| Jason,
Black history is American history—especially here in New York's 17th Congressional District, home to countless barrier-breakers and history-makers, including:
Cynthia Hesdra, a formerly enslaved woman and later a wealthy businesswoman who owned several homes—one of which, in Nyack, was a stop on the Underground Railroad. I was so lucky to be present when the Toni Morrison Society (and Morrison herself, see below) dedicated Nyack's "Bench By the Road" to Hesdra. |
| Toni Morrison, the late Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Beloved and The Bluest Eye, who lived in Grandview-on-Hudson.
Thurgood Marshall, who, while not a Hudson Valley resident, successfully fought in 1943 to desegregate the Brook School in Hillburn, New York, paving the way for Brown v. Board of Education. His statue stands in front of the Rockland County Courthouse.
Lorraine Hansberry, who before she became a resident of Croton-on-Hudson, was the first Black woman to have her play, A Raisin in the Sun, performed on Broadway, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 11, 1959.
Black History Month—this year celebrating its 100th anniversary—is a time to honor the generations of Black Americans whose courage, sacrifice, and vision demanded that this country live up to what it claims to be. It is also a time to recommit ourselves to the work they started—work that is far from finished.
As a Nyack School Board member and Rockland County Legislator, I've seen firsthand how racism and discrimination still drive unacceptable disparities—in housing, education, health care, the workplace, and the ballot box. Fighting back against that has never just been a policy position for me. It's an obligation.
In Congress, I will carry that commitment with me every single day. That means passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect every American's fundamental right to vote. It means enforcing strong, meaningful protections against discrimination in housing, employment, and education. And it means rejecting hate in all its forms — racism, antisemitism, homophobia, xenophobia — without hesitation and without apology.
The leaders we celebrate this month didn't fight for incremental progress. They fought for a country that lives up to its own ideals. That's the standard I hold myself to, and it's the standard NY-17—where Black history is living history—deserves in Congress.
Thank you for being part of this fight.
— Beth Davidson |
No comments:
Post a Comment