Elected officials join NAN to celebrate
Martin Luther King Jr. Day in NYC
BY DEAN MOSES
Elected officials and civil rights
leaders commemorated the fi rst
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of the
COVID-19 pandemic with the celebration
of a new United States president and the
condemnation of the Capitol riots.
Jan. 18 marked the iconic activist’s 92nd
birthday and although the novel coronavirus
virus is still wreaking havoc on New
York and vaccine supplies are running in
short supply, those at Harlem’s National
Action Network (NAN) could not allow
the holiday to pass without acknowledging
Dr. King’s legacy and teachings during one
of the most turbulent times in the United
States’ 244 year lifetime.
Broadcasting through NAN’s Facebook
page and employing rigorous temperature
checks and social distancing measures,
this event incorporated a laundry list of
distinguished speakers commending Dr.
King for his unparalleled strides in the civil
rights movement. It was a day-long affair,
with the morning beginning with an MLK
virtual Award Ceremony and following
several hours of speeches.
Every year, for the past 30 years, NAN
has hosted annual MLK Day celebrations
and public policy forums with elected offi -
cials to discuss racial and social justice policies.
The ceremony was kicked-off Monday
afternoon with some pre-recorded words
from Governor Andrew Cuomo, who
stressed the importance of the equitable
distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Soon thereafter Rev. Al Sharpton took to
the stage where the long-time activist spoke
about King’s achievements.
“Dr. King was not in history because
he was some poet with a dream sitting on
the side of the mountain. Dr. King was
Rev. Al Sharpton announced a $1.5 million deposit with Carver bank to provide economic empowerment to communities
of color.
an activist. He changed public policy. He
changed laws. We don’t want to hear nice
sanitized stories about Dr. King when we
are in the middle of a pandemic that was
disproportionately impacting our community,”
Rev. Al Sharpton said.
“We are ending, in 48 hours, the most
bigoted and racist presidential term in our
lifetime,” he added. “History will say that
Dr. King’s dream survived because Trump
will be sandwiched between the fi rst black
president and the fi rst black female vice
president.”
Still, no matter how far the country
has progressed since segregation and Jim
Crow laws of the 1950s and 1960s, there
is no arguing that the United States has
also fallen extraordinarily far from its
progressive throne. The world watched in
horror on Wednesday, Jan. 6 as the west’s
symbol of democracy was perverted into a
battleground on which a war was fought
to prevent the democratic process from
continuing as it has done for over two centuries.
This infamous riot almost served
as a twisted version of the peaceful march
to Washington D.C that King led back in
August 1963, when about 250,000 people
peacefully gathered at Lincoln Memorial to
bring awareness to the racism and inequality
in America.
In the wake of this attack, it has since
FILE PHOTO
become known that some police offi cers
and fi refi ghters took part in the invasion.
With this in mind–along with the NYPD’s
brutal reaction to the Black Lives Matter
protests over the summer, Mayor Bill de
Blasio declared that the efforts being made
to combat systemic racism in uniform service.
The announcement of the “Discipline
Matrix” will hold offi cers, and those in public
service, accountable for their actions.
“Let’s be clear on this King Day, that
there is no room for any racist in public
service. They need to be gone. There is
no room for white supremacists in public
service or in any uniform anywhere in
America,” de Blasio said.
Roosevelt Island Library to become rapid COVID-19 testing site
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
A pop-up rapid COVID-19 testing
site arrived at Roosevelt Island on
Wednesday, Jan. 20.
The site is housed in the former home of
the Roosevelt Island Library, at 524 Main
Street, and will run from 9 a.m. until 5
p.m. The site will be able to test up to 500
people a day and will offer pre-registration
for rapid tests and accept walk-ins.
“Our mission has and continues to be
providing innovative services that enhance
the island’s community. With the help of
partners like David Kramer of Hudson Related
Companies and Swift Emergency Care
Testing, we’re doing just that,” said Shelton
J. Haynes, Acting President and CEO of the
Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation.
“To be the fi rst, in this network of COVID
19 rapid testing sites that will reach
across the state, brings us immense pride
and hope for a safe reopening of our neighborhood
and beyond in accordance with the
state’s health guidelines.”The site currently
the only place to receive a COVID-19 test
on the island, according to a spokesperson
from RIOC, and it is unclear if the site will
offer COVID-19 vaccines in the future.
FILE PHOTO
4 January 21, 2021 Schneps Media