When you are of African ancestry in America, you are at war on many fronts. And on all of these fronts, be they health, criminal justice, education, jobs, homelessness, community groups and more, there are passionate people fighting the good fight and so involved in their own struggle that their paths seldom cross.
But on a bright sunny day on City Hall steps, they came together as one because a chord had been touched. A common front had presented itself. The community was being prevented from honoring Sonny Abubadika Carson, and because of that, doctors, homeowners, community activists, artists, retirees, educators, scholars, workers all came together and said, "Oh No! This will not stand. You're going to deny a man because he fought for us and loved us? Speaker Quinn, you have seriously miscalculated this situation."
Now the Speaker must run those numbers again and reassess the downside risk, if she, or anyone who votes with her, has any aspiration to citywide office, or to any office that has an African-American vote.
Deny Sonny Abubadika Carson because he didn't fawn over you? Sonny did not hate white people. He hated white supremacy, but what's not to hate about it? The United States is suffering the worst presidency ever, with people losing their lives moment to moment and the nation's treasure being burned before our eyes, because the votes of African Americans were not counted and the country had no real problem with that. That was white supremacy in action and look where it has taken us.
Deny Sonny Carson? New York City should issue a proclamation in his honor for putting his life on the line, closing crack houses and for saving the African Burial Ground for posterity. When the African ancestor's bones were first discovered, and at a time when work would have proceeded as usual, a warrior was needed to stop the project.
It was Sonny Carson and his band who stepped in front of the bulldozers, awakened the people and so redirected the thinking of the city, state and federal governments that the site is now a National Monument.
We were genuinely stunned when Councilman Charles Barron said that it was Speaker Quinn who had initiated a street be re-named after Al Jolson, an entertainer best known for his work in blackface. To do that and deny Carson, a member of the 82nd Airborne who jumped out of airplanes and fought in Korea for this country, leads the way for the Speaker to become the poster girl for divisiveness in New York and a disaster for any council person who votes with her.
The Speaker wields the purse strings, but what was seen on the steps of City Hall was only the very tip of the iceberg. Beneath that small crowd, there is a community with deep, personal interests in the Council vote May 30th.
Term-limited council members who wish to continue in politics should understand that the litmus test question for all will be, "Did you vote for or against the Sonny Abubadika Carson street renaming or did you aid and abet anyone who voted against it?"
Vann: Battle not over for Sonny Carson Street-naming
On Wednesday, May 9, the City Council was scheduled to vote on a street-naming bill that conspicuously eliminated the name of Sonny Abubadika Carson from consideration.
Community pressure (and perhaps fear of setting an uncomfortable precedent) led the council to lay over the vote until May 30. This, Councilman Al Vann declared at a City Hall press conference, is a "victory."
The battle is not over. Vann announced he will offer a floor amendment to add Sonny Carson's name to the street-naming bill prior to that vote scheduled for May 30.
Background
The Parks and Recreation Committee of the New York City Council had decided in a 3 to 1 vote, with Councilwoman Letitia James abstaining, to keep Carson's name off the bill.
The next rebuff took place in the courtroom of New York State Supreme Court Judge Leland DeGrasse. Attorney Roger Wareham, representing the petitioners, argued that the council's variance from traditional protocol with regard to Sonny Carson is inherently racist. Wareham reminded the court of the 19th century Supreme Court decision that stated "a black man has no rights that a white is bound to respect."
Judge DeGrasse's decision issued the next day essentially said the court had no jurisdiction over the council. Councilman Barron's response was that the judiciary is required to protect the public from abuses of the legislative branch of government.
All this activity led to the press conference on the steps of City Hall.
A variety of politicians and representatives of many community groups attended. Speaker after speaker recounted personal knowledge of Carson. We were reminded that Carson helped form Medgar Evers College. After Carson's mother was killed by a crack addict, he formed the Black Men's Movement Against Crack. Carson raised a politically aware son, Lumumba, who was Professor X of X-Clan. The ultimate irony is that Carson helped form the Committee to Honor Black Heroes, a group instrumental in the renaming of several streets in Bed-Stuy, including Malcolm X Blvd., Marcus Garvey Blvd., and Harriett Ross Tubman Ave.
No one said Carson was perfect, but all acknowledged his political development and commitment to his community. Rev. Herbert Daughtry said it best: "If people are going to be excluded because of controversy, who could stand?"
The issue underlying the Council's attempt to usurp community wishes goes beyond naming a street after Carson.
When asked what this process says about other Community Board recommendations in other council districts, Barron said, "They come for Vann tonight; they will come for you in the morning."
Vann added, "Other council members are wary. They need to be careful how they vote. They see that if they want something controversial for their districts, they may not get it."
Barron added, "We need to make sure that a black man who stands for his community is not punished. We need to watch and make sure that Bed-Stuy and East New York/ Brownsville continue to get their fair share of New York City's $53 billion budget."
