What's Going On
What’s Going On – 6/17
SUMMER IN AMERICA
NY, NY: The June 28 NYS Primary for governor, Lt. Governor, assembly members, judges and committee people is being challenged by groups who argue that NYS Assembly districts were drawn by an unconstitutional process. State’s highest court, the Appeals Court, ruled that two primaries will be held.
NYC City Council (44-6 vote) and NYC Mayor Eric Adams arrived at $101.1 billion budget agreement. Hizzoner and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, hugged and kissed. The NYPD budget is $5.5 billion. In NY more than 1000 NYPD personnel retired and resigned this year. Is it burnout, the culture, COVID or a series of unfathomable circumstances?
Primary fever dominates spring/summer in NY and beyond. Heated Democratic and Republican gubernatorial debates continue. Harlem Assemblymember Inez Dickens, recovering from a kidney transplant surgery last month, is diligent on the campaign trail, albeit virtual, lending endorsements to judges and Democratic State committee members. She recently came out for a photo op with Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, candidate for NYS LG.
THE NATION: The January 6 Committee has gone public with excerpts from its hearings, related to that dark day of insurrection on Capitol Hill. Eyewitness reports by filmmakers and talks with Capitol police about the unfolding chaos that day are scary. Disclosures by Trump’s daughter Ivanka and by AG William Barr verify that Trump was aware that the 2020 election was not stolen from him. The vote was fair. Trump was interested in the January 6 insurrection attempt and invalidating the election results. These televised tapes, the Supreme Court striking down Roe v Wade, a woman’s right to an abortion, rampant misbehaviors among the Trump faithful, and relentless gun violence everywhere are recipes for Republican disaster at the polls this year, methinks. Let’s see what happens with inflation, the Democrats and the nation’s short memory.
NYC/ JUNETEENTH
June 18, 11am to 6 pm: MASJID Malcolm Shabazz hosts its 29th Juneteenth Parade and Street Fair on West 116 Street, from Adam Clayton Powell Blvd to Fifth Avenue.
The Juneteenth Celebration, commemorating the United States of America’s true independence, will be held at Carnegie Hall on June 19 at 7 pm. Juneteenth is the day that all members of the newly reunited nation were finally declared free after the American Civil War. Rev. Dr. James Forbes Jr will lead the celebration
Benefit Concert: SWEET HONEY AND THE ROCK and Nona Hendryx, Juneteenth 2022: The Struggle Continues on June 19 at Ethical Culture, 2 West 64 Street in Manhattan.
CARIBBEAN AMERICAN MONTH
The following is a brief list of Caribbean American notables!
MUSIC: Sonny Rollins, Rihanna, Cardi B; Nikki Minaj; LL Cool J; Nile Rogers ASAP Rocky. WRITERS/JOURNALISTS: Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary; novelist Marlon James; Hilton Als; Dame Pearl Duncan; Audrey Edwards; Joy Elliott; Sunny Hostin, “The View; ” T.J. Holmes, ABC News; Ruschell Boone and Errol Louis, NY1; Earl Lovelace; Roland Martin; Rosalind McLymont, TNJ; Joy Reid, MSNBC; Jean Wells, Positive Community; playwright Lynn Nottage; Patricia Hinds; Faye, Karlissa and Karl Rodney of NY Carib News; Bernice Green and David Greaves of Our Time Press; Raymond Joseph, Haiti L’Observateur; Sheryl Salomon, City State NY; Sylvia Wong Lewis, Paper Li publisher: VISUAL ARTS: Eric Girault; Peter Wayne Lewis; Yolene Legrand, Bette Byer; Ramona Candy
HEALTH/WELLNESS: Samuel Daniel, MD; Edgar Mandeville, MD; John Mitchell, MD: Cheryl Smith, MD: Roslyn Woods Cabbagestalk, RN; Jocelyn Valentine, Nutritionist; Leon Merrick, DDS; Enrique Riggs, DDS.
THEATER/FILM/TV: Anna Maria Horsford, Queen Latifah, Nia Long, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jackee, Kim Weston Moran, Voza Rivers; Sundra Williams, Vy Higginsen, Grace Blake.
FINANCE: Ambassador Harold Doley, Jr; Harold Doley III, investment banker; Bill Thompson.
ENTREPRENEURS: Real Estate: Al Cunningham; Robert Horsford, Lee Brathwaite, Apex Builders; Meredith Marshall, BRP Companies; Eddie Poteat, Carthage Real Estate; Russell Grey, Ramona Grey Harris, Aden Seraile, Edward Sisters Realty; Kenyatta Punter; Beatrice Sibbles, BOS Development; Alyah Horsford Sidberry, Cove Lounge; Daymond John, “Shark Tank;” Laurent Delly, IDEACOIL technology; Roy Miller; and Yvonne Stafford, Real Estate and Health;
EDUCATION: Wayne A.I. Frederick, MD, Howard University President; Dr. Juanita Merrill; Brenda Clark; Wanda Ballard Wingfield; Fern Khan, Dean Emerita, Bank Street; Givaid Khan; Dr. Nafees Khan; Dr. Yinka Stanford; Kenneth Thompson; Dr. Keith Taylor; Dr. David R. Williams, Harvard.
POLITICS: US Vice President Kamala Harris; NYS Senate: Andrea Stewart-Cousins; Cordell Cleare; Leroy Cowrie; Jabari Brisport; Zellnor Myrie; NYS Assembly: Carl Heastie, Michael Blake, Deputy Chair, Democratic National Committee and Rodneyse Bichotte; Ydanis Rodriguez, NYC Commissioner; Congress members Yvette Clarke, Adriano Espaillat; Ritchie Torres, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Antonio Reynoso, Brooklyn Boro Prexy: Diana Richardson, Deputy Brooklyn Boro Prexy; Keith Wright, NY County Democratic Leader; Sheena Wright, Deputy NYC Mayor; Anne Williams Isom, NYC Deputy Mayor; Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Chief Adviser to Mayor Eric Adams; Keisha Sutton-James, Deputy Manhattan Boro Prexy.
LAW: Ernst Perodin, Fabiana Pierre- Louis, NJ Supreme Court Judge; Judge Sylvia Hinds-Radix, NYC Corporation Counsel; Judge Michele Rodney; Damian Williams, US Prosecutor, NY; Nathanael Wright, GA.
NONPROFITS: Roy Paul, Cents Ability: Elizabeth Alexander, Mellon Foundation; Melanie Edwards, Rosamond Johnson Foundation; Lloyd Williams, Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce; Stanley McIntosh, Neighborhood United W. 132 Street Block Association; Colvin Grannum, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp; Dr. Malcolm Punter, HCCI.
FAITH COMMUNITY: AJ Bernard, Christian Cultural Center; Rev. Dennis Dillon; Jacques DeGraff. Canaan Baptist; Rev. Dr. Walrond, First Corinthian Baptist.
NEWSMAKERS
Birthday greetings to Cancer the Crab natives: Dr. Betty Holmes Anthony, Will Anthony; Joe Bethune; Goldie Watkins Bryant; Harlem Preservationist Valerie Bradley; Harold Doley III, investment banker; Omar Epps; Danny Glover; Ernie Green; Kevin Hart; Desa Horsford, Desa Unique, lifestyle entrepreneur; twins Lillian and Karen Horsford; Aubrey Jacobs; Sandy Livingston: Wendy Williams; writer Ramona Wraggs Wall; Ricky Wingate; Mike Tyson; Alyah Horsford Sidberry; Assembly member Inez Dickens; Harriet Michel; actress Barbara Montgomery.
A Harlem-based management consultant, Victoria can be contacted at victoria.horsford@gmail.com