Caribbean L 14 ife, APR. 30-MAY 6, 2021
Kenya Handy-
Hilliard throws hat in
ring for 40th CD
By Nelson A. King
Kenya Handy-Hilliard says her diverse
background, experience and commitment
to community have mandated
her step in declaring her candidacy in
the crowded field to succeed the termlimited
Dr. Mathieu Eugene as representative
for the 40th Council District
in Brooklyn.
That district includes the communities
of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Ditmas
Park, Prospect Park and Flatbush,
as well as parts of East Flatbush, Kensington,
Midwood and Crown Heights.
“A global health pandemic, a historical
racial justice pandemic and an economic
crisis have created the ‘urgency
of now’ for all of us,” Handy-Hilliard told
Caribbean Life in an exclusive interview
on Tuesday. “I am ready to address
and defend the district by championing
equitable economic recovery measures,
community-led housing development
and homelessness solutions, overhaul
of our education system, small business
recovery, environmental solutions and
much, much more.”
Handy-Hilliard said that she knew,
from living and growing up in New York
City and traveling the world, that working
with and for people was going to be
her life’s work.
Handy-Hilliard said the pursuit of her
mission took shape when she became
a wife and a mother, as well as a public
servant, “on all levels of government,”
where, she said, she was inspired to help
and empower people “more impactfully.”
She said she was raised in Brooklyn,
calling Prospect Lefferts Gardens home
since she was three years old.
He mother and father, Edna Wells
Handy and Michael J. Handy, were longtime
public servants and leaders in government.
Handy-Hilliard said she is
“proudly married” to Jason Hilliard, a
military veteran and fellow life-long public
servant, who is also experienced in
government and politics. They have two
young Brooklynites, Jessica and Jason.
Through hard work and determination,
Handy-Hilliard said she graduated
from Smith College in Massachusetts
with a degree in psychology. She said she
began her career in public service working
for champions of progressive agendas,
such as retired Harlem’s Congressmember
Charles B. Rangel and Central
Brooklyn’s Congressmember Yvette D.
Clarke, on Capitol Hill in Washington,
D.C.
“There, I was able to learn about
the intricate relationship between federal,
state and local governments,” said
Handy-Hilliard, stating that she led
Clarke’s legislative and social justice
Jannah Handy
agenda, which focused on passing a comprehensive
immigration reform package
that addressed issues of immigrants of
the African Diaspora.
In this capacity, she negotiated the
language of the Haitian Emergency Life
Protection Act, which created temporary
protections for Haitian nationals after
the massive 2010 earthquake.
Handy-Hilliard said the language of
this act inspired the Obama administration’s
Haitian Family Reunification
Parole Program (HFRPP) in 2014, which
supported many Haitians in her own
community.
In 2014, she said she moved back
home to New York City to begin the
next phase of her career, serving as the
Brooklyn Director in the New York City
Comptroller’s Office.
There, she said she learned the importance
of mobilizing the community “to
ensure the government is accessible and
held accountable by the people.”
After cultivating community organizing
skills and developing an understanding
of City budgets and economy,
Handy-Hilliard said she continued her
public service as Brooklyn, Queens and
Staten Island Director at the New York
State Office of the Attorney General.
At the NYC Department of Investigation,
Handy-Hilliard said she learned
first-hand about the inner workings
of local government, and gained better
understanding “where the pitfalls
and vulnerabilities of city government lie
“and why it so often fails its citizenry.”
“I was frustrated by the lack of government
transparency, and want to use
my skills and passion to ensure that the
government is doing what it’s supposed
to do: work for the people,” she said.