A Black-led wine festival sold out again at a western Massachusetts vineyard this month, drawing thousands of visitors to a region its founder said is often left out of the conversation.

Nine questions appear on the Nov. 3 ballot in Massachusetts. The Banner has already urged a no vote on two, eliminating partisan primaries for state offices and revoking the state’s legalization of recreational marijuana.

Across Boston and Massachusetts, we see voters making time to participate in our democracy amid work and family responsibilities. Oftentimes, they arrive at the polls to find an old address or an error in their registration that prevents them from casting a regular ballot. Others learn that the deadline passed before they even knew there was a problem.

Hundreds packed the Cambridge City Council chambers and an overflow room to testify in favor of and against a pair of policy orders that call on the city to divest from and end contracts with businesses that are profiting from Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The organization Lawyers for Civil Rights has opened BizGrow Central, a free center for entrepreneurs and small-business owners at 141 Tremont St. across from Boston Common.

Success is self-reinforcing at the Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School in Cambridge. Principal Sherley Bretous said, “If I knew what the secret sauce was” then “I would give it to the whole world for free.

Americans recognize Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey and Frederick Douglass. Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth are rightly celebrated. Yet many women who challenged slavery in Boston remain unfamiliar, although their resistance began generations before independence.

The Stoughton resident and mother usually drove herself to appointments. But after her mastectomy at Boston Medical, the 50-year-old cancer patient needed someone to take her home. She did not want to ask a family member, as she’d kept the diagnosis to herself. The Ellie Fund stepped in. The Needham-based nonprofit supports breast cancer patients across Massachusetts.

A Black development firm recently began construction on an affordable housing project in memory of their brother and dear friend. Marzuq Umar Robert Muhammad, died on May 20, 2018 in Atlanta. He was a community leader and developer.

In an upcoming performance by the local ensemble A Far Cry, two musicians have a dialogue about resilience across more than 250 years of history.

Look what's happening in Boston and beyond.

Chef Liang Hou has been the executive chef at Northern Chinese restaurant Hao Shi Guang in Allston for two years. Through his menus he hopes to educate American audiences about the nuances of Shandong cuisine, also known as Lu cuisine