A year ago, she was in the thick of a special election to succeed Jack Hart in the state Senate. Now Linda Dorcena Forry, who eked out a win for the Senate seat, is in the middle of another campaign: Putting together the traditional St. Read more

Thanks to a group of generous Boston-based artists, the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) will hold an online Haitian art auction beginning January 10, 2014. The Andrew Square-based IJDH helps individual Haitians enforce their basic rights—in the courts, in police stations, and on the streets—in ways that force the justice system to work better for all Haitians. The featured artists all hail from Haiti and include Boston Haitian artists Charlot Lucien, Colette Brésilla, Renold Laurent, and Fritz Duchiene. The auction also features a self-portrait by up-and-coming artist, Mathieu Jeanbaptiste. Read more

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended a 15 percent reduction in the number of U.N. Read more

Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, introduced by Senate President Therese Murray as "another Dorchester girl," joined the Upper Chamber just after 2 p.m. Thursday after being sworn in by Gov. Deval Patrick. "There is work we are going to do together," a jubilant Dorcena Forry said in remarks from the Senate rostrum. Dorcena Forry called for her colleagues to work together and to rise above politics and campaigning, and described Murray, a Plymouth Democrat with Dorchester roots, as "an inspiration to me." Read more

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State Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry of Dorchester hardly flinched in the mid-evening hours of Tuesday as The Boston Globe and the Associated Press were reporting that state Rep. Nick Collins, her opponent from South Boston, would win the Democratic nomination in the special election to represent the First Suffolk District in the state Senate. Despite those calls by the local media, all the ballots in 77 precincts across South Boston, Dorchester, Mattapan, and parts of Hyde Park had not yet been counted, and when the unofficial results were posted a few hours later, it was Dorcena Forry who was on top, by 378 votes out of 21,730 cast. See a precinct-by-precinct breakdown of the election returns (PDF). Read more

Toussaint L'Ouverture portrait by de GirardinIn commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and of the first black Civil War troops from the North, several Greater Boston educational, historical, and cultural organizations are collaborating to present Freedom Rising: The 150th Anniversary of The Emancipation Proclamation and African American Military Service in the Civil War from May 2 through 4, 2013. On Saturday, May 4, a special performance called "Roots of Liberty – The Haitian Revolution and the American Civil War" will be staged at the Tremont Temple Baptist Church, 88 Tremont St., Boston at 5 p.m.. Produced by Underground Railway Theater, in residence at Central Square Theater, the performance will include special guests Danny Glover, author Edwidge Danticat, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Danny Glover will be performing one of the key historical figures in Roots of Liberty. The first-ever performance celebrates the Haitian revolutionary hero Toussaint Louverture and the impact of the Haitian Revolution on the American Civil War – the antislavery movement and African American soldiers. It is set in Boston’s historic Tremont Temple, where the Emancipation Proclamation was read in 1863. Read more

State Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry, the second Haitian-American elected to public office in Massachusetts and the only one still at the State House, is making a bid for the upper chamber. If elected, Dorcena Forry would be the Bay State’s first Haitian-American state senator. Rep. Forry is part of a field of candidates aiming to replace former state Sen. Jack Hart, who left for a job at Nelson Mullins, a top law firm. State Rep. Nick Collins, a colleague in the House, is also running, as is fellow South Boston native Maureen Dahill. All are Democrats, and a Republican, Joseph Ureneck, has pulled nomination papers. The heavily Democratic district will likely mean that the April 30 Democratic primary will determine the eventual occupant of the First Suffolk Senate seat. The general election is set for May 28. Dorcena Forry is the daughter of Haitian immigrants who live in Uphams Corner. She is married to Reporter publisher and editor Bill Forry of Lower Mills. Read more

December edition: Above, The Oath, an oil painting by Charlot Lucien, will be among the paintings displayed at a Logan Airport exhibition next month.The Haitian Artists Assembly of Massachusetts — in conjunction with Massport and the U.S. Fund for Unicef— will launch an art exhibition at Logan airport next month. The exhibition, “Haitian Art in Transit” is described as “a celebration honoring the paintings of Haitian artists from Massachusetts and Jacmel, Haiti.” A reception to launch the display will be held on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 5:45 p.m. The exhibition will be held in art space in the airport’s terminal A.  About 60 magnificent pieces — many of which evoke the memory of those who perish during the 2010 earthquake — will be part of the exhibition. Read more

Some young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children will become eligible to pay in-state tuition rates at public universities and community colleges in Massachusetts as part of a new federal program put in place over the summer by President B Read more