MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2019 The Boston Globe Metro B
By Meghan E. Irons
GLOBE STAFF
After nearly two decades,
Darnell Williams, executive di-
rector of the Urban League of
Eastern Massachusetts, is step-
ping down at the end of Sep-
tember, officials at the organi-
zation have announced.
Williams’s
impending de-
parture comes as
the organization
examines new
ways to expand
amid rapid
changes in the
nonprofit sector,
officials said.
Joseph D.
Feaster Jr., the organization’s
board chairman, called the de-
cision a “mutuality of determi-
nation,’’ saying Williams wants
to pursue other opportunities.
“Darnell has been a great
leader and advanced the orga-
nization’s mission during his
tenure,’’ Feaster said in a state-
ment. “He has decided to pur-
sue other interests and the en-
tire ULEM board and staff wish
him much future success as he
explores new endeavors.”
Feaster,inaphoneinter-
view, would not elaborate on
Williams’s new endeavors or
what prompted the departure,
other than to say “he wants to
move on.” He said an interim
leader will be named soon.
“We feel it’s good for the or-
ganization and good for the in-
dividual,’’ Feaster said. “Both
will prosper.”
He said the Urban League’s
funding for programs and activ-
ities has decreased over the past
decade as a plethora of non-
profits petition the same fund-
ing sources and that the organi-
zation has to begin reinventing
itself to improve service.
“The Urban League needs to
be repositioned,’’ Feaster said,
adding that the board and in-
coming interim leader will be
looking at the “organization
from top to bottom’’ in terms of
fund-raising, program expan-
sion, and board development.
Williams did not respond to
a request for comment, but the
statement from Feaster quoted
Williams as saying he had en-
joyed his tenure as president
and chief executive officer of
the local Urban League.
“I...havehadthedistinct
pleasure of working with dedi-
cated staff, boards of directors,
the [Young Professionals Net-
work] and Guild affiliates, and
the National Urban League col-
leagues throughout my tenure,’’
Williams’s statement said. “It is
time for me to pursue other in-
terests, but I will reflect fondly
on my ULEM experiences.”
Williams, a Boston civil
rights advocate who helped
press for leadership change at
Boston Latin School after racial
controversy rattled the school
several years ago, has held the
top post for more than 18 years
at the Roxbury-based Urban
League. Opening in 1919, the
group is one of the oldest affili-
ates in the national Urban
League, its website said. The
Urban League strives to in-
crease self-reliance in the work-
force and through economic de-
velopment, the website said.
Under his leadership, the lo-
cal group brought the national
Urban League to Boston in
2011 after a 35-year hiatus.
That same year, Williams’s or-
ganization released its much-
heralded State of Black Boston
report that exposed economic,
income, health, and education
disparities among whites,
blacks, Latinos, and Asians.
Williams has been a champi-
on for pushing to change the
image of Boston, a city per-
ceived by many as racially in-
sensitive. His organization has
offered job training and path-
ways for women and minorities
in carpentry as well job oppor-
tunities in the financial sector.
“Darnell Williams has been
a transformative local leader in
our city for many years,’’ Mayor
Martin J. Walsh said. “I thank
him for the immeasurable posi-
tive impact he has made on the
lives of so many.”
Meghan E. Irons can be reached
at [email protected].
Head of
Urban
League
leaving
By John Hilliard
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
and Gal Tziperman Lotan
GLOBE STAFF
Hundreds of demonstrators
backing tougher national gun
control laws rallied Sunday af-
ternoon at Boston City Hall Pla-
za to demand that federal law-
makers pass laws to expand
background checks and prevent
people deemed to be a danger
from possessing firearms.
The rally, one of many
scheduled across the country
this weekend by Moms De-
mand Action for Gun Sense in
America, came after a wave of
mass shootings, including most
recently ones in El Paso, Texas,
and Dayton, Ohio, which to-
gether left 31 dead and scores
injured.
The shootings have left the
nation roiled in a bitter debate
over guns ahead of the 2020
presidential election.
Speakers at Boston’s rally, in-
cluding political leaders and
survivors, sought to find com-
mon cause among those whose
lives been traumatized by gun
violence, whether from a mass
shooting or from local crime.
“Gun violence is not an ur-
ban issue; it is a national issue,
andweallhavetoworktogeth-
er to play our part,” said Ruth
Rollins, who cofounded Opera-
tion LIPSTICK after her son
was fatally shot in 2007.
Greg Gibson, whose son was
one of two killed in a 1992
shooting at Bard College at Si-
mon’s Rock, pointed to the
number of people killed and in-
jured by guns each year.
There are “hundreds of
thousands suffering the grief,
trauma, and displacement that
come in the wake of gun vio-
lence; whole communities [are]
turned into vengeful, dysfunc-
tional battlegrounds,” Gibson
said. “We should be ashamed of
ourselves.”
Demonstrators called on the
US Senate to return from recessthis month and pass legislation
that would require background
checks on all gun sales, and en-
act a federal red-flag bill that
would allow judges to keep fire-
arms out of the hands of gun
owners who are deemed to be a
danger.
Red-flag rules already exist
in 17 states, including Massa-
chusetts, and the concept has
drawn greater attention in re-
cent weeks following the sum-
mer’s spate of mass shootings.
The Senate majority leader,
Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky
Republican, has refused to
bring senators back early to
vote on proposed gun regula-
tions.
And President Trump has re-
jected calls for tougher gun
laws. At a Manchester, N.H.
campaign appearance last
week, he instead called for in-
stitutionalizing people withmental illness to keep them
away from guns.
“We will be taking mentally
deranged and dangerous peo-
ple off of the streets so we won’t
have to worry so much about
them. A big problem,” Trump
said.
US Senator Edward Markey
said gun violence is a “prevent-
able public health crisis.” Mar-
key demanded that McConnell
recall senators for a emergency
session to consider gun legisla-
tion.
“We must unite as a nation
to have this historic debate.
This is the time, this is the
place, you are the people,” Mar-
key told the crowd. “We are ei-
ther going to live together, or
we are going to die together.”
Mayor Martin J. Walsh of
Boston drew a parallel between
the gun violence that claims
lives every day in American cit-ies and the deadly mass shoot-
ings that make national news.
Walsh said 200 mayors from
across the country have called
on the Senate to vote on a gun
control bill.
“This isn’t about taking peo-
ple’s guns away; we’re not tak-
ing people’s rights away.... What
we are tired of is people being
killed by guns,” Walsh said.
Among the demonstrators at
the rally was Gretchen Soter-
Moody, of Millbury, who had
brought her 11-year-old daugh-
ter, Kyra.
Kyra Moody said students
should not have to worry about
violence.
“Bullets are not school sup-
plies,” she said. “Kids should be
able to focus on their studies,
not [be] worried about if they
can come to school tomorrow
and be safe, and they’ll be able
to go home to their parents.”Bellingham resident Melissa
Giosi, 42, said she has conversa-
tions with her 9-year-old son
about the existence of “bad peo-
ple” in the world.
“Luckily we haven’t been hit
with knowing someone who
has died from gun violence,”
she said. “So I’m sure the con-
versation will change at that
point, if that happens.”
She said she worries about
the future.
“At this point, with how
things are going... it’s just a
matter of time before it gets to
us,” Giosi said. “And that’s a ter-
rible thing, to think that.”Matt Stout of the Globe staff
contributed. John Hilliard can
be reached at
[email protected]. Gal
Tziperman Lotan can be
reached at [email protected]
or at 617-929-2043.AtCityHallPlaza,acryagainstgunviolence
Crowdspressfor
politicalaction
the society that organizes the
feast provided Victoria with a
recording of the lines with
proper pronunciation.
“I’ve been practicing a lot all
year, so I think I’m ready,” she
said.
As Victoria prepared, hun-
dreds gathered in the North
End to enjoy live musical per-
formances and peruse the
wares of local street vendors.
Around Fisherman’s Corner,
families stopped to snack on
fresh pizza and pray before a
flower-adorned altar for the
Madonna.
For Dorothy Tortorici Paola,
of Arlington, the feast is a year-
ly tradition and part of her heri-
tage. The daughter of immi-
grants from Sciacca, Paola re-
called watching the festival
from the fire escape of the
apartment on North Street
where she and her 11 siblings
grew up.
“We could be there late at
night and my mother didn’t get
mad,” she said.
Paola’s daughter, Rina Bo-
navita, said she remember play-
ing in the Old North Church as
a girl. Though many of their
family members have moved
out of the North End, they re-
turn each year to participate in
the Feast.
The feast’s traditions origi-
nated in Sciacca in the 16th
century and are carried on to-
day in the Boston area by the
descendants of immigrants
from the Sicilian fishing village,
who make up an 85-member
religious society, said Victoria’s
father, Mark Carregal.
Each year, society members
nominate a girl — often one of
their daughters — to play theuANGEL
Continued from Page Brole of the Flying Angel, Fialko-
sky said. Following a prayer by
two “side angels,” the flying an-
gel, dressed in flowing robes
and sporting small wings, de-
scends to recite a devotion in
Italian before the Madonna.
Mark Carregal remembers
being part of the parade floats
as a young child and growing
up to become one of the bearers
for the Madonna’s procession.
Now 46 and one of the festival’s
directors, he sees the tradition
as an important part of his life.
“My kids are starting to feel
the same way,” he said. “They
look forward to it.”
This year’s feast is also im-
portant for his 13-year-old son,
who for the first time will take
part in carrying the Madonna
through the streets.
Though still a little nervous,
Mark Carregal said he was ex-
cited to watch Victoria fly.
“I see my daughter — how
excited she is carrying on the
tradition,” he said. “I’m very
proud.”Abigail Feldman can be reached
at [email protected].
Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at
[email protected].Asfestivalcloses,a
NorthEndtradition
again takesfl ight
Darnell
Williams
ERIN CLARK FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
Hundreds gathered at City Hall Plaza on Sunday in response to recent mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas.NIC ANTAYA FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
Gianna Puccio (right), 8, of
Medford, made a face at her
fellow “side angel” Mia
Graffeo, 9, of Hudson,
before the Flight of the
Angel took place on Sunday.‘It’sanopportunityforfamilyand
friendstocometogethereachyear.’
MARK CARREGAL, one of the festival’s directors
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