By Nelson A. King
A Vincy family in Bushwick,
Brooklyn was the only one
among 25 families throughout
the United States to be invited
to the White House last Thursday
when President Joseph Biden
announced that tens of millions
of families will get their first
monthly Child Tax Credit Relief
payment, thanks to the American
Rescue Plan.
Lafleur Duncan told Caribbean
Life on Tuesday that she
and her son, Jordan, 13, were
invited to the White House after
she told her story on what she
will do with the relief payments.
“It was a phenomenal time,”
said Mrs. Duncan about the historic
occasion. “The president
is such a wonderful person. He
spoke directly to me, held my
hand.
“He spoke to my son,” she
added. “My son felt good. He was
really elated to be there. It was a
good time. It was really good for
us to be there.”
Mrs. Duncan said the unexpected
journey to the White
House resulted from joining a
parents’ group, Parents Together,
online through Jordan’s school,
Brooklyn Laboratory Charter
School, 77 Sands St., downtown
Brooklyn.
She said that, in March 2020,
Parents Together and another
group, Mom Rising, reached out
to her “to find out how we were
doing and asked how the pandemic
was affecting us.
“We had Zoom meetings telling
us where we can get help during
the pandemic,” Mrs. Duncan
said. “They sent out emails for
us to sign petitions and also to
call our representatives, and tell
them what the pandemic has
done and where we need relief.
“I lost my job after being
a nanny for over 30 years; so,
my family was hit hard,” she
disclosed. “The leaders of the
groups asked me to share my
story on how COVID affected
my family; I did. The president
signed a rescue plan bill into law;
and, in that plan, the Child Tax
Credit was included.
“We will love to have the tax
Caribbean L 20 ife, JULY 30-AUG. 5, 2021
credit break become permanent
for our children, at least until
they are 18 and ready to go off
to college,” Mrs. Duncan continued.
“The money will be used to
prepare my son for school and to
help put food on our table.”
She said that, after sharing
her plans with the groups, she
received a call from the head
of the organizations to tell her
story, at a press conference in
Manhattan, with Democratic
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer and Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“I told them we were thankful
for what they were doing and
how much we appreciate all the
help, and we will love to have
the Child Tax Credit become
permanent,” Mrs. Duncan said.
“President Biden wanted to have
families join him on the said
day, when the money was to
be sent to the families’ (bank)
accounts.”
In his White House address
on Thursday, July 15, Biden said:
“I believe this is actually a historic
day — a historic day in the
La Fleur Duncan and President Joe Biden. Jordan Duncan
sense that we continue to build
an economy that respects and
recognizes the dignity of working
class families and middleclass
families.
“It’s historic, and it’s our
effort to make another giant step
toward ending child poverty in
America,” he said. “I think this
will be one of the things that the
vice president and I will be most
proud of when our terms are up.
Vincentian family makes
historic visit to White House
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