Remembering Kevin Peter Carroll
Be outraged over police attacks on journalists
COURIER LIFE, JUNE 5-11, 2020 19
OP-ED
BY PRISCILLA CONSOLO
“Darkness cannot
drive out darkness: only
light can do that. Hate
cannot drive out hate:
only love can do that.”
Those words were famously
penned by Dr.
Martin Luther King,
Jr. Today, I write those
words in remembrance
of my good friend, the late
Hon. Kevin Peter Carroll,
who we lost a year ago on
June 2, 2019.
I met Kevin shortly
after he won his District
Leadership position in
2010 at the tender age of
twenty-four, which made
him the youngest person
to hold the post in the entire
borough of Brooklyn.
From the moment
I fi rst met him, Kevin
overfl owed with vivacity
– authentic, bold, and
unabashedly unlike any
other. He was the type
of person who could
brighten a room with his
lively personality and jovial
demeanor, which,
along with his twinkling
blue eyes, characterized
his identity as a public fi gure.
As someone who has
worked in local politics, I
know it can be a cruel and
callous profession. Politics
was in Kevin’s DNA,
which is not surprising
given that he grew up in
the New York political
arena – his father and
uncles made names for
themselves as progressive
Democrats before Kevin
was even born. One might
suspect someone like
Kevin – with deep roots
in politics – to be jaded or
embittered by the political
world. Instead, though,
Kevin was so shockingly
full of life, and at a young
age, decided to enthusiastically
pursue a career in
public service himself.
A staunch advocate
of his beloved Bay Ridge
community where he
lived, Kevin was active
in numerous organizations,
including the Bay
Ridge Community Council,
Brooklyn Irish American
Parade Committee,
Brooklyn Community
Board 10, Bay Ridge Historical
Society, and 68th
Precinct Community
Council. His passion for
activism led him to found
Brooklyn Democrats for
Change when he was
only nineteen years old.
With an inherent fi re always
burning in his belly,
Kevin took action whenever
he saw injustice, supporting
countless causes
and candidates to make a
difference.
Although many knew
Kevin as a civic and political
leader, advocating
for redistricting reform,
volunteering at neighborhood
senior centers,
calling for affordable
housing, or organizing to
restore the B37 bus line,
this was only one of his
many roles. The brightness
exemplifi ed in his
community work also embodied
his adoration for
his family. Kevin was a
devoted brother to his sisters,
a doting uncle to his
godson, and a dedicated
son to his parents. In fact,
Kevin aided his ailing
mother, letting her move
in with him so he could
be her primary caretaker.
For months, he slept on
his couch and gave up his
bedroom so his mother
would be comfortable in
there instead. It is just one
example of his glistening
kindness and compassion
that informed his work as
a District Leader.
For those of us who
were lucky enough to
know Kevin personally, it
was obvious that behind
his witty sense of humor
and sassy attitude, there
was a soul bursting of
love. Kevin adored people
and more so, he enjoyed
giving of himself for the
benefi t of others, even
though he faced his own
hardships. There was a
glittering gentleness and
warmth that poured out
from within him. Kevin
would light up any room
once he walked through
the door with a beaming
smile and golden
laugh (like the gleaming
“Brooklyn” pin which he
always so proudly wore)
that still to this day, is impossible
to forget.
Since his passing, I
have realized, now more
than ever, how Kevin was
a true light in this dark
world. He had a natural
positive energy and sparkling
charisma that unsurprisingly
made him a
luminary within Brooklyn
politics. He had a glow
of happiness that could
dazzle any crowd. Like a
magnet, he could pull you
in with his vibrancy and
captivate a room full of
people whenever he spoke.
With his deep Brooklyn
accent, Kevin communicated
vividly, telling stories
with radiant animation
and plenty of hand
movements. In having a
conversation with Kevin,
it was obvious that one
was in the presence of
real greatness.
Some nights, with the
luster of the shimmering
moonlight piercing
through the dark sky, I
look up to the heavens
and fi nd comfort knowing
that while Kevin
was taken from us far
too soon, he’s now shining
up there, like all the
stars in our universe. Although
no longer with us,
his legacy lives on, with
his dazzling radiance elevated
among the cosmic
galaxy where it so rightly
belongs. Above us all, his
sparkle is no longer confi
ned to the limits of our
humanly existence. Instead,
now the light Kevin
offered to illuminate our
lives can illuminate the
whole world. Now, free
of mortal constraints, he
can everglow.
Priscilla Consolo, an
attorney and community
activist, was a close friend
of Kevin Peter Carroll for
nearly a decade until his
passing and wrote this
piece with the blessings of
Kevin’s family.
GONE TOO SOON: A friend remembers Bay Ridge District
Leader Kevin Peter Carroll . Priscilla Consolo
BY JUDY PATRICK
Within the journalism
community, there’s
outrage over the assaults
our fellow journalists
have endured covering
the unrest in America
sparked by the death of a
black man, George Floyd,
in police custody in Minneapolis.
We recognize that
those reporters are bearing
witness to the events
unfolding before them.
They are there to hold
those in power accountable
for their actions. Attacks
on journalism diminish
the people’s right
to the truth about what
government is doing in
their name. This is serious
and needs to be addressed.
America’s outrage is
focused, as it should be,
on the racial injustices
that permeate our society.
To seriously address
these fundamental problems,
demonstrations and
protests need to be followed
by lots of dialogue,
education, research and
real change.
Yet to be successful,
the sun must shine on
that process. We need
to build understanding
and consensus, and for
that we will need journalists
every step of the
way. Without them, we
will fail.
The ongoing attacks
on journalists in America,
especially by police,
is truly unprecedented.
To be sure, journalists
in many other countries
face far more adversity.
But this is America, the
leader of the free world,
where the free press is
one of our fundamental
values and sets the standard.
Covering protests, especially
chaotic ones, has
always been tough. Reporters
are used to getting
jostled, taunted and
sometimes threatened
with arrest. And while
the level of aggression
has been increasing in
the last decade, the number
of attacks of the past
few days are far beyond
anything we have ever
seen before.
The U.S. Press Freedom
Tracker, run by the
Freedom of the Press
Foundation and the Committee
to Protect Journalists,
typically investigates
100 to 150 incidents
of attacks on U.S. journalists
a year. On Monday,
the group was investigating
more than 100 incidents
from the fi rst three
days of the current protests
alone.
Journalists are getting
pushed and shoved,
shot by rubber bullets
and pepper balls, assaulted
with pepper spray
and tear gas, punched,
slapped, detained and
arrested. Some of this is
happening live on air, before
our eyes.
The danger can come
from either direction.
Some protesters are targeting
journalists, hurling
rocks and other debris
at them, knocking
them down, beating them
and setting their vehicles
on fi re.
Why this is happening
should be no big surprise.
Since taking offi
ce, President Trump
has put a big fat “enemy
of the people” stamp on
every journalist’s forehead.
He affi rmed it with
a tweet at the height of
the protests this past
weekend. He’s done more
than give the attackers
license to act; he’s emboldened
them.
This is about far
more than journalists’
personal safety. This is
about democracy. This is
about the public’s right to
know. This is about an institution
that, despite its
lapses, strives to help us
build a better society.
Judy Patrick is the
vice president for editorial
content at the New
York Press Association.