Sacramento Zoo welcomes 2 new clouded leopards, Serai and Rajasi
SACRAMENTO – Two new clouded leopards are now calling the Sacramento Zoo home.
The zoo recently announced the arrival of Serai and Rajasi. The pair has been settling into their new Sacramento Zoo home along Big Cat Row.
Zookeepers say the leopards will be alternating their time in the habitat so that they get some solo time.
A Clouded Leopard Party is scheduled for Saturday to celebrate the pair's arrival.
Leopard-themed activities are planned for guests, and a brand-new Serai trading card will be available.
The Sacramento Zoo is now home to a number of different species of big cats, including an African lion, cheetahs, and jaguars.
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Chicago Tribune
7 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Aurora Juneteenth celebration about history, culture and community
Saturday afternoon in Aurora, the African American Men of Unity hosted its 24th annual Juneteenth celebration, a community-wide, four-hour party at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park at 51 N. Farnsworth Ave. The event featured lots of music, poetry, live entertainment, food, vendors, a dance competition and a basketball tournament to help celebrate the upcoming Juneteenth holiday. Juneteenth – officially celebrated on June 19 – commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. While President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, it wasn't until June 19, 1865, that the last enslaved African Americans were freed in Texas after the end of the Civil War. Aurora's new communication manager Jon Zaghloul said while the city does not organize the annual celebration at the park, 'it is truly an amazing event.' 'From the city's side, we certainly appreciate the continued partnership with the African American Men of Unity. They are a phenomenal community organization that does so much for the African-American community and this event certainly commemorates a longstanding tradition in the city of bringing community together,' Zaghloul said. 'This honors the history of Juneteenth, and the significance of it.' African American Men of Unity President Ricky Rodgers spoke before the event and said after nearly a quarter of century, the gathering and the holiday it celebrates continues to take on more significance here in Aurora and around the country. 'We've grown exponentially. Juneteenth has become more popular since (former) President Biden in 2021 made it a federal holiday, but there are still a lot of people who are not aware of the significance and importance as to what Juneteenth actually means,' Rodgers said. 'It's about freedom and independence for African-Americans and it's like the Fourth of July for them.' Rodgers said the celebration in Aurora affects all races 'because it's important to share in our culture with others and be a bridge.' He highlighted the use of poetry being offered at the event 'as it talks about history, it talks about heritage, and talks about love and respect.' 'I think a lot of times because of the ignorance, people have certain assumptions of stereotypes about people, and I think coming to our event will enlighten and inform people about not just a lot of things we have accomplished as a people, but things that have benefited other ethnicities including human rights and civil rights,' he said. 'We were the front-runners, and a lot of other minorities can benefit from that.' The annual Juneteenth event in Aurora typically draws about 5,000 to 6,000 people, organizers said. John Laesch stopped by for his first visit to the Juneteenth celebration as Aurora mayor on Saturday. 'The city supported the event and we're cutting back all the flag-raisings that were largely attended by city employees and not the community and instead decided to support Juneteenth because we want to make sure that this event that Ricky Rodgers has been putting on for well over a decade gives people an opportunity to celebrate the end of slavery,' he said. 'Small businesses also come here and it's like a little chamber of commerce event where people get to meet businesses they can support,' he said of the event. Lecretia Akines of Aurora was one of the merchants who was operating a booth at Saturday's event and said Juneteenth 'is about community and culture and celebrating who we are and where we came from as people of African descent.' 'We want to share that in a positive and uplifting way,' she said. 'The people you see – your neighbors, your family – so this is a beautiful event that we love coming to every year. I've been here three times and I love how the community continues to come out with the vendors and the performances are always positive.'
a day ago
The home of one of the largest catalogs of Black history turns 100 in New York
NEW YORK -- It's one of the largest repositories of Black history in the country — and its most devoted supporters say not enough people know about it. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture hopes to change that Saturday, as it celebrates its centennial with a festival combining two of its marquee annual events. The Black Comic Book Festival and the Schomburg Literary Festival will run across a full day and will feature readings, panel discussions, workshops, children's story times, and cosplay, as well as a vendor marketplace. Saturday's celebration takes over 135th Street in Manhattan between Malcom X and Adam Clayton Powell boulevards. Founded in New York City during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, the Schomburg Center will spend the next year exhibiting signature objects curated from its massive catalog of Black literature, art, recordings and films. Artists, writers and community leaders have gone the center to be inspired, root their work in a deep understanding of the vastness of the African diaspora, and spread word of the global accomplishments of Black people. It's also the kind of place that, in an era of backlash against race-conscious education and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, exists as a free and accessible branch of the New York Public Library system. It's open to the public during regular business hours, but its acclaimed research division requires an appointment. 'The longevity the Schomburg has invested in preserving the traditions of the Black literary arts is worth celebrating, especially in how it sits in the canon of all the great writers that came beforehand,' said Mahogany Brown, an author and poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center, who will participate in Saturday's literary festival. For the centennial, the Schomburg's leaders have curated more than 100 items for an exhibition that tells the center's story through the objects, people, and the place — the historically Black neighborhood of Harlem — that shaped it. Those objects include a visitor register log from 1925-1940 featuring the signatures of Black literary icons and thought leaders, such as Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes; materials from the Fab 5 Freddy collection, documenting the earliest days of hip hop; and actor and director Ossie Davis's copy of the 'Purlie Victorious' stage play script. An audio guide to the exhibition has been narrated by actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton, the former host of the long-running TV show 'Reading Rainbow.' Whether they are new to the center or devoted supporters, visitors to the centennial exhibition will get a broader understanding of the Schomburg's history, the communities it has served, and the people who made it possible, said Joy Bivins, the Director of the Schomburg Center, who curated the centennial collection. 'Visitors will understand how the purposeful preservation of the cultural heritage of people of African descent has generated and fueled creativity across time and disciplines,' Bivins said. Novella Ford, associate director of public programs and exhibitions, said the Schomburg Center approaches its work through a Black lens, focusing on Black being and Black aliveness as it addresses current events, theories, or issues. 'We're constantly connecting the present to the past, always looking back to move forward, and vice versa,' Ford said. Still, many people outside the Schomburg community remain unaware of the center's existence — a concerning reality at a time when the Harlem neighborhood continues to gentrify around it and when the Trump administration is actively working to restrict the kind of race-conscious education and initiatives embedded in the center's mission. 'We amplify scholars of color,' Ford said. 'It's about reawakening. It gives us the tools and the voice to push back by affirming the beauty, complexity, and presence of Black identity.' The Schomburg Center has 11 million items in one of the oldest and largest collections of materials documenting the history and culture of people of African descent. That's a credit to founder Arturo Schomburg, an Afro-Latino historian born to a German father and African mother in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He was inspired to collect materials on Afro-Latin Americans and African American culture after a teacher told him that Black people lacked major figures and a noteworthy history. Schomburg moved to New York in 1891 and, during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in 1926, sold his collection of approximately 4,000 books and pamphlets to the New York Public Library. Selections from Schomburg's personal holdings, known as the seed library, are part of the centennial exhibition. Ernestine Rose, who was the head librarian at the 135th Street branch, and Catherine Latimer, the New York Public Library's first Black librarian, built on Schomburg's donation by documenting Black culture to reflect the neighborhoods around the library. Today, the library serves as a research archive of art, artifacts, manuscripts, rare books, photos, moving images, and recorded sound. Over the years, it has grown in size, from a reading room on the third floor to three buildings that include a small theater and an auditorium for public programs, performances and movie screenings. Tammi Lawson, who has been visiting the Schomburg Center for over 40 years, recently noticed the absence of Black women artists in the center's permanent collection. Now, as the curator of the arts and artifacts division, she is focused on acquiring works by Black women artists from around the world, adding to an already impressive catalog at the center. 'Preserving Black art and artifacts affirms our creativity and our cultural contributions to the world,' Lawson said. 'What makes the Schomburg Center's arts and artifacts division so unique and rare is that we started collecting 50 years before anyone else thought to do it. Therefore, we have the most comprehensive collection of Black art in a public institution.' For years, the Schomburg aimed to uplift New York's Black community through its Junior Scholars Program, a tuition-free program that awards dozens of youth from 6th through 12th grade. The scholars gain access to the center's repository and use it to create a multimedia showcase reflecting the richness, achievements, and struggles of today's Black experience. It's a lesser-known aspect of the Schomburg Center's legacy. That's in part because some in the Harlem community felt a divide between the institution and the neighborhood it purports to serve, said Damond Haynes, a former coordinator of interpretive programs at the center, who also worked with the Junior Scholars Program. But Harlem has changed since Haynes started working for the program about two decades ago. 'The Schomburg was like a castle,' Haynes said. "It was like a church, you know what I mean? Only the members go in. You admire the building.' For those who are exposed to the center's collections, the impact on their sense of self is undeniable, Haynes said. Kids are learning about themselves like Black history scholars, and it's like many families are passing the torch in a right of passage, he said. 'A lot of the teens, the avenues that they pick during the program, media, dance, poetry, visual art, they end up going into those programs,' Haynes said. 'A lot the teens actually find their identity within the program.'
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Hamilton Spectator
The home of one of the largest catalogs of Black history turns 100 in New York
NEW YORK (AP) — It's one of the largest repositories of Black history in the country — and its most devoted supporters say not enough people know about it. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture hopes to change that Saturday, as it celebrates its centennial with a festival combining two of its marquee annual events. The Black Comic Book Festival and the Schomburg Literary Festival will run across a full day and will feature readings, panel discussions, workshops, children's story times, and cosplay, as well as a vendor marketplace. Saturday's celebration takes over 135th Street in Manhattan between Malcom X and Adam Clayton Powell boulevards. Founded in New York City during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, the Schomburg Center will spend the next year exhibiting signature objects curated from its massive catalog of Black literature, art, recordings and films. Artists, writers and community leaders have gone the center to be inspired, root their work in a deep understanding of the vastness of the African diaspora, and spread word of the global accomplishments of Black people. It's also the kind of place that, in an era of backlash against race-conscious education and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, exists as a free and accessible branch of the New York Public Library system. It's open to the public during regular business hours, but its acclaimed research division requires an appointment. 'The longevity the Schomburg has invested in preserving the traditions of the Black literary arts is worth celebrating, especially in how it sits in the canon of all the great writers that came beforehand,' said Mahogany Brown, an author and poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center, who will participate in Saturday's literary festival. For the centennial, the Schomburg's leaders have curated more than 100 items for an exhibition that tells the center's story through the objects, people, and the place — the historically Black neighborhood of Harlem — that shaped it. Those objects include a visitor register log from 1925-1940 featuring the signatures of Black literary icons and thought leaders, such as Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes; materials from the Fab 5 Freddy collection, documenting the earliest days of hip hop; and actor and director Ossie Davis's copy of the 'Purlie Victorious' stage play script. An audio guide to the exhibition has been narrated by actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton, the former host of the long-running TV show 'Reading Rainbow.' Whether they are new to the center or devoted supporters, visitors to the centennial exhibition will get a broader understanding of the Schomburg's history, the communities it has served, and the people who made it possible, said Joy Bivins, the Director of the Schomburg Center, who curated the centennial collection. 'Visitors will understand how the purposeful preservation of the cultural heritage of people of African descent has generated and fueled creativity across time and disciplines,' Bivins said. Novella Ford, associate director of public programs and exhibitions, said the Schomburg Center approaches its work through a Black lens, focusing on Black being and Black aliveness as it addresses current events, theories, or issues. 'We're constantly connecting the present to the past, always looking back to move forward, and vice versa,' Ford said. Still, many people outside the Schomburg community remain unaware of the center's existence — a concerning reality at a time when the Harlem neighborhood continues to gentrify around it and when the Trump administration is actively working to restrict the kind of race-conscious education and initiatives embedded in the center's mission. 'We amplify scholars of color,' Ford said. 'It's about reawakening. It gives us the tools and the voice to push back by affirming the beauty, complexity, and presence of Black identity.' Founder's donation seeds center's legacy The Schomburg Center has 11 million items in one of the oldest and largest collections of materials documenting the history and culture of people of African descent. That's a credit to founder Arturo Schomburg, an Afro-Latino historian born to a German father and African mother in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He was inspired to collect materials on Afro-Latin Americans and African American culture after a teacher told him that Black people lacked major figures and a noteworthy history. Schomburg moved to New York in 1891 and, during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in 1926, sold his collection of approximately 4,000 books and pamphlets to the New York Public Library. Selections from Schomburg's personal holdings, known as the seed library, are part of the centennial exhibition. Ernestine Rose, who was the head librarian at the 135th Street branch, and Catherine Latimer, the New York Public Library's first Black librarian, built on Schomburg's donation by documenting Black culture to reflect the neighborhoods around the library. Today, the library serves as a research archive of art, artifacts, manuscripts, rare books, photos, moving images, and recorded sound. Over the years, it has grown in size, from a reading room on the third floor to three buildings that include a small theater and an auditorium for public programs, performances and movie screenings. Tammi Lawson, who has been visiting the Schomburg Center for over 40 years, recently noticed the absence of Black women artists in the center's permanent collection. Now, as the curator of the arts and artifacts division, she is focused on acquiring works by Black women artists from around the world, adding to an already impressive catalog at the center. 'Preserving Black art and artifacts affirms our creativity and our cultural contributions to the world,' Lawson said. 'What makes the Schomburg Center's arts and artifacts division so unique and rare is that we started collecting 50 years before anyone else thought to do it. Therefore, we have the most comprehensive collection of Black art in a public institution.' Youth scholars seen as key to center's future For years, the Schomburg aimed to uplift New York's Black community through its Junior Scholars Program , a tuition-free program that awards dozens of youth from 6th through 12th grade. The scholars gain access to the center's repository and use it to create a multimedia showcase reflecting the richness, achievements, and struggles of today's Black experience. It's a lesser-known aspect of the Schomburg Center's legacy. That's in part because some in the Harlem community felt a divide between the institution and the neighborhood it purports to serve, said Damond Haynes, a former coordinator of interpretive programs at the center, who also worked with the Junior Scholars Program. But Harlem has changed since Haynes started working for the program about two decades ago. 'The Schomburg was like a castle,' Haynes said. 'It was like a church, you know what I mean? Only the members go in. You admire the building.' For those who are exposed to the center's collections, the impact on their sense of self is undeniable, Haynes said. Kids are learning about themselves like Black history scholars, and it's like many families are passing the torch in a right of passage, he said. 'A lot of the teens, the avenues that they pick during the program, media, dance, poetry, visual art, they end up going into those programs,' Haynes said. 'A lot the teens actually find their identity within the program.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
