Volume 6/ Issue 6 BW Jan/Feb 2023 Issue

AT 2023 PRESIDENTIAL STATE OF THE UNION

REP. BOWMAN INVITES REV. STEPHEN W. POGUE AS HIS GUEST

MEMPHIS POLICE

CHIEF UNDERSTOOD

THE ASSIGNMENT

NO BLACK VOTE WITHOUT A BLACK AGENDA

FROM BRUTAL BLACK OVERSEER TO BRUTAL BLACK UNDERCOVER: THE WHY OF TYRE NICHOLS MURDER

DOES BLACK HISTORY MONTH ADEQUEATELY HONOR OUR HERITAGE

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AJ WOODSON

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FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

As Publisher of Black Westchester Magazine (BW), I would like to thank everyone for their support of our efforts to bring information to the people of Westchester County. As we embark on a new chapter for BW, we hope to continue to empower the reader on issues in their communities.

Independent media like BW has become more than a mere institution; instead, the independent media acts as a direct participant in the traditional three-branch system of governance. What many fail to realize is that independent media serves a fundamental role in making democracies run efficiently, even though there are frequent clashes. Independent media system thus often “reflects the political philosophy in which Democracy indeed functions”. This being said, BW will not be disregarded as a trivial player in the responsibilities of being a check and balance system in the political process of the Black Communities of Westchester. BW’s purpose is not only to address the political process that affects the everyday lives of communities of colour in Westchester County. BW’s mission has also been to shine a light on the brilliant culture, morals, values and elegant lifestyle of Black people. It’s time to change the narrative on how Black people are portrayed in media.

As Publisher of BW, our doors are open to the public. From the publication, the website, our radio show and now the newspaper; our doors are open to the people. We do not do this for any grander position or status; we do it for the people.

A FEW WORDS FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Welcome to our January/February issue, our first issue of 2023

In this issue we extensively cover the Menthol Cigarette Ban proposed and passed by the Westchester County Board of Legislators and vetoed by County Executive George Latimer including voices who we for and opposed to the ban in time for Gov. Hochul’s adding the proposed ban to the budget. See you in Albany for the Black, Latino & Asian Caucus.

We also introduce our Black Love Series, a monthly column in the newspaper and soon an monthly episode of Black Westchester presents The People Before Politics Radio Show each fourth Sunday of the month, The First episode will probably start in March 2023 and joining AJ & Damon on the new monthly Black Love Series episode will be special guest co-host Nikki High

We also cover the the summerary execution of another unarmed Black man, Tyre Nichols by five Black cops of the Memphis Police Department (MPD) SCORPION unit on January 7th, a week before Martin Luther King Jr, Day.

We would like to take this time to thank all the readers, listeners, supporters, sponsors, contributors, and advertisers for their support in our effort to deliver the “News With The Black Point Of View,” since 2014. Send us your feedback, let us know what you think of this issue. Let us know subjects/topics you would like to see us cover in the future and send your letters to the editor to BlackWestchesterMag@gmail.com.

Peace and Blessings

AJ Woodson, Editor-In-Chief and Co-Owner

BLACK WESTCHESTER MAGAZINE DOES NOT ENDORSE ANY CLAIMS OF ADVERTISEMENTS THAT APPEAR IN PRINT OR ANY OTHER DIGITAL OR AUDIO FORMAT. ADVERTISEMENTS DO NOT INFLUENCE EDITORIAL DECISIONS OR CONTENT, WE ARE THE FREE PRESS!

HISPANIC DEMOCRATS OF WESTCHESTER ANNOUNCE LIST OF CANDIDATES THEY’RE BACKING FOR OFFICE IN 2023

recent decades, Councilwoman Yadira Ramos-Herbert (District 3) who is attempting to make history as the first female elected Mayor of the city of New Rochelle, Port Chester Mayor Luis Marino, running for re-election in March 2023, County Legislator José Alvarado (District 17 Yonkers) running for re-election, Manuel Casanova who is challenging County Legislator Damon Maher in District 10 (Eastchester, Tuckahoe, New Rochelle) and City Councilman Ramon Fernandez, who will be running for Mayor in the city of Peekskill.

With Hispanics making up a fourth of the population in Westchester yet have only one of the seventeen seats at the County Board of Legislators, the Hispanic Democrats of Westchester released a statement that they will be running “an unprecedented number” of democratic candidates for office in Westchester, including running democratic primaries against incumbents.

Hispanic Dems say the time is now we’re ready to fight for their seat at the table

The Hispanic Democrats of Westchester announced their list of candidates for office in 2023, Sunday, January 8th at Salsa Picante Restaurant located at 359 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains during their Three Kings Day celebration.

Candidates include New Rochelle Councilwoman Martha Lopez (District 1) who is running for re-election, Greenburgh Town Council candidate Jonathan Campozano, White Plains Common Councilwoman Jennifer Bid – who is running for re-election, Karine Patiño – Mount Kisco’s the first Latina Village Trustee, who is running for re-election in a municipality that has become increasingly diverse in

CONGRESSMAN JAMAAL BOWMAN ON THE KILLING OF TYRE NICHOLS

“The Hispanic Democrats of Westchester is a 40-year-old organization that has a long and distinguished history of educating voters, registering new voters, mentoring possible candidates, supporting democratic candidates and working for the democratic party. We have now reached the tipping point and are ready to present to the democratic party and the public our list of candidates for the 2023 political season, including county legislative candidates, town council candidates and mayoral candidates. We are full participants in the democratic process and are willing to fight for our seat at the table,” Francella and Robin Bikkal, co-chairs of the Hispanic Democrats of Westchester said in the statement. “New Rochelle in particular, is fertile ground for Hispanic candidates coming forward to run for office and serve their community. Ximena (Francella) has been active in her community for years and we feel that the time is now to seek new and different representation on the county board of legislators.”

The Hispanic Democrats of Westchester organize to empower the Hispanic community of Westchester County by educating the electorate, developing leadership skills, conducting voter registration, cultivating and supporting qualified Hispanic candidates, and electing Hispanic and other candidates who are supportive of the issues confronting the Hispanic community.

“We have the support of unions and the business community,” Bikkal shared. “So, we know we’re doing the right thing. The people who are running are people who were active in their respective communities.”

DA ROCAH CLOSES INVESTIGATION OF MOUNT VERNON PUBLIC LIBRARY

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D (NY-16) issued the following statement , Janaury 28th following the release of the Memphis Police releasing the body cam footage of Tyre Nichols being beaten by five police officers.

“Sending my deepest condolences to the family of Tyre Nichols,” said Congressman Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (NY-16).” Tyre Nichols should be alive today. He should be spending time with his son and his family. He should be talking, laughing and smiling with his friends. He should be enjoying his passion for photography. Instead, he was brutally murdered by five Memphis police officers. Tyre wasn’t a threat. He was not breaking the law. He was attacked and beaten to death with multiple kicks, punches, and nightstick blows to his head. He tried to run for his life. He tried to run home to his mother. He called out for his mother in the same way that George Floyd did before he was killed.”

“America’s DNA is sickened with the disease of police brutality, mass incarceration, and the dehumanization of Black bodies. We call on President Biden and every elected official in this country to pass legislation and take executive action as necessary to protect Black bodies and keep all Americans safe; especially the most vulnerable. The disease of police brutality is systemic. And it has happened in every corner of the country throughout American history. From the slave patrols of the 1700’s to 2023, Black dehumanization and murder at the hands of the state continues to be fueled by the disturbing legacy of institutional and systemic injustice. It’s taxpayer money that funds police departments and it’s that same taxpayer money that’s used to defend officers who break the law and pay settlements when lawsuits arise. It is on all of us to demand radical change.”

“The usual impunity hurts the most. Most officers who break the law aren’t fired, charged or convicted. The swiftness with which the officers were fired and charged, and the release of the video should serve as a blueprint for every police department going forward. I also must acknowledge and thank the activists and organizers who continue to fight for accountability — and humanity.”

“Police killed more than 1000 people in 2022, making it the deadliest year on record since we started tracking police killings.

We need federal, state and local legislation that holds law enforcement accountable and takes a public health approach to public safety. Federal legislation, like the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the People’s Justice Guarantee can serve as models for the nation to follow. These policies, along with the Truth and Racial Healing Act can help us begin the process of curing America of its anti-Black racism that is so intricately and intentionally woven into the fabric of every American system and institution. If we don’t, there will be more senseless killings of Black people by both police and vigilantes. It was vigilantes who killed Emmitt Till, Trayvon Martin, and Ahmed Aubery. The KKK were also vigilantes created to terrorize and kill Black people.”

“We call on President Biden, Congress, and elected leaders all over the country to lead for Black lives and lead for Black humanity.”

Over the past month community leaders and stakeholders have been demanding an investigation into the finances of the Mount Vernon Public Library. Allegations of missing money and former trustees blaming each other of stealing the money flooded social media.

After a thorough investigation, DA Rocah sent the following statement to Black Westchester

“Amid allegations of financial mismanagement, fraud and theft, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office initiated an investigation into the finances of the Mount Vernon Public Library (“Library”). The purpose of the investigation was to determine if any individual or entity associated with the Library engaged in criminal conduct, and if it was appropriate to bring criminal charges against any individual or entity. Our comprehensive investigation consisted of the review of voluminous financial records, Library records, documents and information obtained via grand jury subpoena, and certain information that was publicly available. We worked in cooperation with the Office of the New York State Comptroller, which provided invaluable resources and assistance. Our investigation revealed evidence of poor bookkeeping and other evidence of mismanagement related to the Library’s finances but did not uncover evidence to support the filing of any criminal charges. Specifically, we did not find evidence to support the contention that any money has been embezzled, misappropriated or otherwise stolen from the Library or that any individual or entity engaged in fraud or criminal misconduct. Having reached these conclusions, our investigation is now closed.”

While the DA didn’t uncover evidence to bring charges on any individuals or entity, she did say the investigation revealed evidence of poor bookkeeping and other evidence of mismanagement related to the library’s finances, which is what community groups like Save Mount Vernon have been claiming for over a year. The investigation may be over, but the problem of previous poor bookkeeping and mismanagement have not solved. We have a new Treasurer. New trustees appointed; a new Board President has been elected; we will see if they can clean up the library.

Stay tuned to more on this developing story!

REP. BOWMAN INVITES REV. STEPHEN W. POGUE TO BE

HIS GUEST AT 2023 PRESIDENTIAL STATE OF THE UNION

and to hear The President lay out his directive for the country for this year and probably for the entirety of his presidency. It was a little hostile once in awhiel inside the chambers as the Republicans barked at some of the things he said. One of the great things that happened was to be able to be there live to see this exchange between the Republicans and the President, where he literally goes off the script and begins to engage them about social security and healthcare and then almost flips their distruption on top of them, and said to them so really we don’t have a problem right? And goes right back to script and says now that we don’t have a problem, we can get this done and everybody in the chamber stands up. And I don’t even think the Republicans - even Marjorie Taylor Greene stood up - and I dont thinl right there in the moment they even realized what just happened to them. And one of there negotiating tools had just been taken off the table and they did it to themselves. You would think the decorum of a joint session, the high honor of them moment would cause for civility, you would knwo that teh world is watching and if we don’t have our stuff together behind close doors as at least we wouldn’t let it spill out for the nation to see. To have Republican congressmembers yelling out ‘You Liar,’ It just disrupts the momet to the point the Speaker had to shhhh them. I think for me looking at ot from my vantage point, some of those who were screaming out were probably more down in their phones than they were listening, so when he hits something they didn’t like, that’s when they said something. But it was just great being there, a great opportunity, and I was happy to be invited.”

Washington D.C. — Congressman Jamaal A. Bowman (NY-16 which covers the northern Bronx and the southern half of Westchester County, including the cities of White Plains, Mount Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle, and Rye) has officially invited Reverend Dr. Stephen W. Pogue as his guest at the 2023 Presidential State of the Union address.

“It is with great honor pride to announce that Reverend Dr. Stephen W. Pogue will be my special guest for this year’s State of the Union address,” Congressman Bowman shared with Black Westchester. “He is a pillar and faith leader in Mount Vernon, NY as Pastor of The Greater A.M.E. Zion Church. As an Air Force veteran, President of the Save Mount Vernon Hospital Coalition and Chaplain of the Mount Vernon Police Department, Rev. Dr. Stephen W, Pogue is by far an exemplary leader in our community advocating for health and public safety issues that invest in our community.”

Washington D.C. — Congressman Jamaal A. Bowman (NY-16 which covers the northern Bronx and the southern half of Westchester County, including the suburban cities of White Plains, Mount Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle, and Rye) welcomed Reverend Dr. Stephen W. Pogue as his guest at the 2023 Presidential State of the Union address.

“It is with great honor pride to welcome Reverend Dr. Stephen W. Pogue as my special guest for this year’s State of the Union address,” Congressman Bowman shared with Black Westchester. “He is a pillar and faith leader in Mount Vernon, NY as Pastor of The Greater A.M.E. Zion Church. As an Air Force veteran, President of the Save Mount Vernon Hospital Coalition and Chaplain of the Mount Vernon Police Department, Rev. Dr. Stephen W, Pogue is by far an exemplary leader in our community advocating for health and public safety issues that invest in our community.”

Rev. Dr. Stephen W. Pogue has served as President of the African American Association of Cultural Exchange (AAACE) Club and President’s Advisory Panel on Cultural Enrichment (PAPCE). He co-founded the Hip-Hop Church in Harlem, New York and is the pastor Greater Centennial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Mount Vernon. He is also current President of the United Black Clergy of Westchester.

“It was just great being at the State of The Union last night. I want to thank Congressman Jamaal Bowman for the invite to be his guest last night at teh State of The Union Address,” Rev, Pogue shared on a special editiori of Black Westchester Power Hour, The 2023 State of The Union recap. “It’s a different feel when you’re there versus when you’re watching it on tv, because all of the pomp and circumstance is happening around you and for me I just tried to drink in that moment of what this was to be at the State of The Union Address

Rev, Pogue shared with Black Westchester how attending the SOTU Address was a great opportunity to talk about issues with Congressmembers like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA 43rd District), Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC 6th District), Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA 12th District) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14th District). Dr, Pogue made the most of the visit, purposefully assuring it was more than just a ceromonial vist that was just symbolic in nature.

“I got the chance to talk to a lot of people for the first time. I had the opportunity to actually have a conversation in the office of Congressman Clyburn, it was just me and Congressman Bowman, that had to be at least a half hour and was so powerful. His knowledge of history is outstanding and the work he;s done for South Carolina, the work he’s done for the nation is amazing. then to move from his office and have a one on one conversation with Maxine Waters was absolutely amazing, phenomenal, phenomenal woman. I met a lot of great people. I had the opportunity to speak to Barbara Lee from California and others to have these conversations, about where we go as a nation and how to make sure we get there together,” Rev. Pogue shared with me and Dr. Bob.

The 2023 State of The Union Address was given by the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, at 9:00 p.m. EST in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to a joint session of the 118th United States Congress.

YADIRA RAMOS-HERBERT ATTEMPTS TO MAKE HISTORY AS NEW ROCHELLE’S FIRST FEMALE MAYOR

BY AJ WOODSON

New Rochelle Councilwoman Yadira Ramos-Herbert (District 3) has thrown her hat into the growing field of candidates who hope to replace longtime Mayor Noam Bramson when he leaves office after this year. Bramson – who has been the mayor of the city of New Rochelle for two decades – said in November that he would not seek reelection.

Ramos-Herbert – a Columbia Law School Administrator – was first elected to the New Rochelle City Council in 2019, in the seat left vacant when her predecessor Jared Rice became City Court Judge.

Ramos-Herbert wants to build on the work she has done in her time on the council, including housing affordability, redistricting, expanding our summer youth employment program, police accountability and COVID response and recovery.

“With the continued growth in our downtown core, the Mayor and Council need to continue to work to expand housing affordability. New Rochelle is also not immune from the impact of climate change and proactive planning is necessary to protect residents. Finally, it is imperative that we ensure two-way dialogue among all residents to ensure the City is listening and responsive to community concerns,” explained Ramos-Herbert.

Prior to her 2019 election to the New Rochelle City Council, Yadira served as a New Rochelle Public Library Trustee, a member of the Lincoln Avenue Task Force, a planning committee member for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, a member of the Task Force on Reducing Violence in the Lives of Children and Youth, board member of NewRo Runners, youth group leader at New Rochelle United Methodist Church and president of her homeowner’s association.

Yadira received her B.A. in History from St. Francis College and her law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo

Law School. She practiced law for eight years before she returned to school in order to obtain her M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University. She is currently the Associate Dean for Student and Registration Services at Columbia Law School. Yadira Ramos-Herbert: Yadira is a mom, wife, attorney, District 3 homeowner and volunteer ready to use her skills and experience to advocate for her community!

Less than a year after marrying, her & her husband Jeff purchased on home on Prince Street in New Rochelle. Their family grew with the births of their two children who they have enjoyed raising in the heart of the Lincoln Avenue Corridor. In her free time, you will find Yadira running, reading and spending time with her wonderful family.

Councilwoman Yadira Ramos-Herbert who face off with County Legislator Damon Maher in the 2023 Democratic Primary. For more information about Yadira and the campaign, visit her website at, http://www.YadiraForNewRo.com .

REV. MARGARET FOUNTAIN COLEMAN ANNOUNCES HER CANDIDACY TO BECOME YONKERS’ FIRST FEMALE MAYOR

her speech saying “I believe Yonkers will be well served by her…. I bring on the next mayor of the City of Yonkers”. Fountain-Coleman was the first African American to serve as a trustee in the Village of Tuckahoe and was also elected to the town council in South Boston, Viriginia. Fountain-Coleman was quoted saying “ I am both proud and excited to announce my candidacy for Mayor of the City of Yonkers. Democracy is in jeopardy and will continue to see a mass exodus of Yonkers’ residents because of fiscal irresponsibility and lack of affordable housing and employment opportunities. Voters in Yonkers have so few options, it’s time for the election of a “new voice” that will appropriately address the issues that plague our city. It’s time to make Yonkers ONE community. “

Margaret Fountain-Coleman made the announcement that she’d be running for office at the Yonkers Veterans Memorial, Sunday, January 15th. If she is victorious in the upcoming election, she will be the first female elected Mayor of the city of Yonkers.

“We have African American people who cannot remain and people of color who cannot remain in their homes because of escalations of rental costs, affordable cost of living…We’re going to get that legislation passed. It is going to be signed off by me so that people can truly live here in Yonkers and have quality housing, decent and quality housing,” she said.

Residents from all around the city of Yonkers gathered for an event held outside of Yonkers City Hall on Sunday, January 15, 2023, at 2:00 in the afternoon, Mrs. Fountain-Colemanannounced that she has filed a campaign committee with the New York State Board of Elections and intends to run for the office of the executive of the more than 200,000 resident city, which is the third largest city in the State of New York.

Introduced by friend and colleague, Mount Vernon Councilwoman Lisa Copeland, who described Fountain-Coleman as a “servant leader” who is “prepared for this moment”. Copeland concluded

When I learned that Margaret Coleman had placed her name in the running to be the next mayor of Yonkers, I nodded with approval and without hesitation offered her my endorsement. Empathy, directness, and perseverance are qualities that Margaret has in abundance. As mayor of Yonkers, Margaret Coleman will be the leader whose “feet on the ground” sensibilities will translate into the representation and collaboration with business and government that will equitably service all the citizens of Yonkers.” added Dan Florin, Yonkers Teacher.

Margaret Fountain-Coleman is an innovative and efficient leader that represents what Yonkers needs for its students and this community, said Yonkers Teacher Bryan Boyd.

Over the past several years, Margaret has spearheaded and helped implement a number of successful Board initiatives that have helped make a difference in the lives of women across Westchester County. She approaches each task at hand in a thoughtful, collaborative, and compassionate manner that makes working with her a true pleasure.” I expect that she will bring the same experience to the City of Yonkers, and I look forward to helping her become the First Woman elected to the office of mayor”, stated Shannon Powell.

Margaret Fountain-Coleman is the first major candidate to challenge incumbent Mayor Mike Spano in the 2023 Democratic Primary. She is the wife of Rev. Frank Coleman Jr., a pastor at Messiah Baptist and the President of the Yonkers branch of the NAACP. Alongside 11 other Yonkers voters, he sued the Mayor and the City in December over the extension of term limits without a voter referendum.

A FIRST LOOK AT YONKERS 2023 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

BY AJ WOODSON

Robinson, who has 6 years of experience working as an aide to Councilwoman Shanae Williams and many think she is the favorite to succeed Williams. But she will have to face Effie Phillips and Shatika Parker in the June 27, 2023, Democratic Primary. Parker is the former Legislator Aide for Legislator Christopher Johnson, who many insiders say Johnson planned to back against Williams in the Council race. Williams instead decided to challenge Johnson for his seat in the Board of Legislators.

Now let’s talk about the mayoral race. Mayor Mike Spano is just beginning his 11th year in office. After being elected twice, the city council have voted to extend term limits twice which allowed him to run for a third term in 2019, which he won, easily defeating republican Mario De Giorgio and now a fourth term. The Council voting for the extension of term limits has been contested by Yonkers voters who feel they should have given the opportunity to vote of term limits especially since the last the residents overwhelming voting against extending term limits back in 2001.

The two most watched and possibly most heated elections in Westchester County will be the 2023 Mount Vernon and Yonkers Mayoral races. Each will have at least 3-4 candidates running in the Democratic primary. But, unlike Mount Vernon which is primarily a Black run heavily Democratic run municipality, the winner of the Yonkers Democratic Mayoral race will face a Republican challenger in the General Election.

While all eyes will be on be on the heated elections of Mount Vernon like the previous year, the many moving parts in Yonkers makes them a contender for the most watched and covered election. In addition to the mayoral race, there are some other interesting storylines that will play out this year include Councilwoman Shanae Williams challenging County Legislator Christopher Johnson. Greenburgh’s primary will also be one to watch we will do a deep dive in that race in a later editorial.

Back to Yonkers, 29-year-old Councilwoman Shanae V. Williams succeeded Johnson in the District 1 council seat when Johnson vacated it after being elected to serve on the Westchester Board of Legislators for the 16 District representing the city of Yonkers. Johnson was elected to fill the seat vacated by Ken Jenkins when he was picked by County Executive George Latimer to serve as his Deputy County Executive, the first African American to hold the position.

Shanae was appointed by Mayor Spano on January 1, 2018, for the rest of Johnson’s term and then she ran and successful ran for a full-term in 2019. Williams’ challenge of Johnson will be heavily watched and publicized; it also

COMMUNITY ADVOCATE KWAMAIN DIXON ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR NEW ROCHELLE CITY COUNCIL

Community Advocate Kwamain Dixon announced his intention to run for City Council in New Rochelle’s District 3, Saturday, January 28, exclusively with Black Westchester. Current District 3 Councilwoman Yadira Ramos-Herbert is running to become the city’s first female mayor instead of running for re-election. Dixon intends to run for the vacant seat.

“My name is Kwamain Dixon; I am a 47-year-old father of 3 and proud grandfather. I have been a resident of District 3 for almost 5 decades. I am formally announcing that I will be running for the vacant City Council seat in District 3. I am a well-known community advocate who has been boots on the ground when dealing with issues that affect district 3,” Dixon shared with Black Westchester.

Kwamain has a long history of advocacy and community involvement. He is the resident of the newly formed Lincoln Attendance Zone PTSA, currently serves on the African American Advisory Board, he served on DRI Committee (2019), served on the New Rochelle Police Review Committee (2020), received the Napoleon Holmes community service award (2021). He worked with Westcop, NRMHA, and Hope Community giving out needed groceries during Covid. He advocated along with others to ensure the City Park Residents was not left out during the breakfast and lunch program during Covid and fought alongside the Community against Macquesten Construction when they left an abandoned building up for over 3 years. He advocated for Heritage Homes.

“I am running with the hopes of bringing District 3 together as one. I hope we can unite to advocate, and fight together for the things we agree on collectively. I know we can come up with sensible and responsible solutions to the issues that we disagree on. I know we can achieve this by having hard conversations while being honest and respectful to each other,” Dixon continued.

Dixon also has a long-documented history of activism – from Lohud to the New York Times – for protesting in the May 1, 1992, disturbance to being involved in a community forum on police reform, a common action across the country that was spurred on by the deaths of George Floyd and local New Rochelle resident Kamal Flowers shortly afterwards.

“I am running with no Political agenda because I am no politician,” Dixon shared with Black Westchester. “I have a We the People agenda. The people of District 3 have been ignored for far too long now and it’s time for our voices to be heard. I am hopeful with your support we can finally raise our voices together in harmony and create the change we desire and progress together we are entitled to this as Residents of New Rochelle’s District 3.”

Kwamain Dixon has a consistent effort of taking care of his city and being a positive voice for the community, from rallying for economic justice to protesting for criminal justice, leading efforts to stop the violence and feeding his community during COVID, are just some of the examples he feels makes him just the right individual to continue his service for his community by representing District 3 in the City Council.

District 3 needs an advocate in City Hall and Kwamain Dixon is running for City Council because he believes he is the right man for a job.

Mayor Spano, the incumbent while favored will have face at least two Democrats, Rev. Margaret Fountain Coleman – who announced her candidacy on January 15th – and the young Prince Robinson who is challenging Spano for a second election in a row. he ran as a write-in candidate in 2019. Rev. Fountain-Coleman made history as the first African American to serve as a trustee in the Village of Tuckahoe in March 2018 and was also elected to the town council in South Boston, Viriginia.

If Spano is victorious in the primary, it’s not a done deal he will still have to face Republican Councilman Anthony Merante in the November 7, 2023, General Election. Anthony Merante officially announced his candidacy for Yonkers mayor at a campaign kick-off event Saturday, January 28th at the Mount Olympus Diner off Central Avenue. Merante is the city council member from the Sixth District and the first and so far the only Republican to announce he’s running for mayor of Yonkers in 2023.

Democratic Councilwoman Corazon Pinada Issac‘s names has been thrown around among possible other challengers although so far no one else has announced their candidacy.

The other seat up in this election is the District 3 Council seat. Council Minority Leader Tasha Diaz is running for re-election, so far unopposed. Yonkers is often called “The City of Hills” where many joke it the city “where nothing is on the level”, but it’s a city with broad shoulders and a big heart. The city of Yonkers is the most populous city in Westchester County is also now ranked as the third biggest city in New York State, according to 2020 U.S. Census data.

This is a First Look into the Yonkers 2023 Democratic Primary, of course all of this can change as the candidates have yet to make the ballot yet! Stay Tuned to Black Westchester for interviews, articles and updates on this and many other Westchester County 2023 Elections!

JONATHAN CAMPOZANO ATTEMPTS TO MAKE HISTORY AS FIRST HISPANIC GREENBURGH COUNCILMAN

Jonathan Campozano announced his candidacy for the Greenburgh City Council, representing the Democratic Party he has been a member since he was a teenager.

“I am excited to share that I have thrown my hat into the ring to seek the Greenburgh Town Board election. It would be a great honor for me to represent the community that I grew up in and is now my home,” Campozano said.

If elected in 2023, the 30-year-old, longtime Greenburgh resident, who is a practicing attorney, and adjunct professor at Westchester Community College (WCC), would be the Town of Greenburgh Board’s first Hispanic representative and its youngest member, as well as his only practicing attorney.

As a Staff Attorney with Neighbors Link Community Law Practice, Jonathan provides legal services to immigrants in New York Family Court, federal court, and agencies including ICE, USCIS, EOIR, and BIA. He teaches immigration law in WCC’s Paralegal Certificate Program. Prior to that, Jonathan served as an Assistant County Attorney in Westchester County’s Law Department, in both the Family Court and Appeals, Opinions, and Legislation bureaus.

He was also an Associate Counsel with the New York State Senate Democratic Majority, where he worked on significant pieces of legislation, including the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act and the Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act (“Green Light NY”).

Jonathan began his law career as an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow with the Empire Justice Center in Yonkers. There, he represented clients in an array of immigrant matters, including deportation defense, asylum applications, and other forms of relief available to juveniles and victims of crime, domestic violence, and human trafficking.

Now in his second elected term as a Vice Chair of the Westchester County Democratic Committee, Jonathan is a district leader in the Greenburgh Democratic Town Committee and one of the founding members of its law committee. He has been a member of the Hispanic Democrats of Westchester since 2013, where he serves as Secretary, and is a proud member of the Westchester County Hispanic Advisory Board.

Jonathan graduated from SUNY Purchase with a Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Studies, and obtained his Juris Doctor Degree from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. There, he also served as president of both the Pace Immigration Law Society and Latin American Law Students Association, and he remains an Alumni Admissions Ambassador for prospective law students. He is also Chairman of the Emerging Leaders Board at Latino U College Access (LUCA).

“Our communities are out of reach for most people, with a particularly strong adverse impact among our seniors and youth. We can do better,” the White Plains born and raised in Greenburgh raised Young Democrat of Ecuadorian and Puerto Rican origin, shared with Black Westchester.

The process begins with the nomination by the Greenburgh Democrats, on February 23, where they will choose two candidates for council. Current councilmember Gina Jackson, will seek reelection.Longtime Greenburgh District Leader and Chair of the Dobbs Ferry Democratic Committee, Joy Haber has also thrown her hat in the ring. The February Convention will determine if there will be a primary or not.

CHARTER SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE

We are accepting new student applications for Grades K-12

INFORMATIONAL SESSIONS:

JANUARY 4, 2023 AT 9:00AM

JANUARY 18, 2023 AT 1:00PM

FEBRUARY 15, 2023 AT 4:00PM

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 AT 5:00PM

MARCH 8, 2023 AT 4:00PM

MARCH 22, 2023 AT 4:00PM

MARCH 25, 2023 AT 10:00AM

APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 3, 2023 at 4:00PM

LOTTERY DATE: April 12, 2023

For an application or more information please call 914-476-5070 Ext. 4

Estamos aceptando solicitudes para los grados K-12

SESIONES INFORMATIVAS:

Enero 4 del 2023 a las 9:00AM

Enero 18 del 2023 a las 1:00PM

Febrero 15 del 2023 a las 4:00PM

Febrero 28 del 2023 a las 5:00PM

Marzo 8 del 2023 a las 4:00PM

Marzo 22 del 2023 a las 4:00PM

Marzo 25 del 2023 a las 10:00AM

LA FECHA LIMITE PARA ENTREGAR LA SOLICITUD DEL SORTEO ES EL DIA 3 DE ABRIL A LAS 4:00PM

EL SORTEO SELLEVARA A CABO: 12 DE ABRIL, 2023

Para obtener informacion llame al 914-476-5070 Ext. 4

High School informational sessions by appointment only

Please contact Mrs. Carmen Goldberg at cgoldberg@cseeschool.org to schedule an appointment

“We aim to inspire, motivate and instill a love for learning in all children”

LATIMER VETOES MENTHOL BAN, ANNOUNCES WESTCHESTER TOBACCO FREE PROGRAM

BY AJ WOODSON

Westchester County Executive

George Latimer announced his disapproval and veto of proposed menthol and flavor tobacco ban – Local Law Intro. No 461-2022 – and announces a Westchester Tabacco Free Program, Monday, December 12th. The new Tobacco Free Program will include a tobacco education campaign – funding and implement a robust $3 milliondollar public education campaign to all residents highlighting the dangers of tobacco usage, offer to help smokers quit smoking and to support local community efforts to quit smoking

“We will include a new direct grant program to community-based nonprofits directly involved in tobacco cessation as part of their anti-addiction efforts in particular those groups like local NAACP branches who have advocated for efforts to reduce smoking in communities of color,” CE Latimer informed. “This program will be crafted with the assistance and oversight of members of the Board of Legislators to assure we are reaching all smokers regardless of their geographic or demographics status. This effort will involve our health department, community mental health department, youth board and other related departments and offices of Westchester County Government to assure it success.”

CE Latimer also announced a Tobacco Enforcement Campaign, a multilevel program that the county will develop working with state and local government resources to assure improved enforcement of the county’s existing 21 age limit, under the leadership of Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins.

Westchester County Board of Legislators passed a flavored tobacco ban, 11-6 on Monday, November 28th,

that had the potential to send menthol cigarettes, mint smokeless and vape sales into an already existing black market.

Some groups and individuals like the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC), a group of Black professionals dedicated to fighting the scourge of tobacco impacting African American communities and its Co-chair Dr. Phillip Gardiner, a Public Health activist, administrator, evaluator and researcher and Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, who is President of the NAACP New York State Conference and a member of the NAACP National Board of Directors, a member of the NAACP Executive Committee have publicly supported this ban sponsored by Legislator Chistopher Johnson and cosponsored by Legislator Jewel Williams-Johnson.

Many have publicly announced their objection to this kind of band including the Grand Council of Guardians, the National Action Network, The New York Association of Convenience Stores, Eric Garner’s mom Gwen Carr, NYS Assemblyman Nadar Sayegh (Dist. 90), Damon K. Jones of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America (BLEA), Reverend Dr. Carl Washington, Jr., Mount Vernon resident and Pastor of the New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Harlem, Sylvia T. Miranda of The National Latino Officers Assoc. (NLOA), Andre Wallace Former Mayor of Mount Vernon, George Brown Vice Chair of the Mount Vernon Democratic City Committee, Jesse Van Lew co-founder of Save Mount Vernon, James Nolan Westchester County Legislator District 15 and others.

The proposed ban may still become a law. The BOL can vote again on the proposal and “override the veto” by a two-thirds vote in favor. The 11-6 vote suggests that they not have the required 12 votes needed to override Latimer’s veto, killing all chances of this ban from becoming law. Insiders tell us, its highly unlikely legislators who voted no, will go against the County Executive by changing their vote to give the BOL the votes to override the veto.

CE Latimer’s veto was met with mixed emotions from both sides. Those who supported the ban expressed their disapproval of Latimer’s decision to veto the bill, while those opposed to the ban applauded and thanked Latimer.

LEGISLATOR TYRAE WOODSON-SAMUEL & THE TEAMSTER UNION EXPRESS

GRATITUDE AND APPLAUD LATIMER’S

Legislator Tyrae Woodson-Samuels – District 13 (Mount Vernon) one of the legislators who voted against the proposed menthol cigarettes and flavor nicotine ban, shared with Black Westchester his response to CE George Latimer’s veto of Local Law Intro. No 461-2022.

“I applaud and support County Executive Latimer’s decision to veto legislation that would have banned the sale of flavored tobacco products in the county, and I support his more measured and broad-based commitment to protecting Westchester’s youth from the dangers of smoking in general. I know this was not a simple decision, and that the County Executive did not take the easier political path – but I absolutely applaud him for listening so attentively to the concerns, in particular, of the African American & Middle Eastern communities in the context of this legislation.

Let me be clear: this is no knock on my colleagues on the Board of Legislators who voted to pass this legislation. They are sincere public servants, and we share the same goals: decreasing the use of dangerous products and increasing education around the health risks of smoking. But I agreed with CE Latimer, himself a veteran lawmaker of several decades, that the bill as passed too narrowly singled out a few products at the expense of others, while ignoring both the cultural and economic impacts on our communities. In our discussions, I urged the County Executive to consider these factors, and to take a broader approach that didn’t single out our specific communities.

CE Latimer more than answered the call. Rather than just veto the bill and call it a day, the County Executive launched a new initiative that includes a $3 million public education campaign to all residents, highlighting the dangers of tobacco usage, as well as a multi-level enforcement program, working with state and local government resources to ensure improved enforcement of our existing Tobacco 21 age limit under the

DECISION TO VETO LOCAL LAW 461-2022

the leadership of Deputy County Executive Jenkins.”

Mike Smith, President of Local 810 IBT gratitude to CE Latimer for his decision to veto Local Law Intro. No 461-2022 banning menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco.

“On behalf of Local 810 Teamsters Union, along with all our truck drivers, warehousemen and salespeople that work in the tobacco related industry, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to Westchester County Executive George Latimer for his decision to veto the Flavored Tobacco Ban legislation. This fast-tracked legislation would have negatively impacted the communities it claimed to want to help and take away union jobs from New York residents.

Some have claimed that this legislation was proposed to address the health risks associated with smoking flavored tobacco products while ignoring the fact that all other tobacco products have the same risks. We cannot and should not arbitrarily decide which products should be legally available to adults in this country and which should be banned. The failed history of Prohibition has taught us this valuable lesson.

Banning flavored tobacco is not the best approach to keep our children safe from products that can be lawfully sold to adults 21 years or older. Instead, the laws that are in place to protect our communities, including increased penalties to those that break such laws, must be stringently enforced. Moreover, it is imperative to continue to educate the youth on the risks of using such products. Adherence of these measures is the best approach to achieve the objectives of the proposed legislation.

To my Union brothers Tom Gesualdi – Pres. of Teamsters Joint Council 16 and Lou Picani – Pres. of Local 456 Teamsters, thank you for your support in this fight!”

BOL CHAIRWOMAN, NAACP NY CONFERENCE & CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS EXPRESS DISAPPOINTMENT OF CE LATIMER DECISION TO VETO MENTHOL BAN

BOL Chairwoman Catherine Borgia shared her disappointment of CE Latimer decision to veto Local Law Intro. No 461-2022

“While I, and most of my colleagues, are disappointed with the County Executive’s veto of the law banning flavored tobacco passed last week by the Board of Legislators, I am proud of the hard work of this body and public health advocates for pushing the conversation forward, and advancing the legislation further than before.

I am encouraged by County Executive Latimer’s commitment of $3 million towards a new Westchester Tobacco-Free Program and look forward to working with his administration to make it a success. The announcement of this program shows that we have moved the needle forward. We will continue to work for a healthier Westchester.”

The NAACP New York State Conference released the following statement, attributable to Dr. Hazel Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference, in response to CE Latimer’s veto.

“I am deeply disappointed in County Executive George Latimer’s decision to veto legislation that would have ended the sale of menthol cigarettes and prevented thousands of Black New Yorkers’ deaths. Latimer — instead of siding with public health — aligned himself with the tobacco industry, using their own misleading talking points to exploit very real concerns about over-policing in our community.

“This law would have explicitly taken the authority away from police to enforce restrictions on Menthol sales, so any suggestion otherwise is both wrong and an excuse to preserve the tobacco industry’s continued ability to profit off of the deaths of black people. Education, while important, is not going to undo decades of predatory tactics used by the tobacco industry to hook young black people on something that will kill them. This is an embarrassment for Westchester County, and I am hopeful other jurisdictions will be smarter and put the health of their residents first.”

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids released the following statement, attributable to Kevin O’Flaherty, Director of Advocacy for the Northeast Region, in response to veto.

“We are deeply disappointed by Westchester County Executive Latimer’s

decision to veto vital legislation to end the sale of flavored tobacco products in Westchester County. With this veto, County Executive Latimer missed a tremendous opportunity to take an important step towards protecting the health and safety of young people and communities of color in New York.

“For too long, the tobacco industry has relentlessly targeted Black communities – particularly Black youth – with flavored tobacco products. They’ve unleashed aggressive marketing campaigns and deceptive advertising and made menthol cigarettes widely available and extremely cheap. They’ve pushed out kid-friendly flavors that mimic desserts or candies to get kids hooked on nicotine, enticing them to a lifelong struggle with addiction.

BOL Chair Borgia applaud Legislator Jewel Williams Johnson, Chair of the Health Committee effort in getting the bill passed.

“I applaud my colleague, Legislator Jewel Williams Johnson of District 8, for her steadfast leadership and tenacity in getting the bill passed through our Board during her first year as a legislator. I am confident that she will continue the conversation in the Health Committee and in future pieces of legislation,” Borgia continued.

Legislator Johnson who championed this bill, said of the veto:

“My disappointment cannot be put into words. The County Executive indicated the significant number of objections raised that cannot be brushed aside, and I counter with the tremendous advocacy in support of this ban that should not be discounted. Westchester County may have the lowest percentage of adult smokers in the State of New York, but this ban was meant for those disproportionately targeted by Big Tobacco.

The County Executive’s announcement of the Tobacco Education and Enforcement Initiatives with a $3 million investment is noble. However, it in no way compares to the billions lost due to tobacco-related health issues and loss of productivity in our state alone.

With the Supreme Court’s ruling yesterday to uphold the California ban on flavored tobacco, I feel the residents of California won while, with this veto, the residents of Westchester County suffered a setback.”

A MENTHOL BAN IS THE NEW STOP & FRISK

BY COREY PEGUES

teens also comes at a time of broader decline in illicit drug use.”

This decline is highly due to jurisdictions implementing methods that work, like cessation programs and education, as well as retailers’ commitment to carrying out the federal law that you have to be 21 and older to purchase any tobacco product. If passed in New York State, the ban on flavored tobacco and menthol cigarettes will not help to sustain these statistics nor be a conduit to decreasing crime – it will have the opposite effect.

We Don’t Need A New Stop & Frisk

Bloomberg, the creator of stop-and-frisk, once said, “Ninety-five percent of your murders — murderers and murder victims — fit one M.O. You can just take the description, Xerox it and pass it out to all the cops. They are male minorities, 16 to 25. That’s true in New York. That’s true in virtually every city. And that’s where the real crime is. You’ve got to get the guns out of the hands of the people that are getting killed.”

First, I applaud our law enforcement brothers and sisters in New York and Westchester for your acts of selfless service. The issues we face are real, and as a retired NYPD Deputy Inspector and national policing expert, I must address an important issue that is currently in front of us: stop-and-frisk is not dead.

There are policies in place designed to reinvigorate this community-paralyzing policy. The latest attempt to legalize anew stop-and-frisk epidemic, more commonly known as the menthol cigarette ban, is currently being deliberated by New York State legislators.

I lived stop-and-frisk during Former New York Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership, and it wasn’t a good time for the NYPD. We – law enforcement and the Black community – do not want to go back. Sadly, the number of stop-and-frisk cases went up 22% in 2019, according to the ACLU.

Policies like a menthol cigarette ban increase crime. Increase police interactions. Increase drug smuggling of the products from jurisdictions where it is legal. The number of people being pulled over and stopped will increase. The number of innocent Black men in jail will increase. Let’s also remember that youth smoking is on the decline. While, overall crime rates since the pandemic have increased.

In 2022, the Truth Initiative reported that “Smoking rates decline steeply in teens.” It goes on to say, “The decrease in cigarette and e-cigarette use among

Of Black adults who smoke cigarettes, 80% prefer menthol – many of whom are “male minorities,” to use Bloomberg’s words. Proposals to ban all flavored tobacco are racially discriminatory from the outset since there is no scientific basis to regulate menthol and non-menthol cigarettes differently. Non-mentholated cigarettes preferred by white smokers will not be banned.

A ban on menthol cigarettes is a racial ban funded by those who are committed to seeing incidents of stop-and-frisk RISE. As a law enforcement veteran, hear me: we cannot go back. My hope is that we will move towards stronger and more positive interactions between police and communities of color.

I called on New York State legislators to address concerns around smoking by doing what works: Education, limited smoke-free areas, and tobacco cessation campaigns have drastically decreased smoking rates over the past few decades. And to the advocates of the ban, it’s important that we lean on the evidence. A report by the Surgeon General states there is “not enough evidence to conclude that banning menthol cigarettes would reduce smoking.”

This is at a time when we in the criminal justice community are trying to improve relationships between police and the community, at a time when we are trying to limit the frequency of contacts between police and law-abiding people in communities of color – because the more contacts we have, the more potential for something to go wrong.

This is a time of rebuilding, reconciliation, and transformation, so to prohibit a historically legal 21+ adult product is a misguided and discriminatory tactic targeting the Black and Brown community, and we do not need a new stop-and-frisk.

MVPL CELEBRATES THE 49TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIP-HOP

BY AJ WOODSON

Saturday, November 5th, it was all about Hip-Hop and the Mount Vernon Public Library (MVPL) celebrated the 49th anniversary Djing, Graffiti, Breakdancing and emceeing.

I was honored to moderate the very informative and powerful panel discussion featuring Uncle Ralph McDaniels - co creator and host of Video Music Box, MC Debbie Dee (Us Girls) - the first female solo emcee and Hip-Hop Historian, Mount Vernon’s own DJ Mark E. Collins of the legendary Collins Brothers who coined the phrase Money Earnin Mount Vernon and legendary Graffiti Artist and Author James Top.

Hip-Hop was in the building and all the elements were present!!! If you missed this great panel you can still watch it on the Mount Vernon Public library Facebook page, its worth looking up and checking out, even if you are not the biggest Hip-Hop head you will not be disappointed.

Heavy D and DMX’s families were in the building as the local superstars rappers were honored posthumously. Those in attendance were treated to a incredible breakdancing performance by the legendary Dynamic Rockers. For those who may not be old enough to remember the Dynamic Rockers, stop do not pass go and the early Hip-Hop movie Wild Style, where they battled the Rock Steady Crew.

The annual Hip-Hop celebration was the brainchild of MVPL Director Timur Davis publisher of Du Funk Magazine that documents

Hip-Hop culture.

From left to right Ralph McDaniels (Video Music Box), MVPL Director Timur Davis, AJ Woodson (JVC Force), MC Debbie Dee, DJ Mark Collins, and Legendary Graf Writer James Top

[Photos courtesy of Hip hop Photographer Renee Yearwood]

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FOUR YEARS STRONG AND COUNTING

About Black Westchester: BlackWestchester.com is a magazine (website) and print newspaper for people of color for Westchester and the Tri-State area of New York at every economic level. Black Westchester is committed to being a platform to profile life, culture, economics, politics, sports, and entertainment and those who are representing vision in these marketplaces and who can both encourage and provide role models to other men and women. Black Westchester, through its online magazine, print newspaper, weekly talk radio show, and editorial content, will be a vessel of community information throughout Westchester and the Tri-State area of New York. Our mission is to promote the concept of “community” through media.

The Black Westchester Newspaper is a monthly newspaper, 10,000 distributed monthly throughout Westchester and Surrounding Areas with a heavy concentration in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Yonkers, Elmsford, White Plains, Greenburgh, Peekskill, Tarrytown, NE Bronx, Harlem, Stamford, CT with a slightly smaller presence elsewhere in the county and surrounding areas.

Black Westchester is the best vehicle to reach communities of color throughout the county, but not limited to just communities of color, we have a large non-African-American readership as well.

Black Westchester and the People Before Politics Radio Show started in July and August of 2014 respectively and the print edition started on our threeyear anniversary in August 2017. In such a small amount of time, Black Westchester has heavily influenced the county, public policy, and the elected officials while informing the public in a way that was missing, filling a necessary void.

DEMOGRAPHICS

GENRE

Male - 42.55%

female - 57.45%

RACE/ETHNICITY/NATIONALITY

Black/ African-American- 62.24%

Hispanic or Latino - 6.12%

White - 23.47%

Asian - 2.04%

Caribbean - 10.20%

Native American - 7.14%

Other - 2.04%

AGE

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Disabled, Unable To Work - 8.60%

RELATIONSHIP

Democrat - 50.53%

Independent - 25.26%

Something Else - 18.95%

Larger news outlets such as The Journal News (Lohud), News 12 Westchester and Fios1 News, The New York Post, ABC News, and others also follow us and have quoted us for breaking stories that they, in turn, did follow up stories on. Black Westchester is the voice of the voiceless and has covered many stories that other news outlets often overlooked and in turn followed our lead and reported later.

Black Enterprise Magazine reported, “Black buying power currently stands at over 1.1 Trillion dollars annually and is on the road to hit about $1.5 Trillion by 2021. These figures have also been documented by the Huffington Post, The Atlantic, MediaPost.com, Fortune Magazine, and many other respected media outlets. This collective buying power means that nearly 2 Trillion dollars will be flowing through Black American annually very soon, making us a centerpiece for various researchers, marketers, advertisers, and other campaigns designed to influence black spending patterns.

With that said, for businesses who do business and want to do business with communities of color in Westchester County and surrounding areas, advertising with Black Westchester, not only makes dollars but also makes perfect sense. We are the voice of the Black Community.

Sponsorship and advertising are also available in our weekly talk radio show, People Before Politics Radio, where we have been bringing you Real Talk For The Community since 2014.

THERE IS NO BLACK VOTE WITHOUT A BLACK AGENDA OR BLACK POWER!

BY DAMON K JONES

For decades we have heard our local leaders, pastors, and politicians speak on the importance of the black vote. We understand that our elders fought for the right for Black people to vote. The sacrifice of our elders was not a small task to ensure that black people could exercise their constitutional rights.

In the previous presidential election during the big Super Tuesday push by black voters to vote for Joe Biden for the Democratic Nominee once again the conversation of the importance of the black vote in our national elections has been brought to the forefront.

Now we are approaching another presidential election next year and the Black Vote is still being taken for granted. So my question to all of you is, in 2023, What are we voting for as Black People? What are the standards that we use to vote for a candidate?

For many Black people, the narrative is, let us get a candidate elected to office, to claim they’re on

the winning team is enough for many Black folks. This notion has been the ignorance of our collective, and then we conveniently blame the white man why our political, economic, and family institutions are at a constant decline before our eyes. But as long as we’re able to take photo ops or sit close to the table at a dinner dance with those we supported, we are oblivious to the long term damage our ignorance has done to the many Black communities throughout the nation.

As usual, Black People will give an insulating pass to our struggle and legacy of slavery here in America. In one of the debates, Biden was asked a question about slavery. Instead, he spoke on a record player. The New York Times questioned Biden’s Answer in an article, headlined “Biden Was Asked About Segregation. His Answer Included a Record Player,” but the blatant racism in Biden’s response there was no push back from Black leaders. The same goes for the local, county, and state levels, where the giving our votes away without asking for anything in returns has a far more reaching effect on our day to day lives. We have to stop votiing for anyone who says the right things or becuase they are Black or will make history as the first female to serve in that position.

Black folks are brainwashed to forget that Biden was one of the authors of the 1994 Crime bill. It is impossible, or just hypocrisy for any Black intellectuals to praise Michelle Alexander’s book “The New Jim Crow” when we did not hold President Biden accountable for being one of the architects of the Mass Incarceration of Black People, when he was a senator. And let;s not forget all the other congressmembers that were in office then that we keep falling for their empty promises and never getting anything in return. We are still waiting for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to be passed. That’s what was promised when they asked for our votes, but what have we gotten in return for our vote.

The 1994 Crime Bill legislation was aimed at addressing rising crime in the country, but like many other bills they don;t consider the unintended consequesnces. and how it will affect our community. That bill contained a host of policing and crime prevention provisions — including “three-strikes” mandatory life sentences for repeat violent offenders, funding for community policing, and prisons. It authorized $30.2 billion, according to a Congressional Research Service report on federal crime measures. It increased federal crimes subject to the death penalty. It enabled juveniles to be tried as adults for violent and firearm-involved federal crimes.

Two weeks after President Bill Clinton signed the big crime bill in September 1994, Biden voted yes for the Riegle-Neal interstate banking bill. This bill helped deregulate the banking industry. No matter Republican or Democrat, they uphold and support racist systems. So low-level drug dealers, majority Black youth, have the weighted, strong government on their backs. At the same time, shady bankers, usually white, got get out of jail free cards and walked away with millions.

Blacks continue to insult our struggle by referring to Clinton as the first Black President - jokingly or not - and now running to Biden’s aid without any concrete commitment from Biden. We have forgotten that the legacy of this crime bill still has harmful effects on black communities across the nation and not one politician can give you an answer on how to fix it. In New York State they did give us Bail Reform but even that bill needs to be reformed.

Black folks are victims of what has been called” Spectacle Political Orhkastras”, where politics is just a big show with no reality, only to win the vote but without real policies and legislation that will change on the lives of Blacks at the bottom. We vote for the lesser of two evils instead of voting for power in systems and policy.

Let’s not forget about Gov. Kathy Hochul who made history almost by accident, becoming New York’s first female governor when Andrew Cuomo resigned last year in the cloud of a sexual harassment scandal. She came to lower Westchester had rallies in Yonkers and Mount Vernon and we cannot even get her assistance is making sure Mount Vernon has a functioning state of the art hospital, despite our pleas for her help.

To add insult to injury, on November 28, 2022, the New York Post reported; “New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has unleashed a spigot of gubernatorial rejection over the past week after going 11 months without vetoing a single standalone bill passed by the state Legislature this year [2022]. Records show her issuing at least 51 vetoes since the Nov. 8 election after refusing to take a stance on many touchy issues while courting support from voters when Republican challenger Lee Zeldin was breathing down her neck.”

The article goes on to say that her decision to keep her veto pen in the drawer until after the election highlights a lack of political backbone, especially on hot topics like criminal justice reforms. Im not sure if it was a lack of political backbone or just one more case of telling what we need to hear to vote for her.

Once again taken the Black Vote for granted or willingness yo give it away and getting noting in return.

The vetos included 39 bills aimed at empowering task forces, commissions and state agencies to study such issues as affordable housing construction, juvenile incarceration rates and group homes for the developmentally disabled hit hard by COVID-19.

Why is our Black leadership scared to talk about having a Black Political Agenda? Having a Black Political Agenda is a long-term political plan that’s needed for the advancement of black people on all institutional levels. The fight for the right to vote is and was directly connected to the black suffrage of Blacks people who have a direct coalition to black people’s right to vote. Black suffrage has been lost in an age of identity politics, a political process, and systems still based on the narrative of white supremacy. What we have are black faces just guiding the system, not changing or creating a new system built of justice and equity for their people.

Black voters make up about the same part of the Democratic Party as two parts that a lot of analysts like to excite for their growing power (collegeeducated white voters and very liberal voters).

In the Presidential election of 1936, Black people overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party, especially for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Even though President Roosevelt’s win with the Black vote was not necessarily seen as a vote for the Democrats but, an election for Roosevelt himself and the policies of the New Deal.

Black folks became loyal to the Democratic Party from the passage of the Civil Rights legislation but no real agenda for the whole of Black people and black communities. The reality was that the Civil Rights did not stop White Supremacy or embedded racism in America’s institutions. The truth is that the Civil Rights has reached its limits; it is now a need for Black Power exercise through a Black Political Agenda.

In my research, the only Black Elected Official that has spoken openly about the need for Black Power and a Black Agenda was the late Congressman, Adam Clayton Powell. The Black Power movement was prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s, emphasizing racial pride and the creation of black political and cultural institutions to nurture and promote black collective interests and advance black values. Adam Clayton Powell summed the campaign up in one quote.

“Black Power means Black Dignity. Just as sure as your proud to be White, we are proud to be Black. Black Power means dignity and integrity. We are going to walk side by side with you or through you. We don’t want any more than you have, and we are not going to accept any less than you have.”

In another speech, describing Black Power, Congressman Powell said, “Black Power is merely of an attempt of equality of dignity, an equality of character, an equality of recognition, of non-Blacks of our negritude. Black Power means the saving grace of our United States.”

The Black Power movement expressed a range of political goals, from defense against racial oppression to the establishment of social institutions and a self-sufficient economy, cooperatives, farms, and media. Even though the Black Power movement scared off many of the Civil Rights leadership, many labeled the movement and separatist movement.

If we look closely at the lack of Black institutions, economy, cooperative, and even Black awareness through the public educations system, Black people have come to a standstill since the hight of the Black Power movement in the 60s and 70s.

Black politics with no real, local state or federal Black agenda has hampered the navigation or any negotiations with other political party’s. Bad enough, even Black Republicans have fell victim to no real Black agenda in a Trump-era political landscape in the Republican Party.

Where are the plans from our Black elected officials for the advancement of Black People? Where are the long-standing economic strategies? Not just the usual seasonal jobs that handed out as political favors. Black People need substantial commitments on policy roadmaps. Instead of being Sheppards to community success, we have paid political announcers.

Our ancestors fought and died for the right to vote, for us to use this vote to empower the masses with change. They did not make these sacrifices for a select few kneegrows to prosper. I have always said, Black folks lack the Marine Corps mindset that the platoon does not go any faster than the slowest man. Meaning, if one family in the Black community is without shelter, without clothing, without economic standing; then we all are in that same condition. Our ancestors never intended for us to give our vote to the highest bidder or as some Black symbolic gesture. They did it for political, policy and economic freedom, something we have not yet have accomplished.

BW BLACK LOVE SERIES: IMPROVE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS BY LOVING YOURSELF

BY DAMON K. JONES

The one thing people who seek love rarely consider is this: it all starts with YOU. How can you expect someone else to love you if you don’t love yourself? You can only expect a partner to help you if you are confident that you are worthy of love. And that’s where self-care comes into the picture.

There are so many relationships that start great and end up not so great. The reasons for that are numerous: lack of self-love, lack of emotional intimacy, lack of communication, lack of compassion, lack of affection, or a combination thereof.

However, the capacity to provide what the other person needs for emotional intimacy goes a long way toward making both you and your relationship stronger.

When you genuinely love yourself, you can provide what your partner needs to feel loved, understood, and connected to you.

Many of us are so busy that we tend to neglect loving ourselves. We neglect ourselves without realizing that self-neglect cause resentment toward those who we love in our lives that wants our love and attention. What we fail to realize is the importance of putting ourselves first. No, it is not selfish. You cannot have true Black Love with anyone if you dont love yourself.

It is only possible to meet the needs of others effectively by first being balanced in our own lives. Loving yourself will not only prove to be a positive experience, but it will also improve your relationships with others.

When we realize our needs are not being met, we become resentful and ultimately withdraw the help and support we so freely offered others. If we neglect our basic needs, we will become very quickly drained of our energy, too exhausted to spend any time on ourselves. However, by focusing on putting ourselves first, we can regain that lost energy, giving us endless vitality and love to direct toward others.

Let’s not get this twisted; loving yourself does not mean running from one person to the next, seeking some fix or adrenaline rush. No, that’s a sickness. That’s a broken conscious understanding of loving yourself, and I suggest you seek counseling.

Loving and taking better care of yourself holistically and spiritually develops the cornerstone for you to be in a holistic and spiritually loving relationship with someone else. . When we are happy with the level of attention we give ourselves, our energy overflows, and we are anxious to help fulfill the needs of those around us whom we love. Unfortunately, many of us dont even seek happiness this way; even after all the other foolishness fails, we still dismiss that real Black Love exists on a spiritual level. Everyone wins when we learn to love ourselves holistically and spiritually. I have listed the following tips to get started:

Using Prayer and Meditation to Calm Anxiety and Stress. If you feel anxious from time to time, that’s completely normal. When anxiety overwhelms you, and you have no spiritual outlook, you often take it out on the loved ones close to you. Or you might be tempted to seek solace in prescription medication, alcohol, or drugs. These methods, though, inherently bring problems of their own.

Your worries can be transformed into peace with prayer or meditation. When you start your journey toward personal peace through prayer or meditation, expect to conquer your anxiety, stress, and negative feelings. However, avoid assuming you’ll do it in one day or even a week. It took time to get where you are, and it’ll take time to get back to where you want to be.

Live a healthy lifestyle. How can we expect to accomplish great things if we cannot meet life’s most basic needs? Eat healthy by replacing excess sugar and refined foods with whole foods and lots of water. Give your body the ability to effectively burn the fuel you take in by exercising daily, thereby increasing your metabolism. Make sure to get plenty of sleep as well, as our minds do not fully function if they havenít been allowed to recharge properly. When you do these things consistently, you will notice your attitude will change; you will see situations clearer and be more open to being loved and loving.

Expressing yourself is one of the best ways to take care of yourself mentally is by frequently expressing how you feel. This can be done in several ways. Mentally, we can express ourselves on paper. Keeping a personal journal where you can vent when needed will help keep emotions in check. Creative expression is also essential, such as allowing yourself to feel and experience a wide range of emotions in a rented movie or working on a hobby that is close to your heart. Photography and other visual arts are suitable for this. Remember, expressing ourselves creatively is as important as doing so mentally.

Lose the need to be right. Winning arguments with your partner are overrated, childish, and unhealthy. After all, what value does being right really have? Insisting that the other person agrees that you’re right and they’re wrong does nothing to increase positive feelings or strengthen the bond between you.

In a relationship with Black Love, it is not about being right, it is about reaching a goal, understanding, and a solution to a problem. It only feeds your ego, and having an ego bigger than the love of you and your partner will only lead to a destructive relationship.

Black love is being a team; stop competing with your partner. If you feel the need to be competitive with your partner, you have to recognize your own insecurity and envy. According to experts, being too competitive leads to resentment in relationships. With competition, partners view each other as rivals instead of being in love. Black Love is Teamwork, and it’s a oneness! The oneness of Black Love is mutual support and unity on multiple fronts, including finances, parenting, chores, sex, and emotional intimacy. Usually, the oneness of Black Love requires an intentional effort from both partners and a willingness to be equal and share power in all aspects of life.

Forgive your past self. Sure, you’ve made some mistakes and probably done and said a few awful things along the way. But that period of your life is over now. Why drag the past into the present? You can make a fresh start each day. Let it go.

Forgiving others. As it is important to forgive yourself, It’s just as important to learn to forgive. Holding onto grudges or resentments only hurts you. It can lead to bad moods, depression, or even health conditions. When you hold onto resentment, you allow a situation to burden the future of your relationship. Forgiveness is the right choice to make, but it doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten what happened. You might even still hold someone else accountable for the wrong. With forgiveness, you’re simply deciding to move on with your life. It is your superpower to love yourself!

Please spend some time alone. To appreciate ourselves more, we should get to know ourselves better. Some may think this will have the reverse effect, but think positively! You would be surprised what becoming introspective will reveal. Discover yourself and learn to love it. Go for a scenic drive. Take a long bath. Surround yourself with music or quietly meditate. Not only will you appreciate your company more, but the relaxation will work wonders for your state of mind. Your relationships will improve if others sense your renewed energy and love of life.

Finally, F@ck Social Media, stay in your reality! Social Media can become a threat to your romantic relationship when meaning and boundaries are not clearly defined and agreed upon. As well as when couples fall into a comparison trap. Unfortunately, a growing number of us see the world through the eyes of social media. We have been culturally conditioned to believe our lives and our relationships should be like those that post we see. Comparing our lives with others can raise doubts about self-worth and our relationships and potentially lead to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

The key to living the life you want and finding the partner you want to share it with is learning to love yourself. Loving yourself can help you enjoy more happiness, overcome challenges, and build healthier relationships and Black Love. Make it a habit to treat yourself with kindness and respect. Keep these tips in mind to develop greater self-love, and you’ll find that great things will happen!

POLITICIANS ARE ENABLERS OF POLICE VIOLENCE, DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE

BY DAMON K JONES

My people, the proof is in the legislation. How many more Black Lives shall be lost before our Politicians enact meaningful legislation on police reform accountability? NYS, under former Gov. Cuomo, every municipality does a police review and forwards it to the NYS Attorney General, and we haven’t heard anything! No analysis of the reports or final recommendations.

Let me be clear, as a Black Law Enforcement Professional of 32 years, those cops in Memphis should be under the jail. Any Black Officer that commits crimes against their people is in question of thier Blackness because they should know better! Our elders in Black Law Enforcement have sacrificed and struggled for Black even to take the test and have the opportunity to have a job in Law Enforcement that advanced them into the middle class and, in most cases, time, every large police department in Westchester County has had a history of police brutality and abuse of power against Black people.

upper middle class! We need independent thinkers to protect our community, not enslaved people in Blue uniforms!

However, families in New York State whose loved ones were victims of police crimes have yet to hear back from the first African American New York State Attorney General Letitia ‘Tish’ James after sending a letter for a review of many questionable police shooting in NY. She instead rather talk about Trump than act on the request of these families.

There are Democratic Cities that Black people vote for that have refused to legislate an effective Civilian Complaint Review Board. It’s not just the training; it’s the mindset! Our politicians (especially our Black Politicians) are coconspirators to the ongoing local and national problem with policing the Black community.

It’s political hypocrisy and a direct insult to families who lost loved ones in Westchester for Westchester Politicians to rally and march. At the same

THE BEATING AND MURDER OF MR. TYRE NICHOLS, A BLACK MAN

BY RONALD E. HAMPTON

This disrespects people’s emotions when the politicians that have rallied in Westchester have no record of legislation or policy change themselves.

Unfortunately, for Black people, the outcome is the usual; rallies and forums until the next national news story come or something new about Trump, and there will be no change, and the cycle will begin again when the next black man gets killed. Families grieve while the usual protest profiteers get paid! The question is, when do we learn?

Damon K. Jones is the New York Representative of Blacks In Law Enforcement of America

MEMPHIS POLICE CHIEF CERELYN DAVIS UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT

BY AJ WOODSON

Cerelyn “CJ” Daviswho was sworn in as Memphis’ first Black female police chief in June 2021 - understood the assignment, renowned civil-rights attorney Ben Crump called her actions a “blueprint” for justice. Chief Davis immediately acknowledged the firing of the officers involved and describes the events surrounding Nichols’

TIME TO ABOLISH THE CRIMINAL INJUSTICE SYSTEM

“My name is Ronald E. Hampton, retired D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer, and former Executive Director of the National Black Police Association. As the Convener of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century’s Police Justice and Accountability Task Force, I am facilitating a national and international conversation on the urgent need to radically restructure the concept and practice of public safety and law enforcement with a group of police and criminal justice reform advocates, scholars, former police and corrections officers. The current destructive, death-dealing system that is suppressing, oppressing, brutalizing, and killing Black people must be abolished.

“I was not at all surprised, shocked, or blindsided by the actions of the Black police officers in Memphis who taunted, humiliated and beat Tyre Nichols to death, allegedly for driving “recklessly.” The behavior of these officers and others on the scene, who were supposed to “serve and protect” the community is a raw, naked manifestation of the systemic and internalized racism within policing which is a mirror reflection of other institutions in our society

“In addition, this unconscionable incident should cause us to examine the idea that just having Black police officers in the ranks of police departments in this country will prevent or reduce police brutality and misconduct in the Black community. This is obviously not the case. I say what’s needed is, not “reform,” but a complete restructuring of a corrupt culture and system of policing in America. In the interim, what I do think is important is connecting with Black police officers within police departments to create a network of socially conscious Black officers who will counter the racist blue culture by fighting for restructuring from the inside.

“We owe it to the family of Tyre Nichols and all the families that have been traumatized by the loss of loved ones at the hands of killer cops to continue the struggle to abolish the existing racist, corrupt system. This is the mission we will take up at the forthcoming State of the Black World Conference from April 19-23, in Baltimore, during our sessions on reimagining public safety and law enforcement. We are determined to contribute to the struggle for a new paradigm of public safety and law enforcement to really serve and protect Black people!”

About The Author: Ronald E. Hampton is a retired D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer, the former Executive Director of the National Black Police Association and the Convener of the IBW21 Police Justice and Accountability Task Force

death as “heinous, reckless, and inhumane.”

“Aside from being your chief of police, I am a citizen of this community, we share; I am a mother, I am a caring human being who wants the best for all of us; this is not just a professional failing. This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual. This incident was heinous, reckless, and inhumane; and in the vein of transparency when the video is released in the coming days, you will see this for yourselves,” she shared in a statement.

Tyre Nichols was a 29-year-old Black man with a four-year-old son who worked for FedEx, and was an amateur photographer with a photography website. He was beaten by Memphis police officers for roughly three minutes on the evening of January 7th, after he was stopped for what the police initially said was reckless driving. The stop escalated into a violent confrontation that ended with Mr. Nichols hospitalized in critical condition. Three days later, he died.

Five police officers, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean, have all been fired and charged with second-degree murder on Jan 26 with various felonies, including second-degree murder. On Jan. 27, the city of Memphis released footage after pressure from Nichols’ family shows officers holding him down and repeatedly punching, kicking and striking him with a baton as he begs them to stop and screamed for his mother.

A sixth officer Preston Hemphill who is white, had been suspended as he was investigated for his role in the arrest of Nichol, was fired on Feb. 3, Hemphill “violated multiple departmental policies,” including on “personal conduct,” “truthfulness” and regulations on Taser gun use, the department said in a statement. On body camera footage from the initial stop, Hemphill is heard saying that he used a stun gun against Nichols and declaring, “I hope they stomp his ass.”

One other officer has been suspended, but has not been identified. Also, two sheriff’s deputies have been taken off duty, and three Fire Department employees have been fired. Two of the three Fire Department employees have also had licenses temporarily suspended by the Tennessee Emergency Medical Services Board.

Chief Davis has champion of police reform for years. In 2020, as chief of the Durham Police Department in North Carolina, she testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on the use of force by police, condemning the murder of George Floyd and addressing the “systemic shortcomings and oftentimes failures of our law-enforcement and criminal-justice systems.”

FROM BRUTAL BLACK OVERSEER THEN TO BRUTAL BLACK UNDERCOVER NOW: THE ‘WHY’ OF TYRE NICHOLS MURDER

BY REGI TAYLOR

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.” -- Bob Marley

At 21 years old, I was ecstatic when my hiring as the assistant to the president of a Northern New Jersey construction company, soon to become a Jersey Shore real estate developer, became official. As a young African American kid from the mean streets of Baltimore, Maryland, who five years earlier had been permanently expelled from high school for a criminal infraction I was guilty of, this opportunity was never supposed to be mine.

Mr. Z, the president, CEO, and 50% owner with his partner, Larry B., had been trying to hire me for more than a year. The Z’s were Italian and showed genuine fascination at how well I seamlessly meshed with their family during my extended Christmas vacation visit with their son, Tony (what else), during our college winter break, making a point that I was the first African American sleepover guest in their home.

Larry B. was Jewish. Several months before I was hired, in 1981, Larry had hired only the second African American to work for the company, Sampson. Sampson had recently retired from more than 30 years as a worker for Larry B’s father, a local slum lord. In his role as driver, handy man, and strongarm enforcer of evictions for Larry’s dad, the muscular, imposing 65-year-old Sampson, unfortunately, had the demeanor of Stepin Fetchit, Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry, a vaudevillian actor, famous for playing the dimwitted, shuffling, jiving, Uncle Tom caricature in film and on stage in the 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s. This characterization is not a judgement. It is an unvarnished observation of Sampson’s behavior. Except for movie and television portrayals, I had never seen anyone before who conducted himself this way at all times. I experienced the pinnacle of Sampson’s ignorance during a ride in his vehicle one day, when he proudly proclaimed how privileged he and I were to be in the employ of this company.

“If the white man like you, you can go verrry far; ‘cause you Tony nigga, and I’m Larry nigga. We’s got it made. Just behave yourself and keep doing the right thing by them just like me,” Sampson beamed, as he shared what in his mind was sage advice. I was genuinely shocked-speechless.

Several days later, I got a phone call at my office from my buddy, Tony Z Jr., who was still away at college. He was so excited by reports from his dad about how well I was doing in the job. He said, “man I can’t wait to finish school to come and join you. We’re going to run that company one day;” and I repeated to him: “Yeah, we’re gonna run this company,” just as Sampson happened past my desk.

The next morning, Mr. Z paged me to his office. “Regi, I have loved you like my own son and given you an opportunity that should have required years of experience.” Appearing to try to stifle a grin, Mr. Z continued: “I don’t like the idea of you conspiring behind my back to takeover my company.”

The company president told me that Sampson had arrived early for work that morning, came into his office, literally with hat in hand, head bowed without making eye contact, and did what he said was his duty as a loyal employee:

“Mr. Z I don’t know how to say this ‘cause you done so much for this boy, but I heard him on the phone yesterday talking to somebody about taking over your company, sir. I couldn’t even sleep last night, and I knew I had to tell you first this morning. It just ain’t right. What that boy planning just ain’t right. I’m really sorry this happening to a good man like you, sir.” The rage I felt initially gave way to a watershed streaming down my face of pain and pity for this tortured soul, a relic of four centuries of racist indoctrination.

And therein lies the pathology that caused the disgusting, medieval beating death of Tyre Nichols. The legacy of the Uncle Tom who gives vigorous allegiance, committed servitude, and undying loyalty to his master in exchange for imagined authority and elevated social status. If you’ve seen the movie, Django, think of Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Stephen.

This role of the ‘Head Nigga In-charge’ started in the early 1700’s on the plantation. Just as in the case of Sampson’s employer, the plantation slave master would cultivate an assertive, usually physically imposing slave, to be a buffer and do the violent dirty work of regimenting and ‘disciplining’ the rest of the slaves, and as in the case of Mr. Nichols this usually involved vicious beatings, whippings, and systemic maltreatment.

According to a 2008 article published by Our Weekly: “When Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey and Gabriel Prosser were planning and actualizing their revolts against slave masters, all of them were betrayed by other slaves, who felt their allegiance should be towards their slave master, rather than their prospect of being freed. Uncle Tom was the common term used to describe such [people].”

Variously described as an overseer, a role of higher authority just below the slave master, usually on smaller plantations, or a driver, essentially a ‘foreman’ who worked under a white overseer on larger, industrial-sized plantations, the Head Negro, according to American Heritage, were “policeman of the [crop] fields and the [slave’s] quarters…enforced discipline and guaranteed performance in the fields… armed with a whip and outfitted in high leather boots and greatcoat, all emblematic of plantation authority.” Any contemporary comparisons coming to mind?

Former slaves have described horrific driver brutality, including mutilations, lacerations, burnings, and floggings. However, when the driver’s tactics became tyrannical or overly reliant on brute force, he ceased to serve his master’s purpose and his authority was relinquished. Of course, in 2023 he would have been fired and charged with murder.

A report by Spartacus Educational reveals that “the punishments used against slaves judged to be under-performing included the use of the cart-whip (a heavy short-handled horsewhip). Not surprisingly, the mortalityrate amongst the slaves was high. Studies have shown that over a four-year period [from 1860], up to 30 per cent of the slave population in America died.”

As slavery evolved from a cottage industry to a full-fledged industrial behemoth, the resources required to police the slaves, whose populations outnumbered whites in many Southern communities, along with the fear of rebellions and the sheer logistics of managing millions of plantation slaves, precipitated the creation of organized, government-sanctioned slave patrols.

Historian Victor E. Kappeler, Ph.D., explains that “in 1704, the colony of Carolina developed the nation’s first slave patrol. Slave patrols helped to maintain the economic order and to assist the wealthy landowners in recovering and punishing slaves. Slave patrols and Night Watches, which later became modern police departments, were both designed to control the behaviors of minorities.”

Dr. Kappeler also points out that “a legally sanctioned law enforcement system existed in America before the Civil War for the express purpose of controlling the slave population and protecting the interests of slave owners.”

A Wikipedia entry documents that “Fugitive Slave Laws helped enforce the necessity for slave patrols to abide by the law. Although these laws were initially created to keep tensions low between the north and the south, it caused the physical formation of slave patrols. Legislators introduced laws that enlisted white people in the regulation of enslaved people’s activities and movement. Black people were subjected to questioning, searches, and other harassment.” Familiar?

Speaking of harassment, the Memphis police have yet to clarify why Tyre Nichols was pulled over in the first place. It is clear from the preceding historic examination that the behavior unleashed on Mr. Nichols by at least five African American urban plantation overseers with badges, guns, and nightsticks is tantamount to the sociopathic rage exhibited by black men of comparable authoritative status in the antebellum South.

These officers were power drunk; suffering from the pathological intoxication of believing their status as loyal henchmen of The Man makes them superior to other people of their own race that they have sworn to protect and serve. They are the quintessential Uncle Toms. Congress pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, now!

DOES ‘BLACK HISTORY MONTH’ ADEQUATELY HONOR

OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN ANCESTRY AND HERITAGE?

BY REGI TAYLOR

On a recent episode of The Conversation with Al McFarlane, a regular expert guest lamented that over his lifetime he has been identified in various legal documents as Colored, Negro, Black, and African American. As we approach ‘Black History Month’ 2023 is it time to reconsider how we as a people define ourselves?

In the case of our former celebration of racial pride, prior to Black History Month, we honored our ethnicity during Negro History Week, instituted by Harvard-educated historian, Carter G. Woodson in 1926, when his move was a very bold political statement.

For half a century, until 1976, ‘Negro’ History Week as an observance of pride became passé. Starting in the late 1960’s, bolstered by the James Brown song, ‘Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud,” Black History Month replaced the former one-week designation, observed the second week of February which coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

As we approach another 50 years, 2026, of celebrating our ancestral heritage as Black History, is it time to update the definition again of who we are as a people?

I first broached this idea as a college freshman in the late 1970’s, soon after Black History Month began.

As the producer and host of Backstage with Regi Taylor, a weekly public affairs talk show on WMTB-FM, Mt. St. Mary’s University radio, I broadcast an announcement to the school’s 2000 Caucasian and 15 African American students about my upcoming show where I would discuss discontinuing Black History Month.

The campus’ racial groups were beside themselves. The mostly German, Irish, and Italian kids were ecstatic. What a sensible discussion to have was the feedback I was getting from them. The African American kids were dumbfounded, or maybe they just thought I was dumb, but they damn sure didn’t like it.

However, when I broadcast the live call-in show, I got the reverse reaction from both groups. I never wanted to suspend a celebration of our ancestry, I only wanted to redefine the observance by calling it African American History Month.

I have always felt conflicted about ‘Black’ History Month. Why have we allowed our great heritage to be artificially distilled and defined as a color? Should European history be ‘white’? Asians, ‘yellow’? Hispanics and Near Easterners, ‘brown’? Native Americans, ‘red’?

Not only are we relegating our rich history as a people to a benign description subject to any cultural interpretation by anyone, allowing detractors to discard our ancestral lineage for a definition that simply defines us in the vane of Jim Crow, a people whose history only began on American shores as the lowest among this country’s caste system; and this is our upgraded, post-slavery status.

We have been known as, and answered to, Slave, Nigger, Colored, Negro, Black, and African American. Which is it going to be? Who are we, really? Which moniker best defines our ancestry? Black is damn sure Beautiful, but it is our image, our appearance, how we look, not who we are in our genealogic and geographic essence.

Moreover, ‘Black,’ and ‘white’ may be at the core of what exacerbates continued racial strife in America. These two artificial colors describing diverse ethnic Americans couldn’t possibly position us to be further apart. Black and white are polar opposites, a dichotomy of extremes, as far apart as two colors – or peoples – could ever be, making it more difficult on a visceral level to recognize how we are more the same than different when viewed exclusively through a diametric prism.

If we must go with colors, perhaps we should identify Americans of European and African ancestries as Vanilla and Chocolate, respectively. These two flavors actually go well together, and on a gradient spectrum you can connect the dots from one color to the other fairly simply. Not as easy to do with the stark divide between black and white.

While we’re at it, we definitely need to get rid the inherently racist, ‘minority.’ What the hell is a minority? What makes one a minority? Think about it. A minority is foremost any ‘non-white’ person. But there really are no ‘white’ people. The term is a euphemism for ‘us’ and ‘them;’ ‘legitimate’ Americans versus the others.

I was amazed as a college freshman, the first time in my life I had ever attended school with, or otherwise been in a predominant environment among, Caucasians. I realized immediately that in their interactions with one another they did not identify as white. There was abundant ethno-cultural preening at The Mount.

The students’ bumper stickers were revealing: German kids: “Geil!”, Awesome; Irish kids: Erin go Bragh, Ireland forever; and the Italians: “La Dolce Vita,” The Sweet Life. Never saw ‘White Power!’

Is it only when Caucasians are compared to ‘minorities’ that they readily identify as white? Many ‘whites’ who relish their ‘majority’ status, and those who have denigrated ‘minorities,’ have conveniently forgotten the treatment of their own non-Anglo-Saxon ethnic ancestors.

Color notwithstanding, the largest ancestral group in America are those of German extraction, more than 1 in 6. Despite nearly six million Germans immigrating to the U.S. between 1820 and 1930, ethnic Germans were openly discriminated against during the period covering the 1st and 2nd World Wars,

Americans of Irish ancestry are currently nearly 1 in 10 of the U.S. population, 9.7%. During the height of their migration to the U.S., between 1850 and 1920, more than 3.5 million settled here. They faced similar discrimination as the Germans. Even the first Irish American president of the United States in 1960, John F. Kennedy, faced open ethnic hostility and anti-Catholic sentiment.

Italian Americans, 1 in 20 of the U.S. population, faced virulent prejudice during the crest of their immigration. According to La Gazzetta Italiana, ethnic Italians were referred to by ‘real’ white Americans as “savages and drunkards, reducing them to social outcasts,” and committed physical violence against them.

As one-third of the current American Caucasian population, whose recent ancestors were considered ‘minorities’ and who were the victims of bigotry, harassment, discrimination, and violence, one might imagine that there would be greater sensitivity and empathy among today’s ‘whites’ towards so-called ‘minorities’ and immigrants.

In three to five generations these formerly marginalized immigrants have fully assimilated and assumed the mantle of majority ‘white’ status with all the inherent rights, privileges, and prejudices that attach. How do they view contemporary African Americans (who have inhabited this land for sixteen generations) and other marginalized minorities?

Well, again, what the hell is a minority? It’s been debunked that the artificial skin-color metric is a legitimate measure of who is a minority. If we consider ethnicity as a measure, then people of Hispanic heritage are nearly 1 in 5; Germans, 1 in 6; and African Americans, 1 in 8.

Despite 4-years of Trump’s menacing and malfeasance, racism and raunchiness, lying and larceny, insolence and insurrection, nearly 3 of 5 Caucasian Americans still gave the Odd-Toddler their vote. These people have clearly defined who they are. Who are we?

THIS MONTH IN BLACK HISTORY

February 6, 1820, the first organized immigration of freed slaves to Africa departed from New York. The “Mayflower of Liberia” and its 86 passengers, set sail to Freetown, Sierra Leone, in West Africa.

February 3, 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race and intending to ensure, with the Fourteenth Amendment, the civil rights of former slaves.

February 9, 1952, Ralph Ellison’s novel “Invisible Man” won the National Book Award

Feb 9, 1965, Martin Luther King met with Pres. Johnson to discuss black voting rights Feb 4, 1986, U.S. Postal Service issued postage stamp honoring Sojourner Truth

February 21, 1965 Malcolm X is assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem

February 18, 2006, Shani Davis became the first Black to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history.

February 20, 2014, Nadine Hunt-Robinson was appointed to the Common Council as a surprise selection by the City Democratic Committee when appointed in by Mayor Thomas Roach and the Common Council, She is the first African American Woman to serve on the White Plains Common Council.

February 5, 2016, Stephanie G. Vanderpool makes history as the first African American Woman appointed to the role of Commissioner of Assessment and Taxation (City Assessor) in the City of Mount Vernon.

On Friday, February 9, 2018, Kathie Davidson become the first African-American Administrative Judge of New York state’s Ninth Judicial District.

February 16, 2022, Tajian Nelson makes history as the first African-American Female Westchester County Board of Election Commissioner after being unanimously selected by the Westchester County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee. She replaces Reginald Lafayette, who died in January. Nelson has worked at the board under Lafayette for years.

CE Latimer announced his disapproval and veto of proposed menthol and flavor tobacco ban – Local Law Intro. No 461-2022 – and announces a Westchester Tabacco Free Program, Monday, December 12th. The new Tobacco Free Program will include a tobacco education campaign – funding and implement a robust $3 million-dollar public education campaign to all residents highlighting the dangers of tobacco usage... continues on page 14