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Bay State Banner

@baystatebanner

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Boston's #BlackPress covering issues in politics, business, social justice, arts, and more.
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Nine ballot questions and one very important vote 🗳️⁠
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This November, Massachusetts voters will decide on nine statewide ballot questions, tying a record set in 1994. Topics range from public records law and election-day registration to tax policy, conservation funding, housing, marijuana, and firearms law.⁠
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Whatever your position, understanding what's actually on the ballot matters. CommonWealth Beacon has put together a full nonpartisan breakdown of what each question would do, and what a "yes" or "no" vote means.⁠
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Key dates to know:⁠
📅 October 17: Early voting begins⁠
📅 October 24: Last day to register to vote⁠
📅 October 27: Deadline to request a mail-in ballot⁠
📅 November 3: Election Day⁠

Get informed before you vote. Know what you're voting on! This guide has been prepared by CommonWealth Beacon in partnership with El Planeta and The Bay State Banner newspaper.
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Link in bio for the full breakdown.

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DA Hayden recently joined Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, State Representative Russell Holmes, and The Bay State Banner Publisher and Editor Ron Mitchell for a panel discussion at GBH’s studio on the policy, legal, and community issues shaping the 2026 Midterm Elections.

During the discussion, DA Hayden addressed the dangers of ghost guns and emphasized that common-sense gun laws are paramount to public safety.

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🎤 At the beginning of October, @becmainc invited Ujima staff members Justin and Nia, along with Ujima Fellow Segun, to speak on the "Owing to Owning" and "Rewriting the Black Wealth Playbook" panels at the 2026 Mass Black Expo.

This year's theme, Building Black Wealth: Small Business, Big Impact, brought together entrepreneurs, community leaders, and policymakers to explore ways to strengthen Black businesses and build generational wealth across Massachusetts.

We also stopped by the exhibitor pavilion to pick up a copy of the @baystatebanner and check out @blackownedbos, a new Ujima Good Business Alliance (UGBA) business, alongside @runway.family and many other Black-owned businesses. We were also excited to see @sparkfmonline, another UGBA business, DJing and conducting live interviews!

🖤 Thank you to BECMA for bringing our community together to celebrate Black entrepreneurship, build connections, and strengthen our collective economic future!

Still thinking about the lentil soup 🥣

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Last week we took over @dorchesterfood_coop for our Ujima Cafe where we ate delicious food, played games, gathered in community and of course read our @fortunatelymag and @baystatebanner.

🎃 We got to see a sneak peak of the pumpkins we will be painting next week at our final Ujima Cafe of the 2026 season. Community members can connect with their neighbors, celebrate community and paint a pumpkin.

All ages welcome! RSVP is FREE, required to paint & eat

🗓️ October 22 | 5-7 PM
📍 Dorchester Food Co-op | 195 Bowdoin St, Dorchester, MA 02122
💫 RSVP now: www.ujimaboston.com/events

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Thank you @baystatebanner for hosting a fundraising event at our cafe last night!

Here are a few highlights from the evening.

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Thank you @baystatebanner for highlighting our 10 year anniversary in your latest issue. Having grown up reading the Banner I am truly grateful for this feature.

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Prepárate para una boleta electoral extensa para estas elecciones en noviembre.

Por eso, por primera vez en Massachusetts: El Planeta, @cwbeacon y @baystatebanner lanzan juntos una guía bilingüe para el votante de Massachusetts. Esta guía es posible gracias a @bostonfdn

¿Qué significa votar “sí” o “no” en cada pregunta? Te explicamos.

Entre los temas: acceso a registros públicos de la Legislatura y la oficina de la gobernadora, sindicatos para empleados de la agencia de asistencia legal, elecciones primarias, un fondo para proteger tierras y aguas, casas unifamiliares en lotes residenciales y marihuana recreativa. La pregunta nueve decide si se mantiene o se deroga la ley de 2024 que amplió los controles sobre armas fantasma.

Lee la guía electoral en la edición impresa de El Planeta o en elplaneta.com. Votar es decidir.

#Massachusetts #Boston #Elecciones2026 #Votar #elplanetaboston

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So proud to see my best friend Tomas Gonzalez, @cacique.13 @lewfinfer and others featured in this powerful Bay State Banner article about an extraordinary effort to preserve Boston’s history and help the city heal!

As someone who has spent years researching and writing about Boston’s school desegregation struggles, including in my book Before Busing, this story hits especially close to home.

I’m also proud to be personally involved in this important project! The traveling bus museum represents a creative and powerful way to bring Boston’s complicated history of school segregation, racial violence, resistance, and reconciliation directly into our communities.

Tomas and I share a deep commitment to making sure these stories are never forgotten, particularly the experiences of Black families and communities whose struggles helped shape the Boston we know today.

And here’s something special: Financial supporters of this important project can even receive a FREE copy of my book, Before Busing! 📚

This is more than a museum. It’s an opportunity to confront our history, educate future generations, and help communities heal through truth and understanding.

Congratulations, Tomas! Proud of you, my brother, and excited to be part of this meaningful work. Let’s keep telling these stories and making history accessible to everyone! ✊🏾❤️ Special shout out to @cacique.13 aka Jose Lopez whose idea this was in the first place! Continued blessings and major congratulations!!! 🎉

📰 Read the article in the Bay State Banner:

https://baystatebanner.com/2026/09/16/how-a-traveling-bus-museum-is-teaching-boston-to-heal-through-history/

#BeforeBusing #BostonHistory #BlackHistory #PublicHistory #SchoolDesegregation

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Women of Color Entrepreneurs (WOCE) is gearing up for its fifth annual Startup Party with a Purpose, and The Bay State Banner highlighted the organization, its mission and the leaders being celebrated at this year’s event.

The Startup Party with a Purpose takes place this Wednesday, October 7, from 6–8 PM at Commonwealth Pier in Boston.

Read the full feature in The Bay State Banner and join WOCE for an evening celebrating entrepreneurship and impact.

Tickets available through the link in bio!

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GOOD NEWS FRIDAY !!! For the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside 6 beautiful and integral members of the Massachusetts community. Together, we made up a multi generational and multi ethnic collective. Our task? To disperse $2.75 million in reparations to organizations and coalitions in MA.

As an afro-indigenous woman it was, and is, of the utmost importance to me to recognize all of those who should be considered. This state and this country were built on genocide and slavery. Indigenous people were violently detribalized, our land stolen. Then in the name of “progress” our black and indigenous ancestors were used in every way. There are many organizations and people in Massachusetts who are not just deserving of reparations, but are owed them.

I am so grateful to the organizations who have been doing the work to heal from the harm that colonization has caused. The work we have been lucky enough to uplift. Please reference the slideshow to see the full list of the 25 Reparations Recipients. They have seen that people are held and loved. That they are remembered.

This is also just a first step for institutions like the episcopal church, whose action we hope inspires many others to follow.

~ Kutâputush Cynthia, Althea, Mimi, Coco, John, and Khalil for being an example of what it looks like to work with authenticity, purpose, and love.

~ Kutâputush Neha and Dan for your commitment to the wellness of all human beings and to seeing that there is accountability for harm.

~ Kutâputush Trinity Alicia for the words.

~ Kutâputush ECM for listening and taking a step back.

Link to read the full article lives in my bio ㅤꨄ︎

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We are making history. Zega is the only Black, queer, woman-owned co-working space and bar in New England. 🤎

No more temporary pop-ups. We are establishing a permanent brick-and-mortar legacy right along the transit-accessible Dorchester/Roxbury corridor, designed explicitly for the Black LGBTQ+ community to create, network, and unwind safely.

☕️Phase 1: Exclusive, membership-only daytime co-working lounge spinning analog tracks on vinyl with a curated library of Black feminist literature, complimentary premium teas, organic snacks, and high-speed Wi-Fi.

🍸 Phase 2: [FREE ENTRY ALWAYS]: A vibrant evening lounge and bar featuring live Black LGBTQ+ DJs

#BlackOwnedBoston #BostonQueer #RoxburyMA #DorchesterMA #BostonLGBTQ #BostonNightLife #QueerOwned #WomanOwned #Zegalounge

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A menos de dos meses de las elecciones, los votantes de Massachusetts no solo elegirán gobernador, senador, nueve representantes federales y 200 legisladores estatales. También deberán responder nueve preguntas de la boleta: un récord que se estableció en 1972 y que se repitió en 1976 y 1994.

Las preguntas de la boleta suelen estar redactadas en lenguaje legislativo, como si estuvieran dirigidas únicamente a abogados y legisladores. Pero, al momento de votar, esas mismas preguntas aparecen frente a los residentes en la cabina, que tienen apenas un minuto para leerlas y decidir.

Por eso, y por primera vez, El Planeta y @baystatebanner se unen a @cwbeacon, con el apoyo de @bostonfdn , para publicar una guía electoral sobre las preguntas de la boleta a las distintas comunidades a las que cada publicación se dirige.

Para saber más visita acá: elplaneta.com/elecciones-2026/preguntas-boleta/

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