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Connections

Coming up on Connections: Tuesday, August 13

https://www.cityofrochester.gov/ClarissaStreetReunion/

First hour: Discussing the impact of pay disparities for African American women

Second hour: Previewing the 2019 Clarissa Street Reunion

In New York State, black women earn 65 cents for every dollar a non-Hispanic white male makes doing similar work. A local group is trying to change that. We talk to members of the Pay Equity Coalition in advance of the Black/African American Equal Pay Day rally and press conference on August 22. The date symbolizes how far into the year African American women must work, on average, to earn what non-Hispanic white men earned the previous year. Our guests share their experiences in the workplace and the impact of the pay disparity. In studio:

  • Zola Brown, executive vice president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and president of the 19th Ward Community Association
  • Tanishia A. Johnson, family and community empowerment manager for ROC the Future Alliance at The Children’s Agenda

Then in our second hour, the Clarissa Street Reunion is the largest independently organized African American festival in Rochester. The annual event is set for Saturday, and organizers say they expect to see more youth engagement at this year’s festival. Teen Empowerment has been working with young people in the community to train them as history ambassadors for the area. The ambassadors say they’ve learned Clarissa Street is a microcosm of Rochester’s history – from music and black-owned businesses, to redlining, institutional racism, and poverty. The ambassadors join us, along with longtime Clarissa Street residents, to preview the festival and to discuss how the neighborhood has changed over the last several decades. In studio:

  • Shanterra Randle, lead coordinator of the Clarissa St. Reunion Youth History Ambassadors project at Teen Empowerment, and social studies and special education teacher at Monroe High School
  • Amarah Anderson, youth organizer and history ambassador at Teen Empowerment and 10th grader at School of the Arts
  • Elijah Hudson, history ambassador at Teen Empowerment, and recent graduate of Rochester Prep
  • Jaylen Wims, history ambassador at Teen Empowerment, and student at Pittsford Sutherland through the Urban-Suburban Program
  • George Fontenette, Clarissa Street Reunion Committee elder,  and longtime resident of the Clarissa Street area
  • Moses Gilbert, Clarissa Street Reunion Committee elder,  and longtime resident of the Clarissa Street area
  • Mel Henderson, co-chari of the Clarissa Street Reunion Committee
Connections
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.