Black Westchester January 15th issue, which was schedule to hit streets, Tuesday, January 18th, you may or may not have noticed you haven’t seen it yet. But have no fear, the issue has just been pushed back a week. We were just finishing up the issue to get it to printer when we heard the news of Reggie Lafayette’s untimely death and decide to do it over so we could dedicate a portion of the issue to celebrate his life and legacy.
The issue should hit streets toward the end of next week. We wanted to take time to reach out to many who loved and respected the longtime Democratic leader, so we could include as many quotes, memories and pictures as possible of Reggie. If you have any great memories or good quality pictures you would like to share with us, please email them to BlackWestchesterMag@gmail.com by Saturday, January 22nd.
Reginald Lafayette, the longtime Democratic leader and former Westchester County Democratic chairman, died Friday night at 69. He was the current Westchester County Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner and led the Mount Vernon Democratic Committee among many other titles.
Reginald A. Lafayette “Reggie” served as Chair of the Westchester County Democratic Committee (WCDC) from 2004 to 2020. At the time of his very sudden death Reggie was still the Democratic Commissioner of the Westchester County Board of Elections, a position in which he had served for over 20 years, and the Chair of the Mount Vernon Democratic City Committee. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner of Elections by the Board of Legislators, Reggie served as Mount Vernon’s Deputy Comptroller and City Clerk. A Mount Vernon Democratic District Leader since 1972, Reggie was a longtime member of the Democratic State Committee, representing the 89th Assembly District, and served for several years as Chair of the State Committee’s Executive Committee.
Mr. Lafayette, known to many as the Chairman meant so much to so many. He mentored many who choose to enter the political arena in Westchester County and counseled countless candidates and walked everyone through political process. He was one of the most influential and powerful people in local, county and state government and politics and received many awards for his work throughout his 40-year career. We felt it was only right to celebrate one of the most prominent African-Americans in Politics in Black Westchester Newspaper, so we pushed the issue back!
The February 15th issue which will be a Black 2 Business Commemorative issue listing, highlighting and celebrating Black Owned Businesses in Westchester and the surrounding areas for Black History Month is still scheduled to hit streets on or around Friday, February 18th. If you have a Black-Owned Business or want to share with us your favorite Black-Owned Businesses with us email us at BlackWestchester@gmail.com. Deadline to advertise is Friday, February 4th for ad rates email us at AdvertiseWithBW@gmail.com
AJ Woodson
AJ Woodson is the Editor-In-Chief of Black Westchester and Co-Owner of Urban Soul Media Group, the parent company, Host & Producer of the People Before Politics Radio Show. AJ is a Father, Brother, An Author, Journalism Fellow (Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism), Hip-Hop Artist - one third of the legendary underground rap group JVC FORCE known for the single Strong Island, Radio Personality, Hip-Hop Historian, Documentarian, Activist, Criminal Justice Advocate and Freelance Journalist whose byline has appeared in several print publications and online sites including The Source, Vibe, the Village Voice, Upscale, Sonicnet.com, Launch.com, Rolling Out Newspaper, Daily Challenge Newspaper, Spiritual Minded Magazine, Word Up! Magazine, On The Go Magazine and several others.
