Midtown Rising News - Kingston Midtown Rising

Article by Lynn Woods for Hudson Valley One, Frank Waters (photo by Dion Ogust)

Ever since Frank Waters arrived in Kingston from New York City eight years ago with his wife and two children, he’s been helping transform the city’s cultural scene and cement its community bonds. He launched MyKingstonKids, which organized and created events, play activities, a radio station and even an apparel line for local youths. He was a co-founder of  Harambee, which hosted the city’s first African American Festival and helped save and will manage the African Burial Ground, a cemetery dating back to the 1600s located in a back yard on Pine Street. He ramped up Black History Month into a rich series of events ranging, in 2019, from a historic walk retracing the path of Sojourner Truth to expanding home ownership.

Recently, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbury and many others have once again highlighted the enduring legacy of racism in our country, and how this legacy continues to interface with modern day policing and police brutality. Kingston is not exempt from this reality and the Midtown community – which is one of the most racially and culturally diverse parts of our city – continues to bear the brunt of unchecked local police violence. As a result, abusive policing significantly undermines the right of many members of our community to live in a neighborhood in which they feel safe and welcomed.