement on March 11 thanking people for their support, but urging against the rally.

Black Lives Matters protesters raise their fists in solidarity.

We also feel like this rally may detract from our message of collaboration with the police reform and the steps weve made with Common Council and the Mayor, the statement said. We are not trying to suppress your first amendment rights but we ask that you take the time to voice your opinion to Common Council and the County Legislature by email or public meetings.

A Back the Blue protester burns a Black Lives Matter flag.

Regardless, a group of about 20 supporters, led by Rocco Lucente and Zack Winn, showed up anyway. After speeches about how dangerous they think the city of Ithaca has become, the group moved to the center of the Commons, where they faced off against counter-protesters. For the most part, the groups exchanged chants and all remained peaceful.

After being largely drowned out by the counter-protesters, the Back the Blue supporters headed back to the pavilion, where Winn took the stage and gave long-winded and increasingly angry rants aimed at the counter-protesters, including transphobic insults aimed at one counter-protester in particular. He also said that the counter-protesters were fat, smelled bad and accused them of being communists.

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Back the Blue supporters doused an antifa flag and Chinese flag in lighter fluid and then set them ablaze.

There were two incidents where things turned physical. The first was when Winn and other Back the Blue organizers grabbed a Black Lives Matter flag, doused it in lighter fluid and set it on fire. Counter-protesters tried to grab the flag away from Winn before it was set on fire, but Winn caught up and a brief physical altercation ensued.

Later on, counter-protester Massia White-Saunders rushed the stage in anger, but Ithaca police officers were able to calm the situation quickly. After that incident, Winn took the microphone again to share that out of respect for the police officers wishes, they would be wrapping their event up shortly. However, he continued to rant angrily and attempt to antagonize counter-protesters, who often drowned him out with their chants. Winn also played a recording of IPD Sgt. Loretta Tomberellis comments to Common Council from a recent meeting in which she talked about how devalued she felt by the police reform proposal.

The Back the Blue supporters numbers slowly dwindled throughout the afternoon, before finally vacating the Commons after about three hours.

A Back the Blue protester with bear spray is confronted by an Ithaca police officer.

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Back the Blue, Black Lives Matter protesters go toe-to-toe on the Commons - ithaca.com