Education

Eric Adams may have uphill battle with law enforcement & activists

By STEPHON JOHNSON

Amsterdam News Staff

New mayor Eric Adams’ police background will determine his future in City Hall

He’s pushed the mantra of “law and order,” but what about “equity and order?”

This week marked Eric Adams’ first week as mayor of New York City. The Black, male mayor has preached the mantra of taking back the streets that are already in the people’s possession.

Adams campaigned on bringing back the “tough on crime” 20th century relic, which is something that has been pushed by the local right wing since former Mayor Bill de Blasio first took office. In an infamous ad, the team for de Blasio’s opponent, Joe Lhota, put together a collage of images from the city’s “bad old days,” attempting to use scare tactics to get people to the polls.

With the pandemic leaving the streets empty and crime slightly increasing, but still low, Adams, a former police captain, saw an opening.

During his first set of talks with the media, Adams said that he would reform and bring back the Anti-Crime Unit, which was criticized in the past for using aggressive tactics.

Adams has also gone on record stating that he would bring back solitary confinement. Something that anti-police brutality and anti-incarceration groups have fought against for years.

“They better enjoy that one-day reprieve because January 1st they are going back into segregation if they committed a violent act,” said Adams of de Blasio’s solitary confinement policy.

In September, it was reported that murders fell 22% and shootings dropped 9% from the same time in 2020. During that same time, it was announced that, overall, crime in the city decreased by 5.4% when compared to 2020. In November, murders decreased by 17.2% when compared to the same time in 2021 along with a 5.7% decrease in burglaries.

All stats are tracked by the NYPD’s CompStat system. Marvin Mayfield, lead statewide organizer at Center for Community Alternatives, said that Adams has a chance to continue police reform or go back to the “bad old days” for communities of color.

“New York stands on a precipice. The COVID pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated inequities in our city and we urgently need our new mayor to invest in communities and address the harms of mass incarceration,” said Mayfield. ”We applaud his support for the Clean Slate Act which will end perpetual punishment and allow New Yorkers with old conviction records to access jobs, housing and education. At the same time, we caution him to move away from the misinformation and outright lies that characterized the last mayor’s approach to bail reform and instead to recognize that these necessary reforms have protected thousands of people from the trauma of pretrial jailing and allowed them to maintain their jobs, support their families, and return to court to exercise their most basic rights.”

Vera Institute of Justice, which refers to itself as an independent research organization looking to improve the country’s judicial system, investigated the city’s correction budget and noticed that for the proposed fiscal year 2022 it calls for $2.6 billion allocated towards corrections, which,

(Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

See ERIC on page 24

I will continue to stand on principle for the people

By COUNCILMEMBER CHARLES BARRON

As he voted ‘No’ in the first new New York City Council stated meeting for the next speaker, returning City Councilmember Charles Barron wanted to share his reasons for doing so with Amsterdam News readers.

A majority of this body has been described as more progressive and people-oriented than previous councils. At the outset, there were hopes of a paradigm shift, to move from being under the dictates of the mayor, political county bosses, union leaders and real estate magnates, in exchange for getting a preferred committee chair. Unfortunately, the traditional process prevailed.

We must be the voice and conscience of the people, to protect them from a greedy capitalist system that creates poverty, unemployment, mass incarceration, homelessness, and a myriad of oppressive racial and economic issues. Especially during this pandemic.

I appeal to you to stand for the people during the budget process, legislative process, and land use process.

We must stand strong for the people when the over $100 billion budget process begins. We are in a state of emergency.

Gov. Hochul, Mayor Adams, and soon-to-be speaker Adams are cut from the same political cloth. They profess police and criminal justice reform, but support the racist, oppressive NYPD with more money and more police.

Mayor Adams wants to bring back Guiliani’s racist street crime unit; supports the real estate industry’s gentrifying projects; supports privatizing public housing and education projects; and supports ending “no cash bail.” With the support of the governor and the newly elected speaker, he will turn our Black and Brown communities into a “police state.”

The answer to crime is not police containment. It is economic development, job creation and a multi-billion-dollar anti-poverty initiative. We say jobs, not jails.

Finally, STAY WOKE! Don’t be lulled to sleep or inaction because of Black faces in high places. We need independent bold Black leadership that stands for the people over the party. We don’t want just a change in the complexion, we want a change in the direction the city is going.

Power to the people. Forward ever, backward never.

I, Councilmember Charles Barron, vote “No.”

Thank you.

Ready for the turbulence ahead

Bad weather, a spiking pandemic, and plummeting poll numbers for President Biden are lead stories this week, as they have been for quite a while. To this depressing list add the anniversary of the attack on the Capitol with still hundreds yet to be summoned and tried for their involvement.

There is very little we can do about the weather—and it was certainly distressing to see the stalled cars on I-95, some of them for nearly a day—nor Biden’s declining popularity with so many voters. Some relief appears to have arrived from the CDC about Omicron, though a survey of citizens offers mixed responses on the extent of its ill-effects and that it may not be as serious and deadly as the Delta version.

We join the chorus cheering the news that AG Tish James has subpoenaed two of Trump’s children, which is another decisive step toward getting the big fish and the perpetrator of the fraud. As usual Trump was trying to have it both ways in gaining more economic clout on his property by inflating its value and then reversing the value when it came to paying the taxes.

The lying, deceptive Trump is at the center of the ongoing investigation of last year’s insurrection, his Big Lie promulgating the tumult that has spawned a number of insidious lies about the event, including that the marauders were unarmed, that it was orchestrated by activists on the left, and that some of the rioters were jailed as political prisoners after being invited to the Capitol by the police.

Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi has been steadfast and diligent in heading the committee bringing many of these so-called patriots to be tried and possibly convicted.

Yes, we are on our way in this fresh flip of the calendar and to say that there seems to be few rosy dawns in front of us would be a huge understatement.

Even so, as in the past, we are ready for the struggle ahead, which for many of our citizens nothing is new, and that which is new is sure to be met with a renewed and fresh resolve to turn back the onslaught of terribleness.

Are you ready to take a stand against the social, political, economic and environmental storms on the horizon? We are.

Understanding our worth to confront blatant racism

Dear Editor,

As a middle aged African American man, I have observed the human condition over a period of time and I have constructed my own personal time-line that has given glimpses of change for the better as it relates to the community of our people.

In the ’50s and ’60s I believe that period was a time of reinvention, due to the country as a whole rebounding from the situation created by financial ruin of the late ’20s, and devastating wars of the ’40s. African Americans were clear on what it took to build a strong and financially resourceful community, so with that understanding the struggle to acquire education for the children of the community was vital in perpetuating progress. In the ’60s and ’70s the country as a whole saw the movement of the African American community and felt this would be problematic, and you could see the covertly subliminal attack on dumbing down the diaspora of these communities.

Some still struggled through to attain higher degrees of learning, and then the bar was set higher by increasing tuition and sidelining the ability to enter colleges. Not only was education being pushed out of reach, but jobs as well. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was a joke, workforce discrimination was evident and in full practice, and I personally believe it was all by design. Then the resurgence of drugs into the communities to further dilute the cohesiveness of a group of people that have WWW.AMSTERDAMNEWS.COM been struggling to build. Then police brutality so vivid and in your face to recreate the THE NEW BLACK VIEW Vol. 106 No. 18 | April 30 - May 6, 2015 ©2015 The Amsterdam News | $1.00 New York City fear that was used during the days of slavery. Subliminal messaging to diversify and dilute B’MORE UNREST cultural beliefs, it’s a wonder why we haven’t just completely exploded. Political exclusion in passing laws that protect and propel our communities into better and safer places to live and raise a family. The answer to change is simple: stick to Welcome, Attorney General Loretta Lynch

By HERB BOYD

our narrative, understand our worth, and Special to the AmNews U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch had hardly finished being sworn in stand united. Monday as the first AfricanAmerican woman to hold the position when the outrage and violence in Baltimore after Freddie Gray’s death in police custody became an immediate flashpoint. In effect, she has to hit the ground running with a situation that is becoming all too customary in AmeriSincerely, ca. Lynch’s first statement upon taking office was her promise that the Justice Department will continue the Tony B, longtime Amsterdam News reader

investigation of Gray’s death and send two top officials to Baltimore to help calm the city and stop the rioting.

“As our investigative process continues, I strongly urge every member of the Baltimore community to adhere to the principles of nonviolence,” Lynch said in a statement Monday evening. “In the days ahead, I intend to work with leaders throughout Baltimore to ensure that we can protect the security and civil rights of all residents. And I will bring the full resources of the Department of Justice to bear in protecting those under threat, inves-

By NAYABA ARINDE

Amsterdam News Editor

And CYRIL JOSH BARKER

Amsterdam News Staff

And SALIM ADOFO

Special to the AmNews

The killing of another Black male by police left Baltimore burning Monday, April 27, 2015. It is calmer now, with curfews, multiple arrests and a simmering anger replacing the unbridled outrage that followed the funeral of Freddie Gray.

The irony is not lost on social observers that the volatile response to a death in police custody occurred just two days before the 13th anniversary of the 1992 civil unrest ignited by the vicious videotaped police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles.

Several thousand people have come out into the streets of Baltimore protesting the killing of 25-year-old Freddie Gray over the past few days. Police arrested Gray April 12, without resistance or incident, and he died from injuries suffered while in custody. His family said that his voice box was crushed, 80 percent of his spine was severed and his neck was snapped. Gray eventually slipped into a coma and died April 19.

At a press conference this week, Deputy Police Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said, “When Mr. Gray was put in that van, he could talk and he was upset. … When he was taken out of that van, he could not talk and he could not breathe.”

See LYNCH on page 6

National Black United front (Salim Adofo photo)

See BALTIMORE on page 34

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Vol. 106 No. 9 | February 26 - March 4, 2015 ©2015 The Amsterdam News | $1.00 New York City

Was Jimmy Breslin tipped off about Malcolm X’s assassination 50 years ago? By MILTON ALLIMADI and COLIN BENJAMIN

Special to the AmNews

Was the NYPD involved or did they merely know about the impending murder of Malcolm X and allow it to happen 50 years ago? Were some reporters, including famed scribe Jimmy Breslin, tipped off that something was about to go down?

The official story has been that Malcolm X was killed Feb. 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem because of a feud between him and his former allies in the Nation of Islam. Malcolm had a falling out with NOI leader and his former spiritual guide Elijah Muhammad, who he’d

We Need Stronger Rent Laws, Not Developer Giveaways Urban Agenda by David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York - See page 5

Sharpton the newsmaker By HERB BOYD

Special to the AmNews

It may be a great disservice to mention the Rev. Al Sharpton and Rudy Giuliani in the same article, but they are two public figures with a long affair with the media—one longing for it to go away and the other courting it for coverage.

This week they are both back in the news—again. Rumors are afloat that Sharpton’s “PoliticsNation” on MSNBC may be put on a weekend schedule. Other hosts on the network are also, as they say in the business world, scheduled for reassignment, including

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Vol. 106 No. 16 | April 16 - April 22, 2015 THE NEW BLACK VIEW

©2015 The Amsterdam News | $1.00 New York City

By HERB BOYD

Special to the AmNews About a minute and half into her online announcement of her presidential bid last Sunday, Hillary Clinton said, “Everyday Americans need a champion. I want to be that champion so you can do more than just get by, so you can get ahead and stay ahead. Because when families are strong, America is strong.” Interestingly, April 12, 154 years ago, the Civil War began, and Clinton has begun her campaign to turn things around, although with an arsenal of words, at least for the moment. Community bids Dr. Ben farewell By AUTODIDACT 17 Special to the AmNews The announcement, which From New Two days of ceremonies at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church last week allowed associates, comrades, family and friends of acclaimed Kemeta-physician Dr. Yosef A.A. ben-Jochannan the opportunity to pay their final respects before he was interred at Ferncliff Ceme-tery Friday afternoon. “It’s an honor to be here and celebrate this great life that has been amongst us for 97 years,” remarked colleague Dr. Leonard Jeffries, beginning Thursday evening’s wake, the capacity crowd erupting in applause, chants and drumming. “We have to be aware that Dr. Ben has made his transition and he’s expecting us to continue his great legacy that he shared with us.” One of Jochannan’s daughter’s exhorted, “I challenge you to go home and continue the See BEN continued on page 34 York to DC, folk set off on #March2Justice By SAMANTHA M. COLTON Special to the Am News Monday kicked off Justice League NYC’s first March2Justice. Participants started their walk on Staten Island and will continue for nine days until they arrive in Washington, D.C. Along the way, they plan on engaging in rallies and mobilizations before they meet with legislators to demand congressional intervention on the national crisis of police brutality. According to the organization, they are “inspired and moved by young people and others across the country that continue to keep this movement alive in the name of justice. We now want to see action from the powers that be, and it's time we take the movement t them.” The march will cover five states, with move-ments planned in cities such as Trenton, Philadelphia, Baltimore and D.C., where the final rally will take place on Capitol Hill. The group then plans ALL EYES ON SHARPTON Joy Reid, Ronan Farrow, Ed Schultz, Chris Hayes and Lawrence O’Donnell. It sounds as if MSNBC is cleaning house and dissatisfied with its leftist orientation. And if we can believe Erica Snipes, Eric Garner’s daughter, Sharpton “is only in it for the money,” as she said to a right-wing mischief maker recording her comments on a concealed camera. She later recanted, indicating that Sharpton and the National Action Network had paid for her father’s funeral. Later, in a statement to NAN, she clarified her position on the matter. “It is unfortunate that the New York (Bill Moore photo) See SHARPTON on page 6 (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

12 • March 26 - April 1, 2015 HILLARY’S IN!

See HILLARY on page 6

(Karl Crutchfield photo)

See MARCH on page 6

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS MTA, take a hike

When a fare hike by the MTA went into effect Sunday, the moans from straphangers, particularly those who have been struggling even to pay $2.50 per ride, were louder than the brakes of an A train coming to a halt—that is, if you were lucky to have one arriving at your station on schedule.“I realize it and we all realize that service … is not where we need it to be and not necessarily meeting our customers’ expectations,” said Carmen Bianco, president of New York City Transit. This is an understatement of the highest order, and while confession is good for the soul, it brings little relief to the working poor, who will be the most impacted by the increase as they are by the often inadequate service.Ask any of the regular daily 6 million commuters on the city’s subway system and you will hear a litany of complaints—the most common one being the interminable delays. According to the latest reports from the MTA, through January there was an average of more than 43,000 delays a month. Even more distressing—and it’s the second most common complaint—the trains are so jammed with passengers that you have to wedge your

Opinion

way in. Luckily, these riders are not on the rapid transit system in Japan, where they have “oshiyas,” or pushers, whose are responsible for making sure passengers are all the way into the car.These problems are compounded during periods of inclement weather. Again, MTA authorities have promised to address such issues and to speed up the time needed to restore schedules after a malfunction. Unfortunately, the remedies are not coming as fast as the fare hikes, and we sympathize with customers who want to know if the increase in fares will improve services in the century-old system. To be at the mercy of the 4, 5 and 6 lines even after rush hour is to have the experience of a sardine. The ordeal is doubly challenging for the elderly—who, by the way, are only experiencing a 10 cent hike in their fare, up to $1.35 a ride, which isn’t welcomed when you’re on a fixed income—and the disabled, who can rarely expect an ounce of common courtesy from weary workers. It’s been estimated that more than $30 billion is needed to upgrade the subway system. Passengers expecting any of that money to trickle down from Albany have a longer wait than the arrival of any weekend train. When it comes to transportation in the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appears to be far more interested in those in cars and on their way to LaGuardia, evidenced by his proposed AirTrain expansion and plan to spruce up the Tappan Zee Bridge.So my dear straphangers, grin and bear it, dig a little deeper into your depleted pockets for that extra quarter or two and hope the next fare hike is as slow and distant as the next train.

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher and Editor in Chief Member Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor Alliance for Audited Media Nayaba Arinde: Editor Penda Howell: Vice President, Sales, Advertising Wilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): Chairman of the Board, CEO and Publisher Emeritus

EDITORIAL The savage inequality of education must end By ASSEMBLYMAN MICHAEL BLAKE The current education debate in Albany has been elevated because of the need to pass a New York state budget by March 31. Education advocates on both sides are tall on ideology, but we are all falling short on cooperation and remembering that this is about the children. The dialogue is fascinating, ranging from school funding to teacher performance, tenure, evaluation, public versus charter and private versus parochial. All of these considerations are necessary and timely to improve the academic, social, mental and physical setting for young people. But the tone has become incredibly divisive. Advocates on all sides of the discourse say that we are “at war.” Actually, we are not, so let’s leave that terminology to those who serve us honorably in uniform. I understand that we are all passionate on how about improve the lives of our children and give them paths to success. But this conversation is unproductive if it’s an “either or” consideration rather than a “both and” where we acknowledge that each side has legitimate points on how to transform our educational system for the better and determine a path forward. We are sometimes invoking terms and images of savagery rather than pursuing constructive compromise. This is not the first time that I have heard the word savage used to describe education. In “Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools,” Jonathon Kozol described my elementary school, P.S. 79, in that way. Given the challenges that my great principal, James Carter, had to endure to empower our minds and hearts, it saddens me that instead of being described as scholarly, we were described as “savage.” In large part, that framing was not because of my future, but because of my ZIP code. I grew up in the Bronx. I lived a block away from school, where I passed the corner bodega on one side and bought my slice of pizza on another. Deep down, I knew that our schools didn’t have what we needed, because of inadequate funding.In 1993, that financial disparity reality came to greater light when the Campaign for Fiscal Equity was established and later led to the landmark victory in C.F.E. v. State of New York, where the coalition successfully argued that the city’s school finance system was woefully underfunded and denied its students their constitutional right of a sound basic education. That decision addressed the chronic shortfalls for New York City schools, but its logic carried to upstate’s mix of poor urban districts and high-tax, low-wealth small town and rural districts. The remedy for curing that finding of unconstitutionality was robust funding under a more equitable formula called Foundation Aid, which attacked unfairness, regardless of a school’s region, racial or income mix, by dividing allocations by district student enrollment and assessing student need and local ability to pay. Sadly, Foundation Aid was fully funded only in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. The Great Recession knocked that full funding off the tracks, and the inequities re-emerged to the point of approximately $4.9 billion CFE money still owed to public schools in our neediest areas. This inequality hits close to home, as my Assembly district is owed a staggering $76 million in CFE money—more than any Assembly district in New York City. Imagine what that funding could do for our kids? Smaller classroom sizes, more teachers, school supplies, books, building repairs, etc.You compare this intolerable reality with the equal gut blow of 10 of the 178 “failing” (I prefer struggling) schools are in my district alone. It’s beyond unjust and inhumane. The conditions we are putting our students, teachers, adminSee EDUCATION on page 32 12 • March 19 - March 25, 2015

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS No more excuses, confirm Loretta Lynch

Several days after impressing a Senate panel, Loretta Lynch appeared to be a shoo-in to succeed Eric Holder Jr. as U.S. attorney general. But leave it to the mischievous, meanspirited Republicans to rain on her parade. At least, we hope, only temporarily.Just when she seemed to be a lock for the post, particularly with such prominent Republicans as Orrin Hatch of Utah, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine promising to confirm her, there is a snag. So what’s the problem? The problem is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his reluctance to call a vote because of a human-trafficking bill that includes a provision that would establish a fund for victims from fines paid by those convicted of trafficking crimes. These funds, as the Democrats proposed, could be used for abortions, and therein lies the rub.It’s simply amazing that bills can get past a committee then hit that implacable wall called Republican repugnance. The story here is that Republicans apparently don’t mind gathering funds from predators fined for sex trafficking crimes, but this money can’t be used by the victims to pay for abortions. Republicans contend that such use of the money would compromise the Hyde Amendment, which, except for rape, forbids use of tax dollars for abortions. What has this got to do with Lynch’s confirmation or the price of rice in China? This boondoggle is very similar to the impasse over Homeland Security funding that included an immigration attachment. We were pleased to see the Republicans capitulate on that measure and allow the Department of Homeland Security funding to go forward while tossing immigration into limbo.

That had as much to do with undermining the president’s executive authority as anything else, and we would be naive to believe that the same shenanigans are not at play in Lynch’s confirmation. Sen. Chuck Schumer is right on point when he noted that the Senate “can walk and chew gum at the same time,” but this becomes a difficult process when considering any action put forth by President Barack Obama.

Opinion

In 1984, the Senate took a year to confirm President Ronald Reagan’s nominee, Edwin Meese, for attorney general, but that delay was based on Meese’s messy business practices. And if some Republicans have their way, Lynch will be tarred with the same brush, given the alleged dealings she had with drug lords and money launderers. All of this is hogwash. Lynch’s problem is that she is a strong Black woman who happens to agree with many of the policies of the outgoing attorney general and the ongoing president. Yes, the Senate may be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, but we all suffer when the gum is stuck to their shoes and they are politically immobilized. Two things are clearly immutable—Lynch’s race and her politics. So get over it! No more excuses. Confirm Loretta Lynch!

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher and Editor in Chief Member Managing Editor (Photo courtesy of Douglas Palmer—Flickr)

EDITORIAL Letter to the congressional leadership March 13, 2015

Hon. Mitch McConnell Majority Leader United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510

Hon. Harry Reid Minority Leader United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Mr. Leaders: I write this letter to express support for the nomination of Loretta Lynch to become the attorney general of the United States Department of Justice. As the attorney general for the state of New York, I am confident that Ms. Lynch will provide the strong leadership necessary United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ms. Lynch has developed a long record of achievements, and she enjoys a reputation for fairly and evenhandedly enforcing the law. She demonstrates extraordinary character, sound judgment and clear commitment to the principle of equal justice under the law. Morever, the breadth commitment to public service and strong management skills, make her well-suited to serve in this position.Our nation requires a capable and effective advocate such as Loretta Lynch to head its chief law enforcement agency. For these reasons, I urge the Senate to confirm Ms. Lynch to serve as attorney general for the United States. Mitch McConnell Harry Reid 12 • April 23 - April 29, 2015

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Opinion Smart crook versus crooked cop

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher Member and Editor in Chief Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor Nayaba Arinde: Editor Alliance for Penda Howell: Vice President, Sales, Advertising Audited Media Wilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): Chairman of the Board, CEO and Publisher Emeritus

By SAINT SOLOMON

During the turbulent 1980s and early 1990s, when murder, mayhem and drugs plagued the inner cities, scores of self-made gangsters vied for control of certain neighborhoods. In Brooklyn, Fort Greene and Lafayette Gardens were atop the list that harbored some of the most infamous characters. While Killer Ben and 50 Cent found infamy in Fort Greene, Lafayette Gardens was dubbed “Bush Gardens” because of the way Derrick “Bush” Hamilton, along with his brother J.R., were

Stuck in the middle of a deadly dilemma

By ELINOR TATUM Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Over the past several months, a lot of attention has been focused on killer cops. Every other day, we seem to witness a case of police brutality that ends in murder. Although it is not a new phenomenon, it is one that is reaching epidemic proportions—a deeply troubling epidemic. But as we shout

“Black Lives Matter!” in protest, we have lost sight of the other battle against violence in our communities.

Although there is no comparison, and some may say that if you restart the battle to stop Black-on-Black crime, then we lose focus on the police and their tactics that are killing us. So where does that leave us? Unfortunately, it leaves us in the middle—in two wars that must be fought simultaneously and swiftly. In effect, rumored to have controlled a large percent of the illicit activities in that particular neighborhood.Almost simultaneously, Brooklyn North Homicide Squad developed a roving 40-man task force to quell Brooklyn’s murder epidemic. Of all the detectives, Louis Scarcella was most famous for solving murders. In 1983, Hamilton was jailed for an assortment of violent crimes, such as manslaughter, weapon possession and robbery. During his time in an Elmira prison, Hamilton, a self-taught jailhouse lawyer, helped other convicted killers receive time cuts and reversals. He, too, was back in Lafayette Gardens in less than a decade. In 1987, 50 Cent was immortalized when Julio “Wemo” Acevedo gunned him down in a dusky hallway located in Albany projects. Acevedo was subsequently arrested, convicted and shipped to an upstate prison.In 1991, a Brooklyn man named Nathaniel Cash was murdered. Hamilton’s name came up in the investigation. Scarcella didn’t have the patience and wherewithal for justice. He believed that he was above the law. He arrested Hamilton post haste. After a lengthy trial, Hamilton was once again convicted and sentenced to decades of confinement. Hamilton wasn’t worried. This wasn’t his first rodeo. In fact, he and fellow Brooklynite Acevedo ended up in the same prison. After exchanging penitentiary pleasantries, Hamilton told Acevedo that he knew of some legal discrepancies in his case and vowed to free him. True to his word, Hamilton had Acevedo back on the street before the turn of the century. In 2000, while Hamilton was still in jail, his brother J.R. was murdered inside of his sea food restaurant. According to a federal indictment, Damion “World” Hardy, another La fayette Garden resident, was responsible for ordering that particular hit. Word on the street was Hamilton, while incarcerated, had convinced a paroled lackey to kill Hardy. Although he sustained a head wound, Hardy survived the shooting. also lost a brother, Michael, a cop who committed suicide as he depressingly witnessed his brother’s tainted career unravel and capsize. prowess, coupled with Scar cella’s faulty and shoddy police work secured his pre mature release from prison. In 2013, Acevedo plows through a crowded Brook

EDITORIAL This situation is madness, and it shows how deep the rifts have become. Any trust that once existed is now complete ly eroded. Youngsters on the street used to know the beat cop, and the beat cop knew them. The police were a pos itive fixture in the communi ty and they were a part of the community, not apart from

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Vol. 106 No. 4 | January 22 - January 28, 2015 THE NEW BLACK VIEW ©2015 The Amsterdam News | $1.00 New York City Obama’s audacity of hope By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews If the usual rhetorical flair and occasional lyrical resonance were missing from President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday, it did abound with a number of audacious proposals for the Republicans to chew on and mull over before they soundly reject them.In this address, there were no quotes or references to past presidents— no Lincoln, FDR, LBJ, JFK, not even Reagan. In this time when Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy is being invoked in the theaters and on the streets, Obama

OBAMA’S TIME

Mayor Dinkins delivers keynote at MLK luncheon By DEMETRIA IRWIN Special to the AmNews The Black Agency Executives organization recently held its 38th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Luncheon. Aptly hosted by NBC4’s Pat Battle, the event at the Hilton New York in Midtown was well attended. The Honorable David Dinkins, New York’s first and so far only Black mayor, was the keynote speaker. While reflecting on the legacy of King, Dinkins shared the following bit of wisdom: “It’s important to recognize that we do not stand alone and gun violence, which was heavi ly stressed at his previous State of the Union address.Of course, Black Americans heard little that directly related to them, though many of his proposals inev itably will affect them, if the propos als ever see the light of day. His words may not have had that poetic arch he can invest in a speech, but the numbers leaped from the page—a page he said it was time to turn. “Six years ago, nearly 180,000 Ameri can troops served in Iraq and Afghani stan,” he said. “Today, fewer than 15,000 remain. And we salute the courage and

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Vol. 106 No. 11 | March 12 - March 18, 2015 ©2015 The Amsterdam News | $1.00 New York City President greets 103-year-old civil rights legend Amelia Boynton Robinson with Rep. Terri Sewell of www.whitehouse.gov)

Many rivers and bridges to cross By HERB BOYD

Special to the AmNews

As President Barack Obama prepared to lead marchers across the

Edmund Pettus Bridge spanning the Alabama River in Selma to com-

AND STILL WE MARCH Such actions of police misconduct Special to the AmNews may not be sanctioned or as blatant as in the past, but they are no less deadly As President Barack Obama pre- and we need look no further than the pared to lead marchers across the homeless man shot and killed by a Edmund Pettus Bridge spanning police offi cer in Los Angeles last Sunday. the Alabama River in Selma to com- Obama, in reference to the Depart-

“We must be the voice and conscience of the people, to protect them from a greedy capitalist system that creates poverty, unemployment, mass incarceration, homelessness, and a myriad of oppressive racial and economic issues. Especially during this pandemic.” The Obama family joins hands as it begins the march with the foot soldiers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. (Offi cial White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

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When prosecutors become politicians

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the New York Amsterdam News. We continue to publish a variety of viewpoints so that we may know the opinions of others that may differ from our own.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan recently criticized Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby for her egregious mishandling of cases and her allowing of criminals to return to the streets, unsupervised and unpunished, with the potential to add more victims to Baltimore’s growing list of victims of preventable criminal activity. What is occurring in Baltimore is unilateral justice, and it is wrong for a variety of reasons.

Prosecutors are effectively taking the law into their own hands in cases like these, superseding the whims of the legislature that wrote the laws to protect citizens, preventing the courts from delving into the evidence, discovering facts, and doing justice, denying the public the right to know the specific types of crime that occur in their city, as well as the names and faces of those who commit those crimes, and denying the public the right to be aware of the specific types of crime that occur in their city and places and activities to avoid. This isn’t justice; it is politics infiltrating what is meant to be an apolitical part of our system of government.

The office of Marylin Mosby has declared that nine distinct sorts of offenses would not be prosecuted. Prostitution, drug possession, attempted drug delivery, and urinating and defecating in public are just a few of them. These kinds of activities are completely deserving of punishment. Drug distributors devastate lives, families, and have contributed to a nationwide overdose crisis in the United States. It is laughable to say that these people aren’t deserving of punishment; it is easy to dismiss drug distribution as a way to make money, but until these people see the devastation that these drug distributors, both big and small, cause in their communities, they’ll never understand how despicable a crime it is. Another frightening subject is prostitution. By neglecting to pursue prostitution, the state is effectively encouraging the degradation of young girls’ morality and putting them at risk by allowing them to work side-by-side with pimps and go home with strangers whose actual intentions are often unknown.

Baltimore is now seeing an increase in homicides, to the point that it now ranks second in the “murders per capita” category. What we need to ask today is what kind of ludicrous political leanings one would need to refuse to prosecute the sorts of persons Marilyn Mosby has refused to prosecute. Their far-left political leanings appear to have driven them to utilize race as the major motivator for punishing or not punishing.

The main problem, it appears, is that prosecutors like Marylin Mosby have prosecuted selectively through glasses which only see race. The concept that has persisted in their minds is a combination of the following: colored people commit crime because society has placed them in a precarious position, forcing them to commit the crimes that they do, and colored people are disproportionately targeted by police. All of this contributes to the creation of a climate in which a perceived racial gap is the primary motivating factor in the criminality of people of particular races, if not the only one.

Each individual who commits a crime is a human being, regardless of race, and just as we should not condemn others based on the color of their skin, we should not neglect to judge others when they commit heinous crimes based on the color of their skin. It is not difficult to realize that a white man who attacks his wife is equally as blameworthy and deserving of prison as a Black man who does the same. The weight that political prosecutors place on a defendant’s skin is inconceivable.

The Rittenhouse trial is an excellent illustration of this; while it did not take place in Baltimore, it demonstrates prosecutors’ propensity to utilize race and politics to thrust themselves into the public eye and further their political careers and objectives. At a riot in which thousands of people looted, ransacked, and destroyed small businesses and terrorized innocent people, Rittenhouse, a white teenager, shot and killed two individuals in self-defense. But who comes to mind now when we think of the riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin? Kyle Rittenhouse, because he was the one who was punished.

We need fewer prosecutors who seek to punish others and imprison them for personal gain, and more prosecutors who seek to punish others in the name of justice. People who do horrible things need to be punished in the most appropriate way possible for the crimes they commit; they should not be released back onto the streets to produce new victims and crimes for the courts to deal with and for prosecutors to waste their time on. Citizens, after all, have no ability to punish others; our responsibility is simply to report crimes to those who are in charge of prosecuting individuals for those crimes.

How can we trust prosecutors who refuse to effectively discharge their duties in the best interests of the public when ordinary citizens lack the ability to do the same?

CHRISTINA GREER PH.D.

It’s official…2022 is here and we must embrace new changes and brace ourselves for new challenges. Eric Adams has been sworn in as the 110th mayor of New York City. City Council members are getting to work and Adrienne Adams will be the new speaker of the city council, making her the first African American to serve in this important and prestigious role as the second most powerful person in New York City governance.

Mayor Adams is beginning to fill his cabinet with a myriad of women of color, making his administration one of the most diverse cabinets in the city’s history. Adams has said he is ready to work and has already begun to sign executive orders extending some of former Mayor de Blasio’s policies pertaining to COVID protections for New York City residents.

With most evaluations of people, I like to wait to see what elected officials actually do before making judgements about them. I am excited for new leadership in the city, largely due to feeling that Mayor de Blasio was disinterested in governance for many years of his tenure. Adams has stated many times that he wants to be the leader and cheerleader for New York City. I am excited to see his approach to COVID, education, public safety, and housing to start. However, I am somewhat concerned about one of Adam’s first policy proposals.

Adams has stated that he is going to reinstate solitary confinement on Rikers Island. This proposal is of grave concern to me. Psychologists, political scientists, historians, and sociologists have all researched solitary confinement and have unequivocally stated that solitary confinement does not work, it does not rehabilitate, and is inhumane for those subjected to it. That Adams would introduce this proposal as one of his first policy interests is of concern to me. What is even more concerning is when Adams was approached about this proposal, his response did not address the issue at hand. Adams essentially stated that if one has not worn a police badge then they could not question his decision to reinstate solitary.

First, as citizens of New York City, we can always challenge and ask the mayor questions. Second, being a police officer does not have anything to do with caging a human being for 23 hours a day. And last, Adams’ response does not follow the logic of questioning whether solitary should be reinstated or not. I do hope Mayor Adams will reconsider his decision and I hope some of his new cabinet members will help him rethink this inhumane practice that advocates previously worked so hard to diminish.

It’s a new year and I am excited for what 2022 will bring. I am hoping the Adams administration will lead New York City into an era of a more inclusive city for all. Time shall tell.

Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University, the author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream,” and the co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.