Fil-Am writer Randy Gener receives award for ‘meritorious community service’

Randy Gener, the prominent editor-writer-artist, who has been published in The New York Times, Village Voice, and American Theatre magazine, has earned a New York’s Nubian Union Legend Award at a “Chasing Stars” Holiday Gala in Greenwich Village.
After surviving a deadly assault in 2014, Randy Gener is now an advocate for young minority men suffering from traumatic head and brain injuries. The FilAm photo
The Nubian Union Legend award was presented to Gener and other honorees for “outstanding leadership and meritorious community service.” Recipients of this unique award “exemplify unconditional sacrifice and service to the communities that they serve, and they stand as icons of stewardship to everyone.”
“After reading about his story, Randy was one of our first picks,” said Clark Everson, president of Unity Missionary Investors, adding that Gener is “deserving of our award.”
The Nubian Union is composed of two urban advocacy non-profit organizations focused on the alarming increase of brain injuries, especially among minority youth: Unity Missionary Investors, which aids economically-challenged communities with tools and programs; and the Nubian Cultural Center for Research & Development, a multigenerational program that promotes racial and ethnic harmony through cultural exchange and education.
The “Chasing Stars” Holiday Gala featured a host of clergy, celebrities and community leaders. Other honorees were Dr. William Gibbs of Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn; China Flowers, fashion and media specialist; Prof. Richard Alston, renowned concert pianist; and Nadege Dady, Dean of Student Affairs at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Harlem.
During the gala evening, Gener recounted his personal experience of being the unsuspecting target of a deadly assault in early 2014.
On January 2014, Gener was bloodily assaulted after coming from the Broadway theater district. He said he was attacked because of his identity as an Asian American and an openly gay man. The police have ruled out the assault as a hate crime. Charges were filed against a Queens man.
Gener is the proprietor of In the Culture of One World (cultureofoneworld.org), a live event and media project. A former Village Voice critic and until recently the senior editor of American Theatre magazine, Gener is a decorated arts and culture editor of his generation. He is TCG’s first American Theatre staff editor — and the only Asian American — to earn the legendary George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism selected by the English and theater departments of Yale, Princeton and Cornell universities.
The Nathan Award, which has been given annually since 1958, is the richest as well as one of the most distinguished in the American theater. The prize goes “to the American who has written the best piece of drama criticism during the theatrical year (July 1 to June 30), whether it is an article, an essay, treatise or book.”
Gener played a major role in a 2013 social-media effort and petition campaign, signed by 2,700 people on change.org. The adventurous Cuban-born playwright and director María Irene Fornés, 82, who has had Alzheimer’s disease for more than a decade, had been left abandoned in another facility in upstate New York. The campaign successfully transferred Fornés to Amsterdam House nursing home, where she has gained better spirits.
Gener was the recipient of a Philippine Presidential Award in 2010. President Benigno Aquino III conferred the award on Gener and nine others at the Malacanang Presidential Palace.
“Concussion, starring Will Smith,” says Gener, “is a rare Hollywood feature film which deals with the life-threatening dangers of playing football. But it’s not just professional athletes who suffer concussions. They can occur anywhere, and most head injuries happen to regular people in living their lives. Hate crimes randomly happen in New York City. Head injuries are significant and cannot be ignored.”
Proceeds for the Nubian Union’s gala will benefit The Anthony Fund, a nonprofit advocacy program created by Unity Missionary Investors to educate the public and bring greater awareness to the increasing numbers of young minority men suffering from head injuries, concussions, and traumatic brain injuries.
Gener will advocate for giving urgent support and access-to-resources to urban minority youth who have been violently injured. —The FilAm

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

By Harvey Sapigao Senate hearing of the revised procurement law (Photo credit: Senate of the Philippines) College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists. Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.” This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate he
Read more

How war is putting Middle East aviation at risk ---AL JAZEERA

The human suffering in Gaza is accompanied by losses that are undermining this vital industry With more than 40 years' experience in aviation, including a stint as chief executive Bahrain's Gulf Air and sitting on the International Air Transport Association's Board of Governors, Royal Jordanian’s CEO Samer Majali is someone who knows the industry in the Middle East – and its challenges – like few others. In an exclusive interview with The National yesterday, he spoke for many executives when he described how six months of violence in Israel and Palestine had hurt his airline and the region’s economy. While the human cost is, of course, the biggest, and Palestinian society is bearing the brunt of this war, its consequences are far reaching. The plummeting bookings, operational difficulties and financial losses being experienced by the aviation sector are being exacerbated by a widespread perception that the Middle East is in turmoil. “They lump the region as a homogeneous
Read more

Azerbaijan looks to enhance ties with Kuwait --- By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: Azerbaijani Ambassador to Kuwait Emil Karimov stated that the strong and historical ties between Kuwait and Azerbaijan pave the way for further strengthening bilateral relations across various sectors. During an iftar held by the embassy for local media, the ambassador said “With a focus on tourism, food, and education, both countries are poised to enhance collaboration and mutual exchange of expertise.” He noted that 30,000 Kuwaiti tourists visited Azerbaijan during the past year. Regarding the trade between the two countries, the ambassador said that the volume of trade exchange for the year 2023 reached $665,000 and Azerbaijan is keen to increase trade exchange with Kuwait. He said the Kuwaiti side has expressed an interest in importing food products from Azerbaijan, signaling a desire to diversify its sources of agricultural goods and strengthen economic ties to enhance trade relations. To deepen cultural understanding and foster people-to-people connections between the t
Read more