Long Branch, NJ – Unheard Voices had the opportunity to visit Montalvo’s Barbershop located at 129 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ.  Montalvo, a native of Puerto Rico, is a long time barbershop owner, community leader and humanitarian who has proudly served the city of Long Branch for 40 years.  As Montalvo puts it, “being a barber was in my blood”

He was very proud to say that his father was also a barber. Montalvo never had the opportunity to learn from his father because his father would passed away when Montalvo was only 6 years old.  He remembers his mother asking him what he wanted to be when he grew up.  He immediately told his mother that he wanted to be a barber.  It was being around his father and the culture of barbering that he knew at the tender age of 13 that he would pursue this profession.

While in Puerto Rico, he went to barber school where he pick up the profession pretty quickly.

He said that he felt blessed, it was something that just came natural to him.  He was able to cut hair for 3 years in Puerto before Montalvo’s family moved to the US when he was 16 years old.  Once in the US, Fort Monmouth called him up at the age of 16 to cut hair on the base.  He was living his dream at a very young age.

After working initially for Fort Monmouth, Montalvo opened up his first barbershop in 1964 with 2 chairs, located on 94 South Broadway.  By 1969 he was able to move to his current location and has been there serving the community ever since.

I can remember as a little boy going to Mr. Montalvo to get my hair cut. When I walked in his shop to interview him, I can feel the family atmosphere and the warmth that still resonates with me from when I was a young kid. Montalvo’s barbershop is filled with pictures showing his personal to professional life over the years.

Today, Mr. Montalvo has Woody Arce & Benjamin working with him keeping the culture alive. The two say they enjoy coming to work everyday at Montalvo’s.

Mr. Montalvo proudly holds up the picture of the late Sam Mills of Long Branch who went on to play professional football for the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panther.  He talked about Sam’s generosity and his monetary contributions to various organizations and how he was a great human being. As Mr. Montalvo puts it “Sam put Long Branch on the map“!

Mr. Montalvo and NFL Football star Sam Mills

Mr. Montalvo credits his love and dedication to the craft that has allowed him to have longevity in the barbershop business. Watch his full interview below:

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John Blanton: Men Make A Difference, John Powell: W.E.B. DuBois Economic Development Company, Billy Dangler: Long Branch NJ NAACP President

Long Branch, NJ – The Second Baptist Church of Long Branch. the Long Branch NAACP and the Men Make a Difference Organization hosted the National Cares Mentoring Movement.  Susan Taylor of Essence felt there was a need to have a mentoring program in black and brown communities and brought Stephen Powell on board to start the progression of the program.  Mr. Powell as Mr. Blanton puts it, has “taken the program to a whole different level.”

The dynamics are strong within this mentoring program bridging the gaps between adults and the future generation. Mentorship experiences and relationship structure affect the amount of psycho-social support, career guidance, role modeling, and communication that occurs in the mentoring relationships.

During the program, mentors, parents and other adults in attendance are challenged to listen to  young people more often. The young people are challenged to find at least one credible mentor to walk the journey with them. Essentially, t it takes a village to raise a child and what better way to start than by creating an avenue for young people to seek mentorship and willing adults to provide it.

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Long Branch, NJ – On Tuesday May 23rd the Greater Long Branch NAACP held a voter registration education forum at the Adam “Bucky” James Community Center.  The voter registration drive was put together to increase the amount of potential voters in the Monmouth County area before the June 6th election date.

Youths were given a hands-on voting exercise by allowing them to enter the ballot booth and showing them step by step how to select their candidates and to cast their vote.  They had the chance to learn that they could even vote for themselves or a personal choice.  It was a great learning experience for the youth.

Eileen Keene, who is one of the four commission officers for the Monmouth Board Of Electio,  was on hand to give an overview of the voting process and the function of the a commissioner.  As one of the commissioner, she oversees the counting of all absentee ballots, makes sure that all staff workers are adequately educated so that they can properly assist the public at the polls.

Eileen reminds us that it is very important to vote even if you can not make it out to the polls.  She discussed the mail-in ballot process and how the number of people using this process has increased by over 35,000.  She also addressed questions on the ability of an ex-con to have the right to vote.  She pointed them to a law that addresses that issue and took down names of people that needed a more definitive answer on the question.

Election workers are always needed to fill the shortage of personnel working the polls.  She encouraged anyone interested in becoming a poll worker to contact the Monmouth County Board of Elections.  A $200 dollars stipend is paid to for workers for the day.

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Bill Dangler for City Council was on tap at Charlie’s Restaurant on Wednesday August 28th in Long Branch NJ.  Family and friends gathered at Charlie’s Restaurant. Mr Dangler officially announced his candidacy for City Council as friends and family celebrated his birthday. Watch inclusive video below on Billy’s bid for City Council of Long Branch New Jersey.

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Red Bank, NJ – Two River Theater opened its 2017 – 2018 season with the classic play, Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Debuted on Broadway in 1959, the title comes from one of Langston Hughes poem’s “A Dream Deferred”.

Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in The Sun, rose her to be a critically acclaimed playwright being the first African American to win the New York Drama Critics Circles Award for Best Play of the Year. The play has been revered as changing the landscape of American playwrights, and one of the best playwrights highlighting the black experience. The Two River Theater has continued to display the multifaceted play with direction by Carl Cofield, bringing back faces such as Brandon Dirden, Brenda Pressely, and Crystal Dickinson (Brandon’s wife). Brandon also shares the stage with his father Willie Dirden who plays Bobo.

A Raisin In The Sun TRTC 9-17 080
A Raisin In The Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Carl Cofield
Two River Theatre Company 9/8/17
Set Design: Christopher and Justin Swader
Lighting Design: Kathy A. Perkins
Costume Design: Clivia Bovenzi
Wig Design: Valerie Gladstone
Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson
© T Charles Erickson Photography
tcepix@comcast.net

Raisin In The Sun tells the story of a black family’s experience living in the Chicago Woodlawns area in the 1950s as they attempt to better themselves. The Younger family is dealing with a crisis when find out they will receive $10,000 from an insurance payout after the patriarch has passed away. To them, in the conditions they’re living in, this is a large sum of money and ultimately, might be their ticket out of poverty if spent correctly.

In a small run down apartment, the Younger family develops ideas and clash on what to do with the money as Walter Lee (Brandon J. Dirden) wants to buy a liquor store, and his mother (Brenda Pressley) wants to put some of the money away for her daughter’s (Jasmine Batchelor) medical school tuition and down payment on a house. Walter’s wife Ruth (Crystal Dickinson) is caught between her husband’s dreams and Lena’s sensibility. The play examines each character’s souls and bonds as they try to persevere out of poverty while battling racism.

In high school, I had the honor to play Walter Lee. I’ve also seen the 2008 movie version of Raisin In The Sun starring Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, Sanaa Lathan, and Sean Combs (Diddy). I have always believed this play is simply voices trying to be heard and navigating through the process.

Walter Lee brought out the best in me. While misunderstood, his character is such a dynamic figure who gives us all a little bit of soul searching. And the bond between his family, especially the women, shows that real love in unmatched.

The set design captured the essence of the Chicago’s lifestyle in the 1950’s and direction by Carl Cofield makes the play come beautifully together, once again.

Raisin In The Sun is running until October 8th at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ.  Take your family out to enjoy this wonderful play. For more information, please visit www.trtc.org.

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Long Branch, NJ – It was a long overdue battle, but with the help of the Concerned Citizens of Long Branch, they got it done! On Saturday October 8th, a dedication ceremony was held at Seaview Avenue bridge to honor Sharmaine Patterson and Julia Wheeler for their contributions to the Long Branch community in helping trail blaze the remediation of the gas plant site and troutman’s creek insuring the health and safety of the community!

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Asbury Park, NJ – On Tuesday October 26, the Monmouth County Democrats held a Black American Caucus, a candidate forum of local public officials running for office in the upcoming November 8th election. As the election nears, community members came to St. Augustine’s Church in Asbury Park, NJ to hear candidates positions on how they plan to advocate for change within their communities in Monmouth County, NJ.

Attendees were Jeffery Cantor, running for Sheriff, Matthew Doherty & Brenda C. Fulton, running for Board of Chosen Freeholders, Vincent Solomeno, III running for Surgo, and Lorna Phillpson, running for District 4 Congressional Seat, with guest speakers Congressman Frank Pallone, and Daniel Harris, who is running for Asbury Park City Council. Each candidate spoke about the plans they planned to change or implement if elected into officer.

The tone was clear, there is a need for change within our educational system when it comes to student loan debt and more representation of African-Americans within our government. Frank Pallone talked about an African-American who was accepted to Rutgers Engineering School, but decided to get a two year degree because he didn’t want to incur an enormous amount of debt.  Frank Pallone said that’s absolutely insane as everyone should have the opportunity to become that lawyer, doctor, or engineer without being deterred because of student loans.

The conversation continued with New Jersey high costs of  living as Loran Phillpson, who is running for District 4 Congressional Seat, talked about the need to make New Jersey wages higher and livable.

“A living wage in New Jersey is $20, and here we are fighting for $15 dollars and that still isn’t enough”

The forum was very candid as many of the candidates talked about the need for more black representation in our community and the curbing of systematic racism.

Jeffery Cantor who is running for Monmouth County Sheriff stressed the importance for the need for more African-American representation in government office.

“There are more African-Americans in jail, than there are representing in office”.

Check out some highlights below of the forum. Be sure to be in the know about the candidates that are running for office. Election day is November 8th!

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Owning a home is the quintessential American dream. But buying a home or even investing can be a tedious path to weave through if not given the right guidance. As a new resident of Maryland looking into the housing market, I sat down with real estate agent Lee Christian to talk about real estate and how the market is changing.

 

Since the early 2000’s, Lee Christian has cultivated his talents in the real estate business as an entrepreneur by buying, flipping, and renting homes to building his portfolio as an agent for Cummings & Co – honored as one of the top places to work in Maryland by the Baltimore Sun.

Some of the key takeaways I’ve grasped while speaking with Lee is that the market is continuously evolving. No matter your circumstances or doubts about the real estate market, a keen real estate agent can find the best possible solution for you to become a homeowner.

Lee Christian states that he loves real estate and relishes when he’s able to share his knowledge with others about the business.

Check out this segment of Entrepreneur Spotlight with Lee Christian below and make sure you visit him at his website http://www.lrcventures.com:

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