Brick by brick, “The Beast That Ate Pleasant Street” is demolished

By Michael Cao “I want to take you take on a journey deep into the hills, up the hollows into the mist and mystery to Hazard, Kentucky, a drumming heart of the planet. Where we have so much treasure —the mountains, minerals, music and the people of Appalachia.”  – CD Collins Light drums and keyboard chords punctuated the words. The sounds were of music, poetry, stories. People were not sitting in a traditional concert hall, rather they were gathered in the backyard of a historic house in Malden to experience art in a myriad of forms.   In early October, musician, writer, and poet CD Collins organized a spoken word event, entitled “Words Move Mountains” at the Wilson House of Visitation, a historical house at 68 High Street in Malden. According to Bahai history, Abdu’l-Baha, the son of Baháʼu’lláh, visited the house in 1912. David Weigert, a retired professor from Berklee College of Music and caretaker of the house, co-produced the event with Collins. (Urban Media Arts did a podcast with Weigert talking about his story and […]

Six BIPOC graduates tell stories of racial microaggressions from teachers and administration during their years attending Malden Public Schools and offer ideas for improvement. By Fern Remedi-Brown and Kyla Denisevich Students in the Malden Public Schools – a district with one of the state’s largest percentage of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) enrollments –  say they have experienced forms of racism that range from incidents of micro-aggression to unsupportive environments to acts of outright prejudice. The reporters who initiated this Neighborhood View article interviewed six BIPOC alumni of Malden Public Schools. In this article, the alumni recount their experiences and offer ideas for an improved environment. The student body in Malden is diverse: 20% African American, 23% Asian, 28% Hispanic, and 24% white. The teachers in the Malden Public Schools are predominately white. There have been as few as six Black educators in the school system at the same time. Representation of the demographics of the students in the staff is important, said the former students. They say that the lack of diversity in the […]

When Martin Boyle the art teacher at the Mystic Valley Regional High School heard about the Malden Arts Switchbox Project contest to design a switch box commemorating Herbert L. Jackson, he knew the students from the Art Club would enjoy doing this public art project. A switchbox is a metal cabinet that is mounted on a concrete pad containing a controller which changes traffic signals. The students ultimately learned about Malden’s first African American councillor while working outside in the community on something that will be there for years to come. Councillor Barbara Murphy, Ward 5, had approached Naomi Brave, president of Malden Arts, with the idea and offered $500 to the winning proposal.  Malden Arts agreed to pay the standard stipend for painting a box, $150, and Councillor Murphy the remaining $350, according to Brave. After Malden Arts reviewed the applications they went to the Malden Cultural Council for final acceptance with recommendations from Malden Arts. “[Ward 7 Councillor] Neal Anderson is a friend of the family and connected me with Herbert L. Jackson’s daughter and […]