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Marching for Zimbabwe Outside the United Nations

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Marching for Zimbabwe Outside the United Nations

By Jeffery Kazembe Batts
IG: @kazbatts

Now is the annual time of the year when most nations & peoples of the world {Palestinian officials are barred this year) send representation to NYC to attend the United Nations General Assembly. An appropriate time for African leaders in NYC and the USA to practice pan-African unity by enthusiastically standing with those nations where relations have previously established over the years.

Zimbabwe is a great example. Around noon on Saturday, September 25 an annual solidarity rally / demo took place on the East side of mid-town Manhattan. Facilitated by December 12th Movement, led by Bro. Omowale & Sista Collette, organizational leaders, dozens of veteran activists, along with a new generation of younger men and women, held a rally / demo in solidarity with the south-east Africa nation of Zimbabwe.

The location of the noon rally / demo, Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, is a familiar area to many of the participants in the Pro-Zimbabwe rally. All types of rallies have been held at Dag Plaza. Although it was not a huge turnout in numbers, observing the gathering, quality seems to overwhelm quantity. The younger generation of activists, many who are members of D12, joined with long serving veterans of the movement, totaling about fifty people.

They marched around in a large circle to show solidarity with Zimbabwe and to call for an end to the long-time trade sanctions by the U.S. government against Zimbabwe. Holding the portable speaker Bro. Omowale walked up and down the circle urging folks to make some noise. Among the chants were “Whose land, our land. Whose fight, our fight.” And “It’s a human right, to stand and fight”.

Red, black, green flags were waving in most marchers’ hands and large RBG and Zimbabwe flags made the backdrop of the speaking area. Almost everyone had a flag, but the December 12th Movement made sure EVERYONE got a T-shirt and cap. The attire of the marchers was black with the yellow wording “ZIMBABWE”.

The structure of the rally including a variety of allied organizations, up-to-date info shared by the speakers, the pre-planning set, the breakdown of equipment and dispersion of the people at the end all added up to an efficient and successful gathering.

The distribution of promotional clothing, put on a visual display the consistency of D12 led support for ZANU-PF and Zimbabwe during the rally. Going forward the demonstrators can wear the hat or t-shirt and more easily promote the cause of justice for Zimbabwe from Sanctions and the need for more engagement between American Africans and Zimbabweans.

After an hour of enthusiastic marching, the participants gathered to hear speakers. Introduced by Sis. Collette, the first to speak was UNIA 1st Deputy Vice President Raymond Dugue who appropriately opened with his popular saying “Greetttiiinnngggsss AFRICANS”. Raymond emphasized the importance of the name Zimbabwe over Rhodesia.

Another leader Jason Corley of Cuba Si NY / NJ Coalition updated on the similar issue of long-time trade sanctions against Cuba. Soon Chairman ZANU-PF Canada Regis Vusango Charumbira shared that there are rumblings about the possibility of the Trump administration loosening sanctions. Not convinced, Charumbira then urged the protesters to keep up the pressure until sanctions are gone. Or as D12 co-founder Viola Plummer would say “finish the gig”.

Sanctions against Zimbabwe by the USA go way back to 2001, when George W. Bush was president and he signed the misnamed “Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA)”. ZANU-PF USA Chairperson Cde, Dr. Changamie Zvada expressed profound thankfulness to all gathered and especially the December 12th Movement for organizing the rally and for consistent support over many years.

Marcher Sis. Santina was clear on why she was at the Zimbabwe rally / demo “One blood, one family, one God” she explained. Bro. Damarc said “the U.S. knows that we are gonna fight until Zimbabwe gets its sovereignty, now and forever” and fellow D12 member Bro. Christian added why he was present “I stand in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, I respect their revolutionary practice, them combating imperialism and colonialism and it’s our responsibility to have some level of solidarity with them”.

Sis Pam’s shared her purpose “to unite with all the people who are saying NO Rhodesia, No Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, one people, one fight, to tear this ‘motha sucka’ down”. After the speeches everyone returned to chanting and flag waving as the circle of protest returned. This time with Zimbabwean music blaring and people dancing to the beat in a joyous conclusion to an afternoon of focused pan-African protest and support.


Traveling to Zimbabwe to get firsthand information, presenting the head of state and other diplomats to the community, standing with Zimbabwe both inside and outside the United Nations. A founding member of the D12, Coltrane Chimeranga, had his hero’s funeral in Zimbabwe. The December 12th Movement has earned the right to lead this aspect of pan-African unity because it is one of a few Black-led organizations that have observer status at the United Nations.

The December 12th Movement has focused on this southern African, SADC member, non-AFRICOM hosting nation for development and partnership. Not many pedestrians walked by the rally but nonetheless it was impactful for the continued building of pan-African unity. Attendees were pleased. Relationships were cemented, ideas suggested, next steps discussed. Sanctions may or may not be going.

The Trump administration could be bluffing. This past September 20th Zimbabwe was on the mind of leaders, influencers, movers & shakers in the NYC metro area pan-African community, recognized the people of Zimbabwe’s struggle for sovereignty and freedom from sanctions by marching to let it be known to the world as the General Assembly convenes.

Time To Throw a Dart?

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Time To Throw a Dart?

By Eddie Castro

Coming into the 2025-26 football season for the New York Giants, the one thing fans were expecting to see this year is progress. The G-Men had a win-loss record of 3-14 last season, which was last in the NFC East.

Giants General Manager Joe Schoen knows that a change in culture is needed for a franchise that has only made the playoffs twice in the past 10 Years with the most recent appearance being in the 2022-23 season.

Through three games, the Giants have had some pretty ugly results, and the play of quarterback Russell Wilson has been nothing short of inconsistent. Despite the inconsistent quarterback play of Wilson, there have been some spots where he has looked decent, however, decent is not in the cards for a franchise that is trying to remove themselves from being the laughingstock of New York football.

After the team’s 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night football which included another dreadful performance by Wilson, the question of the week was has the “Wilson experiment” in New York finally run it’s course? Fans are calling for rookie Jaxson Dart to take over the quarterback duties.


This Sunday, Giants fans will get their wish. According to many reports, Dart will make his first career NFL start on Sunday vs the Chargers. Dart was drafted 25th overall in the 2025 NFL draft out of Ole Miss.

The change in quarterback could very well mean the end for Wilson starting if Dart excels at the position. In a recent interaction with a reporter, Daboll was asked if he is thinking about making a quarterback change this week in which he responded by saying “We’re evaluating everything.”

48 hours later, a decision was made to start the 22-year-old rookie. Dart will obviously provide a much more lively arm and hopefully a spark to the offense than Wilson did. With the offensive line continuing to be in shambles, is it even smart to make the change now if Dart isn’t ready for the NFL pace? The only other available quarterback on the depth Chart is Jameis Winston.

This coming Sunday, the Giants welcome the 3-0 Los Angeles Chargers, who come into MetLife Stadium with the No.5 ranked defense in the NFL. I get it, the decision to go to Dart is something Giants fans clearly want right now; however, Wilson’s quarterback play is not the only weakness on this roster.

The offensive line despite the potential of getting better now with the return of Andrew Thomas has been abysmal. Wilson did not have the time to get rid of the ball, which has led to him getting pressured in the pocket.

This has led to those head-scratching throws that were on display the first three weeks. We shall see how Dart prevails in his first start at home. If you go back to a few weeks ago in an episode of Talk Sports with Eddie podcast, I predicted the team would make the quarterback change to Jaxson Dart by Week 5.

The Giants play the 0-3 New Orleans that week. Clearly the Giants organization felt the change in quarterback is necessary right now. Russell Wilson is clearly not the same player he was back in his Seattle days.

After Sunday night’s game, all signs pointed to Wilson getting at least one more game under center for the team. Coach Daboll and the Giants organization has decided to make the change now. We shall see how Dart prevails in his NFL debut. Stay tuned.


Sports Talk: (Football) The New York Jets are searching for their first win of the season under the Aaron Glenn era. The team will head to Miami for a Monday Night Football game against the Dolphins. (Baseball) There are currently four games left in the regular season.

The Yankees are looking to lock the first Wild Card spot in the American League, while the Mets are looking to avoid one of the biggest season collapses in baseball history.

Brooklyn Artists, Creatives Move Center Stage …

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Brooklyn Artists, Creatives Move Center Stage …

Last Sunday night (9/14), The New York Fashion Week unfolded in the open air of Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza, where more than a thousand people gathered for The People’s Runway.

Staged as part of the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s official 2025 calendar, transformed Borough Hall into both catwalk and commons, capturing Brooklyn’s energy, talent, enthusiasm, rhythm and swagger.

And hat’s off to Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Brooklyn’s Cultural Arts Ambassador for a nicely produced evening where a diverse group of young, gifted, and relatively unknown creatives were stars and made Brooklyn and “The Hall” look sharp.
The dynamic Brooklyn United Marching Band opened and closed the show, “setting an electrifying tempo that carried through the night.”

For Fashion Week, Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza was transformed into a catwalk on Sept. 14, where five emerging Brooklyn designers showcased their couture at a full-service fashion show in front of a star-studded crowd. Our Time Press shares fashion footnotes on the designers in next week’s issue.


The front row reflected Brooklyn as much as the runway itself. Ms. Lauryn Hill attended with her family, joined by Fabolous, A$AP Ferg, Busta Rhymes, Slick Rick, Ne-Yo, Kodak Black, Wisdom Kaye, Jordan Clarkson, Francisco Lindor, and Terance Mann — figures whose presence signaled the borough’s enduring role at the crossroads of music, sport, and style.

“The People’s Runway is a celebration of Brooklyn’s rich cultural and creative identity,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “The designers we’ve showcased tonight represent the next generation of Brooklyn creatives who will go out into the world and leave their own stamp on history.

“Tonight is about access and the wonders we can achieve when our institutions bet on our people,” he said. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to spotlight a few of these incredible creatives here at the People’s House, Brooklyn Borough Hall.

“Teaming up with Brooklyn Borough President Antonio on this has been so energizing and such a full circle moment for me,” said Brooklyn Arts Ambassador Colm Dillane. “I started a few blocks away at Brooklyn Tech, built my way into fashion, and now here we are – throwing a NYFW show inside Brooklyn Borough Hall. Tonight was such a Brooklyn night – creative, chaotic, inspiring – and I can’t wait to see what’s next for this crew.”


The five designers showcased were chosen from hundreds who answered an open call earlier this summer. Each received a $5,000 grant and mentorship from Dillane, Fashion Week Brooklyn founder Rick Davy, and Outlander Magazine – resources meant not only to launch a collection, but to launch a future.

to be continued

Mayor Adams Keeps Folks Guessing: Will He? Won’t He?

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Mayor Adams Keeps Folks Guessing: Will He? Won’t He?

By Nayaba Arinde
Editor-at-Large
The Crown Heights-based Vulcan Society and the Grand Council of Guardians endorsed NYC Mayor Eric Adams last Saturday. The firefighters and law enforcement organizations also pledged their support for the incumbent mayor, even as he said he was still considering pulling out of the race if his independent polling showed that he had no path to success.

Charles Billups, chair of the Grand Council of Guardians, told Our Time Press that this “is the direction they wanted to go, they still believe in him. Personally, I would stick with what we have got. I would want to play it safe with what I have, versus what is coming in.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s New York Times opinion page surprise New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani endorsement on Sunday morning, had some political news hounds calling the race a slam dunk, and perhaps opening the door for the thus so far hesitant and dithering fellow Dems Brooklyn’s House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to finally vocalize their perhaps reluctant support for their party’s nominee.

Charles Billups, chair of the Grand Council of Guardians


A recent Marist poll showed that leading the mayoral candidate pack by 21% is Mamdani at 45%, and former NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo is at 24%, Republican Curtis Sliwa at 17%, with Adams stalling at 9%.
“We have not done one TV ad, not one mailing,” Adams said. “We have just started knocking on doors.”

Mamdani stunned former governor Cuomo in June, when he beat him by landslide in the Democratic primary. Even though he is now running on the Independent line, Cuomo said, “They know that you have a socialist and you have a Democrat, and that’s apples and oranges, and it’s a very clear choice.”

Hochul wrote that even though she and Mamdani have “had our disagreements,” in their conversations, “I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family.”

As she gears up for her own gubernatorial race next year, facing her current Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, Hochul noted that she differs on several issues with Mamdani, but, “I’ve had frank conversations with him,” she stated. “I heard of a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable – a goal I enthusiastically support.”

However, on Tuesday, Mamdani declined to endorse Hochul in return. He said, “My focus is on November, and I’m excited to have the governor’s support in that fight for November.”
As of press time Adams was still straddling the fence in terms of will he or won’t he stay in the race? This past Sunday, News 12 reported that sources stated that Adams “has made a decision and will likely drop out of the NYC Mayor’s race by the end of this week.”

“Let me be perfectly clear: any rumor or tweet suggesting Mayor Adams is stepping down this week is complete bullsh*t,” said Todd Shapiro, his spokesman. “These lies are being spread by desperate opponents who can’t match the mayor’s record, his campaign energy, or his support across this city…Eric Adams is in this race to win it, and no amount of fake chatter or political spin will change that.”

As he touts his affordable city, and tax-the-rich campaign talking points, Mamdani said he would now apologize privately for his 2020 remarks slamming the NYPD as racist.
Despite noticeable tweaks of previous narrative, Brooklyn student, and Mamdani supporter Olive Uche told Our Time Press, “ I think the real question should be why not Zohran Mamdani? In a time like right now—post-COVID, post [presidential] election, seeing and experiencing the city as it has been –why wouldn’t anyone want change?

New York City has been in a destitute state for some time and the reality is if we do not demand change—vote for change, it will continue to get worse. It is not that New York City is not capable of change. It is simply that we have individuals, entities, and parties committed to preventing it from being the great city it can and should be—affordable and sustainable for everyone.”

Indeed the Marist poll had merely 12% of potential voters stating that NYC is “affordable or very affordable,” versus 88% declaring that the city is “not very affordable or not affordable at all.”

Asked why young people such as herself are choosing such fundamental change, Uche said, “Everything. I don’t think there’s one issue over the other that attracts me more because I think they are all equally good and necessary.

As a person born and raised in New York City, I think it’s extremely important that New York City remains a place that we can all call home, live comfortably without the constant fear of being displaced or out priced by those who see the city as a monetary playground, with the luxury to opt out of the very real experiences and hardships of everyday New Yorkers, who are making the city the alluring, lucrative, vibrant, culturally diverse place that it is.”

Answering why an Adams’ second term is not an option for youth like her, Uche replied, “I mean just look around. Is this a New York City one should be proud of? The current state of the city answers the question precisely. It speaks volumes to the extent of how bad things have become.”


Billups said that Adams the–retired police captain, is part of the Guardians organization, and,
“admitted that he made mistakes, and we talked about those things. We had to hear him out, and weigh it appropriately, and the membership decided to support him.”

Asked if he thought Adams would leave the race soon, Billups told Our Time Press, “Based on my conversations with him, he’s not going anywhere. Based on what we’ve been hearing, the other parties are putting out the information that he’s leaving, and they are putting out false information about the polls and everything else.

We all know polls can’t govern you. Trump proved that twice, and both times we didn’t want him, but we ended up getting him.”
The paper asked if the retired corrections officer was led to believe that the New York Times, Siena College, and Marist polls were all wrong?

“I am not saying if they are fake or not, but it all depends on who they are questioning and asking? I would ask the readers, ‘How many of y’all have gotten the calls about who y’all would wanna see for mayor? ’Are they calling the Black community? Or are they being selective in calling whom they choose? Hilary and Kamala were up in the polls, but Trump won. So, based on those things, it’s not over until it is over.”

Published reports have Adams telling some business community members that he would consider pulling out, if his own commissioned independent poll does not give him the numbers.
“We’re going to do our analysis, we’re going to find out what’s the right message for our voters.”

Tadia Lynch’s Message 2025

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Tadia Lynch’s Message 2025

Tadia Lynch’s first-person account of her experiences in New Orleans, Louisiana, after catastrophic Hurricane Katrina struck was shared in Our Time Press, September 2005.

Miss Lynch had travelled there with her mom — and violin — ready to enter Loyola University as a freshman. Her 8,000-word description of those harrowing few days, and how she and Mrs. Lynch arrived back home with the most important things they took with them, evoke great emotion, still. With us and readers.


The young writer-musician-scholar’s disclosure of how, during the rough “storm” swirling within the overcrowded Superdome, she thought of music. It kept her sane and tough; she handed over her last orange and a bottle of water to people she felt needed them more than she did. She held up an elder, weak, lame and treading the dome floor carefully.

Today, 20 years later, Ms. Lynch is deputy director of the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (J-CAL). She is an arts and culture programs specialist, writer, and curator “working in the ethos of arts democratization in both traditional and unconventional art spaces.”

Through her work, according to the website, Ms. Lynch “explores the relationship between artist, space, and audience, fostering deeper communal connectivity.”
Following is Ms. Lynch’s response to Our Time Press queries:

On the Role of the Arts in Life:
Through the Arts, we have an insurmountable capacity to process, communicate, and regulate our emotions. As a transcendent language between each other and sometimes even more so within ourselves, we can convey what is inexpressible through all common tongues.

On Creativity:
To create is to be in constant negotiation with the self and to give agency to our most vulnerable states of grief, healing, and joy. Every note, brush stroke, step in a dance, phrase and/or word is stitch in the wound of our trials.

On inheritance and investment:
My parents’ purchase of my violin in 2000 was a “conscious investment.”
The Violin shaped my childhood. It was how I learned discipline, patience, confidence, and even love. I am beyond grateful to the confidence my family had in my passion to play. The physical instrument is the embodiment of the unwavering support I have from them and even from those who have transitioned.
On Music: Music lives within us always, as long as we make space for it. Children need only the space and encouragement to explore it.

Did you ever produce the concert you had planned once you and your mom arrived home?
I believe the concert you are referring to was produced by Patricia Robinson, who runs the Patricia F. Robinson Music School, formerly known as the Stuyvesant Music School. It was founded in 1930 by her mother L. Elsie Graham. Along with helping me in a great moment of upheaval over the last three decades, Patricia has consistently offered support to young artists through concerts and scholarship opportunities.

Ms. Lynch is a 2025 DVCAI Curatorial Fellow, an alumnus of the Institute for Nonprofit Practice (INP) Leadership Program and holds an MBA in Arts and Cultural Management from the Paris School of Business.

-Bernice Elizabeth Green

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