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Vol. 31, Issue 26 QUEENS/LONG ISLAND/BRONX/MANHATTAN June 26-July 2, 2020
STATUES
COMING
DOWN
Dispose of Columbus,
Nelson, activists say as Black
Lives Movement sparks in
Caribbean
By Bert Wilkinson
There is a growing debate in
the Caribbean Community as
to whether now is not the most
appropriate time to dispose of several
colonial era statues of European
slave traders and some of the
vilest colonizers mounted in some
of the prime of real estate areas
across the region.
The Black Lives Matter Movement
in the US and other parts
of the world appears to have provided
just the spark some activists
in the region needed to reawaken
the debate about and efforts to
take down imposing statues of
British sea warrior Lord Horatio
Nelson and of course, the most
famous of them all-Christopher
Columbus in Trinidad.
In Barbados, islanders have the
support of the cabinet of Prime
Minister, Mia Mottley to remove
the statue of Nelson from Heroes
Square in downtown Bridgetown
and to dump it somewhere out
of sight as he was a rabid campaigner
against emancipation
from slavery.
But before any move is made,
Mottley, widely regarded as one
of the most able and respected
leaders in the bloc of 15 community
nations, wants the nation to
decide only after island-wide consultations
are arranged. It appears
to be a foregone conclusion. In
this effort, she appears to have the
overwhelming support of today’s
younger generation who contend
that Nelson did nothing for Barbados
other than visiting the island
in the 19th century at the invitation
of white plantation and slave
owners. His bust should therefore
be taken down and placed out of
sight as it offends the racial and
cultural sensibilities of too many
Barbadians the activist argue.
In neighboring Trinidad, there
Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. Photo by Nelson A. King
Clarke takes commanding lead in
New York Primary Elections
By Nelson A. King
Though official election
results are expected to take
much longer than normal to
be determined in light of the
expansion of absentee voting
amid the coronavirus (COVID-
19) pandemic, Caribbean
American Democratic Congresswoman
Yvette D. Clarke
has taken a commanding lead
in Tuesday’s New York Primary
Elections.
Facing four challengers,
with all of the 532 precincts
reporting in the predominantly
Caribbean Central Brooklyn
9th Congressional District, the
incumbent Clarke, the daughter
of Jamaican immigrants,
is way ahead of all contenders
in the New York Board of Elections
unofficial results.
Clarke, who has been a member
of the United States Congress
for seven, two-year terms,
has amassed 37,106 votes, or
62.3 percent, in the poll.
Her closest challenger, Adem
Bunkeddeko — the son of
Ugandan refugees, who came
just less than 2,000 votes in
unseating Clarke in the Democratic
Primary two years ago,
in a two-way race — was a
distant 17.9 percent, or 10,647
votes.
New York City Councilman
Chaim Deutsch received 5,622
votes, or 9.4 percent; followed
by Isiah James’s 5,576 votes, or
9.4 percent; and Lutchi Gayot’s
605 votes, or 1.0 percent.
Analysts say that even if
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