June 2023 - Neighborhood View

Community Comes Together at 6th Annual Malden Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration

June 26, 2023 annedr 0

By Rachel Sorlien, Malden Juneteenth Committee (special to Neighborhood View) It may have rained all day, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of hundreds of attendees at Malden’s 6th Annual Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration this past Saturday, June 17th. In a quick pivot and with the steadfast support of Superintendent Ligia Noriega- Murphy and custodial staff at the Ferryway School, the event location was moved indoors from Lincoln Commons to the Ferryway School. Opening presentation for the Juneteenth celebration in the lobby of the Forestdale School. Lydia Harrell (at podium) leads attendees in the Black National Anthem. Photos by Anne D’Urso-Rose. The Freedom Day Celebration began in the Ferryway lobby, where former U.S. Marine Eric Henry raised the Juneteenth flag as Lydia “Lovely Singer” Harrell sang the Black National Anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” A crowd filled the atrium and waved miniature Juneteenth flags, as Mayor Christenson gave his annual Juneteenth Proclamation and Malden Juneteenth committee member Erga Pierrette made a stirring statement about the need to center humanity and acknowledge the continued impact […]

Plans for new behavioral health facility move forward

June 21, 2023 Shannon Garrido 0

Shannon A. Garrido It’s been over two decades since Hallmark Health officially closed Malden Hospital, effectively leaving residents on the Medford line to deal with the vacant property. After years of failed plans aiming to finally develop the former hospital, Tufts Medicine and Acadia Healthcare Company announced on June 30, 2022 that they are planning a behavioral health facility on the site. The joint venture is set to build a 144-bed inpatient facility that will address the critical need for accessible behavioral health services for patients of all ages in the Greater Boston area. Amanda Linehan, city council representative for Ward 3, where the site is located, explains that the residents are keen on developing the site as well as preserving part of the land. “When I was going door to door asking folks what ‘would you like to see there?’ It was a mixture of preservation,” says Linehan. “[Others] would say, ‘it was great having a community hospital there, I wish we could have some type of health care or public health use.” Mayor […]

Education Beyond classrooms: Nekita Lamour aims to provide experiential learning for students and adults

June 14, 2023 Joy Pearson 0

In May 2020, Malden Reads planned to host the Malden Mass. Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based, participatory digital archiving program, through UMass Boston’s Healey Library, that documents people, places and events in Massachusetts through family photographs and stories. Due to the pandemic, the in-person event could not be held. Since then, Neighborhood View has been contributing photographs and stories online as part of the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show. The in-person event is now scheduled for April 27, 2024. More info at the end of this article. By Joy Pearson A microcosm of the world, Malden, Mass. has an abundance of cultures, each with its own heritage. Nekita Lamour, a Malden resident, wants students to learn more about their own heritage. She knows this will enrich their lives. She has long desired to help transform education for Blacks, especially Haitian Blacks. To her, students need experiential learning and learning from professionals outside the classroom. Their perception of their world creates an internal environment, she says, and that “internal environment has to be positive.” Many of […]