Freedom Party Submits 43,500 Signatures

On Monday, August 16, the Freedom Party Express delivered 43,500 signatures to the Board of Elections in Albany. Freedom Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor Eva Doyle was there waiting for Gubernatorial candidate Charles Barron. Together, they submitted their petitions at 4:50PM.

Standing proudly behind three tall stacks of petitions, Charles Barron said, “Today, we are here to say that the people of New York State have spoken. They said it loudly through this petitioning process that [gathered] over 43,500 signatures. The only gubernatorial candidate, the only attorney general candidate, the only lieutenant candidate that took our case to the people is the Freedom Party. The all-white state slate of the Democratic Party is unacceptable. We are not choosing between Democrats and Republicans. We are choosing Freedom today!”

Freedom Party Submits 43,500 Signatures
On Monday, August 16, the Freedom Party Express delivered 43,500 signatures to the Board of Elections in Albany. Freedom Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor Eva Doyle was there waiting for Gubernatorial candidate Charles Barron. Together, they submitted their petitions at 4:50PM.Standing proudly behind three tall stacks of petitions, Charles Barron said, “Today, we are here to say that the people of New York State have spoken. They said it loudly through this petitioning process that [gathered] over 43,500 signatures. The only gubernatorial candidate, the only attorney general candidate, the only lieutenant candidate that took our case to the people is the Freedom Party. The all-white state slate of the Democratic Party is unacceptable. We are not choosing between Democrats and Republicans. We are choosing Freedom today!”Barron declared, “This is a movement that is unbought and unbossed, and un-controlled by the white male corporate interests in this state. We are saying to this state, no longer are we going to allow the Democrats to take the Black vote for granted, the Republicans to ignore us, or the white progressives on the Left to use us. We are here to say that the Freedom Party represents dignity. The Freedom Party represents self-respect. The Freedom Party represents self-determination. The Freedom Party is the people’s party.  We are going to control the institutions that control our lives.” Speaking of race, Barron said, “No longer will we let this state be quiet on race. Race matters. Racism permeates every institution in this state. We are going to let it be known, loud and clear, we are sick and tired, like Fannie Lou Hamer said. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired of racism. You can’t get rid of racism pretending it doesn’t exist. There is no post-racial society. Racism impacts every individual as well as every institution. You have to be a race-conscious state, a gender-conscious state, a class-conscious state. We have to get rid of the three evils -racism, classism and sexism – in delivering goods and services to the people of this state.” ”The people that you see behind us, they said we didn’t have any support. They said we weren’t going to make the ballot. They said that we couldn’t get the petitions. They thought we wouldn’t be able to get the signatures. Not only did we get nearly three times the amount, they thought we were not going to be sophisticated enough to get 100 signatures in 15 different congressional districts,” said Barron. “Well, we got at least 20-30 signatures in all 29 districts. And we got over 100 signatures in 23 congressional districts in this state. Tell Cuomo to match that. Tell Lazio to match that. And in 15 congressional districts, we got over 300 signatures.”Barron described how the Freedom Party was born with limited resources. “They said we didn’t have the money to put a campaign together. They said we didn’t have enough money. Let me tell you something. Money doesn’t vote. People vote. We have the greatest resource a campaign could have – people. Not one of these persons behind us – over 200 in the streets – not one of them would accept a penny,” Barron said. “They did it for Harriet Tubman. Fannie Lou Hamer. Malcolm X. Martin Luther King. Dr. Khalid Muhammad. Sonny Carson. Richie Perez.  Don Pedro Abisos Compos. Lolita Labron. John Henrik Clarke. We did it for all our ancestors that came before us. We did it for all that spilled blood so that we could be here today. If there is anybody you don’t like, like the Black Panther Party and all the political prisoners – we did it for them, too.” Speaking about young people, Barron said, “We did it for our young people trying to get jobs. We talk a lot about our young people wearing their pants under their behinds. That is an embarrassing thing, and we do tell them to pull up their pants. But what about all of those young people who have their pants up? What about all of those young people who have degrees and can’t get a job? What about young people who are in church? What about young people who are in organizations trying to make a change, like the Malcolm X Grassroots Organization? We can talk about the negative, and we have to deal with that, too many of our young people are dying and killing each other. But there are a lot of young people doing the right thing. This society is not giving them their due.  Take care of them and the pants will come up because they know that is the route to go.”     Barron said the Freedom Party’s openness can improve NYS. “On this day, on behalf of our slate, this party is a Black and Latino-led party that is open to everyone. When we take care of  Blacks and Latinos, the state will be better off. Giving us living-wage jobs, you can keep your welfare. If you give us youth centers and workforce development programs in our community, you can keep your prisons. Build some more schools,” he said. “The Freedom Party is a party for all the people of this state. It will be absolutely led by Blacks and Latinos. I speak today for our lieutenant governor, Eva Doyle, from Buffalo. Sister Eva Doyle and the Buffalo community brought in over three thousand signatures. I speak today for our attorney general candidate Ramon Jimenez. His organization brought in over two thousand signatures. We are the most diverse party in the state. We are here to stay.”"Let the debates begin! I can’t wait,” Barron declared. “Tell Cuomo I am looking for him. Tell Lazio he better get out of the way. And if they try to say we are some fringe organization, and we can’t be in the debates, we are going to break the door down.”Barron thanked Attorney-at-War Alton Maddox, United African Movement, December 12 Movement, CEMOTAP, Operation Power, and 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care who helped this latest incarnation of the Freedom Party get off the ground. Barron said, “We have to mention the Freedom Party under Alton Maddox years ago, that laid the groundwork for us to be successful today. I want to introduce a young lady who worked very hard with Jitu Weusi and myself. We started the Unity Party in 1998. We got over 20 thousand signatures, got on the ballot and Mary France Daniels was the candidate for governor . She received over 10,000 votes. We are building on the work of Mary France Daniels.” Freedom Party Co-chair Viola Plummer spoke in a loud, crisp voice: “We are absolutely determined to make the Freedom Party a party of the people of this state. It needs to be crystal clear that the Freedom Party will not be bought. Neither will we be intimidated by those of you and them who say we don’t have any money. In capitalism, there are two poles: one is capital, meaning money; and the other is labor, meaning people. They can never match us in the labor.”Freedom Party Co-chair Jitu Weusi said, “I want to tell the 43,000 people who signed these petitions, I want to thank them for signing the petitions of the Freedom Party. I want to tell them that they cannot lose track of us. This is just the beginning. They have to stay with us – whether we go to court, whether we are on the media, whether we are in the debates. They have to stay with us. And they have to insist  that we get a hearing. They have to make their voices heard. That is their job as a result of signing these petitions. If everybody sent a $5 bill to the Freedom Party, 456 Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn 11216… If we got 43,000 $5 bills, we will take care of business.”Asked if his Democratic registration would impede his run on the Freedom Party line, Barron said, “We are all registered Democrats right now. We are telling the people of New York, you can keep your Democratic Party registration. We want all those who support us and vote for us, whether you are a Democrat, Independent. In the November election, it doesn’t matter. I am still a registered Democrat. We reserve the right of self-determination. To determine our strategy. The Working Families Party doesn’t have everybody as WFP registrants. They have Democrats supporting them. We are telling our people if you want to do the September primary and November, keep your Democratic Party registration. Support the Freedom Party in November.”Regarding challenges Barron said, “Bring it. We dare them to challenge us. Why would you want to challenge 43,000 signatures? We are going to say to the people of this state, anybody that challenges these petitions obviously wants to keep the state all white.” Freedom Party campaign manager and radio talk show host Bob Law said, “We made magic happen with your commitment. We couldn’t pay for this talent and energy anyway. This is how movements build; fundamental change occurs. Just filing those signatures is a significant victory. It says to the power brokers in this state, that there is already a new political force that they will have to contend with.” Ramon Jimenez, Freedom Party candidate for attorney general said, “I think 43,000 signatures is an incredible historical accomplishment. It is a statement. A lot of people in NYS have said we want the Freedom Party on the [ballot] line. I am very excited and happy with that number.”

Primary Stands in 10th Congressional Race: Towns Withdraws Challenge to Powell’s Petitions

What a difference a week makes! In the past seven days, Kevin Powell’s tax problems were revealed, Ed Towns’ returned from a congressional delegation overseas, and both parties found themselves in court.
First things first: Congressman Ed Towns campaign withdrew a challenge to Kevin Powell’s petitions on Wednesday. Bernard Alter, attorney for the Towns campaign, stood before Honorable Michelle Weston and said, “Your Honor, on behalf of my client, we wish to withdraw this matter.” Judge Weston asked Powell campaign attorney Ezra Glazer if he had any objections. “No, Your Honor,” said Glazer. With those few words, the case was dismissed.
The Towns campaign change-of-heart came after grueling testimony solicited from  two  young Powell campaign volunteers on Tuesday afternoon. “It was a tough moment for our volunteers, who are in their 20′s. They were shaken up,” said Dan Campanelli, Powell campaign manager. “We didn’t pay anyone. They are volunteers, young people trying to get involved with democracy.”
Gene Johnson, Deputy Campaign Mgr., braced himself for hours of testimony on Wednesday morning. After a welcome break in court proceedings, Johnson was visible relieved.
After the decision, Alter made this statement: “We tried and didn’t succeed. We will now put it in the hands of the electorate. We will let the voters decide.” Asked why the Towns campaign withdrew, Alter said, “It is in the interest of democracy.”
Campanelli said, “Kevin Powell is pleased justice has been served. We are looking forward to focusing our campaign back on the streets where we need to be.” Powell gave this statement: ” This failed fishing expedition was nothing more than an attempt to distract the good people of the 10th Congressional District from what isn’t happening here in Brooklyn and hasn’t happened in 27 years under Congressman Ed Towns: a discussion about how the government can work with the people to bring jobs, education and community healing to those most in need.”
On Sunday, Congressman Towns arrived fresh from a whirlwind delegation to Afghanistan, Turkey, Germany and Israel. On WWRL Monday,  Towns stated the trip’s purpose was to “visit with the troops and look at the contracts. There are a lot of contracts. There should be some question as to whether they are providing the services they are supposed to provide. Also, it seems people are getting the contracts and not providing the work or doing what they are supposed to do.”
November 2009, Chairman Towns wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates requesting “a list of all current Department of Defense contracts that have been awarded for work being performed in Iraq and Afghanistan.” There is no indication the Oversight Committee received the requested information. Yet, upon his return, Towns expressed optimism about the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. He stated, “It is only a matter of time before General Patraeus has things under control.
This is in sharp contrast to Towns’ vote in favor of a March 2010 resolution put forth by Rep. Dennis Kucinich calling for President Obama to end the U.S. involvement with Afghanistan by years end. Towns was one of 65 U.S. Representatives who voted in favor of a withdrawal from Afghanistan. On WWRL, Towns admitted voting against the war, but said, “After going and seeing it, I sure don’t know what victory means, but I think they should make life better for the people of Afghanistan.” C
Last Friday brought news of Kevin Powell’s tax issues. Published reports stated Powell owes the IRS an estimated several hundred thousand dollars. In a published statement, Powell explained how he got into financial trouble and said he is negotiating with the IRS regarding the actual amount due.

John Sampson’s View from the Senate

It has been one year since State Senator John Sampson became Conference Leader through a negotiated settlement from last summer’s attempted coup. Representing the 19th Senatorial District for 13 years, Sampson has been a pivotal agent during the transition from Republican to Democratic control. Under his leadership, the Senate has instituted long-awaited reforms and recently finalized settlement of a $136 billion budget.
Sampson has seen the days when “special interests were put ahead of the people’s interest ” under the Republican majority. During the 44 years of Republican control, “They taxed, borrowed and eliminated job growth throughout the state of New York,” Sampson said. “This was during prosperous times.” The disparity and lack of equity was stark: “In the last 10 years, the Republicans received about one billion dollars in capital. We received absolutely nothing. This impacts capitol construction, capital movement, but most important, bricks and mortars, more in their districts than in our communities. Capital dollars make jobs,” he said.
Under Sampson’s leadership, the Senate crafted ethics reform legislation. “What is mind-boggling is that all of a sudden Republicans have become (new reform) advocates,” Senator Sampson said.  “But when they were in control, they did not want to push ethics reform at all. All of a sudden they got an epiphany when they are in the minority, now they have to push for ethics reform because of what happened to Joe Bruno.” He asked, “How can you credit a group of individuals who suppressed anything to do with ethics reform while they were in control of the chamber for the last 44 years?”
The Senate pushed one of the strongest ethics bills in years through the NYS Senate, which passed. The governor vetoed. “When we had the opportunity to override it, Senate Democrats voted in favor. We needed 10 Republicans. Not one Republican voted in favor of overriding the governor’s veto dealing with ethics reform,” said Sampson. He admits it was a first step towards ethics reform. Looking at the political landscape, Sampson sees pockets of cynicism.  “All of a sudden when former mayor Ed Koch is advocating changing the rules and promoting this whole ethics reform issue, all of a sudden Republicans sign onto a pledge.  It is one thing to sign onto a pledge, it is another thing to make sure that you support legislation that encompasses everything in that pledge. Don’t judge someone based upon rhetoric, judge someone based upon results,” he said. “If you look at the prior behavior in the past, and the most recent behavior of the Senate Republicans, it shows you they are not interested in ethics reform at all.”
Sampson said he respects former Mayor Koch “and I applaud him for what he is trying to do. We have been trying to do the same things by trying to pass one of the most strict ethics reform bills that has come out of the NYS Senate.” Referring to Koch’s NY Uprising  reform proposals, Senator Sampson said, “I would love to work with former mayor Koch, because some of the issues he is supporting I am truly in support of.”
But the state senator has reservations. “I have no problem with an independent commission, but we have to look at this,” Sampson said. If we are asking an independent commission to do redistricting, “these are unelected individuals who are bureaucrats who are going to make these decisions,” Sampson explained. “One of the reasons we are elected by the people is to make such decisions. The question is are we violating our accountability to the voters? They put us in the position to make those decisions.”
Sampson knows he “can be fair and accountable when it comes to [district] dividing lines. But my issue is, the Republicans who signed onto [the NY Uprising pledge], they had an opportunity for the last 44 years – four decades – to do reapportionment. They could have been equitable in the way they have drawn lines. But they tend to gerrymander in order for them to stay in power. But all of a sudden, everybody gets an epiphany that now we have to change the rules. Because the Democrats are in control. I think we can be fair, we can be objective, but most of all, we will be accountable to the people of the state of NY to draw lines in accordance to the people to be represented.”
“Tremendous” is how Senator Sampson characterizes the impact of changing how prison inmates are counted. “Now they can no longer use those individuals with respect to reapportionment. They have to allocate those bodies to the districts where they came from,” he said.
According to the senator, upstate regions are not being ignored with the change. “The Senate Democrats are about equity and creating job development and opportunities,” a sharp departure from when the Republicans were in control, and there was a mass exodus from upstate NY of business interests. “They don’t want to talk about those things,” Sampson said. “We are bringing business to upstate NY. We brought in automotive manufacturing. We are assisting chocolate manufacturing in Senator Aubertine’s district in upstate NY.” Sampson’s firm declaration: “We are bringing business to the state of NY. We are locating them upstate so they do not have to rely on a prison to create economic development. Real manufacturing jobs to create development. Making sure we have those capital dollars to invest in infrastructure – roads and bridges – to create economic development. That’s what our conference is all about. We want to give the people of upstate a viable opportunity to earn.”
Demonstrating his commitment to the whole state, Sampson offered committee chairmanships to three senators; two out of the three accepted. “The Republicans, in their 44 years, only did that once to a Senate Democrat,” he said. “In our first year in the majority, we felt it was imperative to extend our hands to our colleagues on the other side of the a isle and offer them chairmanships. This is not about partisanship anymore. In this economic climate, we have to work in a bipartisan atmosphere.”
On Tuesday, President Obama signed a $26 billion jobs bill. Senator Sampson will be back in Albany next week to oversee allocation of New York State’s share.

NYCHA Tenants Displaced after Contractor Missteps

The summer of 2010 has been marked by a series of weeklong heat waves. After one recent heat waves when temperatures rose above 100 degrees for consecutive days, a rainstorm was welcome relief.
There was no relief for 6th—floor tenants living at 611 Blake Ave., also known as Unity Plaza, Building #26.
 On Tuesday, July 13, the tenant residing in  apartment 6K came home from work to find her apartment damaged by the rainstorm. Why? NYCHA had engaged the
services of a contractor who had been working to repair the roof since September 2009.
According to the tenant, the contractor started drilling on the roof in December. “I don’t know what they did, but yesterday it rained in my apartment. There is water damage everywhere,” she said.
 A visitor to the building was greeted by an acrid, moldy smell. Once on the 6th floor, emergency lighting dimly lit the hallways. There was no electricity in apartments. Tenants, visitors and NYCHA personnel had to navigate an obstacle course of buckets and bowls of dark yellow water, which dripped on everyone, even though it was no longer raining. There were puddles on the floors in the hallways and in the apartments. A brief tour of the roof revealed buckled—roof membranes and workers pumping water.
 The apartment 6K tenant gave a tour of her apartment the day after that rain. A large bowl in her sink was full of water waste. Her ceiling was still dripping. “It ruined everything,” she said. “All my food, stuff in my cabinets, my furniture, my TVs. Look. It’s still leaking.” Asked if she was at home when the leaking began, she said, “No, I was at work at the time. I came home to this disaster.”
 Council member Charles Barron and his wife, Assembly member Inez Barron, were onsite the entire day after the rain to assist tenants. Council member Barron said, “NYCHA hired an incompetent contractor who was supposed to lay a layer to prepare for the roof. They have been working on that since September. The rains came. He did not lay it well enough to make sure it protected the apartments from rain. It was raining in every apartment. Indoor rain. Worse yet, NYCHA leaves them. The electricity was still on.  There could have been an electrical fire because of the water. They didn’t call the fire department. I had to call the fire dept. to turn off the electricity. They didn’t relocate anybody. They left them in this crap, this dangerous, uninhabitable situation.  They left them all night. Some people had to pay out of their own pockets to stay in a hotel. Others made calls and stayed with their people. NYCHA just came today to assess the situation. Assess what? The fire department recommended the electricity be shut off until they dry everything and make sure the wires are dry.”
 Charles Barron said NYCHA should “Get the people out. Replace their property. Make sure they fire this contractor and get someone who can do this roof properly. You have flooded apartments. The electricity is turned off.
“Molding. A lot of children here have asthma. You abandon them, make them stay in this situation overnight. This is outrageous.”
In apartment 6B, water damage led to the ceiling peeling. Water came through the
ceiling fixtures. There were buckets to collect water in throughout apartment 6C. “Water came down on my bed,” said the tenant.
“I was sleeping, and it woke me up. I moved the bed, but the water was pouring out.” Her ceiling also had peeling. Water damaged her sofa and electronic equipment, including a 40—inch television.
Another tenant said, “You don’t know how it feels to be in a situation with no type  of assistance.”
 NYCHA eventually did evacuate tenants on the 6th floor, while the contractor is working on the roof and repairing apartments. 
 The issue now is damages. Council member Barron said tenants were instructed to meet directly with the contractor to negotiate losses. There are allegations the contractor is arbitrarily setting low estimates to replace damaged household items, including food, mattresses, electronic equipment and living room sofas. Barron feels NYCHA should have been present during meetings between the contractor and tenants. While some tenants settled, other tenants are upset because of what they are being offered, and complain that the contractor is not fairly assessing tenant claims.

Battle for the 10th Congressional District Heats Up

He did not do it in 2006 when Charles Barron and Roger Green bid for his seat. He did not do it in 2008 when Kevin Powell commenced his first run for Congress. This year, Congressman Ed Towns is challenging the petitions of his opposition – Kevin Powell.

Powell sees this tactic as a sign of desperation in Towns’ camp. “Mr. Towns is fighting behind a lawsuit,” said Powell. “It is obvious he and his campaign are afraid of waging a real campaign.”

A source close to Powell’s campaign said Towns’ challenge to his petitions is 15 pages of general objections. Towns’ lawsuit is against Powell and the Board of Elections, as if the allegations of signature fraud also extend within the board itself. Though Powell was served at his address within the district, the lawsuit alleges he does not live within the 10th congressional district.

On Monday, both sides met to do battle in Brooklyn’s Supreme Court. Bernard Alter, Towns’ attorney, admitted in court that he found 2600 signatures; Powell needs 1,250 signatures to gain ballot status. He asked for a line-by-line review, and said pending the results, they will be more prepared to allege specific fraud. Powell’s attorney asked the judge to dismiss the case due to “inaccuracy, falsehoods and lack of specificity.” The judge said it was “too early” for that, and directed both sides to conduct a line-by-line review of Powell’s petitions. Both sides will return to court on August 9. At that time, the judge will determine if a trial is warranted.

The entire presentation took less than 10 minutes. Outside the courtroom, Aaron Golembiewski, Policy Director and Co-counsel for the Powell campaign, had stacks of petitions in both hands. Holding up his left hand, he said, “These are 1,300 signatures that we have, by their own count. We only need 1,250.” Holding up his right hand, Golembiewski said, “These are extras.”

The battle is being waged in newspapers and online.

The Daily News online bog, Daily Politics, reported this from Towns’ spokesperson Hank Sheinkopf, “There were so many serious problems with his petitions that our campaign believed we needed to protect the voters from being victims of this possible fraud. If indeed Mr. Powell followed the law, then he has nothing to worry about and will be free to lose again.”

On Observer.com, Towns himself weighed in. “It’s a lot of fraud,” Towns said. “I tell you I’ve been in this business now 40 years. These are the worst petitions I’ve ever seen in my 40 years of being involved in electoral politics. It’s ridiculous. And I generally don’t challenge people. This is a fraud on the people of the district to allow him to just get on the ballot with this stuff.”

The HuffingtonPost.com has published several articles written by Powell asking why Towns is challenging him.

Powell “finds it very sad and contradictory that Congressman Edolphus “Ed” Towns, a 27-year Democratic incumbent here in Brooklyn, New York’s 10th Congressional District, is suing me. Like him, I am a lifelong Democrat. Like him, I was born in another state but came to Brooklyn at a relatively young age and served my community in a variety of capacities before seeking public office. And like Mr. Towns, now age 76, and someone who lived through the Civil Rights Movement, I am African—American.”

Referring to the history of African—American voter disenfranchisement, Powell said, “The entire spectacle of Mr. Towns suing a fellow Democrat to prevent me from being on the Democratic primary ballot on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 is sad and contradictory. Sad because it says that Mr. Towns and his team are now so nervous about my congressional campaign that they are resorting to the same kind of legal maneuvers that once prevented Blacks like him from voting in America.”

Some say having petitions challenged is the “cost of doing business” in Brooklyn electoral politics. Incumbents challenge selectively. And so has Towns. In 2006, Towns did not challenge Barron’s or Green’s petitions. Common knowledge is multiple challengers split the vote, canceling each other out. (In 2006, Charles Barron received 15,345 votes; Roger Green got 6,237 votes; and Ed Towns emerged the winner with 19,469 votes. Presumably, Towns did not challenge Powell in 2008 because it was his first campaign. (In 2008, Kevin Powell received 11,558 votes on his first try; Towns retained his seat with 24,405.)

During the intervening years, Powell has gained momentum, which might be why the Towns campaign has decided to challenge his petitions.

“They are attempting to have the legal system, instead of the people, decide who the next Congressperson is going to be,” Kevin Powell said. “That is not democracy.”

Kevin Powell: Ascent of a Political Activist

Two years ago, when community activist and writer Kevin Powell campaigned for the 10th Congressional seat currently held by Ed Towns, he knew he would have to run again. “We always knew it would be at least a two campaign race,” said Powell. “When you are challenging an entrenched incumbent, it often takes two races.”
A lot has happened since then.
Powell has continued his monthly male development meetings, a grassroots attempt to nudge males to do what he has done: “re-think everything I know about manhood.” He was asked to assist several vacationing families in a sustained effort for justice in the Antigua and Barbuda. He wrote his 10th book, Open Letters to America. He testified before the United Nations regarding gender violence. And, as further evidence of his maturation, there have been no salacious headlines.
So far this year, Powell’s campaign has raised more money, from more people, than during his entire 2008 campaign. Most donations are small, coming from 40 states across the nation. More Brooklyn people have donated. Big names, such as Marlon Wayans, have contributed big bucks. Powell’s new campaign manager, communications and field directors are operating “scientifically,” down to the smallest election district. The one thing Powell was proudest of in his 2008 campaign, has carried over to this year: no behind the scenes drama.
Kevin Powell is happy, and looks content. Campaigning is an opportunity to do what he does – serve others. His 18 hour days start at 5:30 am with Facebook and Twitter posts. From Boerum Hill to Canarsie, East Williamsburg to East New York, Powell hits the streets, delivering constituent services, such as GED, housing, or criminal justice referrals. “We spend as much time as necessary talking to each voter,” Powell said. “We want to demonstrate while we are campaigning the kind of services we will provide, once we got into Congress.”
Spending a few minutes on www.KevinPowell.net, one can find a listing of all the diverse neighborhoods in the district, ethnic, gender, and income data. There is even a history of Brooklyn. “We want to make this an educational process,” he said. Most important for Powell, the complete Campaign Platform can be found on the site, everything from health care, criminal justice, seniors, and net neutrality to violence prevention, immigration, education, and worker rights.
“Bridge to the Future” is Kevin Powell’s campaign theme. At 44-years-old, Powell stands firmly in the post-Civil Rights generation. In 1984, he was introduced to politics through the Jesse Jackson Presidential campaign and the anti-apartheid movement. “During the last 26 years, there has been a perpetual generation divide in the Black community. You see it in electoral politics grassroots activism,. You see it in the literary/ journalism world. You see it in the artistic community, in the business world, You see it in church. You see it in our Civil Rights organizations.” said Powell. “I am no longer a person who points fingers at the Civil Rights generation. I do see a resistance to supporting young people.”
Powell explained, “But, I think that younger people – myself and folks in the generation behind me – have got to do what many of us have been doing. Do your own thing. Don’t wait for someone to pass you a baton. There is never going to be a baton passed. For me, I started writing professionally when I was 20. People I organized with – Ras Baraka, Sista Soulja – we were in our early 20’s. We didn’t wait for permission to organize around Howard Beach or Bensonhurst back then. We just did it. We could lament on the generational divide. Or, do what I recommend: identify people in the various generations who are progressive and want practical solutions for our communities, and work together.”
While campaigning on the streets, Powell said, “I barely hear anyone talk about Civil Rights issues. What people say they need are jobs, affordable housing, quality education, recreational/ community centers for young people, safe streets for seniors, foreclosure. It’s really basic. How do we deal with stop-and-frisk? In one housing project in ENY, just the other day, several tenants who didn’t know each other said the same thing to us: the police in this area are constantly stopping our young men, throwing them on the ground and frisking them. Checking their shoes, their socks, their underwear. A man in his 50’s, a grown man, a grandfather said the police did that to him. People are talking about quality of life issues.”
This is a new day, we need new terms. Civil rights is a term that belongs in the 20th century. We are in the 21st century. We need a new terminology, and it is definitely coming.
We have got to develop our communities in six basic ways: spiritually, politically, culturally, economically, and two areas we don’t talk about – physical health and mental wellness. It is about holistic development of our communities.
We got the Civil Rights bill and the Voting Rights Act. On a basic level, we have citizenship. The thing we missed, that Dr. King talked about at the end of his life, is economic justice.
It is not enough to have back elected officials if they are not doing their jobs. I am not voting for someone anymore just because they are Black. That is unacceptable. This is what I am hearing throughout the community, from young and older people. Jewish folks in Boerum Hill said this to me. Black and Latino people in East New York said this to me. It is unacceptable to have elected officials who we do not see on a regular basis, or their representatives, who are not accessible, who we feel don’t have the volume loud enough on issues of importance to us.
In response to a question about the replication of poverty every 15 years by young girls being impregnated and abandoned by adults, Powell said “The worst gap that exists in Black America since the 1969’s is the class gap.” He recalled his young mother, with a grade school education and his father who was in his 30’s when he got her pregnant. “He didn’t even show up at the hospital when I was born. There is no record of my father being anywhere around. Powell is my mother’s last name. Here I am, left to be raised on welfare, food stamps, government cheese, in tenement dwellings where it was normal to have not mice, but rats running everywhere. It was normal to have roaches everywhere, even inside the refrigerator, which was often broken so you couldn’t close it all the way. A lot of people don’t understand that kind of life, and what it does to you.”
Powell has been there. With gratitude, he said, “But for the grace of God and my mother’s vision for her child, which is me, and not accepting this is what we are destined to – a life of misery and doom. Unfortunately, what happens to a lot of us, particularly if we have low self-esteem, is we get stuck there.” Powell described an all too common situation in Black and brown communities, “If you are a young woman of color in a world where you are dealing with racism, and sexism, and classism, if you are 14-years-old, you have already been told you are nothing, and the only thing that is valuable about you is from your neck down. Then some man or older boy comes along. Next thing you know you are pregnant, or have an STD or one of the 92% of new cases NYC of Black and Latino women carrying the HIV virus. That is what happens. It becomes what Malcolm X called a vicious cycle not only in Brooklyn, but in Harlem, Oakland, New Orleans, Houston, all over the country. I travel to the Caribbean. It’s in Jamaica.”
According to Powell, “Unfortunately, we in this country confused Civil Rights and integration with progress for the entire community. That wasn’t the case. I don’t blame the young women or the young men. Many don’t know any better. They are carrying profound self hatred; when you hate yourself as a Black person, you will not only destroy yourself, you move to destroy other people who look like you.”
“The solution is simple, but complex,” Powell said. “We need more men like Kevin Powell, like Quentin Walcott, and Byron Hurt, to speak out loudly against all forms of sexism.” Powell said he used to be one of those men; only because of God and counseling, he has evolved.
Of all the issues Powell would like to address if and when he is elected to Congress, economic development is paramount. He said he went to Head Start pre-school. There was a free breakfast and lunch program at school, went to an after school program at the Y. His first summer job was a CETA job. During college, he got help from EOP. His mother got help with housing through voucher programs, like Section 8. “Those were all created by the government to give people a hand – not because we were lazy, shiftless, or intellectually inferior,” said Powell, “but because we were poor.”
Kevin Powell said quality of life issues require “a 21st century approach. The issues are what people say they need – jobs and job training.” If elected, Powell would like to serve on education, health, and economic development committees. He suggests small business incubators. “Most of the U.S. population is under 45 and technologically savvy. We al have a hand held device and email. We have to create some jobs and business opportunities that are about technology and the green economy, Powell said. “I look at all these abandoned buildings, including factories, here in the 10th congressional district. Imagine if some of those were turned into technology help centers. Those are low skill jobs that could be for people in this country, right here in Brooklyn. That is the type of issue I will be fighting for.”

Community Greets Freedom Party Slate

Once again, several hundred community members flocked to the Siloam Presbyterian Church. This time the occasion was the presentation of the complete Freedom Party Slate. Eva M. Doyle, candidate for Lieutenant Governor, came from Buffalo. Attorney General candidate Ramon Jimenez journeyed from the South Bronx.
Freedom Party Gubernatorial candidate Charles Barron was greeted with enthusiastic applause when he said, “Freedom Party! Freedom Party! I want you to meet together for the very first time Charles Barron for Governor, Lieutenant Governor candidate of our party Eva M. Doyle, and candidate for Attorney General Ramon Jimenez. I am so excited.”
Barron made this declaration: “I want to say to all gathered, we are going to get these signatures. We are going to get on the ballot. We are going to get more than 50,000 votes after we get on the ballot. And when we do, we are going to rock this state like it has never been rocked before. This will be the first time in the history of this state that we have a Black and Latino, Latino and Black-led party.  We welcome all to join our party. As you see in this room today, we have white supporters, and we thank you for your support.”
“It is time for this state to have a party of Black and Latino people unbought, unbossed and uncontrolled by the corporate interests in this state,” said Barron. “This is a party that is going to say no to war. The Freedom Party is saying no to balancing the budget on the backs of poor and working-class families in this state.”
Describing the current economic climate in New York State, Barron said, “Wall Street made $61 billion dollar profit last year, while everybody else was broke, in the middle of a economic crises. Tax the rich. What about a personal income tax surcharge: Those who make $500,000/ year – 1.5%;  one million a year/ 3.5%; five million a year/ 4.5%; those making ten million or more a year/ 5.5%. There are over 26 million people in NYS, only 63,000 people make that kind of money. If you tax them, you can get anywhere from $8-12 billion a year and the budget will be balanced.  How about a stock transfer tax – 10-15 cents on those stocks that are being transferred every year? You can get over $2 billion every year on a stock transfer tax. We will have a surplus.”
Barron outlined several other issues the Freedom Party will address. “We are the only party, the only team that is going to raise the question of police brutality and terror in our neighborhoods,” he said. “Not only stop-and-frisk, but also the abusive use of deadly force. They need to put down the guns and pick up some humanity and stop killing our people for no justifiable reason. We are going to be the only party that says to this nation that you have to rebuild and return our people to New Orleans. We are going to be the only party that says keep your welfare, keep your affirmative action, give us our reparations. It is a debt owed. We are going to be the only party that says the Black Panther Party, the Black Liberation Party members – those who are languishing in prison because of their political beliefs, their political actions – did their time.  Free our political prisoners.”
Barron closed his remarks by saying, “We are going to be the only party that says to this nation we are no longer going to sit back and allow you to put a racist state structure in NYS. That cannot happen. Fannie Lou Hamer got sick and tired of being sick and tired. She formed the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party for the same reason that we are starting the Freedom Party. Fannie Lou Hamer has to be smiling upon us. For you Fannie Lou Hamer, we say Freedom Party!”
In his introduction of the Freedom Party candidate for Lt. Gov., Barron said, “Mrs. Eva M. Doyle is an Afrocentric educator for 30 years. She has written several books. She writes for the Buffalo Criterion. Chrystal Peebles-Stokes, one of the legislators in Buffalo, said that when she heard that we had Mrs. Doyle with us, we got the most honorable, highly respected from Buffalo.”
Mrs. Doyle said, “I bring you greetings from a great number of hardworking people in Buffalo. We are excited about the Freedom Party. I brought with me today 300 signatures. As I speak now, brothers and sisters are on the battlefield in Buffalo collecting even more signatures.”
“I am doing double duty here,” said Doyle. “I am recording this for my newspaper column ‘Eye on History’, for the Criterion Newspaper, the oldest Black newspaper in western New York. I have been writing the column Eye on History for almost 32 straight years without stop. I describe it as the only weekly column on Black history in Western NY. I have taught as a teacher in the Buffalo public schools for 30 years. I believe in teaching Black history, not just in February but all year long.”
“As I was flying into NY, I thought about the Statue of Liberty. I told my students that the original Statue of Liberty was that of a Black woman,” Mrs. Doyle said. “The tablet she holds in her hand is a symbol of the Abolitionist Movement. I have written 11 books. When I finish this book on the Black Statue of Liberty, it will be my 12th book. I tell my students that Black history is all around us, even on the dollar bill.”
Eva Doyle told the crowd how she came to be on the ticket. “When I was asked to become candidate for Lt. Gov. under the Freedom Party, I must tell you I did not immediately say yes. As a matter of fact, I said no. I can’t do this,” she said. “But then something started to happen. People in Buffalo started to call me. Erie County legislator Billie Jean Grant said, ‘Please give this a little more thought.’ Attorney Alton Maddox called me just about every day. He is the most persuasive attorney I have ever met. Mr. Ted Perkins is the host of a radio show in Buffalo called Perkins Corner. I was listening to his show, relaxing. Alton Maddox was on the show and asked ‘Who do you think would be a good candidate for lt. gov.?’ Mr. Perkins said, ‘Well, what about Eva Doyle?’ I almost fell out of my chair.”
Mrs. Doyle gave two reasons why she accepted. She said she is participating “in the memory and spirit of the great Fannie Lou Hamer.” Mrs. Doyle spoke of her husband. “I lost my husband last March 2009. Brother Romeo Muhammad. We were married 44 years. If Brother Romeo was here, he would be in this room. He would be behind me 150%. Brother Romeo was a member of the Nation of Islam for 42 straight years. Now I am a member of the church – First Shiloh Baptist Church in Buffalo, New York.  A lot of people have asked me ‘How did you get along with Brother Romeo, a member of the Nation of Islam, and you are a member of the church?’ My husband always believed no matter what religion you were in, what faith you had, we are all Black people.  We are in the same struggle. I know Brother Romeo is smiling down on us. I know Brother Romeo would give me his blessings. He would have beat me to New York City. He would have paved the way, shaking everybody’s hand.”
Barron fought back tears while introducing Freedom Party candidate Ramon Jimenez. “When we think of Ramon, we think of Richie Perez,” Barron said. “Richie Perez was my friend. Whenever we wanted to bring the African-American and Latino community together, we called Richie Perez. I know he is smiling on us now, watching Ramon carry that mantle of making sure Blacks and Latinos stick together. Ramon comes in the spirit of Richie Perez.
Ramon Jimenez: “It is good to be back home. I was a Brooklynite until I was 8 years old. In the Bronx, we have a lot of struggles taking place. We have the Yankee Stadium struggle, where $1.5 billion was spent to build a mega-palace in the poorest congressional district in the United States.  They promised jobs. Let me tell you how many community people got a job in the demolition of Yankee Stadium. One.”
“The Freedom Party is about a movement. We are the mere instruments of that movement,” Jimenez said. “I have organized the South Bronx for many years. When I organized tenants, they are Black and Latino. When I organize parents, they are Black and Latino. When I work with the Woodlawn workers, they are Black and Latino. On the streets, at the base, Black and Latino unity is there every day.”
According to Jimenez, “Historically, some of the greatest movements took place in NY – City College, the movement for Black and Puerto Rican Studies, the Jesse Jackson campaign, saving Hostos Community College. Sometimes we don’t understand unity politics. The rich understand unity politics. The landlords, when they have to come together, come together. When the developers have to come together, come together over their common interests. We let little things divide us. This is the time. We got the biggest slap in the face with what the Democratic Party did. It is not just the Democratic Party. I used to work for the Workers’ Compensation Board as a judge. I used to be the head judge. In the 1980′s when I was a judge, there were 5 or 6 Black and Latino commissioners. Today, there is one Black commissioner. In the 1980′s when I was a judge, there were 15 Black and Latino judges at Worker’s Comp. Today, there is one.  It’s not just the Democratic Party. It is all over.  In a city that is 35% white, 70% of Bloomberg’s managers are white and Blacks and Latinos are being locked out.”
“It is a great honor to be invited to be a part of this ticket. We need a Freedom Party,” Jimenez said. “If we don’t have a Freedom Party, who is going to raise the issue of Wall Street being taxed? Do you think Andrew Cuomo or Rick Lazio is going to raise it? Who is going to raise the issue of gentrification? In an article the other day, Cuomo was investigating housing discrimination. I thought to myself, ‘You are late. It is the end of your term, and you just discovered discrimination in housing?’ In the South Bronx, we have tenant groups, antiviolence groups. The Freedom Party is the only one to talk about their issues. We have a chance to make history. I don’t want to rise from my people; I want to rise with my people! Freedom Party!”
Several whites were in attendance, including two ladies from the Million Worker March Movement. One said, “New York has been a place of Democratic seats having a lot of power. Republicans obviously don’t offer any alternative. Neither party is representing working-class people. In fact, they have taken a very strong pro-Wall Street stance. The laws that exist in the state of New York, like the Taylor Law that prohibits the public sector from striking, has taken the teeth right out of the labor movement. I think that this kind of party is a development that is giving grounds for more progressive politics, for more participation of the average person, who are not represented locally, not represented in Congress. Our tax dollars are used, but we don’t get the benefit.  Workers are not being represented.  We are asked to work, pay the taxes, bear the brunt of all the crises capitalists have thrust upon us. And we don’t get the benefits of it. I think this party will provide a potential platform for people to become politically active, put their demands forward, fight for them and force concessions.”
Kevin Powell, Democratic candidate for congress in the 10th Congressional District in Brooklyn. “I am a Democrat, but I came to listen and show support for Charles Barron and the folks here because they supported my campaign. I support third, fourth, fifth parties in this country. We need more than one or two parties. I definitely support that. I just want to listen. That is why I am here – to listen.”

Community Rallies Around John White and Family

Diverse community members and organizations brought nothing but love to CEMOTAP’s support rally for John White and his family Despite the sweltering heat, Nazarene Congregational Church was packed with supporters. John White sat humbly in the first pew, with his wife Sonia and sons Nahshon and Aaron directly behind him. Rev. Conrad Tillard, Dr. James McIntosh and Betty Dopson warmly welcomed the gatherers.
Dr. Leonard Jeffries, said”Looking at our history as a people, we have never deserved what has happened to us over the past 500 years. We have shown we are resilient, we have the ability to restore ourselves, we have the ability to overcome the greatest of obstacles. That tradition will still hold with the John White family and the work we can do to help them succeed. I hope the governor would find the strength to do what the system can’t do – the judicial system and the Black leadership can’t do because they are trying to find a niche in the system of white supremacy – hopefully the governor will surprise everybody and do the right thing.” Jeffries was referring to the governor’s power to grant pardons.
Attorney-at-War Alton Maddox likened John White’s situation to that of Emmet Till. “We can’t really defend John White until we can put ourselves in his shoes. No one can explain to you what this brother is going through. Trying to still maintain a family. Trying to maintain a home dealing with mounting legal expenses. Trying to deal with the continuing racism that he has to face.”
“Some people believe you don’t have the right to take a white man’s life or a white boy’s life, I don’t care what the circumstances are,” said Maddox. “There are some people who still have the mindset of Money, Mississippi, the place where Emmett Till found his fate. I’ve been concerned with the lack of present memory of what happened August 28,1955, some 55 years later. It opened our eyes to a different kind of atrocity. I was thinking about what would have happened if John White had been Emmett Till’s uncle, and they had come to John White’s house looking for his nephew. And the level of consciousness that he had and the love that he had as opposed to brother White. We may have still had Emmett Till with us.”
Maddox said, “We are here in the midst of a hero. Somebody who not only had the right to kill anybody who trespasses on his house, threaten to rape his wife and kill his son. He had the obligation. And he exercised that as any other human being would do. We are the only people in the world where somebody is prosecuted for the human right or animal right of self-defense. We are the only ones. This brother finds himself in this predicament.”
Connecting John White’s situation to the political process, Maddox said ‘”This issue goes back to our being in the Democratic Party -the party of Thomas Jefferson who authored the Notes on Virginia, which in his mind had us so down on the totem pole, that even Benjamin Banneker had to respond to his de-humanization of us. And Andrew Jackson, who gave us Justice Roger Tatum, who gave us the Dred Scott decision, which is still the law of the land today, because the 14th amendment was never ratified. Had the 14th amendment been ratified, John White wouldn’t be sitting here today. Because he would be celebrated as a hero. But because we do not really understand what is at stake, we continue to finance the Democratic Party. The Lord works in mysterious ways. What that really meant was the Lord works in certain ways. Sometimes you don’t focus in on what the target appears to be, but you focus on something other than the target that actually connects what you are focusing on to the target.
Maddox believes “We have our next best chance in organizing a Freedom Party. The only remedy for brother White today is in the political process. We can’t trust the courts. We couldn’t trust the 2nd Judicial Department, which affirmed the opinion of the lower court. We can’t trust the NY Court of Appeals. We certainly can’t trust the U.S. Supreme Court. What we can trust is ourselves. We have the power. If we misuse it, we are going to kill the hopes and dreams of future generations if we use it wrong. Hopefully, we will support this family until justice has been accomplished. This should be a continued commitment, not only to John White, but to what has been always our two major problems in the United States: the right of free speech and the right to bear arms. This case represents Negroes with guns.”
Omowale Clay spoke on behalf of the December 12 Movement. He said “The hardest thing for a young Black man to do is to grow into a man. Black men have the responsibility to teach manhood to young warriors.” He asked, “Is the issue guns or Black hands on guns? We stand and represent our people all the way back to slave ships. Cowardice is something that is nurtured. We have been trained to act in a way that is opposed to the interests of our people.”
Clay said, “When your son comes to you in danger and threatened, ask yourself, ‘Will I have what it takes?’ We have the right to defend ourselves, our family, and our children. Anyone who violates that has a problem.”
Looking directly at John White, Clay said “To us, you are our hero. We say to your family, we honor and respect you. Your character has taught many Black men how to be men. We won’t forget that.”
Michael Greys, from 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, gave an eloquent account of the series of events John White found himself immersed in. “Imagine yourself in John White’s shoes for one hour, Greys said. “Just last week, the Suffolk County prosecutor was still trying to put White in jail.”
The story according to Greys: “His son was at a party. Using Aaron’s name, so-called friend Longo put something on MySpace suggesting sexual desires for a young white woman. At the party, the young white girl was uncomfortable. Aaron was asked to leave, and he did. En route, Aaron got a call from five armed young men who instructed him to ‘be in front of your house when we get there’. But Aaron said to himself, ‘I have a father.’ Aaron woke his father out of his sleep while putting his phone on speaker. John White heard the young men threaten to rape his wife and kill his son. John told his wife to call 911. Concerned for the well-being of her husband and son, she did not. Meanwhile, John went into the garage to get his gun (it was not kept in the house). John then ordered the drunken young men to move off his property. One of the young men, who had weapons (bats) said ‘What you gonna do, you old skinny nigger?’ John White was able to back them from his house to the curb. John turned his back to go back to his house. Ciccero came behind John and tried to take the weapon. It discharged, hitting Ciccero in the head.” Greys said, “Ciccero caused his own death, with help from his friends. The hospital is a 10-12 minute drive from White’s house, yet Ciccero’s friends took more than an hour to get him to the hospital. The court is supposed to be the tryer of facts. The court never asked why they took an hour or more to get to the hospital.”
According to Greys, Cicero’s friends were allowed to diminish the role they played in the incident. “They testified against John White,” said Greys, “The court treated them as witnesses. They were not charged with threatening or menacing.” (According to published reports, Ciccero’s friends were granted immunity in exchange for their testimony.) “John White was told he should have stayed in his house and wait for Suffolk County Police,” Greys said. He then asked, “Do we have the right to defend ourselves?”
Greys described the court atmosphere during White’s trial. Minister Abdul Haffiz, formerly Kevin Muhammad, from Harlem’s Mosque #7, and members of both the Nation of Islam and the Fruit of Islam, attended the trial, as well as members of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care attended the trial regularly, and sat between John White and the family and friends of Ciccero. “Every day after court, Blacks were kept in the court, while the whites were allowed to leave. They let the whites clear the corridor and go to their cars,” Greys said. “When the all clear signal came from the parking lot, the Blacks were allowed to leave. After John White’s sentencing, Ciccero’s father told reporters ‘Wait until Aaron gets shot.’”

“John White’s life is valuable. John White’s family’s life is valuable,” Greys said. “If we lose this opportunity, the entire country is in trouble.”
Gubernatorial candidate Charles Barron said “Racism id no the badge. It is easy to see racism in police brutality. Racism is also in the budget. We can’t just organize around symptoms. If the machine is producing unemployment, homelessness, inadequate health care, police brutality, and mis-education, we need to use leverage politics to change the system,” said Barron. “We can pick, choose, or be the next people in powerful positions.”
Labor activist Brenda Stokely spoke of her grandfather and grandmother, both of whom had to violently defend themselves against being lynched. Stan Kinnard referenced Robert Williamson’s book “Negroes with Guns” and Malcolm X’s “Ballot or Bullet” speech and recalled Mayor Koch applauding Bernard Goetz, who shot several Black youths on a NYC subway.
The rally raised more than $6,000 in cash and checks for the John White family and another $6,000 in pledges.
Flanked by his family, John White thanked 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, the Nation of Islam, CEMOTAP, and “all the people who came to our aid and support. I give all honor and glory to God.”

FREEDOM PARTY IGNITES MOVEMENT

African-American Issues Brings Together Hundreds at Convention

Freedom Party Hosts First Statewide Convention
Several hundred from around the state packed the historic Siloam Presbyterian Church to ratify Council member Charles Barron as the Freedom Party’s candidate for governor. Barron named Eva Doyle as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor. Mrs. Doyle is a longtime activist, educator, columnist, book author and host of her own radio show called “Eye On History” that airs weekly on station WUFO in Buffalo, NY.
Barron appeared before the enthusiastic crowd wearing a black T-shirt emblazened with “Freedom Party” in bold white lettering and the party’s symbol, chains divided with the word “unchained.”
Freedom Party gubernatorial candidate Charles Barron’s address:
“We have to keep this momentum going. They are hoping we have a one-day event. That we will get all excited and then come tomorrow, it will have been just a good event. What they bet is that we won’t get the signatures. They know we are going to get the votes. They are betting we won’t get the signatures. Everything now is about those signatures. Getting on the ballot. We know that if we come with 40-50,000 signatures, they know we are going to get on that ballot, because there will be 15,000 good ones. And when we get on the ballot, we are going to rock this state. We’ve got to get on the ballot. We are going to be working on a platform. We are going to be working on a strategy. After we get the party, a structure. But right now, it’s money and signatures. That’s the bottom line – money and signatures. That is going to be the challenge for us. We know we can get 15,000 signatures. But what they want us to get is 100 from 15 different congressional districts. Thirteen are downstate. We are going to do that. No doubt.
Let me tell you why we are doing this. This is the perfect time for us to do it. This is the time for us to strike like we have never struck before. There comes a moment in history that you just can’t miss. They have the nerve to go to Rye, NY have their meeting – the State Democratic Party, with all of these Black leaders in the State Democratic Party. (Barron then described this year’s Democratic slate.) This was a political blackout. So since they don’t want you in, let’s step out. Do our thing. Let’s form an independent black-led party. Somebody said to me is this party only for black people? No. It’s going to be black-led, but anybody can join us. We welcome anybody but we are leading this. We said, you don’t want us, fine. Let’s do our own party. This is shaking them up.
The last time we did this, brother Jitu and I, we got Mary France Daniels, Ron Daniels wife on the ballot. She got on the ballot and got 10,000 votes. We got 20,000 signatures from 15 different congressional districts. This time, we are going to get on the ballot and get 50,000 votes and be an independent black-led party. The first one in the history of this state.
We have to do this for Fannie Lou Hamer. In 1963, she was beaten to a pulp trying to get a party, trying to get respect. They beat her badly in jail. Because the same structure in Mississippi – all white slate – is identical to the NYS structure. Identical to Mississippi in 1964. Fannie Lou Hamer fought and she got her Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. She said she got sick and tired of being sick and tired. She took over the convention and the whole nation had to listen to Fannie Lou Hamer. Fannie Lou Hamer, to your spirit, we are continuing the fight. If she could do it in Mississippi in 1964, we can do it in NY.
We need a Freedom Party. We are sick of the two corporate-run parties. Corporations run this state. Who ever pays you, that’s the one who you dance to their tune. The Freedom Party is going to be free from corporations. It will be the people’s party. We will finance us so that we can be free. There is no two-party system there is one party – Republocrats. It doesn’t matter who gets in.
Mario Cuomo, Andrew’s daddy, built more prisons in NYS than any other governor in the history of this state. This is a man who took your vote for granted. Then put all your children in prison.
We are saying today that the Freedom Party, when we come together, and they try to balance a budget, we are not going to let them spend it on Yankee Stadium and Steinbrenner. We are not going to let them spend the money on the Mets and the Nets arena, and then shut down day care centers and senior citizen centers. Don’t want to build any youth centers. Shutting our schools down. Having the nerve to have the homeless pay rent. How do you take MetroCards from our children and they have to demonstrate just to have you give them back? That kind of nonsense in this state must stop. The Freedom Party is going to put an end to that kind of madness.
The Freedom Party is going to talk about political prisoners. Nobody else will. There are brothers and sisters languishing in the state jails. They did their time. They gave them 25 to life, well they did 25 years. 25 good years in prison. Let them out. Let out freedom fighters out of prison. If it wasn’t for the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army and all of those groups that fought for liberation, we wouldn’t be in this church talking about Freedom Party today.
The Freedom Party is going to fight for our reparations. They paid the Jews. They paid the Japanese. Pay the Africans for your colonization of Africa. Pay the Africans for what you did to us in the Caribbean. Pay the Africans for what you did to us right here in America. America violated us, and reparations is a debt owed for service provided. You can’t work us for free, then tell us that happened a long time ago. We are going to put a commission together in this state, we are going to study the impact of slavery on our communities economically. Pay us our reparations. Then you can keep your welfare. We built this nation. 246 years of slavery, 100 years of Jim Crow and racism and you talk about you don’t owe us nothing. You benefitted off the wealth of our labor. It is time for us to be paid. The Freedom Party will raise these types of issues. It can happen. All things are possible.
It is time for us to stand up like men and women, like John White stood up for his family. Stand up for your family. Get your spine straight. Don’t be afraid. I don’t care about you threatening to take my life. You didn’t give me life and you never can take my life. There is a greater source, a greater power in charge of that. Take my freedom and put me in jail. Bring it. Freedom is a mental thing. I will never be in jail no matter how many bars are in front of me, because my mind will not allow me to be imprisoned. Take my material wealth. I could care less. Keep your little material wealth. I am not interested.
Here we have a $63 billion budget. The City Council passes the budget. We can tell this city that this is how we want the money spent because we are the new majority. Stand up and say the money is going to be spent in the ‘hood for our people because we said so and we have the power to do that. I am sick and tired of giving people power who won’t us it. Adam Clayton Powell said ‘Use what’s in your hand.’ You are going to have power in your hand and give it back to the power structure that is oppressing you. That is insane.
The Freedom Party is going to be talking about Black consciousness on behalf of Steve Biko and the Black consciousness movement. Blackness is definitely not a skin complexion. Pigmentation. It is not whether you have coarse hair or thick lips or African features. Blackness is a state of mind. Blackness is a commitment to Black people. Blackness is a commitment to our children. Blackness is being a man. That is what we need – men and women who are not afraid to be black. It is an agenda. It is about who we are in our community.
When we put the Freedom Party together, anybody who is not serious about our people, don’t mess with us. Because we are not playing.
We are going to rock this state. This state is going to be put on notice that from here on, the 2 million Black people in NYC, and the millions across the state now have a Freedom Party that is going to free us from all of those things that we were fearful of. Now it is coming to fruition. Freedom Party!!!”
We have to do this for Shirley Chisholm. Rosa Parks. Assata Shakur. We have to do this for all those who spilled blood before we got here. Let’s do this. Freedom Party!!!
By unanimous acclimation, Charles Barron was declared the Freedom Party’s candidate for governor.
The temporary headquarters of the Freedom Party is located at Sistas’Place on the corner of Nostrand and Jefferson Avenues. More pictures on page 12.

Living Wage Bill Introduced

A monumental shift regarding how developers relate to working class New Yorkers was introduced in the City Council this week. Intro. # 251, also known as “The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act”  would amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the payment of a living wage to employees employed on property developed by recipients of financial assistance for economic development.  
The living wage bill proposes that any development project that receives  public subsidies pay a living wage to employees, defined as $10.00 per hour plus benefits or $11.50 per hour without benefits. The bill would establish a city-wide standard for all development projects that receive public subsidies worth more than $100,000 in the form of tax credits, discounted land sales, or other benefits.  
The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act was introduced by Council member G. Oliver Koppell and sponsored by Council members Koppell, Palma, Arroyo, Cabrera, Chin, Dromm, Ferrera, James, Mendez, Sanders Jr., Mark-Viverito, Foster and Seabrook (by request of the Bronx Borough President), then referred to the Committee on Contracts, Chaired by Council member Darlene Mealy. The Contracts Committee will hold a public hearing, solicit expert testimony, and receive public comments. The bill will go back to the full council for a vote, then be sent to the Mayor for signing. If the mayor vetoes the bill, it will be sent back to the Council, where it will need 34 votes to override the Mayor’s veto.
Council member Barron said the living wage bill is “very important,” and referenced the Gateway ll project, with 2,300 affordable housing units and 600,000 square feet of new commercial space as an example. “This is where the bill helps,” said Barron, “Any business that receives public subsidies must pay a living wage.”
For Barron, Walmart is a classic example of what not to do. “Walmart,” Barron said, “They are the worst when it comes to paying employees fairly. Walmart has $13 billion in annual profit. Walmart’s CEO makes more that $20 million a year. Yet they want to pay workers $2,000 below the federal poverty level. Business can’t rip off labor by paying minimum or below minimum slave wages.”
Barron said Mayor Bloomberg supports developer’s interests, and is against the bill. Barrons suggested low wage workers pack the hearing “like an invasion of City Hall.” He said workers should demand organization, mobilization, and activism. Barron said “I am tired of developers getting rich off the backs of workers. When they get free money, it is called subsidies. When we get free money, it is called welfare.” The current environment, Barron said, “maximizes profits with slave wages and union busting.”
Council member Barron said the Mayor’s argument that the bill will encourage developers to stop doing business is “Nonsense. Related is one of the richest developers in the country. Will Related go broke or leave the city if they pay a living wage? Only middle and working class people making $58,000 or less can no longer afford to live here.” Barron said companies like Related “will continue to build and develop here because they are making money here.”
Marie Louis, CEO of BUILD said the living wage bill “is an important piece of legislation. It would help to insure that people earn the wages they need to afford to live in the city. If someone is working on a project subsidized by public funds, there should be an obligation for those who benefit from public subsidies to pay people decent living wages.”
“There are too many hardworking New Yorkers earning poverty wages, and for too long, city-subsidized developers have earned profits at the expense of taxpayers and low-wage workers,” said Council Member Al Vann. It is time for these developers to provide public benefits to our city’s communities in return for receiving this taxpayer money. Living wage laws, as enforced in other cities and states, have proven to not only be beneficial for workers, but also for local economies. This law would be a critical tool for lifting New Yorkers out of poverty, and therefore I support it.”
Council member Mealy, Chair of the Contracts Committee, was unavailable for comment.
Just one day before introduction of the living wage bill, the Drum Major Institute hosted a forum entitled, “Using Economic Development to Create Good Jobs.”
Comptroller Liu said “The issue is not all economic development. The issue is specifically about economic development that involves large amounts of public subsidies. In these cases, the public needs a far better understanding of exactly what the city does in deciding who or which private developer gets these huge public subsidies. The public is already demanding an answer. The Comptroller’s office is going to do everything we possible can to answer those questions so that the public can better understand what goes into, and comes out of the EDC (the city’s economic development office). When there is a subsidy for economic development, it is absolutely reasonable for public officials and the public to demand that the jobs created are decent jobs, not just minimum wage jobs.”

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