A MAN OF CHARACTER: REMEMBERING JOE MARCINIAK

2 Comments / Column, People /

Nothing makes you question your mortality more than seeing someone you’ve known for most of your life pass on and join the ancestors. When the one who passed away was still so full of life and still had much to offer this world, it makes you question the fairness of it all. On Saturday, Feb. 17th, a service was held for one of our own, Joseph Marciniak, who passed away on Super Bowl Sun., Feb. 11th, at the age of 52. Knowing Joe and the type of reach he had with people in Buffalo and beyond, I wasn’t surprised by the amount of people who showed up to send him off. It  was quite impressive. Joe Marciniak was a man whose impact on those around him was immeasurable. His legacy is one of character, a quality often overlooked in today’s society. Though many in Buffalo, particularly on the West Side may have known Joe and his brother Brian Marciniak for the numerous Freestyle music concerts they have promoted over the years, I knew Joe and his family from having grown up across the street from their family home on 85 West Avenue (Lower West Side). I will be turning 46 this year and for as long as I can remember, I have always known the Marciniak/Jamieson family, and as I gave my eulogy on February 17th, a great number of the memories I shared were centered on remembering Joe as a man of character and someone many of us looked up to. Whenever I think of my father, I can’t help but think of a memory tied to Joe Marciniak. In the weeks after my father passed away, just a week and a half before Christmas 2002, I ran into Joe Marciniak in front of the Marciniak/Jamieson home on West Avenue, just across the street from my own family home. Joe and I talked about my dad, and one thing that always stayed with me from that conversation was when he said my father had “character.” At the time, my young, jaded mind didn’t understand what he meant by this, as to know my father, Joe the Barber, was to know he was quite the character, however, Joe corrected me and stated “he was a man of character” and explained why. I think about these words whenever I think about my dad and try to live up to them. I have Joe Marciniak to thank for helping me understand what “character” really meant. He was a natural teacher; it wasn’t a surprise when he passed away to read numerous messages about the mark he left on so many as a teacher at McKinley High. His legacy will forever live on. Knowing how well-versed in history he was and wanting to pass on that knowledge at his alma mater which also happens to be my alma mater, McKinley High, solidified the type of character he possessed. When many wouldn’t have wanted to take up that type of challenge, teaching inner city youth, Joe took it head on and left his mark. He was a man of high character and I’m grateful to have known and looked up to him as a young man growing up on the Lower West Side. As a man in my mid-forties, I feel a sense of comfort knowing I can look up to the sky knowing that another man of character is up there inspiring many who knew them. Thank you, Joe, for teaching me what it meant to be a man of character. If only we all could live by the example you set. Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports Technology A MAN OF CHARACTER: REMEMBERING JOE MARCINIAK March 4, 2024/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More BRIDGING DIVIDES: CHALLENGES IN UNITY WITHIN BUFFALO’S LATINO COMMUNITY February 6, 2024/2 Comments It has been well over a year since I returned to Buffalo New York, after spending the previous twelve years… Read More RESILIENCE AMIDST TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER, REFLECTING ON THE BUFFALO CHRISTMAS BLIZZARD OF 2022 January 1, 2024/7 Comments As the Christmas season ends and a New Year is upon us, I can’t help but reflect on the difference… Read More Load More End of Content.

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FRUITS OF MY LABOR

1 Comment / Column, People /

Recently, I’ve thought a lot about the saying: “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.” In Swahili, the proverb “Asiye funzwa na mamae hufunzwa na ulimwengu” means roughly the same: “Whomsoever is not taught by the mother will be taught with the world.” When I consider the circumstances surrounding my finding out that I was going to have another child and the series of events that played out leading me to go on the path alone again, I was not certain if the village was going to be supportive.  Initially, I was happy and then I was put under pressure and decided under duress. A decision that I’m so grateful that I did not carry forth. I had faith that I would and could raise another child as I did with my daughter, AAliyah, who was then 9-years old. (See Part 1, Feb. 2024, page 3) Months later I told Aaliyah that I was giving her something she had been asking for many years for her “Birthday.” Her response, when I asked her to guess what she thought that would be, she said “A pony?” Turns out it was not a Pony! It was a sibling! That sibling finally arrived five days after her 10th Birthday, and it was a baby boy. We had decided to name him with a male version of my first name, and her last name with a middle name meaning ‘Founded in Peace’: Asheem JahRuleSalem Ali.  Having children ten year apart was surreal for me, but I had a few close friends that assured me that Asheem was the “community’s baby”, and it’s been that way ever since. As Aheem’s 12th “BornDay” approached, and I reflected on our lives, I realized that he is not only interested in many things, but he is passionate and good with his many extra-curricular activities! He’s present in all the Villages he’s been fortunate to be a part of: Hybrid Ninja Academy/716 Ninja, Independent Health Soccer for Success, Police Athletic League, Buffalo Swim Project/Buffalo Tide Competitive Swim Team, Women Against Violence Everywhere, 716 Rollers Skating Mentoring on Wheels Program, The Galactic Tribe/Wakanda Alliance Program, Wealth in Health Family Garden, Boundless Unschooling Academy/Homeschool Library Club, The School of Two Hearts, The Folksy House, The Arts Are For All (Piano), Amor and Heritage Dance Company, Hispanic Heritage Council (Guitar Initiative), Nancy Fernandez’s Royal Taekwon-Do Academy, Ogbe Aiye’s Juche Taekwon-Do, Ten X Shooting Club, and most recently, added Stellar Dreams Program, Junior Astronomers, and the Cheektowaga Soccer Club Open Gym (and possibly travel team if time permits)! Since my recent car accident where I not only suffered physical injuries, but complete loss of a vehicle that has yet to be replaced, I’ve seen the community village concept shine bright as a diamond.  Special Gratitude is extended to the uncrowned Queens and Kings: AAliyah Mya, Jacqueline Bontzolakes, Miracle Reed-McCoy, Kat Makin, Annette Gutierrez, Fragrance Harris Stanfield, Latoya Reid, Trina Hamilton, Dale Lum and David White. Without you all, Asheem would not have made it to many (or any) of these homeschool co-ops, trainings, rehearsals, or competitions.  I’ll close out by saying — as parents, we don’t know everything. What we do KNOW is our children; and what we can find out from them is that they are talented and gifted. Our diligence in finding this out will lead us to find our tribes! Whether that’s one tribe or nineteen tribes, these are people and organizations that LOVE what they do and they Love Children! Once you find them, then they will help in guiding you and your children so that we Don’t Have to Know or Do It ALL! The bonds that are formed and the lasting friendships developed will help keep your children yearning to be the best they can be, be pleasing and accountable for their actions for years to come.  Ultimately, because we can’t be and do all things ALONE – he/she who is not taught by the mother/father is taught by the world! ÀSÉ!  Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports Technology FRUITS OF MY LABOR March 4, 2024/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More FRUITS OF MY LABOR PART ONE February 5, 2024/No Comments Peace, EVERYONE! I was unfortunately not able to submit this article last month. But I trust you will enjoy my… Read More The Good Friend – El Buen Amigo: SANTIAGO MASFERRER December 18, 2023/3 Comments For the final issue of the year, I wanted to spotlight an individual who has a business that we all… Read More Load More End of Content.

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Vision/Concept can be applied anywhere:

2 Comments / Community News /

A Buffalo Version (Revised from the NYC original project): Arts & Culture: Business/Economic Development A striving business district in the community with an art and cultural theme – a strategy/magnet to attract and increase consumer traffic of benefit to our Latino community businesses. La Fortaleza Project By: Alberto O. Cappas, Poet/Writer/Publisher/Community Activist Buffalo, NY PROJECT: To creative and foster cultural/arts industries and new Latino businesses that generate jobs and income; spin off new products and services and attract unrelated businesses and skilled workers; to organize and unify all Puerto Rican/Latino homeowners and renters to develop a strong force against gentrification. Mission: To set in place the economic, business, and community development on the west side of Buffalo with emphasis on the Arts and Culture, a solid base to attract tourism and new money to Buffalo’s Puerto Rican/Latino community. Description: At present, the soul and heartbeat of Buffalo’s Puerto Rican/Latino community is on the Lower West Side. Most importantly, due to the aggressive movement of gentrification, there has been a large migration of Puerto Ricans/Latinos to the Upper West Side, moving to the Riverside Council District. In the research and planning, this is an issue to review carefully: Lower West Side vs Riverside.  The goal is to create an enterprise district on the Lower or Upper West Side (research and determination). We recognize the re-energizing contributions of new arrivals, but the zone is designed to attract and create a Puerto Rican-Latino economic/commercial engine, with plans to attract Latino businesses (including Latin American countries through their embassies, missions, and consulates) into the area and ensure that residents receive top priority for jobs created by the zone. The main concern is for Puerto Ricans/Latinos to develop and establish their community plan for the West Side (determination), as opposed to being hit by “foreign gentrification” and local encroachment. The key is to strive and bring a new Puerto Rican/Latino face and character of direct benefit to home renters, homeowners, and local businesses, by employing and utilizing our traditional Puerto Rican/Latino Arts and Culture community. The presence of our traditional arts and culture, with a Puerto Rican/Latino theme, in a designated district (determination), will create the flow of tourists and an increase in consumer traffic. We know there exist government funds, as well as private funding foundations, to help in this effort, of creating “economic zones.” In the development of the project, we need to look at the number of Puerto Rican/Latino Arts and cultural groups or businesses in operation throughout the city. It would be ideal to interest these arts and cultural groups to relocate to the designated Puerto Rican/Latino district. There are funds to help businesses relocate, as long as they relocate to the designated area. Imagine this picture: El Batey, Raices, Amore & Heritage, El Buen Amigo, Artistas del Barrio, El Museo, Online Latino Art Gallery, Bookstore (market and promote local Puerto Rican/Latino authors), Puerto Rican/Latino Restaurants, and Pausa — all located in the district zone. If not interested in moving, perhaps they can open a satellite or an extension of their operation.  As a beginning, we need to identify members of the community, those serving as leaders, activists, homeowners, business owners, and members of the Puerto Rican/Latino arts and cultural community, to make up this committee. While it is a fact that this group or committee (community residents) is not composed of professional “community planners”, this would have to be the group to carve out a vision for the community’s housing, business, and economic development. Once the vision and community profile are established, we can begin to organize around the community concept and reach out to other community stockholders, and local elected officials, to work with the committee to recruit the “professional planning team to help bring this community to life.  For this to happen, we cannot play “politics” with our community. Either you are in, or you are out. Our elected officials must sign off on it and push it 100%. The city of Buffalo is a college town, we should have no difficulties in finding the professionals, the neighborhood, or community planners to implement this vision on behalf of a community that is only looking to belong and share its traditions and culture with the city of good neighbors. We need to identify and establish individual committees to research and work on the implementation of the above concept.   Photos: Alberto O. Cappas; Community Planning Verse   _____________________________________________________________________________________ Note: Concept/Vision project was adopted in 2010 by La Fortaleza Community Corporation, Inc. in New York City. Today they sponsor several community projects, including the East Harlem Journal, El Festival del Libro, and the annual HERspanic Achievement Celebration, led by Felix Leo Campos. Read More From Buffalo Latino Village All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports Technology Vision/Concept can be applied anywhere: FEEL FREE TO STEAL THE IDEA, GIVE IT TO THE COMMUNITY! A LATINO WORK IN… March 4, 2024/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More El Batey takes our Community to Puerto Rico; can you help to get them there? February 26, 2024/4 Comments EL BATEY TAKES RICAN CHILDREN & FAMILY TO PUERTO RICO From El Batey Puerto Rican Center Buffalo, NY 14207 We… Read More Of Interest to our Buffalo Community: BUFFALO 4-YEAR MASTER PLAN (2023-2027) (Edited/Brief Information) February 19, 2024/3 Comments ENVISION NEIGHBORHOODS:  Envision Neighborhoods is the City of Buffalo’s ongoing community engagement strategy that works to better understand the needs… Read More Load More End of Content.

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