ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS OF COLOR - FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2022

Racial Tactics of Gashi’s Mailer... continued

from page 24

He answered the question by saying, “How long, not long” and told the gathered marchers that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” King also said in his Letter From A Birmingham Jail; “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Now more than fifty years later, as we assess the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we have indeed seen change. However, for all the improvements that have been made, this is no time to declare victory. There is so much more that needs to be improved upon and accomplished. For those who continue to face discrimination based on the color of their skin, their gender, disability, or sexual orientation, the answer “not long” is outdated and regressive. Perhaps we should be asking ourselves another question: “What can we contribute to society to bridge the gap of social injustices?”

In the current political climate, we have seen ads that explicitly call on white supremacy or racial stereotypes to ads that employ more subtle “dog whistles.” Whether implicit or explicit on the part of Gashi and his campaign as Smikle said, there’s no place for this in our political dialog. The racial gaslighting is disgusting. It is even more egregious when it comes from a fellow Democrats who is vying to represent a district that is majority minority.

We have invited Vadat Gashi to appear on our radio show People Before Politics Radio to discuss the matter, he has agreed to an interview Tuesday, May 16th at 6PM. Then on Monday at 4:24PM a little more than 24 hours before the interview the Gashi’s communication consultant Yuridia Peña emailed us and wrote, “Unfortunately, Vedat is unable to do the interview this week.” No reason why, no request to reschedule, just he is unable to do the interview that they asked for, agreed to and scheduled.

Whether any or all of this was done intentional by the candidate or the communications consultant, it is an insult to Black Westchester and our audience that counts on us to inform them on the candidates, and we thought the voters of the 16th congressional district needed to know when they go out to cast their vote. If he doesn’t see the need to address this issue, how can we trust he will address any of the big issues that are important to us, if we send him to Washington DC to represent us? These are the questions that need to be asked before you cast your ballot in this very important primary.

County Legislators Gashi and Catherine Parker are challenging Congressman Bowman in the August 23 Democratic Primary. Mark Jaffe has officially dropped out the race. Early voting started Saturday, August 13th. With so much on the line and our very democracy at risk, Black Westchester encourages all to vote responsibly and make informed decisions at the ballot box.