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We Stand With Andrea Stewart Cousins

DAMON K JONES
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We Stand With Andrea Stewart Cousins

So Should Every Black Person In Westchester County

We don’t have to go south to be reminded of racist white people. They’re right here in New York.

The disrespectful, race-based language of Daniel Loeb, who is a top donor to Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and many other politicians, is unacceptable on many levels.  For Loeb to compare Senator Cousins to the KKK, then apologize and blame it on their passion for education, insults our intelligence and our suffering as Black people at the hands of a racist organization like the KKK. Makes us wonder what they think about women and black people behind closed doors. All monies from Mr. Leob should be returned; racist money should not be accepted in the Democratic Party from Gov. Cuomo on down.

The black community of Westchester have watched for too long the subtle dog whistle Politics against Black Politicians including our sister in her position by sexist and racist elected officials, and some of them have the nerve to call themselves Democrats.

What makes Governor Cuomo think that Sen. Klein has a better understanding of the suburbs than the Senate Majority Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins? Sen. Cousins represents more of Westchester than Klein, is more known and has crossed ethnic boundaries throughout the county.

Maybe our Governor didn’t understand. Maybe the Governor forgot that living in Chappaqua, which has a 1.95% black population (according to the 2101 census) does not represent the rest of Westchester.

Maybe there is an underlining Racial Empathy Gap in the Democratic Party in the state of New York. To systematically deny a Black woman the power of the position is a denial of Black peoples’ pain of Slavery, Jim Crow, the fight for Civil Rights, unjust killing of Black man and Mass Incarceration. I believe it’s even worse. The problem is that the pain isn’t really felt its only identified with when they need our votes. And that’s being a Hypocrite! 

Sen. Cousins has, since the beginning of her political career, faced two strikes against her: Being black in a predominantly white, male-dominant political system and being a woman in a historical system of oppression.

The Independent Democratic Caucus (IDC) was founded in 2011, a year before Sen. Cousins was voted in to be the first Black Legislative Leader. Was the creation of the IDC a preemptive strike to weaken her position? Was the establishment of the IDC a political attempt to keep a black woman from the seat of power?

These are the questions Sen. Klein and others must be asked. With racist donors like Leob, what are they thinking? We all know the old saying, birds of a feather, flock together. If the racist shoe fits; then wear it!

Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins has remained unbroken and continue to chip away from the glass ceiling of the New York State Legislature, even though it seems they have stacked the chips against her. She has remained strong throughout the adversity while remaining regal throughout – she is the embodiment of beauty in the struggle. As I stand, all Black Westchester should stand with Sen. Cousins because she has always stood for us.

If our Governor Cuomo fails to recognize Sen. Cousins and her seat of power as Senate Majority Leader, then maybe, just maybe he would recognize her if she primary him in the next election for a Candidate for New York State Governor. Would he see her then?

Big Pun – The Legacy of A Latino Lyricist

AJ Woodson
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Big Pun – The Legacy of A Latino Lyricist

Starting with the end and working backward, the world was in shock when the news came that
Big Pun suffered a fatal heart attack on February 7, 2000 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, White
Plains, at the age of 28 years old. In a time most stories like this ended with a hip-hop artist
dying by some act of senseless violence, if there was anything positive to find, many were happy
that he wasn’t shot to death.

What made taking his death so hard was hearing the lyrics of his current single; “It’s so hard (It’s
hard work, baby)/ Yeah (I just copped 100 pounds, I’m tryin’ to live, I ain’t goin’ nowhere).”
Despite the loss of weight, a heavyweight in hip-hop was gone. It’s So Hard featuring Donell
Jones played on not just heavy rotation, but every rotation like Hypnotize played right after
Biggie died.

Now starting from the beginning, I knew Pun was gonna be a big star when he joined Fat Joe on
stage to perform a track from Joe’s second album, Jealous One’s Envy. Joe was performing, Big
Pun came out on stage at the Palladium that used to be located on the south side of East 14th
Street, between Irving Place and Third Avenue. In mid-verse, Pun fell flat on his ass, laid on the
floor of the stage, never missing a beat, a lyrics and rocked like it was a scheduled part of the
show. I remember watching saying this dude gonna be a big star.

Big Pun was a surprisingly graceful and nimble rapper, delivering his often clever, tongue-
twisting rhymes at a torrential pace. When he spit; “Dead in the middle of Little Italy little did we
know/ That we riddled two middlemen who didn’t do diddly,” in Twinz (Deep Cover 98),
everyone was speechless how Pun rode that classic beat from the Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg collabo
from the movie Deep Cover. You couldn’t deny his notably technical efficiency, his having
minimal pauses to take a breath and his heavy use of alliteration as well as internal and multi-
syllabic rhyming schemes.

In my first interview at Loud Records with Pun a year or so later for the release of his debut solo
album, the one thing I remember was telling me, “AJ, I’m gonna be the first Latino rapper to go
platinum. That will be like artists go 10 times platinum for me, to be the first.” He insisted he
would be first; “cause Latins goin’ platinum was destined to come.” The other thing I remember
was his sense of humor, he was very quick-witted and had jokes for days, making it hard to
actually do the interview, cause he had my crying. Dude was madd funny.

Artwork by AL Dre originally appeared in The Last Word of The Source Magazine [Black Westchester]

Emerging from the underground hip-hop scene in The Bronx borough of New York City, in the
early 1990s, he was the first Latino rapper to have an album certified platinum as a solo act. He
first appeared on tracks from Fat Joe’s second album Jealous One’s Envy in 1995, and The
Beatnuts’ second album Stone Crazy in 1997, prior to signing to Loud Records as a solo artist.
 He is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. About.com ranked him #25 on
its list of the 50 Greatest MCs of All Time, while MTV2 ranked him #11 on its list of the “22
Greatest MCs”. In 2012, The Source ranked him #19 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All
Time.

Soundview, Pun’s hood is a neighborhood at the eastern edge of Bronx Community Board 9,
with a population density about 45,000 per square mile (excluding Soundview Park, about
53,000 per square mile). Its total land area is roughly 1.3 square miles. The neighborhood
predominantly consists of Latin Americans (mainly Puerto Ricans) and African-Americans and
has a mixture of moderate single-family homes, low-income buildings and expensive
condominiums. Just 10 miles or so, away from Money-Earning Mount Vernon where another
Heavyweight hip-hop artist, Heavy D, called home.

Boricua, morena, boricua, morena, boricua, morena, boricua, morena

In 1996 Big Pun began recording songs for his debut album Capital Punishment. In 1997
producer Knobody’s production partner Sean C took advantage of his new role as A&R at Loud
Records to play Knobody’s tracks to Big Pun. Suitably impressed, the rapper hired Knobody to
remix “I’m Not a Player”. The remixed song, featuring Joe and titled “Still Not a Player”, became
Big Pun’s first major mainstream hit and major breakthrough for Knobody. The full-length debut
Capital Punishment followed in 1998, and peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200.

Capital Punishment was also nominated for a Grammy, and went to No. 1 on the R&B/hip-hop
charts. Big caught his first big break when he met successful rapper-producer Fat Joe in 1995.
Recognizing Big Pun’s talent, Fat Joe asked him to appear on his song “Watch Out.” The two
oversized talents formed a strong friendship and working relationship. Inspired by a comic book
character, he took the new name, Big Punisher, and joined the Terror Squad, a group of Latino
rappers associated with Fat Joe. Fat Joe even helped negotiate Big Pun’s contract with Loud
Records.

In a short time, Big Pun developed a substantial fan base and became a hero in the Puerto Rican
community. He was proud of his heritage and often mentioned it in his lyrics and even draped
himself in the Puerto Rican flag at times. Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February
7, 2000) better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was a legendary
Latino lyricist!

People Before Politics Radio – Episode 120 – Rev Dr Stephen W. Pogue

AJ Woodson
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People Before Politics Radio – Episode 120 – Rev Dr Stephen W. Pogue

Black Westchester presents The People Before Politics Radio Show Episode 120 with your hosts Damon K. Jones and AJ Woodson and co-host Robert ‘Dr. Bob’ Baskerville

Our guest this week: Rev. Dr. Stephen W. Pogue, Pastor of Greater Centennial A.M.E. Zion Church in Mount Vernon, NY, Sunday, April 9, 2017

#GreaterCentennialAMEZion #RevDrStephenWPogue #BlackWestchester #PeopleBeforePoliticsRadio #TheBlackChurch #MrAJWoodson #DamonKJones

People Before Politics Radio Episode 119 – ATLANTIC STARR – April 2, 2017

AJ Woodson
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People Before Politics Radio Episode 119 – ATLANTIC STARR – April 2, 2017

Black Westchester Magazine presents The People Before Politics Radio Show Episode 119

With your hosts Damon. K. Jones & AJ Woodson and Co-Host Dr. Robert Baskerville,

Our Guests This Week: Greenburgh’s own Atlantic Starr chops it up about the New Album, the Unsung Documentary, local politics, and their upcoming CD Release party, Sunday, April 2, 2017

#AtlanticStarr #BlackWestchester #PeopleBeforePoliticsRadio #MrAJWoodson #DamonKJones #BlackMusic #RNB #Greenburgh @atlanticstarr7554 @peoplebeforepoliticsradios8317 @BlackWestchester @damonkjones @robertbaskerville4795

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PBP RADIO – Episode 111 – Voices of Those Who Lost Loved Ones To Senseless Gun Violence

AJ Woodson
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PBP RADIO – Episode 111 – Voices of Those Who Lost Loved Ones To Senseless Gun Violence

Black Westchester Magazine presents The People Before Politics Radio Show Episode 110 With your hosts Damon K. Jones & AJ Woodson and Co-Host Cynthia Turnquest-Jones

Guests: Anthony Olskool Mitchell, Naz ForevaBlessed Dun, Linda and Wilfred Dennis

Topic: MVPD, Senseless Gun Violence in Mount Vernon, and the grief of those who lose loved ones to gun violence, Sunday, January 22, 2017

#BlackWestchester #PeopleBeforePoliticsRadio #MrAJWoodson #DamonKJones #SenselessGunViolence #MountVernon @damonkjones @BlackWestchester @peoplebeforepoliticsradios8317 @AJROK1

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PBP RADIO – Episode 108 – State of The MVPD

AJ Woodson
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PBP RADIO – Episode 108 – State of The MVPD

Black Westchester Magazine presents The People Before Politics Radio Show – Episode 108

With your hosts: Damon K. Jones & AJ Woodson and Co-Host Dr. Robert Baskerville

Our Guests This Week: Corey Pegues, author of Once A Cop, Glenn Scott, Anthony Olskool Mitchell, John R Jones Jr and Don Starchild Moore (4 RETIRED officers of the Mount Vernon Police Department)

This Week’s Topic: The State of the MVPD and the Lack of Leadership in the Department

DMX, The Lox, Swizz Beats, Drag On & Sean Cross Rock Westchester County Center For ‘Double R’ CEO Dee BDay

AJ Woodson
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DMX, The Lox, Swizz Beats, Drag On & Sean Cross Rock Westchester County Center For ‘Double R’ CEO Dee BDay

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK – #914hIPhOP

Stop, drop, shut ’em down, open up shop
Oh, no, that’s how Ruff Ryders roll

White Plains — Billed as a birthday bash concert for Ruff Ryder CEO Darren Dean, better known as Dee and referred to as The General by everyone in the Double R camp, The Ruff Ryders (DMX, The Lox, Drag-On, Swizz Beats & Sean Cross) brought Hip-Hop back to the Westchester County Center, Saturday night.

We right here
We’re not goin anywhere

The 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in White Plains was about full to capacity with the exception of the center upper section of seats that are furthest from the stage. Yonkers was in the house, which is to be expected since that’s the home base of the Ruff Ryders operation. The people came to see DMX return for a long-awaited homecoming concert at the Westchester County Center.

Power 105.1 FM was posted out front, greeting concert goers as they arrived. The voice of Westchester, DJ Tri-State Jericko, set things off and entertained the crowd between acts on the ones and twos. Several lesser-known acts graced the stage, displaying their skills each like a ball player in the summer league vying for a position on the main roster. The newest member of the Ruff Ryders fam, Sean Cross, started off the Double R lineup.

Then, back from a ten-year hiatus was Bronx-born and bred rapper/actor Drag-On, who made a rare appearance, came out to perform, and celebrated The General. The ‘Down Bottom’ rapper jumped off the stage to perform in the crowd up close & personal. It may have been ten years since he took the stage, but you can tell the crowd appreciated the love, and they gave it right back as he ‘Spit These Bars.’

When the crowd heard, ‘It’s Showtime!,’ they knew it meant Swizz Beatz was about to take the stage next. He performed a few of his hit tracks like ‘Money In The Bank,’ as the DJ played a few of the many hit singles he performed from other artists. Swizz brought The General to the stage, who was greeted by a cake and everyone wishing Dee a Happy Birthday.

Greeted by a shout-out from Tri-State Jericko when they entered the VIP Area in front of the stage, the Black Westchester Magazine/ People Before Politics Radio crew was in attendance, including Cynthia Turnquest-Jones, Rashad Bilal, Dr. Robert Baskerville aka Brooklyn Bob, and Priscilla Echi, who was holding it down for the Double R Camp.

The Lox took the stage next and showed why they get love in the streets for the past few decades, and it aint fade one bit. While DMX was the main attraction everyone came to see, in the multi-headlined show, in my opinion, Sp, Jada, and Sheek gave the best overall performance of the night hands down. They ran thru the classics and had the crowd give love for the loss of Tupac Shakur and B.I.G.

Come on, uh, uh
What’cha really want
What’cha really want, what
D-M-X, uh, uh
Come on, Ryde or die
Ay yo, ay yo, ay yo
What’s my name? DMX and I be the best
You see the rest they lookin like they need a rest

With that said, you can’t have an official Ruff Ryder show without The Dog. DMX batted last and hit a grand slam running thru his extensive catalog. X switched back and forth from the emcee and Earl the Apostle a few times during the show. Much like the Apostle Paul, one of the most well-known apostles in the early days of Christianity, DMX took the Gospel to the Gentiles, which in 2016 is the hip-hop listening youth of America. Yo, he may not look, nor sound like ya average black preacher, but he planted seeds in the crowd like a follower of Christ is supposed to. Even ending his performance as he has many times before with a powerful prayer.

Being the biggest on the County Center stage for the night did not stop X from giving a few lucky ladies the shirts off his back, literally. First, he blessed one female fan with the sweat rag he used on his bald head, then he took off the red t-shirt he started out the show with and gave it to another female fan, and lastly, he took off the white wife beater and blessed yet another female fan. Each of the three females appeared to be greatly appreciative. End the show shirtless, as he often does, was appreciated by his female fans as well as the rousing response.

When he performed ‘What They Really Want’, almost every female in the house sang the track word for word, and when he ran down the names, the DJ dropped the music, and you could hear the female fans running down the names louder than DMX. The mixed crowd, made up on mostly of Westchester residents, appeared to really enjoy the show.

The Empire Strikes Back concert showed one thing for sure, why The Ruff Ryders is still one of the tightest cliques and most talented hip-hop crews out there, even three decades later…

The Double-Edged Sword Society

Cynthia Turnquest-Jones
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The Double-Edged Sword Society

From the torn heart of a man. I was asked to read a piece titled “The Double-Edged Sword Society” by a friend of mine. I met this educator maybe three years ago. His passion to lift our youth is what drew us close. Conversations of how to fix this mess or just tell me what can I do–has been always a part of our journey. He writes about the black community, law enforcement, and finish talking about the enemy. Luis Miguel Lopez is 29 years old. He was born in Staten Island, but raised in Brooklyn in the Williamsburg Section. He became infused into the education field 10 years ago and entered into the haven of classroom teaching three years ago.

Black Westchester Magazine present to you a piece by Luis M. Lopez “Double-Edged Sword Society”

Luis M. Lopez and the Black Community
“The world we live in has become cold. We live in the new middle ages. Barbaric acts of violence being met by more barbaric acts of violence. My brothers and sisters of color find no rest in the free world. Throughout the years, you began to grant them privileges as though they were some sort of child. Granting my brothers and sisters the right the vote, the right to equal education, and a list that surpasses the borders of this country, and yet, they aren’t granted anything at all. A person of color becomes the natural prey. Black people’s existence has been predetermined in this country because of the embedded perception that if they’re black they are guilty, if they’re black they are hostile, if they’re black they are wrong. Our country has hidden its agenda to make it appear that my black brothers and sisters are of equal standing. This is contradicted by the actions of a very select few of law enforcement officers and many of our law makers. Unite, not only as a black community, but as humans. We all want fair and equal treatment. Our children deserve the privilege of walking the streets without being harassed by virtue of their appearance. Families of my Black brothers and sisters should never have to worry about the safety of their loved ones because they are considered “targets”. Defeat this oppression by unifying as a people. Lin Manuel Miranda says it best, “…and love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside.” Fill your communities with love. Preach education and be the guardian of each other’s children. The saying “united we stand, divided we fall” doesn’t hold more weight than it does now. We need to stop the mindset of “divided we stand, united we fall”. Bring everyone around you together and stand as people. True love and peace is all I hope for my black brothers and sisters.”

Luis M. Lopez and Law Enforcement Community
“Imagine your task is to protect the world that wants vengeance upon you. Allow that thought to marinate. My brothers and sisters in blue, your integrity is challenged and your lives are even more at risk. The careless, thoughtless, and irresponsible actions of the so few “officers” have stained the honor of the badge. Let us not be fooled, real people with real live, with real debts, with real families are out on these streets serving and protecting us each and every day. Yet a war is raged against them all, and I feel for you my brothers and sisters in blue. The carelessness of the officers that take the lives of the innocent should never go unnoticed and never go unpunished, but do we punish the whole for the folly of a few? My brother and sisters in blue, the country has taken up arms against you and even with those odds, you persevere to defend what is right. My family and friends are among those I consider my brothers and sisters in blue. The fear of not knowing who is targeting you and having to protect regardless is the true reality of the brothers and sisters in blue. I honor and respect the badge and the things the majority of law enforcement officers do. Placing blame on the whole seems like a foolish thing to do. In turn, I continue to hope and pray that my cousins come home safe from their daily law enforcement duties, I pray my friends get to come home to their families after their tour of duty, and I pray that this dark cloud that looms over their heads moves away, because it isn’t every law enforcement officer’s fault. This is a call for all my brothers and sisters in blue to stand together with my black brothers and sisters to display unity amongst this terrible divide. Let us all see the common enemy. The system rigs things to play in its favor and, now more than ever, I have seen it come to pass. A clear line has been made in the sand. Brush that line aside, my brothers and sisters in blue. You are just as much a human as my black brothers and sisters. Let us not forget that we are a people and as a people, unity is the only course to take. In the words of Dr. Maya Angelou, “Courage, the most important of all virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” It will take courage to stand together and show the enemy you will not be made a pawn and you stand for what is right.”

Luis M. Lopez and The Enemy
“When the sun shines bright, we wear sunglasses to block the rays because it is hard to deal with the light. That is how our justice system works. People are blinded by what lawmakers want to do and because they are, they don’t see the hidden agendas these lawmakers want to push. Exposing these lawmakers is the key to repairing these injustices. When there is an “officer” using excessive force to apprehend anyone they should be held responsible and be dealt with like anyone else who would be charged for such actions. My black brothers and sister along with my brothers and sisters in blue need to unite to filter out lawmakers that help these “officers” who are blatantly careless with their actions get off clean while my black brothers and sisters are abused to no end. We need to revert back to a time where we demanded our lawmakers to take swift action or step aside. When a wound is bleeding, you apply pressure to stop it. We need to apply pressure on our lawmakers to make sure everyone is being treated equally and to ensure justice is served. I am not talking about justice being served to please the masses. I want equal prosecution of law breaking individuals, such as the officers that took away innocent lives, and the individuals who took the lives of innocent officers. It is a double-edged society we live in. Our brothers and sisters in blue must serve and protect neighborhoods and communities that rebel against them and my black brothers and sisters must be weary of where they are and what they’re doing for fear of being targeted. Lawmakers need to be held accountable because this country has a hostile pot brewing and unless action is taken and change is implemented, we are preparing to see a second civil war.”

Written by Luis M. Lopez

A Father Perspective on Police Terrorism Against Children of Colour: Aberrations or Everyday Occurrences?

Cynthia Turnquest-Jones
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A Father Perspective on Police Terrorism Against Children of Colour: Aberrations or Everyday Occurrences?

The left forum conference 2016! The conference has steadily grown over the years. There is a full room waiting to hear “A Father Perspective on Police Terrorism Against Children of Colour: Aberrations or Everyday Occurrences?”

I am sitting with Andrew Joseph Jr., father of Andrew Joseph III. The year was 2014 as Andrew stood to get on a ride. His team mates were being arrested and he went to inquire. The Gang task force was on the scene. Andrew was known as “Pee-Wee”. Pee-Wee picked up his friend show and hat and passed it to him. An academically intelligent 8th grade student who was slated for Holy Confirmation the next day responds to his friend and said, “I see how the officers are treating you.” The Gang Task Force officer questioned Andrew and made him pull up his shirt to see if he had any “Gang Tattoos”.

The school district gives students the day off and free passes to attend Student Day at the fair. As a result, tens of thousands pack into the fair each Student Day, and that has resulted in unruliness. In 2014, it led to violence. Deputies arrested 12 people and ejected 99 others.

Andrew Joseph III was then told to get into the car and they dropped him off 2 miles from the fair. The 14-year-old was killed trying to cross I-4 to return to the fairgrounds to meet his ride, his was hit by a car. The owner of the car never stopped. The owner who was 19 had the remains of Andrew on the grill of his car. The owner was never fined or ticketed.

Two Steps Forward: A Dance to Heal the Soul – The Tayshana Chicken Murphy Foundation

Cynthia Turnquest-Jones
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Two Steps Forward: A Dance to Heal the Soul – The Tayshana Chicken Murphy Foundation

This event Honoured the men who Mr. Murphy collaborate with while achieving the mission of The Tayshana “Chicken” Murphy Foundation. Males who are standing despite the pain were HONOURED today.

The Tayshana “Chicken” Murphy Foundation was formed in honor and loving memory of Tayshana Dejenea “Chicken” Murphy. Tayshana was a high school basketball star and basketball playground legend who on the early morning of September 11th met her physical demise by two executioners. The reason for creating this foundation is to add on her legacy in which her spirit will live forever as well as serve at risk teens likely to be victims of violence.

Mr. Murphy felt that that getting his family and close friends involved would help him touch more lives in the community. With the help of family and friends the foundation is creating youth support programs and support other organizations who have similar programs to serve our young people in communities across New York City and eventually the Nation.

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