Together We Are Stronger COVID and racism have
exposed great inequalities
Contributing Writers: Azad Ali, Tangerine Clarke,
George Alleyne, Nelson King,
Vinette K. Pryce, Bert Wilkinson
GENERAL INFORMATION (718) 260-2500
Caribbean L 12 ife, June 19-25, 2020
By Gerry Hopkin
“This is tremendous; what
a strong expression of protest
against police brutality.
In solidarity we are asserting
the belief that Black lives do
matter” — said Grenadian-
American recording artiste,
Dionne Baize, while present
as a participant of the massively
attended Caribbean-
Americans for Justice March
and Rally, which was held on
Sunday, June 14, 2020.
Writing as one of the organizers
of this event, which despite
less than 10 days of planning
and even shorter notice, was
able to galvanize and bring
out tens of thousands of West
Indians living in New York
City and surrounding areas,
I must say that the outstanding
turnout we had, is living
proof that when Caribbean-
Americans efficaciously work
together, we are stronger, and
that we do have political power
in our numbers. Through the
march, which started on Flatbush
Avenue at Church Avenue
and headed northwards
to Grand Army Plaza, where
the rally was held, we were
able to bring out a massive
number of participants from
various sub-communities in
our Diaspora. These include
Caribbean-Americans, African
Americans, Hispanics,
Asians and Whites — and
together we made our voices
heard as we registered our solidarity
and boldly marched and
rallied against police brutality
and every other form of
systemic discrimination which
target black and brown people
in America.
Appreciatively, the following
elected officials addressed the
massive gathering and delivered
updates on new reformative
legislative actions that
are being undertaken at the
federal, state and local levels:
U.S. Congresswoman Yvette
Clarke; Senior New York State
Assemblyman Nick Perry;
NYS Assemblywoman Latrice
Walker; and NYC Public Advocate
Jumaane D. Williams.
Unable to be present at this
particular event, but known to
be genuinely involved in the
trenches and in the new initiatives
for legislative reforms,
are: Assemblywoman Diana
Richardson, Assemblyman
Charles Barron, Sen. Kevin
Parker, Councilwomen Inez
Barron and Laurie Cumbo,
and Congressman Hakeem
Jeffries. During the march and
at the rally, NYC Public Advocate
Williams, a Caribbean-
American, was particularly
emphatic in his support for
the initiative of a majority of
NYC Council reps, to partially
defund by one million dollars,
the New York City Police
Department, and to redirect
one billion of the six billion
allocated to that department,
to instead cover our failing
servies in education, health,
housing and youth affairs.
Several community organizers
/ leaders, including
Rickford Burke, Rose Guerrier,
Chris Banks, Pastor Monrose
and Gerry Hopkin, also
addressed the assembled rallying
marchers. Additionally,
several young local artists -
poets, singers and drummers –
performed on stage at the rally.
I am encouraged by the fact
that as a result of the ongoing
protests, since the May 25th
killing of George Floyd by a
White police officer in Minneapolis,
we have been seeing
some real reformative legislative
action at the local, state
and federal levels. However, I
would’ve preferred it, if we did
not have to wait until so many
lives are lost at the hands of
cops, before we begin to get
the reforms we have long been
seeking and demanding.
Based on my passion for
justice and on the history of
police misconduct against
black and brown people, I
must insist that much more
than what we have seen so
far, is needed. We cannot as
a people allow certain nonimpactful
elected officials who
are mostly concerned about
re-electability, to preempt or
to silence our calls for deep,
concrete and comprehensive
reforms, by now participating
in the passage of new legislation,
which in some instances
don’t go far enough to bring
about the changes we need in
police protocals and practices
in NYC and elsewhere.
Thankfully, we know who
our genuine representatives
are, inclusive of the ones
mentioned above, as well as,
Assemblywoman Diana Richardson,
Sen. Kevin Parker,
Councilwomen Cumbo and
Inez Barron, and Borough
President Eric Adams — who
were unable to be present at
the march and rally in person.
Before this is all over, we must
see — among other changes
and cultural shifts, which
must happen in our education
system, in our churches,
in the life styles of sporting
celebrities, in media content
and in our homes and local
communities — the realization
of the following: comprehensive
reforms of our penal
codes; needed removal of racist
judges; immediate charging
and prosecution of cops
who abuse and kill blacks and
others (past and present); the
establishment of a nationwide
list of all police officers who
have being found guilty of the
violation of the rights of Blacks
and others; employment of
more black and brown police
officers to enable real community
policing; demilitarization
of police departments; the
institutional banning of the
use of arrest-quota systems by
police departments; and use
of independent prosecutors
against cops who abuse and
kill without legal or commonsense
justification are charged.
And when a police offer wrongfully
kills a human being, that
officer should be held personally
liable.
By Shaundell Newsome
GoFundMe pages, idled workers
and “good-bye and thank
you” signs popping up on one
long-standing storefront after
another. America’s Main Street
businesses are on the ropes and
many of our moms and pops are
facing early retirement. Sadly,
an overwhelming eight in 10
small business owners say our
nation’s leaders don’t understand
their needs — and favor
big business anyway — during
this time of crisis, according to
a new survey of 1,200 entrepreneurs
from Small Business for
America’s Future.
The COVID-19 pandemic and
the protests around the murder
of George Floyd and so many
other black Americans have
exposed and highlighted the
structural racism that exists in
our healthcare and economic
systems. For small business
owners — and for all of us
who rely on them for jobs and
essential and enjoyable services
— the aftershocks could
be profound. Shutters and closures
raise the specter of Main
Streets that more resemble the
first years of the Great Recession,
or the aftermath of an
extreme weather event, than a
rebounding recovery.
Small businesses — particularly
small business owners
of color — are suffering and
the Trump Administration’s
confusing, uneven and lackluster
response has left many
entrepreneurs feeling poorly
understood and left behind.
There has been little progress
on advancing a comprehensive
recovery plan that will help our
nation’s primary job creators
survive and rebuild over the
long term.
This is an unacceptable
state of affairs. We cannot let
our small businesses bear the
economic brunt of the turmoil
in our country. It was small
businesses — not giant corporations
— that led the country
out of the Great Recession.
They created nearly twothirds
of new jobs following
the recession, according to the
Small Business Administration.
With a long-term recovery
plan dedicated to helping
small businesses, they can lead
the way out of the COVID-19
recession, too.
But we have a lot of work
to do. Small business owners
were already feeling betrayed
by the 2017 Trump tax cuts,
citing windfalls for corporations
and lip service for them.
The feeling only intensified
when, under the administration’s
Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP) implementation
plan, it became known
that chains like Ruth’s Chris
Steak House and Shake Shack
had an easier time getting a
PPP loan than your neighborhood
bistro or barber shop.
For entrepreneurs of color,
emergency aid has fallen far
short. A recent poll of Black
and Latino business owners
from Color of Change and UnidosUS
found just 12 percent
of the owners who applied for
aid from the Small Business
Administration — most seeking
a PPP loan — reported
receiving what they had asked
for and nearly half say they will
be permanently out of business
by the end of the year.
OP-EDS
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are welcome from all readers. They should be addressed care of this newspaper to the Editor,
Caribbean-Life Publications, 1 MetroTech Center North, Brooklyn, New York 11201, or sent via e-mail to caribbeanlife@
schnepsmedia.com. All letters, including those submitted via e-mail, MUST be signed and the individual’s verifiable
address and telephone number included. Note that the address and telephone number will NOT be published and the
name will be published or withheld on request. No unsigned letters can be accepted for publication. The editor reserves
the right to edit all submissions.
Founded 1990 • Published by Brooklyn Courier Life LLC
Corporate Headquarters: One Metrotech Center North, Suite 1001, Brooklyn, NY 11201
PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER: Victoria Schneps-Yunis
CEO & CO-PUBLISHER: Joshua Schneps
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Ralph D’Onofrio
EDITOR EMERITUS: Kenton Kirby
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kevin Williams
This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied
by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright© 2019 by Brooklyn Courier Life LLC. Caribbean
Life is protected by Federal copyright law. Each issue of Caribbean Life is registered with the Library
of Congress, Washington, D.C. The Caribbean Life, its advertisements, articles and photographs, may
not be reproduced, either in whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except
brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law.
/schnepsmedia.com