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Challenger Community News • t hec hallengernews.com •November 18,2021
AREA BRIEFS
Activists Rally for Human Rights at Erie County Holding Center Call on County Legislature to Deny Budget to Sheriff’s Office Until Recent Issue is Resolved
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Garcia Wins Sheriff's Race. Beaty Bows Out. t press time we learned that Republican John Garcia A has been declared the winner in the hotly contested race for Sheriff, dashing the hopes of Democratic candidate Kim-
berly Beaty who was poised to make history as the first Black and first woman Sheriff of Erie county. The race went down to the wire. Too close to call on election night, Beaty and her supporters kept hope alive as thousands of absentee ballots were counted. And although she won over half of them, she was still unable to overcome her opponent and fell short by about 3,000 votes. Beaty, by far the most qualified candidate in the race, ran well, and under normal circumstances, would have had an excellent chance of winning. But she faced obstacles from day one - from being personally discouraged not to enter the race by the party, to a lack of party unity. “I ran as a Democrat, and I am proud to be a Democrat. It is a shame that some forget their party and the folks in the community that really need them and have supported them,” she said in a written statement. Clearly feeling “some kind of way” she continued, "Their constituents or the greater good be damned, it all goes by the wayside for self-preservation, and that’s unfortunate.”
Save Our Children Town Hall Meeting Regarding Missing Children
On Saturday, November 20 at 3p.m. Project Mona’s House and Open Buffalo will present a much needed conversation surrounding missing children at Merriweather Library 1324 Jefferson Ave. The guests for this Town Hall include artist Edreys Wajed, community activist and founder of Bury The Violence, Kareema Morris, Chief Dawn Kent from BPD special victims unit, Buffalo Board of Ed. President Louis Petrucci and panelists representing the LGBTQ+ community and mental health advocates. Registration is free, go to ProjectMonasHouse.com .
yles Carter, the articulate young activist and former candidate for Erie County Sheriff, called a press conference on Sunday at the Erie County Holding Center to denounce the latest example of human rights violations at the facility : no hot water for two years in many of the dorms and at least since January for those housed in Echo Dorm. After receiving a phone call from a disabled inmate on October 7, Carter immediately notified general management and reached out to the correctional oversight committee as well as the Muslim Chaplain at the Holding Center. “Within an hour I received response that they were aware of Myles Carter the outage and that they were transporting prisoners to unaffected areas to shower.” Then on October I6th he received a letter complaining that Echo Dorm had not had hot water since January. “The letter was signed by 10 prisoners and made reference to multiple complaints that have been filed and closed.” The letter was forwarded to the Erie County Jail oversight committee in which a complaint was filed with the NYS Commission of Corrections on October 25, 2021. Based on research conducted by oversight committee they concluded lack of hot water was due to one failing boiler, further stating that the responsibility of the boiler falls under division of buildings and grounds. “The Sheriff’s department has $126 million budget for 2021 and requesting a $16.6 million increase for 2022 - that’s roughly a 13% increase with no plans to restore the human rights that are being violated here at the holding center,” said Carter. “Our demand is that the Erie county legislature act immediately and deny the budget for 2022 until a plan and action is put forward to restore the hot water and that a tangible work around is put in place with direct supervision by the oversight committee until the hot water is restored. And we need oversight of that work thru the Erie County oversight committee for the jails.” “I just don’t think it’s their priority to make sure these inmates have basic needs,” charged Shaimaa Aakil who shared her own personal experience at the Holding Center as a teen. “ They’re simply not prioritizing the safety of the inmates. We’ve seen that in the last 32 deaths” she continued, referencing the number of deaths which have occurred under Sheriff Timothy Howard’s tenure. “It’s consistent, constant behavior of this toxic culture of prioritizing their own … over the lives of these residents of our city who are innocent until proven guilty.” “Is it this hard to get them to fix a boiler?” -Addressing LawmakersMyles and several others addressed legislative hearing on the county budget on Monday where they made their demands plain. “The sheriff is an executive position and really the only way you can provide any type of checks and balance on the sheriff is through the budgeting process. That’s the only power that the legislators and county executive have to provide any kind of check or balance." It all comes down to, he said, an “issue of mismanagement and a waste of resources.”
Common Council Passes Clean Slate Resolution Buffalo Becomes The First City In Western New York To Pass A Resolution Urging The State Legislature To Enact Clean Slate The Buffalo Common Council approved a resolution recently in support of the Clean Slate Act urging the New York State Legislature to end perpetual punishment for millions of New Yorkers with conviction records. Over 400,000 people are arrested on criminal charges in New York each year, with 2.3 million across the state living with a conviction history. New York State incarcerates people at a higher rate than the United Kingdom, Canada, and France combined creating barriers to jobs, housing, education, and full participation in the very life of this state..University District Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt, filed the resolution. Assemblymember Rivera will co-sponsor the essential Clean Slate legislation.
The Six Triple Eight
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he Women’s Army Corps 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion made history during World War II after more than 800 Black women took on the task of sorting through millions of pieces unattended mail for American soldiers, according to the U.S. Army Center of Military History. The women tackled the parcels and letters when they arrived in England in February 1945. They later sailed to France where they continued sorting through the piles of mail. More than 70 years after a historic all-Black women’s battalion disbanded with no recognition, several years ago the unit got its due thanks to a parade celebration and a new documentary. In June 1945, the Six Triple Eight continued their work clearing mail in France with French civilians and German POWs working by their side. At the end of WWII, the unit’s commander, Major Charity Edna Adams, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, the Milwaukee Courier reported. It made her making her that highest ranking African-American female in the Army. By early 1946, the battalion had returned home to the U.S. but there was no fanfare celebrating their contributions. No parade, no formal ceremony or any kind of official recognition was given until 2014, thanks to Democratic Winsconsin congresswoman Gwen Moore.
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