Yesterday, I wrote a piece that asked questions about the management and volunteers at the “Mayor’s Learning Center Libraries.” These are the reopened neighborhood branches of Trenton’s Public Library that I refer to as “zombie libraries” because they were opened without any approvals or financial appropriations by City Council, and because they are operating in apparent violation of State law governing municipal libraries.
My blog post featured a Comment written on the Trentonian.com by Shuantae Bellamy, also known by his pen name CEO Hope. Mr. Bellamy’s comment raised several questions in my mind, which I posed yesterday.
A little while ago, Mr. Bellamy wrote a note in response to my blog post. It is there, but since I wrote at length about him yesterday, I wanted to give him the courtesy of featuring his response in a separate piece today, and not leave his note in the Comments section. His note also leads me to ask a few more questions, which I will do below.
While I am on the subject, I want to thank all of you who write in to comment, and keep me honest! I do try to respond to your notes, whenever I can and time allows. In the meantime, thanks so much to all who read and find this space to be of some value.
From CEO Hope:
This is HOPE
I Can produce everything that I state again because I’m not in the popular anti-tony circle It’s bashing season. Im very open to back ground checks and etc. Everyone I know and deal with knows where I came from and what I’m in to and I never took a payment from a parent for nothing at all! I produce for them and I even pay people when task are done. I’m out here supporting these youths and it’s like its bashing bashing season for anything that has something to do with them. No one wasn’t there in the days of Doug Palmer when he came around closing down buildings and etc but because I dont report to your circle oh who is he, what is he about. Again I can produce FACTS and I am a winner in 2011 and I’m leading again this year but that dont mean nothing to me it’s just to show these youths and teens that they can change there lives around and make it better because I done it. Makes no sense that we going at it over better things for our city youths. And FYI! Nothing I do has anything to do with a City Own Property (M.L.C.) you can do personal business in no city building! It’s illegal!!
Thank you again, for writing. If I may, can I ask you a few more questions?
You state “Im very open to back ground checks.” Can you tell me if you and any other of your fellow volunteers have had any completed reports run for you? I’m not asking for any details, of course. But the matter of vetting and approving the qualifications and backgrounds is a very important matter, as you have yourself stated, as well as Mayor Mack, his administration and critics such as me. I’d just appreciate it if you could shed some light on whether that process is underway on any regular basis in the “Learning Centers.” If you did consent to a report, how did it work? Do you know what agency or vendor performed the check? Did you sign a consent document? Was that a City document or from another entity?
“I never took a payment from a parent for nothing at all! I produce for them and I even pay people when task are done.” Are you talking about this particular project specifically, or are you saying you don’t accept payments or donations in general? Because on one of your Facebook pages, you are seeking donations against a target of $70,000 for “Hope’s Learning Center of Education and Universal Arts.” At least you were last year. With the opening of the Mayor’s “Learning Centers,” is that effort still under way? Are you still soliciting funds? Do you have a non-profit entity in place to solicit those funds? If you are no longer raising money for “Hope’s Center,” did you turn over any funds to the Mayor’s Centers? If not, what is being done with any money you raised.
Along those lines, In your Trentonian comment, you said “I’m willing to take all my book sales & video book sales and turn over all the profit to keep these learning centers going!” Have you made any donation or money pledge to the “Learning Centers” to date from your profits?
One personal note. You state in your comment to my post, as you also wrote in the Trentonian, “No one wasn’t there in the days of Doug Palmer when he came around closing down buildings and etc but because I dont report to your circle oh who is he, what is he about.” I do have to say that your name was previously unfamiliar to me from the effort in 2008 and 2009 – when the financial crisis in the Libraries first flared up – that I and dozens of other Trentonians undertook to create a Library Foundation. This effort, which was pretty widespread and diverse, was successful at raising quite a bit of money for the Library before being stonewalled by Mayor Palmer and his Library Board. I’m kind of proud of that effort, as well as still frustrated that we didn’t get any support from the Mayor. But oh, well. By the way, here’s a video clip of when we made the formal presentation in 2010 of our funds, and all they bought for the Library.
So, to a certain extent, I will sheepishly admit that I did kind of say about you, “who is he, what is he about,” because you weren’t around back then, at least not where I, my colleagues and the folks at the Public Library could see you. Nothing personal.
Finally, you say “Nothing I do has anything to do with a City Own Property (M.L.C.) you can do personal business in no city building! It’s illegal!!” Yet, the Trentonian piece written by Anthony Campisi on June 17 reported “The only patrons at the former Cadwalader Branch were three women collaborating with volunteer Shuantae Bellamay on creating what they called ‘video books.’”
In your Comment to that Trentonian article, you admit that this is true, and said “Yes we was talking about Video Books, its a very good thing…And the 1st set of Video books will be out the 2nd week of July and the 3 ladies whom I was speaking to 2 of them I have gave Jobs to…”
How do you reconcile these statements? You said you don’t do personal business at the Cadwalader Branch – and acknowledge that to do so would be illegal – yet you admit that you were working on your Video Books there, which is a private effort of yours; and that you gave jobs to 2 ladies you had spoken to at Cadwalader. Seems that there are some contradictions here. Can you explain them, please?
Again, thank you for your comment to my piece, and your attention to my questions. We all want to see expanded opportunities in the form of neighborhood Libraries available to the people of Trenton, adults and children alike.
I appreciate your personal efforts, even though I continue to believe that these Centers as established by Mayor Mack are totally ill-conceived, badly-executed, of limited educational value, poorly-managed and illegally operated without the approvals of City Council and compliance with State law.
Kevin you’ve been restrained in not pointing out Mr. Hope’s glaringly poor grasp of grammar. Libraries, not even “Zombie Libraries” are not appropriate places for authority figures without language skills to work.
Mr. Hope, it’s a hard thing to have to tell an adult. However, as a person who purports to be in the learning business, I’m sure you’ll want to find some remedial English lessons sooner rather than later. Perhaps at the Daylight / Twilight school, or perhaps the real public library.
I have never heard of Mr. Bellamy as an author. What has he written? Who published it? When? Is English his native language?
Sorry, but this guy should not be running a “Learning Center”. Even if he possessed all the integrity and good intentions of Mother Teresa, he has the literacy of a 10-year old.
The situation is comparable to Mike Tyson running a public speaking center.
@Patricia… better yet, who proof read it?!
Dan, you’re right. I did restrain myself. I did so deliberately. I figure that for readers of this space Mr. Bellamy’s lack of facility with standard English, and what that represents for his clarity of expression and his ability to communicate his thoughts, or to teach or mentor, was pretty self-evident. Nothing I can say about that would make more of an impact than his own words. In other words, ‘Nuff Said.
And also, it wasn’t how he was saying things that mainly interests me, but what he is saying: about the manner in which volunteers work in the libraries, how they are or are not vetted; to what extent some of them may use these city-owned properties to further their own interests and businesses; and trying, trying to get some peek into the entirely invisible way that unknown amounts of taxpayer money are flowing to these Centers in an unaccountable and illegal fashion. Those items are the lede for me.
Kevin:
You’re wasting your precious time by asking the questions to Mr. Hope.
The guy shouldn’t be running the libraries. He cannot construct one complete logical flowing sentence.
Hopefully, the State will force the mayor’s experiment with libraries/learning centers to come to an end.
Nice blog, Kevin as always!
~ Shaheed M. Morris.
reply to questions:
Can you tell me if you and any other of your fellow volunteers have had any completed reports run for you? I dont know about NO one else, but I had to do one and I have done it and I have copies that I can produce from the company the city sent me to to get it done. I am very open with where I came from. NOTHING in my background is against children. To make this very simply someone can pull it up on line or contact the megans law agency and they will supply you with all names and information. Now for everyone else I cant speak about, but my doing so had nothing with being a paid work because I would never take $$$ for working/volunteering with kids. Mines was to make sure I was able to be around them.
“I never took a payment from a parent for nothing at all! I produce for them and I even pay people when task are done.”
This is a project I’m working on with many local and nation authors in order to open up a performing art school. We do not have one and we have drill teams, dance teams, vocal artist and etc in our area who needs a place to go to enjoy it, learn it and produce productions from it. All other major cities have them and we’re the capital of NJ so we should have one as well. The system we’re using is we’re offering our books and etc as funding tools to drive in capital and I must say its working great and No I dont have control of it or the capital.
Mayor’s “Learning Centers
Any one can raise funds and make the 100% donation to any cause. It could be to a health reason, family lost their home, kid needs a special bike, a youth center or what ever. And far as did I raise any money for the Mayors Learning Centers NO I have not and thats because I’m still waiting on information to which these Authors would make their donations directly to. Nothing will ever say my name on it as being the person who received the donation. Thats not what I do!
And the question about the 501c yes I do have it, in fact we have 2 and I can supply all the information and yes my name is on it.
I was not apart of this….So, to a certain extent, I will sheepishly admit that I did kind of say about you, “who is he, what is he about,” because you weren’t around back then, at least not where I, my colleagues and the folks at the Public Library could see you. Nothing personal…..But if one go back and check the record I offered to bring in some MAJOR MONEY to help with the cause of keeping them open. I went to then Mayor and City Council with it. And still to these date I can have them help out but we just need the paper work of who it go to in action before I or anyone can do anything.
Finally, you say “Nothing I do has anything to do with a City Own Property (M.L.C.) you can do personal business in no city building! It’s illegal!!” …These people came by to check out the library and they was telling me their progress on the project of “Video Books”..It would be like a Police officer who tells and shows another police offer while on duty about the steps he just finished for a client. That’s not conducting business on the city time. Its conversation and they mainly came to check out the library. 2 of them are headed off to D-1 schools and the other go to Del. State. Whom I have mentored since 2001 and again I can supply them and I’m sure the report still has his picture of them so we can make sure its the same people. We all was standing there at a counter me on 1 side and them on another. No books, No laptops, No paper no nothing to show we was more then talking about how far they got. They Video Books is a product and and I pay them for producing these products for me. And up to date we have not put out any of them and they are from my Philly program.
To clear things up for the city of Trenton. I do not have a Youth Program with a building, My last building was located at 147 N. Broad st, Trenton, NJ and before that I had the old bank on Prospect St. both is on file with the city of Trenton and in records. I had Youth Programs teaching them Arts and A summer camp. I do not have kids out there tagging in the streets for donations. The only thing I & my fellow team members are in to is Audio & Video Production nothing more,nothing less! I along with many others are writers and what we’re doing now is taking our Books, Plays, Scripts & Etc. in Video format as movies. Our Audio Artist produces Educational Music Learning CD’s. When we finish a production (Audio or Video) our students then take them and offer them to friends, family & the community. This is where just as any other Artist or Actor agency makes their money from. In doing so it falls under the company name of Hope Ent. and the Business ID # is 453-299-524 under my name and my home address. These students loves what they doing and the parents as well. We can supply videos, pics, write ups and etc from over the years we have been around and we just not here in Trenton, over in Philly I have a warehouse where we do all of video production (green screen) and a lot of our voice recordings.
This is not new here in the city of Trenton….But a lot of new people have now came out but they dont know I been here for years fighting or if they looked it up, they will not report the factual findings such as: And I will not space kill this reply cause I can produce a lot but back in 2006 was these issues with my same up to date program & again because I wouldn’t do as the powers wanted me to do I was given issues:
http://www.guardianangels.org/pdf/1206.pdf
http://www.trentonnj.org/uppages/November%202,%202006%20Minutes.pdf
I have been going to City Council since 1996 at the age of 19. I was there faithfully, I recalled when Frank Weedon start coming, I was there when Ms. Pat. was going in heavy on Landlords and I can go on and on and on! I was there just never really made any noise in the 1st year but if one pull up them records they will see I was making tons of noise. I was also going to The School Meeting as well and I’m also on record for speaking there. I’m also the one who raised the questions about the $100,000 check that went missing from the National Urban League that was said to be lost and found 6 months latter, contact them as well I still to this day is working with them and in hopes of bring it back to the city. Again because I dont put things out there or attend meetings with the in circle its like who is this guy. People looked me up and said oh he dont have books but I can produce tons of them, oh he didnt go to school but I can produce it as well I went to school for 2 medical areas and took up classes (completed) for early childhood development at C.C.P.. Nor did anyone mention about how I was interviewed on 3 Major TV Shows (Geraldo, Jenny & Maury) about how I changed my life around for the better.
No one speaks about the fact that I have put forth the effort with the current Gov. for re-entry programs. Why wasnt that looked up and posted, or the fact that my youth entertainment teams are the ones who perform for his events or the fact that he 1st booked us during his run to the state house: http://youtu.be/24t3K2pAf6c or how we have been performing and entertaining all ages all over the country: http://youtu.be/g9j10t9JSD8 ….
No one will post the fact that I have very close ties with the V.P. Biden before his white house run. As A Senator we was Boy Scout Larders. Look that up. See no one will post them findings or may just never knew what I do also out side of Trenton. No speaks about how me and another family member came up with the Brick Fundraiser for the 2nd part of the Martin House, contact Father Brain and Brother Steve..See these things not being said. I dont do things for open public to boost. But parents know me & They know where I came from & What I’m in to. Which just 1 thing….TURNING MY BOOKS IN TO VIDEO PRODUCTION & PRODUCING THE CD’S TO GO WITH THEM! NO THING MORE NOTHING LESS AND WE’RE SOON TO START WORKING ON A BUILDING LOCATION IN THE CITY OF TRENTON FOR PRODUCTION WORKS & TO OFFER SHOWS…IT TAKES $$$$ AND WE WILL RAISE IT LEGALLY…MEANING..ME, STAFF, PARENTS, KIDS & SUPPORTERS. Raising $$$$ is not illegal when it’s your original product. When I was looked up this basic info was not reported that I seek talent on a nation level on: http://www.exploretalent.com/mrshuantaebellamy or the fact that I’m also under BMI & ASCAP with production license under http://www.sag.org/
And if any one can supply me with an email I will send over pictures, videos, paper work as needed and etc more. And for the record I am NO LONGER at the Mayors Learning Center.
Just when you think we’ve hit rock bottom in the deranged, illiterate, delusional two-bit street hustler con man department, we meet “CEO Hope.”
That this guy is doing anything more than standing under a highway overpass with a hand-painted sign reading “HOMLES WILL WRK 4 FUD GOD BLES U” is astounding to me.
Given Da Maya’s penchant for continually cracking ever deeper layers of bedrock, I shudder to think what no-account hood rat he will dig up next.
Welcome to Trenton: You Can’t Make This Shit Up
Say it’s not so: Mr. Shaheed M. Morris, Im speaking directly to you! You know my work, you know where I came from, you know my ties, you know what I’m about! Lets not forget how you went to Mr. Mayor begggggggggggggging for a JOB and went over the Animal Place as a volunteer! DOnt let your personal feelings of wanting to fit in get your self in a knot of high blood pressure! What every your personal feelings are is not my business and the way I talk or type has got me in to many places at levels not even you could hold a door for guest as you once would for the now Mayor Tony Mack. These others in here I respect and I would do anything in my power to support any action to empower the youths and they can raise questions and concerns and I can provide them with the ans. but you need not jump on the wagon cause I would push it so hard that you will fall off! You couldn’t NEVER SEE ME AT NO LEVEL! The only thing you may have is you keep a very well clean cut! Please dont do it, stay in a childs place and continue to hold hands with your teachers! Now where is your certifications at? You started out a sing boy then move on to a signature collector for the mayor then moved up to being on the recall team. Wait hold up lets go back to the Re-Call matter. I have a successful recall under my name and on file with it in a major upset where we needed more signers then almost the total count of Trenton Residents combined. If your going to post knowing me personally then post facts and post your own thinking and wisdom dont coat tail off no one else. Who is seeking ans. to questions they have. And unlike others I can stand trial to them and will not run. Thats why I was informed about this room/blog and I came here to ans. any questions.
This is a very well written piece and I applaud you on your command of the English language but truthfully I don’t get your point. I have read your post and those that commented on it and again it serves no purpose except to those with ill feelings for the growth and development of the citizens of Trenton.
Now it’s a fact that Trenton is almost 80% African American yet those who comment most likely don’t live there (neither do I for that matter) but it’s clear that the intent of your blog is to hurt, maim or damage an already sensitive issue. One would think that the answer and success of the Mayors Learning Centers being staffed properly is “volunteers”. I somewhat heard your concern about the Zombie Libraries (which can be interpreted more than one way) yet I didn’t hear where you or any of your blog supporters or KKK members offered any support or to volunteer their services to make the centers work. I’m sorry did I say KKK members, didn’t meant to do that out loud. Maybe its Tourettes Syndrome or something but. The truth is CEO Hope is there trying. He may not have all the tools to meet your standards or those of others but the fact that he is “PRESENT” in the struggle and he shows up to offer of himself as a warm body if nothing else. So if your not out trying to assist in the process, you shouldn’t throw stones at those that are. I’m sure you were raised better than that. Don’t throw stones and hurt people who genuinely care and are doing their best to make a difference while you sit back and do nothing. When I was in the military, I would rather have a guy who would go to battle than one that was ready for battle. Sounds to me like you guys are only ready for battle. GET INVOLVED!
From reading your post and those of others its’ obvious you have something to offer. It’s just your negative is not needed.
Be Encouraged
The thought of him teaching any child is beyond comprehension. The description of his video books is almost laughable if it weren’t for the fact that kids might be exposed to them. If a 5 or 6 year old does know what an apple is, there is a problem. My 2 year old grandkids ask for apples ” by name “. I would like to see one of his video books. If this is the best Trenton can do to teach children can you imagine the next generation.
Mr. Phelps – Since you wrote the exact same comment to an entirely different post of mine (yesterday’s), let me write the exact same response, OK?
Mr. Phelps – Thanks for reading and for commenting.
With all due respect, you may kiss my ass. I appreciate your continued interest in the affairs of Trenton, but your implication that my motivations and those of others sharing similar opinions on this and other matters in this town are racist – and, yes you did say KKK – is despicable.
My underlying objection to these “Centers” is that they are, despite any good intentions, at their heart, illegal. They were planned in secret, rolled out and operated using unknown sums of money that was not appropriated by Trenton’s City Council, and are in violation of New Jersey state law governing the management of municipally-owned properties as libraries.
This is one of a series of actions I have opposed of the current Administration since nearly the day it took office. Not because the Mayor and his principal colleagues are African-American, but because they are fools and incompetents. Bullshit has no color, Mr. Phelps, and there has been WAY too much of that in this town for the last two years.
I refuse to have anything to do with these “Centers” because they are inherently, fundamentally flawed, and corrupt at heart.
Since you don’t live here and don’t know much about many of us, take my word on it that many of us are plenty INVOLVED, on many and varied levels, and have been for a long time. I for one don’t feel I need to defend my words and my involvement in this town. I don’t need or appreciate pontification from hundreds of miles away aimed at us and questioning our motivations as racist simply we have some, I guess, sick and misplaced instinct to call bullshit when we see fools and incompetents.
So, in conclusion, and as I believe I also said above, kiss my ass.
Hey Hope, you keep saying “changed your life around,” are you a former addict? Ex-Con? or are you saying you were poor and changed that? not understanding how you passed a background check if you changed your life around from being a criminal…to not being a criminal anymore…if that’s what you mean by “Changed my life around.”
Also I was wondering if you still have President Obama’s personal cellphone number on speed-dial as you have previously stated/claimed to City Council.
@ Ellis Phelps, not every White man or Woman who questions or even doesn’t like a non-White man or woman is a KKK member. Why is that a go to response? All of the White racists who used to live in Trenton moved out, a long time ago.
White racists feel comfortable with a lot of White people around him or her, one would assume, so why would they live in such a racially diverse small city like Trenton?
This has and never has had anything to do with race, it has everything to do with the leader of this city’s character, leadership and performance.
Stop trying to make everything a race thing, you should go work for the Trentonian Newspaper, you would fit right in.
To Ceo Hope:
I will not lower myself by responding to complete buffoonery.
Lastly, I do not have to defend my record of community activism in the city of Trenton.
~ Shaheed M. Morris.
Mr. Phelps,
How dare you call me a racist or any one of us, you do not know any one of us from Adam. Do not ever insult us with your KKK malicious smear. If you do not live here what right do you have making any comments about things you know nothing about.
There are so many unanswered questions about ” learning centers ” that are housing children. Was any of the work done ever inspected by on the buildings. They are doing electrical work,we have almost no inspectors, who did this work? Are the buildings even insured, are the children insured while they are in the buildings. There is no oversite, how are these children being taught, by whom. How educated are they?
The biggest thing is it’s illegal! What are you teaching the kids, it’s ok to disrespect the law. We have enough of that in the streets every day. Shootings, killings just about every day of the week. The mayor is suppose to respect the law, not break it.
We want and have been fighting for libraries, but the right way. With real librarians, people that know how to help children. Everything that was done, was done in secret. Why do you think that is?
Hope introduced himself to a female acquaintance of mine as a Leader in the Bloods gang, or a former leader.
Is that true Hope?
If so, was your “blood pressure” response to Shaheed Morris a threat that you can have Bloods gang members silence him?
If you did not introduce yourself to a female as such and it is just gossip, please correct me.
And considering the temper you displayed at the Mill Hill Town Hall meeting, I would say you should not be around children.
The mayor had to tell you to stop several times.
Robert Chilson…Man I have never told a female that in my LIFE!! Thats a false statement and I would never ever ever ever ever take part it something of such! If we going to start just popping up with foolishness I will not entertain such unless you can produce this female who gave you that damn line! Why would I say such foolishness and far as my contacts again go do your home-work and find out. Yes! Far as where I come from and where I’m at now, I was never poor go do your home work, my mother owns a few businesses in the area and my father owns the prime hotels in Myrtle Beach and etc more but what my family has and who they are has nothing to do with this foolishness…Thats like me saying to you about what happen with you! I would never degrade or speak neg. about your past because its your past. And it really seems that these Centers are being used to cause ruckus and threats I dont do!Far as the Mill House go, lets be honest you totally provoked that matter not with me well as with others again if we’re going to speak something please let it be the truth! I will not entertain foolishness or made up matters! If its questions in relation to me then I will ans. anything and provide as much info. as I can to make it very clear. who’s willing to step up and say ok Mr. Mayor we need to do this and that and move this here and that over here and etc in order to get these Centers on point. And the sad thing is I have been running programs in this city for 11years and paper work has always been up to par go check the history books on that one. But because I’m not in the Anti-Tony circle no wants to except the truth or post it.
Still hittin’ the rock to make a post at 4:01 am…sad.
Okay, I will accept it as just gossip.
As to Mill Hill, everyone was trying to answer questions for the mayor, that was getting me heated.
Finally, you still have not explained what you mean when you type “I changed my life around.”
Wow.
Anyway, if Mr. Bellamy would provide the correct names of both of his 501(c)3s, we can look up the registration ourselves.
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/charity/chardir.htm
So far I’m not hitting anything that tracks with keywords taken frmo the names of the organizations he’s mentioned (hope, learning center, Trenton).
Same problem with the IRS database. Nothing hits on ‘hope’ or ‘learning center’ that leads to Mr. Bellamy. So the exact names of these two 501(c)3s could go a long way to establish the veracity of Mr. Bellamy’s claims.
http://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/mainSearch.do;jsessionid=jrTtPnXGLp7PyLtWTX1cyQrrmQ0XsCpPmnMZMBrLbmt8zmjJ97Tq!-1897840724?mainSearchChoice=pub78&dispatchMethod=selectSearch
Previous IRS link is no good, try this one: http://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/
Mr. McGrath:
I think that particular letter was not written by Mr. Bellamy. It would not surprise me to find that it had been written by someone with ties to the Mayor’s office…or a particular person formerly employed by the Mayor. I have no proof of authorship, but the grammar is exceedingly better than any comments or responses made by Mr. Bellamy before and after the message regarding his 501c’s.
Thank you for providing those links.
Geoff
go to this site, enter Trenton. and you will get actual population and diversity numbers.
btw trenton is not 80% black, its 52% and falling, Hispanic populations are increasing in trenton. a fact that the mayor is well aware of.
http://www.nj.com/news/bythenumbers/
Geoff, I have footage of Mr. Bellamy speaking in public before City Council and his public speaking skills match his grammar skills here.
Does this sound like anyone we know?
“Grandiose delusion or delusions of grandeur is principally a subtype of delusional disorder (GD) that can occur as a wide range of mental illness, including in two thirds of those in manic state of bipolar disorder, half those with schizophrenia and a substantial portion of those with substance abuse disorders. GDs are characterized by fantastical beliefs that one is famous, omnipotent, wealthy, or otherwise very powerful.”