Westchester, Don’t Let Them Rewrite Who Belongs Here By Larnez Kinsey

1. Great

   • Thank you 😊

2. Amazing article, thank you for sharing these message and grandmas words “ Mija, they can close borders, but they can’t close the road our spirit walks” these are strong words to live by.

   • Thank you so much, Martin.
     That line from my grandmother stays etched in my bones, her voice reminding me that no matter the policies or politics, our spirit moves with purpose. I’m grateful the message resonated with you.
     May we all keep walking that road with courage and memory.

3. I extend my deepest appreciation to Larnez Kinsey for your truth, clarity, and courage in speaking out through this powerful piece. As a fellow resident navigating similar struggles here in Jersey City, I felt every word. Your article is not just insightful—it’s affirming. You’ve captured what many of us have been living through: the emotional, cultural, and structural strain of being in communities where crisis is too often ignored or mismanaged.

   Your experience and leadership as a seasoned Crisis Management Specialist—and as someone grounded in cybernetic ecology and culturally responsive healing—shines through. The way you center community, particularly Black and brown communities, in mental health and social care is not only transformative, it’s necessary.

   Here in Jersey City, we are grappling with parallel challenges: overlooked trauma, a broken mental health response system, and policies that fail to protect or empower our people. Your words echo what so many families, including mine, have endured. I stand in solidarity with your vision and efforts.

   We need more truth-tellers like you—more bridge-builders who understand both the systems and the souls affected by them. Your voice inspires action, and I’m grateful you are using it to call for change.

   With respect and solidarity,
   Toni Ervin
   Community Organizer | Mental Health & Justice Advocate
   Jersey City, NJ

   • Toni, your words moved me deeply, thank you for meeting this message with such presence, reflection, and solidarity. I felt your spirit in every sentence. What you shared about Jersey City mirrors the realities I see in Westchester and across so many of our communities: systems built to manage, not to heal. Policies written in boardrooms while the pain lives on our blocks.
     I’m humbled to be in community with leaders like you who not only witness the truth but work to shift it. Your commitment to justice and healing makes this work feel less lonely and more possible. Let’s continue building these bridges between our cities, our movements, and our spirits. We’re not just responding to crisis, we’re rewriting the terms of care.
     In power and purpose✨

4. Great article.

   Finally something from Black America.

   It would be nice to have them join the fight for civil liberties for all.

   Always wanted & needed allied support but never joined the fight for others.

   Ive been checking in on the NAACP website which is suppose to be for people of color. But their focus has only been Black America. Even though the original mission of the founders were Jews and Black Americans.

   Glad you have a writer interested in the topic of immigration, regardless of boat stops.

   • Damaris, thank you for reading, but let me break this down real clear, real quick.

     This piece? It was written through my lived experience, as a Black and Puerto Rican woman. So I’m not theorizing about oppression, I’m living the aftermath of it. My ancestors didn’t just arrive, they were dragged, scattered, and replanted on every island those slave ships touched. So when I talk about borders, displacement, and struggle, I’m not borrowing someone else’s story, I’m speaking my own.

     Now, about the NAACP. Let’s stop spreading the misinformation. It has never been just for Black Americans. It was founded by Black and Jewish organizers to fight for the civil rights of all people of color. And while some people are out here scrolling websites waiting for perfection, the rest of us are doing the work.

     Because here’s the truth: you don’t get to critique a movement you’re not contributing to.

     I’m not just out here writing pieces, I’m out here moving policy and building power. I serve as Chair of Economic Development for the NAACP Yonkers Branch, and we’re in the trenches, fighting for immigrant rights, mental health access, economic justice, and so much more. So if you’re really about that life, come pull up. Join the NAACP Yonkers Branch. Help us build the thing you say you’ve been looking for.

     But if you’re just here to point fingers without picking up tools, that’s not solidarity. That’s performative concern dressed up as critique.

     So again, thank you for reading. But next time, ask yourself: am I naming the gap, or am I helping to close it?

     • When was the last time you checked the NAACP website?

       Not a single mention of what’s happening.

       Before I said anything, I checked various websites.

       I also speak on behalf of all my ancestors and that of my multi-racial family.

       My family doesn’t live under the fear of deportation.

       I live in Mt Vernon and for years have listened to some local leaders and others talk down about immigrants. How people need to speak English. How they don’t like accents.

       How immigrants stole their jobs. How immigrants don’t belong here.

       I had a black Jamaican women accuse me of not belonging here. I’ve lived in MV for 23 years and this part of NY for over 30 years. Born here. Birthed here. Generations buried near here.

       As a Puerto Rican with many friends across boats stops.

       The formation of BIPOC & 1619 was created to exclude Latinos, my African ancestors arrived in 1502.

       Obama won with “si se puede” then became the Deporter in Chief, deporting more Latinos than previous administration.

       Kamala lost the Presidency because her team failed to engage the Latino community.

       As if we didn’t matter.

       Just a couple years ago, a Latino rapper was under fire when he mentioned how Puerto Ricans and Latinos were a part of the foundation of Hip Hop and Rap.

       People lost their minds. Because we had been excluded and dismissed.

       So please don’t lecture me about who remembers who.

       If you visit the Arturo Schomburg museum, you would never know he was Puerto Rican and who was influential to Black History. But oops info “erased”.

       When Caesar Chavez was fighting for farm worker rights, you know the people who feed the nation.

       Neither Malcom or MLK showed up.

       I know my people showed up for them when they came to NYC and DC.

       It amazes me how many people are unaware of the lynchings and massacres of Latinos.

       On behalf of my ancestors. Who arrived below in chains, above navigating the ship . And those who died along the islands.

       I’m here to say, it’s about time. Black Americans begin to speak up and take a stand on behalf of immigrants regardless of Boat stops.

       • Damaris,

         I hear the pain in your message. I feel the weight of your ancestors in your words. And as a Black and Puerto Rican woman, whose lineage also includes those who arrived in chains and those who lived and died across those same islands. I want to make something crystal clear:

         This piece was never written to erase or diminish the experiences of immigrants. It was written to call out how systems weaponize borders to divide us and how we can’t afford to fall for it.

         You asked when was the last time I checked the NAACP website. Sis, honestly I don’t check the website. I help build the strategy. I’m in the room pushing for equity in language access, immigration protections, and economic justice, not just for Black Americans, but for every community still living under the weight of systemic neglect.

         You said your family doesn’t live in fear of deportation. And I honor that truth. But many families do. And I show up for them, too.

         You mentioned anti-immigrant rhetoric in Mt. Vernon. And I’ve heard it, too sometimes from people who look like us. But that’s not the full story. Let’s not confuse the voices of the misinformed with the heart of a movement. Let’s not pit pain against pain.

         You listed moments where Black leaders didn’t show up. And I could list just as many where Latino leaders stayed silent in the face of Black death and disenfranchisement. But where does that get us?

         Let’s be real: some people are only built to spotlight the cracks, others of are out here designing the bridges. I’m not moved by performative allyship. I’m committed to structural transformation.

         You want acknowledgment. You deserve acknowledgment. But let’s not pretend that solidarity is a one-way street paved with resentment. True solidarity is messy, mutual, and rooted in truth, not just history, but accountability.

         So let’s hold each other to a higher standard, beyond website visits and cultural callouts. It’s about knowing the fight is bigger than any one identity or hurt.

         Let’s build. And if you’re truly about this work, I invite you to do more than watch it. I invite you to join it. Come to a meeting. Pull up a chair. Push policy with me.

         Because I’m not just writing articles. I’m out here identifying ways to move systems that were never designed for us to rise within. And I don’t need to be lectured on who I am or where I come from. I’m actively reshaping the very structures that tried to erase both.

         I am my ancestors’ wildest, most intersectional dream.

         Let’s build, or be honest that you’re not ready to.

         • I’m glad you are interested in engaging in the topic. I believe it is because you are also Puerto Rican, making you sensitive to the topic.

           I personally check various large organizations who claim that their mission is to help all people of color. I noticed they’re quiet on the topic. No messaging about how Haitians who had legal status no longer do, or Cubans or Venezuelans. Regardless of the amount of melanin in their complexion.

           Since the 1970’s we were told we were fighting for diversity.

           Diversity isn’t only Black & White communities.

           By 2018, the power structure and power holders are White & Black. Leaving out true diversity.

           Black leadership told Latinos “wait your turn”. No one told us to wait our turn in 1970’s. They said join us so that we can create a diverse society.

           Not paradigm shift in power maintaining marginalized communities intact.

           I’m not feeling pain. I’m feeling disappointment. I’ve been working this issue for 5 decades.

           What do I see since Obama my people are in cages. Ignored because they don’t have the proper amount of melanin.

           Black America completely dismissing Black Latin America. Whose histories weren’t constitutionally protected.

           Ignoring that of the 10 million who survived the middle passage, 5% came to the US. 95% were sent to Caribbean and Latin America.

           US Black Americans are often unaware that there are more Black Latin Americans (not including Jabao, Mesclada, Meztizas).

           In Brazil alone there are 20 million Black Brazilians. That one nation out of over 20 Latin American nations not including the Caribbean.

           White America convinced Black America only they suffered injustice and slavery and how all other American nations didn’t.

           It to ignore when their history wasn’t constitutionally protected. The slave revolts not written into history. Massacres not recorded. Lynchings not covered in local papers. Histories completely erased since 1502.

           I commented because I appreciated that this article was written and I believe that it’s about time that Black America becomes more aware of the histories of others beyond the US borders.

           We won’t survive without their help. Just like how Puerto Ricans helped end the Revolution and helped end slavery during the Civil War.

           Our histories are connected. It about time the dots are clear in their connection.

         • I complimented the article.

           Your response was to attack and attempt to belittle?

           It’s clear you know nothing about me and didn’t bother researching before you went on the attack. You clearly know nothing about my policy experience. Know nothing about my community work. know nothing about my organizing work. My political work.

           As mentioned I research and check websites. There is no mention of your involvement in the group you mentioned within the Yonkers NAACP. You may want to address that with them.

           Please educate me on which Latino politicians haven’t stood up for the Black American community. So that I can hold them accountable.

           As I hold all politicians accountable including Puerto Ricans on and off the island.

           Like I held Ken Jenkins responsible for not including Hispanic leadership, who helped him win & Latino voters voted for him. But on the night of his win, looking at those he surrounded himself with, not a single Hispanic Dem or Hispanic Elected. You know the ones that are proud of their people, not the ones that bust out “I’m Latino” when convenient.

           You may want to do some research, before coming for people.

5. Great article.

   Finally something from Black America.

   It would be nice to have them join the fight for civil liberties for all.

   Always wanted & needed allied support but never joined the fight for others.

   Ive been checking in on the NAACP website which is suppose to be for people of color. But their focus has only been Black America. Even though the original mission of the founders were Jews and Black Americans.

   Glad you have a writer interested in the topic of immigration, regardless of boat stops.

   • Damaris,
     Let me be clear, I didn’t “come for you.” I responded to your public comment, which directly questioned the lens I wrote from and made sweeping claims about Black leadership, the NAACP, and solidarity. If you felt attacked, I encourage you to revisit your tone and framing because what I offered was a boundary, not belittlement.
     I wasn’t going to give this any more energy, especially since my invitation to build seemed to be ignored. But one more adjustment is necessary because understanding and communication are the foundation of any real movement. Without them, we’re just talking at each other instead of with each other.
     I don’t need to “research” you to respond to what you said. This isn’t about your résumé, it’s about the way we engage when we say we’re about this work. You shared your perspective, and I shared mine. That’s dialogue. But calling my lived experience a “lecture” while positioning yours as unquestionable truth is exactly the dynamic that fractures coalitions before they even form.
     And I say this with no malice, just understanding:
     I know the energy and power I hold. My soul is a mirror to the things people bury. That reflection can be uncomfortable, especially when it brings up truths we’ve tucked away to survive. But that discomfort? That’s the space where transformation begins.
     I stand by what I said: systems don’t change because we call each other out, they change when we build together. My work with the NAACP is real, active, and ongoing. You may not see it online but it’s felt in rooms where decisions are made. I have nothing to prove to the internet.
     As for your request to name Latino politicians who haven’t shown up for Black communities, that’s not a list I keep. Because I don’t do this work to collect receipts, I do it to create results. And just like anti-Blackness exists in some Latino spaces, anti-immigrant sentiment exists in some Black spaces. Acknowledging that is not division, it’s the truth. And truth is where healing starts.
     We don’t move forward by comparing pain or pulling rank. We move when we hold space for truth and each other.
     So I’ll say this again with clarity and care: if you’re truly about this work, let’s move from commentary to coalition. Otherwise, I wish you healing and the humility that comes with it.

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