RBJ’s Power 100 List 2021
When we decided to launch our Power List series, we knew it would be a difficult task to select just 100 power players in the Rochester community for our inaugural Power 100 list.
Ben Jacobs
It definitely was. But we are pleased with the makeup of this list of leaders.
Health care is heavily represented, as it should be. The health care industry is vitally important to the Rochester economy even in normal times, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased our reliance on our local health care organizations.
Rochester’s nonprofits also have played a crucial role in helping our community survive this crisis, and they are well-represented here.
PHOTO BY MAX SCHULTE The RPD s Tactical Unit insignia featuring double lightning bolts and the number 8 had some protesters accusing officers of wearing neo-Nazi symbols. Within hours of demonstrators taking to the streets Tuesday to protest that Daniel Prude s arresting officers would not face criminal charges, social media posts alleging that some officers at the demonstration were wearing neo-Nazi symbols on their uniforms began to circulate. Over the next two days, they would gain traction, particularly in Rochester s social activist circles. The posts, accompanied by photos, mainly focused on an insignia emblazoned on neck gaiters worn by some officers at the protest. The insignia depicted an armored gloved hand, known as a gauntlet, clutching lightning bolts. The number 8 appears prominently on the wrist of the glo
By Seth Voorhees Rochester
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. New York’s state attorney general is calling on church leaders to help lead the charge for criminal justice reform in Rochester. Letitia James met with church leaders Wednesday morning, discussing the death of Daniel Prude and the grand jury decision to not charge officers who responded to the call which led to his death.
What You Need To Know
Pastors from Rochester’s Black churches met Attorney General Letitia James Wednesday
Pastors say James wants them to pressure local officials to reform police practices, and fix a system they say is broken
System is broken : Black community expresses anger, fatigue after officers cleared in Daniel Prude s death Tracy Schuhmacher, Robert Bell and Jay Cannon, USA TODAY
Protests in Rochester after officers not charged
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – After news that a grand jury announced no criminal charges would be brought against the Rochester officers whose restraint of Daniel Prude may have caused his death, members of the city s Black community expressed grief, anger and fatigue, along with a determination to set a new path forward.
As they did throughout fall 2020, people in Rochester took to the streets Tuesday evening, including more than 100 people who gathered at Jefferson Avenue and Samuel McCree Way, where Prude had encountered the police. No arrests and no apparent physical clashes with law enforcement were reported.
The Rev. Myra Brown has led Spiritus Christi since 2017.
Correction: The original version of this article mistakenly had the name of Spiritus Christi s operations manager as Graham Davis. His name is Davis Craig. Ask the Rev. Myra Brown, the pastor at Spiritus Christi Church in Rochester, where the roots of her faith first took hold, and she’ll tell you the story of the teacher, the mother, and the paddle. It was the early 1970s, and Brown was in second grade at a rural Orleans County school. In those days, misbehavior wasn’t remedied with a trip to the principal’s office or detention, but rather the swift swing of a paddle along the backside. No student was said to be spared, but to Black students like Brown, it seemed, the hand that swung the paddle was a little more eager.