Kim Harris rocks the virtual dance floor.
Even from within pixelated Zoom rectangles, the Newhallville Community Management Team found a way to dance.
The team convened on Zoom Tuesday evening for an annual holiday party unlike any before — and celebrated not only the Christmas season, but also the churches and community organizations who mobilized to feed their neighborhood in a year of economic and medical hardship.
The management team’s holiday parties normally draw dozens of families in a jubilant neighborhood gathering. This year, in the thick of a pandemic, there was no DJ, no twisted balloons or toy giveaways for the kids.
Gathering instead online, neighbors saluted one another with formal awards and off-the-cuff shout outs.
“We’re making history,” said Kim Harris, the management team’s chair.
Harris, who wore a light-up santa hat, noted that it was the management team’s first-ever video gathering.
Up until Tuesday, the group had been holding monthly meetings via phone conference. Attendees of the party Tuesday evening smiled at being able to see one another — in pixel form, at least.
The holiday party capped off a year of organizing from Newhallville residents to ensure that their neighbors had access to food, voting and census information, school supplies, and Covid-19 testing. When the pandemic hit, the neighborhood faced profound health and hunger challenges. Activist-residents and local churches responded with outdoor giveaways and festivals, gathering both resources and community in a time of heightened poverty and isolation.
Reflecting on this year of coming together, the management team gave out Heroes Awards to Mount Hope Temple Church; Minister Deborah Conyers of Grace Chapel Church and the Total Mankind Ministry warming center; New Haven Church of Christ; Mount Zion Church; First Calvary Baptist Church; Grace Hope Church; cafeteria workers at Lincoln Bassett School; Lt. Manmeet Colon, the neighborhood’s top cop; and Believe in Me Empowerment Corp.
These organizations and individuals worked tirelessly to pool resources — food, shelter, toys, bicycles — for Newhallville residents during the pandemic.
Other community members received spontaneous shout-outs from community leaders, too: Devin Avshalom Smith, founder of Newhallville Community Action Network; Carlah Esdaile-Bragg from the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center; and State Rep. Robyn Porter.
After allocating the awards, the management team hosted a game of Newhallville trivia.
Secretary Cynthia Spears read out the first question: “Who can tell us where the only mailbox is located in Newhallville?”
Within a millisecond, Alder Delphine Clyburn gave her answer. “It’s on Dixwell, by the pharmacy!” she said.
“Ding ding ding ding ding!” Harris responded affirmatively.
“There’s a second one now,” Alder Steve Winter noted. “At 91 Shelton, near the New Haven Business Center.”
“New information. I love it,” Harris nodded.
After trivia, the group threw a virtual dance party led by Newhallville-based dance instructor Chaila Gilliams.
Harris, educator Jeanette Sykes, Management Team Co-Chair Shirley Lawrence, and Alder Kim Edwards lit up the virtual dance floor with infectious energy.
The evening closed off with Gloria Richardson’s rendition of Silent Night. Everyone else was muted — and they seemed to share a silence — as Richardson closed her eyes and sang.
