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Rocky Bucano
No full textAbstract by Serena Vasquez
Interviewer: Mark Naison, Stephanie Robinson-Ramirez, Ryan Purcell
Interviewee: Rocky Bucano
Rocky Bucano, founder of the Hip-Hop Museum, a longtime music producer, and an administrator for the Gauchos AAU basketball program, as well as having worked in television, multimedia, artist management, DJing, promotion, radio, and marketing grew up in the Valley. Born in the US, Bucano’s father, Ernesto, was a merchant seaman from Panama who worked on steamships as a stoker, and his mother, Dorothy, was a high press operator in the fashion district from Saint Kitts. Bucano describes the monumental occurrence of when his family moved from Spanish Harlem to the Northeast section of the Bronx, specifically to Tiemann Avenue, where they lived in a two-family home. This environment, Co-Op City, became a place where Bucano pursued his aspirations and passion for the industry of music. Bucano shares this impact his family and the places he lived had on his life story and what he was able to create there, such as his successes in music and production, highlighting the collective ingenuity of the Northeast Bronx, especially the influence and cultural creativity that is harnessed by Bucano in this area that is often overlooked when it comes to music.
Bucano’s ability to create and maintain a meaningful force such as the Hip-Hop Museum can be directly attributed to his life experiences, not just in the field of music, but signified as being the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Gauchos. During Bucano’s tenure, he claims to have put around 800-900 kids into top colleges and universities on full athletics scholarships. This incessant determination, along with the multifaceted skills that he equipped from his multicultural and multidimensional background allowed him to accomplish the creation of the Hip-Hop Museum. With these decades of adaptability and tenacious, organizational experience, Bucano’s shared details of his upbringing in the Bronx, his family\u27s migration from Spanish Harlem, his father\u27s career as a merchant seaman, as well as many other adventurous, familial stories, have directly contributed to his career, as well as his profound role in history and his involvement in production, Hip-Hop, and the artistry of the Bronx.
Bucano reveals his early exposure to music, where his sisters and community had a direct effect. He also shares about his career and the lessons he learned living in the South, specifically Texas,, and his transition from DJing at local clubs to founding Strong City Records in the Bronx. He emphasizes the importance of versatility and experience in achieving long-term success. Rocky Bucano and his story truly signify the perpetual adaptability, versatility, and creativity that can be attributed to his experiences and agency to pursue multiple passions, and succeed in doing so. Bucano has paved the way for future generations to achieve their goals, but most importantly, his multifaceted creativity and ability to organize and cultivate a museum of Hip-Hop has allowed him to educate and reverberate a profound message for future generations
Socialism’s Contribution to An Important Episode in Bronx and New York Music History
No full textAt a time when NYC may be electing its first openly Socialist mayor, it is time to share this story about Socialism’s contribution to an important episode in New York Music History
Patulin as a Negative Regulator of Wild-Type ELP1 Splicing in Familial Dysautonomia-Derived Cells
No full textAlthough the human genome has a limited number of genes, alternative splicing allows the production of thousands of proteins. Alternative splicing is a regulated mechanism in which a messenger RNA (mRNA) synthesizes different proteins called isoforms, variants of the same protein that may have different cellular functions [1]. The unspliced sequence, also known as the primary transcript, results from the transcription of a genetic sequence by RNA Polymerase II, which produces an mRNA containing introns (non-coding regions) and exons (coding regions) [2]. The splicing process is catalyzed by the spliceosome, a ribonucleoprotein mega-particle composed of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs), U1, U2, U4, U5, U6, and other auxiliary factors (U2AF65 and U2AF35) [2]. The spliceosome recognizes the introns’ 5’ and 3’ splice sites and performs the two transesterification reactions necessary to cleave the introns and link the exons [2]. Those splice sites are classified as either ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ depending on how much they differ from the consensus sequence [3]. ‘Strong’ splice sites get recognized more often by the spliceosome, resulting in constitutive splicing [3]. In contrast, ‘weak’ splice sites are not consistently recognized by the spliceosome, giving rise to mRNA variants through alternative splicing [3]. The position of ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ sites influences how the spliceosome assembles and, consequently, what type of alternative splicing takes place; these include: inclusion of alternative mutually exclusive cassette exons and alternative cassette exons, alternative 5’ or 3’ splice sites, and alternative intron retention [2]. Alternative splicing is mainly regulated by cis-regulatory sequences, which include exonic splicing enhancers and silencers (ESEs and ESSs) and intronic splicing enhancers and silencers (ISEs and ISSs) [2-3]. Similarly,
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trans-splicing factors such as serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins and hnRNPs (heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein) can promote or inhibit splicing [2-3]. Evidence has shown that more than 95% of human genes experience alternative splicing, making the above-explained mechanisms and regulations essential for organismal complexity and protein functions [4]. Of the approximately 20,000 human protein-coding genes, 37% produce isoforms, contributing to the protein diversity [5]. Other RNA-sequencing studies revealed the participation of alternative splicing in gene regulation, cell differentiation, and tissue and organ development [5]. Nonetheless, its importance also comes with complications; mutations on the genetic code can lead to abnormal splicing (or mis-splicing) of the transcribed mRNA, resulting in non-functional or harmful proteins, but more importantly, genetic diseases [5]
Tailoring Black Style and its Powerful Pieces: From West Africa to the U.S. West Coast and Everything In-Between
No full textIntroduction:
On September 19, 2025, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum (MET) with some of the Bronx African American History Project team. The people in attendance were Graduate Assistant, Anthony Rosado, and Undergraduate Assistants, Serena Velasquez and Emma Garr, wonderful people, I tell you. After the tour, we ended up at the American art exhibit and had podcast conversations about history for what felt like both hours and very brief minutes... We went to the MET to see a particular piece that was in the Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibit curated by Barnard professor, Monica L. Miller and Andrew Bolton, the head of the MET’s costume institute
Edward Lowe - Part 1
No full textIn 1960, Lowe’s parents moved to Paulding Avenue, and they lived right next to the Fordham Rose Hill campus and the Bronx Zoo. At this time, Lowe’s mother had recently graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1954, and was now getting her Masters in law at Columbia University. When he wasn’t bothering his mother studying, Lowe and his friends would often play around Paulding Avenue, visiting the Rose Hill campus and the Bronx Zoo. He also had a sister named Leslie and they both went to PS 59 on 183rd and Bathgate together. His family then moved to Teaneck, New Jersey, where Lowe went to high school. Then, he went back to New York and studied at Hunter College like his mother. After Hunter, Lowe went to medical school where he learned how to become a general surgeon in Harlem and eventually the army.
Edward Lowe’s personal life today was greatly impacted by the rich family history and passion for community outreach that was always present within his family. His own personal experiences would not be the same without the inspiration of his grandparents and his parents, who provided him with life lessons that he has carried through with him into his life thus far.
LINK TO VIDEO INTERVIEW: http://cdm17265.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/baahp/id/9
Alice McKenzie - Part 1
No full textPart 1 of an oral history recorded for the Bronx African American History Project with Alice McKenzie, who grew up in the United Workers Cooperative Colony, or the Allerton Coops, located at 2700 Bronx Park East. Alice\u27s father was a Guyanese national of African descent and her mother an Ashkenazi Jew from Poland. In this part of her oral history, Alice speaks about her family history and background, her experience growing up in the Coops, and much more.
LINK TO VIDEO INTERVIEW: https://cdm17265.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/baahp/id/102/rec/5
Gritz, Helen
No full textHelen Gritz, b. 1929, grew up on Barnes Avenue in the Northeast Bronx. Her parents immigrated from Poland, her father arriving first and her mother having to enter illegally through Canada after the establishment of the 1924 Quota Acts. Her father was an expert tailor and a Communist. They lived in an Italian and Jewish neighborhood, with the Jews living in apartment buildings and the Italians living in one-family homes. Nearby, Allerton Avenue was the main shopping area.
Gritz was not allowed to play with the “gasn kinder” (street children) as a young child, instead playing with her cousin in Bronx Park. She attended Yiddish after school classes and played the piano. These happy childhood memories ended at age 9 when her father died, and Gritz had to take on more responsibility, particularly caring for her younger brother.
Though not wealthy, her father’s job security meant Gritz’ family was relatively unaffected by the Great Depression, always knowing where their next meal would come from. They were not kosher or religious, eating typically Eastern European Jewish foods like gefilte fish and chicken soup, though they would celebrate the holidays by eating the associated foods. In school, Gritz was always in the brightest class and was an avid reader from a young age. She describes most of the teachers as Irish or Italian and antisemitic towards the Jewish students. Growing up speaking Yiddish at home, and still speaking it to this day, Gritz’s Yiddish accent was drilled out of her in the public schools.
After attending Christopher Columbus High School, Gritz attended commercial college and worked as a legal secretary until she became pregnant. She stayed in the Bronx for 28 years after she married, raising her children in the West Bronx near Van Cortlandt Park. Gritz says it was, for them, a Garden of Eden, with good schools, many other Jewish children, and parks all around. In more recent years, Gritz joined a Yiddish conversation group in the Bronx, which would bring her back to the borough weekly until the meetings were changed to Zoom. She remains a member of the group at 96 years old.
Overall, Gritz’s memories of growing up in the Bronx are very positive, despite her childhood being “cut short too early and too dramatically.” She describes her neighborhood in the era as a wonderful place to live, where Jews lived as they wanted as Jews, religious or not.
Keywords: Poland, Quota Acts of 1924, garment industry, Montreal, Italian, Barnes Avenue, Allerton Avenue, Yiddish, Bronx Park, Communism, Great Depression, food, World War Two, education, reading, antisemitism, race, traveling library, Van Corlandt Park, Williamsbridge Jewish Center, gende
Uncomfortable Hierarchies and Structural Constraints: Teachers as Middle Managers of Paraeducators in the USA
No full textWitnessing a Wounded World: A Theology of Ecological Trauma
No full textA crucial intervention at the intersection of ecotheology and trauma theologyWe are in the midst of a global ecological crisis. At times, the scale of the suffering involved can be hard to fully comprehend. The whole planetary ecosystem feels out of kilter. Meanwhile, trauma theorists, and society at large, have become increasingly aware of the incidence of trauma in a growing variety of contexts. In Witnessing a Wounded World, Timothy Middleton asks what might be gained by viewing ecological suffering through the lens of trauma.By bringing concepts and methodologies from trauma theology to bear on questions that arise within ecotheology, Middleton engages a series of pressing questions. What kind of traumas are being precipitated by anthropogenic climate change and accelerating biodiversity loss? What would it mean to envisage the Earth itself as traumatized? And how might a Christian theologian respond?From large-scale deforestation and opencast mining to rampaging wildfires and fracturing ice sheets, the Earth itself is subject to intense devastation. Witnessing a Wounded World analyzes such phenomena in terms of three traumatic ruptures—to communication, to flesh, and to time. Drawing on practices of witnessing and the insights of deep incarnation Christologies, Middleton proceeds to offer a theological account of this ecological trauma. For Christians, a model of Christic witnessing can bring the Earth’s suffering to light.As the first sustained treatment of ecological trauma to address the trauma of the Earth itself, Witnessing a Wounded World makes a profound contribution to discussions of suffering, faith, and the present ecological emergency.Witnessing a Wounded World is available from the publisher on an open-access basis
Candice Scott
No full textSoror Scott authored the book Color Me Nia in 2017 and worked with Emmett Wigglesworth, the renowned artist and illustrator.
From 1978 - 1991 Soror Scott taught general science at CIS 166X, started their Arista Program, conducted Career Day with some of the Sorors in the Chapter. She held the position of Interim Acting Assistant Principal for two years without pay.
Dr. Scott\u27s years of dedication and service had improved the lives of countless individuals, and she has received numerous awards, accolades, and proclamations of appreciation, including:
Honored as the Woman of the Year for The Black Caucus of the Council of Supervisors and Administrators, the Long Island Branch of the National Association of University Women, and The National Association of Professional Women.
She was appointed as Assistant Unit Leader for the Long Island unit of the Retiree Council of Supervisors and Administrators.
Elected Vice President of the Long Island Branch of the National Association of University Women.
Received two Proclamations from the city and state government and received three Citations from city and state.
1986- I was a chaperone for District 9 science students to Cape Canaveral, FL. We went to see the space shuttle, but luckily it was too cloudy. The next day, the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded 72 minutes after take-off, but we were preparing to go back to the airport.
Soror Scott currently serves as president of the St. John\u27s University Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa (the education fraternity) since 2017.
REFERENCE
Schoener, A. (2021, May 6). Amazon.com. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Harlem-My-Mind-Cultural-1900-1968/dp/1595581588
LINK TO VIDEO INTERVIEW: https://cdm17265.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/baahp/id/112/rec/6