HERB BOYD and DAMASO REYES | 4/1/2021, midnight Artwork by Amanda Ulloa
In the aftermath of the Civil War an America broken by bloodshed and riven by racial strife began slowly putting itself back together. In little more than five years a nation that had been founded on chattel slavery passed the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, bringing the country to the precipice of being able to, for the first time in its history, live up to those famous words in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal.” In the South, where the memories of slave auctions were still fresh, Black men were elected and appointed to state legislatures, the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. America, it seemed, was changing.
Early voting in presidential elections at Rockaway YMCA in Averne, Queens on Monday , October 26, 2020. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
The 2021 city elections are shaping up as some of the most important elections in New York’s history during the COVID-19 pandemic. Candidates at all levels vying for a leadership role during the city’s recovery have a tough road ahead to get the support of Black voters, many of whom have been impacted greatly by the pandemic.
In November, during the 2020 election, a survey conducted by the African American Research Collaborative, the NAACP and the Vera Institute of Justice revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic was the most important issue facing Black voters they felt politicians should address. Discrimination and racial justice was second.
Lawrence Hamm Contributed
On March 24 activist Larry Hamm, who is the chair of the People’s Organization for Progress (P.O.P.), marked 50 years of activism with a rally of activists with roots in student activism. The event commemorated the day Hamm led a walkout of students at Arts High School in support of the now historic Newark Teachers’ Strike in 1971.
The day Hamm led the walkout, students marched through downtown Newark and conducted a sit-in at the Newark Board of Education demanding that the Board come to terms with the teachers for the sake of salvaging their school year and demanding that students have more direct say in their education among some 25 other demands that they made.