Boston, MA
Hey, ‘Daily Show’: Stop calling Boston the most racist city in America. It’s not funny. – The Boston Globe
“How did you get those guys to vote for you … how did you convince them to put you in charge?
“I think you won your last election at 64 percent of the vote … so you’re incredibly popular in Boston, and they trust you to run the city. How did you convince these Boston people?”
“I still don’t understand how you got elected. I mean, obviously you’re good at your job and your charming and all that, but that was enough for them to convince them?”
“If you can become the mayor of Boston, maybe you know one of arguably the most racist cities in America, then maybe there is hope for everyone yet.”
Ooof.
Wu handled herself deftly, but there were moments Tuesday night when she looked more comfortable sitting in front of a hostile, Republican-led Congressional hearing in Washington than responding to Chieng’s attempt at humor.
“You might be surprised by Boston. Next time you come, we’ll have to take you around a little more,” Wu said. “We’re an incredibly diverse, welcoming, beautiful city … we are majority people of color, we’re 28 percent people born from another country. Boston is a place where people have always come for almost 400 years to make good in the world.”
I usually love Chieng, a Malaysia-born comedian who spent part of his childhood in Manchester, N.H. He invited Wu on because he wants to highlight Asian American leaders and Democrats who are trying to figure out how to stand up to the Trump administration. It was clear that he respects, and even admires, Wu.
This was supposed to be a friendly conversation, but it felt more like friendly fire. I guess that’s what happens when a running joke falls flat.
Let’s be clear this stereotype of Boston being super racist is getting super old. We’re 50 years past the ugly days of court-ordered busing in Boston to desegregate public schools. The scrappy white Boston of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck movies was fading 20 years ago, and feels even more dated today.
We have long been a majority-minority city — for a quarter of a century now. Our last two mayors have been women of color, as is the current City Council President, the state Attorney General, and one of our members of Congress.
It felt like Chieng was hoping he could go viral like “SNL Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che did in 2017 during a segment about the upcoming Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.
“For three hours, I just don’t want to talk about any social issues or politics,” Che said. “I just want to relax, turn my brain off and watch the blackest city in America beat the most racist city I’ve ever been to.”
Yes, Che got blowback from Bostonians, and even an invitation from then Mayor Marty Walsh to come to Boston for a sit down to talk about his experiences with racism in the city.
But I don’t think Che ever met with Walsh. The comedian stood by his comment and tried to tamp down controversy by later posting on Instagram: “Listen boston, my grandma is racist too, but i still love her. & i still love you.”
I hope Chieng takes up Wu’s invitation to come to Boston so she can show him what the city’s really like. He’ll begin to understand how Wu became mayor, which is putting in the work over the past decade to get votes from every corner of the city as an at-large City Councilor and later her run for mayor. She won election after election because voters want someone who looks like them in City Hall.
Chieng has been to Boston because that’s where his family used to come to grocery shop for Malaysian foods they couldn’t find in New Hampshire.
“Boston is my childhood Chinatown,” he said. “We go there for supplies to bring it back to New Hampshire. You know, there’s not a lot of Malaysian grocery stores in Manchester, New Hampshire….So, I know, Boston.”
Chieng went on to say that he has a “lot of love for Boston” and how people were “nice” to him when he has been there.
Well, nice isn’t our reputation either. But this is a city that has worked hard to move beyond our racist past. And that’s no laughing matter.
Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at shirley.leung@globe.com.
Boston, MA
Shay Maloney’s overtime goal lifts Boston Fleet to road victory
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Shay Maloney scored 41 seconds into overtime and the Boston Fleet edged the Vancouver Goldeneyes 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Much of the game was a goalie duel, with neither side scoring until the third period.
Haley Winn was first to strike, getting the Fleet on the board early in the final frame with her second goal of the year.
Hannah Miller responded for the Goldeneyes with 3:26 remaining, blasting a one-timer past Boston goalie Aerin Frankel from just inside the blue line. Frankel stopped 25 of the 26 shots she faced, and the Fleet won its sixth straight game.
Kristen Campbell made 25 saves in the Vancouver net.
The win moved the Fleet back into sole possession of first place in the league standings, two points ahead of the Montreal Victoire.
Vancouver was without goalie Emerance Maschmeyer, who is listed as day to day with an upper-body injury. Kimberly Newell served as Campbell’s backup.
Boston, MA
Boston Police Blotter: Southie pub brawl leads to alleged stabbing
Two people were stabbed following an alleged bar brawl in Southie over the weekend.
According to a police report, officers arrived at Tom English’s around 10:30 p.m., Friday for a report of a fight. When they arrived on the scene, a victim told police that he was sucker punched during a fight and pointed out a person who was the “main aggressor” throughout the incident.
The suspect was pat frisked by police, but the report said they did not find any weapons. “The suspect stated that he was jumped [by the party of the victim,” the report said. “The suspect refused to cooperate any further after repeated attempts by officers to get his version of events.”
Both the suspect and victim declined EMS.
Then about an hour later, three more victims arrived at a nearby police station to report that two of them had been stabbed in the fight at Tom English. One of the unnamed victims said that the fight started after the suspect kept moving coins he put down to play pool. The suspect, according to one of the other victims, told them to meet him outside.
All parties were kicked out by a bouncer and “a large brawl ensued,” the report said. The victims told police that that suspect brandished a knife and the victims said they “fled the scene on foot fearing for their lives.”
In the report, police noted that they saw wounds on two of the victims. EMS was called to treat them.
BPD did not confirm whether the suspect was arrested.
Fireworks call leads to firearm recovery in Mattapan
Reports of fireworks led Boston Police to recover a firearm Monday night in Mattapan.
Officers responded to the area around Callender Street at about 10 p.m. for a call of shots fire, but a supervisor alerted them that individuals were shooting off fireworks.
When police got to the scene, they said they saw a group of people standing near a car that had several packages of fireworks. As officers approached, one man started to sprint towards Blue Hill Ave., throwing a jacket off as he ran, according to BPD.
Multiple officers responded to detain the suspect and a pat frisk of the jacket uncovered a ghost gun with 7 rounds in the magazine, police said.
Kahnari White, 24, of Mattapan was charged with carrying a loaded firearm without a license, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm without an FID card, and possession of a large capacity feeding device.
While the foot pursuit and arrest of White unfolded, police said the group standing with the fireworks began to become “hostile and threatening to an officer who remained with them on scene.”
One person allegedly continued to threaten an officer and bumped him on the chest as more officers arrived.
“Multiple de-escalation tactics were attempted, but the suspect continued to threaten officers,” Boston police said in a statement.
Eventually, officers were able to detain Sean Galvez, 40, of Quincy. Galvez was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer.
Both suspects are expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.
Gun recovered after foot chase in Dorchester
A 22-year-old from Dorchester was arrested on gun charges after police said they approached the suspect for drinking in public Monday night.
Officers saw a group on Draper St. drinking publicly around 8:30 p.m., and when they approached them, one individual started to walk away.
“When officers advised the male that he could not be drinking alcohol in public, he fled on foot,” Boston Police said in a statement. “A foot pursuit ensued, and officers stopped the suspect.”
Police recovered a Smith and Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380 with nine rounds in the magazine during a pat frisk and said that the serial number on the gun was defaced.
Denilson Pires was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and defacing a firearm serial number.
He is expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.
Incident Summary
BPD responded to 252 incidents in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the department’s incident log. Those included one robbery, six aggravated assaults, one residential burglary, seven larcenies from a vehicle, 15 miscellaneous larcenies, and five auto thefts.
Arrests
All of the below-named defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
— Francis Haugh, 248 Albany St., Boston. Assault with a dangerous weapon.
— Ismann Nuuh, 421 Old Colony Ave., South Boston. Warrant arrest.
— Michael Buckley, 37 Washington St., Newburyport. Warrant arrest.
— Misty Lottmann, 1 Davis Sq., Somerville. Possession of a Class B drug.
— Michael Nicholls, 39 Boylston St., Boston. Threat to commit a crime.
— Yeson Silvestre, 48-52 Glenville Ave., Brighton. Unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
— Galvester Johnson, 123 Hamilton St., Dorchester. Assault with a dangerous weapon on a person 60 or older.
— Nilton Cardoso, 112 George St., Boston. Uninsured motor vehicle.
— Edgar Aguilar, 29 North St., Newtonville. Possession of a Class C drug.
— Jorge Guillermo Cruz Ortiz, 24 Heard St., Chelsea. Unregistered motor vehicle.
— Askia Lelaind, 47 Chestnut St., Springfield. Larceny under $1,200.
— Tewshawn Hector-Coleman, 111 Woodbine Rd., Stoughton. Warrant.
— Frammy Llaveria, 55 Vallar St., East Boston. Unarmed robbery.
— Eric Hale, 780 Albany St., Boston. Unregistered hawker & peddler ordinance.
Boston, MA
‘More than just a game’: Free chess classes aim to reduce youth violence in Boston – The Boston Globe
“I know we’re used to rushing, but this is a mind game. So we want to slow down and think,” Shaheed said. “Don’t move off of impulse.”
It’s a message that extends far beyond the chess board.
Organizers of Boston’s new Chess for Peace program are using one of history’s oldest board games to teach kids important life skills, including strategic thinking and conflict resolution. Their goals are to reduce youth violence and address the negative impacts of technology.
The program offers free chess classes Sunday afternoons in the basement of the Madison Park High School gym in Roxbury. It’s affiliated with a Boston Public Schools initiative that also includes basketball, boxing, yoga, rugby, and more, an effort to support families and keep students engaged throughout the week.
Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
The 6-WON-7 program, which has grown significantly over the past couple years, is about to mark its 100th Sunday, said Cory McCarthy, director of student support at Boston Public Schools. School administrators launched the program partly in response to reports about unruly teenagers causing chaos at the South Bay shopping center and elsewhere on weekends, McCarthy said.
“School should feel like a community,” he said. “It’s the forgotten piece in the academic journey. It’s a safety issue. It’s violence prevention, it’s youth development, it’s all part of student wellness.”
While violent crime has decreased overall, youth violence remains a concern in Boston, largely concentrated among small groups of teenagers and sometimes fueled by gang affiliations. Social media often plays a role, experts say, with kids posting threats or bragging about crimes they’ve committed.
As technology shortens our attention spans, encourages rash decision-making and limits in-person interactions, playing chess can be a robust kind of antidote, said Renee Callender, a retired Boston police detective who spearheaded the program.
“It’s more than just a game. It actually mirrors life,” she said. “In the game of chess, like life, every action comes with consequences.”
During more than three decades on the police force, Callender saw firsthand how cycles of violence start and end. She also founded a nonprofit called Promoting Conflict Resolution, Inc.

She said the idea for the program came from watching a youth chess tournament on TV; she was impressed by how poised and attentive the players looked. Maybe this could help kids in Boston stay out of trouble, she thought.
“It’s not only about how to play but how to lose,” she said. “How to gracefully lose. How to be humble.”
Indeed, it’s all fun and games until your king is in check.
Jacquami eventually lost to his opponent, 7-year-old Filip Rancic, who said his winning strategy involved steadily advancing his pieces toward the middle of the board.
“Sometimes he wins, sometimes he loses. So that’s good for him,” said Filip’s dad, Milan Rancic.
“They need to learn to be patient enough to develop a strategy, and obviously avoid a tantrum when they lose — pretty much everything we want our kids to learn,” he added.
During the class, three sets of players sat across from each other at classroom desks, with Shaheed monitoring their games and offering instruction. Sometimes the clink of plastic chess pieces was the only sound in the room.
“I think I got checkmate,” exclaimed Henry Lee, 10, bouncing excitedly in his chair.
Shaheed inspected the board and confirmed — checkmate, indeed.
“Good game,” Lee said, reaching out to shake hands with his opponent, 11-year-old Jesus Beltran.
“Can you believe you just lost to a 10-year-old?” he asked, grinning.
Beltran laughed, rolled his eyes and started setting up the board again; he had won the previous match. In addition to chess, the boys play soccer together. They agreed their friendship can easily withstand some light-hearted competition.

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
A few turns into the next game, Lee made a move he instantly regretted.
“Can I have that turn back?” he asked Beltran, who smiled and shook his head no.
“So often, they’re focused on just one piece,” said Rhodes Pierre, another instructor with the program. “I tell them to examine the entire board.”
Pierre, who grew up in Mattapan, has experienced firsthand the impacts of violence. His older brother was shot and killed in 1994 near their childhood home, about two weeks after he inadvertently witnessed another daytime shooting nearby. The case was later linked to a neighborhood drug gang, according to news reports at the time.
Pierre said he started playing chess in college and quickly came to appreciate the life skills it teaches.
“Giving people another outlet to express themselves without having to revert to violence, that’s a good thing,” he said. “Making people sit down and think. It’s a better avenue than what we have right now.”

While sprinkling in the basics of chess strategy, Shaheed sends a similar message.
“It’s about seeing the moves behind the moves,” he told the class. “It takes paying attention, hearing your own self think. Most games are won or lost because of focus.”
It’s something he personally learned the hard way, Shaheed said.
Now 45, he spent much of his youth caught in a cycle of poverty, crime, incarceration, and mental illness. From foster care and psychiatric institutions to jails and prison, he ended up playing a lot of chess.
The game took on a central role in his life, an overarching metaphor that changed the way he approached decision-making, Shaheed said. Especially when he found himself in a hostile environment, he would think about the moves available to him and their potential consequences. That finally helped him leave the streets behind and forge a new path.
“The easy money, it wasn’t working. It was almost like a setup — nothing made sense anymore,” he said. “I needed a better move.”

He still plays chess regularly with various partners he’s befriended around Boston. He said he hopes younger generations will find some of the same benefits he’s experienced.
“Chess is a game of distress, tribulations, defeat, obstacles, resistance, competition, sorrow, and conquest,” Shaheed wrote in his recently published book, “Games Over: The Real Story About Chess and Life.”
“And that’s what life is all about — overcoming barriers and making progress.”
Lea Skene can be reached at lea.skene@globe.com. Follow her on X @lea_skene.
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